Russia Orders Military Exercise..

[Olefin]

I agree with you Targan on Putin staging something to give him an excuse

anyone want to lay bets on a Russian warship (something old and expendable) being sunk by "Ukranian terrorists" sometime in the next few days in a Crimean port?

[Rainbow Six]

Originally Posted by Olefin

I agree with you Targan on Putin staging something to give him an excuse

anyone want to lay bets on a Russian warship (something old and expendable) being sunk by "Ukranian terrorists" sometime in the next few days in a Crimean port?

I agree that the Russians staging something as a pretext for action is a possibility. I don't think they'd need to go that far though. An attack on one of the approx 13,000 Russian naval personnel based in the Crimea already would probably suffice.

[Olefin]

Originally Posted by Rainbow Six

I agree that the Russians staging something as a pretext for action is a possibility. I don't think they'd need to go that far though. An attack on one of the approx 13,000 Russian naval personnel based in the Crimea already would probably suffice.

Putin tends to go for big and showy (i.e. see recent Olympics for context)

At the least it would have to be a big target - maybe a barracks gets blown up or something like that - taking over the Crimea over a couple of people wont do it

but a whole barracks full of Navy personnel, a minesweeper and its crew, etc.. - thats more his style - plus it gives him a nice big state funeral to do his Stalin impression (would be much better if he grew a moustache to go with it)

[Schone23666]

Originally Posted by Olefin

Putin tends to go for big and showy (i.e. see recent Olympics for context)

At the least it would have to be a big target - maybe a barracks gets blown up or something like that - taking over the Crimea over a couple of people wont do it

but a whole barracks full of Navy personnel, a minesweeper and its crew, etc.. - thats more his style - plus it gives him a nice big state funeral to do his Stalin impression (would be much better if he grew a moustache to go with it)

Meh, he wouldn't need the mustache. He doesn't need to impersonate Stalin when his own personality cult is already firmly entrenched. It doesn't help that we live in an age where celebrities, whether they be politicians, movie stars, self help gurus, etc. are nearly worshipped as messiahs. Look at the cult around the recently deceased Hugo Chavez as one recent example.

Putin basically IS Russia at this point, for better or worse.

[stormlion1]

Actually I could see him using the people who seized those government buildings as a pretext. "going in to aid the oppressed Russian Minority" or "Aiding the Russians attempting to breakaway from an oppressive gov't" as a excuse. And I honestly see it turning into a long drawn out low-key affair rather than a big shooting war. As long as Putin has defacto control he can do what he wants until he can make the claim legitimate with phony elections or even UN Sanctions because Russian Forces are acting as Peacekeepers.

[Cdnwolf]

Going to hell fast. Putin gets parliamentary approval to use Russian troops and BBC now reporting two different units already on the ground. Anyone have update information on what troops are in the area?

[Schone23666]

Well, this is going downhill quick...

http://news.yahoo.com/russian-troops...200052097.html

Ukraine can't do shit for the moment with Russia now owning the Crimea, and Obama was warning of "grave repercussions" if Putin were to take such actions. Now that he has, Obama is either going to have to put up or shut up.

"Military exercise", my ass, Putin knew exactly what he was going to do from the beginning. It kind of reminds me of that dance number by Mel Brooks from the beginning of "To Be or Not To Be". "All I want is Peace! Peace, peace....a little piece of Poland, a little piece of France!"

[Tegyrius]

Originally Posted by Cdnwolf

Going to hell fast. Putin gets parliamentary approval to use Russian troops and BBC now reporting two different units already on the ground. Anyone have update information on what troops are in the area?

Per last night's Nightwatch report:

Russian military preparations. On 26 February, a Russian news outlet published the following report to explain the increased military activity in western Russia.

"Warriors of the 31st Air-Assault Brigade have already been deployed to Novorossiysk, and from there they will head out to the Black Sea aboard an amphibious landing ship. Several groups of soldiers will be guarding strategic facilities belonging to Russia. As Rustoria has learned from its own source, for several weeks the guys have been in a state of full combat readiness for deployment to Ukraine. The 'contractors' will be serving there to provide security support until the situation is fully stabilized.

"As an aside, the Ulyanovsk Air-Assault Brigade was included in the make-up of the UN "blue helmets" in April 2013, and acquired the status of peacekeeper. At this time it is the only Airborne Troops formation that is 100-percent manned with contract servicemen

"Previously a separate GRU (Main Military Intelligence Directorate) Special Forces brigade was sent to the Crimea from Tolyatti. In addition, 11,000 landing force troops arrived from Sochi with the Black Sea Fleet squadron.

" Today at two o'clock (on 26 February) the troops of the Western Military District, units stationed on its territory, and the Central Military District's 2nd Army, the Aerospace Defense Command, the Airborne Troops, Long-Range and Military-Transport aviation were suddenly raised on alert. Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin ordered a check of the troops' readiness for operations to resolve crisis situations posing a threat to the country's military security, as well as those of an anti-terrorist, medical and epidemiological, and technological character."

- C.