November 27, 2018
By Daniel McLaughlin
Much of Ukraine (click here) will introduce martial law after Russia fired on and seized three of its naval ships in the Black Sea, prompting warnings of a dangerous escalation in their four-year conflict and strong western condemnation of Moscow.
Ukraine’s parliament on Monday approved the decree issued by President Petro Poroshenko, who said his nation must react to a “new phase of aggression” and face the “extremely serious threat of a land-based operation” by Russian forces.
Mr Poroshenko said martial law would apply to 10 “high-risk” border regions, starting on Wednesday and lasting for just 30 days, so as not to effect presidential elections due in March and to ease concern that he might try to postpone the vote. He insisted that the special measures would “allow us, in the event of invasion, to react and mobilise all resources as quickly as possible” and would not bring “restrictions on the rights and freedoms of citizens or the introduction of censorship”....
July 25, 2018
Military build-up (click here)......in the western regions of Russia is both a consequence and a symptom pointing to the fact that ‘hawks’ have taken over in the Kremlin. This means, the Russian government is preparing for a long-lasting confrontation with the West. Evidently, it is going to complicate the environment for all countries in the region, especially those on the ‘confrontation line’: Ukraine-Belarus-Moldova.
The news about the relocation of the 28th Motorised Brigade of the Russian Ground Forces from Urals to the Bryansk region has raised concerns in Belarus. That said, apparently, the actions of the Russian military leadership are not connected with the Belarusian-Russian relations in any way. Moreover, their connection with the Russian-Ukrainian war is rather indirect.
It should be recalled, that during the reform held by former Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, military units have been drastically reduced and division level units abolished (except for the one in the Far East). Priority districts included South (Caucasus region) and Centre (formerly Soviet Central Asia). The former Russian Defence Ministry leadership regarded Western Military District as the support area. Of the 50 armoured and mechanized infantry battalions of the Russian Ground Forces in 2008 by late 2010, only 22 battalions were scattered from Murmansk in the north to Belgorod the south and from Kaliningrad in the west to Komi in the east....
The propaganda is interesting. It is as if The West invaded the USSR rather than it falling apart leaving only Russia dedicated to communism.
...Russian generals, who negatively perceived NATO’s eastward expansion, have criticised a sharp reduction in the military forces in the west....
The Russians' military leadership are working on false directives. It is making decisions based on the idea The West are the expansionists and not Russia. The entire idea plays into the idea Russia has to rescue "Russian people" as those in Crimea because of the evil West.
Putin is engaged in political rhetoric that is driving the idea that Russia is a victim to The West. It is why NATO is an enemy to Russia and the obsession by Putin to defeat the evil West. Putin in placing Russia directly in the path of war because of his brinkmanship. The bridge to Crimea was built because Ukraine is vulnerable to any Putin directive to war to reclaim the Post Soviet country. However, Ukraine is now a member of NATO and Putin has to reassess his recklessness in providing Russia's treasury to a bridge that will not survive any war with The West.
NATO cannot continue to allow Putin his reckless politics. Russia is threatening European allies directly. Russia continues to PLAY war games that increase impingements on NATO countries sovereignty. The lousy Putin politics of brinkmanship is at work and it has to end sooner or later. The NATO alliance is vital and Russia needs to be pushed back into it's borders and the bridge to Crimea is a direct threat to NATO and needs to be either internationally regulated to prevent war or destroyed to end the war before it begins based in Putin's nationalism and political rhetoric.
Russia moving against Ukraine vessels including a tugboat is a huge miscalculation because the military leadership actually believes it has the moral high ground.
Russia needs leadership that honors treaties and not use them to calculate brinkmanship. Putin is no longer a viable diplomatic leader.
