Yulia Tymoshenko announces plan to run for President of Ukraine; Barack Obama encourages the Europeans to increase military spending

Yulia Tymoshenko

Former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko made an announcement to run for president:

March 27, 2014

Ukrainian former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, released from jail last month after her arch-foe Viktor Yanukovych fled from power, announced on Thursday she would run again for president in an election scheduled for May 25.

Tymoshenko, 53, a powerful speaker known for a trademark hair-braid, served twice as prime minister and ran for president in 2010, only to be narrowly defeated in a run-off vote by Yanukovych.

Yanukovych subsequently launched a campaign against Tymoshenko and her allies and she was jailed in 2011 for abuse of office linked to a gas deal she brokered with Russia in 2009…

IMF pledges loans to Ukraine

The International Monetary Fund has pledged to provide Ukraine with up to $18 billion in loans.

But the country must enact tough economic reforms in exchange.

The IMF says the $14 to $18 billion it will provide will combine with contributions from the international community to total up to $27 billion in total assistance in the next two years.

Without the IMF-mandated austerity measures, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told parliament Thursday Ukraine’s economy could contract by 10 percent this year. He said the country is on the brink of “economic and financial bankruptcy.”

The IMF statement Thursday says Ukraine’s recent economic policies have dramatically slowed growth and brought foreign currency reserves to a “critically low level.”

The IMF’s required reforms for Ukraine include a flexible exchange rate, higher energy prices for consumers and a restructuring of Ukrainian energy giant Naftogaz.

The reforms will hit the population hard, which could affect support for the interim government.

The new Ukrainian authorities took over after weeks of anti-government protests in Kyiv that forced then-president Viktor Yanukovych to flee the country last month. http://www.voanews.com/content/imf-to-loan-ukraine-up-to-18-billion/1880288.html

Ukraine is in a difficult spot. Its interim government forced Ukraine’s elected Russian-supporting president out and took an anti-Russian language position, which Russia partially cited for its justification to send troops into Crimea. Ukraine has been protesting that, but the more it antagonizes Russia, the more it could end up with worse economic problems. The West (the European Union and the USA) does not want Russia to end up with all of Ukraine and feel compelled to provide economic assistance, and Ukraine likely will need a lot of economic assistance.

The situation with Ukraine and Russia has exposed to obvious vulnerability that the European Union has militarily. Yesterday, Barack Obama publicly addressed that:

President Obama warned European leaders Wednesday that nations must “chip in” fairly to ensure a NATO capable of deterring an expansionist Russia…

His words were a pointed reminder that despite U.S. involvement in seeking to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from advancing further beyond Russia’s borders, European leaders must be ready to pay more for their defense.

“If we have collective defense, it means everyone’s got to chip in,” Obama said, appearing after meeting with Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, and Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission…he said members of NATO must now recommit to defense spending, especially as the United States enters the final months of its post-Sept. 11, 2001, wars. Obama is heading to a NATO meeting later Wednesday.

“Our freedom isn’t free, and we have to be able to pay for the assets, the personnel, and the training to make sure we have a credible NATO force and an effective deterrent force,” Obama said. “Everyone is going to have to make sure they are engaged and involved, and I think that will help build more confidence among member states.”

As Obama began his first visit here, European and Ukrainian officials pushed ahead on Wednesday with a plan to strengthen ties, a task made more urgent by Russia’s recent takeover of Crimea and concern over further threats. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe-ukraine-press-to-deepen-ties-as-obama-dismisses-russia-as-regional-power/2014/03/26/ed4b18e0-b4c0-11e3-8cb6-284052554d74_story.html

Ukraine is in a difficult spot and the Europeans realize this. It will take more than a new president in Ukraine to deal with this. Increased military spending is not the solution.

But while it may SEEM to make sense for American leaders to encourage the Europeans to pay more for their defense, the reality is that leaders should be careful what they wish for. The Bible shows that a military power will rise up in Europe that neither the Europeans (cf. Isaiah 10:7) nor the rest of the world (cf. Revelation 13:4) really thought was possible. And this military power will be able to beat the nation considered to have the strongest military fortresses at the time (Daniel 11:39), which would be the USA in the 21st century.

Europe has been working on military technologies and I have long believed that they will be key to the rise of the final European Beast power. And that will not end up well for the USA (Daniel 11:39, Isaiah 10:5-11), its Anglo-Saxon allies (Isaiah 10:5-11), the Arab world (Daniel 11:40-43), nor the Europeans (Jeremiah 51:11-32; Daniel 11:44-45).

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

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?
European Technology and the Beast of Revelation Will the coming European Beast power would use and develop technology that will result in the taking over of the USA and its Anglo-Saxon allies? Is this possible? What does the Bible teach? Here is a related YouTube video: Military Technology and the Beast of Revelation.
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.
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?
Russia and Ukraine: Their Origins and Prophesied Future Russia in prophecy. 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? There is also a video available: Ukraine in Prophecy?
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?
The Arab and Islamic World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy The Bible discusses the origins of the Arab world and discusses the Middle East in prophecy. What is ahead for the Middle East and those who follow Islam? What about the Imam Mahdi? What lies ahead for Turkey, Iran, and the other non-Arabic Muslims? An item of possibly related interest in the Spanish language would be: Líderes iraníes condenan la hipocresía de Occidente y declaran que ahora es tiempo para prepararse para el Armagedón, la guerra, y el Imán Mahdi.