Thread: Russian Troops Take Up Positions In Sevastopol As Ukraine Teeters On The Brink Of Civil WarU.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Russia should respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine and be "very careful" in its judgments toward its neighbor. Are we close to an Apocalyptic World War III??
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Russian Troops Take Up Positions In Sevastopol As Ukraine Teeters On The Brink Of Civil WarU.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Russia should respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine and be "very careful" in its judgments toward its neighbor. Are we close to an Apocalyptic World War III??
Posted : 26 Feb, 2014 12:09 PM
Vladimir Putin put 150,000 Russian combat troops on high alert for war games near Ukraine on Wednesday, the Kremlin's boldest gesture yet after days of sabre rattling since its ally Viktor Yanukovich was toppled as president in Kiev.
NATO defense ministers, meeting in Brussels, issued a statement supporting "Ukrainian sovereignty and independence, territorial integrity, democratic development, and the principle of inviolability of frontiers". Their statement made no direct mention of the Russian war games.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Russia should respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine and be "very careful" in its judgments toward its neighbor.
Russian military vehicles have been photographed in the main square of Sevastopol, and there are fears that Ukraine is about to plunge into a very bloody civil war. The pro-Russian eastern half of Ukraine is in a state of shock, and many living there are openly calling on Russia to militarily intervene to protect them against the protest groups that have seized power in Kiev. Down in the Crimea, where approximately 60 percent of the population is ethnically Russian, militia groups have formed to protect their region from the �fascist scum running around in Kiev with swastikas�.
That quote is from a recent Time Magazine article, and it demonstrates the extreme level of tension that exists between the two halves of Ukraine right now. Perhaps a peaceful resolution can still be achieved, but at the moment a civil war seems quite likely. And if war does erupt, the truth is that it is going to be exceedingly difficult for Russia to stay out of it.
And Russia is not just sitting back and waiting to see what will happen. They are actively moving military forces into position for a potential conflict. Just check out this excerpt from an International Business Times article entitled �Russian Ships Arrive On Ukraine�s Crimean Coast As Fears Mount Over Russian Invasion In the Region��
According to Russian news site flot.com, Russian military ships carrying soldiers have arrived on Ukraine�s Crimean coast in what some are claiming could be the early signs of a Russian coup in the hotly disputed autonomous region of the Crimea.
Russia�s large landing ship Nikolai Filchenkov has arrived near the Russia Black Sea Fleet�s base at Sevastopol, which Russia has leased from Ukraine since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The ship is reported to be carrying as many as 200 soldiers and has joined four additional ships carrying an unknown amount of Special Forces troops. Flot.com also reported over the weekend that personnel from the 45th Airborne Special Forces unit and additional divisions had been airlifted into Anapa, a city on Russia�s Black Sea coastline. In addition, it is believed that Russia�s Sevastopol base contains as many as 26,000 troops already, according to the German Institute for International And Security Affairs.
Posted below is a photograph that has been shared widely on Twitter of a Russian armored personnel carrier sitting right in the middle of the main square in Sevastopol. Needless to say, this sends a very strong message to the new �regime� in Kiev�
And according to the Guardian, officials have �installed� a pro-Russian mayor in the city. In fact, this new mayor is actually a Russian citizen�
Authorities in the southern Ukrainian city of Sevastopol have installed a pro-Russian mayor as fears grow that the Kremlin may be stoking separatist sentiment in the region.
Sevastopol�s city council handed power to Aleksei Chaliy, a Russian citizen, during an extraordinary session on Monday evening while more than a thousand protesters gathered around city hall chanting �Russia, Russia, Russia,� and �A Russian mayor for a Russian city.�
Fears are spreading that separatists in Sevastopol, and the Crimean region of which it is a part, could use the power vacuum in Ukraine to seize greater autonomy and deepen ties with Russia.
It has become quite clear that Russia does not intend to relinquish control over the Crimea, and the overwhelmingly pro-Russian population down there does not want that to happen either. In fact, many citizens down there see this as an opportunity for the Crimea to reunite with Russia�
So when the forces of the revolution took over the national parliament on Friday, pledging to rid Ukraine of Russian influence and integrate with Europe, the people of Crimea panicked. Some began to form militias, others sent distress calls to the Kremlin. And if the officers of the Berkut riot police are now despised throughout the rest of the country for killing dozens of protesters in Kiev this week, they were welcomed in Crimea as heroes.
For Ukraine�s revolutionary leaders, that presents an urgent problem. In a matter of days, their sympathizers managed to seize nearly the entire country, including some of the most staunchly pro-Russian regions of eastern Ukraine. But they have made barely any headway on the Crimean peninsula. On the contrary, the revolution has given the ethnic Russian majority in Crimea their best chance ever to break away from Kiev�s rule and come back under the control of Russia. �An opportunity like this has never come along,� says Tatyana Yermakova, the head of the Russian Community of Sevastopol, a civil-society group in Crimea.
It will be fascinating to see what happens in the days and weeks to come.
Of greatest concern to the west, of course, is the possibility of Russian military intervention in the rest of Ukraine.�
. But it is not inconceivable that Russia could find a pretext�particularly if ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine were violently suppressed in an uprising against decisions made by a new government. In such extreme circumstances, Moscow would probably prefer a partition that would install a Russian-friendly government in the East, arranged either by force or maneuvering behind the scenes.
If Russia does get militarily involved, it is a certainty that Ukraine will at least lose control of the Crimea. In fact, one Russian official has already made that abundantly clear�
The Crimea region lies on the northern coast of the Black Sea. Russia�s massive Black Sea Fleet is stationed at Sevastopol and 60% of the region�s population are ethnic Russians.
Moscow earlier revealed that it would be ready to go for war over the Crimea region in order to protect the large population and army installations.
�If Ukraine breaks apart, it will trigger a war. They will lose Crimea first [because] we will go in and protect [it], just as we did in Georgia,� an unidentified Russian official told the Financial Times.
So if Russia does take military action in Ukraine, what will the West do?
Will the U.S. and the EU just sit on their hands and complain loudly?
Or will they also take military action?
This proxy war in Ukraine has already caused permanent damage to the relationship between the United States and Russia, and many believe that this conflict is planting the seeds from which World War III may eventually erupt.
Please keep the people of Ukraine in prayer. This is a great tragedy for their nation. And if the situation in Ukraine does descend into mass bloodshed, it could potentially set off a chain of events which would ultimately lead to global war.
Russian Troops Take Up Positions In Sevastopol As Ukraine Teeters On The Brink Of Civil WarU.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Russia should respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine and be "very careful" in its judgments toward its neighbor. Are we close to an Apocalyptic World War III??
Posted : 26 Feb, 2014 12:44 PM
Matthew 24:3-12: The disciples asked Jesus, "What will be the sign of your coming and the End of the Age?"
Jesus answered: "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars {Luke 21:9 adds "And Revolutions"}, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the End is still to come. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earhquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains."
"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of Me. {During the 1260-day Great Tribulation} At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate eqch other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the End will be saved!!"
Russian Troops Take Up Positions In Sevastopol As Ukraine Teeters On The Brink Of Civil WarU.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Russia should respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine and be "very careful" in its judgments toward its neighbor. Are we close to an Apocalyptic World War III??
Posted : 27 Feb, 2014 03:45 AM
Thank you Richard.
More info for you:
Ukraine names Baptist pastor as acting president. Ukrainian evangelicals issue call for national prayer & reconciliation in wake of violence
�Oleksandr Turchynov, a well-known Baptist pastor and top opposition politician in Ukraine, took office on Sunday, Feb. 23, as acting president after the Parliament voted to oust President Yanukovych,� reports Christianity Today.
�The collapse of the Yanukovych regime follows three months of growing protests that exploded in last week�s violence, which claimed more than 88 lives,� the article notes. �Many of these protests took place in the Maidan, or Independence Square in the capital city of Kiev.�
Ukrainian evangelicals are calling for national prayer, forgiveness and reconciliation in the wake of the traumatic recent violence. According to CT, Valery Antonyuk, vice president of the All Ukrainian Union of Evangelical Churches, Baptist, issued the following statement:
A Message of Reconciliation:
During this time of fateful change in the life of the Ukrainian nation, the Church and each Christian individually cannot remain spectators on the sidelines of the battles and losses. The Church serves society and mourns together with it. We went through difficult days together with the nation � we served through prayer, evangelism, volunteers, medical help, clothing, and food. Today a time has come for a ministry of active reconciliation, which will help maintain unity in our country and nation.
We supported the nation�s demand to put an end to the tyranny of the authorities and repressions by the police. Now it is important to restore justice and due process of law in the country, to form a government that has the people�s trust, and provide fair presidential elections. We believe that those guilty of crimes against the people will be justly judged, and that peaceful citizens will be protected.
But on behalf of the Church we must say more, we must speak the whole truth; we must say that which is still hard to accept and fulfill; that, which is a precondition for a better future.
Therefore the Church calls the Ukrainian nation to more than just feelings of human justice � to Christian forgiveness, grace, and reconciliation. We pray to God for repentance for the guilty. However at the same time we ask victims to forgive those who are already repentant as well as those who are still lost. In order to unite the nation, in order to reconcile its various parts, its various social, cultural, and political groups, laws and justice are not enough. Without repentance, grace, forgiveness and reconciliation, the country will remain divided and in conflict. This is the precondition for a deep spiritual transformation of Ukraine.
The Bible says that there is, �a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace� (Ecc. 3:7-8). In accordance with these wise words, we declare today to be a time to mend, and not a time to tear the nation apart; a time to seek peace, and not a time to fan the flames of war; a time to learn to love yesterday�s enemies, and not a time to continue to hate rivals and those who have hurt us.
We call on the Evangelical churches of Ukraine to serve to bring peace between people and healing to the wounds of war. We do not call black white and do not justify crimes or even mistakes. But we, as Christians, forgive, because we have been forgiven by God. He reconciled us to Himself, and gave us a message of reconciliation. This grace-giving Word to our whole nation should be heard from Lvov to Donetsk, from Kiev to Simferopol.
We also call upon the international Christian community asking for prayer and intercession for the Ukrainian nation and for help with peacemaking. We mourn for the victims, and thank God for His grace toward Ukraine, and pray for peace and spiritual revival in our nation.
Excerpts from the article:
At issue was Yanukovych�s decision to move Ukraine into a much closer economic and political relationship with Russia. This move triggered outrage among younger Ukrainians who wish for their nation to cast its lot with the European Union. After the vote to oust him, Yanukovych fled Kiev and is reportedly in Crimea, an autonomous republic in southeast Ukraine. According to media reports, the new government has charged Yanukovych with murder and has issued a warrant for his arrest.
Monday night in Kiev, Turchynov, 49, spoke publicly for the first time since taking office as acting president. According to an unofficial translation, he said, �Unprecedented cruelty and brutality of the dictatorial regime did not stop citizens. They selflessly gave their lives to defend their rights�and won.
�Our first task today is to stop the confrontation, to regain control � to ensure peace and tranquility, to prevent new victims, local rivalries and lynchings. Another priority is returning to European integration. We must return to the European family. We recognize the importance of relations with the Russian Federation, and are ready for dialogue with the Russian leadership to build relations with this country on a new, truly equitable and good-neighborly basis, which implies recognition of accounting Ukraine�s European choice.�
The Parliament has set new national elections for late May.
The choice of a Baptist pastor as acting president in Ukraine, which has had an Orthodox majority population for centuries, does not come as a huge surprise to Sergey Rakhuba, head of U.S.-based Russian Ministries. For years, he has been in periodic contact with Turchynov.
�He is well-known in political circles as a principled, honest leader, although he was somehow always in the shadow of Yulia Tymoshenko, the jailed prime minister who was released yesterday.
�He is well-known as a preacher who, despite his political opposition work, preaches on a regular basis at one of the Baptist churches in Kiev, even though security must travel with him. Overall, the evangelical church is excited about Turchynov�s sudden unanimous appointment as acting president. Within the evangelical community, the post-Soviet mindset exists that a true Christian cannot necessarily be a politician. Personally I think it is great that Turchynov is calling for unification and healing of the nation.�
In 2008, Susan Wunderink reported a substantial cover story from Ukraine about the changing role of the nation�s evangelical minority after the 2004 Orange Revolution, exploring how Eastern Europe�s most missional evangelical church was rethinking tradition and the Great Commission.
Russian Troops Take Up Positions In Sevastopol As Ukraine Teeters On The Brink Of Civil WarU.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Russia should respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine and be "very careful" in its judgments toward its neighbor. Are we close to an Apocalyptic World War III??
Posted : 27 Feb, 2014 07:44 AM
Is Vladimir Putin preparing Russian forces to move against Ukraine?
I pray not, but at the moment, there are mixed signals, and U.S. and Ukrainian officials are clearly worried and warning Russia not to intervene.
Here are the latest developments:
Russia Warns Of "Dangerous" Dilemma In Ukraine -- "Forcing Ukraine to choose between close ties with Russia or the West is 'dangerous,' the Russian foreign minister has warned. Urging the European Union and the United States not to intervene in shaping the country's future, Sergei Lavrov said: 'It's dangerous and counterproductive to try to force upon Ukraine a choice on the principle: "You are either with us or against us,"'" reports Sky News in London.
"Russian President Vladimir Putin put 150,000 Russian combat troops on high alert for war games Wednesday, rattling nerves in a neighboring Ukraine already consumed by upheaval," reports NBC News.
The U.S. issued a "blunt warning" to Russia, saying any military intervention in Ukraine would be a "grave mistake," the Associated Press reported.
"Russia sent fighter jets to patrol the border with Ukraine, reportedly gave shelter to the country's fugitive president and pro-Russian gunmen stormed offices of a strategic region, deepening the crisis for Ukraine's new government even as it was being formed," reports the Associated Press.
"Pro-Russian gunmen have seized the parliament and local government offices in the Ukrainian region of Crimea early Thursday, "barricading themselves inside and raising a Russian flag above the building," reports the Wall Street Journal. "The commandeering of the building marks a sharp escalation of events in the ethnically Russian-dominated region that has become a flashpoint for a backlash against the pro-Western protesters that drove Ukraine's pro-Kremlin leader from power on Saturday."
"Viktor F. Yanukovych, the ousted president of Ukraine, declared on Thursday that he remained the lawful president of the country and appealed to Russia to 'secure my personal safety from the actions of extremists,'" reports the New York Times. "Russian news agencies reported that he had already arrived in Russia, but officials did not immediately confirm that."
Excerpts from today's report in the New York Times:
Mr. Yanukovych�s remarks were his first since he appeared in a video on Saturday night after fleeing Ukraine�s capital, Kiev, for eastern Ukraine.
His defiance of the country�s new interim leaders only deepened the political turmoil in the country and threatened to draw Russia more deeply into the conflict.
Mr. Yanukovych, in a letter published by news agencies here, went on to suggest that largely Russian regions of Ukraine � including the east and Crimea � did not accept �the anarchy and outright lawlessness� that had gripped the country and said that orders by the new authorities to use the armed forces to impose order were unlawful.
He clearly meant the response to pro-Russia demonstrations in Crimea, which took an ugly turn on Thursday morning when armed gunmen seized control of the regional Parliament in Simferopol.
�I, as the actual president, have not allowed the armed forces of Ukraine to interfere in the ongoing internal political events,� he said, contradicting early reports that he had ordered the military to intervene in Kiev, only to have his order rebuffed. �I continue to order this. In the case that anyone begins to give a similar order to the armed forces and power structures, those orders will be unlawful and criminal.�
Rumors that Mr. Yanukovych had arrived in Russia first surfaced on Wednesday night, with unnamed sources variously putting him at a hotel in Moscow � which denied it on Thursday � or in a government sanitarium outside the city.
The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said in a brief telephone interview that he was not able to speak on the matter now.
On Wednesday night, he said he did not know if Mr. Yanukovych had arrived, but a senior member of the upper house of Parliament said he knew for a fact that it was not true....
Russia has denounced the political upheaval in Kiev and refused to recognize the interim government.
At the same time, officials have expressed deep frustration with, and at times ridicule of, Mr. Yanukovych�s handling of the crisis.
Russia�s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, has repeatedly said that Ukraine�s leaders were bound by an agreement mediated by three European foreign ministers.
That agreement, signed last Friday, called for an interim national unity government and new elections, but not until December.
Mr. Yanukovych fled Kiev the next day, as security forces that had clashed with protesters withdrew from Kiev�s center and even members of his own party began resigning or changing sides. The new Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has since impeached him, begun to form a new government and called elections to be held in May.
