[It will be interesting to see how the MSM spins this one]
As it’s been reported by Russian media sources, on the night of August 8, two Ukrainian special forces squads attempted to breach Russia’s national border in the Crimea. This operation was organized by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, using armored vehicles to provided fire support to its operatives. Two Russian soldiers were killed in the firefight that followed, but Russian border guards managed to capture seven Ukrainian operatives alive.
Those operatives have already given incriminating testimonies, revealing that the goal of their operation was to carry out acts sabotage and terrorist attacks that were aimed at destabilizing the situation in the region during the pre-election period. To achieve this goal they were instructed to lay land mines on the Simferopol – Yalta highway to assassinate local elected officials who travel on this road often. The Ukrainian special forces squad carried a large number of weapons and explosives, media sources say.
Two days later, in anofficial statement, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced that Kiev would be better off seeking a peaceful solution to the situation in the Donbass region instead of trying to launch terrorist attacks in Russia.
According to Putin, both the EU and the US must take practical steps to hold Kiev authorities accountable, since the sponsors of the sitting Ukrainian government are to decide whether they want Kiev to commit criminal acts of aggression or engage in peaceful dialogue with the people of Donbass.
It’s hardly a secret that Ukraine has long become a center for illegal arms trade, while various terrorist groups from various region of the world have been finding safe heavens in this deteriorating state. This fact has been openly admitted by Reuters.
It is noteworthy that it was the United States that became the largest arms supplier to Ukraine, notes the UAWire, adding the military equipment shipped to Kiev was worth 117.5 million dollars. This information has been confirmed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence. It should be noted that back in November, when Barack Obama signed the US defense budget for 2016, he allowed for the shipment of up to 300 million dollars worth of weapons to Ukraine, if the administration deems it necessary. The list of possible deliveries included small weapons, munitions, drones, anti-tank weapons and mortars.
Looking at the mild reaction in Washington to these events, one can’t help having the impression that the US decided to transform Ukraine in a sort of Afghanistan, while replacing Al-Qaeda it officially supported back in the Cold War days, with Nazi fighters today. Therefore, Kiev is actively encouraged to embark on various campaigns of state-sponsored terrorism which can possibly lead to more disastrous consequences.
With tensions building between Ukraine and Russia, Radio Sputnik’s Loud & Clear speaks with defense correspondent for the Nation, Michael Klare, about what the changing relations mean to NATO.
"I think for most people on both sides, some kind of stability is the ultimate objective," Klare tells Loud & Clear’s Brian Becker, describing a recent incident on the Crimean peninsula in which two Russian soldiers were killed by what Russian President Vladimir Putin described as Ukrainian-sponsored "sabotage-terrorist groups."
"I don’t know who’s behind this, whether there’s some rogue factions on both sides trying to provoke things, but I can’t imagine that the political leaders in Ukraine and certainly not in Moscow want to see an escalation at this point."
While it’s possible that the Ukrainian government is anticipating a Hillary Clinton presidency that will more aggressively court Kiev, Klare has his doubts.
This buildup largely uses a masquerade of "Russian aggression" to justify increased US defense spending.
"I don’t think it’s in Russia’s interest to heat up the conflict in Europe at this time. I think President Putin, as I’ve said, is eager to mend fences with the West in order to have sanctions lifted and also to make progress on other fronts.
"I do not believe that there’s any serious prospect of Russia engaging in some kind of assault on the Baltic republics. That doesn’t make sense to me."
In a bid to stymie Chinese influence in the region, the Japanese government plans to deliver two patrol vessels to the Philippines, and provide surveillance aircraft.
While Tokyo has its own dispute with Beijing over a series of islands in the East China Sea, it will also devote resources to the South China Sea, aiding Manila in its territorial dispute, by providing ships and aircraft.
"We are talking about big-sized, 90-meter long vessels," Masato Ohtaka, deputy foreign press secretary for Japan’s foreign ministry, told reporters.
Intelligence sources told the Washington Free Beacon earlier this week that Beijing has increased its number of security vessels around Scarborough Shoal, effectively crossing a "red line" set by the Obama administration.
"We are very concerned," Ohtaka said, adding that, "It’s not getting better in the East China Sea."
Improved relations between Manila and Tokyo extend beyond military capabilities. Japan is discussing providing the Philippines with a $2.4 billion loan to create a new railway to ease traffic congestion in Manila.
"This is one of the biggest projects Japan has ever embarked upon using the yen loan," Ohtaka said.
1 comment:
Well, just geepers! It seems the most transparent administration has gotten enough grass fires started around the world one or two of them would burn him so bad he'd stop this mess. But no such luck. The media has him just too well insulated and covered.
Never in my life did I expect to still be here and experience something like this.
Its saying something whey you've gotten so numb that nothing like this even shocks you anymore. So sad
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