The West calls it an invasion

The West calls it an invasion, but the reaction so far among the locals to the Russian troops in Ukraine’s Crimea region, “They’re welcome here, as liberators.”

Some people think Vladimir Putin’s decision to send troops into Ukraine is intended to teach the European Union a lesson about the limits of expansion; some people, like Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan on Fox News Sunday, think Putin’s trying to re-assemble the old Soviet Union.

“I think this is the most important territory to Putin himself. And there’s an old expression that Russia, without the Ukraine, is a country, and Russia with the Ukraine is an empire,” said Rogers.

But whatever the reason, Jeff McCausland, CBS News Military Consultant, doubts that Ukraine wants a fight. “The Ukrainian government is quite weak, their military forces are quite weak. Absent some kind of miscalculation, I don’t think they want to get into a full scale war.”

Which has U.S. officials feeling that they have to somehow stick up for the little guy.

The problem is – which little guy? Western Ukraine may be amenable to joining Europe’s orbit, but Eastern Ukraine worries that trading with Europe would undermine its local industries.

And among the Ukrainians who overthrew the Russian backed president are some ultra-right groups which would make awkward allies.

So for now, it doesn’t appear we’ll be rushing to the rescue. Instead, Secretary of State John Kerry, on CBS News’ Face the Nation, seemed to be trying to shame Putin, by pointing out that invasions are so two centuries ago.

“You just don’t, in the 21st century, behave in 19th century fashion by invading another country on completely trumped up pretext,” Kerry said.

But we have no treaty to defend Ukraine, so it looks like our reaction will be limited to what the diplomats call “serious repercussions,” which at this point means possibly canceling the upcoming G8 meeting which, by the way, was going to be in Sochi.

And after they’d gone to so much trouble to fix the toilets.