There's been speculation on how many ships the Russians are sending to Somalia, and why. Russian NavyBlog believes the ship is being sent to show the flag (your Russian tax dollars at work). I think that's certainly part of it, but I also think that it's no coincidence that the ship which is involved is Ukrainian, with Russians as part of the crew. Recall President Medvedev's statement that Russia would protect Russian citizens no matter where they are. I think this is a warning to the Ukrainian government, and possibly to the Baltic governments as well, about taking any action against Russian minorities within their borders. In other words, Russia means what it says about protecting Russians, and to prove we mean it, we're willing to send ships to the Horn of Africa to protect them. If we'll do that for a few sailors on a ship in the Indian Ocean, think about what we'll do for a Russian population of over 10 million in a country next door to us.
Henry | 10.01.08 - 1:07 pm | #