Ukraine:more than 750 Ukrainian soldiers killed. Poroshenko invites NATO officia

[Beezer]

I somehow doubt any NATO forces will be seen in Ukraine any time soon. The last thing the West wants to do is kill Russian soldiers. While I understand the difficult situation Poroshenko finds himself in, he sometimes has no one to blame but himself for such dire news. The Ukrainian leadership has made some horrible mistakes over the past few months, rejecting sensible strategic retreats which have led to these kinds of unnecessary losses.

[Beezer]

If we're just going to hurl abuse, let's turn this around and ask about (hydro-carbon related) American buddy-buddyism with Saudi Arabia.

Certainly the U.S. should drop its relationship with Saudi Arabia, but Saudi Arabia isn't going around invading its neighbors, and it hasn't started a war that has killed 5,000 people so far with no end in sight.

Ahem, you do remember the role SA has played in destabilizing North Africa and Syria? I am not saying the kingdom itself is responsible for all the carnage that has ensued since the Arab spring but w/o them IS would probably not be pillaging its way through Syria and Iraq.

[Beezer]

Tsipras already making his views known in a public way on the Russian-Ukraine issue.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/28/world/europe/greece-syriza-government-names-anti-austerity-economist-as-finance-minister.html

*Mr. Tsipras quickly demonstrated that Europe must not treat Greece as a weak junior partner. His government on Tuesday denounced a European Council statement in which European leaders blamed Russia for the escalating violence in Ukraine and raised the prospect of new economic sanctions.

* Mr. Tsipras has been a sharp critic of European sanctions against Moscow, and has also displayed past good will toward Russia, a sentiment common among many Greeks

*President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia sent Mr. Tsipras a congratulatory telegram on Monday, the day he was sworn into office, while that same day Mr. Tsipras met the Russian ambassador in Athens.

Hm... Well, perhaps that is where he can get the help he would need to restart the Greek economy without the euro.

How many rubles can Russia spare these days?