The militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), a breakaway province in eastern Ukraine, warned Monday that Kyiv was preparing an offensive in the Donbas region.
“Ukraine not only continues its attempts to destabilize the situation in Donbas by shelling settlements, and preparations are well underway to resolve the conflict by force. The People’s Militia command strongly urges its adversary to drop its criminal intents,” said militia deputy Eduard Basurin in a statement on Telegram, according to Russia’s Tass news agency.
The DPR, along with the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), first declared their independence from KYV back in 2014, after former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in a US-backed coup, sparking a war in the Donbas. The conflict has been at a stalemate with occasional flare-ups. Amid heightened tensions between the US and Russia, both sides have been accusing the other of planning an offensive in the Donbas.
Basurin said the Ukrainian forces are sending UR-77 self-propelling minesweepers towards the conflict zone in the Donbas and are preparing military vehicles for combat. He also said DPR intelligence has information that Ukraine is deploying an armored brigade to the region.
At this point, it’s not clear if Ukraine is planning an escalation in Donbas. But if violence does flare up in the region, the US is poised to blame it on Russia no matter who the real aggressor is. Earlier this month, the White House claimed, without any evidence, that Russia is preparing a “false flag” operation in eastern Ukraine against the DPR and LPR separatists as a way to justify an invasion.
Despite the constant US claims, Russia clearly has no interest in invading Ukraine. But a flare-up in the Donbas could give the hawks in Washington the “invasion” that they are looking for, and it could be used to justify action against Russia, whether it be sanctions or more military deployments in the region.
Yup. And if these reports are true, it proves the CIA and neocon plans are progressing ahead unimpeded, while Biden decides to tick off Russia even more by sending another 5-50,000 US troops to eastern Europe.
But, hey, we got Ray McGovern. Nothing to see here, move along.
All of this business is very disconcerting and I am paying close attention. It is, as if, it’s an accident waiting to happen and then we could have a terrible mess up…
So you’re thinking Washington doesn’t need the support of Western Europe? …that they don’t fear the effective destruction of NATO? …and that the War Party will go at Russia with Latvia, Poland, Kiev and Boris Johnson, should Putin give military assistance to ethnic Russian Ukraine?
I haven’t said that. I’ve said that it’s a possibility that the CIA/neocons have engineered a wider war than just between Ukraine and Russia. But that is only a possibility. The main threat is the US dumping Ukraine just to score points against Russia. There is no evidence Russia is going to do anything directly against NATO unless NATO initiates something. But a war between Ukraine and Russia is pretty much a done deal. McGovern doesn’t bother analyzing the facts on the ground – only the “talk-talk” which he interprets as promising. In reality, it’s not.
Why disdain Ray? Like you he calls them as he seezem. Time will tell who is accurate, and who was not. No need to be snide. Especially about a guy who has stuck his neck out far beyond what passe’s for normal risks by the alternate press. If you are right, you can crow of it till Michael D’Andrea gives a PUBLIC APPEARENCE…!!!!!
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As I’ve said elsewhere, if there’s no conflict in 2022, I’ll admit I was wrong. If there is, I doubt he will. That’s just not what pundits do. But my main complaint is his over-focus on the “negotiations” which so far have produced bupkus while events on the ground continue apace. His dismissive attitude toward the probability of war is irritating because it is not justified by events past and upcoming.
The whole episode is so obviously manipulated by the USA/NATO and Russia has at no stage “threatened” invasion but there is non-stop media hype as if it were inevitable. Even the Russophobic fanatic”journalist” Luke Harding, still working for the Guardian and living in Kiev, writes today that there is no panic in Kiev and people are going along normally. The US official call for US diplomatic staff to leave has annoyed Ukrainians and who could blame them? What sort of “moral support” is that for their stand if NATO troops are on standby somewhere else?
The Russian warning about the buildup of Ukrainian aggressive forces in the Donbass region has of course made little impact among the Western MSM.
It reminds me of the Brzenzinski plan: encourage party A (Afghans to become Al-Queda) to be aggressive against Party B (Russia) in order for Russia to invade and received their “Vietnam”. Will Russia remember?
Ukraine attacking Donbas is the heart of the problem in the region, I understand there are a large number of Russian mercenaries in Donbas but repelling a full assault by a armored combat brigade would be a tall task.
Last time Kiev went in, they lost rather badly to Novorossiyans.
Expect more of the same if they try again; Russia didn’t formally intervene the first time either.
Moon of Alabama has a very interesting analysis for anyone who might still believe in the myth of a “Russian invasion.”
A ‘Parthogenetic’ Conflict – There Is No Russian Invasion Threat To Ukraine
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/01/a-parthogenetic-conflict-there-is-no-russian-invasion-threat-to-ukraine/
Also read his post yesterday:
A War In Ukraine Is Tactics – Putin Does Strategy
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/01/a-war-in-ukraine-is-tactics-putin-does-strategy.html
The Novorossiyans probably can’t wait to fight, actually.
Kiev has been very annoying.