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lots of info & links below so you can understand the full context & continuation of the Cold War neocon agenda by the US:
my wife is Ukrainian & still have many family/friends who live in Ukraine whom talk to everyday on video Skpe (and most in Eastern Ukraine support independence from Kiev's Svoboda & Righ Sector coup junta and /or they are 'pro-Russian' because most have family in Russia since Ukraine & Russia require no visas betwen them for travel/work & freely move & intermarry just like the various states within the United States -- although Svoboda/Right Sector coup junta just instituted new visa rules requiring visa for Russians to go along with their extreme austerity & 10%-60% increases in taxes, 50%-100% increases in gasoline, gas, heating, electric bills, & public transportation fees & 50% cuts in Social Security/pensions, education, healthcare, & 50% cuts gov salaries, hence the rebellions) --and most of what you read in Western mainstream media is just neocon propaganda pushing US hegemony that contradict the facts on the ground :
this is a good article by MMT economist Michael Hudson, Distinguished Research Economics Professor at UKMC , who also exposed the CDO/finacial banking fraud on Wall St that gives a much better context & background on Ukraine
--you have to be pretty skeptical of the Western media that is espousing the same pro-Iraq War, WMDs-lie propaganda that's pushing the neocon agenda of trying to encircle Russia with NATO pushing US hegemony/imerialism
Russia's goal is NOT to have NATO on it's bordes --it's to keep Ukraine neutral & OUT of NATO, like Finland, preferably federalized --- but NOT to invade except as a last resort (because doing so would cause anti-Russian West Ukraine to join NATO while pro-Russian East Ukraine would then be part of Russia or a Russian protectorate --thus, NATO would be on it's border --Russia is NOT expansionist though since if it was, it would have annexed South Ossetia in Georgia in 2008 or Trandnitria in Moldova
--Crimea was annexed because of it's status being Russia's only warm-water naval base & the vast majority being for rejoining Russia -see below for my wife's family/friends on why) http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/05/new-cold-war-ukraine-gambit.html & at his website here: http://michael-hudson.com/2014/05/the-new-cold-wars-ukraine-gambit/
== For a deeper analysis of the situation, This is by Princeton professor Stephen Cohen, PhD Russian studies who was foreign policy adviser to President H.W. Bush 1989-92, that better explains Russia's motivations (preventing Ukraine from joining NATO --the EU AA agreement had a NATO path --just like the US would not allow Mexico/Canada to join the Warsaw Pact) http://www.thenation.com/article/178344/distorting-russia & US Ambassador to USSR Matlock article in Washington Post explaining Russia's motivation also (prevent Ukraine from joining NATO) : http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/who-is-the-bully-the-united-states-has-treated-russia-like-a-loser-since-the-cold-war/2014/03/14/b0868882-aa06-11e3-8599-ce7295b6851c_story.html
For more on Kiev's new gov Svoboda & Right Sector: http://www.salon.com/2014/02/25/is_the_us_backing_neo_nazis_in_ukraine_partner/
here's from LosAngeles Times, Professor & Director of International Relations, University of Southern California http://articles.latimes.com/2014/mar/13/opinion/la-oe-english-ukraine-neofascists-20140313
from Professor John Ryan at University of Winnipeg in Canada, PhD. in Economic & Political Geography, with empirical verifiable quotes from Svoboda & Right Sector along with their platforms & history http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-medias-disinformation-campaign-on-ukraine-there-are-no-neo-nazis-in-the-interim-government/5376530?print=1 & http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/120329/ukraine-svoboda-nationalist-party-nazi-echoes-hitler-pt-2?page=0,1
Henry Kissinger also echoes Stephen Cohen & Ambassador Matlock above in his article here in WashingtonPost on making Ukraine neutral instead of joining NATO as the neocons want to weaken Russia as part of US hegemony http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/henry-kissinger-to-settle-the-ukraine-crisis-start-at-the-end/2014/03/05/46dad868-a496-11e3-8466-d34c451760b9_story.html
More detail & analysis of Kissinger's policy here: http://nsnbc.me/2014/03/09/response-henry-kissingers-advise-us-russian-relations-ukraine/
This is analysis of Brezinski's "The Grand Chessboard" (who created the policy of arming the Muslim extremists to figh the USSR in Afghan BEFORE the USSR even entered Afghan) policy of separating Ukraine from Russia to weaken Russia & encircle it with NATO as part of US hegemony-- Brezinski was Obama's foreign policy adviser: http://billtotten.wordpress.com/2014/03/11/how-stupid-do-they-think-we-are/
Short gist is this: the US is supporting the coup-led junta composed of Svoboda & Right Sector parties, who occupy at least 5 top minister positions, including military, security, police, & prosecutors, & education --they are known in Ukraine as fascist ethnic Ukrainian white supremacists aka "neo-Nazi".
The neocons in the US support them because they are anti-Russian, who's stated goals on their platforms include kicking Russia out of their only warm-water naval base in Crimea.
Normally, Svoboda & Right Sector get only 10% of the vote nationwide but they get 30%-40% of the vote from Ukraine's Western regions, lead by Lyiv.
During WW2, West Ukraine had 80,000 west Ukrainians join the Nazis forming the Ukrainian Nazi Waffen SS 14th Division Galica, who carried out the massacre of 500,000 to 1 million Jewish, Russian, Polish, communist, & other 'subhumans' .. murdering over 10,000 to 30,000 children, women, & men over a few days in the most brutal ways possible to create fear & terror ('ethnic cleansing' from beheadings to disembowelment to shoving poles up women's vagina's to impale them after gang-raping them , you can read about it from survivor diaries linked above)
They were lead by Stephan Bandera, who is still celebrated as a hero in West Ukraine where the Nazi Waffen SS 14th Division veterans & their supporters of Svoboda & Right Sector still march every year proudly wearing their SS medals.
West Ukraine also has Nazi Waffen SS theme restaurants
After WW2, their remnants formed the OUN & UPA of anti-USSR guerilla army, which Britian's MI6 & CIA supported all the way up to the 1980s in their guerilla war vs. USSR (linked below)
Svoboda & history of Ukrainian Nazi SS http://www.academia.edu/2481420/_The_Return_of_the_Ukrainian_Far_Right_The_Case_of_VO_Svoboda_in_Ruth_Wodak_and_John_E._Richardson_eds._Analyzing_Fascist_Discourse_European_Fascism_in_Talk_and_Text_London_and_New_York_Routledge_2013_228-255
unfortunately, the US gov is supporting anti-Russian Svoboda & Right Sector (both are 'neo-Nazis') just because they are anti-Russian/anti-communist, just like the US supported Suharto(who mass murdered 500,000 to 1 million) in Indonesia just because he was anti-communist, click PDF for the fascinating OFFICIAL US GOV NATIONAL documents published by US National Archives of declassified TOP SECRET DOCUMENTS showing the eye-opening true stories during the Cold War of CIA & NATO secretly supporting Ukrainian Nazi's in their guerilla war against the Soviet Union from the end of WW2 to end of the Cold War (which the neocons don't think ended & want to keep alive) --start on page 85, Chapter 5 http://www.archives.gov/iwg/reports/hitlers-shadow.pdf
Ukrainian Nazi SS Stephan Bandera & his men's mass atrocities (note that the new 'President' Turchynov honored as a hero: http://survincity.com/2010/12/the-atrocities-of-bandera
One of the reasons why East, SouthEast Ukraine & Crimea rebelled is that unlike the US, Ukraine & Russia are taugh the full history of WW2 & the atrocities of Stephan Bandera's 'ethnic cleansing' & refuse to be ruled by Bandera supporters Svoboda & Right Sector that make up the new regime coup-led regime
since the Svoboda & Right Sector parties that makeup coup-led junta are known as fascists & Ukrainian white supremacists (aka "neo-Nazi" in Ukraine) holding at least 5 top minister gov positions in the coup.. you can google them & see many more videos/images of them doing Nazi salutes & chanting pro-Bandera slogans as well as their Nazi swatiska inspired symbols..
--I don't see how anyone can deny Svoboda & Right Sector are 'neo-Nazis' aka Ukrainian white supremacists --their platforms include banning all immigration who are not "pure" white ethnic Ukrainians & mandating that all have national IDs denoting their ethnicity & banning non-pure white ethnic Ukrainians from having a vote in Parliament
"the pic below is of extreme far-right Svoboda party leader Oleh Tyahnybok, doing the 'Heil Hitler' salute at a Svoboda meeting
"This is Oleh Tyahnybok, he has claimed a "Moscow-Jewish mafia" rule Ukraine and that "Germans, Kikes and other scum" want to "take away our Ukrainian state."
This is the party's logo, it can be seen on flag throughout the crowds in Kiev every day.
This is their old logo, a Wolfsangel rune, a common symbol for European neo-Nazi organizations.
Svoboda is Ukraine’s fourth biggest party holding 36 seats out of 450 in parliament. They're also part of the Alliance of European National Movements along with the BNP and Jobbik.
Note that Russia/Putin has always sought that Ukraine/East Ukraine become a federalized nation, remaining whole but always neutral, never joining NATO but free to be part of both EU & Russian trade.
Russia does NOT want to invade Ukraine except as a last resort because Ukraine is an economic basket case & total mess, about $40+ Billion in debt.
Russia allowed Crimea to rejoin Russia because of it's only warm-water naval base & the fact that 60%+ of Crimea are ethnic Russians, with at least 83%-96% favoring rejoining Russia --keep in mind Crimea was part of Russia longer than US has been in existence
Another reason why East Ukraine, SouthEast Ukraine, & Crimea rebelled against the Svoboda & Right Sector coup junta is that they have already imposed EXTREME AUSTERITY of an additional 10% income tax increase (slated for another up to 60% tax increase) & cut all gov salaries & Social Security/pensions by 50% while increasing gas, heating, electricity bills by 50%-83%, & slated to increase 100%+ later on. & massive cuts to education & healthcare (ending school free lunch program & mandating that all school kids buy their own textbooks) & increasing costs of bus, train, metro fees by 50% & gasonline taxes by 50%
Remember that the US seceded from England over some taxes on tea, so imagine the uproar over the above?
more details here http://scgnews.com/the-ukraine-crisis-what-youre-not-being-told
In contrast, speaking of Crimea, My wife is Ukrainian & still has family & friends living in Ukraine (Kharkov, Crimea/Yalta, & Kiev) .. according to their reports, the vast majority in Crimea is HAPPY to be back under Russia gov (who is investing $7 billion in building new hospitals, schools, & increasing social security/gov pensions, education, gov salaries, healthcare, etc by 200% to 500%
That is why Putin currently has a 82% approval rating according to independent surveys/polls by Washington Post & Levy Institute, despite the sanctions because he reversed the massive cuts in gov spending & austerity imposed by Yeltsin & his rightwing Western advisers, & opposed the oligarchs & re-nationalize the oil/gas company so that billions in profits could be used on social spending, increasing education, healthcare, infrastructure, & gov salaries by 200% to 500%.
regardless. Russian culture is built on the ability to withstand suffering & defiance
This is the opposite of the EU AA deal, which mandates EXTREME AUSTERITY -being implemented by the new coup-led gov which has Svoboda & Right Sector parties(they are known as 'neo-Nazi' or fascist in Ukraine) in at least 5+ top gov Minister positions: cutting social security/gov pensions by 50%, cutting gov salaries by 30%-50% (includes all doctors, nurses, teachers, professors, police, firefighters, etc), increasing heating, gas, electricity bills by 50%-83% (planned for eventual 100%+ increase), increase metro, bus, & subway fees by 50%, 10% increase on taxes, & ENDING school free lunch program & mandating all schoolkids must now buy their own textbooks
That's why most of eastern Ukaine & Crimea are against the new coup gov (imagine the uproar & protests if David Duke & KKK took over the White House & cut social security & gov salaries by 50% while ending the school free lunch program while increasing utility bills by 50%+)
here's more economic data on the destructive mass gov spending cuts/austerity & mass privatization resulting in disaster in the 1990s-2000s in former Soviet Union
Here's more real world gov cuts/austerity by the IMF rightwing policies in Ukraine in 2004 from University of Ottawa, Canada's Russian Studies PhD Professor Chossudovsky http://www.globalresearch.ca/imf-sponsored-democracy-in-the-ukraine-2/5360920 & & more details including coup-led Svoboda & fascist parties implementing it http://www.globalresearch.ca/regime-change-in-ukraine-and-the-imfs-bitter-economic-medicine/5374877 "The price of bread increased overnight by 300 percent, electricity prices by 600 percent, public transportation by 900 percent. the standard of living tumbled
According to the Ukrainian State Statistics Committee, quoted by the IMF, real wages in 1998 had fallen by more than 75 percent in relation to their 1991 level.( http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2003/cr03174.pdf )
By 1998, the deregulation of the grain market had resulted in a decline in the production of grain by 45 percent in relation to its 1986-90 level. The collapse in livestock production, poultry and dairy products was even more dramatic.
(See http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2003/cr03174.pdf )
The cumulative decline in GDP resulting from the IMF sponsored reforms was in excess of 60 percent (from 1992 to 1995)."
Austerity & cuts in gov spending as advocated by IMF & Western powers (ie Austrians (and rightwing) in 1990s-2000s Bulgaria, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Italy, Poland resulted in unemployment increasing to 14% to 25% (dropping only because of mass emigration of millions of unemployed people leaving the country, population dropping from 9 million to 7 million) (though Poland was 'saved' in that it got $150 BILLION in foreign aid from EU)
25% to 60% drops in production of food & goods, resulting in massive inflation of 600% to 1600%, GDP drops in 15% to 25%, poverty rates increasing by 1000% , poverty rate as high as 80% in Georgia, in the 1990s to 2000s --see links below for verifiable empirical data/evidence
and in the US 50% poverty rates in New York in the 1900s-30s until FDR came along with increases in gov spending social programs
Before FDR, gov spending was under 3% to 7% of GDP & unemployment increased to almost 25%.. under FDR, gov spending went up 10% & dropped unemployment rate to 9% (or 14% if not counting gov job works program as employed as the BLS did) .. unemployment rate dropped to about 1% under the 30%-40% gov spending of WW2.
Ever since WW2, US gov spending has thus always remained at abot 18% to 25%+ --ie, to keep unemployment rate lower than Great Depression, gov spending has always stayed at almost double Great Depression levels.
Evidence/empirical data from charts at bottom page by Economics PhD UCSanta Cruz Steve Kangas, former Republican & Air Force captain, military intelligence analyst http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/Timeline.htm
=== More details & empirical data/evidence on the worst effects of austerity:
disaster in Bulgaria http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fnstarikov.ru%2Fclub%2F37677&edit-text=
disaster in Baltics Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fivolin.ru%2Frabstvo-21-veka-pochemu-pribalty-stali-evrotadzhikami&edit-text=
More disaster Baltics http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fnnm.me%2Fblogs%2Fscheissenman46%2Fpochemu-pribalty-stali-anglotadzhikami%2F
How & why austerity damages a country http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fivolin.ru%2Fwhy-not-be-a-liberal-patriot-2&edit-text=&act=url
When Svoboda & Right Sector parties took over in the coup, they appointed corrupt oligarchs as the new governors of Kherson & Odessa regions
Here is the newly appointed Svoboda supporter governor at Eastern Europe's most important WW2 'Memorial Day' Victory Day May 9th public ceremony praising Hitler at as the liberator of Ukraine
--the Svoboda-appointed governor is a member of Fatherland party -same party as Prime Minister Yatsunuk in the coup regime)
--the crowd is booing him, calling him "Fascist!" & "Shame! Shame!" & an angry blond mother carrying a toddler comes out of the crowd to throw away his microphone
-this is one of the reasons why East Ukraine is rebelling against the Svoboda/Right Sector coup junta
http://www.globalresearch.ca/in-ukraine-hitler-is-praised-as-a-liberator-governor-of-kherson-oblast/5381679 & English translation (my wife confirms the translation) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ab33RhoBiI
The pro-Maidan anti-Yanukovych Parliament member doing the investigation of the sniper shootings on Maidan in February just finished (note that Svoboda & Right Sector coup junta did no investigation & dragged it's feet in allowing an investigation) showed that it was NOT the police that did the shoootings because the bullets recovered from the bodies of the protestors & police were NOT the bullets issued to the police/gov forces.
click the links for more details & audio links you can hear for yourself as well as other related links http://scgnews.com/ukrainian-mp-investigation-shows-no-evidence-snipers-in-kiev-were-police
"Ukrainian M.P. Gennady Moskal, has a history of criticizing the Berkut police force. In fact, in December of 2013 he referred to them as an "illegal paramilitary formation".
So when he came forward this week to announce that the provisional government's investigation into the shooting found no evidence that the Berkut police were the ones that fired on the protesters in Kiev in February that's significant.
Of course if you have followed this drama closely these results shouldn't be surprising at all.
They merely confirm the statements made by EU foreign policy chief Cathy Ashton and Estonia's foreign minister Urmas Paet in the leaked phone call discussing the shootings.
The short version:
Urmas Paet: "All the evidence shows that the people who were killed by snipers from both sides, among police men and people in the street, that they were the same snipers killing people from both sides."
Cathy Ashton: "Well that's, yeah..."
Urmas Paet: "And she also showed me some photos and she said that has medical doctor, she can say that it is the same handwriting..." Cathy Ashton: "Yeah..."
Urmas Paet: "Same type of bullets... and it's really disturbing that now the new coalition, that they don't want to investigate what exactly happened. So that there is now stronger and stronger understanding that behind the snipers, it was not Yanukovich, but it was somebody from the new coalition."
(Note: Urmas Paet is not a native English speaker, so his wording is a bit odd at points. This transcript doesn't correct his errors. )
The long version:
It is surprising, however, that Gennady Moskal was honest enough to release those results. I would be watching him closely from here on out.
Related: The Odessa Massacre - What REALLY Happened
So now let's review the democracy score card in Ukraine. The U.S. backs the coup toppling Yanukovich, riding the outrage over sniper shootings that it turns out weren't committed by the Ukrainian police at all.
The provisional government takes power and subsequently orders the military to crush uprisings in the east three times, then allows Neo-Nazi thugs to brutally murder protesters in Odessa.
Furthermore, if you pay attention to what Urmas Paet said in the leaked call, the evidence he saw showed that it was likely someone in the provisional government behind the sniper shootings in Kiev.
But will you hear about this on the evening news? Of course not. The U.S. government and the corporate media are only outraged when it's politically expedient.
You can watch the entire thing on video yourself from start to finish to see for yourself on Ukrainian news website below:
here's what happened when unarmed peaceful civilians wanted to vote on the May 11th referendum -- a platoon of Svoboda/Right Sector "Dniper" battalion/mercenaries/'National Guard' closed down the voting booths in 1 unguarded city & then shot in the chin & stomach 2 of the unarmed civilians who wanted to vote who refused to leave & shot a 3rd in the leg
http://rusvesna.su/english/1400020270
== Ed Sketch, I would not trust Ian Gould's flawed analysis -he's all the way in Australia with no family/friends living in Ukraine, never been to Ukraine/Russia & gets his views from neocon Forbes, where upon he posted a flawed article by Greg Satell(who admits he's NOT a military expert who got things severely wrong on his article, such as the fact that Georgia started the Georgia-Russian War & that Russia won it in 5-days with only 9 planes lost instead of the 20 he claimed) & claimed how Ukraine would fight/war over Crimea's rejoining Russia because of Ukraine's military supposed greater experience & better training where I said that Crimea would join Russia without a war/fight & debunked his posts one by one (which caused him to call me a Strasserite Nazi & block me, LOL --such a know-nothing coward who can't admit his analysis was wrong bullshit & :P
1) He posted that Ukraine's military had years of experience sending troops to Iraq & Afghan --I pointed out to him that Ukraine sends only 11 to 1,650 per year to Iraq/Afghan, while Russia has hundreds of thousands who have experience in Georgia, Chechya, & Afghan
2) I also posted that 66% (Kiev's claim) to 80% (Russia's claim) of Ukraininan military in Crimea switched sides & defected to & joined the Russian army instead
3) Kiev's Svoboda/Right Sector coup junta did order Ukrainian military in Crimea to shoot the Russians but they refused --see above why as well since the Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (who was replaced by the coup junta) said this "Do not shoot at our Russian brothers , under any circumstances , do not open fire on , unless it comes to saving your life."
from the NATO military intelligence officer/analyst (rank major) who worked with the Pentagon & Russian hi-command http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/2014/03/ukraine-sitrep-march-12-1209-est-and.html
4) NATO military options are none because NATO shrunk by 85% since 1990s, only at one-Sixth it's previous size (~100,000 troops , few hundred tanks & military aircraft) from NATO military intelligence officer/analyst (rank major who worked with Pentagon & Russian hi-command) http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/2014/03/ukraine-sitrep-march-11-1350-est-and.html & data from NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/27/world/europe/military-cuts-render-nato-less-formidable-as-deterrent-to-russia.html?_r=0&gwh=81A7FE57662060789C5C5AB6E174E1AD&gwt=pay&assetType=nyt_now
5) More on NATO's lack of forces here by US Colonel & why military is not a viable option, just pointless saber-ratling despite the call for US troops by US necon ambassor: http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/04/18/ground-troops-to-ukraine-really-mr-ambassador/
6) Russia has over 3,000-5,000 military aircraft, 5000 tanks + 5,000 more in reserve, ~900,000 troops & S-300, S-400, & S-500 anti-air missiles that are so good they can shoot down other missiles up to 400 miles away.
from NATO miiltary intelligence major/analyst again on UKrainian military capability: http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/2014/03/ukraine-sitrep-march-14-1055-est-and.html
"the real condition of what is left of the Ukrainian military: 20 SU-27 of which 15 can fly. 80 MiG-29 of which 30 can fly (of a total of 45 MiG-29s were seized by Russia in the Crimea only 4 could fly). 24 SU-24 of which 12 can fly. 36 SU-25 of which 14 can fly.
The yearly amount of flying hours in the Ukraine is, on average, 17 hours, and in the best units 40 hours.
In Russia the average is 110-130 hours of flight time.
Ukraine has: 30 S-300 batteries of which only 3 are in good condition
10 Buk 9К37 batteries whose condition is unknown
41'000 soliders of which 6'000 are fully trained and 500 well-trained
686 tanks, many bad shape, of which 86 can be considered as modern
100+ heavy multi-launch rocket systems with well-trained crews
In contrast, Russia currently has 150'000 soldiers, 880 tanks, 90 combat aircraft and 120 combat helicopters deployed right across the Ukrainian-Russian border.
Bottom line: the Ukrainian military has a lot of powerful artillery units and an aging but still relevant air defense force.
A national guard of loyal Banderites of about another 10'000 men is in the process being created and this is the force which could be used in to keep an eye on the regular military and for punitive terror operations against the Russian-speaking population.
In terms of armor, the Ukrainian military has many but old vehicles (MBT, APCs, IFVs,) protected by many short range air defense systems.
The Ukrainian Navy and Air Force basically exist only on paper.
The good news for the new regime is that all the evidence points to the fact that the SBU (the state security service, ex-KGB) appears to have switched its loyalty to the new regime.
Finally, the regime can probably count on 20'000+ armed thugs: a combination of the Right Sector brownshirts, mobsters hired by the newly appointed billionaire governors and volunteers from western Ukraine.
I think that a clear picture emerges from the above. It can be summarized in two basic conclusions:
a) The Banderite regime has more then enough forces to subdue, suppress, repress and terrorize the Russian speaking population in the south and east of the Ukraine. It's large and well-trained artillery force is particularly dangerous for the Crimean Peninsula.
b) The Banderite regime has no hope at all to mount a meaningful defense against the Russian military. As Pozhidaev put it - "the Ukrainian Air Force can only be considered powerful by African standards". That also goes for the rest of the Ukrainian armed forces."
12 comments:
lots of info & links below so you can understand the full context & continuation of the Cold War neocon agenda by the US:
my wife is Ukrainian & still have many family/friends who live in Ukraine whom talk to everyday on video Skpe (and most in Eastern Ukraine support independence from Kiev's Svoboda & Righ Sector coup junta and /or they are 'pro-Russian' because most have family
in
Russia since Ukraine & Russia require no visas betwen them for travel/work & freely move & intermarry just like the various states within the United States
-- although
Svoboda/Right Sector coup junta just instituted new visa rules requiring visa for Russians to go along with their extreme austerity
&
10%-60% increases in taxes, 50%-100% increases in gasoline, gas, heating, electric bills, & public transportation fees
&
50% cuts in Social Security/pensions, education, healthcare, & 50% cuts gov salaries, hence the rebellions)
--and
most of what you read in Western mainstream media is just neocon propaganda pushing US hegemony that contradict the facts on the ground :
this is a good article by MMT economist Michael Hudson, Distinguished Research Economics Professor at UKMC , who also exposed the CDO/finacial banking fraud on Wall St that gives a much better context & background on Ukraine
--you have
to
be pretty skeptical of the Western media that is espousing the same pro-Iraq War, WMDs-lie propaganda that's pushing the neocon agenda of trying to encircle Russia with NATO pushing US hegemony/imerialism
Russia's goal is NOT to have NATO on it's bordes --it's to keep Ukraine neutral & OUT of NATO, like Finland, preferably federalized
--- but
NOT to invade except as a last resort (because doing so would cause anti-Russian West Ukraine to join NATO while pro-Russian East Ukraine would then be part of Russia or a Russian protectorate --thus, NATO would be on it's border --Russia
is NOT expansionist though since if it was, it would have annexed South Ossetia in Georgia in 2008 or Trandnitria in Moldova
--Crimea was annexed because of it's status being Russia's only warm-water naval base & the vast majority being for rejoining Russia -see below for my wife's family/friends on why)
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/05/new-cold-war-ukraine-gambit.html
&
at his website here: http://michael-hudson.com/2014/05/the-new-cold-wars-ukraine-gambit/
==
For a deeper analysis of the situation, This is by Princeton professor Stephen Cohen, PhD Russian studies who was foreign policy adviser to President H.W. Bush 1989-92, that
better
explains Russia's motivations (preventing Ukraine from joining NATO --the EU AA agreement had a NATO path
--just like the US would not allow Mexico/Canada to join the Warsaw Pact) http://www.thenation.com/article/178344/distorting-russia
&
US Ambassador to USSR Matlock article in Washington Post explaining Russia's motivation also (prevent Ukraine from joining NATO) : http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/who-is-the-bully-the-united-states-has-treated-russia-like-a-loser-since-the-cold-war/2014/03/14/b0868882-aa06-11e3-8599-ce7295b6851c_story.html
For more on Kiev's new gov Svoboda & Right Sector: http://www.salon.com/2014/02/25/is_the_us_backing_neo_nazis_in_ukraine_partner/
here's from LosAngeles Times, Professor & Director of International Relations, University of Southern California
http://articles.latimes.com/2014/mar/13/opinion/la-oe-english-ukraine-neofascists-20140313
from Professor John Ryan at University of Winnipeg in Canada, PhD. in Economic & Political Geography,
with empirical verifiable quotes from Svoboda & Right Sector along with their platforms & history
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-medias-disinformation-campaign-on-ukraine-there-are-no-neo-nazis-in-the-interim-government/5376530?print=1
&
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/120329/ukraine-svoboda-nationalist-party-nazi-echoes-hitler-pt-2?page=0,1
Henry Kissinger also echoes Stephen Cohen & Ambassador Matlock above in his article here in WashingtonPost on making Ukraine neutral instead of joining NATO as the neocons want to weaken Russia as part of US hegemony http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/henry-kissinger-to-settle-the-ukraine-crisis-start-at-the-end/2014/03/05/46dad868-a496-11e3-8466-d34c451760b9_story.html
More detail & analysis of Kissinger's policy here: http://nsnbc.me/2014/03/09/response-henry-kissingers-advise-us-russian-relations-ukraine/
This is analysis of Brezinski's "The Grand Chessboard" (who created the policy of arming the Muslim extremists to figh the USSR in Afghan BEFORE the USSR even entered Afghan) policy of separating Ukraine from Russia to weaken Russia & encircle it with NATO as part of US hegemony--
Brezinski was Obama's foreign policy adviser: http://billtotten.wordpress.com/2014/03/11/how-stupid-do-they-think-we-are/
Short gist is this: the US is supporting the coup-led junta composed of Svoboda & Right Sector parties, who occupy at least 5 top minister positions, including military, security, police, & prosecutors, & education --they are known in Ukraine as fascist ethnic Ukrainian white supremacists aka "neo-Nazi".
The neocons in the US support them because they are anti-Russian, who's stated goals on their platforms include kicking Russia out of their only warm-water naval base in Crimea.
Normally, Svoboda & Right Sector get only 10% of the vote nationwide but they get 30%-40% of the vote from Ukraine's Western regions, lead by Lyiv.
During WW2, West Ukraine had 80,000 west Ukrainians join the Nazis forming the Ukrainian Nazi Waffen SS 14th Division Galica, who carried out the massacre of 500,000 to 1 million Jewish, Russian, Polish, communist, & other 'subhumans' .. murdering over 10,000 to 30,000 children, women,
&
men over a few days in the most brutal ways possible to create fear & terror ('ethnic cleansing' from beheadings to disembowelment to shoving poles up women's vagina's to impale them after gang-raping them , you can read about it from survivor diaries linked above)
They were lead by Stephan Bandera, who is still celebrated as a hero in West Ukraine where the Nazi Waffen SS 14th Division veterans & their supporters of Svoboda & Right Sector still march every year proudly wearing their SS medals.
West Ukraine also has Nazi Waffen SS theme restaurants
After WW2, their remnants formed the OUN & UPA of anti-USSR guerilla army, which Britian's MI6 & CIA supported all the way up to the 1980s in their guerilla war vs. USSR (linked below)
Svoboda & history of Ukrainian Nazi SS
http://www.academia.edu/2481420/_The_Return_of_the_Ukrainian_Far_Right_The_Case_of_VO_Svoboda_in_Ruth_Wodak_and_John_E._Richardson_eds._Analyzing_Fascist_Discourse_European_Fascism_in_Talk_and_Text_London_and_New_York_Routledge_2013_228-255
unfortunately, the US gov is supporting anti-Russian Svoboda & Right Sector (both are 'neo-Nazis') just because they are anti-Russian/anti-communist, just like the US supported Suharto(who mass murdered 500,000 to 1 million) in Indonesia just because he was anti-communist, click PDF for the fascinating
OFFICIAL US GOV NATIONAL
documents published by US National Archives of declassified
TOP SECRET DOCUMENTS
showing the eye-opening true stories during the Cold War of CIA & NATO
secretly supporting Ukrainian Nazi's in their guerilla war against the Soviet Union
from
the end of WW2 to end of the Cold War (which the neocons don't think ended & want to keep alive)
--start on page 85, Chapter 5 http://www.archives.gov/iwg/reports/hitlers-shadow.pdf
Ukrainian Nazi SS Stephan Bandera & his men's mass atrocities (note that the new 'President' Turchynov honored as a hero:
http://survincity.com/2010/12/the-atrocities-of-bandera
One of the reasons why East, SouthEast Ukraine & Crimea rebelled is that unlike the US, Ukraine & Russia are taugh the full history of WW2 & the atrocities of Stephan Bandera's 'ethnic cleansing' & refuse to be ruled by Bandera supporters Svoboda & Right Sector that make up the new regime coup-led regime
since
the Svoboda & Right Sector parties that makeup coup-led junta are known as fascists & Ukrainian white supremacists (aka "neo-Nazi" in Ukraine) holding
at
least 5 top minister gov positions in the coup.. you can google them & see many more videos/images of them doing Nazi salutes & chanting pro-Bandera slogans as well as their Nazi swatiska inspired symbols..
--I don't see how anyone can deny Svoboda & Right Sector are 'neo-Nazis' aka Ukrainian white supremacists --their platforms include banning all immigration who are not "pure" white ethnic Ukrainians
&
mandating that all have national IDs denoting their ethnicity
&
banning non-pure white ethnic Ukrainians from having a vote in Parliament
http://www.sott.net/image/image/s8/173967/full/neo_nazi_svoboda_leader_oleh.jpg
https://libcom.org/news/neo-nazis-far-right-protesters-ukraine-23012014
"the pic below is of extreme far-right Svoboda party leader Oleh Tyahnybok, doing the 'Heil Hitler' salute at a Svoboda meeting
"This is Oleh Tyahnybok, he has claimed a "Moscow-Jewish mafia" rule Ukraine and that "Germans, Kikes and other scum" want to "take away our Ukrainian state."
This is the party's logo, it can be seen on flag throughout the crowds in Kiev every day.
This is their old logo, a Wolfsangel rune, a common symbol for European neo-Nazi organizations.
Svoboda is Ukraine’s fourth biggest party holding 36 seats out of 450 in parliament. They're also part of the Alliance of European National Movements along with the BNP and Jobbik.
Note that Russia/Putin has always sought that Ukraine/East Ukraine become a federalized nation, remaining whole but always neutral, never joining NATO but free to be part of both EU & Russian trade.
Russia does NOT want to invade Ukraine except as a last resort because Ukraine is an economic basket case & total mess, about $40+ Billion in debt.
Russia allowed Crimea to rejoin Russia because of it's only warm-water naval base & the fact that 60%+ of Crimea are ethnic Russians, with at least 83%-96% favoring rejoining Russia --keep in mind Crimea was part of Russia longer than US has been in existence
Another reason why East Ukraine, SouthEast Ukraine, & Crimea rebelled against the Svoboda & Right Sector coup junta is that they have already imposed EXTREME AUSTERITY
of an additional 10% income tax increase (slated for another up to 60% tax increase)
&
cut all gov salaries & Social Security/pensions
by
50% while increasing gas, heating, electricity bills by 50%-83%, & slated to increase 100%+ later on.
&
massive cuts to education & healthcare (ending school free lunch program & mandating that all school kids buy their own textbooks)
&
increasing costs of bus, train, metro fees by 50%
& gasonline taxes by 50%
Remember that the US seceded from England over some taxes on tea, so imagine the uproar over the above?
more details here http://scgnews.com/the-ukraine-crisis-what-youre-not-being-told
In contrast, speaking of Crimea, My wife is Ukrainian & still has family & friends living in Ukraine (Kharkov, Crimea/Yalta, & Kiev) ..
according to their reports,
the vast majority in Crimea is HAPPY to be back under Russia gov (who is investing $7 billion in building new hospitals, schools, & increasing social security/gov pensions, education, gov salaries, healthcare, etc by 200% to 500%
That is why Putin currently has a 82% approval rating according to independent surveys/polls by Washington Post & Levy Institute,
despite
the sanctions because he reversed the massive cuts in gov spending & austerity imposed by Yeltsin
&
his rightwing Western advisers, & opposed the oligarchs
&
re-nationalize the oil/gas company so that billions in profits could be used on social spending, increasing education, healthcare, infrastructure, & gov salaries by 200% to 500%.
regardless. Russian culture is built on the ability to withstand suffering & defiance
This is the opposite of the EU AA deal, which mandates EXTREME AUSTERITY -being implemented by the new coup-led gov which has Svoboda & Right Sector parties(they are known as 'neo-Nazi' or fascist in Ukraine)
in
at least 5+ top gov Minister positions:
cutting social security/gov pensions by 50%,
cutting gov salaries by 30%-50% (includes all doctors, nurses, teachers, professors, police, firefighters, etc),
increasing heating, gas, electricity bills by 50%-83% (planned for eventual 100%+ increase),
increase metro, bus, & subway fees by 50%,
10% increase on taxes,
& ENDING school free lunch program
& mandating all schoolkids must now buy their own textbooks
That's why most of eastern Ukaine & Crimea are against the new coup gov (imagine the uproar & protests if David Duke & KKK took over the White House &
cut social security & gov salaries by 50% while ending the school free lunch program while increasing utility bills by 50%+)
here's more economic data on the destructive mass gov spending cuts/austerity & mass privatization resulting in disaster in the 1990s-2000s in former Soviet Union
Here's more real world gov cuts/austerity by the IMF rightwing policies in Ukraine in 2004 from University of Ottawa, Canada's Russian Studies PhD Professor Chossudovsky
http://www.globalresearch.ca/imf-sponsored-democracy-in-the-ukraine-2/5360920
&
& more details including coup-led Svoboda & fascist parties implementing it http://www.globalresearch.ca/regime-change-in-ukraine-and-the-imfs-bitter-economic-medicine/5374877
"The price of bread increased overnight by 300 percent,
electricity prices by 600 percent,
public transportation by 900 percent.
the standard of living tumbled
According to the Ukrainian State Statistics Committee, quoted by the IMF, real wages in 1998 had fallen by more than 75 percent in relation to their 1991 level.( http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2003/cr03174.pdf )
By 1998, the deregulation of the grain market had resulted in a decline in the production of grain by 45 percent in relation to its 1986-90 level. The collapse in livestock production, poultry and dairy products was even more dramatic.
(See http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2003/cr03174.pdf )
The cumulative decline in GDP resulting from the IMF sponsored reforms was in excess of 60 percent (from 1992 to 1995)."
Austerity & cuts in gov spending as advocated by IMF & Western powers (ie Austrians (and rightwing) in 1990s-2000s Bulgaria, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Italy, Poland resulted in
unemployment increasing to 14% to 25%
(dropping
only because of mass emigration of millions of unemployed people leaving the country, population dropping from 9 million to 7 million) (though Poland was 'saved' in that it got $150 BILLION in foreign aid from EU)
25% to 60% drops in production of food & goods, resulting in massive inflation of 600% to 1600%,
GDP drops in 15% to 25%,
poverty rates increasing by 1000%
, poverty rate as high as 80% in Georgia,
in the 1990s to 2000s --see links below for verifiable empirical data/evidence
and
in the US
50% poverty rates in New York in the 1900s-30s until FDR came along with increases in gov spending social programs
Before FDR, gov spending was under 3% to 7% of GDP & unemployment increased to almost 25%.. under FDR, gov spending went up 10%
&
dropped unemployment rate to 9% (or 14% if not counting gov job works program as employed as the BLS did)
..
unemployment rate dropped to about 1% under the 30%-40% gov spending of WW2.
Ever since WW2, US gov spending has thus always remained at abot 18% to 25%+ --ie, to keep unemployment rate lower than Great Depression, gov spending has always stayed at almost double Great Depression levels.
Evidence/empirical
data from charts at bottom page by Economics PhD UCSanta Cruz Steve Kangas, former Republican & Air Force captain, military intelligence analyst http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/Timeline.htm
===
More details & empirical data/evidence on the worst effects of austerity:
disaster in Bulgaria http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fnstarikov.ru%2Fclub%2F37677&edit-text=
disaster in Baltics Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fivolin.ru%2Frabstvo-21-veka-pochemu-pribalty-stali-evrotadzhikami&edit-text=
More disaster Baltics http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fnnm.me%2Fblogs%2Fscheissenman46%2Fpochemu-pribalty-stali-anglotadzhikami%2F
How & why austerity damages a country http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fivolin.ru%2Fwhy-not-be-a-liberal-patriot-2&edit-text=&act=url
When Svoboda & Right Sector parties took over in the coup, they appointed corrupt oligarchs as the new governors of Kherson & Odessa regions
Here is the newly appointed Svoboda supporter governor at Eastern Europe's most important WW2 'Memorial Day' Victory Day May 9th public ceremony praising Hitler at as the liberator of Ukraine
--the Svoboda-appointed governor is a member of Fatherland party -same party as Prime Minister Yatsunuk in the coup regime)
--the crowd is booing him, calling him "Fascist!" & "Shame! Shame!" & an angry blond mother carrying a toddler comes out of the crowd to throw away his microphone
-this is one of the reasons why East Ukraine is rebelling against the Svoboda/Right Sector coup junta
http://www.globalresearch.ca/in-ukraine-hitler-is-praised-as-a-liberator-governor-of-kherson-oblast/5381679
&
English translation (my wife confirms the translation)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ab33RhoBiI
The pro-Maidan anti-Yanukovych Parliament member doing the investigation of the sniper shootings on Maidan in February just finished (note that Svoboda & Right Sector coup junta did no investigation
&
dragged it's feet in allowing an investigation) showed that it was NOT the police that did the shoootings because the bullets recovered from the bodies of the protestors & police were NOT the bullets issued to the police/gov forces.
click the links for more details & audio links you can hear for yourself as well as other related links
http://scgnews.com/ukrainian-mp-investigation-shows-no-evidence-snipers-in-kiev-were-police
"Ukrainian M.P. Gennady Moskal, has a history of criticizing the Berkut police force. In fact, in December of 2013 he referred to them as an "illegal paramilitary formation".
So when he came forward this week to announce that the provisional government's investigation into the shooting found no evidence that the Berkut police were the ones that fired on the protesters in Kiev in February that's significant.
Of course if you have followed this drama closely these results shouldn't be surprising at all.
They merely confirm the statements made by EU foreign policy chief Cathy Ashton and Estonia's foreign minister Urmas Paet in the leaked phone call discussing the shootings.
The short version:
Urmas Paet: "All the evidence shows that the people who were killed by snipers from both sides, among police men and people in the street, that they were the same snipers killing people from both sides."
Cathy Ashton: "Well that's, yeah..."
Urmas Paet: "And she also showed me some photos and she said that has medical doctor, she can say that it is the same handwriting..."
Cathy Ashton: "Yeah..."
Urmas Paet: "Same type of bullets... and it's really disturbing that now the new coalition, that they don't want to investigate what exactly happened. So that there is now stronger and stronger understanding that behind the snipers, it was not Yanukovich, but it was somebody from the new coalition."
(Note: Urmas Paet is not a native English speaker, so his wording is a bit odd at points. This transcript doesn't correct his errors. )
The long version:
It is surprising, however, that Gennady Moskal was honest enough to release those results. I would be watching him closely from here on out.
Related: The Odessa Massacre - What REALLY Happened
So now let's review the democracy score card in Ukraine. The U.S. backs the coup toppling Yanukovich, riding the outrage over sniper shootings that it turns out weren't committed by the Ukrainian police at all.
The provisional government takes power and subsequently orders the military to crush uprisings in the east three times, then allows Neo-Nazi thugs to brutally murder protesters in Odessa.
Furthermore, if you pay attention to what Urmas Paet said in the leaked call, the evidence he saw showed that it was likely someone in the provisional government behind the sniper shootings in Kiev.
But will you hear about this on the evening news? Of course not. The U.S. government and the corporate media are only outraged when it's politically expedient.
You can watch the entire thing on video yourself from start to finish to see for yourself on Ukrainian news website below:
here's what happened when unarmed peaceful civilians wanted to vote on the May 11th referendum -- a platoon of Svoboda/Right Sector "Dniper" battalion/mercenaries/'National Guard' closed down the voting booths in 1 unguarded city
&
then shot in the chin & stomach 2 of the unarmed civilians who wanted to vote who refused to leave & shot a 3rd in the leg
http://rusvesna.su/english/1400020270
==
Ed Sketch, I would not trust Ian Gould's flawed analysis -he's all the way in Australia with no family/friends living in Ukraine, never been to Ukraine/Russia
&
gets his views from neocon Forbes, where upon he posted a flawed article by Greg Satell(who admits he's NOT a military expert who got things severely wrong on his article, such as the fact that Georgia started the Georgia-Russian War & that Russia won it in 5-days with only 9 planes lost instead of the 20 he claimed)
&
claimed how Ukraine would fight/war over Crimea's rejoining Russia because of Ukraine's military supposed greater experience & better training
where
I said that Crimea would join Russia without a war/fight & debunked his posts one by one (which caused him to call me a Strasserite Nazi & block me, LOL --such a know-nothing coward who can't admit his analysis was wrong bullshit & :P
1) He posted that Ukraine's military had years of experience sending troops to Iraq & Afghan --I pointed out to him that Ukraine sends only 11 to 1,650 per year to Iraq/Afghan, while Russia has hundreds of thousands who have experience in Georgia, Chechya, & Afghan
2) I also posted that 66% (Kiev's claim) to 80% (Russia's claim) of Ukraininan military in Crimea switched sides & defected to & joined the Russian army instead
3) Kiev's Svoboda/Right Sector coup junta did order Ukrainian military in Crimea to shoot the Russians but they refused --see above
why
as well since the Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (who was replaced by the coup junta) said this "Do not shoot at our Russian brothers , under any circumstances , do not open fire on , unless it comes to saving your life."
from the NATO military intelligence officer/analyst (rank major) who worked with the Pentagon & Russian hi-command
http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/2014/03/ukraine-sitrep-march-12-1209-est-and.html
4) NATO military options are none because NATO shrunk by 85% since 1990s, only at one-Sixth it's previous size (~100,000 troops , few hundred tanks & military aircraft) from
NATO
military intelligence officer/analyst (rank major who worked with Pentagon & Russian hi-command) http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/2014/03/ukraine-sitrep-march-11-1350-est-and.html
&
data
from NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/27/world/europe/military-cuts-render-nato-less-formidable-as-deterrent-to-russia.html?_r=0&gwh=81A7FE57662060789C5C5AB6E174E1AD&gwt=pay&assetType=nyt_now
5) More on NATO's lack of forces here by US Colonel & why military is not a viable option, just pointless saber-ratling despite the call for US troops by US necon ambassor: http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/04/18/ground-troops-to-ukraine-really-mr-ambassador/
6) Russia has over 3,000-5,000 military aircraft, 5000 tanks + 5,000 more in reserve, ~900,000 troops & S-300, S-400, & S-500 anti-air missiles that are so good they can shoot down other missiles up to 400 miles away.
from NATO miiltary intelligence major/analyst again on UKrainian military capability: http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/2014/03/ukraine-sitrep-march-14-1055-est-and.html
"the real condition of what is left of the Ukrainian military:
20 SU-27 of which 15 can fly.
80 MiG-29 of which 30 can fly (of a total of 45 MiG-29s were seized by Russia in the Crimea only 4 could fly).
24 SU-24 of which 12 can fly.
36 SU-25 of which 14 can fly.
The yearly amount of flying hours in the Ukraine is, on average, 17 hours, and in the best units 40 hours.
In Russia the average is 110-130 hours of flight time.
Ukraine has:
30 S-300 batteries of which only 3 are in good condition
10 Buk 9К37 batteries whose condition is unknown
41'000 soliders of which 6'000 are fully trained and 500 well-trained
686 tanks, many bad shape, of which 86 can be considered as modern
100+ heavy multi-launch rocket systems with well-trained crews
In contrast, Russia currently has 150'000 soldiers, 880 tanks, 90 combat aircraft and 120 combat helicopters deployed right across the Ukrainian-Russian border.
Bottom line: the Ukrainian military has a lot of powerful artillery units and an aging but still relevant air defense force.
A national guard of loyal Banderites of about another 10'000 men is in the process being created and this is the force which could be used in to keep an eye on the regular military and for punitive terror operations against the Russian-speaking population.
In terms of armor, the Ukrainian military has many but old vehicles (MBT, APCs, IFVs,) protected by many short range air defense systems.
The Ukrainian Navy and Air Force basically exist only on paper.
The good news for the new regime is that all the evidence points to the fact that the SBU (the state security service, ex-KGB) appears to have switched its loyalty to the new regime.
Finally, the regime can probably count on 20'000+ armed thugs: a combination of the Right Sector brownshirts, mobsters hired by the newly appointed billionaire governors and volunteers from western Ukraine.
I think that a clear picture emerges from the above. It can be summarized in two basic conclusions:
a) The Banderite regime has more then enough forces to subdue, suppress, repress and terrorize the Russian speaking population in the south and east of the Ukraine. It's large and well-trained artillery force is particularly dangerous for the Crimean Peninsula.
b) The Banderite regime has no hope at all to mount a meaningful defense against the Russian military. As Pozhidaev put it - "the Ukrainian Air Force can only be considered powerful by African standards". That also goes for the rest of the Ukrainian armed forces."
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