I would like to begin by thanking the United States of America, and specifically the U.S. Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Congress, for the unwavering support of Ukraine at these challenging times.
Dear Members of Congress:
I would like to begin by thanking the United States of America, and specifically the U.S. Congress, for the unwavering support of Ukraine at these challenging times.
For the past couple of months Ukraine has been in the world’s headlines.
Russian Roulette: The Invasion of Ukraine (Video: Simon Ostrovsky)
6.03.2014
The blockade by Russia of Ukrainian military installations in Crimea continues. VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky spoke with families of personnel barricaded inside, who complained about the difficulty of getting food past the pro-Russian protesters outside. Russia’s supporters explained why they want Crimea to separate from Ukraine, and Simon negotiated his way through a Russian checkpoint to interview an officer on the Slavutych, a Ukrainian battleship stuck in the harbor of Sevastopol.
Cyber-warfare, or the use of computers for a strategic military purpose is currently taking place on both sides of the current crisis in the Crimea. These attacks by “hacktivists,” or patriotic hackers, target vulnerable infrastructure, such as telecommunications, financial networks, or energy industries, and disrupt their operations. Russia has two notable past precedents in this method of warfare; Russian hackers and criminal botnets disabled Estonian internet capabilities in 2007 during “Web War 1,” and a cyber-blackout covered Russian troops as they advanced in Georgia in 2008. Telecommunications in Ukraine have already been targeted. Ukrinform, the state news agency, and the Security and Defense Council were hit by a denial of service attack, shutting down communications. Furthermore, the phones of Ukrainian parliamentarians were jammed, delaying governmental command and control. The Ukrainians blamed the Russian military for the attack. A Ukrainian “hacktivist group,” Cyber-Berkut, retorted by changing the Russian Today online homepage, switching ‘Russians” with “Nazis.” While these propaganda and psychological attacks will continue, former CIA agent Marty Martin claimed that attacks against other critical infrastructure or outright shutdown would not occur, as “If you do that, then you don’t get your flow of intelligence. You are probably better off monitoring it.” Much like the spies and revolutionaries of previous conflicts, cyber-warfare is the new fifth column to pave the way for invading armies.
Well said: “The conclusion is: we should continue the negotiations with Moscow. But the army should enter Crimea. Clear away the terrorists. Arrest the separatists. They should not have the slimmest chance at legitimizing the coup. At the same time, offer the people of Crimea the second phase of the political reform and the empowerment of the local government.”
Why has Moscow declared its willingness to negotiate?
There is only one reason: Putin is trying to buy time.
It was not the sanctions that scared him, he’s scared of the high mobilization readiness of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He is scared by the quick response forces moving towards Crimea. Because in the case of the Ukrainian troops’ anti-terrorist operations, the “little green men” will not be able to keep Crimea. The “fortified areas” at Chonhar and Perekop only look menacing in the media reports – any military person understands that these APCs and tanks openly standing in the fields will only survive till the first volley from the “Hurricane” and howitzers, until the first flight of the Mi-24. These are clear targets. It is simply impossible for the Russian…
Brothers, here is the summary of March 8, 2014.
(for summary of the previous day, see Summary of March 7)
The bad news:
1. Today, Russia has tried to turn its invasion that is failing to provoke the Ukrainian Armed Forces, into a full-blown war. Russian troops opening fire at Ukrainian border patrol plane located in Ukrainian airspace while illegally staying on Ukrainian territory – this is war. I would love to call it a different word, but I cannot.
Putin’s henchmen are making possible and impossible efforts, and using different avenues to provoke [the Ukrainian military] – just to get a retaliation and end up with corpses in their ranks. Then, they would have a good excuse to start killing for real, on a grand scale fitting for Russia.
We understand that Russia has traditionally been insensitive to loss of human life…
A Chronicle of My Peace Corps Service in Uganda, beginning in June 2014. This blog is a reflection of my own personal experiences and opinions and are in no way intended to represent the views of the Peace Corps or United States Government.
A Chronicle of My Peace Corps Service in Uganda, beginning in June 2014. This blog is a reflection of my own personal experiences and opinions and are in no way intended to represent the views of the Peace Corps or United States Government.
A Chronicle of My Peace Corps Service in Uganda, beginning in June 2014. This blog is a reflection of my own personal experiences and opinions and are in no way intended to represent the views of the Peace Corps or United States Government.
March 7
rovitothis201 