Putin Strategy Revealed - A Land Corridor To Crimea

Czar Vladimir Putin sees weakness as an opportunity to strike hard and fast.  Witness his response to German Chancellor Angela Merkel last weekend in Kiev, Ukraine when she said that there must be a negotiated settlement of the conflict and that Europe had no plans to escalate the economic sanctions against Russia.  Vlad the cad immediately sent over 1000 Russian soldiers and heavy artillery into Ukraine to support rebel forces (according to a NATO official).  But what about Barack Obama, the most powerful man in the world?  Unfortunately, the President may carry a big stick but has a very limp wrist when it comes to using it.  His response to the Russian attack was to wag his finger, saying "countries don't act this way in the 21st century".  Huh?  Oh yes they do.  But more importantly, Mr.  Obama refused to give the Ukrainian military small arms, antitank and antiaircraft weapons.

Yesterday, rebel forces took the coastal town of Novoazovsk on the Sea of Azov (which opens into the Black Sea).  This puts them within striking distance of Mariupol, the regional capital, and only 300 kilometres from Crimea.  Clearly, President Putin wants a land link with that new member of the Russian federation (forced annexation, February, 2014).  Road transportation would end Crimea's isolation, allow him to reinforce Russian garrisons in Crimea directly from the homeland and provide an outlet for Crimean products, much cheaper than air sea transportation.

Meanwhile, countries like Poland, that border Russia are very nervous about Putin's future plans.  Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski called the Russian invasion of Crimea an act of war and added:  "There's the American saying - if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it is a duck".  He wants NATO to build permanent bases in Poland to act as a deterrent to Russian aggression.  Latvia and Estonia have sizeable Russian minorities so they worry that Putin could use the same rationale used in Ukraine - we're moving into your country to "protect"  ethnic Russians.

One big advantage these countries and others have over Ukraine is their membership in NATO.  Next week, NATO will hold a summit in Wales, U.K.  Will this alliance stand up to Vlad the Punisher?  To be continued.