‘US, Nato, preparing to invade Russia’ —Pres. Putin

AS Filipinos trooped to the polls on Monday, May 9, 2022, another important event was taking place in Moscow, Russia, with a military parade and a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin, where he bared that in essence, Russia’s special military operation in Eastern Ukraine that begun last February 24, 2022, is a ‘preventive military action’ to thwart the plan of US Imperialism and its European stooges under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to invade and dismember Russia.

May 9, 1945 is celebrated as Victory Day in Russia as it was the day Nazi Germany officially surrendered, formally ending World War 2 in Europe. It was the then Soviet Union that bear the hardest struggle against the Nazis, suffering over 27 million dead and most of the Soviet Union devastated, including Ukraine.

It was also the Soviet Union’s subsequent military triumphs over Nazi Germany that put an end to the war, capped by Soviet troops raising the hammer and sickle flag of the Soviet Union in Berlin.

In his speech, Putin reminded the audience of the efforts he has made prior to the hosties in Ukraine to prevent the encirclement of Russia by the NATO and US Imperialism, a plan first concocted by the United States right after the end of World War 2.

“Defending the Motherland when its fate is being decided has always been sacred,” he said. “Today you are fighting for our people in Donbas, for the security of Russia, our homeland.”

“The death of every soldier and officer is painful for us,” Putin said, adding, “The state will do everything to take care of these families.”

(See also Pinoy Exposé article of February 28, 2022 on why Russia entered Ukraine).

Russia, the strongest military power in Europe, is having a hard time subduing the rest of Ukraine due to the massive military and intelligence assistance being provided by NATO and mainly, the United States.

Ahead of Russia’ Victory Day celebration, the US Congress has approved a budget of $40 billion in military aid for Ukraine, which is even $7 billion higher than Pres. Joe Biden’s original proposal of $33 billion.

At the start of the conflict, the US has already provided some $3.5 billion in military and ‘humanitarian’ support to Ukraine, excluding those provided by its NATO puppets.

America has money for war but none for development—Mexico president

This huge support for war has earned the criticism of Mexico and other Central and Latin American countries, south of the US border with Mexico.

Mexico’s president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, on a visit to Guatemala on May 6, 2022, lamented that while the US is quick in sending billions of dollars to Ukraine, it has not shown such generosity in providing development aid to countries in south and central America.

Specifically, Obrador was referring to the $4 billion he has requested from the United States since the Trump administration to help fund his tree planting ‘Planting Life’ campaign in the region that would not only help restore the environment but also provide jobs and income to the region’s poor residents, many of whom are forcing their way as illegal US immigrants due to poverty.

“They are different things and they shouldn’t be compared categorically, but they have already approved $30 billion for the war in Ukraine, while we have been waiting since President Donald Trump, asking they donate $4 billion, and as of today, nothing, absolutely nothing,” López Obrador said, as quoted by a report from the Associated Press.

US ‘deliberately escalating’ conflict in Ukraine

The World Socialist Website (WSWS), in an article on May 5, 2022, also pointed out that despite their tongue-in-cheek denials, both US Imperialism and NATO are “deliberately escalating” the conflict in Ukraine.

Quoting a report from the New York Times and NBC News on May 5, 2022, WSWS noted that US officials are even boasting of the ‘actionable intelligence’ America is providing Ukraine that resulted to the death of at least 12 Russian generals and the sinking of the ‘Moskva,’ the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet last April 14, 2022 in the Black Sea.

Based on US officials’ public statements, the WSWS also pointed to the increasing attacks directed inside Russian territories with American assistance including “unexplained explosions at Russian targets,” as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

“Any notion that the NATO powers, above all the United States, are not direct participants in the conflict over Ukraine lies in tatters.

“The declaration by US President Joe Biden that it is ‘not true’ the US is engaged in a war, or even a proxy war, is a bald-faced lie.

“The US and NATO are providing tens of billions of dollars in military equipment and, as these reports document, direct intelligence used by the Ukrainian military and far-right militia forces,” the article declared.

“The release of this information to the Times and NBC, based on off-the-record statements by multiple administration officials, is a deliberate effort on the part of the Biden administration to increase pressure on the Russian government to retaliate against NATO forces.

“This would create the context for further US escalation, up to, and including, the direct engagement of US troops or the invocation of Article 5 of NATO.

“Just as the United States succeeded in provoking Russia into invading Ukraine by turning the country into an armed camp on its borders and refusing to negotiate over Ukraine’s relationship with NATO, so too it is seeking to place the “burden of escalation” onto Russia by carrying out attacks on the Russian military through Ukrainian forces under its effective control,” the article warned further.

“As the United States expands the goals and scope of the war, it is seeking to goad Russia into a response that would allow the propagandists of US imperialism to claim the United States’ offensive actions are defensive in nature.

“While Russia has sought to carry out negotiations to conclude the war, the United States has made clear its opposition to any resolution to the conflict short of the total military defeat of Russia and the re-occupation of Crimea and the Donbas,” it added.

The WSWS also noted that Biden himself is intent on effecting a regime change in Russia, referring to his statement last March that Putin must not be allowed to remain in power.