The What? Is The Dot - The Why? Is The Picture - https://banned.video/watch?id=61f39485748136225b983ec1
The "I told you so" award goes to this guy. Would have been a great idea to keep some of the plutonium cores... Possibly start a conspiracy theory that one of the 1300 Ukrainian warheads was lost, maybe number 667, "the neighbour of the beast" was rebuilt and could be in Moscow on a dead man's switch.. Hey, @Van_der_Voort_4, instead of just living in other people's conspiracy theories all the time, want to bring one to life?
I am Ukrainian, bachelor or political science (ma in philosophy), fund manager, so I have smth to say about it: 1. we are fighting with people from east our entire civilized history) since 13 century when we already had libraries and literature, we also had Golden Horde on our borders, we are experiencing some aggression from out there. We had around 10 wars with people living on the territory of modern "russian" federation, so it's nothing new for us. People living there, in general, do not like to live there, so they try to come to our lands for the last 1000 years) they do not like themselves or what they do, that's why they always try to steal something nice, for example, they took the old name of our lands - Russ, and now say that it was theirs, the same with "soviet (fiat) cars", "kalashnikov-shmaiser" etc.. 2. Today, our army and people are ready to continue the war. But we are ready for the last 5 years. All of my civilian friends have weapons, have saved resources, medical kits etc.. It's not new for us that rf wants to invade. Putin and his friends are afraid that we will live much better than russians (we already do, without oil), because then the questions in rf will be asked) 3. I do not like, what is happening in the world media. Because it's hurting our economy now. Some foreign investments are withdrawn because of fear of war, we pay price for making our currency stable, and this will not help us to grow to a good modern economy. We need investments, we have talents in our country, but without investments, it's impossible to keep pace. 4. I think Biden really tries to talk about a possible war, to talk less, about failed afgan campaign, bad monetary situation, etc.. to save his rating. And Putin likes to talk about this, so people in rf will think more about nato and less about why they are poor and don't have basic freedoms. Actually, everyone in politics uses this to govern the discourse out from toxic topics for them, even Boris J. whom I somehow like for his humor and NLAWs). And I hate it every time Biden and Putin talk about Ukraine without Ukraine. That's not just. And what is not just is a crime. 5. I was not voting for our President Zelensky, I hated the idea to have a post comic president in the war times. But even he, he is talking the true direct frank thoughts, and that is not common in modern politics: rf is aggressor and putin is a bloody dictator, western politics know this, but they do not care or are afraid, they provide double standards and do not keep their own words. And we in Ukraine, being in a war, have the right to say it out loud now. That's the privilege, not every country can have. Sorry for the longread.
Top US general says Russia has enough troops and weapons in place to invade Ukraine with 'very little warning' https://www.businessinsider.com/mil...uld-invade-ukraine-with-little-warning-2022-1 Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops at the Ukrainian border, according to the Pentagon. Gen. Mark Milley said the Russian military buildup is the largest in recent memory, probably since the Cold War. He said that Russia has enough troops in position to invade Ukraine with "little warning." (More at above url)
And does Failed General Milley have the same agreement with Putin that he had with the Taliban- ie, that he will notify the Russians before attacking or doing anything that will displease them?
Not only this but also we have assessed that Russia has amassed enough of a force to take the entire country.
https://www.military.com/daily-news...ocial&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1643466345-1 Worth the read: WASHINGTON (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be preparing to launch an invasion of Ukraine, with more than 100,000 troops positioned around the country. Certainly, the U.S. believes that's the case and President Joe Biden has warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that an attack could come in February. But Russia denies it's preparing to invade and Putin's intentions remain a mystery. Russia, which is seeking a pledge that NATO won't expand to include Ukraine, has options it could pursue short of a full-blown invasion, and other ways to lash out at the U.S. and its allies. All of them carry varying degrees of risk, to Russia and the world. A look at some of them: SOMETHING SHORT OF A FULL-SCALE INVASION In 2014, Russia seized the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. That year it also started arming rebels in the eastern region known as the Donbas, starting a low-boiling conflict that has killed more than 14,000 people. Many Russia watchers speculate that the recent buildup of Russian troops and naval forces is the next chapter in a larger effort to chip away at Ukraine, perhaps taking advantage as the U.S. and its allies in Europe are distracted by COVID-19 and other issues. Possible scenarios include providing additional support to the Russia-backed rebels or launching a limited invasion, just enough to destabilize Zelenskyy and usher in a pro-Kremlin leader. Stopping short of a full-scale invasion would give Russia more time to get more forces in place and test the commitment of the U.S. and its allies to the punishing sanctions promised by Biden, says retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe. “He’s going to continue doing what he’s doing right now, continuing to apply maximum pressure on Ukraine and to try to destabilize the government to alarm people,” Hodges said. “There’s a lot of capability in place to do more, should the opportunity present itself.” That might still end up triggering sanctions that could damage the Russian economy and hurt Putin at home. There’s also the risk that a limited action isn’t enough to achieve the Russian president’s goal of undermining European security by rolling back, or at least halting, NATO expansion, says Dmitry Gorenburg, an analyst with CNA, a research organization in Arlington, Virginia. “I don’t think it gets him what he wants,” he said. “It didn’t get them that before. So why now?” ECONOMIC WARFARE Russia is a major player in global energy, the third-largest oil producer after the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, and the source of about 40% of the natural gas used in Europe. It is also a major exporter of wheat, particularly to developing nations. Any move to cut the flow of energy could be painful to Europe in winter with gas and oil prices already high. Similarly, rising food prices are a problem around the world. Putin has some economic leverage, but there's no indication he would use it and it could end up hurting Russia in the long run, says Edward Fishman, a former State Department official who is now a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. Any move by Russia to cut off gas shipments would push European nations to find alternative sources for the future. “It’s a weapon you can only use once,” he said. “You do that once and you lose that leverage forever.” The Biden administration is already working with Qatar and other suppliers to replace Russian gas if needed. CYBERATTACKS There's no doubt Russia has the capability to conduct significant cyberattacks in Ukraine and around the world, and would almost certainly do so again as part of any operation against its neighbor. The Department of Homeland Security warned law enforcement agencies on Jan. 23 that Russia would consider initiating a cyberattack on the U.S., including possible actions against critical infrastructure, if it perceived the response to an invasion of Ukraine "threatened its long-term national security.” Russia is the suspected culprit in a 2015 hack against the Ukraine power grid. Hackers this month temporarily shut down government websites in Ukraine, underscoring how cybersecurity remains a pivotal concern in the standoff with Russia. “Whatever the size and scale and nature of their ground and air attacks, cyber will be a big part of anything they do,” warns Hodges. The risk to the world is that hostile activity against Ukraine could spread, as the cyberattack known as notPetya did to devastating effect in 2017. The downside to Russia is the U.S. and other nations have the power to retaliate, as Biden warned Putin in June. "He knows there are consequences,” Biden said. THE CHINA FACTOR China isn’t a direct player in the standoff over Ukraine, but it plays a role. Observers have warned that Moscow could respond to Washington’s rejection of its security demands by bolstering military ties with China. Russia and China have held a series of joint war games, including naval drills and patrols by long-range bombers over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. U.S. officials have said they don’t think Russia would launch an invasion as President Xi Jinping presides over the opening of the Winter Olympics in Beijing. “The Chinese are not going to be pleased if their Olympics are disrupted by war,” Gorenburg said. Putin plans to travel to Beijing to attend the opening of the games, as U.S. and European leaders sit it out to protest human rights abuses. One theory among Russia watchers is that China is intently following the U.S. and European response over Ukraine to gauge what might happen if it were to move against Taiwan. Hodges sees that as a risk. “If we, with our combined diplomatic and economic power plus military power, cannot stop the president of the Russian Federation from doing something that is so obviously illegal and wrong and aggressive then I don’t think President Xi is going to be too impressed with anything that we say about Taiwan or the South China Sea.” A RUSSIAN BUILDUP IN LATIN AMERICA Senior Russian officials have warned that Moscow could deploy troops or military assets to Cuba and Venezuela. The threats are vague, though Russia does have close ties to both countries as well as Nicaragua. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan dismissed the idea, and experts in the region and around the world view it as a strategy that probably wouldn't accomplish much, other than to divert Russian forces needed elsewhere, and thus is unlikely to happen. A more likely scenario is that Russia steps up its already extensive propaganda and misinformation efforts to sharpen divisions in Latin America and elsewhere, including the United States. A DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION It's not a foregone conclusion that the standoff ends in an invasion. While the Biden administration said it would not concede to Russia’s security demands, there still seems to be some room for diplomacy. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that the U.S. response “gives hope for the start of a serious conversation on secondary questions.” France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia have agreed to sit down for talks in two weeks, an effort aimed at reviving a 2015 agreement to ease the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Some fear this complicates efforts by the U.S. and NATO to show a united front against Russia. A stand-down may be good for the world but could come at a cost for Putin, Russian journalist Yulia Latynina warned in a New York Times essay on Friday. She said the Russian president may have used his troop buildup as a bluff, hoping to compel the U.S. and Europe to relinquish any intention of closer ties to Ukraine. “Instead of trapping the United States, Mr. Putin has trapped himself,” she wrote. “Caught between armed conflict and a humiliating retreat, he is now seeing his room for maneuver dwindling to nothing.”