How Russia Invaded Ukraine

Russia has deployed as many as 10,000 troops in eastern Ukraine for more than a year and has actively sought to hide the deaths of its soldiers, according to a new report that provides a comprehensive assessment of the Kremlin’s invasion of its neighbor.

The report was published Thursday by the Interpreter, a daily online journal that translates Russian media and reports on Russian affairs, also detailed the Kremlin’s provision of increasingly sophisticated weaponry and vehicles to separatists in Ukraine. Nearly 8,000 people have been killed in the Ukrainian conflict since April 2014.

EX-CIA GOLDMAN ANALYST: ‘We are in an extraordinarily dangerous time right now’

Robert Dannenberg, who is also a 24-year CIA veteran, believes that Russia is the top strategic threat from a US perspective.

“We are in an extraordinarily dangerous time right now because both Russia and NATO are starting to exercise substantial military activity in close proximity to each other in Eastern Europe and the Baltics,” Dannenberg said in an interview included in a July 9 Goldman Sachs analyst note.

Dannenberg believes that there’s a high risk of an unintended escalation, and notes that “many of the channels of rapid military and intelligence communications that were carefully constructed during the Cold War have been dismantled, lamentably, mostly from the US side.” 

Putin’s Plan in Ukraine: Invade, Wait—and Invade

As reports broke on Wednesday concerning a new eruption of heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine, a picture took shape suggesting that Russian President Vladimir Putin is following a blueprint of expansionism that dates back thousands of years.

It’s a blueprint that warfare historian Victor Davis Hanson calls “invade, wait—and invade.”

In an article from this March, Hanson explained: “From Philip of Macedon to Napoleon, aggressors did not necessarily have a grand timetable for creating an empire. Instead, they went at it ad hoc. They took as much as they could at any given time; then backed away for a bit, if they sensed strong opposition was building—only to go back on the offensive when vigilance waned.”

Steinmeier and the Oligarchs

KIEW/DNEPROPETROVSK/BERLIN (Own report) – Berlin is increasing pressure on Kiev that it enforces the cease-fire in eastern Ukraine. Observers consider the continuation of the civil war to be perilous. On the one hand, they see the risk of loosing even more territory to eastern Ukrainian insurgents, while on the other, it is unclear how the country’s total economic collapse can be avoided without ending the hostilities. Therefore, on the weekend, German Foreign Minister Steinmeier traveled not only to Kiev, but also to Dnepropetrovsk, the town of oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi. Even though Kolomoyskyi has recently stepped down as governor, he still wields significant influence over the – in some cases – fascist militias, which refuse a cease-fire. To put pressure on the fascists, who had helped execute the February 2014 Kiev coup, but are uncontrollable in the civil war, Berlin must make a deal with Ukrainian oligarchs. These same oligarchs had been the focus of the protests at the Maidan. Several times last year, Foreign Minister Steinmeier held personal consultations with powerful oligarchs – including President Poroshenko – or politicians directly dependent on them. The Ukrainian oligarchy has emerged unscathed from last year’s upheavals.

Ukraine port of Mariupol braces for war

Mariupol:  Ukraine’s eastern port of Mariupol is bracing for an attack.

Army vehicles rumble down streets, windows are fortified to shield against shell damage and signs pasted to apartment blocks point people to their nearest bomb shelter. Locals fear pro-Russian separatists will unleash an assault on their city now that President Vladimir Putin has finished hosting world leaders to mark the Soviet triumph over Nazi Germany.

“Everyone’s talking about it,” said Iryna Hrynko, 40, a designer who arrived last year after fleeing the rebels’ Donetsk stronghold. “Friends back home even tell me about an attack”.

Poroshenko warns of deteriorating security

Ukraine’s President Poroshenko has warned of that the increased threat of large-scale hostilities by Russian terrorist groups requires additional measures to ensure defense.

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko said that NATO membership must be incorporated into the country’s national security plan.

“Our security strategy must ensure the opportunity of NATO membership in the future. We must finally return this important component to the given document,” the head of state said Wednesday at a meeting of The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, which is holding discussions regarding the draft National Security Strategy and additional measures on ensuring the defense capacity of the state.

Ukraine preparing for ‘full-scale war,’ says former envoy to Canada

Vadym Prystaiko, who until last fall was Ukraine’s ambassador to Canada, says the world must not be afraid of joining Ukraine in the fight against a nuclear power.In an interview with CBC Radio’s The House airing Saturday, Prystaiko says the ceasefire brokered by Germany and France was not holding.

“The biggest hub we ever had in the railroad is completely destroyed and devastated,” he told host Evan Solomon about Debaltseve, captured by Russian-backed rebels after the terms were to have taken effect earlier this week.

The Usefulness of a Ceasefire

Sadly, 95% of the public will never see how radicalized Washington and Berlin made the new Ukraine. However, only one will reap the benefit: Germany’s Fourth Reich.

 

KIEV/BERLIN (Own report) – German foreign policy makers are proposing that tougher sanctions against Russia be discussed. In light of the escalating combat in Eastern Ukraine, we “unfortunately have to discuss tougher sanctions,” declared several representatives of the German political establishment’s transatlantic fraction. Berlin accuses the insurgents in Eastern Ukraine, and even Moscow of escalating the conflict. The escalation in Donetsk and Mariupol, however, followed the Kiev government’s decision to launch another wave of mobilization and arms buildup, which, according to observers, could be the prelude to a major military offensive. Kiev has also launched a long-term militarization of the country: Adolescents, and even children, will not only have to undergo a “national patriotic education” in school, but also learn “how to use rifles and Kalashnikovs.” Just a few days ago, the EU parliament passed a resolution to supply “defensive weapons” to Ukraine. Berlin had already authorized such supplies last year. Brussels is preparing a comprehensive propaganda campaign to accompany the escalation of the conflict.

Ukraine readies for attacks in east

Amid a crumbling peace plan in Ukraine, NATO has reported Russian troop movement near the Ukrainian border. Meanwhile, Kyiv has vowed to protect eastern cities from the rebels trying to exert power over the region.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko convened the Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council on Tuesday evening in reaction to the ballot held over the weekend by separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine.

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While the peace plan has not been entirely effective, with continued reports of fighting near Donetsk and other cities in the east, the Ukrainian president has thus far rejected a new military campaign.