Mõningad mõtted Krimmi kriisi kohta mis tundub paisuvat suuremaks Lõuna ja Kagu-Ukraina probleemiks.
Ukraina sõjaline otsustamatus kriisi alguses torkas teravalt silma ning tekitas küsitavusi. Miks ei asunud riigi sõjaline juhtkond agressorile otsustavalt relvaga vastu kui samas poliitilisel tasandil deklareeriti korduvalt relvastatud vastupanu vajalikkust? Tundub, et põhjuseid oli erinevaid, segu ikkagi veel ühtsest kultuurisest taustast, lihtinimliku ohvrite vältimise soovist, uue valitsuse ja vana sõjaväelise juhtkonna peataolekust, samuti reaalse vastustava jõu puudumise tõttu. Parim ja võib olla lihtsamini selgitav ülevaade ilmus 25.03.2014 Wall Street Journal-i artiklis: “Ukraine Battles to Rebuild a Depleted Military”. Alljärgnevalt mõned lõigud artiklist:
-As the Kremlin began its invasion of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea last month, a days-old government in Kiev turned to its military to stem the tide. There was an immediate problem: No car batteries for the military vehicles. With coffers empty, Ukraine’s fledgling government appealed to the U.S. embassy for help. The embassy said it would take weeks to get assistance, so the government had to search—among its own people—to find a regional oligarch, Ihor Kolomoisky, to kick in the funds to buy them locally.
-According to Ukraine, the country today has about 140,000 military personnel. But only 6,000 of the country’s 41,000 land troops were ready for combat, Ukraine’s defense minister told parliament earlier this month. -In a visit of U.S. senators to Kiev earlier this month, Ukrainian officials said they had only a few thousand combat-ready troops available, who would be quickly overrun in a Russian assault. In Crimea, the Russian invasion captured a large part of Ukraine’s air force and most of its navy without a fight. Democrat Senator Dick Durbin, of Illinois, said Ukraine’s prime minister told the group that “we don’t have anything that floats, flies or runs.”
-Only four of 25 fighter jets at one large air base in Crimea were in working order. The jets were quickly disabled by Russian troops, who slashed their tires and threw rocks into their engines, officers at the base said. Russia has denied the incident.
-Mr. Yarema’s team appealed to the U.S. embassy for spare aircraft tires and car batteries, but decided to buy the car batteries locally because they needed to mobilize quickly, said an aide, Andrii Telizhenko. They didn’t arrive in time to get vehicles mobilized for Crimea, but they did help move trucks and armor to Ukraine’s northern and eastern borders..
Senaator John McCain märgib: …He said the Ukrainians requested a variety of equipment, including small arms and antitank weaponry. “I asked the most senior defense guy in uniform ‘What do you need?'” Mr. McCain said. “And he said, `Everything.'”
Miks USA ei saatnud otsekohe relvastatud abi: Those who oppose arming Ukraine argue that the arms may just fall into the hands of the Russians, since Ukrainian forces face a long road ahead in training and equipping their army to fight successfully. Ühes Ukraina lehes avaldatud pildiallkirjas kus valitsuse liige julgustab Ukraina sõdureid kes kaevavad positsioone Vene vädede vastu Krimmist väljuval suunal ning lubab neile kiirelt saata NATO moona. See näitab kas soovmõtlemist või sõjaväe varustamise komplekssusest reaalse pildi puudumist ning kõlab igal juhul populistlikult.
Bottomline soovmõtlemise kohta mida ka meie kuni 2008-ni viljelesime: Ukrainian officials say the country’s trajectory from a mighty nuclear power to a trampled nation scrounging for handouts is a cautionary tale for nations that neglect their military in a tough neighborhood. Kiev blames Russia and the West alike for lulling it into a false sense of security with high-sounding promises 20 years ago to respect its borders if it let down its guard.
