by Lilia Shumkova for the Saker blog
On December 8, 2021, days before Russia presented to the U.S. its Draft of the proposed Treaty between The United States of America and the Russian Federation on security guarantees, foreign Secretary of the UK Liz Truss held talks with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in the UK-Ukraine Strategic Dialogue platform.
https://www.mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/rso/nato/1790818/?lang=en
After the talk, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office issued a statement by the Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP titled “Talks In The Face Of Russian Aggression”. In the statement the UK reaffirms our unwavering commitment to and support for Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic path,” and “We will explore the potential for additional UK support to Ukraine on implementing defense reforms and maximizing the benefits of its NATO Enhanced Opportunities Partner status.”
The same day, the UK government made public a UK-Ukraine strategic dialogue joint communique.
In part “5. Conflict and stabilization” of the joint communique we find the following: “The UK and Ukraine will work to enhance Ukraine’s resilience in response to the ongoing Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine. The UK-led, multi-donor Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine will help prepare for the eventual reintegration of non-government-controlled Ukrainian territory when the situation allows. We will establish a working level dialogue between conflict experts. The UK will continue to share expertise on conflict and transitional justice issues.”
Interestingly enough, the UK-Ukraine joint communique doesn’t specify exactly what territory is not being controlled by the Kiev regime. The same question popped up after reading a recent interview given by Zelensky to the Washington Post. No, not his interview from Nov 26, 2021, when Zelensky accused Russia of plotting a coup against him “for next week.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/01/20/ukraine-russia-zelensky-interview/
This scandal is already forgotten and buried under an avalanche of other fantastic accusations.
The interview in question was taken by a senior associate editor for the Washington Post Lally Weymouth on January 20th, 2022 and is hidden behind the paywall.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/01/20/ukraine-russia-zelensky-interview/
It starts with the statement “President Biden said Wednesday that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin will invade Ukraine: “My guess is he will move in. He has to do something.”
Acting on Biden’s wild guess, an entire army of the western politicians emitted an endless mating call from all corners of the “free world” calling to “destroy Russia’s economy,” “cut Russia from all international organizations,” place a worldwide blockade on Russian international trade, move international armies to Russia’s borders, to attack Russian with nuclear weapons, and so on. The liberal media in the Russian language has posted numerous suggestions to murder the president of Russia. All appear to be a bit of overreaction to Biden’s guess.
After quoting president Biden, the WaPo editor asks Zelensky, “U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said today that you face an “unprecedented” thread in your country. Do you believe the Russians are about to invade Ukraine and take new territory?” Zelensky answers, “Today our partners are saying that war may start tomorrow if there is a powerful escalation on the Russian side, and then there will be powerful sanctions applied.”
So, Zelensky places all the responsibility on the U.S. and other “partners” for saying that “war may start tomorrow.” It was they suggesting the “war tomorrow,” not Zekensky himself.
The rest of the interview is Zelensky demanding sanctions on Russia’s economy immediately. Why wait, he says, for something that might not happen?
After multiple statements of Zelensky demanding sanctions against Russia, the WaPo editor asks, “Has President Biden given your country all the military assistance and weapons that it needs to defend Ukraine from a Russian invasion? Antiaircraft weapons, drones, air and coastal defense, counter-electronic-warfare provisions, Javelins, Stingers? What else do you want from Washington?” Zelensky answers, “To be honest, I’m not one of those political leaders who discuss tiny details of military support because I think those should be confidential.” He also says that he is under attack “a military attack, cyberattacks and energy attacks.” Considering that Ukraine is currently an NG transit country from Russia to EU and that Ukraine refused to buy natural gas from Russia years ago, it’s not clear what “energy attacks” he means.
When asked for the “worst-case scenario”, Zelinsky says the following: “I will say realistically if Russia decides to enhance their escalation, of course, they are going to do this on those territories where historically there are people who used to have family links to Russia. Kharkiv, which is under Ukrainian government control, could be occupied. Russia needs a pretext: They will say that they are protecting the Russian-speaking population.”
After Zelensky uttered his “worst-case scenario”, the population of Kharkov went into a panic mode. The Russian population of Kharkov understood Zelensky’s statement that he plans a false flag attack by some militants in Russian uniform taking over the city and slaughtering Russians while claiming that they were the “Russian fighters.”
Population panic forced Zelinsky’s spokesperson to issue not one, but two statements to amend the damage done by saying that Zelinsky gave a “hypothetical scenario” and that Kharkov won’t be occupied.
Kharkovates responded with comments online asking if they should start marinating meat to celebrate May 9 Victory Day over fascist Germany. The celebration is banned by the current Kiev regime.
https://ria.ru/20220121/zelenskiy-1769000765.html
Multiple genocidal threats of Kiev regime’s against Russians in Ukraine is addressed by Russia’s Foreign Ministry from 22 January 2022 titled “Response to the US Department of State’s fact sheet Facts vs. Fiction: Russian Disinformation on Ukraine”
In his interview, Zelensky mentioned Kharkov as a possible battleground exactly because the city has a large Prussian population. But there was something else he said that caught my attention. He said: “Kharkov, which is under Ukraine government control”…
The extent of the Kiev regime’s control over Ukraine is not an idle question. Since the power grab in 2014, the Kiev regime all but destroyed independent media, and its absence makes it harder to estimate the level of control enjoyed by Kiev over the entire country. There is some anecdotal evidence of locals chasing away some Kiev emissaries in the Western parts of the country. Lvov does not appear to be under Kiev’s control, either. There is, also, a very strong possibility that some large Ukrainian cities, like Dnepropetrovsk and Sumy, are under the local and intentional mafia control rejecting any Kiev interference with their rules.
Now, after the WaPo interview with Zelensky, we know that the Kiev regime controls at least two cities: Kiev and Kharkov.
Lilia Shumkova, an independent journalist, Russia
Zelensky is the epitome of the low calibre western politician masquerading as leadership
Frightening really that these self serving opportunists, Boris Johnson being another a good example, are able to draw the country into a war where our sorry asses will be served up on a plate.
Family lineage. Not known for diplomacy or even basic humanity characteristics.
Chinless wonders, inbred, borderline psychotic, extremely limited sensory apparatus.
Such a well thought-out definition. There is one chinless wonder, surrounded by drag queens and lesbos in Serbia too.
Meanwhile an amazing thing took place in India in the last 48 hrs: the visiting German Navy chief answered in response to a question at a table discussion *on camera* about his opinion on NATO enlargement that it was probably not a good idea to include Georgia let alone Ukraine into NATO because it would essentially disrespect Russia and there was little to be gained from doing that and more to be lost by pushing it to China. The Indian chief agrees by noting that India has a very strong partnership with Russia.
https://youtu.be/ODmkoGQw1TU (from 1:22:27 on)
This led to a s***t storm in Germany and the chief has since resigned. https://m.dw.com/en/german-navy-chief-schönbach-resigns-over-comments-on-putin-crimea/a-60525709
These frank conversations are usually not recorded but it gives an insight into the mindset of some in high levels of the German establishment of what is thought off-camera.
(Here’s the actual timestamp: https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=1h04m50s
It’s from 1:04:50 on till 1:09:35 as the Indian chief finishes his response about his agreement with Schonbach’s sentiment and India having a “ very strong strategic partnership with Russia.”
Schonbach’s aide looks visibly discomfited as the former starts speaking and towards his free wheeling comments which include him admitting Crimea “is gone” and about Russia and Germany sharing a Christian ethos, even Schonbach seems to have realized he went too far for an on-the-record conversation.
I call it – A Momentary Lapse of Reality
They call it – A Momentary Lapse of Reason (Pink Floyd ).
The German admiral knows what awaits him on the other side while the same cannot be said for German politicians “educated” (read: programmed) in the US/UK centres for brainwashing akin to Derek Zoolander Center for Kids Who Can’t Read Good and Wanna Learn to Do Other Stuff Good Too.
I’m feeling less alone…best weapon for Russia, collapsing the West economy, they will rush to capitulate.Not a single bullet needed.
UKRAINE CRISIS: US ‘Toolboxes’ Are Empty
”This is a reality that Europe lives with, and while U.S. policy makers might think hard-hitting sanctions look good on paper, the reality is that whatever passes for U.S.-European unity today would collapse in rapid order when the Russian pipelines were shut down. The pain would not just be limited to Europe, either—the U.S. economy would suffer as well, with sky-high fuel prices and a stock market collapse that would put the U.S. into an economic recession, if not outright depression.”
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/01/22/ukraine-crisis-us-toolboxes-are-empty/
Turning off the tap would only give the Americans gloating rights that Russia aren’t a dependable Supplier, in addition to lost revenues at current market prices.
Naturlich if hostilities did break out you would want to be supply energy to you enemies.
In 2-3 years the new China pipeline through Mongolia will strengthen Russia’s position.
Sky high oil prices would likely occur if Russia were to shut off gas to Western Europe. The added revenue may more than compensate from the lost gas revenue.
@ Lilia
“…In his interview, Zelensky mentioned Kharkov as a possible battleground exactly because the city has a large Prussian population. But there was something else he said that caught my attention. He said: “Kharkiv, which is under Ukraine government control”…”
Just FYI, there is a typo in “large Prussian population,” I assumed you meant, “large Russian population.”
That’s a very dangerous innuendo Ze manage to manage public. His mentioning Kharkov as a potential target for a Russian invasion, given the large Russian population, is not only a warning for the Russian-speaking population there, but also a signal to the Ukronazi scum to keep an eye on the city.
We can be sure there is support, even if silent, among the Russian-speaking inhabitants of Kharkov, for a Russian invasion. We can also be sure that, being so close to the Russian border, thousands of them have moved accross to pursue a better fate, making the link to Russia stronger. For Ze to highlight Kharkov as “…a possible battleground…” still “…under Ukraine government control…” means he has doubts about the loyalty of the city toward Ukraine.
That kind of suggestive innuendo is how genocide and ethnic cleansing starts. In such volatile situation as in Ukraine right now, it can be interpreted as a signal for action/preparation for action.
Lone Wolf
That scares me – the UkoNazis may initiate a mass civilian slaughter before they lose the city.
Everytime Russia gets involved in a verbal debate with the west it loses ground; time to stop the debating.
Russia either tells the NATO to remove themselves from the Ukraine and other Baltic that share Russian borders or Russia will do it for them and remind the West and US that Russian missiles are aimed at their strategic areas and if they respond to Russian demands through aggression then those targets will be destroyed. US/NATO were given the choice of removing themselves peacefully and if not the ultimatum will be declared with a time limit for NATO to retreat and if a major war starts then the onus is on the US/NATO.
Russia needs to exert herself and ask the EU if this is what they want, the destruction of their territory or this BS will continue. Eventually the US/NATO will be in a position to attack Russia which has been their objective ever since the USSR ceased to exist which incidentally was by negotiations brought about by the Euromissile crisis in the late 1970s.
Looks like you’ve got to stick a hole in someone’s head to make them believers.
For sheer impact a missile into The European Parliament Building in Brussels would send the right message. You have 3 hours to evacuate the building/area and a further weekly target until they receive their Security Demands.
By design, the EU “Parliament” has no power whatsoever to pass laws because such laws would change the “Lisbon Treaty” which is the basis for the EU. People should remember this Lisbon Treaty was never approved by the European people. This “EU Parliament” is nothing more than a noisy and expensive debating club. It’s a repository for useless politicians who were kicked upstairs. Since they lack real power, they make resolutions instead, often the worst sort of attention-seeking click-bait. Diana Johnstone saw this first-hand for years, when she was spokeswoman for the Green Party, and she described it in her autobiography “Circle in the Darkness: Memoir of a World Watcher”. Lots of interesting behind-the-scenes insights in that book.
John Mason – Russia was using time to prepare for an all-out Western economic response. Develop the SWIFT alternative, build gold reserves, solidify the alliance with China, secure central Asia, establish a strong agricultural capacity to withstand food blockades, etc. Russia knows better than anyone that the Western leadership will settle for nothing less than total destruction of Russia.
When the revolt in the Donbass took place, there were uprisings in several cities. Kharkiv had a few days of “resistance” and then the leaders were crushed and the Ukies enforced their regime on that city.It was never a majority favoring Donbass. Maybe if Strelkov could have rushed men and weapons there, things might have turned more favorably toward Donbass. There are many cities and villages in the two oblasts that are not majority Russian-speaking. That and the violence set against people in the first months of the ATO froze the potential for an uprising.
Hundreds of men and boys were murdered, women raped, girls raped and sent into the sex slave trade, bodies depleted of kidneys for the human organ trade (a specialty that touches base in Israel), torture of the most barbaric kinds–all this is documented and cases compiled in Moscow for the day of the crimes trials.
Zelensky is a sociopath who has reveled in the blood and violence he has heaped on the citizens of Donbass.
Porky was worse because his pathology was for many more years and cost thousands of dead and maimed.
Both deserve proper justice. A noose or bullets are far too swift an ending.
Of course, both will escape, and live their days out in Canada or the US.
“Hundreds of men and boys were murdered, women raped, girls raped and sent into the sex slave trade, bodies depleted of kidneys for the human organ trade (a specialty that touches base in Israel), torture of the most barbaric kinds …”
a lot of meanness, cruelty and disconnection from reality. Ukraine is planting blood and cruelty, and the harvest will not be good.
I would hope that Russia has the military intelligence and capacity to snatch both Zelensky and Porky to stand before the court in Moscow. The world needs to see and understand what crimes were committed under it’s name.
I see why this talentless nobody made a living as a clown.
He has a very Mr Bean silly face.
Isn’t that a bit unfair for Rowan?
I can also see why he left the ‘comic’ business’ He was never that good at that either.
This moron is obviously totally under the control of the CIA and the neocons, who are the only people keeping him from being executed by the more hard line neo-Nazis. So he will do whatever the CIA/neocons say. And we all know what the CIA/neocons want. Whatever Biden or any other administration official such as Blinken tells him will immediately be undercut by the CIA/neocons, even if Biden or Blinken tells him not to start a war (which I doubt they actually do tell him.) And since the CIA head was just there, you can guess what’s going on.
Maria Zakharova just said Russia expects the US and Ukraine to cause “provocations” during the Beijing Olympics – and she specifically did not rule out military ones.
Russia does not rule out military provocations from US, Kiev regime – diplomat
https://tass.com/politics/1391903
The Ukie “elite” is quite cleverly exploiting one of the few business models left to the Ukraine: rabid russophobia. Of course I would not rule out that these guys are indeed real hard core russophobes.
Germany seems to be the Ukrainian cash cow now and they are impertinently milking it. Today there was a telling incident with German admiral Schoenbuerg who, in a speech, expressed a realistic view of the Ukie’s conflict with Russia. It took only a few hours after the Ukrainian ambassador demanded the dismissal of Schoenburg that he really had to go.
Germany nowadays is a rather undignified country that is on the US leash and is exploited by everyone for some quick money.
US carrier heads to surprise NATO wargames
https://www.rt.com/news/546816-aircraft-carrier-nato-wargames/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
Note: ““Neptune Strike” did not show up on NATO’s list of upcoming exercises, as of Friday afternoon. On Wednesday, the US mission to NATO said that the carrier was scheduled to take part in “Cold Response,” an exercise inside the Arctic Circle in early March.”
But also: “Kirby called Neptune Strike a “long-planned activity” that has been under consideration since 2020 and is not related to the current tensions with Russia.”
Yeah, right… with a massive Russian naval exercise going on in the Med as well…
Oh, yeah, something is going to kick off. The only question is when and how.
Perfect – the Russians can practice tracking ships and aircraft, subs can refine their abilities to attack US/NATO ships. Very nice of them to provide such an opportunity. This exercise is intended is a message toward for a Western audience.
More on the Russian naval exercises:
Russia’s Landing Ships Are Headed To The Mediterranean To Join A Growing Armada (Updated)
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/43965/russias-landing-ships-are-headed-to-the-mediterranean-to-join-a-growing-armada
Quote:
It is important to note that there is still no firm evidence that the amphibious warfare ships heading toward the Mediterranean, or any other Russian naval vessels that are also on their way or are in the region now, will ultimately end up in the Black Sea. At the same time, the Russians have made such deployments during periods of heightened tensions in the past. Last April, when there were also fears that the Kremlin might be about to launch a new invasion of Ukraine, the country’s Navy also sent a number of vessels, including Ropucha class landing ships, to the region ostensibly for exercises.
Actual exercises in the Mediterranean, especially in the eastern part of the sea, could draw the attention of Russia’s opponents and distract them from preparations to invade Ukraine, too. It’s unlikely that Russia would attempt to use these ships to try to block access in and out of the Black Sea, which would almost certainly provoke a major international incident, but other countries would have to factor in the presence of its naval vessels, and the potential risks they might pose, into their own planning processes.
End Quote
Which I suspect is exactly what the nine (or 10 depending on who’s counting) NATO military exercises in Ukraine and the snap US Navy exercises in the Med are intended to do: complicate Russia’s operational plans. And of course the Russians are doing the same to the US/NATO with their troop movements.
It is interesting how ships that float and that are relatively easy to sink attract the most attention. It seems they are used to confuse potential enemies. The real threat is of course almost invisible – submarines, missiles and onshore mobile batteries.
Rarely, as happened a few days ago, the protaganists show these hidden capabilities.
“Navy Sends A Message By Publicizing Guided Missile Submarine’s Mediterranean Presence”
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/43943/navy-sends-a-message-by-publicizing-guided-missile-submarines-mediterranean-presence
“Shocking moment Russian submarine opens fire as Ukraine-NATO tensions mount”
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1553343/Russian-Navy-submarine-missile-footage-video-kremlin-NATO-Ukraine-invasion-latest-vn
“Russian Navy Live Firing Off Irish Coast During Tensions In Europe”
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2022/01/russian-navy-live-firing-off-irish-coast-during-tensions/
Has Germany’s Navy chief, vice-admiral Kay-Achim Schoenbach been suicided yet?
Re: “ongoing Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine.”
Russia is not IN Ukraine, so they put a blanket term on the separatist republics and attributed them to Russia?
I would say that this has to be a joke, but war propaganda is doing exactly what it is intended to do.
As usual, Alexander Mercouris has provided a valuable update in his daily Duran/Youtube video. Here is my comment:
Alexander speculates on three possible scenarios for why this crisis (“Russian invasion of Ukraine”) arose:
1) The CIA and others in Washington “panicked” over Russian internal troop movements.
2) The Biden administration thought they could make it up and use it achieve some geopolitical goals over getting more sanctions on Russia, getting the EU to cut ties, etc.
3) To boost Biden’s poll numbers by setting up a “fake Cuban Missile Crisis”.
Two points:
1) Alexander misses the possibility that the CIA and the neocons specifically want a war between Ukraine and Russia precisely for point 2) above, as well merely to express their visceral, ideologically-driven hate for Russia.
Consider that Ukraine really did appear to wish to attack Donbass in spring, 2021 – which is why Russia built up its forces then. Clearly Russian intelligence, which knows a lot about what is going on in Ukraine, even if we don’t believe the bit about Russian suborning four Ukrainian government officials, and clearly understood that Ukraine intended to attack Donbass at that time. The subsequent buildup in the fall – which is really a continuing buildup – is very likely based on the *same* intelligence, reinforced by Russian assessment of *why* the US is claiming Russia intends to attack Ukraine.
Keep in mind also that the original CIA/neocon plan for Ukraine was for Ukraine to seize the Russian naval base in Crimes and then join NATO, giving NATO that naval base. Putin stopped that plan. Does Alexander think the CIA/neocons have simply abandoned using Ukraine for any further problems for Russia?
2) Assuming that Washington – especially the CIA/neocons – invented this crisis for any of the reasons Alexander suggest, or that I do, why is it not likely that they will continue to try to drive it through to some successful (in their minds) conclusion? In particular, if the US can actually get a war between Ukraine and Russia to occur, then the US can try to get all those alleged goals they may want. It doesn’t matter whether those goals are achievable – all that matters is that the morons in the Biden administration, the CIA and the neocons believe that they are.
Bottom line: As Alexander says, so far this has been a debacle. But there’s nothing saying it can’t turn into a bigger debacle.
As an aside, he also discusses how the US is using possible sanctions on Nordstream 2 to have leverage over Germany, and that once Nordstream 2 is certified, that leverage will no longer obtain, and Germany will then be free to make any deals it wants with Russia. Alexander believes the administration opposed putting sanctions on Nordstream 2 as opposed to threatening those sanctions, and that actually imposing them would then free the Germans to make their own direct deals with Russia. By conditioning the sanctions on a Russian invasion, the US will find that if no invasion occurs by summer, then NS2 will be certified and the Germans will be out for under.
In my view, if the CIA/neocons do get a war between Ukraine and Russia going, that whole point also becomes moot as Germany will probably be forced to go along with the US and NATO. Which increases the likelihood in my opinion that the US will push for a Ukraine/Russia war.
Russia only really became the ‘bad guy’ in 2014 after Maidan was engineered by the neocons — led in the field by Mrs Victoria Kagan nee Nuland herself — who had not reminded themselves that social engineering and fomenting coups could result in unintended consequences. They had made plans to grab Crimea and Sevastopol or rather, to have the Ukrainians do the dirty job of kicking the Russians out of the peninsula and then inviting the US/Nato in; that way they could keep their hands clean of the affair. Unfortunately their plan came up against a better plan involving little green men and they (the neocons) suffered a humiliation as a result, even if they won’t admit it till Doomsday. So, their sordid little enterprise resulted in RF getting the best bits of the Ukraine and the signing of the Minsk Agreements — which hugely benefits the LDNR (and RF) btw — but Minsk is enshrined in a UNSC resolution, so there’s precious little they can do about that except by dragging their feet on the implementation. The neocons on the other hand are left with the Ukraine! Every year since then RF rubs salt into their wound by hosting magnificient fleet reviews and air displays in Crimea; it is as if Crimea’s temporary placement under Ukrainian administration in USSR days never happened.
Fast forward seven years and we have the neocons back on centre-stage with the US egging the Zelensky regime into attacking the Donbass. They fail to see that the formidable Russian actors who turned the tables on them in ’14 are still in harness and quite prepared to spoil their plans again.
I’ve no doubt the RF military will respond to any Ukrainian attack on the Donbass. The protection of Russians outside Russia is written into RF military doctrine — the result of careful appraisal of Russian diaspora in post-USSR states.
RF has ensured FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) amongst the Ukrainians. The massing of RF military power on RF’s western border, frequent military exercises, etc, form a visible deterrent against any stupid moves on the Donbass and there seems to be some resistance to the US and its kapo the UK’s egging for the moment, Javelins and NLAWs notwithstanding. There are some suicidal and blood-thirsty thugs in the Ukrainian politico-military establishment for sure but RF have assessed that among the majority self-preservation is a stronger instinct.
It’s beyond silly to think that Russia was only targeted starting in 2014, The only reason to mention that the “Maidan” was started in April, 2013 when thousands of Ukrainian young men were taken to Poland for paramilitary training, is to point out that this was an attack. You can’t say it started on 08.08.08 because Soros and the US’s NED and PRI had already installed the murderous Shaskavilli in Georgia. You can’t say it started in 1990 either, because by then the CIA had penetrated the upper levels of the Soviet government. And not 1917 or 1918 because the Bolshevik revolution was funded by Jacob Schiff, the New York banker. And not the 1890’s when Britain loaned money to the Japanese to pay for high-powered torpedo boats built in British shipyards. I would maybe accept 1853 and the Crimean War, or actually some years prior, when Britain started to plan that attack.
Silly me, I didn’t realise there were US neocons during the Crimean war.
Are we talking about when Russia became the US’s bogeyman post-USSR or rivalry between the British and Russian empires? I was talking about the former as was the OP.
The US sent military observers — one of whom became a general and later led the Union Army during the US Civil War — to the Crimean war and corresponded with the Russians; in fact they had some praise for the Russian defence of Sevastopol. Russia was also supportive of the Union during the US Civil War. In the same period the British challenged the US’s Monroe Doctrine in Mexico.
Your last sentence: If that were true, the RF wouldn’t be constantly upgrading its forces near Ukraine. Russian intelligence is fully aware that until the half of the Ukraine army which remains on the contact line are removed, the threat of an attack on Donbass remains.
More importantly, as you correctly note, the CIA and the neocons haven’t stopped. They won’t stop until they get a war. And frankly I don’t see Biden reining them in.
In any event, the bottom line is simple: There is either going to be a conflict in 2022, or there isn’t. Who’s right will then be decided. The Pollyannas, like Ray McGovern and others, are going to be in for a bad surprise. As it is said, “A pessimist is an informed optimist.”
I see no reason to assume that NS 2 will ever be certified.
Zelensky talks of Kharkov ”where historically there are people who used to have family links to Russia.”
This is a sinister phrase. ”used to” as in no longer want to, or as in are no longer allowed ?
The Russophobia exhibited by the Kien regieme is psychopathically racist & almost totally ignored by the West as it is presently serving a purpose that they support.
I am confused. Is Ukraine now led by nazis? On the other hand I can see Zionism, at least if one looks at the leadership. Is the truly versatile Zionism now open to nazism? I am just referring to the commentators, not so much the article itself.
Looks like the sabotage has started, conveniently timed when the Brits are shouting about a supposed coup by Russia in placing a pro-Russian puppet regime in Kiev:
“Lugansk republic’s servicemen kidnapped by Kiev forces – spokesman
It was established that the serviceman reported about suspicious activity in the woods and, without waiting for backup, decided to check the area, the LPR’s People’s Militia Spokesman Ivan Filiponenko said….”
“On January 22, a serviceman of the LPR’s People’s Militia was abducted by a sabotage group of the Ukrainian armed forces, while patrolling a section of the Svetlodarskaya bulge (a strategically important section near the Svetlodarsk village),” the LuganskInformCenter quoted Filiponenko as saying.
“During the investigation, it was established that the serviceman reported a suspicious activity in the woods and, without waiting for backup, [decided] to check the area, undoubtedly putting himself under attack. However, he probably prevented [Kiev forces] from further advancement in the republic,” the People’s Militia spokesman noted….”
https://tass.com/world/1391951
and now the puppet government is being linked to sanctions – not just the “Russian invasion”:
The UK government is ready to impose tough economic penalties against Moscow if it allegedly tries not only to invade Ukraine but also bring pro-Russian politicians to power, Deputy Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Justice Dominic Raab said on Sunday. “Russia will face serious consequences, if [it] takes this move to try to invade [Ukraine] but also install the puppet regime,” Raab told Sky News. In response to the question, whether London is considering the possibility to disconnect Russia from SWIFT, the deputy prime minister noted that a wide package of economic and financial restrictions would be imposed against Moscow.
Furthermore, Raab did not rule out that some penalties against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would be hammered out jointly with NATO. Meanwhile, the deputy prime minister said that sending British troops to Ukraine in case of Russian invasion was a highly unlikely scenario….”
https://tass.com/world/1391971
There’s the “highly likely” again! Skripals’ version 10+ and counting.
My Father in law was from Kharkov, he was a major in the red army. I am glad he is not alive to see this.
Apparently UK sent several politicians to the Donbass front line for a “fact finding” visit over 3 days…presumably to get enough backing for further actions …and ensure the recent UK -Ukr defence contracts …as Liz Truss Foreign Minister will meet Lavrov in Febuary- if she survives that long in UK politics that long. Defence Minister Wallace to meet Shoigu soon.
There are some ex military people from UK in Ukraine as private contractors on the front line …presumably there are still Poles and Swedes etc as has been reported before.
note
President Joe Biden spent Saturday at the presidential retreat Camp David outside Washington discussing the Ukraine situation with his senior national security team.
A White House official said the discussions included efforts to de-escalate the situation, with diplomacy and deterrence measures being coordinated closely with allies and partners, including security assistance to Ukraine.
So his idiot advisors will continue with their usual brainwashed information..or a sign they are desparately trying to hold their dodgy case together as Blinken and Psaki have exposed their frailty recently by the complete rubbish they spout.????
A comedian and circus who supports the extreme political stupidity of the West and the United States.
O palhaço comediante está cada vez mais gordo e parecido com o anterior presidente.
candidatou-se prometendo acabar com a guerra civil e melhorr a vida dos ucranianos.
a guerra continua e os ucranianos passam cada vez mais dificuldades.
mas ele engorda.
Meanwhile, the losers in the UK continue with their campaign of disinformation, affirming that Russia plans to bring to power in Kiev former Verkhovnaya Rada deputy [Yevgeny Muraev].
The reply from Russia’s Embassy in London was very effective:
Having found itself on the sidelines of real diplomatic processes,…London views its role in the constant incitement of anti-Russian sentiment.
Due to their presumptuousness, the UK could not have avoided such humiliation… :-))
See: https://tass.com/politics/1391989
https://archive.ph/lYX7a
Volodymyr Zelensky: ‘Everyone will lose’ if Russia invades Ukraine
Full version was archived by a nice subscriber or the writer in case anyone want to read it.
This scandal is already forgotten and buried under an avalanche of other fantastic accusations.
The interview in question was taken by a senior associate editor for the Washington Post Lally Weymouth on January 20th, 2022 and is hidden behind the paywall.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/01/20/ukraine-russia-zelensky-interview/
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Hey folks, find the complete interview here:
https://telegra.ph/Volodymyr-Zelensky-Everyone-will-lose-if-Russia-invades-Ukraine-01-23
No (pay)wall can prevent quantum tunneling ! :)
In his interview, Zelensky mentioned Kharkov as a possible battleground exactly because the city has a large Prussian population. But there was something else he said that caught my attention. He said: “Kharkov, which is under Ukraine government control”…
High time That Germany, Berlin takes control of Kharkov.