Posted on 04/12/2014 4:02:25 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
As of this weekend, the Ukrainian government seems to have finally lost control of wide areas in the east of the country. On Friday, its ultimatum to separatists who had taken over government buildings in eastern cities expired, but it launched no operation to dislodge the gunmen.
On Saturday, buildings in more towns were taken by force. The organization and coordination leave little doubt that these people are inspired and directed by Moscow, similar to the situation in late February in Crimea before the Russian invasion and annexation of the peninsula. But Russian troops have yet to be seen in eastern Ukraine, and recent reports of an imminent invasion, based partly on Western intelligence, have yet to come true.
NATO is convinced that the Russian military buildup on Ukraines borders, now under way for at least six weeks, is no exercise but comprehensive preparation for an invasion. Since Ukraine isnt a NATO member and most of the alliances members, led by the United States, have no intention of intervening militarily on Kievs behalf, the hands of the worlds most powerful military alliance are tied in the event of an invasion. Instead, NATO is trying to keep Russia in check with a media campaign.
On Thursday, the NATO press office published satellite images showing the Russian buildup, which includes hundreds of tanks and armored personnel carriers, not to mention attack helicopters and fighter jets, deployed at airstrips near the border. NATOs top commander, Gen. Philip Breedlove, tweeted: Russian forces around Ukraine fully equipped/capable to invade. Public denial undermines progress. Images tell story.
The footage was bought from a satellite company instead of culled from military spy satellites, which allowed NATO to prove that they were up to date. When the Kremlin said the images showed a large exercise that had taken place last year, NATO published more pictures proving that the bases set up for Russian troops did not even exist before the beginning of last month.
snip
If NATO wanted to do it up right I’m sure there are photographs of May Day Parades, the Holodomar Genocide and attacks on Hungary and Poland.
If Christians take the hint this time around it might not ever need to become a shooting war.
Putin is so Macho ,he could jump threw a wood chipper and never touch a blade , LOL
Russians don’t stop and think, they stop and reload.
What do the European leaders hope to accomplish by showing satellite photos of Russian troops amassing on the Ukrainian border?
Maybe the same thing the Kim Jung family of North Korean dictators hoped to accomplish over several decades by showing their citizens photos of American troops on North Korea’s border — namely, instilling fear and loathing of Americans in them along with more love for their embattled fatherland so that they would work harder at their slave labor camps.
But what will the European people do if the Russian-troop photos make them feel more anti-Russian and more patriotic towards Europe? Will the French agree to work longer hours by adopting a 36-hour work week? Maybe they’ll even agree to take only three weeks’ vacation in August instead of the usual entire month. Will the newly inspired citizens of Spain agree to eliminate their daily siestas?
What if Vladimir Putin decides to invade Ukraine during the next big European soccer tournament, in order to be sure that no one will pay any attention to what he’s doing?
Not that there's any problem with that, just admit you approve of Russia's spin over NATO's.
Who knows. They would be armed with nukes ready to wipe Europe and the clueless media would never dare raise the possibility.
Further moves are coming soon, Putin would not encourage these pro-Russian forces to lay the groundwork for no reason. They are probably waiting for a few days to get better weather for military operations, and the closer the date gets to late April and early May (the combination of patriotic holidays in Russia such as May first and Victory Day a week later) the better. They expect a lot of bluster and not much action from NATO. With Obama and Kerry in charge, this seems like a safe bet.
Except his partnership with Iran and Syria
The Russians in eastern Ukraine aren’t going to take any crap from the Right Sector fascists in Kiev. You all can bellyache all you want.
I refer you to my comment #7.
I thought that was supposed to be an ironic reference to goings-on in Ukraine. Russia was accusing Ukraine of being in bed with Nazis. If they were, the Jews of Ukraine haven’t really noticed.
Can NATO stop Russia? No.
Will Russia intervene? Short of an extreme situation, no. Russia has plenty of non-military leverage on hand.
Is Putin bluffing? No.
If Russia has deployed forces what is the purpose? Psychological warfare.
Russia would probably in the current crisis prefer to use a scalpel rather than a sledgehammer.
NATO doesn’t deter Russia at all. Anshel Pfeffer is an idiot.
LOL! Oops. The Russkies are sucking. They used to be much better at propaganda. Maybe they need to unearth a few Stalin and Lenin statues, clean them up and put them up for inspiration.
The beauty of it is that the propaganda is so brazen. It’s hilarious. And it works, witness the FR Borscht Brigade.
"These aren't the Russian Troops you're looking for."
Instead, NATO is trying to keep Russia in check with a media campaign.
LOL!
Putin's laughing too.
5.56mm
I will admit, that part of it is humorous, also. NATO is “launching” a media campaign that the Russians flicked a switch and turned-off.
That is truly bizarre.
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