Swallowing up Crimea, who is next

Vladimir Putin has delivered a swift and uncompromising blow to the imposition of US and EU sanctions by signing a decree recognising Crimea as an independent state, paving the way for him to acknowledge a request from the breakaway region to join the Russian Federation. Ignoring Western threats of a new Cold War and a “far-reaching” economic blockade, the Russian president will on Tuesday address both houses of the Russian parliament on the crisis, and is expected to welcome Crimea into the fold. The formal process of absorbing the peninsula could be completed within weeks. The Kremlin announced that Mr Putin had signed a decree recognising Crimea as an independent state, after it voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to leave Ukraine and join Russia. The US and the European Union responded by issuing targeted sanctions against several key players in the escalating crisis.

Events have moved amazingly quickly. Just a few weeks ago Crimea was part of Ukraine. In less than two weeks Russia has moved in and annexed the region and brought it under the Russian Federation. Mr Putin has seen his personal approval ratings soar to a three-year high after his decision to send troops to Crimea. Crimea was invaded by Russia in the 1870s and then handed to Ukraine in 1954. It remained with Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. But Putin has said that the greatest geopolitical catastrophe was the collapse of the USSR. He has now begun the process of rebuilding that empire. The Russian juggernaut is on the move. Almost all commentators say that we are returning to a new Cold War. In Ezekiel 38 we read of Gog being “turned back”. This literally means “to be returned”. Putin himself (Gog) was returned to power and is now turning the whole of Russia back to Cold War days….

And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen                                                                                                              “I will turn thee back” literally means “I will return you” or “I will restore you”.

Two almost simultaneous signatures Friday on opposite sides of Europe deepened the divide between East and West, as Russia formally annexed Crimea and the European Union pulled Ukraine closer into its orbit. In this "new post-Cold War order," as the Ukrainian prime minister called it, besieged Ukrainian troops on the Crimean Peninsula faced a critical choice: leave, join the Russian military or demobilize. Ukraine was working on evacuating its outnumbered troops in Crimea, but some said they were still awaiting orders. With fears running high of clashes between the two sides or a grab by Moscow for more of Ukraine, the chief of the U.N. came to the capital city Kiev and urged calm all around. All eyes were on President Vladimir Putin, as they have been ever since pro-Western protests drove out Ukraine's president a month ago, angering Russia and plunging Europe into its worst crisis in a generation.

The division of Russia and Europe is made clear in the Bible. It begins with the 2 legs of Daniel’s image representing East and West. It is further detailed in Daniel 7 and 8. Daniel 7 tracks the West and the power of Rome. Daniel 8 tracks the East and the latter day power of Russia. Daniel 11 from verse 40 shows the conflict between East and West through the latter day powers of king of the north and king of the south. There are two distinct wars at the end. Ezekiel 38 is a war led by Russia (East). This war is about power and spoil.  Then there is a religious war (Revelation 17) led by Europe / Rome.

the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold— The stone = Christ returning. The metals of the image  = different world empires.  The fact the stone grinds all worldly kingdoms to powder does NOT mean all the metals are united as one at the end. They remain divided. (Daniel 2:45)

- Andy Walton in Weekly World Watch

 

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Please do find also:

1. Mother of Ukraine or Crimea
2. Ukrainians should be free to shape the future of their country
3. Battling Borshct in Ukraine
4. When Crimean people made their choice
5. Weekly World Watch 16th - 22nd Mar 2014‏
    

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1. Chess in a Minefield: The Global Implications of the Ukraine Conflict
2. West is Impudent – This is like the Fall of Rome 
3. Crimea: A Microcosm of East-West Conflict 
4. The Social-Psychological Roots of the Ethnic Problems in Crimea
5. Christianizing Crimea: Shaping Sacred Space in the Russian Empire and Beyond
6. Why Crimea, Soviet ‘Gift’ to Ukraine, Remains Strongly Russian
7. Crimea Votes for Greater Freedom from Ukraine Self-Determination in Black Sea…
8. Ukraine as it happened: Putin says ‘threat of ultranationalists’ forced him to intervene

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Related articles

• Most Russians favor Crimea's joining Russia - poll (en.itar-tass.com)
  Data collected by the Russian Public Opinion Center (WCIOM), showed that 80% of respondents believed that “Russia should struggle for the right of controlling the [Crimean] peninsula even if the issue of the territorial belonging of Crimea turns into a matter of conflict between Russia and Ukraine.”
  When asked the same question in 2009 only 55% of respondents in Russia voiced their support.
  The survey also showed that 89% of polled Russians have always considered Crimea as the Russian territory.
  The poll was conducted on March 15-16 among 1,600 respondents across Russia. The margin of error does not exceed 3.4%.
  
• Russian troops 'overrun Crimea base' (bbc.co.uk)
  Defence spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov said the Russians had attacked the base from two directions using armoured personnel carriers and stun grenades.
  Russia has taken over most of Ukraine's military bases in Crimea.
  The G7 group of industrialised countries is to consider a collective response to the crisis in The Hague.
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  Russian defence officials said earlier that the tricolour of Russia had been hoisted at 189 Ukrainian military units and facilities in Crimea.
  
• Crimea votes overwhelmingly to join Russia (uairagency.wordpress.com)
  Commenting on the referendum in Crimea, several tweeters wrote: “Mr. Putin is doing just right thing to protect Crimea from militants. The Ukraine’s so-called PM talks like a terrorist”, “Conveniently, the Ukrainian constitution accommodates a fascist coup d’etat but does not accept a democratic referendum”, “The coup at Maidan with neo-Nazis and snipers is U.S. friendly but the vote of 96% of Crimean citizens would be a sham”, “Kiev has fooled Crimea for a long time, stealing taxes without back efficiency. Fascism became the last drop. Bye-bye Nazi Ukraine! Hello Russia!”
• Crimea's 'self-defence' militia eyes national guard role (trust.org)
  The militia, denounced by the Western-backed government in Kiev as Moscow-sponsored thugs, went hand in hand with Russian troops in recent days taking over military facilities in the region and raising the Russian tricolour.
  Comprised mainly of former servicemen and volunteers, the units began largely unarmed but later carried automatic rifles and long knives as the stand-off wore on.
• Ukraine stripped of nearly all its warships in Crimea (dnaindia.com)
  Ukraine has lost nearly all the warships it had in the Crimean Peninsula and the government on Sunday ordered the crew of the huge landing ship Konstantin Olshansky, which is under siege by Russian troops, to resist until the end.
  "The navy ships in Crimea have been taken. Despite the fact that commanders were given orders to use their arms, they did not use them to avoid bloodshed," Ukrainian Defence Minister Igor Teniuj said.
  
• Crimea goes to Russia, Putin laughs at Western sanctions | Ukraine | Metro Journalist (ametrojournalist.wordpress.com)
  The period of tussle is over since Russian President Vladimir Putin has made his mission accomplished. 21st March has marked its mention in the annals of world history.
• Majority of Germans recognize accession of Crimea - poll (rt.com)
  According to 54 percent of the German respondents, the West should recognize Crimea’s accession as something that has already happened.
  Meanwhile, 55 percent of those questioned said that they agree to a certain extent that Russian President Vladimir Putin views Ukraine, notably the Crimean peninsula, as a zone of Russian influence.
  At the same time, 60 percent of the respondents stated that they believe the West's reaction to Russia’s actions are adequate.
  In contrast, another 34 percent answered that the US and the EU’s introduction of sanctions was “excessive.”
  
• 2 more Ukrainian cities want to join Russia like Crimea (uprootedpalestinians.wordpress.com)
  
  Pro-Russian protesters wave Russian flags along with the flags of the Donetsk region during a rally in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on March 23, 2014.
  Thousands of people have poured to the streets in at least two major Eastern Ukrainian cities, calling for a referendum like the one held in the Crimean region to secede from Ukraine and join Russia.
  Protesters in Kharkiv demanded a vote on the fate of the northeastern Ukrainian city, chanting “Referendum” and “Russia”.
  They also rallied to remember those killed in clashes between far-right demonstrators and pro-Russian protesters on March 15.
  In Donetsk, the protesters took to the streets to show their support for Russia, calling for a referendum similar to the one held in Crimea last week.
  They also demanded the resignation of the industrial city’s governor, who has been appointed by what they call the illegitimate pro-West leaders in Kiev.
  Furthermore, the pro-Russia demonstrators urged authorities to immediately release their leader, Pavel Gubarev, who has been detained by Ukrainian security forces.
• Ukraine forces given orders to withdraw from Crimea (itv.com)
  Ukraine's defence ministry has been given orders to withdraw all its forces from Crimea, acting Ukrainian president Oleksander Turchinov has said.
  Mr Turchinov said the decision was taken because of Russian military threats to lives and the health of Ukrainian servicemen and their families.
  
• Russian Troops Seize Ukraine Base in Crimea (voanews.com)
  U.S. President Barack Obama is in the Netherlands for an emergency meeting at The Hague with the other leaders of G7 industrialized nations to discuss international responses to the Russian annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
  
  The emergency meeting is taking place on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit.  Analysts say the session appears aimed at coordinating Western sanctions imposed on Moscow since Russian troops crossed into Crimea earlier this month.

Russian take-over of Crimea

The Ukrainian capital, Kiev, erupted in violent demonstrations and street clashes in late January, culminating with the removal by Parliament of President Viktor Yanukovych. Tensions mounted in the Crimea region, where additional Russian troops and armoured vehicles were reportedly deployed.

Ukrainian Presidential Election October 2004 - Viktor Yanukovych (First Round) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The last few days we saw how how the Crimean people could only give two votes in Sunday's referendum of which we can question if it was legally installed. The referendum in which 96.8 percent of Crimean residents voted in favour of the secession could also been seen as a voice of the majority. The voter turnout in the referendum stood at 83.1 percent. Those who did not turn up to give their vote in a certain way can now not complain.
It for sure did not resolve in Ukraine the country’s ongoing political crisis.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned on Monday, March 17 the proclaimed independence from Ukraine, will further worsen the situation around Ukraine. 


Ban Ki-moon is “deeply concerned and disappointed” that this weekend’s Crimea secession referendum will only exacerbate an “already complex and tense situation.”

Since the beginning of the crisis, the UN chief has urged all parties to avoid “hasty steps” that could exacerbate tensions.

“He encourages all parties to work for a solution that is guided by the principles of the United Nations Charter, including respecting Ukraine’s unity and sovereignty,”

 said Mr. Dujarric.

What we in the West hear is only that most Tartars stayed at home and did not go to vote. So you could wonder if they now can complain. Looking at the results,in case they where received honestly the majority of the voters in Crimea overwhelmingly supported leaving Ukraine and joining Russia. The referendum caps months of political unrest, triggered by the Government's decision last November not to sign an agreement on broader European integration. The Ukrainian capital, Kiev, erupted in violent demonstrations and street clashes in late January, culminating with the removal by Parliament of President Viktor Yanukovych. Tensions mounted in the Crimea region, where additional Russian troops and armoured vehicles were reportedly deployed.

In his statement today, the Secretary-General condemned the violence which occurred over the weekend in eastern Ukraine and which resulted in injuries and loss of life on all sides.

“The Secretary-General once again urges all parties to refrain from violence and to commit themselves to de-escalation and inclusive national dialogue in the pursuit of a political and diplomatic solution,”

 said Mr. Dujarric, adding:

“A deterioration of the situation will have serious repercussions for the people of Ukraine, the region and beyond.”  

The UN chief also urged all parties in Ukraine and those with influence to avoid any steps that could further increase tensions.

“Above all, the Secretary-General urges all concerned to intensify their efforts and engage constructively toward a peaceful solution to this crisis, with the aspirations of all the people of Ukraine foremost in mind,”

said Mr. Dujarric, adding that Mr. Ban remains ready to work with all parties to resolve this situation.


Moscow and Kiev are on the brink of conflict following a breakdown in relations in the wake of last month's overthrow of Ukraine's former Kremlin-backed president Viktor Yanukovych.
On Tuesday, Putin signed a treaty absorbing the Ukrainian region of Crimea into Russia and on Wednesday pro-Russian troops stormed a Ukrainian naval headquarters on the peninsula.
 
Much of the international community, including the United States and the European Union, rejects the annexation of Crimea as illegal, but Moscow in turn refuses to recognise the Ukrainian government. 

The Secretary-General will travel to Kiev on Friday, where he will hold talks with top Ukrainian officials, members of the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission and representatives of civil society.
The statement said the visit was "part of (Ban's) diplomatic efforts to encourage all parties to resolve the current crisis peacefully". Key elements of the charter include respect for fellow U.N. member states' sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the peaceful resolution of international disputes.

The Christadelphian brothers and sisters in Kiev, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson and Crimea thankfully can report that they are all well, and unaffected so far by the protests and the Russian take-over of Crimea. However their cost of living will increase as the grivna devalues against foreign currencies, and imports cost more.

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Related articles

• The Ongoing Crisis in Ukraine (lawprofessors.typepad.com)
  The statement comes in the wake of an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council on Saturday, at which the 15-nation body was blocked from adopting a resolution urging the international community to affirm Ukraine’s national borders and declare the referendum in Crimea invalid, owing to a “no” vote from Russia, a permanent member.  China – who is also a permanent member, along with France, United Kingdom and the United States – abstained in the vote. 
• EU mulls further sanctions on Russia over Crimea (seattletimes.com)
  Pro-Russian forces seized three Ukrainian warships Thursday and Ukraine said its troops were being threatened in Crimea as the U.S. announced a new round of sanctions against Russia for its annexation of the Black Sea peninsula.
  Tensions in the region remained high despite the release of a Ukrainian naval commander held by pro-Russian forces.
  Shots were fired but there were no casualties as the Ukrainian corvette Khmelnitsky was seized in Sevastopol, according to an AP photographer at the scene. Another ship, the Lutsk, was also surrounded by pro-Russian forces. An AP photographer later saw Ukrainian servicemen disembarking a third ship, the Ternopil corvette.
  
• Crimea crisis: Ukraine prepares to withdraw troops from region (descrier.co.uk)
  
  Ukraine is preparing to "quickly and efficiently" withdraw its troops and their families from Crimea, according to Kiev's security chief.
  Andriy Parubiy explained more details of Kiev's position regarding Crimea at a news conference, and said that Ukraine was seeking UN support to designate Crimea a "demilitarised zone", which would involve the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops to continental Ukraine as well as the withdrawal of Russian troops.
  He went on to say that Kiev are also drawing up plans to evacuate any Ukrainians that do not wish to live in an "occupied territory", and that Ukraine will be leaving the Moscow-led Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) alliance.
  
• Pro-Russian Mobs Seize Two Ukrainian Warships in Sevastopol Harbor (matthewaid.com)
  Pro-Russian crowds seized two Ukrainian warships Thursday and Ukraine said its troops were being threatened in Crimea as the European Union considered new sanctions against Russia for its annexation of the Black Sea peninsula.
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  In an address to the German Parliament in Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU was readying further sanctions and that the G-8 forum of leading economies had been suspended indefinitely. Russia holds the presidency of the G-8 and President Vladimir Putin was due to host his counterparts, including President Barack Obama, at a G-8 summit in Sochi in June.
  "So long as there aren’t the political circumstances, like now, for an important format like the G-8, then there is no G-8," Merkel said. "Neither the summit, nor the format."
• Ukraine to withdraw troops from Crimea (therebel.org)
  On Wednesday, Andriy Parubiy, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said the Kiev government would ask the United Nations to declare Crimea a demilitarized zone as it seeks to relocate military forces and civilians from the Russian-controlled peninsula to mainland Ukraine.
  The development comes as the ultimatum that Ukrainian interim President Oleksandr Turchynov issued to Crimean authorities to release the country's Navy commander held by pro-Russia forces has come to an end.
  
• Ukraine would accept Russia's annexation of Crimea as new reality (drabdulruff.wordpress.com)
  Russians celebrate the annexation of Crimea – perhaps as the first ever Russian victory in the post-Soviet era. Many Russian leaders applauded Putin’s courage. Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev has defended Russia’s takeover of Crimea, saying that the referendum among the peninsula’s voters corrected a historical “mistake.” Gorbachev, the recipient of the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize, added that international sanctions — such as those the U.S. and European nations have brought against Russia — would be justified only on very serious grounds, but the takeover of Crimea had failed to provide that.
• Ukraine would accept Russia's annexation of Crimea as new reality (abdulruff.wordpress.com)
  Many Russians have used Crimea’s history as a reason to legitimate Russian military intervention in the peninsula, which harbors a 60 percent Russian-speaking population and voted in favor of joining Russia in a referendum. Crimea was part of Russia until Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev handed it over to Ukraine in 1954, in a symbolic gesture that had little significance at the time since both countries were part of the Soviet Union. In 1991, the leader of the Russian Soviet Republic, Boris Yeltsin, and his counterparts from Ukraine and Belarus signed a deal breaking up the Soviet Union and establishing new independent states. Gorbachev did not participate in the 1991 meeting.
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  Given its military prowess and influences, perhaps Russia’s inexorable seizure of Crimea is unavoidable. Humbled but defiant, Ukraine lashed out symbolically at Russia by declaring its intent to leave the Moscow-dominated Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose alliance of 11 former Soviet nations. The last nation to leave the group was Georgia, which lost a brief war with neighboring Russia in 2008 and ended up losing two separatist territories.
  Moscow says it reserves the right to “defend” Russian speakers in eastern and southern regions of Ukraine. Moving closer to the EU does not preclude Ukraine maintaining good relations with Russia, Yatsenyuk said. Beyond the grander political gestures of the day, Parubiy said Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry had been instructed to introduce a visa regime for travel between the two nations. The move could badly affect Ukrainian migrant laborers, many of whom work in Russia and send home money. It came against the backdrop of claims that Russian citizens were pouring across the Ukrainian border to foment secessionist unrest in bordering eastern regions.
• Europe mulls response to Russia's absorption of Crimea (dnaindia.com)
  The EU faces tough decisions in finding a credible response to an explosive security crisis on its eastern frontier, with biting sanctions likely to hurt member states with strong economic links to Russia.
  Kiev said it was looking to withdraw its embattled troops from Crimea after pro-Moscow forces seized naval bases and detained Ukraine's naval chief in a tightening of Russia's grip on the peninsula.
  
• Putin adds Crimea to Kremlin fort, defends the action! Ramifications! (abdulrubb.wordpress.com)
  In a fiercely patriotic address to a joint session of the Russian
  parliament in the Kremlin, punctuated by standing ovations, cheering and
  tears, Putin lambasted the West for what he called hypocrisy. Western
  nations had endorsed Kosovo’s independence from Serbia but now denied
  Crimeans the same right, he said. “You cannot call the same thing black
  today and white tomorrow,” he declared to stormy applause, saying Western
  partners had “crossed the line” over Ukraine and behaved “irresponsibly”.
  The strong man of Russia thanked China for what he called its support, even
  though Beijing abstained on a UN resolution on Crimea that Moscow had to
  veto on its own, and said he was sure Germans would support the Russian
  people’s quest for reunification, just as Russia had supported German
  reunification in 1990.
  Putin has repeatedly accused the new leadership in Kiev of failing to
  protect Russian-speakers from violent Ukrainian nationalists. Ukraine’s
  government has accused Moscow of staging provocations in Russian-speaking
  regions of eastern Ukraine to justify military intervention.
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  EU foreign ministers agreed to subject 21 Russian and Ukrainian officials
  to visa restrictions and asset freezes. US President Barack Obama imposed
  sanctions on 11 Russians and Ukrainians blamed for the military seizure of
  Crimea, including Yanukovich, and two aides to Putin. Putin himself,
  suspected in the West of trying to resurrect as much as possible of the
  former Soviet Union under Russian leadership, was not on the blacklist.
  The US list targeted higher-profile Russian officials close to Putin while
  the EU went for mid-ranking officials and military commanders more directly
  involved on the ground. Washington and Brussels said more measures could
  follow in the coming days if Russia formally annexes Crimea. The EU also
  said its leaders would sign the political part of an association agreement
  with Ukraine on Friday, in a gesture of support for the fragile coalition
  in Kiev.
  
• Ukraine to withdraw troops from Crimea after being forced out of its own naval HQ by masked Russian soldiers (thisismoney.co.uk)
  Ukraine now plans to relocate armed forces to the mainland