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War-Bucks: Defense Stocks ‘Outperform’ After Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Defense stocks have outperformed the market in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a recently published Bank of America global research report.

“The Russo-Ukrainian conflict has ensured investors of a rising defense budget and triggered the recent outperformance of defense names related to the S&P500,” said the March 7, 2022, report by research analysts at Bank of America Securities and Merrill Lynch.

The report said predicted a boost in defense spending in both the U.S. and Europe that would bring the U.S. defense budget to a record $900 billion by fiscal year 2025.

“We estimate the U.S. defense budget could rise to at least 3.5% to 4% of GDP on this paradigm shift. We now expect U.S. defense spending in FY2023 to be $800bn with the likely return of Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) Funding and exceed $900bn by FY2025,” it said.

“We expect the NATO ‘soft’ target for defense spending (2% of GDP) to become a ‘firm’ target or floor. Currently, only four countries meeting this target; there are 20+ more to go. Our UK analyst Benjamin Heelan expects more governments to announce plans to meet the 2% of GDP NATO targets,” it added. (Read more from “War-Bucks: Defense Stocks ‘Outperform’ After Russian Invasion of Ukraine” HERE)

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Russia Sanctions 13 Americans, Including Joe and Hunter Biden, Hillary Clinton

Russia announced sanctions Tuesday against Americans including President Joe Biden, his scandal-scarred son Hunter Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

In a statement, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the restrictions — which came amid waves of sanctions by the US and its allies that have crippled Russia’s economy over the invasion of Ukraine — were “the consequence” of what it called the White House’s “extremely Russophobic policy.”

The move prevents those named from entering Russia and freeze any assets they have there, according to the BBC. Moscow called the restrictions “personal sanctions” and a “stop list” based on “the principle of reciprocity.”

The foreign ministry also warned that additional sanctions would follow against other, unspecified “Russophobic” US officials, military officers, lawmakers, business owners and media figures. (Read more from “Russia Sanctions 13 Americans, Including Joe and Hunter Biden, Hillary Clinton” HERE)

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Russian Forces Pound Ukraine Killing More Civilians, Edging Closer to Capital

Russian forces are pounding Ukrainian cities and edging closer to the capital, Kyiv, in a relentless bombardment that keeps deepening the humanitarian crisis in this war, now in its third week.

Still, a narrow diplomatic channel remains open, with a Ukrainian official saying Tuesday’s talks with the Russians were difficult, but that there was room for compromise.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told European leaders gathered in London on Tuesday that he realizes NATO has no intention of accepting Ukraine. Zelensky has this indicated before but this statement was more explicit. Russia has demanded that Ukraine drop its bid to join NATO, adopt a neutral status and demilitarize. (Read more from “Russian Forces Pound Ukraine Killing More Civilians, Edging Closer to Capital” HERE)

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General Says Putin Days Away From Critical Point Where War Could Turn; Russia Assault Stalls; NATO Country Calls for Ukraine No-Fly Zone

By Daily Wire. Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges told Fox News on Monday that he believes Russian military forces are just days away from not being able to continue to their war against Ukraine.

“The Russians went after his [Fmr. Amb. to NATO Kurt Volker’s] training center in Yavoriv, outside the city of Lviv, partly to demonstrate that they could reach the lines of communication that bring supplies and support from Poland into Ukraine,” he said. “But also I think to maybe go after the logistics buildup that’s happening there. I don’t think we should overreact to this.” (Read more from “General Says Putin Days Away From Critical Point Where War Could Turn” HERE)

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Russia Assault Stalls, US Official Says

By USA Today. Almost all of Russia’s assaults on Ukrainian cities remain stalled, and there have been little or no advances made over the weekend, a senior U.S. Defense Department source said Monday.

Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion remains strong, particularly around the cities of Kyiv and Cherniv, according to the official who was not authorized to speak publicly about intelligence assessments.

The assessment comes the same day Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the military operation is “proceeding in accordance with the original plan and will be completed on time and in full.”

The U.S. official acknowledged that some cities have been surrounded and face increasing bombardment from Russian long-range artillery and missile attacks. Russia has fired more than 900 missiles at Ukrainian targets since the invasion began, and the attacks have become increasingly indiscriminate, the official said. (Read more from “Russia Assault Stalls, US Official Says” HERE)

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NATO Country Calls for Ukraine No-Fly Zone

By Fox News. Estonia is the first NATO member nation to have a body formally call for the implementation of a no-fly zone amid Russia’s ongoing invasion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pleading with the United States and western allies to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

But President Joe Biden and NATO have ruled that out, saying that enforcing it would put the U.S. and NATO in direct confrontation with Russia and would expand the conflict. (Read more from “NATO Country Calls for Ukraine No-Fly Zone” HERE)

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Russian Forces May Only Be Able to Fight Full Strength for 10-14 Days, Report Says

Russian forces may only be able to keep fighting at full strength for another two weeks, a senior UK defense official told The Daily Mail, as stiff Ukrainian defense has stalled the Russian invasion, now in its third weeks.

After 10-14 days, the official said Russia’s offensive will struggle to make any further progress in Ukraine, as defense forces continue to hold out against nearly non-stop air raids and artillery shellings.

“Ukraine has Russia on the run. It is running out of manpower and running out of energy. As long as we keep pressing they’ve got ten to 14 days before reaching their culminating point,” the defense official told the Mail. (Read more from “Russian Forces May Only Be Able to Fight Full Strength for 10-14 Days, Report Says” HERE)

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Why Die for Biden?

As you would expect from brain-dead Biden and the people controlling him, American policy has been moving in the wrong direction. Whatever you think about the situation in the Ukraine, one thing is obvious. It’s a crisis. Shouldn’t we try to stay out of danger? Instead, the US has led the way in imposing drastic economic sanctions on Russia, backing Putin to the wall. What if he gets desperate and uses atomic weapons? This could result in the end of civilized life on our planet. Is this what Americans want?

The danger isn’t just something I and other critics of American policy have conjured up. “President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday [March 5] that Western sanctions on Russia were akin to a declaration of war and warned that any attempt to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine would lead to catastrophic consequences for the world. . . ‘These sanctions that are being imposed are akin to a declaration of war but thank God it has not come to that,’ Putin said, speaking to a group of flight attendants at an Aeroflot training centre near Moscow. He said any attempt by another power to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine would be considered by Russia to be a step into the military conflict.”

The neocon warmongers brush this danger aside. They say that “we” have to do something to defend the Ukraine from an unprovoked Russian attack. But this totally distorts what is happening there. The Ukrainian government started things by moving against Donbass, a territory that declared independence and is allied with Russia. According to the Ukrainian government, the Ukrainians can secede from Russia but people can’t secede from the Ukraine. As Rick Rozoff pointed out in an article on February 2, “Two-thirds of Ukrainian army servicemen have been amassed along the Donbas contact line, Eduard Basurin, spokesman for the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) militia, said on Thursday.

‘Another three brigades are on their way [to Donbas], which is 20,000 to 25,000 troops more. The total number will reach 150,000, not to mention the nationalists. This is about two-thirds of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ personnel,’ Basurin said on the Rossiya 1 television channel (VGTRK) on Thursday.

The Ukrainian troops are stationed along the 320-kilometer front line, he said. . . The situation in Donbass has reached a critical mark in the past week due to Ukraine’s aggressive actions, Donetsk People’s Republic representative at the Minsk talks, DPR Foreign Minister Natalia Nikonorova said on Thursday.”

But the provocative actions against Russia go much further back. Vasko Kohlmayer gives an excellent account of these and highlights the danger of nuclear war that reckless American policy has caused: “The war drums are, of course, beating for US involvement in the Ukrainian conflict.

‘Declare a NoFlyZone over Ukraine,’ tweeted Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.).

Lindsey Graham, a powerful US Senator, went so far as to publicly advocate the assassination of the Russian head of state. Tweeted he:

Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military? The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out. You would be doing your country – and the world – a great service.

Such brazen incitement to murder by a highly positioned US official could be construed as a war act by the other side.

Watching the mounting hysteria, we can be certain that the beating of the war drums is going to become only louder in the days ahead. . . Before the situation escalates into a nuclear Armageddon, ordinary people would do well to ask themselves whether we have any dog in this fight.

And if we do, what is the size of this dog? Is it big enough to run the risk of nuclear annihilation?

Until last week, most Americans knew almost nothing about Ukraine. If you asked them what is its capital or major river, you would get no response. . . What triggered Putin was the globalists’ push to expand NATO to Russia’s doorstep in Ukraine. The globalists wanted to make it part of their New World Order which they use to prettily enrich themselves.

Joe Biden’s family has been at it for years already. They pulled millions from that land through the President’s son Hunter in one of the most brazen and shameless schemes of influence peddling in American history. . . If Trudeau, Biden and their friends want us to go to war with Russia, they must explain to common people how exactly it is in their vital interest that Ukraine join NATO.

Until they give us a good reason, we should say NO to the war in Ukraine.

The Russians have made it amply clear what they want. They want a neutral Ukraine that is free of NATO. This is a reasonable demand. To start World War III over this would be an act of most regrettable foolishness.”

Is there anything we can do to de-escalate the situation? The greatest Congressman in American history, Dr. Ron Paul, has the answer. American should end its encirclement of Russia and disband NATO. Let’s look at his vital message to us: “When the Bush Administration announced in 2008 that Ukraine and Georgia would be eligible for NATO membership, I knew it was a terrible idea. Nearly two decades after the end of both the Warsaw Pact and the Cold War, expanding NATO made no sense. NATO itself made no sense.

Explaining my ‘no’ vote on a bill to endorse the expansion, I said at the time:

NATO is an organization whose purpose ended with the end of its Warsaw Pact adversary… This current round of NATO expansion is a political reward to governments in Georgia and Ukraine that came to power as a result of US-supported revolutions, the so-called Orange Revolution and Rose Revolution.

Providing US military guarantees to Ukraine and Georgia can only further strain our military. This NATO expansion may well involve the US military in conflicts unrelated to our national interest…

Unfortunately, as we have seen this past week, my fears have come true. One does not need to approve of Russia’s military actions to analyze its stated motivation: NATO membership for Ukraine was a red line it was not willing to see crossed. As we find ourselves at risk of a terrible escalation, we should remind ourselves that it didn’t have to happen this way. There was no advantage to the United States to expand and threaten to expand NATO to Russia’s doorstep. There is no way to argue that we are any safer for it.

NATO itself was a huge mistake. . . I believe as strongly today as I did back in my 2008 House Floor speech that, “NATO should be disbanded, not expanded.’ In the meantime, expansion should be off the table. The risks do not outweigh the benefits!”

The same people who imposed Covid-tyranny on us now want us to risk war with Russia. Let’s stop them before it’s too late. (For more from the author of “Why Die for Biden?” please click HERE)

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Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. [send him mail], former editorial assistant to Ludwig von Mises and congressional chief of staff to Ron Paul, is founder and chairman of the Mises Institute, executor for the estate of Murray N. Rothbard, and editor of LewRockwell.com. He is the author of Against the State and Against the Left. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

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Obese Russian Man Chains Himself to McDonald’s to Prevent Closure

A Russian man chained himself to a McDonald’s restaurant in Moscow in an attempt to keep it open amid nationwide closures related to the country’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the Mirror.

“Closing down is an act of hostility against me and my fellow citizens!” the man yelled before being dragged away by police, the Mirror reported.

The man gave a speech while standing with his hand tied to the entrance as customers ignored him while entering the restaurant in a video shared by the Mirror. (Read more from “Obese Russian Man Chains Himself to McDonald’s to Prevent Closure” HERE)

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Russia Is Requesting That China Provide Support for the Ongoing Invasion of Ukraine; US: China Faces Consequences if It Helps Russia

By New York Post. Russia asked China for assistance in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, U.S. officials warn.

The New York Times reported that Russian officials sought military equipment and support from their Chinese counterparts as the invasion of Ukraine — launched last month by Russian President Vladimir Putin — continues.

Russian leaders also sought economic assistance from China to help lessen the burden of sanctions issued by Western nations that have devastated the Russian economy.

American officials declined to describe the specific hardware requested by the Russian government.

Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security adviser, said that China will “absolutely” face consequences if it chooses to support the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Fox News reported. (Read more from “Russia Is Requesting That China Provide Support for the Ongoing Invasion of Ukraine” HERE)

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US: China Faces Consequences if It Helps Russia

By BBC News. The US says China will face harsh “consequences” if it aids Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, according to US media reports.

Unnamed officials reportedly told multiple US news outlets that Russia asked China to provide military assistance after it began the invasion.

The Chinese embassy in Washington said it was not aware of this request.

The warning comes ahead of a meeting in Rome on Monday between top US and China officials.

Since the start of the crisis Beijing has expressed strong rhetorical support for long-time ally Moscow, but is not publicly known to have provided any military or economic support. (Read more from “US: China Faces Consequences if It Helps Russia” HERE)

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Ukraine Can Hold Out Against Russians for Years: Former Ukrainian Soldier

As Victor Kovalenko, a former Ukrainian soldier and journalist, has watched the war in his home country unfold he says the daily reports he receives from his former comrades gives him hope Ukraine can fend off Russian aggression for years.

From his home in Michigan, Kovalenko told Newsweek that he’s in regular contact with friends, family and former fellow soldiers who provide him with videos and other first-hand information about the conflict. While he receives images of the Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities and the accompanying rubble, Kovalenko said other messages from back home leave him heartened about his country’s resolve.

“We can beat Russia. We stopped them in 2014 and 2015, it was a success,” he said. “Everyone watches Ukraine and everyone realizes that Ukraine is actually stopping Russia, and for the last two or three days the Russian army had no major advances. They just stopped.”

Kovalenko said he’s made a routine of staying up all night verifying and translating videos and other information from Russian or Ukraine and posting them to his Twitter feed. He said he’s in daily contact with people he served with in the military. (Read more from “Ukraine Can Hold Out Against Russians for Years: Former Ukrainian Soldier” HERE)

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White House Briefs TikTok Stars on Ukraine War

The White House briefed an assortment of TikTok stars Friday on the war in Ukraine.

White House officials, including National Security Council staffers and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, met with the group of about 30 top TikTok influencers over a Zoom call to discuss the situation, The Washington Post reported.

The officials offered information on the goals of the U.S. in the region and answered questions from the group on how to get aid to Ukrainians, working with NATO, and what the U.S. response to a Russian nuclear attack would look like. . .

The White House sent out invitations to TikTok creators for the Zoom event on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“People in my generation get all our information from TikTok,” said Kahlil Greene, 21, a TikTok influencer with more than half a million followers, saying he was not surprised that the White House reached out. “It’s the first place we’re searching up new topics and learning about things.” (Read more from “White House Briefs TikTok Stars on Ukraine War” HERE)

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