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http://www.smh.com.au/world/putin-ready ... hvfrc.html


Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded and won his parliament's approval on Saturday to invade Ukraine, where the new government warned of war, put its troops on high alert and appealed to NATO for help.
Putin's open assertion of the right to send troops to a country of 46 million people on the ramparts of central Europe creates the biggest confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cold War.

Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk, leading a government that took power after Moscow's ally Viktor Yanukovich fled a week ago, said Russian military action "would be the beginning of war and the end of any relations between Ukraine and Russia".
A Maidan activist sits on a barricade at the entrance of Kiev's Independence square, with Pro-Russian forces tightening their grip on Crimea as the Kremlin vowed to help restore calm on the restive Ukrainian peninsula.
A Maidan activist sits on a barricade at the entrance of Kiev's Independence square, with Pro-Russian forces tightening their grip on Crimea as the Kremlin vowed to help restore calm on the restive Ukrainian peninsula.

Acting President Oleksander Turchinov ordered troops to be placed on high combat alert.
Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya said he had met European and US officials and sent a request to NATO to "examine all possibilities to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine".
Putin's move was a direct rebuff to Western leaders who had repeatedly urged Russia not to intervene, including US President Barack Obama, who just a day before had held a televised address to warn Moscow of "costs" if it acted.
Armed servicemen stand outside a Ukrainian border guard post in the Crimean town of Balaclava.
Armed servicemen stand outside a Ukrainian border guard post in the Crimean town of Balaclava. Photo: Reuters
Troops with no insignia on their uniforms but clearly Russian - some in vehicles with Russian number plates - have already seized Crimea, an isolated peninsula in the Black Sea where Moscow has a large military presence in the headquarters of its Black Sea Fleet.
Kiev's new authorities have been powerless to stop them.

President Barack Obama told Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country is violating international law by sending troops into Ukraine.
In a 90-minute phone call on Saturday, the White House said Obama "expressed his deep concern over Russia's clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity."
The US is suspending preparations for a meeting of industrial nations in Russia in June, the White House said.
"The US calls on Russia to de-escalate tensions by withdrawing its forces back to bases in Crimea and to refrain from any interference elsewhere in Ukraine," according to the White House statement.
Obama warned that violations of Ukraine's sovereignty "would negatively impact Russia's standing in the international community," and that the US "will suspend upcoming participation in preparatory meetings for the G-8," the statement said.
Russians gain control
Russian forces solidified their control of Crimea and unrest spread to other parts of Ukraine on Saturday. Pro-Russian demonstrators clashed, sometimes violently, with supporters of Ukraine's new authorities and raised the Russian flag over government buildings in several cities.
"This is probably the most dangerous situation in Europe since the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968," said a Western official on condition of anonymity.
"Realistically, we have to assume the Crimea is in Russian hands. The challenge now is to deter Russia from taking over the Russian-speaking east of Ukraine."

Putin asked parliament to approve force "in connection with the extraordinary situation in Ukraine, the threat to the lives of citizens of the Russian Federation, our compatriots" and to protect the Black Sea Fleet in Crimea.
The upper house swiftly delivered a unanimous "yes" vote, shown live on television.
Western capitals scrambled for a response, but it was limited to words. A US official said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel had spoken to his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu. The official said there had been no change in US military posture.

EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton urged Moscow not to send troops. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said this would be "clearly against international law". Czech President Milos Zeman likened the crisis to the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia.
"Urgent need for de-escalation in Crimea," tweeted NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. "NATO allies continue to coordinate closely."
Putin said his request for authorisation to use force in Ukraine would last "until the normalisation of the socio-political situation in that country".
His justification - the need to protect Russian citizens - was the same as he used to launch a 2008 invasion of Georgia, where Russian forces seized two breakaway regions and recognised them as independent.

Our idiot in chief decided to make things worse in this situation by making empty threats to a more experienced leader. Putin is more capable than Obama in every conceivable way. While America has spread our military too thin and reduced future DOD funding the Russian Federation has increased its military capacity. NATO is essentially a paper tiger without direct American support and we lack the money as well as troops to intervene even if it were a wise choice to do so. If the clown in the White House thinks he can take on Putin he's in for a rude surprise. I think Putin is telling the truth about America covertly helping those who overthrew the Ukrainian government. Obama was given enough rope to hang himself with this issue and he's dumb enough to shove his neck into the noose. This didn't have to happen if the US would have just minded its own business and not interfered with a volatile situation. I'm so glad I voted against Obama both times and disappointed that America fell for his BS twice. If our President is stupid enough to commit American troops to the war that is just about to begin it's likely that we will suffer a decisive defeat. Economic sanctions against the Russians will backfire since they will likely form a closer relationship with China as a result of such a policy. Russia and China allied together means bad news for the EU and the USA. If Obama screws this up anymore Putin will probable just annex all of Ukraine and begin reforming a newer version of the old Soviet Union. Our idiot politicians have been stepping on Russia's toes by admitting FSU nations such as Georgia into NATO and now the Putin has his chance to essentially bitch slap the west if our leaders do something stupid. Well we have a whole bunch of idiots in DC so I'm not too optimistic about them exercising any amount of common sense.

Because sanctions totally worked to topple the USSR.

Another point is that the EU might just break off from America. They seem to be pretty sick & tired of it's bullshit, anyway. They problems that they already have are serious, never mind added ones from squaring-off with Russia.

By-the-way: How come no one is mentining the seriousness of squaring-off with RUSSIA?! Am I the only one that thinks that's, as a general thing, stupid in the extreme? I understand if someone goes after you, NOT generating an obstacle isn't going to keep anything from happening. It doesn't make sense to think that someone that was directing an attack at you WON'T attack you, now that it's easier. This seems a lot more like America getting progressively more Nazi-like & is now supporting actual Neo-Nazis & to Hell with what happens to Ukraine or anyone near them. If this causes problems over here- well, that's what they've been doing all along! It's like dealing with poison if it could act deliberately.