Crisis in Ukraine

(Update)

What will become of Ukraine? Western leaders are scrambling to co-ordinate a significant response to the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops. So far — it is a war of words, and threats. Possible diplomatic sanctions, economic penalties, — possible expulsion from the G-8. But no one in the west is sure just how far it can go to oppose Russian President Vladimir Putin or how far he might go in response.

On Russian TV today — President Vladimir Putin, showing his military muscle — observing Russian Forces conducting tactical manoeuvres not far from the border of Ukraine.
In Ukraine itself — Russian boots on the ground. Soldiers by the thousands marching unimpeded in the Crimea — surrounding the barracks of Ukraine soldiers — blockading their military ships in port. So far — not a shot fired.

“You don’t want war but Russia is acting with impunity.”

Olya Sheweli of the Ukranian Canadian Congress — sees only weakness from the west. “Obama is empty words, Great Britain is empty words, and Russia will go on doing what it’s intended to do.”

At the U.N. Security Council — harsh words from America’s Samantha Power. “What is happening today is a dangerous military intervention in Ukraine. It is an act of aggression. It must stop.”

But while President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron threaten economic sanctions — the cancellation of the G8 Summit in Sochi this summer — even Russian expulsion from the G8 itself — they cannot act alone. All 28 countries of the European Union would have to agree — and Europe is uncertain. Especially when it comes to Vladimir Putin.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the U.S. President that after a phone conversation with Putin over the weekend — she felt he was ” Not in touch with reality ” and was ” In another world “.
But in the real world — Ukraine is divided. The south occupied by Russian troops. The east — filled with demonstrations by pro-Russian supporters, urging Putin to go further:

It’s only been 25 years since the fall of the Berlin wall in Germany — and the end of the cold war two years later. Russia struggled mightily following the collapse of the Soviet Union — but has recovered rapidly, during the reign of hard-line president Vladimir Putin. Some believe that the ultimate aim of the Russian president is to restore the empire once dominated by the soviets, and that Ukraine is the first step in that direction. The world has not returned to the tense, suspicious stand off of the cold war yet — but tonight — there is a definite, and alarming chill in the diplomatic air — between the west, and a newly aggressive Russia.