Ukraine's European Revolution?

[OttoVonBismarck]

The trilateral agreement after Ukraine's nuclear disarmament was just a fluff document saying that Russia and the United States would 'respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine.' It had no teeth to it, even if it did Putin would of course say that if parts of Ukraine want to spontaneously separate and join Russia that isn't a violation of the agreement on Russia's part.

[Maladict]

We're sending some fighters and a minesweeper to help with the increased NATO presence in the East.

Dutch navy is sending a minesweeper as well.
Is it because Putin keeps saying 'mine' a lot?

[derspiess]

Ah, the minesweeper-- such a cliched way of participating without *really* participating.

Then again if we see Luftwaffe planes strafing Russian fighter planes on the ground that'd be kind of cool.

[Valmy]

I think it would be cooler if Lufthansa planes did it.

[Norgy]

Offering coffee and tea with a smile.

Lufthansa is the best airline I have used ever. Great service, hot stewardesses, impeccable punctuality. Worst? Croatia Airlines. One hour delay in Dubrovnik, ushered along by Croatian police through the airport in Zagreb to catch a threadbare Tyrolean Air flight to Vienna. Cnut sitting beside me refused to turn off his phone, so another 15 minutes wasted while removing him.

[Sheilbh]

Germany would let Putin take back the entire Warsaw Pact aside from East Germany without raising a finger, and Merkel would be on the front lines arguing for a muted economic response.

Too many years of castration has made Germany weak willed and irrelevant in anything outside of the economic sphere. It's a sad day when the only country with balls in continental Western Europe is France.

One of the major causes of strains in Franco-German relations now was Germany's abstention in the UNSC on Libya. The French were and are fuming that their closest ally would make a stand despite not having a strong opinion, or an interest either way.

Worst?

Air Portugal. Surly does not even begin to describe the stewardesses.

[Barrister]

Offering coffee and tea with a smile.

Lufthansa is the best airline I have used ever. Great service, hot stewardesses, impeccable punctuality. Worst? Croatia Airlines. One hour delay in Dubrovnik, ushered along by Croatian police through the airport in Zagreb to catch a threadbare Tyrolean Air flight to Vienna. Cnut sitting beside me refused to turn off his phone, so another 15 minutes wasted while removing him.

YOu don't know crappy air travel until you've flown in the Canadian arctic.

[Sheilbh]

The best was BA in the Highlands. A tiny plane with 'your steward for the day, Alastair. We will not be running our customary baguette service I'm afraid. But we do have compensatory baps instead.'

[Razgovory]

Ah, the minesweeper-- such a cliched way of participating without *really* participating.

Then again if we see Luftwaffe planes strafing Russian fighter planes on the ground that'd be kind of cool.

The planes they have are probably old F-104's that they will fly into a hill side.

[Admiral Yi]

CNN had some footage of what appeared to be Ukrainian soldiers handing over the firing blocks of their AKs to pro-Russian militias before boarding a truck to leave.

[mongers]

CNN had some footage of what appeared to be Ukrainian soldiers handing over the firing blocks of their AKs to pro-Russian militias before boarding a truck to leave.

BBC has shown footage of some APC tracked, being stopped and turned around by local villages. I believe the vehicles were on their way to a large town, so then had to try and find another way.

In a further report, some other tracked apc are seen driving, then there's a general confrontration with local people, before the Ukrainians advance, mainly on foot, with some pushing and shoving, even a handful of shots fired in the air,. The scene was also buzed a Mil-24, all real low, below 250ft.

edit:
fotage of the 2nd incident, though the full video might be of two seperate events either to the same troops or two groups, editing makes it unclear.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27046089

[mongers]

So talks are scheduled between the Ukrainians and the great powers tomorrow, any idea how long those are tabled to last ?

Might the Ukrainians be waiting until after those breakdown, before ordering what units they still have, the ones that haven't surrendered, to advance on the main rebel held towns in the Donetsk region? 

[mongers]

A fuller account of what happened to some of those Ukrainian tracked APC and the origins of those later seen flying the Russian flag when entering Sloviansk.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27059753

Includes details of how the Ukrainian soldiers reacted/acted and interestingly gives an idea of the Ukrainian commander's next move.

[Razgovory]

This isn't going to be much a war.

[mongers]

This isn't going to be much a war.

That's a positive; people and soldiers on both sides seem to be showing remarkable restraint in not shooting each other. Maybe if this had happened in some other European countries or the US, they'd have been a far higher death toll. I think so far only 3-4 have been killed in the Crimea and here.

Of course the restraint might be because of an intense fear of what will happen if 'the shooting' really starts, folk memories and so forth.