Article

2022-02-19 Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Invading Ukraine may never have been Putin's aim - the threat alone could advance Russia's goals

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Posted by trailing wife 2022-02-19 00:00|| || Front Page|| [13 views ] Top

#1 Our sharpest analyst, writing for a Russian international relations journal in 2020:

2020.06.05
КИТАЙ – РОССИЯ – США:
ОТНОШЕНИЯ И СТРАТЕГИЧЕСКИЕ ТРЕУГОЛЬНИКИ
Т. Грэм

"A China-Russia-US strategic triangle will have to be Russia’s handiwork. Neither Washington nor Beijing has a profound reason for seeking one. Their sharpening bilateral competition will play itself out on a broader global stage, where Russia is only one among several other major powers. In Washington’s and Beijing’s eyes, the goal is to build productive partnerships with as many of those powers at possible.

"The competition is over the accumulation of major partners, not in gaining any one possible partner in particular, and the edge will go to the country that is the more attractive power across a range of political, economic, technological, cultural, and ideational matters.

"To convince Washington and Beijing to think otherwise, Russia will have to demonstrate that it matters in a unique way, that its power is of a different order than, for instance, Europe’s, India’s, and Japan’s.

"So far, Russia has failed to do that. And the drama for Russia in the 2020s will concern its effort to *** showcase its continuing worth as a top-tier geopolitical actor. ***

Posted by Merrick Ferret 2022-02-19 00:45|| 2022-02-19 00:45|| Front Page Top

#2 Twitter: New satellite images from Maxar show Russian forces deploying more air power near Ukraine: 32 x Su-25 attack jets and at least 50 helicopters in Belarus. More than 60 helicopters in Crimea and dozens more attack aircraft moved near Ukraine’s border in Russia

Twitter: Evacuation of Donetsk

Posted by 3dc 2022-02-19 00:45|| 2022-02-19 00:45|| Front Page Top

#3 ^ Tom Graham nailed it. This crisis has f-all to do with Ukraine per se.

It's all about Russia demonstrating it is a major player that must not be fvcked with and that must be treated as a geopolitical power of the first order, if not a peer to the US and China.

Posted by Merrick Ferret 2022-02-19 00:47|| 2022-02-19 00:47|| Front Page Top

#4 Russian plane video on Twitter Il-38 Ka-27 Tu-22m3 Su-30SM

Posted by 3dc 2022-02-19 01:00|| 2022-02-19 01:00|| Front Page Top

#5 'Amid expanding U.S. sanctions, Moscow is putting an emphasis on “dedollarization,”'

Russia May Allow Crypto Mining and Gold-Backed Stablecoins, Lawmaker Says

Posted by Skidmark 2022-02-19 08:38|| 2022-02-19 08:38|| Front Page Top

#6 Brandon is presiding over the beginning of the end of dollar dominance. Fvcking moron.

Oh, by the way, Russia now has $650 billion in reserves. And oil and gas prices are soaring. Good luck with more idiotic sanctions.

Posted by Merrick Ferret 2022-02-19 10:03|| 2022-02-19 10:03|| Front Page Top

#7 The dollar could not remain king forever. People would do well to stop being lazy about what constitutes a reliable store of wealth.

Posted by M. Murcek 2022-02-19 10:04|| 2022-02-19 10:04|| Front Page Top

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