Part Two: Russia takes on Ukraine (BB you will love this!)

[Martinus]

Medvedev lambasts Ukraine leader
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has made a scathing attack on Ukraine's president, accusing him of "anti-Russian" behaviour.

In a videoblog message on the Kremlin website, Mr Medvedev said he would delay sending a new ambassador to Kiev until relations improved.

Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko has forged close links with the EU, US and Nato since coming to power in 2004.

He is expected to run for re-election in Ukraine in January.

In the videoblog, Mr Medvedev commented on a letter he had sent to Mr Yushchenko recently, which he said was "no routine matter".

He accused Mr Yushchenko of having supplied Ukrainian weapons to the Georgian forces who "killed civilians and Russian peacekeepers in Tskhinvali" during the South Ossetia conflict a year ago.

He also accused Mr Yushchenko of bypassing Russia in Ukrainian energy deals with the EU "concerning deliveries of our Russian gas".

Mr Medvedev said the Ukrainian authorities had created problems for the Black Sea Fleet, based in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, in southern Ukraine.

He also accused the Yushchenko administration of driving the Russian language out of Ukrainian media, education and culture, and of trying to rewrite history.

Election politics

Mr Medvedev said he hoped the situation would return to normal under a new Ukrainian leadership. The BBC's correspondent in Kiev says this was a thinly-veiled reference to Ukraine's presidential election, set for 17 January.

Mr Yushchenko spearheaded Ukraine's pro-Western "Orange Revolution" in 2004, which overturned the election of Viktor Yanukovych, who was backed by Moscow. Election observers had declared the Yanukovych victory to be fraudulent.

Mr Yanukovych now heads the opposition Party of Regions, and opinion polls suggest he could be a strong candidate in the presidential election. His support base is in mainly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine.

The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in Kiev says some Ukrainians will interpret Mr Medvedev's verbal assault as the opening shot in a new Russian campaign to regain the influence that Moscow lost five years ago.

Diplomatic relations had already soured before Mr Medvedev's attack on Mr Yushchenko.

Moscow's previous ambassador to Kiev was recalled in June.

On Monday a councillor at the Ukrainian embassy in Moscow, Ihor Berezkin, left Russia in line with a demand from the Russian authorities.

Last month Ukraine expelled a Russian diplomat.

Lovely. This is almost exactly to the day a year from the emasculation of Georgia.

Specially for BB: Interestingly enough, the Ukrainian attempts to "rewrite history" involve (according to the full transcript of the speech) two things: accusing Stalin of engineering the great famine in Ukraine, and saying that the Nazi-Soviet war was a war of two totalitarian regimes, rather than a benevolent liberation by the Soviets.

[DisturbedPervert]

He accused Mr Yushchenko of having supplied Ukrainian weapons to the Georgian forces who "killed civilians and Russian peacekeepers in Tskhinvali" during the South Ossetia conflict a year ago.

Those damn Georgians, picking on Russia like that.   

[KRonn]

On going war of words with Russia vs Ukraine. I thought it had been shown how Russia had been fomenting troubles in Osettia, and/or other regions neighboring or part of Georgia, for quite some time. Now the Russians are accusing Ukraine of some actions there of a year ago? Russia should shut up - they won round one. Seems Russia is putting more pressure and grief on Ukraine, for their next steps in the war of words.

[Neil]

Why would Russia shut up?  They're winning.  They'll do their best to win back the Ukraine, and if they can't win the whole thing, they'll fund a seperatist movement for the east.  They know that the only government that has the power to stand against them is far too naive to do anything about it.  After all, they reset their relations, and whatnot.

[Berkut]

I wonder if Obama would go so far as to reset the relations again, if it came down to that.

[Ed Anger]

Whoever Marti is for, I take the opposite view. He is the Tim of Europe.

[DGuller]

You didn't bold the most awesome part, which is "Mr Medvedev said he hoped the situation would return to normal under a new Ukrainian leadership."  Talk about a breach of etiquette.  I hope trying to deftly influence elections like that is going to backfire on Russians, statements like that tend to be counter-productive.  Yushchenko sure needs all the help he can get.

[DGuller]

Specially for BB: Interestingly enough, the Ukrainian attempts to "rewrite history" involve (according to the full transcript of the speech) two things: accusing Stalin of engineering the great famine in Ukraine, and saying that the Nazi-Soviet war was a war of two totalitarian regimes, rather than a benevolent liberation by the Soviets.

I guess the irony of a Russian accusing someone of rewriting history is lost on Medvedev.

[Berkut]

You didn't bold the most awesome part, which is "Mr Medvedev said he hoped the situation would return to normal under a new Ukrainian leadership." 

I thought it was a toss up between that and "We will not send an ambassador until relations improve".

Talk about a breach of etiquette.  I hope trying to deftly influence elections like that is going to backfire on Russians, statements like that tend to be counter-productive.  Yushchenko sure needs all the help he can get.

If that is a Russians idea of "deft", I hate to see what it looks like when they become obvious.

I wonder at how stable Ukraine can be if a good portion of the countries citizens actively support Russia against the Ukraine, or is that reading of Yanukovych support too simplistic?

[Martinus]

Ukraine is a country divided - its Eastern half is very Russophile, its Western half is very Russophobic. All comes down to history.

[Barrister]

I hope trying to deftly influence elections like that is going to backfire on Russians, statements like that tend to be counter-productive. 

Tend to be?   

I think even the Red Chinese learned to be quiet during Taiwanese elections.  This can not possible be helpful for Medvedev.

[Sheilbh]

I think even the Red Chinese learned to be quiet during Taiwanese elections.  This can not possible be helpful for Medvedev.

Isn't the Ukrainian government pretty unpopular though?  I thought it had been a big disappointment after the Orange revolution.  I was under the impression it was riven by internal arguments and as corrupt as the previous government. 

[DGuller]

I think even the Red Chinese learned to be quiet during Taiwanese elections.  This can not possible be helpful for Medvedev.

Isn't the Ukrainian government pretty unpopular though?  I thought it had been a big disappointment after the Orange revolution.  I was under the impression it was riven by internal arguments and as corrupt as the previous government.

Yes, it's extremely unpopular.  I don't think Russian interference is going to hurt them, though.

[The Brain]

The Great Helmsman, Obama, will deal with Russia most successfully.

[Barrister]

I think even the Red Chinese learned to be quiet during Taiwanese elections.  This can not possible be helpful for Medvedev.

Isn't the Ukrainian government pretty unpopular though?  I thought it had been a big disappointment after the Orange revolution.  I was under the impression it was riven by internal arguments and as corrupt as the previous government.

MArty probably knows more than I, but somewhat.  The Orange Revolution had been an alliance between the two largest pro-western forces, Yuschenko and Timoschenko(sp?), who have now become President and PM, respectively, and now fued quite openly.

My read is it is now a 3 way split, and it's unclear what the outcome of elections would be.

But nothing brings people together like being threatened from an outside power.