Thanks for the post. Just a heads up: 3:00 pm in Moscow is 7:00 am EDT. It will be interesting to see if he will encourage the Duma to vote for annexation on Friday, or suggest Crimea become an autonomous dependent of Russia. My money is on a dependent, hoping to reduce the impending sanctions.
I think that with the Duma confirming on Friday, Putin will begin the push into Eastern Ukraine.
Thoughts?
Gwjack
They are apparently holding up signs that say “russia help us” so I am guessing the eastern Ukraine is not interested in being part of Svboda.
I think he’ll make it official. If Putin wanted to lower the heat, he would not have gone out of his way to deliver a presidential address so soon and this was not a previously scheduled event.
Something tells me Putin wants to make history with the eyes of the entire Russian nation and the world watching. This is not the kind of guy who plays it safe. I believe he will recommend the formal accession of Crimea and the City Of Sevastopol as new federal subjects of Russia to the Federal Assembly.
And this will make him even more popular in Russia.