Not exactly sure why this administration and it's NSC still refuses to send defensive lethal aid to the Ukraine as they have full rights under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum and the fact that Russia has violated Ukrainian sovereignty which they stated they would protect.
Defensive aid such as ATMs because the UA is getting overrun by over 500 Russian tanks, counter battery radars, radio jammers and drones---the UA has not asked for boots on the ground as have the Iraqi's.
It would as well show to the world that the US at least attempts to hold to the agreements they signed with other countries.
The question is not do we completely rebuild the UA or do we supply just enough defensive weapons that allows the UA to hold the demarcation lines forcing the Russian costs of manpower to really climb above what they are now in order to truly get Russia to implement what it signed in Minsk AND to show Putin there is in fact a true limit to the Western patience of his falsehoods.
There seems to be a disconnect with Merkel's thinking as she assumes the weapons are to be used to defeat the entire Russian Army-not-----rather they are to be used to drive the loses in manpower to the point that the negotiation table is more preferable and by holding the Minsk demarcation line it just reinforces the Minsk Protocols and potentially reduces the shellings of Ukrainian civilians by Russian forces ie troops and their supported mercenaries.
Head of @USArmyEurope tells @WSJ
#Russia mobilizing for war they expect in 5/6 years” http://www.wsj.com/articles/weekend-...ont-1423266333 …
Dead silence in the room when @IlvesToomas asks A. Merkel how far will Russia go if not stopped. Poroshenko nods. #MSC2015
#Russia sends weapons and troops into #Ukraine, but #Lavrov blames the #US and #EU for the escalation. How to react to such blatant lies?
#Russia's Kosachyov takes hybrid warfare to #MSC2015: "No troops in #Ukraine. No evidence. We haven't done anything. Internal conflict
Lavrov ends, pissed off that people are openly laughing at him: "Laugh if you want, it is good for you and will prolong your life." #MSC2015
extraordinary to watch the crowd in Munich laughing out loud at the Russian foreign minister and a Russian MP
Most worrying thing is suspicion that Lavrov, Kosachev, even Putin are not just cynical but genuinely believe their own fantasy. #MSC2015
“Are you worried about upsetting people who lie to your face?” @LindseyGrahamSC asks #Merkel regarding arms for #Ukraine. #MSC2015
Referencing Russian FMs MSC15 comments today:
"You’re legitimizing this garbage. You need to push back," @LindseyGrahamSC tells #MSC15 after standard #Russia denial of #Ukraine invasion
#Merkel at #MSC2015: I cannot envisage any situation in which an improved Ukrainian army will convince Putin that he will lose militarily.
Merkel: Direct violence is just a small part of hybrid warfare so we need to find our own instruments to influence Russia
"Surrender or arm Ukraine" says @IlvesToomas. Merkel: don't agree. Essential to focus more on non-military aspects of hybrid warfare #MSC15
“Fredrick the Great: Diplomacy without arms is like music without instrument”,”Can Ukr. volunteers stand against Russian special forces?”- remarks to Merkel
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