'I can take Kiev in two weeks', Vladimir Putin warns NATO leaders

[BATHIK]

Finally, Russians are coming - a huge military convoy caught on camera in Ukraine, must be Russian:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uisl4gqfIl0

The only problem is that it travels TOWARDS Russia, as per this blog

Are Russians actually leaving? Sanctions are finally working?

North of Lugansk is where Ukrainians are still holding the fort and rebels are pressing hard while in the south they are consolidating their gains, they don't need tanks to control the territory there, they need them in the north, now. It doesn't make sense.

Also someone pointed out that external protective plates on the tanks are not the ones used by the Russian army.

Fog of media wars is clouding my brain.

[konying]

Finally, Russians are coming - a huge military convoy caught on camera in Ukraine, must be Russian:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uisl4gqfIl0

The only problem is that it travels TOWARDS Russia, as per this blog

Are Russians actually leaving? Sanctions are finally working?

North of Lugansk is where Ukrainians are still holding the fort and rebels are pressing hard while in the south they are consolidating their gains, they don't need tanks to control the territory there, they need them in the north, now. It doesn't make sense.

Also someone pointed out that external protective plates on the tanks are not the ones used by the Russian army.

Fog of media wars is clouding my brain.

Seems video is unavailable., strange

[BATHIK]

This one seems to be working:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMmNHZetNn0

I think it's Euromaidanpress trying to obfuscate its sources - it's posted by a different user now, "Press TV News", and the one I saw earlier was posted from a similar account, "Live news 24" or something, not the guy who was actually shooting it. The blog I linked to for geo-location gives this video from yet another user - "Ukraine Today", so the origin of the "social media source" remains unknown, as usual.

[konying]

This one seems to be working:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMmNHZetNn0

I think it's Euromaidanpress trying to obfuscate its sources - it's posted by a different user now, "Press TV News", and the one I saw earlier was posted from a similar account, "Live news 24" or something, not the guy who was actually shooting it. The blog I linked to for geo-location gives this video from yet another user - "Ukraine Today", so the origin of the "social media source" remains unknown, as usual.

1. Where is the video taken? what country?

2. Which military is it? i have not seen 1 single shot to identify the location or country to which military belongs

3. I could be wrong, but it appears to be a short video, put on replay, because if you look closely the bus or whatever it is drives past exact same trees and trucks every 40 seconds or so

[Matej]

Russia does not believe that its neighbors should make their own decisions about their geopolitical future.

Russia’s security, in short, depends on these countries’ insecurity.
Russia particularly begrudges the former nations of the USSR their freedom, prosperity, and independence.

These pose an existential challenge to the stagnant and autocratic model of government pioneered by Vladimir Putin's regime.

We, the Westerners, should finally realize that Russia is an enemy; autocratic, oligarchic and expansionist state ruled by former KGB agent.

Putin's regime disdains our values, justice, equality and especially individual freedom ...

I think it's time to wake up ...

M.

[Publicus]

This one seems to be working:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMmNHZetNn0

I think it's Euromaidanpress trying to obfuscate its sources - it's posted by a different user now, "Press TV News", and the one I saw earlier was posted from a similar account, "Live news 24" or something, not the guy who was actually shooting it. The blog I linked to for geo-location gives this video from yet another user - "Ukraine Today", so the origin of the "social media source" remains unknown, as usual.

1. Where is the video taken? what country?

2. Which military is it? i have not seen 1 single shot to identify the location or country to which military belongs

3. I could be wrong, but it appears to be a short video, put on replay, because if you look closely the bus or whatever it is drives past exact same trees and trucks every 40 seconds or so

That's because the backdrop is a revolving set touched up from an old Groucho Marx movie.

How many Marx brothers faces can you find among the trees?

[BATHIK]

1. Where is the video taken? what country?

2. Which military is it? i have not seen 1 single shot to identify the location or country to which military belongs

3. I could be wrong, but it appears to be a short video, put on replay, because if you look closely the bus or whatever it is drives past exact same trees and trucks every 40 seconds or so

Let me google that for you, as they say. Don't be lazy, check geolocation link I gave in my original post.

I don't know about tanks, fuel trucks have "Flammable" written on them in Russian, not Ukrainian. Support vehicles like that could have been brought from Russia, though.

The fishiest part is that the convoy is about to leave Ukraine, it's going in the wrong direction.

[konying]

1. Where is the video taken? what country?

2. Which military is it? i have not seen 1 single shot to identify the location or country to which military belongs

3. I could be wrong, but it appears to be a short video, put on replay, because if you look closely the bus or whatever it is drives past exact same trees and trucks every 40 seconds or so

Let me google that for you, as they say. Don't be lazy, check geolocation link I gave in my original post.

I don't know about tanks, fuel trucks have "Flammable" written on them in Russian, not Ukrainian. Support vehicles like that could have been brought from Russia, though.

The fishiest part is that the convoy is about to leave Ukraine, it's going in the wrong direction.

May be I am blind, but I did not see Russian writing, you can not make out what is written.

Again where is the proof of the location ?

I can film the forest in Germany and claim it's filmed in Austria .

On what minute do you see " flammable " in Russian ?

And do tell the difference in writing Russian and Ukrainian ?

[BATHIK]

Here's Euromaidanpress article that answers some of your questions. Has screenshots and Russian and Ukrainian spelling for "flammable" on fuel tankers.

Location is in the blog I linked earlier, now it's on the previous page already, I'm too lazy to look it up for you again.

[Publicus]

EUROOE, full embargo on all impirts/ expirts to Russia.

Eurooe, restrict/ freeze all financial transactions to Russia.

Opec, drop prices on oil to europe.

Russia becomes a 3rd world nation overnight.

Russia is relegated to the dark ages.. no cash...no power!!

nonsense Russia is in bed with China and Bric countries and if west tried this they would be ones going down the pan when Russia cuts of gas to europe and dumps USA bonds Iran would get into bed with Russia and Opec would also stay out of it

Russia will get its way and have a pro russian part of Ukraine and nothing the west will do about it so after a lot of fighting talk from USA UK and rest in end west will have to be happy that Russia only takes parts of Ukraine. Its already a done deal and agreed and west will claim it won because it held back Russia from taking all of ukraine

get over it a new world order is fast coming and china could destroy USA at a stroke if it dumped its USA bonds. OF course they would loose a lot of money but soon they wont care because they have been buying up all gold they can as fast as they can as have Russians and her probable allies.

AS always USa interferes and creates a huge mess and caused all this in first place by trying to put a pro western government in Ukraine via a coup in all but name So greater record USA in causing deaths mayhem and huge suffering around the world

Iraq

Afganistan

Libya

Syria

numerous small states run by vile dictators put into power by USA

And never learn now lets <deleted> up Ukraine

You are spot on.

India has already started to export milk products to Russia and rearranged its productions lines for Russian market

Brazil is in line to export meats

And...Brazil have tons of gold and uranium that is waiting for the right buyer.....and oil?...now... most for it own use..but..every world's oil company, specially in Asia, starting with the name PETRO..... is 50% Brazilian. Brazil is the biigest exporter of soja, and one of the biggest in sugar, coffee, orange, raw iron, cotton, meats, rubber, rice, the list is looonggg. The US is losing all its Latin connections and it is very nervous about...Looks like soon will lose its Asian connections too.....It is have a BIG Army created by the legion of unemployed youth, and the Govenment is under control of oil corporation, weapons industries, and Israel....The perfect recipe for a war in progress....just waiting for another Clinton in power.

Obama will retire in Chiang Mai....if he can qualify....No WP..pleeease.

The Brics are falling because the Brics have no mortar. The Financial Times says the Brics days have passed, that they are nothing more than an arbitrary grouping of disparate countries that GoldmanSachs PR created as an investment stunt that long since has gone off course and is now out of control. Others cite the UNCTAD findings that under the most optimistic scenarios a Brics New Development Bank (NDB) needs 20 years minimum to reach the level of the World Bank's current capital which 20 years from now will have increased to even more.

If Ras-Putin can take Kiev in two weeks imagine what he could do with a regional development bank behind him.

Is the fat lady going to sing? BRICS hold a summit, but how much do they have in common? Ask the mortician at the left or the mentally keen

guy at the right. Where's the new prime minister of India? The prez of S Africa? The first guy at left in the back row is said to be Putin's chief Brics global strategy adviser. The guy behind the fat lady is the new Network Howdy Doody.In Retirement series show Sliced out of the photo to Putin's right is Argentina 'Yes It's Another Default' President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Photo: . Sergio Moraes/Reuters

The only guy missing is the rebel leader in Ukraine. What anyway have the Brics has to say or do about assisting Ukraine to protect and preserve its sovereignty against tsar Ras-Putin?

So the Brics NDB is financed at USD$ 50 billion of start up capital and in five years another USD$ 50 billion for currency swaps, totaling USD$ 100 billion, which is feeble contrasted to the IMF's current active or pledged loans totaling USD$ 1 trillion.

And guess what, the Brics NDB UDS$ 100 billion, half of which still won't exist for another five years, will access capital markets using US Dollars.

Yep, the Brics NDB is using the currency is supposedly is replacing. That's because no other country has the capital markets the US has and no other country of grouping even comes close. Europe which has bigger and better capital markets than all the Brics combined can't supplant the US Dollar or the capital markets of the United States. NDB's new agreement says its planned currency swaps and bilateral trade settlement deals will be in USD$.

There currently are 17 regional organizations and several regional development banks, to include the Beijing owned Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The Chiang Mai Initiative set up after the 1997 financial crash is still a paper tiger as are so many other regional development structures or banks to include the Asian Development Bank set up by Asean.

As the Financial Times states it, "In Asia there is Asean - ten countries in search of common ground. In Latin America there is Mercosur - five countries in search of common tariffs. And from the Atlantic west to the Black Sea there is Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation – four adjectives in search of a noun."

The Brics NDB is already dominated by Beijing which has a GDP 1.5 times the other Brics combined. South Africa anyway has been admitted to the Brics as more of a pet on a leash than a serious player as it can hardly put up its USD$ $5 billion share of the start up without demolishing its forex reserves. It was a joke for the Brics to say it was a competition between S Africa or Shanghai to host the NDB offices.

And with the NDB presidency rotating among only the Brics members, countries north and south of the equator are already seeing a new hegemony in town.

[lovetotravel]

Here's Euromaidanpress article that answers some of your questions. Has screenshots and Russian and Ukrainian spelling for "flammable" on fuel tankers.

Location is in the blog I linked earlier, now it's on the previous page already, I'm too lazy to look it up for you again.

According to that article:

There is no doubt that the video was taken inside Ukraine. The location has been geolocated as at the 40 second mark a street sign comes into view: M04-E40 (see below). The M04-E40 begins at the Russian-Ukrainian border passes South of Luhansk and splits in Debaltseve where the E40 continues along the M03. Therefore the video was undeniably taken deep inside Ukraine.

............

Even more so as the tanks are of the T-72BM model, which are only in service with the Russian Army. Also, the soldiers all wear standard issue Russian uniform and in case of the truck transported infantry the newest Russian Army camouflage (below).

..............

Further proof that this is a regular Russian military unit comes from the Russian language warning “огнеопасно” (flammable) on the columns fuel trucks, a warning that would be in Ukrainian language (“вогненебезпечно“) if these trucks had been captured from the Ukrainian Army.

I'm skeptical of Ukrainian media just like I am of Russian media. But this is pretty convincing. If so, this is a horrible act of war.

[BATHIK]

What they didn't say in that article is the the convoy is apparently leaving Ukraine, not coming in. Reactive armor on the tanks also doesn't match Russian, and fuel tankers could be either leftovers from Soviet days or really supplied by Russia.

It could be a Russian column being transferred elsewhere but Lugansk is seeing the most intense fighting now, they need armor like that to break through Ukrainian defenses there.

None of it makes sense and it probably doesn't matter anymore - there will be ceasefire soon enough and no one will be able to do anything about Russian covert support then, it will be history.

[OPG]

It would be utterly silly for Obama to intervene militarily. Ukraine is not a NATO member state because they chose not to be. These are the consequences. Oh well, oh well...

Militarily, Russia is a peon compared to the USA. Yes, Russia is a regional player, but nowhere even close to being a real conventional weapons threat to NATO. Putin may bully and run amok amongst the independent states in the area, but even he is not stupid enough to cross the wrong border. NATO would wipe out Russia's conventional military SWIFTLY and utterly.

Don't ever get that twisted.

But Putin has huge amounts of fighter airplanes that are equal or better than the western. He has excellent air defense. And on the ground Russia is huge....Napoleon tried, Hitler tried and they were way smarter than Obama.

All the west could beat Russia but not swiftly and only with huge looses themself.

Not to mention ICBMs. Russia has enough to kill the whole planet a couple of times.

Ronald Reagan!

[dutchisaan]

EUROOE, full embargo on all impirts/ expirts to Russia.

Eurooe, restrict/ freeze all financial transactions to Russia.

Opec, drop prices on oil to europe.

Russia becomes a 3rd world nation overnight.

Russia is relegated to the dark ages.. no cash...no power!!

Putin is lying

He could take Kiev in 2 days

A very simplistic model.

First. He was not talking to NATO.

Second. He most likely said or meant: " He could have taken Kiev if need be". This version is opposite to interpretations by hot heads here.

Third. Neither EU nor Russia want a 45 M broke nation for dependants. This unfortunately is all Ukraine is today.

Fourth. As it is today Ukraine is not defendable by NATO would Russia have taken it, unless some dreamers think Moscow will allow NATO to organise the substantial defences in Ukraine.

Fifth. Freezing Russia's assets will clear them of all and any obligations re Western investments. Which side would be laughing all the way to the Bank I'm not sure.

Sixth. Russia does not need cash to survive. Russians can survive on bread and potatoes and will still fight. Not sure about the West.

Seventh. Putin may be a bully, a thief and a KGB creature but he has real power in his country and he is no fool by any means.. This is how it is. Cannot say the same about Western Leaders.

Eighth. Putin has the option of getting out of $$$ and embrace China. Western alternative is to put themselves in hands of oil rich Muslims. It will definitely backfire.

I hope nobody will see by now that I am a Putin supporter. Just being cautious.

Oh, and please don't bring in Crimea question. Easy come - easy gone. If Kiev had a grain of brain they would still keep it.

#9. Keep telling the people how bad the west is. Reminds me of the time the Sovjet Union.

#10. I hope you like potatoes and cabbage.

And no, your are not a Putin supporter, you are just caustious, I wonder why? Afraid of returning to Russia?

And the Crimea, as you say, easy come, easy go. I realy hope you like your potatoes, because that's all you will end up with.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

1. Where in my post did you see a bad word about the West?

2. You hope I like potatoes and cabbage? Why? Just because you are Dutch?

3. Why did you decide I should be "afraid of returning to Russia"?

4. Actually I was cautious for the West having to fly to Russia (including Dutch).

5. Why a personal attack? ... But I forgive you... being a Dutch in Isaan can be stressing nowadays. Cheers!

This was a very strange post indeed! In no way is it related to taking Kiev...

I should apologize for dutchisaan. Not all the dutch that live in thailand are the same. But the fact that he is in the jungle can explain his mis informed opinion. And if he is not misinformed he should ask himself what's the matter with my brain, is it too old already, where can I get a new one.

Who are you to apologize for me?

Go get a real life and leave the vodka alone when you are posting.

[DerkMR]

The U.S. will stand with its treaty alliance partners.

Ukraine is no NATO partner, you might forget this.

And the decisions are not taken in the EU but... you know where, only that the war won't be on the territory of the decision maker

Bye,

Derk

[Benmart]

Where is the worlds self appointed policeman at this moment in time one must ask?

To afraid to come out to face an equally strong imperialist inspiring nation?

The same was asked in 1917 and 1941. The call was answered.

At my age, I have come to the conclusion that I understand less as to why governments do what they do.

Likewise, at my age I tend to ignore those that purport to understand more about the same issue.

[mania]

Russia ain't shit and I don't know how Putin thinks he's a big shot.

Please don't look just at dollars. Consider technology which neither Russia or China have.

Maybe but could also be that other countries budget their military with

money they have

Not buy it with a charge card that results in being a big part of the reason for this.....

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

In which case it is pretty hard to claim your "winning" the arms race

by spending your future

[umbanda]

In 1980 the US wanted Brazil to declare bankrupcy because its had a 2 billion US debt.....One of these day the US will ask the BRIC for a loan...or..

Russia ain't shit and I don't know how Putin thinks he's a big shot.

Please don't look just at dollars. Consider technology which neither Russia or China have.
201.jpg

Maybe but could also be that other countries budget their military with
money they have
Not buy it with a charge card that results in being a big part of the reason for this.....
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
debt.jpg

In which case it is pretty hard to claim your "winning" the arms race
by spending your future

[umbanda]

Russia ain't shit and I don't know how Putin thinks he's a big shot.

Please don't look just at dollars. Consider technology which neither Russia or China have.

201.jpg

Maybe but could also be that other countries budget their military with

money they have

Not buy it with a charge card that results in being a big part of the reason for this.....

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

debt.jpg

In which case it is pretty hard to claim your "winning" the arms race

by spending your future

In 1980 The US asked Brazil to declare bankrupcy because its 2 billion dolar debt..One of these day the US will ask the BRIC for a loan...and I hope the BRIC will ask the US to look somewhere else......Times changed, but looks like the US people still dreaming.....Well...with luck the US finally may "win" a ward again to keep its arrogance......

[rijb]

in your dreams.

[Publicus]

It would be utterly silly for Obama to intervene militarily. Ukraine is not a NATO member state because they chose not to be. These are the consequences. Oh well, oh well...

Militarily, Russia is a peon compared to the USA. Yes, Russia is a regional player, but nowhere even close to being a real conventional weapons threat to NATO. Putin may bully and run amok amongst the independent states in the area, but even he is not stupid enough to cross the wrong border. NATO would wipe out Russia's conventional military SWIFTLY and utterly.

Don't ever get that twisted.

Do it "motor mouth from Moscow" and see what it gets you.

Swaggering motor mouth knows from Russia's recent military experience with Nato in Kosovo in 1999 what it is and means to get isolated, outflanked, embarrassed, burned.

Nato assembled overnight 30,000 ground troops which it rapidly deployed to Kosovo through the province's east and south borders spearheaded by a joint special forces French and British paratroop unit of 500, all of which swiftly and completely neutralized the occupying Serbian forces that were covertly supported by a Russian military presence in Kosovo and Serbia.

Royal UK Army General Sir Mike Jackson

(center) in conversation with a Royal

Australian Air Force colonel

The stunned Russian general staff in Moscow ordered a general commanding 200 special forces already covertly in Kosovo to seize the Pristina airport hours before the Nato forces arrived. The Nato force commander LTG Sir Michael Jackson personally took 300 of his SF to surround the airport and after two days of discussion between Jackson and the Russian general the airport was reopened.

The bungled Russian direct involvement in Kosovo failed to permanently divide the province into two new regions. Russian overt military action came to nothing and exposed Moscow's inability to respond to Nato in action. Commanded by Brits and Americans, the Nato Kosovo force consisted mainly of first line troops from Germany, France, Italy, UK and USA to include observers from Australia.

Russia has had 20,000 combat forces at the Ukraine border throughout its no longer covert military operations in the eastern and southern regions of the embattled country. In contrast, the United States invaded Iraq in 2003 with 125,000 forces just to seize Baghdad then shipped in another 100,000 to reinforce that with the Army chief of staff hollering at Bush/Cheney that altogether 500,000 were needed.

Putin's 20,000 combat forces is a wholly inadequate invasion force that would never see the Kiev skyline and even Ras-Putin should know the fact.

[Publicus]

Russia ain't shit and I don't know how Putin thinks he's a big shot.

Please don't look just at dollars. Consider technology which neither Russia or China have.

201.jpg

Maybe but could also be that other countries budget their military with

money they have

Not buy it with a charge card that results in being a big part of the reason for this.....

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

debt.jpg

In which case it is pretty hard to claim your "winning" the arms race

by spending your future

In 1980 The US asked Brazil to declare bankrupcy because its 2 billion dolar debt..One of these day the US will ask the BRIC for a loan...and I hope the BRIC will ask the US to look somewhere else......Times changed, but looks like the US people still dreaming.....Well...with luck the US finally may "win" a ward again to keep its arrogance......

The global chaos and disorder people ignore that the Brics require themselves to do business in the USD to include their new development bank that won't be in operation till another five years, if at all, or only minimally.

The RMB is monopoly game money and the world knows it, humoring the CCP Boyz in Beijing who also know it. Everyone except certain people around here know the RMB is worthless unless the CCP Boyz free float it and open China's capital markets, each of which they cannot do never mind both.

The ruble is sufficient for the Russian economy exclusively and only because Russia defaulted in the late 1990s. Moscow and Beijing can play the game board with each other and their currencies until the cows come home and nothing will change. India, a long time Moscow friend, plays along with token bilateral currency exchanges in carefully chosen and limited trade deals.

Half the populations of the Brics countries live below the poverty line and have the average life expectancy of Medieval serfs.

Europe has well developed capital markets yet it is unable to compete with the capital markets of the U.S. The Euro can only complement the USD as the global currency of trade and as the global reserve currency and in only limited ways.

The Brics don't have a common currency nor will the Brics have one. The Bricks continue to use the USD while sputtering in the use of their own individual currencies, the real, the ruble, yuan, rupee, rand.

How many RMB do you hold? How many rubles do you hold? Real? Rupee? Rand? How many do you want or plan to buy and hold? Now and in the next five years? The next ten years?

Get real.

[BATHIK]

That story about Nato outflanking, isolating, embarrassing and burning Russians in Kosovo is just a spin.

Russians brought in 300 troops from several hundred kilometers away in Bosnia and took control over the airport before 30,000 strong Nato force could reach it themselves. Now THAT was embarrassing. They couldn't send in British helicopters to take it by force and had to wait one more day until first ground units reached Pristina.

Nato command still didn't know what to do with Russians, orders to deploy helicopters to block the runways where refused, court-marshal was threatened, and that's between top generals. On the ground Brits refused to follow orders and block the runway with their tanks and armored cars, too. Eventually Nato forced Balkan countries to close their airspace to Russian reinforcements and that lead to negotiations.

Russians didn't get what they wanted - a sector of the country ala East Germany, but for Nato there's nothing to be proud of there either.

[Pakboong]

I would not argue that I know BRICS will be successful but I would argue that Putin is all-in on the BRICS play and would not consider getting into a world war while this particular play in in action. He is committed win or lose, he has no reason to invade a backwater, bankrupt country while trying to make the BRICS play work. He fully expects, right or wrong, for BRICS to make Russia a dominant world power.

[Publicus]

That story about Nato outflanking, isolating, embarrassing and burning Russians in Kosovo is just a spin.

Russians brought in 300 troops from several hundred kilometers away in Bosnia and took control over the airport before 30,000 strong Nato force could reach it themselves. Now THAT was embarrassing. They couldn't send in British helicopters to take it by force and had to wait one more day until first ground units reached Pristina.

Nato command still didn't know what to do with Russians, orders to deploy helicopters to block the runways where refused, court-marshal was threatened, and that's between top generals. On the ground Brits refused to follow orders and block the runway with their tanks and armored cars, too. Eventually Nato forced Balkan countries to close their airspace to Russian reinforcements and that lead to negotiations.

Russians didn't get what they wanted - a sector of the country ala East Germany, but for Nato there's nothing to be proud of there either.

The Russians gave up the airport after two days of being surrounded there. Russia consequently had to quit the effort to determine the course of events in the Balkans.

You refer to the disagreement and dispute between U.S. Gen Wesley Clark, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces Europe (NATO), and the Nato commander of ground forces in Kosovo, British LTG Sir Michael Jackson. Gen Clark ordered Gen Jackson to seize the airport from the Russians by armed assault. Gen Jackson refused, said there were less risky ways to win control of the airport.

Yes, Nato getting the Balkan countries to close their airspace to Russia left the Russians at the Pristina airport isolated, outflanked, embarrassed, defeated.

A month after the Kosovo operation concluded Gen Clark took early retirement from military service. LTG Jackson was promoted full general and appointed chief of the UK General Staff. The Brit SF commander Gen Jackson brought to command the units surrounding the airport, CPT James Bull is now a successful songwriter.

The Russian general disappeared into obscurity.

I'd suggest Putin be more careful this time too.

Note: When Gen Jackson disobeyed Gen Clark's order by refusing to attack the Russians at the airport, he properly offered his resignation to the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, which Blair refused. LTG Jackson thus continued to command Nato ground forces in Kosovo to the successful conclusion of the operation. Either way, the end result was Nato and the Nato allies routed the Russians in Kosovo. Burned 'em.

[BATHIK]

Yes yes, gold stars all around, mighty 30,000 Nato force didn't give 300 Russians a piece of Kosovo.

Then Russians used Kosovo precedent to annex Crimea and Nato couldn't do anything. One more round of gold stars for standing up to ruthless Putin.

[BATHIK]

BTW, Barroso is backpedaling on his claim, agreeing that it was taken out of context, was made in private, and shouldn't be dragged through the media.

Pia Ahrenkilde-Hansen, a spokeswoman for Mr. Barroso, said Thursday the EU has moved to address the issue "through diplomatic channels, not in the press."

"I can only add that the president of the Commission informed his colleagues in the European Council in a restricted session of the conversations he had with President Putin. Unfortunately part of his intervention was made public out of context," she said in a written response to The Wall Street Journal.

Full story here

Russians threatened to release the rest of the conversation and apparently it worked. Itar -Tass report here

[Publicus]

Yes yes, gold stars all around, mighty 30,000 Nato force didn't give 300 Russians a piece of Kosovo.

Then Russians used Kosovo precedent to annex Crimea and Nato couldn't do anything. One more round of gold stars for standing up to ruthless Putin.

Russia.

Russia lost in Kosovo and Russia lost the Balkans to Nato.

Defeated.

Bedraggled.

Russia.

For all that Ras-Putin's 20,000 combat forces at the Ukraine border are accomplishing they may as well be stamping the passports of other poor sap Russian soldiers entering Ukraine in the dark of night and in disguise. The 20,000 are traffic cops clearing the roads for Ras-Putin's giant "Cargo 200" back to Russia trucks full of Russian soldiers in body bags, tragic as that is.

Is Vladimir Putin covering up the deaths of Russian soldiers in Ukraine?

Despite the fog surrounding the cause of the soldiers’ deaths and injuries, reports have begun to surface of coffins returning from Ukraine.

Over the past week, there have been reports across Russian media of a sudden and unexplained surge in the number of killed or wounded Russian military servicemen. TV Dozhd is maintaining an online list of Russian soldiers killed, wounded, or detained in Ukraine.

Soldiers’ Mothers has been taking the lead in trying to find answers about Russian casualties in Ukraine, but on Friday, the group’s St. Petersburg chapter was put under administrative control by the Ministry of Justice and classified as a “foreign agent” by the government.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/09/02/3358339_is-vladimir-putin-covering-up.html?rh=1

NATO's rapid response prepped to take action, despite Putin's plans

http://news.yahoo.com/natos-rapid-response-prepped-action-030923552.html

[JemJem]

I am no fan of Putin but I think he seems to have the upper hand in the conflict. For example, don't you also get the feeling that US and EU talk, such as 'We will surely damage Russia by more and more sanctions' is most probably just wishful thinking ?!

[metisdead]

Inflammatory insulting posts have been removed as well as personal attacks:

7) You will respect fellow members and post in a civil manner. No personal attacks, hateful or insulting towards other members, (flaming) Stalking of members on either the forum or via PM will not be allowed.