Dear CCI Friends,
The threat of Russia attacking Ukraine is beginning to unravel. Russian troops are on their side of the border to send a strong message. NATO and the United States are now being checkmated by France, Germany and other European countries that need international trade to continue.
The day before the article below appeared, I was sitting in my St. Petersburg flat interviewing Dmitri Orlov, an internationally known critic of both Russia and U.S. policy.
Orlov totally rejected the notion that war would break out and gave logical reasons why.
We can breathe more easily now that the situation is becoming clearer. Did Biden not know the reality of the situation? Who was giving his handlers information? Asking questions earlier could avoid a period like this in the future.
Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives
Russia-Ukraine Crisis Deescalating As NATO Countries Break From Bellicose US-UK Stance
January 25, 2022
By Tyler Durden
Deescalation appears to be accelerating over the Ukraine crisis given a number of rapid developments which have seen lead NATO countries break from the more bellicose and threatening tone of the United States and UK. After Germany’s neutrality toward the Russia-Ukraine crisis became apparent, Sweden is the latest to follow its lead of forbidding arms transfers to Kiev, while Croatia is out with a firm statement saying it will recall all of its troops from NATO in the event of war.
This followed on the heels of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announcing that circumstances in the region are now “under control” and that there’s “no reason to panic” according to The Associated Press.
It appears the earlier hyped messages of an ‘imminent Russian invasion’ have backfired, as Ukraine officials have now turned to castigating the media for spreading a sense of overblown panic and doom among the population. Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov went so far as to say the threat of a Russian invasion “doesn’t exist” despite there still being “risky scenarios”. Other Ukraine defense officials have echoed this as well…