Russian troop build up on the Ukrainian border ...

[The Heretic]

Cyberattack hits Ukraine government websites | CNN

Scores of Ukrainian government websites were targeted in a cyberattack with threatening text warning Ukrainians to "be afraid and wait for the worst" and alleging their personal information has been hacked.

www.cnn.com

 

[arakboss]

First on CNN: US intelligence indicates Russia preparing operation to justify invasion of Ukraine

The US has information that indicates Russia has prepositioned a group of operatives to conduct a false-flag operation in eastern Ukraine, a US official told CNN on Friday, in an attempt to create a pretext for an invasion.

www.cnn.com

 

[Cavedweller]

If Putin wants to discourage Ukraine's entry into NATO, then why doesn't he de-escalate and pull back his troops and hardware ?
Seems like that would be the best way to keep Ukraine a buffer state.

Because the United States has been aggressively expanding NATO eastwards ever since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Why should Putin believe the United States will back off if he de-escalates? Especially since our current president likes to brag about his influence over the Ukrainian government. ("Son of a b1tch, he got fired!")

I haven't worked around Ukrainians for a long time, but when I did, they did not like (to put it mildly) the Russians.

Could be because Stalin starved about 10 million of them to death.

Holodomor

Teaser here

cla.umn.edu

 

[wired]

Could be because Stalin starved about 10 million of them to death.

Holodomor

Teaser here

cla.umn.edu

Perhaps they shouldnt like Georgians then.

 

[Cavedweller]

Perhaps they shouldnt like Georgians then.

Maybe, but Stalin's power base was Moscow at the time, not Tbilisi.

 

[DirectDrive]

Because the United States has been aggressively expanding NATO eastwards ever since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Why should Putin believe the United States will back off if he de-escalates? Especially since our current president likes to brag about his influence over the Ukrainian government. ("Son of a b1tch, he got fired!")

Could be because Stalin starved about 10 million of them to death.

Holodomor

Teaser here

cla.umn.edu

And therein lies the problem.
No one believes anyone or trusts anyone and the Germans attacked from the West.

 

[Cavedweller]

And therein lies the problem.
No one believes anyone or trusts anyone and the Germans attacked from the West.

Napoleon came first.

 

[DirectDrive]

Napoleon came first.

No.
The Mongols came first.

 

[Cavedweller]

No.
The Mongols came first.

Yeah, but not from the west.

 

[DirectDrive]

Yeah, but not from the west.

The Tatars if you want to play that game.
And they burned Moscow 200 years before Napolean was around.
When you look at how many times Russia was attacked, it's in their DNA to mistrust.

 

[GWS]

The Tatars if you want to play that game.
And they burned Moscow 200 years before Napolean was around.
When you look at how many times Russia was attacked, it's in their DNA to mistrust.

That's why it's so hard to hold onto Russia/Asia when playing Risk!

 

[Cavedweller]

The Tatars if you want to play that game.
And they burned Moscow 200 years before Napolean was around.

From the west?

When you look at how many times Russia was attacked, it's in their DNA to mistrust.

No kidding.

 

[wired]

The Tatars if you want to play that game.
And they burned Moscow 200 years before Napolean was around.
When you look at how many times Russia was attacked, it's in their DNA to mistrust.

Vikings.

 

[DirectDrive]

From the west?

No kidding.

Southwest it would seem.
In any event, they burned Moscow.

 

[VanceInWA]

Southwest it would seem.
In any event, they burned Moscow.

As the British burned Washington D.C. in 1814 following America's defeat at the Battle of Bladensburg. In other words, history happens, but it is only history. It is imperative that we learn from history as an indicator of how the future may unfold, but history is obviously not an absolute predictor, more like looking in the rear view mirror to ascertain where we're going. Instructive to be sure, but imprecise.

 

[JuglansRegia]

California's school budget is bigger than Russia's military budget. The US can manufacture more aircraft in one year than Russia has since the fall of the USSR. They do have A LOT of tanks, nukes, artillery and rocket artillery though, even the most of it is 30 years old or more

 

[VanceInWA]

What is there to stop Russia from invading Ukraine? Certainly not the US. True to his stupidity, Biden already gave Putin the green light to proceed with an invasion. Showing an absolute absence of strategic awareness, Biden stated that US policy is to not intervene militarily if Russia invades Ukraine. The US would instead initiate sanctions against Russia. Wow, doesn't that sound frightening? Poor Putin must be shaking in his boots. Nothing like showing your hand to the opposition. What a total buffoon Brandon is, and we are paying the price...

Threatening Russia with sanctions is like expecting a drop in crime by threatening criminals with probation. Dumb. Dumber. Dumbest.

 

[DirectDrive]

What is there to stop Russia from invading Ukraine? Certainly not the US. True to his stupidity, Biden already gave Putin the green light to proceed with an invasion. Showing an absolute absence of strategic awareness, Biden stated that US policy is to not intervene militarily if Russia invades Ukraine. The US would instead initiate sanctions against Russia. Wow, doesn't that sound frightening? Poor Putin must be shaking in his boots. Nothing like showing your hand to the opposition. What a total buffoon Brandon is, and we are paying the price...

Threatening Russia with sanctions is like expecting a drop in crime by threatening criminals with probation. Dumb. Dumber. Dumbest.

Probably nothing.
Although he has to weigh the consequences of doing so.
Seem to me like the "Cons" list is a long one.

Overall, just bad for business
Lost equipment and troops
Crimean bridge destroyed (probably)
Guerrilla war
Will the Ukrainians be flying missions from neighboring friendly countries ?
Will this pull other countries into the fray ?

Does he really want to volunteer for this mess or just keep the West off-balance and wondering what his next move will be ?

 

[The Heretic]

Does he really want to volunteer for this mess or just keep the West off-balance and wondering what his next move will be ?

Probably this - I hope

 

[Horatius]

My Mom and Dad were children and had lots of stories about the last time we were drawn into wars in Europe and Asia, the good stories were how families shared the hardship by saving ration coupons for picnics with town members and other tales of sacrifice for the greater good.