World War Three?

[seanD]

In what appears to be a snub to the US State Department, Zelinsky asks Israel to serve as mediator.

https://www.allisrael.com/report-ukr...ct-as-mediator

One of the most suspicious things about all this to me (and possibly telling) is why the US and Zelensky hasn't been on the same page even before this whole thing began.

[seanD]

EU, US Agree To Expel "Selected Russian Banks" From SWIFT, Sanction Russian Central Bank

The full statement can be found here. It wasn't immediately clear which are the "selected Russian banks" or what "restrictive measures" will be taken against the central bank. It also does not detail whether oil and gas payments will stop (according to Bloomberg's in house energy expect Javier Blas, the answer is no).

Furthermore, as Blas also notes, the German government has said that the ban only affects the Russian banks that were *already sanctioned* a few days ago, in other words, it is toothless as it merely hits banks that have already been sanctioned by other measures. It also means that the SWIFT measure is being taken merely to placate populist anger at no SWIFT measures.

So the SWIFT ban apparently only affects the Russian banks that were "already sanctioned" and that Blas argues is only window addressing. They initiate sanctions that Biden said "No one expected the sanctions to prevent anything from happening," then Psaki had to claim was not what he really said. And Zelensky and Biden admin haven't been on the same page since before the invasion began.

What to make of that?

[Mountain Man]

EU, US Agree To Expel "Selected Russian Banks" From SWIFT, Sanction Russian Central Bank



So the SWIFT ban apparently only affects the Russian banks that were "already sanctioned" and that Blas argues is only window addressing. They initiate sanctions that Biden said "No one expected the sanctions to prevent anything from happening," then Psaki had to claim was not what he really said. And Zelensky and Biden admin haven't been on the same page since before the invasion began.

What to make of that?

All signs point to Washington wanting to ensure the conflict doesn't end.

[seanD]

All signs point to Washington wanting to ensure the conflict doesn't end.

I also don't think Zelensky is that much admired by the Dems, being how appeasing to Trump he was when Trump was prying into Biden and his son's Burisma corruption. Obviously Zelensky didn't give what Trump wanted, but the fact he was even cordial to OMB about it I suspect sparked a sour note with TDS Dems. With that said, it'll be interesting to see what fate has for Zelensky and how the Biden admin responds in the aftermath.

[Mountain Man]

I also don't think Zelensky is that much admired by the Dems, being how appeasing to Trump he was when Trump was prying into Biden and his son's Burisma corruption. Obviously Zelensky didn't give what Trump wanted, but the fact he was even cordial to OMB about it I suspect sparked a sour note with TDS Dems. With that said, it'll be interesting to see what fate has for Zelensky and how the Biden admin responds in the aftermath.

Joe was also in talks with Ukraine to join NATO, and he was feeding that information to China which he knew would be reported directly to Russia and could spook Putin into action. It's plausible they wanted this to happen and have been engineering it for months.

[seanD]

Joe was also in talks with Ukraine to join NATO, and he was feeding that information to China which he knew would be reported directly to Russia and could spook Putin into action. It's plausible they wanted this to happen and have been engineering it for months.

I mean, they knew Russia was mounting forces on Ukraine border spring of last year, yet they're treating this like it all just spontaneously started this year. I imagine when the dust settles, we're going to discover we all got played to a certain extent. Obviously some got played much more than others.

[Ronson]

In what appears to be a snub to the US State Department, Zelinsky asks Israel to serve as mediator.

https://www.allisrael.com/report-ukr...ct-as-mediator

I don't know if that's a snub. The U.S. isn't a neutral observer in all this. Russia suggested negotiations in Minsk, which Ukraine didn't like. Ukraine suggested negotiations in Warsaw, which Russia didn't like.

Israel is a neutral party so they both should be comfortable with them.

[seanD]

I don't know if that's a snub. The U.S. isn't a neutral observer in all this. Russia suggested negotiations in Minsk, which Ukraine didn't like. Ukraine suggested negotiations in Warsaw, which Russia didn't like.

Israel is a neutral party so they both should be comfortable with them.

You have to admit though Zelensky's reaction to this whole thing has been a bit strange. First he downplayed the whole thing and even chastised the Biden admin for hyping it before invasion, then cried about how everyone abandoned him during the invasion. That's pretty bizarre in my book. Obviously Zelensky and Biden admin aren't exactly seeing things eye-to-eye.

[Ronson]

You have to admit though Zelensky's reaction to this whole thing has been a bit strange. First he downplayed the whole thing and even chastised the Biden admin for hyping it before invasion, then cried about how everyone abandoned him during the invasion. That's pretty bizarre in my book. Obviously Zelensky and Biden admin aren't exactly seeing things eye-to-eye.

I see it more as denial. Zelensky just didn't think an invasion was going to happen, so he was caught off guard when it did. His attitude evolved as he was forced to accept it. All he saw initially was Biden's vocal alarmism was hurting the Ukraine economy.

I do believe there is a long history of behind-the-scenes shenanigans between Washington and Kyiv, the full extent of which is anyone's guess. But in this specific case, it doesn't seem strange to me.

[NorrinRadd]

Maybe at root it's a holy war.

The article speculates that Pootie is motivated by a desire to unite the two largest majority EO countries under the headship of the larger and earlier one, and that failure to at least consider this aspect in favor of only secular motivations will always lead to misunderstanding.

[rogue06]

You apparently do not consider this to have been an over-simplification!

Of course I'm not the one who boasts that she never does that

Nor do I engage in over-generalisations, a tendency among many who post here.

[rogue06]

I also don't think Zelensky is that much admired by the Dems, being how appeasing to Trump he was when Trump was prying into Biden and his son's Burisma corruption. Obviously Zelensky didn't give what Trump wanted, but the fact he was even cordial to OMB about it I suspect sparked a sour note with TDS Dems. With that said, it'll be interesting to see what fate has for Zelensky and how the Biden admin responds in the aftermath.

The fact that he didn't lie for them during the first impeachment circus is an unforgivable offense.

[rogue06]

Joe was also in talks with Ukraine to join NATO, and he was feeding that information to China which he knew would be reported directly to Russia and could spook Putin into action. It's plausible they wanted this to happen and have been engineering it for months.

The only problem with that is the same gang that has lurched from one crisis to another where they succeeded in only making things worse, suddenly became hyper-competent in Machiavellian machinations.

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

Of course I'm not the one who boasts that she never does that

My brief remark was in reply to your own comment, nothing more. If you want a detailed exchange you know what to do.

[rogue06]

It looks like talk is shifting to how the invasion is not going as scheduled and how Putin is placing his nuclear forces on high alert and may be contemplating using chemical weapons as a result.