..
US seeking ways to profit should Russia-Ukraine conflict break out
Washington is predicting a probable military assault despite firm denials by Russia
The US State Department has reportedly held talks with international energy majors on the possibility of contingency supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe if conflict between Russia and Ukraine disrupts deliveries.
Over the past several months, the White House has repeatedly expressed the concern that Russia is preparing to launch a military assault on Ukraine. Russia has made it clear it has no such plans.
The US administration has threatened Moscow with another round of “crippling” sanctions in the event of a conflict between the neighboring states.
The imposition of penalties could disrupt the supply of Russian LNG to Europe, which accounts for about a third of European energy imports, and would inevitably exacerbate the energy crisis that has recently hit the region.
Representatives of the State Department have therefore been negotiating to secure alternative energy supply sources in case they are needed, according to industry sources and US officials cited by Reuters. The discussions were reportedly led by the senior adviser for energy security, Amos Hochstein.
“We’ve discussed a range of contingencies … with our nation state partners and allies,” the unnamed source told the agency on Friday.
“We’ve done this with the European Commission, but we’ve also done it with energy companies. It’s accurate to say that we’ve spoken to them about our concerns and … about a range of contingencies, but there wasn’t any sort of ask when it comes to production,” they added.
Energy corporations have reportedly warned US government officials about the tightness of LNG supplies across the world, saying there is little gas available to substitute the large volumes commonly shipped by Russia.
“The United States promised to have Europe’s back if there was an energy shortage due to conflict or sanctions. Amos is going to big LNG-producing companies and countries like Qatar to see if they can help the United States,” the sources said.
Reuters is reporting that the US National Security Council has confirmed that contingency planning is underway.
“Assessing potential spillovers, and exploring ways to reduce those spillovers, is good governance and standard practice,” a spokesperson told the agency.
“Any details in this regard that make their way to the public only demonstrate the extensive … seriousness with which we are discussing … significant measures with our allies and partners.”
The US has been aggressively ramping up exports of LNG. In December, the country became the world’s top exporter of the fuel for the first time ever, thanks to surging deliveries to energy-starved Europe.
Last week, German European Affairs Minister Michael Roth said harsh criticism expressed by the US over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, led by Russia’s Gazprom, can be mainly attributed to Washington’s ambition to sell more of its own expensive LNG to European consumers.
And, it appears they are ready to start a war to continue that ambition. Who cares about Ukraine anyway???!!!
=======================================================================================
US Afghanistan watchdog predicted air force’s collapse
months in advance
SIGAR says lack of focus and dependence on contractors were among the issues
that sealed the Afghan Air Force’s fate
The US’ Afghan war watchdog saw the collapse of the country’s air force coming months before it happened, citing its over-dependence on the US and third-party contractors, among other issues, as major obstacles.
The demise of the Afghan Air Force was predicted by the US’ Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) in a January 2021 report - only made public last week - which described a force wrestling with a host of thorny issues.
SIGAR warned that should US military advisers and contractors leave without putting in place a comprehensive plan for transfer of power, the AAF might find itself unable to “staff, manage, fund, or maintain their forces,” imperiling the US’ 20-year “nation building” effort. The agency specifically pointed to the AAF’s failure to focus on non-combat support activities, suggesting that leaving such important tasks for contractors and outside advisers would leave the country’s military at a disadvantage, unable to operate independently.
Noting that operational “sustainability requires the recruitment, training and retention of qualified personnel in all areas of the air forces, including pilots, maintainers and personnel in support positions,” the report observed that the Afghan Air Force lacked so much as a comprehensive recruiting strategy - let alone other support functions required to operate a military detachment.
Worse, the AAF’s dependence on contractors meant even if US and coalition forces remained deployed or withdrew in an orderly manner, the department might find itself unable to function should contractors be recalled.
SIGAR’s recommendations - develop and implement formal recruiting strategies, incorporate “support personnel and their training requirements,” and complete a “mitigation plan” to ensure the continuation of “essential maintenance, operation and advisory support” to the AAF in the event that contractors were required to leave Afghanistan - appear to have fallen on deaf ears.
The US had scarcely concluded its longest-ever war in August, when the Afghan government was quickly overtaken by the Taliban shortly after. The Biden administration has been excoriated for its alleged mishandling of the withdrawal, which left thousands of Afghan civilian collaborators in harm’s way and all but gift-wrapped millions of dollars’ worth of US military equipment for the Taliban.
20 years of effort and an enormous amount of money was completely destroyed before the US military had even left Kabul. An astonishing waste, which, we find out today, was anticipated months in advance.
For all the men and women who suffered and/or died over there because they believed in what they were doing, this is completely disgraceful.
UK sends ‘defensive weapons’ to Ukraine, invites Russia for talks
British defence secretary confirms ‘light anti-armour’ munitions were sent to Kiev
amid rising tensions with Moscow
The United Kingdom has begun sending light arms to Ukraine, Britain’s top military official said, though he claimed the weapons “pose no threat to Russia” after repeated allegations that Moscow is planning to invade its neighbor.
“We have taken the decision to supply Ukraine with light anti-armour defensive weapon systems,” Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told lawmakers on Monday, adding initial shipments had already arrived in the country hours prior.
Despite the growing enmity, Wallace said he invited his Russian counterpart, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, to meet in London sometime in the coming weeks to work through the issue, adding “the current gap is wide but not unbridgeable,” and that he remains “hopeful that diplomacy will prevail.”
While the official did not provide details about the number or type of arms sent, he said they are “not strategic weapons and pose no threat to Russia,” and are to be used by Ukrainian forces “in self-defence” only. A “small number” of British troops will also train local soldiers on how to use the new gear.
“These are short-range... but nevertheless it would make people pause and think what they were doing and if tanks were to roll into Ukraine, invade it, then they would be part of the defence mechanism,” Wallace continued.
The UK and US governments continue to predict an imminent invasion of Ukraine by Russia, despite the latter’s insistence that it has no plans for an armed incursion. Nonetheless, over the weekend, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan claimed Moscow would “fabricate a pretext” to invade, threatening a “robust response” that would target Russia economically. A proposal to sever Moscow from the SWIFT international banking network is also reportedly still on the table.
Sullivan’s warning, as well as London’s vow to arm up the Ukrainian military, come days after several current and former US officials told Yahoo News that intelligence agencies are now “training an insurgency” in Ukraine in the event of a Russian invasion, with one ex-CIA staffer saying the program is instructing troops on how to “kill Russians.”
Canada deploys special forces to Ukraine – media
Ottawa has reportedly sent elite troops to assist both Canadian diplomats
and the Kiev government
Canadian special forces have been deployed to Ukraine amid rising tensions with Moscow, according to Canada’s Global News, which reported that a small team was sent to Kiev in order to deter alleged “Russian aggression.”
In addition to bolstering Ukrainian forces, the soldiers will help to “develop evacuation plans for Canadian diplomatic personnel in the event of a full-scale invasion," the broadcaster reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources.
While Moscow has repeatedly denied that it has any plans to invade, Western powers – led by the the US – have sounded alarms about an impending military incursion, pointing to Russian military movements on its side of the border. Earlier on Monday, the UK declared that it would provide the Ukrainian military with light anti-armor munitions in the event of a stand-off with Russian troops.
Canadian officials have so far declined to confirm the reported deployment, with the country’s special operations command only stating that it takes part in “broader… efforts to support Ukraine’s security forces.” The command added that Canadian troops have trained Ukrainian counterparts since 2020, though the sources reached by Global News say the latest deployment is not a training mission.
The decision to send special operators would mirror a similar move by US intelligence to train up an “insurgency” of Ukrainian fighters to “kill Russians” should they invade, as was reported last week by Yahoo News, citing current and former officials. It also follows a warning from the Canadian government that citizens should “reconsider travel” to Ukraine “due to increased threats from Russia.” Canada boasts the world’s second-largest Ukrainian expat community, after Russia, its next-door neighbor.
============================================================================================
NATO mounting build-up near Belarus, Russia claims
Ambassador’s comments come amid a standoff between Russia and the organization
By Layla Guest
Amid heightened tensions with NATO, Moscow has vowed that it will not turn a blind eye to the US-led military bloc’s purported build-up near Belarus, as Russian officials seek responses to their proposed security guarantees.
Speaking as part of an interview with TASS published on Tuesday, Russia’s ambassador to Minsk, Boris Gryzlov, remarked “we see that the build-up of NATO forces and resources, in fact, does not stop at our gates.”
He continued, stating that during the migrant crisis, when thousands of would-be asylum seekers from troubled nations, mainly in the Middle East, attempted to cross over from the former Soviet republic into EU states, additional forces, including heavy weapons were moved to the Belarusian border from Poland.
Gryzlov cautioned that such actions from NATO and its partners “of course, does not go unnoticed.” He added that the two states take a careful approach to border protection, and that joint Russian-Belarusian air patrols are regularly organized, using “long-range Tu-22M3 bombers, Su-30SM multirole fighters, and others.”
The envoy also announced that a round of exercises called ‘Allied Resolve’ 2022 will begin in February. He noted that Western states often interpret any joint drills between Moscow and Minsk as a threat to themselves. “The Russian and Belarusian militaries clearly and coherently demonstrated their training, conducted their exercises to perfection, and then returned to their permanent deployments,” the ambassador said.
Gryzlov’s remarks come amid heightened tensions between NATO and Russia. Last week, the organization’s representatives and Russian diplomats met to discuss proposed guarantees designed to safeguard security on the European continent, following talks between officials from Washington and Moscow.
Last month, Russia handed over two draft treaties – one to Washington and the other to the military bloc – which included a request for assurances from NATO concerning the movement of military personnel and hardware, as well as calls for the organization to refrain from further enlargement close to Russia’s borders.
In late November, Belarus’ embattled President Alexander Lukashenko said Russia should deploy atomic warheads on his country’s territory if NATO’s nuclear weapons are advanced eastwards through Europe.
Relations between Minsk and the West have deteriorated in recent months. The EU has accused Belarus of laying on flights from troubled nations to wage a “hybrid warfare” against Brussels, which Belarus has denied, instead insisting that officials cannot stop the flow of people trying to cross over due to the pressure of sanctions.
However, Lukashenko admitted it was possible some of his officials had helped the would-be asylum seekers to cross over, but said it wasn’t worth looking into.
No comments:
Post a Comment