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

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

Post by blindpig » Sun Jul 17, 2022 12:36 pm

Azov: rupture or continuity?
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 07/17/2022 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT

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Since the beginning of the intervention of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, there have been numerous attempts to rewrite the recent history of the conflict that began with the Maidan regime change in 2014. Perhaps the most striking of these attempts has been the attempt to normalize the role played by the Azov movement. The main purpose has been to try to convince Western public opinion that the conversion of the initial Azov Battalion into a Regiment was a clear attempt to disconnect this military unit from its original ultra-nationalist (or directly Nazi) component.

A brief review of the history of the Azov Regiment shows, however, that until now there has been no solution of continuity in the evolution of this (para)military force whose actions are inspired by a clear far-right nationalism. It is thus a nationalism that believes in the right of the nation to impose its order by force in the territory and that is inspired by an ideology of hatred and revenge against all its opponents, both internal and external.

This is the story of that political-military continuity that Azov means.

PART 1. The origins of Azov: the Men in Black

Introduction


As Azov has used to mention in his commemorative references, both on his own web pages and on those related to his evolution, for example Nackor , Maksim Zhorin ( Mose ) and two other militants ( Buba and Cartman ) formed from May 2014 the basis of what would later constitute the backbone of the Azov movement: the Borodach Division ( bearded in Russian, that is, the Bearded Division ).

However, as Zhorin points out , perhaps Azov's main media reference today, the arrival at the front began for the paramilitary group of which he was a part, the Men in Black (or the Black Corps), before the official date of the start of the war. Thus, as part of the Black Corps, starting in March 2014 they began to carry out those “ business trips ” to the problematic regions of eastern and southern Ukraine referred to by Mosein his reconstruction of the past. As Maksim Zhorin recounts, these actions, as well as the participation in the first battles (among them, most likely, the one that shook the city of Odessa in 2014), are prior to the official creation of Azov. Only after formation by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the group of Mose , Buba and Cartman , with all the other Men in Black, move to what Zhorin defines as " official form of warfare ". Or, put another way, to lay the foundations for the Azov movement that is known today.

Although not strictly confused with it, the Men in Black and the Borodach Division constitute the actual founding core of what is now known as Azov. As Buba , one of the main protagonists of the initial moments of the process, points out, “ Azov was built relatively together with us, before our eyes ”. But, despite the juxtaposed history that characterizes them, there is a chronological difference between the creation of the different organizations. In this sense, the first groups to form, or to be formed, are the Men in Black (Черные человечки in Russian, the Black Corps, or the Black Men, in English).

Origin and first performances of the Men in Black

The participation of the Men in Black in the Ukrainian political-military conflict can be followed in the period prior to the creation of Azov on May 5, 2014 and the Borodach Division of Azov on May 14 of that year.

In his study on the origins of Azov , Andreas Umland quotes Stepan Bayda, one of the founders of Azov, to point out that the history of the movement begins in the spring of 2014 in Kiev when several Maidan delegates and their associates from the Patriots of Ukraine, many of them released after the amnesty in March of that year, begin to meet and organize in the old Kozatsky hotel in Kiev. This was a group of about thirty people who would also reoccupy the former headquarters of the radical nationalists in Kharkiv on Rymarskaya Street.

Control of the city of Kharkiv

In the period considered, that of the Maidan coup, Kharkov is one of the key cities in which this paramilitary group intervenes. That is where the true central nucleus of the future Azov is formed, built around the main political leader, Andriy Biletsky. The new government had released the nationalist prisoners on February 25, including Andriy Biletsky, after decreeing a political amnesty. He would soon assume, along with collaborators such as Mykola Kravchenko ( Kruk ), Igor Mikhailenko ( Cherkas ) or Vadim Troyan, the coordination of the group. New recruits would soon join, with Maksim Zhorin at the helm.

According to the story of Mykola Kravchenko , Kruk, -one of the main promoters of the Azov movement, who died in March 2022 during the Russian advance in the Kiev area-, many of these militants were part of the groups that had occupied, from February 27, the House of Trade Unions in Kiev. But the conservative revolution wanted to spread to the resistance zones of the Russian world in the Ukraine. Thus, the group organized two buses to move about two hundred militants from Maidan, in Kiev, to the main city that Ukrainian nationalism considered in danger : Kharkov.

These militants were not yet clearly organized, they did not have the black uniform that would characterize them at that time and the Black Corps itself was still to be formed. In reality, they barely knew each other from a few revolutionary days on the Maidan. But they did organize around nationalist groups, ultra groups of football clubs (such as the kyiv Dynamo or the Kharkov Metallist) and, in particular, the ultra-right group of the Patriots of Ukraine (or the associated Nationalist Social Assembly). ). Through them, these groups were linked to the nascent Praviy Sektor (Right Sector), proposed as a kind of coordinator capable of collecting and giving meaning to all the small ultra groups with a presence in the streets of Ukrainian cities.

According to Kruk , this was one of the first real attempts to organize a true volunteer battalion. The main goal of the militants was to confront the Antimaidan groups in Kharkiv. That was the purpose of both the attack on the night of February 28 against the Oplot club, the main center of the Antimaidan groups, and the subsequent defense, on the following March 1, of the building of the Regional State Administration in Kharkov. According to Biletsky, it was he who proposed to take control of Oplot and retain control over the state building, but also “ to start cleaning the streets of the Russian-communist scourge ”.

Despite the lack of consolidated structures, by then the group's links with the new state structures that emerged from the Maidan coup were evident, as shown by its role in defending control by the coup plotters of the regional Administration structures in Kharkov as the protection received from the new rulers in Ukraine. In fact, after the first clashes with Oplot in Kharkov, given the reaction against the group, it gets back on the buses to retreat in an organized way to the city of Poltava where they are welcomed by the regional Administration and then transferred to a children's colony. in the suburbs. There and then is where Kruk places the true birth of the Men in Black and their Black Body.

And it is also in Poltava where it is decided, despite still having only precarious organizational structures, the return of the group to Kharkov to prepare for the final war. The objective is to retake the old nationalist Rymarskaya headquarters, abandoned between 2011 and 2014, an action that the militants of the new conservative revolution carry out between March 6 and 7. Coordinated by Biletsky, on those dates the group seized the headquarters and fortified themselves there, awaiting a probable resistance action by the Antimaidan groups.

The reaction of the Antimaidan groups finally takes place on the night of March 14-15, with a battle for control of the headquarters of the Ukrainian Patriots group in Rimarskaya 18 . Two of the Antimaidan opponents die that night in Kharkov from a gunshot from the nationalist headquarters.

For Kruk , the first of the true battles of the future Azov group occurred at Rimarskaya and, in that battle, his group made a qualitative leap. In Kravchenko's own words: that night “ we showed that we would kill ” and that, in Kharkov, “ people were being killed for separatism ”. The militants of Biletsky's group revealed, for the first time, their ultimate purpose in the war: a determined willingness to kill any pro-Russian opponent or separatist. According to Kravchenko, in Rymarskaya the Men in Black already function as a unit and show themselves capable of causing the first casualties to the enemy.

A large part of the staff of the National Corpus fought in the first battles for Kharkov, with Biletsky, Kravchenko or Mikhailenko at the head, characters who would be key in the future Azov and its National Corpus. The battle of Rimarskaya gave way, according to Kravchenko, to the consolidation of the Men in Black group, conceived as a pro-Maidan version of the Crimean men in green . A public presentation video of the Men in Black from Kharkov will be dedicated to them a few weeks later.

The consolidation of the structure of the Men in Black accelerates from then on. According to Anton Geraschenko , on April 6, 2014, Andriy Biletsky, Dmitriy Korchinsky, and Igor Mosiychuk met with the new Minister of the Interior, Arsen Avakov, to advance the process of structuring the group. At that meeting, Biletsky expressed that his Patriots of Ukraine group wanted to defend Ukraine by arms, but that they were not willing to integrate into official structures such as the National Guard. After the meeting, Geraschenko agreed with Oleg Odnorozhenko, the ideologue of the Patriots of Ukraine, on the “ coordination of the group's actions to protect public order in Kharkov ”. The police and punitive function of the group was beginning to be clearly defined.

In this context of negotiation between the new state authorities and their illegal squads, Avakov and Stepan Poltorak - at that time commander of the National Guard of Ukraine and from October of that year to August 2019 Minister of Defense of Ukraine - organize the expulsion forced raid of the Anti-Maidan groups from the Kharkov Regional Administration building on 8 April. Subsequently, the participation of several hundred militants of the Patriots of Ukraine is recorded to help “ maintain public order ” in Kharkov on April 13 and 20, in close coordination with the forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the SBU, some actions that advance in the progressive liquidation of the anti-coup insurrection in the city. According to Geraschenko, “Andriy Biletsky's boys, dressed in black uniforms, circulated around Kharkiv in those days in a convoy of cars and made it clear with just a look “that Kharkiv would not fall like Donetsk and Lugansk.

Around those dates, an article by Anna Makarenko appears , dated April 28, 2014, in which the presence of a true clandestine army in the Kharkov area, nicknamed "Men in Black", is confirmed. The article continued and delved into the content of a video broadcast by her medium, Segodnya.ua , two days earlier.

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Image in Kharkiv Men in Black message in April 2014

In the referenced message, published on YouTube , three fighters from Kharkov, dressed in black uniforms, their faces covered with balaclavas and with weapons in their hands, sent the following message: " We, Eastern Ukrainians, seeing the inaction of authorities and the outright sabotage of law enforcement on the ground, we feel defenseless against the separatists and occupiers. Being aware of this, we take on the mission of liberating the entire Southeast from the occupiers, whether in their form of saboteurs or the so-called “ men in green ” and traitorous separatists ”. It's the debut of Biletsky's Men in Black in Kharkov.

The article of the 26th already anticipated that the activity of the new group would consist of imposing the thesis of the local Maidan in Kharkov and hindering the pro-Russian or separatist activities of the “men in green” in the city. Makarenko mentions in his article the intention of the underground fighters to continue in Kharkov with the hunt for identified " separatists and green occupants ", including Russian Cossacks and members of the militant organization Oplot. According to the then spokesman for the Nationalist Social Assembly and the Praviy Sektor in the East, Igor Mosiychuk, the appearance of the Men in Black actually contributed (through the “ preventive talks of the new armed men ”) to dilute the rallies . in favor of federalization.

Makarenko's article is of interest to know the territorial origin of the men of Azov insofar as it shows that the Men in Black were already training in April 2014 in bases specifically designed for their training. According to Mosiychuk, these two bases were located in the Kharkov and kyiv regions, where pro-Maidan militants periodically gathered and received combat and sports training. According to Mosiychuk, however, the "blacks" are not planning or pursuing any political goal to take shape as an organization. An affirmation that history would soon refute.

Makarenko also referred in his article to the sociopolitical characteristics of the volunteers willing to fight for the integrity of Ukraine: people aged 16 to 30, including ultras from football clubs, members of the Praviy Sektor and the youth wing of the Assembly Biletsky National Social, which includes adolescents or young people between 14 and 18 years old. According to Mosiychuk, there were then up to 500 "black men" in the Donbass and Kharkov regions.

According to this leader of the Right Sector, the Men in Black are not at the service of any oligarch, they do not earn money, nor do they intend to be part of the armed forces. They do not join the ranks of the "legal" defenders of the Fatherland because they are disappointed with the state of the army, the National Guard and the Ministry of the Interior. An affirmation that the facts would also soon be in charge of relativizing.

Of course, when asked by the journalist Makarenko, the Regional Department of the Interior claimed not to have seen any "black men" and did not know where they could be found.

To the southeast and Mariupol

Finishing the "job" in Kharkov, the Black Men would soon look for other places to contribute to the success of the war organized by the new State against its opposing citizens.

In the aforementioned article on the role of the Ministry of the Interior in supporting the Men in Black, Geraschenko recalls that, at the end of April, Biletsky and his ideologue Odnorozhenko met with him again to propose the expulsion of the separatists from the City Hall. from Mariupol. In general, “ it was decided to support the initiative… and try to liberate another city”. The assault was planned for April 24, an action in which Serhiy Taruta, a minor oligarch appointed governor of the Donetsk region after the regime change in February 2014, played a decisive role. Alexander Turchinov, then president of Ukraine in office, and Arsen Avakov also lent their full support to the operation. In this process, Ihor Kolomoisky's men were also going to have an equally decisive role.

Geraschenko had the task of coordinating the admission of paramilitary and illegal personnel to be assigned to Mariupol. The assault on the City Hall, taken by Antimaidan forces, occurred on the night of April 23-24. Although the action was successful, as pro-Ukrainian forces still lacked access to sufficient defensive weapons, the following day the Antimaidan forces retook the City Hall, which led the Ministry of the Interior to believe that it was essential that the Men in Black legally dispose of weapons. Biletsky then agreed to incorporate his men into the police structures of the Ministry of the Interior.

The new state that emerged from the Maidan coup had therefore already decided to organize new structures aimed at integrating the paramilitary groups into “legal” state structures. But not before performing some last completely illegal actions. Thus, Kravchenko still mentions a last “ displacement ” to Kharkov on May 1, two multi-car buses with about a hundred people. Just one day before May 2 in Odessa, the greatest expression of the illegal action of the new coup authorities.

In an article by Mykola Kravchenko published in May 2019 , the last "exit" in a framework of total illegality of the Men in Black to the east is presented in detail before they were integrated by the new Ukraine in its new structures. . It includes 63 members of the illegal Black Corps paramilitary group leaving kyiv between May 3 and 4 to intervene in Mariupol as a "vigilante" force. In the following two days, this illegal paramilitary force clashes again in and around Mariupol with the Antimaidan forces, that is, with the civilian population of Mariupol.

In this period, the paramilitary group is legalized by the Ministry of the Interior of Ukraine, designed as a new formation of police support to the ministry: the Azov Battalion. In the article already mentioned, Geraschenko points out that, on the night of May 4-5, in the Mariupol area, about a hundred "young patriots" join the new Battalion and receive their weapons. Azov is registered as a Patrol Service Battalion of the Donetsk Internal Affairs Department, based in Berdyansk. According to Vgorode, the main objective of the creation of Azov is to give legal cover to volunteers who fight "terrorists" in eastern Ukraine and provide them with "necessary" weapons. Among the main promoters of Azov, Geraschenko points to the radical deputy Oleh Lyashko as another person who, from politics, was decisive in the creation of Azov. In addition to the groups linked to the Praviy Sektor and the Ukraine Patriots, Dmytro Korchinsky's group also contributes men.

Between May 4 and 9, Azov carried out its first "legal" interventions in the Mariupol area, with various skirmishes and changes of position around the control of the local institutions of the city. On the morning of May 5, the new “Azovs” head back to Mariupol in columns of cars, with their black uniforms and new weapons. Through a statement on Facebook on the 6th, Igor Mosiychuk, press officer of the Social-Nationalist Assembly, speaks of the displacement of other forces of the group from kyiv to Mariupol in three buses prepared for it.

In an article published on May 7, 2014, Obozrevatel mentions that, as a result of this action, Mariupol is "liberated" by the Men in Black. However, the situation is not yet under full Ukrainian control, nor does Azov have the capacity to maintain control of the city. In reference to the events that occurred on the night of May 6 to 7, the then advisor to the Ministry of the Interior, Anton Geraschenko, already speaks of the "Azov Special Police Battalion" to mention the confrontation in the Mangush area with Antimaidan groups. when the new Azov Battalion moved from Mariupol to Berdyansk.

Berdiansk becomes the base of the new Battalion and the new military and police training center for its members. Volodymir Shpara, close to Igor Mosiychuk and Oleh Lyashko, is appointed official commander of the only official Azov company, in contrast to the more political company under the control of Biletsky's followers which, like the future Borodach Division, established on 14 May 2014, will initially move within a framework of real formal organizational uncertainty.

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Image of the Men in Black, already integrated into Azov, in Obozretavel. May 7, 2014.

In the first half of May 2014, the main Azov intervention in Mariupol occurs on May 9. Battalion forces, supported by infantry troops and several tanks, participate in the violent assault on the local police headquarters in the city, then under the control of Antimaidan forces, supported by members of the police force. Together with the action in the Odessa Trade Union House, it is the intervention with the greatest human consequences in a single day, with around twenty deaths, including a member of the Azov Battalion (Rodion Dobrodomov). During the intervention, which ended with the subsequent withdrawal of pro-Ukrainian forces, the police building ends up burning, with government forces (including masked paramilitary groups) shooting at unarmed civilians protesting against them in the street.

The lack of control of the new Ukrainian authorities over Mariupol will continue in the following days. After several weeks of uncertainty, on June 13, 2014, Ukrainian forces, including the Azov and Dnipro battalions, supported by armor, finally retake Mariupol. It is the first great triumph of the new Azov Battalion.

And Odessa?

If the history of the post-Maidan events would be difficult to understand without the actions of the Men in Black in cities like Kharkov or Mariupol, one main unknown is linked to their participation in the Odessa events of May 2, 2014. These events they represent, in fact, the main manifestation of the Ukrainian regime's will to annihilate all opposition in the months after its victory in the streets of kyiv. But, unlike other "victories", it is an issue on which the leaders of Azov and the National Corpus do not elaborate when claiming their war exploits of the past. But did the Men in Black have anything to do with these events?

It is difficult to answer this question, but there is a thread of interest that should not be stopped in the future. It is linked to the participation in Azov of an Italian militant. Thus, according to the journalist Alexander Kozachenko's chronicle, among the forty new volunteers who joined the Azov Battalion in Kiev on June 3, 2014 is an Italian militant. The militant himself introduces himself to the assembled press as Don or, in Ukrainian, дядя (uncle). According to the Russian media Life , which is based on the investigation of him in Italian sources, in particular in the chronicles of the journalist Fausto Biloslavo, it would be the Italian neo-fascist Francesco Saverio Fontana.

Before swearing allegiance to Ukraine and Azov, these volunteers spent several months training in a training camp near Kiev, probably in one of the two training centers mentioned by Mosiychuk (the other is probably located in the Poltava children's colony) and in which Don may have acted as an instructor. The new volunteers immediately join the ranks of Azov in the Mariupol area and participate in the capture of the city by the Ukrainian forces from June 13 of that year.

He was not, however, the only foreign volunteer in the Azov ranks. According to Igor Mosiychuk, there were around twenty other foreigners in the Battalion at the time. In addition to the Italian neo-fascist, Azov's foreign legion included a dozen Russians (such as Sergey Korotkij, Botsman , a Russian neo-Nazi to whom Petro Poroshenko gave his Ukrainian passport and who remains one of Azov's leading members) and several Scandinavian citizens (among them Mikael Skilt, a Swedish sniper whom some sources place in the actions of the Men in Black in Kharkov). Other sources (such as Panorama) also referred at the time to the presence of Croatian, French or English militants. In that period there is also evidence of the arrival of some Georgian trainers who would have a decisive importance in the military consolidation of Azov.

At the beginning of June 2014, as pointed out in the presentation of the new volunteers by its then main media reference, Andrei Biletsky, the Azov Battalion already had around 250 people.

After the capture of Mariupol, Biloslavo managed to find Don at the battalion's base in Berdyansk. In his report De he Gli Uomini Neri (The Men in Black), published in the Italian newspaper Il Giornale on July 2, 2014, the journalist points out Francesco F.'s involvement in Ukraine. As he recounts in his chronicle, fascinated by the Maidan revolution, Don decided to enlist in the ranks of the Azov International Legion. On June 9, Al Jazeera also found Don at the Azov base in Berdyansk and briefly chatted with him.

Speaking to La Stampa , then referred to as Stan , Fontana acknowledged in September 2014 that at the beginning of May of that year, during the attack on the House of Trade Unions in Odessa and during the subsequent days in which the “ cleansing” of Antimaidan militants, he was in the city.

Links from those years provided complementary information of interest, in particular the one that the popoff.globalist.it website collected at the time on May 7, 2014 and in which it was ensured that Italian volunteers were fighting in Ukraine framed in the ranks of the squads Pravy Sector paramilitaries. The medium also collected the following statements from Stan : “ I have been in Odessa since yesterday where I have recovered Ivan, from the ASN, when they shot us. Now I accompany him at the request of Svaraslog”. The aforementioned Ivan is a relevant character in this story because he was one of the main local leaders of the Nationalist Social Assembly and the Pravy Sektor in Odessa at the time of the attack on the House of Trade Unions on May 2. .

The presence and performance of Saverio Fontana; the intervention of Kharkov Metallist ultra followers and local grassroots movements (Patriots of Ukraine and ASN, Pravy Sektor, etc.) who supply militants to the Men in Black, the kind of violent disorderly methods those used by the attackers of the House of Trade Unions, similar to those observed in the events of March and April in Kharkov and those used by the Black Bloc of the "anarcho-ultranationalist" Gaston Besson , are more than indications of the action of the Men in Black in Odessa in early May 2014.

The reconversion of the Men in Black and Azov: rupture or continuity?

Far from assuming a rupture, the creation of the Azov Battalion and its subsequent (and rapid) conversion into a Regiment will at no time imply a solution of continuity with respect to the Men in Black, that group that was born with the vocation to act as a death squad in the south and east of Ukraine. The history of Maksim Zhorin, and of one of the divisions of the Azov Battalion, the Borodach Division (Azov's first company, as opposed to the second dominated by conscripts from the Misanthropic Division), shows this clearly. The consolidation of this Division within Azov would be linked to the departure towards the professional policy of those initially responsible, in particular Igor Mosiychuk, but also Andriy Biletsky, to give way to the command of Azov to the new generation.

To a large extent, the hierarchical line would be linked to the command of the main company of the Battalion, the one located in the Berdiansk-Mariupol area, symbolically considered as the first Hundred of Azov. Igor Mikhailenko, Maksim Zhorin, Denis Prokopenko and Nikita Nadtochi, commander of the Azov Regiment in the absence of Denis Prokopenko, pass by. It is the company of the Kharkov fighters, the closest to the power base that Biletsky originally established and that leaves in the background the part of command associated with the second original company, linked to Igor Mosiychuk's group, through Volodymir Shpara (this, however, will constitute the official command reference for the State of Ukraine as it is the only company formally recognized in origin by the Ministry of the Interior).

Destined to command due to their links to Biletsky, Kravchenko (head of the personnel service in the initial organizational structure) and Mikhailenko would, however, quickly give way to the new and more efficient generations, organized around the figure of Maksim Zhorin.

The analysis of this process, dominated by continuity, is however another chapter in this unfinished story. In this, there is simply proof of the origin of Azov as a Black Corps, as reflected in the original emblem of the police-military personnel of the Battalion.

https://slavyangrad.es/2022/07/17/azov- ... more-25056

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EU reaping 'reward' of following in US footsteps: China Daily editorial
chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2022-07-17 18:50

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This photo taken on March 1, 2022 shows a view of the Pipeline Inspection Gauge (PIG) receiving station, the Nord Stream 2 part of the landfall area, in Lubmin on Germany's Baltic Sea coast, northeastern Germany. [Photo/Agencies]

Now is an important period of the year energy-wise for European countries as they usually store natural gas for winter.

However, the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany is undergoing annual maintenance from July 11 to July 21, and European governments are worried that Moscow could extend that in order to restrict the gas supply to Europe.

There are good reasons for Germany and the rest of the European Union to worry that Russia might keep the pipeline turned off after July 21.

A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said that future supply would depend on the gas demand in Europe and Western sanctions against Russia. Obviously, it does not make sense for Russia to provide energy to countries that are sanctioning it and that are providing weapons to a country with which it is engaged in hostilities.

Although that might not be Russia's intention, the 10 days serve as a grace period for the EU to consider the matter rationally and rethink its gains and losses from its gung-ho participation in the United States' strategy to debilitate Russia.

Russia provides 55 percent of the natural gas Germany imported last year, and the construction of the Nord Stream 2 project, which connects Russia and Germany and that is almost finished, indicates that Germany cannot find a more reliable source of natural gas to replace Russia, even if it does not want to put all eggs in one basket.

As the energy shortage has already become almost unbearable in Germany and many other EU countries, it is a big question whether they would be able to stand the consequences of the Nord Stream 1 being shut down for any prolonged period.

A long-time pioneer in green development, Germany's re-embracing of coal power shows the heavy toll the Ukraine crisis is taking on its carbon emissions reduction strategy, which is related to many aspects of its social, economic and industrial policies.

That the euro and the US dollar reached parity last week for the first time in two decades, should awaken the bloc to the fact that it is directly paying for the conflict that Washington has orchestrated between Russia and Ukraine.

Rather than trying to promote talks to end the conflict, the EU has continually increased its sanctions on Russia and its provision of military resources to Ukraine, which has only served to pour oil on the flames.

Unless it negotiates with Russia to establish a lasting, balanced and sustainable security mechanism in Europe, the EU will continue to reap whatever the US sows.

http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/20220 ... 6cc68.html

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German companies dropped out of the top 100 leading companies in the world
July 17, 11:54 am

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German companies dropped out of the top 100 leading companies in the world

Germany is no longer represented in the world list of companies with the largest capitalization , according to Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten. This is evidenced by the data of the British audit and consulting company Ernst & Young. The most valuable German concern, software maker SAP, is in 113th place, the telecommunications company Telecom is in 120th place. The chemical industry company Linde is in 74th place, but after merging with the American company Praxair, it moved its head office to Ireland.

At the end of 2007, there were seven German companies in the top 100 leading companies in the world. At the end of 2021 - only two.Thus, the capital market "makes a crushing verdict on the future of the German economy," the publication concludes. And the main reason for what is happening is the energy crisis. Germany is the most energy-intensive industrial site in the world. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the German export model (accounting for approximately 50% of GDP) is very sensitive to the threat of a recession in the world market.

But the problems, of course, are not only in this, the publication continues. The point is also that Germany is leading in what it is not necessary to lead. For many years now, the country has suffered from sky-high electricity prices. And all because of the extremely ambitious plan to switch to alternative energy sources. The demographic situation in a country with an average age of 47.8 years (second place in the world after Japan) is appalling. In terms of income tax, social insurance spending and regulatory spending, no country in the world can compete with Germany.

And all these factors are pushing companies to move their production facilities to other countries, explains the German edition. Productivity has grown very slowly over the past 20 years, and the downward trend in real wages was observed even before the explosion of inflation.

Similar problems are experienced by many other countries in Europe, start-up and to a lesser extent. No European concern is represented in the top 10 companies with the largest capitalization. The most expensive enterprise is the Swiss company Nestle. She is ranked 20th. An important reason for this is that there is not a single major IT player in Europe. In this sector, the United States is leading the way, many of the American companies bring super profits and introduce digital technologies into the economy and all spheres of life. Asian concerns also play an important role in this process, while European ones play practically none.

https://russian.rt.com/inotv/2022-07-17 ... -vipali-iz - zinc
https://deutsche-wirtschafts-nachrichte ... 0-der-Welt - original in German According to

this logic, the gas crisis is not the cause of the crisis. He only exacerbated the already existing trends that had formed under Merkel.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7742251.html

Google Translator

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The West is Experiencing a Contraction of its Power
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on JULY 16, 2022
Boaventura de Sousa Santos

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US troops are deployed to Europe amid escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine before the outbreak of war

The strategists of the hegemonic country of the West, the US, without realizing the flagrant contraction, show unlimited ambition.[/i]

What Westerners call the West or Western civilization is a geopolitical space that emerged in the 16th century and expanded continuously until the 20th century. On the eve of World War I, about 90 percent of the globe was Western or Western-dominated: Europe, Russia, the Americas, Africa, Oceania, and much of Asia (with the partial exceptions of Japan and China). From then on, the West began to contract: first with the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the emergence of the Soviet bloc, and then, from mid-century onward, with the decolonization movements. Terrestrial space, and soon after, extraterrestrial space, became fields of intense disputes.

Meanwhile, what Westerners understood by the West was changing. It began as Christianity and colonialism, then changed to capitalism and imperialism, and then metamorphosed into democracy, human rights, decolonization, self-determination, and “rules-based international relations”—it was made clear that the rules would be established by the West and would only be followed when they served its interests—and finally into globalization.

By the middle of the last century, the West had shrunk so much that several newly independent countries made the decision to align themselves neither with the West nor with the bloc that had emerged as its rival, the Soviet bloc. This led to the emergence, from 1955-1961, of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). With the collapse of the Soviet bloc in 1991, the West seemed to go through a time of enthusiastic expansion. It was around this time that former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev expressed his desire for Russia to join the “common home” of Europe, with the support of then-US President George H. W. Bush, a desire reaffirmed by Vladimir Putin when he took power in 2000. It was a short historical period, and recent events show that the “size” of the West has since shrunk drastically. In the wake of the Ukraine war, the West decided, on its own initiative, that only those countries applying sanctions against Russia would be considered part of the pro-Western camp. These countries comprise about 21 percent of the UN member countries, which constitute only 16 percent of the world’s population.

Questions

Is contraction decline? One might think that the contraction of the West works in its favor because it allows it to focus on more realistic goals with greater intensity. A careful reading of the strategists of the hegemonic country of the West, the United States, shows, that on the contrary, without apparently realizing the flagrant contraction, they show unlimited ambition. With the same ease with which they foresee being able to reduce Russia (one of the largest nuclear powers in the world) to a vassal state or bring it to ruin, they foresee neutralizing China (which is on its way to becoming the first world economy) and soon provoking a war in Taiwan, (like the one in Ukraine) to achieve that purpose. On the other hand, the history of empires shows that contraction goes hand in hand with decline, and that decline is irreversible and entails much human suffering.

At the current stage, the manifestations of weakness are running parallel to those of strength, which makes analysis very difficult. Two contrasting examples help understand this point more clearly: The United States is the largest military power in the world (even though it has not won any wars since 1945) with military bases in at least 80 countries. An extreme case of domination is its presence in Ghana where, according to agreements made in 2018, the United States uses the Accra airport without any control or inspection, US soldiers do not even need a passport to enter the country, and enjoy extraterritorial immunity, meaning that if they commit any crime, no matter how serious, they cannot be tried by Ghana’s courts. On the other hand, the thousands of sanctions on Russia are, for now, doing more damage in the Western world than in the geopolitical space being defined by the West as the non-Western world. The currencies of those countries that seem to be winning the war are depreciating the most. The looming inflation and recession led JP Morgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon to say that a “hurricane” is approaching.

Is contraction a loss of internal cohesion? Contraction can mean more cohesion, and this is quite visible. The leadership of the European Union, i.e., the European Commission, has in the last 20 years been much more aligned with the US than the countries that make up the EU. We saw this with the neoliberal shift and with the enthusiastic support shown by former President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, for the invasion of Iraq, and we are seeing it now with the current commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who seems to be operating as the US undersecretary of defense. The truth is that this cohesion, if it is effective in producing policies, can be disastrous in managing their consequences. Europe is a geopolitical space that since the 16th century has lived off the resources of other countries that it directly or indirectly dominates and on whom it imposes unequal exchange. None of this is, however, possible when the United States or its allies are its partners. Moreover, cohesion is made up of inconsistencies, as seen in the conflicting narratives about Russia. After all, is Russia the country with a lower GDP than many countries in Europe? Or is it a force that wants to invade Europe, and serves as a global threat that can only be stopped with the help of investments provided by the United States for arms and security to Ukraine—already around $10 billion—a distant country of which little will remain if the war continues for a long time?

Does the contraction occur for internal or external reasons? The literature on the decline and end of empires shows that, besides a few exceptional cases in which empires were destroyed by external forces—such as the Aztec and Inca empires with the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors—internal factors generally dominate in bringing about contraction, even though decline can be precipitated by external factors. It is difficult to distinguish the internal from the external, and the specific identification is always more ideological than anything else. For example, in 1964 the well-known American conservative philosopher James Burnham published a book titled Suicide of the West. According to him, liberalism, then dominant in the United States, was the ideology behind this decline. For the liberals of the time, liberalism was, on the contrary, an ideology that would enable a new, more peaceful, and just world hegemony for the West. Today, liberalism is dead in the United States (neoliberalism dominates, which is its opposite) and even the old-school conservatives have been totally overtaken by the neoconservatives. That is why former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (for many, a war criminal) upset the anti-Russia proselytes by calling for peace negotiations while talking about the Ukraine conflict during a conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos in May. Be that as it may, the Ukraine war is the great accelerator of the West’s contraction. While the West wants to use its power and influence to isolate China, a new generation of nonaligned countries is emerging. Organizations like BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Eurasian Economic Forum are, among others, the new faces of the non-Western states.

What comes next? We don’t know yet. It is as difficult to imagine the West occupying a subordinate space in the world context as it is to imagine it in an equal and peaceful relationship with other geopolitical spaces. We only know that for those leading the Western states, either of these hypotheses is either impossible or, if possible, apocalyptic. Therefore, the number of international meetings has multiplied in recent months—from the World Economic Forum meeting that took place in May in Davos to the most recent Bilderberg Meeting in June. Not surprisingly, in the latter meeting, of the 14 themes discussed, seven were directly related to the West’s rivals.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/07/ ... its-power/

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Cornered West Yields in Turbine-Gate but Conflict Far From Settled, Risks Aplenty for All
JULY 17, 2022

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The Nord Stream pipeline carries up to 167 mcm of natural gas to the European Union daily. Photo: Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters.

By Serge Rousskikh – Jul 13, 2022

The West’s “shock and awe” sanctions campaign has done little to deter Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine and is now increasingly pitting members of the bloc against each other. The latest miscalculation in the seemingly ill-planned economic war with Moscow emerged last month when Canada impounded natural gas turbines vital to Germany’s energy consumption. With Canada and the Western Bloc forced to yield in the face of dire prospects for Germany, The Canada Files takes a look back at what transpired and what it means going forward.

The facts:

• As preparation for the fall and winter heating season began, Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom sent a turbine engine from its Nord Stream pipeline for routine service to the manufacturer Siemens Energy. The German engineering giant, in turn, sent the turbine engine to Montreal, where they were manufactured.

• When the time came to return the turbine to Siemens Energy, the service centre refused to release the equipment citing Ottawa’s sanctions against Gazprom, leveled on February 24 in response to Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.

• With the Leningrad Oblast-based Portovaya natural gas terminal down one of eight gas compressors and several others in need of repair or service, Gazprom slashed natural gas deliveries to Germany via the pipeline from 167 million cubic meters to 100 million cubic meters, a reduction of approximately 40 percent.

The big picture:

• Germany is one of the European states most dependent on Russian gas, with imports from Eurasian giant accounting for over 60 percent of the total share as recently as 2020. The share of Russian gas fell to 35% since the start of the military campaign in Ukraine, according to Bloomberg,

• Amid the standoff, Berlin moved one step closer to gas rationing triggering the second level of its emergency gas plan, which sees far more stringent oversight of the industry from the federal authorities.

• Reports of dwindling gas reserves suggest that Germany may not only face energy shortages during the heating season but could see production slow in the near future.

While average German citizens face an uncertain and potentially frosty winter, officials from all sides pointed the finger at each other. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suggested that politics may have played a role in the reduced flow via the Nord Stream pipeline. Scholz’s finance minister was far less diplomatic in his assessment.

“We must not fool ourselves: The cut in gas supplies is an economic attack on us by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck said in a statement as quoted by Reuters.

Gazprom vigorously emphasized that the situation is beyond its control, with top officials taking aim at Canada for the predicament.

“Siemens, which is our partner whereas the Canadian factory is not, brought the engine to the factory and is unable to get it back,” Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller told attendees of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum last month. “The only country that has imposed sanctions against Gazprom is Canada. Canada? We do not work in Canada. What does Canada have to do with it? Still, Canada has sanctioned Gazprom.”

Ottawa Yields Despite Tough Rhetoric
Despite tough talk, Canada, ultimately folded in a game of “pipeline poker,” as some observers coined the affair. On Saturday, Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson confirmed Ukrainian reports that Ottawa will return the turbine engines to Siemens and subsequently Gazprom.

“Canada will grant a time-limited and revocable permit for Siemens Canada to allow the return of repaired Nordstream 1 turbines to Germany,” Wilkinson said in a statement, underscoring that the decision was made following consultation with Germany, Ukraine and the European Commission and in support of “Europe’s ability to access reliable and affordable energy as they continue to transition away from Russian oil and gas.”

The decision was accompanied by more rhetoric, with Foreign Minister Melanie Joly issuing a statement vowing to cripple Russia’s oil, gas, chemical and manufacturing sectors. However, the posturing did little to appease several actors, including Kiev and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC), who accused the Canadian government of “bowing to Russian blackmail.”

The West Was Left With Few Options
As the impasse dragged on for a over a month and forecasts appeared bleaker by the day, there were ultimately few options left for the West, experts said.

“Either the collective West admits that Russian energy is presently a necessity and cannot be supplanted and deals with the consequences… or Germany has to call Canada – Scholz has to call [Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau – and Canada has to ease its sanctions regime,” Stanislav Mitrakhovich, an expert with National Energy Security Fund and the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, said in an interview with The Canada Files.

Alexander Frolov, the Deputy Director General of the Institute of National Energy, on a Geoenergetica Info segment proposed that Germany and other European partners could have alternatively enticed Ukraine to redirect its gas pipeline system to the EU or even launch the Nord Stream II pipeline. However, the expert downplayed both scenarios as improbable given the political implications.

Mitrakhovich explained that the resolution, which came after a very vocal and public outcry by Habeck, required the collective will of the Western Bloc as no one wanted to bear sole responsibility for the decision.

“An agreement seemed to be out of reach without making the issue a collective Western problem… so that no individual officials, Canadian or otherwise, could be held responsible for making the decision,” the expert said.

The United States and the European Commission have backed Ottawa’s decision to return the turbine engines.

Furthermore, the Russian expert believes that the parties involved were caught off guard by Gazprom’s adherence to the maintenance schedule and the company making no effort to unilaterally alleviate the situation.

Conflict Not Over, Sanctions Regime May Need Adjustment
While the acute phase of the conflict is over, there may be sequels to this saga. The Nord Stream pipeline is out of service between July 11 and 21 for routine maintenance and it is unclear where the other damaged turbine engine will be repaired or whether the service schedule will be in any way altered as a result of the standoff.

Gazprom and Siemens Energy did not immediately respond to The Canada Files’ request for comment.

Mitrakhovich did not rule out the possibility of sanctions being tweaked with time, citing Washington’s previous rollbacks on sanctions against Russian fertilizer products.

Plenty of Risks Remain

Aside from the possibility of a repeat, all parties – Gazprom, Canada and Germany – face varying degrees of risk, experts The Canada Files spoke to said.

Mitrakhovich warned that Gazprom will have to slash revenue projections during a volatile period if it is not able to bring its product to market. The Russian energy giant recently opted out of dividend payout for 2021 to the tune of $23.37 billion (1.24 trillion rubles), which some analysists say suggests the company is preparing for a full European embargo on Russian energy products.

Meanwhile, Ottawa faces the risk of incurring reputational damages. The federal government is already facing accusations of folding to Russian demands, meanwhile, the episode could be a cautionary tale for entities conducting or considering conducting business in Canada.

However, it is Europe that stands to lose the most from an extended confrontation.

Not only is Berlin at risk of fielding insufficient energy stockpiles for the winter heating season, the country responsible for a third of European manufacturing could be forced to scale back production in short order, especially if rationing were to become a reality. Furthermore, natural gas deliveries to Germany are used to supply several EU nations, including Italy, Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands, and the current situation is already reportedly having an impact on gas depositories in those nations.

https://orinocotribune.com/cornered-wes ... y-for-all/

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From Cassad's Telegram account:

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forwarded from
Readovka
Map of hostilities and the situation on the fronts on the evening of July 16, 2022

⚔️The situation on the fronts for the past day:

▫️Kharkiv direction is in operational pause mode. There is no significant progress in this direction.

▫️In the Slavic direction, the Seversky garrison was actually destroyed. The 115th mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is not able to resist our troops, therefore, civilians from nearby settlements are mobilized for resupply. Also, a message came from the Russian Defense Ministry about the destruction of Ukrainian Su-25 and Mi-24 in the Seversk region. To the south, our troops are advancing on Yakovlevka. Units of the NM LPR entered the battle on the eastern outskirts of Soledar.

▫️There is a battle going on in the Donetsk sector near Maryinka. Also, Russian troops are stepping up their offensive in the Kamenka area with the aim of further advancing to Avdiivka. Due to the concrete positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the development of a rapid offensive is virtually impossible.

▫️In the Zaporozhye direction , a Mi-8 of the Ukrainian Air Force was shot down in the Velyka Novoselka area.

▫️In the southern direction - Russian troops destroyed two MiG-29s in the areas of the settlements of Novopavlovka in the Nikolaev region and Vladimirovka in the Dnepropetrovsk region.

Saturday began with another enemy attack on the village of Tetkino in the Kursk region. Fires were recorded, but there were no casualties.

"Arrivals". The militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine again fired at Kherson Chernobaevka. In the evening, a missile attack on Alchevsk destroyed a trolleybus depot and a dispensary.

Calibration of the Russian Aerospace Forces was carried out this morningon military installations in Odessa. In Dnepropetrovsk, workshops for the production of components and the repair of Tochka-U ballistic missiles and multiple rocket launchers at the defense enterprise Yuzhny Mashinostroitelny Zavod were destroyed. Also, strikes were noted in the Cherkasy, Nikolaev and Kharkov regions.

In the world. The defense ministries of Armenia and Azerbaijan mutually accused each other of shelling the border on the eve of the bilateral meeting of foreign ministers in Georgia.

Of the interesting: RT prepared a two-hour documentary about the liberation of Mariupol - about what the victory cost and what awaits the residents, in whose hearts Russia has always been.

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Сolonelcassad
The Crimean bridge will become an object of attack by Ukraine when the “first technical opportunity” appears, said Aleksey Arestovich, adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine. Shortly before this, Ukrainian military intelligence did not rule out the use of HIMARS against targets in Crimea .

“ As soon as the first technical opportunity appears, he will immediately become this object for attack. <...> If there is a restriction from partners, in particular, not to hit on the territory of the Russian Federation, because they see the big picture, then we will not hit. So we have enough targets on the territory of Ukraine ,” Arestovich said.

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Сolonelcassad
🇵🇱🇺🇸🇺🇦What weapons and military equipment have been delivered to Poland lately?

▪️This week it became known about the possible transfer of 232 PT-91 Twardy tanks (a modified version of the Soviet T-72M1 tank) from Poland to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The shipment will take place immediately after the start of deliveries of 250 Abrams M1A2 tanks purchased from the United States. The exact date is unknown.

▪️The head of the Polish Ministry of Defense also announced the signing of a contract for another 116 used American Abrams tanks . Some sources claim that the Polish side is ready to transfer its tanks to Ukraine even in exchange for these old Abrams.

▪️On Thursday, the first of five C-130H Hercules military transport aircraft purchased in 2021 under the US Department of Defense's Excess Defense Articles (EDA) military transport aircraft arrived in Poland. The purchase was partly covered by American grants: Warsaw paid only $14.3 million for a total cost of $60 million.

At the same time, all five copies built in 1985 were decommissioned from the US Air Force in 2017.

▪️On Tuesday, during the visit of the head of the Polish Defense Ministry to Kiev, Zelensky announced the transfer of a new batch of AHS Krab howitzers to the Armed Forces of Ukraine . The Ukrainian president did not specify their number. Mariusz Blashak also spoke about the possible training of Ukrainian military personnel in sapper business in Poland.

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Сolonelcassad
In Ukraine, the head of the virtual branch of the SBU in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which had existed on the territory of Ukraine since 2014, was arrested. The main "SBU officer in Crimea" is suspected of treason. It is worth noting that in 2014, most of the SBU personnel in Sevastopol and Crimea successfully transferred to the Russian service, and some of them are still serving after appropriate checks.
In fact, if it were not for the Nazi terror in Ukraine, many Ukrainian officers from various departments could still make such a choice. Hence the executions of the vacillating and the paranoid hunt for internal enemies, because the Ukrainian Nazis are well aware that they cannot control the situation except by terror.

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

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

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

Post by blindpig » Sun Jul 17, 2022 10:59 pm

Destruction of HIMARS
July 17, 16:21

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The first HIMARS complex officially destroyed in Ukraine.
The launcher plus the loading vehicle were destroyed by a missile attack in Krasnoarmeysk.



https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7742921.html

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RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE: POLAND SEEKS TO SEIZE UKRAINIAN TERRITORY
Jul 14, 2022 , 11:42 am .

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Warsaw's plans to invade Ukraine date back to World War I (Photo: Archive)

Poland is ready for more active cooperation on the Ukraine issue with Hungary and Romania, covering up their plans to seize western Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service said on Tuesday.

"It is proposed to emphasize the creation of an image of 'collective participation' of all Ukraine's European neighbors in Kyiv affairs. To do this, Warsaw is ready to seek more active cooperation on the Ukraine issue with Hungary and Romania, thus hiding behind them to implement their own plans," reads the statement, quoted by a Russian media .

For the director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, Poland's plans to establish control over western Ukraine are dangerous for all of Europe; According to him, if Warsaw opens this Pandora's box, no one will think it's enough.

As the intelligence service points out, Warsaw has long had an interest in seizing this territory. They are trying to repeat the historical "deal" for Poland after the First World War, when the collective West, represented by the Entente, recognized the right of Warsaw to first occupy part of Ukraine in order to protect the population from the "Bolshevik threat".

The Polish leadership has begun to draw up scenarios for the de facto dismemberment of Ukraine, Naryshkin said in late June. Since the war began, Poland has been the West's weapons, mercenaries and logistics gateway to the conflict.

https://misionverdad.com/inteligencia-r ... -ucraniano

Google Translator

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Germany Lacks Reserves for Incoming Winter Without Russian Gas

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German citizens fear having their heating turned off in winter. Jul. 17, 2022. | Photo: Al Mayadeen

Published 17 July 2022 (6 hours 58 minutes ago)

The quantities of gas in storage in Germany today are insufficient to get through the coming winter without supplies of the Russian fuel, warned Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) chairman Klaus Muller.

Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) chairman Klaus Muller has warned that the gas storage on German territory may not be sufficient to last this incoming winter without the normal supply from Russia.

"The gas storage tanks are almost 65% full. That's better than in previous weeks, but still not enough to get through the winter without Russian gas," Muller said in an interview with Bild am Sonntag.

The head of the agency that regulates, among other markets the gas and electricity markets, recalled that maintenance work on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline should in principle be completed by July 21.

"Much will now depend on whether and in what quantities the gas then flows through the pipeline," he said.


Last week, according to Muller, there was no significant price increase despite the shutdown of Nord Stream 1.

"This could mean that the markets have already reflected the cessation of Russian gas supplies in prices and that we have reached the plateau (...) It is not yet clear whether these higher prices, attributable to the reduction in gas supplies from Russia, will have to be maintained in the short term," said Muller.

The first German municipalities have already started to set up heating rooms for the winter.

"We should not panic. In the plans of the Federal Network Agency, heating rooms for the most needy people do not play any role," Muller responded to the journalists' question about installation of heating rooms.

In addition, the official commented on the citizens' fear of having their heating turned off in winter.

"Private households have the least to worry about. They have been supplying gas for the longest time, much longer than industry, for example. Moreover, there is no scenario in which we are completely without gas. Even if Russia stops supplying gas, we will continue to receive it from Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium, or in the future from German LNG terminals," he said.


The Nord Stream 1 underwater pipeline underwent regulatory maintenance on July 11, according to forecasts until July 21, although there are fears that Russia will not turn on the tap of the pipeline that transported fuel to Germany.

Previously, Russia had reduced supplies through Nord Stream 1 by 60% due to Canada's unilateral sanctions, which prevented a Canadian subsidiary of Siemens from returning a turbine for its pumping plants to Russia's Gazprom Group.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Ger ... -0005.html

G-20 Summit Fails to Condemn Russia Over Ukraine Conflict

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The meeting of G20 finance ministers in Indonesia ended on Saturday without a joint communiqué, due to the lack of consensus in the discussions, dominated by the Russian offensive in Ukraine. | Photo: Twitter @futvale

Published 17 July 2022 (17 hours 25 minutes ago)

During the talks on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, finance chiefs pledged to tackle global food insecurity, rising debt and energy crises, but made little political progress.

A two-day meeting of Group of 20 (G20) finance ministers and central banks presidents in Indonesia ended without a joint communique after Russia's special military operation in Ukraine divided the global forum.

During the talks on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, finance chiefs pledged to tackle global food insecurity, rising debt and energy crises, but made little political progress.

"I think we all agree that this G20 meeting has taken place under very difficult circumstances because of geopolitical tension," Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati stressed at a press conference on the Indonesian island of Bali, where the meeting took place.

Instead of a formal communiqué, there would be a 14-paragraph statement issued by Indonesia, said the finance minister, whose country holds the G20 pre-temporary presidency.


Indrawati said most of the issues were agreed by all members except for particular statements on the conflict in Ukraine.

She described it as the "best outcome" the group could have achieved at this meeting.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland blamed Russia for sending a shockwave through the global economy.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko participated virtually in the meeting.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/G-2 ... -0001.html

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Russia destroys warehouse of Harpoon missiles ceded to Ukraine

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Long-range missiles of the Russian armed forces hit an industrial enterprise in Odessa, which stored Harpoon missiles, | Photo: Defensa.com (Reference photo).
Published 17 July 2022

The anti-ship missiles were transferred to Ukraine by countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Russia has destroyed a Harpoon anti-ship missile storage facility in Odessa, southern Ukraine, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said.

The long-range missiles of the Russian armed forces hit an industrial company in Odesa, which stored Harpoon missiles, transferred to Ukraine by countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), he denounced.

A launcher and a cargo transport vehicle of a HIMARS multiple launch rocket system were destroyed in the attack, it said.


Another attack launched by Russia from the air, according to Defense, caused up to 200 fatalities at a base of the 92nd Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the city of Chuguev, Kharkov province.

Russian forces have intercepted eight missiles launched by the HIMARS and Uragán rocket launch systems in Ukraine over the last day, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.


"Near Izium, in the Kharkov region, Tavriya, in the Zaporizhia and Alchevsk region, in the Lugansk People's Republic (they were intercepted) eight projectiles from Uragán and HIMARS multiple rocket launcher systems," the military spokesman said.

In Zaporizhia, Russian forces hit the site of a mechanized infantry battalion, causing "up to 65 casualties" to Ukrainian troops and leaving 10 pieces of equipment destroyed.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/ucrania- ... -0007.html

Google Translator

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The Belarus Tactical Group: Belarusians in the DUK SS International
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on JULY 17, 2022
Laurent Brayard

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Denis Prokhorov

The Belarus Tactical Group was in fact a squad that grew out of a small company founded by Belarusian neo-Nazi activists who came to Ukraine to fight in the Donbass. They initially joined various battalions, most notably the Azov Battalion, but some also participated in the Maidan Revolution during the winter of 2013-2014. This group was created within the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps, the DUK, organized and modelled on the example of the Waffen SS, the private army of the Pravy Sektor party. The eventual aim was to establish a purely Belarusian battalion within this organisation. These men were also linked to the Zagin Pogonia battalion or organisation which tried to gather and support all Belarusian volunteers. These fighters dreamed of doing in Belarus what had been done in Ukraine, a revolution that would inevitably lead to the fall of the Lukashenko regime in Belarus. It was also a question of participating in a sort of crusade against “the Asian and Russian hordes”, with the idea of resuming the great battles against a Russia seen by them as the enemy to be put down. Racialists, racists, neo-Nazis, anti-Semites, the qualifiers are numerous, all of them almost then made stumps in Ukraine, then were at the basis of the formation of a very first Belarusian battalion after the launching of the Russian special operation (24 February 2022). They failed to defeat the Donbass, and now serve yet another Belarusian government in exile, that of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya… and the bulk of the opposition’s Christian Democrat political forces.

Belarusian neo-Nazis in Pravy Sektor and the Azov Battalion. This group is a unit of the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps, the DUK, an independent army (until 2022) of the neo-Nazi party Pravy Sektor, consisting of about 30 battalions, about 20 so-called reserves, five front-line battalions, and some independent companies serving at the front (2014-2022). In 2022, this army, organised along the lines of the SS waffen, was integrated into the regular Ukrainian army. The Belarus Battle Group was formed exclusively of neo-Nazi and ultra-nationalist Belarusian militants, serving in the retaliation battalions of the ATO operation, and particularly in the Azov regiment. The unit was formed in June 2015, eventually becoming a full battalion of Belarusians serving under the flag of Pravy Sektor, and of Ukraine, while flying the white and red flag of Belarusian nationalists. They were sent to fight on the positions of Peski, Avdeevka, Mariinka and Volnovakha. Shortly after its formation, in the summer of 2015, it was ambushed and suffered numerous casualties. It consisted of only a handful of fanatical fighters, but grew to a size of a few dozen men (50-70). In the autumn of 2015, as Belarusian volunteers did not turn up, the Belarus Battle Group was disbanded and dispersed. Volnovakha’s serious setback had finally taken its toll. Some of its men moved to Kiev, taking part in the demonstrations and disorders maintained by the neo-Nazis and ultranationalists in the capital, especially from Pravy Sektor, S 14, or the National Socialist Party of Ukraine, Svoboda. Others continued to serve in the Donbass by enlisting in other retaliatory units. They claimed to have received no support from Ukraine, nor support for the formation of their battalion, supported only by private donations from local, Belarusian or other neo-Nazis. This was the main reason for the group’s dispersal. They also communicated that they were not helped with weapons, equipment, legal status or medical help in case of injuries. But Ukraine finally took an interest in them, following various actions and protests, in particular the interventions of Ukrainian MP Igor Gouz. They were then publicised and turned into living legends by the Ukrainian press. A monument was even erected in honour of their deaths in Kiev (2016). However, they tried to reconstitute the group, for example by appealing to the Belarusian army to desert and join Ukraine, or calling on former soldiers to join them (November 2015). They had no success, the unit was never reformed. Some of them then engaged in banditry, arms trafficking and, above all, attacking businesses in Ukraine that were considered “Russian” (2016-2018), before 9 of them were finally arrested and placed under arrest (November 2018). The launch of the Russian special operation (24 February 2022), reactivated some of them, and brought them up to date, suddenly becoming for Ukraine ‘legends’. They joined the Ukrainian fighters in the defense of Kiev, in a special Azov detachment, most of them having actually served in this regiment (2014-2015). Then most of them joined the Belarusian defector regiment, Kastous Kalinovski, which was soon formed in the capital (March). The old dream of 2015 could finally come true, the battalion was soon a regiment, there are now at least three Belarusian battalions on the Ukrainian front with about 1500 fighters.

The origins: Belarusian collaboration with Nazi Germany. It may seem surprising, but Belarus, like the vast majority of territories occupied by Hitler’s armies, provided its share of collaborators. The reason for this was essentially the crushing in 1918, both by the newly reformed Poland and by the Red Army, of a short-lived Belorussian People’s Republic, whose government still exists and is currently in exile in Canada. Already in the 1930s, in the manner of Stepan Bandera, the exiled Belarusian president Vasily Sakharka offered his support to Hitler by writing a long report. The consequence was the formation of a training camp for Belarusian partisans, saboteurs and auxiliaries, which was set up in Warsaw in occupied Poland (1941). Like the Ukrainians of Bandera and the OUN, they were attached to the Abwehr, within the famous Brandenburg regiment, but were very few in number, barely fifty compared to hundreds and then thousands of Ukrainians. After the outbreak of Operation Barbarossa and the occupation of Belarus, the Germans agreed to the formation of a Belarusian Rada, but it had no power and no autonomy. The Belarusian collaborators were heavily involved in the dissemination of nationalist and Nazi propaganda through national language newspapers, but unlike in the Ukraine, they had great difficulty in instilling virulent antisemitism in the civilian population. But like the Ukrainians, they helped to form Schutzmanschaft battalions, in other words, auxiliary police, which were attached to the SD (Security Service of the SS), under the command of Heydrich. These Belarusian battalions took part in the fight against the partisans, in the “dead zone” tactics, in the hunt for communists and Jews (1942-1943). The battalions formed were the 46th, 47th, 48th, 49th, 60th, 64th, 65th, 66th, 67th, 69th, i.e. only 10 battalions compared to 67 formed by Ukrainians and a total of about 7,500 men compared to 50,000 in the Ukrainian SD battalions. Later, when the situation was desperate for the Germans, they created with Belarusian collaborators a Territorial Defense unit, still under the aegis of the SS (February 1944), whose commander was the Belarusian Francisak Kusal (1895-1969), a veteran of the Belarusian nationalist movement (1918-1919), who later became Polish. He surrendered to the Americans, and through the American rat line emigrated to the USA (1950). He was the president of the Belarusian American community (1952-1954), and died in New York. His unit comprised a total of 25,000 men and was of course swept away by the Red Army. The last congress of the Belarusian Rada was held in Minsk (27 June 1944), again reaffirming its full support for the Third Reich. Some of the cadres who managed to flee to the West, especially to the United States and Canada, were later recycled in the CIA. The others stayed behind to form anti-Soviet maquis in the manner of the UPA in Ukraine, in a unit called the Black Cats, under the command of Mikhal Vitushka (1907-2006). The latter continued the guerrilla warfare with about 3,500 fighters and 10,000 to 15,000 supporters hidden among the population. They continued their guerrilla actions until 1955. Vitushka preferred to leave in 1950, ruthlessly pursued. He sneaked into Poland, then from there to Germany, where he died in 2006. The Soviets announced that he had been captured and shot, and he remained in hiding for the rest of his life. It was his son who announced that he had never been caught, and the date of his death. However, this information is questionable, as the location of his grave is not known and no evidence has been provided to verify the veracity of this information. Some historians, especially in Russia, believe that this survival may have been invented to increase the legend of this character, who is already very popular in Belarusian ultranationalist circles. The Belarusian government-in-exile, which had collaborated with Nazi Germany, was also recycled by the CIA and the Americans. It moved to Paris and then to Canada, where it still is. Most of the presidents of this republic were more or less active collaborators of Hitler. Yazep Sajytch (1917-2017), president from 1982 to 1997, was an officer of the Belarusian Territorial Defence Group of the SS. The new president, Ivonka Survilla, is the first leading figure of this Belarusian entity not to have been directly linked to collaboration with Hitler. This long history shows how, just as in Ukraine, some Belarusians were tempted by neo-Nazism. It is therefore natural that these small groups have joined the fight against the insurgent Donbass, a real chance for them to acquire military experience, to take their anger out on the Russian population, and finally to hope for a national revolution in Belarus, like that of Maïdan in Ukraine.

The sinister parade of neo-Nazi fanatics and a few assassins. As usual in the short biographies of the men who served in this unit, their stories speak for themselves. What more is there to say? The connections read like a book. Note that the Pravy Sektor units, or the Azov battalion, were systematically cruel and violent to the civilian population of the Donbass.

Edward Lobov (1988-), a native of Vilnius, Belarus, completed his secondary vocational education in industry and control and measuring devices. He did his military service in the Belarusian army in Vitebsk. He protested with leaflets calling for a fight against the chaos in the army. He was arrested and sentenced to 10 days in prison. After his service, he joined the Young Front political movement and became an increasingly active political activist and dissident. In particular, he participated in a campaign to try to force the renaming of the Lenin Square Metro Station, and soon became the leader of the movement. He supported the opposition during the presidential elections (2010), and was arrested on the eve of a demonstration to denounce electoral fraud during the elections (18 December). He was imprisoned and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment for public disorder and hooliganism (24 March 2011). Amnesty International declared him a political prisoner. His appeal in cassation was unsuccessful and the sentence remained unchanged (17 June). In prison he was even visited by the Apostolic Nuncio representing the Pope in Minsk (September 2012). The European Union through its parliament awarded him the Sakharov Prize (2013). He repeatedly asked for a pardon, which was refused, and after serving his sentence was released (18 December 2014). He was obliged not to participate in demonstrations, under house arrest, but he did not respect this and participated in several days of action, (25 March and 26 April 2015). He was fined several times and even put back in prison for ten days. After further misdemeanors, new legal proceedings were brought against him. He then fled to Ukraine, where he enlisted in one of the neo-Nazi battalions of the DUK, the paramilitary organisation of Pravy Sektor (summer 2015), sent to a unit on the Donbass front in Mariupol, he served in the Belarusian Tactical Group. He was soon awarded a medal by Ukraine, “for courage”. He was seen on the frontline still carrying weapons (February 2016). The Belarusian judiciary announced that he would be prosecuted for his participation in the Donbass war, his flat was searched (March). He continued to serve in the Ukrainian army (2017-2020).

Artem Kouzmitch, known as Grot (1996-), originally from Belarus, linked to ultranationalist and neo-Nazi movements, decided to join Ukraine (2014), joining the Belarus Tactical Group of the neo-Nazi party Pravy Sektor. He was soon a recruiter of Belarusian fighters, and later served in various reprisal battalions in the Donbass. He linked up with Roman Protassevich, a Belarusian dissident who was one of the organizers and coordinators of the demonstrations and riots to try to overthrow the Lukashenko regime (2020). He later served in the 8th Special Forces Regiment of the Ukrainian Army (2016-2019), having received Ukrainian citizenship. He stepped on a mine and lost his left foot (2019), sent to the military hospital in Irpen, he received a prosthesis. He then became an instructor, training Ukrainian soldiers and other mercenaries. A champion in Jiu-jitsu, he won various competitions in international tournaments, including the Ukrainian championship (2021), and was president of a sports association in this sport (2022).

Jan Melnikov (?-), originally from Belarus, from Minsk, linked to the Belarusian ultranationalist and neo-Nazi movements, became enthusiastic about the Maidan, decided to join Kiev, enlisting in a Maidan self-defence company (early 2014). His departure was motivated by the death of Mikhail Jinznevsky (1988-2014), who was killed in the riots, and claimed to be a journalist, in reality also a neo-Nazi activist. He joined the neo-Nazi party Pravy Sektor, and joined the Azov regiment, arriving there in the autumn (October 2014). He then moved to the Belarus Tactical Group (2015), and served for over two more years in the Donbass, even after the tactical group was disbanded (November 2015). He then fought in a battalion of the DUK, the army of Pravy Sektor (2016-2017). He continued to serve for a while in the rear, as an instructor and specialist, still linked to the Azov regiment, and remained in Ukraine (2017-?). He decided to fight again after the Russian special operation (24 February 2022), announcing in a video the formation of a special company of Belarusians, on a rear base of the Azov regiment in Kiev (1 March). A first company was quickly organized and took part in the fighting for the defense of the Ukrainian capital. Two more companies were being formed (9 March), when the Kastous Kalinovski Battalion and later Regiment was finally founded and he joined it. He gave an interview indicating that a very small part of the men came from the Belarusian veterans of the ATO zone, the vast majority of the new recruits being men without military experience. He also told tall tales about the killing of children and women by Russian troops… to support the fable of the Bucha massacre, which was totally staged by Ukraine (19 April 2022).

Denis Prokhorov (1995-), originally from Belarus, a notorious neo-Nazi, supported the Mayan Revolution from afar, but was unable to come to Ukraine, being turned back at the border several times (2014). He finally managed to cross into Ukraine (December), when the war had already started a long time ago in the Donbass. He joined the Azov battalion in Mariupol, where he became an instructor and trainer of recruits. He then moved to the Ukrainian volunteer corps DUK, of the neo-Nazi party Pravy Sektor (2015), and stayed for a while in position near Mariinka, not far from Donetsk. He participated with 9 other neo-Nazis from Azov, in a media action, where they handcuffed themselves in front of the Administration of the Presidency of Petro Poroshenko, in Kiev (20 September 2018). They were all protesting to receive Ukrainian citizenship, which they felt they had acquired by right through their service in the Azov Battalion. He was nationalized as a Ukrainian under President Zelensky (2019). He enlisted immediately after the Russian special operation (24 February 2022), in the Kastous Kalinovski battalion, soon wounded in a hand in a battle near Bucha (3 March). He then became an instructor for Belarusian mercenaries and volunteers from the regiment and other units (May). He is fully tattooed from his legs to his neck, with various symbols including the Black Sun of the SS, and swastikas clearly visible.

Dmitri Shablioukevitch, known as Bison (1990-), originally from Belarus, from Minsk, participated in demonstrations and riots against President Lukashenko (2012), was arrested and imprisoned for a short time. He went to Ukraine to participate in the American Maydan Revolution, in Kiev (February 2014), and enlisted in a Mayan self-defence company. He was linked to the neo-Nazi Pravy Sektor party, and later moved to the Belarus Tactical Group, a unit of the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps DUK, of that party (2014). He served during Operation ATO as a radio operator in a reconnaissance company of the 14th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian forces. He had long been linked to Roman Protassevich, one of the leaders of the protests and riots to overthrow President Lukashenko (2020). He left the armed service and went into exile in Poland for a while, but soon returned to Ukraine to enlist in the Azov regiment. He is a neo-Nazi fanatic, also a member of the Misanthropic Division, an international neo-Nazi political group, which also has a French branch (and was founded in Ukraine). He re-enlisted in the Ukrainian forces after the beginning of the Russian special operation (24 February 2022). He had married a Ukrainian woman and was probably naturalized.

Alexeï Skoblya (1991-2022), from Minsk in Belarus, son of a bus driver and a mother who was a nursery assistant. He studied mechanics, then entered the University of Grodno, where he finally abandoned his studies to go and fight in Ukraine against the Donbass insurgents. He was indeed an extremist ultranationalist militant. He moved to Ukraine and joined the Belarusian Tactical Group (2015), integrating the DUK and the Ukrainian neo-Nazi party Pravy Sektor. He was one of the founders of the Pravy Sektor Belarusian aid organisation after the disbandment of the Zagin Pogonia battalion (2016), but continued to serve in the Ukrainian army in the Donbass. He had trained as a military nurse during his service. He became a naturalized Ukrainian citizen, married a Ukrainian woman and at an unknown date (between 2017 and 2020) entered civilian life. When the Russian special operation was launched (24 February 2022), he joined the Kastous Kalinovsky battalion and participated in the defense of Kiev. As a platoon commander, he was killed in the fighting around Kiev on 13 March 2022. His detachment was ambushed by the Russians. He was buried in Kiev with military honors (15 March). He was awarded the title Hero of Ukraine by President Zelensky (April).

Ales Cherkashin (?-2015), a native of Belarus, from Brest, an ultranationalist activist and dissident, he was a member of the Krai and Bison organisations, later joining the Young Front, his first activities against the Belarusian regime date from 2001. He studied in Ukraine at the Biblical Institute in Kherson. Close to the Ukrainian neo-Nazi party Pravy Sektor, he came to Ukraine to enlist in the retaliation battalions sent to the Donbass. He arrived in the very early winter of 2014-2015, joining other comrades in the Azov regiment. He moved to the Belarus Tactical Group, and had become a volunteer chaplain (May 2015). The tactical group was ambushed and suffered heavy casualties, he was seriously wounded (10 August), fell into a coma and died of his wounds a fortnight later. His body was taken to Belarus and he was buried in his hometown. The church of the Kiev Patriarchate awarded him a posthumous medal (September). A monument was erected in Brest, Belarus with private funds (August 2016). He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine in Cherkasy (November 2016), while an exhibition of paintings in the Cherkassy Art Museum (by Ukrainian and Belarusian artists) was held in his memory and that of Vitaly Tilizhenko (Ukrainian from Zaporozhie). A propaganda documentary film was made about his story, by director Anton Telezhnikov (end of 2016).

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/07/ ... rnational/

A View from Donbass: Ukraine Treated the People of this Region as Sub-humans, Making Peace Impossible
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on JULY 17, 2022
Vladislav Ugolny

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How Kiev has tried to dehumanize people in its former East – first domestically, then everywhere…

The military conflict in Ukraine, which began on February 24, was preceded by a long war in Donbass. Over the course of eight years, it claimed the lives of at least 14,200 people (according to the OHCHR), over 37,000 were wounded, hundreds of thousands became refugees or had their homes destroyed. A de-escalation was achieved in February 2015, as both sides realized that a bad peace was better than a good war, and attempted to find a political resolution on the basis of the Minsk agreements. That, however, failed to bring peace to Donbass, which instead faced eight long years of economic and legal blockade, compounded by chaotic shelling of areas near the frontlines.

They were eight hard years, which involved rebuilding bombed schools, hospitals, and houses, a rather humiliating dependence of formerly well-to-do people on humanitarian aid, an economic slump due to the economic blockade imposed by the Ukrainian government, restricted access to pensions, and the risk of being wounded or killed for those who lived in urbanized frontline areas. People who voted for the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics in the referendum in May 2014 could never have imagined living in this endless terror.

They were forced to wait for that terror to stop until February 2022, when Russia recognized the independence of Donbass and then deployed its military to, among other things, protect it and liberate territory occupied by Ukrainian forces since 2014. It hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park, but the people of Donbass now know that war will soon be over for them. The people’s militias of both republics are doing everything in their power to achieve victory as soon as possible.

It may seem to an outside observer that some citizens of Ukraine backed by the Russian military are fighting other citizens of Ukraine backed by NATO. This description, however, would satisfy neither side of the conflict. Donbass residents no longer consider themselves citizens of Ukraine, while the Ukrainian government and society at large deny their sovereignty and dismiss them as collaborators and mercenaries for Russia. Both are wrong.

In reality, it was precisely this denial of sovereignty that led Donbass to renounce everything having to do with Ukraine, and it started way before 2014. Let me add here that what was said above applies to the whole southeastern region of Ukraine, also known as Novorossiya; however, the case of Donbass was the most dramatic and revealing manifestation.

It all began with dehumanization. After gaining independence in 1991, Ukraine was too big to be uniform. The enthusiasm of Galicia in the west to build a nation-state was mixed with depression in the southeast over the loss of a shared economic space with Russia. Machine building in Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, and Zaporozhye declined, Odessa’s Black Sea shipping operations were shut down. The country survived thanks to metallurgy and coal mining. Both industries were centered around Donbass.

While almost a million people poured into the streets throughout Galicia for the funeral of Ukrainian politician and Soviet-era dissident Vyacheslav Chornovol, Donbass workers were toiling in the mines. While Ukrainians traveled to Europe as labor immigrants, miners in Donbass were dying on the job because of poor safety standards (profits ranked higher than lives during those lean years).

‘Let those miners die. They don’t see the Ukrainian sky anyway’ – that was the reasoning of some Ukrainians back then. The citizens of Donbass weren’t doing much reasoning – they were too busy mining coal and melting steel. The most aggressively ambitious of them were not happy with that setup though, so they chose the path of crime and raider attacks. The 1990s were times of rampant crime in Ukraine, and the so-called ‘Donetsk gangs’ were among the most adept at it. Donbass was now perceived as a breeding ground for criminals, which further tarnished its image. At the same time, Ukrainians turned a blind eye to similar financial groups with criminal ties in the nearby city of Dnepropetrovsk.

Partially preserved industry (objectively speaking, metallurgy is easier to maintain than, say, rocket construction) and the concentration of capital in the hands of a narrow group of oligarchs made Donbass the vehicle for the Party of Regions, which was known as ‘pro-Russian’. In fact, there was little ‘pro-Russian’ about it – other than the fact that its leaders used the desire of people in the southeast to continue using Russian and keep their economic ties with Russia as a way to energize their base. This was the last step towards the dehumanization of Donbass, which was now perceived as non-Ukrainian. Instead of encouraging interethnic dialogue, it only led to Ukrainian nationalists’ promises to make Donbass more Ukrainized. It was just like what they had said about Crimea before – that it would either be Ukrainian or depopulated.

A caricature of the typical denizen of Donbass emerged – a foulmouthed alcoholic, a lowbrow menial worker who dreams of turning Ukraine over to the Kremlin. People in Donbass took offence, talked about their complex industry which required sophisticated skills, and called Ukrainians freeloaders. The divide within the country kept growing.

This was followed by the first wave of Maidan protests, which dismissed the southeast under the political leadership of Donbass as an entity which does not deserve a political voice. The presidential elections split the country into two halves, with one side accusing the other of falsifying the results. People in central and western Ukraine considered the residents of the southeast to be lowlifes with a slavish mentality who are incapable of fighting for freedom. They staged protests at the Maidan, demanding another runoff vote. Politicians leaning towards the southeast made some clumsy attempts at stirring up similar protests and convened a congress in Severodonetsk, which was later labeled by Ukrainians as ‘separatist’. Later on, however, they backed down for fear of upsetting the country’s newfound fragile stability. Donbass and the rest of the southeast retreated, waiting for a chance to take revenge.

That revenge came in 2010, when their candidate won the election. A derogatory chant was coined: “Thanks, Donbass, for the president who is an ass.” Tensions in the country grew, not assuaged even by the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, hosted jointly by Ukraine and Poland. Southeasterners got to enjoy their favorite sport, while Westerners tried their hand at organizing a European-level event. Everyone seemed happy, and yet western Ukrainian intellectuals, anticipating a forthcoming association with the EU, were smirking about how they had duped ‘the miners’ by enticing them with their beloved sport.

Nobody asked ordinary Ukrainians whether they thought an alliance with Europe or with Russia would be better for their future. Those who wanted closer ties with Russia thought the choice was obvious, since their presidential candidate had won. Their opponents reasoned that Ukraine, since it became independent in 1991, only had the option of going down the European path. Any proposals to hold a referendum were dismissed. But when the signing of the EU Association Agreement was put on hold, people in central and western Ukraine revolted.

Once again, they resorted to street politics, which Donbass despised. People in Donbass were used to working hard, earning enough to be more than comfortable, and delegating politics to politicians, expecting to receive competent leadership and the protection of Russian speakers’ rights in return. They wanted stability for a country recovering from the 2008 financial crisis and were pleading with their opponents not to incite a civil war.

Maidan activists took that as a sign of weakness and decided they could defeat these people that they considered ‘rednecks’, now referring to them as ‘titushky’, ‘Donbass criminals’ that they accused of beating up Maidan protesters. Southeastern politicians had enough power to disperse the protesters, but chose to wait instead and kept pulling back the relatively small units of Berkut special forces. This is how they were defeated and left the southeast on their own to face the new government, and even worse, the mobs and their lust for revenge over ‘the blood of the Maidan martyrs’. The first decision of the new regime was to repeal the regional status of Russian.

It was a move people in Donbass, Crimea, Kharkov, Odessa, and Zaporozhye could not forgive. People who used to prefer hard work to political activism were up in arms. Crimea, which enjoyed the status of autonomous republic and was the base of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, was lucky to have Russia’s support. Odessa wasn’t so lucky. On May 2, Ukrainian Nazis and ‘ultras’ from across the country descended upon the city, dispersed pro-Russian fighters, and proceeded to Kulikovo Pole, where they burned down a tent city and the Trade Union House, killing pensioners, women, and other ordinary people who had barricaded themselves inside the building. The people of Donbass decided to wait it out, hoping that “after all, they couldn’t possibly…” – they couldn’t possibly use the army against their own citizens, they couldn’t possibly use armored weaponry against their own citizens, they couldn’t possibly use the air force against their own citizens, they couldn’t possibly use tactical missile systems against their own citizens…

No Ukrainian politicians were saints, and neither were the people of Donbass – not that anyone had asked them to be, though. The fact of the matter is that every escalation of violence was aimed at them. It was the Ukrainians who kept upping the ante, and nobody cared. The miners have always died, you know. Why should anyone feel sorry for them? They’re ‘dumb slaves’, they wear no balaclavas. Back then, in 2014, balaclavas were seen as a symbol of superior people, while the ‘stupid miners’ from Donbass (led by Valery Bolotov) and their volunteer supporters from Russia (led by Igor Strelkov) deliberately spurned them. The lives of the residents of impoverished mining towns cost less than the lives of those living in prosperous towns near the Carpathian Mountains. The air in Donbass stinks of soot and is full of coal dust and industrial emissions, so people die of cancer there, whereas the mountain air in Galicia is fresh and fragrant, and the wind of freedom blows in from Poland.

Children were killed in Donbass. Nobody gave a damn, except Russia and the repressed Russians in the rest of Ukraine. It was rather amusing for the other side – people scraping their dead children off the asphalt and saying: ‘We’re being bombed, we’re scared, our children are dying!’ Ukrainians thought it was funny, a just punishment for those dehumanized earth-diggers. They called their children ‘Colorado beetle larvae’, because the stripes of the Colorado potato beetle resemble the St. George’s ribbon, which became the symbol of the uprising in Novorossiya.

All of this convinced Donbass it had the moral high ground, which allowed it to stand tall and weather eight years of incredible hardship. The Ukrainians were granted the chance to reach a political settlement with the Minsk agreements, if they agreed to treat Donbass as a sovereign region within Ukraine. Had they done this, Donbass would have lost interest in politics, returned to its industrial roots, and left policymaking in the hands of western Ukraine again in a few years’ time. But they wouldn’t do this, even for the sake of stopping the war. Recognizing the sovereignty of Donbass was a red line for Ukraine, and so was dialogue with Donbass.

The Ukrainian leadership stuck to those red lines even after Russia said it was going to put an end to the ongoing slaughter at its doorstep. So, what we now have is a new season of war, which has been going on for Donbass since 2014. The two people’s republics’ armies are storming Ukrainian fortifications as the Ukrainian military continues to bomb residential areas in Donetsk. People in Donbass stopped wondering “what they are capable of.” Now they know that the Ukrainian army and government are capable of anything – bombing cities, torturing people, and trying to pass off Donetsk people that they killed for Kiev residents, supposedly killed by Russian missile strikes. The only thing they can’t do is admit that the citizens of Donbass are people just like them, people who have their own interests and are prepared to fight for them until they win or die in battle.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/07/ ... mpossible/

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From Cassad's Telegram account:

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Сolonelcassad
❗️🇬🇧🇺🇦Attack on Donbass: situation in eastern Ukraine
on July 16-17, 2022

▪️In the past days, the Armed Forces of Ukraine carried out several artillery raids on the territory of Russia : the border villages of Zernovo and Tyotkino in the Bryansk and Kursk regions were fired upon. There were no significant injuries or casualties. Air defense systems worked in the Belgorod region during the day.

▪️Russian artillery formations delivered a series of strikes on the territories of the Sumy region bordering Russia : objects in Zarutsky , Starikovo , Budivelny and Esman were hit .

▪️On the territory of the Kharkiv region , there is a relative calm.
➖In the north of the region, the Armed Forces of Ukraine transferred the AN / TPQ-50 counter-battery radar to the Cherkassky Tishkov region.
➖The RF Armed Forces delivered massive strikes against enemy targets in Kharkov , including the Khartron plant , where foreign instructors were stationed.

▪️In the east of Ukraine, the main events are still concentrated in the Bakhmut (Artemovsk) direction:
➖Russian formations continued to suppress with fire the defensive positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk-Konstantinovka line .
➖In the southeast of Seversk , fighting continues for Ivano-Daryevka . In order to maintain the combat readiness of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area, the command rotated the 1st infantry battalion of terrorist defense.
➖Due to a possible breakthrough of the defense line, the command post of the Seversk group of troops was moved to Zvanovka .
➖In the Soledarsky section , units of the 1st and 2nd battalions of the 14th Ombre hold the defense against the advancing allied forces in the vicinity of Belogorovka and Berestovoye . Artillery crews of the Armed Forces of Ukraine fired on the outskirts of Nikolaevka, Berestovoye , as well as Stakhanov from the HIMARS MLRS.
➖In Bakhmut (Artemovsk), the engineering units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are preparing defensive positions for the offensive of the RF Armed Forces. Appropriate preparations are also underway in the vicinity of the Uglegorsk TPP and Novolugansk .
➖In the Donetsk direction, the allied forces took up positions along the Avdeevka-Konstantinovka highway and gained fire control over the Kamenka-Avdeevka road . This made it possible to block several units of the 110th Ombre in Kamenka .
➖At night, fierce battles were going on in Maryinka between units of the People's Militia of the DPR and the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

▪️In the Zaporozhye region and in the Kryvyi Rih direction, the parties continue to conduct artillery duels without taking any offensive actions.

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***

Сolonelcassad
Zelensky removed Venediktova from the post of Prosecutor General due to "a large number of traitors" among the prosecutors, some of whom remained in the liberated territories or are accused of collaborating with Russia.😀
142.6Kviews
Boris Rozhin
,
15:47

Сolonelcassad
The head of the SBU, Bakanov, was also removed from his post. According to the same motivation - there are too many traitors in the SBU.😀
Bakanov was a creature of Zelensky himself and one of the few remaining characters who, along with Zelensky, was brought to power in 2019.

***

Сolonelcassad
Special operation, 17 July. The main thing from RIA Novosti :

▪️the launcher used by the Ukrainian military and the HIMARS MLRS transport-loading vehicle in the Krasnoarmeysk region, as well as about 65 nationalists, were destroyed;

▪️VKS with high-precision weapons destroyed four Ukrainian command posts, six ammunition depots, manpower in 19 districts, including foreign mercenaries;

▪️in the course of a counter-battery fight, Russian troops destroyed a Ukrainian MLRS platoon, nine platoons of Giacint-B howitzers and D-30 guns in the DPR;

▪️Russian air defense intercepted Tochka-U missiles in the Kherson and Kharkov regions and 8 Uragan and HIMARS MLRS shells in the LPR, Kharkov and Zaporozhye regions;

▪️in Chuguev, Kharkiv region, 200 military personnel of Ukraine were destroyed by air strikes of the Russian Federation;

▪️Russian combat pilots shot down a Ukrainian Mi-17 helicopter near Slavyansk in the DPR;

▪️Russian aviation destroyed in Odessa a warehouse of Harpoon anti-ship missiles transferred from NATO;

▪️Slutsky said that the Crimean bridge was reliably protected, and in the event of a strike by Kyiv, a tough response would follow;

▪️the head of the Zaporozhye region, Rogov, said that Western curators had given Zelensky an ultimatum not to hand over the city of Slavyansk to the DPR, otherwise military funding would be stopped;

▪️Medvedev said that the West's endless attempts to continue the military campaign "to the last Ukrainian" would lead to the collapse of the existing Kyiv regime.

***

Сolonelcassad
🇺🇦One of the most popular narratives in the Western media space is the image of an aggressor Russia striking at socially important infrastructure.

From the point of view of military science, the use of schools and educational institutions for military purposes in a conflict is a completely justified and logical step .

The occupation of closed industrial zones, schools, kindergartens and similar institutions is an opportunity to house units in a fairly spacious area.

And it would be stupid if in Ukraine, where classes in educational institutions were stopped from the start of the NWO, schools would not be used for military purposes.

But for a population that does not want to go into the nuances of the population, the loud cry “Russia hit the school” is sufficient justification for the next round of hatred. And no one will care that even if classes were not stopped, then it is mid-July on the street and the schools are empty .

As soon as the Russian Ministry of Defense published on-duty information about the placement of military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the next school, they rushed to refute this fact in the Odessa canals, recording a video about a peaceful, clean and calm object.

The move is justified: if there is a blow and there are corpses, you can always use a pre-recorded exemplary video and say that the RF Armed Forces bombed another school.

And 95% of content consumers in Ukraine and the West will believe this.

***

Сolonelcassad
❗️🇬🇧🇺🇦The situation in the Soledar direction
as of 17.00 July 17, 2022

Allied forces are fighting on the western outskirts of Soledar , clashes continue for access to Seversk .
The Ukrainian command is strengthening the defense lines in Artemovsk (Bakhmut) .

🔻On the Seversky section:

▪️In the area of ​​Ivano-Daryevka , fighting continues for control over the settlement. The Ukrainian command, in order to maintain the combat readiness of the units, rotated the 1st infantry battalion of the defense.

▪️In the vicinity of Seversk, units of the 10th Guards Brigade set up minefields on the outskirts of the settlement.

▪️To slow down the advance of the RF Armed Forces, artillery crews of the Armed Forces of Ukraine conduct barrage fire on the areas of Zolotorevka , Verkhnekamenka , Verkhnekamensky .

▪️Due to a possible breakthrough of the defense line, the command post of the Seversk group of troops was moved to Zvanovka .

🔻On the Soledar site:

▪️During the day, active battles went on in the area of ​​Belogorovka and Berestovoye , where units of the 1st and 2nd battalions of the 14th Ombre were trying to hold the line.

▪️The command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine sent a consolidated rifle battalion to reinforce the positions of the 14th OMB on the line of contact. Pokrovskoye and Soledar have been supplied with ammunition from Pokrovsk .

▪️To deter the offensive of the allied forces, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are conducting a counter-battery fight, using American-made radars from the Bakhmutsky and Yakovlevka regions .

▪️Artillery crews of the Armed Forces of Ukraine fired on the outskirts of Nikolaevka , Berestovoye , and Stakhanov from the HIMARS MLRS.

🔻On the Bakhmut site:

▪️Ukrainian units are expecting an active offensive by the RF Armed Forces on Vershina , Semigorye , Novolugansk and Uglegorsk thermal power plants .

▪️In Artemovskva (Bakhmut) intensive equipment of strongholds and observation posts is underway. In addition, bridges and industrial facilities are mined in order to undermine them in the event of the loss of the city.

▪️The Russian army hit the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Konstantinovka , Bakhmut , Soledar , Zhelezny , Serebryanka , Vershiny and Novolugansk .

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https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

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

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

Post by blindpig » Mon Jul 18, 2022 1:50 pm

Offensives and future plans
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 07/18/2022 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT

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Since the beginning of the war, Ukraine has always sought to highlight its value as a faithful Western partner by highlighting its successful use of weapons sent by its partners. In each phase of the war, kyiv has always found a Western weapon capable of changing the course of the war. Initially it was Javelin anti-tank missiles, although this was a time when, in trench warfare with no territorial advance, those weapons seemed utterly useless. The delivery of those systems was seen as a major victory for Kiev over the aggressor .Moscow, which at that time was still insisting on the idea that “there is no alternative to Minsk”. Later, already guaranteed the supply of “defensive weapons” and a constant flow of financing to reinforce its Armed Forces, kyiv began to insist on Bayraktar drones. In the same context of static war and whose trenches had not changed, these were the weapons that were going to change the conflict in favor of Ukraine.

In the first eight years of this war, none of these NATO weapons changed the nature of the war, but they did make it clear that the military option was always on the table, especially given the constant statements by Ukrainian officials, who openly they confirmed the need to rewrite the only existing peace agreements. These declarations, added to the verification of the evident rearmament of the Ukrainian Army and the complete unwillingness of kyiv to comply with the political commitments that its signature in the Minsk agreements implied, represented in February a part of Moscow's justification for its intervention. military.

the special operationIn other words, Russia's entry into the war meant not only the geographical expansion to the whole of Ukraine of a military conflict previously limited to Donbass, but also a substantial change in the very nature of the confrontation. Although trench warfare was and is still going on in certain areas of the front - the area around Donetsk, with heavily fortified positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces that the DPR has not yet been able to overcome - the use aircraft, missiles and long-range heavy artillery has also led to changes in Ukrainian wishes. Although kyiv has not given up praising the Javelin and Bayraktar -murals of "holy Javelin" have already appeared in the country and children's stuffed animals in the shape of Turkish drones are sold-,

In recent weeks, the stars of the moment have been the American HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, which have recently arrived in Ukraine and which the country has begun to advertise with remarkable aggressiveness and with a dual objective: to boast of the efficiency of weapons and to test those who use them. have provided that they will be used in the agreed manner, that is, to attack targets in Ukraine and not in Russia. The ultimate goal, however, is to get the United States to supply the longest-range missiles for those systems.

Since their arrival in Ukraine, the first HIMARS have immediately gained a strong presence in both the Western and Russian press. Since their first use in Perevalsk, the rear of the RPL, these American missiles have been credited with a string of successes. Interestingly, every HIMARS hit has turned out to be a Russian weapons depot, also the trolleybus depot in the city of Alchevsk, attacked on Saturday night. The spectacular nature of the missile explosions, which on the Russian and Republican sides are covered by the press, and the way in which every piece of information from Ukraine is uncritically accepted, has led to a false impression of Russian material losses not not only exaggerated, but unilateral.

Such is the case that star columnists from media as important as The Washington Post have already used it as an argument to demand multiplying the supply of HIMARS by five in order to guarantee the Ukrainian victory on the front and not just avoid defeat. This was shown in his last column by Max Boot, a regular anti-Russian speaker who earlier this year advocated using the insurgency strategy financed by the United States and its allies against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan against Russia in Ukraine. The result of this policy was not only the Soviet withdrawal, but the appearance of all kinds of insurgent groups and different fanaticisms - from Hekmatyar to Al Qaeda to finally give rise to the Taliban - but also the complete destruction of an entire country.

Emboldened by the successes - real or imagined - of the latest weapons received, apparently capable by themselves of changing the dynamics of the front, Ukraine went on the offensive last week, at least in the media. For the umpteenth time he announced his long-awaited counteroffensive. The Minister of Defense, the lawyer Oleksiy Reznikov, an old acquaintance of the war in Donbass in his role in the Ukrainian delegation to the Minsk Contact Group, even announced the objective: Volodymyr Zelensky has ordered the liberation of the coastal territories (i.e. , Kherson, southern Zaporozhye and perhaps Mariupol). For this, the Ukraine prepares an army of a million men. As usual, the press picked up the Ukrainian minister's statements, not only validating them without the need for any doubt, rather, the success of that counteroffensive began to be taken for granted. It facilitates the work that the press only publishes the complete images of the destroyed Russian weapons depots - real or imaginary - and not those of the Ukrainians and that the figures of Russian casualties published by Ukraine are taken for granted.

The lack of realism in accepting an offensive with uncertain military results – it is to be hoped that the Russian troops will defend themselves and reinforce themselves in Kherson, as British intelligence has already confirmed, given the constant Ukrainian declarations about an imminent offensive – or figures of troops that do not correspond to the facts (the idea of ​​a million troops has already been used in the past) has not been reason enough to prevent the optimism of propagandists such as Oleksiy Arestovich. A former member of the Ukrainian delegation in the Contact Group, Arestovich has become the most mediatic of the spokesmen -formal and informal- of the Office of the President. With his usual subtlety, Arestovich published last week an image of his future appearance on Feigin Live, the program in which he regularly presents his speech. Arestovich already imagines himself chatting about the war with Feigin in front of the Kremlin walls.

Perhaps after a wake-up call for having publicized offensive plans that make these operations difficult, Minister Reznikov tried days later to qualify his words, supposedly misunderstood because of his poor English. In reality, his words were clear and the only ambiguity found by the press was the question whether Ukraine is preparing a million men or whether it already has them. So clear is the speech that other Ukrainian officials have continued with the verbal escalation initiated by Minister Reznikov. Just a few days after his words, Vadim Skibitsky, a senior Ukrainian military intelligence officer, again announced that Ukraine will attack the bridge linking Crimea to mainland Russia as soon as technically possible. The same was repeated -once again- by Oleksiy Arestovich,

The Kerch Bridge, heavily protected by Russian air defenses and recently reinforced, is also an objective that Ukraine's allies have wanted to promote, such as Philip Breedlove, the fanatical former commander of NATO troops in Europe, who for several years has been trying to promote the escalation of the conflict with Russia to the military level. An attack on Crimea, which Ukraine would be in a technical position to carry out if it obtains the longer-range US missiles to which it aspires, would mean crossing Russia's main red line, which would seriously compromise its territorial integrity. Whether or not it is recognized by the international community, Crimea has been part of the Russian Federation since the spring of 2014 and a Ukrainian move towards any attempted attack on the peninsula would pose a danger to Moscow that is not comparable to the sporadic Ukrainian artillery attacks against Russian border towns in the Belgorod or Rostov regions.

However, an attack on Crimea would require the approval of the United States, which has so far been unwilling to facilitate an escalation of the war that would risk spreading beyond Ukraine's borders. And kyiv, for its part, possibly to divert attention from recent statements announcing the location and virtually the timing of its breakthrough, begins to claim that it is Russia that is preparing for offensive action. The number and intensity of Russian attacks, especially in the Nikolaev area, has increased, although everything seems to indicate that it is more an attempt to dissuade Ukrainian offensive actions than to advance on the city, a few kilometers from the Russian troops from the first weeks of the Russian intervention.

This weekend, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić analyzed the situation logically, explaining that, in his opinion, the Russian president will make "a proposal" to the West and Ukraine when Russian troops manage to take over areas of the Donetsk region still under Ukrainian control. Vučić, convinced of knowing "what awaits us" made a forecast about that proposal that he expects from the Russian president. "If they don't accept it, and they [the West] don't intend to, all hell will break loose." That is the uncertainty that is preparing for the fall, the scenario of an attempted agreement that, without any of the parties militarily defeated, would have strong similarities with the Minsk agreements or the escalation of the war beyond what was seen in the five last months. Both options are equally possible.

https://slavyangrad.es/2022/07/18/25069/#more-25069

Google Translator

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London Falling: Britain’s Military Decline Exposes NATO’s Collapse in Credibility and Capability
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on JULY 17, 2022
Scott Ritter

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NATO’s plan to vastly increase its forward force is wishful thinking, and the UK’s struggle for military relevance is a perfect case in point

The secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Jens Stoltenberg, recently announced the US-led military bloc’s goal of expanding its so-called ‘Response Force’ from its current strength of 40,000 to a force of more than 300,000 troops. “We will enhance our battlegroups in the eastern part of the Alliance up to brigade-levels,” Stoltenberg declared. “We will transform the NATO Response Force and increase the number of our high readiness forces to well over 300,000.”

The announcement, made at the end of NATO’s annual summit, held in Madrid, Spain, apparently took several defense officials from the NATO membership by surprise, with one such official calling Stoltenberg’s figures “number magic.” Stoltenberg appeared to be working from a concept that had been developed within NATO headquarters based upon assumptions made by his staffers, as opposed to anything resembling coordinated policy among the defense organizations of the 30 nations that make up the bloc.

Confusion is the name of the game at NATO these days, with the alliance still reeling from last year’s Afghan debacle and unable to adequately disguise the impotence shown in the face of Russia’s ongoing military operation in Ukraine. The bloc is but a shadow of its former self, a pathetic collection of under-funded military organizations more suited for the parade ground than the battlefield. No military organization more represents this colossal collapse in credibility and capability than the British Army.

Even before the current Ukraine crisis kicked off, the British military served more as an object of derision than a template of professionalism. Take, by way of example, the visit of UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace to Zagreb, Croatia in early February 2022. Croatian President Zoran Milanovic accused the British of trying to incite Ukraine into a war with Russia, as opposed to trying to address Russia’s concerns over the existing European security framework. Wallace flew to Zagreb for consultations, only to be rebuked by Milanovic, who refused to meet with him, noting that he only met with the defense ministers of superpowers, adding that “the UK has left the EU, and this gives it less importance.”

But London keeps putting a brave face on a sorry reality. Take, for example, the offer of written security assurances to Sweden and Finland made by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. These pledges were designed to bolster the resolve of the two Nordic nations as they considered their applications to join NATO.

But there was no substance to the British offer, if for no other reason than the British had nothing in the way of viable military capability to offer either the Swedes or the Finns. Even as Johnson proffered the proverbial hand of assistance to his newfound Nordic allies, the UK Ministry of Defense was wrestling with planned force reductions that would see the British Army cut from its current “established strength” of 82,000 to 72,500 by 2025 (the actual strength of the British Army is around 76,500, reflecting ongoing difficulties in recruitment and retention.)

Even these numbers are misleading – the British Army is only capable of generating one fully combat-ready maneuver brigade (3,500 to 4,000 men with all the necessary equipment and support). Given the reality that the UK is already on the hook for a reinforced battalion-sized “battlegroup” that is to be deployed to Estonia as part of NATO’s so-called enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) posture (joining three other similarly-sized “battlegroups” fielded by the US in Poland, Germany in Lithuania, and Canada in Latvia), it is questionable whether the British could even accomplish this limited task.

Last month’s deployment to Estonia of a battlegroup comprised of the 2 Rifles infantry regiment underscores the pathos that defines real British military capability. The 2 Rifles Battlegroup includes the three infantry companies and one fire support company integral to the unit, along with supporting artillery, engineering, logistic, and medical elements. France and Denmark provide a company-sized unit to the British-led battlegroup on an alternating basis. Altogether, the British battlegroup comprises some 1,600 soldiers, and is fully integrated within the Estonian 2nd Infantry Brigade.

Given what we now know about the reality of modern warfare, courtesy of the ongoing Russian operation in Ukraine, the British battlegroup would have a life expectancy on an actual European battlefield of less than a week. So, too, would its allies in the Estonian 2nd Infantry Brigade. First and foremost, the units lack any sustainability, both in terms of personnel and equipment losses that could be anticipated if subjected to combat, or the basic logistical support necessary to shoot, move, or communicate on the modern battlefield. Artillery is the king of battle, and the British and Estonians are lacking when it comes to generating anywhere near enough tubes to counter the overwhelming fire support expected to be generated by any hostile Russian force.

Stoltenberg’s hypothetical 300,000-strong Response Force envisions the existing battlegroups to be expanded to brigade-sized formations, ironically tasking the British to generate more combat power at a time when it is actively seeking to reduce its overall manpower levels. While the British may be able to scrape enough substance from the bottom of the barrel, so to speak, to accomplish this projected reinforcement, there would literally be nothing left to back up Boris Johnson’s bold offer of substantive military assistance to Sweden and Finland, leaving the British prime minister looking more like the captain of the Titanic after it hit the iceberg, issuing directives and acting as if his words had any impact, all while his ship is sinking.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/07/ ... apability/

Ukraine Loses Another HIMARS as Russian Advance Continues
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on JULY 17, 2022



Update on Russian military operations in Ukraine for July 17, 2022

– Russian forces continue operations against Bakhmut-Siversk defense line;

– Russian forces have reportedly destroyed another HIMARS;

– The Pentagon has been deliberately vague regarding HIMARS performance in briefings;

– Striking behind Russian lines may be possible for Ukraine, but not in the quantities Russia is capable of regarding strikes behind Ukrainian lines;

– Claims that Russia is deliberately striking civilian targets is transparent war propaganda;

References:

US Department of Defense – Senior Military Official Holds a Background Briefing JULY 15, 2022: https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcri

NYT – Strikes on Civilians Deep in Ukraine Show Russia’s Lethal Reach: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/14/wo

Washington Post – Russia has killed civilians in Ukraine. Kyiv’s defense tactics add to the danger.: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/

Defense Politics Asia (Ukraine map): https://defensepoliticsasia.com/ukraine/ Live UA Map (pro-Ukrainian): https://liveuamap.com/

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/07/ ... continues/

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No one can capture the Luhansk region
July 18, 10:42 am

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News from a parallel universe.
By the way, the former Gauleiter of the territories of the LPR occupied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who was actually deprived of work by the successful advance of our troops, is now accused in Ukraine of the fact that, instead of being in the subordinate occupied territories, he spent most of the time fighting for the LPR somewhere in the rear (as the former mayor of Mariupol, who fled from Mariupol to Zaporozhye in February and from there said that Mariupol would not fall and there was no need to evacuate from there) and completely failed to organize the defense of the LPR regions occupied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Thus, on the one hand, our army de facto deprived him of his job, and Zelensky’s gang makes him a scapegoat for defeat in the battles for Severodonetsk and Lysichansk, during which the Gauleiter talked about the fact that the Armed Forces of Ukraine would not surrender anything, and in the end he changed his shoes and began to broadcast about the withdrawal and heavy losses.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7744169.html

Google Translator

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EU Stalls on Ukraine Aid as Fears Spike of Gas Crisis at Home

*Bulk of emergency loans remains stuck over details of packages
*Commission warns of risk of economic fatigue among Europeans

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The site of a rocket strike in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, on July 14.Photographer: Alexey Furman/Getty Images

ByJorge Valero and Alberto Nardelli
July 15, 2022 at 12:00 AM EDT

The European Union is falling behind on its high-profile promises to deliver a substantial aid package to Ukraine at the same time the bloc is confronting the prospect of severe economic pain at home.

It was nearly two months ago when European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed sending 9 billion euros ($9 billion) in emergency loans to Ukraine. So far, the bloc has only managed to agree on an initial tranche that covers a ninth of that target.

(more, blocked by paywall)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... #xj4y7vzkg

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North Korea: Ukraine Cannot Talk About Sovereignty
JULY 16, 2022

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North Korean President Kim Jong-un during a government ceremony in Pyongyang, North Korea, January 1, 2022. Photo: HispanTV.

The North Korean Foreign Ministry has scoffed at Ukraine for commenting on sovereignty, given Ukraine’s subservient relation with the US.

On Wednesday, July 13, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, both in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Consequently, the Ukrainian government severed relations with the DPRK as a response, stating that such a recognitoin undermined Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Ukraine breaks ties with North Korea over its recognition of Donbas Republics

After Ukraine announced the termination of all relations with North Korea, the Foreign Ministry of the Asian country stated that Kiev lacks legitimacy to speak of the sovereignty of other states, as it had joined the “unjust and illegal” sanctions of the United States in flagrant violation of North Korea’s sovereignty.

“Ukraine has no the right to raise the issue of sovereignty or dispute our legitimate exercise of sovereignty after committing an act that is severely unfair and unjust—actively joining the unjust and illegal hostile US policy [against DPRK] in the past,” the ministry emphasized.

The statement added that Pyongyang will continue to strengthen cooperation with all states that respect its sovereignty and that do not try to interfere in its internal affairs.

“We will continue to strengthen and develop relations of friendship and cooperation with all countries that respect our sovereignty and treat us favourably based on the principles of sovereign equality, non-interference in internal affairs and mutual respect,” the ministry announced.

In addition to North Korea and Russia, the independence of Donetsk and Lugansk has been recognized by Venezuela, Syria, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia.

(HispanTV) with Orinoco Tribune content

https://orinocotribune.com/north-korea- ... vereignty/

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Russian-Hating Dream of Brzezinski Clan Nears Fulfillment as Poland Agrees to Host Permanent U.S. Base and Turn Baltic Sea into NATO Lake
By Jeremy Kuzmarov - July 16, 2022

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Zbigniew Brzezinski [Source: france24.com]

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Ambassador Mark Brzezinski [Source: commons.wikimedia.org]
Mark Brzezinski, the U.S. Ambassador to Poland, is the son of the late Zbigniew Brzezinski, a descendent of Polish aristocrats and mastermind of U.S. foreign policy for decades, whose dream was to use Poland as a base to try to weaken and destroy Russia.
Mark is now at the center of the implementation of his dad’s plans.
In late June, President Joe Biden announced before a NATO summit that the United States would establish a permanent military base in Poland, the first time the U.S. would have one on NATO’s eastern flank.

The base will provide a permanent headquarters in Poland for the U.S. Army’s V Corps.

At the moment there are already approximately 10,000 U.S. soldiers in Poland, which has provided a hub for U.S. and other Western countries’ arms shipments to Ukraine.

Polish and U.S. troops participate in a joint military training in Nowa Deba

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Members of the Polish 18th Mechanized Division and the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division participate in a joint military training in Nowa Deba, Poland, on April 8, 2022. [Source: reuters.com]

In April, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III agreed to accelerate delivery of U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, HIMARS rocket launchers, F-35 combat aircraft and Abrams tanks to Poland and to help its military become “one of the most capable in Europe.”

Poland’s Defense Minister, Mariusz Błaszczak, said that the U.S. had agreed to sell Poland additional supplies of attack helicopters, drones and multi-role aircraft, which was made possible by passage of a new Homeland Defense Act in Poland boosting Poland’s defense spending to 3% of GDP, one of the highest levels in NATO.

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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, stands with Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak, left, as the National Anthem is played during an arrival ceremony at the Pentagon on April 20, 2022. [Source: voanews.com]

Poland Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki gushed about the results of the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June, along with the recent invitation by NATO to Finland and Sweden to join NATO, which he said was a “historic decision as the Baltic Sea will, in fact, become a NATO internal sea.”

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Mateusz Morawiecki [Source: reuters.com]

Intermarium

.The Biden administration has accelerated its predecessor’s efforts to move the core of NATO from Paris and Bonn—what Donald Rumsfeld famously termed “old Europe”—to the East, as part of an aggressive drive to control former parts of the Soviet Union and Central Asia.

This policy has been part of the resurrection of the Intermarium—a geopolitical concept originating in the post-World War I era that envisages an alliance of countries reaching from the Baltic Sea over the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea that would serve as an alternative power bloc between Germany and Russia.

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The Intermarium security belt is now being massively upgraded by the U.S. to separate Germany and Russia. [Source: riotimesonline.com]

In March 2018, Poland signed a $4.75 billion deal to purchase U.S. Patriot missile defense systems from Raytheon, the largest arms procurement deal in Polish history.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov told Sputnik News that the Patriot deployments were “part of a U.S. plot to surround Russia with missile defense systems under the pretext of mythical threats to security.”

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Vladimir Titov [Source: russische-botschaft.ru]

Now this plot has become ever more menacing to Russia, with the U.S. surrounding Russia not only with missile defense systems but also action-ready combat troops.

Reactionary Government
The Polish government under President Andrzej Duda is a reactionary regime which has banned the Communist Party of Poland, prohibited the promotion of communist ideas and introduced LGBT “free zones.”

Duda is a leader of the right-wing Law and Justice Party, which legalized government control over the media and has promoted the repression of critical intellectuals.

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Zbigniew Brzezinski, sighting down the barrel of an AK-47 assault rifle looking toward Afghanistan, in the Khyber Pass in the early 1980s. [Source: workers.org]

A life-long Democrat who was close to Joe Biden when he was vice president, Zbigniew came from a Polish aristocratic family who hated the Russians.

His father, Tadeusz, fought for Poland in the Battle of Lvov in the Soviet-Polish War of 1920—the only defeat in the history of the Red Army, which Tadeusz said helped save Western civilization[1]—and was a Polish diplomat posted to the Soviet Union in the 1930s during Stalin’s Great Purge.

After fleeing to Canada following the Communist takeover in Poland after World War II, Tadeusz moved to Montreal and became president of the far-right Canadian Polish Congress (1952-62).

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Tadeusz Brzezinski [Source: commons.wikimedia.org]

A chip off the old block, Brzezinski grew up hearing stories from his father about mass disappearances in Soviet Russia, which he said “had an enormous impression on me at a young age.”[2] A star student, Zbig received a B.A. and M.A. from McGill University in 1949 and 1950 and a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1953 with a dissertation on the relationship between the October Revolution, Vladimir Lenin’s state and the actions of Joseph Stalin.

Around this time, he came into contact with Jan Nowak-Jezioranski, head of the Polish desk of the CIA’s propaganda organ, Radio Free Europe.

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Jan Nowak-Jezioranski [Source: pressroom.rferl.com]

Brzezinski subsequently collaborated with his Harvard colleague Carl J. Friedrich to develop the concept of totalitarianism in their 1956 book Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy as a way to more powerfully characterize and criticize the Soviets.

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Brzezinski in 1960. [Source: news.columbia.edu]

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Carl J. Friedrich [Source: prabook.com]

The concept was rebuked by historians because it rejected the possibilty of change within the Soviet system, which occurred under glasnost and perestroika, and created a false binary between the “democratic” West and Communist bloc states.

After teaching at Harvard and Columbia, Brzezinski was appointed Jimmy Carter’s National Security Adviser. In that position, he advocated for “an arc of Islam” across the Middle East to counter Soviet influence. Brzezinski also lobbied successfully for ending Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger’s détente policy and for using China as a tool against the Soviet Union.

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Brzezinski with Jimmy Carter on his right and Cyrus Vance on his left at Camp David in 1977. [Source: portside.org]

An early supporter of the Vietnam War who characterized the New Left as “an infantile disorder,” Brzezinski was a founder of the Trilateral Commission, which sought to revitalize U.S. power after Vietnam while strengthening the U.S. alliance with Western Europe and Japan.[3]

In his 1997 magnum opus, The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives (1997), Brzezinski drew on the theories of British imperial strategist Halford Mackinder to advocate for U.S. dominance of Central Asia, which he regarded as the key to world domination.

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[Source: wikipedia.org]

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Halford Mackinder [Source: thediplomat.com]

Brzezinski was despised in Russia, where he was viewed as anti-Soviet and a Russophobe. Before his death in 2017, he warned that Putin was intent on re-establishing the former czarist empire.

He supported sanctions against Russia, NATO expansion and the 2014 coup in Ukraine and U.S. arming of Ukraine with anti-tank weapons so it could carry out urban warfare against the Russians.

Brzezinski said that the U.S. should help those wanting to break up the Russian Federation, irrespective of who they are.

US-EUROPE-CONFERENCE-BRZEIZINSKI

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Brzezinski airs anti-Russian views before NATO-backed Atlantic Council think tank. [Source: politico.eu]

Another Chip Off the Old Block

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[Source: wikipedia.org]

Zbig’s son Mark—a corporate lawyer with a Ph.D. in political science from Oxford who served from 1999 to 2001 as director of Russian/Eurasian and Southeast European affairs at the National Security Council—has a similar worldview to both his father and grandfather.

A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, an elite think tank advocating for imperialist foreign policies, and the Trilateral Commission like his dad, the younger Brzezinski helped lead U.S. policy implementation in relation to NATO enlargement in the late 1990s.

He also helped oversee a color revolution in Serbia that resulted in the ouster of Socialist Slobodan Milošević, who had tried to keep the Yugoslav Federation together and resisted U.S. regional designs.


Mark Brzezinski in 2012 in Stockholm when he was the Obama administration’s ambassador to Sweden. [Source: euractiv.com]
In a recent interview, Mark Brzezinski called Lech Wałęsa, the “Solidarity” leader who received CIA funding to overthrow Poland’s communist government in the 1980s, a “freedom fighter.”

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Lech Wałęsa during the strike at the Lenin Shipyard, 1980. [Source: polishhistory.pl]

With regard to the Ukraine War, Mark Brzezinski claimed that, “for Poland, this is 1939. This is the invasion of a Slavic country, with the people trying to fight back, and the Poles want to help. This is what the Ukraine crisis is for Poland. And it’s an amazing story because, unlike 1939, you now have people getting into their cars, driving to the border, picking up Ukrainian families, and taking them to put them into people’s homes and apartments.”

In short, the Russians are playing the role of the Nazis and Poles the saviors of the victims of their invasion.

Long Held Dream Being Fulfilled

Being on the front lines of the Ukraine War, Poland has supplied Ukraine with howitzers as part of a $650 million military weapons contract—the biggest in the last three decades—while taking in millions of Ukrainian refugees and serving as a main conduit of Western weapons and aid under Mark Brzezinski’s careful watch.

At the end of June, the Russians claimed to have killed “up to 80 Polish fighters” in eastern Ukraine while at least two battalions of Polish army military personnel equipped with anti-tank guns and American armored cars were transferred to the Dnieper region in Ukraine.

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[Source: shopstees.com]

Somewhere both Tadeusz and Zbigniew Brzezinski are smiling from their graves.

Their long-held dream of using Poland as a lever to strike a blow against the Russians is finally being fulfilled—at the potential cost of igniting a world war.


1.At the request of President Woodrow Wilson, the United States granted Poland a war loan of $176 million, enabling the purchase of, among other things, approximately 200 tanks, 300 planes, war materials and food for the Polish Army. An American fighter pilot squadron defended access to Lviv during the Battle of Zadwórze on August 17, 1920, and other Americans fought against the Red Army in Semyon Budyonny’s 1st Cavalry Army. ↑

2.Anna Kasten Nelson, ed., The Policy Makers: Shaping American Foreign Policy from 1947 to the Present (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2009), 111. ↑

3.Brzezinski was also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (“Wall Street’s think tank”) and the Bilderberg Group. ↑

https://covertactionmagazine.com/2022/0 ... nato-lake/

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Normandy Format Summit Held in Paris 2019. (Photo: picture alliance/ZUMA Press)

Ukraine peace talks in the cards?
By M. K. Bhadrakumar (Posted Jul 18, 2022)

Originally published: Indian Punchline on July 16 2022 (more by Indian Punchline) |

Finance ministers are the pangolins in the world of international diplomacy, solitary animals and predatory, unlike foreign ministers who are like glowworms, mesmerising and gorgeous animals that create light through their tail.While the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attending G20 foreign ministers meeting in Bali a week ago staged a dramatic walkout when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rose to speak, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen simply sat through the speech by Russian minister Anton Siluanov at the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs that began in Bali on Friday.

Indeed, Yellen said her piece–calling Russia’s war in Ukraine the “greatest challenge” to the global economy and all that–while Russian Deputy Finance Minister Timur Maksimov who was present, calmly listened. But a joint communique is unlikely, as the U.S. is pressing G20 allies for a price cap on Russian oil, where consensus is lacking. All the same, the moderation in Yellen’s behaviour catches attention, as she realises, perhaps, that she no longer sets the global agenda.

Even a close friend of the U.S. such as former Israeli foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami is advising that “Russia has generally managed to stem the tide” on Ukraine’s battlefield and a “similar shift in Russia’s favour may well be playing out geopolitically,” which would mean that “the consequences of remaining on the current path could prove far worse.”

Such voices of reason must be getting noticed in Washington. During the past week alone, Washington has shown willingness to “tweak” the western sanctions against Russia on three occasions in a direction that addressed Moscow’s concerns.

The latest one is with regard to the food crisis where Russia and Ukraine have reached an agreement, whereby Kiev will remove the mines in the waters around its southern ports so that a “grain corridor” opens toward the Bosphorus. Meanwhile, Washington has notified international banks, shipping and insurance companies that the western sanctions are not applicable to Russia’s exports of food grains and fertiliser to the world market.

Again, a potentially explosive situation arose when on June 18, Lithuania blocked the transit of Russian goods to and from the exclave of Kaliningrad. After Moscow’s furious protests and warnings of retaliation, the European Commission published a revised decision on July 13 in “a display of realism and common sense,” as the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson put it.

According to the EU guidelines, the rail transit of oil and petroleum products, coal, steel and iron, wood, cement, and other non-military goods to Kaliningrad will not be prohibited under the sanctions. It is inconceivable that EU acted without consulting Washington, who likely intervened to defuse the potentially dangerous confrontation.

Similarly, on July 11, the U.S. state department spokesman acknowledged that Washington favoured a sanctions waiver by Canada that would enable Siemens to transfer an urgently needed turbine for the operation of Gazprom’s Nord Stream gas pipeline to Europe, so that Germany’s energy situation will not worsen.

In each of the above three situations, Washington’s stance is to not allow the present confrontation between Russia and Europe aggravate further. Washington must be acutely conscious that the war fatigue in Europe is a compelling reality. The farmers’ protests in the Netherlands have quickly spread across Europe.

The UK prime minister Boris Johnson may have stepped down from a political implosion of his own making, but it was also a process rather than an event, and the state of the British economy teetering on the brink of recession was a major factor. Italy’s government is now on the verge of collapse and, again, the measures to offset the cost of living crisis became a focal point for tensions brewing within Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s broad coalition.

When it comes to Germany, Europe’s powerhouse, all bets are off. The feasibility of reviving nuclear power generation; inflation and the most effective ways to fight it; rising prices; energy security crisis; looming industrial shutdowns and large-scale reduction in employment–these have exacerbated inter-party disagreements within the coalition government headed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and steadily eroded public support.

The internal disagreements on key issues are affecting the government’s decision-making and shredding the coalition cabinet’s reputation apart. The British Telegraph reported yesterday,

Once admired and envied, Germany is now the textbook example of how much damage a misguided foreign and energy policy may do.

The newspaper underlined that Scholz is trying to please both the NATO countries and Russia, while ‘no one respects him’ and there are few options for further developments. Its forecast:

Either Berlin will suffer a massive setback, accompanied by the collapse of the ruling ‘traffic light’ coalition, or it will capitulate to Putin.

Indeed, Moscow is tightening the screws. Gazprom warned on Wednesday it could not guarantee the functioning of “critical” equipment for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline despite Canada’s decision to return an essential turbine after it was repaired.

Yet, there was a time not too long ago when Putin forecast that Germany would be the world’s next superpower. Germany is indeed paying a very high price for toeing the U.S.’ belligerent line towards Russia. The Greens in Scholz’s coalition, in particular, pushed the envelope. Today, Washington has no solutions to offer as German economy is on the verge of collapse due to the blowback from sanctions against Russia.

The galling truth is that, as China Daily noted,

On the European debt crisis of 2011, Germany, with a sufficient supply of Russian energy thanks to the stable relations with Moscow maintained by then chancellor Angela Merkel, acted as the saviour of the European Union… Will Germany be able to save the EU this time?

To be sure, the Biden Administration understands that the Western alliance is facing the moment of truth. The “tweaking” of the sanctions thrice this past week conveys something.

The influential Russian daily Izvestia wrote on Wednesday that the settlement over the “grain corridor” across the Black Sea can create the ambience for resumption of peace talks between Kiev and Moscow. The daily quoted Ivan Abramov, deputy chairman of the Federation Council (upper house of parliament) committee on economic policy, as saying,

Of course, now any agreements can bring positions closer. There have been shifts in Kaliningrad. Perhaps the success of the negotiations on grain will be an incentive for the resumption of peace talks with Ukraine. However, Kyiv should be ready for this.

Abramov hinted that President Putin and Turkish counterpart Erdogan may discuss new peace talks at their upcoming meeting in Tehran on Tuesday. The Deputy Chairman of the State Duma (lower house of parliament) Committee on Economic Policy Artem Kiryanov also told Izvestia that in order to stop the special military operation in Ukraine, the conditions declared by Moscow must be met, but Kiev instead appears to be inclined to rely on the supply of Western weapons rather than sit down at the negotiating table.

Against this backdrop, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has paid an “inspection visit” today to the command post of the Southern and Central groups of the Russian armed forces, which are spearheading the special military operations in Ukraine, to be briefed by the army commanders about “the current situation, the action of the enemy and the progress of combat tasks fulfilment”.

The MOD press release stated that Shoigu “gave necessary decrees for intensifying the action of the groups of troops on all fronts in order to prevent massive missile and artillery attacks launched by the Kiev regime at civilian infrastructure facilities, population of Donbass and other regions.” Shoigu’s focus was on the consolidation of the military gains rather than new offensives.

https://mronline.org/2022/07/18/ukraine ... the-cards/
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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

Post by blindpig » Mon Jul 18, 2022 10:43 pm

Ukraine War Day #145: Zelensky Surrounded By Traitors And Spies
Posted on July 18, 2022 by yalensis

Dear Readers:

The big news coming out of the Ukraine this past weekend: Zelensky has fired his Prosecutor-General Irina Venediktova, and also the head of the SBU (Security Agency, successor to Soviet KGB), a man named Ivan Bakanov. Both of whom used to be tight members of Zelensky’s inner circle, especially the latter. Bakanov’s dismissal is especially poignant since he and Zel go way back: They were childhood pals, lived in the same apartment block, went to the same school, attended the same university, were probably even roommates. In 2013 the two pals worked together on Zelensky’s comedy troupe Kvartal-95. Always side by side, Bakanov joined Zelensky’s political party Servant of the People, and headed his election HQ. In 2019 Zel placed his old friend in the crucial position as SBU head and promoted him to the title of Lieutenant, even though he had no military experience.

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Ivan Bakanov

Bakanov’s wife, Oksana Lazarenko, is a citizen of the Russian Federation, which has raised a few eyebrows. The couple have two sons. Just like Zelensky’s family, they have become very rich over the years and stashed a lot of lucrative assets in Cyprus offshores. [Evil tongues claim that the main starting capital for Zel and his clique stems from the patronage of the oligarch Kolomoisky. Zelensky’s show business career made him a millionaire, but Kolomoisky made him a billionare. Then, of course, after taking the reins of power, Zelensky could start dipping his snout into the public trough, as every Ukrainian leader ever has done.]

Although it does not appear that Venediktova/Bakanov have been arrested, they are maybe just a hair away from that. Zelensky is accusing their respective agencies of being “riddled with spies and traitors”. (Which is probably true.) In which case, their crimes would be more like negligence, or turning a blind eye to all the shenanigans; as opposed to being traitors themselves.

Zelensky: “I took the decision to dismiss the General Prosecutor and the Head of the SBU. There are currently registered 651 criminal cases involving treason and collaborationist activity of functionaries within the organs of the Prosecutor and criminal justice system.” Moreover, “More than 60 functionaries of the SBU organs have remained on occupied territory and work against our government. Such a massive number of crimes against the very foundations of our state security; not to mention the known communications between the structures of the Ukrainian security forces and the special services of Russia, raise very serious questions to the respective managers [i.e., Venediktova and Bakanov].”

I love the way Zel just casually tossed that out, about Ukie security forces routinely chatting with Russian military intelligence. Russophile blogosphere having a field day, natch! Maria Zakharova trolled Zelensky on Twitter, calling these dismissals “effective de-Nazification” on Zelensky’s part. Other bloggers have compared Zelensky to Stalin, in his paranoia starting to turn against his inner circle. However, to me it doesn’t even seem like paranoia, I think these Ukrainian agencies probably are riddled with Russian spies. Ukrainian government officials are so corrupt, they would do literally anything for money. The friendship between Zelensky and Bakanov may be a sweet one, but it’s also one based on money and shared criminality, all the loot they stashed away on Cyprus together. At what point does a group of friends turn into a criminal gang? And once that happens, how easy does it become to betray one another? Especially after friends get married to other people and raise families, and then the families become more important than the friendship. The Yoko Ono factor.

Slavyansk: Наш последний и решительный бой!

Of course, the other factor, the elephant in the room, is the series of military defeats; and somebody needs to be blamed for that. Ukrainian ex-politician and dissident Oleg Tsarev opines that Zelensky needs a fall-guy to explain the loss of Kherson Oblast; and Bakanov is just the guy.

Also given that another major defeat looms in the not-too-distant future: Slavyansk-Kramatorsk. Even talking puppets on Westie MSM are now starting to say, “when Slavyansk falls…” and not “if Slavyansk falls…”

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Rogov: His spies told him some juicy gossip.

I have this piece of juicy gossip from reporter Olga Ivanova. Who is reporting some plausible hear-say from a man we have met in previous posts, namely Vladimir Rogov, who heads the pro-Russian slice of Zaporozhie Oblast. Rogov: “I have acquired some information, according to which: At a session of the [Ukrainian] Soviet on National Security and Defense, they were discussing, in Zelensky’s presence, a certain critical situation. According to which, they received an ultimatum from their British and American curators. According to which, if they were to lose Slavyansk, then the money would be cut off, for the military financing of the regime.” Rogov obviously referring to Ukraine’s incessant demands for $9 billion dollars a month from the West (and the number keeps going up). Gimme, gimme, gimme $$$$! (Okay, son, but if you lose Slavyansk, I cut off your allowance, capish?)

Rogov made this declaration during a radio interview for Komsomolskaya Pravda. I don’t know whether he was well out of line, because he might just have compromised a Russian asset, assuming there was a spy in that meeting of Zelensky’s cabinet.

Like I said, it’s just unconfirmed hearsay. But fits in neatly with Zelensky’s hypothesis that his security agencies are riddled with spies. [It’s also possible the Russians could have just bugged the room they were meeting in, as opposed to having a human spy there.]

American Officers Got Calibrated?

And last but not least, adding one more Lego block to this theory (of rampant spies), we have the July 14 Russian rocket attack on the Aviation Officers Club in the Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia. This city is well in the Western part of the Ukraine, but Russians have proved before that their Kalibr cruise missiles, especially when launched from Black Sea submarines, can reach any square meter of land in any part of the Ukraine.

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They can do it, but usually don’t. This attack was special, and also very sad, because apparently many civilians, including children, were also killed or hurt, as collateral damage. But the legitimate military target was a building set right in the middle of town, which served as a clubhouse for officers of Ukrainian aviation. Like many such clubs, it also served as a social center for the community, where one might attend a banquet or concert, etc. But on this particular day, or so it is alleged, the Russians got word [from still more spies?] that some very special guests would be present. It is even rumored that some of the guests [and obviously among the calibrated] were American Generals. Possibly even there to pedal more HIMARS to their Ukrainian proteges. And that the rocket attack was Russia’s way of saying “Fuck you America!” and getting even for those HIMARS attacks on Donbass and Kherson civilians.

The main point being, though, that Zelensky is probably within his rights to feel paranoid and always looking over his shoulder. How else could the Russians have known about the important meeting in the Officers Club? And what else do they know? And where else could they strike at any time?

https://awfulavalanche.wordpress.com/20 ... and-spies/

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Russia’s Campaign in Ukraine: Nearing an Inflection Point?
Posted on July 18, 2022 by Yves Smith

Notice how the amount of Western reporting on Ukraine has fallen off dramatically? That’s because the war is going well for Russia and its allies.

Russia is continuing its steady and systematic grind through Donbass. However, Russia has also picked up the pace of its shelling, has moved some of its best equipment into Ukraine, presumably pre-positioning, and just had the head of its Ministry of Defense, Sergey Shoigu, visit key commanders in Donbass. Not only did Shoigu state that Russia would put an end to the Ukraine shelling of civilian targets in Donetsk, but also “gave the necessary instructions for further buildup of the troops actions in all operational directions.” In concert, Russia has moved its most advanced armor to the front lines en masse (see here at 42:45)

Part of this effort to stop the Ukraine shelling of civilians is recent and large uptick in Russian ballistic missile attacks. Jacob Dreizen (please filter out the Trumpian views for the comments on weaponry) describes starting at 14:10 of his latest video how the Ukrainians are so low on artillery that they are forced to use it strategically and are sending off 1-2 big salvos a day, targeting Russian ammo dumps behind the lines, with some effect. However, other Russia-friendly sources have claimed that Ukraine has been using Western munitions, including the HIMARS, to shell civilians in Donbass. Per Dreizen, Ukraine uses their Tochka-U’s to tie up Russian missile defenses and then send some HIMARS and a few get through.


Russia, which had stopped the active use of the Tochka-U’s to deploy the more advanced Iskanders, has pulled its Tochka-U’s out of mothballs to respond, at least tripling its ballistic missile capability. Dreizen says that Russia used to fire 3-4 Iskanders daily and in the last 2-4 days is now sending off 10 Tochka-U’s a day plus the Iskanders. Per Dreizen:

‘Alright, America, you’re sending these HIMARS. We’re still gonna beat you. We have ten times as much stuff as you can possibly send to the Ukraine.’…..What’s gonna happen to the HIMARS is they’re gonna get destroyed just like the howitzers were destroyed.

Military Summary also confirms a shift in Russian priorities (see at 6:30), with reduced shelling in Donbass and a big increase in Mykolaiv and near Kharkiv.

In parallel, Russia also blew up a meeting between some senior Ukraine military officers and foreign weapons dealers, with total dead estimated in the hundreds. While many observers would contend that the arms merchants are not combatants and deliberately killing them amounts to a war crime, the Russian position is presumably otherwise, since they are taking credit for this kill. From RIA Novosti, via machine translation:

The strike of Kalibr high-precision sea-based missiles on the House of Officers in Vinnitsa destroyed the participants of the meeting of the command of the Ukrainian Air Force with representatives of foreign arms suppliers, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

“On July 14, high-precision sea-based Caliber missiles struck the building of the garrison House of Officers in the city of Vinnytsia. At the time of the strike, a meeting of the command of the Ukrainian Air Force with representatives of foreign arms suppliers was held at this military facility on the transfer of the next batch of aircraft, weapons, weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as organizing the repair of the Ukrainian aviation fleet,” the report says.

This action may also be a sighting shot against CIA and NATO operations in Ukraine. It also may be to give the West a taste of what might happen if they are so reckless as to let Ukraine get some of those 300km range HIMARS missiles that Ukraine has been begging for. There have been quite a few reports on the Ukraine innertubes demonstrating the government’s lust to take out the Kerch Bridge that connects Crimea to Russia. They’ve made clear they want the longer-range missiles to do so (the US so far has given Ukraine only the 70km missiles precisely because they don’t trust Ukraine not to hit targets in Russia). I am highly confident that Russia has a very clear idea of the sort of missile hell it would unleash were that to occur.

In the last few days, the Russian Security Council also met and issued an unusually uncommunicative summary.

To step back and put this in context, keep in mind that commentators keep focusing on Russian progress in terms of capturing territory, when that is not Russia’s primary goal. It is to destroy Ukraine’s ability to wage war. Thus while some Western accounts have fixated on the idea that Russia has or hasn’t taken Bakhmut, Russia is more interested in getting fire or actual control of key roads and railroads to deny resupply and better yet, encircle troops so they can capture them or at worse, lead them to flee, abandoning materiel.

Accounts in the last few days indicate that Russia is destroying Ukraine units and soldiers at an accelerating pace, with some credible experts putting daily deaths at the end of last week at well over 1000. Even if that pace of destruction is not maintained, it points to a fighting force that is crumbling.

Russia forces took control of all of Lugansk on July 3, taking Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk faster than even Russia-favoring commentators had forecast. Russia has now been moving forces so as to achieve the final goal in taking Donetsk, that of capturing Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. Once that is done, Russia will have freed the Donbass.

On the Ukraine side, the body language is the polar opposite. Zelensky has launched a purge, accusing officials right and left of collaboration with Russia. This could be somewhat or very much true, since a coup attempt is long overdue and the rebels would likely be more willing to consider a deal with Russia. However, Zelensky could also be searching for scapegoats, since it’s been clear for some time that the long-promised August and/or Kherson counter-offensives are na ga happen. Aside from the fact that Ukraine has yet to stage an offensive where it recaptured and held territory and it’s now reduced to having to conscript old men and women to refill its depleted army, Russia has such command over Ukraine that it’s impossible to train a sizable force and not have it subjected to Russian missile attack.

Speculation among Western sources that read Russian or have good Russian contacts (see the Larry Johnson-Andrei Martyanov-Alexander Mercouris roundtable, hosted by Gonzalo Lira, as an example) is that Russia will pause after it has secured Donbass and will deliver its conditions for a peace to Ukraine. These are certain to be unacceptable since the bare minimum ask will be conceding the loss of Donbass and Crimea (and let us not forget neutrality and denazification too). The West of course will flatly reject it. That’s fine by Russia since it would not trust any deal with Ukraine or the West as far as it could throw it.

The point of this offer at the point of securing the first objective of the Special Military Operation is to play to China, India, the global South, and secondarily to the more cautious and war-averse members of the Russian citizenry, that Russia going beyond the narrowest implementation of the SMO was not due to Russia wanting to take more territory, but being forced to do so to achieve its additional goals of demilitarization and denazificaition. If Ukraine and its allies won’t do so voluntarily, Russia will by force.

The Military Summary channel has observed that once Russia secures Donbass, there are no major lines of defense to the west until the Dnieper. That may also explain the claim he made in his latest report (at 12:50), that Zelensky told the troops in Donass that the US told him if they lose the so-called Zaluzny defense line (Kramatorsk and Sloviansk are on this line) that it would be considered to be the total collapse of Ukraine forces and no more Western support would be forthcoming. I doubt that politically that the US can totally abandon Ukraine but they can certainly send only eyewash, and more importantly, stop funding the Ukraine government, which has become a money pit.

The remaining major troop concentration is around Kiev. The question is what Russia does next.

My belief is still that Russia will give priority to taking Odessa unless there are logistical considerations that argue against that. The Ukraine military is so close to collapse that Russian forces going to Odessa sooner rather than later is a real possibility. It’s the psychologically most important target for the Russian people, and economically more valuable than Kiev. The West would recognize that Russia getting control of what was Ukraine’s entire Black Sea coast as an enormous loss.

I suspect what Russia decides to do with or about Ukraine to the west of the Dnieper is event dependent. However, the West has decided to tie itself even more tightly to the Ukraine albatross. I had said to Lambert that it was not impossible for Russia to have decisively won (as in taken Odessa) by sometime in October, but even with the Western forces clearly unable to rout Russia, that Europe and the US would keep its citizens cold and hungry this winter just to spite Russia.

It’s already official. From TASS:

The EU will not withdraw the sanctions, imposed on Russia over the situation in Ukraine, if Moscow and Kiev sign peace treaty on Russia’s terms, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in his article for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagzeitung, published Sunday.

“The part of the new reality is that the EU has also consolidated. It has reacted to the Russian aggression quite unanimously and imposed unprecedentedly harsh sanctions,” Scholz said. “We knew it from the start that we will potentially have to keep these sanctions for a long time.”

“And it is also clear that not a single one of these sanctions will be withdrawn in case of peace, dictated by Russia,” he continued. “There is no other path for an agreement with Ukraine for Russia than the one that could be accepted by the Ukrainians.”

It does not seem to occur to Sholtz that even Ukrainians who are not that keen about Russia would choose having Russian or Russian-lite rule over the West’s plan of fighting to the last Ukrainian. It also seems likely that Russia will hold referendums, again to legitimate its actions in the court of non-collective-West opinion. But of course those will be deemed to be bogus even if the most reputable independent observers say otherwise.

So this is not going to end well for the West. But you knew that already if you were paying attention.

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/07 ... point.html

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Staged Incidents as the Western Approach to Doing Politics
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on JULY 18, 2022

Sergey Lavrov
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The staged incidents, no matter how long they go on, will not work. It is time for fair play based on the international law rather than cheating. The sooner everyone realises that there are no alternatives to objective historical processes where a multipolar world is formed based on respect for the principle of sovereign equality of states, fundamental for the UN Charter and the entire world order, the better.

Today, the Russian Armed Forces, together with the self-defence units of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, are delivering on the objectives of the special military operation with great resolve to put an end to the outrageous discrimination and genocide of the Russian people and eliminate direct threats to the security of the Russian Federation that the United States and its satellites have been creating on Ukrainian territory for years. While losing on the battlefield, the Ukrainian regime and its Western patrons have descended to staging bloody incidents to demonise our country in the eyes of the international community. We have already seen Bucha, Mariupol, Kramatorsk, and Kremenchug. The Russian Defence Ministry has been regularly issuing warnings, with facts in hand, about upcoming staged incidents and fakes.

There is a distinctive pattern that betrays the provocations staged by the West and its henchmen. In fact, they started long before the Ukrainian events.

Take 1999 – the village of Račak in Serbia’s Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. A group of OSCE inspectors arrived at the site where several dozen corpses dressed in civilian clothes were discovered. Without any investigation, the mission head declared the incident an act of genocide, even though making a conclusion of this kind was not part of the mandate issued to this international official. NATO immediately launched a military aggression against Yugoslavia, during which it intentionally destroyed a television centre, bridges, passenger trains and other civilian targets. Later, it was proved with conclusive evidence that the dead bodies were not civilians, but militants of the Kosovo Liberation Army, an illegal armed group, dressed in civilian clothes. But by that time the staged incident has already taken its toll, offering a pretext for the first illegal use of force against an OSCE member state since the signing of the Helsinki Final Act in 1975. It is telling that the statement that triggered the bombings came from William Walker, a US citizen who headed the OSCE’s Kosovo Verification Mission. Separating Kosovo from Serbia by force and setting up Camp Bondsteel, the largest US military base in the Balkans, were the main outcomes of the aggression.

In 2003, there was the infamous performance by US Secretary of State Colin Powell in the UN Security Council with a vial containing white powder of some sort, which he said contained anthrax spores, alleging that it was produced in Iraq. Once again, the fake worked: the Anglo-Saxons and those who followed their lead went on to bomb Iraq, which has been struggling to fully recover its statehood ever since. Moreover, it did not take long before the fake was exposed with everyone admitting that Iraq did not have any biological weapons or any other kinds of WMDs. Later, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was one of the masterminds of the aggression, recognised that the whole affair was a fraud, saying that they “may have been wrong” or something like that. As for Colin Powell, he later tried to justify himself by claiming that he was misled by the underlying intelligence. Either way, this was yet another provocation that offered a pretext for delivering on the plan to destroy a sovereign nation.

There was also Libya in 2011. The drama had specifics of its own. The situation did not go as far as direct lies, like in Kosovo or Iraq, but NATO grossly distorted the UN Security Council resolution, which provided for a no-fly zone over Libya in order to “ground” Muammar Gaddafi’s air force. It did not fly to begin with. However, NATO started bombing the Libyan army units who were fighting terrorists. Muammar Gaddafi died a savage death, and nothing remains of the Libyan statehood. Efforts to put the country back together have yet to succeed, with a US representative once again in charge of the process, appointed by the UN Secretary General without any consultation with the UN Security Council. As part of this process, our Western colleagues have facilitated several intra-Libyan agreements on holding elections but none of them materialised. Illegal armed groups still reign supreme on Libyan territory, with most of them working closely with the West.

February 2014, Ukraine – the West, represented by the German, French, and Polish foreign ministers, de facto forced President Viktor Yanukovich into signing an agreement with the opposition to end the confrontation and promote a peaceful resolution of the intra-Ukrainian crisis by establishing a transitional national unity government and calling a snap election, to be held within a few months. This too turned out to be a fraud: the next morning, the opposition staged a coup guided as it was by anti-Russia, racist slogans. However, the Western guarantors did not even try to bring the opposition back to its senses. Furthermore, they switched immediately to encouraging the coup perpetrators in their policies against Russia and everything Russian, unleashing the war against their own people and bombing entire cities in the Donbass region just because people there refused to recognise the unconstitutional coup. For that, they labelled the people in Donbass terrorists, and once again the West was there to encourage them.

At this point, it is worth noting that, as it was soon revealed, the killing of protestors on the Maidan was also a staged incident, which the West blamed either on the Ukrainian security forces loyal to Viktor Yanukovich, or on the Russian special services. However, the radical members of the opposition were the ones who were behind this provocation, while working closely with the Western intelligence services. Once again, exposing these facts did not take long, but by that time they already did their job.

Efforts by Russia, Germany, and France paved the way to stopping the war between Kiev, Donetsk and Lugansk in February 2015 with the signing of the Minsk Agreements. Berlin and Paris played a proactive role here as well, proudly calling themselves as the guarantor countries. However, during the seven long years that followed, they did absolutely nothing to force Kiev to launch a direct dialogue with Donbass representatives for agreeing on matters including the special status, amnesty, restoring economic ties, and holding elections, as required by the Minsk Agreements which were approved unanimously by the UN Security Council. The Western leaders remained silent when Kiev took steps which directly violated the Minsk Agreements under both Petr Poroshenko and Vladimir Zelensky. Moreover, the German and the French leaders kept saying that Kiev cannot enter direct dialogue with the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, and blamed everything on Russia, although Russia is not mentioned in the Minsk agreements even once, while remaining basically the only country that kept pushing for the agreements to be implemented.

If anyone doubted that the Minsk Package was anything but yet another fake, Petr Poroshenko dispelled this myth by saying on June 17, 2022: “The Minsk Agreements did not mean anything to us, and we had no intention to carry them out… our goal was to remove the threat we faced… and win time in order to restore economic growth and rebuild the armed forces. We achieved this goal. Mission accomplished for the Minsk Agreements.” The people of Ukraine are still paying the price of this fake. For many years now, the West has been forcing them to accept an anti-Russian neo-Nazi regime. What a waste of energy for Olaf Scholz with his calls to force Russia to agree to an agreement guaranteeing Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. There already had been an agreement to this effect, the Minsk Package, and Berlin with Paris were the ones who derailed it by shielding Kiev in its refusal to abide by the document. The fake has been exposed – finita la commedia.

By the way, Vladimir Zelensky has been a worthy successor to Petr Poroshenko. During a campaign rally in early 2019, he was ready to kneel before him for the sake of stopping the war.

In December 2019, Zelensky got a chance to carry out the Minsk Agreements following the Normandy format summit in Paris. In the outcome document adopted at the highest level, the Ukrainian President undertook to resolve matters related to the special status of Donbass. Of course, he did not do anything, while Berlin and Paris once again covered up for him. The document and all the publicity accompanying its adoption turned out to be no more than a fake narrative promoted by Ukraine and the West to win some time for supplying more weapons to the Kiev regime, which follows Petr Poroshenko’s logic to the letter.

There was also Syria, with the 2013 agreement on eliminating Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles in a stage-by-stage process verified by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), for which it received the Nobel Peace Prize. After that, however, there were outrageous provocations in 2017 and 2018 staging the use of chemical weapons in Khan Shaykhun and Duma, a Damascus suburb. There was a video showing people calling themselves the White Helmets (a would-be humanitarian organisation which never showed up on territories controlled by the Syrian government) helping alleged poisoning victims, although no one had any protective clothing or gear. All attempts to force the OPCW Technical Secretariat to perform its duties in good faith and ensure a transparent investigation into these incidents, as required by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), failed. This, however, did not come as a surprise. The Western countries have long privatised the Technical Secretariat by having their representatives appointed to the key positions within this structure. They contributed to staging these incidents and used them as a pretext for US, British, and French airstrikes against Syria. Incidentally, they carried out these bombings just a day before a group of OPCW inspectors arrived there to investigate the incidents at Russia’s insistence, while the West did everything to prevent this deployment.

The West and the OPCW Technical Secretariat it controls demonstrated their ability to stage fake incidents with the would-be poisonings of the Skripals and Alexey Navalny. In both cases, Russia sent multiple requests to The Hague, London, Berlin, Paris, and Stockholm, all left without a reply, even though they fully conformed with the CWC provisions and required a response.

Other pending questions have to do with the Pentagon’s covert activities in Ukraine carried out through its Defense Threat Reduction Agency. The traces that the forces engaged in the special military operation have discovered in military-biological laboratories in the liberated territories of Donbass and adjacent areas clearly indicate direct violations of the Convention on the Prohibition of Biological and Toxin Weapons (BTWC). We have presented the documents to Washington and to the UN Security Council. The procedure has been initiated under BTWC to demand explanations. Contrary to the facts, the US administration is trying to justify its actions by saying that all biological research in Ukraine was exclusively peaceful and civilian in nature – with no evidence of any of this.

In fact, the Pentagon’s military-biological activities around the world, especially in the post-Soviet countries, require the closest attention in light of the multiplying evidence of criminal experiments with the most dangerous pathogens in order to create biological weapons conducted under the guise of peaceful research.

I have already mentioned the staged “crimes” of the Donbass militia and participants in the Russian special military operation. There is one simple fact that clearly shows how much these accusations mean: having shown the “Bucha tragedy” to the world in early April 2022 (we have suspicions that the Anglo-Saxons had a hand in setting the stage for the show), the West and Kiev have not yet answered the very basic questions about whether the names of the dead were established and what post-mortem examinations showed. Just as in the above-described Skripals and Navalny cases, the propaganda production has premiered in the Western media, and now it’s time to sweep it all under the rug, brazen it out, because they have nothing to say.

This is the essence of the well-worn Western political algorithm – to concoct a fake story and ratchet up the hype as if it’s a universal catastrophe for a couple of days while blocking people’s access to alternative information or assessments, and when any facts do break through, they are simply ignored – at best mentioned on last pages of the news in small print. It is important to understand that this is not a harmless game in the media war – such productions are used as pretexts for very material actions such as punishing the “guilty” countries with sanctions, unleashing barbaric aggressions against them with hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties, as it happened, in particular, in Iraq and Libya. Or – as in the case of Ukraine – for using the country as expendable material in the Western proxy war against Russia. Moreover, NATO instructors and MLRS aimers are, apparently, already directing the actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and nationalist battalions on the ground.

I hope there are responsible politicians in Europe who are aware of the consequences. In this regard, it is noteworthy that no one in NATO or the EU tried to reprimand the German Air Force Commander, a general named Ingo Gerhartz, who got carried away higher than his rank and said NATO must be ready to use nuclear weapons. “Putin, do not try to compete with us,” he added. Europe’s silence suggests that it is complacently oblivious of Germany’s role in its history.

If we look at today’s events through a historical prism, the entire Ukrainian crisis appears as a “grand chess game” that follows a scenario earlier promoted by Zbigniew Brzezinski. All the good relations talk, the West’s proclaimed readiness to take into account the rights and interests of Russians who ended up in independent Ukraine or other post-Soviet countries after the collapse of the USSR turned out to be mere pretence. Even in the early 2000s, Washington and the European Union began to openly pressure Kiev to decide which side Ukraine was on, the West or Russia.

Ever since 2014, the West has been controlling, hands-on, the Russophobic regime it brought to power through a coup d’état. Putting Vladimir Zelensky in front of any international forum of any significance is also part of this travesty. He makes passionate speeches, but when he suddenly offers something reasonable, he gets a slap on the wrist, as it happened after the Istanbul round of Russian-Ukrainian talks. At the end of March, it seemed that light glimmered at the end of the tunnel, but Kiev was forced to back off, using, among other things, a frankly staged episode in Bucha. Washington, London and Brussels demanded that Kiev stopped negotiating with Russia until Ukraine achieved full military advantage (former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tried especially hard, and many other Western politicians did too, still incumbent, although they have already proved just as inept).

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell’s statement about this war having to be “won on the battlefield” by Ukraine suggests that even diplomacy has lost its value as a tool in the European Union’s staged performance.

In a broader sense, it is curious to see how Europe, lined up by Washington on the anti-Russian front, has been hardest hit by the thoughtless sanctions, emptying its arsenals to supply weapons to Kiev (without even asking for a report on who will control them or where they go), and freeing up its market only to subsequently buy US military products and expensive American LNG instead of available Russian gas. Such trends, coupled with the de facto merger between the EU and NATO, make the continued talk about Europe’s “strategic autonomy” nothing more than a show. Everyone has already understood that the collective West’s foreign policy is a “one-man theatre.” Moreover, it is consistently seeking ever new theaters of military operations.

One element of the geopolitical gambit against Russia is granting the status of an eternal EU candidate country to Ukraine and Moldova, which, it seems, will also face an unenviable fate. Meanwhile, a PR campaign has been initiated by President of France Emmanuel Macron to promote the “European political community,” which offers no financial or economic benefits, but demands full compliance with the EU’s anti-Russia actions. The principle behind it is not either/or but “who is not with us is against us.” Emmanuel Macron explained the gist of the “community”: the EU will invite all European countries – “from Iceland to Ukraine” – to join it, but not Russia. I would like to stress that we are not eager to join, but the statement itself showcases the essence of this obviously confrontational and divisive new undertaking.

Ukraine, Moldova and other countries being courted by the EU today are destined to be extras in the games of the West. The United States, as the main producer, calls the tune and devises the storyline based on which Europe writes the anti-Russia screenplay. The actors are ready and possess the skills acquired during their tenure at the Kvartal 95 Studio: they will provide a voice-over for dramatic texts no worse than the now forgotten Greta Thunberg and play musical instruments, if needed. The actors are good: remember how convincing Vladimir Zelensky was in his role as a democrat in the Servant of the People: fighter against corruption and discrimination against Russians and for all the right things in general. Remember and compare it with his immediate transformation in his role as president. It is perfect Stanislavsky Method acting: banning the Russian language, education, media and culture. “If you feel like Russians, then go to Russia for the sake of your children and grandchildren.” Good advice. He called Donbass residents “species” rather than people. And this is what he said about the Nazi Azov battalion: “They are what they are. There is plenty of such people around here.” Even CNN was ashamed to leave this phrase in the interview.

This prompts a question: what will be the outcome of all these storylines? Staged incidents based on blood and agony are by no means fun but a display of a cynical policy in creating a new reality where all principles of the UN Charter and all norms of international law are attempted to be replaced with their “rules-based order” in an aspiration to perpetuate their dwindling domination in global affairs.

The games undertaken by the West in the OSCE after from end of the Cold War, where it considered itself a winner, had the most devastating consequences for the modern international relations. Having quickly broken their promises to the Soviet and Russian leadership on the non-expansion of NATO to the east, the United States and its allies nevertheless declared their commitment to building a unified space of security and cooperation in the Euro-Atlantic region. They formalised it at the top level with all OSCE members in 1999 and 2010 within the framework of a political obligation to ensure equal and inseparable security where no country will strengthen its security at the expense of others and no organisation will claim a dominating role in Europe. It soon became evident that NATO members do no keep their word and that their goal is the supremacy of the North-Atlantic Alliance. Even then we continued our diplomatic efforts, proposing to formalise the principle of equal and inseparable security in a legally binding agreement. We proposed this a number of times, the last one in December 2021, but received a flat denial in response. They told us directly: there will be no legal guarantees outside NATO. Which means that the support of the political documents approved at the OSCE summits turned out to be a cheap fake. And now NATO, driven by the United States, has gone even further: they want to dominate over the entire Asia-Pacific region in addition to the Euro-Atlantic. NATO members make no effort to conceal the target of their threats, and China’s leadership has already publicly declared its position regarding such neo-colonial ambitions. Beijing has already responded by citing the principle of indivisible security, declaring its support for applying it on a global scale to prevent any country from claiming its exclusivity. This approach fully coincides with Russia’s position. We will make consistent efforts to defend it together with our allies, strategic partners and many other like-minded countries.

The collective West should come back to Earth from the world of illusions. The staged incidents, no matter how long they go on, will not work. It is time for fair play based on the international law rather than cheating. The sooner everyone realises that there are no alternatives to objective historical processes where a multipolar world is formed based on respect for the principle of sovereign equality of states, fundamental for the UN Charter and the entire world order, the better.

If members of the western alliance are unable to live according to this principle, are not ready to build a truly universal architecture of equal security and cooperation, they should leave everyone alone, stop using threats and blackmail to recruit those who want to live on their own wits and acknowledge the right to freedom of choice by independent self-respecting countries. This is what democracy is all about, the real democracy, not one played out on a shabbily built political stage.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/07/ ... -politics/

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OPERATION Z – DON’T INTERRUPT
17 July 2022 by HELMHOLTZ SMITH 28 Comments


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One of Napoleon’s observations is that you should never interrupt your enemies when they are making a mistake. Russians know this, not least because they were careful not to interrupt Napoleon himself in 1812. Putin and his team have had plenty of opportunities to meet NATO’s leaders, observe them, negotiate with them and assess them. It’s unlikely they’re very impressed. But when they started their “special military operation” in Ukraine they could never have dreamed how self-destructive NATO would be.

What mistakes? First, the West has not shot itself in the foot with its economic sanctions – Hungary’s Viktor Orban is right when he observes that it has put a slug into its lungs. One can still limp along with a broken foot, but a shot to the lungs is pretty serious. Second, who in Moscow could have imagined that NATO would shovel its ammunition and weapons stockpiles into the Ukrainian black hole in the expectation that if they can get the latest wonderwaffe to General Steiner they’ll be in Moscow by Christmas.

A good reason for Moscow to take it slowly – let the mistakes develop, compound and metastasize. It’s happening by itself. Naturally, inevitably, logically. No outside effort required. An unexpected bonus.

Don’t interrupt.

Consider Germany, “the engine of Europe“. It stands on one thing – the reputation of German engineering and quality – Mercedes/Miele/Bosch, they may cost more but they’re cheaper in the long run because they’re so well made. No Western country manufactures much these days but Germany still does. In fact, only South Korea and China have a bigger share of their economies in manufacturing. (America, the colossus of former times, is half Germany!) But manufacturing needs energy. German energy comes from Russia – not all of it – about 20%. But coal is 40% and nuclear 10% and they have to reduce these because Greta wants them to which means they need more gas which is cheaper and “cleaner” and which mostly comes from Russia which requires another pipeline to be built. But then they decide that Ukraine is The Big Moral Issue and close the pipeline and step up coal which they’re going to get rid of altogether in 2030 thanks to more wind energy. And what about the nukes? Unicorn wings flapping. Hard to be green and hate Russia too.

And let’s ban potash from Russia and Belarus. That’s about a third of world production. Ban Russian wheat (it is the number 1 exporter) and oil (it is the number 2 exporter).

Oh, and by confiscating Russian assets they’ve shown the whole world that only an idiot would keep his wealth in NATO currency in a NATO bank.

And all this for a country they lied to about NATO membership.

Don’t interrupt.

Scene – Napoleon’s study – flunky enters “Mon Empereur, your enemies have banned a big energy exporter, a big food exporter and a big fertilizer exporter.” Will Napoleon shout “Stop it, mes chers ennemis, you’re going to destroy yourselves with inflation!” Probably not.

Everybody eats food and everything needs energy, their prices will rise and pull every other price up with them. EU inflation in May was 8.8%. But it hasn’t got liftoff yet – UK energy prices are set to rise 65% in October with another hike in January. It’s just begun.

Trouble in the streets all over Europe and two of the smug seven gone a month later.

Don’t interrupt.

Javelin anti-tank missiles were the wonderwaffe a few months ago – in mid April America had sent a third of its stockpile. That’s three or four years to replace. A quarter of its Stinger stocks. Vovan and Lexus got the UK Defense Minister to admit the UK had sent so many anti-tank missiles that it was running out. The Czech Republic is just about out of stuff to send. France has given up 18 months’ production of its Caesar guns.

And Kiev wants still more. Now that Kiev’s NATO backers have come up with the crazy idea of giving guns that need NATO ammunition, 155mm ammunition stocks are running down fast. If Ukraine is really firing 3000 155mm shells a day, that will burn the entire US annual production in a few weeks. And so on. War consumes astounding levels of ammunition – the Russians know this because they remember – they’re never allowed to forget – 1941-1945. NATO thinks blowing up, in wars of choice, at its leisure, people in sandals is the gold standard of military achievement. I again recommend reading The Return of Industrial Warfare. Russia is keeping up production but NATO isn’t and, absent a very long lead time (and a lot of other changes that you know perfectly well will never happen in FIRE-centered economies) can’t.

Even The Economist has noticed – Europe’s winter of discontent. (Still thinks that it’s Putin that put the double-tap into the lung though. But it is The Economist which has done its bit to bring us to this point.)

Why would Moscow want this to end any time soon? Time is working and the enemy is making lots of mistakes.

Don’t interrupt.

https://sonar21.com/operation-z-dont-interrupt/

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Went to a meeting

July 18, 22:41

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Colonel Dmitry Burdiko, Acting Chief of Armaments of the Logistics Command of the Ukrainian Air Force.

At least 3 names of high-ranking Ukrainian Air Force officers who were liquidated during the attack on the House of Officers in Vinnitsa, where Ukrainian officers discussed with foreign curators the supply of weapons to Ukraine, have already become known.

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Head of the Military Scientific Department of the Headquarters of the Ukrainian Air Force Command Lieutenant Colonel Konstantin Puzyrenko.

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Head of the Armament and Logistics Service of the Ukrainian Air Force, Colonel Oleg Makarchuk.

Of undoubted interest are the personalities of the foreign military who were liquidated at the same meeting, along with high-ranking officers of the Ukrainian Air Force.
Well, of course, the list of those killed in Vinnitsa is clearly not exhausted by these three characters.

Hence, in fact, the scale of the hysteria around Vinnitsa with attempts to switch attention to accidental victims of a downed rocket, and the US warning to American citizens to leave the country, and the resignation of the head of the SBU. This blow really looks like a blow to the decision-making centers. Hence the howl about Vinnitsa and the indirect consequences.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7745980.html

War in Ukraine. Summary 07/18/2022
July 18, 20:32

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War in Ukraine. Summary 07/18/2022

1. Seversk.
Fights for the dominant heights in the city area. Statements about the occupation of Seversk are still ahead of events. It is not the city itself that is of key importance, but the heights around it. The enemy seeks to hold on to them, despite the blows of the RF Armed Forces.
Fights in Serebryanka and Verkhnekamensky, Ivano-Daryevka. The enemy is transferring reserves here from the Slavic-Kramatorsk agglomeration.

2. Soledar.
Fighting at Yakovlevka, Belogorovka and Berestovoye, so far without significant progress towards Soledar itself.
Fighting in the area between Stryapovka and Soledar and on the western outskirts of Novaya Kamenka. The Soledar-Seversk road is under attack by the RF Armed Forces, but is still accessible for the movement of enemy troops.

3. Artemovsk.
Battles near Pokrovsky and Vesela Dolina. Artemovsk is under attack. Strikes - on Krasnaya Gora, Kurdyumovka, Chasov Yar. In the area of ​​Uglegorskaya TPP - no changes.
Kodem and Semigorye are still held by the enemy. From the Artemovsk area, the OTRK of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the western MLRS deliver pinpoint strikes deep into the territory of the LPR (Stakhanov, Alchevsk, Lugansk were attacked). The main targets are fuel depots, ammunition depots, command posts.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are focusing on accumulations of manpower and equipment, artillery and missile systems.
"Friendly fire" shot down our plane (presumably Su-34), the pilots survived.

4. Slavyansk.
Positional battles in the area of ​​the Valley, Sidorov, Prishib. Attacks on the Slavic-Kramatorsk agglomeration. In Konstantinovka, up to 250 foreign mercenaries and a large number of equipment were destroyed.
Western media: after the loss of Seversk and Soledar, the battles for the Slavic-Kramatorsk agglomeration and Artemovsk will be decisive for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The RF Armed Forces are completing their regrouping and are preparing for the start of a major offensive. Shoigu's visit with an inspection to the front is linked precisely with the upcoming big events.

5. Kharkov.
Positional battles in the area of ​​Uda, Upper Passages, Tsupovka, Dementyevka, Upper Saltov. In response to attacks on Kazachya Lopan and Kupyansk, the RF Armed Forces attacked Kharkov, Chuguev and the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the northern outskirts of Kharkov.
The RF Armed Forces are intensifying operations in the border areas of the Sumy region, from where the border forces of the Belgorod and Kursk regions were shelled. and attacks were made on nlimiters. Attacks on the Sumy region are gradually intensifying.

6. Raisins.
Positional battles in the area of ​​Bolshaya Kamyshevakha and Kurulka are complemented by attempts by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to be active near Balakleya. The enemy is not taking large-scale actions against the flank of the Izyum grouping of the RF Armed Forces due to the impossibility of ensuring stable crossings across the Seversky Donets. Pontoon and makeshift bridges across the river are being destroyed, and DRG activity on the other side is of limited value.

7. Avdiivka.
Positional battles near Kamenka, Novoselka-2, Novobakhmutovka and New York. The Avdiivka-Konstantinovka highway was cut in several places, but the enemy could not use it before. The Orlovka-Avdeevka road is under the control of the enemy, so there is no need to talk about the encirclement of Avdeevka. There is no serious progress in the area of ​​Krasnogorovka. Active work continues on enemy artillery systems operating in Donetsk, Makeevka, Gorlovka, Yasinovataya. According to the RF Ministry of Defense, successes have been achieved in the destruction of cannon artillery and MLRS.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces, in addition to the terrorist shelling of Donetsk, continue to inflict pinpoint strikes with OTRK and heavy MLRS on the command and logistics infrastructure of the RF Armed Forces and the DPR army.

8. Carbon.
Positional battles continued in the area of ​​Ugledar, Velikaya Noveselovka, Novomikhailovka and in Maryinka. The enemy, after an unsuccessful offensive attempt in the Ugledar region, again went over to the defensive.

9. Zaporozhye.
On the line Kamenskoye-Orekhov-Gulyaipole-Velikaya Novoseloveka without significant changes. Positional battles for the villages between Gulyaipole and Velikaya Novoselovka continue. The enemy continues to slowly accumulate troops in the area of ​​Zaporozhye, Orekhov and Gulyaipol, trying to create the prerequisites for offensive operations.
Shelling of Novaya Kakhovka and drone raids on Energodar also continue. The RF Armed Forces fire at the enemy in the Zaporozhye region. The State Administration of Zaporozhye calls on residents of the capital of the region to leave the city in order to avoid the role of another "human shield".

10. Nikolaev.
The enemy continues to put pressure on the Krivoy Rog and Nikopol directions in the area of ​​Potemkino and Ivanovka. As before, this direction is the most likely for a potential offensive by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in accordance with the requirements of the United States and NATO to organize an offensive with operational-tactical goals before the beginning of autumn.
The RF Armed Forces are engaged in strengthening defensive positions and systematic strikes against the Armed Forces of Ukraine in potentially threatening areas. On the Nikolaevsky direction without significant changes. Nikolaev is hit almost daily with missile strikes, the losses from which hamper the activity of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kherson direction.

https://t.me/boris_rozhin - zinc

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Topographic map of the offensive area in the Donbass - Seversk + Soledar and Slavyansko-Kramatorsk Agglomeration.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7745395.html

Fight Putin, ride a bike
July 18, 15:32

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Fight Putin, ride a bike. News of the fight against Russia in Britain.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7745205.html

Google Translator

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From Cassad's Telegram account:

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Сolonelcassad
🇧🇬🇬🇷🇽🇰🇺🇦 Supply of weapons to Ukraine by sea under the guise of humanitarian cargo

We have already said that after the opening of the sea route, Western countries have an excellent opportunity to supply weapons, ammunition and military equipment under the guise of civilian ships.

So, a couple of days ago, a convoy of five trailers for oversized cargo headed through North Macedonia towards the Bulgarian port of Burgas . The vehicles carried American-made M777 155mm howitzers .

Where was the delivery from? There are no M777 howitzers in Bulgaria, North Macedonia, or Greece, so they could only be sent from the American military base Bondsteelin Kosovo . Another option is to deliver by sea through the Greek port of Igoumenitsa and then by land route through Bulgaria.

The very fact of deliveries of American military equipment to Ukraine has not been surprising for a long time. However, the transfer to Burgas indicates the supply of the Armed Forces of Ukraine through the sea corridor , which was recently opened, allegedly for the export of agricultural products from Ukraine.

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Сolonelcassad
❗️🇬🇧🇺🇦Offensive on Donbass: the situation in the east of Ukraine
on July 18, 2022

▪️The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation struck at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the border Belopolsky district of the Sumy region .

▪️Over the past 24 hours, Russian forces have attacked Ukrainian army facilities in Tsirkuny in the suburbs of Kharkov : the stationing point of personnel in the local hospital and the parking lot of equipment at the Polimeragro plant were hit.

▪️In the Donbass , the parties are regrouping before the further development of the offensive of the allied forces:
➖In Konstantinovka , a blow was struck at the place of deployment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and foreign mercenaries. A point for the reception and distribution of mobilized citizens was also organized in the village. There is a resupplying of 24 ombr and 57 ombr , which suffered serious losses in recent clashes.
➖Reports about the capture of Seversk by the RF Armed Forces are premature. To storm the city, it is necessary to capture the adjacent heights near Verkhnekamensky , which are still under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
➖The Ukrainian command expects the continuation of the offensive in the area of ​​Ivano-Daryevka after the regrouping of Russian units. To strengthen the second line of defense, additional units were deployed to Vyemka and Pereezdnoye .
➖In the Soledar sector , fighting continues in the area of ​​Belogorovka and Berestovoye .
➖The allied forces are slowly advancing in the Donetsk direction . There are clashes in the Kamenka area on the Avdeevka-Konstantinovka highway.
➖The Armed Forces of Ukraine regularly shell the settlements of the LPR and DPR, there are victims and injured among civilians. HIMARS MLRS attacked the city of Stakhanov in the Luhansk Republic.

▪️Artillery duels continue in the Zaporozhye region and in the Krivoy Rog direction . Neither side is conducting any active offensive operations.

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Сolonelcassad
The head of the Kherson branch of the fascist (!) Svoboda party (headed by the notorious Nazi Tyahnybok), after Kherson was fired from the HIMARS MLRS, said that after that there was more Soviet than Ukrainian in him and his relations with Ukraine ended. Then he announced that he was going to get a Russian passport and called on subscribers to help him with this. A story in which everything is perfect. Dressing master.

https://t.me/OpenUkraine/21682

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Сolonelcassad
The new head of the SBU, Vasily Malyuk, was appointed to replace "Zelensky's friend" Bakanov. This character is expected to be even more dependent on American curators, who were unhappy that under Bakanov, regular leaks of information led to such devastating blows as the defeat of the mercenary camp at the Yavoriv training ground or the recent attack on the meeting of the Ukrainian Air Force command with foreign military in Vinnitsa .

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

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

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

Post by blindpig » Tue Jul 19, 2022 1:41 pm

infighting
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 07/19/2022 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT

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Five months after the beginning of the Russian intervention in Ukraine, kyiv continues to boast of its successes - real or not - and continues to affirm that its objective is none other than military victory on the front. Only then, as Dmitro Kuleba repeated yesterday, can there be negotiations with the Russian Federation. However, Ukraine's military successes are not such, nor is the military question the only problem facing kyiv. A separate chapter deserves the analysis of the economic situation, increasingly problematic in a country in which the economy is practically paralyzed, the defense of the value of the currency is carried out basically on the basis of foreign assistance and the issuance of banknotes and where, instead of of a nationalization and activation of the war economy, they have opted (as is also being done in Russia) for the deepening of liberalization and privatization. Last week, Ukraine publicly stated that it needs 9 billion dollars a month to stay afloat, an amount that is double the amount mentioned just a few months ago. Burdened with more and more debt, this situation seems unsustainable in the long term.

At the moment, foreign financing keeps a sufficient part of the Ukrainian economy standing and prevents complete collapse. However, it is the political situation that may change in the short term. Moreover, in recent weeks the existence of different conflicts within the circle of Ukrainian power has been evident, both politically and militarily. Much has been said about the confrontation between the military authorities and the political authorities, who have imposed their criteria on the front despite fulfilling the wishes of the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Army, Valery Zaluzhny, who foretold great casualties in battles that Ukraine did not could win. Faced with the withdrawal of the front line in search of a better defense position that would guarantee being able to give battle to the Russian troops,

That fight showed the strength of the Office of the President, actually the only existing government in Ukraine right now and the circle in which all important decisions are made. But the fight is not limited to the tug-of-war between the political and military authorities, but extends to other sectors. This is evidenced by the fight that has been taking place in recent weeks between the director of the Ukrainian Security Service, SBU, and the head of the President's Office, which shows Andriy Ermak's attempt to make himself - either for himself or for the Office of the President that he leads - with more and more power.

Since the Russian advance on the Kherson region, which occurred without major battles and in the face of the Ukrainian withdrawal, which according to some sources was supported by the delivery of intelligence information from Ukrainian agents to Russian troops, the SBU has been the most questioned. Ukraine has opened dozens of criminal cases for treason against SBU officers suspected of collaborating with Russian troops. And after a visit to Kharkiv, Zelensky fired the SBU director in the region, who promptly accused the president and his entourage of falsifying the advance of Ukrainian troops in the area.

The situation is repeated now, although to a significantly more serious degree, since the one who has been removed is the director of the institution, a member of Volodymyr Zelensky's inner circle and an important figure in the political rise of the former extortionist. While it is hardly surprising that someone with no job qualifications or prior experience would be unable to meet the demands of leading a security service in a country at war, these developments in fact point to a power struggle that is now tilting in favor of the Office of the President, especially his political heaviest, Andriy Ermak.

This is how the Ukrainian newspaper Strana summed it up yesterday:

Volodymyr Zelensky has made the most high-profile personnel changes in Ukraine since the war with Russia began. By decree, the president has dismissed the director of the Security Service of Ukraine, Ivan Bakanov, and the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Irina Venedictova.

Zelensky has justified his decision alleging that hundreds of employees of the Prosecutor's Office and the SBU are suspects in cases of treason and collaboration. The president also mentioned the arrest the previous day of Kulinich, a former head of the SBU in Crimea and close to Bakanov, accused of charges of high treason.

Zelensky did not follow the procedure for dismissing both of them (for which it was necessary to present a petition to Parliament and wait for the vote), but instead published two decrees to remove Bakanov and Venediktova, which has allowed him to expel them from their posts as quickly as possible. possible (although formally it is only temporary).

This indicates how important Zelensky is to resolving the personnel issue in the country's two largest law enforcement agencies.

Vasily Malyuk, Bakanov's deputy, has already been appointed acting director of the SBU also by presidential decree, while the role of State Prosecutor General has been awarded to Venediktova's deputy, Alexey Simonenko.

Both are considered close to the head of the President's Office, Andriy Ermak, who has notably strengthened his political position and influence in the decision-making process.


Personnel changes do not imply any political change. In times of Venedictova and Bakanov, the Prosecutor's Office and the SBU have continued with the task assigned to them in times of Petro Poroshenko, with the continuation of the persecution of all kinds of opponents under the justification of war with Russia. It was Bakanov's SBU that planted a grenade in the bathroom of Odessa journalist Yuri Tkachev to justify his arrest last March. And it has been the Venediktova Prosecutor's Office that has accused the Kononovich brothers of all kinds of thought crimes, just one example of a practice that has been carried out even more frequently than in the previous eight years since February 24.

https://slavyangrad.es/2022/07/19/lucha ... more-25078

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New four-way talks on Ukrainian grain exports 'likely' this week: Turkish minister
Xinhua | Updated: 2022-07-19 09:30

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A dockyard worker watches as barley grain is mechanically poured into a 40,000 ton ship at a Ukrainian agricultural exporter's shipment terminal in the southern Ukrainian city of Nikolaev, in this July 9, 2013 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

ANKARA - Delegations of Russia, Ukraine, Türkiye and the United Nations will most likely meet this week for a new round of talks on Ukrainian grain exports, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Monday.

The first meeting held Wednesday in Istanbul concluded with a consensus on "a plan, general principles" regarding the export corridor, he said at a meeting with commanders of the Turkish armed forces in the capital Ankara.

"We are continuing our efforts to turn this into a concrete implementation plan. A meeting on this is likely this week," said Akar.

Technical issues such as the establishment of an operation center in Istanbul, conducting joint controls at exit and arrival points, and ensuring navigational safety on the transport routes will be discussed at the next meeting, he noted.

The talks came at a time of soaring food prices in the global market and subsequent food shortages, due to the repercussions of the prolonged crisis in Ukraine.

Türkiye has long been playing a mediating role, seeking ways to establish a mechanism that will allow Ukraine to export its grains safely.

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202207/ ... 6d2e1.html

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Switzerland Refuses Requests for Ukrainians

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Swiss government refused to treat Ukrainians injured, saying that it would affect its neutral state. Jul. 18, 2022 | Photo: Twitter/@golub

Published 18 July 2022 (13 hours 12 minutes ago)

The Swiss administration rejected the request made by NATO to treat Ukrainian civilians, claiming they are indistinguishable from military personnel.

In light of the request made by NATO, the Swiss government has rejected the possibility to treat Ukrainians wounded, explaining that this would represent a violation of its neutral state. The government cited that Ukrainian civilians are indistinguishable from soldiers.

NATO's Disaster Response Coordination Centre called on the Swiss Army’s Coordinated Medical Service (KSD) to offer medical care not only for soldiers but for civilians in Ukraine, in the face of the ongoing armed conflict in the country.

Reports indicate that Switzerland’s national association of health-service providers – the conference of cantonal health directors (GDK) had initially accepted the call, saying that they would admit injured Ukrainians. This decision was also approved by the Federal Health Office, but late in June, the Foreign Affairs department rejected the possibility, citing “legal and practical reasons.”

According to the Geneva Conventions, a country holding a neutral position is allowed to treat soldiers taking part in a conflict between third countries, but it should ensure that they “can no longer take part in the acts of war”; otherwise, the country would lose its neutrality.


The Director of the Foreign Affairs Department’s Consular Directorate, Johannes Matyassy, said that “it is almost impossible to distinguish between civilians and soldiers” when it comes to modern-day Ukraine since “many civilians in Ukraine have taken up arms.”

Bern has not completely refused to help, instead, it shared its plans to provide some help “on the ground” by sending humanitarian aid to support civilian hospitals in Ukraine.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Swi ... -0022.html

Gazprom Announces Force Majeure for Some European Customers

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Russian Gazprom decreed a force majeure clause for some European buyers. Jul. 18, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@ADelgersaikhan

Published 18 July 2022 (13 hours 50 minutes ago)

The Russian gas giant has declared force majeure for some European buyers through a letter released last July 14th.

On Sunday, July 14th, the Russian Giant gas company Gazprom declared a state of force majeure for several European customers. The company cannot guarantee natural gas supply because of 'extraordinary' circumstances.

According to the document, this legal clause is only applied for the last month's supplies. The announcement came in light of the current annual Nord Stream 1 maintenance carried out in the vital pipeline delivering Russian gas to Germany and beyond. The maintenance work is expected to be done by Thursday.

Last month, the gas company was suffering problems with delivering gas requested by the customers, which has been explained by citing some difficulties with turbines at its main pipeline to Europe that ends in Germany. In the scenario of the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine, one of the two main entry points on the border with Russia has affected the flows via Ukraine.

The head of natural gas, coal, and carbon at Energy Aspects Ltd, Trevor Sikorski, said it "does feel like a signal that the low flows could continue for longer than just the scheduled maintenance period." This news is added to European countries fear that the Russian company could handle the cuts in supplies as a retaliatory measure for the sanctions imposed on the federation.


Force majeure is usually known as an 'act of God' clause, decreed in business contracts and spells out extreme circumstances that excuse a party from their legal obligations. Sikorski said that to present the clause retroactively is "unusual, to say the least."

As one of the buyer companies of Gazprom expected to react in light of such a clause, Uniper SE said that Gazprom's export unit claimed "force majeure retroactively for past and current shortfalls in gas deliveries. We consider this unjustified and formally rejected the force majeure claim."

RWE AG, alongside Wideangle LNG, has been among other companies which received the notice but rejected it.


"This move may sound quite odd because first of all, a force majeure event declared by a seller is supposed to be beyond the seller's control, which is arguable given the level of weaponization of the gas since the start of the conflict," said Jean-Christian Heintz, founder of advisory firm Wideangle LNG. "And secondly, the FM should be addressed by mitigation efforts, which are not too obvious at this stage."

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Gaz ... -0019.html

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Russian Deputy FM Says Microsoft is Taking Over Ukraine's Digital Networks at Pentagon's Behest
18 hours ago

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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Microsoft is carrying out the order of the Pentagon and US special services to deprive Ukraine of "digital sovereignty" by seizing control over its information space and digital infrastructure, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said on Monday.
"Microsoft is fulfilling the order of the Pentagon and special services to bring under absolute control the entire Ukrainian information infrastructure and deprive it of any 'digital sovereignty.' In fact, the company itself admitted this in the report," Syromolotov said, commenting on Microsoft's report where the company accused Russia of cyberattacks against Ukraine and its allies.
Microsoft Advanced Threat Analytics, in particular, has promised the Ukrainian authorities protection against targeted cyberattacks and convinced them to grant it remote access to their networks, which gave the internet giant every necessary tool for carrying out digital provocations and false-flag cyberattacks, the Russian diplomat said.
"In particular, [it is done] with the use of the controlled folder access function in the Microsoft Defender cyberthreat protection application. With the help of RiskIQ services, under the pretext of assessing the level of information resources security of Ukraine's state bodies, devices with well-known unpatched vulnerabilities have been identified, which can now be used by the Americans," Syromolotov said.
Microsoft's goal is to show its US sponsors its effort in a bid to get itself a share of the $15 billion funding earmarked in the Pentagon for cyberwars, the Russian diplomat believes.
Syromolotov said that the Microsoft report's ill-grounded conclusions were noted not only in Russia but also in the US, particularly by experts of the Johns Hopkins University.

https://sputniknews.com/20220718/russia ... 33878.html

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In Ukraine, a proxy war on the planet

As the Ukraine crisis causes global havoc, US officials won't negotiate with Russia to end the fighting -- and are even willing to "countenance" mounting hunger as a result.

Aaron Maté
Jul 16

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(Marine Corps Cpl. Jailine Alicea-Santiago / media.defense.gov)
In 2015, one year after a US-backed coup ushered in a US-friendly, far-right-dominated government in Kiev, University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer issued a stark warning. "The West is leading Ukraine down the primrose path," he said. "And the end result is that Ukraine is going to get wrecked."

Mearsheimer's cause for concern was what he identified as a US-led campaign to convert Ukraine into a NATO proxy on Russia's border. The events since have proved him to be both tragically prescient, and understated.

In using Ukraine to "fight Russia over there", as Adam Schiff put it in January 2020, the US has not only sacrificed countless Ukrainian lives. Four months into Russia's invasion, the Biden administration is signaling its willingness to sacrifice the rest of the planet, particularly the most vulnerable areas.

In an article headlined "Ukraine War Pushes Millions of the World’s Poorest Toward Starvation," the Wall Street Journal summarizes the impact of the Ukraine war on global hunger:

The World Food Program says that increases in the cost of food and fuel since March have pushed an additional 47 million people into acute food insecurity, when a person is no longer able to consume enough calories to sustain her life and livelihood, taking the total to 345 million people world-wide. Of those, some 50 million are living on the edge of famine.

In the energy crisis that has followed Russia's invasion, the New York Times adds, "the poorest and most vulnerable" have felt "the harshest effects." In Asia and Africa, the International Energy Agency recently warned that "higher energy prices have meant an additional 90 million people in Asia and Africa do not have access to electricity."

By invading Ukraine rather than exhausting all diplomatic solutions, Russia bears obvious responsibility for the crisis. Ukraine’s grain exports, which feed multiple countries, have plummeted. Russia has denied blocking Ukrainian grain, instead faulting Kiev's extensive mining of its Black Sea ports. Ukraine has refused to de-mine those ports on self-defense grounds, claiming that doing so could invite further Russian incursions. Turkey, which has been brokering talks between the two sides, has just announced a pending deal to break the impasse.

But even if the Turkey-backed deal is implemented, a major cause of the food crisis will remain. The US-led sanctions regime against Russia has blocked international payments for Russian goods and necessary export licenses, including food shipments. As the New York Times notes, "[s]oaring fertilizer prices, driven by sanctions on Russia and Belarus, along with high global energy prices, are broadening the scope of food shortages by making it more expensive to produce and transport food around the world."

The head of the African Union, Macky Sall, has linked US sanctions to the continent's food shortages. "Anti-Russia sanctions have made this situation worse and now we do not have access to grain from Russia, primarily to wheat," Sall warned in June. "And, most importantly, we do not have access to fertilizer. The situation was bad and now it has become worse, creating a threat to food security in Africa."

Rather than seek a diplomatic solution in Ukraine that could end the war and its worldwide deprivations, the US has shunned talks with Russia and made clear that it is even willing to tolerate global starvation.

Citing interviews with the White House, the Washington Post reports that Biden "officials have described the stakes of ensuring Russia cannot swallow up Ukraine — an outcome officials believe could embolden Putin to invade other neighbors or even strike out at NATO members —as so high that the administration is willing to countenance even a global recession and mounting hunger." (emphasis added)

Left unquestioned is why a group of officials in Washington have arrogated themselves the right to "countenance" a global recession and mounting hunger – including pushing millions toward famine -- on behalf of the rest of the planet.

https://mate.substack.com/p/in-ukraine- ... the-planet

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About the course of the NWO
July 19, 11:16 am

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Just now I answered questions during the NWO for the military commissar Kotenok's channel.

About the course of the NWO

After Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu inspected the headquarters of the groupings, the RF Armed Forces intensified strikes against the Armed Forces of Ukraine and enemy infrastructure. Is the "operational pause" over or never happened?

- The operation, in fact, did not stop. The regrouping of troops or the withdrawal of individual formations for rest does not mean that offensive operations or missile strikes against enemy troops and infrastructure have ceased.
In the last week, we have seen how the focus of strikes has shifted to the destruction of concentrations of troops and equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as the destruction of artillery missile systems, which can be interpreted as a "softening" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donbass before the upcoming offensive operations on the Seversk-Soledar line and in the Artemovsk region, as well as increasing efforts to move into the Slavic-Kramatorsk agglomeration.

- The pace of progress towards Slavyansk slowed down. What is it connected with?

- The main efforts are now concentrated on breaking through the Seversk-Soledar front in order to provide access to Artemovsk from the north and to Slavyansk from the east. The group advancing on Slavyansk from the northwest is obviously in the phase of replenishment and regrouping after the past battles in the area of ​​the Valley, Bogorodichny and Svyatogorsk. The terrain and large forest areas to the north-west of the city, as well as the line of the Seversky Donets covering Slavyansk from the north, make the offensive difficult.

- The DPR announced the semi-encirclement of Avdiivka. When can we expect the blockade of Donetsk to be lifted? What factors facilitate and, conversely, inhibit the process?

- Avdiivka is well supplied through Orlovka, and the Avdiivka-Konstantinovka highway could not be used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine before after they were kicked out of Novobakhmutovka and Novoselka-2.
The assault on Avdiivka from Kamenka and the industrial zone at this stage does not promise quick results, so here and in the future we will observe a positional front and intensive work of artillery and MLRS from both sides. The main problem is that the entire Adveevka and the adjacent territories have been turned into a solid fortification, a frontal assault on which, for military reasons, is impractical.

- The announced counter-offensive of Kyiv still does not begin. Where to wait for the activation of the enemy? What are the manpower reserves of the regime, taking into account the heavy losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donbass?

- The most probable directions of the enemy's offensive are Krivoy Rog, Nikopol and Zaporozhye (in the direction of Vasilyevka, Tokmak and Pologa).
The ongoing capture of random citizens on the streets, as well as mass cases of desertion from the front, indicate that the declared 1 million people in the Armed Forces of Ukraine is a purely propaganda figure. In fact, the total number of people under arms is significantly less. Nevertheless, work is underway not only to plug holes in the front with poorly trained cannon fodder, but also to prepare more well-coordinated brigades that can be concentrated for an offensive in one of the indicated directions.

Potential forces that are desirable for the Armed Forces of Ukraine for some serious actions - from 5-7 armored personnel carriers to 80-100 guns, MLRS and heavy mortars + several aircraft and helicopters. In addition to the actual organization of such a grouping, an equally important problem for the Armed Forces of Ukraine is the problem of secretive concentration of these troops in order to avoid strikes by the RF Armed Forces even before advancing to the lines of attack.
The experience of failed offensives in the area of ​​Gulyaipol and Davydov Brod has shown that the RF Armed Forces have the ability to stop enemy activity with concentrated artillery and air strikes.

- Following the "holy javelin" in Ukraine, the "holy haymars" has already been invented. Attacks on warehouses, headquarters and communications of the Allied Forces are not weakening. What does the tactics look like using the MLRS and OTRK supplied to Kyiv in targeting objects and overcoming air defense? Is there an antidote for the wunderwaffe?

- The United States operates within the framework of the concept of network-centric warfare, hoping to slow down the intensity of their fire impact on the Armed Forces of Ukraine and reduce their offensive potential by strikes against the command and logistics structure of the RF Armed Forces and the armies of the LDNR. The APU here is only performers and a screen. Target designation data is provided by American technical intelligence, as well as agents of the SBU on the ground.
Countermeasures - tracking down and destroying complexes (1 has already been destroyed, so that with proper work they are destroyed in the same way as the S-300 complexes, Tochka-U OTRK and Uragan MLRS), as well as the active use of the dispersal of fuel and lubricant depots and ammunition to reduce the effectiveness of such strikes. The same applies to the issue of protecting command infrastructure facilities. In general, it is necessary to adapt to this tactics of the enemy, since he, obviously, will adhere to it further.

- Are we ready to drag out the conflict in Ukraine and, in fact, does Russia have options other than victory?

- It is quite obvious that the Russian Federation has long been acting within the framework of the concept of a long-term conflict in the framework of the “Syrianization” of the war in Ukraine. The official position on achieving all the goals set by the NWO has not changed since February. Specific terms, as before, are not indicated - the need for long-term work to achieve the stated goals has already been completely reconciled, and a number of processes to increase the grouping of troops in Ukraine and changes in the military-industrial complex also indicate preparations for a long confrontation with the United States and NATO in Ukraine.
Of course, Russia will strive only for victory, which will not only guarantee its sovereignty, but also provide advantageous positions in the formation of a new world order. In this case, the victory will write off all costs. The absence of a positive result in Ukraine will, in turn, have severe domestic political consequences for the country. This, in fact, is what the United States is betting on, dragging out the war in Ukraine in every possible way and raising the degree of escalation.

- How adequate are the statements that the collective West is running out of stocks of weapons and ammunition for deliveries to Ukraine?

- Supply problems are more of a logistical and production nature. In the long run, with the active production of the necessary range of weapons, they are quite solvable for the US and NATO.
This seems to be a less significant problem for the US than the economic and political costs of the sanctions war against Russia. In the first case, the consequences are exclusively military and Ukraine bears the costs. In the second case, the costs hit directly those establishment groups that unleashed the war.

- When will the Polish factor "shoot" in the Ukrainian theater of operations and how is this connected with the situation on the border with Belarus, Kaliningrad and the Baltic states?

- According to the data of the SVR, Poland has not abandoned its plans to occupy Western Ukraine and continues to actively build up its military capabilities by increasing the size of the army (the plans for increasing it increased to 400 thousand people) and re-equipping with American weapons.
The build-up of Poland's military capabilities creates additional challenges for the Russian grouping in Kaliningrad and complicates the configuration of any conflict around the "Polish Corridor" in the event of a cessation of transit to Kaliningrad.
Poland in the current realities is a long-term threat to Russia, in the same sense in which the “Remediation regime” in Poland was a threat to the USSR from 1922 to 1939. In those years, the Polish General Staff directly pointed out that "the dismemberment of Russia lies at the heart of Polish policy in the East." Now the goals of Poland are exactly the same. The revival of the Eastern European hyena in the same role is another consequence of the criminal actions of Gorbachev and Yeltsin, which we will have to deal with in the coming years and decades.

https://t.me/boris_rozhin/57658 - zinc

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

Post by blindpig » Wed Jul 20, 2022 12:09 pm

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“Nobody Wants Us”: The Alienated Civilians of Eastern Ukraine, 2018. (Photo: crisisgroup.org)

Class struggle inside Ukraine
Originally published: Urban Ramblings on July 14, 2022 by urbanramblings19687496 (more by Urban Ramblings) (Posted Jul 19, 2022)

Two recent articles in Open Democracy report responses from Ukrainian trade unions to the “Lugano Declaration”, which came out of a conference between high Western and Ukrainian officials in Switzerland last week and sets out plans for economic reconstruction “after the war is over” by the Ukrainian Oligarchy* and its major imperial sponsors; the U.S., UK and EU.

This exposes the way that Ukrainian Oligarchs are ruthlessly using the war to entrench their position against the working class.

Natalia Zemlyanska, head of Ukraine’s Union of Manufacturers and Entrepreneurs commented,

No representatives from Ukrainian trade unions, nor our social partners from the employers’ side, were invited to help develop the reconstruction plan.

Thus, Ukrainian unions are not considered by their ruling class to be a significantly valuable part of their nation to deserve any voice in discussions about helping shape its future economy. This is not new. As Zemlanskya noted, the principle of social dialogue

died in Ukraine long before the Russian invasion.

Its worth bearing in mind what the pre war baseline they are “reconstructing” was. Overall, Ukraine was a country in structural crisis and decline. In 2019 the population was down 10 million from the level of 1993, declining at about half a million a year. Its GDP was lower than it was in 1989, with an aging population despite a low life expectancy of just 71.76 years (67 for men) and the shortest healthy life expectancy in Europe. Unemployment was consistently around 9%. It was 88th out of 189 countries on the Human Development Index–well below Russian and Belarus, just below China, Ecuador and Azerbaijan; and just above the Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia and Tunisia.

The reconstruction planned at Lugano will entrench these trends by consolidating the liberalisation of labour legislation that has accelerated since the Maidan events in 2014–which has now been entrenched by emergency wartime regulations–to further squeeze the space for trade unions to operate, to give employers a free hand,and remove state oversight of the labour market.

This has been supported by countries like the UK for some years. Alongside the military training delivered since 2014, in 2021 the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office funded a propaganda project to make labour deregulation popularly acceptable; in a clear demonstration of what making “development” subordinate to foreign policy imperatives looks like.

This highlights something that at first sight looks paradoxical. While seeking EU membership, Ukraine is moving sharply away from EU labour standards. In October 2020, eighteen months before the Russian invasion, the joint report of the Ukrainian unions and the European TUC , noted that obligations to enshrine “international labour norms in law and in practice, ensure freedom of association and collective bargaining in particular, strengthen social dialogue and capacities of social partners, and gradually align its legislation with the EU Acquis in the field of employment, remuneration, social policies and equal opportunities” were just not being done. As they noted, “no reasonable progress has been achieved“.

Now that the EU powers like Germany and France, which previously might have aimed for a modus operandi with Russia, both militarily and economically, have been brought to heel by the U.S. and will be paying the economic price both for increased arms expenditure and being forcibly weaned off relatively cheap Russian energy supplies, negotiations on labour standards with Ukraine could well be used by neo liberal forces in the EU to leverage a weakening of its own current levels as an unaffordable luxury in straightened times–in an odd mirror image of the downward pressure exerted by the UKs trajectory of a post Brexit race to the bottom.

Before the war, wage levels were already among the lowest in Europe, with one quarter of the population receiving an income lower than the actual living wage, fuelling a persistent and massive exodus of younger workers in a search of better pay in the EU, particularly in the neighbouring countries, and avoiding being conscripted to fight in the Donbass at the same time.

It has got worse since. Employers are now able to suspend employment contracts: so employees do not receive wages, but are still considered employed. And this is being widely used. By 1 April, roughly five million citizens had applied for income loss benefits–16 times more than the 308,000 registered number of unemployed at the end of May.

This gives carte blanche for ‘shadow employers’ who do not employ people officially. The state now no longer monitors wage debts–a long term problem in Ukraine.

In response to the war Parliament has further suspended parts of workplace protections and collective agreements, put forward legislation to take employees of small and medium-sized enterprises–70% of Ukraine’s workforce –outside of the scope of current labour legislation and given employers the right to terminate employment contracts at will.

Wages fell by an average of 10% in May, compared to the pre-war period. Wages in raw material extraction, security and manual labour have almost halved.

Future Faking?
Right now, under the impact of the war, six million people, mostly women, have left the country. In Europe, many of them are now living in countries where wages are higher, laws are largely obeyed, and housing and Nurseries are affordable. Their return en masse gets less likely the longer the war goes on, and, after the end of martial law, which forbids men under the age of 60 from leaving the country, many who can will leave the country to join them. A long war will create tensions on this front too.

In the immediate term the state wants to develop microbusinesses to relaunch the economy: which amounts to lending to micro-entrepreneurs or training people in IT skills. This will be hampered by the destruction of

Ukraine’s infrastructure, low purchasing power and general instability which present small businesses with enormous problems in setting up supply chains or finding customers.

The Lugano Declaration rests heavily on ‘A Blueprint for the Reconstruction of Ukraine’, published by a group of international economists in April, which aims to:

1.Introduce more flexible employment contracts and eliminate labour legislation that precludes the development of liberal economic policy;

2.Provide government subsidies for foreign companies;

3.Large-scale privatisation, including Ukraine’s biggest banks;

4.Priority credit support for export sector;

5.Use of low-skilled and labour-intensive public works to fix infrastructure;
6.Establish a technocratic agency that will distribute international aid.

The kind of future society envisaged here is quite clear.

And this is beginning to generate tensions. As Vitaliy Dudin notes,

Ukrainians were ready to endure any difficulties in the immediate aftermath of the Russian invasion. But as the tide of the war has changed, not everyone thinks the current situation–where business has advantages over workers–is fair.

The extent to which this finds expression remains to be seen. This is a very important perception. “As the tide of the war has changed”. A spirit of unquestioning national unity might be viable in the immediate shock of an invasion, or when it looked, briefly, as though the Russian withdrawal from Kyiv might be the prelude for a general victory for Ukraine in the short term. But, the longer the war drags on, and the more Russia advances, the more the class contradiction on the Ukrainian side is likely to find expression.

Dudin’s argument that an alternative based on state investment to create secure, sustainable jobs, with popular engagement and trade union involvement, skills training, proper state scrutiny and regulation of employer practice because, as he puts it post-war Ukrainian society needs integration, and that will be ensured by the development of state-owned and cooperative enterprises that do not make profits to the detriment of society and environment, and this requires policies of redistribution through taxation and the confiscation of surplus wealth from Ukraine’s richest people runs counter the interests of those running the state–who are precisely “Ukraine’s richest people”–and contrary to the kind of society they are fighting the war for; in alliance with the most predatory imperialisms on the planet.

Achieving a programme like Dudin’s won’t be done with the Oligarchs in power, nor with NATO backing them. Zemlanskaya’s argument that “The most important thing is to win–and then to see in what form Ukraine has ended the war, and what the future will look like,” is declaring a class truce while the war lasts–a truce that is not being respected by the ruling class. It also begs two questions

1.Is the neo liberal dystopia the Oligarchs and NATO have in mind worth fighting and dying for?

2.When and in what circumstances will the war be over, and what interest do the working class in Ukraine have in the circumstances in which that happens? The U.S., UK and the gung ho wing of NATO are for fuelling it for as long as possible, years not months; and are quite insouciant what might be left of Ukraine at the end of it. They are pre-emptively opposing diplomatic negotiations.

This is also a question for the international labour movement, being hit increasingly hard by the economic blowback from the war itself and, more severely, the sanctions the U.S. has imposed to pursue it by other means. None of us has an interest in this war continuing.

Arguing against negotiations on the grounds that this would “reward” Russia should bear in mind the consequences for all concerned if the war continues. And that peace on the Russian terms–Crimea and Donbass not part of nationalist Ukraine, Ukraine not in NATO, Mutual Security arrangement (or even long drawn out negotiations around them)–would be better than a resolution on NATO’s terms–forcible reconquest of Crimea and Donbass, Ukraine fully integrated into a triumphant and triumphalist NATO with rapidly increasing military budgets, readying its new 300,000 strong strike force for interventions further east against countries they would consider ripe for plucking.

*Ukraine, we should note, had more politicians named in the Pandora Papers than any other country; 38, twice as many as Russia’s 19. President Zelensky was one of them.

https://mronline.org/2022/07/19/class-s ... e-ukraine/

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From Cassad's Telegram account:

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Сolonelcassad
❗️🇬🇧🇺🇦Offensive on Donbass: the situation in the east of Ukraine
on July 19, 2022

▪️In the morning, Ukrainian formations fired on the villages of Novye Yurkovichi and Lomakovka in the Bryansk region.

▪️The RF Armed Forces hit the enemy's positions in the territories of Chernihiv and Sumy regions bordering Russia .

▪️In the north of the Kharkiv region , the Ukrainian command is reconnoitering the positions of the RF Armed Forces, using sabotage groups and civilians loyal to Kiev. Russian troops also inflicted defeat on the objects of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Chuguev .

▪️There was an operational pause in the Donbass. The parties are actively preparing for further actions:
➖Russian rocket troops and artillery launched a series of strikes on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration .
➖In the Seversk area , preparations for an offensive against the dominant heights near the city continue.
➖Ukrainian formations again shelled the settlements of the DPR and LPR.
➖At night, the Armed Forces of Ukraine made an attempt to break through the defenses of the NM DPR in the area of ​​Ugledar , but suffered losses and retreated. Some of the soldiers surrendered.

▪️Russian artillery carried out several strikes on targets in Nikopol . One of the goals was the location of the 301 anti-aircraft missile regiment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

▪️In the Zaporozhye region , the parties are engaged in artillery duels on the line of contact.

▪️The Ukrainian command is preparing an offensive in the Krivoy Rog direction: a unit of the 17th brigade has arrived in Arkhangelsk , a false attack is planned in the Vysokopole region .

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forwarded from
Witnesses of Bayraktar
Many people, for whom the events of February 24 came as a surprise, for some reason forget April 2021, when Ukraine had already formed a grouping to strike at Donbass. In response to this, Russian troops were deployed to the borders. But in 2021, hostilities did not begin. Further, as we remember, history repeated itself at the end of the year. The grouping of Ukrainians became even larger, the RF Armed Forces also had to transfer more serious forces. Negotiations, ultimatums against the "President of the World" Zelensky and his Western masters did not work, they needed a conflict. Statements that sanctions will be imposed against Russia in case of non-withdrawal of troops from its (!) Territory is a vivid example of this. If our troops had been withdrawn, an attack would have been launched on the republics of the DPR and LPR, following the example of Operation Storm, carried out by the Croats and NATO against the Serbian Krajina during the Balkan wars. If Russia had not intervened, then the republics of Donbass would not have had a chance to resist. And then ... Next, there would inevitably be a war for the Crimea. Therefore, those who pick up the propaganda thesis that Russia started the operation, either simply do not understand the background of the events and are disoriented, or are simply deliberately lying. Starting the NWO was an inevitable step that the West deliberately provoked Russia to take.

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forwarded from
⚔WELDERS
On the assessment of the situation in Ukraine by the Polish intelligence services,

the Intelligence Agency (AW) of the Republic of Poland has prepared a report analyzing the current situation in Ukraine.
According to the document, a catastrophic situation has developed in the formations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The number of irretrievable losses is more than 300 people per day , and this figure is underestimated by the office of the President to reduce the likelihood of a public outburst and create panic among civilians and the military. The Psheks emphasize that the systematic strikes of the Russian Armed Forces on command posts and training centers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have led to the death of about 4,600 of the most trained military personnel over the past three months , including senior officers, instructors and mercenaries.

The report notes that unprepared formations are sent to the Donbass, the professional level of officers from the battalion commander and below is weak, the functions of commanders in the troops are often performed by fighters of the national battalions. Since May of this year, almost all control functions in the planning and conduct of hostilities have been taken over by foreign advisers from the USA, Great Britain and Canada . At the same time, the fact of their presence at command posts is kept secret in order to prevent the entry of NATO military personnel into the captivity of the Russian Armed Forces.

It is emphasized that Zelensky's office has set the task of keeping the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk-Toretsk line at any cost until the end of August this year .
It is indicated that at present, accelerated training of Ukrainian military personnel is being carried out in the west of the republic and on the territory of Great Britain and Germany. By the end of August - beginning of September, it is planned to create an additional grouping of 30 thousand people, the basis of which will be four new brigades .

It is noteworthy that the Polish special services are skeptical about Kyiv's statements about the preparation of these four formations in Ukraine. In Warsaw, they do not exclude that the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is misleading the allies in order to obtain new weapons .

According to AW, the leadership of Ukraine is also counting on the introduction of two Polish brigades into the western regions of the country - 6 air brigade and 25 air brigade, which, according to the Ukrainian General Staff, will make it possible to release additional combat-ready units and formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in August to be sent to the eastern front.

At the same time, the report notes that the American 155-mm M-777 howitzers delivered to Kyiv are not always used for their intended purpose. Instead of conducting counter-battery combat , guns are often used to bombard cities . At the same time, military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, after accelerated training, are unable to independently maintain complex weapons and military equipment systems, therefore, foreign instructors from among mercenaries are often in artillery positions.

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forwarded from
Voenkor Kitten Z
The war is in full swing. New units are being formed and trained in Donbass.

The problems are still the same as a month ago - there is clearly a shortage of people, even taking into account the fact that higher rates have been introduced in the newly formed special and assault units (at the level of the "Wagner group").

But in the Donbass there is a physical shortage of men, men who have been dragging the strap of war for 9 years. During the years of the "Minsk truce" many people were knocked out, many left their native land, departing to the east and west.

Competition is growing among units that are waiting for fighters. Training - incl. for new positions. In short supply - sappers, spotters, snipers and many others.

Taking into account the upcoming tasks, I don’t know yet how the task will be solved to fill the vacancies with those who will go ahead and are able to do it at all.

Another headache is the acute shortage of night vision devices, UAVs, and sniper weapons. There are no miners. "Buy it yourself," the "northern" people say to the Donbass people. And what, excuse me, shisha?

By the way, rifles of the Lobaev system cannot get into the units of the NM LDNR because of the laws of the Russian Federation: "It's not allowed, and that's it." Why the authorities and the leadership of the Ministry of Defense ignore the problem is a question. I wanted to ask him during a meeting with Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Sergei Kiriyenko, but the meeting never happened.

And so, everything is old. The war is on. Commanders and staffs are racking their brains.

"Think, head, I'll buy a cap" (c).

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

Google Translator

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Aggressiveness on the diplomatic front
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 07/20/2022 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT

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A few days ago, the Kremlin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov stated that Ukraine can stop the war immediately by surrendering to Russian demands, some out of place statements, which do not correspond to reality and do not help communication between Both countries. However, Peskov's outburst is nothing more than a reflection of something that is also happening on the other side of the diplomatic front, with constant declarations from kyiv and its Western partners, who have repeated ad nauseam that they will wage a fight to the end to achieve a military victory against Russia. This is what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the European Union diplomatic leader Josep Borrell and, above all, Ukraine's main supporter, Boris Johnson, have said. And old glories of diplomacy have also exploited this speech, such as former ambassador Michael McFaul, who in his childish style wrote “Mr. Putin, stop your invasion. Declare victory and go home”, or from the military, like the former commander of NATO troops in Europe Philip Breedlove, who openly advocates attacking the Kerch bridge.

Apart from the situation at the front and the aggressiveness shown by their respective political authorities, contacts between the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces continue in several areas, mainly in the exchange of prisoners and the bodies of fallen soldiers. on the front lines and in search of a mechanism to resume Ukrainian wheat exports by sea. However, the negotiations in search of a diplomatic solution to the conflict between the two countries continue to be suspended sine die since the rupture that occurred last March. A diplomatic rapprochement that turned out to be just a mirage has been followed by weeks of military and political struggle that make it unthinkable that there could be an agreement in the medium term.

In this context, the conditions of increasing destruction, attacks and counterattacks and the economic difficulties associated with the war hardly favor diplomacy, which has recently experienced an escalation that will possibly increase as the passage of time makes big headlines necessary to maintain the conflict. as a priority on the political agenda of the main world powers.

The last few weeks have seen an increase in mutual attacks in search of the destruction of arms and ammunition depots and also of the decision centers of both parties. The Russian military correspondent Sladkov, without giving details, referred last week to coups in the decision-making centers of the People's Republics. Across the front, much more visibly, Russian missiles struck the Vinnitsa House of Officers, where Russia claims a major summit of Ukrainian Air Force authorities and international arms suppliers was taking place. Since that day, Ukraine has reported the deaths of at least three Ukrainian aviation colonels, wounded that day in Vinnitsa.

The destruction that is taking place right now in Donbass, the territories captured by Russia and those that remain under Ukrainian control has given spectacular images accompanied by a thorough analysis of the weapons that Ukraine needs to meet its objectives on the front. But they have not made great territorial advances. Russia is preparing to approach the city of Seversk in Donbass, after which it will predictably put the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk area in the spotlight, possibly the most important in Donbass. And Ukraine, for its part, is preparing its long-awaited -and announced- offensive for Kherson, in which, for the moment, it seems focused on the destruction of clear targets, such as, for example, the city of Novaya Kajovka, where the damage materials are increasing and daily.

In what can be described as an operational pause in preparation for future offensive actions, the circumstances favor the protagonism of the political authorities over the military and of threats over reality. Threats to the Kerch Bridge have already become a repeated resource. Ukraine has already seen the reaction caused in Russia by any mention of this infrastructure, which in the years of its construction, kyiv repeatedly stated that Moscow would not be able to complete it. Crimea is possibly the threat that has caused the greatest reaction in Russia. Just this week, Dmitry Medvedev promised "the final judgment" in the event of a Ukrainian attack on the Kerch bridge. However, in the last hours, after the declarations of the former Russian president,

This has been the basis of the threats made by Volodymyr Havrylov, Ukraine's deputy defense minister, this week. Just days after Defense Minister Reznikov's announcement that he had to withdraw his words about the Ukrainian offensive in Kherson, Havrylov claimed in an appearance in the UK that "sooner or later we will have enough resources to attack Russia at sea." Black and in the Crimea. Crimea is Ukrainian territory, so any target there is legitimate for us." Regardless of whether the deputy minister's words are more a wish than an intention or if they intend to imply that the US warning not to use Western weapons to attack Russian territory does not refer to the Russian peninsula, Havrylov is looking for exactly the same thing as Reznikov. in his interview with The Times: get more weapons from your western partners. What's more, already in May, the United States had to deny that it was planning together with Ukraine the destruction of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea, an idea that Havrylov tries to recover again.

Although constant, the demand for more weapons increases every time the possibility of a non-military resolution to the conflict is even raised or the possibility of a Ukrainian military victory over Russia is questioned. This can explain the anger of Mijailo Podoliak, adviser to the Office of the President, at the words of Admiral James Stavridis, former commander of NATO in Europe, who foreshadowed an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine similar to that of the Korean War. in the fifties. The development of events on the front points to an inconclusive resolution, without a definitive victory for one of the parties, which would be capable of imposing its conditions unilaterally. Stavridis's words point to a situation of a stable front accepted by both parties, although without an armistice to end the war. Although this is one of the possible scenarios, the experience of Donbass raises doubts about the feasibility of maintaining a stable ceasefire on the front in such circumstances. “Ukraine is not the Republic of Korea and Russia is not the People's Republic of Korea. They are different contexts, different scale. Anyfrozen conflict means that the war will return in a few years, well prepared and bloodier," Podoliak wrote, giving way to Bankova's usual line: "The only way to end the war and return security to Europe is to defeat the Russian Federation and liberate the territories.”

Without apparent concern for the destruction that the country is suffering - Ukraine counts on the existence of a Marshall planso that its Western partners are the ones to pay for the reconstruction with financing that is added to the funds requisitioned from Russia and that kyiv demands to be handed over to it - and without the need to justify the high number of casualties or the increasingly worrying economic situation, the Ukrainian government continues to maintain that war is its only option. Reproaching the West for its slowness in delivering the requested heavy artillery, which in his opinion would have prevented the loss of Lisichansk and Severodonetsk, Dmitro Kuleba reaffirmed himself, not only in the military option, but in the absolute rejection of any diplomatic option. "Everyone understands that the negotiations are directly linked to the situation at the front," said the Ukrainian Foreign Minister. “I tell the partners something very simple: Russia must come to the negotiating table after being defeated on the front lines. If not, she will return to the language of the ultimatum, ”he stated yesterday. Apparently, neither those words nor Havrylov's demand that Russia leave Crimea if she wants to survive as a state are expressions of the language of the ultimatum.

https://slavyangrad.es/2022/07/20/agres ... more-25085

Google Translator

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Hungary To Allow Transit of Aid to Ukraine

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Hungarian Deputy Foreign Minister announced that the country does no longer oppose the transfer of aid packages to Ukraine. Jul. 19, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@swflwarrior

Published 19 July 2022 (12 hours 3 minutes ago)

According to reports, the Hungarian government is no longer opposed to the transit of aid packages to Ukraine through its territory.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian media reported that Hungarian authorities would no longer block the transit of foreign aid packages to Ukraine, such as weapons and other military supplies intended for Kiev through its territory.

The report indicated that Hungary’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Magyar Levente paid a visit to the western Ukrainian city, where he reportedly announced the change in Budapest’s official position to the local mayor. The Hungarian Foreign Deputy said that Hungary itself will not send weapons to Ukraine, but “third countries can use our territory.”

The Hungarian official said that Budapest would also open its hospitals for treating Ukrainian military personnel and civilians. He said his country would also offer 1000 scholarships for Ukrainians at Hungarian universities.

Earlier in July, Peter Szijarto, Hungarian Foreign Minister, announced that the country would not allow weapons to transit across its territory, citing that this practice could risk humanitarian aid deliveries and the safety of Hungarians living on the other side of the border. “We don’t want [Russians] to shoot at the areas where Hungarians live; that’s why we would not like to get involved in this conflict,” Szijarto said on July 5.


It is expected that he will attend a UN Security Council session after landing Tuesday in New York. The Hungarian Minister has not posted any statement on its social media regarding the change in Budapest's policy towards deliveries to Ukraine.

The spokesman for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Zoltan Kovacs, has not yet posted anything about the allowance of weapons transfer through Hungarian territory.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Hun ... -0017.html

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Ukraine’s ‘Great Game’ Surfaces in Transcaucasia
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on JULY 19, 2022
M. K. BHADRAKUMAR

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Presidents of Russia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Iran and Kazakhstan (clockwise from left) took part in the 6th Caspian Summit, Ashgabat, June 29, 2022

If the metaphor of the “Great Game” can be applied to the Ukrainian crisis, with the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) at it core, it has begun causing reverberations across the entire Eurasian space. The great game lurking in the shade in the Caucasus and Central Asian regions in recent years is visibly accelerating.

The edge of the game is above everything else the targeting of Russia and China by the United States. This unfolding game cannot be underestimated, as its outcome may impact the shaping of a new model of the world order.

Starting with the Caspian Summit in Ashgabat on June 29, the inter-connected templates of the great game in the Caucasus began surfacing. The fact that the summit was scheduled at all despite the raging conflict in Ukraine — and that Russian President Vladimir Putin took time out to attend it — testified to the high importance of the event.

Basically, the presidents of the 5 littoral states — Kazakhstan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Russia — synchronised their watches, based on the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea — the Constitution of the Caspian Sea — that was signed at their last summit in 2018. While doing so,they considered the current international situation and geopolitical processes worldwide.

Thus, one of the key points of the Final Communiqué of the Ashgabat Summit was the reiteration of a fundamental principle regarding the total exclusion of the armed forces of all extra-regional powers from the Caspian Sea (which primarily meets the geopolitical interests of Russia and Iran.) The fact that the heads of the Caspian countries confirmed this in writing can be regarded as the main result of the Summit. Secondly, the leaders focused on the Caspian transport communications and agreed that the region could become a hub for the East-West and North-South corridors.

The Caspian Summit was held just 5 weeks after Russian forces gained control of Mariupol port city (May 21), which established its total supremacy over the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait in eastern Crimea. Kerch Strait has a strategic role in Russian policies, being the narrow maritime gateway (5 kms in length and 4.5 km. wide at the narrowest point) which links the Black Sea via the Sea of Azov to Russia’s major waterways including the Don and the Volga.

In effect, it is yet to sink in that in the geopolitics of the entire Eurasian landmass, the liberation of Mariupol by Russian forces was a pivotal event in the great game, since the Kerch Strait ensures maritime transit from the Black Sea all the way to Moscow and St Petersburg, not to mention the strategic maritime route between the Caspian Sea (via the Volga-Don Canal) to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.

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United Deep Waterway System of European Russia linking Sea of Azov and Caspian Sea to Baltic Sea and the Northern Sea Route

Now, to get the “big picture” here, factor in that Volga River also links the Caspian Sea to the Baltic Sea as well as the Northern Sea Route (via the Volga–Baltic Waterway). Suffice to say, Russia has gained control of an integrated system of waterways, which connects the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea to the Baltic and the Northern Sea Route (which is a 4800 km long shipping lane that connects the Atlantic with the Pacific Ocean, passing along the Russian coasts of Siberia and the Far East.)

No doubt, it is a stupendous consolidation of the so-called “heartland” — per Sir Halford Mackinder’s theory (1904) that whoever controls Eastern Europe controls the Heartland and controls the “world island.”

Looking back, therefore, there is no question that the reunion of Crimea with the Russian Federation in 2014 was a major setback for the US and NATO. Putin caught Washington and its allies by total surprise. It complicated their objective to integrate Ukraine into the NATO.

The US was caught unawares for the second time when in the early days of the current special military operation, when all western eyes were trained on the Kiev region, Russian troops captured the highly strategic southern city of Kherson as early as on March 2. The significance of it was understood only by those who could perceive the great game unfolding in Ukraine as something much more than a mere military conflict. (Most Americans still don’t get it.)

The capture of Kherson in early March practically spelt doom for the NATO’s design to extend its military presence in the Black Sea basin. Today, the game is practically over for the US and NATO,once Russia took control of the entire basin of the Sea of Azov. Russia now de facto controls the access of Dniepr to and from the Black Sea. And Dniepr happens to be the main river way for Ukraine’s transportation links to the world market.

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To the immediate east of the Kerch Strait is Russia’s Krasnodar region, which extends southwards to Russia’s largest commercial port on the Black Sea, Novorossiysk at the cross-roads of major oil and gas pipelines between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. In sum, control of the Kerch Strait gives Russia a big say with regard to the transportation routes linking Western and Eastern Europe to the Caspian Sea basin, Kazakhstan and China. Put differently, this part of the Russian special military operation becomes an integral part of Moscow’s Eurasian project linking up with China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Washington has belatedly understood that Russia has outwitted the western alliance and gained the upper hand in the great game in eastern Black Sea region. So, the Western strategy towards the Caucasus and Central Asia is being reworked. The NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg scheduled a meeting in Brussels today with the foreign minister of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov.

Importantly, Bayramov also attended a meeting of the EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council today in Brussels. The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell later said at a joint news conference with Bayramov that “Azerbaijan is an important partner for the European Union and our cooperation is intensifying.” Meanwhile, yesterday, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Baku to sign a memorandum of understanding with Azerbaijan on energy cooperation.

All this is taking place against the backdrop of Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, spearheading efforts to mediate between arch rivals Azerbaijan and Armenia. As part of the EU’s diplomatic efforts, Michel hosted in April a meeting in Brussels between Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan where the two sides expressed willingness to secure a peace agreement. Last week, the CIA Director William Burns paid an unpublicised visit to Yerevan in this connection. Evidently, Washington and Brussels are jointly strategising a game plan to replace Russia and Turkey, which have hitherto taken the lead roles in Transcaucasia.

There should be no doubt that Moscow is watching closely the synchronised US-EU-NATO moves in the Caucasus targeting Azerbaijan with a view to undermine Russia’s consolidation in the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea regions, which poses a formidable hurdle to the advancement of the NATO strategies toward Central Asia and Xinjiang. This is a high-stakes game.

It will be recalled that on February 22, just two days prior to the launch of the special military operation in Ukraine, Putin hosted the president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in the Kremlin. They signed “a wide-ranging agreement,” the details of which were not divulged. The document is titled the Declaration on Allied Interaction.

Clearly, oil-rich Azerbaijan, which is not only a littoral state of the Caspian Sea but a gateway to both Central Asia and Russia’s Volga region, is destined to play a key role in the great game in the period ahead.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/07/ ... scaucasia/

Poland’s Position as the “Next Ukraine”
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on JULY 19, 2022
Brian Berletic

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While Western governments and the Western media continue clinging to the hope of an eventual “victory” for Kiev’s forces in Ukraine, the “frontline” is quietly being moved back to western Ukraine and even Poland just across the border. Recent pledges by NATO as well as arms deliveries this year and next appear to be headed in the direction of using Poland as the next battering ram with which US-led NATO will use against Russia.

More immediately, Poland could serve as a springboard for launching a NATO incursion into Ukraine, not necessarily to confront Russian forces directly, but to establish a “buffer zone” in western Ukraine just as the US and NATO-ally Turkey did in Syria.

The Build Up Continues

Poland has hosted a build-up of US troops since as early as the beginning of February 2022. US state media Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in their February 5, 2022 article, “US Soldiers Arriving In Europe To Reinforce NATO Amid Russian Buildup,” noted the movement of US troops to Europe and specifically Poland as well as the transfer of US troops in Germany to Romania which also shares a border with Ukraine.

More recently, a Retuers article, “US to boost military presence in Europe as NATO bolsters its eastern flank,” would note:

US President Joe Biden pledged more American troops, warplanes and warships for Europe on Wednesday as NATO agreed the biggest strengthening of its deterrents since the Cold War in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The article also mentioned Poland specifically, stating:

The United States will also create a new permanent army headquarters in Poland, which was immediately welcomed by Polish president Andrzej Duda, as Warsaw long sought a permanent US military base on its soil. “It is a fact that strengthens our safety a lot … in the difficult situation which we are in,” Duda said.

It should be kept in mind that similar sentiments had helped reinforce US-NATO involvement in Ukraine since 2014, ultimately precipitating the current crisis rather than strengthening any sense of “safety.”

Poland serves as both the most logical geographic location for this build-up as well as the most logical political location for it. The current Polish government has demonstrated an eagerness to play a central role in Washington’s proxy war with Russia both in terms of support for Ukraine as well as feeding heavily into the Russophobic rhetoric used to justify continued Western involvement politically.

Turkish state media in a recent article titled, “Poland takes delivery of 1st batch of US-made M1 Abrams tanks,” would note Poland’s own military build-up. In addition to hosting a growing number of US troops, Poland is purchasing the latest and most sophisticated weapons the US and its allies have on the market. The article claims:

On April 5, the country signed a contract worth nearly $4.75 billion to buy 250 MA12 SEP battle tanks from the US following a December 2020 agreement with Washington for 32 F-35 jets.

It also revealed that Poland agreed to a contract with the US on the purchase of 116 more used M1 Abrams tanks.

The Abrams tanks will operate near Poland’s eastern border “to deter an aggressor,” Błaszczak stressed, according to PAP.


The article also notes Poland’s acquisition of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Turkey’s Bayraktar drones, as well as additional main battle tanks from South Korea.

NATO’s Paper Tiger in Eastern Europe

The once vaunted weapon systems produced by the US and its allies have suffered tremendously in recent years as M1 Abrams used by Saudi Arabia found themselves outmatched and destroyed in Yemen and more recently Russian air defenses have eliminated Turkish-built Bayraktar drones from Ukraine’s airspace while Russian long-range weapons have begun hunting and destroying US-built HIMARS on Ukrainian battlefields.

Apparently these weapons systems are not as formidable as advertised. The secret to their success until relatively recently had been Washington’s ability to carefully pick its adversaries, avoiding hostilities with nations or organizations capable of undermining the illusion of military superiority the United States attempts to cultivate.

The loss of M1 Abrams in Yemen by Saudi Arabia became so concerning, US policymakers questioned the wisdom of providing replacements. The Brookings Institution in a 2016 piece titled, “Is selling tanks to Saudi Arabia such a good idea?,” would point out:

The State Department this week notified Congress of an impending sale of 153 M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks and twenty heavy tank recovery vehicles plus assorted ammunition, weapons and other kit to the Saudi army. Buried in the fine print of the notification is the statement that twenty of the Abrams tanks are intended to replace tanks destroyed in combat. The only place Saudi tanks are in combat are along the Saudi–Yemeni border in the Kingdom’s southwest where the Houthi rebels have been surprisingly effective in striking targets inside Saudi Arabia since the start of the war sixteen months ago. It’s probably a good bet that more that just 20 Saudi tanks have been damaged. The Kingdom has an inventory of 400 Abrams.

Meanwhile in Ukraine, even pro-Western media organizations including Al Jazeera in their article, “What do we know about Ukraine’s use of Turkish Bayraktar drones?,” have admitted the limits of hyped weapons like the Turkish-built Bayrakter. The article notes:

…given Russia’s strength of forces, what impact drones might have in Ukraine?

“It will very well depend on Russian air defences. Drones like the TB2 are vulnerable to anti-air defence systems. To be effective, they need to be employed in a savvy way, in coordination with other electronic warfare systems that ‘blind’ enemy radars and through appropriate tactics,” [Mauro Gilli, senior researcher in military technology and international security at ETH Zurich] said.

“However, against capable enemies, these technologies and tactics might not be sufficient. In Libya, Russian forces figured out effective ways to counter Turkish tactics and shoot down their drones. The same [has been] observed in Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh,” he added.


With Retuers reporting the alleged demise of two US-made Ukrainian HIMARS in early July and Newsweek reporting the alleged destruction of an additional HIMARS in mid-July, the most recent “wonder weapon” promoted by Western governments and their media appears just as vulnerable and underwhelming as other advanced Western arms touted recently.

The build-up of all these advanced systems in Poland, while promoted by NATO leadership and the Western media as necessary against “aggression,” represents yet another substitute for the absolute fundamentals that truly underwrite national and regional security.

What Poland Actually Needs for Actual Security

The Russian Federation has not only demonstrated an understanding of these fundamentals, it has put them into practice. Even Western commentators have begun taking note.

A June 2022 piece published by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) titled, “The Return of Industrial Warfare,” would convincingly argue that relatively mundane munitions and military equipment produced in large scale are far more essential to victory on the battlefield than a focus on “efficiency” through sophisticated precision munitions built in relatively small quantities. Basic small arms ammunition and conventional artillery shells were among the examples cited – munitions that are absolutely essential, needed in vast quantities, and are having a far greater impact on the battlefield than the high-tech weapons shipped by the West to Ukraine.

It could also be argued that diplomacy and economic cooperation pursued by the Russian Federation with Europe prior to the events now unfolding in Ukraine reduced the ability and/or desire of at least some European nations to follow Washington down the path toward dangerous escalation.

But above all, Poland and other European nations (if national security is an actual priority) require independent foreign policies – policies that reflect the best interests of each respective state rather than those of an unelected bureaucracy heavily influenced by a small handful of corporate-financier interest not only in Europe, but across the Atlantic in Washington and on Wall Street.

It should be pointed out that among these select few special interests are arms manufacturers who thrive especially when conflict, not peace and stability (or prosperity for everyone else), prevail.

A focus on these latter most factors may make the necessity of focusing heavily on military factors less of a priority.

Also key to regional security is promoting regional stability. Europe’s role in aiding or even just remaining apathetic to US political interference along and far beyond the borders of the European Union created the instability requiring constant military spending in the first place. Whether it is the flow of refugees fleeing decimated nations in the Middle East and North Africa targeted by NATO aggression, or a deteriorating socio-economic crisis following US-sponsored regime change in Eastern Europe, Europe’s inability to address the “causes” of the crises it faces results in ever-growing investments in addressing the urgent “effects” that follow.

Since Poland’s current leadership is focusing on none of the above, while projecting recent policy decisions as the bolstering of security and safety for the Polish people, the Polish government is in fact instead escalating tensions even further on behalf of Washington all while relying on weapons systems and a strategic approach proven right now on the battlefields of Ukraine and elsewhere as wholly inadequate.

Only time will tell if Polish and other European leadership continue down this self-destructive path where they, along with Ukraine, carry the full burden of Washington’s proxy war against Russia, or if they decide to pursue actual security, stability, and prosperity. If they chose the latter they are likely to find they won’t require massive investments into the military means of addressing conflict, because the “enemies” they imagine they would use these means against, would likely be more interested in trade.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/07/ ... t-ukraine/

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Mikhail Kononovich and his brother Aleksander. (Photo: Twitter)

Kononovich brothers thank supporters as trial resumes in Ukraine
By Steve Sweeney (Posted Jul 20, 2022)

Originally published: Morning Star Online on July 19, 2022

Jailed communist Mikhail Kononovich thanked supporters who have protested in solidarity with Ukrainian political prisoners as the trial of him and his brother Alexander resumed on Monday.

The brothers said that leftists are being persecuted in Ukraine for political reasons and praised those who held demonstrations in London, Madrid, Rome, Brussels and Belarus.

They face life in prison on charges of “actions aimed at seizing state power,” although little evidence has been presented to back the claims.

Mikhail Kononovich is the leader of the Leninist Communist Youth Union of Ukraine and was detained alongside his brother Alexander in March amid fears they were to be executed.

They were seen for the first time last month, handcuffed and allegedly suffering the effects of torture as intelligence services pressured them to confess to crimes they have not committed.

Despite appeals from the brothers, the international response has been muted, while the European Union has failed to respond to requests from the Greek Communist Party to assure their safety.

The brothers are ethnic Belarusians and Mikhail accused the Western-backed opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya of ignoring their plight.

“I want to address, as a Belarusian of Ukraine, to the so-called opposition, Tikhanovskaya, to those who are at the mercy of the West and the United States.

“Which Belarusians did you pull out of the dungeons of the Zelensky regime? Do you even know how many Belarusians are in prisons in Ukraine? How are you helping them?” he asked.

You run around Europe and the US, telling stories, asking them for money. Who exactly did you help?

He accused Ms Tikhanovskaya of hypocrisy for speaking out about those detained in Belarus while remaining silent over Belarusians jailed in Ukraine.

The trial of the Kononovich brothers opened earlier this month, however they have not been allowed to attend the court hearings, appearing via video-link.

They appealed to Western media outlets and members of the European Parliament to attend their “show trial” and witness it for themselves.

The Communist Party of Ukraine was permanently banned on July 5 while all of its assets, including property and funds, were seized by the state.

It was the 14th opposition organisation to be shut down by Ukrainian authorities who have also closed all but one media organisations in the country, which is government controlled.

https://mronline.org/2022/07/20/kononov ... n-ukraine/

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This proxy war has no exit strategy
By Caitlin A. Johnstone (Posted Jul 19, 2022)

Originally published: Caitlin A. Johnstone Blog on July 14, 2022 (more by Caitlin A. Johnstone Blog) |

The International Committee of the Democratic Socialists of America has released a statement opposing the U.S. government’s ongoing proxy war in Ukraine, saying the billions being funneled into the military-industrial complex “at a time when ordinary Americans are struggling to pay for housing, groceries, and fuel” is “a slap in the face for working people.” The statement advocates a negotiated settlement for peace, saying continuing to pour weapons into the country will “needlessly prolong the war, resulting in more civilian deaths” and that it “risks escalating and widening the war–up to and including nuclear war.”

In response to this entirely reasonable and moderate position, the DSA is currently being raked over the coals with accusations of Kremlin loyalty and facilitation of murder and bloodshed by blue-checkmarked narrative managers on Twitter. This is because the only acceptable positions for anyone of significant influence to have about this war range from supporting continuing current proxy warfare operations to initiating a direct hot war between NATO and Russia.

That’s how narrow the permissible spectrum of debate has been shrunk regarding this conflict: status quo hawkish to omnicidal hawkish. Anything outside that spectrum gets framed as radical extremism. As Noam Chomsky said:

The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum–even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there’s free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate.


This spectrum of debate has been shrunk on the one hand by imperial spinmeisters continually hammering home the message that any support for de-escalation and diplomatic solutions is “appeasement” and indicative of Russian sympathies, and on the other by hawkish pundits and politicians pushing for the most freakishly aggressive responses to this war possible. By forbidding the spectrum of acceptable debate to move toward peace while shoving it as hard as possible in the direction of warmongering extremism, imperial narrative managers have successfully created an Overton window wherein the only debate permitted is over how directly and forcefully Russia should be confronted, with calls for peace now falling far outside that window.

Which is a problem, because both direct NATO hot war with Russia and continuing along the empire’s current course of action in Ukraine are stupid. Direct conflict between nuclear powers likely means a very fast and very radioactive third world war, and the status quo proxy warfare approach isn’t stopping Russia as more and more territory is taken in the east in cool defiance of western claims that Ukraine is bravely vanquishing its evil invaders. Biden administration officials have told the press that they doubt Ukraine will even be able to reclaim the territory it has lost already. Unless and until something significant changes, Ukraine has no apparent path to victory in this war anytime soon.

In short, there is no exit strategy to this proxy war. There are no plans in place to deliver Putin a swift defeat, and the Biden administration remains steadfastly dismissive of even the slightest gestures toward diplomacy with Moscow. Boris Johnson has reportedly been buzzing around admonishing Ukraine’s President Zelensky, France’s President Macron and who knows who else not to work toward peace in Ukraine. The doors to ending this war quickly by either winning it or negotiating a peace settlement are both bolted shut, all but guaranteeing a long and bloody slog.

Which as it turns out suits Washington just fine. Biden administration officials have stated that the goal is to use the Ukraine war to “weaken” Russia, and the U.S. already has an established pattern of working to draw Moscow into costly military quagmires as we saw in both Afghanistan and Syria. Continuing to pour weapons and military intelligence into Ukraine while working to cut Russia off from the world stands no chance of ending the war in a timely manner, but it does stand a pretty good chance of bleeding and weakening Moscow.

And since this is the course of action that has been taken by the empire, we can only assume that this is its desired outcome: not victory, not peace, but a long and gruelling war.


One of the major recurring criticisms of the Iraq invasion was that Bush rushed into it without an exit strategy, without a plan for ending the war once it had been started. This proxy war with Russia not only lacks a strategy for ending the war, it apparently only has strategies for not ending the war. No exit strategy is the strategy.

Whenever you point out the insanity of this approach you’ll get useful idiots of the empire objecting that by criticizing U.S. proxy warfare and supporting a negotiated settlement you are guilty of “appeasement” and exactly the same as Neville Chamberlain, because the only argument empire apologists ever have is to compare every U.S.-targeted government to Nazi Germany.

According to these propaganda-addled empire automatons, having the story of not compromising with Putin-Hitler and not committing the sin of “appeasement” is worth sacrificing everyone in the entire nation of Ukraine for. They will happily throw every Ukrainian life into the gears of this war while they sit safe at home eating Funyuns and tweeting, just so they can have that “we didn’t compromise with Putin” story hanging on their mental mantlepiece.

How many more lives are such people prepared to feed into an unwinnable war which the west knowingly provoked? How many more of other people’s children are they prepared to sacrifice? How long does the bloodshed need to drag on before their “no appeasement” story loses value to them? How long until people wake up from their propaganda-induced comas and realize we’ve been manipulated into supporting a proxy war which benefits ordinary people in no real way, and in fact impoverishes us and threatens our very lives?

There is no morally consistent argument for continuing this proxy war in the way it has been going. If you actually value life and peace, the only way out is through negotiation and compromise. I point this out not because I believe it will happen, but to hopefully help a few more people open their eyes to the fact that we are being deceived.

https://mronline.org/2022/07/19/this-pr ... -strategy/

Funny thing about Chomsky's statement, while it is true it is exactly what he does too in relation to communism.
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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

Post by blindpig » Wed Jul 20, 2022 10:57 pm

War in Ukraine. Summary 20.07.2022
July 20, 22:23

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War in Ukraine. Summary 20.07.2022

1. Seversk.
Fighting in the area of ​​Serebryanka and Verkhnekamensky, processing the heights around the city, on which the Armed Forces of Ukraine are still holding.
The enemy withdrew part of the forces from the city. Reports about the capture of Seversk are still ahead of events.
The Seversk-Soledar road is controlled by the enemy, but is subjected to artillery strikes by the RF Armed Forces.

2. Soledar.
The enemy was practically ousted from Berestovoye, but so far there is no complete control over the destroyed village.
Battles near Yakovlevka, Belogorovka and Ivano-Daryevka. The enemy has completely withdrawn from Novaya Kamenka, but still continues to try to challenge the control of the RF Armed Forces over Stryapovka.
The assault on Soledar itself has not yet been carried out.

3. Artemovsk.
Fighting in Pokrovsky, part of the village is controlled by the RF Armed Forces. The capture of Pokrovsky will allow the RF Armed Forces to begin advancing to the eastern and northeastern outskirts of Artemovsk.
Fights at Veselaia Dolina, Zaitsevo, Semigorye and Uglegorsk TPP.

4. Dzerzhinsk.
Without changes. It is worth noting the work from the cabriolet of Ukrainian helicopters in the village on the outskirts of Gorlovka.

5. Avdiivka.
Fighting at Novoselka-2, Kamenka, Novobakhmutovka, New York. There are no significant changes. The enemy continues to shell Donetsk and other cities. There are civilian dead. Our troops continue to work along Avdiivka.

6. Slavyansk.
Fights at the Valley, Bogorodichny, Prishib, Sidorovo. No major progress yet.
The RF Armed Forces continue to inflict intensive strikes on targets in the region of Kramatorsk and Slavyansk. The enemy expects the start of an offensive on Slavyansk immediately after the breakthrough of the Seversk-Soledar line, as well as a possible strike on Barvenkovo ​​in the Izyum direction, where the front has taken on a positional character.

7. Kharkov.
In addition to the ongoing fighting near Verkhniy Saltov, Veseloe, Tsupovka and Uda, there is some movement of the RF Armed Forces towards the Pitomnik in the area of ​​the Great Passages.
Attacks on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kharkov and Chuguev continue. The enemy continues to shell Cossack Lopan, from where the evacuation of the population began. Border villages are also shelled.

8. Carbon.
The front, after the recent battles for Pavlovka and Yegorovka, has now stabilized. Fighting continues in Maryinka and for Novomikhailovka. Our troops cleared Staromayorskoye and somewhat improved their positions in the area of ​​Velikaya Novoselovka.

9. Zaporozhye.
On the line Kamenskoye-Orekhov-Gulyaipole-Velikaya Novoselovka without major changes. The enemy is preparing to activate in the Zaporizhia direction.
The RF Armed Forces launch pre-emptive missile strikes.
Today, the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant with a kamikaze UAV. Radiation background is normal. The very fact itself puts on the agenda both the very vulnerability of nuclear power plants with all the ensuing consequences, and the possibility of retaliatory strikes on the energy infrastructure of Ukraine + accelerating Ukraine's disconnection from the Zaporizhzhya NPP.

10. Nikolaev.
The enemy continues to prepare for an offensive in the Krivoy Rog direction and strikes at the logistics infrastructure of the RF Armed Forces. Another blow was struck on the Antonovsky bridge, which was significantly damaged. With current trends, the bridge can be rendered unusable within 1-2 weeks.
The RF Armed Forces continue to strike at the Nikolaev grouping, inflicting significant losses on it and hindering the preparation of possible active operations in the Kherson direction.
Gauleiter Nikolaev threatens to clean up the disloyal population of Nikolaev, who on a regular basis surrenders the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to the RF Armed Forces, as a result of which the enemy suffers considerable losses.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7749746.html

American Vietnamese near Kharkov
July 20, 23:30

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The story of another American mercenary who was captured near Kharkov.

American Vietnamese near Kharkov

US citizen Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh was born in California on February 17, 1995. Ethnic Vietnamese. In 2014, he graduated from college in California with a degree in management.

In the period from 2014 to 2018, Andy served on an active military contract basis in the United States Marine Corps.
The prisoner claims that he served as an operator of heavy equipment, worked on a military loader. In the process of serving, Andy was awarded the rank of Corporal in the US Army, his monetary allowance was allegedly $1,500.

Andy claims that in his last years of service he did not serve with firearms. However, in his own words, during a 3-month course, he was trained to work with an M24 sniper rifle and an M240 machine gun. For a long time, Andy Hinh served at the US Navy base on the island of Okinawa in Japan, where he received a barotrauma in his right ear. Actively engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

In 2018, he allegedly decided to retire from military service because he was no longer satisfied with the internal routine of serving in his unit.
After his discharge from military service, he lived off his pension and worked as a courier driver.

Since 2014, Andy has become interested in the events that unfolded in Ukraine. He reports that he saw a lot of pathetic American news about the events on the Maidan. In February-March 2022, allegedly under the influence of the US media, which reported on the criminal actions of Russian soldiers against the civilian population of Ukraine, he decided to take part in the conflict on the side of Kyiv. Here he almost verbatim repeats what his partner Alexander Dryuke, also a US citizen, had previously said, with whom they were taken prisoner together. However, such explanations seem implausible. Americans, in general, are notorious for having little interest in the international agenda.

In the same case, it turns out that two professional military men, having watched several television stories in February 2022, suddenly decide to go to fight for the independence of a distant country, where they have never been before and with which nothing connects them. Moreover, they demonstrate in every possible way that monetary reward from Ukraine was not their main motive. It is more likely that Andy, Alexander and other former US Army personnel were sent to Ukraine by one of the American PMCs as part of an unspoken contract with the US Department of Defense or the CIA. This version is supported by the fact that both of them arrived on the territory of Ukraine already having expensive equipment, in particular bulletproof vests, helmets, tactical boots, first aid kits.

Andy claims that he made his decision under the influence of American propaganda. He allegedly filled out an electronic form on the website of the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States in order to join the Ukrainian armed formation called the Foreign Legion. After a short time, he was contacted by an English-speaking man who introduced himself as Tim and said that he was the official representative of the humanitarian mission from the state of Alabama. Recall that Alexander Druke, Andy's partner, is also a native and resident of Alabama. Tim said that if Andy wants to join the "Foreign Legion of Ukraine", he needs to arrive in Krakow and contact the representative of the humanitarian mission Alexander, who is in Lithuania. Andy was informed

On March 31, 2022, Andy arrived in Krakow and contacted Alexander. It turned out that Alexander is a priest of the Church of St. Martin in Krakow. Alexander settled Andy in a hotel near the church, where he lived for 3-4 days. Probably, we are talking about Royal hotels, the cost of living is from 75 US dollars per day. The Order of Malta is actively helping to work on the Ukrainian direction of the Church of St. Martin in Krakow through the Lutheran World Aid organization headquartered in Baltimore, USA. The main partners of this organization are also USAID, UK Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, OSPREY Foundation, etc.

Further, Andy was enrolled in a humanitarian convoy group, consisting of 9 people. As part of this group, Andy crossed the border with Ukraine and arrived in Lvov. One of the group members told Andy to check into the Premier Hotels and wait for further instructions. The cost of a room in this hotel is from 78 USD per night.
On April 5, Andy was informed that he needed to arrive at the Yavorovo military training ground near the city of Lvov to join the Foreign Legion.Upon arrival at the test site, Andy found himself in a group of citizens from the UK, USA, France and Poland. consisting of approximately 30 people. Later that day, he was included in the tactical group for combat coordination with 2 more US citizens and 2 French citizens. Andy was given the callsign "Hate". Over the next 3 days, they conducted joint combat training under the guidance of English-speaking instructors from Canada and the United States on combat interaction between units, movement on the battlefield, deployment in battle formations, and shooting.

After the level of combat training of foreigners and their military skills were established, they were sent to another base of the "Foreign Legion" in the city of Rivne, where Andy signed a contract to serve in the Foreign Legion.The mercenaries were offered a payment of 1,500 euros in case of service outside the war zone and 3,000 euros in the war zone. At the base in Rovno, Andy established friendly relations with 3 more US citizens, including Alexander Dryuke (call sign "Bama").

Andy says that after arriving at the military base in Rovno, no one really dealt with them, the mercenaries were given personal weapons, AK-74 assault rifles, 5.45 caliber, and they were left to their own devices. For several days, no unit was formed and no commander was appointed. In this connection, the US citizens decided to terminate the contract and leave the base.

For about a month, they allegedly moved across the territory of Ukraine in order to find, in their opinion, a worthy paramilitary unit to take part in hostilities against Russia. Of particular note is Andy's statement that one of the reasons for looking for a new division was to get "normal funding for their activities." That is, the Americans were not satisfied with the compensation offered to them by the Ukrainian Foreign Legion.

In early June 2022, they managed to reach the commander of the unofficial paramilitary formation of Ukraine, who said that they were suitable for his unit, and he was ready to provide for the requests of the Americans. It turned out to be a group of 12 foreign mercenaries under the command of an officer with a Russian name, who was fluent in Ukrainian, Russian, English and French. Probably an active or former member of the French Foreign Legion. The unit called itself Task Force "Baguette". It is presented in social networks - https://twitter.com/TFBaguette

The Americans decided to sign a contract with this unit. On the night of June 6-7, they arrived in Kharkiv where they were met by 3 men who showed their SBU identity cards. The US citizens were taken to the grounds of the unfinished civilian building where the group was housed. There they were met by a German citizen and a French citizen, who introduced himself as the deputy commander of the group. On the territory of the location, they also met several citizens of the United States and France. At the same time , French citizens reported that they were active servicemen of units of the French Armed Forces or the French Foreign Legion.

On June 7, Andy and the arriving Americans were given personal weapons, CZ-807 assault rifles with 7 magazines of 30 rounds and three boxes of 20 rounds. In the evening of the same day, Andy was informed that he had been appointed to the position of grenade thrower, and Alexander Dryuke ("Bama") to the position of assistant grenade thrower. Andy was allegedly given an RPG-7 grenade launcher and one shot at him, and Alexander two shots at a grenade launcher. Andy says that during his time with the Foreign Legion in Rivne, the Ukrainian military taught him how to handle an RPG-7. For training purposes, he fired 2 shots. Already as part of the Baguette group, he was allegedly also given the opportunity to train with this weapon. This information is questionable, as social media videos show that that the fighters of the Baguette group used RPGs manufactured by NATO countries, and not the Soviet RNG-7. Most likely Andy used NLAW or a similar NATO anti-tank system.

On July 8, the unit commander set the task of moving forward on a combat mission in 3 cross-country vehicles. The group arrived on dirt roads to an open area of ​​wooded area. The members of the group were informed that the retreat of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in this area had begun, and their task was to cover the retreating. Andy, along with Alexander, took the position indicated by him. Watching the area, they saw retreating Ukrainian soldiers followed by Russian infantry fighting vehicles. The Americans were ordered to move closer to the dirt road along which the enemy military equipment pursued the Ukrainians. After a while, Andy saw the tracks of a tank protruding from behind the embankment. He fired a grenade launcher, claims that the target was not hit. Then the group, changing positions, retreated to the place where the cars were left. There they found only one abandoned car out of 3. By this time, the rest of the mercenaries had left the battlefield. Andy's partner reports that Russian servicemen were already inspecting the car at that moment. Intense small arms fire and armored vehicles were heard all around.
The partners decided to hide the grenade launcher and the remaining shots, and then take cover in the folds of the terrain and wait for the end of the battle. After the shooting died down, they went in the direction from where they assumed that they had arrived in cars. Having strayed about 40 kilometers, the Americans reached the settlement where they were taken prisoner by Russian soldiers.

In general, all the information known about the adventures of Andy and Alexander in Ukraine raises many questions. Without a doubt, the prisoners are trying to whitewash themselves, presenting themselves as victims of American propaganda who did not have time to inflict any damage on the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the DPR or the LPR. Available video evidence shows that the foreign mercenaries were not beaten, tortured or psychologically pressured. They are kept in much better conditions than, for example, residents of the DPR convicted under criminal articles.

https://southfront.org/exclusive-appeal ... ed-in-dpr/ - original in English

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7749889.html

Fighting the Crisis in the Anti-Russian Coalition
July 20, 19:50

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There are simultaneous attempts by the Atlantic establishment to stop the consequences of political crises in Italy and Britain.

1. After Prime Minister Draghi resigned, it was first rejected, and now they are already trying to play a scenario where there will be a technical re-formation of the ruling coalition and re-approval of the government through a vote of confidence. It is noteworthy that Draghi calls "confrontation with Russia" one of the main goals.

2. Similarly, one can observe efforts to get Liz Truss into the final vote for the post of British Prime Minister, where Truss is seen as a continuation of the Johnson course, while Sunak, as a protege of the City, focuses more on the economy than on Ukraine.

Trass and Draghi are needed by the operators of the war in Ukraine in order to postpone the open crisis of the coalition in support of the war in Ukraine and to prevent the withdrawal of Britain and Italy from their roles in the Ukrainian war in order to stabilize the economic situation. Therefore, they are trying to save one, and promote the second. And the population must endure and fasten. Which will make the situation for the Italian and British governments in matters of domestic politics stable-unstable.

Of course, the situation in France and Germany also remains unstable, where the failure of the ruling parties in the elections exacerbates internal contradictions against the background of the economic crisis.
Atlantists now have to make considerable efforts to avoid the spread of the "anti-Russian coalition" due to the growing socio-economic tension.
Much will determine the outcome of the midterm elections in the US, where the defeat of the Democrats could set off a chain reaction in vassal states.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7749331.html

Google Translator

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Lavrov - Extended Range Weapons In Ukraine Will Lead To More Loss Of Its Land

Today the foreign minister of the Russian Federation, Sergei Lavrov, announced the extension of the land in Ukraine that Russia intends to capture.

It will depend on the maximum weapon range of the systems the Ukraine will have under its control.

Via RIA Novosti (machine translation):

Lavrov: deliveries of long-range weapons to Kyiv will expand the geography of the special operation

MOSCOW, July 20 - RIA Novosti. If Ukraine receives long-range weapons from Western countries, then the geographical tasks of the special operation of the Russian troops will change, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and the Rossiya Segodnya media group.
"The President said very clearly, as you quoted him - denazification, demilitarization in the sense that there are no threats to our security, military threats from the territory of Ukraine, this task remains," the minister stressed.

At the same time, he recalled that during the meeting of the negotiators in Istanbul at the end of March, the situation on this issue was significantly different.

"Now the geography is different. It is far from being only the DPR and LPR, it is also the Kherson region, the Zaporozhye region and a number of other territories, and this process continues, and continues consistently and persistently," the head of Russian diplomacy added.

He pointed out that as the West, in impotent rage or in a desire to make the situation as bad as possible, pumps more and more long-range weapons into Ukraine, for example, HIMARS, the geographical objectives of the special operation will move even further from the current line.

“Because we cannot allow the part of Ukraine that Zelensky will control or whoever replaces him to have weapons that will pose a direct threat to our territory and the territory of those republics that have declared their independence, those who want their future decide for yourself," he concluded.


Note to Washington: If you deliver HIMARS missile to Ukraine with an extended (300km instead of 80km) range, Russia will have to move further into Ukraine to secure its own and the Donbas republics borders.

This comes after calls in Ukraine to hit the bridge over the Kerch street that connects Crimea with Russia with extended range HIMARS missiles. The nearest point of the area which the Ukraine still holds is some 260 kilometer away from the bridge.

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There are also rumors that the Ukraine has already received such missiles. Via Naked Capitalism:

Zelensky Orders Troops to Hold Siversk Despite Heavy Losses, Purges More Officials; Putin in Tehran - Alexander Mercouris.
Note in particular starting at 10:10, Mercouris reports that DPR official Eduard Barsurin has stated that Ukraine has received the 300 km missiles for the HIMARS. Ukraine has made clear it intends to hit targets in Crimea, which Russia regards as Russian territory, particularly the Kerch bridge. Mercouris thinks it would take an awful lot of missiles to do that, as in more than Ukraine has now, but any strikes at Crimea would lead to very forceful retaliation by Russia. Ukraine is smoking something strong if it thinks that will lead the West to do meaningfully more for Ukraine than it is doing now.

Mercouris is wrong when he claims that the long range HIMARS missile would only have a small warhead as it must be fired out of one of the 6 tubes of the regular HIMARS canister. The long range missile is the ATACMS. It comes in a different canister which has only one tube for a missile with a diameter of 610 mm. It can be fired by all systems that usually fire the 6 missile canister.

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The version of the MFM-140 ATACMS missile that would most likely be used is the M57 (ATACMS TACMS 2000):

It carries the 500 lb WDU-18/B penetrating high explosive blast fragmentation warhead of the US Navy's Harpoon anti-ship missile, which was redesignated as WAU-23/B when used in ATACMS.
It is not the ideal warhead to attack a hard target but it is significant enough to at least heavily damage the Kerch bridge.

If it should be used Ukraine will lose all land that is within 300 kilometer of Crimea, the Donbas and Luhansk oblasts and Ukraine's northern border with Russia. Odessa is only 180 kilometer from Crimea and Kiev some 200 kilometer from the nearest Russian border. If we take Lavrov's words seriously those cities would come under Russian occupation should an extended range HIMARS missile be used.

Lavrov named several Ukrainian oblasts that are already on Russia's wish list:

It is far from being only the DPR and LPR, it is also the Kherson region, the Zaporozhye region and a number of other territories, ..
The number of other territories will have to include the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts to protect the border of Donetsk and Luhansk from longer reaching weapons. Mykolaiv and Odessa may have to be taken to protect Russia's oil and gas installations west of Crimea. The Ukraine has already attacked those with longer range weapons.

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If I were a Ukrainian decision maker I would take Lavrov's threat very seriously.

The longest reaching weapon that the U.S. and Great Britain have delivered to Ukraine so far is the Harpoon anti ship missile with a range of 124 kilometer which is near to the 120 kilometer range that Ukrainian Tochka-U missiles have. The Russian defense ministry had previously claimed that at least two Harpoon launchers had been destroyed. According to its daily report another one was eliminated yesterday near Usatovo in the Odessa Region.

Posted by b on July 20, 2022 at 13:18 UTC | Permalink

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/07/l ... .html#more

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From Cassad's Telegram account:

***

Сolonelcassad
🔹 Statement of the Interdepartmental Coordinating Headquarters for Humanitarian Response of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation:

- The attack of Ukrainian kamikaze drones on July 18 at the Zaporizhzhya NPP did not lead to equipment damage and a man-made disaster;

- One of the two kamikaze drones was destroyed on approach to the station;

- In order to prevent provocations at radiation hazardous facilities in Ukraine, Russia calls on the UN and the IAEA to take effective measures;

- Kyiv's provocations against Ukraine's nuclear power facilities, which threaten their safety, do not stop;

- In the medical institutions of Konstantinovka, Toretsk and Nikolaev, nationalists placed military equipment;

- Military builders built a water conduit in the Donbass from the Khanzhenkovsky reservoir to the Seversky Donets-Donbass canal with a total length of 90 km.

***

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⚡️Ukrainian drones have already attacked the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant this week, the current attack is not the first, 11 employees of the power plant were injured as a result of the attack on Monday

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

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

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

Post by blindpig » Thu Jul 21, 2022 1:45 pm

A change that is not
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 07/21/2022 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT

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In the absence of great news of military advances on a front that, for the moment, remains stable although with harsh clashes between Russian, Republican and Ukrainian troops in different areas of the front -Kherson, southern Zaporozhie or Seversk or southern RPD-, it is the aggressiveness of political and diplomatic representatives that continues to make headlines. To the long list of high-sounding and sometimes unfortunate words by Russian and Ukrainian representatives were added yesterday a few words by Sergey Lavrov that immediately caught the attention of the Western press. "Russia's ambitions in Ukraine now go beyond the country's western territories, the country's foreign minister said on Wednesday, a departure from previous Kremlin claims that it is not waging a war of imperial expansion,"The New York Times on social networks to present its article, collecting the words of the minister in a long interview with the editor-in-chief of RT.com .

In that interview, the Russian Federation's Foreign Minister explicitly stated that the development of what Russia continues to describe as a special military operation - a euphemism for war as misleading as the anti-terrorist operation that Ukraine waged for years - has changed Russian conditions and demands. Russia continues to maintain that denazificationand the demilitarization of Ukraine continue to be two of its main objectives, although the strengthening of Ukrainian nationalism seems evident and the flow of weapons into the country continues to increase, making the achievement of these objectives increasingly uncertain. Since the beginning of the Russian military intervention, Moscow has marked the liberation of Donbass as the third of its objectives. Moreover, in moments of Russian weakness - especially after the withdrawal of Russian troops from kyiv and the northern regions - the liberation of the entire territory of the DPR and the LPR was presented as the main objective of the intervention.

With the entire territory of the RPL now recovered, some of the most important battles - Mariupol and Popasnaya - have already been fought. But there are still others equally key to concluding the Donbass campaign: the Artyomovsk communications hub, the cities of Slavyansk-Kramatorsk, the reinforced Konstantinovka or the fortified cities around Donetsk from which the Ukrainian troops bombard the capital of the RPD daily from the end of May. Despite the slowness with which the joint forces of Russia and the People's Republics are advancing in Donbass, the Foreign Minister not only ruled out short-term peace negotiations, which in his opinion would not make sense at the present time, but also looked beyond.

Sergey Lavrov openly stated that the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine has changed the calculation made by the Russian authorities, which no longer limits its objectives to recovering the territory of the DPR and the LPR but also seeks other territories. Moreover, the greater the supply of Western weapons, the greater the Russian territorial demands. Lavrov, who also stated that, under the current conditions, it would make no sense to hold peace talks -in reality the minister blamed Ukraine's Western partners for preventing kyiv from having its own constructive position-, did not specify which territories it aspires to Moscow right now:

In either case, the change of position that the Western press has wanted to see is not such. Despite the fact that kyiv has already used them to demand more weapons and faster delivery, Lavrov's words do not reflect anything that would not have been clear on the ground. Already in March, the Russian proposal for security guarantees for Ukraine implied the Russian withdrawal from the Ukrainian territories captured since February 24 (never from the DPR and the LPR) and left an implicit threat: if Ukraine refused to negotiate peace in those terms, it would risk losing more territory. Since then, not only have the destruction and casualty figures increased, but also the signs that Moscow does not intend to abandon territories such as Kherson or southern Zaporozhye of its own free will.

Making it clear that Russia is here to stay has been, since the use that kyiv made of the Russian withdrawal from the northern regions, a necessity to guarantee stability in those territories and avoid the feeling of a power vacuum and the uncertainty of the population. against Russian intentions. Under these conditions, Russia could not allow itself to be doubted by the population about Moscow's intentions. Hence, from that moment, the speech that repeated that "Russia is here to stay" began to spread. The new authorities not only recovered the monuments removed by the old Ukrainian authorities -the statues of Lenin, for example- but they have gradually installed posters and monuments that seek to highlight that idea.

In this way, arguments from both the imperial stage and the Soviet stage have been recovered. In Kherson, posters recall Catherine the Great's order for the founding of the city, and in Melitopol, Pavel Sudoplatov, an NKVD agent who murdered the Ukrainian nationalist Evhen Konovalets and who was a native of the town. And the Victory Banner - banned in Ukraine by anti-communist law - has perhaps been the most widely used symbol.

The evident contradiction between appealing equally to imperial and Soviet symbols was understood by The Guardian as a sign of the “ideological vacuum at the heart of Putin's imperial project on the borders of Europe”. Despite the ideological incoherence that many of these acts entail -especially the recovery of monuments to Lenin, the victim of harsh criticism from Vladimir Putin in the speech in which he defended the need to recognize the independence of the DPR and the RPL-, their objective It is clear: remember the common past to build the future.

The war makes any prediction uncertain and it will be the military situation that will mark future political development, with advances and setbacks. However, with its actions and also with the words of the local authorities, Russia has wanted to make it clear in the Kherson, Zaporozhye and even northern Kharkov regions that its intention is not to abandon these territories. Despite the change of course that the Western press has wanted to see in the words of the Russian Federation Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lavrov's statements are nothing more than the verbal confirmation of something that Russia has been repeating for four months in those territories beyond from Donbass captured since February 24.

https://slavyangrad.es/2022/07/21/un-ca ... more-25094

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

US Expects To Propose Russian Oil Price Cap by December

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A man uses a fuel pump at a garage forecourt in London, Britain, 09 June 2022. | Photo: EFE/EPA/Neil Hall

Published 20 July 2022 (9 hours 5 minutes ago)

The US expects to propose a cap on the price of Russian oil by December, Treasury Undersecretary Wally Adeyemo said in remarks at the Aspen Security Forum.

"We are following on what the Europeans have done in their sixth package, they introduced the idea of looking to do a price cap but they also said by December they plan to put in place their insurance ban, so our goal is to make sure... we're in a position where there's a price cap that can be joined on to that that is a global one that helps to drive down global energy prices and also allows Russian energy to flow into the marketplace," Adeyemo said on Wednesday.

He added that the next round of US sanctions would target Russian oil and gas.

The European Union, in its sixth package of sanctions against Russia, announced in June agreed to ban the insurance of Russian oil tankers.

According to the European Commission, after a six-month pause, EU operators will be banned from insuring and financing Russian oil transportation to third countries, especially by sea.

Adeyemo also said that the US would remain focused on targeting the Russian supply chain that is critical to its military-industrial complex.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/US- ... -0022.html

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

How Corrupt is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky?
By Jeremy Kuzmarov - July 20, 2022 4

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On the left, Zelensky in circle behind Kholomoisky. On the right, Zelensky on the campaign trail is followed by one of Kholomoisky’s bodyguards. [Source: national-conservative.com]

Before the Russian invasion, CIA reports linked him to an oligarch so dirty and so mired in “significant corruption” that the State Department banned him from entering the U.S.

But now CIA propaganda portrays Zelensky as nobler than Winston Churchill and saintlier than Mother Theresa.

Will the Real Volodymyr Zelensky Please Stand Up


In 2019, the CIA-run Radio Free Europe reported on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s connection to Ihor Kholomoisky, a Ukrainian oligarch whom the State Department banned from entering the U.S. in March 2021 due to his “significant corruption.” See video report below.

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https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video ... oysky.html

This report is ironic given that, since Ukraine’s war with Russia began over four months ago, Radio Free Europe along with the rest of the Western media has depicted Zelensky as something equivalent to a reincarnation of Winston Churchill and Mother Teresa, driving a campaign for his nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize and inspiring a flamboyant musical tribute during the 2022 Grammy awards.

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Zelensky gives a video address at the 2022 Grammy awards in April. [Source: jta.org]

Steering One of the Biggest Ponzi Schemes in World History

Meanwhile in January 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture complaint—the fourth against him—which alleges that Kholomoisky and Gennadiy Bogolyubov, who owned PrivatBank, one of the largest banks in Ukraine, embezzled and defrauded the bank of $5.5 billion which went missing.

The two allegedly obtained fraudulent loans and lines of credit from 2008 through 2016 and laundered portions of their criminal proceeds using an array of shell companies’ bank accounts, primarily at PrivatBank’s Cyprus branch, before they transferred the funds to the U.S. where they continued to launder them illegally through an associate operating out of offices in Miami.

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[Source: johnhelmer.org]

Some of the stolen money was from IMF loans granted to the Ukrainian government after the 2014 Maidan coup, which was paid out by the National Bank of Ukraine into Privatbank.[1]

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[Source: johnhelmer.org]

According to a profile in The American Spectator, Kholomoisky laundered millions in Cleveland, Ohio, and across the Midwest where, as “one of the [region’s] biggest real-estate landlords,” he “steered one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in world history.”

Making Even Other Oligarchs, No Strangers to Violent Crime, Blanch

Born in Soviet Ukraine in 1963, Kholomoisky was among those to benefit after the Soviet collapse in the early 1990s from the sale of formerly state-owned enterprises like steel plants and gas wells at fire-sale prices.

According to The American Spectator, Kholomoisky had two advantages over other nascent oligarchs. First, he had a background in metallurgy—in the science of making and molding metals and alloys in demand. Second, Kholomoisky “displayed a ruthlessness that made even other oligarchs, no strangers to violent crime, blanch.”

A writer for Forbes magazine reported that, in one instance, he saw “hundreds of hired rowdies armed with baseball bats, iron bars, gas and rubber-bullet pistols and chainsaws forcibly [take] over” a steel plant that Kholomoisky eyed.

For the full Bond-villain effect, Kholomoisky put a shark tank in his office. Allegedly, he was not averse to shoving the head of a visitor in it as a reminder never to cross him.

Igor Kolomoisky, billionaire and governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region poses for a picture at his cabinet in the regional government headquarters in Dnipropetrovsk on May 24, 2014.

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Putting on a friendly face: Kholomoisky posing for a photo in 2014. [Source: nypost.com]

A Jew Funding Neo-Nazis

According to Oleg Noginsky, the president of the Suppliers Customs Union, after Ukraine’s February 2014 Euro-Maidan Revolution, Kholomoisky “hired the guys who carried out the Odessa massacre”—the killing of several dozen supporters of deposed Russian-allied President Viktor Yanukovych who were holed up in a trade union building.

As Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast from 2014 until 2016, Kholomoisky bankrolled anti-Russian units operating with the Ukrainian army in Donetsk and Luhansk—which voted to secede after the post-Maidan government tried to impose the Ukrainian language on them.

These units included the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion which terrorized the people of eastern Ukraine, along with the Dnipro and Aidar battalions, which were sometimes deployed as personal thug squads to protect Kholomoisky’s financial interests.

Newly appointed Dnipropetrovsk Oblast governor Ihor Kolomoisky (L) meets Yuriy Bereza, then head of regional pro-Ukrainian self-defence unit in Dnipro (then Dnipropetrovsk) on March 4, 2014. Bereza symbolically granted Kolomoisky the keys to the regional administration. One month later Bereza headed the Kolomoisky-sponsored Dnipro-1 volunteer battalion.

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Then-Governor Kholomoisky with Yuriy Bereza, head of the Dnipro Battalion in March 2014. [Source: kyivpost.com]

Burisma and the CIA

The New York Post reported that Kholomoisky had a “controlling interest” in Burisma Holdings—the Ukrainian energy company which employed Hunter Biden as a board member for $50,000 per month. Russian media, quoted in State Department emails, referred to Burisma as “part of Kholomoisky’s financial empire.”

Six months after Hunter Biden departed, Burisma appointed Cofer Black to its board—a position that he maintains. Black was a career CIA officer who served as director of the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center following the September 11 attacks.

This appointment raises questions as to whether Burisma served as a CIA-front operation that was designed to help finance the anti-Russia militias in eastern Ukraine.

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[Source: usatoday.com]

Ihor and Volodymyr Sitting in a Tree…

Kholomoisky’s relationship with Zelensky goes back to around 2012, when Zelensky and his partners in a television production company, Kvartal 95, began making regular content for TV stations owned by Kholomoisky.

A comedian and actor who had been famous since the 2000s, Zelensky began his political rise a few years after taking on a starring role in the political satire “Servant of the People,” which began airing on Kholomoisky’s network in 2015.

The show starred Zelensky as a humble history teacher whose anti-corruption rant in class is filmed by a student, goes viral online, and wins him national office.

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[Source: pollingua.com]

In a case of life imitating art, Zelensky ended up winning the real-world Ukrainian presidency just three-and-a-half years after the show’s launch, with more than 73% of the vote.

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Zelensky on “Servant of the People.” [Source: slate.com]

Zelensky capitalized on widespread public anger at corruption, but his 2019 campaign was dogged by doubts over his anti-graft bona fides given his connection to Kholomoisky.

In the heat of the campaign, an ally of incumbent Petro Poroshenko, Volodymyr Ariev, published a chart on Facebook purporting to show that Zelensky and his television production partners were beneficiaries of a web of offshore firms, which they had set up beginning in 2012, that allegedly received $41 million in funds from Kholomoisky’s Privatbank.

Ariev did not provide smoking-gun evidence, though the Pandora Papers—11.9 million leaked documents published by a consortium of investigative journalists in October 2021—show that at least some of the details in this alleged scheme correspond to reality.

In specific, the Pandora Papers reveal information on ten companies in the network that match structures detailed in Ariev’s chart, and show that Zelensky and his partners used companies based in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Belize and Cyprus.

Forbes magazine currently places Zelensky’s net worth at between $20 and $30 million—a total he could not have earned simply as a TV performer and comedian.

Zelensky allegedly owns lavish properties in central London, Italy and Miami Beach—to which he could retire if he is forced to flee Ukraine.

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The exterior of Zelensky’s house in Fort dei Marmi, Italy. [Source: alamy.com]

Two of Zelensky’s associates in the offshore network, who were also part of his TV production company, have held powerful positions in his government. Serhiy Shefir is Zelensky’s top presidential aide, while Ivan Bakanov headed until very recently the feared Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), which is Europe’s largest security agency and nearly the same size as the FBI despite Ukraine being 16 times smaller than the U.S.

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Ivan Bakanov [Source: rferl.org]

You Scratch My Back, I’ll Scratch Yours

Besides providing financial support during Ukraine’s 2019 election, Kholomoisky supplied Zelensky with a car and lent his personal lawyer to him to be campaign adviser and promoted his candidacy on various media outlets that he owned.

The close ties between the two were apparent in 2018 when Zelensky traveled to Geneva Switzerland, for Kholomoisky’s birthday, and then afterwards back to Geneva another ten times.

When Kholomoisky moved to Tel Aviv, Israel, Zelensky traveled there to visit with him three times, according to Radio Free Europe.

Zelensky claimed that his relationship with Kholomoisky was not political; rather he had gone to visit him because of TV work.

However, Zelensky made sure to reward him when he became president. He removed Kholomoisky’s opponents, the Prosecutor General, the Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, and his own prime minister, who tried to regulate Kholomoisky’s control of a state-owned electricity company.

Ukraine’s parliament also passed a measure that prevented Kholomoisky from having to pay higher taxes on his mining operations.

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Zelensky and Kholomoisky during a meeting at Ukraine’s Presidential palace. [Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com]

No Lion of a Leader

Zelensky’s long-standing ties to Kholomoisky belie the pristine public image of a man hailed by U.S. politicians as a “lion of a leader” (August Pfluger R-TX) and person of “incredible bravery” (Adam Schiff, D-CA).

A neoliberal who advanced a sweeping privatization initiative, Zelensky has banned eleven opposition parties and carried out a reign of terror against political opponents.

The victims include the former leader of the Ukrainian left forces, Vasily Volga, and the Kononovich brothers, leaders of Ukraine’s Young Communist League who were accused of being pro-Russian.

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The Kononovich brothers, leaders of the Young Communist League in Ukraine, who have been detained since March 6. [Source: towardfreedom.org]

Despite campaigning on a peace platform, Zelensky provoked war with Russia by a) enacting a major troop buildup in eastern Ukraine in February; b) increasing shelling of eastern Ukraine in violation of ceasefire agreements; and c) calling for the retaking from Russia of Crimea and city of Sevastopol, which houses the Russian Navy’s Black Sea fleet.

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Map showing Ukrainian troop concentrations on eastern Ukraine’s border on eve of the Russian invasion of February 24, 2022. According to the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Ukraine had massed 122,000 troops on the border with Donbass. The Duma furthermore has claimed to have intelligence indicating that these troops were planning an offensive into Donbas, which the Russian invasion preempted. [Source: consortiumnews.com]

Since the fighting began, Zelensky has eschewed negotiations and instead begged the West for more and more weapons while inviting foreign mercenaries into Ukraine.

Swiss journalist Guy Mettan has written that Zelensky will ultimately be held responsible for Ukraine’s devastation in the war as he “preferred the ruin of his country to a timely compromise.”

This assessment is at odds with the current media hagiography of Zelensky, which also obscures his ties to Kholomoisky that the CIA itself has acknowledged.

https://covertactionmagazine.com/2022/0 ... -zelensky/

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

Why Nord Stream II Must Be Opened Immediately

Next winter Germany, and other European countries, will have an energy crisis. This crisis, we are told, is caused by the proxy war between the U.S. and Russia in Europe. They say that Russia has cut us off from its natural gas deliveries.

That is a lie.

The Ukraine and Poland have shut off some pipelines that bring in gas from Russia to western Europe. Germany has not delivered on the contracted maintenance that is required to keep the Nord Stream I pipeline at full capacity. The German government has blocked the certification of the Nord Stream II pipeline which is technically 100% ready to work at full capacity.

The energy crisis Europe will experience was created by the governments of those European countries who stop the pipeline flow of gas from Russia and who's citizens will have to bear the consequences.

It is solely on them to stop that coming catastrophe.

Here is how one man, known for his attention to details, correctly portrays the issue:

Question: Mr President, a serious energy crisis is developing in Europe, which is discussing the possibility of Gazprom cutting off gas deliveries. The company has allegedly issued an official notification to one of its German clients, citing force majeure circumstances.
Are there grounds for accusing Russia of causing this energy crisis? Will Gazprom continue to honour its obligations

Vladimir Putin: First of all, Gazprom has always honoured, and will continue to honour its commitments.

There are no grounds at all for the attempts by our partners to shift or try to shift the blame for their own mistakes on Russia and Gazprom.

What is the situation with energy deliveries? In 2020, in the first half of 2020, gas cost 100 euros per 1,000 cubic metres in Europe. The price rose to 250 euros in the first half of 2021. Today it is 1,700 euros per 1,000 cubic metres of gas.

What is happening? I have spoken about this on numerous occasions, and I do not know if we should go into detail regarding the energy policies of European countries, which underrate the importance of traditional sources of energy and have put money on non-traditional energy sources. They are big experts on non-traditional relations, and they have also decided to make a bid for non-traditional energy sources like the sun and wind.

Last winter was long, there was no wind, and that did it. Investment in the fixed assets of traditional energy producers has decreased because of previous political decisions: banks do not finance them, insurance companies do not insure them, local governments do not allocate land plots for new projects, and pipeline and other forms of transportation are not developing. This is a result of many years, probably a decade of this policy. This is the root cause of price hikes rather than any actions by Russia or Gazprom.

What is going on today? Until recently, we supplied gas to Europe without Turkiye: we supplied around 30 billion cubic metres a year to Turkiye, and 170 billion to Europe, 55 billion via Nord Stream 1, and, if memory serves me, 33 billion were supplied via Yamal-Europe, via the two strings that run through Ukraine. About 12 billion were delivered to Europe through Turkiye via TurkStream.

Ukraine suddenly announced that it was going to close one of the two routes on its territory. Allegedly because the gas pumping station is not under its control but on the territory of the Lugansk People's Republic. But it found itself under the control of the Lugansk People's Republic several months before, and they closed it just recently without any grounds. Everything was functioning normally there, no one interfered. In my opinion, they closed it simply for political reasons.

What happened next? Poland imposed sanctions on Yamal-Europe, which supplied 33 billion cubic metres of gas. They used to take 34, I think, 33–34 million cubic metres a day from us. They shut it down completely. But then we saw that they turned on the Yamal-Europe pipeline in reverse mode, and they started taking about 32 million a day from Germany. Where is the gas from Germany coming from? It is our Russian gas. Why from Germany? Because it turned out to be cheaper for the Poles. They used to get it from us at a very high price, closer to the market price, whereas Germany gets it from us 3–4 times cheaper than the market price under long-term contracts.

It is profitable for German companies to sell it to the Poles at a small premium. It is profitable for the Poles to buy it because it is cheaper than to buy it directly from us. But the volume of gas in the European market has decreased, and the total market price has gone up. Who has won? All Europeans only lost. This is the second point: Yamal-Europe.

So, first one of the routes in Ukraine was shut down, then Yamal-Europe was shut down, now Nord Stream 1, which is one of the main routes – we pump 55 billion cubic metres a year through it. There are five Siemens gas compressor stations working there, and one is on standby. One compressor had to be sent out for repairs. A repaired compressor was supposed to come from Canada, from the Siemens plant in Canada, to replace it. But it ended up under sanctions in Canada. So, one pumping station, just one piece of equipment was out of order because of scheduled maintenance work and it has not been returned from Canada.

Now we are being told that the unit will be delivered from Canada soon, but Gazprom does not have any official documents yet. We must certainly obtain them, because this is our property, it is the property of Gazprom. Gazprom should receive not only the hardware, not only the gas pumping unit, but also the accompanying documents, both legal and technical documentation. We must be able to see what Gazprom is taking – the turbine’s current condition as well as its legal status, whether it is under sanctions or not, what we can do with it, or maybe they are taking it back tomorrow. But that is not all.

The problem is that at the end of July, on July 26, I think – we can ask Gazprom – another turbine should be sent for routine maintenance, for repairs. And where will we get a replacement from? We do not know.

One more turbine is actually out of order because of some crumbling of its internal liner. Siemens has confirmed this. That leaves two operational units, which are pumping 60 million per day. So, if one more is delivered, fine, we will have two in operation. But if it is not, only one will be left, and it will pump only 30 million cubic meters per day. You can count how much time it will take to pump the rest. How is this Gazprom’s responsibility? What does Gazprom even have to do with this? They have cut off one route, then another, and sanctioned this gas pumping equipment. Gazprom is ready to pump as much gas as necessary. But they have shut everything down.

And they have fallen into the same trap with the import of oil and petroleum products. We hear all sorts of crazy ideas about capping the volume of Russian oil imports or the price of Russian oil. This is going to lead to the same situation as with gas. The result (I am surprised to hear people with university degrees saying this) will be the same – rising prices. Oil prices will spiral.

As for gas, there is another route we are ready to open, which is Nord Stream 2. It is ready to be launched, but they are not launching it. There are problems here as well, I discussed them with the Chancellor about six or maybe eight weeks ago. I raised this issue; I said that Gazprom had reserved the capacity, and that this capacity needed to be used, and it cannot be suspended in mid-air indefinitely.

The answer was that there were other issues on the agenda, more important things, so it is difficult for them to deal with this right now. But I had to warn them that then we would have to redirect half of the volume intended for Nord Stream for domestic consumption and processing. I raised this issue at the request of Gazprom, and Gazprom has actually already done it. Therefore, even if we launch Nord Stream 2 tomorrow, it will not pump 55 billion cubic meters, but exactly half that amount. And given that we are already halfway through this year, it would be just a quarter. Such is the supply situation.

But – I said this at the beginning of my answer to your question and I want to end with this – Gazprom has always fulfilled and will always fulfil all of its obligations, as long as, of course, anyone needs it. First, they themselves close everything, and then they look for someone to blame – it would be comical if it were not so sad.


Those are facts.

The German and other European governments have pledged to suicide the German economy and the wealth of their citizens solely out of spite over the Russian government's action in the Ukraine. They deny that it is THEIR action that is causing the crisis.

Here is a neutral source, an Indian diplomat, explaining the basics of the business to the dimwits who are ruling over Europe:

Russia teaches Europe ABC of gas trade https://www.indianpunchline.com/russia- ... gas-trade/

They, and their media, ignore that Russia has had, and has, sound reasons to defend the Donbas republics. They do not tell you that the Ukraine, in late February, had planned and was ready to attack the citizens of Donetzk and Luhansk with overwhelming force.[/i]

Here is additional evidence for that:

OSCE Reports Reveal Ukraine Started Shelling The Donbas Nine Days Before Russia's 'Special Military Operation' https://kanekoa.substack.com/p/osce-rep ... ne-started

They deny that Ukraine is controlled by extreme right wing elements. They deny that there are full fledged Nazis formations in control of Ukraine even as their own media have for years warned of those.

They are lying to you.

All German natural gas storage sites can be filled to the brim via Nord Stream II if the Germany government would allow for it. It does not do so. That is the reason why you in Europe will to have pay much more for heating and electricity in the months and years to come.

Russia will win the war. It is only a question of time. Meanwhile the sanctions will impoverish Europe:

[C]an the European public wait? Before the sanctions have a "desired effect," it is the ordinary people that will suffer. Russia's economy is still standing, but the crisis has cast a long shadow over European economies. Leaders of EU countries face low growth and record inflation. The euro is at parity with the dollar. According to a Bloomberg report, the European Commission is set to warn that a halt of Russian gas supplies to the EU could potentially reduce its GDP by as much as 1.5 percent.
The EU is well in a position to find out that it is not that Russia cannot live without Europe, but Europe cannot live without Russia. EU's sanctions against Russia serve as a boomerang. After all, it is the European public that is paying the price for the decision of policymakers. European politicians talk in high spirits about what kinds of sanctions would hurt Russia most and that aligning with the US makes them more secure. But when the public has no gas to even take a shower or cannot buy oil and flour at the supermarket, what is the meaning of the "security" the European politicians tout?


It is on you to expose the politicians behind these sanctions and to force them to change course. Your well being depends on that.

Posted by b on July 21, 2022 at 7:35 UTC | Permalink
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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

Post by blindpig » Fri Jul 22, 2022 1:48 pm

miracle weapons
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 07/22/2022 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT
Original Article: DonRF

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A long time ago, there was a writer, Viktor Suvorov, who made a lot of money putting forward the nonsensical theory that the Soviet Union was stronger than Nazi Germany in 1941 because it had better tanks. Many believed the theory: tanks really were better. But for some reason, that didn't help. People who are far from the realities of the army are usually inclined to believe in super weapons , that no matter what happens, they guarantee victories. You just have to get those weapons. And everything is done.

In this sense, the case of Ukraine is interesting, where a cult of Western weapons has been created. First there were the Bayraktar. Arestovich claimed that they would get thousands of Bayraktar and strike. They didn't hit. So the subject of drone strikes was forgotten. From time to time it has recovered, basically to boost morale. And that's it.

What happened? Our air defenses began to fire, not as it would be done in the textbooks, but as it should be done. And electronic warfare began to work not according to instructions, but as expected. And the troops learned that there may be danger from heaven. So it turned out that this wunderwaffe was nothing more than a weaker combat aircraft.

Then there were the Harpoons, which they used. Twice. And that's it. Why? Because the heads of the navy began to work. Its tasks are basically two: attacks with Kalibr and blocking. To do this, it is not necessary to get within range of the Harpoons. Submarines are enough. As soon as the fleet stopped playing at preparing a landing (which is basically impossible there), this wunderwaffe turned into a pumpkin.

Now they are the HIMARS. Ukraine asks for a thousand and makes propaganda on all channels, although now it has relaxed a bit. For starters, they used them against weapons depots and headquarters. I have a feeling it's time to look at this new cult object from the other side.

By the way, on this side we are not better, quite the opposite. First of all, there are no analogues and they are limited, the ground and air forces are limited, and then the question arises, "How do these things happen?" That's why you've been through, the keyword is limited.

You have to see things differently. The factors that play a role in a military victory are simple: strength, communications, logistics, firepower, military intelligence. For example, let's say NATO attacks Serbia (a big cat capable of devouring humans fighting a cat). In that case, a limited number of advanced systems would suffice there. True, in the end the war was fought with absolutely standard gray equipment and all kinds of stealth propaganda.

But if there is no critical advantage, it is better not to start without a mobilization. If not, you will suddenly understand after you have fired 3,000 missiles that the infantry in your territory are in the open. It turns out there should be a lot more infantry, who need more radios, experienced commanders, and supplies than a handful of miracle weapons that can do damage but lose. Equipment is not everything, brains and character are needed.

In view of a new round of attacks, I am not worried about the HIMARS, the Harpoons, or any other miracle weapons that may fall into their hands. I am concerned about how many machine guns and drivers we have, how supplies are organized, what happens to radios, and what reconnaissance drones are like. I care what commanders have learned, how intelligence and counterintelligence work. And the wunderwaffe …the Germans were the ones who produced them the most. And they lost two world wars.

It's time to understand that arming a million-man army to NATO standards is not going to work on its own and you won't be able to create the logistics for those weapons during battles. And our failures are not due to NATO weapons, but to complacency. With the equipment you have right now, you can kill three Ukrainians, but you can also lose everything. The important thing is how to use it.

https://slavyangrad.es/2022/07/22/armas ... more-25099

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EU Approves New Round of Sanctions on Russia

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EU sanctions Russian gold as part of new package of sanctions. | Photo: Twitter @PressTV

Published 22 July 2022 (1 hours 6 minutes ago)

This seventh package of sanctions bans primarily imports of gold and also tightens export controls on some high-tech products that could contribute "to the military and technological advancement" of the Eurasian country, in addition to extending the ban on access to ports.

The European Union (EU) imposed a seventh package of sanctions against Moscow that includes a ban on Russian gold imports. “We are effectively banning Russia's most important export after energy: Russian gold,” the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, announced Thursday.“

Thus, this new package of sanctions prohibits the direct and indirect purchase, import, transformation of gold, if it has been exported from Russia to the EU or any third country. The same measure will apply to jewelry.

This seventh package of the bloc's sanctions also tightens export controls on some high-tech products that could contribute “

to the military and technological advancement" of the Eurasian country, in addition to extending the ban on access to ports.



In reaction, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denounced the anti-Russian measure, saying it leads the EU itself into a stalemate.

“The EU remains obstinate in bringing itself to a stalemate. Against the background of the futility [...] of the policy of long-term pressure on Russia, the devastating consequences of the EU sanctions exercise for various segments of the world economy and security, including EU member states, are becoming increasingly evident,” she stressed.

Since the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine on February 24, the European Union and its Western allies have imposed a wave of restrictive measures against the Eurasian country, including freezing the assets of the Russian Central Bank and announcing sanctions against Putin and other Russian authorities.

Russia, in turn, has vowed to respond sternly to the Western sanctions, warning that these measures “will not prevent” Moscow from helping the People's Republics in eastern Ukraine.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/EU- ... -0003.html

Russia, Ukraine to Sign Agreement on Grain Exports in Istanbul

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Russia and Ukraine will sign a deal on Friday in Turkiye to reopen Ukraine's Black Sea ports to grain exports. | Photo: Twitter @michaeltanchum

Published 22 July 2022 (5 hours 57 minutes ago)

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are working on a agreement to be signed in Istanbul on Friday to create a corridor for the transportation of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea.


Turkiye's presidential office announced Thursday the completion of an agreement between Russia and Ukraine for the opening of a grain corridor in the Black Sea.

The document is set to be signed at the Dolmabahce Palace at 4:30 pm on July 22. According to Ankara, the ceremony will involve representatives of Russia and Ukraine, as well as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Progress on resolving the grain corridor issue was made at a four-party meeting in Istanbul on July 13, where Russia put forward some practical proposals. The parties mostly supported Russia’s proposals, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said. Talks later continued online.


The final document, dubbed The Black Sea Initiative, will concern the establishment of a coordination center under UN auspices, the demining of Ukrainian ports, joint controls at port exits and entrances and efforts to ensure security on export routes, Russian news agency TASS reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out earlier that Moscow was ready to provide an unhindered passage to ships carrying Ukrainian grain but first, Kiev needed to clear its ports of mines. He also dismissed statements that Russia was allegedly blocking grain in Ukrainian ports as mere bluffing. The Russian president stated in Tehran on July 19 that Moscow was willing to facilitate Ukrainian grain exports provided all restrictions on Russia’s food exports were lifted.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Rus ... -0001.html

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Russian authorities add new countries to list of unfriendly nations

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"Greece, Denmark, Slovenia, Croatia and Slovakia have been added to the list of countries that commit unfriendly acts against Russia," the Russian government said. | Photo: @KremlinRussia
Published July 22, 2022 (51 minutes ago)

The list is not final and given the hostile actions of foreign states against Russian representations abroad, it may be expanded, Moscow said.

The Russian government released a presidential statement this Friday in which new states are included in the list of countries considered hostile, in response to the unilateral coercive measures imposed by the European Union.

Greece, Denmark, Slovenia, Croatia and Slovakia are added to the report, before which hiring personnel in embassies, consulates and representative offices of government agencies will be restricted.

"Greece, Denmark, Slovenia, Croatia and Slovakia have been added to the list of countries that commit unfriendly acts against Russia, in particular against its diplomatic and consular missions abroad," the statement said.


He mentioned that as of today, those States will be limited from hiring employees at their diplomatic missions based in Russia.

"The list approved by the government is not final and given the continued hostile actions of foreign states against Russian representations abroad, it may be expanded," Moscow said in the text.

The list includes 48 unfriendly countries: Albania, Andorra, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, all the States of the European Union, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, Micronesia, Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Norway, Korea, San Marino, Macedonia North, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan and Ukraine.

Several nations have implemented unilateral coercive measures against Russia, as a result of its recognition of the self-proclaimed people's republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, and the start of the special military operation in Ukrainian territories, on February 24 last.

The Moscow government has stressed that the objective of this operation is to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine. Likewise, it has clarified that the military incursions are not directed against civilians, but are concentrated on nullifying the Ukrainian military infrastructure.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/rusia-in ... -0004.html

Google Translator

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From Cassad's Telegram account:

***

Сolonelcassad
Minion Kolomoisky, the Korban raider who leads the Dnepropetrovsk Volkssturm, is not allowed back into Ukraine. At the border, his passport was taken away and he was not allowed to enter the territory of Ukraine. Which hints that the decree depriving Kolomoisky and Korban of Ukrainian citizenship is genuine. And consequently, Kolomoisky’s cadres in Dnepropetrovsk will begin to be replaced by those who are loyal to Zelensky’s gang and its owners.

***

forwarded from
Resident
⚡️⚡️⚡️#Insider
MI6 transmitted intelligence to the Office of the President and the General Staff that Putin in Tehran agreed on a batch of drones for Russian troops. Separately, agreements were reached on the creation of several joint design bureaus that will produce drones in Russia on the basis of aircraft factories.

***

forwarded from
Echoes of war
Another bloody provocation of Ukraine, which turned into a failure

on March 16 - a day that became a tragedy for the inhabitants of Mariupol. A powerful explosion thundered in the center and instantly enveloped the drama theater in fire.

The Ukrainian authorities immediately made a statement that a Russian fighter jet dropped two simultaneously detonated 500-kilogram bombs on the building, which claimed the lives of 300 civilians.

After the city was liberated from Ukrainian occupation, the staff of the Russian Investigative Committee, together with colleagues from the DPR, began an investigation. The search for witnesses and inspection of the crime scene immediately began.

Aleksey Kutsurubenko, head of the investigative department of the DPR General Prosecutor's Office, said that the bodies of 14 dead were found in the building, and the allegations of the death of 300 people turned out to be fake.

At the moment, it is known that VFU used a non-contained explosive device inside the theater. Not a single damaging element of an air bomb or any other ammunition was found, which completely refutes the accusations from Ukraine.

The journalists of "Echo of War" visited this infamous place. The footage describes in detail the atmosphere that prevails in the ruined building: the walls are still saturated with the smell of smoke and burnt parquet, the passages are partially walled up with brickwork, and on the approach to the basement there is a persistent smell of decaying bodies.

***

forwarded from
Readovka
Map of hostilities and the situation on the fronts on the evening of July 21, 2022

⚔️The situation on the fronts for the past day:

▫️The Kharkov direction is full of news about shooting battles in the outskirts of Kharkov. Our scouts do not allow the armed Ukrainian formations to carry out sabotage work against the Russian troops.

▫️In the Slavic direction , fighting is underway in the Seversk region. Russian fighter aircraft shot down a Su-25 attack aircraft of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Kramatorsk.

▫️In the Donetsk direction, our troops made a breakthrough towards the village of Vershina. There are counter-battery battles in the Avdiivka area.

▫️In the southern direction, Ukrainian scouts tried to launch a counterattack in the direction of Nikolaev, but were destroyed by return fire. Part of the military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were taken prisoner. It is also reported that a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter was shot down by means of Russian air defense in the Pervomaisky area. No changes were recorded along the front line over the past day.

"Arrivals". It became known that yesterday in Nekhoteevka one of the rockets exploded next to the sixty-three-year-old local deputy Nikolai Degtyarev. The victim died on the spot from multiple shrapnel wounds.

Rocket strikes by our VKS were inflictedin Ukrainian warehouses in Nikolaev and the region. In just a day, 6 warehouses with rocket and artillery weapons and ammunition were destroyed, including in the areas of the settlement of Maliyevka. In the evening , new attacks on the Armed Forces of Ukraine began in the area of ​​​​Kharkov and Chuguev.

In the world. Lukashenka caused a tantrum in the French media by talking about the CAESAR self-propelled guns, which the Ukrainians sold to Russian troops, and which ended up in Uralvagonzavod. The officers of the French army took this fact very sharply and criticized the current vector of state policy aimed at supporting Ukraine.

Heroes of SVO. For the courage and heroism shown in the performance of military duty, Sergei Panov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia.

From the interesting: Readovka prepared a report about an artilleryman from the Pyatnashka international brigade with the call sign Midshipman, who retired from the military in 2019, but the special operation forced the retired soldier to return to duty.

Image

***

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🇬🇧🇺🇦Offensive on Donbass: the situation in the east of Ukraine
on July 21, 2022 The

situation in the east of Ukraine has relatively stabilized in recent years. The RF Armed Forces continue to rotate the units participating in the NMD, regroup and build up forces for a further offensive.

There are persistent rumors about the start of a new cycle of operations by Belarus, but the chances of this, frankly, are small. Given the urgent need to resolve the issue with Slavyansk, create a security zone around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and deal with the Kherson issue, the opening of another front under these conditions is extremely unlikely.

At the front, more and more volunteer formations appear from all over Russia, formed both along ethnic and regional lines. The conflict and its nature are changing, becoming more and more ideological.

The saddest thing is that for the most part these are people who are not directly related to law enforcement agencies or military formations. The same Cossacks, for the most part, arrange amusing dances and talk about the defense of the Motherland, staying as far away from the Donbass as possible. Representatives of really necessary military specialties - missilemen, artillerymen, motorized riflemen, tankers - are in no hurry to get out of the reserve and rush to sign a fixed-term contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense, despite all the promised benefits.

The situation on the fronts is like the calm before the storm that is about to break out.

***

Сolonelcassad
🇬🇧🇺🇦Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, Military Equipment of the RF Armed Forces and Nuclear Catastrophe for All Humanity

Against the backdrop of ongoing Ukrainian attacks on Europe's largest Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Energodar , Ukrainian media began to spread panicky rumors. According to them, the Russian army drove 14 units of heavy equipment, as well as weapons and ammunition into the engine room of the 1st power unit. And all this threatens the fire safety of the station.

▪️Ukrainian media reported that now fire equipment will not be able to enter the premises of the 1st power unit . From this it is concluded that this threatens a nuclear catastrophe for all mankind.

▪️Indeed, there is a transport corridor in the turbine compartments of the power units that connects them. Rails are laid along it in case of export of some large cargo, for example, a pump or a heater using a railway platform.

▪️However, fire fighting equipment never entered the turbine compartments and along the transport corridor . This did not happen in any of the exercises.

▪️To extinguish fires, there are standard systems that work without any additional equipment. Fire water pipelines, the so-called “dry pipes”, are laid throughout the power unit, which can be used to extinguish the flame at any point in the room.

Therefore, we cannot yet say with certainty whether there are military equipment in the premises of the power units. Although this is a very strange decision, there are many other, more convenient places to place armored vehicles on the territory of a nuclear power plant.

But even if this is so, then their presence does not threaten the fire safety of the station in any way and, of course, does not lead to any nuclear catastrophe.
#Zaporozhye #Russia #Ukraine @rybar https://t.me/rybar/35912

***

Сolonelcassad
With regard to strikes on Energodar, as well as on other settlements in the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, Ukrainian terrorists use exactly the same tactics as in attacks on the DPR and LPR since 2014. And the West, of course, will turn a blind eye to this, as it has done since 2014.
The fact that "they do not notice" is not strange, but the norm. Their norm. This is important to remember in any appeal to an "enlightened Europe".

https://t.me/energodar_ru/2119
Telegram
The main thing in Energodar
Kiev deliberately strikes at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant: a repeat of the Chernobyl tragedy is an acceptable and even desirable scenario

. As we used to think...

***

Сolonelcassad
Ukrainian media throw in a decree on depriving Kolomoisky of citizenship of Ukraine. If the decree is genuine, then this is just another illustration of the fact that the United States got its way by forcing Zelensky to move away from his former sponsor, who is now no longer needed. It was Kolomoisky who financed Zelensky's campaign and at one time stuffed Zelensky's administration with his own people. But they were slowly removed, replaced by figures that suited Washington first of all. Well, it is worth remembering that a criminal case has been opened against Kolomoisky in the United States.

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

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

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

Post by blindpig » Sat Jul 23, 2022 1:13 pm

The main success of Ukraine
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 07/23/2022

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Several months ago, when the first exchange of prisoners between Russia and the People's Republics and Ukraine took place, the agreement was analyzed as a positive sign that showed that there was communication between the parties, capable of reaching an agreement. The same thing happened in 2019, when after what would be the last summit of heads of state and government of the Normandy Format, Ukraine, the DPR and the RPL carried out a large prisoner exchange, which was seen both in the Russian press and in the western, as a first step towards a possible political agreement. That step towards peace would end up being the simple reflection of excessive optimism based on false premises. The political contradictions over the content and meaning of the Minsk agreements, which involved a series of concessions that Ukraine was never willing to make, they had not disappeared. And despite coming to power promising peace even though it required tough compromises, Zelensky's speech quickly turned towards a line of continuity with the one inherited from Poroshenko's times.

For several days, the imminent agreement between Russia and Ukraine to unblock Ukrainian grain exports had been announced, another goodwill gesture of the Russian Federation towards Ukraine and the international community. But if this agreement ran the risk of being seen as a first step towards a broader agreement between the parties, the way in which it was signed yesterday dispelled any doubt. Despite the fact that the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, described the signing as a "sign of hope", the fact that it is not even an agreement between Russia and Ukraine shows that, under current conditions, there is no pact possible between the two countries, not even to deal with the less controversial issues.

The issue of Ukrainian wheat has been a constant in the discourse of the war since the Russian intervention began. The Russian blockade has prevented the sea export of grain and other food products, important not only for Ukraine's income, but also because some of its markets are in developing countries already hit by rising inflation. At this time, with a discourse not lacking in hypocrisy - the United States makes possible the blockade of Yemen, a country with great dependence on foreign countries to feed its population - Western countries have tried to blame Russia for a future famine in the countries poorest on the planet. Russia would also be guilty of the increase in food prices, despite the fact that even Western sources such as the Financial Timesshow that this escalation began as early as 2019.

Trying to find a single culprit – Putin's war – for a problem caused by a host of factors, among which geopolitics is just one more, Western countries have also preferred to forget the effect that the sanctions against Russia have had on the world market. of food. Despite not directly affecting exports, the sanctions do affect maritime transport. And although in the last five months the Ukrainian grain has been presented as capable of feeding the world, in 2019 (the last year for which FAO has data from the United States, one of the major producers), the country's production accounted for 3.70% of world production, far behind the three main producers -China , India and Russia - and even the United States and Canada.

Russian production amounted to 9.73% of world wheat production that year, although that amount has to feed a much larger population than Ukrainian production. However, the importance of Russia is not limited to the export of food, but rather, as a world power in the field of fertilizers, the difficulties in Russian foreign trade may endanger the national production of those countries that the United States and the European Union claim that they are fed by Ukrainian wheat.

The agreement signed yesterday in Turkey affects both aspects. Hours before the signing, the advisor to the Office of the President Mijailo Podoliak stated that Ukraine would not sign an agreement with Russia. That possibility had been made clear by the Ukrainian announcement that it would be the infrastructure minister who would sign the agreement. The fact that they were heads of different ministries - Shoigu, Minister of Defense, was the Russian envoy - who signed the agreement made it foreseeable that there would not be a joint ceremony. Finally, Ukraine first and Russia later signed the same agreement that binds both, but it was not direct. Moreover, Ukraine wanted to insist that its agreement is not with Russia, but with Turkey and the United Nations.

The agreement, valid for 120 days, involves three major Black Sea ports, Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny, and includes a ship review mechanism to ensure that there are no arms imports. The agreement not only unblocks the export of Ukrainian wheat, but, according to Sergey Shoigu, facilitates, at the request of Moscow, the export of Russian fertilizers. Work to start exports has already started and transit through routes that the Ukrainian Army has considered safe may resume in the coming days. It is probable that, eliminating the uncertainty about what would become of the Ukrainian grain, there will be an effect, at least temporary, on prices, although Ukrainian exports will not "avoid a world famine" as the press repeated yesterday.

We will have to wait a while to confirm that this indirect agreement between Russia and Ukraine is fulfilled in its entirety and also to see what the role of Turkey is, especially with regard to ships from the Sea of ​​Azov. In recent weeks, Turkey has seized at Ukraine's request ships carrying wheat that kyiv alleged had been "stolen" by Russian authorities in the "occupied territories." Ukraine thus intends to block the export of wheat grown in southern Ukraine, in the regions now under Russian control. The factor of concern for the world population disappears when it comes to exports made by Russia.

For what has not been necessary to wait has been to hear the first accusations. As a precaution, Mijailo Podoliak sowed yesterday afternoon the first doubts about Russian compliance with its part of the agreement. kyiv thus chooses to follow the path marked out in the Minsk process, in which each Ukrainian default was presented as a Russian default. The Ukrainian blockade of each and every one of the political points of the Minsk agreements was always the fault of Moscow, a discourse that was not only generalized in Ukraine, but was repeated, without being subjected to any criticism or verification, both by kyiv partners as by the Western press. Ukraine's main success in these eight years has not been to strengthen its army, keep its economy afloat or secure the full support of its partners,

https://slavyangrad.es/2022/07/23/el-pr ... e-ucrania/

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War in Ukraine. Summary 07/22/2022
July 23, 1:25 am

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War in Ukraine. Summary 07/22/2022

1. Seversk.
Fighting continues in the area of ​​Serebryanka, Verkhnekamensky and Ivano-Daryevka. The RF Armed Forces are engaged in grinding enemy positions on the heights adjacent to the city. The enemy suffers significant losses, including prisoners. The Seversk-Soledar road is regularly shelled by Russian artillery.

2. Soledar.
Fighting continues on the eastern outskirts of the city, the RF Armed Forces are advancing from Stryapovka. Fighting continues near Yakovlevka and Belogorovka. The enemy is intensively bombarding Berestovoe in order to prevent our troops from establishing full control over the village.

3. Artemovsk.
Our troops advanced in Pokrovsky. The enemy has been pushed into the northern part of the village. The capture of Pokrovsky will mean that the Klinovoye-Pokrovskoye line has been broken and Artemovsk itself is already moving on, to which 2-3 kilometers are left. Fighting also continued at the Veselaia Dolina, as well as at the Uglegorsk TPP and Semigorye. The enemy from the Artemovsk region continues to shell the territory of the LPR, including the recently liberated Lisichansk agglomeration.

4. Slavyansk.
No significant changes. Fighting continued near Sidorovo, Dolina, Bogorodichny and in the forests to the north-west of the city. The objects of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration are subjected to daily missile strikes, which in the event of strikes against the dispositions of enemy units leads to large one-time losses in manpower. In the Izyum direction, there are also no changes so far. The enemy is trying to probe the defense of the RF Armed Forces in the Balakleya area.

5. Kharkov.
Fighting positions continue in the area of ​​the settlement. Udy, Tsupovka, Dementievka, Great Passages, Nursery, Upper Saltov. There are no serious advances on the front. The RF Armed Forces continue to strike at the targets of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of ​​Kharkov, Chuguev and Zolochev. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are shelling the border villages, as well as Cossack Lopan.

6. Avdiivka.
No significant changes. Positional battles along the Konstantinovka-Avdeevka highway, as well as in the Avdeevka industrial area. Active work of artillery on both sides + ongoing shelling of Donetsk, Yasinovataya and other settlements. The situation is identical in the region of Gorlovka and Dzerzhinsk. Static front + artillery shelling.

7. Carbon.
Positional battles continue in the area of ​​Pavlovka, Novomikhailovka and in Maryinka. The enemy tried to attack in the direction of Glorious. Our troops are crushing the enemy south of Velikaya Novoselovka. In general, the front here is positional in nature.

8. Zaporozhye.
On the Kamenskoye-Orekhov-Gulyaipole-Velikaya Novoselovka line, medium-intensity positional battles continued, as well as artillery shelling. The enemy continues to probe the possibilities of advance in the direction of Pologi and Vasilievka.

9. Nikolaev.
The enemy tried to carry out an attack in the area of ​​Potemkino and Vysokopolye with the forces of two battalions, suffered heavy losses in killed and wounded and was forced to withdraw. Nevertheless, it is quite obvious that political circumstances will push the Armed Forces of Ukraine to be active in the Krivoy Rog and Nikopol directions, which we have been observing in recent weeks. The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation stop this threat with regular strikes in the Krivoy Rog direction. Attacks on Nikolaev are also continuing, which inflict serious losses on the enemy and prevent serious activity from being launched in the direction of Kherson. It is also worth noting the creation in the Kherson region of the "Odessa brigade", which will be used to attack Nikolaev and Odessa.

10.Odessa.
In Istanbul, an agreement was reached on the export of Ukrainian grain. They will be exported through Turkey under the control of passing ships by Turkey, Russia and the UN.

https://t.me/boris_rozhin/58010 - zinc

The number of upset people has increased because of how the Russians decided to fight
July 23, 13:11

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The number of upset people has increased because of how the Russians decided to fight.

An American fighting for Ukraine who served in the US Army on combat missions in the Middle East described the constant Russian bombing of the city of Severodonetsk in the Ukrainian region of Donbass as “the closest thing to hell I have ever seen.”

The Ukrainian Armed Forces estimate that Russia uses eight times as much artillery ammunition every day, firing thousands more than the Ukrainians and nullifying their efforts.

“We lost three guys,” said the soldier after the fighting near Severodonetsk. “My commander was killed there. My friend was killed there. When this happens, it's hard to imagine how to move on.”

Ukrainian casualties were enormous, with Ukraine's own estimates of 100 to 200 casualties a day during the worst moments of the war. These brutal losses have sapped morale in the ranks and in other units, five non-Ukrainian soldiers said in interviews over the past month. The four soldiers did not reveal their identities and asked that their names not be released for their safety and that they be free to talk about their experiences.

“The number of people who are frustrated and have low morale has increased, and that’s partly because of the way the Russians have chosen to fight,” says Ripley Rawlings, a retired USMC lieutenant colonel and writer who supplies foreign fighters in Ukraine through his US-based organization

Rawlings, who recently traveled to Ukraine and sent everything from scopes and goggles to trucks and electric bikes, said "about half of the units we support have been hit hard lately."

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ukra ... -rcna39268 - original in English

It's not Iraq or Afghanistan, everything is grown-up here.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7754283.html

Google Translator

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Black Sea Grain Exports Agreement “A Beacon of Hope”: UN Chief

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Photo posted on the UN News website on July 22, 2022 shows UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (L, front) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the signing ceremony of Black Sea grain exports agreement in Istanbul, Türkiye. | Photo: UN News

Published 22 July 2022 (13 hours 31 minutes ago)

"It is a beacon of hope, possibility and relief," the UN chief tweeted, noting that the deal will help avoid a food shortage catastrophe for millions worldwide.

The agreement to resume grain shipments from Ukrainian ports to international markets via the Black Sea is "a beacon of hope" for the world, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday.

The agreement signed Friday by Ukraine, Russia and Türkiye under UN auspices "opens a path for commercial food exports from Ukraine in the Black Sea," Guterres said in a tweet.

"It is a beacon of hope, possibility and relief," the UN chief tweeted, noting that the deal will help avoid a food shortage catastrophe for millions worldwide.

Guterres attended the signing ceremony of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in Istanbul, Türkiye.

In remarks at the ceremony issued by his press office at the UN headquarters in New York, Guterres thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government for facilitating the talks that led to the deal, and commended the Russian and Ukrainian representatives for putting aside their differences in the common interests of humanity.

"The question has not been what is good for one side or the other," he said. "The focus has been on what matters most for the people of our world. And let there be no doubt -- this is an agreement for the world."

The secretary-general pointed out that the shipment of grain and food stocks into world markets will help bridge the global food supply gap and reduce pressure on high prices.

"This initiative must be fully implemented because the world so desperately needs it to tackle the global food crisis," he added.

Guterres also announced the establishment of a joint coordination center in Istanbul to monitor the implementation of the Black Sea initiative.

He acknowledged "the long road" and immense efforts and commitment by all sides as well as weeks of around-the-clock negotiations leading up to the agreement.

On the UN side, Guterres said that in April, after talks with Erdogan, he also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to propose a plan for solutions, and "we have been working every day since."

Two UN task forces worked in parallel on the talks -- one focused on the shipment of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, which was led by UN humanitarian affairs chief Martin Griffiths, and the other on facilitating access of Russian food and fertilizers, headed by Rebecca Grynspan, secretary-general of the UN trade and development body, UNCTAD.

"For months, the secretary-general has been underlining the importance of facilitating full access to world markets for Ukraine's food stocks and Russian food and fertilizers," Guterres' press office said Friday in a note to correspondents.

Ukraine and Russia are breadbaskets of the world, producing almost one-third of the world's wheat and barley and half of its sunflower oil. According to the note, Russia is also a top global exporter of fertilizers and raw materials for its production.

The parties of the initiative recognized the role of the UN secretary-general in securing the discussions. They went on to request his further assistance in its implementation, in the furtherance of the humanitarian mission of the United Nations, subject to its authorities and mandates, the note said.

Speaking at the ceremony, Guterres pledged the UN's full commitment to the agreement, and urged all sides to do the same.

"We will remain closely involved in working for the agreement's success," he said. "I urge all sides to spare no effort to implement their commitments. We must also spare no effort for peace."

In a tweet Friday, Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, welcomed the signing of the Black Sea agreement, described it as a very meaningful step, and echoed Guterres' appeal for peace.

"Hope the parties concerned will maintain the momentum of dialogue and foster conditions for the early restoration of peace," Zhang tweeted.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Bla ... -0015.html

US to Send New Batch of Weapons to Ukraine Worth $270 Million

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White House Spokesperson John Kirby has announced another $270 million in Defense Aid To Ukraine, including rocket systems, bringing the total of US military assistance to Ukraine to $8.2 billion USD. | Photo: Twitter @Defcon_Level

Published 22 July 2022 (7 hours 19 minutes ago)

[/b]he Joe Biden's Administration continues its policy of military assistance to Ukraine, including HIMARS rocket launchers, this time, for $270 million.[/b]

The United States Department of Defense (Pentagon) spokesman John Kirby announced Friday a new package of military assistance to Ukraine worth an estimated $270 million.

The military supplies include 580 Phoenix Ghost kamikaze drones, as well as four High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), 36,000 shells and anti-tank ammunition, the U.S. spokesman said in a telephone press conference.

Kirby also said that the United States is in constant contact with the Ukrainian authorities to learn about their needs and to cooperate with them as possible. "It's an ongoing process," he stressed in this regard.


Since the beginning of the Russian military operation in Ukraine last February 24, and even before, the U.S. and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into arms shipments to Ukraine in their attempt to defeat Russia.

In total, Washington has so far sent more than $8.2 billion in military aid to Kiev.

Moscow claims that the West is putting its own security at risk by delivering massive arms supplies to Ukraine, and warns that Western countries are thus "adding fuel to the fire" of the conflict, which "will have tragic repercussions".

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/US- ... -0023.html

Scope of the Russian Operation in Ukraine Has Changed: Lavrov

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A Russian tank at special operation zone, July 20, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/ @5thSu

Published 20 July 2022

The Kremlim cannot accept Ukrainian President Zelensky "or whoever replaces him" placing weapons in areas that could pose a direct threat to Russia, Lugansk, and Donetsk.

On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the "geographical objectives" of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine have changed as the West is providing Ukraine with more long-range weapons.

Beyond the Lugansk and Donetsk republics, the Russian operation will be expanded to the Kherson region, the Zaporizhzhia region and other territories to push the contact line further away, Lavrov told RT broadcaster and RIA Novosti news agency.

Lavrov said his country cannot accept Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky "or whoever replaces him" placing weapons in areas that could pose a direct threat to the territories of Russia, Lugansk, and Donetsk.

“If Western countries supply long-range weapons to Ukraine, these goals will move even further,” the Russian Minister warned.


Regarding these statements, the Moscow Times recalled that Washington has sent HIMARS medium-range rocket systems to Zelensky over the last month, which "has allowed Ukraine to attack Russian positions beyond the front lines more frequently and with greater accuracy."

During an interview with FOX, former U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency officer Rebecca Koffler acknowledged that "there is no such amount of money or weapons that would be enough for Ukraine to win… because the Russian army is incommensurably more powerful than the Ukrainian one."

Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu inspected the Western group of troops involved in the special military operation. He ordered the military to increase the capability of destroying Ukrainian drones and preventing the Ukrainian forces from shelling liberated areas. He had previously inspected the Southern, Central and Eastern groups of troops.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Sco ... -0010.html

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Mercosur Summit Spurns Zelensky’s US-Sponsored Address
JULY 21, 2022

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Ukraine's Zelensky addressing the Cannes Film Festival opening ceremony last May. Photo: Christophe Simon/AFP.

At a press conference, Paraguayan Deputy Foreign Minister Raúl Cano reported that the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) will not host a virtual talk with the president of Ukraine, Vlodymyr Zelensky, due to lack of consensus among its members.

The Ukrainian president had expressed his interest in sending a message to the member countries of the South American economic union, but this request was rejected. The decision must have the approval of the assembly of the regional bloc of South American countries.

“Mercosur takes its decisions by consensus, and there was no consensus to be able to have that talk,” said Cano. “Ukraine has already been informed that there are no conditions to be able to speak, as Mercosur, with Zelensky.”

“The US sponsored franchise promoting Zelensky’s speeches around any major political, international or cultural event is losing traction,” commented Jesús Rodríguez-Espinoza, editor of Venezuelan news outlet Orinoco Tribune. “Everyone knows that a small country like Ukraine does not have the capacity to organize such a franchise unless they have Washington promoting the show for them.”

“Sadly, Paraguay and Uruguay are ruled by far-right governments and they will do anything that the US asks them to,” he added, “as they recently did when they promoted the grounding of a Boeing 747 belonging to Venezuela’s state-owned cargo company EMTRASUR.”

The governments of Argentina and Brazil, through the decisions of their leaders, opposed Zelensky’s request to speak as a guest at the Mercosur summit that begins this Wednesday in the Paraguayan capital of Asunción.

For their part, Paraguay and Uruguay, the other two partners of the regional bloc, agreed to Zelensky’s video address; however, as there was no consensus, the request was rejected.

At the beginning of July, the Uruguayan president, Mario Abdo Benítez, stated that he would consult with his peers about Zelensky’s participation, since decisions in the block are made by consensus.

In fact, Paraguayan foreign minister, Julio César Arriola, explained that Zelensky requested to address a message to the presidents of the Mercosur member countries during the summit held in Paraguay, the country that currently holds the pro tempore presidency of the regional bloc.

Mercosur is composed of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, alongside Venezuela, which is currently suspended, and Bolivia, which is in the admission process.

(RedRadioVE) by Victoria Torres, with Orinoco Tribune content

https://orinocotribune.com/mercosur-spu ... king-tour/

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Ukraine Grain Exports - Myths And Reality

A deal between Ukraine and Russia aims to ease the global food crisis. - New York Times - Jul 23, 2022

BRUSSELS — Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul on Friday to free more than 20 million metric tons of grain stuck in blockaded Black Sea ports in Ukraine, a deal aimed at bringing down soaring grain prices and alleviating a mounting global hunger crisis.


The highlighted claims are as false as much of the other NYT reporting on Ukraine.

Ukraine grain exports reach 47.2 million tonnes so far for 2021-22 - World-Grain.com - Jun 6, 2022

KYIV, UKRAINE — Ukraine has exported 148,000 tonnes of grain in the first five days of June, pushing its July to June 2021-22 marketing year total to 47.2 million tonnes, the country’s agriculture ministry said on June 6, Reuters reported.
The ministry said the total volume included 18.578 million tonnes of wheat, 22.4 million tonnes of corn and 5.7 million tonnes of barley, with corn shipments dominating the June start, Reuters reported.
...
Ukraine reached 54.9 million tonnes of wheat, corn and barley exports in 2019-2020, but dipped to 44.9 million tonnes in 2020-21, mostly on lower wheat production, according to the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Feb. 1 Foreign Agricultural Services (FAS) quarterly report. Before Russia's invasion, Ukraine had been projected to export 63.7 million tonnes of the grains in 2021-22.

The above numbers are more than 6 weeks old. Back then the difference between projected exports and exports up to June 5 was 63.7 - 47.2 = 16.5 million tons.

Ukraine's grain exports to reach 2 mln tonnes in June - deputy minister - Reuters - June 20, 2022

Ukraine’s grain exports will increase to 2 million tonnes in June from 1.7 million tonnes in May and reach the maximum volume that Ukraine can ship by land routes, First Deputy Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskiy said on Monday.


Since the first report a further 3 million tons of grains have been exported. The total left to export from the last season is thereby likely down to about 13 million tons.

Where the New York Times found '20 million metric tons' 'stuck in Black Sea ports in Ukraine' (because the Ukraine has mined the approaches) is unexplained.

As for 'soaring grain prices' please consult these charts.

Wheat

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Source: Trading Economics

Corn

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Source: Trading Economics

To me it does not look like the recent prices have 'soared'.

The NYT also claims that the release of Ukrainian exports will be 'alleviating a mounting global hunger crisis'. In 2021 Ukraine's share of global wheat exports was 8.5% while Russia's was 13.1%. Since February exports from Russia had been hindered by 'western' sanctions on Russian banking, freight insurance and port access. In connection with yesterday's deal those sanctions have been at least partially removed. It will be Russian exports that will alleviate the hunger crisis much more than Ukraine's.

The NYT once had fact checkers who looked out for mistakes like the above ones. That now seems to be uncommon.

The main wheat farming in Ukraine occurs in the east and south where the war has likely led to much less planting during this season than in previous years. It is therefore unlikely that whatever will get harvested will be exported by farmers as local needs will have to be satisfied first.

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Source: USDA

(The map above does not reflect the natural distribution. During the 2016-2020 period pictured above Luhansk and Donetsk had less than the usual production due to the civil war that had started in 2014. Crimea likewise had much less than the usual agricultural production as the Ukraine had since 2014 blocked its water supplies.)

Posted by b on July 23, 2022 at 10:06 UTC | Permalink

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/07/u ... .html#more

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Western Delusion of “Isolating” Russia
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on JULY 22, 2022
Salman Rafi Sheikh

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For months, the West has been projecting a geopolitics of “isolating” Russia, both economically via sanctions and diplomatically via creating anti-Russia counter alliances around the world. But how is this geopolitics of “isolation” working? Five months into the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the fallout of this war – in particular the fallout of Western sanctions – has led to the highest ever inflation rate across Europe and the US. According to their own reports, the German economy is “moving into recession.” Inflation in the UK has reached a 40-year high of 9.4 per cent, deepening the cost-of-living crisis. But the emphasis remains on “isolating” and “defeating” Russia. As Biden’s latest visit to the Middle East projected in so many words, the grand delusion has not yet given way to a more rational assessment of how the crisis in Europe has not led to an identical crisis, despite sanctions, in Russia. Its economy remains sound, as Moscow continues to make crucial gains in the international arena.

Let’s talk about Russian gas exports post-Western sanctions. The “Power of Siberia 2” gas pipeline project is in the middle of execution, a gas project that will divert Europe-bound gas to China. This pipeline will, thus, directly offset the European threat of completely cutting off their gas imports from Russia. Hence, the question: Is there even a credible European threat? While Russia supplied, until sanctions were imposed, 35 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Germany, the completion of “Power of Siberia 2” will allow it to supply, via Mongolia, 38 billion cubic meters of gas to China. This has led Russia to assert its dominance. Last week, Russia’s Gazprom energy producer told its European customers that it cannot guarantee future gas supply due to unusual circumstances. This absence of a Russian guarantee hardly reflects the stance of a country under pressure from sanctions and/or facing “isolation.”

While the building of a second major pipeline to China will add to Russia’s strength, the fact that China is buying gas from Russia despite all the pressure from the US speaks volumes about Russia’s diplomatic strength drawing from a vision for a new, multipolar global order. The convergence reaffirms China’s no-limits friendship with Russia, a relationship that has been forged by a consistent US geopolitics of ‘encircling’ China and Russia.

Beyond China, Russia’s stand in the Middle East stays strong. Vladimir Putin’s visit to Tehran and talks with Iranian and Turkish leaders counter-acts, yet again, the western objective of inflicting “isolation” on Russia. This is much more than mere meetings. They have a substance from which a real meaning can be inferred that shows the West’s drastic failure.

With regards to Iran, there are reports of growing military cooperation between Moscow and Tehran. Iran’s growing ties with Russia could also be a gateway to a new Middle Eastern geopolitical landscape.

Consider this: countries like Saudi Arabia have so far resisted US pressure to get rid of the OPEC+ deal with Russia. And, they have no intention of violating this deal either. America’s “exit” from the Middle East has allowed these states to exercise a high degree of strategic autonomy in developing and managing external ties. The energy centric ties with Russia are crucial, which could provide the basis for Russian mediation in normalising Gulf Arab states’ ties with Iran. This might already be happening insofar as President Biden’s anti-Iran rhetoric during his latest tour to Israel and Saudia left no impact.

In fact, no sooner did Biden leave Saudia than Saudi Foreign Minister told CNN that Saudi ties with Iran are improving. Prince Faisal bin Farhan said this despite the recent Iranian claim that they had already acquired the technical capability to build a nuclear device. Russia’s de facto ‘oil alliance’ with Saudia, therefore, is showing its impact elsewhere as well. A greater Russian role in the region can help get rid of unnecessary regional troubles. This increasing Russian integration with the Middle East hardly indicates Moscow’s “isolation.”

Elsewhere, Russia’s ties with Turkey, a NATO member, remain strong. In fact, Ankara, unlike Brussels, is playing a role that has the potential to reduce the negative impact of the war caused by western sanctions. On July 13, Turkish defence minister announced that Russia and Ukraine have agreed in talks held in Istanbul to establish a secure corridor for exporting Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea. These talks did not feature any US or EU/NATO representatives, although it was the first face-to-face meeting between the two warring sides since the beginning of the war in late February.

Turkey’s role outside of the ambit of NATO is tied to Ankara’s own quest for a larger global role. This role has also been facilitated by persistent US failure to show sensitivity to Turkish interests. While Athens recently confirmed that it was going to buy 20 F-35s from the US, Biden’s only assurance to Erdogan was to ‘consider’ Ankara’s purchase of F-16s.

Therefore, if the core purpose of Biden’s visit, as Jake Sullivan noted, was to build an anti-Russia front, two key players in the Middle East are playing along Russia in ways that directly undercut US policies.

Therefore, while the West (US and EU) may have cut off its ties with Russia, they need to understand that the world has already largely shifted to a multipolar order that has drastically reduced any international actor’s ability to unilaterally impose its will. Western obsession with “isolation” shows a mindset trapped in the Cold War mentality refusing to recognise its limitations and/or the largely changed world.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/07/ ... ng-russia/
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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