Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters
Russia’s Military Is Already in East Ukraine. Will There Be a Full-Scale Invasion? -- James Miller, The Daily Beast
The troops, the tanks, and the artillery is in place. The shelling has begun. Is this just another skirmish? Or something much, much bigger?
Right now Russia is moving troops, armor, and advanced antiaircraft missiles toward the border with Ukraine. In the last 48 hours, dozens of videos have been uploaded to social-media sites that show Russian armor very close to the border, many of them confirmed to be within mere kilometers of Ukraine.
On Thursday, my team at The Interpreter definitively geolocated Russian armor only 2,000 meters (and closing) from the border and a Buk, the same type of missile that likely took down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, only a few hours from being within range of Ukraine’s air force. Columns of tanks, marked with the same painted numbers and flat, pale-green paint we’ve seen in Ukraine since (at least) June 20th, were spotted moving en masse toward a key border crossing. Some Ukrainian journalists are reporting that at least some of this armor has already crossed the border.
Read more ....
More News On Reports That Russia May Invade Eastern Ukraine
Ukraine and Russia Are Closer Than Ever to All-Out War -- Mashable
Russia Has 15,000 Crack Troops on the Ukrainian Border: And Putin’s itching for a fight. -- Foreign Policy
Russian Troops, Equipment Mass Along Ukraine Border -- US Department of Defense
Will Russia Invade Ukraine this Weekend? -- Rick Moran, PJ Media
My Comment: Russia will not move into eastern Ukraine with 15,000 soldiers .... if there were 40,000+ soldiers on the border .... that is when I would start to get worried. But the situation on the ground in eastern Ukraine is deteriorating, and Russia's repeated warning that they would send in peacekeepers .... even a few thousand .... into eastern Ukraine would be enough to precipitate a confrontation and a quick Russian mobilization for war. I think it is now almost a month that I posted my concerns in this blog that many in Russia were actually starting to prepare for such a confrontation .... leaves were being cancelled, diplomats told to no longer speculate on possible Russian responses to Ukraine, and media reports of Ukrainian cross border shelling and other border violations becoming a norm for the evening news broadcast. Moscow is laying out all of its options for everyone to see .... but the question that still needs to be answered remains .... what will Moscow do next.
2 comments:
Ukrainian Russian backed rebels will not be able to defeat Ukrainian forces and hold ground. Even with high end equipment from Russia. I think Putin has been put into a tough predicament, but something tells me with all the high level sanctions he may see that he has nothing to lose. Either let Ukraine win at great cost to it's economy but will be pro NATO in the long run and very hostile to Russia or Putin can move in and secure the southern and eastern fronts and create a buffer zone between Russia and NAT O but there will be costs to both blood and treasure. Hrm.. I think Putin will invade.
I hope you are wrong Jason. The crisis in eastern Ukraine was one that would have been best resolved by Ukrainians themselves. But too much blood has been shed .... and altitudes have hardened. And while I am not in favor of a Russian incursion/invasion into eastern Ukraine .... the sentiment in Russia is shifting (albeit slowly) for a Russian military response to the Ukrainian army's offensive.
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