TURMOIL IN THE UKRAINE / RUSSIA AGGRESSION

[HairOfTheDog]

A Russian fighter jet was flying around one of our ships in the sea the other day and it ignored all efforts to communicate.

Things are really heating up now with fatalities reported on both sides.

If Putin's fazed at all by the repeated threats/warnings and condemnations of other world leaders, he's got a great poker face.

Snip:
Russian attempts to start conflict in Ukraine will lead to military conflict in Europe, (Ukranian) Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk warned.

He also charged Russia with aiming to occupy his country "militarily and politically," and said Moscow wants to start a third world war. His strong statement come amid a sharp escalation in tensions.


Russia's defense chief ordered new military drills Thursday near the border with eastern Ukraine after Ukrainian forces said they killed five pro-Russian militants in an operation to clear roadblocks near the city of Slavyansk.

Serhiy Pashinskiy, an aide to acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov, said Friday that the operation had now entered its "second stage," aimed at encircling Slavyansk and cutting off additional supplies or support.

Yatsenyuk said he'd asked Russia to explain the presence of its troops on Ukraine's border within 48 hours -- but 24 hours later, Kiev is still waiting for an official response.

At a news conference Friday in South Korea, Obama said he would be talking to other European leaders about sanctions against Russia over Ukraine. There will be targeted sanctions that are "ready to go," he said, echoing comments he made Thursday in Japan.

"I think it's important for us not to anticipate that the targeted sanctions that we're applying now necessarily solve the problem," he said.

"What we've been trying to do is continually raise the costs for Russia of their actions while still leaving the possibility of them moving in a different direction. And we will continue to keep some arrows in our quiver in the event that we see a further deterioration of the situation over the next several days or weeks."

Obama also praised the unity of other countries in condemning Russian "meddling" in Ukraine.

Full story: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/25/world/...?hpt=hp_t2