Ukraine: Run by the terminally stupid.

There was a time when Ukraine possessed the Crimea, the Russians paid rent for stationing their fleet at Sevastopol and the Eastern Ukraine was at peace.


What happened?


Some really stupid people came to power in Kiev, promoted by George Soros. First, they told Moscow that the lease of the Crimean base would not be renewed. The Russians responded by first destabilizing the Crimea then they took it over and annexed it. Kiev responded by cracking down on Russian demonstrators in Odessa and burned them alive in the building they occupied. The Provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk exploded and an armed rebellion began.


The Kiev govt offered a peace plan: lay down your arms or escape to Russia. If not, we will crush you by the full power of our armed forces.  Heavy shelling of East Ukrainian cities followed. Russia intervened by arming the Rebels and sending in rockets and tanks. The September cease fire was a sham and the govt used it to reinforce their units and continued shelling the cities. There was no attempt to even talk with the Rebs, who then counterattack with Russian help. And there we are.


And where are we precisely?


With the advance to Vuhlehirsk, the Rebs essentially have Debaltseve blocked off. While, this does not constitute an official encirclement, govt troops can retreat only under fire, if they can retreat at all. A similar situation in Iloviask resulted in huge casualties for the Kiev troops. Debaltseve has been evacuated of civilians so unless the latest peace talks yield constructive fruit, the battle will resume.


Is the Kiev govt totally incompetent?


The answer is yes.


Consider the following. Ukraine is calling up more young people and asking the US and Europe for more weapons. To be sure, they are asking for "defensive" weapons, but "defensive" is a misnomer. Any computer program that pinpoints enemy gun locations is usable for targeting those positions. And any weapon that can knock out enemy tanks is anything but defensive. Does the Ukraine want to fight Russia? Apparently so and they even want to drag our stupid President and his minions into a shooting war.


What about a political solution?


The French and the Germans agreed that the crisis can not be solved militarily. That, of course, is not true. Russia can overrun the Ukraine. The question is what the Russians want and can the Ukraine accommodate them?


Russia wants a federated Ukraine. They feel that only that can guarantee the language and cultural rights of the Russian speakers of Ukraine. What if the Kiev leaders refuse? Then Donetsk and Luhansk can become independent republics or become part of Russia. Let's remember that Southern Ukraine (including Crimea) was purchased by Russia from the Turks and Eastern Ukraine and Russia were in the same country. Russian troops left Eastern Europe with the understanding that they would not join entities hostile to Russia. And Ukraine gained independence with the expectation that it would respect its past and ties to Russia. A competent Ukrainian govt could have easily done that.