Fatima Watch: NATO on Russia's Border & Russia Prepares For Invasion
NATO force on Russian border ‘not a threat in any way’ – State Department
Washington has expressed discomfort over Russia’s deployment of Iskander missiles and air defenses in Kaliningrad, saying that NATO is a “defensive alliance”and is not threatening Moscow. Meanwhile, more tanks and troops are being deployed to the Baltics.
“NATO is a defensive alliance, it’s always been a defensive alliance, it will remain a defensive alliance,” State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday. “There is no reason why Russia should view NATO in any way, shape or form as a threat.”
On Sunday, NATO kicked off “Iron Sword 2016” exercises in Lithuania, the largest such maneuvers to date, involving 4,000 troops from across the alliance. The exercises in 2015 and 2014 involved 2,500 and 2,000 troops, respectively.
“There is no reason for anybody in Russia to feel threatened by NATO’s military activities or preparations.” Kirby continued. “In terms of recent months and years, there would have been no reason for NATO to advance and commit additional capabilities on the European continent – including American capabilities – had it not been for Russia’s move in Ukraine.”
This is in line with NATO’s official position that military activities in eastern Europe were a defensive response to alleged Russian “aggression” in Ukraine. NATO said Russia was responsible for “annexing” Crimea from Ukraine. The region voted to join the Russian Federation in March 2014, following the coup that overthrew Ukraine’s elected government.
Moscow responded to the recent NATO build-up by announcing it would deploy S-400 air defense systems and “Iskander” missile launchers to Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave containing almost one million inhabitants sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.“Russia is doing all that is necessary to protect itself amid NATO's expansion toward its borders,” Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, told reporters at the Kremlin on Tuesday. “The alliance is a truly aggressive bloc, so Russia does what it has to do. It has every sovereign right to take necessary measures throughout the territory of the Russian Federation.”
A quarter of the force would be composed of US troops currently based in Germany, who would relocate to Poland. A 1,000-strong German-led force equipped with tanks would be deployed in Lithuania in February for the first time since WWII. The remaining 2,000 British and Canadian troops would be stationed in Estonia and Latvia.
READ MORE: Germany to send modern tanks to Russian border – Defense Ministry
NATO has accused Russia of “aggressive military posturing” over reports that missiles would be deployed in Kaliningrad, while on Monday Kirby called for Moscow to “refrain from words or deeds that are inconsistent with the goal of promoting security and stability.”
Russia Prepares for Large-Scale Invasion (Video)
RT is reporting that Russian has moved Caliber Missiles on the Islands just North of Japan. NATO tensions with Russia have been mounting for some time and those tensions continue.Russia Prepares Large-Scale Invasion: “Battle-ready Force of Infantry, Armor, Artillery, and Air Defense
A massive buildup on the Ukrainian border in the last 48 hours has seen Russia double its troop levels with 17 additional battalions and has left Western leaders trying to figure out what President Vladimir Putin is planning to do next.
On Tuesday the Russian President called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to resolve the “humanitarian crisis” in Ukraine that has reportedly left tens of thousands of people displaced because of fighting over the last several months, a move that some in the West see as prelude to a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“We are convening an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine,” Russian Ambassador to the U.N. Vitaly Churkin was quoted as saying.It should be clear exactly what Vladimir Putin is thinking.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the U.N. and the International Committee of the Red Cross expressed “readiness” to discuss its plan to deploy a “humanitarian mission” to Ukraine, which some consider to be a pretext for an invasion by Russian forces.
Russia has significantly built up its troop presence along the Ukrainian border in recent weeks, according to U.S. officials, making it ready for a potential large-scale invasion of southeastern Ukraine if Russian President Vladimir Putin so chooses.
According to a report in The New York Times, Russia has nearly doubled its troop presence along the border, adding 17 battalions and 19,000 to 21,000 troops who now compose a “battle-ready force of infantry, armor, artillery, and air defense within a few miles of the border.”
The White House has openly worried about what would be, for all intents and purposes, an invasion under the guise of a “peacekeeping” operation.
“We’ve seen a significant re-buildup of Russian forces along the border, potentially positioning Russia for a so-called humanitarian or peacekeeping intervention in Ukraine,” deputy national security adviser Tony Blinken said last week.
“That’s a very real option,” a senior Defense Department official told The Times. “And should Putin decide, he could do that with little or no notice. We just don’t know what he’s thinking.”
Source: Business Insider
He’s thinking he can send his troops over the border and no one in Europe or the United States will have the will or fortitude to stop it. And, given the foreign policy failures of the United States over the last five years, he’s probably right.
After heavy sanctions that threaten to seize the asset of Russian politicians and businessmen, and a direct attack on Russia’s economy, Vladimir Putin is about to show the world what a Russian response looks like.
The following map, made available by Zero Hedge and generated within the last week, indicates that Russia now has up to 42,000 troops within a few miles of the border with additional units in reserve.
As Charlie McGrath noted recently, the Russians have the weapons, the technology, the will and the manpower to see this through.
For casual observers, pay attention, because there’s a strong possibility that you are seeing the buildup to the next great war.
