Familial Disputes

"There is a struggle going on at the top and mostly it is inside one person's head. I think Putin had been waiting to see western reaction. What he saw satisfied him. Germany and Italy are against imposing sanctions so he decided to be rude and speed up Crimea's annexation."
Andrei Piontkovsky, Institute of System Analysis, Moscow

"We were deceived. Putin got angry. Once we have the Crimea, we will not give it back."
"Putin's regime has grown stronger and other issues have become secondary because the events around Maidan (Independence Square) have consolidated Russian society."
Sergei Mikheev, Centre for Political Assessment, Moscow

"I bet over the last few days there has been a colossal communication between Russia and Ukraine because we all have relatives there and people are alarmed on both sides of the frontier."
"Nobody here is giving Crimea to Putin. But everybody understands that Ukraine is weak now and can hardly oppose Putin's plans."
Viktor Nebozhenko, political analyst, Ukrainian Barometer Sociological Centre

Alexei Nikolskiy / RIA Novosti / Kremlin / Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin at a news conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, on March 4, 2014.

Ukraine/Russia, Russia/Ukraine; indivisible as far as Russians and their president are concerned. Not so much, as far as Ukrainians and their current crop of political leaders are concerned; at least in Kyiv. It's a family dispute. One that President Vladimir Putin insists will be settled within the family. It's the outside suitors that have created this destabilizing situation where danger lurks that the Cold War will be resurrected.

Russia's space has been intolerably invaded by those who know nothing of the Russian sphere of influence, its traditions and its usefulness to those eastern European countries who value it and continue to cling to it. Ukraine simply is a tad confused, as can happen when a younger, more assertive, handsome suitor comes along, flashing euros and greenbacks. All will be resolved, as long as the interfering West bows out.

Russia's lower and upper houses declared their legislatures' intention to approve Crimea's anticipated response to the referendum to be held on March 16. A simple enough question; remain with Ukraine or switch back to where they belong, with Russia. Could the question be simpler? ... Moscow or Kyiv ... Yes, or No? This hasn't come out of the blue, not exactly. It has been skilfully orchestrated by the master manipulator, none other than Vladimir Putin.

Who, as it happened, a mere few days earlier denied any such plans, intentions or interferences with the sovereign right of Ukraine to retain Crimea as an autonomous peninsula of great importance to Russia's Black Sea Fleet. And here's another blast of news for Ukraine with Gazprom threatening to turn off the oil and gas spigots. After all, Ukraine must get its housekeeping in order and pay its bills and there's nothing trivial about owing $2-billion for energy use.

Russian pundits are quite clear; the West encouraged regime change in Kyiv, thus creating this awkward situation that Russia is attempting to clear up, but finding difficulties in so doing, thanks to the continued interference. Mr. Putin only has the best interests of Ukraine uppermost in mind. He could, after all, surrender to the energetic blandishments of the West in courting Ukraine by telling them all right, have her if you must. Along with Ukraine's drained financial resources.

Sergei Supinsky / AFP / Getty Images  Protesters clash with police on January 19, 2014 during an opposition rally in the centre of the Ukrainian capital Kiev in a show of defiance against strict new curbs on protests.

The $15-billion assistance over seven years that the EU has pledged to offer Ukraine, matching Russia's offer, won't go very far when the country is in desperate need, right now, at this very moment, to receive aid hovering between $30-billion and $40-billion to enable it to escape total collapse. So, take the entire estate, then, and we'll call it quits, right?

And, oh, by the way, there's a link coming between Russia and the Crimea.

The Kremlin approved a $3-billion, 4.5-kilometre-long bridge to span the gap between Crimea and the Russian mainland where the Black Sea meets the Sea of Azov. When that link has been established Crimea will no longer be dependent on Ukraine for electricity, water and food. Russia will step forward to provide all of Crimea's needs.

"It was important for him to give Crimea a signal that he was not abandoning them", Dmitri Babich, political pundit for Russia's RIA-Novosti state news agency, gravely commented.