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President Obama faces the gravest challenge of his presidency in figuring out how to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. How he responds will define his two terms in office, as well as determine the future of Ukraine, Russia and U.S. standing in the world. After all, if the authoritarian tyrant Vladimir Putin is allowed to get away with his unprovoked attack against his neighbor, a blatant violation of that country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, then U.S. credibility, already damaged by Obama’s poor handling of Syria, will be down to zero. Allies won’t believe in us, enemies won’t fear us and the world will be a much more dangerous place.…  Seguir leyendo »

Sochi feels very far away. Western eyes are now fixed on Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula about 500 miles west of the Olympic city, where local militias and politicians have mounted a separatist response to the Ukrainian revolution against Viktor Yanukovych's regime. Because Crimea is ethnically and politically complex, this move threatens the peace not only of Ukraine and Russia but also Crimea itself. Vladimir Putin has exacerbated this crisis. After a some sabre-rattling, we now hear reports of boots on the ground, even while Russia's official position remains murky. The new Ukrainian government decries an invasion; some observers fear a repetition of the 2008 war in Georgia; and western governments and Nato have warned Russia.…  Seguir leyendo »

A strange thing is happening in Crimea: Armed people wearing camouflage without insignia are quietly taking control of buildings and airports, and then saying they are not authorized to negotiate with anyone. This happened at the Crimean parliament and government buildings in the early hours of Feb. 27 and then again the following night at two airports, Belbek and Simferopol. Could it be a cynical, undeclared Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory?

Ukraine's new interior minister, Arsen Avakov, a politician and movie producer without any police experience, thinks it is. "I consider these activities as an armed invasion and an occupation, violating all international treaties and norms," Avakov wrote in a Facebook post, using all capital letters.…  Seguir leyendo »

On Friday, armed men in military fatigues marched into the principal airport in Simferopol, the capital of Ukraine's most contentious region, Crimea. The uniforms did not reveal their identity, but an alarmed Interior Minister in Ukraine's new government declared the move an "armed invasion" by Russia.

The incursion came 24 hours after masked gunmen took over government buildings there, raising the Russian flag over the regional parliament in a defiant sign that the battle for Ukraine is far from over.

In Kiev, the pro-European activists who succeeded in bringing an end to the Russian-backed government of now-former President Viktor Yanukovych are making progress choosing a new government with a well-qualified prime minister.…  Seguir leyendo »

En su novela de 1979 La isla de Crimea, Vasili Aksiónov imaginó la floreciente independencia de la región de la Unión Soviética. Aksiónov, un escritor disidente que emigró a Estados Unidos poco después de la publicación samizdat (clandestina) del libro, hoy es alabado como un profeta. Pero su profecía ahora se ha invertido: la Crimea de hoy no quiere independizarse de Ucrania; quiere una continua dependencia de Rusia.

Tradicionalmente la gema de la corona imperial, una tierra fastuosa de zares y comisarios soviéticos -y, más importante, hogar de la Flota del Mar Negro de la Marina rusa-, Crimea pasó a ser parte de Ucrania bajo el régimen de Nikita Khrushchev en 1954.…  Seguir leyendo »