I predicted early on that Vladimir Putin may intervene militarily to prop up a Moscow friendly Ukraine government and it appears that may be unfolding. Putin has massed 150,000 soldiers on their shared border and is conducting the largest 'war-games' since the Soviet days. The Russians have also scrambled fighter jets to patrol the border and have placed other elements of the air-force on standby status.
Pro-Russian militants have seized the regional government headquarters and parliament in Ukraine's Crimea on Thursday and raised the Russian flag. The acting Ukraine President, Olexander Turchino, has pleaded with Putin to refrain from using the Russian naval base as a springboard for military action. The Russian naval base in the Ukraine is a remnant of the Soviet Union glory days and has been leased (2010 Kharkiv Pact) to the Russians until 2047.
Ousted Ukraine President, Viktor F. Yanukovych, recently declared that he remained the lawful president of Ukraine and he appealed to Russia to “secure my personal safety from the actions of extremists.” Russian news agencies have reported that Yanukovych had arrived in Russia just recently. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry also summoned Russia's acting envoy in Kiev for immediate consultations in an effort to prevent military intervention.
President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have been warning the Nu-Soviets not to intervene as well, but the days of American deterrence are long gone. Our enemies no longer fear us and our allies no longer respect us. Our bumbling paper-tiger president instills fear into no one (except maybe RINO Republicans) and his threats, warnings and red-lines have become something of a joke.
Obama plans to cut our military to pre-WWII levels and the bad guys of the world are licking their collective chops. I think we will see Russia, China and Iran take advantage of Obama's weak leadership over the next two years and the 'all options on the table' military threats by this White House will be ignored.
****UPDATE***
According to CBC News.....Maxim, a pro-Russian activist who refused to give his last name, said he and other activists had camped overnight outside the local parliament in Simferopol when 50 to 60 heavily armed men wearing flak jackets and carrying rocket-propelled grenade launchers and sniper rifles took over the building.
"Our activists were sitting there all night calmly, building the barricades," he said. "At 5 o'clock unknown men turned up and went to the building. They got into the courtyard and put everyone on the ground. "They were asking who we were. When we said we stand for the Russian language and Russia, they said: 'Don't be afraid. We're with you.' Then they began to storm the building bringing down the doors," he said. "They didn't look like volunteers or amateurs; they were professionals. This was clearly a well-organized operation."
"Who are they?" he added. "Nobody knows."
Full story HERE
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