Russia And Ukraine
Russia and Ukraine
Putin's final advice to the business world, "Bullying will get you nowhere."
Ukrainian road block fired on from Ukrainian Air force.
Your text to link here...
Your text to link here...
Lakshmi.Deces said: »
Ukrainian road block fired on from Ukrainian Air force.
Your text to link here...
Your text to link here...
Sylph.Kestria said: »
What do we have now, almost everyone is against Russia to the point they are being compared to Nazi Germany (which is incredibly offensive to all Russians)
Interesting read
Obviously this doesn't apply to current-day Russia, just as Nazi Germany can't be compared to current-day Germany.
But they've got a remarkably similar past. We in the West tend to gloss over Stalin's crimes because he was, you know, our ally at one point.
We also like to gloss over the fact that Russia played a super-huge part in winning WWII.
Bismarck.Ramyrez said: »
Sylph.Kestria said: »
What do we have now, almost everyone is against Russia to the point they are being compared to Nazi Germany (which is incredibly offensive to all Russians)
Interesting read
Obviously this doesn't apply to current-day Russia, just as Nazi Germany can't be compared to current-day Germany.
But they've got a remarkably similar past. We in the West tend to gloss over Stalin's crimes because he was, you know, our ally at one point.
We also like to gloss over the fact that Russia played a super-huge part in winning WWII.
"Nazi swastika on the chest of killed "Donbas Battalion" member"
Lakshmi.Deces said: »
Bismarck.Ramyrez said: »
Sylph.Kestria said: »
What do we have now, almost everyone is against Russia to the point they are being compared to Nazi Germany (which is incredibly offensive to all Russians)
I'm somewhat video-averse, especially at work (pulled up the link on my phone), but one guy's idiotic tattoo being displayed as such is pretty much propaganda and nothing else.
It was just context, nothing more.
Some very good videos & such on LL about this war as is with the Syrian war. Might want to take a peek at home, unless you can watch decapitation videos being done by our allies at work.
http://www.liveleak.com/c/ukraine
http://www.liveleak.com/c/syria
Some very good videos & such on LL about this war as is with the Syrian war. Might want to take a peek at home, unless you can watch decapitation videos being done by our allies at work.
http://www.liveleak.com/c/ukraine
http://www.liveleak.com/c/syria
I'm not particularly interested in watching what is essentially a snuff film disguised as journalism, at home or elsewhere.
Videographic evidence of wrongdoing is one thing, but to stream it uneditted for the masses is a bit on the tasteless side, in my opinion.
Videographic evidence of wrongdoing is one thing, but to stream it uneditted for the masses is a bit on the tasteless side, in my opinion.
Quote:
NATO Reinvents Itself as Russian Bear Awakens
HOHENFELS, Germany – The minareted fake village used for counter-insurgency combat training stood on the sidelines as American tanks rolled through these muddy woodlands during war games this week.
About 4,000 NATO troops from 15 countries have been staging exercises in the U.S. Army's largest overseas training area in the hills of southern Germany. And with the Ukraine crisis at its doorstep, NATO has been prompted to redefine itself.
The alliance's Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called Russia’s behavior in Ukraine "a completely new security situation in Europe" and urged higher defense spending.
Military leaders admit that developments such as Moscow's aggression towards its neighbor have prompted them to rethink their approach.
A different style of warfare
In his field tent at Hohenfels, U.S. Army Capt. Jon Cochran was drawing up potential new strategies during the exercise, dubbed Combined Resolve II.
After two tours in Afghanistan, the company commander of the Fort Hood-based 1st Brigade Combat Team said his soldiers were well-versed in fighting insurgents. However, they were now preparing for new challenges.
“Fighting a near peer, we have to adjust our tactics, instead of fighting groups of insurgents, we’re fighting entire enemy companies and battalions,” said Cochran, who was drawing up tactical plans for tanks and troops in a tent used as a command center. “This is a definite shift, not only for me, but for a lot of my soldiers.”
His broad-based company included soldiers from Albania and engineers from France.
The massing of Moscow's troops near Ukraine's border has raised fears that the Russian bear has awoken from its slumber and NATO has been quick to show military support for members and allies.
Combined Resolve II is one of a number of pre-planned training events demonstrating how NATO is widening its strategic capabilities.
“We have to be prepared for what’s next,” said Brig. Gen. Walter Piatt, commander of the Joint Multinational Training Command at Hohenfels. “The bottom line is we don’t know what’s next. The crisis that’s ongoing now shows us that many things can pop up, many possibilities are out there. We need to be prepared for what NATO is going to need us to respond to.”
Dr. Jonathan Eyal, international director at London's Royal United Services Institute think tank, told NBC News that Moscow's "use of force" to change Ukraine's territory had triggered worries in other neighboring nations.
“There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that we are seeing a fundamental change in NATO because of Russia's moves on Ukraine," he said. “Even if the Ukraine crisis was to resolve quickly and peacefully, it is very difficult to see how an immediate return to the way things were before would be possible."
Eyal added: "A country like Russia has shown it is willing to use force in order to change the status quo. Nobody thought this would ever happen again in Europe. The West has spent the last 20 years pretending that Russia is not a potential threat, even though Eastern Europe has been worried about this. I’m afraid we were wrong and they were right.”
'New Paradigm'
Earlier this month, NATO’S Supreme Allied Commander, Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, stressed that a “new paradigm” in Europe has been created by Russia’s actions during the Ukraine conflict. He did not rule out that NATO could permanently position troops on its eastern borders.
Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine in its online edition this week cited internal NATO documents, in which the military alliance was deliberating potential scenarios that include a Russian military campaign in Eastern Europe.
Experts say that the alliance would presently face a major challenge, if forced to defend its Eastern allies, especially the Baltic states, under Article 5 of the NATO treaty. It states that an attack on one member would be viewed as an attack on all.
“Especially in Latvia, Russia would initially have a better strategic position,” said German retired Gen. Harald Kujat, who served as chief of staff of the German armed forces and as chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 2002 to 2005. “The problem for NATO would be to bring an adequate number of forces in a timely fashion to the region. This would take months."
Need to deploy diplomacy, too
Kujat added that the military alliance failed to use diplomatic weapons despite the fact that it had signed an agreement with Russia that called for a joint endeavor to settle disagreements within the framework of political consultations.
In 1997, NATO and Russia signed the ‘Founding Act on Mutual Relations’ in which the two sides vowed to “overcome the vestiges of earlier confrontation and competition and to strengthen mutual trust and cooperation."
Kujat said “the NATO-Russia agreement is not only a compulsory basis, but also the fundament for active crisis management.”
After highlighting its military capabilities in recent weeks, NATO on Monday invited Russia to the negotiating table, saying that the Russia-NATO council could meet as early as next week.
NATO defense ministers are expected to discuss the long-term consequences for the alliance at a meeting in the first week of June.
Piatt added that reduced military spending over recent years has highlighted the importance of NATO.
“Now is the time that we have to train interoperability more, not less, so that we can build a smart defense with the limited forces and resources that every nation has and together we’re very strong,” he said.
Alexander Smith of NBC News contributed to this report from London.
Source
HOHENFELS, Germany – The minareted fake village used for counter-insurgency combat training stood on the sidelines as American tanks rolled through these muddy woodlands during war games this week.
About 4,000 NATO troops from 15 countries have been staging exercises in the U.S. Army's largest overseas training area in the hills of southern Germany. And with the Ukraine crisis at its doorstep, NATO has been prompted to redefine itself.
The alliance's Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called Russia’s behavior in Ukraine "a completely new security situation in Europe" and urged higher defense spending.
Military leaders admit that developments such as Moscow's aggression towards its neighbor have prompted them to rethink their approach.
A different style of warfare
In his field tent at Hohenfels, U.S. Army Capt. Jon Cochran was drawing up potential new strategies during the exercise, dubbed Combined Resolve II.
After two tours in Afghanistan, the company commander of the Fort Hood-based 1st Brigade Combat Team said his soldiers were well-versed in fighting insurgents. However, they were now preparing for new challenges.
“Fighting a near peer, we have to adjust our tactics, instead of fighting groups of insurgents, we’re fighting entire enemy companies and battalions,” said Cochran, who was drawing up tactical plans for tanks and troops in a tent used as a command center. “This is a definite shift, not only for me, but for a lot of my soldiers.”
His broad-based company included soldiers from Albania and engineers from France.
The massing of Moscow's troops near Ukraine's border has raised fears that the Russian bear has awoken from its slumber and NATO has been quick to show military support for members and allies.
Combined Resolve II is one of a number of pre-planned training events demonstrating how NATO is widening its strategic capabilities.
“We have to be prepared for what’s next,” said Brig. Gen. Walter Piatt, commander of the Joint Multinational Training Command at Hohenfels. “The bottom line is we don’t know what’s next. The crisis that’s ongoing now shows us that many things can pop up, many possibilities are out there. We need to be prepared for what NATO is going to need us to respond to.”
Dr. Jonathan Eyal, international director at London's Royal United Services Institute think tank, told NBC News that Moscow's "use of force" to change Ukraine's territory had triggered worries in other neighboring nations.
“There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that we are seeing a fundamental change in NATO because of Russia's moves on Ukraine," he said. “Even if the Ukraine crisis was to resolve quickly and peacefully, it is very difficult to see how an immediate return to the way things were before would be possible."
Eyal added: "A country like Russia has shown it is willing to use force in order to change the status quo. Nobody thought this would ever happen again in Europe. The West has spent the last 20 years pretending that Russia is not a potential threat, even though Eastern Europe has been worried about this. I’m afraid we were wrong and they were right.”
'New Paradigm'
Earlier this month, NATO’S Supreme Allied Commander, Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, stressed that a “new paradigm” in Europe has been created by Russia’s actions during the Ukraine conflict. He did not rule out that NATO could permanently position troops on its eastern borders.
Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine in its online edition this week cited internal NATO documents, in which the military alliance was deliberating potential scenarios that include a Russian military campaign in Eastern Europe.
Experts say that the alliance would presently face a major challenge, if forced to defend its Eastern allies, especially the Baltic states, under Article 5 of the NATO treaty. It states that an attack on one member would be viewed as an attack on all.
“Especially in Latvia, Russia would initially have a better strategic position,” said German retired Gen. Harald Kujat, who served as chief of staff of the German armed forces and as chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 2002 to 2005. “The problem for NATO would be to bring an adequate number of forces in a timely fashion to the region. This would take months."
Need to deploy diplomacy, too
Kujat added that the military alliance failed to use diplomatic weapons despite the fact that it had signed an agreement with Russia that called for a joint endeavor to settle disagreements within the framework of political consultations.
In 1997, NATO and Russia signed the ‘Founding Act on Mutual Relations’ in which the two sides vowed to “overcome the vestiges of earlier confrontation and competition and to strengthen mutual trust and cooperation."
Kujat said “the NATO-Russia agreement is not only a compulsory basis, but also the fundament for active crisis management.”
After highlighting its military capabilities in recent weeks, NATO on Monday invited Russia to the negotiating table, saying that the Russia-NATO council could meet as early as next week.
NATO defense ministers are expected to discuss the long-term consequences for the alliance at a meeting in the first week of June.
Piatt added that reduced military spending over recent years has highlighted the importance of NATO.
“Now is the time that we have to train interoperability more, not less, so that we can build a smart defense with the limited forces and resources that every nation has and together we’re very strong,” he said.
Alexander Smith of NBC News contributed to this report from London.
Source
***just got real.
Quote:
In a symbolic blow to U.S. global financial hegemony, Russia and China took a small step toward undercutting the domination of the U.S. dollar as the international reserve currency on Tuesday when Russia’s second biggest financial institution, VTB, signed a deal with the Bank of China to bypass the dollar and pay each other in domestic currencies.
The so-called Agreement on Cooperation — signed in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is on a visit to Shanghai — was followed by the long-awaited announcement on Wednesday of a massive natural gas deal 10 years in the making.
“Our countries have done a huge job to reach a new historic landmark,” Putin said on Tuesday, making note of the $100 billion in annual trade that has been achieved between the two countries.
Demand for the dollar, which has long served as a safe and reliable reserve currency in international transactions, has allowed the U.S. to borrow almost unlimited cash and spend well beyond its means, which some economists say has afforded the United States an outsize influence on world affairs.
But the BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, a bloc of the world’s five major emerging economies — have long sought to diminish their dependence on the dollar as a means of reshaping the world financial and geopolitical order. In the absence of a viable alternative, however, replacing it has proved difficult.
For its part, “China sees the dominance of the dollar in international trade transactions as a remnant of American global dominance, which they hope to overthrow in the years ahead,” said Michael Klare, a professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College. “This is a small step in that direction, to reduce the primacy of the dollar in international trade.”
Some have been tempted to view Tuesday's deal in the context of Putin's showdown with the West over the crisis in Ukraine. After the U.S. and Europe imposed sanctions on Moscow for its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, Putin may have finally made good on promised retaliation against what he views as Western hegemony in Russia's near abroad.
“Breaking the dominance of the U.S. dollar in international trade between the BRICS is something that the group has been talking about for some time,” said Chris Weafer, a founding partner of Macro-Advisory, a consultancy in Moscow. “The Ukraine crisis and the threats voiced by the U.S. administration may well provide the catalyst for that to start happening.”
To be sure, the Russia-China bank deal is mostly a symbolic step. Liza Ermolenko, an emerging markets economist at Capital Economics in London, said that the deal was still “a very small one, in the grand scale of things,” and that it wouldn’t change Russia’s reliance on the dollar “overnight.” Most of Russia’s export contracts in the oil and gas markets are still priced in dollars, she noted, and on a wider scale, replacing the dollar with the ruble is much too risky to even consider.
Likewise, even though China has agreed to the gas deal, which could see over $450 billion of Russian natural gas flow from eastern Siberia into China over the next 30 years, Russia is not in a position to abandon its ties with Europe.
"From the commercial standpoint, Europe is the most profitable market for Gazprom,” said Mikhail Korchemkin, the founder of Eastern European Gas Analysis, who has consulted for Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas company. "Exports to China can generate a small profit, [but] only if the government makes it free of taxes and duties.”
But the bank deal is another indicator that Russia and China are in the middle of a wider rapprochement, which analysts say is premised not on ideological alignment but on a mutual desire to undercut the U.S. in their respective spheres of influence.
Both countries are wary of President Barack Obama’s “pivot east,” a recalibration of U.S. foreign policy away from decades of war in the Middle East and toward the fast-growing economies of the East. Cynical observers have interpreted the shift as an effort to contain China.
"This is a marriage of mutual strategic interests, not a marriage of love," said Klare. “China wants energy and weapons from Russia, and Russia wants diplomatic backing and cash. It’s a quid pro quo.”
Yet even if China feels threatened by U.S. encroachment, it is Russia that is desperately pursuing closer ties with China.
Putin may have gotten the better of the Western powers in the showdown over Crimea, but at the cost of growing geopolitical isolation. Under intense pressure to demonstrate Russia's avowed independence from the West, he has repeatedly threatened that he could simply shut off its natural gas pipelines to Europe and find new markets for Russian energy exports.
Separate from that political posturing, the Russian imperative to find new markets for its energy exports is nonetheless very real. Energy demands in Europe have plateaued and may even decline in the long term because of stringent environmental regulations.
“If Russia wants to continue to be a petrostate, it has to shift marketing of its exports to Asia," said Klare, who noted that Western energy conglomerates like ExxonMobil have begun doing the same.
“We don’t want to push this too far and see it as a formation of a new, global anti-American bloc that is starting a new Cold War,” he added. "This is market-driven more than it’s political."
The so-called Agreement on Cooperation — signed in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is on a visit to Shanghai — was followed by the long-awaited announcement on Wednesday of a massive natural gas deal 10 years in the making.
“Our countries have done a huge job to reach a new historic landmark,” Putin said on Tuesday, making note of the $100 billion in annual trade that has been achieved between the two countries.
Demand for the dollar, which has long served as a safe and reliable reserve currency in international transactions, has allowed the U.S. to borrow almost unlimited cash and spend well beyond its means, which some economists say has afforded the United States an outsize influence on world affairs.
But the BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, a bloc of the world’s five major emerging economies — have long sought to diminish their dependence on the dollar as a means of reshaping the world financial and geopolitical order. In the absence of a viable alternative, however, replacing it has proved difficult.
For its part, “China sees the dominance of the dollar in international trade transactions as a remnant of American global dominance, which they hope to overthrow in the years ahead,” said Michael Klare, a professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College. “This is a small step in that direction, to reduce the primacy of the dollar in international trade.”
Some have been tempted to view Tuesday's deal in the context of Putin's showdown with the West over the crisis in Ukraine. After the U.S. and Europe imposed sanctions on Moscow for its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, Putin may have finally made good on promised retaliation against what he views as Western hegemony in Russia's near abroad.
“Breaking the dominance of the U.S. dollar in international trade between the BRICS is something that the group has been talking about for some time,” said Chris Weafer, a founding partner of Macro-Advisory, a consultancy in Moscow. “The Ukraine crisis and the threats voiced by the U.S. administration may well provide the catalyst for that to start happening.”
To be sure, the Russia-China bank deal is mostly a symbolic step. Liza Ermolenko, an emerging markets economist at Capital Economics in London, said that the deal was still “a very small one, in the grand scale of things,” and that it wouldn’t change Russia’s reliance on the dollar “overnight.” Most of Russia’s export contracts in the oil and gas markets are still priced in dollars, she noted, and on a wider scale, replacing the dollar with the ruble is much too risky to even consider.
Likewise, even though China has agreed to the gas deal, which could see over $450 billion of Russian natural gas flow from eastern Siberia into China over the next 30 years, Russia is not in a position to abandon its ties with Europe.
"From the commercial standpoint, Europe is the most profitable market for Gazprom,” said Mikhail Korchemkin, the founder of Eastern European Gas Analysis, who has consulted for Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas company. "Exports to China can generate a small profit, [but] only if the government makes it free of taxes and duties.”
But the bank deal is another indicator that Russia and China are in the middle of a wider rapprochement, which analysts say is premised not on ideological alignment but on a mutual desire to undercut the U.S. in their respective spheres of influence.
Both countries are wary of President Barack Obama’s “pivot east,” a recalibration of U.S. foreign policy away from decades of war in the Middle East and toward the fast-growing economies of the East. Cynical observers have interpreted the shift as an effort to contain China.
"This is a marriage of mutual strategic interests, not a marriage of love," said Klare. “China wants energy and weapons from Russia, and Russia wants diplomatic backing and cash. It’s a quid pro quo.”
Yet even if China feels threatened by U.S. encroachment, it is Russia that is desperately pursuing closer ties with China.
Putin may have gotten the better of the Western powers in the showdown over Crimea, but at the cost of growing geopolitical isolation. Under intense pressure to demonstrate Russia's avowed independence from the West, he has repeatedly threatened that he could simply shut off its natural gas pipelines to Europe and find new markets for Russian energy exports.
Separate from that political posturing, the Russian imperative to find new markets for its energy exports is nonetheless very real. Energy demands in Europe have plateaued and may even decline in the long term because of stringent environmental regulations.
“If Russia wants to continue to be a petrostate, it has to shift marketing of its exports to Asia," said Klare, who noted that Western energy conglomerates like ExxonMobil have begun doing the same.
“We don’t want to push this too far and see it as a formation of a new, global anti-American bloc that is starting a new Cold War,” he added. "This is market-driven more than it’s political."
People are forgetting that Putin will eventually die and a sane person (at least relative to Putin's shirtless insanity) will be at the Russian helm.
Sorry to disappoint the military industrial bloc, but no Cold War II.
Sorry to disappoint the military industrial bloc, but no Cold War II.
Eh I can see a lot of tension between the global superpowers for a decent amount of time, but tbh this will probably not even be mentioned in history books down the road...
Odin.Zicdeh said: »
People are forgetting that Putin will eventually die and a sane person (at least relative to Putin's shirtless insanity) will be at the Russian helm.
Sorry to disappoint the military industrial bloc, but no Cold War II.
Sorry to disappoint the military industrial bloc, but no Cold War II.
Same thing they said about fidel castro
Odin.Godofgods said: »
Odin.Zicdeh said: »
People are forgetting that Putin will eventually die and a sane person (at least relative to Putin's shirtless insanity) will be at the Russian helm.
Sorry to disappoint the military industrial bloc, but no Cold War II.
Sorry to disappoint the military industrial bloc, but no Cold War II.
Same thing they said about fidel castro
And he lived out the last 40+ years of his life as an example of how the world deals with radicals; obscurity and irrelevance.
Cuba is essentially stuck in the 50's. The ones lucky enough to have cars are driving 1950's American cars that are held together with beer cans and duct tape.
Odin.Godofgods said: »
Odin.Zicdeh said: »
People are forgetting that Putin will eventually die and a sane person (at least relative to Putin's shirtless insanity) will be at the Russian helm.
Sorry to disappoint the military industrial bloc, but no Cold War II.
Sorry to disappoint the military industrial bloc, but no Cold War II.
Same thing they said about fidel castro
I never pegged Fidel Castro as a lunatic.
A better analogy would be the Kim family of North Korea, they get crazier with each inbred generation.
Russian policy is moving in a dangerous direction though. Particularly the censorship laws about criticizing the government. That's a stepping-stone for the establishment of Totalitarianism.
Yeah, real crazy.
Quote:
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that it was impossible to isolate Russia from the global economy, as he rejected talk of a "new Cold War" between Moscow and the West.
Speaking to foreign news agency journalists at a key economic forum in his hometown Saint Petersburg, Putin also denied claims he was trying to restore the Soviet empire and said he was ready to meet Western leaders next month.
And he repeated his vow to "respect" the choice of Ukrainians in Sunday's presidential election, without saying explicitly whether he would recognise the results of the vote or a newly elected president.
Putin said that US and EU sanctions imposed on dozens of Russian officials have been "counterproductive" and insisted Russia could not be excluded from world markets.
"I think isolating such a country (as Russia)... is impossible," he said, adding that wide-ranging sanctions "would be negative for everyone and would bring such turbulence to the European, Russian and global economies that it is clear that nobody is interested in this."
But Putin dismissed talk of a new Cold War and rejected claims he was seeking to restore the Soviet Union as part of an "information war" against Russia.
"I don't want to think that this is the start of a new Cold War, that is in no one's interests, and I don't think this will happen," Putin said.
Speaking to foreign news agency journalists at a key economic forum in his hometown Saint Petersburg, Putin also denied claims he was trying to restore the Soviet empire and said he was ready to meet Western leaders next month.
And he repeated his vow to "respect" the choice of Ukrainians in Sunday's presidential election, without saying explicitly whether he would recognise the results of the vote or a newly elected president.
Putin said that US and EU sanctions imposed on dozens of Russian officials have been "counterproductive" and insisted Russia could not be excluded from world markets.
"I think isolating such a country (as Russia)... is impossible," he said, adding that wide-ranging sanctions "would be negative for everyone and would bring such turbulence to the European, Russian and global economies that it is clear that nobody is interested in this."
But Putin dismissed talk of a new Cold War and rejected claims he was seeking to restore the Soviet Union as part of an "information war" against Russia.
"I don't want to think that this is the start of a new Cold War, that is in no one's interests, and I don't think this will happen," Putin said.
there was just a story on some news station as i walked by showing pro-Russian fighters with automatic weapons at voting stations in on of the cities, firing in the air (warning) and not letting anyone at all vote.
Odin.Zicdeh said: »
Russian policy is moving in a dangerous direction though. Particularly the censorship laws about criticizing the government. That's a stepping-stone for the establishment of Totalitarianism.
That's about the only freedom Americas still value/exercise...
'Chocolate King' Poroshenko wins Ukraine presidency -exit polls
KIEV/MARIUPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) - Billionaire Petro Poroshenko claimed Ukraine's presidency on Sunday after exit polls gave him an absolute majority in a first round of voting and, vowing to end a conflict with pro-Russian rebels, he pledged to align his country with Europe.
Exit polls gave Poroshenko, a confectionery magnate with long experience in government, more than 55 percent of the vote, well ahead of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko in second place with just over 12 percent. If confirmed by results on Monday, there will be no need for a runoff vote on June 15.
Ukrainians, weary of six months of political turmoil, hope their new president will be able to pull their country of 45 million people back from the brink of bankruptcy, dismemberment and civil war that prevented voting in parts of the Russian-speaking east of the country.
"All the polls show that the election has been completed in one round and the country has a new president," Poroshenko, 48, told a news conference. His businesses have earned him a fortune of over $1 billion and the nickname the "Chocolate King".
At his campaign headquarters, he told supporters the majority of Ukrainians had given him a mandate to continue a course of integration with the rest of Europe but said his first priority was to travel to the east of the country to end "war and chaos" caused by armed pro-Russian separatists there.
Pro-Russian separatists barred people from voting in much of Ukraine's Donbass industrial heartland, turning the main city of Donetsk into a ghost town, after days of violence in the surrounding region in which at least 20 people were killed.
Asked by a foreign journalist about relations with Russia, Poroshenko, speaking in fluent English, said he would insist on respect for Ukraine's "sovereignty and territorial integrity". He also said Ukraine would never recognize Russia's "occupation of Crimea", the Black Sea region seized by Moscow in March.
But Poroshenko will have to try to find common ground with Ukraine's giant northern neighbor, which provides most of its natural gas and is the major market for its exports.
UPHEAVAL
Sunday's election marked the culmination of a revolution that erupted last November, forced pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovich to flee in February and spiraled into an existential crisis when Moscow responded by declaring its right to invade Ukraine to protect its large Russian-speaking population.
The pro-Moscow separatists have proclaimed independent "people's republics" in the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk and blocked voting there as that would imply they were still part of Ukraine. Nor was any vote held in Russian-annexed Crimea.
Ukrainian officials hailed a high voter turnout in much of the sprawling country but said only about 20 percent of polling stations in the two restive eastern regions had functioned. One man was reported killed in a shootout in Luhansk region after what officials said was a militant raid on a polling station.
Putin, who branded eastern Ukraine "New Russia" last month, has made more accommodating noises of late, saying on Saturday he would respect the voters' will. He has announced the pullback of tens of thousands of Russian troops massed on the border.
But the absence of more than 15 percent of the potential electorate from the election could give Moscow an excuse to raise doubts about the victor's legitimacy and continue applying pressure on the new president in Kiev.
Poroshenko is hardly a new face in Ukrainian politics, having served in a cabinet under Yanukovich and also under a previous government led by Yanukovich's foes. This breadth of experience has given him a reputation as a pragmatist capable of bridging Ukraine's divide between supporters and foes of Moscow.
He nevertheless was a strong backer of the street protests that toppled Yanukovich and is thus acceptable to many in the "Maidan" movement of pro-European protesters who have kept their tented camp in the capital to keep pressure on the new leaders.
After Yanukovich fled in February after more than 100 people were killed, Moscow refused to recognize the interim leaders in Kiev, describing them as a fascist junta who threaten the safety of millions of Russian speakers.
Tymoshenko, freed from jail on the day Yanukovich fled to Russia, appeared to accept her defeat by a long-time rival, saying in a brief appearance that the vote had been fair.
Ukrainians hope the vote can help because Moscow could not so quickly dismiss an elected leader with a solid mandate.
The United States and European Union also view the election as a decisive step towards ending their worst confrontation with Moscow since the Cold War.
Their response to Russian interference in Ukraine so far has been limited to freezing the assets of a few dozen Russian individuals and small firms. But they have threatened to take far more serious measures, even targeting whole sectors of Russian industry, if Moscow interferes with the vote.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: "Whether Poroshenko manages to unite a divided country will depend above all on how the constitutional process will now be approached, what kind of messages will be sent to the eastern region... also to the Russian-speakers."
Constitutional changes since Yanukovich's fall will leave Poroshenko with less power than his predecessor once he is formally sworn in, probably not before next month. He will share power with Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk and parliament.
Poroshenko, who has worked closely with the liberal Yatseniuk in recent months, said there should be a parliamentary election before the end of the year.
"VIOLATION OF MY RIGHTS"
Some Ukrainians in the east who tried to vote complained about being denied their democratic right.
"What kind of polls are these? Things are bad," said pensioner Grigory Nikitayich, 72, in Donetsk.
Even Ukrainian soldiers sent to assert the government's authority in the east said they had no place to vote.
"Our superiors promised we would be able to vote here but it turns out that is not so. This is a violation of my rights, it's ridiculous - I am here to safeguard an election in which I cannot vote," said Ivan Satsuk, a soldier from the Kiev region sent to man a roadblock near the eastern port of Mariupol.
Yatseniuk hailed Sunday's election as a victory for democracy and the rule of law despite the disruption in the east: "Efforts by the Russian Federation and the terrorists it finances to derail the elections are doomed to failure. We will have a legitimate head of state," he said before polls closed.
Moscow denies financing or training the separatists, denials that Western countries dismiss as absurd.
Putin pledged on Saturday to "respect" the people's choice and work with Ukraine's new administration - a conciliatory move during an economic forum at which he had acknowledged that U.S. and EU sanctions over Ukraine were hurting the Russian economy.
He played down talk of a return to Cold War with the West and dismissed the idea he was bent on restoring the former USSR, whose collapse he has in the past lamented.
KIEV/MARIUPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) - Billionaire Petro Poroshenko claimed Ukraine's presidency on Sunday after exit polls gave him an absolute majority in a first round of voting and, vowing to end a conflict with pro-Russian rebels, he pledged to align his country with Europe.
Exit polls gave Poroshenko, a confectionery magnate with long experience in government, more than 55 percent of the vote, well ahead of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko in second place with just over 12 percent. If confirmed by results on Monday, there will be no need for a runoff vote on June 15.
Ukrainians, weary of six months of political turmoil, hope their new president will be able to pull their country of 45 million people back from the brink of bankruptcy, dismemberment and civil war that prevented voting in parts of the Russian-speaking east of the country.
"All the polls show that the election has been completed in one round and the country has a new president," Poroshenko, 48, told a news conference. His businesses have earned him a fortune of over $1 billion and the nickname the "Chocolate King".
At his campaign headquarters, he told supporters the majority of Ukrainians had given him a mandate to continue a course of integration with the rest of Europe but said his first priority was to travel to the east of the country to end "war and chaos" caused by armed pro-Russian separatists there.
Pro-Russian separatists barred people from voting in much of Ukraine's Donbass industrial heartland, turning the main city of Donetsk into a ghost town, after days of violence in the surrounding region in which at least 20 people were killed.
Asked by a foreign journalist about relations with Russia, Poroshenko, speaking in fluent English, said he would insist on respect for Ukraine's "sovereignty and territorial integrity". He also said Ukraine would never recognize Russia's "occupation of Crimea", the Black Sea region seized by Moscow in March.
But Poroshenko will have to try to find common ground with Ukraine's giant northern neighbor, which provides most of its natural gas and is the major market for its exports.
UPHEAVAL
Sunday's election marked the culmination of a revolution that erupted last November, forced pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovich to flee in February and spiraled into an existential crisis when Moscow responded by declaring its right to invade Ukraine to protect its large Russian-speaking population.
The pro-Moscow separatists have proclaimed independent "people's republics" in the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk and blocked voting there as that would imply they were still part of Ukraine. Nor was any vote held in Russian-annexed Crimea.
Ukrainian officials hailed a high voter turnout in much of the sprawling country but said only about 20 percent of polling stations in the two restive eastern regions had functioned. One man was reported killed in a shootout in Luhansk region after what officials said was a militant raid on a polling station.
Putin, who branded eastern Ukraine "New Russia" last month, has made more accommodating noises of late, saying on Saturday he would respect the voters' will. He has announced the pullback of tens of thousands of Russian troops massed on the border.
But the absence of more than 15 percent of the potential electorate from the election could give Moscow an excuse to raise doubts about the victor's legitimacy and continue applying pressure on the new president in Kiev.
Poroshenko is hardly a new face in Ukrainian politics, having served in a cabinet under Yanukovich and also under a previous government led by Yanukovich's foes. This breadth of experience has given him a reputation as a pragmatist capable of bridging Ukraine's divide between supporters and foes of Moscow.
He nevertheless was a strong backer of the street protests that toppled Yanukovich and is thus acceptable to many in the "Maidan" movement of pro-European protesters who have kept their tented camp in the capital to keep pressure on the new leaders.
After Yanukovich fled in February after more than 100 people were killed, Moscow refused to recognize the interim leaders in Kiev, describing them as a fascist junta who threaten the safety of millions of Russian speakers.
Tymoshenko, freed from jail on the day Yanukovich fled to Russia, appeared to accept her defeat by a long-time rival, saying in a brief appearance that the vote had been fair.
Ukrainians hope the vote can help because Moscow could not so quickly dismiss an elected leader with a solid mandate.
The United States and European Union also view the election as a decisive step towards ending their worst confrontation with Moscow since the Cold War.
Their response to Russian interference in Ukraine so far has been limited to freezing the assets of a few dozen Russian individuals and small firms. But they have threatened to take far more serious measures, even targeting whole sectors of Russian industry, if Moscow interferes with the vote.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: "Whether Poroshenko manages to unite a divided country will depend above all on how the constitutional process will now be approached, what kind of messages will be sent to the eastern region... also to the Russian-speakers."
Constitutional changes since Yanukovich's fall will leave Poroshenko with less power than his predecessor once he is formally sworn in, probably not before next month. He will share power with Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk and parliament.
Poroshenko, who has worked closely with the liberal Yatseniuk in recent months, said there should be a parliamentary election before the end of the year.
"VIOLATION OF MY RIGHTS"
Some Ukrainians in the east who tried to vote complained about being denied their democratic right.
"What kind of polls are these? Things are bad," said pensioner Grigory Nikitayich, 72, in Donetsk.
Even Ukrainian soldiers sent to assert the government's authority in the east said they had no place to vote.
"Our superiors promised we would be able to vote here but it turns out that is not so. This is a violation of my rights, it's ridiculous - I am here to safeguard an election in which I cannot vote," said Ivan Satsuk, a soldier from the Kiev region sent to man a roadblock near the eastern port of Mariupol.
Yatseniuk hailed Sunday's election as a victory for democracy and the rule of law despite the disruption in the east: "Efforts by the Russian Federation and the terrorists it finances to derail the elections are doomed to failure. We will have a legitimate head of state," he said before polls closed.
Moscow denies financing or training the separatists, denials that Western countries dismiss as absurd.
Putin pledged on Saturday to "respect" the people's choice and work with Ukraine's new administration - a conciliatory move during an economic forum at which he had acknowledged that U.S. and EU sanctions over Ukraine were hurting the Russian economy.
He played down talk of a return to Cold War with the West and dismissed the idea he was bent on restoring the former USSR, whose collapse he has in the past lamented.
Odin.Godofgods said: »
Odin.Zicdeh said: »
Russian policy is moving in a dangerous direction though. Particularly the censorship laws about criticizing the government. That's a stepping-stone for the establishment of Totalitarianism.
That's about the only freedom Americas still value/exercise...
2nd amendment...
15% of the electorate being absent is not going to make up a 55-12 deficit. At least Putin continues to entertain.
I think it would be naive to expect that the election going either way would do anything to quell the separatist sentiment of the East. I don't foresee much changing besides adding another talking point for pro-russian mouthpieces.
My friend in Odesa told me about a man holding a sign and "preaching" in front of a government utility building a few weeks ago about the "fascists" in Kiev and using words like "we" who turned out to be a Russian army guy from Usuriskiy. I highly doubt he was there of his own means and accord.
My friend in Odesa told me about a man holding a sign and "preaching" in front of a government utility building a few weeks ago about the "fascists" in Kiev and using words like "we" who turned out to be a Russian army guy from Usuriskiy. I highly doubt he was there of his own means and accord.
Quote:
Armed Pro-Russian Separatists Overrun Airport in Donetsk
DONETSK, Ukraine - Armed pro-Russian separatists overran an airport in restive eastern Ukraine on Monday, a day after voters across the country appeared to have handed a decisive victory to a billionaire candy magnate calling for greater integration with Europe.
The 50 or so separatists claiming to be members of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic demanded that Ukrainian troops withdraw from the Donetsk airport, an airport spokesman told NBC News.
The airport terminal has been evacuated by passengers and personnel and no flights were leaving or arriving, the spokesman added.
On May 12, the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk formally asked to be annexed by Russia after a referendum in which it claimed people voted overwhelmingly in favor of breaking away from Ukraine.
Meanwhile, polls indicated that billionaire candy magnate Petro Poroshenko had won the weekend election with an absolute majority.
Poroshenko told supporters at his campaign headquarters on Sunday that the majority of Ukrainians had given him a mandate to continue pursuing integration with the rest of Europe -- putting him at odds with pro-Russian separatists.
His first priority, however, was to travel to the east of the country to end "war and chaos" caused by the armed groups there.
Source
DONETSK, Ukraine - Armed pro-Russian separatists overran an airport in restive eastern Ukraine on Monday, a day after voters across the country appeared to have handed a decisive victory to a billionaire candy magnate calling for greater integration with Europe.
The 50 or so separatists claiming to be members of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic demanded that Ukrainian troops withdraw from the Donetsk airport, an airport spokesman told NBC News.
The airport terminal has been evacuated by passengers and personnel and no flights were leaving or arriving, the spokesman added.
On May 12, the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk formally asked to be annexed by Russia after a referendum in which it claimed people voted overwhelmingly in favor of breaking away from Ukraine.
Meanwhile, polls indicated that billionaire candy magnate Petro Poroshenko had won the weekend election with an absolute majority.
Poroshenko told supporters at his campaign headquarters on Sunday that the majority of Ukrainians had given him a mandate to continue pursuing integration with the rest of Europe -- putting him at odds with pro-Russian separatists.
His first priority, however, was to travel to the east of the country to end "war and chaos" caused by the armed groups there.
Source
Back on topic, lol.
If you disagree with Russia's or Putin's politics so much, instead of bitching on about it on the internet to like minded individuals, take a page out of your own book and write to him.
They've made it very easy now.
http://eng.letters.kremlin.ru/
Rumor has it he's very good at getting back to you as long as you present yourself in a civilized and respectful manor.
If you disagree with Russia's or Putin's politics so much, instead of bitching on about it on the internet to like minded individuals, take a page out of your own book and write to him.
They've made it very easy now.
http://eng.letters.kremlin.ru/
Rumor has it he's very good at getting back to you as long as you present yourself in a civilized and respectful manor.
Leviathan.Chaosx said: »
Back on topic, lol.
If you disagree with Russia's or Putin's politics so much, instead of bitching on about it on the internet to like minded individuals, take a page out of your own book and write to him.
They've made it very easy now.
http://eng.letters.kremlin.ru/
Rumor has it he's very good at getting back to you as long as you present yourself in a civilized and respectful manor.
If you disagree with Russia's or Putin's politics so much, instead of bitching on about it on the internet to like minded individuals, take a page out of your own book and write to him.
They've made it very easy now.
http://eng.letters.kremlin.ru/
Rumor has it he's very good at getting back to you as long as you present yourself in a civilized and respectful manor.
You're welcome :D
Shady Ukrainians, as you were warned about.
Source
Quote:
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — As Ukraine's tax chief tells it, the billion-dollar theft was planned at a see-through plastic table in a vault of sound-proof steel.
The table and six matching transparent chairs sit in a secret chamber on an upper story of the Tax Ministry in Kiev. It was the epicenter, he and other tax officials say, of a massive fraud suspected of squeezing 130 billion hryvnias ($11 billion) from Kiev's coffers over the past three years — an amount equal to more than half a year's tax revenue for the entire country.
Deputy Tax Minister Ihor Bilous, the country's new tax boss, says his predecessor was in on the scam, helping to organize a wide network of phantom firms in return for a cut of the cash. The criminals, he says, operated with impunity.
"They didn't care about the police, the security services. Nobody was checking," Bilous told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "That's why this cancer ... spread over the whole country."
...
Phantom companies have long been a problem in Ukraine, which ranks 144th out of 177 in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. Exorcising them is a key challenge faced by the newly elected administration of Petro Poroshenko, who was sworn in Saturday as Ukrainian president.
For now, Ukraine's budget is being held together with the help of a $17 billion International Monetary Fund loan package.
Bilous is proposing a series of legal changes to fight corruption, and some 30 investigations are underway. But skeptics say the new government is not doing enough to end fraud.
Outside the tax ministry, drum-banging, bell-clanging protesters from the Anti-Raider League of Entrepreneurs, an anti-corruption group, alleged that crooked officials from the previous administration had merely been shuffled around.
Bilous "has not changed anything," said the league's director, Andrei Semedidko. "How are we going to build a new country when the faces are the old ones?"
The table and six matching transparent chairs sit in a secret chamber on an upper story of the Tax Ministry in Kiev. It was the epicenter, he and other tax officials say, of a massive fraud suspected of squeezing 130 billion hryvnias ($11 billion) from Kiev's coffers over the past three years — an amount equal to more than half a year's tax revenue for the entire country.
Deputy Tax Minister Ihor Bilous, the country's new tax boss, says his predecessor was in on the scam, helping to organize a wide network of phantom firms in return for a cut of the cash. The criminals, he says, operated with impunity.
"They didn't care about the police, the security services. Nobody was checking," Bilous told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "That's why this cancer ... spread over the whole country."
...
Phantom companies have long been a problem in Ukraine, which ranks 144th out of 177 in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. Exorcising them is a key challenge faced by the newly elected administration of Petro Poroshenko, who was sworn in Saturday as Ukrainian president.
For now, Ukraine's budget is being held together with the help of a $17 billion International Monetary Fund loan package.
Bilous is proposing a series of legal changes to fight corruption, and some 30 investigations are underway. But skeptics say the new government is not doing enough to end fraud.
Outside the tax ministry, drum-banging, bell-clanging protesters from the Anti-Raider League of Entrepreneurs, an anti-corruption group, alleged that crooked officials from the previous administration had merely been shuffled around.
Bilous "has not changed anything," said the league's director, Andrei Semedidko. "How are we going to build a new country when the faces are the old ones?"
Leviathan.Chaosx said: »
Shady Ukrainians, as you were warned about.
Source
Quote:
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — As Ukraine's tax chief tells it, the billion-dollar theft was planned at a see-through plastic table in a vault of sound-proof steel.
The table and six matching transparent chairs sit in a secret chamber on an upper story of the Tax Ministry in Kiev. It was the epicenter, he and other tax officials say, of a massive fraud suspected of squeezing 130 billion hryvnias ($11 billion) from Kiev's coffers over the past three years — an amount equal to more than half a year's tax revenue for the entire country.
Deputy Tax Minister Ihor Bilous, the country's new tax boss, says his predecessor was in on the scam, helping to organize a wide network of phantom firms in return for a cut of the cash. The criminals, he says, operated with impunity.
"They didn't care about the police, the security services. Nobody was checking," Bilous told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "That's why this cancer ... spread over the whole country."
...
Phantom companies have long been a problem in Ukraine, which ranks 144th out of 177 in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. Exorcising them is a key challenge faced by the newly elected administration of Petro Poroshenko, who was sworn in Saturday as Ukrainian president.
For now, Ukraine's budget is being held together with the help of a $17 billion International Monetary Fund loan package.
Bilous is proposing a series of legal changes to fight corruption, and some 30 investigations are underway. But skeptics say the new government is not doing enough to end fraud.
Outside the tax ministry, drum-banging, bell-clanging protesters from the Anti-Raider League of Entrepreneurs, an anti-corruption group, alleged that crooked officials from the previous administration had merely been shuffled around.
Bilous "has not changed anything," said the league's director, Andrei Semedidko. "How are we going to build a new country when the faces are the old ones?"
The table and six matching transparent chairs sit in a secret chamber on an upper story of the Tax Ministry in Kiev. It was the epicenter, he and other tax officials say, of a massive fraud suspected of squeezing 130 billion hryvnias ($11 billion) from Kiev's coffers over the past three years — an amount equal to more than half a year's tax revenue for the entire country.
Deputy Tax Minister Ihor Bilous, the country's new tax boss, says his predecessor was in on the scam, helping to organize a wide network of phantom firms in return for a cut of the cash. The criminals, he says, operated with impunity.
"They didn't care about the police, the security services. Nobody was checking," Bilous told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "That's why this cancer ... spread over the whole country."
...
Phantom companies have long been a problem in Ukraine, which ranks 144th out of 177 in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. Exorcising them is a key challenge faced by the newly elected administration of Petro Poroshenko, who was sworn in Saturday as Ukrainian president.
For now, Ukraine's budget is being held together with the help of a $17 billion International Monetary Fund loan package.
Bilous is proposing a series of legal changes to fight corruption, and some 30 investigations are underway. But skeptics say the new government is not doing enough to end fraud.
Outside the tax ministry, drum-banging, bell-clanging protesters from the Anti-Raider League of Entrepreneurs, an anti-corruption group, alleged that crooked officials from the previous administration had merely been shuffled around.
Bilous "has not changed anything," said the league's director, Andrei Semedidko. "How are we going to build a new country when the faces are the old ones?"
[+]
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/russian-bombers-fly-within-50-miles-of-california-coast/
Actually I would thank Russia if they nuked kalifornia.
Actually I would thank Russia if they nuked kalifornia.
All FFXI content and images © 2002-2024 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. FINAL
FANTASY is a registered trademark of Square Enix Co., Ltd.