NATO: Big Military Build-up on Russia-Ukraine Border

[Little Tich]

Source: ABC News / AP

NATO's chief on Thursday reported a sizeable Russian military buildup on the border with Ukraine that he said would enable pro-Moscow separatists to launch a new offensive with little warning.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia has substantially stepped up supplies to the rebels, as well as providing them with advanced training and equipment like drones, despite a cease-fire.

Making an accusation of their own, Russian officials said U.S. military instructors were training Ukrainian national guardsmen in urban fighting techniques in the same eastern regions where Ukrainian forces and separatists have been fighting for the past year.

In Washington, the U.S. State Department rejected the Russian claim of U.S. trainers in eastern Ukraine, saying all the activity was in western Ukraine near the border with Poland.



Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/nato-big-military-buildup-russia-ukraine-border-30532662

[okaawhatever]

1. Wow, this absolutely sucks. We may need to send lethal aid to Ukraine. I don't want to see them

die just because they're ill-equipped to fight. I didn't support sending lethal aid if it meant Russia sending even more lethal aid to the rebels, but it looks like it doesn't matter.

[wordpix]

2. "1,000 pieces of Russian military equipment" moved in last month

Pooty Pout really wants to rebuild the empire. My guess is there's oil, what do you think?

[hobbit709]

3. Wonder where the Putin apologists are.

The ones that say the U.S. is evil and doing all the things that of course Russia would NEVER EVER do.

[newthinking]

5. I posted weeks ago that this was going to happen. The "Party of War" in Ukraine

Yes, they really are called that. Never followed through on the peace process. This has been the problem through two efforts. But yet the media never allow the truth into their narrative.

If you listened to the MSM things were not stable, but moving forward. Off the MSM everyone understood that the party in power in Ukraine was fighting with Poroshenko and does not want a peace settlement. They WANT to push it any way they can to bring in the US.

It is up to Obama, who will have to fend off a lot of pressure as the MSM and talking heads try to rally fear.

[Little Tich]

6. NATO won’t go into Ukraine.

This is a proxy war, and while Russia has the weapons, the rest of the world isn’t particularly amused. Eventually the sanctions will bite, and Russia will have to give up its ill-gotten gains.

[newthinking]

7. They can't. But that is not how proxy war works. Poland is gearing up to join Ukraine

They are both far right russophobic governments.


The sanctions will hurt Russia but they have resulted in the competitive forces moving more boldly and faster (BRICS, the Chinese development bank, there have been a number of trade agreements made and alliances formed, but our MSM rarely covers very important developments).

The point is not (likely) to "win". I believe this is all about the rise of the east and it's threat to the badly managed current economic system. Our economic system is in no shape to compete. Next best thing is to try and keep competition from rising. We are too tied to China to derail them, so Russia seems like the best target.

[Little Tich]

8. Every Government close to Russia is Russophobic for a good reason.

Just look at what Russia is doing in Ukraine. There are many countries that have Russian minorities, and there is a general fear that Russia might try to “save” them too.

This has nothing to do with competing economic systems, it’s about Russia’s fascist leader trying to bully neighbouring countries to give up large swathes of their territory.

[wordpix]

9. but why? Oil, gas, coal, uranium? Dreams of empire?

or both? What is Pooty up to here in gaining these territories?

[Little Tich]

11. I think Putin wants a Greater Russia, where all the Russian speaking people live,

and which has full control over its neighbours.

[7962]

14. That is precisely what he wants. He cant stand the fact that the Soviet Union fell. nt

[wordpix]

21. but he must be aware there are other-than-Russians in those countries

right?

[7962]

22. He doesnt care. He's shown that in Georgia & Ukraine. nt

[JDPriestly]

16. Russophobic based on ugly past experience.

[NuclearDem]

18. "Russophobic" because Russia spent the last century trying to either wipe them out

or destroy their culture.

[newthinking]

19. Ukrainians were well represented in Soviet Union leadership

This talking point gets tiring. Russians did not solely run the USSR, and Ukrainians were very involved in the USSR at both the highest levels and regionally.

That would be like if the US broke up and the state of Florida blamed the District of Columbia for any wrongdoing that occurred during the previous form of government. It's absurd.

[NuclearDem]

20. Yeah, and the purges of Ukrainian nationalists and intelligentsia never happened.

And Russification is a myth.

Stop apologizing for that fucking regime.

[doxyluv13]

23. Constant, ahistorical victimhood keeps Ukrainians from have to

Good luck piercing this Great Wall of Denial. Victimhood is key to the revanchist, Radio-Free-Europe crowd that loves the Kiev government. Constant, unhistorical victimhood keeps Ukrainian nationalists from have to deal with their vile behavior in WWII or their failure to build a successful nation after independence. The Russian Communists, and now Putin, are the cause of all their problems and the justification for all their crimes.

[Pauldg47]

12. If they come in....

...there will be a civil war within. The Russians would not survive within. It will be menacing for any troops or political structure. Just an opinion and feeling.

[newthinking]

4. They *are* getting lethal aid

Poland just sent in armaments. And they just passed a law to remove border tarriffs on weapons.

There is a reason things are building up, and it is not as simple as "Russians!". We are sleepwalking into potentially WWIII.

[wordpix]

10. considering this + ME/African wars, it doesn't look good

[bananas]

15. Sleepwalking? No, they're charging forward with eyes wide open. nt

[doxyluv13]

17. Not good news

This is from NATO which has been exaggerating Russia's participation in eastern Ukraine to the point even one of its members- Germany- called them out on. But accepting this is true, it seems Putin notices Minsk II is stalling at the point where Kiev is supposed to offer the Donetsk significant self-government which is the only thing that will now resolve the crisis (other than one side prevailing militarily). He also sees the West equipping Kiev like there's going to be a next round, and he's preparing for it.