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.
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• 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.
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• 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.