Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part IV

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10592
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part IV

Post by blindpig » Sat Aug 06, 2022 12:05 pm

A meaningless carnage
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 08/06/2022 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT

Original Article: Alexander Kots / Komsomolskaya Pravda

Image

The attack on the Donetsk suburbs, where Ukrainian troops have been entrenched for eight years, has finally begun with the DPR army and Russian artillery support. Avdeevka is under attack. And also the town of Peski, which is considered key to Avdeevka. Assault detachments from Donbass have already managed to advance there. Over the last week, the population of Donetsk, which has been the object of bombing from Peski, has been able to see the clouds of smoke over that place, an image that they have been waiting for eight years. There have been no civilians left in Peski for a long time, which has been converted into a heavily fortified area.

The hope is that the front line will finally move away from Donetsk and that the population will stop being afraid to leave. The seriousness of the offense can be judged by the reaction to the other side. Not because of what the usual storyteller of the kyiv regime, Oleksiy Arestovich, says, who seems like the ambulance of Ukrainian television, but because of what those who are in the trenches of Peski say, who describe being there as hell.

Those are the impressions of a Ukrainian soldier, Serhiy Gnezdilov, who fights in Peski. His letter was published on Ukrainian social networks (and has been confirmed by the angry reaction from kyiv, which accuses the soldier of cowardice, but does not deny what he says).

What else is there to lose, what else can they take from me on this sixth day of personal hell in Peski, a kilometer from the first street of the Ukrainian city of Donetsk? The bodies of those I love more than my family lie in the heat of the trenches crushed by 152mm shells. As I wrote before, 6,500 shells for each village in less than 24 hours.

It's been like this for six days now and it's hard to know how many of our infantry are still alive under this fire.

No, I'm not complaining.

Two 82mm and 120mm mortars are working on our side. Sometimes two cannons wake up and press towards Donetsk.

We practically do not respond. There is no counter-battery fire, nothing, the enemy puts their artillery shells into our trenches without problems and destroys the cement fortified positions in minutes, without pause and with minimal rest tightening our line of defense.

The day before yesterday the dam was destroyed and the river dragged dead and wounded. I will not publish data, it is prohibited in our country, but they have no idea of ​​the number and percentage of our casualties.

It is a carnage in which the battalion simply endures the invasion with their own bodies.

For almost a week, we have been waiting for at least some reinforcement to hit the enemy artillery because, I repeat, they are burning us with impunity with everything the Russian army is rich in. Today aviation has worked.

I am proud that the leadership of the battalion has stayed here with us. Kombat is with us, everyone is with us, the lightly wounded, put on a bandage and return to their positions in a couple of hours, if bottomless holes can be called that.

There is a war.

But without counter-battery, it is a senseless carnage in which huge numbers of our infantry die every day.

Did they want the truth? There is the naked truth.

The reserves went into position to cover the advance, but five minutes later, out of fifteen men there was only one healthy man.

Bodies lying on the ground. If there is a slight one, you might get lucky and be able to walk away.

Only one wounded man was taken away. He was yelling all the way: Where are the reinforcements? Where is the artillery? Why have they abandoned us? Why is no one covering us?

I don't know, man, I don't know why nobody covers us. I'm ashamed to still be in one piece and have only been deaf a couple of times.

I had to vomit, shit -sorry for the language- and back to the trenches.

All reserves have been spent, military equipment goes up in flames and the enemy approaches and takes our positions without problem after another artillery barrage.

Right now, we are losing Peski, all our material and human capacity is almost exhausted.

Denis, the man from Mariupol who told me “Well, I believe Arestovich, we will get everything back soon”, is dead. He was wounded twice, they bandaged him right there in the trenches. They told him: “Denchik, you have to be evacuated”, but he replied: “Boys, I am not going to leave you”.

He was wounded once and after the second time, he kept shooting.

We haven't picked up the body yet. She lies in the ruins of Peski, arms outstretched, staring. He asks for revenge. How can I refuse his dying wish? How can we all leave Denis?

I trust that he survived in the end. Because he can't have died, he just got back from the hospital, he just asked his girlfriend to marry him. They say that after one of the visits he simply disappeared. Buried under a mound of earth. But I think it's a mistake and that he is alive. A naive hope.

I know our government doesn't like to think out loud. But I have no other option in the context of this defense of victory and arestovichism. The truth should not be heard, it should not be whispered in salon conversations. Of course, I will take a special bullet for this, because how can a government lie to its own citizens?

I would not be surprised if today someone said “The Kremlin agent Sirozha has spit out a brilliant plan for victory on the Donetsk front, let's put it on Mirotvorets”.

I'm tired of saying that everything is under control. Now in Peski everything is under control, but for some reason the situation is getting worse.

Alarms sound as we cover Peski with our bodies.


Enough cannons for Donetsk

This card on the other side of the front requires clarification. The Ukrainian soldier claims that they do not have enough cannons. However, Donetsk continues to be bombarded, both with shells and mines (in which the civilian population is injured). Ukraine has enough cannons.

I don't like to judge the true state of the front by a letter on social media. However, what de Peski describes is a typical situation. For nearly six months, the backbone of Ukraine's main professional army has been battered. There are few units left with combat capacity and in which the professionals dominate and in the front are fundamentally mobilized reservists recruited in the streets and beaches. Many are from Western Ukraine. And they have neither the ability nor the will to fight.

Now the situation is similar around Soledar and Artyomovsk. Here, the LPR and Russian troops have slowly pushed back the Ukrainian first line of defense, holding onto the towns and fighting is already going on inside Soledar. But that does not mean that Ukraine does not respond. His troops tried to counterattack near Artyomovsk. Three battalions, supported by tanks and artillery, headed for the town of Pokrovskoe. In one day, 300 Ukrainian soldiers died there against the wall of the Wagner private company and allied forces. Afterward, the remnants of the Ukrainian battalions were pushed out, losing six tanks, four armor, infantry vehicles, and drones.

The superiority of the Russian artillery is, in large part, thanks to kyiv. Zelensky has transferred part of the artillery from Donbass to Kherson. There are some offensive plans that everyone already knows. But if such an adventure occurs, Zelensky will suffer a failure and the casualties will be on a more tragic scale than at Artyomovsk.

There are rumors that General Zaluzhny, commander of the Ukrainian troops, has demanded that Zelensky return the artillery to Donbass so as not to lose the key points of defense. He refers to both Avdeevka and the Seversk-Artyomovsk line, after which there is a direct line to Slavyansk.

At the same time, Zelensky stated that Ukraine cannot reverse Russia's artillery and personnel advantage in Donbass. It is a measured statement to be heard in the West: a prayer for more HIMARS, CAESAR self-propelled artillery and M777 howitzers. However, personally, Ukraine has superiority, that's not a big secret here. Moreover, on some fronts it is far superior. For example, when the Uglegorsk power plant was liberated, the enemy had three times as many troops. This says something about the experience, training and military artistry of the Allied forces, something that inexperienced Ukrainian units lack.

https://slavyangrad.es/2022/08/06/una-c ... more-25219

Google Translator

***********************

Ukraine war is losing its sparkle. Where’s the lady with the lamp?

Searching for the needle in a haystack is exciting, as there could be sudden surprises. There are growing signs that the diplomatic front on Ukraine conflict is livening up

August 03, 2022 by M.K. Bhadrakumar

Image
Cargo ship Razoni carrying 26,000 tonnes of maize sailing from Odessa Port toward Bosphorus on Aug 1, 2022.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Monday that at around 9.20 a.m. Moscow time, Razoni, a ship flying the flag of Sierra Leone, left the Odessa port in Ukraine as part of the recent grain deal. Razoni is carrying a cargo of maize to Istanbul port.

The MOD (Ministry of Defense) said the “control of the humanitarian operation for the departure of the first ship carrying agricultural products was planned with the active participation of Russian officers who are part of the Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul.”

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday, “this is a good and important first step” that the first ship with around 26,000 tonnes of grain sailed out of Odessa.

Searching for the needle in a haystack is exciting, as there could be sudden surprises. There are growing signs that the diplomatic front on Ukraine conflict is livening up.

On Monday, US President Joe Biden offered talks with Russia. In his statement ahead of the 10th Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference, Biden reiterated the US’ “shared belief” with Russia that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought” and that “my administration has prioritized reducing the role of nuclear weapons in our national security strategy.”

Biden continued: “I’ve worked on arms control from the earliest days of my career, and the health of the NPT has always rested on meaningful, reciprocal arms limits between the United States and Russian Federation. Even at the height of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union were able to work together to uphold our shared responsibility to ensure strategic stability. Today, my Administration is ready to expeditiously negotiate a new arms control framework to replace New START when it expires in 2026. But negotiation requires a willing partner operating in good faith. And Russia’s brutal and unprovoked aggression in Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe and constitutes an attack on fundamental tenets of international order. In this context, Russia should demonstrate that it is ready to resume work on nuclear arms control with the United States.”

Simultaneously, Blinken also alluded to Russia’s key role for “making sure that countries with nuclear weapons, including the United States, pursue disarmament; making sure that countries that don’t have nuclear weapons do not acquire them by upholding and strengthening non-proliferation; and making sure that countries can engage in the peaceful use of nuclear energy, something that is even more vital as we deal with the challenges posed by climate change.”

Blinken has had a makeover lately, pushing back an avalanche of hawkish opinion represented by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the US Senate, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian parliament who demand that Russia be formally designated a state sponsor of terrorism, a label reserved for North Korea, Syria, Cuba and Iran.

Indeed, Blinken’s phone call to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on prisoner exchange was a US-Russia re-engagement since February and therefore a subtle messaging in itself. (Biden’s offer of talks has come within the week.)

These fresh tidings need to be seen alongside the trend of the “collective West” lately working to ease the anti-Russian sanctions. The following developments suggest a pattern:

*Canada announced on July 9 — on Germany’s request and Washington’s backing — while also ignoring Ukraine’s objections, a waiver of sanctions that allowed the return of equipment for Nord Stream 1 pipeline so as to support Europe’s access to “reliable and affordable energy”;
*European Union issued a guideline on July 13 (in relation to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad) “that the transit of sanctioned goods by road with Russian operators is not allowed under the EU measures. No such similar prohibition exists for rail transport” (via Lithuania.)
*On August 1, the UK eased some restrictions to allow companies to provide insurance and reinsurance to Russian entities, which have implications for shipping and aviation industries.
*The EU also allowed “exemption (for Russia) from the prohibition to engage in transactions with certain state-owned entities as regards transactions for agricultural products and the transport of oil to third countries.”
*Bloomberg had reported on June 13 that “US government is quietly encouraging” agricultural and shipping companies to buy and carry more Russia’s fertilizer, whose exports are down 24% this year as “many shippers, banks and insurers have been staying away from the trade out of fear they could inadvertently fall afoul of the rules… and (Washington) is in the seemingly paradoxical position of looking for ways to boost them (Russian exports.)”

However, on the war front, Russia’s special military operations to grind the Ukrainian forces are continuing, albeit without significant changes on the battlefield. The current frontline in Donbass appears to be along the Bakhmut-Soledar-Seversk line where Ukrainian forces try to slow down the Russian offensive on the cities of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk from the eastern direction.

Positional battles are also going on along the entire frontline in eastern and southern Ukraine. The Western media, prompted by the Kiev regime, is hyping up an imminent Ukrainian “counteroffensive” in the southern region of Kherson, but that is a stretch. In fact, in the weekend, Ukraine’s 128th Mountain Assault Brigade in Zaporozhye direction reportedly suffered such heavy losses that demoralized troops began abandoning combat positions and desertion from the frontline.

Although Razoni sailed out on Monday, Russian strikes also destroyed one launcher of US-made anti-ship Harpoon missile system in Odessa Region while high-precision strikes also destroyed two advanced US rocket launchers of HIMARS in Kharkov.

Against such a convoluted backdrop, an opinion is building up in the US that the Kiev regime is stringing the West, and needs to be firmly told that all good things must come to an end.

Reflecting this nascent thinking, the National Interest featured a piece last week by two influential American think tankers close to the Democratic Party circles who had served in the White House and State Department under the Obama administration. Read it here.

Conceivably, there is a convergence here with Russia’s grouse that but for Kiev’s intransigence, peace talks are possible. Putin has invited Turkish President Recep Erdogan to meet up at Sochi on Friday. (here, here.) Erdogan had said he hoped the recent grain deal would be a turning point for the resumption of political talks between Ukraine and Russia to end the armed conflict. (here)

If only Florence Nightingale were still there at the Scutari Barracks of the Turkish Army, built in 1800 by Sultan Selim III in the Uskudar district on the Asian part of Istanbul, Erdogan could have asked the Lady with the Lamp to go with him to Sochi.

https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/08/03/ ... -the-lamp/

**********************

Ukraine SitRep - Casualties Leak - Ukraine Admits Russian Breakthrough - Southern Front Paralysis

There is an report on Ukraine making the rounds that was allegedly written by the higher command of the Ukrainian army and leaked from somewhere.

Dr.Snekotron @snekotron - 12:50 UTC · Aug 5, 2022
Ukrainian channels are discussing what might be a leaked data from AFU General Staff:

- The AFU are only at 43-48% strength
- medical workers at their limit
- small arms and armor are not enough
- 191 thousand soldiers were killed and wounded (only AFU, not including others)
- there is not enough hydraulics and liquid nitrogen for M777 howitzers
- no one cares about the missing - there are no statistics
- the equipment transferred by the West is running out
- western weapons are operated by amateurs, since there are no qualified specialists
- no way to repair weapons on the spot due to the lack of spares and specialists - everything is sent to Poland

BTW, even with this dire report, I would caution against predicting a decisive break in morale. As with Peski, the walking wounded are sent straight back into the trenches


There are some pictures of documents written in cyrillic script attached to the above tweet.

The documents look legit. The overall numbers and issues mentioned seem plausible to me. The high number of casualties (plus the missing) is not astonishing. It would be astonished though if the Russian army and its allies have more than one tenth of those. This is mostly an artillery war and the Russian side has had a vast superiority in guns and missiles.

I wonder about the M-777 need for hydraulic oil and nitrogen. Both are used in the hydraulic recoil mechanism of such guns. Back when I was in the military we had similar mechanisms in our tanks. But they did not consume oil or nitrogen due to normal operation. Only larger maintenance, like changing the gun barrel, would require a readjustment of that mechanism. Is the 'light' howitzer M-777 so badly constructed that those fluids and gases can leak out and thereby become consumables?
The Ukraine has acknowledged that its main reinforced defense line west of Donetsk city has been broken:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy this week described the pressure his armed forces were under in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine as "hell". He spoke of fierce fighting around the town of Avdiivka and the fortified village of Pisky, where Kyiv has acknowledged its Russian foe's "partial success" in recent days.
The Ukrainian military said on Thursday Russian forces had mounted at least two assaults on Pisky but that its troops had managed to repel them.

Ukraine has spent the last eight years fortifying defensive positions in Pisky, viewing it as a buffer zone against Russian-backed forces who control the city of Donetsk about 10 km (6 miles) to the southeast.

General Oleksiy Hromov told a news conference that Ukrainian forces had recaptured two villages around the eastern city of Sloviansk, but had been pushed back to the town of Avdiivka's outskirts after being forced to abandon a coal mine regarded as a key defensive position.

The Russian defence ministry confirmed its offensive.


Image

Everything red on the left of the red line marks recent progress. It looks small but was achieved against the most fortified positions the Ukrainian side had.

Here is an aerial view of a part of Pisky.

Image

There are ditches (black lines) everywhere and after eight years of artillery war all houses have been more or less destroyed. Still their basements are good fighting positions which are difficult to overcome.

The breakthrough happened after the Ukraine had moved many artillery units from the Donetsk to the southern front. That also explains the lack of counter-battery fire in the east an eyewitness recently lamented about.

Ukraine is still dreaming of a counter-offensive in the south:

Ukraine said the Russian offensive in the east looked like an attempt to force it to divert troops from the south where Kyiv's forces are trying to retake territory and destroy Russian supply lines as a prelude to a wider counter-offensive.
"The idea is to put military pressure on us in Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk over the next few weeks ... What is happening in the east is not what will determine the outcome of the war," Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said in an interview on YouTube.


Arestovych is of course wrong. The war was decided in the east when the Ukrainian military followed its bosses orders and moved everything it had to that front. That gave the Russian artillery the chance to take it apart. The Ukrainian tactic, ordered from above, was to hold onto every position until it was completely destroyed. A more mobile defense would likely have been more effective and would have cost less casualties.

The units that Ukraine pulled back from Donbas and has send down to Kherson for its 'million men' offensive were already heavily mauled. They have now been waiting for weeks for the offensive to launch. Meanwhile Russian missiles have hit several of those repositioned units and caused a high numbers of fresh casualties. The removal of Ukrainian artillery from the Donetsk line allowed for the breakthrough at that line.

The long time it took for all that repositioning to happen has also given time for the Russian forces to strengthen its troops around Kherson. There are by now sufficient numbers for the Russian's to launch their own offensive in the area.

General Hromov said Russia might launch its own offensive in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson to try to win back momentum in the war after building up its forces there.

The general got that right. The Russian offensive in the south may launch as early as next week.

There seems to be again a disagreement between the Zelensky regime and the general staff of the armed forces of Ukraine.

The general staff knows that a counter-offensive against Kherson makes no sense as it would cost many more casualties and is likely to be defeated.

Image

(Under NATO symbology friendly artillery is marked as a rectangle with a fat dot in the middle. An X above says the unit is a brigade. Three vertical lines mark a (smaller) regiment and two a (smaller) battalion.)

I count 4 Ukrainian artillery brigades and three artillery regiments on the southern front. There is currently only one artillery brigade on the eastern front. While mechanized brigades in the east have their own organic artillery units those do not have the big guns that can do the counter-battery fire.

The general staff does not want to attack in the south. It wants to move a least some of the artillery brigades there back to the Donetsk line.

But Zelenski and his crew want to prevent the referendums that will be held next month in Kherson and other regions under Russian control. That is why they are pushing for a counter-attack there.

The disagreement has paralyzed the Ukrainian army. The units sitting in the south waiting for orders while they get decimated by daily Russian missile strikes. This while they are urgently needed in the east.

Zelensky and Arestovych may be good at making movies. Military geniuses they are certainly not.

Posted by b on August 5, 2022 at 16:49 UTC | Permalink

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/08/u ... .html#more

*****************

The Petal Problem
August 6, 0:25


Actual text for residents of Donetsk and the liberated territories, which the Armed Forces of Ukraine are actively mining with anti-personnel mines of the Petal type.

The Petal Problem

In this material, I will not touch on violations of conventions, treachery and ethics in the use of PFM-1 "Petal" mines by the enemy, cries about the deceit and meanness of the enemy, these are all "talks in favor of the poor." It is especially surprising to hear this from the military, and what did you actually expect, that the enemy would fight honestly ???!!!
But this is poetry, here I will only touch on technical issues, briefly, so that it would be clear to a non-specialist.
Recently, in the network, there are some attractions of unprecedented dementia and courage to clear these mines.
They drive over them with armored vehicles, damaging gooses and asphalt, throwing tires, bricks at them, hitting them with a stick, shooting from a machine gun ...
Well, the classic movie idiocy:

[youtube]https://youtu.be/LgLqjQGNckw[/youtube]

So, what is this mine and how to mine it correctly and safely.

Introductory part:

PFM-1 anti-personnel mine, high-explosive, pressure action. The mine does not hit the victim with fragments (the body is soft polyethylene), with the exception of secondary ones, formed by the material with which it comes into contact during the explosion, asphalt, concrete, stone, metal. The defeat is inflicted due to brisance, i.e. crushing the limb that clicked on the mine.

Image

Image

********************

Сolonelcassad
Special operation, August 5th. The main thing from RIA Novosti :

- On Friday, Ukrainian militants fired twice at the territory of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, the shells hit the industrial site of the station;

- According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, 20 shells of 152 mm caliber were fired by Ukrainian troops on the territory of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in Energodar;

- An artillery strike on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant could lead to a major fire and a radiation accident, the Russian Defense Ministry said;

- As a result of the shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in Energodar, a fire broke out on the hydrogen pipeline, which was quickly extinguished by emergency services, the RF Ministry of Defense reported;

- A group of foreign journalists arrived on July 30 in Orekhov, Zaporozhye region, at the location of Ukrainian troops to film the facts of the alleged indiscriminate use of artillery by the Russian Armed Forces, Colonel General Mizintsev said;

- Russian aviation, missile troops and artillery hit four command posts of Ukrainian troops, two weapons depots in the DPR, and enemy manpower in 182 districts in a day;

- Nine local residents of the Kharkiv region suffered as a result of a conflict with the commanders of the Ukrainian military, who tried to forcibly evict them and place them in residential buildings of foreign mercenaries;

- The Russian Aerospace Forces destroyed up to 150 Ukrainian soldiers and officers, two M777 howitzers and 1.5 thousand ammunition for them, seven drones, about 350 shells for the Grad MLRS, as well as six Msta-B howitzers with a high-precision strike on two howitzer artillery divisions and warehouses of rocket and artillery weapons in the Zaporozhye region;

- Russian and allied troops during the special operation in Ukraine destroyed more than 5 thousand units of armored vehicles and multiple launch rocket systems;

- Ukrainian militants in the courtyards of residential buildings in Artemovsk in the DPR have placed large-caliber mortars and fired at the positions of the Russian Armed Forces from them, while residents of nearby houses are being held as human shields.

***

Сolonelcassad
0:24
In addition to the repeated shelling of the ZNPP (again, arrivals at the station), the Armed Forces of Ukraine fired at Berislav.
These strikes, coupled with fresh arrivals at the Tokmak railway station (railway damaged - several days of repair) indicate ongoing attempts to create conditions for an offensive either in the Kryvyi Rih-Nikopol or Zaporozhye directions.
It is possible that a strike can be delivered here and there, and one of the strikes will be fettering and distracting, while the main forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will try to achieve some sane operational-tactical goals.
In the Krivoy Rog-Nikopol direction - to break through the front on the Ingulets River, and also to strike in the Potemkino area from Nikopol.
The main goal is not the capture of Kherson, but cutting off part of the bridgehead of the RF Armed Forces on the Right Bank up to Berislav.

In the Zaporizhzhya direction - try to advance to Tokmak and Pology and, with a successful development of events, try to take some relatively large settlement in order to declare it a victory.

I believe that both of these possibilities are being considered by our command, which has already led to the strengthening of groups in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions.

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

Google Translator

*********************

The Russian Foreign Ministry Comprehensively Explained the Global Systemic Transition
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on AUGUST 5, 2022
Andrew Korybko

What follows is a summary of everything that the Director of the Foreign Policy Planning Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs shared, after which some concluding thoughts will wrap up the analysis.

Alexey Drobinin, Director of the Foreign Policy Planning Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, comprehensively explained the global systemic transition to multipolarity that was unprecedentedly accelerated by the US-provoked Ukrainian Conflict. His insight is admittedly lengthy and requires a lot of time to read through, but therein lies the purpose of the present piece to draw attention to its highlights for the reader’s convenience. What follows is a summary of everything that he shared, after which some concluding thoughts will wrap up the analysis.

Titled “The lessons of history and vision for the future: Thoughts on Russia’s foreign policy”, Drobinin’s treatise opens by pointing out the seminal nature of unfolding events. The trends shaping the emerging dynamics predate his country’s special military operation in Ukraine and include the formation of a Multipolar World Order (MWO), the increasing relevance of the civilizational approach to International Relations, the globalization crisis stemming from the 2008 financial one, the increased importance of the cultural and force factors in foreign affairs, and the “Great Reset”/”Fourth Industrial Revolution”.

After touching upon each of these, Drobinin then explains the evolution of his country’s approach to International Relations as enshrined its Foreign Policy Concepts from 1993 until 2016, with a sneak peek of what to expect from the latest one that’s in the process of being finalized. The foreign policy planner emphasized its continuity with respect to defending national interests, promoting regional stability, embracing multipolarity, upholding international law, proactively engaging with the Global South (especially China and India), and promoting Eurasian integration.

Moving beyond these concepts that he described as his civilization-state’s ideological outlook, this influential policymaker then declared that recent events have forever changed the nature of Russian-Western relations, which he said were always tainted by his counterparts’ Russophobia. The Russian elite’s hitherto Western-centric outlook that he blamed for its “ideological separation from the popular masses” is also changing in line with these new conditions. It’s not all bleak, however, since the resultant period of acute confrontation with the US-led West nevertheless carries with it certain opportunities.

Drobinin explained that these first and foremost concern the impetus to create a new structure for International Relations after the declining unipolar hegemon practically privatized the UN and other multilateral fora. The US-led West exposed its self-interested motives that it unconvincingly disguises behind “democracy” and “human rights” rhetoric, which is in turn inspiring the rest of the international community to unite in opposition to it through the joint establishment of new platforms in “politics, economy, trade, currency and finance, as well as culture, education and international security.”

These processes are led by BRICS, the SCO, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter, et al. Drobinin also predicts that the Russia-India-China (RIC) framework will play an integral role in this respect in accordance with Yevgeny Primakov’s vision from the late 1990s. Furthermore, President Putin’s Greater Eurasian Partnership (GEP) might very well become Russia’s flagship foreign policy concept, he says. That’s because Russia’s partners across the Global South see the world more or less the same way that it does, Drobinin notes.

One of the priorities of Russian foreign policy is “Injecting more sovereignty across the board, including in the world of ideas, politics, culture, research, economics, finance and other spheres”. This aligns with what President Putin earlier encouraged, especially in his recent global revolutionary manifesto that Foreign Minister Lavrov elaborated upon in the African context to promise that Russia will help its partners there fully complete their decolonization processes. In parallel, Russia will “readjust foreign policy concepts emanating from the Western school of thought to fit in with our national narrative.”

Drobinin then closed his treatise by pointing out that “going back to one’s roots would be impossible without mobilising the state and society on the ideological front. This is another essential prerequisite for an effective foreign policy as we move away from our dependency on the West in all its forms and manifestations.” This suggests that President Putin’s global revolutionary manifesto will shape the views of future generations, thus enabling Russia to fulfill its historical destiny of “accelerating the transition to a new world order through its persistence and steady resolve to achieve truth and justice for all.”

All told, the foreign policy planner’s explanation of the global systemic transition to multipolarity and Russia’s leading role in this process is indeed comprehensive and worth reading in full in order to obtain a clearer idea of its grand strategy. Far from being the so-called “marginalized regional power” that the US-led West falsely portrays it as, Russia is actually the engine of the emerging MWO and has once again been fated to play the transformational role in International Relations that it’s practiced for centuries. Considering all the trends that are presently converging, this is no simple task.

Returning to what Drobinin earlier touched upon, deglobalization processes risk fragmenting the world but could also enable the resultant blocs to more confidently defend their sovereignty in all domains, especially in the financial, scientific-technological, and socio-cultural ones. The growing role of civilizations is also something that no observer should lose sight of either, which he predicts will lead to Great Powers like Russia, China, India, and the US among others leading the political consolidation of their regions, though it’s still unclear what effect this will have on global systemic stability.

Nevertheless, it adds credence to the prediction that bloc-based politics will likely characterize the future deglobalized world order, which can preserve each civilization’s diversity from those pernicious external influences that seek to erase their identity by subsuming them into the amorphous liberal-globalist blob that’s being artificially manufactured by Western ideologues. By playing a leading role in bringing about this scenario, Russia is therefore positioning itself as a humanitarian superpower with respect to protecting the planet’s socio-cultural diversity, especially across the Global South.

To wrap it all up, the US-provoked Ukrainian Crisis that unprecedentedly accelerated the global systemic transition to multipolarity can be seen in hindsight as completely self-defeating from the perspective of that declining unipolar power’s hegemonic interests. It didn’t lead to Russia’s collapse like its strategists ridiculously expected but actually put that civilization-state back on its historic path of transforming International Relations. No one should doubt that the coming decades will be characterized by Western-incited chaos, but nor should they lose hope about the world’s promising multipolar future either.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/08/ ... ransition/

Well and good, bucko. But the western civilization which you abhor is capitalism and Russia remains in it's thrall under the present government.

US/Western hegemony must be broken but this vaunted 'multipolarity' ain't no panacea as long as capitalism is extant and will likely usher in a new period of Great Power competition, which always results in war. Nothing but world-wide socialism has a ghost of a chance to get us out of this jam to some degree intact.

*******************************

Cages for the Nazis
August 6, 14:26

Image

Preparation of cages for the trial of the Nazis in Mariupol. In June, it was announced that the trial of Ukrainian war criminals should take place in Mariupol in the second half of August and become part of a series of open trials that should take place on the territory of the DPR over Ukrainian Nazis from Azov and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as over foreign mercenaries.

Image

On a number of charges, the defendants may face the death penalty, the moratorium on which was recently lifted in the DPR.
Several mercenaries have already been sentenced to death and are now trying to challenge the sentence through established procedures.
If the court refuses them, then only a pardon from Pushilin can stop the millstones of justice.
Britain did not express any desire to barter its mercenaries.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7783294.html

Google Translator
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10592
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part IV

Post by blindpig » Sun Aug 07, 2022 4:58 pm

Ukraine, Taiwan and the National Idea
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 08/07/2022 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT

Image

The tension caused by the visit of Nancy Pelosi, leader of the Democratic majority in the United States Congress, to Taiwan has also led to a diplomatic position that, in general, reproduces the positions maintained by the diplomacy of the main powers in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. While the United States and its allies have condemned the Chinese response - which announced military maneuvers in different maritime areas around the island - Beijing and its allies, led by Russia, have condemned the US provocation. Pelosi's visit has been closely followed by the Ukrainian press, which has seen the situation as a mirror in which to study the US reaction.

For months, even before the Russian intervention in Ukraine, numerous articles in the Western press have sought to equate the causes of Ukraine and Taiwan with Russia and mainland China in what has been presented as a struggle of liberal democracy against authoritarianism. . Those references have reappeared again this week. However, the link between the Ukrainian and Taiwanese nationalist projects goes back to another era, the Cold War, when Ukrainian nationalism wanted to make Taiwan the eastern front of its anti-communist and anti-Russian struggle.

Ukraine, Taiwan and the National Idea

The main leader and ideologue of the OUN (Flag), Jaroslav Stetsko took advantage of the entrance of the Nazi army in Lviv in June 1941 to proclaim, in the presence of Abwehr officers, the restoration of the Ukrainian state.

That past of collaboration with Nazism would not prevent Stetsko, just a few years later, from trying to point out to the democracies of the so-called Free World the path to follow in the fight against the two great evils perceived by the Ukrainian nationalist: communism and Russian imperialism. Throughout his leadership period in the world anti-communist movement, Stetsko would display the same opportunism with which he approached Hitler's Germany: take advantage of any type of alliance to impose the objective of destruction, not only of communism but of a Russia perceived as the last and true enemy of its national project.

Stetsko's main instrument of action was the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations (Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations or ABN), an alliance of ultra-nationalist groups created in 1943 to fight from within against the Soviet Union. Although completely unrelated to the problems of the reactionary forces in Asia, Ukrainian nationalism was soon to become, through Jaroslav Stetsko's control of the ABN, an essential part of the world anti-communist alliance. Thus, in the fall of 1955, the foundations of the strategic alliance between the ABN and the Chinese-nationalist section of the APACL ( Asian People's Anti-Communist League) were laid in Taipei.

Image

Conditioned by the division of China and Korea, the new Asian anti-communist alliance or APACL, with an essential role of nationalist China (present-day Taiwan), South Korea, South Vietnam and Thailand, had been formed in 1954 with the intention, shared by the ABN, to destroy and eradicate the communist political regimes.

The result of Stetsko's contacts in Taiwan is a cooperation agreement between the Chinese section of APACL and the ABN to combat “ Russian communism and imperialism ”. After a contact between Chiang Kai-Shek and Stetsko, he signs the agreement on October 24, 1955 together with Ku Cheng-Kang, president of the Chinese APACL (APACL-ROC). From then on, Ku, one of the historical leaders of the Chinese nationalist party, the Kuomintang, would become Stetsko's main contact in Asia.

The signed agreement bet on the destruction of communism, the dissolution of the USSR and the reconquest of the Chinese mainland by nationalist forces. In the communiqué presenting the agreement, the ABN and the APACL-ROC define as common objectives " to crush the international communist bloc, annihilate Russian imperialism and help those nations enslaved by Russian imperialists in Europe and Asia to recover their independence in their original ethnographic areas ”. In this context, while the ABN expects nationalist China to support the establishment of independent national states in Eastern Europe, the ABN must help Free China " in the task of recovering the Chinese mainland and destroying the Chinese communist regime. "”. In his contacts with the Chinese nationalists, Stetsko expressed in this sense his confidence in the liberation of the mainland.

In a document from December 1955 declassified by the CIA , in which the follow-up by the local press of Stetsko's trip from Madrid is collected, the statements of the leader of the OUN in Formosa/Taiwan are collected, which allow reflecting the fundamental features of his political ideology.

This ideology combines anti-communism with national claims and the struggle of nations " subjugated by communism and Russian imperialism " for their independence. And he appeals to go on the attack against Russia and China. A convinced warmonger, Stetsko showed his support in Taiwan for a nationalist counterattack on the Chinese mainland and an offensive into Soviet Siberia from China. Referring to " the anticommunist heroes of the concentration camps" in that Russian territory, he pointed out that this circumstance made North Asia an ideal springboard for a counteroffensive to achieve coordinated action between the ABN and APACL forces.

However, Stetsko was aware of the limits his project faced. Hence the importance that he attributed to the strategic alliance with the forces most radically opposed to east-west contention. During his tour of present-day Taiwan, Stetsko had appealed “ for the cooperation of the uncompromising anti-communist and anti-Russian forces in Europe and Asia ”. In Stetsko's opinion, the communist bloc would be defeated more quickly in the framework of an alliance between the Eastern European nations " enslaved by Soviet Russia " and the anti-communist nations of Asia. With victory against communism and against Russia in mind, Stetsko defended the need to form "a common organization or liaison center between the anti-Bolshevik peoples of the East and the West, to exchange information and devise a strategy in our common fight against world communism .”

Belligerence and the absence of any possibility of compromise with Russia defines the Stetsko project. Reproaching the attitude of “ the neutralist and vacillating nations” , Stetsko affirmed that “ the nations of the free world would be incapable of coexisting with Soviet Russia under any circumstances ” before ruling that “ whoever defends coexistence with communism and Russia becomes responsible for the crimes and aids the tyranny .”

According to Stetsko, “ imperialist Russia could collapse if the peoples of the free world do not collaborate with the Russians in any way ”. The ABN committed itself precisely to maintaining its radical opposition to any possible compromise with the USSR, a political project that only responded, according to him, to Russian intrigues to divide the democratic world and limit internal conflict. “ Our very freedom should not be exchanged for 'peaceful coexistence' with Russia ”. There will be no peace on earth as long as the Soviet aggressors exist , ”Stetsko sentenced on his 1955 trip.

Stetsko was aware that the division of democratic nations around this project was the main problem for the project and recognized that “ the anti-communist campaign has not won the joint support of democratic nations ”. But he said he trusted the new youth so that the said campaign would finally obtain " the common support of democratic nations. "

In the political dimension, therefore, the agreement between ABN and the Chinese section of the APACL advanced the strategic objective of “ establishing a joint international front to achieve independence for all nations”. The project to create the World Anti-Communist League (WACL) would be promoted from 1964 to overcome what was the main problem of anticommunism: the disunity between the nations that opposed Russia.

The deteriorating situation in Southeast Asia contributed to strengthening the joint interests of ABN and APACL, especially its Taiwanese section. Both groups wanted a centralized organization, controlled from above, and they were finally going to be able to implement it. Thus, in November 1966, during the twelfth APACL Conference in Seoul, the organization adopted the Charter of the World Anticommunist League (the WACL).

At the Seoul meeting, the organization also adopted a resolution on China that was intended to influence US political action. As an Open Letter to the American People, the resolution showed opposition to a weak policy towards communist China that sought to reduce its then strong political and economic isolation. The letter denounced, in particular, the proposal by some US experts to “ appease the Red Chinese through expanded contacts and even admit the Beijing regime to the United Nations ”. He pointed out that " a peace achieved through surrender, surrender, appeasement, or even compromise is dishonorable and will only lead to early war. "”. According to the signatories, the consequence of this policy of containment towards the Great Cultural Revolution in progress, aimed at ending " the cultural heritage of China ", would be that " the confidence of the Asian peoples in the United States will be undermined and the appetite of the Asian Communists will increase .”

Nearly sixty years after his first meeting with Chiang Kai-Shek in Taipei, the goals Stetsko fought so hard for seem closer. The claims of the extreme right in the countries of Eastern Europe and Asia have been accepted by democratic nations , united around the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom or the European Union.

The very left of those countries participates in the warmongering strategy. In Spain, when analyzing the relationship between Ukraine and the left , Santiago Alba Rico summed up in an essential argument the reasons for siding with Ukraine in its current conflict with Russia: the Ukrainian resistance is a “ war of independence ” and “it is a priority support, defend, ensure the independence of Ukraine ”, a project supported “ by the need to affirm justice and international law ”. The identification of the philosopher and writer with the proposal is so strong that he appeals not to blur “the only thing that the left… should be clear about: who is the attacked and who is the aggressor. Who do we have to support – at least mentally – and who do we have to condemn ”.

The adoption of these theses is directly linked to the ideology that drives the historical action of Jaroslav Stetsko, based on the pre-eminence " of the national idea over the imperialist idea ", as already reflected in 1958 . It is the commitment to the rejection of peaceful coexistence and, consequently, the commitment to the disintegration of the “ Russian prison of the nation” , then the USSR and today the Russian Federation, into independent national states “ within their ethnic borders ”.

The West, and within it its political left, today agree to support by all means the national revolution that Stetsko was betting on against Russia. Because, as he pointed out, it is not enough to destroy “ communism as a social or political system ”, but also “ the disintegration of the Russian colonial empire is necessary to restore the national independence of the subjugated nations ”.

But it is necessary not to forget an essential question: as Stetsko explicitly defended, the commitment to the national idea is actually a commitment to nationalism , to the exclusive application of the national principle in the organization of the world and, consequently, to the dissolution, not simply of the so-called empires, but of the multinational-based states themselves.

The dissolution of the USSR and Yugoslavia, in accordance with the uti possidetis principle (the consolidation of the new states not on ethnic but rather territorial bases, in accordance with the previous administrative structure of the states in the process of decomposition) has not served to resolve national conflicts in that space. Not only because in Kosovo, the great powers of the West renounced the principles hitherto accepted in international law (creating a precedent that later served to support Crimea's declaration of independence), but also because the realization of the " national idea” within the self-proclaimed borders, ethnic or not, is a source of conflict if it is applied from unitarist and authoritarian principles, as has been verified in post-Maidan Ukraine.

Under such circumstances, the total war for the realization of that national idea may move away from the imperial conflict over territory and become simply a national war for survival, as seen today in eastern Ukraine. A space in which the demand for independence is not the exclusive patrimony of the nationalist regime in kyiv but also characterizes those who, as in Donbass, only see their own freedom as possible apart from the realization of the Ukrainian national idea.

Having allowed this scenario to be possible, and allowing the reactionary forces that formed in the 1940s and 1950s to have managed to impose their strategic objectives in Europe and Asia, with Ukraine and Taiwan as the nerve centers of said conflict, constitutes one of the greatest failures of the progressive and democratic forces in Europe.

https://slavyangrad.es/2022/08/07/ucran ... more-25223

Google Translator

***********************

'Western' Conflict Reporting Has Come Down To "Officials On Our Side Said ..."

Larry Johnson is rightfully appalled by a New York Times piece that quotes a lot from 'officials' but fails to check any of their obviously false claims:

I never cease to be amazed by the utter failure of journalists to assemble facts. I think it boils down to laziness. Why should you do any independent research or thinking that requires you to go to the front lines when you can gobble up and regurgitate pre-packaged talking points? You get paid the same and hell, you might even get a Pulitzer if you are the most enthusiastic purveyor of regime bullshit.
A recent piece in the New York Times, Russia’s Shortfalls Create an Opportunity for Ukraine, Western Officials Say, illustrates this phenomena. Here are the salient points from the article by Julian Barnes and Eric Schmitt: ...


The NYT piece is also available here. https://web.archive.org/web/20220806185 ... raine.html

I am not going to join Larry in dispelling the myths those 'journalists' try to spread. These people do not go out into the field to look at the facts. They do not consult frontline maps, casualty statistics, structure of forces or economic data. They have no experience in the art of war. They are mere stenographers, highly paid ones, who hang on the lips of 'officials' and write down whatever the 'sources' who invite them want them to tell.

Hard to believe that? Well, here is the sourcing mentioned in the NYT piece Larry Johnson is raging about:

..., U.S. and European officials said.
U.S. and European officials say ...
Russia has announced, and the West has predicted, ...
Russian commanders said ...
NATO and other officials say ...
These officials concede ...
... said senior U.S. military officials and American lawmakers
... these officials said.
... said Representative Elissa Slotkin
... a senior Defense Department official said recently.
European officials said, ...
... according to U.S. and allied intelligence officials
... Western intelligence officials said
American intelligence reports have said ...
... according to officials briefed on the assessments.
American officials said ...
Western intelligence officials say ...
... one Western intelligence official compared to ...
... the Western officials said.
By some intelligence estimates ...
... American officials said.
... according to Western intelligence officials.
... Ukrainian officials said, ...
Senior U.S. military officers said ...
Brig. Christopher King, the top British officer at a military cell in Stuttgart, Germany, ... said ...
And a senior Ukrainian military official said ...
... the official added ...
American and Western intelligence assessments ...
American and British officials said ...
Representative Michael Waltz, Republican of Florida, ... said ...
President Volodymyr Zelensky told the members of Congress ...
... Mr. Waltz said.


This is not even 'he said she said' journalism. This is pure stenography of claims one side of a conflict makes without any attempt to check the dubious veracity of those claims.

The New York Times is not alone in producing such bullshit. A recent Washington Post piece, Russia’s vow to annex occupied Ukraine sparks divisions, pleas for aid, is following the very same scheme:

Russia’s vow to annex pockets of occupied Ukraine has presented the United States and its partners with a predicament, as trepidation grows in Washington and Kyiv over whether the West is positioned to avert a pivotal shift in the war as soon as next month.
What 'pivotal shift' are they talking about? Russia has been winning this war from day one on. That is not going to change.

Four authors, Karoun Demirjian, Karen DeYoung, Loveday Morris and Michael Birnbaum, were needed to assemble the nonsense. Here are the sources they mention:

... critics of the Biden administration’s response say ...
Russia’s vow to ...
Russian leaders have signaled ...
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and senior White House officials have warned ...
... critics of the Biden administration’s response thus far ... contend ...
... the West say ...
... said Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), ...
The congressman noted that ...
... Waltz said, ...
The Russian embassy in Washington did not respond ...
The country’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said ...
The government in Kyiv has ...
Zelensky warning that ...
Biden administration officials insist ...
Western assessments of the conflict routinely cite ... while amplifying ...
In more than a dozen interviews and briefings, officials from the White House, the State Department, the Pentagon and the U.S. intelligence community defended ...
These officials downplayed ...
... said Pentagon spokesman Todd Breasseale.
... some senior U.S. officials have said ...
Zelensky’s advisers have been adamant that ...
... Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukrainian defense minister Oleksii Reznikov, said in an interview.
... the U.S. intelligence community changed ... officials say.
... according to officials familiar with the information sharing. Like others, they spoke on the condition of anonymity ...
... while Western allies say ...
... said Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), ...
The European Commission on Monday said ...
Some have pointed to ...
... according to Rafael Loss, a Berlin-based analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
Critics note ...
... the European Union last week agreed ...
... said Sam Charap, a Russia specialist and political scientist at the RAND Corporation.
... he said.
Latvia’s foreign minister, Edgars Rinkevics, acknowledged ...
But he dismissed ...
... Rinkevics said in an interview.
Putin caused a stir by announcing that ...
Western officials say ...
Sak, the aide to Ukraine’s defense minister, praised ...
... he said, ...
... Sak said.


At the bottom of the piece the Post lets its readers know where its 'reporters' of that piece, about Ukraine(!), are stenographing from:

Birnbaum reported from Athens. Morris reported from Berlin. Shane Harris in Washington and Florian Neuhof in Berlin contributed to this report.

What is terrifying about such pieces is that 'officials' in Washington and Europe are actually reading such stuff and come to believe in it. They are consuming the myths they themselves produce and then act on them. They thereby ignore history, basic facts and the very real life of the people who become casualties of their wars.

---

Listen to Roger Waters as he confronts another dimwit 'journalist' (vid) with reality. https://youtu.be/ml373MHAtXo?t=219

Posted by b on August 7, 2022 at 8:12 UTC | Permalink

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/08/w ... .html#more

*************************

On fixing war crimes in Ukraine
August 7, 3:51 p.m

Image

On fixing war crimes in Ukraine

It is impossible to say that after 1991 Ukraine was in the center of European, and even more so world attention. The overwhelming majority of foreigners, when asked about Ukraine, could only remember Chernobyl, the Klitschko brothers and prostitutes. Then there was a surge of interest at the turn of 2004/05, when the "orange revolution" was raging in Kyiv, which was organized by Western experts.

Then, during Yushchenko's time, many Western specialists worked in the country, most of whom directly or indirectly promoted the interests of their employers, but some political scientists and sociologists tried to be objective, studying the whole palette of opinions. Although when my colleagues and I (I was then a member of the local council and an activist in one of the Donbass public organizations) told them about the revival with the support of the official government of Nazism and the inevitable subsequent conflict between neo-Bandera and pro-Russian regions, they perceived our fears as extremely exaggerated, and wrote off Nazism to the games of the marginalized.

The second spike in global interest in Ukraine was in 2013/14, when hundreds of foreign journalists flew in to cover the coup d'état. Naturally, the information in their media was presented extremely one-sidedly: 95% of foreign journalists did not leave Kyiv and openly played along with the Maidan, but there were those who were not too lazy to go to the Russian-speaking regions.

We then took them around Donetsk, where the Russian spring began, talked about our problems, explained the essence of what was happening. For employees of a very serious international office who flew to Donbass, my colleagues and I created a whole dossier covering the violation of the rights of Russian-speaking citizens in various spheres of life.

As a result, it was possible to establish human relations with some foreigners, although it was clear that at best they remained neutral, and even sympathized with the Ukrainians “who made a democratic choice”. However, I believe that if they began to work objectively, their materials would be shelved by their direct superiors. Moreover, this applies to both “independent” journalists and employees of international structures who, taking advantage of their position, worked freely on both sides of the front line from 2014 to 2022.

I can’t speak about all foreigners, but some of them changed their minds during the war years. They regularly saw the real very dirty deeds of the heroes of the ATO, encountered the Nazis and found out whose artillery was shooting down the cities. So they tried to document what was happening and somehow influence the Ukrainian security forces.

An example of one such attempt to make the Armed Forces of Ukraine be human can be a letter from the Chairperson of the UN Monitoring Mission for Human Rights, Matilda Bogner, sent to Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavliuk on January 25, 2022. Official copies of this letter were sent to a number of Kyiv officials, who either did not respond at all or limited themselves to empty replies. Therefore, the document was handed over to several civil activists. So a copy of this voluminous document reached me.

Documents in Ukrainian under the spoiler.
[ Spoiler (click to open) ]

The letter was written based on the results of monitoring conducted by UN staff from September 1 to December 31, 2021.

Most of the letter consists of a multi-page list of those killed and wounded, as well as a scrupulous enumeration of destroyed residential buildings and infrastructure. That is, I have in my hands the unemotional statistics of the nightmare that Kyiv arranged in the recalcitrant region. However, there are also emotional moments in the document when Matilda addresses the Ukrainian general.

At the same time, when reading a letter, one must take into account that Ms. Bogner, firstly, is very loyal to Kyiv, and secondly, she is a diplomat and expresses herself with the greatest possible tact, carefully wrapping her real thoughts in tinsel that is pleasant for the addressee. For example, she wrote: "I would like to remind you that ... all parties to the conflict are obliged to adhere to the applicable rules of international humanitarian law." Translated from diplomatic language into plain language, this means: “General, your soldiers are violating the rules of war so massively and grossly that it is no longer possible to turn a blind eye to this!”

Or here:“... I would be grateful if your command would conduct the necessary internal checks on compliance with the above-mentioned norms of international civil law by units of the armed forces of Ukraine, the fire of which probably led to the above-mentioned cases of death or injury of civilians ...” I translate : “explain to your freaks that you can’t just shoot people at will and shoot at residential areas. This is a war crime."

“… I would like to raise with you the issue of the deployment of military facilities in populated areas… our monitoring… revealed a clear relationship between the presence of military units under your command in populated areas and civilian casualties”It doesn't even need a translation. Where militants appear with a trident on their cockade, blood begins to flow.

“I would like to recall that, in accordance with customary international humanitarian law, parties to an armed conflict should avoid placing military objectives in or near densely populated areas.”

It turns out that the practice of placing Ukrainian military equipment among residential buildings, and the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in schools with hospitals and turning ordinary citizens into human shields, was widespread in the Armed Forces of Ukraine long before the start of the Russian special operation. And not just journalists are talking about this, but UN officials.

Well, then Matilda writes many beautiful words thatsoldiers should be concerned about the safety of civilians, try to avoid accidental killings of civilians and the destruction of civilian objects, or, as Ms. Bogner put it, "at least to keep such cases to a minimum."

And the icing on the cake is the phrase: "I would like to urge you to ensure that the armed forces under your command always respect the obligations in the field of international humanitarian law." Despite the fact that the words are in the form of a wish, this is a very serious statement. In fact, this is a direct accusation of the Ukrainian security forces in the mass commission of war crimes.

In addition, the letter contains various tables and graphs from which interesting conclusions can be drawn.

Here, for example, is a table that analyzes the places where civilians were killed as a result of shelling. 81.4% of those killed fall on the territory of the People's Republics and another 2.3% in the gray zone. The Ukrainian-controlled part of Donbas accounted for 16.3% of civilian deaths, respectively. The difference is colossal and indicates that it is the Armed Forces of Ukraine that are guilty of the vast majority of deaths, since it was they who shot the cities of the republics.

Tables and infographics in Ukrainian under the spoiler.
[ Spoiler (click to open) ]

Thus, UN experts testify that the Ukrainian security forces massively and openly violated international humanitarian law, but none of the European or American politicians made any effort to stop the killing of residents of eastern Ukraine by the armed forces of Kyiv.

https://zen.yandex.ru/media/id/5a86b0e9 ... 424e4f4ec2?& - zinc

It is worth noting that almost all the “UN recommendations” regarding the war crimes committed by Ukraine, which are cited in these documents, have already migrated in an accusatory manner to the latest report of Amnesty International, which caused a whole hysteria in Ukraine and the resignation of the head of the Ukrainian branch of Amnesty International , which was simply suspended from the preparation of the report, since even in such a grant-eating organization as Amnesty International they perfectly understood that no objectivity, even decorative, could be expected from it. Separately, it is worth noting that the Zelensky gang is yelling about the fact that Amnesty International accuses the UAF of a large number of victims due to the deployment of troops in schools and city blocks, indicating that the UAF cannot be blamed for this, because Russia attacked. As we see from the UN documents, the Armed Forces of Ukraine were accused of this even before the start of the JMD. Of course, we have been well aware of this since 2014. Here, of course, the tsimes is that now this topic has leaked into the Western press through the report of Amnesty International, and the Zelensky gang is now hastily extinguishing this fire, accusing Amnesty International of helping Putin. Although the bottom line is only the desire of the Zelensky gang to evade responsibility for the committed systemic war crimes, for which Zelensky himself is directly responsible.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7785598.html

Hits of the Berdyansk Library
August 7, 12:04 p.m

Image

Photo from the library of Berdyansk Pedagogical University.

Image

Image

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7785195.html

Ukrainian terrorism in the liberated territories
August 6, 22:45

Image

Acts of terrorism in the liberated territories against civilian functionaries of the Military-Civil Administrations.
Nothing unexpected happens - we have seen all this in the Caucasus, in Syria, and now in Ukraine.
The problem, as usual, is being solved by a methodical and systematic CTO for several years.
Of course, it is necessary to recognize the SBU and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense as terrorist organizations and equate them with ISIS. Accordingly, the employees of these organizations and their accomplices should a priori be held under the article terrorism, simply by the fact of belonging to these structures.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7784011.html

Google Translator

*********************

From Cassad's Telegram account:

***

Сolonelcassad
❗️🇬🇧🇺🇦The situation in the Donetsk direction
by the end of August 6, 2022

▪️The Donetsk direction at the moment remains the busiest section of the front. All the power of artillery and aviation is concentrated on erasing the fortified areas of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the face of the earth and grinding the transferred reinforcements.

Due to heavy losses among the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Peski , Maryinka , in the vicinity of Avdiivka and Krasnogorovka , and as a result of the loss of positions by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the first line of defense, the enemy is forced to again transfer artillery and infantry units to the Donetsk direction.

▪️In Peski , the front line has not changed significantly over the past day. In the southern part of the settlement, the Armed Forces of Ukraine withdrew to the Donetsk ring road . After the arrival of reinforcements, Ukrainian formations clung to multi-storey buildings in the northwestern part of the village.

▪️There are reports of battles for farms in the south of Marinka . Units of the People's Militia of the DPR are trying to gain a foothold there, but without occupying the waste heap of the Shchurovo mine, holding agricultural land to the south is problematic.

Image

***

Сolonelcassad
Kharkov or Nikolaev? People who know a little about the environment are more likely to start asking this question.

If the Ukrainian media replicate the attack on Kherson, draw attention to this direction, then much less is said about the Kharkiv direction.

But we can clearly see how equipment is accumulating in the Shestakovo area. It is not a secret for us the traffic on the road Kharkiv - Old Saltov. The addresses of industrial territories in the Saltovka area are known, where artillery systems periodically call in (hiding behind residential buildings is an old tradition of the Armed Forces of Ukraine). By the way, Kharkiv residents, how do you like the work of "Grads" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine because of the high-rise buildings of Pyatihatki?

We see how inadequately the military behaves on the southern outskirts of the village of Rubizhny and how much personnel has been accumulated in Cherkasy Tishki.

Does all this mean that, using a distraction, Ukraine is preparing an offensive in a relatively unexpected place? It's impossible to say for sure. But it seems to us that the already noisy Kharkov front will soon become even hotter.


***

forwarded from
Warrior 2nd rank
❗️The situation in the Nikolaevsko-Krivoy Rog direction
as of 16.00 on August 6, 2022

▪️This morning, units of the 108th regiment of the Russian Airborne Forces launched an assault on the village of Blagodatnoye (Komsomolskoye) to the west of Snigirevka. Russian troops are attacking a powerful fortified area of ​​the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Partizansky, from where the path to Nikolaev and the highway to Kulbakino airport opens.

▪️At the same time, Russian forces inflict fire damage in the Kherson direction, destroying suitable enemy reinforcements. Under Davydov Brod, the Armed Forces of Ukraine were never able to build on their success and advance further than Andreevka: under fire from the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, all three sections of Andreevka - Belaya Krinitsa - Belogorka, where the Armed Forces of Ukraine tried to force the river.

▪️In the Kryvyi Rih direction, a column of Ukrainian tanks, which had been transferred there the day before, was destroyed. In total, in the Nikolaev and Dnepropetrovsk regions, a shock grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is accumulating at least 10 thousand military personnel, gathered from all over the country to attack the positions of Russian troops.

▪️Russian UAV crews and an intelligence network are working on calculating the HIMARS MLRS positional areas, the purpose of which is to disable electronic warfare stations, air defense systems and air defense systems, as well as further attacks on Russian aviation bases in the Kherson region and Crimea.

▪️In order to prevent information leaks, a curfew has been declared in Nikolaev: local residents caught on tips from "loyal citizens" in sympathy for Russia are being searched. At checkpoints, they devote half an hour to analyzing information and the cache of mobile devices, checking phones for correspondence with Russian accounts.

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

Google Translator

*****

The West is Silent as Ukraine Targets Civilians in Donetsk Using Banned ‘Butterfly’ Mines
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on AUGUST 7, 2022
Eva K. Bartlett


Image
Mine clearance on the central street of Donetsk. Prohibited anti personnel high-explosive (PFM-1) “Petal” mines have been dropped on the city during night-time raids. © RIA

On Saturday night, just after 9 pm, thunderous explosions rocked central Donetsk. Shortly after, there were announcements that air defense had shot down Ukrainian-fired missiles containing “Butterfly” (or “Petal”) mines. Given that over 300 of these explosives. are packed into each of the Ukrainian-fired rockets, central Donetsk could literally become a minefield if they successfully landed.

Social media and Telegram warnings urged residents to stay inside, to wait for Emergency Services to clear the streets and sidewalks – which they began doing during the night. But come daylight, untold numbers of these tiny devices still remained. More warnings were issued to stay at home – better to be late for work than lose a leg. Residents that absolutely have to go out are advised to keep their eyes down to watch where they step, avoid grassy areas, and walk extremely carefully.

Image
© Eva Batlett

While Ukraine has been using these mines on Donbass for many months, in recent days, they have intensely bombarded neighbourhoods with them. Initially targeted were the hard-hit districts of Kievskiy in the north, Kirovsky in the southwest, and Kuibyshevkiy in the west. But as of Saturday night, Ukraine hammered central Donetsk with them.

And now, walking in the city center is a nightmare, one I had to endure to document how widespread these mines are here: in central streets and walkways, near apartments, in parks…

Even with warning, these nefarious “petal”/”butterfly” mines dropped by Ukraine on Donetsk are hard to see & easy to miss. Ukraine is committing war crimes against the civilians of the Donbass, and has been for 8+ years. pic.twitter.com/p5byG95GVG

— Eva Karene Bartlett (@EvaKBartlett) August 1, 2022


Difficult to spot, easy to trigger

As it turns out, the ‘petals’ are not only widespread but often very difficult to spot – even if warning signs have been placed right next to them. Their small shape and dull color blends in with the surroundings and if you aren’t actively looking at the spot they’re in, you could easily miss them.

When walking, you learn to avoid any objects that could be covering a mine, and tread only on bare streets or sidewalks.

The first bunch of mines I saw were circled in chalk, a warning sign placed in front to keep cars from driving over them, and people from stepping on them. This was on a central Donetsk street, a residential area with shops and a park nearby. The entire area was littered with the ‘petals’. DPR sappers worked methodically, clearing area by area. But, given that hundreds of the mines were dropped all over the city, this is painstaking work.

Near some apartment blocks, numerous mines had been found and warning signs put out: “danger, mines,” it said by the tiny explosive circled with chalk or a tire or whatever was available to draw the eye to its presence.

Image
Warning sign saying “Caution, mines!” placed next to some “butterfly” mines in Donetsk © Eva Batlett

But, on many occasions, looking at the area designated as containing a mine, it took me a good while to actually see it. Now imagine if there were no signs at all … a bloodbath for civilians, and animals too, since it doesn’t take significant weight to set them off.

Butterfly mine basics


Around the size of an average lighter, the ‘petals’ are tiny but still very powerful. A clip shared on Telegram illustrates this: A soldier chucks a tire at one of the mines, and the tire is flung high in the air from the blast. It doesn’t take a powerful imagination to estimate what would happen if a person stepped foot on one of them. The explosives are placed via remote delivery methods – meaning they can be spread by mortar, missile, or artillery, dropped by helicopters and planes.

According to DPR Emergency services, Ukraine is using Hurricane MLRS-fired rockets to spread the mines. Each contains 12 cluster munitions, each cluster has 26 mines inside. So each bomb has 312. The cluster explodes in the air, disseminating them widely, scattering in different directions. Their butterfly-like design enables them to glide and land without exploding, usually. Then they lie in wait for someone with bad luck to step on them.

Some of these anti-personnel mines have a self-destruct timer. Others, including the ones Ukraine is firing, have a years-long shelf life. They do pretty much no damage to military vehicles, and as such their use in Donbass is insidious – deliberately targeting civilians, to leave them maimed.



On July 30, in a densely-inhabited working-class district of western Donetsk, in a field with garden plots for nearby apartment residents, I saw the same nefarious mines. Originally scattered, they had been collected and awaited destruction by DPR Emergency Services.

In the large courtyard of an apartment complex, I watched from a safe distance as Emergency Services timer-detonated eight mines they had found around the grounds. The day prior, they destroyed 26. Another 150 were located and destroyed using a radio-controlled minesweeper. But there remains much to be done to restore the streets and courtyards to safety.

Since the mines were scattered on Saturday evening, the DPR Representative Office at the JCCC has created an interactive map showing the areas most contaminated by the mines, giving residents a general warning of which areas to avoid while walking or driving in. While some cars have been lucky enough to only have a tire blown out, were the mine to detonate near the gas tank, the entire vehicle could explode.

Multiple civilians have been killed by the mines since they were scattered over Donetsk, and, even now, wounded civilians are still coming to the city’s hospitals. According to Vadim Onoprienko, the deputy director of a trauma surgery center, ten amputations have been performed over the last week – victims of Saturday’s mines and ones that had been dropped earlier, one of whom was an 83-year-old man.

All evidence points to Ukraine

Pro-Ukrainian commentators are, unsurprisingly, blaming Russia. Journalists claiming to care about civilians are perpetuating Ukrainian propaganda saying that Moscow’s forces are scattering the mines over civilian areas, nevermind the fact that these territories are controlled by Russia’s allies. Among them is the would-be war hero Malcolm Nance, who temporarily abandoned his job as a notoriously anti-Russian MSNBC analyst to apparently actually fight the Russians in Ukraine.

This is the kind of projection I have seen ad nauseam when reporting from Syria and dealing with the Western propaganda there. Ukrainian nationalists openly admit they do not see the Donbass people as human and encourage their murder. Ukraine has been killing and maiming civilians in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republic for over eight years, including firing cluster munitions into the heart of cities, targeting hospitals, markets, schools and busy streets. Given all of this, scattering butterfly mines over Donetsk is hardly surprising. It’s criminal, but not surprising.

One argument used by pro-Ukrainian commentators is that Kiev has been destroying these mines under the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, which it signed in 1999. However, out of the six million such mines Ukraine initially declared in its possession, only two million have reportedly been destroyed as of 2018.

The EU and NATO were helping Ukraine destroy its petal-mine stockpiles as part of the EU-Ukraine agreements back in 2013 per Ottawa Convention. Look how well that went with Donbass suffering from these for 8 years.

https://t.co/nepoVXaYnwhttps://t.co/9Vb ... aVQdU0bWDn

— Nina 🐙 Byzantina (@NinaByzantina) August 1, 2022


Ukraine has good reason to believe it will not be held accountable for using them against civilians, given its Western backers’ and their allies’ penchant for using prohibited weapons on civilians without repercussions – including Agent Orange in Vietnam, depleted uranium in Iraq and Syria, and white phosphorous and dart bombs in Gaza.

The fact the Western media turns a blind eye is also a boon to Kiev.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/08/ ... fly-mines/
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10592
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part IV

Post by blindpig » Mon Aug 08, 2022 12:12 pm

Play with fire
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 08/08/2022

Image

Since last week, President Zelensky and his main media spokesmen have launched a propaganda campaign about the danger of the situation around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, under Russian control since the first weeks of the war and already a source of false alarms at that time. As usual, Ukraine accuses Russia of bombing territory under its control, an idea that has also been transferred, without criticism or verification, to the entire Western press.

All this as an element of pressure against Russia and in an attempt to seek a withdrawal from a key area for fear that Russia could disconnect the plant from the Ukrainian electrical system. The pressure strategy used by Ukraine is similar to the one achieved by the Russian withdrawal from Snake Island. However, unlike on that uninhabited islet that Russian troops could control from a distance (there is still no Ukrainian garrison there and the island has not become a danger to Russian troops in Kherson or Crimea), a Voluntary withdrawal of Energodar is not possible. In this strategy, Ukraine has decided to play with fire by using a nuclear facility.

Original Article: Tetyana Montyan

On August 5, the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, located in the town of Energodar, under the control of Russian troops, was attacked with artillery. The first bombardment, which occurred at 5:00 p.m., caused damage to the high-voltage lines leading from the plant. During the second, around 19:00, the shells exploded directly on the territory of the plant. It is not the first time that there has been an attack against the plant. The previous one took place on July 20 and before, on the 12th, with the use of drones. As expected, both sides of the conflict blame each other for what happened: in Russia they claim that the plant was attacked by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, while the authorities in kyiv allege that the Russian Federation bombed itself. But there is an interesting nuance:

By the way, the IAEA has long insisted on the need to carry out an inspection of the plant, but the Ukrainian side, specifically Energoatom, is opposed: the company claims that no inspection will be possible until the plant is returned to Ukrainian control. In the meantime, any inspection would be a "legitimation" of Russian control over the plant and therefore unacceptable. IAEA experts cannot act without Ukraine's consent, as the organization considers kyiv to be the only legitimate operator at the plant.

It is unlikely that a bombardment on the territory of the plant will damage the nuclear reactors and it is even more unlikely that it will lead to something like the Chernobyl disaster: the plant is firmly designed and the VVER-1000 reactors are sufficiently reliable in the event of even the most catastrophic events, they would simply shut down. But these considerations only refer to accidental hits: systematic attacks against the plant, which would make its normal operation impossible, do pose a considerable threat. If the station's power supply is interrupted and cannot be restored due to, for example, continued bombing, a Fukushima-like catastrophe is possible. But we will talk about the possible scenarios of accidents in the VVER-1000 reactors in a next occasion,

A nuclear disaster at Europe's largest power plant is unlikely to benefit either side in the conflict. However, the worsening of the situation around the nuclear power plant is more beneficial for Ukraine, as it makes it possible to blackmail the European Union with the specter of a nuclear apocalypse and put forward more and more demands for weapons supplies, funding and introduction of new sanctions against Russia.

In case of worsening in the area of ​​the plant, Russia can, of course, order the cessation of activity of the plant and confiscate it in compliance with all the required regulations. But that would lead, among other things, to the collapse of the Ukrainian energy system. Then kyiv would have the opportunity to accuse Moscow of deliberate genocide and creating a humanitarian catastrophe. And even then, in the absence of IAEA monitoring, all kinds of speculation with the operation of the fuel tank, the cooling systems and other aspects are possible. I think the last thing the Russian authorities want right now is to have to deal with allegations that they have deliberately created a nuclear apocalypse.

So moving the situation around the Zaporozhye NPP virtually guarantees a victory for Zelensky and co. no matter what, so we can be sure that Friday's bombing will be far from the last.

https://slavyangrad.es/2022/08/08/jugar ... more-25231

Google Translator

*******************

War in Ukraine. Summary. 08/07/2022
August 8, 2:51 am

Image

1. Artemovsk.
Fighting on the Zaitsevo-Kodema line. Our troops are fixed on the eastern outskirts of Artemovsk.
Enemy attempts to counterattack in the direction of Pokrovskoye were unsuccessful.
Fights for the Happy Valley. The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue strikes against Artemovsk and concentrations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in adjacent settlements.

2. Soledar.
The assault on the Knauf factory. Fights - on the territory of the industrial zone. The enemy puts up stubborn resistance.
Fights for Bakhmutskoe. Reports about the capture of Bakhmutsky are ahead of events.
Battles for Yakovlevka and Belogorovka.

3. Seversk.
Positional battles at Serebryanka, Ivano-Daryevka, Verkhnekamensky. After the enemy transferred reserves, the front stabilized here, the emphasis in the battles for the Seversk-Soledar line shifted to the assault on the eastern part of Soledar that had begun.

4. Avdiivka.
Positional battles north of Avdiivka near Novobakhmutovka, Novoselki-2, Kamenka.
Fighting on the outskirts of New York. In the industrial zone of Avdiivka - no changes. South of Avdiivka, the main fighting is taking place in the Pesok area.

5. Sands.
Battles for the northwestern part of the village. The enemy strengthened his artillery grouping and transferred reinforcements to cling to the village. Our troops are clearing and demining. Artillery is intensively working in the northwestern part of Pesok.
The enemy is actively fortifying Vodyanoe and Pervomaiskoye, which he intends to hold after the loss of Pesok.

6. Nikolaev.
Intense fighting on the river. Ingulets, where the enemy suffered heavy losses, trying to create a full-fledged bridgehead on the eastern bank of the river in the Andreevka area.
In the area of ​​Blagodatnoye, the Russian Armed Forces are putting pressure on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the village itself is badly damaged, but so far it has not been occupied.
Strong attacks on Nikolaev, in the Nikopol direction.
In the Krivoy Rog direction, a large warehouse with NATO ammunition was destroyed.
The enemy is shelling Kherson, Novaya Kakhovka, Energodar (including the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant), the Berislav region, and is trying to prepare a strike in the Krivoy Rog and Nikopol directions.

7. Raisin.
Positional battles in the area of ​​Bolshaya Kamyshevakhi, Kurulka.
Balakleya is unchanged.
Gusarovka is still under the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

8. Slavyansk.
Positional battles in the area of ​​Prishib, Sidorov, Bogorodichny, Dolyna, and also near Mazanovka. The RF Armed Forces strike at the Slavic-Kramatorsk agglomeration.

9. Kharkov.
The RF Armed Forces are pressing the enemy in the direction of the Russian and Cherkasy Tishok north of the northeastern outskirts of Kharkov. Fighting at Dementievka. Attacks on Kharkov and Chuguev - almost on a daily basis.
The enemy continues shelling the border areas of the Belgorod and Kursk regions.

10. Odessa, Dzerzhinsk, Vuhledar, Zaporizhia - no significant changes.

https://t.me/boris_rozhin/59853 - zinc

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7786914.html

Scenario of strike on the Crimean bridge
August 8, 13:55

Image

Information was received from sources in Ochakovo and Chernomorsk that a specific scenario for an attack on the Crimean bridge from the sea is under discussion.

The plan (most likely British) provides for the use of a merchant ship with a Ukrainian crew (an ordinary crew is used in the dark), which is used as a carrier of strike weapons - a launcher for anti-ship or cruise missiles, possibly a container type (pictured are examples from Chinese and Iranian experience, there are similar projects and Israel for the Lora missile system).

Image

Image

The idea of ​​a possible operation is expressed in the following. A Ukrainian ship (possibly under the flag of a 3rd country) leaving Odessa passes through the Bosphorus, unloads as part of a grain deal, and then in one of the European ports (for example, in Cyprus in Limassol from the British Air Force base in Akrotiri, where there is a large airfield for delivery of such cargo) loads a container or missile launcher (boats with explosives or UAVs can be considered as an alternative) and a team of performers, most likely NATO officers. Further, the vessel returns to the Black Sea with a conditional cargo to Trabzon or Batumi, without being subjected to a check on the grain deal.

Image

During the voyage, having predicted a period of bad weather and operating at night, the ship makes a detour towards the Crimean bridge and launches missiles at target designation of NATO reconnaissance aircraft regularly operating in the Black Sea + using possible options for "illuminating" an object on the ground from the GUR agents MOU. After launches, the calculation is removed on a motor boat and leaves the launch site, and the vessel returns to its destination, where the installation is removed from the vessel and transported to one of the NATO bases in Georgia. The possibility of loading the unit/container in Turkey cannot be ruled out.

It is unlikely that such an attack would cause critical damage to the bridge, but here the emphasis is on the media effect of hitting an important object bypassing the air defense systems of pending strikes from the Zaporozhye direction.

https://t.- zinc

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7787523.html

Google Translator

*******************

The US Keeps Reneging on Arms Control Agreements, So Why Should Russia Trust Biden’s Latest Overtures?
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on AUGUST 7, 2022
Scott Ritter

Image
>An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches during an operational test at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, U.S., August 2, 2017

Washington’s track record on fulfilling treaty obligations is not exactly stellar.

This week, in an address to the Tenth Review Conference for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons – which had convened at the United Nations Headquarters in New York – US President Joe Biden made a forceful appeal to Russia regarding the need to resume arms control talks. “Today,” Biden said, “my Administration is ready to expeditiously negotiate a new arms control framework to replace New START when it expires in 2026.” But, he added, “negotiation requires a willing partner operating in good faith. And Russia’s brutal and unprovoked aggression in Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe and constitutes an attack on the fundamental tenets of international order. In this context, Russia should demonstrate that it is ready to resume work on nuclear arms control with the United States.”

Biden has made arms control a central theme in his dealings with Russia. Indeed, one of his first major acts as president was to sign on to a five-year extension of the Obama-era New START treaty, which had been allowed to languish under the Trump administration. “Extending the New START Treaty,” Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, declared in a press release issued at the time, “ensures we have verifiable limits on Russian ICBMs, SLBMs, and heavy bombers until February 5, 2026. The New START Treaty’s verification regime,” Blinken noted, “enables us to monitor Russian compliance with the treaty and provides us with greater insight into Russia’s nuclear posture, including through data exchanges and onsite inspections that allow US inspectors to have eyes on Russian nuclear forces and facilities.”

Blinken then added a critical statement. “The United States,” he declared, “has assessed the Russian Federation to be in compliance with its New START Treaty obligations every year since the treaty entered into force in 2011.”

Unfortunately, Russia cannot say the same about the US. Since 2018, Russia has accused the United States of “converting a certain number of Trident II SLBM launchers and В-52Н heavy bombers, in the way that the Russian Federation cannot confirm that these strategic arms have been rendered incapable of employing SLBMs or nuclear armaments for heavy bombers.” The bottom line is that America accomplished its conversions in a manner which allowed them to be easily reversed, something Russia believed circumvented the intent of New START, which was the permanent reduction of each side’s nuclear arsenals.

The US rejected the Russian allegation, noting that New START does not explicitly require the conversions on either the Trident II SLBM launchers or the B-52H bombers to be irreversible. As long as the treaty was in force, the US contended, Russia could use its inspection provisions to verify that the goal of “rendering incapable” was still in place. The Russians, with reason, believe that the US position violated both the spirit and intent of treaty, a position which carried over into the extension of New START.

But Russia’s problems with America’s compliance are just one of the issues when it comes to judging whether to trust Washington’s good faith on arms control overall. The US has walked away from three foundational treaties in the past two decades – the anti-ballistic missile (ABM) treaty in 2002, the intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) treaty in 2019, and the Open Skies Treaty in 2020. Likewise, America’s intransigence over fairly adapting the conventional forces in Europe (CFE) treaty to reflect post-Cold War realities led to its demise. New START is the last man standing when it comes to arms control accords between Russia and the US.

Biden tried to further strategic arms control with Russia, discussing the matter with President Vladimir Putin during their Geneva Summit in June 2021. The two leaders agreed to pursue “an integrated bilateral Strategic Stability Dialogue” that would “seek to lay the groundwork for future arms control and risk reduction measures.” Indeed, two such meetings were on July 28 and September 30, 2021. Following the conclusion of the second round of talks, the negotiators agreed to “form two interagency expert working groups” covering the “Principles and Objectives for Future Arms Control” and the “Capabilities and Actions with Strategic Effects.”

But then came the crisis in Ukraine, and the talks gave way to the issue of security guarantees demanded by Russia in the face of NATO expansion, which threatened to bring Ukraine into the fold of the trans-Atlantic military bloc. In direct talks with the US, NATO and the OSCE in January 2022, Russia was repeatedly rebuffed in its efforts to negotiate a new European security framework that considered its national security interests, setting in motion the conditions that resulted in Russia initiating its Special Military Operation in Ukraine, prompting President Biden to terminate the strategic stability dialogue, an action which essentially froze US-Russian relations, at least in the arms control field.

Biden’s announcement on restarting talks with Moscow took the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, by surprise. “No requests on reopening this negotiating process have been made,” Lavrov announced during a press conference in Myanmar, adding that the West “has developed a habit of making announcements on the microphone and then forgetting about them.”

Regardless of the lack of any prior notice on the part of the US, Russia announced that it was ready to engage in arms control talks at any time, the sooner the better. Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, during a conference call with the media, declared that “Moscow has repeatedly spoken about the necessity to start such talks as soon as possible as there is little time left.” If the New START treaty expired without a replacement, Peskov said, “it will negatively impact global security and stability, primarily in the area of arms control.” For this reason, Peskov noted, “We [Russia] have called for an early launch of talks, but until that moment it has been the US that has shown no interest in substantive contacts on the issue.”

Peskov further emphasized that negotiations on a new arms control pact can only be held “on the basis of mutual respect and taking into account mutual concerns.”

Washington’s push for talks with Moscow, however, appear to be little more than an effort to get Russia to negotiate away the advantage in strategic nuclear weapons delivery systems that it has accrued in recent years through the development of weapons such as the Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and the Avangard hypersonic re-entry vehicle. In this way, the US would have Russia walk away from new systems which cost billions of dollars to develop and field, while the US would only be called upon to give up a handful which have not yet been fully tested and deployed (the US is poised to spend hundreds of billions of dollars in the coming years to replace the Minuteman III ICBM, B-2 bomber, and Ohio-class submarine with a new missile (the “Sentinel”), a new bomber (the B-21), and a new submarine (the “Columbia” class). The high cost of these new weapons is likely to become an issue in a tightening economic environment, which may explain Biden’s push for fresh negotiations.

The current US approach to arms control negotiations appears to be one-sided in nature, premised on sacrificing existing Russian capacity for future American systems which are currently under development. In addition to this, the US has a poor track record when it comes to either treaty compliance (the ongoing controversy over New START verification of Trident and B-52 conversions comes to mind), or treaty adherence (the US withdrawals from the ABM treaty, the INF treaty, and the Open Skies treaty serve as an historical precedent).

The US approach ignores the fundamental approach taken by Russia when it comes to arms control – that any such negotiations must take place as part of a comprehensive restructuring of existing security frameworks that fully integrate Moscow’s legitimate national security concerns. This includes issues pertaining to missile defense (including the two US facilities in Poland and Romania), intermediate nuclear forces (a ban on the deployment of such systems on European soil), and non-strategic nuclear weapons (the US stockpile of B-61 bombs currently stored in Europe, and releasable to non-nuclear NATO members during any potential conflict.)

The White House has flipped the script when it comes to advancing the cause of arms control. Former US President Ronald Reagan appropriated a Russian saying– “Trust but Verify”– when discussing his approach to implementing the groundbreaking INF treaty back in 1987. At that time, the “trust” was assumed, and the focus was on constructing appropriate verification regimes to ensure treaty compliance.

Today, there is no trust between Russia and the US, primarily because of the dismissive manner which the Biden administration has treated the issue of Moscow’s concerns over European security that has been inexorably linked to aggressive NATO expansion. But the abysmal track record of the US under existing and past arms control agreements must also be considered. Even if Biden were willing to consider Russia’s concerns, the question that must be answered for Russia is whether the Americans can be fully trusted as a partner in disarmament.

As things stand today, the answer to this question is, sadly, ‘No.’

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/08/ ... overtures/

***********************

Policy By Other Means - By Helmholtz Smith
by Helmholtz Smith

"Hybrid war". Western propagandists love the expression "The bad guys are doing nasty underhand things to counter our clean-cut decent and wholly justified activities" but they are just making noise. As Clausewitz knew, however, there is an actual meaning:

We see, therefore, that War is not merely a political act, but also a real political instrument, a continuation of political commerce, a carrying out of the same by other means. All beyond this which is strictly peculiar to War relates merely to the peculiar nature of the means which it uses (...) for the political view is the object, War is the means, and the means must always include the object in our conception.
In this sense, all intelligently-conducted wars are "hybrid wars" advancing on many levels to achieve the "political object" by "other means".

What is the "object"?

Moscow knows that NATO/USA is the real enemy and that the wretched Ukrainians are its puppets and their looted and worn-out country is the arena. Putin himself has said that NATO's threat to Russia must be stopped. NATO, and the European Union with which it is closely linked, must be exposed as useless, actively harmful to their members and their hostility defeated.
NATO, which loves to pose as peaceful (despite the five or six wars it's started in the last quarter-century), cannot or will not understand Russia's point of view. Moscow will shove its face in it. Putin says that he has many times tried other means (Munich 2007 being one of the earliest). Those means having failed, he's using these means this time.

Far-ranging aims require a multi-front attack. Let us consider the fronts.

MILITARY FRONT. Putin has explained the aims – denazification and demilitarization Maybe they could have been achieved through negotiation – although years of Kiev ignoring the Minsk Agreements suggest not – but that didn't happen. Maybe Moscow hoped that its feint on Kiev might prevent a bloody slog but that didn't happen either. And so the battle of annihilation is on – Ukraine's military power is being smashed and the Nazis killed.

It's taking a long time for several reasons. Imagine the Western Front trench line but with three times as long to build it and concrete rather than sandbags and wood. Russia and its allies attacked with smaller forces. The allied forces are moving slowly to reduce their casualties and because they are in no particular hurry. The Ukrainians are resisting very tenaciously and NATO is egging them on. The Ukrainian forces are being methodically slaughtered, allied casualties are a fraction of that because "artillery conquers and infantry occupies".

DIPLOMATIC FRONT. The West likes claim that Russia is isolated. But, in terms of population, the so-called "International Community" represents only 15 to 20 percent of the world and the Russians are well-received elsewhere. Here's Lavrov very much in the thick of things at ASEAN, in Africa (note media attempts to spin it away) and the Arab world.

Russia isn't isolated at all and its diplomacy is having effect. US diplomacy, on the other hand, is just threats – Africa is warned, China threatened.

ECONOMIC FRONT. When Moscow began its "special military operation", it expected that Nordstream 2 would be stopped because it knew the West was stuck on the idea that the Russian economy is dependent on selling energy to Europe – "Russia cannot afford to cut its sales of oil". Moscow had its response ready – hostile countries have to pay in rubles.

What's Europe's response? Hurt Putin by not showering. Don't, he doesn't care. Of course the price went up and Moscow has probably completely funded the operation out of the increased revenue. The West is discovering – and, advised as it is by people like Aslund, to its astonishment – that "the country that doesn't make anything" is a big producer of lots of essential things.

Moscow knew Washington would stick Europeans with the check – just as Washington will fight to the last Ukrainian, it will sanction until the last European freezes. The economic war is doing more damage to Russia's enemies. They will either figure this out and change their behavior or they won't and they'll suffer. Moscow waits knowing that it wins either way.

PROPAGANDA FRONT. It is a common sentiment that Moscow is losing the propaganda war but I'm not convinced. Propaganda has to have some basis in truth – instead we have the martyrs of Snake Island miraculously reviving, the ghostly Ghost of Kiev, million-man armies disappearing, Kherson counter attacks put off again, maternity hospital bombings exposed by the bombed-out mothers, bodies thoughtfully left out to be seen, Russia begging China, Iran or North Korea for weapons, another "game-changer" weapon.

Russia was running out of ammunition in March, April, June and July. You have to be pretty comatose to still believe this. The propagandists have lost their skills. And reality leaks out through the holes in these flimsy tales. Witness the reception of the Amnesty International report that Ukrainian tactics are "putting civilians at risk and violating the laws of war when they operate in populated areas".

"Putin's propagandists" chides The Times; "cannot be tolerated" says Zelensky; "Russian propaganda" as she quits. No news to us who have seen Azov fighters sheltering behind civilians in Mariupol, weapons hidden in shopping centers, troops setting up in schools. But it's a shocker to believers of the Western narrative (especially Vogue readers!).

Skeptics know that the difference between a conspiracy theory and reported truth is a few months. In June it was Russian disinformation that corrupt officials were selling Western weapons, in August it's news. Zelensky a hero then, corrupt now. Expect more "disinformation" transforming into truth.

JUDO. Putin is well known to be a judo master. Judo is the art of using the opponent's movements against it. That's what we are seeing. On every front Russia has time on its side and escalation dominance. The impotence of NATO and the EU – in fact the actual damage that membership in either brings – is more perceptible every day as winter approaches.

Europe's, the West's, predominance stood on three legs. The power to compel others. The captivating halo of success. The wealth to fund the other two. Watch this little video – not much respect there. I expect we will see more vignettes like this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLQeFR5 ... nghaiMedia

The statue is hollow, the Mandate of Heaven is shifting.

Posted by b on August 8, 2022 at 6:54 UTC | Permalink

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/08/p ... .html#more

************************

Russian Ops in Ukraine (August 8, 2022) – Ukraine’s Missing Tanks, Delayed Offensive
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on AUGUST 7, 2022



Update on Russian military operations in Ukraine for August 8, 2022

– Russian advances continue along the line of contact between Avdiivka and Siversk;
– Ukraine’s “Kherson Offensive™” has yet to visibly begin;
– Russian Ministry of Defense claims to have destroyed another HIMARS (5 destroyed in total of 16);
– Western “rights orgs” turn on Ukraine after months of covering up atrocities – Amnesty International reports on Ukrainian armed forces using schools and hospitals as military posts;
– Forbes reports on disappearing Ukrainian tank brigades;
– CBS reports on Western aid disappearing enroute to Ukrainian front lines;
– Sudden rash of recycled headlines including redux on Javelin missiles and

References:

Defense Politics Asia – Ukraine Map:
https://defensepoliticsasia.com/ukraine/
LiveUAmap (pro-Ukrainian):
https://liveuamap.com/
UK Times – Showdown looms in Mykolaiv as Putin scrambles to save face:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sh…
Sky News – Ukraine war set to enter ‘new phase’, Ministry of Defence warns:
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-wa…
Forbes – It Seems Ukraine Is Struggling To Form Tank Brigades:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe…
CBS News – Why military aid to Ukraine doesn’t always get to the front lines: “Like 30% of it reaches its final destination”:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-…
Amnesty International – Ukraine: Ukrainian fighting tactics endanger civilians:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/new…
Washington Post – Russia has killed civilians in Ukraine. Kyiv’s defense tactics add to the danger. (March 2022):
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/…
Reuters – Head of Ukraine’s Amnesty office leaves after group accuses Kyiv:
https://www.reuters.com/world/head-uk…

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/08/ ... offensive/

Kiev’s Nuclear Terrorism Towards the Zaporozhye Power Plant Threatens All of Europe
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on AUGUST 7, 2022
Andrew Korybko

Image

Since he’s beginning to fret that unprecedented US-led Western pressure might soon be put upon him to compromise with Russia as strongly suggested by the Mainstream Media’s decisive shift against him last week, to which end Kiev would have to unilaterally capitulate on some or all issues that it previously said were non-negotiable, Zelensky decided to resort to nuclear blackmail by ordering his forces to shell the Russian-controlled Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.

Kiev has become so desperate in the nearly six months since the start of Russia’s special military operation that it’s now resorting to nuclear terrorism in a last-ditch attempt to stop its opponents’ slow but steady advance – the pace of which Amnesty International latest report suggests was likely due to Ukraine’s militarization of residential areas and thus de facto exploitation of civilians as human shields – from achieving a breakthrough along the southern front. This explains why it’s done the unthinkable, and that’s shell the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant that’s under Moscow’s control. Instead of taking responsibility for this terrorist attack, Kiev ridiculously claimed that Russia attacked its own position exactly as it also falsely claimed that its opponent just did to the Donbass prison under its control too.

These false flag conspiracy theories that the Ukrainian side unconvincingly decided to push after shelling Russian-controlled infrastructure are one of the reasons why Moscow recently warned that it’s preparing a similar such false flag plot in Slavyansk, which is presently still under Kiev’s control and might thus see claims that its opponent employed “chemical weapons” like it falsely alleged happened elsewhere in Donbass during the spring. Be that as it may, the point to pay the most attention to is the nuclear terrorism that forms the basis of this analysis since such provocations threaten all of Europe. The entirety of the continent would suffer if Kiev succeeds in causing enough destruction that radiation begins to leak from the facility.

Cynically speaking, that might actually be the point. Zelensky is beginning to rightly fear that his Western partners are in the process of preconditioning the public to accept him being dumped after three back-to-back reports from the Mainstream Media over the past week (Amnesty International’s aforementioned one, CBS News, and the latest report from The Guardian) all decisively contradicted the official narrative on the Ukrainian Conflict. Since he’s beginning to fret that unprecedented US-led Western pressure might soon be put upon him to compromise with Russia – to which end Kiev would have to unilaterally capitulate on some or all issues that it previously said were non-negotiable – Zelensky decided to resort to nuclear blackmail via the means that were explained.

After all, it’s clear that the American people don’t consider Russia to be the US’ “most important problem” after Gallup’s latest poll proved that literally only 1% of them share this opinion. This attitude is likely mirrored throughout Europe with the exception being those countries that border Ukraine like the Baltic States, Poland, and Romania. Nevertheless, the writing is on the wall that the Western masses have become numb to all the dramatic fearmongering claims that the MSM shared with them regarding Russia supposedly being the worst threat to world peace since Nazi Germany. That said, nuclear-related fears still happen to generate a lot of attention even among those who’ve become numb to other narratives about whatever it may be, hence why Zelensky is wielding this Damocles’ sword.

In the event that his forces succeed in damaging the Zaprozhye nuclear power plant to the extent that radiation begins leaking out of it and threatening the rest of Europe, the Ukrainian leader will claim that Russia’s responsible and thus demand that Secretary of State Blinken reverse his position on declining to designate that Eurasian Great Power as a so-called “state sponsor of terrorism”. That dramatic development would immediately captivate the world’s attention and promptly put a wrench in America’s plans to resume its “Pivot to Asia” for prioritizing the “containment” of China as now arguably seems to be in the works since Pelosi’s provocative trip to Taiwan. The only way that Zelensky might cling to fading Western support is if he literally blackmails everyone with nuclear terrorism.

The whole world must therefore urgently realize what a threat the Ukrainian leader has become to humanity. It doesn’t matter if they or their governments sympathize with his cause in the conflict with Russia that the US provoked since he’s crossing a red line that nobody should ever consider no matter what. It’s extremely unlikely that his Western patrons will publicly chastise him, and some like those in the Baltics and especially Poland are probably egging him on behind the scenes since their leaderships also stand to lose if the US dumps Zelensky. Nevertheless, others seem to plotting to dump him as evidenced by the decisive shift in the official narrative brought about by the latest MSM reports. In any case, Russia will do its utmost to eliminate this threat and thus defend everyone from nuclear terrorism.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/08/ ... of-europe/

************************

Most of the “Fact-checking” Organizations Facebook Uses in Ukraine Are Directly Funded by Washington
ALAN MACLEOD AUGUST 8, 2022

Image
A Shadowy figure representing the shady deals between big business and the US Government

By Alan Mcleod — Aug 2, 2022

Most of the fact-checking organizations Facebook has partnered with to monitor and regulate information about Ukraine are directly funded by the US government, either through the US Embassy or via the notorious National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

In light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an information war as bitter as the ground fighting has erupted, and Meta (Facebook’s official name) announced it had partnered with nine organizations to help it sort fact from fiction for Ukrainian, Russian and other Eastern European users. These nine organizations are: StopFake, VoxCheck, Fact Check Georgia, Demagog, Myth Detector, Lead Stories, Patikrinta 15min, Re:Baltica and Delfi.

“To reduce the spread of misinformation and provide more reliable information to users, we partner with independent third-party fact-checkers globally,” the Silicon Valley giant wrote, adding, “Facebook’s independent third-party fact-checkers are all certified by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN). The IFCN, a subsidiary of the journalism research organization Poynter Institute, is dedicated to bringing together fact-checkers worldwide.”

The problem with this? At least five of the nine organizations are directly in the pay of the United States government, a major belligerent in the conflict. The Poynter Institute is also funded by the NED. Furthermore, many of the other fact-checking organizations also have deep connections with other NATO powers, including direct funding.

StopFake

Perhaps the most well-known and notorious of the nine groups is StopFake. Established in 2014, StopFake is funded by NATO’s Atlantic Council, by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the British Embassy in Ukraine and the Czech Foreign Ministry. It has also received money from the US via the National Endowment for Democracy, although that fact is far from trumpeted by either party.

One potential reason for this was alluded to in a 2016 article reprinted by StopFake itself. As the article notes, “in the case of StopFake.org when opponents want to insult the project, they immediately invoke National Endowment for Democracy donor support as evidence of US government and CIA involvement.”

In the wake of the Russian invasion, the NED pulled all public records of their Ukraine projects from the internet. Nevertheless, incomplete archived copies of those records confirm a financial relationship between the groups.

StopFake was explicitly set up as a partisan organization. As a glowing report on them from the International Journalists’ Network notes, the majority of StopFake’s fact-checks are on stories from Russian media, and the motivation for its creation was “Russia’s 2014 occupation of Crimea and a campaign to portray Ukraine as a fascist state where anti-Semitism, racism, homophobia and xenophobia thrived.”

While it is indeed incorrect to label Ukraine a fascist state, the country clearly has one of the strongest far-right movements anywhere in Europe. And unfortunately, StopFake itself is far from an apolitical bystander in that rise. Multiple established Western media outlets, including The New York Times, have reported on StopFake’s ties to white power or Nazi groups. When local journalist Ekaterina Sergatskova exposed these links, death threats from far-right figures forced her to flee her home.

Indeed, according to some, one of StopFake’s primary functions appears to be to promote the far-right. A long exposé by Lev Golinkin in The Nation cataloged what it called StopFake’s history of “aggressively whitewashing two Ukrainian neo-Nazi groups with a long track record of violence, including war crimes.”

Surely StopFake’s most famous former host is Nina Jankowicz. Jankowicz was briefly head of President Biden’s newly formed Disinformation Governance Board before public uproar caused her to resign. Dubbed the “Ministry of Truth”, both the board and Jankowicz generated strong opposition. Yet few mentioned the fact that, while at StopFake, Jankowicz herself had, on camera, enthusiastically extolled the virtues of multiple fascist paramilitaries.


In a 2017 TV segment about the Aidar, Dnipro-1 and Azov Battalions, Jankowicz presented the groups as heroic volunteers defending Ukraine from “further Russian separatist encroachment.” As she stated,

The volunteer movement in Ukraine extends far beyond military service. Volunteer groups are active in supporting Ukraine’s military with food, clothing, medicine, and post-battle rehabilitation, as well as working actively with the nearly two million internal refugees displaced by the war in Ukraine,”

This framing jars with multiple reports from human rights groups such as Amnesty International, who claim that the Aidar Battalion is guilty of a litany of abuses, “including abductions, unlawful detention, ill-treatment, theft, extortion, and possible executions.” Amnesty also accuses Aidar and Dnipro-1 of “Using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.”

Azov, meanwhile, is the most infamous organization of the lot. The group’s insignia is directly lifted from the 2nd Waffen-SS Panzer Division, a unit responsible for carrying out some of the worst crimes of Hitler’s holocaust. The Azov Battalion also dip their bullets in pig fat before battle as a calculated hate crime, attempting to block Jewish or Muslim enemies from a better afterlife. Andriy Biletsky, the group’s founder, said in 2010 that he believes Ukraine’s mission is to “lead the white races of the world in a final crusade … against Semite-led Untermenschen” – the word Hitler used to describe Jews, Poles, Ukrainians and other peoples he designated for extermination.

In February, Facebook announced that it was changing its rules on hate speech to allow praise and promotion of the Azov Battalion. Was this on StopFake’s recommendation? MintPress asked Meta/Facebook for comment on their fact checking partner’s ties to far right groups and if StopFake had influenced their decision to allow pro-Nazi content on their platform, but did not receive a reply.

As Golinkin noted in his article for The Nation, StopFake has also defended C14, another fascist paramilitary, describing it merely as a “community organization”, citing C14’s own denial of its pogroms against Roma people as “evidence” of its innocence. This designation clashes even with the US State Department, which classifies C14 as a “nationalist hate group.” The “14” in its name refers to the “14 words” white supremacist slogan.


StopFake has made a number of controversial claims, including that the rise in anti-semitism in Ukraine is “fake” – even going so far as to brand well-established outlets like NBC News and Al-Jazeera as printing fake news about the Azov Battalion’s role in this. In an article entitled “Russia as Evil: False Historical Parallels. Some peculiarities of Russian Political Culture,” it also insisted that Hitler’s concentration camps were modeled on Russian ones set up by Vladimir Lenin. In reality, the German government pioneered the use of concentration camps during their genocide of the Herero and Namaqua peoples between 1904 and 1908 in Namibia. The British and Spanish were also early adopters.

In addition, StopFake has close links with The Kyiv Post, a Ukrainian outlet directly funded and trained by the National Endowment for Democracy. Since 2016, the Post has published 191 StopFake reports.

Who is the NED?

Why receiving funding from the National Endowment for Democracy should immediately raise suspicions of any organization is because the NED was explicitly established by the Reagan administration as a front group for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Although it is funded by Washington and staffed by state officials, it is technically a private company and therefore not subject to the same legal regulations and public scrutiny as state institutions.

The CIA has used the NED to carry out many of its more controversial operations. In recent years, it has trained and funneled money to the leaders of the Hong Kong protesters to keep the insurrection alive, fomented a nationwide campaign of demonstrations in Cuba, and helped attempts to topple the government of Venezuela. Perhaps most importantly for this story, however, the NED was also involved in the 2014 coup that removed Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych from power. Regime change is, in short, one of its primary functions.

The NED does this by establishing, funding, supporting and training all manner of political, economic and social groups in target countries. According to its 2019 annual report, Ukraine is the NED’s “top priority”. The agency has (officially) spent over $22 million in Ukraine since 2014.

In their more candid moments, NED leaders are explicit about the organization’s role. “It would be terrible for democratic groups around the world to be seen as subsidized by the CIA,” Carl Gershman, NED president from 1984 to 2021 said, explaining why his organization was set up. NED co-founder Allen Weinstein agreed: “A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA,” he told The Washington Post

VoxCheck

VoxCheck receives substantial monetary assistance from the US government through both the NED and the US Embassy. It is also funded by the Dutch and German governments. Incomplete NED records show VoxCheck receives substantial yearly grants and has accepted around $250,000 in total.

That sort of money goes an extremely long way in Ukraine, which is by quite some way the poorest nation in Europe. The country’s GNI per capita of $3,500 per year is well below that of even Russia, which stands at $10,700. One $15,000 NED grant given to a Ukrainian media foundation, for instance, was enough to pay for over 100 articles to be written.

Despite its funding, Western media portray VoxCheck extremely positively. The Washington Post, for example, describes them as “a small group of independent fact-checkers.” In common parlance, the word “independent” is usually reserved for any media group not owned or funded by governments (as if that is the only type of dependence). But even at this extremely low bar, VoxCheck falls.

Image
An NED document shows a 2020 grant given to VoxUkraine

In the article, the Washington Post describes VoxCheck’s fact-checking process, which largely consists of “sourcing credible news sources – such as a BBC article,” and then labeling Russian claims as false on this basis. In other words, the official state mouthpiece of the British government – one that was instrumental in promoting the lies which led to the invasions of Iraq and Libya – is considered sacrosanct.

What comes across in the Post’s glowing exposé is that VoxCheck staff have few pretensions about being neutral and see themselves as digital foot soldiers in a crusade against Russia. As one employee said, the mission is to “prevent someone from falling into Russian lies and manipulation.” Indeed, one of the staff quit his job to volunteer for the Ukrainian Army. Other VoxCheck employees revealed that they felt guilty for not doing so themselves and only contributing virtually to the fight.

Of course, Russia has lied constantly during this war; the entire invasion was based on a lie. Throughout the winter, Russian officials consistently repeated that they had no intention of invading Ukraine. Russian media, meanwhile, claimed that President Zelensky had fled the country in the wake of the invasion. But in war, all sides lie. And when a fact-checking operation constantly critiques only one side and stays largely quiet about the other, it has clearly taken a side in the conflict and is therefore acting in a partisan fashion. People interested in thinking critically should be scrutinizing claims made by all sides.

Fact Check Georgia

Fact Check Georgia describes itself as “an independent and non-partisan website which offers readers researched, verified and evidence-based information.” Yet it is bankrolled by a litany of dubious organizations, including the NED and the US Embassy, the German Marshall Fund, the Dutch government and the European Endowment for Democracy, a European government-funded “private” organization explicitly modeled on the NED.

Image
Fact Check Georgia’s “About Us” section reveals just how independent the fact checking organization really is

Fact Check Georgia’s independence is potentially undermined by the fact that at the bottom of every page of its website, it displays the crests of both the NED and the US Embassy in Georgia. This is accompanied by the disclaimer, “The views and opinions expressed on this website belong to Factcheck.ge and are not the views and opinions of project support organizations” – a sentence that would not be necessary to attach if an organization was truly independent.

Furthermore, some of its staff have notable backgrounds. The first person listed on Fact Check Georgia’s “our team” section was formerly the Deputy Minister of Defense for Georgia – a country that fought a war against Russia in 2008.

Myth Detector

Another Georgia-based company, Myth Detector, was funded by the US Embassy to the tune of €42,000 in financial year 2021. German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle contributed €41,000. Also donating €41,000 last year, according to Myth Detector’s financial report, is a group called “Zinc.” This is quite possibly the Zinc Network, a shadowy intelligence firm that conducts information warfare operations on behalf of the UK and US governments.

Demagog

Not only is the US Embassy in Poland funding Demagog, it is also carrying out training in how to think. Demagog’s website notes that the embassy established a “fact-checking academy” on “how to deal with false information.” “Thanks to the [embassy] cooperation,” it notes, “classes were conducted for students and teachers on fake news, reliable sources of information and fact-checking.”

Alongside the US government, Demagog also receives money from Polish government, European Union and European Economic Area organizations.

Together, these five organizations’ operations are all directly bankrolled by Washington. However, many of the other fact-checking groups Facebook pays to serve as content police on their platform have similarly close connections to Western state power. Indeed, the only one of the nine that appears relatively free from direct government collaboration is self-funded outlet lead stories.

Patikrinta 15min

Lithuanian outlet Patikrinta 15min insist that they are an independent, non-partisan group. As their “About” section states: “Sponsors of Patikrinta 15min cannot be political parties, politicians, state organizations or companies or organizations related to politicians.” They do, however, accept funding from the Poynter Institute, the journalism group that owns US fact-checking organization Politifact. Since 2016, the Poynter Institute has sought for and received at least seven grants from the NED, totaling well over half a million dollars.

Notably, some of these grants are clearly a way of funneling cash to Eastern European fact-checking groups. As one NED grant summary for $78,000 notes, the goal of the money is to “promote the use of fact-checking websites as an effective accountability tool in Central and Eastern Europe, and strengthen the global fact-checking community.” The NED goes on to note that Poynter will bring over 70 journalists to a training summit and afterward continue to “train” “mentor,” “support,” and help them and their organizations with “capacity building.”

Image
One of several grants given to the ostensibly neutral Poynter Institute by the US State Dept’s NED.

A cynic might conclude that the NED was simply trying to launder its money through Poynter. MintPress asked Patikrinta 15min to confirm or deny whether they were one of the Eastern European groups mentioned in the NED filings but has not received a response.

Like other groups, Patikrinta 15min’s non-partisan veneer frequently slips. This can be seen in headlines such as “Russian cynicism knows no bounds” and the fact that they frequently defend Nazi groups like the Azov Battalion.

Like StopFake, n 15min has argued that Azov’s use of the Waffen SS symbol is coincidental. It also presented Azov as an apolitical organization and has used quotes from Azov founder Andriy Biletsky – possibly the world’s most infamous living neo-Nazi – as “proof” that charges against it are Russian disinformation.

Re:Baltica

While there is no evidence that Re:Baltica has a financial relationship with the United States government, the lion’s share of its funding still comes from the West. As they note on their website, around two-thirds of their funding comes “from the institutions based in EU/NATO countries.” They also list “the Kingdom of the Netherlands” as one of their “friends” – i.e., donors.

Image
Re:Baltica is generously funded by western govt’s and NGOs, including George Soro’s Open Society Foundation

Delfi

Delfi is a major web portal in Eastern Europe and the Baltic. The company does not disclose if it receives foreign funding. It does, undeniably, however, have a close relationship with the NED. In 2015, Delfi interviewed Christopher Walker, a senior NED manager about the best way they could counter Russian propaganda. Two years later, NED President Gershman addressed the Lithuanian parliament, revealing that his organization had,

[W]orked with Lithuania in countering Russian efforts to subvert and destroy democracy in Lithuania, in Europe, and in Russia itself. We have supported the work of the Lithuania-based Delfi and the East European Studies Center in monitoring, documenting, and combatting Russian disinformation in Lithuania and the Baltic states.”

Later that year, Delfi teamed up with the NED to hold the 1st Vilnius Young Leaders Meeting, whereby handpicked young activists were invited to rub shoulders with journalists and spooks from across Europe and the United States, in the hope of building up a Western-friendly force in civil society.

Image
A chart showing the leadership structure of the EXPOSE network published as part of the Integrity Initiative Leak 7

Delfi, Re:Baltica and StopFake were all identified as proposed members of a “counter”-propaganda network hoping to be established by the EXPOSE Network. EXPOSE was allegedly a secret UK-government funded initiative that would have brought together journalists and state operatives in an alliance to shape public discourse in a manner more conducive to the priorities of Western governments.

As EXPOSE wrote, “An opportunity exists to upskill civil society organizations around Europe, enhancing their existing activities and unleashing their potential” to be the next generation of activists in the fight against Kremlin disinformation.”

“Coordinat[ing] their activities,” wrote EXPOSE, “represents a unique opportunity” for the British government in their fight against Russia. Unfortunately, they lamented, StopFake’s “monomaniacal fixation” on Russia had hurt its credibility.

Remarkably, EXPOSE also wrote that, “Another barrier to combating disinformation is the fact that certain Kremlin-backed narratives are factually true” – an admission that underlines that, to many governments and media outlets, “disinformation” is rapidly coming to simply mean “information we disagree with.”

The names of those individuals listed as potential employees of this network are a who’s who of state-linked operatives, including the Zinc Network, multiple individuals from NED-funded investigative journalism website Bellingcat and Ben Nimmo, a former NATO spokesperson who is now head of global intelligence for Facebook.

Facebook’s Cyber War

Nimmo is only one of a great many former state agents now working in the higher echelons of Facebook, however. Last month, MintPress published a study revealing that the Silicon Valley giant has hired dozens of ex-CIA personnel into influential positions within the company, especially in security, content moderation and trust and safety.

Given how influential Facebook is as a media and communications giant, this sort of relationship constitutes a national security issue to every other country in the world. And this is not a hypothetical threat either. In November, Nimmo led a team that effectively attempted to swing the Nicaraguan elections away from the ruling Sandinista party and towards the US-backed candidate. In the days leading up to the election, Facebook deleted hundreds of accounts and pages of pro-Sandinista media.

This action underlines the fact that Facebook is not an international company existing only in the ether, but an American operation bound by American laws. And increasingly, it is moving closer to the US government itself.

Fake news abounds online, and we as a society are wholly unprepared to counter it. A study conducted by Stanford University found that the vast majority of people – even the digitally savvy youth – were unable to tell factual reporting from obvious falsehoods online. Many will fall for Russian propaganda. Russian media is indeed pumping out misleading information constantly. But so are NATO countries. And if the fact-checkers who have volunteered to sort truth from fiction for us relentlessly attack Russia but are quiet on their own side’s spin, many more will fall for Western propaganda.

The implicit outlook of many of these fact-checking groups is that “only Russia lies.” This is the position of a partisan organization, one that cares little about truth and more about imposing control over the means of communication. And this is all being done in the name of keeping us safe.

Who is fact-checking the fact-checkers? Unfortunately, it is up to small, independent media outlets to do so. However, MintPress has faced constant suppression for doing so, being blocked from communicating with our 400,000+ Facebook followers, suppressed algorithmically by the Silicon Valley giants, and being removed from financial transaction services like PayPal.

The solution is to teach and develop critical media literacy. All media outlets have biases and agendas. It is up to the individual to learn these and constantly scrutinize and evaluate everything they read. However, governments do not want their populations thinking critically; they want their message to be dominant, one reason why the NED has been quietly bankrolling so many fact-checking organizations to do its work for it.

(Mint Press)

https://orinocotribune.com/most-of-the- ... ashington/
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10592
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part IV

Post by blindpig » Mon Aug 08, 2022 10:59 pm

Ukraine and Russia without the lens of Facebook & corporate media
August 2, 2022 John Parker

Image
John Parker at the Kremlin in Moscow placing flowers at a monument to those who died in the fire at the House of Trade Unions in Odessa, Ukraine.

What do the New York Times, Kiev Independent, Euromaidan Press, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, TikTok here in the U.S. have in common?

They are all funded by or staffed by Western and U.S. intelligence members pushing the U.S. narrative about the war in Ukraine. This is why Struggle-La-Lucha.org organized a fact-finding mission to Ukraine and Russia to report on the suppressed information that challenges the narrative of NATO and its member states, led by the U.S. This is the second part of my report. (Part 1: Fact-finding trip to Donbass: A front-line shelter in Rubizhne)https://www.struggle-la-lucha.org/2022/ ... -rubizhne/

The social media outlets are an open door to organizations like NATO, military suppliers, and the Atlantic Council, with executives making decisions about what content is allowed to circulate widely on social media and what content is encouraged to support U.S. foreign policy goals. Some of these same organizations sold us the misinformation about weapons of mass destruction regarding Iraq — like the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, funded by the U.S. government and its defense industry contractors. They partner with Twitter and others to allegedly stop misinformation and provide “alternate” information that counters or eliminates views that don’t agree with the Pentagon’s narrative on Russia, China, or Ukraine.

In John Pilger’s 2016 documentary, “The Coming War on China,” he says: “ASPI has played a leading role — some would say, the leading role — in driving Australia’s mendacious and self-destructive and often absurd China-bashing campaign. The current Coalition government, perhaps the most right-wing and incompetent in Australia’s recent history, has relied upon the ASPI to disseminate Washington’s desperate strategic policies, into which much of the Australian political class, along with its intelligence and military structures, has been integrated.”

Russian stereotypes return

Thanks to the actual “big brother” watch dogs, Russian stereotypes that are as sophisticated as the 1960s cartoon characters Boris and Natasha are showing their ugly heads again. However, this time — in addition to pushing war and anti-communism despite the fall of the Soviet Union — the media is elevating fascism along with apologies for fascist organizations.

And, of course, Hollywood must get involved to help the lies go down smoothly with Hollywood movies like “Old Man” with Jeff Bridges or “Stranger Things” (third and fourth seasons), reinforcing those messages as we relax in front of the tube.

In fact, in a video interview, novelist Stephen King thought he was talking to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, praising Stepan Bandera. Bandera, a Ukrainian fascist and war criminal, was the head of efforts to assist Nazi Germany in their genocide in Ukraine, killing tens of thousands of Polish and Jewish people. King also said during the video meeting that he would even consider screening a fake film passed off as authentic, praising the neo-Nazi Azov Batallion and vilifying Russians.

All this to make those who used to know better forget that the people of the Soviet Union and Russia were responsible for defeating one of the greatest threats to humanity — fascism — during World War II, losing 27 million of their people doing so.

Celebrating May 1 and May 9

I got reminded of the pride felt by the Russian people in defending humanity from fascism while making my way to the Lenin monument at October Square in Moscow on May 1 of this year. This was one of the many celebrations of International Workers Day leading up to the “Great Patriotic War” celebrations on May 9. Many shops along the way had posters proudly displaying the hammer-and-sickle flag of the Soviet Union to show that pride.

In addition to the activities by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the second largest Party in Parliament, other celebrations were being held by the Union of Communists — which my organization, the Socialist Unity Party, has worked with in the past — which I also attended.

One of the Brazilian participants who is now in Moscow studying Russian said: “I am here because I think it is very important, the fight of workers in all the world who are working in difficulty in all countries. Many are without jobs or have low salaries and in my country, people are living in the roads. So, this is a very important moment to gather together to say we need a just world, we need better social conditions all over the world. There are people here who are communists and remember their conditions were better under the Soviet Union so it is important to celebrate here with Lenin.”

At home with organizer Olga

An organizer for the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Olga, made her way to this celebration after participating in her organization’s parade earlier. She explained why May 1 is so important: “It’s a great day, the first of May. We remember that this was founded by Chicago workers who were the first to come on the street to fight for their rights in 1886. In this time people in many countries celebrate, including Russia too, because we know it should be free education, free medical care and we still have lots of problems that must be decided together.” Olga mentioned that the policies of the Soviet Union regarding free medicine continued in Russia after its fall and it helped the Russian people, including her mother, handle the COVID crisis better.

In Moscow, I was accompanied by Leonid Ilderkin, from the Union of Political Refugees and Political Prisoners of Ukraine. He is one of the many individuals forced to flee Ukraine due to the political persecution of communists or members of many labor or workers organizations. Leonid and members of the socialist organization Borotba helped us organize this trip and provided translation for me.

After the powerful speeches, we were invited to join Olga and her family for dinner to discuss the movement in the U.S. and my questions about Russia today. The type of hospitality we experienced reminded me of being down South in the U.S., and not fitting the stereotype of the cold Russians at all.

After leaving her family’s home and enjoying a great meal, we came away with a better understanding of the connections that people here have with people living in Ukraine. They are in solidarity with their friends and family, who are now targeted by the allies of U.S. imperialism. When discussing Ukraine with Olga’s mom, she cried, telling me about her friend who was caught in the violence by fascist forces there.

We are now being told that the Russian people are also bloodthirsty and are purposely targeting civilians and committing unspeakable war crimes in Ukraine. In part one of these articles, I mentioned the National Endowment for Democracy-sponsored Kiev Independent, published in Ukraine. That media’s reliance on unsubstantiated reports and videos given them by one of the fascist regiments, the Azov Batallion, is then passed on to Western media without any verification of its content.

Euromaidan Press — U.S. sponsored media

Another media source out of Ukraine also funded by Western intelligence sources — the Euromaidan Press — does a thorough job of keeping the U.S.-sponsored narrative alive.

For example, their accounts of what went on immediately after the Russian intervention on February 23 and the current situation in areas of Ukraine that I visited were completely different from my experience.

During the first month after the Russian intervention in Ukraine, the Euromaidan Press reported “evidence” and videos indicating that the main targets of the Russian military were civilians.

However, in an exposé published by Newsweek, “Putin’s Holding Back,” analysts and advisers working for the Pentagon became unlikely whistleblowers. Covering most of the same period Euromaidan Press was referring to — the first 24 days after the Russian intervention on February 23 — Newsweek quotes U.S. military officers and analysts, all were surprised at how little civilian loss there was on the part of the Russian military. One of the quotes from an adviser who is also a U.S. Air Force officer makes clear their message and intentions: “I’m frustrated by the current narrative — that Russia is intentionally targeting civilians, that it is demolishing cities, and that Putin doesn’t care. Such a distorted view stands in the way of finding an end before true disaster or the war spreads to the rest of Europe.”

About two months before I arrived there, Euromaidan Press wrote about a village in the Lugansk region of Ukraine called Rubizhne. See what essential detail is twisted in this report. The article “How the Russian Invasion Destroyed My World,” by Orysia Hrudka, shares an account of someone who was in touch with relatives and friends in Rubizhne about two weeks after the Russian intervention in Ukraine:

“Since 8 March I have been unable to contact my close ones in Rubizhne. … My grandmother, together with many other people from Rubizhne in Luhansk Oblast, was brought to the town nearby. The town was not yet ready to place the refugees in one of the buildings. Food and mattresses were just being brought there. …

“On 11 March, at 10:56 pm, I learned that my friend’s husband’s parents had been shot at a checkpoint on the way from Rubizhne to Kreminna. Her husband’s parents were kind people and were bringing food from the village to Rubizhne because the city was cut off from food supplies. The mother died immediately, and the father was able to call his son and say his last words. The son talked with his father until his father’s heart stopped. We still can’t find the bodies of our friends’ parents. …

“On 25 March, my friend’s mother was killed in the Russian shelling. She came to bring the water to the South district in Rubizhne. Her body is still there.”

What I saw in Rubizhne

This is a heart-wrenching account of brutality and neglect, the lack of water and food, danger in leaving and coming to Rubizhne at that time. It generally corresponds with what I heard from the people of Lugansk at the shelter where there were 350 people who had escaped as their homes were bombed by tanks. They were left with nothing and totally dependent on the humanitarian aid of food and water to survive and the protection of the military to stay alive. However, they all said it was the Ukrainian military — not the Russian military — that shot into their homes with guns and tanks; that abandoned them with no food, water, or transportation. In fact, the residents of the shelter in Rubizhne I spoke to said if not for the protection of the Russian soldiers they would not have survived. See Part 1 for the full interviews of Rubizhne residents forced to flee their homes.

“Ukrainian soldiers did not help at all,” said a teary-eyed Larisa, who was in charge of the shelter and reflected on the hardship for the children there. “That is unacceptable. No one from the Ukrainian side asked us or visited us. I had supported Ukraine, but after I saw how they left these people I no longer supported them.”

The thunder heard around us while we were there was a constant reminder of how the area was still very dangerous. That thunder was not from lightning. It was the sound of exploding artillery shells that, like lightning, hit a nearby apartment building while we were there. And, to be clear, that artillery was fired from Ukrainian military positions.

When I arrived in Rubizhne on May 6, the area was under the control of the Russian military and the Lugansk Peoples Militia, which brought in humanitarian aid. In my short time in Lugansk, from the border to the shelter, I witnessed many trucks bringing water, grains, diapers, milk, etc. My clumsy attempt at helping to bring the supplies in, ending in an almost dropped box, confirmed these items were diapers and foodstuffs.

Image
With fellow fact-finding participants, Alexey Albu, John Parker, and Evgeniy Miroshnichenko at a restaurant dedicated to honoring the memory of the Soviet Union in the city of Lugansk.

How residents got aid

The Euromaidan Press account also left the impression that the Russian forces were targeting civilians at checkpoints and on the dangerous roads they controlled. However, this area only came under Russian control a little over three weeks prior to our visit on May 6. According to Alexey Alba, an organizer with Borotba who accompanied me in Lugansk: “The roads here, although dangerous now, were even more dangerous during Ukrainian control, so leaving was not a safe option then. It became more possible after the area came under Russian control.”

Larisa added: “We tell people it is not safe, but if they want to leave here, of course, they can. No one will stop them.”

Alexey, once a resident of Odessa who moved with his family to Lugansk, was an elected member of the Odessa Regional Council and a former member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine. Alexey barely escaped with his life in the violence of fascists after the 2014 coup, a coup financed by the U.S.

Instead of discouraging and shooting at civilians trying to bring food to Rubizhne, as the journalist from Euromaidan Press implied of the Russian soldiers, Alexey explained a different reality: “Because of the war, getting assistance to the shelter was difficult. The trade unions in charge of delivering food in Lugansk were unable to due to the area becoming a war zone. So, they had to hand over that task to the military.”

Despite the danger and the fact that the Ukrainian military still controlled the area, Alexey continued, “the Russian and Lugansk soldiers, at great risk to their own lives, were determined to get aid to the residents of the shelter even before the area was liberated.”

Why such a different view from Euromaidan Press, a view contradicted by U.S. military sources covered in Newsweek and my own live interviews and experience there?

Funded by U.S. National Endowment for Democracy

Euromaidan Press is an NGO partly funded by the National Democratic Institute, one of the four core institutes of the National Endowment for Democracy. Euromaidan Press is also partly funded by the British Embassy in Kiev. And Euromaidan Press is partly funded by the International Renaissance Foundation subsidized by the Soros’ Open Society Foundation, which funds regime change efforts and was heavily involved in funding the anti-Russian opposition in Ukraine.

Alya Shandra, the editor-in-chief at Euromaidan Press, and Christine Chraibi, an editor, both state in their profiles their wish for European integration, especially, said Chraibi, in terms of NATO membership.

Orysia Hrudka, the writer of this particular piece in Euromaidan Press, is also employed at the Agents of Change School, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) — a U.S. government agency— and the U.S. Embassy Democracy Fund, which, according to their website, “supports unique and promising projects that promote the capacity building and self-sufficiency of NGOs in Ukraine.”

Since the first U.S.-sponsored coup in 2004, those NGOs were how the U.S. government poured billions of dollars into regime-change efforts, culminating in the second undemocratic 2014 coup in Ukraine.

Euromaidan Press also ran stories pushing the allegations of rape by Russian soldiers, “confirmed” by former Ukrainian Ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova who said that 25 teenage girls were kept in a basement in Bucha and gang-raped; nine of them are now pregnant. After evidence showed those claims were false, the accusations called into question the legitimacy of other Ukrainian government claims. The Ukrainian Parliament promptly fired Ombudsman Denisova with the advice: “Check the facts before publication” and “disclose only information for which there is sufficient evidence.”

The neo-Nazi Azov Battalion

Another staff person at Euromaidan Press is Bohdan Ben. According to his description on the site, Ben is a researcher in the field of social and ethical philosophy and the field of local governance. He was among the winners of the program “Youth Will Change Ukraine” organized by the Bohdan Hawrylyshyn Foundation.

On November 4, 2019, Ben did a piece countering the letter circulated by 40 U.S. House members asking that the Azov Battalion be put on the terrorist list. In it, he characterizes the Azov Battalion as a mixture of various ideologies leaning towards far-right politics but stresses that they cannot be considered a neo-Nazi organization since they are an official part of the Ukrainian military.

However, his admissions in the article remarkably defeat his premises and lousy logic. In denying that the Azov Batallion has aided and abetted terrorists around the world he says, reflecting on the letter: “That the Azov Battalion ‘openly welcomes neo-Nazis into its ranks’ is true in some cases. Indeed, several radically far-right individuals were fighting or training in this detachment … several commanders of the Battalion previously belonged to right-wing Ukrainian NGOs or political parties. Naturally, volunteers with nationalist political backgrounds preferred serving in Azov rather than other detachments, to have like-minded people around. This is entirely within the legal framework.”

It should be noted that the “legal framework” has been radically changing since 2014 to favor fascist organizations and ban and criminalize their greatest opposition — the communist parties.

He also states that the political entity most affiliated with the Azov Batallion, the National Corps, is a separate organization and cannot be assumed to represent the views of the Azov organization when they promote Nazism and terrorism. When he then mentions that the Corps is led by Andriy Biletskyi, who he admits is “a far-right nationalist who espoused white supremacist views.” He also forgets to say that Biletskyi founded the Azov militia group in 2014. Ben also quotes Biletskyi in 2010 saying the Ukrainian nation’s mission was to “lead the white race of the world in a final crusade … against Semite-led Untermenschen.” Untermenschen is an unscientific term used by Nazi Germany, implying an ethnic designation. They are supposedly inferior people who fall into a category of basically anyone not “accepted” by the German Nazis.

Ben also admits:

“Azov Battalion and the National Corps Political Party indeed had contacts with persons who called for violence or committed crimes … Olena Semeniaka, for example, acknowledged contacts with the American Rise Above Movement (RAM) and said that RAM members came to Ukraine to ‘learn how to create youth forces in the ways Azov has’… However, there is little evidence of any calls for terrorism or violence by members of the Battalion.”

Azov and ‘Unite the Right’ riot in Charlottesville

After this meeting with RAM that Ben was referring to, three RAM members participated in and helped organize the August 11, 2017, Unite the Right riot of neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, North Carolina, where Heather Heyer was killed by a white supremacist driving into the counter-protest she participated in. Those three were arrested in Virginia for inciting and organizing violence there, and sentenced to a little over two years in prison.

It’s especially clear how far from the truth Euromaidan Press is willing to go in allegiance to the Azov Battalion when comparing what Ben is saying to the 2019 report by TIME.com – which is no friend of Russia or the Donbass republics and is a supporter of the Ukrainian military. That report — “Like, Share, Recruit: How a White-Supremacist Militia Uses Facebook to Radicalize and Train New Members — contradicts Ben’s assertion that the Corps is not related to nor speaks for Azov.

TIME reporters Simon Shuster and Billy Perrigo expose that the National Corps, instead of being separate from Azov, is an integral part of an Azov recruitment center in Kyiv. They write: “The main recruitment center for Azov, known as the Cossack House, stands in the center of Kyiv, a four-story brick building on loan from Ukraine’s Defense Ministry [my emphasis -JP]. In the courtyard is a cinema and a boxing club. The top floor hosts a lecture hall and a library, full of books by authors who supported German fascism, like Ezra Pound and Martin Heidegger … On the ground floor is a shop called Militant Zone, which sells clothes and key chains with stylized swastikas and other neo-Nazi merchandise. [my emphasis -JP]

The reporters interviewed the person Ben mentioned, Olena Semeniaka, who has almost achieved celebrity status in the white supremacist world:

“It could be described as a small state within a state,” says Olena Semenyaka, the head of international outreach for the Azov movement. On a tour of the Cossack House in 2019, she told TIME that Azov’s mission was to form a coalition of far-right groups across the Western world, with the ultimate aim of taking power throughout Europe.

Semenyaka is speaking for the Azov organization. However, Ben said the National Corps she represents is separate. The TIME reporters also agree with Semenyaka regarding the direction of Azov. They write:

“Outside Ukraine, Azov occupies a central role in a network of extremist groups stretching from California across Europe to New Zealand, according to law enforcement officials on three continents. And it acts as a magnet for young men eager for combat experience. Ali Soufan, a security consultant and former FBI agent who has studied Azov, estimates that more than 17,000 foreign fighters have come to Ukraine over the past six years from 50 countries.”

Brenton Tarrant, who killed 51 Muslims in March 2019 as they worshiped in a Christchurch, New Zealand, mosque wrote in his manifesto that he visited Ukraine. He also wore the emblem of the Battalion when he did the killing and featured the Azov emblem in his manifesto. By the way, the recent killing in Buffalo, New York, of 10 Black people in a supermarket was done by an 18-year-old white supremacist who said he was influenced by Tarrant — and the beat goes on.

The Facebook algorithm driving white supremacists

TIME explains how Azov grew such a wide and influential global presence — in a word, Facebook and other social media. However, it was Facebook’s algorithm driving white supremacists and disaffected youth toward them that allowed Azov exponential visibility growth.

In a simple experiment done while writing this article, I was able to get to an Azov Battalion recruiting video simply by searching the word “Azov,” on Facebook, which led me in about two clicks to the recruitment video on Youtube with the Azov logo, the Sonnenrad. You can find my search here: My_Search_for_Azov.

Why have social media outlets in the U.S., that were quick to act when it was revealed that ISIS was successfully recruiting members through Facebook and Youtube and other social media, refused to act on white supremacist terrorism and recruitment?

Perhaps a former leader of the Atlantic Council, the NATO entity which regulates Facebook, can answer that.

Alina Polyakova, at the time working as Director of Research for Europe and Eurasia at the Atlantic Council, where she developed and led the institute’s work on disinformation and Russia, is quoted in an article in Jacobin on Stepan Bandera saying:

“The Russian government and its proxies in eastern Ukraine have consistently branded Kyiv’s government a fascist junta and accused it of having Nazi sympathizers. Moscow’s propaganda is outrageous and wrong.” Given Ukraine’s deepening economic woes, she continued, “should Ukraine watchers be concerned about the potential growth of extreme right-wing parties?” Her answer: “Absolutely not.”

Regarding the U.S. proxy war against Russia, the sole purpose of U.S. and Western European-sponsored media outlets like Euromaidan Press and Kiev Independent is to be a disseminator of Nazi propaganda about the war and handle international public relations for fascist organizations in Ukraine.

Their coverage of events around the same time I was in Lugansk as compared to what I saw and heard from residents there exposes the lies of their sponsors and puppet masters, especially those in the U.S.

2014 massacre at Odessa House of Trade Unions

What is scarcely covered, however, are horrors like that which occurred in the city of Odessa in Ukraine on May 2, 2014, at the House of Trade Unions, witnessed by those I interviewed here in Moscow at a memorial outside of the Kremlin. “Today is the second of May,” said a journalist covering the event. “Eight years ago my city of Odessa was full of beauty on the seashore, for artists, writers, musicians. We had the best architects who built the opera theater house. But those Ukrainian Nazis burned the Odessan people alive and shot them. They say there were 48 who died but that number is not correct since there were many more victims reported in the morgue. They burned alive people who were hiding, and those who escaped the building were beaten with sticks and iron pipes and shot at. None of the perpetrators were punished. Innocent people died for their right to speak their language by a Nazi regime. This was repeated in Mariupol on May 9, 2014, with killings in that Russian-speaking area. I was there in Mariupol as a journalist also. It’s been eight years, and nobody cared, and they continue to kill us using weapons originating in the USA and European Union. And any honest journalists reporting on this are being hidden there in Ukraine.”

He then introduced me to Vasilly, who had been trapped inside the House of Trade Unions. He took many photos of the situation then — from the beginning of the incident until about 8:30 p.m. when people began to jump out of the windows of the burning building. “By 7 p.m. it started, before that, there was a fight outside … I have many photos and showed these to many journalists from the West but they did nothing with them,” he said.

I asked him what he thought about Zelensky appointing a governor of Odessa a few months ago who is affiliated with fascist organizations. “Zelensky is not only a comedian, he is also a clown. He is not an independent person, he works for Biden. What is there to think about a person who goes to Great Britain and first meets with the chief of MI6, his other boss? Our great regret is that there was a president Yushchenko in 2004 who also pushed to power oligarchs, and he began inviting Nazis and gave the highest honor to Bandera.”

Another commemorator who had just finished placing roses at the monument, then making the sign of the cross on his chest, showed me his cell phone with texts he had just received from someone also trying to commemorate the day, but unable to. His friend texting him at that moment was in Odessa, but a curfew was established to discourage such activity. This curfew was being enforced with bullets from the Ukrainian police, his friend who was witnessing the violence there told him. “One woman was injured and the police were ordered to shoot, with no warning, anyone holding public commemorations outside,” he read from his phone.

Here in Moscow, where that terror did not exist we visited another commemoration in another part of the city with mainly youth carrying signs with the words “Odessa May 2, 2014.” At the front of the thousands who were lined up to pay tribute by placing roses where the pictures of the dead victims were, another witness of the Odessa tragedy was playing Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C Sharp Minor on a piano moved right there on the sidewalk. The intense piece she chose was fitting because in 1898, one of the many titles of that piece introduced to the west by a London publisher was called “The Burning of Moscow.”

Commemorations on May 9 for the victory over Nazi Germany are also outlawed in Ukraine. But, like the May 2 commemorations, here in Russia, celebrating the defeat of the Nazis is welcomed.

Coming in part 3: Two cities in Ukraine, two ideologies, two experiences of war.

https://www.struggle-la-lucha.org/2022/ ... ate-media/

*********************

“Russian Propaganda” Just Means Disobedience

Image

You can always tell how important narrative control is by watching the way people react when their control of the narrative is jeopardized.

Empire apologists are raging at Amnesty International for pausing its aggressive facilitation of western imperialism to issue one brief criticism of the way Ukrainian forces have been endangering civilian lives with their warfare tactics against the Russian military.

Amnesty is far from the first to highlight this extensively documented issue; that Ukrainian forces have been deliberately positioning themselves in civilian populations without taking proper measures to protect noncombatants is a concern that has been voiced repeatedly since the war began and reported on by both mainstream western news outlets and the United Nations.

Nevertheless, Amnesty’s claim that “Ukrainian forces have put civilians in harm’s way by establishing bases and operating weapons systems in populated residential areas, including in schools and hospitals” has drawn fire from Ukrainian officials, from mass media pundits, from the brainwashed rank-and-file on social media, and from President Zelensky himself.


A common criticism circulating among the outrage is that Amnesty is facilitating Russian propaganda, has been influenced by Russian propaganda, or has itself become an instrument of Russian propaganda.

The head of Amnesty International’s Ukrainian branch resigned as a result of the report, saying that “the organization created material that sounded like support for Russian narratives” and that in an effort to protect civilians, “this study became a tool of Russian propaganda.”

“It is a shame that the organization like Amnesty is participating in this disinformation and propaganda campaign,” tweeted Zelensky advisor Mykhailo Podolyak.

“Amnesty International can go to hell for this garbage,” tweeted Human Rights Foundation Chairman Garry Kasparov. “Or go to Ukraine, which Putin’s war is trying to turn into hell. As with their actions on Navalny, it reeks of Russian influence turning Kremlin propaganda into Amnesty statements.”

The Daily Mail called the Amnesty report “a coup for Vladimir Putin’s propaganda machine.”

“The organization gives a huge assist to Russian propaganda,” tweeted Oleksiy Sorokin, chief operating officer of the NATO propaganda outlet Kyiv Independent.

“Shameful victim-blaming. Russia invaded Ukraine and is committing unspeakable war crimes there. Please do not amplify Russian lies,” tweeted Paul Massaro of the US government’s Helsinki Commission.


The underlying premise behind these complaints, of course, is that it is Amnesty International’s job to help Ukraine win a propaganda campaign against Russia. Which is odd, because Amnesty’s reporting on the war has actually been overwhelmingly biased in favor of Ukraine this entire time.

“Anger directed at Amnesty is surprising given that it is the first critical piece the group has written on Ukraine since the war began,” reports Unherd. “Over the last six months, Amnesty has published 40 articles on Ukraine, nearly all of which condemn Russia’s invasion, with only one exception — its latest — that could be conceivably described as critical of Ukraine.”

Even the Amnesty report currently sparking all the outrage contains repeated condemnations of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, citing “indiscriminate attacks by Russian forces” and “war crimes” Amnesty has found Russia guilty of committing, as well as decrying the use of “inherently indiscriminate weapons, including internationally banned cluster munitions.”

But even ninety-nine percent loyalty to the official line is not enough for imperial spinmeisters and the empire’s useful idiots. Anything short of 100 percent compliance counts as Russian propaganda.


But that’s precisely the notion that has been drummed into western consciousness with ever-increasing fervor since 2016: that any dissent about US foreign policy is Russian propaganda. Don’t support western interventionism in Syria? You’re spouting Russian propaganda. Worried about nuclear war? Russian propaganda. Don’t think the fight for US unipolar domination is worth all this dangerous brinkmanship? Russian propaganda. Don’t like the idea of an expensive proxy war with no exit strategy whose economic fallout is making life harder and harder for more and more people all around the world? Russian propaganda.

I myself am accused of being a peddler of Russian propaganda many times per day, and have been for years. This despite my hardly ever consuming Russian media, never receiving a penny from Russia, and never having worked for the Russian government or any other government at any time. Russian media have at times chosen of their own initiative to amplify my work since I have a standing invitation for anyone to do so, but I’m literally just an Australian woman writing her opinions online with her American husband. I only qualify as “Russian propaganda” because I disagree with US foreign policy.

Ask anyone who says a criticism of the western empire’s Ukraine policy is “Russian propaganda” to name a critic of western Ukraine policy who they don’t consider a Russian propagandist. They won’t be able to. For them, disagreeing with one’s government about Ukraine is itself Russian propaganda.

For empire apologists the measure of what constitutes “Russian propaganda” about Ukraine has nothing to do with whether or not what’s being said is true or valid; it’s literally just a question of obedience to one’s government about the decisions it’s been making with regard to that nation.


If the measure of whether something qualifies as propaganda is defined entirely by whether it agrees with one’s government, then that measure is itself propaganda.

That’s exactly what’s happening with criticism of the west’s interventionism in Ukraine. Something doesn’t have to come from Russia to be considered Russian propaganda, and its source doesn’t need to have any connection to the Russian government. It doesn’t even have to be false. All it needs to be is disobedient.

We saw this illustrated this past June when The Guardian published a NATO-backed claim that journalist Aaron Maté was “the most prolific spreader of disinformation” among a “Russia-backed network of Syria conspiracy theorists,” despite being incapable of citing a single false thing in Maté’s Syria reporting, and despite The Guardian having to hastily edit out their “Russia-backed” claim.

We also saw this illustrated this past June in a University of Calgary briefing paper on “disinformation” about the war in Ukraine which warns about “five primary narratives” being circulated online:

1. Implying NATO expansionism legitimizes the Russian invasion

2. Portraying NATO as an aggressive alliance using Ukraine as a proxy against Russia

3. Promoting a general mistrust in institutions and elites

4. Suggesting that Ukraine is a fascist state or has extensive fascist influences

5. Promoting a specific mistrust of Canada’s Liberal government, and especially of Prime Minister Trudeau

There are arguments of varying strengths to be made for every one of those points, but more importantly it is self-evident that all of them are matters of opinion and none of them meet any sane definition of “disinformation”. They also can’t in and of themselves rightly be called either “Russian” or “propaganda”.


Russian propaganda certainly exists, and the Russian government certainly has a vested interest in influencing western thought in its strategic favor to whatever extent it is capable. But its capability is very, very limited, especially compared to the exponentially greater influence that western institutions have over our minds.

Russia has a few trolls and some media outlets that were barely viewed by westerners even before they were banned; the US-centralized empire has the billionaire media, Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and the education system. Comparing the two is like comparing a candle to the sun, and the sun ain’t Russia. But that’s the one whose influence over our minds we’re meant to worry about.

In reality we are swimming in propaganda that is favorable to the US empire our entire lives; it’s so ubiquitous that people don’t even notice it. Claiming your support for US foreign policy on an issue has nothing to do with being propagandized is like someone who was raised in the Westboro Baptist Church claiming it was pure coincidence that he happens to agree with the church on the sinfulness of homosexuality. It pervades our minds and shapes our society, but they want us all freaking out about the virtually nonexistent problem of “Russian propaganda”.

This is a thought-killing dynamic, and it is a major problem. It is not good that propaganda is shoved into our minds manufacturing consent for dangerous escalations between the world’s two greatest nuclear powers while anyone who opposes any part of it is dismissed as a Russian propagandist or a useful idiot of the Kremlin.


We should be using our minds more at this critical juncture, but these dynamics put in place by imperial narrative managers have instead got us using them a lot less.

Old joke:

A Russian and an American get on a plane in Moscow and get to talking. The Russian says he works for the Kremlin and he’s on his way to go learn American propaganda techniques.

“What American propaganda techniques?” asks the American.

“Exactly,” the Russian replies.

https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/08/06 ... obedience/

******************
.
From Cassad's Telegram account:

***

Сolonelcassad
❗️🇬🇧 🇺🇦 The situation in the east of Ukraine
by the end of August 8, 2022

▪️Russian forces inflicted fire damage on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the villages of Gremyach and Senkovka of the Chernihiv region, as well as in Pavlovka, Sukhodol, Novye Virki and Manukhovka of the Sumy region.

▪️There are no significant changes on the front line in the Kharkov direction . The parties continued to conduct positional battles and artillery duels on the line of contact.
➖The Russian Armed Forces hit the objects of the Ukrainian army in the area of ​​Pavlovo Polya in Kharkov.
➖The Russian Aerospace Forces launched an air strike on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of ​​Stary Saltov and Gusarovka.

▪️On the Bakhmut (Artemovsky) direction, the allied forces are advancing in the vicinity of Bakhmut, Soledar and Kodema.
➖The 6th Cossack Regiment of the People's Militia of the LPR took up positions on part of the territory of the KNAUF-Gypsum plant on the southeastern outskirts of Soledar . Ukrainian troops are trying to drive the allied forces out of the territory of the enterprise, but the NM of the LPR were able to repel their counterattacks.
➖Assault detachments of "PMC Wagner" are fighting on the eastern outskirts of Bakhmut.
➖Clashes between allied forces and Ukrainian formations continue in the vicinity of Kodema.
➖The command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is transferring reinforcements from Kramatorsk, Chasov Yar and Zvanovka to hold the Soledar-Bakhmut line.
➖Fighting is going on at Verkhnekamensky, Ivano-Daryevka and Grigorovka in the north-east of Seversk.

▪️There are no significant changes in the front line in the Donetsk direction .
➖Positional battles continue in Marinka, Avdeevka and the vicinity of Krasnogorovka . The RF Armed Forces are cleaning up the village of Peski on the northwestern outskirts of Donetsk.
➖Ukrainian formations again shelled the settlements of the Donetsk agglomeration : the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a massive attack on the territory of a furniture factory in the Kievsky district of Donetsk.

▪️In the Zaporozhye direction, the parties continued to conduct artillery duels on the line of contact: the RF Armed Forces attacked enemy positions in Orekhovo, Malaya Tokmachka and Novodanilovka.

▪️In the Krivoy Rog direction , the Russian Aerospace Forces launched an air strike on the accumulation of APU manpower in the Malaya Shesternya area.

Image

***

Сolonelcassad
❗️🇬🇧🇺🇦The situation in the Soledar direction
by the end of August 8, 2022

Allied forces are fighting on the eastern outskirts of Soledar and Bakhmut (Artemovsk).

▪️Clashes continue on the southeastern outskirts of Soledar in the area of ​​the KNAUF-Gypsum plant. The sixth Cossack regiment of the NM of the LPR has occupied and is holding part of the territory of the enterprise, repelling the counterattacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

▪️To the northeast of Soledar , units of the NM of the LPR have established control over the heights near Vladimirovka and Stryapovka and are advancing in Yakovlevka.

▪️Wagner PMC fighters are fighting on the eastern outskirts of Bakhmut. To the south, parts of the allied forces are fighting on the eastern outskirts of Kodema.

▪️The Armed Forces of Ukraine are deploying additional forces to hold the Soledar - Bakhmut line from Kramatorsk , Chasy Yar , Zvanovka and other settlements south of Seversk . The allied forces are trying to take advantage of the weakening of the enemy positions near Seversk and resumed their offensive against the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Verkhnekamensky , Ivano-Daryevka and Grigorovka .

Image

***

forwarded from
Radio Sputnik

◾️Among the commanders there was talk of an imminent attack on the Donbass, they said that we should not let the Russians be the first to attack us, but make a sudden counterattack. It is necessary to take the Donbass lands and, perhaps, move on. This was often said by political officers, and in the higher command staff [of the Ukrainian army] they often talked about it. And sometimes they brought this information to the rank and file.

◾️Some units came [to military units], either from the SBU, carried out propaganda, brought all sorts of brochures about how bloodthirsty the Russian world is, that we should kill Russians, that Ukraine is a single nation. Something like the ideology of fascism was. They said that it was necessary to attack Russia, to break this evil empire, to win back our lands.


Captured soldier of the 53rd mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian security forces Vadim Agafonov about the situation in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine before the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine.

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

Google Translator

*******************

Restoration of Saur-Mogila
August 8, 21:48

Image

Restoration of the stele at Saur-Mogila. The memorial complex is now being actively reconstructed in order to be in time for the Day of the Liberation of Donbass. In 2014, heated battles were in full swing around the restored stele. Now she is returning.

Image

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7788333.html

Google Translator

**********************

US Gives Ukraine Security Assistance Worth Another $1 Bln

Image
M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) | Photo: Lockheed Martin

Published 8 August 2022

The new package includes additional ammunition for HIMARS and NASAMS systems, 20 120mm mortar systems, 1,000 Javelin and hundreds of AT4 anti-armor systems, other types of ammunition and medical supplies.

The Pentagon said on Monday, the US is giving Ukraine a new package of security assistance worth $1 bln.

"Today, the Department of Defense announces the authorization of a Presidential Drawdown of security assistance valued at up to $1 billion to meet Ukraine’s critical security and defense needs," the Pentagon said in a statement.

According to the statement, it is the largest single drawdown of U.S. arms and equipment utilizing this authority.

The new package includes additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), 20 120mm mortar systems and rounds of mortar ammunition, 1,000 Javelin and hundreds of AT4 anti-armor systems, 75,000 rounds of 155mm artillery ammunition, Claymore anti-personnel munitions, C-4 explosives, demolition munitions and demolition equipment, 50 armored medical treatment vehicles and medical supplies.

The new package brings the total value of US security assistance to Ukraine since the start of the Biden administration to about $9.8 billion.

On February 24 Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in response to a request for help by the heads of the Donbass republics. He stressed that Moscow aims to demilitarize and de-Nazify the country. The West retaliated to the Russian decision by imposing sweeping sanctions on the country. Also, Western countries started shipments of weapons to Kiev.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/US- ... -0015.html
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10592
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part IV

Post by blindpig » Tue Aug 09, 2022 1:44 pm

containment and attrition
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 08/09/2022

Image

A few days ago, President Zelensky and his government announced the forced evacuation of the population from the parts of the Donetsk region still under their control. Since then, the number of evacuees has been low - at least according to official figures - and irregular, so it has not yet been clear whether the Ukrainian authorities intend to comply with that order or if it is simply a gesture for the gallery with the objective of making it clear to the population far from the front lines and to its foreign partners that Ukraine, in view of a war that is expected to last a long time, protects the civilian population.

This aspect has become more important in recent days after the strong anger caused in Kiev by the Amnesty International report, which has only explained even more clearly the consequences of the Ukrainian strategy that Mikhailo Podoliak hinted at in an interview with The New York Times : the danger posed to the civilian population by the Ukrainian tactic of hiding its troops in residential areas of cities. Podoliak, who in the past defined Ukraine's negotiating team as "weapons, sanctions and money", yesterday reaffirmed Ukraine's refusal of any kind of negotiation as long as Russia has not suffered decisive military defeats.

Russian and republican advances in Donbass continue to be slow and hard. Now that the entire territory of Lugansk has been recovered, which due to its characteristics and its less wealth was always less important for Ukraine and, therefore, more weakly defended, the troops are now fighting against the first line of Ukrainian defense, still fortified and with sufficient material Heavy to slow down progress. However, as even the Ukrainian media have pointed out, the withdrawal of part of the reserves and heavy material from this area of ​​the front is slightly changing the situation. Over the weekend, the Ukrainian command admitted to having withdrawn from the Artyomovsk hills, perhaps the most important point of this defense line, to take shelter in the city. Shortly after, images of the destruction of urban bridges began to appear, among them also the pedestrian bridges, a bad sign about the state of the Ukrainian troops in place and their future prospects. The battle is approaching the town after weeks of fighting for the surrounding villages. Fighting also continues around Seversk, in this case more important than the city itself, and Soledar, essential points to break down the first line of defense that would expose the main urban agglomeration of this central area of ​​Donetsk: Slavyansk and Kramatorsk.

However, the change is most clearly seen in the Donetsk area, where after months of shelling the city and the demand of the population to move the Ukrainian troops away, the attempt to capture the Ukrainian strong points in this section of the front: mainly Peski and Avdeevka, although slowly the fight for Marinka, even more fortified, also begins. Despite the fact that the Ukrainian troops continue to defend themselves in a part of the town, to which some reserves may have been transferred, the loss of Peski seems imminent, which will also compromise Avdeevka, two of the towns from which the Ukrainian artillery has been indiscriminately bombing the cities of Yasinovataya and Donetsk (and subsequently blaming Russian troops,

The situation in those cities, some of the best fortified points throughout the eight years of trench warfare in which the front has not moved, shows that Donbass is no longer the main focus of this war for Ukraine. Numerous reports claim that the most combat-ready units, the reserves and the best heavy material received from abroad are being sent to the southern front, now a priority for the Ukrainian political authorities.

This is also confirmed by British intelligence, which in recent months has become the mouthpiece of the official Ukrainian discourse, which last week pointed to a new phase of the war with a 350-kilometer front that extends between Kherson and Zaporozhie. This approach confirms that the Ukrainian priority continues to be the southern territories, while Donbass is already in the background or third place. This has been repeatedly announced by Zelensky, who has set himself the goal of recovering the territories lost since February 24 to later seek a negotiation with Russia in search of the – more than unlikely – recovery of Donbass and Crimea through diplomatic channels. Right now, Ukraine continues to defend its positions in Donbass more as a tactic to contain the Russian troops and prevent their victory in Donetsk from leading to their deployment in other areas of the front than out of the conviction of maintaining a territory that seems to have long been given up for lost. Hence, the bombing of unequivocally civilian areas has increased in recent months: Ukraine is aware that it will not recover that territory or that population even if it continues to try to convince it that it is Russia that is bombing them.

The idea of ​​containing further Russian advances seems to have become an essential part of the strategy of Ukraine and its partners. After months of constant announcements of a major counteroffensive with which to recapture the city of Kherson, which due to its position west of the Dnieper should be the easiest target for kyiv in its attempt to achieve a great success that would justify the continuation of the war and the supply of weapons, the offensive has not started. Despite everything, the press continues to present it as a sure success. “Russia has accelerated the dispatch of thousands of troops to southern Ukraine to reinforce forces that are precariously separated by the Dnieper River and face a humiliating defeat,” The Times , the most openly optimistic of the media , wrote over the weekend. pro-Ukrainians.

However, the same article described the Ukrainian strategy of limited advances with small groups of troops, a strategy very similar to the small-step offensives that the Ukrainian Army has used for years in its quest to capture the neutral zone of Donbass and get closer to the most important cities. Although this strategy has been highly successful for propaganda, progress has been scant and, above all, irrelevant, since it involved small towns or practically abandoned areas of no military importance.

Better armed and with even more support from its partners and the Western media complex, Ukraine acts in a similar way, although on a larger scale and confronting, not the DPR and LPR militias, but the Russian Army. For the time being, the great Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kherson has not begun, but the intensity of Ukrainian pressure has increased over growing areas of a front that is much longer than the 350 kilometers that British intelligence mentions.

The increase in military activity on both sides has been notable in the last week in the Kharkov region. The situation around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant also makes clear the increase in dangerous military activity on this section of the front between Energodar and Nikopol (in the direction of Krivoy Rog). In Energodar is the Zaporozhie nuclear power plant, under Russian control since the beginning of March and where in recent days there have been continuous artillery bombardments that have forced Russian troops to have a presence in the plant's territory, making it more absurd even the Ukrainian accusation that it is Russia that bombs the territory it controls. But none of this has prevented Ukraine from accusing Russia of "nuclear terrorism" or demanding the demilitarization of the area, that is, the Russian withdrawal, and the introduction of international peacekeepers. This is not the first time that kyiv has appealed to this idea: since the then acting president, Oleksandr Turchinov, did so the day he announced the start of thecounter-terrorism operation in April 2014, the idea of ​​an international peacekeeping mission has been a repeated resort to trying to get a foreign force to achieve for Ukraine what its army could not.

To the dangerous situation in the Zaporozhye region must also be added the growing clashes between Kherson and Nikolaev, where military activity is not limited to Ukrainian offensives, but also fear of Russian advances towards the city governed by Vitaly Kim. Closed last weekend in search of collaborators or spies , house to house as the authorities themselves admitted to the Ukrainian media, the city has been one of the main targets of Russian precision missiles in recent weeks. As published by The TimesTo quote the most pessimistic of Ukrainian optimists, Oleksiy Arestovich, there are fears of a Russian attempt to besiege the city. In other words, the great Ukrainian offensive from Nikolaev to Kherson could collide with the Russian pressure from Kherson to Nikolaev.

Or it may be that both sides are simply trying to contain the enemy in a context of war of attrition in which neither army has so far suffered from the six months of intense fighting and the battle has entered a containment phase. waiting for a breakout, be it in the Kherson-Nikolaev zone, Energodar-Krivoy Rog or in the Kharkov region. All this while slowly but steadily the battle for Donbass continues towards its logical end and continues to rack up civilian casualties, destruction and attrition for all participating armies.

Without great possibilities of a complete rupture of the front that would lead to the conclusive military defeat of one of the two sides, which would guarantee that the victor could impose his conditions for peace, the war returns to the trenches and the strategy, although without giving up to territorial advances, it happens to contain the opposing army. “Putin will not stop until his army cannot advance,” Michael McFaul wrote last week, making it clear that this tactic of containment is the basis of the American tactic. And this requires a continuous bombardment of key infrastructure, both military and civilian. As shown by the attempt to tear down the bridges connecting Kherson with the left bank of the Dnieper or the situation around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, this pressure strategy is already underway.

https://slavyangrad.es/2022/08/09/conte ... more-25238

Google Translator

********************

Image

UN: The Largest Number of Ukrainian Refugees Are Fleeing From “Russian Aggression” … to Russia!
4 hours ago
NEW – August 6, 2022

Theses of Ukrainian propaganda about “Kremlin aggression” and the “genocide of the Ukrainian people” are in danger – the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported fresh data about the movement of refugees from Ukraine across Europe. As of August 3 of this year, 6,303,226 refugees from Ukraine were registered in Europe, while from February 24 to August 03 there were 10,350,489 crossings of the Ukrainian border outbound and 4,272,233 crossings inbound.

Image

The distribution by country of departure (top 5) is as follows:

Russian Federation – 1,968,127 crossings;
Poland – 1,256,568;
Germany – 915,000;
Czech Republic – 400,559;
Italy – 157,309.
Countries neighbouring Ukraine:

Image

Other European countries:

Image

Out of the 6.3 million Ukrainian refugees, about 2 million (every third!) chose the Russian direction. In addition, according to the UN, 105,000 citizens of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics were evacuated to Russia from February 18 to 23, which exceeds the number of refugees in 5 months, for example, to the UK (104,000 people).

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cross-border movement on the Polish-Ukrainian border is also of interest: from February 24 to August 03, there were 5,105,850 departures (with a peak of 140,843 on March 06 and a further sharp decline) and 3,083,783 entries. Since the end of March, the number of returnees (about 35,000) significantly exceeds the number leaving Ukraine via Poland (about 25,000 per day).

Image

As of 03.08.2022, 1,256,568 Ukrainian refugees were registered in Poland, from which 1,138,647 (90%) were children under the age of 18 and women (data for voivodeships, gender and age are below).

Image

https://www.stalkerzone.org/un-the-larg ... to-russia/

*********************

Ukraine Needs A Miracle To Drive Russia’s Military Out Of Kherson

ByDaniel DavisPublished3 days ago

Image
HIMARSHIMARS firing like the one used in Ukraine. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

At the end of July, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry released a stark warning for Russian forces in the Kherson region. The Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF), the statement said, were preparing for a large-scale counteroffensive, saying the Russians in Kherson had a choice: “retreat or be annihilated.” Like many other claims by Ukraine in the south, however, this threat has yet to be acted on. A study of the geography and a comparison of the forces involved, however, exposes the reality that only a miracle could see Ukraine drive Russia from Kherson.

Actually, Kyiv would need closer to three miracles to pull an effective offensive there.

On March 2, just days into the war, Russia captured Kherson in southern Ukraine, making it the first major city to fall. Putin’s troops have held it ever since. Almost immediately, Ukraine declared their intention to retake the city. Over the past several months, various Ukrainian officials have claimed the UAF was either about to begin a counteroffensive to take back the city, or had already started it.

Here are just a few of the many headlines published in Western and Ukrainian media:


May 29, the New York Times claimed: “Ukraine Battle Expands as Kyiv Launches Counteroffensive;”

June 9, US News reported: “Ukraine Regains Some Territory in Counter-Offensive in Kherson Area;

June 29, Washington Post adds: “Near Kherson, Ukrainians regain territory in major counteroffensive;”

July 3, The Economist indicates: “Ukraine prepares a counter-offensive to retake Kherson province;”

July 28, Fox News headline: “Kherson cut off: Ukrainian counter-offensive gaining momentum in southern city;”

August 5, Ukrainian media claims: “Ukrainian army launches offensive in Kherson region (ukrinform.net)”

What becomes immediately clear in observing these headlines in the context of time is that beyond the written claims, the frontlines separating the two sides have wavered little more than a few miles in either direction. Meaning, in reality, to date the “offensive” has been little more than ink deep.

As I have previously detailed in these pages, there are fundamental military reasons why Ukraine is very unlikely to successfully launch a counteroffensive in the foreseeable future. Yet there is even more reason to question the feasibility of Ukraine attempting a counter-offensive in the Kherson region.

Many Western analysts have suggested that this summer marks a critical period for Ukraine’s war effort, and the claimed offensive in Kherson could be a make-or-break moment for Kyiv. If those are the stakes, then Zelensky should abandon the idea now, before an even greater disaster results. The reason: to conduct a successful military offensive, Ukraine would need to produce three successive military miracles. Spoiler alert: the chances of attaining even one miracle is unlikely in the extreme; there is zero rational chance for three.

Image
U.S. Marine Corps Marines, Tango Battery, 5th Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, fire a Multiple Launch Rocket System Family of Munitions (MFOR) rocket from a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launcher at Camp Pendleton, Calif., on June 1, 2007. The HIMARS system consists of one launcher, two re-supply vehicles, two re-supply trailers and a basic load of nine pods (six rockets per pod) of MFOR rockets. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Seth Maggard) (Released)

To demonstrate why there is so little chance for this offensive to succeed, we will conduct a mental exercise to illustrate the compounding levels of difficulty. For the purposes of all that follow, let us for the moment say that somehow Ukraine was able to overcome every obstacle I articulated in my previous work that would be necessary even to launch the operation (marshaling sufficient manpower, tanks, air power, ammunition and other supplies necessary to sustain combat operations). Launching the offensive will only be the first of several monumental task.

Miracle #1: Russia Doesn’t Make Adjustments to the Offensive

One of the errors many analysts make in assessing Ukraine’s chances of successfully retaking Kherson is the usually unstated assumption that the current dynamics will continue to exist throughout the operation. For example, Ukraine has had some successes of late in interdicting Russian ammunition depots and damaging bridges over the Dnipro river with HIMARS rocket launchers. The hope is that Ukraine can block Russia’s ability to resupply its forces on the western side of the Dnipro, isolating the defenders.

Further, there is the unstated assumption that the number of troops Russia has allocated for the Kherson mission will remain static, even if Ukraine starts to have success. That will almost certainly not be the case. Putin knows how big of a blow it would be to his war if his forces lost Kherson. Thus far, Putin has avoided the politically risky move of putting his country on a full mobilized footing, choosing to keep life as normal as possible for the majority of Russia’s population.

But if his choice becomes having to take a political risk with his population or to lose a major battle, it is a virtual certainty Putin will order a mobilization and bring in as many troops as is necessary to prevent the loss of Kherson.

It must be kept in mind that Russia has considerable resources it could bring to bear which Putin has yet to activate. Russia has millions more military-aged men, its war-making industry is still fully functional (though it is diminished owing to sanctions), many hundreds of thousands of active-duty troops, and thousands of armored vehicles of every type in storage (though many are old variants). If Ukraine were to start winning the war, Putin could activate vast quantities of material and manpower; Ukraine has virtually no such capacity.

Miracle #2: Geography Doesn’t Matter

If somehow Ukraine overcame all the obstacles necessary to launch an offensive and then made miracle #1 happen that Russia didn’t augment its defenders, they still have to overcome two major challenges with geography.

First, UAF troops are currently in prepared defensive positions in the environs of Mykolaiv, about 30 miles to the west of Kherson. They have the protection afforded by some urban terrain in that city, dugouts built into the earth, trenches, and the benefit of overhead cover in the forests nearby. For Ukrainian forces to attack Kherson, they will have to leave the advantages inherent in the defense and cross nearly 20 miles of open steppe.

Russian gunners and drone operators will be watching and able to engage armored vehicles and infantrymen in the open, with only limited protection. Russia still has considerable amount of artillery in the Kherson region, ability to launch rocket attacks, and still a major advantage in air power. Ukraine would run the risk of being cut to ribbons if they ventured into the open. The Russians, meanwhile, would retain all the advantages of the defense, where they have reportedly been building considerable defensive works within Kherson and the region from which they could endure much bombardment while launching artillery strikes with near impunity.

Second, is the Dnipro river. While much media attention has been given to the success Ukrainian gunners have had in damaging several key bridges necessary to keep the Russian defenders supplied, less has been done to point out that those same bridges would be necessary for the offensive to move one meter beyond Kherson. If Ukraine overcame every obstacle and successfully drove Russia out of Kherson, they would still need to cross the Dnipro to drive Russia out of the region.

If Putin’s troops were driven out of Kherson, they would certainly destroy the bridges on their way out (unless Ukraine dropped the bridges first). Russian artillery and rocket launchers further to the east of the Dnipro – along with other mobile armored forces in the area – would have little trouble preventing a forced crossing of the river by Ukrainian engineers. Without those bridges, Ukraine’s offensive won’t go much beyond the 15 miles they would need to attack to get to the river.

Miracle #3: Ukraine is Able to Successfully Drive Russian Troops from Urban Territory with Fewer Troops, Artillery, and Air Power than the Defenders

One of the enduring requirements of attacks since World War I has been the necessity of the attacking force having superiority in numbers of troops, numbers of armored vehicles, artillery, and air power. If Ukraine got the first two miracles – that Russia didn’t make any responses to a Ukrainian assault and that geographical constraints were mitigated – they would still have to find a way to do something that has likely never happened in a century of modern warfare: an attacking force defeating a defending force without advantages in troop strength, artillery, or air power.

The Germans learned the hard way you “can’t win a tank battle without air power” in their loss to the Soviet Army at the Battle of Kursk. Artillery has been near-decisive for the victors in World War 1, World War 2, the Korean War, Vietnam, and is having an outsized impact in the Russian-Ukrainian War of 2022. Historically speaking, it is nearly impossible for an attacking force to defeat a defending force if the attackers are inferior in field artillery. It would be a miracle if Ukraine were to defeat the Russians in Kherson without a clear superiority in airpower and field artillery.

The Harish Reality

Every important historic battlefield determinant indicates Ukraine would fail if it tried to launch an offensive against Russia in Kherson. It is true that in wartime there is no such thing as “never.” There is no “sure thing,” no slam-dunk certainties, and no guarantees. It is theoretically possible that Ukraine could overcome every obstacle and still defeat Russia. But it’s also true, that battlefield miracles are rare, and vastly outweighed by the occasions when predictable, quantifiable military metrics presage the outcome.

Realistically speaking, it is as close to impossible for Ukraine to successfully pull off an offensive in Kherson as can be imagined. As this analysis demonstrates, Ukraine wouldn’t just need one miracle to succeed, they would need three. Betting the integrity and security of a country on going 3-for-3 in the miracle department may not be the best course.

While it is entirely understandable that Ukraine would be loath to make any deals with Russia that would almost certainly result in ceding some percentage of its territory, that may ultimately be the least bad option to the potential of continuing to fight, bucking the odds in hopes of a complete victory later, and possibly lose everything. The people and political leadership in Kyiv alone can make that call, but evidence strongly suggests making the best deal possible, even with the hated Putin, might be the wiser strategy.

https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/08/ukr ... f-kherson/

***************************

Ukraine and Cognitive Warfare
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on AUGUST 8, 2022
Alexander Kirk

Image

Cognitive warfare” consists of disarticulating Cartesian reasoning and replacing it with one that “seems” logical, but in reality is a manipulated representation of reality.

Ukraine: how to unlearn

A few days ago, the Ukrainian government announced that it had ordered the shutdown of one of the reactors of the Zaporizie nuclear power plant in the center-south of the country, due to a Russian attack that damaged accessory installations, and warned the world of the danger of a nuclear disaster in the center of Europe.

The news was thus disseminated throughout the Western world, and practically no media noticed a fundamental detail: Ukraine cannot shut down reactors, because since April the facilities and the nearby city of Energodar have been under Russian control, a fact which the “information” indirectly casts doubt on.

According to the “news” spread, then, Russia is attacking the nuclear power plant that it itself manages, and which provides electricity to the entire surrounding region, also under Russian control, with the evil purpose of blaming Ukraine.

In addition, and for reasons that have nothing to do with lack of information, the International Atomic Energy Agency itself refuses to investigate, and assumes an ambiguous position, thus adding to the disinformation.

A few seconds of reflection would be enough for anyone to conclude that this is an absurd scenario, but the opposite is true: voices condemning Russian irresponsibility are raised throughout the Western world. It is a conditioned reflex.

These scenarios are repeated day by day since February 24, when Russia launched military operations in Ukraine, and in all of them, Moscow appears as a capital run by a gang of malignant idiots unleashed in a crazy and unrestrained war, and they are losing to boot.

Cognitive warfare

According to my observation after months in the war zone, there are two distinct conflicts: one, the one narrated by the Western press, and the other, the one happening on the ground, which remains hidden.

Cognitive warfare” consists of disarticulating Cartesian reasoning and replacing it with one that “seems” logical, but in reality is a manipulated representation of reality. A matrix idea is planted in the collective, instilled in each person, which becomes the premise from which everything that happens is judged.

This makes people with formal education and a high intellectual level begin to accept unconditionally directed and arbitrary information from multiple sources -formal and informal-, to elaborate conclusions that in their mind appear as their own reflection.

It is a technique that advertising has always used, but since the first Gulf War (1991) it has been taking shape in the media, which until then operated with relative autonomy under the liberal standards of journalism, with certain spaces for pluralism.

Intelligence operations or traditional psychological warfare were replaced by the type of massive and subtle manipulation that the new media were allowing.

After the Vietnam War, military commanders understood that it was not enough to give false information: they had to control reporters directly, without them necessarily knowing about it.

Fake news was always there, but more in a brute way, like the exchange in 1897 between the newspaper entrepreneur Randolph Hearst and his special envoy to Havana: “Please stay: you give me the illustrations and I will organize the war for you”, and the illustrator, Frederic Remington, did his thing: a drawing with Spanish policemen and a naked Cuban passenger on a North American ship was the “proof” that the slightest rights were being violated.

A year later, a bomb sank the U.S. destroyer “Maine” in Havana Bay, killing 260 sailors. Hearst’s newspapers immediately attributed the bomb to Spain, and thus began the war that would end Spanish colonial rule in Cuba, to be replaced by a semi-colonial American one, which would last until 1959.

In August 1964, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson initiated military intervention in Vietnam on the basis of an alleged Vietnamese attack on warships in the Gulf of Tonkin. Such an attack never happened, but to this day the press defines Tonkin as a “confusing indicator”, despite the fact that since 2000 declassified documents prove that it was a deliberate hoax.

The big corporate media have always been willing to reproduce and magnify such incidents, and from there create post-truths. The difference today is how these messages reach our subconscious, and determine our thinking.

The medium and the message

Technology allows social networks to be invaded by false messages produced in series by non-existent users. These are called bots. The targeted message is fed by the analysis of Internet users’ behaviors, which classify and determine tastes, preferences, fears, addictions. It works through key words and phrases, which are repeated until they become dogma.

The major media -international agencies, television networks- participate in this mechanism by creating or reproducing this type of messages, providing the supposed reliability granted by their trajectory and professional status.

Everything indicates that they often act in a coordinated manner: on November 7, 2020, seconds after the American agency Associated Press released a dispatch with unofficial data on the presidential election, all the major Western media declared Joe Biden the undisputed winner, and -along with the social networks- cut off all channels of expression to the incumbent president, Donald Trump, who alleged fraud.

This unusual event was greeted with applause from virtually the entire spectrum of Western public opinion, which was already prepared for it, in part thanks to Trump’s own caricatured behavior. Few wanted, or dared, to question a global conglomerate of media and social networks censuring a sitting President, and establishing a single truth, without the need for evidence or official data.

We don’t really know if there was fraud, and it doesn’t matter anymore. But we do know that the entire U.S. corporate “establishment” set out to stop Trump, a dangerous spokesman for displaced or impoverished social groups, and with the capacity to disrupt institutionality, as demonstrated by the assault on Congress, in January 2021.

The main weapons of this confrontation were the media and the social networking system, which nullified -at least temporarily- the insurrectionary attempts of Tump and his supporters, without firing a shot. With the Democrats, the wars returned, and world tension.

The battle front

On the real battlefield, there is no longer a “front line” or massed infantry assaults. If in the past the battle was defined by the type of weapons available, today weapons are made for the type of war they intend to fight.

At the end of the 19th century, armies could see each other but not harm each other if they were more than a thousand or 1,500 meters away from each other. This changed when weapons capable of hitting more than three or four kilometers, which is the normal range of sight, were produced.

Today the contenders hardly have the opportunity to see each other and fight hand-to-hand. In the Donbas, infantry comes into action at the stage of territorial control, in urban or semi-urban fighting, when artillery exchanges and long-range missile operations have already determined the main course of the battle.

The Russian offensive develops in all directions, pressing in depth, and creating small pockets around cities and villages, but without establishing closed sites, in what seems to be a tactic of attrition to force retreat or surrender, and to avoid a massive destruction such as the one experienced in Mariupol.

From the beginning, Ukrainian forces barricaded themselves in homes, schools, hospitals, in the hope of evading enemy artillery. They did not organize or simply prevented – with bullets – the evacuation of civilians. There are thousands of testimonies of this, dozens of them collected in Mariupol, Volnavojo and other places, by the writer of these lines.

In recent days, perhaps the least pro-Russian of the international organizations, Amnesty International, has denounced it.

These denunciations, however, have little impact on a Western population numbed by the cognitive deconstruction to which they are subjected, and which prevents them from seeing how fascism is growing under their noses, in their streets, workplaces and even in their homes.

A route to fascism cloaked in the garb of democracy and even left-wing progressivism, which supports the far-right regime in Kiev with arms and money, and participates in sanctions that harm its own population, its own economy and mortgages the future.

The single truth of denial labels those who report these facts as propagandists, agents or provocateurs in the service of Russia. Not even Amnesty International is spared.

Since the Gulf War (1991) and Yugoslavia (1999), the concept of “unrestricted war”, as defined by Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui, two colonels of the People’s Liberation Army of China, has been established, a situation in which anything goes, thanks to technology.

In his 1964 book Understanding the Media: Extensions of the Human Being, the Canadian Marshall McLuhan put forward the phrase: “the medium is the message”, in other words, the way the message is transmitted determines the message itself. Twitter or TikTok are today perhaps the best example of how the format defines the content.

“The message of any medium or technology is the change of scale, pace, or pattern it introduces into human affairs,” wrote McLuhan.

Thus, if Randolph Hearst was able to install the idea of justice in a war of rapine, with a false message -an illustration- that reached hundreds of thousands of people, today that same false message reaches billions like a deluge, in diverse formats, uninterruptedly, molding the subconscious with a matrix that the conscience elaborates as its own informed reflection.

The war, according to that, is the work of Putin, an evil dictator who leads hordes of unscrupulous soldiers, looters, rapists of children and women, to take over first Ukraine and then the rest of Europe. Asian hordes reminiscent of the Huns.

This is nothing new: in their retreat, since 1943, the same Nazis who had devastated the Soviet Union, terrorized the German population with warnings to “protect our women and children from the Bolshevik beast”.

That is why, against all logic, the majority of the Ukrainian population and the Western world believe that it is the Russian forces that throw hundreds of tiny anti-personnel mines, called here “petals” or “butterflies”, on the streets of Donetsk, which mutilate legs and arms, and kill children.

Also Russian are the 155 mm shells that fall in the neighborhoods and the center of the city. Or with high precision in schools and hospitals. Russians attacking a Russian-speaking population, which supports them and identifies with them.

It has always been a mystery to this writer why renowned German scientists and doctors surrendered unreservedly to the brutalities of Nazi ideology, applying all their knowledge to “prove” Aryan racial superiority, measuring skulls, drawing lips, ears and noses, or classifying the color of palates. And enthusiastically joining in the total elimination of Jews, Gypsies or Slavs who crossed their path.

The same is true today.


On the recent attack on the hotel and theater in the city of Donetsk, teleSUR special correspondent Alejandro Kirk interviewed activist Eva Bartlett.



https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/08/ ... e-warfare/

" Trump, a dangerous spokesman for displaced or impoverished social groups", gimme a break...Trump is a spokesman for himself only, and while many of his supporters have been on the receiving end of the gradual impoverishment of the working class(since about 1973) this speaks entirely to the wretchedness of American politics, where a portion of the populace, disgusted with the paltry politics of the ruling parties latch on to the first charlatan who seems to address their grievances, playing to the underlying assumptions of Amerika.

If the author were a Marxist he would understand that science is subject to the 'ruling ideas of the epoch', those of the ruling class, just like every other facet of society.

Otherwise not too bad.

*******************

Image

Kremlin accuses Kiev of nuclear plant shelling, warns of catastrophe
Originally published: Al Mayadeen on August 8, 2022 by Agencies (more by Al Mayadeen) | (Posted Aug 09, 2022)

Ukrainian forces have been accused by the Kremlin of shelling the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, warning of potential “catastrophic consequences” for Europe.

“The shelling of the territory of the nuclear plant by the Ukrainian armed forces is a potentially extremely dangerous activity… fraught with catastrophic consequences for a vast area, including the territory of Europe,” Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated to reporters.

Fire contained following the attack
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Ukrainian army sabotaged a high-voltage power line that provides electricity to nearby regions, which sparked a “power surge” at the station, causing smoke in a switchgear used to protect electrical equipment.

Firefighters at the scene however were able to stop the smoke, the Ministry stated.

Moscow and Kiev have blamed each other for strikes on the atomic power plant in Zaporozhye, where recent fighting sparked a UN warning of a potential nuclear disaster, as it has recently been the scene of military strikes that damaged several structures, forcing the shutdown of a reactor.

A Russophobic rhetoric

The Zaporozhye attacks have led the Russian Embassy in the US to urge journalists to steer away from Russophobic rhetoric and pressed the UN and the International Atomic Energy Agency to focus on preventing provocations by Ukraine at hazardous nuclear plants and facilities.

Russia has rejected previous claims that it uses the Zaporozhye atomic power plant as a military base, per U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s claim.

https://mronline.org/2022/08/09/kremlin ... tastrophe/

******************

Russia Halts Inspections of Facilities Under New START Treaty

Image
A medium-range ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead RSD-10 Pioneer. | Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Published 9 August 2022

In 2010, Washington and Moscow signed the New START, which stipulates limits to the numbers of deployed nuclear warheads and strategic delivery systems by both.

On Monday, Russia's Foreign Affairs Ministry announced that its country has temporarily withdrawn its facilities from inspections under the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START).

"Russia officially informed the United States... that our country was temporarily withdrawing its facilities subject to inspections under this treaty from inspection activities," the Ministry said.

Moscow was forced to suspend inspections "as a result of Washington's persistent attempts to restart inspection activities" under unfair conditions, which created advantages for the U.S. side, while simultaneously making it impossible for Russia to carry out inspections in the United States.

Anti-Russian restrictions, imposed by Washington, have disrupted air travel between Russia and the Untied States, making it impossible for Russian inspection teams to reach necessary destinations.


The ministry said that both sides must "abandon counterproductive attempts aimed at artificially speeding up the resumption of inspection activities" and focus on eliminating all existing problems in this area. It said that the measures were temporary, and would be canceled if all existing issues were eliminated.

In 2010, Washington and Moscow signed the New START, which stipulates limits to the numbers of deployed nuclear warheads and strategic delivery systems by both.

The New START, the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty in force between the two nuclear superpowers, can be extended by a maximum of five years with the consent of the two countries. Russia and the U.S. officially extended the treaty by five years on Feb. 3, 2021.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/__export ... 147717.jpg
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10592
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part IV

Post by blindpig » Tue Aug 09, 2022 11:34 pm

High-Level Ukrainian Intelligence Official Admits U.S. Deeply Involved in Ukraine Conflict
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on AUGUST 8, 2022
Jeremy Kuzmarov

Image
[Source: telegraph.com]

Major General Vadym Skibitsky, the deputy head of the Kyiv regime’s military intelligence directorate, admitted in an interview with the British daily Telegraph, that the U.S. government is involved in targeting decisions regarding U.S. supplied Lockheed Martin’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).

Moscow has seized on this admission to charge the U.S. with direct involvement in the Ukraine War.

Asked by the Telegraph how the HIMARS have so precisely targeted Russian fuel and ammunition depots (at least this is what the Kyiv regime has alleged—ed.), as well as battlefield headquarters in eastern Ukraine, General Skibitsky replied, “in this case in particular, we use real-time information.”

Image
[Source: aljazeera.com]

U.S. officials are not providing direct targeting information, Skibitsky claimed, because it would potentially undermine their case for not being direct participants in the war.

However, he suggested that there was a level of consultation between intelligence officials of both countries prior to launching missiles that would allow Washington to stop any potential attacks if they were unhappy with the intended target.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov made a video statement saying that Skibitsky’s admission “undeniably proves that Washington, contrary to White House and Pentagon claims, is directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine.”

“It is [the] Biden administration that is directly responsible for all Kyiv-approved rocket attacks on residential areas and civilian infrastructure in populated areas of Donbas and other regions, which have resulted in mass deaths of civilians,” Konashenkov said. “No one else in Ukraine or in the world should have any doubts that HIMARS strikes on Novaya Kakhovka on July 12, on Stakhanov on July 17, on Krasniy Luch on July 24, dozens of strikes on Donetsk, and, of course, the July 29 strike on the detention facility in Elenovka, which killed 50 and injured 73 Ukrainian POWs, were planned by [the] Zelensky regime and approved by Washington.”

“Political, criminal and moral responsibility for the Elenovka massacre and other war crimes in Ukraine, along with Zelensky, lies directly with [the] Biden administration,” he concluded.


Image
NewsIgor Konashenkov [Source: bbc.com]

U.S. officials denied that HIMARS rockets—having a 70-kilometer range—were used specifically to destroy the detention facility at Elenovka in Donetsk, though television crews that visited the site found rocket motor parts fit to HIMARS missiles.

Image
Damage from the explosion at the Olenivka camp on Friday.Damage from destruction at Elenovka POW camp. 53 Azov fighters died and 70 were injured. [Source: nytimes.com]

On July 28, the Russians released the video of an Azov soldier, Dmytro Kozatsky, who accused Zelensky’s adviser, Oleksiy Arestovych, of ordering the creation of shock videos showing Azov Battalion members torturing and murdering Russians POWs in order to deter other Russians from fighting against Ukraine.[1]

According to Moon of Alabama, a political blogger, Kozatsky’s statement was enough to put Arestovych in jail for a very long time. Arestovych allegedly responded by sending the HIMARS missiles to kill the prisoners in Elenovka who were talking to the Russians and making accusations against him.

Amnesty Documents Ukrainian War Crimes

If indeed Ukraine, and the U.S., was responsible for the Elenovka prison bombing, it would fit a pattern of war crimes documented in a new report by Amnesty International.

The report concluded that Ukraine repeatedly violated the laws of war in the Kharkiv, Donbas and Mykolaiv regions; the Kyiv regime has “put civilians in harms way by establishing bases and operating weapons systems in populated residential areas, including in schools and hospitals.”

According to Amnesty’s researchers, viable alternatives were available to the Ukrainian forces that would not endanger civilians by inviting retaliatory strikes on them, such as military bases or densely wooded areas nearby. Even worse, when the Ukrainian army occupied civilian buildings, they did not ask residents to evacuate or assist in that evacuation.

Image
Ukrainian soldier preparing howitzer for launch in eastern Ukraine. Amnesty International documented the Ukrainian armies illegal use of hospitals and schools as military bases in the war. According to the report “at 22 out of 29 schools visited [in eastern Ukraine], Amnesty International researchers either found soldiers using the premises or found evidence of current or prior military activity—including the presence of military fatigues, discarded munitions, army ration packets and military vehicles. [Source: aljazeera.com]

$8.7 Billion in Military Assistance

On August 1, the Biden administration authrized another $550 million in arms and equipment from the Pentagon to Ukraine, bringing the overall total of military assistance to a whopping $8.7 billion.

The latest aid package includes more ammunition for the HIMARS and 155mm artillery systems, which on August 4 were used by the Ukrainian army in the bombing of a funeral ceremony for a Russian Colonel near Donetsk city center (a 12-year-old child was among those killed).

In late June, The New York Times reported on a secret U.S. operation involving U.S. commandos and spies who coordinate weapons deliveries and provide intelligence and training to Ukrainian special forces, largely at U.S. bases in Germany and Poland.

The Times further reported that “some CIA personnel have continued to operate in the country secretly, mostly in the capital, Kyiv, directing much of the vast amounts of intelligence the United States is sharing with Ukrainian forces, according to current and former officials. At the same time, a few dozen commandos from other NATO countries, including Britain, France, Canada and Lithuania, also have been working inside Ukraine.”

Image
After a meeting in Brussels this month, Gen. Mark A. Milley, second from the left, and military leaders from nearly 50 countries pledged to increase the flow of advanced artillery to Ukraine.After a meeting in Brussels this month, Gen. Mark A. Milley, second from the left, and military leaders from nearly 50 countries pledged to increase the flow of advanced artillery to Ukraine. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III is in the center. [Source: nytimes.com]

On a street in Bakhmut, a town in the hotly contested Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, The Times reporter observed a group of Ukrainian special forces that had American flag patches on their gear and were equipped with Belgian and American assault rifles.

These revelations all give further weight to Russian assertions about extensive U.S. involvement in a war that is quickly turning into another Vietnam-type quagmire.

Imperial Messenger Raises Alarm Bells

No less an establishment voice than New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman—who earned the nickname “the imperial messenger” for his long ideological support for U.S. imperialism—has raised alarm bells about U.S. policy in Ukraine.

In an August 1 column criticizing Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, Friedman wrote that “the Ukraine war is not over. And privately, U.S. officials are a lot more concerned about Ukraine’s leadership than they are letting on. There is deep mistrust between the White House and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine—considerably more than has been reported.

“And there is funny business going on in Kyiv. On July 17, Zelensky fired his country’s prosecutor general and the leader of its domestic intelligence agency—the most significant shake-up in his government since the Russian invasion in February. It would be the equivalent of Biden firing Merrick Garland and Bill Burns on the same day. But I have still not seen any reporting that convincingly explains what that was all about.

“It is as if we don’t want to look too closely under the hood in Kyiv for fear of what corruption or antics we might see, when we have invested so much there.”

These comments are especially significant because of their source.

They indicate that the mythic narrative about Zelensky and illusions sustaining public support for the war are no longer believed at elite levels and have been shown to be fraudulent.

1.A similar tactic was used in the 1940s by Ukrainian Nazi collaborators of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). ↑

__________________________________

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/08/ ... -conflict/

*****************

Ukrainian Terrorism: Firing Munitions Containing Petal Mines On Donbass Orphanage, Another War Crime
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on AUGUST 9, 2022



On August 6, Ukraine fired onto the territory of an orphanage in Makeevka a rocket containing the Petal mines which Ukraine has been terrorizing Donetsk civilians with since late July. The orphanage evacuated its children months ago, due to its proximity to the front lines. Nonetheless, according to the Head Physician of the orphanage, Ukraine deliberately targeted it, knowing its existence and location.

This is another Ukrainian war crime, the latest in a long list spanning 8+ years. As of August 8, according to DPR authorities, 29 people have been injured by the Petal Mines Ukraine continues to rain down on the DPR. These are extremely insidious mines, difficult to spot, easy to step on and have your foot blown off, as was the case with an 87 year old woman recently.

Ukraine signed the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention in 1999, and was obliged to not only not use them, but to destroy its stock. Out of the six million such mines Ukraine initially declared in its possession, only two million have reportedly been destroyed as of 2018.

RELATED LINKS:

https://t.me/chp_donetsk_z/27085 https://t.me/chp_donetsk_z/27119 https://t.me/chp_donetsk_z/27105 https://web.archive.org/web/202208080

Ukraine turns Donetsk into a minefield using banned ‘butterfly’ mines



Donetsk Emergency Services & Sappers Clear Residential Areas of Ukraine’s Mines



https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/08/ ... war-crime/

**********************

Explosions at the airport in Novofedorovka
August 9, 16:24

Image

There were 7 explosions at the Novofedorvka airfield, after which a fire started in the fuel depot, as well as a secondary detonation of ammunition.
So far, there are two versions - a missile attack from Odessa and sabotage. We are waiting for official statements.
There must have been dead and wounded on the airfield. A large number of ambulances have now been sent there

Image

Image

There is a running joke for 300 about decision centers.

More photos and videos from Novofedorovka on the channel https://t.me/boris_rozhin

of the Russian Ministry of Defense - about explosions in Crimea:

"August 9, around 15.20, on the territory of the Saki airfield near the settlement of Novofedorovka, on a bunded storage site, several aviation ammunition detonated "

As a result of the explosion, no one was injured. Aviation equipment at the airfield was not damaged.

Measures are being taken to extinguish the fire and find out the causes of the explosion.

According to a report from the site, there was no fire impact on the bunded ammunition storage area at the airfield."

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7789637.html

Novofedorovka. Effects
August 9, 17:37

Image

1. Based on the statement of the Russian Ministry of Defense and reports about the absence of missile arrivals, the key issue is the cause of the explosion of ammunition, which led to secondary detonations at the airfield - sabotage, negligence and violation of safety regulations, some kind of accident. Specific conclusions should be expected after the completion of secondary detonations at the airfield and the opportunity for investigators to inspect the site of the explosion and study the testimony of witnesses.

2. So far, three victims are known to have been taken to the hospital in the city of Saki. After the explosions, three people were taken to the Saki hospital with minor and moderate injuries. One is being operated on. One of the wounded, a 13-year-old teenager, has already been discharged after receiving assistance. There are no reports of military casualties. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation states that according to preliminary data, there are no casualties among the personnel. According to the Ministry of Health, only 5 civilians were injured - there are no threats to their lives.

3. A 5-kilometer cordon zone has been established around the airfield in order to eliminate the risk of explosions on ammunition that could be scattered around the airfield after a secondary detonation (the main explosions are the detonation of pallets with air bombs). This is not a mandatory evacuation, but citizens are advised to exercise maximum caution.

4. All reports about the introduction of a state of emergency on the territory of Crimea by decrees of Putin or Aksyonov are fakes and stuffing from the Ukrainian side. Aksenov's adviser said that no one was going to introduce a state of emergency.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7790000.html

Novofedorovka. Evening
August 9, 22:09

Image

Novofedorovka. Evening

1. The total number of victims increased to 9.
Thus, 1 dead civilian and 9 injured.

2. There was no exodus of the population. Moreover, by evening, people had already returned to the beaches near Novofedorovka, from where the explosions at the airfield were filmed during the day. Ukrainian propaganda in this regard clearly hoped to cause a great panic in connection with the explosions.

3. There are no traffic jams on the Crimean bridge - traffic is traffic. Also, for several hours now, the traffic jam in the Novofedorovka area, which arose in the first couple of hours after the explosions, had dissipated.

4. The state of emergency has not been declared and is not planned to be announced. At the same time, the "yellow" level of terrorist threat in Crimea was extended until August 24. Not so long ago, it was also introduced in Sevastopol after a terrorist attack near the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet.

5. Evacuated residents from houses adjacent to the airfield in Novofedorovka were placed in a nearby hotel. They will be able to return home after the sappers check the territory and make sure there are no explosive objects.

6. Regarding the causes of the explosion of ammunition, we are waiting for the conclusions of the commission. I also think that in the near future satellite images of the airfield will appear and it will be possible to assess the degree of damage to the military infrastructure.

https://t.me/boris_rozhin/60061

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7790667.html

Google Translator

********************************

From Cassad's Telegram Account:

***
Сolonelcassad
❗️🇬🇧 🇺🇦 The situation in the east of Ukraine
by the end of August 9, 2022

▪️In the morning in the Belgorod region , air defense systems intercepted several shells fired from the territory of Ukraine.

▪️Russian units fired on enemy positions in Semyonovka in Chernihiv Oblast , as well as Seredina-Budakh, Mezenovka and Katerynivka in Sumy Oblast.

▪️At night, the RF Armed Forces launched at least 4 missile strikes on targets in the Industrial and Kholodnogorsk districts of Kharkov. At the same time, the Russian Aerospace Forces worked on a Ukrainian army facility in the vicinity of Verkhniy Saltov.

▪️On Bakhmutsky (Artemovsky) the offensive of the allied forces continues.
➖On the Seversky sector of the front, fighting is underway in the area of ​​​​Verkhnekamensky and Ivano-Daryevka.
➖Northeast of Soledar, units of the allied forces, with the support of artillery and aviation, are developing an offensive in Yakovlevka.
➖In Soledar itself , units of the 6th Cossack regiment of the NM LPR took control of the entire territory of the KNAUF-Gypsum plant in the southeastern outskirts of the city. Collisions go on the streets adjacent to the enterprise.
➖Assault detachments of "PMC Wagner" continued to fight on the eastern outskirts of Bakhmut (Artemovsk) .
➖To the south of Bakhmut, clashes continue in the area from Kodema to Vesela Dolina.

▪️In the Donetsk direction, the allied forces are developing success in several sectors of the front.
➖The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation were able to advance in the Avdeevsky direction, starting battles in Krasnogorovka.
➖In Maryinka , units of the NM DPR were able to take positions near the waste heap of the Shchurovo mine and are moving to the center of the settlement.
➖To the north, Russian forces advanced west of Staromikhaylovka , engaging the enemy.
➖In Peski , positional battles continue in residential areas in the north-west of the village without any significant changes.
➖Ukrainian formations continued to shell Donetsk and other cities of the Donetsk Republic. As a result of the artillery strikes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 2 civilians were killed, at least 10 people were injured.

▪️In the Dnepropetrovsk region , Russian forces hit targets in the Nikopol region.

▪️In the Zaporozhye direction , the Russian Aerospace Forces launched an air strike on the accumulation of enemy manpower near Shcherbak.

The parties continued to conduct artillery duels near the line of contact. At night, the Armed Forces of Ukraine shelled the city of Tokmak .

▪️In the Krivoy Rog direction, Russian artillery hit enemy positions in Osokorovka , Knyazevka and Olgino.

Image

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

Google Translator

**********************************
Found access to some of our older threads from 2015. Here is the third installment of Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism https://web.archive.org/web/20151017000 ... p?t=138315. A sampling below:
These oligarchs want to be worshipped as gods, when they are the real "bydlo" with no honor and no sense of shame

08.30.15. Note from Maxim Kalashnikov. "Take that, Grandma," imperial revolution "... On the career builders current ORDILOSOSa. Until the arrow and a handful of volunteers fought in Slavyansk ... Time to unmask ruthlessly. Russian Spring suffocated and transformed into Ahmed Surkov-titushnuyu cloaca . Let us remember that it was in the spring of last year. And where did the current "elite" DNR. Let us remember how committed suicide Novorossia hands not of Kiev ... DECISIVENESS HALF So, when the decision of the Crimea, it has until recently remained unknown to the liberal wing of the government . When the peninsula began to unfold, and already there were "polite", it noted two calls from overseas premiere Medvedev (formal premiere) and the premiere of truth - the protege of the Yeltsin family Shuvalov. Like, what's going on. Those were not aware of the case and answer: domestic, de, the conflict in Ukraine. There is undeniable role in the decision of Vladimir Putin. He really stunned the court liberals. But then his determination disappeared. Donbass "Crimean option" He refused, though not prevented the squad Igor Strelkov log in Donbass and arrive at "Villa Maria" in Slavyansk. Maybe GDP thought it would be possible to take fright at the Kiev, Kiev but still not afraid. And start a war. Let awkwardly and reluctantly at first, but started. Having refusing to rapid accession Donbass became doomed to death, destruction and savagery, to poverty and unemployment. And Crimea - on the thirst, the blockade by land and economic depression. Do you know what it looks like today station in Simferopol? RUSSIAN SPRING scare FIRST KREMLIN Do you know what happened next? Russian Spring frightened especially the Kremlin. This is when people begin to select the property from the oligarchs, even though neighboring "states"? Well this is a bad example. And in any way, then they will come to Russia - and the same will be engaged? Because Igor Strelkov from the very beginning was doomed to isolation and the People's Governor Pavel Gubarev - by throwing out a new "elite". Kremlin course appointed prime DNI beard. He said that the move? With the revolution, they say, it's not the social and imperial. Because - you know - the main Donbas oligarch Akhmetov seizures do not need to expose. But who needs "imperial revolution," if it continues to live under the yoke does not have the most intelligent and greedy tycoon? Fuck if people such "empire"? But the Kremlin decided that way, "empire" while preserving the old masters. So it ordered the appointed curator of Surkov-Dudayev. Raven a crow does not eat dog. Oh, what a deal Akhmetov and Surkov, I do not know - there needs questioning. But it is not hard to guess. Prime Boroday saluted. From the outset, it was decided to remove the "wild" type Stelkova idealists, Gubarev and brain, replacing them with titushek - servants Akhmetov since domaydannyh times. What "Empire" They brought? What "empire" could bring political strategists? We know perfectly well, as one of the chiefs sent from Moscow DNI first of all engaged in trafficking in looted and taken away luxe cars. I spent a few thousand grinbakov on briefcase made ​​from crocodile leather. Type - should observe the status. Every evening he brought a prostitute every night he blew a bottle of whiskey. The suite he flicked ash on the floor would collapse on the bed in shoes. In general, he behaved like a boor-convict from the early '90s. A portion of the money that had been so necessary in the battle sweltering garrison Slavyansk, remained at the disposal of the new authorities. As well as the weapons that had to go in the Slavic. Appointees from the outset staked on titushek Akhmetov. They pumped the weapon. And while Slavyansk strelkovtsy were forced to fight with antitank guns Simnova times World, with a broken howitzer "Nona", with grenades for RPG that triggered one of the three, and with few ATGM, the new authorities in Donetsk created titushechnuyu rear army protects property Akhmetov. Property looted in the 90th. That's a great example. May 25, 2014 Residence oligarch Rinat Akhmetov was taken under the protection of soldiers "Hold", which was announced by Prime Minister Alexander Boroday DNI. This - the hottest fights in Slavyansk when fresh every ten men would have been a huge help. But in Donetsk chiefs preferred to "fight" for property Akhmetov. When, after the Sunday rally people went to Akhmetov's residence, they were met by soldiers of the organization "Hold", covered in camouflage with guns at the ready, and who tried to stop the march, warning of armed men Akhmetov, which is empty dissatisfied for stuffing. The crowd did not listen and still continued its "go", which ended at the entrance to the residence of a businessman. Here again, the protesters met fighters "Hold", which flatly refused to let someone else in. Programmed WEST know, for that I despise the current "elite"? Because it is fully programmable West. Even in small things. Do you remember the "uniform" racketeers and gangsters' 90s? Sports pants, denim jackets and thick "Gold" on the neck. It - crooks face in American films of 80's and early 90's. Russian "lads" just stared at Vydac and ape. His mind they do not. In fact, just slavishly imitating the West and more "cultural" liberal "reformers" and officials. . His brain is not, they can only repeat what comes from the West. Hollywood and its programs. I recall one film from Hollywood. Early 90s. I do not remember names. Thus, post-nuclear world. Criminals terrorize the community of survivors. But not just because they say they build an empire. Damn, really Hollywood and then programmed "imperostroitelstvo" in the Donbass? Down to the last detail. They killed a Russian spring, alas. And now conduct business to transform the shadows of New Russia - first in ahmetosurkovskuyu "republic", and then in ORDILOSOS. Parts of Donetsk and Lugansk regions with a special status ... a part of Ukraine. Sickly, but "imperial revolution" came out. Catherine II just crying. And for that lost their lives and thousands of brave civilians? They, it turns out, in the name of Akhmetov and the Kremlin spin doctors died? But who is cheating? Only zombie admirers. We-we see that the ribbons of steel cover outright criminal cynicism. Like the memory of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War in Moscow itself now serves as the cover of mafia and criminal Sisem naledstvennoy, neo-feudal elite. You all were taken in his holy shit! From: http://vk.com/strelkov_info?w=wall-57424472_72655

http://vladimirsuchan.blogspot.com/2...orshipped.html

Google Translator

*******

Hands: on urgent military situation - APU nearly finished concentration of forces for the offensive



02/09/2015 - 13:07
Hands: on urgent military situation - APU nearly finished concentration of forces for an attack | Russian Spring
Former Defense Minister Donetsk People's Republic Igor Strelkov gave a brief outlook on the military situation on the basis of his personal analysis of the available data.

Currently, Ukrainian troops almost finished concentration of forces for the planned offensive.

In the areas selected as the direction of the main strike (to the south of Donetsk), their superiority over the opposing portions of the BCH is estimated approximately as 5-fold. Shelter for the defense in depth, the group has stressed offensive APU configuration.

At the front is actively conducted additional exploration LDNR army positions. Moreover, being a professional reconnaissance (presumably - PMCs). The number of drones and electronic warfare involved're coming out, the military is impressive. Near the front of the considerable reserve of ammunition to all kinds of weapons.

APU power available is sufficient to effect the defeat of opposing "militia corps" within a week or two, with the first day of the offensive can be achieved profound breakthroughs with access to the rear communications.

The attack can be worn as a character of "General" (aimed at the access to the border with the Russian Federation on all over and the subsequent complete destruction of republics), and limited, the aim of which may be the capture of the southern part of the DNI and vital infrastructure, without which even a partial economic autonomy Donbass would be impossible.

A full-scale attack should be expected before the autumn slush and thus remains at the disposal of the APU is not more than a month and a half for its beginning.

And taking into account the need to not only start, but finish the operation before the onset of the autumn slush, the period of the offensive moves in the frame before the September 20-25. If before the deadline will not start an offensive, with a high probability it will be possible to predict the preservation of the status quo before the winter frosts.

However, the postponement of the operation although it is possible, but unlikely, as the deteriorating economic and political situation in Kiev junta does not guarantee the ability to re-assemble an equally powerful group for the attack six months later.

The most appropriate term for the attack (putting yourself in the place of the enemy) seem to stay V. Putin in New York at the UN General Assembly (20th of September) - so it can be achieved the effect of rendering it a massive pressure from the t. N. "The international community" at the time of the adoption of strategic decisions on the provision of or failure to provide military assistance LDNR or the extent of the aid.

Let me remind you that the "war 8.8.8", and decisive events "revolution gidnosti" were made at a time when the VV Putin was outside Moscow (in China and the Olympiade in Sochi). In the first case, the effect was not achieved. In the second - the question for me is not clear.

http://rusvesna.su/news/1441188055

Google Translator

***************

(Here is a properly translated version of the post above courtesy of the good folks at Slavyangrad.)

Results

Original: Colonel Cassad
Translated by Alya & Alan Bailey / Edited by @GBabeuf



Now in the morning we can sum up the results of yesterday’s events.

The culprit is a soldier of the Sych Battalion of the MIA [Ministry of Internal Affairs ‒ed.], Igor Vladimirovich Gumenyuk, who is also a member of the youth wing of the Svoboda Party from the town of Kamenets-Podolsky.




His colleagues from the Sych Battalion describe him as an “ATO hero”, who bravely defended the town of Peski from the separatists, and say that he neither has anything to do with the toppling of the authorities, nor with any call for a third Maidan.

Interesting fact—according to some information he was on leave from August 3 till September 3, and is supposed to return to the front-line. But after throwing the grenade, which cast a shadow on Avakov’s department, it suddenly became clear that the “ATO hero” had been in the process of dismissal from the ranks of the MIA. It is quite understandable why this is happening—it is one thing when a grenade is thrown by a member of the Svoboda Party, but it is another matter when a grenade is thrown by an employee of the MIA of Ukraine. By the way, note that a member of a fascist party quite legally worked in MIA. This is the merging of fascism with the state apparatus.

The casualties are: 1 dead and 131 injured, including 7 critically.

Update: according to Ria Novosti, 3 dead. Avakov insists there are 2 dead, not 3.

There is still no confirmed account of how the deceased was killed—some sources claim it was by shrapnel, others, by a bullet. Judging by the hole in a window of the Verkhovna Rada, firearms were used, although they cannot be clearly seen in pictures and videos. Possibly “unknown snipers” were operating whose task was to provoke riots and bloodshed. But there is no certain information about this apart from the bullet hole and (contradictory) information about the causes of death of the National Guard.

As a result of the riots sixty-nine people were arrested. One of these says his arm was broken during the arrest, and that later, while in the police car, he was beaten and choked by policemen in the presence of “new police.”

He also complains that while they were beating him, they called him “Maidown” [a portmanteau of Maidan and Down’s Syndrome ‒ed.] and ”Banderite.” The arrests were conducted under the authority of the former police chief of Kiev under Yanukovich, whom Poroshenko had removed from the lustration list.


There is no information on whether Gumenyuk threw the grenade on his own initiative or on somebody else’s orders (Svoboda, the SBU or the FSB [SBU: Security Service of Ukraine; FSB: Federal Security Service of Russian Federation ‒ed.]).

In my own opinion I am inclined to believe that it was his own initiative because of being alternatively gifted. But it remains a mystery who was shooting from a firearm and to what end.

Now this initiative (if it really was an initiative and not a planned provocation) will be used for other purposes—unequivocally, Svoboda will lose out and possibly a number of other fascist, radical organisations. The beneficiaries of this grenade tossing will be Poroshenko, the USA and, to some extent, Russia.

P.S. And yes, yesterday leaflets were handed out in Kiev leaflets bearing Poroshenko’s portrait and the words “Kill the fag.”


http://slavyangrad.org/2015/09/02/results/#more-6304

(Well, there's a new one for the lexicon, 'alternatively gifted'. Ha!)

****

The Odessa Massacre – Part 1: Traumas and emotions



September 7, 2015
People will respond different when confronted with traumatic experiences and emotions. Some will be silent for a while, locked inside themselves with their thoughts. Others will scream and shout to express their feelings, anger or frustration. When I am confronted with emotional trauma, two things happen. The first thing that happens is that I become unaware of my surroundings and I stop caring that everything is in the right place. Anyone who knows me, knows that this is very strange behavior for me. The second things that happens is that I start to feel my feet, the feet I don’t have any more for over a decade. This might be difficult to imagine but I literally feel my feet turn cold and I already know that when I will be finally able to sleep, my night will be disrupted by phantom pains and nightmares of the explosion.

The evening of 2 May 2014 started very nice for me and nothing pointed at having my feet turn cold that day. After a good wheel-tennis tournament in which I managed to finish in 3rd place, my friends and I went to our favorite fish-restaurant overlooking the harbor of Amsterdam. When the food was being served, I noticed an incoming call from a friend in Odessa but I decided to call him back after dinner. A decision I still regret! We enjoyed our food and some nice wine and when we left the restaurant I remembered the missed call and tried to call my friend back. Busy signal, it took me some attempts before I could finally reach him.

They are killing us! Our people are burning, they are killing us!

A very hectic conversation, panic and fear in his voice. Bits and pieces of what has happened and what was happening. My feet turned cold while trying to understand what my friend was telling me. A protest and a counter-protest escalated, people locked up in a building, shots fired, fire everywhere, the building set on fire with people inside. Many died, didn’t know how many but must be many. Escaped with his younger brother, beaten by hooligans. Cousin still missing, very worried and afraid.

My friend wanted to go back to search for his missing cousin and I tried to convince him to please stay away. In my utter naivety, I urged him to call the police and let him handle it. My feet reached the freezing point when my friend told me the police was there, watching and doing nothing. He ended the call with the words “I have to go back to find my cousin” and left me in fear about his safety.

I rushed to the metro to get home, all the time checking all news apps for news about Odessa. There was nothing, absolutely nothing! When I finally arrived home, I turned on the TV and flipped through the news channels to see what was going on in the city of Odessa. Not a single word about it. Until I had completed all Western channels and arrived at the first Russian channel on my satellite… A shaking recording from a mobile phone, I couldn’t understand a word the reporter was saying but that wasn’t necessary, the video said more than any words could express…

In need of some words of strength and wisdom, I tried to call my best friend but he didn’t answer my calls. Later I learned that he himself was trying to comfort his girlfriend who was going through the shock and trauma of what was happening. I decided to do something I have done a lot since that horrible night. I called all my friends in Ukraine just to see if they were still alive. Nowadays I call them at least once a week, making up silly excuses to call them but they know by now that I call to see if they are alive. As soon as they answer my call, my fear for that person disappears and my friends are happy about my caring for them. 4 friends will however never answer my calls again, they have fallen in this horrible war. Other friends grieve for the family and friends they have lost and there is no end in sight. But that night all other friends were still OK and in shock about the Massacre of Odessa.

4 friends will never answer my calls again

A couple of days later, I had another shock moment while reading a report about survivors of the Odessa Massacre being held in custody by Ukrainian authorities. I immediately called my friend from Odessa, wanting to tell him to get out of there. He told me that he had already left together with his brother and was on his way to Crimea but they had some challenges getting through undetected on the Ukrainian side. And then he turned silent and I felt my feet turn cold as if already knowing what would come. His cousin had died from his burn wounds. The doctor had told my friend that his cousin would have still been alive if he would have had timely medical treatment but it lasted hours before medical and rescue services were even allowed in the building. When they tried to rush his cousin to the hospital, protesters had blocked and attacked the rescuers while a handful of policemen were standing close by and watched. When they were finally able to leave, his cousin had already died. A reporter had told my friend that the crowd cheered when the rescue worker pulled the blanket over his cousin’s head on the stretcher…

Earlier this year, I was having dinner with my best friend. Relaxing, having fun, talking business, kids, life, future, past. Suddenly he gets up and starts to make calls, write messages, his friendly smile is replaced by a grim look and the friendly voice is now demanding, calm and cold. I know this man for many years and know that something made him very angry. It turns out that he found out through a common friend that Anna Schalimova was banned to enter Ukraine and “locked up” at the airport without any support. Anna, who we both respect for her critical reporting about the situation in Ukraine and especially the aftermath of the Odessa Massacre. More calls were made, Anna seemed to be ok under the circumstances and I thought we would return to our dinner but there was something in his look. As if a different person had returned to the table.

Ice cold wide spread eyes, an even colder voice and a facial expression which can’t even be properly described by grim. It wasn’t just anger, it was fury, pure and burning fury. I know this face, this look, this voice that gives my chills. I know this man from our years in the military services, leading us but since those years I haven’t seen him like this. Now a friendly person for years and suddenly this other side of him returned, my feet freeze instantly and I shiver as I intuitively address him by his rank instead of his name. I asked him what caused his fury and I expected some strong statements but nothing like that happened, nothing of what I was expecting. A private detail I wasn’t aware of explained his concern but not his fury, so I asked again.

They did it before, they enjoyed doing it again

His eyes burning straight through mine, he showed me a picture on his phone. A black and white picture of a burning building and with his icy voice he explains what this picture is. 1942, Eastern Ukraine, people of a village forced into a building by UPA forces after which those butchers set the building on fire. Everyone inside burned to death, including members of his family. “They did it before, they enjoyed doing it again”. He left after those words, with all his fury. That night I wasn’t able to sleep at all. Worried about my best friend leaving in this state of mind, shocked about what he told me.

The following day I called everyone in Ukraine I know, long talks just to be sure that they were ok, that they were being careful. Grieving together for the friends we have lost. Once again going through every thought about the Odessa Massacre. And finally, an online message from Anna that she arrived safe back in Germany! I wrote friends the good news, opened up a bottle of wine and celebrated the “happy ending” of Anna’s adventure in the country she was born in. At that moment I realized that this horrifying war had impacted me so much that I had already started to fear for the lives and safety of people I don’t even know personally, like Anna who I respect but have never met in my life. And there is Trevor, who has family in Donbass, I worry with him about them and feel better when my online friend writes me they are ok. There is Gleb, good old Gleb, who I jokingly call my partner in crime but I feel his worries about his family in Mariupol where he has enjoyed his youth. There are days where I could scream in anger at Graham for taking so much risks and thank him at the same time for doing his dangerous job to let the world know what is really happening. Although I realize Val has a very busy schedule with lots of traveling, I still get mad at her when she doesn’t give a sign of life for a days, overplaying my worries for her safety.

None of this really existed for me before the Odessa Massacre

I have to admit that until this horrible Massacre I wasn’t taking the revolution in Ukraine very serious. Just another revolt where the parties opposing each other would form the next coalition like they have done so many times before. Just reshuffling the cards and power, that’s all or at least that was how I registered the events in Kiev until 2 May 2014. Not anymore after seeing the images of Odessa on Russian TV, not anymore after talking to my friend who barely escaped a curtain death with his brother. Not after seeing how the Western media ignored this massacre but kept reporting on the “democratic process” in Ukraine and the “Russian aggression”. That night was my wakeup call, the rude and traumatic smack in my face I needed before I finally realized what the threat against the population of Donbass really means.

And after the Odessa Massacre, the violence against the population of Donbass escalated, erupted throughout the region. As if Ukrainian authorities tested the responses of their partners that night. As if this night had shown Kiev that it is ok as long as the violence is directed against anything and everything Russian. Since that horrible evening, I worry every day and night about the many friends in Ukraine. Some have left the region and found a safe place in Russia, other have moved to western parts of the country or Europe, and too many are still in the middle of the war. Either not able or not willing to leave the place where most of them were born like the generations before them.

And 4 of the people who have been a part of my life in one way or the other have fallen victims of this war, lives which will never return to us, never will they be part of my life again. A close friend of my family, her family friends of my family, has lost her mother, her sister and her brother in this war. The house she grew up in is completely destroyed, the orphanage that her father and my father once proudly helped build and supported for many years is turned into nothing but rubble and a huge crater. At first the playground was destroyed by grenades and a few weeks later an unguided missile hit the building, leaving nothing behind of what so many had worked for to give orphans a safe home.

Demonic escalation of violence in the war against Donbass

The bizarre escalation of violence reached another dark demonic level with the downing of Flight MH17, making even more innocent victims in this war. With friends and former colleagues on various investigation and recovery missions, others securing their safety in the warzone of Ukraine, I found myself worried for them every second until they returned. My fear of further escalation and abusing their presence for political goals became so strong that I never felt truly assured when they departed from Ukraine. I could only relax and breath normal again when they landed safely on the airbase in The Netherlands, fearing that their plane could be attacked during their flight back.

When I was finally able to lay down and try to get some sleep, all this wend through my mind again and again. I decided that I wanted to write about the Odessa Massacre and what my friend told me, honor Anna for her work and bravery with my humble words and somehow express my respect for her few colleagues amongst the reporters who do report about what happens without following the “blame Russia” narrative in all they say and write. Eventually I did some time later (The Odessa Massacre – How History repeated itself!) when I was finally able to put my thoughts and the emotional experiences in words.

Threat no more, it is real and I finally understood

Now you might understand a little bit better why I care and write about the Odessa Massacre and investigate the events of that horrible evening and the aftermath. Because this horrible evening finally opened my eyes for what is happening in Ukraine, this evening where my friend barely escaped with his brother and his cousin unfortunately didn’t. This evening in Odessa followed by that afternoon in Lugansk where an airstrike killed the mother of my former exchange student made me realize that the fear ethnic Russian citizens of Ukraine feel is not just empty words based on propaganda, their fear is real and based on a real and serious threat coming from the country which name is in their passport and on their certificate of birth…

Next: The Odessa Massacre – Part 2: Interview with a survivor

https://espressowithpavel.wordpress....-and-emotions/
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10592
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part IV

Post by blindpig » Wed Aug 10, 2022 2:04 pm

hot spots
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 08/10/2022 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT

Image

Yesterday, for the first time since the beginning of the Russian intervention in Ukraine, several major explosions could be heard - in recent weeks there had been a drone incident in Sevastopol that caused no damage - on the Crimean peninsula, specifically at the Saki, in the town of Novofedorovka, one of the important Russian aviation bases in the area. According to Russian authorities on the peninsula, one person was killed and nine others were injured in an incident in which the Defense Ministry denied missiles were involved. Neither has the local population claimed to have heard the sound of missiles before an explosion which, if that version were true, would have been caused by sabotage -or the use of drones against an ammunition depot- or due to an accident caused by of incorrect maintenance.

However, the powerful black smoke perfectly visible from miles away was enough to cause Ukrainian joy, which yesterday celebrated the "day of indigenous peoples", one of the minister's arguments for the "reintegration of temporarily occupied territories" , Irina Vereschuk, to imply the option of sabotage and give a leading role to a supposed Ukrainian resistance that in these eight years simply has not existed. An ambiguity repeated by other officials and with which Ukraine tries to maintain a balance between suggesting its participation so that whoever wishes can boast about it, without claiming anything, in order to avoid giving Russia a reason to escalate the war situation.

In its usual line, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry added the possibility of a self-attack: "a terrorist state can use fire for information warfare." And standing out as the most belligerent in his response, adviser to the Office of the President Mikhailo Podoliak wrote: “The demilitarization of the Russian Federation is an integral part of ensuring global security. The future of Crimea is to be the pearl of the Black Sea, a national park with unique nature and a world tourist center. Not a military base for terrorists. It's just the beginning."

Faced with some voices that immediately after the explosions took a missile attack for granted -the editor-in-chief of RT , Margarita Simonyan wondered on social networks "where are the red lines"-, Russia has chosen to calm the situation, possibly in an attempt to keep the situation under control and prevent an escalation that Moscow is trying to prevent. A Ukrainian missile attack on the Crimean peninsula, territory of the Russian Federation since March 2014, would effectively be a red line forcing Moscow to respond.

Despite the evident Ukrainian joy -the jokes of Ukrainian officers such as Ermak or Arestovich were not long in coming-, we will have to wait to see what the material damage really was, although there is already talk of three destroyed aircraft. If the damage was significant, Maxar, which despite not being a state company, is acting as such in this war, will soon publish the corresponding satellite images. However, despite what happened yesterday, Crimea is currently not one of the many hot spots in this war.

Original Article: DonRF

In the last hours, it is possible that the hot spots that are going to determine the course of the conflict have even increased in number. These points often pose intractable problems for the parties without a victory in the conflict. The first point is Donbass. Harsh Verdun-style battles doom military and civilian alike, and kyiv cannot withdraw for prestige reasons. The consequence is that what happens happens and will continue to do so for the next month or two. With all that that means for the region and for the civilian population.

The second point is the Zaporozhye NPP and the town of Energodar. kyiv, badly in need of some kind of victory, continues to attack the nuclear plant to exert this kind of blackmail and get the city to surrender. The calculation is absolutely schizophrenic and incorrect: after eight years of concessions, no one in Moscow will tolerate such a kind of humiliation [the crossing of rivers much smaller than the Dnieper is taking heavy casualties and is causing enormous difficulties for both sides, so the attempt to achieve a withdrawal from Energodar, whereby Ukraine would have access to the left bank of the Dnieper without having to fight for it, is especially creative on the part of Kiev- Ed ].

In general terms, Zaporozhye is becoming a very hot spot: the head of the civil-military administration of the Zaporozhye region, Evgeny Balitsky, has given orders to the Electoral Commission of the Zaporozhye region to begin the process of organizing a referendum [on access to Russia- Ed ].

In this case, it would mean a media defeat and a territorial loss for Kiev that is categorically unacceptable from the point of view of defeats and victories [zrada and peremoga, two words that have been repeated since 2014, many times both with a hint of defeat which has become a meme – Ed ]. kyiv's reaction will be something to watch, but the most likely will be the intensification of terrorist attacks by sabotage groups and the attempt to attack the south to prevent the referendum. This second action is extremely risky and, in case of defeat, threatens to be a disaster.

Another point of tension is the press: CBS News has announced its documentary “Arming Ukraine”. The purpose of the authors becomes clear from the trailer of the film: to draw attention to the fact that only 30% of the number of weapons supplied by the West reach the Ukrainian front. The remaining 70% “disappears” in an unknown way. Three days [and angry complaints from Ukraine] later, the ad has been blocked by the company itself.

In the West, the Ukrainian theme gradually declines. It's not that they're going to change their minds, not suddenly, it's just that Ukraine's excessive popularity is already becoming dangerous for the West. So it is to be expected that new information of this kind will appear, since "until August 31, Ukrainians can stay in Germany without visa-free travel, but from September 1, they will have to leave the country at 90 days or have temporary protection registration to stay legally in the country. In this way, people whose 90 days of visa-free travel expire before August 31 will have to apply for temporary protection before September 1.

The free time is over, the propaganda campaigns have given what they had to give and the icing on the cake in the form of refugees no longer works. The main thing is that kyiv does not derail now. So, in general, the feeling is that there is still everything to come. And let's hope it doesn't happen based on the nuclear disaster scenario.

https://slavyangrad.es/2022/08/10/punto ... more-25243

Google Translator

**************************

Explosions in Novofedorivka: what happened and what conclusions should be drawn
August 10, 11:37

Image

Explosions in Novofedorivka: what happened and what conclusions should be drawn

In the afternoon, a series of explosions thundered at the Saki airfield near the resort town of Novofedorovka. Judging by the video, after the first fire at the airbase, tanks with aviation kerosene and ammunition began to explode. The main source of ignition and subsequent detonations was located approximately in the area of ​​​​one of the aircraft stands.

What is the damage from the explosion?

Officially, the authorities announced the death of one and the injury of several more people. There were no mass hospitalizations in civilian and military medical institutions, so the figures announced, in general, do not raise questions. According to some information, it was even possible to avoid the loss of personnel at the airfield.

The number of damaged and destroyed equipment is more difficult to estimate: a video has appeared on the network with at least one burned-out Su-24 bomber and bomb carts, which were mistaken for burnt skeletons of aircraft.

In total, at the time of the strike, there were a dozen Su-24M and Su-30SM, several helicopters and an Il-76 transport aircraft at the airfield. The latter, by the time of the explosion, was already on the runway at a distance from the epicenter and, with a high degree of probability, was not injured.

The urban infrastructure of Novofedorovka and civilian vehicles parked near the airfield also suffered from the shock wave and explosions.

Was it the arrival of a Ukrainian rocket?

Immediately after the explosion, there were suggestions that it was caused by a missile attack. On the one hand, the United States really spoke in favor of transferring long-range missiles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which make it possible to reach objects in the Crimea.

However, the words of eyewitnesses speak against this version: none of the huge number of vacationers and residents of Novofedorovka observed the arrivals of rockets. Numerous videos from the scene of the incident also do not show anything resembling an incoming munition.

What could it be then?

There are no shots of the beginning of the fire and the first explosion in open sources, which makes it impossible to unambiguously determine the exact cause of the explosion. If we discard the missile strike, then two versions remain:

Sabotage: a copter with a small bomb attacked the parking lot. He could set fire to the tanker, which led to the detonation of fuel and ammunition. One of the videos shows two simultaneous explosions, in which they saw the operation of pre-laid charges. However, by that time there was already a fire at the airfield, and the synchronous detonation could be caused by secondary factors from the dispersion of fragments.

Negligence: an equally likely version is non-compliance with safety regulations when performing work. Similar cases have already occurred in Syria, when the carelessness of local military personnel led to the loss of aircraft. Therefore, this option should not be ruled out either.

What follows from this?

At the moment, the specific cause of the explosions is not the most important issue. Yes, with a high degree of probability it was not a missile strike, but who said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine would not try to attack airfields in Crimea? Given the expansion of the range of American supplies, it is precisely these facilities that may indeed become the target of missile strikes in the near future.

The key point is different: it's time to stop considering air bases and other similar facilities as a deep rear, absolutely protected from any enemy. It is necessary not only to take air defense seriously, but also to the issues of protecting a sensitive facility in accordance with the realities of wartime.

Otherwise, the enemy will have an increasing desire to take advantage of known gaps. It doesn't matter how exactly: strike with long-range missiles, send a DRG with a mortar, or drop a charge on planes standing in a row without any gabions.

And for the aircraft lost in this case, you will have to answer. And not only the situation at the front, but also specific individuals.

(c) "Rybar"

https://t.me/rybar/36954 - zinc

From other information in the morning.

1. According to official figures, the total number of victims in the morning is 1 dead (civilian) and 13 injured (wounded and injured)
. There is no objective data on this matter - there is only 1 video with 1 burned-out Su-24.
3. The "yellow level" of terrorist threat has been extended in Crimea until August 24 with the option of further extension.
4. Despite yesterday's explosions and warnings, some vacationers have already returned to the beaches in the Novofedorovka area.
5. Preliminary damage to civilian infrastructure amounted to 200 million rubles. The loss of military property is to be determined by the commission.
6. The Crimean authorities will help with the restoration of damaged property and will pay compensation to all victims.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7791717.html

Britain buys weapons in Kazakhstan
August 9, 23:21

Image

Britain buys weapons in Kazakhstan

Remember the film "Lord of War" about our Ukrainian arms dealer? Today we will show you that all this is reality, not fiction.
We have received documents ( https://telegra.ph/Velikobritaniya-poku ... enty-08-09 ) containing a draft contract for the purchase of ammunition by a Jordanian company from the Kazakh company Technoexport: 122 shells mm. (for D-20 howitzers); shells 152 mm (for D-30 howitzers); missiles for BM-21 Grad. The total number is 20 thousand shells, 33 thousand missiles.
The documents say that the weapons are intended for the British Ministry of Defense. The deal is for $69,520,000. The transaction is supervised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan in cooperation with the British military attache in Kazakhstan, who will ensure the transfer of documents and certificates to the end user by diplomatic mail.

Also, we have documents stating that negotiations are underway on the supply of 200 BTR-4 units (BTR-82A or simplified modifications) and ammunition for 120 mm mortars and Konkurs anti-tank systems from Kazakhstan.
In fact, the British Ministry of Defense does not need weapons and military equipment of Soviet production, because. they have completely different standards for weapons.

But what's most interesting is howdocuments about the deal between Jordan and Kazakhstan, which is overseen by the UK, ended up on the computers of the Main Intelligence Directorate of our Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. Maybe Pan General Budanov will be able to answer these questions?
And who are these “certain people who should be paid commissions”? We don't know much about the ins and outs of the arms trade, but the phrase "From our side, we also have to pay commissions on the Buyer's side, since the buyer cannot protect the commissions due to being a controlled company" was understood. The Kazakhstani firm will then have to transfer a certain percentage of almost $70 million to some people who have pledged their interest through the Jordanian firm as well. We have long said that for some, war is first and foremost an opportunity to get rich quick. Yes, Kirill Alekseevich? With whom did you so cleverly come up with this scheme in the OP, and who is the “Baron” with us?


[ Spoiler (click to open) ]

https://telegra.ph/Velikobritaniya-poku ... enty-08-09 - zinc

I would not rule out that these weapons are then delivered to Ukraine through Jordan. This scheme is identical to those schemes that were implemented to support terrorists in Syria with weapons.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7791036.html

Google Translator

****************************

Lebanese Buyer Rejects Ukrainian Grain Shipment

Image
The Ukrainian vessel is awaiting orders in the Mediterranean sea while finding a new buyer. Aug. 9, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@kiosse1809

Published 9 August 2022 (12 hours 50 minutes ago)

According to reports, Lebanon's buyer has rejected the Ukrainian grain cargo ship.

A buyer in Lebanon has rejected the first shipment of the Ukrainian port of Ukraine's grain because of a five-month delay in the delivery.

The Ukrainian embassy in Beirut reported that the Sierra Leone-flagged vessel the Razoni carrying about 26,500 tons of corn, is located in the Mediterranean sea.

Reports indicate that the Lebanese government is not directly linked to the Ukrainian shipment, as its delivery was intended to a buyer of the private sector in the country.

Ukraine's embassy said that a new buyer is being located for the Ukrainian grain, whether in or out of the country. Since Sunday, "awaiting orders" was the indication given to the ship from its original destiny, Tripoli.


The Razoni was the first Ukrainian ship carrying corn to leave the port of Odessa via the Black Sea in months. In light of the ongoing armed conflict in the country, regular shipments have been blocked. The parties involved in the conflict blamed each other for the disruptions.

Last July, an agreement was signed in Istanbul between Russia, Ukraine, Türkiye, and the UN for restarting sea exports to relieve the food and fertilizer supply chain's current crisis.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Leb ... -0015.html

Finland Announces Intention to Halt Russian Gas Imports

Image
Finish state-owned gas company announced the further halt of Russian LNG. Aug. 9, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@OkvirNet

Published 9 August 2022 (14 hours 28 minutes ago)

According to the Finland Foreign Minister, Helsinki intends to stop all Russian gas supply dependence.

Finland's Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering, Tytti Tuppurainen, announced that the Finish company Gasum would halt all imports from Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG).

"The decision of the Finnish state as the owner [of Gasum] is that LNG import from Russia must be stopped," announced the Minister.

"Finland and entire Europe must completely reject Russian energy resources," added the Finish top official.

"The goal is to get rid of energy contracts with Russian companies," she continued to say, without offering further details on a specific date for the cease of imports.


Tytti Tuppurainen demanded that the Finnish state energy company Gasum Oy stop pumping LNG from Russia. Helsingin Sanomat writes, "Finland and all of Europe must get rid of Russian energy resources," the politician said.

The Russian gas giant Gazprom ceased exports of natural gas to Finland under the contract with Gasum, as the country didn't pay for the month of April, and rejected the policy introduced by Moscow ruling that the pay should be effected in rubles.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Fin ... -0014.html

*********************.

"Adjust embargo policy"
August 10, 15:48

Image

"Adjust embargo policy"

In an open letter to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the heads of several consumer cooperatives and companies from East Germany called for "adjusting the embargo policy against Russia . " This implies that the German government should lift the sanctions imposed on Russia because of the Ukrainian crisis, writes Süddeutsche Zeitung.

At the same time, according to the publication, Russian economic indicators indicate that Western sanctions against Russia are having an effect. For example, the production of cars, aircraft and engines is intermittent. And this despite the fact that only half of the G20 countries, which together account for about 85% of world economic production, are involved in the sanctions.

In their letter to Scholz, consumer cooperatives emphasize that the sanctions should "hit Putin, not bankrupt the German middle class." At the moment, many companies in the field of trade, industry and hospitality are already "threatened with extinction." If the government does not change its sanctions policy, “due to the ongoing decline in production”, Germany will be at risk of “massive business bankruptcies, associated unemployment and falling incomes”, which will lead to a decrease in tax revenues. To illustrate the explosiveness of the situation, the authors give several examples: from the lack of skilled workers to energy prices.

The 12 signatories include board members and chairmen of several consumer cooperatives from, for example, Weimar and Dresden, the CEOs of the bakery chain Stendaler Landbäckerei, the coffee producer Röstfein and the Konsumhotel Oberhof-Weimar. The letter states that their combined sales are around €700 million. They provide jobs for approximately 6,280 people.

Criticism of the sanctions policy is “generally not new.” One of the most "violent opponents of sanctions" in the European Union is the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. He believes that the sanctions not only did not live up to the expectations placed on them, but even had the opposite effect. The point is that sanctions are "double-edged" and can harm the side that imposes them. According to Orban, Russian President Vladimir Putin is also aware of this.

As the newspaper notes, the compilers do not specify how exactly they imagine the “adjustment of the sanctions policy”. They also do not condemn Russia's special operation in Ukraine. It does not take into account the fact that the sanctions were agreed with other EU states and integrated into European policy. “Not a word about the fact that they serve to protect higher values, such as democracy in Ukraine and beyond,” says the Süddeutsche Zeitung

https://russian.rt.com/inotv/2022-08-10 ... inimateli- Vostochnoj-Germanii-potrebovali - zinc

Weaklings and rags. It has been said that for the sake of democracy it is necessary to spend the winter without gas. We must endure. In the name of freedom and Ukraine.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7792328.html

Google Translator

**************************************
Another 'lost thread' found! This one, ' What was the 14th SS Division "Galicia" and Why does it Matter?' is largely of historical nature, useful enough in itself, but the time stamps put the lie to the current Western contention that there is no need to be concerned about Nazis in Ukraine, that such "disinformation" is part of 'Putin's drive to enslave humanity' or some such garbage. We knew what was going on back then even as the Russian government soft peddled that aspect of the conflict in a foolish and vain attempt to mollify their US "partner". Putin would have sold Donbass down the river at that point via 'Minsk' but that wasn't good enough for the US, which it seems has been intending to balkanize Russia all along.

https://web.archive.org/web/20150922004 ... p?t=115781

Below, some samples:
05-06-2014#1
Image
anaxarchos
Senior Member
Join Date
Sep 2005
Location
Hurricane Alley
Posts
5,636

What was the 14th SS Division "Galicia" and Why does it Matter?


An Introduction

On April 28th, a march and celebration took place in Lvov ("Lviv"), Ukraine in "honor" of the 71st anniversary of the 14th SS Division, a "military" formation which ceased to exist 69 years ago. Between five hundred and three thousand people attended the march. These included a handful of Ukrainian SS veterans and a large number of contemporary Rightists, but it also included a surprising number of Ukrainian politicians from the "respectable" political Parties and various Ukrainian notables, as well as Fascists from throughout Europe.

By now, this celebration has become something of a tradition. Pretty Ukrainian girls with traditional folk dress and strong young Ukrainian men (many of whom would soon head off to Odessa or Donetsk), carried the Divisional crest of the 14th. Patriotic chants filled the air, "One nation; one people; one blood" (the "one leader" portion of the old slogan was omitted) and mixed-in were local slogans from the epicenter of Ukrainian nationalism, "The people of Lvov are the strongest". Alternately, the mood was patriotic and light hearted. Who could object to such a scene?



It turns out that some could. An ever growing number of "anti-fascist" demonstrators (this year, of the same magnitude as the march) marred the event with shouts of "Nazis". In Germany, a minor controversy blew up about the involvement of the Konrad Adenauer Institute, the think-tank of Angela Merkel's political party, with the march and with its organizers. In some circles it was reported that the march was directly connected to attacks on Soviet veterans, some in their 90s, at several war cemeteries and wreath laying ceremonies. Some even implied that the marchers were an extremist fringe.

Of course, this was all nonsense. As speakers explained at the Stepan Bandera monument, the terminus of the march, the 14th SS Division was a unit of Ukrainian patriots whose entire history had been altered by the KGB. They had never sworn an oath to Adolf Hitler, not a single "atrocity" had ever been proven against them, and they were themselves a monument to Ukrainian bravery, prowess in battle, and "nationalism". To reject them was to reject the "minutemen" of the Ukrainian nation. How could a nation exist without a history, without symbols, without a Civic Religion, and without heroes?

And as far as a "fringe" charge went, the political parties which sponsored the march might have gotten less than 10% of the vote nationwide but they had gotten over 40% of the vote in the region centered on Lvov. In that same region, over 70% now viewed Bandera, the Father of Ukrainian Fascism, positively versus 7% for the regions of the ignorant Russians in the Southeast. In Kiev, the power of Ukrainian Nationalism had grown steadily even as the economy declined and the "competing" visions of the "respectable" politicians had proven to be nothing other than confusion, incompetence, and personal corruption.

As their own power waned, the adoption by the major Parties of the symbols and myths of Lvov had been remarkable. Why even Bandera and many others had been rehabilitated and brought back to legitimacy... until all of that progess was reversed by that crook, Yanukovych.

With his ouster had come the support of the West and real power for the first time... ever. All that was now needed was a little subtlety and patience.



A Personal Note

In 1977, a Ukrainian émigré named John Demjanjuk was accused of being a war criminal - specifically, the notorious guard, "Ivan the Terrible", at the Treblinka Extermination camp during WWII.

In the US, finding Nazi war criminals who immigrated to the US on false pretenses is much like finding acorns under an oak tree. It is not rare. What distinguished this case was the ferocity with which a part the Ukrainian-American community (including most of the official ethnic Ukrainian orgnazitions) resisted Demjanjuk's extradition to Israel. They insisted that all of the evidence associated, not just with Demjanjuk, but with Ukrainian participation or complicity in the Holocaust had been a fabrication of the KGB - intended to undermine Ukrainian nationalism.

In 1977 such a claim was still shocking and became even more so as several reporters dug into attitudes in at least a portion of this community. What emerged was a very broadly shared narrative on events which was a form of what would later be called "holocaust denial": of marauding Jews and communists, of sub-human Russians, of the wholesale exaggeration of justifiable revenge, of victims who had been forced to cooperate, of the continued victimization of the brave and the pure, and so on...

This is the first time that I heard about the 14th SS Division. The division was iconic to the Ukrainian national story and, though it quickly passed from my memory, I remembered one thing.

It was a catechism of sorts, repeated each time that the Division specifically came up and sometimes in connection with the larger role of "Ukrainian Nationalism" in the war: They were patriots, they were brave and fearless, the Soviets were the bigger enemy, they never swore an oath to Hitler, no claim of atrocities was ever proven...

Sometimes the sequence is different but not the substance.

Thirty five years later, in the context of the current Ukrainian crisis, I heard the exact same words uttered in a television interview by a representative of the US-based Ukrainian National Association. A small variation on that same catechism was printed in the Kiev Post, on the occasion of the recent anniversary of the 14th. Searching on the simple words of that catechism produces hundreds of results.

It didn't make any sense.

Why drag the bloody corpse of the SS out of its grave? Why invent and memorize a set of words, intended to whitewash the SS? Was there nobody else who Ukranian Fascists could look to for national "pride"?

The answer is no.

Before the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Ukraine had never really been a modern nation state. The two exceptions were as a proxy "states" of sorts during the First and Second World Wars, both times under German Occupation and both times in opposition to the Russian Revolution.

When the current Ukrainian Crisis began, the Western Press first ignored and then started calling the Ukrainian Svoboda Party and the Right Sector, "ultra-nationalists".

What was wrong with the Press? They were talking about Nazis. These Nazis even staged their events on the same streets, in the same costume ensembles, with the same symbols (with perhaps only a few less lightning bolts and a few more lions). They were as faithful a remake of the original as their dedication could create.

And then, it came to me that the press was right. The men in the yellow and black armbands were "nationalists".

Ukrainian nationalism IS Nazism today, and any possibility that it could have been anything else is long dead. The wartime collaboration of Lvov is now the iconography of Kiev.

Of course, it isn't just the Ukraine. There are other new "nations" with a similar evolution. Behind them, there is the support and the cash of old Europe, finally willing to demonstrate in reality the answer to the age old question, "How could it have happened?"

But, what can Ukrainian Fascism do? As a young man wearing a yellow and black stylized wolfs angel armband (which has become the symbol of the Ukrainian right and is somewhat less well known but equivalent to the swastika in Nazi symbolism) said in the Maidan recently, "How can we abandon our heroes? Without them, there is no nation."

Just so.

But, we have strayed from our story...






Part I - The History

The SS (Schutzstaffel) was the private security apparatus of the Nazi Party during Hitler's Reich. In addition to encompassing a vast empire of police units, concentration camp staff, the Gestapo, and Intelligence organizations, the SS also included a military component called the Waffen SS. During the course of the Third Reich, this private army within an army grew from 300 to nearly 1 million men, entirely separate from the German State and owing allegiance only to Adolf Hitler.

There is a mythology to the Waffen SS which argues that it was an elite military formation, standing apart from the atrocities and brutality for which the larger SS became infamous. This is simply a bold-faced lie. The Waffen SS as a whole was branded a "criminal organization" at the Nuremburg tribunals and there is not a single one of its subunits which at one time or another was not engaged in the butchery of civilians which distinguished that organization.

More, only the 5 original SS Divisions (the 1st, growing out of Hitler's own bodyguard; the 2nd recruited from the original SS paramilitaries; the 3rd or Totenkopf - "Death's Head" - recruited from Concentration Camp guards; the 4th or "Police" Division recruited from the SS police; and the 5th, recruited from Scandinavian and Dutch/Belgian Nazis) plus a few others, of the thirty-eight SS Divisions which would eventually be created, had primarily a military role. The remainder were mostly used for the anti-partisan and "security" roles in the rear-areas of the occupied territories. As German manpower became scarce during the war, many of these were recruited from the occupied territories themselves and were of dubious "racial purity".

By 1942, military reverses on the Eastern Front and intensified partisan warfare in the German occupied territories of the Soviet Union, caused Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, to consider forming a division of Ukrainian "volunteers" from the Western portion of the Ukraine. This segment of the Ukraine had originally been part of Austro-Hungary, had been the center of the abortive "national movement" led by German officers while occupied during the First World War and had also been the center of opposition to the Soviets during the Civil War.

Himmler began to extol the virtues of the "Galicians", the administrative region of the Austrian Empire which had encompassed West Ukraine. According to Himmler, the Galicians had been properly "Germanized" over their long history of Imperial rule (he once said that they had become "well trained dogs").

In vain did the SS governor of Galicia,Wachter, advocate for the establishment of an openly "Ukrainian" formation in order to take advantage of Ukrainian anti-communism. Himmler rejected this out of hand. Ukrainians were "sub-human" and acknowledging any such connection would have led to the unit's instant rejection by Hitler himself. From that moment to the very end, 14th SS Division "Ukrainische" became the 14th SS Division "Galizien". No mention of the Ukraine or Ukrainians was allowed.

The Division was authorized in March of 1943 and in addition to German officers seconded from other SS formations, Ukrainian speaking former officers and NCOs from the Polish and Austro-Hungarian armies were reactivated. In addition, a total of nearly 80,000 Ukrainian recruits came forward within a matter of weeks. This last surprised the Germans until it was learned that the UPA, Stepan Bandera's anti-communist partisan army (which supposedly fought "both the Soviets and the Germans"), had ordered many of its fighters, including senior officers, into the SS 14th.

By July of 1943, 13,000 of the original 80,000 Ukrainian recruits were accepted into the 14th SS. The remainder were organized into SS "Police" battalions for security services behind the lines and as a replacement pool for the 14th SS Division.

It is important to understand that Himmler's SS Ordnungspolizai was not responsible for issuing parking tickets. In the occupied territories, they were integral to the Nazi "Final Solution". Not only were these police units one of the two main sources of recruitment for the unspeakable Einsatzgruppen but they were responsible on their own account for over 1 million murders of civilians in the East.

The connection of the Ukrainian "National Movement" to the SS Police is little spoken of, even as the white-wash of units such as 14th SS has proceeded without restraint. To the SS staff, however, the 14th SS Division "Galizien" was always seen as an extension of the "police system" and the first senior German officers of the division were career SS police officers from the notorious 4th SS "Polizei" Division. Finally, when the 14th SS Division was crushed in July 1944, in its one and only experience with serious combat, its ranks were refilled with 8000 replacements from these very same Ukrainian "police battalions".

To return, the 14th SS went into training near Debica, Poland in the fall of 1943. The Division was indifferently equipped, the German officers never failed to show their contempt for the sub-humans they were charged with, any "national" sentiment was unceremoniously dismissed and morale was reported as "very low".

In late winter and spring of 1944, the Division was employed in "anti-partisan" operations behind the front (on which more will be reported later) and then it was finally sent to the front in July though it was generally thought to be "unready". The Division instantly found itself in the path of one of the preliminaries to the huge Soviet Summer offensive of 1944 and was immediately forced back and encircled in the town of Brody - ironically near the Western Ukrainian city of Lvov. The "Brody Pocket" was quickly crushed and less than 3000 Ukrainian survivors of the original 13,000 made it back to German lines.

There is a prosperous cottage industry in the Western Ukraine and in the U.S. émigré communities of the Mid-West based on lionizing the "heroic" military exploits of the 14th in the "Battle of Brody" but it is almost entirely fiction.

This was the 14th SS Division Galizien's single real combat experience and it was destroyed nearly instantly. Very few military decorations were presented to the organization and only a single Knight's Cross - though the SS typically lavished medals on Waffen formations, including even those populated by the "lesser races". Soviet dispatches barely mention the events.




In August of 1944, the Division was refilled with 8000 replacements from the Ukrainian SS police battalions and was reformed in Slovakia. Here, the Division was employed to help crush a major Slovak uprising (on which more will be said) before being sent to Slovenia in early 1945 to fight partisans - the real specialty of the unit.

In March of 1945, Hitler finally discovered that the unit had been recruited from Ukrainians and not "Galicians" and ordered it immediately disbanded. Hasty negotiations with Himmler led to the compromise of handing it over to the re-formed "Ukrainian National Army", now rebadged as the 1st Ukrainian Division. But this was only a paper exercise. The war ended two weeks later.

The Division (at a strength of nearly 14,000) surrendered to the British near Radstadt on May 8 and once again used the "Galician" fiction (and the intervention of MI6) to avoid being repatriated back to the Soviet Union. Over 7000 "veterans" were allowed to immigrate to the UK and 1500 to Canada. Some of these and many of the remainder eventually ended up in the US.

And that's the story...

This is a miserable history indeed, compared to the build-up in our introduction.

Militarily, the 14th was a third rate formation, despised by those who organized it, and with poor morale. It was only at the Front for one month out of the 2 years of its existence, where it was unceremoniously crushed. It was then re-formed out of even more dubious human material than the original. Finally, it surrendered.

This is not exactly the stuff of monuments and parades.

But this is only the beginning. What the 14th did when it was not fighting the Russian Army is the real heart of our story.


Our narrative will continue with Part II...
Attached Images Attached Images

***
05-15-2014#13
Two Americas
Senior Member
Join Date
Oct 2005
Posts
13,557

I remembered that a book I had talked about the initial recruiting of Ukrainians by the Germans during the war, and I also remembered Ukrainian and Lithuanian ex-pats in Detroit back in the 60's talking about "hee vees." Found the book - "Ordinary Men" by Christopher R. Browning. Excerpts follow.

Who were the "Hiwis?"

Sometime in the summer of 1941, after the onslaught against Russian Jewry was under way, Himmler confided to the SS and Police Leader in Lublin, Odilo Globocnik, Hitler's intention to murder the Jews of Europe as well. Moreover, Himmler put Globocnik in charge of the single most important element of this "Final Solution to the Jewish Question in Europe"-the destruction of the Jews of the General Government, who constituted the bulk of Polish Jewry. A method different from the firing squad operations used against Russian Jewry was deemed essential for the murder of European Jews, however--one that was more efficient, less public, and less burdensome psychologically for the killers.

The organizational and technological answer to these needs was the extermination camp. The victims would be deported to special camps where-by virtue of assembly-line procedures requiring very limited manpower, most of it prisoner labor - they would be gassed in relative secrecy. Preparations for gassing began at three locations in the fall of 1941: Auschwitz Birkenau near Katowice in Silesia and Chehnno near Lodz in the Warthegau, both in the incorporated territories, and Belzec in Globocnik's Lublin district. Large-scale gassing began at Chehnno in early December 1941 and at Birkenau in mid· February 1942. 1 Gassing at Globocnik's camp at Belzec did not begin until mid-March 1942.

The task Globocnik faced was enormous, but he was given virtually no manpower to accomplish it. For expertise and assistance in building and operating the extermination center at Belzec, Globocnik was able to draw on personnel from the "euthanasia program" in Germany, but this was a handful of men that at its maximum never exceeded one hundred. This number by itself was insufficient to staff a single extermination camp, and two more were yet to be built by Globocnik at Sobibor and Treblinka. But the extermination camps were not Globocnik's biggest problem. Far more pressing was the manpower required to clear the ghettos-to round up the victims and force them onto the death trains. In the Lublin district alone there were nearly 300,000 Jews; in all of the General Government, about 2,000,000.

While Germany's military fate hung in the balance in the crucial year of 1942, where were the men for such a staggering logistical task? In fact, aside from the assignment itself, Himmler gave Globocnik Virtually nothing, and he had to improvise. He had to create "private" armies out of his own resources and ingenuity to accomplish the task with which Himmler had entrusted him.

As the SS and Police Leader in the Lublin district, Globocnik was responsible for coordinating all regional operations that involved the joint action of mixed SS units. Thus the entire SS and police network in the Lublin district, though already stretched thin, was at his disposal. Most important, this meant the two branches of the Security Police (Gestapo and Kripo) on the one hand and various units of the Order Police on the other. In addition to its main headquarters in the city of Lublin, the Security Police had four branch offices in the district. Each contained a Gestapo section for "Jewish affairs."

Globocnik also utilized two other sources of manpower. The first was the Sonderdienst (Special Service), composed of small units of ethnic Germans who had been mobilized and trained after the German conquest and assigned to the head of the civil administration in each county of the district in the summer of 1940. Second, and far more important, were the so-called Trawnikis. Unable to satisfy his manpower needs out of local resources, Globocnik prevailed upon Himmler to recruit non* Polish auxiliaries from the Soviet border regions. The key person on Globocnik's Operation Reinhard staff for this task was Karl Streibel. He and his men visited the POW camps and recruited Ukrainian, Latvian, and Lithuanian "volunteers" (Hilfswillige, or Hiwis) who were screened on the basis of their anti-Communist (and hence almost invariably anti-Semitic) sentiments, offered an escape from probable starvation, and promised that they would not be used in combat against the Soviet army. These "volunteers" were taken to the SS camp at Trawniki for training. Under German SS officers and ethnic German noncommissioned officers, they were formed into units on the basis of nationality. Alongside the Order Police, they constituted the second major manpower pool from which Globocnik would form his private armies for the ghetto-clearing campaign.
Last edited by Two Americas; 05-15-2014 at 05:47 PM.

***************
Two Americas
Senior Member
Join Date
Oct 2005
Posts
13,557

What were some of the "heroic" actions that were performed by "Ukrainian patriots" during the war?

On August 16, only one day before the impending action, Heinrich Bekemeier in Lomazy received a telephone call from Lieutenant Gnade informing him that there would be a Jewish "resettlement" the next morning and his men were to be ready at 4:00 a. m. It was "clear" to Bekemeier what this meant. The same day Gnade summoned Lieutenants Drucker and Scheer to Biala. Allegedly in the presence of an SD officer, he informed them of the next day's action, which was to be carried out in cooperation with the SS. The entire Jewish population was to be shot. Second Platoon in nearby Wisznice was provided with trucks for a half-hour ride early in the morning. Since no trucks were available for First Platoon, horse-drawn Polish farm wagons were commandeered, and the policemen rode all night to reach Lomazy by early morning.

In Lomazy Gnade held a meeting with his noncommissioned officers, who received instructions for clearing the Jewish quarter and assembling the Jews in the schoolyard. The NCOs were told that the Hiwis from Trawniki would do the shooting, so the policemen would for the most part be spared. Nonetheless, the roundup was to be conducted "as had been done before," which is to say that infants and the old, sick, and frail who could not be easily taken to the assembly point were to be shot on the spot. According to one squad leader, however, most children were once again brought to the assembly point. As in Jozefow, the men encountered not only German Jews but specifically Hamburg Jews during the clearing action. The Jews quickly filled the schoolyard and overflowed into the adjoining sports field. With some shooting, the roundup was finished in a short two hours.

In small groups the Jews were forced to run between a thin cordon of guards some thirty to fifty meters from the undressing areas to the grave. The grave itself had mounds of dirt piled high on three sides; the fourth side was an incline down which the Jews were driven. In their state of intoxicated excitement, the Hiwis initially began shooting the Jews at the entry to the grave. "As a result, the Jews killed first blocked the slope. Thus some Jews went into the grave and pulled the corpses away from the entry. Immediately large numbers of Jews were driven into the grave, and the Hiwis took their positions on the walls that had been thrown up. From there they shot the victims. " As the shooting continued, the grave began to fill. "The Jews who followed had to climb on and later even clamber over those shot earlier, because the grave was filled with corpses almost to the edge. "

The Hiwis, often with bottle in hand, as well as Gnade and the SS officer, became increasingly drunk. "While First Lieutenant Gnade shot with his pistol from the dirt wall, whereby he was in constant danger of falling into the grave, the SD [sic] officer climbed into the grave just like the Hiwis and shot from there, because he was so drunk he could no longer stand on the wall." Groundwater mixed with blood began to rise in the grave, so that the Hiwis were soon standing in it over their knees. The number of shooters steadily diminished as one by one the Hiwis fell into a drunken stupor. Gnade and the SS officer then began to scream reproaches at one another loudly enough to be heard by everyone standing within thirty meters of the grave. The SS officer yelled, "Your shit police don't shoot at all." Gnade retorted, "Good, then my men will have to shoot too."

Lieutenants Drucker and Scheer summoned their NCOs and passed on the order to form firing squads and carry out the executions in the same way as the Hiwis. According to Sergeant Hergert, the NCOs rejected the Hiwis' methods "because the groundwater already stood more than half a meter. Moreover, corpses already lay - to be more precise, floated - all over the grave area. I remember as especially horrifying that large numbers of the Jews who were shot had not been fatally hit during the execution and nonetheless were covered by the following victims without being given mercy shots."

The NCOs decided that the execution should continue with two firing squads on opposite sides of the grave. The Jews were forced to lie down in rows along each side of the grave and were shot by the police standing on the opposite wall. Men from all three platoons were formed into squads of eight to ten and were relieved by others in rotation after five or six shots. After about two hours the Hiwis were roused from their stupor and resumed shooting in place of the German policemen. The shooting was finished around 7:00 p.m. , and the work Jews who had been kept aside covered the grave. The work Jews were then shot as well. The thin covering of the overfilled grave continued to move.

Psychologically, the burden on the killers was much reduced. The Hiwis, not just liquored up after the event to help them forget but drunk from the start, did most of the shooting. According to Sergeant Bentheim, his men were "overjoyed" that they were not required to shoot this time. Those spared such direct participation seem to have had little if any sense of participation in the killing. After Jozefow, the roundup and guarding of Jews to be killed by someone else seemed relatively innocuous.
Last edited by Two Americas; 05-16-2014 at 01:31 AM.
Reply With QuoteReply With Quote05-15-2014#15

***

Two Americas
Senior Member
Join Date
Oct 2005
Posts
13,557

The Hiwis, soon to become the SS-Division "Galizien," and then the heart and soul of modern Ukrainian nationalism....

Within the territories seized from the Soviet Union, the Germans utilised local police auxiliaries much more freely. These volunteers were called Hilfswillige (Auxiliaries) by the Germans, often abbreviated to "Hiwis". Those augmenting the Orpo / Ordnungpolizei (Order Police) were designated Schutzmannschaft (Protective Detachment) and eventually numbered some hundreds of thousands. The Schutzmannschaft battalions, organized by nationality, included Ukrainians, Byelorussians, Russians, Estonians, Lithuanians and Latvians. Each battalion had an authorized strength of about 500. They were moved freely around the occupied countries to engage with partisans or to kill Jews. Subsequently, as German casualties on the eastern front mounted and most Jews had been murdered, the SS raised military divisions in the Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania and elsewhere from among these volunteers.

The Schutzmannschaft became an indispensable component in the destruction of the Jews. Everywhere they far outnumbered the equivalent German personnel. For example, in the Brest-Litovsk area of Volhynia there were 26 German gendarmerie as opposed to 308 Ukrainians. In the district of Baranovichi, there were 73 German gendarmerie and 816 native auxiliaries. By 1 July 1942 eighteen and a half Ukrainian Schutzmannschaft battalions had been formed, with a further three battalions set up in Byelorussia (Belarus) mainly staffed by Ukrainians. In places such as Zhitomir, Korosten, Kherson, Kakhovka, Uman and many others throughout the Ukraine, local militia formed part of the killing squads. The militia were paid by the municipalities, often with funds confiscated from the Jews. Ukrainians were frequently used in the shooting of the families of Jewish men, so that in Radomyshl (Radomsyl) for example, Einsatzkommando IVa could restrict itself to the killing of adult men and women. The Einsatzgruppen Operational Report USSR No.88 records that on 6 September 1941, 1,107 Jewish adults were shot in Radomyshl while the Ukrainian militia unit assisted by liquidating 561 Jewish children and youths.

...

Samuel Willenberg, a prisoner in Treblinka, described the Ukrainian guards in graphic terms: "The Wachmänner who guarded us were Ukrainians who had served in the Red Army and had surrendered to the Germans... While they disliked Poles, Byelorussians, Russians and Cossacks, they reserved a sizzling, boundless hatred for the Jews. The dispassionate murder of Jews was their great joy in life... Their faces were wholly devoid of even a glitter of sense or humanity; they awoke only to the sound of wild screeching, and our tragic situation did such wonders for their temperament that they would pound their thighs in glee.
These monsters were entrusted with the responsibility of guarding and murdering us, and they fulfilled these duties with expertise and limitless strength. Without getting excited or batting an eye, they were capable of murdering hundreds of human beings at a time in the Lazarett. In between transports, one of them would sit quietly on a stool and peer into the pit, rifle across his lap, as the mass of corpses – our daily harvest of blood – burned below… The Ukrainian guard would collar prisoners en route to the incinerator with papers and pocket any gold or dollars in their possession, throwing some cigarettes as payment. Explaining the transaction, he would stutter in crude, faltering Polish: 'Throw money and I give you to eat'."

The guards had many sources of income, including the warehouses containing the property of the Jewish victims, which they pilfered and bartered with the local population. Even within the confines of the camp, the Ukrainian guards supplied food and vodka to "work Jews" in exchange for cash or valuables. Delivering illegal messages from one part of the camp to the other was another source of enrichment. The Germans had no illusions about the loyalty of their Hiwis. "We were a "pile of conspirators" (verschworener Haufen) in a foreign land, surrounded by Ukrainian volunteers in whom we could not trust", said SS-Scharführer Erich Bauer, the "Gasmeister" (gassing expert) of Sobibor.

Because the Ukrainian guards were so mistrusted they were not issued with machine pistols. In Sobibor, the SS withdrew the Ukrainians' ammunition on one occasion as they suspected treachery. German fears of betrayal proved to be well founded. On 22 October 1943, while accompanying 30 Ukrainians from Sobibor to Trawniki by train, SS-Oberscharführer Herbert Floss was murdered by the guard Wasil Hetmaniec, with his own machine pistol. The other 25 guards escaped but were hunted down by the SS, arrested in Rejowiec, disarmed, manacled, and returned to Trawniki. Their fate is not known, but it is probable that they were executed. In the Aktion Reinhard camps generally, a number of Ukrainian guards were summarily shot by the SS for varying reasons. In Belzec two Ukrainians who offended Christian Wirth by loose talk to outsiders were arrested, dressed in clothing bearing the Jewish yellow star, and then gassed with the victims of the next transport. In Sobibor, two Ukrainian guards were shot in front of their comrades. In Treblinka, Wirth dealt with the Ukrainians with extreme severity, beating and whipping them into submission in a way that disturbed even the SS. Ukrainian guards sometimes collaborated with the Jewish resistance organizations, as was the case at the Plaszow forced labour camp, where over 300 Jews and sixteen Ukrainian guards escaped together, and occasionally there was also collaboration at Sobibor.

Demjanjuk An alleged Ukrainian guard at Treblinka, John (Ivan) Demjanjuk, was the subject of a well-known legal case. Following proceedings brought against him in the United States, Demjanjuk's U.S. citizenship was revoked and he was deported to Israel to stand trial as the infamous Treblinka guard, "Ivan the Terrible". In February 1988 Demjanjuk was sentenced to death by an Israeli court. Thereafter he was imprisoned until August 1993, at which time an appeal court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to prove that he was "Ivan the Terrible", who in fact was almost certainly the aforementioned Ivan Marchenko.

Demjanjuk was released and returned to the United States. In 1999, the US Justice Department filed a new civil complaint against Demjanjuk, alleging that he had served as a guard at Sobibor, Majdanek and KZ Flossenbürg. A new trial commenced in 2001, at the conclusion of which it was ruled that the case against him had been proven. On 1 May 2004, a judgement was entered that Demjanjuk should be stripped of his US citizenship (again). By that time 84 years of age, Demjanjuk vowed to appeal against the ruling.

At the conclusion of Aktion Reinhard, the majority of Ukrainians were transferred to the SS-Division "Galizien" in whose ranks they fought until defeated and destroyed by the Soviets at Brody in 1944. Writing of the Warsaw Ghetto the poet Yitzhak Katznelson commented bitterly in 1943:

"The Ukrainians and the Germans are good companions. May the very memory of these two nations be blotted from the world."

A year later he was dead, gassed at Auschwitz.

http://www.deathcamps.org/reinhard/hiwis.html
Unfortunately this thread truncated after the first page, too bad,
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10592
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part IV

Post by blindpig » Wed Aug 10, 2022 11:00 pm

About the course of the NWO. 08/10/2022
August 10, 19:06

Image

Answers to questions about the course of the SVO for the military correspondent Kotenok's channel.

About the course of the NWO. 08/10/2022

- Is there a possibility that the escalation of the topic of "attack on Kherson" is disinformation on the part of Kyiv in order to divert attention from another direction in which the Armed Forces of Ukraine really plan to strike?

- The Zelensky gang just announced that all this is “disinformation”. This became "disinformation" after the failed attempts to attack on the Ingulets River and near Vysokopolie, which ended in heavy losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Also, over the past week, we have seen the transfer of reinforcements to the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, which made the attempts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to conduct serious offensive operations even more dubious.
In addition, systematic attacks on Nikolaev made it practically impossible for the Armed Forces of Ukraine to effectively advance on Kherson from Nikolaev due to heavy losses in people and equipment.
All this does not negate the fact that, under the cover of chatter about an attack on Kherson, the Armed Forces of Ukraine can prepare offensive operations in the Zaporozhye or Kharkiv regions, hoping to mislead the command of the RF Armed Forces.

- How do you assess the authenticity of the excerpts from the "Zaluzhny report" that appeared on the Web, in which the colossal losses of the Ukrainian side appear? Is this not a fake, the purpose of which is to lull the vigilance of the Russian side?

- It is difficult to assess its reliability, but it is quite obvious that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have suffered enormous losses since February 2024, and according to minimal estimates, they have lost up to 50-70 thousand only killed, not counting the wounded, prisoners, deserters, missing.
As for disinformation, the Russian Defense Ministry is unlikely to rely on such publications in assessing the actual combat capability and strength of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

- Are the possible poisoning of Saldo and the murder of Vitaly Gur links in the same chain? If so, who could be the next target of the Bandera underground?

- It is important to understand that such attacks, as well as other terrorist acts, will continue for a long time as part of the campaign of terror, which is being launched by the SBU and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense in the liberated territories. The targets of the attacks will be CAA officials, civilian experts and the Russian military.
It is necessary to work with this in the same way as with the terrorist underground in the Caucasus, and also use the positive Soviet experience in combating Bandera in the 1940s and 1950s.
Of course, the Security Service of Ukraine and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense must be officially recognized as terrorist organizations, and all employees and persons interacting with them must be a priori subject to the article “terrorism”. In carrying out CTO over the next few years, it is important to be methodical and systematic.

- Armed Forces of Ukraine are increasing the intensity of shelling of the Zaporozhye NPP. Kyiv seeks to damage at least one of the reactors, or is it more likely psychological terror?

- The station has already suffered some damage, so this is, of course, not only a matter of psychological terror.
The Zelensky Gang and its masters clearly show that the creation of a nuclear catastrophe zone is an acceptable scenario for them. This should be taken into account in the future.
Of course, these attacks are aimed at spreading panic and disrupting the referendum on the accession of the Zaporozhye region to Russia. Therefore, they are trying to intimidate people with the threat of a second Chernobyl.

- What settlements should be liberated so that the shelling of Donetsk, if not stopped, then reduced to a minimum?

- To reduce the shelling of Donetsk, it is necessary to liberate the Slavic-Kramatorsk agglomeration, take the Ugledar fortified area (including Marinka), as well as Avdiivka.
By pushing the enemy to Krasnoarmeysk, it is possible to reduce the intensity of shelling of the city, although long-range MLRS and OTRK will be able to strike for a long time, but this is not as critical as the situation when the city can be covered with artillery fire of 122-152 mm caliber.

- In the first days after the start of the mass use of Hymars, serious damage was done to the headquarters and warehouses of the allied forces. Have we learned lessons?

- Obviously, in response, we use the tactics of dispersal of forces.
Plus, adjustments have been made to the work of air defense, as a result of which the effectiveness of the use of heavy MLRS by the enemy has slightly decreased, although they still cause damage to our infrastructure and logistics. It is obvious that the RF Armed Forces are adapting to this type of enemy weapons.

- In theory, is there any conventional weapons, the hypothetical transfer of which to Ukraine could temporarily tip the balance in favor of the Nazi regime? What should we prepare for if the conflict continues until at least 2023?

- I don’t think that the Zelensky gang can count on some kind of military victory in 2022 or 2023, given the current pace and range of arms transfers by Western countries. By 2023, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be completely dependent on Western supplies, which, in turn, will depend on how the EU can get through the upcoming energy crisis with all its economic consequences. Among the weapons that can really cause problems are long-range tactical missiles (OTRK), medium and long-range air defense systems, modern armored vehicles, modern artillery systems, as well as modern aircraft.

- Special operations will soon be six months. I still believe that Russia lacks funds, primarily manpower, for the full implementation of the task of denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine. I'm not talking about UAVs and the WTO. How can the tasks of the NMD be solved, taking into account the limited forces and means attracted by the Russian Federation for the operation?

- From my point of view, the current course of the NMD shows the need for a further increase in the number of groups in the Ukrainian direction, as well as a further increase in the number of both conventional quadrocopters and army reconnaissance and strike drones in the troops.
It is necessary to further increase the production of missiles of various types in order to intensify strikes against the military infrastructure of Ukraine. The solution to these problems, in the event of a fundamental rejection of mobilization, is to attract additional volunteers, a general increase in the size of the armed forces, as well as to increase the efficiency of the military-industrial complex enterprises with an emphasis on the types of weapons most needed by the front.

As for the targets, as it was said back in March, the situation has “become Syrian”, so we will continue to see many fronts with successive limited offensive operations.

https://t.me/boris_rozhin - zinc

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7792796.html

Ammonia release in Donetsk
August 10, 23:11

Image

As a result of the shelling of the Ukrainian brewery in Donetsk, an ammonia tank was damaged and a poisonous substance was released.
The affected area is 2 kilometers. Below is the official warning from the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

OFFICIALLY ABOUT THE EMISSION OF AMMONIA IN DONETSK!

IMPORTANT!!! Ministry of Emergency Situations of the DPR informs!
Residents of the Kalininsky district of the city of Donetsk

An accident occurred at the ammonia pipeline with a spill of a hazardous chemical substance - ammonia.

In this regard, the population must be in the premises. Take measures for additional sealing of your apartments (houses), premises. Breathe through cotton-gauze bandages moistened with a 5% solution of citric or acetic acid

. Tell your neighbors about the information received. Help the elderly, the sick, and children as needed.

In the future, act according to the instructions of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the DPR.

062-342-69-51
062-303-11-00
071-300-73-32

PS. Employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are already working at the release site in chemical protection suits.

Image

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7793872.html

The process of restoring the memorial at Saur-Mogila
August 10, 22:43

Image

The process of restoring the memorial complex at Saur-Mogila.

Image

Image

Image

Photo from here https://cdn.iz.ru/sites/default/files/s ... k=PgS0sKqt and from here https://dan-news.info/ obschestvo/na-saur-mogilu-privezli-skulpturu-soldata--kljuchevoj-monument-legendarnogo/?lang=ru

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7793444.html

Other photos at link.

Google Translator

**************************

How Ukraine Lost Its Riches
On February 24, the day Russian troops crossed the borders to Ukraine, I wrote about the potential end state of the operation:

Looking at this map I believe that the most advantageous end state for Russia would be the creation of a new independent country, call it Novorussiya, on the land east of the Dnieper and south along the coast that holds a majority ethnic Russian population and that, in 1922, had been attached to the Ukraine by Lenin. That state would be politically, culturally and militarily aligned with Russia.

Image

This would eliminate Ukrainian access to the Black Sea and create a land bridge towards the Moldavian breakaway Transnistria which is under Russian protection.

The rest of the Ukraine would be a land confined, mostly agricultural state, disarmed and too poor to be build up to a new threat to Russia anytime soon. Politically it would be dominated by fascists from Galicia which would then become a major problem for the European Union.


On March 19 I revisited the question and added Kryvyi Rih (Kriwoi Rog in Russian), the yellow part of the map, to the list:

Novorossiya roughly includes the red and yellow areas in the above map. It also includes the valuable Soviet developed iron ore mines and factories of Kryvyi Rih west of the Dnieper river.

I especially want to point out that I spoke of a "mostly agricultural state, disarmed and too poor to be build up to a new threat to Russia anytime soon."

I could say that because nearly all of Ukraine's resources and industries are in the south and east. If Russia takes those or creates the new state of Novorossiya the 'rest of Ukraine' will be mostly de-industrialized. Also of note is that the south and east include most of the famous black soil areas, which consists of a half meter deep humus layer that allows for good agricultural results without using much fertilizers.

Much of the steel and heavy machine industries in the south and east have been neglected over the last 30 years under Ukrainian rule or were destroyed during the wars that are raging since 2014. It will require very large investments to revive them but the potential profits will be great.

Nearly half a year after I wrote about it, the Washington Post, with the help of some Canadians, is catching up on the issue:

In the Ukraine war, a battle for the nation’s mineral and energy wealth

After nearly six months of fighting, Moscow’s sloppy war has yielded at least one big reward: expanded control over some of the most mineral-rich lands in Europe. Ukraine harbors some of the world’s largest reserves of titanium and iron ore, fields of untapped lithium, as well as massive deposits of coal. Collectively, they are worth tens of trillions of dollars.
The lion’s share of those coal deposits, which for decades have powered Ukraine’s critical steel industry, are concentrated in the east, where Moscow has made the most inroads. That’s put them in Russian hands, along with significant amounts of other valuable energy and mineral deposits used for everything from aircraft parts to smartphones, according to an analysis for The Washington Post by the Canadian geopolitical risk firm SecDev.
...
“The worst scenario is that Ukraine loses land, no longer has a strong commodity economy and becomes more like one of the Baltic states, a nation unable to sustain its industrial economy,” said Stanislav Zinchenko chief executive of GMK, a Kyiv-based economic think tank. “This is what Russia wants. To weaken us.”
...
Yet SecDev’s analysis indicates that at least $12.4 trillion worth of Ukraine’s energy deposits, metals and minerals are now under Russian control. That figure accounts for nearly half the dollar value of the 2,209 deposits reviewed by the company. In addition to 63 percent of the country’s coal deposits, Moscow has seized 11 percent of its oil deposits, 20 percent of its natural gas deposits, 42 percent of its metals and 33 percent of its deposits of rare earth and other critical minerals including lithium.


I believe that the natural gas share Russia already holds is higher as there are several sub-sea gas fields around Crimea and off the eastern coast.

If the Russian forces also take Kryvyi Rih and Dnipro they will have about 75-80% of Ukraine's pre-war GDP under their control.

Russia's war effort is currently financed by the 'west' which pays for it through record energy prices created by its own sanctions on Russia.

As the Russian Interfax agency reported yesterday (machine translation):

The positive balance of the current account of the balance of payments of the Russian Federation in January-July 2022 amounted to $166.6 billion, which is 3.3 times more than in the same period in 2021 ($50.1 billion). Such information is contained in the assessment of the balance of payments of the Russian Federation, published on the website of the Bank of Russia.
...
According to the base scenario of the Central Bank’s forecast for 2022, updated in July, with an average annual oil price of $80 per barrel, the current account surplus is expected to be $243 billion, the positive balance of foreign trade in goods and services - $277 billion, and the negative balance of primary and secondary income - $33 billion.


If the 'west' really wants to deprive Russia of money it must immediately lift the sanctions and restart importing oil, gas and coal from Russia at then much lower prices.

Russia will not lack money to finance the rebuilding of Novorossiya's great industries. Once that is done those areas are evidently able to support themselves and to guarantee a high standard of living. They will also have enough money to militarily defend themselves against anything the poor rest of Ukraine will be able to finance.

At the end of March, after negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey, there was nearly an agreement on a ceasefire and on the end of the war. Joe Biden then tasked Boris Johnson with telling Zelensky to continue the war. The 'west' would otherwise stop paying him. Zelensky did as he was told and stopped all negotiations with Russia.

An agreement with Russia at that time would have kept the Ukraine mostly as one state with only minor losses in the Donbas. But the decision to continue the hopeless war also ended all chances for Ukraine to keep its riches.

It will be poor and helpless while its 'western' neighbors will feast on it.

Posted by b on August 10, 2022 at 14:15 UTC | Permalink

*******************
Another 'find' on the 'Wayback Machine', 'Ideological principles of the Ghost Brigade of A.B. Mozgovoi - What it means.
https://web.archive.org/web/20151017195 ... p?t=135616
07-01-2015#1
blindpig
Administrator
Image
Join Date
Apr 2006
Posts 10,534
Blog Entries 7

Ideological principles of the Ghost Brigade of A.B. Mozgovoi - What it means.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ideological principles of the Ghost Brigade of A.B. Mozgovoi

The first commander of the Ghost Brigade was Alexei Borisovich Mozgovoi. He was able to create a cohesive and responsible staff. Despite the tragic death of A.B. Mozgovoi, this team continues its work. The Ghost Brigade was formed by the people in arms -- the militia. It became famous because, from the outset, this Brigade did not pursue material gain, believed in the need for establishing people's power, and threw down an uncompromising challenge to the fascist dictatorship, incorporating the best representatives of the Donbass workers and volunteers from other countries. With their cowardly murder of the legendary Brigade Commander, the enemy unknowingly made him an immortal symbol of popular resistance. Despite this heavy loss, the Brigade has become more cohesive, our motivation to struggle for the liberation of the motherland grows even more.

Image

In its year of existence, the Ghost Brigade has created and developed these principles:

1) Collectivism and solidarity. Priority given to collective interests over individual ones. Joint decision-making.

2) Fear not for your skin – fear for your honor. We give priority to our moral principles. Fear of personal safety and material well-being are not qualities that contribute to the creation of a just society.

3) Friendship of peoples. We have no national prejudices and preferences. We recognize and strengthen fraternal solidarity with all the peoples of the world. Consequently, our enemies are those who incite war, oppress workers and contribute to hostility between peoples. We also believe that the culture of every nation is important and special. We oppose the liberal version of multiculturalism. We are for the preservation and development of the traditions and characteristics of different peoples. The main thing is that these characteristics and traditions do not provoke new conflicts. Only the friendship of the peoples can stop ethnic strife and destroy the instigators and sponsors of these inhuman developments worldwide. We think of ourselves as the successors of the international brigades that defended the values ​​of popular revolutions in Spain from 1936-1939 and Afghanistan from 1979-1989.

4) People who have become Brigade fighters are representatives of labor rather than capital, defend their homeland, and consciously advocate for the creation of a society that operates on principles of justice.

5) Democracy. This is why Donbass rebelled in Spring 2014. We are against the seizure of power by oligarchic clans. The oligarchic clans are guilty of unleashing the current war in the Donbass. The people must have maximum power. While fighting, we are at the same time building the foundations of a new society -- within the Brigade and within the liberated territories. We also support close contact between military forces and civilians. The first social canteens in Novorossiya appeared thanks to the Ghost Brigade. Humanitarian aid to the population, organizing various public events – these are also part of the Brigade’s activities.

6) People's Militia. We are not trying to build a regular army modeled on other states (regular state armies, no matter how they are officially described, carry out the orders of the government, not the people). Our goal is to create a new type of armed forces, taking into account the unique characteristics of the Donbass. The militia -- that is, the armed people -- can always resist state and corporate dictatorship. Unarmed people are defenseless before governments and large corporations, which are protected by their own armed groups. History shows that most often they are treated like cattle. Therefore, the militia is necessary not only in war, but also in peacetime.

7) The principle of voluntary service. We do not conduct forced mobilizations. Therefore, those who come to us are those who feel responsible for their relatives and friends, cherish their homeland, and share our ideas. We don’t have people who come "to make money" or who are compelled to serve so as not to go to jail.

8) Victory in the Great Patriotic War is the foundation of the anti-fascist movement. There can be no revision of the outcome of the Great Patriotic War in favor of Nazi Germany and its allies. We condemn all those who are attempting such revisions -- first of all, the Western, Ukrainian and Russian neoliberals and neo-Nazis.

9) Attention to the education of youth. Throughout the countries formed on the territory of the former Soviet Union, the youth were tossed aside. These states offer no ideological education, no social ideals. The relationship between these states and the youth is like that between a drunken stepfather and weak children. Those who were born and lived in independent Ukraine could see this from their own experience. We know that young people are the future. We understand the need for their cultural, physical and intellectual education. We take on this responsibility.

10) Discipline. In war, discipline is one of the fundamental factors of successful military operations. Without discipline, military victory is impossible.

11) Freedom of conscience. Each Brigade soldier is an integral part of the team, proudly and honorably bearing the battle flag of the people's Brigade. Opinions, religious beliefs and political beliefs are a private affair of each member of the team. However, they must unite around the fundamental principles of the people's ideology -- anti-fascism, anti-oligarchism and democracy. Any hateful ideology (right-wing radicalism, neo-Nazism, neo-fascism, racism) is alien and hostile to any brigade fighter.

12) Russian world. We associate ourselves with the residents of a large Russian world, which brings together different cultures, nationalities and linguistic characteristics, but has a common mentality hostile to fascism, Nazism and racism, and has its own domestic and psychological characteristics that have always helped us to defend our homeland and beat the enemy in the most difficult times. The Russian world is a worldview and attitude, the spirit of its carriers. Novorossiya is the front line of the Russian world.

13) Our principles are of general importance – there can’t be a separate liberation of Donbass without changes in Ukraine and Russia. We are engaged in a liberation struggle that has significance not only for the Russian world, but also for the whole world.

Source: Political Commission of the Ghost Brigade

Translation by Greg Butterfield

http://redstaroverdonbass.blogspot.c...t-brigade.html
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

This is a remarkable document, a tocsin for the twenty-first century. It deserves all the attention we can give it, and then some.

****************

From Cassad's Telegram account:

***

Сolonelcassad

Image

The situation in the Soledar direction
by the end of August 10, 2022

▪️In Soledar , units of the 6th Cossack Regiment of the NM LPR are attempting to develop an offensive in the directions of the gypsum quarry and the Belokamensky refractory plant. Reports about the establishment of control over an industrial enterprise were premature.

▪️Allied forces are fighting for Yakovlevka.

▪️The units of the NM of the DPR made significant progress in the part of Zaitsevo , occupied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, to the north-west of Golmovsky. Several servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were taken prisoner.

▪️Detachments of "PMC Wagner" continue to fight on the eastern outskirts of Bakhmut (Artemovsk).

▪️From the east, the attack continues on Kodema, from where the Armed Forces of Ukraine regularly attacked Gorlovka. The capture of the settlement and neighboring Zaitsevo , although they will not stop Ukrainian shelling, will force the artillery to leave positions advantageous for it.

***

forwarded from
Voenkor Kitten Z
Military expert Boris Rozhin about changes per day on 23-19 Moscow time on 08/10/2022 during the operation to denazify and demilitarize Ukraine especially for the Voenkor Kotenok Z @voenkorKotenok channel :
1.
Artemivsk.
Fights for Kodema and Merry Valley.
The enemy was pressed north of Gorlovka. Fully released Gladosovo. There is a promotion in the Zaitsevo area.
2.
Soledar.
Assault groups of the LPR army are moving deeper into the industrial zone and occupying the adjacent streets. The enemy puts up fierce resistance.
To the north - the battles for Yakovlevka and Belogorovka.
To the south-east of Soledar PMC "Wagner" continues the assault on Bakhmutsky.
3.
Sands.
Most of the village is controlled by the DPR army. The enemy continues to cling to the northern part of the village in the area of ​​high-rise buildings. It continues to grind with artillery. Large losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are confirmed by both sides.
4.
Slavyansk.
Attempts by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to gain a foothold in Mazanovka, which they had previously occupied, turned into massive attacks by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on the village, as a result of which the Armed Forces of Ukraine suffered serious losses. The village itself was destroyed as a result of the fighting.
Otherwise, no significant changes.
5.
Kharkov.
To the north-east of Kharkov, our troops are crushing the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the Borshcheva area, including in the direction of Saltovka.
Fights at Dementievka and Uda.
6.
Nikolaev.
Positional battles in the Blagodatny area.
Fighting on the river Ingulets. Both sides continue to launch heavy strikes against logistical infrastructure and troop concentrations.

***

forwarded from
RT in Russian
⚡️RT Exclusive

American Javelins proved to be ineffective in Ukraine. We have received internal documents from Raytheon, which manufactures these anti-tank systems . In Ukraine, there is almost a cult of "holy Javelins", who supposedly can destroy any military equipment. But in fact, the complexes are not so good. The documents indicate that the effectiveness of Javelin "is different from the declared." So, out of 11 test launches, only three hit a stationary target (see the first graph). According to open data, the ATGM firing range can be up to 5 km. But internal documents say that it is two times lower (see the second chart).

The Raytheon questionnaire, which was filled out by the US military who went through Iraq and Afghanistan, indicated that a third of the attempts to fire from the Javelin were "accompanied by problems."

These are trained fighters who have studied the Javelin and trained on the training grounds. Even they had difficulties. In addition, American soldiers do not fully understand from what distance the Javelin is guaranteed to hit the target.

***

forwarded from
Turned on the Z war🇬🇧
⚡️🇬🇧Residents of Zaporozhye Oblast Support Joining Russia The

Crimean Republican Institute for Political and Sociological Research (RIPSI) regularly conducts research on the opinions of residents of Kherson and Zaporozhye Oblasts.

In the Zaporozhye region, polls are being held in Melitopol, Berdyansk, Energodar, Chernigovka, Tokmak and other cities and towns.

The main topic of the survey is
the attitude towards the future referendum on the entry of our region into the Russian Federation.

Most residents of the Zaporozhye region are ready to take part in the vote and support joining Russia.

👉How many of the surveyed residents of the region are ready to take part in a referendum if it were held in the near future?

June 2022 69%
August 2022 77%

👉How many residents of those who are ready to take part in the referendum support the entry of the Zaporozhye region into Russia?

June 2022 63%
August 2022 82%

👉How many residents of those who are ready to take part in the referendum would like to leave the Zaporozhye region as part of Ukraine?

June 2022 11%
August 2022 3%

In addition to the future referendum, the study touches upon issues of Russian citizenship and the work of volunteers

👉How many respondents are positive about the fact that residents of the Zaporozhye region have the opportunity to obtain a Russian passport and citizenship?

June 2022 66%
August 2022 78%

👉How many residents consider the assistance provided by volunteers to the residents of the Zaporozhye region significant?

June 2022 45%
August 2022 61%

1,000 residents of the Zaporozhye region took part in the survey. The sample is quota by sex and age. 73% of respondents live in cities, 27% - in rural areas. The surveys were conducted by phone calls. Poll error is 2.1%

RIPSI continues to monitor the dynamics of public opinion in Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

Google Translator
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10592
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part IV

Post by blindpig » Thu Aug 11, 2022 1:45 pm

The road to Soledad
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 08/11/2022

Image

Original Article: Alexander Kots / Komsomolskaya Pravda

It seems that the city is right there, in the palm of your hands, in the lowlands. Take the commanding hills and drive the enemy out. To this day, Soledar is one of the hottest spots in Donbass, where the fate of the offensive on Slavyansk and Kramatorsk is decided. Without this city, it is impossible to make a pincer on Artyomovsk, the line of defense in which the opponent is currently holding his main forces. From one of the heights, I observe Soledar, above which smoke from artillery explosions rises. At some point, I notice that the fire is almost reaching the forward positions of the Second Army Corps of the RPL, which has approached Soledar to start fighting for the Knauf plant in the industrial zone.

“The enemy strikes back with forces of up to one company,” explains the battalion commander in a confident voice at the outpost. It sounds nice, but it's actually the basement of a town house. In an “office”, on a small screen there is a drone image. Another is the workplace of the commander of the Sixth Regiment of the RPL. A map is spread out on the table, onto which fragments of cement are falling from the ceiling. Enemy artillery shells explode at close range, adding elements of Soviet cinematography to everything that's happening. At times like this, you wonder how close directors of the past were to reality. Fragments of the roof falling off, a map written in red and blue, and a conscientious commander with a bushy mustache. And the earth, which falls little by little with another small earthquake.

"We get dressed, helmets, vests, everything," orders the battalion commander, although it is unnecessary. If someone suddenly took off their armor before the time of the counterattack, everyone changed their clothes with the first explosions.

"The long-range artillery is working, please suppress it," the officer calmly informs the radio. At that moment, a projectile hits the porch. A soldier rolls down the stairs to the basement holding back tears. “What, Vadik, surprised?” the paternal commander asks, but judging by his jaw, he has surprised everyone.

A newly mobilized soldier brags, trying to hide normal fear with curiosity: “Is it better to open your mouth or cover your ears during an explosion?”

“Open your mouth if you have time”, his comrades advise him. Misha, the dog, is sitting at his feet. He says that he guides them on whether to go out or not. When our artillery works, Misha frolics in the street and barks approvingly. But as soon as he hears the fire on the other side, he hides in the far corner of the basement. As long as he doesn't come out, it's better not to stick your head out.

"The counterattack has been repelled," reports the battalion commander.

"The situation is constantly tense," explains Viktor. “In enemy, it must be recognized, resist strongly. He tries, as you have seen, he counterattacks with infantry. He uses tanks, artillery. He is not bored. But the prospects of us entering the city are real. Everything is complicated by the fact that we move through minefields.”

"And how is Soledar?"

“There is a peculiarity there: the enemy can hide in deep salt mines. Its development began two centuries ago. Surely everyone who lived in the Soviet Union remembers a package of white and blue salt that cost ten kopecks. Half of those packages that such a large country consumed were produced here, in Soledar, hence the name of the city.

Now, under the city there are 300 kilometers of tunnels through which, if necessary, you can drive a Kamaz at full speed. In one of the mines, a tourist attraction was created where, at a depth of 280 meters below sea level, you can play football (we mean the size, there is no grass there, the floor and the walls are made of salt ), listen to a concert in an auditorium or even take care of health in a sanatorium, Salt Symphony”. Dry, salt-saturated air is said to have a good effect. Here respiratory and skin diseases were treated.

Now this underground realm is being used only by the Ukrainian military as a shelter from artillery shelling. But the mines near Soledar, those in the town of Prakoveevka, are the most interesting. There are legends about these places. It's like there are hundreds of mountains of weapons stashed in there, millions of rounds of ammunition. After the Great Patriotic War, Mosin pistols, PPSH-41 machine guns, PPS-43 machine guns, German MO-38/40 machine guns, 1928 American Thomsons, Mausers, Colts, Degtyarevs and Maxims were said to have been brought there for preservation. Maxims have already been found in abandoned Ukrainian positions, which indirectly confirms the legend.

It is rumored that in the 1990s clever people from the Ukrainian secret services organized a business: they sold weapons to relatives of fascists as souvenirs. It is said that some German found an ancestor's weapon by searching the archives and later found it in the armory near Soledar. Weapons stored there could be used, they just needed to be oiled. The constant temperature and humidity levels of the salt mines make for ideal conditions for preservation.

"There really are depots with small arms in Praskoveevka," says Vladimir Shanaev, former head of the Volodarsky mine depot. "This means they are 152 meters below sea level." The name of the mine is familiar to me. In 2014, immediately after the Maidan and Crimea's return home, I passed through that checkpoint. At the time, residents were protesting against the withdrawal of weapons to be handed over to the Praviy Sektor and the National Guard of Ukraine.

"With the kyiv authorities there will be no life for us," commented the population. “Especially in Donbass. The Crimeans have done well. They have done it on time. They have an easier situation, it will be harder for us. But all of Donbass is pro-Russian. There can be no internal conflict here. Only if the flagmen come, we will face them. They call us bandits, but I have worked in the mine for 28 years. Now I am retired and still working. Have they worked a lot in the west? We, like Crimea, hope to return to our historical homeland, Donbass has been Russia since time immemorial."

Going through the file photos, I thought one of those men might be liberating his city with guns drawn now. And another could have been recruited by Ukraine's territorial defense battalions under threat of imprisonment. And they would look at each other across the front. It is the bitter reality of this war.

“How is it equipped?” I ask Vladimir Shanaev.

“There is only one entry to the technical command. The cage carries 152 meters. When I worked there, salt was mined under our feet, in the metro 208 and in the 243. There is only one descent. As the place was secret, you had to wear a normal jacket and helmet. At our level, a uniform was worn. But the population knew perfectly well what was there.”

"What kind of cameras are there?"

“Imagine working in a place 17 meters wide and 50 meters high surrounded by metal doors. There are different deposits one after another. The length will be 150-200 meters. There are some that are just huge. In some, 500 wagons would fit”.

“Is this how they were kept, in wagons?”

“No, they were coming. For example, they brought weapons after the first Karabakh war. There were deliveries from different confiscated bases, there is a whole wagon with German rubbish with swastikas: belts, weapons… It is kept in boxes three meters high and ten meters long”.

Vladimir Shanaev graduated from the Penza engineering school in the Soviet Union and was assigned this place after graduation. He worked here until the dissolution of the Union.

“What were your functions”?

“He was responsible for receiving the weapons and shipping them. He was the head of the depot, he had twelve, each with a manager, a team of loaders, two electric loaders, four electric cars and a team of auxiliary workers”.

"Did they take out a lot of weapons when you were here?"

"Constantly. The limitation was how high the elevator could go. The crane lifts two trolleys, which contain eight boxes of AKM. So you can't get that much. They were sent abroad from Nikolaev.”

“Is it theoretically possible to destroy those deposits?”

“I can't imagine where to get so many explosives. I think the entrance next to the checkpoint can be blocked, which is in the 152 subway. If the whole road collapses, it will take a long time to recover it.”

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Vladimir returned to Russia with his wife and two children and served in the 53rd Arsenal in the Nizhny Novgorod region. He says that his wife, an elementary and music teacher in Artyomovsk, still receives letters from former students who have left all over the world.

"Can I ask you a personal question? Why didn't you stay in the Ukraine?

“Because they asked me to take another oath. I am a Russian man from Nizhny Novgorod, there was no other option for me. I didn't understand it like that then, I just had a feeling that I couldn't accept it. Now everything is obvious. Nationalism is destructive to any culture, it is a pity that Europe does not understand it. Or that she acts like she doesn't understand."

https://slavyangrad.es/2022/08/11/25252/#more-25252

Google Translator

*************************************

US Promises More Military Assistance for Baltic States

Image
During his visit to Latvia, the U.S. Pentagon's chief said that they would send more troops to the Baltic state. Aug. 10, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@TimZitter

Published 10 August 2022 (11 hours 19 minutes ago)

The U.S. Defense Secretary said more military forces might be sent to Latvia.

During a speech in Lativa, Lloyd Austin, the U.S. Defense Secretary, pledged to continue with the rotation of the U.S. forces in the Baltic state, adding that more military assistance could be sent to the country. Citing a threat from Russia, the U.S official commented on the country's potential need for a military army boost.

"We will enhance our rotational deployments in the region and intensify our training with our Baltic allies to further strengthen our combat credible posture in the region […] we can also bring in forces from the United States," said Austin.

The official highlighted the U.S. commitment to support the Baltic state regarding defense, saying that the Security Force Assistance Brigade will continue operating. "If something happens, and [...] the sovereign territory of Latvia is questioned or challenged, we're gonna be here to work with our partners."

On his side, the Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks commented on the daily "nitty gritty training and the additional financial assistance, which the U.S is offering to Latvian troops to defend their country.


The Russian special operation in Ukrainian territory has been used as the pretext for Washington's boost by 25 percent of military assistance for states of the European Union.

Since the beginning of the Russian special operation in Ukraine last February 24, the Pentagon has deployed a total of 100 000 troops in Europe.

Russia has assured that Moscow does not represent a threat to NATO states.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/US- ... -0018.html

********************

Ukraine and its Western Backers Should Be Held Accountable for the ‘Suicidal’ Attack on Europe’s Largest Nuclear Powerplant
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on AUGUST 10, 2022
Scott Ritter

Image

The US secretary of state hoped to make Russia look like a ‘nuclear terrorist’. Instead, he implicated himself

Even as UN Secretary-General António Guterres addressed survivors of the World War Two US atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima, halfway around the world, the armed forces of Ukraine seemed hellbent on unleashing a modern-day nuclear holocaust on Europe by firing artillery rockets at the Zaporozhye power plant.

This week’s assault, which damaged safety equipment and disrupted power to the facility, the continent’s largest, was characterized by Guterres as “suicidal.”

Kiev was quick to blame Russia for the attacks, accusing Moscow of conducting “nuclear terrorism,” and calling for the international community to send in a delegation of “international peacekeepers” to “completely demilitarize the territory.”

The Zaporozhye nuclear facility has been under the physical control of Russia since its forces occupied the site back in March. Since then, the plant has been operated by Ukrainian technicians working under the supervision of Russian atomic energy experts. The facility contains six nuclear reactors which, before the start of the military operation, generated approximately one-fifth of Ukraine’s electricity. Three of these reactors ceased operation after the Russians took control the site, and another one was forced to shut down after the facility was shelled on August 5. The two remaining reactors were likewise compelled to reduce their output to half as a safety precaution.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yevhenii Tsymbaliuk, declared that Russian forces were attempting to cause electricity blackouts in southern Ukraine by shelling the plant. The Ukrainian state nuclear agency, Energoatom, has accused the Russian military of placing explosives throughout the Zaporozhye nuclear plant, which would be detonated in the event of a Ukrainian counterattack which threatened to capture the facility. The Ukrainian military has also accused Russia of placing military equipment, including ammunition, in buildings located near the nuclear reactors.

The only problem with the Ukrainian narrative is that, simply put, none of it is true. The August 5 attack on the Zaporozhye nuclear facility was carried out by artillery rockets whose impact characteristics point clearly to having originated from Ukrainian controlled territory. Moreover, Russian air defense and counter-battery radars situated in the vicinity of the plant would have detected the ballistic trajectory of the incoming rockets, providing unimpeachable evidence of the origin of the attack. So, too, would have US and NATO intelligence collection platforms operating over and around Ukraine. And, given the propaganda victory that could be achieved by releasing such evidence, one can rest assured that the US would very much take full advantage of any scenario which would reproduce the release of U-2 imagery during the Cuban missile crisis, or the release of the audio tapes of the Soviet fighter pilot downing KAL 007.

This, of course, won’t happen. And given the reality that Russia is engaged in the active defense of the Zaporozhye facility, it is unlikely that it would give away important intelligence about its radar capabilities just to score cheap public relation points. Russia has long been reticent about engaging in cheap propaganda, preferring to let its performance on the battlefield do its speaking for it.

Not so the United States and Ukraine, which have a track record of collaboration when it comes to disseminating information designed to undermine the Russian narrative and “get into the mind” of Russian President Vladimir Putin – even if the information being released to the public is not true.

The Ukrainian attack on the Zaporozhye nuclear facility was, in typical Orwellian fashion, forecasted by the United States four days before it took place. During an August 1 news conference at the United Nations, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia of using the nuclear facility as a base from which it conducted artillery strikes against Ukraine. Blinken declared that the act of firing artillery rockets from proximity to the nuclear power plant was “the height of irresponsibility,” implying that these rockets could land on the power plant itself. Blinken also added that the Russians were using the nuclear facility as a “nuclear shield” which prevented any Ukrainian attack out of fear of striking the nuclear reactors.

Blinken’s brazen parroting of Ukrainian government talking points was made more absurd by the absolute dearth of evidence to back up his powerful pronouncements. Normally, when someone of the stature of the Secretary of State speaks in such a public manner about issues of this importance, there is some intelligence information that is released – for instance, overhead imagery showing Russian troop locations near the Zaporozhye nuclear plant – to sustain the allegation. No such data was provided, however, because Blinken had ceased functioning as the head of the American diplomatic service, and instead was functioning as little more than a Ukrainian propagandist.

For its part, Russia has made it clear that there were no Russian forces located in the vicinity of the Zaporozhye nuclear facility save for a small contingent of troops for security purposes (it is, after all, an active nuclear power plant.) Again, while Russia can clearly provide overhead imagery of its force disposition in the vicinity of the plant, operational security precludes it from doing so. It is, after all, the job of the accuser to provide the evidence of a crime, not the accused.

Blinken’s August 1 statement served as the initiation of a public relations campaign which culminated in the Ukrainian artillery attack on the Zaporozhye nuclear facility. The goal of this campaign appears to be twofold – first, to put Russia in a bad light, and second, to allow Ukraine to accomplish that which it could not achieve through military force – the eviction of Russian troops from Zaporozhye. The calls for international intervention emanating from the West point to a concerted effort in promoting a pro-Ukrainian narrative even when all parties know the underlying facts sustaining this narrative are not true. To counteract that, Russia has extended its own invitation to IAEA monitors to visit the powerplant and summoned a UN Security Council meeting to discuss the situation.

This is far more serious than simply another information warfare campaign gone bad. While the Zaporozhye nuclear facility is constructed to standards which would be able to survive a direct hit from an artillery rocket, the disruption of power and/or damage to safety equipment could lead to the kind of runaway event that preceded the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The Russian Defense Ministry noted that the Ukrainian attack on the power plant had caused a power surge which triggered an emergency shutdown. The head of the Ukrainian company operating the plant further noted that all but one power line connecting it to Ukraine’s energy system had been destroyed, declaring that any power blackout could be “very unsafe for such a nuclear facility.”

Secretary-General Guterres rightly called the attack on the Zaporozhye nuclear facility “suicidal.” However, the “nuclear terrorists” involved in this atrocity do not hail from Moscow, but rather Washington and Kiev. When the dust from Russia’s military operation finally settles, and those responsible for perpetrating crimes such as the attack on the Zaporozhye nuclear facility can be held accountable, Tony Blinken’s name should, if there were any justice in this world, be at the top of this list.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/08/ ... owerplant/

********************************
Another 'found' thread, 'Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New high-points in Cynicism Part II'
https://web.archive.org/web/20151016234 ... p?t=128099
Bloody Epiphany
Posted by babeuf79 ⋅ January 20, 2015 ⋅ 7 Comments

Original article: El Murid
Translated by Alexander Fedotov / Edited by @GBabeuf

Image

The beginning of a new phase in the war has became a fact in the Donbass. Nobody can talk about any violation of the ceasefire regime–the ceasefire has been simply dismissed. Ukrainian propaganda speaks of retaliation by the punitive forces who have been forced to respond to the seizure of the airport. However, it is difficult to use this term for such a massive bombardment and mass troop and armour offensive by the military—it was prepared long in advance.

In fact, Kiev simply provoked the Militia to capture the airport, constantly hitting residential districts in Donetsk, killing, according to various estimates, around 300-350 civilians from September onwards.

At any rate, the second stage of the war has became a reality. Now, both the punitive troops and the Militia must prove that they have used the duration of this strange truce to their benefit.

The UAF offensive is running along the same lines as the summer scenario, not because Ukrainian generals are stupid—but rather because the configuration of the front line leaves no other options. There is one—operational encirclement of Donetsk by flanking it in the Snezhnoe area and by a tactical seizure of Yasinovataya, Makeevka and Khartsyzk. Cutting the Militia off from the border, as in the summer, makes no sense. It would be enough to cut off the supply and to attempt to hold the situation for at least two weeks. Intense fighting will deplete ammunition, and without replenishing it Donetsk simply will not hold out.


Russia, continuing to adhere to the denial of its presence and to recognition of the “unity of Ukraine” will be forced to stick with it. Changing this position requires a very serious study of the consequences, for which there is simply no time now. Apparently, the Minsk “peacekeepers” did not even consider the possibility of a transition by Kiev on to the offensive and thus expected that the rather demonstrative build-up of Militia forces would in itself hold the junta back from large-scale hostilities. Thus, the Kremlin does not demonstrate anything that could be described as advance planning. Another “terrible Russian silence” has begun, or rather—in Moscow they do not know what to do. Quite pathetic statements and concerns—purely reflex actions that are typical for Russian politics as a whole.

Evidently, there will be implemented the same reflex momentary plan for holding positions and thus positionally defeating the advancing punitive troops. Without a plan of attack the game is on defence—a sure path to defeat, but nothing else appears to be available.

Image

It is not quite clear how the different groups of the Militia will behave. Judging by today’s breakthrough of several tanks supported by infantry at the Putilovka bridge, they were able to break through the Spartak area [a district of Donetsk -ed.] in the Vostok Battalion’s zone of responsibility. Again Khodakovsky and again the airport. There are also reports from Yasinovataya, which is also under the control of Vostok, that not everything is all right there. Despite the fact that the Militia is fighting bravely, questions arise as to their commanders, as they did in the summer. [The attack through the Putilovka Bridge has been repulsed by now -ed.]

One can expect for a while exclusively defensive actions from the Militia in Donetsk and possibly diversionary attacks in other directions to force Kiev’s commanders to hold back their reserves. However, when such tactics bring the whole situation to a “slackening”—it will be enough for the punitive troops to be successful in any of the areas, and then no diversionary attacks will help—everything will be thrown into the breakthrough.

It is somewhat naïve to count on the fact that the Militia will wear down the enemy in defensive battles and then go on the offensive—not for that did the Kremlin rigidly halt the offensive in September, only to allow it, for some reason, in January. The goal remains unchanged—to pass the Donbass under the control of Ukraine, at any price, but with a pro-Russian administration. Actually, now people are being killed just for Zakharchenko and Plotnitskiy to become Ukrainian governors. If it will not be them, it will be someone else. Personalities are not important—functionality is.

Kiev is not satisfied with such an approach. Strictly speaking, this was why the situation became aggravated. Currently there are no signs that Kiev and Moscow are ready to resolve the problem at a stroke, so if the punitive troops do not achieve any decisive progress within a week or ten days, the intensity of the fighting could seriously decrease. Then again will be declared an incredible victory—a return to the peace process. Until the next exacerbation.

The only thing that the Militia can try to achieve in this situation is to take the fortified area in Avdeevka, Peski and Opytniy and push the enemy artillery from the city for the next “ceasefire.”

In the meantime, in addition to the shelling more unpleasant news arrived for the people—the Akhmetov Foundation suspended the delivery of humanitarian aid. Until the situation is clarified.

PS: A letter from a friend in Donetsk. Just that: “…was just stopped in Khartsyzk by a joint traffic police and military commandant outfit. Familiar fighters from the military commandant’s office said that there are sabotage and reconnaissance groups in the city. They are firing at cars. Eight dead bodies…”

http://slavyangrad.org/2015/01/20/bloody-epiphany/

This war did not start in February 2022, it has been simmering for eight years and Ukraine/US/NATO are the aggressors.

***

01-2a-2015#11
blindpig
Administrator
Image
Join Date Apr 2006
Posts 10,529
Blog Entries 7

War in Donbass. January 20h. Summary for the day.

Image

As usual, we summarize the results of the military action over the last day. On January 20th, as it was expected, the military action continued with the same intensity.

1. The junta clearly had very little luck with the Donetsk airport. Getting into the trap of its own hurrah-propaganda, the junta, quite clumsily, tried to fit the objectively difficult military situation in the area of the complex of the administrative buildings to the demands of its propaganda. Naturally, these desires didn't match the abilities and the means that were available. All attacks were repelled, so they started to virtually bury the "cyborgs" from the terminal – both on social networks and on the official junta resources. Virtual heroes, who were buried under the wreckage somewhere, serve as a justification for contiuing to fight for the airport. After losing control over the new terminal this fighting is largely meaningless. Today's announcement that the airstrip was largely destroyed and that the airport allegedly lost its principal significance, serve the very same goal of preparing future justification for a possible defeat there. The airstrip itself was destroyed already in the Autumn, so holding on to the airport from a strictly military point of view was useful only if controlling the part of buildings to the south of of the airstrip. Annoying failures seemingly remind the junta that it has to either close the store or it has to throw more significant forces into the fight. The AFU command currently struggles to figure out if this "invitation" to attack somewhere (e.g., on Donetsk) is a trap, because apparently the junta failed to figure out the design of the NAF command yet. Overall, there is no large-scale offensive as such yet, we are still seeing local offensive actions, where the sides spend their efforts quite economically. So, it is most likely that the peak of military escalation didn't pass yet and it is possible that we will see it in the coming days, unless, of course, the politicians will not suddenly come up with some agreement.


It was easy to play the fool with the already uncovered provocation under Volnovakha, but when it got down to intense military action the junta's media heroes suddenly faded and started throwing temper tantrums.

2. It would be just fine if the junta would just be defeated in its malooley attacks on the terminals and around them. The NAF, effectively simultaneously with the junta offensive, launched an offensive of their own on Avdeyevka and Peski, as a result of which the battle effective attained a head-on nature, because both sides tried to advance. For now, the NAF had better luck. By the evening of January 20th our military controlled the majority of Peski, although they still couldn't fully dislodge the junta from the western outskirts and fighting is still ongoing there. Attacks on the air defense unit between Avdeyevka and Opytnoye were not successful yet. However, our forces managed to enter Avdeyevka, where they got bogged down in street fighting. Here the enemy still controls the majority of the town. Overall, our offensive here also develops, not to say that it is without problems, but there are obvious tactical successes here. Light undertones of panic emerged In the junta communiques over the last day, because the hastily prepared operation for recapturing the new terminal led to a whole series of battles, which clearly unfolded not to the junta's advantage – there were a number of mistakes on a tactical level.

The junta now has a choice: to intensity the military action on this location by throwing new forces into a fight and deploy reserves into the front or to gradually extinguish our offensive in order to accept the new front line that will pass to the north-west of the airport. Globally, this will change little, but from the point of view of propaganda this will be a clear defeat for the junta.

Image
Pictures with the POWs captured by the NAF today had a very strong demoralising effect on the enemy and became a boon for our propaganda.

3. Under Mariupol the situation was relatively stable – unlike yesterday, when we managed to advance on a number of locations and effectively approached the outskirts of Mariupol, today there was mostly artillery work there and there are no significant changes yet. On the background of numerous rumors about the NAF attempt of capturing Mariupol, the Ministry of Defense of the DPR officially announced that they have no such plans. Which is correct in any case – regardless of whethere there is such a plan or not – intentions must be hidden from the enemy, let them figure out where the main strike will be carried out. For now the enemy still cannot completely figure out where the main attack of the NAF may follow. Maybe it will be Mariupol, maybe under Donetsk, or under Debalcevo, or in the area of Bakhmutka roadway. Our military perform fairly literate disturbing attacks on various locations, proposing the enemy to either counter-attack or to throw reserves into battle or to suffer minor tactical defeats that are so uncomfortable for the junta with respect to its propaganda. Overall, the NAF act by the book, which speaks of professionalism of those people who plan and command the operation.


Translation
Tanks and infantry of Rashka is attacking checkpoints 31 and 29. Fuck, where is the artillery, where is the aviation? These bitches fucked us big time!!!
The infantry is already on the 31.
No, the artillery is hammering, but 31 fell...
How many perished there...
Goddamn bitches... Peace, you say.

Another part of the global temper tantrum that unfolded the the media space of the Ukrainian junta after the loss of the 31-st checkpoint.

4. Today's offensive action in the area of Bakhmutka roadway have a fairly limited significance within the confines of the front in the LPR, but at the same time they triggered an obvious outburst of panic and uncertainty in Ukraine, which reached even the military and political leadership of Ukraine. Poroshenko's aide, who lost his composure, demonstrated it quite eloquently. The fuss around numbered checkpoints, which continues since Autumn, attained the fatures of a major battle, which required entering reserves that stood in the depth of formation. Our side here performs an artillery offensive for the most part, trying to squeeze the junta infantry and materiel out and capture abandoned or weakened positions. Today this tactic delivered certain successes in the area of 31-st checkpoint. Further attacks on the 29-th checkpoint and Krymskoye did not lead to decisive results yet. It is worth noting that according to local information it is worth expecting further escalation of military action here in the coming days.

Photo 18+
javascript:void(0)

[5. Terrorist shelling of the cities in the DPR and the LPR continued today – residential building and infrastructure objects are destroyed on a large scale, civilians perish. All of this has effectively no military significance. The problem of ruining Donbass, which was posed already in the Autumn, is being solved. Activation of the sabotage/reconnaisance groups in the areas that are close to the front is directed to increase panic and scatter the forces of the state security, who are forced to catch saboteurs. Overall, our side is able to cope with this for a solid B.

Image
Oleg Novikov, who was captured by the Kharkov gestapo.

6. The "degree of degradation" of the situation is clearly highlighted by the fact of spreading the zone of the punitive operation to the Kharkov and Zaporozhye regions. And if an explosion near the courthouse was used as a cause to organize repressions against Kharkov resistance, then blowing up the strategically important bridge in Zaporozhye region reflects a growing alarm with respect to Mariupol and the fate of Zaporozhye region, which was among obvious goals of the NAF offensive prior to its stop in September. In this respect the junta exhibits a certain anxiety regarding regions adjacent to the front, which may end up in the zone of access of the NAF units given further "degradation". Activation of the "voentorg" work, which is currently running to the maximum, also doesn't add confidence to the junta.


Years pass – nothing changes.

7. The rhetoric of the Russian Federation over the last days clearly hardened, which suggests that at least it was decided to teach a local lesson to the junta. It is not known how far the limits of "enforcing peace" stretch, but there is a certain political decision with respect to what is going on. The ongoing activities and the spinning gears of "voentorg" and the hardening of informational and propaganda line stem from this fact. Gazprom today already offered the junta to pay its gas debts and Medvedev announced a threat to increase the electricity price.
In this situation the americans will be interested in how far Russia will go this time. The junta personnel and territorial losses within the confines of a general confrontation with the Russian Federation have little significance to Washington – these are just a few pawns, which the USA sacrifices to see the reaction of Russia to the escalation of military action, which were triggered by the americans by pushing the junta leaders to attack Donbass. If it will be necessary, then the USA will always be able to play the "peace accordion".

Do the junta soldiers understand that they are currently being used as a plain cannon fodder? Some understand, but they cannot do anything anymore (apart from deserting or surrendering as POWs) – the war is in full gear and tens of thousands of fresh "defenders of Ukraine", who didn't have the wits to avoid mobilization or the money to buy their way out of it, are ready to replace the MIAs and the KIAs. New meat will be necessary because at least it will be required to replace the losses in the brigades that fight in the area of the airport, because the number of KIAs and WIAs in there is in the hundreds. The materiel losses are tolerable for the junta for now, but if the "degradation" will be prolonged, then in a week to week-and-a-half the losses may reach quite noticeable levels, which won't be easily compensated using internal reserves.

8. I wouldn't count on a rapid decomposition of the junta army now – as the fighting shows, in defense the junta is able to show quite decent resilience, although in offensive action we still see an organizational disorder and numerous tactical flaws. As for the supreme command, then it is doesn't have much of an authority in its own units and is regularly suspected of either being talentless or traitorous.
Those AFU units that were already seasoned and reinforced with materiel won't be an easy enemy, especially if they occupy positions that are convenient for defense. Nevertheless, with respect to motivation and, after a certain point, with respect to technological superiority, the junta is inferior to the NAF and compensates this by numerical superiority and by the resilience in defense.
Regarding the disintegration of the front, it must be understood that at this point there are no actions directed to breaking it in its whole depth – the enemy is mostly pushed using the strikes of tubed and rocket artillery (with the backup option of the start of the actions by the "LPR aviation"). That is why the front line starts to bend on a number of locations. However, actions of a completely different kind are necessary for the front to disintegrate.

Overall, the military action develops moderately-favorably for us.

Original article: http://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/1998116.html (in Russian)

http://cassad-eng.livejournal.com/110134.html

***

01-22-2015#18

"Thank You for Your Service!" Says Chief of US Army in Europe While Awarding Medals to Maimed Ukrainian Soldiers

General Ben Hodges, Chief of the US Army in Europe, awarded US army medals to the Ukrainian soldiers in a Kiev's Central Military Hospital on January 22.

Image

The video was made by "independent" Hromadske TV, a station that publicly admits it is funded by money coming from US and Dutch embassies—and George Soros.

The General met with wounded Ukrainian soldiers who fought in a bloody military campaign. The General said that the US is ready to assist the wounded and even send some of them to the United States for a medical treatment. How generous of him.

The General said the medal is "a symbol of the US army in Europe" and is given "for excellence". Excellence in what?

The general finished the visit to hospital with these words: "Thank you for your service" (!?) Does this even need comment? Yes, thank you for your service to the US military-industrial oligarchy. These pathetic and surreal scenes are only missing Victoria Nuland with her cookies.

And actually these coins are not even medals, they are unit coins for a coin challenge.


This crippled poor soldier doesn't look to be too happy.

No wonder the disabled soldiers looked miserable on this ceremony. Can you imagine yourself laying there, crippled for life, in a shoddy, under-equipped Soviet-era hospital, desperately contemplating how you are going to feed your two young children, let alone get a prosthetic costing over $100K on a Ukrainian veteran's pension of $20/month. And what do you get? A fake smile from a pompous, second-rate US general, a vain lecture on patriotism...and a $1 dollar badge made in China.

These Ukrainian soldiers are mostly lower class folks (read: cannon fodder) who are dying for Western ambitions in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Once there's no use for them anymore, they will be forgotten like an used napkin.

Finally, where is the video of this general visiting American soldiers? We only wish all the US Army veterans who have committed suicide in the last decade or end up as street beggars could get some recognition instead of ruthlessly being thrown out on the streets of American cities.


Instead of making sure that you get arm prosthesis worth of 100 thousands Euros that will enable you to live normal life, we will give you worthless piece of metal worth 10 hryvnia (less than one dollar).

These Ukrainian soldiers are mostly lower class folks (read: cannon fodder) who are dying for Western ambitions in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Once there's no use for them anymore, they will be forgotten like an used napkin.

Finally, where is the video of this general visiting American soldiers? We only wish all the US Army veterans who have committed suicide in the last decade or end up as street beggars could get some recognition instead of ruthlessly being thrown out on the streets of American cities.

[youtube]http://web.archive.org/web/202110271107 ... xNa4wpgWL8[/youtube]

http://russia-insider.com/en/2015/01/22/2644
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10592
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part IV

Post by blindpig » Fri Aug 12, 2022 1:24 pm

Danger on all fronts
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 08/12/2022

Image

For a few days now, the situation around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, in the town of Energodar, has become one of the main topics of Ukrainian discourse, faithfully reported by the Western press. Despite being under Russian control since March in the town of Energodar, on the left bank of the Dnieper River, Ukraine denounces "Russian bombing" almost daily. Russia would not only be bombing a nuclear power plant, with the danger that this implies, which is also under its control, but it would be doing it without any sense. There is nothing Russia can gain from the destruction of Europe's largest nuclear power plant. However, with the false allegations of Russian bombing,

Taking into account the difficulty that the rivers have posed for both sides in this war - crossing the Dnieper would be much more difficult than crossing the Seversky Donets - Ukraine thus intends to achieve, through bombing and diplomatic pressure, easy access from Nikopol to Energize. All this is part of the same tactic of tightening the entire front in order to contain any Russian advance and try to cause the highest possible level of losses in the Russian troops. kyiv is aware that the apparently natural border of the Dnieper River, where one of the hot parts of the front is located, can only be a sure thing in the event of a peace agreement, something highly unlikely right now. That guarantees, above all, more danger.

Original Article: DonRF

Less is written about the south than about Donbass and usually they are just generalities. Except for Energize. It has been bombed again, once again at the nuclear plant, specifically at the nuclear fuel processing repository. But this happens every day and it has already become a kind of routine, if we can consider that the bombing of a nuclear power plant from the cities of Nikopol and Marganets and the return fire trying to suppress these bombings in the heart of Europe . Sooner or later, the semi-nuclear terrorism in kyiv can turn into a real terrorist attack, it is almost inevitable, as would the creation of a possible desert in the center of that same Europe.

But I mean the situation in general. It is such that there will be no security without capturing Zaporozhye, crossing the Dnieper and controlling the right bank. There will be artillery duels across the river, there will still be shelling of Energodar and Novaya Kakhovka and there will be strange decisions: "Balitsky pointed out that the holding of the referendum [on access to Russia] will depend on many factors." Because the main factor is security, which does not exist and will not exist as long as Zaporozhye, with all its resources, is not captured. In a word, there will be no steps towards peace until the problem is solved at the front.

Similarly, in Kherson, the Terror can only be ended by capturing Nikolaev. The same is happening in Donetsk, which can only be saved by the liberation of the entire DPR. In the end, it turns out that Pushilin was right: "The date of the referendum on the DPR's accession to Russia will be announced after the complete liberation of the Republic."

It's hard to vote having to jump over petals and through a cloud of ammonia [On Wednesday night, Ukraine bombed the Donetsk brewery, releasing toxic smoke that caused a lot of nerves among the population- Ed] and under the buzz of shells. In short, all the problems of the conflict have a common cause: unresolved military tasks, all of them related. One cannot now speculate whether there are enough commandos to take Kharkov, Zaporozhye, Nikolaev and liberate the DPR. The answer is predictable: even if every person in the DPR is mobilized and armed, he is unlikely to help. There is also the clarification that some citizens of the Russian Federation are allowed to participate, but others are not, so those are the resources. In the Russian Federation they exist, but they are not available.

That is the dilemma, although there is no special option nor will there be. I don't see why the same people who are trying to blow up a nuclear power plant on their territory are going to turn out to be respectable partners again, so signing anything with them [any option today would look dangerously like a Minsk-3] is almost obscene. Would it make sense? It would make sense to them. As the ancestors used to say (in England), you can't bomb private property.

https://slavyangrad.es/2022/08/12/pelig ... more-25261

Google Translator

********************

Stratfor: "Preparing for a protracted war in Ukraine, part 2: is time on Russia's side?"
August 12, 2:24 p.m

Image

Stratfor: "Preparing for a protracted war in Ukraine, part 2: is time on Russia's side?"

The main theses of a closed article by the American private intelligence and analytical company Stratfor Forecasting Inc. "Preparing for a protracted war in Ukraine, part 2: is time on Russia's side?" Bracing for a Protracted War in Ukraine, Part 2: Is Time on Russia's Side?

But sufficient Western support for Ukraine is not guaranteed. Given the limited prospects for Ukrainian counter-offensives this year, the clock is largely in Russia's favor, and rightly so.

First, the inability of Ukraine to push out Russian troops, which already occupy about 20% of the country's territory. Even in the unlikely event that the military situation for Russia worsens in Kherson, it could simply retreat to a safer front line on the other side of the Dnieper, where a Ukrainian amphibious operation is out of the question for the foreseeable future. This outcome would still be disastrous for Ukraine, because Russia would leave control of the river bank at its mouth, which would block the export of steel, grain and other products.”

Stratfor further evaluates the armament of the Ukrainian Armed Forces: “Ukraine’s transition from using Soviet/Russian weapons to NATO weapons comes with long-term challenges, as the provision of different weapons systems by each country on an ad hoc basis has complicated the training, maintenance and logistics needs of the Ukrainian army.”

“The physical destruction in Ukraine is significant, and war weariness will make the West increasingly hesitant about financing the recovery of the Ukrainian economy, which is (already) worth hundreds of billions of dollars.”

“War weariness will grow in Europe as the continent's economy faces a serious risk of stagflation in the coming quarters, the effects of which will be exacerbated by Europe's already high levels of public debt. In addition, high energy prices will cause the industrial sectors of some European countries to become less profitable and competitive, likely leading to unemployment and political desire across Europe to spend more at home than in Ukraine.”

Stratfor goes on to put an end to the entry of the Independent into the European Union: “Rising unemployment and falling living standards may eventually encourage more Ukrainians to advocate for a cessation of hostilities. In addition, Ukraine's domestic problems of corruption, oligarchic influence and weak institutions will remain, drawing criticism from international donors and further dimming Ukraine's prospects for ever joining the EU."

"In addition to Ukraine's weaknesses, there is also the question of Russia's relative strength, which could allow it to defeat Kyiv in the conflict."

American analysts also credit the strength of the Russian economy: "Compared to Ukraine, Russia's much larger economy may also be better equipped to withstand the losses of a protracted war."

Stratfor states that "Russia's military strength and its ability to manufacture its own weapons will prevent Ukrainian forces dependent on NATO from weakening Moscow enough.

“Russia’s current advantage in equipment — especially in artillery, air support and electronic warfare — it will take months or even years of NATO supplies for Ukraine to offset this. And if Russia turns on its mobilization potential, then this will become the predominant superiority in this
conflict.

https://t.me/Abbasdjuma/11742 - zinc

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7797647.html

Where does Ukrainian grain go?
August 12, 11:33

Image

Where does Ukrainian grain go?

According to the routes of the ships studied by @sputniklive, not a single dry cargo ship with Ukrainian food has yet gone to the starving countries - Yemen, Somalia or Ethiopia.
Of the 12 ships that left the ports of Ukraine from 1 to 11 August, only two were heading to Lebanon and Egypt. But the “needy” Lebanese supplier has already refused ( https://t.me/rt_russian/123047 ) the cargo due to a delay, and now the goods are waiting for a new buyer off the coast of Turkey.
Earlier, the US, the EU and the UN have repeatedly stated that violations of grain supplies from Ukraine will lead to "famine, overthrow of governments and wars" in the poor countries of Africa. At the same time, they blamed Russia for the food crisis.
But out of 375 thousand tons of food exported from Ukraine, European buyers have already got 217 thousand, the newspaper notes.

https://t.me/rt_russian/123498 - zinc

I have never been surprised. Crocodile tears of Europeans about hunger "somewhere out there" have not been impressive for a long time.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7796793.html

Ukrainian Freedom Fund and American arms supplies to Ukraine
August 12, 9:22 am

Image

Ukrainian Freedom Fund and American arms supplies to Ukraine

Central to the coordination and provision of U.S. military training assistance to the Ukrainian security forces through NGOs is the ( https://ukrfreedomfund.org/ ) Ukrainian Freedom Fund, founded in the United States back in 2014 and given new impetus with the start of the NWO. For the Ukrainian side, the UFF is a useful intermediary beyond the first tracks of military assistance. The founder and head of UFF is Andrew Bain, a former USMC soldier, an American PR man who has worked in Kyiv since the early 90s (advertising agency Atlantic Group). The Foundation's leadership is staffed by American retirees, and Strategic Advisor, Morgan Williams is President of the US-Ukraine Business Council, which is also used ( https://www.usubc.org/site/recent-news) as a platform for calls for an increase in military assistance to the Ukrainian side.

Through the UFF, requests from the Ukrainian side for the supply of military products are processed and "private donations" (in fact, it is difficult to call them such) from Americans to the Ukrainian security forces are accumulated.

The main deliveries of UFF to Ukraine are equipment and personal protective equipment, military vehicles and reconnaissance UAVs. In addition, UFF ensures the involvement of private military specialists to train the Ukrainian security forces on the territory of Ukraine according to standard NATO training modules.

Another important activity of the UFF is the recruitment of American and not only retirees and adherents of Atlanticism, who are not always capable of holding a weapon in their hands (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ORJEgsg2lQ ) in the so-called. International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine. In the course of recruiting, the militants are provided with the necessary equipment and equipment.

Image

Priority in the selection of UFF contractors is given to small companies created by American retirees. Among them is the PMC Mozart Group ( https://www.themozartgroup.com/ ), which has already become famous thanks to an unusual way of opposing itself to Russian forces , led by USMC retired Andy Milburn. Mozart Group conducts ( https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... n-recruits ) military training courses for Ukrainian security forces.

As is typical for fighters, first of all ( https://t.me/rybar/31782), of the information front, Bain and Milburn decided in the spring to start a podcast on YouTube ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRG4mp ... q5iTPhVYJA ) (Baudrillard lights up) under the romantic title 🏳️‍🌈Two Marines In Kyiv. However, something went wrong and the calls of two American retirees to fork out for the personal needs of the Ukrainian frontier did not gain much interest.

Milburn, by the way, distinguished himself ( https://www.newsweek.com/im-former-us-m ... is-1699415 ) with the following quote: “I have a greater respect for the ethical behavior of the Islamic State than I do for the Russians".

Both Americans are trying to cash in on the dramatic show, but the main source of funding for their initiatives in Ukraine remains the US military-intelligence community, and not "private donations."

Image

The other day Milburn burst out ( https://t.me/stranaua/56513 ) with criticism in relation to the organization of arms supplies to Ukraine. Like, after crossing the Ukrainian border, everything is no longer so transparent. That's right, because supply oversight should be done by experts like Milburn ( https://t.me/shadow_policy/6266 ). Show must go on.

No less amusing is another American company - US Ghost Adventures. It's funny that her activities in the USA are horror house rides ( https://usghostadventures.com/). In Ukraine, American retirees, led by former USMC soldier Lance Saal (pictured on the right), formed the Ghosts of Liberty group (the case when the name speaks for itself). The group is engaged in the collection of weapons and supplies for the Ukrainian side, and also trains the Ukrainian armed units in the methods of insurgent warfare. At least that's what Zaal says.

As far as UAVs are concerned, the UFF has succeeded, in its own way, in a parallel import to Ukraine. Drones purchased by the Foundation are distributed directly to Ukrainian military units, bypassing the Ukrainian government and security forces, which is somewhat discordant with Milburn's concern about the lack of oversight of Western weapons logistics on Ukrainian territory.

UFF fundraising campaigns for UAVs are synchronized with information campaigns calling for more and more advanced drone models, including kamikaze drones, to be provided to the Ukrainian side ( https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/04/13/uk ... -armaments -russia/ ).

https://t.me/thehegemonist/1413 - zinc

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7796426.html

Google Translator

********************

The Mystic Ukrainian Kherson Offensive Did Not And Will Not Happen At All

There has been much talk in 'western' media about a Ukrainian offensive in the southern Kherson region. However most of the claims made about it seem to be divorced from the observable realities on the ground. The detailed look below provides that there is no such offensive and that there is little chance that there will ever be one.

The purported offensive has for months been a core talking point:

*Ukraine Battle Expands as Kyiv Launches Counteroffensive - New York Times - May 29, 2022
*Ukraine Regains Some Territory in Counter-Offensive in Kherson Area - Defence Ministry - Reuters - Jun 9, 2022
*Near Kherson, Ukrainians regain territory in major counteroffensive - Washington Post - Jun 29, 2022
*Ukraine prepares a counter-offensive to retake Kherson province - Economist - Jul 3, 2022
*Kherson cut off: Ukrainian counter-offensive gaining momentum in southern city - Fox News - Jul 29, 2022

Lets look at the map of the Kherson area and how it has changed over time. LiveUAmap, the source used here for these maps, is know to be more in favor of Ukrainian claims than Russian ones. The red parts are held by Russian forces.

This is the Kherson area as depicted on May 13, 2022:

Image

This is the Kherson area as depicted on May 14, 2022:

Image

We see that the maintainers of LiveUAmap kept the front line as it was, but added a gray zone on the Ukrainian side. I am not sure what it is supposed to show. It may designate the extend to which forward Russian reconnaissance units had been observed during their February-March offensive in the area. Since then the gray area has for some become the 'success' of a 'Ukrainian counter-offensive'. But Russian forces had never held onto that gray zone nor was there any significant fighting about it.

This is the Kherson area as depicted today, August 12, 2022:

Image

I see two small differences between the May 14 map and the current one. On the west side the minor settlement of Pravdyne and the fields around it have changed hands.

May 14

Image

Another change happened around a small river at the norther part of the front line south of Kvkaz. The May 14 front line there was simplified as being straight. The real front line ran along the winded Ingulets river in that area.

May 14

Image

At the beginning of June Ukrainian forces crossed the river around the towns Davydiv Brid, Bilohirka and Adriivka only to get slaughtered by Russian artillery. The area has since been no man's land.

Aug 12

Image

One small town retaken and a failed river crossing attempt is all the much vaunted Kherson offensive has achieved since May.

That may well be because, despite the noise, there has been and will be no Ukrainian Kherson offensive. For the Ukrainian leaders in Kiev that offensive is only a joke.

On August 9 Zelenski advisor Mikhail Podolyak talked with a Ukrainian language BBC outlet. The Ukrainian Ctrana online news site reported about it (machine translation):

Podolyak called the words about the counterattack on Kherson "part of the information and psychological operation"

Reports of counteroffensives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the southern direction are part of the "information-psychological special operation."

This was stated by adviser to the head of the OP Mikhail Podolyak in an interview with the BBC.

"Was it the IPSO? Of course, today all public comments are part of the IPSO. We need to demoralize the Russian army. They must understand that there will always be a territory of fire," he said.

Nevertheless, Podolyak clarified that "the events on the Antonovsky bridge show that it is essential for us to liberate Kherson" (as the only regional center that was under the occupation of the Russian Federation after February 24).

"And therefore, our army is already taking certain actions for this today," he said.


That news did not reach the Washington Post propagandist David Ignatius. On August 11 he still lauded the non-existing 'southern offensive':

A southern offensive opens in the Ukraine war

The grinding war of attrition in Ukraine might be entering a new phase as the Ukrainian military prepares an offensive to recover occupied land in the southern region surrounding Kherson, and Russia escalates its rhetoric by charging that the United States “is directly involved in the conflict.”
Ukraine appears to have begun its new southern campaign with a bold attack Tuesday on a Russian air base in Crimea, along the Black Sea coast.
...
With its long-anticipated southern offensive, Ukraine evidently hopes to regain momentum against Russian forces that have suffered heavy losses of soldiers and equipment since they invaded on Feb. 24. At a time when Russia is strained and vulnerable, Ukrainian leaders want to show that they can reclaim lost ground and ultimately prevail.


On August 12, a day after the Ignatius screed was published, four Washington Post reporters painted a different picture:

On the Kherson front lines, little sign of a Ukrainian offensive

MYKOLAIV REGION, Ukraine — On the front line in southeast Ukraine, there is little sign that a major counteroffensive is brewing.
For weeks, Western intelligence and military analysts have predicted that a Ukrainian campaign to retake the strategic port city of Kherson and surrounding territory is imminent. But in trenches less than a mile from Russia’s positions in the area, Ukrainian soldiers hunker down from an escalating onslaught of artillery, with little ability to advance.
...
The progress Ukrainian forces had made here in recent months — recapturing a string of villages from Russia’s control — has largely stalled, with soldiers exposed in the open terrain.

The roads that soldiers zip along among the scorched wheat fields at the front lines are pockmarked with craters from previous strikes, guided by Russia’s Orlan drones that allow them to pick and choose targets.

“There is nowhere to hide,” said Yuri, who has fought here without a break since the beginning of the war, and like other soldiers did not give his last name, in line with protocol. His unit has a hodgepodge stock: modern antitank weapons and a Soviet machine gun manufactured in 1944, and the focus here is holding the line.

Ukrainian military officials are tight-lipped on any timeline for a wider push, but say they need more supplies of Western weapons before one can happen. Ukraine lacks the capacity to launch a full-scale offensive anywhere along the 1,200-mile front line, one security official conceded.


The area north of Kherson is flat land with open fields. There is no place where one could securely assemble a force big enough to punch through the frontline. Ukrainian units went into hiding in Mykolaiv (Nikolaev in Russian writing) where they have dispersed among the civilian population after several of their concentrations had been attacked by Russian missile forces:

One woman took me to see her daughter’s school, smashed by Russian missiles. Through the broken concrete you could see a shelf of library books exposed to the sun and rain. Instead of blaming Russia for firing missiles at the school, she blamed Ukraine for quartering soldiers there. (..)
When I asked her about Putin’s aims, she said: ‘I don’t know. He must have his reasons for what he’s doing.’ Did she think what he was doing was right? ‘I never get involved in politics.’ She mentioned that salaries in Russian-annexed Crimea were higher than in Ukraine. She’d been angry, earlier on in the fighting, when Russian troops were approaching Mykolaiv, about how close Ukrainian armoured vehicles were to her house. She was Russian-born. She was unhappy that Russian language teaching was disappearing from Ukraine. She said people were punished for using Russian.
...
Another well-informed man told me what most locals would not say, that after a devastating strike on a Mykolaiv barracks in March, which killed scores and perhaps hundreds of marines, the authorities adopted a policy of dispersal, with small groups of Ukrainian personnel spending the night in a wide array of buildings, including schools.


The above quoted LRB piece, which mostly takes the Ukrainian side, details the difficulties the Ukrainians have in launching any offensive. (Sorry for the length of the quote but the details matter as they confirm the take above):

When Sasha’s company got to Posad-Pokrovske, they spent the first night in a school. The next day it was flattened in an air strike. They spent the next three and a half months living in concrete pipes under a bridge. ‘I’m already used to it,’ he said. ‘A typical day is they shell and bomb us from morning to night. Mum says, “Where are you?” and I say: “I’m home.” It’s our home now. People say, “We’re looking forward to you coming home,” and we say: “We are home.”’
Bodies of dead civilians have been lying unburied in Posad-Pokrovske for months. The soldiers aren’t allowed to collect them; since they’re civilians, it has to be done by the police, and the police don’t come.
...
A handful of villages have been liberated in the north of the Russian bridgehead, and Ukraine has won a toehold on the hostile side of a smaller river, the Ingulets. But mainly the two sides remain a few miles apart, with more lines of artillery further back. In the flat, open landscape, with little cover except the trees along the roads, any attempt by one side to breach the other’s lines is subject to withering fire from anti-tank missiles and guns, or shelling. Both sides launch drones to spy out artillery targets; when the artillery fires, it becomes the target for the other side’s artillery.

Russia​ has an overwhelming advantage in all these areas. It has more artillery guns and rockets than Ukraine, by a large margin. It has more attack planes and helicopters. It has more anti-aircraft missiles to shoot down Ukrainian drones, and a crushing advantage in electronic warfare systems to jam them. ‘It’s easier for them,’ Sasha said. ‘They haul in shells by rail, by the wagonload. They unload them with cranes. They dig shelters with bulldozers. They shoot rockets from morning till night as if they came out of a machine. It’s shameful to admit – they have drones flying over us 24/7 and we have one. Sometimes we can see what they’re up to ... but it’s embarrassing. We don’t have the capability.’

Ukraine has been good at hiding its military, but even so, the absence in Mykolaiv and the surrounding countryside of the signs of a build-up of equipment, troops and supplies that you might expect for a counter-offensive is striking. There’s only so much you can move by night. If Ukraine is using its much vaunted mobilisation to expand its army with new units to retake Kherson, it’s being done with extraordinary stealth – or it’s simply taking a long time to integrate a chaotic array of foreign weapons and untrained recruits. Sasha was coy about his unit’s losses, but he did say they hadn’t been replaced.


No new weapons are coming into the Mykolaiv area. Front line units are depleted and have not been rotated out since March. Russian forces have overwhelming material superiority in the area.

There is no Ukrainian Kherson offensive. There will be no Ukrainian Kherson offensive.

If there will be an offensive in the general area it will be launched by the Russian side which will overrun the few exhausted Ukrainian forces which hold that frontline.

The few Ukrainian operations, missile strikes on bridges that are easily replaced by ferries, sabotage acts on a Crimean air base, are minor pin pricks to the Russian side. The will not change the imbalance of forces or the outcome of the war.

Posted by b on August 12, 2022 at 10:17 UTC | Permalink

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/08/v ... .html#more

************************

Image
Lysychansk in Luhansk (LPR) [Source: Photo courtesy of Sonja van den Ende]

Russians welcomed as liberators in many Eastern Ukrainian cities contrary to western media depictions
Originally published: CovertAction Magazine on August 10, 2022 by Sonja Van den Ende (more by CovertAction Magazine) | (Posted Aug 12, 2022)

[Sonja van den Ende has been reporting on the war in eastern Ukraine and has received protection from the Russian military.—Editors]

>On my way from Severodonetsk to Lysychansk on the right bank of the Donetsk River in eastern Ukraine, I saw many destroyed buildings as well as a lot of cars, ambulances and rescue vehicles. A few bodies could be seen when I passed the Bilohorivka Bridge, which was targeted by the Ukrainian army.

Image
[Source: bbc.com]

During the Russian special operation, which started on February 24, 2022, heavy fighting took place in Lysychansk—the first coal-mining settlement of the Donetsk basin. The most intense fighting took place in late March 2022, destroying dozens of buildings and causing civilian casualties.

The regime in Kyiv claims that the Russians had this on their conscience, but the facts refute this.

The Ukrainian army and their Aider (or Azov), a Luhansk Nazi battalion, knowing that the Russians were coming, hid themselves in buildings where civilians lived, in schools and shopping centers. They took civilians hostage and used them as human shields, keeping the civilians captive in the basements. [Note a recent report by Amnesty International has confirmed that Ukrainians have indeed been illegally operating out of civilian buildings].

On May 9, 2022, Russian troops attempted to cross the Seversky Donets River with a temporary pontoon bridge at Bilohorivka. Ukrainian troops bombed the bridge and Russian vehicles crossed it, resulting in Russian losses.

But in the end, the Ukrainians proved to be too weak against the supremacy of the Russian army, which from Severodonetsk eventually took Lysychansk, the last major city in the Luhansk region, on June 26, 2022.

Image
A destroyed overpass (Bilohorivka Bridge) with soldier nearby. [Source: Photo courtesy of Sonja van den Ende]
Image
Bilohorivka Bridge destroyed by Ukrainian forces. [Source: Photo courtesy of Sonja van den Ende]
Image
A destroyed truck on the way to Lysychansk. [Source: Photo courtesy of Sonja van den Ende]
Image
A destroyed car in Lysychansk. [Source: Photo courtesy of Sonja van den Ende]

In Lysychansk, after the Russian victory, there was a display of all confiscated NATO and U.S. weapons. Also, there was humanitarian aid for the remaining residents and water was supplied to provide relief from the 35-degree heat.

A street full of confiscated NATO, U.S. and older Ukrainian (Soviet-style) weapons that had been seized during the battle for Luhansk—was displayed by the Russian army along with tanks and ammunition.

Apparently the Ukrainian army did not have enough weapons, even though NATO and EU countries have provided billions of dollars in weaponry since the war began.

One soldier told me that drones were bought at AliExpress. Rumors also have it that Russia confiscated HIMARS, although none was on display that I saw.

HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) is intended to engage and defeat artillery, air defence concentrations, trucks, and light armor and personnel carriers, as well as support troop and supply concentrations. The system launches its weapons and moves away from the area at high speed before enemy forces locate the launch site. It has been delivered to Ukraine from the U.S. and some have been confiscated by the Russian army.

Image
Street in Lysychansk with confiscated weapons. [Source: Photo courtesy of Sonja van den Ende]
Image
In Lysychansk with confiscated tank. [Source: Photo courtesy of Sonja van den Ende]
Image
Humanitarian aid being distributed by Russian forces in Lysychansk after Russian liberation of town from Ukrainians. [Source: Photo courtesy of Sonja van den Ende]

The Melitopol Referendum About Joining Russia

When I visited Melitopol for the third time, I was again invited to a press conference in the town hall. Last time there was new mayor Galina Danilchenko, but this time her deputy spoke, a straightforward man who patiently answered all questions.

The former mayor, Ivan Fedorov, was a member of Pravdy Sektor (an ultra-right-wing political party with Nazi ideology) who was not elected but installed by the regime in Kyiv. This was in a city with a majority of Russian-speaking residents, who were now being discriminated against. They were no longer allowed to speak Russian, and were no longer allowed to participate in their annual Ninth of May celebration—the commemoration of the end of the Second World War and victory over the Nazis!

I had a question for the deputy mayor, the last question at the press conference.

Image
Mayor Galina Danilchenko’s deputy at the Melitopol town hall. [Source: Photo courtesy of Sonja van den Ende]

Mayor Galina Danilchenko’s deputy is a very decisive and “to the point” man. I asked him as a last question during the press conference:

How will the EU react if there is a referendum just like in Crimea in 2014?

His reply was succinct:

We have nothing to do with that, Europe is finished and when they will react badly, the same thing will happen as in the Patriotic War of 1941-45, we will defeat fascism! We live here, they do not!

So these were his last words to my final question. He further said in his speech that a referendum will be held in September 2022, to decide whether Melitopol will become part of Russia. But it is not just about Melitopol, but also about Kherson and Zaporizhia and other “liberated” cities in southern Ukraine and the entire Donbas.

The Western media are already warning about it. It would be “false” elections, just like in Crimea they warn. They still call that an annexation in the West, but the residents I spoke to in Crimea call it a democratic referendum, where they voted to be part of Russia!

As the mayor’s spokesperson said, it is up to them, not propagandists, called media or politicians, far away in the West! They only follow propaganda to maintain a war due to their “twisted” ideology. They in the West are at war with Russia. But the inhabitants of the Donbas are at war with the regime in Kyiv and NATO, which fire missiles at them every day, and kill their children. That’s the way it is and nothing else!

Image
The entrance to Melitopol. [Source: Photo courtesy of Sonja van den Ende]

As expected and what I have heard several times, in the cities, towns and areas I have visited over the past five months, most people do not want to belong to Ukraine any more. Too much has happened, eight years of war, a war of attrition for the population that stayed.

The West is deaf to the war: They only follow their own agenda and ignore the civilian casualties in eastern Ukraine! For the remaining residents, the pinnacle has been reached, as NATO (EU and the West) supplies weapons to the regime in Kyiv, which is killing them and their children! So most likely the majority will vote yes, to become a part of Russia!

Image
Melitopol’s city center. [Photo courtesy of Sonja van den Ende]
Image
Ex-mayor Ivan Fedorov (left) who was a member of Pravdy Sektor and fled to the Netherlands; Galina Danilchenko (right), the new Mayor. [Photos courtesy of Wikipedia (left) and Sonja van den Ende (right)]

The Kill List of Ukraine and CIA

After my visit to Mariupol, the Azov Steel factory and other places, I started to receive daily “threatening” emails. In these emails, which came from Langley (CIA) with some via Polish trolls, I was accused of being an FSB agent and my details have been known for years about my crimes. If I enter the Netherlands, I will be declared an “outlaw” and face court.

After researching where these threats might have come from, I quickly found out that there is a Ukrainian so-called “peace list,” which is really a death list, run by Ukrainian Nazis in conjunction with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); at the top of the list is “Langley, Virginia,” the location of CIA headquarters, and its branch in Poland.

Image
The Myrotvorets so-called Peacekeeping list, which is actually a death list. My passport number is redacted for security reasons. Ван Ден Энде Соня–Myrotvorets.center Langley, VA, USA; Warszawa, Polskaofficial@myrotvorets.center. [Photo courtesy of Sonja van den Ende]

This is the list that includes Henry Kissinger and Viktor Orban; several journalists in Ukraine were also killed by it. Recently, Johnny Miller, a journalist from Iranian Press TV, has been put on the list as well. Children’s names also appear on the list.

Since my name has appeared on this list, great confusion has arisen in the Dutch media. Rumors circulated that I was dead, fallen in battle in Ukraine. Which is absurd, because I am not directly on the front lines. They are deliberate rumors, spread directly by various media outlets, after they themselves wrote a so-called article about conspiracy theories that I would spread about biological weapons. After this, things escalated, not only in the Netherlands (my home country), but also in Belgium (Flemish-speaking area).

This shows the true face of the so-called Western democracies. As I said, kids’ names even appear on this list—for instance, a 13-year-old girl from Luhansk, Faina Savenkova.
Faina has been writing about her experiences in the Donbas. After her name appeared on the list, she started to receive online threats of physical violence.

Image
Faina Savenkova [Source: wikidata.org]

Johnny Miller wrote about Faina on Press TV; after his publication, he was added to the list as well!

So much for Western democracy, human rights and protection of children and journalists. It is plain fascism, what is happening in the Western world, or a move towards it.

https://mronline.org/2022/08/12/russian ... epictions/

******

Russia’s Statement at the UNSC Briefing on Attacks by Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Zaporozhye NPP
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on AUGUST 11, 2022

Image

Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at UNSC briefing regarding the attacks of Ukrainian armed forces on the Zaporozhye NPP (agenda item “Threats to international peace and security”)

Mr.President,

We thank Mr.R.Grossi, Director-General of the IAEA, for his briefing.

We repeatedly warned our Western colleagues that if they do not call the Kiev regime to reason, it will go for most atrocious and reckless actions that will have implications far beyond the Ukrainian borders. Unfortunately, this is what we see happening now. Heinous attacks by Kiev against nuclear facilities push the world onto the brink of a nuclear disaster, the scope of which would be comparable to that of the Chernobyl tragedy.

Lately, Ukrainian armed forces have used heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems against the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe – the Zaporozhye NPP. Those attacks pose a direct threat to safety and security of the plant.

On 5 August, a strike damaged energy and gas supply infrastructure that was critical for the operation of the ZNPP. The strike hit pipelines, which resulted in the ignition at the hydrogen hub and disabled a high-voltage power transmission line. I underscore that the UAF fired at the NPP during the shift change. Apparently, it was done in order to frighten the personnel, who are all Ukrainian citizens, prevent them from going to work and thus undermine the normal functioning of the facility.

On 6 August, the UAF attacked the ZNPP with cluster munition. Shell fragments hit the area where a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel and a station for computer-assisted monitoring of the radiation situation were located. A staff member of the monitoring station was injured.

A shelling by the UAF on 7 August caused a voltage surge in the NPP’s electricity grid. The attack damaged the equipment which triggered an automatic shut-off of the power transmission line. At Unit 4 of the Zaporozhye NPP (which was working to 10% of its total capacity), power supply of the safety systems stopped, however emergency protection worked properly. Ukrainian personnel of the plant had to stop one of the three working Units, and switch over the others to 50 % of full capacity.

Massive UAF strikes against the suburbs of Energodar caused more than 40 disruptions of electricity transmission lines, which left the city without energy supply. There are casualties among the residents of Energodar, many of whom are employed at the ZNPP. What’s most appalling is the fact that some of the attacks happened at night when people were sleeping.

Today, armed forces of Ukraine continued attacking the Zaporozhye NPP and the city of Energodar. Strikes were launched from heavy artillery and MLRSs located on the Dnieper’s right bank, from the territory of Dnepropetrovsk region, settlements Nikopol, Marganets and Tomakovka that are controlled by Kiev. As reported by the regional administration, UAF target concrete-protected storages of radioactive waste. So far, Kiev has not been able to hit them and inflict any serious damage. At this moment, radiation levels at the ZNPP are normal. But if the shelling persists, changes to those levels will only be a matter of time. We regularly send letters of information to the IAEA Secretariat which detail the situation and these incidents.

Mr.President,

Developments at the ZNPP these days are the climax of Kiev’s criminal actions against nuclear infrastructure and personnel servicing nuclear facilities. For months, those actions have been left without any international reaction.

From April to July, Kiev has committed a number of provocations against the ZNPP with the help of combat UAVs, i.a. of Polish manufacture. Part of them could be downed. Another part – explosive-laden drones – detonated in the vicinity of critical infrastructure. Only by a lucky chance this did not interfere with the routine operation of the plant.

Back in February, Ukrainians seized four Russian experts who were escorting a delivery of nuclear fuel to the Rivne NPP. They were subjected to intimidation and pressure – in line with the classic methods from the toolkit of terrorist groups.

On 9 March, Ukrainian saboteurs blew up the electric line that supplied energy to the spent nuclear fuel cooldown system at the Chernobyl NPP. Only thanks to the efforts of Russian military a major breakdown could be avoided. Diesel generators were turned on promptly and energy supply was resumed – via alternative transmission line from the territory of Belarus. The saboteurs also blew up the only bridge that connected the plant to the settlement where its personnel held residence. Shift staff was not able to go to work for a long time, during which they were being brainwashed by Ukrainian special services, who threatened them with reprisals for cooperating with the “occupants”. In the meantime, Kiev shed “crocodile tears” and reported to the IAEA that Russian military allegedly impeded rotation of the shifts at the NPP.

These days New York is hosting the 10th NPT Review Conference, where representatives of the Kiev regime, supported by some other delegations, address cynical and absurd allegations to my country regarding attacks on the Zaporozhye NPP. Western media eagerly replicate this propagandist narrative. All of this contradicts the common sense, because the ZNPP is controlled by the Russian forces. Primitive logic can tell you that our military do not have any reasons to fire either at the NPP or the city or themselves.

On 4 March, Western states already called a Security Council meeting regarding the situation around the ZNPP, during which they tried to present a sabotage by Ukrainian forces – setting a nearby training center on fire – as a result of actions by Russian military, even though the plant was under their full control at that moment. Back then, USG DiCarlo said that attacks on nuclear facilities violated international humanitarian law. British representative said that international law called for special protection of nuclear facilities. US representative said that the world had avoided a nuclear disaster only by the grace of God, that attacking the NPP had been an irresponsible step, that conflicts must never affect nuclear facilities. French representative said that safety and security of the NPP had to be maintained. Are you ready to repeat this now and address it to the Ukrainian side? Are you ready to call on Kiev to stop the bombardments?

Let me emphasize that each time the UAF struck the ZNPP, a disaster could only be avoided thanks to selfless actions of the personnel of the plant and Russian military servicemen, who rendered them timely and comprehensive assistance. Whenever necessary, fire squads and emergency response teams, as well as our military work hand in hand. This proves that our military and Ukrainian experts have established absolutely normal communication.

Mr.President,

From the very start, we supported the IAEA efforts aimed at ensuring safety and security of Ukrainian nuclear facilities. The seven principles articulated by Director-General Grossi were supposed to become the basis for a trilateral document to be elaborated by Russia, Ukraine, and the IAEA. We were being flexible and agreed to have this arrangement as two parallel agreements – Russia-IAEA and Ukraine-IAEA. However, Kiev rejected this without providing any intelligible reasons why. Actually, those are easy to guess. When doing this, Kiev already plotted to disturb the normal functioning of the Zaporozhye and Chernobyl NPPs and accuse Russia of it.

We carefully observe the mentioned seven principles and do our best to let IAEA representatives make sure of that themselves.

On 3 June, Russia and the leadership of the IAEA Secretariat agreed on the route and schedule of an IAEA international mission to the ZNPP. IAEA Director-General Grossi planned to lead this mission that would bring together outstanding experts from a number of states. The mission was supposed to address purely technical tasks, with would let the IAEA meet its mandate, namely – assess the situation at Europe’s biggest NPP and do the physical inventory as stipulated by the Safeguards Agreement.

We engaged closely with the Agency to solve a multitude of complicated issues to make this arrangement, which is far not easy in current circumstances. However at the very last moment, the Department of Safety and Security of the UN Secretariat turned on “the red light”, which undermined the trip. The Kiev authorities were quick to use this development in order to intensify their provocations and shelling of the ZNPP.

We are convinced that cancellation of an international mission played in the hands of the Kiev regime and its Western sponsors who had been initially opposed to that visit. They did not want the IAEA to make sure that the Zaporozhye plant functioned routinely and that the working environment among the personnel was normal.

Still we trust that IAEA experts will visit the ZNPP soon, and hope that in the current situation, the UN Secretary-General will be fully aware of his responsibility and will not interfere with this mission through a department of the UN Secretariat that is accountable to him or through other parts of the UN mechanism.

On our part, we are ready to render maximum assistance in resolving all related practical issues. We believe it justified that IAEA representatives should arrive at the ZNPP as soon as possible, maybe even before the end of August.

However not everything depends on us. We can give no guarantees that the mission will take place. It is hard to say what Ukrainian leadership is up to now, after they have been targeting the ZNPP for several days in a row, despite the fact that the Secretary-General called any attacks on nuclear facilities suicidal.

It is unacceptable that the IAEA mission should take place against the backdrop of incessant shelling of the power plant and the city of Energodar by Ukrainian armed forces. Kiev must stop the shelling now and guarantee that it is not going to put the lives and health of international personnel at risk.

We call on the states that support the Kiev regime to check their proteges, make them stop attacking the ZNPP and residents of Energodar once and for all, as well as ensure safe working conditions for an IAEA mission. We urge the top officials of the United Nations and IAEA to demonstrate their leadership and global responsibility and indicate clearly and without diplomatic courtesies the real source of the threat to the safety and security of the ZNPP, which is strikes by Ukrainian armed forces, and also tell Ukrainian authorities that such actions are unacceptable. This is the only way to prevent a major radioactive disaster on the European continent, the risk of which is real today as never before. If the attacks by the UAF continue, this may happen at any moment. Then the Kiev, Zaporozhye, Kharkov, Poltava, Kherson, Odessa, Nikolaev. Kirovograd, and Vinnitsa regions of Ukraine, as well as territories of the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, and adjacent territories of Russia and Belarus, as well as Moldova, Bulgaria and Romania will be exposed to risks of radioactive contamination. And this is the most optimistic outcome that experts can predict, whereas the real scale of a nuclear disaster at the Zaporozhye power plant is hard to even imagine. In such case, the entire responsibility for that will befall Kiev’s Western sponsors.

Thank you.

Right of reply:

Mr.President,

None of our Western colleagues dared to call things by their real names today. I mean the fact that Ukrainian armed forces are recklessly shelling the Zaporozhye NPP. It turns out that only Russia has created risks there. Do you mean that shelling of a nuclear power plant by the UAF is a response to the risks created by Russia? This is a surreal and flawed logic, though it is not something we would not expect .

For half a year by now, we have been watching not just a disinformation war, but a war of lies being fought against us.

Our Western colleagues have long adopted what they believe to be a failproof tactic when discussing whatever it is related to Ukraine. They all claim that Russia is responsible for everything happening in the combat zone. They always reject any (even hypothetical) guilt of Kiev. This was the case with the provocations in Bucha, Irpen, and Kramatorsk. By the way, why does no one mention Kramatorsk anymore, where a MLRS strike killed more than 50 people at a railway terminal? I tell you why. No one mentions it because the terminal was hit by Ukrainian projectiles “Grad” marked with UAF serial numbers, and this fact cannot be refuted.

In its recent report, Amnesty International, which can hardly be suspected of any pro-Russian sentiment, confirms what we have been saying at every UNSC meeting on Ukraine since the beginning of our special military operation. The report says that UAF and Ukrainian nationalist battalions use civilians as a human shield, set up gun posts in residential buildings and apartments, place heavy equipment and artillery in the vicinity of hospitals, schools, and kindergartens. Look what indignation it caused in the West! How dared Amnesty International to accuse the Ukrainian side of anything? Paraphrasing a famous proverb, of Kiev say nothing but good. Instead of calling things by their real names, you demonstrate blatant double standards and work wonders of resourcefulness in order to cast no shadow on Kiev, whose guilt for the shelling is obvious. This is where your recklessness shows itself. You prove unable to assume responsibility for global problems if this does not meet your egoistic geopolitical interests.

In the case with the ZNPP, we clearly saw how Western minds were producing their vision of the events. Who is responsible for the bombardments? Of course Russia is. We have heard those clumsy statements. Today, however, you spared us those nonsensical allegations that are too absurd to be spoken by adult respectable people in this chamber. But we marvel at the lack of responsibility of European political elites, who, in their unconditional and irrational support of Kiev, are ready to put at risk lives of their people. One may wonder if those elites have enough common sense.

Colleagues, we urge you to convey to your leaders that they need to influence the Kiev regime and make it stop its reckless shelling of the Zaporozhye NPP. Basically, those bombardments are taking residents of European states as hostages, and the responsibility for that rests upon you.

We note with regret that the UN Secretariat is unable to give a sound assessment to the situation. We hear claims, i.a. from the Secretary-General, that “the NPP may be subjected to an attack or become a base for launching attacks”, we also hear calls to “demilitarize” the ZNPP.

Russia does not use civilian infrastructure, to say nothing of nuclear facilities, for military purposes. This is the tactic of Ukrainian armed forces who set up combat positions in the vicinity of civilian objects and use civilians as a human shield.

The Russian military guard the ZNPP, rebuffing the attacks of the Kiev regime. As I said, this is done in coordination with the personnel of the power plant. Thanks to their efforts, key infrastructure of the NPP is protected so far, which helps prevent a nuclear disaster. But we are well aware what the Kiev regime is capable of, and the world could also see it. Those who propose a withdrawal of Russian troops should realize that in such case, this facility would be left unprotected and prone to be used by Kiev and nationalist groups for most heinous provocations.

Thank you.

In response to the representative of Ukraine:

Mr.President,

I do not intend to engage in controversy with the representative of the Kiev regime. Nor do I plan to react to the flows of conscience and flows of lies that he exposed us to. Speaking about the IAEA mission that the Kiev regime undermined back in the day, I would refer you to our statements, where everything is clearly said. But there is another aspect that I want to underscore. Representative of the Kiev regime was the only one today who claimed that Russia is bombarding the Zaporozhye NPP, a facility that is under the Russian control, and the city of Energodar, which is home to the personnel of the NPP. I want to draw your attention to this claim by the Ukrainian side for the record.

Thank you.

Remarks to the Press by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia following the UNSC meeting regarding the attacks of Ukrainian armed forces on the Zaporozhye NPP (agenda item “Threats to international peace and security”)


Q: Russia and Ukraine are accusing each other of shelling. But both of you want the IAEA to visit [the Zaporozhye NPP]. What happens now?

A: I am not sure that Ukraine wants that visit of IAEA as much as we do, although they claim the opposite. We had an opportunity to have the IAEA visit the ZNPP as early as at the beginning of June. And we made everything possible to make the conditions for that visit. But it did not happen because of the position of Kiev and its Western sponsors at that time, and also the position of the UN Secretariat who cited security reasons and concerns.

What is happening now is an obvious thing. Today even Kiev’s Western sponsors did not dare to say what they initially tried to assert – that Russia allegedly was shelling its own personnel, which was guarding the NPP and the city of Energodar. They refrained from doing that. Of course, they demonstrated the miracles of resourcefulness when trying to not call a spade a spade. Still, they did not mention that. Only Ukrainian representative said that it was Russia shelling the NPP which it is controlling.

Q: Does Russia consider the NPP to be a civilian object?

A: A nuclear power plant is a civilian object. That is why Russia is guarding it to prevent it from being damaged, because we know what the consequences would be. We warn about potential consequences that will occur if one day the shelling of the power plant leads to leakage of radioactive materials.

Q: So Russia is guarding the ZNPP and not setting up a military base, right?

A: We do not use the tactics that Ukrainian armed forces are using. They use civilian objects as a cover-up for their military, I would say. Recently, Amnesty International proved it in a report. It confirmed what we say at every UNSC meeting. And you see what happened to Amnesty International after that. Now it is being harassed for having produced that report.

Q: Why has Russia seized the ZNPP?

A: To ensure and safeguard its continued operation, which it does. The plant produces electricity and exports it as it used to before.

Q: What do you think of the proposal of the Secretary-General for a de-militarized zone?

A: I spoke about it at the session. To demilitarize the NPP would mean to make it prone to whoever wants to visit it, so to say. What their purposes and aims would be nobody knows. In this case, we cannot exclude provocations or terrorist attacks on the NPP, which we have to preserve.

Q: How can you make it for IAEA inspectors then?

A: It depends on the Ukrainian side. First of all, they should stop their reckless shelling.

Q: Can I ask a question on JCPOA? Do you think there is any time left?

A: I hope that we will finally be able to seal the deal. We know that the proposal is on the table and that the parties are discussing it. That’s all I can say.

Q: What do you think is holding Iran from accepting it?

A: I would rather not dwell onto the details of negotiations that I am not part of. But each party has interests that it wants to safeguard to ensure best possible conditions of the deal.

PERMANENT MISSION
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION TO THE UNITED NATIONS

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/08/ ... ozhye-npp/
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

Post Reply