Ukraine’s military takeover of the city of Kharkiv was quick and bloodless, with only a handful of reports of any shooting, and no reports of any deaths. It served as a wake-up call for the separatists in Luhansk and Donetsk.
Luhansk government buildings are now surrounded with barricades and barbed wire. The protesters have also taken an armory in the city and taken automatic rifles, preparing to fight back if Ukraine’s troops come.
Donetsk, the base of the secessionist movement in the east, is also fortifying in anticipation of an offensive. Though not as large as Kharkiv, Donetsk appears to have a much larger secessionist movement, and is determined to hold out for a referendum.
Both Donetsk and Luhansk are much closer to the Russian border than Kharkiv, and the secessionists have been hoping to convince the Russian government to intervene on their behalf, with an eye toward a Crimea-style accession into the Russian Federation.
I wouldn´t exactly call them "secessionist" at this stage, secede from what? Ukraine as we knew it 4 months ago doesn´t exist. Ukraine means and has always been, "border lands" and border lands it is, between an aggressively expanding NATO preparing for yet another Drang nach osten and Russia , protecting it´s people and vast natural resources .
What we have is a US/NATO imposed & supported Nazi putsch junta in Kiev. With popular support in the west and that particular area. If the want the south & southeast, that is going to be violent occupation.Try "freedom fighters".for the love of God..
For a country and a people that sacrified 25 million soldiers and civilians to free the world from Nazism, this is deadly serious business. The Russians say "never again!" and they certainly mean it. What NATO´s kriegs-fuhrer Anders Foggy Ratmussen and Obama and his white masters of the cold war has unleashed is a very clear message and something Russia will fight back with all it´s might. I said before that just like in Georgia and Syria, the west has cornered itself to no other option but to start WW3 or back off and chicken out from these stupidities. Let´s hope saner minds than these prevail…
I think Obama will back down , But the war party is sure going to make hay against Obama now .
If you ask a average american, where Russian Federation located on the wold map, most likely they start looking for it, if you ask them where Russia is located on the world map, they probably point to Alaska? In all the honesty, I don't even think that state department employees would know where is east or where is west Ukraine, that is to say before, by now I don't think that they even remember what was the question, if they knew, they wouldn't spend 6billion dollars to find out about Ukraine, its political nature, its economy, what border they share, what or how many languages spoken in Ukraine and etc.
At least they have a referendum: not so outside Israel's legal borders.
To Russia and China NATO looks to be the same forces the NAZIs were . Well developed countries trying to develop the less developed countries resources with or without their permission . NATO likes to call themselves the international community , however there is another much larger world community that are starting to take notice of the international communities actions . The BRIC countries are a important part of the world community . Putin and Russia are very popular in the larger less developed world , because Russia has a powerful military that can standup to NATO or NAZIs or whatever else maybe .. China is also coming on strong after we bombed their embassy in Yugoslavia . We told China this was a accident . But China found out it was on purpose . Now China has developed technology for shooting down satellites in outer space . The same kind of satellites we used for sending a missal into the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia . China told us point blank they have not forgotten or forgiven what happened to them in Yugoslavia . Do you know Yugoslavia was the Balkans the easiest place in the world to start a war .
The hand-writing is on the wall and has been for quite some time. It will be only a short period of time (probably less than 2 years) before all of eastern Ukraine holds elections and votes to become members of the Russian Federation. The neocons of course are more aware of it than anyone else, which explains the ineffective sanctions, irresponsible rhetoric and other examples of wild panic being put on display by Obama and his water boy, John Kerry.
Capitalist/imperialist bluster stops at the peoples' barricades in Donetsk. I'm anxious to learn of the starting date for the trials of the local fascists.
Should you have a Power throne by sword, don’t hesitate to think that you will forcely be kicked out by sword. Kiev feels the pulses.
the west has underestimated the closeness between russia and the ukraine. vladamir the great liberate us from these monsters. chemtrails and beasts preying on our kids the west is in a mess of biblical proportions. long live freedom in this darkest hour. lies lies lies. the world has had enough arrest tony blaire catherin ashton john mccain(no leave the old fool alone he spent enough time in a hole)