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Putin wants all he can easily take. And he will take all he can when there's no one there to stop him.

Canadian PM Stephen Harper can't do it alone, but he's working on it.

The prime minister — who called for a "complete reversal" of Russia's subsequent annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula — laid a large bouquet of red carnations along a stone wall near Independence Square, Kiev, Ukraine, on Saturday, March 22, 2014 on his way to the G7 meeting in the Hague.

"It is for Ukrainians, and for Ukrainians only, to decide their future," Harper told a news conference with the interim Ukrainian prime minister shortly before his visit to the square.

"In this principle, Canada will not waver. And to help the Ukrainian people peacefully secure a bright future of freedom, we shall spare no effort."

Harper met with Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk at the Cabinet of Ministers building on Saturday in the midst of the most serious crisis in eastern Europe since the Cold War.

He gave Yatsenyuk the Ukrainian flag that flew on Parliament Hill during part of the country's uprising. Harper also later sat down with the new Ukrainian president at the nearby presidential palace.

Yatsenyuk was effusive in his praise of Canada for its full-throated support of Ukraine during their news conference.

He grew agitated when reminding reporters that Ukraine voluntarily rid itself of its nuclear arsenal years ago, only to have Russian perform an "armed robbery of Ukrainian independence" by making a play for Crimea.

Yatsenyuk also jokingly made a pitch to replace Russia in the G8.

"If the G8 has an empty seat, we are ready to take it," he exclaimed as the assembled media and politicians erupted in laughter.

Harper, meantime, reiterated his tough stance against Russia.

"For Ukraine, the consequences of the actions of the Putin regime are obvious and can only be remedied by their complete reversal," he said.

"All of us who desire peace and stability in the world must recognize that the consequences of these actions will be felt far beyond the borders of Ukraine or even the European continent itself."

He also provided a preview of what he's likely to argue to his fellow G7 leaders at an emergency summit in The Hague on Monday on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit.

"I think it is important that we in the free world not accept the occupation of Crimea, that we continue to resist and sanction the occupation of Crimea and that there be no return to business as usual with the Putin regime until such time as the occupation of Crimea ends," he said.

The prime minister's visit to Kyiv comes during an extraordinarily tense time for eastern Europe amid fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be pondering flexing his muscles in other countries that were once part of the Soviet bloc.

Harper's Ukrainian counterpart agreed that a strong international response to Russia's actions in Crimea was crucial.

"Russia violating international agreements, Russia making an armed robbery to Ukrainian independent territory, undermined global security," said Yatsenyuk.

"It's up to the UN and a number of international organizations to find the way how to contain those who violate the deals, who breach the deals and who invade the neighbours."

The two leaders met as pro-Russian forces stormed a Ukrainian air force base in Crimea, firing shots and stun grenades and smashing through concrete walls with armoured personnel carriers. At least one person was wounded, the base commander said.

Russian forces have been seizing Ukrainian military facilities for several days in the Black Sea peninsula, which voted a week ago to secede and join Russia. Harper and his western allies have called that referendum an illegitimate vote.

Harper is expected to deliver his account of the situation on the ground in Ukraine to his G7 colleagues in the coming days, and to push them to take a tougher stand. Germany is of particular concern given that country's close economic ties to Russia.

The head of the Ukrainian Canadian congress, who was in Kyiv with Harper, said he thought the prime minister had significant sway with the G7.

"I think he is highly recognized within the leadership of the G7, we've seen the kind of influence he's had even with President Obama," said Paul Grod.

"We hope to see that when he meets with the G7 on Monday that he'll be able to impress upon him personal first hand discussions and view of the situation in Ukraine, and convince him to in fact push Russia out of the G8 and make it a G7."

Harper has more than just the Ukrainian horse in this race, Canada is vulnerable to exactly the same Russian incursion in its far Northern reaches, where the Russians have been bullying Canada for over 20 years.

Few Canadians know that in 2011 Putin approved the formation of 2 brigades of 10,000 soldiers each ( 20,000 in total) dedicated to patroling Russia’s border with Canada, wher they make regular incursions using submarines, scientists and the Russian Army who do not wear their Russian ID markings, just as in the Crimea invasion.

This all drives Harper to distraction, understandably so, for Canada has no FOBs in its far North, a small standing force totalling a mere 100,000 soldiers in a nation which has a population of 35 million.And whats more Canada does not have the money to expand its Armed Forces either, 50% of its federal budget is dedicated to socialized medicine Health Care.Thanks to former Liberal governments, dedicated social programs have tied Harpers hands to the point where the whol national existence of Canada is under threat by Russia.( Which is what Obama Care will do in the USA, destroy the military budget as it has in Canada)

With Obama rapidly diminishing his military support for the USA’s traditional allies, Harper realizes that he too is about to be had by the Russians , royally had in fact. The Russians can enter Canada’s far North anytime, unopposed.Putin knows this very well and continues to covet Canada’s rich far Northern unexplored oil fields, biding his time.He could make his move anytime and there is not a damned thing Harper could do to prevent it.

No wonder Harper is crying foul while in Ukraine, he can feel the breath of Vlad the Shirtless down his very neck.

Canada has a lot to worry about, but not a newspaper in Canada is writing about it....( go figure, they all love Communism)

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Canadas Poofter Northern Security Assessmant, redacted,
with my SIC where warranted
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RUSSIA’S ACTIVITIES IN THE ARCTIC

ISSUE

The announcement by Russian Minister of Defence, Anatoly Serdyukov, [1] on 1 Jul 2011 to “create” two new brigades for the Arctic follows through on commitments made in Russia’s Arctic policy released in 2009.

[redacted]

There is no doubt that the economic potential of the Arctic is a major driver of Moscow’s calculations. However, the extreme environment and long distances make the actual economic feasibility of [resource] extraction in the High North, beyond its [Russia’s] Exclusive Economic Zone prohibitively expensive. [redacted] (SIC)

[redacted]

BACKGROUND

On 1 July 2011, Russian Minister of Defence Anatoly Serdyukov announced that Russia will “create” two new military brigades in the Arctic (nearing 10,000 troops) to protect [Russia’s] interests in the North. This announcement follows through on commitments made in [2009’s] Fundamentals of the Russian Federation’s Policy in the Arctic for the Period Up To 2020 and Beyond – which calls for the creation of a new group of forces (primarily border guards) and a functional Coast Guard system. These measures, in addition to increased Arctic domain awareness, are intended to secure Russian Arctic borders.

CONSIDERATIONS

Russia

Since Russia embarked on its most recent iteration of military modernization and reforms in 2008, the emphasis has been on consolidating and amalgamating existing divisions and brigades to find efficiencies and reduce costs. With respect to the Arctic, ... [redacted]

[redacted]

[redacted] ... Among the Ministry of Defence’s top priorities during the past several years of reform has been the modernization and sustainment of its strategic nuclear forces and their means of delivery (eg, through development of the Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile). [Note: the RSM-56 Bulava is a submarine-launched ballistic missile for Borei-class SSBNs.]

[redacted]

[redacted] ... t also endorses the sanctity of international law and established global governance mechanisms as the preferred means of dispute resolution [redacted] Indeed, the recent conclusion of an agreement between Russia and Norway to delineate their maritime boundary in the Arctic is illustrative of Russia’s long-held public stance on international law and demonstrates a willingness by Moscow to act in a cooperative manner on Arctic issues. ( SIC)

Russian Surveying of the Seabed in the Arctic

Russian surveying of the seabed is consistent with the activities of littoral states all over the world, including in the Arctic, that are in the process of delineating their continental shelves pursuant to the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). ( SIC)

It is possible that the extended continental shelves of the Arctic Ocean coastal states will overlap but the extent and the location of these overlaps is not yet known. Any overlaps will be resolved by the states concerned through discussions, negotiations and/or arbitration, in accordance to international law. All Arctic Ocean coastal states reaffirmed this commitment in the May 2008 Ilulissat Declaration. [2]

The Economic Potential of the Arctic

With energy exports making up roughly one quarter of the total Russian GDP, there is no doubt that the economic potential of the Arctic is a major driver of Moscow’s northern strategy. At the end of 2010, Russia proper (i.e, not including any claims to the Arctic) possessed over 77 billion barrels of oil and nearly 45 trillion cubic metres of natural gas. Revenues from energy exports to Europe (and increasingly China) have steadily become the key enablers of Russia’s foreign and defence policy for over a decade, and there does not appear to be any signs that this situation will change in the near- to mid-term. That said, it is important to note that despite the broad range of estimates on the total amount of oil and natural gas reserves stored in the Arctic (up to 90 billion barrels of oil and 1.7 trillion cubic feet [.048 trillion m3] of natural gas according to the US Geological Survey, which was both probabilistic and based on limited data), the extreme environment and long distances make the actual economic feasibility of extraction from the Arctic basin probitively expensive – and even beyond current technological means in some cases. What has received little attention is the fact that the majority of known energy resrves in the Arctic already fall within the well-established Exclusive Economic Zones of the littoral Northern states, including Canada, and are therefore not subject to the UNCLOS-prescribed process to delineate the outer limits of the shelf beyond 200 nautical miles.

Other Considerations

A number of other consideraions should also be kept in mind with respect to Russia’s activities in the Arctic. First, Russia is on the verge of presidential elections in 2012, and [redacted]

[redacted]

Second, not withstanding disagreements with NATO surrounding the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty, Russia has the sovereign right to station its troops wherever it wants on Russian territory. While developments such this are no doubt of interest to Canada from a defence and sercurity perspective, [redacted]

[redacted]

Third, this latest announcement is also consistent with other lofty announcements in recent months, most notably Moscow’s stated commitment to increase military spending by $740 billion by 2020 ( [redacted] ... [redacted] Finally, [redacted]

COMMENT

While many observers have commented in the media on Russia’s perceived provocative actions in the Arctic, there has yet to be any serious cause for alarm. [redacted]

[redacted]

Moreover, DFAIT has noted in the past that both countries also share common challenges related to policy making in the Arctic. Indeed, these commonalities could yield political and commercial opportunities for cooperation between Moscow and Ottawa. From a Defence perspective, in spite of disagreements over Russian LRA flights, [3] there is mutual interest in regard to cooperation in SAR and Arctic domain awareness. Defence is continuing to explore the potential for further cooperation with Russian in these fields.

http://www.casr.ca/as-arctic-russian-risk-assessment.htm