Welcome to Ebere Samuel's Blog: Russia bans all US food

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<header class="header" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407398821290_1280" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.25px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 10px;"><h1 class="headline" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407398821290_1279" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 35px; font-weight: 300; line-height: 42px; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-right: 40px; padding-top: 15px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
Russia bans all U.S. food, EU fruit and vegetables in sanctions response; NATO fears invasion</h1>
</header><div class="credit-bar clearfix " id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407398821290_1284" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; padding: 10px; zoom: 1;">
<div class="interest-bar" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407398821290_1292" style="margin-bottom: 5px; overflow: hidden; padding-right: 1px;">
<div class="action-bar" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407398821290_1291">
<div class="action-bar-wrapper" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407398821290_1290" style="float: right; height: 30px;">
<div class="yom-share-btns-container light" id="mediacontentsharebuttons-light" style="border: 0px; float: right; padding: 0px;">
<div class="share-btns-int-container" style="display: table-cell; float: right; height: 30px; padding-left: 4px; white-space: nowrap;">
<div class="share-btns" role="menu" style="display: table; width: 140px;">
<ul style="float: right; height: 30px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li class="share-btn facebook" style="display: inline-block; list-style: none; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><a data-share-key="facebook" data-share-pos="top" data-share-sec="sh-lt" href="https://www.facebook.com/dialog/feed?app_id=90376669494&redirect_uri=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.yahoo.com%2F_xhr%2Fmediacontentsharebuttons%2Fpostshare%2F%3Fsrc%3Dfb&link=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.yahoo.com%2Fnato-fears-ground-invasion-russia-masses-troops-ukraine-142159887.html%3Fsoc_src%3Dmediacontentstory&picture=http%3A%2F%2Fl2.yimg.com%2Fbt%2Fapi%2Fres%2F1.2%2FG_MgwxYa0qdxjibFtFZH1w--%2FYXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYwMA--%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen_us%2FNews%2FReuters%2F2014-08-06T234842Z_1_LYNXMPEA7510M_RTROPTP_2_UKRAINE-CRISIS.JPG&name=Russia+bans+all+U.S.+food%2C+EU+fruit+and+vegetables+in+sanctions+response%3B+NATO+fears+invasion&description=By+Polina+Devitt+and+Maria+Tsvetkova++MOSCOW%2FDONETSK+Ukraine+%28Reuters%29+-+Russia+will+ban+all+imports+of+food+from+the+United+States+and+all+fruit+and+vegetables+from+Europe%2C+the+state+news+agency+reported+on+Wednesday%2C+a+sweeping+response+to+Western+sanctions+imposed+over+its+support+for+rebels+in+Ukraine.++The+measures+will+hit+consumers+at+home+who+rely+on+cheap+imports%2C+and+on+farmers+in+the+West+for+whom+Russia+is+a+big+market.++Moscow+is+by+far+the+biggest+buyer+of+European+fruit+and+vegetables+and+the+second+biggest+importer+of+U.S.+poultry.++RIA+quoted+the+spokesman+for+Russia%27s+food+safety+watchdog+VPSS%2C+Alexei+Alexeenko%2C+as+saying+all+European+fruit+and+vegetables+and+all+produce+from+the+United+States+would+be+included+in+a+ban+drawn+up+on+the+orders+of+President+Vladimir+Putin+to+punish+countries+that+imposed+sanctions+on+Russia.&display=popup&show_error=yes" role="link" style="color: #324fe1; display: inline-block; height: 30px; opacity: 1; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Share on Facebook"><span class="btn-icon btn-facebook small" style="background: none , url(data:image/svg+xml; border: 1px solid rgb(66, 97, 150); display: inline-block; height: 18px; padding: 0px 4px 10px; vertical-align: top; width: 20px;"></span></a></li>
<li class="share-btn twitter" style="display: inline-block; list-style: none; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><a data-share-key="twitter" data-share-pos="top" data-share-sec="sh-lt" href="https://twitter.com/share?text=Russia+bans+all+U.S.+food%2C+EU+fruit+and+vegetables+in+sanctions+response%3B+NATO+fears+invasion&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.yahoo.com%2Fnato-fears-ground-invasion-russia-masses-troops-ukraine-142159887.html%3Fsoc_src%3Dmediacontentstory&via=YahooNews" role="link" style="color: #324fe1; display: inline-block; height: 30px; opacity: 1; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Share on Twitter"><span class="btn-icon btn-twitter small" style="background: none , url(data:image/svg+xml; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 172, 235); display: inline-block; height: 18px; padding: 0px 4px 10px; vertical-align: top; width: 20px;"></span></a></li>
<li class="share-btn mail" style="display: inline-block; list-style: none; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><a class="rapid-noclick-resp" data-share-key="mail" data-share-pos="top" data-share-sec="sh-lt" href="http://news.yahoo.com/_xhr/mtf_popup/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.yahoo.com%2Fnato-fears-ground-invasion-russia-masses-troops-ukraine-142159887.html%3Fsoc_src%3Dmediacontentstory&site=news&region=US&lang=en-US&content_id=27a9a292-538a-3922-bfd7-fa05fb5c0950&alias_id=story%3Dnato-fears-ground-invasion-russia-masses-troops-ukraine-142159887" role="link" style="color: #324fe1; display: inline-block; height: 30px; opacity: 1; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Email to friends"><span class="btn-icon btn-mail small" style="background: none , url(data:image/svg+xml; border: 1px solid rgb(64, 0, 144); display: inline-block; height: 18px; padding: 0px 4px 10px; vertical-align: top; width: 20px;"></span></a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="actions clearfix" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407398821290_1287" style="float: right; height: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; zoom: 1;">
<ul id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407398821290_1288" style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li class="save-action icon-y-small first" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407398821290_1294" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-position: 50% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 14px; border: 1px solid rgb(226, 226, 226); cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 28px; list-style: none; margin-left: 0px; width: 28px;" title="Save"></li>
<li class="like-action icon-like-small" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407398821290_1286" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-position: 50% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 14px; border: 1px solid rgb(226, 226, 226); cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 28px; line-height: 0; list-style: none; margin-left: 6px; padding: 0px; width: 28px;" title="More like this"></li>
<li class="dislike-action icon-dislike-small" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-position: 50% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 14px; border: 1px solid rgb(226, 226, 226); cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 28px; line-height: 0; list-style: none; margin-left: 6px; padding: 0px; width: 28px;" title="Fewer like this"></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="small-cover-wrap " id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407398821290_1300" style="background-color: white; clear: both; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.25px; margin: 0px 10px 20px; max-width: 300px; position: relative; width: 300px;">
<div class="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407398821290_1299">
<div class="img-wrap" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407398821290_1298" style="position: relative;">
<figure class="small-cover   
                        
                        get-lbdata-from-dom
                                go-to-slideshow-lightbox
                        " data-id="15078bc6-23a0-330c-a462-8bd76d19622b" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407398821290_1297" style="margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><a data-rapid_p="8" data-ylk="rspns:xpnd;t1:a3;t2:ct-mod;t3:ld;sec:ct-mod;slk:expand;elm:img;elmt:ct;itc:1;grpt:;edtr_vos:;g:;aid:15078bc6-23a0-330c-a462-8bd76d19622b;ct:4;cpos:1;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/nato-fears-ground-invasion-russia-masses-troops-ukraine-142159887.html#" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="A Ukrainian serviceman checks a car at a checkpoint near the eastern Ukrainian town of Debaltseve" height="200px" src="http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/CLHa5_C52YR6hGOB9dEWnQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIwMDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2014-08-06T234842Z_1_LYNXMPEA7510M_RTROPTP_2_UKRAINE-CRISIS.JPG" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: auto; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important; width: 300px;" width="300px" /></a><div class="cta-overlay" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407398821290_1296" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; height: 200px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;">
<span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-small" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 7px; border-bottom-right-radius: 7px; border-top-left-radius: 7px; border-top-right-radius: 7px; cursor: pointer; height: 45px; left: 150px; line-height: 0; margin-left: -32px; margin-top: -23px; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; top: 100px; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 64px; z-index: 1;">.</span><div class="cta-text small" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-top: 30px; opacity: 0; position: relative; text-align: center; top: 100px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">
View gallery</div>
</div>
</figure><div class="caption" style="color: grey; font-size: 12px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
A Ukrainian serviceman checks a car at a checkpoint near the eastern Ukrainian town of Debaltseve August …</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="body yom-art-content clearfix" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407398821290_1329" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Article" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px 10px; zoom: 1;">
<div class="yom-ad yom-ad-LREC" id="yom-ad-LREC" style="background-color: #fafafc; border: none; clear: both; float: right; height: 250px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-height: 250px; text-align: center; visibility: inherit; width: 300px;">
<div class="darla" id="sb_rel_yom-ad-LREC-iframe" style="display: inline-block; font-size: 0px; height: 250px; margin-bottom: 10px; position: relative; visibility: inherit; width: 300px; z-index: 9;">
<iframe allowtransparency="true" async="" frameborder="no" hidefocus="true" id="yom-ad-LREC-iframe" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://l.yimg.com/rq/darla/2-8-1/html/r-sf.html" style="display: block; height: 250px; left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; max-height: none; max-width: none; min-height: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; visibility: inherit; width: 300px; z-index: 10;" tabindex="-1"></iframe><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; text-align: left;">By Polina Devitt and Maria Tsvetkova</span></div>
</div>
<div class="body-slot-mod" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.307695388793945px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-width: 300px;">
<div class="yom-remote">
<div class="" id="mediacontentrelatedstory_container">
<section class="yom-mod " data-ylk="mid:mediacontentrelatedstory;mpos:1;elm:hdln;elmt:ct;cat:Related Stories;rspns:nav;t1:a3;t2:lst-ct;itc:0;sec:lst-ct;" id="mediacontentrelatedstory" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="yom-related-story-module story" style="font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 40px;">
<div class="hd">
<h2 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19.5px; margin: 0.55em 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
Related Stories</h2>
</div>
<div class="bd">
<div class="latest-content-inline">
<ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li class="list-item story" data-uuid="77c4fb00-ba19-3878-bb06-0f76317ded15" style="display: block; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; zoom: 1;"><a data-rapid_p="1" data-ylk="itc:0;tar:news.yahoo.com;ct:1;sec:lst-ct;cpos:1;test:;g:77c4fb00-ba19-3878-bb06-0f76317ded15;pkgt:2;prov:Reuters;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/eighteen-ukrainian-soldiers-killed-latest-separatist-clashes-kiev-111104789.html" style="color: #324fe1; margin-right: 6px; text-decoration: none;">Eighteen Ukrainian soldiers killed in latest separatist clashes: Kiev military</a> <span class="source" style="color: #1e7d8e;">Reuters</span></li>
<li class="list-item story" data-uuid="e7c4c5a0-4a9f-364b-8bfa-702f643cd624" style="display: block; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; zoom: 1;"><a data-rapid_p="2" data-ylk="itc:0;tar:news.yahoo.com;ct:1;sec:lst-ct;cpos:2;test:;g:e7c4c5a0-4a9f-364b-8bfa-702f643cd624;pkgt:2;prov:Reuters;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/moscow-fights-back-sanctions-battle-rages-near-ukraine-041447302--sector.html" style="color: #324fe1; margin-right: 6px; text-decoration: none;">Moscow fights back after sanctions; battle rages near Ukraine crash site</a> <span class="source" style="color: #1e7d8e;">Reuters</span></li>
<li class="list-item story" data-uuid="9e2c212d-7154-34e4-bc49-cd8f2c285c22" style="display: block; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; zoom: 1;"><a data-rapid_p="3" data-ylk="itc:0;tar:news.yahoo.com;ct:1;sec:lst-ct;cpos:3;test:;g:9e2c212d-7154-34e4-bc49-cd8f2c285c22;pkgt:2;prov:AFP;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/nato-chief-visit-ukraine-amid-russia-border-tensions-152104804.html" style="color: #324fe1; margin-right: 6px; text-decoration: none;">NATO chief flies to Ukraine amid Russian troop buildup fears</a> <span class="source" style="color: #1e7d8e;">AFP</span></li>
<li class="list-item story" data-uuid="f551e369-4de3-3983-945a-a15c8bdf3d9a" style="display: block; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; zoom: 1;"><a data-rapid_p="4" data-ylk="itc:0;tar:news.yahoo.com;ct:1;sec:lst-ct;cpos:4;test:;g:f551e369-4de3-3983-945a-a15c8bdf3d9a;pkgt:2;prov:Reuters;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/russia-escalates-economic-battle-u-eu-food-import-005111362--sector.html" style="color: #324fe1; margin-right: 6px; text-decoration: none;">Russia escalates economic battle with U.S., EU with food import ban</a> <span class="source" style="color: #1e7d8e;">Reuters</span></li>
<li class="list-item story" data-uuid="c7359c1d-b61b-378b-8263-8e759d99605b" style="display: block; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; zoom: 1;"><a data-rapid_p="5" data-ylk="itc:0;tar:news.yahoo.com;ct:1;sec:lst-ct;cpos:5;test:;g:c7359c1d-b61b-378b-8263-8e759d99605b;pkgt:2;prov:Reuters;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/russia-ban-u-poultry-imports-veterinary-181123791.html" style="color: #324fe1; margin-right: 6px; text-decoration: none;">Russia promises 'quite substantial' U.S., EU food import bans</a> <span class="source" style="color: #1e7d8e;">Reuters</span></li>
<li class="list-item story" data-uuid="c7359c1d-b61b-378b-8263-8e759d99605b" style="display: block; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; zoom: 1;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px;">MOSCOW/DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) - Russia will ban all imports of food from the United States and all fruit and vegetables from Europe, the state news agency reported on Wednesday, a sweeping response to Western sanctions imposed over its support for rebels in Ukraine.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</section></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
The measures will hit consumers at home who rely on cheap imports, and on farmers in the West for whom Russia is a big market. Moscow is by far the biggest buyer of European fruit and vegetables and the second biggest importer of U.S. poultry.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
RIA quoted the spokesman for Russia's food safety watchdog VPSS, Alexei Alexeenko, as saying all European fruit and vegetables and all produce from the United States would be included in a ban drawn up on the orders of President Vladimir Putin to punish countries that imposed sanctions on Russia.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
Earlier, Alexeenko told Reuters bans on EU and U.S. goods would be "quite substantial", and would specifically include U.S. poultry, although he declined to give a full list of banned goods. He could not be reached again after the RIA report.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
The war of economic sanctions has escalated even as fighting has intensified on the ground in eastern Ukraine in the three weeks since a Malaysian airliner was shot down over territory held by pro-Russian rebels.</div>
<div class="body-related" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;">
<a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-pos="1" data-rapid_p="9" data-uuid="f3ef5d28-ee4b-3c84-b3c0-d215fa4de573" data-ylk="t1:a3;t2:ct-mod;t3:embd;sec:ct-mod;slk:expand;elm:img;elmt:ct;itc:1;g:27a9a292-538a-3922-bfd7-fa05fb5c0950;aid:f3ef5d28-ee4b-3c84-b3c0-d215fa4de573;ct:4;cpos:1;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ukrainian-servicemen-drive-military-armoured-vehicle-along-road-photo-162355791.html" style="color: #324fe1; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Ukrainian servicemen drive a military armoured vehicle&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;">
<div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 200px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;">
<span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div>
<img alt="Ukrainian servicemen drive a military armoured vehicle&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="200" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/Ts92fI4_VWku_0jzNxLtpA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIwMDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2014-08-06T162355Z_1_LYNXMPEA750RQ_RTROPTP_2_UKRAINE-CRISIS.JPG" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div>
</a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">
Ukrainian servicemen drive a military armoured vehicle along a road in Donetsk region August 6, 2014 …</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
NATO said on Wednesday Russia had massed around 20,000 combat-ready troops on Ukraine's border and could use the pretext of a humanitarian mission to invade. It was the starkest warning yet from the Western alliance that Moscow could mount a ground assault on its neighbour.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
As rebels have lost ground to Ukrainian government troops, Russia announced military exercises this week near the border.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
"We're not going to guess what's on Russia's mind, but we can see what Russia is doing on the ground – and that is of great concern. Russia has amassed around 20,000 combat-ready troops on Ukraine’s eastern border," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said in an emailed statement.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
Moscow could use "the pretext of a humanitarian or peace-keeping mission as an excuse to send troops into Eastern Ukraine", she said. A NATO military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russia's build-up at the border included tanks, infantry, artillery, air defence systems, logistics troops, special forces, and aircraft.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
A Russian defence ministry spokesman dismissed the NATO accusations: "We've been hearing this for three months already."</div>
<div class="body-related" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;">
<a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-pos="2" data-rapid_p="10" data-uuid="92a18ff1-fe1d-3351-8915-30dbb2780b26" data-ylk="t1:a3;t2:ct-mod;t3:embd;sec:ct-mod;slk:expand;elm:img;elmt:ct;itc:1;g:27a9a292-538a-3922-bfd7-fa05fb5c0950;aid:92a18ff1-fe1d-3351-8915-30dbb2780b26;ct:4;cpos:2;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/armed-pro-russian-separatists-stand-guard-checkpoint-settlement-photo-142159860.html" style="color: #324fe1; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Armed pro-Russian separatists stand guard at a checkpoint&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;">
<div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 196px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;">
<span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div>
<img alt="Armed pro-Russian separatists stand guard at a checkpoint&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="196" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/R2jW1BW2DuiO7HlA7lK2Kg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE5NjtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2014-08-06T142159Z_1_LYNXMPEA750NA_RTROPTP_2_UKRAINE-CRISIS.JPG" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div>
</a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">
Armed pro-Russian separatists stand guard at a checkpoint in the settlement of Yasynuvata outside Do …</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in the Black Sea in March, and Western countries say it has funded and armed pro-Russian rebels since they rose up in east Ukraine in April.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
Over the past two months, government troops have fought back, gaining ground against the rebels, who are led almost exclusively by Russian citizens and have managed to acquire tanks, missiles and other heavy weaponry that Kiev and its Western allies say can only have come from across the frontier.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
Kiev said 18 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed and 54 injured in 25 separate clashes over the past day in eastern Ukraine. Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said troops had been shelled from inside Russian territory and frontier guards had come under a four-hour mortar and artillery attack.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
Fighting has intensified since Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed on July 17, killing all 298 people on board. Western countries say it was shot down by rebels with an advanced anti-aircraft missile supplied by Russia. Moscow denies blame, and the Russians who command the rebels deny they had such missiles.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
The United States and the EU imposed sanctions on Russia that were mild at first but have been tightened sharply since the airliner was brought down, now targeting Russia's defence, oil and financial sectors.</div>
<div class="body-related" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;">
<a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-pos="3" data-rapid_p="11" data-uuid="c9e8d3b8-2a2c-326b-bfe0-baf507abb63f" data-ylk="t1:a3;t2:ct-mod;t3:embd;sec:ct-mod;slk:expand;elm:img;elmt:ct;itc:1;g:27a9a292-538a-3922-bfd7-fa05fb5c0950;aid:c9e8d3b8-2a2c-326b-bfe0-baf507abb63f;ct:4;cpos:3;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ukrainian-servicemen-seen-inside-army-vehicles-road-donetsk-photo-162355124.html" style="color: #324fe1; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Ukrainian servicemen are seen inside army vehicles&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;">
<div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 200px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;">
<span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div>
<img alt="Ukrainian servicemen are seen inside army vehicles&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="200" src="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/k3YZTrD3.mTzvnpwL955yQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIwMDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2014-08-06T162355Z_1_LYNXMPEA750RR_RTROPTP_2_UKRAINE-CRISIS.JPG" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div>
</a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">
Ukrainian servicemen are seen inside army vehicles on a road in Donetsk region August 6, 2014. REUTE …</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
On Wednesday, Putin ordered his government to come up with a list of agricultural products from countries that had imposed sanctions on Russia, which would be banned in retaliation. He told the government to avoid measures that would hurt Russian consumers, but the blanket bans reported by RIA were about as sweeping as could be.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
Russia imported $43 billion worth of food last year. According to the European Commission, Russia bought 28 percent of EU fruit exports and 21.5 percent of its vegetables in 2011.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
It was the second biggest buyer of U.S. poultry after Mexico last year, accounting for 8 percent of U.S. chicken meat exports, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. U.S. poultry has been ubiquitous in Russia since the early days after the Soviet Union, when cheap American chicken quarters sold at street markets were called "Bush's legs" after the president.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
SIEGE Kiev's military offensive has pushed the rebels out of many of their strongholds, leaving them largely besieged in the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, which the rebels have proclaimed capitals of two "people's republics".</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
Residents in Donetsk, east Ukraine's main industrial hub and now the principal rebel redoubt, said Ukrainian warplanes had carried out air strikes overnight.</div>
<div class="body-related" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;">
<a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-pos="4" data-rapid_p="12" data-uuid="e6d6ccde-b53b-3c21-a4a9-5b60fa43a9aa" data-ylk="t1:a3;t2:ct-mod;t3:embd;sec:ct-mod;slk:expand;elm:img;elmt:ct;itc:1;g:27a9a292-538a-3922-bfd7-fa05fb5c0950;aid:e6d6ccde-b53b-3c21-a4a9-5b60fa43a9aa;ct:4;cpos:4;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/convoy-military-armoured-vehicles-seen-near-checkpoint-road-photo-162355605.html" style="color: #324fe1; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="A convoy of military armoured vehicles is seen near&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;">
<div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 200px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;">
<span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div>
<img alt="A convoy of military armoured vehicles is seen near&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="200" src="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/kAQUhYapg0PbCzRdsezWGA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIwMDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2014-08-06T162355Z_1_LYNXMPEA750RM_RTROPTP_2_UKRAINE-CRISIS.JPG" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div>
</a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">
A convoy of military armoured vehicles is seen near a checkpoint on a road in Donetsk region August  …</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
Reuters journalists heard the planes roar overhead and massive explosions during the night. In the morning, an industrial district 2-3 km (1-2 miles) from the city centre was pocked with craters, including two huge holes 7 metres (7 yards) wide and 2 metres deep, ripped into the asphalt.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
"The planes were flying low. Then there were two massive explosions and the glass was blown out of the window. It was terrifying. This is war. There will never be peace," said Nadezhda, a woman who lived nearby.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
Government military spokesman Lysenko denied Ukrainian planes had carried out air strikes: "The Ukrainian military does not bomb the towns of Donetsk and Luhansk or any other similar populated places," he said.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
Many residents have fled the two cities, but hundreds of thousands of people are still living in them, increasingly fearful that they will bear the brunt of a full-blown assault.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
The latest Russian troop build-up on the border is not the first time Moscow has concentrated forces there: NATO estimated Russia had as many as 40,000 troops in place earlier in the crisis before Putin pulled them back in June.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
But the government's advance since then may be prompting new action from the Kremlin, after months in which state-controlled Russian media have mounted a sustained campaign of anti-Ukrainian agitation and nationalist pride focused on Crimea.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
Since March, Putin has vowed to use military force to protect Russian-speaking "compatriots" across the former Soviet Union. He branded southern and eastern Ukraine "New Russia", a name the rebels took up as catch-all for most militia groups.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
Most people in eastern and southern Ukraine identify themselves as ethnic Ukrainians who speak Russian as a native language. Outside of the two provinces partly occupied by the armed separatist fighters, most have rallied behind Kiev, despite reservations about the government there.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday the threat of a direct intervention by Russia's military in Ukraine has risen over the last couple of days.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
A senior U.S. official said Washington was keeping a "very close eye" on Russian activity at the border.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
“The last few weeks have not been good ones for the Russians. They have seen the separatists lose ground and the Malaysian airliner shoot-down was a public relations disaster for the Russians. Unfortunately we have not seen a sense that the Russians are acting on the negative feedback and looking to deescalate. In fact we’ve see signs that Putin seems to be doubling down,” said the official.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
“There’s the buildup on the border, no change in the propaganda machine in Russia, talk of the need for humanitarian peacekeeping in Ukraine itself."</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407398821290_1331" style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;">
(Additional reporting by Natalia Zinets and Richard Balmforth in Kiev, Lina Kushch in Donetsk, Barbara Lewis and Tom Koerkemeier in Brussels, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Maria Kiselyova in Moscow, Matt Spetalnick and Mark Hosenball in Washington and Adrian Croft in London; Writing by Peter Graff; editing by David Stamp)</div>
</div>
</div>

Russia bans all U.S. food, EU fruit and vegetables in sanctions response; NATO fears invasion

Russia bans all U.S. food, EU fruit and vegetables in sanctions response; NATO fears invasion . View galle...

Russia bans all U.S. food, EU fruit and vegetables in sanctions response; NATO fears invasion

Popular Posts

Choose

Comments

Blog Archive