https://andmagazine.com/talk/2021/11/11/the-russian-attack-on-ukraine-has-already-begun-and-biden-will-do-nothing-to-stop-it/
The Russian Attack On Ukraine Has Already Begun And Biden Will Do Nothing To Stop It
Ukraine and Russia have been in a standoff since Russia overran Crimea in 2014. Russian-backed “separatists” control large chunks of Ukrainian territory, and Russia is now preparing for what looks like a final push to crush Ukrainian aspirations of an alliance with the West and a future free of Kremlin domination.
The only hope for Ukraine lies in support from the Biden administration, which is to say, there is no hope.
Russia has prepped the battlefield through effective use of its energy power. Natural gas prices in Ukraine are already through the roof. Now Russia has not only cut off supplies of coal to Ukraine but also blocked the passage of freight trains carrying coal from Kazakhstan to Ukraine.
Former Russian opposition lawmaker Illia Ponomaryov, who now lives in Kyiv and works as an executive at Kyiv-based mining company BGV Group, stated the obvious when he said recently that the stoppage of coal sales and trains from Kazakhstan is part of a Russian effort to put pressure on Ukraine.
“Somebody in Moscow believes that Ukraine will run into serious energy-supply difficulties throughout the winter season. Obviously, Russia wants additional leverage to press on Ukraine’s government,” Ponomaryov said.
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So desperate is Ukraine for power that it has now resumed importing electricity directly from Russia. That puts Vladimir Putin in the position of quite literally being able to shut off the lights in Ukraine anytime he wants.
While Putin preps the battlefield with threats of Ukrainians heading into the long, harsh winter unable to heat their homes he is also setting the stage to do things the old-fashioned way. At least 90,000 Russian troops are massed near the Ukrainian border preparing for what looks very much like a push to Kyiv. Earlier this year Russian forces conducted a series of large-scale command and staff exercises. Those now look suspiciously like they were dry runs for what is to come.
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