NATO Moves Into Finland as Russia Threatens Response

Newsmax ^ | Wednesday May 11, 2022 | Eric Mack

[alexander_busek]

Well, we border Russia and have nukes.

Yes, in repeatedly pointing out that there are no nuclear weapons stationed in any NATO countries bordering Russia, I have, of course, omitted mention of the U.S., itself (whose territorial waters touch Russia's).

But then the reverse is also true: There is a country (Russia) with nukes bordering OUR country.

Pointless to cite that fact.

Regards,

[JonPreston]

Agree completely. And I was with you with Pat.

[The Louiswu]

Putin’s an idiot, an idiot with the bomb. Treading on very thin ice folks.

[JonPreston]

Russian Generals Killed in Ukraine With Help of U.S. Intelligence – NYT

Updated: May 11, 2022

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, left, and General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrive to testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee on the Department of Defense budget request, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 3, 2022. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite/TASS

U.S. intelligence has helped Ukraine kill some of the 12 Russian generals who died on the frontlines of the Russia-Ukraine war, The New York Times reported late Wednesday. 

Real-time U.S. battlefield intelligence reportedly included locations of the Russian military's mobile headquarters and anticipated troop movements, according to unnamed U.S. officials. 

The officials cited by the newspaper declined to say how many Russian generals have been killed with the help of U.S. intelligence or how they acquired information on the location on top-ranking Russian officers. 

U.S. intelligence agencies are known to use classified and commercial satellites to monitor Russian troop movements.

American intelligence was reportedly not used in a strike over the weekend on a location in eastern Ukraine visited by Russia's highest ranking military officer, Valery Gerasimov.

The Kremlin has regularly claimed that Russia is in a proxy war with the U.S.-led west.

The Biden administration changed a classified directive last month that lifted geographic limits on actionable information on potential targets in Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press reported.

"We have opened up the pipes," Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a U.S. Senate panel Tuesday.

Publicly available data analyzed by independent Russian media suggests at least 317 Russian officers have been killed in Ukraine. 

[Palio di Siena]

I think your “deal” has a 100% chance of not happening.
Not that I wouldn’t like to see it - but it won’t happen.

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks Jon.

In those days, the border was the big issue. Remember when
the FReepers from across the nation used to say it was just
silly California’s problem?

We tried to tell them.

[JonPreston]

And how, immigration and Free Trade. It took all this time to be proven right, and unfortunately for the nation we were right.

[alexander_busek]

Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face asked to pay for Газпром Erdgas and Роснефть heavy Urals crude in rubles...

Natgas and öl are whatever Газпром and Роснефть say they are at the cashier's window.

Kein Erdgas oder Rohöl fur Sie!

kiryandil: I have no idea why you have repeatedly attempted to provoke or otherwise troll me (and perhaps also pierrem15?) on the basis of my (our) proficiency in various different foreign languages. Do you have a problem with multilingualism?

It all seems rather childish of you.

Regards,

[DoughtyOne]

Yes, we were.

I take no pleasure in it now, because exactly what we predicted
is no upon us.

[alexander_busek]

Any timeline on when we’ll quit worrying about Russia’s criminals and get a handle on our own?

The "False Dilemma" Fallacy in full bloom!

Regards,

[MercyFlush]

“Time to spend another twenty years fighting the Russians”

Optimistically this thing ends this year. At worst it goes on into spring of 2023.

The problem for Russia is logistics.

Russia for a variety of reasons cannot replace the ships, planes, and vehicles being lost in this war.

Russia was originally supposed to take delivery of 2,300 T-14 Armata tanks by the end of 2020 and the actual number in existence is twenty with a promise of one hundred more by the end of this year. But UralVagonZavod, the company that makes the tank is currently inactive due to sanctions.

Meaning there’s no replacing what Russia loses on the battlefield.

Ukraine doesn’t have that problem and has received 200+ tanks from Poland and Romania and they’re expected to receive 200-250 M1A1 tanks from the US.

Sometime this year the balance of conventional power in Ukraine will tip to Ukraine. It’s just math.

[buwaya]

It took Russia years of being threatening, instead of being friendly, to get Sweden and Finland to this point.

The Russian PR failure is hard to believe, idiotic as it is, but there we are.

And this NATO thing is now a popular idea in both Sweden and Finland, when it used to be unpopular. Russia under Putin managed to do what the Soviet Union couldn’t, on its worst days.

Being as I am a peaceful fellow, I suggest that Russia try its best to head this off with a peace, love and flowers offensive to Finland and Sweden. Go make much of the Swedes. Offer them some sort of prize. Pledge endless appreciation for their peaceable Swedishness. The Swedes in particular really like that kind of thing. Give Sweden some sort of gift. Send a horde of pretty girls to do the “negotiating”.

As for the Finns, do a big transborder Finnish culture and language unity thing. Apologize for invading in 1939. Give back some token bits of land as under “mutual sovereignty” or something. Shared mineral rights in the Baltic or whatever. Declare the Estonians (Finnish cousins) perpetually untouchable by Russia. Give them economic concessions, gratis et amore. And all this without a hint of of a threat.

But a major part of the Russian psychological problem is a complete inability to do this kind of love offensive. Is there any love in “official” Russia?

[kiryandil]

Every Deutschey Boy I run into on FR uses the "yer posts R childish" gambit.

That may work in the Land of German Soy - but it don't work here.

Sod off.

Regards, an American with actual juevos.

[kiryandil]

I have no idea why you have repeatedly attempted to provoke or otherwise troll me (and perhaps also pierrem15?) on the basis of my (our) proficiency in various different foreign languages. Do you have a problem with multilingualism?

I got a free ride to university because my job there was to leaven the unrisen dough of the uneducated, like yourself.

Just continuing to do my job.

No Regards, an educated multi-lingual

[buwaya]

This failure goes back decades.
Russia had a chance, when Putin came in.
It finally had the investment capital and “strong leadership” to turn itself into the sort of country people would want to move TO. A dynamic free-enterprise high tech economy was within reach.

It could even have become attractive as a place anti-woke people, say, could have seen as a refuge. Christian communities, German homeschoolers, Rhodesian and South African farmers, etc. Maybe more of the disaffected from Euro-American culture.

But no.

[kiryandil]

It could even have become attractive as a place anti-woke people, say, could have seen as a refuge. Christian communities, German homeschoolers, Rhodesian and South African farmers, etc. Maybe more of the disaffected from Euro-American culture.

Dude - they're Russians.

Asking a bit much, aren't you?

[patriotfury]

Since WWII, CCCP/CIS, NATO, and EU non-NATO military posture in Northern Europe has remained intact and dynamic.

Regardless of NATO membership and activity, Finland, and Norway (and Sweden to a lesser extent, but still active) have manned bases and defensive installation posture religiously, and have multiple rapid defensive/Eastern invasion training exercises. Not all, but these will include NATO elements every year.

This is not new at all.

Russia and its subordinate CIS also perform annual exercises, AND THEY DO IT EVERY YEAR, where they marshal/stage and rehearse Western offensives.

There have even been numerous “Finnish” and joint Norwegian/Finnish” exercises roughly timed with annual Russian/CIS exercises along the Finnish and Norwegian borders.

While not NATO, Finland has all along been part of annual drills, and joint Scandinavian/NATO drills and exercises.

These have significantly ramped up since 2003-2004 when the CIS under Putin began increasing the presence of more advanced units, and significantly upgrading and rearming Kaliningrad (including with nukes, and known chem storage and units).

In part due to Nordstream and Nordstream 2, for over a decade Sweden has been significantly increasing its naval and air force budgets, as Russia has essentially pulled a “China”, and has used its Nordstream energy lines as an excuse to place permanent naval assets along its route. The issue is when these assets travel wildly inside the 12nm territorial boundary lines of Finland, Sweden, and pretty much everyone in the AOR. Russian Air Force has and will fly regularly over land and cities of its neighbors.

While I am truly not a fan of NATO, for anyone to hang onto this NATO provocation narrative really does reflect lack of real historical long standing reference, or just carelessness to the region.

While at it, FSB, GRU, and related uniformed and non-uniformed activity has arguably remained at the strongest levels ever known (including the last century) in Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama, and the rest of “Latin America,” since approximately 2010. Some argue since roughly 2002-2003.

Not even getting into the ME, AF, or East Asia.

There is a whole lot more going on than is published, broadcast, or circulated.

[pierrem15]

In a year, hardly anyone in Europe will be buying Russian oil and gas. Putin will be stuck selling it at a discount to India and China, the latter being the only real strategic threat to Russia, while Putin has destroyed Russia’s military capability over Ukraine’s threat to his ego.

[MercyFlush]

Honestly, I think what’s going to happen here is an eventual collapse of the Russian offensive followed by a combined retreat, rout, and surrender of Russian forces as they run out of vehicles and supplies.

[Bruce Campbells Chin]

And as you rightly point out: No NATO states bordering Russia have nukes stationed on them.

Agree completely - NATO membership does not have to include the presence of nuclear weapons. And there is absolutely no reason the exact same thing couldn't be true with respect to Ukraine as well. That's why the entire excuse that Russian had to invade to prevent nuclear weapons from being deployed in Ukraine was a lie.