We’ve been getting this manicured image of Russia, isolated, standing alone against the world over its occupation of eastern Ukraine and, especially, Crimea. Then again, we do tend to see ourselves, the West, as the world. Vlad Putin sees the world differently. He sees China and he’s looking for China’s support over
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CuriosityCat: Ukraine Predictions: A Breakup, of sorts
Plea from Ukraine My earlier post showed some interesting maps of the ethnic and language divisions inside the Ukraine, and asked whether a split into two parts was going to happen. Today Julia Ioffe in the New Republic has this forecast: Neither America nor NATO can stop this. They’ve shown
Continue readingdrive-by planet: U.S. hypocrisy on Russian involvement in Crimea
This week US president Obama raised concerns about Russian involvement in Crimea. He said he is “deeply disturbed” by the Russian move and that “Any violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity would be deeply destabilizing.” He made reference to “costs” facing Russia for its “military intervention” – adding to
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Putin Flips the Switch – Russian Troops Enter Crimea
Wakin’ the Neighbours, Putin Style The Washington Post reports that U.S. officials have confirmed that Russian forces are across the Ukrainian border. The U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity about internal deliberations, declined to provide numbers or specific locations of Russian deployments. Ukraine’s U.N. Ambassador, Yuriy Sergeyev told the
Continue readingLeDaro: Russian Parliament approves use of armed forces in Ukraine
Ukraine situation has taken a turn for the worst. What next? Read more here
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: If the U.S. Was in Russia’s Position, How Would It React to Russian Meddling in Canada or Mexico that Threatened America’s Security?
The Ukraine sits right on Russia’s doorstep. It is the land route to Russia’s Black Sea naval base at Sevastopol by which the Russian navy can access the Mediterranean. Severing Russia’s naval access to the Med is thought to be why the U.S. has been meddling in Ukrainian affairs, funding
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Look Whose Flag is Flying Over Southern Ukraine
The Russian flag waves over the Crimean parliament building in Simferopol. It’s beginning to look as though Moscow is not going to let Crimea fall to the interim Ukranian government in Kiev. The Crimea is historically Russian. It was transferred to the Ukraine in 1954 by Kruschev but it retains
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Ukraine’s fascist ‘heroes’ and a bleak new dawn
Beneath: Banner of Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera hangs in Kiev City Hall / Yulia Tymoshenko The forcible removal of Victor Yanukovych’s regime in what has been likened to a “fascist putsch” has led to an unstable and potentially dangerous situation in the Ukraine. Terms such as “democratic revolution” used by
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Putin Mobilizes His Troops. Is He Bluffing?
It’s just the thing that pro-Western Ukrainians have been fearing – but also anticipating. Russian president Vlad Putin has ordered combat units to mobilize, supposedly for a snap exercise. It appears the Russian force might include airborne troops. With Kiev in control of the pro-West faction, the pro-Russian side is
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: The Fall of Victor Yanukovych
With Ukraine teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, the country’s deposed ex-president, Victor Yanukovych is finished. The fugitive former prez is being charged with the murders of protestors as he sought to quell the uprising that led to his ouster. To seal his fate, ordinary Ukrainians were allowed in to
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Advice to Canadian politicians and media: Proceed with caution on your support for Ukraine’s rebels
Anti-Government Ukrainians prepare to fight police in Kiev. Below: Rioters throw gasoline bombs at police in Ukraine; Alberta Labour Minister Thomas Lukaszuk. (Wikimedia photos.) You can bet money that when trouble is brewing abroad things are always far more complicated than local enthusiasts for one side or the other make
Continue readingLeDaro: Putin in deep thoughts
He is thinking how to deal with Obama.;) He is upset that his buddy Ukraine’s president Viktor Yanukovich has been toppled by the Ukrainian Parliament. Putin thinks that that is what Obama wanted. Is cold war on again?
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Just Sayin’
When you’ve just tossed your president and appoint an interim president to govern in his place pending elections, don’t choose somebody who shows up for work dressed like this: That, kids, is the standard uniform of an old-school, KGB thug – the dark, crew-neck sweater and the unmistakable
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Hungary ’56, Czechoslovakia ’68, Ukraine ’14?
Ukraine’s pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, has been sent packing. The parliament has turned on him and proclaimed him constitutionally unable to carry out his duties. It is being reported that jailed opposition leader and former president, Yulia Tymoshenko, has been sprung from prison and reunited with the anti-government faction. Yanukovych
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Ukraine – The Renters’ Curse
What is so not-awesome about our news media is its propensity to relay to us news and events without the background context necessary have said news event make sense. Go take a look at the CBC’s reporting on what is happening in the Ukraine. I’ll reproduce the headlines here for
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Ultra-nationalists and fascist thugs – tools of imperialist designs in Ukraine
The protests in the Ukraine that began last November in Kiev’s Independence Square – the Maidan – were staged to protest president Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to back out of a plan to join a trade agreement with the EU, in preference for joining the Eurasian Customs Union. As with most
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Are Two Ukraines the Answer?
Ukraine uprising 2014 Max Fisher, The Washington Post’s foreign affairs blogger, has some interesting maps and information – a must see for anyone trying to figure out what’s cooking in Ukraine. He writes: Roughly speaking, about four out of every six people in Ukraine are ethnic Ukrainian and speak the
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