Are there people in refugee camps around the world waiting to come into Australia, but the ones who come here on boats get processed first, and take up Australia's quota?

So because they're fleeing a country in ruins they should automatically just accept living in a second world country because it's better than where they came from?

Soo Ukraine threatening to split in two....aren't Ukrainians basically ethnic Russian anyway, isn't that where the rus started.

Soo Ukraine threatening to split in two....aren't Ukrainians basically ethnic Russian anyway, isn't that where the rus started.

Ukraine tells Russia to back off as Crimea tensions, secession fears deepen

Ukraine's parliament demanded Friday that Russia halt any activity which can be interpreted as an attack on sovereign Ukrainian territory, and stop support for any separatist actions in Ukraine.

The parliament also stressed that Ukraine's constitution guarantees human rights for all in Ukraine, including those of Russian nationality.

The vote was held as fears mount that Ukraine's Russian-majority Crimea region may seek to secede, and amid government concerns over Russia's activities there.

Armed men in uniforms stood guard outside the main airport in Crimea on Friday, but reports conflicted on whether they had taken control of the facility -- and who they are.

Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov accused Russian forces of staging an "armed invasion" in the Black Sea peninsula, claiming they had blocked one military air base and entered an airport overnight.

Avakov, writing on his Facebook page, said Russia's actions in Crimea were "an armed invasion and occupation," and "a direct military provocation on sovereign Ukrainian territory."

As the war of words heats up, the status of the men at the airport remains unclear.

"We are checking to make sure that no radicals come to Crimea from Kiev, from the Ukraine," said one man, who didn't give his name.
"We don't want radicals, we don't want fascism, we don't want problems."

Meanwhile, Russia continues snap military exercises on Ukraine's doorstep and has reportedly given sanctuary to ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, on the run since Saturday.

Since Yanukovych was kicked out, following bloody public protests, Ukraine has been showing a deepening schism.

Those in the west generally support the country's interim government and its tilt toward the European Union.

And many in the east prefer things as they were -- a Ukraine where its larger neighbor, Russia, casts a long shadow.

And nowhere is that feeling more intense than in Crimea, which has an ethnic Russian majority. It's the last big bastion of opposition to the new political leadership. And there are fears that tensions in the autonomous region might escalate into a bid for separation by its Russian majority, who fear oppression under the new government in Kiev.

Ousted President to speak

Yanukovych, who has not been seen since his ouster, is now in Russia, where authorities have accepted his request for security, according to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency. It attributed the information to anonymous government sources.

He is expected to give a news conference Friday in the southwestern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, near the border with Ukraine.

He has already rejected Ukraine's newly appointed unity government, saying he is still the country's legitimate elected leader, so his reappearance may only fuel the rising tensions in Crimea.

Voting out the premier

On Thursday, dozens of armed men seized government administration buildings in Simferopol, the Crimean capital. They planted Russia's flag atop the parliament building.

Then, in a vote of no-confidence, pro-Russian members of the Crimean parliament dismissed the government of Premier Anatolii Mohyliov, who was perceived as pro-Kiev.

The lawmakers also scheduled a referendum on greater autonomy for the region within Ukrainian territory.

The date of the referendum? May 25 -- the day Ukraine is scheduled to hold its presidential and local elections.

Conflicting reports

Next came the contradictory reports Friday -- both in Russian media -- about the developments at Simferopol airport.
Some news sites said the airport had been seized by pro-Russian gunmen. RIA Novosti said it spoke to airport staffers who refuted the assertion.
Amid the dizzying developments, Kiev has gone about its business of governing.
On Thursday, lawmakers approved opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk as Prime Minister. He made clear that he believes the country's future rests in closer ties to Europe, not Russia.
Immediately, Yanukovych condemned the interim government as illegitimate.

Russian maneuvers

As tensions simmer in the Crimea, Russia alarmed some observers by announcing surprise military exercises Wednesday in its western and central areas.

Those continue Friday, Russia's Defense Ministry said, with more than 80 combat helicopters set to take to the skies in Russia's Western Military District, which borders Ukraine, for search and rescue drills.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel warned Thursday against provocations by any party and said the United States was keeping a sharp eye on Russia in light of its recent moves.

"I'm closely watching Russia's military exercises along the Ukrainian border," he said. "I expect Russia to be transparent about these activities, and I urge them not to take any steps that could be misinterpreted or lead to miscalculations."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had told him the snap military exercises were pre-scheduled and unrelated to the events in Ukraine.

He also said Lavrov had reaffirmed to him a commitment that Russia would "respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine."
Kerry said that was a commitment Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously made to President Barack Obama when they spoke last week.

Ukraine demanded Thursday that Russian troops stationed at Russia's Black Sea naval base in the Crimean port of Sevastopol remain on their base.

Crimea was handed to Ukraine by the Soviet Union in 1954. Just over half its population is ethnic Russian, while about a quarter are Ukrainians and a little more than 10% are Crimean Tatars, a predominantly Muslim group oppressed under former Soviet leader Josef Stalin.

Getting pretty serious.



http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/28/world/europe/ukraine-politics/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Edited by iridium1010: 28/2/2014 09:38:50 PM

Edited by iridium1010: 28/2/2014 09:43:14 PM

most eastern european nations that arent actually populated by mainly russians hate the russians because of the destruction the Soviet Union caused to their countries and the ensuing legacy

Generally speaking, Western Ukrainians identify themselves as Ukrainian - speak the Ukrainian language, hate Russia etc. Whereas, Eastern Ukrainians are generally more Russian in identity than Ukrainian - they don't even speak Ukrainian. In this regard, it's probably better for Ukraine to split in two (or three). Crimeans also see themselves as mainly Russian, but there's also the Tartars wanting to claim the peninsula as their own.

Ironically, the US/EU intervened to assist the Ukrainian separatists in order to weaken Russia, but this whole episode has likely strengthened Russia's interests, with a pro-Russian Crimean state.

Still haven't found it (officially)

They'll find it in the morning crashed in the ocean I reckon. Just wonder what the cause is.

Because they released a list of every passenger on board and where they were from. The Italian man saw his name and called his parents to say that he wasnt on the flight. The Austrian embassy also looked up and discovered that their citizen that was meant to be on board was not on board and lost his passport recently.