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

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

Post by blindpig » Fri May 20, 2022 12:45 pm

The liberation of the LPR is nearing completion
May 20, 12:27 p.m.

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From Shoigu's statements on the operation in Ukraine.

1. The liberation of the LPR is nearing completion (a clear allusion to the Severodonetsk cauldron - yesterday the troops reached the Soledar-Lysichansk highway).
2. Already 1908 people have surrendered at Azovstal. Prior to this, 1387 people from the Marine Corps capitulated (at the plant named after Ilyich).
3. In light of the NATO threat, 12 new formations will be created in the Western Military District (most likely recreated). expected.
4. In the near future, strategic UAVs will begin to enter the troops.
5. The NATO grouping near the borders of the Russian Federation has up to 40,000 people.
6. Losses of Ukraine during the battle for the island of Serpents were - 4 aircraft, 10 helicopters, 30 UAVs, 3 boats and 50 people killed.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7626494.html

More about Ukrainians
May 20, 9:46 p.m.
More about Ukrainians.

At the beginning of the NWO, our plane was shot down by crests.
The crew ejected safely, but landed behind enemy lines, and in addition they were also decently scattered from each other.
There are enemies all around, there is no connection, the SPDH will definitely not fly here, but crests, on the contrary, are already rushing from all sides. Therefore, the guys ran around, looked for each other a little and drove each in his own way.

The navigator had only an old compass from the means of navigation. He followed him and went.

He left the chase through the snow and forests, hid from patrols, forced the rivers that had just opened from the ice and went forward. To the north. To their own.
Walked for a long time.
I am sure that the story of this heroic navigator will be reflected in the script of the film or in the book, because there is something for him to tell and something to show. But now I wanted to tell not about this heroic navigator.
And about the Ukrainians.
When the military pilot, after crossing the next river, became completely crappy, he went into the Ukrainian village and knocked on the hut from the edge.

And everywhere he was fed, dried, given a roof and assisted.

No one denied him blood. No one handed him over to Khokhols, no one poisoned or offended him. Not by word, not by deed. Not a single Ukrainian.
And again he went forward.

On the third day in another village, he also knocked on the door, and the hostess opened it for him. She saw a dirty, wet, frozen armed military aircraft in a Russian uniform and NAZ IR, and taking him in an armful, she dragged him into the hut without asking any questions.
I immediately got through to my husband, who was receiving humanitarian aid from Russian servicemen in a neighboring village. Well, there is already a matter of technology.
Having asked the peasant to hand over the phone to the nearest Russian military officer, the military pilot described the state of affairs in two sentences, and fifteen minutes later our soldiers rushed to the village for the military aircraft.
It seems to me that in the life of a navigator it was the longest 15 minutes in his life.

During these three days, he traveled nearly a hundred kilometers along the deep rear of the enemy.
Son of the steppes. Pretty boy.

So there are Ukrainians, and there are Ukrainians.
Don't confuse them.

(c) Fighterbomber

https://t.me/fighter_bomber - zinc

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7625852.html

Google Translator

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NATO SURRENDERS IN AZOVSTAL
May 19, 2022 , 12:12 p.m.

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Members of the Azov Battalion and other combatants of the Ukrainian army surrendered in Mariúpol before the Russian army and the military commands of Donetsk and Lugansk (Photo: EFE)

From the same historical creators of the version "The United States and Great Britain defeated Hitler" the headline "The Ukrainian mission in Mariupol is over and their fighters are evacuated" arrives on screens around the world. It sounds like a joke, but it's anecdote.

Right now, and for days now, the media story is being spread by North American and European media that the combatants who "resisted the Russian invader" on the shores of the Sea of ​​Azov were being "evacuated in an orderly manner", when the reality is totally different.


The perceptive war being waged by the US, European and Ukrainian propaganda apparatus to prevent acceptance of military defeat on the ground is at an all-time high, leading to damage control, as NATO efforts for arming, training and financing Ukrainian troops have been neutralized by Russia.

After a month of siege by the Russian army and the military units of Donetsk and Lugansk, the remnants of the Azov Battalion that were sheltered in the bunkers of the Azovstal steel plant, in the southeast of the city of Mariupol, surrendered. and are being treated as prisoners of war.

In short, it is about a military surrender and not about an "orderly evacuation" and a "victory for the Ukraine"; the western script, although repetitive and devoid of materially verifiable content, will continue to disseminate a version that protects the forms that they have been using in their psychological and propaganda operations.

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ON THE WAY TO THE DENAZIFICATION PROCESS

According to a part of the Russian Ministry of Defense published on May 19 , "in the last 24 hours, 771 militants of the Azov nationalist unit have surrendered at the blockaded Azovstal plant in Mariupol. A total of 1,730 militants have surrendered. have surrendered since May 16, including 80 wounded".

Humanitarian treatment is being applied in accordance with international law: "All people who need hospital treatment are treated in medical centers in Novoazovsk and Donetsk of the Donetsk People's Republic," adds the official statement from the Russian army.

But there is more, related to these events. The TASS agency reports :

"The Supreme Court of Russia has a hearing on May 26 for the presentation of the office of the General Prosecutor of Russia with the object of recognizing the militant nationalist formation of Azov, and its other branches and titles, as a terrorist organization. The Prosecutor General acted at the request of the FSB ( Russia's national security service) ".

In this way, a political and judicial act of great importance is unfolding: the fact that the neo-Nazi prisoners, who have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes protected by NATO and under the umbrella of Volodímir Zelenski's regime, will not even be tried as military criminals, but as terrorists.

Russian-American military analyst Andrei Martyanov judges that

"That has serious international repercussions, because some people in the European Union and North America are going to have to consider who they're dealing with. And we can only wait until all the horror stories and the perpetrators are told and shown, including the commanders and the NATO volunteer personnel, to parade in front of the world in those courts, while looking into the eyes of the victims who survived. The new Nuremberg is coming and that makes a lot of people uncomfortable."

It should be noted that, according to Russian media and intelligence reports, there are NATO officers among the prisoners and besieged along with the Azov neo-Nazis. Journalist German Vladimirov reported in early April that "NATO officers from France, Germany, Britain and Sweden were stuck in Azovstal in Mariupol. At the moment they are contacting Russian troops with a request to help them to leave, to organize a corridor for the exit".

Bearing in mind that the war in the Donbas began eight years ago with a coup d'état led by the regent of NATO (United States) in Ukraine and the subsequent support of the governments of Poroshenko and Zelensky at the point of rampant neoliberalism and military dispatch , many of those commanders and combatants will have many stories and crimes of their own accord to tell.

In this way begins what could be a Nuremberg of the 21st century for the purpose of real denazification and not a rearrangement of the Nazi ranks in the political-military-scientific apparatus in Germany, the United States, Great Britain and Canada.

NATO BRAND MAKEUP

Despite what happens on the battlefield, the media affiliated with the NATO propaganda line squander headlines and media hoaxes in order to whitewash their own military disaster.

Larry Johnson, ex-CIA and US Army Special Operations Command instructor for 24 years, now turned independent military analyst, argues that the Zelensky regime is dishing out some stories to US and European news agencies that portray a make-up army Ukrainian to show him as a victorious one in the face of the Russian special military operation and other "news".

The evidence that neither Ukraine is using its own Russian tanks against them, nor is a coup against Vladimir Putin being carried out, nor is the Russian president sick with cancer, nor has the Ukrainian army seized territory in the Russian border. Given this, Johnson concludes:

" All these media squirrels are meaningless gestures invented by Ukrainian psy-ops fighters to divert attention from the disaster in Azovstal and the bad news flowing from the Donbas."

Imageimg]
Vocabulary for Western journalists (Photo: File)

All of this can only be described as a disinformation campaign, coupled with a kind of narrative improvisation, in the face of the disaster of having achieved the surrender of the most important Ukrainian combat corps outside the formal structures of the Kiev army, both because of its political-police-military position as for what it means as a "resistance" component against the Russian army and its allies in Donbas, Mariupol being the germinal headquarters of the Azov neo-Nazis.

That is why the journalist and geopolitical analyst Pepe Escobar did not hesitate to headline Western news again as follows: "NATO surrenders in Azovstal."

https://misionverdad.com/globalistan/la ... n-azovstal

Google Translator

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Igor Mosiychuk,

“Crimea will be Ukrainian or will be depopulated”

Originally published: Donbass-Insider on May 19, 2022 by Laurent Brayard (more by Donbass-Insider) (Posted May 20, 2022)

If you do not know this sordid character, you should know that the man is one of the leaders of the neo-Nazi party Pravy Sektor, a party that is very influential in military circles and very active in repression and assassinations. Pravy Sektor units were at work on the Donbass front, in Mariupol in particular, but also in all the cities of Ukraine to repress and persecute ethnic Russians, who would have had the intention of resisting, even through their culture or their language. Activists of this anti-Semitic and ultra-violent party participated not only in the Mayan, but also in the massacres in Odessa (May 2, 2014), and then in Mariupol (May 9), not to mention of course the Donbass. In my continuing research to try to show that decidedly yes, there are many neo-Nazi and ultra-nationalist extremists, here is now a character who is a caricature in his own right, Igor Mosyichuk.

From the nostalgic UPA massacres to the National Socialist Party of Ukraine. Mosiychuk was born in 1972 in the Poltava region of central Ukraine. Unlike many ultranationalist leaders, he did not study, but did his military service in the Soviet army. It was after the army that he started militant activities, first as an author of articles in an oriented press, advocating the ideals of the Great Ukraine, the white superior race, anti-Semitism and ultranationalism. He joined the UNA-UNSO (1994), one of the most violent neo-Nazi parties in Ukraine, which was also led by Yuri Shukhevych, the son of Roman, one of the “heroes” adulated by today’s Ukraine. Shukhevych had been one of the most active participants in the Nazi-orchestrated Holocaust by bullets (1941-1943) on the Eastern Front. He was one of the worst collaborators of Hitler’s Germany, killed with his weapons (1950). The UNA-UNSO, which was founded in Lvov (1990), provided fighters for the Transnistrian War, a civil war in Moldova which saw the defeat of Moldovan and Romanian ultranationalists who wanted to enslave the ethnic Russians in this region of former Bessarabia. It had also sent fighters to fight Russia in Chechnya, a war that was also lost. The party then campaigned for the rehabilitation of the UPA’s Nazi collaborators (now done), and then sent fighters to Georgia, in a new lost war (2008). In the meantime, the party supported the candidacy of President Yushchenko (whose wife is an American of Ukrainian origin and a CIA agent), before merging with Yaroch’s neo-Nazi party, the Pravy Sektor (2014).

From criminal and terrorist to Maidan glory. However, Mosiychuk followed a different path, joining the National Socialist Party of Ukraine, Svoboda (1998), of neo-Nazi Oleg Tiahnybok. At that time, he integrated the paramilitary organisation of this party, The Patriots of Ukraine, which was dissolved (2004), then re-founded (2005), and officially separated from Svoboda (2007). This branch was indeed even more extremist than this party (that’s saying something!). During this time he first worked as an adviser to Rada deputy Yuri Tyma and had a run-in with the law. He was arrested once for fraud and sentenced to 6 months in prison, but was released thanks to interventions by crooked politicians. A second case soon broke out, being accused of theft (2006), and then for non-payment of alimony, cases which remained unresolved. After Yanukovych came to power (2010), he was soon arrested as a city councilor with two neo-Nazis, Sergei Bevza and Vladimir Spahr, in possession of an explosive device (2011). The investigation revealed that he was planning an attack on the Lenin monument in Borispol, not far from Kiev, as well as a terrorist attack in Kiev on Independence Day. He and his accomplice Bevza were thrown into prison, and remained in pre-trial detention for a long time (2011-2014). The famous Maïdan revolution of “dignity” seriously disrupted his trial, sentenced to 6 years in prison (10 January 2014), the ultranationalist tide swept away everything in its path. He was soon released under the delirious pressure of the armed Maidan militias, and rehabilitated by a law voted by the Rada, declaring a general amnesty for all “political prisoners” (February 2014). Soon, the Kiev Court of Appeal cleared the two men of all charges, and they were finally acquitted (February 2015).

Beatings and death threats in the Rada. Having become an emblematic figure in the Ukraine of the Mayan, he immediately issued threats against Crimea (24 February 2014), indicating that a “friendship train” would come to clean up the peninsula. After the Odessa massacre, he declared that “this was the first victory against the secular enemy”. At the time, he was also deputy commander for public relations of the Azov battalion, which was mainly made up of members of the Nazi party Pravy Sektor, which he himself had joined on his release from prison. He distinguished himself in the Azov uniform by making police officers kneel down, weapons in hand, after they dared to stop his vehicle without a number plate and declared: ‘Now you will remember forever who Azov is’. (22 May). He had no trouble getting elected to the Kyiv City Council (25 May 2014), and even as a deputy in the Rada (November), soon making a name for himself with incessant provocations. After Ukrainian sabotage in Crimea partially deprived it of electricity, he made the following statement:

In addition to the food blockade of Crimea, Ukraine and Ukrainians must implement three main steps for the rapid liberation of Crimea from the Moscow invaders: 1) continue the energy blockade of Crimea by all possible means, 2) cut off the water supply to the occupied peninsula 3) stop the supply and transit of gas to temporarily occupied Crimea. If the Kiev regime does not take these steps to liberate the peninsula occupied by Moscow’s invaders, Ukrainians have a duty to fight for the liberation of Crimea without any mandate or permission from the ruling authorities. Remember that Crimea must be Ukrainian or deserted.

He then took up the cause of the Chechen Islamists (9 December), welcoming the opening of a second front against Russia, following bomb attacks. A criminal case was opened against him for apology and support of terrorism. He interposed himself between the judiciary and 14 teenagers arrested for destroying a plaque commemorating Marshal Zhukov, and by intimidation obtained their release (May 2015). His boundless violence exploded when, together with another neo-Nazi MP, Andrei Lozovoy, he beat up political opponent Alexander Baraboshko and TV presenter Alexei Durneva (21 July). Still unmolested, he threatened to kill MP and doctor Larissa Kulbatch, saying “I shot people like you”, and then beat a private citizen in his car in Odessa (August). This time, having gone really too far, the Kiev regime, embarrassed by his violent actions and crimes, lifted his parliamentary immunity and had him arrested, after a stormy session punctuated by insults and fights in the Rada (17 September).

In total and absolute impunity. The man was quickly exposed for several offences: corruption following bribes, racketeering, abuse of power in the framework of his functions as a deputy, vandalism and hooliganism, death threats against civil servants, interference in the judicial system and finally threats against magistrates. Like his neo-Nazi comrade, Savtchenko of the Aidar battalion imprisoned in Russia, he went on hunger strike, but had to withdraw his candidacy for the municipal elections in Kiev. Efforts to have him released failed, although the court provided concrete evidence of a bribe he had received (October), but his detention ended at the end of his custody (15 November). Under pressure from Poroshenko’s government, the Supreme Court of Ukraine annulled the vote of the Rada deputies and declared the prosecution of Mosiychuk illegal (March-May 2016), demonstrating, if it were still necessary, that there was a great deal of collusion between neo-Nazi circles and the regime. He continued to make headlines with shameless scandals, first by deserting the Rada benches, and soon photographed on ‘holiday’ in Dubai (October), at the expense of the princess. In trouble, it was proved that he had used a diplomatic passport (which he was not supposed to use), and once again fell through the cracks.

He again assaulted a former parliamentary assistant of political opponent Victor Medvedchuk in the Rada (16 November). He was again caught red-handed, several times, in the Rada, pushing the voting buttons of other deputies (2016-2017), always escaping punishment. He again attacked MP Sergei Kaplin in the Pechersk District Court in Kyiv (18 July 2017). He attacked social democratic party activists in a drunken state, tore up flags and trampled on them, then spat in the MP’s face and threw himself at him. Continuing his circus, during a television broadcast, he attacked the Georgian defector Saakashvili, chasing him with a cane (November), after a memorable spat. He escaped a bomb attack, which killed a police officer and a retired lieutenant-colonel in the streets of Kiev (25 October). Without any restraint, he started a general brawl in the Ternopol Regional Council (5 June 2018), by assaulting a deputy of this council, which ended with chairs. The cup still not being full, he again got into a long brawl with the doctor of political science Semchenko (24 December), live on the TV set of the NewsOne channel. Having been separated and Semchenko having left the studio, he found him at the exit to attack him again with his famous cane.

The end of the show and the return to darkness. At the end of his mandate, he was fined for violating the law on electoral campaigning (12 April 2019), having published information on social networks during the day of the 1st round of the presidential election (31 March). He indicated that he did not want to stand for re-election to the Rada assembly, but was indeed a candidate. He was very cumbersome, literally and figuratively, and having destroyed what little legitimacy he had to sit, he scored only 1% and was finally ousted (May). Russia started a new criminal case against him over the attack he and other neo-Nazi MPs had committed against the Russian embassy in Kiev in 2016 (December 2019). This case led to an arrest warrant issued by a Moscow court (2020). Although he had probably never set foot in the University of Lvov, he had graduated in business law from this university (2017). He reappeared when the Kiev prosecutor’s office announced the end of the preliminary investigation into the attack on him in late 2017. He had stated in this connection that he had been the target of special Russian agents… The prosecutor’s office did not accept this theory and two Ukrainian citizens on the run were to be tried in absentia (17 February 2021).

He has now disappeared completely from the scene, blending into the background and little is visible of him since the heyday of his antics. Very thinned out in the latest photos available, the question remains as to his true geolocation. He had an open conflict with Chechen President Kadyrov, and had threatened each other with death. With the sending of a Chechen division to the field of the special operation in Russia, it is possible that he is on the run… becoming a simple refugee in a hotel in Poland or elsewhere. Still, men like him have been the cancer of Ukraine for years. Enjoying unheard of immunity, even for a Ukrainian thug in his own country, we can honestly question why he has been such an almost unwavering supporter of the Ukrainian regime throughout this period. In 2014, the neo-Nazi party of which he is a member, Pravy Sektor, registered around 350,000 across Ukraine. In the West, and it was a phrase uttered by Laurent Fabius, Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2015:

there are no Nazis in Ukraine but a democratic regime and patriots.

https://mronline.org/2022/05/20/igor-mo ... populated/

Google Translator

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Russell Bentley: “The U.S. and NATO Are Waging War With Russia in Ukraine… but Russia is Assured of Victory”
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MAY 19, 2022
Finian Cunningham

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Russell Bentley has been living in the Donetsk People’s Republic for eight years where he now has obtained official citizenship.

Western news media are spinning wild delusions about Russia facing failure and defeat in Ukraine, says Russell Bentley, a former American soldier who has been fighting and living in the Donbass for the past eight years. In the following interview for Strategic Culture Foundation, he says Russia is assured of a stunning victory to defeat not just the Kiev regime but also its handlers in the U.S. and NATO powers.

This week, the New York Times and BBC, for example, belatedly and begrudgingly admitted that Russia had “triumphed” in Mariupol, the southern port city where for weeks the same Western media have been lionizing the “brave defenders” belonging to the NATO-sponsored and openly Nazi-affiliated Azov Battalion.

Russell Bentley has gained an international following for his courage and truth-telling. In this interview, he also bears testimony to the ravages and war crimes committed by what he calls the Nazi Kiev regime against the civilian population. He says it was vital that Russia launched its special military operation (Operation Z) on February 24 because the Kiev regime and the United States in concert with other NATO powers were planning a major deadly offensive against the Donbass. That offensive was pre-empted by Russia’s intervention. He says that while Russia has the military upper hand, the NATO powers are up to their necks in this conflict in a way that threatens a full-on world war. And the Western media are misleading the public about the grave dangers, cynically spouting lies about “defending Ukraine” instead of the reality that the U.S., NATO and the European Union are supporting Nazis and war criminals. He traces a historical political line back to the Second World War and how the Western powers assimilated German Nazi remnants into their power structures with baleful consequences that are manifest today.

Originally from Texas, Russell Bentley has been living in the Donetsk People’s Republic for eight years where he now has obtained official citizenship. He left the United States in late 2014 to join the DPR army to defend the breakaway republic from the NATO-backed Kiev regime. He said the suffering of innocent people at the hands of “NATO Nazis” compelled him to volunteer. Bentley has fought on the frontlines where he has seen many of his comrades-in-arms killed. He recently attended the funeral of one of them, Sergey Lysenko, a fighter and poet who was killed in the battle for Volnavaha on May 9, Victory Day. More recently, he has been broadcasting and working in communications to convey to the world what is really happening in the Donbass and Ukraine. He wryly points out that his broadcasting videos have been censored by Youtube while the U.S.-owned media platform continues to permit Ukrainian Nazi battalions to pump out their propaganda.

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Interview

Question: Western news media have been full of reports on how Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine is a failure. From the perspective of people on the ground in Donbass, how is Russia’s campaign going?

Russell Bentley: A lot of people in Donbass and Russia are concerned about the pace and even the conduct of Operation Z, especially in its early stages. In the beginning, some serious mistakes were made, but this is inevitable in every war. Russia has genuinely made every effort to minimize civilian casualties and destruction of infrastructure, what U.S. Nazis call “collateral damage” when their military invades and destroys countries. The U.S. regime has had total control of all political and military policies and decisions in Ukraine since 2014, and that includes the Ukrop [Ukrainian military] Nazis’ decision to use civilian human shields and to maximize death and destruction. Russia has faced an absolutely ruthless, even diabolical enemy while trying to maintain honor and morality by upholding and conforming to the laws of war, and setting a humane example. It is like a boxer using Marquis de Queensbury rules trying to fight an MMA fighter who also has brass knuckles and a knife. But the boxer is winning – militarily, economically, and politically.

Russia is winning, and we will win. Neither the Ukrainian military nor all of NATO can or will stop Russia from the complete accomplishment of all of the goals set for Operation Z. Nazified Ukraine, under the control of U.S., EU and NATO Nazis, is an existential threat to Russia, and Russia will deal with it as such. Ukraine will be de-nazified and de-militarized as far as Russia deems necessary. Of that, you can be certain.

The fact is that Russia has actually achieved a stunning victory. Standard military doctrine dictates an assault force requires a 3-to-1 numerical superiority to have a reasonable chance of victory, and Russia has achieved all its strategic goals thus far with an assault force of less than 1-to-1. The casualty reports from both sides should be taken with a grain of salt, but no serious observer can deny that Russia has dealt strategic losses to Ukrop army men and equipment while maintaining their own numbers at militarily acceptable and operational levels. Russia has used a small fraction (about 15 percent) of its military capabilities so far in Ukraine. The armchair Generals and keyboard commandos who criticize Russia’s military operations in Ukraine are for the most part far too ignorant of military tactics and strategy to even be considered qualified to have an opinion on the subject, so they should be silent. Don’t worry, we got this.

Question: There have been muted admissions in Western media that the United States is supplying intelligence to help the Kiev regime forces to target Russian troops. Have you seen much evidence of the U.S. and NATO providing intelligence to enable Kiev military operations?

Russell Bentley: Yes. The U.S., along with their EU and NATO henchmen, have had complete political, economic and military control over Ukraine since 2014. Every dead civilian and soldier, every person crippled for life, every blown-up or burned-down house, every psychologically traumatized child, every hungry, homeless dog and cat, on both sides, are absolutely and primarily the criminal responsibility of the genuine Nazis who own and control the U.S., EU, and Ukrainian regimes, and their militaries. The entire Ukraine war, ongoing since 2014 is in reality a proxy war of Western fascism against Russia, because Russia is the main obstacle to their objective of world domination.

The U.S. and NATO have had their Special Forces and highly trained mercenaries (including ISIS terrorists) in Ukraine since 2014. I can confirm this personally. The provision of intelligence to Ukraine from satellite, AWACS, drones, ELINT and SIGINT is a major force multiplier, as is the provision of expert advisors and instructors who also have been directly involved in frontline combat operations since 2014, which I can also personally confirm. The provision of multi-billions of dollars worth of weapons and ammo, along with Western orders to “fight Russia to the last Ukrainian”, lays bare the Western Nazis’ intent to leave Ukraine an irrecoverably failed state, just as they have done in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia and Yemen among other countries. Ukraine is currently under genuine foreign Nazi occupation, absolutely no less than it was from 1941 to 1943. The Ukrainian army today does not “defend” Ukraine, it deliberately destroys it, on behalf of a foreign and genuinely fascist regime that controls Ukraine from Kiev, but is actually based in Washington, London and Brussels. And Tel Aviv.

Without U.S. and NATO’s continuing support, Ukraine’s quisling regime would have already surrendered, the war would have ended, and thousands of lives would have been spared. So the absolute moral, legal and practical responsibility for the start, escalation, and continuation of this war lies with them. Russia doesn’t start wars, we finish them. And we will finish this one as well, victoriously, one way or another. It is up to our enemies in the U.S. and NATO to decide how much destruction and suffering they will cause Ukraine before their inevitable political de-nazification and military defeat.

Question: In areas of the Donbass that were formerly under the control of the Kiev regime forces but are now under the control of Russian forces, what has been the reaction of citizens to the changing circumstances?

Russell Bentley: I have made multiple trips to newly liberated areas, particularly Volnavaha and Mariupol, where some of the heaviest fighting and destruction occurred. Of course, no one is happy to see their home or large parts of their city destroyed, but the vast majority, I’d say more than 90 percent, of the people there, are happy to be liberated from the oppression and occupation of Nazi terrorists. The reports of rape, robbery, murder, torture, and human and organ trafficking are legion, but these crimes have now ceased, and are now being counted and investigated, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice.

Russia is bringing in hundreds of tonnes of humanitarian aid per day, every day, and the electric, gas, and water infrastructure is already being repaired or replaced in many of the liberated cities. Meanwhile, the West sends Ukraine billions of dollars worth of lethal military aid, but not a single dollar has been sent to people in the areas that the Kiev regime still claims there are Ukrainian citizens that they are “defending”. The people of Mariupol in particular saw for themselves how Azov Battalion Nazis used civilians as human shields and even slaughtered them in order to try to blame on Russia’s alleged “aggression”. Russia has liberated them from unaccountable Nazi rapists, torturers and murderers. Russia is the only one bringing in humanitarian aid and assisting with reconstruction and repair. Of course, all sane and decent citizens in the liberated zones are very glad to see them. Only the Nazis and war criminals are not.

Question: During the eight years after the CIA-backed 2014 coup in Kiev, what was life like for the people in the separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk (DPR and LPR)?

Russell Bentley: Life in a war zone is never easy. Since the people of the Donbass republics stood up and refused to submit to foreign fascist rule in the spring of 2014, they have been under constant military attack, economic blockade and political persecution. And yet we have prevailed, not only survived but thrived, in spite of very difficult conditions. By literally every metric of human life quality, from the cost of living to political freedom, the Donbass republics have fared far better than people in the parts of Ukraine under the Kiev regime.

In Ukraine, the quality of life began a steep decline immediately after the Maidan coup d’état in early 2014. After the new regime was filled with stooges hand-picked by the U.S. State Department and CIA, the Ukrainian military and Nazi terrorist battalions were unleashed against any and all Ukrainian citizens who protested against the coup. This led to massacres in Odessa, Mariupol, Kharkov, Lugansk and Donetsk (among many other places) along with terrorist oppression against any political dissent. Foreign Gauleiters were brought in and installed, such as Ulana Suprin, an American-born physician from a pro-Bandera family who was appointed Minister of Health, and then proceeded to gut the Ukrainian national healthcare system. U.S.-born “investment banker” and State Department employee Natalie Jaresco was appointed Minister of Finance of Ukraine and from 2014 to 2016, looted the Ukrainian treasury with impunity. The fugitive ex-President of Georgia, Mikhail Saakashvili, (who is now in prison for corruption in Georgia) was appointed Governor of Odessa Oblast (state) from May 2015 to November 2017. Under his reign, Odessa became a major hub for sex slavery and human-organ trafficking, as well as the illegal and unregulated import of toxic waste.

As elsewhere, since the Covid-19 pandemic economic disruptions, prices in the Donbass republics have risen significantly, and even more so in recent months. Wages have to some degree kept pace with prices, and some prices such as rent, utilities and fuel have actually remained static. In spite of an economic blockade by the Kiev regime and the West, the Donbass republics continue to enjoy a very normal and generally satisfactory standard of living. Medical care and education remain free in the republics, and both are of comparable quality to Russia. Wages are higher in Russia, but so are prices, so the standard of living in the republics is generally better than in Ukraine and on par with Russia’s. Russia has a strong military, economic, energy, and food security, so the republics can expect the same in the future. Practically and politically (if not officially) we are part of Russia, and expect and continue to have similar living standards.

Question: Has the security situation improved for the populace of the DPR and LPR since Russia launched its military intervention on February 24?

Russell Bentley: The most important thing to understand about the Russian intervention into Ukraine is that it was a preemptive defensive move that prevented an imminent and massive military attack by the Ukrainian army on the main cities of the republics – Donetsk, Makeevka, Yasynuvata, Gorlovka and Lugansk. All of these cities are literally on the frontlines, with the city centers a scant 10 or 12 kilometers from Ukrop military positions. Had the Russians hesitated, and the attack occurred as planned, and had the Ukrops made it into our city centers, or even into the heavily populated urban areas on the outskirts, their human-shield strategy would have been immediately implemented, and they would have used our civilian population as shields against Russia’s main military advantages, namely, Russian artillery, missile and air power.

It was (and is) also clear that the second wave of the assault forces, made up of the most ruthless Nazi war criminal battalions, were tasked with genocide and ethnic cleansing of the cities, which would have resulted in hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths, through not only the ensuing urban combat but from intentional and targeted mass murder of ethnic Russians by Ukrainian “Einsatzgruppen”, exactly as the German Nazis had done in these same cities 80 years before. And it is an undeniable fact and proven beyond any doubt, that the strategy of human shields, genocide and ethnic cleansing was designed and ordered by U.S. and NATO war criminals. So the Russian intervention saved the populations of our cities that otherwise would have been doomed had Russia hesitated.

Since the beginning of Operation Z in late February, the Ukrainian shelling that has been ongoing since 2014 has significantly increased, especially targeted attacks on civilians, such as open-air markets and residential areas where our military do not operate. There has been an increase in both shelling and civilian deaths, but compared with the mass slaughter that was planned, there can be no doubt that the Russians saved our people in the tens or hundreds of thousands. Which is certainly an increase in our security.

Question: Do you think Russia should have intervened sooner than 2022 to prevent aggression from the NATO-backed Kiev regime?

Russell Bentley: Many people do, and for a while, I did too. I now see things differently and much more clearly. Vladimir Putin is the president of Russia, and as he has clearly stated, his job is to protect Russia and the Russian people. Everything else comes second. In 2014, Russia was not prepared militarily, economically, or politically for an incursion into Ukraine, because it must be understood that any incursion into Ukraine risked, and in fact, continues to risk, a full-on confrontation with NATO, which would have been, and still is, not only military but economic, political and informational. Had he overtly intervened in the earlier years, he would have fallen into the trap set for him (and Russia) by the Western Nazi powers. Putin played his hand brilliantly, avoided the trap, and intervened only when Russia was ready, and in fact, has created a counter-ambush into which the U.S. and EU have inescapably fallen.

The Russian economy may not be bigger than the U.S. or EU’s, but it is much stronger than either, even both. Russia’s economic, energy and food security ensure that it will not only survive the economic war that is already in the process of going global, but will emerge victorious while the U.S. and (even more so) the EU’s economic and political demise (if not destruction) are already inevitable.

Europe and Ukraine will face a food crisis this year that will border on famine, and exactly because the citizens allowed their rulers to design such a situation. It was the completely voluntary sanctions on Russian fuel and fertilizer by the mis-rulers of the EU and Ukraine that allowed a situation to develop wherein a loaf of bread may realistically cost 10 euros by the end of the year, and there may not even be enough bread for those who can afford it. Because the ruling class of the EU obeyed the U.S. orders to refuse to buy Russian gas, European fertilizer production has been brought to a standstill. The amount of fertilizer needed for adequate agricultural production to feed the population is simply not produced. That means that this year, there will just not be enough food for all the people in Europe. People will face drastic food shortages and price inflation and even hunger.

This all could have been avoided, easily, if the EU masters had any consideration for their citizens. They don’t. And they are not stupid, nobody can be that stupid. The only realistic conclusion is that they are creating hardship and famine on purpose. They are.

Russia is now prepared to face off with these monsters and either defeat or destroy them. Russia’s military is prepared, and Russia’s economic, energy, and agricultural sectors are prepared. Russia has cemented its alliance with China, as well as other strategic countries, such as Iran and India, and much of Africa, South America and the Middle East. Russia is ready to fight the Third World War, whether conventional or nuclear. As I have said since 2015, “As goes Donbass, so goes the world.” It is true.

It can honestly be said that Russia, under the brilliant leadership of Vladimir Putin, picked the perfect time to strike, not one day too early or too late. Anyone who thinks they can second-guess Vladimir Putin makes themselves ridiculous by saying so and only proves they are too ignorant to be qualified to have an opinion on the subject, much less state it. Unfortunately, there are quite a lot of people who fall into that category.

Question: Russia has emphasized the “de-nazification” of Ukraine as an objective for its intervention. How is that effort progressing and what will prevent the return of the Nazi influence over the Ukrainian state in the future?

Russell Bentley: The first part of the de-nazification process is obviously the neutralization of their military capabilities, the capture of the Nazis and war criminals, and the investigation of their crimes. This process is proceeding apace, and will continue and accelerate as Russia liberates more and more of Ukraine, especially Donbass and Kiev.

The trial and execution of the major war criminals is an imperative part of the de-nazification process. Examples must also be made of the minor “foot soldier” war criminals. Justice, as well as practical reason, also demands their execution. A Nazi is like a mad dog or poisonous snake, or any other unrepentant mass murderer who has acquired a taste for killing and human blood. There is no way to reason with them, there is no way to appeal to compassion or humanity that they are devoid of. They must be put out of their misery.

One of the Soviet Union’s biggest mistakes, which we are paying for now, was to allow so many German Nazi war criminals to escape to the West and continue to incubate and procreate the malignant virus of Nazism. Unrepentant advocates of Nazism, the philosophy of “herrenvolk” (master race) and “Untermenschen” (subhuman), that some people are superior, and that those they consider to be “inferior” human beings can be used as livestock or slaves, or exterminated like insects, pass this vile philosophy on to their spawn, who continue the traditions.

Whether German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s grandfather was an SS General is quite possible, but not proven. That Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland’s grandfather was a Nazi collaborator in Ukraine, and that Freeland continues the legacy of her Banderist predecessor is beyond dispute. She herself has openly admitted it. That some of the worst Nazi war criminals were not only aided in their escape from justice but given positions of wealth and political power in the West is likewise a proven fact. Prior Nazi connections in business or family are not just no obstacle to the entrance to elite oligarchic and political circles, in many cases, they certainly seem to be an advantage, if not a prerequisite. Just ask the Board of Directors of Monsanto/Bayer, descended from I.G. Farben, or the scions of Prescott Bush or Henry Ford. The philosophy of Nazism must be eradicated. Permanently.

Question: Is a peaceful coexistence between Ukraine and the Donbass republics possible in the future?

Russell Bentley: Yes, not only possible but highly probable. After the liberation and absolute de-nazification of Ukraine, at least as far as (and including) Kiev, the political and military leadership of the Donbass republics will take responsibility along with Russia for the political, economic, and infrastructure rebuilding of Ukraine. Ukraine was once the industrial and agricultural powerhouse of the USSR. It can again be the same in the Russian Federation. There are many fraternal people in Russia and Donbass who would be happy to see it be so, and will gladly help to make it so. Those who do not want to be a part of building the New Ukraine with us can move to whatever part of western Ukraine we might allow the West to occupy, or they can go to the EU to be immigrants and second-class citizens themselves. There may not be any more strawberries to pick in Poland, but in the EU, there will always be jobs for prostitutes and hitmen, jobs that pro-Bandera Ukrainians are naturally qualified for.

Question: Why are there two separate Donbass republics, DPR and LPR? Could they coalesce into one unified state in the future? Do you see them eventually joining the Russian Federation as Crimea did in 2014?

Russell Bentley: That there have been two separate republics for all these years is usually and superficially explained by the story that the FSB [Russian state security service] has responsibility for the DPR, and the GRU [Russian foreign military intelligence] for the LPR, and that there is a bureaucratic rivalry between them. I think there may be some factual basis for this theory, but I am sure it is not the whole story. While the regular folks in both republics have a great deal in common, there are major economic, demographic and even political differences between the two. But we are, above all, fraternal comrades, and we know we could not survive without each other.

I do not think and do not hope, that the Donbass republics will be absorbed by the Russian Federation. We will be needed here, desperately, to help build the New Ukraine, and I can say with certainty that it cannot be done without us. Furthermore, many here in Donbass are proud of our roots, and as much as we love, respect, appreciate and need Russia and its fraternal friendship and support, we would prefer to maintain our own identity, much the same as my native Texas maintains its own identity vis-a-vis the USA. I do not speak for everyone in this matter, maybe not even a majority, but I speak for many, including myself, my family and most of my friends.

Question: Do you think the U.S.-led NATO bloc will confine their proxy war with Russia to Ukraine or will the war expand to include other European countries?

Russell Bentley: Operation Z in Ukraine, while a real war, and the biggest war in Europe since the NATO attack on Yugoslavia more than two decades ago, is still at this point, mostly symbolic. The military outcome is already beyond question, and Russia can crush as much of Ukraine and its military as it wants, anytime it wants. Their gentle kid-glove prosecution of the war so far is the proof. As is the fact that while Ukrop Nazis bomb civilian targets daily, the Russian military has so far never once bombed the administration buildings or targeted specific political or military leaders in the Kiev regime-occupied areas of the Donbass republics. Likewise, political and military figures in Kiev and Lvov, domestic and otherwise, have not been targeted by Russian missiles. It appears to me there is a quid pro quo agreement in place. “War is politics by other means”, and I am convinced there is still a lot of politics going on behind the scenes that not even the most genuinely well-informed public pundits have any clue about.

The real war is economic, has already begun, and is already global, and Russia has already delivered a crushing blow to her enemies. Politically, militarily and above all, economically, Russia is ascendant, and the Nazi West is headed for its well-earned Götterdämmerung. Nuclear weapons are the wild card, and either side can use them at any time. Russia, if it perceives an existential threat; the Western Nazis could use nuclear weapons probably in a false-flag provocation, or in the demented fulfillment of their depopulation program, thinking that the oligarch scum hiding under mountains can survive a full-force nuclear exchange. Doctor Strangelove in real life…

I believe that the chances that this conflict/confrontation will end in an all-out nuclear war are more probable than not. Maybe not this year or next, but as more time passes, I think the chances increase until they become inevitable, without divine intervention or some other natural disaster that precludes the use or need for it. I hope I am wrong. But I am quite sure things will get worse before they get better.

Ninety-eight percent of Western media are professional liars and propagandists. What they write and say is almost always the exact opposite of the truth, and when it’s not, they are only using a fragment of truth, out of context, in order to deceive.

Question: Your personal journey from the United States to take up arms and fight for the defense of the Donbass back in late 2014 is quite a remarkable story of adventure. Yet the only media attention you have received from the U.S. has been to smear you as a “Russian propagandist”. What do you make of the lack of open-minded interest in your life journey from the American media?

Russell Bentley: Ninety-eight percent of Western media are professional liars and propagandists. What they write and say is almost always the exact opposite of the truth, and when it’s not, they are only using a fragment of truth, out of context, in order to deceive. Like former White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki, they will lie, straight-faced, knowing that they are lying, and knowing that you know they are lying, and knowing that you know they know you know they know they are lying. Can there be a more contemptible creature on this Earth? Lord, I hope not.

These scum are well-paid “presstitutes”, but even whores have more honor, humanity, and dignity. Western propagandists are like whores who work knowing they have venereal disease, and willingly and knowingly pass it on to their clients. It has correctly been said that “respect for the truth is the basis for all morality”, and this saying is really, really true. And these Western media whores are the mortal enemies of the truth, and thus, morality. I do not pay any attention to what they say about me. Their words are like the buzzing of flies to me.

Question: Can you explain what made you decide to take up the cause of the Donbass people?

Russell Bentley: I had been following developments in Ukraine since the beginning of the Maidan protests in 2013-2014 and U.S. envoy Victoria Nuland handing out cookies to the protesters. On May 2, 2014, there was the Odessa Massacre, and a month later, on June 2, there was an airstrike by the Ukrainian Air Force (on U.S. orders) against the Administration Building in Lugansk. A woman named Inna Kukurudza was hit in the strike, and both her legs were blown off. A man came up filming the aftermath of the strike with his phone. Inna was still alive, but dying, and asked the man to use his phone to call her family. She did not live long enough to make the call. An iconic photo was made from that film of Inna Kukurudza looking straight into the camera. When I saw that photo, it was as if she was looking directly into my eyes, into my soul, and asking me personally and directly, “What are you going to do about this?” At that exact moment, I knew I was going to Donbass to protect people like Inna and to kill people like the ones who murdered her, an innocent civilian, on a nice summer afternoon. And I have done it. Six months after seeing her photo, I was in Donetsk, in the Vostok Battalion, heading to the frontline. Here is her photo. So my question to people now is, “What are you going to do about it?”
Coming here, I was not only taking up the cause of the Donbass people, who defend Donbass, and defend Russia. Who defends Russia, defends the future of humanity. And humanity includes all good people of all nations. The vast majority of people in the West these days are coprophagous zombies who are too brainwashed to ever redeem themselves. They eat shit, and have learned to like it, and are angry and offended if you suggest they change their diet. But the two percent who are not “woke”, but aware, who know history, can actually perceive reality, who understand what is at stake, and are willing to do more than hit “Like” on a Facebook page to do something about it, these are our audience and the hope for humanity. And there still is hope, because two percent in the U.S. and EU are still tens of millions of people. All good people must stick together and work together. If we do, we can still win and make a better world for everyone. And even if we can’t, let’s give it our best shot. What else better do we have to do?

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Question: You have made your life in the Donetsk People’s Republic, having obtained citizenship and started a family there. How have local people taken to the “man from Texas” in their midst?

Russell Bentley: When I came here in December 2014, I honestly did not expect to live through the winter, and had good reason for that expectation. I was 54 years old, out of shape, didn’t speak Russian, coming to the small side of a big war, the People’s Militia versus the entire might of the NATO-backed Ukrainian army, the third most powerful army in Europe. But I came anyway, and it was the best move I ever made in my life. I had a hard life growing up, and spent five years in U.S. federal prison for marijuana smuggling, but I also did a lot of cool things, a lot of travel, adventure, a lot of fun, and a lot of pleasure. But the last eight years here in Donbass have been the best years of my life. I’ll be 62 years old next month, and how many men in the U.S. or EU, or anywhere, can say that at 62 they are living the best years of their life?

It took a lot of courage to come here to join the DPR army, to fight, to willingly face death, not expecting to win. I’m not bragging, it’s just a simple fact. And by doing so, I learned and proved one of the most important lessons in life: courage is the key to happiness. Because it is impossible to be happy when you are afraid. So do not be afraid. By being brave, I brought myself to the best part of my life. You can do the same.

When I came here, I had no idea or imagination or ambitions about being an “internet star” or a correspondent or anything like that. But I am a poet and singer-songwriter, I have a talent for communication and inspiration and my work with a camera and computer has had more impact than my work with a Kalashnikov or RPG. People know my work and my name and respect me in China, Australia, South Africa, South America, every country in Europe, and, of course, all over the USA, Texas, and Mexico. And Donbass and Russia. But I did not come here looking for fame or fortune. The thing that I am proudest about in my whole life is the respect and friendship of the soldiers I fought with, and the citizens I live with. They know who I am, and really appreciate me being here, and that is my greatest honor.

Question: What are your thoughts on how the Western news media has been censoring Russian media and any critical opinion on how the U.S., NATO, and the European Union bear major responsibility for creating conflict with Russia?

Russell Bentley: It proves their cowardice and mendacity. Fools hate the wise, cowards hate the brave, and liars hate the truth. The truth is being drowned in an ocean of lies these days, but the truth is still out there, and it is still the truth. It is our most powerful weapon, and that is why they fear it and try to erase it. They know a dollar worth of our truth can overcome a billion dollars worth of their bullshit and lies, so that is why we must defend it at all costs. Courage, truth, solidarity, these are our weapons. We must be ready and willing to die, and to kill who and what needs killing. We are not just fighting for nationality or a race or political philosophy, we are fighting for the future of humanity. Davai!

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/05/ ... f-victory/
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Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part IV

Post by blindpig » Fri May 20, 2022 4:19 pm

Lieutenant Colonel Jacques Guillemain: “Ukrainian Soldiers are Entrenched in the Cities”
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MAY 19, 2022
Continental Observer

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Continental Observer conducted an interview with Lieutenant Colonel Jacques Guillemain, a former Air Force pilot, who provides us with his analysis of the situation in Ukraine, but also on on NATO.

Concerning the characteristics of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine. How can an independent expert explain and comment on this?


Jacques Guillemain: First of all, I thank you for this interview, which allows us to contradict the dominant anti-Russian discourse. One day, historians will be able to sort out the truth from the falsehood. I do not claim to be an “independent expert”, but the observation of the real facts allows one to form an opinion, free from any one-sided propaganda. Every war has multiple reasons, and the key to any analysis is to remain objective. This is not the case in the Western camp, which is totally enslaved to Washington’s narrative, which amounts to designating Putin as the aggressor and sole culprit. The disinformation is insane.

However, for Vladimir Putin, it is above all a question of ensuring the security of Russia and its people, threatened by constant pressure from NATO since 1990. It is all the same dismaying to hear that Russia is the aggressor, when NATO, despite the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact in 1991, has found nothing better than to integrate 14 countries of the former USSR, thus going from 16 countries in 1990 to 30 members in 2022 and soon 32, with Sweden and Finland. I would add that the Minsk agreements signed in 2015 by Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France, providing for autonomy for the pro-Russian republics of Donbass, have never been respected. A war waged by Kiev against the separatist republics resulted in 13,000 deaths, but who is talking about it? And, it is proven that Kiev was preparing an attack on the separatists for March 2022, a reality that precipitated the Russian offensive. Putin does not want missiles on Ukrainian soil, just as Kennedy did not want them in Cuba in 1962. An obvious fact that our Western “experts” prefer to hide.

Why is the German practice of creating “Festung” – fortress cities with civilians as “human shields” – visible in the actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU)?

Urban warfare is the response of the weak to the strong. It is estimated that in open terrain, the balance of power between the attacker and the defender must be 3 to 1 to ensure victory. But it increases to 6 or 10 to 1 in an urban war. An exorbitant cost for the attacker. A suicidal option that Putin refused in Kiev. There is no question of conquering the city district by district, house by house. There is no question of razing a city of 2.5 million inhabitants and adding up the civilian casualties, as the enemy does not hesitate to take over inhabited buildings, hospitals and even schools to protect itself from the Russian artillery.

It is obvious that the Ukrainian army has no chance of resisting the Russian army in a frontal clash in open terrain. The Ukrainians have never carried out any large-scale attacks and have totally suffered the invasion of the first three days of the war. Since then, the front has stabilized over 1000 km long and 150 km wide. The Ukrainians understood that urban warfare was their salvation, and this is what they practice, which explains the destruction in many cities, even if the Russians target only military objectives, not wanting to raze the cities and kill civilians.

In 1944, Hitler proposed the idea of “Festung” in cities that had operational or strategic importance. The enemy had to occupy these “strongholds” first in order to free up transportation routes for a new offensive. In August 1944, American troops began the siege of the French port of Brest. It was turned into a “Festung” by the German general, Bernhard Ramke, who held the defense for 43 days before surrendering. Many inhabitants of Brest were killed, starved to death or perished under the rubble.

Can we see a similar military strategy with the Ukrainian army?

Warfare in the shelter of fortresses has existed since the dawn of time. Messada, Alesia, Constantinople, to name only the most famous sieges. The Middle Ages were built around castles, these fortresses that were most often besieged, waiting for famine and disease to do the work instead of weapons. Therefore, it is understandable that the Ukrainian soldiers are entrenched in the cities. But, we must not forget that the Russians are perfectly informed about the targets to be destroyed. When Ukrainian soldiers hide in a civilian building, it becomes a military target, with the risk of collateral losses. The Russians fear that in the Donbass, the Ukrainians will generalize an urban war like in Mariupol, which would lead to inevitable destruction and civilian casualties.

In Ukrainian cities, Ukrainian armed forces have not only taken Ukrainian citizens hostage. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, more than 7,500 foreigners are currently being held hostage in Ukrainian cities. Why don’t the French media talk about this?

In this war, there is only one culprit, Putin, according to the Western narrative. Therefore, let’s not expect from our media the truth about the Ukrainian turpitude and exactions. We are never told about Kiev’s crimes in Donbass for eight years. Yes, it is the great silence on the civilians who are used as human shields, on the foreigners trapped by the war. But there is also a silence about the hundreds of foreign soldiers serving alongside Ukrainian soldiers, either as advisors or as mercenaries. We learn on the Russian side that NATO officers have been killed, but nothing filters through to the Ukrainian side. The best example is the Azovstal fortress, where Azov units, civilians and foreign soldiers were locked up. The siege of this factory seems to be over, since the civilians have been evacuated and 260 fighters have surrendered. The Russian command expects a lot from this partial surrender, rich in information of all kinds.

During the war, the first strikes are made against the capital of the attacked state, the residence of its leader and the military headquarters. Why does Russia almost never strike the centers of political and military leadership, does not destroy key infrastructure – rail transport, communications, pipelines, bridges and other facilities for survival of the civilian population?

In my opinion, Kiev was never a military objective for Putin. He probably thought that the Ukrainians would not object to the overthrow of a corrupt government, hated by the population. But Biden decided otherwise and saw in this Russian offensive, the unexpected opportunity to fight Russia by proxy. And Zelensky, manipulated by Washington, immediately took on the role of David against Goliath. The media artillery then took it upon itself to make the Ukrainian president the new Churchill and Putin a “butcher”. The result is that Ukraine, helped by forty nations, “resists” the Russian bear, but at what price? How many military losses? How many civilian victims? How much destruction? Only the Americans are the big winners of this useless relentlessness. Because Putin will not back down. Crimea and the Donbass will remain Russian. In my opinion, the “hero” Zelensky will have to answer to his people one day, for having refused to negotiate when there was still time. And, to answer the second part of your question, Putin never wanted to wage war on the brotherly Ukrainian people, but only on the regime in place and the Nazi units accused of abuses by Amnesty International and Human Right Watch. He first wanted to preserve all civilian infrastructures. He only decided to destroy them in order to block the convoys of arms supplied on a massive scale by the West.

How do you explain the fact that Russia supplies Europe with gas via Ukraine?

Putin would be wrong to deprive himself of this manna which brings him billions. He has almost doubled his income with the rise in prices, and these sales in rubles have enabled him to bring the ruble back to its pre-war level. As for the rights of passage that Ukraine receives, this is part of the give and take deals that we see in all conflicts.

Why hasn’t Russia refused to honor the contracts?

For the moment, Putin needs these contracts. Let’s not forget that the West has blocked, not to say stolen from Russia, $300 billion in foreign exchange reserves, half of the reserves of the Bank of Russia. A hold-up never seen in history. If France’s nominal GDP is 2500 billion euros, Russia’s is 1500 billion. Therefore, the main wealth of Russia, beyond its scientific geniuses, is its colossal mining resources, that is to say 20% of the world reserves!

What position should France take in this conflict?

A total neutrality. No arms to Ukraine, but massive humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people. Secondly, I am in favor of leaving the integrated command of NATO, which has become an offensive alliance at the sole service of Uncle Sam and in particular the American arms lobby. We do not have to be the Americans’ auxiliaries in their colonial expeditions worthy of the 19th century. Adventures that have all ended in fiascos.

Finally, Sweden and Finland have declared that they want to join NATO. What is your opinion on this decision?

I am opposed to it, but I hear that Putin is ready to accept this double membership, provided that no NATO base is established in these countries. And if Biden plays with fire, we should not be surprised if the world relives a new Cuban missile crisis, that frightening game of “nuclear poker” that was played in 1962 and brought the planet to the brink of the Apocalypse. Because Putin is not Khrushchev…

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/05/ ... he-cities/

Nazism, the West, Ukraine
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MAY 19, 2022
Vladimir Odintsov

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Despite the lessons of World War II, unfortunately the author has to say that the events of the last eight years in and around Ukraine have demonstrated not only the vitality of Nazism, but also the desire of a number of Western leaders to revive it across the board.

Since early 1930s, Western ruling circles were investing huge sums to finance Hitler’s regime. It is a well known fact that in 1932 Bank of England Governor Montague Norman and the Dulles brothers held a secret meeting with Adolf Hitler, which resulted in a decision to finance the NSDAP and lend to the German Reichsbank. Even after the outbreak of World War II, American business continued to operate in Germany and assist the Third Reich, not only in supplying fuel and lubricants via Spain.

Britain and France, with the moral support of the United States, allowed Germany, Poland and Hungary to divide Czechoslovakia in 1938 under the Munich Agreement. In the meantime, Western leaders did not hide their hope that the next victim of territorial partition would be the Soviet Union. However, they miscalculated. It was the Soviet people who defeated Nazism, dealing a decisive blow to Hitler’s armies not only on Soviet territory, but also liberating Europe.

Many dynastic German companies notoriously owe their position to their sympathies for the Nazis and even their willful participation in Nazi evil, American Thinker reports. The publication investigated the story of five major industrialists who financed Adolf Hitler’s rise to power, were implicated in horrific crimes and received billions from their bloody investments. Since 1947, after the outbreak of the Cold War, President Harry Truman’s priorities have shifted from punishing Germany to ensuring its economic recovery. While Nazi industrialists were purging their archives, the US organized a series of pardons in 1950-1951. The Korean War was going on, so America needed Germany and its industry.

A popular subreddit recently discussed the secret Operation Paperclip, in which US intelligence services moved scientists from Nazi Germany to work in the US after World War II to ensure that technology and advanced military designs did not fall into the hands of the Soviet Union. This discussion also showed concern among residents of the US and other countries about the resurgence of Nazism and support for Moscow’s efforts to denazify Ukraine.

Realizing that the USSR’s victory over fascism after World War II became an important ideology uniting progressive forces all over the world around Moscow, the United States, together with Britain and a number of their other Western “allies,” actively began to rewrite history, erasing Russia’s role in the victory over fascism from the memory of the younger Western generation by all means. Particular emphasis was placed on consigning to oblivion the heroism of Soviet soldiers and commanders during World War II and demolishing the monuments erected to them in various European countries.

As a result, Washington, through its established system of interference in the internal affairs of Western states, has trained and brought to power in many European states its proxies, bred on a US-friendly perception of international events with an active Russophobic stance. Given that it is women politicians who are most often and strongly influenced by external factors of persuasion rather than their own reason and experience, the promotion of senior women politicians to European decision-making circles has been a particular focus of Washington. As a result, such “politicians” have become the engine of Russophobia in Europe, especially in the Baltic States, Poland and a number of other Eastern European countries, Germany and EU governing structures.

In the last century, Poland was called the “hyena of Europe.” And not just by anyone, but by Winston Churchill himself, who could hardly be accused of being pro-Soviet or pro-Russian about anything. Therefore, a series of incidents in this country with the demolition of monuments to Soviet soldiers, as well as the latest incident on May 9 during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Soviet Military Cemetery in Warsaw, when Russian Ambassador Sergey Andreev was sprayed with red paint, only proved that Churchill’s nickname for Poland was rightly earned.

A report in the Süddeutsche Zeitung also attests to the growing number of adherents of Nazism in the West, against the background of the blatant encouragement of such a trend by the current governing circles in Europe. According to it, in the past three years, 327 officers linked to right-wing ideology, so-called “citizens of the Reich,” have been detected among German security officials alone. The existence of an interregional extremist network could not be established, but the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution drew attention to the fact that the officers, who were found to be right-wing radicals, had numerous links with various extremists, relevant parties, as well as organizations linked to hooligan subculture and martial arts. Over a three-year period, 860 cases were handled, the German publication continues. Intelligence services were required in 38% of cases.

In addition, the German government has information that the neo-Nazi partyThird Way sent material aid to “warring nationalists in Ukraine” in March, according to a response to an enquiry by the Leftist faction in the Bundestag.

For too long has the “civilized West” ignored the tragedy of the people of Donbas, who suffered eight years of regular attacks and outright genocide at the hands of nationalist neo-fascist Ukrainian battalions. Europe and the US have blatantly turned a blind eye to the suffering of ordinary people, supporting criminals who aimed to exterminate the Russians. When Russia, through its representatives, tried to draw international attention to the criminal revival of Nazism, the West restricted the dissemination of such information as much as possible. And an incident on the British channel Sky News on May 10, when its host abruptly cut short a live conversation with Dmitry Polyanskiy, First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, after he showed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posting on Instagram (an extremist social network banned in Russia) a photo of a Ukrainian soldier with an SS division emblem on it, was indicative in this regard. Polyanskiy responded by saying that Britain’s actions in “forgetting everything we fought for” were “an absolute disaster and a disgrace.”

But now Russia has once again demonstrated to the world that Nazism is a destructive and dangerous ideology, followed only by sadists and thugs. This is documented by correspondence from local and a number of foreign journalists on the results of Ukraine’s special denazification operation. These results clearly show that the said special operation is important not only for the residents of Donetsk and Luhansk or for Ukrainians and Russians, but for the whole world. Today, despite US sanctions and information restrictions implosed on Russia and its allies, more and more countries and social movements are coming to realize this, refusing to follow the criminal policies of Washington and its Western allies and expressing their support for Moscow.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/05/ ... t-ukraine/

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Image

Canada: Ken Stone’s Piece on Ukraine Rejected by Hamilton Spectator
May 19, 2022

The following Op-Ed was submitted to the Hamilton Spectator by Hamilton Coalition’s treasurer Ken Stone. It, however, remains unpublished.

For your convenience, it is being reproduced below. Following the letter is the original editorial it was composed as a response to.


Not Published in the Hamilton Spectator: My recent opinion piece, on the urgent need for the Trudeau government to stop fuelling the conflict in Ukraine and instead to seek a ceasefire and negotiated end to the crisis, was refused by the newspaper. Since the war began, the Spec has refused to publish anything from our Hamilton Coalition To Stop The War in reference to Ukraine.

By Ken Stone – May 6, 2022

Here’s the opinion piece:​”I liked the title of the Spec’s recent editorial: “Pulling back from wider war in Europe.”1 Regrettably, however, your starting premise that “the danger of escalation is coming mostly from Russia”, was wrong. Actually, NATO countries, including Canada, are fuelling this war by flooding Ukraine with weapons, money, and “volunteers”; by uncritically spreading atrocity stories; and by levelling ever-wider unilateral economic sanctions on Russia.

Let’s start with Chrystia Freeland’s latest budget. In it, she earmarked $500m. for military aid to Ukraine and gratuitously included a declaration of war on Russia, until “the Russian tyrant and his armies are entirely vanquished.”2 The funding came on top of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars and shiploads of arms given to Ukraine since the Canadian-supported Maidan coup of 2014, which overturned the democratically-elected Yanukovych government and replaced it with a pro-western junta.3

And then there are the hundreds of Canadian “volunteers” who have been recruited for Ukraine’s International Legion in violation of Canada’s Foreign Enlistment Act and who have been encouraged to join up by statements by Ministers Anand and Joly.4 Their purpose, like other NATO cabinet ministers, is to turn Ukraine into a de facto NATO state.

The fact is that, since the end of the Cold War, NATO, rather than disbanding itself upon the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, expanded 800 km eastwards and took in 14 former Soviet and Warsaw Pact states – despite a promise to Gorbachov not to expand one inch eastward of a reunited Germany.5 NATO’s strategic goal is to expand right up to all the borders of the Russian Federation and then to subject Russia to what NATO did to the former Yugoslavia in the 1990’s: dismemberment.

I believe that several opportunities for a ceasefire in Ukraine have been squandered by unsubstantiated Russian atrocity stories, carried by the Spec, which scuttled any possible diplomatic negotiations to end the conflict. Making matters even worse was the ludicrous motion by the NDP’s Heather McPherson to label Russia’s military operation in Ukraine a “genocide.” That resolution trivializes the word, “genocide”, and ignores the fact that the Harper and Trudeau governments knowingly supported and trained open neo-Nazis in the security apparatus of the post-Maidan Ukrainian state.6 These neo-Nazis were the central component in the junta’s eight-year-long war, in violation of the Minsk Accords, against the Russian-speaking minority in Ukraine’s Donbass, a war that spilled over into Russia in the form of hundreds of thousands of refugees.

Your editorial claims that Russia’s military operation was unprovoked. In fact, it was provoked by thirty years of NATO’s eastward expansion, the 2014 Maidan coup, and eight years of Ukrainian aggression against the Donbass. The war was also kindled by US and NATO rejection last year of Russian draft treaties for mutual security in Europe.

Finally, the ever-increasing regime of sanctions against Russia, which are illegal because they lack UN Security Council approval, are also designed to implode the Russian economy and make the Russian Federation easy pickings for NATO. Unfortunately for NATO, Russia was prepared for the onslaught by creating its own bank-transfer system and by deciding to sell its energy in rubles, because its assets in the West were illegally confiscated. Poland and Bulgaria may not like it, but it’s their choice to buy gas or not.

The editorial’s conclusion was right, however. There is the danger of a wider war in Europe and the frightening possibility of a nuclear confrontation between superpowers. All the more reason for the Trudeau government and its NATO allies to tone down the rhetoric, stop fuelling the war, and seek a negotiated end to the conflict.”

=======================================

Endnotes

1 Hamilton Spectator editorial, Tuesday, May 3, 2022

2 Toronto Star, April 7, 2022: https://www.thestar.com/politics/2022/0 ... m-war.html

3 https://yvesengler.com/2022/02/24/conde ... faculties/

4 Anand: https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/legal-que ... -1.5833817

Joly: https://www.hilltimes.com/2022/03/23/ca ... nce/351357

and: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... ign-legion

5 https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book ... ders-early

6 https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national ... ary-review

====================================================

Below the original editorial:

​Pulling back from wider war in Europe

​It looks like Moscow may be eyeing the tiny former Soviet republic of Moldova, squeezed between Ukraine and Romania, as its next target.

By Spectator Editorial The Hamilton Spectator

Tue., May 3, 2022timer3 min. read



As bad as the war in Ukraine has already been, it may soon get a lot worse.

So far, the death and destruction has been confined to Ukraine itself. It’s a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but the conflict has at least been contained.

But what if it spills over into other parts of Europe, or turns into a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia? Or more directly, between the United States and Russia? That would be far more dangerous.

This is not idle speculation.

As Ukrainians put up fierce resistance to the invaders, bolstered by political support and a flood of weaponry from the West, it looks like the war will drag on. The possibility of a deal to end the fighting, a lively possibility a few weeks ago, has faded.

And the longer the conflict lasts, the greater is the risk it will spread. Not necessarily because either side has a grand design for major conflict, but by a series of escalations and miscalculations. We know from Europe’s bloody history that this is how small wars become big ones.

Once again, the danger of escalation is coming mostly from Russia. This past week, it cut off shipments of natural gas to Poland and Bulgaria and ramped up warnings about its nuclear capability.

It also looks like Moscow may be eyeing the tiny former Soviet republic of Moldova, squeezed between Ukraine and Romania, as its next target. Russia already has troops there, and a Russian general has publicly said his country intends to take over all of southern Ukraine and then link up with Moldova, the justification being to end “oppression of the Russian-speaking population.”

Behind all that, it seems, is deep frustration within the Russian military over its setbacks against Ukrainian forces and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s strategy of abandoning the goal of controlling the entire country in favour of a more limited campaign to dominate the east and south.

“Russia’s military believes that limiting the war’s initial goals is a serious error,” Russian journalists Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan write for the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington, D.C. “They now argue that Russia is not fighting Ukraine, but NATO.”

All of which suggests that behind the facade of unity behind Putin, Russia’s military and security apparatus is seriously divided, with a powerful faction arguing in favour of expanding the war, not ending it. They’re pushing for even more aggressive action in Ukraine itself, as well as a push beyond its borders.

On the other side, western allies are escalating their support for Ukraine. More sanctions, more troops in the region (Britain announced 8,000 more last week), and more heavy weaponry.

Some have read much into the statement by U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin that Washington wants “to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine.”

For them, that reveals a hidden “real reason” why the U.S. (and presumably Canada, France, Germany et al) are backing Ukraine. This, however, ignores the fact that Russia brought the alliance against it entirely on itself with its unprovoked aggression. And what decent person, in the end, doesn’t want to see Putin rendered incapable of inflicting similar violence on others?

Regardless of the rights and wrongs, the prospect of a wider war is horrifying. Right now there’s a consensus in the West around supporting Ukraine. But there’s no consensus around pursuing a broader campaign against Russia as such.

The danger, however, is that we may find ourselves on that road without quite realizing it.

While there’s still time, the world needs to find a way to back away from the brink.

https://orinocotribune.com/canada-ken-s ... spectator/

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

From Cassad's Telegram Account:

***

Сolonelcassad
On the offensive in the Popasnaya area.

Fighting in the Pilipchatino area.
In Kamyshevakh - fighting inside the village (control of the outskirts of the village)
In Toshkovka - fighting inside the village (control 50%)
Viktorovka - they took.
Lipovoe - they took
Vrubovka - the enemy holds
Vasilievka - the enemy holds

PS. To the south of Popasnaya, an offensive is underway on Vozdvizhenka from Troitsky.
Vyskrivu (southeast of Pilipchatino) - taken

***

Forwarded from
Rybar
0:14
🇷🇺🇺🇦Unfortunately, success at the front always entails faith in one's own infallibility and invulnerability.

The footage shows a convoy of Russian military equipment on fire, caught on the road in the center of Kamyshevakhi . About 7 units of military equipment were hit: you can see from the smoke that this is a rear column with ammunition. Apparently, the convoy was heading to the Kamyshevakhi

railway station for the transport of ammunition, and it was covered halfway. At night, several calculations of Bayraktar TB2 UAVs were transferred to this section of the front : most likely, the Turkish "birds" provided reconnaissance and target designation, directing artillery strikes. Yesterday we analyzed the situation near Popasna : in Kamyshevakh

that day there are fierce battles. And it would be extremely strange to believe that the Ukrainians, who are being ground in the “cauldron” between Kamyshevakha , Zolote and Gorsky , will raise their paws up and stop fighting for life.

Is everyone familiar with the behavior of cornered rats?

Coordinates: 48.694369, 38.384251

***

Forwarded from
Readovka
“ We are like a tool that, in fact, they use” - an exclusive interview with Readovka with a prisoner of war from Azov, who surrendered at

Azovstal with captured Azov resident Alexander Sharko.

“We are like a tool that, in fact, they use ,” the Azov resident said, adding that he was “not personally aware of the shelling of peaceful areas of the LPRD ” and “was not present” at them.

When he was taken prisoner, Sharko, in his words, "hoped for a normal attitude, but received even more than he hoped." He also admitted that he "just wants to be with his parents . "

After talking with the Azov man, it became clear that the fighters of the infamous nationalist regiment were far from being “formidable warriors”, but ordinary young people with radical views who, having seen a real war, had done something wrong, lost their courage and just wanted to go home. But for everything done, you still have to answer.

***

Сolonelcassad
A fresh opus from the cellars of "Azovstal" (although...)

It is worth noting that already yesterday the American media began to write about "surrendered prisoners" and the need to respect the rights of prisoners of war.
Which transparently hints that the exchange of healthy people is not planned. Judging by the emphasis on the possible exchange of the wounded, it seems that some negotiations on this topic may continue.

Regarding the topic of the exchange / transfer of corpses, there is no particular problem here - the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have repeatedly offered the Armed Forces of Ukraine to take their corpses in various directions, the Armed Forces of Ukraine almost always refuse. If they take the corpses to Ukrainian territory and bury them themselves, then I don’t see a big problem.

Well, of course, we note the phrase "received an order to stop resistance."

https://t.me/mig41/17649

***

Forwarded from
Older than Edda
By the way, regarding critics (including my friends with a different point of view), who still demand fast cavalry attacks and swear that the enemy’s defenses south of Izyum are opened very slowly, comparing what is happening with the battle of Verdun in 1916. This does not look like Verdun, in particular, in terms of the degree of involvement of forces and means. And this is not about a quantitative factor, but about tension.

For the battle near Verdun, the parties strained all the forces of the state, putting the fate of the war on the line. In our case, we see a real war of the post-heroic era, when the main task is to destroy the enemy’s manpower, while preserving the life and health of our own soldiers.

The loss of equipment in this case is not so important, the state will still make tanks, but the women do not give birth to new soldiers. It is because of this factor that a lot of shells are spent on several enemy soldiers, they must be destroyed. That is why high-precision munitions, long-range sniper systems and strike drones are so critical now. The rapid and reliable defeat of enemy manpower is the basis of the concept of war today.

***

Forwarded from
War on fakes
0:53
Fake : Major Ukrainian telegram channels are spreading a video that allegedly shows the work of artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shelling the positions of the Russian army in the Luhansk region

Truth : This video is already eight years old. Indeed, we are being fired upon by the artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which is shelling the positions of the LPR fighters in the center of Lisichansk. It only happens in July 2014.
At the same time, this video was published on Youtube, which can be easily seen by clicking on the link .

The publication of the archives speaks of the lack of real informational reasons for Ukrainian propaganda. This time, the Trukha channels ( more than 1.8 million readers), Ukrop News (11 thousand),Centrum Novum (5 thousand) and others. The video has already collected about 300 thousand views and continues to appear in other channels.

Earlier, Ukrainian telegram channels have already tried to pass off the crash of a diesel locomotive in Belaya Kalitva (2013) as the shelling of the railway in Lvov . Also, under the guise of an accident in the Bryansk region, they published archival records from Transbaikalia.

***

Forwarded from
Older than Edda
I remember they caught one of the 95 ODShbr. During interrogation, he was stupid and said that he was just a cook, called up 2 weeks ago for mobilization.

Then an offer was made to him, which he could not refuse, namely, transferring him to our neighbors, that is, the LPR regiment, let him be interrogated and judged there.

The comrade immediately remembered that he was not a cook at all, but quite a soldier who had been fighting for many years and his greatest desire now was to go to Russia to a prisoner of war camp, and not to appear before a tribunal in Luhansk. Apparently he smelled something behind him.

***

Сolonelcassad
Forwarded from
Rybar
❗️🇷🇺🇺🇦The offensive of the allied forces near Popasna: the situation as of 21.00 on May 19, 2022

10 days after the fall of one of the most powerful fortified areas of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donbass in Popasna , the allied forces broke through the enemy’s defenses in several directions at once. The Ukrainian front began to crumble.

The network has already aptly dubbed what happened the “opened flower of Popasna”: and if you look at the map, this is true. If near Zaporizhia , Liman and Izyum , successes at the front stopped, then in the west of the Lugansk People's Republic, the enemy's lines are formed one after another.

▪️After the cleansing of Popasnaya, the Wagner PMC assault groups continued their offensive in the direction of Soledar to the west. Having connected the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the defense units in Tripoli , the “musicians” opened the way to Vladimirovka for the allies along the front.

Russian units of the Airborne Forces managed to go around Tripoli and take Vladimirovka by the morning of May 19. By evening , Tripoli fell: the advanced groups of the “orchestra” entered there.

The highway Bakhmut (Artemovsk) - Lisichansk is blocked by the fire of the allied forces. Soledar is three kilometers away.

In order to establish full control over the main supply route for the AFU grouping in the Lisichansk-Severodonetsk-Rubizhnoye agglomeration, the allied forces will have to take fortified positions on the dominant heights north of Vladimirovka and Trypillya.

After that, the only way to supply the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be the Lisichansk-Seversk road, shot through from the eastern bank of the Seversky Donets.

▪️Another direction of the Wagner PMC offensive is south, towards Troitsky . If in 2015 this fortified area could not be taken during the battles for Debaltseve , then on May 19, 2022, the settlement fell.

▪️Units of the RF Armed Forces are advancing north of Popasnaya . Fierce fighting began in the south of Kamyshevakhi . Having rounded the fortified area of ​​the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the west, Russian units took the small village of Viktorovka , occupied the railway station of Kamyshevakh and continued their advance to the north. Kamyshevakha was taken into a semicircle, and the RF Armed Forces were able to move north and enter Vrubovka , where a sweep is now underway.

▪️By the end of May 19, the road to Soledar was cut by the RF Armed Forces from the side of Popasnaya, the road to Lisichansk was cut by the People's Militia of the LPR in Toshkovka . "Lugansk" attack enemy positions in Gorsky and Zolotoy from Toshkovka and Orekhovo , and the RF Armed Forces grinds the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the south of Kamyshevakhi .

The Armed Forces of Ukraine can still break out of the encirclement along the country roads from Gorskoye and move across the fields in the direction of Lisichansk. Now, in the crucible of battle, the last reserves at the disposal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are being ground: territorial defense detachments from western Ukraine, units deployed from under Izyum, and the remnants of the 24th Ombre that had previously retreated from Popasna.

In the event of a full-fledged closure of the Popasnensky Cauldron, from five to eight thousand Ukrainian servicemen will be surrounded.

Image

***

Forwarded from
Readovka
The map of hostilities and the situation on the fronts in the evening of May 19

The topic of the day was the surrender of the promoted "hero of Azovstal" radical Svyatoslav Palamar with the call sign "Kalina". Our sources in the morning reported that the "dung" was already in Rostov-on-Don. However, by evening, a video appeared on the network in which Kalyn itself broadcasts that it is the 85th day of the war, and he, along with the command, is still on the territory of the Azovstal plant. He also talked about conducting some kind of secret special operation. Some authors are ironic that, most likely, this is a sex change operation.

⚔️ The situation on the fronts remains tense, but the successes of the Allied Forces are hard to miss:

▫️ On the Kharkov front , losses in manpower, equipment and concentration on the part of the Ukrainian troops are beginning to be felt. Today, our people were able to free Ternovaya near the state border of the Russian Federation.

▫️Izyum Front - fighting in the Krasny Liman area, where up to 1,500 enemy soldiers are under the threat of encirclement. Heavy fighting is going on in the forest near the settlement of Dolgenkoe.

▫️The Luhansk front is becoming a black mark for the Ukrainian army. Even the local commanders themselves are already declaring to the top military leadership about the lack of heavy equipment and the incompetence of some leaders. So the 3rd battalion of the 115th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine refused to go into battle near Severodonetsk. In the meantime, ours is developing a grandiose offensive from Popasnaya in several directions - it’s not for nothing that they fought so hard for this bridgehead for almost a whole month. It is reported that the troops of the allies from the north of the city entered Viktorovka, to the south they tookTroitskoye, to the north-east, half cleared Toshkovka, and to the west they are fighting for Pilipchatino. There is also information that our paratroopers liberated the village of Vladimirovka, near Soledar, and Wagner's "music" was Tripoli. In fact, all this work done guarantees tight fire control of our artillery over the Soledar-Lysichansk highway. The assault on Severodonetsk does not stop either - the fighters go into battle from three directions at once.

▫️Fighting is underway on the Donetsk front in the area of ​​Novoselovka-2nd and Novobakhmutovka, as well as on the outskirts of New York - the Avdievsky cauldron continues to be “forged”, the front is pushed further and further away from Gorlovka.

▫️In Mariupol , more than half of the garrison in the bunkers left Azovstal . This was announced by the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin. More than 2,000 heavily armed militants have surrendered so far.

▫️On the Southern Front , apparently, an operational pause has been taken to pull up reserves and strike assets. There are exchanges of "courtesies" between artillerymen on both sides.

💣Our border areas have again suffered from the chaotic Ukrainian shelling. This time, the village of Tetkino in the Kursk region fell under distribution, where, according to the governor, one person died from shrapnel. In the evening, a message came again from the Kursk region that the AFU had fired mortars at the villages of Alekseevka and Dronovka.

🚀Upon arrival . Yasinovataya again received strikes against the civilian population by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We got to the village of the mine. V. I. Lenin. Petrovsky district of Donetsk was also shelled . Air defense worked in Kherson.

👁From the interesting: the swastika, prayers and pagan rites - the Azov people, who left the base near Mariupol in a hurry, threw all their nationalist paraphernalia on it

👁It's no secret that cutting off the supply of weapons and ammunition to the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the front line is the main task of our army . We found on the net a list of large ammunition depots in the central part of Ukraine, according to which it is definitely worth "calibrating".

Image

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

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

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

Post by blindpig » Sat May 21, 2022 1:38 pm

Ukraine SitRep - Russians Break Through U.S. Bolsterism
On May 14 I noted that the U.S. had asked Russia for a ceasefire in Ukraine:

The U.S. readout of the call says:

On May 13, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu for the first time since February 18. Secretary Austin urged an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication.

Austin initiated the call and the U.S. is seeking a ceasefire in Ukraine!!!


Yesterday the top officers of the U.S. and Russia had a call which, again, the U.S. side had initiated:

Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, held a conversation that the Pentagon declined to further detail beyond acknowledging it had happened.

Thinks must be bad in Ukraine for this to have happened. Indeed if one trusts the daily 'clobber list' the Russian Ministry of Defense puts out all positions of the Ukrainian army are under heavy artillery fire and it is losing about 500 men per day. There are additional Russian effective strikes on training camps, weapon storage sites and transport hubs all over the country.

On top of that the tactical situation at the eastern frontline has changed after Russian forces broke through the heavily fortified frontline.

Image

A few days ago the Russian army went forward along the H-32 road, broke through the line in the direction of Propasna and took the town. It has since extended the bulge by taking several villages to the north, west and south.

Image

This breakthrough gives the chance to roll up the Ukrainian fortifications along the frontline through flank attacks or from behind. By cutting the supply lines of the Ukrainian troops to the north and south envelopes can be created which will eventual lead to cauldrons with no way out for the Ukrainian troops.

This is especially dangerous for the several thousand soldiers north of the bulge which currently defend the cities of Sieverodonetsk and Lysychansk in the north eastern part of the upper bubble.

Image

The Russian plan was to have another breakthrough from the north pushing to Siversk to then close the upper envelope. But after several failed attempts to cross the forest area and the Seversky Donets river that breakthrough has still to happen.

Russia is now likely to push fresh troops into the Propasna bulge to extend its reach into all directions. Reports of current actions show that the heavy fighting and bombing on the frontline continues and that bombing also continues to target traffic nodes.

Image

Other fronts in Ukraine are currently relatively quiet with little direct fire. Still daily Russian artillery attacks hits all Ukrainian front lines and will cost daily casualties.

Some 2,000 Azov militia and Ukrainian army troops have left the catacombs of Azovstal in Mariupol. Another thousand may still be down there. The Russian army is filtering these prisoners. Members of Azov and other militia will be put to court. Ukrainian army soldiers will become prisoners of war.

The gasoline and diesel scarcity in Ukraine is currently having severe impacts. Even the Ukrainian military is now rationing its fuel. Since about six weeks ago Russia has systematically attacked refineries and fuel storage sites in Ukraine. It also disabled railroad bridges along the lines that brought fuel from Moldova and Romania.

At the same time the Ukrainian government had held up price regulations for fuel. The consumer sale prices for diesel and gasoline were fixed. The cost of fuel brought in by private trucks from Poland exceeded the price gas station owners could ask for. In consequence gas stations ran dry as their owners refrained from purchasing new fuel.

Three days ago the Zelensky regime in Kiev finally ended the fuel price control:

According to [economy minister] Svyrydenko, the government expects that the maximum prices for diesel will not exceed UAH 58 ($1.97), for gasoline — UAH 52 ($1.76) per liter, once controls are lifted.
“As soon as we feel that market operators are abusing their position, we will impose sanctions on them,” she added.

“We will monitor the situation on a daily basis”.


The expected prices are lower than what is currently asked for in Germany and that is without trucking the fuel the 600 kilometer from Poland to Kiev. The threat of sanctions also means that local wholesalers will have little incentives to actually deal in fuel. With the average wages in Ukraine being about $480 per months the real fuel prices will soon become another economic shock.

The Ukrainian government also continues its attacks on unions and labor laws:

In March, the Ukrainian parliament passed wartime legislation that severely curtailed the ability of trade unions to represent their members, introduced ‘suspension of employment’ (meaning employees are not fired, but their work and wages are suspended) and gave employers the right to unilaterally suspend collective agreements.
...
But beyond this temporary measure, a group of Ukrainian MPs and officials are now aiming to further ‘liberalise’ and ‘de-Sovietise’ the country’s labour laws. Under a draft law, people who work in small and medium-sized firms – those which have up to 250 employees – would, in effect, be removed from the country’s existing labour laws and covered by individual contracts negotiated with their employer. More than 70% of the Ukrainian workforce would be affected by this change.
Against a background of concerns that Ukrainian officials are using Russia’s invasion to push through a long-awaited radical deregulation of labour laws, one expert has warned that the introduction of civil law into labour relations risks opening a “Pandora’s box” for workers.


In total the social-economic situation for Ukraine is catastrophic. The military situation is even worse. Mariupol has fallen and Russian troops working there will soon be able to go elsewhere. The Propasna bulge is threatening to envelope the whole northern frontline together with the core of the Ukrainian army.

There is no more talk of the Ukrainian army 'winning' like in Kiev or Karkov where the Russian troops retreated in good order after finishing their task of holding Ukrainian forces in place.

The Ukrainian command has sent several territorial brigades to the front lines. These units were supposed to defend their home towns. They consist of middle age men drafted into service. They have little fighting experience and lack heavy weapons. Several of these units have published videos saying they were giving up. They are lamenting that their commanders left them when their situation became critical.

That the Ukrainian army is now using such units as cannon fodder shows that it has only few reserves left.

Weapons that come in from the 'west' have difficulties reaching the front lines and had so far very little effect. They amount to drops of water on a hot plate.

All the above are the reasons why Austin and Milley have phoned up their Russian equivalents. They are also the reasons why the New York Times editors call on the Biden administration to end its bluster and to take a more realistic position:

Recent bellicose statements from Washington — President Biden’s assertion that Mr. Putin “cannot remain in power,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s comment that Russia must be “weakened” and the pledge by the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, that the United States would support Ukraine “until victory is won” — may be rousing proclamations of support, but they do not bring negotiations any closer.
In the end, it is the Ukrainians who must make the hard decisions: They are the ones fighting, dying and losing their homes to Russian aggression, and it is they who must decide what an end to the war might look like. If the conflict does lead to real negotiations, it will be Ukrainian leaders who will have to make the painful territorial decisions that any compromise will demand.
...
[A]s the war continues, Mr. Biden should also make clear to President Volodymyr Zelensky and his people that there is a limit to how far the United States and NATO will go to confront Russia, and limits to the arms, money and political support they can muster. It is imperative that the Ukrainian government’s decisions be based on a realistic assessment of its means and how much more destruction Ukraine can sustain.
Confronting this reality may be painful, but it is not appeasement. This is what governments are duty bound to do, not chase after an illusory “win.” Russia will be feeling the pain of isolation and debilitating economic sanctions for years to come, and Mr. Putin will go down in history as a butcher. The challenge now is to shake off the euphoria, stop the taunting and focus on defining and completing the mission. America’s support for Ukraine is a test of its place in the world in the 21st century, and Mr. Biden has an opportunity and an obligation to help define what that will be.


Posted by b on May 20, 2022 at 16:49 UTC | Permalink

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/05/u ... .html#more

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"Azovstal" all
May 20, 22:06

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May 20 was the last day of the battle for Mariupol and Azovstal.

1. Shoigu reported to Putin that today the last Nazis at Azovstal surrendered and the territory of the plant came under the control of our troops. May 20 was the end.
2. The total number of prisoners was 2439 people. Of these, 531 have surrendered in the past 24 hours. "Kalyn", "Volyn" (there is already a video) and "Radis" in captivity (they were taken away in an armored car, fearing lynching over it).
3. Russian troops are already taking control of the basements of Azovstal, which will now be carefully examined. I am sure that many more interesting stories await us, not to mention the testimonies of Nazi fighters who will await the tribunal in Donetsk.
4. There is no information about any foreign generals about whom there were various rumors. There are no details yet about the various mercenaries who were probably there.
5. There are no more Ukrainian soldiers on the coast of the Sea of ​​Azov. As well as Ukraine. The Sea of ​​Azov became the inland sea of ​​Russia on May 20. As the Nazis themselves declared, there will be no Mariupol, there will be no Ukraine. I will not argue with them on this issue.
6. Mariupol from today has finally become a rear city, which will have a painful recovery after 3 months of fighting. I am sure that the city will be gradually restored. Russia has experience in restoring Grozny and Crimea.
7. We can expect the intensification of work on the restoration of rail and road communication with the Crimea from the Rostov direction. The land corridor to the Crimea, which the Bolsheviks have been talking about for so long, is ready
. 8. As a result of the entire defense of Mariupol, Ukraine de facto lost 15-20 thousand troops. This is the largest military defeat of Ukraine, significantly exceeding the size of Debaltseve and Ilovaisk combined. About 4.5 thousand prisoners were taken during the fighting alone. The number of those killed, wounded and missing has yet to be calculated.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7626878.html

About the living and the fallen
May 20, 11:14 p.m.

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About the living and the fallen

On this day, it is also worth remembering all those who did not live to see the complete defeat of the enemy near Mariupol. Those who died breaking through the fortified areas on the outskirts of Mariupol, who fell in the battles for the private sector, skyscrapers, industrial zones and the city center, paving the way to our victory.

I am sure that their memory will be worthily immortalized in Mariupol as the memory of those who liberated Mariupol from the Nazis during the Great Patriotic War.

And of course, thanks to those who brought the assault on Mariupol and Azovstal to a logical victorious conclusion. Not everything was perfect during the assault, but they won no matter what.

When they say that our generations are not capable of giving birth to heroes, just look at those simple peasants who took Mariupol and put the squeeze on the enemy in his basement lair.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7627081.html

Google Translator

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Russian Warns of Mounting Threats to Its Security

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In response to NATO's buildup near Russia's borders, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu revealed how many military units will be formed in the Western Military District during a recent panel. | Photo: Twitter @RussiaNewsroom

Published 20 May 2022

By the end of this year, Russia will establish 12 new military units in the Western Military District to face the growing threat from the NATO and the United States, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said.


At a meeting of the National Defense Management Center in Moscow on Friday, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that the United States and NATO have gradually increased their activities along Russia’s western borders over the past few years and tensions continue to grow.

Apart from the intensification of strategic activities, the U.S.-led NATO bloc has also gradually increased training exercises near Russia’s borders, Shoigu pointed out. He referred to a series of exercises called ‘Defender of Europe’, which involve up to 40,000 military personnel from 30 countries of the bloc. Redeployment of a full-fledged division force from the U.S. to Europe has become the main feature of the drills, he added.

"Therefore, tensions continue to grow in the zone of responsibility of the Western Military District. We are taking appropriate countermeasures", Shoigu expressed.


“Over the past eight years, the intensity of US strategic bomber flights in Europe has increased some 15 times”, Shoigu stated. “Visits of American ships armed with guided missiles to the Baltic Sea have become a systematic occurrence. This year alone, they have visited suspected cruise missile launch zones off the coast of Kaliningrad Region six times already. Since 2016, 24 such events have been detected”.

The minister also referred to Russia´s “immediate neighbors”, Finland and Sweden, which have formally applied for NATO membership, further contributing to the growing tensions. The two Nordic nations lodged their bids this week, faced with the opposition from Turkey, a major NATO nation.


In the midst of the special military operation that Russia is carrying out in Ukraine, the expansion of NATO and the alliance’s military buildup in Eastern Europe has been reinvigorated. Apart from Sweden and Finland seeking to join the bloc, Poland has expressed a readiness to build “permanent” military installations to house “light infantry units” of the alliance.

Moreover, the three Baltic nations, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, are reportedly pushing for the creation of a rapid-deployment, division-sized force of some 20,000 troops. The unit would be placed on standby and be ready for deployment into any of the countries should they face a threat of any sort.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Rus ... -0028.html

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Russian army liberates the port city of Kherson in Ukraine

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The head of the Kherson regional civil military administration, Vladimir Saldo, said in a meeting with municipal leaders that they would be part of Russia in the future. | Photo: ria novosti
Published May 21, 2022 (2 hours 26 minutes ago)

The city of Kherson was taken on March 4, almost at the beginning of the special military operation.

Russian troops advanced on the port city of Kherson, the second most important of the cities controlled by Russia in Ukraine, without leaving great destruction.

The new deputy governor of Kherson, Kiril Stremousov, stated that the United States has historically stolen and caused many deaths in many places in Latin America.

Instead, he said, that what they want to cause in Ukraine is impossible because they are linked by a great history to the Russian Federation.



Moscow's designated governor for Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, said on Thursday that he aspires to the region becoming part of the Russian Federation in the future. Furthermore, he announced that the ruble would be introduced as a currency in the region.

"Now we are a territory controlled by the Armed Forces, in the future (Kherson) will become a subject of Russia, that is, it will be the Kherson region of the Russian Federation," he posted in a video on his Telegram channel.

Kherson is located in the south of the country and is not part of the Donbas region and has a very important port on the Black Sea. It has about 300,00 inhabitants.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/ejercito ... -0002.html

Google Translator

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USB union with banner reading: “Lower your weapons, raise your wages.” (Photo: @unionesindacaledibase/Instagram)

Italian workers strike over military spending on war in Ukraine
Posted May 21, 2022 by Steve Sweeney

Originally published: Morning Star on May 20, 2022 (more by Morning Star)

Italian workers are set to walk out tonight in a 24-hour general strike in protest against the country’s arming of Ukraine as they demanded “lower your weapons, raise your wages.”

Rallies will take place across the country today in most major cities including the capital Rome with the walkout affecting both the public and private sectors.

Trade unions are angered over the government’s military spending on Ukraine which they say would be better spent on raising workers’ wages at a time when the economy is predicted to slide into recession.

The USB union has previously said that billions can be found to fund wars, but at the same time living conditions are being squeezed for millions of ordinary Italians.

“When will salaries, pensions, services, housing [and] living conditions become priorities?” the union asked.

According to the leftist Sinistra Italiana, Italian military expenditure will rise from €68 million (£58m) to €104m (£88m) euros per day, and from €25 to €38 billion every year in order to meet the 2 per cent of GDP decreed by Nato.

The party opposed a motion tabled by the far-right Lega Nord in the Italian parliament in March which overwhelmingly approved the rise in military spending in response to the war in Ukraine.

But the looming crisis has led to Prime Minister Mario Draghi considering the reintroduction of a state of emergency with half a million Italian jobs at risk due to the cutting off of Russian gas supplies.

Next year’s general election could be postponed if the situation continues to deteriorate.

Earlier this year Italian workers protested in anger after the discovery of weapons disguised as humanitarian aid bound for Ukraine at Pisa airport.

It led to calls for an urgent inquiry in the Italian parliament while workers in the port city of Genoa refused to load ships with deadly cargo.

Member of the USI-CIT trade union confederation Norma Santi told the Mesopotamia Agency that the strike was being carried out in protest against “Nato’s expansionist, repressive and militarist stance in Eastern Europe.”

The continued military aggression will lead to “severe economic devastation all over the world,” she said, calling on the government to change direction.

We demand that military spending is stopped and the budget is allocated to the urgent needs of the people especially housing, health, schools, public transport and the environment.

https://mronline.org/2022/05/21/italian ... n-ukraine/

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Katerina Yushenko: First Lady, CIA Asset
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MAY 20, 2022
Laurent Brayard

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Members of the National Socialist Movement rally on the steps of the Capitol Building in Lansing, Michigan, behind three rows of chain-link fencing and tight security. The NSM members had to be brought in to the rally in a police convoy of buses from a secret meeting location, and returned there afterwards.

Katerina Chumachenko, which is her real name, is the wife of former Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko (2005-2010), who came to power after a first American coloured revolution, called the Orange Revolution. It took place in the winter of 2004-2005 and was the first attempt by the United States to destabilize Ukraine, but was swept away in 2010 by the victory in the presidential elections of the pro-Russian president Yanukovych, who was elected with the large vote of ethnic Russians from the east of the country. The story of this couple is interesting because it sheds light on the long struggle that has been going on in Ukraine for nearly 20 years, and the slow American undermining of this region that is key to stability in Europe. Let’s follow this lady’s steps… through the corridors of the White House and into the Ukrainian presidency.

CIA agent and key player in the destabilization of Ukraine. Born in Chicago in 1961 into a family of Ukrainian immigrants, she studied at Georgetown University. In the early 1980s, she was recruited by the American intelligence services as the Cold War was coming to an end. She met Yaroslav Stetsko, a close associate of Bandera, who was in exile in the United States and had founded an anti-Soviet organisation, the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations, ABN (1946), which was headed by the nationalist leader until his death in 1986. Ekaterina worked for this organisation, and from 1985 became an analyst in the US State Department and National Security Council. The following year, she worked in the Human Rights Office and supervised activities towards the countries of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. She then served as Deputy Director of the International Department, where she wrote analytical papers for Ronald Reagan himself. In 1989 she moved to the US Treasury and until 1991 worked on the Congressional Economic Committee. She has always refused to talk about this period of her life and her intelligence work for the USA. However, the tracks are clear, they lead to the CIA, but also to Ukrainian and German neo-Nazi circles, courted by the Americans during the Cold War and later recycled in the great manœuvres aimed at undermining Russia’s influence in Ukraine. As soon as the country became independent, she moved to Ukraine, where she created the Ukrainian American Foundation. It was then at the centre of many transactions and operations, notably around USAID, the United States Agency for International Development, managing the distribution of ‘financial aid’, a powerful organisation managed by the American presidency and a huge spy and infiltration machine around the world.

The neo-Nazi affiliations of the future First Lady of Ukraine. She had very close relations with former Nazis, notably the German Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Oberlander (1905-1998), a former officer of the Nachtigall Battalion, a proven Nazi and convinced of having participated in the massacres against Jews and Poles in Ukraine. He was also suspected of war crimes against the Red Army on the Eastern Front, and was a member of the staff of the Liberation Army of the famous Vlassov. He was recycled by the Americans and became, ironically, a member of the West German Parliament (1953-1965), a member of the Bavarian Parliament (1950-1953), in charge in the Federal Ministry for Displaced Persons, Refugees and War Victims in several cabinets of Chancellor Conrad Adenauer. His mentor was the Ukrainian collaborator of Nazi Germany, Yaroslav Stetsko (1912-1986). This character had declared the independence of Ukraine in Lvov (June 1941), attracting the wrath of Germany, as Hitler’s plans had never been to favor this option, but to pressurise Ukraine as a simple occupied territory. As an agent of the Abwehr, the Nazi secret service, he gnawed his teeth in prison but wrote his memoirs, in which he unequivocally described the Muscovite as the absolute enemy… along with the Jew, and even wrote that he approved of the total extermination of the latter and the German methods. He was recycled in view of the danger of an imminent Soviet invasion, and put back in the saddle by the SS (1944). It was then that the UAI was formed, out of the UPA, an army of Ukrainian partisans serving alongside Hitler’s groups, whose HQ was in Berlin. Wounded during a bombing (April 1945), he managed to sneak into the Allied-controlled zone and was soon hired by the American secret service. It was in this milieu that the wife of the Ukrainian president was raised… and propelled into the highest US spheres.

Throughout this period, Katerina was very active in so-called “umbrella” organisations, i.e. under American control, in particular the Heritage Foundation (HF) and Freedom House (FH). She was suspected of embezzling huge sums of money, in particular 242 million Hryvnia (about 7.8 million Euros), funds collected for the project “Hospital for the Children of the Future”. The project never came to fruition and the money vanished into the bank accounts of the president’s wife. As Ukraine’s First Lady, Yushchenko’s wife, she did not neglect business either, investing the corruption money in a restaurant/bar chain and other lucrative businesses. Between 1994 and 1999, she ran the Ukrainian office of a well-known international financial and consulting firm, Barents Group LLC (one of the banks at the heart of “country development” finance), distributing a flood of dollars around the world to maintain or increase American influence. In the course of her rise, a photo appeared, taken in all probability before 1992, at a convention of members of the National Alliance, an American neo-Nazi organisation. She spoke at the meeting and ostensibly gave the Hitler salute…

Parachuted into Victor Yushchenko’s bed. When Ukraine became independent in 1991, she was sent to the country, where she was introduced to the men who mattered at that time. It was on a plane carrying her and her future husband that she met her target for the first time. According to persistent and disturbing assertions, she was placed by the CIA at his side and soon seduced this man by her audacity, who became her husband (1998) and of whom she had three children. Their proximity was made possible by the fact that she was working in Kiev for the Barents group, and that at the same time Yushchenko had become head of the National Bank of Ukraine (1993), especially after the never elucidated death of its previous director, Vadym Hetman. Sentenced to life imprisonment, his assassin later denied his initial confession and Yushchenko, once president of Ukraine, hastened to have Hetman awarded hero status (2005). The hand behind the assassination has never been unmasked. Yushchenko remained for a long time as president of the national bank (1993-2000), becoming, according to the American magazine Global Finance, the 6th best banker in the world (1997). His rise to prominence was meteoric, and he was Prime Minister of Ukraine (1999-2001), when an attempted poisoning occurred and boosted his popularity. The Russian lead was immediately evoked, but never proven, and despite intense investigations, to this day, the person who ordered the poisoning has also not been caught. With his immense popularity, he was in a strong position to win the presidential election, which was marred by fraud. Defeated in a second round, this defeat triggered a huge popular movement, called the Orange Revolution, the first American Maidan (2004-2005). The US later admitted to having spent $65 million on his campaign and the organisation of a new election, in which he was declared the winner this time (20 January 2005). From that time onwards, which heralded the massive support of the Western media, this revolution was presented as a victory for ‘democracy and justice’, enthusiastically supported in the West.

Ukraine’s first lady and Trojan horse. From then on, under his wife’s influence, Yushchenko unrolled a worrying propaganda for the Russian population in the east of the country. An Institute of National Memory was soon established (2005), which worked to rewrite history, generating increasing concern. The couple visited the grave in Paris of the nationalist leader Simon Petliura, who was assassinated in 1926 after commanding a Ukrainian army during the Russian Civil War, which led to atrocious pogroms (at least 80,000 Jews were massacred). In the same vein, collaborators with Nazi Germany were rehabilitated (Bandera, Shukhevich, 2007-2010), and soon designated as “heroes of Ukraine”. She herself became involved in historical revisionism by supporting the Ukrainian myth of the Holodomor. In this rewriting of history, the great famine caused by Joseph Stalin’s delusions was allegedly a genocide against the Ukrainian people. If the famine did kill about 5 million Ukrainians, it is to forget that it affected all the agricultural regions of the USSR, killing 5 million more victims. This is precisely the Ukrainian lie: the famine was not aimed at these people. To hammer home this non-truth, Yushchenko introduced a day of remembrance for the victims of the famine and political repression (celebrated on 26 November), and then the Ukrainian genocide was voted in the Rada (2006). Ridiculously, Ukraine even started criminal proceedings against the perpetrators (2009), all of whom are obviously dead, a first in judicial history. . She herself was awarded the Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom for ‘her long-term work in which Mrs Yushchenko has dedicated herself to disseminating the truth about the crimes of the communist regime, primarily the Ukrainian hunger genocide of 1932-1933’ (2008). As she was still an American at the time of her husband’s election, which created a disturbing situation to say the least, she was belatedly naturalized and gave up her American passport (2005). Her husband, the first, even went so far as to start negotiations for Ukraine’s accession to NATO (2008), triggering a ‘gas war’ between that country and Russia. This American plan, which was very dangerous for stability in Europe, led to the Russian intervention in Ukraine last February.

From rout to discreet, golden retirement. Under her husband’s presidency, Ukraine reached a level of corruption never seen before. The country was taken over by powerful oligarchs and various lobbies, including bankers, and saw the rise of characters who got fat on the backs of the population, such as the famous Tymoshenko, the Queen of Gas, or Poroshenko, the King of Chocolate. Having not initiated the slightest reform in his country, except on the ideological level, abandoning his people in a sclerotic, sick and divided country, he was to suffer a Dantesque electoral defeat, garnering as incumbent president only 5.45% of the vote in the first round. Swept aside by the Ukrainian people, the whole American system and the millions of dollars invested went out the window. And this time, by a real democratic response from the Ukrainians: the vote. The American response was not long in coming in 2013-2014: ‘the Revolution of Dignity, Euromaidan’. Unpopular, but rich, he tried to hang on to politics, criticizing the cancellation of the titles of heroes, collaborators of Nazi Germany (January 2011). In vain, the rout continued with his party Our Ukraine, garnering in the parliamentary elections a score of 1.1% (2012). He was even dismissed from his own party (9 February 2013), for “treason”, but involving the courts, he had this decision overturned and regained his position. This was a stupid and futile decision, as he could not regain the confidence of his militants, let alone the Ukrainian people (March). The couple then disappeared, only to appear here and there from time to time,

He took a stand in favor of the Maïdan (2014), and supported the presidential candidacy of the former boxer, Vitali Klitschko. An unfortunate supporter, his candidate was defeated. He flourished again in banking circles, appointed to the Board of Directors of Alpari Bank (May 2018). In the 2019 presidential elections, he supported another defeated candidate, Petro Poroshenko, and was then threatened by a court case over the dismemberment of presidential assets, particularly a presidential residence. The case was dismissed. Together with former presidents Kravchuk and Kuchma, he signed an appeal to recall that the nuclear powers had guaranteed the territorial integrity of Ukraine, while depriving it of nuclear weapons at the time (implying that these madmen could use them now), cynically accusing Russia of being solely responsible for the destabilisation of Ukraine… Recently, the couple took a stand against the “invasion of the Russian fascists”, they who all their lives have been faithful allies of a Ukraine that has largely and ostentatiously indulged in the cult of Nazi heroes, past and present, from the Ukraine of the UPA to the retaliation battalions of the ATO operation.

In the West, the photo of the former Ukrainian first lady making the Nazi salute regularly disappears… from the internet, especially from Google. But the Russians have invented… Yandex!

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/05/ ... cia-asset/

New Details about Pentagon’s Experiments on Ukrainian Citizens are Being Discovered
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MAY 20, 2022

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Statement by the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, A.K.Lukashevich, at a Meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council, 19 May 2022, On the continuing crimes of Ukraine against the civilian population with the support of Western alliance of OSCE participating States

Mr. Chairperson,

On May 16, members of the Ukrainian nationalist formation Azov and servicemen of the AFU began the process of withdrawal from the territory of the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, Donetsk People’s Republic. Hundreds of them have already ceased their resistance, unconditionally laid down their weapons and left the territory of Azovstal through a special corridor formed for them. They are currently on DNR territory under the control of law enforcement authorities and will no longer carry out the criminal orders of the Kyiv regime. In total, since May 16, the number of those who have laid down their arms has reached 1,730. The process of withdrawal of those who have ceased pointless armed resistance continues. There is no active combat in the area of Azovstal.

The Permanent Representative of Ukraine told us today that it appears that a certain process of “evacuation” of the remnants of the Mariupol garrison has been initiated on the orders of President Zelensky and under the control of the SBU and, apparently, some other Ukrainian services. Well, if according to the Ukrainian representative, the process of unconditional surrender of Azov servicemen and AFU servicemen and their subsequent transportation to the DNR territory is an evacuation, then it would be nice if all remnants of the Ukrainian armed formations were “evacuated” in the same way.

Recall how, in 2018-2019, the U.S. Department of State The U.S. State Department classified Azov among other extremist groups, such as S14, as “hate groups.” But now the situation has apparently changed – they are now called “freedom fighters. This is nothing new to us: in American political practice, this is commonplace. I remember that in Syria, if Islamic fundamentalists shot at the American military, they were called terrorists, and if they killed members of the Syrian government army, they immediately became “freedom fighters”. It’s the same rhetoric here now.

It seems that the Ukrainian leadership was quite satisfied with such developments: the very next day after the surrender process began, on May 17, President Zelensky spoke at the opening ceremony of the glamorous Cannes Film Festival. Competently talking about the problems of modern cinema, he mentioned Mariupol and Azovstal only in passing.

The true defenders of Mariupol are those who liberated the city from neo-Nazis and ensured that the self-proclaimed “superhumans” would no longer be able to terrorize the local population or foment ethnic discord. Undoubtedly, the cessation of armed attacks by Ukrainian neo-Nazis is having a positive effect on the process of establishing peaceful life in Mariupol. Peace is returning to the city, which had been held hostage by Azov fighters for eight years. Authorities in the DNR are ensuring the resumption of water and electricity supplies to homes, utilities are eliminating the consequences of the city’s fighting, and public transportation has resumed operations.

Russian and DNR law enforcement agencies are accumulating more and more eyewitness accounts of criminal actions in Mariupol – targeted shooting of residential areas by Ukrainian militants, use of population as “human shields”, violence against civilians, equipment of military bases in schools, hospitals and social institutions, deliberate arson of apartment buildings to create a “smoke screen” during abandonment of combat positions by Azov and AFU units. It goes without saying that all these facts and evidence will be given a proper legal assessment.

Kyiv continues to demonstrate an inhumane attitude to the fate of civilians and disregard for the norms of morality and international humanitarian law. Over the past week, the Ukrainian armed forces carried out a series of strikes on residential areas and civilian infrastructure in the DNR and LNR, killing at least 12 people and wounding more than 55. In total, from February 17 to May 17, at least 147 people were confirmed killed and more than 580 civilians of the People’s Republics were wounded as a result of the actions of Ukrainian armed formations in the territories of the DNR and LNR. Many of the victims were children. The figures on the dead and wounded are being updated, and their number is unfortunately steadily increasing as the reports are verified and confirmed.

We are forced to note that the OSCE has not yet been able to have a substantive conversation about the confirmed facts about what is happening in Ukraine. There is a great deal of emotion in this room, which is not supported by real data. Representatives of a number of countries have made a habit of relaying the propaganda of the Kyiv regime without bothering to verify the facts or deliberately contributing to the spread of disinformation. Take the story about the “rape of an 11-year-old boy in front of his own mother,” told here the very next day after the Ukrainian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights (Children’s Ombudsman) Darya Gerasymchuk publicly admitted that the authorities still have “not a single confirmed fact” about military violence against children.

We understand that the ideological veil of so-called “Euro-Atlantic discipline” has obscured the view of many. After all, in addition to the cheap denigration of Russian servicemen and the Donbas republics, some participants in the discussion stubbornly pretend that the Ukrainian armed forces do not, in principle, commit crimes against civilians. As in the previous eight years, the Ukrainian armed forces’ use of cluster munitions on civilian towns and indiscriminate shelling of residential areas and civilian infrastructure, near which there are no military positions, is being completely ignored. Ukrainian fighters are presented as almost “angels,” but none of those who whitewash them remember the real angels, such as the Angel Alley memorial complex in the center of Donetsk. It was erected in memory of dozens of innocent children who died as a result of brutal Ukrainian shelling.

Ukrainian armed formations continue to fight civilians. On May 16, Smerch multiple-launch rocket launchers struck residential neighborhoods in Kherson. It is important to note that the shelling was deliberately directed at civilians, as there are no Russian troop units in that city. All ten rockets were intercepted by Russian air defenses on their approach to the city. Which of Kyiv’s external handlers condemned this barbaric shelling? None.

On May 18, militants of the Ukrainian “territorial defense” published photos of six civilians from the temporarily occupied Severodonetsk (LNR) by the AFU, who were brutally murdered in Kiev on suspicion of placing certain “beacons. The pictures depict mutilated bodies and faces from various angles, all accompanied by mocking comments and even a video confession by one of the Ukrainian fighters, who directly threatened other civilians with extrajudicial reprisals. It is reported that all of the victims were formerly members of an opposition political party. Is this how the Kiev regime and its henchmen are “defending” the notorious “European values”?

Western representatives are now silent about all this. Not a single word on the subject has been spoken today. On the contrary, they are “copying” their emotional speeches based on empty slogans. What this actually is can be characterized as the whitewashing of crimes by Ukrainian armed formations against the civilian population of Donbas and Ukraine. It is regrettable for us to observe how diplomats from a number of Western OSCE participating States are involved in this, effectively giving the green light to continue committing violence with impunity. What is this – connivance or complicity?

As for the intentional killing of residents of Ukraine, the DNR and LNR and Russian citizens, there is every reason to believe that many of them were committed with the help of lethal weapons supplied by Western countries to the Kiev regime. At the same time, NATO’s “progenitor countries” are trying to publicly distance themselves from admitting that it is from the use of weapons and shells supplied by them that people continue to die in Ukraine. This is not welcome. However, such dichotomy and hypocrisy have long been the “calling card” of many in the West.

There is one question for those who deliver supplies: do you have absolute confidence that the weapons sent to Kiev will not end up in the hands of swastika-tattooed thugs from the National Security Forces who chant neo-Nazi and racist ideas? Or will they not “migrate” to terrorist groups in the pan-European space? Furthermore, does Germany, for example, have an absolute understanding that the military products it supplies to Ukraine will not fall into the hands of armed followers of Hitler and murderers of the SS?

When retreating from their positions, the AFU mines Donbass territories with anti-personnel mines, including those prohibited by international agreements. In particular, we are talking about pressure-type land mines PMN-2. In addition, caches of mines such as MON-50 and MON-90 abandoned by Ukrainian nationalists during retreat were found in Mariupol. The Kyiv regime has regularly, year after year, lied to the international community and the OSCE that it is allegedly fulfilling its obligations under the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines (Ottawa Convention) in good faith, that it has destroyed their stockpiles and so on. Is there anyone today who seriously believes the Ukrainian leadership’s claims that foreign weapons will not be used against civilians?

How can we explain the April 27 attack on the peaceful city of Energodar and the nearby Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) using two Polish-made “Warmate” drones armed with high-explosive munitions? Let me remind you that both vehicles were launched from AFU-controlled territory and were shot down over Energodar without reaching their targets. Committing such provocations using foreign weapons undermines the safety of nuclear facilities and can endanger the lives and health of both the Ukrainian population and citizens of European countries. After verifying and confirming the facts, last week the Russian Federation sent evidence of the attack on the peaceful critical infrastructure to the IAEA secretariat with a request to make this information available to the Agency’s member States.

Representatives of the regime in Kyiv do not shy away from provocations with chemical substances. On May 16, near Mazanivka village in the temporarily occupied territory of the DNR, the Ukrainian special services detonated a land mine, which was reinforced with up to one ton of ammonium nitrate. The explosion created a poisonous cloud about one kilometer high, which moved toward Kramatorsk.

The explosion by the Ukrainian military of chemical tanks in Rubezhnoye on April 5 and 9, including at the local Zarya plant, already mentioned by us, is also in the same vein. Rubizhne has now been liberated. The other day the details of the seven U.S. citizens killed there, who had participated in the fighting on the side of the Ukrainian nationalists, were made public. According to the testimony of Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered to the law enforcement authorities, American and Polish mercenaries who were in Rubezhnoye commanded the Ukrainian soldiers, deliberately turned the territory of the said factory into a military facility, and “managed” there without sparing human life.

The Kiev regime has consistently rejected the possibility of a political and diplomatic settlement. Contacts have de facto been terminated at the initiative of the Ukrainian side. As far as we understand, this was done under pressure from foreign handlers, who make no secret of their desire that “the situation be resolved on the battlefield” (J. Borrell) and that Russia be “strategically defeated in Ukraine” (E. Blinken, W. Nuland and others). Our country has data that Ukrainian negotiators are “led” by London and Washington. Under these conditions, unfortunately, we cannot count on genuinely independent decisions by the essentially puppet regime in Kyiv, for the maintenance of whose State apparatus alone the United States is planning to allocate in the near future around 7.5 billion dollars.

We understand that both the deadlock in political consultations and the military “pumping” of Ukraine are being done with the aim of prolonging the crisis in that country and preventing its inhabitants from returning to a peaceful life for as long as possible. We emphasize: Foreign military supplies to Ukraine are legitimate targets within the Russian SSR and will be destroyed. We recommend monitoring regular reports from the Russian Ministry of Defense on high-precision strikes on their storage and accumulation sites.

All of the above once again confirms that Ukraine is only expendable material in the West’s all-out hybrid war against Russia. Ukraine has been deliberately turned for years into a breeding ground for Russophobia and a source of military and biological threats to its inhabitants, as well as to the population of neighboring states. The priority asset is territory and resources, while the lives of Ukrainians themselves are of interest to the external handlers of the Kiev regime, apparently only in the context of how else they could be used against Russia. The leadership in Kiev was consistently aimed at military confrontation, while supporting the development of friendly and good-neighborly relations with its neighbors was not part of the plans of its external curators.

Two more words concerning the statements made by the participants in today’s discussion about Russia’s alleged responsibility for the global food crisis. It is clear that a new propaganda paradigm is already being elaborated in which Russia is held responsible for rising prices and a looming deficit on global food markets. But let’s take our eyes off the propaganda and look at reality. Before Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine (February 24, 2022), for example, wheat prices had been rising steadily for two years. In 2021, wheat prices went up 25%. By this February the price quotes were already 62% higher than the five-year average from 2017 to 2022. Corn was up 162% in price by February and rapeseed was up 175%.

What’s causing this? As part of the anti-crisis measures, the U.S., Japan and EU countries “pumped” more than eight trillion dollars into the anti-crisis measures, thereby accelerating inflation. Freight costs have risen substantially for the same reason. “The cherry on the cake is the anti-Russian sanctions, which, despite Western countries’ understanding of Russia’s role in the global food supply chain, were still imposed. This dealt a heavy blow to the logistics of supply and, ultimately, to prices and volumes of food coming to markets. So do not blame our country.

Those who are now dreaming of turning Ukraine into yet another “black hole” in Europe would do well to worry about the development problems of their own countries and stop investing in tensions away from their borders. Let us remind them of the good Russian proverb: “Don’t dig a hole for someone else – you will fall into it. Once again, let us emphasize that regardless of the changing conjuncture, the goals of Russia’s special military operation – the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine – will be fully achieved.

Thank you for your attention.

Russian Mission OSCE

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/05/ ... iscovered/

Sweden and Finland in NATO: Interesting Positions in Moscow and Ankara
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MAY 20, 2022
Yoselina Guevara López

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Protesters gather during a demonstration against possible Nato membership for Sweden outside the ruling Social Democratic Party’s office in Stockholm on 14 May (AFP)

Sweden and Finland have announced their willingness to join NATO and have already taken the first steps by sending the Atlantic organization a formal application for membership. The move, evidently in response to Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, is creating excitement in the chancelleries of the 30 NATO member countries. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has assured that the two nations “will be welcomed with open arms and the process will be swift”. But Turkey does not agree with this accession, so it is very likely that the road will not be easy for the Baltic countries, which will have to take several technical and political steps, and above all diplomatic ones, to overcome the dam imposed by Ankara.

For its part, the United States is securing its pieces. On Thursday, May 19, U.S. President Joe Biden will receive Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto at the White House. Presidential spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre noted that the three leaders “will discuss Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO membership applications, European security and strengthening our partnership on global issues and support for Ukraine.”

Moscow’s position

The Russian Federation has no problems with Sweden and Finland, so the NATO membership of these two countries “would not create an immediate danger for Russia”, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it known. What could trigger a countermeasure from Moscow, however, is an expansion of NATO’s military infrastructure in these Baltic countries that would threaten Russia’s security.

The red line for the Kremlin is not NATO membership, but the allocation of allied bases, troops and armaments in the two Nordic countries. Initially, the Russian deterrent statements and military exercises were intended to influence the decision-making process in Stockholm and Helsinki. Having failed to have any effect, it is useless for Moscow to show its cards and let the adversary know how, when and with what it will respond to this extension of the Atlantic Organization. The Kremlin’s wisest decision has been to wait for the news to filter through, perhaps from the NATO summit in June in Madrid, where the allies, in addition to accepting and accelerating the membership application of Finland and Sweden, will have to make decisions on how to reconfigure the military deployment on the eastern flank.

At stake here are important questions, for example, whether and how the U.S. presence in these countries will be permanent. Stockholm and Helsinki, according to different specialists, have large and capable armed forces, so it should not be necessary to send means and troops from abroad. Prime Minister Andersson has stressed that Sweden will not allow foreign troops or nuclear weapons within its borders. It is unknown how Andersson will be able to maintain this position by joining an organization whose track record is warlike.

Ankara against

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vetoed the entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO, and has stated his reasons for this: Swedish sanctions for the Turkish war in Syria; the refusal of both countries to 33 requests from Ankara for the extradition of terrorists; alleged support for PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) networks and the Islamic preacher, Fehtullah Gülen, an opponent of Erdogan.

Turkey may slow down the formal entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO by extending the deadline between application and accession. This causes fear in the Baltic countries of a possible attack by Russia. For this, the allied front is preparing. Norway, Denmark and Iceland have declared that they will intervene if necessary, aligning themselves with the military guarantees offered by the United Kingdom to the two Nordic countries, in correspondence with the pact recently signed between London, Stockholm and Helsinki. In the United States, Republican leaders in Congress have pledged to ratify the Swedish and Finnish NATO accession agreement by August and the administration has guaranteed that it will “address any security issues during the transition period.”

From this perspective, Moscow looks favorably on Turkey’s obstacles because it brings out the internal divisions of the adversary alliance. However, it cannot delude itself into thinking that Ankara is on its side. Turkey’s position is not absolute, in the sense that it has not closed the door to Sweden and Finland, but wants to negotiate.

Ankara absolutely needs Washington’s position towards it to soften. As it feels internationally besieged from the north with Syria, from the east, Iraq in its pro-Iranian Kurdish expression, from the west, Greece, plus the US pressure on Russia. In addition, the internal situation in Turkey is not going through its best moment either; the refusal of the Turkish electorate against NATO, the galloping inflation, the unstable economic situation. Turkey’s only way out is to threaten a reluctant and firm stance towards the United States and, in fact, it is doing so where it has the power to do so: by opposing the entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO, in order to regain weight and demand some counterpart. This does not mean that Turkey wants to break with NATO, it is not even minimally raised, but it is raising the price of its membership to improve its position.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/05/ ... nd-ankara/
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Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part IV

Post by blindpig » Sat May 21, 2022 3:42 pm

Russia Rewrites the Art of Hybrid War
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MAY 20, 2022
Pepe Escobar

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Hybrid War is being fought predominantly in the economic/financial battleground – and the pain dial for the collective West will only go up.

The ironclad fictional “narrative” imposed all across NATOstan is that Ukraine is “winning”.

So why would weapons peddler retrofitted as Pentagon head Lloyd “Raytheon” Austin literally beg since late February to have his phone calls answered by Russian Defense Minister Shoigu, only to have his wish finally granted?

It’s now confirmed by one of my top intel sources. The call was a direct consequence of panic. The United States Government (USG) by all means wants to scotch the detailed Russian investigation – and accumulation of evidence – on the US bioweapon labs in Ukraine, as I outlined in a previous column.

This phone call happened exactly after an official Russian statement to the UN Security Council on May 13: we will use articles 5 and 6 of the Convention on the Prohibition of Bioweapons to investigate the Pentagon’s biological “experiments” in Ukraine.

That was reiterated by Under Secretary-General of the UN in charge of disarmament, Thomas Markram, even as all ambassadors of NATO member countries predictably denied the collected evidence as “Russian disinformation”.

Shoigu cold see the call coming eons away. Reuters, merely quoting the proverbial “ Pentagon official”, spun that the allegedly one-hour-long call led to nothing. Nonsense. Austin, according to the Americans, demanded a “ ceasefire” – which must have originated a Siberian cat smirk on Shoigu’s face.

Shoigu knows exactly which way the wind is blowing on the ground – for Ukrainian Armed Forces and UkroNazis alike. It’s not only the Azovstal debacle – and Kiev’s all-around army breakdown.

After the fall of Popasnaya – the crucial, most fortified Ukrainian stronghold in Donbass – the Russians and Donetsk/Luhansk forces have breached defenses along four different vectors to north, northwest, west and south. What’s left of the Ukrainian front is crumbling – fast, with a massive cauldron subdivided in a maze of mini-cauldrons: a military disaster the USG cannot possibly spin.

Now, in parallel, we can also expect full exposure – on overdrive – of the Pentagon bioweapons racket. The only “offer you can’t refuse” left to the USG would be to present something tangible to the Russians to avoid a full investigation.

That’s not gonna happen. Moscow is fully aware that going public with illegal work on banned biological weapons is an existential threat to the US Deep State. Especially when documents seized by the Russians show that Big Pharma – via Pfizer, Moderna, Merck and Gilead – was involved in several “experiments”. Fully exposing the whole maze, from the start, was one of Putin’s stated objectives.

More “military-technical measures”?

Three days after the UN presentation, the board of the Russian Foreign Ministry held a special session to discuss “the radically changed geopolitical realities that have developed as a result of the hybrid war against our country unleashed by the West – under the pretext of the situation in Ukraine – unprecedented in scale and ferocity, including the revival in Europe of a racist worldview in the form of cave Russophobia, an open course for the ‘abolition’ of Russia and everything Russian.”

So it’s no wonder “the aggressive revisionist course of the West requires a radical revision of Russia’s relations with unfriendly states.”

We should expect “a new edition of the Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation” coming out soon.

This new Foreign Policy Concept will elaborate on what Foreign Minister Lavrov once again stressed at a meeting honoring the 30th Assembly of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy: the US has declared an all-round Hybrid War on Russia. The only thing lacking, as it stands, is a formal declaration of war.

Beyond the disinformation fog veiling the application of Finland and Sweden – call them the Dumb and Dumber Nordics – to join NATO, what really matters is another instance of declaration of war: the prospect of missiles with nuclear warheads stationed really close to Russian borders. Moscow already warned the Finns and Swedes, politely, that this would be dealt with it via “military-technical measures”. That’s exactly what Washington – and NATO minions – were told would happen before the start of Operation Z.

And of course this goes much deeper, involving Romania and Poland as well. Bucharest already has Aegis Ashore missile launchers capable of sending Tomahawks with nuclear warheads at Russia, while Warsaw is receiving the same systems. To cut to the chase, if there’s no de-escalation, they will all eventually end up receiving Mr. Khinzal’s hypersonic business card.

NATO member Turkey, meanwhile, plays a deft game, issuing its own list of demands before even considering the Nordics’ gamble. Ankara wants no more sanctions on its purchase of S-400s and on top if be re-included in the F-35 program. It will be fascinating to watch what His Master’s Voice will come up with to seduce the Sultan. The Nordics engaged in a self-correcting “clear unequivocal stance” against the PKK and the PYD is clearly not enough for the Sultan, who relished muddying the waters even more as he stressed that buying Russian energy is a “strategic” issue for Turkey.

Counteracting financial Shock’n Awe

By now it’s evidently clear that open-ended Operation Z targets unipolar Hegemon power, the infinite expansion of vassalized NATO, and the world’s financial architecture – an intertwined combo that largely transcends the Ukraine battleground.

Serial Western sanctions package hysteria ended up triggering Russia’s so far quite successful counter-financial moves. Hybrid War is being fought predominantly in the economic/financial battleground – and the pain dial for the collective West will only go up: inflation, higher commodity prices, breakdown of supply chains, exploding cost of living, impoverishment of the middle classes, and unfortunately for great swathes of the Global South, outright poverty and starvation.

In the near future, as insider evidence surfaces, a convincing case will be made that the Russian leadership even gamed the Western financial gamble/ blatant robbery of over $300 billion in Russian reserves.

This implies that already years ago – let’s say, at least from 2016, based on analyses by Sergey Glazyev – the Kremlin knew this would inevitably happen. As trust remains a rigid foundation of a monetary system, the Russian leadership may have calculated that the Americans and their vassals, driven by blind Russophobia, would play all their cards at once when push came to shove – utterly demolishing global trust on “their” system.

Because of Russia’s infinite natural resources, the Kremlin may have factored that the nation would eventually survive the financial Shock’n Awe – and even profit from it (ruble appreciation included). The reward is just too sweet: opening the way to The Doomed Dollar – without having to ask Mr. Sarmat to present his nuclear business card.

Russia could even entertain the hypothesis of getting a mighty return on those stolen funds. A great deal of Western assets – totaling as much as $500 billion – may be nationalized if the Kremlin so chooses.

So Russia is winning not only militarily but also to a large extent geopolitically – 88% of the planet does not align with NATOstan hysteria – and of course in the economic/financial sphere.

This in fact is the key Hybrid War battleground where the collective West is being checkmated. One of the next key steps will be an expanded BRICS coordinating their dollar-bypassing strategy.

None of the above should overshadow the still to be measured interconnected repercussions of the mass surrender of Azov neo-Nazis at UkroNazistan Central in Azovstal.

The mythical Western “narrative” about freedom-fighting heroes imposed since February by NATOstan media collapsed with a single blow. Cue to the thunderous silence all over the Western infowar front, where no mutts even attempted to sing that crappy, “winning” Eurovision song.

What happened, in essence, is that the creme de la creme of NATO-trained neo-Nazis, “advised” by top Western experts, weaponized to death, entrenched in deep concrete anti-nuclear bunkers in the bowels of Azovstal, was either pulverized or forced to surrender like cornered rats.

Novorossiya as a game-changer

The Russian General Staff will be adjusting their tactics for the major follow-up in Donbass – as the best Russian analysts and war correspondents incessantly debate. They will have to face an inescapable problem: as much as the Russian methodically grind down the – disaggregated – Ukrainian Army in Donbass, a new NATO army is being trained and weaponized in western Ukraine.

So there is a real danger that depending on the ultimate long-term aims of Operation Z – which are only shared by the Russian military leadership – Moscow runs the risk of encountering, in a few months, a mobile and better weaponized incarnation of the demoralized army it is now destroying. And this is exactly what the Americans mean by “weakening” Russia.

As it stands, there are several reasons why a new Novorossiya reality may turn out to be a positive game-changer for Russia. Among them:

The economic/logistics complex from Kharkov to Odessa – along Donetsk, Luhansk, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye, Kherson, Nikolaev – is intimately linked with Russian industry.
By controlling the Sea of Azov – already a de facto “Russian lake” – and subsequently the Black Sea, Russia will have total control of export routes for the region’s world-class grain production. Extra bonus: total exclusion of NATO.
All of the above suggests a concerted drive for the development of an integrated agro-heavy industry complex – with the extra bonus of serious tourism potential.
Under this scenario, a remaining Kiev-Lviv rump Ukraine, not incorporated to Russia, and of course not rebuilt, would be at best subjected to a no-fly zone plus selected artillery/missile/drone strikes in case NATO continues to entertain funny ideas.

This would be a logical conclusion for a Special Military Operation focused on precision strikes and a deliberate emphasis on sparing civilian lives and infrastructure while methodically disabling the Ukrainian military/logistics spectrum. All of that takes time. Yet Russia may have all the time in the world, as we all keep listening to the sound of the collective West spiraling down.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/05/ ... ybrid-war/

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U.S. Preparing Plan To Destroy Russia's Black Sea Fleet—Ukraine
BY BRENDAN COLE ON 5/20/22 AT 4:30 AM EDT

AUkrainian official has said that the U.S. is working on a plan to target Russia's Black Sea Fleet to free up ports whose blockade by Moscow threatens world food supplies.

With Ukraine one of the world's biggest suppliers of grain, there are fears the blocking by Russia of the ports that allow the distribution of the food will spur a global food shortage.

On Friday, Ukrainian ministry of internal affairs adviser Anton Gerashchenko tweeted that the U.S. "is preparing a plan to destroy the Black Sea Fleet."

"The effective work of the Ukrainians on warships convinced (the USA) to prepare a plan to unblock the ports," he said. "Deliveries of powerful anti-ship weapons (Harpoon and Naval Strike Missile with a range of 250-300 km) are being discussed."

His message follows a report from Reuters that the White House is working on a plan to put anti-ship missiles in the hands of Ukrainian troops to defeat the naval blockade.

U.S. officials and congressional sources said the powerful anti-ship missiles which Gerashchenko referred to may be either directly shipped to Ukraine, or transferred through a European ally.

Ukraine has called for more U.S. firepower beyond the artillery, Javelin and Stinger missiles it currently has so it can push an estimated 20 Russian navy vessels including submarines, away from its Black Sea ports. In April, Russia's Black Sea Fleet flagship vessel, Moskva, was sunk by Ukrainian missiles.

U.S. Aims To Arm Ukraine

As well as offering a tactical advantage to help Ukraine's war effort, the supply of more arms would also have global ramifications, as it would pave the way to a restart of shipments of grain and other agricultural products.

But just how to further arm Ukraine has U.S. officials worried about what might happen if the weapons were captured by Russian forces and add to an escalation, according to Reuters.

One American official said no one wants to be the first or only country to supply a Harpoon, fearing reprisals from Russia.


Also, there are logistical difficulties with Harpoons, which are made by Boeing and are mostly sea-based with a limited availability of platforms to launch them from shore.

However, the agency reported that the U.S. was looking at potentially pulling a launcher off an American ship.


In a statement to Newsweek, a State Department spokesman said, "As the conflict is changing, so too is our military assistance to deliver the critical capabilities Ukraine needs for today's fight as Russia's forces engage in a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine.

"We are the world's leading provider of security assistance to Ukraine in its hour of need, and we are encouraging Allies and partners worldwide to do the same."

The prospect of food rotting at Black Sea ports has caused alarm in the international community. The United Nations food chief, David Beasley, appealed directly to Vladimir Putin that millions would die around the world because of the Russian blockade.


"If you have any heart at all, you need to open up those ports," he said.

https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-russia ... on-1708449

That's some serious war-monger propaganda from Nazi central. One might guess it was approved by their US masters.

I think the Ukes are losing and the US is getting desperate. One minute they're upping the game, the next they're calling for negotiations. Mebbe it's some kind of distraction but it looks like confusion to me. Putting all their hopes in a monsoon of weaponryb] reminds me of the WWII Nazis and their 'secret weapons', in the end they didn't matter at all.

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Michael Hudson on the Ongoing Economic War
Posted on May 20, 2022 by Yves Smith

Yves here. Michael Hudson provided a short update on RT (yes, it’s still operating) about how the economic war with Russia is accelerating the shift away from US-led hegemony to multipolarity.

However, two things worth noting:

A major change in the economic order is often accompanied by a financial crisis. Some of the explanations of the Great Depression focus on how efforts to restore the gold standard after it broke down in World War I were destructive; others give prominent play to the slow end of the sterling as the currency for trade and the difficulties the US had in changing from being export led to consumption led. The period before World War I featured extensive international trade, which broke down and only in the last 20 years or so has approached that level. The sanctions against Russia are producing changes in trading patterns and sourcing that are breaking supply chains and may lead to more of a focus on domestic markets (witness grain producing countries clamping down on exports).

What is happening with NATO is very much in play. The West smugly thought the Russian invasion of Ukraine would make NATO stronger, as proven by the expected entry of Sweden and Finland. But shockingly no one consulted Erdogan, when Turkey could lay claim to being the most important member by virtue of its location and by having NATO’s second largest army. Not getting all NATO members on board before inviting Sweden and Finland was rank presumption.

Erdogan may be playing the hardest of hardball (he’s sent in a list of big asks), since this remarkable screw-up puts NATO in a desperate position. But he may also genuinely be extremely insulted and thus not amenable to negotiating any of his demands. Oh, and Croatia has also said it’s inclined not to go along and Lega Nord’s Matteo Salvani has also voiced opposition. This means the air of inevitability the deal once had is slipping. Mind you, NATO will be very motivated to get the entry process back on track, but the outcome isn’t certain, a development that seemed inconceivable a couple of weeks ago.

Originally published at RT

Peter Scott, RT anchor: Joining us now is Michael Hudson, economist and author of “Super-Imperialism” and the recently-published “Destiny of Civilization”. Welcome to the programme, Michael.

Michael Hudson: It’s good to be back.

PS: Let’s say all these European programmes like the REPOWER Programme come into effect, how do you expect the EU standing to be on the stage after that?

MH: Well, the EU standing will be squeezed economically. It was trying to be a powerhouse in the world economy but in the last month the euro has been declining steadily against the dollar and it’s on the way to one dollar per euro. That’s because it’s having to pay much foreign exchange for energy, for food, for weapons. It’s shrinking in terms of other economies.

PS: Where do you think the EU’s standing will be in relation to powerhouses such as China?

MH: Well, it’s obviously out of the game. Instead of putting its own interests first, it’s really putting the US interests first. It’s acting more like a satellite of the United States thank trying to its own destiny. The whole plan of the EU 20 years ago was to get rich by investing in Russia, investing in China and a mutual exchange. And now it’s decided to stop that. The US has absorbed Europe. The war in Ukraine is a war by the US primarily to pull Europe into the US orbit, prevent European transactions with Russia or China. So Western Europe is being left out, while Russia, China and Eurasia are going with the rest of Asia. Europe is simply going to be left behind. It’s losing its export markets, it’s being squeezed and -as you just mentioned- it’s pushed up the retirement age because it’s spending its budget on replenishing American military arms instead of investing in industry as it had been doing since 1945.

PS: You did indeed write that Europe has ceased to be an independent state. You’ve almost mentioned that the United States wanted to sever EU trade ties with Russia and China. How exactly did you get to that conclusion and do you think that this alleged US plan is succeeding?

MH: Well, I simply read the speeches of President Biden and his team. They’ve said that China is America’s number one enemy. If you’re going to call a country your number one existential enemy, you’re not going to be increasing your trade and mutual dependency with it. And it’s already insisted that its allies sanction -meaning boycott- Russian sports not only of oil and agriculture but of titanium, helium and all of the other exports that Russia has been making. Europe is been following US directions not to have contact with Russia and without contact with Russia it’s not going to have contact with China because China sees that Europe is going to do to it exactly what it’s been doing to Russia.

PS: Obviously as a result of this current situation, for many years now, Russia and China have been growing closer diplomatically and economically. How do you see a global shift in power evolving over the next 5, 10 years or so?

MH: The current war is dividing the world into two parts. There’s going to be a US dollar area of the US, Europe and its satellites. And there’ll be a multipolarity; there’ll be a group of Russia, China together and basically they will be making their proposal of a different way of organising the world economic affairs to Africa, Latin America and other Asian countries. And other Asian countries, Latin America and the global south will see that it can get a better deal with Russia and China than it can get with the United States.

PS: On the flip side of that coin, one could argue that the existing situation, world order, has only been cemented by this war. You see NATO more aligned than ever, you see Europe more aligned than ever. You see Finland and Sweden on the brink, perhaps, of joining NATO. What would your response to this be, Michael?

MH: This integration of Europe into the United States sphere is like the new Berlin Wall. It’s isolated the US from the whole rest of the world. So instead of a victory for the United States it’s self-isolated itself because US strategists have realised that they’re losing the economic war with China, Russia and the whole group of emerging nations. All they can try to do is hold on to Europe as their one source of income to exploit from Europe what it can no longer get from any other country.

PS: As well as being a war on the ground, this is obviously an economic war. You yourself have noted that Nord Stream 2 (the gas pipeline from Russia to Germany) was one of the first victims of this crisis. To what extent are we now seeing an international conflict for energy resources? We obviously have the EU now weaning itself off Russian energy, the US trying to fill that gap to a certain extent with LNG. Then we have Russia now selling oil to India and China.

MH: The important thing about Russian oil being sold to India is that they’re sold in roubles, they’re no longer in dollars. The entire oil trade is now de-dollarised. It will be in roubles, in Chinese Yuan and in other currencies. But the dollar will be left out. The whole idea of dollar diplomacy, of the dollar’s free ride and monetary imperialism has ended. Everyone thought it would take 10 years for Russia, China and other countries to break away. Yet the United States itself has broken away from the other countries by grabbing the foreign exchange reserves of Afghanistan, Venezuela and now Russia. Nobody is going to trust to transact oil, trade and invest in dollars anymore because the United States can simply grab whatever money they want from countries that don’t agree to turn over their economic surplus to American investors and American traders. The United States has isolated itself. It’s shot itself in the foot.

PS: Talking of currencies, Russia is currently the most sanctioned country in the world but the rouble has recovered to way before pre-war levels. To what extent do you think the sanctions imposed on Russia by western countries have negatively impacted the countries imposing them?

MH: It’s certainly been very positive for Russia. The first sanctions were imposed on Russian agriculture like cheese from Lithuania. So now Russia produces its own cheese. When you sanction a country, you force that country to be more self-reliant on its own productions. President Putin has already said that now he’s going to be investing in import substitution. If he can’t buy imports from the United States now he’ll set up factories in Russia to produce themselves. There’s no reason Russia cannot do this and be its own industrial power. It doesn’t need the West. But the West still needs Russia. You mentioned Europe doing without Russian oil, and instead getting US liquefied natural gas. But it doesn’t have the ports to import that natural gas. It will have to spend $5 billion to build ports. It will take many years for this. What are Germany and Europe going to do for the next few years? Are they going to let their pipes freeze in their houses? So that their pipes break and flood the houses? Will the factories slow down? Already German fertiliser companies have closed down because they can’t get gas and it’s going to be years before they can get gas. Without fertiliser how are the Germans going to make their agricultural yields sustainable? Well, they won’t be. So Europe is going to increase its food deficit. It’s going to increase its energy deficit. It’s basically committing suicide on behalf of the Americans. I don’t know how long the political system of Europe can go along with leaders who represent America instead of their own national interests.

PS: Michael, I’m afraid we’re going to have to leave it there. We could easily discuss the shifting world order for hours to come but I’m afraid we’ve run out of time. That was author Michael Hudson. Thank you very much for joining us on RT.

MH: Good to see you. Thank you for having me.

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/05 ... c-war.html

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Red flag over Azovstal
May 21, 17:24

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A flag with the coat of arms of the USSR flutters over Azovstal.
The Colonel of the Reserve, a veteran of the special services of the Russian Federation, a direct participant in the negotiations and the process of withdrawing prisoners of war, Valentin Kryzhanovsky, hoisted the Banner.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7628674.html

So write it down
May 21, 3:56 p.m.

Image

Another video with surrendering Nazis at Azovstal. Plus, the search of "Volyn" was caught on video. He has now switched from underground blogging to interviews with Russian TV channels.

(Videos for both of these posts to be viewed at link.)

It is reported that a serious exchange of bodies of the dead is being prepared + negotiations are underway regarding the next exchange of our prisoners of war (RF, DPR, LPR) for prisoners of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It seems that the Nazis from Azov are not going to be changed, the DPR authorities insist that they will be tried within the framework of the tribunal in Donetsk.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7628448.html

Google Translator

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From Cassad's Telegram Account:

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Сolonelcassad
And here are the first reports from the territory of Azovstal.
Destroyed phones, abandoned or torn documents, various personal items, etc. The most interesting, of course, will be looked for in the basements of the plant. In some ways, all this is reminiscent of the study of the liberated Eastern Ghouta in Syria, when, after the surrender of the remnants of militants in Duma, they explored the ruins of residential areas and underground tunnels for several weeks, where they found a lot of things, including even a chemical laboratory for the production of artisanal chemical weapons, an underground prison, recreation areas, etc. We are waiting with interest for reports from the underground "Azovstal".

https://t.me/SergeyKolyasnikov/36172

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forwarded from
Gorshenin works!
Cruel shots: Special Forces of the "Brave" destroyed the enemy and captured the stronghold of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (PHOTO 18+)

This is in the new report of the military correspondents of the "Russian Spring" from the special operation zone.
Grouping "O" continues to knock out the enemy from the Limansky district of the DPR. During the attack on Liman, a group of special forces destroyed the next positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Enemy corpses and trophies available.

This time, Western countries supplied the Russian Army with 122-mm foreign-made ammunition for the D-30 howitzer and the 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery mount. Thank you, we still have these in service.

***

Сolonelcassad
It is reported that Poland has transferred almost its entire stock of components and weapons for MiG-29 fighters for the needs of the Ukrainian Air Force. This is to the question of why something else flies.
It is important to understand that in addition to about 200 aircraft that were already in Ukraine on February 24, it also had a significant number of technically non-combat-ready aircraft that Ukraine itself was unable to physically repair, including due to a lack of spare parts, which led to such a phenomenon as cannibalization, when some planes were dismantled to fix others.

For example, when in 2014 ours took the Belbek airfield, out of 45 fighters at the airfield, only 4 were combat-ready. And this problem did not disappear after 2014, although they tried to solve it to the best of their ability, increasing the number of combat-ready aircraft.
Now, in order to compensate for losses in materiel and personnel in Ukraine, new pilots are being hastily prepared (which Rybar repeatedly wrote about - training is underway in Western Ukraine and on the territory of NATO countries) and are working to restore what can be restored from various illiquid assets left over from the USSR Air Force. Plus, under this shop, there may certainly be a covert transfer of individual vehicles from the territory of Poland and Romania, after they are repainted in Ukrainian camouflage and provided with Ukrainian or hired pilots. The main problem is that such aircraft are in any case inferior to modern Russian fighters, and you cannot quickly train a good pilot. Hence the question of hired pilots, who can fly combat sorties now, when troops regularly ask for artillery and air support.

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forwarded from
Newspaper PRAVDA
Another blow to the Communist Party The Communist

Party in Ukraine was once again banned. Nationalist propaganda claims that this time it is definitive. But the Ukrainian communists categorically disagree with this. And the tendency to hypocritical lies, distorting facts and producing shameless fakes in recent months have become the hallmark of Kyiv semi-official propagandists. So let's get down to the bare facts .

Back in April 2015, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the anti-constitutional “decommunization law”. He banned the propaganda of communist symbols, and also declared a ban on the activities of the Communist Party on the territory of Ukraine. But the issue of banning the CPU was to be decided only in court.

The District Administrative Court of the city of Kyiv, by its decision of December 16, 2015 in case No. 826/15408/15, terminated the activities of the KPU. But this decision was appealed by the Ukrainian communists on appeal and did not enter into force until the spring of 2022. The Communist Party of Ukraine, although it was removed from the electoral process, continued to exist all this time, successfully carried out its party and social activities, held mass events and even collected membership dues. Several compositions of the Court of Appeal over and over again, year after year, postponed the consideration of the complaint of the KPU against the decision to terminate the activities of the party, because they understood that there were no grounds for such a decision, but did not oppose the instructions of the Ministry of Justice, the Security Service of Ukraine and the Office of the President of Ukraine.

But on May 16 of this year, the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal of the city of Kyiv, against the backdrop of a growing wave of anti-Russian and anti-communist hysteria, completed consideration of the appeal in this case and refused to satisfy it. This means that the court decision to ban the Communist Party of Ukraine of December 2015 has entered into force.

Leonid ANDREEV. Kiev

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Сolonelcassad
The new head of the Liberal Democratic Party, Slutsky, said that the issue of exchanging the bodies of the dead and prisoners of war would be resolved in the near future.
At the same time, Pushilin said that a tribunal for Ukrainian war criminals was inevitable.

It looks like preparation for the exchange of the bodies of the dead (which can only be welcomed) + another series of exchanges of prisoners of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (it is clear that Ukraine, out of the whole horde of prisoners of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, wants to exchange at least some from Azovstal) for our and LDNR-ovsky prisoners of war "Azov" judging by the statements, they do not plan to change, and we will still see show trials that refer to the Soviet practice of publicly punishing Nazi war criminals.

However, we should not forget that among the Ukrainian Armed Forces captured in Mariupol there are more than enough war criminals who actively contributed to the implementation of the terrorist tactics of "human shield" and participated in the murders of the inhabitants of Mariupol - these should be separated for filtration and excluded from the exchange fund.

Again, it should be borne in mind that at the rate of 1 to 1, Ukraine does not physically have so many prisoners of war to change all of its own. After Mariupol, the Russian Federation and the LDNR have 10 times more prisoners than our Ukraine.

***

Сolonelcassad
Short.

1. Russia has stopped gas supplies to Finland from today. All as promised. If you do not want to pay in rubles, you will look for gas elsewhere. Everyone was shown everything on the example of Poland and Bulgaria.

2. The EU allowed Germany and Italy to pay for gas according to the ruble scheme.
They simply recognized the obvious, since a number of countries, including Italy and Germany, have de facto already caved in to the ruble scheme. And as they shouted in April - "No one will pay according to the ruble scheme." There will be more like. They will simply pretend that they pay in euros, although everyone understands the nature of the new Russian scheme.

3. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine declares that demining the territory of Ukraine will take 5-7 years. This is a reaction to the increasing number of explosions of civilians on Ukrainian mines. I wrote about this scenario back in early March, and it seems that 5-7 years is a very optimistic time frame. Mines will be blown up for a very, very long time, since often mines were laid without mapping improvised minefields, and many of those who laid mines are simply no longer alive.

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forwarded from
Vladislav Coal
Summary of hostilities on May 20, 2022 from Vladislav Coal

Briefly: the Mariupol cauldron burned out, artillery preparation for the assault on Severodonetsk, the development of a breakthrough in the Popasnaya area.

🎯Kharkov direction - the front line has stabilized, the Russians have increased artillery pressure on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. A fairly large gray zone remains between the positions of the parties, the main battles are in the area of ​​Prudyanka and Ternovaya. South - no change.

🎯PAVLOGRAD ARCH:

🏹The northern flank of the arc (from Izyum to Popasnaya) - the Russians fortified at Yaremovka and are building a crossing across the Donets between it and Dry Kamenka. Yarovaya was liberated to the east, according to available information , about a thousand enemy fighters were captured in the Krasny Liman area. Artillery preparations continue for the assault on Severodonetsk , in particular, strikes are being made on one of the three bridges to Lisichansk. Their collapse will cut off the garrison of Severodonetsk. At the moment, the enemy continues to be squeezed out of the suburbs of the city. On Bakhmutka , fighting continues for Toshkovka (about 800 enemy fighters) and on the outskirts of Gorsky.

🏹The central front (from Popasnaya to Marinka) - the development of a breakthrough near Popasna continues. Vyskriva was liberated in the direction of Artemovsk , fighting continues in the area of ​​Novaya Kamenka and Stryapovka to reach Soledar. In the north, in the direction of Lisichansk , Lipovoye has been liberated, fighting is underway in Kamyshevakh, Vrubovka and Vasilyevka. To the south, in the Svetlodar direction, Troitskoe was liberated, the offensive was developing on Vozdvizhenka. Heavy fighting continues in the area of ​​Avdiivka and Marinka , there are no changes in the front line.

🏹The southern flank of the arc (from the Dnieper River to Maryinka) - the front line is unchanged.

🎯Mariupol cauldron - the cauldron burned out: the remnants of the Mariupol garrison capitulated. A total of 2439 militants surrendered.

🎯Kherson-Nikolaev direction - the front line is unchanged: the Black Sea - Aleksandrovka - Maksimovka - Snigirevka - Vysokopolie - the Dnieper River.

***

forwarded from
Rybar
❗️🇬🇧🇺🇦Offensive on Donbass: the situation in the east of Ukraine by the end of May 20, 2022

🔻The situation in the north of the Kharkov region :

▪️The RF Armed Forces continue to strike at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Zolochiv , Dergachi and Tsirkuny . The command post of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Lozova was hit .

▪️South of Chepel , Ukrainian units are trying to establish a permanent crossing and cross the Seversky Donets .

🔻The offensive of the allied forces is successfully developing in the Donbass .

▪️Up to a thousand servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ended up in a fire bag in the vicinity of Liman . The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation leveled the front to the north of Svyatogorsk : Studenok and Yaremovka were taken , a crossing was built from the direction of Sukha Kamenka .

▪️Fighting continues on the outskirts of Severodonetsk .

▪️The fiercest fighting took place north, west and southwest of Popasna .

The rear column of the RF Armed Forces was partially destroyed in the center of Kamyshevakhi . The zone of control near Viktorovka was expanded : the settlement was taken. Linden . Airborne and "Wagner PMC" units occupied the commanding heights north of Stryapovka . The settlement of Vyskriva was taken southwest of Popasna .

▪️Heavy fighting continues in Avdiivka and Novomikhailovka .

▪️A ceasefire was officially announced at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. The last stronghold of the Armed Forces of Ukraine fell. The Azov commanders Svyatoslav Palamar and Denis Prokopenko

surrendered , as well as the commander of the 36th Marine Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Sergey Volynsky . In total, 2,439 Ukrainian nationalists and soldiers surrendered . Large resolution map #digest #Donetsk #Izyum #map #Liman #Lugansk #Popasnaya #Russia #Ukraine #Kharkov @rybar *Support us: | (ETH) | (BTC)

Image

***

forwarded from
Readovka
The map of hostilities and the situation on the fronts in the evening of May 20

The most important news of the day was the final victory in Mariupol and the surrender of the remnants of Ukrainian nationalists defending on the territory of the Azovstal plant. We must be aware that this is a powerful moral and psychological blow to all units of the Ukrainian army. Videos with kalyna , radish and valyna have already begun to fly around all news platforms. Sergei Shoigu reported to Vladimir Putin on the completion of the operation and the complete liberation of Azovstal and Mariupol from Ukrainian militants. Total surrendered during the operation2,439 Azov Nazis and Ukrainian troops. Glory to our soldiers who, not sparing their lives, achieved this important victory.

⚔️ The situation on the fronts remains tense:

▫️The Izyum front was temporarily stalled. The Armed Forces of Ukraine have taken positions on the chalk mountains and are holding the line. In the event of an assault on the Svyatogorsk Lavra, casualties and provocations among the civilian population are possible, since we have seen more than once or twice how the Armed Forces of Ukraine "protect" compatriots, hiding behind them like a shield.

▫️Lugansk front . From Popasnaya , a rapid offensive is developing in all directions. Our troops are liberating Severodonetsk, there are fierce battles for this strategically important city of the LPR. According to various estimates, there are from 8,000 to 15,000 VFU militants in the Severodonetsk region .

▫️On the Donetsk front without much change. We continue to slowly but surely push the evil spirits beyond the borders of the DPR.

▫️On the Zaporozhye front, after the unsuccessful counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Hulyaipole, the situation does not change.

🎯Calibration . In the Zhytomyr region , the railway was calibrated . A rocket attack was carried out on the Palace of Culture in the city of Lozovaya, Kharkiv region - the building was used as an arms depot. A blow was struck at the Odessa portside plant (OPZ) in the city of Yuzhny, Odessa region (located 35 km from Odessa).

🚀Upon arrival. Ukraine continues to strike at the Kuibyshevsky district of Donetsk. Gorlovka also got it - more than 20 shells were fired, the gas pipeline was damaged.

👁From the interesting: The full version of the Readovka interview with the surrendered Azov resident is a refutation of Ukrainian myths and the real face of the “heroes” of Azovstal.

👁The Ukrainian armed forces do not receive combat uniforms due to theft by their own command.

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

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

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

Post by blindpig » Sun May 22, 2022 1:39 pm

Briefly about Ukraine. 05/21/2022
May 21, 22:32

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Briefly about Ukraine. 05/21/2022

1. Mariupol.
The remnants of the Mariupol group capitulated. The plant is being combed. This is the last mention of Mariupol in military reports.

2. Nikolaev.
No significant changes. Positional battles are being conducted in the Nikolaevsky and Nikopol directions.

3. Odessa.
No significant changes. Air Force strikes of the Russian Federation and anti-amphibious measures of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

4. Zaporozhye.
On the line Kamenskoye-Orekhov-Gulyaipole-Velikaya Novoselka without significant changes, positional battles are going on.

5. Carbon.
Positional battles are going on on the Novomikhailovka-Ugledar-Velikaya Novoselovka line. There are no significant changes.

6. Marinka.
Positional battles continue in the village. There are no significant changes.

7. Avdiivka.
Stubborn fighting in the area of ​​Novobakhmutovka, Novoselki-2 and New York. The enemy hinders the attempts of the Russian Armed Forces to capture New York, and also retains control over the Orlovka-Avdeevka road.

8. Raisins.
Fighting in the area of ​​Kurulka, Kamyshevakhi, Dolgenkiy. Fighting continues, aimed at encircling the group holding Krasny Lyman. The approach of the front to Slavyansk is noted.

9. LPR.
Fighting on the outskirts of Severodonetsk. The position of the APU grouping in the city is deteriorating, one of the bridges used for supplies was blown up. An offensive is being developed from the side of Popasnaya in the direction of Vozdvizhenka, which threatens the Artemovsk-Svetlodarsk highway.
There is an offensive along the Soledar-Lysichansk highway to the west of Gorsky and Zolote. Fights are going on in Viktorovka, Kamyshevakh and on the outskirts of Vrubovka. Fighting continues at Pilipchatino.
The assault on Toshkovka continues.

10. Kharkov.
Medium-intensity fighting to the north of the city in the area of ​​​​the village of Liptsy, as well as Rubizhne.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7629061.html

(There are videos with this post but they do not seem to work.)

Official feedback bot of the DPR army
May 22, 10:51 am

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For those who asked where to report on the movement of Ukrainian troops, firing positions, accumulations of manpower and equipment, ammunition and fuel depots, etc.

Official feedback bot of the DPR army.

Both civilians who want to help the Russian and LDNR army with information, and Ukrainian military who want to surrender or go over to our side can write to it: @nmdnr_bot
The system of rewards is provided:
- for active participation from $10 (payment once a week)
- for valuable information from $50 (payment based on the results of information verification)
We transfer finances to your BTC wallet.
Everything is confidential!

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7629351.html

uranium faucet
May 22, 11:44 am

Image

uranium faucet

In Europe, they talk a lot about the embargo on Russian oil and gas, but out of forgetfulness or deliberately keep silent about enriched uranium, reports N-TV. But the EU depends on it more than on blue fuel. At the same time, we are also talking about technological dependence, which European nuclear power plants will not be able to overcome without serious damage to production. Shutting off the "uranium tap" threatens to undermine the power supply in entire countries, experts warn.

The EU is now in full swing discussing how to abandon Russian oil and gas, according to N-TV. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen insists that this must be done "as soon as possible". But out of forgetfulness or intentionally, European politicians are silent about the supply of other Russian raw materials, namely enriched uranium, which, against the background of all recent discussions, has found itself in a kind of “blind zone”. At the same time, the EU depends on it much more than on natural gas, because, according to the European Atomic Energy Community, it buys about 40% of the enriched uranium necessary for the operation of nuclear power plants from Russia and Kazakhstan “close to the Kremlin”, experts explain.

At the same time, the union acquires from Moscow not only raw materials, but also technologies, N-TV continues. Over the years, the Kremlin has invested billions in improving the technological process of uranium enrichment and has been able to achieve success: Russian facilities are considered among the best in the world. In addition, there are 18 countries in the EU where Russian nuclear reactors are located: two in Bulgaria, six in the Czech Republic, two in Finland, four in Hungary and four in Slovakia.

The European Atomic Energy Community emphasizes that in this area Europe is very dependent on Russia and “extremely vulnerable”. After all, pressurized water reactors need to be replaced regularly. At the same time, they work only on Russian-made hexagonal rods. Western manufacturers have little to no experience with these fuel elements, which makes it impossible for European nuclear power plant operators to reduce their dependence on Russia without serious damage to production.

The Kremlin's strategy was to start supplying the West with cheap uranium and nuclear technology, explains N-TV. And she worked. Despite the hostilities in Ukraine, cooperation in this area continues. Russia does not earn as much money on this as on the sale of gas and oil, but still they go to cover military expenses. In addition, the events in Ukraine, in a sense, played into the hands of the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin. Because of them, the price of uranium on the world market increased by 30%, reaching the highest value in the last 11 years.

Many nuclear power plant operators are afraid that the Russian president will turn off the "uranium tap" for them. This will have catastrophic consequences for the West, experts warn, because for all this time they have not taken any measures to diversify supplies in this area. There are very few sellers of this raw material, and delivery times are very long. Stopping the sale of enriched uranium would seriously harm the operation of nuclear power plants and undermine the power supply of entire countries, such as Slovakia and Hungary, which receive half of their electricity from peaceful nuclear power.

The degree of dependence of these states on Russia is evidenced by one significant episode, when, despite the sanctions ban, Russian transport aircraft were allowed to land in Slovakia and Hungary in the spring to deliver fuel elements. Thanks to the abandonment of nuclear energy, Germany is, of course, less dependent on uranium supplies. But the Russian concern Rosatom also makes money there: in the storage of radioactive waste and the dismantling of nuclear power plants. In addition, the disruption of electricity supply in a number of European countries will lead to an unforeseen increase in prices in the European electricity market, from which the Germans will inevitably suffer.

To avoid such a situation, US nuclear plant operators asked their government to continue deliveries of Russian uranium despite the fighting in Ukraine. To this day, the United States has not imposed any sanctions against Rosatom, although this state-owned concern is the most suitable target for punitive measures, even if only because of the dominant position that it occupies in the world, N-TV concludes.

https://russian.rt.com/inotv/2022-05-22 ... -opasatsya - zinc
https://www.n-tv.de/wirtschaft/Wir-haengen-auch -an-Russlands-Atomtropf-article23343954.html - original in German

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7629787.html

Google Translator

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No, The Ukraine War Has Not Stoked A Global Food Crisis.

Russia is falsely accused of blocking Ukraine's sea ports and thereby increasing a global food shortage:

The United Nations has warned that the war in Ukraine has helped to stoke a global food crisis that could last years if it goes unchecked, as the World Bank announced an additional $12bn in funding to mitigate its “devastating effects”.
UN secretary general António Guterres said shortages of grain and fertiliser caused by the war, warming temperatures and pandemic-driven supply problems threaten to “tip tens of millions of people over the edge into food insecurity”, as financial markets saw share prices fall heavily again on fears of inflation and a worldwide recession.

Speaking at a UN meeting in New York on global food security, he said what could follow would be “malnutrition, mass hunger and famine, in a crisis that could last for years”, as he and others urged Russia to release Ukrainian grain exports.
...
Before the invasion in February, Ukraine was seen as the world’s bread basket, exporting 4.5m tonnes of agricultural produce per month through its ports – 12% of the planet’s wheat, 15% of its corn and half of its sunflower oil.

But with the ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and others cut off from the world by Russian warships, the supply can travel only on congested land routes that are far less efficient.


It is not Russia that is withholding Ukrainian grain or cutting off its seaports. Ukraine does that all by itself. As the Russian Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response in Ukraine reports:

75 foreign vessels from 17 countries remain blocked in 7 Ukrainian ports (Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa, Yuzhniy and Mariupol). The threat of shelling and high mine danger created by official Kiev in its internal waters and territorial sea prevents vessels from safely leaving the ports and reaching the open sea.
In confirmation of this, the Russian Federation is opening daily from 08:00 to 19:00 (Moscow time) a humanitarian corridor, which is a safe lane south-west of Ukraine's territorial sea, 80 nautical miles long and 3 nautical miles wide.

Detailed information in English and Russian on the modus operandi of the maritime humanitarian corridor is broadcast daily every 15 minutes on VHF radio on 14 and 16 international channels in English and Russian.

At the same time, the Kiev authorities continue to avoid engaging with representatives of states and ship-owning companies to resolve the issue of ensuring the safe passage of foreign vessels to the assembly area.

The danger to navigation from Ukrainian mines drifting off their anchors along the coasts of Black Sea states remains.

The Russian Federation is taking a full range of comprehensive measures to ensure the safety of civilian navigation in the waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.


That is just Russian propaganda you might say. But no, it is not. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has published reports about the Maritime Security and Safety in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov:

At the start of the conflict approximately 2000 seafarers were stranded aboard 94 vessels in Ukrainian ports. 10 vessels have subsequently safely departed the Sea of Azov and 84, merchant ships remain, with nearly 450 seafarers onboard.
...
The Council (C/ES.35) on 10 and 11 March agreed to encourage the establishment, as a provisional and urgent measure, of a blue safe maritime corridor to allow the safe evacuation of seafarers and ships from the high-risk and affected areas in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to a safe place in order to protect the life of seafarers, and ensure the mobilization and commercial navigation of vessels intending to use this corridor by avoiding military attacks and protecting and securing the maritime domain.
...
The Russian Federation has informed IMO that it had established a humanitarian corridor, to provide for the safe evacuation of ships once outside the territorial waters of the Ukraine. Despite this initiative, there remain many safety and security issues which hamper access to the corridor and the ability for ships to depart from their berth in Ukrainian ports.
Ukraine’s ports are at MARSEC (maritime security) level 3 and remain closed for entry and exit. Sea mines have been laid in port approaches and some port exits are blocked by sunken barges and cranes. Many ships no longer have sufficient crew onboard to sail.

Ukraine also provided their preconditions for the safe evacuation of ships from their ports. These include an end to hostilities, the withdrawal of troops and ensuring the freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, including carrying out mine-sweeping activities with the involvement of Black Sea littoral states.


The MARSEC level of a port is determined by the local authorities. Ukraine is simply prohibiting ships from entering or leaving the ports it controls. It has taken these hostage and makes unreasonable demands for their release.

It also has laid some 400 anchor mines around Odessa which are so old that some of them have parted from their chains and drifted south towards Turkey. It does not allow Russia to de-mine the sea.

Meanwhile foreign ships that had been held by Ukraine in Mariupol have been able to leave since Russia has taken the city and its harbor.

UN secretary general Guterres certainly knows all this. That he is accusing Russia of causing a blockade only shows that he does not honor the neutrality his position demands.

The global food shortage has by the way been around since early 2021. It was not caused by the Ukraine crisis but, as an October 2021 report says, by high prices following supply chain disruptions during the pandemic:

[T]he food shortage around the world isn't just a factor of supply chain issues. According to a rapid phone survey done by the World Bank in 48 countries, a significant number of people are running out of food or reducing their consumption. Global food prices have hit a 10-year peak, according to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), driven by gains in cereals and vegetable oils. Despite record cereal consumption, a shortage is forecasted on higher consumption projections.

Guterres' accusations were copy-pasted from remarks U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had made in an interview:

Blinken: Ukraine is one of the leading producers of, among other things, wheat in the world. Russia, of course, is a large producer itself. And in Ukraine, there are literally tens of millions of tons of wheat that are stuck there because Russia's blockading Ukraine's ports. There are about 85 ships right now with grain, wheat in them. They can't get out. There are another 22 million tons of wheat in silos near the ports that can't get there.
Blinken is lying about the port blockade. The Ukraine is by the way currently exporting wheat via railway, Danube barges and then through the Romanian port Constanta. That wheat though is likely to go to Europe.


Blinken is also lying about fertilizers:

Blinken: Now, the reason for that is there's also a fertilizer shortage because a lot of that is produced in the region. That means that as farmers are thinking about next year's crops, if they don't have fertilizer, the yields are going to go down. So there's going to be even less food on the market and and prices go up even more.

Russia and Belarus are big fertilizer producers. Neither has been hindered to produce by the war. There is therefore no shortage. The only reason the U.S. and 'western' countries will not get fertilizer from those countries are the sanctions they have enacted against buying from them.

This passage from Blinken's interview has a comical element:

Q: You were in Kyiv recently, about a month ago, and you said that Russia is failing, Ukraine is succeeding. What is your assessment now?
Blinken: That remains the case. Here's what's important: Putin's number one objective in going into Ukraine was to erase its independence, erase its sovereignty, to bring Ukraine fully back into the Russian fold, to make it part, in some fashion, of Russia. That's already failed.

How would Blinken know what Putin's number one objective was or is? Has he put himself into Putin's mind? Putin himself has given the reasons for the launching the operation in his Victory Day speech. Ukraine's independence was never questioned in it.

The next question after Blinken had put himself into Putin's mind is this one:

Q: How did he get this so wrong? How did he miscalculate this so badly?
Blinken: It's very hard to fully put yourself in the mind of anyone else.


Yeah. Thought so.

Q: What are you hearing intelligence wise?
Blinken: Well, we had, of course, very good information about Russia's planned aggression in the first place, which we shared with the world. A lot of people were skeptical. And it's one of those things where, as I said, I wish we'd been wrong about it, but we were right. ...


When during the winter of 2021 Biden warned of an 'imminent Russian invasion' of Ukraine he did not know what Russia's plans were. What he did know was that the Ukraine was planning, with U.S. help, for an all out on attack on the Donbas republics in February 2022.

Biden knew that no Russian politician could stand back when that were to happen. When you know on what date a war will start it is of course easy to predict when the response to it will happen.

Starting on February 16 Ukrainian artillery attacks on Donbas increased from a few dozen per day to more than 2,000 per day as was dully noted and reported by the OSCE special observer mission. It were these artillery preparations for a full blown attack that pushed Russia towards the preemptive operation in Ukraine.

This is confirmed in a recent Russian news report about the liberation of Azovstal (machine translation):

The [Russian] operation [in Ukraine] began against the backdrop of the situation in the Donbass that worsened in mid-February. The authorities of the DPR and LPR reported increased shelling by Ukrainian troops, announced the evacuation of civilians in the Russian Federation and asked for recognition of independence. On February 21, Putin signed the relevant decrees.

Again:

*There was and is a global food crisis because food has become unaffordable for some people.
*The war in Ukraine did not cause the food crisis.
*Russia does not blockade Ukrainian harbors.
*Ukraine could export more wheat if it would allow ships to leave its harbors.
*Putin has not questioned the independence of Ukraine.
*The reason for the war was the planned and prepared for Ukrainian attack on Donbas.

Anything else said about those points is just propaganda.

Posted by b on May 21, 2022 at 15:02 UTC | Permalink

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Peaceful Life Returning to Mariupol — City Head

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Azov Battalion fighters | Photo: © RIA Novosti / Alexei Kudenko

Published 21 May 2022

"As of today, the situation is calm. For at least a week there have been no ‘strikes’ on civilian facilities, on residential buildings, or on infrastructure," Ivashchenko said.

Peaceful life is being established to Mariupol after it was completely liberated from Ukrainian forces, Konstantin Ivashchenko, the city head, told reporters on Saturday.

"As of today, the situation is calm. For at least a week there have been no ‘strikes’ on civilian facilities, on residential buildings, or on infrastructure. So we do hope that we will have a peaceful life in the next few days," Ivashchenko said.

On Friday, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said that Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu had informed President Vladimir Putin about the end of the operation to liberate completely the Azovstal plant and Mariupol from Ukrainian militants. A total of 2,439 Azov nationalists and Ukrainian service members, who had been trapped inside the plant since April 21, have laid down their arms and surrendered since May 16.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Pea ... -0008.html

Serbian President Vows To Resist Sanctions Against Russia

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Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic (C) attends the opening of the 7th Belgrade's car and motorcycle fair in Belgrade, Serbia, May 12, 2022 | Photo: Nemanja Cabric/Xinhua

Published 21 May 2022 (14 hours 40 minutes ago)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that Belgrade would avoid aligning itself with Western sanctions against Russia over its military operation in Ukraine as long as it can.

"Our duty is to fight for our country, to stick to the decisions written by the National Security Council, as much as we can and as long as we can," Vucic told TV Pink.

Last month Serbia voted with the majority of the UN Human Rights Council to suspend Russia from the group over its military operation in Ukraine. In return, the European Union exempted Serbia from its sanctions on Russian oil and gas imports.

He also recalled that his administration partially endorsed European sanctions on Belarus by approving nine of the 25 measures presented by the Council of the European Union on April 8.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Ser ... -0010.html

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Ukraine War Signals Rise of Multi-Polar World, Says Professor and Analyst Dan Kovalik
May 21, 2022

Daniel Kovalik, a professor of international human rights at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law says that the Ukraine war solidifies the rise of a multi-polar world.

“It is clear that this war, and the West’s reaction to it, accelerates the rise of a multi-polar world, replacing the unipolar world in which the United States was the sole superpower,” Daniel Kovalik tells the Tehran Times.

“This development is a good one for the world which has been held hostage by the United States since the collapse of the USSR in 1991,” Kovalik notes.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is likely to accelerate a long-standing transition to a multi-polar world, one that will be increasingly shaped by competition over strategic connectivity.

This war showed the interconnected nature of the global system and how significantly those connections can be redirected due to conflicts such as the Ukraine war. Financial, energy and weaponry flow, and indeed even the flows of people in the form of refugees and internally displaced persons have been starkly impacted as a result of the Ukrainian conflict. The war has thus shaped the architecture of connectivity flows of the world, with Russia, Ukraine, and the West each trying to shape such flows to secure and benefit their respective positions.

Just as importantly, these shifts in connectivity flows can be seen as indicators and precursors of a broader shift in the global power architecture.

The Ukrainian conflict has impacted power relationships throughout the world, namely by accelerating the transition to a multipolar world order that was already underway well before the war began.

Russia is directly challenging the global power position of the U.S. and its Western allies in Ukraine, while other actors are playing increasingly important roles in shaping both sides of the conflict and its impact on the broader world order, from China to Turkey to India.

“The U.S. has used its power to invade and bully countries at will, destroying nations and causing the greatest migration crisis in world history. From now on, the U.S. will not be able to act militarily with the impunity it has now enjoyed for over 40 years,” the American academic argues.

Following is the text of the interview:

Q: Western countries call the Russian attack on Ukraine “invasion” while the Kremlin call it “special military operation”. Do you think that Russia’s military operation in Ukraine is legitimate?
A: I believe that Russia was put in a position in which it had no choice but to intervene in Ukraine, both in its own defense and the defense of the people in the Donbas region.

In other words, this is a classic case of collective self-defense. Ukraine was threatening and preparing to re-take Crimea by force and launch a massive invasion into Donbas after 8 years of already brutalizing that region in a conflict that claimed 14,000 lives even before the Russian intervention. On the weekend before the Russian Special Operation, there were over 2000 ceasefire violations between the Ukrainian military and the Donbas, according to official EU observers in the theater. Meanwhile, Russia had strong intelligence that the massive invasion of Donbas was imminent. Russia had the choice to wait for that invasion to come and then face a situation in which it either could not stop it or only be able to stop it with a much larger loss of life than the Special Operation will entail, or to act pre-emptively, which is what it did. I think that this was a defensible decision.

Q: How may the Ukraine war change the current world order?
A: It is clear that this war, and the West’s reaction to it, will solidify the rise of a multi-polar world, replacing the unipolar world in which the United States was the sole superpower. This development is a good one for the world which has been held hostage by the United States since the collapse of the USSR in 1991. The U.S. has used its power to invade and bully countries at will, destroying nations and causing the greatest migration crisis in world history. From now on, the U.S. will not be able to act militarily with the impunity it has now enjoyed for over 40 years.

Q: How do you see the global alignments when it comes to the Ukraine war? While Western powers condemn Moscow for the war the Eastern states are reluctant to denounce Russia.
A: For the most part, the only countries actively opposing Russia at present are those situated in the “West,” meaning the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia and Japan (an honorary Western country). The rest of the world, both East and Global South – meaning most of the world – are either supportive of Russia or neutral. I believe that these latter countries are taking such positions because they have suffered greatly under Western imperialism and will not support the West in what is clearly a proxy war against Russia. I also believe that they welcome the multi-polar world which is now in birth.

Q: How do you see the role of mainstream media in representing this war?
A: The Western mainstream media is unanimous in propagating anti-Russian propaganda on a level I certainly have not seen in my lifetime. The media has whipped up hysteria against Russia to drum up support for the proxy war in Ukraine and possibly a war directly against Russia. It is very difficult to find a counter-narrative to the mainstream version of events, and those journalists and outlets that are providing another point of view are being marginalized and silenced.

Q: What are the global fallouts of sanctioning Russia?
A: The sanctioning of Russia is and will continue to cause suffering throughout the world, including in the West. Food prices are rising around the world and food is becoming scarce in certain parts of the world, for example in the Middle East which is experiencing a shortage of wheat and bread. Fuel prices continue to rise which will cause a rise in the price of all consumer goods, hurting the poor and working-class in every country.

It looks like most of the world may be facing the prospects of a recession, if not depression, as the result of these ill-conceived sanctions. The situation is quite dire, and the U.S. is the country that bears the most blame for this situation as the prime instigator of the war and the prime mover of these sanctions.

https://orinocotribune.com/ukraine-war- ... professor/

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U.S. ruling class unites: $40 billion for Ukraine war, nothing for workers
Nicholas StenderMay 20, 2022 337 3 minutes read
Download PDF flyer https://flyer-generator.herokuapp.com/? ... sts/105543

The U.S. Senate voted 86-11 yesterday to send $40 billion in military and economic support to the Ukrainian government. The centerpiece of the aid package is military assistance to drag out the war with Russia. This follows the vote last week by the House of Representatives that saw every single Democratic Party lawmaker and the vast majority of Republicans approve the same measure. The bill now goes to Biden to be signed into law.

This enormous sum of money was approved just three weeks after it was first proposed by the Biden administration. In fact, Congress added $7 billion to Biden’s original $33 billion request!

Clearly, politicians in Washington are fully capable of moving quickly to address the issues they view as dire emergencies. Congress has not felt so moved to allocate funding to address the baby formula shortage causing havoc across the country. They have not shown any kind of sense of urgency when it comes to reducing the spiraling cost of essential goods, stemming the rising tide of evictions or any of the other crises facing the working class.

Less than six months ago, Congress actually did have an opportunity to greatly expand social programs through the “Build Back Better” bill, which included proposals to address climate change, fund universal pre-K, subsidize childcare, make permanent the child tax credit, and more. But after a debate that dragged out endlessly Democratic Party Senator Joe Manchin went on Fox News to announce that he was killing the proposal. And Biden himself seems perfectly content to let his signature domestic policy proposal gather dust as he turns his attention to deepening a major war.

When the Ukraine spending package was originally proposed, it was attached to $10 billion in desperately-needed COVID relief funding. But even something as fundamental as saving lives in the midst of the worst pandemic in living memory had to be jettisoned from the final bill, which politicians in Congress insisted remain exclusively focused on death and destruction.

Endless war

The military and economic aid coming from the US is a dangerous escalation of the war in Ukraine. The only people who stand to gain from the prolongation of the war are the imperialists in the Pentagon and the weapons manufacturers who reap profits from the huge weapons shipments that have been taking place since the war broke out.

Of the $40 billion just appropriated for Ukraine, $6 billion is set aside for the direct delivery of new weaponry, $8.7 billion for replenishing U.S. weapons stocks that have already been shipped to Ukraine and $3.9 billion for U.S. forces deployed near the warzone, and much of the rest is aimed at maintaining the basic functioning of the Ukrainian government. This massive sum proves that the conflict is a proxy war between the United States and Russia. Ukraine’s state would simply collapse if not for the huge cash injection from the United States.

The U.S. government and its NATO allies do not want the bloodshed in Ukraine to end because they view the war as a politically advantageous tool to advance U.S. domination of the world. Not only does the escalation enrich the military industrial complex, but it is a tool to solidify the United States’ diplomatic control over Europe. Last week, Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership under the intense pressure manufactured by the war.

The ascension of Finland and Sweden to NATO is an extremely provocative action. Finland shares an 800-mile border with Russia and fought with the Nazis during their invasion of the Soviet Union. The two countries pursued a policy of neutrality during the entirety of the Cold War – and Sweden has been officially neutral for over 200 years! – but will now attach themselves to the NATO military machine. It will be impossible for Russia to stand by and allow this NATO expansion to take place without taking some kind of countermeasure.

The war in Ukraine could end right away if the United States sat down at the negotiating table with Russia, agreed on Ukraine’s neutral status, created a collective security agreement to demilitarize Eastern Europe, and stopped supporting the neo-Nazi forces that have been incorporated into the Ukrainian state. These are not impossible demands to meet and the United States’ unwillingness to do so exposes their aims as being not the pursuit of peace but rather the weakening of a geopolitical rival.

The cost of living is rising in the United States under the pressure of inflation caused in no small part by U.S.-led efforts to cut Russia out of the world economy. A major social program is needed right now to shield the working class from the worst of the crisis. But all that the ruling class politicians in Washington care about is their pet war and the profits of the weapons manufacturers.

https://www.liberationnews.org/u-s-ruli ... rationnews

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Russia shoots down 11 drones in Ukrainian areas of Donbas and Kharkov

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Russia has destroyed nearly 1,000 Ukrainian UAVs since the start of the special military operation. | Photo: mod_russia
Published May 22, 2022 (2 hours 13 minutes ago)

More than 210 nationalists were killed this Saturday by Russian troops.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov reported on Sunday that Russian air defense shot down 11 Ukrainian drones in the Donbas region and Kharkov province as part of its special military operation in Ukraine.

READ ALSO:

Russian army liberates the port city of Kherson in Ukraine

As part of the actions of the day, more than 210 nationalists were killed and 38 units of military equipment ended up disabled. A total of 583 troop assembly areas, 41 command points, 76 artillery and mortar batteries, three batteries of Grad multiple rocket launcher systems were shelled.

According to the colonel general, since the start of the operation, almost 1,000 enemy drones have been destroyed.


"In total, since the start of the special military operation, 174 aircraft, 125 helicopters, 977 unmanned aerial vehicles, 317 anti-aircraft missile systems, 3,198 tanks and other armored combat vehicles," he said.

During the day on Saturday, Russian air-to-ground missiles hit 3 command points and 13 troop concentration areas, in addition to four Ukrainian ammunition warehouses in Donbas.

Also in Kharkov province two missiles from multiple rocket launch systems were shot down.


“During the day, high-precision air-launched missiles hit three command posts, 13 concentration areas of Ukrainian military manpower and equipment, as well as four ammunition depots in the areas of the settlements of Soledar, Sol de la (self-proclaimed) Donetsk People's Republic and Nyrkovo of the (self-proclaimed) Lugansk People's Republic,” the official added.

Some 1,622 field artillery pieces and mortars, and 3,077 units of special military vehicles have been neutralized since the start of the military operation. Additionally, 408 multiple rocket launchers have been intercepted.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/rusia-de ... -0006.html

Google Translator

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Russian Ops in Ukraine: Ukraine Losing M777 Howitzers, Continues Losing Ground in Donbas
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MAY 21, 2022



Update for Russian military operations in Ukraine for May 21, 2022:

1. Ukrainian militants in the Azovstal steel works have unconditionally surrendered numbering between hundreds (current Red Cross count) to thousands according to Russian sources;

2. Mariupol has been secured by Russia since mid to late-April – Ukraine finally admits however that its “combat operations” have fully ended;

3. Russia continues to make progress in the Donbas region – Ukrainian forces are being encircled in Severodonestsk and Lysychansk – the salient around Papasnya is expanding both west and north as part of this major encirclement;

4. Pentagon admits Russia still poses the majority of its combat power – possess a “numerical advantage” over Ukraine – and is making “slow, uneven” progress, but progress nonetheless;

5. Kharkov “offensive” has either stalled or is in the process of being rolled back;

6. US M777 howitzers have been found, tracked, targeted, and destroyed by Russian forces;

7. Additional attempts to send heavy weapons will face similar technical, tactical, strategic, and manpower challenges;

References

US Department of Defense – Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby Holds a Press Briefing – May 20, 2022: https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcri

US Department of Defense – Senior Defense Official Holds a Background Briefing May 19, 2022: https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcri

TASS – Leader of Azov battalion transferred from Azovstal plant in armored vehicle – top brass: https://tass.com/defense/1454085

SouthFront – IN VIDEO: RUSSIAN DRONE, ARTILLERY DESTROY UKRAINE’S NEW M777 HOWITZERS: https://southfront.org/in-video-russi

Institute for the Study of War – RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, MAY 20: https://understandingwar.org/backgrou

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/05/ ... in-donbas/
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Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part IV

Post by blindpig » Sun May 22, 2022 6:24 pm

With a $40 Billion Plan, the US is Setting Itself Up for an Expensive Failure in Ukraine
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on MAY 21, 2022
Scott Ritter

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Eight decades ago, America’s ‘arsenal of democracy’ helped in the defeat of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. In recent years, however, it’s been less effective

American democracy in action is as perturbing and frustrating to watch for a US citizen as it is confounding to outsiders. It’s become especially true in this age of extreme partisan politics, where legislation is prepared, debated, stalled, passed, or killed through parliamentary procedures and processes that are opaque even to those participating in them. Rare are the moments of bipartisan agreement, when the democratic processes appear to flow seamlessly, allowing critical legislation to be enacted in a timely fashion.

However, when Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed through a massive $40 billion appropriations bill for aid to Ukraine, she did so in a single day. The text of the proposed legislation was released in the morning, a ‘debate’ was held throughout the day (in actuality, little more than a series of speeches by lawmakers on why this legislation was so important), and then a vote was taken that saw the bill approved by a 368-57 margin.

It was then sent on to the Senate, where both the Democrat’s majority leader, Chuck Schumer, and the Republican minority leader, Mitch McConnell, were ready to similarly chaperone the legislation through their chamber and onto the desk of President Joe Biden, who had indicated he would sign it immediately.

Then something happened that speaks to the wisdom of the Founding Fathers when they crafted the bi-cameral makeup of the US Congress. James Madison, one of the major architects of the US Constitution, had envisioned that the US Senate would function, by design, as a deliberative body, serving as a check on the potential of the House to succumb to the passions of populism.



Yet when the Senate became mired in endless debate, and thus failed to advance legislation critical to the interests of the Republic, it was compelled to impose a legislative procedure designed to speed things along. Called ‘unanimous consent’, this procedure was designed to forgo the kind of lengthy debate that formed the core of the Senate’s inherent constitutional responsibility for deliberation.

Both Schumer and McConnell had envisioned the Ukraine aid bill sailing through the Senate chamber using this ‘unanimous consent’ procedure. But then Rand Paul, the junior Republican senator from Kentucky (the senior being the aforementioned McConnell), decided that his duty to the Constitution superseded his subservience to political process and refused to give his consent. “My oath of office is to the US Constitution, not to any foreign nation and no matter how sympathetic the cause, my oath of office is to the national security of the United States of America,” Senator Paul declared. “We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the US economy,” he continued, pointing to a 40-year-record inflation rate of 8.3% as an indicator of the economic pain being suffered by the American people. “Congress should evaluate the cost of going down this path,” Paul said. “We cannot save Ukraine by killing our economic strength. So I act to modify the bill to allow a for a special inspector general. This would be the inspector general that’s been overseeing the waste in Afghanistan and has done a great job.”

Senator Paul was referring to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), a position created by the National Defense Authorization Act for the fiscal year of 2008. SIGAR’s oversight mission provided, among other things, for the carrying out and supervision of audits and investigations relating to programs funded by US taxpayer dollars appropriated by the US Congress. Inherent in this mandate was the ability to promote efficiency and effectiveness in the administration of American funded programs and to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.

One of the greatest problems faced by the US in Afghanistan, SIGAR declared, was the failure to “place a high priority on the threat of corruption in the first years of the reconstruction effort.” The problem of corruption was so great that, by 2009, Washington recognized that systemic corruption in Afghanistan represented a strategic threat to the overall American mission in the country. As US Ambassador Ryan Crocker noted in 2016: “The ultimate point of failure for our efforts…wasn’t an insurgency. It was the weight of endemic corruption.”

From the perspective of SIGAR, two of the major reasons for the American failure in Afghanistan revolved around the failure on the part of the US government to develop an adequate sense of context, resulting in situations where “US officials often empowered powerbrokers who preyed on the population or diverted US assistance away from its intended recipients to enrich and empower themselves and their allies.”

Likewise, the failure to adequately monitor and evaluate funded programs created an environment where, void of periodic reality checks, US program implementors ran the risk “of doing the wrong thing perfectly: A project that completed required tasks would be considered ‘successful,’ whether or not it had achieved or contributed to broader, more important goals.”

When looking at the rush to provide Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars of US aid and assistance, one cannot help but be struck by a sense of déjà vu that Washington is repeating the same mistakes that helped produce the Afghanistan debacle. In particular, it is a failure to operate with an “adequate sense of context” regarding Ukraine while proceeding to fund programs devoid of anything resembling a properly mandated and organized monitoring and evaluation system. According to the CATO Institute, US officials (including members of Congress) “have created a stunningly misleading image of Ukraine” as “a plucky and noble bulwark of freedom and democracy. The conventional narrative would have us believe that Ukraine is an Eastern European version of Denmark.”

Nothing could be further from the truth. “Ukraine,” the CATO report notes, “has long been one of the more corrupt countries in the international system. In its annual report published in January 2022, Transparency International ranked Ukraine 123rd of the 180 countries it examined, with a score of 32 on a one-to-100-point scale.”

The obvious lack of contextual awareness which doomed the Afghanistan mission is very much an ongoing problem for the US when it comes to Ukraine. The failure to address the problem of corruption up front at a time when the US Congress is trying to rush through some $40 billion in appropriations seems to be little more than an instance of history repeating itself. The bill includes $11 billion in presidential drawdown authority funding that allows the White House to send military equipment and weapons directly from US stocks. It also provides for $6 billion in Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funding, which can be used to buy weapons directly from contractors and then provide those weapons to Ukraine.

On the surface, this would appear to be simply about weapons. However, buried in this funding is up to a billion dollars earmarked to pay the salaries and pensions of Ukrainian government workers and soldiers. This isn’t a one-time payment – the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has indicated that up to $7 billion per month will be needed to keep Ukraine functioning. While most US citizens might not blanch at the thought of their taxpayer dollars being used to underwrite Ukrainian soldiers and civil servants, the reality is that much of this money will be deployed to pay the salaries and pensions of ultra-right Ukrainian politicians and soldiers who espouse neo-Nazi ideology.

Context is everything. In the aftermath of embarrassing photographs showing US soldiers providing hands-on training to members of the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, a former independent militia drawn from the ranks of Ukraine’s right-wing supporters of Stepan Bandera, a Ukrainian nationalist who fought alongside Nazi Germany during the Second World War, the US Congress, in June 2015, passed legislation that banned the training of Azov members by the US military, as well as any transfer of US weapons to Azov control.

“I am grateful that the House of Representatives unanimously passed my amendments last night to ensure that our military does not train members of the repulsive neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, along with my measures to keep the dangerous and easily trafficked MANPADs out of these unstable regions,” Representative John Conyers Jr., a Democrat from Michigan, remarked after the legislation was approved.

Within in a year, however, the Pentagon had lobbied the US Congress to remove Conyers’ amendment from the 2016 budget, claiming that the amendment was unnecessary in light of the existing Leahy Law, which prohibited funding to groups that have “committed a gross violation of human rights.” The problem, however, was that the US Congress had never formally designated the Azov Battalion as a group covered by the provisions of the Leahy Law. Accordingly, the US military was once again given the green light to train and equip Ukraine’s neo-Nazi military formations. Congress eventually woke up to the Pentagon’s end-around, and in 2018 reinserted the language of the 2015 Conyers amendment into the defense budget, stipulating that “none of the funds made available by this act may be used to provide arms, training or other assistance to the Azov Battalion.”

The Biden administration, together with the US Congress, seems content to ignore the restrictions imposed in 2018 – none of the current funds being allocated to Ukraine are hampered by any such restrictions. Underwriting the training, equipping, and sustainment of Ukraine’s neo-Nazi element is de rigueur for American politicians, it seems.

This would not be the case, however, if the mandate of SIGAR were expanded, as Senator Paul is demanding, to include the current Ukraine defense programs. The spectacle of the US Congress being confronted with an official report detailing how it has facilitated the use of US taxpayer dollars to underwrite neo-Nazi militancy in Ukraine, however, would not make for comfortable reading. Nor would the fact that this money was being handed over to Ukraine’s neo-Nazi element with little or no checks. Without an oversight group such as SIGAR, US taxpayers will have absolutely no idea how their hard-earned tax dollars are being spent.

This is why Senator Paul’s moment of compelled Senate-level deliberation will ultimately fail. Eager to be seen defending a supposedly free and democratic Ukraine, his fellow senators seem to have fallen victim to the same self-blinding urgency as their brethren in the House. But this is a view of Ukraine that exists only in the minds of lawmakers who once knew that using US taxpayer money to underwrite Ukrainian neo-Nazis was fundamentally wrong, but who have since fallen victim to politicized Russophobia. A SIGAR empowered to audit US taxpayer dollars spent in Ukraine would be politically inconvenient, and thus will never be allowed to exist.

While it seems unthinkable that the members of Congress could forget the lessons of Afghanistan so quickly when it comes to providing billions of dollars of poorly managed money to a deeply corrupt political regime in Ukraine, the reality is that the US has a history of providing military assistance to corrupt causes, all of which have failed to achieve their desired objectives.

This was not always the case. In March 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt helped put meaning behind the phrase ‘the arsenal of democracy’ when describing the mobilization of American industry for the purpose of arming allies to defeat fascism. Under the so-called ‘Lend-Lease Act’, the US provided billions of dollars of military aid to the United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and China to defeat Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. The program’s impact was undeniable, and it played a critical role in enabling America’s wartime allies to survive and ultimately defeat the threat posed by a common foe.

However, since the end of the Second World War, the US has embarked on a series of misadventures where the ‘arsenal of democracy’ was engaged to support causes which, despite the infusion of American money and arms, ultimately failed. From 1961 until the fall of Saigon in April 1975, Washington spent more than $141 billion supporting the South Vietnamese government in its war against communism, including tens of billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment supplied as part of the so-called ‘Vietnamization’ program, which was designed to give the South Vietnamese military the ability to fight and win without direct US military assistance. When Saigon fell, it is estimated that North Vietnam captured some $5 billion in US military equipment, nearly half of which the North Vietnamese army was able to integrate into its force structure.

In the aftermath of the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, the US spent some $25 billion rebuilding an Iraqi military capable of standing on its own two feet. And yet, less than three years after the US withdrew its combat forces from Iraq, the Iraqi army, in the summer of 2014, collapsed against the forces of the Islamic State, abandoning not only the city of Mosul and vast swaths of territory to the Islamist movement, but also billions of dollars of US military equipment, including heavy tanks and artillery.

Similarly, between 2005 and 2021, the Afghan military received more than $18 billion worth of weapons from the US ‘arsenal of democracy’; but when the Afghan government collapsed in August 2021, more than $7 billion worth of advanced US military equipment fell into the hands of the Taliban.

What connects these three historical failures of American military assistance is the common theme of hubris-driven ambition, where the on-the-ground political realities were ignored by military professionals who placed all of their faith in the preeminence of US military equipment, doctrine, and training. In supporting a corrupt, ideologically unsavory government in Ukraine with billions of dollars of US military equipment, the Biden administration appears to be falling into the same trap as its predecessors who stoked the fires of US-supported conflict in South Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

By signing new ‘Lend-Lease Act’ legislation intended to fast-track US military assistance to Ukraine along the lines of the original act during the Second World War, the Biden administration ignores the lessons of history when it comes to providing military aid, namely that the cause being supported must be a just one. Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan were both odious regimes deserving of the justice that the allies meted out, armed in part by the ‘arsenal of democracy.’

Over time, the US has ignored the critical predicate of having a cause worthy of the sacrifice asked by those opposing it, focusing instead on sustaining through force of arms alone regimes which, in many ways, were more corrupt and unworthy of support than the forces they were arrayed against. (This is saying a lot, given that in two of these conflicts – Iraq and Afghanistan – the forces of the Islamic State and the Taliban would normally be easily classified as an enemy worth confronting.)

By supporting a Ukrainian military that has been thoroughly infiltrated by the odious ideology of neo-Nazism, the US is setting itself up for failure by once again aligning itself with a cause which, in the long run, is not worthy of the sacrifice being asked of those called upon to defend it. Allowing this military assistance to go forward devoid of the kind of mandated oversight that a SIGAR-like organization would provide all but assures that not only will US taxpayer dollars be squandered in a losing cause, but that any chance of detecting the shortcomings of the aid program early on and making the kind of critical policy adjustments necessary to stave off catastrophe will be lost.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/05/ ... n-ukraine/
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Obama’s Infowar Czar Admitted That The Global South Supports Russia’s Special Operation
21 MAY 2022

Obama’s Infowar Czar Admitted That The Global South Supports Russia’s Special Operation
The Global South has been victimized by the US-led West for centuries, which is why its people instinctively distrust whatever their talking heads say and are thus much more trusting of the Russian interpretation of events by default.
Time Magazine published a surprising article by Richard Stengel, who previously served as Obama’s Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs from 2014-2016, which can casually be referred to as the US’ infowar czar. Titled “Putin May Be Winning the Information War Outside of the U.S. and Europe”, this former diplomat raised the alarm that the US-led West’s information warfare campaign about Russia’s ongoing special military operation in Ukraine isn’t winning hearts and minds across the Global South like it was expected to do. To the contrary, the majority of humanity supports Moscow’s military-strategic goals.

The US’ former infowar czar doesn’t attribute responsibility for this to the West’s manipulative perception management campaign about Russia that incorporates a mix of facts, fake news, and wishful thinking but instead ridiculously blames what he describes as those countries’ so-called “unfree internet”. According to Stengel, governments like India’s and Turkey’s censor the media by only airing Russia’s interpretation of events while completely ignoring Ukrainian President Zelensky’s. He doesn’t mention, however, that one of CNN’s US intel sources admitted that every one of his public appearances is literally an “information operation”, or in other words, pure propaganda.

Moving along, Stengel then rants about what he considers to be Russia’s “top-down, clumsy, and slow” messaging to international audiences, totally ignoring that it’s this exact same style of messaging that he criticized that the Global South is so receptive to. He also ironically tried to discredit Russian media’s fact-checking of US-led Western Mainstream Media’s fake news about their country but inadvertently ended up discrediting his own civilization’s such efforts against Moscow. In Stengel’s mind, Telegram is also one of the primary reasons why Russia’s messaging has been so effective across the Global South, principally because its voices can’t be censored like Facebook and Twitter censored RT and others.

Put another way, Stengel hates Telegram because it won’t do the US-led West’s political bidding by participating in their infowar against Russia by censoring that country’s voices and thus manipulating its users by depriving them of alternative sources of information that challenge his side’s claims. That’s exactly the stance that one would expect a US infowar czar to take since his side’s unipolar liberal-globalist worldview is inherently totalitarian. The Global South is well aware of this after its people have been victimized by the US-led West for centuries, which is why they instinctively distrust whatever its talking heads say and are thus much more trusting of the Russian interpretation of events by default.

The majority of humanity, not the US-led West, has always been the true cognitive battleground, whether regarding the Ukrainian Conflict or whatever else that civilization is spewing propaganda about. Its perception managers rarely realize this though since they’re so indoctrinated by their discredited fascist-supremacist ideology of “American/Western Exceptionalism” that they wrongly assume that their people are the only ones that actually matter in the world. That’s never been the case nor will it ever be, but it’s still surprising when influential figures like Stengel publicly acknowledge this since it’s a de facto admission that their infowar campaigns are systemically flawed from the get-go.

Not only are they wrongly directed towards their captive Western audience, described as such since they’re deprived of consuming Russian media due to their governments’ censorship of it, but the odds are also against them since the much more important audience across the Global South already doesn’t trust them due to their experiences over the centuries. This objectively existing and easily verifiable observation strongly suggests that the US-led West will never win the real infowar against Russia for hearts and minds across the Global South, which is why Obama’s infowar czar is panicking. Stengel knows that the war is lost but he just can’t bring himself to admit it.

Nevertheless, it’ll likely continue being waged despite the impossible odds of it ever attaining victory. That’s because it’s extremely profitable for the many who participate in it. Any attempts to curtail funding for this campaign would likely be met with false claims that it’s “unpatriotic” to give up or that those suggesting this might be so-called “Russian agents”. The anti-Russian hysteria that reverberates across the US-led Western echo chamber is so crazy right now that nobody can imagine it calming down anytime soon, if at all. For that reason, one can easily predict that it’ll continue and will thus remain the profitable slush fund for its participants that it’s always been even though it’ll never succeed in winning.

https://oneworld.press/?module=articles ... ew&id=2895

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Joining the West
LILY LYNCH
20 MAY 2022

A famous quote from Desmond Tutu – ‘if you are neutral in situations of injustice then you are choosing the side of the oppressor’ – has been widely used and abused since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In numerous fora, it has been deployed to harangue countries into abandoning their neutrality and lining up behind NATO. Never mind that the oppressor to which Tutu referred was apartheid South Africa, a regime actively supported by the Atlantic military alliance. In both Russia and the West, the current moment is characterized by a constantly replenished amnesia.

Earlier this week, Finland and Sweden opted to repeal their longstanding neutrality policies. Both countries submitted applications to join NATO, in a move that was rightly described as historic. Finland has been neutral since it was defeated by the Soviet Union during World War II – signing a Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance with the Soviets in 1948. Sweden, meanwhile, fought numerous wars with Russia between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries but managed to stay out of any further conflict after 1814. Joining NATO discards a centuries-old tradition that has come to define the country’s national identity.

Press coverage of the push for NATO membership has been euphoric. While Sweden has witnessed a limited but still lively debate, in Finland there has been little space for public dissent. Earlier this week, the cover of Finland’s most-read newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, featured an illustration of two blue-and-white figures (the colours of the Finnish flag) rowing a Viking longship towards an illuminated horizon where the four-pointed NATO star is seen rising like the sun. The wooden ship is depicted leaving behind a dark, hulking structure decorated with a red star. The symbolism couldn’t be clearer. Or perhaps it could. Several weeks ago, the online version of Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter featured pop-up animation of the NATO emblem morphing into a peace sign.

In this media environment, it is perhaps unsurprising that support for NATO membership is high: about 60% in Sweden and 75% in Finland. But a closer look at the demographics reveals some cracks in the pro-NATO narrative. For the Atlanticist press, ‘the NATO question’ represents a generational shift, with young people supposedly eager to join against the wishes of their parents, who, we are told, are hopelessly wedded to an outmoded position of Cold War non-alignment. ‘Having been firmly opposed to any NATO move only weeks ago’, wrote former Swedish Prime Minister turned liberal thinktank groupie Carl Bildt, the political class ‘will now face a contest between an older generation and younger ones looking at the world with fresh eyes.’

In reality, though, the opposite is true: the demographic most opposed to NATO membership in Sweden is young men, aged 18-29. And little wonder. They are the segment of the population that would be called upon to join any future military excursion. Contrary to the assumption that Russian aggression has shocked Swedes into unanimous support for the alliance, opposition appears to be on the rise. On 23 March, 44% of young people surveyed were for NATO and 21% against. Last week, 43% of them were for NATO and 32% against: a double-digit leap. Support for membership rises with each age bracket, with the elderly most staunchly in favour. The latest polls from Finland tell a similar story. Polling by Helsingin Sanomat describes the typical NATO supporter as educated, middle-aged or older, male, working in a management-level position, earning at least €85,000 a year and politically on the right, while the typical NATO-sceptic is under the age of 30, a worker or a student, earning less than €20,000 a year and politically on the left.

Some of the most ardent supporters of NATO membership can be found among Sweden and Finland’s business leaders. Last month, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö hosted a ‘secret NATO meeting’ in Helsinki. Among those in attendance were Swedish Minister of Finance Mikael Damberg, top-ranking military officials and powerful figures in the Swedish and Finnish business communities. Chief among them was the billionaire Swedish industrialist Jacob Wallenberg, whose family holdings add up to one third of the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Wallenberg has been NATO’s most enthusiastic cheerleader among Swedish executives. He is a regular participant in the Bilderberg Meeting, an elite group dedicated to spreading the gospel of Atlanticism and free markets. In the weeks leading up to Sweden’s decision to apply for NATO membership, the Financial Times predicted that the Wallenberg dynasty’s stance on Swedish accession would ‘weigh heavily’ on the ruling Social Democrats, over whom he is thought to hold considerable sway.

At the Helsinki summit, Swedish government officials were warned that their country would become less attractive for foreign capital if it remained ‘the only state in Northern Europe outside of NATO’. This, along with significant cajoling from Finland, was one of the decisive factors that led Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist to change tack and swing behind the alliance. Sweden’s Expressen reported that the meeting suggested the business community holds far greater power over foreign policy decisions than previously thought. It’s not hard to see why business are so invested. Swedish defense industry giant Saab is expecting major profits from NATO membership. The company, whose majority shareholder is the Wallenberg family, has seen its share price nearly double since the Russian invasion. Chief Executive Micael Johansson has said that Sweden’s NATO membership will open new possibilities for Saab in the areas of missile defense and surveillance. The company is expecting dramatic gains as European countries raise their defense spending, and first quarter reports reveal that operating profits have already risen 10% over last year, to $32 million.

The considerable influence of business leaders on the NATO question contrasts with that of the general public. Though Sweden has held referenda on every major decision in recent history – EU membership, the adoption of the euro – it will not consult its citizens on NATO. The most prominent politician to call for a vote is Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar, but her requests have been flatly rejected. The government, fearing that NATO membership could be voted down once wartime hysteria wears off, has instead taken a ‘shock doctrine’ approach, ramming the policy through while Ukraine is still in the headlines and the public is afraid. They have also said that a referendum would require extensive organization and could not be held for some months. This means the issue of NATO membership would feature in the September election campaign: a scenario the Social Democrats are determined to avoid.

In Finland, however, there is little mainstream opposition to NATO. The issue has been tinged by nationalist sentiment, and opponents of membership are accused of not caring about their country’s security. Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of membership this week, with 188 for and only eight against. Of those eight, one was from the right-populist Finns Party, another was a former member of the same outfit, and the remaining six were from the Left Alliance. The other ten Left Alliance MPs, though, voted in favour. One of the party’s representatives went so far as to propose new legislation that would criminalize attempts to influence public opinion on behalf of a foreign power: a precedent that could in theory leave NATO-critics exposed to prosecution.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has slowed some of this break-neck momentum. Calling Finland and Sweden ‘incubators’ for Kurdish terror, the Turkish president has vowed to block the two Nordic countries’ accession to NATO until they meet his demands. (The alliance requires unanimous approval from all member states for a new country to join). Erdoğan has blasted Finland and Sweden over their refusal to extradite 33 members of the PKK and Gülenist movement, blaming the latter for a bloody coup attempt in 2016. He has also demanded that Sweden lift an arms embargo that it imposed in response to Turkey’s incursions in Syria in 2019.

Kurdish issues have recently had an outsize presence in Swedish politics. When the Social Democrats lost their parliamentary majority last year, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson was forced to negotiate directly with a Kurdish MP and ex-peshmerga fighter named Amineh Kakabaveh, whose vote would decide the fortunes of the government. In exchange for keeping it afloat, Kakabaveh demanded that Sweden lend its support to the YPG in Syria, and the Social Democrats acceded. Now, as of this week, Kakabaveh has chided Andersson for ‘giving in’ to Erdoğan and threatened to withdraw her support for the government. The Social Democrats may have avoided making the autumn elections an unofficial referendum on NATO membership, but their government remains extremely weak, and will face intense scrutiny in the months ahead. Many fear that it will strike a private deal with Erdoğan to sacrifice Kurdish activists and Turkish dissidents if he agrees to wave through its NATO bid. Meanwhile, Croatia’s increasingly audacious president, Zoran Milanović, has erected another, smaller obstacle: promising to block Sweden and Finland’s membership unless Bosnia and Herzegovina’s election law is changed so that Bosnian Croats are better represented.

The media, both foreign and domestic, have frequently described Finland and Sweden’s accession as ‘joining the West’ – picking a side in the Huntington-esque civilizational struggle. This rhetoric is nothing new. Shortly before Montenegro joined the alliance in 2017, the country’s long-reigning premier Milo Đukanović said that the division was not ‘for NATO or against NATO’, it was ‘civilizational and cultural’. Yet it is especially odd, and revealing, to encounter this same auto-orientalism in Scandinavia. One right-wing commentator recently wrote that by joining NATO, Sweden was at last becoming a ‘normal Western country’. He then paused to consider whether the government would soon abolish the Systembolaget, or state liquor monopoly. Here we get a sense of what ‘joining the West’ really means: binding oneself to a US-led power bloc and simultaneously doing away with any nominally socialist institutions – a process that has already been underway for decades.

The abandonment of principled neutrality as a moral option follows the changing meaning of internationalism, especially for the left in the Nordic countries. During the Cold War, the Swedish Social Democrats expressed the principle of international solidarity through their support for national liberation movements in the so-called Global South. No figure better embodied this spirit than Olof Palme, who posed for photos smoking cigars with Fidel Castro and famously excoriated the US aerial bombardment of Hanoi and Haiphong, comparing it to ‘Guernica, Oradour, Babi Yar, Katyn, Lidice, Sharpeville [and] Treblinka’. During the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, however, such ‘active internationalism’ was reconceptualized as ‘responsibility to protect’ certain non-Western victims of aggression. By the same logic, states are now expected to band together in an ‘alliance of democracies’ to confront tyranny and terrorism – through regime change where necessary.

But the decision to join NATO does not just rely on a hollowed-out discourse of solidarity; it is also presented as a vital act of self-interest – a defensive response to the ‘Russian threat’. In Sweden’s case, we are asked to believe that the country is currently facing greater security risks than during both World Wars, and that the only way to address them is to enter a beefed-up military alliance. Although Russia is supposedly struggling to make headway against a much weaker opponent in Ukraine – unable to hold the capital, hemorrhaging troops and supplies – we are told that it poses an imminent threat to Stockholm and Helsinki. Amid such confected panic, genuine threats to the Nordic way of life have gone ignored: the withering away of the welfare state, the privatization and marketization of education, rising inequality and the weakening of the universal healthcare system. While rushing to align with ‘the West’, the Swedish and Finnish governments have shown considerably less urgency in tackling these social crises.

https://newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts ... g-the-west

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The Maidan Massacre in Ukraine: Revelations from Trials and Investigation
75 Pages Posted: 28 Mar 2022
Ivan Katchanovski
University of Ottawa

Date Written: November 29, 2021

Abstract
This study examines evidence revealed by the ongoing trial and government investigations concerning the Maidan massacre in Ukraine. The massacre of the protesters and the police during the “Euromaidan” mass protests in February 2014 contributed to the overthrow of the Ukrainian government and ultimately to a start of the civil war in Donbas, Russian military interventions in Crimea and Donbas, the Russian annexation of Crimea and an international conflict between the West and Russia. The research question is as follows: What does evidence made public by the Maidan massacre trials and Ukrainian government investigations reveal about which of the parties of the conflict was involved in this mass killing? This paper analyzes several hundred hours of video recordings of the Maidan massacre trials and information concerning investigations of this massacre in over 2,500 court decisions from the official court decisions database in Ukraine. It examines trial and investigation testimonies of wounded protesters, relatives of the killed protesters, prosecution and defense witnesses, and top officials of the Yanukovych government. The study also analyzes results of forensic ballistic and medical examinations and investigative experiments, and videos and photos of the Maidan massacre made public during the trial. It includes several online video appendixes. They contain testimonies of wounded protesters and witnesses concerning snipers in Maidan-controlled locations and content analyses of synchronized segments of American, Belgian, Belarusian, British, Finish, French, Dutch, German, Polish, Russian, Spanish, and Ukrainian TV videos, recordings of live online broadcasts, and social media videos of this crucial massacre.

The Maidan massacre trials and investigations have revealed various evidence that four killed and several dozen wounded policemen and at least the absolute majority of 49 killed and 157 wounded Maidan protesters were massacred on February 20, 2014 by snipers in Maidan-controlled buildings and areas. Such evidence includes testimonies of the absolute majority of wounded protesters, several dozens of prosecution witnesses, dozens of defense witnesses, and 14 self-admitted members of Maidan snipers groups. Videos presented at the trial showed that times of shooting of the absolute majority of protesters did not coincide with times of shooting by the Berkut policemen, who were charged with their massacre. Forensic medical examinations determined that the overwhelming majority of the protesters were shot from steep directions from the sides or the back. Initial ballistic examinations did not match bullets extracted from the bodies of killed and wounded protesters to the Berkut Kalashnikovs. Forensic examinations of the bullet holes by the government experts for the Maidan massacre trial suggested that Berkut policemen were shooting in the Hotel Ukraina snipers above the Maidan protesters and in trees and poles. The analysis shows cover-up and stonewalling of the investigations and trials by the Maidan governments and the far right. The prosecution denied that there were any snipers in the Maidan-controlled buildings. Not a single person is convicted or under arrest for the massacre of the protesters and the police almost 8 years after one of the most documented mass killings in history.

(Open pdf in browser https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.c ... d=1&type=2)

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm ... id=4048494

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Unilateral sanctions add to evidence that it’s no longer safe to hold assets in US
By Hu Weijia
Published: May 20, 2022 11:41 PM

Image
Illustration: Chen Xia/GT


US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said recently that it "would not be legal now" for the US to seize Russian government assets to pay for Ukraine reconstruction. However, Yellen's words are, perhaps, not the end of an eye-catching controversy about whether to seize Russian assets; it could be the beginning of a new discussion about how to legally seize those assets.

According to a Voice of America (VOA) report on April 29, The Biden administration is asking Congress for additional legal authority to make it easier for the US government to seize Russian government and "oligarch" assets and transfer the proceeds to Ukraine. The news came after some European politicians suggested their countries could use seized Russian assets to rebuild a devastated Ukraine.

Yellen was quoted as saying that it's very natural "we will look to Russia to help pay at least a portion of the price," but it doesn't seem she wants frozen Russian assets to play a role in Ukraine reconstruction. According to Reuters, US Treasury officials have expressed concerns about setting precedents and eroding other countries' confidence in holding their central bank assets in the US. We believe Yellen is very aware of the severity of the problem. It seems there is a deliberate "good cop, bad cop" strategy in place - the White House plays an active role in calling for seizing Russian assets, in a bid to comfort its allies in Europe, while Yellen tries to comfort the market with a rational voice that helps to persuade investors it's still safe to hold their assets in the US.

Their little trick is crystal clear for international investors and should be condemned. As a result of unilateral sanctions, the US has frozen tens of billions worth of assets belonging to Russians and their government. If foreign assets - public and private - can be frozen in a split second by a reserve-currency country with selfish political interests, politicians should not even waste their time to claim that it's safe for people to hold their assets in the country. US credibility in the economic world was undermined by its decision to freeze Russian assets via unilateral sanctions. Even if the US transfers the proceeds to Ukraine, freezing the assets has been enough to make people lose trust in the country.

This adds to the evidence that the US is no longer a safe place to store reserves. The US has global financial hegemony, but such hegemony is two-way. The US needs to provide services to the world, and depends on the world's support. If the US abuses its position to use sanctions as a geopolitical tool against rivals, it will be the death knell for its financial hegemony. Sanctions on Russia's financial system, such as the freezing of the central bank's reserves, will probably become a turning-point for US financial hegemony.

A large portion of US Treasury bonds are foreign-owned. As more countries reduce their holdings of US Treasury bonds, it's understandable that Yellen wants to alleviate tensions caused by a collapse in the US' reputation, but her efforts are doomed to fail. With unilateral sanctions, the US is bringing the world back to the era of a lawless jungle. Now, more people are worried about the security of their assets in the US. If the US goes a step further in seizing foreign assets, US credibility will be completely broken.

It is difficult for the US to come up with unilateral sanctions that only harm Russia, or harm Russia more than the US. Thus, Washington needs to think about what to do next. The world is also witnessing a profound shake-up of its traditional patterns as countries think about how to avoid the spillover effects of US unilateral sanctions.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202205/1266185.shtml

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From Cassad's Telegram account:

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Denazification UA
❗️For those who doubt our forecasts:

Poles on the territory of Ukraine receive special rights:
1) they will be able to hold elected positions,
2) be appointed to government bodies, to senior positions in defense enterprises;
3) get access to classified data,
4) be judges,
5) the Polish police will have the right to monitor law and order in Ukraine.

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Rybar
🇬🇧🇺🇦There was a terrorist attack in Energodar , during which the head of the military administration of the city, Andrei Shevchik , and two of his guards were injured.

The explosion thundered in the entrance of the house at 38 Kurchatov Street, where the politician came to visit his mother. Now Shevchik is in intensive care. Judging by the photo, the saboteurs installed IEDs in the mailbox and switchboard.

Events clearly demonstrate that Ukraine is increasingly using terror tactics. The methods often do not differ much from those of the IG MTO: if yesterday the Armed Forces of Ukraine dropped grenades from a UAV on a village in the Belgorod Region, today they planted a bomb in the entrance, from the detonation of which ordinary residents of the house could die.

As we already wrote , withoutactive work of authorized structures and services in the liberated territories, the bandit underground will only increase the number of attacks. Excessive caution in the use of force can lead to larger terrorist attacks with all the sad consequences.
#Russia #Zaporozhye #Ukraine @rybar *Support us:

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Old England
Previously , @astrahandm wrote about the art of the British press not to call a spade a spade when writing articles about the “ volunteer formation “Azov ”, which has moved away from right-wing views .” There were a sufficient number of such articles in the media (for example, here and here ). In those publications, the “ heroic defense of Mariupol ” was rather amusingly described, and not the inglorious surrender after hide and seek at the Azovstal plant.

But then there was a "zrada" and the Daily Mail posted a text under the heading " At least someone can explain to me why it was called evacuation, and not surrender ." Written by Peter Hitchensaccused the British press of avoiding the terms " neo-Nazi " and " surrender " when describing "the exploits of 'Azov'". Instead, it was reported that "the Mariupol garrison had been evacuated to Russian-occupied territory ". Let's see if the next headline is "Azov battalion took up positions in the Rostov pre-trial detention center ."

Hitchens also criticized the UK for " servile support for the American policy of fomenting conflict in Ukraine " and for not wanting to place some of the blame on Kiev for today's events.

As a separate item, the journalist went through the reluctance of the Britishrecognize the fact of infringement of the Russian language and the presence of neo-Nazism in Ukraine . He stressed that there had been no such activation of public sentiment since the death of Princess Diana.

A ray of light broke into the realm of British propaganda. Suddenly, some journalists remembered professional ethics and the need to objectively cover events, presenting different views .

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Rybar
🇺🇦What does the Nikolaevsky fortified area look like?

When we say that in the regional administration of Nikolaev they are extremely negligent in the accounting and storage of secret documents, we do not deceive at all. Among all the rubbish that litters the desktops of Sienkiewicz and Kim , there are some really important documents.

And we share some of them with you: in a revised and easy-to-read form.

We put on the map of Nikolaev all the objects of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, territorial defense units and national battalions known to us. It turned out here is such a simple scheme.

The coordinates of already published positions are available by the tags #Nikolaev and #goals on our channel.

Previously unpublished items:

▪️Long-term firing point on the Kherson highway:32.036597 46.963051
▪️Long-term firing point:46.963635,32.033802
▪️Long-term firing point:46.85921179613825, 32.02552063253455
▪️Long-term firing point at the old Nikolaevsky cemetery:46.964495, 32.036435
▪️The area of ​​accumulation of manpower of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the plant "Ocean": 46.858188, 31.99185
▪️The area of ​​accumulation of manpower of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the children's town "Skazka" (basement):46.964247, 31.984844
▪️The area of ​​accumulation of manpower of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the kindergarten "Skazka" in the Ship area:46.853661, 32.008157
▪️The area of ​​accumulation of manpower of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:46.950317 32.024183
▪️The area of ​​accumulation of manpower of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in kindergarten No. 84:47.00226, 31.99813
▪️The area of ​​accumulation of manpower of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in kindergarten No. 141:47.01081, 31.99804
▪️The area of ​​accumulation of manpower of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the boiler room:46.99447, 32.00037
▪️The area of ​​accumulation of manpower of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the garage cooperative:47.003661,31.992337
▪️Warehouse with weapons and ammunition at school No. 43:46.86546203655886, 32.014542587112764
▪️Warehouse with weapons and ammunition at school No. 40:46.86655174474226, 32.023998386489595
▪️Accumulation of APU equipment in the hangar near the railway platform:46.940063 32.024370
▪️Accumulation of APU equipment in the hangar in the river port: #Nikolaev #Ukraine #targets @rybar *Support us:46.937281 31.950467

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AGENT OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT
🇺🇦The petition to lift the travel ban for Ukrainian conscripts received the necessary 25,000 votes. Now the president must consider it. Zelensky has 90 days to do this.

There will be no lifting of the ban on the departure of conscripts from Ukraine, talking heads from the presidential office and Zelensky himself are hinting at this. A new wave of mobilization is being prepared in the country, and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is faced with the task of replenishing reserves. Mobilization will be carried out under the announced counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the summer.

It may seem strange that a counteroffensive is announced 1.5-2 months before it starts. In fact, everything is quite logical: the very thesis of an imminent counter-offensive is launched in order to divert public attention from the surrender of the Nazis at Azovstal and the encirclement of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Severodonetsk region. The office of the president produces "future victories" that are layered one on top of the other, which ultimately distracts the layman from the series of defeats of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the moment.

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Operation Z: Military Correspondents of the Russian Spring
‼️🇬🇧The Russian army broke through the front line at Popasna and almost cut off the AFU grouping in Lisichansk and Severodonetsk - military analyst Tom Cooper Cooper

's new report is disappointing for the Kiev regime due to the difficult situation for the APU at Popasna, which he called "the most critical". Because there is a critical breakthrough of the front line.

The RF Armed Forces are actively moving forward and have recently gained control over the settlement. Trypillya, Novaya Kamenka and are only 1-2 km from Soledar and Bakhmutsky, which threatens the critical road T1302 - the main supply artery of the fortified area of ​​the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Severodonetsk-Lysichansk. Moreover, the Russians expanded their breakthrough zone by capturing Lipovo and Vasilyevka north of Tripoli and west of Vrubovka. Also n.p. Vyskriva came under the control of the Russian Federation.

"In other words, the Russian troops are advancing north of Popasna, bypassing the Ukrainian forces entrenched in Kamyshevakh, Yekaterinovka and Gorny; they are moving without pause for respite or regrouping, leaving little time for Ukrainian units to react . "

Cooper is also surprised by the carelessness of the Ukrainian command, which is on the defense of the settlement. Ternovoe (a strategically important direction) in the Shakhtyorsky district of the DPR sent only 1 battalion of the defense against the reorganized battalion group of the 200th motorized rifle brigade of Russia. As a result, the Armed Forces of Ukraine were completely defeated, and n.p. came under the control of the Russian Armed Forces.

Tom Cooper is an Austrian military analyst, author and co-author of about two dozen books on conflicts of the past 20 years, including the war in Syria. Expert in the use of military aviation.
t.me/RVvoenkor
267.7Kviews
00:24

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CRYSTAL GROWTH
🇬🇧🇩🇪🇮🇹Germany and Italy allowed gas buyers to open ruble accounts to pay for gas from Russia

▪️German and Italian authorities have told buyers of Russian gas that they can open ruble accounts in order to continue buying Russian gas without violating sanctions against Russia after discussions with the European Union,

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Readovka
The map of hostilities and the situation on the fronts on the evening of May 21

On this day in 2014, the oligarch Akhmetov unequivocally forbade Azovstal employees to somehow support the independence of Donbass and the formation of the LDNR, even in smoking rooms, not to mention social networks and public events. Otherwise, the hard workers were threatened with dismissal, but they still picketed at the factory entrance. Now, exactly eight years later, supporters of the Russian world are congratulating each other on the final victory in Mariupol and the complete surrender of the remnants of the Ukrainian garrison, and Azovstal is in ruins...

The head of the DPR, Pushilin, issued a statement on the surrender of Azovstal - officially in custody now there are 2439 "natives" from the dungeons, however, this does not guarantee that there is no one else in the abandoned stronghold. Therefore, today there was a thorough combing of the territory of the plant . In addition, there was an incident - six Ukrainian militants were killed in an explosion while trying to blow up the Azov armory. Do not get you to anyone, as they say. Now that Mariupol has finally become a rear city, let's move on to the situation on the front lines:

▫️Kharkov front. Fights of medium intensity, now fought in the area of ​​​​the village of Liptsy and Rubizhnoye (the village of Rubizhnoye, Kharkov region).

▫️Izyum front. It is still one of the most tense areas - it is hot near Kurulka, Velikaya Kamyshevakha, Dolgenkiy, the fighters are still heading for the encirclement of the Krasnoliman group. The front is slowly but surely leaning towards Slavyansk ...

▫️Lugansk front. The offensive of groups of fighters continues in several directions from Popasnaya, the main of which is now, of course, Severodonetsk. Due to the destruction of the road bridge between Lisichansk and Severodonetsk, the position of the “zakhisniks” in the latter is becoming increasingly difficult. The fighters go to Vozdvizhenka, threatening to cut the Artemovsk-Svetlodarsk highway, they fight in Pilipchatino, directly on the way to Artemovsk, which does not have very long to be Bakhmut on the maps. They are actively working near the Soledar-Lysichansk highway, a cauldron is being forged for the grouping of Gorsky and Zolotoy, the battles of Viktorovka, Kamyshevakhe, on the outskirts of Vrubovka, the battle for Toshkovka does not cease.

▫️Donetsk front. Today, without resounding successes, there are still stubborn battles near Novobakhmutovka and Novoselovka-Second, New York is not yet given, which means that the front is not moving away from Gorlovka. The "zahisniki" do not allow ours to establish fire control over the Avdiivka-Orlovka highway, which means that so far it is not as difficult for the Avdiivka garrison as we would like. Unfortunately, there are no changes yet in the area of ​​Marinka and Ugledar.

▫️Zaporozhye front. And there is almost nothing new here - the Kamenskoye-Orekhov-Gulyaipole line is noisy with positional battles, but so far it is holding on.

▫️The southern front - in Nikolaev now the loudest news was the "disappearance" of the monument to Pushkin, but not the battles. There was no news from Snigirevka either. In the Kherson region, almost calmly, only the secret accomplice of the SBU, who transmitted the coordinates for "Points-U" , was liquidated . He won't do that again.

🚀Upon arrival. The villages of the Kursk borderlands - Tetkino and Popovo-Lezhachi - were again affected, as reported by Governor Starovoit. Gorlovka was again tested for strength - they hit the surrounding villages of Panteleymonovka and Aksenovka . Over Ilovaisk, where a large train with humanitarian aid arrived, Tochka-U was shot down , two women were injured.

🎯Caliber news. The bridge already mentioned was not the only target for our missiles today. They transmitted information about explosions in Kharkov, in the Rivne region, somewhere near Zhytomyr they aptly gave an ammunition depot. In addition, two Ukrainian “dryers” were shot down - in the Kherson region and in the DPR.

🌏From international. The Hungarian Prime Minister today compared anti-Russian measures to an atomic bomb for Europe, while Finland, meanwhile, is moving military equipment of the defense forces closer to the border with the Russian Federation.

✨Peace news. The exchange rate will be set in the DPR , at which the hryvnia will cost 2 rubles (instead of 2.5), and a big press tour was held in Kherson the day before, 46 journalists from different countries, including the USA and Europe, visited the city that was liberated and is about to become Russia .

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https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

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

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

Post by blindpig » Mon May 23, 2022 1:42 pm

Online map of the war in Ukraine from "Cat Ivanov"
May 22, 21:50

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As part of information support.

War in Ukraine. Updated online map https://geoworld.space/ukraine/ .
Author's blog https://kot-ivanov.livejournal.com/
Author's Telegram channel https://t.me/ukranebattle
Those who followed the events of 2014 in the Donbass should perfectly remember the author, whose maps were confidently included in the top 2 of the best series of maps in the Donbass-2014.

Repost and popularization of the project is welcome More map of good and different.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7630555.html

On cooperation with aviation
May 22, 22:48

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Interesting material about the work of aviation gunners, whose work usually remains in the shadows.

On cooperation with aviation

The widespread use of aviation in modern armed conflicts necessitates commanders of all levels to ensure continuous interaction between infantry units and crews of aircraft and helicopters. To do this, a forward aviation gunner (hereinafter PAN) from the VKS can be attached to units (groups), and in his absence, an emergency PAN from among the personnel can be assigned. This review article will not describe the method of work of this specialist, but only indicate some of the nuances that must be understood and taken into account before starting to work together with aviation.

First, some theory. There is the concept of "guidance", and there is the concept of "target designation". Usually, when it comes to air guidance, non-core experts confuse them with each other. Guidance is the work of the combat crew of the aviation control center to bring the aircraft to a tactically advantageous position relative to the target for the most efficient use of aviation weapons (hereinafter ASP), or other tasks (for example, landing groups from helicopters by landing method). Target designation (hereinafter referred to as TA) is the provision of information to the crew about the location and nature of the target. The guidance process implies a control center, but is not limited to it. I will not give the guidance method itself here. In this review article, only some important nuances of visual control of an aircraft (hereinafter aircraft) when pointing at a ground target (hereinafter NC) will be voiced, as the most accessible and does not require any special technical means, in addition to a radio station. An automated control center of the KRUS type, as well as guidance based on air situation indicators, will not be considered here.

So, we figured out what is the difference between guidance and CC. When guiding an aircraft (hereinafter referred to as AC) to a ground target (hereinafter referred to as NC), PAN must first of all take into account:

– aircraft maneuverability (in terms of maneuvers available to this type of aircraft, as well as in terms of speed characteristics);
– type of applied ASP;
- the nature of the target (single / area, armored / unarmored, etc.);
- terrain, vegetation, characteristic landmarks;
- availability of air defense systems;
– weather conditions, azimuth of the Sun.

Having assessed all these conditions in the aggregate, the PAN develops a decision on the order of guidance of the aircraft. First of all, it includes the course and height of reaching the target, the maneuver for the attack and the side of the withdrawal from the attack. All this is reported to the crew by radio. At the same time, the radio exchange in air radio networks differs from the ground. The main requirement is brevity and unambiguity. You can not clog the air with unnecessary phrases, parasitic words, curses; units of measurement are not mentioned, as is the word "reception". There is only one reason - the situation can change very quickly, there can be not only one crew on this channel, but the whole squadron, and the extra "clogging" of the air will only interfere with the task. For example: "703rd, the target is a group of infantry, from the 1st landmark with a heading of 200, 2 minutes, to 100, work from the horizon with nails, after work exit to the right."

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Tangenta is the main weapon of the PAN.

It is very important to understand that the decision of the PAN is not an unrelenting dogma for the crew; based on their level of training, remaining fuel and the availability of ASP, the crew may deviate from the originally planned guidance.

Forcing the crew to comply is strictly prohibited! Here we directly approach the first important point - the level of crew training. Many do not understand that the combat use of aviation is not “arrived and dropped a bomb”, but serious work in which many factors must be taken into account - and which are strictly regulated by aviation documents. First, the weather conditions. There are different application conditions for different types of ASP: drop / fire speed, exit height, etc. The Su-25SM will not be fired by NARs in a dive if the height of the continuous cloud base is 100 m, not to mention the fact that not every crew is capable of performing tasks in such weather. It is important to understand that these are not the "whims" of the aviators, but serious moments, the failure to comply with which may be fraught with the loss of the aircraft, or the use of ASP on their own troops.

During the Chechen wars, there were frequent cases when the command forced to bomb the positions of militants with uncontrolled FABs from behind the clouds, out of sight of the earth. Of course, the effectiveness of such an application was minimal, and cases of arrivals on their own are not uncommon. The same applies to the performance of auxiliary tasks, for example, the transport of troops and cargo. The weather can worsen to such conditions that the crew simply cannot cope with, and stick into the ground along with the passengers. Therefore, before work, it is necessary to give the crew information about the weather in the target area. If the weather conditions are not suitable for the work of the crew, he will tell you about it.

A common misconception is the "all-weather" aviation.

Just because it's all-weather doesn't mean it can fly through thunderstorms, hail and fog. An example of issuing information about the weather: "703rd, I am a KIT, over the target 3-5 points of medium cloudiness, the lower limit is 600, visibility is 5, a slight haze." The most important meteorological elements in this case are: cloud base and flight visibility; for a helicopter landing approach, it is also necessary to give the direction and speed of the wind. Visibility is determined visually by ground references, the lower boundary of the clouds - visually or according to reports of other crews, meteorological data; direction and speed of the wind - visually according to landmarks, or smoke from the checker. You should be aware that flight visibility may slightly differ from ground visibility in the direction of deterioration, and also that the direction of the wind is given out from where it blows, in degrees and with gusts (desirable). For example: “703rd, landing clear, wind 240, 3 meters, gusts up to 7". Helicopters usually land against the wind. If the approach against the wind is not provided, it is necessary to take into account its maximum allowable values ​​for this type of aircraft. For example, for the Mi-8AMTSH tailwind should be no more than 5 m/s, side wind no more than 10 m/s; side wind is better on the right. Forcing the crew to enter into the wind more than allowed threatens to get into the left rotation, or even to cut the tail boom with their own main rotor.

An equally important point is with the azimuth of the Sun. It can be calculated using the simple formula (t-2)*15, where t is the local time. For example, at 12 o'clock the azimuth of the Sun will be (12-2) * 15 = 150 degrees. You need to know this in order to build a direction for an attack: if the enemy has a MANPADS, the exit from the attack should be done towards the Sun in order to bring down the GOS control center. Of course, information about the presence of air defense systems in the enemy is brought to the crew in advance, as well as the facts of launches against him.

As for the maneuverability and speed characteristics of the aircraft, the PAN also needs to have some minimal knowledge of aerodynamics and piloting features in order to build a competent guidance scheme. The nature of the available ASP determines the nature of the maneuvers performed over the target, because different ASPs have different conditions in terms of altitudes, speeds and patterns of use. Also, the flight weight of the aircraft can impose restrictions on maneuvers: the Su-34, loaded with bombs, will not be able to hit the target from the loop (if this is necessary for some reason, of course), and helicopters will not fire NARs from the hover mode, because. their trajectory will be unstable due to the low initial speed. Therefore, the nature of the performed figures from the PAN can only be advisory in nature, and the crew, based on the information received, can make their own adjustments. What is important for PAN to know is the turning radii, the distance traveled per unit of time and fuel consumption in order to quickly assess the flight time and time for work. Especially perverted radii and distances can be calculated on the NL-10m, but you can also use navigation calculators, which are many on the net. Fuel and tactical radius specifications, as well as acceptable wind strengths for helicopter landings, are specified in the aircraft type flight manuals, and these figures must be known and recorded in advance.

Here we smoothly move on to the equipment. I will not encourage anyone to take this or that platen, or this or that radio station; everyone defines their equipment based on the task, and enumerating a list of everything will take a lot of space and time. I will dwell on only two things for now: these are reference data, and a headset for a radio station. The second is highly desirable in the format of active headphones. On the one hand, the work of the PAN on the air is very attractive to the mortars. On the other hand, not a single crew report should go unheeded, each request can be of critical importance, as well as each given command. Often, an executive team late for 2-3 seconds can disrupt successful guidance. PAN must be the eyes of the crews on the ground, and in order to work quickly and accurately, it is necessary to have a minimum supply of reference material on hand. It should include:

- a notepad for notes (a reusable plastic panel is also convenient, on which you can write with a pencil and erase) - the main weapon of the PAN, in addition to the radio communication button. In the working records, it is necessary to indicate the call signs of the crews, their place, altitudes, the remains of the TSA and fuel, and other operational information. Don't count on memory, write it down!
– tables: turning radii depending on speed; distance traveled per minute from speed; minimum and emergency fuel balances by aircraft types; tactical radii; allowable wind forces for takeoff and landing, etc.;
- a map (diagram) of the combat area with marked reference points and a protractor.

Other data such as coding tables, password numbers, control room callsigns, etc. it is desirable to have such an option that in which case they can be quickly destroyed. The placement of all reference waste paper is optimal in the administrative pouch on the chest; a wrist tablet is also very convenient. When separating equipment, it is important to understand that the main weapons of the PAN are his PTT and his working records. You should not shove them into the far corner of the crackers, and their placement should provide constant access on the one hand, and ease of use on the other. An informed crew is focused on combat use. An informed PAN, on the other hand, is able to make quick decisions about how to use the crew.

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Option to place an administrative pouch with reference documentation

Of course, these are far from all the nuances regarding interaction with aviation. You can talk a lot and for a long time, but the format of this article is an overview, if necessary, you can continue it in the future on more specific issues. What should be understood after reading it is to understand the role of the PAN, to understand that this is not just a “shoot there”, but a tool for maximizing the capabilities of your aircraft. If necessary, anyone can contact the crew, you just need to know the call sign and frequency. But the point is not to give out the control center - the point is to point. It should be built in such a way that the target is destroyed from the very first approach, and this is the main point of the work of the PAN as a specialist. It's easy to learn radio communication. It is difficult to analyze the situation and work out the most competent decision on the order in which the crew will be used. And for this you need to have a large layer of knowledge, from flight laws, and ending with aerodynamics and piloting techniques. Only by developing and improving, you can win. And we have always won.

(c) The author wished to remain anonymous.

https://t.me/ptsr_team - telegram channel "PTSR TEAM"
https://vk.com/@ptsr_team-o-vzaimodeistvii-s-aviaciei - zinc

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7 ... tml#cutid1

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Russia destroys military equipment of Ukrainian troops near Donbas region

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The missiles hit four command and control posts, a communication center of the operational tactical group "North" in Bakhmut, in Donetsk. | Photo: @rianru
Published May 23, 2022 (1 hour 2 minutes ago)

Russian engineering teams are demining Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant.

The spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Igor Konashénkov, reported on Monday that the Russian military destroyed weapons and military equipment of the Ukrainian 10th Mountain Assault Brigade near the Malin station, in the Zhitomir province, while they were heading from the city of Ivano-Frankovsk to the Donbas region.

“Sea-based high-precision long-range missiles in the area of ​​​​the Malin railway station in the Zhytomyr region destroyed the weapons and military equipment of the 10 mountain assault brigade of the Forces Armed Forces of Ukraine from Ivano-Frankivsk that were transferred to the Donbas”, the colonel general specified.

On Sunday, Russian missiles hit 48 troop and military-technical assembly areas, as well as six ammunition depots, in towns in the self-styled Republic of Lugansk.


In addition, Konashénkov detailed that the Russian anti-aircraft forces shot down three Su-25 attack planes and 13 drones in different combat zones. In turn, they intercepted two Tochka-U ballistic missiles in Kherson province, along with eight shells from the Smerch multiple rocket launcher system in Kharkov province.

On the other hand, the military entity published this Monday images of the demining of the Azovstal iron and steel plant in Mariúpol.


“Russian demining units carry out engineering reconnaissance and explosive ordnance disposal at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that the engineering units have destroyed more than 100 explosive objects.

According to this organization, the specialists are detecting and deactivating the minefields and the antipersonnel traps with which the nationalists mined the perimeter of the factory and the buildings of its facilities, while removing unexploded ammunition and dangerous weapons.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/rusia-de ... -0007.html

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Russia shuts taps on gas to Finland
China Daily | Updated: 2022-05-23 08:21

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A woman grieves for a fallen soldier at a cemetery in Bezlioudivka, eastern Ukraine, on Saturday. She was at the graveside of Stanislav Hvostov, 22. [Photo by DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP]

Action follows payment impasse, while Ukraine rules out cease-fire

KYIV/OSLO-Russia stopped providing gas to Finland in an escalation of a row over energy payments with the West on Saturday, as Ukraine ruled out a cease-fire amid intensified fighting in the Donbass region.

Russia's state-owned gas company, Gazprom, said it had halted gas exports to Finland after it refused to agree to Russian demands to pay for Russian gas in roubles because of Western sanctions imposed over Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine.

Finland and Sweden applied last week to join the NATO military alliance, a decision spurred by the Ukraine conflict.

Finnish state-owned gas wholesaler Gasum, the Finnish government and individual gas-consuming companies in Finland have said they were prepared for a shutdown of Russian flows and that the country will manage without.

Most European supply contracts are denominated in euros or dollars and Moscow cut off gas to Bulgaria and Poland last month after they refused to comply with the new payment terms.

In addition to trying to isolate Russia through sanctions, Western countries have stepped up weapons supplies to Ukraine.

Kyiv got another huge boost on Saturday when US President Joe Biden signed a bill to provide nearly $40 billion in military, economic and humanitarian aid to the country.

Moscow says Western arms deliveries to Kyiv, and the imposition of sanctions amount to a "proxy war" by the United States and its allies.

More sanctions

In a retaliatory move, Russia on Saturday published a list of 963 leading US citizens, including US President Joe Biden, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg and Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman banned from entering the country.

Those named in the list on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website also include US government officials, lawmakers and other leading figures.

Moscow had already announced sanctions targeting many of those on the list, in particular Biden, his Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin.

Ukraine has ruled out a cease-fire or concessions to Moscow as Russia intensifies an offensive in the eastern Donbass region.

After ending weeks of resistance by the last Ukrainian fighters in the strategic southeastern city of Mariupol, Russia is waging a major offensive in Lugansk, one of two provinces in Donbass.

Russian-backed separatists already controlled swaths of territory in Lugansk and the neighboring Donetsk before the Feb 24 start of the military operation, but Moscow wants to seize the last remaining Ukrainian-held territory in Donbass.

"The situation in Donbass is extremely difficult," Zelensky said in his nightly address. The Russian army was trying to attack the cities of Sloviansk and Sievierodonetsk, but Ukrainian forces were holding off their advance, he said.

Commenting on the situation on the battlefield, Zelensky adviser Mykhailo Podolyak ruled out agreeing to a cease-fire and said Kyiv would not accept any deal with Moscow that involved ceding territory. Making concessions would backfire on Ukraine because Russia would hit back harder after any break in fighting, he said.

"The war will not stop (after concessions). It will just be put on pause for some time," Podolyak, Ukraine's lead negotiator, told Reuters in an interview in the heavily guarded presidential office. "They'll start a new offensive, even more bloody and large-scale."

The last Ukrainian forces holed up in Mariupol's vast Azovstal steelworks surrendered on Friday, Russia's Defence Ministry said. It said 2,439 defenders had surrendered in the past few days.

Agencies Via Xinhua

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202205/ ... 5e484.html

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The Bankruptcy of an “Anti-Imperialism” That Sides With Imperialism.
RQORINOCO MAY 22, 2022

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Editorial note: Orinoco Tribune does not generally publish articles that are over 10 days old. However, in this case an exception is being made, as the subject matter of the following piece remains as significant today as at the time of its publication.

By Urban Rambling — Apr 6, 2022

The recent article on Labour Hub from Pierre Dardot and Christian Laval – reprising the Euston Manifesto in a French accent – makes up in tetchiness what it lacks in analysis. Without dropping to their level and accusing them of “stupidity”, I’d like to put some of their assertions and arguments under a bit of scrutiny in the hope that, even in the impassioned polarization of current arguments, a bit of light can be generated amidst the heat.

Their argument, that the Left has more than one enemy, is a statement of the obvious that no one could disagree with. What they don’t do, however, is examine the actually existing power relations between different states and draw any conclusions about who the main enemy is.

Since the object of the argument is the reality of imperialism, and how that is revealed in the Ukraine crisis and war – as the latest front line of an aggressive expansion of the NATO alliance right up to the borders of Russia – lets examine the forces involved and their scale.

Russia has a GDP slightly smaller than Italy and spends $62 billion on its military.
NATO includes all the major imperial predators on the global stage, corralled into one bloc by the USA so that it can intervene at will throughout the rest of the world; knowing that all of its smaller rivals will be lined up behind it (or, in the case of the UK, trying to jump up and down alongside it in a desperate attempt to be noticed and approved of). It has a collective GDP 20 times the size of Russia’s and its military spending is 19 times as much (before recently announced increases which will make this gap even bigger). NATO is the military lynch pin of the global imperial system centered on the United States. Russia is not included in it.
The proportionate military spend looks like this.


These are from 2021. Very large increases are planned by Germany and the USA from this year. UK military expenditure is also increasing.
A quick glance at this imbalance should put paid to any notion that the NATO powers face any kind of threat from Russia’s military, that “Ukraine is just the start” or that revived “Great Russian chauvinism” or “neo-Stalinist fascism” is about to steamroller across Europe, restore the Russian Empire and put paid to “democracy”; and therefore plans to significantly increase military expenditure have any “defense” rationale at all. Offense is another matter.

Even more absurd is any notion that that the active expansion of NATO across Eastern Europe since 1991 – amassing East Germany, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia into the bloc, with Ukraine, Georgia and Bosnia added to the active waiting room in 2022, following a US Ukraine Security Agreement signed in November 2021 – has been a passive act; let alone “reactive” in Diderot and Laval’s words. The ante has been consistently upped from the US.

The Russian response to this has been to try to be incorporated in it; or to seek “common security arrangements” in Europe with it. Approaches have been made repeatedly since 1991 and consistently rebuffed by the USA. So, no incorporation , no accommodation, just inexorably increasing pressure.

So, Russia has reacted with aggressive defensiveness when this pressure has got too much.

defending the South Ossetian enclave after the Rose Revolution installed a pro US President in Georgia, who launched an attack on it-
and, in Ukraine – reacting to the 2014 US backed overthrow of a President who had just signed a trade deal with Russia rather than the EU – by annexing Crimea and moving forces into the Donbas; after the rebellion there was about to be crushed by the Ukrainian army and Azov battalion.
The expansion of NATO up to Russia’s borders is not simply a matter of “humiliation” for Russia, as Dardot and Laval put it. It is an existential military and political threat; and seen as such across the full spectrum of Russian political opinion. It has been repeatedly stated as a red line which will lead to a violent reaction if crossed. This is not a mystery to NATO or the USA. It takes a real act of will to ignore it on the Left. The question is, knowing this, why did the USA and NATO push across it and provoke the reaction they had been warned about?

Dardot and Laval explain that in reaction to the Russian response, “pacifism is not an option” and “the immediate imperative is to help the Ukrainians resist” and “let’s not play non-intervention again”. So, theirs is not an anti war stance.

*They would have no sympathy with the Italian and Greek airline and rail workers who have refused to move NATO munitions to stop fueling the war.
*In arguing for arms to be sent to Ukraine until the 2014 borders are reestablished they are calling for the forcible reoccupation of the Donbas and Crimea, against the wishes of the people who live there. So much for self determination and human rights.
*They are in favor of anti war demonstrations in Russia, not anti war demonstrations against NATO in NATO countries.
*They don’t specify how far they want to go to “intervene”, but NATO is intervening already. And Dardot and Laval line up behind it.
*They try to cover this by turning their polemical fire on “campism”, which they characterize as “one sided anti imperialism”, even though they themselves are forming a bloc with their own imperialism and its allies. You can’t get more “one sided” than that.

They argue that “my enemy’s enemy is not necessarily my friend”,

*but pose a delusional framework in which there are no hierarchies of power, as though we were already in a multi polar world,
*and at the same time pose the actions and values of any powers opposed to the dominant imperialism as worse. “The terrible reality of Communism in either Russia or China” or “post colonial regimes” during the first Cold War.

This follows the well worn trope of every “human rights” intervention by the US and its allies, that the enemy of the day is the new Hitler. So, in practice, my enemy’s enemy is more my enemy than my enemy is. At best, the currents that espouse this sort of position are an opposition within imperialism, not an opposition to it. Firmly in their home camp.

This is not a new phenomena on the European Left. It has been the dominant tradition of Social Democracy since 1914. Lest we forget, at the outset of the First World War, the overwhelming majority of Socialist and Labor Parties across Europe voted for the war budgets of their own countries to “defend” them against the threatening barbarism of their enemies, firmly subordinating themselves to the barbarism of their own ruling classes. At the start of the war, there were already plenty of atrocities to choose from. Looking only at those committed by the other side became almost a moral imperative to justify looking away from those committed by our own. Plus ca change. Plus c’est le meme chose.

As the Left in the imperialist countries has stagnated in reformist parties – sometimes allowed into government if self consciously subaltern enough – or small revolutionary currents with a weakness for syndicalism, and nowhere overthrown capitalist rule; revolutions have taken place at imperialism’s weakest links, in countries that are poorer, with lower standards of living, smaller infrastructure development, often devastated by the struggle and having to build up economic, health and education infrastructure almost from scratch. These have faced military threats, and interventions, from the USA and its allies, and constant economic pressure. The Labor movements of the Global North have been at best ambiguous about the struggles of these countries, with small solidarity movements largely outweighed by an insular condescension, even on the far left, which has considered the judgement of small Western European groupuscules on what is or is not “socialism” to be of more weight than, say, the Chinese Communist Party; which sees itself as a Marxist Party, is running its country with significant success and has 90 million members.

Following in this tradition, Dardot and Laval are quite clear than in a confrontation between developed capitalist countries/imperialist countries/the Global North/ the “democracies”/the “international community”/the “West” (delete description according to political taste) and any actual challenge to it, even from countries that see themselves as Socialist, or “post colonial regimes”, in the final analysis, they plump for the former.

They seem to presume that the “West” supporting dictatorships – and invasions and coups and terrorist movements – across the Global South was a function of the old Cold War, and seem unable to explain why it is a constant feature of what they have continued doing since. The dramatic shift from the “End of History” in 1991, the USA’s dominant uni-polar moment, in which it was possible to imagine that the future of the world would be to become a gigantic American suburb, to the current moment in which the USA is for the first time since 1871, no longer the World’s largest economy in real terms is registered in the Global South by a series of political realignments around the Chinese model of investment led evelopment , but in the Global North by a movement among both the ruling class and labor movements that could best be described as ostalgic”(in the UK ranging from the swashbuckling imperial delusions of Brexit to Keir Starmer’s oddly retro political framing; so he looks like a Labor Prime Minister, but a Labor Prime Minister from the last century). The US is no longer able to subsidies its allies in the way it did after World War 2. It doesn’t generate the capital any more. In fact, it sucks it in, and this has a destabilizing effect, primarily on the Global South but increasingly on its allies; the stagnation of Japan since 1989 being a stark example. And this is driving an increasingly delirious domestic politics in the US too.

Because the US’s global dominance is slipping, it is using its armed forces to reassert itself, pushing beyond previously sacrosanct red lines and provoking confrontations – today with Russia in Ukraine and, if it gets away with it, tomorrow with China in the South China Sea. This is designed to spark conflicts it can “win”, lead on to regime change in its interests and the Balkanization of rival powers before China, in particular gets beyond its threats. It is this that is the threat to world peace, just as it is the current wave of US driven sanctions that is the biggest threat to the well-being of the global population, as this briefing from No Cold war makes clear.

We should always bear in mind that this is the country that
* dropped more munitions on Iraq on the first day of the second Iraq war than the Russians have managed in the whole 5 weeks of the Ukraine invasion,
* carpet bombed Vietnam, killing 2 million people,
* imposed sanctions on Iraq in the 1990s that
* killed 500,000 Iraqi children (a price “worth paying” according to Madeline Albright) killed up to a million Iraqis in the ensuing war,
*is currently imposing sanctions on Venezuela which have killed 40,000
*and on Afghanistan which have led to a situation in which a million children are on the verge of starvation.
*b]We could add to this the situation in Yemen, ably abetted by its UK vassal, backing the Saudi intervention which has killed almost 400,000 people according to the UN, has directly led to a cholera epidemic and “the worst humanitarian disaster in the world.”

This is what global misleadership looks like. That’s what imperialism IS. That is why the USA is the main enemy, along with our own ruling classes, who are aligned with it. No other country has the capacity to inflict so much pain simultaneously around the world. No other country has 800 military bases in other countries or the capacity to use the world’s financial system to “make the economy” of any given target country “scream.” That’s why an “anti US lens” is essential to any sense of proportion on global developments and, whatever we might think of their opponent in any given conflict, or of what they do in the course of it, a victory for the US is a defeat for all of us and no one on the Left should aid or abet it.

We can add to this the complete failure of the USA – and the ruling class more broadly – to lead humanity in combating our greatest collective threat; climate breakdown. This is the clearest indication that the capitalist class – through its most powerful states – is no longer capable of leading humanity anywhere except to disaster. The USA is spending 14 times as much on its military as it does in combating climate change. China is spending one and a half times as much on climate change as on its military. The USA would need a change of regime to begin to do what is necessary.

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This shows that imperialism will kill us – in more ways than one.

Dardot and Laval, writing in France – which is about to have a Presidential election between a fascist matron and a centrist blancmange, vying with each other for who can demonise France’s 6 million Muslims the most – note that the other enemies of the Left include “dangerous ideologies” which support “forms of oppression and domination, notably religious”, giving an unmistakable genuflection to the boorish laicity that is barely distinguishable from the Islamophobia that runs virally through the French Left and disables its anti racist solidarity. The only Presidential candidate, in this context, that they take a pop at is Jean Luc Melenchon, the only Left candidate in spitting distance of Len Pen and Macron, presumably on the basis that “the honour of the Left” would not be safe with him.

Their attempted parallel between Ukraine and Palestine – that the Left should support the nationalist side of Ukraine in the same way it supports the Palestinians – shows exactly what is wrong with their argument. For the Palestinians to be free, they would either have to have equality within a common state with Israeli Jews from the river to the sea, or, if this could not be achieved, a viable separate state. The cause of the rebellion in the Donbass against nationalist Ukraine in 2014 was that equality was no longer guaranteed for the Russian population. Support for nationalist Ukraine is therefore – in fact – more like support for the current state of Israel than for the Palestinians who are oppressed by it.

Their central argument is that what they describe as “great movements of democratic emancipation” throughout the world have an independent dynamic and take place completely independently of outside influence or support or direction.

They lump together in this movements like the Arab Spring; that developed organically from large numbers of people rebelling against economic conditions that were becoming sufficiently unbearable that the inhibitions of a repressive state and the ingrained habits of just getting by and making the best of things could be overcome in a great rush of inchoate solidarity – which the US struggled to get a grip on and divert
with movements that have been described as “color revolutions” because they followed a script written in the State Department and could be most accurately described as creatures of it. As good capitalists, the US State Department can’t help themselves in branding these events, even though doing so is a bit of a giveaway that they are their products.

Dardot and Laval argue that “the peoples have free will and they are not the puppets of the great powers” which is true up to a point. Free will is nevertheless often expressed in a way that does indeed make the movements concerned a creature of Foggy Bottom; and given the weight of US finance, expertise and media power, it can be very hard to avoid being suborned by them. The contrary also applies. The existence of the USSR provided a pole of attraction for movements in the Global South/Third World which, at the time, tended to take a secular form and aspire to socialism in some form. The collapse of the USSR meant that such forces have tended to dissipate and be replaced by millennialist style religious movements. The current rise of China is leading to significant political realignment. Each struggle in each country is a unique combination of common elements, but whatever the local specifics, none is innocent of the influence of outside forces. Sometimes this is simply the weight of example or cultural aspiration, sometimes the power of investment or trade, sometimes conscious manipulation and intervention.

The USA, in particular, runs a vast international network of human rights organizations and social media networks, funded through the National Endowment for Democracy, and it intervenes everywhere. Sometimes it initiates a movement. Sometimes it moves in on one and bends it to its will. They have cultivated an international network of “democracy activists” and hold cadre schools to refine their tactics and compare notes. Anyone involved in these networks will in practice be acting as an agent of the USA. Many of them are conscious of that and proud of it.

Some rebellions are not in the USA’s pocket. These tend to be the ones that are demonized by it. Hezbollah in Lebanon is one, the Houthis in Yemen are another, as are the Cubans, Venezuelans and Bolivians.

So, the question is what is the relationship between any movement and the US and its local relays. This is not predetermined, as we make our own history, but not – as Marx once noted – in conditions of our own choosing.

Dardot and Laval argue that ISIS was not the inevitable result of the Syrian uprising against the Assad regime, but the involvement of the USA and its local allies certainly helped push it that way. ISIS has been in some ways an irregular frontier version of Saudi Arabia.

Similarly, the Rose Revolution in Georgia didn’t have to end up with military adventurism from President Saakashvili, but US involvement and the prospect of NATO membership certainly encouraged him.

And in Ukraine, the dynamic of the Maidan movement was inexorably towards the far right. The least that can be said about US involvement is that it inhibited that not at all.

Sometimes the US is aiming for regime change, sometimes to create chaos as a preferable alternative to a government that does not do its bidding.

The current sanctions being imposed on Russia by the US are going to have an immense blowback across the Global South that will be more severe the longer they are in place. Millions are being thrown into poverty right now. The rebellions that erupt as a result will be almost certainly too much for the US to handle. The US war drive is leading to Global chaos and misery. No support should be given it.

https://orinocotribune.com/the-bankrupt ... perialism/

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Dmytro Iaroch, neo-Nazi and ISIS ally
By Laurent Brayard (Posted May 23, 2022)

Originally published: Donbass Insider on May 21, 2022 (more by Donbass Insider) |

Among the figures of neo-Nazism that supposedly does not exist in Ukraine, there is Dmytro Iaroch, the emblematic figure of one of the worst extremist movements in Europe: Pravy Sektor (Right Sector). His story, like that of many other neo-Nazis in Ukraine, is edifying, and speaks for itself, of what has been happening in Ukraine since well before the Maidan of winter 2013-2014.

From a neo-Nazi group to the Maïdan barricades. Born in 1971 in Dneprodzerzhinsk, not far from Dniepropetrovsk, a town with Russian traditions, he became involved in militant activities at a very young age (1989), in the hard fringe of Ukrainian ultranationalism. From then on he was active in an obscure neo-Nazi group, and then did his military service (1989-1991). Later, he was one of the founders of an organisation claiming to be Bandera: the Trident (1994). He became one of the leaders in 1996 and was its head until 1999. He studied at university, graduating from the Faculty of Philology and publishing a book: The Ukrainian Revolution: the 21st Century, in which he expounded his ultra-radical theses, including expressing avowed Russophobia and anti-Semitism (he published others in the same tone). He then linked up with MP Valentin Nalivaitchenko, head of the SBU (2006-2010, then from 2014 to 2015), member and executive of the Our Ukraine party (2010-2012), and one of the discreet figures of the Maidan revolution. Iaroch was one of his advisors, and this powerful support gave him a foothold.

He entered the scene during Euromaidan, and Trident was renamed Pravy Sektor (November 2013). He stated at the time that the aim of his organisation’s involvement “is not to support the signing of a treaty of integration into the European Union, but to make the national revolution and overthrow the regime that we call the regime of internal occupation”, in reference to the alleged Russian occupation of Ukraine. He proposed an ethnic cleansing of Ukraine by force or by choice, of what he defined as “Russian-Jewish scum”. During the demonstrations, his supporters formed companies to defend the Maidan, displaying flags of the UPA of Bandera and Shukhevich. These famous “heroes” of Ukraine were none other than collaborators of Nazi Germany. The second is undoubtedly one of the worst war criminals of the Second World War, having been involved in the Shoah by bullets in Ukraine and Belarus (between 1941 and 1942). His movement was organized in the manner of the SA and SS, with the Pravy Sektor companies, real paramilitary troops, disciplined and armed, which sadly distinguished themselves on the Maïdan barricades.

The supporter of total war, repression and political assassinations. He put pressure on the provisional government (February 2014) and demanded the banning of Yanukovych’s Party of Regions, but also of the Ukrainian Communist Party (which was soon the case for the latter). On 16 March, as Crimea proclaimed its attachment to the Russian Federation, he threatened to launch sabotage groups to prevent the supply of oil and gas from Russia to the European Union. Soon Pravy Sektor was transformed into a political party, and it ran for the presidency of Ukraine. He announced a programme that prioritized the fight “against the neo-colonialism of the Kremlin” and “Russian aggression”. From that moment on he called for a general mobilisation, for all-out war, and for the use of the country’s resources to form a powerful army. These anti-democratic demands were reinforced by the demand to ban certain media deemed anti-Ukrainian. He also proposed to organise an anti-Russian guerrilla war in Crimea using the Tatar population and to order the assassination of the main Russian-speaking separatist leaders. He also proposed a major purge of the country’s administrations, replacing civil servants with loyal nationalists, but also setting up structures to influence and shape the youth, rather like the Hitler Youth. Going it alone, he described the National Socialist Party of Ukraine, Svoboda, as ‘too soft’, but declared that a merger of the two parties was possible (22 May 2014).

In the elections, it won only 0.7% of the vote (about 320,000 votes) and announced that it would “support all actions of the newly elected President Petro Poroshenko to unite and preserve Ukraine and restore order in the east of the country”. He had called on 12 April for party members to join paramilitary units to fight the republican insurgents in eastern Ukraine. His party founded a unit of Maidan veterans, called the ‘special Donbass battalion’. He then moved to Dnepropetrovsk, where his supporters carried out terror operations against the Russian-speaking population. Expropriations, kidnappings, murders and persecutions were reported, especially against the local Communist Party and against inhabitants deemed to be opposed to Ukrainian nationalism. Its militiamen practiced kidnapping, forcible requisitioning, harsh intimidation, even murder and torture. The abuses committed by the Donbass battalion became so widespread that an international arrest warrant was issued against it by Interpol, at the request of Russia (25 July 2014).

From his political rise, to explicit threats “against traitors”. The international mandate went unheeded, and he was soon triumphantly elected to the Rada of Ukraine (26 October 2014). He repeatedly threatened President Poroshenko with turning against Kiev with the retaliatory battalions acting in the East “if the latter deviated from the course of the revolution”. He often protested against the bad reputation of his neo-Nazi party, blaming Russian propaganda, and tried to seduce Russian nationalists by claiming that he allowed and respected the Russian language. This was mainly to distinguish itself from the Svoboda party, which favors a pure and simple ban on the Russian language, but also to attract volunteers from Russia. As early as 12 April 2014, he had called for the mobilisation of all the “patriots” of his movement, to go and fight the “Russian invasion” in Eastern Ukraine. Judging the authorities to be too weak, he took a swipe at the government, even declaring that “if during the war the authorities could not be criticized, it should be remembered that during the war the traitors would be shot…” His order to illegally mobilise his activists set off a firestorm in a martyred Donbass town: Slaviansk. His supporters murdered six opponents in the town (20 April), but had to flee in the face of the ensuing general insurrection. These murders, soon coupled with the massacres in Odessa (2 May) and Mariupol (9 May), embraced the Donbass in an instant. As the situation became critical, he asked the Minister of Defense to arm the population… and his volunteer battalion, claiming to be able to raise at least 10,000 militants in Dnepropetrovsk. He pushed for the formation of more retaliation battalions, and for the systematization of hostage-taking, in order to exchange prisoners or silence anti-Maidan activists (28 April).

From the bitter defeats in the Donbass to the arm wrestling with the Poroshenko government. It soon became clear that he had linked up with the oligarch and mafioso, Igor Kolomoisky, and became an ally. He took the lead of his men and took part in the reprisal operations and the exactions in the Donbass. A poor military commander, his unit was crushed following his incoherent orders (17 August 2014), in the Donetsk sector (32 killed and an unknown number of wounded left behind). He took part in the famous battle of Donetsk airport, where his “cyborgs” were almost wiped out and he himself was wounded (21 January 2015). As the battle was lost, as well as that of Debaltsevo, he was ordered to put all Pravy Sektor units under the command of the Ukrainian armed forces (January-April 2015). He categorically refused, putting the country on the brink of another civil war. He finally negotiated a secret agreement, where he was appointed adviser to the Chief of the Army Staff, Victor Mougenko, and Pravy Sektor troops were officially withdrawn from the front (April 2015). The Mukachevo incident (July 2015), where Pravy Sektor activists were involved in a deadly shootout with Ukrainian police, finally weakened his position.

Faced with the judicial sanctions implemented against them, Iaroch mobilized his militias throughout the country, calling for nationwide protests. He threatened the government again (17 July), asked for an amnesty for his men, and claimed that “an information war had been launched by the government against him and his movement”. This dangerous madman, with thousands of armed fighters and overexcited paramilitaries, then demanded a referendum of no confidence in the government, the cancellation of the Minsk agreements, the total blockade of the Donbass and Crimea and the legalization of the retaliation battalions (21 July). His demands were accompanied by a demonstration of forces with 2,000 neo-Nazis in Maidan Square. Having gone too far, with the war crimes of his units weighing heavily in the balance, and from the point of view of the Maidan’s official financier, the U.S., he soon found himself isolated. The stinging defeats of the battalions in the Donbass finally led to his resignation as president of the Pravy Sektor (11 November 2015).

From allying with ISIS to organizing assassinations. He soon announced that he wanted to bring together all ‘patriots’ and nationalists of all political persuasions in a more unifying movement (February 2016). Despite the failure of this last announcement, he was still very much in the media and even declared that he was in contact with the SBU’s political police in order to form a sabotage unit that would carry out actions and assassinations of political figures and ‘war criminals’ in Russia. We note that this was achieved with the assassinations of insurgent commanders Mozgovoy (23 May 2015), Motorola (16 October 2016) and Givi (8 February 2017), and then of President Zakhartchenko (31 August 2018). These alone demonstrate the nature of the Ukrainian regime. Also noteworthy is the repeated dismantling of Ukrainian subversive groups, such as the arrest of this former Yaroch henchman, Alexander Shumkov. Having crossed into Russia in August 2017, he had disappeared from circulation the following month, before it became known that he had been arrested in Russia and sentenced to four years in prison for his activities there for Pravy Sektor (trial in Bryansk, 4 December 2018).

Iaroch then took a strong stand in the media during the dismantling of the Kolomoisky mafia network (2019-2020), claiming to have been threatened by searches targeting him and his entourage. This was not followed by anything concrete due to his powerful protections (SBU). Iaroch had also made a name for himself in statements of support for Salafists and Islamists fighting Russia in Chechnya and Syria (March 2014). For these reasons, Islamist fanatics served in the Ukrainian ranks, including during the battle of Donetsk airport, with Republicans even seizing an ISIS flag. Wanted in Russia for his tenuous links to Chechen terrorists, Armenia had also followed suit (15 March 2014), opening criminal proceedings against him and Pravy Sektor (following propaganda developed by his movement in Armenia to attack Russia and Crimea).

Ukraine’s bulky ultranationalist ghost. Under pressure from the U.S., Iaroch was finally removed from the Interpol terrorist and wanted list (January 2016). In political wandering, he could not afford to be re-elected to his post as a member of parliament, where he had been reported absent (July 2019). In the presidential elections, he supported Ruslan Kochoulynsky of the Ukrainian National Socialist party Svoboda (1.62% of the vote, but 7% in the Ivano-Franko oblast and 5% in the Lvov oblast, lands of Ukrainian neo-Nazism). He made a short-lived comeback by being appointed adviser to the general-in-chief of the Ukrainian army (2 November 2021), before being dismissed the following month, no doubt under American political pressure to keep a clean image of the Ukrainian army. The great Western lie has continued ever since. The retaliation battalions were transformed into regular units (2015-2017), but the men who made them up did not change. Some battalions became regiments and brigades and neo-Nazi and ultra-nationalist cadres have spread throughout the army since then.

Like other cadres, Iaroch has benefited from a thorough internet cleansing. He remains active on Facebook and does not seem to have the courage to return to the front, probably for fear of being caught by the Russians. He recently announced (21 April 2022) that the only way for Ukraine to win this war would be the complete de-Russification of the country: ethnic (elimination of ethnic Russians), political (liquidation of “traitors”), linguistic (prohibition of the Russian language), cultural (liquidation of Russian culture and its prohibition), spiritual (persecution of the Orthodox), economic and financial (confiscation of everything belonging to Russians or to personalities considered to be pro-Russian), and finally historical (complete rewriting of the history of Ukraine, revisionism, negationism). As an avowed enemy of Zelinsky’s because of his fierce anti-Semitism, it is dangerous for Western propaganda to deny the importance of men like Yaroch. Even if his influence is limited to only a few hundred thousand Ukrainians, it is a bit like French neo-Nazi groups, such as the GUD, suddenly finding themselves armed, with political representatives and an important media window. With the ongoing special operation, the war is justifying “these heroes of Ukraine” again. The cleansing of the reputations of the Ukrainian neo-Nazis by the French and Western media, normalizes their ideology, their political presence and their actions, not to mention disgracing themselves before our country and before history.

If the lie is big, it heralds the definitive collapse of the credibility of the media in question, of the governments that support this disinformation and of all the personalities who have wetted themselves by displaying the symbols of nationalist Ukraine: like the famous trident, or by bellowing the cry of the collaborators of Nazi Germany, launched by Bandera: “Slava Oukraïni”. This cry was taken up by MEPs from Emmanuel Macron’s party and the whole of official France was cowardly decked out in Ukrainian flags… those of the massacres in Eastern Ukraine, in the Donbass, of the despicable secret political prisons and the endless murders of people who had refused to fall under the yoke of the Maidan, the United States and the European Union. Because yes, it is the right of every person, of all peoples to want to decide for themselves what is good for them.

https://mronline.org/2022/05/23/dmytro- ... isis-ally/

Bolding added. (I want this bastard's head on a pike.)
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Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part IV

Post by blindpig » Mon May 23, 2022 5:17 pm

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The Influence of Neofascist and Other Nationalist Groups in Maidan Ukraine
Gordon M. Hahn

May 18, 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a goal of his war in Ukraine the ‘denazification’ of the country. Kremlin propagandists often refer to the Maidan regime as a ‘Nazi junta’ and fascist regime. These are clearly exaggerations. But there is something more absurd marauding minds in the West. Ukraine neofascist apologists both in Ukraine and elsewhere, such as – astonishingly – the ADL, often downplay Ukrainian neofascism, arguing Ukraine has neofascists ‘like any country’ but their influence is ‘marginal’ and Ukraine’s neofascists are not anti-semitic. Ukraine has a Jewish president after all (www.informationliberation.com/?id=62981). The claim that Ukrainian neofascists have little influence is usually backed up by the neofascist parties’ poor showing in Ukrainian elections. But anti-semitism is not an obligatory characteristic of fascism, and neofascist influence is not measured by the number of seats in a parliament.

Regarding the supposed ‘marginal’ influence of Ukrainian neofascism and ultranationalism, it is never noted that there are so many competing and often mutually antagonistic neofascist groups and parties that their political work and votes are split and so there candidates and parties often fail to win executive branch offices or win seats in legislatures. In addition, neofascist and ultranationalist parties do not devote the bulk of the energies to politicking. They are more interested in intimidation and violence as the means to carry out politics than in persuasion and compromise. Moreover, more ‘mainstream’ nationalist and ultranationalist parties – themselves radical enough and often anti-Semitic – coopt neofascists onto their candidate lists, through which they take seats in Ukraine’s parliament of Rada. Moreover, their lust for power atomizes neofascists and ultranationalists into numerous small groups in Ukraine, making it difficult to repeat the neofascist Svoboda party’s successes of a decade ago.

Neofascists and ultranationalists in Ukraine, as everywhere else, are uninterested in parliamentary politics, debates, compromising and deal-making. They are more interested in the streets and other state institutions, mostly the siloviki. They enter parliament to have a platform, take bribes, and direct budget resources to where their groups might get their hands on them. Theirs is the realm of silencing all who disagree with or oppose them, intimidating marches, and violent riots, beatings, and killings, and ultimately coups — as occurred in February 2014, leading the semi-neofascist Maidan regime to power. On the more mundane level, neofascist demonstrations –sometimes quite violent – have blocked legislation, secured other legislation, and prevented Kiev’s fulfillment of the Minsk 2 accords, contributing to the march towards the present war (https://gordonhahn.com/2015/08/31/ukrai ... m-of-rada/).

I know of no definition of fascism that stipulates anti-semitism is a necessary component of the ideology. Some sort of racism or ethno-national hatred is an essential part of any list of the components of fascism (along with totalitarian regime type and militarism). Nevertheless, the Ukrainian far right’s racism does target Jews but more episodically than during World War II. Jews are for now a secondary target, and Ukraine’s radical right usually tries to hide its anti-semitic ideas even in cases where they might express admiration for Adolf Hitler and the like. Ukrainian neofascists’, ultranationalists’ and even many ‘moderate’ nationalists’ present targets are Russians particularly but also Romas, Africans, and gays, who are characterized as subhuman by Ukrainian extremism’s adepts.

Indeed, it is arguable that Ukraine is unique as a country with pervasive neofascist and ultranationalist influence, yet mixed in with a hybrid democratic-soft authoritarian regime. The most important elements of everyday neofascism’s influence in Ukraine as a practical matter lie elsewhere than those places focused on by its apologists and defenders.

I know of no other country in the world whose regime was born illegitimately in the blood of its own citizens in a false flag operation carried out by allied neofascist elements in order to spark a revolution and then covered up the massacre’s true origins, organizers, and perpetrators for eight years (Ivan Katchanovski, http://www.academia.edu/38171919/Witnes ... kly_digest; Ivan Katchanovski, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm ... id=2658245; and https://gordonhahn.com/2016/03/09/the-r ... ing-paper/). As one Ukrainian presidential candidate, former Orange regime Defense Minister Anatoliy Hrytsenko, noted: “I propose that one of the reasons that (the snipers massacre) has not been investigated to the end is that someone has feathers on their snout among those who are now in power” (https://gordonua.com/news/politics/gric ... 0ceff4egdw).” Weeks later, another candidate, Volodomyr Zelenskiy commented: “People whom came to power on blood are profiting on blood” (www.pravda.com.ua/news/2019/02/26/7207718/)

I know of no other country in the world which has as its national heroes, figures such as Stepan Bandera and his organizations’ members (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Partisan Army), who murdered tens of thousands of Jews and Poles in World War II (https://gordonhahn.com/2016/01/17/repor ... parts-1-3/).

I know of no other country in the world that tolerates, indeed supports openly self-avowed neofascist ideological groups with armed units in the country’s armed forces and autonomous armed volunteer battalions and vigilante groups tolerated and even supported by the state (https://gordonhahn.com/2015/04/12/the-m ... y-deficit/; https://gordonhahn.com/2015/08/05/ameri ... ar-crimes/; https://gordonhahn.com/2015/06/21/one-d ... democracy/; https://gordonhahn.com/2017/05/30/semen ... list-coup/; https://gordonhahn.com/2020/02/16/repor ... ad-part-1/; and https://gordonhahn.com/2015/03/29/901/).

I know of no other country in the world where neofascist groups can beat up officials, murder journalists, and raid courtrooms with impunity (see the above links).

I know of not other country in the world where the president awards medals to neofascist who openly acknowledge in Western media that they like killing Russians and routinely violate a ceasefire agreement (https://gordonhahn.com/2021/12/03/zelen ... d-ukraine/ and https://gordonhahn.com/2022/01/02/zelen ... -update-2/).

I know of not other country in the world where the president must go to neofascist training camps and convince them to allow the government to fulfill ceasefire and peace agreements (www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/im-no ... ement.html and https://www.blackstoneintel.com/post/pr ... v-soldiers).

I know of no other country in the world where neofascists hold government and police posts and the advisor to the country’s commander of its armed forces is a neofascist (https://www.mil.gov.ua/en/news/2015/04/ ... ral-staff/ and https://gordonhahn.com/2015/06/20/deali ... ts-or-not/).

But Ukraine has help in being a unique country. The West rather than discouraging the spread of neofascist ideologies in the country has aided and abetted the trend. One report notes:

In July 2021, a group of journalists flew to Warsaw for media training after being exempted from coronavirus-related restrictions and quarantine orders by Poland’s top medical authorities. Among the six journalists were Andrey Lipsky, deputy editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, and Yuliia Fediv, CEO of Hromadske TV media, one of the most-watched networks in Ukraine. Hromadske’s financial reports show it is funded by numerous governments and foundations, including the U.S. embassy in Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the European Endowment for Democracy, and Free Press Unlimited. Silicon Valley billionaire Pierre Omidary was also involved in creating the outlet (www.mintpressnews.com/ukraine-propagand ... ts/280012/).

Hromadske has hosted a commentator demanding genocide of ethnic Russians in the Donbass, claiming it is populated with 1.5 “superfluous” people that “must be exterminated.” (https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses/1443).

At the same time, it is well-known that US and other NATO countries have been training neofascists, including but not limited to the Azov Battalion now incorporated into the Ukrainian armed forces (https://thegrayzone.com/2022/04/01/war- ... ne-russia/ and https://twitter.com/MaxBlumenthal/statu ... 46/photo/4). It appears that the Georgian commander of the pro-Kiev Georgian Legion fighters, Mamuka Mamulashvili was backed and trained by the US military. Mamuashvili has openly acknowledged his forces do not take Russian prisoners and may have participated along with his legion in the now infamous video in which legion and Ukrainian fighters finish off barely alive and severely wounded Russian soldiers, .

WARNING! GRUESOME, GRAPHIC IMAGES

https://videopress.com/v/b4DNS9lt?resiz ... Color=true


It is perhaps indicative that Dmitro Yarosh — the founder of the neofascist organizaton ‘Right Sector’, head of the paramilitary Ukrainian Volunteer Army, and advisor to the chief of staff of the Ukrainian armed forces — attended the NATO summit at Rammstein Air Force Base to plan Ukraine’s response to Russia’s invasion (https://www.facebook.com/dyastrub/posts ... 9800643863).

Not surprisingly then, US government-tied Facebook has supported ties to Ukrainian neofascists (https://zaborona.com/ru/stopfake-i-fakt ... -facebook/), including allowing Yarosh to maintain a Facebook page.

Disturbingly, the war in Ukraine is likely to fuel even greater neofascism in Ukraine unless its adherents are largely wiped out in the present fighting, which is certainly possible if not likely. Putin’s ‘denazification’ is anything but a fait accompli, and in the trying the Russian invasion and resulting devastation may make matters worse.

At any rate, the next time a radio talk show host, political expert, Democrat Party-state regime, or even a pro-Jewish figure tells you neofascism in pre-war Ukraine is a phantom, not a factor, can be ignored–you shall know you are being lied to.

https://gordonhahn.com/2022/05/18/the-i ... n-ukraine/

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US Military Expert: Russia to Score Major Victories in Donbass, Must Adapt to New NATO Game
21 hours ago (Updated: 21 hours ago)

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A Russian serviceman at an airfield in the area of the special military operation in Ukraine. - Sputnik International, 1920, 22.05.2022
© Sputnik / Go to the photo bank

NATO has raised the stakes by flooding Ukraine with heavy weaponry and trying to prolong the conflict, says Scott Ritter, a military analyst and former US Marine intelligence officer.
Sputnik: In a recent interviews with Sputnik you said that if Russia is "able to achieve some sort of demonstrable battlefield victory of such a large scale that the inevitable defeat of Ukraine is played before the European community, that would put a damper on the provision of weaponry [by the West] in a futile exercise." Could the surrender of Ukrainian military, National Guard and neo-Nazis in Azovstal be considered this sort of victory?
Scott Ritter: It's an impressive victory. It's an important victory. It's a strategic victory, but it's not the victory over Western weaponry that I was speaking of. It was a static victory, achieved after driving defenders underground. That was the latter half of the battle. It wasn't a battle against Ukrainian forces that had been trained and equipped, especially, with this new wave of military assistance. Now that battle is taking place. I think with what we're seeing in Donbass we see the potential formation of several cauldrons that have the potential of surrounding many thousands of Ukrainian troops. That's the victory I think that could turn the tide in terms of shaping or influencing opinion in Europe and elsewhere.

Sputnik: On 21 May, Biden signed a $40 billion military aid package to Ukraine. Could the provision of new weapons become a game-changer for Kiev?
Scott Ritter: It's not could, it is a game changer. That doesn't mean that Ukraine wins the game. But Russia started the special military operation with a limited number of troops and with clearly stated objectives that were designed to be achieved with this limited number of troops.
Today, Russia still has the same number of troops and the same objectives. But instead of going up against the Ukrainian military as it existed at the start of the conflict, it's now going up against a Ukrainian military that is supported by a weapons package that by itself nearly matches the defence budget for Russia in all of one year. I think the defence budget for Russia in 2021 was around $43 billion.
This package that was just provided nearly matches that and when you add it to what has already been provided during the first five months of 2022, that's $53 billion. That's nearly $10 billion more than Russia spends on the totality of its military in one year. That changes the game. Again, the $40 billion package is not all weapons. A lot of it is humanitarian support and then some other financial support. But it's still... The amount of money it's provided through in terms of weapons, it's a lot.
The United States and NATO are also providing real time intelligence support to the Ukrainians. That's a game changer. And NATO's countries have now provided Ukraine with strategic depth going back through Poland and Germany, where bases are being used to train Ukrainian forces on the new weapons that are being provided.

The game has changed. It's a completely different game today than what started on 24 February. Russia's special military operation continues to operate using the resources which had been allocated based upon a military capability that existed on 24 February. That military capability, that military reality has changed. Russia's capabilities have not. So it's a different game. It doesn't mean that Russia's going to lose, but it means that Russia will probably have to adapt to meet this new reality.

We can sit here and attack the $40 billion package. We can say that much of that are old weapons. We can say that the Ukrainians aren't trained on some of these weapons, that maintaining the weapons would be difficult, that Russia may be able to interdict some of these weapons before they get to the battlefield. And all of that is true. $40 billion is a lot of money, and it buys a lot of weapons. That's a lot of interdiction. And I don't think Russia has shown that it can get everything. We have seen some of these modern weapons appear on the front lines, which mean that Russia's not interdicting them.

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DPR militia fighter near the settlement of Yasinovataya, north of Donetsk.
© Sputnik / Sergei Averin / Go to the photo bank

Sputnik: Could you please provide your prognosis on how the military situation may evolve following the fall of Azovstal? Will Russia manage to encircle 8,000-15,000 armed forces of Ukraine in the Slavic-Kramatorsk direction?

Scott Ritter: Well with the last part of your question first. Using my skills with an incomplete set of data, I believe that Russia is achieving its stated operational objectives on the battlefield in Donbass, inclusive of the potential of encircling tens of thousands of Ukrainian forces. And some of these encirclements are taking place as we speak, especially near Severodonetsk to get some other areas. So I believe Russia is on the cusp of achieving some very major battlefield victories that will immensely further its phase two objectives of liberating Donbass from the Ukrainian forces.
We didn't learn about the second phase of the special military operation until late March when Russia suddenly said, okay, phase one is over. Now we begin phase two. So now, to evaluate phase one, we have to say, well, then what were the objectives of phase one - and Russia said - the objectives were to shape the battlefield. That is to achieve the objective of liberating Donbass and other unstated but obvious objectives such as securing a water supply for Crimea and that's why we see Kherson bridgehead, creating a land bridge between Crimea and Donbass and the Russian Federation. And that's where we see the drive up the Azov coast. These are part of, I think, the liberation of Donbass package.

And apparently by March, mid-March, late March, Russia believed that it had accomplished all of its objectives under phase one, meaning they had shaped the battlefield, they had destroyed sufficient Ukrainian military capability or neutralised it to the point that it could now focus on a successful battle in phase two, which focused on the Donbass.

And phase two is designed to complete the tasks, the military tasks of liberating the Donbass, creating the land bridge and securing water supplies for Crimea. And that seems like an important military victory. And it is. But now we go back to phase one. Because Russia said in addition to achieving its territorial aspects of this victory, it had two other military tasks, de-Nazification and demilitarization, and these military tasks were being done to achieve. And this is the really important part, a political objective.

Russia's objectives in this thing - and this is what Russia has said, a permanently neutral non-NATO Ukraine, linked to the strategic objectives that were outlined by Russia. I believe, on 17 December, when they provided two draft treaties, one to the United States, one to NATO, that said that Russia finds the existing situation in Europe this to be NATO and Russia unacceptable and it goes beyond simply Ukraine, beyond simply saying no to the eastward expansion of NATO. And it includes that NATO must work with Russia to redefine what European security looks like and that the new European security framework needs to include NATO's withdrawing back to the 1990-1997 lines. Now, this is Russia's stated objectives.

And now we have the United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaking about using this conflict to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia by inflicting so many casualties that Russia becomes weakened to the point that it can never again carry out an operation like this in Europe.
That's a completely different objective than what the United States was saying at the beginning. And NATO is bought into that objective. So my point is, when Russia finishes phase two, they're still going to be confronted with a hostile Ukraine that is more closely linked to NATO's today than they were when the conflict started. And with a NATO that is not willing to roll over and accept Russia's demands regarding a new European security framework where both sides can live in peace together, but rather which is focused on destroying Russia and Ukraine through continued nonstop combat operations. Which means that Russia better have a phase three in mind because this war isn't over when they finish with phase two.

https://sputniknews.com/20220522/us-mil ... 03665.html

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There's a movement
May 23, 4:20 p.m.

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Today there is movement.
They broke into the fortified area near Zolote and went to the village itself.
They took the suburb of Svetlodarsk Mironovsky (the village was cleared by the fighters of the Wagner PMC), the process of clearing the villages of Mironovka and Vozdvizhenka is underway. In fact, we are witnessing the collapse of the Svetlodarskaya arc, which we could not liquidate in 2015. Immediately after the liberation of Popasnaya and Troitsky, the enemy was under the threat of encirclement of the Svetlodar group and was forced to withdraw troops to Artemovsk. There will be good news from here in the next few days.

There are reports that they took Toshkovka (but so far without video confirmation, as of yesterday ours controlled about half of the village)
Well, the assault on Krasny Liman has recently begun. Our troops are already in the city. There are fights.

More details in the evening in the summary.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7631390.html

Google Translator

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

From Cassad's Telegram account:

***

forwarded from
Rybar

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The situation near Popasna as of 15.00 on May 23, 2022

▪️The defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Svetlodarsk crumbled. The units of the allied forces occupied the settlement of Mironovskoye , approaching from Troitskoye . At the forefront of the advancing forces were the Wagner PMC assault groups.

▪️Control over the settlement is also confirmed by the withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the fields southeast of Svetlodarsk: locals hang out Russian flags and wait for the approach of the allied forces.

Unlike the Severodonetsk-Lysichansk agglomeration, media attention to Svetlodarsk is not riveted, so the Ukrainian units were able to safely escape.

▪️On the eve of the Armed Forces of Ukraine blew up the bridge across the Luganka River , connecting the northern and southern parts of the village of Luganskoye . Ukrainian units retreated to Bakhmut (Artemovsk) .

***

forwarded from
D///IHAD
If we recall the events of Jihad in Syria, we can understand what kind of "extraction" procedure it is, about which the inmates from Azovstal talked so much, and where it came from.

Thus, the Americans applied a similar procedure at least twice to the IS Mujahideen: first during the battles for Manbij, and then during the capture of Raqqa.

When, during months of assaults, the Mujahideen found themselves locked in the central quarters, which had not yet been destroyed by American aircraft, they were offered to go to the territory of the Caliphate in the transport provided for them, which they did. This allowed the Americans to quickly report on the capture of cities, without wasting time cleaning up.

In the dungeons of "Azovstal" they counted on something similar, but it did not work out.

In the photo: Chechen and Dagestani mujahideen leave Raqqa in trucks during the "extraction" procedure.

***
Сolonelcassad
Zelensky said that 87 servicemen were killed during the attack on the Desna training center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Let me remind you that initially the local Gauleiter declared "8 civilians killed" (this is to the question of the reliability of any statements of the Gauleiters about the consequences of the strikes - as a rule, they do not fit at all with the real state of affairs).
If you remember, these days IPSO dispersed the thesis that all the barracks were empty. But in fact, they were empty only after Russian missiles flew over the guests.

But the figure voiced by Zelensky is greatly underestimated. On the day of the strike, sources from the field indicated that the real death toll was between 250 and 300 people. Since it is difficult to hide such a number of corpses, especially if they need to be buried, they give a greatly reduced number, as was already the case after the attacks on the Nikolaev Regional State Administration and the barracks of the 79th brigade in Nikolaev, when serious losses began to be recognized only a few days later, and then, in a greatly truncated form.

***

Сolonelcassad
Ukrainian sources report that in the Zaporozhye region, 9 special forces soldiers of the Kord special forces unit from Vinnitsa were liquidated by a missile strike. Kord's personnel were trained in the USA by the FBI and the DEA.

Destroyed special forces:

Zaitsev Mikhail
Podzigun Igor
Vitaly Antoshchuk
Klimenko Dmitry
Shcherban Bogdan
Bulega Bogdan
Oleinik Vitaly
Bondarchuk Igor
Turlyak Artur

***

Сolonelcassad
The Turks report that negotiations will be held today, where they will discuss the replacement of brands of Western companies that have left Russia with Turkish ones. The Turks expect to take part of the Russian market left by the West without worrying too much about sanctions - in the face of a serious economic crisis, income from the Russian market will allow Turkey to support its economy. The Russian Federation, in turn, at the stage of restructuring supply chains, will be able to avoid unnecessary problems with the shortage of some household goods. Therefore, such cooperation is seen as mutually beneficial, and besides, it fully fits into Erdogan's tactics of maneuvering between Russia and the United States in order to benefit from agreements with both parties as an intermediary and a kind of "buffer country".

***

forwarded from
Rybar
🇺🇦🇵🇱Poland is preparing the ground for a potential deployment of troops to the west of Ukraine

Today, Vladimir Zelensky met in Kiev with Polish President Andrzej Duda , who also spoke in the Verkhovna Rada. Both politicians made several important statements:

◾️Zelensky announced the appearance of a bill on the special status of Polish citizens in Ukraine . Its details are still not completely clear, but preliminary we are talking about a significant expansion of the rights and opportunities of Warsaw citizens on the territory of the state. According to some reports, the Poles will even be able to hold positions in the Ukrainian authorities.

◾️Zelensky also announced the simplification of crossing the border between Ukraine and Poland: according to his Polish colleague, this "will allow to repel any threat." Earlier, the Polish leader promised that the border between the two states would disappear in the near future.

◾️During his speech, Duda once again said that Ukraine should become a member of the EU. He did not name a specific date.

The events that took place are a clear example of Poland's work to create the ground for the potential deployment of troops to Ukraine. The signed agreements demonstrate the desire of the authorities in Warsaw to take advantage of the situation and significantly increase the military-political, economic and cultural influence in the western regions of the neighboring country.

In the foreseeable future, there will only be more similar bilateral documents. Yes, by themselves they do not mean that tomorrow or even a month later, Polish troops will definitely enter the territory of Ukraine. However, all these agreements open a huge window of opportunity for Warsaw .and unties his hands for a direct invasion of the territory of a neighboring state.

With the legal framework ready, nothing will prevent Poland from directly sending its units to Ukraine, leaving them there for an indefinite period. And systematically integrate the Ukrainian lands into its composition.

***

forwarded from
INTERNATIONAL FAN
🇬🇧🇺🇦 The situation in Ukraine and Donbass at this hour:

🔹Ukraine has built a new line of defense in the north, expecting an "attack by Belarus."
🔹Zelensky awarded the Polish city of Rzeszow the title of "savior city".
🔹French Foreign Ministry: the process of Ukraine's accession to the EU will probably take 15 or 20 years.
🔹Medinsky called the freezing of negotiations with Russia an initiative of Ukraine.
🔹Zelensky announced the simplification of crossing the border with Poland.
🔹The Prime Minister of Poland called on Norway to share oil and gas revenues with Ukraine.
🔹Advisor to the President of the United States: the destruction of certain batches of weapons will not interfere with military assistance to Ukraine.
🔹The head of Energodar, who was injured in the explosion, is in intensive care.

***

forwarded from
Rybar

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The situation in the Nikolaev-Kherson direction as of 20.00 May 23, 2022

▪️The long-awaited counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the positions of the RF Armed Forces in the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions has so far been reduced to sporadic shelling along the entire line of contact and strengthening positions.

▪️Instead of full-fledged activity, only the work of the DRG is noted so far: the Armed Forces of Ukraine are most actively probing the defense of the RF Armed Forces near Aleksandrovka .

Army and tactical aviation of the Ukrainian Air Force operates on the positions of the RF Armed Forces from the airfields of Voznesensk and Dolgintsevo .

▪️Units of 80 odshbr, after being re-equipped, are being transferred to the Soledar direction. Territorial defense units trained at the Shiroky Lan training ground will be transferred to their positions in the Nikolaev region .

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

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

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

Post by blindpig » Tue May 24, 2022 11:44 am

Briefly about Ukraine. 05/23/2022
May 23, 22:07

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Briefly about Ukraine. 05/23/2022


1. Svetlodarsk.
The Svetlodar arc fell down. The village of Mironovsky was taken near Svetlodarsk. There are battles near Vozdvizhenka and Mironovka. The Svetlodarsk-Artemovsk highway is under threat. The Armed Forces unsuccessfully tried to undermine the dam of the Uglegorsk TPP.

2. Soledar.
After the capture of Vladimirovka, the RF Armed Forces began shelling the Artemovsk-Lysichansk highway, as a result of which the main communications line of the Severodonetsk grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was under direct threat. Fighting also continued in the Novaya Kamenka area.

3. Artemovsk.
The fighting continued at Pilipchatino. Rockets are being fired at the city. The enemy is concentrating troops on the western outskirts of Artemovsk.

4. Golden.
The troops broke through the fortified area and reached the outskirts of Zolote. A cleansing of Kamyshevakhi is also underway. There are also battles in the area of ​​Viktorovka and Vrubovka. There are unconfirmed reports of the occupation of Toshkovka. The Gorsko-Golden fortified area did not last long.

5. Severodonetsk.
The assault on the city continues. The fighting has already moved to urban areas. On the other hand, there are more and more complaints from the military that they are not being supplied, as well as chatter about the fact that Zelensky does not allow Zaluzhny to withdraw troops from the operational bag.

6. Red Estuary.
The assault on the city began. Our troops entered from the north and began to occupy city blocks. Artillery and aviation have been working very actively since morning. The enemy retreated to the southern part of the city. A large number of prisoners are reported.

7. Raisin.
Fighting continued in the area of ​​Bolshaya Kamyshevakha, Kurulka and Dolgenkiy. The battles here so far are more of a positional character.

8. Kharkov.
Medium-intensity battles continued in the area of ​​Liptsy, Ternovoye, Rubizhnoye. After the enemy transferred part of his forces from near Kharkov to Izyum, the front here stabilized and the progress was more of a tactical nature.

9. Avdiivka.
Fighting near the Avdeevka-Konstantinovka highway. There is a probing of the enemy defenses on the outskirts of Avdeevka and in the area of ​​Krasnogorovka. After occupying Novoselovka, the troops continue fighting on the outskirts of New York.

10. Zaporozhye.
On the line Kamenskoe-Orekhovo-Gulyaipole-Velikaya Novoseloveka without changes. The enemy expects that soon this direction will be activated and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will go on the offensive either on Zaporozhye or in the Gulyai-Polye area.

Marinka, Nikolaev, Odessa - no change.

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

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7631892.html

Lavrov on relations with the West
May 23, 23:31

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From Lavrov's recent statements on current relations between the Russian Federation and the West

1. Russia must stop in any way dependent on the supply of anything from the West for critical industries.
2. If the West wants to offer something in terms of resuming relations with Russia, then we will seriously consider whether we need it or not.
3. Western countries have signed that they cannot and do not know how to live as written in the UN Charter.
4. The Russian Federation will rely only on itself and on those countries that have proven their reliability and do not dance to someone else's tune.
5. The West will be forced to admit that it is impossible to constantly attack Russia's vital interests with impunity.
6. Russia's economic ties with China will now grow even faster as the West assumes a dictatorial position.
7. The UN Human Rights Council discredited itself long before the current situation around Ukraine began.

All within the framework of the ideological formation of a break with the West at the current historical stage.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7632131.html

Svetlodarsk liberated
May 24, 10:48

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Good news this morning.
The city of Svetlodarsk was liberated. Like Mironovskoye, Svetlodarsk was liberated by Wagner PMC.

Under the threat of encirclement (after the loss of Troitsky and Mironovsky), the enemy was forced to abandon their positions in the Svetlodarsk area and retreat in the direction of Artemovsk. Yesterday an unsuccessful attempt was made to blow up the dam of the Uglegorsk TPP.
Thus, today the Svetlodarskaya Bulge, which existed for more than 7 years and which could not be cut off during the battle for Debaltseve in 2015, is gone. Then there were plans for a large cauldron, which assumed a large cauldron in the direction of Artemovsk. As a result, only a small boiler was obtained after breaking through Uglegorsk and closing the ring at Logvinovo (and even then, part of the APU grouping was able to escape with vegetable gardens). After 7 years, the Svetlodar fortified area somehow routinely came under the control of our troops without big fights.

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PMCs in Svetlodarsk.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7632608.html

Nazism needs to be 100% eradicated
May 24, 12:14 p.m.

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A long interview with Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Patrushev about the new Cold War with the West and the war in Ukraine.

Nazism needs to be 100% eradicated

Nikolai Platonovich, the United States and other Western states are openly demonizing Russia, switching to direct insults. What is it connected with?

Nikolai Patrushev: - The style of the Anglo-Saxons has not changed for centuries. And so today they continue to dictate their terms to the world, boorishly trampling on the sovereign rights of states. Covering their actions with words about the struggle for human rights, freedom and democracy, they are actually implementing the doctrine of the "golden billion", which suggests that a limited number of people can flourish in this world. The destiny of the rest, as they believe, is to bend their backs in the name of their goal.
In order to increase the welfare of a handful of magnates in the City of London and Wall Street, the governments of the United States and England, controlled by big capital, are creating an economic crisis in the world, dooming millions of people in Africa, Asia and Latin America to starvation, limiting their access to grain, fertilizers and energy resources. By their actions they are provoking unemployment and a migration catastrophe in Europe. Uninterested in the prosperity of European states, they are doing everything to make them disappear from the pedestal of economically developed countries. And for unconditional control over this region, the Europeans were put on a chair with two legs called NATO and the EU, disdainfully watching how they balance.

– Today, it is increasingly being said that Western pharmaceutical companies are interested in the spread of dangerous diseases and in the daily dependence of mankind on drugs...

– Some experts express an opinion about the man-made coronavirus infection, believing that it could be created in the Pentagon laboratories with the assistance of largest multinational pharmaceutical companies. The funds of the Clintons, Rockefellers, Soros and Biden were involved in this work under state guarantees. Instead of caring for the health of mankind, Washington spends billions on the study of new pathogens. In addition, Western medicine is increasingly practicing genetic engineering, synthetic biology methods, thereby blurring the line between artificial and natural.

- Washington is hatching plans to recognize Russia as a terrorist country, some countries like Lithuania are already officially assigning such a status to Russia ...

- As they say, even a hat burns on a thief. Today it is easier to say which of the largest international terrorist organizations did not arise with American assistance. The United States widely uses them as an instrument of geopolitical confrontation, including with our country. Back in the mid-1980s, under the control of American intelligence services, Al-Qaeda was created on Afghan soil (banned in the Russian Federation) to counter the Soviet Union. In the 1990s, the United States created the Taliban movement to influence Afghanistan and Central Asia (banned in the Russian Federation).
Guided by their supposedly "national interests", the United States overthrew objectionable regimes in Libya, Iraq by force of arms, and tried to do it in Syria. And the main striking force in all cases is radical groups, the further unification of which led to the creation of a terrorist monster called the Islamic State (banned in the Russian Federation), following Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, which got out of control of the Americans.
It is also known about Washington's warm relations with neo-Nazi thugs in Ukraine.

— There is still a lot of controversy about neo-Nazis in Ukraine. In the West they unanimously repeat that they are not there. President Biden, asking Congress for billions of dollars in arms supplies to Ukraine, calls this country the front line of the struggle for freedom ...

- Probably, Westerners will not take off their rose-colored glasses until the brutalized Ukrainian thugs start to rage on their streets. By the way, not only in Europe. Remember the recent shooting in American Buffalo. I would like to ask the Americans what is the difference between a neo-Nazi who shoots people in a supermarket and the Azov militants (banned in the Russian Federation), who humiliated and destroyed the civilian population of Donbass every day, year after year.

What is meant by denazification? There has been a lot of talk about it in recent months, but not everyone understands this term.

Everything will become clear if you remember the history. During the Potsdam Conference, the USSR, the USA and Britain signed an agreement on the eradication of German militarism and Nazism. Denazification meant a number of measures. In addition to punishing Nazi criminals, the laws of the Third Reich were repealed, which legalized discrimination based on race, nationality, language, religion, and political beliefs. Nazi and militaristic doctrines were eliminated from school education.
Our country set such goals in 1945, and we are setting the same goals now, freeing Ukraine from neo-Nazism. However, at that time England and the USA were with us. Today, these countries have taken a different position, supporting Nazism and acting aggressively against most countries of the world.
We are not chasing deadlines. Nazism must either be 100% eradicated, or it will rear its head in a few years, and in an even uglier form.

- Some of our readers sometimes express concern, as they write, about "the delay in the timing of the special operation in Ukraine."

We are not chasing deadlines. Nazism must either be 100% eradicated, or it will rear its head in a few years, and in an even uglier form.

- How do you assess the chances of a successful completion of the special operation?

- All the goals set by the President of Russia will be fulfilled. It cannot be otherwise, since truth, including historical truth, is on our side. Not for nothing that General Skobelev once said that only our country can afford such a luxury as to fight out of a sense of compassion. Compassion, justice, dignity are powerful unifying ideas that we have always put and will put at the forefront.

- And what fate awaits Ukraine? Will it survive as a state?

- The fate of Ukraine will be determined by the people living on its territory. I would like to remind you that our country has never controlled the fate of sovereign powers. On the contrary, we helped them to defend their statehood. We supported the US during their civil war. France was given repeated assistance. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, they did not allow her to be humiliated, and during the First World War they saved Paris twice. It was the USSR that did not allow the British and Americans in 1945 to divide Germany into many states. It is well known about the decisive role of Moscow in the unification of Germany, which was most opposed by the French and the British. Russia played an equally important role in the history of Polish statehood. At the same time, today the West in every possible way obscures the contribution of our country to the preservation of other states.

- By the way, Finland, which now wants to join NATO, also how did the state form inside the Russian Empire?

- You're right. Moreover, Finland emerged from the Second World War, despite participating in it on the side of Germany, with minimal damage to itself thanks to the position of Moscow. Now, together with Sweden, Finland has been persuaded to join NATO, ostensibly for their own security. Turkey and Croatia, however, object, but, I think, all the same, Helsinki and Stockholm will be accepted into the bloc, because Washington and Brussels controlled by it decided so. The will of other peoples is not of interest to the leadership of the United States, although, I believe, many of the inhabitants of these countries understand what kind of adventure they are being pushed into.
NATO is not a defensive, but a purely aggressive offensive military bloc, joining it implies the automatic transfer of a significant part of its sovereignty to Washington. If the military infrastructure of the alliance expands on the territory of Finland and Sweden, Russia will perceive this as a direct threat to its own security and will be obliged to respond.

- NATO members persistently nod to the Finns and Swedes at Ukraine ...

“But the logic here is the opposite. It was the actual leadership of the NATO members by the Kyiv authorities that led to the catastrophic scenario. If Ukraine had remained independent, and not controlled by the current puppet regime, obsessed with the idea of ​​joining NATO and the EU, then it would have long ago expelled all Nazi evil spirits from its land. Meanwhile, an endlessly smoldering conflict in this country is seen as an ideal scenario for the entire North Atlantic alliance led by the United States. The West needs Ukraine as a counterbalance to Russia, and also as a testing ground for the disposal of obsolete weapons. By fueling hostilities, the United States is pumping money into its military-industrial complex, again, as in the wars of the 20th century, remaining on the winning side. At the same time, the United States considers the inhabitants of Ukraine as a consumable, which has no place in the very “golden billion”.

Speaking of billions. Zelensky says that Russia must pay reparations to Ukraine...

- It is Russia that has the right to demand reparations from the countries that sponsored the Nazis in Ukraine and the criminal Kiev regime. The DPR and LPR should demand compensation from them for all material damage for 8 years of aggression. And the Ukrainian people themselves deserve reparations from the main instigators of the conflict, i.e. the United States and England, which force Ukrainians to fight, support neo-Nazis, supply them with weapons, send their military advisers and mercenaries.
Many Ukrainians, unfortunately, still believe what the West and the Kyiv regime tell them. Sobering up will come sooner or later. They have yet to open their eyes and see that the country actually does not exist, that the gene pool of the people, its cultural memory are being destroyed by Westerners and replaced by rabid gender concepts and empty liberal values.

— Oblivion of history and rejection of their values, apparently, the trouble is not only for Ukrainians?

- Certainly. Last year I visited the Museum of the Great Patriotic War in Minsk. The guide shared with me her impressions of the visit of a group of students from the United States, who throughout the entire tour doubted whether they were being told the truth in the museum, because they naively believed that it was America that defeated Nazi Germany.
Unfortunately, some school teachers in our country adhere to such a false version of fateful events. Distort the facts and many tutorials. The subject of the heroism of the Soviet people during the years of the Great Patriotic War is given little time in history lessons, and in textbooks it is often described superficially. As a result, only a few high school students can name the names of those who won the Victory in 1945 at the cost of their own lives, and almost no one heard about the heroes of the First World War or the Patriotic War of 1812.

- What do you see as the reason?

- First of all, we need to look at the training of teaching staff. It's time to recall the thoughts of Ushinsky and Makarenko that the teacher shapes the personality of the student, and his vocation should not be the provision of services, but enlightenment, education and upbringing. Specialized universities should prepare future teachers as high-class masters, and not stamp them on an assembly line.
Teachers occupy a special place in the life of every citizen, therefore, arbitrary interpretation by individual teachers of world and national history, which undermines the authority of our country and programs the minds of children on the basis of false facts and myths, is unacceptable. The psychological manipulation of youth, the gap between generations, the distortion of historical truth - all this is incompatible with the professional vocation of a teacher.
It is impossible to push the issues of patriotic education of youth into extracurricular activities. In the reports, all this is described beautifully, but there is no result.

- I recall the catchphrase attributed to Bismarck that battles are won by teachers.

- In my opinion, the idea is certainly true. Especially in the conditions of the hybrid war, which is now deployed against Russia. And in it, teachers are at the forefront. There is a need for personal responsibility of the heads of educational institutions, whose graduates did not hold books on the heroism of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War, or have a vague idea of ​​the exploits of those who fought for the Motherland.
It is impossible to push the issues of patriotic education of youth into extracurricular activities. In the reports, all this is described beautifully, but there is no result. In some schools, including private schools, the word "patriotism" is considered obsolete.

How do you propose to change this situation?

- It is necessary to raise the authority of teachers who are true to their profession, devoting their lives to educating true patriots. The most important task today is the revival of historical traditions, as well as the protection of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values. To solve it, a systematic approach to upbringing and education is needed. There is a need to implement the state program in this area at all stages of a person's maturation and his formation as a citizen. A comprehensive model of this process should be developed.
At present, our students and teachers are actually squeezed out of the Western scientific and educational sphere. I believe it is advisable to abandon the so-called Bologna system of education and return to the experience of the world's best domestic educational model.
In addition, it is necessary to provide for a significant increase in the scale of the state order for the creation of works of literature and art, films and television programs aimed at preserving historical memory, instilling pride in our country and forming a mature civil society, clearly aware of the responsibility for its development and prosperity.
Only in this case, we will be able to successfully counter the threats and challenges that are formed by the collective West to influence the individual, group and public consciousness.

https://aif.ru/politics/world/pravda_na ... ecoperacii - цинк

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7632849.html

("traditional Russian values", well and good, but more good for the Russian people can be gotten by a return to socialism. But a functionary of the current regime will never say that.)

"On Peace Initiatives"
May 24, 12:53 p.m.

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Medvedev about peace initiatives in Ukraine, which the Italians have recently voiced.

About "peace initiatives"

The West has seized the itch to create "peace plans" that should lead to a settlement of the crisis in Ukraine. And it would be fine if it were about preparing options that somehow take into account the realities. But - no, it's just a pure stream of consciousness of European graphomaniacs.

Recently, Italy distinguished itself, which, according to the Italian press, through its Foreign Ministry, handed over to the UN Secretary General Guterres a four-stage plan for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine. It seems that it was prepared not by diplomats, but by local political scientists who have read a lot of provincial newspapers and operate only with Ukrainian fakes.

Here are some of those ideas.

1. Neutral status of Ukraine and unhindered accession to the EU.

You are right about neutral status. But about EU membership... Well, they know that this is a lie. No matter how much Kyiv entertains itself with dreams of immersing itself in a European idyll, it has no chance without NATO membership. Nobody is waiting for Ukraine in NATO now.
But it’s just that the European Union clearly doesn’t want to see it, it’s too costly and dangerous. Therefore, they offer surrogates. Enough of the refugees who have already been foolishly sheltered. Unless the crazy Polish rulers are ready to bargain on this subject in exchange for the western regions of Ukraine. Moreover, the crazy Balts are talking about Ukraine's accession to the EU to increase their own political weight, weakened by chronic Russophobic diarrhea.

2. The autonomy of Donbass while maintaining it within the framework of Ukraine.

Obvious nonsense and cheap projecting. Decisions about their fate in the Republic of Donbass were finally made and they will not return back. This is unacceptable for everyone who remembers the fate of the Minsk agreements and the killing of civilians in the LPR and DPR.

3. Full autonomy of Crimea within Ukraine.

This is completely direct rudeness against Russia, a threat to its territorial integrity and a pretext for starting a full-fledged war. There is not and never will be a political force in Russia that would even agree to discuss the fate of Crimea. It would be just a national betrayal.

There is no point in further analysis. All this is just an attempt to help Kyiv save at least some face...
However, Ukraine itself does not want to negotiate at all. They have long preferred to forget about the Russian draft peace treaty. It was as if he didn't exist at all. Calculation only on the flow of weapons and money from Western countries. War to the bitter end.

In vain.

Indeed, in the event of a change in the scenario of a military operation, the Ukrainian authorities and military command will not save even underground bunkers. And advertising visits “to Ukraine” of various dementia-prone grandfathers and exalted grandmothers will take place not in Kyiv, but on the border with Poland.

Therefore, if we offer peaceful initiatives, then those that are based on a sober calculation and reflect the current state of affairs. And such a document has long been handed over to Russia for discussion.

If peace proposals are created strictly in the interests of NATO and the Western world order, then such calls should simply be ignored. Simply put, send their authors in a certain direction. And work on to steadily achieve the goals of the special military operation.

https://t.me/boris_rozhin/50260 - zinc

In general, the proposal does not pass, which, in principle, was understandable anyway, since it simply offered the Russian Federation to capitulate.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7632982.html


Google Translator

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Russia Shoots Down Three Ukrainian Fighter Jets

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File photo of Ukrainian weapons destroyed by Russian forces. | Photo: Twitter/ @anadoluagency

Published 23 May 2022 (8 hours 22 minutes ago)

Russian forces also destroyed a large shipment of weapons and military equipment, which were heading to Donbas from the west of Ukraine via railway.

On Monday, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov confirmed that Russian forces shot down three Ukrainian fighter jets and 13 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) overnight.

While two Ukrainian SU-25 fighters were shot down in the Kherson region, one of them went down near Kharkov, he said.

"Russian forces also destroyed a large shipment of weapons and military equipment, which were heading to Donbas from the west of Ukraine via railway, with high-precision long-range sea-based missiles," the AA reported.

These weapons and equipment belonged to the Ukrainian 10th Mountain Assault Brigade, which is based at the Malin station in Zhitomir province.


Russian forces also destroyed two Ukrainian ballistic missiles Tochka-U and eight shells fired from the Smerch multiple rocket launcher.

"They eliminated five Grads and three ammunition depots of Ukrainian militants. They also managed to neutralize 73 checkpoints and 578 Ukrainian troop and equipment gathering centers," Konashenkov said.

Since Feb. 24, Russia has depleted Ukraine's war-fighting capabilities by destroying 177 aircraft, 125 helicopters, 990 UAVs, 319 air defense systems, 3,226 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 421 multiple rocket launchers, and 1,643 field artillery and mortar guns.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Rus ... -0009.html

Belarus Says Poland Has Aspiration for Western Ukraine

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Belarusian President warned of NATO and Poland's alleged intentions in Western Ukraine. May. 23, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@eabmcNews

Published 23 May 2022 (10 hours 15 minutes ago)

According to the Belarusian President, NATO and Poland have plans to take over Ukraine and Belarus.

The Belarusian President, Alexander Lukashenko warned about Western countries' potential attempts on dividing Ukraine because of the current military conflict in the European country.

During the Monday meeting held in Sochi with Russian President, Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko commented on their concerns about NATO and Polish politicians' behavior. He made the emphasis of the U.S.-led military bloc's move to agglutinate troops on the western borders of Ukraine with the Union States of Russia and Belarus.

“The politicians are taking steps to dismember Ukraine. We are worried that they, the Poles and NATO members, are ready to come out, to ‘help’ in this way, to take away, as before 1939, Western Ukraine,” said Lukashenko during the meeting.

He added that the West has “a similar strategy” regarding Western Belarus. “We are keeping our ears open,” said the Belarusian President. He added that he considers that Kiev might need Moscow and Minsk to help preserve Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

Last Sunday, Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Polish people would be given a special legal status in his country, as in his opinion “mentally, the Ukrainian and Polish people have been inseparable for a long time.” Zelensky's comments came following the statements made by the Polish President Andrzej Duda, who said about his hopes that there would be no borders between Poland and Ukraine in the future.


Lukashenko said earlier this month that “attempts to dismember Ukraine” represent “the most dangerous trend in Ukraine today,” adding that “thousands-strong units have already been created in order to enter Ukraine under the guise of peacekeepers.” The comments were made during the summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization – a Eurasian military alliance consisting of several former Soviet republics.

Lukashenko said that the West was not only seeking to “weaken Russia as much as possible” but also to make the conflict “blaze wider.” The Belarusian head of state continued to say that “if this is the idea, then probably no one will be able to set it aside.”

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

Ukraine Placed Heavy Weaponry at Two Odessa Schools - Russia

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Ukrainian forces have set up heavy armament in two schools of Odessa. May. 23, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@Mihoflowersy

Published 23 May 2022 (12 hours 11 minutes ago)

According to the Russian National Defense Management Center, the Ukrainian army has placed heavy weaponry in two of Odessa's schools.

On Monday, Mikhail Mizintsev, head of Russia’s National Defense Management Center, said that heavy armament was placed in two schools in the city of Odessa by the Ukrainian forces, armored vehicles, and multiple launch rocket systems are among the artillery set up.

"Militants of nationalist battalions and units of the armed forces of Ukraine, hiding behind the civilian population as a human shield, continue to use social infrastructure facilities to set up strongholds and deploy heavy weapons," said Mizintsev.

Ukraine's army has stationed firing positions in the installations of the Odessa schools No. 14 (56A, Krymskaya St.) and No. 71 (17A, Paustovsky St.), situating armored vehicles, artillery, and MLRS in the vicinities.

The official said that Ukrainian forces have installed strongholds and placed artillery and MLRS in Konstantinovka of the Donetsk People's Republic, at school No. 1 (58, Evropeiskaya St), in the educational and administrative buildings and the hostel of vocational school No. 39 (19 and 21, Gromova St.).

The Russian general said that the units of the Ukrainian forces have been keeping locals on the premises of the schools saying that they could ensure their security.

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

(This has been going on for eight years, but just as with the language laws the Western media audience knows nothing. More executives for 'the wall'.)

Russian Soldier Condemned to Life Imprisonment- Ukrainian Court

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Ukrainian court Monday sentenced a Russian soldier to life in prison. May. 23, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@Y_Mukai

Published 23 May 2022

The Ukrainian law court has sentenced a 21-year-old Russian soldier to life imprisonment.

A Russian soldier has been charged with killing an unarmed Ukrainian civilian. During the first war crimes trial held since the beginning of the armed conflict in Ukraine, the 21-year-old soldier was condemned by a Ukrainian jury to life imprisonment.

The Russian soldier, Vadim Shishimarin was charged with shooting in the head a 62-year-old Ukrainian civilian, in a village in the northeastern Sumy region at the beginning of the armed conflict. Judge Sergiy Agafonov said on Monday that “the court has found that Shishimarin is guilty and sentences him to life imprisonment.”

According to the Ukrainian judge, “the murder was committed with direct intent.” Last week, the young soldier declared to the court that he had shot the Ukrainian civilian under pressure from another soldier as they tried to retreat and escape back to Russia in a stolen car on February 28.

“I regret it. I regret it very much. I did not refuse and I am ready to accept any measures imposed,” said Shishimarin as he apologized and asked for forgiveness from Oleksandr Shelipov’s widow. The young Shishimarin observed the procedure silently from a reinforced glass box in the courtroom and showed no emotion as the verdict was read out in Ukrainian.


The lawyer taking Shishimarin’s case, Viktor Ovsyannikov, said that he would present an appeal to the verdict with a period of 30 days to do so. “This is the most severe sentence and any level-headed person would challenge it,” said Ovsyannikov. “I will ask for the cancellation of the court’s verdict”.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Rus ... -0024.html

(Ain't no telling if this guy is guilty or not. But given the known guilt of many of those Azov bastards coming up for trial in Donbass this must be viewed as the opening salvo in this theater of the propaganda war.)
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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

Post by blindpig » Tue May 24, 2022 10:54 pm

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Azov fighter posing in front of Nazi posters, Mariupol, Ukraine.

In the wake of Russian victory in Mariupol
By M. K. Bhadrakumar (Posted May 24, 2022)

Originally published: Indian Punchline on May 21, 2022b]

Thank God, Russia eschews any triumphalism over the surrender of the so-called neo-Nazi Azov regiment in the Azovstal factory complex in Mariupol. The Defence Ministry in Moscow announced on Friday that a total of 2,439 “Azov Nazis” and Ukrainian servicemen had laid down their arms since May 16, and that the entire Azovstal complex is now under control of Russian forces.

Russia sticks to its version that on April 21, President Putin handed down an order calling off the initially planned storming of the Azovstal plant, as he considered it pointless and ordered that the industrial zone around the plant be tightly sealed off so that “even a fly couldn’t get through.”

Kiev instead claims the “end of combat operations.” President Volodymyr Zelensky called it an “evacuation mission… supervised by our military and intelligence officers” with the involvement of “the most influential international mediators.”

The fog of war has thickened. Russian Duma previously considered to expressly forbid any exchange of prisoners, but has since stood down. The Russian and Ukrainian delegations are set to meet in Belarus on Monday.

Moscow is also keeping mum about the identity of any foreign military personnel who surrendered in Mariupol. In the past week, both U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley called their Russian counterparts Sergei Shoigu and Gen. Valery Gerasimov respectively for the first time since the war began in February.

The resumption of talks in Belarus after two months suggests that Kiev has a negotiating brief that carries the imprimatur of Washington and London. These are big ‘ifs’. The objectives behind the Russian operation are not yet fully realised. Putin has the final word, but he prefers to concentrate more on navigating the Russian economy through the western sanctions.

The situation on the Ukrainian front lines in Donbass remains very complex. There is intense fighting street to street, village to village, as Russian forces continue to advance on the main front lines. Russia is not committing large forces, since operation is highly tactical aimed at cleansing the region of its “Nazi filth” (to borrow from Putin) if Mariupol is any example.

Russian forces made a significant gain in capturing Izyum with the intention to advance further south-west towards the town of Barvenkovo, which is the main stronghold of the Ukrainian forces in Donbass region. They are on the outskirts of the city of Severodonetsk and clashes continue along the road leading to Lisichansk, which has over 10000 Ukrainian troops.

Again, after taking control of Popasnaya, Russian are surrounding the Ukrainian forces in various settlements and breaking through their defence lines in three directions. The U.S. mercenaries, many of whom are likely intelligence agents, continue to fight in the ranks of the Ukrainian forces and several of them have been killed. 35-year old Joseph Ward Clark’s documents revealed that he belonged to a unit of special forces. Russia is striking key and strategically important Ukrainian targets such as warehouses, railways and bridges.

In military terms, Kiev and its western advisors hoped to pin down substantial Russian forces in Mariupol, but were outmanoeuvred. The commander of the Azov army Svyatoslav “Kalyna” Palamar was taken from the Azovstal steel plant yesterday in a special Russian armoured vehicle. All this will demoralise the Ukrainian military.

Therefore, the U.S. announcement of additional $40 billion for Ukraine can be seen as a morale booster. The combined American military aid for Ukraine now stands at $54 billion, which is about 81 percent of Russia’s 2021 defence budget. But, as Americans would say, there’s nothing like free lunch. The Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022 signed by Biden in May is patterned after the legislation used during World War II to supply weapons to allied countries, stipulating that these aid packages are actually debts that need to be paid back by Ukraine eventually.

Washington can claim compensation if Ukraine fails to redeem the debt, such as with the supply of cheap agricultural products by Ukraine, preferential business deals for American companies, and so on.

The Biden Administration probably hopes to ensure that the interest groups at the top echelons of leadership in Kiev continue with the war effort. Ukraine is a notoriously corrupt country and war profiteering on a massive scale can be expected. Much of the aid will be stolen by corrupt officials.

Going forward, the U.S. diplomacy faces a difficult situation. The EU has virtually shelved the ban on Russian oil and stopped talking about ending Russian gas supplies. The political dynamics in Europe is shifting. After approving five previous sanctions packages against Russia with remarkable speed and unanimity, European leaders have reached the point at which the penalties against Russia carry increasing costs and heightened risk of damage to their own economies, and that is testing their unity.

France, Germany and Italy, amongst many other EU countries, have come to terms with the new Russian regime for payment for gas supplies that effectively bypasses EU sanctions. Potentially, the current delay in the EU oil sanctions will likely have a domino effect.

During the recent weeks, there has been a flurry of ceasefire talk (and negotiations with Moscow) by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Their remarks seem at cross-purposes with what the British and the Americans are saying. Simply put, the European continent’s three most powerful capitals have begun singing from a different song sheet, wanting the war to end quickly and everything to “return to normal” as soon as possible. The point is, divergences over allied war aims are emerging.

However, Russia is unlikely to agree to peace terms that fall short of its demands–a neutral Ukraine and Kiev’s acceptance of the status of Donbass region and Crimea. But then, the head of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov said on May 18 that Kherson and Zaporizhia regions should be merged with the Crimea. Earlier, the head of the Kherson region also demanded that the region should integrate into Russia. These are gentle reminders that if the war continues, Zelensky will risk harsher terms of settlement.

In the final analysis, the tragi-comedy of the Azovstal event underscores that there are no winners and losers in this war. The U.S. wants to win this war, whereas Russia is not fighting a war but is seeking a successful operation to meet certain specific objectives of national security. The Ukrainian and Russian peoples have fraternal bonds. Ukraine is Russia’s neighbourhood, whereas it is 10000 kms away from America. This disconnect threatens to prolong the war.

The Europeans don’t have fire in the belly anymore while speaking about the war, which for them is becoming a great disrupter of the manicured, predictable life in their continent, something that they least expected when Washington hustled them into the war.

Above all, this is an operation of necessity for Russia, not of choice. Paradoxically, the choice was entirely upto the U.S. and NATO to appreciate that there is nothing like absolute security. Wasn’t it the former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger who once said,

Absolute security for one state means absolute insecurity for all others.

https://mronline.org/2022/05/24/in-the- ... -mariupol/

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Lockheed Martin Gave Over $250k to Politicians as They Discussed Ukraine Bills

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President Joe Biden watches employees as he tours the Lockheed Martins Pike County Operations facility in Troy, Alabama, on May 3, 2022.
NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
BY Sharon Zhang, Truthout PUBLISHED May 23, 2022

As lawmakers in Congress debated billions of dollars’ worth of aid to Ukraine, including military aid, major defense contractor Lockheed Martin was spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on campaign donations, new disclosures show.

As reported by Insider, Lockheed Martin’s PAC spent $256,000 in April on donations to members of Congress, a gubernatorial campaign and PACs of both major parties. The company made 147 donations in total to the campaigns of federal lawmakers, including donations to five members of the Senate Armed Services Committee and 27 members of the House Armed Services Committee, both of which oversee military and defense spending.

Members of those committees who got donations from the company include conservative Democratic Senators Mark Kelly (Arizona) and Joe Manchin (West Virginia). House Armed Services Committee chair Rep. Adam Smith (D-Washington) also received a donation from the PAC. Congress discussed over 10 different bills related to Ukraine aid in April.

According to Insider, the donations and the number of lawmakers represent an unusually large amount of political spending for the company over the past few years. This indicates that Lockheed Martin’s PAC specifically timed the donations in order to coincide with negotiations on aid to Ukraine.

Defense contractors stood to benefit greatly from those bills, and have already seen their stocks rise precipitously since the Russian forces first invaded the country in late February.

Last month, lawmakers were discussing a bill that would provide Ukraine about $40 billion in aid. The bill, passed by Congress last week, provides $6 billion for Ukrainian military forces, nearly $4 billion to U.S. forces in the region, and $8.7 billion to the Pentagon to replace weapons that it has given Ukraine. About $1.1 billion goes toward weapons production in the U.S.

Those weapons include Javelin anti-tank and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles made by Lockheed Martin and Raytheon in a joint $309 million contract with the U.S. government — meaning that, even in just one contract, Lockheed Martin’s hundreds of thousands of dollars of donations has paid off handsomely.

It’s unclear how much Lockheed Martin will get from the spending, though experts say that more than half of foreign military spending typically goes toward defense contractors. These contractors have a strong grip on lawmakers; earlier this month, President Joe Biden visited a Lockheed Martin Javelin manufacturing facility in a display of the strong relationship between the company and federal lawmakers.

Lockheed Martin is the top defense contractor for the U.S., receiving tens of millions of dollars from the Department of Defense and appropriations bills each year, which helps pad their profits. The company is also a top contributor to lawmakers like Smith, who in turn vote against cuts to defense spending.

Lawmakers also have stock in defense contractors including Lockheed Martin, despite the fact that they rule on bills that have a direct impact on the company’s profits.

https://truthout.org/articles/lockheed- ... ine-bills/

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Flag Abuse And Other Bits On Ukraine
The Pentagon reports about the continuing efforts to sell new U.S. weapons to those nations which discard their old ones in Ukraine.

Austin Hosts Ukraine Defense Contact Group to Continue Support for Beleaguered Country https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stori ... leaguered/

To express the seriousness of the situation in Ukraine the Pentagon decided to hoist Ukraine's blue-above-yellow flag upside down.

Image

Hanging a flag upside down is a sign of either dire distress or cultural ignorance. Given that this was a Pentagon event the later is the more likely to be the case.

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The Baltic nutters have a another great and of course completely impractical idea.

UK backs Lithuania’s plan to lift Russian blockade of Ukraine grain https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... a-blockade

Britain has backed in principle a proposal by Lithuania for a naval coalition “of the willing” to lift the Russian Black Sea blockade on Ukrainian grain exports.
The Lithuanian foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, proposed the plan during talks with the UK foreign secretary, Liz Truss, on Monday in London.

“Time is very very short. We are closing in on a new harvest and there is no other practical way of exporting the grain except through the Black Sea port of Odesa,” he told the Guardian. “There is no way of storing this grain and no other adequate alternative route. It is imperative that we show vulnerable countries we are prepared to take the steps that are needed to feed the world.”

Landsbergis proposed that a naval escort operation – not run by Nato – could protect the grain ships as they headed through the Black Sea and past Russian warships. He suggested that, apart from Britain, countries that were affected by the potential loss of grain such as Egypt could provide the necessary protection.
...
He said Ukraine needed to export 80m tonnes of wheat alone this year and the only option was through Odessa.


Let me help Mr. Landsbergis with some facts:

*The port of Odesa is blocked by Ukraine, not by Russia.
*Ukraine does not have 80 million tons of wheat to export. In a good year the total grain production in Ukraine is 80 million tons. Some 50% of that is corn and some 40% wheat. Only two-third of that will be exported.
*The Ukraine is currently exporting 1.5 million tons of grains per month. Most of that is going through Romania.
*Given that this years planting did not go as planned the Ukraine will hardly have any wheat to export later this year.


Still some know-nothing falls for Landsbergis' scheme:

After meeting Landsbergis, Truss said the UK would want British naval ships to join the escort if the practicalities could be sorted, including demining the harbour and providing Ukraine with longer-range weapons to defend the harbour from Russian attack. The UK is in discussions with allies about the plan and it would probably need US agreement to be activated.
Truss said: “What we need to do is deal with this global food security issue and the UK is working on an urgent solution to get the grain out of Ukraine”.

The Ukraine is only number 5 of the largest wheat exporters with some 8% market share. Russia, the global wheat exporter no. 1, will have a record crop this year. The global food security issue is thereby a question of price and accessibility, not of the globally available quantity.


I find Liz Truss' point of "providing Ukraine with longer-range weapons to defend the harbour" quite interesting. Didn't the Ukraine claim that it hit the Russian ship Moskva with two Ukrainian made cruise missiles? If it really did so it already has the longer-range weapons to hit Russian ships. Is Truss leaking that the Ukraine lied about those missile hits?

The whole idea of sending an armed escort convoy and long range weapons is just nuts. What Ukraine would need are not only missiles but targeting data and radar with which that can be acquired. Unfortunately radar does emit electromagnetic waves which makes it detectable and vulnerable. Russia has already knocked out several radars in and around Odessa. What is Truss' plan to avoid that?

And don't get me going about Russia's submarines which are completely sufficient to sink anything in the Black Sea that Russia does not like to be there.

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Meanwhile the war is progressing in Russia's favor. I do not have time to show detailed maps of what is happening but there are two reasonable Youtube channels which provide good daily reports based on multiple sources. These are Military Summary and Defense Politics Aaaaasia.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUnc49 ... ToA/videos
https://www.youtube.com/c/DefensePoliticsAsia/videos

In the north Lyman has fallen with reports of Ukrainian troops withdrawing after a short fight. In the east the Ukrainian held city Severodonetsk is mostly isolated and now under fierce attack. Several more towns around the Popasna bulge have been taken by the Russian side. South of it the city Svetlodarsk has fallen after the Ukrainian tried but failed to destroy a nearby dam. The Ukrainian troops retreated without a fight.

Instead of holding the lines by all means Ukrainian units now seem more interested in running away. That is more healthy for them and also solves their serious supply issues. Like other supply lines the Bakhmut-Lisichansk road is now under Russian fire control. This video shows what that means.

What we are seeing now are the effects of nearly three months of Russian artillery war. The Ukrainian troops at the frontline have been ground down and those who are left are moving out before being destroyed too. The front begins to move at several points. When those points merge we may next see the tactical deep battle phase of a classic Russian deep operation:

Deep battle envisaged the breaking of the enemy's forward defenses, or tactical zones, through combined arms assaults, which would be followed up by fresh uncommitted mobile operational reserves sent to exploit the strategic depth of an enemy front. The goal of a deep operation was to inflict a decisive strategic defeat on the enemy's logistical abilities and render the defence of their front more difficult, impossible, or indeed irrelevant. Unlike most other doctrines, deep battle stressed combined arms cooperation at all levels: strategic, operational, and tactical.
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It feels insane when Henry Kissing er is the only sane man in the room.

Henry Kissinger: Ukraine must give Russia territory

Veteran US statesman Henry Kissinger has urged the West to stop trying to inflict a crushing defeat on Russian forces in Ukraine, warning that it would have disastrous consequences for the long term stability of Europe.
The former US secretary of state and architect of the Cold War rapprochement between the US and China told a gathering in Davos that it would be fatal for the West to get swept up in the mood of the moment and forget the proper place of Russia in the European balance of power.

Dr Kissinger said the war must not be allowed to drag on for much longer, and came close to calling on the West to bully Ukraine into accepting negotiations on terms that fall very far short of its current war aims.
..
He told the World Economic Forum that Russia had been an essential part of Europe for 400 years and had been the guarantor of the European balance of power structure at critical times. European leaders should not lose sight of the longer term relationship, and nor should they risk pushing Russia into a permanent alliance with China.


It is likely too late to reverse the Russia-China alliance but I otherwise agree.

Posted by b on May 24, 2022 at 13:59 UTC | Permalink

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/05/f ... .html#more

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Briefly about Ukraine 24.05.2022
May 24, 22:42

Image

Briefly about Ukraine 24.05.2022

1. Svetlodarsk.
Today, the entire Svetlodarsk arc collapsed. The operational factor that existed for 7 years was dissolved in 1 day. The troops liberated Svetlodarsk, Lugansk. The enemy is still holding Novoluganskoye, but there are signs of preparations for a further withdrawal of troops. The enemy also lost the villages of Vozrozhdenie and Roty. To Artemovsk - 15-20 kilometers.

2. Artemovsk.
There is no assault on the city yet, although the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the city are already being fired upon by our artillery. The enemy is preparing the city for defense, and is also trying to hold on to Pilipchatino, preparing to withdraw to Pokrovsky, where he is preparing for a longer defense.

3. Soledar.
Fighting continued near Novaya Kamenka, Stryapovka and in the direction of Yakovlevka. There is no assault on Soledar yet. The road north of Soledar is increasingly being bombarded by artillery. The enemy admits supply problems, but continues to use the Soledar-Lysichansk highway.

4. Avdiivka.
The DPR army announced that it would not storm Avdiivka head-on, but would occupy it bypassing and blocking Avdiivka. Now the fighting is going on in the area of ​​Kamenka, Novselovka-2 and Krasnogorovka. Fighting also continues on the outskirts of New York.

5. Gorskoe-Zolotoe.
The cleansing of Kamyshevakhi and the fighting on the southern outskirts of Zolote continue. Fighting continues in Toshkovka. It is reported that Lipovoye has been occupied by our troops. The position of the enemy in the Gorsko-Golden fortified area worsened again.

6. Severdonetsk.
Fighting continues on the outskirts of the city. The enemy also reports the resumption of active fighting near Belogorovka, which implies that the Russian Armed Forces have accumulated forces on the other side of the Seversky Donets to resume fighting for the village. The loss of Belogorovka threatens to quickly cut off Severdonetsk and Lisichansk from the main group.

7. Slavyansk.
During the day, the battles for Krasny Liman continued. More than half of the city has been liberated. The enemy suffered heavy losses in killed and captured. It can be expected that the remnants of the AFU grouping in Krasny Liman will soon retreat beyond the Seversky Donets. Krasny Lyman will most likely be taken within 1-3 days.

8. Raisins.
Fighting continued in the area of ​​Kamyshevakhi, Dolgenkiy and Kurulka. The enemy notes that the RF Armed Forces are now accumulating forces in this direction to develop the offensive. Attempts to counterattack the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the flank of the Izyum group were not successful.

9. Kharkov.
Fighting continued on the lines of Cossack Lopan, Liptsy, Ternovaya, Rubizhnoye. In general, tendencies towards positionality prevail here.

10. Marinka, Zaporozhye, Vuhledar, Nikolaev and Odessa - no change.
In the medium term, an intensification of hostilities is expected in the Zaporizhia and Nikolaev directions, as well as new attempts by Ukraine to attack the island of Serpents.

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

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7634223.html

Google Translator

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From Cassad's Telegram account:

***

forwarded from
Rybar
❗️🇬🇧🇺🇦Offensive on Donbass: the situation in the east of Ukraine by the end of May 24, 2022

🔻Allied forces continue their successful offensive from Popasna in several directions.

▪️In the afternoon, units of the NM LPR and PMC Wagner completely took control of Svetlodarsk. The Ukrainian authorities acknowledged the loss of the settlement.

For many years the city was the central node of the Svetlodarskaya arc. It was not possible to break through it during the offensive on Debaltseve in 2015, over the next 7 years there were clashes along it.

Now one of the most important fortified areas of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donbas has ceased to exist.

▪️Parts of the Allied forces are moving towards Bakhmut (Artemovsk). The settlements of Mironovka, Vozrozhdeniye, Roty, Krinichnoye, Vozdvizhenka and Mironovka were taken.

▪️Clashes continue in Vrubovka and Vasilyevka, the supply of the Severodonetsk grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine along the Bakhmut- Lysichansk highway has been completely stopped. There are fights in Pilipchatino.

▪️Units of the Allied Forces continue to advance on the outskirts of Kamyshevakhi and Orekhovo. After their capture, the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Zolote will be completely surrounded.

🔻The advanced units of the RF Armed Forces continue the assault on Liman.

▪️During the fighting, the advancing Russian units took control of most of the city. The Zeleny Klin microdistrict was taken .

▪️The remnants of the Ukrainian garrison have retreated behind the railroad and are trying to gain a foothold in the southern regions of the settlement.

🔻In the north of the Kharkov region, the RF Armed Forces regained control over the settlement. Ternovoe. Russian artillery and missile troops are attacking the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the vicinity of Kharkov and on the outskirts of the border.

🔻Street fighting continues in Severodonetsk .

Image

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forwarded from
Voenkor Kitten Z
Russian troops are advancing in the city limits of Krasny Liman, suppressing pockets of enemy resistance, in whose actions doom comes through. The approach of reserves is excluded, and the defense of the city in the conditions of the advancing units of the RF Armed Forces loses all meaning.

In the second half of May 24, scattered enemy groups tried to respond in the area of ​​​​the hangars, but this fire was ineffective, the firing points of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were effectively suppressed.

The prisoners note that the commanders of individual units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Liman area were tasked with breaking through in the direction of Slavyansk, where they would join up with the backbone forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The morale in the Ukrainian units is depressed. The rank and file and junior commanders do not see any prospects for continuing resistance in conditions when the strongholds are cut off from the main defense forces, deprived of communications and combat control.

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Detector
Detector Exclusive .

An interesting photo was found as a result of an investigation of an office computer belonging to an employee of the SBU Department for the Kherson region Bezukh D.O.

The frame shows representatives of the still active special service with a map of Ukraine, the borders of which include the territories of the Rostov and Belgorod regions, the Krasnodar Territory, the Republic of Crimea, parts of the Kursk and Voronezh regions,
as well as the southern regions of Belarus.

The likely shooting date is December 13, 2021,
which once again confirms the reality of the threats emanating from Kiev.
It is noteworthy that one of the 1919 maps presented at the Paris Peace Conference was taken as the basis for the Ukrainian poster. In general, one more proof of the aggressive and far-reaching plans to create a "new just Ukrainian world", including at the expense of the territories of the states of the fraternal Slavic peoples.
167.3Kviews
15:11

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Сolonelcassad
Rumors about the approach of the era of cannibalism in the cellars of Azovstal turned out to be greatly exaggerated. At least in relation to the Nazis from Azov. According to the testimonies of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Nazis kept the main part of the havka and at the time of the surrender they still had a supply of food and water to stretch it for some time (it is still difficult to give an estimate). In general, another illustration of the simple fact that Azvostal surrendered before exhausting all possible resistance resources - there were personnel, there was ammunition for small arms, there was food and water. There was a problem with medicines, yes - in the end they died from sepsis. But how could this stop the real Aryans?

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Operation Z: Military Correspondents of the Russian Spring
0:35
‼️🇬🇧Assault on the Liman: latest information from the front

The troops of the "Brave" with the support of artillery and aviation continue to assault the Krasny Liman in the DPR. The advance is significant - more than half of the city is occupied, Ukrainian forces are gradually rolling back to the southern part of the city.
The initial information about hundreds of captured soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is confirmed.

"Prisoners from the 79th Airborne Assault Brigade, the 24th Mechanized Brigade, the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade and a large number of territorial defense. They also report captured Nazis from the Donbass National Battalion. There
is no exact number yet, but it is really close to 500. At least more than 200 have already been sent to places of detention, and even more of those who have not yet been delivered,” our comrades from the scene report.
t.me/RVvoenkor

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Сolonelcassad
The whining of the relatives of the soldiers of the 115th brigade is gaining momentum. First, about the heavy losses in the Donbass, and now about the fact that they were accused of desertion.
The person involved in the video herself says that her husband wants to live for Ukraine (he does not want to die for Ukraine) and raised a rebellion.

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Сolonelcassad
A Canadian journalist has already confirmed that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have withdrawn from the village of Vozrozhdeniye, and our troops are now already 15 kilometers from Artemovsk. It is important to understand that having lost Soledar or Artemovsk, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will actually lose everything that is located north of these cities, the normal groupings defending Severodonetsk, Lisichansk and the same fortified area Gorskoe-Zolotoe will not be able to retreat. All this will be in the operational bag. It is unrealistic to be supplied through Seversk.

https://t.me/greatrussia1/8898
Telegram
Great Russia
Canadian journalist Neil Hauer from the scene confirms the capture of the village of Vozrozhdenie by the Russian Armed Forces and the subsequent advance to the north. Thus, the allied forces are already less than 15 km from Bakhmut.

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Сolonelcassad
On May 24, 2022, a court in the city of Dnepropetrovsk (under the control of the Kyiv authorities) sentenced left-wing activist, anti-fascist Alexander Matyushenko.

Alexander received 3 years in prison on charges of "encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine" (Article 110 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

This is the first verdict in cases of arrested leftists and dissidents in Ukraine.

Mass arrests and repressions in Ukraine began on February 27, 2022 with the arrest by the Nazi formations and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) of the communist brothers Kononovich.

March 3 was arrested and severely beaten, along with his wife Maria, Alexander Matyushenko.

Initially, the SBU accused Alexander of "waging an aggressive war" (Article 437, up to 12 years in prison).

But then, realizing that it is very difficult to prove the "waging of war" to Alexander, who never fought, even in the atmosphere of "patriotic" hysteria that now reigns in Ukraine, the prosecutor's office replaced article 437 with 110.

Under article 110 in Ukraine in the last 8 years, massively accuse journalists and bloggers who speak critically about the situation in Ukraine.

According to our information, negotiations are underway on the exchange of Oleksandr and other repressed Ukrainians for captured Ukrainian soldiers.

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Rybar
🇫🇷🇺🇦💀"The best French sniper" left Ukraine

The most popular French mercenary of the "International Legion", 25-year-old businessman Ernesto Barbieri from Courchevel left Ukraine, as reported in his social networks. Like other popular mercenaries, Ernesto promised to " fight to the end for the freedom of Ukraine ", but fled the war zone "for family reasons".

▪️Ernesto claims to have been in the military since the age of 17. He served in the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade of the French Armed Forces in the elite unit "Alpine Rifles" . Claims that he then joined the "French Foreign Legion", in which he fought in Afghanistan and Mali .

▪️However, the leadership of the "French Legion" accused Ernesto of using their name for personal purposes, saying that the Frenchman had not even completed a four-month training course .

▪️In France, Ernesto founded Sapphire Consierge, a luxury property rental company. He leads a wild life, in 2019 he arranged a tour of Moscow clubs.

▪️He joined the Ukrainian "International Legion" in early March, allegedly bringing with him several comrades from the "French Legion". Featured in " Kim's Lists " published by us in April.

▪️Judging by the activity of Ernesto on Instagram, the Frenchman participated in the battles in the Kiev and Kharkov regions in March-May as a sniper. The Ukrainian military quickly dubbed him "the best shooter in all of France."

▪️He regularly posted footage and videos of hostilities captured on a GoPro camera, and also constantly collected donations , allegedly for the needs of his group.

Ernesto is currently in France and is about to return to business. The more intense the fighting in the Donbass, the less " elite foreign soldiers " in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
#mercenaries #Ukraine #France @rybar

https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin

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

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