10

Is Ukraine gearing up for full scale war in East?

by Gilbert Doctorow at Consortium News

A new draft law adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament and awaiting Petro Poroshenko’s signature threatens to escalate the Ukrainian conflict into a full-blown war, pitting nuclear-armed Russia against the United States and NATO

While much of America’s – and the world’s – attention focused this weekend reflecting on Donald Trump’s first year in the Oval Office, holding one-year anniversary events for the historic Women’s March and drawing up balance sheets of his promises and achievements, Russia has had a rather different issue on the front-burner: a possible war with Ukraine.
The situation in the Donbass region of south-eastern Ukraine has been a feature of Russia’s political talk shows for the past couple years, along with the military campaign in Syria and more recently the stages in the preparation for presidential elections on March 18.
Focus on the Donbass conflict increased in the closing weeks of 2017 as military action on the front lines separating the forces of the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk enjoying Russian support from Ukrainian militias and armed forces reached an intensity not seen for more than a year. This is despite the heralded exchange of military prisoners by both sides before New Year’s under talks supervised by the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill.
Then, this past Thursday, came a wholly new development – a draft law passed by the Ukrainian Parliament that could effectively end Kiev’s participation in the conflict resolution process known as the Minsk Accords. Although observers in the United States and Western Europe may have missed it, many Russians believe this development amounts to a declaration of war.
Dmitri Kiselyov, head of all Russian television and radio news services, offered a sober analysis of the emotionally charged development on his Sunday evening news wrap-up today.
According to Kiselyov, the new law, which awaits Poroshenko’s signature, makes preparations for war and includes language indicating a bellicose new approach to the conflict. The mission in Donbass is no longer described as an “anti-terrorist operation.” Rather, the mission now is to send armed forces against “military formations of the Russian Federation” in Donbass.
Military headquarters are established to coordinate the operation to be waged in Donbass. While up until now the self-declared republics of Donetsk and Lugansk were considered under the Minsk Accords as negotiating parties, now there are only “occupation administrations” of the Russian Federation on these territories, with Russia identified as an “aggressor.”
“This makes it all the more convenient for Ukraine to start a war,” Kiselyov says, noting that it could have the added benefit of enabling Ukraine not to pay its foreign debts and to ensure Poroshenko’s continued grip on power.

Read full article at Consortium News


SUPPORT OFFGUARDIAN

If you enjoy OffG's content, please help us make our monthly fund-raising goal and keep the site alive.

For other ways to donate, including direct-transfer bank details click HERE.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

10 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Alan
Alan
Jan 25, 2018 5:29 PM

The regime in the Ukraine probably requires it’s paymasters approval and funding, rather than paper issued from the gang’s interpretation of parliamentary procedure.

susannapanevin
susannapanevin
Jan 24, 2018 11:49 AM

Reblogged this on Susanna Panevin.

VeMi
VeMi
Jan 23, 2018 11:16 PM

I am so afraid that they will use exactly the time of Russia`s presidential election to try to attack. They know full well Russia will not sit and watch, so, that might put their ambitions on a break, but, mad nazis they are, one can expect anything. Russia has the best intelligence and will be prepared, in case…. Hope it never comes to that, anyway.

Frank
Frank
Jan 24, 2018 7:25 AM
Reply to  VeMi

It might come in the football world cup.

archie1954
archie1954
Jan 23, 2018 10:32 PM

This horrific development totally belongs to Washington. Sending that perverse nation killer, Victoria Nuland, to Ukraine to work her evildoing, was a mistake that created a failed state of the country. Now that failed state is being armed by the US and certain NATO nations to attempt to reincorporate two former provinces which voted to secede. If you remember, the US in 1999 under Clinton, had NATO interfere in Serbia and Bosnia under the same circumstances, only on the side of the seceding Bosnia! Interesting isn’t it?

summitflyer
summitflyer
Jan 23, 2018 10:24 PM

If Ukraine thinks that the US and NATO will come to their rescue ,I am very much afraid that they are dreaming in colors.Even if they have been given the fancy weapons from the US .There is no way that Russia would permit the over-run of Eastern Ukraine , which would put the Nazis right up to Russia’s borders .NOT going to happen.
I disagree with Gilbert and Dmitri Kiselyov on this analysis .

BigB
BigB
Jan 23, 2018 11:44 PM
Reply to  summitflyer

You might find it was the US and NATO that put them up to it. Take a look at the 2018 NDAA: $4.6bn for the “European Deterrence Initiative”; $150mn for the “Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative”; $350mn for “defensive lethal assistance” ($41mn for sniper’s rifles systems! $47mn for anti-tank missiles.) The Pentagon has also announced a change in strategy (National Security Strategy.): the GWOT is over – a new phase of “dominance” over Russia and China has begun. As Mattis said “if you challenge us, it will be your longest and worst day.” There is also an EU-NATO integration and mobilisation under the PESCO banner. I don’t think the ukronazis are on their own?

Richard Wicks
Richard Wicks
Jan 24, 2018 12:37 AM
Reply to  summitflyer

If Ukraine thinks that the US and NATO will come to their rescue

Who do you think is pushing them toward war?
The United States overthrew Victor Yanukovich in a coup, Petro Poroshenko is on the US payroll, just as NATO is. The United States is the world’s holder of the reserve currency, and they just print as much of the toilet paper as they need to bribe just about anybody. If they don’t agree, they print toilet paper to engineer a coup.
The US is trying to restart the Cold War to get the rest of the world under the fold of the US toilet paper dollar, and is bribing and killing people to do it. That’s why Libya is a failed state after the US bombed it for “humanitarian purposes”.
The Federal Reserve couldn’t care less if Europe is vaporized, but they do care if the BRICS nations are successful, and they will do anything to prevent it.

Frank
Frank
Jan 24, 2018 7:43 AM
Reply to  summitflyer

Putin has on a number occasions said that a Ukie invasion and conquest of the Donbass will not be allowed. But that won’t deter Poroshenko and co in what is simply a puppet regime taking orders directly from DC. A victory for the Ukies will put the punitive battalions of Pravy Sektor, Aidar, Azov Regiment, and Svoboda right on Russia’s border less than 100 km from Rostov-on-Don. There is no way Putin can allow this. The retreat from Berlin in 1991 allowed the EU-NATO war machine to swallow up Moscow’s buffer zone and start the buildup on the western borders of Russia included Ballistic missiles sites in Romania and Poland; unfortunately, this can and will only be stopped from reaching Moscow by force of arms. Failure to recognize and carry this policy out will leave the only option open to Russia and to fly to the US and sign the terms of surrender. If there is a war, so be it. Call NATO’s bluff or live like a houseboy under the stars and stripes Non Pasaran!

vexarb
vexarb
Jan 24, 2018 4:51 PM
Reply to  summitflyer

“Eastern Ukraine” is a cod name for the “Ukraina” (border territories) of Western Russia. And there is no way the West Russians of the Donbass can be overrun by Cooky Nudelman’s Chocolate King and their neoNazi army. The only question is, will the West Russians once again simply stop after thrashing the Chocolate Army for the second or third time — or will they drive on to Liberate Kiev and restore it to Russia where it rightfully belongs?