Into the Breach

Chapter 08 Call to Arms

1st, January 2032

At the dawn of the new year continental Europe was once again swarmed with a new wave of conflict as a sudden build up of Ukrainian troops along the Russo-Ukrainian border was reported to Russian high command early the next day.

The Russians mobilized their ground forces at the border with EU members in response, and the navy and air force were put on high alert. Russian President, Mikhail Smirnov said in an interview with the BBC, "This is a blatant act of aggression against the Russian Federation and an encroachment on our Sovereign Territory," He then went on to give an ultimatum to Ukraine and her allies in the European Union stating, "If Ukraine does not pull back its forces from the border by the end of this week, Russia would respond with force."

On January 3rd, 2031 the European Council met in Luxemburg to discuss the following conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The debate was fierce but no final decision could be made on whether to escalate the conflict with the Russian Federation or not. Poland, having long desired to use the EU for its own gain or leave it, grew tired and a few hours ahead of the deadline decided to make a push and strike Kaliningrad. Polish troops with the aid of the Lithuanian Armed Forces had fully crossed into Kaliningrad even though they met fierce resistance from the Russian Ground Forces based in Kaliningrad.

With the sudden speed and ruthlessness of the combined attack of Polish and Lithuanian troops, Russian ground forces in Kaliningrad soon found themselves surrounded and forced to surrender after taking heavy losses in the previous 5 day urban battle. Which would later serve as the basis on which the European Council would push for sanctions on the Poles and Lithuanians in protest against the underhanded attacks and insubordination of the Poles and her Ally dooming the current governments of both nations.

Meanwhile, Finnish troops marched into Karelia with Ukraine pushing into Donbass and Crimea thus re-establishing Ukrainian control in the region. Seeing that it was quickly losing ground, the Russian High command refused to let the situation degenerate further due to political meddling.

As the nuclear warheads were getting ready to be launched, humanity prevailed. Indeed a group of young officers supported by a large part of the army stormed into the Kremlin and took control of the nuclear launch, aborting the procedures.

The three heads of the coup, Savenkova Jereni Vitalievna, Lobanov Onufri Valeryevich and Pogodin Lavro Filippovich declared the president incumbent Mikhail Smirnov, inept and deposed the government in favour of a military junta. After a quick ceasefire with the EU and some territorial concessions, mostly to Finland, lasting peace was once again brought to Continental Europe... with Russian adhesion to the EU.

The integration of such a large nation would take much longer than that of any other, yet the slow and grueling process started, and it appears that for the first time, Russia would have a go at true democracy.

Poland's government was deposed by the peace treaty, as more protests filled the streets after European sanctions, snap elections were organized, a surprising alliance between the New Left and Civic Coalition would lead to a new government, much more Pro-European than the previous and more aligned with European politics of the time.

But peace in Europe is not peace in the world.

In North America, Canada and Mexico started being increasingly worried about spreading anarchist ideals, to put an end to the root of their problems, a military intervention into the former United States was sent. While not technically a war, for there was no government to declare war on, the invading troops met fierce resistance by zealous communards ready to protect their homes. Despite their bravery, it was expected that all they would do was stall the inevitable.