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Hi guys, it's Monday which of course means it's the Monday Show. And because there's
been so much going down in Ukraine over the weekend, we thought we'd make this week's
show a Ukraine special. Coming up we'll be taking a look at Russia
invading Ukraine which won its independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991, what
other world leaders and politicians have had to say about this, including one with an extremely
short memory, what Russia's been saying in response, why the head of the Ukrainian Navy
has been fired for treason, and Poland mobilising tanks on its border with Ukraine.
Plus of course, we have your comments. So first up the biggest news from the weekend
is undoubtedly the fact that on Sunday, Russia invaded the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine,
and has now managed to assume complete operational control of the region without a single bullet
being fired. On Saturday, the Russian president Vladimir Putin won official backing from his
parliament to enter Ukraine and the following day sent in 6,000 air and ground troops. Although
some Ukrainian soldiers were still caught in a stand-off with Russian troops while we
were making this video, Russia had surrounded several military bases in the area and occupied
key installations, such as airports. Worryingly, some mobile phone services are
also reported to have been blocked. This full-scale invasion came a few days after
armoured vehicles and troops first began arriving in the Crimean peninsula, where the majority
of Ukrainians are Russian speakers and where Moscow has a naval base. These troops didn't
have insignia on their uniforms and Russia said they were simply local volunteers, but
their vehicles had Russian military plates and they were well-armed.
Exactly what Russia's intentions are now is unclear. The United States has admitted that
it could be part of a wider invasion and men across Ukraine have reportedly been receiving
call-up papers and will start reporting for training in ten days.
And now it's time for your comments. On our video about Australia's treatment of
asylum seekers, Watchdog said this: China talking about the treatment of refugees,
wtf!? If you take a look at our video on North Korea's
human rights crimes from a couple of weeks back, in which we talk about China's treatment
of North Korea defectors, you might understand Watchdog's surprise.
And on our video asking whether this is the end of Bitcoin, GoshirnGaming said this: I
don't think this is the end, I think this is a new page on Bitcoin's and other currencies
life, we must fail so we can learn how to succeed.
But back to Ukraine and that small issue of a Russian invasion.
Unsurprisingly, western leaders and politicians aren't too happy about Russia invading its
neighbour. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has accused
Putin of breaking international law, and during a phone call with the US President Barack
Obama reportedly said she was not sure if Putin was in touch with reality and said he
was "in another world". However, her spokesman stressed today that
it wasn't too late to resolve the crisis by political and peaceful means.
Meanwhile the Australian government has summoned the Russian ambassador to explain his country's
actions, the US are trying to persuade other countries to impose economic sanctions on
Russia, and the British prime minister David Cameron has said his government will be boycotting
the upcoming Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia.
But it was a warning from John Kerry, the US Secretary of State yesterday, that really
left us with our jaws on the floor. Speaking on CBS' "Face the Nation" news programme,
Kerry said this: "You just don't in the 21st century behave
in 19th century fashion by invading another country on completely trumped up pretext."
Well we're not sure about you, but this got us thinking about another time in the 21st
century when a country was invaded on a so-called "trumped up pretext"...
Iraq anyone? Earlier today the Russian foreign ministry
said Kerry's remarks contained threats against Russia and were "unacceptable," while the
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov called on his country's western partners to "put
aside geopolitical calculations" and put "the interests of the Ukrainian people first".
And in other Ukraine news, the head of the country's navy has been fired for treason
after refusing to fight the Russians and instead surrendering the navy's headquarters in the
Crimean city of Sevastopol. This video, released on YouTube, reportedly
shows former Navy Chief Rear Admiral Denis Berezovsky defecting to the Crimea region.
Oh and not to mention that Poland has begun moving tanks and troops to positions along
its border with Ukraine. Although Poland says this is all just part of a "previously scheduled
exercise". Phew. Well that's probably just about all
we can take for one day but as always you can let us know your thoughts on all of this
in the comments below and we'll see you again next Monday. And if you want to know more
about the background to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, links should be appearing on the
screen right now.