Either Putin is bluffing, and it’s way too late to do so, or his back is up against the wall so badly both in Ukraine and domestically that he is willing to launch a major escalation that he thinks may get him out of the mess. Hence “unpredictable consequences.” It’s a crap shoot. But my money is on the former. He can’t want a war with NATO that he knows he would lose.
Russia warns Biden of 'unpredictable consequences' if he doesn't stop 'adding fuel' to Ukraine conflict https://t.co/lILhDBtICG [1]
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) April 15, 2022 [2]
FNC: “Russia warned the U.S. and NATO this week that there could be ‘unpredictable consequences’ if they continue to send Ukraine “sensitive” weapons as it prepares to launch a massive ground offensive in eastern Ukraine, a report said Friday.
The Biden administration announced that another $800 million in security assistance would be sent to Ukraine Wednesday, including artillery, coastal defense drones, anti-aircraft and anti-tank armored vehicles, and Mi-17 helicopters.”
The Russians said, “We call on the United States and its allies to stop the irresponsible militarization of Ukraine, which implies unpredictable consequences for regional and international security.” They invade, but we are engaging in “militarization.” Priceless.
The Daily Mail put it this way, “A two-page diplomatic note or démarche, dated Tuesday, was sent to the State Department by the Russian Embassy in Washington. It was titled, ‘On Russia’s concerns in the context of massive supplies of weapons and military equipment to the Kyiv regime,’ according to the Washington Post which obtained a copy of the note in Russian. It accused the U.S. and N.A.T.O. allies of trying to force Ukraine to ‘abandon’ negotiations with Russia ‘in order to continue the bloodshed,’ while pressuring other countries to end military and technical cooperation with Moscow.”
What is Ivan objecting to? The White House said on Wednesday, “This new package of assistance will contain many of the highly effective weapons systems we have already provided and new capabilities tailored to the wider assault we expect Russia to launch in eastern Ukraine. These new capabilities include artillery systems, artillery rounds, and armored personnel carriers.”
A US defense official commented, “What the Russians are telling us privately is precisely what we’ve been telling the world publicly — that the massive amount of assistance that we’ve been providing our Ukrainian partners is proving extraordinarily effective,’ said the official.