Ukraine fiasco .... Update 2 ... March 2

On top of the news about the Naval Admiral throwing his lot with Russia, there's news/rumors that the entire Naval force of Ukraine has also sworn allegiance to Russia and their new passports, papers,etc. are/were given to them.
I find that totally unbelievable. Wartime means all sides will use more propaganda than bullets.

Too early in the game to make a prediction?  I will try anyway.  Putin will get Crimea and perhaps even the border regions of Ukraine that touch Russia. All in all, the powers-that-be must have expected this move, they can't be that dumb that they didn't .... or are they that dummy dumb?  Let's hope  Putin does not get greedy and decide to annex the whole of Ukraine..... then all bets are off and we will likely be at the start of a long and bloody  WW3.  

Anti-Putin demo


From BBC:
.....The newly appointed head of Ukraine's navy has sworn allegiance to the Crimea region, in the presence of its unrecognised pro-Russian leader.
Rear Admiral Denis Berezovsky was only made head of the navy on Saturday, as the government in Kiev reacted to the threat of Russian invasion.
Russia's troops have been consolidating their hold on Crimea, which is home to its Black Sea Fleet.
The US has warned Moscow may be ejected from the G8 for its actions.......

From GlobalNews:
Canada is considering expelling Russia’s ambassador in Ottawa, reviewing the decision on an hour-to-hour basis following a stern conversation yesterday between senior officials at Foreign Affairs and Ambassador Georgiy Mamedov, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Sunday.

Baird said he had never, in his time as foreign affairs minister, conducted such a harsh dressing down of a foreign dignitary........

The people getting thrashed are supposedly Far-Right gang members.


Harry Alsop writing at TelegraphUK:
....Putin warns of "threat of violence from ultranationalists"
• Putin tells Merkel he is acting "appropriately"
• Head of Ukraine's navy defects from Kiev to Moscow
• Cameron says British government boycotting Sochi Paralympics
• Thousands on streets of Moscow and Kiev
• In London, demonstrations outside US and Russian embassy
• Nato warns that "Europe's peace is at risk"
• Ukraine calls up its military reservists
• What is Crimea, and why does it matter?
For all their indomitable bravery, the crowds in the Maidan have set in motion something that none of them would have wanted – namely, the de facto break-up of Ukraine.......

Armoured vehicles in town named Mykolaiv or Nikolaev.  Not sure these belong to  Russia or NATO.  There are rumors of people having seen Polish and German army vehicles making their way to Ukraine.


Here is the full text of the statement by the G7:  

We, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States and the President of the European Council and President of the European Commission, join together today to condemn the Russian Federation’s clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, in contravention of Russia’s obligations under the UN Charter and its 1997 basing agreement with Ukraine. We call on Russia to address any ongoing security or human rights concerns that it has with Ukraine through direct negotiations, and/or via international observation or mediation under the auspices of the UN or the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. We stand ready to assist with these efforts.

We also call on all parties concerned to behave with the greatest extent of self-restraint and responsibility, and to decrease the tensions.We note that Russia’s actions in Ukraine also contravene the principles and values on which the G-7 and the G-8 operate. As such, we have decided for the time being to suspend our participation in activities associated with the preparation of the scheduled G-8 Summit in Sochi in June, until the environment comes back where the G-8 is able to have meaningful discussion.We are united in supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and its right to choose its own future. We commit ourselves to support Ukraine in its efforts to restore unity, stability, and political and economic health to the country. To that end, we will support Ukraine’s work with the International Monetary Fund to negotiate a new program and to implement needed reforms. IMF support will be critical in unlocking additional assistance