The Ukrainian gloves are coming off ...

[At the recent Valdai Conference] Mr. Putin portrayed the invasion of Crimea as the corrective to [US] “imperialism.” “The bear will not even bother to ask permission,” he boasted. “Here we consider it master of the taiga, and . . . it will not let anyone have its taiga.” He made it clear that most of Ukraine is part of the “taiga” over which the Kremlin claims dominion — and Ukraine, he warned, “will certainly not be the last” “example of such sorts of conflicts that affect [the] international power balance.” (my emphasis) (October 27 2014 Washington Post)
 

 

And now, despite the EU, US, and Ban-Ki Moon of the UN, denouncing Sunday's farcical elections in the rebel-held territories of eastern Ukraine, Putin is determined on his course of openly waging war against Ukraine. He threatened this at the Valdai conference and, by publicly endorsing the criminal 'elections' in the rebel-held territories of eastern Ukraine, is determined to carry this threat through. Already Russian troops and equipment are moving into the rebel-held areas.

U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, U.S. European Command Commander and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) supreme allied commander, stated on November 3 that,

"some Russian troop formations were brought closer to the border with Ukraine during the separatist election."

 Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military reported "intensive" movement of troops and equipment from Russia into the separatist controlled parts of eastern Ukraine on Sunday. (2 November 2014)
"There is intensive deployment of military equipment and personnel of the enemy from the territory of the Russian Federation onto territory temporarily controlled by insurgents," Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told a briefing in Kiev.
In Donetsk, AFP reporters saw about 20 trucks, some carrying anti-aircraft guns, heading towards the government-held airport, although it was not clear whether these were new forces.
Several Western news outlets reported witnessing heavy movement of troops near Donetsk. (ABC News 4 November 2014)

It is thus that Poroshenko held a meeting (4 November 2014) of his National Security and Defence Council to discuss, inter alia, removing the 'special' status ( cf. the Minsk Agreement) of the rebel-controlled areas in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine knows that, militarily, it is standing alone against Putin. Putin has shown that he has nothing but contempt for the sanctions currently imposed upon Russia. Also, Putin is once again showing that he has nothing but contempt for the Russian people. If they have to suffer then so be it. As he stated at the Valdai Conference, "To make the economy better we will consolidate society around patriotism and traditional values". So, irrespective of the hardships that sanctions may bring upon the Russian people, it will be the 'patriotic' duty of Russians to tighten their belts. Any criticism of the actions of the Kremlin will henceforth be viewed as un-patriotic.  Thus, as reported by the Moscow Times (3 Nov 2014)

Russia's Media Watchdog Gives Ekho Moskvy Warning for 'Extremist' Coverage of Ukraine Crisis

Ekho Moskvy is one of the leading independent media voices in Russia.

Also, as the  Huff Post reported on 31 Oct 2014,

Russian Media Watchdog Threatens To Shut Down Radio Station Critical Of Putin

 

As reported today (5 Nov 2014) by the Sofia Globe, "Mogherini said the European Union would assess the situation [in eastern Ukraine] and decide to strengthen or ease sanctions imposed on Russia." Is it purely naivety on the part of the EU to constantly present the contradictory carrot or stick 'diplomatic speak' in the face of Putin simply ignoring it all since the very beginning of the Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine?

Merkel is using the same type of argument as the 'fragrant' Mogherini. On the one hand she says that the sanctions against Russia should continue (stick), and on the other hand she yet again says that Putin's Minsk Agreement must be abided by (carrot), nothwithstanding that Poroshenko, just yesterday, is himself beginning to tear up this Trojan agreement.

"Merkel said she sees “no reason right now” to lift economic sanctions imposed on Russia, which “isn’t contributing yet as much as we would like” to resolve the crisis. “The Minsk accord should be the basis,” she told a BDA employers’ federation conference in Berlin. ( Daryna Krasnolutska and Volodymyr Verbyany 2014-11-04) (my emphasis)

Bearing in mind that the BDA employers’ federation represents German interest groups in the areas of industry, the tertiary sector, banking, commerce, transport, trade and agriculture (Wikipedia), and that the German economy is currently wobbling, it becomes more and more apparant that Merkel's fixation on Putin's Minsk Agreement is nothing more nor less than her pre-occupation with reviving the trade relations between Germany and Putin's Russia rather than anything to do with the crisis in Ukraine.

German Business Jackboots over Ukraine

One could, indeed, also say that the 'fragrant Mogherini's fixation on Putin's Minsk Agreement is nothing more nor less than expressing the pre-occupation of many members of the EU with reviving the trade relations between themselves and Putin's Russia.
  
Poroshenko could almost say that with friends like Mogherini and Merkel, who are BOTH walking in lock-step, who needs enemies?

It is therefore no wonder that Poroshenko  has begun to seriously confront Putin by "[ordering] his military chiefs to send in new army units to protect cities in the east and southeast from possible attack by Russian-backed separatists", Interfax news agency said. (4 Nov 2014)

Poroshenko

Let us remind ourselves what Andrei Sannikov (Tuesday 28 October 2014) said viz. that,

"Europe does not want to be disturbed. It doesn’t want to see the dangers to itself beyond Russia’s war in Ukraine. It wants to go back to “business as usual” with Russia as soon as possible. The war is a nuisance. Dead bodies of Ukrainian patriots are a nuisance." (my emphasis)

Andrei Sannikov

But, for Poroshenko, there may be light at the end of the tunnel. Where the EU seems to be turning its back on him and the Ukrainian people, the recent US election results is giving him a glimmer of hope in his stand against Putin. Barak Obama's guns have been spiked. His rather poor support for the Ukrainian people may be at an end. Both in the Senate and Congress the Republicans now rule the roost. As reported by Reuters (5 Nov 2014), 

"Republicans rode a wave of voter discontent to seize control of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, dealing a punishing blow to President Barack Obama that will limit his legislative agenda and may force him to make a course correction for his last two years in office." (my emphasis)

Republican Thom Tillis and wife Susan react after the results in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz, a conservative firebrand who may run in 2016, told CNN: "The American people, they’re frustrated with what’s happening in Washington, but now the responsibility falls on us to lead." (Reuters)

One can almost hear the groans of the covert Putin supporters in the EU, and the scrambling that must be taking place in the Kremlin.

But who exactly is now scrambling around in the Kremlin? There is a veil behind all the political posturings, warmongering, and belligerence of Putin towards Ukraine, the EU, the US, and the world. It is now time that this veil is lifted.

(to be continued)