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A former Putin adviser, Andrei Illarionov, has quoted unidentified Kremlin sources as saying a "solution" to the Ukrainian question must be found.
The options, he says, could include the "federalization" of Ukraine to establish control over eastern and southern regions or otherwise trying to control Ukrainian cities with large Russian-speaking populations.
Western observers are also worried by calls in Crimea for the region to again become Russian territory, nearly six decades after Kremlin leader Nikita Khrushchev redrew internal Soviet boundaries in order to gift the peninsula to Ukraine.
Although Moscow has not responded to those calls, Russia would have reasons to embrace Crimea - Moscow's Black Sea fleet is based in the Crimean port of Sevastopol.
Civil war or a coup in Ukraine might also threaten other Russian industrial interests in eastern Ukraine, such as factories which have contracts with the Russian military.
"We have close brotherly ties, unified aviation, space and machine-building industries ... some industries are threatened with collapse," said Russian Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov.
Evoking memories of World War Two, when Ukraine was overrun by Nazi Germany and drawing comparison with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, he said: "We must do everything to support the patriotic forces."
larapa
reply to post by theyknowwhoyouare
This is the most probable outcome IMO if Russia are instigating all of this or the Ukraine's' people are actually doing this of their own accord... but my gut is telling me there is more to this than meets the eye: US/EU involvement, the west is definitely trying to steer this in their direction no doubt about that ( as is Russia) but were they (the west) the orchestrators?edit on 20-2-2014 by larapa because: (no reason given)
theyknowwhoyouare
I imagine the US would probably cry about Russia getting involved and make a huge deal about how unethical it would be. All the while Obama would not see the hypocrisy of such a stance. Russia will posture more causing the US to posture more and conspiracy theorists will have many field days with every terrible thing that happens and any outcome. The whole "civilized" world will bicker back and forth and finally the plebs will be put back in their place with happy little smiles because someone told them a convincing enough lie to make them feel as though something were achieved.
Border guards at Donetsk airport in eastern Ukraine say they did not let the plane carrying President Yanukovich leave the country. Earlier, new Rada speaker Aleksandr Turchinov claimed that Viktor Yanukovich and several other high-ranking officials made an unsuccessful attempt to flee to Russia.