Secessionist protesters in the eastern cities of Donetsk and Luhansk have been given 48 hours to unconditionally surrender to the Ukraine interim government or be “evicted by force” by the nation’s military.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov insisted the situation would “be resolved in 48 hours” either by a surrender or a military offensive, citing the military’s quick takeover of the city of Kharkiv earlier this week.
The secessionists have been reinforcing barricades in the cities since Kharkiv fell, and continue to urge the Russian government to intervene on their behalf. The secessionists are overwhelmingly ethnic Russians, and are hoping to seek accession into Russia in the same manner as Crimea did.
Though Western nations continue to paint the whole situation as a Russian plot, the reality is Russia doesn’t seem to really want the eastern provinces of Ukraine the same way it wanted Crimea, which hosts a major naval base. Rather, Russian officials have been urging the rest of Ukraine to agree to some sort of federal system with more regional autonomy that would allow the ethnic Russians in the east to continue to be part of the Ukraine, instead of saddling Russia with more dirt-poor cities from their economic basketcase of a neighbor.
When the REAL UKRAINE GOVERNMENT was occupied ANTIWAR did not write "Surrender or Face Military Action"
But when US-financed Terrorist which did Strom the parliament and urge them at gun Point to resign – that is a godd democratic government.
Surely you can distinguish between reporting what someone else says, and advocacy by the reporter for that position. Jason/Anti-war is just passing on what the Ukrainian putschists are threatening, not advocating same.
I wonder if US rhetoric will change if the Ukrainian junta proceeds as threatened and starts to slaughter the ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine? Will the US continue to support the usurpers when they unleash the neo-Nazi storm troopers and the "hired" snipers?
Don't be stupid. Of course they will as the pro-Russian supporters are a threat to "democracy".
Channeling Lincoln…..
Putin's problem is that his elderly supporters want him to restore the "Soviet Union". He cannot restore communism (the oligarchs won't let him take their wealth away from them) so has has to try to restore its territory. If he fails to grab the whole of Ukraine, he is defeated and discredited in the eyes of his supporters and will almost certainly be forced from office. It would suit the Ukrainian government very well to provoke Putin into invading Donetsk (56% ethnic Ukrainian) and Lugansk (58%) provinces. They are almost exactly the reverse of Crimea and invading them would discredit the invasion of Crimea. If 58% Russians in Crimea justifies annexing them, then 58% Ukrainians in Donetsk justifies Ukraine keeping it. Thus, they can happily thumb their noses at Putin. He has little choice left other than to decide which foot he'll shoot himself in!
You keep buying into the Western agitprop of a Russian "invasion" of Crimea, when in fact the Russian "action" in Crimea was quite unique as such affairs go: the Russians were already there, the "Russian" population was a majority, not a shot was fired, not a drop of blood spilled, and the already-autonomous Crimean Govt then engaged the democratic ritual of a referendum, to which the people responded with overwhelming approval of the political realignment.
The rest of the world looks on in awe — but no shock — as Putin spanks the US/Neocons and has his way with them, and wins on the cheap and draped in democratic legitimacy. So the question becomes: "Has the West learned its lesson — not — or does it need yet another spanking?"
The secessionist protesters in Donetsk plan a speedy referendum — tomorrow the 11th — to follow the Crimean model. No one but Putin knows what he will do if the putschists try to make good on their threats. What is clear however, is that Russia military dominance in this situation is absolute, so what Putin wants, Putin gets.
Spank 'em good, Vladimir.
You keep buying into the Western agitprop of a Russian "invasion" of Crimea, when in fact the Russian "action" in Crimea was quite unique as such affairs go: the Russians were already there, the "Russian" population was a majority, not a shot was fired, not a drop of blood spilled, and the already-autonomous Crimean Govt then engaged the democratic ritual of a referendum, to which the people responded with overwhelming approval of the political realignment.
The rest of the world looks on in awe — but no shock — as Putin spanks the US/Neocons and has his way with them, and wins Crimea on the cheap, and stamped with democratic legitimacy. So the question becomes: "Has the West learned its lesson — not — or does it need yet another spanking?"
The secessionist protesters in Donetsk, following the Crimean model, plan a speedy referendum — tomorrow the 11th. No one but Putin knows what Putin will do if the putschists try to make good on their threats. What is clear however, is that Russian military dominance in this situation is absolute, so what Putin wants, Putin gets.
Spank 'em good, Vladimir.
I think (always a dangerous proposition) that you think (benefit of doubt, no doubt) Putin is stupid and doesn't understand his own situation. I submit that Putin is quite aware of his options and the repercussions of his actions (unlike the US in the many OCONUS democracy-spreading adventures of the past 60 years) despite what the official unofficial US mouth-pieces and captive media talking heads state.
Why would Putin want to relieve the Ukrainian government of a region that is poor and a drag on the overall economy of Ukraine? Given time the Ukrainians will run the junta out of the country just as the junta ran the previous failure out.