Russia Walks out of UN Meeting Mad at USA

Russia walks out of the United nation security council meeting insulted by Samantha Powers of the United States over the Syria attack by America

Related:

War of words after US air strike in Syria

U.S.-led forces strike Syrian troops, prompting emergency U.N. meeting
Russia, U.S. tensions spill over at U.N. meeting on Syria

Russia to test the willingness to work in wartime

KOMMERSANT.RU:


"[...] There will also be carried out conscription of citizens from the reserve supply of automotive technology and the formation of military units of territorial defense in the Southern, Central Military District and the Northern Fleet.Field offices of Bank of Russia for the first time will take the financial security troops apart from the permanent dislocation points. In addition, a number of enterprises of the military-industrial complex in southern Russia will test the willingness to carry out tasks for the supply and repair of weapons, military and special equipment."

Fears of all-out conflict in Ukraine as Vladimir Putin places 40,000 troops and armoured vehicles along the border

freebeacon:

"The Pentagon has identified eight staging areas in Russia where large numbers of military forces appear to be preparing for incursions into Ukraine, according to U.S. defense officials.

As many as 40,000 Russian troops, including tanks, armored vehicles, and air force units, are now arrayed along Ukraine’s eastern border with Russia.

Additionally, large numbers of Russian military forces will conduct exercises in the coming days that Pentagon officials say could be used as cover for an attack on Ukraine."

Sun:

"In June it was reported Russia was constructing an army base near the border which it considers to be a new front line with NATO.

A Reuters reporter who visited the Russian town of Klintsy, about 30 miles from Ukraine, saw a makeshift army camp, large numbers of newly-arrived servicemen and military vehicles."

Nuclear War Looms?

It is, in large measure, an old dynamic playing out in new form as
an economically declining Russia, a rising China and an uncertain
United States resume their one-upmanship.

Moscow is fielding big missiles topped by miniaturized warheads, and experts fear that it may violate the global test ban as it develops new weapons. According to Russian news reports, the Russian Navy is developing an undersea drone meant to loft a cloud of radioactive contamination from an underwater explosion that would make target cities uninhabitable.

The Chinese military, under the tighter control of President Xi
Jinping, is flight-testing a novel warhead called a “hypersonic glide
vehicle.” It flies into space on a traditional long-range missile but then
maneuvers through the atmosphere, twisting and careening at more
than a mile a second. That can render missile defenses all but useless.

US accused Russia of “aggressive” and “unsafe” manoeuvres after two Su-24 strike aircraft flew within 30ft of an American destroyer in the Baltic. Across Europe, Russian fighters and bombers have been intercepted while probing the air defences of Nato countries.

Read more:

Race for Latest Class of Nuclear Arms Threatens to Revive Cold War

Obama Vs Putin Nuclear War Looms

The Inevitability of Nuclear War
Russia warns U.S. over naval incident as NATO tensions laid bare
Russia 'breaks' military deal with America and threatens US warplanes over Syria
'We will respond with all necessary measures': Russian warning after US Navy warship sails close to its Baltic border as it emerges Moscow has beefed up its attack submarine fleet
Hypersonic warhead for future ICBM successfully tested in Russia – report
Russia jets make 'simulated attack' on US warship in 'aggressive' Baltic incident
Russian warplanes risking safety of European airliners, says Nato chief

Finnish military reaches out to reservists, denies Russia link

HReuters: 

The Finnish military began sending letters to some 900,000 reservists on Monday in the largest campaign of its kind, amid increased tensions between the Nordic states and Russia over the Ukraine crisis.The military said the letter campaign, which aims to improve communication with former army conscripts, was prompted mainly by cuts in the defense budget and was not a response to a more assertive Russia, with which Finland shares an 833 mile (1,340 km) land border.But the move also comes at a time when Russian air force sorties, spy accusations and military border exercises have prompted a debate within non-aligned Finland about how to boost its security arrangements and whether it should even join NATO.

Cold War 2.0? Cold War Concerns Gain Credibility

Forbes:

Concerns about reigniting a Cold War gain credibility as President Putin continues his militarism in Ukraine and draws his country into the on-going crisis in Egypt.  Thus, it is time to look back at the Reagan administration’s strategy that helped end the Cold War by breaking with long-held policies enshrined in US-Soviet détente of the 1970s.
President Reagan was joined by Secretary of State Alexander Haig, Secretary of State George Shultz, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, and six national security advisors, among others, in crafting a grand strategy that contributed to the demise of the Soviet Union in December 1991. For his part, William Patrick “Judge” Clark, Jr., national security advisor (January 1982-October 1983), oversaw the drafting of numerous National Security Decision Directives (NSDDs) that articulated the president’s principles and provided guidance to the bureaucracy in formulating foreign policy.

CNN:

With heavily armed Russian-speaking troops patrolling the streets, the Crimean Parliament voted Thursday to join Russia and put its decision to a referendum. The all-but-inevitable annexation of Crimea is moving forward, despite protests, warnings and threats from the U.S. and its allies.

We have entered a new Cold War. 

The clash between Vladimir Putin's Russia and the forces arrayed in support of Ukraine's independence-minded leaders has crashed the vaunted "reset," ending hopes that Moscow and the West would smooth relations and work hand-in-hand toward common objectives.
Nobody can predict with certainty how this conflict will end. But the world can already glean important lessons. Unfortunately, most of those lessons are cause for deep concern. Here are five clear messages from the crisis in Ukraine.