Posted on 02/24/2014 8:12:05 AM PST by goldstategop
Mr Medvedev, quoted by Russian news agencies, suggested that Western countries that accepted Ukraine's new authorities were mistaken.
"Strictly speaking, there is no-one for us to communicate with there today," he said.
"The legitimacy of a whole number of organs of power that function there raises great doubts.
"Some of our foreign, Western partners think otherwise. This is some kind of aberration of perception when people call legitimate what is essentially the result of an armed mutiny."
He added: "We do not understand what is going on there. There is a real threat to our interests and to the lives of our citizens."
....
However, Russia's foreign ministry also issued a strongly worded statement saying a "forced change of power" was taking place in Ukraine and that interim authorities were using "terrorist methods" to pressure dissenters in regions including Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
I suppose someone could drag Jozef Pilsudski's corpse out of the mausoleum. He'd put up a better fight than 0bama.
What deal did the EU "sign on to" that was breached within 48 hours? You are getting things backwards/sideways.
Please -- that kind of talk is not helping.
Ukraine can shut the gas pipelines transiting the country, and remove the Russians from Sevastopol in return.
You mean like the North forced the South?
The Ukrainian fleet is harbored right next to the Russian fleet at Sevastopol-- all it would take would be a couple of Ukrainian cruisers firing point blank to cause massive damage.
Russia could undoubtedly 'win' in the end, but the cost would be massive, and would also probably involve loss of access to Western markets and cash.
The bigger danger to Ukraine are 'separatists' funded by Moscow and aided under the table with weapons or Russian special forces.
Won't happen. The eastern part of Ukraine is where the oil fields are. What does Ukraine really have? Oil, plus the pipeline access from Russia to the Black Sea.
I remember when Hitler had that same problem in the Sudaten land in 1939. -Tom
a great deal of the nation’s wealth resides in non-pro-Europe eastern Ukraine...For a country like Ukraine, the appeal of federalism, which divides authority between the central government and its constituent regions, is undeniable...According to Ukraine’s government statistics service, manufacturing contributes at least three times more than agriculture to the country’s gross domestic product. Thus, eastern regions generally have higher per capita GDP rates...Seven of Ukraine’s 10 largest private companies by revenue are either headquartered or maintain the majority of their operations in eastern Ukraine...
The country’s most important businessmen are embedded in the east, where their businesses make disproportionately high contributions to the Ukrainian economy and national budget. Westerners staunchly oppose federalism because they believe it would threaten their economic and security interests. Others believe it could dissolve Ukraine as a country, leaving the west weak and defenseless against the Russia-backed east. Whether or not these concerns are misplaced, federalism would in fact benefit eastern regions disproportionately by giving them more control over state revenue, aggravating the socioeconomic tensions between the regions.
See my post #28. Apparently the eastern half is the half that has more business and contributes more to the economy. The EU wants the entire Ukraine so that they can redistribute that wealth.
How do you figure that?
A country with 40 million population, most of them hostile. Millions AKAs and RPGs. And a grudge. That would not be an easy occupation.
Any direct Russian invasion would be an enormous mess: and if it failed, or the Russian army revolted in the face of the atrocities it was being asked to commit, what would happen to Putin?
Russia Brands New Leaders “Mutineers”
AND this makes Russian leaders WHAT?... Stalinitas?...
You know Stalin......... that literally murdered most of the people in Ukraine..
Some no doubt actually REMEMBER THAT..
There is a real threat to our interests and to the lives of our citizens.”
Interesting use of the posessive, I thought they were
Ukranian citizens. Kinda gives the game away.
Russia wants a federal solution - or barring that, its fully prepared to aid and fund separatist forces - and can put in troops to protect the local population.
Kiev doesn’t have much choice and the country is teetering on the edge of a breakup.
They may be ethnic Ukrainians but they’re attached to the Russian and culture.
The main problem the new regime has is rolled back language and cultural rights for Russophones and in issuing an arrest warrant for Yanukovych - its signalling not reconciliation but revenge.
It looks like political retribution against the east for backing him and against Russia which backed his regime. This will not end well.
And Putin is not the kind of guy to swallow humiliation. He plays political chess better than any one else. This is by means over.
Ukraine ground forces consist of 57,000 personnel, not all combat. They have 2 armor brigades which use the Ukrainian upgraded T-64 (686 total tanks) as their main battle tank. Most of the rest of their equipment is leftover from the Soviet era. No matter how well trained and dedicated their troops are, it's going to be a short battle.
If Russian forces are attacked piecemeal, it's a long slog.
Plus I think you rate the Russian operational efficiency too highly: apart from a few spec ops units and some air force units, I doubt many Russian troops get much training at all.
Russia wants another colony.
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