Browsing: Crimea

NATO foreign ministers moved Tuesday to beef up the defenses of front-line alliance members feeling menaced by a more assertive Russia, with Secretary of State John Kerry proclaiming the U.S. commitment to their security is “unwavering.”

In a gilded Kremlin hall used by czars, Vladimir Putin redrew Russia’s borders Tuesday by declaring the Crimean Peninsula part of the motherland — provoking a surge of emotion among Russians who lament the loss of empire and denunciations from Western leaders who called Putin a threat to the world.

There is an adage I find myself quoting often — “Laws matter so long as they are enforced” — and when I apply this sentiment to the current situation in the Crimea region of Ukraine I am appalled by the intrusion of Russian forces.