A hard look at the action finds a better picture of the Russian military is doing in it’s roll into the Ukraine…
First of all?
The Russian move into the Ukraine appear to be primarily aimed at the two main cities in the country closest to the Russian border….
Russian troops have not mostly attacked in the western part of the country bordering Poland a NATO Country….
Second….
There ARE reports of some resistance from some Ukrainian military especially in moves on the main city Kyiv…
There ARE reports of some firefights going back and forth between the Russian’s and Ukraine military units …
The Russian incursion seem to be to beat down the Ukraine thru indiscriminate missile attacks….
In moving on the major cities and annexing the two Southern area’s that Russian separatists want to give to Russia….
There will something that hurt the America efforts in the Middle East…
Collateral damage in population area’s…..
Russian’s are saying there are Ukraine military equipment in Kyiv as an excuse to level that city….
There ARE gonna be some BAD images coming out of this….
It would appear that the Russian President has gone back in history…
He is using the idea that that Ukrainian’s are ‘Neo’ Nazis’…..
Putin now says he might want to talk?
Can anyone believe him?
Does he think the Ukraine leadership will feel they want to ?
One thing that one should note….
President Biden seems VERY AGAINST sending the Ukraine military equipment or help due to Putin’s threat that helping the Ukraine would mean things would escalate….
One should remember America has done so during the Cuban missile crisis, in Afghanistan, and in the Middle East….
Biden is dealing with the Ukraine mainly on Putin’s terms….
Russian troops bore down on Ukraine’s capital Friday, with gunfire and explosions resonating ever closer to the government quarter, in an invasion of a democratic country that has fueled fears of wider war in Europe and triggered worldwide efforts to make Russia stop.
With reports of hundreds of casualties from the warfare — including shelling that sliced through a Kyiv apartment building and pummeled bridges and schools — there also were growing signs that Vladimir Putin’s Russia may be seeking to overthrow Ukraine’s government. It would be his boldest effort yet to redraw the world map and revive Moscow’s Cold War-era influence.
In the fog of war, it was unclear how much of Ukraine remains under Ukrainian control and how much or little Russian forces have seized. The Kremlin accepted Kyiv’s offer to hold talks, but it appeared to be an effort to squeeze concessions out of Ukraine’s embattled president instead of a gesture toward a diplomatic solution.
The U.S. and other global powers slapped ever-tougher sanctions on Russia as the invasion reverberated through the world’s economy and energy supplies, threatening to further hit ordinary households. U.N. officials said millions could flee Ukraine. Sports leagues moved to punish Russia on global playing fields. And U.S. President Joe Biden and other NATO leaders held an urgent meeting to discuss how far they can challenge Putin without engaging Russian forces in direct war.
Day 2 of Russia’s invasion focused on the Ukrainian capital, where Associated Press reporters heard explosions starting before dawn and gunfire was reported in several areas.
Russia’s military said it had seized a strategic airport outside Kyiv, allowing it to quickly build up forces to take the capital. It claimed to have already cut the city off from the west — the direction taken by many of those escaping the invasion, leading to lines of cars snaking toward the Polish border.
Intense gunfire broke out on a bridge across the Dneiper River dividing eastern and western Kyiv, with about 200 Ukrainian forces taking defensive positions and sheltering behind their armored vehicles and under the bridge. Another key bridge leading to the capital was blown away, with smoke rising from it….
…
After denying for weeks he planned to invade, Putin argued that the West left him no other choice by refusing to negotiate on Russia’s security demands.
In a window into how the increasingly isolated Putin views Ukraine and its leadership, he gave a strongly worded statement Friday urging the Ukrainian military to surrender, saying: “We would find it easier to agree with you than with that gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis who have holed up in Kyiv and have taken the entire Ukrainian people hostage.”
Playing on Russian nostalgia for World War II heroism, the Kremlin equates members of Ukrainian right-wing groups with neo-Nazis. Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, angrily dismisses those claims…
Note….
The evacuation of the Ukraine peoples to Poland HAS begun by the thousands….
It appears that American’s are moving in their feelings about the Ukraine conflict…
Early poll had America’s think about the conflict only by 26%….
New poll double’s that number….
Most Americans See Ukraine Crisis as Critical Threat
A new Gallup poll finds 52% of Americans see the conflict between Russia and Ukraine as a critical threat to U.S. vital interests.
Unsurprising.
Check back in a few months.
Americans are known to label foreign wars as “critical “ in the early stages .
As time goes on they slowly ,but steadily ,lose interest .
True that….
Fast wins are expected…
And media focus fall-off….
One thing…..
Bad media images from the Ukraine WILL elevate Americans to want Biden to do something more….
So far?
Biden has hung back a bit too much I think…
He could send weapons to the Ukraine ….
BUT?
His hanging back is actually letting Putin stew in his own juices and seems to be working for Biden ….
But?
I think other countries ARE going figure out a way to help the Ukraine fight and Biden will be dragged into doing something ….
As I have predicted…
He’s been pushed to send more troops to NATO……
Ok….
Biden has been dragged into imposing sanctions on Putin himself….
Biden getting dragged into sending more troops…..
For the first time, the NATO Response Force has been activated as a defensive measure in response to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
NATO Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Tod Wolters activated the multinational force consisting of land, air, sea and special operations forces from the allies that can deploy quickly in support of the NATO alliance.
The activation of the response troops does not mean that any US or NATO troops will go into Ukraine, which is not a member. US President Joe Biden has been clear that US troops are deploying to eastern Europe to help bolster NATO countries nervous about Russia’s aggressive actions, and they will not be fighting in Ukraine….
More…
Russia, Ukraine’s Credit Ratings Cut by S&P (3 a.m.)
Russia’s long-term foreign currency debt rating was cut by S&P Global Ratings to BB+, one level below investment grade. Ukraine’s rating was downgraded one notch to B-. …
More…
The Russian President dealing with ‘HIS’ people getting their money outside Russian locked away from them……
Andrew Sullivan Retweeted
Edward N Luttwak
@ELuttwak
·
speaking to Russia’s economic moguls, a very, very apologetic Putin twice said that he had no choice, that he just had to act because it was a desperate situation (unspecified). He practically pleaded for Western restraint on sanctions..
Uh, OH?
Bloomberg
@business
Russian money is a conspicuous presence in London’s priciest neighborhoods, but it’s now a target as the U.K. imposes sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine
Had a conversation with a family member who feels Biden is a ‘weak’ President so far and is worried that if he runs against DeSantis?
( Putin is a bully , but he moves to what he wants…Biden AGAIN stands on the side and seems afraid to act ?)
He’s gonna lose….
He has no idea who Democrats should run if it isn’t Biden…
But he does not think is should or would be Harris….
A bit of this is going around….
Does your whole family think along the same lines that you do? I see some similarity in your thinking.
We might need to take up prayer and ask for divine help.
Yes….
It is not really unprecedented. I recall on P1 when Lawrence Henderson was at work and unavailable, Mrs. Lawrence Henderson (who had a very similar thought process and writing style as her loving husband, came on to make a few posts.
Told ya so….
Biden gets draged into providing the help he initially refused to provide….
He COULD have owed this from the jump making him look better and stronger perception wise….
The U.S. military will provide additional lethal aid for Ukraine but is working through the logistics of delivery given the contested airspace over Ukraine, the Pentagon’s top spokesman said Friday.
“We’re continuing to look for ways to support Ukraine to defend themselves,” press secretary John Kirby told reporters. “And we’re very actively engaged in those efforts to help them better defend themselves through both lethal and nonlethal assistance.”
Kirby later added that the situation in Ukraine has drastically changed since Thursday, when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered into Ukraine some of the more than 150,000 troops amassed near the border….
More…
Updates….
Biden won’t do it….
But the EU will freeze Putin and his Foreign Minister’s outside assets….
NATO has agreed to bulk up troops in the smaller NATO countries bordering Russia
A small con tight of American troops are already arriving in some of those countries…
The siege of of Ukraine capital has stalled as Russian troops encounter a stronger force that has the advantage of a urban setting they know….
The Russians have mounted a stronger effort in taking over the Southern part of the Ukraine ….
Things ARE fluid in the fight….