Ukraine’s military today claimed three soldiers were killed and seven wounded in fighting with eastern rebels, though they offered no details on where the fighting took place. These were the first casualties since Tuesday, and don’t seem a serious threat to the overall ceasefire.
Still, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was extremely pessimistic in a TV address on the situation, insisting that under “even the most optimistic scenario” of the ceasefire, Russia would still be a “military threat.”
To the extent that Russia is much larger, and has a much larger military, that’s the case, though of course the Minsk ceasefire agreement was never meant to make Russia disappear.
Poroshenko’s main problem is treating Russia as an military adversary, one they cannot possibly match. Ukraine’s entire military arsenal is just equipment Russia didn’t want when the Soviet Union split up.
While confronting Russia militarily is a pipe dream, keeping them as a “threat” could be of some value to Ukraine’s government as something to distract attention from their collapsing economy.
In the past, paupers used to ring bells: today they raise bogeymen to get handouts from greedy grasping patrons. Or political godfathers, take your pick. As for this particular one, he must be sorry he got into a quagmire and has, literally, no rope to pull him out.
If he's not careful, those under his umbrella will likely provide the rope for his neck. When you saddle yourself with multiple masters you are most likely setting yourself up for a major fail.
This criminal should focus on his domestic issues now that another real popular revolution is in the making.
Poroshenko is only a representative of an histrory remake.He believes that Russia is not Ukraine and vice versa.He believes in the fairytales that some ukrainians immigrants in USA and Canada are promoting.(with the money of Soros foundation): Poland and Baltic states which occupied Ukraine for centuries and obliged ukrainan clergy to convert to catholicism -by force- are good and Russia which protected this part of territory (today Ukraine) from turks upon demand of ukrainian cossaks is bad.He recently invented a new historical concept of an middle age european state (which never existed) called ukraine.This will be put in the head of ukrainian chidren from now.The founder of Russ, the prince Vladimir made it on another basis,and he will be probably chocked to see what people like Poroshenko are doying.
He will never come down before receive Dombass territory back.It will never stop.He just wait for the US lethal arms.Then he will accuse Russia of something and the war will restart.Never forget that the party of war is in the Rada and is the Rada.
The ceasefire is no more than that. Russian mercenaries stil occupy parts of Donetsk and Lugansk and are still being openly supplied from Russia, and the definitive future of Crimea is still totally unsettled. Most likely Proroshenko is reminding the US that, at very least until Putin leaves office, there is an ongoing threat to peace in Europe. Ukraine thus needs to be ready for a future attack. That means arming and training its forces up to NATO standards. The very fact that Mr Ditz goes out his way to denigrate the Ukrainian military in its present state and to hype the Russian military is a further sign of the nervousness of the pro-Putin faction in the US.
You seem to have it backward, but that's not unusual. My question for you is "do you even UNDERSTAND that you have it backward?"
If Jason Ditz was part of the non-existent "pro-Putin faction in the US," he'd want to talk up the Ukrainian military as a threat and downplay the Russian military.
The whole point of denigrating the present state of the Ukrainian military and hyping the state of Russia's military — other than factual correctness if that's the case — would be to encourage US aid to the Ukrainian military.
An interesting viewpoint, one prevalent among our generally uninformed populations; it reflects the total lack of historical perspective and denies that yesterday has a bearing on today. Blame our educational system.
What should we the pro-Putin crowd be nervous about?
"Even if there's peace, we need war."
who is michael kenny…?
a troll planted by…?