Thread: WORLD BRACES FOR WAR: Canada send Jetfighters to Poland to Bolster NATO Forces

Meanwhile In Ukraine, The Parliament Is Being Stormed, Again - Live Webcast

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/16/2014 11:22 -0400

Yesterday, in the aftermath of the popular anger aimed at Ukraine's president Porohsneko following his "Bohnering" on Ukraine's demands for a free trade agreement with Europe, we said the new president's days are likely numbered. Less than 24 hours later, this has started to play out, and as the live feeds below show, the Kiev parliament is being stormed by what appears to be discontent from the right wing "Right Sector" political group, despite today's ratification of the meaningless EU pact, whose purpose was to offset popular anger at the delay of the trade agreeement. Moments ago from Bloomberg:

• UKRAINE PROTESTERS ATTEMPT TO ENTER PARLIAMENT BUILDING: UNIAN

Below is a live feed of what may soon be the second political coup in Ukraine in under 1 year.



Live view below

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

Some stills:







http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...n-live-webcast

Over 1000 US, NATO Troops Begin Military Exercises In Ukraine

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/16/2014 07:59 -0400

Russia could care less whether Ukraine signs meaningless accession agreements with Europe (as it just did) because at the end of the day, Ukraine needs Russia's gas (if only for the next 4-6 years until Hunter Biden develops Ukraine's shale deposits and the Qatar gas pipeline finally crosses Syria). Russia, however, is very angry when NATO gets ever closer to its borders, which it just did when earlier today, more than 1,000 troops from 15 NATO and non-NATO countries, including the US of course, are taking part in a military exercise in Ukraine.
The good news: The “Rapid Trident” exercise is happening near Lviv on the Polish-Ukrainian border, around 1,000 miles from the conflict in east Ukraine.

The bad news: 1,000 miles will hardly be considered enough by the Kremlin which will see this latest incursion by NATO ever closer to its border as another direct threat and a hint of what will happen if Ukraine is allowed to progress on its path of demanding entry into the military alliance.

From EuroNews:

Ukrainian army colonel, Oleksandr Syvak, said: “This year’s military exercise will concentrate on the particular aspects of the undeclared or “hybrid” war, which is happening in the east of Ukraine. This will be be taken into consideration during the military drill. The Ukrainian militaries will also share their experiences gained during the anti-terrorist operation”

Moscow has previously condemned what it calls NATO’s expansion in eastern Europe close to Russia’s borders.

In August, Ukraine’s prime minister said he would ask parliament to put the country on a path towards NATO membership.

At the weekend, the Ukrainian Defence Minister admitted NATO countries had begun arming his nation in the fight against the rebels – something NATO members had previously denied.

Euronews correspondent Mykhaylo Dubyak in Ukraine says: “In the Rapid Trident exercises, NATO and Ukrainian troops will train in how to react to an ambush and convoy operations, amongst other things. It will raise the combat capability of the Ukrainian army and may be used in operations in Donbas.”

Well, at least nobody is even hiding any more that NATO is both implicitly and explicitly involved in the Ukraine war, which has now surpassed simple proxy status and is in effect one between Russia and the West, quite directly.

And now we await as the Kremlin reveals yet another, massive "surprise" military drill just off the Ukraine border to make it quite clear how all this will end unless the warmongering puppetmasters operating behind the scenes are put in their place.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...rcises-ukraine

A Simple Primer On "War Propaganda" From An Unexpected Source

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/15/2014 19:41 -0400

Stop us when this becomes familiar:

The receptivity of the great masses is very limited, their intelligence is small, but their power of forgetting is enormous. In consequence of these facts, all effective propaganda must be limited to a very few points and must harp on these in slogans until the last member of the public understands what you want him to understand by your slogan. As soon as you sacrifice this slogan and try to be many-sided, the effect will piddle away, for the crowd can neither digest nor retain the material offered. In this way the result is weakened and in the end entirely cancelled out.

Source: Chapter 6, "War Propaganda" of Adolf Hilter's 1926 "Mein Kampf"



h/t @George_Chen


http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...xpected-source

This Russian Trend Is Not Europe's Friend

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/17/2014 09:12 -0400

The cold war is on, literally, because it will determine who will survive Europe's upcoming cold winter - a Europe with decreasing Russian gas supplies, or Russia now officially starved of Western sources of funding. The "Plan Bs" - Europe has record gas inventories in storage giving it hope it can last out an entire winter without any incremental Russian gas, while Russia is increasingly reliant and hoping on China-based sources of funding. While it remains to be seen just how Russian corporations will react to the recently imposed credit starvation, the chart below shows the steps Russia is now taking ahead of the European winter. Clearly, the trend in Russian gas supplies into Europe's core distribution hub, Slovakia, is not Europe's friend.
Of course, Gazprom had a politically acceptable excuse for the trend: "technical reasons."And then this:

• CEO MILLER SAYS GAZPROM SUPPLYING GAS TO EUROPE ACCORDING TO CONTRACTS, COULD NOT SATISFY ADDITIONAL DEMAND FOR NOW

We assume that not even the clueless Eurocrats in Brussels will fall for that one.
In the meantime, keep an eye on the trend: if and when the blue bar hits zero, Europe's coldest war will have officially started.



http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...europes-friend

More Than Just Gas: Is This Natural Resource The Reason For The Ukraine Civil War?

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/18/2014 11:25 -0400

Earlier today, we got a definitive confirmation that when Obama was talking about "costs" when jawboning on the ongoing Ukraine civil war, he envisioned not only Germany, and thus Europe, both of which are teetering on the edge of a triple-dip recession due to Russian sanctions, but Ukraine itself. The reason: the Ukraine economy appears to have ground to a halt following an overnight report that the war-torn country's industrial output plummeted 21.4% Y/Y in August, above the 18% estimate, and some 12.7% on a monthly basis. As the chart below shows, this was the biggest drop in industrial production since the global crisis of 2009 and followed a 12% fall year-on-year in July.



As the FT further added, according to an EBRD forecast earlier today, the Ukrainian economy will contract 9% this year, a far greater contraction than assumed in the IMF's bailout (odd how that always happens). Accordingly, this "makes sustainability of Kiev's government debts much more doubtful, and has sparked concerns that the country will eventually be forced to default and restructure."
As skepticism grows that Ukraine will be the next Greece, only without the backstop safety net of the EUR currency, bondholders are starting to get skeptical, and overnight the yield on Ukraine bonds due April 2023 slid to 10.61%, the highest in 4 months on rising fears of a default.



And while the collapse, in either the economy or the bonds, were not surprising and were predicted here and many other places, what did seem out of place was the following observation by Reuters:

The statistics office said the main industries of Ukraine's Donetsk region, one of the areas where the war is most intense, had suffered, with coal extraction down almost 60 percent and steel production down by 30 percent.

In other words, while the most important commodity for Europe is gas, whose supply Russia largely controls on the margin, for Ukraine the one commodity, located deep within the perimeter of the raging civil war, and which it desperately needs to regain access to to stop its economic collapse, is the following (courtesy of Stratfor):



Which begs the question: are the massive stores of coal in the Donetsk region the main reason why Russia continues to support a civil war in just that region, a war which with every passing day means the Ukraine bankruptcy, and inevitable regime change, is also one day closer?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...aine-civil-war

Poroshenko Tells US Congress "Russia Has Invaded Ukraine, Need Lethal Aid" - Live Feed

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/18/2014 10:46 -0400

In a passionate speech to a joint meeting of Congress, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko dropped some tape-bombs:

• *POROSHENKO SAYS RUSSIA `HAS NOW INVADED UKRAINE'
• *POROSHENKO SAYS UKRAINE `URGENTLY' NEEDS LETHAL AID
• *POROSHENKO WARNS RUSSIANS WILL NEXT CROSS EUROPEAN BORDER

Supported by rounds of applause by US politicians, Poroshenko called for the US solidarity and to lead the offensive against Russia as they "fan the flames of war." Stocks dipped (but recovered) though PMs are higher still.

• *POROSHENKO SAYS RUSSIA IS THREAT TO GLOBAL SECURITY
• *POROSHENKO: AGRESSION AGAINST UKRAINE IS SETBACK FOR DEMOCRACY
• *POROSHENKO SAYS `WORLD CANNOT ALLOW' RUSSIA'S BEHAVIOR
• *POROSHENKO SAYS RUSSIA RESPONSIBLE FOR MALAYSIAN AIR SHOOTDOWN

Live Feed - click image for link



As Bloomberg reports,

• “I urge you not to let Ukraine stand alone,” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko tells U.S. Congress.
• Calls aggression against Ukraine setback for democracy
• “It is very simple: democracies must support each other”
• Requests special security agreement with U.S.
• Says Ukraine “urgently needs lethal and non-lethal aid
• ‘‘One cannot win the war with blanks”
• Warns Russians will next cross European border
• War against Russia “is Europe and America’s war, too; it is is a war for the free world”
• Calls Russian annexation of Crimea one of the “most cynical acts of treachery in modern history”
• “Imperialistic bonfire” still burns in Russia

The market reacted...



But stocks bounced back...



* * *
Perhaps this is why Poroshenko is so desparate for US involvement.. his economy is collapsing...



As The FT notes, Ukrainian industrial production slumped 12.7 per cent in August (and 21.7% YoY), underscoring the immense challenges facing the country's economy and the mounting risks for the $17bn International Monetary Fund programme.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...-aid-live-feed

http://www.alipac.us/f19/moscow-troo...6/#post1436185

UK Scrambles Fighter Jets To Intercept Two Russian Strategic "Bear" Bombers


Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/19/2014 09:05 -0400

• United Kingdom

While Scotland was busy concluding the count of its votes against independence, Royal Air Force fighter jets based out of the northern Scottish base in Lossiemouth in Moray, were scrambled to identify and intercept two airplanes which subsequently were revealed to be Russian Tu-95 Russian "Bear H" strategic bombers, that were spotted in international airspace although the exact location of the encounter has not been disclosed. As the RAF later clarified in a statement, the aircraft did not enter UK airspace.

The statement said the launch was the first time a Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) had been issued from RAF Lossiemouth since the Moray base took on the role of defending the UK's northern airspace.

As Sky reports, RAF Lossiemouth's Station Commander, Group Captain Mark Chappell, said: "This first successful launch for QRA North has been what all of the hard work by RAF Leuchars and RAF Lossiemouth personnel over recent months has been for.

"The relocation of two Typhoon squadrons was a significant challenge, one that was met by our whole team.
"The many months of preparation and infrastructure improvements have made us absolutely ready for this launch, and shows we are in the best position to provide the service to the United Kingdom that the Royal Air Force was primarily created for - that is, the protection of our airspace."

And while the RAF apparently was merely responding to what was yet another training exercise by Russia - as a reminder in June two Typhoon jets were scrambled into action to head off four separate groups of Russian aircraft that were flying near the Baltic, which the Ministry of Defence said appeared to be carrying out a 'routine training' exercise in international airspace and were later escorted out of the area - it did take the opportunity to release a photo album of the interception in progress.

A British Typhoon jet, bottom, is seen intercepted one of two Russian 'Bear' aircraft that were spotted flying in international airspace

Another angle

And yet another.

The interception, which involved two Typhoon jets pictured, was the first time a Quick Reaction Alert had occurred since the Lossiemouth, Scotland, base had taken on the role of defending the UK's Northern airspace.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...c-bear-bombers

Military Plant In East Ukraine Devastated By Massive Explosion; Kiev Accuses Russia Of Using Tactial Nuke

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/20/2014 20:40 -0400

Last night's headlines crowed in bright red flashing text that Russia and Ukraine had (once again) agreed a cease-fire and terms over the borders between the two nations. Perhaps not surprisingly, mere hours later, Ukraine is claiming that Russia has broken the truce... with the use of a tactical nuclear weapon at Luhansk airport. This comes on the heels of claims by the pro-Russia separatists that Kiev forces destroyed a massive military plant in Donetsk. Russia's defense ministry flatly denies the 'nuclear strikes' adding that "no reasonable person will take them seriously." This truce-breaking action has once again raised calls among Ukrainians for the nation to get its nuclear status back; something Russia is clearly strongly against.



Earlier in the day, a massive military facility in pro-Russian separatist-held Donetsk was destroyed. As RT reports, a neighborhood official told Ukrainian 112 television that a shell hit the plant.

“There was a direct hit at the No 47 industrial explosives shop, where some explosives were present. It detonated and caused another explosion. Luckily it didn’t hit the main storage facility where we have some 2.5 tons of explosives,” said Ivan Prikhod’ko, deputy chair of the local community council.

He added that while the incident caused considerable damage, nobody was hurt.



...

There is no verified report about what kind of weapon hit the plant. But there are rumors of it being targeted by a Tochka-U tactical missile launched by Kiev's troops.



“According to our information, three Tochka-U missiles were fired and there you have it,” a militia member who identified himself as codename ‘Scorpio’ told RT.

Then, as ITAR-TASS reports,

Ukrainian media earlier in the day quoted Geletei as telling one of the journalists that the Russian army had delivered two tactical nuclear strikes on the Lugansk airport from a self-propelled Tyulpan 2S4 mortar system, thus causing the Ukrainian troops to leave the area.

“The strikes were so powerful that they demolished buildings completely from top to bottom,” media reports quoted him as saying.

Adn as Inforesist notes, this was confirmed by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Valery Geletey during the return of the Ukrainian delegation from Poland.

It is reported on your page in the Facebook Roman Bocskai.

In particular, the forces of the Russian Federation made two impact of self-propelled mortar 2S4 "Tulip" in Lugansk airport. It is for this reason that our military had left him. Blows were so powerful that "completely destroyed the building from the fifth floor to the basement" - described the minister.

The devastation at Luhansk Airport...


h/t @L0ggol
Which, as ITAR-TASS reports, the Russian Defense Ministry flatly denied...

Ukrainian media reports said that Defence Minister Geletei had made this statement upon return from talks in Poland.

“The leadership of Ukraine should consider sending Geletei through a basic military training course where rookies learn the main effects of a nuclear explosion and its consequences,” the Russian Defence Ministry said in what meant to be a jock.

“Speaking seriously, Geletei’s regular attempts to justify the failures of the punitive operation in the south-east of Ukraine by alleged actions of Russian army units look like paranoia. But no reasonable person will take them seriously,” the ministry said.

* * *
What is somewhat comical is that these incidents comes just hours after Friday’s signing of an extended ceasefire deal between Kiev and rebel forces, which hopes to put an end to hostilities in eastern Ukraine. The deal includes pulling back all heavy weapons from cities and frontlines.
The blast happened just as a Russian humanitarian aid convoy was unloading elsewhere in the city. Some 200 trucks carrying 2,000 tons of aid crossed the border earlier on Saturday.
NATO chimed in...

• *UKRAINE HAS CEASE-FIRE `IN NAME ONLY,' TOP NATO GENERAL SAYS:AP

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...accuses-russia-