Interesting title from the Economist- came across this one last night, saved it for todayThe journalist even includes this SLOVIANSK, UKRAINE (for now)Before we get to the economist a brief digression I actually watched some of the UN session last night. Live. Unfortunately I missed Churkin's statement and absolutely would not watch Samantha Power- not wanting to take in her evil energyFrance, UK & Australia were absolutely on the same message. Some language used was almost identical.Same talking points. Same blather. I expect Ms Power would have talked along the same line and likely added some additional overblown rhetoricBetween all the NATO nations at the meeting there was talk on the the protestors being "professional" etc.Let's see what Samantha Powers went on about? Unsurprisingly... She was on message. Orders must have come down from the US to promote the same message?
“It’s professional, it’s coordinated, there’s nothing grass-roots-seeming about it.”
She went on to call them paramilitary units- NOT military. Paramilitary says grass roots to me. It suggests militia type groups. "organized actions by well-armed and organized paramilitary forces"Funny how she said nothing like that about the freedom lovin' protestors when the snipers, including Israeli shooters were being employed at Maidan (In Kiev, an Israeli army vet fights with his fascist bretheren) and molotov cocktails were being used in abundance in Kiev? She failed to criticize when Georgians set up camp at Maidan. (Info on Georgians can be found here - Boston Bombing- Blame Russia (Hate to say I told you so, but......) Or when Ukrainian law enforcement officers were being killed, burned, eyeballs gouged out etc., Samantha Powers forget all about the coordinated and very professional military operations taking place at MaidanThe NATO nations, UN talking heads, also droned on about respecting the territorial integrity of a sovereign nation. Forgetting that they fail to do so in Syria and Libya and Iraq and Afghanistan and Serbia etc.,But, I have digressed enough! So back to Ukraine I did see a video of one building takeover In fact you can find it in the post from yesterday. Ukraine- Conflict, casualties, building seizures,1 MIA Oligarch & UpdatesOrganized? YesProfessional? - Define professional?Russian? I cannot find anything to indicate that, specifically. Not at this time. I don't doubt it, but...One possibility for where the protestors got the know how to organize themselves, was contained right in the Economist article (first link) I will highlight this very important tidbit
THE KIEV authorities' hold on Donbas and much of the wider region of eastern Ukraine has disappeared. President Oleksandr Turchynov had said that a military operation was imminent and that anyone who left the seized buildings by 6.00 am on April 14th would not be prosecuted.But by nightfall, as fog covered the Donbas, it was clear that no concerted government action to take back the region was under way. The region’s police appear to have defected en masse to the pro-Russian side. Police buildings in the town of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk fell to armed men on April 12th and there were reports of other municipal buildings being taken elsewhere. A Ukrainian security services operation to restore authority in Sloviansk failed. Military or police helicopters flew over town and unconfirmed sources said crowds prevented them from landing.
The mass defection of police forces to the Russian 'side' is the most obvious explanation for the ability and know how demonstrated in the building take over. It also likely explains some of the availability of weapons. I will quite safely assume that police offers are trained in this skill in order to execute their job.
Along the highway leading from the regional capital Donetsk barricades have gone up, manned by men wielding clubs and metal batons. Some are armed. At the entrance to Sloviansk bigger ones have been erected. In nearby Kramatorsk, small groups of men stood by the police station and nearby barricades.
On the morning of April 13th Arsen Avakov, the Ukrainian interior minister, announced that a fight-back for the east of the country was beginning. A few hours later film was circulating of stalled armoured personal carriers, a slumped man who appeared dead and another one on the ground apparently wounded. Mr Avakov said that one had died and five had been wounded in the shootout.
Another film (video is in yesterdays' post relinked above) showed a group of well-organised men in military uniform storming the police station in Kramatorsk. They are seen to be followed by men in civilian clothes. On April 13th a few dozen unarmed men were manning new barricades by the police station. The military unit seen in the film were no longer in evidence having possibly moved elsewhere. Ukrainian officials say they are troops from Russia.
Earlier in the day, at the barricade leading into Sloviansk, the first line of defence was a group of old ladies holding icons and saying they wanted nothing but peace. Behind them was a tyre barricade. On the side Molotov cocktails were being prepared. Behind this were men with clubs, who appeared to listen to orders being given by two uniformed armed men.
Russian flags and those of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic were flying at all the barricades and seized buildings. But what people want is unclear. Some say they want more autonomy, some want a federal Ukraine and some want to be incorporated by Russia. In Sloviansk small groups in front of the barricades by the seized police station chanted: “Donbas rise up!”
Many people railed against their low quality of life. They shouted that they worked hard while western Ukrainians were lazy and had to be subsidised by them. No one who supported the Ukrainian government was in evidence. On the outskirts of Kramatorsk Dimitry Padushkin was quarreling with a small group of men sent to stand at the entrance of a decrepit and non-functioning municipal airport that he said he owned.
Away from the group, who said they had been posted there to see that no Ukrainian forces landed, Mr Padushkin said that local pro-Ukrainians were frightened. “Of course there will be conflict,” he said, and for Russia, “this region will not be enough. They want everything. They will take all Ukraine.”
As of today Ukraine has not advanced militarily against the protestors. And the protestors so far appear organized and very grass roots.HHQ left this- Thanks HHQ! And if you get anymore information and want to share please leave it!
Hei Hu QuanApril 13, 2014 at 8:26 PMPenny, apologies for this late comment to your post, but have you seen this evidence yet? Undercover US agent in Spetsnaz clothing arrested in Ukraine I originally heard the story three days ago where it was quickly reported that a US merc (Greystone?) or agent, had been discovered and caught hiding in a East Ukraine building by Ukrainian civilian defence forces. At some point whilst being beaten he can be clearly heard saying "I'm a US citizen" in this alleged footage. If true, and common sense would also dictate that as well, it proves that the US is indeed sending in mercs as Fifth Column operatives and fit-up men posing as Russian special ops. Details are hard to get as it seems there's a pretty strong media sanitisation of this story when I was try to obtain more info.
Please don't forget about Syria- US is looking into new Syria chemical weapons claimIt's been a busy 24 hours so the two previous Ukraine are relinked below-