The Russian Invasion of Ukraine has Begun. Its on.

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

Estonian President Asks NATO To Establish A Permanent Military Base In Response To Russia

• RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY

• SEP. 2, 2014, 2:44 PM
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Norsk Telegrambyra AS/REUTERS

Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves



Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves says his country wants NATO to set up permanent bases on its territory to protect it against potential threats from Russia.


Ilves said on September 2, "We should not have NATO with two-tier countries: with NATO permanent bases and without. This is the wrong signal to send to the potential aggressor."

The Baltic countries in NATO - Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania - have grown increasingly concerned about potential threats from neighboring Russia as the crisis has escalated in Ukraine, where the West says Russia has sent troops and military equipment to help separatists fighting the government.

U.S. President Barack Obama is due to arrive in Estonia on September 2 for meetings with Baltic leaders before traveling to a NATO summit in Wales.

At the September 4-5 summit, NATO is expected to unveil plans for expand its military infrastructure near Russia's borders.



Read more: http://www.rferl.org/content/estonia-nato-bases/26562848.html#ixzz3CBv3eii5

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

This page was printed from channelnewsasia.com

TITLE: Russia has 'severed' partnership with Europe, says Germany
POSTED: 02 Sep 2014 03:18URL: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/russia-has-severed/1340912.html
Russia has "effectively severed its partnership" with Europe and wants to establish a new order, German President Joachim Gauck said on Monday (Sep 1).
GDANSK, Poland: Russia has "effectively severed its partnership" with Europe and wants to establish a new order, German President Joachim Gauck said on Monday (Sep 1).

"We want partnership and good neighbourly relations (with Russia)" but on the condition that Moscow changes its policies and that there is a "return to respect for the rights of nations", Gauck said at a ceremony in Gdansk to mark the 75th anniversary of Germany's invasion of Poland that set off World War II.

Evoking the "miracle" of post-war reconciliation between Germans and Poles, Gauck said he was disappointed with the turn of events in Russia. "We believed and wanted to believe that Russia too, the country of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, could be part of Europe."

"It was a shock when we were confronted with a new conflict on Europe's borders. An armed conflict aimed at establishing new borders and a new order. It's a fact, stability and peace on our continent are once again endangered," he added.

Following the end of the Cold War, "the EU, NATO and major industrialised states developed special relationships with Russia and integrated it in different ways. Russia has effectively severed this partnership," he said.

Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski, who spoke before Gauck, called for "courage and determination" in opposing "those who threaten the international order, peace and freedom".

Earlier in the day, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned war could spread beyond eastern Ukraine and called for a "practical dimension" to European and euro-atlantic solidarity ahead of this weeks key NATO summit that could see the alliance boost its presence in ex-communist members states.

- AFP/de

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

Gays not welcome in Crimea
02.09.2014 | Source:
Pravda.Ru

Representatives of sexual minorities will not be able to hold events in the Crimea. Any such attempt will be stopped immediately.

Acting Head of the Republic Sergey Aksenov stood up strongly against any possibility of holding gay parades in Russia's Crimea. "This is not our style for sure. We do not need such people in the Crimea, and such events will never he held here for certain," he said.

"Police and self-defense forces will react quickly. Within three minutes, they will explain what kind of orientation one must stick to," Sergey Aksenov added. According to the official, one must educate young people of the Crimea, raising positive attitude towards family and traditional values, Interfax reports.

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

Russians Are Protesting the War in Ukraine, and Are Being Arrested by Russian Police [with video]

September 1, 2014 | No Comments
Categories: Day Blakely Donaldson, Donetsk, Headlines, Human Rights, Legal, Protest, Right to Assemble, Russia, Russian Law, Ukraine, World, and World Peace.

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In recent weeks, Russians have been attempting to demonstrate against the Russian war in Ukraine–an action that has been difficult because the Russian government has recently passed laws limiting free assembly in Russia. In Moscow Sunday night, Russian protesters attempted to demonstrate against Russia’s undeclared war and were arrested by Russian police.

The protesters attempted to hold a candlelight vigil composed of 2,249 candles–equivalent to the number of civilians already reported killed in Eastern Ukraine, but were prevented from doing so by Russian police.


“Respected citizens! Extinguish the candles. This is forbidden in a public place!” police announced before extinguishing the candles.

Protesters questioned the law prohibiting candles in a public place, and were arrested by police.

Dmitry Kartsev, an employee of Gazeta.ru and a participant in the aborted vigil, was arrested after saying, “I have come to remember those who have died on both sides of the conflict taking place in Ukraine.”


“I’m not an activist at all. I’m a person who is bitter, that people died–died due to stupidity,” said another participant. “People died who don’t even know the truth about what is happening. I have a friend who went to Donbass as a volunteer. And died. That’s it, the man is gone.”

The number of 2,249 was reported by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights last week. A later number, tallied by UNOHCHR and reported by Reuters, was 2,593, excluding Malaysia Airlines MH17 victims.


“People, what’s wrong with you? This is not your war, and it’s your children who will die.”

Another participant, who also took part in an extension of the demonstration in another, less public locale, said of the further action, which was seen by very few, “That was useless, even laughable. “But something had to be done. You don’t want to lose the remnants of your human face.”

Also over the weekend, in several Russian cities Russians protested against Putin and the denial of their constitutional rights to assembly, and were arrested.

A new phenomenon also occurred with regards to the protests. Lone protesters have begun protesting in the streets. The protesters are proceeding on the presumption that, unlike group protests, single protesters do not require permts for demonstration. However, five people were arrested by Russian police for solitary protests, including composer Aleksandr Manotskov.

By Day Blakely Donaldson

Manezhku for and against the war with Ukraine





- See more at: http://thespeaker.co/russians-prote...ed-russian-police-video/#sthash.Qqbyp3IP.dpuf

 

[keepemup]

They should try getting permits and see how that goes.

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

They should try getting permits and see how that goes.

Defend Russia, brehs

 

[Spidey Man]

France Threatens to Suspend Warship Delivery to Russia, Citing Ukraine

France backed off from plans to deliver a controversial warship to Russia next month, saying that the Kremlin's support of breakaway forces in eastern Ukraine endangered Europe.

The threat to suspend the delivery marks a shift in rhetoric from Paris, which had insisted on moving ahead with a €1.2 billion ($1.58 billion) contract to supply two ships to the Russian navy despite pressure from Western allies to cancel the deal.

Despite talks over a possible cease-fire in Ukraine, "the conditions that would allow France to authorize the delivery of the first Mistral-class ship aren't met as of now," President François Hollande's office said.

Moscow shrugged off France's decision. "The Defense Ministry doesn't see a particular tragedy in this," Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov told the official Tass news agency. "But it is, of course, unpleasant and puts a certain tension in the interactions with our French partners."

France issued the warning a day ahead of a summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the Welsh town of Newport, during which members of the military alliance are expected to discuss how to contain Russia.

The carefully worded statement, though, left open the possibility that France could complete the delivery on schedule if Russia pulls back from its intervention in Ukraine and moves to calm the crisis.

As the conflict between Ukraine and pro-Russia separatists has escalated in recent months—and despite objections by the U.S. and other allies—the French government had insisted the program was on track.

In July, days after the downing of a Malaysia Airlines flight over Ukraine—Mr. Hollande floated the possibility that he might cancel the delivery of the second vessel, scheduled for 2015, but said Paris was forging ahead with plans to supply the first ship in October.

In possibly delaying the first delivery, French officials said they aimed to shore up the country's credibility with allies heading into this week's NATO summit, where members of the alliance are gathering in a show of unity.

Paris, for months, had defended its plans to deliver the ships as merely the fulfillment of an international contract, arguing that its possible cancellation would force France to reimburse Moscow for the costly ships and place more than a thousand French jobs at risk.

But Russia's decision to send troops and supplies into eastern Ukraine to fight alongside separatists, French officials say, raised the stakes.

While Moscow has denied sending any support to the rebels, French officials said they had proof of a Russian incursion, which they declined to disclose.

Mr. Hollande would have faced a dilemma of "coherence," one French official said, if he moved forward with the warship delivery as NATO allies were gathering to discuss ways to rein in Moscow and defend European borders.

On Tuesday, French officials called Washington and other allied capitals to notify them of the potential suspension and provide reassurances ahead of the summit, the official said. "We do think that was a wise decision," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said of France's threat to stop the warship delivery. "We certainly support their decision."

While France is weighing options, a group of about 400 Russian seamen continues training on board the first Mistral, named Vladivostok, off the French port city of Saint-Nazaire, a person familiar with the matter said.

Earlier this week, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen refrained from exercising direct pressure on Paris but said he expected shows of solidarity from members of the alliance.

"It is not for NATO as an alliance to interfere with such national decisions," Mr. Rasmussen said Monday. "Having said that, I am confident that each and every allied government will take such decisions mindful of the overall security situation and concerns expressed by fellow allies."

The two Mistral-class carriers ordered by Moscow are capable of launching helicopter, tank and missile attacks from the sea and would boost the military might of the Russian forces.

The contract is important for the French shipyard located in Saint-Nazaire on the French Atlantic Coast, which has counted on the Russian order to help stay afloat

http://online.wsj.com/articles/holl...-for-delivery-of-warship-to-russia-1409762381

Bout time the French decide to side with their allies, but knowing the French, they might just end up selling those ships to the Chinese.

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

Sanctioned Russian Oil Company Rosneft To Shed Quarter Of Its Moscow Staff

• AFP

• SEP. 4, 2014, 11:02 AM
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© RIA-NOVOSTI/AFP Alexei Nikolsky

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (2nd right) visits a refinery of Russian oil giant Rosneft in the Black Sea port of Tuapse in southern Russia, on October 11, 2013



Moscow (AFP) - Russian state oil giant Rosneft, which has been hit by Western sanctions, will cut up to a quarter of the staff from its administrative headquarters in Moscow, the business daily Kommersant reported.


"The company could cut 20 to 25 percent of the staff -- some 1,000 employees," the newspaper said, citing sources close to the company.

Kommersant said that a number of employees at the Moscow headquarters had jumped in recent years, especially with the $55 billion (42-billion-euro) acquisition last year of rival TNK-BP.

A company spokeswoman, speaking to AFP, denied plans for "massive job cuts" but acknowledged that "Rosneft is working to reduce its expenses, including by optimising its staff levels."

Washington has targeted state-controlled Rosneft, preventing it from raising anything but short-term funding in US markets, for its paramount role in Russia's oil industry and because its chief Igor Sechin is a close ally of President Vladimir Putin.

The US sanctions appear to be hurting the company's finances, with Rosneft appealing to the government for help to refinance part of $45 billion of debt it took on as a part of its drive to become Russia's top oil company.





Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-...arter-of-hq-staff-report-2014-9#ixzz3CNzq4mNu

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

Here Are The 200 'Sky Soldiers' The US Is Sending To Military Exercises In Ukraine

• JEREMY BENDER
  

• SEP. 4, 2014, 4:00 PM
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Spc. Ashley Webster/US Army



The Pentagon announced Wednesday the U.S. Army will be sending 200 paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team to Ukraine. The paratroopers from the 173rd, known as "Sky Soldiers," will participate in a joint military exercise, Rapid Trident, against Russia's objections.


Russia had warned against any NATO exercises in Ukraine, which is facing a Russian invasion of its eastern borders in support of pro-Moscow separatists. Although Putin's overall goal isn't clear, it appears Russian and separatist forces are marching on the Ukrainian city of Mariupol to create an overland route to Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed in March.

The Sky Soldiers will participate in the Exercise Rapid Trident alongside 1,300 other soldiers from a wide swath of countries, including Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Ukraine, and a host of NATO states.

Exercise Rapid Trident will take place from Sept. 15-26 at a training center near Yavoriv, Ukraine.

Ints Kalnins/REUTERS

Paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade of the U.S. Army in Europe take part in the "Black Arrow" military exercise in Rukla, May 14, 2014





During Exercise Rapid Trident, the 173rd will help focus on mine clearing, patrolling, and convoy defense training alongside soldiers from 14 other countries and NATO representatives.

Kacper Pempel/REUTERS



The 173rd Airborne are based out of Vicenza, Italy, and have taken part in a number of military exercises recently.

Ints Kalnins/REUTERS





In May, the 173rd participated in a training exercise in Rukla, Lithuania.

Ints Kalnins/Reuters

Paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade of the U.S. Army in Europe take part in military exercise "Black Arrow" in Rukla, Lithuania, on May 14, 2014.





In April, the 173rd Sky Soldiers also took part in an unscheduled training exercise in Poland.

Kacper Pempel/REUTERS

A Humvee of the U.S. Army's 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team is parachuted during the NATO-led exercise "Orzel Alert" held together with Canada's 3rd Battalion and Princess Patricia's Light Infantry, and Poland's 6th Airborne Brigade in Bledowska Desert in Chechlo, near Olkusz, south Poland May 5, 2014.





Four paratrooper companies of the 173rd have been deployed to Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in a move to reassure NATO allies against possible Russian aggression.

REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

Troops from the U.S. Army's 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team parachute from a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III during a NATO-led exercise "Orzel Alert" held together with Canada's 3rd Battalion and Princess Patricia's Light Infantry, and Poland's 6th Airborne Brigade in Bledowska Desert in Chechlo, near Olkusz, south Poland May 5, 2014.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/here-are-the-soldiers-us-is-sending-to-ukraine-2014-9#ixzz3COSIafTo

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

A Raft Of New Sanctions Are About To Slam Russia

• BRYAN MCMANUS AND DARIO THUBURN, AFP

• SEP. 5, 2014, 5:30 AM
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AFP



NATO leaders were expected to announce a raft of fresh sanctions against Russia on Friday over its actions in Ukraine, although hopes remained that a cease-fire could be forged at peace talks in Minsk on the same day.


The leaders are heading into the second and final day of a NATO summit in Newport, Wales, that has been labeled the most critical since the end of the Cold War for the Western military alliance as it addresses a multitude of crises from Ukraine to Iraq to Afghanistan.

They agreed on Thursday to set up new funds to help Ukraine's military effort and treat wounded soldiers in a five-month conflict that has seen more than 2,600 people killed.

EU and U.S. officials said sanctions against Russia would be announced on Friday in response to a major escalation of Russian military support to the rebels in eastern Ukraine in recent days.

But they added that implementation could be delayed pending the cease-fire talks in Minsk.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko voiced "careful optimism" about the talks, which will be attended by Russia and pro-Moscow rebels.

NATO leaders are also expected to approve plans to position troops and military equipment in Eastern Europe to reassure ex-Soviet bloc member states unnerved by Russia's recent actions in Ukraine.

"While talking about peace, Russia has not made one single step to make peace possible," NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said after Ukraine-focused talks at the leaders' summit on Thursday.

"Instead of de-escalating the crisis, Russia has only deepened it," he said, adding that previous Russian statements on peace had been "a smokescreen for continued Russian destabilisation of the situation."

More Lethal Than Ever
But Rasmussen left open the door to a seven-point peace plan put forward on Wednesday by Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying: "If we are witnessing genuine efforts for a political solution, I would welcome it."

Poroshenko said he was hopeful about the plan because the initiative had come from pro-Moscow rebel leaders in eastern Ukraine.

But he added that political talks would be a "tough challenge," warning that Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity were "not for negotiation."

Poroshenko said some NATO members would cooperate with Ukraine on "non-lethal and lethal military items," although he did not specify which countries were involved and whether it would include direct arms supplies.

Former U.S. presidential contender and outspoken Kremlin critic John McCain, on a visit to Kiev, urged Western allies to provide Ukraine with weapons to fend off Russia, and he warned that otherwise the country could end up being "landlocked."

His concerns were backed up by a statement from the Pentagon, which said Russian forces massed near Ukraine's eastern border were "more lethal" than before and heavily armed with artillery and air-defense weaponry.

"The force that we see arrayed on the border is exceptionally capable, probably more capable, more lethal than anything that we've seen up until now," spokesman Colonel Steven Warren told reporters.

Poroshenko earlier briefed a group of NATO leaders, including British Prime Minister David Cameron, U.S. President Barack Obama, French President Francois Hollande, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Hollande called for a "real cease-fire" that would lead to a broader political agreement and said France would deliver warships worth 1.2 billion euros to Russia in November only if these conditions were in place.

There was little sign of change on the ground, with AFP reporters hearing explosions on the outskirts of the flashpoint city of Mariupol and renewed shelling and gunfire in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also lashed out, denying Russian involvement and accusing the United States of undermining peace efforts by supporting "a pro-war party" in Kiev.

He said Washington was "drunk on anti-Russian rhetoric" after repeated accusations from the West that Russia was training and supplying rebels and sending its soldiers into Ukraine.

Mass Iraq Kidnapping
Ukraine tops the agenda at the two-day talks, but the 28 NATO leaders must also tackle the menace of Islamist extremists in Iraq and Syria and a problematic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Cameron and Obama said in an editorial in The Times of London that they would not be "cowed" following the beheading of two U.S. journalists by Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists, and they promised to "confront" the radicals.

There were reports of fresh brutality on that front.

Police and witnesses said ISIS kidnapped dozens of residents of a village in Kirkuk province after locals there burned one of its positions along with a jihadist flag.

Rasmussen said NATO would "seriously" examine any request from Iraq for help in its campaign against the Islamic State, while Cameron said Britain was actively considering arming the Kurds.

NATO meanwhile faces another quandary in Afghanistan, where the alliance is due to end its combat operation this year but finds it has no government to hand over to as presidential elections have failed to produce a winner.

Rasmussen warned that time was running out for a solution, raising doubts about NATO's planned post-2014 training mission after it formally concludes its longest-ever war this year.

"Time is short," he said.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-...e-heads-into-peace-talks-2014-9#ixzz3CSK9pcnF

 

[Ralph Wiggum]

Estonia is a part of NATO.

What happens next ??

 

[ADevilYouKhow]

Putin out here loosing, Brehs!

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

Putin out here loosing, Brehs!

MASSIVE L's

 

[TMNT4000]

Russian embassy mocks Nato leaders with toy tank tweet
Russian diplomats appear to have a lot of time on their hands

Russian officials posted a picture of toy tanks on Twitter Photo: @RusEmbassyUAE

By Mark Molloy

9:05AM BST 05 Sep 2014


Senior Russian diplomats appear to have resumed their social media war against Nato officials with a new tweet mocking international claims over the Ukraine crisis.

A Russian Embassy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) account posted out a picture of toy tanks, joking it was “evidence” of troops operating across the Ukraine border.

It follows a Twitter spat between Canadian and Russian officials working at Nato; clearly they all have a lot of time of their hands.

The latest message was posted by @RussEmbassyUAE, which appears to be the official account of the Russian Embassy in the UAE, and later retweeted by Russia's foreign ministry.

Nato leaders are expected to unveil tough new economic sanctions against Russia today following the escalation of the crisis in eastern Ukraine.





http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...y-mocks-Nato-leaders-with-toy-tank-tweet.html