What do you think about the war in Ukraine? (Page 10) paulduval70: Putin clearly is not interested in seeing Ukraine succeed; in fact, he fears that a democratic, European-oriented Ukraine would pose an attractive alternative to his authoritarian system. Putin undermines his neighbors’ independence and right to pursue deeper integration with the West because of his zero-sum way of thinking. He sees movements calling for liberalization and democracy and against corruption and authoritarianism as threats to his own power. When Viktor Yanukovych, Putin’s partner in Ukraine, fled the country in February, Putin invaded to make sure that Russians wouldn’t get the idea that they could produce a similar result in Moscow.  drew66: undefined The Knights of New Russia Assignment Russian support for the separatists in eastern Ukraine doesn't all come directly from the Kremlin. The rebellion there may be stoked, and armed, by Vladimir Putin - but it's also become a personal cause for young Russian volunteers recruited by a variety of nationalist and far-right groups. Many say they're motivated by their Orthodox faith - and their dream to restore Novorossiya, or New Russia, the territory which encompassed eastern Ukraine under the Tsarist Empire. Passionate members of re-enactment societies, they've spent their weekends reliving Russia's historic battles. But now they're fighting - and sometimes dying - for real, in what they see as a test of their own, and Russia's, "manhood". Tim Whewell has gained rare access to the weird, shadowy world of Russia's radical nationalists. He travels with volunteers from the grand old imperial capital, St Petersburg, to the chaotic, muddy battlefields of eastern Ukraine - and reveals a movement whose leaders have become increasingly influential in Putin's Russia - but is now in danger of becoming an embarrassment to the Kremlin. paulduval70: Russian news anchors and official commentators are constantly telling us the outside world is a dangerous place, and the global Internet is increasingly presented as a vehicle for hostile foreign influence. The Russian Interior Ministry calls the web “the main channel for the dissemination of destructive and extremist ideologies.” President Putin, speaking at a forum organized last spring by his All-Russia People’s Front, asserted that the Internet initially “emerged as a special project of the C.I.A.” He also declared that when the Russian Internet company Yandex was being developed back in the 1990s, it “came under pressure to hire a certain number of Americans and a certain number of Europeans to its executive board.” Following those comments, shares in Yandex, the world’s fourth-largest search engine, lost 16 percent of their value. paulduval70: Russia will not be intimidated over its actions in Ukraine and Crimea, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday as his foreign ministry warned that it was preparing to retaliate against fresh Western sanctions. Both the European Union and United States adopted tighter restrictions on investments in Crimea this week, while Canada rachetted up its own sanctions directed at Moscow. Sanctions coupled with tumbling global oil prices have rattled Russia's economy, with the rouble losing over 40 percent of its value year-to-date and a recession widely expected to take hold next year. Putin has remained defiant in the face of these setbacks, repeatedly defending Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March and its subsequent support for pro-Russian separatists battling Kiev forces in eastern Ukraine. Speaking at a concert honoring past and present security service staff, Putin said he had heard people calling for Russia to "pay dearly for its independent position backing compatriots and Crimea... (and) just for the mere fact that we exist  Anastasiia_: stop to copy articles from the Internet http://www.stabroeknews.com/2014/news/world/12/21/putin-says-russia-wont-intimidated-crimea/ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/08/opinion/next-russia-unplugged.html?_r=0 we can find and read these articles ourselves dave3974: Doomed flight MH370 was shot down by the United States after being remotely hacked, a former airline boss has claimed. Ex-Proteus Airlines head Marc Dugain has added to mountains of conspiracy theories surrounding the missing aircraft by suggesting the US Air Force blew the plane out of the sky. Fearing a 9/11 style terror attack, the USA took action from the British-controlled Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia after learning hackers had taken control of the Malaysia Airlines plane, Mr Dugain claims. The Frenchman says he spoke to residents of the Maldives who saw "red and blue stripes with a white background" on a plane heading towards Diego Garcia on the day of MH370's disappearance. The Malaysia Airlines flight disappeared over the South China Sea on 8 March en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. marc dugain Marc Dugain In an interview with Paris Match magazine, Dugain also claimed to have seen pictures of an empty Boeing fire extinguisher washed up on a beach on the nearby Baarah island. The former airline boss suggests that Boeing planes are particularly vulnerable to hijacking, and could have been set on fire remotely. "In 2006, Boeing patented a remote control system using a computer placed inside or outside the aircraft," Dugain told Paris Match. He told France Inter: "It’s an extremely powerful military base. It’s surprising that the Americans have lost all trace of this aircraft." Mr Dugain is the second major name in air travel to back up conspiracy theories surrounding the flight. Emirates President Sir Tim Clark has recently expressed concern and interest over the plane's disappearance. paulduval70: you cant blame anyone, no one really know's . i think it was a mistake by someone and they all blame each other.   duncan124: "Poland offers Ukraine EUR 100m loan for reforms" January 20, 2015 "The Polish Government will provide credit assistance to Ukraine in the amount of EUR 100 million, which can be used by Ukraine for rebuilding of the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine and implementing reforms, Polish PM Ewa Kopacz said on Monday in Kiev, Ukraine." Warsawvoice Perhaps Cameron will start feeling strongly about events in the Ukraine??? duncan124: "Ukraine.Offensive continues." "The Ukrainian fascist junta aggravated the offensive against the east of the country, weakening the more precarious ceasefire in effect since September 2014 and the possibility of peaceful settlement of the conflict. The reports of the last few days indicate an upsurge in fighting in the Donbass." avante.pt  Oksunny: 27 civilians killed, 97 wounded as result of Russian-backed terroristic assault on Ukrainian port city of Mariupol with GRAD multiple rocket launchers. https://www.kyivpost.com/…/shelling-in-mariupol-10-civilian… Oksunny: According to Ukrainian army officials, Russian Army Mayor General Sergei Kuzovlov, who is reportedly the serving Chief of Staff of the 58th Army of Russia's Southern Military District, is personally leading the Russian army contingent in the military offensive currently underway near the town of Popasna in Luhansk region. http://uatoday.tv/news/ukrainian-army-names-russian-commander-leading-east-ukraine-winter-offensive-405022.html The Russian Hitman: According to Ukrainian officials every bad thing in this world that happens is Russian fault  Oksunny: 18+ Ukrainian soldiers captured by Russian terrorists. On the 5th minute: you don't have any children hence we can kill you. Oksunny: Iror Girkin tells Russian TV that Crimeans did not support Russian annexation Ex-insurgent leader Igor Girkin ('Strelkov' has admitted in a recent Russian TV interview that the March 2014 Crimean referendum was forced through by Russian occupation forces and received almost no local support. In an interview on the ‘Polit-Ring TV show on Russia's NeuroMirTV earlier this week, Girkin, who was present throughout the seizure of Crimea before playing a leading role in the Russian insurgency in east Ukraine, admitted that the whole referendum was only possible thanks to the presence of Russian troops. During the interview, Girkin explained that Crimean MPs had been rounded up and forced to vote for a referendum on the separation of Crimea from Ukraine. "I did not see any support from the (Crimean) state authorities in Simferopol where I was. It was militants who collected deputies and forced them to vote. Yes, I was one of commanders of those militants," Girkin told Russian TV. The Russian annexation of Crimea in March 2014 has sparked the biggest European security crisis since the end of the Cold War, leading to a virtual freeze in ties between Russia and the EU. The Russian Federation has repeatedly defended the Crimean referendum as legitimate, and initially claimed that militant forces which seized strategic buildings and infrastructure throughout Crimea in the run-up to the vote were merely concerned local citizens. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin later admitted that the Russian army had been deployed in Crimea prior to the referendum. Russia also denies sending regular Russian army forces into east Ukraine. http://uatoday.tv/news/moscow-agent-strelkov-admits-russian-army-behind-crimean-referendum-404995.html | Politics Chat Room 34 People Chatting Similar Conversations |