Kiev’s problem is the army is split right down the middle. It can’t be sure of the loyalty of Russophone army units.
And those on Crimea have already shifted allegiance to Russia.
No it's not. 80% of Ukraine wants nothing to do with Russia. And most folks who are army age weren't even alive when Ukraine was "part" of Russia.
Those formerly in charge of the Ukrainian military Putin doesn’t hire have the perfect résumés for Obama’s Pentagon. They’ve already destroyed one great armed forces.
Most Ukrainian military in Crimea has now joined the Russian military. Virtually all ships turned over to Russia. Ukrainian naval commander now 2nd in command of Russian Black Sea Fleet.
Those on Crimea were from Russia. The indigenous Ukranian soldiers left after Putin’s army threatened their families with murder. The man you admire so much is a gangster, after all, worth $75 billion.
“And those on Crimea have already shifted allegiance to Russia.”
Lots of reasons for this, from family ties, to greater opportunities in the Russian sphere. In an almost-civil war like this, it takes times for loyalties to sort out. As it did in our own.
The fact that Ukraine can’t count on those already sworn to defend the nation says volumes about what has been happening inside Ukraine, for some time.
Most people don’t make that kind of a decision lightly.