"U.S. intelligence has found the Kremlin is planning a multi-front offensive as soon as early next year involving up to 175,000 troops ... The Kremlin has been moving troops toward the border with Ukraine while demanding Washington guarantee that Ukraine will not join NATO ... 'The Russian plans call for a military offensive against Ukraine as soon as early 2022 with a scale of forces twice what we saw this past spring during Russia’s snap exercise near Ukraine’s borders,' said an administration official ... 'The plans involve extensive movement of 100 battalion tactical groups with an estimated 175,000 personnel, along with armor, artillery and equipment' ... Russian forces massing in four locations. Currently, 50 battlefield tactical groups are deployed, along with 'newly arrived' tanks and artillery ... Secretary of State Antony Blinken ... warned there would be severe consequences, including high-impact economic measures, if Russia invaded ... Biden said he is preparing measures to raise the cost of any new invasion for Putin, who has dismissed the U.S. warnings ... The Russian military moves come as Moscow has raised eyebrows in Washington with a sudden mobilization of reservists this year and a dramatic escalation of its rhetoric regarding Ukraine ... Lavrov, in public comments this week, echoed Putin’s warnings about U.S. military equipment and activity encroaching on Russia’s borders and said, 'The nightmare scenario of military confrontation is returning' ... Blinken cautioned the Ukrainians not to give Russia a pretext for military action. 'We’re also urging Ukraine to continue to exercise restraint because, again, the Russian playbook is to claim provocation for something that they were planning to do all along,' he said ... Putin has demanded the United States and its allies provide signed assurances ... Putin has suggested for months that U.S. and allied military activities in Ukraine and near Russia’s borders are crossing a red line for the Kremlin ... Russia needs 'precise legal, judicial guarantees because our Western colleagues have failed to deliver on verbal commitments they made,' Putin said in a speech at the Kremlin this week ... Putin has long railed against NATO expansion into former Warsaw Pact states as a disrespectful encroachment on Moscow. He said a concrete agreement must 'rule out any further eastward expansion of NATO and the deployment of weapons systems posing a threat to us in close proximity to Russia’s territory.' White House press secretary Jen Psaki rejected out of hand the idea that Washington would provide a guarantee that Ukraine will not enter NATO ... In comments this week, Putin said drills with U.S. nuclear-capable strategic bombers flying over the Black Sea posed a threat to Moscow, along with U.S. missile defense systems in Poland and Romania. He also expressed concern about NATO deploying missiles on Ukrainian territory that could have a flight time of seven to 10 minutes to Moscow" https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...e-546b-11ec-8769-2f4ecdf7a2ad_story.html
"Biden dismisses Russia’s ‘red lines’ ... US President Joe Biden has vowed to hold lengthy talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on the issue of Ukraine, but insists he will accept no warnings about 'red lines' from Moscow ... 'I don’t accept anybody’s red lines,' the president added ... On Thursday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry again claimed NATO had given assurances it would not move 'an inch' further east at the end of the Cold War. Despite that pledge, it has continued to expand, encompassing new member states ever closer to Russia’s borders, with Ukraine repeatedly having expressed an interest in joining the bloc in recent years. The ministry stressed that 'the only option for resolving the current situation' would be for NATO to rule out any further such expansion and to stop its ongoing military build-up on Moscow’s doorstep." https://www.rt.com/russia/542180-biden-red-lines-putin/
"Pentagon spokesman John Kirby ... 'We don't envision any US military intervention in this conflict' ... Currently there's talk of an urgent Biden-Putin virtual summit in the works, in order to address the crisis, and where it's expected Putin will press the White House on gaining guarantees of no further eastward NATO expansion." https://www.zerohedge.com/geopoliti...ine-offensive-us-intelligence-now-claims
"The expansion of NATO further eastwards is a red line for Moscow, and Ukraine’s possible accession to the US-led bloc is simply unacceptable, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. In a statement, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned of 'serious negative consequences' if the situation on the border between Russia and Ukraine deteriorates ... According to Zakharova, the US is dragging Kiev into the military orbit of the alliance and turning it into a 'bridgehead' of confrontation with Russia. This could destabilize Europe, she said ... Zakharova believes the alliance is focused on 'fighting imaginary threats.' 'One of the pivotal topics – not for the first time – was Russia and its possible aggression against Ukraine,' she said. 'However, if we look at things realistically, it is NATO that has approached us.'" https://www.rt.com/russia/542080-assurances-nato-expand-east/
Translation: "the Duma admits that Russia can help Donbass in the event of an attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine ... The power scenario of Kiev in Donbass may force Russia to actively intervene, it is possible that Moscow will eventually recognize the independence of the LPR and DPR, according to representatives of the three largest factions of the State Duma and two specialized committees ... 'We will help the residents of Donbass as much as possible in case of active aggression' ... Russia intends to fulfill the Minsk agreements and remains their guarantor, but Kiev does not want to fulfill them. As a result, it is very difficult to predict how the situation around the two unrecognized republics will develop. If it comes to military aggression, Moscow will not be able to stand aside ... the leader of the LDPR faction in the State Duma, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, has repeatedly argued that Moscow should recognize the LPR and DPR, moreover, in his opinion, Russia should include them in its composition, since these territories were previously part of the USSR and the Russian Empire" https://rusvesna.su/news/1638512309
"Russian missiles have been deployed near the Japan-claimed Kuril Islands chain as tensions between Russia and other nations escalate, the Associated Press reported. In a video released Thursday, Bastion coastal defense missile systems could be seen being relocated to Matua, a deserted volcanic island in the Pacific chain's middle. The Bastion can hit targets at sea at a range of up to 500 kilometers. The missile systems were not the only thing deployed to the islands; living quarters for military personnel and vehicle hangars were also transported." https://www.newsweek.com/russia-dep...sland-middle-chain-claimed-japan-1655535
