Article

2022-05-30 Europe

While you weren't looking, an Anschluss in Western Ukraine: Poland's Power Move

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Slineling Chusong5031 2022-05-30 00:00|| || Front Page|| [21 views ] Top
File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats

#1 We could do without the little purple speculative NC-17 Warning Label -- what Bhabdrakumar actually wrote would have been much more helpful than this weird speculation. Bhabdrakunar is not a Marxist, nor is he obsessed with Russia; in fact very little of his writing concerns Russia.

His perspective is always extremely well informed, astute and as he says in his autobigiraphucal inforbation, informed by a sand and humanist perspective.

Here is his Twitter account. Read the man, ignore others' Russophobic obsessive speculation and FUD, expand your perspective. Judge for yourselves

https://mobile.twitter.com/BhadraPunchline

Posted by Slineling Chusong5031 2022-05-30 00:42|| 2022-05-30 00:42|| Front Page Top

#2 What Bhandrakumar wrote regarding Kyiv and Warsaw:

"About a month ago, in a rare statement, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accused Washington and Warsaw of plotting to restore Polish control over part of western Ukraine, which Poland had ruled at different times in the past, most recently between the two world wars. The territories include the city of Lviv, which were absorbed into the Soviet Union at the end of World War II.

"The SVR said the US was discussing with Poland a plan under which Polish “peacekeeping” forces without a NATO mandate would enter parts of western Ukraine where the chance of a confrontation with Russian forces was low. The SVR’s intelligence scoop presumably triggered an expulsion of 45 Russian diplomats in Poland and a physical attack on the Russian Ambassador at a public function at Warsaw.

"Curiously, soon afterward, on May 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced “joint customs control” on Ukraine’s border with Poland, which he described as “also the beginning of our integration into the common customs space of the European Union… (and) a truly historic process.” Zelensky said Ukraine-Poland relations are “finally completely free of quarrels and the legacy of old conflicts. I would like the brotherhood between Ukrainians and Poles to last forever… our unity of Ukrainians and Poles is a constant that no one will break.” Two days before that, Polish President Andrzej Duda had visited Kiev.

"To be sure, Zelensky and Duda acted with US approval. In effect, Ukraine’s sovereignty over its western regions bordering Poland is eroded. Kiev has also announced plans to grant special legal status to Polish citizens. Plainly put, a de facto “merger” is under way."

A reclamation of lost territories in western Ukraine (estimated to be 178000 sq. kms) would make Poland much larger than Germany — exceeding 500,000 sq. kms as against Germany’s 357, 588 sq. kms. The geopolitical implications are far too profound to be overstated — to name a few, EU’s future, Germany’s rise, Europe’s autonomy, German-Russian relations, Russia’s security.

Posted by Slineling Chusong5031 2022-05-30 00:51|| 2022-05-30 00:51|| Front Page Top

#3 Poland's activities are not going unnoticed there. Tit for tat with neighbors who feel threatened as well. Not only Russia. Doing Biden's bidding with the ambition of acquiring more territory. Belarus a very serious observer.

Posted by Dale 2022-05-30 03:54|| 2022-05-30 03:54|| Front Page Top

#4 The inline said "son of a marxist intellectual." A bridge too far to absorb that construct as it was written, I guess, for some.

Posted by M. Murcek 2022-05-30 05:56|| 2022-05-30 05:56|| Front Page Top

#5 Duda a doo-dah, too?

Posted by DooDahMan 2022-05-30 06:40|| 2022-05-30 06:40|| Front Page Top

#6 Perhaps the Division of Poland Ukraine was part of the original plan:

Goodbye Ukraine. Welcome back Greater Poland and Imperial Russia

"Was the ongoing war in Ukraine started for the purpose of redrawing the map of Eastern Europe?

In particular, was the objective to restore the frontier between Poland and Russia along the Dneiper River, where it was agreed in 1665 by the Treaty of Andrusovo, an agreement made "permanent" in 1686 by Russia's payment to Poland of 146,000 Rubles. (The ruble was worth more then than now -- about 5000 times more.) Under the terms of that treaty, Russia acquired Polish land to the right of the river, while Poland retained the left bank.

If that is the objective, what is the motivation?

For Russia, the benefit is obvious: the recovery of at least the Eastern half of the former Imperial domain of Little Russia.

For Poland, likewise, the benefit is the recovery of former imperial lands.

But why would Ukraine facilitate its own extinction?

For several reasons.

First, to be rid of those damn Russian cockroaches, to use the terminology of the Ukrainian nationalists.

Better to lose the Eastern territories than tolerate continued cohabitation with people who speak a foreign language, perpetuate a foreign culture, and have allegiance to the super power next door.

Second, to be rid of those damn Nazified nationalists, who not only hate Russians but also Jews, a highly influenctial element of Western Ukrainian society, with over one hundred thousand members in Kyiv alone.

Third, to enter immediately into the European Union and NATO, thereby gaining the prospect of rapid economic development plus increased security from further Russian encroachment.

How did Ukraine hope to achieve these objectives?

Easy.

First, send the Nazis to exterminate ethnic Russians in Eastern Ukraine.

Second, fail to prevent the Nazis from being killed or taken captive by invading forces of the Russian Federation sent to protect their Ukrainian co-ethnics.

Third, refuse a negotiated settlement with Russia, thus ensuring Russian annexation of East Ukrainian.

Fourth, make Poland an offer of union it cannot refuse, meaning the return to Poland of former Polish territory, including the Polish city of Lvov.

Result: Ukraine will be no more, and everyone but the Nazis and the many thousands of victims of war will be happy.

Posted by Palmerston 2022-05-30 07:42|| 2022-05-30 07:42|| Front Page Top

#7 *Perhaps the Division of ~~Poland~~ Ukraine was part of the original plan:

Posted by Palmerston 2022-05-30 07:43|| 2022-05-30 07:43|| Front Page Top

#8 Are the Lithuanians interested, too?

Posted by DooDahMan 2022-05-30 08:11|| 2022-05-30 08:11|| Front Page Top

#9 No mention of the Russian promises to exterminate the Ukrainians, Palmerton? Or how their "denazification" rhetoric is just a small change from their "dekulakization" during the Holodomor?

Posted by Rob Crawford 2022-05-30 08:44|| 2022-05-30 08:44|| Front Page Top

#10 Zelensky's puppet master is the billionaire bandit who created and funded the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion which the Russians destroyed at Mariupol. Neither one gives a shit about Ukraine. Kolomoisky is in Israel and Zelensky will probably soon end up in Tel Aviv at his villa there, with occasional jaunts to Warsaw, London and Miami.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has done an extraordinary job detailing how Kolomoisky looted Privatbank, the embezzlement vehicle favored by Zelensky and other corrupt Ukrainian politicians (and Hunter Biden and his fellow Burisma thieves), and all of Kolomoisky's 14+ American money-laundering steel mills across Appalachia. Kolomoisky also invested in multiple commercial properties in Cleveland, Ohiio, most of which were foreclosed upon several years ago.

The looting began over a decade ago and was used to build up Zelensky's (much smaller) ill-gotten fortune and then to prop up him as a political candidate and Azov and others as paramilitary thugs creating havoc and murdering their way across Odesa and the Donbas.

It is an appalling spectacle. These are the thieves that America has funded and empowered in Ukraine. They have stolen even more money from their oeople and from their western backers than Hamid Karzai or the Iraqis stole from the US. They could not care less about Ukraine. Their only concern is

Posted by Palmerston 2022-05-30 09:03|| 2022-05-30 09:03|| Front Page Top

#11 And, gee, how convenient. All that laundered money moved through primarily blue districts here in America.

Posted by M. Murcek 2022-05-30 09:07|| 2022-05-30 09:07|| Front Page Top

#12 ...Their only concern is looting their country and conning stupid Americans.

Chalabi and Karzai showed that the greatest and most lucrative con is to convince the American neo-conservatives that you are a heroic "freedom fighter" striking blows against the imagined Hitler-du-jour -- even when you're funding and enabling your own country's fascist killers.

Posted by Palmerston 2022-05-30 09:07|| 2022-05-30 09:07|| Front Page Top

#13 American neo-conservatives

Yes, they went after Trump because he was costing them their grip on the GOPe.

Posted by M. Murcek 2022-05-30 09:08|| 2022-05-30 09:08|| Front Page Top

#14 All that laundered money moved through primarily blue districts here in America.

Kolomoisky's biggest champion in the US, the man who enabled him to break so many laws and launder billions while violating dozens of safety regulations at the steel mills he ran into the ground, was and remains Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's two-part extensive investigative bombshell was published only last November. It has been swept aside in the latest US faux-democracy crusade-cum-war hysteria.

Ohio's senators of both parties have also championed Kolomoisky and helped him evade scrutiny by US regulators and other authorities.

Posted by Palmerston 2022-05-30 09:14|| 2022-05-30 09:14|| Front Page Top

#15 Why not carve up Ukraine and turn the region upside down?

That fits nicely with the American playbook in Iraq and Afghanistan. Iraq is now effectively a set of three tribal states, with greater Iranian influence. Afghanistan is now part of greater Pakistan (or maybe vice-versa; it seems to be changing by the day).

So why not make Ukraine into Greater Poland + Greater Russia?

Endless tension, endless graft, and a money pit for the MIC: What's not to like?

Posted by Billy Budd 2022-05-30 09:23|| 2022-05-30 09:23|| Front Page Top

#16 ^ If they are so gung-ho on self-determination, let them self-determine.

Posted by M. Murcek 2022-05-30 09:31|| 2022-05-30 09:31|| Front Page Top

#17 was the objective to restore the frontier between Poland and Russia along the Dneiper River?

Notice how different this is from what Kissinger and every other wise diplomat and scholar recommended. Instead of a durable peace settlement based on making Ukraine a neutral buffer state -- what Kissinger called a "bridge" connecting and helping unite Europe with Russia -- the neo-con warmongers and Biden Freakshow are trying to create perpetual conflict and strife with a Dniepr version of Korea's DMZ.

A hardcoded eternal flashpoint. A source of endless conflict. Billions for the MIC. A bottomless ATM for the DC Swampies, Vindman, Nuland, Painter, Manafort, Hunter, Jimbo and of course, don't forget The Big Guy. MISSIONACCOMPLISHED!

Posted by Billy Budd 2022-05-30 09:36|| 2022-05-30 09:36|| Front Page Top

#18 Kolomoisky's biggest champion ... is Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

Manchin is a total scumbag. His daughter has pocketed millions thanks to dad's corrupt intervention on her company's behalf. The safety violations at the rotten and decrepit steel mills that Kolomoisky took over with Manchin's help have destroyed the lives of dozens of American steel workers (and at least one health and safety inspector).

No wonder the Democrats support their filthy war in Ukraine. Sick corrupt bastards

Posted by Billy Budd 2022-05-30 09:45|| 2022-05-30 09:45|| Front Page Top

#19 The Poles and the Biden Administration are playing with fire. Entry of Poland into western Ukraine will inevitably create a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia -- in short, set off World War III.

Here is what a Russian general said yesterday. It is difficult to dispute his conclusions:

"The Poles under the national flag will not go either to Belarus or to Ukraine. Mercenaries, volunteers, whatever you want to call them, can go to the Donbass, somewhere in the Lviv region or the Ternopil region, but not the servicemen of the Polish army. Poland is part of NATO, and one shot from NATO towards Russia is the beginning of the Third World War.

"Everyone understands this, and I think Warsaw received a very clear command from Washington: not to take initiative. America does not want to perish because of Ukraine or because of Poland. In a global nuclear war, which is exactly what World War III will inevitably become, there will be no winners."

Posted by Jean-Paul 2022-05-30 09:56|| 2022-05-30 09:56|| Front Page Top

#20 @17 - Yeah kind like "Palestine".

Posted by DooDahMan 2022-05-30 10:06|| 2022-05-30 10:06|| Front Page Top

#21 ^ Yes, this is beginning to look like the Gaza nightmare, only in European soil. Endless war, endless shortages, economic decline... for nothing, really.

There is a sense of dread or malaise settling in now in Europe. One hears the word debacle more and more. The New York Times' correspondent has picked up on this:

"As the war drags on in Ukraine, millions of refugees arrive in Europe, energy prices rise and inflation booms, European policymakers are reflecting a growing fatigue in some parts of the bloc. The oil embargo debacle is a case in point...."

Posted by Jean-Paul 2022-05-30 10:13|| 2022-05-30 10:13|| Front Page Top

#22 Yes but wat are the causes? Who or wat sets these events into motion? Wat are the causes? Who profits?

Posted by Besoeker 2022-05-30 10:56|| 2022-05-30 10:56|| Front Page Top

#23 ...Endless war, endless shortages, economic decline... for nothing, really.
This is somehow different from life in Europa for the last thousand years? Europeans should be thankful that life was temporarily prosperous for the last thirty or so years.

Posted by magpie 2022-05-30 11:17|| 2022-05-30 11:17|| Front Page Top

#24 Over the last 207 years Europe has known many more years of peace than war -- twice as many, to be precise.

There was no war in Europe for nearly forty years, thanks to the Concert of Europe after 1815. There was no war for another forty years after Sedan.

And another forty year period of peace after 1945, and even longer if you consider that the major powers did not fight each other in the Balkan War.

In reality, between 1815 and the present, the major nations of Europe -- France, Germany (including Austria and Prussia) Britain and Russia -- have experienced peaceful relations and prosperity for about 140 or so years: i.e. more than two-thirds of that time. Compare that with Asia or the Levant during this modern era.

Posted by Jean-Paul 2022-05-30 11:43|| 2022-05-30 11:43|| Front Page Top

#25 The reason for such long stretches of peace is the one that Kissinger alluded to: wise and realistic diplomacy aimed at pensyring each great power's interests and security concerns are respected and balanced.

From 1815-1853 this was achieved through the efforts of Kissinger's hero, Metternich -- with help from his British and Russian counterparts.

From 1871-1910 or so this was achieved mainly through the careful balance established by Bismarck -- again, with help from his counterparts in Britain (esp. Disraeli) and Russia (esp. Count Gorchakoff).

From 1945-1992 this was achieved by the strategy of the brilliant American diplomat George Kennan -- again, by creating a balance of power with Russia.

Perhaps you're perceiving a common thread... Do you see why Kissinger spoke out against the folly of imagining there can be European peace and prosperity while excluding Russia?

Realism isn't always pleasant but it's the only sound means of securing peace and prosperity.

Posted by Jean-Paul 2022-05-30 11:52|| 2022-05-30 11:52|| Front Page Top

#26 The Biden Freaks and their new neo-con buddies don't know the meaning of reality, let alone Realism....

They're living in their own little fantasy world in which evil White Supremacist Orcs threaten the peaceful little alphabet-hobbits of the Shire

Posted by Billy Budd 2022-05-30 12:17|| 2022-05-30 12:17|| Front Page Top

#27 I love it when the poly-sci academic wanna-bes join.

Posted by Skidmark 2022-05-30 15:20|| 2022-05-30 15:20|| Front Page Top

#28 Europeans should be thankful that life was temporarily prosperous for the last thirty or so years.

BAHAHAHAHAHA gratitude??? From Europeans?? BAHAHA that's the funniest thing I've heard all month!! No way. They don't do gratitude. They do contempt. Sneering. Scorn. Disdain.

Gratitude...LOL!

Posted by Bertie Lumumba1577 2022-05-30 16:16|| 2022-05-30 16:16|| Front Page Top

#29 The endgame begins.

Russian forces advancing on centre of Severodonetsk city, says Ukraine

"The Russians are advancing into the middle of Severodonetsk. The fighting continues. The situation is very difficult," the Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said in a statement on social media.

Posted by Slineling Chusong5031 2022-05-30 17:28|| 2022-05-30 17:28|| Front Page Top

#30

Posted by Billy Budd 2022-05-30 17:34|| 2022-05-30 17:34|| Front Page Top

#31 Billy Budd: when you've spent as much time making this place run as Skid has in making content available, you MIGHT be able to make those slurs. Until then, keep your temporal trollish comments to facts? You're on notice

Posted by Frank G 2022-05-30 17:39|| 2022-05-30 17:39|| Front Page Top

#32 Polly (sigh) polytechnic grad's still catching up.

The endgame begins.

"Slowly at first, then all of a sudden"

Meanwhile, there's no food scarcity for the EU honchos:

NEW YORK TIMES
May 30, 2022, 4:06 p.m. ET
Matina Stevis-Gridneff
Reporting from Davos, Switzerland

E.U. negotiators who spent hours Monday hammering out an agreement on a Russian oil embargo appeared to be heading into the wee hours. Late in the day, they broke for a dinner of artichoke and creamy parmesan tarts, with a main course of lamb fillet in an herb crust, and vanilla and red currant eclair for dessert.

Posted by Billy Budd 2022-05-30 17:47|| 2022-05-30 17:47|| Front Page Top

#33

Posted by Billy Budd 2022-05-30 17:49|| 2022-05-30 17:49|| Front Page Top

#34 Reality sets in, even for Polly Sigh. "Slowly at first, then all of a sudden..." and now for the all of a sudden -- how quickly the Narrative turns:

Ukraine Is in Worse Shape than You Think - Time Magazine

Ukraine suffers on battlefield while pleading for U.S. arms - the Washington Post

Russian Wins in Eastern Ukraine Spark Debate Over Course of War - Bloomberg

Russia’s ‘cauldron’ tactic may be tipping Donbas battle in its favour - Guardian

Shrapnel in the forests and shells from the sky: ‘I’ve never seen such hell.’ - New York Times

Boris Johnson warns Russia is 'chewing through ground' in eastern Ukraine as he urges more support for Kyiv forces - The Daily Mail

😂

Posted by Billy Budd 2022-05-30 18:04|| 2022-05-30 18:04|| Front Page Top

#35 triple pay on a holiday?

Posted by Frank G 2022-05-30 18:05|| 2022-05-30 18:05|| Front Page Top

#36 Mon dieu... that's a 180-degree change in about 72 hours.

It's almost as if they all suddenly received new orders from their superiors

Posted by Jean-Paul 2022-05-30 18:10|| 2022-05-30 18:10|| Front Page Top

#37 It's almost as if they all suddenly received new orders from their superiors

"almost"?
"as if"?

Posted by Billy Budd 2022-05-30 18:14|| 2022-05-30 18:14|| Front Page Top

#38 Now we know why all the Daily Mail war-spam suddenly disappeared.

MoD and MI6 are telling Boris (the Etonian Greek-speaker, not the russko-govveryashee) to pipe down.

"Lie back and think of... Kissinger"

Posted by Palmerston 2022-05-30 18:24|| 2022-05-30 18:24|| Front Page Top

#39 "Lie back and think of... Kissinger"

That is actually snarky! *clap*clap*clap*

Over the last 207 years Europe has known many more years of peace than war -- twice as many, to be precise.

This may be good marketing, but maybe not as impressive as intended. 1/3 war and 2/3 peace certainly isn't continuous war, but after a year of war, you need a year to clean up the rubble and another year to gather resources for the next round. Let's call it a continuous process with three discrete phases.

As a side note, the phrase "over the last 207 years" attracts attention for being quite specific. Not "the last couple centuries", but 207 years. Makes you wonder if there is something on the other side of that boundary that would give a different conclusion.

Posted by SteveS 2022-05-30 19:45|| 2022-05-30 19:45|| Front Page Top

#40 Well...209 would Fook the argument up

Posted by Frank G 2022-05-30 20:13|| 2022-05-30 20:13|| Front Page Top

#41 Frankly... I would rather lie back and think of Jill St. John (Sorry Robert W.), but you all do what works for you, ewwww

Posted by Frank G 2022-05-30 20:15|| 2022-05-30 20:15|| Front Page Top

#42 I do enjoy the synchronicity of when you three (Billy B, Alastaire, and Jean-Paul) show up. Coincidence, absolutely. Time Zones, probably

Posted by Frank G 2022-05-30 20:20|| 2022-05-30 20:20|| Front Page Top

#43 I'm sure it beats totin' a Mosin.

Posted by Nero 2022-05-30 20:38|| 2022-05-30 20:38|| Front Page Top

#44 207 years ago = 1815... a rather important year in world history...

Posted by Jean-Paul 2022-05-30 21:00|| 2022-05-30 21:00|| Front Page Top

#45 "Lie back and think of... Kissinger"
Definitely first class 'Burg snark. Definitely.
I remember Tom Lehrer saying that he had trouble thinking of any new humor after Henry Kissing got the Nobel Peace Prize -- life being stranger than fiction.

Posted by magpie 2022-05-30 21:01|| 2022-05-30 21:01|| Front Page Top

#46 We could do without the little purple speculative NC-17 Warning Label -- what Bhabdrakumar actually wrote would have been much more helpful

Speculation and criticism are what we do at Rantburg, Slineling Chusong5031. If you don’t like it, submit your articles to another site.

There is an option to submit articles with text — and even inline comments of your own using the highlight function — not just an article link. Congratulations on starting your climb up the Rantburg learning curve!

Posted by trailing wife 2022-05-30 21:39|| 2022-05-30 21:39|| Front Page Top

#47 the little purple speculative NC-17 Warning Label

It wasn't a warning. It was background info on this particular mook. Useful even if not revealing at the moment.

Posted by SteveS 2022-05-30 22:37|| 2022-05-30 22:37|| Front Page Top

#48 Henry Kissing[er] got the Nobel Peace Prize

... because he signed a peace treaty that put a cap on the potential damage, in American lives lost and human suffering generally, that would have been wrought had he continued the two preceding Democratic presidents' mad escalation of a pointless American intervention.

Again, it's extremely strange to see intelligent people sneering at pragmatic, realistic solutions to pointless and devastating wars. The cause is either simple masochism or else some bizarre American puritanical impulse -- to punish others by causing harm to oneself.

Posted by Jean-Paul 2022-05-30 23:27|| 2022-05-30 23:27|| Front Page Top

#49 ...background info on this particular mook

"mook"? As in (per Urban Dictionary) "short form of malook, motherfucker 1. a person of little social standing, one not worthy of respect"?

Really? Directed at an Indian diplomat?

My, my... and I thought this was a civilized and non-racist site. Live and learn, I suppose

Posted by Jean-Paul 2022-05-30 23:35|| 2022-05-30 23:35|| Front Page Top

#50 mook

We Hindi folk have been called worse. I'll take the high road, ignore the racist idiots on this site and focus on the few good and smart people worth talking to.

Posted by Slineling Chusong5031 2022-05-30 23:55|| 2022-05-30 23:55|| Front Page Top

#51 Directed at an Indian diplomat?

What's Indian got to do with it?

Posted by Captain Omerens3755 2022-05-30 23:58|| 2022-05-30 23:58|| Front Page Top

23:58 Captain Omerens3755
23:55 Slineling Chusong5031
23:45 crazyhorse
23:35 ruprecht
23:35 Jean-Paul
23:27 Jean-Paul
22:38 DooDahMan
22:37 SteveS
22:08 badanov
21:39 trailing wife
21:18 Blackbeard Throns8307
21:16 Blackbeard Throns8307
21:05 Blackbeard Throns8307
21:01 magpie
21:00 Jean-Paul
20:59 Blackbeard Throns8307
20:50 trailing wife
20:38 Nero
20:20 Frank G
20:15 Frank G
20:13 Frank G
19:45 SteveS
18:24 Palmerston
18:14 Billy Budd