Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Russia's Eaten Georgia Alive; Ukraine Should be Worried Too

Russia is continuing to eat Georgia alive, and Ukraine may be on the menu as well.

The Russians have never liked sharing military facilities or navy assets with the Ukrainians, and now that they're continuing their invasion of Georgia, Ukraine may want to beef up it's military.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, their vaunted Black Sea Fleet split between Russia and Ukraine; both fleets were stationed at Sevastopol, which is now Ukrainian territory. Ukraine leased the base to Russia until 2017, but has indicated that the Russians will have to leave Sevastopol once the lease expires.

Tensions between the two fleets have always been there; the sailors from both fleets have gotten into huge fights on shore when in proximity to one another. And since the Russians deployed units of their fleet to blockade Georgia, the Ukrainians have said that they may not allow the Russian warships to return to Sevastopol.

When the Ukrainians began making noise about not renewing the lease in 2017, the Russians began building a new Navy base at Novorossiysk.

And with the announcement that Ukraine is requiring 72 hours notice for the Russian fleet and military personnel/equipment to enter and leave Ukrainian territory, tensions will be higher than ever; and since the Russian Army is already on the move, Ukraine has every right to be worried about what/who Russia's next target will be.

If Russia does attack Ukraine, it will be the largest army in Europe against the 2nd largest army, not the largest army against one of Europe's smallest armies.

When will the Russians stop?

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