Vladamir, ya devil you - Some believed you. For the rest of us non believer- Yep- What a surprise
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/world/europe/russia-ukraine.html?ref=world
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN and ANDREW ROTHAPRIL 17, 2014
MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia emphasized on Thursday that the upper chamber of Parliament had authorized him to use military force if necessary in eastern Ukraine, and he asserted Russia’s historical claim to the territory in language not often used before, signaling a new and more aggressive policy.
Mr. Putin repeatedly
referred to eastern Ukraine as “New Russia” — as the area north of the Black Sea was known after it was conquered by the Russian Empire in the late 1700s.
He said only “God knows” why it became part of Ukraine in 1920.
Speaking in a televised question-and-answer show, Mr. Putin also admitted for the first time that Russian armed forces had been deployed in Crimea, the disputed peninsula Russia annexed last month immediately after a large majority of the population voted in a referendum to secede from Ukraine.
But he dismissed suggestions that Russian troops were behind the unrest in eastern Ukraine.
Point- Vlad- Some will believe ya.
Point- The Bear is still hungry.
During the question-and-answer show, Mr. Putin asserted that he had the authority to invade Ukraine, but said he hoped that it would not be necessary.
“I remind you that the Federation Council has given the president the right to use armed forces in Ukraine,” he said, referring to the upper house of Parliament. “I really hope that I do not have to exercise this right and that by political and diplomatic means we will be able to solve all of the sharp problems.”
Mr. Putin’s use of the historical term “Novorossiya” or “New Russia” to refer to southeastern Ukraine, which he had not emphasized previously, suggested that he was replicating Russia’s assertions of historical ties to Crimea before the occupation and annexation of the peninsula.
Point- The economy is tanking.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/17/w...sens-even-before-sanctions-hit.html?ref=world
Mr. Putin, who just lavished $50 billion on the Sochi Olympics, also must now absorb the costs of integrating Crimea, which economists and other experts say has its own sickly economy and expensive infrastructure needs. The economic costs have been masked by recent patriotic fervor but could soon haunt the Kremlin, as prices rise, wages stall and consumer confidence erodes.
Even before the Crimean episode, and the resulting imposition of sanctions by the West, Russia’s $2 trillion economy was suffering from stagflation, that toxic mix of stagnant growth and high inflation typically accompanied by a spike in unemployment. In Russia, joblessness remains low, but only because years of population decline have produced a shrunken, inadequate labor force.
In recent weeks, international and Russian banks have slashed their growth projections for 2014, with the World Bank saying the economy could shrink by 1.8 percent if the West imposes more sanctions over Ukraine. By some accounts, more than $70 billion in capital has fled the country so far this year and the main stock market index fell by 10 percent in March — and a dizzying 3 percent just on Tuesday over fears of greater Russian involvement in Ukraine.
