Posts Tagged ‘EuroMaidan’

Yanukovych Cracks Down On Euromaidan

Tuesday, February 18th, 2014

Police storm the Euromaidan barricades, several deaths reported.

More later.

Hillary Clinton | Victor Pinchuk | Viktor Yanukovych

Friday, February 14th, 2014

Well, this is interesting.

Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton have built a sprawling network of powerful friends around the globe, one that could aid Mrs. Clinton’s chances were she to seek the presidency. But those relationships often come with intersecting interests and political complications; few people illustrate that more vividly than the Ukrainian oligarch Victor Pinchuk.

A steel magnate and major contributor to the former president’s foundation, Mr. Pinchuk was in frequent contact with Mrs. Clinton’s State Department, at meetings arranged by a Clinton political operative turned lobbyist, Douglas E. Schoen.

Is Mr. Pinchuk politically collected in Ukriane? And how.

Mr. Pinchuk’s image is not without blemish: His father-in-law is Leonid Kuchma, who was president of Ukraine from 1994 to 2005 and led a government criticized for corruption, nepotism and the murder of dissident journalists. As president, Mr. Kuchma privatized a huge state steel factory and sold it to Mr. Pinchuk’s consortium for about $800 million, which competitors said was a laughably low price.

And who did Mr. Pinchuk’s father-in-law appoint Prime Minister?

That’s right: Viktor Yanukovych, current President of Ukraine and Putin toady.

Do Pinchuk and Yanukovych know each other?

I think that’s a safe assumption.

Victor and Viktor

Pinchuk backed Yanukovych in the 2004 election, but since then he appears to have broken away from Yanukovych and is a EuroMaidan backer. Maybe Pinchuk is on the side of the angels (even if only for business reasons). That Tablet piece also notes his Jewish roots and says he’s the second richest man in Ukraine.

But I thought it was a connection worth noting. Mr. Pinchuk is an interesting figure, and it’s interesting that he’s in Hillary’s circles of associates. And I’m not sure it’s a good thing for potential presidential candidates to pal around with foreign oligarchs…

Ukraine Update for January 28, 2014

Tuesday, January 28th, 2014

The good news from Ukraine: most of the totalitarian laws suppressing free speech have been repealed and prime minister Mykola Azarov has resigned.

The bad news: brutal thug and Putin toady Viktor Yanukovych is still President, and opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko is still imprisoned.

Says one writer in the Moscow Times:

The Yanukovych administration is marked by two main features. First, Yanukovych is essentially a small-time criminal, and such people have a unique profile. They are typically rather dull, always looking for an opportunity to steal and incapable of anticipating the long-term consequences of their actions.

Second, Ukraine is actually ruled by Yanukovych’s eldest son and his friends — all filthy rich. Since coming to power, Yanukovych has fired all of his original associates and alienated his initial sponsors, such as oligarchs Rinat Akhmetov and Dmytro Firtash.

Current map of the situation:

Other Ukraine/Euromaidan news

  • A look inside the brutal Berkut riot police. “While other security and law enforcement agencies have undergone reform in the years since the Orange revolution, Ukraine’s police remain largely unchanged.”
  • EU actually getting pissed off over Russian meddling in Ukraine.
  • Putin responds by threatening to withdraw his offer of $15 billion in bailout funds if Yanukovych is deposed.
  • Tymoshenko’s most recent statement.
  • An open letter from Ukrainian writer Yuri Andrukhovych:

    During the less than four years of its rule, Viktor Yanukovych’s regime has brought the country and the society to the utter limit of tensions. Even worse, it has boxed itself into a no-exit situation where it must hold on to power forever – by any means necessary. Otherwise it would have to face criminal justice in its full severity. The scale of what has been stolen and usurped exceeds all imagination of what human avarice is capable.

  • More photos.
  • On a lighter note, all I could think of when viewing this pic was “Ukraine’s furry contingent has joined the fight for freedom!”

    Ukraine Update for January 23, 2014

    Thursday, January 23rd, 2014

    What’s going on in Ukraine right now? Good question. The situation is probably best described as “fluid.”

    A ceasefire has been reached. I don’t think this would happen unless President Viktor Yanukovych is worried he might lose the showdown.

    Protesters stormed three governor’s offices, one of whom resigned.

    A good summary of the situation, including the role of Yanukovych’s Berkut stormtroopers, the neutrality (so far) of the army, and the fractured nature of the opposition.

    From that I’ve also stole this video of the Berkut in action:

    More Berkut:

    Ukraine police leaving the force?

    Ukraine police torture naked protester in the cold?

    Heh:

    Ted Cruz has condemned the crackdown and called on all branches of the United States government to support the opposition.

    So what have Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry said about the latest crises in Ukraine? As far as I can tell: Nothing. Indeed, the Ukraine office of the State Department has issued only mild, per-forma tut-tutting.

    This is the most important foreign policy question in the world right now, and they’re asleep at the switch.

    Or maybe they just don’t care.

    Finally, here’s a Euromaidan livestream:

    And another:

    Other livestreams can be found here.

    Five Dead in Ukraine

    Wednesday, January 22nd, 2014

    And the hammer came down.

    Hot on the heels of Yanukovych’s rubberstamp parliament passing numerous dictatorial laws, he decided it was time to clean up these filthy peasants protesting for democracy and closer ties to Europe. (Background here.)

    Twitter and Facebook have reportedly been blocked in Kiev:

    The government is tracking protesters using their cell phones.

    Radio Free Europe coverage.

    Search Twitter for #Euromaiden.

    Video:

    They even cracked down on that notorious violent, subversive organization, The Red Cross:

    Some photos from Twitter:

    Honestly, the protestors should consider that it’s time to stop burning tires, and start burning secret police headquarters….