Crimea - March 9

From the Facebook page of Dmitry Tymchuk:

Итоги 9 марта на англ

(спасибо Euromaidan PR)

Brothers, here is the summary of March 9, 2014

(for summary of the previous day, see Summary of March 8).

The bad news:

1. Some of our own politicians on the local and nationwide level suddenly started playing second fiddle to the Kremlin. Today, we have neutralized (hopefully successfully) two very dangerous rumors – about the mass betrayal of our border guards and the Russian saboteurs who flooded Kherson and Odessa oblasts. Our very own “public servants” disseminated these rumors.

I do not understand how they can be so irresponsible to behave this way. Under the rule of Putin’s beloved grandfather Joseph [Stalin], [the officials implicated for participation] in such tricks were, without further due, taken by their arms and brought into the cellar at the Lubyanka [KGB headquarters and its prison], and were put against the wall. And rightly so. Because it is one thing when a street vendor Aunt Dunya who sells seeds on the market shares this disinformation with her commercial partner Aunt Masha. But it is a completely different thing when it [disinformation] is broadcasted by a politician.

The task of bureaucrats and politicians as professional manipulators is to lie for the benefit of their country during invasion. And not to harm their own country. Learn from the enemy – Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov.

2. Today, a checkpoint at military airfield and military objects of the military unit A1387 were blocked in Dzhankoy [city in the north of Crimea]. Also, an airfield near Saky [Crimean city with major Ukrainian Navy bases] was seized by Russian troops. The occupiers immediately began to reinforce their formations, equip firing emplacements, and mount machine guns. The number of seized objects keeps growing. This contagion spreads around Crimea like ringworm in a hamster. If only it would not go further.

The good news:

1. First about us. After today’s commanding statement made by our Information Resistance group that denounced the inaction of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and the General Staff, it was immediately followed by reaction. I was prepared for the moral and psychological Armageddon against us, and was ready to bark back (there is nothing to fear, but I never found anything pleasant about curses or threats). However … a rather constructive conversation followed. In general, we understood their position, and will be meeting with representatives of the military leadership tomorrow, to hear out their vision.

We are ready to broadcast any type of positive information, the main thing for us is to make sure that we are not being used blindly, and that we are do spread any “disinformation.” We have no right to deceive you, my brothers, and we never will.

2. According to our data, the Russians will continue to avoid using the firearms, as well as forestall the beginning of the armed conflict. Here special merit goes to our international partners – if the slaughter begins, they are ready for a very serious [military] action against Russia.

Of course, in this situation it is now extremely important to provide moral support to our troops in Crimea. They are exhausted and overwhelmed. But they are still standing. And this is important.

3. Putin and his military commanders are frantically trying to fix the mishaps they allowed to happen. It looks bad when the Kremlin broadcasts about the absence of Russian troops on the Crimean peninsula, and Russian military gladly admit it on camera. As a result, the “little green men” (Russian troops in unmarked uniforms) who have given our military ultimatums today in Yevpatoria, suddenly began to argue that they were a Crimean “self-defense unit.”

It is too late, gentlemen wearing suits from Yudashkin. The whole world knows what country you are from, whose orders are being executed, and what goal you are trying to achieve. You will not be able to turn into “freedom fighters” after being invaders, occupiers and aggressors, despite the magnitude of vain attempts by the heavy-duty Kremlin propaganda machine.

4. Tomorrow the Naval forces from the United States, Romania and Bulgaria will begin their joint military maneuvers in the Black Sea, near the territorial waters of Ukraine. I hope the reasons behind these naval exercises should not be explained to anyone.

Russians immediately drove their “Moskva” [Moscow] cruiser closer to the area of naval exercises, but those guys left a USS George H.W. Bush [CVN-77, aircraft carrier] around the corner just in case, that is capable of turning all Black Sea Fleet dislocations into landfills in a matter of two hours. So, the Russian clown act with the cruiser “Moskva” is to show-off for the visitors.

However, we still have no reason to celebrate. Let’s hope that tomorrow will bring us an excuse to do so.