Slashdot Mirror
Ukraine May Have To Rearm With Nuclear Weapons Says Ukrainian MP
An anonymous reader writes "USA Today reports, "Ukraine may have to arm itself with nuclear weapons if the United States and other world powers refuse to enforce a security pact that obligates them to reverse the Moscow-backed takeover of Crimea, a member of the Ukraine parliament told USA TODAY. The United States, Great Britain and Russia agreed in a pact 'to assure Ukraine's territorial integrity' in return for Ukraine giving up a nuclear arsenal it inherited from the Soviet Union after declaring independence in 1991, said Pavlo Rizanenko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament. ... Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the commitments in the agreement are not relevant to Crimea because a 'coup' in Kiev has created 'a new state with which we have signed no binding agreements.' The U.S. and U.K. have said that the agreement remains binding and that they expect it to be treated 'with utmost seriousness, and expect Russia to, as well.'"
I think the main reason other countries aren't intervening is that right now, Ukraine isn't defending itself. Military outposts in Crimea are surrendering without a fight to the Russians. It's hard to justify sending our troops over there when Ukrainian troops aren't willing to fight.
I can understand it on a personal level - I wouldn't want to start a gunfight with Russian soldiers when I'm outnumbered and cut off from reinforcements. And even at a higher level, I can see why just giving Crimea to Russia might hurt less in the short term, because Ukraine cannot fight off Russia alone, particularly when it's been politically divided as it has been.
But fuck, even Poland at least tried to fight back when the German blitzkrieg rolled in. If Ukraine actually fights this war (which it has every right to - Russia is blatantly trying to conquer territory in contravention of every principle of peace), it will be a hell of a lot harder for other countries to just wait on the sideline.