What is the Budapest Memorandum ?

The Budapest Memorandum is a diplomatic agreement from 1994 between Ukraine, Russia, U.K., and U.S. This memo states that the Ukraine would disarm its nuclear arsenal and that, “The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine, in accordance with the principles of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, to respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine (Article 1).” There is currently a debate going on whether this article was violated with current action in the Crimea, which has been cited numerous times.

Gilbert, Paul. “Budapest Memorandum December 1994.” Youtube. March 2, 2014. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B21IDpsSgZU

Permanent Mission of the Republic of Poland to the United Nations Office and International Organizations in Vienna. “Memorandum on Security Assurance in connection with Ukraine’s accession to the Treaty on NPT.” https://www.msz.gov.pl/en/p/wiedenobwe_at_s_en/news/memorandum_on_security_assurances_in_connection_with_ukraine_s_accession_to_the_treaty_on_the_npt?printMode=true

Radio Free Europe. “Live Blog Ukraine On The Brink.” http://www.rferl.org/contentlive/clashes-in-ukraine-live-blog-kyiv/25267783.html

Synovitz, Ron. “The Budapest Memorandum and Crimea.” VOA. March 2, 2014. http://www.voanews.com/content/the-budapest-memorandum-and-crimea/1862439.html

——. Explainer; The Budapest Memorandum and Its Relevance to Crimea. Radio Free Europe. March 2, 2014. http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-explainer-budapest-memorandum/25280502.html

The White House, Office of the Press Secretary. “Readout of President Obama’s Call with President Putin.” March 1, 2014. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/03/01/readout-president-obama-s-call-president-putin

Russia’s wartime misinformation strategies

Return of the national minorities problem as justification for military intervention!

Euromaidan PR

The “killed Russians” which were the pretext for the invasion of Russian troops, turned out to be Ukrainians

1. Lie #1. Russian invasion necessary because Russians in Crimea were killed.

On Sunday, March 2, the Head of the Russian Federal Council Valentyna Matviyenko declared that among victims killed during the assault of the Crimean Ministry of the Interior were the citizens of Russia. This fact was one of the pretexts on which the decision to introduce Russian troops to Ukraine was based. There is still no official confirmation of the presence of Russian citizens among the victims of the assault. 

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Alexander Babych: It Will Be Easy for Us to Kill Russians, and for Russians to Kill Us…

Same language, same tactics…

Voices of Ukraine

By Alexander Babych
01/03/2014 at 16:47 Facebook status update
Translated by Anna Danilova
View source:

It will be easy for us to kill Russians, and it will be easy for Russians to kill us!

Here, I’m talking about the technical side of our deaths:
– We speak the same language and will understand radio communications – and it’ll be easy for us to kill Russians and for Russians to kill us!

– Our armies are armed with virtually similar weapons and ammunition – it’ll be easy for both of us to kill each other!

– We all learned to make war using the same army manuals (translating the “Temporary Regulations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine” into Ukrainian didn’t change its contents) – and it’ll be easy for us to kill Russians and for Russians to kill us!

– Maps, documents, regulations, etc. are all, basically, in the same…

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Why I still don’t think Russia wants to annex the Crimea

Does Russia already have de facto control of the Crimea?

In Moscow's Shadows

It’s a risky thing, making such predictions in the middle of a fast-changing and frankly confusing situation, when we have reportedly a couple of thousand troops being airlifted into the peninsula and local premier Aksenov claiming control over all forces in the area (does he mean Russian ones too? I very much doubt it, or if he thinks he controls them then I imagine it means “he controls them so long as he happens to be telling them to do what Moscow wants them to do”). Nonetheless, let me stick out my neck and say why, excitable headlines notwithstanding, I don’t think Russia is about to annex the Crimea, let alone occupy eastern Ukraine.

1. Russia already ‘has’ Crimea in the ways that matter to it.Crimea has considerable autonomy, the Black Sea Fleet presence is guaranteed by treaty until 2042 if I remember correctly, and there is massive political…

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Iraq Death Toll Tops 700 In February

Civil war, ethno-religious conflict, or an insurgency?

Russia gives Turchynov conditions for launching war against Ukraine

“The Russian side is using all means to provoke the use of force in order to bring about the complete destabilization of Ukraine,”

Euromaidan PR

Acting President of Ukraine and head of Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Turchynov said that Russia is engaged in numerous provocations designed to expand a military scenario that will result in the complete destabilization of the situation in Ukraine. His statement was posted on the Batkivshchyna website.

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Residents of coastal town near Sevastopol stand as a human shield between Ukrainian border guards and Russian Special Forces

Well, that escalated quickly…

Euromaidan PR

In Balaklava, near Sevastopol on the coast of the Crimean Peninsula, border guards from the Sevastopol marine guard  continue to negotiate with soldiers of the Russian Federation,  the press service of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reports.

At the same time, all possible measures are being taken to prevent the violent seizure of property and the detachment itself. Residents of Balaklava, veterans, and the families of the border guards stood  as a live shield between the detachment’s checkpoint and the Russians, asking for the prevention of bloodshed. Russian representatives are insisting on releasing the military unit, and they are not initiating contact or identifying themselves. The situation could not be any more tense.

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