“Russia's foreign ministry has warned against the inclusion of Finland and Sweden in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). ‘It is quite obvious that Finland and Sweden joining NATO’ ... ‘would have serious military and political consequences that would require an adequate response from the Russian side,’ Maria Zakharova, the ministry's spokesperson, said. ‘The policy of not being part of any alliances, traditionally pursued by Stockholm and Helsinki, is viewed by Moscow as an important factor in ensuring stability in northern Europe,’ Zakharova added.” https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-12-...-Sweden-join-NATO-16jnCfg2a3e/index.html
Likely a suggestion intended to be recalled following future events which may serve to intimidate Stockholm and Helsinki, such as an impressive and successful Russian military campaign in Ukraine.
“The editor of controversial Russian nationalist website Sputnik & Pogrom, Yegor Prosvirnin, has reportedly died in the very centre of Moscow after throwing a knife and a gas canister out of a 5th floor window, and then jumping out himself. He was 35.” https://twitter.com/27khv/status/1475482686122872839?s=21
Likely a botched yet successful assassination by a small group of amateurs handled by the IC of a minor western nation which recently increased interest in Russia, and which perceives Russian foreign propaganda to be a significant problem.
“RUSSIA has warned of a new Cuban missile crisis unless demands over Ukraine meet ‘here and now’ as troops stage fresh war games. It comes amid a new round of major military exercises by Vladimir Putin’s troops amid a standoff between Russia and Western powers over Ukraine ... ‘ deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov ... ‘ I call on everyone considering this topic publicly to think whether it is shameful for Russia to meet Western ultimatum demands halfway.’ And he made clear that ‘if we cannot do it [through diplomacy], then open questions will emerge: what are further steps and what should we do?’ He thundered: ‘We are against escalation, we are against conflicts, we do not draw lines in the sand, just the logic itself leads us to say that we are not ready to make peace with the current situation.’ He added: ‘We can no longer postpone, let's deal with this serious issue’ … ‘here and now’” https://www.thesun.ie/news/8124075/russia-warns-new-cuban-missile-crisis-demands-ukraine/
“The US military is reportedly working on a scheme to provide Ukraine with battlefield intelligence in a purported bid to respond to perceived Russian offensive ... The list of ideas being drawn up by the US Defense Department, the State Department and the White House ‘include redirecting helicopters and other military equipment once allocated for the Afghan military to Ukraine’ ... The Biden administration is also considering sending ‘additional cyber warfare experts’ to Ukraine ... ‘The information would include images of whether Russian troops were moving to cross the border. Such information, if shared in time, could enable the Ukrainian military to head off an attack’” https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/ukraine/2021/ukraine-211226-presstv01.htm
“Putin said Sunday that if NATO does not provide binding guarantees to curtail military deployments in Eastern Europe and to bar Ukraine from membership in the alliance, he will be forced to consider a variety of options, including a military response ... ‘We have nowhere to retreat,’ Putin said. ‘They have pushed us to a line that we can't cross. They have taken it to the point where we simply must tell them; Stop!’ When asked about the exact nature of the response he was proposing, Putin said it would ‘depend on what proposals our military experts submit to me’” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/worl...ato-rejects-russian-ultimatum/ar-AAS9Q18
Putin appears to be eroding his own image by posturing and threatening, then suggesting he may only intend to retaliate with more posturing and threatening, and he doesn’t have any more significant plans already developed for actual direct confrontation. At this juncture, if Moscow doesn’t strike Ukraine, Putin needs to resign to preserve Russia’s image. Otherwise, going forward, Russia will appear weak and irrelevant, like him. However, one could argue that Putin isn’t a fool, hasn’t initiated the present campaign with the obvious end-game of sabotaging his international image through lack of followthrough, and therefore does intend to attack Ukraine, perhaps following failed negotiations with NATO, and a very public diplomatic impasse. Information prior to the present crisis did after all indicate in-depth post-invasion planning of Ukraine, implying a serious desire to conquer Ukraine.
