Ukraine Crisis II: Electric Boogaloo

[Blakk Metal]

Two tongue faces? What did you do?

It's not me. It's Odessa: http://en.itar-tass.com/world/725369

Leaflets calling on Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to return and restore law and order in Ukraine appeared in public places in Odessa on Wednesday. Many people found them in their postboxes. “You are our last hope. Otherwise, we will not have a choice other than to defend our lives, rights, honor and dignity with arms in hands!” a leaflet signed by the leadership of Ukraine’s National-Liberation Movement said.

Thousands of people marched through the streets of Odessa last Sunday to protest against political repression and usurpation of power in Ukraine. They chanted slogans urging President Yanukovych to return and protect Ukrainians from fascists. Rostislav Barda, the leader of the Resistance public organization and one of the march’s organizers, told ITAR-TASS that Viktor Yanukovych, despite all the mistakes he had made, was Ukraine’s legitimate president according to the Constitution. “Therefore, he must return to the country and fulfill his duty of protecting his people from those who have illegally seized power in Ukraine and have launched reprisals against Ukrainians,” the activist said.

Ukraine's just getting started. Popcorn?

Why can't they make up their minds?

[OMGeverynameistaken]

It's not me. It's Odessa: http://en.itar-tass.com/world/725369



Ukraine's just getting started. Popcorn?

Why can't they make up their minds?

Because who's in power makes almost no difference for the average Ukrainian.

Their choice is between the corrupt plutocrats supported by Putin and the corrupt plutocrats supported by "the west." Neither group gives a rat's fart about average Ukrainians. So they're stuck in an endless loop of the grass being greener on the other side.

[Myrensis]

Now the tongue-in-cheek draft letter:

1. Thank You very much for Your efforts for making a neo-fascist revolt in
Ukraine possible. (We know that You and Your associates have spent a great
deal of money and efforts for doing this). By financing the efforts of
Ukrainian neo-fascists to overthrow the elected President of Ukraine — Mr.
Yanukovich — by force. By doing this, You and Your colleagues did a lot for
reviving Russian patriotic feelings, uniting all political forces in Russia,
moving forward the process of political and spiritual consolidation of the
diverse Russian society. Also, from the bottom of my heart, I would like to
express separate thanks for making me the undisputable leader of the
Russian-speaking world worldwide.

1. The neo-fascists jumped on board the revolution, they weren't the driving force. And once the dust settled and elections were held (fun fact: Ukrainian Russians are perfectly capable of voting), they would almost certainly have been booted back into minority opposition party status. I say would have, because Putin's pointless heavy-handedness and theatrics in Crimea will almost certainly fuel enough anti-Russia sentiment to give them far more power than they otherwise could have hoped for. Putin ironically has far more to gain from 'supporting a neo-fascist revolution' than anyone in the west, because it makes for convenient justification for his actions.

As for 'undisputed leader of Russian-speakers world wide'. And? That's really only relevant in the former Soviet states. There aren't a lot of other places with such major concentrations of Russian speakers, and where they are, Russia isn't really in a position to do anything.

2. Thank You very much for elevating my political rating inside Russia to
the highest point in the recent history. Currently my political rating among
Russian voters has jumped to the level of nearly 70%.

Yes, because lord knows up until now it's been so difficult for Putin to do what he wants in Russia.

3. Special thanks for demonstrating to me and to the Russian people, that
You — as well as — the United States political elite simply does not want
to develop real partnership relations with the new Russia in resolving
mutually important global and regional problems. Also, nether You, nor Your
esteemed colleagues have very superficial understanding of the political and
economic trends undergoing in the Russian Federation, Ukraine and some other
countries of the world. I would like to assure You, that such understanding
would help me a lot in my everyday work on forming the political and
economic strategy for development of my country Russia in the future. With
Your permission, we will try to use the situation to our advantage in
Europe, Asia, Latin America and other regions of the world.

Because nothing says 'real partnership relations' like flooding troops into a neighboring country for purposes of annexation and daring the West to do something about it.

4. Thank You very much for showing to me that European Union leadership and
the leading European countries do not have independent — from the United
States — foreign policy and geopolitical strategy. Also, I understood that You and nearly all European politicians are still preferring to stay under the convenient
intoxication of the medications developed and prescribed by the Cold War.

Lol, this entire 'crisis' happened because Putin longs for the good old days when Glorious USSR was the counterweight to the United States...but it's the EU that totally can't let go of the Cold War.

5. Thanks a lot for pushing me to reorienting our foreign policy to Asia -
specifically to China and Japan. The leadership of these countries already
informed me that they are open for new mutually beneficial initiatives,
projects and strategic breakthroughs.

So which are we assuming is more likely here. That China will abandon all of it's own ambitions for influence and power in Asia and the Pacific in favor of Russia, or that Putin is going to be willing to play junior partner to China?

6. Thank You very much for providing to me an opportunity to show to all
countries which are not happy with the US policy in various regions of the
world that they can come to Russia and ask for help in defending their
political and economic interests often discriminated by the United States.
Because of Your help, they started to consider Russia and the second global
power slowly but surely climbing up to the world political stage. Many
thanks for showing to everyone that we have moved into a bipolar world.

I'm sure China will be pleased to know that they're just a satellite of Russia in the new bipolar world. As will India no doubt.

7. I am really grateful for providing me with additional incentives for
speed up our economic development, multiply our efforts for building a
diversified, modern and self-reliable economy, especially agriculture and
high tech. By the way, leaders of our military industrial complex asked me
to express to You their special appreciation and thanks. Now they will be
developing new weapon system with the increased dedication and efforts.

"I just didn't really think things like "the economy" or "the military" were actually important until now!"

8. Thank You very much for forcing me and my government — including
legislature — to develop and adopt in a real speedy way the set of laws for
accepting new countries and territories into the Russian Federation. I have
been searching for a resolution of this problem for some time, but only Your
efforts in Ukraine helped me to finalize and successfully test these legal
techniques. It has worked perfectly with Crimea Republic and I can assure
You, that we will be using this approach many times in the near future.
Please do not hesitate to call me if You have the similar ideas and plans
for other neighboring countries.

The only options for further expansion Russia has are either all ready friendly to Russia, or actually under the umbrella of NATO and the EU. So are we assuming that they're going to fuck over their allies (Might make that bit in number 6 about how other nations now realize they can look to Russia for protection and support a bit dubious), or are they going to gamble that the West won't actually do anything in response to an effective declaration of war?

9. Thank You very much for issuing an Executive Order for blocking foreign
bank account and property of the Russian officials. This measure is very
timely. It will help me to finalize the implementation of my Order, which
require all Russian officials and politicians to close their foreign bank
accounts and do not have any real estate abroad.

I'm sure this will devastate all those countries whose economies are completely dependent on visiting Russian oligarchs...

10. And finally, I would like to thank You separately for making all, so
called “liberal” political forces in Russia very unpopular among Russian
voters. The reason for such drop in their popularity is very simple -
differently from 90 percent of the Russian population, they did not support
me in accepting Crimea Republic back to Russia after 60 years of separation
from its motherland. As the result, my political allies and myself will be
winning all elections for years to come.

Because up until now the opposition in Russia has totally been a powerful and popular force that tripped up Putin at every turn.

It's not really 'satire' when it's entire basis is essentially , "Everything that can possibly go right will play out absolutely perfectly for Russia, everything that can possibly go wrong will play out disastrously for the US and the West.". Along with a lot of pretending like Putin was totally about to get thrown out of Russia at any minute until the US suddenly reversed his fortunes.

[Tahar Joblis]

It's not me. It's Odessa: http://en.itar-tass.com/world/725369



Ukraine's just getting started. Popcorn?

Why can't they make up their minds?

I would rather suspect that the leafleting campaign is not a grassroots production.

"Local self-defense forces" entrens stage right...

[Tahar Joblis]

Why can't they make up their minds?

Because who's in power makes almost no difference for the average Ukrainian.

Their choice is between the corrupt plutocrats supported by Putin and the corrupt plutocrats supported by "the west." Neither group gives a rat's fart about average Ukrainians. So they're stuck in an endless loop of the grass being greener on the other side.

The thing is, this isn't true.

So long as Ukraine avoids closer integration with Russia or the EU, Ukrainian politicians can openly line their pockets for themselves.

Integrating with the EU more closely - in particular, joining the EU - means meeting EU standards and conducting business in ways that the EU approves. The EU exerts regulatory pressure on member states and trade partners to conform to EU-standard practices.

Integrating with Russia more closely - in particular, joining the Customs Union - likewise means opening yourself up to pressure from Russia to conform to Russia's standards. Russia, however, has standard business practices that involve bribery, while the EU has, on the global scale of things, very little corruption.

Close integration with the EU is ultimately a solution to kleptocracy, while close integration with Russia won't help at all. Proof's in the pudding in Poland.

[Parti Ouvrier]

So why not simply say he doesn't take the result at face value, I don't see the need to point to the high result. Anyway, why not draw attention to Russia being in Chechnya?

Why indeed. Russia has for decades insisted that the right of territorial integrity of a sovereign nation is not to be questioned by any foreign intervention under any circumstances, even IF said territorial integrity clashes with the right of self-determination, and even IF said sovereign nation is engaging in discrimination and crimes against its own population.
I mean, it's not like Russia's recent actions in Ukraine are making them look like gigantic hypocrites or something.

You know the bourgeois system of international law isn't working when under the UN charter of the right of people's to self-determination, many nations such as Moldova do not get their democratic rights to self-determination recognised, same with the Catalonians. And it doesn't stop there, many international law violations happen all the time (Israel, Saudi Arabia - western ally that makes Russia seem like a liberal state in comparison and Saudi Arabia INVADED Bahrain, Washington turned a BLIND EYE, funny that), bourgeois international law works so well, (sarcassm).

[Parti Ouvrier]

Now the tongue-in-cheek draft letter:

1. Thank You very much for Your efforts for making a neo-fascist revolt in
Ukraine possible. (We know that You and Your associates have spent a great
deal of money and efforts for doing this). By financing the efforts of
Ukrainian neo-fascists to overthrow the elected President of Ukraine — Mr.
Yanukovich — by force. By doing this, You and Your colleagues did a lot for
reviving Russian patriotic feelings, uniting all political forces in Russia,
moving forward the process of political and spiritual consolidation of the
diverse Russian society. Also, from the bottom of my heart, I would like to
express separate thanks for making me the undisputable leader of the
Russian-speaking world worldwide.

1. The neo-fascists jumped on board the revolution, they weren't the driving force. And once the dust settled and elections were held (fun fact: Ukrainian Russians are perfectly capable of voting), they would almost certainly have been booted back into minority opposition party status. I say would have, because Putin's pointless heavy-handedness and theatrics in Crimea will almost certainly fuel enough anti-Russia sentiment to give them far more power than they otherwise could have hoped for. Putin ironically has far more to gain from 'supporting a neo-fascist revolution' than anyone in the west, because it makes for convenient justification for his actions.

As for 'undisputed leader of Russian-speakers world wide'. And? That's really only relevant in the former Soviet states. There aren't a lot of other places with such major concentrations of Russian speakers, and where they are, Russia isn't really in a position to do anything.

2. Thank You very much for elevating my political rating inside Russia to
the highest point in the recent history. Currently my political rating among
Russian voters has jumped to the level of nearly 70%.

Yes, because lord knows up until now it's been so difficult for Putin to do what he wants in Russia.

3. Special thanks for demonstrating to me and to the Russian people, that
You — as well as — the United States political elite simply does not want
to develop real partnership relations with the new Russia in resolving
mutually important global and regional problems. Also, nether You, nor Your
esteemed colleagues have very superficial understanding of the political and
economic trends undergoing in the Russian Federation, Ukraine and some other
countries of the world. I would like to assure You, that such understanding
would help me a lot in my everyday work on forming the political and
economic strategy for development of my country Russia in the future. With
Your permission, we will try to use the situation to our advantage in
Europe, Asia, Latin America and other regions of the world.

Because nothing says 'real partnership relations' like flooding troops into a neighboring country for purposes of annexation and daring the West to do something about it.

4. Thank You very much for showing to me that European Union leadership and
the leading European countries do not have independent — from the United
States — foreign policy and geopolitical strategy. Also, I understood that You and nearly all European politicians are still preferring to stay under the convenient
intoxication of the medications developed and prescribed by the Cold War.

Lol, this entire 'crisis' happened because Putin longs for the good old days when Glorious USSR was the counterweight to the United States...but it's the EU that totally can't let go of the Cold War.

5. Thanks a lot for pushing me to reorienting our foreign policy to Asia -
specifically to China and Japan. The leadership of these countries already
informed me that they are open for new mutually beneficial initiatives,
projects and strategic breakthroughs.

So which are we assuming is more likely here. That China will abandon all of it's own ambitions for influence and power in Asia and the Pacific in favor of Russia, or that Putin is going to be willing to play junior partner to China?

6. Thank You very much for providing to me an opportunity to show to all
countries which are not happy with the US policy in various regions of the
world that they can come to Russia and ask for help in defending their
political and economic interests often discriminated by the United States.
Because of Your help, they started to consider Russia and the second global
power slowly but surely climbing up to the world political stage. Many
thanks for showing to everyone that we have moved into a bipolar world.

I'm sure China will be pleased to know that they're just a satellite of Russia in the new bipolar world. As will India no doubt.

7. I am really grateful for providing me with additional incentives for
speed up our economic development, multiply our efforts for building a
diversified, modern and self-reliable economy, especially agriculture and
high tech. By the way, leaders of our military industrial complex asked me
to express to You their special appreciation and thanks. Now they will be
developing new weapon system with the increased dedication and efforts.

"I just didn't really think things like "the economy" or "the military" were actually important until now!"

8. Thank You very much for forcing me and my government — including
legislature — to develop and adopt in a real speedy way the set of laws for
accepting new countries and territories into the Russian Federation. I have
been searching for a resolution of this problem for some time, but only Your
efforts in Ukraine helped me to finalize and successfully test these legal
techniques. It has worked perfectly with Crimea Republic and I can assure
You, that we will be using this approach many times in the near future.
Please do not hesitate to call me if You have the similar ideas and plans
for other neighboring countries.

The only options for further expansion Russia has are either all ready friendly to Russia, or actually under the umbrella of NATO and the EU. So are we assuming that they're going to fuck over their allies (Might make that bit in number 6 about how other nations now realize they can look to Russia for protection and support a bit dubious), or are they going to gamble that the West won't actually do anything in response to an effective declaration of war?

9. Thank You very much for issuing an Executive Order for blocking foreign
bank account and property of the Russian officials. This measure is very
timely. It will help me to finalize the implementation of my Order, which
require all Russian officials and politicians to close their foreign bank
accounts and do not have any real estate abroad.

I'm sure this will devastate all those countries whose economies are completely dependent on visiting Russian oligarchs...

10. And finally, I would like to thank You separately for making all, so
called “liberal” political forces in Russia very unpopular among Russian
voters. The reason for such drop in their popularity is very simple -
differently from 90 percent of the Russian population, they did not support
me in accepting Crimea Republic back to Russia after 60 years of separation
from its motherland. As the result, my political allies and myself will be
winning all elections for years to come.

Because up until now the opposition in Russia has totally been a powerful and popular force that tripped up Putin at every turn.

It's not really 'satire' when it's entire basis is essentially , "Everything that can possibly go right will play out absolutely perfectly for Russia, everything that can possibly go wrong will play out disastrously for the US and the West.". Along with a lot of pretending like Putin was totally about to get thrown out of Russia at any minute until the US suddenly reversed his fortunes.

Let me sum this up for you, ultimately no state is the solution.

[Baltenstein]

I'm sure China will be pleased to know that they're just a satellite of Russia in the new bipolar world. As will India no doubt.

The discrepancy between how Russia and China estimate the Russian-Chinese relationship shown both by Russian officials and in this thread is pretty hilarious.

[Baltenstein]

I think Turkey should blockade the straits to Russian ships until they release the stolen Ukrainian ships.

If the Russians don't like it then they can try to run the blockade and attack a NATO nation.

After all didn't they give the Ukrainian navy the exact same treatment?

Turn around is fair play.

This has been proposed several times by other users, however the problem is that it requires an amount of Turko-Ukrainian solidarity that simply isn't there.

The only options for further expansion Russia has are either all ready friendly to Russia, or actually under the umbrella of NATO and the EU. So are we assuming that they're going to fuck over their allies (Might make that bit in number 6 about how other nations now realize they can look to Russia for protection and support a bit dubious), or are they going to gamble that the West won't actually do anything in response to an effective declaration of war?

Well, with the exception of Georgia in 2008, ALL countries that were hit by Russian/Soviet military force since 1945 were Russia's/USSR's allies. So that would hardly be a first.
In fact, a Russian intrusion into Belarussian/Kazakh territory, using the EXACT same arguments already shown here ("It has always been Russian territory anyway/They will be better off under Russian rule/They shouldn't suffer under their crappy rulers any longer" etcetcetc) strikes me as very realistic.

[The US Independence Day Committee]

Attention to all concerned:

We are back. Our long term goal, as a people, is the return of all former Russian lands to the Soviet Union which we shall eventually be reviving. This includes not just Crimea and Transdniestra but also Hawaii, Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California.

Further if our demands for constitutional reforms in Ukraine are not met, you should know that the Russian government is prepared to take certain actions which NATO and the US are totally powerless to prevent.


We suggest the British government not get any ideas of military involvement considering that our backfire bombers have been able to penetrate all the way through British air space while not a single british air craft has been able to enter Russian air space. It would after all, be ufortunate for them if the UK were to lose control of the North Sea oil fields.

Do not forget we have people in UK, US, and Canada that can make trouble should things escalate.

The EU and America should not forget that Russia has operational military bases in both Syria and Venezuela.

For three decades you have foolishly lived under the false assumption that Russian people were defeated impoverished nation. What you have seen in Crimea, Syria, and Georgia should shock back to the reality which is that Russia is still and always was a power to reckon with.

You need to realise that the reason your countries are limiting their response to whining and slap on the wrist sanctions is that both Europe and the US cannot stop the Russian armed forces steam rolling across Europe or America any time we choose to do so. This is has been greatly helped by your foolish military actions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and other parts of Africa where your strength was sapped by bogged down military operations that also wiped out your economies which are now so dependent on mother Russia that serious sanctions on Russia would destroy the economies of all Europe.

As the Americans say, you have check mated.

I suppose if you can claim that having a mission on a piece of land makes it yours then you can make the same claim for trading posts.

Hawaii...I suppose you have a valid point if we consider the Russian forts that are still there. Course they are now nothing more than historical monuments to the very brief period when Russia owned some, not all, of the islands.

You know, neither the government in Kiev nor the government in Crimea have any actual legitimacy since both came to power by force of arms.The conflict we are witnessing here is the result of the classic: one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter scenario. If the Russians and Ukrainians were smart, they would pull all troops off the streets and they would turn down the acidic rhetoric. Then they would hold UN monitored elections where both the EU and Russia stay out since neither is neutral. Perhaps a third party that does not have a stake in Ukraine such India or Russia or Israel or Saudi Arabia? Perhaps Brazil? The fact that the EU and Russia have so much at stake has clouded their judgement which led us to the current crises. They are both making major geopolitical and economic errors that will have repercussions for generations to come.

While there are new elections in Kiev they also need to have new elections in Crimea.

As to the legality of the referendum. It was under gunpoint and held by government that took power by armed coup. The democratically elected MP's of Crimea have since been evicted from Crimean territory. Further when you hold secession referendums you have to give all of the citizens a chance to vote, not just some of them. Also I would note the coup came about because the coup in Kiev refused to allow a vote on the future of Crimea. What happened in Kiev serves as a cautious lesson when dealing with other European secession movements that have been largely ignored by the EU such as the Basques in Spain and Venice in Italy. Even when you don't agree on the idea of region leaving the country, you still ought to allow a vote on the matter. Just because you permit a referendum does not mean that secession will automatically get all the votes needed. Believe it or not, not all secession referendums prevail. Many fall short.

I will agree with you on Kosovo. Kosovo provided Putin with the justification he needed to do what he did in Crimea. It amazes me that the Europeans continue to believe that nothing they do will have any reverberations. How is it they say? Do as I say and not as I do. That describes the Europeans very well. The fact that Ukraine supported the invasion of Serbia and the bombing of embassies and elementary schools only exaggerates its current situation vis a vis Crimea.
Europeans generally don't like it when the tables are turned on them. Then again, neither do the Russians.

To date, the British have not threatened military action so I would have to correct you there. For that matter the US government has gone out of its way to rule out a military response. No one is going to war over this.

I repeat: THERE IS NOT GOING TO BE WAR.

Nor will they lose the North Sea oil fields. Now what the British should be doing which is the same thing all Europeans and what the Ukrainians and Russians should be doing is increasing their investments in alternative energies. If Russia shuts off the gas to Ukraine and Europe, while it might hurt economically, it will actually benefit the planet by significantly helping to reduce global warming.

These days those spies will simply evicted from the country. In the old days we used to execute spies.

I think you are confusing the peoples of America and Europe with their leaders. The American people have always viewed Russia as major superpower to be reckoned with. I am sure you will find a lot of Europeans who share that view. The views of the people are not always reflected by those in government. While we do have some hardliners who want to have a hardline with Russia, that is not the view of most Americans who would prefer peaceful relations with Russia. There are a lot of Americans who would like to invest in Russia but they have not been able to because of laws passed by our own hardliners. Every country has hardliners who tend to muck things up.

Our economy is sagging a bit but we are not out. In fact the US economy is showing signs of growing again. I would note that both the US and Russian economies have been negatively impacted by the sanctions and counter sanctions. While it was Russia that felt the first economic pains as it stock market dropped because of the crises, I was reading last night that the US stock market also dropped because of the crises and the increasingly harsh rhetoric out of Moscow, Washington, and Europe. I think that is a sign that both sides need to cool their heels.

[The US Independence Day Committee]

FYI: considering the Russian ethnicity is descended from Vikings, that means that Russians are also Europeans.

[Farnhamia]

FYI: considering the Russian ethnicity is descended from Vikings, that means that Russians are also Europeans.

The Russians are mostly Slavs, who are also Europeans, the eastern edge of Europe generally being considered the Ural Mountains. The "Viking" influence on Russian genetics is fairly small (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russians#Origins).

None of which has much to do with the crisis in Ukraine.

[Occupied Deutschland]

UN General Assembly resolves Russian invasion of Crimea is illegal (radio said it had 'more support than some had predicted', though I'm not sure who that 'some' is).

Also, Tymoshenko is jumping in to the Presidential race. As per the last poll she had some support, but was being stiffly competed with by Klitschko (who was something like 20 points behind a 'Poroshenko' I do not know the first thing about).

But, Ukraine presidential polls have been a bit erratic, with Poroshenko locked in a dead-heat in them with Klitschko as per two weeks ago. So... *shrug*

[Baltenstein]

UN General Assembly resolves Russian invasion of Crimea is illegal

From the article:

UNITED NATIONS — In the first barometer of global condemnation of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Ukraine and its Western backers persuaded a large majority of countries in the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday to dismiss the annexation as illegal, even as Russia sought to rally world support for the idea of self-determination.

Gooooo, Chechnya!

[The Kievan People]

UN General Assembly resolves Russian invasion of Crimea is illegal (radio said it had 'more support than some had predicted', though I'm not sure who that 'some' is).

General Assembly confirmed for fascist.

[Divair2]

UN General Assembly resolves Russian invasion of Crimea is illegal (radio said it had 'more support than some had predicted', though I'm not sure who that 'some' is).

Also, Tymoshenko is jumping in to the Presidential race. As per the last poll she had some support, but was being stiffly competed with by Klitschko (who was something like 20 points behind a 'Poroshenko' I do not know the first thing about).

But, Ukraine presidential polls have been a bit erratic, with Poroshenko locked in a dead-heat in them with Klitschko as per two weeks ago. So... *shrug*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petro_Poroshenko

[Pope Joan]

Ukraine's military dolphins have defected. Kiev was going to close their facility in Crimea (lack of funds) but Russia will keep it open. They can detect mines and other hazards.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/world/eur ... ns-defect/

The US Navy in San Diego also uses military dolphins, and sea lions (those guys are huge!)

[Risottia]

Why can't they make up their minds?

Because who's in power makes almost no difference for the average Ukrainian.

Their choice is between the corrupt plutocrats supported by Putin and the corrupt plutocrats supported by "the west." Neither group gives a rat's fart about average Ukrainians. So they're stuck in an endless loop of the grass being greener on the other side.

This post is so full of win, I'm having a realitygasm.

[Risottia]

In fact, a Russian intrusion into Belarussian/Kazakh territory, using the EXACT same arguments already shown here ("It has always been Russian territory anyway/They will be better off under Russian rule/They shouldn't suffer under their crappy rulers any longer" etcetcetc) strikes me as very realistic.

Considering how both Belarus and Kazakhstan have kept rather strong ties with Moscow, I don't see it coming. It would be rather pointless to invade countries you already control de facto.

[Baltenstein]

In fact, a Russian intrusion into Belarussian/Kazakh territory, using the EXACT same arguments already shown here ("It has always been Russian territory anyway/They will be better off under Russian rule/They shouldn't suffer under their crappy rulers any longer" etcetcetc) strikes me as very realistic.

Considering how both Belarus and Kazakhstan have kept rather strong ties with Moscow, I don't see it coming. It would be rather pointless to invade countries you already control de facto.

The EXACT same thing has been true for Ukraine under various administrations. Then Yanukovich got kicked out. Then suddenly all this "Crimea has always been a part of Russia anyway" mumbo-jumbo popped up. From the same dudes who had signed a dozen contracts in which they had recognized Crimea as an integral part of Ukraine.
What will happen if Lukashenko gets ousted by pro-EU popular tumoil?

[Volnotova]

Considering how both Belarus and Kazakhstan have kept rather strong ties with Moscow, I don't see it coming. It would be rather pointless to invade countries you already control de facto.

The EXACT same thing has been true for Ukraine under various administrations. Then Yanukovich got kicked out. Then suddenly all this "Crimea has always been a part of Russia anyway" mumbo-jumbo popped up. From the same dudes who had signed a dozen contracts in which they had recognized Crimea as an integral part of Ukraine.
What will happen if Lukashenko gets ousted by pro-EU popular tumoil?

Russian troops in Minsk.

[The Kievan People]

This post is so full of win, I'm having a realitygasm.

It's also irrelevant.

Ukraine's leaders are rotten for sure. But now they are at the mercy of the IMF and EU. Having gambled their future on the west, they have no choice but to accept reforms. Making Ukraine's leadership susceptible to European pressure was the true objective all along. No one expected those crooks to fix the country out of the goodness of their hearts!

[Occupied Deutschland]

The EXACT same thing has been true for Ukraine under various administrations. Then Yanukovich got kicked out. Then suddenly all this "Crimea has always been a part of Russia anyway" mumbo-jumbo popped up. From the same dudes who had signed a dozen contracts in which they had recognized Crimea as an integral part of Ukraine.
What will happen if Lukashenko gets ousted by pro-EU popular tumoil?

Russian troops in Minsk.

You mean "local Minskian self-defense forces with equipment they bought from the corner store".

[The balkens]

Russian troops in Minsk.

You mean "local Minskian self-defense forces with equipment they bought from the corner store".

"Are you a self-defense militia in need of modern Russian equipment? Do you want your land to be annexed by the Russian Federation? Or has your national government been deposed by a popular movement not supported by Russia? Come on down to Balks general corner store! We sell suspiciously modern Russian Arms and Armor. HALF PRICED AK-74M SALE!"

I'll be rich by the end of summer!

[Aeken]

Russian troops in Minsk.

You mean "local Minskian self-defense forces with equipment they bought from the corner store".

"rented russian military equipment"