The west is obliged to defend Ukraine – and Putin must know what that means | Angus Roxburgh | Comment is free 16/04/14 14:08 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks

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A Ukrainian soldier seems overwhelmed as his vehicle is blocked by the people of Kramatorsk

Ukraine's troops humiliated as their armoured vehicles are SEIZED by pro-Russian militants

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  • Six armoured personnel carriers move into pro-Russian-held Slavyansk bearing the flag of the Russian Federation
  • Soldier aboard one claims they are from a Ukrainian airborne unit which has defected to the pro-Russian insurgency
  • Ukrainian army APCs roll into Kramatorsk, which was on Saturday scene of fierce fighting between police and militants 
  • Forces loyal to Kiev retook an airfield held by separatists just outside that town in an airborne assault last night
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin tells German Chancellor Angela Merkel that Ukraine is on the brink of civil war
  • He denied any involvement of Russian troops, but Kiev names a Russian regiment it claims is active in east Ukraine
  • Nato announces it is stepping up deployments in eastern Europe in response to the crisis 
Published: 03:38 EST, 16 April 2014 Updated: 14:09 EST, 16 April 2014
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Ukraine's offensive against separatists in the east of the country got off to a disastrous start today, with Kiev admitting its armoured vehicles had been seized by pro-Russian militants.
A column of armoured personnel carriers arrived in the rebel-held city of Slavyansk flying Russian flags, carrying men claiming to be Ukrainian soldiers who had switched allegiance.
The defence ministry in Kiev this afternoon then confirmed that vehicles had been captured in the flashpoint area of Kramatorsk.
'A column was blocked by a crowd of local people in Kramatorsk with members of a Russian diversionary-terrorist group among them,' it said. 'As a result, extremists seized the equipment.'
Another 15 armoured troop carriers full of paratroops were surrounded and halted by a pro-Russian crowd. They were allowed to retreat only after the soldiers handed the firing pins from their rifles to a rebel commander.

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Armed men wearing military fatigues stand guard by armoured personnel carriers outside the regional state building seized by pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk
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Armed men wearing military fatigues stand guard by armoured personnel carriers outside the regional state building seized by pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk
Combat vehicles with a Russian flag, a Donetsk Republic flag and gunmen on top are parked in downtown of Slavyansk on Wednesday
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Combat vehicles with a Russian flag, a Donetsk Republic flag and gunmen on top are parked in downtown of Slavyansk on Wednesday
A masked soldier guards the column of combat vehicles, three of which were reportedly under Ukrainian command earlier in the day before switching sides to the separatist insurgency
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A masked soldier guards the column of combat vehicles, three of which were reportedly under Ukrainian command earlier in the day before switching sides to the separatist insurgency
It came after the forces loyal to the interim government in Kiev arrived in the area and fought a skirmish to clear insurgents from an airfield outside Kramatorsk.
It was the first battle of of an 'anti-terrorist operation' aimed at quelling unrest in east Ukraine, where buildings in a number of cities have been seized by militants demanding greater autonomy.
The region was the support base for former president Viktor Yanukovych, who fled in February after violent protests in Kiev ignited after he ditched closer relations with the European Union in favour of stronger ties with Russia.
Meanwhile, it was claimed that militants have taken two Ukrainian soldiers hostage near the town of Krasnyi Luch in Lugansk province - in the latest escalation of hostilities that Russia is warning could lead to civil war.
As the armoured column arrived in Slavyansk, some of the troops aboard the vehicles said they were Ukrainian soldiers who had decided to switch sides after arriving as part of the offensive.
One soldier, who identified himself only as Andrei, said the unit was part of Ukraine's 25th paratrooper division from Dnipropetrovsk, a neighbouring province, and that they have switched allegiance to the pro-Russian forces.
'All the soldiers and the officers are here,' he said. 'We are all boys who won't shoot our own people.'
Later on, the same soldier was quoted by the Associated Press as saying: 'Our bosses made the decision and we obeyed.'
Soldiers of Ukrainian Army hand over the firing pins from their assault rifles to the pro-Russian insurgents during disarmament in the town of Kramatorsk
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Soldiers of Ukrainian Army hand over the firing pins from their assault rifles to the pro-Russian insurgents during disarmament in the town of Kramatorsk
Disarmed: A soldier from the Ukrainian Army removes the firing pin from his rifle
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Disarmed: A soldier from the Ukrainian Army removes the firing pin from his rifle
Flashpoints in Ukraine as of Wednesday
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FLASHPOINTS IN EAST UKRAINE: THE TEN CITIES AND TOWNS THAT ARE BEING HELD BY PRO-RUSSIAN INSURGENTS

KRAMATORSK, Donetsk region (Pop. 200,000)

Troops loyal to the interim government in Kiev retook an airfield outside the city last night. But Ukrainian armoured vehicles which moved into the city this morning soon reappeared in nearby Slavyansk, with soldiers aboard claiming to have switched sides. The situation there is unclear, but Reuters earlier reported seeing Ukrainian soldiers in the town.

SLAVYANSK, Donetsk Region (Pop. 137,000)

Armoured military vehicles arrived in the city this morning, with the men aboard claiming to be part of Ukraine's 25th paratrooper division from neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk who had switched sides. The city administration building and police headquarters remain under separatist control and there are checkpoints on roads leading into the city.

DONETSK, Donetsk Region (Pop. 1million) 

Donetsk is at the heart of the insurgency against the new pro-West government in Kiev. Militants are occupying the regional administration building and the regional police headquarters, apparently with no opposition from local police and security services. The streets are blocked with barricades, many of which are apparently manned by former members of the elite Berkut riot police, which was disbanded after it was blamed for the violence in Kiev in February.

HORLIVKA, Donetsk Region (Pop. 290,000) 

Unidentified gunmen seized the city's police headquarters on Monday and they remain in place.

MARIUPOL, Donetsk Region (Pop. 480,000) 

Armed separatist militants are occupying the city administration building after seizing it on Sunday and have barricaded themselves inside. 

MAKEYEVKA, Donetsk Region (Pop. 390,000)

Federalists have taken control of the administration building in this industrial city. Reports have said that militants here are more conciliatory and keener on regional autonomy than affiliation with Russia.

ENAKIYEVE, Donetsk Region (125,000) 

Pro-Russian activists have seized and occupied the building of the prosecutor’s office, the police and the city council since Saturday.

KHARTSYZK, Donetsk Region (65,000)

Protesters remain in control of the city administration building.

ZUHRES, Donetsk Region (20,000)

Protesters remain in control of the city administration building.
Andrei and his comrades wore green camouflage uniforms and carried automatic weapons and grenade launchers. At least one had the St George ribbon attached to his uniform.
The ribbon has become a symbol of the pro-Russian insurgency in eastern Ukraine.
The armed men waved as they drove in from the direction of Kramatorsk. They were enthusiastically met by separatists manning road blocks with some people waving back and shouting: 'Well done lads!' and 'Russia' Russia!'
Overhead, a Ukrainian jet fighter carried out several minutes of aerobatics above the town's main square in a clear show of strength by Kiev's forces.
A spokesman for the separatists and a witness in Kramatorsk said the Ukrainian troops had given up their vehicles to the rebels after talks.
But Ukraine's Defence Ministry denied any that there had been any defections - which could raise the prospect of a broader rebellion by the country's military forces.
Breaking hours of silence on the issue, the ministry issued a statement saying that Ukrainian troops had entered Kramatorsk, south of Slavyansk, this morning. There residents and 'members of Russian sabotage groups' had seized six armoured personnel vehicles and driven them to Slavyansk.
The military insisted the armed men seen on APCs in Slavyansk were not Ukrainian forces but added 'the whereabouts of the Ukrainian servicemen' had yet to be established.
Normality amid tension: A Ukrainian soldier speaks with a local boy in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, today
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Normality amid tension: A Ukrainian soldier speaks with a local boy in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, today
APCs on the road between Kramatorsk and Slaviansk in east Ukraine today, where rival factions have been moving dangerously close to each other
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APCs on the road between Kramatorsk and Slaviansk in east Ukraine today, where rival factions have been moving dangerously close to each other
The movements come a day after reports of Ukraine troops clashing with separatists and claims up to 11 were killed
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The movements come a day after reports of Ukraine troops clashing with separatists and claims up to 11 were killed
Some onlookers in Slavyansk were happy with the pro-Russian forces.
'We will never allow the fascist Kiev authorities to come here,' said Andrei Bondar, 32, a Slovyansk resident.
But Tetyana Kustova, a 35-year-old sales clerk, was appalled by the unrest.
'They are pushing us toward Russia,' she said. 'They are tearing Ukraine into pieces.'
Several hundred residents later surrounded 14 Ukrainian armoured vehicles at the train station in Pchyolkino, south of Slavyansk, fearing that the troops were sent to quell them.
A Ukrainian who introduced himself as a general addressed the crowd, asking them to let the vehicles leave, but residents blocked them in.
Dmytro, a Ukrainian solder who gave only his first name, vowed that he would remain loyal to the Ukrainian state.
'I took an oath to serve Ukraine,' he told the Associated Press. 'I will not betray my oath.'
A Ukrainian soldier seems overwhelmed as his vehicle is blocked by the people of Kramatorsk
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The central government has so far been unable to rein in the insurgents, who it says are being stirred up by paid operatives from Russia
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A Ukrainian soldier seems overwhelmed as his vehicle is blocked by the people of Kramatorsk
A local man plays with his son on the armored vehicle of Ukrainian forces in Kramatorsk
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A local man plays with his son on the armored vehicle of Ukrainian forces in Kramatorsk
Exhausted: A Ukrainian soldier takes a rest with local people in Kramatorsk
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Exhausted: A Ukrainian soldier takes a rest with local people in Kramatorsk
A man wheels his bike past a Ukrainian forces armoured personnel carrier in Kramatorsk
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A man wheels his bike past a Ukrainian forces armoured personnel carrier in Kramatorsk
Defiance: Pro-Russian activists block a column of Ukrainian men riding on armoured personnel carriers in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk
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Defiance: Pro-Russian activists block a column of Ukrainian men riding on armoured personnel carriers in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk
Nonchalant: Soldiers of the Ukrainian Army sit atop combat vehicles as they are blocked by people, such as this leaning woman, on their way to the town of Kramatorsk
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Nonchalant: Soldiers of the Ukrainian Army sit atop combat vehicles as they are blocked by people, such as this leaning woman, on their way to the town of Kramatorsk
Boiling over: Pro-Russian supporters argue with Ukrainian soldiers in Kramatorsk today
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Boiling over: Pro-Russian supporters argue with Ukrainian soldiers in Kramatorsk today
A Ukrainian (not pictured) who introduced himself as a general addressed the crowd, asking them to let the vehicles leave, but residents blocked them in
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A Ukrainian (not pictured) who introduced himself as a general addressed the crowd, asking them to let the vehicles leave, but residents blocked them in
Chat: A Ukrainian soldier speaks with local people in Kramatorsk, Ukraine
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Chat: A Ukrainian soldier speaks with local people in Kramatorsk, Ukraine
Elsewhere, in the industrial city of Donetsk, which is at the heart of Ukraine's separatist insurgency, at least 20 heavily armed separatists occupied the city council building, a spokeswoman for the council said.
The militants seized the mayor's office, demanding that the Kiev government agree to hold a vote on broadening the region's autonomy.
'We have come into this building so that Kiev accepts our demands, the demands of the ordinary people of Donbass, to adopt a law on local referendums,' said militiaman Alexander Zakharchenko.
A Sky News correspondent on the scene said that the militants walked into the local government building unopposed by police.
'I think this is symbolic - on a quiet scale compared to what's happening in Slavyansk and elsewhere - that the Kiev government's writ simply does not run any longer to the east,' said Sky's Sam Kiley, who was on the scene.
'Police are simply ignoring armed men wearing masks walking into a government building.'
Protest: Supporters loyal to Moscow shout slogans during a rally in front of the occupied security service building in Lugansk, Ukraine
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Protest: Supporters loyal to Moscow shout slogans during a rally in front of the occupied security service building in Lugansk, Ukraine
Menacing: A pro-Russian activist holds a bat during a rally outside the secret service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk
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Menacing: A pro-Russian activist holds a bat during a rally outside the secret service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk
Armed pro-Russia activists walk outside the city state building they have seized in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk
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Armed pro-Russia activists walk outside the city state building they have seized in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk
About 20 pro-Russian protesters armed with Kalashnikov rifles reportedly entered the mayor's office in Ukraine's eastern industrial city of Donetsk
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About 20 pro-Russian protesters armed with Kalashnikov rifles reportedly entered the mayor's office in Ukraine's eastern industrial city of Donetsk
Militants stand guard inside the city state building. The men, who met no resistance from the building's security personnel, said their only demand was for a referendum on turning Ukraine into a federation with broader local rights
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Militants stand guard inside the city state building. The men, who met no resistance from the building's security personnel, said their only demand was for a referendum on turning Ukraine into a federation with broader local rights
The pro-Russia militants stand inside the local government building. Donetsk is one of 10 towns and cities in east Ukraine which have seen incipient separatist insurgencies in the past 10 days
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The pro-Russia militants stand inside the local government building. Donetsk is one of 10 towns and cities in east Ukraine which have seen incipient separatist insurgencies in the past 10 days
Armed men patrol the street outside the Donetsk local government building. Elsewhere in the city protesters have built barricades and set up roadblocks
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Armed men patrol the street outside the Donetsk local government building. Elsewhere in the city protesters have built barricades and set up roadblocks
Ukraine's separatists are demanding a referendum on turning the country into a federation with key powers devolved to its regions. So opposed are they to their new government's pro-EU stance, that one leader has even contacted British eurosceptic politician Nigel Farage, leader of UKIP, to ask for his solidarity with their independence movement.
In Kramatorsk, scene of the only fighting so far, civilian protesters this morning briefly blocked the entry of Ukrainian army APCs, standing in front of the vehicles as they tried to make their way into town, which had been held by pro-Russian militants.
Soldiers dismounted and pushed them away, firing one shot in the air during a brief scuffle before the vehicles moved on, a witness told Reuters.
The Ukrainian government finally launched what it called an 'anti-terrorism operation' against separatists in east Ukraine last night, more than 48 hours after a deadline ordering militants to lay down their weapons.
Initial reports had claimed that up to 11 people were killed when forces loyal to Kiev launched an airborne assault on a small airfield near Kramatorsk, although these proved later to be an exaggeration.
The airborne attack by troops from the Ukrainian interior ministry's elite Omega unit came as up to 500 soldiers launched a simultaneous ground assault on the airfield, which had been held by pro-Russian separatists.
Prior to the attack, Reuters and Associated Press reporters near the scene had heard heavy gunfire which had apparently prevented an air force plane from landing.
Following the assault, Russia's President Putin told German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a telephone call late last night that Kiev had 'embarked on an anti-constitutional course' by using the army against the rebels.
'The sharp escalation of the conflict puts the country, in effect, on the brink of civil war,' a Kremlin statement quoted him as saying.
Ukrainian soldiers drive on an combat vehicle near Kramatorsk, a town which had been held by pro-Russian separatists which forces loyal to Kiev moved into as part of an 'anti-terrorist operation'
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Ukrainian soldiers drive on an combat vehicle near Kramatorsk, a town which had been held by pro-Russian separatists which forces loyal to Kiev moved into as part of an 'anti-terrorist operation'
Pro-Russia protesters stand in front of Ukrainian soldiers sitting on an combat vehicle in the field near Kramatorsk, which was until yesterday held by separatist militants
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Pro-Russia protesters stand in front of Ukrainian soldiers sitting on an combat vehicle in the field near Kramatorsk, which was until yesterday held by separatist militants
Pro-Russian activists try to block a column of Ukrainian soldiers on the outskirts of Kramatorsk, in the mainly Russian-speaking Donbass region
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Pro-Russian activists try to block a column of Ukrainian soldiers on the outskirts of Kramatorsk, in the mainly Russian-speaking Donbass region

'HELP US NIGEL FARAGE': PLEA FROM EAST UKRAINE SEPARATISTS

The leader of pro-Russia separatists in Donetsk has issued a  bizarre appeal for British help via UKIP leader Nigel Farage, right
Denis Pushilin, head of the self-declared 'people's republic' in the industrial region, sent his plea as Ukrainian armoured vehicles arrived to stage a crackdown on the uprising. 
In an email he told Mr Farage that Donetsk was founded by a British engineer and businessman John Hughes in 1870, after he was granted a concession by the  Russian government under tsar Alexander II.
'We are appealing not just to fellow Russians, but to the people of Britain,' said Mr Pushilin.
'We believe that Britons, like Russians, are not "of Europe" - as Winston Churchill put it - and will not be "with" Ukrainian ultra-nationalists, the EU, US and NATO in repressing our identity, our right to speak Russian and our desire to be with Russia as well as to celebrate our historical Russo-British heritage.'
Kramatorsk and Slavyansk are two of about 10 towns and cities in east Ukraine where pro-Russian separatists have blocked streets and fought with security forces loyal to the new regime in Kiev
Today there was no sign of violence in Kramatorsk, but civilians briefly blocked Ukrainian army APCs from entering the town, a witness told Reuters.
Their actions reflected the opposition in the Russian-speaking Donbass region to the new government in Kiev.
A local resident who gave his name as Olexander told Reuters: 'I think Donbass should be an independent country allied with Russia. My homeland is the Soviet Union. We just need to chop off the rotten west of Ukraine and we'll be fine.'
Elsewhere in Kramatorsk, there was no overt sign of hostility as several hundred people milled around another cluster of six APCs from the 25th paratroop brigade from Dnieperpetrovsk, a neighbouring province.
Some residents gave the soldiers tea and bread.
But one man, who gave his name as Sergei, said the troops were unwelcome, contrasting the use of the army with the authorities' tolerance of a protest camp on the central Maidan square in the capital.
'I don't like these troops. As far as Kiev is concerned, we are not people,' he said. 'For some reason they didn't send tanks onto the Maidan (Independence Square in Kiev) but they send troops to us. Donbass will not forgive this. The country does not exist any more.'
While troops were not deployed during the protests that ousted Yanukovich in Kiev, it was alleged that police snipers shot dead dozens of protesters. 
However some have claimed those killings were a 'false flag attack' designed to inflame tensions and legitimise the overthrow of the elected government.
Western powers have joined Kiev authorities in accusing Moscow of orchestrating the separatist operation in eastern Ukraine as it allegedly did in the Ukrainian Black Sea province of Crimea, which last month declared independence and joined the Russian Federation.
Ukraine's SBU state security service said in a statement Russian military intelligence was directing separatist action in the east.
'Intercepted conversations between Russian intelligence agents show that Russian military intelligence is openly directing diversionary actions in the east of Ukraine, giving cynical orders to open fire on Ukrainian soldiers,' it said.
Ukrainian soldiers clash with pro-Russia protesters in a field near Kramatorsk, in eastern Ukraine, which was until yesterday held by separatist militants
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Ukrainian soldiers clash with pro-Russia protesters in a field near Kramatorsk, in eastern Ukraine, which was until yesterday held by separatist militants
Ukrainian forces tightened their grip on the eastern town of Kramatorsk after securing control over an airfield from pro-Russian separatist militiamen
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Ukrainian forces tightened their grip on the eastern town of Kramatorsk after securing control over an airfield from pro-Russian separatist militiamen
The 'anti-terrorist operation' launched by Kiev in east Ukraine has prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to warn of the risk of civil war
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The 'anti-terrorist operation' launched by Kiev in east Ukraine has prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to warn of the risk of civil war
Earlier a prominent politician in the pro-West interim government in Kiev also accused Moscow of deploying its troops undercover in Ukrainian territory.
Deputy prime minister Vitaliy Yarema alleged that the 45th Guards Regiment of Airborne Troops - headquartered near Moscow - is playing a key role in fomenting the disturbances in Slavyansk and other eastern cities.
Kiev also claimed that Russian intelligence is waging intimidation warfare against its servicemen and their families by bombarding them with 'provocative' text messages aiming to destroy their morale.
Mr Yarema claimed that several hundred Russian paratroopers and intelligence officers linked to the 45th - motto 'the strongest will win' - are operating in Slaviansk, which he said is now ringed by Ukrainian forces.
Naming a Russian regiment for the first time, Mr Yarema said of the paratroopers: 'Now they have concentrated their forces in Krasnyy Lyman, Horlivka, Kramatorsk and Slavyansk.
'The terrorists are committing acts of violence against police officers, seizing state buildings.
'It has been established that these are servicemen of the 45th Guards Regiment of the Airborne Troops of the Russian Federation, who are quartered outside Moscow.
'So when Putin says that there are no Russian Federation troops in Ukraine, he's lying.'
Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk repeated the accusations
'Russia has got a new export now, apart from oil and gas: Russia is now exporting terrorism to Ukraine,' Mr Yatsenyuk told a Cabinet meeting.
'Russia must withdraw its sabotage groups, condemn terrorists and liberate all administrative buildings.'
Russia, which Western governments says has massed about 40,000 troops just across the border with eastern Ukraine, denies the charge. The Kremlin is demanding that Kiev accept a loose federal structure for Ukraine.
A Ukrainian interior ministry soldier guards a check-point near Barvinkove, eastern Ukraine, as part of the first Ukrainian military action against a pro-Russian uprising in the east
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A Ukrainian interior ministry soldier guards a check-point near Barvinkove, eastern Ukraine, as part of the first Ukrainian military action against a pro-Russian uprising in the east
The Russian Foreign Ministry rebuked French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius for saying in parliament that Moscow was clearly behind the rebellion and its objective was to prevent or discredit a planned May 25 presidential election.
'If the four-way meeting with Russia and Ukraine does not produce a result, we have to move to phase three of sanctions, which means economic sanctions. There is no other way,' Fabius said.
So far, the EU and United States have imposed only visa bans and asset freezes on a limited number of individuals and firms, measures which Moscow has shrugged off. They have discussed adding more people to those lists and are also contemplating wider sanctions to hurt the Russian economy more broadly.
However, EU officials said preparations for curbs on trade, energy and financial ties with Moscow were still at an early stage and even an agreed expansion of the list of individual subject to visa bans and asset freezes would probably not come until next week at the earliest.
The standoff has raised fears in the West and in Kiev that Russia might intervene militarily to 'protect' Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine.
A military Ukrainian Army helicopter flies over a column of Ukrainian Army combat vehicles on the way to the town of Kramatorsk
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A military Ukrainian Army helicopter flies over a column of Ukrainian Army combat vehicles on the way to the town of Kramatorsk
Nato said today it had decided on a series of immediate steps to strengthen its military footprint in eastern Europe because of the Ukraine crisis.
Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Nato's air policing aircraft will fly more sorties over the Baltic region and allied ships will deploy to the Baltic Sea, the eastern Mediterranean and elsewhere if needed.
'We will have more planes in the air, mores ships on the water and more readiness on the land,' Mr Fogh Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels, declining to give exact troop figures.
Moscow must make clear 'it doesn't support the violent actions of well-armed militias or pro-Russian separatists' in eastern Ukraine, he added.
Nato's eastern members - including Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Poland - have been wary following Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, demanding a more robust military deterrence to counter neighboring Russia.
Mr Fogh Rasmussen said the NATO deployments are about 'deterrence and de-escalation' in the face of Russia's aggressive behavior.
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. He insisted, however, that 'more will follow if needed.'
NATO estimates Russia has amassed some 40,000 troops on Ukraine's eastern border and could invade parts of the country within days if it wished. Mr Fogh Rasmussen urged Russia to pull those troops back.
The 28-nation alliance has already suspended most cooperation and talks with Russia. The United States has dispatched fighter planes to Poland and the Baltics, enabling NATO to reinforce air patrols on its eastern border. NATO also performs daily AWACs surveillance flights over Poland and Romania.
A spokesman for U.S. President Barack Obama said Ukraine's government was obliged to respond to 'provocations' in the east, but Washington was not considering sending arms to Kiev.
The White House said it was seriously considering adding to sanctions imposed after the annexation of Crimea, but the State Department said such action was unlikely before the Geneva meeting.

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US Senator McCain mocks EU's response to Ukraine crisis, says Russia sanctions 'almost a joke'

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BBC News - Ukraine crisis: Hague warns Russia on long-term future

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16 April 2014 Last updated at 00:51 ET
William HagueWilliam Hague said Russia must choose whether it was open to 'diplomacy and de-escalation'
There will be serious long-term consequences if Russia continues to destabilise Ukraine, Foreign Secretary William Hague has said.
Mr Hague warned that Moscow could face international isolation and lasting economic damage, through a reduction in foreign investment.
The foreign secretary was speaking at the Lord Mayor's Easter banquet in the City of London.
Mr Hague added that it was a "crucial moment" in the Ukraine crisis.
'Lawless acts'
In his annual Mansion House speech, he said: "In recent days Russia has deliberately pushed Ukraine to the brink, and created a still greater risk of violent confrontation.
"We call on Russia to stop these actions and to condemn the lawless acts in eastern Ukraine.
"Russia must choose whether it is open to diplomacy and de-escalation, and if it decides otherwise, we must be ready for a different state of relations with Russia in the next 10 years than in the last 20.
"Ukraine can be a bridge between East and West and be able to have good relations with Russia.
Ukrainian soldiers on the outskirts of Izyum, Eastern UkraineUkraine has announced the start of an "anti-terrorist operation" against pro-Russian separatists
"But that does not entitle Russia to send in its armed groups, thinly disguised, to spearhead the occupation of buildings in multiple Ukrainian cities, to try permanently to destabilise the country and dictate the terms of its constitution.
"My message to Moscow is that if anyone thinks they can do these things without serious long-term consequences they are making a grave miscalculation."
Further sanctions
Earlier, Mr Hague told the BBC that the UK was ready to make economic "sacrifices" to help Ukraine.
He said further sanctions were being planned, but there was no "fixed red line" to decide how far Moscow needed to go before they were imposed.
Mr Hague said he thought Russia was encouraging separatist groups in eastern Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected the accusation.
Ukraine's acting President Olexander Turchynov has announced the start of an "anti-terrorist operation" against pro-Russian separatists.
Mr Putin said the escalation of the conflict had put Ukraine "on the verge of civil war".
Tension has been steadily rising since Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula, formerly part of Ukraine, last month.
The move, condemned as illegal by Kiev and the West, followed the ousting of Ukraine's pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych in February.
The European Union has imposed sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, on some individual Russian and Ukrainian officials.
But meetings have been taking place in recent days, aimed at setting out wider economic punishments if the situation worsens.
The map shows towns where pro-Russian activists have seized buildings in UkraineThe map shows towns where pro-Russian activists have seized buildings
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U.S. Takes Off The Gloves In Rhetorical Rumble With Russia

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T
he U.S. administration has ratcheted up the rhetoric as it wrestles with Russia over mounting tensions in Ukraine, engaging the Kremlin in the kind of confrontational and caustic war of words it largely eschewed during U.S. President Barack Obama's first five years in office. 

From a campaign to debunk Russian claims point by point, to social-media dust-ups teetering on the edge of "flame wars," the media blitz contrasts sharply with Washington's public diplomacy under Obama's "reset" policy with Moscow during his first term.

"There's certainly a change in tone, but there's also a change in tone...on the Russian side as well. It takes two to play at this game," a former U.S. official who worked closely with the Obama administration on its reset policy says.

Even a severe deterioration in bilateral ties in 2013 -- including over issues like the U.S. Magnitsky Act sanctions, the bloody civil war in Syria, and Russia's decision to grant asylum to fugitive U.S. intelligence analyst Edward Snowden -- did not spark the type of coordinated, multilayered information crusade from Washington like the one it's waging in response to the Ukraine crisis.

U.S. officials continued that offensive this week amid the seizure of government buildings in eastern Ukraine by armed pro-Russia forces, developments in which Moscow has denied involvement.

"Russia claims the situation in Ukraine risks spiraling into civil war. What is going on wouldn't be happening without Russian provocateurs," the U.S. State Department wrote on its Twitter feed on April 13.

Two Times Two Equals Five
Earlier that day, the State Department issued separate statements laying out its "
evidence of Russian support for destabilization of Ukraine
," as well as what it describes as an additional 10 "
false claims
" by Russia about Ukraine. 

A March 5 State Department statement accused Russia of spinning a "false narrative to justify its illegal actions in Ukraine" and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of 
disseminating myths
 about the crisis. "The world has not seen such startling Russian fiction since Dostoyevsky wrote, 'The formula "two times two equals five" is not without its attractions,'" the March 5 statement read.

Senior U.S. officials have buttressed this campaign on their individual Twitter feeds, including Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Daniel Baer, Obama's envoy to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

On his Twitter feed, Baer accused Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on April 14 of attempting to co-opt a U.S. request last week for an emergency OSCE Permanent Council meeting to discuss what he described as Russian "crimes" in and around Ukraine.
In a statement delivered to the OSCE Permanent Council the same day, Baer accused Russia of "disrespecting" the international community and Russian citizens with "
its continuing campaign of lies
."


A New Team
Even before mass protests erupted in Ukraine in late November, some in Washington saw several personnel changes in the Obama administration as portending a shift away from reset-era realpolitik and toward a tougher line with Moscow.

These included the appointment of Victoria Nuland as U.S. assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, whose candidacy was backed by foreign-policy hawks John McCain and Lindsey Graham, Republican senators who have accused Obama of glad-handing the Kremlin.

Nuland, who was confirmed by the Senate in September 2013, has been a prominent face and voice at the front line of Washington's support for the Ukrainian government in Kyiv and for opponents of ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

But the rhetorical sea change in Washington has primarily been driven by the extraordinary events in Ukraine, whose implications are seen by U.S. officials as having far more profound and unpredictable reach than other bilateral disputes in recent years, says Steven Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.

"It's the Russians doing things that the administration views -- correctly in my view -- as a fundamental violation of the rules of the post-World War II order," Pifer says. "One of the key rules was: 'You don't use military force to take the territories of other countries,' which is exactly what the Russians did in Crimea."

Russia has defended last month's annexation as an expression of the will of the people in Crimea, home to an ethnic-Russian majority, and likened it to Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence, which Western countries backed and Russia opposed. The United States and NATO have publicly dismissed the analogy as a false comparison.

The ramp-up in U.S. rhetoric over Ukraine has been accompanied by sanctions against dozens of Ukrainian and Russian officials and businesspeople, many of whom are widely believed to be close to Putin.

But some critics in Washington say the Obama administration is failing to back up its tough talk.

"My hero Teddy Roosevelt used to say talk softly and carry a big stick. What you're doing is talking strongly and carrying a very small sick. In fact, a twig," McCain, an Arizona Republican and a relentless Putin critic, told Secretary of State John Kerry at an April 8 Senate hearing.

Kerry later replied by referencing another piece of wisdom from the 26th U.S. president.

"Your friend, Teddy Roosevelt, also said that the credit belongs to the people who are in the arena who are trying to get things done," Kerry told McCain at the hearing. "And we are trying to get something done. That is a Teddy Roosevelt maxim, and I abide by it."
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· · ·

Russian Professor Explains Media Manipulation

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R
ussian state media has been skewered in the West for its often outlandish coverage of events in Ukraine. 

The "misinformation, exaggerations, conspiracy theories, overheated rhetoric and occasionally, outright lies," reverberate "hour after hour, day after day, week after week" on Russian TV, according to "
The New York Times
" on April 15.

But 
according to a poll
, conducted in late March by the state-funded Public Opinion Foundation, some two-thirds of the Russian population trust government-controlled television more than any other medium.

A lecture by a history professor, apparently recorded in mid-April, sheds some light on Moscow's media strategy and why it seems to work.

"Television determines the agenda," says Valery Solovei, in his hourlong talk at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). "The methods that I am talking about create a world view, something that's called a 'reality.' A reality is created for us. If we see this reality the way it is brought to us by television, then we act in accordance with this reality."


WATCH: Outtakes from the lecture by Valery Solovei.
​(Watch the full lecture, in Russian, 
here
 )

Solovei says that in order to create a new reality for Kyiv, Ukraine must look absolutely untenable as a functioning state.

"You will recall the news reports in January when the really bloody events took place, the rapidly changing images of flames, burning tires, running people, alarming music," he says, referring to antigovernment protests in the Ukrainian capital. "What do you think it's for? For dramatic effect? No. There is a much bigger meaning behind it."

"Chaos is the key word," Solovei explains. "All of it is done to create a stable association in our minds: Ukraine is chaos. It is an old mythologem -- Chaos as a protoplasm from which the gods will then create the world. And what is Russia then? Russia is Cosmos, it is order, and it is the foundation of peace and stability."

"If you watch Russian TV you will see that Russia has no problems other than the adaptation of Crimea. We have no inflation, no decreasing incomes. We don't have any of the typical big-city problems. Russia has none of that. Everything is alright in Russia. What is it? It is called the manipulation of the agenda."

At one point, a student, who seems to be offended by the speech, objects from the back of the room: "Have you seen what's happening there? They're completely out of control!"

"I beg your pardon," the professor responds. "But it absolutely does not matter how much the real picture corresponds with the media picture. An overwhelming majority of television viewers have never been and will never travel there. And they make their judgment based on the television picture and not on what happens in reality."

-- Glenn Kates and Pavel Butorin
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· ·

Kiev's grip on eastern Ukraine weakens as pro-Russians seize army vehicles | World news

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For Kiev's beleaguered army it was meant to be a display of strength. Early on Wednesday a column of six armoured personnel carriers trundled through the town of Kramatorsk, in eastern Ukraine. Some 24 hours earlier Ukrainian soldiers had recaptured a small disused aerodrome. Their next target appeared to be Slavyansk, the neighbouring town, occupied by a shadowy Russian militia. Was victory close?
The column didn't get far. At Kramatorsk's railway junction, next to an open-air market and a shop selling building materials, an angry crowd caught up with it. Next armed separatists dressed in military fatigues turned up too. Within minutes the Ukrainian soldiers gave up. Without a shot being fired they abandoned their vehicles. The pro-Russian gunmen grabbed them. They raised a Russian tricolour. They sat on top and went for a victory spin.
In theory this was happening in Ukraine, under the control of a pro-western government in Kiev, and several hundred kilometres from the Russian border. In reality large chunks of the east of the country are now in open revolt. Ukraine is rapidly vanishing as a sovereign state. Its army is falling apart. What happens next is unclear. But the Kremlin can either annexe the east, as it did Crimea, again shrugging off western outrage. Or it can pull the strings of a new post-Kiev puppet entity.
The militia who captured the armoured vehicles on Wednesday looked like professionals. They had Kalashnikovs, flak jackets, ammunition. One even carried a tube-shaped green grenade-launcher. Some hid their faces under black balaclavas. Others waved and smiled. All wore an orange and black ribbon – originally a symbol of the Soviet victory over fascism, and now the colours of the east's snowballing anti-Kiev movement. There was a flag of Donbass, the Russian-speaking eastern region with its main city of Donetsk.
After posing for photos, this new anti-Kiev army set off. The armoured personnel carriers (APCs) rattled past Kramatorsk's train station and turned right over a steep dusty bridge. There was a cloud of diesel smoke. Amazed locals jogged alongside then piled into battered mini-buses to keep up. White tread tracks on the tarmac pointed the way. The column covered about six miles (10km) before turning left at the entrance to Slavyansk. It then drove serenely into town and parked round the back of the city hall. Soldiers got off and stretched their legs next to the White Nights cafe.
Slavyansk residents who had been fearing an imminent attack from Ukrainian forces had a moment of cognitive dissonance. Armed pro-Russian gunmen seized control of the city administration on Saturday. Ever since, Ukrainian helicopters and planes had buzzed ominously overhead.
Armed men wearing military fatigues gather by APCs as they stand guard in Slavyansk, Ukraine. Militia gather by seized APCs as they stand guard in Slavyansk, Ukraine. Photograph: Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images
"I heard the sound of tanks approaching. I thought that Ukrainian troops had arrived," Vladimir Ivanovich admitted, gazing at the APCs now stationed opposite a small park and children's playground. "I was wrong." So who exactly were the soldiers in masks? "I don't know," he said.
He added: "I'm not a radical or a separatist. I'm actually more on the left. I didn't much like Viktor Yanukovych. I'm for peaceful coexistence. The problem is that when the nationalists seized power in Kiev they didn't think about the consequences. I have my own prognosis about what will happen next. It's not comforting."
The armed men, meanwhile, made little secret of the fact they took orders from Moscow. Many of them appeared to be Russian troops from Crimea. Asked where he had come from, one told the Guardian: "Simferopol." How were things in Crimea? "Zamechatelna," he said in Russian – splendid. He added: "The old ladies are happy. Because of Russia their pensions have doubled." Had he served in the Ukrainian army and perhaps swapped sides? "No, I'm Russian," he replied.
Within minutes, the captured APCs had become the town's newest, most extraordinary tourist attraction. Teenage girls posed coquettishly with the men in balaclavas. Small children lined up too. Someone put a cuddly toy next to a gun barrel. "We were very afraid. Now we are reassured. The tanks are here to protect us," Olga Yuriyevna said. She added: "I'm Russian-speaking. We have relatives in Russia. My husband fought in the Afghan war."
Some people, though, were lacking in enthusiasm. Outside the town hall one pensioner, Alexander Ivanovich, said: "I'm Ukrainian. This should be Ukrainian territory." Gesturing at the faceless gunmen outside the entrance, he said: "I'm suspicious of them." The soldiers had piled sandbags in front of windows, and created sniper positions on the roof. They had also, apparently, ripped down the building's blue-and-yellow trident, a symbol of Ukrainian statehood. A Russian and Donetsk republic flag flew from the roof. The impression was one of calm and vertical order.
On Wednesday afternoon Ukrainian soldiers were led out of the building and packed on to buses. The Ukrainians had surrendered when crowds surrounded their tanks. They were missing their weapons, now confiscated. The 40 or so demoralised troops headed out of town in a westerly direction.
At first the authorities in Kiev refused to believe they had lost the army vehicles. The defence ministry initially dismissed news reports as fake. Later it admitted the disaster was true. As well as APCs, Ukraine has lost control of another crucial weapon in its losing battle with the Russian Federation: television. On Tuesday the Donetsk prosecutor turned Russian state TV back on again, weeks after Kiev pulled the broadcasts on the grounds they sowed lies and Kremlin propaganda. Since President Viktor Yanukovych fled in February Russian channels have consistently called Kiev's new rulers "fascists".
Outside Kramatorsk's aerodrome, meanwhile, at the end of a rustic rutted alley lined with sycamores and apricots, protesters had set up a new camp. It boasted a parasol, a table decked out with sandwiches, and a clump of empty beer bottles. On Tuesday Ukrainian forces had opened fire, lightly wounding two anti-government demonstrators who surged at them across a field. On Wednesday Ukrainian troops were holed up inside. They showed little enthusiasm for venturing out. A felled tree blocked their route.
"We're Russians. We live on Russian soil. So how can we be separatists?" Sergei Sevenko, a 52-year-old car mechanic, wanted to know. A handful of female volunteers stood with him; they had kept vigil until 1am. Sevenko added: "I've lived all my life in Kramatorsk. The economic situation here is horrible. We're just defending our town and our property from fascists." Waiting to interview him was a young female journalist from Moscow. She was holding a microphone decorated with the logo of Lifenews.ru, the Kremlin's favourite website.
By late afternoon another stand-off was developing between a second Ukrainian armoured column in Pcholkino, near Kramatorsk, and an excitable, hostile crowd. Helicopters dipped low over shabby Khrushchev-era blocks of flats to see what was going on, then scouted along the line of the railway. Close to where the column was stuck, locals were building a checkpoint. "The helicopters keep us awake at night. We can't sleep," one complained. A van pulled up. It disgorged black tyres. A man wearing shorts and sunglasses, possibly drunk, began erratically directing traffic.
This febrile anti-Kiev mood has acquired a momentum that increasingly seems unstoppable. A vocal section of the population appears to support the protesters' key demand for a referendum on Ukraine's federalisation. A "people's governor" has been appointed – though it is not clear by whom. Many local politicians, the security services in key eastern towns and the police appear to have gone over to the anti-government side. Kiev's powerlessness in this fast-moving drama seems absolute.
On Wednesday another gang of armed youths seized control of the city hall in Donetsk. Other pro-Russian activists have occupied Donetsk's regional administration building since 6 April. (They have fortified it with a thicket of tyres. On one wall someone had scrawled in Cyrillic script: "Fuck America".) Youths lounged in the entrance lobby and ground floor of the city building. They wore white-and-red armbands bearing the name of a murky sporting organisation and fight-club, Oplot. In Kharkiv, Ukraine's other major eastern city, Oplot has been closely linked with pro-Kremlin groups. And with organised crime.
One Oplot member, Alexander, showed off his weapon. It was a US-made Remington 870 Express Magnum. "It's a hunting gun," he said. "It's my own. I've got a licence for it." Alexander said he had purchased his uniform himself: a light-coloured khaki top and trousers, a flat jacket, and a matching hat. He added: "I'm against America. But I have to say they make good guns."
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Ukraine crisis: Chaos, confusion and itchy trigger fingers reign in the east as Kiev begins its ‘anti-terrorist’ mission - Europe - World

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The attack by the figures in black combat uniform and balaclavas was aimed at a checkpoint adjoining his land, and those manning it shot back. The gunmen ran off through the woods, and appeared to have been picked up and driven off on a parallel road.
Such is the febrile and tense atmosphere currently in this part of Ukraine that more than 20 vehicles loaded with armed men raced to the scene; some began to fire off their shotguns, hunting rifles and the few Kalashnikovs they held between them, swearing after seeing shadows among the trees.
Two armoured personnel carriers (APCs) had also set off from the city centre. What made them interesting was that they were flying Russian flags; Ukrainian vehicles whose crews are said to have defected to the 'People's Republic of Donetsk'. However, they got lost, went to a wrong checkpoint, and failed to make it to the action.
Fifteen miles away at Kramatorsk, many more APCs, in Ukrainian colours, were lined up next to a railway track, the troops on board surrounded by a crowd which harangued them for obeying the orders of a 'fascist regime', while, at the same time, providing bottles of water on a hot day. Helicopters gunships flew overhead, making increasingly low sorties. At one point the Express train from Moscow rolled by, with both the soldiers and the protestors automatically waving.
This was the chaotic and confusing situation in the east of the country during the first 24 hours of the 'anti-terrorist' mission declared by the Kiev administration. The commander, Vasily Krutov, had presented himself as a bringer of wrath and retribution at a roadside press conference just before it got under way. Asked whether the protestors should not be given more time to withdraw from the public buildings they had occupied across the region, the general, from the security service, declared that would be “too humanitarian”. 
He continued: “We are, unfortunately, facing a difficult situation because those who planned it are hiding behind human shields. We will do everything possible to avoid civilian casualties, but unfortunately casualties do happen in wars.”
Pro-Russian clashes in Ukraine
1 of 60
Ukraine crisis: Slavyansk
A masked man holds a gun as as other armed people stand near tanks in Slaviansk
EPA/Roman Pilipey
I have yet to come across any human shields in this confrontation. The pro-Moscow demonstrators who gather around the seized state buildings may, at times, be bellicose and aggressive, but their presence also appears to be entirely voluntary. It has been Gen Krutov's dignity which has been a temporary casualty in the early hours of the operation. An attempt to personally order the crowd outside Kramastorsk airfield, which had just been taken by Ukrainian forces, to disperse and go home had ended with him being roughly manhandled, punched and having his hat knocked off. The commander was last seen scrabbling to get back behind the wire amid shouts of 'war criminal', 'grab hold' and 'jail him.'
None of the captured sites in a dozen towns and cities had been retaken by nightfall. Instead, pro-Moscow demonstrators took over yet another one, the mayor's office at Donetsk; they had been holding the administrative building in the city for weeks.
Pro-Russian armed men ride on a tank in Slaviansk (EPA)Pro-Russian armed men ride on a tank in Slaviansk (EPA) 
In Kramatorsk, an APC of the Ukrainian forces had run over a car near the railway track. The driver, Andrei Victovich, had jumped out just in time. “It was very frightening, I have got bruises”, he complained sitting on a bench ten yards from the soldiers and 50 yards from his crushed car. “This just shows the kind of people they are, they just don't care about us, destroying things means nothing to them.”
A young policeman was studiously taking down Mr Victovich's account of the incident. What did he intend to do with it? I asked. “I will forward it and then the vehicle will be inspected, but we have to find it first”. But surely it was lying just over there. “I meant the military vehicle”, explained the officer patiently. Will there be a prosecution? “Maybe, who knows.”
Some of the crowd wanted the soldiers sent by the Kiev administration to be prosecuted for treason. “First of all they should not be acting on behalf of an illegal government, they are acting against people who support the genuine government of Viktor Yanukovych that was removed in a coup, I am a history teacher and I know all about coups”, declared Yuri Borodinov. “Then they have been shooting on their own people, that is another treacherous act.”

Some of the soldiers made a show of taking the magazine out of their assault rifle in a public show they were not about to shoot anyone: this brought cheering from the crowd. However, one in their ranks, Andrei Ivanic wanted to make clear that he had nothing to apologise for. “I am here because I don't want to see my country split up any more, I don't want another Crimea. If we have to fight for that, then I am prepared to fight.”
It transpired, however, that Andrei Ivanic had not really been prepared for fighting. He had joined the army only a month ago, at the age of 40, driven by a sense of anger over Crimea. “I haven't been trained at all really”, he admitted freely.
Some of Soldat Ivanic's comrades had, apparently, changed sides with up to seven APCs. They were seen in Kramatorsk and then at Slovyansk. Two of the soldiers had said that they were from the 25th airbourne brigade. However, it proved difficult to track them down to inquire further. Three of the vehicles were parked outside the administrative building in Slovyansk. The crew, however, were not available because, according to differing explanations, they were having lunch or resting.
Attempts to reassert control in eastern regions have floundered (Getty)Attempts to reassert control in eastern regions have floundered (Getty) 
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry maintained in their Facebook page that the APCs had been seized by 'extremists' and that Russian secret service agents were involved in the plot. But no evidence was offered to back up the allegation. “They are definitely from airborne; they have chosen to join the people” said a protest militia officer dressed in combat uniform and carrying a Kalashnikov, who would only give his nickname in the army, Balo.
He had left the forces 15 years earlier, living since then in Crimea and only just returned to the region two days earlier. The Donbass was different, because people wanted to stay within a federal Ukraine rather than join Russia, he contended. There were murmurs of dissent from the residents of the city gathered around him. “This is no longer the Ukraine we know, it's run by the fascists from the Maidan [the centre of protests in the city which overthrew Mr Yanukovych] ” insisted Natalya Ulankova, a 59-year-old retired office manager.
The 'fascists' from the Right Sector, an ultra-nationalist group, were one set of suspects for the attack on the checkpoint. “We are proud to have fought the Nazis in the War here in Donbass, we defeated them, that is why modern fascists hate us,” Slavik Grigoriev, a farmer, was convinced. Standing near him, Pyotr Krevchik was doubtful: “These are Ukraine special forces, they are testing our defences. Kiev has sent its soldiers here; that was a mistake, but they can't back down now.”
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Ukraine’s Push East Falters as Militants Seize Army Vehicles

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SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — A highly publicized Ukrainian Army operation to retake control of Slovyansk and other eastern cities from pro-Russia insurgents appeared to falter badly on Wednesday, with one column of armored vehicles abandoned to militant separatists and another ground to a halt by unarmed protesters blocking its path.
The setbacks appeared to reflect new indecision and dysfunction by the interim authorities in Kiev, the capital, who have been vowing for days to end the insurrections in the restive east that they say have been instigated by Russia. The Kremlin has massed thousands of troops near Ukraine’s eastern border, raising fears that it intends to seize more Ukrainian territory, beyond its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in the south last month.
The developments in eastern Ukraine came against a backdrop of rising tensions across Europe over the Ukraine crisis. The NATO alliance said it would step up patrols along its entire eastern frontier, nearest to Russia and Ukraine.
Ukrainian news media reported that pro-Russian militias had commandeered six armored personnel carriers from the Ukrainian Army and driven them to the central square here in Slovyansk, about 120 miles from the Russian border. A crowd gathered to gape at the squat tracked vehicles and at the red, white and blue flag of Russia flapping in the breeze.
About 100 soldiers in unmarked green uniforms, bearing no insignia but carrying professional infantry equipment, guarded the vehicles. They wore twirled around their right shoulder straps the red and black ribbons that are a symbol of the Soviet Union’s victory in World War II, and now of Russia’s nationalist resurgence. Some of the soldiers had grenade launchers slung over their shoulders.
Another Ukrainian armored column fared little better when its advance toward Slovyansk, which has been occupied by pro-Russian militants for days, was halted in a village to the south by a crowd blocking the road. By early afternoon, several hundred people were milling around the motionless column of 15 tracked personnel carriers, drinking beer and fraternizing with the soldiers.
Initially, the soldiers tried to clear a path by firing in the air, residents said. One of the tracked vehicles rammed an Opel car parked in the road, shoving it aside. But the crowd did not disperse, and the soldiers adopted a passive stance, turning off their vehicle engines, climbing on top of their vehicles and removing the magazines from their rifles.
“People came out of the village and stood in front of the tanks because they do not want them in their village,” said Aleksei Anikov, 33, a construction worker. He said residents supported the pro-Russian militants, and realized quickly that the Ukrainian Army would not shoot unarmed people.
Oleksandr Popov, a Ukrainian Army second lieutenant on the scene, said the soldiers were from a brigade of paratroopers based in Dnepropetrovsk, a major city in eastern Ukraine. He said his orders were to shoot only if fired upon, and that the column was awaiting orders on how to respond to the crowd.
The vehicles seized from the Ukrainian Army and driven into the central square in Slovyansk had been similarly surrounded by a crowd earlier in the day, near the town of Kramatorsk. An amateur video clip from there suggested that the Ukrainian soldiers had surrendered the vehicles to armed men in unmarked uniforms, rather than fight with them amid the crowd of civilians. The Ukrainian soldiers are seen walking away from their armored vehicles; the pro-Russian armed men are then seen entering them and driving them away, headed for Slovyansk.
Whether this scene suggested that the Ukrainian vehicles had been taken by force or with the collusion of defecting Ukrainian troops was unclear. Either possibility, however, would signal an escalation by Russian-backed militants in eastern Ukraine.
Kramatorsk is the town where Ukrainian paratroopers arrived on Tuesday to secure an airfield, in what was intended to be a show of force.
The Ukrainian general in command of the military operation, Vasily Krutov, stood near armored personnel carriers outside the town on Tuesday and warned loudly that gunmen who did not surrender their weapons would be “destroyed.”
It was unclear whether the vehicles that were taken on Wednesday were from this same contingent.
In Brussels, the head of NATO said on Wednesday that the alliance would strengthen its military presence along its eastern border in response to the developments in Ukraine. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the alliance’s secretary general, said that NATO would immediately send forces to the region as a deterrent. He did not specify how many troops or aircraft would be involved.
Earlier this month, the alliance ordered an end to most military cooperation with Russia because of the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea and its threatening military posture near eastern Ukraine.
In Kiev, Parliament met in a closed session Wednesday morning with the heads of the Ukrainian military and security forces.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, government supporters and the police set up roadblocks outside the city of Odessa. Journalists were told that the roadblocks had been established to prevent Russian militants from entering the city and completing an arc of uprising from the east through the south of Ukraine, in the country’s predominantly Russian-speaking areas.
The degree of support in the east for secession from Ukraine is a matter of dispute. Surveys indicate that only a minority of residents are in favor, with more respondents preferring to remain part of Ukraine with greater autonomy, the position supported by the Russian government. Talks among Russia, Ukraine, the European Union and the United States to discuss the crisis are scheduled for Thursday in Geneva.
The crowd on the central plaza of Slovyansk appeared stunned by the presence of the armed soldiers and vehicles outside City Hall on Wednesday. Breaking a silence, one woman yelled “Russia! Russia!” but the crowd did not take up the chant.
“People say these are the people’s militia,” another woman said, referring to the uniformed men carrying weapons that clearly had not been obtained from the town’s captured police station. “I don’t know these people. They are not locals.”
“I think we’ll live with the Russians now,” said another spectator near the armored vehicles.
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· · · ·

Ukraine crisis: pro-Russian forces seize military combat vehicles - live updates | World news

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• The hastily expanded Ukrainian military presence in the east, billed by Kiev as an "anti-terrorist operation," produced multiple standoffs with locals and opposition forces, but there have been no reports of casualties or of shots fired Wednesday.
• In multiple cases, Ukrainian troops appear to have surrendered to unarmed locals. “What were we supposed to do? Shoot peaceful protestors?” one soldier told the Guardian.
• Pro-Russian militia members seized Ukrainian combat vehicles and detained Ukrainian troopsWednesday, parading the vehicles through the eastern city of Samyansk, with some flying Russian flags.
• Dozens of Ukrainian troops were later loaded onto buses in Samyansk for a return trip to their base,reportedly in Dnepropetrovsk. Russian media reported that some of the troops defected to the pro-Russian side, but that could not be confirmed.
• A confrontation was ongoing between Ukrainian military members on personnel carriers and a crowd of locals south of Kramatorsk, in Pchyolkino.
• Armed militia members took over a city council building in the city of Donetsk and leaders of the so-calle "People's Donetsk Republic" held a news conference. Donetsk was also the scene Wednesday of an emergency meeting of the Party of Regions to support Ukrainian unity.
• Acting Ukrainian prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk accused Russia of orchestrating the unrest."Russia has got a new export now, apart from oil and gas: Russia is now exporting terrorism to Ukraine," Yatsenyuk was quoted as telling a cabinet meeting.
• All sides prepared for a major four-way meeting Thursday in Geneva to seek an end to the crisis. The meeting is to include envoys from Ukraine, Russia, the EU and the US.
• Nato on Wednesday announced "further military measures to enhance our collective defense,"including more surveillance sorties over the Baltic region and the deployment of ships "to the Baltic sea, the eastern Mediterranean and elsewhere."
» The west is obliged to defend Ukraine – and Putin must know what that means | Angus Roxburgh | Comment is free
16/04/14 14:08 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Latest news, sport and comment from the Guardian | The Guardian. A fighter jet flies above Ukrainian soldiers in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, on 16 April 2014. ‘Under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum the...
» NATO chief: alliance increases military presence on eastern border to counter Russian threat
16/04/14 14:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
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» Armed Pro-Russians Push into Ukrainian Towns
16/04/14 14:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Armored personnel carriers with armed men riding on top and flying Russian flags rolled into the Ukrainian city of Sloviansk near the Russian border Wednesday. Some of the men claim they ...
» Ukraine Envoy Defiant but Hopeful About Outcome of Talks
16/04/14 13:57 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. GENEVA — A Ukrainian envoy says he is hopeful four-way Ukraine talks in Geneva Thursday will deter further Russian military aggression in his country.  But he warns Ukraine wil...
» Ukraine: pro-Russian militias enter Slavyansk - video | World news
16/04/14 13:56 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Pro-Russian separatists enter Slavyansk, eastern Ukraine, on Wednesday in armoured vehicles. The militias are continuing to spread across the east of the country. The EU and the US say they support Ukraine's ...
» Citing Russian Moves, NATO Plans New Deployments
16/04/14 13:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . BRUSSELS — The head of NATO pledged on Wednesday to immediately step up military patrols along its vast eastern border in response to mounting evidence of Russian interference in Ukraine. The announceme...
» Kiev Offensive Unnerves Ukrainians; Getting the Car Ready for Escape
16/04/14 13:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . For residents of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine , a government offensive against pro-Russian separatists stirred concerns that their safety may be at risk and prompted emergency preparations. Andrei Khabarov, ...
» Ukraine Says Russia Fuels Terror as NATO Boosts Defense
16/04/14 13:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Businessweek.com -- Top News. Ukraine accused Russia of fueling “terrorism” in its eastern regions as NATO bolstered the defense of nearby European nations. Government troops pressed on with an...
» Pro-Russian separatists declare new republic in Ukraine
16/04/14 13:46 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Pro-Russian separatists on Wednesday declared a republic in Odessa, a region in southern Ukraine on the Black Sea, following the lead of separatists in the eastern region of Donetsk, the epicenter of the upri...
» Ukraine crisis: Nato to bolster forces in eastern Europe | World news
16/04/14 13:43 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Latest news, sport and comment from the Guardian | The Guardian. Link to video: Ukraine: pro-Russian militias enter Slavyansk Nato has announced it has decided on a series of immediate steps to bolster its...
» Ukrainian troop defections escalate tensions in eastern Ukraine
16/04/14 13:40 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . A line of combat vehicles flying Russian flags rolled Wednesday morning into Slovyansk, a city of 120,000 where separatists have set up roadblocks since Saturday. One soldier named Andrei, speaking to the Ass...
» Ukrainian troops allegedly desert to join pro-Russian forces in Slavyansk
16/04/14 13:37 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from euronews. Armoured personnel carriers have rolled into the eastern Ukraine city of Slavyansk. Ukraine deserters or soldiers of the Russian army? The facts of what is happening appear lost in the fog of the...
» Russia prepared to let tanks roll across borders: German minister
16/04/14 13:11 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . BERLIN Mon Apr 14, 2014 6:29am EDT BERLIN (Reuters) - German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel warned on Monday of an escalation of the crisis in Ukraine , saying " Russia was clearly prepared to allow tanks to ...
» Russia mulls lawsuit against U.S. in WTO over sanctions
16/04/14 12:53 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . MOSCOW Wed Apr 16, 2014 10:25am EDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia is looking at the possibility of filing a lawsuit against the United States in the World Trade Organisation over sanctions hitting Russian banks ,...
» As Syrian army steps up Homs offensive, rebels look for exit or prepare for final fight
16/04/14 12:52 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Opposition figures and activists say those left inside — less than 1,000 people, the vast majority of whom are fighters — are for the most part looking for a way out, as government forces appear t...
» Nato Bolsters Forces In Eastern Europe
16/04/14 12:47 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Digging For The Truth Over Russia And Ukraine Updated: 11:52am UK, Wednesday 16 April 2014 By Ian Woods, Sky News Senior Correspondent Trying to separate fact from fiction is part of a journalist's job, but i...
» Separatists fly Russian flag over Ukrainian armored vehicles
16/04/14 12:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . KRAMATORSK/SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Separatists flew the Russian flag on armored vehicles taken from the Ukrainian army on Wednesday, humiliating a Kiev government operation to recapture eastern towns c...
» Crisis in Ukraine - Wall Street Journal
16/04/14 12:37 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . BRUSSELS—The North Atlantic Treaty Organization said Wednesday it would increase its flights over the Baltic nations and send ships to the Mediterranean and Baltic seas in response to Russia’s thr...
» Combat Vehicles in East Ukraine Raise Russian Flag
16/04/14 12:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Updated April 16, 2014 10:04 a.m. ET Dozens of heavily armed fighters in military vehicles adorned with Russian flags were seen driving into the eastern Ukrainian city of Slovyansk. Lukas Alpert reports on fa...
» Newshour: Ukraine begins 'anti-terror' action
16/04/14 11:44 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Newshour. Ukraine Government 'liberates' strategic airfield; 30 yrs on death row; India transgender victory Download audio: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/worldservice/newshour/newshour_20140415-2208a...
» 
16/04/14 10:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Signed in as mikenova Share this story on NewsBlur Share this story Subscribe to this site Shared stories are on their way...
» GlobalNews: 16 Apr 14 Globalpod AM Ukraine Attack
16/04/14 10:45 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Global News. Ukraine forces act against pro-Russia militants/ Over 100 girls abducted in Nigeria/ 25th anniversary of Hillsborough disaster Download audio: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/worldservice/...
» Live Coverage on the Anniversary of the Boston Marathon Bombings
16/04/14 10:44 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The Lede. On the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings, both victims and survivors are remembered. Dignitaries and average Bostonians gathered to commemorate the fallen and the survivors.
» Tensions Boil Over on Camera in Ukraine’s East and West
16/04/14 10:44 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The Lede. Video shot by local journalists showed a general and a politician being beaten by mobs in the east and the west of the country.
» Ukraine Receives Additional Aid As Tensions Rise
16/04/14 05:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. WASHINGTON — Tensions are rising in Ukraine even as assurances of international aid to stabilize the country’s battered economy have started pouring in. Despite the promise of...
» Ukrainian Troops Move Against Pro-Russian Separatists
16/04/14 05:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Ukrainian airborne troops have landed at an airport in the east of the country, at the start of an apparent crackdown on pro-Russian separatists occupying government buildings in 10 local...
» Ukraine Sends Force to Stem Unrest in East
16/04/14 04:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — The Ukrainian military landed airborne troops at an airport about 25 miles south of here on Tuesday, raising tensions with Russia in the opening phase of what the government in Kiev...
» Russia Is Quick to Bend Truth About Ukraine
16/04/14 04:51 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . MOSCOW — The Facebook post on Tuesday morning by Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia was bleak and full of dread. “Blood has been spilled in Ukraine again,” wrote Mr. Medvedev, once ...
» Game of Drones - NYTimes.com
16/04/14 04:49 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . WASHINGTON — It will be tough to go into the big battle against drones without the irrepressible Goose. And Tom Cruise, now 51, will no longer be playing a snot-nosed jockey with a need for speed on the...
» Mr. Putin’s Power Play - NYTimes.com
16/04/14 04:47 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . When President Vladimir Putin of Russia talks about what is happening in Ukraine these days, it is as if he’s looking into a mirror. He says fascists and nationalists are running amok in Kiev, even as C...
» Putin to Netanyahu: Ukraine to blame for escalation - Diplomacy and Defense Israel News
16/04/14 04:42 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Defense and Diplomacy RSS. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday night, to discuss a number of issues including Iran and the escalating crisis in...
» BBC News - Ukrainian troops enter central Kramatorsk
16/04/14 04:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from BBC News - Europe. 16 April 2014 Last updated at 03:26 ET The BBC's James Reynolds reports from the centre of Kramatorsk Ukrainian troops sent to reclaim locations seized by pro-Russian militia in recent d...
» Russian Intelligence Questioning Latvian Border Crossers on Ukraine
15/04/14 18:50 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . April 15, 2014 12:00 p.m. ET RIGA, Latvia—The head of Latvia's national security committee is accusing Russian intelligence agents of discretely surveying Latvian opinion near the Baltic nation's easter...
» Ukraine Launches Crackdown on Separatists
15/04/14 18:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Ukrainian airborne troops landed in a town in the east of the country on Tuesday apparently at the start of an “anti-terrorist operation” to root out pro-Russian separatists -...
» White House Backs Ukraine’s Eastern Offensive | TIME.com
15/04/14 18:24 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Comments on: White House Backs Ukraine’s Eastern Offensive. The White House said Tuesday it supports military action taken on Tuesday by the interim government of Ukraine against separatist militants acros...
» The rolling stones-You can't always get what you want
15/04/14 18:17 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . » .:Middle East Online:::.
15/04/14 18:11 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Middle East Online :: Main English Channel. RIYADH - Saudi Arabia has replaced its veteran intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan "at his own request", an official television station in the kingdom an...
» Saudi Intel Chief Relieved of Duties | Defense News
15/04/14 18:07 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Saudi Intel Chief Relieved of Duties The Saudi Arabian intelligence chief, Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, has been 'exempted from his duties' today, according to a Royal decree issued by King Abdullah Bin Abdel Az...
» Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Relieved As Intelligence Chief
15/04/14 18:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from SUSRIS. Patrick W. Ryan | SUSRIS Prince Bandar bin Sultan , the former Saudi ambassador to the United States, is out as President General Intelligence (GIP), the director of Al Mukhabarat Al A’amah. ...
» RUSSIA and THE WEST - РОССИЯ и ЗАПАД: Global Terrorism and Saudi Arabia: Bandarís Terror Network - Al-Manar TV
15/04/14 17:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from RUSSIA and THE WEST - РОССИЯ и ЗАПАД. Al-Manar TV  -  ‎Jan 20, 2014‎ Saudi Arabia has all the vices and none of the virtues of an oil rich state like Venezuela. The country is governe...
» Saudi Arabia Spy Chief Steps Down
15/04/14 17:47 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . DUBAI--Saudi Arabia's intelligence chief Prince Bandar Bin Sultan has been relieved of his post at his request, the official Saudi Press Agency reported Tuesday. The royal decree announcing that Prince Bandar...
» Saudi intelligence chief replaced by his deputy
15/04/14 16:58 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . RIYADH Tue Apr 15, 2014 2:14pm EDT RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the architect of Riyadh's policy on Syria, has been removed from his post, a royal decree car...
» Saudi spy chief, architect of Syria policy, replaced
15/04/14 16:58 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . By Angus McDowall RIYADH Tue Apr 15, 2014 3:29pm EDT RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the architect of Riyadh's attempts to bring down Syrian President Bashar al-A...
» White House Expresses Support for Ukraine Crackdown
15/04/14 16:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. WHITE HOUSE — The White House said Tuesday that Ukraine's actions against pro-Russian separatists in the country's eastern region are called for because of the threat to law and ord...
» Deaths in Ukraine as Kiev's troops move on pro-Russian separatists
15/04/14 16:26 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. Ukrainian troops and armoured vehicles seen about 30 miles from flashpoint city of Slaviansk Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev says Ukraine is 'on the brink of civil war' U.S. Pres...
» The problem facing Asia’s emerging smartphone makers is that they don’t make smartphones
15/04/14 14:20 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Comments on: The problem facing Asia’s emerging smartphone makers is that they don’t make smartphones. Micromax, an Indian company that emerged from nowhere to become the second-largest smar...
» Russia tests Obama's ability to stop its advances | Military Times
15/04/14 13:47 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . A pro-Russian activist guards a barricade Tuesday outside the regional police building seized in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk. Ukraine's acting president accused Russia enacting 'brutal plans' to d...
» Liam Fox: Snowden and His Accomplices
15/04/14 13:26 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . April 14, 2014 7:11 p.m. ET Peace and security are not the natural state of affairs. It is a fact of life that many of those who live comfortable middle-class existences in affluent, liberal, pluralistic demo...
» Ukrainian troops begin military operation to 'destroy foreign invader' | World news
15/04/14 12:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Latest news, sport and comment from the Guardian | The Guardian. Ukrainian military and special forces gathered outside Slavyansk on Tuesday in the first real show of force since Kiev announced an "anti-te...
» В Краматорске террористы пытаются захватить военный аэродром
15/04/14 12:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Новости Украины 24 часа в сутки : ЛІГАБізнесІнформ. <meta HTTP-EQUIV="refresh" content="0;url='http://news.liga.net/news/politics/1370599-v_kramatorske_separatisty_pytayutsya_zakhvat...
» Ukraine Says It Has Begun Military Operation in East
15/04/14 11:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — After days of failing to enforce its own ultimatums, the Ukrainian government on Tuesday began what the president called a military operation to confront pro-Russian militants in th...
» Obama and Putin speak, making little progress (+video)
15/04/14 11:38 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Christian Science Monitor | USA. Speaking for the first time in more than two weeks, President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin showed little sign of agreement Monday, with the U...
» Survivors, first responders descend on Boston for anniversary - Metro
15/04/14 11:37 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Jun Lu and Ling Meng felt they had to make the 7,000-mile trek from their home in China. After losing their only child, Lingzi Lu, at last year’s Boston Marathon, they wanted to be at the race, cheering...
» U.S. anti-Semitic attacks down before Overland Park deaths
15/04/14 11:36 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Kansas City Star: National News. OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — A group monitoring anti-Semitic attacks in the U.S. cautiously noted a sharp decline in such incidents less than two weeks before the fatal shoo...
» Russia says Ukraine close to civil war as Kiev begins offensive
15/04/14 11:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . KIEV/SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Russia declared Ukraine on the brink of civil war on Tuesday as Kiev said an "anti-terrorist operation" against pro-Moscow separatists was under way, with troops and armore...
» Ukraine leader announces anti-terror move in east
15/04/14 11:22 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Businessweek.com -- Top News. HORLIVKA, Ukraine (AP) — Pro-Russian insurgents who have seized government buildings across eastern Ukraine dug in Tuesday, fortifying their positions and erecting fresh...
» Ukraine Says Military Operation in East Has Begun
15/04/14 10:40 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Updated April 15, 2014 8:53 a.m. ET Acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov said that a phased "antiterrorist" operation began in the early morning hours in the northern Donetsk region, where the major...
» BBC News - Ukraine crisis: Russia accused of 'lies and blackmail'
15/04/14 06:12 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from BBC News - Home. Russian special agents are behind the seizure of government buildings in eastern Ukraine, the deputy foreign minister has said. Speaking after a deadline for pro-Russian activists to leave...
» How Putin's Image Obsession Helps Explain the Situation in Ukraine
15/04/14 06:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Pacific Standard. While the crisis in Crimea might seem anything but rational, when you look at it through the lens of Putin’s past actions, it starts to make some sense. Angel Merkel said Vladimir P...
» Ukraine: Barack Obama calls on Vladimir Putin to make separatists lay down their arms
15/04/14 06:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Ukraine news, all the latest and breaking Ukrainian news. Earlier, US officials stopped short of announcing a new set of sanctions against Russia but said they were in consultations with European partners ...
» RPT-Kiev's grip loosening on restive eastern Ukraine
15/04/14 05:58 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Tue Apr 15, 2014 2:02am EDT (Repeats story unchanged) * Central govt struggles to enforce its writ on east * Pro-Russian protesters defying Kiev's rule * Kiev-appointed governor working in secret location * P...
» Get Separatists To Give Up Guns
15/04/14 05:53 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Ukraine A 'Diplomatic Quagmire' Updated: 1:14pm UK, Monday 14 April 2014 By Robert Nisbet, Europe Correspondent What is unfolding in eastern Ukraine is a diplomatic quagmire with governments and international...
» Burial ground found with human remains accidentally mummified
14/04/14 22:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. Archeologists unearth mysterious tribe of people south of the Arctic Circle Experts say they were mummified 'by mistake' by copper used in burial ritual It is thought the group share al...
» Alleged Kansas shooter had long racist history
14/04/14 22:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Two of his victims — William Lewis Corporon, 69, and his grandson, Reat Griffin Underwood, 14 — were Methodists. Now 73, Miller described himself as a Nazi turned Klansman that sunny morning in 19...
» Pro-Russian militants in Ukraine defy government threats
14/04/14 22:20 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Nothing Turchynov said moved the pro-Russian forces, who seized another police station in another small town, Horlivka. In a nation of 44 million, it became clear that a few hundred men, operating on the...
» Internet Evidence Contradicts Russian Claims on Ukraine, Western Diplomats Say
14/04/14 22:16 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The Lede. Its claims about Ukraine are so at odds with visual evidence online, a French diplomat said, that it seems as if the Russian government "isn’t aware that the Internet exists."
» Google buys drone company that Facebook reportedly eyed for purchase
14/04/14 22:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . <iframe id="51f1ab28cb882" name="51f1ab28cb882" src="http://mediaservices-d.openxenterprise.com/w/1.0/afr?auid=458909&cb=INSERT_RANDOM_NUMBER_HERE" frameborder="...
» Security enhanced at Jewish centers across the country
14/04/14 21:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . A police car is seen at the entrance to the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park, Kan., where two of a gunman's three victims were shot April 13, 2014. (Photo: Jamie Squire Getty Images) SHARE 16 CONNECT ...
» Obama, Putin Talk as Unrest Roils Eastern Ukraine
14/04/14 21:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Updated April 14, 2014 7:51 p.m. ET Ukraine's acting president said he wasn't opposed to a countrywide referendum on possibly granting regions greater autonomy after a deadline for pro-Russian protesters to l...
» Obama speaks with Putin as tensions in eastern Ukraine rise
14/04/14 21:06 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . President Obama told Russia's Vladimir Putin on Monday that the U.S. had "grave concern" about Moscow's aggression in Ukraine -- as pro-Russian protesters stormed government buildings in what U.S. officials s...
» Pro-Russia Demonstrators Defy Ukraine's Ultimatum
14/04/14 21:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Pro-Russia demonstrators on Monday defied a government deadline to vacate occupied buildings in exchange for amnesty, as Ukraine's interim president threatened a military crackdown. Dozen...
» Putin to Obama: Ukraine Reports Are ‘Inaccurate’ | TIME.com
14/04/14 20:49 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Comments on: Putin to Obama: Ukraine Reports Are ‘Inaccurate’. In a phone call with Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the U.S. President that reports saying Russia was interfering in Sout...
» CIA Boss John Brennan Makes Kiev Stop
14/04/14 20:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Ukraine Buildings Held By Armed Men Updated: 11:43am UK, Monday 14 April 2014 The following buildings and strategic facilities are under control of pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine as of 1000 GMT on Monday,...
» Putin Asks Obama To Prevent Ukraine Bloodshed
14/04/14 20:15 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Russia has asked the United States to use its influence to prevent bloodshed in eastern Ukraine, as Kiev threatened a "large-scale anti-terrorist operation" to remove separatists from government buildings. Ru...
» Jewish center gunman suspect in Kansas faces hate crime charges, possible death penalty
14/04/14 18:21 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Nydn All Featured Columnist feed. An aging Ku Klux Klansman was facing federal hate crime charges Monday, accused of killing three people, including a doctor and his grandson, during a Passover eve rampage...
» Send in the UN peacekeepers, pleads Ukraine as pro-Russian militias in Ukraine openly defy deadline to lay down guns
14/04/14 17:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. Kiev asks for military supports as pro-Russian militants ignore Kiev's deadline to disarm A British photojournalist was assaulted by a mob as he tries to document police station raid To...
» Президент России
14/04/14 17:17 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Состоялся телефонный разговор Вл&#...
» Man to Face Hate Crimes Charges in Kansas Shooting
14/04/14 15:49 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Prosecutors say there is enough evidence to warrant hate-crimes charges in the shooting spree that killed three people Sunday at a Jewish community center and Jewish retirement complex in...
» The three ages of Putinism
14/04/14 13:59 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Although it might seem on the surface that the Putin regime hasn’t changed since 2000, in fact there have been profound changes, and in the two years since his re-election the President has in effect cr...
» Ukraine: Putinism is not the smart option for Russia | David Clark | Comment is free
14/04/14 13:56 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Latest news, sport and comment from the Guardian | The Guardian. 'Unwilling to go down in history as the Russian leader who 'lost Ukraine' Putin played the only card available to him.' Photograph: Sasha Mo...
» n+1: The Politics of Cynicism
14/04/14 13:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from n+1. It is a commonplace, at least in the West, that the current regime in Russia is authoritarian, if not totalitarian. A line can be drawn—with caveats about scale and severity—from Putin str...
» Putinism in Cairo? The Rise of the Russian Model
14/04/14 13:53 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Informed Comment. Vladimir Putin on Thursday hailed the possibility of a run for the presidency of Egypt by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the architect of the July 3 coup against the elected Muslim Brotherhoo...
» Putinism and the Anti-WEIRD Coalition
14/04/14 13:51 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The XX Committee. Vladimir Putin’s slow-rolling conquest of Ukraine has restarted openly today, with calls for an “independence referendum” for the newly declared “People’s Re...
» О реальном русско-украинском братстве | Все блоги | Блоги
14/04/14 13:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Каспаров.Ru. update: 13-04-2014 (14:33) Несколько недель уже модно ...
» Превентивная контрреволюция
14/04/14 13:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Одной из предпосылок крымского кр&...
» Последний миф
14/04/14 12:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Радио Свобода. "У мом Россию не понять, аршином о...
» Beware possible rise of Putin the Terrible | Other Views
14/04/14 12:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . At the moment, our preoccupation is President Vladimir Putin’s next move outside Russia. Will he invade eastern Ukraine? Will he move into Moldova? But even more worrisome than these territorial issues ...
» RUSSIA and THE WEST - РОССИЯ и ЗАПАД: Apologetic laments, ex-fashionable leftist pro-Putinista ramblings or the "opinion malpractice"?
14/04/14 12:25 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from RUSSIA and THE WEST - РОССИЯ и ЗАПАД. This Blog Linked From Here LINKS The Web This Blog         Linked From Here       LINKS       The Web     &...
» Meet Stephen F. Cohen, Vladimir Putin's Best Friend in the American Media
14/04/14 12:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . The comedian and filmmaker has been the smartest and funniest person in the room since he was in high school (maybe even earlier). Here he's profiled just after making his first film. Albert Brooks’ sec...
» The NY Times Praise for Obama’s Talking Approach to Ukraine - Blogs
14/04/14 12:15 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . March 17, 2014 12:45 p.m. I’m not quite sure what to use as an introductory statement to this comment: a leopard doesn’t change its spots; or a zebra its stripes; or a snake always crawls on its b...
» Articles: Inside Vladimir Putin's Skull
14/04/14 12:10 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from American Thinker. Putin spent the last 15 years trying to convince the West that NATO was an offensive, dangerous anachronism, and he had nearly succeeded.  The Obama administration, for example, unil...
» David Ignatius: Putin steals from the CIA’s playbook with anti-Soviet covert operations
14/04/14 12:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from David Ignatius: Most Recent Articles and Archives. It was a clever American strategy back then, pushing a wounded Soviet Union and opportunistically exploiting local grievances wherever possible. And it ...
» CIA Director Brennan Blamed for Civil War in Ukraine
14/04/14 11:59 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from English pravda.ru. By Xavier Lerma The world knows the American CIA has been involved in coups around the world for decades. So it comes as no surprise when Viktor Yanukovych blamed them for starting the c...
» Russia a poison state running on dirty cash: Mallick
14/04/14 11:46 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from TORONTO STAR | OPINION | COMMENTARY. It’s not implausible that Liberal MP Irwin Cotler was, as he suggested, poisoned in Russia in 2006 when he suddenly began vomiting blood after a restaurant dinner...
» Vladimir Putin's LGBT Refuseniks
14/04/14 11:14 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from BuzzFeed - Buzz Tagged "". Zurab Dzhavakhadze / ITAR-TASS/ Landov, Courtesy of Slava Revin via Facebook On June 16, 1961, the Soviet ballet star Rudolf Nureyev slipped away from his KGB minders w...
» John McCain: U.S. should arm Ukraine, impose more sanctions on Russia
14/04/14 10:57 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . With rising tension in the eastern part of Ukraine , Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said it is imperative that the U.S. act more forcefully to prevent further Russian encroachment on the region by providing more ...
» Putin’s power play - Telegraph
14/04/14 10:53 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Ukraine news, all the latest and breaking Ukrainian news. What is Vladimir Putin’s game? The recent unrest in eastern Ukraine has been presented by the Kremlin as an autonomous phenomenon, an upsurge...
» UN Security Council Meets On Ukraine
14/04/14 10:51 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. B y RFE/RL The UN Security Council has held an emergency meeting on the escalating crisis in eastern Ukraine. The meeting was called for by Russia. It came after Ukraine&...
» Ukraine Forces Storm a Town, Defying Russia
14/04/14 10:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — The Ukrainian government on Sunday for the first time sent its security services to confront armed pro-Russian militants in the country’s east, defying warnings from Russia. C...
» Russia's Second Invasion - WSJ.com
14/04/14 10:36 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . April 13, 2014 6:56 p.m. ET President Obama is dispatching Vice President Joe Biden to Kiev next week in a show of Western support against Russian intimidation, but the Veep may want to speed up his deploymen...
» Militants Defy Deadline Set by Ukraine to Stop Occupying Sites
14/04/14 10:23 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — A deadline set by the Ukrainian government for pro-Russian militants in the country’s east to vacate occupied buildings passed on Monday without signs of an effort to enforce ...
» Putin’s Offensive against Islam a ‘Cover’ for Broader Attack on Non-Russian Nations, Kazan Tatar Says
14/04/14 10:21 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The InterpreterThe Interpreter. Nurulla Mosque in Kazan. Photo: wikimedia / Bestalex Staunton, April 13 – Vladimir Putin has attacked Muslims in the Russian Federation to divert attention from his go...
» Video: East Ukraine atmosphere 'explosive' after weekend violence
14/04/14 10:15 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Ukraine news, all the latest and breaking Ukrainian news. Russia is accused of intimidation and aggression after pro-Russian separatists took up arms and occupied government buildings in eastern Ukraine . ...
» Ukraine crisis: deadline to withdraw from eastern cities passes - live | World news
14/04/14 09:50 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Latest news, sport and comment from the Guardian | The Guardian. This updated report from David Hughes, political correspondent at the Press Association David Cameron interrupted his Easter holiday to disc...
» Stabbing suspect’s mental state is key to the case
13/04/14 21:13 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Inquirer News. MURRYSVILLE, Pennsylvania — The legal fate of the 16-year-old boy accused of stabbing or slashing 21 fellow students and a security guard at his high school will probably pivot more on...
» Investigators focus on cause of deadly California crash
13/04/14 20:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Firstpost. SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - Investigators were focusing on Saturday on what caused a FedEx tractor-trailer to collide with a bus in a fiery crash in northern California that killed 10 peo...
» Турчинов обратился к украинцам по поводу событий на Востоке страны
13/04/14 14:59 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from ПОДРОБНОСТИ: Все новости. Исполняющий обязанности пре&#...
» Ukrainian president says it is 'war' between his country and Russia after siege of police station seized by pro-Moscow troops ends in first fatalities of the conflict
13/04/14 14:22 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. Ukraine special forces exchanged gunfire with pro-Russia militia One security service officer killed, five others wounded, officials say Exchange in eastern Ukraine is the first reporte...
» Xenophobic Chill Descends on Moscow
13/04/14 11:37 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . MOSCOW — The huge banner was unfurled on Friday morning outside one of Moscow’s biggest bookstores, Dom Knigi, a grand emporium of the written word on Novii Arbat Street across from a Citibank, a ...
» Russia sets 4 conditions in return for aid to Ukraine — RT News
13/04/14 10:15 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from RT - News. Published time: April 12, 2014 10:48 Activists and communal workers dismantle the barricade set on Maidan square during the mass protests of pro-EU opposition against President Viktor Yanukovych...
» Malaysia Jet Search Resumes
12/04/14 23:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. The search for the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 resumed Sunday, as fears mount that batteries powering transmitters from the plane's flight data recorder may have died. Australia...
» FedEx Semi Didn't Brake Before California Crash : NPR
12/04/14 23:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . ORLAND, Calif. (AP) — Federal safety investigators say the driver of a Fedex tractor-trailer that struck a bus carrying high school students didn't appear to brake before a fiery collision that left 10 ...
» Russia says intercepted US drone over Crimea: arms group
12/04/14 22:17 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Moscow (AFP) - A United States surveillance drone has been intercepted above the Ukranian region of Crimea, a Russian state arms and technology group said Friday. "The drone was flying at about 4,000 metres (...
» Russia Hacks a U.S. Drone in Crimea as Cyberwarfare Has Gone Wireless
12/04/14 22:16 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from U.S. News - World Report. Recent reports indicate that Russian forces used hacking to intercept a U.S. surveillance drone flying over the Crimea region of Ukraine in March. Allegedly, hackers were able to ...
» U.S. Warns Russia Against Escalation, Sends Biden To Kyiv
12/04/14 21:26 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. T he White House has said U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Ukraine on April 22, as it warned Russia against military escalation. A White House statement said ...
» Putin tightens his grip | Comment is free | theguardian.com
12/04/14 21:17 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Comment is free Series: The Observer comment cartoon Putin tightens his grip Chris Riddell on Russia's hardline foreign policy Share 3 in Share 0 Email Chris Riddell theguardian.com , Jump to comments ( 14 ) ...
» 'A ball of fire': Witnesses describe horrific California bus crash that killed at least 10
12/04/14 16:57 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Witnesses approaching the scene of a bus accident in northern California Thursday that left at least 10 dead and dozens injured, say they saw giant flames shooting towards the sky and at least one victim runn...
» Germany must speak to Snowden about NSA surveillance — RT USA
12/04/14 16:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from RT - USA. Published time: April 11, 2014 20:58 Investigative reporter Glenn Greenwald, who worked with National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, attends the George Polk Award along side Laura Poitras...
» Bus Crash Investigator: Tracker On Fedex Truck Likely Destroyed
12/04/14 16:44 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Tracking technology on board the FedEx truck involved in the deadly Northern California college tour bus crash was “probably destroyed” in the fire, one of the investigators said Saturday. Ten peo...
» Truck in deadly California crash was on fire before it struck bus, couple says
12/04/14 16:43 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from National news from Newsday. Published: April 12, 2014 12:57 PM By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Massive flames are seen devouring both vehicles just after the crash in Orland, Calif., and clouds of smoke billowed i...
» California school bus crash: Looking for answers in tragedy
12/04/14 16:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Christian Science Monitor | USA. Transportation safety officials say it could be weeks before they know the cause of the collision between a FedEx tractor-trailer and a bus that took 10 lives, half of them...
» Hillary Clinton Psychoanalyzes Vladimir Putin
12/04/14 11:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from [Untitled]. Apr 8, 2014 9:24pm Credit: Timothy J. Gonzalez/Statesman Journal/AP Photo Russian President Vladimir Putin may have a buff physique, but former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sees right thr...
» Podcast: Putin Then And Now
12/04/14 10:52 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Putin then and now: From the Ozero Cooperative to the Kremlin B efore he built the vertical, he built a team of like-minded cronies. Before he saved Russia from the chaos...
» Bus crash investigation will explore numerous safety factors
12/04/14 09:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . State and federal investigators probing the cause of the fiery collision between a FedEx big rig and a charter bus in Northern California will delve into a wide range of factors from the health and rest of th...
» Hillary Clinton's accused shoe-thrower 'obsessed' with Colorado mass shooter James Holmes
12/04/14 09:25 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Nydn All Featured Columnist feed. Before a wig-wearing nutjob threw a shoe at Hillary Clinton, the footwear flinger gave her heart to accused Colorado mass killer James Holmes. Alison Ernst, 36, of Phoenix...
» Victim in Deadly California Bus Crash Identified as College Recruiter - NBC News.com
11/04/14 21:36 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Victim in Deadly California Bus Crash Identified as College Recruiter collapse story A victim in Thursday’s deadly bus crash on Interstate 5 in California has been identified as Arthur Arzola, 26, of Ra...
» Stabbing Suspect’s Family Is ‘Like the Brady Bunch’ | TIME.com
11/04/14 17:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Comments on: Stabbing Suspect’s Family Is ‘Like the Brady Bunch’. Stabbing suspect Alex Hribal is a nice kid from a normal family, says his lawyer. “This is not a dysfunctional family,” Patrick...
» Заткнуть рот блогерам | Обзор | Статьи
11/04/14 11:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Каспаров.Ru. "Они действительно решили блоги...
» "Альфа" отказалась штурмовать здания администрации в Харькове и в Донецке | В мире | Новости
11/04/14 11:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Каспаров.Ru. Ранее сообщалось, что и.о. презид ...
» Крымские власти обещают закрепить права крымских татар отдельными законами | В мире | Новости
11/04/14 11:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Каспаров.Ru. Отметим, что накануне Меджлис к...
» В Москве обвиняют генсека НАТО в русофобии | В мире | Новости
11/04/14 11:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Каспаров.Ru. Москва считает, что генсек НАТО " ...
» Депутаты добрались до Михаила Горбачева. Хотят засудить
11/04/14 10:43 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Ежедневный Журнал. Депутаты добрались до Михаила ...
» Итоги недели. Попытка вырваться из крымского капкана
11/04/14 10:35 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Ежедневный Журнал. Итоги недели. Попытка вырватьс...
» Суд признал законной блокировку блога Навального
11/04/14 10:24 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from ПОДРОБНОСТИ: Все новости. Люблинский суд Москвы не удов...
» Неизвестна судьба около 100 человек, похищенных режимом Януковича
11/04/14 10:21 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Судьба около 100 человек остается не ...
» Президент Freedom House: Санкции ЕС и США далеки от того, что нужно : Новости УНИАН
11/04/14 10:20 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Дэвид Кремер призвал предотврати&#...
» Кредитом от МВФ Украина не будет отдавать долги России, - Шлапак
11/04/14 10:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from ПОДРОБНОСТИ: Все новости. Першою частиною кредиту від М...
» Pro-Hillary Super PAC Raises $1.7 Million | TIME.com
11/04/14 10:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Comments on: Pro-Hillary Super PAC Raises $1.7 Million. Ready for Hillary, the super PAC formed last year to lay the groundwork for a potential repeat White House bid by former Secretary of State Hillary C...
» Pope Asks For Forgiveness For Abuse Scandal
11/04/14 10:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Pope Francis has asked for forgiveness for the damage done by Roman Catholic priests who abused children. According to Vatican Radio, the Pope told members of a children's rights group he felt "compelled... t...
» U.S. Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius resigning
11/04/14 09:59 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from CNN.com - Top Stories. STORY HIGHLIGHTS NEW: A GOP lawmaker says Sebelius' departure was "a long time coming"; Pelosi praises her Sebelius was criticized for Obamacare site's rocky rollout, then cheered it...
» Спецназ «Альфа» отказался штурмовать здания в Донецке и Луганске - Газета.Ru
11/04/14 09:56 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Украинское спецподразделение «А ...
» Пророссийские активисты в Донецке и Луганске готовятся отражать штурм - Газета.Ru
11/04/14 09:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Всего несколько часов осталось до ...
» Загнанных лошадей на переправе поменяют, но не скоро
11/04/14 09:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from KM.RU. Отставка правительства Медведе...
» Путину "надоел" Медведев и он хочет отправить его в отставку - СМИ - Новости мира на 1+1
11/04/14 09:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Новости на tsn.ua. Фото EPA/UPG Дмитрия Медведева могут...
» Governor says Washington wants to help Puerto Rico
11/04/14 08:35 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Governor Alejandro García Padilla said Wednesday from Washington That the White House is "very receptive" to Puerto Rico to help resolve its economic crisis. "President (Barack) Obama in the meetings I h...
» Drug agent arrested for soliciting sexual favors
11/04/14 08:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Allegedly the police asked for a sexual favor to the wife of a prisoner in exchange for getting the case dropped in Print Preview An agent of the Drug Division Carolina was arrested here Thursday after Allege...
» The Gamble of his Lifetime
11/04/14 01:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Post Western World. Vladimir Putin and the BRICS: What’s next? Russia's annexation of Crimea and the continued uncertainty regarding Ukraine's territorial integrity has led to the most serious geopol...
» Angela Merkel denied access to her NSA file | World news
11/04/14 00:35 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Latest news, sport and comment from the Guardian | The Guardian. The US government is refusing to grant Angela Merkel access to her NSA file or answer formal questions from Germany about its surveillance a...
» Felon sought in deadly Fla. day care crash turns himself in to police
11/04/14 00:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . April 10, 2014: This booking photo provided by the Orange County Sheriff's Office shows Robert Alex Corchado, 28, after he was arrested and placed in the Orange County Jail in Orlando, Fla. AP/Orange County S...
» U.S. Prosecutors Get a Peek Deep Inside Mexico's Sinaloa Drug Cartel
11/04/14 00:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . April 10, 2014 10:23 p.m. ET WASHINGTON—The son of a top leader in Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel has been helping to undermine the family business for at least the past year, U.S. authorities said Thursd...
» Shoe thrown at Hillary Clinton during Vegas speech
11/04/14 00:16 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . LAS VEGAS –   A woman was taken into federal custody Thursday after throwing a shoe at Hillary Clinton as the former Secretary of State began a Las Vegas convention keynote speech. The incident hap...
» Robert Alex Corchado, driver sought in deadly Fla. day care crash, surrenders
11/04/14 00:06 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from National news from Newsday. Originally published: April 10, 2014 7:23 AM Updated: April 10, 2014 6:01 PM By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The driver of the car that smashed into a daycare facility killing one child...
» Driver Robert Alex Corchado turns himself in after killing Lily Quintus in daycare hit and run
11/04/14 00:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. Little Lily Quintus was killed and 14 others were injured in the crash at the KinderCare daycare center in Winter Park, Florida, Wednesday Authorities caught Robert Alex Corchado - the ...
» Lawyer: Stabbing suspect like ‘deer in headlights’
10/04/14 23:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Parents and students embrace along School Road near Franklin Regional High School after more than a dozen students were stabbed by a knife wielding suspect at the school on Wednesday, April 9, 2014, in Murrys...
» N.H. House committee takes testimony on bill to annul mental health records
10/04/14 21:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Both the attorney general’s office and the state Department of Safety urged lawmakers yesterday not to pass a bill that would allow people to annul their mental health records, therefore restoring their...
» Nigel Evans cleared of 9 sex charges but how did it ever get to court?
10/04/14 21:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. MP had pleaded not guilty to nine charges at Preston Crown Court Defence team pointed to inconsistencies in various witness accounts Three of the alleged victims did not even consider a...
» Teased teen 'snapped,' classmate says
10/04/14 20:40 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . A student went on a five-minute stabbing spree at a Pennsylvania high school Wednesday, injuring at least 24 people. VPC Oren Dorell, USA TODAY 12:28 a.m. EDT April 10, 2014 Alex Hribal, charged in the stabbi...
» Russia declined to help FBI years before Boston attack
10/04/14 20:38 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Bill Iffrig lies on the ground as police officers react to a second explosion at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. (Photo: John Tlumacki, The Boston Globe, via AP) SHARE 50 CONNECT EMA...
» Crimea-happy Russians want Gorbachev to pay for loss of Soviet empire
10/04/14 19:51 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Many Russians — especially the older and the poorer — have long harbored wistful feelings about their Soviet past. The acquisition of Crimea, however, has begun to change the national narrative, w...
» Moscow turns off Voice of America radio
10/04/14 19:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Voice of America, financed by the U.S. Congress and overseen by an agency called the Broadcasting Board of Governors, was forced off the air at the end of March after Dmitry Kiselyov, the head of Rossiya Sego...
» Stabbing Suspect Alex Hribal Motivated by Rage and Adrenaline, Criminologists Say
10/04/14 19:24 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . The high school student who stabbed 21 classmates and a security guard at a Pennsylvania high school was probably simmering with rage before the rampage and pumped with adrenaline as he moved through halls an...
» Franklin High School Stabbing spree suspect Alex Hribal told police 'he wanted to die'
10/04/14 12:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. Alex Hribal, 16, stalked through Franklin High School in Murrysville on Wednesday, stabbing victims in the torso and slashing arms and faces Hribal charged as an adult with 4 counts of ...
» U.S. principal tackled armed teen with ‘blank’ face after 22 stabbed
10/04/14 12:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Hamilton Spectator MURRYSVILLE, Pa. A 16-year-old boy with a "blank expression" flailed away with two kitchen knives, stabbing and slashing 21 students and a security guard in the crowded halls of his suburba...
» Isotretinoin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
10/04/14 12:24 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Wikipedia - Recent changes [en]. Psychological effects [ edit ] The association between isotretinoin use and psychopathology has been controversial. Beginning in 1983, isolated case reports emerged suggest...
» accutane - Google Search
10/04/14 12:22 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . About 3,090,000 results Accutane Information from Drugs.com <a href="http://www.drugs.com/" rel="nofollow">www.drugs.com/</a> accutane .html ‎ Accutane ( isotretinoin ) is a form of vitamin ...
» Alleged Stabber's Attorney: 'He Is Scared, Confused' | Video
10/04/14 12:14 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from ABC News: GMA. We are joined now by Alex Hribal's attorney. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. Has your client given you any sense at all of why he did this? Quite frankly, George, yesterday, I...
» Police seek motive in school stabbing rampage
10/04/14 11:42 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from National news from Newsday. Originally published: April 10, 2014 7:03 AM Updated: April 10, 2014 9:34 AM By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The 16-year-old accused in a stabbing spree in a Western Pennsylvania high s...
» Russian authorities withheld information on Boston attack, report says
10/04/14 11:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . The Russian government declined to provide American authorities with information about one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects two years before the attack, which likely would have led to more extensive sc...
» Russia Didn’t Share All Details on Boston Bombing Suspect, Report Says
10/04/14 11:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . WASHINGTON — The Russian government declined to provide the F.B.I. with information about one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects that would most likely have led to more extensive scrutiny of him at...
» NATO's Military Capabilities in Europe Should Deter Russian Aggression
10/04/14 11:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from U.S. News - World Report. Russia’s occupation of Crimea has created new interest in an issue that was once at the heart of U.S. security policy but has been on hiatus for more than 20 years — t...
» Knife attack at Pennsylvania high school leaves 20 injured
10/04/14 11:25 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Waterloo Region Record A 16-year-old student at a high school east of Pittsburgh walked from classroom to classroom Wednesday randomly stabbing and slashing 19 students as well as a security guard before bein...
» More shallow explanations for mass shootings
10/04/14 09:44 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Chicago Sun-Times. By MONA CHAREN April 9, 2014 12:44AM In the aftermath of the mass shootings in Aurora, Colo.; Newtown, Conn.; Tucson, Ariz.; Virginia Tech; the Washington Navy Yard; and sadly, other loc...
» 20 Injured During Knife Attack At Pennyslvania High School
10/04/14 09:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News One. &amp;amp;amp;lt;img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3004163" src="http://ionenewsone.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/6a4a5d93-431e-4af5-9ed5-cda00c7135e7-big.jpg?w=660" alt="high school knife...
» Police Seek Driver in Deadly Fla. Day Care Crash
10/04/14 07:42 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from ABC News: U.S.. The man with a long history of arrests whom authorities are seeking in a deadly car crash into a Florida day care center was the driver of the vehicle that fled the scene, the Florida Highw...
» 11 kids hurt in Orlando-area day care center crash
10/04/14 07:24 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from story blocks. WINTER PARK, Fla. (AP) — A car smashed into an Orlando-area day care Wednesday, injuring 15 people, at least 11 of them children, and authorities were looking for the SUV that started t...
» BBC News - Venezuela president and opposition agree formal talks
09/04/14 21:23 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from BBC News - Latin America & Caribbean. 9 April 2014 Last updated at 04:40 ET There have been daily clashes between the security forces and protesters in some parts of Caracas The Venezuelan government a...
» García Padilla se reunió con el vicepresidente Biden
09/04/14 20:20 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . El encuentro tuvo lugar como parte de jornada sobre Puerto Rico en la Casa Blanca Por José A. Delgado <a href="mailto:/jdelgado@elnuevodia.com">/jdelgado@elnuevodia.com</a> WASHINGTON –...
» Cinco de las mejores peleas The Ultimate Warrior
09/04/14 20:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . El luchador de la WWE falleció anoche. Vídeos La muerte repentina de The Ultimate Warrior no solo ha impactado a los fanáticos de la lucha, sino que, como era de esperarse, ha hecho recordar a ...
» Caldero entregará el lunes los documentos al Senado
09/04/14 20:15 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Antonio R. Gómez <a href="mailto:antonio.gomez@gfrmedia.com">antonio.gomez@gfrmedia.com</a> El designado superintendente de la Policía, José Caldero López, adelantó este m...
» El quinto jefe de Policía de Puerto Rico en 5 años ante reto del narcotráfico
09/04/14 20:06 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . 09 de abril de 2014 • 04:37 PM El nuevo jefe de la Policía de Puerto Rico, el quinto en el último lustro, se enfrenta al reto de reducir una criminalidad asociada al narcotráfico que prov...
» Separatists build barricades in east Ukraine, Kiev warns of force
09/04/14 18:50 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . By Thomas Grove LUHANSK, Ukraine Wed Apr 9, 2014 4:44pm EDT LUHANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Pro-Russian separatists reinforced barricades around the state security building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhan...
» One person dead, 11 children injured after car smashes into Florida day care
09/04/14 18:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from National News - New York Daily News. At least one person is dead and up to 12 injured, including several children, after a car smashed through the wall of a full day care building in Winter Park, Florida o...
» Obama, Military Leaders Honor Fort Hood Victims
09/04/14 18:46 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . April 9, 2014 3:56 p.m. ET "No words are equal to your loss," President Obama told family members of victims during a memorial ceremony Wednesday. Above, the president and first lady. Associated Press KILLEEN...
» 'There's a kid with a knife,' teen says of school stabbings
09/04/14 17:47 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from CNN.com - Justice. STORY HIGHLIGHTS NEW: An assistant principal tackled the accused attacker, authorities say Teen suspect in custody, being treated for hand wounds, authorities say Stabbings happened at F...
» McClintock will federal lobbyist - The New Day
09/04/14 15:12 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . WASHINGTON - The former Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock, now opens as a lobbyist at the federal level. From February 27, McClintock was registered as a lobbyist in Congress of the pro-statehood "Puerto ...
» Puerto Rico’s New General Obligations Trade at Lowest Price
09/04/14 14:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Puerto Rico ’s new general-obligation bonds have fallen to the lowest price since their sale last month after the Government Development Bank said it hired law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton ...

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