Америка направит в Европу еще тысячи военнослужащих вместе с истребителями, средствами ПВО и кораблями, объявил сегодня Джо Байден, поскольку НАТО укрепляет свой восточный фланг, создавая новый “железный занавес” для защиты континента от России.
Джо Байден, выступая сегодня на саммите НАТО в Мадриде, объявил о создании новой базы для Пятого армейского корпуса США в Польше – первой постоянной американской базы в этой стране – наряду с 3000 дополнительных солдат, которые будут направлены в Румынию, и “усиленной” ротацией войск в балтийских странах – Эстонии, Латвии и Литве.
Еще две эскадрильи истребителей F-35 будут размещены в Великобритании, добавил Байден, а также дополнительные системы противовоздушной обороны для Германии и Италии, и еще два эсминца, которые будут размещены на военно-морской базе Рота в Испании, в результате чего общее число кораблей достигнет шести.
Тем временем НАТО официально пригласила Финляндию и Швецию присоединиться к альянсу после того, как Турция отказалась от своих возражений, и объявила, что увеличит численность войск на своем восточном фланге почти на 4 000 человек по сравнению с мартом этого года.
Это произошло после того, как вчера глава альянса Йенс Столтенберг объявил, что силы высокой боевой готовности НАТО – войска, которые не развернуты, но могут быть быстро отправлены в бой в случае войны – увеличиваются с 40 000 до 300 000. Москва с яростью отреагировала на эту новость, заявив, что расширение НАТО будет “дестабилизирующим” для Европы.
‘Мы считаем расширение Североатлантического альянса чисто дестабилизирующим фактором в международных делах. Оно не добавляет безопасности ни тем, кто его расширяет, ни тем, кто к нему присоединяется, ни другим странам, которые воспринимают альянс как угрозу”, – сказал заместитель министра иностранных дел Сергей Рябков. Первоначально “железный занавес” был фразой, придуманной Уинстоном Черчиллем для описания того, как Советский Союз и союзные ему восточноевропейские государства закрыли контакты с Западом после Второй мировой войны. НАТО была основана в 1949 году для сдерживания советского вторжения в Западную Европу, при этом большая часть войск альянса базировалась в Западной Германии после ее вступления в альянс в 1955 году. Сейчас многие силы НАТО перебрасываются в бывшие советские государства Восточной Европы для сдерживания новой агрессии со стороны путинской России.
В рамках усиления защиты от России НАТО направит дополнительно 4 000 военнослужащих на восточную границу, увеличив численность своих гарнизонов в Польше, Словакии, Румынии, Болгарии и Латвии.
President Joe Biden dramatically raised the stakes with Russia on Tuesday with a call to Vladimir Putin where he asked his counterpart to de-escalate its military situation in the Ukraine and requested a peace summit amid rising tensions between the two nations.
Biden made it ‘clear that the United States will act firmly in defense of its national interests in response to Russia’s actions,’ the White House said in a statement as Moscow demanded Washington stay out of the Crimea. The president, in the call, proposed a summit meeting in a third country in coming months to discuss a range of issues between the two countries. It is now on Putin to respond. He also ’emphasized the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,’ the White House said in a statement. The call comes amid a surge of cease-fire violations in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-supported separatists and Ukrainian forces have been locked in a conflict since Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. the situation is presenting Biden with one of the first major foreign policy tests of his presidency with neither leader likely to back down.
Biden brought up a number of topics in the conversation, including cyber intrusions such as the SolarWinds hack, which Moscow denies; election interference, which Moscow denies; and Russia’s growing military escalation. He also voiced ‘concerns over the sudden Russian military build-up in occupied Crimea and on Ukraine’s borders, and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions.’ This is the second known call between the two leaders since Biden took office. In March, he invited Putin to attend his climate summit later this summer. The call came as Russia warned the US to keep its warships away from Crimea ‘for their own good’ as it accused Washington and NATO of turning the region into a ‘powder keg’ amid soaring tensions on the Ukraine border. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov called Washington’s decision to deploy two ships to the Black Sea ‘a provocation’ designed ‘to test our nerves’ as he branded the US ‘an adversary’ of Russia, ramping up a war of words between the two nuclear-armed superpowers. The USS Donald Cook and USS Roosevelt, two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, are thought to be on their way to the Black Sea from a naval base in Spain and due to arrive tomorrow and Thursday, according to Turkish sources which are responsible for policing the straits leading to the sea. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met Ukraine’s foreign minister in Brussels today for talks, responded that America ‘stands firmly behind’ its eastern European ally while NATO chief Jens Stoltenburg gave the alliance’s ‘unwavering support’ to Kiev.
Russia has warned the US to keep its ships out of the Black Sea ‘for their own good’ after Washington sent two destroyers to the region to counter a build-up of Kremlin troops on the Ukrainian border
The USS Roosevelt, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, is thought to be one of two warships en route to the Black Sea as a deterrent to Russia (file image)
The USS Donald Cook is also thought to be on its way to the Black Sea, and is due to arrive either tomorrow or on Thursday amid a massive build-up of Russian troops
Ukrainian armoured personnel carriers are seen assembled near the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine where government forces have been fighting Russian-backed rebels since 2015
President Joe Biden called Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to ask his Russian counterpart to de-escalate its military situation and request a peace summit
White House Readout of Biden and Putin Call
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. They discussed a number of regional and global issues, including the intent of the United States and Russia to pursue a strategic stability dialogue on a range of arms control and emerging security issues, building on the extension of the New START Treaty. President Biden also made clear that the United States will act firmly in defense of its national interests in response to Russia’s actions, such as cyber intrusions and election interference. President Biden emphasized the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The President voiced our concerns over the sudden Russian military build-up in occupied Crimea and on Ukraine’s borders, and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions.
President Biden reaffirmed his goal of building a stable and predictable relationship with Russia consistent with U.S. interests, and proposed a summit meeting in a third country in the coming months to discuss the full range of issues facing the United States and Russia. President Putin has spent the last week building up forces along Ukraine’s border – where there are now thought to be some 83,000 troops. The two leaders have had a contentious relationship. In an interview with ABC News, Biden called Putin a ‘killer’ with no soul, a set of remarks that infuriated the Kremlin, causing Moscow to recall its U.S. ambassador. Putin fired back that Biden’s hostile and unpredictable policy towards Moscow required Russia to be ready for anything. Putin also wished Biden ‘good health’ and offered to host a zoom call with him.
While Putin has given no official reason for the build-up in the Ukraine, observers believe the move may be in response to a tough line that Biden has taken with Moscow. Michael McFaul, former US ambassador to Moscow who was in post when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, said this week that Putin appears to be sizing up his counterpart including how he responds to military threats. Others theorise that Putin is responding to pressure on his leadership from within Russia itself as poll numbers slump and he fends off unprecedented leaks about his personal life as well as political dissent in the form of Alexei Navalny – the now-jailed opposition leader who inspired mass rallies earlier this year. Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, said on Tuesday that NATO was planning to station 40,000 troops and 15,000 piece of military equipment in the region – a claim that NATO denies – and Russia is merely responding.
He also blamed NATO training exercises and combat readiness checks for increasing tensions. ‘Over three weeks, two armies and three airborne units were successfully deployed to the western borders of the Russian Federation in areas for performing combat training exercises,’ he said. He added that the ‘troops have shown full readiness and ability to carry out tasks to ensure the country’s military security’ and that the exercises would be completed ‘within two weeks’.
In a news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, NATO leader Stoltenberg said it was actually Russia which had built up arms in the region, calling its latest military movements ‘unjustified, unexplained and deeply concerning.’ ‘NATO stands with Ukraine,’ he added. Stationed alongside the Russian troops are tanks, artillery, armoured personnel carriers, anti-aircraft missile systems, landing craft and artillery boats.
Ukrainian soldiers train using a heavy machine gun near the border with Russia amid increasing tensions between the two countries which has seen Moscow rapidly increase troop numbers
A Russian minister warned the US against deploying troops to Crimea and said staying away was ‘for their own good’. Pictured: Ukrainian Armed Forces patrol the border in Donbass
Ukrainian servicemen hold a position on the frontline with Russia backed separatists near small city of Marinka, Donetsk
Ukrainian soldiers are seen near a region occupied by Russian-backed separatist groups where fighting has increased in recent weeks, with at least 28 of Kiev’s men killed so far this year
In response, the Pentagon today confirmed that troop withdrawals from Germany approved under Trump will be cancelled and an additional 500 soldiers will be sent to the country.
The build-up has been matched by an uptick in violence between Ukrainian government forces fighting Russian-backed rebel groups in the country’s east, with another Ukrainian soldier killed today.
Alexey Mamchiy, 40, was killed by shrapnel from an enemy grenade which was dropped on him by a drone, according to Ukrainian media. It brings the total number of Ukrainian troops killed in the region this year to 29.
Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov, speaking in Moscow today, warned the US to keep its distance from Russian forces in the Black Sea, saying the risk of unspecified ‘incidents’ is very high.
‘There is absolutely nothing for American ships to be doing near our shores, this is purely a provocative action,’ he said. ‘Provocative in the direct sense of the word: they are testing our strength… They will not succeed.
‘We warn the United States that it will be better for them to stay far away from Crimea and our Black Sea coast. It will be for their own good.’
He added: ‘The United States is our adversary and does everything it can to undermine Russia’s position on the world stage. We do not see any other elements in their approach. Those are our conclusions.’
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (right) meets with Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba (left) in Brussels today as Washington threw its full backing behind its eastern European ally
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov (pictured) said there was no need for American ships ‘on our shores’, claiming it was ‘pure provocation’
‘If there is any aggravation, we of course will do everything to ensure our security and the safety of our citizens, wherever they are,’ Ryabkov added. ‘But Kiev and its allies in the West will be entirely responsible for the consequences of a hypothetical exacerbation.’ Meanwhile the US State Department confirmed that Blinken had met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kubela in Brussels, saying he ‘affirmed the United States’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression.’ ‘The Secretary expressed concern about Russia’s deliberate actions to escalate tensions with Ukraine, including through its aggressive rhetoric and disinformation, increasing ceasefire violations, and movement of troops in occupied Crimes and near Ukraine’s borders,’ a statement added.
‘Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Kuleba discussed the importance of advancing rule of law and economic reforms to strengthen Ukraine’s institutions, support anti-corruption efforts, and further its Euro-Atlantic integration aspirations.’ Ukraine says Russia has accumulated 41,000 troops at its border with eastern Ukraine and 42,000 more in Crimea. The numbers are likely to grow as the troops keep arriving. The Kremlin argues that Russia is free to deploy its troops wherever it wants on its territory and has repeatedly accused the Ukrainian military of ‘provocative actions’ along the line of control and of planning to retake control of the rebel regions by force.
Kremlin officials charged that Kyiv’s actions have threatened Russia’s security, warning that Russia may intervene to protect Russian speakers in the east. Underlying Tuesday’s meeting is also Ukraine’s wish to become a member of NATO over the vehement objections of Moscow. Stoltenberg insisted it was up to the alliance’s 30 members to decide who could join the group, ‘and no one else has any right to try to meddle or to interfere in that process. ‘It’s a sovereign right of every nation like Ukraine to apply for membership. ‘This is an important principle, because Russia is now trying to reestablish some kind of sphere of influence where they try to decide what neighbors can do. ‘And that is a world we are really trying to leave behind,’ the NATO chief said. ‘Russia must end this military buildup in and around Ukraine, stop its provocations and de-escalate immediately,’ Stoltenberg added.
Russia has continued to move artillery pieces (left), armoured vehicles (right) and troops to its border with Ukraine amid warnings the build-up could spark war in Europe
Michael McFaul, former US ambassador to Moscow, said the build-up – which is being carriedo out in full view of cameras (above ) – is ‘definitely’ designed to test Joe Biden
Videos from Rostov-on-Don, around 100 miles from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, show tanks (left) and support vehicles being moved closer to the border. The latest warnings come after Russian state TV new anchor Dmitry Kiselyov warned that Russia is ‘one step away from war’ in Ukraine during a primetime broadcast in Russia on Sunday. He branded Ukraine a ‘Nazi’ state, saying that Russia may be forced to ‘de-Nazify’ it buy force – a process he said would bring about its ‘economic and military collapse’. A news report on Russia’s Channel One also likened Zelensky – a former actor – to Napoleon after digging up images of him playing the part in an old TV comedy.
The Ukrainian leader was dreaming of ‘Napoleonic ambitions’ by hoping NATO would come to his aid against Russia, the report said. But it was clear Zelensky was not evaluating himself ‘sensibly’. Portraying Napoleon on screen ‘is not the same as doing it,’ the report added. Another report labelled the ex-TV comedian Zelensky a ‘commander-in-chief comic’, a ‘president of war’ who was ‘inciting’ conflict. Viewers were told that Ukraine with NATO support, rather than Russia, was building up military firepower close to Donetsk and Luhansk, which are controlled by pro-Moscow rebels following a civil war in 2014 that has led to more than 14,000 deaths.
Ukraine has begun pumping out its own images of military preparations, including troops practicing with an anti-tank launcher
Ukrainian troops practice with anti-tank missiles and grenade launchers as the government warns of the risk of Russian invasion
‘Never before has there been so much Nato military hardware in Ukraine,’ claimed the report. It also highlighted alleged arrivals of US transport planes and Pentagon-leased cargo vessels in strategic Ukrainian port Odessa. These claims could not be immediately corroborated. Videos have also shown tanks, mobile artillery, howitzers, armoured personnel carriers and support vehicles being ferried to the front – many of which are being massed at a camp near the city of Voronezh, around 115 miles from the border. Mendel added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has requested talks with Putin over the troop buildup, but has not yet received a response. Zelenskiy will this week travel to Paris to discuss the rising tensions with European allies. Asked by BBC Radio 4 how concerned world leaders should be by the situation in Ukraine, Mr McFaul responded simply: ‘Very.’
A Russian ‘peacekeeping’ vehicle is seen on the move in Transnistria, in Moldova, along Ukraine’s western flank
While US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has threatened ‘consequences and costs’ if Russia moves into Ukraine, Mr McFaul said his threat does not go far enough. He called on the White House should be explicit in spelling out what its retaliation would be if Russia attacked, in the hopes of changing the calculation Putin makes before giving the order. ‘Sanctions almost never change Putin’s behaviour post-facto, but they might change his calculations before he decides to make a move,’ he said. He added that the G7 should also put out a statement condemning Russia’s actions instead of forcing America to take its stand alone. Invited to speculate on why Putin is now making an issue out of a conflict that has been smouldering in eastern Ukraine for the past five years, Mr McFaul pointed to ‘tough’ things that Biden has said about the Russian president since taking office. Back in March, Biden called Putin ‘a killer’ while threatening to retaliate against Russian attempts to interfere in the 2020 election.
The remark caused fury in Moscow, as Putin’s spokesman called it ‘unprecedented’ and said it is clear that Biden ‘does not want to improve relations with us, and we will continue to proceed from this’. Observers have also pointed to pressure mounting on Putin from within Russia as a reason for him to ratchet up simmering tensions. The president is facing slumping popularity in the polls, repeated leaks to the media about his closely-guarded private life, and serious opposition in the form of Alexei Navalny – the now-jailed critic who sparked mass protests back in January. Andrea Kendall-Taylor, of the Center for a New American Security, told Foreign Policy magazine that ‘it feels like Putin is drumming up the besieged Russia narrative’. Amid the tensions, Russian media warned on Monday that the country is ‘one step away from war’ as anchors branded Ukraine a ‘Nazi’ state and played footage of weapons being moved to the border.
Putin has not yet given a reason for the sudden troop buildup along Russia’s border with Ukraine, but observers believe it may be designed as a test for President Biden after he took a tough stance against Moscow
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Joe Biden raised tensions with Moscow by branding Putin a ‘killer’, with experts saying the troop movements are designed to ‘test’ the US president
Moscow also unveiled a new video of its latest weaponry marking Day of the Air Defence Forces. More footage showed the first recent Russian military massing on Ukraine’s western flank, with movements in Transnistria, a no-man’s land controlled by Moscow that borders Moldova. Some carried ‘peacekeeper’ signs, normal for Moscow forces in the breakaway territory. It was not immediately clear where the forces were heading. Troops and equipment have also been on the move in annexed Crimea, along with the Russian regions of Pskov, Ryazan, Rostov-on-Don, and elsewhere. Images also emerged from Ukraine of forces doing drills with the Korsar (Corsar) light portable anti tank missile system.
And reports say US military reconnaissance planes P-8A Poseidon and Lockheed EP-3E Orion have been spotted over the Black Sea close to Crimea during the weekend. It comes after Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, warned last week of the threat of a ‘second Srebrenica’ against Russian speakers in Ukraine – referencing a massacre of Muslims by Bosnian Serb forces during Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war. Deputy head of the presidential administration Dmitry Kozak warned that, if Russia finds reason to intervene in the conflict, then it would be the ‘beginning of the end’ for Ukraine. Military action would be ‘not a shot in the leg, but in the face’, he added.
TORTURE dungeons where victims are mutilated with surgical tools, beaten with hammers and shocked with electricity are being run by Putin’s thugs in war-torn Ukraine, civil rights groups claim. Chilling photographs allegedly show the dank basements used as secret prisons for those who are held captive by Russia-backed rebels and the mercenaries that fight alongside them.
When Russian President Vladimir Putin was preparing for last month’s nationwide vote on potentially extending his rule until 2036, he let the veil slip on part of the calculation behind the constitutional change.
‘If this doesn’t happen, then in about two years – and I know this from personal experience – the normal rhythm of work of many parts of government will be replaced by a search for a possible successor,’ Putin said in an interview with state TV channel Rossiya.
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Former Kremlin adviser Sergei Pugachev, pictured above, said Putin had been grappling with the question of succession since at least 2006
Public discontent over Putin’s rule has begun to spill into the open in Russia’s Far East, where tens of thousands have marched in protest for the past three weekends. Above, Putin pictured during a video conference call dedicated to the opening of new military medical centres for patients infected with Covid-19, in June
In another brazen attack on the U.S., a Russian military intelligence unit has secretly paid bounties to Taliban-linked fighters to kill U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan, according to a bombshell New York Times report.
The report represents a deadly escalation in Moscow’s repeated efforts to undermine U.S. policy, and came as the administration was seeking to find ways to extract itself from the decades-long war by making peace with the Taliban.
President Donald Trump was briefed on the activity months ago, the New York Times reported Friday, citing officials with knowledge on the matter – but the U.S. took no evident action.
U.S. Intel believed the operation to have been initiated by the notoriously violent Unit 29155 of the G.R.U, an arm of Russia’s military intelligence agency.
Paris Match | Publié le 26/06/2020 à 10h49 La La Rédaction
Le 75e anniversaire du Victory day a finalement pu être célébré le 24 juin à Moscou. Les Russes célèbrent habituellement la victoire de l’URSS sur l’ennemi nazi le 9 mai. Cette année, les commémorations ont été reportées à cause de l’épidémie de coronavirus.
Chars, avions, hélicoptères et patrouilles ont – enfin – défilé hier sur la place rouge à Moscou.
MOSCOW (The Borowitz Report)—Vladimir Putin has rejected Donald J. Trump’s request for ten thousand active-duty Russian Army troops to guard the perimeter around the White House, Administration and Kremlin sources have confirmed.
After Trump’s call for U.S. troops was rebuffed by Defense Secretary Mark Esper and General Mark Milley, Trump reportedly snapped, “I’ll call Vlad,” and stormed out of the meeting with the two men.VIDEO FROM THE NEW YORKERVirtual Togetherness Through Partner Crosswords
Much to Trump’s disappointment, however, his request for Russian troops met with a chilly response.
“The optics would be terrible,” Putin reportedly told him. “Worse than that crazy thing you did with the Bible. Really, you need to get a grip.”
Andy Borowitz is a Times best-selling author and a comedian who has written for The New Yorker since 1998. He writes The Borowitz Report, a satirical column on the news.
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