20committee | As I write, Russian forces, reportedly close to 100,000 troops, are
massing on the eastern borders of Ukraine for a possible invasion. The
Kremlin is either about to start a major war, or wants the world to
think it is: there is no third choice now. Given the scheduled
referendum in the Crimea this Sunday, smart money has it that Putin, if
he really launches an all-out push for Ukraine – which, as I’ve already explained, could be a disastrous move on his part
– it will come early next week. Needless to add, this scenario brings
chills to me and to anyone who understands the stakes in what would
immediately be the biggest European war since 1945.
Yet that invasion, with its terrible consequences, is what many in
Ukraine now expect. That mood of resignation, and what a Russian
invasion might look like, are elaborated well in a new piece in Novoye Vremya (The New Times), a Moscow newsmagazine that is a rare outlet for anti-Kremlin views in Russia. The article by Maksim Shveyts, titled “Kyiv: Expecting War,” follows in toto, with my analysis following.
