It’s Deja Vu All Over Again

It looks as though Vlad Putin is getting something like ants in his pants about Ukraine and Belarus and is considering sending in Russian troops to “help out”.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/26/biden-and-putins-ukraine-crisis-gets-personal.html

The US seems to be responding – in a vague way – but here are the key points in the attached article:

Key Points:

– The U.S. has sent the clearest message yet that Russia, its key personnel and economic sectors as well as its leader Vladimir Putin, could face the severest sanctions it has ever faced.

– On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden intimated that his Russian counterpart, President Putin, could face personal sanctions.

– The U.S. has outlined new punitive measures it could impose if there is an invasion.

– The Kremlin has said any personal sanctions on Putin would be politically destructive. – article

Gee, and this is after all those glassy trophies handed to some relation of Pres. Biden’s for just showing up in Ukraine a while back.

And as you should know, we are considering sending our own troops to Ukraine as a counter-measure.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60118193

From the article:

US President Joe Biden has said there is “total unanimity” with European leaders over Russia’s troop build-up on its border with Ukraine.

During crisis talks on Monday, Western powers agreed to “unprecedented” sanctions against Russia if it were to invade.

The US has also put 8,500 troops on alert, which Russia said caused it “great concern”.

It denies having any plans for an invasion.

However some 100,000 Russian soldiers have been deployed on Ukraine’s border. – article

Meantime, Vlad is also considering sending Russian Navy ships to Cuba and Venezuela.

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/589595-russia-suggests-military-deployments-to-cuba-venezuela-an-option

From the article:

A top Russian diplomat on Thursday refused to rule out the possibility of Moscow sending military deployments to Cuba and Venezuela, as tensions between the Putin regime and the West intensify.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russian RTVI TV he would neither “confirm nor exclude” the possibility of Russian deployments in the Western Hemisphere, The Associated Press reported.

Ryabkov, who led the Russian delegation in discussions over Ukraine with the U.S. Monday in Geneva, said Russia’s actions “[all depend] on the action by our U.S. counterparts.” – article

Gee, this is just like that time in 2008 when Russia’s Navy sent Russian warships to Havana, on a “goodwill” sort of thing.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/whats-an-advanced-russian-warship-doing-in-havana-harbor

Well, looks like history is repeating itself. But that was before Vlad Putin was in charge. In 2008, a group of Russian ships entered Havana Harbor, and guess who was President in 2008?

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-russia-warship/russian-warship-sails-into-havana-bay-idUSTRE4BI51520081219

Yeah, that one was President back then.

Well, these must be those Interesting Times we’ve been told about so many times before now.

 

Category: 2020 Election, Cold War, Historical, Reality Check, Russia