I agree about the wisdom of a blockade, but fear Russia will find an excuse for war anyway, might makes right and all that. Putin will simply order separatists to attack the roadblocks, any violence will be blamed on Ukraine and used as an excuse. Or the separatists can start executing hostages and force a response, if they are not above kidnapping journalists and peace observers, they are not above beheading videos. Or Putin can do some Nazi style special forces operation across the border and blame Ukraine for it.
If Kremlin wants war it will get war.
Ukraine really is between a rock and a hard place. Their cities are being overtaken by Russians. If they attack, war breaks out which is exactly what Putin wants. Their other option is to keep allowing Russia to take more and more without opposition. I don’t see a happy outcome.
And I will always believe this is what Obama meant about being flexible.
0bama should have thought about that when he was giggling about sending his gay athletes to represent the U.S. in the Olympics, and especially when 0bama was spending $5 Billion to fund the Maidan protests that ousted Yushenko.
...but 0bama is an idiot who had no Plan B and was unprepared for Russia to actually respond.
“if they are not above kidnapping journalists and peace observers,”
Journalists are being grabbed off the street in Kiev, too.
I get the feeling Ukraine is trying to force a confrontation, at the urging of Washington, to justify western intervention, (they have already called for it, many times) but the troops in the field aren’t cooperating much.
The Russian propaganda machine may equate any blockade to the Nazi’s in Warsaw. Using that as an excuse to invade.