Before getting to today's news, which is appropriately saturated with information concerning the situation in the Ukraine - the more pertinent question for prophecy watchers involves the potential prophetic significance of this situation.
It is unclear now how this situation will play a role in terms of prophetic significance. It is hard to imagine that something of this significance will have no prophetic significance (assuming somehow a miracle doesn't occur, which would resolve this situation spontaneously and quickly). Connecting those dots is difficult at the moment, but one can almost guarantee that this situation in the Ukraine - at some point in the future - will end up having an obvious link to prophecy. We have to wait and watch. If you have been following prophecy for some length of time, you know this is how it always works.
It reminds me of watching Turkey over the past decades, knowing that this country will ultimately play a role in the Gog-Magog alliance. There was a period of time a few years ago, when it appeared that Turkey would be a member of the EU, a development which seemed inconsistent with a Gog-Magog alignment. But over the years, that changed as the EU became uncomfortable with the growing radical Islamic faction within Turkey - and as a result, Turkey turned to Russia and began making military and financial arrangements with the land of Magog. It was prophetically predictable, but took some time to develop as we knew it would.
I suspect that the situation in the Ukraine will be similar. This is too big and is progressing too rapidly and involves too many nations not to have prophetic significance at this late hour. At this point it is too early and too confusing to clearly see how this will develop prophetically, but it is almost a guarantee that it will. We need to watch this closely.
Jesus told us that there would be rumors of war during these days and indeed that prophetic scripture has been proven correct as we would expect:
If you’re paying attention to geo-political and economic affairs at the moment, then you cant’ ignore the gathering storm clouds in Europe.
No one at the White House will officially admit it, but we may well be sitting on the cusp of a widespread conflagration. To suggest otherwise is simply naive. The chess game is, without a doubt, in full swing.
After having threatened Vladimir Putin’s $40 billion personal fortune with asset forfeiture last week, the United States continues to push forward with a variety of sanctions against anyone and any nation believed to be providing material support to pro-Russian interests. This morning the S&P ratings agency, likely with the support of U.S. officials, fired a shot across the bow of the Russian economy by downgrading the country to just above “junk status,” a move likely designed to scare foreign investment interests and bank capital to flee the country.
Russia retaliated almost immediately by proposing a scorched earth policyreminiscent of their tactical withdrawal against the Germans in World War II. In essence, should the United States continue its attack on the Russian economy and individual wealth, the country will begin to divest itself completely of Western influence by withdrawing all dollar and Euro denominated assets, selling investment bonds of any country supporting the sanctions, and engaging in global trade through exchange mechanisms that do not involve the dollar.
Writer Arthur Hoppe once said, “old men declare war because they have failed to solve complex political and economic problems.”
If you’re paying attention, then what should be clear is that no political solution is taking shape in the Ukraine. The leadership in the United States, Europe, Russia, and China seems to understand that tensions will only escalate from here.
Why else would Ukraine be sending thousands of troops to its eastern border? And why would Nobel Peace Prize winner President Barrack Obama send American troops to Poland, where the country’s President recently called up reserve troops for the first time in its history?
If you look at what’s happening in the region from a military perspective then there is a distinct possibility that all of economic and political machinations currently in play are strictly for show and to buy more time for military positioning.
Given the media blackout and false news stories pervading the American mainstream it may be difficult to put into perspective how big this really is.
John Galt of Shenandoah suggests that the mobilization of Russian troops has reached such levels that there can be only one legitimate explanation:
The updates along the Ukrainian border along with news and a few new videos are disturbing to say the least.
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If this is not the start of positioning for an offensive into the Ukraine, it has to go down as one of the most expensive military exercises in world history.
That’s a lot of Russian Armor Moving around the Ukraine Border notes Galt. There are literally miles upon miles of armored personnel carriers and tanks in the following videos, and the stress in the air is almost palatable, despite the language barrier.
The war of words between the United States and Russiahas heated up over Crimea and eastern Ukraine with US military officials now saying that Russian fighter jets crossed into Ukrainian airspace several times over the past 24 hours.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists about the issue, said on Friday that the Russian jets could have been checking Ukrainian radar system or making a show of force against the country.
This week, Russia began military exercises close to the border with Ukraine, saying the drills are in response to Kiev’s intensified crackdown on pro-Russia protesters in the east and south.
Moscow called on the US to force Kiev to halt its operation in Ukraine’s eastern and southern regions. But, interim authorities in Kiev said they are ready to fight Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday accused the US of being behind the Ukraine turmoil and said Moscow would respond if its interests came under attack.
“There is no reason not to believe that the Americans are running the show,” RT television quoted him as saying.
The deployment of US and NATO aviation, ships and troops raises concerns, Russia’s Chief of General Staff told his American counterpart. In a phone conversation the two also spoke of Russian military exercises and “substantial” Ukrainian troop buildup.
“Our concern is caused by an increase of US air force and the American military personnel in the Baltic, Poland, and also the Alliance's ships in the Black Sea,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement, quoting General Valery Gerasimov. NATO wargames in Eastern Europe are also “not helping” to normalize the situation, Russia's defense minister Sergey Shoigu said earlier.
The first waves of US soldiers have already arrived in Poland and Latvia, after Tuesday announcement that the Pentagon is sending about 600 soldiers to Poland and the three Baltic states for infantry exercises. “If there's a message to Moscow, it is the same exact message that we take our obligations very, very seriously on the continent of Europe,” Defense Department spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said at the time.
Also this week, the US frigate USS Taylor entered the Black Sea, with this NATO vessel – the French frigate Dupleix – reportedly scheduled to enter the Black Sea by the end of the week. France is also sending four fighter jets to help NATO’s air patrols over the Baltics.
In a phone call on Friday, Gerasimov also told US General Martin Dempsey that Ukraine deployed a“substantial group of forces” on its border with Russia, potentially capable of conducting sabotage.“On the Ukrainian side of the border with Russia, light mechanized border troops are operating, designed for subversive activities,” defense ministry’s statement read.
On Thursday, Russia began military exercises near the Ukrainian border following the escalation of violence in eastern Ukraine. “The order to use force against civilians has already been given, and if this military machine is not stopped, the amount of casualties will only grow,” Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said. Russian drills involve march and deployment maneuvers by forces in the southern and western military districts, and separate Air Force exercises.
Ominous signs are appearing in Ukraine and Moscow that could mean that a Russian invasion is imminent.
Putin has broken offcommunications with the White House, while Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel can't raise anyonein the Russian government. Russian troops on the border with Ukraine continue to "pulse"- drive toward the border and then stop. Russian fighter planes haveviolated Ukrainian air space. And the BBC is reporting that both sides in Eastern Ukraine think a Russian invasion "inevitable":
There is no sign of de-escalation in eastern Ukraine, according to the BBC's Natalia Antelava who has been in Donetsk and Slaviansk.
She told BBC World News that tension was very high, with armed men patrolling the streets, and that her teamhad been held at gunpoint.
Locals on both sides felt a sense of "inevitability" of a Russian invasion, she continued, and there was "a real fear" that there would be a clash.
She said she saw evidence on Friday that some armed men in Slaviansk were from Russia.
Whatever Putin's game, he's winning. Ukraine is dancing to his tune, and the west has been largely sidelined, Only Putin knows if war is "inevitable" but regardless of his preparations and feints, he has built up tensions in the region to near unbearable levels. He has the psychological edge over his adversaries, which makes his moves all the more threatening.
But Putin still has a lot more to lose than gain if he invades. Right now, he is like a cat toying with a mouse, deciding if he's grown bored with the game and will either let the mouse go or devour it.
There is no sign of de-escalation in eastern Ukraine, according to the BBC's Natalia Antelava who has been in Donetsk and Slaviansk.
The last time the Russian "Doomsday Plane" was seen in the air doing its trademark loops at 27,000 feet telegraphing Vladimir Putin was somewhere nearby, was on March 31, just days after the formerly Ukrainian region was annexed by the Kremlin. Until today, when over the past 4 hours, the Tu-214 has been quietly circling in position just shy of Finland and the Baltics, where as it is known, NATO has been depositing hundreds of western soldiers in a "defensive" build up.
What is the "Doomsday Plane"? Here is a reminder:
The Tupolev Tu-214SR is a Russian Special Mission Aircraft believed to act as a communication relay aircraft. This kind of aircraft is often dispatched by the Russian Air Force to accompany Putin’s presidential aircraft on its travels and for this reason it is considered the Russian version of the U.S. E-4B, a so-called “doomsday” plane, with an airborne command and control role.
America isn't the only superpower with a "Doomsday Plane" for its head of state. When Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to escape danger, he hops aboard this top-secret flying communications center.
A special missions variant of the Tupolev Tu-214 commercial transport aircraft, the Tu-214SR is Russia's answer to the US E-4B, an airborne command and control plane built specifically for the Russian president's use and considered successor to the Ilyushin Il-20 Coot, which has been in service for the better part of four decades. Produced by Aviastar SP and Kazan Aircraft Production Association, the twin-engine, long-endurance jet can carry 62 passengers with comparable range and speed to a Boeing 757. But unlike the Boeing, the Tu-214SR is packed to the gills with cutting-edge sensor and communications equipment.
Why was the Doomsday Plane circling so close to the Baltics today of all days, and is this nothing but a welcome sign from Russia to the NATO build out in Eastern and Central Europe? And does it indicate that Putin was - as he usually does - either traveling in the vicinity, or is it an omen of something more ominous?
Since the invasion of Crimea, President Vladimir Putin and President Barack Obama have had regular phone calls in an often half-hearted attempt to deescalate the ongoing crisis inside Ukraine. But as the U.S. and EU prepare to unveil new sanctions against Russia, Putin has decided the interactions should stop. The Kremlin has ended high-level contact with the Obama administration, according to diplomatic officials and sources close to the Russian leadership. The move signals an end to the diplomacy, for now.
“Putin will not talk to Obama under pressure,” said Igor Yurgens, Chairman of the Institute for Contemporary Development, a prominent Moscow think tank, and a close associate of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
Obama and Putin have spoken to each other about Ukraine regularly over the past weeks, including calls on March 28, March 16, and March 6. But that these calls are now on hold for the indefinite future, due to their lack of progress and frustration on both sides.
On Friday, Kerry warned that new round of American financial assaults on Russia were on the way. “We are putting in more sanctions, they will probably come Monday at the latest,” he said in a private meeting in Washington, according to an attendee. Russian businesses and individuals close to Putin would be on the sanctions list, he added.
Diplomatic sources close to the process confirmed that Putin is not interested in speaking with Obama again in the current environment. The two leaders might talk again in the future but neither side is reaching out for direct interaction, as they had been doing since the Ukraine crisis began. The failure of the agreement struck last week in Geneva between the contact group of the U.S., EU, Russia, and Ukraine has made further direct Washington-Moscow interactions moot.
Other top U.S. officials are also now out of direct contact with their Russian interlocutors. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is also getting the cold shoulder from his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoygu. Pentagon officials have reached out to Russia on Mr. Hagel’s behalf within the past 24 hours but have not gotten any response, according to Pentagon Spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren.
Andriy Deshchytsia said Russia’s decision Thursday to launch the military exercises “very much escalates the situation in the region.”
Talking to The Associated Press in Prague, Deshchytisa says his country has been taught a lesson by Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. He says “having this experience, we will now fight with Russian troops if ... they invade Ukraine.”
He says “Ukrainian people and Ukrainian army are ready to do this.”
Russia has announced military exercises on the border of Ukraine, hours after Kiev sent in its army to flush out armed pro-Russian rebels in the east of the country raising fears about the worsening crisis.
As tensions on the ground escalated, the war of words between Moscow and Kiev also intensified. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin warned Ukraine there would be consequences for sending its armed forces into the volatile east to oust separatists from government buildings and checkpoints. Ukraine’s acting president Oleksandr Turchynov retaliated on national TV, accusing Russia of “co-ordinating and supporting killer terrorists”.
The two leaders’ remarks came shortly after Ukraine’s army began a big security offensive against the separatist stronghold city of Slavyansk on Thursday, making good on its vow to crack down on armed rebels holding public buildings in the country’s east.
Also see:
The Czech government has approved a new project funded by the US State Department, which is trying to promote Islam to Czech public school children and convert them across the country and other European countries, such as France and Spain.
The project which is called Muslims in the Eyes of Czech Schoolchildren is being financed with American taxes from a grant the US Embassy in Prague gave them.
According to the group, the Czech Ministry of Education has given permission to Muslims in the Eyes of Czech Schoolchildren to hold pro-Muslim lectures and seminars aimed at “teaching Czech school children about Islamic beliefs and practices” and at “fighting stereotypes and prejudices about Muslims.”
One lecture answers questions such as: “What makes a young Czech woman want to become a Muslim?”, “It is the main motive always falling in love with a Muslim man or are there other reasons?”, and “How does one convert to Islam?”.
The group recently had a promotional advert, saying it would pay 250 korunas (about $13 dollars) to teenage students who attended a two-hour presentation about Islam.
The group also wants to re-write school textbooks making sure there is “accuracy of the information about Islam in Czech textbooks”, the group’s website says.
The second step, they write, is to put programs in place that will “acquaint both pupils and teachers with Islam and Muslims” helping them to develop better “critical reception skills”.
Or in other words “re-education” – teaching people what to they should and should not think.
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