http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-11/89-donetsk-voters-pick-independence-kiev-ukraine-warns-prepared-fight-defend-territo
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/11/2014 16:58 -0400
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/11/2014 15:08 -0400
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/11/2014 12:58 -0400
http://rt.com/news/158184-kiev-attack-referendum-lugansk/
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-11/east-ukraine-votes-independence-turnout-reported-charts
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/11/2014 09:17 -0400
Itar Tass - voting updates....
http://rt.com/news/158160-lugansk-donetsk-referendum-vote/
89% Of Donetsk Voters Pick Independence From Kiev; Ukraine Prepared To Fight To Defend Territory
The east Ukraine referendum is over, and as widely expected, the vast majority have picked independence. From AFP's Marc Burleigh:
Caught On Tape: Ukrainian National Guardsmen Shooting At Crowd In East Ukraine Referendum Town
With the referendum vote largely concluded in most east Ukraine regions, it was virtually inevitable that the day would end without some provocation. And, as expected, moments ago CBS reported that "Ukrainian national guardsmen opened fire Sunday on a crowd outside a town hall in eastern Ukraine and an official for the region's insurgents said there were fatalities."
The details:
The bloodshed in the town of Krasnoarmeisk occurred hours after dozens of guardsmen shut down voting in a referendum on sovereignty for the region.An Associated Press photographer who witnessed the shooting said two people were seen lying unmoving on the ground and insurgent leader Denis Pushilin was quoted by the ITAR-Tass news agency as saying there were an unspecified number of deaths.Several hours earlier, guardsmen came to the town about 20 miles from the regional capital, Donetsk, and dispersed referendum voting that was taking place outside the town hall and they took control of the building. In the evening, more guardsmen arrived in a van and a scuffle broke out with people who were gathered around the building. Then the guardsmen fired shots.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-11/400-blackwater-mercs-deployed-ukraine-against-separatists-german-press-reports
400 Blackwater Mercs Deployed In Ukraine Against Separatists, German Press Reports
In what is becoming a weekly ritual, the German press continues to demolish the US case of "idealistic humaniatrian" Ukraine intervention. Recall, that it was a week ago that German tabloid Bild am Sonntag, hardly the most reputable source but certainly one which reaches the broadest audience, reported that dozens of CIA and FBI agents were "advising the Ukraine government." This conclusion is hardly a stretch and certainly based on facts considering the recent semi-secret jaunt by CIA head Brennan to Kiev. Fast forward one week when overnight the same Bild reported that about 400 elite mercenary commandos of the private US security firm, Academi, f/k/a Xe Services, f/k/a Blackwater "are involved in a punitive operation mounted by Ukraine's new government" against east Ukraine separatists.
Bild cites sources who report that on April 29, Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND) informed the Angela Merkel government about Academi commandos' involvement in Kiev's military operations in eastern Ukraine.Spiegel adds that "the information originates from U.S. intelligence services and was presented during a meeting chaired by the Chancellor's Office chief Peter Altmaier (CDU). At the meeting were present the president of the intelligence agencies and the Federal Criminal Office, as well as the intelligence coordinator of the Chancellor's Office and senior Ministry officials."
Bild am Sontag did not have information about who was paying the Blackwater commandos: it is well-known they do not come cheap.
RT has more:
In March, media reports appeared suggesting that the coup-imposed government in Kiev could have employed up to 300 mercenaries.That was before the new government launched a military operation against anti-Maidan activists, or “terrorists” as Kiev put it, in southeast Ukraine.At the time, the Russian Foreign Ministry said then that reports claiming Kiev was planning to involve “involve staff from foreign military companies to ‘ensure the rule of law,’” could suggest that it wanted “to suppress civil protests and dissatisfaction.”In particular, Greystone Limited, which is currently registered in Barbados and is a part of Academi Corporation, is a candidate for such a gendarme role. It is a similar and probably an affiliated structure of the Blackwater private army, whose staff have been accused of cruel and systematic violations of human rights in various trouble spots on many occasions.“Among the candidates for the role of gendarme is the Barbados-registered company Greystone Limited, which is integrated with the Academi corporation,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “It is an analogue, and, probably and affiliated body of the Blackwater private army, whose employees have repeatedly been accused of committing grievous and systematic human rights abuses in different troubled regions.”
As this is not the first time Academi has been implicated in the Ukraine, its canned response is already prepared. This is what it said back on March 17:
Some irresponsible bloggers and an online reporter have recently posted rumors that ACADEMI employees (operating under the name of Blackwater) are present in Ukraine. They are not and ACADEMI has no relationship with any entity named Blackwater or with the former owner of Blackwater, Erik Prince. Such unfounded statements combined with the lack of factual reporting to support them and the lack of context about the company, are nothing more than sensationalistic efforts to create hysteria and headlines in times of genuine crisis.The basics: Those who understand the facts know that Erik Prince sold the company (which he had renamed 'Xe') in 2010 and retained the rights to the 'Blackwater' name. The new management of ACADEMI has made tremendous efforts to build a responsible, transparent company ethos, evidenced by the numerous awards ACADEMI has received for being among the most compliant companies in our industry. More information can be found here.
Sure enough, moments ago the soldier for hire company followed up with a second denial, when as German Zeit reported, "the U.S. security services denied a ZEIT ONLINE report, that it has put mercenaries in Ukraine."
Of course, since no western entity, and certainly not the company itself, would ever admit its involvement in the Ukraine as it would promptly crash the official US foreign policy track claiming US non-involvement in Ukraine, none of this is surprising.
Readers may have greater luck inquiring Blackwater directly via their Twitter account. After all #AskJPM was such a smashing success we don't see a reason why #AskBlackwater wouldn't work just as well.
Finally, in this proxy war between west and east, to believe that the US won't throw everything it can at Putin is naive, and as such the involvement of trained US mercenaries in Ukraine is beyond debate.
However what is certainly surprising and far more interesting, is the persistent attempts by the German press to discredit none other than their biggest "Developed world" ally, the US. It is almost as if someone (a quite wealthy and powerful someone) has material interests that diverge with those of the Obama administration, and hence converge with those of Putin. Alongside the emerging China-Russia axis, keeping tabs on just how close to Russia Germany is willing to get, is easily the most notable story in the entire Ukraine conflict.
Kiev’s troops roll through E.Ukraine in ‘bid to disrupt voting’ – self-defense forces
A town in the Lugansk region has come under attack by Kiev's APCs, while in the Donetsk region Ukrainian troops have seized four polling stations, self-defense forces claim. This comes as autonomy referendums kick off in the country's southeast.
“Around 15 APCs have come near Novoaydar,” Aleksey Chmilenko said. “Our self-defense guards are trying to stop the attack and prevent the vehicles moving farther in the direction of Lugansk.”
Novoaydar election commission was reportedly evacuated by self-defense activists, after it had been attacked by National Guard troops.
At the same time, representatives of another Lugansk region self-defense group, based in Krasny Luch, told RT that they have seen APCs in the region, but have not heard any fighting yet.
Reports of sightings of Ukrainian APCs in various towns and villages in Lugansk region have been coming in throughout the day. One report said that as many as 45 APCs and two helicopters were moving from the Kharkov region in the direction of Lugansk.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-11/east-ukraine-votes-independence-turnout-reported-charts
East Ukraine Votes For Independence: Turnout Reported "Off The Charts"
The most significant geopolitical event of the day is the east Ukraine independence referendum taking place in various cities across the region, less than two months after the Crimean case study which saw the region split away from Ukraine and join Russia, despite the fervent warnings by Kiev and the west that the result of the "rigged election" would not be accepted by anyone. As it turned out then, it only needed to be accepted by Russia which promptly took over the Black Sea territory.
Today's vote is a carbon copy of what happened in Crimea, with the locals almost certain to vote in Independence from Kiev (even over Putin's "objections" who has managed to distance himself from the vote if quite willingly will accept its outcome), followed by another vote that annexes east Ukraine (and subsequently Transnistria) to Russia, promptly followed by the adoption of the Ruble as the regional currency.
All while the west once again, in a desperate example of futility does nothing, but merely warns of more "costs", sanctions and claims this too referendum was illegal. The same west which, as a reminder had no problem with a violent voup in Kiev three months ago despite a signed agreement by western leaders that saw the existing government in power until late 2014. The same west which now sternly refuses to recognize what, at least superficially, is a democratic referendum.
For the details of what happens on the ground, we go to Reuters:
Separatist rebels pressed ahead with a referendum on self-rule in east Ukraine on Sunday and fighting flared anew in a conflict that has raised fears of civil war and pitched Russia and the West into their worst crisis since the Cold War.In Mariupol, scene of fierce fighting last week, there were only eight polling centres for half a million people. Queues grew to hundreds of metres in bright sunshine, the event taking on an almost festive atmosphere as one polling station overflowed and ballot boxes were brought out onto the street.Clashes broke out around a television tower on the outskirts of the rebel stronghold of Slaviansk shortly before voters made their way to polling stations through streets blocked by barricades of felled trees, tyres and rusty machinery."I wanted to come as early as I could," said Zhenya Denyesh, a 20-year-old student, second to vote at a concrete three-storey university building. "We all want to live in our own country."Asked what he thought would follow the vote, organised in a matter of weeks by rebels, he replied:"It will still be war."
Oddly mature for his age, and yes - Ukraine's violent response is only a matter of time: "Ukraine's Interior Ministry called the referendum a criminal farce, its ballot papers "soaked in blood". One official said that two thirds of the territory had declined to participate." The US response was just as terminal. Via the NYT:
A State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki,said the United States would not recognize the results of the votes. She said the referendums “by armed separatist groups are illegal under Ukrainian law, and are an attempt to create further division and disorder,” adding that if they proceed, “they will violate international law and the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
Far more importantly, should Ukraine be split in two - either peacefully, or through a civil war - the IMF's bailout money ends, which after all is what this is all about.
However, while this would mean the end of the Kiev government which would be promptly swept out of power should the western money trickle to a halt, the eastern locals couldn't care less:
Engineer Sergei, 33, voting in the industrial centre of Mariupol, said he would answer "Yes" to the question on the ballot paper, printed in Russian and Ukrainian: "Do you support the act of state self-rule of the Donetsk People's Republic?""We're all for the independence of the Donetsk republic," he said. "It means leaving behind that fascist, pro-American government (in Kiev), which brought no one any good."
Itar Tass - voting updates....
http://rt.com/news/158160-lugansk-donetsk-referendum-vote/
Lugansk and Donetsk regions vote for self-determination
Polling stations have opened in Donetsk and Lugansk regions seeking independence from central government in Ukraine. Local self-defense forces boosted security measures, fearing that Kiev could stage provocations to disrupt the self-determination vote.
Some 1,471 polling stations in Lugansk region and around 1,500 in Donetsk region opened their doors for voters at 8:00 local time (5:00 GMT) and will close at 22:00 (19:00 GMT).
Good morning Fred, I hope you had a good day of meetings. I thinking the votes go for independence, things should continue to get more interesting in Ukraine.
ReplyDeleteLooks to be a nice day here, maybe I catch up on yard work. Really need to mow for sure. Have a great day.
Productive day - back in the office in a bit..... ging to be busy the first part of the week !
DeleteUkraine Referenda moving along ( 75 percent vote in Lugansk , imagine such a turnout here in the US - and that's under the threat of vilence in East Ukraine ! )
Rained hard here last night so it's a little cool.... of course yesterday was cool early on but then it warmed up nicely !
Enjoy your day and your mowing ! Lol
Hey Fred,
DeleteIt was a very productive day for me, no surprise on the vote. Jim Willie has an interesting take on current events in this interview.
http://investmentwatchblog.com/jim-willie-brics-80-preparing-to-take-down-the-dollar/
Have a great evening
Glad to hear your Sunday worked out for you ! Went into work for about four hours ...... came back and relaxed , had a two hour call this evening regarding some deps Monday...... watched the last few minutes of the Pacers game . Productive weekend - although the cat and dog are looking at me flinty eyed ( what happened to our weekend ? )
DeleteAll day deps set for Monday out of town once again - the beginning of the week ( through Wednesday ) will be frantic !
Now that the vote is over , now we wait and see what the fallout shall be ( when do we see requests for annexation and what does Russia do ? What does Kiev , the US and EU now do - sanction or otherwise ? Which Region tosses its hat in the Russia ring next - and will that next act have to wait until after the Presidential vote on May 25th ?
Many questions , so little time ..... will have to check the Jim Willie piece Monday ! Getting a tad tired .....
Good morning, that's a lot of work for the weekend though between mowing, the grocery store and house work I didn't get in much relaxing yesterday. Quiet morning out there, everyone must have been busy this weekend.
DeleteHave a good Monday.