Russia declares war on Ukraine. Live updates from inside Ukraine

reply to post by VirusGuard

have you not heard the recording of the EU minister being told that the self elected Ukraine government were shooting their own side so that the finger could be pointed at Russia and the USA had an excuse to come

No, and neither have you because that's not what the recording says.

Ukraine Says It Has Repelled A Russian Army "Invasion"

The Ukrainian ministry said 80 Russian military personnel had seized a village on the spit called Strilkove with the support of four military helicopters and three armoured personnel carriers.

The Ukrainian "foreign ministry declares the military invasion by Russia and demands the Russian side immediately withdraw its military forces from the territory of Ukraine," it said in a statement, "Ukraine reserves the right to use all necessary measures to stop the military invasion by Russia."

There was no immediate response to Ukraine's announcement from Moscow but Washington's UN representative Samantha Power called any new Russian troop movement in south Ukraine an "outrageous escalation".

Additionally, here is Reuters' take:

Ukraine's military scrambled aircraft and paratroops on Saturday to repel an attempt by Russian forces to enter a long spit of land belonging to a region adjacent to Crimea, Ukraine's defence ministry said.

"Units of Ukraine's armed forces today...repelled an attempt by servicemen of the armed forces of the Russian Federation to enter the territory of Kherson region on Arbatskaya Strelka," a ministry statement said. "This was repelled immediately."

It said the Ukrainian military used aircraft, ground forces and its aeromobile battalion in the operation. The territory in question is a long spit of land running parallel to the east of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, now controlled by Russian forces.

The incursion allegedly took place in the Ukraine region of Kherson, neighboring the Crimea.

Here's the map showing where this allegedly took place -



Zerohedge

reply to post by Wookiep


Unfortunately, Asen's post here says that it is false that Ukraine forces pushed them back, according to his local TV station report.

Latest news confirms the Russian occupation of parts of Kherson state, north of Crimea. Previous news of Ukrainian army pushing them back turned out to be false. On TV channel 24

reply to post by MyMindIsMyOwn


That seems to also be confirmed Here

But based on information of well-informed army expert Dmytro Tymchuk, head of Center of Military and Political Researches, the Russians are still there. “At the moment our commandos are approaching to the spot,” Tymchuk wrote on his Facebook page. “But there is the fact that (gas production) station for unknown reason wasn’t guarded."

KyivPost

Makes you wonder why the Ukrainian army is sitting on their thumbs..

reply to post by Wookiep

AS posted on the Russian paratrooper thread:

Assuming this information is legit. it is doubtful that the target of this incursion is the gas terminals. Most of the fuel stocks are depleted at the Kherson refineries, and have been cut off from crude supplies since January. Could be forward recon, but to land people in a daylight operation in a age when everyone has a camera and communications are still operating reeks of a diversionary tactic. Either they want to keep the Ukrainian forces running from place to place to deplete their fuel supplies for their diesel guzzling machinery, or they are getting them to cluster in a tactically disadvantageous area for Ukrainian defence.

www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&es&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CDUQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fnews%2F2014-02-26%2Frussian-lukoil-halts-oil-su pplies-ukraine-odessa-refinery&ei=QpskU_HiBeyuyAGVmIDoBQ&usg=AFQjCNECFB2LmYNJlVDhmpDDDhiDTd7cvA&sig2=_GfrwshBUvFX1aVHMilkDA&bvm=bv.62922401,d.aWc

AX
FTNWO

@dragonrider- Ah I did not know about UNGA having power to override a veto . That would make sense I suppose. Well I think 2/3 agree among themselves. So they should move fast. Ground situation in Ukraine is getting worse.

reply to post by AlphaExray


Interesting, thanks I didn't see that there was a thread on it (just searched and found it).

Here it is for those interested -

Russian Paratroopers Land In Kherson, Ukraine

reply to post by Wookiep


What a bold and brazen move. Dropping off their forward troops in broad daylight. Probably acquiring targets, doing recon, and all of the like before they roll in.

What a shame...

Ukrainian military have pressed back Russian assault from the township Strilkove, Kherson Region, reads a statement made by the press service of the Defence Ministry of Ukraine.

www.mil.gov.ua...

un.ua...

The fog of war.

KIEV, Ukraine — Scores of Russian troops landed by helicopter and seized a gas plant just beyond the regional border of Crimea on Saturday, the Ukrainian government said. The action was Russia’s most provocative since its forces took over Crimea two weeks ago.

The latest troop advance came one day before Crimea was set to vote on whether to secede from Ukraine, and it was testing Ukrainian leaders’ resolve to engage Russia’s much more powerful military if it moved beyond Crimea.

By late afternoon, Ukrainian troops were stationed outside the gas plant, which is on a slender sand bar to the east of the Crimean Peninsula, according to Unian, a Ukrainian news service, which quoted the local police. The news agency did not say if shots were fired.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry issued a statement saying that the nation reserved the right to use all necessary measures to stop what it called a “military invasion by Russia.”

NY Times - Russian Troops Seize Gas Plant Beyond Crimean Border, Ukraine Says

The truth will be more evasive now.

Ukraine's military scrambled aircraft and paratroops to confront Russian troops landing on a remote spit of land between Crimea and the mainland, defence officials said and the foreign ministry demanded their immediate withdrawal.
The border guard service said Ukrainian forces had taken up defensive positions on Arbatskaya Strelka, running parallel to the east of Crimea, now controlled by Russian forces. It said about 60 Russian troops had landed on the strip and begun digging in, assisted by three armoured personnel carriers.

Six Russian helicopters arrived with 60 more servicemen about two hours later outside the village of Strelkovoye. The border guard service said talks between the two sides established that the Russian servicemen were "guarding against possible terrorist acts" against a gas pumping station.

"At this time, there is no threat of confrontation," the Ukrainian border guard service said.

Crimea's new pro-Russian government said the region's "self-defence forces" had prevented an attempt to disable the station, which it said had stopped supplying gas to hospitals and residential buildings earlier in the day.

In a statement quoted by Russia's Itar-Tass news agency, it said people "in camouflage" had mined the site and fled.

Otago Daily Times - Ukraine troops confront Russian forces

Wookiep
reply to post by MyMindIsMyOwn

 

That seems to also be confirmed Here

But based on information of well-informed army expert Dmytro Tymchuk, head of Center of Military and Political Researches, the Russians are still there. “At the moment our commandos are approaching to the spot,” Tymchuk wrote on his Facebook page. “But there is the fact that (gas production) station for unknown reason wasn’t guarded."

KyivPost

Makes you wonder why the Ukrainian army is sitting on their thumbs..

Ukraine is in a strategically untenable position, defending the territory of Crimea, and it's immediate surroundings. I am sure their military leaders understand that if they do defend in force, they are setting themselves up to be cut off completely, and annihilated. Better to keep most of their forces to the west, and use the mountainous terrain to their best advantage.

Russian troops are claiming they landed outside Crimea "by mistake" -

Marines who landed at s.Strilkove Henichesk region said they had mixed up landing, so actually landed on the outskirts of the village.

"Marines told that the mixed landing, so actually landed on the outskirts of the village. Realized that mistake, they went to the gas compressor station located at Ukrainian border checkpoints," - said in a statement. According to him, armed men unmarked said that "their task - to protect the gas compressor station and three nearby wells" Chornomornaftohaz. "

"They said they have information that the data objects are preparing attacks and they will protect these items as needed to complete the task will be," - said Ponomarev.

Pravada

So they made a mistake but went ahead and decided to stick around anyway? I'm confused, the translation isn't too clear either IMO.

People keep talking about Ukraine's military. Ukraine does not have the ability to fight Russia. Half the soldiers would desert to join the Russian army, the other half won't die for a suicide mission to protect the ruling Junta.

Matt1951
People keep talking about Ukraine's military. Ukraine does not have the ability to fight Russia. Half the soldiers would desert to join the Russian army, the other half won't die for a suicide mission to protect the ruling Junta.

Half will defect?

I doubt it, as half of them ain't ethnic Russians only a small minority in the East are,

It's not a suicide mission with NATO behind them but it will be for the Russian invaders

reply to post by TritonTaranis


NATO is not behind Kuraine NATO is behind contry with a border in Ukraine... they will not move until Russians try to move out of Ukraine in Europe like Poland

Matt1951
People keep talking about Ukraine's military. Ukraine does not have the ability to fight Russia. Half the soldiers would desert to join the Russian army, the other half won't die for a suicide mission to protect the ruling Junta.

The real question is: will Russian soldiers be prepared to die at Putin's whim, or will they mutiny the way they did almost exactly 100 years ago?

Ukraine says Kremlin stirs up east, prepares invasion

www.globalpost.com...

reply to post by DJW001


Putin is very popular in Russia. People need to look for diplomatic solutions, not military solutions. Ukraine has no military option, and NATO will not intervene,unless, as previously stated, Poland is threatened.

Vladimir Putin has made it quite clear he does not want to conduct his business via diplomacy. Sending Sergei Lavrov to meet John Kerry and other notable politicians was just a front. His real plans are starting to be peeled away at by NATO and the vast majority of United Nation members. The only way that Putin will listen is via military intervention. He needs to be sent a crystal clear message that he cannot behave this way.