Don’t Think Russia will Cower behind the Broom

Even in the face of its impudent crimes of late, Vladimir Putin and Russia will not cower behind the broom and submissively take his medicine. Putin, who for years has been overseeing a fast paced militarization of Russia, is already planning how to stand up to the United States and NATO for disseminating lies against him and Russia.

At a meeting with the Russian Security Council on Monday, July 22, Putin made the following statements:

“We shall provide an adequate and well-measured response to NATO’s expansion towards Russia’s borders, and we shall take note of [the West] setting up a global missile defense architecture and building up its arsenals of precision-guided weapons.”

“No matter what our Western counterparts tell us, we can see what’s going on. As it stands, NATO is blatantly building up its forces in Eastern Europe, including the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea areas. Its operational and combat training activities are gaining in scale.”

“With that in mind, we need to promptly and diligently implement all the measures we have planned to strengthen our nation’s defense capabilities, including our plans for Crimea and Sevastopol, where we will practically have to set up our military architecture from scratch.”

“The very concept of the state sovereignty is becoming diluted. Unwanted regimes and countries that are trying to exercise independent policy or simply stand in the way of someone’s interests are getting destabilized.”

“Attempts aimed at destabilizing the social and political situation, throwing off Russia and striking at its vulnerable and soft spots have been and will be made.”

“The so-called competitive struggle at the international arena will imply the use of tools in both economic and political fields. This will include the potential of security services, modern information and communication technologies, and connections of dependent, puppet NGOs – the so-called soft power. Apparently, some countries regard it as democracy.”

“On our part, we follow all the norms of international law and fulfill our obligations to our partners. We expect other countries and organizations, military and political alliances – Russia is not a part of any alliance, and that underpins our sovereignty – to take our national interests into consideration.”

According to Reuters and Russian news media, Putin, reading from notes at the head of a long table with officials seated on each side, spoke much more forcefully than during brief televised remarks on the plane's downing first released in the early hours of Monday, when he had seemed less assured than usual.
Putin reiterated his belief that protests that toppled Ukraine's former Russian-backed leader were instigated and funded from abroad. Despite Western sanctions, he said Moscow would stand by separatists in eastern Ukraine whom, he denounced as part of a popular rising against an illegal coup.
“Russia is being presented with what is almost an ultimatum: “Let us destroy this part of the population that is ethnically and historically close to Russia and we will not impose sanctions against you.’ This is a strange and unacceptable logic.”
The sound that we will be hearing for many years is the sound of Russian factories from Vladivostok to Petersburg churning out new weapons. Hopefully, the White House has formally renounced its dangerous reset policy in relations with Russia and will not show that it is unequal to the task of being the leader and defender of the free world.

War with Ukraine, MH17 Place Russia in New Light

·                     This morning Russia shot down two Ukrainian SU-25 fighter jets in the region of the destruction of MH17, signaling its intention to escalate hostilities against Ukraine. Reportedly, the pilots ejected. Ironically, at the same time The Daily Beast reported that Ukraine had quietly asked the US and NATO for sensitive technology that could jam the radar that the Russians are using to lock their missiles on Ukrainian jets. Apparently, the US and NATO did not agree with the request thereby perpetuating the likelihood of more Ukrainian aircraft and pilot losses. It should be pointed out that the guided missile BUK system used by Russia – the one that is driven into and out of Ukraine – requires more intelligence to manipulate than the Neanderthal Russian terrorists seem to possess. Additionally, the conversations between the mercenaries on the ground and their controllers in Moscow revealed a level of linguistic skills and enunciation that is in character with an educated senior Russian officer rather than Moscow’s cutthroats in Ukraine.

·                     Annexation of Crimea, followed by a seventh-month-long war with Ukraine and the destruction of Malaysian MH17, killing 298 people, has placed Russia in a new light.

It is safe to say that most sober officials, analysts and pundits are fairly well acquainted with Russia’s bloody and despotic legacy but are hesitant to relate that knowledge to current affairs.

However, the tumultuous events in Ukraine since late last year have brought Russia’s highhandedness in its former captive nation to the forefront, making observers scratch their heads and wonder whether they should have heeded the warnings about the Kremlin. Were the right-wing conservatives and Eastern European Americans more on target about Russia than kneejerk liberals have been?

Opinions about how to respond to Russia range from tougher sanctions to a war crimes trial against the Kremlin.

The Red Cross contributed to the war crimes talk by making a confidential legal assessment that Ukraine is officially in a war, opening the door to possible war crimes prosecutions, including over the downing of Malaysia Airlines MH-17. “Clearly it’s an international conflict and therefore this is most probably a war crime,” a Western diplomat in Geneva was quoted as telling Reuters.

Since the International Committee on the Red Cross is in the UN system, it can make that determination because it is considered the guardians of international humanitarian law.

Dutch prosecutors are pursuing this angle by opening an investigation into the crash of MH17 on suspicion of murder, war crimes and intentionally downing an airliner. Based on the Law on International Crimes, the Netherlands can prosecute any individual who committed a war crime against a Dutch citizen.

Forcing Russia to stand trial for this war crime would at least symbolically bring it to justice to its legacy of brutality.

·                     In the wake of the destruction of MH17, The US and European Union have intensified their threats of imposing additional sanctions against Russia. Without a doubt, these sanctions must be painful, crippling and punitive – not figurative.

The usually reserved Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, in a statement last weekend, had harsh words for  Putin as investigations seemed to be stymied. “I want to see results in the form of unhindered access and a speedy recovery of the victims’ remains. This is now priority No. 1. Putin must take responsibility vis-à-vis the rebels and show the Netherlands and the world that he is doing what is expected of him," he said.

Rutte's anger comes as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron, and French President François Hollande agreed that “the EU must reconsider its approach to Russia and that foreign ministers should be ready to impose further sanctions on Russia when they meet on Tuesday.”

Unfortunately, the European leaders spoke better than their sanctions did.

The EU agreed Tuesday to expand a list of Russian entities and individuals subject to asset freezes and travel bans and threatened to target vast sectors of the Russian economy if Moscow does not act swiftly to rein its terrorists.

EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels stopped well short of immediately carrying out vows in some countries to jump quickly to “phase three sanctions” that could cripple the Russian economy. Rather, they agreed to prepare by Thursday a list of possible options, including a potential arms embargo, limits on dual-technology sales and, more important, measures targeting the energy and financial sectors. They said such measures could be imposed later only if Russia does not force pro-Moscow separatists to grant unfettered access to the crash site and fulfill its pledge to cooperate with an international investigation.

The “if” is troublesome because it lets Russia off the hook and gives it another chance to commit another crime.

Another strong condemnation came from Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada. “Canada remains committed to doing its part to apply that pressure in response to Russia's provocative actions,” Harper wrote.

“We call on President Putin to immediately order a withdrawal of his troops from the Ukrainian border, to stop the flow of weapons and militants into Ukraine, and to use Russia’s influence to persuade insurgents to lay down their weapons and renounce violence. It is also imperative that investigators be given full, unimpeded access to the crash site of the downed Malaysian airliner.”

·                     At the White House on Monday, President Obama emphasized the need for accountability in an investigation of the shooting down of MH17. But he naively said Russia must urge the rebels to cooperate.

Citing mounting evidence, Kyiv and Washington have built a strong case that a Russian-made missile fired by pro-Moscow terrorists in Ukraine brought down the Boeing 777 airliner.

In a letter to the President, from Democratic Senators Dianne Feinstein (CA), Carl Levin (MI) and Robert Menendez (NJ), who respectively chair the committees on intelligence, armed services and foreign relations, the lawmakers urged consideration of broader sanctions on the Russian economy, including the energy and financial sectors, and designation of the separatists’ self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine as a foreign terrorist organization.

“We understand and strongly support your efforts to coordinate the imposition of sanctions with our key European allies,” the senators wrote. “However, the United States must not limit its own national security strategy when swift action will help fulfill our strategic objectives, support an independent Ukraine and counter malignant Russian interference.”

·                     In its editorial on this topic, The Washington Post quaintly went back to the future. It urged the West to devise a strategy to contain the world’s newest rogue state — Russia. Yes, the West does need a new strategy. The first one was a strategic foreign policy pursued by the United States in the late 1940s and the early 1950s in order to check the expansionist policy of the Soviet Union. In an anonymous article in the July 1947 issue of Foreign Affairs, George F. Kennan, diplomat and US State Department adviser on Soviet affairs, suggested a “long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies” in the hope that the regime would mellow or collapse.

Containment failed for the same reason the League of Nations did: lack of will power and interest. The new policy must have dedication and teeth to stop Russia at the slightest transgression.

Ban Putin from Global Affairs

The impassioned call for banning Vladimir Putin of Russia from all international events is spreading around the world like wildfire.

Russian terrorists’ coldblooded destruction of a Malaysian civilian airliner over Ukraine, killing some 300 people, including 80 children, has triggered humanity’s unchained denunciation of the Russia leader.

Peoples represented by the nationalities murdered by Putin’s mercenaries and others are unable to contain their shock, grief, outrage and disgust for what happened.

Newspapers around the world screamed with banner headlines:

Putin Murderer

Putin’s Missile

Putin’s War

Putin Killer

Putin, You Killed my Son

Putin, You Killed my Friends

This Baby’s Death is on Your Conscience, Putin - Damn You for Centuries

Slaughter at 33,000 feet
And so forth …

Indeed this mass murder has shaken humanity to the core. Common people and pundits have been caught by surprise by this Russian destruction of human life. Some even asked that 20 years ago, when Putin was rising in fame, prestige and power, could the world have thought that he could annex Crimea, wantonly invade southeastern Ukraine and now shoot down a civilian jetliner?

The simple answer is yes. That was bound to happen because no Russian leader is able to abandon Russian manifest destiny of dominating not only its so-called near abroad but the world.

This latest Russian crime brings to mind Moscow’s earlier destruction of KAL 007 in 1983 and President Reagan’s condemnation of it: “This was the Soviet Union against the world and the moral precepts which guide human relations among people everywhere. It was an act of barbarism, born of a society which wantonly disregards individual rights and the value of human life and seeks constantly to expand and dominate other nations.”

History has repeated itself thanks to Moscow.

Photographs seen in newspapers on social media are unbearable to observe. Bodies of adults and children strewn on Ukrainian sunflower and produce fields. One photo shows a child still strapped to its seat. Then there is a photograph of a Russian terrorist, one of many with Neanderthal faces, holding above his head a child’s stuffed toy.

The wreckage scene has not been secured and terrorists have contaminated the area and bodies, making any forensic investigation impossible. It was reported that some 50 bags of body parts have been removed from the crime scene and it was surmised that the Russian terrorists are planning to hold the bodies as hostages to exchange for their imprisoned comrades.

But this cold-hearted murder was not enough for Putin’s hoodlums. A day later, in Luhansk they shot up a city bus killing 20 commuters. Photos showed bodies on the city streets.

President Obama, like other leaders, joined the condemnation but many in Congress criticized his response as being absurdly weak.

“Yesterday, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 took off from Amsterdam and was shot down over Ukraine near the Russian border.  Nearly 300 innocent lives were taken – men, women, children, infants – who had nothing to do with the crisis in Ukraine.  Their deaths are an outrage of unspeakable proportions.

“Evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile that was launched from an area that is controlled by Russian-backed separatists inside of Ukraine,” President Obama said.

He noted that this was “a global tragedy – an Asian airliner was destroyed in European skies, filled with citizens from many countries.” He called for a credible, international investigation into exactly what happened.

“The U.N. Security Council has endorsed this investigation,” Obama said, “and we will hold all its members – including Russia – to their word.” He made clear that Russia, pro-Russian separatists, and Ukraine need to “adhere to an immediate cease-fire” in order to facilitate the investigation (though I wouldn’t include Ukraine in the same sentence as Russia and pro-Russian separatists).

“Evidence must not be tampered with,” he said. “Investigators need to access the crash site. And the solemn task of returning those who were lost on board the plane to their loved ones needs to go forward immediately.”

Calling for investigation and truce is an understated demand of the Russian perpetrators of this heinous crime while the world mourns.

The harshest condemnation came from Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott, who will host the upcoming G20 summit of the richest countries on earth. Many are already calling for Putin to be banned from entering the country and the government seems to be inclined to righteously and bravely go down that route.
“Australia takes a very dim view of countries which facilitate the killing of Australians, as you’d expect,” Abbott said, adding that he had spoken to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko but not Russian leader Vladimir Putin. “The idea that Russia can wash its hands of responsibility because this happened in Ukrainian airspace just does not stand serious scrutiny.”

Abbott then hinted that Putin’s attendance at the November conclave would hinge on Russia’s unequivocal support for an investigation, saying Australia would wait and see what next unfolded.

“Australia is a self-respecting country,” he said. “Visitors to this country are people who have done the right thing by this country.”

Abbott also stated: “The idea that Russia can wash its hands of responsibility because this happened in Ukrainian airspace just does not stand serious scrutiny. This is not something that can just be dismissed as a tragic accident when you have Russian proxies using Russian-supplied equipment.”

This tragedy has another set of victims – the people of Russia who are being dragged through the cesspools of history and the future by their inglorious leader Putin. Their culture, literature, legacy has been besmirched by this maniacal murder for all times, much like Hitler did to the Germany nation. They cannot be passive and submissive any longer.

The sooner they arise and free themselves of this killer, the better Russia and the world will be.

In the meantime, the world cannot allow this crime against humanity to fade from the pages of history. It must be remembered in tandem with the Holodomor and Holocaust.

World leaders must take up Tony Abbott’s view and isolate Putin from all global events, turning him into the criminal outcast that he is. Writer to your elected officials urging them to take a strong stand against this No.1 global terrorist. Spread the message across the world.

There will Be Hell to Pay

After hearing that a Malaysian civilian aircraft with 295 people on board was shot down today over eastern Ukraine, Sen. John McCain said that there would be hell to pay if Russia shot down the plane.

Ironically, Russia has an account with the devil.

Russian mercenaries in Ukraine indeed shot down the plane with a surface to air missile.

Russia will also be remembered for this crime against humanity – the murder of 295 innocent civilians for generations. This crime reminds us of the crash of the Polish military aircraft Tu-154 in Smolensk in 2010, killing everyone on board.

In a post on VKontakte, Russia's largest social media site, which reportedly has since then been taken down, Russian terrorist leader and officer Igor Girkin, aka Strelkov, wrote:  “In the vicinity of Torez, we just downed a plane, an AN-26. It is lying somewhere in the Progress Mine. We have issued warnings not to fly in our airspace. We have video confirming. The bird fell on a waste heap. Residential areas were not hit. Civilians were not injured.

Russia’s crimes against humanity are too numerous to list but how long will the United States and the EU and other so-called civilized countries tolerate Moscow’s evil doings. How long will Angela Merkel swoon like a teenage girl at the sight of Vladimir Putin?

Yesterday, the US and EU instituted additional sanctions against Russia for perpetuating its war against Ukraine. Hopefully those sanctions will have their anticipated result and force Russia to capitulate and withdraw its mercenaries from Ukraine.

However, today’s Russian destruction of a civilian aircraft over Ukraine calls for the most drastic consequences against Moscow, including a worldwide suspension of diplomatic relations with Putin’s outlaw regime.

The Kremlin must be taught once and for all that it cannot commit murder with impunity.

May God rest the souls of the innocent victims of this Malaysian flight.

800-lb Russian Gorilla in the Room

Despite the mounting evidence that Russia planned, launched and is reinforcing the invasion of Ukraine that led to the annexation of Crimea and a bloody, prolonged ground war in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has had the audacity to look the world straight in its eyes and deny complicity, saying “not me.”

Why do the United States, the European Union and other world leaders accept his arrogance? Despite global and regional governmental, non-governmental and commercial arrangements that seek to maintain peace, welfare, stability and security, Putin and Russia continue to do what they please, without consideration for the spirit or letter of the law, without taking into account others’ points of view, and with total impunity?

Why does the non-Russian world tolerate and cringe in the presence of Russia?

The United States today again confirmed that Russia in fact launched an invasion of Ukraine.

“While Russia says it seeks peace, its actions do not match its rhetoric. We have no evidence that Russia’s support for the separatists has ceased. In fact, we assess that Russia continues to provide them with heavy weapons, other military equipment and financing, and continues to allow militants to enter Ukraine freely. Russia denies this, just as it denied its forces were involved in Crimea – until after the fact. Russia has refused to call for the separatists to lay down their arms, and continues to mass its troops along the Ukrainian border. Many self-proclaimed ‘leaders’ of the separatists hail from Russia and have ties to the Russian government. This all paints a telling picture of Russia’s continued policy of destabilization in eastern Ukraine,” read the State Department’s statement.

The US cited a range of facts substantiating its claim, including columns of tanks, armored vehicles and heavy artillery that have been seen crossing into Ukraine from Russia.

“This timeline of events leading to, during, and after the unilateral Ukraine ceasefire illustrates how the good-faith efforts of the Ukraine government and European leaders to broker a ceasefire with Russia and the separatists it backs have been rejected. Russia and the separatists they are supporting continued to destabilize Ukraine throughout the ceasefire, and continue to destabilize Ukraine today,” the State Department said in its fact sheet.

Noting President Poroshenko’s unilateral truce and Russia’s rejection of it, the US government concluded: “As General Philip Breedlove, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, stated on July 1: ‘The cease fire in Ukraine was not ended because of accusations; it was ended because Russian-backed separatists responded with violence while President Poroshenko tried to open a window for peace. Russia’s commitment to peace will be judged by its actions, not its words.’ As the United States and our European allies have repeatedly stated, we call on the Russian government to halt its material support for the separatists, to use its influence with the separatists to push them to lay down their arms and abide by a ceasefire and to release all hostages. Only then can the process of bringing peace to Ukraine truly begin.”

This dangerous situation is compounded by the Ukrainian government’s alert today that a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine is imminent.

“Ukraine, like never before, stands on the cusp of a wide-scale aggression from our current northern border,” said National Security and Defence Council Deputy Secretary Mykhaylo Koval, according to the AFP.

Koval said the Kremlin mobilized 22,000 troops in the annexed Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and had other units stretching from the north-central region of Chernihiv to the southeastern edge of the Russian-Ukrainian border on the Sea of Azov. His claim has been corroborated by NATO and news agencies.

Other news media reported that fighting in the affected areas of Ukraine has intensified.

The Wall Street Journal quoted Breedlove as warning, “We see again a presence on the Ukrainian border by large Russian formations. Those formations are growing every day and their capability grows every day, and that is concerning.”

And in the meantime, the US and EU are dithering with their appropriate, crippling, punitive sanctions against official Russia that would hopefully bring the Russian silent majority to its feet and oust its obnoxious, deceitful dictator.

Otherwise, the global community will not be safe with this 800-lb Russian gorilla in the room.

Impose Crippling Sanctions on Russia Now

For all intents and purposes, Ukraine has been at war with Russia since mid-January. While the launch of this war has been inevitable considering Russia’s insatiable appetite to re-subjugate Ukraine and other former captive nations, it was unexpected in its timing, ferocity and arrogance.

Undoubtedly planned well before the farcical Winter Olympics in Sochi, Vladimir Putin contemptuously participated in the opening of the peaceful global athletic tournament knowing that he is on the verge of defying several international covenants. That was reminiscent of the scene from the movie “Godfather,” during which Michael Corleone recites the Credo during the Christening his godchild while assassins carry out his orders to murder his enemies.

After seizing Crimea, Russia’s ground war against Ukraine in the eastern and southeastern regions progressed better than Ukraine’s efforts to repel the Russian invaders – until the election of Petro Poroshenko.

Within a few days of his election, Poroshenko announced a unilateral ceasefire that was welcomed by the international community. Russia, on the other hand, rejected this olive branch and its terrorists continued with their killings.

But President Poroshenko turned out to be a different Ukrainian president. He quickly demonstrated leadership, determination, courage, vision and patriotism. He suspended the truce and ordered the Ukrainian Armed Forces, National Guard and volunteer battalions to attack and liberate occupied regions. They did. The war with Russia entered a new phase, a turning point, as Poroshenko said. Success was costly and hard fought but town-by-town Ukrainian victories were recorded.

As Dmytro Tymchuk reported on Inforesist.com, Ukrainian servicemen continue to block militants in the Donetsk region and set up new checkpoints. The spokesman of the Anti-Terrorist Operations (ATO) Vladislav Seleznev reported on his Facebook page: “Units of the National Guard of Ukraine completed clearing (from terrorists – ed.) of Seversk and other settlements near Luhansk, taking them under their control. These measures ensure safety of civilians of the region and create conditions for a speedy restoration of the constitutional order and the rule of law in these regions in eastern Ukraine.”

Tymchuk added that active operations of the ATO forces continue in other directions.

Poroshenko on July 14 accused Russian military staff officers of fighting alongside separatists in the east of the country and said a newly-developed Russian missile system was being used against government forces. Earlier in the week the Grad rocket launcher bombarded a military post, killing more than two dozen Ukrainian soldiers.

“Information has been confirmed that Russian staff officers are taking part in military operations against Ukrainian forces,” Poroshenko said, adding to his earlier charges of movements of heavy military equipment into Ukraine from Russia.

Earlier today, National and Security Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko told journalists that Russia was building up forces on its border with Ukraine, and separatists, backed by Russian “mercenaries,” were firing on Ukrainian border guards in an attempt to bring armored vehicles into the country.

Accusing Russia of embarking on a course of escalation in Ukraine's eastern regions, Lysenko said: “In the past 24 hours, deployment of (Russian) units and military equipment across the border from the Sumy and Luhansk border points was noticed. The Russian Federation continues to build up troops on the border.”

Columns of Russian tanks and other armored equipment, under the Russian flag, were seen crossing the Ukrainian border, more evidence for those in denial that Russia is continuing to invade Ukraine.

Ukraine’s battlefield victories began to raise concerns among Kyiv’s allies and supporters. Some countries, like the USA, didn’t reprimand Ukraine but expressed hope that its response would be measured.

With its mercenaries routed from many locations, Russia felt the pain of Ukraine’s success and Putin began to demand the truce he rejected earlier. Germany’s Angela Merkel also insisted that Poroshenko declare a truce lest her best friend Putin endures more losses or even – God forbid – defeat and embarrassment. Both met before the World Cup final and discussed Ukraine, urging Poroshenko to temper his military’s reaction.

Putin has been playing what NATO’s secretary general correctly termed a “double game,” telling the global community that he favors peace while doing the opposite in Ukraine.

Today, Ukraine deserves and needs the full support of the United States and the European Union. A weak response from Kyiv’s allies will only reinforce Russia’s commitment to its quest to re-subjugate Ukraine and the ex-captive nations.

As the Washington Post wrote on July 10:

“If he has been surprised by Mr. Poroshenko’s grit, then Mr. Putin can only be encouraged by the fecklessness of the European Union and the United States. At the end of June, the allies promised tough sanctions against Russia if Moscow did not immediately stop its support of the rebels. Secretary of State John F. Kerry breathlessly declared on June 26 that Russia had to move within ‘hours’ to disarm its proxies. Two weeks later, the promised ‘sectoral’ sanctions on Russian industries have not been adopted, even though Western governments agree that Mr. Putin has not met any of their conditions. Instead, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande are leaning on Mr. Poroshenko to stop trying to regain control over his country.

“To their credit, senators from both parties voiced frustration with the Obama administration’s continued passivity at a Foreign Relations Committee hearing Wednesday. ‘What are we waiting for?’ asked Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ). Administration officials predicted that the oft-promised sanctions would come ‘very soon’ if Russia did not change course — perhaps following a European Union summit meeting next week. But the White House has not committed itself to unilateral action if the European Union falters.

“The administration is not wrong to prefer joint action with the Europeans if it is achievable. But the United States has the power to impose crippling unilateral sanctions on Russia, especially through the banking system. If the Ukrainian government can act without the permission of France and Germany, so can the United States.”

Indeed, don’t delay crippling, punitive sanctions on Russia, or else Ukraine will be lost and future generations will ask why we allowed it to happen on our watch.

US, Canada Continue to be Staunchest Supporters of Ukraine

United States and Canada continue to be the staunchest supporters of Ukraine in its war with Russia.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announced on Friday, July 11, that it added 14 more individuals to the list of those sanctioned over Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Baird said Canada welcomes an agreement last week in Berlin on talks between Russia and Ukraine to restore a ceasefire in the region, but said “Moscow's failure to back up its words with deeds will result in further costs to the Russia Federation.”

“Peace will only be achieved if Russia and the gunmen it continues to support start showing good faith in talks with Kyiv,” he said, calling on Russia to stop arming terrorists and draw down its forces on the Ukrainian border.

Baird called news Friday of the deaths of 30 Ukrainian soldiers "shocking" and pointed to “Russian-sponsored subversion and violence.”

“This type of aggressive action, this type of military capability is not coming from some natural group of concerned Ukrainian citizens and it has to stop,” Baird said.

Baird said Canada is supportive of NATO’s response to the crisis.

“Canada has been very front and center and supportive of the reassurance package to NATO members who are on the border with Russia. Obviously the concerns, the real concerns in Romania and Poland and the three Baltic states are real and Canada is there,” Baird said.

In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said it is imposing economic sanctions and travel bans against 14 individuals it described as members of insurgent groups or separatist militias in eastern Ukraine or members of Russian groups supporting them:

Viktor Yuriiovych Anosov

Viacheslav Anatoliiovych Apraksimov

Fedir Dmytrovych Berezin

Ruslan Yunirovish Ilkaev

Valery Vladimirovich Kaurov

Oleksandr Sergiyovych Khodakovskyi

Mykola Ivanovych Kozitsyn

Oleksii Borysovych Mozgovyi.

Valerii Kostiantynovych Musiienko

Viacheslav Mykolaiovych Petrov

Ihor Venedyktovych Plotnytsky

Yurii Oleksandrovych Protsenko

Oleh Anatoliiovych Vasin

Serhii Anatoliyovych Zdriliuk

Vice-president Joe Biden on Saturday encouraged the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, to pursue talks that could lead to a ceasefire with Russian terrorists and said Washington continued to pursue efforts to raise pressure on Russia.

Biden, who has been the point man for the White House on the Ukrainian crisis, spoke to Poroshenko by phone earlier in the day.

“President Poroshenko informed the vice-president about the latest separatist attacks using heavy weapons on Ukrainian forces and the vice-president expressed his condolences for the loss of life,” the White House said in a statement.

“[Vice President Biden] expressed support for President Poroshenko’s efforts to convene a meeting to discuss a possible ceasefire with the separatists, and informed Poroshenko of ongoing US diplomatic efforts to work with our international partners to impose costs on Russia if it continues on its current course of providing the separatists with heavy weapons and equipment.”

The US has warned repeatedly that it will impose further sanctions, along with its western allies, against Russia if Moscow did not use its influence to tame the separatists and make peace with Kiev.

The European Union on Saturday also said it imposed new sanctions on leading rebel figures.

Without this staunch support, Ukraine would be overrun by Russian terrorists that would signal an escalation that would ultimately threaten peace and security in Poland and other Eastern European countries.