Huge pro-EU rally grips Ukraine

[mapuc]

Read the Swedish news and Russia is going to invade Crimea tomorrow. Read the Danish news and The Russian have no interest in invading Crimea.

Markus

[kranz]

Originally Posted by mapuc

Read the Swedish news and Russia is going to invade Crimea tomorrow. Read the Danish news and The Russian have no interest in invading Crimea.

Markus

next time read SkyBirdMedia, you silly billy.
SkyBirdMedia (SBM) = the only credible source of information.

[Jimbuna]

I'm thinking pressure is being applied by Russia by way of troop movements and exercises as well as 'armed men' holding key points so as to provoke an armed clash that will give Putin the excuse he needs to act in a similar fashion as to what happened in Georgia.

I hope I'm wrong but that is the impression I am beginning to get.

[Catfish]

a) lots of Ukrainians suddenly get russian passports
(which mean that those "russians" have to be protected, best by an invasion)

b) Putin just said the Crimea asked for humanitary help


My bet is Russia going the rough way, and right now.

[Alex]

The President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovich, reappeared in Russia yesterday, and held a press conference today, in Rostov-on-Don, a russian city close to the ukrainian border. There, he affirmed he's "not been overthrown", and promised to "keep up the fight for the future of Ukraine".

Mr Yanukovich stated that he's "been forced to leave the country after receiving death threats", and declared that "those who took power in Kiev are nationalists and pro-fascists strapping young lads".
He considers that "the actual upheaval that resulted in casualties in the country is the result of an inexplicable policy from the West, that showed too much leniency towards Maidan".

Viktor Yanukovich, who's now the subject of an arrest warrant ("for mass murder") issued by the new political power, also objected to a military intervention. "I think Ukraine must stay one and indivisible, and I'll be back soon", he added.

Fastening my seatbelt.

[TFatseas]

Some serious firepower flying into the Crimea.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=287_1393605865

[kranz]

Originally Posted by Catfish

b) Putin just said the Crimea asked for humanitary help

When Poland was divided in 1772 for the first time, the tsar claimed that he wanted to protect the religious minorities inhabiting Polish territories.
When Poland was backstabbed on 17th September 1939 Stalind said he had to protect Russian citizens.

When will you guys learn that Russia never wages 'offensive' wars?

[XabbaRus]

Originally Posted by Catfish

a) lots of Ukrainians suddenly get russian passports
(which mean that those "russians" have to be protected, best by an invasion)

b) Putin just said the Crimea asked for humanitary help


My bet is Russia going the rough way, and right now.

Lots of the residents of The Crimea have had Russian passports for a long time. 60% are Russian. God knows what will happen. Of course Russia would like the Crimea back. Easiest thing would be to just allow that to happen. Then leave The Ukraine to it. Why would the EU want the Ukraine anyway. Also you can't compare this situation to Georgia. In that situation Saakashvili did launch an unprovoked attack. Also there are conflicting reports. The airport was closed then open. Russian gun men outside Ukrainian troops inside.

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by TFatseas

Some serious firepower flying into the Crimea.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=287_1393605865

Wargame: Crimean Escalation...

[Mr Quatro]

State department chess move: http://news.yahoo.com/us-says-yanuko...193304920.html

Washington shot back that in fleeing his country the 63-year-old, who had faced months of protests after overturning a decision to sign a deal to move closer to the EU, had lost his right to govern.

"We believe that Yanukovych has lost his legitimacy as he abdicated his responsibilities... he left Kiev, and he has left a vacuum of leadership," said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

[Onkel Neal]

So, where's the Ukrainian air force? They just let Rooskie choppers fly in unopposed?

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

So, where's the Ukrainian air force? They just let Rooskie choppers fly in unopposed?

The military leadership is in chaos, and top staff partially fired.

The air force in parts is attached to the groudn army, the grpoudn army is organise din three army groups, one in the west, center, and east. The eastern group'S loyalty you cannot take for granted.

Half of their fighters are not combat ready would need longer time of preparation before you can send them into service. They operate Su-27, 30 and Mig 29 in this role.

The Ukraine is probably neither willing nor capable to challenge Russian military in the vicinity of Russian sensitive installations like Sewastopol. Also, this would give the Russians the excuse to go in full force that Putin probably is looking for and hopes to provoke.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Oberon

The trouble with the Ukraine is that there's good and bad on both sides. Lots of nationalism, fascism, racism, and corruption in the mix. It's an ugly combination, and I don't think it's going to get any better soon.

And Islam, believe it or not. The Tartarians (Tartars?) are Muslim, and traditionally hostile to Moscow. They are no big group, but see the Crimean as their home ground.

But currently, three in five people on the Crimean are ethnic Russians.

[mapuc]

One thing you can say things, things are developing fast now. Hope peace after all get a chance, although it seems as if the parties are more interested in fighting for the sake of war than for peace.

Markus

[Alex]

The structural similarities between Poland and Turkey in relation to Ukraine and Syria need to be examined in order to more clearly understand how the ‘Lead from Behind’ template has been applied to both case studies.

First of all, the ‘Lead from Behind’ strategy has been defined as “discreet U.S. military assistance with [others] doing the trumpeting”. It is the new strategy of warfare for theaters where the US, for whatever reasons, is reluctant to directly militarily engage itself. It relies on using regional allies/’leaders’ as proxies to further US geostrategic and geopolitical goals via asymmetrical measures while Washington pivots to Asia, where it aims to present a conventional deterrent to China.

Both Poland and Turkey are the US’ puppets of choice in their respective theaters against their neighboring targeted states (Ukraine and Syria). At the least, the US provides intelligence support and the training of ‘opposition’ units, while Poland and Turkey pull the weight in directly assisting those members during their deployments in the victimized nations. In the case of Ukraine, the US utilized NGOs to infiltrate the country over a more than 10-year period and also allocated $5 billion to “help Ukraine achieve [the development of democratic institutions]”. The National Endowment for Democracy has also been pivotal in peddling the ‘Kony 2012 of Ukraine’ in order to advance their psy-op campaign against Kiev, just as ‘Syrian Danny’ was the version deployed against Damascus.

But the similarities do not end there. [...]

Poland as the ‘Slavic Turkey’ of NATO Destabilization, by Andrew Korybko.