The Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine is proceeding apace. The Obama administration acknowledged Thursday that up to 1,000 Russian troops have crossed the border in recent days, along with assorted military hardware. NATO concurs.
Lithuanian ambassador to the United Nations Raimonda Murmokaite put it rather succinctly:
An invasion is an invasion is an invasion #UkraineUnderAttack
— Raimonda Murmokaite (@PRLTUN) August 28, 2014
So why is the Obama administration refusing to call it an invasion? When asked by MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell to explain, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki declined to discuss the "terminology" of Russia's actions, which the administration is "concerned about" and "watching closely." But that is not all. Psaki said the "international community" plans to "have a discussion" about the thing Russia is doing in Ukraine sometime next week. Maybe they'll talk about sanctions. Make no mistake, the Russian invasion sending of troops into Ukraine to seize territory in a military fashion "will be a prominent part of the agenda next week." This must be reassuring to Ukrainian officials, who seem to be trolling the State Department's "hashtag diplomacy" on Twitter:
#RussiaInvadedUkraine — Pavlo Klimkin (@PavloKlimkin) August 28, 2014