Besides, British property worth £1.5 billion has been bought by Russians accused of corruption. Everything in UK is possible according to anti money laundering and corruption campaigners, who maintain that 28% of London property is owned by Russian Oligarchs.
by Victor Cherubim
The Russia – Ukraine tug of war is really nothing new. It seems to have gone on for centuries for those historians who know it. But, right now the simmering conflict threatens to turn into Europe’s worst debacle of the 21st Century, or rather in generations, if all sides cannot pull back from the brink.
We know that tensions continue to mount between Kyiv and Moscow, with more than 130,000 Russian troops and military warfare or rather hardware, stationed according to some sources at the Ukrainian border. We also know that there is more than one border for a seemingly landlocked Ukraine.
Diplomatic talks between world leaders to try and resolve the situation worsening continues almost daily. The latest dignitary to visit President Putin being the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsanaro and a day later by the President of another friendly neighbour, Belarus, President, Alexander Lukashenko.
If I was sitting in President Putin’s place?
What fancy, at my age, if I was sitting in President Vladimir Putin’s place, I would definitely say, enough is enough and stop visiting dignitaries all tiring me out? Perhaps.in today’s political scene, I would venture a guess, they all came seeking some other reason, besides?
Visibly, President Putin looked tired, or was he seemingly, “all guns on deck, “although sitting at his broad table. We noted the Powers including the United States, NATO, the European Union, have all had a message to fall on President Putin’s ears. All seemed to have warned Russia according to reports, against any aggression, insisting over and over again with a poker face that there will be retaliation, if it attacks Ukraine?
Russia through all its spokespersons has denied it has any plans to invade, but has called on the West to respect its concerns over security.
At the same time, this crisis is not new at all. In 2008 and in 2014 the world saw the incursion into Crimea. This I believe, was a strategic move for Russia to have access to the Black Sea.
Simultaneously, like the Cyber-attacks which the West claims can only be the handwork of Russia, giving credit to Russian ingenuity, we are also seeing “Russian Proxy Provocation,” in Eastern Ukraine in the Donbas region. We read these have increased dramatically since February 16, 2022, including an alleged artillery barrage that damaged a kindergarten in “Unoccupied Ukraine”.
Today, 18 February, 2022, we hear, Russia’s proxies in Occupied Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine have begun evacuating civilians to Russia ahead of a claimed Ukrainian offensive.
I need not tell my readers about proxies, they have become a feature of today’s warfare.
So much so that the leader of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” Denis Pushilin,according to Western reports, is controlled by Russia-backed separatists, has informed the world and has called on residents to flee to Russia amid the tense military standoff between Ukraine and Russia. He is reported to have accused Ukrainian Forces of having amassed “troops and lethal weapons” along the Line of Contact and claimed that the Ukrainian Army is “in combat formation”. He has added allegedly that evacuations have been organised in coordination with Moscow with accommodation facilities for their separatists in the Rostov region. No one according to one report has verified this statement.
The Russia backed Separatists in Ukraine’s Donbas region
It is not conjecture it seems, that there are “Separatists” controlling parts of Donbas, the eastern flank of Ukraine since the conflict erupted in 2014, which Ukrainian Authority Forces have accused each other of mobilising.
Moscow states: “it has no intention to invade Ukraine. And wants NATO guarantees that Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO. It has also requested NATO to withdraw “some Troops and Weapons deployment in Eastern Ukraine, arguing they threaten its own security.
Both the West and Russia have accused each other of “disinformation”. But, the Kremlin has announced today (18 February 2022) pre-empting NATO that its military will carry out massive drills of its strategic Nuclear Forces tomorrow (19 February 2022) overseen by its Commander in Chief, President Putin.
Whilst this is happening, Ukrainian officials, as always sought to project calm, as stated by Olekii Danilov, Head of Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council. But on NATO’s side, it accuses Russia of trying to “stage pretext” to invade Ukraine.”
For us as laymen, what advantage has Russia in invading Ukraine?
Except for fear on both sides of ordinary citizens of mainland Russia and Ukraine, one understandable fear is for the complete if any, destruction of Ukrainian Separatists.
Whilst all this war mongering is being traded in each camp, unknown to many, British and NATO “warlords” have been plotting the game big time?
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| Source: BBC |
How many of us know that Britain has more than warned President Putin that “his gamble will not pay off” as he has failed to achieve guarantees amid the Ukrainian crisis. The West is keen on weakening President Putin’s nerve, which they “allege seems to be a bit frayed”. They maintain the rumour that during the visits of President Emmanuel Macron of France and Chancellor Olaf Scholl of Germany, “President Putin did not look like a sovereign leader.” So what does a sovereign leader look like?
Those who are really in the know, discount this assessment of President Putin as false accusation, as false propaganda.
Whilst all this scare mongering goes on, we are now informed by reliable sources, that Ukraine is planning to go nuclear and wanting to cut all Gas supply with Russia. Can this happen without US and NATO support?
We also hear that Russia wants to divert its gas supplies from Europe to Central Asia amid reports of a deal with Pakistan?
The consequences of a long drawn out war?
Theform of sanctions from the US and its Allies are many.
We see Britain for instance, when it wants to attract Russian Oligarch’s will change its policies to do everything possible to attract investment capital. Today, it wants to stop criticism levelled against London being “Londongrad”. We know British companies have invested heavily in Russia. One fifth of British Petroleum (BP) funds are invested in Russia.
Besides, British property worth £1.5 billion has been bought by Russians accused of corruption. Everything in UK is possible according to anti money laundering and corruption campaigners, who maintain that 28% of London property is owned by Russian Oligarchs.
These prestige property market located in the doorstep of Parliament in Westminster, with Kensington and Chelsea are other hotspots for foreign money. Further, there have been 2189 Companies registered in UK and its offshore tax havens, allegedly linked to Russian money capital investment, funds worth as much as £82 billion, according to Transparency International.
Russia will be more than pleased to stop the looting of its assets. The British Home Secretary, Hon. Priti Patel only this week has frozen Tier 1 of Investor Visa route for immigration applications to among others Russian Oligarchs – a start of UK’s crackdown and perhaps, closing a route to corrupt elite from not only Russia, but the world.
On the other side of the coin, Professor Timothy Frye, Professor of Post-Soviet Foreign Policy at Columbia University, New York states, “when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the catalyst was really not NATO membership, but a potential Trade Pact between Ukraine and the European Union. He further states that very liberal Russians see Ukraine to act towards Russia like a Warsaw Pact member during the Cold War.
We cannot imagine what it would take for Russia to give up thinking of Ukraine as it’s younger brother. We cannot however, deny Russia to believe this theory either?
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