Ragnorak Part VII--Tanks in the Baltic--Russia Planned to Take Crimea Earlier

Just a couple of new items related to the Ukraine matter. First, the AFP reports:

The United States on Monday delivered more than 100 pieces of military equipment to vulnerable NATO-allied Baltic states in a move designed to provide them with the ability to deter potential Russian threats. 

The deliveries are intended to "demonstrate resolve to President (Vladimir) Putin and Russia that collectively we can come together," US Major General John R. O'Connor told AFP as he oversaw the delivery of the equipment in the port of Riga. 

The delivery included Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles, Scout Humvees as well as support equipment and O'Connor said the armour would stay "for as long as required to deter Russian aggression". 

The three former Soviet-ruled Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, all NATO and European Union members since 2004, have very little miliary hardware of their own.

Second, Putin has admitted that he had planned the takeover of the Crimea weeks before the Crimea's referendum.