News from Ukraine - 12/20/2014

Politics, Energy and the Fragile World Economy...

Thom Hartmann talks with Stephen Cohen, Contributing Editor-The Nation / Professor Emeritus of Russian Studies & Politics at NYU and Princeton (FYI..Stephen's book, Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives, which examines the “New Cold War,” is available in paperback)

Fighting near Lugansk

http://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/1953112.html

It is reported that this afternoon resumed artillery battles at the front near Lugansk.

Militiaman with the call sign "Cadet", said that the position of the militia regularly subjected to heavy artillery shelling punitive, therefore command decided to return fire. 
"The militia was attacked and fired today in many parts of the front. Shelled positions in Mount Gay, Prishib, Slavyanoserbsk, Valuisky under Kolesnikov In Nizhneteplom under alder. 

Forces militia ordered to destroy the enemy firing points. Powered artillery that was in the militia in the area Stanichno Luhansk region - SAU Acacia, Carnation, Nona, Peony; Grad MLRS, mortars Cornflower. At the position moved howitzers MSTA-C and D-30. Art duel going strong with the use of self-propelled guns, howitzers, mortars and Grad MLRS, "- said Cadet. 

http://www.novorosinform.org/news/id/178 36 - zinc PS. It is worth noting not a violation of the standard "truce", which is not unusual (well broken in "thousand" times), and the widespread use of all instruments of artillery, including those art.sistemy and MLRS, which has been given to some sectors, but that it is not difficult to notice, still in use. People just do not quite understand that the same "Castle" to drive 15 kilometers to the front lines (and in fact less), the case about an hour (subject to exit the position and prepare to fire). The very same "truce" will try to extend the December 21 but judging by the variety of specific markers, any chance for a peace treaty not, because: 1. Sanctions against Russia will not be removed until the spring. The only option - to change the position of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, which according to statements from the US and the EU, does not occur. New sanctions against the Crimea have already been introduced. 2. Obama signed a law on assistance to Ukraine and got into the hands of a handy tool for the introduction of new sanctions against Russia, which again will be used in relation to the behavior of the Kremlin. 3. There is a fairly common and in the West believed that the current level of sanctions in general not sufficient to change the Kremlin line and the effect of the oil and currency pressure is limited. 4. Europe is openly trying to get off that this showdown between the United States and the Russian Federation, the crying, that she had no money for the junta (late rush, pay for the "European integration" will), then trying to mitigate the degree of conflict. 5. Russia has openly indicated its position on the Crimea and the Donbas, which from the point of view of the United States does not coincide with the requirements of Obama. Therefore imperatives sides really differ dramatically. And a funny moment. The network has photos, where it is stated that Kostya Grishin aka. Semen Semenchenko almost participated in the creation of the DNI. Like in March Grishin twirled in Donetsk, trying to settle down in a new government, but he for some reason has not burnt out, and so he went into punishers. At first I thought it was fake, just like the man, but then he Semenchenko confessed that he was http://lenta.ru/news/2014/12/19/donetsk/ , but not just so, and for exploration. Given biography Grishina, believe more in the first version, where the small speculator from Sevastopol tried to find themselves during the revolutionary chaos.

Oh how much they hate and fear Russia and Putin

http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.co.nz/2014/12/oh-how-much-they-hate-and-fear-russia.html

A (well anonymized) anonymous reader sent me a very interesting link today.  It is an opinion piece by Strobe Talbott for Reuters entitled "In 2015, Vladimir Putin may witness his empire’s death knell" in which Talbott predicts that:

The year ahead could see the outbreak of the third Chechen war, which, in turn, could be the death knell of the Russian Federation in its current borders. (...)  For the past five years, the situation has been more or less quiescent, though neighboring republics have been rocked by violence. The lull in Chechnya, however, ended in early December with a series of bloody incidents in the Chechen capital of Grozny.   The group behind the resurgence of unrest is advocating a “Caucasus Caliphate,” with ties to al Qaeda and, more recently, Islamic State. There is at least an indirect tie between outside support for Islamic radicalism in the Caucasus and Putin’s sponsorship of Russian secessionism in eastern Ukraine.   By proclaiming ethnicity and religion as the basis for Russian statehood and aggression against its neighbors, Putin is inadvertently stoking the forces of secessionism in those parts of Russia that are historically and culturally Islamic.

Needless to say, Talbott, himself a former Deputy Secretary of State under Bill Clinton, member of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral, married to Brooke Shearer, also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior aide to Hillary Clinton with links to banks Commission, is the archetypal US "deep-stater".  He is also considered a "Russia specialist" which, in Foggy Bottom parlance means a rabid russophobe.  A person like Talbott is very much "plugging in" the US deep state and if he says that next year there will be an insurgency in Chechnia, we can be darn sure that the US will try to create one.

Of course, this does not at all mean that they will succeed.

In fact, I am quite sure that there is zero chance of overthrowing Kadyrov, nevermind of Chechnia breaking away from Russia.  If only because there is overwhelming evidence that the Chechen people want nothing to do with Wahabi terrorists and that they in fact form a very strong power base for Putin.  Not only that, but Russia truly has formidable military capabilities in and around Chechnia.  They keep a low profile and do not get involved in law enforcement or counter-insurgency operations, but only because the Chechens handle these tasks superbly.  But make no mistake, Russia can flush at least 100'000 highly trained, motivated and superbly equipped men into Chechnia drawn from the 58th Army of course, but also from various special forces, Internal Ministry and State Security troops. 

The weak link in the Russian Caucasus in Dagestan and the border with nearby Georgia from which attacks could come.  Could the US at the very least rekindle the Wahabi insurgency (possibly supported by Nazi units from the Ukraine)?  Yes, of course.  But their chances to succeed in anything more than one or several truly ugly terrorist attacks are very, very slim.

I think that Talbott probably understands that, but he just cannot help by daydream out loud being, as he no doubt is, aware that if Russia prevails in her defense against the AngloZionist Empire this will mean the end for the latter.

The US deep state is simply saturated with russophobia, phobia in both the sense of "hate" and "fear", and so it should.  Just like all the other western invaders of Russia in the past, the AngloZionist Empire has completely cornered the Russian Bear which now has to fight for its very survival.  Neither side will back down and only one will prevail.  And my money is not on the US, neither is Talbott's, at least now deep down.  He must realize that the writing is on the wall.  Hence the hate and the fear.

The Saker