Operation Canned Meat II is Underway

The Kremlin said rebel leaders in eastern Ukraine asked Russia for military assistance Wednesday to help fend off Ukrainian “aggression” while Ukraine declared a nationwide state of emergency amid growing fears of an all-out invasion by Russian troops.

The announcement from Moscow immediately fueled fears that the rebel request amounted to a pretext for war — a tactic that the West has warned about for weeks.

Let's be clear about this: There is no independent reporting of Ukranian "aggression" against the rebels, even though it could be argued that fighting to take back your own territory hardly qualifieds as aggression. But Putin has his own vocabulary:

The Russians are conducting their propaganda campaign and the usual suspects are buying it.

What I said here stands.