Commentary on the economic , geopolitical and simply fascinating things going on. Served occasionally with a side of snark.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Ukraine on March 1 , 2014 rapidly becoming a risk of all out War ? Putin appears to have gone all in regarding protecting its sovereign interests in Ukraine , US strongly worded speeches aside ! Ball clearly in the Court of NATO , EU and the US to respond - Russia clearly crossed whatever " blurred lines " were spoke upon by Obama and Kerry and jammed said words right up where the sun doesn't shine . Check to the West !
Might War break out as soon as next week ? Well , if this represents the costs and consequences for crossing the intervention line , I guess not ! I wonder if Obama bowed when he made announcement ? I know Putin is laughing his ass off !
President Obama spoke for 90 minutes this afternoon with President Putin of Russia about the situation in Ukraine. President Obama expressed his deep concern over Russia’s clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is a breach of international law, including Russia’s obligations under the UN Charter, and of its 1997 military basing agreement with Ukraine, and which is inconsistent with the 1994 Budapest Memorandum and the Helsinki Final Act. The United States condemns Russia’s military intervention into Ukrainian territory.
The United States calls on Russia to de-escalate tensions by withdrawing its forces back to bases in Crimea and to refrain from any interference elsewhere in Ukraine. We have consistently said that we recognize Russia’s deep historic and cultural ties to Ukraine and the need to protect the rights of ethnic Russian and minority populations within Ukraine. The Ukrainian government has made clear its commitment to protect the rights of all Ukrainians and to abide by Ukraine’s international commitments, and we will continue to urge them to do so.
President Obama told President Putin that, if Russia has concerns about the treatment of ethnic Russian and minority populations in Ukraine, the appropriate way to address them is peacefully through direct engagement with the government of Ukraine and through the dispatch of international observersunder the auspices of the United Nations Security Council or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). As a member of both organizations, Russia would be able to participate. President Obama urged an immediate effort to initiate a dialogue between Russia and the Ukrainian government, with international facilitation, as appropriate. The United States is prepared to participate.
President Obama made clear that Russia’s continued violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity would negatively impact Russia’s standing in the international community. In the coming hours and days, the United States will urgently consult with allies and partners in the UN Security Council, the North Atlantic Council, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and with the signatories of the Budapest Memorandum. The United States will suspend upcoming participation in preparatory meetings for the G-8. Going forward, Russia’s continued violation of international law will lead to greater political and economic isolation.
The people of Ukraine have the right to determine their own future. President Obama has directed his Administration to continue working urgently with international partners to provide support for the Ukrainian government, including urgent technical and financial assistance. Going forward, we will continue consulting closely with allies and partners, the Ukrainian government and the International Monetary Fund, to provide the new government with significant assistance to secure financial stability, to support needed reforms, to allow Ukraine to conduct successful elections, and to support Ukraine as it pursues a democratic future.
22.55 In a sign of US disapproval at the Russian military deployment, the White House has announced that that US will boycott preparatory meetings for the G8 Summit in June which was due to be a prestigious event for Mr Putin to be held in the Winter Olympic resort of Sochi.
Obama And Putin Held Phone Conversation
( Looks like Putin told Obama and Hollande that's he's going to handle business in Crimea and the rest of Ukraine , so just deal with it ! )
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/01/2014 16:50 -0500
On the initiative of the US, a phone call took place between Vladimir Putin and the President of the US, Barack Obama.
Under discussion were the various aspects of the extraordinary situation in Ukraine.
In response to the concern expressed by Barack Obama regarding the possible use of Russian armed forces in the Ukraine, Vladimir Putin drew attention attention to the provocative, criminal acts of the ultranationalist elements, in effect encouraged by the present authorities in Kiev.
The Russian president stressed the existence of real threats to the lives and well-being of Russian citizens and numerous compatriots located in the Ukraine. Vladimir Putin underscored that should the violence spread further to the eastern regions of the Ukraine and the Crimea, Russia reserves the right to protect its interests and the Russian-speaking population living there.
The White House said that the call lasted for approximately 90 minutes,, with Obama calling Russia's plans for intervention a "clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity."
Here's the full White House readout of the call:
President Obama spoke for 90 minutes this afternoon with President Putin of Russia about the situation in Ukraine. President Obama expressed his deep concern over Russia’s clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is a breach of international law, including Russia’s obligations under the UN Charter, and of its 1997 military basing agreement with Ukraine, and which is inconsistent with the 1994 Budapest Memorandum and the Helsinki Final Act. The United States condemns Russia’s military intervention into Ukrainian territory.
The United States calls on Russia to de-escalate tensions by withdrawing its forces back to bases in Crimea and to refrain from any interference elsewhere in Ukraine. We have consistently said that we recognize Russia’s deep historic and cultural ties to Ukraine and the need to protect the rights of ethnic Russian and minority populations within Ukraine. The Ukrainian government has made clear its commitment to protect the rights of all Ukrainians and to abide by Ukraine’s international commitments, and we will continue to urge them to do so.
President Obama told President Putin that, if Russia has concerns about the treatment of ethnic Russian and minority populations in Ukraine, the appropriate way to address them is peacefully through direct engagement with the government of Ukraine and through the dispatch of international observers under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). As a member of both organizations, Russia would be able to participate. President Obama urged an immediate effort to initiate a dialogue between Russia and the Ukrainian government, with international facilitation, as appropriate. The United States is prepared to participate.
President Obama made clear that Russia’s continued violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity would negatively impact Russia’s standing in the international community. In the coming hours and days, the United States will urgently consult with allies and partners in the UN Security Council, the North Atlantic Council, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and with the signatories of the Budapest Memorandum. The United States will suspend upcoming participation in preparatory meetings for the G-8. Going forward, Russia’s continued violation of international law will lead to greater political and economic isolation.
The people of Ukraine have the right to determine their own future. President Obama has directed his Administration to continue working urgently with international partners to provide support for the Ukrainian government, including urgent technical and financial assistance. Going forward, we will continue consulting closely with allies and partners, the Ukrainian government and the International Monetary Fund, to provide the new government with significant assistance to secure financial stability, to support needed reforms, to allow Ukraine to conduct successful elections, and to support Ukraine as it pursues a democratic future.
The Kremlin said in a statement that Obama initiated the call. It said that Obama expressed concern about the use of military force in Ukraine, but Putin asserted the right to protect Russia and Russian-speaking citizens in the Crimea region.
A senior Obama administration official said that members of Obama's national security team met Saturday at the White House to "discuss potential policy options" in response to Russia's plans for intervention. Obama did not attend, but was briefed on the meeting.
"The President's national security team met today to receive an update on the situation in Ukraine and discuss potential policy options," the senior administration official said. "We will provide further updates later this afternoon."
Obama said in a statement from the White House on Friday there would be "costs" if Russia intervened in Ukraine. This prompted the upper house of Russia's parliament then recommended that the Russian ambassador in Washington be recalled.
Ukrainian Navy flagship takes Russia’s side – report
Ukraine’s Navy flagship, the Hetman Sahaidachny frigate, has reportedly refused to follow orders from Kiev, and come over to Russia’s side and is returning home after taking part in NATO operation in the Gulf of Aden flying the Russian naval flag.
There has been conflicting information on where exactly the vessel is, but a Russian senator has confirmed to Izvestia daily that the frigate defected to the Russian side.
“Ukraine’s Navy flagship the Hetman Sahaidachny has come over to our side today. It has hung out the St Andrew’s flag,” Senator Igor Morozov, a member of the committee on the international affairs, told Izvestia daily.
He said the flagship is on its way back to the Black Sea after drills in the Mediterranean. “The crew has fulfilled the order by the chief commander of Ukraine’s armed forces Viktor Yanukovich,” he added.
The move comes after the Navy command resigned Friday. Self-appointed President Aleksandr Turchinov made Rear Admiral Denis Berezovsky the new Navy Chief, a statement published on the President’s website Saturday said.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the Prime Minister Ukraine’s self-imposed government, had earlier asked his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan not to let the frigate through the Bosporus strait, according to the Kiev Times. The ship captain and the head of Ukraine’s contingent in the operation, Rear Admiral Andrey Tarasov disobeyed orders from Kiev.
The Hetman Sahaidachny returns to Sevastopol, Crimea after taking part in a joint counter-piracy operation with NATO and the EU off the Horn of Africa, reported UNN on Friday, citing Ukraine’s Defense Ministry. On February 26, after crossing the Suez Canal, the ship entered the Mediterranean Sea and was expected to be in Sevastopol in early March.
The Invasion So Far: Visual Summary Of Russian Forces And Movements
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/01/2014 15:50 -0500
Moments ago Interfax reported that two Russian anti-submarine warships have appeared off the coast of Ukraine's Crimea region, violating an agreement on Moscow's lease of a naval base, according to a Ukrainian military source as saying. Then again what else would a Ukrainian military source say. The source added that the two vessels, part of Russia's Baltic Fleet, had been sighted in a bay at Sevastopol, where Moscow's Black Sea Fleet has a base.
So imagine two extra anti-sub ships off Sevastopol in the map below which until this latest update from Contemporary Issues and Geography, was keeping an accurate running update of all the most recent developments in the staggered Russian invasion of the Ukraine.
Ukraine's Acting President Puts All Armed Forces On Full Combat Alert
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/01/2014 14:50 -0500
In a stunning 24 hours, it now appears that Russia and the Ukraine are one formal announcement away from a state of war. From moments ago, as reported by Bloomberg:
UKRAINE ACTING PRESIDENT PUTS ALL FORCES ON FULL COMBAT ALERT
And this, as reported by the NYT, virtually assures the escalation to a hot war, as some provocation, somewhere will certainly take place: "a Ukrainian military official in Crimea said Ukrainian soldiers had been told to “open fire” if they came under attack by Russia troops or others."
Finally, this:
Ukraine protects all Ukrainians, acting President Oleksandr Turchynov says in Kiev briefing.
Ukraine Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk: “diverting funds for military”
Turchynov: untrue that Russians are under threat
Turchynov: no reason for Putin request
Turchynov calls for national unity
Yatsenyuk says to take all measures to ensure peace
Yatsenyuk: no reason for Russia to intervene in Ukraine
The Russian commander in chief, Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to discuss the case of an escalation of violence against the Russian-speaking population in the eastern regions of Ukraine and Crimea, the Kremlin announced.
Putin stressed that Russia cannot remain on the sidelines and will apply the necessary measures within the framework of international law to prevent further escalation of the crisis in Ukraine.
21:47 GMT:
In a conversation with French President Francois Hollande, Putin said that there is a real threat to the lives of citizens of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, Itar-tass reports.
21:40 GMT:
The Russian leader held detailed phone discussions on “various aspects of the extraordinary situation in Ukraine" with US President Barack Obama, the Kremlin press service reported.
Putin stressed that in the case of further spread of violence in the eastern regions of Ukraine and Crimea, Russia reserves the right to protect their interests and the Russian speaking population.
Putin emphasised the existence of real threats to the life and health of Russian citizens on Ukrainian territory.
21:28 GMT:
UN Security Council is holding an open session on Ukraine following a short break.
The Council members have initially agreed that only the representative of the Secretary-General, the self imposed Ukrainian government and Russian UN envoy Vitaly Churkin will deliver their remarks.
21:18 GMT:
The NATO council will meet on Sunday to discuss the situation in Ukraine, Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen wrote in his twitter.
20.55 President Barack Obama's national security team met on Saturday for an update on the situation in Ukraine and to discuss potential policy options, a senior Obama administration official said.
The meeting came as Ukraine asked the United States and other key members of the UN Security Council to help safeguard its territorial integrity after Russia announced plans to send armed forces into the country's autonomous Crimea region.
Seen leaving the White House after the meeting were Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, CIA Director John Brennan, General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and James Clapper, director of national intelligence.
20.35 Details emerging from the UN Security Council meeting, held in New York and convened at the request of Britain.
Ukraine has asked the United States and other key members of the U.N. Security Council to help safeguard its territorial integrity after Russia announced plans to send armed forces into the country's autonomous Crimea region.
Yuriy Sergeyev, Ukraine's ambassador to the UN, said:
We can stop the expansion of this aggression.
Now what we are doing is we are addressing for other guarantors (of Ukraine's sovereignty) - the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and China - to perform their guarantees.
Still there is a possibility for world leaders to speak with (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin and prevent ... the further deterioration of the situation.
20.20 TWO RUSSIAN ANTI-SUBMARINE WARSHIPS APPEAR OFF UKRAINE COAST NEAR SEVASTOPOL, VIOLATING AGREEMENT ON NAVAL BASE - UKRAINIAN MILITARY SOURCE TELLS INTERFAX
20.07 It would appear that the UN Security Council meeting is not going to plan...
sangwonyoon Sangwon Yoon#UNSC meeting began 2:15pm EST, after 45 mins, no actual consultations or briefing happened as members can't agree on the mtng's format
19.00 The reaction to Putin's approval for military action is coming thick and fast now.
• From the EU - Catherine Ashton, foreign policy chief, says the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine must be respected.
• From Nato - Anders Fogh Rasmussen says Russia must respect Ukraine's sovereignty, including with regard to troop movements.
• From UN - Ban ki-Moon says he is "gravely concerned" and will talk to Putin shortly
• From the Czech republic - Milos Zeman, the president, recalled 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia and warned against creating "a deep ditch which cannot be filled for a generation."
• From the UK - David Cameron told Moscow there is "no excuse" for military intervention in Ukraine as he reiterated warnings that the "world is watching".
• From France - Francois Hollande urges the avoidance of "a highly dangerous escalation."
• From Germany - Angela Merkel said what is happening in Crimea was cause for concern.
18.59 ACTING UKRAINIAN PRESISDENT SAYS RUSSIA WANTS FULL DESTABILISATION OF SITUATION IN UKRAINE - PARLIAMENTARY WEBSITE
18.58 RUSSIAN PARLAIMENTARY SPEAKER TELLS UKRAINE'S LEADER MOSCOW COULD RESPOND MILITARILY IF UKRAINE USES FORCE AGAINST PEACEFUL CITIZENS IN EAST AND CRIMEA - URKAINE PARLIAMENT WEBSITE
18.53 Breaking (unconfirmed) news from Simferopol, capital of Crimea:
A leader of the Ukrainian radical group Pravy Sektor (Right Sector), Dmitry Yarosh, has called on Russia’s most wanted terrorist Doku Umarov to act against Russia in an address posted on Right Sector’s page in VKontakte social network.
Britain Summons Russian Ambassador; Russian Ambassador To US May Be Recalled
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/01/2014 12:03 -0500
While various organizations are scrambling to meet on short notice, or not so short if one is a European finance minister, the diplomatic fallout has begun with the summoning of the Russian Ambassador in Great Britain to the foreign office.
A man hold a Soviet-era military flag during a pro-Russian rally in Simferopol, Crimea, on February 28.
TEXT SIZE
By Ron Synovitz
February 28, 2014
With tensions rising in Crimea and pro-Russian forces controlling the peninsula's main airports, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has called on Russia to "not violate the Budapest Memorandum." So what is the "Budapest Memorandum" and what does it have to do with Crimea?
What exactly is the "Budapest Memorandum"?
The "Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances" is a diplomatic memorandum that was signed in December 1994 by Ukraine, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
It is not a formal treaty, but rather, a diplomatic document under which signatories made promises to each other as part of the denuclearization of former Soviet republics after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Under the memorandum, Ukraine promised to remove all Soviet-era nuclear weapons from its territory, send them to disarmament facilities in Russia, and sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Ukraine kept these promises.
In return, Russia and the Western signatory countries essentially consecrated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine as an independent state. They did so by applying the principles of territorial integrity and nonintervention in 1975 Helsinki Final Act -- a Cold War-era treaty signed by 35 states including the Soviet Union -- to an independent post-Soviet Ukraine.
Which principles in the Helsinki Final Act, reiterated in the "Budapest Memorandum," are relevant to the current situation in the Crimea?
In the "Budapest Memorandum," Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States promised that none of them would ever threaten or use force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine. They also pledged that none of them would ever use economic coercion to subordinate Ukraine to their own interest.
They specifically pledged they would refrain from making each other's territory the object of military occupation or engage in other uses of force in violation of international law.
All sides agreed that no such occupation or acquisition will be recognized as legal and that the signatories would "consult in the event a situation arises which raises a question concerning these commitments."
Is there anything legally binding about the "Budapest Memorandum" regarding Russia's obligations to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity?
"That's actually a much more complex question than it may sound. It is binding in international law, but that doesn't mean it has any means of enforcement," says Barry Kellman is a professor of law and director of the International Weapons Control Center at DePaul University's College of Law.
"The 'Budapest Memorandum' follows the Helsinki Final Act and essentially reiterates its provisions. There are confidence building measures and then a host of other broader obligations – primarily negative obligations. Don't interfere."
Kellman concludes that there are a host of other sources of international law that oblige Russia to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity -- including the provisions of the CSCE treaty and the UN Charter.
And the deluge of fast moving news items most of which are from today !
Ukraine Acting President Calls Emergency Meeting Of Security Chiefs; Russia Threatens To Cut Off The Gas
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/01/2014 10:35 -0500
All the dominoes are tumbling now. Moments after the Russian upper house of parliament approved the decision to use Russian troops in the Ukraine as expected, Ukraine's acting president called an emergency meeting of security chiefs according to his spokeswoman. Oleksander Turchinov summoned his Security Council after Russian President Vladimir Putin sought parliamentary approval to deploy Russian forces in the Ukrainian region of Crimea. At this point the biggest and perhaps final wildcard is whether NATO does or does not get involved. If it does, and if Russia does not back off - which it has clearly telegraphed it won't - futures may be looking at a limit down open on Sunday.
And while military escalation is now an official reality instead of merely YouTube clips of unidentified crap troops , Russia just sent another major warning shot across the bow when it issued several warnings on Saturday that Ukraine may lose a discount to the gas price it now pays to Gazprom due to Kiev's outstanding gas debt. Russia's state gas company Gazprom estimates Ukraine's outstanding gas debt at $1.55 billion for 2013 and gas deliveries so far this year. This of course, was Russia's trump card from the very beginning. Via Reuters:
"It seems that with such gas payments and fulfilment of its obligations Ukraine may not keep its current gas discount. The gas discount agreement assumed full and timely payment," Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov told Reuters.
A price increase would deepen Ukraine's already dire cash situation and could lead to a new "gas war" between Kiev and Moscow as well as interrupt gas shipments to Europe, which gets around third of its gas from Russia.
In December, Russia agreed to reduce gas prices for Kiev by about a third, to $268.50 per 1,000 cubic metres from around $400 which Ukraine had paid since 2009, after ousted President Viktor Yanukovich spurned an EU trade deal in favour of closer ties to Moscow.
The deal allowed for the price to be revised quarterly between the 5th and 10th day of the first month every quarter.
The news agency Interfax cited a representative of the Russian energy ministry as saying on Saturday that Moscow sees no reason to extend the discount to Ukraine for the second quarter - because of the outstanding debt.
"If this continues to happen, is there any point in continuing the existing agreement on gas supplies at discount prices? No," the agency cited an unnamed ministry representative as saying.
"It is important that the proposal for a reduced gas price is confirmed quarterly. It would be stupid and wrong to extend it to the second quarter."
Ukraine's newly appointed Energy Minister Yuri Prodan told reporters on Saturday that the price for Russian gas would stay unchanged in March but it could jump to around $400 per 1,000 cubic metres in the second quarter if the two sides fail to sign an agreement.
Ukraine, which has seen its currency spiralling down and cash and gold reserves falling significantly as a result of the political protests that led to the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovich last weekend, is in dire need of cash.
It faces a further $6 billion in foreign debt payments this year and has asked the International Monetary Fund for financial assistance of at least $15 billion. Ukraine's newly appointed leaders estimated Kiev's needs at around $35 billion.
Prodan told journalists that the Ukrainian energy firm Naftogas is in "active talks" with Gazprom over pricing. Ukraine consumes about 55 billion cubic meters of gas each year, and more than half of this amount is imported from Russia.
But far more important than Ukraine, which is merely a sacrificial lamb in the latest proxy war between east and west, is the Russian hint that what is likely to happen to Ukraine's gas may soon hit Europe too if it also gets involved.
Apart from through Ukraine, Russian gas flows to Europe via Belarus and two subsea pipelines - under the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea. Gazprom plans to build another subsea pipeline - the South Stream - to bypass Ukraine by 2016.
So check to you NATO: will you defend the territorial integrity of Ukraine even as NATO actively pushed for a split in Yugoslavia some 15 years ago, or will it do the "right" thing... in the dark?
Pro-Russian Protesters Storm Kharkiv City Administration Building; Klitschko Calls For General Mobilization
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/01/2014 11:17 -0500
Even as Russia has officially deployed its military to the Ukraine, its unofficial involvement in The Crimean was well known for days. A much more notable development would be if protesters in the pro-Russian eastern part of the country were to seize control of the second largest city in the Ukraine, Kharkiv, located just miles from the Russian border as this would quickly give Russia a foothold into the east of the nation with the tactical escalation abilities such a takeover would entail. Which is why the following clip of pro-Russian protesters storming the city administration in Kharkiv is of importance: should Ukraine lose control of the city, or is forced to use troops against the people, it would be just the pretext Russia needs to "defend" citizens in this part of the country, the same argument it used for military intervention in the Crimean.
And in other news, Ukrainian boxer, vocal leader of the EuroMeidan opposition movement and potential future president, Vitali Klitschko just called for a general mobilization. After all he has the most to lose if the countercoup quickly sweeps away from power those who organized the original coup in the first place. From Reuters:
Vitaly Klitschko, a senior Ukrainian politician and likely presidential candidate, called on Saturday for a "general mobilisation" following Russian parliament's decision to approve deploying troops in Ukraine's Crimea region.
"Klitschko calls for a declaration on a general mobilisation," the retired boxing champion's political party UDAR (Punch) said, making clear he favoured a military mobilisation.
Finally, the world's most useless organizations, the UN and European finance ministers, are pretending to be relevant:
UN SECURITY COUNCIL TO MEET 2PM TODAY TO DISCUSS UKRAINE
EUROPEAN FOREIGN MINISTERS TO HOLD EMERGENCY MEETING ON UKRAINE IN BRUSSELS ON MONDAY -EU DIPLOMAT
Time for another Obama appearance to explain just what the "costs" that he mentioned are in his opinion. Because Putin seems to have missed the message.
Senators suggest recalling Russia’s ambassador from US over Obama speech
Russian senators are going to ask President Vladimir Putin to consider recalling Moscow’s Ambassador to the US following President Barack Obama’s “aggressive” comments on the situation in Ukraine, the speaker of the chamber said.
The upper house of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council, has ordered the committee on international affairs to apply to Putin and ask him to recall the ambassador, the house’s speaker Valentina Matvienko said.
“The president will consider the appeal and make a decision,” she said.
The initiative was voiced by the Federation Council’s vice speaker, Yury Vorobiev, who referred to the American leader’s recent speech, where he said that Russia would have to pay for its policies in Ukraine. In Vorobiev’s opinion, Obama “crossed the red line and insulted the Russian people” and his words were a “direct threat.”
As Moscow’s master plan for Ukraine continued to unfold, Russian forces Saturday, March 1, staged their first attack on a Ukraine military installation in Crimea, while completing their takeover of the region and its severance from Ukraine. Interfax reported from a Ukrainian source that 20 soldiers had entered an anti-aircraft missile command post in western Crimea and that negotiations rather than a clash were under way.
Earlier Saturday, Crimea's new pro-Moscow prime minister Serhiy Aksyonov asked President Vladimir Putin for help in “maintaining peace in the region,” saying he was in control of the region’s interior ministry, armed forces, fleet and border guards.
The invitation set the scene for Russian military intervention in Crimea at the request of its government. Moscow said the appeal would not go “unnoticed," while the Russian foreign ministry declared itself “extremely concerned” by developments in Crimea – cynically echoing US President Barack Obama’s expression Friday of “deep concern” about Russian military movements inside Ukraine and his warning of “costs.”
The Crimean premier, appointed Thursday by parliament in Simferopol, later announced that a referendum would be held on March 30 to determine the peninsula’s status. Meanwhile, he said, Russian Black Sea fleet servicemen were guarding important buildings.
In Kiev, interim defense minister Igor Tenyukh, addressing the first new cabinet’s first meeting, accused Russia of an armed invasion of Ukraine and pouring an additional 6,000 troops into the peninsula. Western correspondents reported that Crimea is now cut off from the rest of Ukraine after “unidentified troops” in combat fatigues, armed with automatic rifles, machine guns or RPGs, seized control of Crimea’s sea and air ports and its main road network in the last 24 hours. Interim Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk told the Kiev cabinet that Ukraine forces were on alert, but he would not be ”drawn into a military conflict by Russian provocations in the Crimea region.”
DEBKAfile’s military sources report that this announcement was hollow.
The 160,000-strong Ukrainian army is no match for the Russian army’s operational capabilities and fire power, although it too is equipped with Russian weapons and trained in Russian military tactics.
But above all, it is far from certain that the new authorities in Kiev control the Ukraine army. No one knows where the loyalties of its officers lie, whether with the new pro-European regime or the absconding pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych.
This confronts the troubled country with a fresh peril, a possible army putsch to oust the interim regime set up by the Ukraine opposition in Kiev, and its replacement with a military government for containing continuing Russian expansion beyond the borders of Crimea. The former Independence Square protesters would have no answer to this.
Moscow, while insisting that its military actions were not an invasion but a legal bid to protect its interests, has also moved to offset any financial assistance the West may offer Kiev. Russia's energy giant Gazprom bluntly warned Kiev that it had accumulated a "huge" debt of $1.5 billion for natural gas that needed to be urgently paid if the supply is to continue.
This is the exact amount of the loan guarantees the US and EU propose to offer the stony-broke Kiev authorities.
Along with US warnings to Moscow, a high alert was secretly declared Saturday by the US Mediterranean Sixth Fleet. Two US warships which had been deployed in the Black Sea to back up Russian security for the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi - the USS Taylor Frigate and the USS Mount Whitney Blue Ridge-class command ship - have moved over to the western side of the Black Sea opposite Crimea and facing the Russian navy base of Sevastopol.
The Mount Whitney is outfitted with sophisticated intelligence-gathering systems. Its current location means that ongoing Russian military movements across central, southern and western Russia, around its borders with Ukraine and inside the Crimean peninsula, are being monitored and beamed to the White House and the Pentagon. Obama’s response is anyone’s guess. So far, the only hints thrown out are that Western leaders are planning a boycott of the G8 summit Putin plans to host in Sochi this summer, in protest against Russia’s takeover of Crimea.
Putin Asks For, And Is Granted Permission By Parliament To Use Military In Ukraine
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/01/2014 09:11 -0500
Current US foreign policy in a nutshell: Barack Obama tells Vladimir Putin "there will be costs" if Russia invades Ukraine. What does Putin do? He invades Ukraine. Only this time it's official: AP reports that the Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked parliament for permission to use the country's military in Ukraine. Putin says the move is needed to protect ethnic Russians and the personnel of a Russian military base in Ukraine's strategic region of Crimea.
Vladimir Putin made an appeal to the Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.
"Due to the extraordinary situation on Ukraine , threatened the lives of citizens of the Russian Federation , our compatriots , the personnel of the military contingent of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation located in accordance with the international agreement on the territory of Ukraine ( Autonomous Republic of Crimea ) , on the basis of paragraph " d " part 1 of Article 102 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation am submitting to the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation appeal for use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine to the normalization of the political situation in this country. "
RIA further adds, the military use is virtually assured as it was leaders of Russia’s upper and lower houses of parliament who first called Saturday on President Vladimir Putin to stabilize the situation in Crimea and protect Russian citizens. The leader of Federation Council, Russia’s upper house, said the use of military force in the former Soviet nation could be justified after the opposition swept into power in Kiev last weekend.
More from the RT:
“In this situation it would even be possible, on the request of the Crimean government, to bring in a limited contingent [of troops] to guarantee security,” Valentina Matviyenko said.
The partition of Ukraine has become increasingly likely in recent days as heavily armed men understood to be Russian soldiers have taken control of key facilities and blocked roads in Crimea.
About 60 percent of the residents of Ukraine’s southern peninsula are ethnic Russians with the remainder of the population made up of Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, who largely support the incoming regime.
The State Duma, Russia’s lower house, released a similar statement Saturday that said must Putin bring the situation in Ukraine under control.
“All available means” should be deployed to protect Russian citizens, said Sergei Naryshkin, a former head of the presidential administration and the current parliamentery speaker in the Duma.
The Crimea has been visited by a series of Russian Duma deputies in recent days, including former boxing champion Nikolai Valuev, former figure skater Irina Rodnina, and the first woman in space Valentina Tereshkova.
Pro-Russian protests calling for secession have taken place sporadically across the southern and eastern Ukraine since President Viktor Yanukovuych was toppled from power a week ago.
Meanwhile, international media has reported widespread military movements, believed to be units from Russia's Black Sea fleet headquartered in Crimea, including tanks and helicopters that began on Tuesday. Ukrainian officials have accused the Kremlin of provoking conflict and called on Russia to return all soldiers to their bases.
And then this:
RUSSIAN FEDERATION COUNCIL AGREES TO PUTIN'S REQUEST FOR MILITARY INTERVENTION IN CRIMEA - DPA
Needless to say all of this is just for show: as we have been reporting for the past 4 days, Russian troops are long since in Ukraine.
More importantly, it appears Putin is not very concerned about the impact his actions will have on equity futures when they open for trading on Sunday evening. On the other hand, he certainly has a lot of concern to keep geopolitical events that keep the price of crude high, on the edge.
Proposed legislation, troop movements all point towards a push for reunification
Kit Daniels Infowars.com February 28, 2014
Russian lawmakers are proposing two bills that would simplify both the annexation of new territories into the Russian Federation and the process of granting Russian citizenship to Ukrainians, signaling that Moscow may attempt to absorb Crimea, Ukraine’s peninsula which has very strong ties to Russia.
The Russian battle cruiser Pyotr Velikiy sitting at dock. Credit: Digitaldarkroomcreator / Wiki
The lawmakers said that the annexation bill stems from Russia’s 1997 agreement with Ukraine to take necessary steps to prevent violence against citizens due to national, ethnic or religious affiliations.
In regards to the confirmed Russian troops in Crimea, the Russian foreign ministry said that they were there to “protect the Black Sea Fleet’s positions.”
In addition, unidentified armed men, dressed in military gear but without any visible insignia, seized two airports in Crimea last night, prompting news outlets to speculate that they were also Russian troops.
And considering the strong ties that Ukraine’s semi-autonomous peninsula has with Russia, it isn’t a stretch to suggest that Russia would be willing to wage war over Crimea.
“If Ukraine breaks apart, it will trigger a war,” an unidentified Russian official told the Financial Times. “They will lose Crimea first [because] we will go in and protect [it], just as we did in Georgia [in 2008].”
Russian President Vladimir Putin already ordered combat readiness drills involving 150,000 troops in western Russia near the Ukrainian border as well as around-the-clock fighter jet patrols on combat alert.
“Sevastopol’s city council handed power to Aleksei Chaliy, a Russian citizen, during an extraordinary session on Monday evening while more than a thousand protesters gathered around city hall chanting ’Russia, Russia, Russia,’ and ’A Russian mayor for a Russian city,’” Howard Amos reported for the Guardian.
Russia has been accused of sending 6,000 troops into the Ukraine despite calls by Britain and the US for Moscow to back off.
Tensions are rising amid reports that Russian and Ukranian troops are trying to gain control of key sites in the south-eastern region of Crimea.
The region has a prime minister loyal to Moscow but the government in Kiev has vowed to maintain the country's territorial integrity.
Russian soldiers are guarding buildings in Crimea it has been confirmed
Reports suggest that Russian troops are trying to occupy an anti-aircraft missile base and have taken control of airports in the peninsular.
Ukraine's border guard service said about 300 armed men were attempting to seize its main headquarters in the port city of Sevastopol.
Russian helicopter gunships have also been seen in Ukrainian airspace.
The pro-Moscow Prime Minister of Crimea, Sergei Aksenov, has appealed to Russia for help in keeping the peace there.
He has confirmed service personnel from Russia's Black Sea Fleet, which is based in Sevastopol, were guarding key buildings.
After unrest in Kiev, tensions have shifted to the Crimea region
But there were claims by Russia that armed gunmen from Kiev had been sent overnight to seize the offices of Crimea's interior ministry.
There was grainy footage of unidentified gunmen breaking into a building, with smoke rising and reports that people had been "wounded".
Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement: "As a result of the treacherous provocation, there are wounded.
"With decisive actions by self-defence groups, the attempt to seize the interior ministry building was averted.
A soldier stands next to a sign that says: "Crimea Russia"
"This confirms the desire of prominent political circles in Kiev to destabilise the peninsula."
In what appears to be an orchestrated move, a referendum on whether residents in Crimea want greater independence from Ukraine has been brought forward by two months to March 30.
Russia's Lower House of Parliament, the Duma, has called on President Vladimir Putin "to take measures to stabilise the situation in Crimea".
And in a further ratcheting up of pressure on Ukraine, Russia said it saw "no reason" to extend a previously agreed gas discount due to unpaid debts.
To add to Ukraine's financial woes, the country's finance minister said it is unlikely to receive financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund before April due to the continuing turmoil.
A man holds a Soviet Navy flag next to an armed patrol in Simferopol
US President Barack Obama has warned Moscow that any military intervention in Ukraine would be "deeply destabilising".
British Foreign Secretary William Hague says he has spoken to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov calling for a de-escalation in Crimea, and respect for Ukraine sovereignty.
France and Germany have also raised concerns over developments in Ukraine.
Ukraine's Prime Minister said his country would not be drawn into a military conflict by Russian "provocations", and appealed to Moscow to halt military movements in the region.
Arseny Yatseniuk said: "It is unacceptable when armoured Russian military vehicles are out in the centre of Ukrainian towns."
Mr Obama has called on Russia to respect the independence and territory of Ukraine.
"Any violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity would be deeply destabilising," he said.
"The United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine."
Mr Hague will visit the country on Sunday and hold talks with Ukraine's new leaders.
Crimea has become a flashpoint for tensions between Russia and Ukraine after the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovych, a Moscow ally, following months of protests which escalated into deadly violence.
Ukraine's population is divided in loyalties between Russia and the West, with much of western Ukraine advocating closer ties with the European Union while eastern and southern regions look to Russia for support.
Crimea has 2.3 million inhabitants, most of whom identify themselves as ethnic Russians and speak Russian.
Ukraine turmoil LIVE UPDATES
Published time: February 18, 2014 15:03 Edited time: March 01, 2014 13:02
The Ukrainian parliament in Kiev has formed a new government while the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, home to a Russian majority, has announced plans to hold a referendum on its future amid ongoing turmoil following last week’s violence in Kiev.
Saturday, March 1
13:09 GMT:
Ukraine's acting president signed a decree on Saturday declaring the appointment of a pro-Russia premier in the Crimea region illegal.
Sergey Aksyonov was appointed in Crimea this week after armed men took over the regional parliament. The presidential decree said the decision had violated the Ukrainian constitution. It gave no details. (Reuters)
13:04 GMT:
Russian flags have also reportedly been raised in the cities of Melitopol, Yevpatoria and Mariupol.
13:03 GMT:
Ukraine’s border service is taking “urgent steps” to prevent the “seizure” of its sea watch base and ships located in Sevastopol, Itar-Tass reports, citing the service’s press office. “All the ships are going to sea ready for action,” the service added. The alert signal came after several armed people were reportedly seen not far from the base.
12:59 GMT:
Thousands protest in the eastern city of Kharkov against the self-proclaimed authorities in Kiev. Protesters tried to seize the regional governor's headquarters and some broke in and raised the Russian flag.
Unknown armed men from Kiev have tried to seize the Crimean Interior Ministry overnight, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It's as Crimea's PM urges Russia to help cope with the crisis, ensuring "peace and calm" in the region.
“Thanks to the decisive action of self-defense squads, the attempt to seize the building of the Interior Ministry was derailed. This attempt confirms the intention of prominent political circles in Kiev to destabilize the situation on the peninsula,” the statement added.
"We believe it is extremely irresponsible to further pressure the already tense situation in the Crimea," the ministry stated stressing its concerns over the latest developments in the region.
Earlier, Crimea's Prime Minister Sergey Aksyonov declared that firearms have been used in the clashes in the region, Itar-Tass news agency reported. The PM said the local Ministers' Council and Supreme Court came under an attack.
He said he would temporarily manage all national security forces in the region, including police, emergency services and the Interior Ministry.
“All chiefs of staff should follow my orders. As for those who disagree, I ask them to leave the service,” Aksyonov said in an urgent statement to the region’s security forces.
Aksyonov said he had asked Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to “help ensure peace and calm on the territory of the autonomous region.” The request, the premier said, was due to “the understanding of the responsibility for the life and safety of the residents.”
Russian MPs urge Putin to react to Crimea crisis
A source in the Kremlin administration replied, “Russia won’t ignore that address,” Russian news agencies reported. Later in the day, both chambers of the Russian parliament asked Putin to take measures to ensure stability in Crimea.
"The Duma Council adopted an appeal to the president of Russia, in which parliamentarians are calling on the president to take measures to stabilize the situation in Crimea and use all available means to protect the people of Crimea from tyranny and violence," said Lower House speaker Sergey Naryshkin.
The State Duma also said that currently it is impossible to conduct legitimate and democratic elections in Ukraine due to actions of “radical forces.”
The Upper Chamber of the Russian Parliament admitted a limited number of Russian troops could be brought to Crimea to ensure safety, speaker Valentina Matvienko said.
“It’s possible in this situation, complying with a request by the Crimean government, even to bring a limited contingent of our troops to ensure the safety of the Black Sea Fleet and the Russian citizens living on the Crimea territory. The decision is for the president, the chief military commander, to make of course. But today, taking the situation into account, even that variant can’t be excluded. We need to protect the people,” Matvienko said.
In their turn, Ukraine’s self-proclaimed authorities urged Moscow to “withdraw troops and comply with bilateral agreements” and “resolve the crisis peacefully and politically,” interim President Arseny Yatsenyuk said.
This comes despite Russia’s repeated statements that all military operations in the region fall within in the framework of the agreement that concerns the Russian naval base in the Black Sea.
Although Western politicians and the media have expressed concern over Russia’s alleged involvement in Crimea, they have not been able to produce any solid evidence. A US State Department spokeswoman told a press conference they have no confirmation of “intervention” in Crimea.
So far, Moscow and the Crimean authorities have agreed to guard objects belonging to the Russian Black Sea Fleet, whose main base is located in Sevastopol, according to RIA Novosti.
Crimeans began protesting after the new self-proclaimed government in Kiev introduced a law abolishing the use of other languages in official circumstances in Ukraine. More than half the Crimean population are Russian and use only this language for their communication. The residents have announced they are going to hold a referendum on March 30 to determine the fate of the Ukrainian autonomous region.
From Mish.....
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/02/inside-ukraine-mish-reader-who-speaks.html Ukrainian Language Usage
Comments by Jacob got me interested in who speaks what, where? Here is an interesting chart from Wikipedia on usage of Russian Language vs. Ukrainian language.
The problem is obvious. There is a serious chance Ukraine splits in two. If it doesn't issues can fester for years, if not decades.
[ Editors Note: Mr. Engdahl brings us a timely and background filled article on the fast moving target that the Ukraine story has become.
Corporate media has been in the bag all the way on this one, hiding all the relationships they don't want us to see, and then putting out reams of Russia bashing propaganda to flea train us to respond accordingly.
It may be time for us to require all mass media to have to disclose on their main stories what major Intel agency has asked them to push a particular story line. Those who don't know the Mossad assets operating right out of their editorial offices, like in Canada, we will be happy to point out a few to them, like the big one in Toronto.
You will read below that this subversion of the Ukraine has been many years in the making, and with some very slimy people involved. And Obama has some explaining to do as to why he has taken over the Bush (43) NeoCon coup offensive foreign policy attacks on these countries.
This is a campaign that the American people have been hoodwinked on. We find the same Congressional people involved who always rubber stamp AIPAC proposals, and we find pro-Israeli Jewish State Department people always showing up in the key positions creating mayhem which is at the top of the Likud Parties 'to do' list.
And yes, AIPAC does moonlight to help cover expenses by running a 'Rent-a-Congressman' operation...the 'anything goes' kind. Check the itinerary of shills like Senator John McQaeda and you will have a good example to follow.
A career analysis of many of these top State Dept. people shows the typical deep infiltration background grooming done during the Cold War, top schooling, Intel teams working on thesis work, mentoring, and ghost writing books for them, and rigged top scholarship 'awards'.
‘Marching for _______?”
All this ‘prep work’ sets them up for top government interning slots, and then out to some think tank resume polishing, where media friends build up recognition for them as up and coming talent.
But it is all an Intel operation to move them into a key slot during an administration turnover.
Democrat or Republican makes no difference as there are separate bull pens for each. When one party is out of power, these folks just retreat to their think tank safe-havens to wait for the next turnover.
If you think our government belongs to you, then you are sleep-walking. It doesn’t, and everyone in Congress knows it. They are all play acting, but we don’t have to play along… Jim W. Dean ]
________________________________
Russsians will no longer be reactive, but proactive
The events in Ukraine since November 2013 are so astonishing as almost to defy belief. An legitimately-elected (said by all international monitors) Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovich, has been driven from office, forced to flee as a war criminal after more than three months of violent protest and terrorist killings by so-called opposition.
His “crime” according to protest leaders was that he rejected an EU offer of a vaguely-defined associate EU membership that offered little to Ukraine in favor of a concrete deal with Russia that gave immediate €15 billion debt relief and a huge reduction in Russian gas import prices. Washington at that point went into high gear and the result today is catastrophe.
A secretive neo-nazi military organization reported linked to NATO played a decisive role in targeted sniper attacks and violence that led to the collapse of the elected government. But the West is not finished with destroying Ukraine. Now comes the IMF with severe conditionalities as prerequisite to any Western financial help.
After the famous leaked phone call of US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland with the US Ambassador in Kiev, where she discussed the details of who she wanted in a new coalition government in Kiev, and where she rejected the EU solutions with her “Fuck the EU” comment,i the EU went it alone.
Germany’s Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier proposed that he and his French counterpart, Laurent Fabius, fly to Kiev and try to reach a resolution of the violence before escalation. Polish Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski was asked to join. The talks in Kiev included the EU delegation, Yanukovich, the three opposition leaders and a Russian representative. The USA was not invited.ii
Once again we find the heavily infiltrated US State Dept having pro Israeli assets involved in regime change operations
The EU intervention without Washington was extraordinary and reveals the deeping division between the two in recent months. In effect it was the EU saying to the US State Department, “F*** the US,” we will end this ourselves.
After hard talks, all major parties including the majority of protesters, agreed to new presidential elections in December, return to the 2004 Constitution and release of Julia Tymoshenko from prison.
The compromise appeared to end the months long chaos and give a way out for all major players. The diplomatic compromise lasted less than twelve hours. Then all hell broke loose.
Snipers began shooting into the crowd on February 22 in Maidan or Independence Square. Panic ensued and riot police retreated in panic according to eyewitnesses. The opposition leader Vitali Klitschko withdrew from the deal, no reason given. Yanukovich fled Kiev.iii
The question unanswered until now is who deployed the snipers? According to veteran US intelligence sources, the snipers came from an ultra-right-wing military organization known as Ukrainian National Assembly – Ukrainian People’s Self-Defense (UNA-UNSO).
____________________________
Strange Ukraine ‘Nationalists’
Andriy Shkil
The leader of UNA-UNSO, Andriy Shkil, ten years ago became an adviser to Julia Tymoshenko. UNA-UNSO, during the US-instigated 2003-4 “Orange Revolution,” backed pro-NATO candidate Viktor Yushchenko against his pro-Russian opponent, Yanukovich.
UNA-UNSO members provided security for the supporters of Yushchenko and Julia Tymoshenko on Independence Square in Kiev in 2003-4.iv
UNA-UNSO is also reported to have close ties to the German National Democratic Party (NDP). v
Ever since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 the crack-para-military UNA-UNSO members have been behind every revolt against Russian influence. The one connecting thread in their violent campaigns is always anti-Russia. The organization, according to veteran US intelligence sources, is part of a secret NATO “Gladio” organization, and not a Ukraine nationalist group as portrayed in western media. vi
According to these sources, UNA-UNSO have been involved (confirmed officially) in the Lithuanian events in the Winter of 1991, the Soviet Coup d’etat in Summer 1991, the war for the Pridnister Republic 1992, the anti-Moscow Abkhazia War 1993, the Chechen War, the US-organized Kosovo Campaign Against the Serbs, and the August 8 2008 war in Georgia.
According to these reports, UNA-UNSO para-military have been involved in every NATO dirty war in the post-cold war period, always fighting on behalf of NATO. “These people are the dangerous mercenaries used all over the world to fight NATO’s dirty war, and to frame Russia because this group pretends to be Russian special forces. THESE ARE THE BAD GUYS, forget about the window dressing nationalists, these are the men behind the sniper rifles,” these sources insist. vii
US State Dept. and John McCain of course, recruiting Ukranian Nazis for new terror destabilization programs
If true that UNA-UNSO is not “Ukrainian” opposition, but rather a highly secret NATO force using Ukraine as base, it would suggest that the EU peace compromise with the moderates was likely sabotaged by the one major player excluded from the Kiev 21 February diplomatic talks—Victoria Nuland’s State Department.viii
Both Nuland and right-wing Republican US Senator John McCain have had contact with the leader of the Ukrainian opposition Svoboda Party, whose leader is openly anti-semitic and defends the deeds of a World War II Ukrainian SS-Galicia Division head.ix
The party was registered in 1995, initially calling itself the “Social National Party of Ukraine” and using a swastika style logo. Svoboda is the electoral front for neo-nazi organizations in Ukraine such as UNA-UNSO.x
One further indication that Nuland’s hand is shaping latest Ukraine events is the fact that the new Ukrainian Parliament is expected to nominate Nuland’s choice, Arseny Yatsenyuk, from Tymoshenko’s party, to be interim head of the new Cabinet.
Whatever the final truth, clear is that Washington has prepared a new economic rape of Ukraine using its control over the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
___________________________
IMF plunder of Ukraine Crown Jewels
America’s new Allies – the new Ukranian SS
Now that the “opposition” has driven a duly-elected president into exile somewhere unknown, and dissolved the national riot police, Berkut, Washington has demanded that Ukraine submit to onerous IMF conditionalities.
In negotiations last October, the IMF demanded that Ukraine double prices for gas and electricity to industry and homes, that they lift a ban on private sale of Ukraine’s rich agriculture lands, make a major overhaul of their economic holdings, devalue the currency, slash state funds for school children and the elderly to “balance the budget.” In return Ukraine would get a paltry $4 billion.
Before the ouster of the Moscow-leaning Yanukovich government last week, Moscow was prepared to buy some $15 billion of Ukraine debt and to slash its gas prices by fully one-third. Now, understandably, Russia is unlikely to give that support.
The economic cooperation between Ukraine and Moscow was something Washington was determined to sabotage at all costs. This drama is far from over. The stakes involve the very future of Russia, the EU-Russian relations, and the global power of Washington, or at least that faction in Washington that sees further wars as the prime instrument of policy.
And this is just an interesting item to consider ........ a full blown shooting War between the West and Russia would make even the S&P pumpfest pause , one would believe !
We understand that Doomsday predictions are aplenty these days, but given what’s going on around the world right now it may be time to revisit the eerily prescient forecast of an elite insider.
Image: NYSE (Wikimedia Commons).
Grady Means is a former advisor to Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, a former economist at the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and has managed multi-billion dollar firms over his career. Back in October of 2012 Means penned a commentary and analysis for the Washington Times in which he noted that “America’s fall will take global economies with it.”
But he didn’t stop there. Means gave us a target date.
There is a very large probability that the real end of the world will occur around March 4, 2014.
The doomsday clock will ring then because the U.S. economy may fully crash around that date, which will, in turn, bring down all world economies and all hope of any recovery for the foreseeable future — certainly over the course of most of our lifetimes. Interest rates will skyrocket, businesses will fail, unemployment will go to record levels, material and food shortages will be rampant, and there could be major social unrest.
Any wishful thinking that America is in a “recovery” and that “things are getting better” is an illusion.
…
The central issue is confidence in America, and the world is losing confidence quickly. At a certain point, soon, the United States will reach a level of deficit spending and debt at which the countries of the world will lose faith in America and begin to withdraw their investments. Many leading economists and bankers think another trillion dollars or so may do it. A run on the bank will start suddenly, build quickly and snowball.
At that point, we will need to finance our own deficit, and we will not be able to do so. We will raise bond rates to re-attract foreign investment, interest rates will go up, and businesses will fail. Unemployment will skyrocket.
The rest of the world will fully crash along with us.
There’s a sentiment among those on Main Street, and as of today on Wall Street, that there is a major disconnect between company stock valuations and economic activity in the real world.
Despite their best efforts to convince us that we’re in a recovery, the establishment is running into a problem… reality.
This morning we learned that the Institute for Supply Management monthly report went kaboom, showing a large contraction in new production, indicating that retailers are pulling back on stocking their shelves. Perhaps the ISM report has something to do with consumer sentiment, which according to today’s Gallup survey on consumer spending suggests consumers are cutting costs wherever possible.
But that’s not all. Even the largest retailer in the world is having problems and seeing negative growth. Walmart announced that last November’s cuts to food stamp recipients hurt their fourth quarter sales, adding further credence to the notion that without direct government bailouts the stability of America’s companies comes into question.
Need we even mention that over 100 million Americans are not in the labor force, or that five million people may lose their unemployment benefits by the end of this year?
And, of course, let’s not forget that we’ve created more debt as a nation in the last five years than in all of the years from our country’s founding through the year 2008 combined.
Those investing in financial markets have certainly taken note. On top of the 326 point decline in the Dow Jones today, the market is down a combined 1,000 points from its peak just a month ago. And, with three well known bankers committing suicide in the last week, people are starting to pay attention.
No one really knows exactly why the market is falling or what happens next, but if you’re going to consider any prediction on the future of the financial and economic sector, why not consider what the elite have to say about it?
If there is a major financial collapse in the works as we speak, then Grady Means’ prediction should scare the hell out of you. If he’s right, then this isn’t just going to be a market crash.
We could well be facing the beginnings of an all-out financial Armageddon that will make 2008 look like a brief warm up.
This collapse, as noted by the US Treasury Department and Grady Means, is going to have generational effects – a depressive economic environment for our entire lifetimes.
We had a reader recently comment about the coming collapse. She warned that preparing for a weeks- or months-long emergency is insufficient. She suggested that perhaps we need to consider the worst case scenario: years of joblessness, destitution and depression.
It’s happened before and it was so bad that we still talk about the Great Depression to this day.
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/01/2014 16:50 -0500
A man hold a Soviet-era military flag during a pro-Russian rally in Simferopol, Crimea, on February 28.
We can stop the expansion of this aggression.
No comments:
Post a Comment