Posted on 03/02/2014 6:17:11 AM PST by Corporate Democrat
(Reuters) - Ukraine mobilized for war on Sunday, after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared he had the right to invade, creating the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War.
"This is not a threat: this is actually the declaration of war to my country," said Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk, head of a pro-Western government that took power when Russian ally Viktor Yanukovich fled last week.
Putin obtained permission from his parliament on Saturday to use military force to protect Russian citizens in Ukraine, spurning Western pleas not intervene.
Russian forces have already bloodlessly seized Crimea - an isolated Black Sea peninsula where Moscow has a naval base. On Sunday they surrounded several small Ukrainian military outposts there and demanded the Ukrainian troops disarm. Some refused, although no shots were fired.
Russia has staged war games with 150,000 troops along the land border, but so far they have not crossed. However, pro-Russian demonstrators have marched in the east of the country and have raised Russian flags over government buildings in several cities, in what Kiev says is a move orchestrated by Moscow to justify a wider invasion.
Ukraine's security council ordered the general staff to immediately put all armed forces on highest alert, the council's secretary Andriy Parubiy announced.
The Defense Ministry was ordered to conduct a call-up of reserves - theoretically all men up to 40 in a country with universal male conscription, though Ukraine would struggle to find extra guns or uniforms for significant numbers of them.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
I think Putin views unification of Russia as far more important than a routine G8 meeting. He could care less what the imbecile Kerry thinks.
I agree its one-sided, but you also have to take into consideration that the Russian Army can only focus part of its military on Ukraine, and probably won’t do a full-scale mobilisation the way Ukraine will. If push came to shove, its not guaranteed that the Russians could just steamroll over them...
And after that, a tryst with Reggie.
My apology ... my error.
Maybe a vacation to Hawaii, to escape the climate change in DC
If push came to shove, its not guaranteed that the Russians could just steamroll over them...
********
Maybe Putin intends to slowly tighten the noose rather than employ the steamroller approach? Just another possibility to consider.
They don’t have any. They were silly enough to give up a large modern nuclear arsenal based on “ guarantees” of territorial integrity by the US , UK and... Russia. There’s a lesson here for Israel, Taiwan, S Korea mad Japan. If I were Poland I would be looking to start a nuke program too.
This report does advise a grain of salt because actual numbers are secret or unknown ... What to believe?!? ... What to believe!?! ... http://www.bbc.com/news/world-17511816
Before Desert Storm, it took three months for us to get the equipment in place to face Saddam's military, followed by a month of air strikes. I expect Ukraine's military, which has a shoestring budget, will take at least weeks to get ready. They were on peacetime alert status, which - for a low budget military - meant zero readiness, whereas the Russians had probably been gearing up for this operation months in advance.
It's easy to invade. It's the steady trickle of casualties, coupled with the cost of a long war that wears invaders down. The Russians strolled into Afghanistan after a frenetic spec ops mission that killed a disfavored Afghan Marxist who had assassinated their favorite. Almost a decade and 13,000 KIA later, they decided it wasn't worth the trouble and left.
“spurning Western pleas not intervene.”
For the Obama and Kerry, that meant
PIMP SLAP. Slapped down like a dog.
Not a treaty; never submitted not approved by the Senate, so its legal standing is unclear.
Sounds like Putin's version of the "Sudetenland". But it's not as if the free world is weak and indecisive or that US armed forces are at their lowest level since before WWII or that we are on the brink of a global financial collapse and worldwide depression or that we don't have an expansionist totalitarian oriental nation chomping at the bit to kick our butts or that Jews are facing genocide...is it?!
Maybe it's time to watch for Poland being invaded!
Threats from the Winter Soldier. I wonder who’s chips he’s playing poker with?
Palin knew this was going to happen, Even Mittens saw the threat of a Russia with Putin in charge.
And Obama made a snippy remark and everyone in the MSM laughed.
Well, Obama is weak against strong players, but try to be a conservative film maker or a GOP PAC and he turns into Rommel.
With a Russian Destroyer in Havana, Pootie Poot has his T’s crossed...
That so called "Treaty" was never presented to either the US Senate or the Russian Duma for ratification, much less ratified.
A bunch of drunks drew up a deal on the back of a bar napkin and the lawyers for the big dogs rejected it.
The US is not committed to protect the territorial integrity of Ukraine, thank god.
Two points:
1) What can a single destroyer in Cuba do? What I’d really be worried about is if he parked a couple of Typhoons off the East or West Coasts.
2) That ‘Budapest Memorandum’...yes, they should have given over all their nukes. What if they didn’t? What if they managed to sneak a few away for ‘insurance’? Would it it have been possible to flim-flam the nations doing the observing of the transfer? I say...you bet.
Thank you!
“That so called “Treaty” was never presented to either the US Senate or the Russian Duma for ratification, much less ratified.
A bunch of drunks drew up a deal on the back of a bar napkin and the lawyers for the big dogs rejected it.
The US is not committed to protect the territorial integrity of Ukraine, thank god.”
“John Fn Kerry just said on meet the press, “ Putin has nothing to gain in all of this, and will make the g8 mad if he doesn’t back off”
John Fn Kerry is so romantic and forceful, when he tries to nuance any world leader. Not really.
“His great line was “This is not Rocky 4”.....The Ukrainians are surely scratching their heads on the one.”
More nuancing by John Fn Kerry.
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