The same day that U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order leveling new sanctions against Russia and expelling ten of its diplomats, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky participated in a session of the National Security and Defense Council and afterward said concerning its deliberations: “I can’t reveal the details. The situation in Donbas is now under control. Indeed, there are certain issues. We are ready to address these issues. The Army is ready – that’s the most important thing.”
His foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, at a press conference following a meeting with his counterparts from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, spoke in a comparably intransigent tone, asserting the “state border is Ukraine’s ‘red line,’” and should Russia cross the border “there must be consequences.”
Zelensky and Kuleba, and other Ukrainian officials who have recently raised the specters of developing nuclear weapons and even of World War III, are emboldened to speak – and act – in the reckless manner they are because they are assured of the “the full weight of the transatlantic alliance” deployed against Russia, as the top commander of NATO and U.S. European Command recently confirmed. His pledge was heard clearly in Kiev.
In a letter submitted to Congress today, Biden’s unambiguous words that Russia is guilty, in addition to at least a half a dozen other transgressions, of concerted efforts “to violate well-established principles of international law, including respect for the territorial integrity of states,” and that those activities “constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States” were also heard in Kiev. In fact the headlines of English-language Ukrainian publications are mainly on Biden – and NATO – attacking Russia on all fronts. The letter quoted from prefaces an executive order effecting the above-mentioned sanctions and and expulsions under the justification of what Biden deems a national emergency. That Ukraine’s war with the Donetsk and Lugansk republics in the Donbass is described as part, the major part, of a national emergency in a nation that is currently deliberating over a proposed $753 billion defense budget must be of great solace to Zelensky and his army.
Ukraine’s Join Forces Operation Command, from 2014-2018 the Anti-Terrorist Operation, is in charge of the war in and against the Donbass. In fact the Donbass was until the latter year referred to by the Ukrainian military as the Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone. How the residents of Donetsk and Lugansk would be treated at the hands of the renamed Anti-Terrorist Operation should be obvious.
It was reported yesterday that the Joint Forces Operation was conducting a tank exercise near the border of Crimea. As the commander of the exercise put it, “Artillery and tank reserves performing combat missions along the border with the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, advanced to certain areas to counter the offensive of the supposed enemy.” There is no supposed enemy. The enemy is Russia.
As NATO and the European Union as well as other American allies around the world fall into line with the campaign to isolate and confront Russia, no small part of that alliance is NATO member Turkey.
The Ukrainian press reported today that for the first time its military flew a Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drone in a reconnaissance mission over the Donbass region. The Turkish drone was used in Azerbaijan’s military onslaught against Nagorno-Karabakh last year. It’s not unlikely Turkey is also advising and assisting Ukraine to subjugate the Donbass based on its role in directing the Azerbaijani war effort.
As NATO is actively collaborating with the Biden initiative of today in denouncing Russia for a veritable myriad of offenses in several categories, not least of which its “violations of Ukraine’s and Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” – an item also played up in the Ukrainian press – any hope that Ukrainian authorities and their Western sponsors prefer peace to war should be thoroughly dispelled.
Rick Rozoff has been involved in anti-war and anti-interventionist work in various capacities for forty years. He lives in Chicago, Illinois. He is the manager of Stop NATO. This originally appeared at Anti-Bellum.
Ottoman special forces have also been seen in Mariupol, probably (the locals surmise) preparing the ground for the deployment of jihadi headchopper mercenaries from Syria. It is supposed to be the Nagorno Karabakh war all over again. And the Zelensky regime had even talked about applying the “Nagorno Karabakh model” to Donbass.
That would make sense but that scenario will not work against Russian forces in the same way. Any kind of military assault on the Dombass would result in the destruction of Ukraine and the crushing of Turkish forces in Ukraine and, in my view, on the border of Syria. Russia can not longer afford to take a passive stance towards the Empire but must gear up for a protracted war along many fronts just short of nuclear war and with a clear plan to take out the USA and the NATO countries should the nuclear option be chosen by Washington.
I don’t know how rational the various actors on the Ukranazi side of the border are. Sultan Erdoğan seems to think he is genuinely a Sultan or something.
This has nothing to do with alleged russian malevolence, and everything to do with finding some excuse to make NATO relevant, which it shouldn’t be.
This is as much Russia’s fault as anyone’s. They should have invaded and crushed the US installed government in 2014 and taken over Ukraine. Instead they acted like crybabies for 7 years while the US armed Kiev, complaining to the UN and trying to resolve it diplomatically. They let the problem fester and now it looks like it’s coming to a head. This is another in the long list of boneheaded moves by the Russian government over the last decade.
I don’t agree with you in this notion. Russia was not prepared to invade and rule a country let alone the headache called Ukraine–the idea was to put it in the hands of the West and see what would happen and, at the same time, make sure it’s strategic arsenal would be refreshed.
Nothing much happened until Biden and assorted swamp creatures got solid control of the National Security State. Now, with the Democrats insisting that all problems have three sources, Russia, racism, and transphobia some level of war is logical certainly a very strong Cold War is here now, clearly. Fortunately or unfortunately for the RF Washington is basically divided and chaotic–which means they would not be serious foes on the one hand and on the other could very well blunder into a nuclear exchange.
Russia needed time to finish Nord Stream 2. As the project nears its end, the timing of this “crisis” is no accident.
Ukraine was a part of Russia for 1000 years, it’s where Russian civilization began. There was never any insurgency. The only way there would be insurgency now is if it’s CIA, Mossad or MI6. The US can stage terrorist attacks against Russia from Ukraine and order them to kill more people in the Donbass. Russia is foolishly attempting a UN lawsuit over Ukraine. This will fail, just like the Minsk agreements and its complaints to the UN. They need to invade and crush the Us installed government and take over the country. That’s the only solution.
You mean like they, the Russians, who won the second world war? The US etc should have long since taken a lesson, ie Never Ever F**K with the Bear!
The Nazi putsch junta in the ukraine is ready jump when the US says so. But reality is i another thing as the US chickening out from threats in the Black Sea after the reality of a very determined and fully armed Russian precense came down like a ton of bricks on Washington, Pentagram and CIA.
Reality according to a new Russian doctrine is that US is not only declared a non agreement capable “partner” but a right out hostile enemy. That means that whatever US/ NATO force that sails into the black sea will from hereon find itself locked on to, followed, harassed, made dead & blind and if provocation continues, neutralized. (Hence USS/Donald Duck & Co chickening out) That goes interestingly enough for US occupation forces stealing oil and burning down crops in Syria too. They will be the subject for everything i counted above, FROM RUSSIA. Have i nice killing spree down there “boys” things will change for you and not for the better…
It should be clear that Russia has no plans to invade Ukraine, the only question is whether Ukraine plans to invade the Donbass and Crimea. If that happens the Ukrainian State would cease to exist. The people of Ukraine don’t want to attack, only the Pentagon wants it.
The Western media talks about Ukraine “taking back Crimnea” which is ridiculous – because Crimea was an autonomous region of Ukraine and they definitely had the right to vote for and they – did separation from and re-unification with Russia, This is not Nazi Germany vs. an independent Polands – this more like a civil war and the pro-NATO forces are like America in VietNam sticking their big nose where it doesn’t belong.