the russians warn, and deliver as the empire ignores and lives in the past;

Vladimir Putin’s speech today (Friday) at the Russian Foreign Ministry is a clear warning to the West and signals that Russia is going to shift its military operation in Ukraine into a higher, more powerful gear. American and her NATO allies are fools if they dismiss or ignore Putin’s stark message today:

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Friday that the “selfishness and hypocrisy of Western countries” had led to a “dangerous turn of events” and the world was “close to the point of no return.”. . . .

“Calls to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, which has the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons, demonstrate the extreme adventurism of Western politicians. They either do not understand the scale of the threat they themselves create, or they are simply obsessed with the belief in their own impunity and their own exclusivity. Both can turn into a tragedy.”

He stated that the West had committed “theft” of Russian assets, and threatened punishment as a result.

He said, “Despite all the chicanery, theft will certainly remain theft. And it will not go unpunished.”

Putin also claimed to officials that the “Western model” of global security is collapsing. He said that this “needs to be essentially created anew.” He said that he is open to talks with everyone, including NATO.

Putin went on to elaborate Russia’s conditions for a negotiated settlement in Ukraine:.....more.......