HuskyDeac
Well-known member
In about 25 minutes the first ultimatum from Russia will reach it's deadline. The Commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet insisted Ukraine Navy forces surrender their assets. There are only a couple of Ukrainian vessels, one of which is their command ship with over 100 seamen on board. The Captain responded to reporters:
“The Russian Federation commander of the Black Sea Fleet gave us the command to turn in our weapons and give up the ship. But we will not do that. We took an oath to defend the Ukrainian people and we will not surrender.”
The UN had it's third emergency meeting today. Here are summaries of a few different representatives via http://www.interpretermag.com/ who has done a great job live blogging the situation each day based on info from reporters all over the country. They're certainly biased to the side of the opposition, though they do show faults of each side.
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Russia
He reiterates that this crisis was sparked by the armed takeover by extremists of the government of Kiev. Any solution must use a dialogue of all ethnic and national groups within Ukraine to come up to a peaceful solution. Russia says its partners (the other members of the UNSC) have worked with the extremists to create this terror. “Armed national radicals, under slogans of anti-Russian and anti-semitic banners” have taken over the country. The only way to fix this crisis is to abide by the agreement of February 21st (which would put Yanukovych back in power). The Russian ambassador is also referencing a bill that would strip the Russian language as a secondary language in Ukraine.
The Russian ambassador says that the goal of the russian presence in Crimea is to defend the most important human right — the right to life, especially when it comes to ethnic Russians. The ambassador says that Ukraine is on the brink of civil war. “People are being persecuted for ideas and language.” He says there are violent acts against civilians. Russia’s ambassador then makes an indignant statement about how Russia’s actions are being viewed as aggression.
Russia wants to establish a government of national unity, but it would seem that this would require, first, the reestablishment of the negotiated agreement between ousted President Yanukovych and the opposition leaders.
Russia reiterates that it is not a crisis of their making, but a crisis sparked by the ultra-nationalist gangs.
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USA
US Ambassador Samantha Power fires back — “you’d think Russia is the enforcing arm for the UN Commission for Human Rights.” She goes on to say that there is no factual basis for Russia’s statements, but the facts (she says fact at the start of every sentence) is that Russia has taken over Crimea, in breach of the Helsinki accord, international law, and Russia’s various deals with Ukraine.
“Russia’s mobilization is a response to an imaginary threat.” There is no evidence that churches have been attacked, that ethnic Russians have been attacked or are in danger, or that the Russian language will be banned.
Power goes on to say that Russia’s negotiations with sub-national groups, namely the government of Crimea, is a breach of international law.
Power calls for international observers in Ukraine, the pullback of Russian forces, the deployment of human rights monitors, and a dialogue after this is all done.
Power then says that Russia may not like that Yanukovych fled, that the new government has taken over in Kiev, or that Yanukovych’s own party has, in many cases, joined the new coalition. Then she says that by fleeing Kiev and Ukraine, it is Yanukovych that broke the agreement of February 21st. The February 21st agreement, then is turning back the clock, and is an empty notion.
Power says that this is an act of aggression.
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France
France’s ambassador notes that when Russia invaded Czechoslovakia, the same justifications were used. Once again, however, Russia has invaded another country based on propaganda and justification.
The Russian army is occupiers. In the age of the internet it is easy to prove that Russia’s claims are untrue.
France’s ambassador says that the flight of the president and the about-face of the parliament made the February 21st agreement impossible. A national coalition government has been called for by the acting government of Ukraine, and so this is the road forward.
France demands that Russia pulls back. France also demands that the opposition restore the bill about the protection of languages (the repeal of which, again, has been vetoed), and the rights of minorities needs to be protected.
But he reiterates that Russia has violated international law. But he’s not optimistic. “Russia seems to be going back to its old ghosts, playing an outdated role in an outdated setting.” There will be consequences if Russia does not comply, though the ambassador does not specify what those would be.
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United Kingdom
Now the UK ambassador speaks. He is echoing Russian media’s claims and the claims of the Russian government, and reiterating that there is no evidence for these claims. “It is clear that the Russian government has fabricated these claims to justify military action.”
The UK ambassador again says that Russia is in violation with countless international laws and agreements. He says that Yanukovych is illegitimate, so his desire to go back to Ukraine as its leader is unacceptable. The Ukrainian government is legitimate.
The UK’s ambassador has asked the Ukrainian government to act calmly to avoid further pretext for expansion of Russian military action. The ambassador has asked Russia to withdraw its forces to force levels previously agreed to by Russia and Ukraine. Russia needs to directly dialogue with Kiev, and needs to consult with Ukrainian leaders as specified by the treaty of 1994.
There also needs to be a fact-finding and observer mission in Ukraine.
The UK’s ambassador then asks the UN Deputy Secretary General to go to Crimea.
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Ukraine
Now Ukraine’s representative is speaking again. He says Russia has not provided any evidence as to why Russia invaded Crimea. He reiterates that Ukraine gave up their nuclear weapons in a deal with Russia, and that deal has been violated by Russia. He says that more than 16,000 Russian troops occupy Crimea, all main roads are blocked, and all government agencies in Crimea have been seized by the Russian soldiers. Their presence is evidence that Russia may militarily intervene in the mainland of Ukraine.
The representative of Ukraine also says that Russia is making more provocative acts, have made threats against Ukrainian soldiers, is using paramilitary and unknown persons to incite violence as justification of their occupation of Ukraine, and is spreading propaganda.
So far the Ukrainian military has not responded, but they are ready to do so if needed.
Ukraine reiterates that it does not need any outside military support, and so Russia can leave.
Now he is speaking about the February 21st agreement. He reiterates that the fact that Yanukovych fled the capital made it impossible for him to govern (the logic then goes that the Rada had the right to impeach him in his absence, and so their new government is legal).
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Russia
He starts by welcoming his Ukrainian colleague, and congratulates him on speaking in English, French, and Russian. Then he says that a “normal” constitutional process needs to happen. Russia is defending democracy.
Russia says that the laws under Yanukovych were not anti-democratic, and he challenges the idea that there is now a democracy in Kiev. He reiterates that radicals are part of the people in charge in Kiev, and dictators often take power during revolutions. He says Yanukovych fled because he was afraid for his life. He says that the situation in Crimea could have been a repeat of what happened in Kiev. Now he spins a story about armed gunmen who were in Crimea to remove the government of Crimea (it’s a confused and somewhat rambling argument, but essentially he’s saying that armed gunmen were a threat to the people in Crimea, so the Russian troops that were already there, in response to a request from the Crimean government, intervened).
Churkin then says that Samantha Power must be getting all of her information from American TV, and on American TV everything in Ukraine is wonderful.
Churkin now says that millions of Ukrainians support Hitler, and would return to Hitler’s ways, and this is the reason why Russia needs to intervene, like Reagan did in Grenada, to protect ethnic Russians.
“The Russian Federation commander of the Black Sea Fleet gave us the command to turn in our weapons and give up the ship. But we will not do that. We took an oath to defend the Ukrainian people and we will not surrender.”
The UN had it's third emergency meeting today. Here are summaries of a few different representatives via http://www.interpretermag.com/ who has done a great job live blogging the situation each day based on info from reporters all over the country. They're certainly biased to the side of the opposition, though they do show faults of each side.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Russia
He reiterates that this crisis was sparked by the armed takeover by extremists of the government of Kiev. Any solution must use a dialogue of all ethnic and national groups within Ukraine to come up to a peaceful solution. Russia says its partners (the other members of the UNSC) have worked with the extremists to create this terror. “Armed national radicals, under slogans of anti-Russian and anti-semitic banners” have taken over the country. The only way to fix this crisis is to abide by the agreement of February 21st (which would put Yanukovych back in power). The Russian ambassador is also referencing a bill that would strip the Russian language as a secondary language in Ukraine.
The Russian ambassador says that the goal of the russian presence in Crimea is to defend the most important human right — the right to life, especially when it comes to ethnic Russians. The ambassador says that Ukraine is on the brink of civil war. “People are being persecuted for ideas and language.” He says there are violent acts against civilians. Russia’s ambassador then makes an indignant statement about how Russia’s actions are being viewed as aggression.
Russia wants to establish a government of national unity, but it would seem that this would require, first, the reestablishment of the negotiated agreement between ousted President Yanukovych and the opposition leaders.
Russia reiterates that it is not a crisis of their making, but a crisis sparked by the ultra-nationalist gangs.
----------------------------------------------------------
USA
US Ambassador Samantha Power fires back — “you’d think Russia is the enforcing arm for the UN Commission for Human Rights.” She goes on to say that there is no factual basis for Russia’s statements, but the facts (she says fact at the start of every sentence) is that Russia has taken over Crimea, in breach of the Helsinki accord, international law, and Russia’s various deals with Ukraine.
“Russia’s mobilization is a response to an imaginary threat.” There is no evidence that churches have been attacked, that ethnic Russians have been attacked or are in danger, or that the Russian language will be banned.
Power goes on to say that Russia’s negotiations with sub-national groups, namely the government of Crimea, is a breach of international law.
Power calls for international observers in Ukraine, the pullback of Russian forces, the deployment of human rights monitors, and a dialogue after this is all done.
Power then says that Russia may not like that Yanukovych fled, that the new government has taken over in Kiev, or that Yanukovych’s own party has, in many cases, joined the new coalition. Then she says that by fleeing Kiev and Ukraine, it is Yanukovych that broke the agreement of February 21st. The February 21st agreement, then is turning back the clock, and is an empty notion.
Power says that this is an act of aggression.
------------------------------------------------------------------
France
France’s ambassador notes that when Russia invaded Czechoslovakia, the same justifications were used. Once again, however, Russia has invaded another country based on propaganda and justification.
The Russian army is occupiers. In the age of the internet it is easy to prove that Russia’s claims are untrue.
France’s ambassador says that the flight of the president and the about-face of the parliament made the February 21st agreement impossible. A national coalition government has been called for by the acting government of Ukraine, and so this is the road forward.
France demands that Russia pulls back. France also demands that the opposition restore the bill about the protection of languages (the repeal of which, again, has been vetoed), and the rights of minorities needs to be protected.
But he reiterates that Russia has violated international law. But he’s not optimistic. “Russia seems to be going back to its old ghosts, playing an outdated role in an outdated setting.” There will be consequences if Russia does not comply, though the ambassador does not specify what those would be.
---------------------------------------------------------------
United Kingdom
Now the UK ambassador speaks. He is echoing Russian media’s claims and the claims of the Russian government, and reiterating that there is no evidence for these claims. “It is clear that the Russian government has fabricated these claims to justify military action.”
The UK ambassador again says that Russia is in violation with countless international laws and agreements. He says that Yanukovych is illegitimate, so his desire to go back to Ukraine as its leader is unacceptable. The Ukrainian government is legitimate.
The UK’s ambassador has asked the Ukrainian government to act calmly to avoid further pretext for expansion of Russian military action. The ambassador has asked Russia to withdraw its forces to force levels previously agreed to by Russia and Ukraine. Russia needs to directly dialogue with Kiev, and needs to consult with Ukrainian leaders as specified by the treaty of 1994.
There also needs to be a fact-finding and observer mission in Ukraine.
The UK’s ambassador then asks the UN Deputy Secretary General to go to Crimea.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Ukraine
Now Ukraine’s representative is speaking again. He says Russia has not provided any evidence as to why Russia invaded Crimea. He reiterates that Ukraine gave up their nuclear weapons in a deal with Russia, and that deal has been violated by Russia. He says that more than 16,000 Russian troops occupy Crimea, all main roads are blocked, and all government agencies in Crimea have been seized by the Russian soldiers. Their presence is evidence that Russia may militarily intervene in the mainland of Ukraine.
The representative of Ukraine also says that Russia is making more provocative acts, have made threats against Ukrainian soldiers, is using paramilitary and unknown persons to incite violence as justification of their occupation of Ukraine, and is spreading propaganda.
So far the Ukrainian military has not responded, but they are ready to do so if needed.
Ukraine reiterates that it does not need any outside military support, and so Russia can leave.
Now he is speaking about the February 21st agreement. He reiterates that the fact that Yanukovych fled the capital made it impossible for him to govern (the logic then goes that the Rada had the right to impeach him in his absence, and so their new government is legal).
------------------------------------------------
Russia
He starts by welcoming his Ukrainian colleague, and congratulates him on speaking in English, French, and Russian. Then he says that a “normal” constitutional process needs to happen. Russia is defending democracy.
Russia says that the laws under Yanukovych were not anti-democratic, and he challenges the idea that there is now a democracy in Kiev. He reiterates that radicals are part of the people in charge in Kiev, and dictators often take power during revolutions. He says Yanukovych fled because he was afraid for his life. He says that the situation in Crimea could have been a repeat of what happened in Kiev. Now he spins a story about armed gunmen who were in Crimea to remove the government of Crimea (it’s a confused and somewhat rambling argument, but essentially he’s saying that armed gunmen were a threat to the people in Crimea, so the Russian troops that were already there, in response to a request from the Crimean government, intervened).
Churkin then says that Samantha Power must be getting all of her information from American TV, and on American TV everything in Ukraine is wonderful.
Churkin now says that millions of Ukrainians support Hitler, and would return to Hitler’s ways, and this is the reason why Russia needs to intervene, like Reagan did in Grenada, to protect ethnic Russians.
