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Post by pieter on Feb 11, 2022 5:56:57 GMT -7
Source: BBC News - BBC World ServiceFolks,
The situation in Ukraine is extremely dangerous and vulnerable right now. If President Joe Biden says he would not send troops to rescue Americans if Moscow invades Ukraine that says something. Biden warned that "things could go crazy quickly" in the region. Russia has just begun massive military drills with neighbouring Belarus, and Ukraine has accused Russia of blocking its access to the sea. The Kremlin says it wants to enforce "red lines" to make sure that its former Soviet neighbour does not join Nato.
The US State Department urged Americans in Ukraine to leave immediately.
"American citizens should leave now," Mr Biden told NBC News.
"We're dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. It's a very different situation and things could go crazy quickly."
Asked whether there was a scenario that could prompt him to send troops to rescue fleeing Americans, Mr Biden replied: "There's not. That's a world war when Americans and Russia start shooting at one another. We're in a very different world than we've ever been."A Russian multiple rocket launcher is fired during military drills near Orenburg, Russia, in December 2021. Photograph: Russian Defence Ministry Press Service/EPAWorld leaders, meanwhile, continued their frenzied diplomacy to defuse the current crisis over Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine announced late on Thursday that they had failed to reach any breakthrough after nine hours of talks with French and German officials aimed at ending the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian envoy Andriy Yermak said while there were disagreements "there is a will to continue and there is a will to negotiate". Andriy Borisovich Yermak (born on 21 November 1971 in Kyiv), the current Head of the Presidential Administration. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed him on 11 February 2020. Yermak said while there were disagreements "there is a will to continue and there is a will to negotiate"Russia has surrounded Ukraine militarily, with more than 100,000 troops amassed at various positions along the border, and there are fears that Russia may decide to attack.UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace was due to meet Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu in Moscow on Friday, a day after a frosty encounter between Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Britain's Liz Truss.
Mr Lavrov said relations between the UK and Russia "leave much to be desired" and are at the "lowest point over the past few years". Ms Truss accused Russia of "Cold War rhetoric".
Before flying to Moscow, Mr Wallace confirmed the UK was providing more defensive equipment - including body armour, helmets and combat boots - to the Ukrainian government. He also said it was important to show that Nato countries "won't let threats push us around". Russian naval drills were already taking place in Crimea on Friday, while 10 days of military exercises continued in Belarus, to the north of Ukraine.
There are fears that if Russia tries to invade Ukraine, the exercises put the Russian military close to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, making an attack on the city easier. Russia says its troops will return to their permanent bases after the drills end.
Ukraine has launched its own 10-day military exercises, though officials have given few details. Moscow says it cannot accept that Ukraine - a former Soviet republic with deep social and cultural ties with Russia - could one day join the Western defence alliance Nato and has demanded that this be ruled out.
Russia has been backing a bloody armed rebellion in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region since 2014. Some 14,000 people - including many civilians - have died in fighting since then.
There is some suggestion that a renewed focus on the so-called Minsk agreements - which sought to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine - could be used as a basis to defuse the current crisis.
Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany backed the accords in 2014-2015.Ukraine surroundedUkraine is surrounded in the South-Eastern Donbas region border region by large concentrations of Russian troops in the Rostov Oblast region in the Russian Federation at the Ukrainian border, Russian troops in Crimea, the Russian navy in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, Russian and Belarussian troops in Belarus on the Northern border of Ukraine close to it's capital Kyiv and by Russian armed forces in Kaliningrad in-between Poland and Lithuania. Russia has the second strongest army in the world after the USA. China (3d), India (4d), Japan (5th), South-Korea (6th), France (7th), the UK (8th), Pakistan (9th) and Brazil (10th) come after that. Germany ranks as the 16th most strong army in the world and Poland ranks as the 24 th most strong army in the world. Ukraine ranks as the 22th most powerful army in the world., Turkey as the 13th most powerful army in the world, Canada as the 23d most powerful army in the world and Israel as the 18th most powerful army in the world. The Nertherlands has the 37nd most powerful army in the world and Belarus has the 52nd most powerful army in the world.
So Ukraine with it's 22nd most powerful army in the world must fight with the second most strong army in the world, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and with the 52nd most powerful army in the world, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus . Emblem of the Russian Federation`s Armed Forces; here: universal / all-embracing to all armed forces branch «Armed Forces of the Russian Federation» design from January 27, 1997.Obverse side of the banner of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Original dimensions 170 cm × 130 cm.Emblem off the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus Flag of the Armed Forces of BelarusCheers, Pieter
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Post by pieter on Feb 11, 2022 6:57:03 GMT -7
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Post by pieter on Feb 11, 2022 7:00:26 GMT -7
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Post by pieter on Feb 11, 2022 7:00:28 GMT -7
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Post by pieter on Feb 11, 2022 7:02:38 GMT -7
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Post by pieter on Feb 11, 2022 7:05:43 GMT -7
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Post by pieter on Feb 11, 2022 7:24:38 GMT -7
NATO warns of ‘real risk’ for new war in Europe: Live newsAs US-led alliance raises alarm, Moscow says NATO is using Ukraine as a ‘pretext’ for troop movements.NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday that the alliance would consider maintaining a longer-term presence in Eastern Europe in the coming months as tensions continue to simmer between Moscow, Kyiv and the latter's Western allies [Inquam Photos via Reuters]By David Child Published On 11 Feb 2022 11 Feb 2022Secretary general of NATO Stoltenberg says there is a “real risk for a new armed conflict in Europe” as both the alliance and Russia are increasing their troop presences around Ukraine.
“The number of Russian troops are going up, and the warning time is going down,” Stoltenberg told reporters after visiting a Romanian air base near the Black Sea with President Klaus Iohannis.
“We don’t have any certainty, and therefore we continue to reach out to Russia to call on them to deescalate and to engage in good faith in political dialogue with NATO and NATO allies,” he added.
NATO has raised the alarm over the Ukraine crisis, warning of “a real risk for a new armed conflict in Europe”, and promised to reinforce its eastern flank.
Speaking on Friday from an airbase in Romania, where the United States has temporarily deployed soldiers, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would consider maintaining a longer-term presence in Eastern Europe in the coming months.
He restated Western powers’ fears of war, which remain heightened as diplomatic efforts to ease tensions fail and as Russia keeps more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine while performing military exercises in Belarus.
Meanwhile, Moscow accused NATO of using the crisis as a “pretext” for increasing its military presence near Russia’s borders.Russia to respond soon to US, NATO counterproposals: ReportRussia will respond “in the nearest future” to counterproposals on European security made by the United States and NATO, the Interfax news agency quotes Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu as telling his British counterpart Ben Wallace at a meeting in Moscow.
Moscow has demanded that the US-headed alliance guarantee that it will never let Ukraine join the bloc. Washington and NATO have flatly refused that request and have sent their own proposals to Russia.
Russia slams ‘disrespectful’ responses from EU, NATO to security questions
Russia’s foreign ministry has dismissed a joint response by NATO and the European Union to its questions on the continent’s security arrangements as disrespectful and lacking substance.
The ministry said foreign minister Sergey Lavrov had asked all member nations of the two blocs about their understanding of the principle of “indivisible security” and expected an individual response from each.
Instead, he received replies from the head of NATO and the EU foreign policy chief, to whom Lavrov had not addressed the request, the ministry added.
“Such a step cannot be seen as anything other than a sign of diplomatic impoliteness and disrespect for our request,” it said.NATO using Ukraine crisis as a ‘pretext’ for troop movements, Moscow saysA spokeswoman for Russia’s foreign ministry has accused NATO of using the Ukraine crisis as an excuse to shift troops closer to Russia’s borders.
“NATO continues to increase its presence near the borders of Russia and creates a pretext for this in the form of forcing the situation around Ukraine,” Maria Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel.Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova (Russian: Мария Владимировна Захарова; born 24 December 1975) is the Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation[2] (Spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation) from 10 August 2015. She has a degree of Candidate in Historical Sciences, the Russian equivalent of a PhD. Zakharova; "NATO continues to increase its presence near the borders of Russia and creates a pretext for this in the form of forcing the situation around Ukraine"
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Post by pieter on Feb 11, 2022 7:31:03 GMT -7
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Post by pieter on Feb 11, 2022 7:42:52 GMT -7
Folks,
I don't understand why NATO and other Western Allies of Ukraine doesn't sent masses of troops, American M1 Abrams tanks, European German Leopard 2A5-, Leopard 2A6-, Leopard 2A6MA2- and Leopard 2A7+ tanks, the Challenger 1 and Challenger 2 British battle tanks, the Polish PL-01 light tank, the Israeli Merkava (Hebrew: מרכבה) main battle tanks, armoured vehicles, FV-510 Warriors, heavy artillery, British AS-90 Braveheart self-propelled howitzers, anti-tank weapons, missile defence systems, Boeing AH-64 Apache twin-turboshaft attack helicopters, Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth multirole combat aircraft, General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon multirole fighter aircraft, Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets, Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses, U.S Air Force B-2 stealth bombers, Rockwell B-1 Lancers, and hundreds of thousands of ground troops to Eastern-Europe to create a balance of power with the Russian forces in Belarus, the Russian-Ukrainian border, Crimea and the Azov and Baltic seas? In NATO 27 European countries, 2 North American countries, and 1 Eurasian country cooperate. How difficult is it to sent troops and military equipment to Central- and Eastern-Europe, Georgia and Turkey?
Mass supllies, military support and large scale arms deliveries should strengthen the Ukrainian military position and enlarge, professionalize and modernize it to face the enemy. The Ukrainian army and National Guard should be able to face the Russian and Belarussian armies on the battle ground.
NATO does now, but on a very limited scale. I don't understand the restraint, the reluctance and the hesitation to act swiftly? I don't see a strong NATO defense line or Front in Central- and Eastern-Europe and that surprises me. Only a few hundred men here and a few thousand there. But not hundreds of thousands or even a few dozen thousand.
Cheers, Pieter
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Post by pieter on Feb 11, 2022 13:18:29 GMT -7
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Post by pieter on Feb 11, 2022 13:22:42 GMT -7
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Post by pieter on Feb 11, 2022 13:24:14 GMT -7
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Post by pieter on Feb 11, 2022 13:29:07 GMT -7
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Post by pieter on Feb 11, 2022 13:31:52 GMT -7
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Post by Jaga on Feb 11, 2022 23:32:13 GMT -7
I am surprised how Russia and its supporters among Fox New viewers and ex-president Trump want to blame the west for creating the conflict and aggression towards Russia just because Biden would not guarantee that Ukraine would not join NATO. Below is more about how NATO forces are distributed among the neighboring countries: news.yahoo.com/russia-mulls-way-recognize-donbas-074913835.htmlRussia pushed back after NATO and the European Union said they’d only provide a collective response to its proposals on a regional security framework. Moscow had been seeking individual replies from each member nation of the EU. Western allies are seeking to show unity in the face of Russia’s military buildup near the Ukraine border, bolstering NATO’s eastern flank with added troops and threatening joint sanctions against Moscow if it were to invade Ukraine. Biden said conditions in the region could “go crazy quickly” as he urged Americans to leave Ukraine, and he held a call Friday with other leaders to discuss the tensions. Key Developments U.S. Sees China Watching Ukraine Showdown as a Proxy for Taiwan Oil Surges to $95 as Ukraine Tensions Stoke Supply Concerns Russia Starts Major Military Drills in Belarus as NATO Watches Russia and Europe Are Vital to Each Other When It Comes to Oil What we know so far about potential U.S.-EU sanctions on Russia Where Military Forces Are Assembling Around Russia and Ukraine All times CET. Japan, South Korea, New Zealand Urge Their Citizens to Leave (3 a.m.) Japan, South Korea and New Zealand are also asking their nationals in Ukraine to leave the country. Japan’s foreign ministry elevated its travel warning to the highest level. South Korea will ban travel to Ukraine effective from Sunday. New Zealand said its citizens should leave immediately as the security situation there could change “at short notice.”
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