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

 

[UriUT]

Why you don't report where you are.

 

[UriUT]

We knew his paranoia. This is a new level.

 

[SaulGoodmanEsq]

I was mildly concerned this conflict would escalate with a not too insignificant chance of nuclear war. Now, however, I feel much better. I don't think there are enough sycophants in Putin's government to carry out a nuclear attack even if he ordered one. He appears to be dying so it's only a matter of time before someone moves against him.

 

[SamAndreas]

Why you don't report where you are.

Both the Russian reporter in his news cast, and then the later Ukrainian tweet, both did in essence report exactly where that happened.

In the Ukrainian government tweet, in saying that they lured lured the gun out of the hanger, and then saying that the gun had been firing on houses in Severodonetsk that was enough clues for me to find the place on Google maps using the satellite view with the (3D tip the view) feature in less than two minutes. I matched up the view from their video to the satellite view on the map, then asked the google map thing for the coordinates to that spot where that gun blew up.

Where it happened is a just a few feet from these coordinates, 48.898629, 38.537311, within 10 or 15 feet.
.

Here's a google map link to the spot:

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.com

 

[zztop]

didn't expect to see something like this:

'Never have I been so ashamed': Russian envoy criticizes war

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — A veteran Russian diplomat to the U.N. Office at Geneva says he handed in his resignation before sending out a scathing letter to foreign colleagues inveighing against the “aggressive war unleashed” by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine.

apnews.com

 

[MT15]

I know memes are not encouraged, but may I please make this one exception?

 

[SteveSBrickNJ]

I know memes are not encouraged, but may I please make this one exception?

That is reality. Good post.

 

[zztop]

big step, wish it happened sooner

EU leaders agree to ban 90% of Russian oil by the end of 2022

The embargo covers Russian oil brought in by sea, allowing a temporary exemption for imports delivered by pipeline, a crucial move to bring Hungary on board a decision that required consensus.

www.npr.org

 

[zztop]

kind of ironic being called terrorists

Correction: Russia-Ukraine-War story

In a story published June 9, 2022, about three foreign fighters who were sentenced to death by pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine, The Associated Press misspelled the first name of Britain's foreign secretary.

apnews.com

A court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in Ukraine found the three fighters guilty of seeking the violent overthrow of power, an offense punishable by death in the unrecognized eastern republic. The men were also convicted of mercenary activities and terrorism.

 

[zztop]

bad situation about to get worse...

Cholera and other diseases could kill thousands in Ukraine's Mariupol - mayor

Cholera and other deadly diseases could kill thousands of people in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol as corpses lie uncollected and summer brings warmer weather, its mayor said on Friday.

www.reuters.com

"There is an outbreak of dysentery and cholera. This is unfortunately the assessment of our doctors: that the war which took over 20,000 residents ... unfortunately, with these infection outbreaks, will claim thousands more Mariupolites," he told national television.

 

[MT15]

 

[zztop]

not great news

Ukraine war: 80% of troops killed or injured in elite military unit, says commander - and its future is unclear

Speaking to Sky News near the frontline, south of the city of Severodonetsk, the company commander says a core of experienced soldiers who had been fighting together since 2018 have been lost.

news.sky.com

 

[SamAndreas]

not great news

Ukraine war: 80% of troops killed or injured in elite military unit, says commander - and its future is unclear

Speaking to Sky News near the frontline, south of the city of Severodonetsk, the company commander says a core of experienced soldiers who had been fighting together since 2018 have been lost.

news.sky.com

It's not great news , but it's also not indicative of the overall situation either. Toward the end of the article the commander of that unit says, "Well, 26 dead," he says. "I think 40 have been injured, dozens of them seriously. That's what it is like here."

That adds up to 66, and if that 66 is as stated in the title is 80% of that unit, then that unit is a small force of about 82 total fighters.

 

[MT15]

 

[MT15]

 

[Taurus]

Nearly 300 pounds, huh?
Yeah, maybe on the way down from 400.

 

[CoolBrees]

300 lbs on the moon maybe

 

[samiam5211]

It must be kg, they don't use pounds in Russia.

300KG would be about 650lbs, which is probably closer to accurate than 300lbs.