The Ukrainian government imposed martial law in vulnerable sections of the country for 30 days Monday; citing a growing threat from Russia and fearing the “extremely serious” threat of a full-fledged ground invasion.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko claimed the step was necessary to protect his nation’s sovereignty from Russian aggression after Moscow seized multiple Ukrainian navy vessels in recent days.
“Russia has been waging a hybrid war against our country for a fifth year. But with an attack on Ukrainian military boats it moved to a new stage of aggression,” Poroshenko said.
“The United States condemns this aggressive Russian action. We call on Russia to return to Ukraine its vessels and detained crew members, and to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.
Read the full report at Reuters.
LIBERAL AMNESIA: Kerry Slams TRUMP’S NATO Remarks, Said the SAME THING in 2016
Former Secretary of State John Kerry didn’t hold back while discussing the President’s fiery rhetoric at the 2018 NATO Summit this week; calling Trump’s remarks “disgraceful” despite saying similar comments himself back in 2016.
Kerry unloaded on the Commander-in-Chief over his “destructive” statements regarding Germany’s Nord II gas pipeline agreement with Russia, with Trump slamming the deal as dangerous to NATO.
“I think it’s very sad when Germany makes a massive oil and gas deal with Russia where — we’re supposed to be guarding against Russia and Germany goes out and pays billions and billions of dollars a year to Russia,” Trump said.
My thoughts on President Trump's remarks in Brussels this morning: pic.twitter.com/x0k3k0lOkA
— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) July 11, 2018
Despite his phony outrage, Kerry made similar comments at a conference in May of 2016, slamming the same pipeline as a “dangerous” deal for Eastern European nations.
Secretary Kerry underscores U.S. view that Nord Stream II would have adverse impact in Europe pic.twitter.com/JA9ElOnMX9
— EnergyAtState (@EnergyAtState) May 4, 2016
“This project has provoked a very heated debate on both sides of the Atlantic. We are convinced it would absolutely have an adverse impact on the Ukraine, Slovakia, and Eastern Europe,” said Kerry regarding the pipeline.
Biden: Nord Stream 2 pipeline is a 'bad deal' for Europe https://t.co/hQdMT6yvJ0 pic.twitter.com/DQYxZ1IebR
— Reuters UK (@ReutersUK) August 25, 2016
Watch Kerry’s comments above.
TRUMP STRIKES BACK: White House SLAMS RUSSIA with Sanctions Over Election Meddling
The Trump administration slammed Russia with new sanctions Thursday as a direct response to the Kremlin’s involvement in interfering with the 2016 US presidential election; escalating the war of words between the US and Russia as relations between the two nations continue to deteriorate.
The White House unveiled new sanctions against five Russian-backed institutions and at least 19 foreign nationals for meddling in US electoral politics; raising the stakes just hours after the US and its European allies accused Putin of assassinating a former spy on British soil.
“These sanctions target a wide range of Russia’s destabilizing activities, including interference in the 2016 U.S. election,” said one official from the Treasury Department.
”We continue to be very focused … on pressuring Russia for its continued efforts to destabilize Ukraine, occupy Crimea, meddle in elections, as well as for its endemic corruption and human rights abuses,” they added.
The new sanctions come as President Trump -joined by the leaders of France, the UK, and Germany- formally accused Russia of a deadly gas attack inside the United Kingdom this week; killing a former spy and endangering the lives of hundreds of British nationals.
h/t Daily Mail