ALERT RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE - Consolidated Thread

Doomer Doug

TB Fanatic
Both Xi the Merciless and Vlad the Impaler have taken our measure, in all aspects of American life and are licking their chops because they KNOW THEY CAN TAKE US DOWN.

War is inevitable because the entire leadership class in the USA is simply too arrogant, ignorant, corrupt and incompetent to fight functional militaries like China and Russia.

Allied forces will simply be MASSACRED by foes that despise us on all levels, and are superior to us on all levels.
 

rondaben

Veteran Member
Can't remember if it was Biden or the Pentagon spokesman Kirby talking about how they had planned for EVERY contingency in the Afghanistan withdrawal. That sure went well, not.

Is an abundance of contingency plans now the goal, rather than the quality of plans?

And the comment by JR Nyquist about Chicom infiltration at a level that could short circuit our nuclear response to an attack?

I would not have believed that possible until I saw a Chicom-owned senile puppet installed as US president through obvious physical and cyber vote fraud.

Hopefully General Milley can contact our enemies ahead of any conflict and give them a heads up. :bhd:

Peak corruption has intersected peak arrogance and peak delusional stupidity.

What's the contingency plan for that?
Duck and cover
 

northern watch

TB Fanatic
Putin demands NATO guarantees not to expand eastward
Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Moscow would seek Western guarantees that would preclude any further NATO expansion and the deployment of its weapons near Russia's borders
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press
1 December 2021, 05:20

In this photo released by the Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pauses during his and Brazilian Foreign Minister Carlos Franca's joint news conference following their talks in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Nov.

Image Icon
The Associated Press
In this photo released by the Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pauses during his and Brazilian Foreign Minister Carlos Franca's joint news conference following their talks in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP)

MOSCOW -- President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Moscow would seek Western guarantees that would preclude any further NATO expansion and deployment of its weapons near Russia's borders.

Putin’s statement came amid Ukrainian and Western worries about an alleged plan by Moscow to invade Ukraine. Russian diplomats countered them Wednesday by expressing concern about Ukraine’s military buildup near the area of the separatist conflict in the country’s east.

Speaking at a Kremlin ceremony where he received credentials from foreign ambassadors, Putin emphasized Russia will seek “strong, reliable and long-term guarantees of its security.”

“In a dialogue with the United States and its allies we will insist on working out specific agreements that would exclude any further NATO moves eastward and the deployment of weapons systems that threaten us in close vicinity to the Russian territory,” Putin said.

He said that Russia is offering the West to engage in detailed talks on the issue, adding that Moscow would need “legal guarantees of its security." The Russian leader noted that such agreements should take into account interests of all countries.

Putin's statement came a day after he sternly warned NATO against deploying its troops and weapons to Ukraine, saying it represents a red line for Russia and would trigger a strong response.

Tensions have been soaring in recent weeks about a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine, which worried Ukrainian and Western officials, who saw it as a possible sign of Moscow's intention to invade its ex-Soviet neighbor. NATO foreign ministers warned Russia on Tuesday that any attempt to further destabilize Ukraine would be a costly mistake.

The Kremlin has insisted it has no such intention and has accused Ukraine and its Western backers of making the claims to cover up their own allegedly aggressive designs.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the concentration of Ukrainian troops looks “alarming,” adding that he was going to raise the issue during a ministerial meeting in Stockholm of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Thursday. He again assailed Ukraine for failing to meet its obligations under a 2015 peace deal signed in Minsk that was brokered by France and Germany.

“Kyiv is becoming increasingly insolent in its aggressiveness towards the Minsk agreements, the Russian Federation, and in its attempts to provoke the West to support its military ambitions," Lavrov said in remarks in the upper house of Russia's parliament.

The U.S. State Department and Russia's Foreign Ministry said that Blinken and Lavrov will meet Thursday on the sidelines of the OSCE meeting. A State Department official said that Blinken will meet first with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Ukraine has amassed about 125,000 troops — about half of the size of its military — near the conflict zone. She also pointed at an increasing number of violations of a cease-fire in the east.

Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 after the country’s Kremlin-friendly president was driven from power by mass protests and also threw its weight behind a separatist insurgency that broke out in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland known as Donbas. More than 14,000 people have died in the fighting.

Ukraine and the West accused Russia of sending its troops and weapons to back the rebels. Moscow denied that, charging that Russians who joined the separatists were volunteers.

In Wednesday's address to parliament, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for negotiations with Russia to end the conflict in the east.

“We must tell the truth — we wouldn't be able to stop the war without direct talks with Russia,” Zelenskyy said. “We aren't afraid of a direct dialogue.”

The Kremlin responded by reaffirming its long-held stance that Russia isn't a party to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, describing the fighting in the east as a civil war. It emphasized that it expects Kyiv to meet its obligations under the 2015 Minsk agreement.

“The war in Donbas is Ukraine's internal business,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “We know about the attempts to cast Russia as a party to the conflict, but it's not so. It's only possible to end the war in Donbas through talks between Ukrainians.”

Peskov said that the Ukrainian troop concentration in Donbas could herald an attempt by Kyiv to reclaim control of the rebel-held territory.

“It makes us worry that inclinations to solve the Donbas problem by force could prevail,” Peskov said. “It's a very dangerous adventurism."

———

Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Ukraine and Ellen Knickmeyer from Washington contributed to this report.

Putin demands NATO guarantees not to expand eastward - ABC News (go.com)
 

danielboon

TB Fanatic
Jennifer Hansler

@jmhansler

·
2h

.
@SecBlinken
says it is unclear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine, but said that "he's putting in place the capacity to do so on short order, should he so decide."
Quote Tweet


Y_vpOay4_mini.jpg


Jennifer Hansler

@jmhansler
· 2h
NEW: @SecBlinken expressed deep concern "by evidence that Russia has made plans for significant aggressive moves against Ukraine," including "efforts to destabilize Ukraine from within, as well as large scale military operations."
 

jward

passin' thru
Kremlin points to Ukrainian forces near border, says Russia can't deescalate | TheHill
Sarakshi Rai

3-4 minutes



Top Headlines for December 1, 2021
0 seconds of 36 secondsVolume 0%
Russia in a response to NATO's accusations said it cannot de-escalate tensions at the Ukraine border due to a large concentration of Ukrainian troops still present near the region, according to a Reuters report.
Moscow said the move was purely defensive and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated that Russia was seriously worried about the 120,000 Ukrainian troops near the border.

"Russia cannot take any measures to de-escalate," Peskov told a briefing on Wednesday, per Reuters.
"We have seen the messages that more than 120,000 [Ukrainian] troops have been deployed to the conflict zone. This raises our fears that sentiments [in Ukraine] in favor of a military solution to the Donbass problem could prevail," Peskov added.
NATO foreign ministers on Tuesday warned Russia that any move to undermine Ukraine would be costly.
NATO's concerns have grown as a result of Russia's military buildup along the border with Ukraine and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken
blinkenanthony_11242020getty.jpg
Antony BlinkenOvernight Health Care — Presented by March of Dimes — FDA advisers back first at-home COVID-19 pill Overnight Defense & National Security — Austin mandates vaccine for Guardsmen Menendez jabs State official over Colombian group's terror designation MORE met with NATO officials in Riga, Latvia, on Tuesday. The EU leaders and Blinken discussed the Russian troop buildup along the northern and eastern Ukrainian border, which many fear could spark a conflict.
The U.S. also warned Russia of "serious consequences" if it escalates the conflict in Ukraine.
Blinken told reporters that "any renewed aggression would trigger serious consequences," according to Reuters.
However, Putin issued his own warning to NATO and warned the military alliance of crossing its 'red line' with regards to deploying its troops and weapons to Ukraine.

“The emergence of such threats represents a ‘red line’ for us,” Putin said, the AP reported. “I hope that it will not get to that and common sense and responsibility for their own countries and the global community will eventually prevail.”
Russia has previously denied that the military build-up is a sign of a possible invasion and said in a statement in November that “the movement of troops on our territory shouldn’t be a cause for anyone's concern.”

TheHill.com

The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax
The contents of this site are © 1998 - 2021 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.
 

jward

passin' thru




Lucian Kim
@Lucian_Kim


In Kremlin speech to ambassadors, Putin makes clear the Russian buildup on Ukrainian border is intended as a gambit to force US to give up support for Ukraine's membership in NATO—in writing.
"While engaging in dialogue with US and its allies, we will insist on the elaboration of concrete agreements that would rule out any further eastward expansion of NATO." Official translation of Putin's speech here:
View: https://twitter.com/Lucian_Kim/status/1466106436186955777?s=20

Unofficial translation of Putin's speech: I will continue to hold Ukraine hostage until West recognizes it as Russian buffer zone; I am ready to go all the way, West is not.
View: https://twitter.com/Lucian_Kim/status/1466108336261279746?s=20
 

Techwreck

Veteran Member

Lucian Kim
@Lucian_Kim


In Kremlin speech to ambassadors, Putin makes clear the Russian buildup on Ukrainian border is intended as a gambit to force US to give up support for Ukraine's membership in NATO—in writing.
"While engaging in dialogue with US and its allies, we will insist on the elaboration of concrete agreements that would rule out any further eastward expansion of NATO." Official translation of Putin's speech here:
View: https://twitter.com/Lucian_Kim/status/1466106436186955777?s=20

Unofficial translation of Putin's speech: I will continue to hold Ukraine hostage until West recognizes it as Russian buffer zone; I am ready to go all the way, West is not.
View: https://twitter.com/Lucian_Kim/status/1466108336261279746?s=20
True or not, this seems to sum things up to my understanding of the situation.

NATO can quit trying to squeeze Russia through Ukraine, or Russia will push back, and not with sanctions.

It seems clear that NATO wants expansion, while declaring that Putin is aggressive and wants to expand.
They use Crimea as the example, but the Russian speaking people of Crimea voted overwhelmingly to align with Russia rather than the Ukrainians, once the government of Ukraine was overthrown by the US.

Nato should back off on Ukraine and let them sort out their differences with Russia on their own.

I understand that that won't happen.

If Russia gets a wild hair and starts moving west, then that's a different situation.

Right now, it just looks like Putin stands in the way of the Globalist Plantation wet dream, and has to be removed at all costs, hence the drive to force his hand.

Similar to the way the American middle class is being provoked for a response that will license the desired .gov over-reaction and elimination of what remains of our rights.

IMHO
 

phloydius

Veteran Member
Ignore the title: Every post this youtuber makes is a WW3 Emergency Alert.
He doesn't talk in this one, it is just a series of armor movements. No indication of WHEN these were taken. Posted today.
Runtime 2m20s.

1) BTR convoy moving in Crimea
2) Ukrainian tank platoons in a field
3) Russian electronic warfare convoy in Rostov
4) British Challenger 2 tanks in Latvia

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4N_YrHOZIc
 

jward

passin' thru
I too found that piece to have more nuggets resonating as "true" than others. . . Lots of childish pushback and scorn being heaped upon the author now, and as "they say" flak is a sure fire sign you're over the target
... tho I still wonder about the role water plays and can't yet see it as totally unimportant to the current dance o' power-balance going on there :: shrug :: Time will tell eh.


True or not, this seems to sum things up to my understanding of the situation.

NATO can quit trying to squeeze Russia through Ukraine, or Russia will push back, and not with sanctions.

It seems clear that NATO wants expansion, while declaring that Putin is aggressive and wants to expand.
They use Crimea as the example, but the Russian speaking people of Crimea voted overwhelmingly to align with Russia rather than the Ukrainians, once the government of Ukraine was overthrown by the US.

Nato should back off on Ukraine and let them sort out their differences with Russia on their own.

I understand that that won't happen.

If Russia gets a wild hair and starts moving west, then that's a different situation.

Right now, it just looks like Putin stands in the way of the Globalist Plantation wet dream, and has to be removed at all costs, hence the drive to force his hand.

Similar to the way the American middle class is being provoked for a response that will license the desired .gov over-reaction and elimination of what remains of our rights.

IMHO
 

Doomer Doug

TB Fanatic
Russia's desire for a buffer zone goes back to BOTH Peter and Catherine the Great. Nothing new there. Yes Putin will go to war if NATO/EU, USA attempt to put Ukraine and/or Georgia into NATO.

PUTTING THE Aegis system into Romania is like Cuban missiles redux.
We will go to war with Putin over it because the globalist warmongers don't realize Putin isn't Yeltsin, although I don't know why.
 

northern watch

TB Fanatic
Russia warns NATO against moving nuclear weapons east
Russia’s top diplomat has warned NATO against redeploying U.S. atomic weapons to Eastern Europe if Germany refuses to keep hosting them
By The Associated Press
1 December 2021, 05:57

In this photo released by the Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pauses during his and Brazilian Foreign Minister Carlos Franca's joint news conference following their talks in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Nov.

Image Icon
The Associated Press
In this photo released by the Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pauses during his and Brazilian Foreign Minister Carlos Franca's joint news conference following their talks in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP)

MOSCOW -- Russia's top diplomat warned NATO against redeploying U.S. atomic weapons to Eastern Europe if Germany refuses to keep hosting them, saying Wednesday that such a move would be irresponsible and provocative.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was responding to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's comment this month that the alliance would need to consider relocating nuclear weapons east if the new German government changes the country’s policy on nuclear sharing
.

Lavrov described Stoltenberg’s statement as “absolutely irresponsible” and “outrageous.”

“It’s not just fanning confrontation. It’s an attempt to provoke a hot conflict,” the minister said, speaking to members of the upper house of Russia's parliament.

Relations between Russia and NATO sank to post-Cold War lows after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and supported a separatist insurgency that started the same year in eastern Ukraine.

Tensions escalated last month amid Ukrainian and Western concerns about a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine that raised fears that Moscow could invade its neighbor.

The longtime leader of Belarus, President Alexander Lukashenko, said in a Tuesday interview that his country would be willing to host Russian nuclear weapons if NATO redeployed U.S. atomic bombs from Germany to Eastern Europe.

Lavrov described Lukashenko’s offer as a “serious warning prompted by the reckless Western policy.”

Russia warns NATO against moving nuclear weapons east - ABC News (go.com)
 

naegling62

Veteran Member

AlfaMan

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Kremlin points to Ukrainian forces near border, says Russia can't deescalate | TheHill
Sarakshi Rai

3-4 minutes



Top Headlines for December 1, 2021
0 seconds of 36 secondsVolume 0%
Russia in a response to NATO's accusations said it cannot de-escalate tensions at the Ukraine border due to a large concentration of Ukrainian troops still present near the region, according to a Reuters report.
Moscow said the move was purely defensive and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated that Russia was seriously worried about the 120,000 Ukrainian troops near the border.

"Russia cannot take any measures to de-escalate," Peskov told a briefing on Wednesday, per Reuters.
"We have seen the messages that more than 120,000 [Ukrainian] troops have been deployed to the conflict zone. This raises our fears that sentiments [in Ukraine] in favor of a military solution to the Donbass problem could prevail," Peskov added.
NATO foreign ministers on Tuesday warned Russia that any move to undermine Ukraine would be costly.
NATO's concerns have grown as a result of Russia's military buildup along the border with Ukraine and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken
blinkenanthony_11242020getty.jpg
Antony BlinkenOvernight Health Care — Presented by March of Dimes — FDA advisers back first at-home COVID-19 pill Overnight Defense & National Security — Austin mandates vaccine for Guardsmen Menendez jabs State official over Colombian group's terror designation MORE met with NATO officials in Riga, Latvia, on Tuesday. The EU leaders and Blinken discussed the Russian troop buildup along the northern and eastern Ukrainian border, which many fear could spark a conflict.
The U.S. also warned Russia of "serious consequences" if it escalates the conflict in Ukraine.
Blinken told reporters that "any renewed aggression would trigger serious consequences," according to Reuters.
However, Putin issued his own warning to NATO and warned the military alliance of crossing its 'red line' with regards to deploying its troops and weapons to Ukraine.

“The emergence of such threats represents a ‘red line’ for us,” Putin said, the AP reported. “I hope that it will not get to that and common sense and responsibility for their own countries and the global community will eventually prevail.”
Russia has previously denied that the military build-up is a sign of a possible invasion and said in a statement in November that “the movement of troops on our territory shouldn’t be a cause for anyone's concern.”

TheHill.com

The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax
The contents of this site are © 1998 - 2021 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.


"Russia in a response to NATO's accusations said it cannot de-escalate tensions at the Ukraine border due to a large concentration of Ukrainian troops still present near the region, according to a Reuters report.
Moscow said the move was purely defensive and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated that Russia was seriously worried about the 120,000 Ukrainian troops near the border."

And that statement is how the Russians will justify invading the Ukraine. If it's being said now; the clock is swiftly running down to zero and invasion will be imminent.

And I'll throw another tidbit out there. Last Sunday, I saw a Russian IL-96 airliner in Russian AF livery (VIP flight, akin to Air Force 1) on a very long final into Andrews AFB. This was around 1530 or 1545 local time.

There may be some sort of backdoor negotiations going on re# the Ukraine/Donbas situation. Clearly nothing has been said publicly but I think US/Russian diplomacy is working hard on this situation.
 

Doomer Doug

TB Fanatic
Alfaman, this should stir things up, right after the Ukie called for hitting up Ruskie nuclear reactors. Wow sounds like the 1939 British guarantee for Poland, right before Hitler went in and squashed it flat. Sheesh, I guess the Ukies are now making NATO, EU and American military and foreign policy. So, Oreally, GET OUT while you can. We got dueling loonies now, all the Ukie fruitcakes going neo nazi, and the thug in Belarus howling about "Ukraine is ours." Yep, F$%%% going tactical as the situation is now out of control. Seriously, this Ukie president wants a blanket guarantee from NATO to cover anything they do, like blow up a ruskie nuke plant.


Ukraine calls for NATO 'deterrence package' to stop Russian invasion as Belarus dictator Lukashenko declares 'Ukraine is ours' and vows to help Putin rebuild Soviet Union
  • Ukrainian foreign minister urged 'three-pronged approach' at NATO summit
  • He said Moscow could be deterred with sanctions and military support for Kiev
  • Putin has sent some 94,000 troops to Ukrainian border sparking invasion fears
  • Fears deepened as Putin ally Lukashenko claimed 'Ukraine is ours'
By WILL STEWART and ROSS IBBETSON FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 04:04 EST, 1 December 2021 | UPDATED: 12:30 EST, 1 December 2021

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...e-package-stop-Russian-invasion.html#comments

Ukraine has called for a NATO 'deterrence package' to stop a Russian invasion amid new threats from the Kremlin-backed Belarusian dictator that 'Kiev is ours.'

Vladimir Putin has sent some 94,000 troops to the Ukrainian border sparking fears of an assault that would far surpass the capture of Crimea in 2014.
Russia claimed today that Ukraine had sent half its standing army, or 125,000 troops, to the Donbass region where government forces have been battling Russian-backed separatists for the last eight years.

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba told counterparts at a NATO summit in Latvia he was 'confident' this could be prevented using a 'three pronged approach': communications with Moscow, threat of sanctions, and military backing for Kiev.
But in response, the Russian president said Moscow would seek Western guarantees precluding any further NATO expansion and deployment of its weapons near his borders, a stern demand that comes amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the NATO summit that Washington had seen 'evidence' Russia could be planning an invasion on Ukraine, threatening Moscow with painful economic sanctions if it attacks.

And fears over such attacks deepened today as Putin ally Alexander Lukashenko told a Russian propaganda outlet: 'I will be doing everything for Ukraine to become ours. It is our Ukraine, people there are our people.'

Putin says his forces are simply reacting to a buildup of military on the Russian border, and a Kremlin spokesman today claimed that Ukraine had sent half its army, or 125,000 troops, to the frontier.

Speaking at a Kremlin ceremony where he received credentials from foreign ambassadors, Putin emphasised that Russia will seek 'reliable and long-term security guarantees.'
'In a dialogue with the United States and its allies, we will insist on working out specific agreements that would exclude any further NATO moves eastward and the deployment of weapons systems that threaten us in close vicinity to Russian territory,' Putin said.

He charged that 'the threats are mounting on our western border,' with NATO placing its military infrastructure closer to Russia and offered the West to engage in substantive talks on the issue, adding that Moscow would need not just verbal assurances, but 'legal guarantees.'

'We aren't demanding any special conditions for ourselves and realize that any agreements must take interests of Russia and all Euro-Atlantic countries into account,' Putin said. 'A calm and stable situation must be ensured for all and is needed for all without exclusion.'

Putin's statement came a day after he sternly warned NATO against deploying its troops and weapons to Ukraine, saying it represented a red line for Russia and would trigger a strong response.
50822939-10261959-image-a-8_1638349003872.jpg


+10

A map shared with Military Times and replicated above shows how Ukrainian intelligence is bracing for a bloody and ferocious invasion that could see swathes of Ukraine captured in an assault which would dwarf the annexation of the Crimea in 2014
 

Techwreck

Veteran Member
I too found that piece to have more nuggets resonating as "true" than others. . . Lots of childish pushback and scorn being heaped upon the author now, and as "they say" flak is a sure fire sign you're over the target
... tho I still wonder about the role water plays and can't yet see it as totally unimportant to the current dance o' power-balance going on there :: shrug :: Time will tell eh.
Yes, cutting off the water to Crimea played large, not sure if that's still the case.
Ukraine ports would help Russia.
Add a lot of horrible history, and some un-neighborliness is not surprising.
But they're neighbors, we're not.
The US using one neighbor against another in a different neighborhood, hypersonically speaking, brings the wisdom, and even the very sanity of our foreign policy into question, no matter how much Hunter and the big guy are getting.
 

danielboon

TB Fanatic
EndGameWW3

@EndGameWW3

·
29m

Update: Russia...
Quote Tweet


wAJd6Jxi_mini.jpg


marqs

@MarQs__
· 37m
BREAKING: #Russia will respond to the official request of the self-proclaimed DPR for help in the event of the use of force by Kyiv against the Donbas and a threat to people's lives - first deputy head of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs twitter.com/MarQs__/status…
 

danielboon

TB Fanatic
Blinken confronts Russia's Lavrov on Ukraine, warns of 'severe costs'
By Humeyra Pamuk and Johan Ahlander




5 minute read
Participants pose for a family photo during a ministerial meeting of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on December 2, 2021 in Stockholm, Sweden December 2, 2021. Jonathan Nackstrand/Pool via REUTERS

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Stockholm, Sweden December 2, 2021. Jonathan Nackstrand/Pool via REUTERS

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Stockholm, Sweden December 2, 2021. Jonathan Nackstrand/Pool via REUTERS



1/5
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Stockholm, Sweden December 2, 2021. Jonathan Nackstrand/Pool via REUTERS


  • Summary
  • Top U.S., Russia diplomats meet at moment of tension on Ukraine
  • Blinken warns of 'serious consequences' if Russia invades
  • Blinken says Putin and Biden could speak soon
  • Moscow says 'we don't want any conflicts'
  • Russia arrests three suspected Ukrainian agents
STOCKHOLM, Dec 2 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Moscow of the "severe costs" Russia would pay if it invaded Ukraine, urging his Russian counterpart on Thursday to seek a diplomatic exit from the crisis.
Blinken delivered the warning to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at what he called a "candid" meeting in Stockholm and said it was likely that Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin would speak soon.

"I made very clear our deep concerns and our resolve to hold Russia responsible for its actions, including our commitment to work with European allies to impose severe costs and consequences on Russia if it takes further aggressive action against Ukraine," Blinken told a news conference after the meeting.
"It's now on Russia to de-escalate the current tensions by reversing the recent troop buildup, returning forces to normal peacetime positions and refraining from further intimidation and attempts to destabilise Ukraine."

Interfax news agency, quoting Russia's foreign ministry, said Lavrov had told Blinken that Moscow would respond if Ukraine got drawn into any U.S. "geopolitical games".
The ministry hoped a Putin-Biden summit would take place in the coming days, Interfax said.

Blinken said: "I think it’s likely the presidents will speak directly in the near future".
The Kremlin has been talking up the possibility of a second summit between the two leaders for weeks. Their last one took place in Geneva in June, less than two months after Russia scaled back a previous build-up of more than 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border.
Lavrov, speaking to reporters before his talks with Blinken, said Moscow was ready for dialogue with Kyiv. "We, as President Putin has stated, do not want any conflicts," he said.
SANCTIONS THREAT
Ukraine says Russia has amassed more than 90,000 troops near their long shared border, while Moscow accuses Kyiv of pursuing its own military build-up. It has dismissed as inflammatory suggestions it is preparing for an attack on Ukraine and has defended its right to deploy troops on its own territory as it sees fit. read more
Blinken declined to spell out what economic sanctions Russia might face if it invaded its neighbour, saying only that "Moscow knows very well the universe of what's possible".
Russia has withstood multiple rounds of international sanctions since it seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. But Western governments have a potential new lever now, as Moscow is awaiting German regulatory approval to start pumping gas through a newly built $11 billion pipeline under the Baltic Sea.
Blinken said Moscow and Kyiv should each fulfil their obligations under the Minsk peace process, which was designed to end a war between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces in the east of the former Soviet republic.
Washington was willing to facilitate this, Blinken said, but "if Russia decides to pursue confrontation, there will be serious consequences".
FLASHPOINT
The Kremlin said on Thursday - before the Lavrov-Blinken meeting - that the probability of a new conflict in eastern Ukraine remained high and that Moscow was concerned by "aggressive" rhetoric from Kyiv and an increase in what it called provocative actions along the line of contact between government forces and the pro-Russian separatists.
Kyiv has denied any intention of trying to take back the rebel regions by force, accusing Russia of spouting "propaganda nonsense" in order to provide cover for its own aggressive intentions.
Russia said separately it had arrested three suspected Ukrainian intelligence agents, including one accused of planning to carry out an attack using two homemade bombs, allegations that Kyiv dismissed as trumped up.
Last week Ukraine's president said Kyiv had thwarted a Russian-backed coup plot, which the Kremlin denied.
East-West relations have sunk to their lowest level since the end of the Cold War and the demise of the USSR. The point was accidentally underlined by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin when he said during a visit to South Korea: "The best case... is that we won't see an incursion by the Soviet Union into the Ukraine." read more
'NIGHTMARE SCENARIO'
Ukraine's tilt towards the West since ousting a pro-Russian president in 2014 has enraged Moscow, which says it will not accept NATO membership for Ukraine or the stationing of NATO missiles there that could threaten it.
Putin said this week that Russia was ready with a newly tested hypersonic weapon of its own if the West deployed missiles in Ukraine that could hit Moscow within a few minutes.
In a speech to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe earlier on Thursday, Lavrov said military tensions were rising on the continent and he hoped that Russia's proposals on a new European security pact would be carefully considered.
"The architecture of strategic stability is rapidly being destroyed, NATO refuses to constructively examine our proposals to de-escalate tensions and avoid dangerous incidents," Lavrov said.
"On the contrary, the alliance's military infrastructure is drawing closer to Russia's borders. The nightmare scenario of military confrontation is returning."
 
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