A Russian military volunteer said:"We're simple people, volunteers ... We're here at the airport to maintain order."
Ukraine's interim president, Oleksander Turchinov, has accused Russia of open aggression. Turchinov related this invasion to when Russia went to war with Georgie in 2008 over the breakaway Akhazia region (which was largely populated by Russians).
“They’re provoking us into an armed conflict. Based on our sources, they’re working on scenarios that would be analogous to Abkhazia, when they provoke conflict, and then they start to annex territory.”
Turchinov feels that this invasion is for the same purpose as it was in 2008. Turchinov is also skeptical of deposed president Viktor Yanukovich. He believes that Yanukovich may have something to do with this invasion.
This potential threat to Crimea, and Ukraine as a whole, has reporters questioning what the civilians think about this invasion. After many interviews with residents of Crimea, many consider themselves Russian, not Ukrainian, which validates that Crimea is pro-Russian. Additionally, the citizens of Crimea want to be protected from the Fascist Ukraine. This then begins to create controversy within Ukraine.
The most striking part of this invasion was President Obama's address. The President said that " any violation of Ukraine's sovereignty would be deeply destabilizing and there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine."
I am not sure why President Obama feels the need to threaten the Russian Military, but I felt it was completely unnecessary. If anything, this conflict is between Ukraine and Russia, maybe the EU, but the US should have no involvement in this issue. I believe that the US gets unnecessarily involved in foreign affairs too frequently. This conflict has nothing to do with the United States, yet President Obama feels the need to threaten Russia. I think that the President should focus on domestic affairs before sticking his nose in other country's business.
You have the basic issue here of protecting democracy, which serves Obama's interests, versus annexation of a population that identifies primarily as Russian, which serves Putin's interests. Obama is a diplomat. The guy has used tired rhetoric and the threat of sanctions to "scare" Russia, and Putin is having no part of it. In my opinion, unless Russia shows aggression toward NATO-member Poland, there is absolutely no chance that we intervene militarily.
ReplyDeleteHere's the deal: there is obviously no intention by Russia to incite a conflict. The only bullets fired were those shot into the air as a warning when Ukrainian serviceman tried to take back their airport posts last night in Belbek. Their military exercise in western Russia was just a flex that amped the THREAT of invading mainland Ukraine and Eastern Europe.
The situation is a win-win for both parties. Obama knows Putin's card is to not invade mainland Ukraine — he just wants Crimea. He's making bold threats and using rhetoric that he knows he will never have to back up, and he's making the U.S. look like it's "protecting the interests of democracy." At the same time, now that Russian forces are withdrawing back to their posts in the West, the annexation of Crimea (which Putin is still denying is his objective) seems a much better alternative than WWIII. After all, the citizens themselves want to be a part of Russia, right?
The point, here, is that we're seeing diplomatic games. Unless someone pulls a trigger by mistake, Obama can say whatever the hell he wants without repercussions. Putin can take what he wants - Crimea - without repercussions. It's really just a fascinating chess match.