Looks as if Putin is bound and determined to crush Ukraiina.
Attacks across the whole country.
Airborne troops.
Troops driving in from Crimea, the east and Belarus.
Here is a link to the BBC reportage.
The Ukrainian TV station Channel 5 is still on the air, as I write this. Today’s commentary at 1822hrs, reminiscent of my old t-shirt with the motto on the front, “Visit Russia” and on the back, “before Russia visits you”.
Putin’s final goal? Destruction of Ukraiina as an independent and democratic state. A bit far-fetched? In July 2021 Putin published a 5,000 word essay claiming there is no such country as Ukraiina.
As reported on CBC today from various authorities, Putin has been harping on this theme for a while. The implication is that Ukraiina should not exist. And with 1.5million troops, he can take and hold. Plus, lots of practice at crushing dissent. Putin is ex-KGB. “You can take the man out of the KGB, but you cannot take the KGB out of the man”. Consequently, there is very little dissent in Russia.
Hopefully Ukraiina’s national anthem holds true. “Ukraiina has not yet died“.
As for what will happen to Putin, am not holding my breath. A few more sanctions. Russia will still retain their seat on the UN Security Council, whilst they conquer Ukraiina.
Next? Maybe expand into Moldova. Addendum 2022Mar23: Russian troops have been in Transnistra since 1992. Russia could send in a stronger force to protect it’s existing troops.
Then, as there will be no real consequences, look to expand Kaliningrad. Presumably by “protecting Russians” in the Baltic States.
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ps: The Ukrainian Canadian Congress and Canada-Ukraine Foundation are raising money for humanitarian aid. You can donate via this link https://www.ucc.ca/2022/02/24/ukraine-humanitarian-appeal-update/
pps: Cloudfare has been intercepting the above link and possibly become confused by my browser. In case you are having similar issues, this link https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/70605 gets you directly to the CanadaHelp page that UCC is using.