Rational nations know who is the biggest threat to world peace. Estonia declares Russia a terrorist state, 'biggest danger to world peace' Russian President Vladimir Putin's threats of nuclear attacks "have turned Russia into the biggest danger to peace both in Europe and the world," the Estonian parliament declared. https://www.jpost.com/international/article-719997
Great idea! And get Russia to pay for it. Finland’s main parties back plans to build Russia border fence Structure would protect areas identified as posing potential risk of large-scale migration from Russia https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...-parties-back-plans-build-russia-border-fence
Whoa. Nasty. German cybersecurity chief out amid reports of Russia ties BERLIN — The head of Germany’s national cybersecurity agency has been dismissed following reports of possible ties to Russian intelligence, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday. The ministry said that Interior Minister Nancy Faeser dismissed Arne Schoenbohm as head of the BSI agency following the allegations, which “damaged the necessary confidence of the public in the neutrality and impartiality” of his management, German news agency dpa reported. Schoenbohm co-founded a cybersecurity group a decade ago that brings together experts from public institutions and the private sector. German media have reported that one of its members was a company founded by a former Russian intelligence agent, which the group said last week that it had thrown out. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/18/germany-cybersecurity-russia-ties-00062392
Ukrainians poking the bear and stirring the pot a little. Trying to foment unrest back in Chechnya - not sayin' that's a bad thing. Ukraine lawmakers brand Chechnya ‘Russian-occupied’ in dig at Kremlin KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s parliament voted on Tuesday to declare the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria “temporarily Russian-occupied” land in a resolution certain to anger Moscow, which takes a zero-tolerance line on any talk of separatism inside its borders. Ichkeria is the historical name of Russia’s southern region of Chechnya that was devastated by two bloody wars between Russian troops and Chechen separatists after the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union. The Muslim-majority region is now headed by Ramzan Kadyrov, a former warlord who emerged out of the devastation and, backed by the Kremlin and huge financial support for Chechnya, now describes himself as a footsoldier of President Vladimir Putin. Kadyrov has emerged as one of Russia’s most outspoken hawks during its eight-month war in Ukraine, which has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and destroyed towns and cities. A majority of Ukrainian lawmakers voted on Tuesday to back a resolution that “recognises the Chechen republic of Ichkeria as territory temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation as a result of armed aggression which contravened the UN’s Statute”. Ukraine uses the same language – “temporarily occupied” – to describe swathes of Ukrainian territory that were seized by Russian forces in 2014 and following this year’s invasion. The lawmakers’ resolution condemned what it said were war crimes committed by Russia in the two Chechen wars following the Soviet breakup, as well as what it said were other historic crimes committed in the 19th and 20th centuries. https://wtvbam.com/2022/10/18/ukraine-lawmakers-brand-chechnya-russian-occupied-in-dig-at-kremlin/
https://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/how-the-west-brought-war-to-ukraine/ How the West Brought War to Ukraine Benjamin Abelow Siland Press (88pp) 978-0-9910767-0-3 Clarion Rating: 4 out of 5 How the West Brought War to Ukraine is a succinct, accessible introduction to an often overlooked aspect of the 2022 war in Ukraine. In How the West Brought War to Ukraine, Benjamin Abelow explores what he believes to be an overlooked cause behind Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. When Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February of 2022, Western media outlets focused almost exclusively on Russia’s aggression while overlooking the role that NATO—and the US in particular—played in sparking the conflict. Abelow highlights the ways in which Western nations have provoked Russia over the past thirty years, helping to create an atmosphere of suspicion and justified wariness. He also relates how their current actions could further destabilize the region and even increase the threat of nuclear war. The book begins with a brief historical overview recounting how many times the US has withdrawn from or reneged on agreements made with the Russian government since the end of the Cold War in 1990. These incidents, as Abelow sees it, fostered distrust between the two nations, rendering Western reassurances of their peaceful intentions unreliable in Russian eyes. The book then explains how modern provocations and the misrepresentation thereof could have further fanned the flames of conflict. It concludes by considering how the situation today might be different had the US reconsidered its vehement anti-Russian stance and worked harder to welcome Russia into the global community. Citing respected scholars and political experts, Abelow builds a solid argument that the US, Europe, and NATO are complicit in the current violence affecting Ukraine. For example, by staging war games very close to the Russian border, they gave the Russian government reason to fear NATO’s expansion and encroachment into their territory. If Russia had behaved as the US has, he argues, the US would have taken action long before now. Abelow acknowledges that this is all speculation, as it is impossible to know the mind and true motivations of Russian president Vladimir Putin. His conclusions are nonetheless based on facts and well-informed analyses, which he explicates in a straightforward way. The book maintains a tight focus on the West’s many missteps, leaving no room to consider Russia’s provocations; the goals of Ukraine and Ukrainians; the broader history of Russian aggression against Ukraine, which gives Ukraine ample reason to distrust Russian promises of compromise or peace; or how the book’s suggestion of negotiating for peace could reasonably be accomplished, given Putin’s erratic behavior and the failure of past negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. It therefore should be read in conjunction with other texts to create a more complete picture of what has happened in Ukraine, why, and what remedies may still be available. How the West Brought War to Ukraine is a succinct, accessible introduction to an often overlooked aspect of the 2022 war in Ukraine. Reviewed by Eileen Gonzalez September 8, 2022