Quote
Originally posted by: DonDiegoQuote
Originally posted by: DonDiego
Oh, and for those wondering exactly what was on President Putin's mind:
__1. Secure the Russian Military Bases and Ports on the Black Sea.
__2. Control the extraction and delivery of natural gas to Europe.

It appears to poor old DonDiego that President Putin has already succeeded.
*** UPDATE *** UPDATE *** UPDATE ***
"MOSCOW, March 7 (Reuters) - Gazprom issued a thinly veiled warning on Friday that it could stop shipping gas to Ukraine over unpaid bills, increasing pressure on the new government in Kiev and its supporters in Europe, which gets half its Russian gas through Ukraine.
'Today, March 7, was the deadline for payments for gas supplies to Ukraine in February. Gazprom has not received payments for the debt,' [GAZPROM CEO Alexei] Miller said, adding that Ukraine's overdue gas debt to Russia now stands at $1.89 billion."
Hmm, . . . maybe it
is about natural gas.
In other news:
"The guided-missile destroyer USS Truxton departed the Greek port of Souda Bay on 6 February for the Black Sea.
The ship is scheduled to train with Romanian and Bulgarian naval forces for an unspecified period of time, conducting joint maneuvers and landing aircraft on ships. The spokesman, Lt. Shawn Eklund, said the visit is unrelated to Russia’s recent incursion into Ukraine. 'Truxtun’s operations in the Black Sea were scheduled well in advance of her departure from the U.S.,' he said.
The destroyer will join the USS Taylor as the only two U.S. vessels inside the Black Sea during a period of heightened tensions. The Taylor, a guided-missile frigate, remains moored in Samsun, Turkey, after it ran aground in February."
Ref: Stars and Stripes
On 6 February the Commander-in-Chief departed for a Florida Keys vacation.