The Battle for Novorussiya

[David Guyatt]

Meanwhile, in Paris Putin said that Russia and Ukraine going to war was "unlikely." Perhaps that's why Cameron has decided to up the ante and send British troops eh?

But it's a bit of a cheek for Cameron to tell MP's that the EU must stand up to Vlad. Especially in light of the fact that he intends to hold a referendum to take the UK out of Europe (he says, fibbing I'm sure?) after the May 2015 election.

Still, duplicity and pulling Jason faces are what pols are all about...

So the time for a little sabre rattling has arrived:

British and US troops parade 300 yards from Russian border in show of Western unity



Parade came shortly after UK's defence secretary claimed there was a 'real and present danger' to the Baltic state from Russia

ROSE TROUP BUCHANAN

Wednesday 25 February 2015

British and American soldiers paraded through the streets of an eastern Estonian town yesterday in a show of Western unity just 300 yards from the Russian border.

The parade, featuring the US Army's Second Cavalry Regiment alongside British and Estonian troops, officially marked Estonia's Independence Day - but the choice of location is highly symbolic.
Navra, a vulnerable Estonian border town located on the eastern tip of the country, has been cited as a potential target for the Kremlin should it wish to escalate its aggressive stance towards the West.
Only last week, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon claimed there was a "real and present danger" to Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia with the rise of Russian belligerence.
The parade, in a city where the majority of the 60,000 residents are ethnically Russian, comes amid rising Western fears over the Kremlin's meddling in the Ukrainian war.

Kiev alleges that pro-Russian rebels to the east are funded and backed by the Kremlin, a charge strongly denied by Russia.
Despite an agreed ceasefire between pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian government on 12 February, pockets of resistance have continued in the country as both sides claim violations by the other.
More than 5,400 people are thought to have been killed in the bitter conflict.
"The events in Ukraine that have kept the entire world awake, demonstrate very clearly that we ourselves must maintain security," Estonia's chief of staff General Riho Teras said at the parade.

"History has taught us that if we do not defend ourselves, nobody else will," General Teras told the Daily Telegraph.
Estonia, which joined Nato in 2004 along with Latvia and Lithuania, currently has compulsory military service for eight or 11 months from the age of 18.
Lithuania president recent reinstated military conscription discontinued in 2008 citing growing concerns of Russian assertiveness in the Baltic region.

Troops in the parade, which also consisted of roughly 100 Spanish, Dutch, Lithuanian and Latvian soldiers alongside British and US forces, may form part of Nato's planned expansion.
Earlier this month, Nato's general secretary announced the decision to set up six new command posts on its eastern borders, and create a 5,000 strong rapid response force.