Ukraine Watch...

RenewableCandy · Post by **RenewableCandy** » 04 Sep 2014, 23:09

Even my Irish mate who's usually really switched-on about this sort of thing is beginning to believe the crap about "Russian agression".

Verily, we are stuffed.

Mr. Fox · Post by **Mr. Fox** » 04 Sep 2014, 23:30

No new Nato bases in eastern Europe

Today @ 22:54

CARDIFF - Poland has confirmed there will be no new Nato bases in eastern Europe to deter Moscow, while France has indicated it is keen to get its warship delivery to Russia back on track.

Polish president Bronislaw Komorowski told press on Thursday (4 September), the first day of a Nato summit in Wales, that Nato is creating a new “spearhead” force to counter potential Russian aggression against its eastern flank.

But he said it will only have airfields, vehicle parks, and ammunition depots in eastern Europe to help it deploy more quickly, rather than fully-fledged bases containing US or other Nato states' soldiers.

He noted that whether or not there are “permanent” bases in the region is “a matter of semantics, diplomacy - what matters from a defence point of view is how effective the force is”. But he also voiced disappointment that new members do not have the same level of security as, say, Germany or the Netherlands.

The Baltic states and Poland had pushed, at the least, for the new force to have command and control headquarters in the region.

But Nato officials said “there is no question” of allies breaking the terms of a 1997 accord with Russia which forbids new military facilities under its nose.

blackwhite doublespeak bellyfeel ungood

RenewableCandy · Post by **RenewableCandy** » 04 Sep 2014, 23:34

Wait...wait...does that mean France are selling them warships? Oh that's priceless

Mr. Fox · Post by **Mr. Fox** » 05 Sep 2014, 00:02

It sounded pretty final?

"The president of the republic has concluded that despite the prospect of a ceasefire, which has yet to be confirmed and put in place, the conditions under which France could authorise the delivery of the first helicopter carrier are not in place,"

( Tran: "The CIA have some photos of me from the last Bilderberg after-party that wouldn't go down well with the electorate - or animal rights activists, come to think of it.")

But never mind, NATO'll 'av 'em.

(WARNING: The above link contains the phrase 'Putin's aggression'.)

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 05 Sep 2014, 14:52

NATO warships now in the Black Sea 'promoting peace and stability'. Or, if truth be told, its opposite.

The world has stepped closer to the brink.

Oh yes...new sanctions: "The key point is that Russia must continue to face costs for its own escalation", says the Shite House. Again, reversal of truth.

RenewableCandy · Post by **RenewableCandy** » 05 Sep 2014, 17:55

Actually I wish they'd stick to just the sanctions but that they'd do it properly: come down hard on money-laundering by oligarchs in The City, that sort of thing. Leave the military stuff for Flag days (like 11th November and 9th May, and one for the USA that I can't remember).

Mr. Fox · Post by **Mr. Fox** » 05 Sep 2014, 21:31

Kiev, E. Ukraine militia agree on ceasefire

Published time: September 05, 2014 12:50
Edited time: September 05, 2014 18:09
Kiev officials and representatives of the two self-proclaimed republics in southeastern Ukraine have agreed to a ceasefire, as the contact group met behind closed doors in Belarus.

The two sides accompanied by representatives of Russia and the OSCE were meeting in the Belorussian capital, Minsk, in an attempt to end the bloodshed in eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who is now in Wales for the NATO summit, has confirmed the ceasefire agreement on his Twitter account.

Kiev officials and representatives of the two self-proclaimed republics in southeastern Ukraine have agreed to a ceasefire, as the contact group met behind closed doors in Belarus.

The two sides accompanied by representatives of Russia and the OSCE were meeting in the Belorussian capital, Minsk, in an attempt to end the bloodshed in eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who is now in Wales for the NATO summit, has confirmed the ceasefire agreement on his Twitter account.

He has ordered the pro-government forces to stop military actions starting 6 pm local time (15:00 GMT), as stated in the protocol.

“I give the order to the chief of the General staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to cease fire, starting from 18.00 [local time] on September 5,” Poroshenko's statement says.

Appears to be holding.

BBC coverage here.

vtsnowedin · Post by **vtsnowedin** » 05 Sep 2014, 22:01

RenewableCandy wrote:Actually I wish they'd stick to just the sanctions but that they'd do it properly: come down hard on money-laundering by oligarchs in The City, that sort of thing. Leave the military stuff for Flag days (like 11th November and 9th May, and one for the USA that I can't remember).

We observe November 11th and the last Monday in May and Flag day on the 14th of June.

another_exlurker · Post by **another_exlurker** » 09 Sep 2014, 00:50

Expect the Ukrainian Civil War to continue after the NATO exercises later this month.

Adviser to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Yuri Lutsenko said that agreements reached at the NATO summit in Wales to supply advanced weapons to Ukraine from several countries, including the United States, France and Poland.

“Security. A number of agreements were reached at the NATO summit on the Western military advisers and modern arms shipments from the United States, France, Italy, Poland, and Norway,” Lutsenko said Sunday on Facebook.

Original article.

Mr. Fox · Post by **Mr. Fox** » 11 Sep 2014, 19:10

More EU sanctions: (pdf)

In addition, certain services necessary for deep water oil exploration and production, arctic oil exploration or production and shale oil projects in Russia may no more be supplied, for instance drilling, well testing or logging services.

The US is to provide details of their sanctions on Friday.

Meanwhile...

EC suspends aid to farmers hit by Russian food ban after claims exceed annual trade

The European Commission has suspended its aid to European farmers hit by the Russian import ban.

The amount of submitted claims for some products is several times higher than EU’s annual trade with Russia, with some sources blaming Poland for the exaggerations.

The 125 million euros ($160 million) scheme was announced on August 18 after Russia responded to several rounds of western sanctions with a ban on import on food from the countries involved.

Go, sanctions!

RenewableCandy · Post by **RenewableCandy** » 11 Sep 2014, 19:55

I notice the oil price has taken a dive by about $10...is this somebody attempting to sabotage the Russian economy?

Mr. Fox · Post by **Mr. Fox** » 11 Sep 2014, 20:02

RenewableCandy wrote:...is this somebody attempting to sabotage the Russian economy?

Again.

Last time it was done by getting Saudi Arabia to crank up production (according to Reagan's son).

Does Saudi Arabia have the reserve capacity these days?

RenewableCandy · Post by **RenewableCandy** » 11 Sep 2014, 20:19

All this talk of "Russian adventurism" and "Russian genie out of the bottle" and I'm sitting here thinking, what has Russia actually done? Apart from getting blamed for downing a plane, and a few p!sshead soldiers wandering round near the border, Russia hasn't really done anything. Or have I missed something?

Tarrel · Post by **Tarrel** » 11 Sep 2014, 20:23

RenewableCandy wrote:All this talk of "Russian adventurism" and "Russian genie out of the bottle" and I'm sitting here thinking, what has Russia actually done? Apart from getting blamed for downing a plane, and a few p!sshead soldiers wandering round near the border, Russia hasn't really done anything. Or have I missed something?

Well Duh! They've only challenged the US's right to be the supreme nation on the planet!

RenewableCandy · Post by **RenewableCandy** » 11 Sep 2014, 20:30

Well yes, obviously

. But I mean, militarily what have they done?