http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28285208
Government forces in eastern Ukraine have begun storming the rebel-held city of Luhansk with tanks, Russian news agency reports quoting rebels say.
Heavy fighting erupted as columns of government armour attacked from the south and west, rebel military leader Igor Strelkov was quoted as saying.
He said there were unconfirmed reports of special forces landing by helicopter inside the city of 425,000 people.
There was no immediate confirmation from Kiev but bloggers report fighting.
Pro-Russian separatist rebels have been fighting the government in Kiev since declaring independence in Luhansk and the neighbouring region of Donetsk in April.
dolanbaker wrote:Meanwhile in the Ukraine...http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28285208
Government forces in eastern Ukraine have begun storming the rebel-held city of Luhansk with tanks, Russian news agency reports quoting rebels say.
Heavy fighting erupted as columns of government armour attacked from the south and west, rebel military leader Igor Strelkov was quoted as saying.
He said there were unconfirmed reports of special forces landing by helicopter inside the city of 425,000 people.
There was no immediate confirmation from Kiev but bloggers report fighting.
Pro-Russian separatist rebels have been fighting the government in Kiev since declaring independence in Luhansk and the neighbouring region of Donetsk in April.
Sixstrings wrote:Your larger point about sectarianism is correct. The US has done so well, at being a melting pot, thanks to our Constitution and our principles. We were a melting pot from the beginning as colonies -- dissidents coming here from all kinds of factions. Puritans, quakers, Cathloics, all persecuted minorities.
You can't get more serious about protecting the people from their government than the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, specifically in its most critical clause: "No person shall be... deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." In 2011, the White House ordered the drone-killing of American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki without trial. It claimed this was a legal act it is prepared to repeat as necessary. Given the Fifth Amendment, how exactly was this justified? Thanks to a much contested, recently released but significantly redacted -- about one-third of the text is missing -- Justice Department white paper providing the basis for that extrajudicial killing, we finally know: the president in Post-Constitutional America is now officially judge, jury, and executioner.
Moscow has protested against plans by Ukraine to carry out missile tests near Crimea, raising the diplomatic temperature between the two countries.
Russia's aviation agency, Rosaviatsia, said Ukraine had notified it of tests to be carried out in "Russia's sovereign air space" on 1 and 2 December in the Simferopol area.
The Russian defence ministry said it had presented the Ukrainian military attache with a note of protest in response.
It said the airspace involved, over Crimea's west coast, "violates territorial seas of the Russian Federation".
But in a statement on his official website, Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council Secretary, Oleksandr Turchynov, said his country was following protocol.
"Ukraine carries out the missile tests within the framework of all the international obligations and treaties," he said.
"That's why we ask Russia not to hinder the tests by its hysterics and provocations."
Subjectivist wrote:Moscow has protested against plans by Ukraine to carry out missile tests near Crimea, raising the diplomatic temperature between the two countries.
Russia's aviation agency, Rosaviatsia, said Ukraine had notified it of tests to be carried out in "Russia's sovereign air space" on 1 and 2 December in the Simferopol area.
The Russian defence ministry said it had presented the Ukrainian military attache with a note of protest in response.
It said the airspace involved, over Crimea's west coast, "violates territorial seas of the Russian Federation".
But in a statement on his official website, Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council Secretary, Oleksandr Turchynov, said his country was following protocol.
"Ukraine carries out the missile tests within the framework of all the international obligations and treaties," he said.
"That's why we ask Russia not to hinder the tests by its hysterics and provocations."
http://news.sky.com/story/russia-in-spa ... t-10672565
Ukraine Vice PM: Less US Support Dangerous to Region’s Stability
When asked what Ukraine might do should Trump pull back US support of Ukraine, Klympush-Tsintsadze said, “First and foremost, we are counting on ourselves, so it’s not that we are sitting there and waiting for someone to help, that is very important to understand. It is the Ukrainian Army that is holding the Russian aggression right now without foreign boots on the surface, on the ground.”
The Ukrainian army is 250,000 soldiers strong and has made drastic improvements in bringing independent battalions of volunteer soldiers into the official military framework. This unity, Klympush-Tsintsadze said, has helped to improve equipping soldiers uniformly and in a more timely way, but more work is to be done there. ...
Klympush-Tsintsadze added Ukraine has devoted 5 percent of its GDP to defense and security spending in its country, far above the 2 percent required for NATO countries. Ukraine is not a member, but, in the past, has expressed its desire to be inducted.
However, Ukraine can’t go it alone. Russia “only understands the language of unity and the language of power and that is why we will continue with all the foreign partners in order to make sure there are no fractures between them and Russia does not exploit those fractures because they are very good at that,” Klympush-Tsintsadze said.
http://www.defensenews.com/articles/halifax-security-forum-uncertain-trump-putin-relationship-driving-nato-closer-together
Senators vow to counter Trump on Russia
The increased pressure from the Senate comes as the House passed legislation that would impose mandatory sanctions on anyone who provides financial or technological support to Syria’s government, which is mired in a civil war. The bill was widely seen as targeting Russia and Iran, the Syrian regime's two biggest backers.
GOP lawmakers have bristled for years, believing President Obama hasn’t been firm enough against Putin, or done enough — including providing lethal aid — to help Ukrainian fighters combat Russian-backed separatists.
Lawmakers have also quietly voiced concerns about Trump’s positioning on Moscow for months, but are increasingly speaking up as the president-elect begins to set up his administration.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, questioned the choice of former military intelligence chief Michael Flynn as Trump’s national security advisor.
"I am deeply concerned about his views on Russia, which over the last 12 months have demonstrated the same fondness for the autocratic and belligerent Kremlin which animate President-elect Trump's praise of Vladimir Putin," Schiff said.
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) echoed that Friday, saying he is “disturbed by General Flynn’s relationships and ties with Russian actors.”
“There are Democrats and Republicans that are, I think most members of Congress, that are very concerned about Russia’s activities and how we try to reconcile that with statements that Donald Trump made during the course of his campaign,” he said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Russia forum.
Cardin, who is keeping Dems' top spot on the Foreign Relations panel next year, said he would introduce “comprehensive” legislation to push back against Russia’s “violation of international norms.”
He added that the legislation would push back against Russian cyberattacks and “put on the table” expanded sanctions against individuals found to be tied to the hacks.
Cardin has previously noted diplomats' concerns about Trump. He said Friday that a Trump administration must recognize that Russia is a “global bully and adversary…[it is] not a partner.” ...
Noting the short schedule, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the committee chairman, said “that’s something we’ll take up after the first of the year.”
But Corker demurred when asked what the Trump White House's response would be to new legislation cracking down on Russia.
“I don’t really know,” he said. “I think people are trying to figure out where they are going to be.”
http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/306856-senators-vow-to-counter-trump-on-russia
pstarr wrote:The Ukraine and its corporate supporters (Hillary Clinton and the United States government) are clearly in criminal violation of international law.
Serial_Worrier wrote:What's disgusting to me is that Biden will do just enough to allow Ukraine to survive but not to win. It's like when Lucy keeps pulling the football away from Charlie Brown at the last second.
What's the new US strategy in Ukraine?
Originally was to create a threat that Russia couldn't ignore: a nazi regime designed to draw the Russians into Ukraine & then imposition of attrition cost over years.
On February 2022, the US was excited to see its plan work. Did it?
ralfy wrote: a nazi regime .... Russia
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest