Tag: Ukraine

Ukraine war is veering fast towards a big power conflict

Debkafiles – March 17, 2022

“Unacceptable and unforgivable,” was the Kremlin’s response to the US president’s branding of Vladimir Putin as “a war criminal,” on Wednesday, March 16. Incensed rather than cowed by sanctions and international condemnation, the Russian president is likely to double down on his war offensive against Ukraine – regardless of the spreading death, human misery and ravaged cities. An expanding confrontation therefore cannot be ruled out for the foreseeable future.

President Joe Biden spoke after the horror of Russia’s bombing of a theater in Mariupol where more than a thousand people including many children were sheltering against the constant shelling. The death toll is unknown as are the numbers still buried under the rubble while rescuers are prevented from reaching the scene.

Although the White House previously stopped short of accusing the Russians of war crimes in the Ukraine pending an investigation, President Joe Biden was now ready to say bluntly: “I think [Putin] is a war criminal.” His press secretary Jen Psaki said that Biden was “speaking from the heart” (not the head?). An investigation into war crimes was still underway, she said, aware that some form of due process is required for a charge of war crimes.

The president, however, did not stop at oratory. The $800 m military aid package he approved for Ukraine reportedly included 100 kamikaze drones, apparently referring to Switchblade 300 or Switchblade 600. (See photo.) The former can pinpoint strikes on personnel and the latter aims to destroy tanks and armored vehicles. The Switchblades are essentially robotic smart bombs equipped with cameras, guidance systems and explosives. They can be programmed to strike targets miles away and hover over objectives until ordered to strike.

The US aid package will also include 800 anti-aircraft systems, 9,000 anti-armor systems and 20 million rounds of ammunition.

Moscow was seen in Washington as expanding its targets beyond the Ukraine border with the assault by 30 Russian cruise missiles on the large Ukrainian Yavrov military facility outside Lviv near the Polish border. The Russian defense ministry said that the air strike destroyed a large quantity of weapons supplied by foreign nations and that the Yavrov base had long been used to train Ukrainian military personnel, often with instructors from the United States and other NATO countries. For Putin, this Ukrainian base embodied his complaint that NATO had expanded to Eastern Europe close to Russian territory.

https://www.debka.com

‘Global Food Crisis’ Ukraine War Will Have ‘Catastrophic’ Effect on Global Food Supply – Agri Org

Peter Caddle – March 8, 2022

The world is heading into a global food crisis thanks to the war in Ukraine, according to the head of one major Agri organization.

Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine is going to have a ‘catastrophic’ effect on the world’s supply of food, the head of one of the world’s leading fertilizer companies.

Both Russia and Ukraine account for a significant portion of the global grain supply, with both nations also having significant roles within the supply of fertiliser, as well as its raw materials.

However, with trade grinding to a halt as a result of the latest stage in the ongoing conflict, the head of one major fertilizer company is sounding off alarm bells.

“Half the world’s population gets food as a result of fertilizers… and if that’s removed from the field for some crops, [the yield] will drop by 50%,” Svein Tore Holsether, who heads up agri company Yara International, told the BBC.

“For me, it’s not whether we are moving into a global food crisis – it’s how large the crisis will be,” he went on to say.

Holsether emphasized that there was already significant supply difficulties before the start of the current conflict, with the BBC noting that the increased cost of gas prices was already resulting in a steep rise in the cost of fertilizer.

The Yara International boss also is reported to have pointed out that around a quarter of key nutrients used in food production come from Russia, with sanctions now looking likely to further constrain in supply.

“At the same time we’re doing whatever we can do at the moment to also find additional sources,” he emphasized. “But with such short timelines it’s limited.”

https://www.breitbart.com

Russia ready for peace talks while warning new world war would include nuclear bombs

– March 2, 2022

Russia said it was ready Wednesday for the second round of peace talks with Ukraine — while giving a chilling warning that a third world war would certainly involve nuclear weapons.

The invading nation’s “delegation will be in place to await Ukrainian negotiators,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said — as Russian forces continued the devastating air and land assault for the seventh day.

Video footage showed yet another series of brutal bomb blasts Wednesday as Russian forces also claimed to have taken control of the area around Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia.

Already, more than 2,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, the country’s emergency service said — as the number of people fleeing could reach 1 million within hours, the UN refugee agency warned.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba later confirmed his nation’s delegation would be at the peace talks Wednesday, even after President Volodymyr Zelensky had said Russia must “first stop bombing people” for the talks to continue.

https://nypost.com

Russia declares war on Ukraine, explosions in Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkiv, Odessa, Lvov

Debkafiles – February 24, 2022

Vladimir Putin early Thursday, Feb. 24, announced a special military operation in the Donbas “to demilitarize” the region, amid unconfirmed reports of a huge seaborne landing in the Black Sea port of Odessa. Explosions were heard in Kyiv, Mariupol, Odessa, Lvov and Kharkiv.

President Joe Biden will address the nation at noon on Thursday, after condemning Russia’s as “alone responsible” for “choosing a premeditated war” by an “unprovoked and unjustified attack.” The United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way, he said. “The world will hold Russia accountable.”

In an early morning address, Putin said the “special military operation” he had launched comes in response to threats coming from Ukraine. He added that Russia doesn’t have a goal to occupy the country. Putin said responsibility for bloodshed “lies with the Ukrainian “regime.” He insisted that the operation was targeting military installations and avoiding populated areas. Putin told Ukrainian service members to “lay down their arms and go home.”

The Russia’s defense ministry also denied attacking Ukrainian cities – saying it is targeting military infrastructure, air defense and air forces with “high-precision weapons.” Explosions nonetheless ripped through Kyiv, the capital, Mariupol and Kharkiv.

Unconfirmed reports said that Russian forces had destroyed or rendered unusable the Ukrainian navy and taken control of Boryspil Airport in Kiev. Other reports spoke of a huge seaborne landing in Odessa involving large landing craft and helicopters shortly after dawn. Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea and Azov Sea was cut off.

Ukraine was on Wednesday placed on a war footing and a state of emergency declared; 200,000 military reservists called up; border areas restricted and citizens given right to arm themselves.

https://www.debka.com

Russia to Stage Massive Nuclear Drills Amid Ukraine Standoff

Newsmax – February 18, 2022

The Russian military on Friday announced massive drills of its strategic forces, a stark reminder of the country’s nuclear might amid Western fears that Moscow might be preparing to invade Ukraine.

The Defense Ministry said Russian President Vladimir Putin will personally oversee Saturday’s exercise, which will involve multiple practice launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.

The ministry said it planned the maneuvers some time ago to check the readiness of Russia’s military command and personnel, as well as the reliability of its nuclear and conventional weapons.

The war games follow U.S. President Joe Biden’s warning on Thursday that Russia could invade Ukraine within days.

Western fears focus on an estimated 150,000 Russian troops — including about 60% of Russia’s overall ground forces — concentrated near Ukraine’s borders. The Kremlin insists it has no plans to invade.

But Moscow has demanded that the U.S. and its allies keep Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations out of NATO, not deploy weapons in Ukraine and pull back NATO forces from Eastern Europe.

Washington and its allies bluntly rejected the Russian demands, and Moscow threatened to take unspecified “military-technical measures” if the West continued to stonewall.

Russia holds massive drills of its strategic nuclear forces on an annual basis, but the maneuvers planned for Saturday pointedly involve the Black Sea Fleet. The fleet is based on the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

https://www.newsmax.com

US Troops Prepare for Deployment to E. Europe From Fort Bragg

Newsmax – February 3, 2022

Paratroopers with the U.S. Army boarded aircraft on Thursday to leave for Eastern Europe amid escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

The soldiers were departing from Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Around 1,700 service members, mainly from the 82nd Airborne Division, are being deployed to Poland, while 300 others will move to Germany.

“What you’re seeing out here today… is a facility that we typically use for paratroopers before they load out to conduct their operation,” U.S. Army spokesman Matthew Visser said.

“Right now it’s being used for the pre-mobilization for soldiers from 18th Airborne Corps and 82nd Airborne Division who are fulfilling their order to deploy to Europe, both to Germany and to Poland, in support of assuring our NATO allies and our partners in deterring Russia,” he said.

The United States said  on Wednesday it will send a total of nearly 3,000 extra troops to Poland and Romania to shield Eastern Europe from a potential spillover from the crisis over the massing of Russian troops near Ukraine.

Russia has denied plans to invade Ukraine. On Thursday, it accused Washington of ignoring its calls to ease the standoff.

https://www.newsmax.com

Russian ships, tanks and troops on the move to Ukraine as peace talks stall

– January 23, 2022

Russia has sent troops more than 4,000 miles to Ukraine’s borders and announced sweeping naval drills as Moscow expands its preparations for a potential attack on Ukraine as negotiations appear at a deadlock.

Six Russian landing ships capable of carrying main battle tanks, troops and other military vehicles travelled through the Channel en route to the Mediterranean last week in a deployment that could bolster an amphibious landing on Ukraine’s southern coast if Vladimir Putin orders an attack. Ukraine’s military intelligence has claimed that Russia is hiring mercenaries and supplying its proxy forces in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions with fuel, tanks and self-propelled artillery in preparation for a potential upsurge in fighting.

And a large military force, including Iskander short-range ballistic missiles, elite spetsnaz troops and anti-aircraft batteries, has arrived in Belarus from Russia’s eastern military district, an extraordinary deployment that western officials and analysts say could enable Moscow to threaten Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.

The new deployments have worried US officials. “What concerns us is the total picture,” said a senior state department official in a briefing last week. “It is the amassing of 100,000 troops along Ukraine’s borders combined with moving forces into Belarus over the weekend … these numbers are beyond, of course, what we would expect with regard to a normal exercise.”

The new forces in Belarus, the official added, represent an “increased capability for Russia to launch this attack, increased opportunity, increased avenues, increased routes”.

The US president, Joe Biden, last week said that Putin himself may not know what he plans to do. But the results are either reckless brinkmanship or preparations for a large-scale military operation.

https://www.theguardian.com

US envoy in Europe says ‘drumbeat of war is sounding loud’

Laura Kelly – January 13, 2022

Washington’s envoy in Europe on Thursday issued a stark warning of war in Eastern Europe amid Russia’s military buildup on Ukraine’s border but said the U.S. and the majority of its allies support ongoing dialogue to tamp down tensions.

“We’re facing a crisis in European security. The drumbeat of war is sounding loud, and the rhetoric has gotten rather shrill,” said Michael Carpenter, the U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Carpenter spoke with reporters following a meeting of the OSCE focused on advancing diplomacy between the U.S., Europe and Russia, the conclusion of an extraordinary session of three diplomatic meetings on the continent this week and in response to Russian military provocations.

“There’s close to 100,000 troops on the Russian side of its border with Ukraine. Their presence and the live fire measures being carried out are raising many questions about Moscow’s intention,” Carpenter said.

https://www.msn.com

WAR DRUMS: Putin makes chilling warning that everyone will be turned to radioactive ash’ over Ukraine moves

ETH – December 23, 2021

Vladimir Putin primed Russia for war against Ukraine today, with his media mouthpiece warning NATO to back off or “everyone will be turned to ash”.

According to a report from Mirror, The Russian President told military chiefs and defense ministers Moscow will take “military measures” in response to tension with the West – as his troops amass close to Ukraine. Putin was referring to a Western bid to bolster Ukraine with weapons and military training.

He said: “In the event that the clearly aggressive line of our Western colleagues continues, we will take adequate retaliatory military-technical measures, and react toughly to unfriendly steps. “And, I want to emphasize, we have every right to do so, we have every right to take actions designed to ensure the security and sovereignty of Russia.”

Express stated that the Russian President, speaking during a meeting at the defense ministry on Tuesday, said Russia will “react toughly to unfriendly steps” and stressed, “that we have every right to do so.” On Monday, Dmitry Kiselyov, a Russian media mogul, threatened to “put a gun to America’s head” if NATO forces are stationed in Ukraine and warned the alliance to back off “otherwise, everyone will be turned into radioactive ash.”

America has been warning for weeks that Mr. Putin appears to be readying tens of thousands of troops, tanks, and artillery pieces to invade Ukraine, but Mr. Putin has insisted it is merely a defense force – until now.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

Ruling Class Talks Of Nukes: Won’t “Rule Out” A Nuclear Attack On Russia

Mac Slavo – December 8, 2021

A senator in the United States says he “won’t rule out” attacking Russia with a nuclear weapon. Republican Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker said it was a possibility if there was a conflict with Ukraine.

“I would not rule out military action. I think we start making a mistake when we take options off the table, so I would hope the president keeps that option on the table,” said Wicker about a potential standoff with Russia to Fox News’s Neil Cavuto on Tuesday.

Isn’t it interesting how the rulers talk about war, destruction, and death so freely and easily when they aren’t the ones that are going to do the damage or be on the front lines? When Cavuto asked what military action against Russia would comprise, Wicker said it could mean “that we standoff with our ships in the Black Sea and we rain destruction on Russian military capability.” But he also warned that isn’t all the U.S. is considering. “I would not rule out American troops on the ground,” the senator declared, adding that the US also shouldn’t “rule out first use nuclear action” against Russia, according to a report by RT. 

“We don’t think it will happen, but there’s certain things in negotiations if you’re going to be tough that you don’t take off the table, and so I think the president should say that everything is on the table,” Wicker added.  Luckily, Wicker was immediately called a “bloodthirsty” and “insane” lunatic. Rightly so too. Using nuclear weapons shouldn’t even be a consideration.The ruling class is becoming increasingly unhinged. We had better hope people begin to think and act in a more moral manner toward their fellow humans, or those marching off to war will bear the brunt of the punishment for following the orders of these sociopaths. While many took Wicker’s words as crazy, others sadly, backed him up.

https://www.shtfplan.com