US Ambassador to OSCE: Aware that Russia is intent on creating a pretext to justify an invasion into Ukraine

This story is very similar to the one where Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and used that pretext for the US to invade. Time has shown that it was all fake news.

If Russia were to invade Ukraine then that would mean Russia was going to accept being cut off from the World Financial system.
This advent of a New Cold War and self isolation as consequence is not a step Putin would take likely.
Only a direct threat to Russian sovereignty which deploying advanced weaponry on Ukraine soil by NATO would be, is sufficient to outweigh cost of New Cold War.

The rest of this is fear mongering and bluster.

Although I am firmly convinced that decentralization is the Future and that Globalism is at its' peak, Russia is not going to cut ties and break free of interacting with Globalist Cabal unless provoked with no other recourse.

As a side note Globalism is at a Peak evidenced as the only way any further imposition of it is being done, is by using force and coercion. That is the last resort of all despotic systems.

Scholz is on top of that, that little side trip he made with Putin was not about exchanging cookie recipes.

As I inferred in my post this is all about another Globalist expedition for world conformity.
So if you want on a personal level to stick a thumb in the eye of Globalists agenda get as self sufficient as possible. When they try and pull a Trudeau move on you, just tell them to go pound sand.

Theres a big (irrational) part fo me hoping that Putin invades.
We're out of equities - prepared with commodity futures positions/options and ready to profit big from that possibility. Im getting pissed off with this kleptocratic strongman BS that Putin is adopting. Hes threatening the sovereignty of an independent democratic Nation recognized by 184 countries around the world.. and he think because of his commodity supply power he can get away with it.
I cannot understand anyone even vaguely supporting that behaviour or criticizing pushback by EU/NATO/US and allied nations.
IMHO, this is a long game Vlad. You play now.. look like the Big Man? and Russia will pay for a decade or more. Only problem is that YOU wont pay.. the prosperity of the ordinary Russian citizen will pay from exclusion from global financial markets which I hope is TOTAL.
When the USSR fell apart it was second greatest power in the world. Earned by incredible sacrifices from the Russian people over 100 years, of poverty, famines, genocides and Gulags. Today - totally eclipsed by China, Russia except for its legacy nuclear arsenal, and commodity rich homeland is an economic disaster.
And the BIG winner if it comes to this ..Not Russia, Not Europe.. Not US.. but China.
Its all about the market... and I can hear Xi laughing from here.

Yeah but you are forgetting something. Without even thinking twice the EU politicians has handed Putin the biggest weapon of mass destruction. He controls the gas. Literally in a matter of hours he could trigger the greatest depression EU has seen in decades. But we get the politicians we deserve ):

So will they hire CIA for that? They have been known as the best false flag operation creators.

And ... Will the gold go up to 1900 when US market open?

The official Twitter account of the Russian Ministry of Defense posted a secret plan for a US-British attack on the Russian Federation. Unnamed sources from the foreign relations department of the KGB of the Russian Federation explain that the attack, in accordance with NATO plans, should begin on February 22, 2022 at 02:22 London time.

The authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) organized a massive centralized departure of the population to Russia. This was announced on Friday, February 18, by the head of the region Denis Pushilin in his Telegram channel.

According to him, first of all, women, children and the elderly will be evacuated. The head of the DPR also spoke about an agreement with the Russian leadership, according to which the deported citizens will be placed in the Rostov region.