Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko asked NATO members including Germany on Thursday (Nov 29) to send naval vessels to the Sea of Azov to back his country in the standoff with Russia. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko speak to soldiers during a visit to a military base in Chernihiv region. (Photo source: Mykola Lazarenko, Presidential Press Service via AP) "Germany is one of our closest allies, and we hope that states within NATO are now ready to relocate naval ships to the Sea of Azov in order to assist Ukraine and provide security," he told Germany's Bild daily. President Vladimir Putin insisted on Wednesday that Russian forces were right to seize three Ukrainian ships last weekend. But Poroshenko charged that Putin "wants nothing less than to occupy the sea. The only language he understands is the unity of the Western world. "We cannot accept this aggressive policy of Russia. First it was Crimea, then eastern Ukraine, now he wants the Sea of Azov. "Germany, too, has to … [Read more...] about Ukraine president asks NATO to send ships to Sea of Azov
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Russia to deploy new missiles to Crimea as Ukraine tensions rise
The decision came after Moscow's seizure of three Ukrainian navy ships and their crews. Russia has steadily poured new military hardware into Crimea since it annexed it from Ukraine in 2014. Moscow's announcement about new missiles comes as it and Kiev try to pin the blame on each other for the confrontation on Sunday. A Reuters correspondent in Crimea on Wednesday also observed a Russian navy minesweeper ship, the Vice-Admiral Zakharin, heading for the Sea of Azov, which is used by both Ukraine and Russia and is an area of growing tensions, from the Black Sea. Ukraine introduced martial law in parts of the country after the seizure of its ships saying it feared a possible Russian invasion. Russian news agencies cited Vadim Astafyev, a spokesman for Russia's southern military district, as saying that a new battalion of S-400 missiles would be delivered to Crimea soon and become operational by the end of the year. The deployment is likely to have been long-planned, but the timing of the … [Read more...] about Russia to deploy new missiles to Crimea as Ukraine tensions rise
Putin opens new bridge to Crimea, provoking Ukraine, Western ire
Russian President Vladimir Putin makes a speech during the opening ceremony of the Crimean Bridge over the Kerch Strait. Putin inaugurated the 19km bridge consisting of parallel road and railway sections that link southern Russia to the Crimean peninsula. (Alexander NEMENOV/POOL/AFP) Putin dressed in jeans and a casual jacket was shown by Russian state television behind the wheel of a construction truck to drive 19 kilometres across the bridge, which links the Taman peninsula in southern Russia to Ukraine's Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014. "I want to sincerely congratulate you with this remarkable, festive and, in the full sense of the word, historic day," Putin told workers upon arrival on the Crimean side of the bridge. "In different historical eras, even under the tsar, people were dreaming of building this bridge," Putin told cheering workers. He was referring to Russia's last tsar, Nicholas II, who first proposed such a bridge, but the outbreak of World War I … [Read more...] about Putin opens new bridge to Crimea, provoking Ukraine, Western ire
Russia stands fast on Crimea as Ukraine boosts defenses
Russia showed no signs of yielding in the Crimea standoff as Ukraine bolstered its defenses before its prime minister meets U.S. President Barack Obama tomorrow. In addition to testing its military’s combat readiness, Ukraine may mobilize 20,000 people to protect borders, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said today. Russia has vowed to defend the ethnic Russians who dominate the Crimean peninsula after an uprising unseated Ukraine’s Moscow-backed leader. It rejects the legitimacy of the new cabinet in Kiev. Ukrainians “are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst,” said Arseniy Svynarenko, a lecturer at the University of Helsinki. “If there’s violence, they need to be able to put forces on the border and to move in quickly. The worst-case scenario is separatists trying to escalate the crisis.” Russia is wresting Crimea, home to its Black Sea Fleet, from Ukraine following last month’s ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych. Ukraine … [Read more...] about Russia stands fast on Crimea as Ukraine boosts defenses
Putin marks Victory Day in Crimea as Ukraine violence flares
President Vladimir Putin flew in to Crimea on Friday, marking the Soviet victory in World War Two and proclaiming the success of the peninsula's seizure from a Ukraine that Russia says has been taken over by fascists. In east Ukraine, where pro-Moscow rebels plan a referendum on Sunday to follow Crimea in breaking from Kiev, several people were reported killed in the port of Mariupol, one of the bloodiest clashes yet between Ukrainian forces and separatists. The head of NATO, locked in its gravest confrontation with Russia since the Cold War, condemned Putin's visit to Crimea, whose annexation in March has not been recognized by Western powers. He also renewed doubts over an assurance by the Kremlin leader that he had pulled back troops from the Ukrainian border. The government in Kiev called Putin's visit, his first since the takeover of the region two months ago, a "provocation" that was intended deliberately to escalate the crisis. Watching a military parade in Sevastopol on the … [Read more...] about Putin marks Victory Day in Crimea as Ukraine violence flares