US intelligence: Russia plans to attack Ukraine early next year

Looking at the history of NATO shows that since its origins on April 4, 1949 (also called the Washington Treaty) the alliance has often changed/adjusted its mission, its strategy, and even its geographic scope of membership and activity. In the start, it sought to create a counterweight to Soviet armies stationed in central and eastern Europe after World War II amid the prospect of further Communist expansion.
NATO’s mission from the very beginning has been as much political as military and changes were often driven by political more than military or strategic factors.
NATO moved its sphere of influence east in spite of Russian objections, raising Russian fears of intrusion on its traditional sphere of influence.
Along with EU expansion, NATO has brought stability and democratic norms to post-communist Europe.
Attaining NATO membership usually influenced joining states to meet the standards set by the Alliance. (the name some are: open elections, civilian control of the military, and elimination of ethnic and national conflicts.

Interesting read - NATO's New Order: The Alliance After the Cold War | Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective (osu.edu)

NATO - Publications
NATO Encyclopedia.
This is a compilation of archived online topic pages which explain every aspect of the Organization: its origin and fundamental security tasks, policies and decision-making processes, peace-support and crisis-management operations and how the Alliance tackles threats and develops capabilities.

 

Russia is saying that US passed the Ukraine patronage to Germany. What ever it means.
U.S. Wants Nord Stream 2 Halted If Putin Invades Ukraine.
So the war is economic and in form of weapons supply to Ukraine.

 

The war is not economic. The sanctions threatened on Russia if they invade Ukraine are economic. Two completely different things. There is no new Russia invasion. There are new sanctions threatened on Russia to try to convince Russia not to invade. These sanctioned have not yet been applied. They are what will happen if Russia invades. Supplying more assistance to the Ukrainian military is a separate issue, as I understand it. That is happening whether or not Russia invades.

 

I meant war in this case actual US/NATO military fighting Russians if Ukraine is invaded by Russia.
I didn't see such direct action but economic war and support of Ukrainian military.

 

It's pretty real for Ukrainian military though. Or for civilians in the contact zone. Or for families on the service members. Or for the displaced. You're not suggesting the war isn't "real" unless US/NATO are directly involved are yah?

 

The term "economic war" confused me. There is a real war going on. Some economic sanctions have already been applied due to the annexation of Crimea. More significantly worse economic sanctions have been threatened to try to make a larger Russian invasion less palatable. Russia is a rogue bad actor.

Putin is an autocrat, murderer, dictator, criminal boss. Which is why Trump looked up to him with such great respect and held him in higher regard than even what was best for the USA. Trump wanted bribes and personal income from Russia and Saudi Arabia both. So he was willing to corrupt USA foreign policy to get that. Trump only has any concern for himself. Small concern for his family but no concern for this country.

 

I should have used better terminology, there was mention of US /NATO forces entering the war.
So I responded with the way the NATO may react. In more intense sanctions and in some form of additional support of Ukrainian military.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ukraine-border-frozen-no-man-093931345.html

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/putin-gets-early-christmas-gift-131839095.html

 

To be fair, this has little to do with Putin. Zelensky had a wet dream of jailing Poroshenko from the get go. The fact that THIS is what he chooses to focus on, at THIS point in time, just shows how serious is the professional comedian at the whole Presidenting thing.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/high-risk-armed-conflict-over-210358669.html

"Russia's deputy defense minister warned foreign ambassadors of a "high risk" of conflict between the country and its neighbor Ukraine -- one day after President Vladimir Putin threatened "diverse" military and technical responses if the West doesn't address his stated concerns."
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I hope the dialogue will lead to de-escalation.

 

Yes and another quote from the article.

quote:
"Russia is ostensibly outraged by a crisis of their own making," said Mick Mulroy, a senior Trump administration Pentagon official and ABC News national security analyst. "It was Russia that put around 175,000 troops on the border and threatened to invade again if its demands were not met -- 'Do what I ask, or I will attack and occupy a sovereign country against all international norms.'"

 

While I'm not aware of all the details, and its obvious to me that the bear wants to assert power like the Soviets in the past so what I read Russians are saying the war in the east looks like genocide.
Russian operations against Gryziya/Georgia started the same way, Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia claimed the same, that Georgia was daily
assaulting them.
Russians are blaming the west.

 

Putin lies similar to the way that Trump lies. Putin is making up lies about Ukraine so he can control what his supporters believe for his own personal gain. Trump does the exact same thing like when he lies that he won the 2020 election. Neither one of them give a shit about their country. They are only concerned about themselves.

 

Bill, you don't miss opportunity to attack Trump.
As to Russia seeking to send a message domestically and create a pretext for possible military action against Ukraine once those demands are spurned its a known tactic.
What will US and NATO do when Russia delivers and invade Ukraine?
Officially United States will not compromise on key principles on which European security is built, including the right of all countries “to decide their own future and their own foreign policy, free from outside interference.”
Behind the scenes senior Biden administration official, during a briefing with reporters, said it was unhelpful to conduct the negotiations in public.
“There are some things in those documents that the Russians know will be unacceptable. You know, they know that,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive diplomatic matter. “But there are other things that we are prepared to work with and merit some discussion.”
Russia’s demand that NATO bar the admission of Ukraine, Georgia or any other country on NATO’s eastern flank has long been ruled out by the alliance.

 

How the West hung Ukraine out to dry
https://www.yahoo.com/news/west-hung-ukraine-dry-110110932.html

 

Here's my favorite quote from that editorial opinion piece.

quote:
There's the fact that Putin is basically a dictator and has a habit of using wars of aggression against weaker neighbors to boost his public profile (a short, successful war is a classic political sugar high).

 

Just as Trump never misses an opportunity to betray America.

 

The right-leaning think tank, American Enterprise Institute (AEI), recently published a lengthy report, which was summarized in an The Atlantic article, “Russia’s Aggression Against Ukraine Is Backfiring: Putin’s military moves are rallying Ukrainians and unifying NATO.”

The report concludes that despite its massive deployment and threatening rhetoric, Russia is not planning to invade Ukraine [because] the political and economic costs of an actual invasion are too high for Russia to sustain. “Putin may be attempting a strategic misdirection that impales the West in a diplomatic process and military planning cycle that will keep it unprepared,” the report argues. Rather than directly invade Ukraine again, Russia instead seeks to further destabilize the country in advance of its elections, station troops in Belarus, divide NATO, and precipitate Western concessions to de-escalate the crisis.​

I guess the world will know for sure in a month or so.

Steve