Fall of Ukraine Part One

On this day Putin the Magnificent road into the capital of the Ukraine, Kiev, on top of one of Mother Russia’s finest tanks. After several months of skirmishing in Ukraine’s eastern provinces, the Russian leader managed to ensure Russian victory over the Ukrainian usurpers which was backed by the West.

With NATO embroiled in numerous crises elsewhere, most notably in the Middle East against ISIS, Putin’s strategy of testing the Western Powers paid off when they consistently failed to support Ukraine on the battlefield and instead resorted to economic sanctions. These economic sanctions may have been trumpeted in the West as greatly significant and damaging to Russia, but Putin merely scoffed at these sanctions for the pointless efforts that they were. 

Nonetheless they did lead to a ceasefire, although a ceasefire which only further convinced Putin that NATO would not get involved in his plans for the Ukraine. Indeed, within a month, Putin took advantage of the said ceasefire and used numerous Ukrainian violations of the ceasefire agreement as an excuse to launch his lightning invasion of the Ukraine. Within 72 hours the Ukrainian armed forces had been routed, which then paved the way for Putin’s triumphant parade in Kiev.

All the usurper Ukrainian government could do was to flee the victorious Russians and seek exile elsewhere. Yet the Western nations feared Russian retribution, given the huge Ukrainian defeat, and refused to shelter the likes of Petro Poroshenko whilst simultaneously putting an end to any thoughts of eastern expansion for the European Union. Poroshenko and his supporters would eventually find safe haven, but in Uruguay far from their native lands.
 
Fall of Ukraine Part Two

After the liberation of the Ukraine, by Putin the Magnificent, American President Obama declared that the United States would not allow Russia to go unpunished. Sanctions and a “quarantine” of Russia were announced although fighting soon erupted between Congress, which was now controlled by the Republicans, and Obama. Either not enough was being done or too little. And although further sanctions were finally implemented, no military action was mentioned.

But the Americans would go it alone. Putin’s reaction was to scoff at the American inaction whilst he warned to Europeans to remain neutral. Any further sanctions from any European nation would be viewed as hostile and result in appropriate retaliative action.

The Poles and the Baltic States immediately viewed this as tantamount to a declaration of war, especially in the light that Ukraine had now been fully occupied by Russia, and demanded that NATO come to a war footing. In the south, however, Romania and Moldova feared they would be dragged into a nasty European war not of their making, and although Moldova was not a NATO member and had its own internal problems involving Russian Peacekeepers, both nations pleaded for peace. Similarly Hungry and Slovakia were not keen on war either and sided with Romania.

Putin noticed these divisions within NATO and immediately sought to take advantage of them. Offering the hand of peace to Romania, Hungry, Slovakia, Moldova, and anyone else who would take it, numerous treaties of non-aggression were signed between these nations. In doing so they rewarded by having their gas bill halved. But for Poland and the Baltic Republics, their gas bill doubled overnight. Needless to say Putin ignored their protests and told them if they did not like it they could purchase their gas from elsewhere knowing only too well that this was next to impossible, in the short term, given the requirements involved especially with winter coming.        

Fall of Ukraine Part Three

Although events in Eastern Europe were not ignored in the United States, political gridlock soon took over the machinations of government to the point that even the US military could hardly conduct their own affairs due to lack of money and their commitment to the Middle East. Furthermore the US commitment to Europe was at an all time low. It even got to the point that, although NATO had committed resources to support the Baltic States, this had fallen through as National forces were rotated through the Baltic States and the US had missed their turn.

Consequentially there were no NATO forces backing up the Baltic States, for this tour, and Putin the Magnificent immediately took advantage of the situation. Mind you the Baltic States played right into Putin’s hand by their reaction to the huge increase in their power bill. Furthermore the ethnic Russian population also helped Putin through claims of discrimination and harassment by the governments of the Baltic States. But the clincher was the announcement by the Lithuanian government, in blockading the Russian territory of Kaliningrad, which ensured their downfall.

The Lithuanians thought that, by playing tough with Putin, he would for some reason back down. Instead Putin now demanded a land corridor, the Kaliningrad Corridor, be granted to the Russians so that Lithuania could not try to blackmail Russia to the whims of the Baltic States. Needless to say both Latvia and Estonia distanced themselves, from the Lithuanian blockade of Kaliningrad, but to Putin it did not matter.

Thus taking advantage of Lithuania’s actions, the Russian armed forces soon crossed the borders of all three Baltic States and occupied them within 72 hours whist the first Russian army column broke through the Kaliningrad siege lines a day later. After ensuring that Kaliningrad was safe, Putin paraded through the city to the resounding cheers of its euphoric population.         
       
Fall of Ukraine Part Four

Although calls of condemnation came from various NATO countries, after Putin the Magnificent had masterminded the liberation of the Baltic States, the West still refused to conduct military action against Russia. Having said that NATO European forces were finally on alert and stationed in their forward positions. Yet given the split in NATO, this essentially meant only Poland was now protected, whereas NATO members Hungry, Slovakia and Romania had non-aggression treaties with Russia and refused to mobilise.

Meanwhile US President Obama was paralysed by Congress. Even if he wanted to do something against Russia, in a military fashion, Congress rejected everything. Putin was quick to take advantage of the situation and reminded the world and America in particular, that Russia had a major nuclear weapons arsenal and would use it if required. This warning ensured further success to Putin’s plans as the US political system went into blame-game overdrive, where Congress and Obama battled it out as to who was responsible for allowing Russia to be able to threaten the United States in such a fashion.

But Putin’s next action was independent of US political games and indeed Western Europe’s concerns. Accepting that any further action in Europe may be counterproductive, he set his eyes upon Azerbaijan instead. This ex-Soviet republic was having a simmering conflict with Russian ally Armenia since the fall of the USSR. Putin had played the peace broker, when it suited him in the past, but he was secretly a supporter of Armenia. After an Armenian helicopter was shot down, by Azerbaijan for no particular reason, Putin took advantage of the situation and demanded Azerbaijan to agree to Putin’s peace plan or suffer the consequences.     

Putin, though, could not have cared less about the fate of the helicopter or peace. Instead he wanted Azerbaijan’s oil, in order to consolidate Russian power in the oil and gas industries, and in so doing ensure that Russia would dominate global fossil fuel production. Foolishly Azerbaijan rejected Putin’s demands and soon felt the power of the Russian armed forces. In Russian military action, in coordination with Armenian forces, Azerbaijan was soon invaded.  Given Azerbaijan was invaded on two fronts their defense efforts could hardly handle their enemies attacks. Within three weeks it was all over, with Armenia and Russia sharing the spoils, as Armenia swallowed the western part of Azerbaijan and Russia taking the rest.   
      

To Be Continued in Parts Five to Eight