premeditated actions aimed at destabilizing Ukraine; Xinjiang prisons

11-28-18  

A Ukrainian sailor, second right, is escorted by Russian intelligence agency FSB officers from a court in Simferopol, Crimea, on Nov. 28, 2018. (AP)

  Russia’s illegal blockade and closure of the Kerch Strait on Sunday and its violent seizure of three Ukrainian ships are clear violations of international law and of bilateral Ukrainian-Russian agreements.  Unlike the Russians’ 2014 illegal annexation of Crimea and their undeclared war in Eastern Ukraine, this was not an ambiguous, deniable attack by “little green men” without insignias; it was a direct act of aggression by Russia’s navy and security services against a sovereign state that was acting within its rights in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, whose waters are shared by Russia and Ukraine.  These actions can only be seen as premeditated actions aimed at destabilizing Ukraine in the run-up to Ukraine’s 2019 elections and crippling its economy.    https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2018/11/28/will-trump-let-russia-take-azov-sea/?utm_term=.6ee75f9e0d8c
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11-30-18  The video shows a complex with various buildings in the Yining area of Xinjiang, each four stories tall.  The windows are barred and also have netting.  Each exit is monitored by three surveillance cameras.  The inside of the buildings are highly reminiscent of typical prisons.

“Each room has double iron doors, and the outermost iron door also has guard railing and a keypad lock.  Up to 15 people can live in each dorm. Surveying has also revealed that each floor holds 28 dorm rooms and three classrooms,” the Bitter Winter reported.  https://www.yenisafak.com/en/world/chinas-vocational-camps-employ-draconian-measures-use-360-degree-surveillance-in-washrooms-3467901
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11-30-18   WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate has passed a measure which “strongly condemns” Russia’s attack on the Ukrainian navy in the Kerch Strait — and called on the President to do likewise.

The upper chamber approved the resolution by unanimous consent late Thursday....The Kremlin, the resolution reads, must “immediately release all Ukrainian crew members and vessels and to cease its harassment of Ukrainian and international shipping transiting the Kerch Strait.”

The Senate also accuses Moscow of “destabilizing for the entire region” and inviting further escalations. The upper chamber also reaffirmed support for Ukraine’s people and territorial integrity.

The Senate Armed Services Committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Jack Reed, on Tuesday called on Trump to cancel the meeting with Putin, announce new sanctions against Russia, and call for the immediate return of the vessels and crewmen, “instead of giving Putin a free pass.”  https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2018/11/30/us-senate-rebukes-russia-attack-on-ukraine-ships-urges-trump-to-follow-suit/
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11-30-18   Russia plans to restrict the passage of foreign warships in the Arctic Ocean next year, a top defense official has said.

Russia has worked hurriedly to reassert its military presence in the Arctic frontier and secure access to a strategic northern shipping corridor — the Northern Sea Route — between Asia and Europe. The corridor takes about two weeks less to traverse than the Suez Canal.   https://themoscowtimes.com/news/russia-will-restrict-foreign-warships-in-arctic-ocean-defense-official-says-63672
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11-29-18   The new radar station — which will be able to track ballistic and cruise missiles from a long distance — will be built near the port of Sevastopol, Crimea where Russia's Black Sea fleet is based, the source told the news agency.  https://themoscowtimes.com/news/russia-to-build-new-missile-early-warning-radar-station-in-crimea-63648
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Saudi Arabia spent more than $24 million to influence U.S. foreign policy and public opinion during the 2018 election cycle, according to Department of Justice data made available through CRP's Foreign Lobby Watch tool….In a bipartisan 63-37 vote on Wednesday the Senate opted to move forward with legislation calling for an end to all U.S. military support to the Saudi-led coalition in the Yemen war.  https://www.dailysabah.com/americas/2018/11/30/us-senators-who-tried-to-shoot-down-yemen-war-bill-paid-by-saudi-lobbyists-report-claims