Apparently, I missed something here. Why are there Russians “illegally” in Crimea? Why is stopping them from leaving and presumably returning to Russia a problem? I thought Russia annexed Crimea so wouldn’t this be like me moving from Florida to Indianna?
[Apparently, I missed something here. Why are there Russians “illegally” in Crimea? Why is stopping them from leaving and presumably returning to Russia a problem? I thought Russia annexed Crimea so wouldn’t this be like me moving from Florida to Indianna?]
An expeditionary army that lays land mines is marooned - it can’t advance, and it can’t retreat. The Russian force around Kiev is deep doo-doo. It is preparing for the deluge to come. It’s possible that Russia will take Mariupol while having the entire army around Kiev captured. Think Stalingrad with Russians in the role of the defeated Germans and Ukrainians in the role of the victorious Soviets. Heck - think Miracle on the Vistula, where the Poles captured an entire Russian army and achieved their full independence from Russia in one fell swoop.
The problem is almost no one but Russia recognizes their annexation of Crimea. Some Russian immigrants seem to be worried Ukraine might get it back. Either that or they just don’t want to stay in a peninsula occupied by the Russian army. Either way it has to be embarrassing to the Putin administration to have their colonists bugging out.