Posted on 09/20/2022 9:45:32 AM PDT by marcusmaximus
Vladimir Putin appeared poised to go all-in on his war in Ukraine today, sparking fears of an escalation in fighting that could drag in NATO and spark World War Three.
In a day of rapid-fire developments, Kremlin stooges in Ukraine's Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions simultaneously announced referendums on becoming part of Russia between September 23 and 27, with the sham votes expected to easily pass.
Dmitry Medvedev, a staunch Putin ally, then vowed 'all forces of self-defence' will be used to protect what he called 'Russian territory' - teeing up a new phase in the conflict involving weapons and tactics the Kremlin has so-far held in reserve.
Underlining that point, Moscow's rubber-stamp parliament passed new laws paving the war for Putin to end his 'special military operation' and officially declare a war, allowing him to mobilise Russia's massive population into the army.
It comes after Ukraine humiliatingly routed Putin's forces to the east of Kharkiv and recaptured a swathe of territory, with the despot's allies, propagandists and political hardliners calling for an escalation amid calls for the president to resign.
Putin was said to be preparing an address to the nation tonight, Russia's national broadcaster reported, without giving any further details.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
From the former American Ambassador to the Soviet Union, Jack Matlock:
"When I hear comments now such as, “Russia has no right to claim a ‘sphere of influence,’” I am puzzled. It is not a question of legal “rights” but of probable consequences. It is as if someone announces, “We never passed a law of gravity so we can ignore it.” No one is saying that Ukraine does not have a “right” to apply for NATO membership. Of course it does. The question is whether the members of the alliance would serve their own interest if they agreed. In fact they would assume a very dangerous liability."
"I point this out as a veteran of the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. At that time I was assigned to the American embassy in Moscow and it fell to my lot to translate some of Khrushchev’s messages to President John Kennedy. Why is it relevant? Just this: in terms of international law, the Soviet Union had a “right” to place nuclear weapons on Cuba when the Cuban government requested them, the more so since the United States had deployed nuclear missiles of comparable range that could strike the USSR from Turkey. But it was an exceedingly dangerous move since the United States had total military dominance of the Caribbean and under no circumstances would tolerate the deployment of nuclear missiles in its backyard. Fortunately for both countries and the rest of the world, Kennedy and Khrushchev were able to defuse the situation. Only later did we learn how close we came to a nuclear exchange."
For those cheering the Ukrainian counteroffensive, the chances of an escalation have increased significantly. Will a massive Russian response trigger direct confrontation with NATO forces? We are headed into dangerous waters. How much confidence do we have in the Biden regime's national security team. i.e., Biden, Harris, Blinken, Sullivan, Austin, Milley, and Nuland, to make the right decisions? This is the same bunch of morons that planned and oversaw the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Nailed it!
>>How about just remembering the Democrats going nuts when Russia put missiles in Cuba? History is a better teacher than speculation.<<
Kudos.
The keywords for this post are utterly cancerous.
No, if I want to plan an armored attack... and defeat an enemy, Patton is the guy. If I want life advice, or foreign policy advice... not so much.
LOL. I asked a common sense question and that you are unable to articulate a credible answer here speaks volumes. Russia is morally bankrupt. Now its corrupt and incompetent army is being smashed to pieces by NATO weaponry.
Tanks to technology tanks are nearly obsolete. I sure in hell wouldn’t want to be in one against a capable opponent.
A core pillar of Putinism is that all violence is the fault of anyone who opposes it. Those that justify Russian mass murder in Ukraine now will all happily cheer if Russia was to nuke them. Putinism’s roots and rhetoric are very Stalinist. No surprise give the Kremlin dictator of now 20+ years is KGB born and bred.
Once they are annexed, Russia territory may be defended by a declaration of war - and then Putin sends in the actual Russian Army, rather than the conscripted forces in the Special Operation.
So that T-90M tank captured by Ukraine this week was driven by conscripts? Interesting. Actually, you’ve got it backwards. Conscripts are not supposed to fight in Ukraine. It’s the regular Russian contract soldiers being minced by NATO weapons in Ukraine for now six months.
Just a friendly suggestion but you want to do your homework before war gaming this one out.
LOL. Those missile systems would not last 24 hours against US or NATO anti-radiation missiles.
LOL. The Serbs have gotten real quiet since Russia made a large Lend Lease donation in Kharkiv to the Ukrainian army. With 20,000 Russian troops trapped in Kherson without supply lines they can see the handwriting on the wall here.
Btw, I was going to add a key word, but I think it’s all been covered.
Hitler said “Starting a war is like going into a dark room,” you never know what you will run into. Yes, Russia could lose and yes, NATO could lose, even America could lose. What happens if Russia is joined by China? and Iran? Or North Korea. It is too awful to contemplate. I do not see the civilization killing Nuke exchange—more like small Nukes But I wouldn’t want to be in Kiev right now. War will change all—overnight. NOT GOOD! Double-ungood. We may not need to worry about homeless people anymore. All our little problems will vanish as we try to survive.
So many keywords but somehow I was left out this time.
Thank you.
I’ve been saying the same thing since this started. My example is, what if the Chinese suddenly started putting troops and bases in Manitoba? Just a few miles from our Bakken oil fields? With Canada becoming more totalitarian every day, it’s actually not that far-fetched. The U.S. would not stand by and do nothing, any more than we did when we found out the Russians were putting missiles in Cuba.
You must have missed it, it’s there.
Exactly. We have a raving idiot at the helm. The future doesn’t look bright to me.
That’s funny!! Keep dreaming.
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