WASHINGTON
- A House panel on Thursday approved a symbolic resolution that
condemns Russia for its occupation of the Ukraine's Crimean peninsula
and called on the Obama administration to enact tough financial and
trade sanctions against Russia.
Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) -- Lawmakers in Ukraine's Crimea region voted Thursday in favor of leaving Ukraine for Russia, which already has the Black Sea peninsula under de facto control, and set a referendum on the move for 10 days' time.
A third source would not confirm it was Russia
that brought up the issue, but said the G20 generally agreed to give
the United States until the April meetings of the IMF and World Bank
before taking more aggressive measures, a point confirmed by one of ...
“Crime and corruption could create a difficult business climate in Russia,”
the document noted; some directors' interests “may cause Rosneft to
engage in business practices that do not maximize shareholder value.
Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) -- Western powers increased pressure on Russia Wednesday to talk to the new government in Kiev in a bid to ease tensions over Russia's military intervention in Ukraine's Crimea region. Russia has been warned that possible sanctions ...
Lawmakers
in the embattled Crimean region of Ukraine have decided to hold a
referendum March 16 on whether Crimea should become part of Russia. "This is our response to the disorder and lawlessness in Kyiv," Sergei Shuvainikov, a member of the local ...
The Crimean parliament has voted for the region to join Russia. The decision will only come in force if approved
TO: INTEL
FROM: HQ
SUBJ: CRIMEA STATUS QUO
BELOW FIND RPTS FROM MATTHEWAID.COM:
Russian Troop Reinforcements Sent to Crimea Since February 28, 2014
According to reports appears in the Russian press and social media
blogsites, the Russian military has probably reinforced the size of its
troop contingent in the Crimea with an additional 10,000 - 15,000 troops
since the military intervention began in earnest on February 27, 2014.
The ROPUCHA-class amphibious landing ship AZOV brought in 400 troops,
as well as light armor and armored personnel carriers, from the Russian naval base at Novorossiysk on March 2, 2014.
These troops possibly belong to the 7th Guards Airborne Division based in Novorossiysk.
According to Ukrainian sources, dozens of flights by Russian IL-76
military transport aircraft have been detected landing at several
Soviet-era bomber air bases at Gvardeyskoe and Oktyabyr’skoe airfields in the Crimea.
According to Russian social media reports, the following Russian Army units are now reportedly operating in the Crimea:
* Elements of the 76th Airborne Division whose peacetime
homebase is at Pskov in the St. Petersburg Oblast, is now reportedly
operating in the Crimea. A blogger in Pskov reports that the division’s
barracks are now “practically empty.”
* The Russian 31st Guards Independent Airborne Assault Brigade based outside the city of Ul’yanovsk is now reportedly operating in the Crimea.
* The 3rd Independent SPETSNAZ Brigade based at
Tol’yatti, which is subordinate to the Russian military intelligence
service, the GRU, is also reportedly operating in the Crimea
And more troop reinforcements are on their way YouTube videos posted
online over the weekend show long troop convoys, including lots of tanks
and APCs, headed for the port city of Novorossiysk and for the ferry
terminal connecting the Kuban region of Russia with the port of Kerch in
the Crimea. Given the capture of the Kerch ferry terminal earlier today
by Russian troops without any resistance from Ukrainian border guards, I
am guessing that the ferries, each capable of carrying several hundred
troops plus tanks and APCs, have begun round-the-clock operations
carrying one or more combat divisions to the Crimea.
