Could The Ukraine Crisis Turn Into A Third World War

[gordiescotland1]

Hi there I am getting concerned about the situation in Crimea and Russia seem to be very agressive and America is starting to get involved could this have the potential nuclear conflict

[ludwig]

In my naive and simplistic way, I'm wondering if they can't just peacfully split the country down the middle, between the half that clearly wants to be Russian and the half that clearly wants to be European.?

[ludwig]

..The russian side can reinstall their old Premier in his pirate galleon resturant and private zoo and carry on as they were, and the Ukrainian side can join the rest of us in the 21st century.

[ichkeria]

It's not true that the western half of Ukraine wants to be European and the eastern half wants to be Russian,
That idea is held by many partly through misunderstanding and partly deliberate misinformation by Russian media, who want you to believe that the country is split.
In fact there is not and never has been a conflict in Ukraine. The recent unrest was directed at the government, although there of course people who supported the government.
Since the president left, there has not been a single shot fired in anger by anyone in the country.

[mikey4444]

ichkeria...if you have met only 2 Ukrainians, how can you be sure that their views are typical ? There were 1000's out demonstrating on the streets of Kiev and likewise 1000's out in the Crimea, so how can your 2 be typical ?

[ichkeria]

mikey I've met hundreds of Ukrainians. I know the country well. I just used the pair I mentioned as an example

[mikey4444]

Then I bow to your superior knowledge ichkeria. Someone needs to tell Putin that he has it all wrong. All Ukranians really love each other to bits apparently.

[ichkeria]

Thing is mikey Putin knows perfectly well what the situation in Ukraine is. His claim to be defending Russians is simple nonsense. And he is so arrogant he probably doesn't care that many see through him. You think Putin and his regime give a damn about their own people's welfare? Here is a man who many believe with some plausibility was complicit in the mass murder of hundreds of Russian citizens in apartment bombings in Russia during the Yeltsin era to whip up support for war on Chechnya.

[mikey4444]

I agree ...a very nasty man but terribly powerful. Personally I think that he will back down, in a way that doesn't leave him losing too much face, as he may be daft and reckless but he isn't stupid.

But I am still a bit puzzled why there aren't more demonstrations in the Crimea, if most Ukranians are against this Russian action.

[ichkeria]

Most people in Crimea are Russian and many are suspicious of the new government in Kyiv, largely I suspect because Russian state media had been flat out portraying what has happened as an anti-Russian fascist coup which is nonsense. You've only got to look at RT to see the sort of depths the Russian state media sinks to. Plus many in Sevastopol have the patriotic fervour you might expect of a people who consider themselves Russian many of whom will be the families of Russian Naval personnel based there.
But in any case people are scared to speak out: a brave but possibly foolish lady unfurled a Ukrainian flag in Sevastopol the other day and was set upon by a baying mob before being arrested. For now the Tatar Mejlis (council) has urged calm and have not come out against the invaders - yet.

[ludwig]

// It's not true that the western half of Ukraine wants to be European and the eastern half wants to be Russian,
That idea is held by many partly through misunderstanding and partly deliberate misinformation by Russian media, who want you to believe that the country is split. //

Are you saying that the western media (who keep repeating this claim) have all had the wool pulled over their eyes by Russian disinformation?

[ichkeria]

"Are you saying that the western media (who keep repeating this claim) have all had the wool pulled over their eyes by Russian disinformation? "

Well, I'm not sure that that is actually claimed by most media here. It's true that there are different outlooks - Ukraine is a huge country and the people in Uzhgorod to the far west have a lafgely different outlook from those in, say, Luhansk in the far east. But then, compare the outlook of a Shetland Islander to a Surrey stockbroker. It doesn't mean that they don't want to be part of Ukraine. Oddly, it's only since the Russian invasion of Crimea that trouble has flared in places like Donetsk, NOT before. Quite why this is happening now I'm not quite sure. Whether it is simply the overwhelming Russian media coverage that people would watch there, or whether it is, as some suggest, that there are actually Russians coming across the border I am not sure. But for example look at Shakhtar Donetsk football fans: you will only see Ukrainian flags (and plenty of them) at their games, never Russian ones.
It's only really Crimea where there is a significant number of people who would claim to want to be part of Russia, After all, they used to be.