News From Russia
Ukraine PM: ‘Russia seeks World War Three’
April 25, 2014 — Haaretz reports: “Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk accused Russia on Friday of wanting to start World War Three by occupying Ukraine ‘militarily and politically.’
‘The world has not yet forgotten World War Two, but Russia already wants to start World War Three,’ Yatseniuk told the interim cabinet in remarks broadcast live. ‘Attempts at military conflict in Ukraine will lead to a military conflict in Europe.’
In some of the strongest language he has yet used in a war of words between the former Soviet neighbours, as both sides have deployed troops close to their frontier, Yatseniuk accused Moscow of acting like a ‘gangster’ supporting ‘terrorists.’
‘It is clear that Russia’s goal is to wreck the election in Ukraine, remove the pro-Western and pro-Ukrainian government and occupy Ukraine politically as well as military,’ added the premier…” (This headline is one I have preached to millions since 1953. The Gog of Magog of Rosh [Russia] mentioned in Ezekiel 38 and 39 could easily become Putin from Meshech [Moscow] Ezekiel 38:1, 2; Ezekiel 39:1, 2. See the next four reports.)
Russia adopts war-time rhetoric in showdown with Ukraine
May 4, 2014 — AFP reports: “Russian official rhetoric has increasingly compared events in Ukraine to the darkest crimes of Nazi Germany, ahead of next week’s anniversary of Soviet victory in World War II.
Since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine, Russian television and officials have made frequent references to the ‘fascists’ Moscow claims are now running Ukraine.
But the latest outbreak of deadly violence has seen the official Moscow propaganda reach new heights, analysts said.
The fire in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa that claimed at least 42 lives on Friday has been swiftly dubbed a new ‘reprisal raid’ and even the ‘new Khatyn,’ a reference to the Belarussian village where 149 residents were burned alive by the Nazis in 1943.
The entire village was punished for the death of a Nazi officer and the Nazi battalion behind the massacre consisted of collaborators including nationalists from western Ukraine.
The Khatyn massacre went down in Russian history books as one of the Nazis’ most brutal ‘reprisal raids,’ a term the Kremlin has now adopted to describe the offensive Kiev authorities have launched against pro-Moscow rebels in the flashpoint town of Slavyansk…”
Report: Putin Ceases ‘High-Level’ Contact with Obama Administration
April 27, 2014 — Breitbart.com reports: “The Daily Beast is reporting exclusively that Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered an end to communication with President Obama and high-level officials in the White House. The move follows a report that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel could not get through to his Russian counterpart Friday.
According to sources speaking to the website, it appears that President Putin feels pressured to involve the United States in the evolving situation in Ukraine. This has put him off to the point of discontinuing any communication with President Obama. ‘Putin will not talk to Obama under pressure,’ Igor Yurgens, chairman of the Institute for Contemporary Development, told the Daily Beast. While he added that ‘it does not mean forever,’ the situation is indefinite for now…”
Russia Accuses US of ‘Bringing Back the Iron Curtain’
April 30, 2014 — Israel National News reports: “Moscow accused Washington of bringing back ‘Iron Curtain’ policies in the showdown over Ukraine on Tuesday, as the West slapped fresh sanctions against key figures including Russia’s military chief.
The Russian foreign ministry warned the sanctions were ‘absolutely counterproductive’ and were driving the crisis towards ‘a dead end’.
The sharp language underlined the Cold War echoes of the crisis swirling around Ukraine, which has opened diplomatic and economic fronts between East and West…”
Russia Accuses NATO of ‘Provocative’ Actions
April 30, 2014 — Voice of America News reports: “Russia has accused the United States and NATO of what it called ‘provocative’ statements as the crisis in Ukraine unfolds alongside a NATO military build-up in Eastern Europe.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts are continuing to seek the release of seven observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, who are being held by pro-Russian gunmen in eastern Ukraine.
Transport planes brought about 130 U.S. Army paratroopers to Estonia on Monday, part of a NATO show of force in Eastern Europe. Several NATO members have sent warplanes and ships to the region.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday the military build-up was accompanied by ‘provocative’ statements about the need to ‘contain’ Russia…”