Comments by "Nigel Johnson" (@nigeljohnson9820) on "Vladimir Putin recognises Ukrainian separatist regions, in escalation of tensions" video.

  1. Putin has now engineered a way to instigate an aggressive war. By recognising the independence of the Donbass separatists regions, he can pour his forces into these regions, under the pretence of a police action. Continued attacks by the Ukraine military on these regions will provide the justification for an all out invasion of the rest of the Ukraine. Effectively the separatist paramilitaries will be able to continue to attack the Ukraine military, while under the protection of Russian military forces. At worst Putin will have secured yet another piece of Ukrainian territory to add to that of the Crimea. At best he will invade the whole of Ukraine, while arguing that he was provoked. Putin may have miscalculated, as not only will Russia suffer crippling western sanctions, he will have shown himself to be a liar to the Chinese. It is impossible to threaten a nuclear power with nuclear weapons, that way is the path to mutual assured destruction, however even a major nuclear power is vulnerable to asymmetrical warfare. If the Ukraine is invaded and the people decide to resist, Putin may find his gains to be far smaller than his losses. His strategy has already invigorated an aging NATO, and sparked a new cold war. He may also have lost his gas market in the West, allowing the east to drive a much harder bargain for the supply of Russian gas. Putin's goal is clearly to rebuild the Russian empire, the former USSR. He said as much in his television address. No one in Russia can now be in any doubt that Putin has taken the position of Russian tsar. The televised meeting of his senior officials, showed them to be nothing more than yes men to The absolute power of the tsar, a true dictator, who is following that path last taken by Hitler.
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