Ebola Suspected In Europe: “Broken Through All Containment Efforts”

Though officials at the World Health Organization are feverishly working to stop the spread of the Ebola virus in what is now seven African nations, their efforts may be for naught. In Guinea, a hot spot for the deadly contagion, government health officials have said that the outbreak is nearly under control. Yet, Reuters reports that the government “planned to stop publicly releasing the death toll to avoid causing unnecessary panic.”
But panic may be in order.
Despite the best efforts of emergency health workers it appears that virus may have crossed out of Africa into Europe.

The outbreak of Ebola Virus in seven west African countries has broken through all containment efforts and is spreading like wildfire.  According to Christian Relief groups working in Guinea and Liberia, the number of confirmed infections jumped 15% in just the last 24 hours. In addition, 40 illegal alien migrant workers from the outbreak area, who came ashore in Pisa, Italy, are showing signs of Ebola infection and are being isolated in Pisa Italy because of fever and “conjunctivitis” (bloody around the eyes).  According to the World Health Organization, this strain of Ebola is entirely new and although it is close to the Zaire strain, it is different, thus accounting for false-negative test results . . . . . for weeks!
Those false-negative results meant people who were actually infected with Ebola, were returned to their families and neighborhoods to recover from what they believed was the Flu or a case of food poisoning, only to spread the Ebola further. 
The result has been a complete loss of containment of this Ebola outbreak.  
With the likely arrival of Ebola in Pisa, Italy, the European continent is now at severe risk.

Italian officials deny the reports, but alternative media in the country suggests this is the reason for a complete lock down of a hospital in Pisa, where it is believed to have infected some 40 individuals. Other reports trickling in from various sources like social media indicate the virus may have also appeared about 50 miles from Pisa in Tuscany, Italy.
Alarmingly, a story that appeared about the outbreak on national news wires was reportedly removed by the Italian government for “national security reasons,” suggesting that there is more to the reports than Italian officials are willing to express to the public at this time.
Though they have denied that the Pisa hospital was locked down due to Ebola, they seem to be bracing for the possibility of a severe epidemic in Rome and Milan.

(Google Translation via Italy’s Vnews24)
And ‘mystery about forty hypothetical cases of Ebola registered in our country. The virus is particularly common on the African continent – the cases “official” were recorded in Senegal, Mali and Ghana - may have arrived in Italy “thank you” to the massive exodus of immigrants to our shores. A first “bell” d ‘alarm was launched by Lampedusa. According to a report appeared in the network (and immediately removed for reasons of “national security”), in fact, April 16 would be recorded on an epidemic ‘island, never confirmed nor refuted by our Ministry of Health.
A new ”SOS” about the spread of the virus’ Ebola in the Bel Paese is, this time, from Tuscany. Means of dissemination of the news shock is always the network: blogs, social networks, websites dedicated highlighted the “Curious Case of St. Flushing,” reception center site in Pisa, closed to the public due to the presence, all ‘inside of it, forty non-EU nationals which are to some strange symptoms. Capuzzi Sandra, Councillor for Social Policies of the Municipality of Pisa, he would have dismissed the alarmism of his countrymen, by classifying the health status of the refugees in the structure in these terms: “They have just a little bit fever, caused by stressful travel conditions under which the children were subjected. “
Fear, meanwhile, remains. The forty possible carriers of the virus’ Ebola have been subjected to all the tests required in high-risk situations. The Italian population, however, does not feel the climate of reassurance that high institutional positions and subjected try to transmit information through various channels, official and unofficial. The tension increases, although the Ministry of Health said that, in the unlikely event of an outbreak, Rome and Milan would be ready to face the ‘epidemic.

According to Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian relief group actively working with hospitals and health officials in Guinea and Liberia, what makes Ebola so dangerous is that it can be transmitted through human contact and may take weeks before symptoms appear:

The initial Ebola outbreak in Guinea is believed to have started when hunters came in contact with infected fruit bats. The Ebola virus is spread between humans through direct contact. Once infected, it can take up to 21 days for symptoms to appear, which include high fever, headaches, and fatigue. At that point, the infected person is contagious.

With details lacking and health officials opting to keep reports of infections from the public, it is impossible to know exactly how far the virus has spread.
As noted above, this new strain was not identified immediately, thus blood tests of people showing possible symptoms may have shown false-negatives even though those individuals may have been carrying the virus. Once returned to the general population and assuming they did not contract the virus, it is certainly possible that it was then transmitted to others.
If Ebola has taken hold in Italy, then we can expect more reported cases all over the continent in coming weeks, with the real possibility that the virus could make its way to U.S. shores via hundreds of international flights arriving on a daily basis.
It’s understandable that government officials do not want to overreact and cause panic, especially insofar as global air travel is concerned, because doing so would lead to a lock down of airports worldwide.
The panic would be unprecedented.
As noted by Tess Pennington of Ready Nutrition, even if the public became aware that a pandemic was in progress, many would remain in denial about such a prospect and would remain oblivious to the long-term repercussions. She notes that the effects of a pandemic could be swift and drastic, leading to societal upheaval :

Understanding that our lives will change drastically if the population is faced with a pandemic and being prepared for this can help you make better choices toward the well being of your family. Some changes could be:

• Shut downs of business commerce
• Breakdown of our basic infrastructure: communications, mass transportation, supply chains
• Payroll service interruptions
• Staffing shortages in hospitals and medical clinics
• Interruptions in public facilities – Schools, workplaces may close, and public gatherings such as sporting events or worship services may close temporarily.
• Government mandated voluntary or involuntary home quarantine.

(Source: Pandemic Preparedness)

Given the continued spread of the virus to numerous countries in Africa, and now possibly Europe, we urge readers to remain vigilant and have, at the very least, theirbasic essentials in place.
This virus is incurable and is believed to have a mortality rate of up to 85% of those infected.
If it is spreading outside of Africa, then it is only a matter of time – perhaps several weeks – before it becomes apparent in developing nations.

These posted probabilities are in no way authoritative, and should be considered a “best guess” only.
Probabilities of unchecked infection at this point, based upon a method of travel, times and frequencies of airline flights to various cities, also including certain assumed volumes of “mixed maritime” traffic between north Africa and southern Europe -  the Probability that Ebola will strike is:
63% in Italy within 8 days
44% in Spain within 15 days
77% in Riyadh/Saudi within 21 days
40% in Libya within 25 days
29% in the US within 28 days
37% in Egypt within 33 days
By the time we get to 35 days, it can be in 25 countries on 4 continents.
(Source: TRN)

In the United States, the CDC has issued a travel alert to airlines and set up emergency quarantine stations at domestic airports, though there are no specific guidelines in place at this time according to BD Live:

The US is well prepared to handle infected patients on its soil with 20 CDC quarantine stations in place at US airports that are designed to deal with anyone who has symptoms of a wide range of infectious illnesses, including Ebola, according to spokeswoman Christine Pearson. Despite the outbreak, there are no special requests or guidelines to airlines about Ebola, though the CDC has issued a travel alert, she said.
“The time it takes to travel from rural Guinea to anywhere in the US is more than enough time to incubate the virus and be symptomatic,”Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Laurie Garrett said in New York.

If in the next month we see Ebola popping up in North America then we may have a serious problem on our hands.
Credit to Shftplan.com

Pastor Mark Biltz - Blood Moons: Decoding the Imminent Heavenly Signs Part I (April 14, 2014)

Confronting Both Russia and China 'Strategic Mistake' for US – Russian Lawmaker

The United States runs the risk of making a huge foreign policy blunder by simultaneously antagonizing two major world powers, Russia and China, a senior Russian lawmaker wrote on Twitter Monday.

“For the United States, Russia is an enemy and China is a potential enemy. But the confrontation course with both major powers is a strategic mistake,” Alexei Pushkov, who chairs the foreign affairs committee in Russia’s lower house, wrote.

US President Barack Obama denied last month that Moscow was Washington’s number one geopolitical foe, calling Russia “a regional power that is threatening some of its immediate neighbors, not out of strength but out of weakness.”

Washington’s relations with Beijing have also become strained, given a new US strategy in the Asia-Pacific region to contain China. During Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel’s recent visit to Beijing, his Chinese counterpart Chang Wanquan said that efforts to contain China would never succeed.

In remarks to Obama's statement, Pushkov said by calling Russia a “regional power,” the US leader showed “the depth of his despair over the growing international role of Russia from Siberia to Ukraine.”

The fate of Crimea, formerly an autonomous republic within Ukraine and part of Russia since last month, has triggered the most serious geopolitical showdown between Moscow and the West since the end of the Cold War.

Obama has claimed the Russian population in Crimea was never under threat from the growing influence of ultranationalists on Ukraine’s political life, as Russia had repeatedly warned, and denounced Moscow’s move to protect its compatriots.

During a question and answer session with the public last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that trust between Russia and the United States had been lost to a great extent, but not due to Moscow. Restoring the trust between Russia and the US requires the elimination of all approaches based on double standards, the Russian president said.

Credit to RIA Novosti

Russia says Kiev 'breaking Geneva accord' on Ukraine

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the Kiev authorities of breaking last week's Geneva accord on resolving the Ukraine crisis.

He said the Kiev government - not recognised by Moscow - had not moved to disarm illegal groups, especially the ultra-nationalist Right Sector.

"Extremists are calling the tune," he alleged, condemning a fatal shooting near Sloviansk, in eastern Ukraine.

He also condemned the continuing Maidan street protests in Kiev.

He said it was "absolutely unacceptable" that the Ukrainian authorities had failed to end what he called the illegal protests in the capital.

However, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya said he was "surprised" Mr Lavrov did "not know what is being done in Ukraine regarding the Geneva agreements", Kiev-based news agency Unian reported.

The government had been having regular consultations with the parties to the agreement in an attempt to find "ways of de-escalating the situation in the east of Ukraine", Mr Deshchytsya was reported to have said.

'Crude violation'

Early on Sunday at least three people were killed in a shooting at a checkpoint manned by pro-Russian separatists near Sloviansk.

The circumstances remain unclear. The local separatists said the attack was carried out by Right Sector militants. Kiev called it a "provocation" staged by Russian special forces.

Mr Lavrov said the incident proved Kiev did not want to control "extremists".
There are conflicting reports about a fatal shooting near Sloviansk
Government buildings in eastern Ukraine, such as this one in Sloviansk, have been taken over by pro-Russian activists

He said that the most important demand of the Geneva deal was to "prevent any violence", and it was not being implemented.

"Steps are being taken - above all by those who seized power in Kiev - which crudely violate the accords reached in Geneva," Mr Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow.

The 17 April Geneva accord was agreed at talks between Russia, Ukraine, the EU and US. It demanded an immediate end to violence in eastern Ukraine and called on illegal armed groups to surrender their weapons and leave official buildings.

Credit to BBC

Five Weeks Away From World War III

Let’s agree to go to war.

Ukraine’s first president, Leonid Kravchuk, believes that Russia could usher in the end of the world as we know it, if Vladimir Putin doesn’t back down. Kravchuk stated that Putin does not back down, ever! For several different reasons, it is becoming increasingly likely that war could break out in Ukraine as early as this May.

The Winds of War Are Increasing

Russia has test-fired its ICBM arsenal as a display of military muscle and this event prompted Ukraine officials to appear on CNN and they appealed for help from the United States. Yes, the interviews seemed contrived, but war is war regardless of whether it is being artificially staged by the bankers.
In another concerning and recent provocation, the Russian Black Sea fleet commander reportedly issued anultimatum for open warfare with Ukraine if Ukraine and its military did not capitulate to Russian demands. Although Moscow has officially denied the allegations, there are scores of reports from journalists on the ground claiming the complete opposite. What about that spy ship parked off the coast of Cuba? I suspect that if hostilities does break out, this ship will launch two nuclear missiles which will detonate in the mid-continental United States and an EMP attack will destroy America’s power grid. Additionally, these same Ukrainian new services have accused the Russians of attacking several of Ukraine’s government building including police stations. And of course, there are still a reported 160,000 Russian soldiers practicing war games on Ukraine’s border in several different locations. Ukraine continues sending troops to its Eastern and Northern Borders. Troops have been digging in along the border with Russia. As Ukrainian soldiers continue to increase their presence, amid fears the Russian military is staging training exercises close to the border in the Donbass region, one can safely bet that the first Russian military incursion will occur in this region.
Previously, General Philip Breedlove, the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, has emphatically stated that Russia is using snap military exercises in preparation of a military invasion of Ukraine. Breedlove describes the term snap military exercise in a recent account. “A snap exercise puts an incredible force at a border. The force that is at the Ukrainian border now to the east is very, very sizeable and very, very ready.”Breedlove notes that in addition to the Donbass region, Russia has its military “postured on the eastern border of Ukraine of the Trans-Dniester region if the decision was made to do that, and that is very worrisome. Trans-Dniester is a region on the border of Ukraine and neighboring Moldova. Breedlove further states that it is impossible to defend against the coming Russian invasion without pre-positioning assets in the area, “especially in the Baltics and other places“. If this does not imply the General isn’t expecting an invasion of Eastern Europe, I do not know what would. Several Eastern European countries have requested protection from Putin.
Breedlove’s words and advice are clearly being acted upon as NATO, Moldova, Ukraine, Poland and Bulgaria are all preparing for the worst.

The US Military Plans Its Own Snap Military Exercises

NATO is putting boots on the ground in Moldova this summer and we are about 7 weeks away from the total militarization of Moldova. The Moldova connection is highly significant since this is the sight of a planned “war game” this summer in which NATO is practicing for a Russian invasion of the region.
According to Yahoo News, the U.S. and Ukrainian troops will take part in military drills with about 700 soldiers from 10 other countries at a shooting range in central Bulgaria, as reported by the Defense Ministry. Clearly, our military leadership is preparing for war and is busily engaged in forming alliances as a preparation for war. Don’t let the mere presence of only 700 soldiers dissuade anyone from believing that this number will be kept this low. The 700 soldiers  was only the original number, this number will undoubtedly climb exponentially in light of the present crisis.
Operation Rapid Trident (2014) is a very large, USAREUR-led multinational military exercise scheduled for July and according to my military sources is still very much alive.
The Trident exercise is to be headquartered in Lviv, Ukraine, near the Polish border. The exercise is a cooperative endeavor between Ukraine and other NATO nations. No doubt that the mere existence of this military exercise pushed Putin to act when he did. Again, Obama and the CIA’s triggering of the coup in Ukraine which led to the ouster of the Russian friendly government, happened too quickly and it gave Putin time to act to prevent NATO any meaningful opportunity to consolidate its forces.
In the months of June and July, NATO is building a combat ready military response to the Russian soldiers amassed on Ukraine’s border. Ask yourself this important question, if you were Putin, would you allow NATO to consolidate its military position before attacking? Putin would be a fool to all NATO to “dig in”. And through this entire event, Putin has proven to be anything but a fool.

Putin’s Attack Scenario

Based upon the best available information, Ex- KGB Colonel Putin needs less than a week to subdue Ukraine as the following scenario is stil the most likely chain of events that will transpire and lead to the conquest of Ukraine.
Russian commandos will begin by taking down the power grid of airports and surrounding towns and villages. This will cause mass confusion among Ukraine’s military. Ukrainian military communications will be immediately taken out by surgical air strikes.
Almost immediately, Russian paratroopers and helicopters will be deployed to Ukraine’s airports and seize the runways under the cover of early morning darkness. This was the same strategy employed by Putin in the invasion of Crimea. Subsequently, Ukrainian military forces will scarcely know what has hit them.
I have spoke with a total of three former military strategists who are unanimous in their opinion that the Ukrainian airports will be seized with a minimal amount of fighting. The seizing of the airports will mark a quick end for Ukraine’s military resistance.
By the morning of the first day, heavy mechanized equipment will be landed in the seized airports, under the protection of the Russian Air Force, and will link up with the Russian paratroopers holding the airports. Simultaneously, the Russian mechanized forces will cross Ukraine’s eastern border and fan out in three directions and immediately seize the major cities. Russians will invade Ukraine’s southern underbelly, from Crimea, from two directions, to prevent retreat and consolidation of Ukraine’s forces.
It is likely Ukraine will be overwhelmed and fighting will be kept at a minimum and this is by design because Putin needs a relatively intact Ukraine to facilitate the flow of gas to Europe.

The Timing for the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

It is a fool’s errand to try and predict the exact date that Putin will launch an attack upon Ukraine. However, there are some clear timetables in place that will clearly provide Putin with parameters on when he needs to act before NATO can consolidate that period. And that period is fast approaching.
Before “snap” military war games can commence, support personnel must be on the ground preparing for the arrival of the heavy equipment to be used in the exercise. First, the planes arrive and this will be followed by transports carrying heavy military equipment. Once these pieces are in place, the NATO troops will arrive in bulk.
If Putin plans to take over Ukraine with a minimal amount of resistance, he must act prior to consolidation of troops. Since the first NATO snap exercises in Ukraine and surrounding countries are scheduled for late June and early July, NATO will need about five weeks to coordinate the activity. Therefore, we are entering the danger zone of when Putin must act militarily in order to minimize the level of resistance he will face.
To meet the timetables of military consolidation in advance of the exercises, Putin has about four, maybe five weeks to act.
One must consider that Putin may initiate World War III much earlier than five weeks from now. If Russian supported Assad forces in Syria were to go on the offensive with Russian help, NATO might be forced to come to the aid of its CIA/al Qaeda backed rebels in a reverse kind of a TET offensive. This could slow down the military buildup off of Russia’s border by NATO if they were forced to divert resources in support of the Syrian rebels. In the midst of the coming Syrian chaos, Putin would have time to launch a false flag event, blame the Ukrainian government, and subsequently follow up with military action designed to protect pro-Russians living in Ukraine.

Conclusion

In the unlikely event that NATO changes its war games exercises, Putin has about a five week window to gain military control over Ukraine before NATO would be in position to offer any meaningful opposition.
If Putin does not act inside of this five week window, then the Ukrainian standoff will no doubt morph into a cold war scenario similar to the 40 year cold war experienced by the Soviet Union and the United States. A global cold war could destroy what is left of the American economy. I fear that Putin has the necessary mineral resources and the support of the BRICs to win an economic war of attrition related to the necessary build up needed to engage in a prolonged cold war. In either case, Putin holds the upper hand. And since Obama has seen fit to reduce the size of the American military to pre-WW II levels, this has increased the likelihood that the cold war would one day become a nuclear confrontation. And let’s not forget about the Russian spy ship in Cuba and the Iranian naval vessels which were parked off of our east coast. Again I ask, is an EMP attack that far out of the question? An attack in which the Chinese would gladly participate in for reasons that I previously identified in recent articles.

Credit to common Sense

Ukraine’s Jewish residents look for a refuge in Israel

Concerns have been raised after a leaflet reminiscent of Nazi Germany was distributed in Donetsk demanding that Jews over 16 should register with the ­authorities.

It has since been branded a fake by the pro-Moscow separatists it claims to represent – but with tens of thousands of Russian troops on Ukraine’s border, many are increasingly worried about their safety.

Alexander Ivanchenko, who runs Sohnut, a group which assists with ­emigration to Israel, said: “It is hard to talk about numbers but I see that there are more people who come asking how to apply for repatriation.

“I cannot say for sure that they will make a decision to leave, but I do see a rise in the level of interest. People call the Israeli embassy in Kiev. They start gathering the documents.”

Armed masked men handed out ­fliers to people leaving a Passover service at a Donetsk synagogue last week, prompting general disgust.

Purporting to be from pro-Russian separatists, the leaflet had terrifying echoes of how Nazis targeted Jews in the 1930s.

Separatist leaders denounced them as fakes designed to provoke clashes by painting them as anti-Semitic.

Pinchas Vishedski, Donetsk’s chief rabbi, said he was now satisfied it was a “crude provocation”, but added: “I’m asking those behind this not to make us tools in this game.”

In recent months, however, Jewish people and synagogues have been the target of attacks, often blamed on far-right Ukrainian groups.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukrainian nationalists – who deposed pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovich in February – of anti-Semitism, though he has in turn been accused of disguising his troops as Ukrainian forces to provoke clashes and justify an invasion.

London charity World Jewish Relief has stepped up its work in Ukraine with vulnerable children, the elderly, women and the disabled as the economy teeters on the brink of collapse.

Chief executive Paul Anticoni, who recently visited eastern Ukraine, said the economic crisis and an increasing struggle to pay food and gas bills were the biggest fear for all Ukrainians, including Jewish residents.

But there were fears anti-semitic elements had been emboldened by the unrest and the political and security vacuum. Until last week’s leaflet incident, he said, the revolution had not led to a surge in anti-semitism.

Incidents like graffiti or firebombing of synagogues were “isolated” and seen as the work of “hooligans”.

They had always been present in Ukraine, said Mr Anticoni, but they were now taking advantage of the breakdown in law and order.

He said: “The Donetsk incident has changed some opinions. A rabbi told me he dismissed it as the work of a couple of chancers trying to rock the boat and stir up ethnic discontent. No one’s claimed responsibility.

“But it is a reflection that there are people in Ukraine who don’t like the Jews, or Poles or Moldovans. It’s a country where tolerance of ethnic minorities isn’t particularly good.

“Ukraine is going through upheaval and uncertainty and in worrying economic times people tend to take it out on those at the edges – particularly the Jewish community. But we are not hitting the panic button and saying ‘it’s time to leave’.”

Credit to Daily Express

US To Target Putin's Personal $40 Billion

While the White House has continually threatened further sanctions against Russia for non-de-escalation (even as it un-de-escalates itself), thespecifics of the additional sanctions have been sparse. German CEO warnings over blowback from economic sanctions... the "nonsense" of replacing Russian gas with US gas... the Russian warnings of "interdependence" and "boomerangs"... all reduce the West's arsenal of financial sanctions. But, as The Times of London reports, perhaps the US has found a crucial pain point for Putin - a sanctions regime that would target Putin's personal wealth, which includes a reported $40 billion stashed in Swiss bank accounts.

As The Hill reports,

The White House on Friday refused to comment on reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin's personal wealth could be targeted if the West were to move ahead with additional sanctions over Ukraine.

"I'm not going to get into foreshadowing particular individuals or entities that the United States may target," national security adviser Susan Rice told reporters at the White House. "But let me just say we've been clear that there are additional individuals, officials, close associates of senior leadership, oligarchs and those entities that they are associated with that remain very much potential targets of additional sanctions."

...

The Times of London reported Friday that the U.S. was preparing a sanctions regime that would target Putin's personal wealth, which includes a reported $40 billion stashed in Swiss bank accounts.

Putin's actual holdings are a tightly held secret, and the extent of his holdings are difficult to estimate. But a threat of trying to freeze the Russian president's personal assets could have played a role in a deal brokered Thursday by foreign ministers from the U.S., Ukraine, Russia and European Union.

Perhaps it is worth remembering Putin's response from last week's Q&A...

Putin was asked why the US can do whatever it wants and no one punishes them, while attempts are being made to punish Russia.

“The US is certainly one of the world’s leaders. At some point it seemed that it was the only leader and a uni-polar system was in place. Today it appears that is not the case. Everything in the world is interdependent and once you try to punish someone, in the end you will cut off your nose to spite your face,” he said.

Though we are sure Obama and his team have considered all the intended and unintended consequences of any such actions.

Credit to Zero Hedge

Vials of deadly SARS virus 'go missing' in France

More than 2,300 tubes containing samples of the potentially deadly SARS virus have gone “missing” from a high-security laboratory at the Pasteur Institute in Paris.

The research body insists there is no cause for alarm as the samples have “no infectious potential”, but it has filed a complaint against “persons unknown” in an attempt to resolve the mysterious disappearance.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, is a contagious respiratory illness that first appeared in China in November 2002, when it killed 775 people and infected around 8,000. There has been no known transmission of SARS anywhere in the world since 2004.

During a recent inventory researchers at the Pasteur Institute, which was among the first to isolate HIV in the 1980s, discovered they had lost some 2,349 vials containing samples of the SARS virus.

Unable to locate the samples, the body called in France’s drug and health safety agency, to help with the search.

Credit to The Telegraph

Depositor In Failed Russian Bank Loses It, Takes Hostages, Demands $700,000 Ransom

Earlier today, the Central Bank of Russia announced that starting April 21, it would revoke the license of Moscow’s Bank Zapadny. According to reports, "the bank had cooked its books and failed to comply with regulations on the amount of assets a financial organization must maintain to ensure its stability, the central bank said." In other words, your typical FDIC Failure Friday only on Monday morning. Hardly notable. It is what happened next that was shocking. Shortly after the bank shutdown announcement, an armed man took three hostages at a Belgorod branch of precisely this failed Bank Zapadny.

Considering the bank is located in a Russian city in proximity to Ukraine some early speculation suggested the two may be related, however it appears
this may simply be the latest case of a disgruntled bank client taking matters into his own hands.  As RT reports, "he may be a client of the bank wishing to withdraw his deposit despite the bank losing its license.....Life News tabloid says it has identified one of the attackers as 46-year-old Aleksandr Vdovin, a client who holds the bank’s promissory notes for a large sum, and who decided to reimburse them at gunpoint."

Well, that's one way of dealing with bail-ins...

RT reports more:

The hostage situation is developing at a branch of the Zapadny bank in Belgorod, a city in western Russia in a region bordering Ukraine.

The armed man went into the bank on Monday morning and is now demanding a certain sum of money, police confirmed. There are three people being held hostage inside, according to preliminary information.

Earlier unconfirmed media reports said the man is armed with a Saiga hunting carbine and is demanding 25 million rubles ransom ($700,000).

Police have evacuated a school and a kindergarten near the branch as precaution. The region’s police chief, General Viktor Pesterev, is at the scene. Negotiations are underway.

Curiously, unlike in Cyprus where capital controls were taken by the general public relatively calmly, in Russia the limitation on deposit withdrawals resulted in a prompt hostage situation.

The withdrawal of the license means that the bank’s clients will have to wait for some time before they can get their deposits.Only deposits no bigger than about $20,000 will be reimbursed by the Russian national bank deposit insurance agency. Creditors holding larger debts will have to wait for the bank’s likely bankruptcy.

More on the situation:

Life News tabloid says it has identified one of the attackers as 46-year-old Aleksandr Vdovin, a client who holds the bank’s promissory notes for a large sum, and who decided to reimburse them at gunpoint. The report added that the hostages were the branch manager, a cashier and a janitor.

LifeNews also spoke to a friend of the alleged hostage taker, Gennady Vechorka, who said his holding up of the bank branch was most likely an act of desperation. He said Vdovin, a father of two, is a rational man and would release the hostages unharmed, if he is given some time to cool down and think straight.

The tabloid spoke to Vdovin himself on the phone. He sounded rather calm and said he was about to settle his differences with the bank. He said he tried to withdraw his deposits in a proper way two days ago, but was denied. He also agreed to allow his friend, Vechorka, into the bank to act as a negotiator.

Finally, bankers being bankers, only in this case not TBTF, they promptly found a culprit - the central bank, only in this case the issue was not being bailed out of course:

Vladimir Semago, chair of the Zapadny board of directors, blamed Russia’s central bank and its move to revoke the license for the hostage situation, saying the decision was rushed and unwise.

A video clip of the hostage situation from a neighboring hotel in Belgorod:

Credit to Zero Hedge