U.S. huddles with allies over possible Russian invasion of Ukraine

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

U.S. officials, increasingly alarmed by Russia’s monthslong troop build-up near Ukraine, are warning their European counterparts that the Kremlin may be on the verge of another invasion of that country.

One senior U.S. national security official even suggested Russian leader Vladimir Putin may also be trying to establish some military capabilities along his western borders in case he sees a need to intervene in Belarus, whose Kremlin-aligned ruler is feuding with European neighbors.

The uptick in American concern, confirmed by two U.S. officials, indicates that President Joe Biden’s efforts to reach some sort of equilibrium with Putin are running out of steam. Still, Russia also has at times made moves that poked at the United States and Europe before ultimately backing off and lowering tensions. Bloomberg first reported the U.S. was consulting with allies over the potential for Russia to push into Ukraine.

In April, for instance, Moscow surged thousands of troops close to its frontier with Ukraine, alarming Washington and its allies in NATO. Some of those troops would later return to their bases, but enough remained behind, along with hundreds of armored vehicles that Western officials took note.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/u-s-huddles-with-allies-over-possible-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/ar-AAQDI2h

[msongs]

1. russia has done this sort of thing for hundreds of years nt

[roamer65]

2. If they do...it's gonna freak out the Baltic states.

If Putin invades those, that’s WW3.

They are EU and NATO countries.

[SheltieLover]

3. Is Ukraine in NATO?

Someone needs to put putin in his place...feel free to use your imagination.

[roamer65]

4. I don't think so.

[SheltieLover]

5. I dont think so either

Seems they keep begging to join & being put off.

[roamer65]

6. They aren't.

https://www.mappr.co/thematic-maps/nato-map/

But Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are members.

[SheltieLover]

8. Thx

Maybe why dirtbag putin keeps messing with them.

[electric_blue68]

7. Not yet...

Part of the problem is while more Ukrainians would like to be in NATO (near 70% a poll in '17) much of rest want to stay closer to Russia.
Before Russia's invasion of the Cremia support for NATO membership was about half of what it is now.

From Wikipedia:

"At the June 2021 Brussels Summit, NATO leaders reiterated the decision taken at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that Ukraine would become a member of the Alliance with the Membership Action Plan (MAP) as an integral part of the process and Ukraine's right to determine its own future and foreign policy, of course without outside interference.[9] NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also stressed that Russia will not be able to veto Ukraine's accession to NATO, as we will not return to the era of spheres of interest, when large countries decide what smaller ones should do.[10]"

(I'm half 2nd gen Ukrainian-American, if they want it I support it, though I suppose I'd still hope they'd want at some point, or become non-aligned )

[SheltieLover]

9. Ty!

[Xolodno]

10. With increased calls for more military in the Black Sea...

...Lukashenko nearly getting the boot.

This is there way of saying, back off. Add to that, its also a good distraction from their COVID problems.