A naval incident last Sunday in the Kerch Straight that separates Crimea from Russia has put Russia and the Ukraine on a collision course for conflict, and perhaps even war, as Ukranian President Peter Porshenko called for martial law to be implemented in the Ukraine for a period of 60 days.
Here is the chronology of the dramatic events as outlined by this BBC article:
- In the morning, Ukraine said it had sent two gunboats and a tug from the Black Sea port of Odessa to Mariupol in the Sea of Azov
- Ukraine’s navy then said Russian boats had tried to intercept its vessels, ramming the tug
- Russia accused Ukraine of illegally entering its territorial waters
- Russia scrambled fighter jets and helicopters as the Ukrainian vessels approached a bridge over the Kerch Strait – the only access to the Sea of Azov
- The bridge itself was blocked by a tanker
- In the evening, Ukraine said its vessels had been fired on and seized by the Russians. Six Ukrainian crew members were injured
- Russia confirmed it had used weapons to force the Ukrainian vessels to stop, saying three Ukrainians were injured
- Russia said the Ukrainian ships were in its waters illegally because Moscow had temporarily closed an area of water for shipping.
- Kiev called Russia’s actions a flagrant violation of international law, because the Black Sea is free for shipping, and Crimea belongs to Ukraine.
- Ukraine also cited a 2003 Russia-Ukraine treaty on unimpeded access to the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov.
- It said it had informed the Russians in advance of its plan to move its ships to Mariupol – a claim denied by Russia.
- In recent weeks, two Ukrainian vessels passed through the Kerch Straight without incident.
Russian Aggression?
Of note is that, according to Ukrainian forces, six Ukranian sailors were injured, but while Russia admits to using weapons to force the Ukrainian vessels to stop, they only conceded that three Ukrainians were injured. In addition, Ukranian sources claim that the tug boat that was accompanying the two Ukranian gunships was rammed into by Russia in an attempt to intercept the vessels, as evidenced in the following video from this Sun article:
[youtube id=”pxo2AHSZLAA”]
OK, enough of the mainstream angle. Let’s figure out what’s really going on.
First of all, the Sun article said that ‘Ukrainian sources claim to have intercepted the video from Russian coastguards, part of the FSB’s border guard division.’
Somehow, within less than 24 hours, Ukraine had the time to intercept the video, edit it with English subtitles, and make it available to Western news sources to prove Russia’s aggression. Hmm, almost like they knew in advance that it would happen. As the article explains,
The footage shows Russian vessel Don ramming a Ukrainian warship, according to Ukraine’s interior minister Arsen Avakov. He said: “Intercepted video is taken by the RF (Russian Federation), commands heard. That will stand as proof to the international court! Aggression! Let’s stand together and anticipate reaction of friendly countries!”
Quite amazing, isn’t it, that somehow this video was actually taken in the first place (what would be the reason?), that it would feature a Russian captain (or ‘special agent’, as the Sun says) that would be using the most highly belligerent language verging on insane rage in conducting what would clearly be a sensitive international incident, and that it was magically ‘intercepted’ by ‘Ukranian sources’ and processed through Western media within 24 hours.
Or it’s a fake or doctored video to visually reinforce the ‘Russian aggression’ narrative, prepared and ready to ship off to the media as soon as the overall confrontation took place. You decide what makes more sense.
Deeper Analysis
The video below, put together by Jake Morphonios of the Blackstone Intelligence Network, is an excellent, comprehensive analysis of the incident in the context of the history of the conflict over Crimea and the Kerch Strait.
Of particular note is this joint statement made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin from November 16th, only nine days earlier, wherein the following declaration is made with regards to a new bilateral working group focused on Security and Countering Russian Aggression:
The two sides underscored the need to continue building Ukraine’s resilience in the face of Russian aggression, reaffirmed the importance of the Minsk agreements in ending Russia’s aggression, and highlighted the need to restore Ukrainian control over the Ukrainian territories temporarily occupied or controlled by Russia – Crimea and the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Both sides decided that a robust UN-mandated international security force in the areas of Donbas controlled by Russia, including the Ukraine-Russia international border, would create the necessary security conditions for the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements. The United States reiterated its commitment to Secretary Pompeo’s July 25 Declaration on the non-recognition of Russia’s purported annexation of Crimea.
The fact is that Crimea is a highly strategic territory and Western powers still want Ukraine to continue to lay claim on it. Ignoring that Crimeans voted 96% in favor of independence from the Ukraine after Western forces staged a coup of the Ukraine and installed a pro-Western puppet government, Ukraine and the US still refuse to recognize Crimea as a part of Russia. Again, Jake Morphonios does a great job laying out the story below.
[youtube id=”ucni4znC1IU”]
Putin Weighs In
The 23 Ukranian sailors captured by Russia have been charged with crimes. According to this RadioFreeEurope article, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that the detained Ukrainian sailors were on a secret mission. Lavrov said Russian border agents and interrogators turned up documents that “clearly show that these ships had been ordered to not inform the authorities of the Kerch Strait and to try and break into the Sea of Azov secretly.”
Vladamir Putin reiterated Russia’a accusation that the Ukrainian boats trespassed in Russian waters — a claim Kyiv has denied.
“It was organized by the president ahead of the elections,” Putin said, adding that Poroshenko “is in fifth place, ratings-wise, and therefore had to do something. It was used as a pretext to introduce martial law.” Putin claimed that the Ukrainian “military vessels intruded into Russian territorial waters and did not answer” the Russian coast guard. “What were they supposed to do?”
Perhaps Putin is on to something. Poroshenko has had a heck of a time getting enough votes to implement martial law, especially with the majority of lawmakers wanting assurances that the elections scheduled for March, which Poroshenko was far behind in, were not going to be delayed. Poroshenko had to agree to a 30-day limit for Martial Law, and it only governed the territories that were adjacent to Russia or the sea. The fact that Poroshenko is also citing a ‘secret document’ he has that outlines a planned Russian ground invasion into the Ukraine just gives further credence to the idea that everything Poroshenko is now saying and doing is part of a desperate attempt to retain power beyond the election in March 2019.
The Takeaway
The Deep State has long been operating in the world by clandestinely taking over countries economically and politically through the installation of pro-Western puppet governments, and employing mainstream media to spin these activities as above-board, legitimate political events that we should be supportive of. The case of Ukraine is no exception, where Deep State forces within the US are working with Ukraine to try to maintain power there through the next election. Once we gain the collective discernment to see through these charades–and we are growing that discernment every time such an event hits the front pages–then such tactics will have to be completely abandoned in favor of operating truthfully and transparently.