Things are going off the rails in Ukraine. Some people want a trade real with the EU, some want a deal with Russia. It seems a strange thing to fight over, when they could really just trade with anyone at all.
Wouldn’t that be the democratic, capitalistic way?
But now there is violence going on. Makes you wonder what (or who) starts these things. The Ukrainian president has been kicked out, the US is offering a billion dollars in loan guarantees, and Russia is lining up its troops.
Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly says he is remaining neutral this crisis, but Russia is conducting a drill, to supposedly test the “combat readiness of his armed forces.”
The US isn’t happy about that and issued some threats to Putin. It would be interesting to see what they would do if Russia started interfering in other countries near the USA.
The Russian military “readiness” exercises are taking place now across western Russia. Experts say Moscow is showing its national might amid tension with the West over Ukraine.
Now that the very public Olympics are over in Sochi, sources close to the situation predict more of the same, short of military intervention.
When Ukraine’s president rejected closer ties with the European Union, and instead turned towards Russia, he was pressured to leave, and he eventually did. Russia did not intervene then, and they haven’t now – at least not yet.
Putin’s excuse for his latest action is worries” of western military intervention. We are told the West, or at least the US has no intention of intervening (other than offering money).
Russia’s Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu, said, “In accordance with an order from the president of the Russian Federation, forces of the Western Military District were put on alert at 1400 (0500 ET) today,” according to the Interfax news agency.
Shoigu claimed the military maneuvers had been previously planned involving approximately 150,000 armed personnel.
The western district encompasses most of western Russia and borders Ukraine, which lies between NATO nations and Russia.
Putin has made no public comment on Ukraine since President Viktor Yanukovich was driven from power over the weekend. The removal came after months of political turmoil that began with overtures from the European Union for closer ties with the country.
The United States and European nations have warned Russia against military intervention in Ukraine. John Kerry jumped to threaten Russia, but little can be done beyond weak sanctions.
Kerry Threatens Russia
Shoigu said the drill will test counter-terrorism measures. They have described the weak Ukrainian forces as “terrorists.”
