So Obama Announces New Sanctions Against Russia Over Ukraine Crisis and Malaysian flight
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it's not being discussed in the media so it didn't happen.
Here's What To Expect From A Possible Russian Invasion Of Ukraine
Sergei Karpukhin/REUTERS
Russian servicemen march during the Victory Day Parade in Moscow's Red Square May 9, 2014.
John Schindler
John Schindler is a Professor at the Naval War College; Chair, PfP CT Working Group; Senior Fellow, Boston University, and former NSA & NAVSECGRU. All writings here represent the author’s views alone, and certainly not those of the Naval War College or the U.S. Department of Defense.
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Putin's Elite Counter-Terror Troops Have An Insane Training Regimen
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Today NATO stated that Russia has amassed about 20,000 battle-ready troops near the border of eastern Ukraine and stands ready to intervene in the war raging around Donetsk and Luhansk, where Russian-backed paramilitaries are losing ground to Kiev's forces.
Ukraine has been making slow yet steady progress in its “anti-terrorist operation” against Moscow’s proxies in eastern Ukraine. It’s now clear that if the Kremlin does not directly intervene in the conflict — beyond the artillery support from across the border that the Russian military has been providing its paramilitaries for weeks — it’s likely that the “Donetsk People’s Republic” (DNR) and the “Luhansk People’s Republic” (LNR) will soon unravel altogether.
NATO has warned that Moscow may send troops across the border under the guise of a humanitarian or peacekeeping mission — observers have spotted Russian military vehicles near the border pre-painted with “peacekeeping” insignia — in a Putinesque version of the “Responsibility to Protect” (R2P) doctrine that the Obama administration cited in its 2011 Libya intervention.
While the Ukrainian military has made considerable progress against DNR and LNR forces, it must be kept in mind that Moscow’s proxies represent a third-rate force of mercenaries and volunteers, mostly with antiquated weaponry, some dating to the 1940s, under the guidance of Russian military intelligence (GRU).
Fighting against Russian regular forces would present Kiev with a far greater challenge — not least because the Ukrainian media is replete with tales of woe from government forces fighting around Donetsk and Luhansk.
Ukraine Isn't Prepared For An Invasion
Ukraine is now paying the price for more than twenty years of neglect of its armed forces after independence in 1991.
Logistics are a mess, supplies of even ammunition are haphazard, and Ukrainian forces are rife with Russian spies. Officers as senior as a major general have been arrested for passing classified information about troop deployments to Moscow.
Worse, the standards of training are inadequate, with many volunteers dispatched to the front with minimal refresher time. It’s no exaggeration to state that most Ukrainian army units are learning to fight by fighting. Against DNR and LNR militias, such on-the-job improvisation has worked more often than not, but against elite Russian forces it will invite disaster.
From the outset in any clash, Moscow’s forces will enjoy considerable fire superiority in artillery — long a Russian forte — and airpower. High losses among Ukrainian air force units in close air support missions during the conflict indicate an alarming inexperience. It is to be expected that the Russian air force will sweep Ukrainian opponents from the skies, at least around Donetsk and Luhansk, with relative ease.
One wonders how well mostly green Ukrainian ground units will withstand hard pummeling by artillery and air strikes.
While NATO says there are fifteen or more battalion battle-groups of Russian ground forces and 20,000 or so men poised to invade, the true number may well be higher, given longstanding Kremlin acumen in denial and deception, what the Russians call maskirovka.
The actual figure may be closer to 40,000 troops within a short distance of the Ukrainian frontier.
Gleb Garanich/Reuters
Irregular fighters like this pro-Russian separatist may soon be joined by the Kremlin's professional soldiers.
Russia's Best Ground Forces
Latest information indicates that these battle-groups are drawn from Russia’s best ground forces: the 4th Tank and 2nd Motorized Rifle Divisions, the 76th and 106th Airborne (VDV) Divisions and the 31st VDV Brigade, the 23rd Motor Rifle Brigade, plus unidentified units of Naval Infantry (i.e. Marines), and experienced GRU special forces (SPETSNAZ).
Many of these units contributed to the Kremlin’s near-bloodless seizure of the Crimea in the spring and should be considered the best that Russia has. Most of these combat units are composed of professionals, not conscripts. By and large, Ukraine’s improvised forces are no match for them.
Russian readiness is the outcome of serious, long-overdue reforms commenced in 2008 under then-Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov that aimed to produce a smaller, more professional, and combat-ready army. Missteps in the brief 2008 Georgia war demonstrated continuing problems with the Russian military that needed fundamental repair.
After that conflict, Russia no longer based its ground forces on a mass-mobilization model, opting instead for higher-readiness units better able to respond to regional crises. Given the vast sums Moscow has spent on its military in recent years, it would be unwise to underestimate its combat prowess when fighting close to home, as in Ukraine, with the support of a Russian public that is supercharged with nationalism and eager to settle scores with the “Nazis” ruling in Kiev.
That said, conquering Southeastern Ukraine — to say nothing of creating “Novorossiya” by driving along the Black Sea coast to establish a bridgehead to Transdnistria, as Russian nationalists advocate openly — is a very different proposition than taking Crimea.
Not only would this operation be vastly greater in size and scope, but Ukrainian forces can be expected to resist mightily.
Not A Question Of Will
The capability, not will, of Kiev's forces in defense of their country is the question, following months of Moscow’s depredations and dirty dealing. While Ukrainian forces will lose the fight for Donetsk and Luhansk if the Russians invade, this will be no cakewalk, and Moscow would be very unwise to think that it will be.
Having lost Crimea, the Ukrainian public is in no mood to give in to the Kremlin without stiff resistance.
If Moscow intervenes openly in Southeastern Ukraine, it will start a war it cannot win. Conquering territory is one thing; pacifying it, in the face of serious resistance, is quite another, as the U.S. military discovered in Iraq less than a decade ago.
Russia’s new model army lacks the manpower it once possessed, and by creating a smaller, more professional force, Moscow has made the occupation of Ukraine impossible without a large-scale mobilization that may not be popular with the Russian public — particularly as casualty rolls expand rapidly.
Moscow no longer has that many large, Napoleonic-type battallions. As the Russian defense analyst Aleksandr Golts recently explained, “Even if the Kremlin has managed to mass approximately 40,000 servicemen on Ukraine’s borders, this is absolutely insufficient for occupation. Absolutely no fewer than 100,000 men and officers would be required for this. But we simply don’t have them.”
Unless Vladimir Putin wants to embroil Russia in a protracted war for Ukraine that will bear no resemblance to the walkover Anschluss with Crimea, he would be well advised to reconsider invasion. This will no longer be Special War, but a real war — one which may not be possible to limit to Ukraine.
In Ukraine, it’s clear that Putin is reluctant to back down in the face of Western economic pressure, scoldings, and admonitions. After all, consistently doubling-down has worked well for him many times in the past.
I have no crystal ball, but if we learn in a few days, perhaps this weekend, that Russian “peacekeepers” are moving by the battalion into Southeastern Ukraine, you won’t count me among the surprised.
Read more: http://20committee.com/2014/08/06/if-putin-invades-ukraine/#ixzz39e58JuCl
- AUG. 6, 2014, 12:42 PM
- 1,926
- 7
Sergei Karpukhin/REUTERS
Russian servicemen march during the Victory Day Parade in Moscow's Red Square May 9, 2014.
John Schindler
John Schindler is a Professor at the Naval War College; Chair, PfP CT Working Group; Senior Fellow, Boston University, and former NSA & NAVSECGRU. All writings here represent the author’s views alone, and certainly not those of the Naval War College or the U.S. Department of Defense.
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Today NATO stated that Russia has amassed about 20,000 battle-ready troops near the border of eastern Ukraine and stands ready to intervene in the war raging around Donetsk and Luhansk, where Russian-backed paramilitaries are losing ground to Kiev's forces.
Ukraine has been making slow yet steady progress in its “anti-terrorist operation” against Moscow’s proxies in eastern Ukraine. It’s now clear that if the Kremlin does not directly intervene in the conflict — beyond the artillery support from across the border that the Russian military has been providing its paramilitaries for weeks — it’s likely that the “Donetsk People’s Republic” (DNR) and the “Luhansk People’s Republic” (LNR) will soon unravel altogether.
NATO has warned that Moscow may send troops across the border under the guise of a humanitarian or peacekeeping mission — observers have spotted Russian military vehicles near the border pre-painted with “peacekeeping” insignia — in a Putinesque version of the “Responsibility to Protect” (R2P) doctrine that the Obama administration cited in its 2011 Libya intervention.
While the Ukrainian military has made considerable progress against DNR and LNR forces, it must be kept in mind that Moscow’s proxies represent a third-rate force of mercenaries and volunteers, mostly with antiquated weaponry, some dating to the 1940s, under the guidance of Russian military intelligence (GRU).
Fighting against Russian regular forces would present Kiev with a far greater challenge — not least because the Ukrainian media is replete with tales of woe from government forces fighting around Donetsk and Luhansk.
Ukraine Isn't Prepared For An Invasion
Ukraine is now paying the price for more than twenty years of neglect of its armed forces after independence in 1991.
Logistics are a mess, supplies of even ammunition are haphazard, and Ukrainian forces are rife with Russian spies. Officers as senior as a major general have been arrested for passing classified information about troop deployments to Moscow.
Worse, the standards of training are inadequate, with many volunteers dispatched to the front with minimal refresher time. It’s no exaggeration to state that most Ukrainian army units are learning to fight by fighting. Against DNR and LNR militias, such on-the-job improvisation has worked more often than not, but against elite Russian forces it will invite disaster.
From the outset in any clash, Moscow’s forces will enjoy considerable fire superiority in artillery — long a Russian forte — and airpower. High losses among Ukrainian air force units in close air support missions during the conflict indicate an alarming inexperience. It is to be expected that the Russian air force will sweep Ukrainian opponents from the skies, at least around Donetsk and Luhansk, with relative ease.
One wonders how well mostly green Ukrainian ground units will withstand hard pummeling by artillery and air strikes.
While NATO says there are fifteen or more battalion battle-groups of Russian ground forces and 20,000 or so men poised to invade, the true number may well be higher, given longstanding Kremlin acumen in denial and deception, what the Russians call maskirovka.
The actual figure may be closer to 40,000 troops within a short distance of the Ukrainian frontier.
Gleb Garanich/Reuters
Irregular fighters like this pro-Russian separatist may soon be joined by the Kremlin's professional soldiers.
Russia's Best Ground Forces
Latest information indicates that these battle-groups are drawn from Russia’s best ground forces: the 4th Tank and 2nd Motorized Rifle Divisions, the 76th and 106th Airborne (VDV) Divisions and the 31st VDV Brigade, the 23rd Motor Rifle Brigade, plus unidentified units of Naval Infantry (i.e. Marines), and experienced GRU special forces (SPETSNAZ).
Many of these units contributed to the Kremlin’s near-bloodless seizure of the Crimea in the spring and should be considered the best that Russia has. Most of these combat units are composed of professionals, not conscripts. By and large, Ukraine’s improvised forces are no match for them.
Russian readiness is the outcome of serious, long-overdue reforms commenced in 2008 under then-Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov that aimed to produce a smaller, more professional, and combat-ready army. Missteps in the brief 2008 Georgia war demonstrated continuing problems with the Russian military that needed fundamental repair.
After that conflict, Russia no longer based its ground forces on a mass-mobilization model, opting instead for higher-readiness units better able to respond to regional crises. Given the vast sums Moscow has spent on its military in recent years, it would be unwise to underestimate its combat prowess when fighting close to home, as in Ukraine, with the support of a Russian public that is supercharged with nationalism and eager to settle scores with the “Nazis” ruling in Kiev.
That said, conquering Southeastern Ukraine — to say nothing of creating “Novorossiya” by driving along the Black Sea coast to establish a bridgehead to Transdnistria, as Russian nationalists advocate openly — is a very different proposition than taking Crimea.
Not only would this operation be vastly greater in size and scope, but Ukrainian forces can be expected to resist mightily.
Not A Question Of Will
The capability, not will, of Kiev's forces in defense of their country is the question, following months of Moscow’s depredations and dirty dealing. While Ukrainian forces will lose the fight for Donetsk and Luhansk if the Russians invade, this will be no cakewalk, and Moscow would be very unwise to think that it will be.
Having lost Crimea, the Ukrainian public is in no mood to give in to the Kremlin without stiff resistance.
If Moscow intervenes openly in Southeastern Ukraine, it will start a war it cannot win. Conquering territory is one thing; pacifying it, in the face of serious resistance, is quite another, as the U.S. military discovered in Iraq less than a decade ago.
Russia’s new model army lacks the manpower it once possessed, and by creating a smaller, more professional force, Moscow has made the occupation of Ukraine impossible without a large-scale mobilization that may not be popular with the Russian public — particularly as casualty rolls expand rapidly.
Moscow no longer has that many large, Napoleonic-type battallions. As the Russian defense analyst Aleksandr Golts recently explained, “Even if the Kremlin has managed to mass approximately 40,000 servicemen on Ukraine’s borders, this is absolutely insufficient for occupation. Absolutely no fewer than 100,000 men and officers would be required for this. But we simply don’t have them.”
Unless Vladimir Putin wants to embroil Russia in a protracted war for Ukraine that will bear no resemblance to the walkover Anschluss with Crimea, he would be well advised to reconsider invasion. This will no longer be Special War, but a real war — one which may not be possible to limit to Ukraine.
In Ukraine, it’s clear that Putin is reluctant to back down in the face of Western economic pressure, scoldings, and admonitions. After all, consistently doubling-down has worked well for him many times in the past.
I have no crystal ball, but if we learn in a few days, perhaps this weekend, that Russian “peacekeepers” are moving by the battalion into Southeastern Ukraine, you won’t count me among the surprised.
Read more: http://20committee.com/2014/08/06/if-putin-invades-ukraine/#ixzz39e58JuCl
BREMMER: Invading Eastern Ukraine Is Clearly Putin's Plan B
REUTERS/Yuri Kochetkov
Russian President Vladimir Putin during a ceremony unveiling a World War One monument at the Poklonnaya Gora War Memorial Park in Moscow on Friday.
NATO is now concerned that Russian President Vladimir Putin could use "the pretext of a humanitarian or peace-keeping mission as an excuse" to invade eastern Ukraine with the 20,000 combat-ready Russian troops amassed near the border.
That's certainly one option for Vladimir Putin, although it would come at a steep cost.
"Direct invasion still isn't Putin's preferred policy," geopolitical expert Ian Bremmer of the Eurasia Group told Business Insider in an email. "It will be costly/bloody, will drive the Europeans closer to the U.S. on sanctions, the southeast Ukrainian population will be hardened in opposition to Moscow (where right now they're split and more sympathetic), and the Russian population as a whole — very supportive of Putin's Ukraine policy — opposes it."
Nevertheless, "it's clearly Plan B, and Putin recognizes he needs the option," Bremmer continued. "Adding troops to the border, stepping up military exercises, and calling for humanitarian support is first and foremost an effort to back [Ukrainian PresidentPetro] Poroshenko away from an all out assault on Donetsk and Luhansk."
Ukraine's army has been making steady gains in the weeks after Russian-backed separatists shot down a civilian airliner on July 18. Ukrainian troops now appear to be readying a siege on the rebel-held stronghold of Donetsk, and Luhansk is nearly surrounded by Ukrainian soldiers.
NSDC
Bremmer says Putin's primary preference is to play the long game, which involves training and arming separatists to "keep up the military pressure on Ukraine, add to that an economy that's ever closer to collapse, and force a deep federalist outcome that formalizes Russian influence over the country."
However, continued success by Ukraine's army in rebel-held areas would change Putin's calculations.
"I could easily see the separatists calling for international peacekeepers to protect them from a 'humanitarian crisis' — and Putin, having himself called for cease-fires and humanitarian missions to protect the ethnic Russians on the ground (who he's been providing weapons to), then responding to their request," Bremmer said. "Keep in mind, Putin formally 'respected' the outcome of their referenda, just as he 'respected' the outcome of the Ukrainian elections."
The Russian Foreign Ministry has already offered to take an "active role" to address the humanitarian crisis in Donbas, which includes the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine (as well as parts of southwest Russia). Russian vehicles with "peacekeeping" insignia arealready near the border, The Interpreter reports.
And the fact that Moscow respected the referendums in Donetsk and Luhansk means that Putin could say that Russian troops were not actually entering Ukrainian territory.
Consequently, Russian troops may be able to invade without a unified response from the rest of world.
"Then what? The U.S. would consider that an invasion. But would the Europeans? There are a great many that would like to equivocate," Bremmer said. "And of course, the rest of the BRICS [Brazil, India, China, and South Africa] won't touch any of it."
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/brem...is-clearly-putins-plan-b-2014-8#ixzz39e5QVssA
- AUG. 6, 2014, 1:32 PM
- 5,621
- 27
REUTERS/Yuri Kochetkov
Russian President Vladimir Putin during a ceremony unveiling a World War One monument at the Poklonnaya Gora War Memorial Park in Moscow on Friday.
NATO is now concerned that Russian President Vladimir Putin could use "the pretext of a humanitarian or peace-keeping mission as an excuse" to invade eastern Ukraine with the 20,000 combat-ready Russian troops amassed near the border.
That's certainly one option for Vladimir Putin, although it would come at a steep cost.
"Direct invasion still isn't Putin's preferred policy," geopolitical expert Ian Bremmer of the Eurasia Group told Business Insider in an email. "It will be costly/bloody, will drive the Europeans closer to the U.S. on sanctions, the southeast Ukrainian population will be hardened in opposition to Moscow (where right now they're split and more sympathetic), and the Russian population as a whole — very supportive of Putin's Ukraine policy — opposes it."
Nevertheless, "it's clearly Plan B, and Putin recognizes he needs the option," Bremmer continued. "Adding troops to the border, stepping up military exercises, and calling for humanitarian support is first and foremost an effort to back [Ukrainian PresidentPetro] Poroshenko away from an all out assault on Donetsk and Luhansk."
Ukraine's army has been making steady gains in the weeks after Russian-backed separatists shot down a civilian airliner on July 18. Ukrainian troops now appear to be readying a siege on the rebel-held stronghold of Donetsk, and Luhansk is nearly surrounded by Ukrainian soldiers.
NSDC
Bremmer says Putin's primary preference is to play the long game, which involves training and arming separatists to "keep up the military pressure on Ukraine, add to that an economy that's ever closer to collapse, and force a deep federalist outcome that formalizes Russian influence over the country."
However, continued success by Ukraine's army in rebel-held areas would change Putin's calculations.
"I could easily see the separatists calling for international peacekeepers to protect them from a 'humanitarian crisis' — and Putin, having himself called for cease-fires and humanitarian missions to protect the ethnic Russians on the ground (who he's been providing weapons to), then responding to their request," Bremmer said. "Keep in mind, Putin formally 'respected' the outcome of their referenda, just as he 'respected' the outcome of the Ukrainian elections."
The Russian Foreign Ministry has already offered to take an "active role" to address the humanitarian crisis in Donbas, which includes the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine (as well as parts of southwest Russia). Russian vehicles with "peacekeeping" insignia arealready near the border, The Interpreter reports.
And the fact that Moscow respected the referendums in Donetsk and Luhansk means that Putin could say that Russian troops were not actually entering Ukrainian territory.
Consequently, Russian troops may be able to invade without a unified response from the rest of world.
"Then what? The U.S. would consider that an invasion. But would the Europeans? There are a great many that would like to equivocate," Bremmer said. "And of course, the rest of the BRICS [Brazil, India, China, and South Africa] won't touch any of it."
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/brem...is-clearly-putins-plan-b-2014-8#ixzz39e5QVssA
Report: Russia to block US agricultural imports
By JIM HEINTZ 1 hour ago
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday hit back hard against countries that have imposed sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, ordering trade cuts that an official said would include a ban on all imports of agricultural products from the United States.
The full list of products to be banned or limited for up to one year is to be published Thursday. But the state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Alexei Alexeenko of Russia's plant and veterinary oversight service as saying "from the USA, all products that are produced there and brought to Russia will be prohibited."
Alexeenko also was quoted as saying he thinks all fruits and vegetables from European Union countries will also be banned.
The move follows the latest round of sanctions against Russia imposed by the EU last week, which for the first time targeted entire sectors of the Russian economy.
President Barack Obama said in a news conference Wednesday that U.S. sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine are straining the Russian economy, which has "ground to a halt."
The U.S. and the EU have accused Russia, which annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March, of fomenting tensions in eastern Ukraine by supplying arms and expertise to a pro-Moscow insurgency, and have imposed asset freezes and loan bans on a score of individuals and companies.
View gallery
A woman is picking apples to buy at 1.99 zlotys (euro 0.47) per kilogram at a supermarket in Warsaw, …
White House spokeswoman Laura Lucas Magnuson decried the move, saying "Retaliating against Western companies or countries will deepen Russia's international isolation, causing further damage to its own economy."
Russia depends heavily on imported foodstuffs — most of it from the West — particularly in the largest and most prosperous cities such as Moscow. Food and agricultural imports from the U.S. amounted to $1.3 billion last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and in 2013 the EU's agricultural exports to Russia totaled 11.8 billion euros ($15.8 billion).
Putin's order says the limits are being imposed "with the goal of guaranteeing the security of the Russian Federation" and calls for undertaking measures to guard against quick price hikes.
The order appears to show that Russia, although increasingly suffering the effects of Western sanctions, is disinclined to back down on Ukraine. Russia denies allegations that it is supporting the Ukrainian rebels or supplying them with equipment and has rejected claims that its artillery has been firing from across the border.
As tensions over Ukraine rise, a respected newspaper this week cited unnamed sources as saying Russia is considering closing its airspace to European carriers flying to Asia. The report sent the stocks of some airlines sharply lower.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday said he wouldn't comment on "rumors" of airspace being closed, but said "our Western partners should think about their companies and their citizens," the Interfax news agency reported.
Russia last week banned the import of apples and some other fruits from Poland, saying this was because of sanitary concerns, but raising speculation that the move was in retaliation for Poland's support of the Ukrainian authorities.
__
Josh Lederman and Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report.
By JIM HEINTZ 1 hour ago
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday hit back hard against countries that have imposed sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, ordering trade cuts that an official said would include a ban on all imports of agricultural products from the United States.
The full list of products to be banned or limited for up to one year is to be published Thursday. But the state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Alexei Alexeenko of Russia's plant and veterinary oversight service as saying "from the USA, all products that are produced there and brought to Russia will be prohibited."
Alexeenko also was quoted as saying he thinks all fruits and vegetables from European Union countries will also be banned.
The move follows the latest round of sanctions against Russia imposed by the EU last week, which for the first time targeted entire sectors of the Russian economy.
President Barack Obama said in a news conference Wednesday that U.S. sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine are straining the Russian economy, which has "ground to a halt."
The U.S. and the EU have accused Russia, which annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March, of fomenting tensions in eastern Ukraine by supplying arms and expertise to a pro-Moscow insurgency, and have imposed asset freezes and loan bans on a score of individuals and companies.
View gallery
A woman is picking apples to buy at 1.99 zlotys (euro 0.47) per kilogram at a supermarket in Warsaw, …
White House spokeswoman Laura Lucas Magnuson decried the move, saying "Retaliating against Western companies or countries will deepen Russia's international isolation, causing further damage to its own economy."
Russia depends heavily on imported foodstuffs — most of it from the West — particularly in the largest and most prosperous cities such as Moscow. Food and agricultural imports from the U.S. amounted to $1.3 billion last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and in 2013 the EU's agricultural exports to Russia totaled 11.8 billion euros ($15.8 billion).
Putin's order says the limits are being imposed "with the goal of guaranteeing the security of the Russian Federation" and calls for undertaking measures to guard against quick price hikes.
The order appears to show that Russia, although increasingly suffering the effects of Western sanctions, is disinclined to back down on Ukraine. Russia denies allegations that it is supporting the Ukrainian rebels or supplying them with equipment and has rejected claims that its artillery has been firing from across the border.
As tensions over Ukraine rise, a respected newspaper this week cited unnamed sources as saying Russia is considering closing its airspace to European carriers flying to Asia. The report sent the stocks of some airlines sharply lower.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday said he wouldn't comment on "rumors" of airspace being closed, but said "our Western partners should think about their companies and their citizens," the Interfax news agency reported.
Russia last week banned the import of apples and some other fruits from Poland, saying this was because of sanitary concerns, but raising speculation that the move was in retaliation for Poland's support of the Ukrainian authorities.
__
Josh Lederman and Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report.
Putin hits back with ban on food from sanction nations
By Dmitry Zaks
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a local administration meeting as he visits Voronezh on August 5, 2014 (AFP Photo/Alexey Druzhinin)
Moscow (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday slapped one-year bans and limits on food and agricultural imports from nations that have imposed sanctions on Russia over its defiant stance on Ukraine.
The decision marks yet another escalation in a furious diplomatic standoff that has seen Russia slip into growing international isolation and the onset of what some US media are calling a "new Cold War".
It also threatens to send the price of Russian food soaring and feed public discontent with an economic slowdown that analysts partly blame on Putin's perceived backing of pro-Kremlin insurgents in eastern Ukraine.
Putin had earlier promised to shield consumers from the effects of any retaliatory steps he would take against the West for its painful new measures against Russia.
The Kremlin said in a statement that Putin's executive decree "either bans or limits... the import into the Russian Federation of certain kinds of agricultural products, raw materials and food originating from countries that have decided to adopt economic sanctions against Russian entities and (or) individuals."
Russia's Rosselkhoznadzor agricultural sector watchdog said it would publish its list of recommendations by Thursday evening.
Sources at the agency told Russian state media that the list would include all fruits and vegetables produced in the 28 EU nations. The ban would also cover US chicken and other agricultural goods.
State statistics show Russia having imported about a third of its food from abroad in the past decade.
Some of those deliveries have come from ex-Soviet nations with strong ties to Moscow. But Russia's expanding middle class has also become accustomed to fancier packaged imports from Europe lining their grocery shelves.
- 'Significant costs' for Russia -
Russia has already halted some food imports from a range of European countries as well as Ukraine.
But Moscow had previously denied that the measures were in any way linked to punishing new financial restrictions imposed by EU nations and the United States on top state companies and officials with close links to Putin.
The latest punitive steps forbid companies in Europe and the United States from striking future deals in Russia's vital oil and arms sectors.
Top state-held firms have seen their access to Western borrowing markets severely restricted and face a possible freeze on trade of their shares on both European and New York exchanges.
The volatility has stemmed the flow of Western investment into Russia and forced the Kremlin to search for new alliances with China and even nations such as Iran.
Moscow's Vedomosti business daily said the Russian government was considering whether to strike back at the European Union by placing a total or partial ban on its airlines' flights over Siberia to Asia.
"Given the escalatory atmosphere, we expect Russia to take measures in the security arena, and steps against US and EU firms," the Eurasia Group political risk consultancy said in a report.
The Western sanctions are expected to send Russia's fragile economy to the brink of a recession by the end of the year.
"The scenario of retaliation entails significant costs to the Russian economy," the London-based Capital Economic consultancy said in a research note.
"In the short term, the economy would fall into a deep recession, with output contracting by 2-3 percent."
- Shift to Latin America -
But the West's increasingly strict approach has so far failed to soften Putin or force him to call on the separatist militias fighting Kiev forces since April to lay down their arms.
NATO this week said Russia had boosted its military presence along its western neighbour's border to 20,000 from 12,000.
The Western measures also seems likely to push Russia into a closer alliance with emerging Latin American and Asian powers such as China and Brazil that have notably failed to criticise Putin's latest display of military and diplomatic might.
Russia's agricultural sector watchdog late on Wednesday lifted temporary restrictions it had earlier place on Brazilian poultry and meat.
The agency's head also intends to meet the ambassadors of four Latin American countries on Thursday to discuss new deliveries that could help replace Western products and keep Russian prices from spiking.
By Dmitry Zaks
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a local administration meeting as he visits Voronezh on August 5, 2014 (AFP Photo/Alexey Druzhinin)
Moscow (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday slapped one-year bans and limits on food and agricultural imports from nations that have imposed sanctions on Russia over its defiant stance on Ukraine.
The decision marks yet another escalation in a furious diplomatic standoff that has seen Russia slip into growing international isolation and the onset of what some US media are calling a "new Cold War".
It also threatens to send the price of Russian food soaring and feed public discontent with an economic slowdown that analysts partly blame on Putin's perceived backing of pro-Kremlin insurgents in eastern Ukraine.
Putin had earlier promised to shield consumers from the effects of any retaliatory steps he would take against the West for its painful new measures against Russia.
The Kremlin said in a statement that Putin's executive decree "either bans or limits... the import into the Russian Federation of certain kinds of agricultural products, raw materials and food originating from countries that have decided to adopt economic sanctions against Russian entities and (or) individuals."
Russia's Rosselkhoznadzor agricultural sector watchdog said it would publish its list of recommendations by Thursday evening.
Sources at the agency told Russian state media that the list would include all fruits and vegetables produced in the 28 EU nations. The ban would also cover US chicken and other agricultural goods.
State statistics show Russia having imported about a third of its food from abroad in the past decade.
Some of those deliveries have come from ex-Soviet nations with strong ties to Moscow. But Russia's expanding middle class has also become accustomed to fancier packaged imports from Europe lining their grocery shelves.
- 'Significant costs' for Russia -
Russia has already halted some food imports from a range of European countries as well as Ukraine.
But Moscow had previously denied that the measures were in any way linked to punishing new financial restrictions imposed by EU nations and the United States on top state companies and officials with close links to Putin.
The latest punitive steps forbid companies in Europe and the United States from striking future deals in Russia's vital oil and arms sectors.
Top state-held firms have seen their access to Western borrowing markets severely restricted and face a possible freeze on trade of their shares on both European and New York exchanges.
The volatility has stemmed the flow of Western investment into Russia and forced the Kremlin to search for new alliances with China and even nations such as Iran.
Moscow's Vedomosti business daily said the Russian government was considering whether to strike back at the European Union by placing a total or partial ban on its airlines' flights over Siberia to Asia.
"Given the escalatory atmosphere, we expect Russia to take measures in the security arena, and steps against US and EU firms," the Eurasia Group political risk consultancy said in a report.
The Western sanctions are expected to send Russia's fragile economy to the brink of a recession by the end of the year.
"The scenario of retaliation entails significant costs to the Russian economy," the London-based Capital Economic consultancy said in a research note.
"In the short term, the economy would fall into a deep recession, with output contracting by 2-3 percent."
- Shift to Latin America -
But the West's increasingly strict approach has so far failed to soften Putin or force him to call on the separatist militias fighting Kiev forces since April to lay down their arms.
NATO this week said Russia had boosted its military presence along its western neighbour's border to 20,000 from 12,000.
The Western measures also seems likely to push Russia into a closer alliance with emerging Latin American and Asian powers such as China and Brazil that have notably failed to criticise Putin's latest display of military and diplomatic might.
Russia's agricultural sector watchdog late on Wednesday lifted temporary restrictions it had earlier place on Brazilian poultry and meat.
The agency's head also intends to meet the ambassadors of four Latin American countries on Thursday to discuss new deliveries that could help replace Western products and keep Russian prices from spiking.