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Russia Ignores U.S. Threats of Isolation (+video)

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Photo Credit: AP / Pablo Martinez MonsivaisBy Dave Boyer and Ashish Kumar Sen.

President Obama warned Russia on Monday of possible U.S. sanctions over its military land grab in Ukraine, but Moscow brushed aside international threats, tightening its stranglehold on Crimea and calling audaciously for a national unity government in Kiev.

In Washington, Mr. Obama said the world is “largely united” against Russia’s military action and he is considering economic and diplomatic steps that would gradually isolate Russia. He criticized the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin for being “on the wrong side of history.”

“What cannot be done is for Russia with impunity to put its soldiers on the ground and violate basic principles that are recognized around the world,” Mr. Obama said. “Over time, this will be a costly proposition for Russia.”

But the U.S. and European Union floundered for solutions — while global markets panicked over the prospect of violent upheaval in the heart of Europe. Fears grew that the Kremlin might carry out more land grabs in pro-Russian eastern Ukraine, or elsewhere in the former Soviet Union, adding urgency to Western efforts to defuse the crisis.

Secretary of State John F. Kerry was heading to Kiev in an expression of support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, and the EU threatened a raft of punitive measures as it called an emergency summit on Ukraine for Thursday. In Congress, lawmakers prepared to move on an aid package for Ukraine.

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US says it is suspending trade talks and all military-to-military engagements with Russia over Ukraine

By Fox News.

The U.S. announced late Monday it was suspending trade and investment talks with Russia as well as all “military-to-military engagements” as penalties for its actions in Ukraine.

The twin measures were announced only hours after America’s U.N. ambassador blasted Russia for its “dangerous military intervention” in Ukraine, calling it a violation of international law and saying: “It must stop.”

A spokesperson for the office of the U.S. Trade Representative confirmed to Fox News “due to recent events in Ukraine, we have suspended upcoming bilateral trade and investment engagement with the government of Russia that were part of a move toward deeper commercial and trade ties.”

Earlier, the Pentagon said the U.S. was putting on hold “all military-to military engagements” with Russia, including exercises, bilateral meetings, port visits and planning conferences.

President Obama also met with his National Security Council Monday to discuss the situation. A spokeswoman said Obama and his team discussed what actions the U.S. and its foreign counterparts could do to further isolate Russia, and reinforce the fact that Moscow faces more repercussions if it does not take steps to de-escalate the situation.

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Sen. Inhofe on Russia: ‘I Warned This Day Was Coming and It Is Here’

By Craig Bannister.

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of Senate Armed Services Committee, today criticized President Obama’s response to Russia and policies that have weakened the current state of the United States military.

Inhofe said that he had warned that trouble with Russia was coming due to Pres. Obama’s efforts to disarm the U.S. military – and now that trouble is here…

The arrogant actions of President Putin and Russia in recent days is a direct result of President Obama’s disarming of America since the beginning of his Administration.

Five years ago, I went to Afghanistan to respond to President Obama’s first budget knowing he was going to disarm America. In that first budget, he canceled our only fifth generation fighter, the F-22; he cancelled our C-17; and he cancelled our FCS. That was just the first year. Since then he has taken $487 billion out of our national security. His disarming of America over the past five years limits our options in Ukraine today. I just returned from Georgia in January, and they fear Russia will further invade their territory next.

Throughout this Administration, I have also warned that if the United States does not maintain a ready and capable military, we would surrender our global influence and leave a vacuum that will be filled by Russia. I warned this day was coming, and it is here. President Obama’s attempt to seek peace through apologetic diplomacy while defunding and dismantling our military has failed. Today our enemies don’t fear us and our allies no longer respect us.

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Marco Rubio: Russia is a Government of ‘Liars’

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Photo Credit: AP Photo/Ivan SekretarevSen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said Russia cannot be trusted to fulfill its international commitments because their government lies on a regular basis and is “increasingly behaving like an enemy of international peace and international norms.”

Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Rubio reacted to Russia’s Friday invasion of the Crimea region of Ukraine by calling the Russian government “liars” that the U.S. cannot trust.

“Let’s call it what it is,” Rubio said. “They are lying – this government is a government of liars, the Russian government. You see what’s happening now in Crimea. I mean, they’re claiming they’re not there. You’ve got these individuals showing up in unmarked uniforms, wearing masks, but clearly they’re Russian troops, even if they refuse to acknowledge it.”

He also said Secretary of State John Kerry has given the Russian government too much credit for cooperating in recent years on international agreements.

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‘What the Heck Are You Talking About?’: See How Obama Responds to Heckler at DNC Event

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Photo Credit: YouTube President Barack Obama was heckled over his “plan for nuclear war with Russia” during a speech at the Democratic National Committee on Friday. He responded to the bizarre question in about the only way he could.

After slamming Republicans for getting “all stirred up” over his plan to unilaterally act to “help middle class families,” Obama was interrupted.

“Mr. Obama, tell us about your plan for nuclear war with Russia!” an unidentified man can be heard yelling during the president’s speech.

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Obama Could Pull Russia Trip Amid Ukraine Tumult

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Photo Credit: AP Photo/Charles DharapakBy Julie Pace and Matthew Lee.

U.S. officials said Friday that President Barack Obama may scrap plans to attend an international summit in Russia this summer and could also halt discussions on deepening trade ties with Moscow, raising specific possible consequences if Russia should intervene in Ukraine. Obama himself bluntly warned of unspecified “costs” for Russia.

“Any violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity would be deeply destabilizing,” Obama declared. Such action by Russia would represent a “profound interference” in matters that must be decided by the Ukrainian people, he said.

While the president spoke only of “reports” of military movements inside Ukraine, the officials said the U.S does believe that Russia is intervening.

Separately, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said he would not address specific U.S. options, “but this could be a very dangerous situation if this continues in a provocative way.” Asked about options in a CBS News interview, he said that “we’re trying to deal with a diplomatic focus, that’s the appropriate, responsible approach.”

As Obama prepared to speak late Friday, a spokesman for the Ukrainian border service said eight Russian transport planes had landed with unknown cargo in Crimea. Serhiy Astakhov told The Associated Press that the Il-76 planes arrived unexpectedly and were given permission to land, one after the other, at Gvardeiskoye air base. The State Department urged U.S. citizens to defer non-essential travel plans in the country because of “the potential for instability.”

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Photo Credit: CNS News Russia Seeks Access to Bases in Eight Countries for Its Ships and Bombers

By Patrick Goodenough.

At a time of escalated tensions with the West over Ukraine, Russia says it is negotiating with eight governments around the world for access to military facilities, to enable it to extend its long-range naval and strategic bomber capabilities.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday the military was engaged in talks with Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Algeria, Cyprus, the Seychelles, Vietnam and Singapore.

“We need bases for refueling near the equator, and in other places,” ITAR-Tass quoted him as saying.

Russia is not looking to establish bases in those locations, but to reach agreement to use facilities there when required.

The countries are all strategically located – in three leftist-ruled countries close to the U.S.; towards either end of the Mediterranean; in the Indian Ocean south of the Gulf of Aden; and near some of the world’s most important shipping lanes in the Malacca Strait and South China Sea.

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Russian Moves Raise Stakes in Ukraine Conflict

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Photo Credit: AP/Emilio MorenattiMasked gunmen stormed the parliament of Ukraine’s strategic Crimea region as Russian fighter jets screamed above the border, while Ukraine’s newly formed government pledged to prevent a national breakup with the strong backing of the West – the stirrings of a potentially dangerous confrontation reminiscent of Cold War brinksmanship.

Moscow reportedly granted shelter to Ukraine’s fugitive president, Viktor Yanukovych, who was said to be holed up in a luxury government retreat and to have scheduled a news conference Friday near the Ukrainian border. As gunmen wearing unmarked camouflage uniforms erected a sign reading “Crimea is Russia” in the provincial capital, Ukraine’s interim prime minister declared that the Black Sea territory “has been and will be a part of Ukraine.”

The escalating conflict sent Ukraine’s finances plummeting further, prompting Western leaders to prepare an emergency financial package.

Yanukovych, whose approach to Moscow set off three months of pro-Europe protests, finally fled by helicopter last weekend as his allies deserted him. The humiliating exit was a severe blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had been celebrating his signature Olympics even as Ukraine’s drama came to a head. The Russian leader has long dreamt of pulling Ukraine – a huge country of 46 million people considered the cradle of Russian civilization – closer into Moscow’s orbit.

For Ukraine’s neighbors, the specter of Ukraine breaking up evoked memories of centuries of bloody conflict.

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Russian Spy Ship Docked in Havana; No Reason Given

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Photo Credit: ReutersA Russian warship was docked in Havana Wednesday, without explanation from Communist Cuba or its state media.

The Viktor Leonov CCB-175 boat, measuring 91.5 meters (300 feet) long and 14.5 meters wide, was docked at the port of Havana’s cruise ship area, near the Russian Orthodox Cathedral.

The Vishnya, or Meridian-class intelligence ship, which has a crew of around 200, went into service in the Black Sea in 1988 before it was transferred seven years later to the northern fleet, Russian media sources said.

Neither Cuban authorities nor state media have mentioned the ship’s visit, unlike on previous tours by Russian warships.

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Susan Rice: Russian Military Intervention in Ukraine ‘Would be a Grave Mistake’ (+video)

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Photo Credit: AP Photo/Efrem LukatskyAny Russian decision to send forces into Ukraine to restore a government it views as favorable “would be a grave mistake,” national security advisor Susan Rice said Sunday, after dramatic turns in the country’s standoff saw President Viktor Yanukovich effectively removed from office.

“It’s not in the interest of Ukraine or of Russia or of Europe or of the United States to see a country split,” Rice said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “It’s in nobody’s interests to see violence return and the situation escalate.”

Asked whether President Obama had told President Vladimir Putin to “back off” when the two spoke by phone on Friday, Rice replied, “The president’s message was, ‘Look, we have a shared interest in a Ukraine that remains unified, whole, independent, and is able to exercise the will of its people freely.’ At that point, Putin was in agreement.”

Russia and the U.S. have accused each other of interference in the crisis, which began when Yanukovich last November ditched a plan to strengthen economic and political relations with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia. Opposition supporters occupied Kiev’s independence square to protest the decision, which was cemented when Putin offered Yanukovich a $15 billion bailout.

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Kremlin Party Youth Protest Disallowed Goal in US-Russia Match

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Photo Credit: Fox NewsAfter a heated U.S.-Russia hockey match at the Sochi Olympics on Saturday, many Russian spectators have decided the cold war is back — and not just on the ice.

Demonstrators gathered in Moscow on Monday to protest a referee’s call disallowing a Russian goal in the match that Russia ultimately lost in a penalty shootout.

The protesters, organized by the Kremlin party’s youth group, donned Russian hockey jerseys and shouted, “Make soap out of the ref!” — a common expression among Russian soccer fans.

Wielding a banner with a photograph of the American referee, Brad Meier, the protesters used a cheese grater to grate soap into buckets.

The goal, which would have given Russia to a 3-2 lead with less than five minutes on the clock, was disallowed after officials ruled that the net had come loose from the ice before the goal was scored. Russian fans, who had leapt to their feet in celebration, howled with rage as the call was announced.

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Cold War Echoes: Sochi Not Thawing US-Russian Relations

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Photo Credit: APThe Olympic Games, created to bring countries together around sports, appear to be having the opposite effect on U.S.-Russia relations.

Rising animosity between the former Cold War powers was on full display Friday when Russia chose a former figure skater who tweeted out a racially charged picture of President Obama for the symbolic lighting of the Olympic cauldron…

To be sure, there are hard feelings in Russia toward the U.S. and the Obama administration, too.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hoped hosting the first Games since the 1980 Moscow Olympics, which the U.S. boycotted, would showcase a “new Russia” emerging from the ashes of the Soviet Union as he enters his 15th year in power.

Instead the U.S. and its western allies have consistently painted the picture of a corrupt autocracy.

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Gunman Kills Nun, Parishioner, Wounds 6 in Russian Cathedral

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Photo Credit: AP Photo/ Dmitriy SindyakovRussian investigators say a gunman opened fire in a cathedral on Sakhalin Island off the Pacific coast, killing a nun and a parishioner and wounding six others.

The federal Investigative Committee said law enforcement officers detained the man, who works as a security guard.

A man employed as a private security guard opened fire Sunday in a cathedral on Russia’s Sakhalin Island in the Pacific, killing a nun and a parishioner and wounding six others, investigators said.

Law enforcement officers detained the 24-year-old man at the scene and were trying to determine why he had attacked the Russian Orthodox cathedral in the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the federal Investigative Committee said in a statement. The man worked for a private security firm in the city and was armed with a rifle. His name was not released.

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