Is Russia about to invade Ukraine? (3 Viewers)

[superchuck500]

Russia continues to mass assets within range of Ukraine - though the official explanations are that they are for various exercises. United States intelligence has noted that Russian operatives in Ukraine could launch 'false flag' operations as a predicate to invasion. The West has pressed for negotiations and on Friday in Geneva, the US Sec. State Blinken will meet with the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov.

Certainly the Russian movements evidence some plan - but what is it? Some analysts believe that Putin's grand scheme involves securing Western commitments that NATO would never expand beyond its current composition. Whether that means action in Ukraine or merely the movement of pieces on the chess board remains to be seen.

VIENNA — No one expected much progress from this past week’s diplomatic marathon to defuse the security crisis Russia has ignited in Eastern Europe by surrounding Ukraine on three sides with 100,000 troops and then, by the White House’s accounting, sending in saboteurs to create a pretext for invasion.

But as the Biden administration and NATO conduct tabletop simulations about how the next few months could unfold, they are increasingly wary of another set of options for President Vladimir V. Putin, steps that are more far-reaching than simply rolling his troops and armor over Ukraine’s border.

Mr. Putin wants to extend Russia’s sphere of influence to Eastern Europe and secure written commitments that NATO will never again enlarge. If he is frustrated in reaching that goal, some of his aides suggested on the sidelines of the negotiations last week, then he would pursue Russia’s security interests with results that would be felt acutely in Europe and the United States.

There were hints, never quite spelled out, that nuclear weapons could be shifted to places — perhaps not far from the United States coastline — that would reduce warning times after a launch to as little as five minutes, potentially igniting a confrontation with echoes of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Russia Issues Subtle Threats More Far-Reaching Than a Ukraine Invasion

If the West fails to meet its security demands, Moscow could take measures like placing nuclear missiles close to the U.S. coastline, Russian officials have hinted.

www.nytimes.com

Blinken Will Meet With Russia as U.S. Pushes for More Diplomacy

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will meet with Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov of Russia in Geneva on Friday as the United States warns that Russia could soon attack Ukraine.

www.nytimes.com

How to think about war in Ukraine

Start with the Ukrainians

snyder.substack.com

 

[efil4]

Wait a minute... Trump's pissed... at Putin? GTFOH...

Trump criticizes Putin and threatens adversaries with new tariffs as he barrels toward April 2 deadline | CNN Politics

President Donald Trump is barreling toward a self-imposed April 2 deadline for sweeping tariffs and is threatening additional ones on foreign adversaries this weekend even as he’s expressed openness to making deals.

www.cnn.com

remember - Trump never PUNCHES UP. always punches down.

 

[Lapaz]

Wait a minute... Trump's pissed... at Putin? GTFOH...

Trump criticizes Putin and threatens adversaries with new tariffs as he barrels toward April 2 deadline | CNN Politics

President Donald Trump is barreling toward a self-imposed April 2 deadline for sweeping tariffs and is threatening additional ones on foreign adversaries this weekend even as he’s expressed openness to making deals.

www.cnn.com

It's a ruse by Trump. Trump is pretending to be pissed, but if he were truly pissed, he would start re-arming Ukraine, not threaten secondary sanctions. Russia was losing when the U.S. was arming Ukraine, so if we re-started arming Ukraine, then that would be real.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Could have gone in right wing nutjob thread too
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A US neo-Nazi terrorist group with a Russia-based leader is calling for targeted assassinations and attacks on the critical infrastructure of Ukraine in an effort to destabilize the country as it carries out ceasefire negotiations with the Kremlin.

The Base, which has a web of cells all over the world, was founded in 2018 and became the subject of a relentless FBI counter-terrorism investigation that led to several arrests and world governments officially designating it as a terrorist organization.

Now, with the Trump administration pulling the FBI from pursuing the far right, the Base, left unchecked, is trying to export its violence abroad.


This is the first time the Base has openly allied itself with the Kremlin’s broader geopolitical goals, a sudden change experts say signals its likely involvement in Russian sabotage and propaganda operations now being carried out across Europe.

The Base founder and leader, Rinaldo Nazzaro, a semi-defected American who worked with US special forces during the war on terror and now lives in Saint Petersburg, has for years garnered suspicions of being a Russian intelligence asset. Even members of the Base mused that he was a spy and grew weary of the source of his cash flow.

“Given Russia’s connections to the leadership of the Base, including offering sanctuary to its leader Rinaldo Nazzaro, there is a strong chance that this could very well be a Russian intelligence operation,” said Colin Clarke, a geopolitics expert and director of research at the Soufan Center.

“Supporting and directing violent non-state actors, including racially and ethnically motivated violent extremists, is just another tool in the Kremlin’s hybrid warfare toolkit, and one which Moscow has repeatedly demonstrated that it’s willing to use.”…..

US neo-Nazi group with Russia-based leader calls for targeted Ukraine attacks

The Base, terrorist group founded in 2018, free to export violence abroad as Trump pulls FBI from pursuing far right

www.theguardian.com