mobilisation of the ukrainian armed forces, page-9

We all know how sanctions work don't we? The people who suffer the most are always the civilians not the members of government who are supposedly targeted by them.

I visited Ukraine and much of Eastern Europe a number of years ago and the contrast was stark.

Ukraine was massively underdeveloped in many areas whilst being totally undeveloped in others in comparison to countries such as Poland whose standard of living was so much better, nevermind the contrast between Ukraine and the West - they were noticeably backward compared to other eastern European countries.

It comes as no surprise to me to have these problems now. Ukraine is catholic and European in the west and orthodox and Russian in the east. They are literally split down the middle. Issues of ethnicity, religion, identity and language mixed with the incredible poverty of the country and a wish to enjoy the same standard of living enjoyed by countries in the West it's no wonder the tipping point was the government's refusal to do a deal with the EU, instead turning towards Russia to have more of the same as what they've had for so long now.

If being in Russia's sphere of influence in the decades since the collapse of the USSR hasn't improved people's everyday lives then you can understand them being desperate to turn towards the EU instead in a bid to turn around their fortunes for their own good and the good of their children and children's children.

However this turns out it doesn't look like it's going to be a happy ending anytime soon unfortunately.