Russia Rules Out Handing Back Crimea, Expands War Games

[Purveyor]

Source: REUTERS

By Timothy Heritage and Darya Korsunskaya
MOSCOW Tue Mar 17, 2015 1:29pm EDT

(Reuters) - Russia ruled out handing Crimea back to Ukraine on Tuesday and a Defense Ministry official said nuclear-capable long-range bombers were being sent to the Black Sea peninsula as part of war games.

The huge military exercises, in which the Northern Fleet was put on full alert on Monday and will range from the Arctic to the Black Sea, appear to be a show of force and defiance on the anniversary of the annexation of Crimea.

Russia's parliament approved the annexation on March 21 last year after Russian forces took control of the peninsula, which is home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet, and residents backed joining the Russian Federation in a referendum.

Dismissing a U.S. pledge to keep economic sanctions in place on Russia over the annexation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "Crimea is a region of the Russian Federation and of course the subject of our regions is not up for discussion."

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/17/us-ukraine-crisis-crimea-russia-idUSKBN0MD0Z220150317

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Russia Expands Northern Fleet's Snap Drills to Norwegian Sea

20:36 17.03.2015(updated 21:03 17.03.2015)
28140

SEVEROMORSK (Sputnik) — The number of naval task groups deployed in Northern Fleet's snap drills has been increased to five, while their operational zone has been expanded to the Norwegian Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

"The commanding staff of the Northern Fleet has decided to build up the contingent involved in training missions to defend Russia's borders in the Arctic," the ministry said in a statement.

"The contingent originally deployed in the Barents Sea has been increased to five combined-arms naval task groups," the statement said.

According to the ministry, the operational zone of Russian warships during the exercises will be expanded to several areas of the Norwegian Sea.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered to bring the country’s Northern Fleet to full alert in a snap combat readiness exercise that originally included 38,000 military personnel, 3,360 pieces of equipment, 41 ships, 15 submarines, and 110 airplanes and helicopters.

more...

http://sputniknews.com/military/20150317/1019626481.html

[Blue_Tires]

1. Now it's just a matter of who blinks first

DUers will have to choose a side sooner or later...

[DetlefK]

2. I noticed something scary: All those Putin-fans on DU... disappeared.

Where have they gone? I hope, they are alright.

[Purveyor]

4. I know of a couple of them that have been censored from posting on this forum

by its dysfunctional 'jury system' farce.

Certainly not what one would expect on a 'democratic' forum, indeed.

[geek tragedy]

5. they should have gone west instead of east nt

[cstanleytech]

10. How do figure that exactly?

I thought that the jury system only would prevent someone from posting to a thread if they got locked not that it would lock someone from posting on the DU as a whole?

[Demeter]

6. I've been working, Comrade

Not lazing around on the Internet....

[Cayenne]

7. War jingos have run the "Putinistas" out of here

[elias49]

9. Don't be scared. There are plenty of sensible people still around.

As for the OP, it doesn't surprise me that Russia is in the midst of 'war games'.
Another thread I was reading last night describes the show of force by the US, essentially in Russia's back yard.
How can anyone be surprised or offended by Russian alarm and distrust?
Come on. Be realistic.

[Fred Sanders]

3. So the war drums keep beating and the American masses are told to hate yet again....boom...boom..

Scary is how easy demonization can happen in a nation with a homogenous war-loving Press.

[cstanleytech]

11. *shrug* Putin likes the beat I guess.

So far at least its largely a solo beat and most of the nations opposing Putin's invasion are restricting there response to economic sanctions.

[Fred Sanders]

12. The pro-corporate media, pro-war agenda folks seem to have thinned as peace had taken hold in Ukraine.

[Diclotican]

8. Purveyor

Purveyor

The whole snap drills who the russian navy for the moment are making in the Norwegian sea, is maybe as a result of what they are seen as a "Provocation step" from Norway - and from NATO - who for the moment is doing a military exercises, who NATO, and Norway by the way have been told Russia about mounts in the past - as a way to make sure it would be less insecurity on the Russian side of the border - to make sure "misunderstandings" will be a more easy defused than it was before...

I suspect it is a way to make sure NATO is on its toes - when Russia can muster 38.000 soldiers, parts of the Northern fleet - and to show the flag in the Norwegian sea, who NATO look as their own parts of the sea... It is a form of psyk-ops where the russian government - is able to check if their forces is up to what is expected from them - and also to show off how heir military proveness... Both for the "home front" but also to show the same proveness against NATO - who I suspect have a lot of intel equipment in the area now - both in the air, on and under the sea - to get as much intel as possible about how the russians is fearing with their ships, and other equipments....


I do not think we should make more out of it, than it is - a form of psyk-op where both sides is showing some of their cards - and showing the flag so to say against the opponent... And it is a way for the russian military to show how mighty they have become - after Russia have spent billions of rubbles, and dollars onto the military services - the Navy have for a long time been modernized - and rebuild - in many cases more or less from scratch - but even then, a lot of old ships are still in service - sometimes going back to the Soviet times even - specially in the case of submarines - who was designed back in the "good old days" when the Northern Fleet was some to respect and fear for NATO... And I suspect that a lot of new equipment have been build - and is now in service - been tried out for the first time in realistic conditions..

And I suspect - when it is all over - both sides will have tonnes of new information about the capacities the other side have - both NATO and Russia...

Diclotican