Sounds like disinformation, considering this: A source in the Ukrainian defence ministry has told the Guardian’s, Shaun Walker, in Crimea, that he has heard nothing about an ultimatum that has reportedly been posed to Ukrainian forces in the region to surrender before 3am GMT or face an assault.
I'll wait until Russia starts to tally targets destroyed, being a veteran of the Tonkin Gulf incident.
Isn’t it about time the Prezzy of the United Steezy did something he knows how to do - like play golf, shoot some hoops, run a few lines with Reggie, and fly off to another lavish vacation with the Mooch?
Obama diddles while Ukraine burns.
I would bet that half the Ukrainian military is Russian. That would put Ukraine at a disadvantage in that they don’t know which units are reliable, which officers are loyal to who.
For me, its up to Ukraine to show if they are prepared to shed blood in defense of their sovereignty. The West can supply the bullets, but the decision to actually fight and die for their independence is something they have to decide.
My bet is that Crimea is a lost cause, because of demographics, because of its importance to Moscow, and because Ukraine won’t have the ability or even the will to go to all out war in its defense. If they aren’t willing to go to all out war, and if they don’t have the citizenry in the Crimea to put into the streets for a street war, its over. We can huff and puff but we don’t have any cards to play here.
Crimea was part of Russia for over 200 years, until Nikita Khrushchev literally gifted it to Ukraine in 1954 in order to purchase the support of their party bosses during his accession after the death of Stalin.
Before Russia, it belonged to the Ottoman Empire, now defunct. Before that, it belonged to the city-state of Venice, going back to before Columbus discovered America. But the Crimea was NEVER part of Ukraine, until Khrushchev’s unilateral “gift."
(Imagine if President Eisenhower, as a dictator on his own, gave Long Island and NYC to Connecticut as part of an internal United States political deal to secure CT’s critically needed support during a contested election or coup. That is how Crimea became part of the Ukraine.)
In 1954, the political gift of the Crimea was an internal USSR matter, not an international matter. Ukraine was then the Ukraine SSR, within the USSR. In 1991, the USSR broke apart, and Khrushchev’s personal gift suddenly mattered. But despite the gift and the fluke that led Crimea to become part of the modern sovereign nation of Ukraine, Crimea has always been 90%+ ethnic Russian, and as always, it contains Russia’s most critical naval bases, air force bases and sea ports.
In fact, Crimea is far more Russian than Hawaii is American. It’s foolish and naïve to believe that the Russians will risk losing the Crimea during a period of chaos in greater Ukraine.
If you want to see Russia's REAL "red line," threaten their control of the Crimea, and its naval bases and seaports. I'm not supporting Russia's position, I just want folks to know that this is a much more complicated picture than "Evil Russia invades poor innocent Ukraine," which is the kindergarten/MSM version of Crimean history.
... and we sit. SHAMEFUL!