A deputy of the Ukrainian Rada who spoke on Russian TV from Moscow said that his contacts in the Crimea had informed him that the Ukrainian side had deployed unknown number of Grad BM-21M multiple-launch rocket systems (MRLS) just 2 way from the first Crimean checkpoints (these relatively old systems – they were built in the 1960s – have a 20 miles – 30km – range). Big demonstration in Kharkov
Dear friends,For those of you who hate PayPal (which I understand!), I have just added a Flattr donation button (left column, right under PP button). Hopefully, and if I can find the time to read-up on it and wrap my exhausted brain around it, BitCoin will be next.Many thanks and kind regards,The Saker
The situation outside Crimea is rapidly deteriorating. Yesterday, a SWAT team of the Ukrainian SBU has arrested the “popular governor” of the Donetsk region. He whereabouts are unknown. The local police has also arrested an unknown number of anti-insurgent demonstrators. Arrests of protesters have also happened in other cities of the Ukraine, including Odessa. To my knowledge there are no signs of police forces siding with the anti-insurgent forces anywhere
The Crimean authorities have just announced that the referendum of the future of the Crimea will be held on March 16 and that the two questions will be: Are you in favor of Crimea becoming a constituent territory of the Russian Federation? or Are you in favor of restoring Crimea’s 1992 constitution? Crimean MPs voted on Thursday for the region to “to become part of the Russian Federation as its
Sorry to interrupt the flow of news with my personal headaches, but I just found out that PayPal had blocked donations because they wanted more information about me. I just got off the phone with them and they assured me that the account is now fully restored. Why they could not contact me *before* blocking donations they could not explain in any other way than “we are so sorry” (sigh,
So this morning we have a “revelation”: EU officials are discussing the reports that the Maidan snipers were not sent by Yanukovich but that they were insurgents firing on both sides.Immense surprise everywhere!Well, a few “minor fringe proponents of conspiracy theories” did mention something like that, but for the “proper and rational people” (the folks who watch TV and read the corporate media) this is a big surprise.Might make you
The situation in the city of Donetsk is becoming unstable again. The local people have elected a “people’s governor”, but the local police forces seem to be loyal to the oligarch appointed as governor by the insurgents. The local people had been occupying the local governor’s offices and parliament building until this morning when the police told them that there was a bomb threat and that they needed to evacuate.
Dear friends,If you take a look at the left of the page you will see the new “DONATE TO THE SAKER” button! I know that some of you do not like PayPal (neither do I), but that was the easiest and fastest option to set up. I will read up on BitCoin and try to offer that option as soon as possible.I thank you all again for making this suggestion
A mass rally took place today in the city of Odessa. The demonstrators surrounded the local parliament building and demanded the the elected officials adopt a referendum on the future of the city of Odessa. The elected officials suggested a 1-2 days of cooling off. The demonstrators rejected that offer and stormed the building which they now control. Close to 700’000 refuges from the Ukraine have sought refuge in Russia.
The past few days have seen an amazing acceleration of developments which has created a totally new situation. In simple and plain language the following three momentous events have happened:1) In Kiev an armed insurrection overthrew the elected President and replaced him with a new revolutionary regime.2) Crimea completely broke-off from the rest of the Ukraine.3) An counter-revolutionary insurrection has begun in the eastern Ukraine.The situation in the eastern Ukraine
Dear friends,You guys are amazing, that is all I can say…. It is 0915 and already 53 replies telling me to go ahead. Okay, I yield. I will set up a contributions/donations system. All I can say is that I am immensely touched and immensely grateful.One small comment and then we will go back to the more important issues: some have suggested that I put ads on the blog. Guys,
Dear friends,First, I want to repeat what I said earlier today – I am amazed, awed and deeply moved by your very kind expressions of support for me and my blog. To say that I am grateful does not even begin to cover it. I thank you all for your kindness and support – I felt like I was surrounded by a crowd of friends and that is a wonderful
Dear friends,I just wanted to let you know that I have been reading your replies to my personal announcement with amazement and a deepest sense of gratitude. I shall post a substantive reply to what you have written as soon as I find a minute to do so, but right now the situation in the Ukraine is far more important, so that is why I will focus on in priority.
Dear friends, I have decided to take a short break for the torrent of news about the Ukraine to share with you an important development in the life of this blog: two days ago, last Thursday, the number of daily visitors to this blog has passed 10’000 to peak at an amazing 11’538 visitors! Now, some of them are webcrawlers, search engines, double visitors and my own, but the 10’000
The agreement on the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, which was signed on the 21 February and certified by the German, Polish and French Foreign Ministers, is still not being fulfilled. Militants have still not laid down arms, they have not freed administrative buildings, or announced their intention to “make order” in all the Ukrainian regions. There are threats of physical reprisals, as the President Viktor Yanukovych emphasised in his
Русские долго запрягают, но быстро едут (“Russians take a lot of time to saddle up, but then they ride fast”) Russian adage Over the past few days the events in the Ukraine have seen a fantastic acceleration and many important events have simultaneously taken place. I will try to look at them one by one. In Kiev, the leaders of the insurgency have taken full control of the Parliament and
Dear friends, As, I promised, I am now going to reply to some of your comments concerning my recent post about the roots and nature of Ukrainian nationalism. First, I thought of replying to your comments one by one, and then I changed my mind. I think that there are some general and recurrent topics which I need to address because they are mentioned several times. That would save space
First, a short introductory sitrep: The least one could say is that over the past 2 days the events in the Ukraine moved fast, very, very fast. While I had intended to take 2 days off, I still kept an eye on the most recent development and jotted them down on my computer’s note pad. Here is what I wrote down (sorry for the shorthand): Lukin did not sign S&P
by Pepe Escobar Anyone who believes Washington is deeply enamored of ‘democracy’ in Ukraine must hit eBay, where Saddam Hussein’s WMDs have been found, and are on sale to the highest bidder. Or pay attention to the non-denial denials of the Obama administration, which swears on a daily basis there’s no ‘proxy war’ or Cold War redux in Ukraine. In a nutshell; Washington’s bipartisan Ukraine policy has always been anti-Moscow.
