WoW ! Crisis in Ukraine: The World Reacts

U.S. defense officials said Thursday that Russia has
pulled most of its forces away from the Ukraine
border, a withdrawal that the U.S. has been
demanding for weeks. They said about seven
battalions remained, amounting to a couple of
thousand troops. U.S. officials had estimated as many
as 40,000 Russian forces had been aligned along the
border with a restive eastern Ukraine that has been
wracked with violence between government security
forces and pro-Russian separatists. The defense
officials spoke only on condition of anonymity because
they were not authorized to speak publicly about the
precise numbers. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel
didn’t provide any details to reporters traveling with
him at the start of a 12-day overseas trip, but he
called the withdrawal promising
In this April 17, 2014, file photo, U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry, left, talks with Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov at the start of a bilateral
meeting to discuss the ongoing situation in Ukraine in
Geneva. Nearly a quarter century after the Cold War
ended, the crisis in Ukraine symbolizes the weak
foreign policy hand the United States often finds itself
playing despite its status as the only global
superpower. Kerry last week in Geneva negotiated a
deal with Russia, Ukraine and the European Union that
was designed to ease tensions.

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WoW ! Crisis in Ukraine: The World Reacts

Russia on Wednesday dismissed as “groundless”
concerns in Kiev and the West over the presence of its
troops near the border with Ukraine, saying they
posed no threat, and accused Washington of fuelling
tension in the region. Washington has accused Russia
of orchestrating separatist unrest in eastern Ukraine
and NATO has urged it to pull back troops from near
the border with Ukraine. “The United States and
Ukraine have no reason to be worried,” the Russian
Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “Russia has
stated many times that it is not carrying out any
unusual or unplanned activity on its territory near the
border with Ukraine that would be of military
significance.”

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting
with members of the government at the Novo-
Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, April 9,
2014. Putin told state-controlled natural gas producer
Gazprom on Wednesday to hold off on demanding
Ukraine pay up front for natural gas supplies from
Russia.

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WoW ! Crisis in Ukraine

Russia’s defence minister told President Vladimir
Putin on Friday that all Ukrainian servicemen loyal to
Kiev had left Crimea and the Russian flag was flying
over all military sites on the Black Sea peninsula.
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Reuters Merkel raps Putin as Russian forces tighten
grip on Crimea Reuters Putin formally gets Crimea;
Ukraine, EU sign deal Associated Press Warships, war
planes and other military hardware seized by Moscow
will be returned to the Ukrainian army, Defense
Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin at meeting with
senior Russian military officers. “The recent events in
Crimea were a serious test,” Putin was quoted by
Russian news agencies as saying. “They
demonstrated both the completely new capabilities of
our Armed Forces and the high morale of the
personnel.” He praised Russian troops for “avoiding
bloodshed” in Crimea. (AP) Find more news related
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Friday, March 28, 2014
Members of the Ukrainian far-right radical group Right
Sector stand outside the parliament in Kiev March 28,
2014. Ukrainian authorities carried out an inspection
tour of Kiev’s bomb shelters on Friday as lawmakers
accused Russia of fomenting trouble in the Ukrainian
capital after having annexed the Black Sea region of
Crimea. The slogan on the face mask reads “Victory or
death”.

Source : Reuters

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