Ukraine has literally, if just temporarily, become a dictatorship
Moscow has protested Kiev's "planned" breach of Russian waters in the Kerch Strait and cautioned Ukraine's foreign backers against blowing the incident out of proportion. Russia will "strongly" respond to similar "provocations."
Three Ukrainian military boats on Sunday tried to pass through the Kerch Strait apparently without prior warning, but were ordered to stop by Russian border guards. A confrontation ensued, ending with the three ships being seized by the Russian side.
The actions of the Ukrainian Navy
"violated the rules of passage through Russian territorial waters," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday, adding that Moscow has summoned an emergency UN Security Council meeting to discuss the incident.
Comment: In addition, pro-junta arsonists have
set fire to the Russian consulate in Kharkov, eastern Ukraine.
The Russian government believes that, in addition to an internal Ukrainian motive for staging this provocation now, Kiev is attempting to spark a diplomatic row that would lead to sanctions against Moscow being tightened. That's
according to Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin.
Ukies also raged
outside the Russian embassy in Kiev, where they hurled flares, smoke grenades and burning tires at the building, all the while chanting "Death to Russia!"
© Reuters / Gleb GaranichA torch thrown by a protester near the Russian embassy in Kiev
A third rally occurred near the Russian consulate in Lvov, western Ukraine.
Russia has today
called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting over Kiev's reckless actions, while Poroshenko has placed Ukraine's military on
full combat alert...
Update 26 Nov 2018, 16:00 CETGermany, China
urge lowering tensions; Austria worries about impact on Ukraine vote, while, as usual, the UK and EU unequivocally condemn Russia.
The German Foreign Minister has urged Russia and Ukraine to defuse tensions after their naval clash off the Crimean coast. Austria said that Kiev imposing martial law was a "worrying" step ahead of Ukraine's presidential vote.
Speaking in Madrid, Maas also said that Germany and France could play the role of "mediators" between Russia and Ukraine "in case of need." Berlin and Paris are ready to jointly step in at a diplomatic level to prevent "this conflict from exacerbating any further," he said.
Germany's neighbor, Austria, seemed particularly concerned about the incident. The country's Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl promised that Vienna will do its utmost "to prevent further escalation." She said Austria will also initiate discussions on the matter among fellow EU members.
The martial law imposed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was a "worrying" step, Kneissl said. "Exactly in light of the upcoming [presidential] elections in Ukraine, nothing should be done to negatively impact a free and democratic process," she argued.
While Berlin's and Vienna's reaction to the incident off the Crimean coast was quite reserved, some other European officials rushed to Ukraine's defense while slamming Moscow for what they called an "aggression." British Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesperson has said she condemns Russia's "act of aggression" against Ukraine.
The UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt also did not mince words as he said that London "utterly condemns Russia's use of force" against the Ukrainian vessels while accusing Moscow of "contempt for the international norms."
The European Council President Donald Tusk condemned what he called Russia's "use of force in the Azov Sea." He also called on Moscow to actually "refrain from further provocations," even implying that it was Russia and not Ukraine that staged a provocation near the Kerch Strait.
Chinese diplomats have meanwhile urged parties not to ramp up tensions in the Black Sea, with its Foreign Ministry spokesman suggesting that both sides "reach consensus and tackle disagreements through dialogue and consultations."
Note how the British Foreign Office and the EU 'enemy' are perfectly aligned at the level of geopolitics.
Update 27 Nov 2018, 09:40 ESTPoroshenko ran into some trouble trying to get martial law passed in the Rada. First he was blocked from speaking by Lyashko and Tymoshenko, after which he fled the Rada to
call Pompeo. Here's what he wrote on Facebook:
"I briefed the US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo by phone on the introduction of a regime of martial law. We coordinated steps to further counteract Russian aggression against Ukraine, including in the Kerch Strait. The illegal actions of Russia are completely unacceptable and should receive the most severe reaction of the international community, including the strengthening of sanctions against the Russian Federation."
Opposition MPs accused Poroshenko of a power grab, leading to a
compromise deal of 30 days of martial law (not 60), and only in some parts of the country. (The executive's official newspaper accidentally published Poroshenko's proposed 60-day text, instead of the revised 30-day one.) Fort Russ adds:
Before the vote, Poroshenko addressed the nation on national television, stating that there was an existential and imminent threat of a land operation against Ukraine from Russia. According to him, he has an intelligence document, which describes in detail all the plans of the "enemy", allegedly located several dozen kilometers from the border and ready "for an immediate invasion of the territory of Ukraine."
Which is hilarious, given that Russia has allegedly already 'invaded' Ukraine dozens of times over the past 4 years. And note this, from the text of the martial law decree:
The decree envisages the right of the President, as soon as the Russian soldier crosses the border, not to lose a second to ensure the protection of the Ukrainian land.
So apparently there are no Russian soldiers in Ukraine already! Fancy that!
Lyashko is still not pleased:
The Radical Party clarified that by decree of the head of state, citizens of Ukraine are deprived of the right to the inviolability of their home, non-interference in private life, freedom of the media, freedom of thought and speech, elections, the right to peaceful assembly, the right to property, work and education.
"Please tell me how the deprivation of Ukrainians of the right to education, the right to work, the right to earn, the right to speak their native language will help. Show me where is the opposition to the 'Russian aggression'?", Lyashko emphasized.
The deputy also expressed the opinion that Poroshenko intends to falsify the outcome of the presidential elections in March 2019 and usurp power.
As for the incident itself, more details are emerging. The FSB released a
statement that the standoff was a "provocative act of the Ukrainian Navy executed upon direct orders by the government in Kiev." This is corroborated in a
video of three of the detained Ukrainians making the following
statements, released by the FSB (if such testimony can be considered trustworthy):
Guy #1:
I am Andrey Dratch. I am a crew member of the "Nikopol" ship of the Ukrainian Naval Forces. On 23 (November) I received a task to follow the route Odessa-Mariupol, through the Kerch Strait. Following the route to Mariupol through the Kerch Strait we entered the territorial waters of the Russian Federation, when the Coast Guard of the Russian Federation warned us that we were violating the legislation of the Russian Federation. We were repeatedly told to leave the territorial waters of the Russian Federation. While stopping for anchoring the Coast Guard warned us one more time that there is a need to leave the territorial waters of the Russian Federation and to exit to the 12-mile zone and to wait for further decisions concerning our passage through the Kerch Strait to the city of the Mariupol.
Guy #2:
I am Vladimir Vladimirovich Lesovoy, commander of military unit 1828. Since November 22, 2018 I have been in the structure of the group of ships of the Naval Forces of Ukraine, I lead the tug "Yana Kapa" and the boats "Nikopol" and "Berdyansk". I made a passage through the Kerch Strait. After crossing the state borders of the Russian Federation I visually watched the ships of the Border Service of the FSB of the Russian Federation and I consciously ignored their requests to stop over the radio station. At the time of the passage small arms and machine guns with ammunition were onboard. I was aware that the actions of the Ukrainian ships in the Kerch Strait had a provocative character. I was following orders and planned to carry out the transfer of ships from the port of Odessa to the port of Mariupol.
Guy #3:
I am Sergey Andreevich Tsybizov. On Friday morning we left Odessa at 08:00 and headed to Berdyansk through the Kerch Strait. When we approached the Kerch Strait, we entered the waters of Russia, after which we were given the command to stop and wait for further orders. Before fire was opened, two green flares could be seen. We continued to move on "Nikopol" and then Russian ships contacted us. Our commander decided to stop the boat. We were taken off the boat and that's all.
Colonel Cassad adds
the following (Google translated): 23 Ukrainians were detained, three of whom were wounded and treated:
One of the wounded Ukrainian sailors was allegedly wounded by his own officer, because he refused to comply with the order to open fire on Russian ships. The captain of the Nikopol, as mentioned earlier, also handed over the ship to the Russian border guards.
The Naval Forces of Ukraine have entered a state of heightened alert, although taking into account the fact that a significant part of the ships are simply not capable, this is more inflating of the cheeks. Also on alert are the Ukrainian army and security forces.
Ukraine's security chief adds that Ukrainian
intelligence operatives were on the navy ships.
Vasily Gritsak, head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), confirmed that counterintelligence officers were on the ships which entered Russian waters in the Kerch Strait on Sunday.
The agents were routinely providing "counterintelligence support to the Ukrainian Navy unit," an SBU statement reads.
Counterintelligence officers are usually embedded with the military and deployed to the frontline, the agency said, adding, "it will always remain so."
Gritsak accused Russia of using excessive force against Ukrainian vessels. Citing some "confirmed intelligence," the statement alleged that a Russian aircraft had fired two missiles at the Ukrainian vessels during the standoff, leaving one SBU officer "seriously wounded."
The idea that the Russians fired two missiles at the ships is absurd. They would have been destroyed.
Update 27 Nov 2018, 14:40 ESTSouth Front summary of events:
The Ukrainian Armed Forces released the radio communications between the Russian border guard and naval ships. South Front has analyzed the recordings
here.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is sending
mixed messages. Pompeo is calling for Ukraine and Russia to deal with it on their own:
"We call on both parties to exercise restraint and abide by their international obligations and commitments. We urge Presidents Poroshenko and Putin to engage directly to resolve this situation. In that regard, we reiterate our support for the Normandy Four format," Pompeo said in a press statement on November 26.
However, Ukrainian media has been carrying the line that NATO issued a statement giving unconditional support to Ukraine, amidst in the deteriorating situation in the Azov Sea and Russian actions in the Kerch Strait. The NATO comments come from spokesperson Oana Lungescu in a commentary for Evropeyska Pravda.
Lungescu here stressed that NATO is closely monitoring developments in the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait. "We are in contact with the Ukrainian authorities. We call for restraint and de-escalation."
"NATO fully supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including its navigational rights in its territorial waters. We call on Russia to ensure unhindered access to Ukrainian ports in the Azov Sea, in accordance with international law," the Alliance press secretary stated.
...
What we are seeing is a case of two distinct messages from the U.S side, which are tailored to various audiences. That part of the international community which does not have a vested interest in the outcome of the Russia-Ukraine row, as well as those perhaps partial to Russia, will have received an 'even and fair' message from Washington. In this message, the U.S urges 'both sides to exercise restraint', and to 'solve the issue independently'.
Meanwhile, to the Atlantic Council, NED, Radio Liberty audiences, NATO gives unconditional support.
Comment: As we've been pointing our for years now, illicit trafficking in organs for transplant is a world-wide problem. Destitute children are the easiest target. The do-gooders facilitating the migrant movements have no idea what evil they're facilitating.