Above and beyond: ISIS; general/civil wars in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, Somalia, Gaza/Israel; daily confrontations between China and a slew of nations in the South China Sea; the possibility of the United Kingdom no longer being united for the first time in centuries before week’s end; and an Ebola outbreak in West Africa that’s establishing new world records on a daily basis; today, as war still rages in eastern Ukraine, 200 U.S. troops will start participating (along with 1,100 other western troops from 14 other NATO member-nations) in annual military exercises near the city of Yavoriv, in western Ukraine.
So--in what certainly qualifies as one of this diarist’s greatest understatements of the year—this should be an interesting week.
”Coincidentally,” yesterday, it was announced that NATO had commenced delivery of a substantial supply of weapons to the nation’s capital, Kiev, approximately 300 miles east of Yavoriv.
Of course…
1.) The C.I.A. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty story, linked in the first paragraph of this brief post, tells us: “The drills will take place September 15-26 in Yavoriv, Ukraine, and will not involve the live firing of weapons.”
2.) We’re informed by Reuters (see story link, immediately above) that NATO “…will not send ‘lethal assistance’ to non-member Ukraine but member states may do so.” And…
3.) There have only been a few major flare-ups in eastern Ukraine over the past week. Also noted by Reuters, there’s a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, which has been in place for eight days.
Clearly, this is just a 1,300-strong NATO force playing with G.I. Joe® dolls and board games such as Risk® and Battleship®, right?
Dear fellow mollified citizens, please remember that all of the information we’re reading, linked both above and below, is factual, and that’s because the U.S. government tells us so. (Our MSM would never lie to all of us patriotic American citizens about grave matters such as this, except when they do, which—nowadays, officially and legally--is whenever they feel like it.)
Here are excerpts from three of the stories, linked above…
Military Exercises Involving 1,300 Western Troops To Start In Ukraine
By Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
September 15, 2014
Military exercises involving some 1,300 personnel from 15 nations are due to begin in western Ukraine on September 15.
The Pentagon has said 200 U.S. soldiers will participate in the annual exercise, called Rapid Trident.
It will mark the first presence of U.S. ground troops in Ukraine since Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea in March and the crisis that followed.
The drills will take place September 15-26 in Yavoriv, Ukraine, and will not involve the live firing of weapons…
…
…Poroshenko said he and Merkel "expressed concerns about violations of the cease-fire," which went into effect on September 5.
The two leaders spoke after a fresh violation of the truce was reported in the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk.
According to the French AFP news agency, heavy shelling was heard around the city's airport where Ukrainian troops have been holding out against rebel attacks.
The Donetsk City Council said there had been civilian casualties and described the situation in the city as "critical" but gave no further information.
Kyiv accused the rebels of jeopardizing the truce by intensifying their attacks on government positions.
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NATO countries have begun arms deliveries to Ukraine: defense minister
Reuters
KIEV Sun Sep 14, 2014 6:24pm EDT
(Reuters) - Ukraine's defense minister said on Sunday that NATO countries were delivering weapons to his country to equip it to fight pro-Russian separatists and "stop" Russian President Vladimir Putin…
…
…NATO officials have said it will not send "lethal assistance" to non-member Ukraine but member states may do so.
Earlier this month, a senior Ukrainian official said Kiev had agreed on the provision of weapons and military advisers from several members of the U.S.-led alliance. Four of the five countries named, including the United States, denied this.
"We reached agreements in closed talks, without media, about ... those weapons that we currently need," said Heletey, who said Ukraine needed weapons "that could stop Putin".
"I have no right to disclose any specific country we reached that agreement with. But the fact is that those weapons are already on the way to us - that's absolutely true, I can officially tell you," he said…
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Hmmm… “… regular but sporadic violations, especially in key flashpoints such as Donetsk…” (which is where a great deal of the fighting has occurred, all along).
Ukraine PM slams Putin, ceasefire again under strain in east Ukraine
By Gareth Jones and Anton Zverev
KIEV/DONETSK Ukraine Sat Sep 13, 2014 7:40pm EDT
(Reuters) - Fighting flared near an airport in eastern Ukraine on Saturday in breach of a fragile eight-day ceasefire as the prime minister accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of planning to destroy his country.
Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said only membership of NATO would enable Ukraine to defend itself from external aggression.
Kiev and its Western backers accuse Moscow of sending troops and tanks into eastern Ukraine in support of pro-Russian separatists battling Ukrainian forces in a conflict that has killed more than 3,000 people. Russia denies the accusations.
A ceasefire negotiated by envoys from Ukraine, Russia, the separatists and Europe's OSCE security watchdog, has been in place in eastern Ukraine since Sept. 5 and is broadly holding despite regular but sporadic violations, especially in key flashpoints such as Donetsk.
On Saturday afternoon, a Reuters reporter heard heavy artillery fire in northern districts of Donetsk, the largest city of the region with a pre-war population of about one million. He saw plumes of black smoke above the airport, which is in government hands. The city is controlled by the rebels.
Speaking at a conference in Kiev attended by Ukrainian and European lawmakers and business leaders on Saturday, Yatseniuk made clear he did not view the ceasefire as the start of a sustainable peace process because of Putin's ambitions…
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