If the Ukraine agreement really doesn't ratify Russia's conquest as the price for preventing a Russian invasion of Ukraine, we need to pivot back to the Crimea issue, with a particular focus on Sevastopol.
Before Russia formally seized Crimea, I wondered if we could make this a crisis over Sevastopol to limit the damage and end the crisis.
That ship sailed. Russia took the entire region.
But maybe we can return to this idea as a basis for a lasting agreement. If Russia pulls out of Crimea but keeps Sevastopol as a base area after paying Ukraine handsomely for the base, we could lift sanctions.
Couple it with language that adds to Crimea's existing autonomous status within Ukraine to give Russia a visible but nominal victory "protecting ethnic Russians" that can justify withdrawal from Crimea outside of a Sevastopol base area.
About Me
- Brian J. Dunn
- I live and write in Ann Arbor, Michigan. University of Michigan AB and MA from Eastern Michigan University. One term in the Michigan Army National Guard. Former American history instructor and retired nonpartisan research analyst. I write on Blogger and Substack. Various military and private journals have published my occasional articles on military subjects. See "My Published Works" on the TDR web version or under the mobile version drop-down menu for citations and links.
