2014 Ukrainian Maidan Revolt: News, Views, Photos & Videos

kwaigonegin said:

Cher? they should've used Justin Bieber but Putin may just authorize the use of WMDs in that case.

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in testing on Getmo detainees Justin Bieber songs cause mass murder suicides.

delft said:

I think the main sanction will be a refusal by the US to make use of the Northern Network for transport of people and cargo to and from Afghanistan.

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Sorry that just doesn`t make sense.Its the US transporting goods not Russia!

STOP THE INAPPROPRIATE, DISTASTEFUL, AND INCITING REMARKS

There will probably be warnings and suspensions over this...it is uncalled for an wholly not in keeping with forum rules

Blackstone said:

John Kerry announced the US gives Russia till Monday (17 March) to "reverse course in Ukraine." Given Obama's track record with red lines in Syria, how serious do you suppose Putin will view the ultimatum? My guess is not so much

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I have faith that the Obama administration and the relevant agencies and allies have took the time to figure out the details for targeted sanctions on Russia and fast tracking Russian periphery nations as new members into the EU and/or NATO, including but not limited to the Ukraine in whatever form. The economic side is what's intended to hurt while the political side is to keep the PR/hearts and minds pressure up.

nkvd said:

Sorry that just doesn`t make sense.Its the US transporting goods not Russia!

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Surely the Russians earn money from this transport?

Russia says intercepted US drone over Crimea: arms group

Moscow (AFP) - A United States surveillance drone has been intercepted above the Ukranian region of Crimea, a Russian state arms and technology group said Friday.

"The drone was flying at about 4,000 metres (12,000 feet) and was virtually invisible from the ground. It was possible to break the link with US operators with complex radio-electronic" technology, said Rostec in a statement.

The drone fell "almost intact into the hands of self-defence forces" added Rostec, which said it had manufactured the equipment used to down the aircraft, but did not specify who was operating it.

"Judging by its identification number, UAV MQ-5B belonged to the 66th American Reconnaissance Brigade, based in Bavaria," Rostec said on its website, which also carried a picture of what it said was the captured drone.

The photograph appeared to show an apparently armed drone in flight, rather than debris.

The Crimean port of Sevastopol is home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet, which is believed to be equipped with detection equipment.

Crimea, where pro-Kremlin forces have control, is to hold a referendum on Sunday on the peninsula joining Russia, in what Moscow says is a fair expression of self identity but the West views as an illegal annexation of sovereign territory.

MQ5 is not unique to the US. Hunter is Israeli in origin. it's a fairly old bird.

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The Voice of Russia said:

An American scout-attack drone was intercepted in the Crimean sky, the Rostec state corporation reports. "Judging by side marking, the MQ-5B drone was part of the 66th US brigade of military intelligence with the main location in Bavaria," the report on the website of the corporation reads.

According to the report, at the beginning of March, the American brigade was relocated to the Ukrainian Kirovohrad, from where drones commit reconnaissance raids in the direction of Crimea and Russian border areas.

Earlier, they reportedly appeared in the Kherson region, in the area of the Crimean roadblock Chongar. "According to some data, the American reconnaissance brigade had 18 MQ-5B drones in its arsenal. This is the second time the American UAV is intercepted over Crimea," the report says.

"The drone was at the height of about 4 thousand meters and was practically invisible from the earth. It was possible to break the drone’s link with its American operators with the help of the EW (electronic warfare) complex Avtobaza. As a result, the device made an emergency landing and passed into the possession of the self-defense forces almost unbroken," the report says

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This was first announced 2-3 hours ago. Many news outlets that are starting to pick it up are showing a Predator drone with their report of this story, which is absolutely incorrect. The picture above is of the MQ-5B Hunter.

The Russians indicate that they have the drone "almost unbroken."

I do not believe that any official US military unit is performing active recon over Crimea's airspace out of the Ukraine right now. That's not to say one did not attempt it from elsewhere. The Russians have not produced a photo of this captured aircraft yet, so I will await such confirmation before saying that this report is absolutely true.

Russia being more formidable we might see things tested closer to a real war environment. Maybe why an older platform was used. Interesting to see if more advanced technology testing the waters.

Hunter users include the US, France and Belgium. It's fairly close in configuration to a number of other UAV's that are very common