Posted on 01/14/2022 9:32:07 AM PST by UMCRevMom@aol.com
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia's response to the United States refusing to guarantee NATO's non-expansion could be different, depending on the range of options offered to the Russian president by Russian military pundits.
Censor.NET reports citing росЗМІ.
"I can't add anything to what President Putin said… The response may vary – it depends on the proposals that our Russian military experts put forward to the Russian president. Full stop!" Lavrov said.
He went on to criticize his Western counterparts, "Americans first and foremost, who are reading coffee grounds, and without waiting for developments, immediately grab their sanctions baton."
Multiple diplomatic efforts were taken this week to discuss European security issues and reduce tensions over Ukraine, provoked by Russia.
The first round of U.S.-Russia talks took place in Geneva on Monday. A meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission with the participation of Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna was held in Brussels on the same day. A Russia-NATO Council met in Brussels on January 12.
Read more: Russian mercenaries violate ceasefire twice in JFO area
On the evening of January 12, the situation on security issues in Europe and around Ukraine was discussed by EU defense ministers in an informal meeting in the French city of Brest, while on Thursday the discussion continued with the involvement of EU foreign ministers. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3309975
Multi-level half-month negotiations between Western and Russia on the issue of war in Ukraine, which were held in the background of threatening Russian maneuvers and the sharp energy crisis in Europe have not weakened, but even more united NATO for political and information support of Ukraine.
Russia has proposed an ultimatum, whose essence was in one - so that NATO would leave Ukraine in the sphere of Russian influence. Putin's demands that NATO guarantee Ukraine's non-entry into the alliance and not deploying a number of modern weapons was simply a preliminary, negotiable position. In fact, Russia wanted to knock out at least the slightest concessions to show first of all in Ukraine, President Zelensky and his surrounding with the Russian Federation that they need to stop the resistance in Donbass, otherwise NATO will leave them alone with war Thought. Invasion is a tool of blackmail. Zelensky is afraid of a great war, and Putin is fighting at this vulnerable point.
And in this war, NATO will not observe neutrality. NATO General Secretary said that NATO decided to accept Ukraine into NATO back in 2008 and this course will not change - NATO is ready to accept Ukraine over time.
What does the unified position of NATO allow us to rely on?
1. If Putin dares to attack, our war will become the main topic of the world media, and then the tricks and self-sacrifice of the Ukrainian people will force European public opinion to push on governments and accelerate the political process, and embrace Ukraine NATO is much faster.
2. Ukraine can prepare a new NATO integration program, which will be many times faster than the current plans, and we can use the situation to approve a new, much more ambitious roadmap, and execute it quickly, ka this happened with a successful strategy for obtaining a visa-free regime.
3. Any aggravation on the Donbass front will be perceived by NATO as violations by Russia, and the reaction will be instantaneous. This is how we get our hands together to organize a more effective resistance to the enemy.
4. Ukraine is obliged to use this situation for mass pressure on the governments of NATO countries to increase the volume of military aid and lift restrictions on the supply of weapons, above all Air Force funds, intelligence systems and high-precision weapons live, to purchase military technology and deploy the production of modern artillery and mortem ammunition by NATO standards.
Yuri Butusov censor.net
Ever since the CIA flipped Ukraine from a Russian kleptocracy to a US kleptocracy, Ukraine has been a cancer on the US body politic
No assurances. We owe the Russians nothing. What have they done for us lately?
Germany is the real problem. Keep the German people dispersed in more than one country.
The pro-Russia trolls will be along to mindlessly kvetch at you for your accurate assessment of Tsar Putin’s flaccid threats.
Biden readying sanctions against Putin’s inner circle ahead of this week’s key call
Censor.NET World
Author: Kevin Liptak and Natasha Bertrand, CNN Source: https://censor.net/en/r3303756
US officials are currently weighing a wide set of sanctions on Russia meant to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from launching an invasion into Ukraine, according to people familiar with the discussions.
They include new actions against members of Putin’s inner circle and on Russian energy producers, and one potential “nuclear option” — disconnecting Russia from the SWIFT international payment system used by banks around the world.
The officials said final decisions hadn’t been made on whether and when to apply the new sanctions, and said the Biden administration is currently in talks with European partners — many of whom have closer economic relationships to Russia — in the hopes of coordinating action.
A senior administration official said Monday the US was prepared to take “substantive economic countermeasures” meant to inflict “significant and severe economic harm on the Russian economy” should Putin go ahead with a military escalation in Ukraine.
“We believe that there is way forward here that will allow us to send a clear message to Russia there will be genuine and meaningful and enduring costs to choosing to go forward — should they choose to go forward — with a military escalation,” the official said, briefing reporters ahead of Biden’s planning video call with Putin on Tuesday.
The official declined to specify what economic sanctions were under consideration, but said the US had engaged in “intensive discussions with our European partners about what we would do collectively in the event of a major Russian military escalation.”
People familiar with the discussions said new economic sanctions could target a variety of sectors, including energy producers and Russian banks. The new sanctions could also go after Russia’s sovereign debt.
They are also likely to go after top Russian oligarchs, limiting their ability to travel and potentially cutting off access to American banking and credit card systems.
Officials have also been weighing disconnecting Russia from the SWIFT international payment system, upon which Russia remains heavily reliant, according to two sources familiar with the discussions. This is being considered a “nuclear” option. The European Parliament passed a nonbinding resolution in the spring calling for such a move should Russia invade Ukraine, and the US has been discussing it with EU counterparts.
There is also serious discussion underway about denying Russian energy producers from debt markets in case of an invasion, per a senior administration official.
“We have put together a pretty damn aggressive package,” the official said, and have warned Russia that if it invades Ukraine the US and Europe together will impose the worst economic sanctions that have ever been imposed on a country, outside of Iran and North Korea.
But there are concerns that Russia may be retaliate against any move by the US or its allies, including weaponizing its energy production.
“The fear is Russia then tries to retaliate by holding back production,” a senior US official told CNN.
President Joe Biden referred to the possible actions on Friday, telling reporters he was “putting together what I believe to be the most comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to make it very, very difficult for Mr. Putin to go ahead and do what people are worried he may do.” And Secretary of State Antony Blinken has referred to “high impact economic measures” under consideration to punish Russia. Biden and Putin are set to hold a video call on Tuesday.
The Kremlin on Monday described reports about potential sanctions as “information hysteria,” Russian state news agency Tass reported.
“This is not news, but rather a continued information hysteria that we observe in the media these days,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Tass.
New US intelligence findings estimate Russia could begin a military offensive in Ukraine in a matter of months as it amasses up to 175,000 troops along the border, a startling escalation that Biden has warned could lead to severe consequences.
Speaking last week, Putin signaled he would call for specific agreements that would rule out any further NATO expansion eastward and deployment of its weaponry close to Russia’s borders. Should Putin tell Biden on Tuesday that NATO must not admit Ukraine as a member — as he is expected to do during the two men’s secure video conference — Biden is not likely to accede to the demand.
“We don’t think talk of red-lines is helpful, and as the President has said, we’re not going to operate according to that logic of accepting anyone’s redlines,” a senior administration official said a day ahead of the call.
The latest developments come after months of steady increases along the Russia-Ukraine frontier that have alarmed US and Western officials and led to tense conversations between American diplomats and their counterparts.
CNN reported Friday that Russian forces have capabilities in place along the Ukraine border to carry out a swift and immediate invasion, including erecting supply lines such as medical units and fuel that could sustain a drawn-out conflict, should Moscow choose to invade.
Officials said the current levels of equipment stationed in the area could supply front-line forces for seven to 10 days and other support units for as long as a month.
Source: https://censor.net/en/r3303756
Thank you
I see that the Pentagon’s assets are here to spur involvement in the Ukraine again. Either the Pentagon or they are posting from Langley.
Cyberattack on Ukraine’s government websites came from Russia - experts
Source: https://censor.net/en/n3310033
A massive cyberattack on Ukraine’s government websites was carried out from Russian territory, according to a study conducted by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security.
As reported by Censor.NET.
“On the night of January 13-14, a cyberattack hit a number of government websites - the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Emergency Service, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Sports, the Ministry of Energy, and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy. Contrary to the allegations of the attackers, no data, including personal data, was leaked. The Diia app runs smoothly, all registers are securely protected. A number of government websites have been suspended as a precaution,” the statement said.
It says that according to the study, the first data suggest that the attack was carried out from Russian territory. This is not the first time that Ukrainian websites have been exposed to attacks since the beginning of Russia’s military aggression, and some cyberattacks have been so widespread that they have become part of the world’s textbooks for cyber specialists. The purpose of such attacks is to destabilize the internal situation in the country and to sow chaos and despair in society.
Read more: Ukrainians’ data safe - Minister Fedorov in connection with hacker attack
“There has been no massive attack on government agencies for a long time. We assume that the current one is related to Russia’s recent defeat in the talks on Ukraine’s future cooperation with NATO. Moscow has recently resumed military exercises near Ukraine’s borders. Cyberattacks on Ukraine’s government agencies may also be part of this psychological attack on Ukrainians,” the ministry said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3310033
Anyone remember Alec Guinness in the beginning of “Dr. Zhivago?”
He was joining the young Bolsheviks in the parade just like the young southerners in “Gone With The Wind” going to war. The Guinness character blamed the ELITES in Germany and Russia for the deaths of his family members who were peasants.
Are our ‘elites’ putting us in the same position? Helping Putin gains us nothing and naysayers like the Pat Buchanans out there pay no price for his opinions vs. the neocons. Biden is no Reagan and the American voter is too easily led on issues like Russian collusion.
My friends I’m afraid we’re in the same position as the Guinness family members. The southern boys(neocons in the flick) will be harder to control under Biden and Putin has 3 years to toy with us-we’re screwed.
I have a few questions that the Western media never talks about:
1. Is the Russian military capable of quickly seizing the entire Ukraine? Presumably, against even light opposition and bypassing the big cities, it would take at least a week to move from the north (from Belarus or Russia) to the Black Sea. This would require being able to push forward logistical support, especially refueling for vehicles, as they go.
2. If Russia attacks, would it stay east of the Dneiper, leaving the western two-thirds of the country intact to cause and sustain future insurgency, NATO support or other difficulties? Or is invasion logically more of an all-or- nothing proposition, with little benefit to Russia and greater risk in seizing only a portion of the country?
3. If an invasion were to appear imminent, what
percentage of Ukraine’s population would hit the road and head west towards neighboring countries?
4. In the face of Russia’s threats (and a degree of political disunity, as with Hungary), is it realistic to expect that all of NATO’s current member states would support the admission of Ukraine as a member?
Report: Obama authorized a secret cyber operation against Russia (2017)
"Yahoo News reports that the CIA is running a secret program since 2014, started under Obama which has been continued by Trump and Biden that trains Ukrainian militias and Special Forces “to kill Russians”"
It worked for President Trump, it'll work for President Putin. Never take anything off of the table. Never telegraph your punch.
Seize all of the Russian Oligarch’s overseas assets and Putin will back down.
*** The pro-Russia trolls will be along to mindlessly kvetch at you for your accurate assessment of Tsar Putin’s flaccid threats. ***
I have followed Sergey Lavrov for years. He is a straight shooter, a true diplomat, and a Russian National Treasure.
He is not a “Politician”. He is viewed by those who have followed his career as a Civil Servant.
He probably has a more accurate insight into America than most Americans. He sought to retire some years ago, but was convinced to stay.
His opinions on Antony Blinken are dead on, and his gift for expressing them in an often amusing manner incomparable.
I often wish we had even one person in government like Lavrov or Maria Zakharova.
“But there are concerns that Russia may be retaliate against any move by the US or its allies, including weaponizing its energy production.
“The fear is Russia then tries to retaliate by holding back production,” a senior US official told CNN.”
How shocking! You mean they might not sell gas to the same EU hat is coming after them? Amazing. Who could have ever seen that coming.
In fact, I could buy the idea that Putin is the good guy here fighting against the Great Reset and against western corruption to preserve his nation.
I'm puttin Putin in the same bucket of world leaders that don't adhere to the use of petrodollar fiat currency: Qaddafi, Saddam, Assad and now Putin.
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