And USSR is not the same thing as Russia. (Ukraine was unfortunately a part this godforsaken union, and was forced to fight on the side of the empire.) Needless to say, Russia did not invade Czechoslovakia by itself. USSR invaded Czechoslovakia. (If you want to put Russia in the subject, perhaps: Russia invaded Czechoslovakia with the help of its USSR union members.)
Again, Russia ≠ USSR.
Putin realizes this difference, which is why he employs these dirty tactics by lying that "soldiers on vacation" are volunteering to fight along side the terrorists in Ukraine. How these Russian soldiers on T-72 tanks entered Ukraine's territory 20km in is beyond me. http://www.newsweek.com/2014/09/19/russian-soldiers-reveal-t... Kremlin claims they were lost. If they were indeed lost, this proves Russian army's incompetence, otherwise it is another case against Putin and his imperialistic ambitions. Over time the pile of lies and lies gets bigger, and it starts to crumble. This pile of lies has grown and overgrown Putin (~> 1.7m), and it is starting to lean towards him, and he has to pile some more and more lies to keep it from crumbling. But it is falling apart.
As Obama pointed out, Russia is only a "regional power."
That region ends where Russian border begins, and this is what we are seeing in Eastern Ukraine: a failing Russian invasion along with a pile of "bullshit" to compensate for incompetence.
> That's bullshit. Quoting Euromaidan sourced "news" is worse than quoting RT.
As per Euromaidan, if you are not happy, perhaps I can entertain you with Ukraine's own RT alternative: Ukraine Today (UT). You can watch it directly on youtube. (a little spoiler: it's not funded by Kremlin nor by the CIA)
It is quite impressive how quickly they sprung up as a functioning international TV channel. I didn't know you could have a fully functional news station within a couple of months. But then again, we live in a new era, year 2014; not 1968.
I agree with your point of view. Except, I disagree with your statement on oppression.
Russians are not oppressed in any case given. Oppressed are the non-Russians.
Most of the Ukrainian soldiers are Russian speaking.
Almost anywhere in the country you can find a Russian-taught school (yes, perhaps you need to drive some extra miles). But how many schools are there in Russia that teach Ukrainian? How many schools are there in Russia that teach Georgian? Close to zero; I won't be surprised if it actually is zero.
Russian drama TV shows get aired on Ukrainian television.
Even most of the ministers' native tongue is Russian.
So Russians are definitely not oppressed in Ukraine. It's a myth and an ongoing propaganda churned out by Putin's machine.
Meanwhile in Russia, you have public events such as "White Wagon", that perhaps resemble a KKK-style lynching, where Russian fascists pick a non-Russian passenger and lynch him in front of the police, with no consequences. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag1K7fEjwNE Perhaps a single incident, but epitomizes the social divide in Russia, which is continuously fueled by Putin's propaganda machine. (No need to bring up Furguson. Two minuses don't make a plus.)
If you ask me, the war against Russian aggression is not only a fight against Russia, but it is also a fight against racism and discrimination. If you ask any Russian who choses to voice himself, Ukraine remains a safe haven for Russian speakers.
Russians are not being oppressed in Ukraine. Ukrainians and other ethnicities that are non-Russian are oppressed in Russia.
If you still think there aren't any Russian soldiers, in Ukraine, there is a label for that: a troll. Russian soldiers have been killed, interviewed, captured, and shipped back to Russia (not in that particular order, of course)
http://www.newsweek.com/2014/09/19/russian-soldiers-reveal-t...
And yes, defending your country from a Russian invasion is not 'ethnic cleansing': it's just defending your territory. It's not a conspiracy.
Yes. It is quite clear. Please explain me why Crimean Tatars have been kidnapped, murdered, interrogated, and repressed since Russia took over? (rhetorical)
Since when did defending your territory became 'ethnic cleansing'?
Remind me, who went over the border?
In a Ukrainian conflict, why do we keep hearing about Russian soldiers? Oh, and by the way, where did the bodies of 4000 dead Russian soldiers go? Wait, how did they get to Ukraine in the first place?