From The Washington Post, “Russia this week sent a formal diplomatic note to the United States warning that U.S. and NATO shipments of the “most sensitive” weapons systems to Ukraine were ‘adding fuel’ to the conflict there and could bring ‘unpredictable consequences.’ The diplomatic démarche, a copy of which was reviewed by The Washington Post, came as President Biden approved a dramatic expansion in the scope of weapons being provided to Ukraine, an $800 million package including 155 mm howitzers — a serious upgrade in long-range artillery to match Russian systems — coastal defense drones and armored vehicles, as well as additional portable antiaircraft and antitank weapons and millions of rounds of ammunition. ‘What the Russians are telling us privately is precisely what we’ve been telling the world publicly — that the massive amount of assistance that we’ve been providing our Ukrainian partners is proving extraordinarily effective,’ said a senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity about the sensitive diplomatic document.”
It is becoming increasingly clear that the only way to end Russia’s war on Ukraine is through, not around, nor back. The only way forward is through, and I think the world needs to brace itself for what will happen in Europe and elsewhere. As I have said before, this is Putin’s last act, and he will escalate to maximum threat since the Russian people will not rid themselves (and the world) of Putin. People love their dictators! MAGA morons love traitor trump, and Russians love Putin. I think the chances of this conflict turning into nuclear war — or, more precisely, Russia using nuclear weapons — is about 99 percent. What then? All bets are off!
This moment is shaping up to be a mix of the Cuban Missile Crisis and World War I. It resembles the Cuban Missile Crisis in that the war in Ukraine is a de facto standoff between America (the West) and Russia where nuclear conflict is more likely than not. And it resembles World War I in that European powers are inching toward inexorable escalation. Slowly, Europe is mobilizing.