Russia Claims No Need For Further Ukraine Incursion

MOSCOW, Russia -- Russia said on Saturday it had no intention of invading eastern Ukraine following its annexation of Crimea, while the Black Sea peninsula's Muslim Tatars demanded autonomy. US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet on Sunday in Paris, the State Department said, as both sides moved to ease tensions in the worst East-West stand-off since the Cold War. In a pivotal political development, Ukraine's presidential election effectively became a two-horse race when boxer-turned-politician Vitali Klitschko pulled out and threw his weight behind confectionary oligarch Petro Poroshenko. This sets up a May 25 contest between the man known as the "Chocolate King" and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Speaking on Russian television, Mr Lavrov reinforced a message from President Vladimir Putin that Russia would settle - at least for now - for control over Crimea despite massing thousands of troops near Ukraine's eastern border. "We have absolutely no intention of - or interest in - crossing Ukraine's borders," Mr Lavrov said. Mr Putin called US President Barack Obama on Friday to discuss a US diplomatic proposal, with the West alarmed at the threat to Ukraine's eastern flank from what US officials say may be more than 40,000 Russian troops. But Mr Lavrov said Russia is ready to protect the rights of Russian speakers, referring to what Moscow sees as threats to the lives of compatriots in eastern Ukraine since Moscow-backed Viktor Yanukovich was deposed as president in February. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, in an interview with Germany's Focus magazine published on Saturday, said the alliance is "extremely worried". "We view it as a concrete threat to Ukraine and see the potential for further interventions," he said. "I fear that it is not yet enough for him [Putin]. I am worried that we are not dealing with rational thinking as much as with emotions, the yearning to rebuild Russia's old sphere of influence in its immediate neighbourhood." Tatars In the Tatars' historic capital of Bakhchisaray, the assembly representing the 300,000-strong indigenous Muslim minority voted in favour of seeking "ethnic and territorial autonomy" in Crimea. They make up less than 15 per cent of Crimea's population of 2 million and have been overwhelmingly opposed to Russia's annexation of the territory. Crimean Tatars' assembly leader Refat Chubarov told more than 200 delegates: "In the life of every nation there comes a time when it must make decisions that will determine its future. I ask you to approve ... the start of political and legal procedures aimed at creating ethnic and territorial autonomy of the Crimean Tatars of their historic territory of Crimea." The assembly backed his proposal. Critical of Russia's annexation of Crimea, the Tatars boycotted the March 16 vote to split from Ukraine and become part of Russia. Moscow has tried to pressure them to drop their opposition. However, their proposal to seek autonomy signals they would be ready to negotiate their status with Russia. The West imposed sanctions on Russia, including visa bans on some of Mr Putin's inner circle, after Moscow annexed Crimea this month following a referendum on union of the Russian-majority region with the Russian Federation that the West called illegal. The West has threatened tougher sanctions targeting Russia's stuttering economy if Moscow sends more troops to Ukraine. Mr Lavrov called for "deep constitutional reform" in Ukraine, a sprawling country of 46 million people divided between those who see their future in closer ties with Europe and mainly Russian speakers in the east who look to former Soviet master Russia. "Frankly speaking, we don't see any other way for the steady development of the Ukrainian state apart from as a federation," he said. Each region would have jurisdiction over its economy, finances, culture, language, education and "external economic and cultural connections with neighbouring countries or regions," he said. "Given the proportion of native Russians [in Ukraine], we propose this and we are sure there is no other way." Mr Lavrov and Mr Kerry spoke by phone on Saturday, following up on the Putin-Obama call on Friday. The White House said Mr Obama told Mr Putin that Russia must pull back its troops and not move deeper into the former Soviet republic. The Kremlin said Mr Putin suggested "examining possible steps the global community can take to help stabilise the situation". Ukraine remains deeply divided over protests that led to Mr Yanukovich's overthrow. Many eastern Russian-speaking regions are sceptical about the policies of the new pro-Western government in Kiev. Mr Yanukovich called on Friday for each of the country's regions to hold a referendum on their status within Ukraine, instead of the presidential election planned for May 25. Mr Poroshenko was an influential supporter of the "Maidan" popular uprising that toppled Mr Yanukovich in February, three months after he spurned a deal on closer ties with the European Union and plunged the country into turmoil. Mr Poroshenko confirmed his candidacy late on Friday. Several opinions polls already had him in the lead even before he said he would run to succeed Mr Yanukovich.

Donetsk Fearful Of Russian Military Might On Ukraine’s Border

DONETSK, Ukraine -- Some people are making sure their cars stay gassed up, in case their families need to flee advancing tanks. Others are stockpiling food so they can dig in if there is an invasion. A few talk about learning to shoot. Nearly everyone is worried. Tens of thousands of Russian soldiers are massed along the Ukrainian border, U.S. officials report, with large contingents gathered near the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. Russian officials say the troops are conducting routine exercises. On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow has no intention of using them against Ukraine. But ever since Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula after a hastily arranged referendum March 16, few here know what to believe. This is a Russian-speaking region that has long been well disposed toward its neighbor. Some small but vocal groups, fearing that they will get short shrift from Kiev, have demonstrated against the Ukrainian government. There have been demands for a referendum on joining Russia. But no one is asking for war. “I worry about it all the time,” said Anatoly Akimochkin, first vice chairman of the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine. “Any kind of intervention will mean war, and the border is not far away. Some are ready to take up arms and defend their state. And there are some who would welcome Russian troops.” Russian television channels are widely watched here, he said, and they have assaulted Ukrainians with propaganda, describing Kiev as being in the hands of fascists on their way to kill eastern Ukrainians. People are being brainwashed, he said, which accounted for the pro-Russian demonstrations, although lately those have been diminishing. Perhaps 500 people gathered Saturday around the statue of Vladimir Lenin in the city of Donetsk, waving a few Russian flags in the bitter-cold wind, shouting for protection of the Russian language and denouncing Kiev as an illegitimate government. A small contingent of policemen stood by, trying to keep warm. Few people were on the streets. “I am really afraid Russia will invade us,” said Aleksey Ryabchyn, a 30-year-old husband and father and a second lieutenant in the army reserve, as he chatted in a cafe. “Putin doesn’t follow logic — no one expected him to annex Crimea. I don’t think the U.S. will fight for us. We are on our own.” Ryabchyn, the son of a Russian mother and a Ukrainian father, came of age after the fall of the Soviet Union and has always regarded Russia and Ukraine as separate but close, like the United States and Canada. Now some of his friends are keeping their gas tanks filled, fearing they’ll have to drive their families to safety in western Ukraine at any moment. Others talk about partisan warfare. “These are the most critical days of our independence,” Yevhen Marchuk, a former Ukrainian defense minister, said in Kiev. The Russian soldiers will have to invade soon, he said, or return to their barracks. “It’s impossible for an army to stay there for long,” he said. “There are all the signs that a military attack could happen. It doesn’t mean it’s inevitable.” Kateryna Zhemchuzhnykova, a 25-year-old journalist, tries to keep her mind on her work to avoid thinking about what could happen. She lives with her parents, who are filling the larder with food to see them through a possible invasion. The Donetsk governor, billionaire businessman Serhiy Taruta, has used his own money to have a trench dug, more than 12 feet wide and eight feet deep, along the coal-mining region’s 90-mile border with Russia in an effort to ward off invasion. Taruta was appointed to the office by the new government in Kiev, which took over after President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country Feb. 22 following months of protests in favor of good government and closer ties with Europe rather than Russia. He was not especially cheered by the news that Putin had called President Obama on Friday to suggest that a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis was possible. There have been a lot of phone calls, Taruta said, that have resulted in nothing. “It’s important to understand that America needs not only to hold negotiations but to provide guarantees to Ukraine of territorial integrity,” he said. “We have the impression the West is more interested in the economic situation than in democracy. The Ukrainian people feel betrayed.” He was referring to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which the United States persuaded Ukraine to give up its nuclear weapons in return for a guarantee of protection from Britain, the United States and, ironically, Russia. In business, Taruta said, when you sign an agreement, you follow through. “Everyone’s afraid,” said Oleksiy Matsuka, who writes for an independent online newspaper, “especially businessmen, those who have something to lose. If Russia took over, there would be a partisan war. Everyone would suffer.” Pro-Russians are not calling for an invasion. Kirill Cherkashin, a sociologist, said the differences between Ukraine’s east and west are so deep that the east would be better off going its own way and joining Russia. There’s a danger, he said, that if the west subjugates the east, a partisan war could erupt, but that should be avoided. “The best way out is a peaceful option,” Cherkashin said, “like in Czechoslovakia.”

Photographs Expose Russian-Trained Killers in Kiev

Photographs Expose Russian-Trained Killers in Kiev

KIEV, Ukraine—The first crack of a sniper’s round in Kiev’s Independence Square came shortly after nine o’clock on the morning of February 20 and the last about seven hours later at around four o’clock in the afternoon drawing to a close the bloodiest day in what had been a months-long struggle to oust Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych. Many of the 53 people slain died from clean shots to the head or neck—telltale wounds inflicted by expert marksmen; while others were gunned down at closer quarters by less expert assassins armed with AK-47 assault rifles. Most of the photographs accompanying this article were taken on February 20, and they appear to reveal the truth about who carried out the shootings in Independence Square on that day—a fateful one for both Ukraine and for Europe, which suddenly witnessed the continent’s worst political violence of the 21st century. The pictures shared exclusively with The Daily Beast show members of a crack anti-terrorist unit known as the Alfa Team in the courtyard of the headquarters of Ukraine’s feared state security service, the SBU, preparing themselves for battle. The agency’s seven-story headquarters occupies an entire city block and is just three streets from the Maidan. The SBU is the successor intelligence agency to the Ukrainian branch of the Soviet-era KGB and it still maintains exceptionally close ties to Moscow. For many years “leading SBU functionaries came from the KGB,” says Boris Volodarsky, a former Russian military intelligence officer and author of the book The KGB’s Poison Factory. He says Russia’s intelligence service, now known as the FSB, has made sure over the years to maintain deep penetration of its Ukrainian counterpart and to ensure that its “agents and associates remain in place.” That was easily done during thepresidency of the pro-Russian Yanukovych. A U.S. intelligence source says that “since the break-up of the Soviet Union, Western security services have considered Kiev to be FSB territory.” Instructors from Russian Special Forces have trained Alfa units. According to Dr. Olga Bogomolets, a Maidan leader and a candidate in Ukraine’s slated May presidential elections, the photographs shown to her by The Daily Beast provide unique insight into what took place on February 20. She argues they cast doubt on an official investigation currently underway into the events of that day, which was ordered by the country’s interim government and is being conducted jointly by the new head of the SBU, Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, along with the prosecutor general’s office. The SBU failed to respond to phone and email requests for a meeting with Nalyvaichenko to discuss the substantial photographic material. “We have demanded an independent and transparent investigation into who was involved in the crimes that took place and we are very worried that the people who are investigating are members of the bodies responsible for the shootings,” says Bogomolets. Bogomolets, a physician who was nicknamed by Maidan protesters the “White Angel” because of her ministrations to the wounded in Independence Square, was on her way to visit the grave of her mother that morning to mark the first anniversary of her death. When phone calls alerted her to the start of the carnage she sped to the Maidan instead More than a hundred people were killed and at least 900 injured in February during the battles that seesawed in Kiev’s Independence Square between security forces loyal to Yanukovych and the protesters, who came from all walks of life and from across Ukraine’s political spectrum. They were determined to topple him and end the five-year kleptocracy in which he, his family and close associates looted the country to the tune of $70 billion. February 20 marked a critical turning point in the conflict. It was the most violent day in the history of Ukraine since Soviet times and it proved to be the undoing of the Yanukovych regime. The snipers failed to break the spirit of Yanukovych’s opponents, but the carnage inspired key loyalists in his ruling Party of Regions, including the city’s mayor and members of the Rada, or parliament, to quit. The next day Yanukovych fled the capital, and then the country. The death toll of at least 53 people on February 20 doubled the body count of the previous two days. At first the protesters had lost ground. Waves of coordinated sniper fire and riot police assaults pushed them back. But they clung on finally to the Maidan. Most of their barricades remained intact. They had evacuated their burned-out headquarters, the towering Trade Unions Building, which was still sending up plumes of black smoke. But still they occupied some office blocks overlooking Independence Square. Many of the protesters who were tending the wounded and mourning the dead were in shock. But the preparations for the next day’s fight showed that sniper rounds and bloodshed had failed to cow them. Thousands worked to rebuild the barricades, laboring through the icy smoke-filled night using anything that came to hand—tires, bricks, debris—while others in a nearby underground metro station set about making Molotov cocktails. The following day Yanukovych fled the capital, making first for the eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv and then traveling to Crimea before going into exile in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, from where he has threatened to return. He, his lieutenants and top Russian officials have since claimed Maidan organizers themselves, or the Americans, were behind the February 20 shootings, purposely engineering a massacre for propaganda reasons, hoping to gain political and diplomatic advantage. The unique photographs and 90 gigabytes of video material shared with The Daily Beast provide strong evidence that the massacre in the Maidan was in fact a vicious and clinical assault ordered by the pro-Russian Yanukovych regime and executed by its arch loyalists. But that has not prevented the Kremlin from attempting to orchestrate its own nIn a phone call with U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday night, Russian President Vladimir Putin apparently complained about the “rampage of extremists who are committing acts of intimidation towards peaceful residents, government authorities and law enforcement agencies in various regions and in Kiev with impunity.” At least, according to the Kremlin readout on the conversation. Moscow's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin on Thursday repeated Russia-Today-type claims that the US embassy in Kiev was somehow behind the snipers, providing no documentary or photographic evidence for his allegations. And Oleksandr Yakymenko, Yanukovych’s former SBU head, claimed in an interview earlier this month on the Russian TV channel Rossiya that snipers started shooting at the riot police, or Berkut, a special unit overseen by the interior ministry, but then directed their fire on anti-government protesters. The former SBU chief suggested the snipers could have been foreigners, including mercenaries from the former Yugoslavia, hired by Maidan leaders. In fact, Balkan mercenaries have cropped up recently in Ukraine—but among the ranks of thuggish Kremlin-backed local “self-defense units” that assisted Russian forces consolidating Moscow’s hold on Crimea. On the morning of February 20 in the courtyard of the agency that Yakymenko was still in charge of there were dozens of men, many identified as members of the elite Alfa team by former SBU officers and private-sector defense experts from a variety of Western nations who have looked at the photographs. The images accompanying this article show Alfa Team members and others from SBU and Ministry of Interior special forces units donning body armor, helmets and other equipment, grabbing ammunition and sporting sniper rifles and modified AKs. Some of the Alfa members carry lethal fragmentation grenades: “Not the kind of equipment used for crowd control,” remarked a surprised Western defense official looking at the photographs. From early morning until midday on February 20 Alfa Team members come and go in the courtyard of the SBU’s national headquarters as firing echoes three blocks away in the charnel house of the Maidan. No afternoon pictures of the courtyard were taken by the sources, who are ordinary Ukrainians and not connected with any government authority either in Ukraine or overseas. They filmed the material themselves and their camera numbers match the metadata on the supplied digital pictures and video footage. Many of the paramilitary Alfa members in the photographs are wearing yellow or white armbands and before they leave the courtyard they pull on ski masks to obscure their features. The armbands were used so they could identify themselves at a glance among the riot police and other regime forces in the midst of frantic street clashes. The articles of clothing they are wearing—black tactical coveralls, green tactical vests and flak jackets—don’t match the clothing worn by the riot police, according to several frontline protesters who’ve looked at the pictures. The coveralls are of a different design, they say, and the green outer gear doesn’t match either. “Their faces aren’t hidden,” exclaimed Maria Tomak, a 26-year-old investigator with a rights group called EuroMaidan SOS, when shown photographs. EuroMaidan SOS is conducting its own investigation into the February 20 shootings but she and a colleague say they have never seen before any photographs or video of the SBU courtyard taken on February 20. They note that without the ski masks the men can be identified. “Alfa only has about two hundred members,” says Anastasia Rozlertska, a 27-year-old activist. Despite that, as far as can be discovered the SBU has failed to arrest or suspend or place on a wanted list anyone who was on SBU property that morning suiting up and preparing to wage war on protesting civilians. TheSBU could have its own sources of information, there are CCTV cameras covering the courtyard, although a Western defense official cautions that the digital recordings could have been destroyed before the post-Yanukovych change of top SBU leaders. Forty-five year-old Boris Aseyev, a web designer, was one of the civilians wounded on February 20. He had been camped out in the Maidan since the protests started in November. He was determined to stay the course. A thin man with a wisp of a goatee beard, he struggles with a stutter to explain what happened to him that day. His heavily bandaged right leg is propped up on a stool in his apartment and his crutches lean on fridge. His wife hovers close by. Aseyev says he has no idea of the exact time he was first shot. “I didn’t have a watch on,” he says. “But it was the morning.” To the left of him a Samsung computer screen is frozen on a picture of protesters wearing different colored helmets and holding up makeshift shields. He was near a walkway bridge just below Kiev’s Ukraine hotel, a Soviet pile looming over Independence Square, when an AK-47 round hit his foot. As he tried to withdraw from the front line under his own steam he was hit twice more with another Kalashnikov round tearing through the muscle and sinew of his right leg and then a sniper bullet struck him—again in the same leg. Blood gushed from his wounds. People were screaming. Gunfire echoed all around as another protester helped Aseyev to the Ukraine Hotel and the makeshift clinic on the ground floor manned by volunteer doctors and nurses, among them Bogomolets. She says Aseyev is lucky to be alive. “The first snipers probably were working already in between nine and ten o’clock in the morning and the last person killed was killed around 4:00 p.m. Most people who were killed near the Hotel Ukraine were killed between 11:00 and 1:00. Twelve of them died in the lobby of Hotel Ukraine. We had eight surgical tables and doctors were doing an incredible job trying to save lives.” But “the wounds were very heavy. Snipers were shooting to the heart, to the neck, brain and eyes. So in a few minutes most of the wounded died,” she says. The Ukraine Hotel’s lobby was a mess with doctors and volunteers slipping on the blood on the floor, calling out for assistance, working feverishly to do what they could to sustain life. More wounded were being brought in. The dead were carried upstairs to a restaurant-turned-morgue. In a weird post-script to the event a few days after the massacre Estonian Foreign Affairs Minister Urmas Paet spoke with E.U. foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton in a phone call tapped and leaked to the public on YouTube, most likely by Russian intelligence operatives or their allies. Paet is heard saying that a doctor in the Maidan during the shootings said she thought the snipers were shooting at both police and the protesters and that the shooters were acting on the orders of the opposition. Bogomolets has been identified as his source, but she says she has no idea how Paet could think that was what she was saying. “Snipers were killing protesters,” she says. “Maybe it was a misunderstanding,” she adds. More than a month later and the Ukraine Hotel lobby is no longer a scene of desperation or carnage. Outside on a stage in the nearby Maidan loudspeakers boom out whoever is speechifying or singing. The Maidan is in war mode, waiting to see if Putin is going to order his troops across the border and grab more Ukrainian territory. Piles of flowers and makeshift altars remembering those who fell decorate Independence Square and streams of Ukrainians still come to pay their respects, saying the Maidan is the birthplace of a new Ukraine. Sitting in the corner of the hotel lobby and reviewing some of the February 20 photographs, Adrian Karatnycky, former president of the New York-based Freedom House, a non-profit organization that advocates for political freedom and human rights, says the photographs are “smoking guns” and a “major contribution to getting closer to the truth.” He notes the proximity of the SBU headquarters to the shootings. “They have the type of gear that was used.” U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt said after seeing the pictures, “These photographs may be highly important evidence of what happened on February 20. They add to the urgency for a full and thorough and impartial investigation into the shootings in Independence Square. Ukrainians have a right to know the truth and they expect that those responsible for the killings and the people who ordered the snipers in should be held accountable.” Most of the activity in the SBU courtyard on February 20 is from between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and then about an hour-and-half later at between 11:40 and noon when a group of Alfa members walk back around the corner and sit in a van looking tired. On the video about that time two Alfa members low-five each other as if to say job well done. The next day there is again a lot of activity in the courtyard but it is of a totally different nature and the tasks being performed are not preparations for battle or rotation of fighters but the measures accompanying a hasty retreat. Yanukovych was in flight by then and the regime crumbling fast. The SBU appears to be covering tracks, getting rid of evidence, tying up loose ends. The day begins with smoke rising from one of the chimneys, possibly a burning of documents, reminiscent of similar scenes during the anti-communist revolFour men in army uniform are seen loading massive safes onto a trolley. Western defenses officials suspect they were stuffed with highly sensitive intelligence files, their destination most likely being Moscow. Other men in black coveralls are seen busily switching Ukrainian tags on several blue, white and gray VW and Mazda trucks. And in one picture—it has also been captured on video – a couple of Alfa members are seen storing in a van what looks like ammunition crates and a weapon protected in a canvas rifle bag. Asked what he thinks about the men who shot him, Boris Aseyev says he doesn’t bear any grudges towards them. “They are zombies,” he explains. “I think they are just creatures manipulated by Yanukovych and Putin.” Ukraine’s new minister of justice, Pavlo Petrenko, agrees. “These last four years it’s not just the SBU that had very close ties to Moscow and Russia’s FSB, a lot of the heads of our agencies were Russian agents—at the police, the Ministry of Defense and the Prosecutor General’s department,” he says in his office near St. Michael’s Golden Domed Cathedral, where many of the wounded were taken on the night of February 20,sanctuary fearing they would be seized if they went to hospital. A lawyer and former opposition politician, Petrenko shakes his head appalled at what was taking place in the courtyard of the SBU. “It is the responsibility of the new government to uncover all the answers to who was shooting our citizens,” he says. Above all he wants to be able to identify not just the killers but to name “those who gave the orders” and for them all to face punishment. Petrenko acknowledges there are significant challenges to unearthing the truth and that not only those directly involved in the slaughter but the many who enabled the regime, aided and abetted it actively or through their silence, will try to obstruct the investigation and obscure the facts. But he says he has faith in those leading the probe. He said he hopes that with information provided by the media and help from friends in America and Europe to have some answers in the coming weeks. For Petrenko this isn’t just a matter of policy or politics, it’s personal. He was in the Maidan on February 20 as the bullets flew, risking his life like thousands of others to oust a regime that ordered the killings. He braved the desperate charges of the protesters and the sniper-assisted counter-charges of the Berkut. He saw people fall and the blood gush. As the afternoon drew on he phoned his assistant to thank her for all she had done for him, saying he hoped to see her the next day. “I could tell from his voice,” she said when we talked, “he didn’t think he would make it home.”

Photographs Expose Russian-Trained Killers in Kiev

Photographs Expose Russian-Trained Killers in Kiev

Yulia Tymoshenko to set the whole world against Russia

An audio recording of the conversation of the former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and former Deputy Secretary of the National Security Council of Ukraine Nestor Shufrich about Russia's actions in the Crimea leaked online. The former head of the Ukrainian government soon confirmed her participation in the notorious conversation, noting that one of the moments of the dialogue was edited. In the conversation, Tymoshenko and Shufrych discussed the situation in the Crimea. "It's gone too far. Damn, one must take up arms and go get these goddamned goat-likes [Russians - ed.] along with their leader. I regret that I can not be there now - they would get a **** instead of the Crimea," says the former prime minister. Shufrich then said that even if Tymoshenko had been involved in the endeavor to keep the Crimea, it would not have helped to change the situation. "Although, you know, we didn't have the military capacity," he said. Tymoshenko objected to that saying: "I would have found a way to get these assholes. I hope that I will get the whole world involved, do the best I can so that there is not even a scorched field left from Russia," Tymoshenko shared her future plans. Shortly after the leak, the ex-prime minister confirmed her participation in the conversation. "The conversation did take place, but the bit about 8 million Russians in Ukraine was edited. I actually said that the Russians in Ukraine were Ukrainians. Hi, FSB :) Sorry for being obscene," Tymoshenko tweeted. Apparently, it goes about the moment when Shufrich asked her about the fate of eight million Russians in Ukraine, to which the ex-prime minister said: "Damn, one should shoot them from nuclear weapons." The Prime Minister of the Crimea, Sergey Aksenov, has already responded to Tymoshenko's post on Twitter: "As they say, truth hurts... You will pay for your words, according to the law. Your cell that has become your home, wants you back," wrote the head of the Crimean government, commenting on Tymoshenko's tweet. Tymoshenko, who is willing to set the whole world against Russia, has recently decided to run for president of Ukraine, although she previously denied such rumors. From the start of the presidential campaign, the former prime minister demanded early parliamentary elections should be held in Ukraine, because the Verkhovna Rada, which Tymoshenko's supporters currently control, is now "a hellhole." To crown it all, the former head of the Ukrainian Cabinet opposed the federalization of Ukraine and the use of the party system for nominating candidates. Ex-Prime Minister Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in October 2011 for abuse of power when signing gas contracts with Russia in 2009. On February 22, 2014 the Ukrainian Parliament decriminalized the articles of the Penal Code, on which Tymoshenko had been convicted. The former prime minister was released the same day. In March 2014, Tymoshenko arrived in Berlin for treatment. After a few weeks, she was discharged from the German hospital and flew to Kiev: "I'm back, in all senses of the word."

Romney: Obama 'Naive,' Lacked Judgment Regarding Ukraine, Putin

WASHINGTON, DC -- Former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney on Sunday accused President Obama of being “naïve” about Russian President Vladimir Putin's agenda and said he lacks the foresight to have prevented Putin from taking over a Ukraine peninsula. "There's no question [about] the president's naiveté with regards to Russia," he said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “And his faulty judgment about Russia's intentions and objectives has led to a number of foreign policy challenges that we face.” During Romney’s 2012 presidential race against Obama, the president criticized him for saying Russia -- not Al Qaeda -- was America's "number one geopolitical foe." “This is not fantasy land,” Romney, also a former Massachusetts governor, said Sunday. “They are not our enemy but an adversary on the world stage.” He also said the United States should have worked sooner with allies to make clear the penalties that Russia could have faced if it moved into Ukraine. The political uprising in Ukraine started about three months ago and included citizens last month ousting their Moscow-backed president. Russian troops began moving into the neighboring Crimea region of Ukraine about three weeks ago and on Thursday officially annexed Crimea. “This shouldn’t have been a surprise,” Romney said, referring in part to unmarked Russian troops and military vehicles entering the region days before the takeover. “This had been prepared for some time.” Romney acknowledged that more pre-emptive action had only the potential to prevent the invasion. But he also blamed of Secretary of State John Kerry and former secretary Hillary Clinton, suggesting that the Obama administration’s so-called “reset” diplomacy was a mistake. "They thought resetting relations with Russia, handing out gifts to Russia, would somehow make Russia change its objectives. Well, that certainly wasn't the case," Romney said. “Russia is not our friend.” He also called for tougher sanctions against Russia, no cuts to the U.S. military budget and re-installing missile-defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic. He called their removal in 2009 a “gift to Russia.”

Ukrainian, U.S. Officials Prepare For Possible War As Russia Continues Military Buildup On Border

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine’s foreign minister said Sunday his nation’s forces were ‘ready to respond,’ as a growing number of international officials suggested Russian President Vladimir Putin could have his sights set on Moldova Meanwhile, American lawmakers repeated calls to send military aid — but not troops — to the Ukraine. Ukraine's foreign minister said Sunday that the prospect of war with Russia was "growing" as the embattled country's powerful neighbor continued to build its military presence at their shared border. "This situation is becoming even more explosive than it used to be a week ago," Andrii Deshchytsia said on ABC's "This Week." "We are ready to respond. And as you know, the Ukrainian government is trying to use all their peaceful means and diplomatic means to stop Russians. But the people are also ready to defend their homeland," he added. "It would be for us difficult … not to respond on this military invasion," Deshchytsia said in response to a question on how his country might react to any further Russian incursions. Deshchytsia's strongly worded claim gathered support in Washington immediately, as a growing bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), repeated calls for the U.S. to send military aid to Ukraine -- but both stopped short of calling for U.S. troops. "It's so important that we take actions to deter further Russian aggression against the Ukrainian people," Ayotte said on CBS' "Face the Nation. "We could send more communications equipment, technological assistance. There are things we could to that don't involve our boots on the ground." Durbin encouraged Congress to at least consider sending weapons. "It may come to small arms as well," he said on CBS' "Face the Nation." The White House, meanwhile, wouldn't rule out sending military aid to Ukraine, with one official -- Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken -- saying Sunday that the Obama administration would consider "every request that we're getting from the Ukrainians." The increased rhetoric comes just a day after Russian forces stormed a Ukrainian air force base in Crimea and abducted one of the nation's top commanders. Russian troops were still holding Col. Yuliy Mamchur on Sunday in an undisclosed location, according to the AP, after pro-Russian armed militiamen, who didn't bear insignia, advanced onto Belbek Air Force base, near the Black Sea port city of Sevastopol. Russia has steadily deployed thousands of troops along its border with Ukraine in the days since it formally annexed Crimea, sending ominous signs that President Vladimir Putin could be readying for another incursion against its neighbor. "He has put all the military units he would need to move into Ukraine on its eastern border and is doing exercises," Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Michigan), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." "We see him moving forces in the south in a position where he could take the southern region over to Moldova." Top NATO officials have also expressed worry that Putin could have his eyes on certain parts of Moldova, a former Soviet Republic that, like Ukraine, has restive Russian-speaking regions that harbor sympathy toward Putin. A meeting of the G7 group of nations was hurriedly scheduled for Monday in the Netherlands to allow leaders to discuss potential responses to Russia's ongoing military buildup. Separately, President Obama is set to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for bilateral talks.

Ukraine Orders Crimea Troop Withdrawal As Russia Seizes Naval Base

KIEV, Ukraine -- Interim Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov ordered the withdrawal of armed forces from Crimea on Monday, citing Russian threats to the lives of military staff and their families. Russian troops have seized most of Ukraine's bases in the peninsula, including a naval base at Feodosia on Monday. Russia annexed Crimea last week after a controversial referendum that Ukraine and the West say was illegal. "The acting President of Ukraine has given an order to the Ukraine Defense Ministry for the withdrawal of all Ukrainian forces from Crimea," a spokeswoman for Turchynov told CNN. The soldiers' families will be evacuated as well. Earlier, Russian troops stormed and seized the Ukrainian naval base in Feodosia, a port in Crimea, a Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman said. Witnesses said several Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters were involved in the raid. Between 60 and 80 Ukrainian troops were captured and taken from the base, said Vladislav Seleznev, a Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman in Crimea. Ukrainians had said they would leave the base if they were allowed to take their weapons with them. Russian forces consolidated their control of the Black Sea peninsula over the weekend. On Saturday, six Russian special forces armored personnel carriers broke through the gates of Belbek air base, firing warning shots into the air. In a separate incident, pro-Russian self-defense forces stormed the Novofederoskoe military base, also in Crimea, taking control of it, a Ukraine Defense Ministry spokesman said. Seleznev also said that Crimean self-defense forces and Russian special forces took a Ukrainian ship, the Slavutych. The White House urged Russia to open talks with the Ukrainian government. But in a statement, it also held the Russian military directly responsible for any casualties inflicted on Ukrainian military members -- whether from regular Russian troops or militias not wearing insignias. NATO concerns NATO's top military commander expressed concern Sunday about the buildup of Russian forces on Ukraine's border. Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. Philip Breedlove said that Russia had a large force on Ukraine's eastern border and that he was worried it could threaten Moldova's separatist Transnistria region. "The (Russian) force that is at the Ukrainian border now to the east is very, very sizable and very, very ready," said Breedlove, a U.S. Air Force general. Russia said its forces complied with international agreements. Moscow annexed Crimea after a snap referendum in the autonomous region last week that produced an overwhelming majority of votes in favor of leaving Ukraine to join Russia. "Russia is acting much more like an adversary than a partner," Breedlove said, speaking at an event held in Brussels, Belgium, by the German Marshall Fund think tank. Claims on Crimea Ukraine's new leaders, the United States and other Western powers say Crimea is still a part of Ukraine. Russia insists its actions are legitimate. Crimea had belonged to Russia until 1954, when it was given to Ukraine. The region also has a majority ethnic Russian population and other long historic ties to Russia. Russia's Black Sea Fleet is based in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, making it strategically important to Moscow. Moscow has doggedly pursued its own course, even as Western leaders have denounced its actions as violations of Ukraine's sovereignty and a breach of international law. U.S. President Barack Obama plans to meet with leaders of the G7 group of industrialized nations this week to discuss Ukraine. Russia has been excluded from the talks on the sidelines of a nuclear summit in the Netherlands. A planned EU-Russia summit has also been canceled, as the West seeks to increase Moscow's isolation over its actions in Ukraine. EU leaders imposed a new round of sanctions against 12 people last week, bringing the total number of people facing EU asset freezes and travel bans to 33. The United States announced its own new round of sanctions against 20 people and a bank that U.S. officials say is linked to Putin and senior Russian officials. Washington had already announced sanctions on 11 people.

Senate Advances Ukraine Package

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Senate easily advanced a package of aid and sanctions in response to the Russian incursion into Ukraine on Monday, but a final deal is being bogged down by a controversial push to reform the International Monetary Fund. With the help of 26 Republicans, Ukraine bill cleared a key procedural vote on Monday on a 78-17 vote. That strong showing could collapse if Republicans don’t have an opportunity to offer and vote on amendments. Still, there are at least several GOP lawmakers who will likely support any Ukraine package, virtually ensuring final passage later this week. But the bill won’t get to President Barack Obama’s desk anytime soon because the House and Senate are at an impasse over including the IMF changes. The Senate bill includes the provision, which the Obama administration says is critical, but the House has already passed legislation that doesn’t include IMF-related language. A key House panel is slated to take up another package on Tuesday that again ignores the administration’s IMF push. The Senate package would shift $63 billion from the IMF’s crisis account to its general fund and make good on a 2010 agreement to give nations such as China, Brazil and India more influence at the organization. The Obama administration also says including the IMF reforms will help boost lending capacity to Ukraine. “I hear a lot of tough talk from Republicans about how America needs to send a stronger message to Ukraine about our solidarity,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who chairs a Senate panel on European policy, said Monday. “Well, IMF reform is part of that solidarity.” Though the Senate is likely to approve the package, the IMF changes caused plenty of consternation there. Many Republicans are seeking to delay new administration rules that crack down on political activity of tax-exempt nonprofits — called “501(c)(4)s” — in exchange for supporting the package. Democrats seized on that to accuse Republicans of blocking assistance to a nation in turmoil. “They said we will give the president the tools he needs to help the beleaguered people of Ukraine but only if — only if — [501(c)(4)] work by the International Revenue Service and the Treasury Department is stopped,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Monday, referring to congressional Republicans. “That’s pretty absurd, but that’s the truth.” Many congressional Republicans see the IMF changes as an unnecessary component of Ukraine aid and have either called on Democrats to drop their demand for the IMF provisions or floated the possibility of exchanging those reforms for delaying the campaign-finance rules. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Monday that while he supports the IMF language, he believes that it ultimately will be scrubbed from the bill. “The IMF can leverage more money for the Ukraine,” Graham said. “But if that has to fall, then I’d be OK with that.” Further irritating some Republican lawmakers is that the Senate Ukraine bill pays for the IMF changes by taking some funding away from certain Pentagon and State Department accounts. The bill’s authors said they came from government programs that were “underexecuting” but that pay-for still drew some Republican opposition to the package. The conservative Heritage Action for America announced on Monday it is lobbying lawmakers to vote against the Senate’s Ukraine bill because the IMF language is “unrelated to Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine and subsequent takeover of Crimea.” And Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is preparing to offer an amendment on the Senate floor to remove the IMF language, an aide to the senator said Monday. Still, any push from Senate Republicans to erase those IMF provisions is unlikely to succeed on the Senate floor, aides said. Republicans on the Foreign Relations Committee failed in their attempt to remove the language in committee and several Senate Republicans — despite their reservations about the IMF changes — have said they will still support the bill regardless. Among those lawmakers are Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, the top Republican on the Senate subcommittee overseeing European affairs, and Marco Rubio of Florida. “Although I remain concerned by the proposed IMF reforms included in the legislation, the need to send a strong bipartisan message of solidarity to the people of Ukraine and a statement of resolve to Moscow far outweighs any misgivings I and others might have,” Rubio wrote in a Washington Post op-ed last week. Even if they don’t succeed in stripping the IMF language, Republicans could drag out the process. If Republicans feel their amendments are being shut out, they could prevent a final vote from happening until as late as Friday. But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are urging speedy action. “If we get hung up for another week or another how many hours because of our failure to act, in my view, [that] sends exactly the wrong signals,” said Arizona Sen. John McCain, a key GOP backer of the bill. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who opposes the bill because of its IMF provisions, said Monday that he wouldn’t object to timing or other procedural issues if he gets a vote on stripping out those reforms. The House Foreign Affairs Committee has released its own package of aid and sanctions against officials tied to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that essentially mirrors the Senate bill, but without the IMF provisions. The House panel will take up that bill on Tuesday, and the full House could act on the legislation later this week. Some Senate Republicans believe that Reid should follow suit and take up the House bill instead. GOP Sens. Mike Enzi of Wyoming, Mike Lee of Utah, Pat Roberts of Kansas, Cruz and Paul released a letter on Friday outlining their opposition to the IMF provisions and asking the Democrats to back down. “As we understand it, this reform would double the funds the IMF can loan, involving a doubling of the United States’ contribution from its current level of $63 billion, while simultaneously reducing U.S. influence over how these funds are directed — and increasing that of Russia,” the Senate Republicans wrote. “Regardless of the magnitude of this change, this idea is antithetical to the driving purpose of the underlying legislation.” The Treasury Department disputes that new funds will be allocated to the IMF by approving the reforms and says it instead shifts existing money among accounts. “The U.S. quota increase will be matched by an equal and permanent reduction in U.S. financial participation in the IMF’s emergency account, which was expanded during the global financial crisis, for no net change,” Treasury spokeswoman Natalie Wyeth Earnest said earlier this month.

Ukraine Battles To Rebuild A Depleted Military

KIEV, Ukraine -- As the Kremlin began its invasion of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea last month, a days-old government in Kiev turned to its military to stem the tide. There was an immediate problem: No car batteries for the military vehicles. With coffers empty, Ukraine's fledgling government appealed to the U.S. embassy for help. The embassy said it would take weeks to get assistance, so the government had to search—among its own people—to find a regional oligarch, Ihor Kolomoisky, to kick in the funds to buy them locally. According to a spokesman for the banking and oil products magnate, Mr. Kolomoisky spent "several million dollars" of his own money, but he stresses others are helping too. "There are lots of small businesses, farmers and local people who are pitching in to help the military bases," said the spokesman. More than 20 years after the fall of the Soviet Union, and with Russia breathing down its neck, Ukraine's military has come down to this: a seriously, if not woefully, depleted force struggling to mount a defense against a formidable foe. The country once boasted a proud and sizable military—more than 750,000 strong—not to mention the third largest strategic nuclear arsenal in the world. But stripped by years of neglect, corruption and an apparently unclear nuclear disarmament agreement with the superpowers, Ukraine's military has shrunk to a shadow of its former self, both in numbers and in working tanks, aircraft and battleships. According to Ukraine, the country today has about 140,000 military personnel. But only 6,000 of the country's 41,000 land troops were ready for combat, Ukraine's defense minister told parliament earlier this month That has left the country unable to defend Crimea and vulnerable to further invasion. So far, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he has no interest in seeing Ukraine divided, but he has sent a sizable number of troops to Ukraine's eastern and western borders, setting off alarms that Russia may target other Ukrainian regions. With little time or money, the new government finds itself in a scramble to reassemble its armed forces, but with little precedent or road map to follow. Much of that effort has fallen into the hands of Ukraine's new defense chief, First Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Yarema, a long-time police veteran with little formal military experience. In an interview in his office in Kiev, he said he believes the country could deliver a "decisive blow" against an aggressor. "How effective that blow will be will only be shown in a war that I hope will not happen," he said. As part of its quick rebuilding campaign, the government is searching far and wide for help, including establishing a hotline for Ukrainians to call and automatically donate 5 hryvnia—about 50 cents. It also hastily formed a National Guard, which, in a fit of national fervor, has attracted more than 4,000 recruits. Basic training lasts just two weeks. As with the rest of the West, the White House has so far refused to provide any lethal military aid to Ukraine, despite calls from some members of Congress to hurry shipments in to make an attack from Russia more costly to the Kremlin. Those who oppose arming Ukraine argue that the arms may just fall into the hands of the Russians, since Ukrainian forces face a long road ahead in training and equipping their army to fight successfully. Last week, President Barack Obama said the U.S. wouldn't get involved militarily in Ukraine. "Obviously we do not need to trigger an actual war with Russia," he said in a television interview. Still, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, said Sunday that the alliance might have to reassess its position toward Russia now that "what used to be a partner" is "now acting more like an adversary." He said Russia had massed enough troops on Ukraine's eastern border to march across swaths of the country's south and seize Moldova's Transnistria region on Ukraine's western border. In total, Russia's active military personnel numbers about 845,000, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. "The [Russian] force that is at the Ukrainian border now to the east is very, very sizable and very, very ready," said NATO's Gen. Breedlove. In response, Russian officials said the buildup was part of a routine exercise and didn't violate any of Russia's treaty obligations.Ukrainian officials say the country's trajectory from a mighty nuclear power to a trampled nation scrounging for handouts is a cautionary tale for nations that neglect their military in a tough neighborhood. Kiev blames Russia and the West alike for lulling it into a false sense of security with high-sounding promises 20 years ago to respect its borders if it let down its guard. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 Ukraine was left holding more than 1,200 nuclear warheads and more than 2,500 tactical nuclear weapons. But in a historic turn, it agreed to give up that arsenal. In return, the U.S., U.K. and Russia signed a memorandum in Budapest in 1994 saying they would refrain from the threat or use of force or economic coercion against Ukraine. For years, experts say, that agreement gave Ukrainians a false sense of security, as officials interpreted it loosely to mean a guarantee of the country's territorial integrity. The U.S. says the memorandum was a political agreement, not a binding promise to defend Ukraine's borders. Over the years Ukraine cut its forces drastically, but spent little on those remaining under arms, with a U.S. Army report noting in 2007 that the Ukrainian armed forces "have been on a starvation diet" and that the country was 127th out of 150 countries around the world in its spending per serviceman. Western officials say lack of funding worsened under recently ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, who they say hollowed out the military during the past four years and instead spent only on interior ministry troops who could quell riots at home. In a visit of U.S. senators to Kiev earlier this month, Ukrainian officials said they had only a few thousand combat-ready troops available, who would be quickly overrun in a Russian assault. In Crimea, the Russian invasion captured a large part of Ukraine's air force and most of its navy without a fight. Democrat Senator Dick Durbin, of Illinois, said Ukraine's prime minister told the group that "we don't have anything that floats, flies or runs." Leading the fight to rebuild Ukraine's defenses is Mr. Yarema, a 25-year police force veteran who became first deputy prime minister for defense and security one month ago, after mass protests on Kiev's central Maidan square led to Mr. Yanukovych's ouster. Mr. Yarema, who says he spent much of the three months of protests sleeping in a tent on Maidan square, came to power with a quickly assembled coalition of opposition politicians and activists. What he found when he took over was alarming: Only four of 25 fighter jets at one large air base in Crimea were in working order. The jets were quickly disabled by Russian troops, who slashed their tires and threw rocks into their engines, officers at the base said. Russia has denied the incident. Mr. Yarema's team appealed to the U.S. embassy for spare aircraft tires and car batteries, but decided to buy the car batteries locally because they needed to mobilize quickly, said an aide, Andrii Telizhenko. They didn't arrive in time to get vehicles mobilized for Crimea, but they did help move trucks and armor to Ukraine's northern and eastern borders, he said. "For the past 23 years we never really rearmed," Mr. Yarema said. "We don't have any of the modern equipment that is being used in other countries." Years of corruption are part of the reason for the primitive armaments, he added. "In the past four years there was basically a destruction of the army," he said. Much of the budget for new arms "was stolen by the last two ministers of defense," he said. With Ukraine already teetering on default of its debts, money is hard to find. Still, the new government raised an extra $610 million in emergency defense funding by cutting spending on social programs—aid to the disabled and to mothers with dependent children. Ukraine is dedicating part of that money to the establishment of a new National Guard, which aims to recruit 20,000 members. The guard will be responsible for protecting Ukraine's borders and helping maintain social order at home, Mr. Yarema said. A top priority is recruiting young protesters from the Maidan uprising, some of whom are still armed, Mr. Yarema said. "We have to disarm them, because they simply cannot have arms, but they have to believe in us," he said. To attract them, the guard has set up recruiting tables and hung advertisements on the square and at other points around town. Those who have enlisted find themselves quickly in training; at one camp outside of Kiev last week, skinny recruits in fatigues learned to march, assemble automatic weapons and throw grenades. Asked about Maidan, new guardsman Yaroslav Levchenko pointed to his eyebrow. "See this scar? It's a fragment from a grenade," he said. The 27-year-old says he spent four months on the square, throwing rocks and, in the final days, dodging bullets that left holes in his bulletproof vest. "I want there to be order in Ukraine," he said of his decision to join the guard. "I want my children to live normally, like in Europe." Denis Dimyanko said Russia's invasion of Crimea motivated him to join. "Historically the Russians made us slaves," he said. His friend, Vitaly Polishuk, agreed. "This time we won't be slaves. It's better to die," he said. Other potential recruits have proved wary because the guard is being organized under the auspices of the Interior Ministry, which commanded the troops that fired on protesters during Maidan. "To go serve with people who were shooting at you—I don't want that," said a young man in fatigues standing with friends on Maidan, who would identify himself only as a member of Pravy Sektor, a loosely knit group of far-right protesters that formed during the uprising. Mr. Yarema acknowledged the difficulty of convincing some protesters to serve with Interior Ministry troops. He said a recently begun investigation into who ordered the shooting of protesters should help identify and punish the guilty and give potential recruits greater confidence in the guard. Last week, about fifty young people who had protested on Maidan carried a pile of tires to the building where Mr. Yarema and other ministers work, planning to set fire to them, Mr. Yarema says. The group was frustrated by what it sees as the slow pace of anticorruption measures, he said, and by Ukraine's capitulation in Crimea. Mr. Yarema said he offered them his work pass and his keys to the building, saying, "Why don't you go in there and work?" The group eventually calmed down and left peacefully, he says. In recent weeks Mr. Yarema has turned to Washington and NATO for help, but with little luck so far. Ukraine's military lacks much of an air force, and if fighting breaks out he expects that Russia would be able to pound Ukrainian ground troops with impunity. In meetings with U.S. senators and Western diplomats, he says he asked for help establishing a no-fly zone over Ukraine's 15 nuclear reactors so that his troops could at least count on some zones of safety. He also asked the West to slap a trade embargo on Russia, he says, and for the U.S. to allow one of its guided missile destroyers to make a friendly port visit in the Black Sea as a veiled threat to Putin. Republican Senator John McCain, who came to Kiev and met with top government officials earlier this month, said before he left that he would redouble efforts to get the White House to send arms to Ukraine. He said the Ukrainians requested a variety of equipment, including small arms and antitank weaponry. "I asked the most senior defense guy in uniform 'What do you need?'" Mr. McCain said. "And he said, `Everything.'" For now, Mr. Yarema said Ukraine's main goal in the near future is to avoid a war. Looking ahead he said Ukraine will also have to revise its military doctrine now that the government knows that the U.S. and U.K. interpret the Budapest memorandum differently from Kiev. "We are understanding that in the 23rd year of our independence that an army is something you need to hold up in a state of readiness," he said.

Former Top Putin Advisor Sounds The Alarm: Putin Has Already Declared War On Kiev

KIEV, Ukraine -- Andrei Illarionov, formerly Vladimir Putin’s top economic advisor (and personal envoy to the G8) , has warned in an interview with Ukrainian television that Putin has already declared war on Kiev. Putin’s war is being conducted by Russian Spetsnaz (special operations) forces and KGB (now called FSB) agents and is aimed at toppling the pro-Western government in Kiev. The Spetsnaz forces’ orders include the sowing of civil unrest throughout Ukraine via strikes, demonstrations, staged incidents, and street battles. Putin’s subversive forces will also gin up neo-Nazi incidents with Nazi regalia and Swastikas on full display. Their orders include as well the deliberate killing of Russian soldiers and of ethnic Russian civilians to prove the hatred and extremism of radical Ukrainian nationalists. These orders come from Putin himself. Their goal is to create an image of intolerable chaos and loss of civil authority to justify a Russian takeover of all Ukraine. Putin’s goal is the destruction of pro-Western authority in Ukraine, the total humiliation of the West, and a makeover of the geopolitical balance. Illiaronov’s urgent advice to Ukraine: Place all your effort into preserving civil order and avoid falling for the Spetsnaz provocations. This will be difficult as Spetsnaz-organized gangs are already storming public buildings in East Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities must immediately close all borders with Russia to slow the infiltration of Spetsnaz and FSB destabilization units. Ukrainian TV and radio must immediately broadcast all their news in Russian or in English because many Ukrainian citizens and Russians do not understand Ukrainian. Illarianov pleads that the whole world understand what Putin is up to. A Putin success in taking over Ukraine would change Europe and the balance of power and lead to further “restorations” of the former Soviet Union. The West should not hesitate in vigorously countering Putin’s war making for fear a strong reaction could trigger another cold war. We are already in a cold war, whether we want to recognize it or not. This is scary stuff coming from someone who sat by Putin’s side as his chief economic advisor from 2000 to 2005. If anyone understands Putin it is Illarionov. He is not one to frighten without good reason. Throughout recent history, the so-called civilized countries have had trouble coming to grips with evil. We thought that Hitler was just spouting off about ridding the world of Jews and Slavic Untermenschen. Surely a nation that gave us Beethoven and Goethe would not do such things. We could not believe that Stalin could stand by while millions of Ukrainians and Kazaks died of famine or that he could shoot his inner circle for fictitious crimes of espionage and treachery. We think the same of Putin. Surely the land of Tolstoy and Tchaikovsky will have civilized leaders once it shed its unfortunate Soviet past. In his recently published memoir, Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War, Robert Gates writes (p. 169) that after meeting Putin he said to his colleagues privately “that I looked into Putin’s eyes, just as I expected, had seen a stone-cold killer.” In his carefully researched The Moscow Bombings of September 1999, my colleague, Hoover Institution Stanford scholar, John Dunlop, describes Putin’s role in the bombing of four apartment buildings with 300 casualties blamed on Chechnya to build up support for his election. For Putin, ordering his special ops forces to do away with some ethnic Russians, may be small change. Europe and the United States: Pay close attention to what this Putin insider is telling you. Either roll over or do something.

Kiev Blamed for Blackout in Capital of Crimea

SIMFEROPOL, Crimea — A power failure plunged much of the Crimean capital, Simferopol, into darkness on Monday, the second partial blackout in two days, as the Ukrainian government in Kiev appeared to retaliate against Russia’s occupation and annexation of the peninsula by sharply cutting electricity supplied from the mainland. Homes and businesses went dark across a large swath of the city, underscoring the vulnerability of the geographically isolated peninsula, which is dependent on mainland Ukraine for many vital services, including electricity and much of its water supply. Officials here and in Moscow had anticipated such a move by the Ukrainian government. In recent days, regional officials said they had acquired 900 generators to provide electricity to vital buildings, including hospitals. It was not immediately clear if those generators were in use. The state-run Ukrainian national energy company, Ukrenergo, issued a statement attributing the blackouts in Crimea to emergency repairs to two major transmission lines. Another company, DTEK Krymenergo, which delivers most of the electricity used in Crimea, said the transmission line had been disconnected for repairs, forcing it to sharply reduce the supply of energy. After an initial blackout in Simferopol on Sunday evening, regional officials immediately blamed the government in Kiev. In Moscow, Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev said Crimea’s reliance on the mainland was a major risk and also seemed to blame Kiev for the blackouts. At a government meeting, Mr. Medvedev said in the short term the issue should be settled “at international talks,” but he also urged Russian ministries to begin work in Crimea as soon as possible. “Another infrastructure problem is Crimea’s dependence on Ukrainian power and water supplies,” Mr. Medvedev said, according to an official transcript. “This dependence periodically makes itself felt, including last night” President Vladimir V. Putin has ordered officials to begin work quickly on a bridge to connect mainland Russia and the Crimean port of Kerch, but that project will take years and cost $3 billion to $5 billion. The blackouts came as the acting president of Ukraine, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, formally ordered the withdrawal of the remaining Ukrainian forces in Crimea, ending an increasingly futile effort by some troops to hold on to their bases after Russia’s annexation of the territory. The Ukrainian military has been virtually powerless in the face of the incursion late last month by Russian special forces and other units. In recent days, there was a steady capitulation as Russian units seized base after base. Some Ukrainian commanders who were detained were still unaccounted for on Monday, including Col. Yuli Mamchur, a leader of a base at Belbek, near the Sevastopol airport.

USA wants to send international forces to Ukraine

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Security Council, Samantha Power, in her speech at a meeting convened at the request of Kiev, offered to immediately send international observers into the country. Representatives of 15 countries took part in the closed meeting. Vitaly Churkin represented the Russian Federation. Power stated that Russia must come into direct contact with the Ukrainian authorities. She also said that one should put an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. For this purpose, the U.S. ambassador offers to send international observers from the UN and the OSCE to the troubled country. According to the U.S. official, it will reduce tension. UK Ambassador Lyall Grant, in turn expressed concerns about the most recent move of the Russian parliament to authorized military action on the territory of Ukraine, and stressed that the United Kingdom supported the current government of Ukraine. The British side also acceded to the request for immediate consultations under the Budapest Treaty between the United States, Britain, Russia and Ukraine.

Anti-Russian Canadian PM announces sanctions against Russia

The Government of Canada announced restrictive measures against Russia and former members of the Ukrainian Cabinet. This was announced by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He noted that the decision was made in connection with the situation in Ukraine. According to Harper, Canada suspends participation in the Russian-Canadian Intergovernmental Economic Commission, which was established to promote economic ties in Canada and Russia," Harper said. It has not been specified what sanctions exactly Canada was going to introduce against Russia. The USA, the UK and the EU have previously announced a possibility to impose sanctions against Russia in connection with the situation in Ukraine. Experts believe, though, that the effect from such actions will be weak. A senior officer at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Sergei Fyodorov, said that "with all these sanction against Russia, Europe is quarrelling with its own bread and butter."

Anti-Russian Canadian PM announces sanctions against Russia

The Government of Canada announced restrictive measures against Russia and former members of the Ukrainian Cabinet. This was announced by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He noted that the decision was made in connection with the situation in Ukraine. According to Harper, Canada suspends participation in the Russian-Canadian Intergovernmental Economic Commission, which was established to promote economic ties in Canada and Russia," Harper said. It has not been specified what sanctions exactly Canada was going to introduce against Russia. The USA, the UK and the EU have previously announced a possibility to impose sanctions against Russia in connection with the situation in Ukraine. Experts believe, though, that the effect from such actions will be weak. A senior officer at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Sergei Fyodorov, said that "with all these sanction against Russia, Europe is quarrelling with its own bread and butter."

In Ukraine, money is not the issue

"The US gives money only to two countries: to Israel and to Egypt as long as Egypt enables Israel's blockade and persecution of Palestinians. "The EU gives money to no one, not even to its poorest existing members such as Greece. The EU gives Greece loans so that Greece can pay back loans from private banks. However, in order to get the EU loans, Greece had to agreeto cutting government-paid pensions and social services and to selling off at low prices publicly owned assets to private capitalists. "The IMF gives money to no one. The IMF makes loans to governments that agree to impose austerity programs on citizens in order to pay back private banks. "Today on my website I posted a song just released by a Hungarian rock group about the devastation of Hungarythat resulted from EU membership and IMF loans. "Ukraine's economy is naturally integrated into the economy of Russia. If Ukraine joins the EU, it will lose the benefits ofthis integration in addition to being looted by Western bankers and corporations. "As Russia had already agreed to rescue the Ukrainian bonds and economy, the overthrow by Washington of the Ukrainian government for refusing to join the EU, which, of course, means NATO as well, was not related to Ukraine's economic predicament. "Washington brought down the Ukraine government in order to weaken Russia and make Russia less able to resistWashington's hegemony over the world. The only open question is whether Washington worked with the neo-nazis as well as with the so-called moderates, or whether Washington was caught off guard by the Right Sector and has lostcontrol of the coup. "If the latter, then Ukraine's economy will also suffer from war and dislocation. The ultra-nationalists are already striking out against the Russian populations in Ukraine. These are people with the right to Russian citizenship. Ifthey request citizenship, Russia will have to grant citizenship and protect its citizens. "The purposes of the coup in Ukraine are to deprive Russia of its naval base on the Black Sea, to cut Russia off frommilitary industries in Ukraine, and to establish US missile bases in Ukraine that degrade Russia's nuclear deterrent and render Russia unable to resist Washington's will. "Ukrainian economics has nothing whatsoever to do with the situation that Washington has brought about. To thinkthat the issue is money for Ukraine is to stick one's head in the sand like an ostrich. "An aggressive and reckless Washington has brought a direct strategic threat to Russia herself. "There are three possible outcomes. Russia will submit. Washington will back."

Sale of train tickets to Crimea suspended

Advance train ticket sales from Kiev to the Crimea have been temporarily discontinued. "The movement of trains to the Crimea is carried out according to schedule, but due to technical reasons, advance ticket sales for the trains in the Crimean direction have been suspended," the message posted on a website of a Ukrainian railway company said. At the same time, according to First Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliev, one can travel from Russia to the Crimea through the Krasnodar region of Russia.

Sale of train tickets to Crimea suspended

Advance train ticket sales from Kiev to the Crimea have been temporarily discontinued. "The movement of trains to the Crimea is carried out according to schedule, but due to technical reasons, advance ticket sales for the trains in the Crimean direction have been suspended," the message posted on a website of a Ukrainian railway company said. At the same time, according to First Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliev, one can travel from Russia to the Crimea through the Krasnodar region of Russia.

Donetsk residents demand 'people's governor' Gubarev be released

Residents of Ukraine's Donetsk took to the streets demanding "people's governor" Pavel Gubarev should be released from jail. Gubarev was arrested two days ago in Donetsk and sent to Kiev, where he was put under arrest. "The people's governor" faces charges of violation of territorial integrity of Ukraine, although his lawyers note that he only shared his opinion about the future of the region. "We all understand that there is clearly a political aspect in this case. The legal aspect is, unfortunately, a lot smaller than the political one," said Gubarev's lawyer Alexander Groshinsky said. A criminal case was filed against Gubarev on three counts: attempted take-over, violation of foreign territorial supremacy of Ukraine and seizure of administrative buildings. Ukrainian entrepreneur Pavel Gubarev is the head of the pro-Russian movement "People's Militia of Donbass." During the meeting, which took place in Donetsk on March 1, Gubarev was declared the "people's governor" of the region. He then offered to hold a referendum about the status of the region.

Yanukovych: Dark forces in Kiev want to unleash civil war

Anarchy in Ukrainian grows, while Kiev wants to unleash a civil war in the country, said Viktor Yanukovych. At a press conference on Tuesday, March 11, Yanukovych announced that he was the only legitimate President of Ukraine. "The towns are patrolled by masked men with armbands. They fire top army officers - those who show resistance and do not want to use armed forces in the south-east of the country against the civilian population. Just think about it - they want to put the army under the banner of Bandera and launch a civil war," he said at the press conference. According to Yanukovych, "dark forces in Kiev want to have armed forces of militant nationalist organizations involved, they want to give them weapons." Viktor Yanukovych gave the press conference in Russia's Rostov, but said that he was going to return to Ukraine as soon as there was such an opportunity. He assured everyone that he was not going to resign. Moreover, Yanukovych will remain the Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Yanukovych said that the presidential vote in Ukraine, which is to take place on May 25th, was illegal. He also referred to US laws that prohibit the funding of illegal governments. He is going to address to the US Congress, Senate and Supreme Court of the United States with a suggestion to assess illegal actions of American authorities. "The usurpers of power will hold me, or even Russia accountable for what is happening. But I have nothing to do with that. Cutting pensions, wages and allowances is unbelievable. We are having hard times these days, the Crimea is separating, but we can survive this mess, and the fooled people will come to their senses," he concluded his speech.

G7 warns Russia on 'annexing' Crimea

Leaders of the G7 group of nations have called on Russia to stop all efforts to "annex" Ukraine's Crimea region. They said if Russia took such a step they would "take further action, individually and collectively". The G7 leaders also said they would not recognise the results of a referendum in Crimea this weekend on whether to split from Ukraine and join Russia. Separately, the US president said they "will be forced to apply costs" if Russia does not change course. Barack Obama was speaking after holding talks with Ukraine's interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Washington. Mr Yatsenyuk told reporters Ukraine "is and will be part of the Western world". Earlier, Ukraine's national security chief Andriy Parubiy warned of a major Russian military build-up on Ukraine's borders. He said Russian troops had not withdrawn since carrying out military exercises near Ukraine's eastern and southern frontiers last month, and were now "only two to three hours" from Kiev. The Group of Seven industrial nations - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US - along with the European Union urged Russia to "cease all efforts to change the status of Crimea". "In addition to its impact on the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea could have grave implications for the legal order that protects the unity and sovereignty of all states," they said in a statement released by the White House. They said Sunday's referendum, asking the people of Crimea if they want to be a part of Russia or Ukraine, has "no legal effect" as it is in "direct violation" of Ukraine's constitution. "Given the lack of adequate preparation and the intimidating presence of Russian troops, it would also be a deeply flawed process which would have no moral force," they added. The G7 leaders repeated their calls for Russia to de-escalate the crisis by withdrawing its troops, talking directly with Kiev and using international mediators to "address any legitimate concerns it may have". European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he hoped EU countries would keep their "very united and firm position because we don't want to see, one century after the First World War, exactly the same kind of behaviour of countries annexing other countries". Polish PM Donald Tusk said it may be time for the EU "to consider the possibility of having second phase sanctions" against Russia. At a joint news conference with Mr Tusk, German Chancellor Angela Merkel indicated the EU could sign the "political part" of a long-awaited agreement on closer ties with Ukraine later this month. But diplomatic efforts with Russia continue. US Secretary of State John Kerry said he will travel to London for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday, and present him "with a series of options" for resolving the crisis. France's President Francois Hollande has spoken by telephone to Russia's President Vladimir Putin, and both agreed to "continue the discussion" on resolving the crisis. Russian troops and pro-Russian gunmen moved in to seize key sites in Crimea - an autonomous region with a majority of ethnic Russians - after the fall of Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych last month. Andriy Parubiy said Russian troops had been seen massing on Ukraine's eastern and southern borders where he said there was a "critical situation". He accused Moscow of sending "subversive agents" into those areas to try to create a pre-text to deploy troops in the same way it has done in Crimea. Mr Parubiy said Kiev's parliament will vote on Thursday to establish a National Guard of 20,000 people - recruited from activists involved in the recent pro-Western protests as well as from military academies - to strengthen Ukraine's defences. The National Guard, he said, would be deployed to "protect state borders, general security and prevent "terrorist activities". President Yanukovych was forced from office after violence broke out between police and protesters in Kiev, in which more than 90 people were killed. The protesters had taken over Kiev's Independence Square, calling for the government's resignation, after Mr Yanukovych rejected a deal with the EU in favour of a bail-out from Russia.

Russia Lenta.ru editor Timchenko fired in Ukraine row

The chief editor of popular Russian news website Lenta.ru has lost her job over an interview it published with a far-right Ukrainian nationalist. Galina Timchenko was fired after the state media regulator issued the website with a warning for publishing material of an "extremist nature". She will be replaced by Alexei Goreslavsky, who until recently headed a staunchly pro-Kremlin website. Her departure comes after several recent attacks on independent media. The decision to dismiss Ms Timchenko was made by Lenta.ru's owner Alexander Mamut. It was immediately criticised by the website's editorial staff who complained of direct pressure being placed on them and a "dramatic decline" in the scope for free journalism in Russia. "The dismissal of an independent chief editor and the appointment of a person who can be controlled from outside, including directly from offices in the Kremlin - that is already a violation of the media law," read the statement signed by 69 Lenta staff on the website's front page. Writing on her Facebook page, Ms Timchenko said simply: "That's it. Thank you, it was interesting." Media regulator Roskomnadzor cited an interview published two days earlier with a leading member of the Ukrainian ultra-nationalist group, Right Sector, referring to a hyperlink in the text that led to its leader, Dmitriy Yarosh. It said the material contained statements inciting ethnic hatred. A Moscow court issued an arrest warrant for Mr Yarosh on Wednesday on charges of inciting terrorism. Founded in 1999, Lenta is considered one of Europe's most visited news websites and last year became part of Mr Mamut's Afisha-Rambbler-SUP media group. It is the latest media outlet in Russia to come under the scrutiny of the authorities: State news agency Ria Novosti was closed last year and relaunched under a new editor Independent TV channel Dozhd (Rain) was dropped by leading cable and satellite operators Radio station Ekho Moskvy's director-general, Yuriy Fedutinov, was replaced Ekho's veteran editor-in-chief Aleksey Venediktov, whose future is also being considered, condemned Ms Timchenko's removal as a "clearly political decision". Mr Mamut, a 54-year-old billionaire who also owns UK bookshop chain Waterstone's, has an estimated fortune of $2.3bn,

Pro-Ukraine Rally Is Attacked As Nation Celebrates A Poet

KIEV, Ukraine -- Rival rallies turned violent in Crimea on Sunday, as Ukraine celebrated the 200th anniversary of the birth of its greatest poet and the White House announced that President Obama would host the Ukrainian prime minister just days before a controversial referendum on Crimean secession next week. In Kiev, the capital, tens of thousands rallied in Independence Square to celebrate the birth of Taras Shevchenko, a poet who is a symbol of Ukrainian nationhood. The gathering was both a riposte to Russia and a memorial service for the more than 80 people who died there. “Our fathers and grandfathers have spilled their blood for this land,” said the interim prime minister, Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, who will visit the White House on Wednesday. “We won’t budge a single centimeter from Ukrainian land. Let Russia and its president know this.” Yet in Sevastopol, Crimea, a pro-Ukraine rally attended by several hundred people was attacked by pro-Russia supporters — some brandishing whips — who had their own large rally there. In the Crimean capital, Simferopol, about 400 people, a mixture of pro-Ukrainian Russians and Tartars, gathered around a statue of Shevchenko while listening to readings of his works and speeches calling for Russian troops to withdraw. The police there stopped a group of hooded men from approaching the rally. In Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, thousands of pro-Russian activists took over the city’s main thoroughfare to call for greater autonomy from Kiev and a referendum on secession. Vitali Klitschko, the former boxing champion and opposition politician who is now a presidential candidate, visited Donetsk to appeal for calm after days of violence between pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian protesters. “The current conflict and aggression must be resolved,” Mr. Klitschko told reporters at a news conference, urging residents to support national unity and stating that he was worried that the events in Crimea may repeat themselves here, in the country’s east. “It must not be solved through bloodshed.” He laid a wreath at a statue of Shevchenko, but canceled a scheduled appearance at a rally at the request of the police. In nearby Luhansk, the regional capital of a coal-mining region bordering Russia, several thousand protesters occupied a regional administration building, where the region’s governor, a Kiev appointee, is based, and raised the Russian flag. As Ukrainians rallied on Sunday, leaders of several nations continued to pursue diplomacy. Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany both spoke with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Mr. Cameron’s office relayed that Mr. Putin “said that Russia did want to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis” and “agreed that it is in all our interests to have a stable Ukraine.” By the British account, Mr. Putin said he would discuss proposals for a contact group, which the West envisages involving direct talks between Moscow and Kiev. The German government said Ms. Merkel made it clear that any Crimean referendum was illegal and that it would not be recognized internationally. On Thursday, the chancellor said that if a contact group was not formed soon and no progress was made in negotiations with Russia, the European Union could impose sanctions on Russia, including travel restrictions and the freezing of assets. According to the Kremlin’s account of the call, however, Mr. Putin “underlined in particular that the steps taken by Crimea’s legitimate authorities are based on international law and aimed at guaranteeing the legitimate interests of the peninsula’s population” and that Kiev was not acting “to limit the rampant behavior of ultranationalists and radical forces in the capital and in many regions.” The Kremlin statement continued: “Despite the differences in the assessments of what is happening,” the three leaders “expressed a common interest in de-escalation of the tensions and normalization of the situation as soon as possible.” The new Ukrainian government and its supporters, the United States and the European Union, reject the legitimacy of the Crimea referendum, scheduled for March 16, and deny that any ethnic Russians or Russian speakers have been threatened or harmed in Ukraine. Vladimir Konstantinov, the speaker of the Crimean parliament, had said on Friday that Ukrainian troops remaining there should “quietly and peacefully” leave the territory unless they were willing to renounce their loyalty to Kiev and serve the region’s new administration. Late Sunday, Mr. Konstantinov told reporters that the Ukrainian military installations “in large part have come under control — they are blocked, and their weapons are under joint control.” That was only partially true, since Russian forces were still demanding that Ukrainian forces disarm and surrender. He said the Ukrainian forces’ final status will be determined after the referendum. “If they want to serve the people of Crimea, they need to inform us of that,” he said. “Those who do not want to, we will secure their safe exit from the territory of Crimea, and they can leave the peninsula.” Pavel Dorokhin, deputy chair of the State Duma’s committee on industry, said while on a visit to Simferopol that Russia has set aside 40 billion rubles, or about $1.1 billion, to rebuild Crimea’s industrial infrastructure. He said that after the referendum, Crimea may take on one of three statuses within Russia — that of a region, a territory or an autonomous republic. In the United States, President Obama’s deputy national security adviser, Antony J. Blinken, rejected the notion that Crimea was now effectively Russian. “It’s not a done deal,” he said on the CNN program “State of the Union.” “I think the door is clearly open to resolving this diplomatically.” He noted that Mr. Obama and European leaders continued to engage with Mr. Putin. “Russia’s paying a price for this,” he said. “The question now is whether they will take the off ramp that the president and our partners around Europe have proposed. There is a way out of this that can take into account Russia’s interests and concerns, but restores Ukraine’s sovereignty. That’s what we’re working on.” Robert M. Gates, a former defense secretary, was less optimistic, telling “Fox News Sunday”: “I do not believe that Crimea will slip out of Russia’s hands.” He said of Mr. Putin: “I don’t think that he will stop in Ukraine until there is a government in Ukraine, in Kiev, that is essentially pro-Russian.” Although President Obama has made it clear that the United States does not want to escalate the Crimean crisis, the Pentagon has increased training operations in Poland and sent fighter jets to patrol the skies over Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, three former Soviet republics with sizable populations of ethnic Russians. In Kiev, the rally on Sunday was also addressed by an emotional Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Russian oil oligarch who spent years in prison after he challenged Mr. Putin. Mr. Khodorkovsky was released in December. “I want you to know that there is another Russia,” he said. “There are people who despite the arrests, despite the long years they have spent in prison, go to antiwar demonstrations in Moscow” and support “friendship between the Russian and Ukrainian people.” He said he saw no more “fascists or neo-Nazis” in Kiev than “on the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg.” Mr. Khodorkovsky added, “I believe that Russia and Ukraine have a united, common European future.”

Ukraine PM To Fly To U.S. To Discuss Crimea Crisis

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine -- Ukrainian interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk will fly to the United States this week to discuss the crisis in Crimea, as hostilities in the eastern European country's southern region intensify. Yatsenyuk is expected to arrive in the United States on Wednesday, a spokeswoman from his press office told CNN. A White House official confirmed the visit. Russian President Vladimir Putin meanwhile defended breakaway moves by the pro-Russian leaders of the autonomous Ukrainian region, in separate phone calls with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron. The three leaders spoke amid tensions on the Black Sea peninsula that have escalated since the Moscow-backed regional parliament voted to leave Ukraine for Russia and announced a March 16 referendum to give Crimeans an opportunity to vote on the idea. Putin underlined "steps being taken by Crimea's legitimate authorities ... being based on international law on behalf of the interests of the population there," according to a Kremlin statement. He also said the new Ukrainian authorities were doing nothing "to curb ultra-nationalist and radical forces committing outrages" in Kiev and other regions. Despite differences of opinion over what is happening on the ground, the Kremlin statement said there was consensus on the need to de-escalate tensions and normalize the situation. Moscow has denounced the events that led to Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych's ouster as an illegitimate coup and has refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities, putting the two countries on a collision course over control of Crimea, which has longstanding ties to Russia and has thousands of Russian troops stationed there. Putin has said Russia has the right to invade Ukraine to protect Russians living in the former Soviet republic. Pro-Russian forces are now in de facto control of the region ahead of the referendum, which Kiev says is illegal. Washington has warned Moscow that any moves to annex Crimea would close the door to diplomacy. On Saturday, U.S. President Barack Obama rounded up world leaders to demand Russia "de-escalate the situation." Soviet songs Tensions in Crimea have been mounting since pro-Russian forces' bloodless seizure of the Black Sea peninsula last week. Amid signs that the tense standoff is growing more volatile, Russian troops also stormed a Crimean border control point at Schelkino, near Kerch, early Saturday, seizing the armory and driving the officers' families from their living quarters, Ukraine's border service said. In Simferopol, Crimea's main city, pro- and anti-Russian groups held rival rallies Sunday. Hundreds of supporters of Russia clapped along to nostalgic Soviet-era songs being played in a public square. In Kiev, thousands of people gathered at a rally for peace at the central Independence Square, cradle of the protests that last month ousted Yanukovych. The crowd shouted slogans such as "Glory for Ukraine" and "Putin go away" as representatives of different religions prayed for a solution to the crisis. Putin last week secured permission from his parliament to use military force to protect Russian citizens in Ukraine. The move came within days after Yanukovych's flight from the country. Yanukovych was ousted after three months of protests against a decision to spurn a free trade deal with the European Union and turn toward closer ties with Moscow. A convoy of military vehicles, believed to be carrying Russian soldiers, traveled through Simferopol on Saturday, heading toward the border post at Armyansk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense told CNN. Armyansk is one of the main access points into Crimea from the rest of Ukraine. Military observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe have tried to cross into Crimea for three days but have been refused entry by armed men. They did not attempt a crossing on Sunday. U.S. steps up pressure On Saturday, Obama called British, French and Italian leaders and hosted a conference call with the presidents of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. "All of the leaders agreed on the need for Russia to pull its military forces back to their bases, allow for the deployment of international observers and human rights monitors to the Crimean peninsula, " a White House statement said. The leaders also agreed on "the formation of a contact group that could lead to direct dialogue between Ukraine and Russia to de-escalate the situation and restore Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity." They also rejected a proposed referendum in Crimea on whether it should rejoin Russia "as a violation of Ukraine's constitution," the White House said. "The leaders made clear that Russia's continued violation of international law will isolate it from the international community." U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry phoned Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday and issued a diplomatic ultimatum, according to a senior U.S. administration official. The referendum on whether the Crimean Peninsula should join Russia has become the focus of the Ukraine crisis. Yatsenyuk has called it "an illegitimate decision." "If there is an annexation of Crimea, if there is a referendum that moves Crimea from Ukraine to Russia, we won't recognize it, nor will most of the world," U.S. deputy national security adviser Tony Blinken said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. "So I think you'd see, if there are further steps in the direction of annexing Crimea, a very strong, coordinated international response."

Ukraine Crisis: Russia Sends More Troops, Takes More Crimea Border Posts

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine -- Russian forces tightened their grip on Crimea on Sunday despite a U.S. warning to Moscow that annexing the southern Ukrainian region would close the door to diplomacy in a tense East-West standoff. Russian forces took control of a Ukrainian border guard post in western Crimea on Sunday, trapping about 30 personnel inside, a border guard spokesman said. He said by telephone that the Chernomorskoye base on the western edge of the Back Sea peninsula had been taken over without bloodshed at around 6 a.m. (0400 GMT). The spokesman, Oleh Slobodyan, said Russian forces now controlled 11 border guard posts in Crimea. At the same time, dozens of military trucks transporting heavily armed soldiers rumbled over Crimea's rutted roads Saturday as Russia reinforced its armed presence. Moscow's foreign minister ruled out any dialogue with Ukraine's new authorities, whom he dismissed as the puppets of extremists. The Russians have denied their armed forces are active in Crimea, but an Associated Press reporter trailed one military convoy Saturday afternoon from 25 miles west of Feodosia to a military airfield at Gvardeiskoe north of Simferopol, over which a Russian flag flew. Some of the army green vehicles had Russian license plates and numbers indicating that they were from the Moscow region. Some towed mobile kitchens and what appeared to be mobile medical equipment. Russian forces' seizure of the Black Sea peninsula has been bloodless but tensions are mounting following the decision by pro-Russian groups that have taken over the regional parliament to make Crimea part of Russia. The operation to seize Crimea began within days of Ukraine's pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovich's flight from the country last month. Yanukovich was toppled after three months of demonstrations against a decision to spurn a free trade deal with the European Union for closer ties with Russia. In Simferopol, Crimea's main city, pro- and anti-Russian groups held rival rallies. About 300 opponents of Russian-backed plans for Crimea to secede gathered around a monument to national hero Taras Shevchenko, carrying blue and yellow balloons the color of the Ukrainian flag. The crowd sang the national anthem, twice, and an Orthodox Priest led prayers and a hymn. Vladimir Kirichenko, 58, an engineer, opposed Crimea joining Russia. "I don't call this a referendum. It asks two practically identical questions: Are you for the secession of Ukraine or are you for the secession of Ukraine? So why would I go and vote?" Around 2,000 Russian supporters gathered in Lenin Square, where there is a statue of the Soviet state founder, clapping along to nostalgic Soviet era songs being sung from the stage. Alexander Liganov, 25 and jobless, said: "We have always been Russian, not Ukrainian. We support Putin." President Vladimir Putin declared a week ago that Russia had the right to invade Ukraine to protect Russian citizens, and his parliament has voted to change the law to make it easier to annex territory inhabited by Russian speakers. At a rally in the eastern city of Donetsk, home to many Russian speakers, presidential candidate Vitaly Klitschko, a former boxing champion, said Ukraine should not allowed to split apart amid bloodshed. "The main task is to preserve the stability and independence of our country," he said. The worst face-off with Moscow since the Cold War has left the West scrambling for a response, especially since the region's pro-Russia leadership declared Crimea part of Russia last week and announced a March 16 referendum to confirm it. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking to Russia's foreign minister for the fourth day in a row, told Sergei Lavrov on Saturday that Russia should exercise restraint. "He made clear that continued military escalation and provocation in Crimea or elsewhere in Ukraine, along with steps to annex Crimea to Russia, would close any available space for diplomacy, and he urged utmost restraint," a U.S. official said. President Barack Obama spoke by phone on Saturday to the leaders of France, Britain and Italy and three ex-Soviet Baltic states that have joined NATO. He assured Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, which have their own ethnic Russian populations, that the Western military alliance would protect them if necessary. A spokeswoman for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said military monitors from the pan-Europe watchdog had on Saturday been prevented for the third time in as many days from entering Crimea. Shots were fired on Saturday to turn back the mission of more than 40 unarmed observers, who have been invited by Kiev but lack permission from Crimea's pro-Russian authorities to cross the isthmus to the peninsula. No on was hurt. Crimea's pro-Moscow authorities have ordered all remaining Ukrainian troop detachments in the province to disarm and surrender, but at several locations they have refused to yield. Moscow denies that the Russian-speaking troops in Crimea are under its command, an assertion Washington dismisses as "Putin's fiction". Although they wear no insignia, the troops drive vehicles with Russian military plates. A Reuters reporting team filmed a convoy of hundreds of Russian troops in about 50 trucks, accompanied by armored vehicles and ambulances, which pulled into a military base north of Simferopol in broad daylight on Saturday. The military standoff has remained bloodless, but troops on both sides spoke of increased agitation. "The situation is changed. Tensions are much higher now. You have to go. You can't film here," said a Russian soldier carrying a heavy machine gun, his face covered except for his eyes, at a Ukrainian navy base in Novoozernoye. A source in Ukraine's defense ministry said it was mobilizing some of its military hardware for a planned exercise, Interfax news agency reported. Ukraine's military, with barely 130,000 troops, would be no match for Russia's. So far Kiev has held back from any action that might provoke a response. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Saturday Poland had evacuated its consulate in Sevastopol due to "continuing disturbances by Russian forces". The United States has announced sanctions against individuals it accuses of interfering with Ukrainian territorial integrity, although it has yet to publish the list. Washington has threatened wider action to isolate the Russian economy. The European Union is also considering sanctions, but has so far been more cautious. Any action would be much harder to organize for a 28-nation bloc that takes decisions unanimously and many of whose members depend on Russian natural gas. Pro-Moscow Crimea leader Sergei Aksyonov said the referendum on union with Russia - due in a week - would not be stopped. It had been called so quickly to avert "provocation", he said. It is far from clear whether most of the 2 million Crimea residents want to be ruled by Moscow. When last asked in 1991, they voted narrowly for independence along with the rest of Ukraine. Western countries dismiss the planned referendum as illegal and likely to be falsified.