RÚSSIA

[P44]

Sou espião do FSB. Minha missão é vigiar vosmecês. Pronto, falei.

P.S.: estão todos na lista do polônio.

Eu aceito ser anexado por umas russas jeitosas

[P44]

Jasus

[P44]

[FCarvalho]

Será que os americanos conseguiriam lutar em duas frentes outra vez como seus avós?
Eu acho que não.
Na verdade eu acho que eles sequer lutariam em qualquer uma das possíveis frentes que se lhes avizinha.

[FCarvalho]

Jasus

Que vídeo mais politicamente incorreto esse.
Dava até processo por aqui.

[knigh7]

Checkmate. Putin has the West cornered

Opinion by Michael Bociurkiw

Updated 1513 GMT (2313 HKT) December 21, 2021

(CNN)As 2022 nears, the West is trying to figure out Russian President Vladimir Putin's next move on a complex geopolitical chessboard -- and preparing an "aggressive package" of sanctions, should he decide to make another land grab in Ukraine.

Tensions are now at their highest since 2014, when Russia illegally annexed Crimea and dispatched "little green men" into Ukraine's Donbas region. An all-out land invasion of Ukraine is now a real possibility.
But let's face it. Putin could care less about the West's threats, sitting as he does in the enviable position of being able to call the shots.

Europe is in the grip of an energy crisis with low reserves. And with Russia supplying some 40% of the European Union's gas imports, the Kremlin has already shown its ability to checkmate the West's harshest sanctions by limiting production and potentially triggering rolling blackouts across the continent.
Putin's endgame is USSR 2.0, coming almost 30 years to the day the Soviet Union collapsed. His next moves come at a delicate geopolitical moment, with Western fears of a Ukraine invasion, the colonization of Belarus, a Europe-wide energy crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stepping down as EU chief negotiator and concerns over US President Joe Biden's discombobulated foreign policy.
If you've any doubt about Putin's plans to roll back the clock, just read his 5,000-plus-word essay on why Russia, Belarus and Ukraine are doomed without closer integration with Mother Russia. Or his audacious demands Friday for a veto on who joins the NATO alliance and limits in stationing troops and weaponry in any country which joined the alliance after 1997.
Without firing a shot, Putin has managed to send the West into a collective panic -- or at least into a position where they feel the need to appease the aging autocrat.
For the past four months, and particularly between September 7 and December 5 according to western intelligence sources quoted by CNN, Putin has been amassing tens of thousands of troops and heavy weaponry as close as 30 miles to Ukraine's borders. U.S. intelligence reports suggest a build-up of up to 175,000 troops, enough to stage a swift and immediate incursion.
Another land grab would add to the territory seized in 2014 when Russia illegally annexed Crimea and sent Russian-backed combatants into the heavily industrialized eastern Donbas region of Ukraine.

With so much muscle, Putin could be gunning for a land bridge between Russia proper and Crimea -- a move which could be designed in part to free-up water resources blocked by Ukraine in the North Crimean Canal, which once accounted for up to 85% of the peninsula's water needs.
The Kremlin's actions have not been limited to Ukraine. Russia has been engaged in hybrid warfare with the West, including cyberhacking one of the US's largest pipelines, spreading disinformation about coronavirus vaccines, interfering in US elections, and neutralizing opponents on foreign soil.
Most recently, Putin opened up another front with the West by establishing a military alliance with the man often dubbed "Europe's last dictator," Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. Emboldened by the Kremlin's backing, Lukashenko has acted with impunity by jailing opponents, forcing down a Ryanair jet with a political opponent onboard and sending migrants toward its border with EU neighbors.
Yet, as recently as Thursday, European leaders were responding to Putin's bullying tactics and intimidation by trying to nudge him toward the bargaining table. This could be a sign that the bloc fears that even if they sign off on further harsh sanctions on Russia should an invasion take place, Putin could respond by holding back gas production.
Andrei Soldatov, a Russian investigative journalist and security services expert, told me that the country is already heavily sanctioned, and that targeted Russian companies have been effectively inoculated with lucrative contracts from the defense forces and intelligence entities.
Russia has likely seen the impact of the 2018 harsh western sanctions on Iran and calculated it can withstand punitive measures even if it means suspension from the international SWIFT payment system.
Perhaps not coincidentally, Russia and China pledged this week to work jointly toward a closed trading network that would reduce dependence on the international financial system and limit transactions in US currency.
Putin rues Soviet collapse, says he moonlit as a taxi driver to survive economic crisis
Putin rues Soviet collapse, says he moonlit as a taxi driver to survive economic crisis
At home, Putin has been brandishing the state's power through fear and cohesion -- chiefly by banning civil society groups, jailing high profile opponents and threatening Russian nationals who work for foreign embassies.
What are the tools left in the West's diplomatic toolbox? Depressingly few. But some options remain: banning Russians from travel, blocking those multimillion dollar property deals which have transformed London and Miami into playgrounds for wealthy Russians -- even ordering the immediate expulsion of Russian nationals from Western countries. In other words, whatever it takes short of direct military conflict.

Clearly, video chats with Biden and threats from European leaders of "serious consequences" will not deter Putin. With an invasion of Ukraine imminent, the West needs to clarify the pain that awaits Putin should he decide to make his next move.
The appearance of a lack of resolve, whether in diplomacy, on the battlefield or on the chessboard, is never a winning strategy.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/12/21/opin ... index.html

[knigh7]

Vou colocar aqui pois o assunto tem mais a ver com a geopolítica russa:


Putin celebra 'salva' de mísseis hipersônicos | AFP

[knigh7]

A Rússia resolveu subir o tom também com a Suécia e a Finlândia:

NATO Accession of Sweden and Finland Would Lead to 'Adequate Response' From Russia
12:17 GMT 24.12.2021


Igor Kuznetsov

In the words of Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, while Moscow views the non-alignment of Finland and Sweden as an important factor in ensuring stability in Northern Europe, NATO is purposefully working to draw the both countries into its orbit through drills and military cooperation.
The accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO, as both Nordic countries are increasingly participating in the alliance's drills, would require an adequate response from Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.
Furthermore, Zakharova called NATO a “primarily military structure”, which “certainly doesn't have a defence agenda as its cornerstone, but instead is simply engaged in aggressive activities”.
According to the diplomat, Russia has always emphasised that it stands for “collective efforts, negotiations, and indivisible security”, yet is ready to take adequate measures, if necessary.
Zakharova emphasised NATO's purposeful work to “draw the two countries into the orbit of its interests and opportunistic policies”, which include an “increased participation in NATO's large-scale military drills and using their territory for such manoeuvres”.

Lastly, the diplomat emphasised that Russia views the non-alignment of Finland and Sweden as an important factor in ensuring stability in Northern Europe, whereas the choice of a national defence strategy remains the sovereign affair of each state.
While historically non-aligned for decades, Finland and Sweden have in recent years been drifting towards the alliance.
Despite stopping short of downright NATO membership, the both nations have been forging closer cooperation with the alliance, including common military exercises, training activities, participation in the NATO Response Force, and, not least, the ratification and implementation of the Host Nation Support agreement which opens political and military opportunities for NATO to use the land, airspace and territorial waters of the both nations. During his autumn visit to Helsinki, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance's doors remained open.

Most recently, however, Sweden's newly appointed Social Democratic Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced that her country wouldn't seek NATO membership. She said that freedom from military alliances had “served Sweden well” and contributed to stability and security in Northern Europe.
Nevertheless, in both countries, there is a strong political sentiment in favour of NATO represented, among others, by the Moderates and the Liberals in Sweden and the National Coalition in Finland.

https://sputniknews.com/20211224/nato-a ... 75676.html

[P44]

[FCarvalho]

A Rússia resolveu subir o tom também com a Suécia e a Finlândia:

NATO Accession of Sweden and Finland Would Lead to 'Adequate Response' From Russia
12:17 GMT 24.12.2021
Igor Kuznetsov
In the words of Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, while Moscow views the non-alignment of Finland and Sweden as an important factor in ensuring stability in Northern Europe, NATO is purposefully working to draw the both countries into its orbit through drills and military cooperation.

Isto também explica em partes a opção dos finlandeses pelos F-35 norte americanos, e a aceitação de todas as coleiras que vem junto com o mesmo, algo um tanto estranho ao modelo de defesa do país.
Por outro lado, essa introdução de Finlândia e Suécia no meio do imbróglio com a Ucrânia e OTAN/UE é parte do jogo de xadrez que Moscou está escalonando para tentar ocupar os espaços vazios deixados pelo protagonismo de Washington até tempos atrás naquela parte do mundo. E pressionar e/ou ressuscitar velhos estigmas até bem pouco tempo enterrados e até esquecidos faz parte da pressão por alcançar um outro nível de status nesta disputa.
Na verdade, para os russos, quanto mais gente envolvida nesta querela melhor. Os europeus nunca foram muito bons em decidir alguma coisa em conjunto.

[knigh7]

https://sputniknews.com/20211227/nato-p ... 40807.html

[knigh7]

A Rússia resolveu subir o tom também com a Suécia e a Finlândia:

Isto também explica em partes a opção dos finlandeses pelos F-35 norte americanos, e a aceitação de todas as coleiras que vem junto com o mesmo, algo um tanto estranho ao modelo de defesa do país.
Por outro lado, essa introdução de Finlândia e Suécia no meio do imbróglio com a Ucrânia e OTAN/UE é parte do jogo de xadrez que Moscou está escalonando para tentar ocupar os espaços vazios deixados pelo protagonismo de Washington até tempos atrás naquela parte do mundo. E pressionar e/ou ressuscitar velhos estigmas até bem pouco tempo enterrados e até esquecidos faz parte da pressão por alcançar um outro nível de status nesta disputa.
Na verdade, para os russos, quanto mais gente envolvida nesta querela melhor. Os europeus nunca foram muito bons em decidir alguma coisa em conjunto.

a Flygvapnet chegou ser a 4ª maior Força Aérea do mundo em termos numéricos num período da Guerra Fria. É uma nação que pode voltar a pisar no acelerador, que é o que fez a Finlândia. O planejamento da Suécia de adquirir 60 Gripens E foi em 2013. E de lá para cá as tensões com a Rússia se elevaram.

[knigh7]

Estados Unidos ajudarão Ucrânia a reforçar fronteira com Rússia e Belarus


https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/internacio ... e-belarus/

[knigh7]

¿Respuesta a la OTAN en Ucrania? Rusia "no descarta" despliegue militar en Cuba y Venezuela

[knigh7]

O vice-chanceler russo ao deixar aberta a possibilidade de enviar tropas (&demais brinquedinhos bélicos) para a Venezuela e Cuba tenta dar uma reposta simétrica à presença da OTAN na Ucrânia.

Não houve progresso algum nas conversas sobre a Ucrânia até agora e, pelo visto, é bastante factível que a Rússia use esses 2 países da AL. Consequentemente, a importância do Brasil vai aumentar para os EUA.

Vai ficar interessante.