No worries. Tomorrow we will hear that they are Ukrainian nazist trying to stir up situation in region and blame Russia... It seems that photo evidence is not enough these days for UN and EU to start another tranche of sanctions.
Have these sanctions accomplished anything? Putin shows no signs of giving back Crimea any time soon. If anything, the Kremlin sounds more defiant than ever.
Sanctions? The ones implemented already are basically non-existent and aim only at small group of people. Sanctions in line if russia will be proven that it sent army to east Ukraine will be economic ones - freezing all arm deals, weapon-related technology exchange, allowing state owned companies to do business in EU and US and pushing towards alienating Russia in global energy scene.
Putin shows no signs of giving back Crimea any time soon.
He can try to give it back, but they don't want to go back. The Kremlin is defiant against NATO, whose sole purpose is to be a front against Russia. You can't blame them for being defiant against something that's anti-Russia.
I don't think that blurry photos of a bearded guy is evidence to start a war... I mean, that guy looks more like Phil Robertson than some top Russian commando. This whole situation makes me think that eastern Ukraine is like the American South.
Clearly, Europe does not intend to defend itself, it's members, or it's neighbors against Russia, no. It is telling that this is coming from the US state department. Makes you wonder, in Brussels, are they so incompetent they don't know ? Or are they cowards, unwilling to even point out the obvious ?
I mean, it's not like we really need these pictures to tell us Putin is behind the destabilization of eastern Ukraine.
It is perfectly well known how Putin will respond to a show of weakness. It is equally clear that the military alliance known as NATO isn't worth the paper it's charter is written on.
