Crimea, between Obama and Putin is a war of sanctions. Kiev: “Combat alert”

KIEV – The White House is ready to take sanctions against the Russian economy and against the new ones responsible for the crisis in Ukraine. “The United States is deeply concerned about the situation in Crimea,” said US President Barack Obama, speaking of “illegal referendums and illegitimate movements” of Russian troops, but added that Moscow is still in time to take a step back. Measures that could also come from the EU. Shortly before German Chancellor Angela Merkel made it clear that “the G8 does not exist” and that Europe is ready to adopt “economic sanctions”. Arriving in Brussels, to participate in the EU Council, French President François Hollande announced that the summit EU-Russia scheduled for June has been canceled. Russia has decided to react in turn, publishing a list of nine Obama administration officials and members of Congress who have banned them from entering Russia. They are three of the president’s advisers, Caroline Atkinson, deputy assistant for national security, Daniel Pfeiffer, a former ghost writer and considered the right-hand man of Obama and Benjamin Rhodes, also a collaborator of the president.

The alert. The Ukrainian government keeps the alert level high on a possible extension of Moscow’s expansionist aims. The Defense Council has announced that the troops are in a state of combat alert. In the evening the Ukrainian government has announced that it will respond “militarily” to all Russian attempts “to annex” the pro-Russian eastern regions of the country. But for his part, the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoygu, speaking in Washington with the head of the Pentagon, Chuck Hagel, replied that “the Russian troops are on the border with Ukraine only for some military exercises, not to attack”.

Meanwhile, the commander of the Ukrainian navy, Serghei Gaiduk, has been released during the assault on his command by Russian wire. A relaxing gesture made while Moscow begins issuing Russian passports in the Crimea and the head of Moscow diplomacy Serghei Lavrov announces that “the legal process for the annexation” will be completed “at the end of this week”. The Duma ratified the annexation signed by Putin, with only one vote against – that of the deputy Ilia Ponomaryov.

March 20, 2014