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.

Novodvorska, Russian Friend of Ukraine and

Enemy of Putin, Dies Suddenly

When a well-known Russian human rights activists, former dissident and political prisoner, friend of and supporter of Ukraine, enemy of Putin and his Russia, and champion of Ukraine and its revolutionary leader Stepan Bandera suddenly dies of infectious toxic shock syndrome it is natural to look for the smoking gun in the hand of Vladimir Putin.

Fortunately for Putin, he was touring Latin America, throwing favors to regional leaders so the immediate connection will be difficult to be made. Nonetheless, as with Anna Politkovska, the truth and circumstances about Valeriya Novodvorska’s abrupt death may surface sooner than later.

While her goodwill stretched across the border into Ukraine, where it was felt from Kyiv to all of the towns, her absence will be most felt in her native Russia where the fledgling and timid human rights and anti-Putin movement has lost a mighty, fearless advocate.

Novodvorska, 62, championed anti-Putin and his anti-tyrannical policies since his coming to power. Most recently she supported Ukraine’s national revolution against Putin’s lackey Viktor Vanukovych, she supported Madian, and sided with Ukraine in its war against Russian invaders. She was one of the organizers of an anti-war rally in Moscow earlier this year.

Novodvorska was a regular on Russian radio programs in the United States where she unabashedly expressed those views and associated them with Ukrainian history by speaking favorably about OUN leader Stepan Bandera and UPA commander in chief Roman Shukhevych. Novodvorska was not intimidated into silence by dissenting radio listeners. As a matter of fact, she proudly wore a lapel button of Stepan Bandera and displayed his portrait in her Moscow apartment.

Very recently Novodvorska urged Russian terrorists in Ukraine to surrender, explaining to them that Putin is using them as cannon fodder.

Suddenly yesterday morning she was taken to a hospital where the doctors tried in vain for several hours to save her.

Whether or not Putin was involved, he again deviously prevailed over the forces of good. Twitter posts from Ukraine glorified her as a human rights champion and friend of Ukraine. Some even suggested that a street in Kyiv be renamed in her honor because she deserved it.

But more tragically, the Russian people will lose without her strong voice in their defense.

Вечная память. Eternal memory.