Doesn’t showing videos of captives under duress supposedly confessing something seem very third world? Does anyone believe it when Iran or Isis or Al Queda shows videos of ‘confessions’? In my opinion, it makes Russia look worse than anything.
The first news out was that Ukrainian ships had violated Russia’s waters....and IIRC, it was not from Russian media.
Ukraine wagging the NATO, EU, UN dog, with an eye toward mandatory elections by March 2019.
Coercion.
Russian space was in fact violated. Azov is in effect a Russian sea.
Who cares. Let them fight. Eastern European BS.
While we’re at it get us out of Afghanistan. Barry got bin laden when Bush was busy fighting daddy’s demons. So time to leave.
Soundslike like induced confessions. Just like in other acts by communist nations and Mueller.
Russia needs deepwater warm ports that aren't iced over for months at a time. They have very few and Sevastopol in Ukraine was one they've had access to for centuries. And it's a very strategically important one because it's where they have access to the whole Black Sea, Mediterranean, and via the Suez Canal, the Middle East for both their commercial and naval needs. They house a naval fleet there so it's akin to our own Norfolk or Pearl Harbor to them.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine and Russia split up. They agreed to a 20 year unrestricted lease of the port for Russia. That expired in 2014. Coincidentally, Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014 and seized significant territory including, even more coincidentally, Sevastopol. They recently built a bridge over a narrow strait between their seized Ukrainian territory to their own mainland. This essentially cut off the entire Sea of Azov to Ukrainian shipping to/from the Black Sea from their territories on that sea because Russia claims the entire strait is now theirs. However the recognized border between Ukraine and Russia still runs down the middle of that strait.
Russia claimed Ukrainian naval vessels were illegally steaming through Russian waters without permission. I presume Ukraine says "those aren't your waters, we don't need your permission". And here we are.
That about right? I had another Freeper here last night tell me that this was really Ukrainian aggression because they threatened to blow up the bridge the Russians built but that presumes that Russia is in the right in occupying the Ukrainian side of the bridge and redrawing the international boundaries and I don't see it that way given what I understand here.
I do wonder if the vessels violated Russian waters.
I hear “international waters” on the news.
I hope we’ll know the truth.
Standard rule..never believe a word the Russians say.
Its a barbarian act by the Russians. In 2016 Iran did the same thing, showing video of captured US sailors with “confessions”.
Whatever questions exist claiming either provocation (Ukraine) or aggression (Russia), showing a video of these men “confessing” is barbaric and outrageous.