RUSSIA NEWS & INFORMATION – Johnson’s Russia List contents & links :: JRL 2022-#34 :: Monday, 14 February 2022

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2021-#34 :: Monday, 14 February 2022
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1. Intellinews: Ben Aris, War tensions spike, but don’t expect an invasion until diplomacy is dead. Tensions have shot up to a new high and a Russian invasion of Ukraine is supposed to happen in the next two days. But don’t expect any attacks until the diplomatic process is dead. – intellinews.com/moscow-blog-war-tensions-spike-but-don-t-expect-an-invasion-until-diplomacy-is-dead-234902/?source=blogs
2. Intellinews: Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK tells BBC Ukraine might consider abandoning its goal of Nato membership to avert war. – intellinews.com/ukraine-s-ambassador-to-the-uk-tells-bbc-ukraine-might-consider-abandoning-its-goal-of-nato-membership-to-avert-war-234891/?source=russia
3. Moscow Times: Ukraine Envoy Walks Back NATO Membership Comments.
4. rt.com: Fyodor Lukyanov, How the world sleepwalked into another Cuban Missile Crisis. Tensions over Ukraine risk boiling over, but history shows they can still be calmed. – rt.com/russia/549209-nato-tensions-high-stakes/
5. AP: Kremlin signals more talks with West amid Ukraine tensions.
6. American Committee for US-Russia Accord: Jack F. Matlock Jr., Today’s Crisis Over Ukraine. Today we face an avoidable crisis that was predictable, actually predicted, willfully precipitated, but easily resolved by the application of common sense.
7. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, ON THE BUS, OFF THE BUS, AGAIN! – irrussianality.wordpress.com/2022/02/11/on-the-bus-off-the-bus-2/
8. Reuters: OSCE Monitoring Mission Staff Pull Out From Eastern Ukraine.
9. rt.com: Some military drills ‘ending’ – Russia. The Russian military is partially wrapping up its large-scale military drills, Moscow says. – rt.com/russia/549320-putin-military-drills-ending-shoigu/
10. Asia Times: Gregory Clark, Ignorance dominates Western stance on Ukraine crisis. But they have no trouble issuing endless warnings to prepare for the imminent Russian invasion, which for some reason never comes. – asiatimes.com/2022/02/ignorance-dominates-western-stance-on-ukraine-crisis/
11. Responsible Statecraft: Anatol Lieven, Russia sanctions bill is a ‘single barrel, sawed-off shotgun’. If God forbid the administration fires it, the results will be to wound Moscow, but also to blow off America’s own toes.
12. Counterpunch: Patrick Cockburn, Ukraine the Powderkeg Story: Always Smoking, Never Quite Exploding. – counterpunch.org/2022/02/14/ukraine-the-powderkeg-always-smoking-never-quite-exploding/
13. Indian Punchline: M.K. Bhadrakumar, Biden dials back belligerence toward Russia. – indianpunchline.com/biden-dials-back-belligerence-toward-russia/
14. American Committee for US-Russia Accord: David Speedie, NATO Expansion Issues-Wait! There’s More… – usrussiaaccord.org/acuras-david-c-speedie-nato-expansion-issues-wait-theres-more/
15. Antiwar.com: Doug Bandow, A Foreign Policy of Cheap Grace: Allies Prepare To Fight Russia to the Last Ukrainian. – original.antiwar.com/doug-bandow/2022/02/13/a-foreign-policy-of-cheap-grace-allies-prepare-to-fight-russia-to-the-last-ukrainian/
16. Counterpunch: Melvin Goodman, Ukraine and the Dangerous Munich Analogy. – counterpunch.org/2022/02/14/ukraine-and-the-dangerous-munich-analogy/
17. Jacobin: Biden’s Escalation With Russia Over Ukraine Is a Terrible Idea. AN INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD SAKWA.
18. rt.com: Russia warns of provocations by ‘autonomous actors’. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said such groups could target the self-proclaimed republics in Donbass – rt.com/russia/549308-russia-ukraine-provocations-autonomous-actors/
19. TASS: Large-scale movements of troops observed in Ukraine near DPR and LPR — Kremlin spokesman. – tass.com/politics/1402899
20. New York Times: Armed Nationalists in Ukraine Pose a Threat Not Just to Russia. Kyiv is encouraging the arming of nationalist paramilitary groups to thwart a Russian invasion. But they could also destabilize the government if it agrees to a peace deal they reject.
21. The National Interest: Grant Golub, Biden Insists He Doesn’t Want a New Cold War. His Actions Say Otherwise. By adopting this Cold War-style mental map for American foreign policy, Biden is enlarging the chances the United States miscalculates or finds itself at war again.
22. Courthouse News Service: Cain Burdeau, Ukraine conflict exposes dangers of a new Cold War. A look at Ukraine’s distant and recent past reveals a complex and dangerous example of the risks posed by a world where superpowers are once again clashing. (Interview with Nicolai Petro and others)
23. rt.com: Tarik Cyril Amar, Minsk remains only path to Ukraine peace. Increasingly alarmist warnings of a Russian invasion overlook the fact there is a roadmap for de-escalation. – rt.com/russia/549148-ukraine-deal-anniversary-war/
24. TASS: Russian figure skater Valieva cleared to skate in ladies’ singles at 2022 Olympics. – tass.com/sport/1402707
25. NBCNews: Reports Russian skater took banned drug trimetazidine puzzle experts. “I cannot imagine a figure skater taking this drug. It’s one big head scratcher,” a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist and expert in human performance said.