Russian vassalization of Ukraine

[exploited]

[John Galt]

putin blinked

well i guess this is gonna be all over soon

[Dylan]

[John Galt]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-0 ... raine.html

Putin Says No Immediate Need to Invade Eastern Ukraine, Leaves Threat Dangling


http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/04/world/eur ... -tensions/

Putin: Russia has no plans to annex Ukraine's Crimea region



he's still gonna do shit to save his own face, but he'll just deny that his troops were involved (since they TOOK OFF ALL INSIGNIA) and try to make out like he's the peacekeeper and whatnot. he'll stay in crimea. he'll probably stay there until they vote for independence. which they will, because russian troops will suppress others, same as in south ossetia. well, maybe that's what he had planned all along. still, i think the situation would deescalate

since he is saying this though, he's not fully committed. so as long as the US & Co. follow through and say they will remove him from the G8 if he doesn't leave etc etc... then i think diplomacy can win the day here

[exploited]

This is why the public should never be charged with deciding when to go to war.

Half the members of this board would have bombed Putin within the first day and a half. Christ.

[John Galt]

"ukranian soldiers, left, and unidentified gunmen, right"



the ones on the right -- Probably Local Militias -- look like they have better equipment than ukranian army

[John Galt]

[exploited]

[John Galt]

[exploited]

Well this was entirely predictable. There was never any real indication that he was going to take Ukraine itself. You don't put 150,000 troops by the border and just have them sit there if you are actually serious about doing something like that. You send them in and get it done, not let everyone and their mother check out your forces. It was him flexing his muscles so that the Ukranians would accept the loss of Crimea as their BATNA.

I'm still flabbergasted how quickly you guys got the war fervor. Kind of scary to be honest. Backyard skirmish is a backyard skirmish, not a reason to start killing Russian troops.