UKRAINE – THE OUTRAGE GAME – AT 10:16 A.M. ET:  The outrage game is one of the oldest in diplomacy.  An "incident" occurs, and one side expresses "outrage" at it, negating any agreements that have been made, and short-circuiting any attempts at resolution.  The side expressing "outrage" then appeals to its own people for support.  You know the line:  "Your brothers and sisters are suffering."

Hitler was a smash at this.  Now the Russians are playing the same game.  From The Hill:

Russia's ambassador to the U.S. on Sunday decried the overnight attack on a pro-Russian checkpoint in Ukraine that has broken a fragile Easter truce.

“We are outraged by the attack on the checkpoint,” Ambassador Sergei Kislyak said on Fox News Sunday.

At least two people were killed near Slaviansk in Eastern Ukraine, Reuters reported.

Kislyak said the attack suggests Ukraine is not doing enough to implement a deal signed in Geneva aimed at ending tensions with Russia.

“Unless they do so in a faithful way, there will be no solution to this crisis,” he said, adding that only when Ukraine disarms anti-Russia militiamen will pro-Russian groups stand down.

COMMENT:  Real nice.  Turns out the pro-Russian groups in Ukraine don't even recognize the agreement signed in Geneva.  And they're taking their cue from Moscow.  Those groups have stormed and taken over military bases and police stations.

The Russians outplay us at every turn.  And they're better at the outrage game.  Ukraine is a tinderbox.  Putin may show some flexibility for a while, but he'll get what he wants.

April 20,  2014