Ukraine - Russia Conflict

WHOHE said:
Well this is embarrassing.

Kremlin takes crack at Macron after he met with Putin about Ukraine, saying Paris is 'not the leader' in NATO so they 'couldn't do any deals'​

  • The Kremlin threw cold water on Macron's claim that Putin said he wouldn't escalate the Ukraine crisis.
  • "Moscow and Paris couldn't do any deals. It's simply impossible," a Kremlin spokesperson said.
  • Western leaders have expressed grave concerns about Russia's military buildup near Ukraine.
The Kremlin on Tuesday pushed back on assertions from French President Emmanuel Macron that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to not to escalate the situation with Ukraine. Russia suggested that Macron didn't have enough influence in NATO for Moscow to negotiate any deals with Paris.

After meeting with Putin in Moscow on Monday, Macron traveled to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. At a press conference in the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday, Macron said Putin told him that he "won't be initiating an escalation."

"I think it is important," Macron added.

But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov in a phone call with reporters on Tuesday rejected the notion that Putin made any such pledges. "This is wrong in its essence. Moscow and Paris couldn't do any deals. It's simply impossible," Peskov said, per The Guardian.

"France is a leading country in the EU, France is a member of NATO, but Paris is not the leader there. In this bloc, a very different country is in charge," Peskov added. "So what deals can we talk about?"

Zelensky on Tuesday also expressed skepticism about Russia making verbal commitments to de-escalate.

"I do not really trust words. I believe that every politician can be transparent by taking concrete steps," Zelensky said during a press briefing with Macron, according to Reuters.
www.businessinsider.com

Kremlin takes crack at Macron after he met with Putin about Ukraine, saying Paris is 'not the leader' in NATO so they 'couldn't do any deals'

Macron said Putin told him that he "won't be initiating an escalation" with Ukraine, but the Kremlin threw cold water on this.
www.businessinsider.com www.businessinsider.com

Macrony should really just stay out of it before he gets even more humiliated let the more important nations burn the world down.
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As usual Americans & American news agencies spin everything to build a narrative & further their agenda even if means belittling a major ally like France first by underhand deals like AUKUS & now with news like this.
 
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_Anonymous_ said:
As usual Americans & American news agencies spin everything to build a narrative & further their agenda even if means belittling a major ally like France first by underhand deals like AUKUS & now with news like this.
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1. The Financial Times reports Macron's words following his meeting with Putin

He [Putin] said he would not instigate an escalation," Macron told a press conference, but warned that "nobody (was) naive".

2. The FT headline reads: "Emmanuel Macron says Vladimir Putin promises not to 'escalate' Ukraine crisis".

The title is undoubtedly true, but it is also partial and therefore misleading, as it does not report the very important reservation made by the French president, whose message is indeed "Putin told me that, but should I believe him, that is a question". This reservation is moreover simple common sense.

3. A journalist asks Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov whether Putin and Macron have indeed reached an "agreement". The answer is reported by Interfax

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has denied reports by the Financial Times that Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron reached an agreement on Ukraine during talks in Moscow.

"The Financial Times, of course, wrote incorrectly," Peskov told reporters. "It is basically incorrect, Moscow and Paris could not have reached an agreement. It is simply impossible," Peskov stressed.

According to him, "France holds the EU presidency, France is a member of NATO, where Paris does not have the leadership." "In this bloc, the leadership belongs to a completely different country. What kind of agreements can we talk about?" the Kremlin spokesman said.

"The newspaper simply wrote incorrectly," Peskov concluded.

Peskov's answer too is simple common sense: it was obviously impossible for Putin and Macron to reach an "agreement", i.e. a written, binding document, given that Macron may hold the EU presidency, but does not have an equivalent role in NATO. This is common sense... the spokesman was simply reacting to a FALSE report.

Indeed, the FT did not write that Putin and Macron had reached an agreement. It was the question put to the spokesman that was wrong.

By a journalist. Who didn't bother to go beyond the title of the FT article, to read for example the body of the article ...

4. Then other journalists intervene, this time in France or in other NATO countries.

To correct the error, which takes a few minutes by going back to the source - so in English and Russian, yes Madam! - and using the services of an automatic translator - it's new, it just came out?

No way.

The news that is circulating and being commented on at leisure by many is that the Kremlin directly contradicted Macron, a few hours after his meeting with Putin. Yes, sir! The French president? An amateur who was played for a fool by the Master of the Kremlin. His visit? Useless. France? Humiliated, oh yes!

The reality is that a newspaper made a mistake in a headline. A mistake that would have had no consequences if a journalist had not chosen to stick to the headline - reading is tiring, you know - before drawing a false conclusion and asking a biased question of the Russian presidential spokesman. Whereupon a bunch of other journalists rush to the spokesman's answer - in response to false information - to conclude with delight that Peskov has directly contradicted Macron - it makes for a juicy, putaclic scandal, you see. Checking sources? Relate to something other than something premixed by another newspaper whose language you happen to speak, or even just gibberish? Remember that there is such a thing as machine translation - yes, yes, and computers too, you know? Oh no, then, you'd have to work... what... 10 minutes at most.

This kind of I don't care attitude is very common among journalists - but do they really deserve this title? It's already exasperating in ordinary times - we don't ask much of these Scribblers, after all, just a little professionalism, of the order of knowing how to do multiplication if you claim to be an engineer, or having heard about blood circulation if you claim to be a doctor.
 
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WHOHE said:
Majority of Russian armor is 125-200 miles from Ukraine border. Once the order is given they will stage 40-50 miles which will be seen by US/NATO/EU ISR and whatever Ukraine has. Seeing hundreds of Russian armor moving closer to Ukraine will be obviously seen as an imminent invasion. So from their parking spots to staging area its going to take at least 2 days if they want to go in with overwhelming force.
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So it seems why all the drama is that US/NATO ISR has detected Russian armored vehicles moving closer from 125-200 miles to 50km in some cases 30km from Ukraine border pretty much giving US/NATO the 2-3 days heads-up of imminent invasion. In this case 4-5 days which Ukraine should be preparing and dispersing its forces instead of just waiting and reacting. If anything at this point Ukraine has a good reason to hit first with its MLRS, long range arty and incursions to due as much damage as possible. When you've already been invaded before and Russia moves armored forces closer to your border (30km) it's an act of war. Hit them while they are still in static position.
 
WHOHE said:
So it seems why all the drama is that US/NATO ISR has detected Russian armored vehicles moving closer from 125-200 miles to 50km in some cases 30km from Ukraine border pretty much giving US/NATO the 2-3 days heads-up of imminent invasion. In this case 4-5 days which Ukraine should be preparing and dispersing its forces instead of just waiting and reacting. If anything at this point Ukraine has a good reason to hit first with its MLRS, long range arty and incursions to due as much damage as possible. When you've already been invaded before and Russia moves armored forces closer to your border (30km) it's an act of war. Hit them while they are still in static position.
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Ukraine firing the first shot , is not going to happen

This war is nothing but NATO' s hatred for Russia

Ukraine will suffer unnecessarily
 
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STEPHEN COHEN said:
Ukraine firing the first shot , is not going to happen
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I didn't say it was going to happen I said Ukraine has a good reason and the right since they have already been invaded and had land taken from them. They should hit first while they can do some damage because once Russian forces are on the move it will be useless for Ukraine to try counter.
STEPHEN COHEN said:
This war is nothing but NATO' s hatred for Russia
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There is no war right now. There is no NATO forces threatening Russia but quite the opposite. Don't forget Russia invaded and took Crimea and in 2008 invaded Georgia. So who's hating again? You better hope India doesn't join an alliance that china disapproves and feels "threatened" and decides to move forces to your border and Pakistan.
STEPHEN COHEN said:
Ukraine will suffer unnecessarily
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And you can blame Russia for that.
 
Russia doesn't want war with Ukraine, they want a post 2014 status quo. But their demands are impossible to meet. And at the same time, the US is provoking Russia, so there's not much room to negotiate. Both sides have hardline stances.

The US has nothing to lose here. If Russia invades, they sanction. If Russia doesn't invade, Ukraine joins NATO. Either scenario is a win. So they are not gonna back down. Europe is too small a player to alleviate Russia's concerns. So the ball is in Russia's court.
 
STEPHEN COHEN said:
What if XI jinping suddenly attacks
India , instead of Taiwan
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China is not ready to invade Taiwan yet. 2026-27 at the earliest, based on their modernisation speed. 'Cause they need the ability to counter the US.

And they lost their advantage in the same year as Galwan, so it's unlikely for them to look for trouble with India at this time.
 
_Anonymous_ said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1492504531543994374

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https://twitter.com/x/status/1492513331013636097


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https://twitter.com/x/status/1492566406252363777


And I used to think UK is a 2nd rate power, Paddy!!
@BMD
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If we are able to say replicate what would a Royal Navy and French Navy together would look like , that capability would be a perfect scenario for our Naval planners for upto 2035 maybe. Even their airforces.

Land forces are in bad shape but ok. Onus of land forces is on Germany, Poland and France now.

But in this case, everyone is a by stander.

Ukarine is a gale ki haddi for Russia and USA is happily waiting for some kind of result.
 
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If Russia invades Ukraine then it means that Putin has boxed himself into a corner from where he cannot retreat without looking weak. This phase of information warfare has been won by the West led by the US. In a war of egos of major powers the Ukrainians will pay a dear price with or without a war.
 
thinkingcap81 said:
If Russia invades Ukraine then it means that Putin has boxed himself into a corner from where he cannot retreat without looking weak. This phase of information warfare has been won by the West led by the US. In a war of egos of major powers the Ukrainians will pay a dear price with or without a war.
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It's not difficult to box in weaker powers when there's easy leverage available.

With Europe having surrendered their security to the US, the US can do whatever the hell they want and get away with it, even within Europe. They are just lucky the Russians are only playing catch up today and are unable to challenge others yet. Give it 10-15 more years, the Russia of today will be gone.
 
thehindu, 02/16

News Analysis | At Munich meet, European nations to push Jaishankar for tougher line on Russia​

After Quad meeting last week, this conference is likely to be dominated by Ukraine situation

European countries will make a push for India to take a stronger line on Russia as External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar travels to attend the annual Munich Security Conference (MSC). He is likely to meet his counterparts, including the European Union’s Josep Borrell and Germany’s Annalena Baerbock, during the conference, which is expected to focus on the fears of a conflict in Ukraine.

According to sources involved in the preparations for the visit, the discussions will build on similar conversations held with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Quad Ministerial meeting in Melbourne last week, and high-level meetings in South Block with visiting British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development (FCDO) Officials in the past two weeks.
A White House spokesperson said on Monday that Mr. Blinken discussed the “challenges Russia poses to the rules-based international order,” “throughout his talks” with the Quad partners, including Mr. Jaishankar.

About 30 heads of state and government and 100 minister-level officials, including United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have confirmed their attendance, according to the MSC website.

Russia to abstain​

In a departure from previous years, when Russia has sent officials to the conference, it has decided not to attend this year, a government spokesperson said in Moscow last week. This is understood to be due to the ongoing tensions over Ukraine, where more than 100,000 Russian troops are ranged along its boundaries and involved in massive military drill with Belarus.

In particular, the sources said the officials would discuss a “Joint sanctions package”, including stringent economic and financial strictures against Russia if there was any increase in hostilities. In London, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave details of the “very, very tough package” that the U.K. would kick in, which includes “targeting particular Russian banks, Russian companies”, exposing Russian property holdings and stopping Russian companies from raising capital.

‘Principled’ stand​

New Delhi has thus far held firm on what Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials call a “principled” stand, which involves encouraging diplomatic solutions between the NATO and Russia, abstaining from a vote on the discussion at the U.N. Security Council, not publicly criticising Moscow despite western pressure given the close India-Russia strategic partnership, and refusing to follow “national sanctions”, or sanctions not mandated by the U.N.. However, the sources said the EU members of the NATO in particular have made it clear that they hope that India “upholds Ukraine’s territorial integrity” in the face of any Russian aggression, and not attempt to balance this with its traditional ties with Moscow.

To that end, India’s decision to issue its first travel advisory to citizens in Ukraine to leave the country temporarily is being seen by Ukraine’s European associates as a sign that New Delhi is recognising the precarious security situation caused by the troops build-up, said diplomats, but doesn’t yet match up to their expectations from Delhi.

In addition, those hoping to pull India away from the Russian-tilt point to Moscow’s “no limits” partnership announced by President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, as well as growing ties with Pakistan. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to visit Moscow by the end of February, possibly as early as next week (February 23-24), a head of government visit after a gap of 22 years.
www.thehindu.com

NEWS/ANALYSIS: At Munich conference European countries to push Jaishankar for tougher line on Russia

After Quad meeting last week, this conference is likely to be dominated by Ukraine situation
www.thehindu.com www.thehindu.com
 
Russia claims they are making small withdrawals.
www.moneycontrol.com

Russia Ukraine Conflict Highlights |Reiterate our call for the peaceful resolution of the situation: India at UNSC

Russia Ukraine Conflict Highlights | "Units of the southern military district that ended tactical exercises at training grounds on the Crimean peninsula are returning by rail to their permanent bases," the defence ministry said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies.
www.moneycontrol.com www.moneycontrol.com

US and NATO say no.
www.bbc.com

Ukraine crisis: Russian claim of troop withdrawal false, says US

A senior US official says Russia has moved thousands more troops to the border in recent days.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
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