Did America Plan the Russian Invasion?
The difficult conversation about what's really going on in Ukraine
“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” -Jesus
[Thumbnail credit: @TheDeadDistrict]
The first flutter of skepticism I experienced regarding the Western narrative about Ukraine came in 2014 following the annexation of Crimea. The way this event was portrayed to me at the time was that Russia had swooped in and taken the region from Ukraine by force.
I was livid. How could Russia come in and gnaw off a piece of another country like that? Surely such a move warranted the use of extreme force to get Russia to back off. I was sold on the narrative.
Perhaps one could go back and find voices of clarity or dissension from this narrative, but it didn’t matter for a casual observer like myself with no dog in the hunt. The more pervasive – and emotional – message of Russian aggression won the day.
But when no real plan of action to fend off Russia materialized from the halls of American higher-ups, the surety of my own convictions on the matter began to crack. There were only two possibilities. Either these higher-ups didn’t value national sovereignty as much as I did, or I was missing a crucial piece of information.
What I didn’t know at the time is that in a referendum with 83% turnout, over 95% of Crimeans voted to voluntarily join Russia.
Nor was I aware that the Maidan revolution, a noble fight for Ukrainian democracy which had taken place that winter in Kiev and had plucked at so many American heartstrings, the very revolution that had resulted in the overthrow of the Ukrainian government, was instigated and encouraged by Western leaders.
The overthrow required the help of Ukrainian ultra-nationalists and neo-Nazis that Western leaders openly supported.
A French documentary, Masks of the Revolution, documented these connections in detail, which have largely been suppressed or downplayed by Western media.
Some commentators in the past week have taken great pains to quell the neo-Nazi stuff, brushing aside criticisms and saying neo-Nazi influence in Ukraine isn’t that big of a deal.
But reality is hard to sweep under the rug.
In the most embarrassing revelation of all, Victoria Nuland would be caught on tape by the Russians discussing America’s regime change efforts in Ukraine and who ought to replace the duly elected president. In the call, she determines that Tyagnibok the neo-Nazi should probably stay on the outside of the new government, you know, to be of assistance in less than official capacities.
These are leaders that drone on and on about democracy. Meanwhile, they are the ones undermining democracy around the world. The ones that go on and on about white supremacists in the U.S. are the ones supporting neo-Nazis in Ukraine.
In the minds of some Russians, a defining image of neo-Nazi power in Ukraine came just months after the Maidan revolution when the Ukrainian government relied on a neo-Nazi militia group called the Right Sector to put down pro-Russian protests in Odessa. Over 40 people, by official reports, would jump to their death or be burned alive in the Trade Unions building.
Ukrainian militia leader Mark Gordienko said, “These b*st*rds were trying to impose their Russianness on us. They deserved this death. I feel no pity towards them.”
On the war front, it is no wonder that while Western media has been first on the scene for the strategic bombing and inevitable encirclement of big cities like Kiev and Kharkiv, the main Russian offensive action has been happening in the Donbas and on the coastal town of Mariupol. It is here, on the Sea of Azov, that you find the Azov Battalion — a neo-Nazi militia with an insignia that is basically a modified swastika.
Financing, weapons, and equipment are provided to the Azov Battalion by the state. Extra funding is provided by a supportive business community.
Remember, Putin’s stated goal for his Ukraine campaign is demilitarization and denazification, not complete control or annexation of Ukraine. Thus far, his campaign has borne that out.
Love him or hate him, he telegraphs pretty much everything he does, and it’s these moves that ought to generate skepticism about what we’re seeing and hearing from our news reports and Ukrainian news reports that tell a wildly different story.
It seems even top U.S. officials, expecting a blitzkrieg, are stumped about the lack of a shock and awe type of invasion. Perhaps they should’ve subscribed to The Missing Link for a better understanding of what the Russians actually want.
The U.S. approach toward Ukraine’s neo-Nazi factions has been to train and integrate them into the Ukrainian army so they don’t get out of line. This was outlined by former JSOC Commander General Stanley McChrystal at a 2015 international conference in Kiev, which is shown in the French documentary linked above.
This January, current Pentagon spokesperson Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Anton T. Semelroth, echoed the same talking points, saying, “"We engage the Ukrainian government through our relationship with its Ministry of Defense to emphasize the importance of ensuring professionalism, a unified chain of command, and the integration of former volunteer battalions under Ukraine's armed forces.”
This past week, the leader of another neo-Nazi militia, Wotanjugend, was seen holding a U.S.-made Javelin anti-tank missile launcher — just one of many such instances, according to Newsweek. This is how America asserts itself — by proxy.
Here’s yet another Ukrainian neo-Nazi leader from C14, this time talking about how they are the only ones able to do the bidding of the West, talking plainly about the neo-Nazi role in Maidan, and perhaps spilling some beans about a mysterious break-up of Russia into pieces:
Canada’s in on the neo-Nazi action too.
While Russia obviously prefers hard power these days, America clearly prefers soft power in this conflict – the kind that flies under the radar and causes disruptions that are difficult to categorize and whose sources remain…foggy. This makes it difficult to pin down who does what and for what reasons they do them, but knowing the series of events leading up to the present Russian advance on Ukraine, I would contend that the West had desired this outcome all along.
How can we know? We look to the months of anticipatory propaganda relayed through Western intelligence and media outlets about an imminent attack, even when no attack came. We look at the stated goal of “deterrence” while acknowledging expert opinions that these efforts produce the very conditions and tensions ripe for conflict.
We notice the strange and historic uptick in shelling in the Donbas amidst America’s last loud push for an invasion. And when the invasion happens, it’s underwhelming.
Russia sends in their B team. There are reports of trainees being sent straight to battle without knowing it. They don’t send their newest tanks or equipment. They tiptoe into Ukraine. Russia gives advance warning of strikes. They create corridors for civilian exodus.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian propaganda goes into full motion, pumping out story after harrowing story that just isn’t true. The Ghost of Kiev, the soldiers from Snake Island, Zelensky on the front lines all decked out in camo.
All lies. We are told the Ukrainians are putting up an incredible fight. But freeing prisoners to go into battle for you, handing out automatic weapons to civilians, and barring men ages 18-60 from leaving the country exposes the hard truth under the fairy tale façade of strength.
Russia, meanwhile, loses the propaganda war before it even begins. Zelensky is now an international hero despite delaying the inevitable and causing even more pain and death for his people, and Putin earns his spot as the most hated man in the NATO sphere of influence.
It’s a movie script.
Who knows how all of this will end, but for Western leaders, there are a plethora of potential benefits and incentives to kickstart the conflict in the first place, which would drive the very scenario of escalation, sanction, and heavy propaganda we’ve seen so far. Those benefits could include:
Justification of NATO and its expansion
Furthering the West’s agenda of isolating Russia (which is a terrible idea)
Economic and political chaos opening up creative investment opportunities for less than savory investors
War and the hysteria it creates opens up opportunities to seize power over people
Masks down, Ukrainian flags up. The State of the Union was the perfect opportunity for an incredibly unpopular party and president to pivot from disastrous sentiment about pandemic restrictions recently discovered by their public opinion polling and on to a war full of made-up heroes and fake acts of bravery. It’s about taking a story of fear and disease and transitioning to a story of hope and triumph that will, hopefully, nest in the public’s psyche come midterm election.
Potential for regime change in Russia. The U.S. has been successful elsewhere; why not try it on big daddy Putin? Lindsey Graham has already called for the assassination of Putin. You do the math.
An invasion solidifies and substantiates a years-long project to turn Putin into the greatest source of evil the world has ever known
The opportunity to start a new war as soon as you exit another – along with all the military spending and weapons testing that comes with it
Something to do with China that probably won’t work out because U.S. foreign policy can’t accept the fact that China is the biggest threat we’ve ever faced
So, is there a grand scheme at play in Ukraine? Not necessarily. But the conflict in Ukraine is an appetizing prospect to a range of different people looking to reap huge rewards from the grounds of turmoil.
Many times, grand schemes turn out to be nothing more than people capitalizing on their aligned interests. Less organized and interesting, but ultimately just as diabolical.
After all, why doesn’t the U.S. just force Zelensky’s hand and get him to surrender the country? If anyone could put an end to this, we could. But we haven’t. Instead, we poke, prod, instigate, and by golly we’ll be sure to perpetuate.
I’d say it’s all part of the plan.