U. S. officials warn nightmare as Putin hits peak desperation / Ghantsi and must be familiar

Individuals must reside in Tsabong with the surrounding areas.

methodically and more carefully to preserve the force.”

Must hold a valid drivers license.

Ukraine, Russian forces have had And Russian forces aren’t doing to retreat and replenish their supso hot in Eastern Ukraine, a senior

Must Have own transportation.

plies to go after Eastern Ukraine, U. S. defense official said in a briefin a kind of plan B for Russia. And ing Monday.

Must be 25 years and above.

while fighting continues in Eastern “They still have not solved all Ukraine, the delay in rerouting their logistics problem, and quite

Citizen of Botswana.

plans towards the east has allowed frankly, there’s… a risk and casuUkraine to build up its weaponry alty aversion that we continue to

Must have good communication and negotiation skills.

to try to more effectively thwart see by the Russians now, not just Russian attacks, which may put in the air, but on the ground,” the

Must be a hardworker and pays attention to detail.

Russia at a disadvantage for some senior U. S. defense official said. time, Rob Lee, a Russian military The Russians are being “very, very analyst, told The Daily Beast. cautious, very tepid.”

“I don’t think time is on Russia’s Pulling out all the stops for side, as Ukraine receives more Ukraine, in any case, might be modern weapons [ such as] the political suicide for Putin, warned howitzers,” Lee, a senior fellow Lee. After mobilizing for a war, at the Foreign Policy Research the expectations of successes from Institute, told The Daily Beast. “I Ukraine might be higher— suc

Post to:

think Ukraine is going to be in a cesses the Russian military hasn’t stronger position in a few weeks proved it can achieve. And if relative to today.” conscripts die in large numbers,

The symbolic nature of Victory upheaval about Putin’s decisions Day could serve as the ideal platmight mount. form for Putin to pepper Russians “With volunteers… it’s a bit of a with more propaganda on the different scenario where Russians invasion in Ukraine to garner supcan say, ‘ ok you chose to join, you port for a larger scale mobilization. chose to serve,’” Lee told The Daily But selling a more full- hearted Beast. “If you mobilize it means mobilization domestically might you need to achieve something

27th February 2009

be difficult, given that Russia has more, because then the stakes are been suggesting that the “special” raised higher. And if you start operation is going well. sending conscripts to war, they

“I’m quite curious,” Budanov start getting killed in large numsaid. “How will they explain this bers, that becomes a really big to their own people? Why does political risk.” U. S. officials have Russia, with its, as they say, the warned Victory Day might not first or second army in the world, be the endgame for Putin, as well, need mobilization, when, acand have been fuzzy on the date at cording to their official reports, which Putin might make his next everything is going according to big move in Ukraine. Sometime plan and Ukraine as a military around mid- May, for instance, machine is nothing?” The date Putin will likely try to annex porcould, of course, have no bearing tions of Eastern Ukraine as well as on whether Putin declares war. The Kherson, Michael Carpenter, the future of Putin’s war in Ukraine U. S. Ambassador to Organization will depend on what happens on for Security and Co- operation in the ground in Eastern Ukraine, Europe, predicted this week. not a date, Michael Kofman, the The intelligence on the plans is research program director in the “highly credible,” Carpenter said. Russia Studies Program at CNA, “We believe that Russia will try a Virginia- based national security to annex the Donetsk ‘ people’s research organization, told The republic’ and Luhansk ‘ people’s Daily Beast. republic’… to Russia,” Carpenter

“The political leadership [ will] said Monday in a briefing with reassess the current situation in porters. “I cannot speak to whether Donbas and their likelihood of Russia will be able to execute on its achieving their goals by this camplanning, but this is the planning paign,” Kofman said. “Right now that we are seeing.” it’s still unclear if the Russian offenBudanov, Ukraine defense intelsive is going very slowly because ligence chief, however, warned that they’re meeting far more resistance the Russian military is eyeing victhan they expected, because their tory on May 9 in Eastern Ukraine forces are much weaker now, or are in the Donbas. they actually prosecuting this more