Ukraine citizens were never allowed to see the home of their president, until today…..

Families, protestors and the media stream into presidential residence outside Kiev pic.twitter.com/EZ9vXMZgsy

— Emma Wells (@Emmawells1) February 22, 2014

(Via Weaselzippers)  We’ve heard a lot about how protesters were upset with President Yanukovych’s choice to align with Russia rather than the EU. But there also was a lot of upset with regard to the perceived corruption in the Yanukovych administration.

His residence was not even made public until today. Now it has been occupied by the protesters who want to preserve it as a “Monument Of Corruption”.

Here are some of the pictures from the residence and grounds:

With security abandoned, people of #Kyiv finally see estate of President #Yanukovych. pic.twitter.com/RARCrPlQOt via @gruppa_voina

— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) February 22, 2014

(more…)

Report #1 – Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Friday announced early presidential elections and promised to bring opposition members into the government in a bid to defuse a deep crisis in which scores have been killed and hundreds injured. (link)

Report #2 – Ukraine’s president gave in to pressure from European diplomats and offered concessions Friday to defuse a crisis that has divided his country and left scores dead. Shots rang out near Kiev’s protest camp and protesters fought among themselves about what to do next. (more…)

Yes, it has actually come to pass.   Uno Cero firmly in command.

In the era of President Milli Vanilli, a man wildly proclaimed (by leftists) to be the smartest President ever; a man who won a Nobel Peace Prize just for showing up; a man who would heal the planet and stem the rising tides; a man who would improve United States international influence…..

….. now recognized as a man who can’t even get another country to pick up the phone.

Yes, ye sheeple of Democrat association, this is your guy. Mr. Hope and Change himself – President Milli Vanilli in the White House.    Hoax n Chains.

WASHINGTON DC – Ukraine Defense Minister Pavel Lebedev has refused to take multiple phone calls made personally by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, the Pentagon said Thursday.

“Secretary Hagel has been trying, himself, since early this week,” Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters. Lebedev refuses “to communicate, to accept a phone call” from Hagel or the Pentagon. (more…)

Things have gone from bad to worse….  Some amazing earlier pictures and recap of the events HERE

UKRAINE – A short-lived truce crumbled Thursday as gunfire erupted at Independence Square, the center of anti-government protests and an increasingly violent crisis that threatens catastrophe for this divided nation.

The head of the protesters’ medical service said 100 people died and 500 were injured in clashes on Thursday, just hours after the government declared a truce in fighting that had shocked world leaders with the deaths of 28 people two days before.

The Ukrainian government has not released its own casualty figures, but Interior Minister Vitali Zakharchenko said 25 police officers had been wounded and an unspecified number of them had died. Some others had been taken hostage, he said. (more…)

At the time of this writing it is 1:10 am in Kiev. Reports now claim 18 civilian opposition protestors have been shot dead by police. The government appears to have fire-bombed the Headquarters of the opposition movement.  Things are spiraling toward slaughter:

At least 20 killed and more than a thousand wounded #Euromaidan protesters as of now. Hospitals in #Kyiv are packed

— Myroslava Petsa (@myroslavapetsa) February 18, 2014

https://twitter.com/PzFeed/statuses/435918573786382336

(more…)

The White House will turn a heated tent on its frigid South Lawn into a Monet-inspired gala fit for a French president on Tuesday, the highlight of a two-day state visit to Washington by Francois Hollande.

Bone appétit! pic.twitter.com/vuXRoKEnGY

— First Lady- Archived (@FLOTUS44) February 11, 2014

President Barack Obama invited Hollande for the state visit to highlight the long relationship between the two countries. The two leaders have worked together on responding to Iran’s nuclear program, Syria’s civil war and insurgent attacks in Mali. (continue reading)

It appears the Sochi winter Olympic venue is quite a mess.    Hotel rooms missing beds and some still under construction as guests arrive.   Some of the pictures being shared on twitter are quite funny.   You can follow HERE

https://twitter.com/SochiProblems/status/431120611264303105

https://twitter.com/SochiProblems/status/431086821737365504

https://twitter.com/SochiProblems/status/430800007298424833

(more…)

The articulation of the rebel alliance captured:

For the value within the backstory GO HERE

We’re not too well versed in Ukrainian politics so we enjoy the perspectives of readers with family, friends to help us understand.   However, we do know the general modus operandi of the Russian political maneuvering; and Yanukovych going to the hospital for a mystery illness is a commonly used strategy.   Generally a hard-line push by the government follows the “illness”.   Perhaps use of the Ukrainian Army is about to take place. 

[BBC]  Protesters in Ukraine have rejected the terms of a new amnesty law aimed at ending the country’s unrest.

Kiev’s parliament backed an amnesty plan for detainees if protesters vacated the government buildings they have occupied and unblocked streets and squares throughout the country.

The Question Remains – WHY NO MAINSTREAM U.S. COVERAGE ?

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov resigned on Tuesday in a bid to ease Ukraine’s deadly two-month crisis as lawmakers debated key reforms.

“I have taken a personal decision to ask the president of Ukraine to accept my resignation from the post of prime minister with the aim of creating an additional possibility for a political compromise to peacefully resolve the conflict,” he said in a statement. (link)

Juxtaposition: