April 17, 2014

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking live on television, declared that he has “a right” to send troops into Ukraine but hopes he will “not have to exercise that right.” He warned Ukrainian government officials of “the abyss they’re heading into” and urged a diplomatic resolution of the current Ukrainian crisis.

Putin’s remarks were made after a clash between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists in Mariupol in eastern Ukraine left 3 of the separatists dead and 13 others wounded. At least 63 militants were taken captive. Putin dismissed as “rubbish” allegations that Russian special forces were operating in eastern Ukraine, but he did, for the first time, admit that Russian forces had been active in Crimea prior to the peninsula’s annexation by Russia last month. Ominously, he also reminded viewers that in czarist times eastern Ukraine was referred to as “New Russia.”

In a separate confrontation in eastern Ukraine, an entire army contingent of 21 armored vehicles either surrendered or pulled back when faced by a large group of well-armed separatists. In what correspondents described as a glaring humiliation for the government in Kiev, the surrendering Ukrainian soldiers handed over not only their weapons but also their military vehicles without a shot being fired. Separatists drove the vehicles into the town of Slovyansk and parked them as trophies, under a Russian flag, in a central square.

For additional information on the Ukrainian crisis, search Ukraine articles under Archived Stories.

Additional World Book article:

• Russia in the Post-Soviet World (a special report)

April 16, 2014

NATO announced today that it is reinforcing its defenses in the Baltic States and central Europe. In Brussels, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen stated that in the face of the current crisis in Ukraine, NATO is putting “more planes in the air, mores ships on the water, more readiness on the land.” The announcement came as Ukraine forces are moving into eastern Ukraine to retake control of the region and as Russia has massed 40,000 troops along its border with Ukraine.

Secretary Rasmussen called on Russia to make clear it did not “support the violent actions of well-armed militias or pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.” In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by telephoning  United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Putin demanded “clear condemnation from the United Nations and the international community of the anti-constitutional actions” taken by the interim Ukrainian government by launching a military campaign against pro-Russian separatists in the east.”

For additional information on the Ukrainian crisis, search Ukraine articles under Archived Stories.

Additional World Book article:

• Russia in the Post-Soviet World (a special report)

April 14, 2014

Pro-Russian militants today stormed another police station in another town in eastern Ukraine, Horlivka. After hurling rocks through the windows, gunmen took control of the station and raised a Russian flag. In Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, interim President Oleksander Turchynov stated that his government is preparing an “anti-terrorist operation” against militants occupying government buildings in the east. Yesterday, he issued an ultimatum to the activists–either disarm and leave government buildings within 24 hours or troops would be sent in to dislodge them. Responding to the ultimatum, the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the Ukrainian government must refrain from any violence against the protesters, otherwise it risks “sparking a civil war.” Ukrainian troops have yet to march into eastern Ukraine, and President Turchynov has called on the United Nations (UN) to send a peace-keeping force into Ukraine. (International affairs experts note that such a move is unlikely. The UN cannot undertake such a mission without the consent of the Security Council, and, as a permanent member of the council, Russia has veto power.)

More and more police stations and government buildings in eastern Ukraine are now under the militant’s control. Russian flags are flying in the cities of Donetsk, Luhansk, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, and Druzhkivka. Correspondents in the region report that many of the protesters carry Russian guns and look suspiciously like the Russian forces that took Crimea last month. They note that the fact that protesters were able yesterday to set up a roadblock on a main highway into a major city–Donetsk–is an indication of the scale of the central government’s loss of control in the region.

Pro-Russian separatists now control of a number of cities and towns across eastern Ukraine. (World Book map; map data © MapQuest.com, Inc.)

For additional information on the Ukrainian revolution, search Ukraine articles under Archived Stories.

Additional World Book article:

• Russia in the Post-Soviet World (a special report)

April 8, 2014

Authorities in Ukraine announced today that Ukrainian forces have wrenched control of a regional administration building in the eastern city of Kharkiv from pro-Russian separatists. They stated that government buildings in Luhansk and Donetsk will be freed shortly as well. The separatists took over the buildings in the three cities yesterday. In Donetsk, they proclaimed the city’s independence as well as their intention to hold a referendum on secession. The separatists asked Russia to be ready to deploy “peacekeeping troops” in the city. (Russia currently has thousands of Russian troops massed along its border with eastern Ukraine.)

Pro-Russian separatists seized government buildings in the eastern Ukrainian cities of Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Luhansk on April 7, igniting another crisis for the interim government in Kiev. (World Book map; map data © MapQuest.com, Inc.)

Experts on the crisis in Ukraine describe the current situation as a scenario similar to the one that played out in March when Russia annexed the peninsula of Crimea following a referendum of questionable legitimacy. In the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk characterized the events in the east as scripted in Russia: “An anti-Ukrainian plan is being put into operation … under which foreign troops will cross the border and seize the territory of the country,” Yatsenyuk told his Cabinet. “We will not allow this.”

Although the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated it has no intention of invading Ukraine, it claims to have the right to defend ethnic Russians there and warns Ukraine to stop any military preparations. In a statement issued by the Russian foreign ministry, Putin’s government noted that such preparations risk triggering a civil war.

Last week, Russia raised the price of the natural gas it supplies to Ukraine to $485 per 1,000 cubic meters, the second hike in two days. Ukraine owes Russia billions of dollars for natural gas. The deadline for Ukraine to settle the outstanding balance, in full, came and went yesterday. The interim government in Ukraine is under no illusion, knowing that Russia could do what it did in 2009: cut off Ukraine’s supply of gasoline and natural gas—a move that would cripple the country.

For additional information on the Ukrainian revolution, search Ukraine articles under Archived Stories.

Additional World Book article:

• Russia in the Post-Soviet World (a special report)

March 18, 2014

President Vladimir Putin and Crimean leaders, meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, signed a treaty this morning in which the Russian Federation annexed the strategically important Black Sea peninsula. In a televised speech before both houses of the Russian parliament, President Putin stated, “In the hearts and minds of people, Crimea has always been and remains an inseparable part of Russia.” Putin then declared that he had corrected a “historical injustice.” (Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev transferred Crimea to the Soviet Republic of Ukraine in 1954.) Putin went on to speak of the humiliations Russia has suffered with one superpower–the United States–dominating the world. He specifically pointed to the NATO air war in Kosovo in 1999 and the toppling of Libyan leader Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi in 2011. Putin described NATO bombing in Libya as carried out under the false pretense of humanitarian intervention.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Crimean leaders meeting in the Kremlin signed a treaty this morning that made Crimea part of the Russian Federation. (Superstock)

In the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, the foreign ministry responded to the annexation with the following statement: “We do not recognize and never will recognize the so-called independence or the so-called agreement on Crimea joining the Russian Federation.” France, Germany, and the United States also condemned the Russia-Crimea treaty. In London, British Prime Minister David Cameron stated, “It is completely unacceptable for Russia to use force to change borders on the basis of a sham referendum held at the barrel of a Russian gun.”

Pro-Russian forces took over Crimea late last month after Ukraine’s president, Viktor Yanukovych, was ousted. International affairs experts note that the pretense was to protect Crimea’s Russian-speaking majority, that is, “humanitarian intervention.” The crisis in Ukraine began in November 2013 when Yanukovych abandoned a European Union trade agreement in favor of closer ties to Russia, triggering massive protests in the capital and other cities.

For additional information on the Ukrainian revolution, search Ukraine articles under Archived Stories.

Additional World Book articles:

• Russia in the Post-Soviet World (a special report)
• Kosovo 2008 (a Back in Time article)
• Kosovo 2009 (a Back in Time article)
• Libya 2011 (a Back in Time article)
• Ukraine 1994 (a Back in Time article)

March 17, 2014

The Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, meeting in Simferopol, the Crimean capital, declared the region independent from Ukraine and formally requested that it be annexed by the Russian Federation. The declaration follows yesterday’s referendum in which Crimean officials claim 97 percent of participants voted for sucession.

In response to the Crimean declaration, the United States and the European Union (EU) imposed sanctions on Russia. They include visa bans and the freezing of assets of Russian officials and Crimean separatist leaders whom they believe are responsible for wresting Crimea from Ukrainian control. The EU, Ukraine, and the United States refuse to recognize the validity of the referendum, claiming it is a breach of international law.

Crimea, a part of Ukraine since 1954, is a peninsula that juts into the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The larger map shows the major cities of Crimea. The smaller map at bottom right shows the location of Crimea in relation to the rest of Europe and Asia. (World Book maps)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has embraced the result of the referendum but has not formally declared his intent to annex the strategic territory. In a tense telephone conversation with U.S. President Barack Obama, Putin cited  the independence of Kosovo–which Russia has never formally recognized–as precedent for Crimea’s secession.

Speaking at a press conference at the White House, President Obama stated that the United States is “ready to impose further sanctions” depending on whether Russia escalates or de-escalates the situation in Ukraine. The president warned that if the government of President Putin continues to intervene in Ukraine, it will “achieve nothing except to further isolate Russia and diminish its place in the world.” In Kiev, the Ukrainian parliament voted to partially mobilize 40,000 reservists. Russia is believed to have some 20,000 troops in Crimea. The Crimean city of Sevastopol is also the home port of Russia’s important Black Sea fleet.

For additional information on the Ukrainian revolution, search Ukraine articles under Archived Stories.

Additional World Book articles:

• Russia in the Post-Soviet World (a special report)
• Kosovo (2008) (a Back in Time article)
• Kosovo (2009) (a Back in Time article)
• Ukraine (1994) (a Back in Time article)

March 11, 2014

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry today rejected an offer to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the crisis in Ukraine. Kerry told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Russia’s military intervention in Crimea had made any negotiations extremely difficult.

Yesterday, the Putin government accused right-wing militants and Ukraine’s new pro-Western government of spreading “chaos” across the eastern part of the country. In a statement issued to the media, Russia said it was outraged “by the chaos which is currently ruling in eastern regions of Ukraine,” allegedly by masked gunmen attacking pro-Russian demonstrators. Crimea as well as eastern Ukraine is largely populated with Russian-speaking people with close cultural ties to Russia. Western Ukraine is largely populated with Ukrainian-speaking people who want Ukraine allied with the European Union (EU).

President Vladimir Putin  (AP/Wide World)

Secretary of State John Kerry (U.S. Senate)

International affairs experts voiced fears that Putin may use the accusation as a pretext for further Russian intervention in Ukraine, widening the current crisis. The statement was issued one day after the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama announced that Ukraine’s interim prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, will meet with the president in Washington tomorrow.

The unrest in Ukraine began on November 21 when then-President Viktor Yanukovych backed out of proposed political and free trade accords with the EU that would have effectively moved the country away from Russia. Russia has dominated Ukraine on and off  for more than 200 years. Because of its fertile soil, Ukraine was once described as Russia’s breadbasket.

Additional World Book articles:

• Russia in the Post-Soviet World (a special report)
• Ukraine 1994 (a Back in Time article)

March 6, 2014

Members of the Crimean parliament voted today to petition the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin to allow Crimea, the southernmost region of Ukraine, to join the Russian Federation. If the request is granted, Crimean citizens could vote on secession in a referendum on March 16. In Kiev, a federal court quickly ruled that the Crimean parliament’s actions are broadly illegal and issued an arrest warrant for the new prime minister of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov. Aksyonov was installed a week ago after armed men seized the Crimean parliament building and raised the Russian flag.

Nikita Khrushchev led the Communist Party in the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964. In 1954, he transferred Crimea from the Russian Federation to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (AP/Wide World Photos).

Historically, Crimea was part of Russia. In 1954, Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev, detached the Crimean peninsula from the Russian Federation and transferred it to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Since Ukraine was a republic within the Soviet Union, the territorial transfer was not particularly troubling to Crimea’s Russian-speaking majority. However, when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the people of Russian descent in Crimea found themselves in a new country—Ukraine—legally independent of Russia. (Crimea as well as eastern Ukraine is largely populated with Russian-speaking people with close cultural ties to Russia. Western Ukraine is largely populated with Ukrainian-speaking people who want Ukraine allied with the European Union.)

Key leaders of European Union member nations are currently meeting in Brussels to discuss how to respond to Vladimir Putin’s deployment last week of Russian forces into Crimea. In a surprising move, Russian troops, who had surrounded a missile defense base in Crimea several days ago, packed up and left in the night.

Additional World Book articles:

• Russia 1991 (a Back in Time article)
• Russia in the Post-Soviet World (a special report)
• Ukraine 1994 (a Back in Time article)

March 5, 2014

United States Secretary of State John Kerry and the foreign ministers of key European Union (EU) member nations meet in Paris with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to try to resolve the political crisis in Ukraine. Earlier, the EU offered Ukraine an €11-billion ($15-billion) aid package. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso stated that the package of grants and loans was “designed to assist a committed, inclusive, and reforms-oriented government” in Ukraine. The Ukrainian finance ministry has calculated that it needs €25.5 billion ($35 billion) to keep the economy from default. Officials from Russia and NATO were also scheduled to meet in Brussels.

Yesterday, Secretary Kerry visited Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and offered the Ukrainian government $1-billion in loan guarantees and pledges of technical assistance.  Also on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir V. Putin held a press conference in Moscow which he defended his government’s military occupation of Crimea, the southernmost region of Ukraine. Putin characterized the collapse of the government Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych “as an unconstitutional coup.” He also expressed contempt toward the United States government, which he declared had interfered in Ukraine “from across the pond in America as if they were sitting in a laboratory and running experiments on rats, without any understanding of the consequences.”

John Kerry (U.S. Senate)

President Putin said that he saw no reason for Russian forces to intervene in eastern Ukraine at the moment but “reserves the right to use all means at our disposal to protect” Russian speakers in the country’s south and east if they are threatened. While in Kiev, Secretary Kerry disputed the idea that ethnic Russians in Ukraine are in danger. Surveying a series of improvised memorials where protesters opposed to what was then Ukraine’s pro-Russian government were gunned down,  he said, “Here in the streets today I didn’t see anybody who feels threatened except for the potential of an invasion by Russia.”

Additional World Book articles:

• Russia in the Post-Soviet World (a special report)
• Ukraine 1994 (a Back in Time article)

February 24, 2014

Ukraine’s parliament issued an arrest warrant today for Viktor F. Yanukovych, Ukraine’s ousted president, who is believed to be in hiding somewhere in Crimea. He is charged with mass murder for the killing last week of more than 80 antigovernment protesters in Kiev, the capital. On February 21, Yanukovych and leaders of the antigovernment opposition reached a compromise agreement designed to end the political crisis that had turned Kiev into a battleground. However, the protesters in the streets would have none of it and demanded his immediate resignation. Abandoned by his political party, by the army and police, and even by his own body guards, Yanukovych fled Kiev late on February 22. According to one source, he flew by helicopter to eastern Ukraine, the Russian-speaking half of the country that was once his base of public support.

The Ukrainian parliament, moving quickly to assert control of the government, yesterday stripped Yanukovych of all power and granted its new parliamentary speaker, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, the authority to carry out the duties of the president. In a recorded address to the nation, Turchynov assured the public that all police and security services were now on the side of the new government. “The law enforcement structures are no longer threatening the life, health and security of the citizens of Ukraine,” he declared, noting that the army has also vowed its support. “Our first task today,” he stated, “is to stop confrontation, renew governance, management and legal order in the country.”

The parliament also restored to the state ownership of the presidential palace, which Yanukovych had privatized. The presidential compound was subsequently thrown open to the public, which streamed through the opulent, gilded rooms, gawking at the conspicuous display of wealth: the collections of expensive cars, antique and modern; a zoo; and a private restaurant in the shape of a floating pirate ship. In the face of such profligacy, the leaders of Yanukovych’s own party, the Party of Regions, issued a scathing statement denouncing him as a crook, a criminal, and a coward. Experts on Ukraine’s financial situation noted that the nation faces an economy in shambles, disastrous national debts, and a treasury and national pension system on the brink of bankruptcy.

Former President Viktor Yanukovych, who is wanted for mass murder, is believed to be in hiding somewhere in Crimea, the southernmost region of Ukraine. Border guards claim to have blocked Yanukovych from leaving the country by air sometime over the weekend. (World Book maps)

The unrest in Ukraine began in November when Yanukovych rejected a trade deal with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia. In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to purchase $15 billion in Ukrainian government bonds. These moves to bind Ukraine to Russia infuriated Ukrainians who wanted the country allied to the West with its tradition of democracy and capitalism. Speaking this morning from the Olympic park in Sochi, Russia, Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev condemned the movement that brought down Yanukovych: “Today, I see no legitimate Ukrainian partners for dialogue. . . If people crossing Kiev in black masks with Kalashnikov rifles are considered a government, it will be difficult for us to work with such a government.” The next multbillion dollar installment of Russian aid to Ukraine has been cancelled, and yesterday, the Russian ambassador to Kiev was recalled, because of “chaos” in the city, and the.

Foreign correspondents in Kiev reported this morning that calm seems to have settled over the city. Former protesters have joined city police–who only last week were shooting at them–to share responsibility for guarding government buildings and directing traffic.

Additional World Book articles:

• Kuchma, Leonid Danylovich
• Viktor Yushchenko
• Ukraine 2004 (a Back in Time article)
• Ukraine 2005 (a Back in Time article)
• Ukraine 2009 (a Back in Time article)
• Ukraine 2010 (a Back in Time article)
• Ukraine 2011 (a Back in Time article)
• Ukraine 2012 (a Back in Time article)