How do you see this playing out now given the seizures over the last week?
It would seem the Ukrainians are doing everything they can...probably too much...to make sure they are not the aggressor here. Everyone knows who the aggressor is here...despite the old school Soviet PR campaign.
I am very much in favor of providing military assistance to the Ukrainians by way of something like getting more F-16's for Poland so they can then give their MiG-29's to the Ukrainian Air force, and providing parts and resources so they can get more of their on paper strength actually in the field.
I doubt Pooty wants to go into something and take appreciable losses in men, tanks, or aircraft. If the Ukraine can provide a credible threat to do that, I think he'll pull a Georgia and quietly back off.
The Crimea is gone, but I don't really want to see a good chunk of the rest of the country fly the hammer and sickle again...er...Russian colors.
Seeing the hammer and sickle waving at some of these protests is at best chilling.
I used to work with a proud Russian who was ironically born in Kiev (his Father was Russian in the Soviet Army) and he was proud to the point that it blinded him...wow. You'd think the Soviets beat Hitler with one hand tied to hear him tell it...repeatedly. It got to the point where I brought in figures of all the crap we gave them in WW2 and how many were lost getting it there. He thought it was all western propaganda...yeesh.
-Dave
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