WAR trouble brewing again in ukraine
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northern watch
TB Fanatic
Leaders of Russia, France, Germany discuss global crises
The Kremlin says the leaders of Russia, France and Germany had a call to discuss coronavirus vaccines and a slew of international crises, including the situation in eastern Ukraine, Libya, Syria and the Iranian nuclear standoff among other issues
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press
30 March 2021, 15:16
The Associated Press
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Council for Interethnic Relations via video conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, March 30, 2021. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
MOSCOW -- The leaders of Russia, France and Germany met by conference call Tuesday and discussed coronavirus vaccines, the Iranian nuclear standoff and the conflicts in eastern Ukraine, Libya and Syria.
The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin also responded to questions about jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny raised by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron in their “frank and business-like” video call.
In its readout of the call, the Kremlin noted that the three leaders talked about prospects for the registration of the Russia-designed Sputnik V vaccines in the European Union and the possibility of its shipments and joint production in EU nations.
The European Medicines Agency started a rolling review of Sputnik V earlier this month. Russia has been actively marketing Sputnik V abroad despite a slow pace of its rollout at home, in what some in the EU saw as an attempt to score geopolitical points.
The offices of Merkel and Macron said in their readouts of the call that the three leaders discussed opportunities for cooperation in the vaccine sector in view of the EMA's evaluation of Sputnik V, which is carried out according to the same standards that apply to other vaccines.
While talking about the situation in eastern Ukraine, the three leaders emphasized that a 2015 peace deal brokered by France and Germany has no alternative, the Kremlin said.
It noted that Putin emphasized the need for Ukraine to honor its obligations to provide special status to the rebel regions as stipulated in the 2015 deal. Ukraine has pushed for amending the agreement, but Russia has staunchly rejected the push.
The fighting between Russia-backed separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine erupted after Russia's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea and has left more than 14,000 dead.
In its readout of the call, Macron's office emphasized the need for Russia to act resolutely to secure a cease-fire in the east that has been routinely violated.
The Kremlin's statement said the three leaders voiced hope that Libya’s transitional authorities will help advance an inclusive political process in the war-stricken country.
All three also reiterated support for the Iranian nuclear deal and touched on the disastrous humanitarian situation in Syria, according to their respective statements.
In an exchange on Belarus, which has been engulfed by protests ever since the August re-election of the ex-Soviet nation's authoritarian president that the opposition rejected as fraudulent, Merkel and Macron spoke in favor of an inclusive national dialogue, according to their offices. In a statement reflecting Moscow's staunch support for the Belarusian leader, the Kremlin said that Putin warned against foreign meddling in the country's affairs.
Putin also said Russia was open for normalization of ties between Russia and the European Union, which have been strained recently over the poisoning and the jailing of Navalny. Navalny, Putin’s most outspoken opponent, was arrested in January upon his return from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Russian authorities have rejected the accusation.
Last month, Navalny was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for violating the terms of his probation while convalescing in Germany. He rejected the charges as the Kremlin's political vendetta. Navalny said in a letter from prison that he was suffering from back and leg pains and complained about prison officials’ failure to provide proper medical assistance.
Russian officials have rejected demands from the United States and the European Union to free Navalny and stop the crackdown on his supporters.
In Tuesday's call, Merkel and Macron emphasized the need for Russia to respect Navalny's rights in compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights and protect his health, according to Macron's office.
The Kremlin said only that Putin offered an “objective explanation” in response to questions about Navalny posed by Merkel and Macron and emphasized Moscow's readiness to “restore normal unpoliticized interaction with the EU if it shows interest in that.”
Leaders of Russia, France, Germany discuss global crises - ABC News (go.com)
The Kremlin says the leaders of Russia, France and Germany had a call to discuss coronavirus vaccines and a slew of international crises, including the situation in eastern Ukraine, Libya, Syria and the Iranian nuclear standoff among other issues
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press
30 March 2021, 15:16
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Council for Interethnic Relations via video conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, March 30, 2021. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
MOSCOW -- The leaders of Russia, France and Germany met by conference call Tuesday and discussed coronavirus vaccines, the Iranian nuclear standoff and the conflicts in eastern Ukraine, Libya and Syria.
The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin also responded to questions about jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny raised by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron in their “frank and business-like” video call.
In its readout of the call, the Kremlin noted that the three leaders talked about prospects for the registration of the Russia-designed Sputnik V vaccines in the European Union and the possibility of its shipments and joint production in EU nations.
The European Medicines Agency started a rolling review of Sputnik V earlier this month. Russia has been actively marketing Sputnik V abroad despite a slow pace of its rollout at home, in what some in the EU saw as an attempt to score geopolitical points.
The offices of Merkel and Macron said in their readouts of the call that the three leaders discussed opportunities for cooperation in the vaccine sector in view of the EMA's evaluation of Sputnik V, which is carried out according to the same standards that apply to other vaccines.
While talking about the situation in eastern Ukraine, the three leaders emphasized that a 2015 peace deal brokered by France and Germany has no alternative, the Kremlin said.
It noted that Putin emphasized the need for Ukraine to honor its obligations to provide special status to the rebel regions as stipulated in the 2015 deal. Ukraine has pushed for amending the agreement, but Russia has staunchly rejected the push.
The fighting between Russia-backed separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine erupted after Russia's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea and has left more than 14,000 dead.
In its readout of the call, Macron's office emphasized the need for Russia to act resolutely to secure a cease-fire in the east that has been routinely violated.
The Kremlin's statement said the three leaders voiced hope that Libya’s transitional authorities will help advance an inclusive political process in the war-stricken country.
All three also reiterated support for the Iranian nuclear deal and touched on the disastrous humanitarian situation in Syria, according to their respective statements.
In an exchange on Belarus, which has been engulfed by protests ever since the August re-election of the ex-Soviet nation's authoritarian president that the opposition rejected as fraudulent, Merkel and Macron spoke in favor of an inclusive national dialogue, according to their offices. In a statement reflecting Moscow's staunch support for the Belarusian leader, the Kremlin said that Putin warned against foreign meddling in the country's affairs.
Putin also said Russia was open for normalization of ties between Russia and the European Union, which have been strained recently over the poisoning and the jailing of Navalny. Navalny, Putin’s most outspoken opponent, was arrested in January upon his return from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Russian authorities have rejected the accusation.
Last month, Navalny was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for violating the terms of his probation while convalescing in Germany. He rejected the charges as the Kremlin's political vendetta. Navalny said in a letter from prison that he was suffering from back and leg pains and complained about prison officials’ failure to provide proper medical assistance.
Russian officials have rejected demands from the United States and the European Union to free Navalny and stop the crackdown on his supporters.
In Tuesday's call, Merkel and Macron emphasized the need for Russia to respect Navalny's rights in compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights and protect his health, according to Macron's office.
The Kremlin said only that Putin offered an “objective explanation” in response to questions about Navalny posed by Merkel and Macron and emphasized Moscow's readiness to “restore normal unpoliticized interaction with the EU if it shows interest in that.”
Leaders of Russia, France, Germany discuss global crises - ABC News (go.com)
northern watch
TB Fanatic
yes, yes, yes,
but, i am not going to freak out until the borders are closed down.
anti-russian sentiment is deep and wide here, but still i can't see the gov't instigating conflict when they are having trouble getting young guys to sign up.
on the streets no one seems worried or concerned. friends say it is all theater.
but i am going to spend a good part of my 1400 on food stores.
but, i am not going to freak out until the borders are closed down.
anti-russian sentiment is deep and wide here, but still i can't see the gov't instigating conflict when they are having trouble getting young guys to sign up.
on the streets no one seems worried or concerned. friends say it is all theater.
but i am going to spend a good part of my 1400 on food stores.
northern watch
TB Fanatic
Very much so
Doomer Doug
TB Fanatic
I think we can conclude Mr. McKay is a Pro Ukrainian Nazi enthusiast. Yep, the Ukraine just admires the SS as figure heads. and no ukrainian combat units raped and murdered their way all through the "russian" section. Label this fool as a paid agent of the Ukrainian government for a little clarity.
northern watch
TB Fanatic
Your conclusion is correctI think we can conclude Mr. McKay is a Pro Ukrainian Nazi enthusiast. Yep, the Ukraine just admires the SS as figure heads. and no ukrainian combat units raped and murdered their way all through the "russian" section. Label this fool as a paid agent of the Ukrainian government for a little clarity.
1-12020
Senior Member
"European Command raised its watch level"
I can't find the NYP article ?
So many times war is always so close.
Is this really a deal where we could actually get into a shooting war with Russia?
Perhaps this is what the globalist want.
Just a very small very brief shooting war between Russian and USA will dump our economy and I don't think we will come back.
I can't find the NYP article ?
So many times war is always so close.
Is this really a deal where we could actually get into a shooting war with Russia?
Perhaps this is what the globalist want.
Just a very small very brief shooting war between Russian and USA will dump our economy and I don't think we will come back.
northern watch
TB Fanatic
Fighting Escalates in Eastern Ukraine, Signaling the End to Another Cease-Fire
Ukraine and Russia issued statements Tuesday noting the worsening of a conflict that has been on a low simmer for years, with countless cease-fires.
By Andrew E. Kramer
New York Times
March 30, 2021
MOSCOW — The war in eastern Ukraine, which has been on a low simmer for months, drawing little international attention, has escalated sharply in recent days, according to statements Tuesday from the Ukrainian and Russian governments.
In the deadliest engagement so far this year, four Ukrainian soldiers were killed and another seriously wounded in a battle against Russian-backed separatists in the Donetsk Region of eastern Ukraine, the country’s military said.
The soldiers' deaths, along with a buildup of Russian forces on the border, has seized the attention of senior American officials in Europe and Washington. In the past week, the U.S. military’s European Command raised its watch level from possible crisis to potential imminent crisis — the highest level — in response to the deployment of the additional Russian troops.
The exchange of artillery and machine-gun fire in the Donetsk Region was unusual in that it lasted most of a day. Fighting across the so-called Line of Contact, a roughly 250-mile-long barricade of trenches and fortifications, are typically briefer.
But it was not the only sign of tensions in a region where Ukrainian and the Russian-backed separatist forces have settled into trenches that have barely moved over the seven years since fighting erupted in 2014.
European monitors have spotted new weaponry on the Russian-backed side in recent weeks. Artillery fire has become more frequent. And Russian negotiators have warned of a breakdown in peace talks that have been dragging on for years.
On Tuesday, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, acknowledged the recent increase in fighting and said Russia “sincerely hoped” it would not escalate. The fighting, he said, is “canceling out the modest achievements made earlier.”
In Ukraine, Parliament on Tuesday approved a statement declaring an “escalation” along the front, essentially acknowledging that a cease-fire negotiated in July had broken down. It pointed to a “significant increase in shelling and armed provocations by the armed forces of the Russian Federation.”
The statement called on Western governments to “continue and increase international political and economic pressure on Russia,” something Ukraine has been requesting for years. The United States and European allies have imposed financial sanctions on Russia, targeting President Vladimir V. Putin’s inner circle, banks and oil companies.
Russia’s moves have divided Washington.
Some officials believe Russia is mostly engaging in saber rattling, and is not eager to renew its offensive. Others are more worried, believing that Mr. Putin’s intentions are not clear and that an operation meant to test a new president could quickly escalate into something more ominous.
This week, Gen. Tod D. Wolters, the head of U.S. European Command, raised the American military’s watch level for the second time in several days after Russian troops failed to leave Ukraine’s border region. American strategists had expected the troops to depart the area, about 30 miles from Ukraine’s border, after the conclusion of a military exercise March 23.
American estimates of how many additional Russian troops had been sent to the border have varied. One official said there were roughly 4,000.
Since Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014, fighting between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces has periodically flared. Since then, Mr. Putin has not been afraid to use military exercises near Ukraine’s borders or deployments of troops to send messages to both Kyiv and the West, American officials said.
The latest violence in eastern Ukraine and the troop buildup could well be a way for Moscow to measure the Biden administration’s commitment to Ukraine, according to current and former officials.
“This could be posturing, but the Kremlin is testing the new administration,” said Frederick B. Hodges, a retired lieutenant general and a former top U.S. Army commander in Europe.
Russia has “zero interest” in a real peace for Ukraine, and wants to keep the country as destabilized as possible, said General Hodges, who is now with the Center for European Policy Analysis.
In a January call with Mr. Putin, President Biden focused on the importance of Ukrainian sovereignty. But since then, Mr. Biden has not scheduled a call with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, raising questions among some former officials about how serious the new administration is about resolving the conflict there.
Still, with tensions rising, the Biden administration has begun to respond. Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, on Monday spoke to Andriy Yermak, a top adviser to Mr. Zelensky, a call announced by the White House.
Russia supports the separatists with sophisticated weaponry, ammunition and soldiers, according to Western governments, though Moscow has denied doing so.
And despite the static state of the war, the Line of Contact remains a potential flash point for Russia’s relations with the West. Because it divides villages and towns in eastern Ukraine by East-West politics rather than any significant ethnic or sectarian divide, the Line of Contact is sometimes called a new Berlin Wall.
Representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe negotiated the cease-fire in July, and it had held longer than dozens of others reached over the past seven years. Eight cease-fires have broken down since 2018 alone.
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have also escalated along the de facto border between the two countries at the isthmus of the Crimean Peninsula, which is to the south and west of the Line of Contact, and which was annexed by Russian forces in 2014.
In February, the Russian military announced rehearsals of paratrooper drops in Crimea that commentators in Russia and Ukraine saw as possibly telegraphing a fresh Russian incursion. The target this time: water canals supplying Crimea from the Dnieper River in Ukraine.
Ukraine cut off the supply of water from the river when Russia annexed the peninsula. Since then, water has been so scarce that a majority of residents in Crimea do not have round-the-clock supplies, according to the Interfax news agency. Most towns ration supplies by turning off water mains except for brief windows in the mornings and evenings.
The Russian military described the exercise with 3,000 paratroopers as practicing “seizure of the enemies’ objects with subsequent defense until uniting with the main force.” It did not mention water canals. The exercise also involved practice marine landings by the Black Sea Fleet.
In response, the Ukrainian military announced an exercise rehearsing the defense of the flatlands between Crimea and the river against air or sea attacks, further ratcheting up tensions.
Eric Schmitt and Julian E. Barnes contributed reporting from Washington, and Maria Varenikova contributed research from Moscow.
Fighting Escalates in Eastern Ukraine, Signaling the End to Another Cease-Fire - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Ukraine and Russia issued statements Tuesday noting the worsening of a conflict that has been on a low simmer for years, with countless cease-fires.
By Andrew E. Kramer
New York Times
March 30, 2021
MOSCOW — The war in eastern Ukraine, which has been on a low simmer for months, drawing little international attention, has escalated sharply in recent days, according to statements Tuesday from the Ukrainian and Russian governments.
In the deadliest engagement so far this year, four Ukrainian soldiers were killed and another seriously wounded in a battle against Russian-backed separatists in the Donetsk Region of eastern Ukraine, the country’s military said.
The soldiers' deaths, along with a buildup of Russian forces on the border, has seized the attention of senior American officials in Europe and Washington. In the past week, the U.S. military’s European Command raised its watch level from possible crisis to potential imminent crisis — the highest level — in response to the deployment of the additional Russian troops.
The exchange of artillery and machine-gun fire in the Donetsk Region was unusual in that it lasted most of a day. Fighting across the so-called Line of Contact, a roughly 250-mile-long barricade of trenches and fortifications, are typically briefer.
But it was not the only sign of tensions in a region where Ukrainian and the Russian-backed separatist forces have settled into trenches that have barely moved over the seven years since fighting erupted in 2014.
European monitors have spotted new weaponry on the Russian-backed side in recent weeks. Artillery fire has become more frequent. And Russian negotiators have warned of a breakdown in peace talks that have been dragging on for years.
On Tuesday, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, acknowledged the recent increase in fighting and said Russia “sincerely hoped” it would not escalate. The fighting, he said, is “canceling out the modest achievements made earlier.”
In Ukraine, Parliament on Tuesday approved a statement declaring an “escalation” along the front, essentially acknowledging that a cease-fire negotiated in July had broken down. It pointed to a “significant increase in shelling and armed provocations by the armed forces of the Russian Federation.”
The statement called on Western governments to “continue and increase international political and economic pressure on Russia,” something Ukraine has been requesting for years. The United States and European allies have imposed financial sanctions on Russia, targeting President Vladimir V. Putin’s inner circle, banks and oil companies.
Russia’s moves have divided Washington.
Some officials believe Russia is mostly engaging in saber rattling, and is not eager to renew its offensive. Others are more worried, believing that Mr. Putin’s intentions are not clear and that an operation meant to test a new president could quickly escalate into something more ominous.
This week, Gen. Tod D. Wolters, the head of U.S. European Command, raised the American military’s watch level for the second time in several days after Russian troops failed to leave Ukraine’s border region. American strategists had expected the troops to depart the area, about 30 miles from Ukraine’s border, after the conclusion of a military exercise March 23.
American estimates of how many additional Russian troops had been sent to the border have varied. One official said there were roughly 4,000.
Since Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014, fighting between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces has periodically flared. Since then, Mr. Putin has not been afraid to use military exercises near Ukraine’s borders or deployments of troops to send messages to both Kyiv and the West, American officials said.
The latest violence in eastern Ukraine and the troop buildup could well be a way for Moscow to measure the Biden administration’s commitment to Ukraine, according to current and former officials.
“This could be posturing, but the Kremlin is testing the new administration,” said Frederick B. Hodges, a retired lieutenant general and a former top U.S. Army commander in Europe.
Russia has “zero interest” in a real peace for Ukraine, and wants to keep the country as destabilized as possible, said General Hodges, who is now with the Center for European Policy Analysis.
In a January call with Mr. Putin, President Biden focused on the importance of Ukrainian sovereignty. But since then, Mr. Biden has not scheduled a call with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, raising questions among some former officials about how serious the new administration is about resolving the conflict there.
Still, with tensions rising, the Biden administration has begun to respond. Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, on Monday spoke to Andriy Yermak, a top adviser to Mr. Zelensky, a call announced by the White House.
Russia supports the separatists with sophisticated weaponry, ammunition and soldiers, according to Western governments, though Moscow has denied doing so.
And despite the static state of the war, the Line of Contact remains a potential flash point for Russia’s relations with the West. Because it divides villages and towns in eastern Ukraine by East-West politics rather than any significant ethnic or sectarian divide, the Line of Contact is sometimes called a new Berlin Wall.
Representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe negotiated the cease-fire in July, and it had held longer than dozens of others reached over the past seven years. Eight cease-fires have broken down since 2018 alone.
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have also escalated along the de facto border between the two countries at the isthmus of the Crimean Peninsula, which is to the south and west of the Line of Contact, and which was annexed by Russian forces in 2014.
In February, the Russian military announced rehearsals of paratrooper drops in Crimea that commentators in Russia and Ukraine saw as possibly telegraphing a fresh Russian incursion. The target this time: water canals supplying Crimea from the Dnieper River in Ukraine.
Ukraine cut off the supply of water from the river when Russia annexed the peninsula. Since then, water has been so scarce that a majority of residents in Crimea do not have round-the-clock supplies, according to the Interfax news agency. Most towns ration supplies by turning off water mains except for brief windows in the mornings and evenings.
The Russian military described the exercise with 3,000 paratroopers as practicing “seizure of the enemies’ objects with subsequent defense until uniting with the main force.” It did not mention water canals. The exercise also involved practice marine landings by the Black Sea Fleet.
In response, the Ukrainian military announced an exercise rehearsing the defense of the flatlands between Crimea and the river against air or sea attacks, further ratcheting up tensions.
Eric Schmitt and Julian E. Barnes contributed reporting from Washington, and Maria Varenikova contributed research from Moscow.
Fighting Escalates in Eastern Ukraine, Signaling the End to Another Cease-Fire - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
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Doomer Doug
TB Fanatic
Sadly, the Alfaman Pizza delivery to the Pentagon measuring method is no longer functional. 
Biden isn't doing "anything" at this point. A prez who blurts out he has been in the US Senate for 120 years isn't taken seriously by ANYBODY, much less both the Russians and the Chinese. It is Obama and rice plus the whole clinton cabal.
Two points of context. One is Obama sent the US Ambasador to the Paluau? Islands, in the Pacific, like the ones the US Marines stormed back in 1944, on the FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT to Taiwan since 1979 and China is SERIOUSLY PISSED OFF AND ENRAGED AND BREATHING FIRE. So, context is Biden just triggered China big F%%^^^ time,
Two: The TRAITORS on SCOTUS just voided Tom Fitton's effort to get at Hellery the TRAITOR AND WHORE'S EMAILS. If that had come out from when she was Secretary of State, well Roberts, the pedophile took care of that. By the way, Maxwell was actually charged with grooming a 14 year old girl for Epstein which tells me a quick, slam bang trial to get her back in the basement muy pronto,
Suffice it to say, I don't need alfaman's pizza delivery measuring to know things are going hot, just due to how SCOTUS just protected the Clintons AGAIN.
So you see things that happen on an island in the Pacific, Paulu and Tawain can have a DIRECT IMPACY on the Ukraine situation since we are now looking at a 2 front crisis, China over Tawain and Russia with the eastern Ukraine.
Biden isn't doing "anything" at this point. A prez who blurts out he has been in the US Senate for 120 years isn't taken seriously by ANYBODY, much less both the Russians and the Chinese. It is Obama and rice plus the whole clinton cabal.
Two points of context. One is Obama sent the US Ambasador to the Paluau? Islands, in the Pacific, like the ones the US Marines stormed back in 1944, on the FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT to Taiwan since 1979 and China is SERIOUSLY PISSED OFF AND ENRAGED AND BREATHING FIRE. So, context is Biden just triggered China big F%%^^^ time,
Two: The TRAITORS on SCOTUS just voided Tom Fitton's effort to get at Hellery the TRAITOR AND WHORE'S EMAILS. If that had come out from when she was Secretary of State, well Roberts, the pedophile took care of that. By the way, Maxwell was actually charged with grooming a 14 year old girl for Epstein which tells me a quick, slam bang trial to get her back in the basement muy pronto,
Suffice it to say, I don't need alfaman's pizza delivery measuring to know things are going hot, just due to how SCOTUS just protected the Clintons AGAIN.
So you see things that happen on an island in the Pacific, Paulu and Tawain can have a DIRECT IMPACY on the Ukraine situation since we are now looking at a 2 front crisis, China over Tawain and Russia with the eastern Ukraine.
northern watch
TB Fanatic
See my post # 532
northern watch
TB Fanatic
Yes we are looking at least 2 fronts kicking off at the same time and maybe a third, the Persian Gulf.Sadly, the Alfaman Pizza delivery to the Pentagon measuring method is no longer functional.
Biden isn't doing "anything" at this point. A prez who blurts out he has been in the US Senate for 120 years isn't taken seriously by ANYBODY, much less both the Russians and the Chinese. It is Obama and rice plus the whole clinton cabal.
Two points of context. One is Obama sent the US Ambasador to the Paluau? Islands, in the Pacific, like the ones the US Marines stormed back in 1944, on the FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT to Taiwan since 1979 and China is SERIOUSLY PISSED OFF AND ENRAGED AND BREATHING FIRE. So, context is Biden just triggered China big F%%^^^ time,
Two: The TRAITORS on SCOTUS just voided Tom Fitton's effort to get at Hellery the TRAITOR AND WHORE'S EMAILS. If that had come out from when she was Secretary of State, well Roberts, the pedophile took care of that. By the way, Maxwell was actually charged with grooming a 14 year old girl for Epstein which tells me a quick, slam bang trial to get her back in the basement muy pronto,
Suffice it to say, I don't need alfaman's pizza delivery measuring to know things are going hot, just due to how SCOTUS just protected the Clintons AGAIN.
So you see things that happen on an island in the Pacific, Paulu and Tawain can have a DIRECT IMPACY on the Ukraine situation since we are now looking at a 2 front crisis, China over Tawain and Russia with the eastern Ukraine.
Doomer Doug
TB Fanatic
Dang Lurkey, I get freaked out when you start making sense.
northern watch
TB Fanatic
naegling62
Veteran Member
This is not the distraction Russia needs right now. This possible war will cause great dissent among their population.
Maybe this is why our troops are guarding the capitol.
Maybe this is why our troops are guarding the capitol.
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1-12020
Senior Member
Thanks
Any ideas what will happen if this actually goes hot.
Will it just be a stock market drop and Biden say that's bad.
Or what?
northern watch
TB Fanatic
Since when has that mattered?
naegling62
Veteran Member
I really think Snowden told them we were planning an Arab Spring operation on them.
Dissent?
naegling62
Veteran Member
Thanks. My spell checker is changing a lot lately. Heck, my phone was sending legible texts the other day that I didn't type.
Lurker
14
Plain Jane
Just Plain Jane
Finally! The NYT says something! This whole thing is such a shame.
Tom McDowell
BAMN
I respectfully disagree.
It's no longer a 'possible' war.
This action is uniting the Russian people. Most are tired of the West and the endless humiliation, they see the expansion into their motherland for what it is, and are sick of Ukraine pretending to be what they're not.
Looks like the opening kickoff has taken place.
Prep now!
Thanks for all the great reporting.
===
.
naegling62
Veteran Member
That is a well thought out assessment.
Tom McDowell
BAMN
Boots on the ground, Belarus, Russia, & Ukraine, before, during and after, the fall of the FSU.
===
.
Doomer Doug
TB Fanatic
the T-72 is nearly 50 years old and was what the M-60 A1's in our armor units were tasked with fighting till the Abrahams came in the mid 1980's. So this is 1970's level, with the T-64 being 1960's level.
This must be a Ukie unit, since no way would a Russian line combat armor unit still be using 50 year old tanks.
Doomer Doug
TB Fanatic
The Russian term for rainy season is Rasputitsa and refers to the period in both spring and autumn when off paved road travel becomes nearly impossible.
The autumn season starts in September/October, and the spring season is March and April, possibly May. After all, Hitler didn't invade Russia till June 22nd, and not all of that was due to delays from the Greek campaign.
From a MILITARY standpoint, I can't see any mass movement of war happening until the end of April. This means the war would HAVE to be confined to paved roads, or urban battles, movement by ship from the sea.
more info here
en.wikipedia.org
I was assigned to an armor unit, so you can move armor on FROZEN GROUND, but not on mushy, muddy ground. I have no idea what the actual off road conditions in the Ukraine are right now, but history tells us it would be chaos for armor columns to just drive out into the boonies and not get stuck.
On the other hand, political considerations are driving this beast, and they sure SOUND like they are ready to kick off within a few days. It could be they figure it will be a low movement, defensive shoot out, with fixed positions like those WW1 trenches etc.
The autumn season starts in September/October, and the spring season is March and April, possibly May. After all, Hitler didn't invade Russia till June 22nd, and not all of that was due to delays from the Greek campaign.
From a MILITARY standpoint, I can't see any mass movement of war happening until the end of April. This means the war would HAVE to be confined to paved roads, or urban battles, movement by ship from the sea.
more info here
Rasputitsa - Wikipedia
I was assigned to an armor unit, so you can move armor on FROZEN GROUND, but not on mushy, muddy ground. I have no idea what the actual off road conditions in the Ukraine are right now, but history tells us it would be chaos for armor columns to just drive out into the boonies and not get stuck.
On the other hand, political considerations are driving this beast, and they sure SOUND like they are ready to kick off within a few days. It could be they figure it will be a low movement, defensive shoot out, with fixed positions like those WW1 trenches etc.
Plain Jane
Just Plain Jane
Zerohedge
ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero
www.zerohedge.com
Biden's Ukrainian "Putin Push" May Lead To World War III
BY TYLER DURDEN
WEDNESDAY, MAR 31, 2021 - 02:00 AM
Authored by Bruce Wilds via Advancing Time blog,
Biden was in charge of much of the "Ukraine project" during Obama's time in office.
In recent weeks President Biden has been saying some rather mean-spirited things about Russia's President Vladimir Putin. Now Russian state sources are alleging that Washington under the Biden administration is ramping up military aid to Ukraine. This comes after the media observed the Ocean Glory, a US cargo ship, began delivering 350 tonnes of military equipment, including tactical vehicles, at Ukraine's Odessa port. Ukraine's Dumskaya news agency said the American vessel carried at least 35 US military humvees for Ukrainian national forces.
Adding Ukraine to NATO and the EU is a long-held dream of neocons like Victoria Nuland and neoliberals like Biden. This is also important to those supporting the World Economic Forum’s desire to expand the EU and encircle Russia.
They feel such an action would disrupt any dreams of Eurasian integration which could resist their strategy to reshape the way the world is governed. Putin’s foreign policy, coupled with efforts to rebuild the Russian military, has been part of an effort by the former KGB officer to boost Russia's standing on the world stage.
This has helped make him popular with his people even as NATO has slowly been expanding in the direction of Russia, but also makes him a thorn in the side of the NWO gang.
NATO Has Slowly Expanded Towards Russia
Interestingly, this delivery of military equipment occurred near the time Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, was signing Decree No. 117/2021. The decree activates the Ukraine Army to recapture and re-unify with Ukraine, the autonomous region of Crimea, and the city of Sevastopol. The military has been instructed to use “hybrid warfare” to re-conquer these former parts of Ukraine. In short, this means Ukraine declared war on Russia, certainly something it would never consider without major backing. It must be noted, his actions are in total conflict with his promise to end the now nearly seven-year-long war in eastern Ukraine that played a central role in his election in 2019. This indicates, Zelensky has continued to subordinate his government’s policies to the US- and NATO-led war drive against Russia.
One Ukrainian blogger contends the censorship of the three opposition channels in Ukraine and the surprise inspection of Ukrainian army units in Donbas link all this together and signals a resumption of the Donbas conflict. He wrote on his Telegram channel, “Protecting his rear through censorship, Zelensky ordered to start an inspection of the AFU units in Donbas in order to establish their readiness to carry out the orders of the military command." He then went on to say, "Didn’t we warn you last year that the regime was preparing for a major war? All we had to do was wait for the green light from higher authorities.”
Upping tensions in the area is the fact the Kerch Strait Bridge, also known as the Crimean Bridge, is now a target and we will certainly see Russian moves to protect it. Comprised of a pair of Russian-constructed parallel bridges it spans the Strait of Kerch between the Taman Peninsula and the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea. The bridge complex provides for both road and rail traffic and has a length of 19 km. This makes it the longest bridge Russia has ever built.
It is difficult not to tie this to the controversial Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project which Viktor Zubkov, chairman of the board of directors of Russia's gas giant Gazprom, claims, will definitely be completed this year. He said on Friday, Biden's goal is to stop the pipeline and the U.S. is now targeting anyone helping the project's completion in any way. So far, around 90-92 percent of the work required for the project is complete. Earlier this year, Gazprom warned investors that the Nord Stream 2 project could be suspended or entirely discontinued due to extraordinary circumstances, including "political pressure."
War In Ukraine Is About Money, Energy, And Power!
As to what really motivates the desire to turn Ukraine into a giant-killing field, several possibilities exist but money and profit should not be ruled out. Foreign policy has often been used as a tool to advance national interest which is often dictated by economics. When it comes to the economy energy is often considered the blood from which all strength flows and in the case of Europe the Nord Stream 2 (NS2) pipeline which after completion will carry natural gas from Russia to Germany is a bone of contention. Years ago leaders from Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania signed an open letter to the parliaments of the EU warning them against the construction of NS2 and cautioned them of how it is not a commercial project but one designed to increase their energy reliance on Moscow.
At that time, Russia's Gazprom supplied the European Union and Turkey with a record 162 billion cubic meters of gas. Of that gas, 86 billion cubic meters flowed across Ukraine. Those opposed to the new pipeline make a strong case that "Gazprom" is not only a gas company but a platform for Russian coercion and another tool for Russia to pressure European countries. The U.S. State Department has even threatened European corporations they will likely face penalties if they participate in the construction of Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, on the grounds that "the project undermines energy security in Europe."
Circling back to the conflict, years ago I wrote a piece that urged America to stay out of a war in Ukraine. It warned of the major advantage Putin held by having a huge well-armed army just across the Ukrainian border and that any army cobbled together to face him would most likely be unenthusiastic and politically troubled at best. At the time President Obama had pulled out all the stops to paint Putin with a brush dipped in all the bad colors. Every Sunday in interview after interview Washington experts were paraded across the screens of the talk shows that tell Americans what is happening in our nation's capital and every single one of them denounced Putin as a "thug and a bully."
Ukrainian Soldiers Killed In An Unwinnable War
In that piece were accounts of reports from the front in Ukraine often buried or hidden from public view but they appeared to confirm that Ukrainian troops were being sent into a meat grinder. The drafted include men up to 60 years old with only a month of training before they reluctantly go off to the battlefield in eastern Ukraine. Putting more weapons into the hands of those unmotivated to fight for their corrupt state is merely adding fuel to this fire and doing more harm than good. Again, remember Ukraine is a financially failed state and while we can point to its potential, its massive oil and gas reserves by all rights should belong to the people and for their benefit. The IMF, however, points out that Kyiv needs billion in loans and grants just to stabilize its economy after more than twenty years of massive levels of corruption. This debt and the deep, deep hole Ukrainians have dug themselves into flows from a series of bad governments after Kyiv became independent of the Soviet Union.
Back then, the euro-zone faced a lot of problems without jumping into a proxy war against rebels in Ukraine. I use the term proxy because without the money and backing of outsiders things would most likely go quiet. The failed and bankrupt country of Ukraine would most likely break into two parts with the eastern half and its people who share strong ties with Russia aligning itself with that country and Kyiv, and the western-oriented portion of the country drifting towards stronger ties to the euro-zone. What is the big problem with such a solution? Apparently, a great deal for people like Biden in Washington that are pushing for intervention in Ukraine.
To confuse the issue and muddy the waters great efforts have been made at high levels by those advocating military action to paint Russia as an aggressor. These forces aided by the media continue to link Russias move into the majority ethnic-Russian Crimea region as a violation of Ukraine's sovereign border. In this case, we should remember, the whole concept of sovereign borders is a little gem promoted by those in power, these borders are a creation of man and not visible to the birds flying above. This is an argument of convenience that masks deeper issues and the difference between "terrorist" and "freedom fighters" often depends on a person's point of view. In this case, it is clearly the new American-backed government in Kyiv that is pushing to bring the eastern part of Ukraine back into the fold.
What this boils down to is that American companies want to sell and supply Europe with Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) and seem willing to start a war to make it happen. Whether it is for profit or to minimize the threat of natural gas shipments to Europe being cut off and used as a key weapon in Russia’s political arsenal we cannot ignore the idea more is at play here than just doing the "right thing". Many people in the "Tin Foil Hat" community have gone so far as to indicate they feel that America and elements of the CIA were involved or had a part in the overthrow of the former corrupt Ukraine government and its replacement with another corrupt but more pro Europe regime. At the time even America's Vice President, Joe Biden, saw his son join the board of a private Ukrainian oil and natural gas company. One thing is clear, not only those involved in selling energy to Europe will profit from this but also the military-industrial complex stands to gain.
The odds of U.S. LNG significantly displacing Russian natural gas shipped by pipeline are slim. Piped gas sells at a large discount to LNG, which must be cooled to liquid form, shipped overseas, and turned back into its gaseous form. Poland recently received its first shipment of U.S. LNG last month from what is currently the only export facility in the lower 48 states. While LNG trade between the United States and Europe would help Trump in his bid to reduce the U.S. trade deficit it also stands to improve energy security among the European countries by giving them an alternative to Russian gas. Everyone must concede it is not a cure-all, Russia can easily cut prices and adjust terms to maintain its dominant position in the European gas market and European countries are likely to continue buying most of their gas from the lowest-cost supplier.
Bottom-line, Russia has traditionally been the major supplier of European gas. But it charges high prices, often in the form of long-term contracts linked to the price of oil. The overwhelming dependence on Russian gas leaves European countries from a national security standpoint vulnerable to a cutoff of crucial natural gas supplies. This would be devastating to their economies at any time but even more so in the depths of winter. For these reasons, it makes sense for Europe to consider alternative supplies and open its doors to U.S. LNG but due to Ukraine's history of corruption flooding the country with weapons and using the people of Ukraine as pawns in this high stakes game violates all standards of human decency.
Americans should also be aware that our current policy drives Russia towards the East and into the open arms of China. This creates even more problems long-term than it solves short-term and borders on the edge of insanity. The war in Ukraine has not developed organically but appears to be the product of meddling. Mercenaries and money from America appear to be backing and propping up Kyiv with America acting as the "champion" for this failed bankrupt country. The best way for the West and Kyiv to prove they are on the right path is by letting the eastern part of the country seceded and then making Kyiv a center of economic and democratic success.
I reiterate the stand taken in April 2018, the Ukraine war is about money, energy, and power! Since the latest ceasefire agreement in the war in Donbas was implemented in July 2020, it appears few if anyone is being killed. This indicates rocking the boat is a bad idea.
We can only hope those hyping the recent events in Ukraine saying the decree signed by Zelensky will someday be looked back upon at the beginning of World War III are overly pessimistic, after all, when you place two major military powers face to face what could go wrong?
IIRC, the Russians also use the term "General Mud".
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TB Fanatic
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Classified??? Sigh, I do wish people like her would realize when they're posting crap like that to the frigging INTERNET that it's just a bit out of 'classified' status at that point. FFS