The Russia-Ukraine Crisis escalated this weekend amid aggressive Russian actions that forced a European response.
Summary
While the US celebrated a holiday weekend, the Russia-Ukraine Crisis grew closer to war amid aggressive Russian actions that forced a European response.
- Putin threatened additional “military-technical” actions, including deploying nuclear missiles near the US coast or cyberattacks on American utilities or corporations.
- Russia cleared out its embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, an act of “part propaganda, part preparation…or part feint… [or] all three.”
- These moves come on the heels of cyberattacks and malware intrusions against Ukraine government websites and further Russian troop deployments.
- A senior EU diplomat said this was the closest Europe has come to war in decades.
- The United Kingdom sent weapons and troops to Ukraine to bolster its defense.
- The New York Times reported that Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine’s president from 2014-2019 returned to Kyiv amid a corruption investigation. Poroshenko is a political rival of current president Volodymyr Zelensky and his return “add[s] internal political turmoil” to Ukraine.
- The Washington Post published an op-ed urging unilateral nuclear disarmament in the face of Russian and Chinese aggression. Last time I checked the man who won the Cold War believed in “peace through strength,” not “peace through surrender.”
- CNN reports that Secretary of State Antony Blinken is headed to Kyiv and Berlin this week to meet with the Ukrainian and German governments amid escalating Russian threats.
- Commentary Magazine warns the US is wholly unprepared for a war in Europe – and the Russians know it.
- National Review was skeptical of the efficacy of Biden’s sanctions threats. Previous sanctions on Russia may have prepared their financial system to better weather further US sanctions.
- The Telegraph reported on a rift between Germany and the US over potential Russian sanctions. Germany worries excluding Russia from the Swift financial system, the so-called “nuclear option,” will hurt their economy. The US insists that “no option is off the table.”
Return to Freespoke 
© Dominic Moore, 2022
