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Meleket
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Posts: 3044
Joined: 16 Feb 2018, 05:08

“ፍቅር ፍቅር ነው አሉ ፍቅር” . . . “ቆይታችኋ’ላ!?” . . . ተወዳጁ ፋንቶ ማንዶዬ

Post by Meleket » 10 May 2022, 02:53

ወፈፌው ፑቲን ህጋዊት ሚስታቸውንና የሁለት ልጆቻቸው እናትን ፈትተው እንዳሻቸው ከሌላኛዋ ጋር . . . ። :lol:

ዩክሬን ሶቭየት ህብረትን ተፋትታ ካሻት ጋር በጋብቻ ወይ በቃል ኪዳን እተሳሰራለሁ ስትል ደግሞ በቅናት መንፈስ ድብን ይላሉ። ሚገርሙ ወፈፌ ብረዚደንት! :mrgreen:

"ቆይታችኋ’ላ . . . ኣዎን ኣዎን ኣባባ አዎን!" ነበር ያሉት ተወዳጆቹ እነ አርቲስት ፋንቶ ማንዶዬ! :mrgreen:

Who is Alina Kabaeva, Putin's alleged girlfriend?
By Thom Poole
BBC News


Putin and Alina Kabaeva pictured in 2004
Russia is already under unprecedented sanctions and now the EU could target Alina Kabaeva, a politician, media boss, former Olympic gymnast, and - if the rumours are true - Vladimir Putin's girlfriend and mother to some of his children.

The sanctions imposed by the EU and others are designed to punish those closest to Mr Putin - the oligarchs, politicians and other officials said to have benefited from their proximity to the president.

Last month, the US and UK imposed sanctions on his daughters Maria Vorontsova, 36, and Katerina Tikhonova, 35. They are his children with ex-wife Lyudmila.

Until now, Ms Kabaeva has escaped, despite her reported status. She might have felt something was coming: an online petition in March demanded her expulsion from her residence in Switzerland.

Sources have confirmed to the BBC that she is on the latest list of individuals to be sanctioned by the EU. According to AFP, she will be targeted for her part in disseminating Kremlin propaganda and for being "closely associated" with the 69-year-old President Putin. The draft document does not name her as his partner, and the EU is yet to officially sign off on the proposal.

Russia's leader has always been intensely private. When asked about his private life, he has tended to brush off the question.
He has, though, explicitly denied a relationship with Ms Kabaeva.

In 2008, the Moskovsky Korrespondent newspaper reported that he was planning to divorce his wife Lyudmila and marry Ms Kabaeva. Both rejected the story. Soon after, the authorities shut the newspaper down. Mr Putin and Lyudmila would announce their split five years later.


At the time the Russian president was denying he was involved with Ms Kabaeva, she was transitioning from a successful sporting career to one in politics.
Her chosen discipline was rhythmic gymnastics, where competitors perform routines with the aid of equipment like ribbons and balls.

Ms Kabaeva, at her peak, has claims to have been the best in the world. She had a move named after her and was a leading performer in the team that dominated the sport. Russia won every Olympic gold medal available from 2000-2016.

Born in 1983, she started rhythmic gymnastics as a four-year-old. Her coach, Irina Viner, said: "I could not believe my eyes, when I first saw her. The girl has the rare combination of two qualities crucial in rhythmic gymnastics - flexibility and agility."

Ms Kabaeva would become known as "Russia's most flexible woman".
She made her international debut in 1996, and was a surprise winner at the 1998 European Championships.

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, an uncharacteristic error with the hoop cost her dearly (she let it roll off the floor) and she could only manage bronze in the all-round event. Four years later, in Athens, she went better, taking home gold.


Ms Kabaeva moved into politics and media after retiring from sport
By the time of her retirement, she had won 18 World Championship medals and 25 European Championship medals on top of her Olympic prizes. Like other Russian athletes, she has not escaped the taint of doping, losing her medals at an event in 2001 after testing positive for a banned substance.
She moved into politics, holding a seat in Russia's lower house of parliament from 2007-2014 with the ruling United Russia party.


In 2014 she became chair of the National Media Group, which has large stakes in almost all major Russian state media outlets.
Such outlets have been pumping out a relentlessly pro-Kremlin message on the war in Ukraine, accusing Ukrainians of shelling their own cities and presenting Russian troops as liberators.

Her position has reportedly made her a wealthy woman, with leaked documents suggesting she earns about $12m (£9.7m) a year.
It is not known when she and Mr Putin first met, but it is not unusual for a leading Olympian to meet a country's president. There's a photo of the pair as far back as in 2001, when Mr Putin awarded her an Order of Friendship - a top state honour.


There are rumours that they have children together, although reports vary on how many.
A Swiss newspaper reported that Ms Kabaeva had a boy in 2015 at an exclusive clinic near Lake Lugano, and another boy at the same place in 2019. But The Sunday Times and Wall Street Journal said she had twins in 2019 in Moscow although they disagree on how many children she has had.

The Kremlin denies such reports. Back in 2015, Mr Putin's spokesman said "information about the birth of a baby fathered by Vladimir Putin does not correspond to reality".
Such is Mr Putin's guarded nature - in public, he's never mentioned the names of the children he has with Lyudmila, other than to say he has two adult daughters - that the speculation is likely to continue.

Ms Kabaeva has been in and out of the spotlight since reports of her relationship with Mr Putin emerged.
There was a Vogue cover in 2011, where she wore a pricey gold dress from French fashion house Balmain. She was also a torch bearer at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

More recently, in April she appeared at a junior gymnastics festival in Moscow, quashing suggestions she was in hiding. There, she praised Russia's war effort. Some outlets noted she wore a wedding band.

Since the Ukraine war began, there have been calls for her to face sanctions.
The Wall Street Journal has suggested that the US is reluctant to sanction Ms Kabaeva, for fear it may be deemed "so personal a blow" to Mr Putin that it may escalate tensions further.
It might not be off the table altogether, though. When the White House was asked in April why she was not on their latest list, the press secretary replied "no-one is safe".

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61353020

Meleket
Member
Posts: 3044
Joined: 16 Feb 2018, 05:08

Re: “ፍቅር ፍቅር ነው አሉ ፍቅር” . . . “ቆይታችኋ’ላ!?” . . . ተወዳጁ ፋንቶ ማንዶዬ

Post by Meleket » 10 May 2022, 05:13

ለምን ይዋሻል! :mrgreen:
Ukraine War: Putin's Victory Day speech fact-checked

President Putin has addressed a military parade in Moscow to mark victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, and made a number of claims about Ukraine and Nato.

We've checked some of the things he said.
"Kyiv has declared that it could obtain nuclear weapons"

President Putin has repeatedly said Ukraine plans to acquire nuclear weapons as a justification for Russia's invasion, although there's no evidence this is the case.

When it was part of the former Soviet Union, Ukraine did have nuclear weapons, but gave these up in the 1990s in return for security guarantees from the US, UK and Russia.

Last year, the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, suggested if Ukraine couldn't join Nato, it might have to reconsider its nuclear-free status.

"Either we are part of an alliance such as Nato... or we have the only option - to arm by ourselves, and maybe think about nuclear status again."
However, the Ukrainian government has not expressed an intention to acquire nuclear weapons and a military strategy document published last year did not refer to them.


A nuclear-weapons-capable bomber being dismantled in Ukraine
A report by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists in March noted that even if Ukraine wanted nuclear weapons, it would face major logistical and technical challenges in creating weapons-grade nuclear material and having the means to deliver it.

It would also mean Ukraine breaking its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which it joined in 1994. This bars countries which don't have nuclear weapons from acquiring them.

The UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says it has seen no signs in Ukraine "of the diversion of nuclear material, intended for peaceful activities, for other purposes."

"There was every indication that a clash with neo-Nazis and Banderites - backed by the US and its junior partners - was unavoidable"

President Putin has frequently claimed the presence of neo-Nazis in Ukraine as a justification for Russia's invasion.
At the last parliamentary election in 2019, support for far-right candidates was just 2% - far lower than in many other European countries.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish and members of his family died in the Holocaust.

In the 2019 presidential election which Mr Zelensky won, the main far-right candidate won just 1.6% of the vote.
But there have been far-right groups in Ukraine - the most high-profile is the Azov regiment - elements of which have expressed support for Nazi ideology.

It was formed to resist Russian-backed separatists, who seized areas of eastern Ukraine in 2014, and was subsequently absorbed as a unit within the Ukrainian military.


The term "Banderites" refers to supporters of the World War Two nationalist leader Stepan Bandera, who expressed anti-Semitic views and for a time collaborated with Nazi Germany.

He remains a highly controversial figure in Ukraine, some hailing him as a patriotic nationalist, others condemning him for his Nazi sympathies.
"The Nato bloc launched an active military build-up on the territories adjacent to us... We saw how military infrastructure was being rolled out, how hundreds of foreign advisers started operating. Regular deliveries of cutting-edge weapons from Nato countries were deployed"

President Putin appears to be suggesting, not only that Nato has been expanding its influence in the Baltic states which are Nato members - but also inside Ukraine, which is not in Nato.

It's true that Nato allies have supported Ukraine with equipment and training since 2014, and they have deployed more forces to some Nato member states in eastern Europe.

Nato stepped up assistance to Ukraine following the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, and military trainers from Nato member states have had a presence in the country.

The US had around 150 military trainers in Ukraine (whom it pulled out in February as the threat of a Russian invasion grew), and the UK had at one point a similar number, with other countries having smaller training missions.


British and Ukrainian soldiers training together in 2014
The US and the UK had supplied limited numbers of anti-tank weapons to Ukraine before the war started, but it's clear that there has been much more foreign military aid flowing to Ukraine in response to Russia's invasion.

Nato says that its deployments in eastern Europe after 2014 - four battle groups in the Baltic states and Poland - amounted to only 5,000 troops. "Before Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea, there were no allied troops in the eastern part of the [Nato] alliance," it says.

It also says that further Nato military activity in eastern Europe has been in response to Russia's own build up near Ukraine, which went on for many weeks before it invaded in late February.

At one point, the Russian forces were estimated to be anything between 100,000 and 190,000 strong.
https://www.bbc.com/news/61379405

Meleket
Member
Posts: 3044
Joined: 16 Feb 2018, 05:08

Re: “ፍቅር ፍቅር ነው አሉ ፍቅር” . . . “ቆይታችኋ’ላ!?” . . . ተወዳጁ ፋንቶ ማንዶዬ

Post by Meleket » 10 May 2022, 09:36

ገለል በልና ገለል አርጋቸው፡ ወደ መጡበት ወዳገራቸው! :mrgreen:

ብድሆ ንዝመጽእ ወራር ቅልጽመይ እንሆ" ይብሉ ነበሩ ምዑታት ተጋደልቲ ኤርትራና ብአፍ ተጋዳላይ እስጢፋኖስ ኣብርሃም።

Around 26,000 Russian troops killed since invasion, says Ukraine

Around 26,000 Russian troops have been killed since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has said in its latest update.

Over the past day, Russia suffered the greatest losses in the Avdiivka direction, north of the Ukrainian city of Donetsk.

It claims Russia has also lost approximately:
• 1,170 tanks
• 2,808 armoured combat vehicles
• 519 artillery systems
• 185 multiple launch rocket systems
• 87 anti-aircraft warfare systems
• 199 aircraft
• 158 helicopters
• 1,980 vehicles and fuel tankers
• 12 boats/cutters
• 380 drones
• 41 units of special equipment and 94 cruise missiles

The BBC has not been able to independently verify these claims.
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-61353374

Ethoash
Senior Member+
Posts: 26144
Joined: 20 Apr 2013, 20:24

Re: “ፍቅር ፍቅር ነው አሉ ፍቅር” . . . “ቆይታችኋ’ላ!?” . . . ተወዳጁ ፋንቶ ማንዶዬ

Post by Ethoash » 10 May 2022, 09:55

PHD Meleket


አሜሪካኖች ብቻ ናቸው እኮ ሴትና ወንድን ለመለያየት የሚፈልጉት። ሌላው ዓለም እኮ ሴቶችም ወንዶችም እግዜር የፈጠራቸው ሁለቱም ለመፋቀርና ሴሜታቸውን ለማርካት ነው። ክሊንተንን ለምን ከሴት ጋራ ፍቅር ስራህ ብለው የሚከሱ ገገሞች ናቸው እኮ አሜሪካኖች እነሱ ራሳቸው ሴት እያማገጡ ሌላውን አማገጥክ ብለው የሚገሱ እወሮች ናቸው።

ታድያ ፑቲን አሜሪካዊ አይደልም እግዛብሔር በስጠው ግዜ ከሴት ጋራ መደስት አለበት ። ታድያ ምን ጥቅም አለው በአለም ላይ በጣም ፖወርፉል ስው ሆነህ ሴት የማታገኝ ከሆን ፣ በዓለም ላይ የመጨረሻው ሀብታም ሆነህ ሴት የማታገኝ ከሆነ ምኑን ኖርከው ድግሞ እድሜ ልክህን ፍቅር መስራት አትችልም ግዜ አለው ። መሳሪያህ መቆሙን ያበቃል ከዚያ ምን ልታረግበት ነው በጌዜህ ካልተጫወትክ።

ፈረንሳዬ አንዴ ስቀውባቸዋል ከሴት ጋራ ፍቅር ስራ ተብሎ ሲከሰስ ታድያ ከማን ጋራ እንዲያረግ ፈለግህ ብለው። ፈረንሳዬች ወሽማ ያለ ነው ። አንዲት ሴት አስራስምንት ከሆናት ማን አባቱ አገባው በስውነቱዋ። እስካልተገደደች ድረስ።

ፑቲንግ የመጀመሪያ ሚስቱ አረጅች ፍቅር መስጠት አቆመች ፣ ታድያ በወጣቱዋ ቀየርት። ታድያ የቱ ጋ ነው ጥፋቱ። አንተ ይሄንን ላታረግ ትችላለህ ግን የሚያርጉ ስዎች ወንጀለኛ አይደሉም። አንተ ነህ ገገማ ሰሜት ህን ሳታስጨርስ ይምታረጀው። ወግ አጠብቃለሁ ብለህ።

Meleket
Member
Posts: 3044
Joined: 16 Feb 2018, 05:08

Re: “ፍቅር ፍቅር ነው አሉ ፍቅር” . . . “ቆይታችኋ’ላ!?” . . . ተወዳጁ ፋንቶ ማንዶዬ

Post by Meleket » 10 May 2022, 11:26

ወፈፌው ፑቲን ሚስትም እንኳን እንዳሻው የመምረጥ መብቱን እየተጠቀመ፡ የዩክሬንን ምርጫ አለማክበሩ፡ ትልቅ ስህተት ነው።

ለዩክሬን ራሻ አረጀችባት፡ ስለሆነም ሌላ መረጠች እንደማለት አድርገህ ውሰደው በቀላል ኤርትራዊ አማርኛ። :mrgreen:

ከሰው ሰው ቢለዩ ኣመትም ኣይቆዩ፡ ከሃገር ሃገር ቢለዩም ስሌቱ ያው ነው ለማለት ነው።

Ethoash wrote:
10 May 2022, 09:55
... ፑቲንግ የመጀመሪያ ሚስቱ አረጅች ፍቅር መስጠት አቆመች ፣ ታድያ በወጣቱዋ ቀየርት። ታድያ የቱ ጋ ነው ጥፋቱ። ...

ወደ ቁምነገሩ ስንሄድ
WHO’s Europe branch passes resolution against Russia

Members of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) European region have passed a resolution that could result in the closure of Russia’s regional office and the suspension of meetings in the country in response to its offensive.

The European branch of the world health body passed the resolution, supported by Ukraine and the EU, with 43 in favour and three against during a special session held virtually. There were two abstentions.

Russia’s envoy, Andrey Plutnitsky, opposed the resolution and said he was “extremely disappointed” by the move.
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c8c94976 ... b7686af16b



ወፈፌው ብረዚደንት ፑቲን ህጋዊ ሚስታቸውን ቤት አስቀምጠው በዚች ፍቅር እንደተነደፉ ይህ የ 2004ዓ.ም. ፎቶ አይመሰክርምን?


"ቆይታችኋ’ላ . . . ኣዎን ኣዎን ኣባባ አዎን!" ነበር ያሉት ተወዳጆቹ እነ አርቲስት ፋንቶ ማንዶዬ!

እየተዝናናን እንማማር!:mrgreen:

Ethoash
Senior Member+
Posts: 26144
Joined: 20 Apr 2013, 20:24

Re: “ፍቅር ፍቅር ነው አሉ ፍቅር” . . . “ቆይታችኋ’ላ!?” . . . ተወዳጁ ፋንቶ ማንዶዬ

Post by Ethoash » 10 May 2022, 11:47

ዩክሬንን አርፋ መቀመጥ ትችል ነበር። ማን ከለከላት ስታሽቃብጥ ነው እንጂ ኔቶ እገባለው ስትል እና የራሽያንን ደሕንነት አደጋ ላይ ስትጥል ዝም ብሎ ይያት ወይ።

ፑቲን የድሮ ሚስቱ ቢልዬን ዶላር ይዛ ተስናብታ ይሆናል በስላም። ግን አፉዋን ብታበዛ ፑቲን ሬፕ አረገኝ ብትል ፣ የመኪና አደጋ ሊደርስባት ይችላል። ስለዚህ ስውዬ ትልቅ ስልጣን አለው ከሕግዛብሔር በታች ስለዚህ አርፋ መቀመጥ አለባት። ደግሞ እሱዋ ብቻ አይደለችም በዓለም ላይ የተፈነገለችው አንድ ሴት ከአምሳ አመት በኋላ ፍቅር መስራት ወይ ከወንድ ጋራ መዳረቅ አትፈልግም ብቻዋን ብትኖር ምንም አይመስላትም ጭር ያለች ዶሮ ናትና። ግን ላንተ ይህንን መንገር ኤርትራዊ ስለሆንክ [deleted] ወይም ሶስተኛው ፆታ መሆን አለብህ እንጂ ይህ እንዴት ቢጠፋህ ነው ። ገንዘብ እያለህ በሴክስ ታፍነህ ኑር የምትለው ሰውዬውን። በዚያ ላይ ፑቲን ቆንጆ ነው ወንዳወንድ ነው ሴቶች በጣም ይወዱታል ስልጣን ራሱ ይስብሀል ቢገባህ።

ማንኛውም ወንድ ገንዘብና አቅሙ ቢኖረው ሁለተኛ ሚስት አላገባም የሚል የተኮላሽ ብቻ ነው።


የፈለግዅን አጥላላ ፑቲንን አባት ህ ኢሱ መልክተኞችን ልኮ እግሩ ላይ ወድቆዋል ፣ አሜሪካኖችም ጥቁር ነጥብ ይዘውበት ትግሬዎችን አረንጎዴ መብራት አብርተው አስመራ ጉቡ ብለው ለቁዋቸዋል ። እዬዬ በል ለአስመራ ፑቲንን ትተህ።

have a nice day!

Meleket
Member
Posts: 3044
Joined: 16 Feb 2018, 05:08

Re: “ፍቅር ፍቅር ነው አሉ ፍቅር” . . . “ቆይታችኋ’ላ!?” . . . ተወዳጁ ፋንቶ ማንዶዬ

Post by Meleket » 11 May 2022, 05:04

ወዳጃችንና "ያደራፋሹ ሊቅ Ethoash"፡ እኛ ኤርትራዉያን የመሃልና የመስመር ዳኞች "ጎቦ ኩን ወይ ናብ ጎቦ ተጸጋዕ" በሚል ያረጀና የፈጀ ብሂል እንደማንመራ ስንገልጽልህ በኤርትራዊ ጭዋነት ኩራትና ትህትናም ጭምር ነው! :mrgreen:

አሁን ወደ ቁምነገራችን፦

Putin's current dilemma was JFK's worst fear
Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN
Updated 0404 GMT (1204 HKT) May 11, 2022

Russia historian: Ukraine miscalculation will 'bounce back' to destroy Putin

(CNN)Reflecting on the Cuban missile crisis, President John Kennedy once warned that nuclear powers "must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war."

The showdown with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukraine does not yet mirror the one-minute-to-midnight brinkmanship that brought the Soviet Union and the West to the cusp of Armageddon in October 1962.

But Kennedy's superpower logic is resounding poignantly as Putin gets backed into a corner by the strategic disaster of his war, Ukraine's heroic resistance and an extraordinary multibillion-dollar allied conveyor of arms and ammunition.

President Joe Biden, who has always stated his twin aims are to help Ukraine defend itself and to avoid a direct escalation with Putin that could risk nuclear war, seems to have been mulling JFK's warning.

At a fundraiser in Potomac, Maryland, on Monday night, Biden confided that he was concerned Putin had yet to devise an exit from the war, despite the former KGB officer's "calculating" nature.

Senior national security officials, meanwhile, admit they do not yet know what kind of incremental Russian success in eastern and southern Ukraine would allow Putin to declare a victory of sorts and de-escalate the war, CNN's Kaitlan Collins reported.

This is all a worry. But it's one that seems somewhat discordant with US policy. After all, Washington's explicitly stated aim in supporting Ukraine is that Putin loses the war. Biden has asked Congress for $33 billion to send military and other aid to Ukraine, and the House on Tuesday voted to pass a roughly $40 billion bill. Washington is flooding the battlefield with anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, radars, drones, artillery rounds and howitzers.

This aggressive Western approach, the slow progress of Putin's war of attrition and the lack of any diplomatic effort to end the war mean that it is almost certain the Russian leader will get further backed into a dangerous corner.

Putin's only exit option right now appears to be a capitulation, and a tacit admission that the Western effort, combined with fierce Ukrainian courage, got the better of him -- a position that would be politically impossible to adopt.

How far would Putin go?

There is no real consensus on what Putin might do if he's desperate. While he doesn't share Washington's logical and accurate view that he's losing the war, there's no indication he's suicidal and would risk a full-scale nuclear confrontation by testing Western resolve.

Several senior US officials have publicly voiced the fear that Putin might reach for tactical, lower-yield battlefield nuclear arms as an alternative to a humiliating defeat in Ukraine. There was some relief on that score on Tuesday, when Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a congressional committee that the US view is there is not "an imminent potential for Putin to use nuclear weapons." And the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, said that assessment also encompasses tactical or battlefield devices.

But it's hardly alarmist to consider the possibility. Putin has proved himself a ruthless leader with little compunction about causing mass casualties. He razed cities in Chechnya and unleashed his forces on civilians in Syria. His war in Ukraine has featured merciless shelling and bombing of residential areas, schools, stations and shelters, and apparent war crimes by his troops. Thousands of his soldiers have died. And Putin has already used weapons of mass destruction -- for instance, targeting Russian defectors on British soil with radioactive elements and nerve agents -- with zero regard for civilians, according to the UK government.

Russia's willingness to threaten the use of nuclear weapons -- in a way that the Soviet Union rarely did during the Cold War -- to terrorize Western publics is, meanwhile, underscoring the kind of advantage the world's most fearsome arsenal can bring to rogue states that want to forestall the possibility of Western intervention.

Putin shows no sign of eyeing the exits

While the US can be criticized for failing to give Putin the kind of way out that Biden was speculating about, such an initiative would be hard -- and might not work anyway.

To begin with, Putin is not eyeing the exits. While the war is an economic, military and strategic disaster for Russia, the Kremlin leader dances to his own logic. If he can't control all of Ukraine or topple its government, creating vast human and material destruction that prevents Ukraine from functioning as a normal economy and punishes its aspirations to join the West may be enough -- and could act as a deterrent to other ex-Soviet orbit states.

That's perhaps one reason why Haines suggested on Tuesday that the Russian leader was "preparing for a prolonged conflict in Ukraine, during which he still intends to achieve goals beyond the Donbas." But she warned the mismatch between Putin's military capabilities and his ambitions meant that he could be forced back into that dangerous corner -- and lash out.

"The current trend increases the likelihood that President Putin will turn to more drastic means, including imposing martial law, reorienting industrial production or potentially escalatory military actions to free up the resources needed to achieve his objectives as the conflict drags on, or if he perceives Russia is losing in Ukraine," Haines said.

The idea that Putin could be coaxed out of the strategic cul-de-sac in which he finds himself also falls down for two other reasons. First, the Russian leader refused all diplomatic off-ramps, entreaties and warnings to de-escalate the conflict before the invasion. Now the stakes for his personal prestige, political position and Russia's reputation -- as well as history's judgment -- are more acute. In fact, there were signs of a possible fresh escalation Tuesday as Belarus moved special forces to the borders of Ukraine, citing what it claimed was Western aggression.

The second reason why this may not be the time for diplomacy lies in the belief in hawkish Western capitals, like London and Washington, that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's forces, flush with Western arms, have earned the right to win the war -- and might end up doing so. Ukraine is, after all, the wronged party, which has suffered an unprovoked invasion.

And so far, Putin hasn't targeted arms convoys headed to Ukraine on NATO soil or staged major cyberattacks against Western targets -- at least any that are publicly known. Both omissions suggest the power of deterrence.

But as the war drags on, with the constant danger of an escalation or a miscalculation that would precipitate a wider clash, cracks may be opening in the fortress of Western unity.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who tried unsuccessfully to convince Putin not to invade Ukraine, condemned the Russian leader's bellicose Victory Day rhetoric. But he also said that eventually Ukraine and Russia would have to sit down and talk peace -- a cause that would not be served by Moscow's "humiliation." Macron then spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping, a Putin ally, on Tuesday, after which the Élysée Palace said they had agreed "on the urgency of a ceasefire."

And there was a striking moment in the Oval Office on Tuesday, when Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, after lauding Western unity on Ukraine and condemning the Russian invasion, had this to say to Biden before the cameras:

"I have to tell you that in Italy and in Europe now, people want to put an end to ... these massacres, to this violence, this butchery that's happening. And people think about what can we do to bring peace.

"At least they want to think about the possibility of bringing a ceasefire and starting again some credible negotiations. That's the situation right now. I think that we have to think deeply on how to address this."

His comments reflected a growing nervousness that without some kind of outside intervention, Putin could well get pushed into the kind of corner that Kennedy was talking about in a speech at American University in June 1963.

Months earlier, as the world had held its breath in fear of nuclear war, Kennedy had engineered a way for Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to stand down without losing face in their standoff over Cuba.

Six decades later, some kind of similar accommodation, however painful that may be, could be required for Putin.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/11/poli ... index.html


ቆይታችኋ'ላ . . . ኣዎን ኣዎ ኣባብዬ ኣዎ!
:mrgreen:

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