Kiev PM: Russia has declared war on Ukraine; NATO warns of destabilizing Europe

Kiev, Capital of Ukraine

The Prime Minister in Kiev, appointed by supporters of the protesters there, says Russia has declared war on Ukraine. That protester-backed government has also called up reserve troops:

March 2, 2014

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine – Ukraine mobilized for war on Sunday, after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared he had the right to invade, creating the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War.

“This is not a threat: this is actually the declaration of war to my country,” said Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk, head of a pro-Western government that took power when Russian ally Viktor Yanukovich fled last week…

Russian forces have already bloodlessly seized Crimea – an isolated Black Sea peninsula where Moscow has a naval base. On Sunday they surrounded several small Ukrainian military outposts there and demanded the Ukrainian troops disarm. Some refused, although no shots were fired.

Ukraine’s security council ordered the general staff to immediately put all armed forces on highest alert, the council’s secretary Andriy Parubiy announced.

The Defense Ministry was ordered to conduct a call-up of reserves – theoretically all men up to 40 in a country with universal male conscription, though Ukraine would struggle to find extra guns or uniforms for significant numbers of them.

“If President Putin wants to be the president who started the war between two neighboring and friendly countries, between Ukraine and Russia, he has reached this target within a few inches. We are on the brink of disaster,” Yatsenyuk said in televised remarks in English, appealing for Western support…

But the U.S. and other Western governments have few options to counter Russia’s military moves.

Ukraine has appealed for help to NATO, and directly to Britain and the United States, as co-signatories with Moscow to a 1994 accord guaranteeing Ukraine’s security after the breakup of the Soviet Union.

The White House is moving rapidly to put together a tangible aid package, valued in the billions, so the IMF team due to arrive in Kiev next week doesn’t just arrive by saying “Hello.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-prime-minister-russia-had-no-reason-to-invade/

March 2, 2014

Earlier today, Ukraine sais it is calling up its military reservists in response to the Russian parliament’s approval of the deployment of troops to Crimea.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said Russian armed action “would be the beginning of war and the end of any relations between Ukraine and Russia.”

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Ramussen said NATO supports the right of the Ukrainian people to determine their future. He said Sunday Ukraine is a “valued” NATO partner and urged Russia to “de-escalate” the tension in the region…
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Ukrainian Ambassador Yuriy Sergeyev told the Security Council that 15,000 Russian troops are already in Crimea under the pretense of protecting Russian citizens.

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin blamed the West for ratcheting up tensions in Ukraine and backing protests that ousted President Viktor Yanukovych last month.

The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Samantha Power, said Russian actions speak louder than words. She said a Russian force in Ukraine could push the situation beyond the breaking point and again called for international mediation in Crimea.

Russia has said its troop movements in Crimea, where it leases a naval base in Sevastopol, conform to agreements with Ukraine.

Crimea is a Black Sea peninsula placed under Ukrainian control in 1954 by then-Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. It became part of Ukraine when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Crimea has a tiny border with Russia on its far eastern point. Most of the people living in Crimea are ethnic Russians, but the region also is home to ethnic Muslim Tartars who generally show disdain toward Russia.

Ukraine’s troubles began in November when ousted president Yanukovych backed out of a trade deal with the European Union in favor of closer ties and economic aid from Russia. http://www.voanews.com/content/ukraine-calls-up-reservists/1862314.html

As far as the 1994 agreement, this was a deal to protect Ukraine for Ukraine’s agreement to get rid of all the nuclear weapons in its territory. It is not clear that the agreement specifically protects Ukraine from Russia if Russia is backing the elected President of Ukraine, which is part of what Russia seems to be claiming. Russia is currently claiming that it is defending its people and supporters from the new government (some information on that 1994 agreement, known as the Budapest Memorandum, is in the post Russian Parliament unanimously approves use of military force in Ukraine and action is taken!).

There are two regions and two clashing attitudes in Ukraine. As I have written for some time, there could be a split there.

NATO has concerns about what is happening:

March 2, 2014

NATO’s secretary-general warned Moscow on Sunday it was threatening peace in Europe with its seizure of Crimea and should “de-escalate tensions”, but diplomats said the alliance was unlikely to agree on major steps to rein Russia in.

Speaking moments before chairing an emergency meeting of NATO ambassadors, Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned that Russia’s actions in Ukraine could destabilize the continent.

“What Russia is doing now in Ukraine violates the principles of the United Nations charter,” Rasmussen told reporters before a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, made up of the permanent representatives to the 28-nation military alliance.

“It threatens peace and security in Europe. Russia must stop its military activities and its threats.”

Despite the strong words, diplomats said they did not expect NATO to agree on significant measures to pressure Russia, with the West struggling to come up with a forthright response that does not risk pushing the region closer to military conflict…

While Ukraine is associated to NATO, it is not a member and therefore cannot invoke the alliance’s most powerful diplomatic tool, known as Article 5, which states that an attack against one member is an attack against all.

Given those limitations, diplomats and military experts said the most that could be expected might be that the United States would move some warships into the Black Sea, an action it could undertake unilaterally, rather than under NATO’s auspices. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/nato-meets-on-ukraine-says-russia-risks-destabilizing-europe/article17185994/

In my view, the current crisis in Ukraine is showing the Europeans that Russia does not consider Europe a credible military threat without direct USA involvement and if the Europeans want to defend hoped for European Union countries like Ukraine, and even actual European Union countries, that Europe needs to have a stronger military.

The Washington Post ran the following:

President Obama faces the gravest challenge of his presidency in figuring out how to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. How he responds will define his two terms in office, as well as determine the future of Ukraine, Russia and U.S. standing in the world. After all, if the authoritarian tyrant Vladimir Putin is allowed to get away with his unprovoked attack against his neighbor, a blatant violation of that country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, then U.S. credibility, already damaged by Obama’s poor handling of Syria, will be down to zero. Allies won’t believe in us, enemies won’t fear us and the world will be a much more dangerous place.

For years, Putin has shown zero respect for his U.S. counterpart and utter disdain for the West in general, and the United States in particular. Obama’s reset policy is partly to blame for what is unfolding in Ukraine, after giving Putin a pass on his human rights abuses, aggressive policies toward his neighbors and support for murderous regimes like the one in Syria. Putin never saw from the United States any deterrent or consequences for his outrageous behavior, such as trade sanctions against Russia’s neighbors in violation of its World Trade Organization commitments or the worst crackdown in human rights in Russia since the breakup of the Soviet Union.

All too often, Obama and his team looked the other way. That neglect is coming home to roost in the worst way possible: a Russian invasion of Ukraine. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/us-foreign-comes-home-to-roost-with-russias-action-in-ukraine/2014/03/01/10be38bc-a18d-11e3-b8d8-94577ff66b28_story.html

Many realize that the Ukrainian crisis has wounded the pride of the power of the USA (cf. Leviticus 26:19).

Notice also something that BBC reported:

BBC – March 2, 2014

For President Putin, this is not just a geopolitical battle for influence over a country in Russia’s backyard. It is to protect land which for him is, historically and culturally, an essential part of the idea of Russia.

Kievan Rus was where, over 1,000 years ago, the Russian state and the Russian Orthodox faith began. That is why he will do his utmost not to let it go, whatever the cost. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26407604

Both Russia and the European Union are truly interested in Ukraine. Russians appear to approve what Vladimir Putin has done:

MOSCOW (AP) — Thousands are marching in a pro-invasion rally in downtown Moscow one day after Russia’s parliament gave President Vladimir Putin a green light to use military force in Ukraine.

At least 10,000 people bearing Russian flags marched freely through Moscow on Sunday, while dozens of people demonstrating on Red Square against an invasion of Ukraine were quickly detained by Russian riot police…protests in Ukraine forced its Russia-leaning President Viktor Yanukovych to flee Ukraine. http://www.salon.com/2014/03/02/thousands_march_in_pro_invasion_rally_in_moscow/

Vladimir Putin has lived up to his image of being tough and decisive. While that does not make him right or wrong, those were traits that helped him get elected. But, of course, the Ukrainians did not elect him. Instead they elected someone who supported Putin, yet those in Kiev forced the elected president out of office. And while the somewhat deposed president Viktor Yanukovych probably would not get re-elected now, Russia can take the stance that Viktor Yanukovych is the currently elected president of Ukraine and may use statements from him as part of its justification for military actions in Ukraine.

But what about Europe?

As I have mentioned before, in the Book of Daniel, it is prophesied that a little horn would develop and would mainly expand South and East into what apparently is becoming a European entity (Daniel 8:9-12). Ukraine is south and mainly east of the nations that once were part of Benelux–the ‘entity’ that eventually grew into the European Union. So Ukraine, for a while at least, may end up supporting Europe–though that is not certain.

As far as Russian involvement, basically, Vladimir Putin will continue to weigh the costs. But as history has shown that Ukraine and other nations succumbed to Russian military pressure against their will in the past, it may be that Vladimir Putin will consider that Ukraine would do so in the future–though it would be likely that the protests would continue, probably with terroristic acts, if Russia does decide to takeover Ukraine. I suspect that Vladimir Putin is looking for a pretense to takeover more of Ukraine and the Kiev government will need to tread very lightly to not give him that pretense.

Ultimately, at least part of the destruction of the Babylonian European power will come from forces associated with Russia (Jeremiah 50:41-43) and will likely involve Ukraine. Most of the Ukrainians are Eastern or Russian Orthodox, which makes them closer (in professed religion at least) to the Russians than the Western Europeans–though many of the Eastern Europeans have some version of the Eastern Orthodox faith and many in western Ukraine are Catholic.

Pope Francis has called for dialogue (http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/pope-francis-calls-for-dialogue-in-ukraine-to-resolve-crisis-1.1710305). He does not want to incense the pro-European Catholics nor the pro-Russian Russian Orthodox. He also wants to balance his ecumenical agenda with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill as well as Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomew (e.g. Moscow Patriarchate pleased Putin to meet Vatican, while Vatican works many sides for its ecumenical plans); plus Francis is on good terms with Vladmir Putin (see Russia’s Putin and Pope Francis both kiss Marian icon).

There still is a divide in Ukraine, religiously and culturally. Overall, unless it actually splits (which, depending on which peoples and how it could split may impact the destiny of the area known as Ukraine), I believe that ultimately Bible prophecy shows that Ukraine (or at least the descendants of the Medes which are in it) will side with Russia (see Russia and Ukraine: Origins and Prophesied Future).

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Russia and Ukraine: Origins and Prophesied Future Where do the Russians come from? What about those in the Ukraine? What is prophesied for Russia and its allies? What will they do to the Europeans that supported the Beast in the end?
The Eurasian Union, the Kings of the East, and Bible Prophecy Is there a Eurasian union that will be formed? Is one being formed right now? Are any leaders working on that in the 21st century? Does the Bible teach that there will be a Eurasian union? If some type of Eurasian union is formed, who might it benefit and who will it destroy? A related video would be Is The Eurasian Union Rising?
Is Russia the King of the North? Some claim it is. But what does the Bible teach? Here is a link to a video, also titled Is Russia the King of the North?
Some Similarities and Differences Between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Continuing Church of God Both groups claim to be the original church, but both groups have differing ways to claim it. Both groups have some amazing similarities and some major differences. Do you know what they are?
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is a link to a video titled: Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? In the Spanish language check out ¿Quién es el Rey del Norte? Here is a link to a video titled: The Future King of the North.
WTO/TTIP and the Babylonian Beast Will international trade agreements like WTO/TTIP/CETA lead to the fulfillment of end time prophecies concerning the Babylonian Beast power that the Book of Revelation warns against? What does the Bible teach? A related video would be WTO Trade Deal and the Rise of the European Beast Power.
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Edition for Second Obama Term This is a 160 page book for people truly interested in prophecies related to Barack Obama and the United States, including learning about many that have already been fulfilled (which the book documents in detail) and those that will be fulfilled in the future. It also has a chapter about a Republican choice. This book is available to order at www.barackobamaprophecy.com. The physical book can also be purchased at Amazon from the following link: Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States: Is Barack Obama Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic Catholic, Kenyan, and other America-Related Prophecies? What About Republican Leaders? Second Edition for Second Obama Term.
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