WEEKEND QUOTABLES
Discover more from Mike Klonsky's Edu/Pol
WEEKEND QUOTABLES
40,000 Russian troops missing. But who's counting?
I'm sick to death of seeing things
From tight-lipped, condescending, mama's little chauvinists
All I want is the truth
Just give me some truth — John Lenon (1971)
I’m told NYT shut down all on-line comments on articles about Ukraine because of all the people calling bulls**t. Is that true? All I want is the truth.
On Saturday, networks showed video of fierce fighting between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian separatists. Bombs and rocket fire. Lots of rocket fire. At the end of report..."One soldier killed."
Today, they’re calling it, “light skirmishes.”
BUT WHO’S COUNTING?
February 9th — It’s no secret that tensions between Russia and Ukraine continue to rise as HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of Russian troops are stationed at Ukraine’s border. — Roanoke WDGB 7
February 13th — A U.S. official updated the Biden administration’s estimate for how many Russian forces are now staged near Ukraine’s borders to more than 130,000, up from the more than 100,000 the U.S. has cited publicly in previous weeks. — AP
Friday — Russia has amassed up to 190,000 troops on the borders with Ukraine, the US warned on Friday — Guardian
The estimated number of Russian troops deployed in and around Ukraine has ranged from 100,000 to 190,000 in recent weeks. On Friday, the US government said Russia had between 169,000 and 190,000 personnel in and around Ukraine. — BBC
Saturday — The United States now believes that Russia has as many as 190,000 troops in or near Ukraine, nearly twice as many as there were in January. — New York Times
Sunday — With an estimated 150,000 Russian troops massed on three sides of Ukraine, the U.S. has warned that Moscow has already decided to invade. — AP
Today — HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of Russian troops are stationed at the Ukrainian border, but the country denies its intention to invade. — Detroit News
QUOTABLES
Amer Ghalib, newly elected mayor of Hamtramck
"There is no good war and bad war, all war is bad." — Detroit News
Bathsheba Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
The United States has informed the United Nations it has credible information showing that Moscow is compiling lists of Ukrainians “to be killed or sent to camps following a military occupation.” Crocker says the Russian military’s targets would include Russian and Belarusian dissidents in exile in Ukraine, journalists and anti-corruption activists, and “vulnerable populations such as religious and ethnic minorities and LGBTQI+ persons.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the letter’s claims.
“Do you realize that this is an absolute canard, a lie? It is absolute fiction. There is no such list. It’s a fake.” — Washington Post
US Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Chicago) on sanctions
Without detailing them, Quigley said the sanctions Biden is likely to impose in the event of an invasion quite probably will tank the stock market, cause a spike in the cost of natural gas and other fuels, and potentially spark a cyberwar of sorts that will impact banks, petroleum processors and anyone else connected to the internet — Crain’s
Michael McFaul, a former ambassador to Moscow
Unlike with Afghanistan, criticism from the foreign policy establishment has been muted. “I think they started with a bit of an analytical mistake — that they could have a stable and predictable relationship with Russia so they could focus on China.” — AP
