Meanwhile in Ukraine... Revolution.

[bryant.coleman]

The town of Nikolaev gave Russian official status on the town level (blue flag).

Not enough. 60% of the population lives in the countryside and the vast majority of them uses Russian as a home language. The refusal to grant Russian the official status might have caused quite a lot of hardship there.

[Nemo1024]

Kerry told about spying on telephone conversations of Russians in Eastern Ukraine:
http://itar-tass.com/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/1156833?utm_medium=rss20

Even though I would not be surprised if Russia had some advisors/observers in Ukraine, it's the case of teapot calling a kettle - CIA has a whole floor in Kiev to themselves!

He uses quite a lot of harsh words there, but among them I did not see a single reference to hard proof.


USA will return Yanukovich's money to Ukraine:
http://itar-tass.com/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/1156916?utm_medium=rss20
"It'll be a lengthy process and will require cooperation of all countries around the globe", said Holder.

I wonder how Yanukovich managed to transport 32 billion dollars, which equates to about 320 tonnes or a whole trainload of money out of Ukraine, when he fled from being murdered in Ukraine.

And will US return the Ukrainian gold reserve?

And will US demand that Yatsenjuk return Russian Scythian gold?


Former ambassador of US in Russia complained that Putin did not love him, and even confessed it to him personally a couple of times:
http://ria.ru/world/20140429/1005965888.html


And here is something bordering on tragic absurdity:
http://ria.ru/world/20140429/1005948110.html

Ukraine refused to participate in France in memorial event, commemorating victims of Chernobyl disaster.

Well, with the recent US-supplied incompatible nuclear fuel for the Ukrainian nuclear plants, the whole of Ukraine will be one big Chernobyl. 

[bryant.coleman]

Can anyone tell me what is going on here:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/live-action-spilno-tv

Meanwhile, Turchynov is whining.

Interim President Olexander Turchynov criticised local police for their "inaction" and "criminal treachery".

[Nemo1024]

Can anyone tell me what is going on here:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/live-action-spilno-tv

Looks like Kiev? Someone does not want that this whole thing gets filmed. They talk Ukrainian.
The guy said, explaining that those are not mercinaries but the self-defence of Maidan.

They are making a corridor so that the Ukrainian patriots of Right Sector might come though.

You're observing Maidan.

[247crypto]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYlcPFVvM0k

[bryant.coleman]

Looks like Kiev? Someone does not want that this whole thing gets filmed. They talk Ukrainian.
The guy said, explaining that those are not mercinaries but the self-defence of Maidan.

They are making a corridor so that the Ukrainian patriots of Right Sector might come though.

You're observing Maidan.

OK... I saw the Right Sector flag as well. That was a Right Sector demonstration. 

http://rt.com/news/155748-rally-kiev-massive-fight

[Vod]

Hardly anyone speaks Ukrainian in Crimea... and yet Russian was not an official language? Also, there are 5 times as many Russian speakers as there are Ukrainian speakers in Nikolaev. 

Hardly anyone speaks french in Canada... and yet french is an official language!

I haven't read the entire thread, but I'm pretty sure it's all politics.   

[Rassah]

Most of America speaks English. That obviously means that Great Britain has the right to march in its armies and take America back 


This is kind of what I was talking about btw: http://oleg-leusenko.livejournal.com/1361141.html

[bryant.coleman]

Hardly anyone speaks french in Canada... and yet french is an official language!
I haven't read the entire thread, but I'm pretty sure it's all politics.   

Around 25% of the Canadian population speaks French and that is why it is an official language. Now what would you say about the situation of Russian language in Ukraine, which is banned in the public sphere despite being used as a home language by some 60% of the population?

[Nemo1024]

Most of America speaks English. That obviously means that Great Britain has the right to march in its armies and take America back 

This is kind of what I was talking about btw: http://oleg-leusenko.livejournal.com/1361141.html

Rassah, your argument is weak, and was already covered before, but I will indulge you.

Yes, Great Britain could actually claim US back, as US proclaimed its independence with the breach of the then international law. Interestingly, Crimea, Donetsk and Lugansk now proclaim their independence in much the same fashion as US did back then, but this time these regions are legally backed by the UN charter on self-determination of peoples.

The situation that you should be comparing to, is Northern Ireland wanting to break away from UK and reunite with Ireland (based on language and religion), in much the same way Crimea broke away from the artificial fiefdom of Ukraine and rejoined Russia, where it was since 1700s. The only difference that appals EU, is that in Crimea there was no bloodshed.

[Nemo1024]

And some news as a separate post:

US are seeking to back away from the sanctions in their round-about way. They list conditions on dropping sanctions against individuals in Russia:
http://itar-tass.com/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/1157668?utm_medium=rss20
They again talk about "de-escalation of situation in Ukraine"

Russian Ministry of Foreign affairs already replied that Russia does not accept the language of ultimatums

But it seems sanctions are having a positive effect. The offshore Bermuda branch of Sberbank decided to close down and pull its capitals back into Russia.  
http://lenta.ru/news/2014/04/30/sber/

Microsoft and other IT companies joined the anti-Russian campaign:
http://www.gazeta.ru/business/news/2014/04/30/n_6119681.shtml

Putin: Washington behind Ukraine events all along, though flying low
http://rt.com/news/155732-putin-usa-behind-ukraine-crisis/

“I think what is happening now shows us who really was mastering the process from the beginning. But in the beginning, the United States preferred to remain in the shadow,” Putin said, as quoted by RIA Novosti.

And on the topic of sanctions:

"We would very much wish not to resort to any measures in response," he told reporters. "But if something like that continues, we will of course have to think about who is working in the key sectors of the Russian economy, including the energy sector, and how.”

"Regarding the second package, it's not clear at all what this is linked to, because there is no cause and effect link with what is happening now in Ukraine and Russia," Putin said.

And a fun little sidenote. We all remember how Kerry depicted RT as "propaganda bullhorn":
http://rt.com/news/154760-kerry-attacks-rt-propaganda/

And now US passes new legislation with regard to Voice of America to actually make that channel to comply to the US foreign policy:
http://rt.com/usa/155760-voice-america-reform-support/

"This legislation makes clear that the Voice of America mission is to support U.S. public diplomacy efforts," a summary of the new bill outlines. "The VOA charter states that VOA will provide a ‘clear and effective presentation of the policies of the United States...Over time, VOA has abandoned this mission."

...

In 1976, President Gerald Ford signed into law VOA’s mission as an "accurate, objective, and comprehensive" news outlet as opposed to an explicit propagandistic venture.

Since then, “employees at the TV and radio broadcaster have insisted on viewing themselves as objective journalists as opposed to instruments” of the US government’s policies abroad, wrote Foreign Policy. And since, on occasion, VOA has highlighted stories that did not reflect well on the United States, US officials have wondered why hundreds of millions of dollars is spent on a project that does not have a more pro-American outlook.

[bryant.coleman]

This is Turchynov's problem:

There are indications that Kiev does not have enough loyal troops to deliver on its promised protest crackdown. On several occasions the troops sent against activists simply defected, surrendering their weapons and armored vehicles.

All those foreign mercenaries can't make up for the defected troops. 

[Nemo1024]

Turchinov announced that Ukrainian military is brought into full war-time readiness:
http://www.rbc.ru/rbcfreenews/20140430125020.shtml
He is expecting diversions (provocations) and that according to his intelligence (or lack thereof ) Russia plans them for the May Victory Holidays.

EDIT: News in English
http://rt.com/news/155856-ukraine-alert-president-army/

[Balthazar]

Turchynov seems to be sick. He claims that there is no control on eastern regions but actually there is no control at all, even in Kiev. This guy has no idea what's happening outside of his office.

P.S. Ultimatum was made in western Ukraine too:

http://lifenews.ru/news/132295

We are all waiting on May 11, when the term of our ultimatum. And if Kiev won't follow our conditions, if Kiev authorities won't disarm the Right Sector, we'll move to action , - says the mayor of Transcarpathia. - What will happen after May 11 is uncertain, Transcarpathia citizens have weapons amount which is even greater than results of the population census, and people's attitude towards the junta extremely negative. We have a precedent in 1939 when the junta seized power also. The people stood up and cleared out the area from the junta's followers for a half of a day. liberation of Transcarpathia from a coup today will take maximum two days. We can protect Hungarians and Ruthenians against the encroachments of the current government, and we have all the tools to succeed in that.

[Nemo1024]

Hmm... I see China making a low rumbling sound, which the West should not ignore:
http://lenta.ru/news/2014/04/30/china/

Peking does not support one-sided sanctions imposed against Russia, saying they cannot be a solution to the situation in Ukraine, but rather further increasing the tension.

[bryant.coleman]

Interesting development from far-Western Ukraine:

Hungarians, Rusyns in Zakarpatie afraid of forced Ukrainization, want autonomy

http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_04_23/Hungarians-Rusyns-in-Zakarpatie-afraid-of-forced-Ukrainization-want-autonomy-3452/

Ukrainian Hungarians favor the creating of a national autonomy in the Zakarpatie Region. They also ask the current authorities in Kiev to give back the opportunity to the Hungarian parliament members to represent the ethnic minority in Verkhovna Rada.

[Nemo1024]

This sums up well the problem that is Ukraine:

Thus, the situation is getting out of Kiev's control. When they found out about that the Ukrainian nationalists launched their angry rhetoric. From the moment Ukraine proclaimed its independence Kiev has not come up with anything other than «to build the Ukrainian political nation» without taking into account the ethnic composition of the peoples residing in the country. Along with the Ukrainian citizenship everybody has been assigned the official nationality – Ukrainian. In essence that project has led to a slow destruction of Ukraine's ethnic diversity. It is not surprising that the residents of Zakarpatie felt themselves discriminated against, thinks Rostislav Ischenko, a Ukrainian political analyst.

«The current Ukrainian authorities are trying to build a monoethnic state, which in essence is a Nazi state. Any ethnic minority is viewed as a threat to that monoethnicity. They are trying to conduct forced Ukrainization of all ethnic minorities. It cannot happen peacefully».
Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_04_23/Hungarians-Rusyns-in-Zakarpatie-afraid-of-forced-Ukrainization-want-autonomy-3452/

On an unrelated topic. This year's Victory Parade promises to be spectacular:
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_04_30/photo-Victory-Parade-night-rehearsal-held-on-Red-Square-in-Moscow-6253/?slide-11

[Nemo1024]

What the hell?!!  

Ukraine to hold military exercises in central Kiev
http://rt.com/news/155908-ukraine-drills-kiev-military/

Somebody, tell me they are joking!

“Dear Kiev residents and guests of the capital! A tactical-special exercise will be held in Kiev on the night from April 30 to May 1,” says the short statement published on the city hall website. “Columns of combat vehicles are expected to be moving through the city as part of the exercise. Be advised that deployment of troops and hardware will take place in the center of the city.”

A reader comment:

Comments below are correct. Nothing can be solved with the current people in Kiev. But if the US had Ukraine's best interest in mind, it would not have designed this coup and violence in the first place. I think the US plan here is to have a failed state right on Russia's border and tell Russia it'll start a war if Russia goes into Ukraine to try and stabilize it. Russia will eventually have to go in and prevent bloodshed and the US/NATO will have it's "Pearl Harbor" excuse for war with Russia. and how NATO is still needed.

Also, Kiev junta prosecutor's office open criminal cases against commanders of Alpha special ops group in South-East, who refused to follow orders from Kiev:
http://itar-tass.com/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/1159255?utm_medium=rss20

Joke of the day:
Yatsenjuk calls Putin and says: "We are not going to conduct Victory Parade on the 9th of May".
Putin thinks a little and replies: "Very well. We will conduct it ourselves, then".

[dogechode]

Am I the only person that doesn't agree with the whole "Well, there are a lot of Russians there so they should just join Russia" line of reasoning? To me that is sort of like saying "well America had a lot of British people living in it so they should have just stayed a part of the British empire." News flash: if the people living in Ukraine wanted to be part of Russia don't you think they could have moved to Russia and applied for citizenship? Yet they did not.

Singapore has a large portion of ethnically Chinese people but I don't see them calling China to ask if they can be absorbed. I could think of many more examples...

[bryant.coleman]

What the hell?!!  

Ukraine to hold military exercises in central Kiev
http://rt.com/news/155908-ukraine-drills-kiev-military/

That was a false news.

http://rt.com/news/155908-ukraine-drills-kiev-military/

Ukrainian armed forces aren’t planning to hold any military drills involving armored vehicles in central Kiev on Wednesday night, the country’s Defense Ministry said, refuting an earlier announcement from the mayor’s office in Kiev.