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U.S. Warms to Helping Ukraine Target Crimea
The New York Times ^ | January 18, 2023 | Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt and Julian E. Barnes

Posted on 01/19/2023 7:31:31 AM PST by Timber Rattler

For years, the United States has insisted that Crimea is still part of Ukraine. Yet the Biden administration has held to a hard line since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, refusing to provide Kyiv with the weapons it needs to target the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia has been using as a base for launching devastating strikes.

Now that line is starting to soften.

After months of discussions with Ukrainian officials, the Biden administration is finally starting to concede that Kyiv may need the power to strike the Russian sanctuary, even if such a move increases the risk of escalation, according to several U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive debate. Crimea, between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, is home to tens of thousands of dug-in Russian troops and numerous Russian military bases.

White House officials insist there is no change in position. Crimea, they say, belongs to Ukraine.

“We have said throughout the war that Crimea is Ukraine, and Ukraine has the right to defend themselves and their sovereign territory in their internationally recognized borders,” said Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Russia
KEYWORDS: 00000timberisatroll; 0000spamspamspamspam; 000spamspamspam; 00spamspam; 0fireaway; 0kerchbridge; 0sevastopol; 0spam; 0targetrich; agentprovocateur; anotherdumbidea; blueandyellowpompoms; commanderinchiefjoe; deepstatemindcontrol; ericschmitt; europe; everydaypropaganda; helenecooper; helpmestopspamming; imapaidglowie; joewantsaworldwar; julianebarnes; liberalworldorder; msmcianews; nato; neocons4biden; snekbot; ukraine; ukraineslushfund; waitfortheblowback; war; zelenskyworshippers
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To: Kazan
The people of Crimea, you low IQ baboon, don't want to go back to being part of Ukraine. They never did want to be part of it after the fall of the Soviet Union.

The votes in 1991 for independence in Donbas and Crimea were:

The idea that these are provinces with majority Russian populations yearning to be reunited with Mother Russia is pure myth and Russian propaganda.
41 posted on 01/19/2023 9:21:47 AM PST by Petrosius
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To: Petrosius

You guys realize these are the same arguments used by Hitler to take the Sudetenland, right? I am no calling Putin Hitler. But the parallels of their actions are chilling.


42 posted on 01/19/2023 9:28:15 AM PST by Vermont Lt
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To: Timber Rattler
https://sonar21.com/facts-on-the-ground-in-ukraine-force-shift-in-media-narrative/

The West is in desperation mode. They are throwing feces against the wall and hoping something sticks. Completely bereft of strategy. The decision to try to send U.K. and German tanks to Ukraine is the most recent indicator that London, Berlin and Washington are hitting the panic button.

ussian military forces, with the Wagner Group leading the charge, has breached the Bakhmut, Soledar, Siversk line of defense. While Ukrainian troops continue to occupy Bakhmut and Siversk, the Russians are grinding on and appear to have effected a tactical encirclement of Bakhmut. Taking Bakhmut and clearing settlements to the south of Ukrainian forces is a critical step in forging genuine security for Donetsk. When Bakhmut falls expect an uptick in the wailing and gnashing of teeth in London and Washington. They will be tempted to launch more desperate gambits.

43 posted on 01/19/2023 9:35:47 AM PST by Kazan
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To: Vermont Lt

I should clarify that the votes I gave were for independence from Russia in a unified Ukraine.


44 posted on 01/19/2023 9:38:28 AM PST by Petrosius
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To: Petrosius

Yeah…that makes a difference. Ha ha.


45 posted on 01/19/2023 9:40:49 AM PST by Vermont Lt
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To: Kazan; Allegra
you low IQ baboon

You are sick motherfreeper.

Yeah, I seem to remember somebody complaining about the name calling and nastiness on the Urkaine War threads, accusing us of this behavior.

I wonder who that was...

46 posted on 01/19/2023 9:41:56 AM PST by Timber Rattler ("To hold a pen is to be at war." --Voltaire)
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To: Timber Rattler
This is insane on many fronts. First, we are now depleting our own reserves of critical munitions and sending billions of dollars we don’t have to Ukraine while our own economy is a total wreck. Second, we are most certainly risking global war as we idiotically allow our country to slide deeper and deeper into this regional conflict. Third, defending Ukraine is our responsibility why? Fourth, Ukraine is one of the most corrupt countries on the planet, and most of the financial assistance we are sending is being diverted to oligarchs while many of the weapons are magically appearing for sale on the black market. Fifth, defending Ukraine is our responsibility why?

While I understand that for conservatives, like me, who grew up during the Cold War era, it is tempting to want to see Russia get slapped around militarily this is not the Cold War era and today’s Russia is not the Soviet Union. Putin is definitely a corrupt tyrant, and his invasion of Ukraine has definitely been inexcusably brutal, but there is a certain logic behind it.

While his personal desire to see Russia reclaim what he sees as its former glory has been long-reported, I don’t believe that is the primary reason he has embarked upon this course. What is driving this is the west’s cavalier response to his warnings that Russia would not allow Ukraine to become a NATO member. But it’s much deeper than that. He also has watched as Europe and the U.S. have fallen deeper under the spell of the globalists, and as we have allowed our cultures to succumb to the corruption of vile “woke” ideology. Putin has openly fought to keep this cultural rot from gaining a foothold in Russia, and has clearly been trying to promote traditional families and religious faith (though I am a bit skeptical of his sincerity on faith) among the Russian population. In short, Putin is fiercely determined to keep western “woke” anti-family ideology out of his country at all costs. He is also determined to defend Russia’s sovereignty against the tide of tyrannical globalism.

And it is those last two items that explain why leftist “progressives” have recently become so curiously anti-Russia, when historically they have SUPPORTED Russia, especially during the height of the Soviet Union. They see today’s Russia standing for national sovereignty and against LGBTQ blah, blah, blah cultural degeneracy and they simply can’t allow that. It’s exactly the same reason they hate American conservatives. Their sinful anything goes political agenda takes precedence over everything else, even their former allegiance to Russian communism.

So if you’re a confused conservative who has been seduced by the beating war drums, take a step back for a moment and look at who you’ve jumped into bed with. If you’re frothing at the mouth to beat Russia over the head by backing Ukraine you’ve just allied yourself with the radical left and the globalist Eurotrash. Also, realize who the biggest enemy is here, and it is most definitely NOT Russia. Globalism is a FAR more dangerous enemy, and it is the globalist tyrants who benefit from crushing Russia’s sovereignty and corrupting its population, if they are able. Regardless of his previous sins, Putin, rightly in my opinion, sees this fight as a fight for Russia’s very existence against the rapidly growing globalist evil. If we continue down the road of supporting Ukraine we will be indirectly supporting the globalists, and will therefore be on the wrong side in this conflict.

Yes, it is terrible what Putin is doing to the Ukrainian people, but Europe and the U.S. created this situation by emboldening Ukraine with false (and foolish) hopes of joining NATO, rather than leaving them as a buffer between Russia and the west, as Putin demanded. Arming Ukraine so that they can prolong a conflict they can never win is only making things much worse, and far more dangerous for the rest of the world. And for what?…to promote the agenda of the “woke” globalists by weakening Russia? The only winners in that scenario are the globalists and China, which is sitting quietly on the sidelines waiting to pounce on the rubble that remains afterward.

So if you’ve simple-mindedly allowed yourself to be emotionally manipulated into backing this lunacy, take a deep breath and think it through.

47 posted on 01/19/2023 9:42:16 AM PST by noiseman (The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.)
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To: Timber Rattler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyBrd4sbASU&t=5s

Update on the conflict in Ukraine for January 18, 2023.

- Bakhmut faces encirclement by Russian forces;

- The Netherlands is considering sending Patriot missile systems after West blames Russia for residential building strike;

- Ukrainian presidential adviser Arestovich has resigned after suggesting the building was hit because of a failed Ukrainian interception of a Russian cruise missile;

- The building strike appears to be serving as a pretext for a planned escalation by the US and its allies;

- Ukraine also lost its interior minister to a helicopter crash;

- The Western media admits current aid to Ukraine is not sufficient, although suggested increases will unlikely turn the tide;

- The US and its allies are preparing for their monthly meeting discussing expanded military aid to Ukraine on January 20, 2023;

48 posted on 01/19/2023 9:42:38 AM PST by Kazan
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To: Timber Rattler

Yep, I’m the one who said most of you Ukrainiacs are nasty. I stand by that comment.

If someone else was insulting you, you probably earned it. By being nasty.

Like you’re being with the post that generated this reply, whining to me about what someone else called you when I had nothing to do with it and wasn’t even participating in the conversation.

Don’t think you can just be nasty and expect us to roll over and take it. We won’t. Don’t come crying to me if you’re rude to another FReeper and get it back tenfold. It doesn’t take any talent to be nasty. You Ukrainiacs are a scourge on this site.


49 posted on 01/19/2023 9:50:15 AM PST by Allegra
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To: shadowlands1960

Re #6. I’m not talking about manpower, I’m talking about legit military targets. The sooner Sevastopol is eliminated, Crimea will be evacuated. It’s a matter of strategic positioning.


50 posted on 01/19/2023 10:00:55 AM PST by DownInFlames (P)
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To: Kazan

Re #25, JFK and Khrushchev have me beat on that one. The marines were loaded for bear to invade Cuba when the USSR Premier blinked.


51 posted on 01/19/2023 10:04:47 AM PST by DownInFlames (P)
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Comment #52 Removed by Moderator

To: canuck_conservative

53 posted on 01/19/2023 10:06:36 AM PST by ganeemead (Ukraine/Zelensky: Adding an element of chutzpah to ordinary Nazism...)
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To: DownInFlames

It’s a matter of insanity. Russia will never leave Crimea.


54 posted on 01/19/2023 10:08:02 AM PST by shadowlands1960 (We live in a world of intolerance masked as tolerance. RUSH LIMBAUGH)
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To: canuck_conservative

Of course there is a response.


55 posted on 01/19/2023 10:09:39 AM PST by aMorePerfectUnion (Fraud vitiates everything. )
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To: bert

bert, you sound vaxxed and boosted.


56 posted on 01/19/2023 10:10:22 AM PST by aMorePerfectUnion (Fraud vitiates everything. )
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To: Allegra
If someone else was insulting you, you probably earned it. By being nasty.

Ah, the good ol' double standard is in play.

Thanks for confirming.

57 posted on 01/19/2023 10:12:04 AM PST by Timber Rattler ("To hold a pen is to be at war." --Voltaire)
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To: aMorePerfectUnion
bert, you sound vaxxed and boosted.

LMAO 😂😂🤣🤣

58 posted on 01/19/2023 10:14:14 AM PST by Allegra
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To: Timber Rattler

Yeah, whatever. You don’t have a valid point; you’re just trolling.

Buzz off.


59 posted on 01/19/2023 10:15:13 AM PST by Allegra
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To: shadowlands1960
Russia will never leave Crimea

then Russia will have years of war & sanctions

know how some people keep making bad choices? Russia is the "nation version" of that


60 posted on 01/19/2023 10:15:42 AM PST by canuck_conservative
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