Two days ago,
"The combined Russian-separatist forces attacked Ukrainian army
positions in eastern Ukraine 54 times in the past 24 hours, including 28
times in the Donetsk sector and 26 times in the Mariupol sector, the
press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) reported on Saturday." (UNIAN : 20.02.2016) (my emphasis)
"Ukraine’s reformers have made substantial progress, but much more
remains to be done. The United States calls on Ukraine’s leaders to
honor the memory of the Maidan by working together, accelerating reform,
and respecting the will of the Ukrainian people who want progress.
That means fulfilling the conditions of Ukraine’s IMF program, rooting
out corruption, and ending the oligarchic grip on politics and the
economy.
"... has, since coming to office, and with the exception of Russia-annexed
Crimea, avoided any reference to the Russian military in Ukraine." (Stop Fake : February 19, 2016) (cf. also: EuObserver : Sunday 21st Feb 2016) (my emphasis)
Her tune has now changed.
"Mogherini’s spokeswoman, Maja Kocijancic, told EUobserver the new language in the Official Journal is not an accident.
She said it reflects “mounting evidence, underlining Russia’s responsibility” for the conflict.
.....
An EU diplomat, who asked not to be named, noted: “This new form of Russian warfare – using tanks and soldiers without insignia – is something we haven’t seen before. We’re still trying to work out how to respond to it”.
A second EU diplomat added: “It [the latest Official Journal text] is a clear and understandable message against Russian propaganda and all the lies about non-Russian engagement in the military conflict”. (ibid Stop Fake) (my emphasis)
So what has suddenly prompted this 'volte face' on the part of the 'fragrant' Mogherini to take place?
Is it because,
“The political line of NATO toward Russia remains unfriendly and closed,” Medvedev said in a speech. “It can be said more sharply: We have slid into a time of a new Cold War.”? (Henry Meyer, Ian Wishart, & Andrey Biryukov : Bloomberg Business : February 13, 2016)
Or is it because,
"Medvedev accused Kiev of trying to shift the blame onto Moscow for the continued shelling in the industrial regions of eastern Ukraine now under rebel control.",
whilst Lamberto Zannier, [head of the OSCE monitoring in eastern Ukraine], said,
"We
see a multiplication of incidents, violations of the ceasefire," he
told Reuters at the Munich Security Conference. "We've seen cases of
redeployment of heavy armaments closer to the contact line ... and
multiple rocket launchers, artillery being used," he said, referring to
the heavy weaponry that is meant to be removed under the Minsk deal." (
Maybe it is because Medvedev has warned that,
"Deploying ground troops in Syria would spark World War Three, the Russian prime minister has warned.
.....
When asked about a recent proposal from Saudi Arabia to send in ground troops, he said 'the Americans and our Arab partners must consider whether or not they want a permanent war.' (Simon Tomlinson : Mail Online :
Demonstrators threw rocks through windows at the offices of Alfa Bank and Sberbank and damaged furniture and equipment inside. Protesters also vandalized the offices of the holding company of Ukraine’s richest man, Rinat Akhmetov. Police didn’t intervene." (AP : Wall Street Journal : Feb. 20, 2016) (my emphasis)
In my last blog entry I wrote that,
"As Vitaly Portnikov explains,
“As long as [Putin] was bold and energetic, as long as oil was at 120 US dollars a barrel and even his military adventures did not lead him to an immediate collapse, the president could allow himself the Ivanovs, the Shoygus, the Narshkins, and the Patrushevs.”
"The combined Russian-separatist forces attacked Ukrainian army
positions in eastern Ukraine 54 times in the past 24 hours, including 28
times in the Donetsk sector and 26 times in the Mariupol sector, the
press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) reported on Saturday." (UNIAN : 20.02.2016) (my emphasis)
Similarly,
"No Ukrainian soldiers were killed but four were wounded in the
Donbas conflict zone over the last 24 hours, presidential administration
spokesman for the Anti-Terrorist Operation Colonel Andriy Lysenko said
at a briefing in Kyiv on Saturday, according to an UNIAN correspondent." (UNIAN : 20.02.2016)
The OSCE is also reporting that,
" ... military hardware, including tanks being massed by Russian proxies along the contact line in Donbas, eastern Ukraine." (UNIAN : 19.02.2016) (my emphasis)
Against this backdrop of Putin's forces manouvering in eastern Ukraine to increase the pressure on a fractured Ukrainian government, the US has confirmed its support for Ukraine.
"Ukraine’s reformers have made substantial progress, but much more
remains to be done. The United States calls on Ukraine’s leaders to
honor the memory of the Maidan by working together, accelerating reform,
and respecting the will of the Ukrainian people who want progress.
That means fulfilling the conditions of Ukraine’s IMF program, rooting
out corruption, and ending the oligarchic grip on politics and the
economy.
The Ukrainian people demand change, they deserve it, and the United
States will continue to stand with them in support of their European
choice." (US Embassy Ukraine : February 20, 2016) (my emphasis)
What is even more significant is that the EU is now publicly proclaiming that Russian soldiers are operating in the rebel-held territory of eastern Ukraine.
Let us remind ourselves that the EU foreign relations chief, the 'fragrant' Federica Mogherini,
"... has, since coming to office, and with the exception of Russia-annexed
Crimea, avoided any reference to the Russian military in Ukraine." (Stop Fake : February 19, 2016) (cf. also: EuObserver : Sunday 21st Feb 2016) (my emphasis) "Mogherini’s spokeswoman, Maja Kocijancic, told EUobserver the new language in the Official Journal is not an accident.
She said it reflects “mounting evidence, underlining Russia’s responsibility” for the conflict.
.....
An EU diplomat, who asked not to be named, noted: “This new form of Russian warfare – using tanks and soldiers without insignia – is something we haven’t seen before. We’re still trying to work out how to respond to it”.
A second EU diplomat added: “It [the latest Official Journal text] is a clear and understandable message against Russian propaganda and all the lies about non-Russian engagement in the military conflict”. (ibid Stop Fake) (my emphasis)
So what has suddenly prompted this 'volte face' on the part of the 'fragrant' Mogherini to take place?
Is it because,“The political line of NATO toward Russia remains unfriendly and closed,” Medvedev said in a speech. “It can be said more sharply: We have slid into a time of a new Cold War.”? (Henry Meyer, Ian Wishart, & Andrey Biryukov : Bloomberg Business : February 13, 2016)
Or is it because,
"Medvedev accused Kiev of trying to shift the blame onto Moscow for the continued shelling in the industrial regions of eastern Ukraine now under rebel control.",
whilst Lamberto Zannier, [head of the OSCE monitoring in eastern Ukraine], said,
"We
see a multiplication of incidents, violations of the ceasefire," he
told Reuters at the Munich Security Conference. "We've seen cases of
redeployment of heavy armaments closer to the contact line ... and
multiple rocket launchers, artillery being used," he said, referring to
the heavy weaponry that is meant to be removed under the Minsk deal." (
Maybe it is because Medvedev has warned that,"Deploying ground troops in Syria would spark World War Three, the Russian prime minister has warned.
.....
When asked about a recent proposal from Saudi Arabia to send in ground troops, he said 'the Americans and our Arab partners must consider whether or not they want a permanent war.' (Simon Tomlinson : Mail Online :
Demonstrators threw rocks through windows at the offices of Alfa Bank and Sberbank and damaged furniture and equipment inside. Protesters also vandalized the offices of the holding company of Ukraine’s richest man, Rinat Akhmetov. Police didn’t intervene." (AP : Wall Street Journal : Feb. 20, 2016) (my emphasis)
In my last blog entry I wrote that,
"As Vitaly Portnikov explains,“As long as [Putin] was bold and energetic, as long as oil was at 120 US dollars a barrel and even his military adventures did not lead him to an immediate collapse, the president could allow himself the Ivanovs, the Shoygus, the Narshkins, and the Patrushevs.”
While they were prepared to serve
the supreme leader, they were also credible in their own eyes and in others as
successors, Portnikov suggests, and thus they constituted a potential threat to
Putin in his eyes – and thus he has moved in the direction of his predecessors
by elevating the incompetent or the outrageous (or both at once) to his inner
circle." (Paul Goble : Window on Eurasia : 5 Feb. 2016) (my emphasis)
Re-arming
his Russian soldiers and proxies in eastern Ukraine, and digging
himself deeper into the Syrian quagmire, are the actions of a desperate
man." (blog entry Feb. 17)
In September of 2015, Russian politician Gennady Gudkov stated in an interview that,
"Security services will not be able to stop the disintegration of Russia", said politician Gennady Gudkov. He predicted the inevitable collapse of the country, if the political system in Russia is not urgently changed and the undeclared war with Ukraine is not stopped. Meanwhile, Gudkov says that the regime has no more than two or three years to get decayed through and through."
Is Medvedev's recent warning about the start of World War III, should Saudi Arabian troops enter Syria, an indication of the beginning of what Gennady Gudkov predicted in September of last year?
(to be continued)
In September of 2015, Russian politician Gennady Gudkov stated in an interview that,
"Security services will not be able to stop the disintegration of Russia", said politician Gennady Gudkov. He predicted the inevitable collapse of the country, if the political system in Russia is not urgently changed and the undeclared war with Ukraine is not stopped. Meanwhile, Gudkov says that the regime has no more than two or three years to get decayed through and through."
Is Medvedev's recent warning about the start of World War III, should Saudi Arabian troops enter Syria, an indication of the beginning of what Gennady Gudkov predicted in September of last year?
(to be continued)
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