April 23, 2014 -- Updated 1839 GMT (0239 HKT)
U.S. Army paratroopers are moved to Poland -- the first of what will be a
"persistent presence" -- as Ukraine and Russia trade threats amid
renewed tensions. FULL STORY
U.S. troops in Poland as Ukraine crisis persists
April 23, 2014 -- Updated 2240 GMT (0640 HKT)
US troops touch down in eastern Europe
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: U.S. emphasizes commitment to Poland as troops arrive for joint exercises
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says "Americans are running the show" in Ukraine
- Ukraine deputy PM says militants in Kramatorsk, Slaviansk, Donetsk and Luhansk targeted
- Ukrainian Interior Ministry says local politician found dead was tortured, drowned
The company-sized contingent will conduct training exercises with Polish counterparts and is visiting at the request of Poland.
The joint exercises are a
symbol of force as the conflict in Ukraine between pro-government and
pro-Russian factions continues unabated. The United States and Russia
accuse each other of fomenting unrest in Ukraine.
The U.S. troops stood in
formation at an airfield next to Polish troops as military leaders from
both countries addressed them, reiterating the alliance between their
nations.
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"Poland has been there
for the United States, and today, as the transatlantic community
confronts Russia's unacceptable aggression against Poland's neighbor,
Ukraine, a sovereign and independent state, we have a solemn obligation
in the framework of NATO to reassure Poland of our security guarantee,"
said Stephen Mull, the U.S. ambassador to Poland.
The United States will maintain a presence in Poland at least through the end of the year, he said.
Russia has deployed what
NATO estimates to be 40,000 troops near its border with Ukraine,
something that has made other countries like Poland nervous.
The military exercises in
the Polish city of Swidwin are "a result of what's going on in
Ukraine," Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said Tuesday. "What
we're after here is persistent presence, a persistent rotational
presence."
Four companies of
paratroopers based in Italy will be sent to Poland, Lithuania, Latvia
and Estonia over the next few months for military exercises, he said.
Addressing the assembled
troops from the U.S. and Poland on Wednesday, U.S. Army Maj. Gen.
Richard C. Longo said the joint exercises are a manifestation of the
strong commitment the two countries have to each other.
"Despite the uncertainty
of the world and this region, I am certain of one thing about the
United States Army in Europe: We have the capacity, we have the
commitment, we have the will to fulfill our NATO obligations," he said.
Anti-terror measures in Ukraine
Pro-Russian militants
will be targeted in four key cities in Ukraine's restive east, Ukraine's
deputy prime minister said Wednesday.
"The active phase of the
anti-terrorist operation continues," Vitaliy Yarema was quoted as
saying by state-run news agency Ukrinform.
Militants in the four
cities -- Kramatorsk, Slaviansk, Donetsk and Luhansk -- have seized
government buildings and show no signs of giving them up despite an
international deal agreed to last week in Geneva, Switzerland.
On Tuesday, acting
President Oleksandr Turchynov also urged a renewal of anti-terror
measures after a truce called during the Easter holiday, citing the
discovery of two tortured bodies near Slaviansk -- one of them a
pro-Kiev politician from his own party.
Photos: Crisis in Ukraine
Where unrest has occurred in eastern Ukraine
A statement from a
pro-Russian leader in Slaviansk, de facto Mayor Vyacheslav Ponomaryov,
rejected Turchynov's claim and blamed the deaths on far-right Ukrainian
nationalist extremists.
Under the Geneva deal, illegal militia groups were to disarm and vacate occupied buildings, with an amnesty promised in return.
But the pact, aimed at
easing tensions in eastern Ukraine, appears to be faltering six days on,
with Kiev and Moscow accusing each other of failing to live up to its
commitments.
Meanwhile, the war of words continues.
Lavrov: Americans 'running the show'
Ukrainian and U.S.
officials say they think Russian special forces are in the region and
are behind efforts to seize government buildings and generally promote
unrest -- a claim Moscow denies.
On the contrary, Russian
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Russia's state-run RT news channel
Wednesday that the United States is calling the shots in Ukraine.
As proof of this, he
pointed to the timing of the Ukrainian government's relaunch of its
security operation, just after a two-day visit to Ukraine by U.S. Vice
President Joe Biden.
"Now that Joe Biden visited Kiev, this counterterrorist operation was declared in the active phase again," he told RT.
"I don't have any reasons not to believe that the Americans are running the show in a very close way."
Lavrov also said that Russia would "certainly respond" if its interests were attacked in Ukraine.
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"If our interests, our
legitimate interests, the interests of Russians have been attacked
directly, like they were in South Ossetia for example, I do not see any
other way but to respond in accordance with international law," he told
RT.
"Russian citizens being attacked is an attack against the Russian Federation."
Lavrov added that U.S.
involvement in Ukraine "is just one manifestation of the American
unwillingness to yield in the geopolitical fight. Americans are not
ready to admit that they cannot run the show in each and every part of
the globe from Washington alone."
Ukraine to request IMF loan
Prime Minister Arseniy
Yatsenyuk said Wednesday that the Cabinet has approved a formal request
to the International Monetary Fund for a loan, which would help
stabilize the economic situation in Ukraine. Yatsenyuk said he hoped to
receive the answer by the end of the month.
Ukraine's dire economic
situation has added to the pressures on the interim government ahead of
national elections due on May 25.
Speaking in Kiev on Tuesday, Biden said he expects an IMF package for Ukraine to be finalized imminently.
He also promised U.S. support for Ukraine and stressed that the United States won't recognize Russia's annexation of Crimea.
The United States also
promised Tuesday an additional $50 million to support political and
economic reform in Ukraine, including just over $11 million to help run
the elections next month.
In another sign of
international support for the government in Kiev, the Vatican said Pope
Francis would meet Yatsenyuk on Saturday in Rome. The prime minister
will meet afterward with the Vatican Secretary of State, Monsignor
Pietro Parolin.
American journalist held
An American journalist
working for Vice News is being held by pro-Russian separatists in
Slaviansk, Vice News said in a statement posted on its website Tuesday.
The international
channel said it is in contact with the U.S. State Department and other
appropriate government authorities to secure the release of Simon
Ostrovsky.
State Department
spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Wednesday, "We are deeply concerned about the
reports of a kidnapping of a U.S. citizen journalist ... reportedly at
the hands of pro-Russian separatists."
Such hostage takings violate the terms of the Geneva agreement, she said.
"We call on Russia to
use its influence with these groups to secure the immediate and safe
release of all hostages in eastern Ukraine," Psaki added.
Torture, detention allegations
Ukraine's Interior
Ministry said Wednesday that Vladimir Rybak, the politician found dead
near Slaviansk, died as a result of injuries from torture and drowning.
His body was discovered
Saturday, two days after witnesses said he was kidnapped by men in
military clothing and balaclavas, following an altercation with
protesters at the local city hall, the ministry said.
According to
investigators, representatives of a separatist group involved in seizing
the Security Service office in Slaviansk were also involved in
torturing him, the ministry said.
An adviser to the interior minister, Stanislav Rechinsky, also pointed the finger at pro-Russian separatists Wednesday.
"We already know the
location where the torture took place and where an unknown number of
kidnapped residents of Slaviansk and journalists are held captive," he
said at a news conference.
"We have eyewitnesses
who testified about hearing the so-called little green men bragging
about the murders. We have another eyewitness who saw these men alive in
the torture cells and who was able to escape."
The term "little green
men" has become widely used for the unidentified armed men who have
appeared in eastern Ukraine in recent days. Russia has denied they are
Russian military forces in uniforms that don't bear insignia.
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CRISIS FROM RUSSIA
Russian media on Ukraine -- does Kremlin control the autocue?
April 23, 2014 -- Updated 2122 GMT (0522 HKT)
Is Russia's nightly news diet skewed?
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Russian state media's message is that Ukraine risks a fascist takeover, Diana Magnay says
- Analyst Mikhail Troitsky says "fascist" is now applied to those who oppose Moscow's view
- Troitsky says a broader notion of patriotism portrays Crimea's annexation as a wrong righted
- But he says Russians support for foreign policy doesn't blind them to domestic issues
It shows the players on
the ground on loop. Unmasked, kindly looking pro-Russian separatists
against the background of the orange and black ribbon of St. George
ubiquitous symbol of pro-Russian sentiment and of Soviet military glory;
masked, authoritarian-looking Ukrainian state security against the
national flag; and finally a balaclava-clad ultra-nationalist against
the red and black flag of Ukraine's Pravvy Sektor (Right Sector) party
-- the ultimate bogeyman of the conflict, as far as Russia is concerned.
It's all part of the Kremlin narrative that Ukraine is at risk of a fascist takeover.
"Fascist is now being
used to designate all things obnoxious and bad in the Kremlin line of
argument so you call fascists those who allegedly seek to oppress the
Russian speaking population in Ukraine," says Moscow based political
analyst Mikhail Troitsky. "And in Russia domestically you have this
tendency of anyone who disagrees with the main line to be called a
fascist."
Media fates and fortunes
This talk, Troitsky says,
is all part of a broader notion of patriotism, carefully honed across
state media, which tapped into a swelling of national pride over the
Sochi Olympics and kept its momentum through Russia's annexation of
Crimea. It is a redefining of boundaries many Russians feel was a
historical injustice made right, the return of the peninsula to the
motherland.
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In this climate, some,
like the editor in chief of Dozhd TV, feel they face unusually strong
hounding if deemed unpatriotic. Dozhd TV -- one of Russia's few
independent media outlets -- was dropped by most cable operators a few
weeks ago after a poll it ran in a talk show.
"We asked the question,
was it necessary to give Leningrad to the Nazis for the sake of the
survival of the city," says editor in chief Mikhail Zygar. "Some viewers
felt that the question was insulting and in about 10 minutes our editor
of our website apologized and we deleted the question. But there was a
huge campaign against us, blaming us for insulting all the veterans of
the Leningrad siege."
Even as Zygar suspected
that the Kremlin was behind the cable operators' decision, President
Putin mentioned Dozhd in last week's question and answer session with
the nation - promising to do what he could to help. Shortly thereafter,
the cable operators said they were prepared to negotiate with Dozhd. A
sign of the sway the Kremlin has on media fates and fortunes.
Zygar says he's worried about a polarization of Russian society over the Ukraine crisis.
"They really see us as
traitors. And that's really worse. Because the new generation is coming,
that really believes that there is some kind of 5th column, some group
of Western -- as Castro used to say 'mercenarios' -- those people paid
by the Western countries who are working just to undermine the greatness
of Russia."
Sweep of history
Zygar believes Putin's
third term is characterized by a desire to place himself firmly within
the grand sweep of history. "Something like Peter the First or Catherine
the Great -- he wants to change the history of this country and be the
great statesman and liberator."
In the context of Ukraine, that appears to be working. According to opinion polls around the time of the Crimea referendum, some 70% of Russians approved of Putin's leadership.
The notion that
President Putin is taking care of the interests of all those associated
with the motherland in Russia's near abroad is falling on fertile soil.
It's on domestic issues -- such as housing and social welfare -- that
Troitsky says people aren't quite so prepared to accept the Kremlin's
story, which he believes is telling.
"Domestically I think
people are keenly aware of the issues they are facing with their daily
lives and I don't think it's easy to mislead them. But internationally I
think this nationalist feeling, this feeling of being strong is also
quite natural."
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