Russian Victimhood ... Ukrainian Terrorism

"The explosion occurred on the territory of the Zagorsk optical-mechanical plant in the area of the boiler house."

"The shock wave caused the windows of several houses to be blown out."

Russian Emergency Service

 

"One person died and fifty-six people were injured in a massive explosion at a factory some 75km from the center of Moscow, according to reports."

"Videos posted on social media showed a large mushroom cloud rising above the site of the blast."

"Local authorities have blamed a breach in protocols as the primary cause of the explosion, countering rumors of a Ukrainian drone strike that had circulated via Telegram channels."

Kyiv Post 

Explosion Rocks Military Optics Factory Near Moscow   Kyiv Post

 

The Kremlin orders the Russian military to invade Ukraine at President Vladimir Putin's behest. For the purpose of preempting Kyiv's intention -- Russian propaganda informs its public -- to attack Russia, for this, ostensibly is the plan of Ukrainian fascists, to prey on Russia with the intention of destroying it and in the process enlist the nations associated with NATO to supply the Ukrainian military, vastly undermanned and under-equipped with the wherewithal for success. The sanctions imposed on Russia represent a reprehensible Ukrainian plot, but Russia will not allow this to happen.

The question really is, how many Russian civilians believe this claptrap? And the urgency of ensuring that ordinary Russians have no doubt in the veracity of their government's war propaganda is now linked with the need to persuade the public that there is absolutely no danger that the war the Kremlin is fighting on their behalf as a civilized nation taking action to forfend a Ukrainian invasion will ever cross the border from Ukraine into Russia itself. Russia is immune from 'terrorism' striking from Ukraine.

And if it were not for the courage, perseverance and professional action on the part of the Russian military, Ukraine's plot to invade Russia would be an assured reality. But it will never happen; Russia has the situation firmly in hand. Mind, there have been some 'terrorist' aspirations carried out by drones striking close to the border and even daring to go so far as Moscow itself. On July 30 and August 1 drones smashed into Moscow's business district. Drones struck near Minsk highway as well as Domodedovo district.

More latterly, however, 56 people were injured, six severely, north of Moscow on Wednesday, a blast on the grounds of the Zagorsk optics manufacturing plant, damaging 28 apartment buildings and causing an area evacuation. The mangled industrial site was invaded by emergency crews with sniffer dogs while firefighters hosed down the wreckage. According to some in the Russian media, a drone attack was the cause of the blast at the plant site, Denied, however, by Russian authorities.

Members of emergency services work at the site of a blast at the Zagorsk Optical-Mechanical Plant in Sergiev Posad in the Moscow Region, Russia August 9, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer

 

The plant was described in 1995 as "a producer of precision optical equipment for the military", by the U.S. Department of Commerce. A procurement data statement as well, indicated the plant supplied binoculars and dosimeters to Russia's National Guard, that it produced equipment for military aircraft and that it was involved in the development of a new fighter-bomber, according to the Russian investigative news outlet Agentstvo.

According to the Investigative Committee, Russia's premier law enforcement agency, a criminal inquiry has been launched on charges of violating industrial safety requirements at hazardous production facilities. Which, translated, is that the plant itself was guilty of negligence in its safety procedures, a negligence that led to the occurrence of the blast. Russian citizens could rest assured that the war in Ukraine remains firmly there, with no intention of spilling over the border.

Although, of course, it is inconvenient that Ukraine's attempts to strike the Russian capital in acts of terrorism represent the latest plans to strike the Russian capital for the benighted campaign of unnerving Muscovites in the hopes of taking the war in Ukraine directly back to Russia. Citizens of Moscow could be assured that the "terrorist attack" was apprehended, the drones shot down, and no harm done.

When Ukrainian media reported that social media blogs revealed a thick plume of smoke billowing over Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozzhayev, the Moscow-appointed governor of annexed Sevastopol, assured the public that the smoke emanated from a "fleet training exercise", no cause for anyone to be concerned. "Yes, the smell is unpleasant, but it is absolutely safe. Everything is calm in the city." And a counteroffensive by Ukraine is not occurring, not in the least bit.

 

A rescuer with a dog works at the site of a blast at the Zagorsk Optical-Mechanical Plant in Sergiev Posad in the Moscow Region, Russia August 9, 2023, in this still image taken from video. Russian Emergencies Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

 

 

The Seriousness of the START Situation

"[Vladimir Putin's decision on tactical weapons] followed the failure by Kyiv's allies to heed previous serious signals [from Moscow because of the] fundamental irresponsibility of Western elites before their people and international security."

"Now they will have to deal with changing realities."

"We hope that NATO officials will adequately assess the seriousness of the situation."

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Moscow

The Russian Foreign Ministry initially said Moscow would keep notifying the U.S. about planned test launches of its ballistic missiles, but Ryabkov's statement reflected an abrupt change of course.  CBC

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided that Moscow is no longer obligated via treaty to honour the United States' decision-making by trustfully alerting it through advance notice regarding Russian missile tests. This, at a time when the Russian military under Kremlin orders deployed mobile missile launchers in Siberia as a demonstration of Russia's massive nuclear capabilities a highlighted link to the invasion of Ukraine and the fortunes of a conflict that has left both countries in a veritable stalemate condition.

Russian news agencies carried Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov's remarks that all information exchanges under the START agreement with Washington have been halted by Moscow, completing the distancing of the two countries in their nuclear responsibility pacts following on the suspension of Russia's ongoing participation in the last remaining nuclear arms pact with the United States.

Data relating to the current state of both countries' nuclear forces -- up to the present routinely released at six month intervals complying with the treaty -- both parties also exchanged advance warnings of test launches. Notices of this type represent an essential element of strategic stability and have for decades. This cooperation allowed Russia and the United States to properly interpret each other's moves, making certain that neither would mistake a test launch for a missile attack.

Termination of missile test warnings represents another effort on Moscow's part to discourage the West from continuing to strengthen its support for Ukraine. Emphasizing Russia's massive nuclear arsenal is a most transparent threat, one occasioned by the fury of stalemate and the isolation imposed by the U.S. and NATO upon the Russian Federation.  Augmented by President Putin's announcement of tacticl nuclear weapons deployed to Belarus territory, as a regional trusted ally.

 

This photo made from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, shows a Yars missile launcher of the Russian armed forces being driven from a shelter in an undisclosed location in Russia. The Russian military on Wednesday launched drills of its strategic missile forces, deploying Yars mobile launchers in Siberia in a show of the country's massive nuclear capability amid the fighting in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

 

The New START treaty was suspended last month, with Mr. Putin stating that U.S. inspections of Russia's nuclear sites was unacceptable at a time when Washington and its NATO allies have committed to Moscow's defeat in Ukraine. While not withdrawing entirely from the pact, Moscow stated its intention to continue to respect caps on nuclear weapons set by the treaty.

 

 

To the present, until Ryabkov's statement, it was understood by the United States that Moscow intended to continue notifying the U.S. of planned test launches of ballistic missiles, now upset by an abrupt change in orders. 

 

Russian drills will see Yars mobile missile launchers manoeuvre across three regions of Siberia involving measures to conceal the deployment from foreign satellites and other intelligence assets. No mention from the Russian Defence Ministry was given of how long the drills would last, nor were any practice launches mentioned of the nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic Yars missile with its range of about 11,000 kilometers. The Yars missile represents the backbone of Russia's strategic missile forces.

The tactical nuclear weapons deployed in Belarus are useful on the battlefield with their relatively short range and considerably lower yield, in comparison with the long-range strategic missiles fitted with nuclear warheads capable of obliterating entire cities. This latest decision by President Putin follows repeated warning that Moscow is prepared to use "all available means" -- referring to its nuclear arsenal -- to fend off attacks on Russian territory.

A still image from video, released by the Russian Defence Ministry in October 2022, shows what is said to be a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launched during an exercise at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. (Russian Defence Ministry/Reuters)

Russia's Near-Abroad

"What we see in Ukraine, and the way Russia is waging war -- means that this strategy [NATO's batlegroup 'tripwires' meant to forestall Russia's territorial ambitions] needs to be adjusted."

"We do have to reassess the risk posture and how much we need to stand together against potential Russian incursions and aggression."

"Where the Russian military goes, not only is civilian infrastructure destroyed, but civilians are shot, maimed, murdered, raped, tortured, deported, killed."

"That means we need to have a more robust position in the Baltics to prevent an attack from occurring in the first place."

Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krisjanis Karins

"Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay."

"We hope that the national steps still needed to make this decision will be taken rapidly within the next few days."

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto/Prime Minister Sanna Marin

"Definitely [Finland's accession to NATO poses a direct threat to Russia]."

"Definitely NATO expansion does not make our continent more stable and secure."

This cannot fail to arouse our regret, and is a reason for corresponding symmetrical responses on our side."

Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman 

A first responder works at the site of a missile strike, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine in this handout

 

That 'symmetrical responses' phrase was attention-grabbing. Analysts might point out that past situations spoke to potential counter-measures the Kremlin could consider in the event that its neighbours decided to move closer to the West and to join NATO, a prospect that makes the Russian Federation very nervous indeed. And one that reputedly spurred Vladimir Putin to scorn Ukraine as a puppet of the West controlled by fascists which obligated Russia to invade and bring war to Ukraine, a stunning course of punishment.

Responses on a wider basis -- setting aside the prospect of a Russian invasion of all its neighbours simultaneously rather than the feared and anticipated sequentially at a time when the Russian military finds itself bogged down in one country -- could conceivably consist alternately of Russia placing nuclear-armed missiles on the Baltic Seacoast. When asked whether Finland might, by joining NATO, provoke Russia, its President said: "My response would be that you caused this. Look at the mirror".

The expectation of other NATO allies is that Finland, along with Sweden which has also stated its intention to apply for NATO membership, would be quickly granted membership. That would result in an increased troop presence to defend the Nordic region during the period of ratification that would take approximately a year. The irony is that Ukraine which has long sought NATO membership and has been put off for fear of aggravating Russia, was targeted with a "special military operation" to prevent just such NATO expansion.

 

A Ukrainian serviceman patrols an area, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in an undisclosed location in Kharkiv Region   Reuters

 

As the two largest EU countries to  join NATO to the present, Finland's 1,300-km border with Russia would double the frontier between NATO and Russia. NATO guards would be placed with this new alliance, a mere few hours' drive from the northern outskirts of St.Petersburg. As the world's sole superpower European nations feeling the stress and strain of a silent, looming threat from Russia, seek the protection of the world's largest and best-armed military, that of the United States.

Even while Moscow regards these events as a direct threat to its own influence and security in the region, it was that pre-emptive move to demonstrate that it would not tolerate NATO's creeping presence in the Russian near-abroad that motivated the Ukrainian invasion; the extended reach of which has been to shock, unnerve and convince Russia's neighbours that they're in dire need of the backing of an international coalition to give Russia pause over extending its 'special military operations' elsewhere.

And all will have taken note that Ukraine, though not a NATO member-nation, has been amply supported  with the supply of advanced technological weaponry which, together with the Ukraine military's fighting spirit in countering the Russian presence with a strong defense, has now transformed that hugely successful defense into an admirable counter-offensive, pushing Russian troops back towrd their own border, and even threatening Russian towns with the same treatment Russia meted out to Ukrainian towns.

Ukrainian service members fire with a self-propelled howitzer 2S1 Gvozdika, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in unknown location in Kharkiv region, Ukraine May 7, 2022. REUTERS/Serhii Nuzhnenko

The Infinite Subconscious

The Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow this week.   Credit...Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times

"[It is certain that Vladimir Putin intends to return Ukraine to Russia as a major part of the former Soviet Union.] But he also doesn't want to by accident inherit another Afghan war."

"He needs social calm at  home, so in a way it's quite possible this is a diversion. [Putin learned in 2008 a] nice little war [works wonderfully well for public opinion, shading corruption and inflation'. The problem with Ukraine is that Ukraine is not little."

"His [Putin's] problem at the moment, I think, is he effectively manufactured this crisis. Nothing has changed on the NATO side."

"One thing we don't know enough about is what makes him tick. What's the investment for? It's for mobile combined operations, therefore it is to control Russia's periphery. This is an agenda that goes well beyond Putin."

"[Staging troops on the Ukraine border was a big bet], and now he realizes that there's no jackpot. So what do you do? Do you just walk away? Or do you invade because the clock is ticking, and if you invade, what next?"

"Putin doesn't like to get humbled, and Kyiv is a recipe for that."

Neil MacFarlane, Canadian expert on Russian security and foreign policy -- Lester B.Pearson Professor of International Relations, Oxford University

 

"[What is happening in Ukraine today, is a] forced change of identity."

"And the most despicable thing is that the Russians in Ukraine are being forced not only to deny their roots, generations of their ancestors but also to believe that Russia is their enemy."

Russian President Vladimir Putin 

Celebrating the independence of Ukraine in Kyiv in 1991.   Credit...Anatoly Sapronenkov/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

First came Moscow claiming that it was pulling some troops from the border after the completion of war exercises. Vladimir Putin had met in Moscow with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, informing him he has no wish to go to war, he was willing to continue negotiations. A statement that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson questioned given the "mixed signals" of the appearance of field hospitals that "can be construed as a preparation for an invasion". 

Vladimir Putin is incensed with bristling rage over the ever-closer-creeping presence of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance in Russia's near-abroad, the zeal with which former satellites of the Soviet Union have joined NATO, making him feel security-vulnerable, a feeling he detests, believing the solution is to arm-wrestle NATO into an agreement to cease and desist, reverse and retreat. The passion of his loathing for the West's incursion, and his determination to restore a semblance of the USSR motivates and drives his decisions.

Despite that Ukraine was not yet close to being accepted into NATO the promise that Putin tried to extract will never see the light of day; no outsider threatening world stability could ever convince the Alliance to withdraw its presence when its very mission is to address itself to forestalling the kind of chaos and disruption the West foresees in an expansion of the Russian Federation, all the more so its forceful and violent bullying of neighbours who shudder at the memory of the USSR that trapped them.

When the USSR collapsed it was penurious and militarily feeble. Vladimir Putin visualizes its restoration and sees himself as the vehicle to drive it back on track to its former glory and status as a world power. Much has changed in a generation, the once penniless state Russia found itself in has been transformed into an energy giant with enough disposable income to modernize its military on a scale to challenge the most modern army in the world; the U.S., with China bringing up the rear.

Putin's mind is fixated on pride and identity, history and even a special kind of spirituality. His essay On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians, claiming Russia and Ukraine to be "parts of what is essentially the same historical and spiritual space", with their "spiritual unity" under attack reflected his mystical views of history. According to Mr. Putin, Belarusians, Ukrainians and Russians are one people, descendants of Kyivan Rus, a 10th century Slavic federation.

An Orthodox church service in 2018 in Chernytsia, Ukraine.  Credit...Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times

Eastern Europe in High Stress

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, left, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg are seen at a news conference at the European Union headquarters in Brussels on Thursday. (John Thys/AFP/Getty Images)

"The message today to Russia is that it is for Ukraine as a sovereign nation to decide its own path."

"We call on Russia to return to diplomacy. To de-escalate. And to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

"Any further aggression against Ukraine will have severe consequences. And would carry a high price."
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary-General

"We will emphasize here once again, that the inviolability of borders is one of the very important foundations of peace in Europe, and that we will do everything together to ensure that this inviolability actually remains."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

"I'm worried because the military concentration, especially on the Ukrainian border with Russia [is] very strong."

"We are prepared to avoid the kind of surprises we met during the occupation of Crimea."

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, EU revolving presidency

"Probably we face the most dangerous situation in the last 30 years. I think we have to do everything that is in our hands to prevent the worst scenario, which we [cannot] exclude."

"This scenario is possible military intervention into the territory of Ukraine."

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda

 

"There will be no talks on European security without European allies and partners."

"[Washington will hold discussions with its allies but] we will not compromise the key principles on which European security is built, including that all countries have the right to decide their own future and foreign policy, free from outside interference."

Jen Psaki, White House spokesperson

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a conference in Moscow on Friday. (Sergei Guneyev/SPUTNIK/AFP/Getty Images)

Over 100,000 Russian  troops have been massed on the Russian border with Ukraine, leaving leaders of Europe to warn of the most dangerously tense episode occurring in real time, in the past 30 years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union when its satellites went their separate ways, assuming full sovereignty for themselves after years of orbiting helplessly around the powerfully-enforced magnetic star of the USSR. 

 

With the last European Council summit of the year in Belgium, EU heads of state and government gave ample warning to the Kremlin that it would face "massive consequences and severe cost" should there be a repeat of the annexation of Crimea in a violent 2014 takeover. But Vladimir Putin remains resolute; should Europe wish to achieve a relaxation of tensions, NATO must withdraw its 2008 assurance to Ukraine that it would be welcomed along with Georgia into its bloc. No agreement, no de-escalation.

 

Moscow's published list of demands for de-escalation and recall of Russian troops and war machinery has failed to impress NATO  and the EU. Russia's insistence of a legally binding guarantee that NATO surrender all military activity in eastern Europe and Ukraine is part of its list of security guarantees to be negotiated with the West if any progress is to be made in de-engaging from its current level of intimidation and threat.

 

The detailed demands, Moscow stressed, are essential, without which tensions will not be diminished in Europe, and the crisis over Ukraine defused. However, the world could be assured, Moscow reiterated, that it has no intention whatever of planning an invasion of Ukraine. Demands include an effective Russian veto on future NATO membership for Ukraine. Other elements relate to the removal of U.S. nuclear weapons from Europe alongside the withdrawal of multi national NATO battalions from Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. 

None of those demands were met with ingratiating deference. Russia does not, after all, control with the
EU or NATO and its allies, led by the United States, envision for Europe; total abandonment of the Baltic states and the rest of eastern Europe to the kind remonstrances of the Kremlin to convince former satellites that their futures lie with a resumption of their former devotion to a mighty Russia's formation of a strong Europe.

According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Russia and the West must begin with a clean slate to rebuild relations gone sour. Russia being fully prepared to begin talks as soon as possible. As far as the Kremlin is concerned, its position is one of response to threats to its security from Ukraine's increasingly warm relations with NATO and its aspirations to join the alliance. 

The best possible scenario the Kremlin envisages if that NATO  return to the situation that existed before May 1997; predating the accession to NATO of any of the former communist states in east Europe; that NATO relinquish any military activities in Ukraine, eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Wait for it.

Ukraine’s foreign minister has asked Canada to help strengthen its defences amid escalating tensions with Russia, while NATO warns Russia will face “high impact” sanctions if it attacks

A Fawning Putin and a Stern Biden...?

"I want to say that the image of President Biden that our press and even the American press paints has nothing in common with reality,"

"He was on a long trip, had flown across the Ocean, and had to contend with jet lag and the time difference. When I fly it takes its toll. But he looked cheerful, we spoke face-to-face for two or maybe more hours. He's completely across his brief."

"Biden is a professional, and you have to be very careful in working with him to make sure you don’t miss anything. He doesn’t miss anything, I can assure you." 

Russian President Vladimir Putin

"We didn't need to spend more time talking. [I informed Mr. Putin that] we need some basic rules of the road that we can all abide by. I did what I came to do."

"[There was] no substitute for face-to-face dialogue, [I told him the agenda was] not against Russia [but] for the American people."

"This is not about trust, this is about self-interest and verification of self-interest [with a] genuine prospect [of improving relations]."

U.S. President Joe Biden

U.S. President Joe Biden (left) and Russia's President Vladimir Putin meet at the start of the U.S.-Russia summit at Villa La Grange in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday, June 16, 2021. (Denis Balibouse)

They're not strangers to one another, although relations between them have been strained; the cool distance between Washington and Moscow has been awhile brewing. President Biden's predecessor had a relaxed, somewhat warmish relationship with President Putin. The Democratic White House is aggrieved over what it believes was Russian interference in the election that brought Donald Trump to four years in the White House. Nonsense, Moscow responds.

The summit between them on June 16 was productive, in a cool, businesslike way, according to each of the participants. Despite that no feel-good, accomplishment-proud joint news conference took place after their frank discussions laying (almost) everything on the table. There were some 'don't go there' issues that each made clear were not up for discussion, and they weren't. Both accomplished politicians, actors, diplomats, smile on cue.

Vital issues like arms control and cybersecurity talks proceeded. The discussions were to have consumed between four to five hours. And to make certain that it was well understood that this was strictly business, no food to be served; water sufficed on this occasion. The exercise in 'airing it all' (almost) took much less time than anticipated; between two to three hours, so no hardship for either in threats of famishing penance.

Certainly the setting was conducive to feeling good, at the lakeside Villa La Grange in Geneva. In the end, 68-year-old Vladimir Putin, acquiesced to the 78 year-old American president, graciously putting the lie to early dementia capturing the older man's brain. To Mr. Biden's severity of purpose, Mr. Putin was less curt and dismissive in a notable role-reversal, expressing his confidence in his political adversary as a constructive, experienced discussion partner, speaking "the same language".

Reminiscent in part, of former U.S. President George W.Bush enthusing that looking into Vladimir Putin's eyes assured him that this was a man he "could do business with". But in the final analysis, was unable to. Relations between the two countries have been tense. The Kremlin came under fairly universal condemnation with its surprise annexation of Crimea and its military arming, training and fighting alongside ethnic Russian Ukrainians in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region. An issue that Mr. Putin is rather prickly about; off-limits.

 

President Putin, briefing reporters following their discussion, and in lieu of the more generally accepted joint news conference spoke of the two sides making progress on shared goals, that the meeting had set aside hostilities as indication of the two leaders' wish to make an effort to understand the framework of the position each spoke from. It was "hard to say" whether relations would improve beyond a "glimpse of hope" that mutual trust might result.

 

The remaining distance between them expressed by the lack of geniality in each inviting the other to visit their respective capitals. According to Mr. Biden, much time was spent on discussions around arms control and cyber-attacks, when it was made clear by him to Mr. Putin that "critical infrastructure should be off-limits". As emphasis, he handed over a list of 16 strategic sectors to Mr. Putin, who undoubtedly has a similar list back home in Moscow. 

The impression was left with Mr. Biden that there was genuine concern of being "encircled", the belief by Mr. Putin that Washington planned to "take him down". And of course, Mr. Biden assured Mr. Putin that such was not the case; they just had to accommodate themselves to the practicality of getting along and pursuing their mutual interests in ensuring the good of the global community was uppermost in mind, primarily in restraints in arms control.

He did warn Mr. Putin, he said, of consequences should jailed opposition figure Alexei Navalny expire in prison as a result of detention conditions; a situation that would prove to be "devastating for Russia". Both agreed without hesitation that Moscow and Washington shared nuclear stability responsibility; further discussions on altering the recently extended New START arms limitation treaty would be on the agenda.

Mr. Putin made it abundantly clear that concerns about Mr. Navalny's fate should rest solely with Russia and expanded Russia military presence close to the eastern border of Ukraine was also Russia's internal business. He laid to rest as far as he was concerned the very absurdity of Russian responsibility for a series of cyber-attacks in the United States. 

Although both Mr.Putin and Mr. Biden expressed the hope that more stable, predictable relations between the two countries might result prior to their meeting, it appeared somewhat obvious that the meeting itself did little to advance that prospect; cool, collected, remote relations. The irritants expressed on the U.S. side unresolved to its satisfaction, and guaranteed to remain so in the near future. "I'm not confident he'll change his behaviour", the last words on the matter by Mr. Biden.

President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, arrived to meet at the Villa la Grange on Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Geneva, Switzerland. (Saul Loeb)

"I watched Putin's press conference after the summit meeting, but since Russians have heard most of his lies and evasions for years, there wasn't much new for me. The foreign audience seemed shocked when Putin said Navalny had only himself to blame for consciously breaking parole by leaving the country -- even though Navalny was evacuated to Germany in a poison-induced coma. He also tried to justify the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014 (which he used to deny) by arguing that it had introduced "stability" after the independent nation struggled to free itself from Putin's grip. Putin also denied responsibility for cyberattacks and blamed the US for being the biggest offender."

"These are examples of the absurd, reality-twisting nonsense Russians are fed 24-7 by the state-controlled media, and Putin was delighted to have the chance to spread it around the world. Had Biden wanted to send a real message to Putin, he would have met instead with Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine. Or with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leading opposition candidate in Belarus' sham elections last year, who is now living in exile after fleeing persecution by Putin's loyal servant Belarusian despot Alexander Lukashenko. Or Biden could have extended a White House invitation to the families of Putin's many victims."

Opinion by Garry Kasparov, CNN

NATO's European Military Presence

"We're forward-leading in Ukraine, and Europe can count on Canada to always be there."
"What I heard were warm words for Canada for its high operational tempo and that it is one of 18 NATO countries this year to be increasing its defence spending."
"It is not our intention to recreate a permanent infrastructure. It is extremely expensive for us to do so."
Canadian Defence Minister Jason Kenney, NATO alliance headquarters, Belgium

"If heavy U.S. military equipment, including tanks, artillery batteries and other equipment really does turn up in countries in Eastern Europe and the Baltics that will be the most aggressive step by the Pentagon and NATO since the Cold War."
"Russia will have no option but to build up its forces and resources on the Western strategic front."
Russian General Yuri Yakubov

"This is something which is a prudent and necessary response to what we have seen from Russia for a long period of time."
"NATO is a defensive alliance and what we do is defensive. What we are doing is responding to a new and challenging defence environment."
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

Image: NATO foreign ministers condemned Russia's illegal military intervention in Ukraine during the meeting in Brussels, Belgium. Photo: courtesy of NATO.

Canada has been rotating 200 infantry troops in Eastern Europe since last summer, through participation in NATO exercises. The latest commitment is the sending of 1,650 soldiers to Europe in the fall to continue taking part in the largest military exercises since the Cold War ended. Prime Minister Harper has repeatedly called out Vladimir Putin for Moscow's Ukraine provocations.

Ottawa has offered Royal Canadian Air Force spy planes, tanker aircraft and strategic airlift capabilities toward the new NATO rapid reaction force set to triple in size from its current 13,000 troops. That rapid reaction force is designed to bypass a much earlier agreement with Russia not to permanently stage NATO troops in the affected countries now concerned over Moscow's muscle-flexing. Should the security situation worsen the force is meant to provide a swift response from rotating troops.

Canadian staff officers will be working at the six command centres of the new force located in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania. The projected Operation Trident Juncture to be held late September and early November in Spain, Portugal and Italy will have over 25,000 troops involved, including air, sea and land components, along with special forces.

At the Belgium meeting Russia was not directly criticized, although clearly the activities involving Moscow in Ukraine remained the foremost theme. Russian journalists were invited to the Brussels meeting to ensure that all discussions were clearly understood and their purport brought directly back to Russia, and for that purpose simultaneous translation from English to Russian was thoughtfully provided for their ease in fully comprehending the discussions.

Russia's agitation over the American move to base heavy weapons in Eastern Europe along with Canada's contributions of troops, ships and warplanes to NATO missions in Eastern Europe this past year emphasizes how events have focused and mobilized NATO's attention, returning it to its original Cold War mission where in the 50s and 80s a close watch was maintained on Moscow's military initiatives.

Despite Moscow's angry rhetoric reflecting its concerns, NATO's Stoltenberg iterated and reiterated that there was no question of the alliance engaging in "a new arms race with Russia". While that may not be the intention, however, it certainly becomes the outcome, clearly enough. And Vladimir Putin has stated as much, as has his generals and Russia's foreign minister.

NATO Chief: 'We Will Not Be Dragged Into Arms Race'