Anti-Imperialism/Foreign Policy

West braces for false-flag operations by Kremlin as fighting in eastern Ukraine escalates

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If you want to know what the CIA wants you to think, just read the Bezos-owned WaPo.

By Andrew Jeong, Alex Horton, Ellen Francis, Claire Parker and Timothy Bella

The threat of renewed war in Ukraine escalated Saturday as shelling and military preparations by Russian-backed separatists picked up in the country’s contested east.

At a major security conference in Munich, Vice President Harris warned of far-reaching sanctions against Russia and its allies in the event of an invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, accused world leaders of appeasing Russia and urged them to take stronger action to support his country.

The rush to find a diplomatic solution came after President Biden said Friday that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, has “made the decision” to strike Ukraine, warning of Kremlin-orchestrated false-flag operations in the coming days as pretexts for an attack.

Fighting between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian militants intensified, meanwhile, with Ukrainian military officials reporting a tenfold increase in shelling by pro-Russian militants in the area.

Here’s what to know

  • Belarusian military officials said Russian troops deployed to the country for joint drills may stay there past the official end of the exercise on Sunday. Their presence has increased fears about the Russian military surrounding Ukraine from a number of strategic positions.
  • U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday said Russian forces have advanced essentially every capability needed to invade Ukraine, but he said there still are pathways to avoid a bloody conflict. Meanwhile, artillery fire, including from mortars, and grenades pounded a border town in Ukraine’s east.
  • President Vladimir Putin oversaw a major military exercise on Saturday of Russia’s nuclear forces, involving the launch of of hypersonic missiles. The exercises are taking place as the United States asserts that Russia probably has massed as many as 190,000 troops in and around Ukraine, or nearly double the 100,000 estimated in late January.

Categories: Anti-Imperialism/Foreign Policy, Geopolitics, Military

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