Vladimir Putin is devious and duplicitous. He is defining reality to support his illegitimate claims and justify aggression. If this was the 1930s we could substitute the name Hitler for Putin and find the same actions.
The Ukraine is an independent nation. It has been such since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Crimea became a part of the Ukraine when the Soviets transferred the territory to it. The eastern part of the Ukraine has always been part of the nation.
The Russian speakers in the Ukraine—who Putin publically uses as a pretext for annexation—are Ukrainian. They are not citizens of Russia. Yet Putin has threatened military action to “protect Russian citizens” who act as proxies for the Russians and have seized Ukrainian government buildings. The Kiev government is lawfully acting to regain control of the organs of government held by these Russian Fifth Columnists and what purportedly are Russian soldiers hiding their identity.
The agreement by Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart to end the crisis was simply a Russian farce. Putin had no intentions of removing his provocateurs or releasing the seized buildings or acknowledging the integrity of Ukrainian borders.
Europe is frightened to act due to its dependence on Russian gas. The U.S. can only react with sanctions that appear laughable. Neville Chamberlain confronted similar limitations and fear when confronting Nazi aggression. His capitulation to Hitler insured the second world war.
If the US and Europe fail to act ending Russian aggression Putin will demand more, take more and push the limits until the bombs begin to fall. Therefore Putin is not in question. The question is when courage to act will arise: before or after bloodshed.
Edward Horn
Baldwin
