Eight Russian cargo planes reportedly landed in the Crimean capital city of Simferopol today, brushing off Ukrainian customs officials, carrying unknown equipment apparently bound for their naval base in nearby Sevastopol.
Such shipments normally wouldn’t raise any eyebrows, but with the recent regime change in the Ukraine and secessionist unrest in the Crimea, any Russian military actions are being treated with immediate suspicion by the new interim government.
Russia insists that the shipments and deployments of troops near their naval base are in keeping with their existing framework agreement with the Ukraine on use of the Sevastopol base, the home of the Black Sea Fleet for over 200 years.
The interim Ukrainian government is largely anti-Russian, and many are pushing for the expulsion of Russia from the naval base as a way of trying to shore up their grip on the Crimea, which has an ethnic Russian majority.
The problem with Crimea is that it is a peninsula of Ukraine. All road and rail links lead accross Ukraine. There is only a ferry from Kerch to some little place in Krasndodar Kray, slightly north of Sochi. Thus, it is impossible for Russian forces to reach Crimea other than by air or water (unless they invade south-eastern Ukraine!).
How are they going to do that? They must be crazy. It didn't work out so hot for Georgia. This is gonna be another example of the naive believing in American bullshit.
A well-known poem by W. von Goethe about an apprentice sorcerer is all I need to know to understand why Ukraine is entering a civil war. The apprentice sorcerer which began the flood is the current Ukrainian government when it unilaterally destroyed the February 21 agreement which was co-signed by Poland, Germany, and France on February 22. Regrettably there seems to be no real sorcerer to restore order and give the apprentice a good spanking behind the woodshed. Our President certainly is not that sorcerer. He is merely fanning the flames. Could it be Putin?
What is so called interim government of Ukraine going to do with those pesky Russians? How they are going to push them of the base? Are they going to bury them in their nation's debt? It looks like this is the only weapon of interim government available in abundance. Beware Russia!