Roma Tre LM1Lingua linguistica inglese(Boyd) Handout 5a
World News (Ukraine) from Different Perspectives and Genres
Roma Tre LM1Lingua linguistica inglese(Boyd) Handout 5a
- The New York Times: Ukraine Puts Troops on High Alert, Threatening WarBy ALISON SMALE and STEVEN ERLANGER MARCH 2, 2014
SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine — Ukraine put its military on high alert Sunday in response to Russia’s move to seize control of the Crimean Peninsula, and it threatened war against Moscow if the Kremlin made further incursions into Ukrainian territory as Western powers scrambled to find a response to the crisis. “This is the red alert, this is not a threat, this is actually a declaration of war to my country,” Ukraine’s prime minister, Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, told reporters in English, a day after Russia’s parliament approved the deployment of troops to any part of Ukraine where Moscow deems Russians are in danger. He warned that Ukraine was on the “brink of disaster” and appealed to the international community to stand by Kiev.
As Ukrainians gathered in central Kiev for a large patriotic rally, Russian troops without badges and pro-Russian “self-defense” forces surrounded some Ukrainian military bases in Crimea, urging the soldiers and sailors to defect to the new authorities not recognized by Kiev. There was tension and discussion, but no violence from either side.The new government in Kiev, hastily installed last week, wants to influence the thinking of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, an effort expected to continue later on Sunday when NATO holds an emergency meeting on Ukraine and British Foreign Secretary William Hague visits Kiev in a sign of Western support.
Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday called Russia’s action as “an act of aggression that is completely trumped up,” suggesting that Russia was “possibly trying to annex Crimea.” But while saying that Russia was “in direct, overt violation of international law,” Mr. Kerry, in an appearance on the NBC program “Meet the Press,” tempered his vigorous denunciation by saying that “the last thing anybody wants is a military option in this kind of a situation.” Russia, Mr. Kerry said in one of three Sunday television appearances on the crisis, could pay “a huge price” for its behavior, including the possible cancellation of the Group of Eight meeting slated for June in Sochi. If this continues, he said, Mr. Putin “is not going to have a Sochi G8, he may not even remain in the G8.”
Before the NATO meeting, its secretary-general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, told Russia to stop its military activity and threats against a sovereign Ukraine. “What Russia is doing now in Ukraine violates the principles of the United Nations Charter,” he said. “It threatens peace and security in Europe. Russia must stop its military activities and its threats.”
What began three months ago as a protest against the Ukrainian government has now turned into a big-power confrontation reminiscent of the Cold War and a significant challenge to international agreements on the sanctity of the borders of the post-Soviet nations.
In Crimea, the situation was calm but hardly placid on Sunday morning, with fewer soldiers visible on the streets. Some heavily armed soldiers without insignia had taken up positions around small Ukrainian military bases, but did not try to enter them. At Perevalnoye, a small Ukrainian base some 15 miles south of Simferopol on the road to Yalta, hundreds of soldiers with masks, helmets and goggles, in unmarked uniforms, surrounded the base, using vehicles with Russian plates. Inside about two dozen Ukrainian soldiers could be seen, equipped with an old BMP, a combination of a light tank and armored personnel carrier.
The Ukrainian commander, Col. Sergei Starozhenko, 38, told reporters the unmarked troops had arrived about 5 a.m. and “they want to block the base.” He said he expected them to bring reinforcements and call for talks. Asked how many men he has at his command, he said simply, “Enough.” After 15 minutes of conversation with what appeared to be a Russian officer, he said, “There won’t be war,” and returned inside, while the standoff continued.
In Sevastopol, pro-Russian “self-defense” forces blocked the entrances of the main Ukrainian naval headquarters. There was no sign of Russian troops, Ukrainian officers were at work inside and armed Ukrainians guards were on patrol behind the closed gates.
Pro-Russia demonstrators put up a banner reading: “Sevastopol without Fascism,” and urged Ukrainian officers to come over to their side rather than serve the “illegal fascist regime” in Kiev. The demonstrators shoved packs of cigarettes, candy and bottles of water through the gate for the Ukrainian guards. “They have to make a choice -- they either obey the fascists in Kiev or the people,” said Sergei Seryogin, a pro-Russia activist outside. Kiev, he said, “is illegal power” and should be ignored by all military and civil officials. [….]
- Russia Today: Ukrainian troops dispatched in Crimea switch to region’s side – sources 2 March 2014
Ukrainian armed forces dispatched to Crimea have switched to the side of local authorities and are expected to take military oath soon, Russian news agencies report.
Hyperlink [Facts you need to know about Crimea and why it is in turmoil]
“Today the majority of the Ukrainian armed forces deployed in Crimea passed to the side of the authorities of the Crimean autonomous region. The transition was absolutely peaceful, without a single shot fired either by the military or by the forces of self-defense,” an unnamed source told RIA Novosti news agency. The source added that some of the servicemen also ran away, while some submitted letters of resignation.
The local military have not been paid for many months, the source also told RIA Novosti.
Newly appointed Navy Chief rear admiral Denis Berezovsky has sworn allegiance to the people of Crimea, the news agency reported. “I, Berezovsky Denis, swear allegiance to the Crimean people and pledge to protect it, as required by the [army] regulations,” he said.
Earlier, Ukrainian troops in Crimea were said to be resigning on a massive scale. Living quarters, weapons and ammunition have all been left under the protection of the so-called ‘self-defense forces.’ Letters of resignation have been coming in since early morning, as the self-defense forces continue to preserve order on the streets of Simferopol, RIA Novosti said citing own reporters on the ground.
Since Thursday, the city’s Supreme Council and a number of other buildings have been occupied and guarded by the self-defense forces run by the local population. Crimea’s deputy prime minister, Rustam Temirgaliev, announced that the Ukrainian armed forces have all but surrendered their military capabilities and that no active units remain in the Crimea. "The entire Ukrainian armed forces stationed on the Crimean territory have been blocked," Interfax reported him as saying. "The self-defense forces have taken control of the landing strips of all the Crimean airports and airfields."
The deputy PM said that that the region’s security servicesand emergency services now report to the local government. Crimeans began protesting after the new self-imposed government in Kiev introduced a law abolishing the use of other languages for official documents in Ukraine. More than half the Crimean population are Russian and use only this language for their communication. The residents have announced they are going to hold a referendum on March 30 to determine the fate of the Ukrainian autonomous region.
- President Obama’s telephone call with Putin (Readout)
1 March 2014
President Obama spoke for 90 minutes this afternoon with President Putin of Russia about the situation in Ukraine. President Obama expressed his deep concern over Russia’s clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is a breach of international law, including Russia’s obligations under the UN Charter, and of its 1997 military basing agreement with Ukraine, and which is inconsistent with the 1994 Budapest Memorandum and the Helsinki Final Act. The United States condemns Russia’s military intervention into Ukrainian territory.
The United States calls on Russia to de-escalate tensions by withdrawing its forces back to bases in Crimea and to refrain from any interference elsewhere in Ukraine. We have consistently said that we recognize Russia’s deep historic and cultural ties to Ukraine and the need to protect the rights of ethnic Russian and minority populations within Ukraine. The Ukrainian government has made clear its commitment to protect the rights of all Ukrainians and to abide by Ukraine’s international commitments, and we will continue to urge them to do so.
President Obama told President Putin that, if Russia has concerns about the treatment of ethnic Russian and minority populations in Ukraine, the appropriate way to address them is peacefully through direct engagement with the government of Ukraine and through the dispatch of international observers under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). As a member of both organizations, Russia would be able to participate. President Obama urged an immediate effort to initiate a dialogue between Russia and the Ukrainian government, with international facilitation, as appropriate. The United States is prepared to participate.
President Obama made clear that Russia’s continued violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity would negatively impact Russia’s standing in the international community. In the coming hours and days, the United States will urgently consult with allies and partners in the UN Security Council, the North Atlantic Council, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and with the signatories of the Budapest Memorandum. The United States will suspend upcoming participation in preparatory meetings for the G-8. Going forward, Russia’s continued violation of international law will lead to greater political and economic isolation.
The people of Ukraine have the right to determine their own future. President Obama has directed his Administration to continue working urgently with international partners to provide support for the Ukrainian government, including urgent technical and financial assistance. Going forward, we will continue consulting closely with allies and partners, the Ukrainian government and the International Monetary Fund, to provide the new government with significant assistance to secure financial stability, to support needed reforms, to allow Ukraine to conduct successful elections, and to support Ukraine as it pursues a democratic future.
- The Guardian (Comment is Free)
West's puny response to Ukraine crisis will not deter Vladimir Putin
By Simon Tisdall MARCH 2, 2014
The idea that the US, Britain or France might respond militarily to Russia's invasion of Crimea cannot be taken seriously
Barack Obama has sternly warned Vladimir Putin there will be "costs" for Russia if it continues or expands its military intervention in Ukraine. But the American president did not specify what these costs might be, and this toothlessness, in a nutshell, is the dilemma now facing the US and its allies. Putin does not fear the west. On the contrary, he is once again forcefully demonstrating his deep contempt.
The idea that the US, Britain or France – the only western countries with sizeable, readily deployable, experienced combat forces – might respond militarily to Russia's invasion of Crimea cannot be taken seriously. Putin surely calculates there will be no such challenge, as he did, correctly, in Georgia in 2008, and thus moves his troops and tanks in Crimea – and possibly eastern Ukraine – with impunity. Obama, whose presidency has been dedicated to ending wars, not starting them, has shown he has no appetite for new armed confrontations, in Syria or elsewhere.
Even if Obama did want to pursue a military option, he would be hard put to make it credible. US forces in western Europe have been cut back repeatedly. The US sixth fleet, headquartered in Naples, is a considerable weapon. But to make any sort of impact in Ukraine, it would have to deploy into the Black Sea via the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, a move that Turkey would find highly objectionable, and which Russia would regard as a direct threat.
Any decision to deploy US or Nato ground troops, if the government in Kiev asked for such help, is also hard to conceive. Given its geographical situation, in Russia's underbelly, eastern Ukraine is hardly akin to remote, undefended Mali or Chad or even Afghanistan. The Anglo-French intervention in militarily feeble Libya in 2011 involved mostly air power and was only possible with backing from US bases and aircraft carriers. Even so, it stretched British resources to the limit.
And as for Nato, which describes itself as the greatest military alliance the world has ever seen, even Obama can have no illusions about European support for a military response to Putin. Germany's Angela Merkel was feted in London last week as the powerful leader of Europe. But Germany does not do wars any more, only peacekeeping, and that reluctantly. Berlin's interest is in trade, which means keeping Russia, whose energy supplies keeps the lights on and the factories running, sweet. It is Germany, no longer Britain, that is Europe's nation of shopkeepers.
When it comes to reading Putin's mind, it seems Obama just does not get it. George W Bush famously claimed he could, saying he had gained a sense of the Russian president's soul. But that was just Texan eyewash. Putin is a child of the cold war, a former KGB agent who has said he regards the collapse of the Soviet Union as a great tragedy. For this "catastrophe" he blames the west, principally the US. Beyond the specific concerns raised in Ukraine, his number one strategic motivation is revenge for 20 years of geopolitical humiliation.
Obama said in his statement: "Any violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity would be deeply destabilising, which is not in the interests of Ukraine, Russia or Europe." But these are the words of a university professor thinking logically, rather than a savvy, cynical politician. For Putin, Russia's interest (and his own) would be massively served if US and European interference, as he sees it, in Ukraine is knocked back decisively.
The lesson would not be lost on Georgia (which he gave a hard smack, without consequences, in 2008), Moldova, Armenia, Belarus and any other borderland states tempted to flirt with the west. It would humble Obama. And it would be a shot in the arm for the chauvinistic, post-Soviet Russian nationalism that Putin champions.
Obama continued: "It [Russian intervention] would represent a profound interference in matters that must be determined by the Ukrainian people. It would be a clear violation of Russia's commitment to respect the independence and sovereignty and borders of Ukraine – and of international laws".
Wrong-thinking again. From Putin's perspective (one apparently shared unanimously by the Russian Duma and much of the population), the democratic deliberations of the Ukrainian people have already been tainted irretrievably by western-backed "hooligans", "terrorists" and rightwingers intent on violent insurrection. An elected president, Viktor Yanukovych, has been overthrown. The new government has no constitutional locus. Russian "compatriots" are threatened.
And as Putin sees it, the US is the last country on earth to prate about respecting territorial integrity and upholding international law. Again and again since 1991, Washington has intervened overseas in its own interests while claiming to be promoting a freedom agenda.
The Russian senator Nikolai Ryzhkov, an old Soviet-era hand, made the point at the weekend when he said Russia should be prepared for the west to "unleash their dogs on us" over Ukraine. "They ruined Yugoslavia, Egypt, Libya, Iraq, all in the name of western democracy. It's not even double standards, it's political cynicism." Viewed this way, the US and Britain do not have a moral leg to stand on.
So what can Obama do? He needs Russian help with key foreign agenda items – Iran and reducing nuclear proliferation. He needs Moscow if the Syrian war is ever to be halted. He is short of cash. And, it can be assumed, he lacks public support from a war-weary American public for any new foreign adventure.
So Putin's calculations are likely to prove right. The "costs" to Russia of its latest bit of neighbourhood vandalism may be limited to a US boycott of the next G8 summit, in June, a diplomatic freeze, or a wrangle at the UN security council, or some form of punitive trade measures or sanctions. If that sounds like a puny response, it is. It will not deter Putin, the unrepentant cold war warrior. It is just what his contemptuous soul expected.