Topic: The Battle over East vs West (Russia vs Europe) continues in Ukraine

[patentlymn]

https://thegrayzone.com/2025/04/23/uk-intel-ukraines-krynky-invasion/
UK intel behind Ukraine’s disastrous Krynky invasion, leaked documents reveal
Kit Klarenberg and Wyatt Reed·April 23, 2025

Leaked documents reviewed by The Grayzone reveal that a blueprint for Ukraine’s failed effort to capture the village of Krynky was assembled by Project Alchemy, a secret military-intelligence cell created by the British Ministry of Defence which sought “at all costs” to “keep Ukraine fighting.” The Krynky plot led to a bloodbath that remains one of the war’s biggest disasters.
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[patentlymn]

https://sonar21.com/the-road-to-war-in-ukraine-the-history-of-nato-and-us-military-exercises-with-ukraine-part-1/
The Road to War in Ukraine — The History of NATO and US Military Exercises With Ukraine — Part 1

24 April 2025 by Larry C. Johnson 122 Comments
The Road to War in Ukraine — The History of NATO and US Military Exercises With Ukraine — Part 1

24 April 2025 by Larry C. Johnson 122 Comments


This is the first of a three-part series on the history of NATO and US European Command military exercises with Ukraine. This shows how the West, acting like a camel, slipped its big nose under the Ukrainian tent as part of a long-term strategy to defeat Russia. While many of these exercises were touted as peacekeeping in nature, the real purpose was to train and equip Ukraine with the ultimate goal of fighting and defeating Russia. In July 1998, for example, NATO’s Sea Breeze maritime exercise included anti-submarine warfare. WTF??? That ain’t peacekeeping. That is preparation to fight Russia in the Black Sea.

The process of making Ukraine a de facto member of NATO started in 1992, one year after the collapse of the Soviet Union. 1994 marked the first year that Ukrainian forces participated in NATO exercises, although these were held in Poland and the Netherlands. The following year, 1995, witnessed the creation of Ukraine’s Yavoriv military base as the NATO training center, although this was not formalized until 1999.
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CONCLUSION:

I spent 23 years scripting military exercises for US Special Forces. While I was not involved in the scripting of any of these NATO/US military exercises, I understand the purpose and process of them. These were not harmless games. They were designed to train and equip the Ukrainian military to fight Russia, potentially with NATO’s direct involvement. We have seen that come to fruition since the start of the Special Military Operation in 2022. It is no coincidence that Russia hit the Yavoriv NATO military facility on March 13, 2022.

[patentlymn]

https://sonar21.com/why-the-hell-was-nato-expanding-as-the-size-of-the-russian-military-shrank/
Why the Hell Was NATO Expanding as the Size of the Russian Military Shrank?

4 May 2025 by Larry C. Johnson 114 Comments

Gaslighting the American public about the military threat posed by Russia, especially during the 20 years following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, proved to be an effective piece of propaganda. Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama should be required to answer one simple question: Why did each of you expand NATO while the Russian military decreased in size? Between 1991 and 2011, the size of the Russian military underwent a dramatic reduction, reflecting the collapse of the Soviet Union, economic turmoil, and subsequent reforms aimed at creating a more modern and sustainable force.
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At the time of the Soviet Union’s dissolution in December 1991, the Soviet armed forces comprised nearly 4 million personnel. When Russia formally established its own armed forces in May 1992, it inherited a force of approximately 2.73 million servicemen.
Throughout the early 1990s, Russia faced severe economic constraints, leading to drastic cuts in defense spending and personnel. By 1997, defense spending had fallen by a factor of eight in real terms compared to 1991.
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In the 1990s, the Russian military suffered from undermanning, poor training, low morale, corruption, and widespread draft evasion, further reducing its effective size and readiness. The number of active-duty personnel continued to decline, reaching about 1.9 million in 1992, and then dropping steadily throughout the decade. Why am I pounding on this fact? Western leaders persist in pushing the fallacious narrative that Russia posed a military threat to the West and that NATO had no choice but to expand to stave off Russia reestablishing the Soviet Empire. What a load of crap!!
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And what did George W. Bush do in response to the dramatic decline in Russian military manpower? He launched the largest single expansion in NATO’s history in 2004, when seven countries from Eastern Europe formally joined the alliance on March 29, 2004. This expansion was significant both in size and in geopolitical implications, as it extended NATO’s reach deep into the former Soviet sphere of influence. Bush welcomed Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Naturally, the Russians were outraged… understandably so. They were not building up their military forces… the Russian military was shrinking. Vladimir Putin gave a landmark speech on February 10, 2007, at the Munich Security Conference, in which he strongly criticized NATO expansion and U.S. foreign policy. This speech is widely seen as a turning point in Russia’s post–Cold War relations with the West and a clear signal of Putin’s growing assertiveness. Putin argued that NATO’s eastward expansion violated earlier assurances made to Russia after the Cold War. He described the expansion as a “provocation” and said:
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Why am I pounding on this fact? Western leaders persist in pushing the fallacious narrative that Russia posed a military threat to the West and that NATO had no choice but to expand to stave off Russia reestablishing the Soviet Empire. What a load of crap!!
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