You know, Putin is really making the situation in Ukraine tragic, worse than I initially thought possible of him. He claims to be defending lives in Ukraine, but the biggest risk of violence and killing comes at the hands of the deceitfully unmarked and masked Russian armed forces he has sent into Crimea in the thousands.
What other country would tolerate a foreign force surrounding and blocking access to its own country’s armed units on its own territory? In Crimea, Ukrainian military bases are surrounded by these men in masks without military identification who now are apparently trying to block off communication to these Ukrainian bases, steal their arms from them, keep them hostage, and fool them into surrendering - young Ukrainian guys soldiers, with parents worried about them, surrounded by a numerically overwhelming foreign force at the command of the KGB President in the Kremlin. No military insignia, just masks on the Russian forces. If Putin is worried about violent gangs, well the best armed is the gang (it’s not an army as it’s unmarked) he has sent in in the thousands into Crimea who are now playing with stealing weapons from Ukrainian forces legally there, and with Russian forces illegally there as per the 1994 Budapest Treaty on Ukraine’s inviolable borders and per the lease given to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Putin has broken international law.
And now comes word that Russians, civilians, from Russia proper are being asked by a group on the Russian social network VKontakte to come to Ukraine for “the struggle”. Russians are to be transported to Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Odesa for this struggle against Ukraine’s authorities. Rostov on the Don in Russia is the departure point for Donetsk, Ukraine. To the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Russians are told to meet for departure in Belgorod, Russia. Personally, I can see how invitations like this could get a response from young hooligans.
In Kharkiv this past Saturday one can recall from the news Ukrainian Maidan supporters being forced to crawl on all fours with bloodied faces beaten ostensibly by pro-Russian Ukrainians. It turns out that same day
2,000 Russians had been bused in from Belgorod. This probably goes some way I believe to explaining the violence. 2,000 bused in the same day this widespread violence against Ukrainians suddenly erupts.
The stories are from the reputable Ukrainska Pravda:
pravda.com.ua/news/2014/03/3/7017204/
pravda.com.ua/news/2014/03/2/7016959/
Today, Odesa, a Russian-speaking city had a large anti-Putin protest for Russia to stop its aggression. What is supposed to happen now that Russians are being encouraged to travel there, to Odesa? More civil disturbance like in Kharkiv with violence?
It’s just like Julia Ioffe wrote in the column gilliam linked to; these cities were quite peaceful until this whole thing rapidly changed after Sochi and Putin sent in the troops. Now come further protests and fighting, and it may turn out that the ethnic Russian and Russian-speaking population of Ukraine which has been demonstrating against Putin like in Odesa today, will have to face Russian protestors and possibly hooligans in an operations sending them to Ukraine. Don’t think Putin wouldn’t know about this.
Putin is going for broke in Ukraine. He deceitfully has sent in thousands of armed troops and armour into Crimea which today holds the biggest risk for loss of Ukrainian lives, and civilians are being transported into Ukraine to “struggle” against today’s Ukrainian authorities. Let it never be said that the Lubyanka can’t teach an autocrat new tricks.
All this when Putin cowardly has his OMON internal troops arrest 40 peaceful anti-war protestors in Moscow, while a perhaps staged pro-Putin march goes through Moscow with OMON protection.
General Wes Clark mentioned on CNN today about the estimated 40 billion dollar wealth of Putin. It’s quite possible Putin is the wealthiest man in Europe. Well he and his oligarchs hold lots of these assets in Western bank accounts. Kerry mentioned asset freezes. I suggest if Putin has monies in Western banks, take them, and let’s help rebuild the lives of ordinary Russians and Ukrainians in Ukraine. Ukraine as a country was robbed up to 70 billion by its ousted corrupt President Yanukovych. No condemnation of that by Putin, just accommodations and protection for Yanukovych in Russia.
Ukraine needs stability and calm now, and its neigbours’ peaceful help. Poland understands this. Parents have just buried their kids. And Putin is invading the country now.
And I have family in Eastern Ukraine as well. Thank you Vlad.
:knight1: