radon1 wrote:What do you mean - troops? There are definitely people from Russia out there. But troops?
You posted this on 1/23, I think before the airport fight. Okay, all the press coverage of the final battle at donetsk airport talks about "thousands" of Russian Army in the fight.
We've been going around about this -- and Russia's ambassador to the rest of the world at the UN -- for a year now.
Russians keep saying there are no Russian Army in Ukraine. Ambassador from Lithuania:
Nato officials denounce Russian military engagement with rebels – Lithuanian UN Ambassador Raimonda Murmokaite dismisses Russia’s denials of aiding the rebels. “How can they afford modern tanks, each of which costs at least $4 million,” she asks. “How can hundreds of Russian soldiers be dying on Ukraine’s soil if they are not even there?” A blustering President Vladimir Putin denies all, insisting that Ukrainian forces are “a foreign legion – in this particular case NATO’s foreign legion”.
http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/renewed-offensive-in-ukraine-deepens-conflict-1.2081581
And why so much obsession with this? The US definitely have military presence in Ukraine, and if Russia presence is "troops" then the US presence is also "troops".
It matters because while Ukraine could take care of internal unrest on its own / sort out a genuine civil war on its own, Ukraine cannot handle militants + the Russian Army.
It matters because regular Russian Army forces are so decisive in battle, obviously, like the last airport battle.
It matters because it's not really fair -- why should one side have a foreign army's direct assistance in the fight, but the other side can't have that.
Radon, we will never agree on this -- the Russian ambassador to the UN still says there have never been any Russian troops ever in Crimea. How is a discussion possible, at any level.
You're going to believe what you're going to believe, and I'm gonna believe what I believe -- my conclusion is that Russian Army was in Crimea, and Russian Army has been in the east, and Russian Army was in that airport fight.
Meanwhile, the only army we've had over there was touring the hospital and giving out those medallions.
They once posted a fake report about a crucified child, and were widely mocked and condemned for it. It was not their report, they just passed it through unchecked.
"Passing it through unchecked" isn't journalism.
They are definitely keeping the heat up.
That's called a drumbeat for war. Over here, we had that with pre Iraq war.
On Ukraine -- this stuff isn't even on the tv over here. That is the indicator for any significant US action -- if you ever see it getting talked about all the time out of nowhere, on CNN, msnbcs, foxnews.
All they talk about right now is ISIS.