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  • Ukraine: After the May 25 Election

    The Dateline:Ukraine thread is closed as of today. This new thread will allow us to track developments following the May 25 presidential election.



    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/26/wo...pgtype=article

    Pro-European Billionaire Claims Victory in Ukraine Presidential Vote

    By DAVID M. HERSZENHORNMAY 25, 2014

    KIEV, Ukraine — With their country caught in a fierce tug-of-war between Russia and the West over a new security order, Ukrainians elected Petro O. Poroshenko as president on Sunday, turning to a pro-European billionaire to lead them out of six months of wrenching turmoil, including a continuing separatist insurrection in the east.

    The special election was called by Parliament to replace Viktor F. Yanukovych, who fled Kiev on Feb. 21 after a failed but bloody attempt to suppress a civic uprising, and whose toppling as president set off Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea.
    Continue reading the main story
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    While the election allows Ukraine to open a new chapter in its history, and even President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has indicated in recent days that he would accept the result, Mr. Poroshenko now faces the excruciatingly difficult task of trying to calm and reunite a country that has been on the edge of financial collapse, and on the verge of tilting into civil war. Among his chief tasks will be to ease tensions with Russia.

    “Now we have a state of war,” he said as he arrived at a polling station in Kiev to vote on Sunday. “We need to establish peace.”

    Early exit poll results showed Mr. Poroshenko — a confections tycoon known as the Chocolate King, and a longtime veteran of Ukrainian politics — with a wide lead over his strongest rival, the former prime minister Yulia V. Tymoshenko. He appeared poised to easily clear the simple-majority threshold needed to avoid a potentially divisive runoff.

    Mr. Poroshenko declared victory at an evening news conference at an arts center, where he appeared with the former champion boxer Vitali Klitschko, a leader of the street protests that deposed Mr. Yanukovych. Mr. Klitschko was elected on Sunday as mayor of Kiev, the capital. The arts complex was decked out for a victory party, including cases of Spanish and Italian wine.

    “These were the hardest periods in Ukraine’s history, and these elections determine the future of our country,” Mr. Poroshenko said. “I would like to thank the Ukrainian people who participated and showed record support, and visited all polling stations in these hard conditions.”

    Despite formidable obstacles in the east, where armed separatists largely prevented voting from taking place on Sunday, and in Crimea, which Russian now claims, election officials reported robust turnout throughout the rest of the country.

    International observers also predicted that the presidential vote would receive high marks in meeting standards of fairness.

    But Mr. Poroshenko, 48, faces skepticism even among many of his supporters, who are wary both of his status as a billionaire businessman and because he is a veteran in Ukraine’s notoriously corrupt politics. He has been a longtime member of Parliament, where he briefly served as speaker, and was minister of trade and economic development under Mr. Yanukovych and foreign minister under former President Viktor Yushchenko.

    Mr. Poroshenko has vowed repeatedly to set Ukraine on a pro-European course, and he has pledged to sign the political and trade agreements with the European Union that Mr. Yanukovych abandoned, setting off the uprising last fall.

    But Mr. Poroshenko has deep business interests in Russia and has previously served in pro-Russian governments, creating some optimism in Moscow that negotiations are possible. The Kremlin has already seized a factory and warehouse in Lepetsk, Russia, belonging to Mr. Poroshenko’s company, Roshen Chocolate. Last year, in the run-up to tensions over the European Union agreements, Russia also barred imports of his chocolate, citing vague health concerns.

    Mr. Poroshenko has repeatedly called for armed separatists to be brought to justice, but he also ran a campaign focused on the bread-and-butter issues of jobs and the economy, as well as a populist anticorruption message that resonated well with a Ukrainian electorate weary after more than two decades of malfeasance and mismanagement.

    “We will do the absolutely unique transformation of the country,” Mr. Poroshenko said before casting his ballot, “with zero tolerance to corruption, with a very good investment climate, with an independent court system, with all the necessary things to attract business.”

    It will not be easy. Mr. Poroshenko now inherits an interim government that is unpopular in much of the country, and regarded as illegitimate by many in the east. And he faces demands, by many of the activists who led the streets protests in Kiev, to call early parliamentary elections, which could create chaos and distraction as he tries to push for much-needed legislative changes.

    Ukraine will be under continuing pressure from Russia, which is demanding billions of dollars for unpaid natural-gas bills, and has made clear that it could cripple the Ukrainian economy at any moment with trade sanctions. There is also pressure from the International Monetary Fund, which has laid out strict requirements, including austerity measures, in exchange for $27 billion in emergency credit that saved the country from default.

    While Mr. Poroshenko steered clear of any formal role in the interim government that has run the country since Feb. 28, his growing inevitability as the next head of state has, in recent weeks, helped frame settlement talks that address some concerns in the eastern regions with a so-called decentralization plan that will increase the authority of local governments. He has also expressed a willingness to support civic activists pushing for broad government reforms.
    Photo
    A Ukrainian voter received her ballot at a polling station in the village of Gvozdiv outside Kiev. Credit Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times

    In Kiev, there were long lines at polling stations, and voters generally expressed resolve that the country needed to open a new chapter, with a new leader, even if many expressed some disappointment in the choices they were offered.

    “We are stuck in everything,” said Tatyana Zhukova, a retired engineer, who said she had voted for Mr. Poroshenko at the National Linguistic University in Kiev. “I don’t see new leaders.”

    The crisis in Ukraine, which began six months ago when Mr. Yanukovych broke a promise to sign political and economic accords with the European Union, upended the post-Soviet security order and set off the worst confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cold War, including military maneuvering, volleys of economic sanctions and travel restrictions.

    The interim government, led by Prime Minister Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, has already taken steps toward finalizing the agreements that Mr. Yanukovych abandoned, and many voters said they were intent on seeing Ukraine continue on this pro-European path.

    Ilya Danko, 31, an architect, said he had voted for Mr. Poroshenko with the hope of calming the country by avoiding a second round.

    “It’s like choosing the best from the worst,” Mr. Danko said. “We have great tension now in some regions. I think it’s very important to cool down these things and to end this as soon as possible.”

    Mr. Danko, who participated in the street protests that led to Mr. Yanukovych’s ouster, said he had no doubt that Ukraine should follow a European course.

    “I personally just compare for many years Ukraine and Poland, because we were at the rather same starting point about 15 years ago,” Mr. Danko said. “Now when I go to Warsaw or Krakow, I see a European country, a very economically developed country, and Ukraine, the main problem is this corruption, it has blocked the normal flow of evolution of development of the country.”

    Sunday’s vote has had the broad support of leaders in Europe and the United States, who view it as a crucial step to installing a pro-Western government.

    In St. Petersburg, Mr. Putin, too, expressed support on Saturday. “We will respect any choice made by the Ukrainian people,” he said at a round-table interview with international news agencies.

    During the session, Mr. Putin proposed another Ukrainian billionaire, Viktor Medvedchuk, who is known as an ardent supporter of Russia, to serve as a mediator between Kiev and pro-Russian separatists. Although the proposal was self-serving — Mr. Putin is said to be godfather to Mr. Medvedchuk’s daughter — it was still a sign that talks, rather than further military action, are on the horizon.

    Violence, including sporadic mortar shelling and gunfire, continued in eastern Ukraine throughout the weekend, and separatists had made clear that they would do everything possible to disrupt the election. On Sunday, about one-fifth of the Donetsk region’s nearly 2,500 polling stations were open as of 9:30 p.m., according to local monitors.

    Outside School No. 5 in central Donetsk, people walking dogs and holding newspapers strolled up to a locked door. “Such a shame,” said Tatyana Minaeva, 53, a flight attendant, holding a small brown dog on a leash. “I live in Ukraine, and I want to vote for Ukraine. I feel so helpless. They’ve created some new planet here and taken away our rights.”

    Some pointed out that the sign posted on the door had spelling errors, a fact that they said spoke to the education level of separatists controlling the region. Others noted that the school had opened without any problem for the public referendum two weeks ago on demanding autonomy from Ukraine.

    “I’m so upset,” said Sergei, 42, a businessman who declined to give his last name. “I’m a citizen of Ukraine. I want to register that, and they aren’t letting me.”

    Away from Donetsk, the regional capital, the election seemed to be faring better. In Mariupol, a large city to the south that was wrested from separatists earlier this month, nearly all polling stations were open, local monitors said.

    To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

  • #2
    Good morning, Ukraine...

    Blasts, gunfire at Ukraine airport seized by pro-Russia rebels | Reuters


    New president says he won't negotiate with separatists.

    Assuming Russia has more clout with separatists than they claim, what is Russia angling for by keeping the movement going? My guess would be a federated Ukraine with a high degree of autonomy for all of its regions.
    To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

    Comment


    • #3
      Poroshenko is being reminded that Moscow shall insist upon its prerogatives.

      "...My guess would be a federated Ukraine with a high degree of autonomy for all of its regions."

      Those words otherwise spell on thing-

      S-U-R-R-E-N-D-E-R.

      I certainly hope Poroshenko is a fighter. To allow Russia a say in the internal affairs of Ukraine will neuter his nation and void his presidency before he's even taken office.
      "This aggression will not stand, man!" Jeff Lebowski
      "The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool." Lester Bangs

      Comment


      • #4
        Timeline of Donetsk airport incident...

        Ukrainian army battles Kremlin-backed separatists in Donetsk; at least one civilian killed in crossfire (LIVE UPDATES)
        To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

        Comment


        • #5
          MrSecond, welcome back. Hopefully you have something of substance to post.

          Whether negative of positive all views are welcome.

          But knock off the silly stuff.
          To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

          Comment


          • #6
            But that was funny though. I'm upset you've deleted it. ;)

            Comment


            • #7
              So, after the elections what we have?

              We've got an opportunity to estimate the mood of voters. Potential of party of war or how many voters stand for war.

              Ukrainian "party of war" - the politicians who stand for more tough uncompromising position on the South-East troubled area. Ukrainian hawks.
              Among the candidates for the president I would include in the party of war Yulia Timoshenko, Oleg Lyashko, Anatoly Gritsenko, Tyagnibok and Yarosh.

              Yulia Timoshenko - the former prime-minister, author of many tough claims in respect Russia and pro-Russian movement of Sputh-East. Some time ago her bugged phone conversation where she said she would shot Russians from "nuclear weapons" became widely known. She's got 13%.

              Oleg Lyashko - the leader of Radical party of Ukraine. He is responsible for bloody attack against Mariupol on May 9. According to some reports, he personally headed the Mariupol sortie that ended without any glory but with blood and rapid escape from the city. 8%.

              Anatoly Gritsenko - the former minister of defence of Ukraine. Made a lot of Russiphobian claimes during the presidential campaign. Convinced supporter of war against South-East. 6%.

              Tyagnibok and Yarosh both have 2%.

              So, the electoral potential of party of war can be estimated at 29%.
              Seemingly, Ukrainians are still not tired of war. They want the show to go on.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by MrSecond View Post
                But that was funny though. I'm upset you've deleted it. ;)
                You'll get over it. : )
                To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by MrSecond View Post
                  So, after the elections what we have?

                  We've got an opportunity to estimate the mood of voters. Potential of party of war or how many voters stand for war.

                  Ukrainian "party of war" - the politicians who stand for more tough uncompromising position on the South-East troubled area. Ukrainian hawks.
                  Among the candidates for the president I would include in the party of war Yulia Timoshenko, Oleg Lyashko, Anatoly Gritsenko, Tyagnibok and Yarosh.

                  Yulia Timoshenko - the former prime-minister, author of many tough claims in respect Russia and pro-Russian movement of Sputh-East. Some time ago her bugged phone conversation where she said she would shot Russians from "nuclear weapons" became widely known. She's got 13%.

                  Oleg Lyashko - the leader of Radical party of Ukraine. He is responsible for bloody attack against Mariupol on May 9. According to some reports, he personally headed the Mariupol sortie that ended without any glory but with blood and rapid escape from the city. 8%.

                  Anatoly Gritsenko - the former minister of defence of Ukraine. Made a lot of Russiphobian claimes during the presidential campaign. Convinced supporter of war against South-East. 6%.

                  Tyagnibok and Yarosh both have 2%.

                  So, the electoral potential of party of war can be estimated at 29%.
                  Seemingly, Ukrainians are still not tired of war. They want the show to go on.
                  Seemingly, most Ukrainians are tired of war. Majority rules, except in some places, which shall be unnamed.
                  To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    International airport of Donetsk is a battlefield of Donetsk militia and Ukrainian National Guard.

                    On May 26 early in the morning the units of Donetsk militia arrived at the airport there were deployed about 150-200 troops of Ukrainian National Guard. Probably the action of militia was caused by information from airport services - they closed the airport and left it very quickly, so militants could suspect more Ukrainian forces are coming. Or maybe militia warned the airport employees to leave this place. It's not clear, but anyway the fighting started. Militia seized passenger terminal and part of buildings, the Ukrainian troops were blocked and surrounded. After that Ukrainians used helicopters to bring more troops, Ukrainian Mi-24 destroyed the militia's anti-aircraft gun. Then, reportedly, Ukrainian airforces (Mi-24, Su-25, Su-27) started bombing of airport terminal. This terminal is absolutely new and modern, it was built for European football championship of 2012.

                    According to militia's representatives the National Guard fighters (who are completely the Right Sector activists) have penetrated the city of Donetsk. They shelled the railway station and spreaded panic among the locals.

                    Residents of Donetsk may watch the military operations from their balconies.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Presidential elections under barrel of gun

                      Presidential elections under barrel of gun - how it happens for real but not in western media.

                      The city of Krasnoarmeysk, Donetsk oblast.
                      On May 11 the city hall was seized by group of armed people who killed two unarmed civilians. This group belonged to the unit which was formed of Ukrainian nationalists and called National Guard batallion Dnepr. This batallion was formed in expense of Ukrainian oligarch, the sponsor of Maidan revolution Kolomoyski.

                      So, these armed people arrived in the city and then the local civilians gathered to express their outrage, they simply killed two men in the crowd. There are a lot of videos of that, this is one:



                      The purpose of this senseless bloodshed was to break the referendum on status of Donetsk People's Republic which was held by the rebels of the South-East.

                      Here the video of the same place on May, 25 - the day of presidential elections in Ukraine. Polling station in the administration building.
                      A lot of people with guns, police and cars marked with sign "Dnepr". They are protecting whether themselves or the deserted polling station.

                      Not so many voters, ha?..

                      This is how the real election under barrel of gun looks like.


                      Last edited by MrSecond; 26 May 14,, 23:01.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Something horrible is going on in Donetsk now. I read tens of messages in social networks. Ukrainians came in the city. Bloodbath.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          MeSecond, you're forgetting who started this whole thing. "They that sow the wind, shall reap the whirlwind"


                          http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/27/wo...ection.html?hp

                          Ukraine Forces Appear to Oust Rebels From Airport in East

                          By SABRINA TAVERNISE and ANDREW ROTHMAY 26, 2014

                          Photo
                          Pro-Russia militia members took up defensive positions after one was hit in the leg during a firefight near the Donetsk airport in Ukraine. Credit Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

                          DONETSK, Ukraine — The new Ukrainian government struck the separatists in this eastern province with a major military offensive on Monday, battling them over an important provincial airport in ground fighting that lasted for hours. The rebels were left scattered and shaken, just one day after a successful national election they had tried to disrupt.

                          The airport battle was the first time the Ukrainian military had moved so aggressively against the separatists, who took over government buildings in two eastern provinces in March, after weeks of low-grade military maneuvers meant to stop their spread to other areas.

                          There was no immediate indication that the Ukrainian military’s operations extended any further than the strategically important airport and surrounding area. Experts said that while the military’s attack might have put the separatists on the defensive, it was unlikely to stop their power


                          As fighting lasted into a rainy evening, the military claimed to have evicted the separatists from the airport, and had cordoned off the area with roadblocks. But the sporadic sounds of weapons fire could still be heard, and it was not clear that government soldiers were in full control. The airport remained closed, and some local news outlets reported that it was burning.
                          Continue reading the main story Video

                          In eastern Ukraine, fear of armed separatists led to low voter turnout in the election that propelled Petro O. Poroshenko to victory as the president-elect.

                          “I don’t see this ending anytime soon,” said Oxana Shevel, a political science professor who specializes in Ukraine at Tufts University in Boston. “The Ukrainian government is saying, This is where we draw the line.” Its ability to retake the airport, she said, “doesn’t dramatically change things.”

                          Even so, the routing of the rebels from the airport changed the optics of the situation here in favor of the Ukrainian military, which had suffered setbacks for weeks, and had been seen by many Ukrainians as ineffectual.

                          Fighter jets screamed and automatic gunfire popped for hours in and around the airport, with ground battles against separatists spilling outside its tall black gate. Thick black smoke dotted the sky and helicopters flew just above the trees, shaking small houses and blowing the grasses in their garden plots.

                          The rebel seizure of the airport early Monday suggested a new escalation by the militants who in recent days have appeared to lose the political support of the Kremlin, at least publicly. On Friday, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia suggested that he would respect the results of Sunday’s election, in which Petro O. Poroshenko, a Ukrainian billionaire who knows Mr. Putin, was elected in a landslide. Many here say separatist leaders had grown confident after months of swaggering across the provinces with virtually no pushback from central authorities.

                          The fractious groups are not directly under Mr. Putin’s control, and the Kremlin has denied that its military is involved in the conflict here. But support can come in many forms, and it is far from clear that Mr. Putin has any intention of giving up what appears to be a useful geopolitical lever: violence and instability in Ukraine’s east that has left the West flustered.

                          “What Putin wants is for Ukraine to be weak,” said Lucan A. Way, a political scientist at the University of Toronto who specializes in Ukraine and has lived in Donetsk. “Just because he gives verbal support for the new Ukrainian government does not mean that he will stop trying to foment unrest in the east.”
                          Photo
                          A Ukrainian helicopter fired its cannons upon rebels at the main terminal building of the Donetsk airport on Monday. Credit Yannis Behrakis/Reuters

                          By issuing statements of support, Mr. Putin “gets to look like a statesman,” and blame whatever problems emerge on the new government, Professor Way said. “He has created a Frankenstein that he cannot control, and may not even want to,” he said.

                          Many in Ukraine had feared that Mr. Putin sought the eastern regions themselves, and was putting troops in position to potentially seize them in the same way he did Crimea, the southern peninsula on the Black Sea that Russia annexed two months ago, setting off a major international confrontation.

                          But a subtler maneuver is now emerging, and many experts believe that the most desirable result for Mr. Putin would be for the troubled areas to devolve into breakaway status, similar to South Ossetia within Georgia and Transnistria within Moldova, a possibility that ordinary citizens are already talking about.

                          “It’s a mess, it’s anarchy,” said Yevgeny Kaplenko, a retired welder, who stood near his small brick house and yard planted with roses near the airport, as gunfire popped. “This is going to be a second Transnistria. That’s what awaits us.”

                          That outcome would be considered poisonous by many Ukrainians, and would likely have far more serious repercussions for the world, given Ukraine’s enormous size, severe economic problems and geopolitically strategic location in the heart of Europe.

                          “Putin doesn’t want to take these regions and foot the bill for all these old industries,” Professor Shevel said. “He would rather there be instability, which makes Ukraine less attractive to Europe and makes it easier to extract concessions from the government.”

                          The day’s events started shortly after 3 a.m., when dozens of armed men from the Donetsk People’s Republic showed up at the airport and demanded that all Ukrainian military and security personnel leave, the airport’s press service said. The Ukrainian military later issued an ultimatum for the men to leave and began to attack, shortly after 1 p.m., when they defied the eviction order. A military spokesman said the operation included fighter jets as well as several helicopters, which transported Ukrainian soldiers.

                          Pro-Russia militiamen took up positions behind trees close to the entrance, near a Metro supermarket. One of them, shot in the leg, was evacuated in a new Audi, its license plate obscured with tape. Fighters fired a rocket toward the airport, then retreated, under sniper fire, to an area where a friendly resident agreed to drive some of them in his blue car.

                          The rebels seemed shaken by the forcefulness of the military response. At the Donetsk government headquarters, nervous separatists briefed journalists.

                          “I am forced to appeal directly to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin for any possible aid,” said Denis Pushilin, the speaker of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. When asked what kind of aid — military or economic — he said, “any.”

                          Late Monday night, a Ukrainian military spokesman, Alexei Dmitrashkovsky, said by telephone that the army had established full control over the airport and that several of the militant leaders had requested safe passage, including one known by the nickname, Abver, described as a Russian passport holder. That claim could not be corroborated.

                          After midnight, Kalinin Hospital’s deputy head doctor, Andrey Sokoleyvich, said the facility had received five people with shrapnel and bullet wounds. Late Monday evening, a social media account run by the rebels issued a call for doctors to come urgently to several city hospitals.

                          At the city’s main trauma hospital, a woman wearing a flak jacket with a medical cross and carrying a holstered pistol said curtly that the wounded, who she claimed numbered fewer than 10, had been taken to other hospitals.

                          Earlier, as evening fell, a crowd of rebel sympathizers gathered outside the occupied government headquarters and some demanded that weapons be given to ordinary citizens, reflecting a growing siege mentality. Yaroslav Krakov, 33, said that every time he went to the rebels to demand a gun he was told none were left.

                          “We have no one else,” he said. “Russia does not need us, that much is obvious. We are nothing to Kiev anymore. We only have Pushilin and ourselves.”
                          To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by MrSecond View Post
                            International airport of Donetsk is a battlefield of Donetsk militia and Ukrainian National Guard.

                            After that Ukrainians used helicopters to bring more troops, Ukrainian Mi-24 destroyed the militia's anti-aircraft gun.
                            those Militia have Some MANPADS and some Captured Zu 23 ...Somebody Tell me Which AAA they used ..!! and I got this Picture from Twitter looks like AAA :confu:




                            Then, reportedly, Ukrainian airforces (Mi-24, Su-25, Su-27) started bombing of airport terminal.
                            I think Mi 24 Gunships and Frogfoots are used ..It's Highly doubt where they used Flankers
                            Last edited by SajeevJino; 27 May 14,, 04:55.
                            sajeevpearlj.blogspot.com

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                            • #15
                              I'll take the long punt - Putin and Lavrov will not be supporting the Donetsk rebels
                              Linkeden:
                              http://au.linkedin.com/pub/gary-fairlie/1/28a/2a2
                              http://cofda.wordpress.com/

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