Is Russia about to invade Ukraine? (2 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

 

[SaulGoodmanEsq]

Has she never heard of Neville Chamberlain?

It's like bizarro world where "conservatives" are like just appease the dictator and Democrats are like "let's fight the bastage."

Tulsi Gabbard ceased being reputable a while ago. She is now a grifter who appears as the token 'bipartisan Democrat' on right wing propaganda shows.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Maybe she really is a Russian plant. Hell, and to think I wanted to hit that at one point in time...

 

[BullSheetBuddha]

Feisty.

Of course you don't what to believe but let's suppose the above are indeed Russian troops. Now look at the Russian paratroopers in the CNN video below and see how strack, and better equipped they are in comparison.

 

[BullSheetBuddha]

 

[BullSheetBuddha]

Imo there's been a slowcooking by Trump/Tucker and Co. that's convinced them that a.) there's an existing moral equivalency between the US and Russia, and b.) a like-minded to them authoritarian figure would be most effective in implementing their worldview here.

I was in a forum about 10 years ago, or so, and some of the conservatives were talking about Putin in an admiring way. I thought, how bizarre.

 

[bird]

I was in a forum about 10 years ago, or so, and some of the conservatives were talking about Putin in an admiring way. I thought, how bizarre.

There seems to be a percentage of people that not only approve of authoritarians but long to be ruled by one so as to see people they hate jailed or silenced.

 

[insidejob]

Tulsi Gabbard ceased being reputable a while ago. She is now a grifter who appears as the token 'bipartisan Democrat' on right wing propaganda shows.

I don't think she's too welcome in the Democrat Party by her peers. At all.

 

[insidejob]

I was in a forum about 10 years ago, or so, and some of the conservatives were talking about Putin in an admiring way. I thought, how bizarre.

And here you are, ten years later, and they're still talking about Putin in an admiring way. Is it still bizarre? I think it's just become SOP for them.

 

[insidejob]

This video would be 1000 x's cooler if the Ukranians managed to survive the warship's attack but played dead, waited for the Russians to disembark the ship and then managed to slit every one of their throats.

 

[SaulGoodmanEsq]

I don't think she's too welcome in the Democrat Party by her peers. At all.

Not at all, which is why I put the bipartisan Democrat part in quotes.

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

Compared to:

Disgraceful.

 

[BullSheetBuddha]

And here you are, ten years later, and they're still talking about Putin in an admiring way. Is it still bizarre? I think it's just become SOP for them.

It's both bizarre and SOP.

 

[coldseat]

Compared to:

Disgraceful.

That doesn't even make sense. Walking away from a podium after a briefing is what "weakness on the world stage looks like"? What?

 

[zztop]

really can't stand this guy

Putin calls on Ukraine military to overthrow government, agree peace deal

‘Take power into your own hands,’ says Russian president.

www.politico.eu

 

[B4YOU]

Sanctions won’t work. They didn’t work in NK, Cuba, Iran, or Russia previously. Sanctions don’t shoot down planes or send Russians home in bodybags.

Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, and Moldova are looking at a future where they share a border with Russia. Moldova should especially be concerned.

The solution is for those Eastern European countries to band together against Russian invasion. They need to declare their intention to provide boots on the ground in UKR but state they will never enter Russian territory excluding Crimea.

An Eastern European Defense Pact (EEDP) should have run from Finland to UKR and west to Poland through former Yugoslavian nations. This should have been done in the 2000s.

I don’t know that pushing NATO to Russia’s border was a good idea. A separate regional defense pact limited to defensive war if Russia invaded but leaving out US and most of western EU would have been ideal. 20/20. However, anyone blaming US or NATO for Putin’s actions is carrying water for a dictator.

 

[bird]

Sanctions won’t work. They didn’t work in NK, Cuba, Iran, or Russia previously. Sanctions don’t shoot down planes or send Russians home in bodybags.

Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, and Moldova are looking at a future where they share a border with Russia. Moldova should especially be concerned.

The solution is for those Eastern European countries to band together against Russian invasion. They need to declare their intention to provide boots on the ground in UKR but state they will never enter Russian territory excluding Crimea.

An Eastern European Defense Pact (EEDP) should have run from Finland to UKR and west to Poland through former Yugoslavian nations. This should have been done in the 2000s.

I don’t know that pushing NATO to Russia’s border was a good idea. A separate regional defense pact limited to defensive war if Russia invaded but leaving out US and most of western EU would have been ideal. 20/20. However, anyone blaming US or NATO for Putin’s actions is carrying water for a dictator.

Won’t argue. The Baltic states also should definitely be concerned and possibly Finland. Imo, the PRC is looking at this as a case study for invading Taiwan.

 

[bdb13]

I don’t know that pushing NATO to Russia’s border was a good idea. A separate regional defense pact limited to defensive war if Russia invaded but leaving out US and most of western EU would have been ideal. 20/20. However, anyone blaming US or NATO for Putin’s actions is carrying water for a dictator.

In a vacuum I think the NATO thing really only provided Putin a more convenient excuse to go ahead and do what he was eventually going to do in the not too distant future regardless.. he's 69, he had to continue rolling with this shirt at some point if he's going to piece it back together.

 

[superchuck500]

Won’t argue. The Baltic states also should definitely be concerned and possibly Finland. Imo, the PRC is looking at this as a case study for invading Taiwan.

Baltics are NATO. I strongly believe Putin isn’t going to attack NATO. It would directly challenge Article 5 and I don’t think the West is ready to surrender NATO.