Crimea River - 2016

The winter of 2015 was a brutal one for the people of Crimea. Due to the collapse in oil prices and continued economic sanctions by the West, the Russian Federation economy was in shambles. Food and fuel shortages in Crimea were widespread, and the Unemployment Rate was over 40%. It became apparent to many in Crimea that re-joining the Russian Federation was not the utopia they dreamed of (and voted for). In January 2016 dissatisfaction turned to uprising. The first Crimean rebellion started in the city of Kerch. Spetnaz Special Forces units brutally put down the uprising, killing approximately 150 unarmed protesters. Mass protests quickly spread to other parts of Crimea and ended in the same way; with the Speznatz. Vocal leaders of the opposition simply "disappeared". Western Powers and NATO were undecided on what action to take. The Crimean people had "made their own bed" hadn't they? But the brutality and killing were difficult to stomach. The United Nations could not get any type of Referendum through the Security Council due to the veto power of Russia and China. A purely diplomatic solution seemed unlikely, and there was little international support for military action. Then, in early February 2016, a CNN News camera crew secretly took footage of troops with no insignia placing bodies in a mass grave at a desolate area outside of the City of Simferopol. It was determined that the mass grave contained the bodies of Crimean dissident leaders, along with their families. When the footage aired on the CNN broadcast network, the political and military situation changed dramatically. NATO is going to take action. The United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Greece, and (to a limited extent) Turkey are planning a large strike on Russian military assets in Crimea. It was hoped that a large enough strike by so many NATO Member Nations would send a clear message to Russia that the continued annexation of Crimea was no longer in their best interest. T