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

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

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

Post by blindpig » Wed Mar 15, 2023 12:45 pm

the battle continues
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 03/15/2023

Image

Among evidence of the advances of Russian troops in the battle for Artyomovsk, whose images contradict the Western propaganda of recent days, which has come to speak, based on the Ukrainian war reports and the interested information of the British intelligence of stalemate, Volodymyr Zelensky wanted yesterday to show signs of normality and control at the front. The Ukrainian president did not go to Bakhmut on this occasion, possibly because of the excessive danger that Ukrainian troops are currently facing, but he did bring together the senior officials of the political and military authorities to give an image of unity, chain of command and, above all, , a semblance of planning.

For several weeks now, the Western media, without ever giving up their strong support for Ukraine, have debated the importance of the battle for Artyomovsk. A part of the press has highlighted the symbolism of the city and its strategic value to avoid leaving Russia an "open field" for further advances in the Donetsk region. Added to this argument is the comment by the Russian military authorities on the importance of capturing Artyomovsk in order to achieve the objective of gaining control of the entire Donbass. However, neither Sergey Shoigu nor the General Staff have raised the battle for Artyomovsk in the terms used yesterday by Deutsche Welle, which claimed that “Russia says taking Bakhmut would allow it to capture the rest of the Donetsk region, a key war objective for the Kremlin.” Taking into account the composition of the front, the capture of Artyomovsk is essential for Russia in its objective of advancing on Slavyansk and Kramatorsk and aspiring, for example, to regain control of the water flow, a serious problem for Donetsk since last summer. However, the capture of the city by no means implies a decisive advance in that objective. With Donbass as one of the most populated and urban areas of the Ukrainian territory, there is no such thing as the "open field" that Zelensky referred to in one of his last speeches. However, the only way to Slavyansk is through Artyomovsk, hence the Russian insistence on capturing a city he has been fighting for for seven months.

In the case of Ukraine, its defense does not necessarily start from the strategic importance of the city, as several media outlets, mainly the American ones, have mentioned in recent days. Hence, from the establishment orderly withdrawal to the second line of defense has been advocated. However, a part of those who admit the lack of real importance of the city have supported Zelensky's position to fight to the last man. These are those media and experts who understand, probably wrongly, that Wagner's troops, who are leading the assault on this sector of the front, are the best combat-ready Russia has. Taking into account the paralysis of a large part of the other fronts, that the withdrawal from Kherson guaranteed the integrity of the best Russian regular troops and that these have not played any role in recent operations, logic indicates that this reserve is being used for activities offensive or defensive of greater depth. However, The idea of ​​maintaining the fight as an element of a war of attrition to finish off Wagner, and thus with the operability of the Russian troops, has gained traction even despite the heavy casualties it is causing on the Ukrainian side. The idea of ​​fighting to the last Ukrainian that Lindsey Graham mentioned seems to have been put into practice in the battle for Artyomovsk, albeit, yes, by accusing Russia of acting that way. Throughout the battle, the press has accused Russia of acting in hordes, fighting with shovels or "not counting the dead."

However, even British intelligence no longer denies the progress. Despite the difficulty of really knowing where the front line is located in a battle that is already urban in parts of the city, in recent hours there has been talk of Russian advances within the Artyomovsk perimeter. Over the next few hours or days it will become clear whether this is a first collapse of the Ukrainian defenses or a partial withdrawal from urban areas to try to carry out the counterattack that the Ukrainian military authorities announced, but which has failed in its efforts. first attempts. The idea of ​​a Ukrainian counterattack has also been raised by Wagner's owner, Evgeny Prigozhin, especially prudent regarding the prospects of the battle and its development.

Prigozhin's words may be due, at least in part, to the confrontation he is having with the Russian military authorities, whom he accuses of not supplying the necessary amounts of ammunition. The accusation began by limiting itself to the soldiers of his company, Wagner, to later be extended to the troops in general. However, the advances in the last hours are undoubted and have occurred along three axes: the east, the south towards the closing of the siege and the north of the city, where yesterday Wagner was photographed at the Vostokmash facilities, one of the major industries in the city and that it will not be able to play the role that Azovstal did in Mariupol. Although Wagner's presence does not guarantee that the entire perimeter has been brought under the control of Russian troops, he indicates progress and is also a symbolic image.

Through his press service in Kiev, the Ukrainian president stated that "after considering the progress of the operation to defend the Bakhmut front, all members of the General Staff expressed the common position of continuing to hold and defend the city of Bakhmut." ”. As published by the Ukrainian media, members of the government, the security apparatus and law enforcement agencies attended the meeting and highlighted the presence of Andriy Ermak, head of the President's Office; Kirilo Budanov, head of military intelligence, Valery Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces; Prime Minister Shmygal and the Chairman of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov. A few hours after revealing another corruption scandal in the Ministry of Defense, the holder of that portfolio is absent from that list,

Despite the fact that even the media and related experts affirm that Artyomovsk is not even the place where Russian troops are suffering the most attrition, Ukraine has chosen to publicly maintain the discourse of continuing the defense of a destroyed city, in which it suffers enormous low and whose strategic importance is questionable. The battle continues both on the front and in the media and symbolic field.

https://slavyangrad.es/2023/03/15/la-ba ... more-26844

Google Translator

*****

THE MIDDLE KINGDOM MAKES A POINT ABOUT THE MEDIOCRITY OF THE EXCEPTIONALIST

Image

By John Helmer, Moscow @bears_with

If China’s journalists, foreign intelligence analysts, and People’s Navy staff have needed an opportunity to demonstrate, if not to the Middle Kingdom audience, then to the US exceptionalist public how peripheral and how mediocre American legends have become, Seymour Hersh has provided it in an interview Hersh (lead image, right) recorded with China’s state broadcaster CGTN on Saturday.

For the first time since Hersh’s earlier interviews with American, British, German, and Russian reporters, Hersh faced skepticism and cross-examination of the account he published on February 8 of what he claimed then, and insists still, was a joint US and Norwegian operation to destroy the Nord Stream gas pipelines on September 26, 2022.

According to Hersh, the operation was directed by the White House and ordered by President Joseph Biden, with the reluctant support of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

In his 28-minute interview with Liu Xin (left), Hersh repeats his original claims; makes fresh mistakes of fact; discloses new source information.

Hersh also reveals he is so confident of the seniority and veracity of his US intelligence ageny source – make that the CIA – he is not reading nor understanding the fresh evidence which has been published in the German mainstream media, the international internet, the US alt-media, and the New York Times. Dismissing it all, while revealing he has analyzed none of it, Hersh told Beijing television: “they are trying to divert attention from the story I wrote.”

Hersh also reveals that for verification of his story, he employed fact-checkers from the New Yorker, the most virulently anti-Russian, pro-Ukrainian magazine in New York.

Listen and watch Liu’s interview with Hersh aired on March 10. Read CGTN’s partial English transcript here. For background on China’s legendary journalist, click to read. For background on the legendary Hersh story, read this from February 10 and then this sequel on February 19.

These are the dozen news-breaking points made by China’s CGTN:

*Asked by Liu interviewing whether it was “not possible for ‘pro-Ukrainian group’ to carry out this explosion”, Hersh answers “I know that the few things I know about the Ukrainian navy is they are capable of dropping mines. I’m not an expert on it. I just happen to ask questions after that story came out. They don’t have a working decompression chamber” – Minute 3:21. Liu was expressing skepticism from the start; her inverted negative and inverted commas were the clues which Hersh missed. Liu was implying that only a state agency could have carried out the attack. Hersh’s answer confirmed the point. But he made a mistake about Ukrainian Navy capability for deepsea diving operations of all kinds, and his claim about a “decompression chamber” reveals his source cannot have been a US Navy diver or US Navy intelligence source. For evidence on Ukrainian diving operations, click. Instead, Hersh was revealing that the source for his story was non-Navy; most likely the CIA at a remove from the actual operation planning committee. The New York Times reporting corroborates this.
*Asked why the New York Times leaked its story, and “what do you think they [US intelligence officials] are trying to send as a message”, Hersh replied: “They are trying to divert attention from the story that I wrote, which included enormous specifics” – Min. 5:38. This was narcissism on the reporter’s part: it blinded him to the second of Liu’s questions which focused on US intelligence officials. Since one of them had been Hersh’s acknowledged source, Liu was asking for his explanation of why others had leaked to the newspaper. He didn’t know.
*In his reply, Hersh went on to claim that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and White House officials “had a series of meetings at a secret room in the White House. They gave clues, I know the title of the room” – Min. 5:59. This location contradicts Hersh’s earlier reporting of the meeting-room in the Old Executive Office Building. His new claim that the room has a secret name he hasn’t reported yet and won’t reveal is nonsense.
*Asked what his investigation reveals about the recklessness of US officials, Hersh is evasive, claiming “those are questions above my paygrade” – Min. 7:21. Hersh doesn’t answer the question.
*“It’s not a bomb,” Hersh said, “it’s a mine” – Min. 10:09. This contradicts Hersh’s reporting that a cargo of up to half a ton of “volatile” C4 explosive was the operational weapon. Hersh’s new claim appears to confirm he has no naval source; he is uncertain what exactly the weapon was, and how it worked.
*“In the Baltic Sea there is no oil” – Min. 10:18. This is false. The Poles have operated the B3 oil and gasfield on the Baltic seabed for more than twenty years; and substantial gas reserves have been explored and proven under the seabed. However, they have been uneconomical to bring into production so long as Poland has been buying Russian and Norwegian gas.

Image

*The vessel used by the divers to plant the explosives on the pipelines was a Norwegian Alta class minesweeper – this is a new disclosure by Hersh at Min.11:31. In a search of NATO, Swedish, US Navy, Pentagon, and other reports of the BALTOPS [Baltic Operations] 2022 exercise between June 5 and June 16, no such vessel has been identified. Click for background on this vessel. If there is a record of such a Norwegian vessel sailing in the area when Hersh claims the explosive charges were laid, no evidence of maritime trace, military press release, or other open-source journalism has appeared yet; Hersh has jumped the gun.

Image
This is the Rauma, one of only two Alta-class minesweepers still in the Norwegian Navy’s active fleet. First built in the mid-1990s, three of the five original vessels in the class have beeN scrapped or sold. Open-source analyst Joe Galvin has reported that another Norwegian vessel of another class, "the M343 Hinnoy (MMSI: 259019000), did track near the sites of the blasts as reported by @DMA_SFS in June, but its track does not match up to what you'd expect (holding position over the sites for a period of time so the divers could deploy”. Galvin explicitly challenged Hersh’s reporting on February 23. Hersh has either ignored Galvin’s report of the tracking evidence, or he is ignorant of it.

Image

*Hersh was asked by Liu for his understanding of the motivations of National Security Adviser Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He answered: “hatred of all things, particularly [President Vladimir] Putin, and also communism per se – they’re so Cold Warriors. They are really out of sorts” – Min.30-45. Hersh appears not to understand as much as his Chinese interlocutor of what US strategy is in Europe and the Pacific.
*The first Nord Stream pipeline was “stopped by Putin, so he controlled it” — Min. 14:42. This is false. Hersh misrepresents the impact of US and Canadian sanctions on the maintenance of Nord Stream-1’s turbines, and the consequences for the pipeline’s deliveries to Germany.
*Hersh’s idea of the US operational strategy is that it was intended to prevent German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lifting sanctions against Russian gas imports in order to keep “his businesses…his people warm” – Min. 15:30. Hersh reveals his ignorance of the evidence of German involvement in the operational plans and the German Green Party’s advocacy for the operation before Scholz’s meeting and press conference with Biden in Washington on February 7, 2022. Hersh’s story is concealing the German part of the Nord Stream secret; this is his CIA source talking.

Image
Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/

Note that when Scholz was asked to comment on Biden’s threat against Nord Stream, he gave an unqualified endorsement. “And possibly this is a good idea to say to our American friends: We will be united, we will act together, and we will take all the necessary steps. And all the necessary steps will be done by all of us together. [Q] And will you commit today — will you commit today to turning off and pulling the plug on Nord Stream 2? You didn’t mention it, and you haven’t mentioned it. CHANCELLOR SCHOLZ: As I’ve already said, we are acting together, we are absolutely united, and we will not be taking different steps. We will do the same steps, and they will be very, very hard to Russia, and they should understand.”

Image
Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/

As the interview went on, Liu became audibly and visibly skeptical of Hersh’s responses, and so she asked him how he judged “your source was reliable”– Min. 19:30. Repeating statements he has made before, Hersh avoided giving a direct answer. The implication revealed by Liu is that Hersh trusted his sole source because he ranks at a very high level of the CIA.
Questioned by Liu to identify who was the editor for his reporting on the Nord Stream story, and who proofed his text before he published it, Hersh tried to avoid answering concretely. Pressed by Liu, he said his editor is “a very prominent literary figure” from the London Review of Books (Min 23:45) and the fact-checkers he employed “work for the New Yorker” – Min. 24:07. Liu replied: “OK. Good, good. Well, it’s reassuring to know that.”...

https://johnhelmer.net/the-middle-kingd ... more-87669

*********

THE WAR IN UKRAINE: A YEAR ON
Posted by Greg Godels | Mar 13, 2023 | Featured Stories | 1

Image

February 24th marked one year since Russian troops crossed the border with Ukraine and began its overt military intervention in what was a de facto civil war. From 2014 and the Western intervention resulting in that year’s coup against President Yanukovych, Ukraine has been a divided country engaged in a bitter, violent struggle over its future alignment. Indeed, that struggle had been simmering since Ukraine left the Soviet Union, with roots going back even further. Ukrainian nationalism has almost always sought to link independence with the protection of one powerful sponsor or another.

Like other civil wars, this war is the continuation of simmering, expanding political, economic, and social issues– politics by other, more violent, brutal, and dangerous means. Except for the Soviet period, there has never been a stable, viable, enduring Ukrainian state. Nor has there been a Western-style “democracy” with sufficient popular support and legitimacy.

But the war is something more than a civil war. It is also an imperialist war contested between great powers claiming to defend the interests of factions engaged in the civil war. As with other imperialist wars, the great powers are contesting over direct and indirect economic interests while seeking to maintain or establish spheres of interest.

Russia, for its part, as a relatively new, emergent capitalist power, has an unbalanced economy, relying heavily on the export of its abundant natural resources, principally gas and oil. As a result of Cold War aggression, Russia also has a highly developed military-weapons industry as a legacy of the Soviet Union. Its role in the imperialist conflict revolves around defending its sphere of influence in Eastern Europe and the economic links established during the Soviet era, maintaining and expanding its share of the Western European energy market, and burnishing its position in supplying weaponry in the ever-expanding global armament frenzy.

The US, on the other hand, as the self-styled leader and police of the capitalist world order, opposes Russia’s independent foreign policy and economic and political influence in Eastern Europe. Support for Syria, a country at odds with US and Israeli interests in the Middle East, undoubtedly brought Russia into even sharper conflict with the US. The dream of unchallenged US global hegemony was, no doubt, interrupted by Russia’s failure to pay obeisance.

But the battle over natural gas markets– seen as the transitional “clean” carbon-based energy source– played an oversized role in motivating the conflict. With US potential natural gas production nearly limitless thanks to new technologies, the US urgently needed new markets. Most recently, investors were backing away from the industry because of low prices and shrinking profits.

As I wrote on February 2, 2022, more than three weeks before the Russian military invasion started:

…Biden’s administration harps on Trump-like sanctions aimed at the Russian economy and, not least of all, its energy sector.

If oil was a motivating factor in US foreign policy activism in the 1980s and 1990s, then natural gas is a decisive motivating factor today. Where the US was determined to secure oil resources in the past, energy independence and the fracking revolution motivate US policy makers to secure natural gas markets today.

In essence, the US is baiting the Russians into actions that will encourage the Europeans to reject their dependence upon cheap Russian natural gas. Instead, they want Europe to rely on expensive US liquified natural gas, a change that Europeans have, so far, resisted. War hysteria is meant to frighten the Europeans into rejecting the nearly completed Nord Stream pipeline and, instead, build costly liquified natural gas terminals to accept US gas. Thus, the underlying strategy is economic– a not-so-subtle bullying of Europe into aligning with US economic interests.

The goal is to restart the botched, overinvested, badly managed fracking revolution that would now ride the tide of high energy prices.


The criminal destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines by the US and its allies only underscores the above analysis.

Today, the US is the world’s largest exporter of liquified natural gas (LNG). Also, oil purchases from the US by the UK, Netherlands, Italy, France, Spain, and Germany have increased by 344,000 barrels a day since last February, according to The Wall Street Journal. The WSJ article quotes Daniel Yergin, an oil energy historian and vice chairman of S&P Global: “America is back in the most predominant position it has been in world energy since the 1950s… U.S. energy now is becoming one of the foundations of European energy security.” Those who see US imperialism as in a stage of irreversible decline might find this statement sobering.

The stakes of inter-imperialist conflict were established well before the intervention of February 24. To anyone paying attention, the worsening conflict was about much more than Ukrainian self-determination, democracy, or sovereignty. The encroachment of NATO was motivated by far more than protecting Eastern Europe from Russian aggression. And the Russian interests were less idealistic than simply liberating Ukrainians from themselves or neo-Nazis.

In response to the many who found noble motives on one side or the other, I wrote on February 14, ten days before the operation:

Those who remain skeptical of the economic motives behind the US warmongering must explain why Biden placed natural gas politics ahead of any other matter before him and his German ally [Scholtz] in this first significant policy exchange. Biden’s glee– not shared by his German counterpart– reveals the importance the US government places on seizing the natural gas market from the Russians, their rival in the energy business.

The Ukraine crisis presents other economic advantages as well. In less than two weeks, the US has sent eight cargo planes to the Ukraine with military supplies, part of the $200 million Biden authorized in new military aid. The xenophobic, ultra-nationalist Baltic states and Poland have sent massive amounts of military equipment to Ukraine as well, much of which is sourced from US corporations and will be replaced by aid or purchases from the US.

Whether Ukraine joins NATO or not, Ukraine is being militarized and will continue to be a destination for US arms. On this front, the US military-industrial establishment will win, regardless of the crisis outcome.

Adversaries on both sides of the Cold War-like divide will be armed to the teeth and the possibility of war raised accordingly.


US “aid” to Ukraine since last February is rapidly approaching 100 billion dollars– far more than US aid to any other country or any other country’s contribution to Ukraine’s war effort.

With the Russian military invading on several fronts on February 24 of last year, the civil war reached a qualitatively greater intensity, with NATO sharply increasing its participation. Weapons poured into Ukraine, guaranteeing a conflict of a dimension unseen in Europe since World War II. Predictably, the Western propaganda machine spoke with one voice, portraying Ukraine as a hapless victim of unprovoked Russian invasion.

Sadly, the social democratic and liberal left in Europe and the US– blinded by the missionary zeal of the twisted doctrine of “humanitarian interventionism” and intoxicated by a media smear of everything Russian– quickly fell in line with NATO’s militarization of Ukraine, going so far as calling for a military victory over Russia and regime change in Moscow.

Western ruling classes proved adept at winning the broad center-left to the bizarre notion that a moral defense of Ukraine constructed around the principle of self-determination could be applicable to a regime that itself violated the democratic principle of self-determination by staging a violent coup d’état eight years earlier.

As in 1914 in the early stages of World War I, the liberals and social democrats betrayed any anti-war principles to the fever of war. No anti-war movement was forthcoming from this camp.

In the US, this left-center opportunism is firmly held in place by fealty to the Democratic Party, whose imperial adventures are only softly challenged by liberals or social democrats.

Others on the left– whether from a nostalgic conflation of Russia with the Soviet Union or a failure to understand Russia’s role in the imperialist system– portrayed the Russian government as a liberator or as a paragon of anti-imperialism. This naive view turned reality on its head and imagined a corralling of imperialism– a step towards a multipolar utopia– as an anticipated result of Russia’s defeat of NATO’s surrogates on the battlefield of Ukraine.

How Russia prevailing or any other alternative military outcome could benefit the working classes of Ukraine, Russia, or the West is beyond credulity. Illusions of a Russian version of humanitarian intervention unfortunately infect some elements of the left. Meanwhile, the bodies are piling up, homes are destroyed, and families are forced to flee.

Too few of us on the left rejected the two misguided choices, recognizing the essence of the war as imperialist conflict.

As the war ground on, I wrote on May 9, 2022:

The great tragedy is that the broad left– the historical foil to war and imperialism– remains divided, confused, and inactive while a bloody, destructive war rages, threatening to expand and escalate. As the war continues with no resolution, the only winner is US imperialism.

Trade union militants in Italy and Greece took to the streets to oppose the war, along with Greek Communists. Thousands marched in Prague in September against rising energy and other costs as a result of the war in Ukraine. Yet no national action against the war occurred in the US, and little in the rest of Europe.

The fact that the Zelensky regime outlawed political parties, stripped labor regulations, and criminalized the opposition found most of the liberal and social democratic left unmoved (The AFL-CIO– a strong supporter of Zelensky– was eventually forced to object on behalf of its favored anti-Communist unions).

Efforts for a peaceful settlement were persistently undermined by the Western powers– the US, UK, and their NATO partners.

In the face of intransigent Western governments and a lame, disputatious left guilty of misguided partisanship, the cause of peace was left to others. The populist right has attempted to take on the role of peacekeeper, at least to the extent of questioning the unconditional support for the further escalation of the war. As the war stalemated, right-wing politicians in opposition found mismanagement of the war to be a fertile field for political advantages. For a vivid example of right-populist war skepticism, see Representative Matt Gaetz’s scathing rebuke of US Defense Department officials, concluding that US money spent on guaranteeing Ukrainian pensions would be better spent in the US on bolstering pension reserves here.

Democratic Party elected officials, on the other hand, have been unmoved, staying solidly behind Biden’s instigation and expansion of the war.

The notorious corruption of successive Ukrainian regimes, the mobilizing of more troops and the introduction of more lethal and longer-range weapons, and weariness over the dwindling prospect of early victories are spawning questions and doubts. As the conflict is prolonged, support in the opinion polls is now sagging. This is reflected in less cheerleading and more nuance in coverage by leading newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post.

A recent feature article in The Wall Street Journal, Domestic Political Troubles Return for Ukraine’s Zelensky, recounts both the checkered trajectory of Zelensky’s career and his immersion in a sea of corruption. Recently, a large number of his colleagues were ousted or forced to resign for serious corruption.

The article cites opposition politicians who portray the leader as “authoritarian” over his total dominance of the Ukrainian media. In addition, The WSJ reminds us that Ukrainian trust in Zelensky was down to 28% before the war. In short, the lengthy article tarnishes the image of the celebrity figure formerly viewed by the media as whistle-clean and selfless, perhaps a telling sign of some cracks in ruling class consensus.

Also, the sunny prospects of Ukrainian victory with advanced Western technologies are beginning to turn a little gloomy; in late February Zelensky fired a top general serving as the commander of the joint forces of Ukraine. Apparently, Russia has seized the military initiative in Eastern Ukraine to rhe chagrin of Ukraine’s leaders.

Most countries are refusing to be bullied by US efforts to steer them into condemning or sanctioning Russia. Both Peoples’ China and Lula’s Brazil have proposed plans for all parties to cease fighting and negotiate.

These and other changes and initiatives offer hope that resistance to the war will grow. This year, two encouraging national actions in opposition to the war were planned to rally in Washington, DC. Unfortunately, the organizers of the events engaged in bitter Internet battles where some questions of substance were poisoned by egos, turf wars, and pettiness. Historically, rival peace organizations settle their differences and validate their approach in practice. We have seen factional and sectarian conflict in the peace movement before. At least, there is now motion to halt the war and negotiate, with another rally scheduled for March 18.

Recent actions in Europe are encouraging, as well. Thousands have marched in Berlin, London, and other cities.

Maybe we are seeing the first shoots of a soon-to-blossom movement to end the war and reject militarism.

As I wrote last September 7:

The war in Ukraine is the logical outcome of the unwinding of globalization, a process that began with the 2007-2009 world economic crisis…

Competition intensified and rivalries became more virulent. Inevitably, economic competition leads to confrontation and confrontation leads to war.

The circumstances of war become less important and the deadly outcomes and possible escalations take center stage. Today, the likelihood of a long, bloody war and its potential expansion beyond borders demand action.


As this tragedy unfolds, the only answer– the working-class answer– is to pull out all stops to end it. We desperately need a militant movement to stop this war.

The need is even more urgent today.

https://mltoday.com/the-war-in-ukraine-a-year-on/

Greg's analysis of the likely outcome discounts Russia achieving it's stated goals. Though far from a 'sure thing' I wouldn't be so quick...things may come to a head sooner than many think.

**********

Image

China’s peace plan for Ukraine
Originally published: Consortium News on March 3, 2023 by Tony Kevin (more by Consortium News) | (Posted Mar 13, 2023)

The tragic year-long war in Ukraine has already transformed the world’s geopolitical landscape.

Historic global power shifts towards the Eurasian heartland, centred on China, are accelerating. China and Russia have drawn together in a strong “no limits” partnership, that is attracting other major states in the Global South, especially India, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, Turkey, Brazil and South Africa.

The common link is on building stronger trading, infrastructure and diplomatic ties, consistent with the U.N.-based international security system. More and more, the Western camp led by the U.S. seems peripheral, a powerless spectator to these global changes.

The Ukraine crisis is a catalyst, accelerating changes that might have otherwise taken decades to work through.

Mediocre Western leaders like U.S. President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Sholtz, French President Emmanuel Macron and a conga line of weak British prime ministers, allied with the improbable former comedian heading a nationalist regime in Kiev united only by its fanatical hatred of all things Russian, have led the West into disastrous anti-Russian policies, causing self-inflicted wounds especially in Europe.

The root cause of the West’s current woes is the Washington elite’s refusal to come to grips with its own disasters at home: in a country increasingly weakened by stark ideological and economic contradictions.

Obsessed by the great power competition with Russia and China, the Washington elite at the same time repeatedly under-estimates Russian and Chinese diplomatic skills and will to survive. A bipartisan war party drains Washington’s budgets as America’s key infrastructure frays.

Hundreds of billions go to prop up NATO’s unwinnable proxy war against Russia in Ukraine: a war which actually began in February 2014, not 2022. Influential Americans saw Ukraine as a weapon to destabilise Russian President Vladimir Putin, by turning the two most populous ex-Soviet nation-states against each other. They connived with Ukrainian Banderite extreme nationalists to militarise and indoctrinate Ukraine against Russia.

For the U.S. whichever side won the U.S. arms industry prospered. Russian diplomatic efforts in 2014-21 to maintain peace with a sovereign Kiev through the Minsk process were negated by Western duplicity.

Image
U.S.-Russian talks in Geneva, June 2021. (Kremlin)

Meanwhile the Ukrainian army was expanded and hardened by NATO weapons and training. A long-running artillery war waged by Kiev against its pro-Russian dissident eastern provinces Donetsk and Lugansk, ignored by Western media, left up to 14,000 dead and over 100,000 homeless.

Testing Putin’s Resolve
By December 2021, Washington and Kiev judged themselves strong enough to test Putin’s resolve. He was faced with lose-lose. If he allowed Kiev a genocidal victory over the Donbass rebel provinces, his credibility as Russian leader would slump.

He could only defend Donbass by invading sovereign Ukraine, possibly to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine. He chose this lesser evil, seeing the Donbass crisis as having become an existential threat to Russia.

(Bubbling water)
Site of the Nord Stream 2 attack. (Danish Defense Ministry)

After an inconclusive first seven months, the war has turned in favour of a determined-to-win Russia. This is certainly how China and the global South see it, unconvinced by increasingly improbable claims by Ukrain’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO that Kiev can still win this war.

The China – Russia partnership is built on their mutual adherence to the U.N. Security Council rules-based order, and on their support for the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which was drafted by Chinese Foreign Minister Zhou Enlai in 1953 and adopted by the 1995 Non-Aligned Conference in Bandung.

Western Rules
In recent years an opportunistic U.S. and its Western allies have pressed for another kind of international order – a “rules-based order” in which the West sets the rules and decides when and how to enforce them on others.

Since the Soviet collapse in 1991, the dogma of eternal Sino-Soviet geopolitical rivalry has been holy writ in the West. It took the brilliantly inept Trump and Biden administrations to make enemies of both great powers simultaneously, pushing them together: while the Global South looked on appalled as Washington used its own “rules- based order” to bully weaker states.

The Ukraine war has magically clarified this imbroglio. The Global South now respects Russia and China as major status quo powers, and as united defenders of the U.N. Security Council-based global security order. The U.S. has been exposed as a reckless global bully and rules-breaker.

The East-West information war which in February 2022 seemed securely in Western hands has escaped from their control.

Image
Restoring Peace session at World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 18, from left: CNN’S Fareed Zakaria, host; Polish President Andrzej Duda, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko, U.S. National Intelligence Director Avril Haines. (World Economic Forum/Mattias Nutt, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Western-supported terrorist actions in and around the Ukraine war – in the terrorist trifecta in September 2022 of the U.K.-Ukrainian sabotage attack on the Kerch Bridge, the U.S.-Norwegian sabotage of the Russian-German Baltic pipelines and the brutal murder near Moscow of Maria Dugina — sullied the West’s good name.

Large majorities in the Global South now trust Russia and China more than they trust the West. Notwithstanding some recent U.N. General Assembly votes – the result of heavy U.S. arm-twisting of vulnerable smaller states — the reality is there to be seen in shifting trade statistics and in the diplomatic dance.

Western Power Elites
In the G20, the Global South is no longer listening to the West. At Davos, Western power elites now speak only to themselves. After the Ukraine crisis, the Global South sees that China and Russia now offer more attractive global trading and reserve currency alternatives or supplements to the American-dominated dollar system, which Western sanctions have shown to be insecure. They are quietly spreading their risks, politically and economically.

With the discreet help of China, India, Iran and the Middle East entrepot city-states, Russia has sailed with ease through Western trade and banking sanctions. These have boomeranged to harm the U.S.-led bloc, especially through increasing energy costs and declining European trade competitiveness from blocking cheap Russian gas imports.

Once proud European states Germany and France have reverted to full lackey status, dependent on U.S. energy and weaponry.

Since 2014, Chinese-Russian diplomatic, trade and infrastructure links have grown robustly. Their equal-partner military cooperation is now entrenched.

China exports many dual-use high technology products to Russia. China does not need to supply Russia with weapons: but if it ever thought it needed to, it would. Because China knows that if Russia collapsed under Western sanctions, it would be next.

The importance of the Ukraine crisis has been to crystallize Chinese leadership perceptions of the U.S. as an untrustworthy partner, and the existential enemy of both China and Russia.

Image

Even under President Donald Trump, the U.S. tried to provoke destabilization and regime change in China: around Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Taiwan and in the South China Sea. In trying so clumsily to portray China as an aggressor, the U.S. finally convinced China’s leadership that the U.S. has at least since 2014 pursued aggressive strategies towards Russia and China.

In the past month, the pace of Chinese global diplomacy has quickened. The Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was received last week by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov; Nikolai

Patrushev, head of national security, and Putin himself, when he visited Moscow as a precursor to a March-April visit by Chairman Xi Jinping which will announce far-reaching new economic cooperation.

China has recently launched an activist peace diplomacy, setting out its “Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis.” This impressive general document, based on the U.N. Charter and the Five Principles, indicates China’s support for an immediate ceasefire without preconditions; no more Western arms supplies; and offering massive reconstruction aid to a post-settlement new government in Ukraine.

It will be attractive to the Global South. It will cause consternation in the Western war party camp. Russia has welcomed it. We will see the Chinese peace plan talked about in coming weeks. It may offer the breakthrough for peace for which many Ukrainians pray.

https://mronline.org/2023/03/13/chinas- ... r-ukraine/

*****

Jihadi Julian is worried
March 14, 19:23

Image

Jihadi Julian is worried about the situation in Artyomovsk.

Meanwhile. The first video has appeared from the territory of the Vostokmash plant liberated this morning in the AZOM industrial zone in Artemovsk.

(Video at link.)

Prigozhin confirmed the reports of the Ukrainian media about the advancement of the PMC "Wagner" in the center of Artemovsk, pointing out that the advanced positions are already close to the administration of Artemovsk (this is already the very center of the city).

Also, according to him, the entire grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Artemovsk region (not only in the city itself) is estimated at 70,000 soldiers and officers. According to him, due to the available forces, the enemy is preparing a counterattack in the city area in order to rectify the situation.

The broadcast of hostilities in Ukraine continues as usual in Telegram - if you are interested, subscribe

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8224171.html

Russian fighter jet shot down US MQ-9 Reaper drone
March 14, 20:38

Image

Russian fighter jet shot down US MQ-9 Reaper drone

U.S. European Command statement regarding the Black Sea Incident: “Two Russian Su-27 aircraft made an unsafe and unprofessional

interception of a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 unmanned aircraft on a reconnaissance mission that was in international airspace over the Black Sea today.

03:03 AM (CET) One of the Russian Su-27 aircraft grazed the propeller of an MQ-9, causing US forces to shoot down the MQ-9 in international waters Several times before the collision, the Su-27 jettisoned fuel and flew in front of the MQ-9 reckless, in an environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner This incident demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional.

“Our MQ-9 aircraft was performing normal operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and shot down by a Russian aircraft, resulting in the crash and total loss of the MQ-9,” said an Air Force general. James B. Hecker, Commander, US Air Force Europe and Air Force Africa.

The State Department intends to hold consultations with the Russian Foreign Ministry on this incident.

Since the United States accused a Russian fighter pilot of pouring aviation kerosene onto an American drone in the air, it is certainly difficult not to recall the story of Vasily Tsymbal.

Image

Rain of stinking kerosene...

Vasya Tsymbal was a graduate of the Armavir Aviation School and, like all the guys from there, he was famous for his ability to clearly fulfill the assigned combat missions, though ... Not quite standard and, I would even say, very extraordinary approaches. His favorite trick was tricks with fuel.

Another such trick just happened in the Far East, when one of the Japanese guards (moreover, carrying a couple of helicopters - a kind of unofficial aircraft carrier) crossed the border between neutral waters and the territory of the USSR. Unfortunately for the Japanese, Vasya Tsymbal was in the sky, and he quickly figured out what to do. Having made a couple of turns at an ultra-low altitude above the ship, he was convinced that he was not going to change course, and decided to try to scare the uninvited guests properly. Rising higher, he turned around and began to dive at the Japanese. They were seriously frightened - the provocation had gone too far, and no one knew whether the order had been given to the Soviet pilot to attack.

As a result, Tsymbal at cruising speed swept 5-6 meters above the deck and literally blew one of the helicopters into the water with a stream of air, after which, apparently, on a wave of excitement, he said shortly, but succinctly, on open air: “Fucked up a kitten!” The Japanese, having heard one of the most expressive expressions of the Russian mat, turned the ship 180 degrees and set off at full speed. But this was not enough for the show-off Vasya. While the Japanese ship was in the waters of the Soviet Union, Vasya decided to work out his favorite trick. Flying over the cuckoo's nest as unfortunate provocateurs, Tsymbal turned on the fuel drain and doused the military of the Land of the Rising Sun with kerosene rain. The descendants of the samurai could not stand such a shame and in droves ran to do hara-kiri to complain to higher authorities.

Almost immediately after Vasya returns to the base, he is called to the carpet (they also heard everything at the base) and, having learned the details, they sigh with relief - thank God, he didn’t kill anyone - and send him to the other end of the country so that, in which case, according to the good old tradition to declare that “the pilot is not ours”, and indeed “two weeks since he left for Murmansk”.

Once in the north, Vasily Tsymbal did not change his habits. In September 87, however, as always, it was restless near the Kola Peninsula - American and Norwegian NATO troops flew quite often, entering Soviet airspace several times a day, and aircraft carriers plowed the Barents Sea, from which these planes took off . When Vasya, for the seventh time in a day, ran to his faithful Su-27, putting on a helmet on the move ... He probably really wanted to use fire to kill and missiles with a nuclear warhead, just to be sure.

But the corresponding orders were not given, and Tsymbal was left only with his good old trick. Having persuaded his comrade, he, together with him, arranges a rain of smelly kerosene for the Americans. Oddly enough, this helped a lot - the Yankees began to appear much less in the region. And there were no consequences for Vasily.

(c) author Timofey Berdikin (more about Vasily here https://pikabu.ru/story/vozdushnyiy_khu ... al_6998356 )

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8224356.html

MQ-9 Reaper went into unguided flight

Image

Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation about the incident with the American UAV MQ-9 Reaper.

The official statement of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the situation with the fallen American drone:

1. On the morning of March 14 of this year. over the waters of the Black Sea in the area of ​​the Crimean peninsula, the airspace control of the Russian Aerospace Forces recorded the flight of an American MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle in the direction of the State Border of the Russian Federation;

2. The flight of an unmanned aerial vehicle was carried out with transponders turned off, violating the boundaries of the area of ​​the temporary regime for the use of airspace, established for the purpose of conducting a special military operation, communicated to all users of international airspace and published in accordance with international standards;

3. In order to identify the intruder, fighters from the air defense forces on duty were raised into the air. As a result of sharp maneuvering around 9.30 (Moscow time), the MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle went into uncontrolled flight with a loss of altitude and collided with the water surface;

4. Russian fighters did not use airborne weapons, did not come into contact with an unmanned aerial vehicle and returned safely to their home airfield.

* * *

According to the situation at 21:00.

About the incident over the Black Sea at 9 pm.

1. The United States intends through the State Department to discuss the incident with the Russian Foreign Ministry https://t.me/boris_rozhin/80443in the Black Sea, which led to the loss of the reconnaissance and strike UAV MQ-9 Reaper. It can also be assumed that there will be closed contacts along the line of "deconflicting" through the defense departments. The United States also announced that it would continue flights over the Black Sea.

2. The United States also expressed concern about the incident, a little earlier, in an official statement by the European command of the US Army, accusing the pilots of the Russian aircraft of unprofessionalism and violating the ecology of the Black Sea.

3. Formally, the United States cannot accuse Russia of destroying the UAV, since they themselves admit that they had to finish it off on their own. Therefore, they will rest on the fact that the discharge of kerosene and damage to the propeller had fatal consequences.

4. Depending on the configuration, the lost car could cost from 23 to 30 million dollars. It is worth noting that this is not the first loss of the MQ-9 Reaper with a "Russian trace". During the fighting in Libya in 2019-2020, 2 American and 1 Italian MQ-9 drone were shot down. In at least two episodes, the Wagner PMC, which was armed with the Pantsir air defense missile system, was accused of this. The official version was the actions of Haftar's LNA, which was also armed with the Pantsir air defense missile system in export configuration.

5. The Russian fighter jets involved in the incident over the Black Sea returned safely to the airfield in Crimea. One of them will draw a star for himself.

6. In the area of ​​"tactical use of aviation kerosene" the forces of the Black Sea Fleet are searching for and recovering the wreckage of the fallen American reconnaissance and strike drone MQ-9 Reaper. Records of negotiations in the area where the drone fell https://t.me/milinfolive/97987 (second record) were also published, indicating the ongoing search. Perhaps something interesting will be able to catch. Judging by the negotiations, something has already been fished out. At one time, the Iranians filled up the RQ-4 Global Hawk and were able to catch something useful in the sea for their drone program. The US has denied that Russia has recovered the drone fragments, but the talks from the crash site are telling enough.

https://t.me/boris_rozhin/80451 - zinc

https://t.me/boris_rozhin/80450 - zinc

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8224643.html

Zaliznyanskoye liberated
March 15, 2:49 p.m

Image

PMC "Wagner" today liberated the village of Zaliznyanskoye to the north-west of Artemovsk. The fighting there continues to move towards Kramatorsk.
The battles for Orekhovo-Vasilyevka, Bogdanovka and Khromovo also continue (reports of the complete capture of Khromovo are ahead of events). The roads from Artemovsk are under constant fire control. The enemy there is suffering increasing losses in manpower and equipment.

Broadcast of hostilities in Ukraine as usual here https://t.me/boris_rozhin (if you are interested, subscribe)

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8225667.html

It turned out inconvenient
March 15, 13:09

Image

Despite statements by the Pentagon that Russia did not recover the equipment of the MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance and strike UAV that fell in the Black Sea, fears are expressed in the United States (including by officials) that Russia has already gained access to the wreckage of the drone, which may be of technological value to study and subsequent reverse engineering. The recording of the recovery of engine fragments, published yesterday, aroused serious interest among experts, who admit that sufficiently large fragments of the drone may be in an acceptable state for study after recovery.

Despite the fact that Russia has previously gained access to fragments of the MQ-9 technology (downed vehicles in Libya, alleged familiarization with technologies that fell into the possession of Iran, etc.), of course, it is not the hull and engine that are of key importance, but the electronic filling of the machine , which is periodically updated by the Americans (due to which the cost of these drones is growing). Considering that Russia may share such information with Iran (which often comes into contact with the MQ-9 in its hybrid wars), the question can be much more important than just familiarizing yourself with the wreckage.

Hence the obvious desire of the Biden administration to put the brakes on this issue (not only we are laughing at the accusation of violating the environment) and the simultaneous attacks on it by the Trumpists, who have seized on another joint of the Biden administration.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8225363.html

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

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

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

Post by blindpig » Thu Mar 16, 2023 12:23 pm

A hero of Ukraine
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 03/16/2023

Image
Freedom is not given away, you have to fight for it. War does not end in peace, it ends in Victory.

Dmytro Kotsyubailo

On December 1, 2021, Dmytro Kotsyubailo, alias DaVinci , received from Volodymyr Zelensky the title of Hero of Ukraine and the Gold Star order. Born on November 1, 1995 in a small town in the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast , just turned 26, he became one of the youngest Ukrainian servicemen to receive the heroic designation for his efforts to protect the territory and sovereignty of Ukraine. in 2014 .

This is a striking decision given that Kotsyubailo was then commander of an ultra-nationalist volunteer unit, the Praviy Sektor's 1st DUK Separate Assault Company, known as the “DaVinci Wolves”. Only after the Russian intervention in Ukraine in 2022, the unit would be reconverted into the 67th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a far-right unit more integrated into the official state structures.

Image

The meaning of the title granted

Although largely unnoticed outside Ukraine at the time, the title given to Kotsyubailo was a symptom of some major changes.

On the one hand, it was a maximum level of recognition of a type of paramilitary action, formally alien to the country's military structures; and not to any type of paramilitary action, but to one of the most clearly inspired by the assumptions of the classic Ukrainian extreme right, historically linked to the OUN and the UPA. Although it extended the meaning of the award to “all the volunteers… who took up arms in 2014 and went to defend their country ”. Kotsyubailo rightly emphasized that the distinction was awarded “ to a participant in combat operations as part of the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps of the «Praviy Sektor », one of the Maidan shock forces and whose leader has repeatedly boasted of causing the first skirmishes of war.

On the other hand, and in a much more relevant way, it recognized one of the main representatives, within the military structures present in Donbass, of an extremist and warmongering vision of the conflict that, as the passage of time has revealed, would end up becoming dominant not only in Ukraine but also in the European Union.

Unlike what happens with other ultranationalist military units, such as the Azov regiment, Kotsyubailo's conception lacks relevance in the ideological dimension. In this dimension, the contributions of the DaVinci commander do not go beyond the reaffirmation of the banderista myths and the vindication of the history of groups such as the OUN and UPA. A story of family continuity since, according to Kotsyubailo's grandmother, a great-grandfather fought in this ultranationalist paramilitary organization that participated in the mass murders of the Jewish and Polish civilian population during World War II.

The true importance of the historic leader of the 1st DUK Company of the Praviy Sektor is the clarity with which he defined, on his Facebook page and in some interviews, the political-military conception that would end up crystallizing as paradigmatic on the Ukrainian-Western front in the war between Ukraine and the Russian Federation.

In the first place, it highlights the commitment to a strategy of progressive recovery of all the territories lost by Ukraine through a long-lasting war, but in stages, which culminates in total Ukrainian victory . Thus, in an interview with censor.net and published in August 2017 , when asked about how to achieve the Ukrainian objectives, he replied: “ Only by military means. We are a strong country that shows its weakness through negotiations and truces. We have to prove that it is wrong to trespass Ukrainian soil. Since ancient times it was an independent Cossack state. And we have to once again show the whole world that there is nothing that can be imposed on our will .

On February 2, 2018, he continued in this sense: “ For some, the war ended even before it began. Fighters of the 1st Separate Assault Company of the DUK PS will defend and liberate the Ukrainian lands of Donbass meter by meter. Until the flags of our country fly on the state borders of the Donetsk and Lugansk oblasts and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Every day we are closer to victory... Free. Indivisible. Our Ukraine ”. Along the same lines, on November 28, 2020, he stated: " We fought and will continue to fight for every piece of our homeland " to achieve a " free Ukraine ".

On April 14, 2021 , he issued a brief position statement report in which he invited those who wanted the destruction of the enemy to join his ranks to take action instead of wasting forces in the exchange of opinions on the networks. In this sense, he reaffirmed that his company “ is fighting in the east with the Russian army and local henchmen: 7 years. We have been at the front for all 7 years of the war. And we will continue our fight until complete victory, despite all the "ceasefires" and other peace plans. We have never laid down our arms before anyone . And we will not withdraw until the Ukrainian borders are restored . And he stated: "The Eastern Front is based on strong-willed soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and volunteers. The enemy was destroyed and is being destroyed. The war has endured and continues ."

As can be seen, one of Kotsyubailo's key approaches is the liberation of all territories: “ Everything will be Ukraine ”. This is an objective repeated on many occasions, but one that he considered necessary to develop calmly, as he pointed out in January 2021 : “ Use weapons first, carry out aggressive tactics and start to recover your own territories. Step by Step. Until victory ”.

This strategy towards victory implies, secondly, the rejection of any possible negotiation .

Image

The will to continue the war, regardless of any potential agreement, is one of Kotsyubailo's fundamental traits as a political-military commander.

On July 6, 2018, he emphasized: " We must fight for our lands, and not delay handing over the territories with shameful armistices ." Although the most clearly political statement is that of October 10, 2019 , insofar as it reflects not only the specific opposition to the Steinmeier formula but the broader and more radical opposition to the Minsk agreements themselves.

“ The question of the position of volunteers in the situation surrounding the so-called «Steinmeier Formula» and its consequences has been repeatedly raised.

For us the answer is unequivocal and categorical: we are against the withdrawal of the troops, because for six years each piece of this territory was soaked with the blood of our brothers who gave the most valuable thing to the fight: their lives.

We are against the amnesty of the militants, because amnesty is to forgive, and we will never forgive the tears of the mothers, wives and children of our fallen soldiers.

We are against holding local elections under OSCE auspices, because after holding them, Ukraine will be divided into "these" and "the others" without any possibility of return. And it will be irreversible.

And, of course, we are STRONGLY against any surrender, because to surrender is to betray those who fought and are fighting now. Who gave and gives the most valuable. The difference has always existed and always will exist. Someone longs for peace, who is in an imaginary comfort zone and sincerely believes that he will get it by negotiating with the enemy, and someone firmly knows that Victory is something worth fighting for, not talking about. Is it possible to negotiate with the invader? The question is rhetorical ”.

There should be no negotiation but, in reality, revenge. Thus, on November 13, 2019, he argued that “ All that the «Russian world» leaves behind is kilometers of Ukrainian land burned and human lives destroyed. So what kind of negotiations with the enemy can we be talking about here? ”. On March 27, 2021, it was reaffirmed: “ No to negotiations with an occupier who kills our soldiers every day. Revenge will be cruel!" .

As for Generalissimo Francisco Franco, a historical ally of the Ukrainian national-banderismo in Spain, for Kotsyubailo, " the war does not end with peace, but with victory ", as he pointed out on November 21, 2020 : " Peace to any price is the philosophy of slaves, because free people know for sure that the true price of peace is Victory .

Victory means first of all, and thirdly, the destruction of internal and external enemies . On July 17, 2018, he therefore claimed that his fight will continue " until the external and internal enemies are destroyed ." A perspective that he associated with the achievement of peace. On October 12, 2019, he therefore stated that " The destruction of the enemy is one of the foundations of peace ."

Image

In the prompt destruction of those enemies that he placed all his hopes on November 28, 2022 . Photographed together with two other soldiers in front of two tanks, perhaps in reference to the next deliveries promised to guarantee the success of the expected Ukrainian counterattack, the commander pointed out that "death will soon come to the enemies ". The desire for victory and death for all enemies were practically inseparable desires in the vision of the nationalist soldier.

An enemy that Commander DaVinci always assimilated, in a simple and self-exculpatory way, with the occupying foreigner or, at most, with his local henchmen, separated them , who also had to be destroyed. In this context, the answer that Kotsyubailo gave in 2017 to the censor.net journalist who asked him if, before the war, he had visited Donetsk and Lugansk, to which he replied as follows: “ Oh, no. He was not interested in this region. He knew that miners worked here, most of whom speak Russian. But I know for sure that no one has the right to call another State to [intervene in]Ukraine. This land is ours, Ukrainian. Don't you like something? Go away. Do you feel like a Pole, a Belarusian…? Go to those countries, live there. Do you like the Russian measure? Suitcase-station-Russia. The integrity of the state is the most important thing.” A few months before the start of the Russian invasion, Zelensky made various statements that are reminiscent, in a slightly more civilized and amiable way, of this vision of a suitcase-station-Russia.

The death of Kotsyubailo

On March 7, the company led by Da Vinci announced the death of its commander in a combat action around Artyomovsk: "He died with a weapon in his hands, he died when he was the first to go into battle ." In the event that the goals for which he always said he was fighting, the destruction of the Russian enemy and the Ukrainian victory, are achieved, Kotsyubailo will no longer see him.

But his conception of the Ukrainian military-political strategy will undoubtedly remain very present. The decision to raise the title of Hero of Ukraine for Kotsyubailo at the end of 2021 can only be understood in terms of the maximum support for the type of approach that he defended from the highest echelons of the State, especially in the context of military action. And not in vain, in fact, one of the main supporters of Kotsyubailo was Valery Zaluzhny himself, the current commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Image
Kotsyubailo, together with Zaluzhnyi, posing next to a mural of Yevhen Konovalets, founder of the OUN

Image
Day December 1, 2021.

In an interview with lb.ua , DaVinci acknowledged his relationship with Zaluzhny a few days after he was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine: “ I think he was instrumental in making this happen. I'm sure of it. But even so, this decision depended 100% on the first person [Zelensky]. Either he signs or he doesn't sign. He made this decision, and he automatically recognized us . Also relevant is the personal relationship he had with Colonel Valery Hudz under whose command his forces fought in Donbass and from whom he received friendship, trust and guidance, as well as support for his volunteers. His death in March 2022 led him to call for the death of " thousands of orcs " and the destruction of Russia.

Image

The political-military relevance of the figure of Commander DaVinci was made clear during the last farewell, on March 10, in Maidan Square. The event was attended by President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukraine's top military leaders, including Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny, Intelligence Chief Kyrylo Budanov, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov and top generals of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Also present at the ceremony of the commander of the Praviy Sektor was the Prime Minister of Finland, the Social Democrat Sanna Marin. Unlike the other attendees, it is unlikely that she knew the figure, ideology and military-political history of Dmytro Kotsyubailo.

Image

In December 2022, in Kotsyubailo's last interview with Channel 5 , he briefly anticipated some political-military forecasts: an operation to retake the city of Donetsk, the entry of the Ukrainian Armed Forces into Russia to establish and consolidate a zone of protection, the possible intervention of NATO in Ukrainian territory, practically assured according to him in the case of Poland, or the closure of any possible negotiations with Russia after the invasion.

Time will tell if the latest public statements by the military leader of the Praviy Sektor anticipate what will happen or not. The only thing that seems assured, for now, is the escalation of the full-scale war in which he seemed so comfortable.

https://slavyangrad.es/2023/03/16/un-he ... more-26851

Google Translator

This monster was spawned by the USA by a process started in 1945.If we are honest we will never live down the shame.
(No, 'we' didn't do it, but what did 'we' do to stop it?)

***********

“Provoked” NATO Expansion, “Unprovoked” Ukraine War, and the Dire “China Threat”
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MARCH 15, 2023
Felix Abt

Image
A scene like something out of a third-rate mafia movie: producer, screenwriter and director (left) leaves this Orthodox church in Kyiv with his leading actor (right)—neither is Orthodox—taking leisurely steps, while sirens wail warning of an imminent Russian bombing. Although Moscow was briefed by Washington before this visit to avoid a dangerous incident, The Independent, representing the bellicose mainstream media, enthusiastically cheered: “Biden defies safety warnings and air raid sirens for moment of history in Kyiv.” [Source: img.buzzfeed.com]

Claims made by transatlantic politicians and their media partners turn reality upside down—and would baffle even George Orwell.


U.S. President Joe Biden, Western politicians and their media partners agree that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “unprovoked.” The president of the country notorious for its numerous unprovoked wars of aggression called Putin a “criminal” for doing so.

That the war could have any connection to NATO expansion, which led to the deployment of nuclear-capable missiles in Poland and Romania with a flight time of less than 10 minutes to Moscow, is not even remotely addressed.

Neither is the Obama/Biden administrations’ push to annex Ukraine into NATO, with a 2,000-kilometer (1,243 miles) shared border with Russia and even more missile bases in the future. If Cuba deployed a single Russian missile, that would be grounds for Washington to go to war against the island; Russia, on the other hand, is expected to be surrounded by countless NATO missiles on its borders and in its vicinity without fighting back.

Russia allowed Germany to reunite peacefully after the West had promised diplomatically not to move NATO an inch to the east. Moreover, in 1999, Western countries had agreed to the principle in the Charter for European Security that “the obligation of each State not to strengthen its security at the expense of the security of other States.”

Russian Limits Ridiculed

The oh-so-trustworthy values West, however, did not give a damn about keeping promises and agreements with Russia. Moscow swallowed the big toad when NATO ballooned into a serious threat on Russia’s borders, not only in Poland and Romania, but for years held unabated to its demand that Georgia and Ukraine not be allowed to become NATO members under any circumstances. Western politicians and media have never taken this Russian “red line” seriously and have even ridiculed it.

Russia is well aware that NATO is not just a self-defense organization, as it claims, but an aggressive war alliance, at least since NATO’s wars of aggression in Yugoslavia, the Middle East, and Afghanistan.

It is therefore probably no coincidence that mainstream media consumers never learned that the same Joe Biden, when he was the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, assessed NATO expansion as a dangerous Western provocation of Russia and warned that it would provoke “a vigorous and hostile response from Russia.”

Instead of preventing this predictable response by providing a security guarantee to Russia, which would have been inexpensive and painless for all concerned, he actively helped provoke it! Well, to honest Joe Biden’s credit, he has outed himself as a corrupt politician who has to serve the donors: “I don’t think you should assume that I’m not corrupt. It takes a lot of money to get into office. And the people with that money always want something.”

Were you able to read anything about all this in your newspaper or learn about it from your TV channels? Exactly. So you can assume that a well-lubricated senator who wants to become president at least does not stand in the way of the expansionist urge of the all-powerful military-industrial complex and therefore adjusts his opinion: So it was Russia that provoked! Politicians and media loyal to Washington immediately added the reason for the NATO expansion: There is an imperialist tsar in the Kremlin who has turned into a dangerous new Hitler, and that is why a highly armed NATO is needed on as many of Russia’s borders as possible. Truly, the devil in the Kremlin provoked the NATO expansion!

It took 32 years from the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact to the almost complete NATOization of Europe—compare the state of affairs in 1990 with that of 2022, the year of the “unprovoked war of aggression.”

Image
Europa 1990. [Source: cnbc.com]
The illustration above shows that in 1990—year 1 after the fall of the Berlin Wall—the Russian-dominated Soviet Union included Ukraine, the Baltic States and several other now independent countries. The Warsaw Pact, an alliance also dominated by Russia, included six states, all of which are also independent today.

And in the chart below, you can see that in 2022—32 years since Germany reunified—all the former Warsaw Pact countries have joined NATO in the meantime. Three countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union—Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania—have also become NATO members.

Image
Europa 2022. [Source: cnbc.com]

Who started the Ukraine war and when?

Until now, the official and constantly repeated mantra of Washington, its European vassals and media partners has been that Russia was responsible for the crime of a completely “unprovoked” war of aggression, which it started in February 2022. Now NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has corrected the date of the start of the war—confirming what consumers of alternative media have known for years:

“…the war didn’t start in February last year. It started in 2014.”

-NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on February 14, 2023


The war began eight years earlier, in 2014, when the democratically elected Yanukovych government in Kyiv was forcibly deposed in a U.S.-backed coup and replaced by an anti-Russian government that subsequently cracked down on Russian minorities.

By the way, it is not entirely coincidental that eight years after the coup in Kyiv, the year of Russia’s “unprovoked” war of aggression, the smoking gun for U.S. involvement in the overthrow of the government in Kyiv was removed from YouTube.

NATO began training and arming Ukrainian forces after the coup. The new, Banderist and Russophobic regime in Kyiv took advantage of the military buildup starting in 2014 and began bombing Russian-speaking civilians in the Donbas that same year, causing death and devastation. You could not learn about all this from your newspapers or TV channels either.

Reporting on Ukrainian terrorism in the Donbas is censored

Alina Lipp moved to Donetsk in 2021, a year before Russia invaded Ukraine to live there for a while and find out for herself what was actually happening in the Donbas. At that time, the freelance journalist from Germany was still comparatively unknown.

Germany wanted to punish her for this with three years in prison, although Berlin paradoxically proclaims to defend democracy and thus freedom of speech in Ukraine (nota bene with heavy German weapons, including German tanks rolling against Russia again)! Here is the first part of her new documentary about her time in Donbas. Watch it and form your own opinion about it. In a forthcoming piece I will add more examples.

Valued minorities versus criminally neglected minorities

When it comes to the rights of a minority like LGBTQ, the megaphones of the “values West” loudly demand support. But when it comes to minorities in Ukraine, they are silent. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto lamented on his Facebook page that minority rights, including language rights, of the more than 150,000 ethnic Hungarian Ukrainians have been severely curtailed by the Kyiv regime.

For example, Hungarian-speaking children were denied the right to be taught in their language. Unlike the case of the Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang province, where a wave of international protests erupted against what was alleged to be a similar cultural genocide (although Uyghur children are taught in both Uyghur and Mandarin), there has, of course, been no outcry here.

In addition, at least 19 million Russian-language books were taken out of circulation, denying the Russian-speaking minority access to literature in their native language. NBC correspondent Richard Engel witnessed the burning of Russian-language books at a checkpoint in Kyiv, including, for example, the war-important book Fire Resistance of Burning Structures.

The political party, which had come in first behind Zelensky in the presidential election, was banned by the latter along with other opposition parties representing mainly Russian-speaking Ukrainians. Critical media, especially those close to minorities, have also been banned or put on a state leash.

Several Russian-speaking Ukrainians, including a democratically elected former president, have had their Ukrainian citizenship revoked, and others have had their property confiscated. The list is not exhaustive, as the Kyiv regime is in the process of eliminating as much “Russian influence” as possible. It seems to want to fulfill the wish of its national hero, Nazi Bandera, who is buried in Germany, to create a “pure” Ukraine.

Was Russia provoked into invading Ukraine?

NATO’s claim that “Russia wants to conquer Europe” to justify its omnipresence in Europe is nonsensical. Russia precisely does not want to trigger Article 5 (mutual assistance clause in case of attack) of the NATO treaty: First, it invaded Ukraine before Ukraine could officially join NATO to militarily resolve the Donbas issue—where the majority of Russian-speaking Ukrainians live, threatened by the Russophobic Kyiv regime.

The West and Kyiv had not been ready for a diplomatic solution before; while Russia was accused by Western politicians and media of not wanting to comply with the Minsk agreements to resolve the conflict in the Donbas, the fact is that, according to main protagonists Angela Merkel, François Hollande, Petro Poroshenko and Volodymyr Zelensky, these agreements were not meant to be complied with at all, but only had the purpose of buying time so that the Ukrainian Army could be rearmed by NATO and prepared for war with Russia. And secondly, precisely because of NATO Article 5, one can assume that Russia does not want to and will not intentionally invade a NATO country.

To answer the question of whether Russia felt provoked to invade, one must consider the situation before the actual invasion, which was as follows: By mid-February 2022, the civil war waged by Kyiv in an inhumane manner—with aircraft, artillery and tanks—against the Russian-speaking civilian population in eastern Ukraine had resulted in more than 13,000 deaths, about a million people forced to flee, and countless destroyed towns and villages.

No concession could be expected from a Ukraine equipped with state-of-the-art U.S. weapons in the Donbas autonomy efforts; instead, there was Zelensky’s threat toward Russia to acquire nuclear weapons. The West’s refusal to negotiate legitimate security guarantees for Russia and the Russian-speaking minority in Ukraine also played a role in Russia’s calculations.

And despite the genocide caused by years of bombardment of Russian-speaking civilians in Donetsk and Luhansk by the Ukrainian Army, irregular volunteer units, and the “fascists who overran the country” (Jerusalem Post), the Western-dominated UN Security Council has not intervened—even though it was obligated to do so under the following paragraph 6 of the International Criminal Code a.k.a “Völkerstrafgesetzbuch”:

“Whoever, with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, racial, religious, or ethnic group as such, kills a member of the group, inflicts serious bodily or mental harm on a member of the group, particularly of the kind specified in section 226 of the Criminal Code, places the group in conditions of life likely to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part … shall be punished by life imprisonment.”

In his book “Ausnahme Zustand: Geopolitische Einsichten und Analysen unter Berücksichtigung des Ukraine-Konflikts” (State of Emergency: Geopolitical Insights and Analyses Taking the Ukraine Conflict into Account), German lawyer Wolfgang Bittner explains that Russia can invoke its Responsibility to Protect (“R2P”) vis-à-vis the Russian-speaking population in eastern Ukraine—a generally recognized requirement under international law to prevent serious human rights violations. R2P, however, is a problematic doctrine that was originally introduced into international law by the United States and NATO—primarily to justify the war of aggression against Yugoslavia.

Whether provoked or unprovoked—one war is not enough!

However, NATO expansion in Eastern and Northern Europe is not the end of the story. Now this war-time alliance is working hard to expand in Asia as well, because a rising China is perceived as a threat to U.S. world domination.

So China is not only being subjected to a fierce Washington-led economic and propaganda war to contain the new “yellow peril.” Western armies, which together already spend many times more on “defense” than China, are now to be upgraded even more massively. And if the money is not enough, one can always cut the budgets for education, research, health, social services, and infrastructure and incur more debt.

It is not surprising that the media do not call attention to the fact that China is clearly acting defensively in response to these aggressions, while the United States is acting aggressively. The following chart shows how tightly the United States has encircled China, not the other way around:

Image
[Source: caitlinjohnstone.com]

If Beijing suddenly started acting as Western politicians and media accuse it of doing or wanting to do, China’s behavior would resemble that of the United States in some ways: Chinese warships would have to participate in the same aggressive “freedom of navigation” exercises that U.S. warships frequently carry out in waters close to China to Beijing’s dismay, for instance, in the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and off the coasts of California and Hawaii.

A network of military bases that the United States has built up around China and is still expanding would need to be replicated by China in Central and South America. The American empire, which has more than 800 military installations worldwide, indeed seems to be expanding militarily without end: In the Philippines, for example, four new American military bases are currently being built, targeting China, as shown in the chart below:

Image
[Source: bbc.com]
How real is the “China threat” conjured up in the U.S. and echoed in Europe?

Allow me a brief digression here: The actual name of China is Zhongguo (中国), which means Middle Kingdom. It dates back to a time when its citizens prided themselves on being the most civilized nation in their own universe, where the territory they controlled was at the center of a world surrounded by less developed foreign cultures and alien civilizations.

The fact that China is now preparing to re-emerge as the leading economic power, and this after a century of humiliation by today’s G7 countries in the 19th and 20th centuries and decades of internal turmoil, is frightening in the West, especially since it comes from a foreign culture that is capable of generating fear. After all, what one does not know, does not understand and cannot assess is often perceived as threatening.

The goal of the Chinese Communist Party is not to turn the world into a “communist paradise,” not even its own country, but to promote the renewal of the country. Chinese politicians speak of the “Chinese dream,” by which they mean national renewal and renaissance (i.e., not communism). The party, which can be described as patriotic or perhaps nationalist rather than communist, and which merely derives its claim to sole representation and leadership for the country’s modernization from Marxism, also advocates the millennia-old concept of tianxia (“all under one heaven”). This is understood to mean an inclusive world with harmony for all. To put it casually, “We leave you in peace, and you leave us in peace.” That is why the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries is so important to them.

So the Chinese do not want to conquer the world. If they had wanted to, they could have done it with ease in the 13th, 14th or 15th centuries. They had the chance when they were the undisputed and only economic superpower. At that time, when China was far superior to other countries.

Chinese Admiral Zheng He led the world’s largest and most sophisticated fleet (with 317 ships and 27,800 sailors) on several excursions from China to Kenya, Somalia, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Instead of pursuing a gunboat policy, the Chinese wanted to trade. Unlike the Europeans, they did not take the opportunity to conquer and subjugate other countries because they simply had no interest in doing so.

It is no different today: Their goal is to regain their historic top position in the world in a peaceful, stable international order (in peaceful coexistence with other powers). Stability is the key to realizing their dream. This is where the U.S., a fundamentally unpeaceful empire, pulls the lever and creates the instability that the Chinese so fear, through decoupling, deglobalization, or tensions in Taiwan, the South China Sea, and the Korean Peninsula.

The Chinese are not trying to convert us to their model. Unlike the Americans, they lack a sense of mission and proselytizing spirit, and besides, the Chinese system would be unsuitable for export because it is so specific and inextricably interwoven with the country’s millennia-old tradition and culture.

It was the U.S. and the rest of the self-proclaimed “value-oriented West” that tried for a long time to get the Chinese to adopt their ruthless version of capitalism and move them away from their social model of state-controlled capitalism (pioneering planning goals and research investment, breaking up and banning cartels and monopolies and ensuring fair competition, requiring the rich to pay their fair share of taxes to reduce social inequalities, etc.).

But why would the Chinese have allowed themselves to be talked out of a model of success that enabled China to achieve in 30 years a level of development (including the liberation of 800 million of its citizens from poverty) that took the West 200 years? The West also ignores the fact that the thoroughly pragmatic Chinese government uses the market as a competitive tool to drive innovation and modernization, and ultimately to achieve the Chinese dream.

Unlike politicians, scientists and journalists of the “value West,” they are not ideologues, but pragmatists with a strong sense of reality. The joy of experimentation and the many breathtaking changes that are taking place every day throughout the country are proof of this.

Once again, the Chinese are not missionaries, they do not feel called to be world policemen, and they have no desire for expansion. In this respect, they are fundamentally different from the Americans. When American politicians, academics, media and their European parrots waffle about the imperialist danger and the threat from China, it is merely an expression of their ignorance and projection. It is no wonder that imperialism and colonialism are concepts coined and lived by the West, not by Chinese.

Taiwan—America’s new conflict case à la Ukraine?

After Ukraine, the next pawn is Taiwan; at least that seems to be the goal. Can China prevent a new century of humiliation—including a war that will be more brutal than the Opium Wars—by the West?

Taiwan is, in a sense, the “Ukrainian” pretext for a possible direct or proxy war with China. Taiwan’s ruling party, which in Zelensky fashion pandered to U.S. interests and sought to arm the island with American weapons against China, suffered a resounding defeat in the last election, which was reported rather casually, if at all, in the Western media.

The election winner, the opposition Kuomintang, advocates rapprochement with China, which must displease the war hawks in Washington.

The Taiwanese president then resigned from her post as leader of the ruling party [though she remained as Taiwanese President]. Just a few months earlier, she had received Nancy Pelosi and many other anti-China and warmongering politicians from Western countries with great pomp.

Recently, however, she meekly announced that war with China was “not an option”—a bitter disappointment not only for the Western war industry but also for its political and media groupies who are in favor and determined to “take a stand against China.”

Well, at least they are left with the hope that the CIA will discreetly solve this vexing political problem on the unreliable island for the belligerent West.

However, it should do it a bit more skillfully this time than it did in Hong Kong (see Nury Vittachi’s book “The Other Side of the Story: A Secret War in Hong Kong”).

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/03/ ... na-threat/

***********

From Cassad's Telegram account:

forwarded from
Special for RT
Expert of the Center for Military-Political Journalism, author of the @boris_rozhin Telegram channel Boris

Rozhin ", mean only and exclusively American rules, which they impose on others and which they just as easily discard when it suits them. It is not a big secret that American UAVs are involved in the fighting in the Black Sea region , acting as reconnaissance

and spotters for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Navy. In fact, the Pentagon does not particularly deny this, regularly points out that Ukraine is receiving data from American intelligence platforms.

Being in international airspace is used by the United States to hide from the air defense systems of the Russian Armed Forces, but even this is not enough for them - we regularly observe provocations with attempts to enter NATO ships within the maritime borders of Russia, as well as attempts to fly aircraft and drones into our airspace. If we talk about the Black Sea, then the episode of 2021 is well known, when the forces of the Black Sea Fleet drove away the British destroyer with fire , which tried to enter Russian territorial waters.

In the case of Crimea, the United States is giving itself an indulgence, declaring that it does not recognize Russian sea and air borders around Crimea, since it does not consider it part of Russia. At the same time, they are forced to take into account the actual state of affairs, since these borders are secured by the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation and the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation. That is why the actions of ships and vessels are of a provocative nature, challenging the status of Crimea , but avoiding a direct collision (as far as possible).

Therefore, a tough reaction to such provocations is of great importance, which, at least for a while, convinces our opponents to moderate their ardor. You can be sure that the United States, although it will continue flying drones over the Black Sea, will act more carefully, simultaneously insuring its reconnaissance aircraft with a fighter patrol.

And when they feel safe again, they will escalate again.

So they test our readiness and whether we can bend, defining the limits of what is possible for themselves. The fact that this is happening at our borders means nothing to the United States: they consider the whole world to be a sphere of their interests, simultaneously denying Russia the right to have any interests in principle. Therefore, no exhortations in relations with the United States will help: they clearly understand only the language of force. And in this case, the conversation with them was conducted in this language. After that, we saw a remarkable mixed reaction in Washington and rather comical statements about the environment .

Of course, several tens of millions of dollars of damage (the final amount depends on the configuration of the drone) will not change the intentions of the hegemon, especially against the background of the huge defense budget that is being drawn up for 2024. But if our sailors fish out valuable fragments of the drone and its internal stuffing, the damage may turn out to be more significant, since it was precisely the concern for these technologies that the Pentagon motivated at one time the official refusal to supply the MQ-9 to Ukraine, fearing that the technologies would fall into the hands of the Russians, and those hand them over to the Iranians. At the same time, this episode shows that in a different situation, a much more serious drone like the RQ-4 Global Hawk can be the victim of "strange circumstances".

***

Colonelcassad

Image

Zaporozhye direction
situation by the end of March 15, 2023

🔻Today, Ukrainian units, after artillery and aviation preparation, attempted to attack the positions of Russian troops in the Pologovsky and Orekhovsky sectors .

▪️North-west of Pology, the Armed Forces of Ukraine tried to storm the defensive lines of the 291st motorized rifle regiment of the 42nd Motor Rifle Division and 22 special forces brigades of the RF Armed Forces using several armored vehicles. The attack was repulsed by Russian fighters with the support of ATGM crews and artillery. The Armed Forces of Ukraine lost two tanks and two infantry fighting vehicles.

▪️Also, Ukrainian assault detachments attacked the defense lines of the 70th infantry regiment of the 42nd motorized rifle division near Novodanilovka in the Orekhovsky sector on several tanks. Artillery and mortar strikes destroyed four tanks, and the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were killed.

❗️To date, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have lost more than 40 people killed and at least eight units of armored vehicles. Now the Armed Forces of Ukraine are conducting a second offensive near Orekhovo with the help of armored vehicles. For now, the fighting continues.

***

Colonelcassad

Image

The battle for Bakhmut
situation as of 17.00 March 15, 2023

🔻In the northwest of Bakhmut, assault detachments of the Wagner PMC liberated the village of Zaliznyanskoye . Sources of the Military Chronicle @milchronicles report that during the fierce battles, individual units of the 30th and 61st Ombre suffered heavy losses and retreated from the village.

❗️The liberation of Zaliznyansky opens the way for a simultaneous attack on the Bondarnoye-Vasyukovka line to the north from two sides: from the side of Zaliznyansky and Krasnopolye . This will level the front line and improve the situation before a further assault on the Seversk agglomeration .

▪️To the south, fighting continues in Orekhovo-Vasilevka , where consolidated formations of the 30th brigade, 71st brigade and 17th brigade, as well as the defense forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, are involved in the defense. Ukrainian units withdrew mortar and artillery crews to Malinovka due to the approach of the front line to the Minkovsky Triangle , which includes Privolye and Golubovka .

🔻In the northwest of Bakhmut, the "Wagnerites" advanced slightly towards Bogdanovka from the side of Dubovo-Vasilevka . In addition, separate reconnaissance and sabotage groups of Wagner PMCs are already operating between Bogdanovka and Khromovo .

▪️Information about the release of Khromovo is not yet true. The forces of the 93rd mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine withdrew from the village in full strength due to heavy losses, however, Russian units did not enter the settlement due to the massive shelling of its environs by Ukrainian artillery.

🔻In Bakhmut, the "Wagnerites" continue to clean up the territory of the "Artyomovsky plant for the processing of non-ferrous metals" . After the liberation of the Vostokmash building, advancement deep into the complex is noted.

▪️In the south, the assault detachments crossed Korsunskogo Street and reached the center of the Samolet district . Fights are celebrated in the direction of the Bakhmut Industrial College .

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

Google Translator

********

US, Russia trade blows over drone downing near Crimea
CHINA DAILY | Updated: 2023-03-16 07:07

Kremlin blames 'sharp maneuver' for crash while Pentagon calls intercept 'reckless'

Image
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits an aviation factory in Buryatia on Tuesday. He again cast the conflict in Ukraine as an existential one for Russia. On the same day, a US drone crashed into the Black Sea, the first known direct confrontation between the superpowers since the conflict began. KREMLIN/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Russia and the United States on Wednesday offered different accounts of the downing of a US intelligence drone in the Black Sea, as the incident added to tensions between Moscow and Washington over the Ukraine crisis.

According to a Reuters report, the US military MQ-9 Reaper surveillance drone crashed on Tuesday after being intercepted by Russian fighter jets. The Pentagon said one of the Russian Su-27 jets struck the propeller of the drone, making it inoperable, a claim denied by Moscow which blamed the drone's "sharp maneuver" for the crash and said its jets did not make contact.

The downing appeared to be the first time since the height of the Cold War that a US aircraft was brought down after an encounter with a Russian warplane, The Associated Press commented.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that relations with the US were "at their lowest point, in a very lamentable state", but Russia "has never refused constructive dialogue, and is not refusing now".

The Reaper, according to a statement by Russia's Defense Ministry on Tuesday, was flying over the Black Sea near the Crimean Peninsula and intruded in an area that was declared off limits by Russia as part of its special military operation in Ukraine, causing the military to scramble fighters to intercept it.

"As a result of a sharp maneuver, the MQ-9 drone went into unguided flight with a loss of altitude and crashed into the water," it said. "The Russian fighters didn't use their weapons, didn't come into contact with the unmanned aerial vehicle, and they safely returned to their base."

The statement insisted that Russian warplanes did not hit or cause the crash of the drone, which the Pentagon said was on a routine "intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance" mission.

The MQ-9 includes a ground control station and satellite equipment and has a 20-meter wingspan. It can be armed with Hellfire missiles as well as laser-guided bombs and can fly for more than 1,770 kilometers, the US Air Force said.

The Pentagon called the intercept "reckless and unprofessional". But spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder would not say whether it was armed. The US had not recovered the crashed drone, US Air Forces-Europe said in a statement, and neither had Russia, he said.

US President Joe Biden was briefed on the incident by national security adviser Jake Sullivan, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.

He said US State Department officials would be speaking directly to their Russian counterparts and "expressing our concerns over this unsafe and unprofessional intercept".Kirby emphasized that the incident would not deter the US from continuing its missions in the area.

Image
Anatoly Antonov, Russian ambassador to the US, speaks with reporters after meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe Karen Donfried in Washington on Tuesday. PATRICK SEMANSKY/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Also in Washington, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov described the US drone flight as a "provocation" and argued that there was no reason for US military aircraft and warships to be near Russia's borders.

Speaking after meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe Karen Donfried, Antonov reiterated that the Russian warplanes did not hit the US drone or fire their weapons. He added that Moscow wants "pragmatic" ties with Washington.

'Diplomatic channels'

"We assume that the US will refrain from further speculation in the media and stop flights near Russian borders. We consider any action with the use of US weaponry as openly hostile," Antonov wrote on Telegram on Wednesday.

Moscow has repeatedly voiced concerns about US intelligence flights close to Crimea, which joined Russia through a referendum in 2014.

The Kremlin has charged that by providing weapons to Ukraine and sharing intelligence information with Kyiv, the US and its Western allies have effectively become engaged in the conflict.

A Western military source said diplomatic channels between Russia and the US could help limit any fallout.

"To my mind, diplomatic channels will mitigate this," the source told Agence France-Presse.

http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/20230 ... b4b2c.html

****

Poland Will Soon Send Fighter Jets to Ukraine - Prime Minister

Image
Moscow considers that supplying fighters to Kiev means West's war against Russia. Mar. 15, 2023. | Photo: Twitter/@ajit4g1

Published 15 March 2023

Warsaw has not specified the number of MiG-29 fighters it will supply.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference that in about four to six weeks, Poland could supply Soviet-designed MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine.

Warsaw has not specified the number of MiG-29 fighters it will test. The country currently has a total of 28 MiG-29 fighters in active service.

Slovakia, meanwhile, has also announced that it will supply Ukraine with its MiG-29s in a joint process with Poland. According to Defense Minister Jarolslav Nad, the European country plans to deliver 10 of its 11 MiG-29s.

Both Poland and Slovakia, NATO countries, are calling on other members of the bloc to join this initiative. Amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Warsaw has already sent Kiev 14 Leopard tanks.


Ukraine, whose military has been using Soviet-made jets for decades, has been insistently demanding both Soviet and Western aircraft from its NATO allies.

Moscow considers that supplying fighters to Kiev means the West's war against Russia. This move will further extend the conflict, far from altering its outcome, the country has warned.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Pol ... -0014.html

Russia Seeks to Retrieve Remains of US Drone From Black Sea

Image
U.S.-made MQ-9 drone. | Photo: Twitter/ @witchestruth

Published 15 March 2023 (17 hours 45 minutes ago)

Russian fighter jets were scrambled to identify a drone approaching the Russian border, and the unmanned aerial vehicle crashed into the Black Sea due to its own sharp maneuvering.


On Wednesday, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said that his country will try to retrieve the wreckage of a U.S. surveillance drone that crashed into the Black Sea on Tuesday.

"I don't know if we will be able to get the remains or not, but it is a must to do it and we will do it. I hope, of course, it will be a success," Patrushev told a Russian TV program.

There are technical possibilities for Russia to find and study the wreckage of the drone, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Director Sergei Naryshkin said on the program.

The United States is conducting intelligence activities in the Black Sea "very actively, using all means" and Russia knows about the U.S. goals in detail, he added.

Russia-U.S. relations are "at their lowest point, in a very deplorable state," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday, commenting on the drone incident.


President Vladimir Putin has been informed of the situation, and there were no Moscow-Washington contacts at the highest level over the incident, Peskov told a daily briefing.

On Tuesday, Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov called the incident "a provocation," stressing that "we must be very careful in our actions given the events that are taking place in Eastern Europe."

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian fighter jets were scrambled to identify a U.S. MQ-9 drone approaching the Russian state border, and the unmanned aerial vehicle crashed into the Black Sea due to its own sharp maneuvering.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Rus ... -0013.html

******

Ukraine - Effective Mortar Range And A Map

A gallery on the current homepage of the New York Times includes this picture:

Image

The picture's caption says:

Casiv Yar The 71st Separate Hunting Brigade of the Air Assault Forces firing a mortar at a Russian target.
Tyler Hicks / The New York Times

Here is bigger version of the picture, slightly lightened, for more details.

Image

That is a puny U.S. made M224 60 mm Lightweight Company Mortar System (LWCMS). It has an effective firing range of 70 to 3,490 meter.

This is the current map, based on 'western' sources, of the front line around Chasiv Yar.

Image
Source: LiveUAMap

The distances shown on the map between Chasiv Yar and the front line are 5.3 and 5.9 kilometer, i.e. bigger than the maximum effective range of that mortar.

For whatever reason something is wrong. It could be the caption of the picture or it could be the lines on the map.

Nothing serious - just wanted to mark this as part of MoA's continuous media education campaign. Not everything is what it seems to be.

Posted by b on March 16, 2023 at 9:17 UTC | Permalink

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/03/e ... .html#more
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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

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

Post by blindpig » Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:32 pm

Dangerous game in the Black Sea
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 03/17/2023

Image

Yesterday, the United States declassified some images in which it was possible to observe, from the MQ-9 Reaper drone shot down two days before, the maneuvers of the Russian aviation. This is one of the many clashes that have occurred in recent years between the aviation of the two countries. However, the location of the US drone and its evident espionage work, possibly to provide Ukraine with data with a view to future offensives, only increases tension in a region where militarization has been increasing in the past. last decade. The publication of the US images comes after Russia published a short video in which its aviation was observed outpacing the drone, detected and persecuted until its demolition in a maneuver that the United States has described as irresponsible. The images show what was speculated practically from the beginning: the drone was not shot down with a hit from one of the Russian Su-27s, but rather suffered damage due to fuel spilled on it by Russian fighters until it fell into the depths of the sea. Black, where Russia is now trying to recover his remains.

The incident is yet another example of dangerous play in a region too close to the zone of military operations to expect complete inaction from the Russian Federation. And it is also one of the many incidents that have occurred in the Black Sea in recent years, a particularly useful place for provocations both by NATO countries and Ukraine. In an episode that sealed the final defeat of Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine sent its navy to cross the waters under the Kerch bridge, in Russian territorial waters, without prior communication to Russia in an episode that only sought a provocation to politically escalate the situation. . The current context is much more complex and the risk of clashes between Russia and the NATO countries has proven to be real. However, the attitude of the United States, that he has sought to use a more moderate rhetoric than he is accustomed to, shows that the objective is not a direct confrontation with the Russian Federation. Washington, satisfied with the proxy war dynamic, intends simply to maintain theStatus quo : continue to use the airspace near Crimea to carry out reconnaissance tasks to later deliver the intelligence data to its subsidiary army, in charge of directly confronting the Russian troops.

Original Article: Colonel Cassad

The episode of the downing of the MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance drone and attack in the Black Sea has once again shown that Washington's stories about the fight for “the rules-based international order” mean exclusively the defense of American norms, which impose to others and are discarded as easily as they cease to be useful.

It is no big secret that US drones have been involved in combat operations in the Black Sea region acting as a reconnaissance and fire correction tool for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Actually, the Pentagon does not bother to deny it and regularly indicates that it is transmitting data from US intelligence platforms to Ukraine.

The United States uses its presence in international airspace to hide from the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, but even this is not enough for them. Provocations can be regularly observed, either with attempts by NATO ships to access Russian territorial waters or by flying aircraft or drones in Russian airspace. If we refer to the Black Sea, the episode in which the forces of the Black Sea Fleet fired [warning shots] a British ship trying to enter Russian territorial waters [in the Crimean area, claiming that, according to international law, it is Ukrainian territorial waters, but fully aware that it was a free and dangerous provocation- Ed ].

In the case of Crimea, the United States grants itself leniency by stating that it does not recognize Russian airspace and territorial waters around Crimea, as it does not consider it to be part of Russia. At the same time, it is forced to take into account the current state of affairs, since these borders are patrolled by aviation and the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation. Hence, the acts of ships and aircraft are provocative by nature, but a direct collision is avoided (or has been achieved so far at least).

Thus, a harsh reaction to a taunt is a highly important gesture that, at the very least, convinces opponents to temper their ardor. It can be guaranteed that while the US will continue to fly its drones in the Black Sea, it will do so more carefully, possibly securing its reconnaissance operations with the fighter patrol. And when he feels safe again, he'll climb again.

This is how combat capacity is checked and whether Russia folds, determining the limits of what can be allowed. The fact that it is happening on Russia's borders means nothing to the United States: they consider the whole world their sphere of influence while, on principle, they deny Russia the ability to have any interest. In this case, the conversation with them occurred in the language that could be seen. Afterwards, there has been a mixed reaction in Washington and a series of somewhat comical statements in this regard.

Of course, several tens of millions of dollars of damage (the final cost depends on the configuration of the drone) will not change the hegemon's intentions, especially considering the huge defense budget that is planned for 2024. But if the Russian navy can obtaining valuable fragments of the drone and its internal composition, the damage may be more significant, since it was concern about these technologies that motivated the Pentagon to officially refuse the supply of MQ-9 drones to Ukraine, fearing that such devices would fall into the hands from the Russians, who would transfer them to the Iranians.

At the same time, the episode shows that, in a different situation, a much more serious drone like the RQ-4 Global Hawk could also fall victim to "strange circumstances."

https://slavyangrad.es/2023/03/17/26863/#more-26863

Google Translator

********

The Just Won't Stop - NYT Pushes New False Claims By Debunked Anti-Russia Propagandist Clint Watts

This propaganda is way too obvious.

Russia’s Spring Offensive in Ukraine Could Include Cyberattacks, Microsoft Says - New York Times, Mar 16 2023
Moscow also appears to be stepping up influence operations to weaken European and U.S. support for sending more aid to the Ukrainian government.

A hacking group with ties to the Russian government appears to be preparing new cyberattacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure and government offices, Microsoft said in a report on Wednesday, suggesting that Russia’s long-anticipated spring offensive could include action in cyberspace, as well as on the ground.
...
For now Russia’s main influence campaign is concentrated in Europe, but it will shift to the United States “as the year gets closer to a presidential election debate going into fall,” said Clint Watts, the head of Microsoft’s Digital Threat Analysis Center.


Where, again, have I seen that name?

Latest Twitter Files show media, Dems relied on single source alleging 'Russian bot' activity: 'It was a scam' - Foxnews, Jan 28, 2023
Elon Musk says 'shame on MSNBC' for pushing misleading Russian bots narratives

Substack writer Matt Taibbi previously reported how top Democrats like California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, as well as Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, kept promoting claims that the Kremlin had significant influence in public discourse despite being told otherwise by Twitter executives.
On Friday, Taibbi did a deep dive into their source, Hamilton 68, a so-called "dashboard" that purportedly monitored Russian bot activity.

Hamilton 68, which was spearheaded by former FBI special agent and MSNBC contributor Clint Watts, was operated by the Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD), a "neoliberal think tank" founded in 2017 with an advisory council that includes Clinton ally John Podesta, former Obama-era acting CIA director Michael Morrell, former Obama official Michael McFaul and The Bulwark editor-at-large Bill Kristol.

Taibbi wrote Hamilton 68 "was the source of hundreds if not thousands of mainstream print and TV news stories in the Trump years."

But behind the scenes, Twitter executives trashed Hamilton 68 and deliberated whether they should publicly rebuke ASD.

"I think we need to just call this out on the bulls--- it is," Twitter's then-head of trust and safety Yoel Roth wrote in an October 2017 email, later writing in January 2018 that the dashboard "falsely accuses a bunch of legitimate right-leaning accounts of being Russian bots."

"Virtually any conclusion drawn from it will take conversations in conservative circles on Twitter and accuse them of being Russian," Roth wrote in February 2018.


Despite such fact based reporting three big wig NYT 'reporters', Julian E. Barnes, David E. Sanger and Marc Santora, continue to repeat the baseless 'disinformation' lies of the known anti-Russia propagandist Clint Watts . This without adding any critical context.

As the first commentator on my previous media education piece noted:

Reporters are garbage.

I would not generalize it like that. Matt Taibbi for one is a good reporter. But some other 'reporters' are indeed producing nothing but a constant stream of the most stinking refuse ever.

Posted by b on March 16, 2023 at 9:46 UTC | Permalink

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/03/t ... .html#more

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

New work for "Commune"
March 16, 16:56

Image

An American MQ-9 Reaper drone that crashed in the Black Sea after a warm meeting in all respects with Su-27 patrol fighters was found at a depth of 900 meters. Above it, the duty of the ships of the Black Sea Fleet was established in order not to let anyone near the crash site. The issue of its rise is being resolved.

There is a ship in the Black Sea Fleet that is capable of doing this - the legendary "Commune" built in 1913. Rebuilt many times and having a huge track record of underwater work (including the recovery of several submarines, as well as aircraft and ships), it has deep-sea vehicles capable of operating at a depth of up to 1 km.

By the way, Commune has experience in lifting foreign equipment. In 1928, she raised the sunken British submarine L-55 in the Baltic, which was blown up by mines while evading Soviet destroyers. The first work was before the Revolution, but during the Soviet era, the Kommuna became the most deserved rescue ship of the Soviet fleet.

Now, she may well take part in the rise of the drone, which is almost a century younger than her.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8227406.html

Google Translator

**********

Image

Arms imports to Europe surge despite Global decline
By teleSUR Desk (Posted Mar 15, 2023)

Originally published: teleSUR English on March 13, 2023 (more by teleSUR English) |

On Monday, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) published its latest report of global arms sales, which shows that European states’ imports of major arms over the five years between 2018 and 2022 increased by 47 percent compared with that of the 2013-2017 period, while the global arms transfers decreased by 5.1 percent.

During the stated period, arms imports in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania, and the Middle East fell by 40 percent, 21 percent, 7.5 percent and 8.8 percent respectively.

In the meantime, European North Atlantic Treaty Organization states increased their arms imports by 65 percent mainly due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The report also said that the U.S. dominance of the global arms trade increased, as its share of global arms exports surged from 33 percent to 40 percent while Russia’s share fell from 22 percent to 16 percent.

Image

In the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea, Japan and Australia’s arms imports soared 61 percent, 171 percent and 23 percent respectively, with the U.S. as the main supplier to the three countries. In the Middle East, the largest arms supplier is also the U.S., providing 54 percent of the region’s arms imports.

As a result of military aid from the U.S. and many European states following the crisis in February 2022, Ukraine became the 3rd biggest importer of major arms during 2022.

“Even as arms transfers have declined globally, those to Europe have risen sharply due to the tensions between Russia and most other European states,” said Pieter D. Wezeman, senior researcher with the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme.

[youtube]http://twitter.com/i/status/1503061165106151429[/youtube]

https://mronline.org/2023/03/15/arms-im ... l-decline/

**********

The Nord Stream-Andromeda Cover Up
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MARCH 14, 2023
Scott Ritter

Image
Divers taking a safety stop at 5 metres. (Oetzipopoetzi, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons)

U.S. intelligence was too quick to leak information about the German investigation to The New York Times.It raises the distinct impression that the real culprit is nervous about the investigative work of Seymour Hersh.


Back in 2000, the television series “Andromeda” premiered, based upon unused material from Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the Star Trek series and franchise. The plot is premised on the notion of a spaceship, “Andromeda,” frozen in time, which is given the opportunity to reverse the clock and undo history.

The series ran five years.

Fast forward to the present.

History has dealt a tough hand to the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, who openly confessed his intent to “bring an end” to the Nord Stream pipeline system which delivered Russian natural gas to Europe through four pipelines (Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, consisting of two pipelines each).

Since then, the Biden White House was compelled to deny the president’s stated intent after an explosive report by Pulitzer-Prize winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh detailed damning information which, if true (and there is no reason to suspect it’s not) casts the responsibility for a series of underwater explosions that took place on Sept. 26, 2022, on Biden himself.

Hersh’s report was ignored by the mainstream media in the United States, with neither The New York Times, for whom Seymour Hersh wrote on national security issues for many years, nor The Washington Post even hinting that the greatest living investigative journalist had broken a blockbuster story.

Enter the “Andromeda” — not the spaceship of the eponymous television series, but rather a Bavaria C50 15-meter (49-foot) yacht based out of the German Baltic port city of Rostock. On March 7 — nearly a month after Hersh self-published his article on Substack — a team of German reporters from the ARD capital studio, Kontraste, Südwestrundfunk (SWR) and Die Zeit collaboratively reported that they had uncovered the existence of “the boat that was allegedly used for the secret operation.”

The boat was “a yacht rented from a company based in Poland, apparently owned by two Ukrainians.” According to the story, “the secret operation at sea was carried out by a team of six people.”

The name of the yacht was “The Andromeda.”

According to the German reporting, the team — five men, consisting of a ship captain, two primary divers, two supporting divers and a female doctor — used the Andromeda to transport the team, along with the explosives used to destroy the pipelines, to the scene of the crime. The boat was returned to Rostock in “an uncleaned condition,” allowing German law enforcement officials, who carried out a search of the vessel between Jan. 8-11, to detect “traces of explosives” on a table in the ship’s cabin.

The same day the German reporting on the new Nord Stream attack narrative broke, The New York Times ran a front-page story entitled “Intelligence Suggests Pro-Ukrainian Group Sabotaged Pipelines, US Officials Say.”

For the first time, The New York Times referred to Hersh’s reporting, writing, “Last month, the investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published an article on the newsletter platform Substack concluding that the United States carried out the operation at the direction of Mr. Biden,” before closing with “U.S. officials say Mr. Biden and his top aides did not authorize a mission to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines, and they say there was no U.S. involvement.”

Image
Map of the explosions caused at the Nord Stream pipelines on Sept. 26, 2022. (FactsWithoutBias1, CC-By-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons)

As if echoing the Biden White House denials, The New York Times led off with this:

“New intelligence reporting amounts to the first significant known lead about who was responsible for the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines that carried natural gas from Russia to Europe” (emphasis added.)

The New York Times, it seems, was more than happy about proceeding with its own anonymous intelligence sources, while dismissing Hersh’s.

The problem with both the German reporting and that of The New York Times (whose source was clearly referring to the same data reported by the German reporters) is that the Andromeda narrative doesn’t hold water.

Take, for instance, the Tom Clancy-like tale of derring-do that has four allegedly Ukraine-affiliated divers defy physiology by conducting dives that would require the use of a decompression chamber for them to survive an ascent of 240 feet (the depth of the Nord Stream pipelines that were destroyed). A rule of thumb is that decompression takes approximately one day per 100 feet of seawater plus a day.

Image
Marina in Rostock, Germany. (Beauwell, CC0, Wikimedia Commons)

This means that the team of divers would have required three days of decompression per dive. But to decompress, one needs a decompression chamber. For a dive involving two divers, the Andromeda would have to have been outfitted with either a two-person Class A decompression chamber, or two single-person Class B chambers, as well as the number of large oxygen bottles needed to operate these chambers over time.

A simple examination of the interior cabin space of the Bavarian C50 yacht would quickly dispossess one of any notion that either option was viable.

Simply put — no decompression chamber, no dive, no story.

‘Traces’ of High Explosives

There is another aspect of the story to probe. According to the German reporting, law enforcement officials detected “traces” of high explosives on the tables in the cabin of the Andromeda.

According to the Swedish Prosecution Authority, in a statement released on Nov. 19, 2022, Swedish investigators discovered “traces of explosives on several of the foreign objects that were found” at the site of the explosions.

These explosives, according to a Nov. 22, 2022, report issued by Nord Stream AG, the Swiss-based parent company that owned the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, produced “technogenic [i.e., “of or pertaining to a process or substance created by human technology”] craters with a depth of 3 to 5 meters” separated “by a distance of about 248 meters.”

“The section of the pipe between the craters is destroyed, the radius of pipe fragments dispersion is at least 250 meters,” the report noted.

Image
Nord Stream AG head office in Zug, Switzerland. (Alexey M, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons)

In a report to the United Nations, both Denmark and Sweden said that the damage done to the Nord Stream pipelines was caused by blasts equivalent to the power of “several hundred kilograms of explosive.”

It should be noted that underwater pipelines like those used in Nord Stream are designed to withstand proximal explosions from devices up to several hundred kilograms in size. Indeed, in locations such as the Baltic Sea, where unexploded military ordnance from multiple world wars abounds, the threat of a drifting device striking a pipeline and detonating is quite real.

Computer modeling shows that a 600-kilogram high explosive charge detonated approximately 5 meters from a 34mm-thick steel pipeline filled with gas would not compromise the structural integrity of the pipeline.

Image
A piece of Nord Stream pipe on public display in Kotka, Finland in 2017. (Vuo, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons)

At the location of the explosions, the Nord Stream pipelines consisted of 26.8 mm steel pipes with an addition 33.2 mm of concrete coating, for a total thickness of 60 mm. The weight of a single pipe section was over 11 tons.

In short, a standard high-explosive charge of several hundred kilograms would not be sufficient to cause the destruction that occurred on the Nord Stream pipeline.

Enter Hersh, who reported that the explosives used were “shaped charges.”

With a shaped charge, the energy of the explosion is focused in one direction, usually by creating a concave shape in the explosive that is them lined with a metal sheet, so that it usually achieves an armor- and/or concrete-penetrating effect.

Without getting too technical, the design of an underwater shaped charge that would be sufficient to penetrate concrete-lined steel pipe at a depth of 240 feet is not common knowledge. The charge would have to be prepared by qualified explosives experts and ideally tested prior to being employed operationally to validate the design and functionality of the device.

These are not tasks undertaken by a small ad hoc team of Ukrainian underwater saboteurs, but rather state-sponsored actors with access to military grade explosives and testing facilities.

Strike two for the German reporting.

But the most glaring deficiency in the German reporting deals with the detection of “trace explosive” onboard the Andromeda. This information would identify the precise explosive used. Moreover, when compared and contrasted with the “trace explosive” found by the Swedes at the location of the Nord Stream attacks, it could provide a clear linkage between the Andromeda and the attacks.

But Sweden has sealed the files of its investigation into the Nord Stream attack on national security grounds, meaning that it will not cooperate with Germany to see if the explosive traces found at the scene of the Nord Stream crime match those onboard the Andromeda.

The obvious reason behind this decision: because the two traces won’t match. One — the Swedish sample — points to the culprit. The other — the Andromeda sample — is evidence of a cover up.

Strike three, and you’re out.

The German government’s crude effort to manufacture an alternative narrative regarding who attacked the Nord Stream pipeline fails the smell test — in short, it stinks. The holes in this story are such that even the most gifted screenwriters could not turn this Andromeda tale of changing history into something remotely believable. In short, Gene Roddenberry would not be impressed.

Moreover, the fact that the U.S. intelligence community was quick to leak information about the German investigation to The New York Times appears to be de facto evidence of U.S. complicity in this cover up.

And the reason for this cover up is quite clear: the Germans and Americans both fear the reporting being done by Hersh.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/03/ ... -cover-up/

**********

From Cassad's Telegram account:

Colonelcassad

Image

Zaporozhye direction
situation as of March 16, 2023

🔻After yesterday's unsuccessful offensive in the Pologovsky and Orekhovsky sections of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, they switched to positional battles. Along the line of contact, the activity of cannon and rocket artillery crews has increased, which may indicate preparations for the next offensive.

🔻In the Vasilyevsky sector, sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the 65th mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with the support of the calculation of the BM-21 Grad MLRS, conducted an unsuccessful sortie at the positions of the RF Armed Forces near Vasilyevka . The attack was repulsed, and the 65th brigade lost two killed and ten wounded.

🔻In the Pologovsky sector , the Armed Forces of Ukraine are conducting a massive shelling of the positions of the 291st motorized rifle regiment of the 42nd Motorized Rifle Division of the RF Armed Forces. With a high degree of probability, Ukrainian formations are planning another reconnaissance in force.

🔻Positional battles are going on in the Gulyaipol sector in the Novozlatopol area . To the north of the front line, two helicopters of the Mi-8 army aviation operate. 120-mm mortars with ammunition were delivered to the positions of the 110th brigade of the territorial defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

❗️According to existing signs, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine intend to continue to "probe" the defense of the Russian army in various sectors of the Zaporozhye direction . At the same time, the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not expect a counteroffensive of the RF Armed Forces in the near future - the command of the 128th Guards Rifle Brigade plans to transfer personnel to the Donetsk direction .

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

Google Translator

**********

NATO'S BUSINESS: UKRAINE AND THE MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
Mar 16, 2023 , 1:41 p.m.

Image
The more than 46 billion dollars would be represented by weapons that were part of the inventories of the United States and its European allies for decades (Photo: AFP)

A war is the perfect justification for the massive use and manufacture of weapons. Without the conflicts, stocks would not be renewed or modernized on a global scale, nor would this billion-dollar business continue to mobilize.

According to American Thinker columnist Roger Smith, the war in Ukraine highlights the real reasons why the United States and NATO are sending billions of dollars worth of war materials. And it is not precisely a concern for the lives of Ukrainians or support for the government of Vladimir Zelenski, but to feed and energize the metabolism of war as a generator of wealth.

The expert details that, since the conflict began in January 2022 until January 15, 2023, a total of 76.8 billion dollars has been allocated, of which 46.6 billion have been for military purposes.

That last amount would be represented by weapons that were part of the inventories of the United States and its European allies for decades. The war material has a useful life of approximately 20 years and removing it from circulation has a very high cost.

The strategy of sending these old weapons of war to Ukraine, therefore, is that the NATO countries are avoiding their high cost of demilitarization and, moreover, it activates the manufacturing and modernization dynamic.

Since the war began, Ukraine has become the third largest importer of weapons of war in the world. According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a Swedish institute whose database systematizes military spending from around the world since 1949, Ukraine received weapons from 22 countries last year.

Now, one would have to ask how much of this weaponry was not obsolete and, in the end, is delivered to save demilitarization expenses. The institute points out that most of these war resources circulate free of charge and, in many cases, are financed by the European Union (EU) through, paradoxically, the European Peace Fund. What it does not show is the hidden intention behind so much solidarity.

HOW HIGH ARE THESE DEMILITARIZATION COSTS?
Although it is difficult for the researcher to obtain actual data on which to make estimates, there are factual examples in the past of how the purchase of chemical weapons during the Cold War and their demobilization came at a high cost as they aged out of inventory.

Review data from a report by the United States Government Accountability Office ( GAO ) from 1985, which allows estimating the cost of producing chemical weapons to deter the Soviet Union: 2,749 million of dollars. Demilitarization cost some 1.7 billion dollars.

If we place this sample as a parameter at the present time, the 46.6 billion dollars in military aid to Ukraine would imply some 35 billion dollars in demilitarization. Although they are not chemical weapons, they do have many dangerous and expensive components to deactivate.

It can be said that, literally, NATO is a military enterprise whose total expenses and costs are seen as investments. What is saved from demilitarization is likely to be invested in the production of new and more sophisticated weapons.

Roger Smith shows that the shipment of weapons of war had a double purpose. On the one hand, to support the Ukrainian forces to expand their imperial rule to Eastern Europe and, on the other, to save costs in the demilitarization of obsolete weapons.

According to the analyst, it was a reasonable strategy as there were huge reserves of ammunition about to expire. Unfortunately, he points out, the United States and NATO have run out of these surplus munitions to continue feeding their deadly wheel.

From a corporate point of view, it is no longer profitable for NATO to continue supporting Ukraine today as that would mean spending new money on the Ukrainian military. And, as we said before, the interest is not to "defend" the country of Russia but to save costs.

"A change in NATO policy is to be expected as continuing to support Ukrainian forces will actually generate new costs from producing new weapons, rather than avoiding costs from demilitarizing old weapons," he concludes. Smith.

It is naive to think that behind the Atlantic organization there are no economic interests of a company. The war in the Ukraine was obviously an opportunity to capitalize on that.

https://misionverdad.com/globalistan/el ... al-militar

ACCORDING TO SY HERSH
US CONSIDERS DIRECT INTERVENTION IN UKRAINE WAR
Mar 16, 2023 , 3:18 p.m.

Image
Hersh recently revealed that the White House was behind the Nord Stream explosions (Photo: AP)

American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh said the United States is considering directly intervening in the war in Ukraine if it becomes more difficult for kyiv on the battlefield.

During his participation at the National Press Club in Washington, the researcher referred to the presence of troops from the 82nd Airborne Division in Poland and the 101st Airborne Division in Romania. He explained that these large concentrations of troops rotate and are receiving large quantities of weapons.

"They tell me that the game is going to be like this: 'It's NATO and we support NATO in offensive operations against the Russians'. […] It's us fighting against Russia," Hersh said, reviewing RT .

He also referred to the deception of the US press when covering the conflict in Ukraine. He said that it was the intelligence agencies that told the media "the crazy story" that a "pro-Ukrainian group" was behind the attacks against the Nord Stream, something impossible due to the logistical complexity to carry it out without some support. regular army and in waters partly controlled by States with NATO surveillance systems.

https://misionverdad.com/eeuu-considera ... de-ucrania

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

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

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

Post by blindpig » Sat Mar 18, 2023 12:49 pm

Political and information warfare waiting for military offensives
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 03/18/2023

Image

The weeks go by and the front continues without a trace of the spring offensives that the press, think-tanks and Western intelligence foreshadowed. Yesterday, the media referred to the withdrawal of Ukrainian units from the Belarusian border once the country has confirmed that there is no risk of invasion through the northern front. That had been one of the directions that Western experts had taken when trying to warn of a major Russian offensive that would supposedly try to rival the one that opened the Russian Federation's military intervention. During this time, Ukraine has navigated between the transfer of troops and demanding more military and financial support from its partners to face an imminent threat and mocking the Russian and Belarusian inability to prepare an offensive on the northern front.

Western intelligence, mainly British, one of the main sources of informationof the media, has tried to present the "active defense" carried out in recent months in the Kremennaya and Svatovo area as the "Lugansk offensive". Taking into account the more than scarce territory of Lugansk, without a single minimally relevant city under Ukrainian control, the idea of ​​a great offensive that Ukraine and its partners tried to claim did not correspond to reality either. The fight for the forests around Kremennaya continues with slight Russian advances, although without the appearance, for the moment, of an offensive towards Krasny Liman, an important objective for a future approach towards Slavyansk. However, the operational importance of this location will not be real until Russia demolishes Ukraine's first line of defense in Donetsk, Artyomovsk and Seversk, after which it will be possible to propose a future advance. In the case of Russia, but not in the case of Ukraine, the importance of isolating Artyomovsk and trapping the largest possible number of Ukrainian troops there to facilitate future advances in the DPR. For the moment, with the Dnieper consolidated as the natural border between the two opposing sides and awaiting the Ukrainian attack in Zaporozhye, Russian offensive plans seem to be limited to small advances in the Kharkov region towards Kupyansk, lost in September, possibly as part of the preparation for an approach to Slavyansk from the north.

The oft-announced Ukrainian offensive has not yet started either. What's more, several US media outlets close to the Biden administration have verified this week the difficulties of the Ukrainian troops on the only really active front, that of Donetsk. The Washington Post , for example, has referred in one of its articles to the shortage of ammunition and combat-ready soldiers at the Battle of Artyomovsk. Although the article repeats the mantra that Russian troops also suffer from the same problem, the publication of negative information for Ukraine has already had consequences. “The Ukrainian battalion commander who spoke to us for this story has been removed from his post for speaking to the Post .after months of leading the soldiers in some of the most dangerous places on the front," denounced Paul Sonne, one of the authors of the publication, on Thursday.

Political has gone further , a medium used by the critical part of the Biden administration to filter the difficulties of Ukraine and the fissures between the allies, always with the same objective: to get the correct supplyto allow kyiv to achieve what they consider to be reasonable goals, possibly not including Crimea. In a commented article, the outlet referred to the words of Lloyd George, Pentagon secretary, who stated that "Ukraine has no time to lose", to insist on the idea that a long war benefits Moscow, but also to highlight the US attempt to speed up the expected offensive. All this, of course, to achieve the necessary supply. "We have to quickly and fully fulfill our commitments," Austin said, referring explicitly to armored vehicles, spare parts, and maintenance and training of Ukrainian soldiers.

Politicalit also added one more aspect: growing American concern about shortages of ammunition, air defenses, and experienced soldiers. Three and a half months after Ursula von der Leyen pronounced the figure of 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war, a comment later deleted from the official video provided by the European Commission, the media mentioned that same figure again. “Up to 100,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed in this year-long war, according to US officials' estimates,” she said. In a context where, as Mikhailo Podoliak insisted in one of his many interviews, information about Ukrainian casualties is confidential, any mention of a total number, especially one as high and symbolic as that, is significant. In the past, the argument of the high Ukrainian casualties has been used to demand more weapons and faster deliveries. Of course, it must be done without questioning the rhetoric of Ukraine's sure victory. As with von der Leyen's comment, alsoPolitico was forced to qualify the data several days after it was published. Now, the medium affirms that 100,000 are the soldiers that Ukraine has lost between dead and wounded.

Some of Ukraine's staunchest supporters, such as Poland, have already responded to the call to speed up handovers. First Poland and then Slovakia have already announced the delivery of their stocks of Russian or Soviet-made fighters, MiG-29 models inferior to those used by Ukraine, but which will be easier to integrate into the operation of the troops. The need for these MiG fighters raises the question of what happened to Ukrainian aviation, but it also highlights that, possibly as will happen in the case of tanks, Soviet or post-Soviet material may become even more important than equipment. Western, slow to arrive, with specific training requirements and a logistical challenge for maintenance. In the case of aviation, powerful Russian air defenses make the Western decision to send in the much-desired F-16s or European equivalents very difficult. Hence, the announcement by Poland and Slovakia is not just an attempt to pressure NATO countries to send their materiel, but the confirmation that Kiev and its closest allies seek to accelerate the battle for the Azov Sea.

While waiting for said military offensive and with the media front supporting these efforts, the diplomatic and political front is also booming. With the legitimacy that NATO's unconditional support grants him and believing that he now has the right to determine not only the course of the war and the future of Russia, but that of far beyond its borders, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine announced yesterday reprisals for those countries that do not support Ukraine. In a comment that may well have been directed at China, which the press now accuses of having sold protective equipment and rifles to Russia, Dmitro Kuleba said that "if anyone in the world thinks that the way this or that country behaved or treated Ukraine at the darkest moment in its history will not be taken into account in building future relations, So they don't know how diplomacy works." Ukraine thus sees itself with the moral superiority of dictating the present and the future, a characteristic that was not enjoyed, for example, by Iraq, a country attacked by the United States, an invasion in which Ukraine participated with around 5,000 troops.

Iraq did not have the international solidarity that Ukraine has enjoyed, nor did the invasion based on crude intelligence fabrications entail consequences. The invasion by NATO member countries and their allies did not trigger high-profile arrest warrants, something that has already happened in the case of Ukraine. Yesterday, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin. In an act that condemns the war to escalation and makes any possibility of negotiation impossible, it is thus confirmed that none of the existing bridges between the West and Russia are left. Over time, Russia has claimed that this war is existential for the Russian state. If it was not at the time when the Russian troops crossed the Ukrainian border, it certainly is now.

https://slavyangrad.es/2023/03/18/26871/#more-26871

Google Translator

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

What was U.S. doing flying a combat drone off Russia’s coast?
March 16, 2023 James Tweedie

Image

A statement from the U.S. European Command late on Tuesday said two Russian Su-27 jet fighters had intercepted a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea.

The statement claimed the drone, of the same model used in armed attacks on civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan, was on an “Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance” mission over “international waters.”

It alleged that the Russian planes buzzed the drone, dumped fuel in its path, and finally clipped its rear-mounted propeller, causing it to crash into the sea.
Mark Sleboda told Sputnik on Tuesday that the U.S. military’s protests over the incident glossed over the drone’s offensive role.

“There’s a big question of what the U.S. is doing flying a Reaper drone in the Black Sea, which is a combat drone,” Sleboda pointed out. “It is not an air intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance platform.”

The Russian Ministry of Defense said the Reaper was detected near the Crimean Peninsula, which voted to reunite with Russia in 2014 after the Euromaidan coup d’etat in Ukraine.

The drone was flying “in the direction of the state border of the Russian Federation” with its identification transponders turned off, the MoD said, “violating the boundaries of the temporary airspace regime established for the special military operation.” It said the unmanned combat air vehicle lost control and crashed after making radical maneuvers.

“The Russian aircraft did not use on-board weapons, did not come into contact with the unmanned aerial vehicle, and returned safely to their home airfield,” the ministry clarified.

https://www.struggle-la-lucha.org/2023/ ... ias-coast/

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

The US MQ-9 Drone Was a Legitimate Target
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MARCH 17, 2023
Scott Ritter

Image
An MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle

MQ-9 Drone Incident: Biden’s Dangerous Escalation

A US surveillance drone crashed off the coast of Crimea after an encounter with a Russian fighter aircraft. What does this incident say about the current state of the war in Ukraine and where Russia and the US might go from here.

In 2015, the United States established a permanent training facility in Yavoriv, western Ukraine, for the express purpose of training Ukrainian soldiers for combat against Russia.

At that time the conflict in Ukraine was an internal affair, pitting the Ukrainian Army against Ukrainians of ethnic-Russian background who had rebelled against a US-backed coup which, in February 2014, saw the constitutionally elected government of President Viktor Yanukovych replaced by a pro-American government.

This new Ukrainian government, hand-picked by the US, was deeply infused with radical ultra-nationalism linked to the ideology of Stepan Bandera and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, or OUN, which fought alongside Nazi Germany during the Second World War and whose members were responsible for the murder of hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Many of the Ukrainians being trained by the US military were affiliated with the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, an organization which many in the US Congress at the time found so odious that the passed an amendment to the defense authorization act prohibiting US taxpayer dollars from being used to train its members.

These restrictions aside, there can be no doubt that the purpose of the US training mission in Ukraine was to prepare the Ukrainian military to go to war against Russia. That the US training not only instructed the Ukrainians troops on modern combined arms maneuver warfare, but also sought to elevate the Ukrainians to the same standard used to train the forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), provided the first inkling that any future conflict between Ukraine and its disenfranchised ethnic Russian population that involved Russia would be far more than a simple confrontation between two regional neighbors, but a larger war between Russia and the US and NATO—the so-called “collective west”, using Ukraine as a proxy.

This reality was amplified further with the provision by the US and NATO of advanced anti-tank missile systems and other lethal military assistance.

Even before Russia initiated the Special Military Operation, in February 2022, the United States, the United Kingdom, and NATO began a program of intelligence sharing with the Ukrainian armed forces at the highest levels. Once the Russian troops moved across the border, the nature of this intelligence relationship shifted away from providing indications and warning of an impending attack, to the provision of operational and tactical intelligence about Russian military disposition, capabilities, and intent that was used by Ukraine to target Russian forces.

While the US and its NATO allies are understandably reticent about the nature of this intelligence, and the sources from which it is derived, over time it has become clear that every available intelligence collection platform is being used to gather relevant data about Russian military operations in support of the Special Military Operation.

It is also clear that this intelligence is used by joint operational planning cells comprised of US/NATO/ Ukrainian forces to develop targets in real time, which are then transmitted to Ukrainian forces.

One of the more ubiquitous intelligence resources employed by the US in support of Ukraine is the MQ-9 Reaper. The MQ-9 is a large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operated by the Air Force. It is remotely operated by a two-person team from a ground control station that is connected to the MQ-9 using satellite equipment. The team includes a qualified pilot who is responsible for flying the aircraft and an enlisted aircrew member who is charged with operating any onboard sensors or weapons the MQ-9 might be carrying.

The MQ-9 has a wingspan of 66 feet, is 36 feet long, 12 feet high, and weighs approximately 4,900 pounds. It is capable of flying at altitudes as high as 50,000 feet and has a range of some 1,400 miles. It can carry a wide variety of weapons and intelligence collection pods. Each MQ-9 costs about $32 million. The MQ-9 Reapers operating over the Black Sea are flown out of a Romanian Air Force base in Campia Turzii by members of the US Air Force’ Detachment 1, 31st Expeditionary Operations Group.

On March 14, 2023, an MQ-9 Reaper operating out of Campia Turzii was flying in international airspace over the Black Sea, west of Crimea. This was a standard flight profile for the MQ-9 Reaper, one that had the Russians concerned, given its proximity to sensitive Russian military installations.

Ukraine had a history of launching operations against Russian forces in Crimea using aerial and underwater drones, and the potential for intelligence collected by the MQ-9 Reaper being used in support of such attacks was very real. For this purpose, the Russian military had declared certain areas off the coast of Crimea as being off limits.

The US, however, does not recognize Russia’s claim to Crimea, or for that matter the four new territories of Kherson, Zaporozhye, Donetsk and Lugansk, that joined the federation following referendums held in September 2022 and, as such, does not recognize any claim regarding the establishment of no-fly zones by Russia in support of its ongoing military operations against Ukraine. The decision to fly the MQ-9 Reaper was made knowing Russia would object, or worse.

Indeed, Russia dispatched a pair of Su-27 fighter aircraft to intercept the MQ-9 Reaper. After making 19 passes at the Reaper, the Su-27’s conducted what can only be described as aggressive maneuvering designed to either compel the MQ-9 Reaper to depart the area, or else bring it down. After one particular incident, which may or may not have involved one or more Su-27 aircraft dumping fuel onto the Reaper, the MQ-9 lost control and crashed into international waters off the coast of Crimea.

It is believed that Russian forces dispatched from Crimea recovered most, if not all, the wreckage, including the top-secret intelligence pod that had been mounted under the left wing of the aircraft. If this is the case, critical US intelligence collection capabilities would have been compromised, allowing Russia to better protect itself from sensors like the one carried onboard the downed MQ-9 Reaper aircraft.

While the US State Department has declared that the US will continue to fly missions in international airspace, the Commander of US forces in Europe, General Christopher Cavoli has ordered all MQ-9 Reaper operations to be halted pending a review of the incident and a decision on how best to proceed.
The fact that the US is using the MQ-9 Reaper to fly in direct support of Ukrainian military forces make the aircraft a direct participant in the conflict, and as such a legitimate target for Russia. Russia’s decision not to shoot the MQ-9 down, but rather provide multiple opportunities for the US aircraft to disengage and leave the contested airspace, is indicative of Russia’s desire to avoid unnecessary escalation of the conflict, especially one that could have US and Russian forces engaged in direct combat.

One of the options that the US could consider would be to fly the MQ-9 with a US fighter escort. But this would be contested by Russia, leading to the possibility of a dogfight that could result in casualties on both sides, and the probability of escalation. At the end of the day, the US will probably seek to fly an MQ-9 Reaper on a course that comes close to, but does not violate, a declared Russian no-fly zone, after which MQ-9 Reaper flights along the Crimean coast will probably discontinued.

There are other ways to collect the intelligence that the MQ-9 Reaper gathers which do not put US military assets at risk, and which do not provide the possibility of military escalation between the US and Russia.

Such a decision would be a sharp departure from the confrontational stance taken to date by the US when it comes to intelligence collection targeting Russia. However, the devolving military situation in Ukraine, with the Ukrainian military facing a decisive defeat in Bakhmut and in general, alters the risk-gain analysis that accompanies the decision to fly missions such as the one that resulted in the downed MQ-9 aircraft. With little chance of a Ukrainian victory in sight, the US will be looking for ways to deescalate, rather than escalate, its involvement in the Ukrainian conflict.

Whether or not the MQ-9 Reaper incident will result in a top-down review of incidents of this nature, for example prompting the Biden administration to reflect on the apparent hypocrisy of the US approach toward responding to the Chinese balloon “threat”, namely by shooting the balloon down, while condemning the more restrained approach taken by Russia in responding to a genuine military threat on its borders in an active warzone, is yet to be seen. Such an abut-face would be unlikely, given the current political climate, where Russophobia runs rampant.

The fact remains that as long as the US is engaged in the implementation of a wartime policy that seeks the strategic defeat of Russia, the possibility for rational, logic-based policy formulation and implementation on the part of the US is almost nil.

The shortest path for the normalization of US-Russian relations lays in a decisive victory being achieved by Russia over Ukraine and the collective west in the shortest time possible. Such an outcome would force the US and its NATO allies to reexamine their approach toward Russia based upon the new realities that would accrue from such an outcome.



https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/03/ ... te-target/

Russian Forces Block Ukrainian Army from Leaving Artyomovsk (Bakhmut)
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MARCH 17, 2023

Image

It is noted that fierce fighting for control of the city is underway

MOSCOW, March 17. /TASS/. Russian forces are steadily advancing in Artyomovsk (known as Bakhmut in Ukraine) having thwarted the attempted withdrawal of several Ukrainian army units, acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Denis Pushilin said on Friday.

“We saw that several Ukrainian army units tried to get out of there, but they were thwarted by our forces,” he said in an interview with Russia’s Channel One. “The situation is steadily developing toward the liberation of this settlement.”

Artyomovsk is located in the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). Fierce fighting for control of the city is underway. According to the latest data, Russian forces have blocked or taken control of all paved roads to the city while the nascent spring mud season is complicating logistics efforts to supply the Ukrainian army with fresh ammunition and personnel.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/03/ ... k-bakhmut/

Kremlin Declares ICC Warrant ‘Null and Void’
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MARCH 17, 2023

Image
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, the court said in a statement on Friday.

MOSCOW, March 17. /TASS/. Russia does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and considers its decisions null and void, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday, commenting on the body’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We consider the very formulation of the issue outrageous and unacceptable. Russia, as well as several other states, do not recognize the jurisdiction of this court and, accordingly, any decisions of this kind are null and void for Russia in terms of law,” the Kremlin spokesman said.

“That is, in fact, the only thing I would and could tell you about this decision,” he added.

Peskov did not comment on a question about whether the court’s decision would affect Putin’s visits to countries that recognized the jurisdiction of the ICC: “I have nothing to add on this topic.”

Earlier on Friday, it became known that the International Criminal Court had issued arrest warrants for Putin and Russian children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova.

Russia’s Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova on Friday said her arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court shows other ways to intimidate Russia have been exhausted.

“All this is very weird, and I think it’s a vivid example that when you run out of ways to intimidate a country, you start inventing some fanciful stuff like this,” he said on Rossiya-24 television. “Like little kids, when they have nothing better to do, they shake their fist from some place far off.”

The International Criminal Court was created by the 1998 Rome Statute. It is not part of the UN and is accountable to the countries that have ratified the document. Non-signatories include Russia (signed but not ratified), the United States (signed but later withdrew its signature), and China (did not sign the statute). In 2016, Putin signed an order stating that Russia would not become a party to the ICC. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the court “has failed to live up to the expectations placed on it and has not become a truly independent body of international justice.”

The ICC Has No Jurisdiction in Russia
The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday alleged that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova may have committed war crimes by “deporting” and “transferring” children from Ukraine. Moscow has dismissed the move as preposterous and not legally binding, since Russia never ratified the court’s jurisdiction.

What does the ICC claim?

The Pre-trial Chamber issued an “arrest warrant” for Putin and Lvova-Belova, accusing them of personal and command responsibility for what they described as “unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine.” The accusations appear to be based on the Kiev government’s interpretation of Russian efforts to evacuate civilians away from frontline areas that the Ukrainian military has targeted, often with NATO-supplied weapons.

What does the “warrant” mean?

In legal terms, nothing whatsoever. Though Russia was one of the signatories to the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding document, it never ratified the treaty and officially withdrew from it in 2016. Whatever the court claims or does is null and void in Russia, both Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed on Friday.

Is Russia alone in not recognizing the ICC?

While 123 states have signed the Rome Statute, 41 have not – including China, India, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. Besides Russia, Israel, Sudan and the US have also withdrawn their signatures. The US Congress even passed a law in 2002 prohibiting any cooperation with the court and authorizing “all means necessary and appropriate” to release any American – or national of an allied country – from the Hague, by military force if necessary.

What was the Russian reaction?

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the ICC announcement as “outrageous and unacceptable.”

Senator Andrey Klishas, from the ruling United Russia party, said the ICC just put itself on the road to self-destruction.

Former president and deputy chair of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev compared the “warrant” to toilet paper.

Crimean Senator Sergei Tsekov said the ICC decision demonstrates that Western-created institutions have become “worthless and insignificant.”

Lvova-Belova sarcastically thanked the “international community” for appreciating her work to help rescue children from the zone of combat operations.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/03/ ... -and-void/

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

Bad news
March 18, 10:07

Image

Bad news

The arrest warrant for Putin in The Hague is bad news for everyone, and especially for Ukraine. It is very surprising that people who are arranging a celebration of the triumph of democracy there now do not understand this. This is the final decision to sacrifice these stupid people.

In order to seriously consider Putin the main war criminal of our time, one must not understand anything at all. And to call the Hague Tribunal a court of human civilization one must understand even less.

I will never agree that people who are poisoned, deceived, insane, or simply very narrow-minded deserve the death penalty. That's why it's so wild to see their joy today - it's like dancing cows in wagons on the way to the slaughterhouse.

I admit my guilt and powerlessness in the fact that all these years I have been searching and not finding words and arguments to reach out to their absence and help them save their own lives. I do not care what they think of me, I sincerely and helplessly do not wish them suffering and death.

(c) Oleg Yasinsky


The strategy of the war to the last Ukrainian is just such a path and suggests. Dancing at the slaughterhouse is optional.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8230673.html

Some ideas about helping Donbass
March 17, 23:22

Image

Heading - they write to us

Good day.
My name is Max.

I've got a few ideas that need to be brought into the public sphere by someone to make it a matter of course. They are ignored by me.

Idea first. In stores, allocate a place where people will leave help to the people of Donbass. According to the lists, so that there is no gag. In grocery stores, these are products, in pharmacies, these are medicines; in clothing stores, these are clothes; in children's stores, these are children's things;

The second idea is to give something like a banner on TV channels, hide it periodically and show it as an advertisement, on this banner to show how you can help the people of Donbass, an example at the link pobeda.onf.ru.

The third idea is to send informative letters to employees of the company, including subsidiaries of the oil and gas sector, banks, airlines, subsidiaries of Yandex and Sberbank, but not limited to, by corporate mail, also about Donbass and with the same link. Some people will click on this link, some of those who clicked will want to help.

Idea four is to notify subscribers of MTS, Beeline, Megafon, Tele2, Yota by SMS or something else like the same topic.

Idea five - many Russians who live in other countries. They are not involved at all. On the news, you can pass, or the same banner. The CIS countries have our news, for sure.

Idea six - we have a lot of programs about the Donbass: a big game, 60 minutes, who is against where you can also organize a collection of assistance, and not just talk.

Idea seven notification of users through social networks: vkontakte, classmates; messages on the mos.ru forums exactly; emails; a message from the provider, etc.

Idea eight - media people have a lot of subscribers. In the same Instagram, make a post and encourage people to help.

Idea nine - on sites with high traffic on any child page of the site, place a link to the page, which then leads to https://pobeda.onf.ru/​ that anyone who wants can help Donbass. The child page can be accessed from the main page. On this child page, also add a text description, insert a picture. Be sure to ozone and valberis. All this is necessary so that the rating of the main page does not decrease.

Next, think aloud.

On Channel 1, the whole country shows the celebration of the old New Year, I understand that the usual New Year should have been celebrated, but this is already a feast during the plague. It's not possible, it's obviously redundant.

We also have Presidential Press Secretary Peskov. I understand everything, human relations, but his words are very wrong. That he is such an irreplaceable person that they let him get away with it, there is no one else!?

(c) Maxim

PS. I bring it into the public sphere. Some of the ideas are sound enough.
PS2. Since Peskov remains at his job, then someone needs it. Since he remains in his position, it means that they are satisfied with his work.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8230434.html

Google Translator

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

From Cassad's Telegram account:

forwarded from
Voenkor Kitten Z
Military expert Boris Rozhin on the situation in the Artemovsky direction at 18.24 Moscow time on March 17, 2023, specially for the Voenkor Kotenok channel Z @voenkorKotenok :

North .

The battles for Khromovo, Orekhovo-Vasilyevka, Bogdanovka continue. The enemy brought part of the reserves into action, trying to hold the key settlements, which do not allow our troops to close the encirclement to the west of Artemovsk.
Nevertheless, the Armed Forces of Ukraine could not solve the problem of the operational encirclement of the city, which continues to lead to an increase in losses to the west of the city.

South .

Fighting continues at Red. To the south of the city there is an advance of PMC "Wagner" near Kurdyumovka.
There is also an advance to the east of Krasnoe in the direction of Khromovo. The road through Krasnoe is under confident fire control. The enemy claims that PMC "Wagner" wants to go to Khromovo from the north and south and close the ring on the western outskirts of the city.

City .

Fighting continues in the area of ​​the city center, in the industrial zone of the Azom plant and the southwestern quarters of the city. The enemy complains about the increase in losses and supply problems. Nevertheless, the collapse of organized defense is not observed, the number of prisoners is still small.
Of key importance for the duration of the defense in the western part of the city is the issue of supply. The tenacity of the defense is due to plans to launch a counterattack to alleviate the situation for the troops in the city.

***

Colonelcassad

Image

Starobelsk direction
situation as of 17.00 March 17, 2023

🔻In the Limansky sector, over the past week, servicemen of the 144th Motor Rifle Division have been conducting a positional offensive at the Kremennaya-Makeevka line . During active battles, the RF Armed Forces entrenched themselves west of Krasnopopovka already on the territory of the DPR.

▪️To the south, fighters of the RF Armed Forces knocked out the forces of the 25th airborne brigade of the DShV and the 19th rifle battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from several strongholds on the Balka Zhuravka - Torskoye - Dibrova line , expanding the zone of control around the ledge near the Zherebets River .

▪️A sabotage and reconnaissance group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with copters in service operates near the village of Zhitlovka . The DRG provides target designation for artillery and mortar crews.

▪️The Russian reconnaissance and sabotage group conducts reconnaissance in combat at the turn of Makeevka - Nevsky . The enemy forces are equipping new defense lines on the opposite bank of the Zherebets River.

🔻In the Kupyansky sector , Russian units established control over several strongholds of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the village of Gryanikovka , the enemy was forced to retreat to the right bank of the Oskol River.

▪️To maintain combat readiness, the Armed Forces of Ukraine rotated the personnel of the 107th and 108th detachments of the TerO at the lines of Khatnoye - Olkhovatka and Petropavloka - Sinkovka , and also carried out the transfer of forces of the 51st OSB from Andreevka to the line of contact.

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

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

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

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

Post by blindpig » Sun Mar 19, 2023 1:21 pm

Chinese weight
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 03/19/2023

Image

As has been rumored for several weeks, Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Moscow next week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The visit, clearly planned for months even though it has now been officially announced, will take place at a time of growing political, geopolitical and economic tensions between the West and both countries. Since the possibility of a Xi-Putin meeting in Moscow began to be discussed, the Western intelligence services, mainly the British and the American, have repeatedly insisted on the Chinese intention to supply Russia with weapons and this very week there has been talk of an alleged Russian acquisition of protective equipment and Chinese rifles. In any case,supply with the military assistance that the West is providing to Ukraine and that occurs in the form of a donation, the lend-lease scheme that is, in reality, a form of non-refundable deliveries, or in exchange for increasing a debt that both Kiev and its partners are aware that it can never be paid. The 1,000 rifles, drone components or bulletproof vests that Western sources like Politico claim Russia has received from China can hardly compare with the massive flow of increasingly heavier weaponry supplied free of charge to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

In its statement announcing the visit, undoubtedly the highest level since the start of the Russian military intervention in Ukraine, the Kremlin stated that the two presidents would discuss "issues of further development of comprehensive relations of partnership and strategic cooperation between Russia and China”. Media such as Reuters pointed out on Friday that the press release did not mention Ukraine. The media and political centrality that the war in Ukraine has achieved makes it impossible to analyze the relations between two countries that, either by conviction or by a conjunctural alliance, are advocates of increasingly broad cooperation. Apart from speculation about whether Vladimir Putin notified Xi Jinping of his intention to give the order to start a special military operationAt their meeting just days before February 24, 2022, circumstances have brought together Moscow and Beijing, which are being presented as an axis against Western hegemony.

Along with India, China has been one of the markets with which Russia tries to make up for the loss of access to the European Union market and also to replace Western brands and products that have left the Russian market. In the current conditions of sanctions and attempted international isolation that is actually limited to the powerful Western countries and their closest allies, relations with Beijing are key and the visit of its president is seen as a clear show of support. Both the Western and Russian press agree on this, both interested, although for different reasons, in highlighting relations between the two countries that are possibly much less homogeneous and close than what they are trying to make themselves seen.

Xi's visit is also part of the Chinese attempt to mediate in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in search of a political resolution or, at least, a ceasefire. Coinciding with the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, China had published on February 24, one day after the meeting of the Russian president and the Chinese foreign minister in Moscow, its peace plan, actually a road map of good practices in search of international relations based on dialogue and outside of a block policy. Despite the fact that the proposal began with the requirement to respect the territorial integrity - of course, of all countries, not only of Ukraine - Western representatives were quick to reject the text, alleging that it sought to defend the Russian position. One of the first arguments put forward by the United States was the rejection of the idea that there is a "Ukrainian conflict", an idea repeated by Western countries since the war began in 2014. Nor was there, in their opinion, a Ukrainian conflict then. . Hence the negotiations between the government and the separatist regions were rejected in advance by Kiev and Washington and the military option or the demand for the unilateral surrender of Donetsk and Lugansk were always the path preferred by Ukraine and the United States.

In a serious context, since the war has spread to a much broader front and the population in the rear that suffers the consequences of the state of war has multiplied, the situation repeats itself. For a year, the United States and the European Union have demanded that China use its power to pressure Russia to end the war, that is, they were looking for a Chinese commitment in Beijing to demand or force Russian surrender, which would also include Donetsk. and Lugansk and ideally Crimea as well. Chinese interests in Ukraine do not go through war but through trade and the acquisition of strategic industries such as Motor Sich, the sale of which was blocked by then-US National Security Adviser John Bolton. Its economic and political power and its privileged relationship with Moscow, but also with kyiv,

After obtaining the commitment and the resumption of relations between two regional opponents such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, the Chinese government announced its intention to talk with Ukraine and Russia in a performance that was rejected from the West from the outset. Something similar is being repeated now given the possible intentions of China to deal directly with Vladimir Putin in person and Volodymyr Zelensky by telephone about the need to transfer the conflict between the two countries to the diplomatic level. Before such talks even take place, if they are to take place, the West has wanted not only to distance itself, but also to make its rejection clear. On the one hand, as reflected in the establishment media such as Politico, “Beijing's attempts have drawn criticism from Western leaders. China, they argue, is anything but neutral in this war, hence why it is not a good option to arbitrate."

As is customary, the United States has gone a step further and made its position clear, which is not limited solely to China's position as an aspiring peace negotiator but to the nature of the war itself. In its 12-point proposal, Beijing insisted on the need for an immediate ceasefire, a pause that would make it possible to recover civilian infrastructure whose destruction causes so much suffering to the civilian population. The political and economic confrontation with China made the Western rejection of any Chinese peace plan especially foreseeable, so it is not surprising that the Western refusal even goes as far as the possibility of a temporary ceasefire. On the grounds that a long war favors Russia and that a ceasefire would give Moscow time to integrate the mobilized soldiers, The West has always rejected the possibility of a truce. However, this week, in rejecting the Chinese proposal, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby came out in even more unequivocal terms.

“The Chinese can promote the idea of ​​a ceasefire and try to present themselves as peacemakers. We have a serious concern about that," said Kirby, who tried to frame that statement in the idea that a truce would not be a solution to the conflict. "We do not believe that this is a step towards a just and lasting peace and, as we have said, a just, lasting and sustainable peace has to be one that is not unilateral," added one of the country's spokespersons who has advocated demanding the unilateral surrender of Russia -first of Donetsk and Lugansk and now of the entire territory- since 2014 and that it has always rejected the idea of ​​compromise that the Minsk agreements marked. The United States seeks, according to Kirby, a peace "that fully incorporates Ukrainian perspectives and that respects the basic idea of ​​strong Ukrainian sovereignty."correct , openly ignoring the existence of the territories that rose up politically and later militarily against the imposition of that peace in which they were never allowed to have a voice. Ignoring the existence of an internal conflict has always served to avoid any compromise solution, a situation that is worsening now with the country plunged into open warfare and a catastrophic economic situation for the civilian population.

With Ukraine's territorial integrity as the ultimate goal, condemning the conflict to an open war over Crimea, "a ceasefire at this point," Kirby said, "as good as it may sound, we don't think it would have that effect." . With Ukraine preparing that attack with which NATO hopes to achieve a turning point in the course of the war, and Russia preparing to defend, a ceasefire today is even more unlikely than it was a year ago. Neither then, when political negotiations between Moscow and Kiev were taking place, did the Western countries encourage the search for a compromise solution that would prevent the war, then still limited, from spreading or worsening even more. And even so, committed to the idea of ​​war to the end as the only way to resolve,risk of the resumption of political talks thanks to a mediator that would not have been approved by Washington or its partners.

https://slavyangrad.es/2023/03/19/26880/#more-26880

Google Translator

***********

Strengthening enemy cyber activity
March 18, 5:01 p.m

Image

Washington plans to carry out a series of cyberattacks on Russia

On the eve of the start of offensive operations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the territory of Russia in the spring of this year. The United States and its allies plan to significantly intensify offensive operations in the Russian digital space.

The priority goals are logistics operators servicing the movement of weapons and troops and large transport hubs in the Kursk, Oryol and Belgorod regions, government agencies responsible for mobilization activities and medical institutions, primarily hospitals.

Achieving public resonance should be facilitated by cyber attacks aimed at organizing interruptions in gas, electricity and water supply, as well as disrupting the functioning of socially significant institutions in the border areas and in the newly annexed territories.

The Westerners expect that the attack on critical information infrastructure will force Russia to devote its forces to protecting its own telecommunications systems and reduce its cyber activity.

Penetration into the secure networks of government departments and strategic enterprises is supposed to be carried out with the use of software tabs and agents. To recruit specialists, the CIA is actively in contact with Russian IT specialists located abroad in Georgia, Armenia, Moldova and Kazakhstan. The bet is that the shortage of personnel will force the operators of facilities of interest to Americans to entrust a number of tasks to subcontractors working remotely from abroad.

NSA specialists plan to secretly install spyware similar to the Israeli Pegasus software on personal mobile phones of government officials and employees of private organizations.

Responsibility for organizing anti-Russian cyber attacks is assigned to the Cyber ​​National Mission Force (CNMF) operating within the structure of the US Cyber ​​Command, whose tasks include managing military cyber operations and protecting military computer networks.

Cyber ​​strikes are planned to be carried out in close coordination with NATO allies and Ukraine, mainly from their territory. To carry out cyber attacks from the territory of Ukraine, about 300 highly qualified personnel officers of the CNMF, the Navy and the Marine Corps were allocated, partially deployed in the regions controlled by Kiev on the basis of units of the signal troops and 72 Centers of the IPSO SOF of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

https://t.me/svarschiki/7125 - zinc

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8232335.html

An indescribable atmosphere of change
March 18, 3:56 p.m

Image
Journalist Rostislav Zhuravlev with Ayo Benes (became known as "Black Lenin" in Donbass) during the Crimean referendum on reunification with Russia (2014). Photo from the personal archive of Rostislav Zhuravlev

An indescribable atmosphere of change

In what part of Crimea did you work in those days?

Basically, all the events for me developed in Simferopol, not counting the dangerous absence to Lugansk and Donetsk, where the events went according to a different scenario.

One could feel relatively safe in the capital of Crimea. Volunteers, Cossacks, deputies from Russia came here, rallies were held here.

Do you remember how you decided to go?

There was no time to think: I spent a couple of hours getting ready and immediately boarded the nearest plane. Considering that I worked as a regional journalist, I understood that this chance should not be missed. By the way, it seems that I was the only reporter from the Urals who went there.

What was your experience in journalism?

By this time, I had worked in the regional media for only about three years. We can say that it was still "green".

The main question, of course, is how was it? How did you see it with your own eyes? What was unexpected?

In general, for me, the events of those days were reflected in my memory not by a series of specific events, dates and places (let's leave it to historians), but by an indescribable atmosphere of change that was in the air, an unusual and heart-rending feeling of involvement in the historical process, understanding that Russian history happens before your eyes (when life begins to be divided into “before” and “after”).

It is difficult for the average person to understand (and we ourselves did not even know then) how steep and instantaneous the course of history is, how the life of an entire country and people can change in the blink of an eye. Something similar we all experienced again recently, waking up on the morning of February 24 [2022 - ed.]. On the other hand, as Ernst Junger said: if it snowed all winter, then even a hare's paw can bring down an avalanche.

What it was nine years ago, then, in the early days, no one really understood. For our generation, which remembered only the defeats and secession of territories (the collapse of the Soviet Union, a number of local heavy wars), this event came as a surprise. But right away, at the level of some inner feelings, it was clear that we were not just witnesses, but participants in serious historical events that would affect our lives. Looking ahead: this is what happened in the end.

The first thing we saw was the new look of the Russian soldier. Five years before the Crimean events, I myself returned from the army in old boots with a footcloth on my bare feet and baggy camouflage “oak”. And here, on the streets of Simferopol, I looked at the silent strong guys in green pixel uniforms with blued machine guns with collimator sights (which had previously been seen only in computer games). Now the whole world knows our fighters as "polite people".

Did you work in a group or alone? Was there a danger to reporters?

I worked alone (according to the current rules that we have developed, it is necessary to work in pairs). I was then 24 years old, and, I confess, I had little experience in covering hot events.

It was alarming: after all, you are alone, you have no friends here, and in which case there is not even anyone to turn to for help.

But there was no sense of danger, by the way. There was a clear understanding that your army was on guard behind you. It was the presence of the “little green men” that made it possible to avoid bloodshed during the days of the referendum.

What content was required to be given from the spot?

And free hunting, just write what you see: both news and reporting longreads.

Image
The administration of Simferopol with the Russian flag raised (2014). Photo from the personal archive of Rostislav Zhuravlev

How willing were the locals to make contact in those troubled days?

The main accreditation in Crimea in those days was not a journalist's ID, but a Russian red passport that opened all doors.

“Oh, Russia,” people exclaimed when they saw a passport with a double-headed eagle.

The St. George ribbon on the pocket also saved - it was also an identification mark "friend or foe."

It was worse for Ukrainian and foreign journalists, who could get from the crowd for lying. The people at such moments, with a heightened sense of justice and solidarity, well feel the lie.

Did you have to make a lot of materials?

A lot of. Every day, as long as there is strength. Fortunately, the events were intense.

How good was the communication with the editors?

Communication worked and there were cafes with the Internet, occupied by foreign journalists. There were crowds of them, like a bunch of kites, they were piled up at local restaurants.

It was more difficult to find free housing. There were no hotels. Free apartments too. And part of the days, until I found Russian volunteer activists who came to the aid of the Crimea and gave me shelter, I spent the night in some private house on a wooden floor. The hosts were alcoholics, but there was no choice.

In general, any field correspondent should be ready for extreme living conditions: to have a stash of currency in shorts, to spend the night anywhere, to find reliable people on the spot.

Such business trips are always chaos: from the very first minute, everything will not go according to plan. The editors are not always able to remotely resolve these issues, and we must first of all rely on ourselves.

Image
Journalist Rostislav Zhuravlev during the Crimean referendum on reunification with Russia (2014). Photo from the personal archive of Rostislav Zhuravlev

How long was that trip of yours?

I don’t remember when it started: I know for sure that the airport was already under our control, and that day the crowd carried a huge Russian flag along the streets of Simferopol. One photo was definitely taken on March 4... And before the referendum itself, he was already flying away from the Russian Crimea.

https://telegra.ph/Neperedavaemaya-atmo ... esny-03-17 - zinc

Video March 18, 2014 here https://t.me/boris_rozhin/80738

The atmosphere was really indescribable. Euphoria skyrocketed.
At that time, my friends from the "Voice of Sevastopol" (which was born thanks to the Russian Spring) celebrated our reunion outside the city, rented a boat in Balaklava and went to sea.

Happy reunion everyone. From the height of the past years, there is no doubt that the choice was made correctly.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8232120.html

Google Translator

*********

Backlash Of Sanction On Russia Must Not Lead To Sanctions On Everyone

More than a year ago I was wrong in predicting that the backlash from sanctions would push the 'west' to accept Russia's demands.

The Sanction Backlash Will Push The 'West' To Accept Russia's Demands - Mar 9, 2022

The Anglo-Saxons prevented that - at least so far.

But parts of my predictions were still correct:

The first [map] shows the countries which banned Russian airplanes from their airspace. Russia in turn denied its airspace to operators from those countries. It will cost quite a bit for U.S. and EU airlines as their flight times and cost to and from Asia, which typically fly through Russian airspace, will now increase. Carriers from Asian countries will now easily out-compete U.S. and European airlines on these routes.

That has indeed happened. U.S. carriers have lost much of their traffic to Asia to Asian airlines as their flight time on those routes are now shorter and their prices cheaper.

But instead of appealing to the U.S. government to take back the sanctions, which would be good for them and their customers, they ask to sanction the Asian carriers.

Banned From Russian Airspace, U.S. Airlines Look to Restrict Competitors

Unable to fly through Russian airspace because of the war in Ukraine, U.S. airlines are stepping up a lobbying campaign on Capitol Hill and at the White House to address what they say is a growing problem: They are losing business to foreign competitors who can take passengers between the United States and Asia faster and more cheaply.


Russia closed its airspace for U.S. and European carriers not because of the war in Ukraine but because the U.S. and its NATO proxies closed their airspace for Russian carriers. To mislead about that, as the opener of NYT piece does, is a disservice to the reader.

Flights on U.S. carriers from the U.S. to India, which previously crossed Siberia, now have to take other routes:

Airlines for America estimated the lost annual market share of U.S. carriers at a collective $2 billion per year.

But for passengers who chose the right airline the issue makes no difference:

As of Wednesday, the outbound leg of an April round-trip journey from New York’s Kennedy Airport to New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Airport cost about $1,500 and was estimated at 13 hours and 40 minutes on Air India, according to Travelocity. The most comparable flight on a U.S. carrier: a $1,740 American Airlines trip with estimated flying time of 14 hours and 55 minutes.

The consumer's choice here is obvious.

“Foreign airlines using Russian airspace on flights to and from the U.S. are gaining a significant competitive advantage over U.S. carriers in major markets, including China and India,” the presentation, dated February, said. “This situation is directly to the benefit of foreign airlines and at the expense of the United States as a whole, with fewer connections to key markets, fewer high paying airline jobs” and a dent in the overall economy.
....
Now airlines are pressing the White House and Congress to fix the problem by subjecting foreign carriers from nations not already banned from Russian airspace to the same restrictions applied to U.S. airlines, effectively forcing them to fly the same routes as their American competitors.
The Biden administration should “take action to ensure that foreign carriers overflying Russia do not depart, land or transit through U.S. airports,” said Marli Collier, an Airlines for America spokeswoman.

The proposal appears to have gained traction with the Transportation Department, which recently drafted an order that would ban Chinese carriers that fly passengers to the United States from flying through Russian airspace, according to three people who were briefed on the order.


In effect the transport department, lead by dimwit mayor Pete Buttigieg, says: "F** the consumer. Just take away the good choices they have."

Air India and other Asian carriers would not be happy about such steps. It is not their fault that they can still cross Russia while U.S. carriers no longer can. The government of the countries that would have such rules imposed on their airlines by the U.S. would see that as a quite unfriendly step.

Making flights more expensive for everyone, as the planned steps would do, would also hurt U.S. tourism and general commerce.

The New York Times writers then try to argue that there is a security issue. U.S. citizens on an Air India flight making an emergency landing in Russia could somehow be endangered. The cases they use to argue that are nonsense:

In 2014, a Malaysia Airlines flight was shot down over Ukraine, killing 298 people.
...
In 2021, a Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania was diverted to Belarus, a close Kremlin ally, after officials in that country alerted air traffic controllers to a supposed bomb threat on the plane. Their true purpose, U.S. prosecutors said, was to arrest a dissident journalist who was a passenger by inventing a false safety issue.
...
Last year, the American basketball star Brittney Griner was detained at an airport near Moscow and later sentenced to nine years in a penal colony for carrying vape cartridges of hashish oil in her luggage. She was freed in December.


A flight over an active battlefield in Ukraine, some murky issue in Belarus and a U.S. woman who admitted that she had smuggled drugs into Russia are not demonstrations of danger for U.S. passengers on Air India over Russia. Even if such flight would have to land in Russia there would be no trouble. Russia is not at war with the U.S. and private U.S citizens in Russia are safe.

To close the airspace for Russian airliners was simply a dumb idea. During a prank call European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde admitted to a fake Zelensky that sanctions on Russia have failed.

Sanctions that do not work, or even caused a backlash, should be lifted immediately and not be extended into sanctions on everyone.

Posted by b on March 18, 2023 at 17:22 UTC | Permalink

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/03/b ... .html#more

*******

From Cassad's Telegram account:

forwarded from
Readovka

Image

Map of military operations and the situation on the fronts on the evening of March 18

After an extremely successful night session of "geraning", the Russian army continues to work out behind enemy lines. Attacks were made on the base of mercenaries in Zaporozhye. Members of the "Foreign Legion" lived in a restaurant complex, where they eventually met with a buffet in the form of Russian shells. In addition, attacks were made on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kramatorsk and Konstantinovka.

⚔️The situation on the fronts for the past day:

⚫️Artemovskoe (Bakhmutskoe) direction

Fighters of PMC "Wagner" continue to advance in the direction of Grigorovka . In Artemovsk, ours took control of most of the territory of the AZOM plant. Also, the “orchestras” advanced in the south of the city and entrenched themselves on the left bank of the Bakhmutka in the area of ​​the central market. Nevertheless, despite our successes in Artemovsk , the Armed Forces of Ukraine are concentrating forces for a possible attempt to unblock the city.

⚫️Donetsk direction

The Russian army continues to advance on the Avdeevsky sector, trying to capture the city. The Russian Aerospace Forces help in this, inflicting accurate strikes on enemy targets. The militants are suffering serious losses, which they themselves do not hesitate to talk about. In addition, the RF Armed Forces continue to advance in Marinka and Pervomaisky.

⚫️Zaporizhzhya direction

Now Ugledar is strongly associated with Russian marines from the 155th brigade of the TF, which Ukrainian militants can "bury" only in words. In fact, the fighters are knocking out the Nazis from the strongholds around Ugledar, equipped as a fortress city.

***

forwarded from
Voenkor Kitten Z
Military expert Boris Rozhin on the situation in the Artemovsky direction at 22.59 Moscow time on March 18, 2023, specially for the Voenkor Kotenok Z @voenkorKotenok channel :

1. Fighting continues in the area of ​​Orekhovo-Vasilyevka, Khromovo, Bogdanovka. The settlements have not yet been taken.

2. There is an accumulation of enemy forces in the area of ​​​​Konstantinovka, Ray-Aleksandrovka and Chasov Yar. It is possible to activate enemy counterattacks in order to stabilize the situation.

3. In the center of the city, the fighting is shifting to the Artemovsk administration building, which is just over half a kilometer away. Fighting also began in the stadium area.

4. Most of the industrial zone of the AZOM plant was cleared by our assault teams. In the coming days will be completely released.

5. To the south of the city, fighting continued in the Krasnoye area.

In the south of Artemovsk, fighting continues near the destroyed monument to pilots.

***

forwarded from
Operation Z: Military commissars of the Russian Spring
‼️🇬🇧PMC "Wagner" force the river in the center of Bakhmut, storm quarters in the south and north
According to Russian sources, the assault groups of PMCs moved forward in the south and from lunch there is a battle at the construction market - the stadium "Avangard". It is reported that other groups were able to gain a foothold on the left bank of the Bakhmutka near the central market.
Ukrainian military analysts report:
▪️General situation: very difficult and dangerous.
▪️Near the center of the PMC began to cross the river Bakhmutka.
▪️North - hellish battles continue in the Bogdanovka area and in the direction of Khromovoe. The Russians are simultaneously striving to enter the O0506 highway and widen the mouth towards Chasovyar.
▪️In the north of Bakhmut, positional street battles in the AZOM area do not stop. "Wagners" made several attempts today to storm the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. There are art duels.
▪️Sobachevka - positional street fighting.
▪️In the south-west of Bakhmut, very heavy fighting. PMCs have made several breakthroughs, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are trying to stop the breakthroughs. The fighting continues.
t.me/RVvoenkor

***

Colonelcassad
There are reports that a strong battle is going on in the south of Artyomovsk near the Avangard stadium.

Before the PMC "Wagner" moved to the right bank of Artyomovsk (Bakhmut), in this place there were positions of the 24th battalion "Aidar" of the 53rd mech brigade, as well as reconnaissance and the 20th separate motorized infantry battalion of the 93rd mech of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Avangard stadium is located almost in the center of the city - from it to the building of the Artyomov administration, 800 m in a straight line.

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

Google Translator

*******

Why didn't they send troops?
March 19, 14:37

Image

Putin on the reasons for the refusal to send troops in 2014:

As for the Donbass, we counted on the fact that this problem could be resolved peacefully! But as it turns out now, we see it - we were simply led by the nose, none of our so-called partners was going to solve anything by peaceful means, but simply pumped weapons into Ukraine and prepared it for hostilities.
We, yes, we have a lot to do, for example, for the development of ground forces, but then (in 2014) we did not have hypersonic weapons, but now we do! Yes, we do not actually use it, but it exists. Do you understand? There are other modern systems, but in the 14th year there was nothing like this. (c) Putin

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8234138.html

Putin and his oligarch buddies were more interested 'being part of the West', which meant being one among equals with the great capitalists. In 2014 hyper-sonic missiles were not required, troops on hand in western Russia, along with the Donbass militias, could have swept the Ukes back to Kiev, they were in such disarray. Putin forced Donbass to withdrawal from Mariopal by threat of withholding supply, look at the ultimate result. Some will not forget.

Putin in Mariupol
March 19, 11:07

Image

Putin, after visiting Crimea, drove to Mariupol, where Deputy Prime Minister Khusnullin reported on Mariupol.

1. The construction of a four-lane road from Donetsk to Mariupol has been completed.
2. The restoration and reconstruction of Mariupol is going according to plan. By the end of 2023, the city center should be completed.
3. The demolition of the destroyed high-rise buildings is underway as planned (according to the plan, they should be demolished by the end of 2023)
4. The restoration of the work of the Mariupol Seaport is underway, the capacities of which are used to speed up the restoration work.
5. The work of public transport is being activated, 110 buses have already been launched in the city. The tram will probably run in the summer.
6. There is an active construction of new residential microdistricts (on the model of those already built).
7. The restoration of the Mariupol airport is proceeding at a rapid pace. The RF Armed Forces have already begun using it after mine clearance.
8. Local entrepreneurs are given interest-free loans in a simplified form when new jobs are created.
9. From 2023, Mariupol will start shipping various products through the port - coal, grain, rolled metal, etc. produced in the DNR.
10. The population of the city continues to increase. Active restoration processes attract people to return to the city.

In general, Mariupol will obviously repeat the fate of Grozny. Being badly damaged during the fighting, it was quickly restored and reconstructed at the expense of federal transfers for restoration. Mariupol is waiting for the same path.

Video from Mariupol:

https://t.me/boris_rozhin/80829
https://t.me/boris_rozhin/80830
https://t.me/boris_rozhin/80831
https://t.me/boris_rozhin/80832
https://t.me/boris_rozhin/80833

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8233565.html

Swear to JS Bach I did not read this before writing the above.

Well and good, but none of this should have been necessary had the people of Donbass and Novarussia in general been given first consideration.
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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

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

Post by blindpig » Mon Mar 20, 2023 12:20 pm

Victims of Ukrainian revenge
POSTED BY @NSANZO

Image

One year ago now, on March 14, 2022, the city of Donetsk began to understand the changes that the start of the special military operation that the Russian Federation had initiated alleging, among other things, the defense of the population of Donbass. Since the defense and counter-offensives of the DPR against the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to halt the advance on Donetsk, which Ukrainian troops tried to besiege in the summer of 2014, and to drive away, at least in some areas, Ukrainian artillery from The city, the most important city in Donbass, had lived in a status of neither war nor peace in which the conflict was felt in all aspects of life, but apart from the direct consequences of the bombings.

In the year that has elapsed since the Russian intervention, Ukrainian troops have not made any movement to advance on the territories until then under the control of the DPR and the RPL and their path in Donbass has been fundamentally that of withdrawal. Ukraine lost, after very hard and bloody battles, Volnovaja and Mariupol in Donetsk and a large part of the territory of the oblastfrom Luhansk. In their counteroffensive, the troops led by Valery Zaluzhny have so far only managed to recapture Krasnny Liman, lost in the spring of 2022 and recaptured in September. With much of Lugansk under Russian and Republican control, its capital has been protected by the territory around it and, as Russian correspondent Alexander Kots has explained, the once-empty city is now safer and more livable than nearby Donetsk. , which one year after the attack that caused the most civilian victims, continues to suffer the direct and indirect consequences of the war. In the middle of the front line, the capital of Donbass has become a scapegoat for the revenge of Ukrainian troops, ready to punish the civilian population as long as the range of their artillery allows it.

The danger to the civilian population
Original Article: Denis Grigoriuk

Exactly one year ago, I was walking along Shevchenko Boulevard towards the river. I was passing by the Ramada hotel. The backpack was loaded with the usual: the camera with a new report. I didn't want to review the material because it had all happened before my eyes. She wanted to forget it instead of reliving it and keeping it spinning in her head. I went on my way thinking that it was the most terrible thing I had seen during the entire period of conflict. Later, a blogger wrote that a “second Bosse” had occurred on Universitetskaya Street. When I arrived at the place where the Ukrainian shell had hit, I felt that everything was much worse than what happened in January 2015 in the residential neighborhood of Bosse.

Dozens of people lay in the street in the very center of Donetsk. She smelled of blood and burnt vegetables. The remains of shrapnel and broken glass crunched underfoot. The security forces were working, recording the consequences of the bombing and determining that, in that place, Ukraine had killed a dozen civilians. But that was only the beginning of a whole series of tragic dates. From the grivna bill next to one of the bodies to part of the skull of a woman on the sidewalk in front of a beauty salon and a tobacco shop next to the monument to Shevchenko, everything started again for Donetsk. This was followed by cynical publications in the Western press, at best simply ignoring the DPR bombing and at worst, images of Donetsk were published posing as Ukrainian cities. The situation has not improved since then.

On the eve of the anniversary of the bombing of Universitetskaya street, one more tragedy occurred in Volnovaja. Civilians died again. We arrived when sunset was already falling on the small town of Donbass. The body was sitting on a bench in front of the entrance of a supermarket. The young woman's body was covered with a blanket with a pool of blood on the asphalt. A meter away there was another body, that of her 18-year-old niece, also surrounded by blood. As in Universitetskaya a year ago, security teams worked alongside the bodies to determine the consequences of the attack and collecting testimonies from relatives and witnesses.

A Western-made shell fired by Ukrainian militants had hit in front of a supermarket. It exploded there, destroying hangars, burning civilian vehicles and sending off shrapnel that killed two women. We were filming the immediate aftermath of the shelling in the same crater the shell had left when we were approached by a local resident.

“Where are you from, brothers, if it is not a secret?” he asked.

“From Donetsk”.

“You've probably seen this before,” he said, as if the war had taken pity on Volnovaja. The whole city is full of destroyed buildings, holes in the doors and even some recently built or rebuilt buildings already have damage from the Ukrainian shelling.

Unfortunately, Donetsk has really seen too much of this, as have Yasinovataya, Makeevka, Gorlovka and many other daily bombed cities and towns.

After Universitetskaya came a shelled spring, a hot summer with no running water, a blood-soaked autumn, and a December of attacks. Now that 2023 is underway, the situation is unlikely to change for the better. Black dates continue to appear on the calendar for the current year and future ones to honor the memory of the new victims.

https://slavyangrad.es/2023/03/20/26887/#more-26887

Google Translator

*****

'Modern Western Aircraft' - Ukraine Open Thread 2023-65

NY Times - More MIG fighters will help Ukraine, but what Kyiv really wants are F-16s.

“To some extent, this will increase our combat capabilities,” [Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian air force,] said in an appearance on Ukrainian national television Friday morning. “But one should not forget that these are still Soviet and not modern Western aircraft.”
...
The Ukrainian argument is that the F-16 is better than the MIG at shooting down cruise missiles because of its powerful radar and modern missiles, and could offer vastly more protection from Russian bombardment.
F-16:

The initial production-standard F-16A flew for the first time on 7 August 1978 and its delivery was accepted by the USAF on 6 January 1979.
...
The AN/APG-68 [radar], an evolution of the APG-66, was introduced with the F-16C/D Block 25. The APG-68 has greater range and resolution, as well as 25 operating modes, including ground-mapping, Doppler beam-sharpening, ground moving target indication, sea target, and track while scan (TWS) for up to 10 targets. The Block 40/42's APG-68(V)1 model added [...] a high-PRF pulse-Doppler track mode to provide Interrupted Continuous Wave guidance for semi-active radar-homing (SARH) missiles like the AIM-7 Sparrow.
MiG- 29:

[T]he MiG-29, along with the larger Sukhoi Su-27, was developed to counter new U.S. fighters such as the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. The MiG-29 entered service with the Soviet Air Forces in 1983.
...
The latest upgraded aircraft offered the N010 Zhuk-M, which has a planar array antenna rather than a dish, improving range, and a much superior processing ability, with multiple-target engagement capability and compatibility with the Vympel R-77 [active radar homing beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile] (or RVV-AE).

---

Posted by b on March 19, 2023 at 14:56 UTC | Permalink

Comments
According to our data, in the Zaporozhye direction, the Armed Forces of Ukraine went on the offensive in order to try to shift the informational focus, as well as to recapture at least some land from the Russians in order to declare victory and try to raise morale in the army against the backdrop of the Bakhmutov meat grinder and huge losses.
But as you can see, it got even worse. Lost armor and soldiers in the open field. Therefore, the Office of the President and rear military officials deny the attack attempt, so as not to run into another wave of negativity from the public.


https://t.me/legitimniy/14976
Posted by: Down South | Mar 19 2023 15:08 utc | 1

⚡️🇷🇺🇺🇦⚔️ Situation in the #Orekhov Section until 13:00 on 19 Mar 2023; pub. 13:43⚡️
🔹About two Hours ago, two assault groups of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces' 128th Mountain Assault Brigade, reinforced by Territorial Defence units, conducted a reconnaissance battle on the position of 291st Regiment of the 42nd Motorized Rifle Division of the RF Armed Forces near #Rabotino.

▪️ Ukrainian formations attempted to bypass the RF Armed Forces' strongholds from two sides. The movement of the enemy was detected by UAV crews, and the advancing AFU groups were attacked by artillerymen from the 42nd Motorized Rifle Division, destroying the equipment on which the AFU were moving.

▪️ This attack is not likely to be the last one today. There are now concentrations of AFU armoured vehicles, including tanks, in the area around #Novodanilovka.
➖ At least 15 units of equipment have been deployed near the suburb of #Orekhov. Ukrainian units use a smoke screen before almost every offensive.

▪️ In addition, the AFU attempted to storm the positions of the RF Armed Forces from the line between #Belogorye and #Charivnoye. A column was formed in the vicinity of #Belogorye, which was instantly hit by artillery. Now the Ukrainian equipment has returned to its initial position.

📌 The Ukrainian Command is preparing for a major offensive. Regular essentially suicidal attacks are aimed at assessing the state of Russian defences and adjusting the overall offensive plan in #Zaporozhye region.

At the same time in the south the AFU concentrates reserves not only near #Zaporozhye. In #Kherson and #Nikolayev regions from #Ochakov to #Nikopol 10 to 15 thousand men are active, mainly Territorial Defence and mobilised men.

Yesterday the AFU unsuccessfully attempted to land a SRG on Bolshoy Potemkin Island. And in #Maryanskoye, on the border of the #Dnepropetrovsk and #Kherson regions, on the banks of the #Kakhovka reservoir, assault groups are trained daily, including landing on the left bank of the #Dnieper.


https://t.me/sitreports/6015
Posted by: Down South | Mar 19 2023 15:13 utc | 2

⚡️🇷🇺🇺🇦⚔️ Battle for #Avdeyevka - Situation until 14:00 on 19 Mar 2023⚡️
🔹 After the Liberation of #Krasnogorovka, Russian units continued their offensive further westward with the task of bypassing the #Avdeyevka stronghold from the north. Over the past few days, control of the hill next to the railway line near #Petrovskoye has been established.

▪️ At the moment there are positional battles with the active use of artillery and attack aviation. Advancement further towards #Petrovskoye will make it possible to cut off #Avdeyevka's supply lines by rail.

▪️ The RF Armed Forces were also able to expand their zone of control west of #Vesyoloye, entrenching themselves in positions by the reservoirs and fully occupying the road to #Krasnogorovka.

🔹 To the South, Ukrainian formations attempted an offensive against Russian positions near #Vodyanoye and #Opytnoye. Fighting continued for several days, but the RF Armed Forces repulsed the attack and the assault troops of the 147th Battalion of the 116th Territorial Defence Brigade retreated to #Severnoye. The 116th Brigade's losses were seven killed, 14 wounded.

📌 The Successes in the #Avdeyevka sector were made possible by the massive engagement of artillery together with aviation. Targeted high-precision shelling of rear facilities and ammunition depots resulted in significant damage to the enemy and provided a bridgehead for the offensive of ground forces.


https://t.me/sitreports/6016
Posted by: Down South | Mar 19 2023 15:15 utc | 3

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/03/m ... l#comments

********

Battle near Novodanilovka. 03/19/2023
March 19, 6:00 p.m


Image

The enemy attacked in the area of ​​responsibility of the 291st motorized rifle regiment.

10.40 We noticed the advancing of enemy equipment,

10.45 The enemy used smoke and 2 installations of obstacles UR77,

11.10 Shooting battle on the right flank of the regiment’s defense,

11.23 Enemy aircraft were used at our positions,

11.46 The enemy fired from MLRS

12.00 Enemy equipment was found in front of the front line - up to 3 units . ATGM crews destroyed 2 tanks.

12.20 Remote mining was carried out in front of the positions of our units.

12.30 Two fire raids (cannon artillery) on the positions of the 1st motorized rifle company of the 291st motorized rifle regiment.

12.50 UAV crew uncovered 3 more tanks and 2 infantry fighting vehicles.

13.03 In front of the positions of the 1st motorized rifle company, ATGM fire destroyed an infantry fighting vehicle, knocked out a tank.

13.10 The enemy's equipment withdrew in the direction of Novodanilovka.

13.20 Using 2 armored personnel carriers M113, the remains of the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were evacuated in the direction of NUTS.

Enemy losses: irrevocably 25, sanitary to be specified. 3 tanks, 3 infantry fighting vehicles - also irrevocably.

Our losses: sanitary -2 people

Broadcast of hostilities as usual in Telegram https://t.me/boris_rozhin (if you are interested, subscribe)

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8234671.html

Return of Comrade Tsyurupa
March 19, 5:08 p.m

Image

As part of the rollback of the renamings committed after the coup in Kiev, the city of Alyoshki in the Kherson region was renamed Tsyurupinsk (named after a native of the city, chairman of the State Planning Committee of the USSR and People's Commissar for Foreign Trade of the USSR Comrade Tsyurupa - in fact, he is the most famous native of the city).

The city has repeatedly changed its name - in addition to Alyoshka and Tsyurupinsk, it also bore the names Dneprovsk, Tsyurupinskoe, Oleshki).

Since Tsyurupinsk was renamed Alyoshki in 2016 under Poroshenko, the name was rolled back to the state of 2014 as part of the practice generally accepted in the new regions. After the war, it would be wise to give the residents the opportunity to decide on the name themselves within the framework of local elections.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8234350.html

"We will be forced into conflict"
March 19, 11:02 p.m

Image

Warsaw will enter into a direct military conflict with Moscow in the event of the defeat of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This was stated by the Ambassador of Poland to France, Jan Emerik Rosciszewski. "If Ukraine fails to defend its independence, we will have no choice, we will be forced to enter into a conflict," the diplomat said on the air of the LCI TV channel.

Actually, only nuclear weapons keep Poland from direct entry into the war at the current stage. And the less confidence there is that Russia will use nuclear weapons, the more confidence there will be in NATO countries that one can risk a direct conventional war against Russia.

If you look at the pace and volume of the purchase of modern weapons and a multiple increase in the size of the army, it looks like an attempt to hastily achieve certain quantitative and qualitative indicators by a certain period and ensure an overall superiority in people and conventional weapons over the current groupings of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the Armed Forces of Belarus, when the Polish army should be ready for a direct conventional war against Russia and Belarus with actions on the Belarusian border, on the territory of Ukraine (where the Polish army is already operating under the guise of mercenaries) and against Kaliningrad.

In the same piggy bank and voiced plans of NATO to have a deployed group of 300,000 people on the border with Russia, where 100,000 should have a constant level of combat readiness, and the rest should act as an operational reserve, ready to act as a second echelon within 7-10 days.

Of course, if they are sure that nuclear monoblocks will fly into them immediately upon entering the war, then in this case the grouping on the borders with the Russian Federation will be used to tie down part of the Russian forces by the very threat of attack (Russia will be forced to spend part of its forces on defensive measures and building up the grouping in Belarus and Kaliningrad to avoid critical imbalances), as well as for the systematic transfer of weapons and military equipment to continue operations in Ukraine.

This scenario looks just as "incredible" as the scenarios of the Nord Stream explosion, putting Putin on the wanted list, deliveries of Western armored vehicles to Ukraine, etc., were still considered "incredible". and so on. In any case, no matter what the war with Poland will be, direct or indirect, one must be prepared for it, so that later, in which case, one should not be surprised, just as our military in Ukraine, who are killing Polish soldiers there, are no longer surprised.

(c) https://t.me/boris_rozhin

PS. By the way, back in 2017, the Next War Poland monster wargame simulated scenarios of a direct clash between the Russian Armed Forces and NATO on the territory of Belarus, Poland and Kaliningrad https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/5189896.html .

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8235463.html

Nazi manual on the renaming of Russia.
March 19, 22:11

Image

Nazi manual on the renaming of Russia.

Zelensky instructed Shmyhal to study the issue of renaming Russia to "Muscovy". All this has already happened ... I will quote material from the book by Sergei Chernyavsky "Act of June 30. Anatomy of the Bandera adventure."

and the name Russia should be replaced by the old names. It is necessary to encourage rivalry between races ... The more we encourage the self-consciousness of individual peoples, the less political difficulties we will have in the future "[Cit. Quoted from: Burleigh M. Germany Turns eastwards: A Study of Ostforschung in the Third Reich. London: Pan Books, 2002. P. 202].

Resche's ideas were subsequently recorded in guidelines for the propaganda services of the Reich in March 1942. The use of the terms "Muscovy" and "Moscow State" instead of "Russia", "Belarus" instead of "Belarus", "Idel-Urals", "Crimean Tatars" instead of Tatars, "Bolshevism" or "communist" to refer to the Soviet system, etc. was encouraged. (Ibid. P. 203).

(c) https://t.me/Varjag2007

The enemy is the same, so the manuals are identical.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8235237.html

Google Transtalor

******

On the difference between the approaches of the PRC and the DPRK to the NWO
No. 3/79.III.2023

The proposals of the People's Republic of China to resolve the conflict in Ukraine have provided new food for thought on the position towards US imperialism in the current crisis and the new Cold War for countries led by communist parties. And in this case, it will be instructive to analyze how the conduct of the Russian special operation is treated not only in the PRC, but also in the DPRK, since their positions have some differences.

In assessing the role of individual states in the current conditions, one should proceed from the structure of these states and the conditions under which they find themselves. And if I personally and many other comrades have already expressed their attitude towards the Russian Federation both before and during the NWO, not to mention editorial articles, then we have not yet analyzed the positions of countries headed by communist parties.

In an editorial on the issue of attitudes towards the NWO, it was noted that we have no moral right to criticize and explain to the PRC, the DPRK, Cuba, Vietnam and other socialist countries how to conduct politics. We may agree with them or disagree on certain issues, but we must support their struggle. These are self-evident provisions, which, I hope, no one in their right mind will undertake to dispute.

At the same time, it should be clarified that this support should not be blind and interfere with our assessment of the situation as a whole. That is, one should not fall into idealization, which harms the understanding of the situation from the point of view of Marxism. Since there are objective circumstances from which the PRC and the DPRK base their assessment of what is happening, there are also provisions of Marxism that we must be able to apply when assessing the situation as a whole. And they may not match exactly.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Workers' Party of Korea almost immediately recognized the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics after the signing of the relevant decrees by Russian President Vladimir Putin. And after the start of the SVO, they immediately supported its implementation.

North Korea has decades of experience fighting for survival with the West. It gradually built up its armed forces and, under Kim Jong-un, was finally able to achieve the development of ballistic missiles capable of hitting any point of US territory. Therefore, it is fully prepared to repel American aggression and liberate the southern part of the Korean Peninsula from the puppet regime. And recently, Kim Ye-jong, deputy head of a department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, warned the Americans that if they shoot down a North Korean missile during a test, it will be considered an act of declaring war.

In the Russian press, local Korean scholars claim that the statements of the DPRK and Kim Jong-un, both on the recognition of the DPR and LPR, and on the NWO, are made only to achieve some bonuses from the Russian Federation. They judge by themselves and by other countries. The Russian Federation indeed raised the issue of lifting the ban on labor migration from the DPRK to the UN and announced its intention to lift the ban on imports of light industry products. But how far these initiatives have progressed is still unknown. At the same time, there are a number of issues on which the Russian Federation will never support North Korea. For example, on the issue of possession of nuclear weapons. Putin signed a decree on curtailing scientific and technical cooperation in this area in October 2017, in pursuance of UN Security Council Resolution 2321, adopted in November 2016.

The Russian Federation and the United States have different views on what functions sanctions should perform, which of them are legal and which are not. But on the issue of nuclear weapons, if they are in the hands of communist regimes, the capitalist countries are united. Since nuclear weapons are the last argument for the defense of the Motherland and communism.

Some will say that the PRC also supports sanctions against its neighbor and opposes the nuclear weapons of the North. This is true, but in this case one has to expect that this is only diplomacy. At the very least, no third party is actually able to control whether the PRC actually implements the sanctions, and the WPK has never officially expressed dissatisfaction with Beijing's position.

Whereas the support of the DPRK to the NMD, despite the sanctions previously imposed by the Russian Federation, speaks more of a strategic vision of the issue. Since defeating NATO in a proxy war will significantly shake the position of the collective West and intensify tectonic shifts in world politics, which is in line with the anti-imperialist course of Juche.

As for the PRC, it is a large country around which the United States is forming a belt of South Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese, Philippine regimes, created the AUKUS bloc and is playing the card of internal Chinese separatism. From which it follows that when it comes to the liberation of Taiwan, it is quite obvious that they alone will not do the job. We are talking about the process of liberation of the whole of Southeast Asia from Western neo-colonialism.

And judging by how the proxy war in Ukraine is progressing for the West, some conclusions can already be drawn. For example, such: NATO is barely pulling out military assistance for the Kyiv regime, which would have been defeated long ago without Western weapons. The US and Europe are emptying their stockpiles and arsenals that will take years or even decades to replenish. The PRC, on the contrary, is actively arming itself and does not waste its ammunition.

Before the start of the JMD, the PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared support for the Minsk agreements, and after February 24, 2022, for a long time got off with general statements that it “objectively assesses the situation” and calls on the United States to stop adding fuel to the conflict with arms supplies. Sometimes statements were made there that it was the United States that was responsible for the conflict, since they did not take into account the interests of the Russian Federation and its security concerns. Now the Foreign Ministry has published its vision of the conflict settlement. The purpose of the publication is not entirely clear, since it does not show how the conflict can be resolved, given the situation. New Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang made clarifications about the position of the PRC, but even from them it is impossible to draw an unambiguous conclusion.

Moreover, it is quite obvious that no matter what way the PRC proposes to resolve the conflict, the United States would still criticize it. Since they cannot allow the end of the conflict on unfavorable terms. But the Foreign Ministry continues to talk about peace. And the US continues to arm Taiwan.

Analyzing the PRC's vision of resolving the conflict in Ukraine, several conclusions should be drawn.

First. As far as one can understand, by such actions in the PRC they expect to show themselves as a neutral country capable of resolving not only this dispute, but also other conflicts. Since China needs the world to deploy its infrastructure around the world in the form of the One Belt, One Road initiative and, in general, continue its policy of increasing economic and cultural influence.

The peace proposal on Ukraine rather plays into the hands of NATO. For which China cannot be considered a neutral country. China can indeed become a peacemaker in the conflict between countries not controlled by US imperialism and recognizing its authority. But if we talk about Ukraine, then this is clearly not the case.

Switzerland, for example, also declared its neutrality for mediation purposes. But they "forgot" that before that they imposed sanctions against the Russian Federation. Of course, it is not a neutral country for the Russian Federation. So China is trying to present itself as a neutral country. But the West does not recognize it as such. Just because it did not impose sanctions against the Russian Federation and did not condemn the NWO. So whatever one may say, there can be no neutrality here.

Second. The history of the NWO shows us that only those countries that are not economically or minimally connected with it can openly oppose Western imperialism. Conversely, the more specific a country is connected with Western capital, the more difficult it is for it to wage this struggle. Of course, there are also a lot of nuances that affect the possibility of making specific decisions.

Third. Watching the dialogue between the PRC and the West, one can see the similarity of positions with the Russian Federation on issues of peace and security. The more they talk about the need for peace with the West, the closer the war approaches.

This is exactly what is stated in our editorial. But in other words:

“Capitalism is not constantly at war just because war requires resources and forces that need to be accumulated and concentrated. Peace under capitalism, therefore, is only a natural stage in the preparation for war. If the capitalists had the opportunity to continuously wage war, they would do so. But since the waging of war depletes human resources, and the instruments of destruction are technologically more lethal and destructive, so war under capitalism is periodic and seems something out of the ordinary. War in the broad sense of the word under capitalism never stops, since it is one of the forms of objective economic relations between owners.

The abstract appeals of the People's Republic of China for peace do not produce results. Because NATO sees that the enemy does not resist them. Moreover, as the history of the Minsk agreements has shown, in the final analysis, peace turns out to be beneficial precisely to Western fascism.

The Kremlin has been trading with the West for a long time, thereby subsidizing the industry of Germany and other countries with cheap energy. And in general, until the very NWO, he tried to agree on security guarantees. The PRC is actively trading with the US and the EU, but, as with Russian gas and oil, the US is doing everything possible to cut off Europe from trade with China and has already offered to join them in the war over Taiwan. Trips by US and EU officials to the island have become regular. China is issuing endless warnings. But they spat on them. In the meantime, things are moving towards war. So it was in Ukraine. Although, of course, in a different way. But the essence is the same.

However, there is a significant difference between Russia and China. If the Russian Federation yielded and traded for the time being, without any strategic plan, the ruling class of Russia did not realize the mortal danger of American imperialism and acted purely according to the situation, then the CCP has a global development plan for its country and has a vision of the development of contradictions with imperialism.

Hence the fourth. The NVO as an element of the anti-imperialist struggle against US hegemony in China is seen as inconsistent with the pace and nature of the contradictions between the PRC and the West. China still wants peaceful development and growth, accumulates strength and is not interested in direct confrontation. Direct support of the Russian Federation does not fit, at least not yet, into the strategic plan of the CCP. There were separate publications in the Chinese press on this matter, which look quite reasonable.

Fifth. In the PRC, the issue of the territorial integrity of states is posed through the prism of the problems of Taiwan.

“The Chinese people have the right to ask: why does the United States talk so much about respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity on the issue of Ukraine, but not respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China on the issue of Taiwan? Why is the United States demanding that China not supply weapons to Russia when it has long violated the August 17 (1982) Communiqué by selling weapons to Taiwan? Foreign Minister Qin Gang said.

But there were already many such warnings, and the West paid no attention to any of them. Because nothing comes after them.

The issue of territorial integrity is of great importance for the PRC, and therefore the Foreign Ministry has always and repeatedly stated that it is one of the main foreign policy principles. But such a position has a lot of shortcomings, which the enemies of the PRC use for their own purposes. Which says at least that this issue is considered as a “thing in itself”, rather than as a principle that should be applied based on specific conditions and circumstances. It is not declarations and assurances on paper that are the main guarantor of the territorial integrity of the PRC, but powerful armed forces capable of repelling any imperialist at any time.

Sixth. The diplomatic device is the appeal to the UN Charter. China and the United States resort to the Charter, but the interpretations are fundamentally different. The rapidly changing situation does not suit NATO, and therefore it is escalating wherever possible - in Eastern Europe near the borders of the Russian Federation, in the Middle East, in Southeast Asia. The United States cannot stand competition with China, since Beijing, on the contrary, is interested in weakening US hegemony. But both the PRC and the Russian Federation in their policies appeal to the UN Charter as something unshakable, since all previous history has shown that this organization is not capable of preventing any war. Which, by the way, was what the late leader of the Libyan Jamahiriya Muammar Gaddafi was talking about. And all because the current situation in international politics is one thing, China's aspirations are another, and the UN Charter is a third.

The West openly spit on the UN Charter, having made a number of invasions and coups, not to mention the imposed sanctions and other measures, but in China and the Russian Federation they continue to bow before this, in fact, half-dead organization. It is not a signature under any paper that determines certain political steps, but economic power translated into political weight. There are objective laws of capitalism, class struggle, and no UN Charters are capable of deterring capitalists from waging wars, since capitalism is the essence and is war.

Peace in such conditions is achieved not with papers, but with weapons and military potential. The Russian Federation also believed that the signing of some papers in Minsk with Germany and France, moreover, certified by a UN Security Council resolution, would give some kind of security guarantees for the people of Donbass. The result is thousands of lost lives of the people of Donbass, in which the Russian Federation is also indirectly guilty. And this should become a science for the PRC.

At the moment, the UN is just a platform for the exchange of views, but not for the development of any agreed decisions. Moreover, neither the PRC nor the Russian Federation use it to punish the US and the EU for violations of the Charter. Have the US and EU been punished for their actions? No. And they won't take it. And why? But because the balance of power is not in favor of China and the Russian Federation.

Thus, it should be concluded that, in their attitude to the conflict in Ukraine, all the socialist countries that spoke out on the topic of NWO can be roughly divided into two groups. In addition to North Korea, Cuba also expressed direct support for the Russian Federation, condemning the expansion of NATO to the borders of the Russian Federation and calling the United States the main culprit of what is happening. As Ambassador of the Cuban Republic Julio Antonio Garmendia Peña noted:

“Havana stands for a constructive and realistic diplomatic solution to the conflict. And at the same time, we take into account the legitimate demands of Russia for security guarantees, and in this regard, we welcome the efforts made by the Russian government.”

Another position, where the main role is assigned to a diplomatic solution, was taken by the People's Republic of China. Moreover, socialist Vietnam also took a practically mirror position. They refused to take sides and offered to seek a solution to the conflict exclusively by peaceful means, taking into account independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs. To which the chancellor of the Bonn regime, Olaf Scholz, while on a visit to Vietnam, had the audacity to say that the country should take a more coherent position on the conflict.

In favor of the fact that this position indicates a turn towards the PRC, says the recent change of ex-president Nguyen Xuan Phuc to Vo Van Thuong, during which cooperation with the United States was actively developed. So, in 2021, US Vice President Kamala Harris visited the country.

The difference between the two positions is that the DPRK and Cuba most acutely perceive American imperialism, have been under blockade for decades, and therefore do not hide their position. The position of the PRC and Vietnam, on the contrary, is much softer and more cautious, since they are closely connected with Western capital and business, which they use for their own development.

From this we should also conclude, in particular, taking into account the actions of the current regime in the Russian Federation, that any admission of foreign capital into the country weakens its foreign policy position, and therefore should be excluded as far as possible. Because cooperation can easily turn into dependence. Diplomacy is built on the opportunities provided by the economy. Conversely, the economy works its way through diplomacy. And the more it is free from tricks and traps from a potentially hostile side, the better. And therefore, if the economy is built not on market, but on scientific principles, then diplomacy will be victorious.

K. Kievsky
18/03/202

https://prorivists.org/79_svo-soc/

It is true that China's economic relationship with the US tempers it's behavior towards the hegemon, but that knife cuts both ways. Serious US money is tied up in China and a hundred US corporations are making very good money out of those Chinese factories. A ready made pro-China lobby, which while never entirely happy with the deal they're getting nonetheless will not bite the hand that feeds them and will ugre good relations to keep the money river flowing. Consider Apple.

This has worked very well for the last few decades and the hawks have been kept at bay but it seems we're getting into the realm of diminishing returns.

It is also true that China is playing the 'Good Guy' of international relations to the hilt and while that might not impress us jaded Westerners other folks might differ, especially when it is seen that the Chinese ain't just playin'.
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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

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

Post by blindpig » Tue Mar 21, 2023 12:10 pm

The diplomacy of war
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 03/21/2023

Image

With two articles published on the web pages of their respective administrations, Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping wanted to highlight yesterday the importance of relations between their two countries. Before the arrival of the Chinese president in Moscow, the Russian president welcomed "Comrade Xi" and stressed the special nature of the relationship of the two countries as partners based on trust and mutual respect for sovereignty and interests. Xi's visit to Moscow may not meet Moscow's expectations in terms of signing agreements. However, the mere fact that it happened is already a gesture of extreme importance for Russia.

Xi, who thanked President Putin for inviting him to a new state visit to Russia, calling him a "dear friend", stressed that this was his first visit abroad since his re-election, one more detail that makes it clear that the importance has been given to this meeting does not occur solely from the Russian side. The situation in Europe, with an economic war derived from the military war that tries to expel Russia from the continental market, has caused a relationship that the Western media have already described as Russian dependence on China. However, the gestures, acts and statements of the last few days, especially significant after the steps taken last week by the International Criminal Court, show the strategic value that China also currently places on its relationship with Russia.

The image of the state reception offered to the Chinese president and the informal meeting held between the two leaders was important for Moscow to show its opponents, mainly the United States, but also the European Union, that when they refer to the "international isolation of Russia “Because of the war and sanctions, Western leaders can only refer to their own allies. In its attempt to present support for Ukraine as global and the war as "global", the West has been met with reluctance to send military assistance to Kiev and a refusal to adhere to sanctions and break relations with Russia by countries beyond the West and its staunchest allies. Although both the European Union and the United States will try to minimize the importance of any agreement reached between Moscow and Beijing, the mere presence of the president of the world's second largest economy destroys the Atlanticist rhetoric of Russia's isolation. It is to be expected that, to install the story of the visit's failure, Western officials and media will highlight the absence of an arms supply agreement. The ground had already been prepared: in recent weeks, any delivery of Chinese military equipment to Russia has been raised as a red line for the West, an exaggeration of Chinese intentions that have not even been proven and that was nothing more than a form of pressure .

Since 2014, when the West imposed the first sanctions packages against Russia over the annexation of Crimea and Russia's refusal to drop the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics in its fight against Ukraine, Moscow has tried to make up for its losses in Europe. turning towards Asia and there has been repeated talk of a de-dollarization whose success can only be considered limited. These years have seen growing agreements for the supply of Russian natural gas to the Asian giant and political, economic, military and diplomatic cooperation that has brought the two countries closer, especially at times when, as is currently the case, they have felt targeted by the Western accusations.

Faced with the idea of ​​demanding that China put pressure on Russia to stop the war in Ukraine, the growing belligerence shown by both Washington and Brussels has made any critical stance towards Russia absolutely unfeasible for Beijing. Instead of achieving a estrangement between the two countries, something that at the beginning of a Russian military intervention was possibly not the option preferred by the People's Republic of China, the Western action has achieved the exact opposite. Western belligerence regarding the Taiwan question, the sanctions against companies like Huawei, the hysteria created around the TikTok social network due to its Chinese origin or the intention to deprive China of advanced microchips have created an image of a return to a political of blocs in which the importance of Moscow for Beijing could only increase.

In this context, yesterday's conversation between the two presidents around a coffee table shows the current closeness between the two countries and contrasts with Vladimir Putin's latest meetings with Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz, leaders of countries once considered priority, sitting at the ends of a table that, due to its length, caused numerous memeson social networks. As at that time with the leaders of Germany and France, peace in Ukraine was also one of the topics raised by Xi and Putin in their conversation. The Russian president welcomed the Chinese proposal, which he insisted comes "from the principle of justice and respect for the fundamental provisions of international law and the indivisible security of all countries." Vladimir Putin also added that “we are always open to a negotiation process. Of course we will discuss all these issues, including your initiative”.

This initiative, whose first point is respect for the sovereignty of all countries, has been precisely the reason for Western concern. As several articles published in Western media such as the Wall Street Journal have shown these daysand statements like those of John Kirby, the idea that Chinese mediation could achieve a ceasefire in the war has caused deep rejection. On the basis that a temporary cessation of violence would mean the consolidation of Russian control over the captured territories, "the world must not be fooled by any tactical move by Russia, with the support of China or any other country, to freeze the war on its own terms", said Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States yesterday, reflecting again an idea that has been repeated on numerous occasions since China published its peace proposals and, above all, since the visit of China was announced. Xi Jinping to Moscow. Earlier, in an appearance on one of the political talk shows broadcast on American television on Sunday mornings,

Contrasting with that narrative of trying to seek a diplomatic resolution to the conflict that is currently coming from China, Ukraine's allies took advantage of the day to announce new military assistance packages. The United States announced the delivery of equipment worth another 350 million dollars. “Another major US military aid package to Ukraine, symbolizing the following: systematic and thoughtful assistance; absolute consistency in supporting Ukraine and joint defense of democratic values; the inevitability of a proper end to the war. Brilliant!!!” Mikhailo Podoliak boasted. Hours earlier, also on social networks, the adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine had published a message dispelling any existing doubts about the riskthat kyiv could accept any kind of truce mediated by Beijing. Putting current Russian president in quotes, thus questioning his legitimacy and describing Vladimir Putin as an “obvious international criminal”, Podoliak insisted that the ICC's actions meant: “1. No negotiation with the Russian elite. 2. Non-return of the Russian Federation to world politics with its pre-war status. 3. No lifting of sanctions as long as Putin's face represents the Russian Federation”. The danger of a ceasefire is non-existent without the need for US intervention in that direction.

Although less capable of creating large military assistance packages, the European Union also wanted to join the United States yesterday with a big announcement. With an agreement of 18 member countries of the and financing of the European Fund for Peace, created in March 2021, in its own words, "to preserve peace, prevent conflicts and strengthen international security", the European Union announced an agreement of 2,000 million euros in a plan to deliver to Kiev one million artillery shells in the next twelve months. Although Ukrainian troops continue to waste ammunition firing 155mm rounds at civilian targets such as Donetsk's residential neighborhoods, ammunition shortages have been one of the biggest problems for Ukrainian troops in recent weeks. so it is to be expected that this million projectiles will not be considered sufficient by the kyiv government either. According toFinancial Times , Ukraine required a minimum of a quarter of a million shells a month. The outlet claimed that Ukraine currently fires 120,000 shells, one-fifth of which it would normally use. The intensity of the war is shown in a piece of information provided by The New York Times , which, citing a European official, affirmed that the twelve companies of the ten European countries that produce the long-awaited 155mm projectiles do not exceed 650,000 projectiles annually. The EU's commitment to deliver to Kiev an amount greater than the total production of its member countries can be considered the equivalent of the declarations of Blinken, Kirby or Podoliak: the military route as the only alternative in search of a resolution of the conflict.

https://slavyangrad.es/2023/03/21/la-di ... more-26894

Google Translator

*****


NATO Considers Placing 300,000 Troops on High Alert Along Russia’s Borders
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MARCH 19, 2023

Image

TEHRAN (FNA)- NATO is seriously considering deploying a 300,000-strong force along Russia’s borders, but these ambitious aspirations may turn into a challenging stress-test for the alliance’s members, according to a US report.

As the US and its allies continue to ramp up their hefty military assistance to Ukraine, meeting NATO’s needs may come up against resistance from European capitals. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been constantly clamouring for more military support from the so-called collective West, and Kiev’s voracious appetite for arms has already resulted in fast-depleating supplies of weapons and munition stockpiles in European NATO-states, Sputnik reported.

NATO may have to resort to a good deal of pressuring, coordinating and coaxing if it wants its new military plans to come to fruition, said the report.

For its plans on the Eastern flanks to materialize, NATO will face the daunting task of convincing individual countries on the European continent to contribute everything from extensive amounts of costly weapons, equipment and ammunition, to soldiers, and training efforts. But considering how low many war chests of NATO members have been running on munitions alone, there is reportedly a risk that not all allies will be up to the task. The need to contribute ever more weapons stockpiles and troops to NATO’s new plans may come at too great a cost for many countries already worried about their own defense stockpiles.

As Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, launched in February 2022, continues, Kiev regime’s forces are depleting stockpiles of artillery shells gleaned from the West at lightning pace. Accordingly, both the US and EU are currently brainstorming how to quickly source more weapons to aid the restocking of supplies, but procurement is going to be a spoke in the wheel of NATO’s ambitious plans, added the report.

This spring, the alliance’s military leaders will be submitting their updated regional defense, according to the US media report. NATO will be pushing for significantly “more troops” and especially more forces at “readiness” to allegedly counter Russia, a senior NATO military official was cited as saying.

The report goes on to clarify what is meant by this “readiness”. The so-called first tier of this process may presuppose an estimated 100,000 soldiers from Poland, Norway and the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), ready to “move within 10 days”, Heinrich Brauß, a former NATO assistant secretary general for defense policy and force planning was cited as saying. Afterwards, a second tier of troops would be expected to deploy from countries like Germany “in between 10 to 30 days”.

But while that may seem quite doable on paper, in effect the process would present a massive challenge, as it would require quickly redeploying lots of people and equipment, along with the required training, and, of course, sizeable costs. Furthermore, for all of these plans to materialize, many allies’ militaries will need to boost their own recruitment, hike up defense spending, and all told, everyone involved would be forced to “procure more weapons, ammunition and equipment”. Even finding companies that are able to fast-track the production of good-quality bullets would ostensibly be a challenge.

“It’s all very challenging. This obviously takes time and it’s also expensive,” Ben Hodges, former commander of US Army Europe, was quoted as conceding.

Even NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who recently underscored that allies have boosted production in recent months, taking into consideration new requirements for ammunition stockpiles, was cited as saying this month, “The current rate of consumption compared to the current rate of production of ammunition… is not sustainable.”

Looking ahead, once NATO has readied the blueprints for its ambitious military plans, its allies will be pressured to cough up readily available troops, planes, ships and tanks. And whether they are prepared to gear up to the challenge remains to be seen. Leaders of the alliance’s 30 member countries are set to meet in Vilnius, Lithuania, for their summit on July 11- 12, 2023.

“We are asking the nations — based on the findings we have out of our three regional plans — what we need to make these plans … executable… I think the most difficult thing is the procurement,” an unnamed senior NATO military official was cited as saying.

But there is also another contentious and divisive issue involved – defense investments. While back in 2014 NATO leaders pledged to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense within a decade, at the Vilnius summit the leaders will be forced to contemplate a new target.

“Two percent as floor” is the “center of gravity” currently, but “2 percent would not be enough for everybody”, one senior NATO official was quoted as cautioning.

The allies’ response to all these demands will show whether NATO will succeed in matching its ambitions to reality, the report concluded.

As NATO reportedly mulls edging its forces ever closer to Russia’s borders, it is worthwhile to recall that Moscow has persistently sought to warn the alliance about the implications of its continued Eastward expansion.

Despite promises famously made in February 1990, when US Secretary of State James Baker vowed to the Soviet Union that NATO would not move “one inch Eastward” of a reunified Germany, in the mid-1990s, the Clinton administration broke the pledge. NATO embarked upon a push to incorporate more and more Eastern European members in the bloc, and has since swallowed up more than a dozen countries in Eastern Europe, while rejecting a Russian request for a halt to its expansion.

In December 2021, Russian Foreign Ministry officials handed two draft proposals on security guarantees between Russia, the US and NATO to US diplomats in Moscow, and published them in full on the ministry’s website shortly after. Moscow had outlined the “red lines” which it believed should not be crossed.

The document called on Washington to pledge not to continue NATO’s Eastward expansion, and to refrain from cooperating militarily with post-Soviet states (except those which are already members of the alliance). It similarly called for Ukraine’s incorporation into the bloc to be prohibited. However, NATO chief rejected the stipulation on Ukraine’s status, saying that the alliance stands with Kiev’s “right to choose its own path”, and suggesting that the alliance never promised not to expand.

Furthermore, after the escalation of the security crisis in the Donbas following the US-sponsored coup in Kiev in February 2014, Kiev’s authorities scrapped the notion of neutrality, as the country’s constitution was amended to include the “strategic course” of joining the EU and the Western military bloc.

In February 2022, days before Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave a speech at the Munich Security Conference, announcing that Ukraine may revoke its non-nuclear weapons status. Shortly after, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed Zelensky’s comments, saying Moscow would consider even attempts to create a tactical nuclear device by a neighbor that questions Russia’s territorial integrity as a “strategic threat” to Russia.

As for Moscow, ever since its special military operation in Ukraine prompted the so-called collective West to start drumming up military support for the Kiev regime, it repeatedly warned French, German, and other European leaders of the folly of their anti-Russia policy, which only fed the flames of the conflict. Moscow warned that weapons support for Kiev risks turning the Russia-NATO “proxy conflict” in Ukraine into a global conflagration.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/03/ ... s-borders/

Avdeevka Encirclement & US Prepares Ukraine for “Last Chance” Offensive, Surging Ammunition
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MARCH 19, 2023



Update on Russian military operations for March 20, 2023:

– Russian forces are not only encircling the fortified city of Bakhmut, but now also apparently Avdiivka;

– Both cities are heavily fortified positions along Ukraine’s main defense line in the Donbass region and their encirclement will compromise the entire defense line;

– Western media continues admitting critical shortages of Ukrainian manpower, weapons, and ammunition;

– As Ukraine is preparing for its spring offensive, the US and its allies are likely utilizing emergency stockpiles to surge the amount of artillery and rocket ammunition to Ukraine in amounts much higher than have recently been transferred;

– This surge is a one-time possibility after which Western stockpiles will be exhausted and future shipments will depend mainly on monthly ammunition production which and will be for several years unable to match or exceed Russian ammunition supplies;

– Ukraine is being forced to organize a massive offensive using poorly trained troops operating equipment they are unfamiliar with against Russian forces who have been preparing to meet this offensive months in advance;

– Ukrainian forces could once again compel Russian forces into withdrawals but will suffer immense losses before facing counteroffensives comprised of 350k Russian reservists;

References:

New York Times – Ukraine Burns Through Ammunition in Bakhmut, Putting Future Fights at Risk (March 16, 2023):
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/16/wo…
The Kyiv Independent – Media: Public data suggests over 16,000 Russian soldiers have been killed during first year of all-out war (March 4, 2023):
https://kyivindependent.com/news-feed…
The Kyiv Independent – Battle of Bakhmut: Ukrainian soldiers worry Russians begin to ‘taste victory’ (March 15, 2023):
https://kyivindependent.com/national/…
Alexander Mercouris – Russia Claims Control Avdeevka Roads, MSM Russia Tasting Victory Bakhmut, US Demands Counterattack (March 17, 2023): • Russia Claims Con…

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/03/ ... mmunition/

********

What will be the results of the Xi-Putin talks? Shall we guess?
If you read the torrent of articles which American foreign affairs experts put out daily with respect to the future course and likely outcome of the Russia-Ukraine war, you could be forgiven for thinking that you know something. However, for better or worse, no one really knows the true correlation of forces on the ground in Ukraine at present, nor do they know the strategic merits of the offensive/counteroffensives that the warring parties are planning in secret and will unleash in the coming weeks. So whether the war will continue for years to come or end in a couple of months with the capitulation of one of the sides is anyone’s guess. The only thing that is not guesswork is that the longer the war drags on, the greater the chances of some fatal miscalculation by one or another of the sides leading to escalation and WWIII.

Discussion in the Western media of the visit by Chinese President Xi to Moscow which begins tomorrow is similarly voluble and based on very few objective facts. The overriding issue guiding our experts is hostility to both leaders and to the countries they represent. Since I do not share that hostility and have a few insights that I do not see in play elsewhere, I will depart from my usual practice and step up to the scrimmage line.

*****

What we know about the forthcoming Xi visit to Moscow is that it is his first foreign trip after his reelection as China’s supreme leader and the consolidation of his pre-eminence by the appointment of his close supporters to key government positions. We also know that the timing of this visit was brought forward by several weeks from what had previously been mentioned in Russian media. And we know that it is for three days, which is a substantial block of time, enough to deal with some very thorny issues and not just to sign off on documents prepared by subordinates.

Russian media say that it will be used to conclude a great number of separate agreements for the implementation of the strategic cooperation the countries announced more than a year ago. One can easily imagine that these agreements will focus on the energy sector and on detailed projects to expand Chinese investment both upstream in exploration and production, and downstream in logistical solutions to bring Russian hydrocarbons to the Middle Kingdom. There probably will be further progress to announce in finance, namely in payment systems that will compete globally with SWIFT and in currency exchange solutions that effectively remove the dollar from their mutual trade.

We are also told that the heads of state will discuss one-on-one issues of international relations, and here is where I am predicting an announcement with respect to the Ukraine war, namely formal Russian acceptance Chinese mediation to arrive at a peace settlement built upon the 12 principles laid down by Beijing several weeks ago. After all, who would be a better ‘honest broker’ to facilitate the talks than the Chinese?

The world was thunderstruck a couple of weeks ago by the successful conclusion of an agreement reestablishing diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran thanks to mediation by the People’s Republic of China. The importance of that agreement can hardly be overstated: it potentially puts an end to the Yemen civil war, in which the Saudis and Iran had each been giving military support to their preferred factions in the conflict. That war not only created great human suffering in Yemen but for many years has threatened broader regional stability. The settlement opens the way for implementation of Saudi-Iranian letters of intent on commercial and investment cooperation signed back at the beginning of the millennium. These will go far to normalize the Iranian economy, to cancel the harm done by unilateral Western sanctions, and to promote domestic tranquility within Iran, all of which, in turn, will put legs under Teheran’s decision not to pursue production of nuclear arms.

The outstanding feature of the Saudi Arabia-Islamic Republic agreement was that it was mediated by an ‘interested party.’ Yes, China was not an ‘honest broker’ in the sense of a disinterested party seated high on Olympus. It is the world’s largest importer of oil, while Saudi is the world’s largest exporter, much of it going to China. And Iran is also a major seller to China. Accordingly it was in China’s interests that these two suppliers not force it to take sides in their dispute and resolve their differences amicably. Knowing both sides in-depth, the Chinese were well positioned to suggest compromises that could be acceptable to all.

I suggest that we consider China’s diplomatic feat in the Middle East as a dress rehearsal for the still bigger prize of mediating an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. Here, too, China is an ‘interested party.’

In this regard, we have to put the close strategic cooperation between Beijing and Moscow in the spheres of military exercises, mutual trade and diplomacy in the United Nations and other international institutions up against the trade and rumored military cooperation that China has going with Ukraine in supply of some critical components. Given the looming confrontation with the United States over its defense perimeter in the South China Sea and its plans for reunification with Taiwan, China would like to see an early end to the Ukraine war that leaves both warring parties viable and eliminates any possibility of revanchisme reviving in a few years time.

That leaves us with the question of why Vladimir Putin might be tempted to seek an end to the war right now, when his army has achieved only partial victory in terms of freeing the Donbas oblasts claimed by Russia from Ukrainian occupation. The reason should be seen in the points of China’s position paper on the war dated 24 February 2023 that deal with regional and European security, which were, after all the Realpolitik reasons for Russia opening its Special Military Operation.

The language in the Chinese paper regarding forging “an effective and sustainable European security architecture,” in which no country pursues its security at the expense of others, in which there is no ‘bloc confrontation’ – all of this constitutes the essence of what the Kremlin was pursuing with the United States and NATO in December 2022; it amounts to a rollback of NATO from its post-1997 forward presence in Eastern Europe. It amounts to a neutral Ukraine. This was flatly rejected by Washington, and the Kremlin then moved on to a military response to get what it wanted.

As for the romantic nationalism language that the Russian President used in his speech to the nation on the eve of launching the invasion of Ukraine, that was for public consumption, to sell the SMO to a Russian nation that is not easily moved by Realpolitik arguments. This is the truly negotiable part of the Russian program in Ukraine for which solutions can be found with Ukraine under conditions of professional and empathetic mediation.

Of course, the very first point in the Chinese position paper which emphasizes respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity will be a tough issue in any future negotiations at which the Chinese are mediators. As University of Rhode Island professor of political science Nicolai Petro and I proposed back in June 2022 in The National Interest, one solution would be to put aside sovereignty over the Donbas for resolution by some future referendum after a cooling off period that might run into decades during which each side would govern over the territory it held at the signing of the cease-fire. This idea has most recently been further developed by Paris-based international lawyer John Whitbeck (Counterpunch, 22 February 2023). Surely the highly professional diplomatic service of Beijing will be able to find a solution that satisfies the fox and keeps the chickens safe.

Finally, I point out that by accepting Chinese mediation based on their 12-point position paper, the Russians would be giving the lie to Western assertions that the Kremlin has no interest in peace talks, that Russia is hell-bent on territorial aggrandizement including absorption of Ukraine before moving on to invade the Baltics, Poland, etc. By smashing that propaganda narrative written in Washington and London, Russia will open the way for doubters within NATO and within the EU to find their voices and reject the further pursuit of war through open-ended funding and military supplies to Kiev. And that, friends, will by itself put us on the road to peace.

©Gilbert Doctorow, 2023

https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2023/03/19/ ... -we-guess/

I think it very unlikely that Russia would accept a ceasefire at this point in the struggle. For one thing Ukraine is on the back foot and the upcoming offensive being whipped along by the US will almost surely fail, for lack of trained, experienced troops, among other factors. Accepting a ceasefire before Donbass is well in hand at the very least would be a political disaster for Putin with the election coming up, the people of Russia overwhelmingly support that aspect of the "NWO'.

But Russia must present China with more than lip service if their relationship is to thrive therefore some 'give' must be shown. Another escalation by NATO will render the question moot.

***********

From Cassad's Telegram account:

Colonelcassad

Image

The battle for Avdiivka
situation as of 15.00 March 20, 2023

🔻To the north of Avdiivka , Russian units developed success near Krasnogorovka and broke through the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the railway. Now the RF Armed Forces have entrenched themselves on the eastern outskirts of Petrovsky (Stepovoe) , where fierce battles are taking place.

▪️The Ukrainian Armed Forces urgently reinforce forward positions with reinforcements. Reinforcements, reinforced by several tanks, were transferred from the Berdychi area in the direction of Petrovsky.

▪️In the northeast, Russian fighters entered Kamenka , which has been the site of intense fighting over the past few days. Clashes continue inside the village.

🔻In the south of Avdiivka, assault detachments of the Russian Armed Forces, operating from the vicinity of Opytny , broke through the fortifications of the Ukrainian Armed Forces formations on the southwestern outskirts of the city. Now the fighting is going on on the outskirts of the 9th quarter of Avdiivka.

🔻If the military personnel of the RF Armed Forces are able to liberate Petrivske and gain a foothold in the area by cutting the railway line, the supply by rail will be stopped, which will significantly reduce the capabilities of the Ukrainian group.

A breakthrough in the south-west of the Avdiivka fortified area fetters Ukrainian units in this area, preventing them from being transferred to the north to regain control over a section of the railway line.

With clear and timely coordination of the actions of the advancing forces of the RF Armed Forces, serious tactical success can be achieved, and the grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine can fall into the operational encirclement.

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

Google Translator

**********

There Will Be More NATO in Europe, Stoltenberg Tells Russia

Image
NATO soldiers. | Photo: Twitter/ @KanekoaTheGreat

Published 20 March 2023

Washington longs to expand its range of geopolitical influence without worrying about the consequences for world peace.


On Monday, Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), said that "the most important thing" is that Sweden and Finland become full members of the Alliance "as soon as possible," even if the these countries do not join at the same time.

His remarks came before a meeting in Brussels, where Finnish ministers Pekka Haavisto (Foreign Affairs) and Antti Kaikkonen (Defense) were also present.

Stoltenberg said that it is "a great pleasure" to see them at NATO headquarters, although the pleasure will be "even greater" when they are received as full members of the Alliance.

Previously on Friday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the Turkish parliament would start the ratification process for Finland's entry into NATO.

However, the Turkish government mentioned that the Finnish membership should be separated from the Swedish process.


To justify this stance, Erdogan argued that Sweden does not comply with the demands to extradite Kurdish militants that Turkey considers linked to terrorist organizations.

"I am glad about Turkey's announcement that they will now move forward with the ratification of the Finnish membership. I hope that the Turkish National Assembly in Ankara can make a quick decision on the ratification," the NATO Secretary said, adding that Hungary will vote on the ratification of Finnish accession next week.

"There will be more NATO in Europe," Stoltenberg said, emphasizing that NATO's border with Russia will increase by 1,300 kilometers when Finland joins the Alliance.

"It is absolutely inconceivable that there is any threat against Finland or Sweden without NATO reacting," he warned.


Finnish Minister Haavisto hopes his country and Sweden will be full members of the Alliance before the summit of allied leaders to be held in Vilnius on July 11. "We feel that our membership will not be completed until Sweden is also part of NATO," he stressed.

"We welcome the progress which is now made on finalizing the ratification of Finland, and we will continue to work hard. It will be a top priority to ensure that also Sweden will become a full member in the near future," Stoltenberg replied.

For Finland and Sweden to enter the transatlantic organization, it is necessary for the 30 NATO members to ratify their membership. At the moment, Hungary and Turkey are the only allies that have not done so.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/The ... -0013.html

Demonstrators Call for France's Withdrawal From NATO

Image
Anti-NATO rally in Paris, France, March, 18, 2023. | Photo: Twitter/ @ChuckCallesto

Published 20 March 2023

They waved banners "Stop the war provoked by the U.S. and NATO" and "Freedom, Truth, Resistance."


Over the weekend, thousands of demonstrators called for France's withdrawal from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and an immediate halt to arms deliveries to Ukraine.

The "March for Peace" kicked off near the site of the French Senate. The demonstrators waved banners "Stop the war provoked by the U.S. and NATO" and "Freedom, Truth, Resistance."

Many French Internet users have posted photos and videos of this march on social media. "Thousands of people are asking for France's withdrawal from NATO, the EU, and all the organizations that deprive us of our national sovereignty!" said one of the social media users.

An independent Lebanese geopolitical commentator Sarah Abdallah asked on her social media: "Why is Western media ignoring the anti-NATO protests happening today in Paris, France?"
This is the second march organized in 2023 in Paris demanding France to withdraw from NATO, according to a report published by the website Solidarity and Progress. The anti-war protests come amid
discontent over pension reform.


On Friday afternoon, two no-confidence motions had been filed against Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. The first multiparty motion was filed by the centrist group LIOT and was co-signed by 91 opposition lawmakers from different parties. The second motion was tabled by the far-right National Rally party, which argues that the pension overhaul is "unfair and unnecessary."

Previously, Borne triggered the article 49 of the French Constitution that allows the government to force passage of the controversial pension reform bill without a vote in the National Assembly. The only way for the National Assembly to veto this is to pass a no-confidence motion against the government.

Should any of the two no-confidence motions be endorsed by an absolute majority -- 289 votes in favor -- Borne would have to submit to French President Emmanuel Macron the resignation of her government.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Dem ... -0002.html
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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

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

Post by blindpig » Tue Mar 21, 2023 10:54 pm

Ukraine SitRep - Avdiivka

Bakhmut is encircled. All roads in and out of it are under Russian artillery fire. Over the last three days fighting has largely stopped there. No one seems to know why the operation was halted.

There are unconfirmed claims that Ukraine is preparing a counterattack to free Bakhmut from its encirclement. That attack is supposed to go off as soon as the muddy ground has dried up a bit.

Meanwhile other encirclement has taken place in Avdiivka:

Avdiivka (Ukrainian: Авдіївка, IPA: [ɐu̯ˈd(j)ijiu̯kɐ]; is a city of regional significance in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The city is located in the center of the oblast, just north of the city of Donetsk. The large Avdiivka Coke Plant is located in Avdiivka. The city had a pre-war population of 31,392 (2022 est.); in August 2022, its population was estimated at 2,500.

Avdiivka was within the claimed boundaries of the separatist Donetsk People's Republic, before Russia declared its annexation of the entire region in September 2022. During the war in Donbas, Avdiivka became a frontline city and saw a battle in 2017. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, heavy fighting led to Avdiivka being largely destroyed and most of its population having fled.


March 8, 2023
Image
Source: LiveUAmap

Avdiivka is strongly fortified. Its coke plant is a strong-point. The Ukrainian army used the city to lob artillery into Donetsk city. But attempts to seize it were largely unsuccessful.

Two week ago the situation suddenly changed. The Russian airforce started to bomb Avdiivka with heavy glide bombs. At the same time an operations was launched to envelope the city from two directions.

March 21, 2023
Image
Source: LiveUAmap

An east to west move north of Avdiivka cut the rail access to the city. Russian forces crossed the railroad and moved further west. Fighting is currently ongoing in Berdychi. South of Berdychi is Orlovka, a road crossing point (O0542, C015801, C015802) that is for now the only real supply route left for Avdiivka.

In the southwest of Avdiivka the Russian forces moved northward. They are currently trying to capture Siverne. The first progress there was stopped when on March 12 the Ukrainian 36th Marine Brigade was placed in the area.

Image
Source: Military Land

Armed reconnaissance has also taken place into the southwest area of Avdiivka city which is made up of high rises.

The distance between the Russian positions in the southwest and in the northwest of Avdiivka is 8 kilometer (5 miles). That is sufficiently narrow for Russian artillery to interdict road traffic that goes through the area in between.

The landscape around Avdiivka is mostly featureless. There are a few slag hills that rise about 50 meter above their surrounding flatland. But they can be easily covered by artillery and are thus not really helpful for either side.

Image
Source: Ukraine Topographic Map

This is now the second Ukrainian held area on the Donetsk front that is in operational encirclement. In both areas the Russian follow Sun Tsu's advice to not completely close off an encirclement but to leave a route out. This prevents fanatical defenses by encircled troops or it may even lead the enemy to push more forces into a hopeless position.

If the Ukrainian military had plans to relieve Bakhmut with a counterattack it now has to think of the additional problem that the encirclement of Avdiivka brings. Should it start there? Should it split the forces it had accumulated and planned to use for the counterattack in Bakhmut and start a parallel one in Avdiivka? Should it give up on one or both cities? Those are difficult decisions.

I find it likely that the Russian attacks on Bakhmut were halted after the Avdiivka development succeeded to give the Ukraine military enough time to make an error.

Time is on Russia's side while the Ukrainian military needs to show action and success to keep its 'western' support going.

Posted by b on March 21, 2023 at 16:51 UTC | Permalink

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/03/u ... .html#more

**********

US Says More Drones as a Fed-Up World Shakes Its Head
MARCH 20, 2023

Image
Russian Su-27 firefighter jet involved in the incident with a US spy drone recklessly flying into Ukraine war conflict zone. Photo: Pentagon edited video footage.

By Daniel Patrick Welch – Mar 16, 2023

The US is completely unashamed by the depth and audacity of the evil plans it is revealed to have organized. No matter what you catch them doing, there is zero chance they will take the high road, admit responsibility, and adjust their course. Backing Right Sector heroes they agreed were terrorists a short while ago? Never happened. Nordstream bombers? Naaaaah.

Now, getting its drones as close to Crimea as they can without getting caught [oops!] is just another set up for a sketch on the mock news of Saturday Night Live. The US-sponsored headline is that “Russia is *warned* to operate military aircraft with caution.” [Non-western audience LAUGHTER/APPLAUSE, please]. Now switch to Russia’s real-world response, namely, that after the recent drone incident (where a US drone 60 miles from Crimea was taken out by a Russian plane), Russia vows to retaliate against ‘all US provocations.’

Obviously! But of course this is missing from the news reel here. The real story is that those evil Russians might get some intelligence from a drone taken out 60 miles from a war zone.

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s “ADIZ” [Arial Defense Identification Zone] (with US support, of course) is beyond ridiculous. Not only is Taiwan a part of China already, but flights over almost all of one of its own coastal provinces constitute “violations” by China’s planes.

Rubio [Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee] has spouted his own warhawk rhetoric, which of course is only slightly different from the rest of the gaggle of “supporters” and “opponents” in the sad democracy façade that is the US permanent warrior culture. He thinks it’s a “test” to see if the US will respond, and Biden’s real “response” should be to monger a little more war. Always the brilliant solution of America’s Braintrust.

Of course. It is absolutely a test. It’s interesting how the brainless mouthpieces of US policy can be correctly interpreted if one assumes the exact opposite of what they are saying.

What happened here is that the US was using its usual, saber-rattling macho warswagger to see how close they can get.

Many levels of the US war machine have been outspoken on how one of the Ukranian neo-nazi goals should be to “take back” Crimea. It has also become no secret that the US and its NATO attack dogs have been heavily involved in a war on Russia, using the proxy armies of Bandera and whoever they can kidnap from the grocery store.

But apparently they still have no awareness of the image they present from outside their own press release minions. It is so obvious to those outside the bubble that it draws non-chalant amused asides. One South African friend says simply “Growing up, all US war games we played had the Russian people ALWAYS painted as villains and themselves (US) as superior heroes. I still have the latest ones in that fashion.” My wife, also African, still laughs at the morning headlines but uses an old Seinfeld reference in Jerry’s warning voice: “This is gonna get ugly…”

The truth is that no one in the real world ignores the reality: all that data scooped up by the US grim Reaper is already on its way to the Ukraine’s General Staff with its American officers. At least the part of it that was not vaporized by last week’s Kinzhal surprise. Actually, the rest of the world–literally like 80% of it (not counting internal dissent) responds by saying “Duh!” What in the name of gods of war, logic and common sense would you think would happen if a cheeky US drone tries to cozy up. Like a toddler touching the stove.

That kid is gonna get spanked. Are we all clearer now?

https://orinocotribune.com/us-says-more ... -its-head/

********

Former UN Weapons Inspector Reports that U.S. Drone Forced Down in Black Sea Was Gathering Intelligence for Ukrainian Forces
By Jeremy Kuzmarov - March 20, 2023 2

Image
U.S. Air Force MQ-9 camera footage of the Russian Su-27 Black Sea intercept on March 14. [Source: edition.cnn.com]

In a “2-minute topic” posted on Twitter, former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter reported that the U.S. MQ-9 drone that was forced down into the Black Sea on March 14 was not innocently transiting international airspace when it was intercepted by two Russian Su-27 fighters. Rather, it was on an intelligence-gathering mission, peering into Crimea, to gather electronic intelligence on Russian air defenses, communications and other activities of interest.

[img[https://i0.wp.com/covertactionmagazine. ... =679&ssl=1[/img]
[Source: businessinsider.com]

The incident marked the first time Russian and U.S. military aircraft have come into direct physical contact since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine just over a year ago and is likely to increase tensions between the two nations, with the U.S. calling Russia’s actions “reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional.”

Ritter said that it was clear the U.S. drone was collecting intelligence because of the existence of a signals intelligence pod placed under its wing.


Agile Condor™ technology is capable of being flown on remotely piloted aircraft in a pod-based enclosure and enables on-board, high-performance embedded computing to derive real-time, actionable intelligence. [Source: youtube.com]

That a U.S. drone was collecting intelligence was not by itself such a big deal, as so-called “Great Powers” routinely do this, but this case is different because the U.S. is sharing the intelligence it gathers with Ukraine, “which uses this information to target Russia.”

That is, information used for strikes on targets “where Russian soldiers are killed or wounded and Russian equipment is destroyed or damaged.”

“This makes the United States an active participant in the conflict, and the MQ-9 Reaper drone loses all protections,” Ritter went on. “So what Russia did is give the operators of the MQ-9 Reaper drone every chance to withdraw—19 times the Russian fighters flew past the drone, trying to convince the operators to leave the area. When that didn’t work, they used tactics that date back to the Cold War, dumping fuel on the airframe to disrupt its operations and if necessary, as was the case here, bring it down.

“This was an unfortunate incident. It cost the United States a $32 million aircraft. But we can’t allow this situation to spin out of control,” Ritter concluded.

https://covertactionmagazine.com/2023/0 ... an-forces/

*********

Thousands march in Washington, D.C. to launch new movement against U.S. empire
Vanessa PhippsMarch 20, 2023 193 5 minutes read
Download PDF flyer https://flyer-generator.herokuapp.com/? ... sts/112107

On March 18, the 20th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, thousands of anti-war protesters gathered in Lafayette Park, in front of the White House. Protesters demanded an end to the endless U.S. wars of the past 20 years, particularly the proxy conflict in Ukraine.

Just in front of the musicians and speakers, eight coffins were draped in flags of various nations struck by the U.S. war machine, representing those needlessly killed in the past 20 years of war and sanctions. The protesters marched to the White House front fence carrying the coffins to confront President Joe Biden for his responsibility for the many deaths because of U.S. aggression.

After half the marchers entered the area near the White House fence, the Secret Service closed the area to the public, expelling tourists and demonstrators alike. Tourists looked on as a Secret Service officer explained that this was the largest protest in some time.

The march then proceeded to the headquarters of the Washington Post. Speakers accused the Post of responsibility for the past 20 years of war as well, calling the Post “the stenographers of empire”. Brian Becker, national director of the ANSWER Coalition, denounced this war mongering publication from the rally’s stage, “We know who you are. You’re not journalists, you’re an echo chamber for the war machine, and you too are guilty for the deaths of all these people.” This sentiment was reinforced by the banner at the front of the march: “Remember Iraq: No more wars based on lies.”

The march continued to the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. Speakers from the pulpit closed out the afternoon with calls for the end of U.S. intervention against Eritrea, Ethiopia, Syria, Palestine, and many other nations around the globe. Speakers highlighted the need to end military pollution, such as the mass poisoning of water caused by the U.S. base at Red Hill, Hawaii.

Nearly 300 organizations, including peace groups, socialist organizations, anti-war veterans’ groups, organizations fighting for Black liberation and many others supported the demonstration that was initiated by the ANSWER Coalition, The People’s Forum, and Code Pink. Protesters traveled from all over the country, many on all-night drives with little sleep. Associated actions also took place in over a dozen additional cities as part of this powerful day of action.

Image
Protesters bring coffins to the front of the White House Photo: ANSWER Coalition

U.S. government seeks global control at any cost

Eugene Puryear of the ANSWER Coalition, framed the protest to the crowd. “They want you to somehow think that it’s progressive, that it’s good, that it’s morally right, to spend hundreds of billions of dollars, to fight to the last Ukrainian. For what? Just for the ability of the United States government to control the whole globe!”

Puryear continued, “They are giving themselves the right to tell every single other person what to do, and if you don’t, they’ll sanction you, they’ll bomb you, they’ll destroy your country, they’ll cripple your people, they’ll end people’s dreams and hopes of a better future and a better life. But we’re here to say NO, NO, NO. NO to the war machine, NO to imperialist wars, and certainly NO to the proxy war going on right now in Europe!”

Jill Stein of the Green Party warned about the nuclear threat posed by escalation between nuclear powers. “These are not like the Hiroshima bombs of decades ago. These are a thousand times stronger. It only takes a handful to basically create nuclear winter that will starve billions of people. Anyone who thinks that the nuclear war happens ‘over there, don’t worry about it’, you’ve got another thing to learn. The nuclear war happens to all of us.”

Jorge Rocha from Democratic Socialists of America concurred. “If this war continues to escalate, then I fear, as everyone else has been bringing up, that we are headed right towards nuclear confrontation. Mr. President, we are here in front of the White House today, to make sure you can hear us loud and clear. End this war!”

As the U.S. government hurdles head first down this indescribably dangerous road, more and more people are joining the movement to demand peace. Becker noted in his speech, “What we’re doing today, I believe, will be remembered as something quite historic, something very profound – a commitment, a determination on our part to build a new anti-war movement at a moment when the forces within the military-industrial complex and the leadership of both the Republican and the Democratic parties have, without debate, adopted as a consensus position that the U.S. should be prepared for and prioritize major power conflict.”

Image
Demonstrators march through the streets of Washington, D.C. Photo: ANSWER Coalition

Fund people’s needs, not the war machine

Speakers highlighted what could be done with the military budget to meet needs domestically. Affini Evans of Life after Release, also an anti-war Army veteran, said, “America is a country where one in five children under the age of five are [food] insecure. And they’re cutting food stamps because ‘we can’t afford it’. Yet, on March 9, the Biden Administration proposed a fiscal year 2024 budget. That asked Congress to give the military-industrial complex $842 billion. They sell us a false dream that they’re protecting women in other countries, while the bodily autonomy of women in this country is being stripped from us. They say that one of the reasons why we have to beat Russia, why we have to unseat Vladimir Putin, is to protect trans and queer people in Russia. And there are over 350 bills criminalizing trans youth in this country.”

Gabriel Shipton, brother of imprisoned journalist Julian Assange, gave the protesters some words from Julian. “If war can be started by lies, then peace can be started by truth.” He told the crowd how Julian “published the truth. The truth about 15,000 undocumented civilian deaths in Iraq, a lie that was hidden from us, so we would believe the war was going better than it was. He published the truth, about two Reuters journalists who were killed by a helicopter gunship in Iraq, and then two good Samaritans who came to save them, were also gunned down. He published the truth about a cable from the State Department, that detailed the murder of an entire Iraqi family, including five children, and after they were murdered, the soldiers called in an air strike to obliterate that family from the face of the Earth to hide their crime.”

Protesters left the demonstration with a deep sense of commitment to build a new chapter in the anti-war movement. Their determination was summed up by Claudia De La Cruz of The People’s Forum, “Our fight for life, for humanity, for the safety of the planet, is the one that is on the right side of history. Which is not the side of the Democrats and it’s not the side of the Republicans. It’s not the side of the forces that want to take over not only this country, but this world … we won’t let them and we will win!”

https://www.liberationnews.org/thousand ... rationnews

***********

From Cassad's Telegram account:

Colonelcassad
Britain is going to supply tank sub-caliber armor-piercing shells with depleted uranium to Ukraine. The shells are going to be used on Challenger-2 tanks. Such shells were used by NATO during the aggression against Yugoslavia and Iraq.

From a report at a UN briefing by ACANU:

"I would like to deplore the environmental degradation resulting from the invasion and occupation of Iraq. The US and UK invading forces used various conventional and non-traditional illegal weapons such as napalm, cluster bombs, white phosphorus and ammunition made from depleted uranium (DU)
And this is not the first time an invasion force has used depleted uranium. They used it in 1991 and infected about 2,000 square kilometers of densely populated civilian areas. They caused 4 to 6 increased cases of cancer among the civilian population, as well as congenital malformations and all diseases that are associated with radioactivity and toxicity.

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

Google Translator

*******

US Biolabs in Georgia and Ukraine: Are Young Soldiers Still Being Used as White Rats?
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MARCH 21, 2023
Henry Kamens

Image

Once something is denied, and adamantly, you can suspect it is either true or something which raises too many inconvenient questions. Old news, such as US Produced Sarin Gas Used in Syria in Ukraine Lab, is now very current when we see vivid clips of Russian soldiers suffering horrific deaths from canister of poison gas dropped from drones.

The news in question dates back to 2014, when several US defence contractors apparently died in the same manner in Tbilisi Georgia, after working in the US-funded Lugar Lab. Their deaths were officially described as food poisoning, and Georgian journalists were threatened not to cover the story by Georgian intelligence.

However, several sources from the US military-intelligence journal Veterans Today, including the US Veterans Gordon Duff and Jeffrey Silverman, both frequent contributors to NEO, have gone to lengths and described how “US Contractors were involved in Syrian Chemical Attacks” blamed on the Government of Syria as part of a false flag attack in 2014.

Duff has detailed the mechanism for transferring chemical weapons by sea from Georgia to Syria. Silverman has confirmed how Duff provided him with information, based on reliable sources, and that he and a team of American veterans found that the supply of chemical weapons in Syria entered from outside, via Turkey.

In fact, Silverman was detained several years ago by Georgian Security for following a shipment from a BP warehouse in Borjomi to the Turkish border, by truck that was then intercepted by Turkish intelligence, MIT, posing as sheep herders, and moved forward for apparent end use by Syrian rebels.

It is worth nothing that Silverman had previously been stationed, whilst attending the University of Kentucky, at the Bluegrass Army Depot, Richmond Kentucky, the main Chemical Weapons Storage site in the US, and knew as an insider how such weapons are stored, transports and can be deployed — and the links between Bechtel National and claims of a network of US bio weapons labs, research facilities, public health as their purported mandate, in Georgia and the former Soviet Union.

Ukraine as well!

Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD) is committed to providing America’s Joint Warfighters with reliable, timely and cost-effective munitions and chemical defence equipment in support of full spectrum Military Operations, so it says. That most likely includes Ukraine as well, though it doesn’t say that

But BGAD is home to more than a chemical weapons stockpile. Amongst its other missions, it’s also the location of 902 earth-covered magazines, known as igloos, of which 853 are used to store a variety of conventional munitions destined for the US’s joint warfighters around the world.

Duff and Silverman have also detailed how heavy materials, which can be used to build underground bunkers and special chemical, biological or even nuclear research facilities, were imported into Georgia back in 2010.

Russian State TV, Izvestia, aired a series of investigative reports in late February on how the US military has relocated some of its bio materials (ESPs, especially dangerous agents) from Ukraine, and detailed how Nazi-style experiments with dangerous viruses are still being carried out in the Georgian capital on its population, including young military recruits.

It is claimed that mass indignation about this has already flared up in Tbilisi. More and more is being learned about the dangerous experiments still being conducted in the Lugar Center, which is controlled by the Pentagon, Georgy Dzhabishvili, the Georgian-based freelance correspondent reported.

US military projects in Georgia, Ukraine and NATO allies

Dzhabishvili recently interviewed several respondents who have been collaborating in investigating the inconvenient links between US military projects in Georgia, Ukraine and NATO allies. Following earlier investigations by Jeffrey Silverman and Gordon Duff, in tandem with Georgian investigators have also managed to obtain evidence of chemical and biological weapons for use by the Ukrainian military.

For example, there is a short clip in which two Russian soldiers on an operation go into convulsions, likely from a nerve agent capable of causing an agonising death. This can be watched in the link above, but viewer discretion is advised.

According to General Tristan Tsitelashvili, a retired Georgian General, the reaction seen could only be produced by poisoning, and is “scary to look at”. Biological and chemical weapons are forbidden to be used, and the United States, like Ukraine, has signed all the conventions and documents which ban them.

“As a military man, I can’t even imagine how you can get to the point where you decide to use such weapons. They should all be tried in the Hague Tribunal. Everyone! Both the organizers and those who use weapons of this type”, said former Georgian General Tsitelashvili.

The General is confident of his allegations, as he has received copies of secret documents tracking the route of the “test tubes”- canisters, petri dishes – hurriedly taken out of Ukraine and subsequently delivered to the Richard Lugar laboratory.

“I know for sure about at least a whole shipping container that was brought here. There could be almost anything: in Ukraine they produced, for example, special pills, after taking which soldiers will throw themselves under tanks, or asphyxiating gas, the stocks of which were already used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine”, he said.

It was such laboratories, in Ukraine and other locations, that Russian President Vladimir Putin was referring to in his State of the Federation speech two weeks ago when he stated that that their threat was one of the reasons for launching a special military operation.

The result of American biologists’ work was widely apparent in Tbilisi back in 2012, just a year after the grand opening of the laboratory and even years before. Silverman suggested the same in several TV interviews two months ago, and detailed that “when history is written, one of the main reasons for the Russian special operation in Ukraine will be that of the bio threat it presents to Russian National Security and International Public Health and Safety.”

The existence of such biological laboratories in Ukraine was officially confirmed by the United States on March 8. Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said that biological research should not fall into the hands of Russian forces, which it couldn’t do if it wasn’t there.

Bring it home

It is becoming clear that all effort is being made for this not to happen, and the US military and its civilian contractors are working together to transport the bio-laboratories from Ukraine to Georgia. Experiments with dangerous viruses are now being conducted in the Georgian capital.

It is hard to say where all this is leading, as there are many allegations of what these labs are actually involved with. Back in May, Jeffrey D. Sachs, along with Columbia University professor of Neil L. Harrison, penned an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggesting Covid-19 had originated in a laboratory.

It is hard on one’s reputation and career to question what appears to some as the obvious. However, “In June, [Sachs] went even further in his public statements at a Spanish think-tank, describing the COVID virus as probably having an American origin, and considering links with the NIH and China, via EcoHealth Alliance, there is a can of worms waiting to be opened”.

Truth will set you free

FBI director now says COVID pandemic ‘most likely’ originated from Chinese lab Department of Energy has also concluded COVID-19 pandemic likely originated from lab leak in China

They act like this is “news”—with three years of silence, and silencing everyone who suggested this. It was always obvious and why only now does the FBI and the Department of Energy finally admit what was actually known. What about all those people they silenced in recent years who were saying this all along? Will they even get an apology?

We know from US military documents that in Georgia and Ukraine, a total of 3,000 young recruits, often under duress and without proper informed consent, had their blood used as part of the Pentagon’s offensive programme covered by the flimsy veil of civilian research. It is hard to find any public mention of this study, only described as Human diseases epidemiology and EDPs surveillance in Georgia CBR/DTRA, GG-21.

Some of the studies being conducted include those into anthropoid-borne and zoonotic infections such as Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF, West Nile virus (WNV) brucellosis, tularemia, anthrax, Q fever, etc. Despite the alleged importance of these for public health, the GG-21 programme is only ever mentioned as a footnote; however, all of its insidious purpose has been cleansed from the internet.

The author has compromising documents related to this research, provided by concerned citizens working in the Lugar Lab, both US and Georgian citizens. These state its purpose as to:

(1) Determine the prevalence and serological diversity of CCHFV and Hantaviruses in patient populations using samples collected from previously funded CBEP projects, human samples (GG-21). Selected samples will be sent to the USAMRIID for virus-specific neutralization tests in BSL-3 or BSL-4 containment laboratories.

All this is purported to be part of the effort to establish strategic research collaboration between the Georgian Military Hospital and the US Army Research United (USMRU-G) to target EDPs, especially dangerous pathogens. The experimental nature of this work is confirmed by the Military’s own documents, which describe how most of the material used in the study is not licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration, and are the not very accurate ELISA, rapid tests.

The research is to determine epidemiological risk factors associated with prior exposure, and to make use of the military disease surveillance system for scientific research on especially dangerous pathogens (EDS). It is expected that the blood samples from 1,000 young military recruits, often draftees, will be used as part of a broader US military project, which also involves 2,000 so-called recruits from Ukraine. The knowledge gained will establish baseline for 14 pathogens; and, together with a survey and medical review will be used for military purposes.

To put this in simpler language – as Silverman described in a recent TV interview, “They took hundreds of soldiers, young naive people who should not be allowed to sign any contracts, gave them insurances—claimed they provided informed consent, drew blood from them, and then tested them on what they could resist and “possibly” what they could not.

“According to PISA tests results, and varies media reports, 60-70 percent of 15 year olds in Georgia in every given year are functionally literate. The PISA plus Report of 2009 showed that only 38% of students in Georgia were estimated to have a level of reading literacy at or above the baseline needed to participate effectively and productively in life.

“Naturally many of those who end up in the military are those unable to circumvent the draft by going to university or finding medical or other innovative ways, including payment, to avoid mandatory service. Naturally their literacy level is lower, and as a young solider, you are scared shitless of authority, your stronger peers in training, and do what you are told, or you may face harsh consequences, at least in their imaginations, when they get back to the barracks”.

Was this a test of bio weapons?

The anticipated duration of the Georgian study is approximately 5 years, according to confidential US military documents. It is anticipated that sooner or later, since the records will be held indefinitely by the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency, history will be written as to the true intentions of this apparently illegal research.

Investigators in the study seem to have ignored the Nuremberg Protocols and the legal grounds for the protection of human subjects in clinical research, and may face the same legal remedy. The Nuremberg Code, drafted at the end of the Doctor’s Trial in Nuremberg in 1947, has served as the basis of medical and research ethics for the past 60 years.

Close examination of it reveals that it was based on the Guidelines for Human Experimentation of 1931. Did not the Germans draw blood from children in Ukraine and parts of the former Soviet Union for their war wounded?

It is good to know that, according to the project report, “it is very unlikely that the amount of blood drawn from each volunteer during this study would lead to any symptoms of anemia.” However the report also states that “there is no direct benefit to individual volunteers for participating in this research study.”

Therefore the only purpose of this study is bio weapons-related research, which is illegal under international treaty law. All exclusion criteria will be self-reported, no verification of age will be performed and none the listed side effects considered.

Many recruits, aside from not being literate, come from minorities in Georgia. This, coupled with the fact that informed consent, as specified by US DOD regulations and public health regulations in Georgia, was never sought, brings the study close to a Joesph Mengele style war crime.

Informed consent translation

The regulations of the study state: “If the volunteer is unable to read the Informed Consent Document, it will be read aloud to them by a study team member, the volunteer will place his mark or fingerprint on the signature line, and a non-study team member witness will observe the process and provide their signature and date on the ICD”. But this document is written in the Georgian language, and not all recruits know it, as they belong to the Azeri, Armenian or other ethnic groups.

No mention is made of how to deal with those who don’t know Georgian well, only that all translations will be performed by a trained translator who will translate the English version into the Georgian language. I wonder if this was the case in Nazi death camps.

Naturally the deaths associated with this study have been attributed to COVID. The last section of the report, 9:0 Reporting of Unanticipated Problems and Deaths, sets very restrictive criteria for the definition of these, which are:

Unexpected (in terms of nature, severity, or frequency) given the approved research procedures and the subject population studies;
Related to possibly related to a subject’s participation in research; and
Suggest that the research places subject or others at greater risk of harm (physical, psychological, economic, or social hard) than was previously known or recognized.
These documents have been shared by those working in the military and the Lugar Lab with investigative journalists. Some fact checking sites want to dismiss them as fake news, Russian disinformation, and attack the journalists involved.

There have even been threats and physical attacks against the main investigative journalist who exposed the bio weapons program in Georgia. So this is about public health?

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/03/ ... hite-rats/
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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

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

Post by blindpig » Wed Mar 22, 2023 1:52 pm

Vladyslav Dutchak and the Western Left
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 03/22/2023

Image

One of the striking aspects of the war between Ukraine and Russia is the determined commitment of practically all the political forces of the Western left, particularly the European one, to support the Ukrainian side. In practical terms, this position extends even to the majority of the communist groups, despite the fact that some of them have opted for silence or for the neutralist refuge in joint criticism of the imperialism of the Russian Federation and NATO.

In political-ideological terms, this position has crystallized in the effective silencing of the affiliation of groups such as the Azov movement with the most dangerous far-right forces in Europe, and even in the effective whitewashing of the group's real political positions. In parallel, the left in Europe has accentuated the denunciation of the alleged ties of the Russian regime with forces of the anti-European right in the European Union.

These tendencies coincide in time with an effective lack of presence in the media of the main ideological referents of the Azov movement. To the practical distance from day-to-day Ukrainian politics by the historic leader, Andriy Biletsky, is added the death in March 2022 of Mykola Kravchenko, ideological head of the National Corpus, as well as the media self-exile of Olena Semenyaka, the Azov's main international reference. The very need for ideological dissimulation, especially in relation to the most radical manifestations of the Ukrainian ultra-right, in need of Western support, accentuates this dynamic.

In this context, the ideological dimension in the discourse of Azov and the National Corpus has been somewhat blurred and has focused above all on strengthening the internal cohesion of the Azov Regiment through the promotion of the unitarian conception of "natsiocracy" ( Націократія ). Under the natsiocratic paradigm, the aim of political and military action is the consolidation of a political, social and economic structure in Ukraine based on the principles of national solidarity, authoritarianism in leadership, quality of social hierarchy, discipline, social control, self-defense and self-government. This ideology is usually presented, in its public form, in terms of the development of the "national idea", an idea that today constitutes the true link between the Regiment and the Azov movement, as well as, more generally, between this movement and the Ukrainian society and state.

One of the main ideological referents in the dissemination of this Enlightenment vision of Azov/National Corpus thought is Vladyslav Dutchak. According to Dutchak's own account , originally linked to the ideological world of the Ukrainian social conservative right, he came to cooperate occasionally in training actions of the National Corpus, a step that led him to be invited in 2017 to give talks and conferences. to the Azov staff about the military history of Ukraine and the world. In reality, it was about the incorporation into the personnel structure of the Azov Yevhen Konovalets School, a step prior to full integration into the Azov military structure in 2021.

Dutchak's importance in the dimension of “adjunct professor” for the formation of the national spirit in Azov explains the nickname by which he is currently known, Dozent (доцент).

Dutchak appears externally as a teacher with a vocation to encourage critical thinking in his students. However, his writings reflect a quite different position, much closer to the most radically anti-communist and, in general, anti-leftist thinking that can be observed in Europe today. One example is the two-part series on the Western Left, Ideological Ancestors, Modern Leftists , in which he links Bolshevik thought with modern cultural Marxism . (You can read both parts of the analysis on Dutchak's Facebook, 1 and 2 , or if you prefer a more graphic version, with a more precise illustration of the author's main cultural demons, on the webvartalife.com.ua , 1 and 2 ).

According to Vladyslav Dutchak, modern Western leftists “ no longer promise to establish a “dictatorship of the proletariat” in their rhetoric ” because “ they have taken into account the experience of the Soviet Union ”. At first glance, these leftists are against any dictatorship and in favor of freedom. However, everything seems to turn out to be a ruse, so " it is important to understand that this" civilized Marxism", this "socialism with a human face" is essentially the other face of criminal and totalitarian Bolshevism-communism and that the roots of these phenomena are common ”.

According to Dutchak, there are a number of traits that unite " modern Western leftists (from fringes, such as antifa anarchists, to respectable representatives of parliamentary socialist parties) with their colleagues from the former USSR ." It is about the attack on such universal values ​​as private property, family, homeland or nation and religion or tradition.

When it comes to private property, Dozent argues that the catchphrase “ Take it all and divide it” is “just as relevant to the degenerate Sharikov [of Mikhail Bulgakov's novels] as it is to the modern Black Lives Matter activist . The members of the Soviet Komsomol, who enthusiastically "uprooted the hostile element to the class" and their modern followers, the American "Luthers" [ referring to the followers of Martin Luther King] or the neo-Soviet primates of the "LDNR" [the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics] , are the links of the same ideological chain ”.

His analysis of the Marxist position on the family shows identification with clearly conservative theses regarding freedom and sexual education, the right to abortion or homosexuality. “ Homosocialists” hotheads from Petrograd organized noisy parties and even disguised “weddings”. In 1918, in Petrograd, among naked protesters with banners "Down with shame!" lesbians walked freely , ”he points out to us. Despite the redefinition of family policy in the Stalinist period, “ latent relapses of early Soviet “homosocialism” could be observed throughout the history of the USSR, in the work of Soviet artists, sculptors and poets, as well as as in the behavior of the general secretaries of the Communist Party”. With their slogans and slogans, “ modern homosocialists ”, according to Dutchak, “ acknowledge their connection to the former Soviet Union, not to Ukraine ”.

Regarding the fatherland and the nation, the Azov propagandist maintains that during the entire existence of the “ evil communist empire ”, the USSR aimed at destroying the national identity of the enslaved peoples and converting “ all citizens of the USSR in a uniform mass, the so-called «Soviet man». An accusation that he updates, in relation to the modern left, in the following way: " We observe something similar even now, when under pressure from leftists, "scientists" are forced to accept the fact that races or genders they don't exist, and all this is just a "social construction" . While not accusing them of using the same kind of inhumane measures, the ultimate goal of " modern colleagues"” of the Soviet supporters of Marx “ remains the same: destroy the nations ”.

Dutchak's view of left-wing politics regarding religion and tradition focuses on perceived attempts to delineate alternative religions, with their dogmas, icons, and sacred writings. This is how he currently detects traits similar to the form of the new cult that was observed in the Soviet era: “ Leftists zealously draw “icons” of modern, criminal “holy martyrs” – “Floyds” [referring to George Floyd, murdered in the United States by a white policeman] . All the “righteous”, in the distant future, await Paradise-Valhalla-Jannat-Sukhavati together: communism ”.

Referring to the “ Marxist terror ” against religion, he expressly mentions Spain's experience during the civil war and criticizes the current position of the Spanish left: “ the representatives of the ruling (since 2004) Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) they prefer not to mention this, focusing exclusively on the terror of the right-wing Franco regime .

In the conclusion of his analysis, Dutchak notes that it seemed that the virus of Bolshevism , or Marxism, " that was destroying societies and nations, was over forever ." But it has returned in a modified form: “ This virus has mutated. The ideology of cultural Marxism reached the countries of Eastern Europe, this time not from the totalitarian East but from the liberal-democratic West. If this inhumane ideology is not confronted, very soon the leftists will rebuild the society they sought in the USSR and Cambodia ”.

Much of Dutchak's discourse, based on the use of manipulated quotes, anti-democratic arguments, ignorance and data that only shows part of the reality, could be refuted. The reasons for the inconsistent engagement of the Western left with military formations involved in Ukraine could also be analyzed from Dozent 's ideological conception .

However, however relevant they may be, what is really important is not in either of the two aspects indicated. The essential question is to analyze how it has been possible for democratic societies, movements and parties to have turned characters like Dutchak into the main protagonists of a war that will determine the course of events in our world.

https://slavyangrad.es/2023/03/22/vlady ... more-26899

Google Translator

AS we said long ago, scratch a liberal, put them in fear of losing their class privilege, and find a fascist.

As for the errant communist parties like the Greeks and Mexicans, they err but will come around. The rest, so-called socialist and progressives are naught but social democrats and the historical record speaks clearly.

*********

Connection of generations
March 22, 12:13 p.m

Image

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8241641.html

Naval drone attack on Sevastopol
March 22, 10:32

In Sevastopol, an attack by surface drones was repelled at night.
Destroyed 3 targets hit by small arms. The ships were not damaged.
As a result of one of the explosions in the house of Moscow (on Nakhimov Square), glass was broken in several windows.
Along the way, several radio stations were hacked, through which they tried to spread Ukrainian propaganda and disperse panic.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8240953.html

Google Translator

********

War Observations: Ukraine is Winning?
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MARCH 21, 2023
Gordon Hahn

Image

Westerners like Joe Biden and Michael McFaul continue to assert that Ukraine is winning the NATO-Russia Ukrainian War. The reality is far different. The war could end this year with a complete collapse of the Ukrainian army and Maidan regime. This is not a certain outcome as yet but is possible if not this year then certainly in 2024 — in lieu of some negotiated end to war or at least the fighting — when Russian, Ukrainian and American presidential elections are scheduled. The election offing raises the stakes of the Ukrainian outcome, which is bleak for Kiev and Washington. Ukraine is running out of artillery shells and firing systems are suffering high attrition. The US has announced plans to produce 50,000 shells next year for Ukraine, but Ukraine is using 90,000 per month, ten times less than Russian and allied forces are using. Moscow has still to commit its newly mobilized troops in an all-out counteroffensive, but nevertheless Russian, Donbass, and Wagner forces are making major headway in three key areas, while Ukraine still is proving incapable of pushing back Russian forces, outside of the strategic retreats undertaken by Moscow in Kharkov and Kherson last year, with minimal casualties, even fighting.

On the ground, Ukrainian forces risk a full collapse east of the Dnepr. On the Kupyansk front in the northeast, Russia is winning the northern tactical battle, while a draw holds in the Novosyolovka operational battle in the center, but with Russia inflicting high casualties by artillery. The same picture prevails in the Stilmakhovo operational sector, with significantly less fighting. Some believe that Russia’s goal here is to take Kupyanks withut destroying it in order to use it going forward as a base for further operations against Kharkov, and therefore the going is slow. On the Liman strategic front, there are four ongoing battles, involving the most critical one which Russian forces are winning and three in which there maintains a draw. The later includes the Stilmakhovo low level tactical battle, and the more substantial Chernopopovka and Yampolovka tactical battles, the last being one that Russian forces have devoted considerable resources but with few gains to show. Finally, there is the Serebryanko Forest tactical battle, which is 2-3 times more active than any of above. It is a decisive battle for the entire Liman Front that Russian forces will seek to use as a jumping off point for an encirclement of Seversk, a key Ukrainan stronghold. The battle of the Serebryanko Forest is a third to a half of the level of action and importance as Bakhmut. The level of daily losses often near those in and around Bahmut. Here as in Bakhmut, the Russians are winning.

On the Donetsk strategic front, the center of gravity remains Bakhmut, but a little noticed tactical battle around Avdeevka is of nearly equal importance. On this front, moving form north to south, there is a small still undecided small operational battle at Belogorovka. Bakhmut is being taken by Russian forces, where perhaos as many as 12,000 forces are now encircled by Russain ‘Wagner’ forces and have little hope of being extracted. They will likely surrender or die. In and around Gorlovka, which is under DNR control, there is persistent Ukrainian shelling with hopes Kiev’s forces can some day drive to Debaltsevo, where they were defeated in a crucial battle in 2015 in the ‘anti-terrorist operation’ declared against Donbass in April 2014. At Novobakhmutovka there is a very important tactical battle that Russian is winning and will help to decide the fate of Avdeevka, a stronghold of Russian ultranationalists and neofascist such as Right Sector, the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps, and Azov. There the quasi-strategic battle involves heavy Russian artillery fighting, including the use of new Russian thermobaric air bombs, along a broad front line of Russian attack. Ukrainian forces of an unknown number are in tactical if not operational encircelment. In Mariinka, Ukrainian forces have become more active than Russian forces, reversing the pattern of late last year, and Russian advance through the town has stopped. In Ugledar’s strategic battle, Ukrainian forces are holding after having pushed Russian forces out from the city’s outskirts earlier this year. Thus, on the eastern front (Kupyansk, Liman, and Donetsk) Russia is winning three of the four ongoing strategic battles: Serbryanka Forest, Bakhmut, and Avdiivka. Russia has lsot for now in Ugledar.

In the south, on the Zaporozhe Front, there is little activity, infantry or artillery. Ukraine appears to have removed forces from there in preparation for a counteroffensive on Crimea through Kherson and in order to hold Ugledar, Avdeevka, and possibly Bakhmut. Russian forces appear to have deployed similarly in order to defend Crimea, attack Ukrainian forces in Kherson with artillery and reinforce troops near Ugledar. Kherson will likely become a focus again later this year. At present, Russian artillery is inflicting heavy casualties on the Ukrainian forces that moved in after the Russians withdrew last year. Some analysts believe that Ukrainian forces will be forced to abandon Kherson and that it will become a no man’s land of occasional commando battles before any prospective Ukrainian counteroffensive against Crimea, if one actually can materialize.

China Makes Its Move

The NATO-Russia Ukrainian War and ‘new cold war’ has forced China to make its move for world leadership earlier than it might have preferred. Indeed, Beijing probably counted on a long march through which it would become stealthily, almost unnoticed a, if not the lone global superpower. The first move was China’s diplomatic success in mediating the Iranian-Saudi rapprochement. This is one more sign that Beijing, capitalizing on numerous American miscues – beginning with Iraq continuing through Libya and Syria and finishing with the Obama administration’s official position of ‘leading from behind’ while acting in the standard neocon fashion in this region as in Russia’s neighborhood in Georgia, Ukraine, and elsewhere – is establishing itself as the leading power in this region, one far beyond its traditional sphere of influence and national interests. This will likely spur both Riyadh’s and Teheran’s further integration into the Sino-Russian-led institutional infrastructure of the ‘Rest’ – One Belt One Road, BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Eurasian Economic Union – to counter the West as an alternative civilizational model anchored in Eurasia writ large, and more specifically in Beijing. In this, China will compose the music and Russia will help to conduct the orchestra. If one doubts this, another sign of this tectonic shift came but a week after the noted diplomatic success, when China’s Exim Bank, announced that it had concluded the first loan cooperation with Saudi Arabia’s largest bank, National Bank, to be conducted in RMB Yuan.

Now comes President Xi Jinping’s ‘journey of friendship’ to Putin in Moscow. This Sino-Russian summit may go down in history as the day the American century of hegemony ended and a multipolarity or bipolarity was established in the international system officially or at least symbolically. The visit comes at a pivotal moment in the Ukrainian conflict, as noted above, Russian-Western relations, and Chinese political life. Xi is kicking off his third term as Chinese leader with a strong symbolic gesture of support for Putin, whom has just been indicted for war crimes by Europe’s International Criminal Court (neither the US, Russia, or China recognizes the court’s authority). This is a Chinese slap in the face to European international human rights sensibilities. Xi and Putin are unlikely to announce any Chinese military role or assistance to Russian forces in the Ukrainian war for the time being, but if necessary, I repeat, China will not hesitate to keep Moscow’s ‘chestnuts out of the fire.’ At present, preparations for such military cooperation in Ukraine will begin behind the scenes. The visit itself and rhetoric emerging from it will issue a vailed threat of such assistance. This stick will be used to support the carrot of the Chinese initiative to sponsor or mediate Ukraine ceasefire negotiations. This raises the question of possible US reaction.

Biden’s world

President Biden finds himself in a world of hurt, whether he notices it or not. If he is not in charge, then his Obama-era and globalist curators may notice a confluence of inconvenient events: (1) the Xi-Putin friendship summit; (2) Xi’s plans to end the Ukraine war that Biden apparently prefers would continue; (3) the Republican-led US House committee uncovering foreign bank accounts through which money was illegally funneled to his son Hunter and through him to then Vice President Biden (two days before news emerged that Biden plans to arrest former President Trump on March 22; (4) the collapse of two major American banks and the risk of a major financial crash on the order of 2008; and (5) the accelerating of de-dollarization among the Rest at the urging of China and Russia; and (6) the encirclements of thousands of Russian troops both in Bakhmut (Artyomevsk) and Avdeevka (Avdiivka). All this begins just as American presidential election campaigning is getting underway and risks an internal Democrat challenge to his presidency and/or a Republican ful sweep (White House, Senate, and House) in 2024 followed by criminal investigations of the Bidens, Obamas, and Clintons.

The smell of civil war is in the air in the US. On this background, can Biden afford a diplomatic defeat to his declared Sino-Russian ‘axis of evil’? Can he countenance a military defeat of Ukraine, staying his hand in the face of such and not sending in NATO? Can he continue to provide massive economic and military assistance should the US economy undergo a major crisis? These are challenging and pivotal decisions, and the Biden administration’s emotional immaturity, radical ideologization, paucity of intellect and imagination being saddled by ideology, and lack of strategic vision suggests nothing good will come from the Western side in response to the watershed Xi-Putin Moscow summit. A clue to how the Biden administration is likely to respond may be gleaned from the administration’s approach. Russiagate, the January 6th false flag operation, fake-based impeachment processes, and now the reported impending arrest of former president Trump – a measure unprecedented in the annals of American history and as law-based as the trumped up Russiagate and January 6th impeachment charges – is clearly an attempt to provoke radicals into actions that might be manipulated and used as a pretext to justify a crackdown on the Republican opposition. The radicals may be, as they certainly were on 6 January 2021, to be infiltrated and driven by FBI and other government agence provocateur. A similar but foreign rather domestic model for action is the Biden administration’s attack on the Russian-European pipeline designed to drive another wedge between Russia and Europe, making the latter more pliable on issues such as Ukraine, relations with China, and other questions. Neither of these models suggests a less than aggressive US response to the deepening Sino-Russian alliance, which may soon be formalized, and its symbol—the present Xi-Putin Moscow summit.

Muddying Nord Stream’s Gassy Baltic Waters

CIA leak to the New York Times claiming that a ‘pro-Ukrainian group’ blew up the Russian-European Nord Stream gas pipeline was a classic ‘muddy the waters’ op, which all intel services deploy to cover their tracks. Each intelligence service accuses the others of doing this; they all do it. The main tipoff that the article was a total fake is its elaborate emphasis on the non-participation of Zelenskiy or any official actors from Ukraine. In this way, the West could deflect suspicion to Ukraine without risking public support for the war. In addition, the logistics of the plot outlined in the article are fantastical: getting the quantity of explosives to or in Germany or Poland; getting the heavy mass of the explosives necessary for such a blast to the attack site on a small sailboat; the sailboat’s reaching the site without detection by NATO survellance; and much else.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/03/ ... s-winning/

Not bad, other than the 'analysis' of US politics, which is simplistic and ignores the dynamics of the duopoly.

Ukraine: Putin Lauds Chinese Peace Roadmap
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MARCH 21, 2023

Image

It can be implemented only when West and Kiev are “ready” for it, Russian president said after talks with his Chinese counterpart



Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in the Kremlin for official talks on Tuesday. Speaking after the meeting alongside Xi, the president lauded the 12-point peace roadmap for Ukraine recently floated by Beijing.

“We believe that many of the provisions of the peace plan put forward by China are consonant with the Russian stance and can be taken as a foundation for a peaceful settlement when they are ready for it in the West and in Kiev. However, so far we have not observed such readiness on their part,” Putin stated.

The Chinese president said Beijing continues to strictly adhere to the UN principles over the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, maintaining a balanced position. Xi also reiterated his call on all parties to exercise restraint and for a return to negotiations to seek a diplomatic solution to hostilities.

“We’re always for peace and dialogue, and we firmly stand on the right side of history,” Xi added.

The two leaders met behind closed doors first, with a number of top officials, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev and Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, taking part in the negotiations on the Russian side. The meeting was followed by another round of talks with expanded delegations, involving more government ministers and the heads of Russian state corporations.

The two leaders welcomed the developing ties between the two nations, with the Russian president stating they have already reached their “highest-ever level.”

“I look forward to maintaining close contacts with President Vladimir Putin in various forms to contribute to dynamic and long-term development of Chinese-Russian ties,” Xi stated.

The negotiations come as a part of the Chinese leader’s three-day visit to Russia, which began on Monday. Earlier in the day, he held bilateral talks with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. During that meeting, Xi revealed he had invited Putin to visit later this year. The Chinese president also invited Mishustin to visit China.

During the talks, Russia and China inked 14 documents, including two joint statements by the presidents, according to the Kremlin website. These include a protocol on strengthening cooperation in fundamental scientific research, a program on cooperating in nuclear reactor construction, an agreement on cooperation in the production of joint TV programs, as well as multiple memorandums of understanding in various fields.

On Monday, Xi and Putin held almost five hours of informal talks behind closed doors. President Xi’s visit is his first to Russia since the outbreak of the Moscow-Kiev conflict, and also his first foreign trip since securing an unprecedented third term as China’s head of state.

The two nations have reiterated their commitment to build a multipolar world and reinforce their relations, described as a “strategic partnership.” According to Xi, building closer ties with Russia is “a strategic choice China has made on the basis of its own fundamental interests and the prevailing trends of the world.”

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/03/ ... e-roadmap/

Why Xi Jinping’s Visit to Russia Matters
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MARCH 21, 2023
Wang Wen

Image

The key to resolving the Ukrainian crisis is not in the hands of China, but in the hands of the US and the West. China is not the cause of the Ukraine crisis, nor is it a party to the crisis. It is Western countries that are deeply involved in the crisis. However, China has not stood idly by; it has actively promoted peace talks with a responsible attitude, writes Valdai Club expert Wang Wen.

Some Western media regard Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia as China “choosing sides” in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and favouring Russia. This is yet another typical misread; several Western outlets have also opined that China is responsible for the continuation of the crisis.

China not only has a good relationship with Russia, China and Ukraine are also strategic partners, and the two nations have had long-term friendly exchanges. During the conflict, China has maintained communication with Ukraine. The leaders of the countries have exchanged letters, and their foreign ministers have met in person and have talked on the phone many times.

China-Ukraine relations are completely different from the so-called “equivalent” exchange in which the US provides money and guns, while Ukrainians sacrifice their lives, but actually “lose together.”

As global powers, the relationship between China and Russia is even more special. Many Chinese sympathize with Russia and fully understand Russia’s security demands. What Russia wants is for NATO to stop expanding eastward; not to station troops in Ukraine, or to deploy missiles. Russia wants a safer adjacent border environment. Only the United States and NATO can provide answers to these questions.

From this perspective, the key to resolving the Ukrainian crisis is not in the hands of China, but in the hands of the US and the West. China is not the cause of the Ukraine crisis, nor is it a party to the crisis. It is Western countries that are deeply involved in the crisis. However, China has not stood idly by. It has actively promoted peace talks with a responsible attitude.

Xi’s visit to Russia will be to promote peace, not to arm any party or encourage either party to fight the other.

China has never sold arms to any warring party or conflict area, and has not done so during the Ukraine crisis. The United States is the largest supplier of weapons on the Ukrainian battlefield. It has been delivering lethal weapons and constantly elevating tensions.

Even if rumours prove true that China will call for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine (on the heels of China’s brokering an agreement on the resumption of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran), the White House’s response is likely to be that a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine is unacceptable.

It has become clear which party intends to prolong the war and which wishes to promote peace.

Some Western media hope that China will play a constructive role, and what could be more constructive than promoting peace?

Realistically speaking, the top priority at the moment is not to resolve controversial issues such as “invasion” and “war crimes,” but to establish a ceasefire, stop the war, and rebuild the Ukrainian homeland. It is imperative to end the slaughter of soldiers on both sides and start the resettlement of millions of refugees who have been made homeless.

Some Western politicians object to China’s high-level visit to Russia, mainly because they don’t want to see China-Russian relations strengthen, especially in the context of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Such thinking is unrealistic.

China-Russian relations have nothing to do with the Ukraine crisis. Whether there is a crisis in Ukraine or not, the leaders of China and Russia will maintain normal exchanges and mutual visits. Over the past 10 years, Xi has visited Russia eight times and met with President Vladimir Putin 40 times.

Friendly cooperation between China and Russia has a solid political, economic and cultural foundation. Consolidating and deepening the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era is in the fundamental interests of the two countries’ peoples. It is conducive to world peace and stability, and is a positive global asset. Many Western leaders have visited Russia during the Ukrainian crisis. It is unreasonable to think that Xi’s visit to Russia is about “choosing sides.”

China pursues an independent foreign policy, focused on peace. Xi’s visit to Russia is a normal exchange between two sovereign countries and will not be affected by the complicated international situation. The development of China-Russian relations is honest and upright; Western politicians need to look beyond their ideology before they criticize.

Some voices in the United States believe that China and Russia are getting closer, which underscores the failure of the United States’ anti-China strategy. The US strategic community should reflect on why China-US relations have been on a yoyo string over the last decade. The 1980s were a kind of honeymoon: China and the US then cooperated in counter-terrorism in the 2000s, and China helped the US buy US debt during the international financial crisis in 2008. The two countries were described as “stakeholders” in the 2010s, but now Sino-US relations are so bad there’s even talk of potential and unthinkable armed conflict.

Here’s what the United States has done to contain China over the years: wage trade and technology wars against China, as well as constantly agitate China’s interests in Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The US sale of advanced weapons to China’s Taiwan region has undermined China’s sovereignty and unity, as well as the possibility for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Against this background, the United States wants China to cooperate in dealing with the Ukraine crisis, which has spurred a joke on the internet that mocks the United States’ China policy: “Please help me contain Russia so that I can better contain you in the future.”

China is a major economy that has never waged or participated in any war in the past 40 years. No major Western country cares for or cherishes peace like China.

Regarding the Ukrainian crisis, observers who follow China’s diplomacy know that China has recently put forward the “Concept Paper on Global Security Initiatives” and “China’s Position on the Political Solution to the Ukrainian Crisis.” From concept to practice, it reflects a consistent position of promoting peace through peace talks.

China’s foreign policy reflects the aspirations of a vast number of developing countries and peace-loving people throughout the world. It has been positively evaluated by countries and organizations including Russia and Ukraine. It is the most practical and effective peace plan, at present.

China has proven that it has always stood on the side of peace. It is the only country among the major powers that has systematically proposed a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis. If the US and the West hope to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, they should trust China’s experience, and support China’s proposals. Only in this way will fewer innocent people die on the Ukrainian battlefield.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/03/ ... a-matters/

********

FIASCO AND MONEY IN THE ICC ARREST WARRANT AGAINST PUTIN
Mar 21, 2023 , 2:38 p.m.

Image
Karim Ahmad Khan, ICC prosecutor, orchestrates the entire accusation framework against President Vladimir Putin (Photo: CNN)

Last Friday, March 17, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants against the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and the Presidential Commissioner for the Rights of the Child in Russia, Maria Lvova-Belova, for the alleged illegal evacuation of children. to Russian territory.

When delving into the facts, it becomes clear that the ICC's decision is purely political and seeks, as on other occasions, to swell the file that has been forged to demonize the Russian state and its leaders. It also tries to project the image that the radius of action and mobilization of the Kremlin is getting smaller.

DETAILS TO CONSIDER
When the sentence was issued, the detail that was most replicated in the press devoted to the imperial agenda was the list of the more than 120 countries where President Putin could be arrested. To summarize, the Russian president, in theory, could not enter any of the countries of the European Union, South America, as well as Mexico and Canada. He, too, cannot enter Australia and New Zealand, as well as several African countries.

Those who rub their hands waiting for Putin to be arrested and tried failed to take into account that the ICC, based in The Hague (Netherlands), is an independent judicial entity that does not belong, as many believe, to the United Nations.

Furthermore, Moscow is not a party to the Rome Statute of the ICC and therefore has no obligation under it. Curiously, the United States, perhaps the most ardent critic of the ICC, is not part of that body either. It must also be considered that many other member countries of the UN Security Council do not recognize the jurisdiction of the "court".

Detention is impossible in Russia and hopes are pinned that Putin will one day visit one of these territories. As expected, the EU sided with the ICC's decision. However, Hungary has blocked the joint declaration of the European states on the issuance of an arrest warrant against the Russian president; It is beginning to be seen that there is no unified criterion in this regard.

WHAT HAPPENED?
The facts alone dismantle the deception that the ICC tries to promote among international public opinion. Below is a summary of what happened to the children who were supposedly taken from the areas where the conflict was taking place.

Most of the evacuated children arrived in the Russian Federation with their families, accompanied by their parents, guardians and curators. They were housed in temporary shelters, they found shelter in the home of relatives or, if possible, in rental housing.

Among the evacuees were also students from national boarding schools for orphans and children deprived of parental care—some 2,000 people in all—whose legal representatives were the directors or staff of those institutions.
As regards evacuated children living in national boarding schools for orphans and children deprived of parental care, and in accordance with the principle of the best interests of the child, the President of the Russian Federation issued instructions for the immediate removal of the legal obstacles to placing such children in the care of a family, preferably under the guardianship or early conservatorship of Russian citizens.
To date, 380 children – 288 and 92 from Donetsk and Lugansk, respectively – have been placed in the custody of Russian citizens.
According to information from the Interdepartmental Coordination Center for Humanitarian Response of the Russian Federation, as of February 27, 2023, 4,568,032 people have been evacuated from dangerous regions of Ukraine and new regions, including 689,842 children. , to Russia.
Basically, the ICC is trying the Russian state and president for saving the Russian-speaking child population that has been under bombardment by Ukraine and its allies for more than eight years. It should be noted that, beyond the territorial claim, it is a population that has been considered an enemy of kyiv.
The double standards of "the court" are exposed when they do not even come close to pointing out the children who have died under Ukrainian bombing. Much less spoke out about the discovery of hundreds of medical records with data on "healthy" children's organs at an International Committee of the Red Cross base in Mariupol, a potential hidden market during the war.

THE SMELL OF MONEY
Everything seems to indicate that, in part, it is a matter of money. After the court's decision, its attorney general, Karim Khan, will ask for extra money "to prosecute Russian war crimes in Ukraine."

It is worth noting that the launch was made during a conference in London co-sponsored by the United Kingdom and the Dutch government with the aim of raising resources to finance the ICC's war crimes investigation work inside Ukraine. The budget of "the court" has not been increased despite the fact that it has 40 investigators working inside Ukraine.

The fact that the United Kingdom will provide an additional 395,000 pounds to finance the work of the ICC remains as a color fact.

THE RUSSIAN ANSWER
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called the arrest warrant issued against President Putin a sign of the "final collapse" of the international law system.

"After all, it is about the collapse of the foundations, of the principles of law. Including the postulates about the inevitability of responsibility. Now nobody will go to any international organization, all [countries] will agree with each other" said Medvedev . _

In response to the ICC's intentionally illegal decision, the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal file on Karim Ahmad Khan and judges Tomoko Akane, Rosario Salvatore Aitala and Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godínez.

Pursuant to the 1973 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, heads of state enjoy absolute immunity from foreign jurisdiction.

For its part, the Russian justice system argues that the complaint against the head of state contains signs of the crimes defined in part 2 of article 299, in part 1 of article 30 and in part 2 of article 360 ​​of the Russian Criminal Code . .

The Russian Commissioner for the Rights of the Child, Lvova-Belova, advises that 380 orphaned children from the four new regions (Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Zaporozhye) be adopted by Russian families. For the well-being of the children, the official emphasizes that a process will be enabled if the distant relatives appear anywhere in Ukraine and show their willingness and ability to raise the child.

https://misionverdad.com/globalistan/fi ... ntra-putin

Google Translator

*********

EU promises to send Ukraine 1 million more artillery shells
By JONATHAN POWELL in London | China Daily Global | Updated: 2023-03-22 09:13


Bloc says armaments worth more than $2 billion will replace spent munitions

Image
Flags of Ukraine fly in front of the EU Parliament building in Brussels, Belgium, February 24, 2023. [Photo/Agencies]

European Union member states have joined together to supply Ukraine with 1 million artillery shells in an initiative worth 2 billion euros ($2.14 billion).

The collective procurement plan, which begins immediately via the European Defense Agency, or EDA, will be used to replenish Kyiv with armaments depleted by the Russia-Ukraine conflict that broke out in February last year.

The deal, based on a proposal from EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to spend 1 billion euros on shells from stockpiles to get more supplies to Kyiv as soon as possible, plus 1 billion more on joint procurement, was agreed at a meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers in Brussels on Monday.

The EU hopes the joint order will motivate European armaments manufacturers to increase their output, as current production in Europe is said to be short of levels Ukraine insists it needs, reported the Reuters news agency.

So far, 17 EU countries plus Norway have signed the ammunition agreement, with more expected to join later, said a statement from the EDA. The joint procurement will be limited to armaments companies from the EU and Norway, it added.

The project "answers the call" to procure ammunition collectively and more quickly by "aggregating, coordinating, and agreeing contracts with the European defense industry", the statement said.

The EDA said the common approach was "the best option to achieve cost reduction from economies of scale".

The EDA noted that the deal means each country will have to share details of their ammunition stockpiles, which is something normally kept a secret. Defense procurement in the EU has largely been under the jurisdiction of individual member governments until now.

Borrell said the agreement breaks new ground, describing it on Twitter as "a historic decision "for the 27-nation bloc.

"Today, we take a step forward," he said. "We are again breaking a taboo and unlocking the potential of EU cooperation in joint procurement."

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the EU move was a "game-changing decision".

"Exactly what is needed. Urgent delivery and sustainable joint procurement," Kuleba said in a social media post.

The Times reported that the agreement leads the way for more EU arms purchase policies and raises questions on whether to use funding from the bloc's lending facility, the European Investment Bank, which could be seen as contravening EU treaties.

Separately, the United States announced on Monday it will send another $350 million worth of weapons and equipment to Ukraine.

http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/20230 ... b5d07.html

If the US can only produce less than 100,000 155mm artillery shells a year then I cannot see how Europe can get near this goal. A lot of hot air...

*********

Putin: Russia To Respond to Weapons With Nuclear Components


Image
President Vladimir Putin attends an expanded meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry Board in Moscow on Dec. 21, 2022. | Photo: Kremlin press release

Published 21 March 2023 (17 hours 36 minutes ago)

British Defense Minister Annabel Goldie said Tuesday that London would provide Ukraine with armor-piercing shells, including depleted uranium ammunition, for the Challenger 2 main battle tanks it has decided to transfer to Kiev.

"Today it became known that the United Kingdom, through its deputy head of the Ministry of Defense, announced the delivery not only of tanks to Ukraine, but also of shells with depleted uranium," Russian President Vladimir Putin said, adding that "it seems that the West has really decided to fight Russia to the last Ukrainian, not in words, but in deeds."

"I would like to note in this regard that if all this happens, then Russia will be forced to react accordingly - I mean that the Collective West is already starting to use weapons with a nuclear component," Putin continued.

He made the comments after talks with a delegation of senior Chinese officials, including Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Later in the day, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu warned the UK that if it goes ahead with its pledge to supply depleted uranium weapons to Ukraine, there will not be many red lines left uncrossed.

Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the uranium refining process, made from the highly dense uranium-238, which is used to make armor-piercing bullets but is useless in causing nuclear chain reactions. However, it remains a deadly weapon long after the conflict in which it was fired, due to its highly toxic nature and radioactive properties, which can be extremely harmful to humans.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Put ... -0013.html

"...to the last Ukrainian." And just to make sure contaminating the land so Ukrainians who survive Zelensky are poisoned.

*******

Russian fleet repels Ukrainian drone attack in Sevastopol

Image
Razvozhayev added that as a result of the explosions from the destruction of the drones, the glass was broken in the windows of some nearby houses, but no one was injured. | Photo: Sputnik
Published 22 March 2023

he Russian headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in the city, energy facilities and military airfields have been attacked.

The Russian Black Sea Fleet and anti-aircraft defense systems shot down three maritime drones of the Ukrainian armed forces on Wednesday when they tried to enter Sevastopol Bay, on the Crimean peninsula, the city's governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev, reported.

Razvozhayev said: "Our military firmly and calmly repelled the attack of enemy drones on Sevastopol."

Ukrainian drones have been trying to attack the main base of the Black Sea Fleet and other facilities on the peninsula since last July. Most of the drones were shot down by the air defense systems.


The Russian headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in the city, energy facilities and military airfields have been attacked. The governor specified that no ship was damaged as a result of the incident.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, in October, there was an attempted attack with aerial and naval drones where four marine drones were destroyed in the outer roadstead and three in the interior.

On January 16, 2023, a massive drone attack took place against Sevastopol, where the anti-aircraft defense forces shot down 10 units. In February, air defense forces shot down two drones near the Balaklava thermal power plant.

maritime drone
The maritime drone is an unmanned surface vessel (USV), a type of weapon that has been used by Ukraine to attack the Russian fleet in the Black Sea.
Razvozhayev added that as a result of the explosions from the destruction of the drones, the glass was broken in the windows of some nearby houses, but no one was injured.

Image
Maritime or naval drones are unmanned surface vessels (USVs), a type of weapon that Russia says has been used by Ukraine to attack its fleet in the Black Sea.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/rusia-re ... -0006.html

Google Translator

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

From Cassad's Telegram account:

forwarded from
Vladimir Rogov
0:11
💥🔥The video shows the moment an air defense missile of the Armed Forces of Ukraine hit a residential high-rise building in Zaporozhye. The flight path of the S-300 missile is clearly visible - from the south-west direction. The first map shows the approximate trajectory where the rocket came from. Anyone can check it out for themselves. On the second map - the trajectory of arrival with reference to the line of contact on the Zaporozhye Front as of today. Let me remind you that on the island of Khortytsya there is a part of the air defense group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine , guarding military facilities and facilities used by the Zelensky regime for combat operations.

The West and its minions are not interested in the fate of the inhabitants of the Zaporozhye Territory, so they easily use the air defense systems of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the city above dense residential areas, do not think about the consequences of using depleted uranium shells , etc.

By their actions, the Nazis deliberately turn the southern Russian lands into a scorched desert, sowing hatred and turning people close to us into bloodlines.

For the Zelensky regime, my native Zaporozhye is a cut off piece, they don’t feel sorry for the Cossacks, so the UGIL terrorists took my fellow countrymen hostage and made them human shields to guard military facilities, warehouses with weapons, military equipment and other things.

Vladimir Rogov

***

Colonelcassad
Unfit to fly - it turned out that Macedonia handed over four Su-25 attack aircraft to Ukraine in the summer of 2022.

The Minister of Defense of North Macedonia Slavyanka Petrovska confirmed that her country gave Ukraine four Su-25 attack aircraft. As the local news agency Janes explained, these aircraft were bought from Ukraine at the beginning of the 2000s and have not been flown since 2004 due to technical unsuitability for flights.

Thus, the Balkan Republic handed over to Ukraine not just faulty planes, but machines, which 20 years ago could hardly have been used for their intended purpose. It is also interesting that the first reports of such a “generous” gift to Kyiv appeared in the summer of 2022. However, there was no official confirmation or denial:it was rather perceived as an information duck due to the unprecedented transfer to the country of 404, no matter what and in what condition, but still aircraft.

These "Rooks", apparently, were not transferred in order to be brought into combat condition to attack ground targets. An aircraft with such a degree of wear and tear, declared unusable two decades ago, is hardly repairable.

Nevertheless, these machines could be used as “donors” of spare parts and assemblies for combat-ready Su-25s in the Ukrainian Air Force , which still had a certain number of Rooks last summer.

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

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

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

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

Post by blindpig » Thu Mar 23, 2023 12:06 pm

The Soledar mines
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 03/23/2023

Image

Original article: Dmitry Steshin / Komsomolskaya Pravda

Even there, in the bowels of the earth, he could hear the battle for Bakhmut. He had been waiting for this “excursion” for practically two weeks. The departure was postponed “for security reasons”, specifically because the enemy is constantly attacking the entrance to the mine with artillery, Grads and Uragans. But in recent days it has been limited: the defense of Bakhmut (Artyomovsk) is crumbling, and the Ukrainian gunners have removed civilian targets from their list of priorities. In the Artemsol mine there are still shots, but without a spark, “for prevention”, just to eliminate the bad taste in the mouth of the loss. Ukraine has reason to be sad.

Last weekend, a charity auction was held in kyiv in which Soledar's "last throw of salt" was sold for a thousand grivnas per kilo. Proceeds may go to Bakhmut Retreat. Anyone from the Soviet Union, or even later in Russia, will have bought this salt or at least will have seen the white and blue package with the inscription “Sil” [salt in Ukrainian]. There, in Soledar, there is still a lot of salt left, around 5,000 million tons. The mines began to be developed in the 19th century and in all this time they have not spent more than 3% of their reserves. The salt, by the way, is very pure and can be packaged and sold immediately, without any further processing. It is no coincidence that it was exported to 22 countries. And in the Soviet Union, practically half of the salt consumed was extracted in Donbass in the Soledar mines. According to the latest data, the total length of the salt mines under Soledar is 300 kilometers, a headache for Wagner's soldiers.

One of the soldiers who has worked sweeping the mines is waiting for us. I put on the protection and pass to the UAZ “Patriot”. It's nine degrees outside, but the heat hasn't reached the subsoil. There is still ice on the rivers and a good mud is expected on the way. There are parts of the road on which even the legendary UAZ skids. The driver turns to me: "Do you want some chemistry?" Without waiting for an answer, he hands me a can of an energy drink. In the rear they have no idea how appreciated and loved energy drinks are in the front. I remember the legendary commander Motorola , who called them "the fuel of war."

The Artyomovsk semi-encirclement is burning. I myself, who now live in Donetsk, hear about the battles for Avdeevka and Marinka, but in that area, artillery preparation lasts a few hours at most. Here it is constant. In the distance two tongues of fire fly, behind which comes a dense sound: self-propelled artillery works. At the mine they wave to us, indicating that we should park under a roof and not leave the engine of the car sticking out so that it is within range of an Uragan. “I arrived yesterday”, tells us the soldier who receives us and points to a hole in the cement roof. One of the stormtroopers who worked in the Soledar mine operation leads me underground. This is one of the most interesting “visits”. In 2007 the “Salt Symphony” sanatorium was created, so there is something to see down there. I was hoping to get into the elevator and be all the way down with my ears covered in a minute. But the descent mechanisms were destroyed in the retreat, so there's nothing. There is no electricity within a ten kilometer radius. For me, the entrance to the mine is a narrow hole. From the darkness comes a scent of stagnant diesel and rust. The air tastes salty.

The stormtrooper accompanying me is very serious: “Have you decided exactly what you want to do here? The depth of the horizon is 300 meters. He makes a comparison: “It's like going down 90 floors and then going back up. There are no normal stairs but vertical ones. The descent is forty minutes. The ascent depends on the physical condition. Maybe two hours, three…”. I tell you that I have been preparing for this “excursion” for two weeks. "How?" they ask. "Moving my feet before going to bed." Everyone laughs at the joke. The atmosphere relaxes and becomes more comfortable. I adjust my pack, which holds a camera and two flashlights, with the third on my helmet. One of the soldiers notices that I am not wearing gloves and gives me his. Who would have imagined how grateful he would be to this person during the hours of descent and ascent.

We crawl through the hole. The head of the mine is made of cement, covered with metal tubes, like the subway. The endless stairs go down and the lanterns do not show the bottom of the mine. We descend so that there is a platform of distance between us, a safety measure so that if someone falls, they do not take a friend with them. It is really possible to fall, the stairs are rusty, slippery and there are debris that fall under your feet and hands. We hit the 30 mark, there are another 38 to go to the finish. We arrived with our tongues out. The floor is made of soft salt and traces of rust. The same is felt in the environment and it destroys the lungs: the ventilation has not worked since New Year. I try to record a piece, but my guide tells me not to do it No way. From behind the mask, the voice is unrecognizable. has an accent I notice it even when he speaks slowly to pronounce the words carefully. It is explained: “I am not from Russia, I am from (and name a Central Asian country). If they recognize me, it's immediately ten years. A friend returned in 2016, he fought in the militia, his mother didn't even have time to give him dinner, they took him away immediately, already convicted. I have wanted to join the musicians for a long time.”

I'm about to ask why. For money? But the man anticipates the question: "I have a nom de guerre "...", that's what Russians are called in my language." “May I call you Rus” ?” I ask. The soldier nods and tells me how he went down the first time in the raiding party. There were rumors that the soldiers used the mines to hide from the shelling and that they went to defend themselves in them. Rus explains: “It didn't make sense. If the Soledar mines were linked together, then yes. As it is, the mine is a maze. The first time we went down with the protection on, with the grenade launchers. We expected that there would be people entrenched there. There were miners who lived here until New Years, but they were ordered to leave and they blew up the elevator motors.”

“How did you guys get back up there with all the equipment?”

Rus smiles behind his beard: "It was long and hard."

I try not to think about the fact that I still have to go up and I completely forgot when, forty minutes later, I turned my flashlight to the horizon for the first time at the salt extraction site. It is sparked with glass. During the several hours that we wander around the mine I cannot shake the feeling of being in some kind of fabulous palace. Everything shines around. And it is also surprisingly warm, it seems that we are in the core of the earth. But the sound of the artillery brings me back to reality, even at those depths, since everything is heard perfectly.

We are not going to the place where the mine is exploited, according to Rus it is three kilometers away. And the boys are waiting for us upstairs, where we could hear the shelling coming to the mine. We are in a hurry.Rustry to start the transporter to the new track. The car makes noise for a while, the light comes on, but then it fades. The battery is completely dead. We examine the “tourist” part, which takes us more than an hour. Everything is perfectly ordered, there has been no looting, there has been no destruction. There is a depot with rescue gas masks for tourists. There are also helmets, although they don't make sense here: the layer of salt is so thick that they are not needed, as is the case in coal mines. Hence the great halls that are created for work and that advance into the darkness with their ceilings as high as a nine-story building. We pass one of the temples in a cave and I light a candle for our people, who are fighting on the far surface of the Earth. In the stadium-hall,Rus plays with the ball for a while. We continue to the bar, there is a tray and glasses prepared for us on the bar. Each has a tea bag, just add water. There is nothing to warm it up with and Rus advises me not to drink: "Be patient, it will be better to go upstairs, we'll get drunk upstairs." He didn't feel like going up from the peace that the crystal palace conveyed. If it weren't for the constant sound of artillery coming from the surface...

In one of the bars, and there are about a dozen, the owners promoted the Ukrainian theme. They even brought in a toy horse and hung embroidered shirts and cloths. I am surprised in the next hall: Alla Pugacheva [one of the most important singers in the USSR, who in recent months has left Russia because of the war and moved to Israel-Ed] with a construction helmet looks at me from the walls lighting a candle in one of the temples. Rus says annoyed: “You have to adapt. She is a singer from two eras who should have stayed in history. When the mine reopens, I will personally come and remove those portraits."

I take a handful of crystal salt from the mine as a souvenir. It's not unlike a crystal, just saltier. A knock is heard at the top, something has fallen, it looks like an iron construction. Rus screams for the first time on the entire trip. “To the shed! Get off the stairs!”

The shell fell somewhere near the mine, maybe even in the hangar. There are three shots fired at an interval of several minutes. Each time, Rus and I squeezed closer to the metal tube. I pray that the metal structure doesn't completely collapse and that the mine exit isn't blocked. But then I hear the answer and the enemy is silent. After two hours, wet as a mouse, drowning and coughing up rust, I come out into the light of the lord. But the lord is not enough. A soldier points to the sky and agrees: "We're leaving, the clouds close and the dry birds will begin to fly ." I say goodbye to Rus with a hug. Alone, you get to know a person more in a couple of hours than an acquaintance in ten years.

Later I was able to see Soledar. I wish he hadn't. Not much of the city remains, except Mariupol. And judging by the sound of artillery, the same fate awaits Artyomovsk. It may be the first time that I see clearly the essence of this banderista plan. Ukraine, as an ethnopolitical construct, is not interested in these Russian cities. If you can't keep them, take them away, you won't give them to those who created them. So they have decided that they can be senselessly and mercilessly destroyed, filled with the blood of their own recruits, whom they have mobilized in supermarkets and bus stops. After the war, the ruins will have to be cleaned up and all hate removed.

After Soledar, there is a whole series of villages on the way. In almost all, the image is the same. Huge stuffed animals sit on the benches at the gates, staring with their button eyes at the cars and tanks that crawl through the mud following or meeting the soldiers. Someone took them out of the destroyed houses. And it wasn't just me who was made to feel better.

https://slavyangrad.es/2023/03/23/las-m ... more-26903

Google Translator

***********

From Cassad's Telegram account:

forwarded from
Voenkor Kitten Z
Military expert Boris Rozhin on the situation in the Artemovsky direction at 21.57 March 22, 2023, especially for the Voenkor Kotenok Z @voenkorKotenok channel :

1.
To the north of the city, fighting continued near Bogdanovka and Orekhovo-Vasilyevka. The enemy stubbornly resists.
Fighting continues near Khromovo - the village itself has not been taken.

2.
To the south of the city, fighting continues near Krasnoe .
The enemy attempts counterattacks in order to unblock the road. As before, the grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Artemovsk has problems with supply.

3.
In the city itself, "Wagner" is gradually finishing with "AZOM", control over which will lead to the establishment of control over the northwestern part of the city. Fierce fighting continues near the city center. Promotion is slow.

4.
In the south, our assault groups are trying to break through to the southwestern entrance to the city. The enemy puts up stubborn resistance.

5.
The processes of accumulation of enemy reserves in Konstantinovka , Chasov Yar and Ray-Aleksandrovka continue to be observed . Missile strikes are regularly carried out against enemy reserves.
New attempts at counterattacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine are expected to the northwest and southwest of Artemovsk .

***

Colonelcassad
Russian Foreign Ministry on the risks of nuclear war.

1. The likelihood of a nuclear conflict is now higher than it has been in the past few decades

2 . The United States should come to its senses, and not continue playing with fire on the topic of restoring START;

3. A condition for the discussion of START is a change in the US hostile course towards the Russian Federation;

4. Now there can be no question of any secret or open negotiations with the United States to restore something related to START;

5. The course of the United States towards a reckless escalation of the conflict in Ukraine fundamentally changed the entire security situation for the Russian Federation;

6. The United States should have previously agreed to eliminate Russian concerns about START, but now this is no longer possible;

7. In determining the fate of START, Moscow will take into account the ability of the United States, France and Britain together.

* * *

As before, I believe that we cannot avoid a remake of the Caribbean crisis and an approach to the brink of terminal scenarios with the use of nuclear weapons. The course of the West makes other options for resolving the crisis impossible.

***

Colonelcassad
It is reported that on the morning of March 23, they finally cleared the western outskirts of Novobakhmutovka, which for the most part was liberated last spring, but was completely cleared only a year later. This was a consequence of the recent success at Krasnogorovka, which somewhat changed the dynamics of what is happening north of Avdiivka.

Along Avdiivka itself.

1. There is no operational environment, let alone a boiler, there now.
2. Roads through Orlovka continue to be actively used by the enemy.
3. It is currently impossible to organize serious pressure on Thin from Pervomaisky and Vodyanoye.
4. The advance at Krasnogorovka creates a threat of access to Orlovka from the northeast, so the enemy is now strengthening the defenses west of Krasnogorovka.
5. In general, at the moment it can be stated that our troops have achieved tactical successes here, but it is too early to talk about any operational achievements. You don't have to run ahead of the train.

***

Colonelcassad
Why is it necessary to destroy the air defense of Ukraine?

In the patriotic segment, Telegram once again raised the issue of the need for an early decommissioning of the Ukrainian air defense. While colleagues are thinking about how best to solve this problem, let's talk again about the ultimate goal of this operation and what advantages it will give us.

First of all, it is important to understand that it is infinitely possible to click out the “taras” who have settled in the trenches one by one: the Armed Forces of Ukraine are capable of mobilizing a million rednecks with machine guns. At the same time, artillery and UAVs reach, at best, their near rear and cannot solve strategic tasks.

It is necessary to destroy the communications through which weapons, repair bases, warehouses, factories and workshops go to Ukraine.An armored personnel carrier without fuel is an iron coffin, a weapon to which ammunition was not brought up is a dull sculpture. Even a soldier who was not brought ammunition and food is no longer a soldier, but a bum, the best way out for him is to surrender.

It is necessary not to hunt crocodiles, but to drain the swamp, and only aviation can achieve this. Geraniums and Calibers are capable of inflicting painful blows, but to destroy the Ukrainian economy and communications, constant bombardments are needed - hundreds of strikes every day.

However, this is possible if aviation has a free hand in the Ukrainian sky. If not twenty Geraniums fly to the enemy once a week, but a hundred bombers every day.If he cannot drive on the road during the day, because Rooks cover any armored car. If the enemy is not able to unload equipment in ports and stations, because half-ton bombs are raining down on ports and stations every day. If the enemy cannot repair his wonderful Leopard, because the assembly point of emergency equipment has already been sprayed into atoms. If a recruit who has a summons stuck in his teeth does not even manage to become an infantryman, because he was covered by the FAB right in the barracks - and he even has nowhere to come according to the summons, because the FAB fell to the military registration and enlistment office too.

But all this is possible only in one case. If the air defense of Ukraine is suppressed.

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

Google Translator

********

Nord Stream: The Cover-Up
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MARCH 22, 2023
Seymour Hersh

Image
President Joe Biden meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the Oval Office, March 3, 2023. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)

The Biden Administration continues to conceal its responsibility for the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines


It’s been six weeks since I published a report, based on anonymous sourcing, naming President Joe Biden as the official who ordered the mysterious destruction last September of Nord Stream 2, a new $11-billion pipeline that was scheduled to double the volume of natural gas delivered from Russia to Germany. The story gained traction in Germany and Western Europe, but was subject to a near media blackout in the US. Two weeks ago, after a visit by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Washington, US and German intelligence agencies attempted to add to the blackout by feeding the New York Times and the German weekly Die Zeit false cover stories to counter the report that Biden and US operatives were responsible for the pipelines’ destruction.

Press aides for the White House and Central Intelligence Agency have consistently denied that America was responsible for exploding the pipelines, and those pro forma denials were more than enough for the White House press corps. There is no evidence that any reporter assigned there has yet to ask the White House press secretary whether Biden had done what any serious leader would do: formally “task” the American intelligence community to conduct a deep investigation, with all of its assets, and find out just who had done the deed in the Baltic Sea. According to a source within the intelligence community, the president has not done so, nor will he. Why not? Because he knows the answer.

Sarah Miller—an energy expert and an editor at Energy Intelligence, which publishes leading trade journals—explained to me in an interview why the pipeline story has been big news in Germany and Western Europe. “The destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines in September led to a further surge of natural gas prices that were already six or more times pre-crisis levels,” she said. “Nord Stream was blown up in late September. German gas imports peaked a month later, in October, at 10 times pre-crisis levels. Electricity prices across Europe were pulled up, and governments spent as much as 800 billion euros, by some estimates, shielding households and businesses from the impact. Gas prices, reflecting the mild winter in Europe, have now fallen back to roughly a quarter of the October peak, but they are still between two and three times pre-crisis levels and are more than three times current US rates. Over the last year, German and other European manufacturers closed their most energy-intensive operations, such as fertilizer and glass production, and it’s unclear when, if ever, those plants will reopen. Europe is scrambling to get solar and wind capacity in place, but it may not come soon enough to save large chunks of German industry.” (Miller writes a blog on Medium.)

In early March, President Biden hosted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Washington. The trip included only two public events—a brief pro forma exchange of compliments between Biden and Scholz before the White House press corps, with no questions allowed; and a CNN interview with Scholz by Fareed Zakaria, who did not touch on the pipeline allegations. The chancellor had flown to Washington with no members of the German press on board, no formal dinner scheduled, and the two world leaders were not slated to conduct a press conference, as routinely happens at such high-profile meetings. Instead, it was later reported that Biden and Scholz had an 80-minute meeting, with no aides present for much of the time. There have been no statements or written understandings made public since then by either government, but I was told by someone with access to diplomatic intelligence that there was a discussion of the pipeline exposé and, as a result, certain elements in the Central Intelligence Agency were asked to prepare a cover story in collaboration with German intelligence that would provide the American and German press with an alternative version for the destruction of Nord Stream 2. In the words of the intelligence community, the agency was “to pulse the system” in an effort to discount the claim that Biden had ordered the pipelines’ destruction.

At this point, it must be noted that Chancellor Scholz, whether or not he was alerted of the destruction of the pipeline in advance—still an open question—has clearly been complicit since last fall in support of the Biden Administration’s cover-up of its operation in the Baltic Sea.

The agency did its job and, with the help of German intelligence, concocted and planted stories about an ad hoc “off the books” operation that had led to the destruction of the pipelines. The scam had two elements: a March 7 report in the New York Times citing an anonymous American official claiming that “[n]ew intelligence…suggests” that “a pro-Ukrainian group” may have been involved in the pipeline’s destruction; and a report the same day in Der Zeit, Germany’s most widely read weekly newspaper, stating that German investigative officials had tracked down a chartered luxury sailing yacht that was known to have set off on September 6 from the German port at Rostock past Bornholm island off the coast of Denmark. The island is a few miles from the area where the pipelines were destroyed on September 26. The yacht had been rented from Ukrainian owners and manned by a party of six: a captain, two divers, two divers’ assistants, and a doctor. Five were men, and one a woman. False passports were involved.

The two publications included cautions in their stories noting that, as the Times put it, “there was much they did not know.” The new information was, however, also said to have given officials “increased . . . optimism” that a firm conclusion about the perpetrators would be reached. But it would take a long time, according to various senior officials in Washington and Germany. The message was that the press and the public should stop asking questions and let the investigators unravel the truth. Which, of course, would never come. Holger Stark, the author of the report in Die Zeit, went a step further and noted that there were some “in international security services” who had not excluded the possibility that the yacht story “was a false flag operation.” Indeed, it was.

“It was a total fabrication by American intelligence that was passed along to the Germans, and aimed at discrediting your story,” I was told by a source within the American intelligence community. The disinformation professionals inside the CIA understand that a propaganda gambit can only work if those on receiving are desperate for a story that can diminish or displace an unwanted truth. And the truth in question is that President Joe Biden authorized the destruction of the pipelines and will have a difficult time explaining away his action as Germany and its Western European neighbors suffer as businesses are shuttered amid high day-to-day energy costs.

Ironically, the most telling evidence about the weakness of the New York Times report came from one of three Times reporters whose bylines were on the story. A few days after publication of the story, the reporter, Julian Barnes, was interviewed on the popular Times podcast The Daily by host Michael Barbaro. Here’s the transcript:

HOST: Who exactly was responsible for this attack? And how did you and our colleagues go about figuring that out?

REPORTER: Well, I think what happened was for much of the investigation, we weren’t asking exactly the right questions.

HOST: Hmm. And what were the right questions?

REPORTER: Well, we had logically been focused on countries.

HOST: Mm-hmm.

REPORTER: All those states that we just went through, did Russia do it? Did the Ukraine state do it? And that was just hitting dead end after dead end. We weren’t finding officials who were telling us that there was credible evidence pointing at a government. So my colleagues Adam Entous, Adam Goldman, and I started asking a different question. Could this have been done by non-state actors?

HOST: Hmm.

REPORTER: Could this have been done by a group of individuals who were not working for a government?

HOST: Kind of like freelance saboteurs. So where did you take this new question?

REPORTER: Well, we started asking, who might these saboteurs be? Or if we couldn’t answer that, who might they be aligned with? Could they be pro-Russian saboteurs? Could they be other saboteurs? And the more we talk to officials who had access to intelligence, the more we saw this theory gaining traction.

HOST: Mm-hmm.

REPORTER: And my initial thought that this could be pro-Russian saboteurs turned out to be wrong. And we learned that it was most likely a pro-Ukrainian group.

HOST: Hmm. So in other words, a group of people who did this on behalf of Ukraine. What do you learn that makes you think that’s what happened?

REPORTER: Michael, I should be very clear that we know really very little, right? This group remains mysterious. And it remains mysterious not just to us, but also to the US government officials that we have spoken to. They know that the people involved were either Ukrainian, or Russian, or a mix. They know that they are not affiliated with the Ukrainian government. But they know they’re also anti-Putin and pro-Ukraine.

HOST: So after all this investigative reporting, what you find is that the culprit here is a group of people who want the same thing as Ukraine, but aren’t officially tied to the government of Ukraine. But I’m curious how certain you are that these individuals are not connected to the Ukrainian government?

REPORTER: Well, the intelligence right now says they’re not. And while officials are telling us that the president of Ukraine and his key advisors did not know, we can’t be certain that that’s true or that somebody else didn’t know.


The Times reporters in Washington were at the mercy of White House officials “who had access to intelligence.” But the information they received originated with a group of CIA experts in deception and propaganda whose mission was to feed the newspaper a cover story—and to protect a president who made an unwise decision and is now lying about it.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/03/ ... -cover-up/

Germans Down & Russians Out
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MARCH 22, 2023
Diana Johnstone

Image
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Berlin, December 2022. (NATO)

On the purpose of NATO: “To keep the Americans in, the Russians out, and the Germans down” — saying attributed to Lord Hastings Ismay, the secretary general of NATO 1952-1957.


Divide and rule is the eternal law of Empire.

Above all, don’t let other big guys get together. Keep them at each other’s throats. Half a century ago, stuck in the unwinnable Vietnam war, President Richard M. Nixon heeded Henry Kissinger’s advice to open relations with Beijing in order to deepen the split between the Soviet Union and China.

But which big guys, and when? Priorities have evidently shifted. Eight years ago, America’s most influential, private geostrategic analyst, George Friedman, defined the current dominant U.S. divide et impera priority, at work in Ukraine.

“The primordial interest of the United States is the relationship between Germany and Russia, because united, they’re the only force that could threaten us,” Friedman explained.

Russia’s main interest has always been to have a neutral buffer zone in Eastern Europe. But the U.S. purpose is to build a hostile cordon sanitaire from the Baltic to the Black Sea, as a definitive barrier separating Russia from Germany.

“Russia knows it. Russia believes the United States intends to break the Russian Federation,” said Friedman, jokingly adding that he thought the intention was not to kill Russia but only to make it suffer.



Speaking to an elite group in Chicago on April 13, 2015, Friedman noted that the U.S. Army commander in Europe, General Ben Hodges, had just visited Ukraine, decorating Ukrainian soldiers and promising them trainers. He was doing this outside NATO, said Friedman, because NATO membership required 100 percent approval and Ukraine risked being vetoed, so the U.S. was going ahead on its own.

What the U.S. has long dreaded, said Friedman, is the combination of German capital and technology with Russian resources and labor. The Nord Stream pipeline was leading in that direction, toward mutual trade and security arrangements that would no long require either the dollar or NATO.

“For Russia,” said Friedman, “the status of Ukraine is an existential threat. And the Russians cannot afford to let it go.” For the United States, however, it is a means to an end: separating Russia from Germany.

Friedman concluded that the big question was, how will the Germans react?

So far, German leaders have been reacting like the loyal managers of a country under U.S. occupation – which it is.

The German Peace Movement Threat

Image
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during a virtual press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, D.C., Jan. 5, 2022. (State Department/Ron Przysucha)

Any sign of sympathy with Russia has been so demonized, repressed, even criminalized since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022, that most German protests initially avoided taking any position on the war and focused on the economic hardships caused by sanctions.

But on Jan. 25 of this year, Chancellor Olaf Scholz gave in to U.S. pressure to send German Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, about the same time that German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, of the Green Party, casually told an international meeting that “we are fighting a war against Russia.”

This jolted people into action.

Spontaneous demonstrations broke out in large and small cities all over Germany with slogans such as “Ami (Americans) Go Home!”, “Greens to the Front!”, “Make Peace Without German Weapons.” Speakers condemned the tank deliveries for “crossing a red line,” accused the United States of forcing Germany into war with Russia, and called for Baerbock’s resignation.

The wave of demonstrations peaked one month later on Feb. 25 when up to 50,000 people rallied to the “Uprising for Peace” (Aufstand für Frieden) in Berlin, called on the initiative of two women, left politician Sahra Wagenknecht and veteran feminist writer and editor Alice Schwartzer.

A demonstration in Berlin on February 25, initiated among others by the left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht, took a stand against further arms deliveries to Ukraine.#Germany #PoliticalWar pic.twitter.com/GYUkU4tueB

— Rossa Primavera International News (@NewsFromDonbass) February 25, 2023


Over half a million people signed their “Manifesto for Peace” calling on Chancellor Scholz to “stop the escalation of arms deliveries” and work for a ceasefire and negotiations. Organizers called for reconstruction of a massive German peace movement, on the model of the anti-nuclear missile movement of the 1980s that led up to Russian acceptance of German reunification.

However, building a peace movement in Germany today faces many obstacles. Under U.S. military occupation since the end of World War II, German institutions and media are permeated with American influence, as is the legal order. Paradoxically, the trans-Atlantic American grip seems only to have tightened since German reunification.

Monitoring ‘Extremes’

Germany monitors political “extremism” through a domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, BfV (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz). Although strictly speaking Germany does not have a constitution, it has a strong Constitutional Court designed specifically to prevent any reversion to Nazi power practices.

Instead of a constitution, a transitional Basic Law approved by the Western occupying powers (the U.S., Britain and France) in 1949 enabled the Federal Republic to assume the government of West Germany. Upon reunification, the Basic Law was extended to all of Germany.

In the spirit of liberal “antitotalitarianism,” the BfV monitors both “left-wing extremism” and “right-wing extremism” as potential threats. “Islamic extremism” has more recently come under supervision. The underlying political implication is that “right-wing extremism” designates Nazi tendencies, while “left-wing extremism” leans toward Soviet-style communism.

This 20th century political topography implicitly establishes “the center” as an innocent middle-ground where citizens can feel at ease. Even the most radical militarism is not “extreme” in this scheme of things.

Article 5 of the Basic Law grants individuals the right to express opinions, but there are numerous limitations in the Criminal Code, with punishment for “inciting hatred,” racism, anti-Semitism and prison terms for Holocaust denial. Also prohibited are propaganda or symbols of “unconstitutional” organizations, disparagement of the State and its symbols, blasphemy against established religions and especially failure to respect “human dignity.”

Of course, what matters in all these laws is how they are interpreted. The ban on “rewarding and approving crimes” (Section 140), that was originally intended to apply to convictions for violent civil crimes, has now been extended to the geopolitical sphere, namely, outlawing “approval or support” of what it terms “aggressive war.”

Antiwar activist Heinrich Bücker’s speech in Berlin last June 22 calling for good relations with Russia on the anniversary of the 1941 Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union was condemned by a Berlin court for “approving Russia’s crime of invasion.” In practice, any effort to clarify the Russian position by referring to NATO expansion and Kiev regime attacks on Donbass since 2014 can be interpreted as such “approval or support.”

?? Breaking

A anti-war activist in Germany has been convicted for speaking out about German involvement in the war with Russia.

He said:

“We Germans must never again be involved in a war against Russia”

Anti-war views are being criminalized.https://t.co/UghDrgJPJI pic.twitter.com/0FErMgN0L5

— Andre Damon (@Andre__Damon) January 31, 2023


Needless to say, Germans were never threatened with criminal prosecution for approving the U.S. invasions of Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan, much less the totally aggressive and illegal 1999 bombing of Serbia, in which they enthusiastically took part. Widely celebrated as a laudable act of humanitarianism, that bombing campaign, killing civilians and destroying infrastructure, forced Serbia to allow NATO to occupy its province of Kosovo, where the Americans built themselves a huge military base. Ethnic Albanian rebels declared independence and thousands of non-Albanians were driven out.

German Police Enforce Centrist Conformity

As demonstrators gathered for the “Uprising for Peace” demonstration in Berlin, an organizer appeared on the speakers’ platform to read out a long list of things banned by police. The list included numerous symbols or signs related to the Soviet Union, Russia, Belarus or Donbass; Russian military songs; “endorsement of the war of aggression currently being waged by Russia against Ukraine,” etc.

The day before, Berlin police had delivered to the organizers a detailed explanation justifying these prohibitions, specifying that “public safety was in imminent danger.” Police said that according to their information, “the participants of your meeting will mainly consist of people with an old-left, pro-Russian basic attitude, who are against the arms deliveries of the German government to Ukraine, the geopolitics of the ‘West/the USA’ and against NATO in general.”

The police had reason to believe that the Feb. 25 meeting would attract “very heterogeneous” participants “with their own views (state delegitimizers, conspiracy believers, supporters of the Putin regime, etc.)” and therefore, precautions must be taken.

The Cross-Front Threat

Image
Weimar-era Communist Party of Germany, or KPD, leader Ernst Thälmann, in center front, with raised clenched fist, and members of the Alliance of Red Front-Fighters or RFB, marching through Berlin, 1927. (Bundesarchiv, CC-BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons)

Police referred to a comparable meeting a month earlier, on Jan. 27, whose organizers were accused by leftwing and antifascist groups of having “tolerated cross-thinkers (Querdenker) and people of the right scene at their meeting.” A cross-thinker is one who crosses the enemy front lines between left and right, an offense called “cross-front,” also referred to as “red-brown”.

What is remarkable is that in Germany, the establishment, the media, the BfV and notably the police have taken up the term “cross-front” (Querfront) with the same opprobrium as the Antifa movement where it is used ostensibly to enforce the ideological purity of the left. Initially it meant a rightwing appropriation of leftwing themes intended to seduce and mislead leftists into fascist combinations. The historical basis of the term lies in unsuccessful coalition attempts of rightwingers in the late Weimar Republic in a context of intense rivalry between strong Nazi and Communist movements vying for working class support, totally unlike the political atmosphere of today.

In the absence of either a strong Nazi or Communist movement, the term is currently used to denounce any cooperation, or even contact, between leftists and movements or individuals described as “extreme right.” This label is frequently based on not much more than opposition to unlimited immigration, denounced as racism.

By this standard, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) opposition party (with 78 out of 736 seats in the current Bundestag) is “extreme right.” Since most Bundestag members critical of arming Ukraine come either from Die Linke (Left) party or the AfD, the anti-crossfront vigilance condemns in advance a broad, open antiwar opposition.

Subjective Evaluations by Police

Image
German riot police during 2017 protests in Hamburg against the G20 meeting. (t–h–s -, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons)

According to the Feb. 24 Berlin police warning, “The approval of the war of aggression against international law, which the Russian Federation is currently waging against Ukraine, is punishable under Section 140 …” Such approval can be expressed not only by words but by a number of signs and symbols. In particular, the display of the letter “Z” (supposedly standing for the Russian expression za pobyedu – for victory) would constitute a criminal offense.

Even more far-fetched, the flag of the defunct U.S.S.R. is also criminalized, because, according to police: “the U.S.S.R. flag symbolizes a Russia within the borders of the former Soviet Union.” This, according to Berlin police, “is seen by experts as the actual desired goal of Russian President Vladimir Putin” and explains his attack on Ukraine.

“The present restrictions are expressly not directed against the content of expressions of opinion, which may not be prevented within the framework of Article 5 of the Basic Law, but are intended, from a contextual point of view, to prevent your assembly, in the manner in which it is conducted, from being suitable or intended for conveying a readiness to use violence and thereby having an intimidating effect, or from violating the moral sensibilities of citizens and fundamental social or ethical views in a significant manner.”

A Cautious Demonstration

The “Uprising for Peace” in the end provided no opportunities for police interventions or arrests. Like the “Manifesto for Peace,” the German speeches largely avoided references to U.S. and NATO provocations leading to the war.

Only Jeffrey Sachs, whose opening speech in English was broadcast to the crowd on a screen, dared speak of the background to the Russian invasion: the 2014 Kiev coup, the U.S. arming of Ukraine, the U.S. opposition to peace negotiations, the likelihood that the U.S. was responsible for blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines and other facts susceptible of offending certain sensibilities. But there was no chance that Berlin police would arrest Sachs, who was not in Germany.

Jeffrey Sachs hold an online speech in today’s peace demonstration in Berlin. #b2502

More: https://t.co/FGbmEbjoBP pic.twitter.com/BXxUbff4gX

— Kevork Almassian???? (@KevorkAlmassian) February 25, 2023


The other speakers largely ignored the origins of the war, concentrating instead on fears of where it might lead: constant escalation of arms deliveries, even nuclear war. The huge crowd was bundled up against the icy cold and light snow. Flags mostly portrayed peace doves and slogans called for diplomacy, for peace negotiations instead of arms deliveries, for avoidance of nuclear war. Neo-Nazis and extreme rightists were declared unwelcome and must have come in disguise as they were scarcely visible. The whole event could hardly have been more well-behaved and respectable.

Attacking Wagenknecht

Despite all this niceness, the demonstration and its organizers were fiercely attacked by politicians and media. Sahra Wagenknecht is a popular figure, being pushed out of her dwindling Left Party (Die Linke) by leaders who tend to follow the increasingly bellicose Greens in the hope of being included in leftwing coalition governments.

Wagenknecht, married to Oskar Lafontaine, who as a leading Social Democrat was prominent in the antimissile movement of the 1980s, is rumored to be preparing to found a party of her own. This would fill a yawning gap in the current German political scene: an antiwar party firmly on the left. She must therefore be seen as the main political threat to the reigning coalition.

Thus Wagenknecht has been vehemently attacked for the fact that her antiwar speeches have been applauded in parliament by members of the AfD. And despite having repeatedly condemned the Russian invasion for breaking international law, other things she has said have been described as “close to the narrative” of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Despite her caution, she is blamed for “understanding” the Russian viewpoint, which is unacceptable.

In a major hit piece, journalist Markus Decker called Wagenknecht the most influential enemy of democracy in Germany. Wagenknecht, he wrote, “is the personified embodiment of what intelligence officers have been warning about for years: the blurring of the boundaries between the political fringes and the extremes.”

Kundgebung am BRB Tor war Riesenerfolg & größte #Friedenskundgebung seit Jahren. Versuche, sie kleinzureden oder zu diffamieren, werden nicht funktionieren. Danke an alle, die gekommen sind! Meine Rede auf der Kundgebung: https://t.co/umAPY5H0Gw pic.twitter.com/mnWcb0xqIT

— Sahra Wagenknecht (@SWagenknecht) February 27, 2023


[Translation of Sahra Wagenknecht’s tweet: “Rally at the BRB gate was a huge success & biggest #peace rally in years. Attempts to belittle or defame them will not work. Thanks to everyone who came! My speech at the rally:”]

In other words, she should be monitored by the BfV as a sponsor of the dreaded cross-front. “Wagenknecht, who has been systematically blurring the lines between dictatorship and democracy since the beginning of the Russian attack on Ukraine, is not about peace. It’s about destroying democracy. Wagenknecht is probably its most influential enemy in Germany,” Decker wrote.

In the past few years, as hostility toward Russia has been building in the West, the Antifa exclusionary dogma has strengthened within the left. The result is that the left is less interested in winning over conservatives than in excluding them. This is a sort of essentialist identity politics: anyone “on the right” must be inherently an irreconcilable enemy.

There is no thought that perhaps some people may vote for the Alternative for Germany because they feel let down by other parties, for instance by the Left Party. This could be especially true in East Germany, where both parties have roots.

Freedom of Opinion Under Threat

On March 15, a group of leftist artists and intellectuals released a petition calling for the defense of free expression. It reads:

“Germany is in a deep crisis. … Disinformation and manipulation of the population largely determine the current media culture. Anyone who does not share the prescribed official opinion on the Ukraine war, criticizes it and makes this known publicly, is defamed, threatened and sanctioned or ostracized. … In such an atmosphere, open debates, the exchange and presentation of differing views in the media, science, art, culture and other areas are hardly possible anymore. A truly free formation of opinion by weighing different arguments is impossible. Bias and ignorance, but also intimidation, fear, self-censorship and hypocrisy are the consequences. This is incompatible with human dignity and personal freedom.”

Last month, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) introduced a new law making it possible to dismiss “enemies of the constitution” from the civil service by a simple administrative act. “We will not allow our democratic constitutional state to be sabotaged from within by extremists,” Faeser said. But in the view of the German Civil Servants’ Association, the bill “sends a message of mistrust to both employees and citizens.”

A war atmosphere is supposed to unite a nation. But imposed artificially, it exposes and creates deep divisions.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/03/ ... sians-out/

West Surges Ammunition Ahead of Ukraine’s All-Or-Nothing Offensive
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MARCH 22, 2023



Update on Russian military operations in Ukraine for March 22, 2023:

– Russian forces continue encircling the fortified cities of Bakhmut and now Avdeevka, two major points along Ukraine’s defense line in the Donbass;

– Ukraine is gearing up for its upcoming offensive, carrying out drone strikes on Crimea and reconnaissance by force along the line of contact in Zaporozhye;

– the stated goal of Ukraine according to Western reports is to cut the land-bridge between Crimea and the rest of Russia, though that would hardly isolate Crimea entirely;

– Ukraine would suffer immense losses, just as they did during the Kharkov /Kherson offensives last year, with the addition of many more Russian troops and extensive defensive works created months in advance;

– The US and EU are surging remaining stockpiles of artillery ammunition to Ukraine ahead of the offensive to sustain 2-4 months of intense fighting. Once depleted it will take years for the West to restore these stockpiles;

– Russian shell production appears to have exceeded Western output as early as 2014-2015 and has continuously increased since meaning Russia’s ability to regenerate combat power exceeds the West’s at this moment;

– Ukraine’s upcoming offensive should not be underestimated nor the prospects of a breakthrough, Russian forces have repeatedly demonstrated a preference for withdrawing over being encircled or suffering heavy casualties as part of its attrition strategy;

Image

References:

Financial Times – Ukraine asks EU for 250,000 artillery shells a month (March 4, 2023): https://www.ft.com/content/75ee9701-a

Financial Times – Explosives shortage threatens EU drive to arm Ukraine (March 20, 2023): https://www.ft.com/content/aee0e1a1-c

Reuters – EU seals plan to send a million artillery shells to Ukraine (March 20, 2023): https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/

NYT – Artillery Is Breaking in Ukraine. It’s Becoming a Problem for the Pentagon. (November 25, 2022): https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/25/us

Alexander Mercouris – Russia Big Gains Bakhmut, UK MoD Alarmed Avdeevka; West Stakes All Kiev Offensive; Xi Jinping Moscow (March 21, 2023): • Russia Big Gains …

The Telegraph – Putin is running out of time to win the ammunition war against the West (March 9, 2023): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/

Novya Gazeta – Barren Barrels (November 2022): https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2022…. Ukrainian Armed Forces – Russia resumed production of 152-mm shells (November 2022): https://mil.in.ua/en/news/russia-resu

Jamestown Foundation – Russia Struggles to Maintain Munition Stocks (Part One) (December 2022): https://jamestown.org/program/russia-

Jamestown Foundation – Russia Struggles to Maintain Munition Stocks (Part Two) (December 2022): https://jamestown.org/program/russia-

The Moscow Times – Russia Says Ramping Up Ammunition Production for Ukraine War (January 2023): https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/0

Defense News – Army acquisition chief would welcome tank ramp-up if Congress funds it (May 2022): https://www.defensenews.com/land/2022

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/03/ ... offensive/

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

UN-led probe urged into Nord Stream explosions
By WANG QINGYUN | CHINA DAILY | Updated: 2023-03-23 07:08

China hopes some Western member states of the United Nations Security Council will renounce their "selfish geopolitical interests" and play a constructive role in consultations over Russia's draft resolution about Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday.

Russia submitted a draft Security Council resolution in February, requesting the UN secretary-general to establish an independent international commission to investigate the blasts in September.

Sources have said that the United States and some other Western member states of the council have broken the silence procedure launched by Russia and raised an objection to the request.

During a news conference, Wang said China supports Russia's draft resolution, and agrees on the approach of promoting a UN-led international investigation.

The UN is the most authoritative and representative international organization, and such an investigation will form synergies with the ongoing inquiries conducted by countries and help find out the truth faster, Wang said.

Denmark, Germany and Sweden have launched probes into the blasts.

"The impact of the pipeline blasts has been enormous, and most members of the international community have demanded the truth behind the scene," Wang said.

China supports the Security Council in discussing relevant issues, and has played a constructive role in the negotiations of the draft resolution, according to Wang, who said that some of the council's developing member states have put forward their legitimate proposals and recommendations.

"China has noted the attitude of some of the council's Western member states. We hope they will be mindful of their responsibility for truth, truly abandon their selfish geopolitical interests, take effective measures to fulfill their duty and responsibility and work for early consensus on the resolution by constructively participating in the negotiations," the spokesman said.

wangqingyun@chinadaily.com.cn

http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/20230 ... b5f90.html
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

Post Reply