Ukraine Crisis News Thread

[red_elk]

Crimean news agencies reported about an unknown sniper who fired from a building, at Crimean self-defense forces and Ukrainian soldiers at military base nearby. Two people reportedly killed, an Ukrainian soldier and a local militant.

 

[ReindeerThistle]

National Geographic maps Crimea as part of Russia

Cased closed.

 

[Tahuti]

National Geographic maps Crimea as part of Russia

Cased closed.

The West has indeed lost this round. Doesn't mean it can allow Russia to have it happen next time. I haven't seen it on any National Geographic Maps I know of though. It also would mean that Nagarno-Karabakh and Transnistria should be marked as independent and Golan Heights as part of Israel.

 

[Aleksey_aka_al]

Doesn't mean it can allow Russia to have it happen next time.

Wait, pal. Pridnestrovie wants to join too!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transnistrian_independence_referendum,_2006

A double referendum was held in Transnistria on 17 September 2006. Voters were asked whether they approved of the possibility of renouncing independence and integration with Moldova, or alternatively independence and a possible future integration into the Russian Federation.

Renouncing independence and potential future integration into Moldova

For: 3.39%

Independence and potential future integration into Russia

For: 98.07%

Of the total of 394,861 registered voters, the voter turnout was 78.6%

 

[red_elk]

Ukraine sets visa regime with Russia
http://rt.com/news/urkaine-cis-visa-demilitarized-917/
That creates trouble for some Russians who have relatives in Ukraine, but even more troubles for Ukrainians, since many of them work in Russia or have relatives there too.
Whereas most popular place in Ukraine for Russian tourists was Crimea.

 

[Gucumatz]

Aleksey would you mind explaining a bit how Transnistria came to be and its relation/perception in Russia today?

 

[ReindeerThistle]

Moscow Moves to Destabilize Eastern Ukraine

Or so Der Spiegel says... but it was put on my FB timeline by the Ukrainian Defense News Network.

It's not only in Crimeawhere Russian President Vladimir Putin is playing withfire, but also in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the people in the economically powerful region speak Russian and reject the new government in Kiev.

*Three-Quarters in East Reject Popular Revolt*
In the eastern part of Ukraine, with several large cities including Donetsk, Kharkiv and Dnepropetrovsk, polls show three-quarters of those surveyed rejecting the popular revolt in Kiev. Between 70 and as many as 90 percent of the residents in this region say that Russian, and not Ukrainian, is their primary language. In Kharkiv, locals threw eggs at Vitali Klitchko, one of the protest leaders.

After the Crimean peninsula, eastern Ukraine has become the second powder keg in the conflict with Russia -- only it is a much larger one than the former. At the end of last week, the government in Moscow put the fuse on display.
After at least one person died and dozens were injured in clashes between friends and opponents of Russia in Donetsk, the foreign minister in Moscow warned: "Russia is aware of its responsibility for the life of compatriots and citizens in Ukraine and reserves the right to take these people under protection."

At the same time, the Kremlin again began mobilizing tank and artillery units. Some 4,000 men marched near the Ukrainian border and para-troopers also performed drills. It would be difficult to make a threat more clear.

 

[red_elk]

- Ukrainian army is leaving peninsula. People are given the opportunity to continue serving in Russian military, officers are even going to preserve their ranks (sic!). Most of local conscripts prefer to stay home, and some officers are joining Russian army too. About 3500 people agreed to serve in Russian military and about 1000 preferred to leave so far. Both categories are given money compensation, for those who decided to go to Ukraine, also transport expenses are reimbursed.

- The government is preparing financial help to Crimea. The current budget deficit is estimated as 36 billions of rubles (~1 billion USD), which will be paid from Russian budget (~0.3% of it). The money are needed in the first place to bring the social standards there to the Russian level. For instance, the average salary of Crimean state employed worker is about twice lower than the average salary in neighboring Krasnodar region. Other long term projects (bridges over Kerch strait, investments into tourist sphere, energy supply, etc.) will of course cost much more.

- Crimea will have 3 official languages, Russian, Ukrainian and Tatar.

 

[Aleksey_aka_al]

Aleksey would you mind explaining a bit how Transnistria came to be and its relation/perception in Russia today?

Most people are not concerned with it as much as with Crimea, imo. However, people are aware about the republic and its issues.

There were ethnic and military confrontations with casualties during the last years of the Soviet Union and after it. Locals were not happy of tendencies in Moldova and chose to be independent. There were multiple referendums: from an autonomy status to language to full independence.

General Lebed commanded the Russian peacekeeping troops there in 1992. He became a prominent politician in Russia in late '90s.

 

[ReindeerThistle]

Crimea, Sevastopol officially join Russia as Putin signs final decree

Russia has finalized the legal process of taking Crimea under its sovereignty, as President Putin signed a law amending the Russian constitution to reflect the transition.

Earlier Russian lawmakers ratified both the amendment and an international treaty with Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, which was legally required for the incorporation.

Following the signing of the law, Putin thanked lawmakers and everyone involved in the historic change of European borders for their efforts to make it happen.

“I ask lawmakers of both chambers to work actively and do everything we can, to make the transition process not only painless, but also beneficial for all Russia and the people of Crimea,”Putin said.

The treaty and the bill were submitted for the approval of Russian lawmakers on Tuesday by Putin, following last week’s referendum in Crimea, which showed the overwhelming support of the peninsula’s residents for joining Russia.

 

[cybrxkhan]

On a lighter note, since it's still related to the Ukraine crisis, apparently Crimea's Attorney General is hot enough she has a large internet following in China and Japan.

Natalia Poklonskaya is the newly minted attorney general of Crimea, taking office just a week ago. While Poklonskaya faces an increasingly violent standoff between Russian and Ukrainian troops on the peninsula and a political mess, Asian social media and state media has been focused on something entirely off topic: her looks.

The 33-year-old, blonde and poised Poklonskaya, who is part of the pro-Russian government of Crimean Prime Minister Sergey Aksyonov, held a press conference on Wednesday, following the deadly shooting of a Ukrainian soldier by a Russia-backed Crimean "self-defense forces" member. The shooting in Simferopol, the Crimean capital, marked the first military death since Russian troops entered the autonomous region of Ukraine, which Russia has since officially seized. While the nature of her briefing was mostly about the investigation into the shooting, she also fielded media inquiries about her personal background and private life.

With many eyes turned to Ukraine, Poklonskaya’s face was plastered across international media, eventually reaching China and Japan, where she became an icon to many cartoonists and animators struck by her beauty. Since her debut as attorney general, a growing pile of Chinese and Japanese fan art has made the rounds on social media, mostly praising her beauty.

The Ukrainian lawyer seems to know that her beauty holds some power, and was quoted as saying, “as the idiom goes, ‘Beauty saves the world.’”

Here’s a look at some of the art floating around on the Internet that was inspired by Poklonskaya’s press briefing, compiled by RocketNews24:

In China, photos and comments about Poklonskaya have also blown up on the country’s popular microblog social media platform Weibo.

"Used properly, beauty is indeed a powerful weapon," one blogger wrote in a post about Poklonskaya. "Well, now we know the reason why Putin wants Crimea," another added.

From other sources I've read she does appear to be competent in terms of experience, so she wasn't assigned to the position just because she's attractive apparently.

Crimea, Sevastopol officially join Russia as Putin signs final decree

Hmm. The reaction to this has been rather muted compared to what I was expecting, dunn oif that's a good or bad thing.

 

[red_elk]

Most of major Ukrainian navy ships are seized by Russian marines and Crimean self-defense forces. All four corvettes, 2 of 3 missile boats, the only one submarine and several supporting vessels. Ukraine retains control of flagship, frigate Hetman Sagaidachny, it is now in Odessa.

 

[Phrossack]

Most of major Ukrainian navy ships are seized by Russian marines and Crimean self-defense forces. All four corvettes, 2 of 3 missile boats, the only one submarine and several supporting vessels. Ukraine retain control of flagship, frigate Hetman Sagaidachny, it is now in Odessa.

Are they going to give them back to Ukraine? What grounds does Russia have to take the ships?

 

[red_elk]

Are they going to give them back to Ukraine? What grounds does Russia have to take the ships?

I don't think anything will be returned, soldiers are let go without equipment and weapons. Many of them decided to continue serving in Russian army. Theoretically if they return to Ukraine, they can be persecuted for violating their oath, since they were not allowed to surrender by chief commander (apparently they are only authorized to fight and die).
I guess it has something to do with the decision of Crimean parliament to nationalize all Ukrainian state property, which is located on Crimean territory.

 

[de Maistre]

National Geographic maps Crimea as part of Russia

Cased closed.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/...nal-geographic-maps-crimea-annexation-russia/

"If it is formally annexed, our policy will dictate that we shade the area gray, signifying that it is a disputed territory."

[...]

"National Geographic Society's cartographic policy is to portray to the best of our ability current reality. Most political boundaries depicted in our maps and atlases are stable and uncontested. Those that are disputed receive special treatment and are shaded gray as 'Areas of Special Status,' with accompanying explanatory text.

"In the case of Crimea, if it is formally annexed by Russia, it would be shaded gray and its administrative center, Simferopol', would be designated by a special symbol. When a region is contested, it is our policy to reflect that status in our maps. This does not suggest recognition of the legitimacy of the situation."

 

[ReindeerThistle]

Exactly. National Geographic draws the world as it is...

 

[Formaldehyde]

I used to have a lot of respect for National Geographic until I watched some sensationalist propaganda on their TV channel.

Hopefully, it is two distinct operations with nothing in common but the name.

 

[Tahuti]

I used to have a lot of respect for National Geographic until I watched some sensationalist propaganda on their TV channel.

That could well be almost every TV channel that claims to 'inform' you.

Welcome to the club regardless!

 

[Formaldehyde]

It is far more than that. They have decided to deliberately pander to sensationalism in order to boost their meager ratings. It isn't so much that they are just another TV channel with questionable ethics at times. They are leading the crusade to make it even worse.

What happened to National Geographic?

My heart sank a few weeks ago when Craig Medred posted his scathing criticism of the National Geographic Channel’s Alaska State Troopers, a “reality” TV series that’s painfully short on reality. The National Geographic Society “used to be a bastion of journalistic integrity,” Medred writes. “Nowadays it feels compelled to ... concoct outlandish bear dangers to increase television market share? Talk about tarnishing a once-iconic brand.”

“What happened to National Geographic?” Medred asks.

I’ve been wrestling with the same question for years. From 1990 until 2008, I proudly served as a staff writer and editor for National Geographic magazine, and I’m still a loyal dues-paying member of the Society. But after more than two years of reporting and writing, I can’t argue with Mr. Medred’s general critique — especially when the evidence is so overwhelming:

Eric Deggens, the TV critic for the Tampa Bay Times, went on National Public Radio on Dec. 7 to criticize a spate of new shows that he calls “redneck TV,” including Hillbilly Handfishin’ (Animal Planet), Redneck Riviera (CMT), and National Geographic’s Rocket City Rednecks. “Even when these guys have Ph.Ds in aerospace engineering, the show makes them sound like extras in a Hee Haw skit.” Deggens says. “On these shows, decades of stereotypes about the South have risen again, ready to make a new generation laugh at the expense of real understanding."

National Geographic, which once showcased such luminaries as Jane Goodall and Jacques Cousteau, now serves up TV shows about lesbians in a Brazilian jail.... men who make love to life-size plastic dolls... a man who makes love to his car... an outdoorsman intentionally driven to the brink of death ... and more.

National Geographic self-censors stories about censorship in China so the Society can do business in China. For contrast, consider this: During World War II, National Geographic gave maps to General Eisenhower to help Allied troops defeat the Nazis; and during much of the Cold War, National Geographic refused to publish stories about the Soviet Union because the Magazine’s editors were staunch anti-communists. The Magazine, which still is “the official journal of the National Geographic Society,” had a clear and very political point of view that millions of readers once embraced.

To “inspire people to care about the planet” (the Society’s relatively new mission statement), National Geographic worked with Gabon’s Omar Bongo, who, until he died last year, was one of Africa’s longest ruling dictators. With National Geographic’s encouragement, “President” Bongo established a huge network of national parks in Gabon, which is great news if you’re a tree or an elephant — but not if you’re a Gabonese citizen who yearns to breathe free.

National Geographic — whose Editor claims it to be a magazine “without bias” — supported and celebrated a high-ranking government official in Egypt whose anti-democratic agenda has been painfully obvious.

The National Geographic Channel in India uses the Society’s good name to recruit soldiers for India’s army and navy. (No word yet if the Society’s channel in Russia is planning similar shows. And while there is no NG Channel in China today, that’s undoubtedly on the horizon.)

On and on it goes....

While I certainly don't agree with their previous policy to not do any stories about the Soviet Union because the editors were "staunch anti-communists", the National Geographic used to have an impeccable reputation regarding ethical journalism.

 

[gay_Aleks]

Meanwhile, in G8, or G7 now....

US and Co. kick out Russia from G8; Russia's foreign minister says "move no big deal"

The move to suspend Russia's membership in the G8 is the latest direct response from major countries allied against Russia's annexation of Crimea.

"International law prohibits the acquisition of part or all of another state's territory through coercion or force," the statement said. "To do so violates the principles upon which the international system is built. We condemn the illegal referendum held in Crimea in violation of Ukraine's constitution.

"We also strongly condemn Russia's illegal attempt to annex Crimea in contravention of international law and specific international obligations."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier in the day that being kicked out of G8 would be no big deal.