Putin Warns: Foreign Troops in Ukraine Will Be “Legitimate Targets”
As allies discuss a buffer zone & security guarantees, Moscow rejects the plan outright, threatening to kill foreign forces - while US pulls back from E. Europe, raising doubts about post-war Ukraine
If a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine ever comes together, the United States could take the lead role in monitoring a large buffer zone inside Ukraine envisioned as a way to protect the country from Russia, according to four people familiar with a plan that military officials from Ukraine’s allies, including the United States, have been discussing. The buffer zone would be a large demilitarized area — the borders of which have not yet been decided — inside what is now Ukraine, dividing Russian and Ukrainian territory within the country. In part because of its technological capabilities, the United States would take the lead in watching the buffer zone, using drones and satellites along with other intelligence capabilities, but it would coordinate with other countries that would also monitor. The zone could then be secured by troops from one or more non-NATO countries, like Saudi Arabia or even Bangladesh, according to the people familiar with the plan. No U.S. troops would be deployed inside Ukraine, they said. Russian President Vladimir Putin would have to agree to any plan for security guarantees for Ukraine, and NATO involvement or even the suggestion of it is a major issue for him, so the planners are taking pains to avoid using NATO forces or anything resembling NATO branding, some of the people familiar with the plan said. Instead, some of the guarantees would be likely to rely on the troops from non-NATO countries and on a patchwork of bilateral agreements among Ukraine and its allies that would give Ukraine security assurances without involving NATO’s Article V — an attack on one means an attack on all — which amounts to a red line for Moscow. Any plan is only tentative until Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agree to one, in addition to the leaders of the countries that would be involved in the security guarantees, including President Donald Trump. On Thursday, members of the group of allies, which is informally known as the “coalition of the willing,” met to potentially formalize aspects of the plan. The meeting was led by France and the United Kingdom, which are also expected to head up the overall effort to provide Ukraine with security after the war’s end - NBC News
Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to kill any foreign troops who set foot in Ukraine before a peace deal is reached, claiming such a move would render them “legitimate targets.” The announcement came a day after Western leaders pledged to deploy peacekeeping forces to the frontlines in the event of a ceasefire being agreed. “This is one of the root causes (of the war): trying to involve Ukraine in NATO,” said Putin during a speech in Russia on Friday. “So if any troops appear there, especially during the ongoing hostilities, we assume they will be legitimate targets for defeat….If decisions are reached that lead to long-term peace, then I simply see no reason for their presence on Ukrainian territory,” said Putin. “Because if such agreements are reached, let no one doubt that Russia will fully implement them.” However, a peace deal between the two countries still seems extremely unlikely after Putin has made it clear he will not give up occupied territory in Ukraine under any circumstances - Daily Beast
The US is withdrawing much of its military support from Eastern Europe, a move apparently intended to force European countries to pay more for defense in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The White House praised Europe for “stepping up” militarily, and said the move was to further encourage it to take “more responsibility for its own defense.” But European Union officials told The Washington Post that the US withdrawal would signal weakness to Russia - Semafor
U.S. and Taiwanese defense officials held talks in Alaska last week, a U.S. official said on Thursday, a move likely to anger China. The United States is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier, despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties. China, which has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control, regularly describes Taiwan as the most important and sensitive topic in its relations with the United States. Jed Royal, the top Indo-Pacific official at the U.S. Department of Defense, met a senior Taiwanese national security official, in Anchorage, the official said. Chinese President Xi Jinping warned the world was facing a choice between peace or war at a massive military parade in Beijing on Wednesday, flanked by Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un in an unprecedented show of force - Reuters
The New York Times reported this morning that President Trump authorized a top-secret military mission into North Korea in 2019 during his first term. Seal Team 6 was tasked with planting a device to monitor Kim Jong Un's communications. But the mission ended in failure as the Seals killed several North Koreans. And the administration did not inform Congress about the mission, according to the Times reporting, which NPR has not confirmed. New York Times national correspondent David Philipps, who co-wrote the piece with freelance journalist Matthew Cole, told NPR: “There are some laws that were put on the books decades ago to make sure that key members of Congress - and we're just talking about a very small handful of people - are informed when these types of high-level intelligence decisions happen. And for good reason, right? We want oversight on what the president is doing. But in this case, we were able to figure out that it didn't happen. In fact, it did eventually happen under the Biden administration, who came in after President Trump and learned what had happened and said, jeez, we better tell Congress about this.”
Israel’s defence minister has said the “gates of hell” are opening in Gaza, as the military destroys a high-rise tower in a densely populated part of Gaza City and says it will target more multistorey buildings, intensifying its campaign to seize control of the capital. Israeli forces have killed at least 44 people across Gaza on Friday, with at least seven children killed in attacks on Gaza City. Mohamed Elmasry, media studies professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, says Israel’s latest attack on a high-rise building in Gaza City “may well be the start of a new phase of the war”. The level of destruction Israel is willing to inflict in civilian areas, he says, is rooted in several Israeli military doctrines - Al Jazeera
According to a poll in Israel conducted in late August, 64.5% of all Israelis (both Arab and Jewish respondents) believe that Israel should agree to an inclusive deal that includes the end of the war in return for all the hostages being held captive by Hamas. More than half of Israelis (53%) also asserted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is not making a believable effort to bring the hostages home. Not surprisingly, 75% of Ultra-Orthodox participants in the poll want Israel to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle it with Jews.
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Angela Rayner has left the UK Government following an investigation into whether she broke the ministerial rules over her tax affairs, The i Paper understands. The Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary resigned after failing to pay £40,000 stamp duty on her flat in Hove, East Sussex. Keir Starmer is now understood to be carrying out a wide-ranging Cabinet reshuffle in the wake of the resignation, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves expected to stay in her post. It comes after Rayner referred herself to the Government’s independent adviser on ethics and to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) after admitting to underpaying her tax. Downing Street has since confirmed that the Prime Minister is conducting a reshuffle, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves understood to be staying in her post - iPaper
Thailand has its third prime minister in a year after Anutin Charnvirakul breezed through a parliamentary vote. Charnvirakul, a construction magnate, succeeds Paetongtarn Shinawatra, a member of the powerful Shinawatra family who was suspended in July after a phone call with a former Cambodian leader was leaked. Thailand has been in political turmoil since, ever since deadly border clashes with Cambodian forces. Charnvirakul, who will lead a minority coalition, has vowed new elections within four months of being sworn in. But Bangkok is locked in “a recurrent pattern of elections leading to crises,” a Thai political scientist told the Financial Times, and it is not clear that Charnvirakul’s ascension will break that cycle - Semafor
Thaksin Shinawatra, the influential power broker and former prime minister of Thailand, abruptly left the country for Dubai on Thursday night, a move that led to speculation that he was trying to outrun the law. A court in Bangkok is expected to hand down a verdict next week that could send Mr. Thaksin, 76, to prison. It is unclear how long his sentence would be if he were convicted. In a statement issued on Friday, Mr. Thaksin said he would be back in Thailand by Tuesday to receive the Supreme Court’s verdict in person. Mr. Thaksin lived in Dubai in self-exile for years after being ousted as prime minister in a 2006 coup. He made a dramatic return to Thailand in 2023. On Thursday night, immigration officials and an associate of Mr. Thaksin had said that he was heading to Singapore for a medical appointment and would return within two days. The announcement made headlines in Thailand, and tens of thousands of people started tracking his plane online - NYT
The world’s largest iceberg is “rapidly breaking up” into several large “very large chunks,” scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have said. Previously weighing nearly a trillion metric tonnes (1.1 trillion tons) and spanning an area of 3,672 square kilometers (1,418 square miles) — slightly bigger than Rhode Island — the A23a iceberg has been closely tracked by scientists ever since it calved from the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf in Antarctica in 1986. A23a has held the “largest current iceberg” title several times since the 1980s, occasionally being surpassed by larger but shorter-lived icebergs, including A68 in 2017 and A76 in 2021. Andrew Meijers, an oceanographer at BAS, told CNN in an email Wednesday: “The iceberg is rapidly breaking up, and shedding very large chunks, themselves designated large icebergs by the US national ice centre that tracks these.” The “megaberg” has now shrunk to about 1,700 square kilometers (656 square miles), according to Meijers, which equates to roughly the size of Greater London. Iceberg calving is a natural process and there haven’t been enough megabergs for scientists to know if they are increasing as the world warms, Meijers said. What is clear, however, is that ice shelves have lost trillions of tons of ice through increased iceberg formation and melting over the past few decades, much of which is due to warming ocean water and changes in ocean currents, he added. Human-caused climate change is driving alarming changes in Antarctica, which could lock in catastrophic sea level rise - CNN
A Swiss International Air Lines flight inbound to Hong Kong was again targeted by thieves onboard. "Those around me fell victim, losing credit cards, passports, cash & cameras," a pax noted. Last year SWISS pax lost a HK$4.16 million (US$535,320) watch that was snatched onboard. A passenger aboard the SWISS flight targeted this week said economy pax were forced to stay onboard for some two hours while cops investigated. Meanwhile premium cabin pax were reportedly deplaned upon landing. Cops arrested suspects from mainland China, the HK Standard reported. (SWISS did not respond to a request for comment). Last October, the SCMP reported that the number of thefts on board flights to Hong Kong had risen sharply by 164 per cent in the first eight months of the year, with the SWISS airlines watch there being the largest case. The HK Police Force has urged travellers to be careful in plane cabins and secure their carry-on baggage, and keep valuables with them if leaving their seats. Any person found guilty of theft faces a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment.
My comment: On a recent Thai Airways International flight from Bangkok BKK (also a hub for gangs targeting commercial flights) to Istanbul IST, I witnessed cabin crew alerting passengers mid flight about the possible presence of thieves. Whether it’s an airplane, train, tram or bus - take extra care to guard your personal belongings. And for heaven’s sake - leave your valuable jewellery and other valuables in a secure place at home. Don’t draw attention to yourself with expensive accessories - and don’t carry piles of cash!
The journals….
