A Russian - Ukrainian Military Alliance?

Russia Invites Ukraine To Join Ex - Soviet Security Bloc -- New York Times/Reuters

KIEV (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday invited Ukraine to join a security bloc of former Soviet republics, a step that would draw Ukraine closer into Moscow's embrace.

Ukraine has forged warm ties with its former Soviet masters since the February election of President Viktor Yanukovich as president. Yanukovich, an ex-mechanic from the Russian-leaning east of the country, frequently speaks Russian at public events.

Former Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko shunned Russia and attempted to take his country into NATO, despite considerable public opposition. NATO members put Ukrainian membership on the back burner in 2008.

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More News on Russian - Ukrainian Cooperation

Russia woos Ukraine on security bloc -- Reuters
Russia would welcome Ukraine into CSTO post-Soviet security bloc -- RIA Novosti
Russia and Ukraine warm relations and Medvedev invites Ukraine to join CSTO -- ecPulse
Russia Not to Use Black Sea Fleet Against Neighbours -- New York Times/Reuters
Medvedev: Russia will not Use Black Sea Fleet Against Neighbors -- Civil.Ge
Russia will not use Sevastopol base to stage war - Medvedev -- RIA Novosti
Russia and Ukraine improve soured relations - Russian President -- RIA Novosti
Medvedev, Yanukovych honor victims of Soviet-era famine -- RIA Novosti

Ukraine Parliament Approves Russian Black Sea Fleet . Protests Erupt

Ukraine Ratifies Russia Naval Base Amid Protest -- Voice of America

Ukraine's parliament has voted to extend a lease on a Russian naval base, during a turbulent session where smoke bombs and eggs were thrown at Ukrainian politicians.

The agreement extends Russia's lease on a naval base at the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol until 2042. Russia, in turn, will give Ukraine discounts on imports of Russian natural gas.

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More News On The Protests In Ukraine On This Russian Naval Base Ratification

Ukraine Extends Lease on Russian Naval Base -- New York Times
Protests as Ukraine Backs Russian Base Extension -- New York Times/Reuters
Ukraine, Russia Ratify Black Sea Naval Lease -- New York Times/AP
Battle lines drawn over Ukraine's strategic direction -- BBC
Eggs, Smoke Fill Ukrainian Parliament as Russian Deal Passes -- Moscow Times
Fists fly in Ukraine parliament punch up -- CNN
Ukraine Parliament Approves Russian Black Sea Fleet -- Wall Street Journal
Moscow to consult Kiev on upgrading Russian fleet in Crimea -Navy chief -- RIA Novosti
Ukraine has little chance of reneging on Russian Navy deal - diplomat -- RIA Novosti
Russian president says rent for Russian fleet base in Ukraine not overpriced -- RIA Novosti
Russia Gets Duped Again -- Alexander Golts, Moscow Times

My Comment: Elections have consequences, a fact that many Ukrainians are realizing now.

Russia - Ukraine Naval Base Lease Agreement Extended For 25 Years

Ukraine To Extend Russia Naval Base Lease, Pay Less For Natural Gas -- Washington Post

MOSCOW -- Ukraine's new president signed a deal Wednesday that allows Russia's Black Sea Fleet to stay in the country another 25 years, moving to ease a long-standing source of tension and giving Moscow its second foreign policy victory in the former Soviet Union this month.

Viktor Yanukovych and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, announced the breakthrough after a hastily scheduled summit in Kharkiv, Ukraine, saying that Ukraine will extend the lease on the Russian naval base in Sevastopol to 2042 in exchange for a steep discount on purchases of Russian natural gas.

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More News On The Russian - Ukraine Naval Lease Agreement

Russia, Ukraine agree on naval-base-for-gas deal -- CNN
Russia's Black Sea Fleet to stay in Ukraine until 2042 -- The Telegraph
Moscow buys sea power with Ukraine gas deal -- Times Online
Russia Wields $40 Billion to End Ukraine Gas War, Win Navy Deal -- Business Week
Ukraine Fleet Deal Expands Russia's Regional Reach -- Wall Street Journal
Yanukovich, under fire, defends deal with Russia -- Reuters
Yanukovych Defends Russian Naval Base Extension -- Radio Free Europe
Tymoshenko Bloc determined to thwart Black Sea Fleet deal ratification -- Kyiv Post
Russia's Putin: no more gas-for-military base deals -- Reuters

A Russia - Ukraine Rapprochement

Ukraine’s Leader, In Russia, Promises Better Ties -- New York Times

MOSCOW — Ukraine’s newly elected president, Viktor F. Yanukovich, arrived in Moscow on Friday promising a “sharp turn” in his country’s relations with Russia, five years after the Orange Revolution chilled ties between the two neighbors.

“The new government in Ukraine will change relations with Russia, so that they will never again be like they were for the last five years,” Mr. Yanukovich said in a meeting with Russian president, Dmitri A. Medvedev.

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More News On Russia - Ukraine Rapprochement

Ukraine and Russia vow 'new page' in ties -- Yahoo News/AFP
Russia, Ukraine exchange praise but strike no deal -- Yahoo News/AP
Medvedev, Yanukovych promise 'sharp turnaround' in bilateral ties -- RIA Novosti
Yanukovych praises Russian 'political stability' -- RIA Novosti
Russia, Ukraine vows to improve ties -- Xinhuanet
Russia, Ukraine presidents discuss energy, Black Sea Fleet -- M&C
Putin calls for closer economic cooperation with Ukraine -- RIA Novosti
Ukraine's Yanukovich signals shift over Russia fleet -- BBC

Major Russian Spy Ring Caught In The Ukraine

Ukraine Breaks Up Alleged Russian Spy Ring -- Washington Post

KIEV, Ukraine -- A spying scandal between Ukraine and Russia threatens to heighten tensions between the countries as Ukraine's holds a presidential runoff election Sunday between a Russian-leaning candidate and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

Ukraine's security service said Wednesday five Russians were detained last month after being caught trying to obtain confidential military information from a Ukrainian citizen.

"We have broken up an FSB spying operation," Ukrainian security services spokeswoman Marina Ostapenko said.

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More News on The Russian Spy Ring In The Ukraine

Ukraine and Russia trade spying accusations -- BBC
Ukraine and Russia Trade Spying Charges -- New York Times
Moscow-Kiev spy row breaks out ahead of Ukrainian polls -- RIA Novosti
Ukraine catches four Russians for spying -- Xinhuanet
Russia-Ukraine spy scandal erupts on eve of vote -- AFP
Expert: Spy scandal due to Ukraine election -- Kyiv Post

My Comment: 5 days to the Ukrainian Presidential election .... and this story breaks out. I am sure that the pro-Russian candidate is beating his head against the wall right now.

The Next Russian - Ukraine Conflict Will Be on The Crimea And Russian Naval Port Calls

Pro-Russian supporters welcome the missile cruiser ''Moskva'' to Sevastopol after participating in military operations against Georgia.

Yushchenko Pledges To Force Russian Navy Out Of Crimea -- RIA Novosti

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko pledged on Monday in an election campaign statement to force Russia's Black Sea Fleet to leave Ukraine's Crimea by 2017.

"The Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation must be pulled out of Ukraine before 2017 in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine and the agreements signed," Yushchenko said in a statement published on the website of the country's Central Election Commission.

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Update: Top Russian Navy Officials Want To Keep Ukraine Port -- Radio Free Europe

My Comment: The polls indicate that the governing party in the Ukraine will lose in the next election. Therefore .... the issue of Russian ships using ports in the Crimea is now being used as an election ploy to stir anti-Russian sentiment.

Will it work .... I doubt it. Economic and unemployment problems are the main issues in this election, and it is on these issues that a pro-Russian party will probably be elected in the next election.

Ukraine - Rusian Tensions Rising Ahead Of The Ukrainian Elections

Ukraine-Russia Tensions Evident in Crimea -- Washington Post

Kremlin Asserting Its Influence in Region.

SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine -- On maps, Crimea is Ukrainian territory, and this naval citadel on its southern coast is a Ukrainian city. But when court bailiffs tried to serve papers at a lighthouse here in August, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by armed troops from Russia's Black Sea Fleet who delivered them to police as if they were trespassing teenagers.

The humiliating episode underscored Russia's continuing influence in the storied peninsula on the Black Sea nearly two decades after the fall of the Soviet Union -- and the potential for trouble here ahead of Ukraine's first presidential vote since the 2005 Orange Revolution.

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My Comment: My father ... a Russian who was born in the Ukraine .... expresses the sentiment of most Russians .... why is the Crimea under the jurisdiction of the Ukraine?

For most Russians who live in the Western Ukraine (where they are a majority), they also do not understand (and in fact resent) being under the authority of Kiev and the Ukrainian majority. If there was a vote for independence from the Ukraine and reunification with Russia .... it will win with a sizable majority. This is the Achilles heel for the Ukrainian Government, and it is only getting worse with time.

Talks with what to do with Crimea is what will probably blow open a political disagreement into something more. Add to this mix age old resentments and nationalism .... we can have a crisis that can easily surpass the problems of the Caucasus and other former Soviet Republics.

The vote in January is going to be a crucial one for the Ukrainians .... its outcome will influence regional politics and security for the next generation .... for better or for worse.

Russia And Ukraine In Intensifying Standoff

From The New York Times:

SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine — A year after its war with Georgia, Russia is engaging in an increasingly hostile standoff with another pro-Western neighbor, Ukraine.

Relations between the two countries are more troubled than at any time since the Soviet collapse, as both sides resort to provocations and recriminations. And it is here on the Crimean Peninsula, home to a Russian naval base, where the tensions are perhaps most in danger of bursting into open conflict.

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More News On The Tensions Between Russia And The Ukraine

Black Sea lighthouse stirs Russia-Ukraine tension -- Reuters
Tensions with BSF increase in Sevastopol -- Ukrainian Journal
Russia accused Kyiv of attempting to seize property belonging to its Black Sea Fleet -- FoRum/Reuters
Black Sea Fleet command calls provocative Ukrainian bailiff’s intrusion -- Kyiv Post

Russian - Ukraine Tensions On The Rise Again

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev stands at the presidential residence in Sochi during the recording of an address for his personal blog, August 11, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Russia's Medvedev Attacks Ukraine's President In Videoblog -- Huffington Post

Ukraine's president has been heavily criticized for 'anti-Russian behavior' by Russian President Medvedev, BBC reports.

Medvedev launched his verbal attack on Viktor Yushchenko via a videoblog message posted on the Kremlin website, and accused Yushchenko of supplying weapons to Georgian forces in their conflict with Russia over the breakaway region, South Ossetia, last year.

Ukraine anticipates presidential elections in January, and Yushchenko is expected to run again for office.

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More News On The Tensions Between Russia And The Ukraine

Russian President Lashes Out at Ukraine -- Voice of America
Russian leader says Ukraine endangering gas supply -- AP
Russian Prez Launches Flame War vs. Ukraine -- Wired News
Kremlin says Medvedev's message aimed at Yushchenko, not nation -- RIA Novosti
Russia hostage to its imperial past: Ukraine -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Medvedev Takes Sides in Ukraine Poll -- Moscow Times
Medvedev: Russia holds off sending new ambassador to Ukraine -- China View
FACTBOX-Five risks to watch east of the EU -- Reuters

My Comment: Ukraine's Presidential elections are in January .... this is Russia's way of trying to influence the election.

Power, Politics Fuels Russia-Ukraine War

Employees of Ukrtransgaz are seen at the gas pumping station at Ukrainian settlement of Orlovka, about 280 km (174 miles) west of the Black Sea port of Odessa, January 13, 2009. Russia started pumping gas destined for Europe via Ukraine on Tuesday for the first time in nearly a week, but the European Union said little or no gas was flowing to countries suffering urgent energy shortages. REUTERS/ Gleb Garanich (UKRAINE)

From AP:

MOSCOW (AP) — More than a week after Russia halted natural gas shipments to Europe through Ukraine, about one-fifth of Europe's supplies remains hostage to a conflict that goes far beyond energy prices.

While the dispute has commercial roots, it is revealing itself increasingly to be a political struggle rooted in Ukraine's embrace of the West, domestic politics on both sides, and the Kremlin's ambition to expand its role as an energy superpower.

So far neither side seems in a hurry to resolve the crisis, which has crippled parts of eastern Europe particularly. Instead, each may be jockeying for long-term advantage in a high-stakes confrontation that could reorder Europe's energy grid.

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