Posted on 12/13/2021 8:42:30 PM PST by RomanSoldier19
Isn’t that why they took Crimea?
Ukraine looks like belligerent empire building to me.
Sounds more likely to me. Just plain belligerence by Ivan.
The Ukrainians will take out Sebastopol first. Perhaps with a nuke they didn’t t hand over years ago.
I am not minimizing it, I am stating what Russia’s intentions are and controlling a good chunk of the Black Sea helps with Russia and its desire to expand. Regardless this is not our fight and no American blood should be spilled to help out Europe.
“re-establishing the Soviet Union.”
Nope. Wrong. They want to re-install the monarchy with Putin as the controller behind the scenes.
The Grand Duke was married in an Russian Orthodox church last year. Remarkable since Russian policy has been to eliminate churches under the communistic rule. Not to mention the Orthodox burial services of the last Czar and his family which was televised throughout Russia.
We are going to see czarist Russia again.
BTW, Russia was very expansionist under the Czars.
Anyone else tired of all the geopolitical bull shit? Have fun russia! Go for it china! Europe ignites! Asia ignites! Reeeee.
Seems like what is left of the USA is already owned by neerdowells and wackadoodles.
Like watching a slow mo train wreck.
Still.
Prayers up for the nation and the good people.
Do that and we will implement super sanctions.
Nope. Wrong. They want to re-install the monarchy with Putin as the controller behind the scenes.
I just knew that I was going to get flak on that from some nitpicker!
I suppose that I should have said, "re-establishing some authoritarian state whose borders would roughly correspond to those of the former Soviet Union, with satellite states and buffer zones roughly corresponding to those of the former Warsaw Pact."
But no: I trusted that most FReepers would understand the gist of what I was saying.
My bad!
Regards,
Or as Dean Wormer would have said: Double-Secret Sanctions!
Regards,
If that is really your take on the matter, I would have to conclude that you don’t know shit from shinola about foreign affairs.
I imagine the free Ukraine getting access to 24 tactical neutron 155mm shells could reduce the Russian offensive buildup while massed in the initial stages of their war of aggression. That the Russian government has threatened Ukraine and the West, lobbing few dozen environmentally friendly clean nukes is self defense by the smaller less conventional sized defensive forces available to the Ukraine. Two can play that game.
What they want and need is a land link between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula-—A rail line from Moscow to the Black Sea. The shipyards in southern Ukraine would be handy too. They do not need all of Ukraine, just a bit of it. And they will get it—how? Hard to say. But they will not just roll the T-90s in. They will do it when the USA is distracted—by political instability or Civil War—or a war with China. But, Russia will need to make a deal with Germany and Poland first.
I think we’re seeing third parties coming into the fray who would very much like to see Russia and Nato/US at war........and this over a flea bag country no less.
For now, it’s all just sabre-rattling. When Russia cuts off the gas to Europe, then we know it’s serious.
They have Crimea which gives them Sevastopol. They could use Odessa too. We need to stay away from this
I’m down with that. But they will be yelling NATO! where are you very soon.
I thought there was also an aspect of pipeline territory, too wasn’t there?
NATO is a purely defensive organization, which does not have the will or the means to invade Russia. Former soviet bloc countries joined NATO as a defense against aggression by Russia. Arguing that past Russian enslavement of nations gives Russia the right to enslave those nations again is monstrously amoral.
Putin will not be satisfied with just a land link. He wants a subservient Ukraine controlled by Russia.
There are a number of reasons.
Russian pipelines run through Ukraine. Ukraine charges Russia billions in fees for the privledge.
Nord Stream 2 pipeline is coming online shortly. Sanctions didn’t stop the building of the pipeline.
Ukraine gained independence from Russia on agreement to give up its nuclear capabilities
Russian businesses and Ukraine maintain the second largest migration border in the world. The first is our southern border.
Foothold on the Black Sea. This give Russia a larger military presence on the Mediterranean, Middle East, and North Africa
Further economically Putin wants a Eurasian Economic Union. Do that treaty, while signed, has been failing to come to fruition.
For Putin, this isn’t about restoring the Soviet Union. It is about becoming a major superpower in a now very unstable world.
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