That old, familiar pattern: Russian invasion of Ukraine

There was common pattern for all the communist revolutions around the world.

There was common pattern for all the communist revolutions around the world.

Written by Rokiškis Rabinovičius, kindly translated from Lithuanian by Martynas Klimas

It all started from people rising up against Viktor Yanukovitch rather than any actions undertaken by Russia. Maybe this inverse was what made people miss the old Russian invasion pattern appear in Ukraine. Or was it because we were used to seeing the pattern develop from the other side?

The pattern is old, having undergone first trials about a century ago. As time went by, it was refined, well drilled into everyone’s mind, until it was finally made into a set of standard invasion plans. A whole systemic methodology of invading other countries that, when the time came, only required minor adaptations.

Talks that Vladimir Putin is waging info war like no one has done before are, at best, naïve. He is not creating anything new or revolutionary; Putin is barely taking the well drilled KGB invasion plan and adapting it to current needs. Those methods are a dead ringer to the best hits of USSR invasions.

The entire thing is usually done under the cover of standard bullshit. It all goes through several structural channels: leftist commie cells from around the world, official soviet press and through various press offices in Moscow that publish left and right, trying to pass off their bullshit as something that the locals wrote themselves. In the good old days, newspapers printed in Moscow were presented as supposedly printed somewhere else. Today, the same things goes on the Internet.

We have to pay attention to the real thing: the invasion pattern. A series of events that happen concurrently with a Bolshevik invasion. Then we see, time and time again, a same pattern emerge with only the slightest of adaptations.

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Dmitry Tymchuk: Russian propaganda on “peacekeeping operation”

Translated by Andriy Berbets and edited by Alex Howard for Voices of Ukraine

According to Information Resistance data, pro-Russian extremists are conducting an intense propaganda campaign amongst the population in Luhansk and Donetsk Regions. Its purpose is to force citizens to take part in the so-called ‘referendum’ to ensure the split of Ukraine. You can read more of it here: http://inforesist.org/russia-is-preparing-a-peace-keeping-operation-in-ukraine/?lang=en.

The separatists are trying to give the impression that during the ‘referendum’, Russia will be able to deploy ‘peacekeeping forces’ on the territory of Ukraine, in order to help stabilize the situation in the region, as their main argument in their attempt to convince the people.

About the fact that Russia is itself fueling the flames of civil war in Ukraine, and that the actions taken by the separatists themselves are destabilizing the situation in these regions, there is only silence.

At the same time we’d like to note that, throughout last week, the so-called Russian ‘expert community’ (e.g. the ‘Gazprom’ funded Moscow Strategic Culture Foundation, the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, the Center of Strategic Conjuncture etc.) began actively promoting the idea that a Russian ‘peacekeeping operation’ is strongly needed on the territory of Ukraine.

The main premise in this case is that a “peacekeeping operation” should be conducted by Russia without any consent from the UN (United Nations), as the involvement of the UN supposedly allows the West ‘to seize the initiative’ and to move their troops into Ukraine after receiving a UN mandate. But, as you know, Russia’s membership in the UN Security Council is absolutely unjustifiable, because this country is the aggressor, so it does not allow the UN Security Council to make any efforts in the resolution of the crisis in Ukraine, including carrying out peacekeeping operations by third parties.

Theoretically, Putin has two options to conduct a ‘peacekeeping operation’: to carry it out under the auspices of the SCO [Shanghai Cooperation Organization] or the CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization].

Currently the first option is not possible, because China, as a member of the SCO, would clearly not agree to this kind of global adventure.

What about Moscow’s pocket union, otherwise known as the CSTO? As it’s well known, Putin is currently applying increased pressure on the presidents of the satellite countries. It’s worthwhile remembering the recent military exercises of the Russian Armed Forces, where the question of the use of nuclear weapons was discussed under the personal leadership of Putin, with the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan in attendance.

The President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, who has not previously supported Russian aggression against Ukraine, has suddenly and inexplicably changed his rhetoric. This change of position miraculously coincided with the message that Russia is ready to give Belarus a $2 billion loan in order to replenish its foreign exchange reserves.

However, the CSTO has no legal grounds for ‘peacekeeping’ in Ukraine, as Ukraine is not a member of the organization. Article 3 of the Agreement on the CSTO peacekeeping operations provides that the organization can perform such activities based on their own decisions only on the territory of the CSTO member states. In the case of non-member countries of the CSTO, approval from the UN Security Council must be obtained first.

This means that any attempt by Russia to move its troops into Ukraine under any pretext, whether alone or in an “alliance” with its satellites, will mean direct military aggression against sovereign Ukraine, or rather the second stage of aggression after Crimea.