US officials continue to warn that Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine despite Moscow’s repeated denials and Ukraine’s downplaying of the threat. At a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken again accused Russia of plotting a false flag as a pretext for an invasion.
Blinken claimed that the US has evidence that Russian forces “are preparing to launch an attack against Ukraine in the coming days.” He accused Russia of creating a pretext for the attack that could include a fake “terrorist bombing” or “a fake, even a real, attack using chemical weapons.” Blinken named targets Russia would then attack in Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv.
As usual, Blinken did not offer any evidence to back up the claims, and Russia strongly rejected the accusations. At the Security Council meeting, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin called the false flag claims a “baseless accusation.”
Vershinin also blamed the violence in eastern Ukraine on Kyiv’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements. “Ukrainian representatives keep coming up with new excuses not to implement their agreements,” he said. “Attempts to place the blame on Russia are futile and baseless.”
Despite the frequent public clashes, the US and Russia have maintained a dialogue amid the heightened Ukraine tensions. Blinken said that he asked Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to hold talks with him in Europe next week, and the State Department said later that the two diplomats agreed to meet.
Over in Washington, President Biden also accused Russia of plotting an invasion. “Every indication we have is they’re prepared to go into Ukraine, attack Ukraine,” he said. He also suggested Russia is “engaged in a false flag operation” to create a pretext without offering evidence.
They keep pushing that “chemical attack” scenario. You can take it for granted that’s what the US is planning. They did it in Syria. Russia OTOH has never used chemical weapons except in 1929 and possibly in Afghanistan during that war. But since the US has convinced everyone that Russia used “Novichok” to try to kill the Skripals and Navalni, it will be easy to blame Russia for anything chemical in Ukraine.
Exactly what I was thinking. We know that the US has full control of the OPCW and we also know that the US helped “clean up” the chemical weapons facility in Uzbekistan where Novichok was produced.
Exactly. It is this laziness of mind and body thst is the cornerstone of the proudly Russophobic elites.
I would be really disappointed if they do not try it on.
Look at the Olympic “doping” scandal. Even thiugh the highest court ruked in the athletes favor, IOC continues pushing lies. 40 page report by the highest court in sports is dismissed by US influenced bidies, our media peddling the shameless lies, our politicians promising punishments – as if the court decision does not exist.
Same pattern. Chemical Russia. Same lazy reactions,
They are forgetting that Russia initiated this round of pressung West to declare its intentions.
There is now a published Russian reply to zUS and NATO papers. Clearly, Russia is not satisfied, and is moving on to military technical meaures to start redressing the problem.
For now, lazy invasiin story is pushed, until a chemical one arrives, Or somebody’s plane taken down. To reinforce point.
Biden already saud that confronting Russia will require sacrifice.
I know, empty shelves of cat food are due to bad Russia, as inventories ard slashed and prices himed. Neat trick.
US Still Claims US Invasion of Ukraine Could Happen in the ‘Coming Days’
I am going to sound repetitive but… Wars can get started this way…
What time? I don’t want to miss anything;-)
He accused Russia of creating a pretext for the attack that could include a fake “terrorist bombing” or “a fake, even a real, attack using chemical weapons.”
Tony caught himself. He remembered the US would be using real chemical weapons in the attempt at framing Russia for doing a chemical attack.
I noticed that too … for a minute I thought he was even going to name the chemical …
Yes, of course it “could” happen. And the US “could” attack Mexico or Canada (stop those dang truckers!) or … really anything “can” happen.
The question is why in the world would Russia want to saddle itself with the failing and flailing economy that is Ukraine?
Seems like President Biden should recuse and distance himself from all Ukraine matters as his sons previous involvement with Ukraine creates a huge conflict of interest that nobody wants to talk about.
https://www.rt.com/russia/549813-putin-oversee-missile-launch-drills/
Russia President Vladimir Putin to oversee missile launch drills on Saturday.
The West may view this as a provocation or a Russian psyche op.
Russia Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russia Defense Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov will also be present. One can assume the Russia Defense Ministry will at minimum test the patency or viability of three nuclear footballs.
This event may also include the entire Russia general staff and select State Duma members.
It could be a pivotal day in many respects.
Being an American these days (it has been for a long time, but it just keeps getting worse) is highly embarrassing.
Wait and see what happens in the future when millions of mushroom minded Americans who now live comfortable sheltered lives later find themselves poor. Many will become irrational and will turn into animal like and devour aimlessly.
And, maybe mushroom clouds also.
In the meantime, Ukraine started shelling Dinbass. Civilian evacuations to Russia are underway. Women, children elderly.
No news of that here.
It looks like Ukraine under US guidance will attack Donbas. Over a yesr ago Croatian military was cinsulted in how to ethnically cleanse population,
The method was effective. First. special paramilitaries. were sent to infiltrate area, while periodically sheling defences. Infiltraion by small groups is always effective as they use terrorist methodology — influct as much pain on cuvilian population. Pick isolated villages not on main thoroughfare, and commit unspeakable attrocities, make graphic videos, to insure population panicks. Kerp on raiding, until uncontrollable refugee flow cloggs the transit, making defense impossible.
Western media will be silent _ cameras off,
After. a vast numbers flee. armed forcess possess emty villages, and the defeders are further stymied by the shifting front. Air force is useless in such situations.
One can argue that Russia can easily inflict pain in Ukrainian forces, but then it would be AN INVASION.
It appears that by removing vulnerable population Dinbas is ready for Croatian scenario. And ready to tak e on Ukrainian special forces. Should Ukraine escallate, so will Donbas. Rusdia has its own armies for hire. Besides notorious Wagner groip, there are other companies with the same MO. Russia has in Chechnya a large training area, comprising of fake towns and countryside for special ops training.
It would not shock me to see Ukrainian action, and Donbas luring them in and fighting back.
By now US has studied two previous debacles when Ukrainian army was pushed out, and Dinbas military was poised to march to Dnyeper.
With that experience — Ukraine is probably advised to keep the incursion into Donbas limited to shelling snd ground operations, not to involve airforce. That way Russan complaints can be dismissed,
It appears that this will be the war of proxies, with Ukrainian objective to remove Russian populatiin and take possesion of area. Russian objective will be to protect civilians and create a defense focused in preventing small units cspturing tertitory,
And than the sanctions come in.
The gamblers in the West have caused a self inflicted wound by random sanctions in Chinese imports. Lazy, unintelligent economic embargo portrayed as sanctions caused random damage to supply chains.
With proposed Russian “sanctions” the damage will
expand into areas of energy and finance, space, rare earth minerals, rtc,
Our political system is sustained inly by escallation, never by pragmatism. And only new crisis can replace the crescendo of an old one.
Agreed. Half the Wagner Group is probably already in Donbass, along with Russian Special Forces. That Croatian scenario is interesting. It’s pretty much what has been going on for the last 7 years – periodic shelling of civilians, sabotage and reconnaissance groups crossing the contact line, propaganda war, now the use of Turkish drones. It’s clear the goal is to keep the civil war going without going too far and without even trying to get a settlement, for internal political faction reasons. But the CIA and neocons now want an all-out war in order to force Russia to “invade”. But Russia knows that and will avoid it as long as possible.
Related to that is everyone is complaining about “Russian cyberattacks”. Well, which is better – that a bank’s computers don’t work or that a cruise missile comes through the bank’s front door? Russia is being nice with those cyberattacks (not to mention that a lot of them probably come from private Russian hackers, not state hackers.)
Unless the American people stand up and refuse to fight and do everything possible to stop Wash. from mongering another war, America will be doomed if the war escalates and goes nuclear. But, karma is a factor as Wash. has perpetuated war after war and killed millions of innocent people since the end of WWII and payback is eminent.