Posted on 06/10/2015 10:44:23 AM PDT by elhombrelibre
The recent deaths of three Russian servicemen raise serious questions about the Kremlin's claim that its military is not operating in Ukraine.
Our team travelled to remote villages in central and southern Russia to find the freshly dug graves of three young men, each bearing a wreath from Russia's ministry of defence.
Anton Savelyev, Timur Mamayusupov and Ivan Kardapolov died on the same day - 5 May, 2015.
Social media activists connected their deaths through tributes posted online, and identified
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
It’s stories like this that make it necessary for Putin to burn the bodies of its soldiers who die in Ukraine.
I can't really tell. In the photos with the article they don't even appear to be dead...
Yes, that’s a very keen observation. You can pick up books on the Civil War too and see pictures of those soldiers. Do you suppose any of them are dead today? I mean they looks so alive in the photos.
Exactly!
... and everybody is a acting surprised. I heard mothers of dead orcs are paid a fixed sum of 3 million rubles for telling they never had any children...
Putin does NOT deny that there are Russian nationals fighting in the Ukraine. At question is whether they are operating under Russian command. When the millions of ethnic Russians who live in the Donbas moved into the Donbas, it was Russia proper, not even the Ukraine. When the Ukraine seceded, families found themselves on opposite sides of a national border.
This is not an argument about Russia being “justified” in invading the Ukraine; I am merely pointing out how Russians end up fighting in the Ukraine absent an invasion by “Russia.”
I know Putin’s arguments. They’re repeated here, too, on FReeRepublic quite frequently. Do you suppose all of that Russian equipment that is making its way to Ukraine, the new stuff, is also indigenous to those Russians who, like the Sudeten Germans, were caught on the wrong side of the border? And these young Russian lads from remote parts of Russia that are dying in Ukraine just leave their Units and float over the border? Do they have AWOL in the Russian army?
I was not denying that Russia is playing a role in the Donbas; I was only stating that Russian soldiers found dead in the Donbas doesn’t make that case. Nor does Russian-made equipment found on the global marketplace. Frankly, my main reason for being partly skeptical that Russia “has invaded the Donbas” is simply that since Russia already took the Crimea, I don’t really get why Russia would do such a sloppy, half-assed job of taking the Donbas if they wanted it.
Except this, simply: A Donbas which has been simply suppressed into Kiev will become a constant source of instability for Kiev, and violence on Russia’s borders. On the other hand, actually annexing the Donbas is a headache Putin doesn’t need; the much more scantly populated Crimea is a headache enough. Russia’s interests are far more nuanced than territorial expansion: either a Quebec-like Donbas, peacefully within Ukraine with enough autonomy to appease Russophones throughout the Ukraine, or failing that, a frozen state like trans-Dneipper. (Of course, the ideal situation for Moscow would be Russophones winning elections in Kiev, but annexing Crimea made than very unlikely.)
Two years ago I made several assertions, most of which were sharply contrary to the news media’s and Washington’s near-certainties:
Russia would annex Crimea, and use massive economic aid to integrate it into Russia.
Russia is inevitable entangled in the Donbas, but would not annex it. Most likely, it would become a frozen combat zone, like the trans-Dneiper and various Caucasian terrirtorues.
Russia would rather see any regions of Ukraine that are not overwhelmingly Russophone stay part of the Ukraine.
Russia will not make hostile actions, or lay claim to any part of Belarus, the Baltic states, or any Balkan state.
So since my predictions were infinitely more accurate than the hyperventilating of the MSM, Washington and Europe, I’m sticking with my assessment of Russia’s motives.
Is English your first language?
Oh, come on, now. That’s the kind of snide insinuation I get when I confront leftist moonbats. I have one mistyped letter in my entire post (I just ran it through GrammarCheck). You can’t address anything of substance, so you snidely suggest I’m a Russian. So weak.
OK, two. I just spotted one GrammarCheck didn’t (”inevitable” instead of “inevitably.”)
You’re right. It’s unfair of me. Will they dock your pay at the Putin Troll factory for pro-Putin posting?
Good analysis.
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