No one seems to be talking about the capacity of the Ukrainians to defend themselves. Their military capabilities are not inconsiderable. Their total armed forces number 150,000. Their reserves number 1,000,000 men. They have a large tank corp including T72′s and T84′s. They have an air force of ca. 800 planes including modern fighter aircraft (Su 27′s and Mig 29′s among them). The Ukrainians have a homegrown defense industry which has been active in upgrading their equipment and even in export. By some accounts they have one of the most sophisticated air defense systems in the world. They have a small but capable navy, and the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet is in Sevastapol, a Ukrainian city in the Crimea. An attack on the Ukraine would not be worry free.

I leave it to the experts among us to tell the less informed, like myself, what all this means, but one thing seems clear to me. A Russian assault on the Ukraine could be far, far more costly and even embarrassing for the Russian Bear than their romp in Georgia. The Ukraine has real teeth. They can probably bite back, perhaps painfully.

Best,

Richard Moorton