'..NATO leaders need to make some tough decisions and push back militarily against Russia.'<blockquote>'Vladimir Putin is placing a cynical bet that he can invade Ukraine just one week before a NATO summit — and that NATO will do nothing to stop him. The alliance must prove him wrong.
Despite sharp words from Brussels, Washington, London and Berlin, the Russian president believes that NATO lacks the will to challenge his dismemberment of Ukraine. By sending troops, tanks and artillery directly into the Ukrainian fighting, Putin is making a point: He will fight for Ukraine, and NATO will not. He is calling NATO’s bluff.
The Western response will be read carefully from Kiev to Tallinn to Moscow. For the sake of Ukraine’s integrity as a country, for future European security and for NATO’s credibility as a defense organization, NATO leaders need to make some tough decisions and push back militarily against Russia.
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? Provide direct military and intelligence support to the Ukrainian government. This means advisers, trainers, equipment and the possibility of direct reinforcement using NATO air and ground capabilities. Anti-tank weapons and air-defense systems should be in the mix. The most critical need is tactical: helping Ukraine use its own equipment and troops to reestablish a border with Russia, isolate separatists and avoid firefights to the greatest extent possible.
? Cancel all allied sales of military and dual-use equipment to Russia. The most notorious case is the French naval assault vessels — Mistral and Sebastopol — but other allies, including Britain and Germany, have yet to scrap all of their sales to Russia. As for the French ships: NATO should buy them for itself using its infrastructure budget and deploy them as a naval component to the NATO Response Force.
? Impose further sanctions — including on Gazprom and its leadership .. The United States and Europe should also give a renewed push to European energy security efforts..
? Establish a multinational NATO military presence on the territory of Poland and the Baltic states..
? Reaffirm NATO’s commitment to building a Europe whole and free and at peace .. NATO must not accept a Russian diktat over the affairs of neighboring states.
..The signal the organization sends next week — whether it will stand up for European security or concede to Russian aggression — will ripple through Europe for years to come.'
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NATO must stand up to Putin’s threat to invade Ukraine, August 28, 2014</blockquote>
'..“Ukraine will become a member of NATO” if it so wishes..'<blockquote>'North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen today reaffirmed a 2008 Bucharest summit pledge that “Ukraine will become a member of NATO” if it so wishes and provided it fulfills the necessary criteria.'
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Ukraine Fighting Surges as Russian-Backed Forces Gain, August 29, 2014</blockquote>
'..Russia .. engaging in "direct military operations" in Ukraine..'<blockquote>'NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has accused Russia of engaging in "direct military operations" in Ukraine and dismissed Moscow's "hollow denials" of involvement.
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He said that "it is now clear that Russian troops and equipment have illegally crossed the border," part of a "dangerous pattern" to destabilize Ukraine and a "blatant violation" of its sovereignty.'
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NATO Chief Accuses Russia Of 'Direct' Military Involvement In Ukraine, August 29, 2014</blockquote>
'Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine can only be called one thing: a cross-border military invasion. To claim it is anything other than that is to inhabit President Putin’s Orwellian universe .. If we will not or cannot defend our own values now, as well as friends who share them, the future will be dark and dangerous indeed.'<blockquote>'Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina warned of a “dark and dangerous” future if Russia and President Vladimir Putin are not confronted about the action in Ukraine.
“Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine can only be called one thing: a cross-border military invasion. To claim it is anything other than that is to inhabit President Putin’s Orwellian universe,” Graham and McCain said in their latest joint statement.
“This is a moment to speak and act with clarity. A sovereign nation in the heart of Europe is being invaded by its larger neighbor. This runs completely contrary to the civilized world that America and our partners have sought to build since World War II,” the senators said. “If we will not or cannot defend our own values now, as well as friends who share them, the future will be dark and dangerous indeed, not just for Ukraine but for us too.” '
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'..‘Dark and Dangerous’ Future if Putin Isn’t Confronted on Ukraine.' August 28, 2014</blockquote>
Context<blockquote>
'..over 10,000 Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine today.' - Valentina Melnikova'..the contempt that Vladimir Putin holds the leaderships of Europe and America .. his invasion of Ukraine.'Ukraine to seek Nato membership, says PM Yatsenyuk, August 29, 2014
Finland’s Fighter Jets on Alert as Russia Violates Airspace, August 29, 2014
(US oil export) - '..the first unrestricted sale of unrefined American oil since the 1970s.' ('..end to the ban on exports..')</blockquote>