The crisis in Ukraine escalated yesterday with the first instance of troops firing on each other, shifting the conflict from largely ‘political’ to military. Apparently a Ukrainian soldier was killed and another injured when Russian troops stormed a Ukraine base on the Crimean Peninsula. In response, Ukraine’s military yesterday ordered its troops to open fire on Russian soldiers. In defiance of international law, Russia also moved yesterday to annex Crimea, President Putin signing off on the ‘relevant’ documentation. The US is now seriously considering deploying troops to the region in order to halt further Russian military incursion. Nervous and dangerous times for Europe and especially the people of Ukraine. The pic below taken from an article in the UK Telegraph.

A Ukrainian soldier stands near an armored personnel carrier at a checkpoint near the village of Salkovo, in Kherson region adjacent to Crimea Photo: Reuters

The troubling question is ‘what’s next’ – or worse, ‘who’s next’. No doubt, eastern Ukraine sits firmly in Russia’s focus, the southern area of Crimea under its belt and forces building along the northern and eastern Ukraine-Russian borders. All this kicked off about a month ago when the people of Ukraine ousted a corrupt puppet-president, installed by Putin – opting for their own autonomous leadership, fresh elections and the release of a democratically elected former-president from detention. Coincidence? Not likely.

Fires out.