So Putin left the G20 Talks early... and why?

[nitpicker1]

             

Vladimir Putin leaves G20 meeting early after tense talks with David Cameron over Russia's destabilisation of Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin left summit in Brisbane to fly to Moscow, cutting short his Australian G20 trip


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2836526/Vladimir-Putin-leaves-G20-meeting-early-tense-talks-David-Cameron-Russia-s-destabilisation-Ukraine.html#ixzz3JdxJIGZ3

The Media seems to think he p*ssed off because he was was p*ssed off with being snubbed at the G20

YEAHBUT


was this below the real reason for his early departure?

V 


V


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EcjeFqxv6Y&feature=player_embedded

Dashcam videos from the northwestern Russian city of Murmansk show a fireball explosion much like the meteor that lit up the sky over Chelyabinsk in Siberia last year. The impact of Saturday's blast wasn't nearly as dramatic, however.

The Chelyabinsk meteor blew out windows, triggered car alarms and injured more than 1,200 people. In contrast, Gazeta.ru reported that no sound of an explosion was heard from Saturday's meteor, although it was sighted from Murmansk as well as other cities on Russia's Kola Peninsula. ...

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/meteor-over-murmansk-russian-fireball-caught-dashcams-n84876

or

... Theories of what might have caused the “blast” appeared both on social and traditional media, with a new meteorite or military exercise in the region being among the top guesses. Regional emergency services said no accidents in connection with the event had been recorded. No sound of explosion has been reported either. ...
 scroll down for another dashcam vid,
http://rt.com/news/206691-sverdlovsk-urals-sky-flash/  or try

http://youtu.be/4C_7FuJVG0c?list=UUpwvZwUam-URkxB7g4USKpg

[reality]

Nah...
..world leaders dont like him and made that clear to him...because he is an arsehole dictator who is guilty of acts of war by invading Ukraine...but acting like he knows nothing about it...his own russian people may be that stupid ...but not the free people of the west

[nitpicker1]

[reality]

....Putin makes more threats....earlier on in the saga he said sanctions would not hurt Russia..now that the rouble has lost 40% against the $US...hes getting jumpy...what will this idiot do next

Russia will react if US imposes new sanctions

Last updated 23:53, December 13 2014

Russia will take countermeasures if the US imposes new sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov says.

The US Congress has readied new sanctions on Russian weapons companies and investors in the country's high-tech oil projects, but US President Barack Obama has yet to sign a corresponding bill into law.

"We will not be able to leave that without an answer," Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying. He did not say what form of countermeasure Moscow might take.

Relations between Russia and the United States are at their lowest since the Cold War because of Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March and its support for pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The West says it has firm evidence Russia has armed the rebels – an accusation Moscow rejects – and has, together with the European Union, imposed several rounds of economic sanctions on Russian individuals and large companies.

Russia retaliated to the earlier sanctions by restricting food imports from a range of Western countries.

On Friday, Russia criticised the Ukraine Freedom Support Act, which foresees further sanctions, saying Washington was doing its utmost to "destroy the carcass of cooperation" between the two countries.

Reuters
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/64137477/Russia-will-react-if-US-imposes-new-sanctions

[reality]

12 December 2014
Google moves engineers out of Russia

The firm said it remained committed to Google users in Russia


Tech giant Google has confirmed reports that it plans to move engineers out of its office in Russia.

The firm said it "remains committed" to Google users in the country and told the BBC it has relocated engineers in other countries on previous occasions.

Google declined to say how many staff would be affected by the move.

In July this year, the Russian parliament passed a law requiring internet companies to store citizens' personal data inside the country.

The Kremlin has said the law is designed to aid data protection but critics have seen it as an attempt to censor internet access as the law would give the government powers to block sites which refused to comply.

Many tech companies store user data in huge data storage facilities around the world and do not link the location of the data to the location of the user, meaning that most users' data will not be kept in the same country as them.

Google will retain some staff including sales, marketing and support teams in its Russia office, according to the Wall Street Journal.

""We are deeply committed to our Russian users and customers and we have a dedicated team in Russia working to support them," said the firm in a statement.

[reality]

..........Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy

Russian economy facing Soviet-style collapse

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

11:18 AM Wednesday Dec 17, 2014


Russia has lost control of its economy and may be forced to impose Soviet-style exchange controls after "shock and awe" action by the central bank failed to stem the collapse of the rouble.

"The situation is critical," said the central bank's vice-chairman, Sergei Shvetsov. "What is happening is a nightmare that we could not even have imagined a year ago."

The currency crashed to 100 against the euro in the biggest one-day drop since the default crisis in 1998 as capital flight gathered pace, despite a drastic rise in interest rates to 17pc intended to crush speculators and show resolve.




Yields on two-year Russian bonds spiralled to 15.36pc, while credit default swaps are pricing in a one-third chance of a sovereign default. The shares of Russia's biggest lender, Sberbank, fell 18pc.

Neil Shearing, from Capital Economics, said the spectacular failure of the rate shock may bring matters to a head. "If a rise of 650 basis points won't do the job, we are near the end. That means stringent capital controls," he said.

Michal Dybula, from BNP Paribas, said the rouble plunges risk setting off a systemic bank run. "A large-scale run on deposits, once under way, would make capital controls pretty much unavoidable," he said, adding that the authorities may start by forcing state-controlled companies to sell foreign assets and repatriate funds.




In Washington, the White House said it had no intention of easing pressure on Russia to halt the freefall. "It is president Vladimir Putin's decision to make. The aim is to sharpen the choice that he faces," it said.

President Barack Obama will not veto a law passed by Congress imposing a raft of new sanctions against Russia, even though he warned previously that it goes too far for European leaders and risks splitting the trans-Atlantic front. The measures include $350bn of military assistance to Ukraine, and authorize Mr Obama to impose curbs on energy companies investing in Russia, as well as to prohibit credit to Gazprom.

Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, said it is now clear that the US aim is to topple Mr Putin through "regime change" but vowed that the Russian people would rise in defiance. "We have been in much worse situations in our history, and every time we have got out of our fix much stronger," he said.

After years of bluster and suggestions by Mr Putin that the US is a paper tiger, the Kremlin is now coming face to face with the cataclysmic consequences of what it has done by invading Ukraine and changing Europe's borders by force. By the same token, Washington needs to move with care since it would be a geostrategic miscalculation of the first order to push a nuclear-armed Russia too far into a corner, or to perpetuatue a cycle of grievance.




Anthony Peters, from SwissInvest, said Russia's leaders had misled their own people and have until now been in denial about the crisis engulfing them. "Not since Soviet times have we seen such steadfast refusal by the Kremlin to acknowledge the presence of severe political and economic problems while sacrificing the people in the name of orthodoxy. The Russian people are legendarily stoic in the face of hardships but beware if, and when, their patience runs out," he said.

The rouble crash has doubled the cost of servicing nearly $700bn of external debt owed by Russian banks, companies and state bodies, mostly in dollars. They must repay $30bn this month and a further $100bn next year. Oil giant Rosneft has requested $49bn of state aid to weather the crisis.

Traders in Moscow expressed fury at the central bank's refusal to deploy its $416bn of foreign reserves to "turbo-charge" the defence of the rouble, though the authorities may have intervened in late trading. The currency clawed back some ground - to 69 against the dollar - after one of the wildest days of the modern era. Eugene Kogan, from Moscow Partners, said the Russian stock market faces "slow death" over the next six months as liquidity vanishes.

It is clear that the authorities are guarding their reserves jealously after burning through $100bn this year to little avail. BNP's Tatiana Tchembarova said what remains no longer covers external debt, unlike 2008 when there was still ample cover. "In addition to being twice as levered, Russia is entering this crisis with lower reserves," she said.

The government has already committed $143bn in foreign reserve spending for next year. "We think that more will be required to support Russia's banking system," she said. The Kremlin had to spend $170bn rescuing the banks in the 2008-2009 crisis.

Lubomir Mitov, from the Institute of International Finance, said any fall in reserves below $330bn could prove dangerous, given the scale of foreign debt and a confluence of pressures. "It is a perfect storm. Each $10 fall in the price of oil reduces export revenues by some 2pc of GDP. A decline of this magnitude could shift the current account to a 3.5pc deficit," he said. The total "financing gap" could soon reach 10pc of GDP due to the combined effects of capital flight and sanctions.

The central bank knows that Russia's seemingly large reserves are a Maginot Line. Yet its attempt to defend the rouble only by raising rates is itself lethal. Even before the latest move it warned that the economy could contract by 4.7pc next year in a scenario of $60 oil prices.

The slump may now be far worse as a violent monetary squeeze sends tremors through the banking system and sets off a wave of corporate bankruptcies. BNP Paribas said each 100-point rise in rates cuts 0.8pc off GDP a year later. Rates have risen 750 points in a week.

Lars Christensen, from Danske Bank, said the Kremlin's actions have led to the "absolutely worst possible outcome" since the botched move is enough to do grave damage, without solving anything. "They should have let the currency go rather than killing the economy. Investment is in freefall, and I fear this shock is going to be even bigger than in 2008-2009. Nothing suggests that oil is going to rebound quickly this time," he said.

Growth has held up over recent months but this may be an illusion of the crisis itself as people scramble to rid themselves of roubles to buy homes, cars, washing machines or anything that keeps its value. Ikea has seen a surge of orders for new kitchens. This is a one-off effect, and creates a cliff-edge from the economy next year.

The rouble trauma came as premier Dmitry Medvedev held an emergency meeting with economic planners, and rumours swirled of a sweeping purge at the top of Kremlin. Officials denied there were any plans for capital controls after the meeting.

There is no sign yet of relief from the oil markets. Brent crude fell below $59 a barrel on Tuesday for the first time since the depths of the Great Recession in 2009. The fallout from the crisis is already hitting banks linked to Russia and Ukraine. The share price of Austria's Raiffeisen fell 8pc in Vienna. More than 240pc of its tangible equity is exposed to the region. The biggest external lender is France's Societe Generale, with €25bn of exposure, or 62pc of tangible equity.

Contagion is spreading across the emerging market nexus, hitting countries such as Turkey and India that should be beneficiaries of lower oil prices. "There is absolutely no liquidity anywhere. The system is stressed and we have a crunch all over the place," said one hedge fund trader.

There are signs that the sell-off is becoming self-feeding as investors withdraw money from emerging market bond funds, forcing the funds to liquidate holdings into the downturn. In some cases managers are acting tactically, selling "proxies" such as Turkish debt given the difficulty of exiting Russian positions.

The rouble has now fallen 56pc against the dollar over the past year. Russian GDP has shrunk to $1.1 trillion, smaller than the economy of Texas, and half the size of Italy's. The effect has been to double Russia's external debt to at least 70pc of GDP, a high-risk level for rating agencies.

"A Russian downgrade to junk is only a matter or time," said Tim Ash, from Standard Bank.

- Daily Telegraph UK

[reality]

...free lesson on how NOT to run an economy ..good to see the school bully being taken down


Russia's economic reality shirtfronts Vladimir Putin
MARK MULLIGAN
Last updated 14:06, December 18 2014




Under pressure: Russian President Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin may have stared down Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his "shirtfronting" threat at last month's G20 summit in Brisbane, but the tough-talking Russian President is currently wrestling a mounting economic crisis that will really test his famed resilience.

With the country's currency, the rouble, in free-fall in recent days, the economy on the brink of recession and a range of Russian companies saddled with debts they may struggle to pay, the first job of the central bank and government is to restore investors' faith in what is still the world's 8th biggest economy by some measures.

This confidence started to shake earlier this year with international economic sanctions against the country over its expansion into Ukraine, but has been exacerbated in recent months by the steep slide in the price of oil and other commodities.

Russia relies on crude and refined oil, gas and other hydrocarbon products for more than half of its export income.

As inflows of hard currency such as the US dollar have thinned due to sliding prices, the value of the domestic currency has come under pressure.

A marked sell-down in Russian financial assets as part of a broader investor flight to quality in recent months as the United States moves towards higher interest rates has further undermined the rouble, which has lost more than 15 per cent against the greenback in the last two days and 50 per cent since the beginning of the year.

After digging into official foreign currency reserves to arrest the most recent lightning depreciation, Russia's central bank on Monday hiked the main short-term interest rate to 17 per cent, from 10.5 per cent.

It was the largest single rate rise since the country's 1998 debt default, caused by a toxic combination of falling commodity prices, political upheaval, massive fiscal imbalances and broader investor unease in the wake of the Asian asset sell-off of 1997.

Still healthy reserves of more than $US400 billion and a relatively light calendar of interest payments on sovereign debt means Russia is still a long way from needing a lifeline from creditors or multilateral lenders such as the International Monetary Fund.

However, analysts say companies indebted in foreign currencies, including those directly exposed to sinking commodity prices, could come under stress. Also, investor confidence in the country, along with other oil-exporting economies, will remain weak as long as energy prices looks vulnerable.


"The good news is that Russia's central bank is using interest rates in an attempt to stabilise the rouble rather than spend its foreign exchange reserves," said Fidelity Worldwide Investments' emerging market debt portfolio manager Steve Ellis.

"However, I worry that continued falls in the oil price may trump these interest-rate moves in the near term," he said.

He said he expected more volatility in Russian debt markets as buyers demanded ever-higher premiums with sellers also struggling against the traditionally thin liquidity at this time of the year. However, this was not a re-run of 1998.

"A sovereign debt default is unlikely, bearing in mind the strength of the government balance sheet and the relatively low amount of debt maturing next year," said Mr Ellis.

"Russian corporate debt holds a greater risk as higher interest rates and a weaker currency are hurting domestic demand.

"In our emerging market debt funds, Russia is one of our largest underweight positions."

As the rouble loses value, Russians are desperately hedging against further falls by buying hard currency or spending on consumer durables before relative prices – and inflation – gallop away. This could ultimately lead to capital controls, they argue.

"Similarities with 1998 [have] included long lines in front of ATMs and bank branches as people tried to purchase foreign currencies, as well as the looming spectre of capital controls as the Russian authorities attempted to counter increasing capital flight," wrote Societe Generale's Phoenix Kalen.

"Legislators proposed last week to impose mandatory sales of up 50 per cent of Russian companies' foreign currency revenues to into roubles within seven days of receipt in the interest of supporting the local currency."

Multinationals have also become wary of the rouble's sinking value. Apple has closed down its online store for Russian consumers because of the currency's sharp falls.

 - SMH

[reality]

.....The problems for the Russian people caused by an egotist dictator are going to get worse ...and he is on 80% support...proves that Russians must be the most stupid race on the planet


Russian President Putin offers no solutions for rouble slide
TIMOTHY HERITAGE AND ALEXEI ANISHCHUK
Last updated 07:00, December 19 2014




VLADIMIR PUTIN: "If the situation develops unfavourably, we will have to amend our plans. Beyond doubt, we will have to cut some (spending). But a positive turn and emergence from the current situation are inevitable."
Reuters


President Vladimir Putin assured Russians on Thursday (Friday NZT) that the economy would rebound after the rouble's dramatic slide this year but offered no remedy for a deepening financial crisis.

Defiant and confident at a three-hour news conference, Putin blamed the economic problems on external factors and said the crisis over Ukraine was caused by the West, which he accused of building a "virtual" Berlin Wall to contain Russia.

At times sneering, at others cracking jokes, he ignored pressure to say how he will fix an economy facing what his economy minister calls a "perfect storm" of low oil prices, Western sanctions over Ukraine and global financial problems.

The rouble has fallen about 45 percent against the dollar this year, and suffered particularly steep falls on Monday and Tuesday, but Putin refused to call it a crisis and said it would eventually rise again.

"If the situation develops unfavourably, we will have to amend our plans. Beyond doubt, we will have to cut some (spending). But a positive turn and emergence from the current situation are inevitable," Putin said in comments to a packed conference centre that were broadcast live to the nation.

Although he said the recovery might take two years, much will depend on how long the West maintains sanctions on Russia over its role in the Ukraine crisis.

European Union diplomats said the 28-nation bloc would ban investment in Crimea from Saturday over Russia's annexation of the Black Sea peninsula and President Barack Obama is set to sign legislation authorising new US sanctions.

But Putin showed no sign of heeding a call by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini for "a radical change in attitude towards the rest of the world and to switch to a cooperative mode".

Sitting at a big desk in front of two large screens showing close-ups of his face, a white mug with a presidential crest on beside him, Putin appeared mainly intent on showing Russians he is in command and will not kow-tow to the West.

DIVERSIFICATION PLEDGE

The former KGB spy said Russia must diversify its economy to reduce dependence on oil, its major export and a key source of state income, but he gave no details and has said many times during 15 years in power that he will do this.

The rouble slipped as he spoke, and was about 2 percent weaker against the dollar on the day. The central bank increased its key lending rate by 6.5 percentage points to 17 percent on Tuesday, and has spent more than US$80 billion trying to shore up the rouble this year, but to little avail.

Although Putin said the central bank and government had acted "adequately", he chided the bank for not halting foreign exchange interventions sooner, suggesting more decisive action might have made this week's big rate rise unnecessary.

"All this implies pretty big divisions within the administration as to how to react to the crisis and pressure on the rouble," said Timothy Ash, head of emerging market research at Standard Bank in London, adding that heads could roll.

Neil Shearing, chief emerging markets economist at Capital Economics in London, said Putin signalled no change of policy and capital controls remained "a measure of last resort".

"Whatever happens, a deep recession now looms," he said.

Putin's popularity has soared over the annexation of Crimea but the rouble's decline could erode faith in his ability to provide financial stability, an important source of his support.

An opponent, former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, said problems would mount as prices are expected to surge next year and Putin would need "an exit strategy" to leave power.

But Putin said he felt the "support of the Russian people", though he had not decided yet whether to seek a new six-year term in an election due in 2018.

Asked about Ukraine, where Russia has irked the West by backing pro-Russian separatists fighting in two eastern regions, Putin said Moscow wanted a political resolution to a conflict that has killed 4700 people.

He also called for "political unity", suggesting he does not intend to annexe the regions that have rebelled, and avoided calling them "New Russia", a phrase he has used in the past.

But he blamed NATO for the worst relations between Moscow and the West in decades.

"Didn't they tell us after the collapse of the Berlin Wall that NATO would not expand eastwards? But it happened immediately. Two waves of expansion. Is that not a wall? ... It's a virtual wall," he said.

 - Reuters

[reality]

.... Russians are paying the price of an undemocratic society and an egotistic dictator as leader..we are so lucky

Pressure on Putin as ruble crisis builds

By Ilya Arkhipov, Evgenia Pismennaya, Brad Cook

5:00 AM Saturday Dec 20, 2014

Ukraine incursion appears grave miscalculation as financial fallout grows.

Kremlin insiders gathered in secret last February to answer a crucial question for Vladimir Putin - could Russia afford the economic blowback from taking over Crimea?

Moscow said yes. The markets aren't so sure.

As President Putin exulted at the Winter Olympics in Sochi 10 months ago, aides assured him Russia was rich enough to withstand the financial repercussions from a possible incursion into Ukraine, according to two officials involved in the talks.

That conclusion now looks like a grave miscalculation. Russia has driven interest rates to punishing levels and spent at least US$87 billion, or 17 per cent, of its foreign-exchange reserves trying to prevent a collapse in the ruble from spiralling into a panic. So far, nothing has worked.

Putin now faces what could be the nation's most serious economic crisis since 1998, when Russia's devaluation and default reverberated around the world.


US and European sanctions and, more significantly, plummeting oil prices are eroding the reserves that emboldened Putin to annex Crimea despite an international outcry.

The story of Russia's foreign-exchange reserves traces the arc of Putin's power, from the collapse of the late 1990s to the oil-soaked riches of the 2000s to the new dread that prevails today.

When rising crude prices were firing the economy, Russia's swelling reserves became a symbol of economic might and a point of pride for Putin.

Three government officials characterised the February discussions as critical to Putin's thinking on Ukraine. The series of talks came before Russia helped Viktor Yanukovych, then-president of Ukraine and a Putin ally, flee from violent protests.

Putin, 62, was told Russia had enough foreign currency reserves to annex Crimea and withstand any sanctions that might follow. The President might not have proceeded had Russia not built up its cash cushion in good times, said the three officials.

The central bank shouldn't "thoughtlessly burn up" its reserves, Putin said this week at his annual news conference. "Thank god, they even grew during this year."

As of last week, Russia had US$415 billion in total reserves, with about US$169 billion spread between two specialised funds. But with the ruble's collapse, this trove is being depleted faster than almost anyone had predicted. Panic has begun to set in among ordinary Russians.

"We're facing an uncontrollable shock that will undermine trust in Putin's entire economic model," said Kirill Rogov, a senior research fellow at the Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy who's advised the Government in Moscow. "The reserves aren't enough."

For policy makers, there are no easy answers. The central bank unexpectedly raised its benchmark interest rate to 17 per cent on Wednesday and could drive rates higher still, further jeopardising growth.

Russia could also keep using its hard currency to buy rubles on the open market, in hopes of stabilising the exchange rate. The Bank of Russia will probably spend another US$70 billion to defend the ruble, which has almost halved against the US dollar this year, according to economists.

But reaching into reserves would make it more difficult for Putin to cushion a looming recession with Government spending, coddle favoured business leaders and project power abroad. It could also threaten Russia's credit rating.

"For Putin, the reserves that Russia has accumulated over the past 14 years equal political power," said Alexei Kudrin, who ran the country's finances from 2000 to 2011.

When Putin entered the Kremlin, in 1999, Russia was nearly broke. He had less than US$13 billion at his disposal and faced US$133 billion of foreign debt, mostly from the Soviet era.

Over the next eight years, rising crude prices fuelled average growth of 7 per cent a year, filled state coffers and prompted ratings companies to raise their assessments.

That helped embolden Putin. In 2007, when reserves surged past US$300 billion, the President openly criticised the US. In 2008, as the cash pile reached a record US$598 billion, Russia went to war with Georgia. Foreign currency holdings sank to US$376 billion in 2009 during the global financial crisis.

Putin views reserves as a proxy for Russian strength and adjusts foreign policy accordingly, said Tony Brenton, Britain's Ambassador to Russia from 2004 to 2008. For instance, Russia would have reacted more strongly to the 1999 Nato bombing of Serbia, an ally, had it not been so dependent on Western aid at the time, Brenton said.

As the latest ruble crisis deepens, some Russian lawmakers have called for Putin to impose capital controls, a step both the President and the central bank have publicly opposed. The Finance Ministry is urging exporters to convert more revenue into rubles to support the currency.

If sanctions persist, Russia could lose its investment-grade credit rating, Deutsche Bank has warned. Such a development would represent a personal embarrassment for Putin.

A cut below investment grade would also force some funds to sell what Russian government debt they hold. It could also lead to downgrades of major companies such as OAO Gazprom and OAO Lukoil, adding further pressure to the market.

Russia is currently rated one level above junk by Standard & Poor's and two steps above at Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings.

About 40 per cent of Russia's reserves are held in two sovereign wealth funds that are controlled by the Finance Ministry. The Government is looking for ways to tap these funds to help cash-strapped enterprises while maintaining as much international currency as possible. Russian companies have about US$50 billion in non-ruble bonds and loans due by the end of 2015.

One option is to convert some of the US$80 billion Wellbeing Fund, which was designed to safeguard the pension system, into rubles to provide emergency loans to companies.

The Finance Ministry has already said it will use the other sovereign fund, the US$89 billion Reserve Fund, to cover at least half a projected 1 trillion-ruble budget shortfall next year.

The only way to lend this way would be for the ministry to sell foreign currency to the central bank, which would then have to print rubles, increasing the money supply, according to Ekaterina Vlasova, an economist at Citigroup in Moscow. Inflation, already running at more than 9 per cent, would probably accelerate, Vlasova said.

Officials have acknowledged that tapping reserves could further imperil the country's standing with investors.

"Using the wealth funds is a serious risk for Russia's credit rating," said Konstantin Vyshkovsky, head of the Finance Ministry's debt department. Few in Moscow, however, expect Putin to panic.

"For Putin, just one thing matters - is there money?" said Sergei Aleksashenko, a former first deputy chairman of the central bank.

•US $87b
spent supporting ruble.

•US$415b
in total reserves.

•17%
benchmark interest rate.

•50%
Ruble has almost halved against the US dollar this year.

By Ilya Arkhipov, Evgenia Pismennaya, Brad Cook

[reality]

Putin vows to continue weapons programme

11:20 AM Saturday Dec 20, 2014

Boasting about the Russian military's capability, President Vladimir Putin vowed Friday to continue an ambitious weapons modernisation program with a particular emphasis on nuclear strategic forces.

The move came amid Russia's escalating standoff with the West.

Speaking at a meeting with Russia's top military brass, Putin said the nation's nuclear forces are a "major factor in maintaining global balance," adding that "they effectively preclude the possibility of a large-scale aggression against Russia".

Putin said the military is set to receive 50 new intercontinental ballistic missiles - a significantly higher number than in previous years.

The huge military buildup is continuing despite the country's economic woes, triggered by a combination of Western sanctions against Russia and the slumping prices of oil. The ruble collapse this week stoked fears of high inflation and a banking crisis.


Russia-West relations have plummeted to post-Cold War lows over Moscow's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and support for the pro-Russian insurgents in eastern Ukraine.

"Once again, I would like to thank the military leadership and the military personnel for their accurate, careful and balanced action, their courage and professionalism during the event in Crimea," Putin said.

Days after Ukraine's former pro-Russia president was driven from power in February, Russia sent additional forces to Crimea, where it had a naval base. The troops seized key facilities in Crimea and blocked Ukrainian military garrisons there as residents voted to join Russia in a hastily-called referendum.

Putin initially claimed the well-armed masked men were local self-defence forces and only admitted they were Russian troops after annexing Crimea in March.

"The latest developments have shown that the Russian army is changing, getting a new image and becoming a modern force capable of fulfilling the most challenging tasks," Putin said.

The Kremlin still rejects Ukrainian and Western claims that Russia sent troops and heavy weapons to fuel the pro-Russian insurgency in eastern Ukraine, where more than 4,700 people have been killed in fighting since April.

Amid tensions over Ukraine, NATO has moved to reassure its members in eastern Europe by stepping up air patrols over the Baltic Sea and rotating military units in and out of countries like Poland and Baltic republics.

Russia also has increased the number of its air patrols, which NATO said were putting civilian flights at risks.

Last week, Russia airlifted advanced Iskander missiles to its westernmost Kaliningrad exclave bordering NATO members Poland and Lithuania for military drills. Moscow has previously warned that it could station the high-precision missiles in the region as a response to NATO's US-led missile defence plans.

While the military said this week that the Iskander missiles had been pulled back from the area after the exercise, the drills demonstrated Russia's capability to quickly deploy them to the Baltic region.

Among the key priorities for the military, Putin also mentioned a plan to expand its presence in the resource-rich Arctic region.

"We aren't going to engage in the militarization of the Arctic, our actions in the Arctic are restrained and reasonable, but they are essential for ensuring Russia's defence capability," he said.

- AP

[reality]

No-one can intimidate Russia, says Vladimir Putin
VLADIMIR SOLDATKIN
Last updated 05:34, December 21 2014


VLADIMIR PUTIN: "Obviously, no one will succeed in intimidating us, to deter, to isolate Russia."

Russia will not be intimidated over its actions in Ukraine and Crimea, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday (Sunday NZT) as his foreign ministry warned that it was preparing to retaliate against fresh Western sanctions.

Both the European Union and United States adopted tighter restrictions on investments in Crimea this week, while Canada rachetted up its own sanctions directed at Moscow.

Sanctions coupled with tumbling global oil prices have rattled Russia's economy, with the rouble losing over 40 percent of its value year-to-date and a recession widely expected to take hold next year.

Putin has remained defiant in the face of these setbacks, repeatedly defending Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March and its subsequent support for pro-Russian separatists battling Kiev forces in eastern Ukraine.

Speaking at a concert honouring past and present security service staff, Putin said he had heard people calling for Russia to "pay dearly for its independent position backing compatriots and Crimea... (and) just for the mere fact that we exist".

"Obviously, no one will succeed in intimidating us, to deter, to isolate Russia," he said in comments that were shown by state-run Rossiya 24 TV.

Separately, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that new Western sanctions against Ukraine's Crimea region represented a "collective punishment" against residents who had voted overwhelmingly in a referendum last March to join Russia.

"It is sad that the countries which call themselves democratic resort to such methods in the 21st century," the ministry said in a statement.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said the sanctions undermined political efforts to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

"We advise Washington and Ottawa to think about the consequences of such actions. Meanwhile, we will work on retaliatory measures," he said in comments published on the ministry web site.


Russia retaliated to earlier sanctions by limiting food imports from a range of Western countries.

Kiev and its Western backers accuse Moscow of fanning violence in Ukraine and arming the rebels. Moscow denies the accusations and says it annexed Crimea only after the referendum showed most residents wanted it to become part of Russia.

Earlier on Saturday, in a letter published by the Kremlin, Putin called for Russia's secret services to be improved to tackle "modern challenges and threats and the emergence of new destabilising factors".

The key tasks for Russia's secret operatives were to fight international terrorism and "any attempts of foreign special services to deal a blow to Russia (and) her political and economic interests," said Putin, himself a former KGB agent.

 - Reuters

[reality]

Russia's sole independent TV news channel forced into meager studio
Published December 21, 2014Associated Press


MOSCOW –  Among the five TV journalists interviewing Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the odd one out was easy to spot. Mikhail Zygar's questions were sharper than those of the others, who headed back to spacious television studios while Zygar broadcast his piece from a Moscow living room.

The Dozhd news channel, whose editor-in-chief Zygar was given a Committee to Protect Journalists award last month, rose to prominence in 2011 with its coverage of the mass protests against Vladimir Putin, who was then prime minister but preparing to return to the presidency. State-owned television largely ignored the protests.

As other Russian television channels have grown increasingly subservient this year, providing propaganda backing for the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and Russia's aggressive policy toward Ukraine, Dozhd didn't follow the lead — and is now paying for it.

Putin's government has been careful not to order the channel to shut down, but a Kremlin-instigated smear campaign has driven this rare independent broadcaster to the brink of demise.

Past strollers and bicycles in the hall, a Soviet-era apartment in central Moscow now houses the studio of Dozhd, whose combined online and TV audience is about 12 million. Anchorman Pavel Lobkov sits on a chair in what was once a spacious living room.

The 47-year-old Lobkov shrugs off the challenges, recalling his early days in television during the Soviet Union's perestroika era.

"Things were probably even tougher then: We had no Internet, no Skype, no cellphones. I went live from war zones, so these comfortable surroundings of an apartment can hardly unsettle me," he said.

Lobkov spent most of his television career on NTV, a legendary channel taken over by state-controlled gas company Gazprom in 2001, a move that forced independent journalists to flee.

NTV, owned by oligarch Vladimir Gusinsky, was a leading TV channel that offered a view different from the Kremlin. The government effectively wrested the channel from Gusinsky's control and entrusted it to Gazprom to run in Putin's first major crackdown on independent media.

Now at Dozhd, Lobkov says he's reliving the same pressure and harassment campaign he experienced at NTV when "all tools of the government were used."

Pressure on independent media intensified this year as the Kremlin sought to unify the country behind the annexation of Crimea and Russia's involvement in eastern Ukraine.

Since its inception in 2010, Dozhd had its studio in a former chocolate factory on the Moskva River, but its landlord broke the lease in November, forcing the channel to look for new space. Sympathizers offered Dozhd a place elsewhere, but last week they were told they can't broadcast out of there anymore.

Dozhd doesn't want to make public its new temporary location.

During Putin's 15 years in power, the Russian television landscape has been sanitized to the point where news coverage on all channels is almost identical. State channels toe the Kremlin line and private channels, most of which are owned by Kremlin-friendly oligarchs or state-controlled conglomerates like Gazprom, are just as obedient.

As recently as January 2014, Dozhd broadcast both online and on cable networks, expanding its reach to Russian regions that still largely get their information from state-owned television. Its troubles began when Dozhd was aggressively covering the daily anti-government protests in Ukraine, which state-owned television dismissed as a neo-Nazi coup.

The crackdown came at the end of January, when Dozhd hosted a history program on the 1941-44 Siege of Leningrad and put a question up for a vote: Would it have been worth it to surrender Leningrad to save lives? Famine in the city, now called St. Petersburg, during that epic siege killed more than 500,000 people.

The question caused a stir for its implication of a lack of patriotism, prompting Kremlin officials to call for a shutdown of the channel. Dozhd apologized, but that didn't seem to help.

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, accused Dozhd of "crossing a moral and ethical red line," while the State Duma condemned the channel for "neo-Nazism" and "betraying your own people."

Nearly all cable networks dropped Dozhd in a matter of days, and since then the channel has been treated like a leper.

Problems multiplied in summer, when the Russian parliament passed a bill that barred cable channels from running ads, according to Natalya Sindeyeva, who has led Dozhd since its interception. The channel cut its expenses in half, shed about 30 percent of its staff and reduced its monthly budget to 20 million rubles ($357,000) — just a fraction of any state TV budget — before being hit with the eviction notice.

Talks with potential landlords have so far been futile.

"We were told several times: 'We're sorry, we've got other business interests and we're not prepared to take this risk,'" Sindeyeva says, adding that she believes the channel is being persecuted for political reasons.

"If it's not in the business interests (of cable networks) to cut off Dozhd, then what other reason can it be? There can be no explanation other than the political one," she said.

Zygar, the editor-in-chief, insists that broadcasting out of an apartment is a temporary measure that doesn't affect the quality of the content Dozhd is providing, and says its audience is still growing.

Russia was ranked 148th out of the 180-country press freedom index by Reporters Without Borders this year, sandwiched between Malaysia and the Philippines. But Russians themselves are not protesting on the streets to defend media freedoms.

Journalists at Dozhd admit the state propaganda is taking its toll, convincing Russians to believe in the supremacy of national interests. But the country's shrinking economy and decline in living standards — the ruble has lost around half its value since January —could soon change that.

"As the economic crisis deepens, this mood will subside. People will start asking questions (like) why life is so bad, is it really that the United States is really to blame for everything," Lobkov said.

Dozhd raised about $1 million in a crowd-funding campaign in March, proving that the demand for independent media in Russia is still there, Zygar said.

"The situation that our country has gotten itself into is a lot more serious, and in this situation our audience needs our work even more, so we don't even think about stopping," Zygar said. "It's our work, it's our fight."
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/12/21/russia-sole-independent-tv-news-channel-forced-into-meager-studio/?intcmp=HPBucket

[reality]

President Vladimir Putin cancels holidays for ministers as Russia’s economic crisis continues
4 HOURS AGO DECEMBER 26, 2014 8:27AM
 
Putin's Problems in 2014

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has scrapped New Year’s holidays for government ministers because of the unfolding economic crisis.
Russian company employees throughout the country are entitled to holiday from January 1-12 when Russians celebrate the New Year, the main holiday in Russia, as well as Orthodox Christmas on January 7.

Putin told a televised government session on Thursday that Cabinet ministers should not take this time off.
“For the government, for your agencies we cannot afford this long holiday, at least this year — you know what I mean,” he said.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told Cabinet ministers on Thursday he expects them to keep the situation in check even during the holiday lull “from the first days of the year.”

Russia’s economy, battered by low oil prices and Western sanctions, is set to enter recession next year for the first time in six years, while the rouble is now worth less than half of its value.
The rouble staged a modest rally last week and was trading 2 per cent higher at 52 roubles per dollar on Thursday, down from 80 roubles earlier this month.
The Russian Central Bank announced on Thursday that the country’s currency reserve has dropped below $400 billion for the first time since August 2009, as the government has been selling the currency on the market to support the rouble.
Stabilising the rouble, which is one of the world’s worst-performing currencies this year following the slide in oil prices and the sanctions imposed on Russia, is a priority for the country’s monetary authorities. The Central Bank in past weeks raised its key interest rate to 17 per cent and said it will offer dollar and euro loans to banks so they can help major exporters that need foreign currencies to finance operations.
Many Russian companies have been locked out of Western capital markets following the sanctions imposed on the country for its involvement in Ukraine.

http://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/president-vladimir-putin-cancels-holidays-for-ministers-as-russias-economic-crisis-continues/story-e6frflo9-1227166880809

[reality]

Russia bans transgender people from holding driver’s licence
19 HOURS AGO JANUARY 09, 2015 5:36PM

NOW we’ve heard it all. In what could possibly be the most ridiculous rule yet, Russia’s government has banned transsexual and transgender people from holding a driver’s licence in a move that has outraged human rights advocates.
The change made by the Russian Health Ministry late last month means a new list of medical restrictions will govern who can hold a licence in the country.
It’s designed to crack down on the number of road accidents in Russia but has outraged human rights groups because it lists transsexual, transgender and amputees as having “disorders” that could prevent people driving safely.
The list also includes things like fetishism, voyeurism, gambling and stealing and could mean those with eye diseases and people less than 150cm tall miss out on being able to drive.

The changes have been branded an “alarming violation of the rights of the transgender community” by Human Rights First.
Lawyer Shawn Gaylord said “banning people from driving based on their gender identity or expression is ridiculous and just another example of the Russian regime’s methodical roll-back of basic human rights for its citizens”.
“Beyond the denial of basic freedoms, this provision may deter transgender people from seeking mental health services for fear of receiving a diagnosis that would strip them of their right to drive, and leaves the door open for increased harassment, persecution, and discrimination of transgender people by Russian authorities,” he said.


The Association of Russian Lawyers for Human Rights has also condemned the move on their website, describing it as a “series violation of human rights.”
The organisation says it could mean people risk losing their licence if authorities get wind of their sex life and is an invasion of privacy.
But not everyone agrees.
Russia’s Professional Drivers Union’s head Alexander Kotov supported the idea. “We have too many deaths on the road, and I believe toughening medical requirements for applicants is fully justified,” he said.

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/russia-bans-transgender-people-from-holding-drivers-licence/story-fnq2o7dd-1227179898682

[reality]

Russians will eat less to ride out crisis says its Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov
2 HOURS AGO JANUARY 24, 2015 5:35PM

 
Russia: 'Old economic model exhausted' says Medvedev
RUSSIANS are ready to ride out the current economic crisis, even by eating less food, and to stand by President Vladimir Putin’s side regardless, one of the country’s top leaders says.
Speaking at the Davos Economic Forum on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said Western sanctions had united Russians around their leader, which would make it easier to push through painful reforms.
“We will withstand all hardships in this country, eat less food, use less electricity ... but if we feel that someone outside wants to change our leader against our will ... we will be more united than ever.” The West simply “does not understand the Russian mentality”, Shuvalov said, denying that the crisis and sanctions would destabilise Putin’s grip on political life or sway his position on Ukraine.
EUROPE: Man tackles machete-wielding thief
 
“If a Russian feels external pressure, he will never give his leader up,” said Shuvalov, who is believed to be one of the richest men in the Russian government.
Shuvalov’s remarks on austerity went viral, with some in the opposition posting photographs on Twitter of luxury mansions that he allegedly owns.
This year will essentially be a “hard landing” for the economy and people will have to learn to accept a “new reality”, Shuvalov said.
The government would be able to introduce crisis measures since “consolidation and tough interior and exterior conditions are a good launching pad” for reforms, he said.
Putin enjoyed unprecedented support last year after the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and his popularity has barely ebbed even as the economy has begun to suffer and the rouble has rapidly lost value.

http://www.news.com.au/world/europe/russians-will-eat-less-to-ride-out-crisis-says-its-deputy-prime-minister-igor-shuvalov/story-fnh81p7g-1227195675110

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

....Thanks George Bush and Guantanamo Bay ...the torture worked

..yup...whenever an American terrorist organisation hijacks a few passenger aircraft and crashes them into large buildings killing over 3000 innocent people on purpose..I would have no problems with the guilty party being tortured...what do you expect..a prize

I agree...its good to see that even the Los Angeles Times supports the CIA torture

[reality]

Good to see that you are following what Putin is doing to the world...read it all very carefully and learn why we dont want the greens, or  kim dot.con running NZ

[reality]

....Putin in favour of more killing and continuing the invasion of Ukraine:-(

Pro-Russian rebels reject peace deal

3 HOURS AGO JANUARY 24, 2015 5:06PM

Prototype armored personal carrier 'Makhno', Kiev, Ukraine
Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine have rejected a previously signed peace deal. Source: AAP
PRO-RUSSIAN rebels in eastern Ukraine have rejected a previously signed peace deal and launched a new multi-pronged offensive against Ukrainian government troops.
THE latest violence disrupts recent European attempts to mediate an end to the fighting.
The main separatist leader in the rebellious Donetsk region vowed to push Ukrainian soldiers out of the area and said insurgents wouldn't take part in any more ceasefire talks.
Another rebel went even further, saying they wouldn't abide by a peace deal signed in September.
Separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko said rebel fighters went on the offensive to gain more territory and forestall a Ukrainian attack.
He declared they would push government troops to the border of the Donetsk region and possibly beyond.
"Attempts to talk about a ceasefire will no longer be undertaken by our side," Zakharchenko said.
The peace deal signed in September in the Belarusian capital of Minsk envisaged a ceasefire and a pullout of heavy weapons from a division line in eastern Ukraine.
It has been repeatedly violated by both sides, and heavy artillery and rocket barrages have increased the civilian death toll in the last few weeks.
Foreign ministers from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany agreed on Wednesday to revive that division line, but fighting has continued unabated.
The UN human rights agency on Friday raised its estimate of the conflict's overall death toll to nearly 5100 since April.

http://www.news.com.au/world/breaking-news/pro-russian-rebels-reject-peace-deal/story-e6frfkui-1227195553887

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

[reality]

Rockets kill 30 in Ukrainian city as rebels launch offensive

12:30 PM Sunday Jan 25, 2015

Indiscriminate rocket fire slammed into a market, schools, homes and shops Saturday in Ukraine's southeastern city of Mariupol, killing at least 30 people, authorities said. The Ukrainian president called the blitz a terrorist attack and NATO and the US demanded that Russia stop supporting the rebels.

Ukrainian officials rushed to defend the strategically important port on the Sea of Azov, beefing up military positions with more equipment and sending in more forces.

The separatists' top leader declared that an offensive against Mariupol had begun - then later toned down his threats as the scale of the civilian casualties became clear.

President Petro Poroshenko held an emergency meeting of his military officials and cut short a trip to Saudi Arabia to coordinate the government's response.


"The time has come to name their sponsors. The help given to militants, weapons deliveries, equipment and the training of manpower - is this not aiding terrorism?" Poroshenko said in a recorded statement.

Russia insists it does not support the rebels, but Western military officials say the sheer number of heavy weapons under rebel control belies that claim.

An AP reporter saw convoys of pristine heavy weapons in rebel territory earlier this week.

The rocket attacks came a day after the rebels rejected a peace deal and announced they were going on a multi-prong offensive against the government in Kiev to vastly increase their territory. The rebel stance has upended European attempts to mediate an end to the fighting in eastern Ukraine, which the UN says has killed nearly 5,100 people since April.

Mariupol, a major city under government control, lies between mainland Russia and the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula. Heavy fighting in the region in the fall raised fears that Russian-backed separatist forces would try to capture city to establish a land link between Russia and Crimea.

Ukraine's defence Ministry said three separate strikes from Grad multiple-rocket launchers hit Mariupol and its surrounding areas Saturday.

"The area that came under attack was massive," Mariupol mayor Yuriy Khotlubei said. "The shelling was carried out by militants. This is very clearly Russian aggression that has caused terrible losses for the residents of the eastern part of our city."

The Donetsk regional government loyal to Kiev said at least 30 people - including a 15-year old girl and a five-year old boy - died in the attacks. A Ukrainian military checkpoint near the city was also hit and one serviceman was killed, the defence Ministry said.

The RIA Novosti news agency cited Ukrainian rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko as saying an offensive had begun on Mariupol. He spoke as he laid a wreath Saturday where at least eight civilians died when a bus stop was shelled Thursday in Donetsk, the largest rebel-held city in eastern Ukraine.

Zakharchenko swiftly backtracked, however. He denied that his forces were responsible for Saturday's carnage, saying it was caused by Ukrainian error. He also said the Ukrainian defences positions around Mariupol would be destroyed but the city itself would not be stormed.

But the Organization for Security and Cooperation's monitoring mission said the attack on Mariupol was caused by Grad and Uragan rockets fired from areas under rebel control.

Rebel forces have positions 10 kilometers (six miles) from Mariupol's eastern outskirts. On Jan. 13, a bus near an army checkpoint north of Mariupol was hit by a shell, killing 13 people, an attack Ukraine also blamed on the separatists.

Yulia, a Mariupol citizen who asked that her name not be used for fear of retaliation, told The Associated Press by telephone Saturday that her stricken neighborhood was cut off from power and heating in the middle of winter. Many residents had boarded up their windows, fearing shattered glass from further attacks, she said.

Reinforcements were being drafted into the city and the Mariupol-based Azov Battalion was being equipped with more heavy weapons, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said in a posting on Facebook. Security services also detained a spotter suspected of giving rebel fighters coordinates to launch rockets, he said.

Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk had ordered regional leaders Friday to draw up economic blueprints to put the financially struggling country on a war footing. Ukraine began its fourth wave of mobilization this week, building up manpower for its faltering war effort.

Fighting has also been intensifying for the government-held town of Debaltseve, 50 kilometers (31 miles) east of Donetsk. The main roads into the town are under separatist control and rebels have vowed to surround the Ukrainian forces stationed there.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said the rebels' new offensive "has been aided and abetted by Russia's irresponsible and dangerous decision to resupply them in recent weeks with hundreds of new pieces of advanced weaponry."

"I join my European counterparts in condemning in the strongest terms today's horrific assault by Russia-backed separatists on civilian neighborhoods in Mariupol," Kerry said in a statement, citing reports of dozens wounded as well.

He urged Russia to end its support for separatists, close its international border with Ukraine and withdraw all weapons, fighters and financial backing or face increased US and international pressure.

Sanctions against Russia by the European Union and the US for its actions in Ukraine have already hit the Russian economy hard. EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini echoed Kerry's demands.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also condemned the Mariupol shelling and what he said was the increased presence of Russian forces in Ukraine.

"Russian troops in eastern Ukraine are supporting these offensive operations with command-and-control systems, air defence systems with advanced surface-to-air missiles, unmanned aerial systems, advanced multiple rocket launcher systems, and electronic warfare systems," he said.

A peace deal signed in September in the Belarusian capital of Minsk envisaged a cease-fire and a pullout of heavy weapons from a division line in eastern Ukraine, but that was repeatedly violated by both sides. Foreign ministers from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany agreed Wednesday to revive that division line but the rebels on Friday rejected the whole Minsk deal.

Senior envoys from Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE issued a statement Saturday convening an urgent meeting next week to restart the Minsk peace process.

- AP

[reality]

...Good to see NZ Govt voice concerns

McCully slates Russia, but shies away from attacking Putin
STACEY KIRK
Last updated 09:30, January 26 2015




FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER: Murray McCully says Russia has to call the rebels into line, but stopped short of laying blame at President Vladimir Putin's feet.

New Zealand has joined international condemnation of the killing of up to 30 civilians in the latest violence in Ukraine.

Pro-Russian rebels this weekend launched an offensive against the strategic port of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine, killing about 30 people and injuring 83 others.

The rebels fired long-range GRAD missiles prompting the European Union's foreign policy chief to warn of a further "grave deterioration" in EU-Russian relations.


In New Zealand, Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said Russia had to call the rebels into line, but stopped short of laying blame at Russian President Vladimir Putin's feet.

Putin has blamed the Ukrainian Government in Kiev for the latest attacks, while the rebels have ruled out more peace talks.

McCully said civilian casualties were "completely unacceptable".

.

"In particular, reports of indiscriminate shelling of residential areas in the city of Mariupol are deeply concerning," he said.

"New Zealand considers such actions to be reprehensible, and calls on all parties in Ukraine to respect international humanitarian law."

McCully's comments come after EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini condemned the Mariupol attack and urged Moscow to lean on the rebel leaders.

United States President Barack Obama put the blame squarely on Moscow, saying the US would work with European partners to "ratchet up the pressure on Russia."

Meanwhile, new unverified footage has emerged, claiming to show the shelling of the strategic port city.


McCully was particularly concerned the offensive took place in the face of the Minsk agreements signed last September.

"We call on all parties to implement fully their commitments under these agreements, including an immediate cessation of hostilities," he said.

"We also call on Russia to use the diplomatic and other tools it has available to ensure that the separatists respect any ceasefire."

Last week, New Zealand expressed its concerns to the United Nations Security Council that the violence in Ukraine was escalating at an alarming rate.

The Mariupol incident confirmed the situation in eastern Ukraine was on a disastrous downward spiral.

"New Zealand has consistently called on the Security Council to play a leadership role on this matter." McCully said.

"I have asked our permanent representative in New York to reiterate to the Security Council that it needs to live up to its responsibilities under the UN Charter, and focus on what it can do to support a resolution to the conflict."

 - Stuff

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Hey TORTURE LOVER.....have the authorities investigated you yet to see if you are a fit & proper person to be allowed near children?

After all, people who support torturing other human beings are real sickos, so in my view should definitely not be allowed anywhere near kids.

....Thanks George Bush and Guantanamo Bay ...the torture worked

..yup...whenever an American terrorist organisation hijacks a few passenger aircraft and crashes them into large buildings killing over 3000 innocent people on purpose..I would have no problems with the guilty party being tortured...what do you expect..a prize

I agree...its good to see that even the Los Angeles Times supports the CIA torture

Should I be the person to report you to the authorities for investigation?

[reality]

Yes please, I'm sure you are doing nothing anyway, I am very busy with business meetings in Chonburi, Thailand today

..and please show me the part that says "I support torture" ..still have not seen it yet...try harder..you "try hard"

[reality]

US and Europe ‘ratcheting up pressure’ after phone call reveals Russia behind Mariupol massacre

40 MINUTES AGO JANUARY 26, 2015 1:16PM

 

AN emergency meeting of European foreign ministers has been called amid an escalation of violence in Ukraine and warnings of a “grave deterioration” in relations between Russia and the EU.

Ukraine today said it now had evidence through an intercepted phone call that proved the Russian-backed militia in Ukraine’s south-eastern port of Mariupol was responsible for the rocket attack that killed 30 civilians and injured 100 others.
Russian GRAD launch
 
Britain’s Foreign Minister Philip Hammond today led the condemnation of the attacks, including one a day earlier in which 13 people were killed after a rocket struck a civilian bus in Ukraine’s embattled east, and called on Moscow to end its support of the rebel militia.

US president Barack Obama also put the blame squarely on Moscow and said his country would work with European partners to “ratchet up the pressure on Russia”.


EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini appealed to Russia to exert its influence in the region to bring about peace and then used her Twitter account to call the urgent meeting of European foreign affairs leaders for this Thursday.
French President Francoise Hollande yesterday held talks with Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko and was due to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow.

“I condemn in the strongest terms yesterday’s Russian-backed separatist attacks in the Black Sea port of Mariupol killing at least 30 innocent civilians, including children, and wounding many others. My thoughts are with the victims and their friends and families,” Mr Hammond said.
“I am deeply concerned about the significant escalation in violence in east Ukraine over the past week. Recent announcements by the separatist leaders of further offensives, and their blatant refusal to abide by the ceasefire, raise serious questions about the (peace) commitments they made at Minsk.”

He added: “Russia will be judged by its actions, not words. If the escalation in fighting continues, with tragic consequences for the local population, this will lead to a further grave deterioration in relations between the EU and Russia.”
President Obama said further sanctions against Russia was an option.
“We are deeply concerned about the latest break in the ceasefire and the aggression that these separatists — with Russian backing, Russian equipment, Russian financing, Russian training and Russian troops — are conducting, he said.


“I will look at all additional options that are available to us short of military confrontation and try to address this issue. And we will be in close consultation with our international partners, particularly European partners.”

Ukraine has accused Moscow of deploying 9000 troops to help rebels annex the eastern frontier of Ukraine; Moscow denied it had sent troops but said if any were there they were “volunteers”.

Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov spoke today with both US Secretary of State John Kerry and Ms Mogherini and told both the escalation in violence was of Ukraine’s making.

Ukraine’s military spokesman Colonel Andriy Lysenko said the situation was tense with continuous shelling Of Ukraine positions across the east of the country. He said between January 17 and 22, Ukraine troops killed 600 militants and Russian troops.

http://www.news.com.au/world/us-and-europe-ratcheting-up-pressure-after-phone-call-reveals-russia-behind-mariupol-massacre/story-fndir2ev-1227196640527

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Yes please, I'm sure you are doing nothing anyway, I am very busy with business meetings in Chonburi, Thailand today

..and please show me the part that says "I support torture" ..still have not seen it yet...try harder..you "try hard"

Ah, your PRETEND JOB again.

You are sooooo full of shit! Nitpicker can see right through you too!!