If the ethnic Russians in Ukraine’s Crimea region decide to seek independence, I fear Europe will have a war on its hands.
Really? What’s going to happen. Is the rest of Ukraine going to declare war on Russia? Who will back them? Is the British army ready to fight in Ukraine? Is there any popular support for that?
If the Crimea and some surrounding regions demand secession, Putin will likely unload some troops onto the peninsula via the naval base (no doubt to roaring approval from the crowds) as a show of strength, and the Kievan government will simply agree to let it go. It’s not worth fighting to keep people in the country who don’t want to be in it.’