Three weeks from today, February 24, 2023, we will mark the one year anniversary of the day that Russia invaded Ukraine. Sergei Lavrov, the mouth-piece for Vladimir Putin, is saber-rattling ahead of that date. Speaking of rattling, Putin has got to be rattled. He thought that Ukraine would fall apart like a Joe Biden story. Nothing screams winning like having to conscript 500,000 more Russian young men.

If we have a country left, I hope that the young people today will remember and mark this period. Because we have weak, feckless leadership (Biden, Milley, Austin and Blinken, to name a few), China (Hello, balloon!) and Russia (minor incursion) have no compunction about flipping us off and stealing our lunch money.

Point of personal privilege: I think Vladimir Putin is a murderous, vile thug. I don’t trust Volodymyr Zelensky, at all. The people of Ukraine have proven themselves the match to any conventional army. I stand in awe of the stunning bravery of the Ukrainian people.

We can never say that Russia doesn’t have bluster. The Russian leaders have bluster by the bucketful. On behalf of Vlad Putin, Sergei Lavrov has sent out a warning:

Russia’s top diplomat issued a chilling warning Thursday that Moscow “will do everything” to “gain the world’s attention” on the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine — as the Kremlin was said to be preparing to launch a new offensive with up to 500,000 conscripts.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that Moscow would take great measures to overshadow anti-Russia events allegedly being planned by the West to mark the war’s anniversary on Feb. 24.

“Our diplomacy will do everything to ensure that the anti-Russian sabbaths planned for the end of February — as if timed to coincide with the anniversary of the special military operation, both in New York and at other sites that the West is now actively working on together with the Kyiv regime — so that this will not turn out to be the only events that will gain the world’s attention,” the country’s top envoy said in a wide-ranging interview to state TV Russia 24 and RIA Novosti.

Lavrov also accused the United States of participating in the sabotage of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Well, he’s not the only one who thinks that, points at self. Victoria Nuland, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs in the Biden Administration, threatened Russia in January of 2022:

We cannot trust our government in any way shape or form. While the NY Post notes that Lavrov provided no proof for his claims that the U.S. participating in the Nord Stream 2 sabotage, he doesn’t have to since Nuland threatened and then cheered its destruction.

Although the U.S., Germany, and Poland all have agreed to send sophisticated tanks into Ukraine, they won’t be shipped overnight. This is going to take quite a long time. In the meantime, Russia has 500,000 conscripted troops ready to deploy to Ukraine.

Putin has 'mobilised half a MILLION troops for major new offensive on anniversary of Ukraine invasion': Sergei Lavrov warns Russia will 'gain the world's attention' on February 24 https://t.co/EbbqtvpAkW

— Alaskafrau (@alaskafrau) February 3, 2023

From the Daily Mail article:

Referring to Russia’s partial mobilisation of 300,000 conscripted soldiers which Moscow said was concluded in November, the Ukrainian defence minister said the true size of the force could be closer to 500,000 – and is gathering on the borders.

‘We do not underestimate our enemy,’ Reznikov said during an interview, broadcast late Wednesday. ‘Officially, they announced 300,000, but when we see the troops at the borders, according to our assessments it is much more.

He said Russia was likely to ‘try an offensive on two fronts’: In the country’s east, which has been at the centre of brutal fighting in recent months, and in the south.

Reznikov said Kyiv believes Moscow has deployed about half a million troops – far more than Russia’s claim of 300,000 personnel currently mobilised.

In order to repel the attack, he called on the West to supply it with more weaponry.

In the past week, Western powers including US and Germany have approved sending more than 100 battle tanks to Ukraine – a move that Russia has warned crosses a dangerous new line in the conflict.

It was also reported yesterday that the US was preparing a more than $2billion package of military aid, including the delivery of long-range missiles.

However, the US and the UK have for now rebuffed Kyiv’s requests for fighter jets, amid fears that it could lead to Russia escalating the war even further. ‘We need arms to counter the enemy,’ Reznikov said.

Well for the last year, the Biden Administration has said no planes or tanks. The tanks are on their way. The planes won’t be far behind.

The young folk must remember this is what weakness and fecklessness bring. Peace through strength.

Featured Image: United Nations Photo/flickr.com/cropped/Creative Commons