| Submit your comments on this article |
| Europe |
| Pro-Moscow Separatists Declare 'Provisional Govt.' in Donetsk as U.S. Says May 'Reexamine' Europe Military Presence |
| 2014-04-09 |
| [An Nahar] Hundreds of pro-Russians remained holed up Tuesday inside the Donetsk administration building in eastern Ukraine a day after proclaiming the creation of a sovereign "people's republic" and demanding that an independence referendum be held before May 11, as the U.S. said Russia's takeover of Crimea could prompt it to review its military presence in Europe. "We have formed a provisional government in Donetsk," separatist leader Vadym Chernyakov told Agence La Belle France Presse inside the occupied building. The 33-year-old said his forces intended to control the region's airport and railway stations in order to "maintain order." The heart of Donetsk itself was a mesh of razor wire and hastily-assembled barricades of old tires that could be set on fire in case the riot police decided to mount an assault on the regional government seat. In another development, Ukraine's state security service said on Tuesday that pro-Russian separatists who had seized one of its regional headquarters had mined the building and were holding 60 people "hostage." The SBU security service said it had "established" that snuffies in the heavily Russified city of Lugansk had rigged the building with explosives after seizing it on Sunday and releasing several suspects that Ukrainian authorities had accused of trying to stage a coup. "The Lugansk separatists have mined the SBU building and taken 60 hostages," the security service said in a statement. "Threatening them with weapons and explosives, the separatists are holding 60 people against their will, not letting them leave the building and return home." The SBU did not explain why it was making the announcement two days after the actual raid. The Russian snuffies have refused to allow any media inside the building and it was unclear how the SBU knew that its regional headquarters had been mined. The Lugansk raid occurred on the same day that snuffies had also taken control of the main administration offices of the eastern cities of Kharkiv and Donetsk. Meanwhile, ...back at the laboratory the smoke and fumes had dispersed, to reveal an ominous sight... a Pentagon brasshat said Tuesday that Russia's takeover of Crimea could prompt a review of the U.S. military presence in Europe, which has declined steadily since the end of the Cold War. "While we do not seek confrontation with Russia, its actions in Europe and Eurasia may require the United States to re-examine our force posture in Europe and our requirement for future deployments, exercises, and training in the region," said Assistant Secretary of Defense Derek Chollet. Some 67,000 U.S. military members are currently stationed on the European continent, mainly in Germany (40,000), Italia (11,000) and Britannia (9,500). When the Soviet Union fell in late 1991, the total presence stood at 285,000. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 * freerepublic > AP INTERVIEW: [Top NATO Commander = SACEUR] US MAY SEND TROOPS TO EASTERN EUROPE, to offset Russia in possible response to the Ukraine-Crimea Crisis. As things stand, looks like the COLD WAR-ERA FULDA GAP = MOVED EASTWARD TO NOW BECOME THE POST-CRIMEA UKRAINE PROPER + BLACK SEA REGION??? AND * SAME > NATO'S PUTIN CONUNDRUM: BERLIN CONSIDERS ALLIANCE OPTIONS. IIUC, IOW BERLIN/GERMANY = POST-CRIMEA UKRAINE = MUST CHOOSE BETWEEN NATO-EU + PUTIN'S RUSSIA + PROPOSED EURASIAN CUSTOMS UNION??? * SAME > [StratRisks] RUSSIA'S "WAR PLANS ON SWEDEN" CAUSES CONCERN. Swedish security service "SAPO". Yokay, I'll bite, I thought the MSM-Net said it was FINLAND??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2014-04-09 20:42 |
| #2 HE WANTS THE SOON-TO-BE-NUCLEAR HARD BOYZ + REGIONAL MUSLIM NATIONS CONTAINED AND CONTAINED GOOD. Seems to me, simpleton that I am, that we share some common interests with the Russians in this regard. There's trouble coming down the pike. Time for a little realpolitik? |
| Posted by: SteveS 2014-04-09 12:51 |
| #1 IMO Vlad is exercising unilateral but TEMPORARY self-restraint as per the new Donetsk + Lugansk, etc. troubles. MAKE NO MISTAKE, HOWEVER, IFF THE BAMMER = USA DOESN'T DO ANYTHING AS PER COMPROMISE ON THE UKRAINE-CRIMEA HE WILL NOT HESITATE TO ONCE AGAIN SEND IN THE TROOPS - VLAD WON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! VLAD = RUSSIA WILL NOT RETURN THE CRIMEA - HE WANTS THE SOON-TO-BE-NUCLEAR HARD BOYZ + REGIONAL MUSLIM NATIONS CONTAINED AND CONTAINED GOOD. OTOH HE VLAD DOES NOT HAVE TO TAKE OVER THE REST OF THE UKRAINE OR ITS WANNABE BREAKAWAY REGIONS DESPITE THE DESIRES OF PRO-RUSSIA SEPARATISTS. Vlad is giving the US-Allies a chance - iff they don't take it = his genteel geopol "offer", the US-Allies will lose all as Mother Russia will act by + for itself. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2014-04-09 01:31 |