Ukrainian troops switch sides in Slaviansk: Pro Russians take control of carriers

[tinydancer]

Oh boy I'm hoping and praying a civil war can be avoided. These young soldiers refuse to fire on fellow Ukrainians.

From Reuters:

A soldier guarding one of six troop carriers now under the control of pro-Russian separatists told Reuters he was a member of Ukraine's 25th paratrooper division from Dnipropetrovsk.

"All the soldiers and the officers are here. We are all boys who won't shoot our own people," said the soldier, whose uniform did not have any identifying markings on it.

"They haven't fed us for three days on our base. They're feeding us here. Who do you think we are going to fight for?," he said.

Armoured personnel carriers marked with the numbers 815, 842 and 847 were among six under Ukrainian control in the centre of Kramatorsk early on Wednesday.

They were seen under the control of pro-Russian separatists in the centre of Slaviansk later.

Ukrainian soldiers with the vehicles in Kramatorsk on Wednesday morning identified themselves as members of the 25th paratrooper division.

Some Kramatorsk locals gave tea and food to the Ukrainian soldiers, who appeared dirty and tired and said they had been on "exercises" for four days.

A civilian in Kramatorsk who identified himself as Felix told Reuters he had seen Ukrainian forces give up their vehicles to armed pro-Russian separatists.

A YouTube video showing vehicles with the same markings appeared to show Ukrainian troops peacefully abandoning their vehicles to heavily armed pro-Russian separatists.

Pro-Russians take control of Ukrainian troop carriers | Reuters

 

[waltky]

Is This The Start Of WWIII?...

EDWARD LUCAS: I hope I'm wrong but historians may look back and say this was the start of World War III
16 April 2014 ~ 'Vladimir Putin is striking at the heart of the West'; 'We can chose to surrender any responsibility we have to protect Ukraine and the Baltic states'; 'Or we can mount a last-ditch attempt to deter Russia from furthering its imperial ambitions'; 'If we choose to resist Putin, we will risk a terrifying miltary escalation'; 'I do not think it an exaggeration to say this could bring us to the brink of nuclear war'

Deep in the flat and featureless landscape of eastern Ukraine, it is all too *possible that the outline of World War III is taking shape. Whipped up by the Kremlin *propaganda machine and led by Russian *military intelligence, armed men are erecting road blocks, storming police stations and ripping down the country’s flag. They are demolishing not just their own country — bankrupt, ill-run and beleaguered — but also the post-war order that has kept most of Europe and us, here in Britain, safe and free for decades. Vladimir Putin is striking at the heart of the West.

A Ukrainian military convoy traveling towards the eastern Ukrainian town of Slovyansk where Russian nationalists have seized the regional administration building

His target is our inability to work with allies in defence against common threats. The profoundly depressing fact is that the events of the past few months, as Russia has annexed the Crimea and *suppressed opposition in Ukraine, have shown the West to be divided, humiliated and powerless in the face of these land grabs. We are soon to face a bleak choice. We can chose to surrender any responsibility we have to protect Ukraine and the Baltic states — almost certainly Putin’s next target — from further Russian incursion. Or we can mount a last-ditch attempt to deter Russia from furthering its imperial ambitions. If we do choose to resist Putin, we will risk a terrifying military escalation, which I do not think it an exaggeration to say could bring us to the brink of nuclear war.

As the tension escalates a Ukranian air force Su-27 fighter patrols an area 100 miles from the Russian border in eastern Urkraine

Putin knows that. And he believes we will choose surrender. For the real story of recent events in Ukraine is not about whether that country has a free-trade deal with Brussels or gets its gas from Moscow. It is about brute power. It is about whether Putin’s Russia — a rogue state on Europe’s doorstep — can hold its neighbours to *ransom, and whether we have the will to resist him. So far the answer to the first question is yes. And to the second a bleak no. The Russian leader believes the collapse of the Soviet Union was a ‘geopolitical catastrophe’. He believes Russia was stripped of its empire by the West’s chicanery. And quite simply, he wants it back. When the Soviet Union was *dissolved in 1991, the former captive nations of Eastern Europe scrambled into Nato and the protection it offered as fast as they could.

As the situation continues to deteriorate, Ukranian soldiers stand guard beside a military helicopter to prevent pro-Russian activists from seizing the aircraft

But the bitter truth is that Russia did not reform its ambitions in 1991. The Kremlin has always retained its imperialist outlook. v While modern Germany has *forsworn militarism and empire, and is liked and admired even by countries such as Poland, which suffered horribly at Hitler’s hands, Russia has not. Putin believes its historic destiny gives Russia the right to seize land, intimidate and blockade its neighbours. The Russian leader sees Ukraine not as a real country, just a territory, and one he is determined to dominate. First he took *Crimea. Now he has launched an operation in the east and south of Ukraine. Russian troops are prowling the border as the Ukrainian authorities launch a desperate attempt to regain control of government buildings and police stations in key *cities that have been seized and occupied in recent days.

MORE

See also:

NATO UPS MILITARY PRESENCE AMID RUSSIAN THREAT
Apr 16,`14 -- NATO is strengthening its military footprint along its eastern border immediately in response to Russia's aggression in Ukraine, the alliance's chief said Wednesday.

Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO's air policing aircraft will fly more sorties over the Baltic region west of Ukraine, far from the tensions in the eastern part of the country. He said allied warships will also deploy to the Baltic Sea, the eastern Mediterranean and elsewhere if needed. NATO's supreme commander in Europe told reporters that ground forces could also be involved at some point, but gave no details. NATO members Poland and the Baltic countries Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia have been wary following Russia's annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula, demanding a more robust military posture to counter neighboring Russia.

Rasmussen said the new NATO deployments are about "deterrence and de-escalation" in the face of Russia's aggressive behavior in Ukraine, which is not a member of the 28-nation alliance. The move was supported by the White House. "We fully endorse the actions the alliance has taken to reassure NATO members and to bolster NATO's presence in the Baltic nations," White House spokesman Jay Carney said. NATO estimates Russia has amassed some 40,000 troops on Ukraine's eastern border and could invade if it wished. Fogh Rasmussen again urged Russia to pull those troops back.

The NATO chief did not mention naval deployments to the Black Sea - which Russia would likely see as a direct aggression even though NATO members Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey also border the sea. But he insisted that "more will follow if needed."

Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove said multiple nations have approached him with offers of ground forces that will be included in a plan of operations he will give to NATO later Wednesday or Thursday. Breedlove said the package of new military moves is designed to remain in place through Dec. 31. "These measures are not a threat to Russia but they are designed to send a clear message that NATO will protect every ally and is ready to defend against any threat to our fundamental security," Breedlove said. He said he tried - but failed - to reach the Russian chief of general staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, to make that point. NATO has already suspended most cooperation and talks with Russia.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-04-16-19-48-28

 

[HenryBHough]

Pity Poor Zero!

Torn between His urge to apologize and His need of a World War to solve His unemployment problem.

 

[1776]

Yeah I'm sure if Russia was on the verge of invading the US and we couldn't stop it, the tinydancers here would be rolling out their Russia flags to welcome the invaders.

 

[georgephillip]

"Negotiations over the Ukraine crisis are beginning in Geneva. Pro-Russian protesters are killed, President Vladimir Putin accuses authorities in Kiev of plunging the country into an 'abyss,' and NATO outlines plans to reinforce itself in Eastern Europe.

"Russian scholar Stephen Cohen tells 'Democracy Now!' on Thursday that ' "hot war" is imaginable now' and 'something has to be done about it.'”

?We Are Not Beginning a New Cold War, We Are Well Into It? - Truthdig