Putin beginning an all-out assault on Ukraine

Valery Gerasimov

Just as Lavrov yesterday suceeded in torpedoing the proposed meeting of Merkel, Poroshenko, Hollande and Putin in Astana on the 15th Jan, General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, announced that,

" .... he would beef up combat capabilities this year in Crimea, the Arctic and the country's westernmost Kaliningrad region that borders two NATO states" (Timothy Heritage : Reuters :  Tue Jan 13, 2015)

It can be no co-incidence that at the same time of General Gerasimov's announcement about beefing up the 'combat capabilities this year in Crimea', Putin's proxies in Donetsk accelerated their bombing attacks on and around Donetsk airport.

As reported by Richard Balmforth today (January 14 2015),

"Shelling hit a passenger bus in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday (Wednesday NZT), killing at least 10 people, and fighting intensified around the international airport in the city of Donetsk as separatists tried to oust government forces" (Stuff.co.nz : January 14 2015)

Neither can it be a co-incidence that this military push by Putin's proxies and Russian soldiers, as well as the pronouncement of Russian General Gerasimov, has come immediately after Poroshenko announced that,

"Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday (January 14 2015) will sign the decree on the next wave of mobilization. ....

 

Earlier it was reported that the first stage of partial mobilization will begin on January 20 also 90 days will proceed. At this stage in general across Ukraine is planned to call 50 thousand people. For the mobilized citizens according to the legislation of Ukraine it is provided social guarantees for passing of military service." (News pn : 13 January 2015)

The military response of Putin to this call-up, as well as the receiving by the Ukrainian army of more military equipment (including fighter planes), underlines the fact that even when Poroshenko initiated the meeting between himself, Merkel, Hollande, and Putin, and that was to take place in Astana on the 15th Jan., Putin had already decided NOT to attend. This also accounts for the fact that Lavrov was determined to scupper this meeting simply to give Putin a 'diplomatic' argument for not attending.

And what could be more telling than the fact that 1 hour ago (BST 18.50) Oleksander Stashevsky reports that,

"Pro-Kremlin insurgents unleashed a massive rocket assault in Ukraine Wednesday as Kiev and Moscow traded blame for a bus shelling that killed 12 in the war's bloodiest incident since a September truce." (Oleksander Stashevsky : Reuters : 14 Jan 2015)

Very disturbing indeed is the fact that,

"Kiev claims that the fighters employed a massive 30-barrel flamethrower, a type used by Russia but not Ukraine. Kiev said insurgents used it for the first time overnight to attack the eastern village of Vesele.

This type of system "only exists in the operational service of the Russian army. It is not operated by us," Ukrainian defence ministry spokeswoman Viktoria Kushnir told AFP. (ibid Oleksander Stashevsky) (my emphasis)

Konstantin Dolgov

The fact that Lavrov corrected Konstantin Dolgov (Russian Foreign Ministry's human rights investigator), who immediately blamed Kiev for the deaths in the bus that was shelled and stated that, "We are outraged. This undermines all peace settlement efforts", exposes the fact that not all Kremlin 'apparatchiks' are singing from the same Putin hymn-sheet.

Thus, Lavrov had to quickly correct Dolgov by saying that,

 
"there are... several versions (of the incident). We need to examine them."( ibid Oleksander Stashevsky)   

It would seem, therefore, that Putin has decided on a FULL ESCALATION of his war with Ukraine.

Putin has been in this situation before. After the FSB (formerly the KGB) blew up those flats in Moscow that killed hundreds of innocent sleeping people, Putin had his argument to launch a massive strike against Chechnya.

And now we have the blowing up of a bus and the brutal killing of 10 civilians. And immediately following that event Putin intensifies his assault against Ukrainian troops at the Donetsk airport and along the borders of the rebel-held Ukrainian territory and Ukraine.

I am reminded of the words that Gorbachev spoke but a few days ago.

"... [I]f either side lost its nerve in the current stand-off, it could lead to nuclear war, and [he] spoke of his fears that the world “will not survive the next few years”. (Justin Huggler : Daily Telegraph : 11 Jan 2015)

Is Putin about to push the world over the precipice into full-scale war in Europe?

(to be continued)