Impressive?...I think so.
p.s. "What are Moscow’s objectives?
Russia’s objective is Ukraine as a whole, not just Crimea, whose importance is only instrumental.
Moscow’s political goals are threefold.
- First, to make Ukraine ungovernable by undermining the executive and by depriving outside stakeholders such as the EU and IMF of predictability and confidence.
- Second, to impose on Ukraine a Western-sanctioned constitutional “solution” based on federalization (which, under current conditions, means disintegration) and a special status for Crimea.
- Third, to show Kiev, Brussels, and Washington that nothing can be achieved in Ukraine without Moscow’s consent. In sum, Russia wants to reduce Ukraine to subservience—or chaos.
Russia’s military goals are evolving. Moscow’s tactics are based on the principle of 'razvedka boem', or employing military means to assess an adversary’s strength and willpower."
Source [James Sherr - carnegieeurope]
http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/?fa=54789
You might also take a look at James Sherr's article from March 14, 2014, here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/putin-is-not-the-master-of-the-new-world-order/