Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part V
Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part V
Time for a new thread. Previous material can be found here: http://www.thebellforum.net/forums/view ... p?f=3&t=19
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Time to rethink
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 09/24/2023
With a blue and yellow cover that leaves no doubt about its point of view, The Economist, a medium that, as Lenin wrote more than a century ago “speaks for British millionaires,” which makes it follow “a very instructive line in relation to the war,” announces this week that it is “time to rethink.” To avoid doubts, truly impossible considering the design of the issue, the subtitle, “Helping Ukraine win a long war,” clarifies that there is no change in position in the editorial line or changes in objectives. The strategy remains the same, fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian and regardless of the enormous destruction that this may continue to cause in the country, but the tactics must change. The cover and central article of the latest issue of the British media is the most explicit, although it is not the only example of analysts,
Ukraine and its partners, mainly the United States and the United Kingdom - the two most important countries in terms of military training, tactics and intelligence of all Kiev's allies - had planned the current offensive as a unique opportunity in which to repeat the success exactly a year ago in Kharkiv and break the Russian defenses, putting Moscow on the ropes. Depending on the different degrees of fanaticism, optimism or willingness to cause thousands of casualties in the proxy army, the objective could differ from there: while the most moderate saw in a Ukrainian rapprochement with Crimea the way to force Russia to negotiate the return of the rest of the territory, the most radical even saw the possibility of expelling Russian troops from the Black Sea peninsula, an option so unrealistic that it has been repeatedly denied by Pentagon experts. With billions of dollars in budget - an investment that has prevented, according to Zelensky, half of Europe from being at risk of falling into the Kremlin's orbit -, hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles, thousands of soldiers trained abroad and a planned tactic In detail, the offensive was to be, if not definitive, then a turning point in the war.
Almost four months after its start, when the first Western tanks, flanked by a much larger number of equipment of Russian or Soviet design, first advanced towards the open fields of Zaporozhie, the turning point can be said to have been different from expected by Kiev. Media like The New York TimesThey have even stated that the brigades that participated in those first days of the failed assault lost a fifth of the material delivered by the West in that attempt, unsustainable losses that caused a rapid change in tactics. Ukraine abandoned armored columns in favor of smaller, more flexible groups, something Russian commanders on the ground noted after the first week of the offensive, but which the Western press did not admit until weeks later. This abrupt change in the way the offensive continues has brought kyiv all kinds of reproaches from its partners, who have come to blame Ukraine for being excessively allergic to casualties. NATO tactics had sent its subsidiary army into battle against an artillery power without the slightest air cover, conditions that, as Ukrainian commanders have publicly warned, the United States would never have accepted for its own soldiers. The value of the lives of the proxy army is noticeably lower than those of the own armies.
The change in tactics, which has eliminated from the means the large air attacks, with drones and artillery that filled the Zaporozhye fields with destroyed Ukrainian columns, has given the only successes of the Ukrainian offensive. Although in no way what Ukraine hoped to achieve, its troops have advanced towards Artyomovsk, again complicating the situation in the city, which Zelensky says he has a plan to vacate before the end of the year, and have managed to reach the first line of Russian defense in Zaporozhie, especially in the Rabotino area, where they are now trying to advance on Tokmak. Gone is the idea that the current offensive involved the fight for the coast of the Azov Sea or even the capture of Melitopol.
Almost four months after the start of the counteroffensive, the objectives are much more modest and the personnel casualties and material losses, although always a state secret, are high. In the Ukrainian case, rumors and questionable data offered by the Russian Federation are the only figures available, none of them sufficient to estimate the real casualties that have occurred as a result of the offensive. In the case of Russian casualties, recent reports from Mediazona , which since the beginning of the Russian invasion reported Russian casualties following obituaries and posts from relatives on social networks, indicate strikingly reduced numbers in recent months.
To the relatively low level of casualties we must add two economic data that have been recently published: the solvency of industrial production in the military sphere despite the sanctions and the announcement of an increase in military spending in the next budgets. All of this indicates not only that Russia is aware that the war will be long, but that it is in a position to fight it. In this context, and despite the evident wear and tear that necessarily exists in all the armies in the fray, the idea that a long war favored Ukraine has now remained the fiction that the European Union tried to install in the collective imagination while waiting for that their sanctions caused the Russian economy to collapse.
That long war is the reason why media like The Economist raise the need for tactical changes, not strategic ones. The objective has not changed and there is no will to move the military conflict to a diplomatic level. A negotiation under current conditions, with Ukraine in a position that is not one of strength and that would imply concessions, is out of the question. “Seeking a ceasefire or peace talks is useless,” the outlet states, adding that “Vladimir Putin shows no signs of wanting to negotiate and, even if he did, he could not be trusted to follow through with the deal.” Nine years after the signing of the first peace agreement to try to resolve the Ukrainian conflict, the first Minsk agreements of September 2014, the idea that it is Russia that is not going to comply with the agreements continues to be the main argument against the search for a negotiated solution. It helps, without a doubt, that Ukraine's actions throughout the entire Minsk process have not been recorded in the collective memory. Although even Kiev officials now boast of having refused to comply with the terms of those agreements, Russia remains guilty, in this case, of the Ukrainian non-compliance.
The elimination of everything related to the Ukrainian war before the arrival of Russian troops affects even those who choose the opposite path and defend the need for negotiation to stop the suffering caused by the war. This is the case of certain sectors of American realism that this week have been reflected in an article by Stephen Walt published in Foreign Policy, who appeals to morality to defend his position. From pro-Ukrainian positions, condemning the war as unprovoked aggression and blaming Russia for its outbreak, Walt is certain that Ukraine will not be able to expel Russian troops, so the moral calculation is simply not to prolong a suffering that is not going to achieve the result that would be desirable. This moral calculation does not include the situation of the population of Donbass and Crimea, who showed their rejection of Ukraine years ago and who have suffered, although in different ways, collective punishment because of that option. Donbass was militarily attacked in an action that has not deserved condemnation, while Crimea, defended by Russian troops, not by local militias,
If not even the basic rights of a part of the population that Ukraine and its partners claim to consider Ukrainian are to be considered a factor in the moral calculation of the war by the most moderate sectors, it is logical that the press is able to show that It is Vladimir Putin who is the obstacle to a negotiation. It can be debated whether Russia would accept the current separation line as a final resolution, something that would resemble the feared “Minsk-3” whose shadow extends practically from the Istanbul summit. The reality is that the most important territory for Moscow is Crimea and protecting it, stopping attacks like the one on Friday and finally obtaining official recognition of the peninsula's sovereignty could be presented by Russian authorities as a victory. The increase in territory would also be although the objectives of recovering the city of Kherson and the entire territory of Donbass were not met. Evidently, dreams beyond the current territory were left in the pipeline at the moment when the Russian offensive potential was extinguished in the spring of 2022. The facts and interests suggest that Russia, not Ukraine, would be less reluctant to sign an agreement . The steps taken in the last year and a half point in the same direction: it was not Moscow but kyiv that broke off the Istanbul negotiations and subsequently banned all negotiations with Vladimir Putin's administration. The insistence of war until the recovery of the last meter of Ukrainian territory according to the 1991 borders makes any negotiation with the Ukrainian side unfeasible,
Although not necessarily for the reasons it claims, the Western press is correct when it says the war will continue. Ukraine has openly chosen war until the desired end. The grace period waiting for a big success to justify continuing without changes has ended and even the loyal The Economistpoints to the failure of the counteroffensive. “Ukraine has liberated less than 0.25% of the territory that Russia occupied in June. The front line of almost a thousand kilometers has practically not changed,” he says to justify the need to introduce changes. The future promises of Zelensky, who assures that Ukraine will recover Artyomovsk and two more cities before the end of the year, or of Budanov, who announced that the offensive will not stop with the winter, are no longer enough. Nor are the words of Antony Blinken, who continues to repeat that Ukraine has recovered half of the territory captured by Russia, without specifying that practically all of these recoveries occurred in 2022, before the great flow of weapons for the current one began. counteroffensive. The optimism of the most fanatics has been reduced, while moderates appeal to the moral calculus of reducing suffering. In this context, there are two options: escalation or negotiation. This dilemma only leaves one option, since negotiation has been ruled out by the political authorities.
Continuing to fuel war in an increasingly dangerous way continues to be the preferred option for the great powers and the big media. This week, Foreign Affairs , for example, argues for the need to send “American advisors” to Ukraine and eliminate the limit on military personnel on the ground. Although the objective claims to be solely to train more Ukrainian soldiers, the danger of a growing number of American soldiers in a country at war with Russia should not escape, as it actually does, the authors of the article.
The option defended by The EconomistFor the long war it is different, although it must also be considered a form of escalation. Winter will make major offensives difficult, especially on the central front, Zaporozhie, so the media proposes a tactic of attacks on strategic Russian objectives that hinder their ability to continue the war. In other words, a change in tactics is proposed that stops prioritizing the recovery of territory in favor of another in search of hitting objectives that are more media and symbolic than effective in undermining the population's confidence in the Russian ability to defend the territory. It is no coincidence that this strategy coincides with the ideas of Kirilo Budanov, one of the main architects of the strategy of attacking the Russian rear. The strategy is also consistent with a comment made weeks ago by Mijailo Podolyak, who wrote that Ukraine's plans do not involve fighting for each town up to the 1991 borders. It seems evident that Ukraine has placed part of its hopes in its ability to destruction, not only in advancing over minefields. Hence the insistence on sending tactical missiles ATACMS from the United States or Taurus from Germany.
The escalation proposed by The Economist not only portends an increase in missile attacks on targets in the Russian rear, but also a general remilitarization of the continent justified by the possibility of reduced US military assistance. “In the long run, Europe will have to take on more weight. “That means strengthening its defense industry and reforming the European Union’s decision-making process so it can accept more members.” To the question of what to do , The Economist 's answer , which reflects the position of the political establishment , is the remilitarization of a Europe in which an open war against the largest and most populous country in the world is maintained, without the possibility of resolution. continent
https://slavyangrad.es/2023/09/24/28203/#more-28203
(I have previously stated that no one wants a long war. I was incorrect as I did not take into account the monstrous cynicism of the West, which seems to indeed fight 'to the last Ukrainian'. Shame on me for assuming rationality and humanity.)
Ukraine and the world
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 21/09/2023
Like every year since 2014, and especially since 2022, Ukraine has thoroughly prepared the week in which world diplomacy meets at the United Nations General Assembly. With reproaches exchanged about the lack of decisive success in the summer counteroffensive, the main Western bet for 2023, the main objective of Zelensky's executive was precisely to maintain the centrality that the Ukrainian issue acquired a year and a half ago. A prominence, which Kiev has achieved through a careful communication strategy and the favor of the Western media apparatus, willing to highlight Ukrainian suffering in a very different way from other more distant wars and in which the population is not European.
Managing to maintain that favor is the fundamental prerequisite to continue demanding the weapons and financing that make it possible for the Armed Forces of Ukraine to continue fighting and for the State to maintain at least part of its structure and its economy. In a war in which Ukraine claims to be fighting for its independence and sovereignty, the reality is precisely the opposite: kyiv's dependence on its partners is not only maximum, but growing. This implies the need to maintain the favor of Western countries and ensure that difficulties in the production of material and ammunition in European countries do not pose a supply problem and that war fatigue does not force Ukraine into a negotiation in which was forced to make a compromise.
Despite not corresponding to the correlation of forces or the situation on the ground, Ukraine has made it clear that the only result it is willing to accept is its complete victory, one in which the civil factor of the war is not taken into account. and there are no concessions of territory or rights to the population of those territories. Once again, Zelensky insisted on the idea that “all Russians” must leave Ukraine. It is possible that the Ukrainian president is referring only to Russian troops, although precedents suggest that it is not only that population but all those that identify with Russia that the Government wants to leave. Long before Russian troops violated Ukraine's borders, in a somewhat condescending way, Zelensky appealed to those people, “for the sake of their children,” to leave their homes and move to Russia. For a long time no one has hidden the goal of creating a purely nationalist Ukraine.
Even then, the intentions were clear. Now, the war has given Ukraine the unconditional support that it had been demanding for years to resolve the conflict, which precedes the arrival of Russian troops, unilaterally, without any commitment or concession. Ukraine's actions in the Minsk process are sufficient indication of the authoritarianism of the Ukrainian authorities. During the seven years of talks, Kiev never took steps towards the implementation of the road map, which it always considered unacceptable for not resolving the Crimea issue and for seeing the cultural, linguistic and political rights to Donbass as an unaffordable concession. The reality is that this minimal cultural autonomy destroyed the possibility of creating a unitary Ukraine, centralized and with nationalism imposed from above in the regions that have rejected it. The commitment, even when the counterpart was the recovery of the territory, was always beyond doubt. The war with Russia has significantly facilitated the Ukrainian narrative, which even before 2022 was based on the Russian aggression , but with the generalization of the conflict to the entire country has meant the arrival of the unconditional support that Kiev had been demanding for years.
That centrality that the war has acquired in Ukraine, which has left no room for other wars and other human suffering that occurs in places outside Europe, and the military, financial and political support that Kiev has acquired has also given it a sense of superiority in the ability to dictate the only acceptable terms for ending the war. For a State that absolutely depends on the constant and growing support of its allies, this arrogance is precisely the chosen strategy to continue demanding more support from its allied countries and also from those that are not. In the same way that the discourse of unity of the Ukrainian population, widely adopted by the press, prefers to forget the Ukrainian population that identifies with Russia and that has fought and is fighting against the Ukrainian Armed Forces,unity against the aggressor ignores that a large part of the countries on the planet have remained neutral. Among them are the two most populous countries, India and China, which have not only refused to impose sanctions on Russia, but have benefited from the economic opportunities brought about by Russia's need to redirect its products to markets far from its home country. traditionally a priority European market.
However, none of this prevents Ukraine from continuing to exploit the discourse of full national and international support for Ukraine. “Despite the differences of vision, the world is united in basic things: Russia has to lose, the reestablishment of the territorial integrity of Ukraine is imperative to the restoration of respect for international law,” he wrote, confusing the Western world and the world. , Mikhailo Podolyak after Zelensky's intervention. Hours earlier, the Foreign Minister of China, the second most populous country on the planet, had met with Sergey Lavrov in a meeting in which both agreed that the war cannot be resolved without taking into account Russian demands. What's more, a large part of the existing peace or negotiation proposals take into account issues such as Crimea,
None of that matters either to Ukrainian politicians or to the press that supports them. “Zelensky calls for unity in dramatic speech at the UN,” headlined CNN after the Ukrainian president's appearance at the United Nations General Assembly, in which he used each and every one of the main points of the Ukrainian narrative to demand more military aid to Ukraine and more sanctions and isolation of Russia. However, somewhat strangely, the Ukrainian president opened his speech with an unexpected note referring to nuclear weapons.
Zelensky, who although praised the non-proliferation strategy, also stated that “it should not be the only strategy to protect the world from this final war.” As the Ukrainian film director and nationalist activist Oleh Sentsov did in the past in his acceptance speech for the Sakharov Prize - a person who, it must not be forgotten, had fought for the elimination of nuclear weapons -, the Ukrainian president recalled, without much subtlety, Ukraine's nuclear renunciation. In a clear tone of reproach to his allies for forcing Kiev to renounce nuclear weapons that were not even its own but those of the Soviet Union and later Russia as a successor state, Zelensky stated that “Ukraine renounced what was the third largest nuclear arsenal. biggest in the world. At that time, "The world decided that Russia must become the guardian of that power." In reality, the codes for that weaponry were in Moscow, so that arsenal would have been useless without the transfer of those mechanisms, something that could even have been considered nuclear proliferation. Even so, Zelensky insisted in his speech that "history has shown that it was Russia that deserved nuclear disarmament most, back in the 90s. And Russia deserves it now, terrorists do not deserve to have nuclear weapons," the president stated. Ukraine in what appears to be a first step to suggest to its partners the installation of nuclear weapons on its territory as a defense. This is not the first time Zelensky has hinted at Ukraine's nuclear aspirations,conspiracy theory of the West, always ready to blind itself to the authoritarian and tremendously belligerent tendencies of its Ukrainian proxies.
In his speech, and in his subsequent media appearances in the United States, in which he has repeated ad nauseam that “evil cannot be trusted,” Zelensky also introduced other common aspects, such as deportation .of children - Ukraine has described as deportation, for example, the transfer of boys and girls from Donbass to spend the summer in Belarusian camps - the idea of using hunger as a weapon and the use of nuclear power plants as an element of blackmail. In a great projection exercise, Zelensky accused Russia of causing hunger in the third world with the blockade of Ukrainian grain which, as we have known thanks to data on shipments made during the year in which the Ukrainian Grain Initiative was in force, Black Sea, was mainly destined for countries like China, Spain and Turkey.
The third element, that of the use of nuclear power plants as an element of blackmail, is also, to say the least, curious. Once again Zelensky accused Russia of bombing the Zaporozhie nuclear power plant, the only nuclear power plant in Ukraine under Russian control and which has been bombed by Ukraine precisely to create a situation that would make its defense unviable. The hypocrisy of the Ukrainian president in this regard is blatant. However, with a televangelist tone similar to that of his boss, Joe Biden, who stated that “the road ahead will be long and difficult. But if we persevere, we will prevail. If we keep the faith, we will show that it is possible.” Empty speeches that only seek to maintain the status quo and force all those countries that have distanced themselves from Ukraine's intention to expand the war to the maximum to comply with the official version, an extreme simplification of the war in which good faces evil.
https://slavyangrad.es/2023/09/21/ucran ... more-28182
Zelensky's trip to North America and the state of the war
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 23/09/2023
Far from the exaggerated expectations that Ukraine always maintains regarding its actions abroad, Zelensky's visit to the United States has lacked the halo of unconditional support, optimism and victory that the Ukrainian president projected on his previous trip to North America, which took place in a much more favorable time for Ukrainian interests. The reality of national politics and the timing of next year's election campaign, in which the Ukrainian issue will be used as an argument both for and against Joe Biden's re-election, make it increasingly difficult to repeat the virtually complete consensus that greeted Zelensky with a standing ovation in his previous appearance before the US Congress. For obvious reasons - Canada welcomes the most nationalist Ukrainian diaspora and,
That is, without a doubt, the great concern of Zelensky, who wanted to present the current war in his country as a turning point in world history, a moment in which the world must rise to the occasion and supply what the world asks for . proxy army ready to fight for everyone. Hence, presenting Ukraine as the savior of the Western world, or at least of Europe, continues to be one of the main arguments of the Ukrainian discourse, which must exaggerate its political and geopolitical importance in order to guarantee itself the weapons with which to continue the war.
In that narrative that Zelensky's entourage has created with so much effort, the idea of certain victory intersects with that of inevitable defeat in the event of not obtaining the required material, something that would result in a catastrophic sequence for the European continent. Cynically taking up the always false but useful domino theory, which in the Cold War was repeated ad nauseam to justify coups d'état, open or covert military interventions or support for far-right dictators to prevent the fall of countries into the Soviet orbit , Ukraine has created a tremendously simple narrative, but one that remains effective in achieving its objectives.
“Putin's list of countries to destroy was long,” Zelensky said during his visit to the United States. "Until very recently. If Ukraine fell, half of Europe would have been at risk of falling into Moscow's sphere of influence,” he added despite there being not the slightest indication that there was any truth to his claims. The objective was none other than to exaggerate an imaginary threat to further exalt the American effort.
Unlike Russia, which publicly raised aspects such as the denazification or demilitarization of Ukraine as objectives of its military intervention and which it has never really been able to explain nor is it close to achieving, Kiev has been able to create a narrative according to which it must become the center from the political agenda and must receive the necessary weapons to defeat what Zelensky has described this week as “second Hitler.” The interest of the great Western powers in waging a proxy war against a historical enemy, Moscow, has made it possible that this simple and fallacious speech has been enough to launch a machinery that has made it possible for Ukraine to achieve its objectives little by little. politicians.
Faced with the criticism that has been raised for years about the issue of corruption, the reforms that Ukraine had to carry out to even achieve the status of a candidate country for entry into the European Union, the media advanced last week that Úrsula Von der Leyen prepares changes to facilitate the country's accession to the Union. Ukraine's entry into the European Union, even despite not meeting the conditions that have been demanded of other countries, seems only a matter of time. The argument, the same one that Kiev intends to use for its accession to NATO, somewhat more difficult, especially due to the enormous destruction of the country, is that Ukraine has paid the price in blood to achieve that objective.
The war has also managed to accelerate the process of continental separation between Berlin and Moscow, something that both kyiv and Washington had been fighting for for years. The explosions in the Nord Stream, still to be resolved after almost a year of investigations, are nothing more than the most graphic reflection of the end of an era in which the dialogue between the two great countries of Europe translated into an economic relationship that was always considered a threat to the United States. Ukraine, aware of being a good tool in this objective of breaking political and economic ties, exploited - metaphorically and perhaps literally - that possibility to its benefit. She did it before Russian troops got involved in the war and, of course,
In this time, Ukraine has also obtained, although not as quickly as it had demanded, a large part of the weapons it demanded. In wartime in Donbass, their wish list was limited to Javelin anti-tank systems or Bayraktar drones and no heavy weapons or anti-aircraft systems had yet made an appearance. Although Ukraine has always claimed to be fighting Russia, the difference between its opponent in the Donbass war and the army it has faced since February 24, 2022 is notable. kyiv has managed to send Leopard, Challenger tanks and other Western armor, it has received a significant number of Soviet-made fighters - sent by the countries of the former Warsaw Pact, who have taken advantage of the option of sending this ideologically uncomfortable weaponry to be replaced by something more in line with the times - long-range precision artillery, Patriot anti-aircraft systems, depleted uranium ammunition and even cluster bombs. Much of that list was considered a red line at the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war and is now delivered without even the weapons prohibited by some of Washington's partners being considered controversial.
Despite the social tendency to quickly lose interest in any topic and the loss of the central relevance of the Ukrainian issue for months in 2022, Ukraine continues to provide good publicity for politicians and celebrities of all kinds who want to promote themselves. Hence, visits to kyiv continue to be a way to initiate mandates or mark important dates and Zelensky continues to receive invitations to attend all types of political forums. During his visit to the United States, for example, Volodymyr Zelensky received an award from the Atlantic Council, the same organization that during his election campaign presented his arrival to power as a danger. Those were the times when candidate Zelensky's commitment speech made him a possible pro-Russian. The Ukrainian president's visits also usually coincide with big announcements. In this case, it was to be expected that the head of state of Ukraine could celebrate Biden's success in convincing Congress to expand the already million-dollar supply of weapons by $24 billion, amounts that have practically equaled the military budget. Russian. Even so, and despite the constant attempt to present Russian troops as ineffective, poorly trained and poorly equipped, Ukraine has not yet managed to balance capabilities on the battlefield, something that is being observed in the counteroffensive in the south of the country.
This has caused the need to demand more efforts from its partners. Months ago, Antony Blinken stated that Ukraine already had the necessary weapons and training to defeat Russia. The almost four months of offensive and constant Ukrainian demands for increased supplies deny that possibility. Ukraine's tactic to convince the most reluctant sectors to continue a practically eternal supply of weapons has been on this occasion to praise the investment that its military spending in Ukraine represents for the United States. “American investments in Ukrainian security and the global protection of freedom are working. One hundred percent. "Down to the last cent," said the Ukrainian president before proceeding to demand, once again, more weapons and more quickly.
During his trip, Zelensky has not been able to obtain either the increase in the budget for his army or some of the weapons that he had quickly demanded. These days, the United States has announced a new military assistance package to Ukraine - of a smaller amount than that announced a few days ago during Blinken's visit to Kiev - which highlights the arrival of the first Abrams tanks next week. kyiv will get more cluster munitions, anti-aircraft missiles and ammunition for its precious HIMARS. The White House's intention seemed not to be to announce the shipment of ATACMS tactical missiles, the latest wunderwaffewith which to defeat Russia in Crimea. Unblocking the delivery of these American missiles would also be the argument to pressure the German Government to deliver Taurus missiles to Ukraine, thus repeating the strategy with which Kiev got Olaf Scholz to agree to approve the shipment of Leopard tanks after the American approval of the future delivery. of their Abrams (which have not yet arrived, compared to the German tanks, which arrived months ago and some of which have already burned on the Zaporozhie front).
The United States' refusal to send long-range missiles and the delay in training and sending Western aviation are two important setbacks to Kiev's strategy, since these are weapons without which it knows it is unable to fight for Crimea. It is possible that, in the event of greater success in the counteroffensive, which is still struggling to break the Surovikin line and delve deeper into Russian territory in Zaporozhie, those deliveries would have been unlocked more quickly. It is also likely that the attack carried out yesterday, when Ukraine hit the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet with missiles, possibly British, is an example of what Ukraine is capable of doing with the weapons it has at its disposal, an argument for demand from the United States what it still denies it. With actions like this,
Western interest involved a rapid Ukrainian offensive in which control of Crimea would be called into question. The failure, at least momentary, of that plan has forced Zelensky to insist again on the possibility of catastrophe for Ukraine and the world if the country does not obtain the required weapons. “If we don't get the assistance, we will lose the war,” Zelensky said, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Ukraine's ability to change its discourse has been notable throughout this war. Depending on the needs and fundamentally as an argument to demand more weapons, kyiv went from denying the existence of casualties to warning of an unsustainable number due to the imbalance in artillery potential.
Now, after months of claiming to shoot down virtually all Russian missiles and drones, the need to draw attention to the issue of grain exports and prepare for possible attacks on energy infrastructure throughout the winter has made Ukraine show again the consequences of Russian missiles and demand more anti-aircraft ammunition from its partners. Likewise, Kiev is balancing between certain victory and the responsibility of its partners to avoid inevitable defeat, all in order to take the battle - not just sporadic attacks - to Crimea, the only political objective that Ukraine has not yet achieved. . For it, The Ukrainian proxy has not hesitated to be increasingly demanding and harsh with the countries that allow its army to continue fighting and provide it with the financing to pay the pensions of its elders. Yesterday, the Ukrainian Government described the latest US military assistance package as insufficient, more than 300 million dollars (to which we must add the more than 600 announced by Canada) which did not include the expected ATACMS. Minutes after that complaint, and after the attack on Sevastopol, the American media began to publish that the United States is now willing to send the missiles to Ukraine. kyiv continues its trend of demanding weapons from its partners until it achieves its objective.
https://slavyangrad.es/2023/09/23/el-vi ... la-guerra/
Google Translator
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Chronicle of a special military operation for September 23, 2023
September 23, 2023
Rybar
For several days in a row, Ukrainian formations have been carrying out massive attacks on Crimea . This time the port infrastructure of Sevastopol came under attack again .
The Ukrainian Armed Forces are gathering forces to the flanks of Bakhmut , preparing an attack on the city. There are battles near Kleshcheevka and Andreevka , but there are no changes. Russian troops also identified the first Swedish-made CV9040C infantry fighting vehicle in this direction, which they destroyed.
Positional battles in the landings continue in the Vremevsky and Zaporozhye sectors of the front. The enemy makes sorties from time to time in small infantry groups, but to no avail.
Missile attack of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Crimea
In the morning, Ukrainian formations again struck at the port infrastructure of Sevastopol . The enemy fired six Neptune anti-ship missiles from the Odessa region .
Berths No. 17 and 19 in the bays of Holland and Sukharnaya came under attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces , which were hit by two Neptunes, and the targets were the ships that were stationed there and were subject to decommissioning. The extent of the damage is still unknown.
According to preliminary data, the remaining missiles were shot down by air defense units. The fragments of one of them fell on Sukharnaya Balka (on the Internet this was mistaken for flying across the territory).
The enemy's attacks do not stop. Judging by the choice of objects not only in Crimea , but also in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions , the Ukrainian Armed Forces are pursuing the goal of disrupting control, command and communication systems.
Attempt to land the Ukrainian Armed Forces on a boat near Tarkhankut
Last night an interesting incident occurred at Cape Tarkhankut , which until now had not been known. Under the cover of darkness, a Ukrainian boat with a DRG of the Ukrainian Armed Forces again tried to land troops on Cape Tarkhankut.
The speedboat moved along the coast towards Chernomorskoye at low speed: the bet was made on stealth. However, the group was discovered by our border guards: a fighter opened fire on the craft. A shooting fight ensued, and the DRG was forced to retreat. The boat was escorted by a drone almost to the Odessa region .
In this situation, the reaction of the serviceman, who immediately opened fire on the DRG, is encouraging. However, the question arises as to how the boat passed so far from the Ukrainian shores undetected, given that in recent times attacks on the landing force were carried out almost immediately after they left the Odessa region.
Either the boat was sailing in pitch darkness without means of navigation and communication, or it was using gas production and drilling rigs in the Black Sea to provide logistics for the boats. The infrastructure on the towers makes it possible to place not only weapons and equipment there, but also supplies to accommodate advanced groups.
Using them to their advantage to attack Crimea is more a fact than a theory. Do not forget that this happened immediately after the attack on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol . All the sailors' efforts were focused on this, and the movement of the lone boat came as a surprise.
In the context of intensifying attacks on Crimea, such attempts to land and drop the DRG on Cape Tarkhankut , which is extremely convenient in this regard , will happen more and more often. Moreover, for many months the British intelligence services have been preparing the Main Intelligence Directorate and Special Operations Forces units specifically for the landing operation in Crimea.
The situation on the front line and combat operations
On September 22, 2023, Russian forces launched an attack on Kremenchuk . While the Ukrainian authorities urged citizens not to approach the impact site, chats were talking about what had landed at the amusement park. The Ferris wheel was indeed located nearby, but the area was hit by a shock wave.
At the address Gogol Street 2, open sources indicate a certain oncology clinic, which was deployed on the basis of a former military hospital and closed in 2008. Back in 2014-2015, the hospital was put in order, in 2016 the bunker and underground communications were updated , and photographs from 2018 quietly showed military equipment on the territory.
Members of the Ukrainian formations underwent recovery and rehabilitation in the hospital before returning to the front. It flew along them. To say that this is “the answer for Sevastopol” is somewhat incorrect, because military hospitals and clinics are no less important targets than headquarters and warehouses.
Exactly a year ago, we raised the topic of the justification of attacks on hospitals in Nikolaev and the Kharkov region : such actions sharply reduce the ability of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to restore combat effectiveness. There is no need to talk about any kind of mental anguish or conventions today: Ukrainians do not care at all about the death of the civilian population of Russia , and human rights activists work only for the benefit of Ukrainian propaganda, in every possible way forgiving them what is unforgivable to us.
I wonder how many adherents of the “we are not like that” ideology remain among Russians? Surely someone still thinks that we should play knighthood. Or not?
In the Starobelsky direction, fighting continues in the forests near Kremennaya . The artillery is working closely, destroying enemy positions and personnel. A similar situation is observed in the Sinkovka area .
In the Soledar direction, Ukrainian formations continue to fight for Kleshcheevka and Andreevka . The settlements themselves are in the “gray zone”, and the artillery and tanks of the Russian Armed Forces are actively working against enemy manpower.
Footage has appeared of an abandoned Swedish infantry fighting vehicle CV9040C near the Berkhovsky reservoir . The appearance of this type of armored vehicle in the Bakhmut direction indicates the transfer of a unit with the CV90 in service. Previously, Swedish vehicles were noted only in the Svatovsky sector , so this may be a unit that took part in the battles there.
Earlier we wrote that the forces of the 17th tank brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were redeployed to Bakhmut . It was restocked with equipment and people near Kharkov , and it was there that most of the Swedish infantry fighting vehicles were delivered. So, quite possibly, the picture shows the first confirmed loss of the 17th brigade near Bakhmut.
Positional clashes continue in the Donetsk direction . Crews of the Tornado MLRS are working on the remains of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ fortified area in the west of Marinka . In Avdeevka , the Russian Aerospace Forces targeted the location of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the industrial zone with an air-launched X-38 missile, destroying enemy personnel.
The situation in the Vremyevsky sector remains stable: Ukrainian formations continue to make up for losses in manpower and equipment. The Armed Forces of Ukraine carried out sporadic attacks near Staromayorsky and Priyutny , but they did not lead to anything. Russian artillery, in turn, is actively working on enemy strongholds, preventing him from rotating.
There are also no significant changes in the Orekhovsky sector : fighting continues in the plantings between Rabotino and Verbov . Artillery and unmanned aircraft are actively operating along the contact line. Neither side is taking any active action.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to transfer personnel and armored vehicles to the Kherson direction on the right bank of the Dnieper . An airstrike was carried out on one of these concentrations in the village of Lvovo in order to prevent the accumulation of enemy forces.
Shelling of rear areas and residential areas
The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to regularly shell the border areas of the Belgorod region . Today, Vyazovoe and Novaya Tavolzhanka came under fire from the Armed Forces of Ukraine several times , and the Nekhoteevka checkpoint was covered with mortar fire . In the evening the shelling of Shebekino began . In addition, Russian air defense intercepted a UAV in the Belgorod area .
Ukrainian formations continue to shell populated areas of the DPR every day . In the Kievsky district of Donetsk , due to damage to transformers, more than a thousand subscribers remain without electricity, and residential buildings in Kuibyshevsky were damaged .
In the Kirov region, the air defense system was activated, an enemy AGM-88 HARM missile was shot down, two people were injured, and destruction was recorded on the territory of the kindergarten. The Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out strikes, including Yasinovataya , Gorlovka and Makeevka , two people received shrapnel wounds in Ozeryanivka .
Ukrainian formations continue to fire dozens of shells daily along the left bank of the Kherson region . This time, the civilian infrastructure of Kakhovka , Staraya Zburevka , Korsunka and Krynoki came under enemy fire . In Novaya Kakhovka, as a result of a mortar attack on a bus stop, one person was killed and another was taken to the hospital in serious condition.
In the Zaporozhye region in the evening, Ukrainian formations tried to strike Berdyansk , but air defense systems intercepted enemy missiles.
Political events
How will the American shutdown affect support for Ukraine?
On Friday it became known that the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Republican Kevin McCarthy, was unable to bring up the party's defense spending bill for discussion. This happened due to opposition from the conservative layer of the Republican Party, which deliberately blocked the vote.
After the second attempt to pass defense spending failed, it became clear that a “shutdown” could occur as early as October 1 - a temporary cessation of the work of the US government that occurs when Congress fails to agree on funding for government activities. organs.
This circumstance has fueled rumors in the press and online that due to the suspension of government work, support for Ukraine will also be paused. This, however, is not the case. Yesterday, the Pentagon announced that it would continue to support Ukraine despite the shutdown, using the right to act in emergency situations.
In addition, as a safety net, during the break the United States will shift part of the responsibilities for supporting Ukraine to the “shoulders” of Europe . This is evidenced by the public statement of US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin , who called on the Europeans to supply the Ukrainian Armed Forces with more air defense systems.
Thus, this situation once again demonstrates that the United States is not going to stop supporting the Kyiv regime, at least under the current American administration.
About the supply of ATACMS missiles to Ukraine
Biden promised to supply Zelensky with a “Limited Batch” of ATACMS after the announcement of the next package of military supplies. The “ limited batch ” of ATACMS missiles numbers about 60 units and was delivered to Poland last month . Yesterday's news in Politico is only intended to legalize deliveries already made.
Another example of the legalization of already de facto arms supplies to Ukraine: The Wall Street Journal writes that Germany may transfer Taurus cruise missiles after the appearance of American ATACMS in the Armed Forces of Ukraine .
German long-range Taurus were delivered in a small batch by rail to Ukraine at the end of August , but the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not use them without the approval of Germany. And the information game in the media was needed in order to show how the Bundestag supposedly does not want escalation.
Now, having looked at the reaction of the Russian Federation (or rather, its absence) to the attacks on Crimea , Berlin decided that there would be no consequences for the country. And there is nothing to be surprised here. But if Atakms is more noticeable and easier to shoot down, then German missiles are essentially an analogue of Storm Shadow , which can hit a much greater distance. What this entails, we think, is unnecessary to explain.
In addition, the United States has appointed a special commission that will check the expenditure of American military assistance to Ukraine and control the allocated funds. The task force , led by Pentagon Inspector General Robert Storch, will operate in cooperation with USAID and the State Department .
Zelensky's statements about the elections
During his visit to Canada , Zelensky said that Ukrainian legislation allegedly prohibits holding elections during hostilities. According to him, it is impossible to ensure this now.
In fact, many observers believe that Ukrainian society, tired of fighting without much success and corruption, may simply not re-elect Zelensky . Moreover, many believe that he has serious rivals, including the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny .
About the ban of the UOC MP
Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk commented on the possible legislative ban on the canonical UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate. According to him, it is unlikely that such a bill will now be able to gain a majority of votes in the Ukrainian parliament, although it was introduced in December last year. According to Stefanchuk, if this initiative comes to a vote and fails, this will give rise to information pressure from Russia.
Secret negotiations between Russia and Great Britain
British media write that Great Britain and Russia have been regularly engaged in dialogue on issues of nuclear and general security, and food shortages in the world for a year and a half since the very beginning of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Such meetings are held periodically on the sidelines of major international events.
British diplomats confirmed this information , saying that they never raised the topic of peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, as this is a matter for the Ukrainian authorities.
New strategies for Ukraine
The Economist published an article suggesting that Ukraine might be wise to try to freeze the conflict and restore its economy to something similar to the country's condition in 2014, when fighting was taking place in the east. Journalists believe that this can provide more room for maneuver and subsequent victory in combat operations.
However, they also admit that given the country’s collapsed economy and the flight or death of the male population, this may be unrealistic. Moreover, the scale of the conflict is incomparably greater than during the so-called “ATO”.
Other options in The Economist called a final freeze in hostilities or a sharp resumption of hostilities next year after increasing technical potential with the help of Western countries.
Lavrov's speech at the UN
On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly , Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia is ready for peace negotiations on Ukraine, but is no longer ready to discuss an immediate ceasefire. In addition, the minister noted that the “peace formula” promoted by the Ukrainian authorities is unrealizable . This formula implies the return of Ukraine to the borders of 1991.
In addition, Lavrov noted that the Ukrainian part of the grain deal will resume as soon as obligations towards Russia begin to work.
Rybar
https://rybar.ru/hronika-speczialnoj-vo ... 2023-goda/
Google Translator
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Damage to the naval headquarters building
September 24, 9:57
Satellite photographs of damage to the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol.
Repairing the damage and assessing the cost of repairing the building are ongoing.
https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8656633.html
Standing ovation for SS veteran
September 24, 14:23
Nazism in the West is no longer particularly shy.
In the Canadian Parliament, the veteran of the Waffen SS Galicia division was given a standing ovation.
(Video at link.)
https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8656784.html
(Many US liberals consider Canada an oasis of decency. It is of a piece...)
"Volga" in Zaporozhye
September 23, 9:30
In Zaporozhye, on the streets, local underground fighters began placing signs with the call sign “Volga” and the already known frequency 149.200, on which one can surrender.
According to current statistics, according to this frequency, more than 8,900 people have already surrendered. who chose life. The topic gradually seeps through the enemy’s information cap.
https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8653740.html
Google Translator
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Time to rethink
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 09/24/2023
With a blue and yellow cover that leaves no doubt about its point of view, The Economist, a medium that, as Lenin wrote more than a century ago “speaks for British millionaires,” which makes it follow “a very instructive line in relation to the war,” announces this week that it is “time to rethink.” To avoid doubts, truly impossible considering the design of the issue, the subtitle, “Helping Ukraine win a long war,” clarifies that there is no change in position in the editorial line or changes in objectives. The strategy remains the same, fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian and regardless of the enormous destruction that this may continue to cause in the country, but the tactics must change. The cover and central article of the latest issue of the British media is the most explicit, although it is not the only example of analysts,
Ukraine and its partners, mainly the United States and the United Kingdom - the two most important countries in terms of military training, tactics and intelligence of all Kiev's allies - had planned the current offensive as a unique opportunity in which to repeat the success exactly a year ago in Kharkiv and break the Russian defenses, putting Moscow on the ropes. Depending on the different degrees of fanaticism, optimism or willingness to cause thousands of casualties in the proxy army, the objective could differ from there: while the most moderate saw in a Ukrainian rapprochement with Crimea the way to force Russia to negotiate the return of the rest of the territory, the most radical even saw the possibility of expelling Russian troops from the Black Sea peninsula, an option so unrealistic that it has been repeatedly denied by Pentagon experts. With billions of dollars in budget - an investment that has prevented, according to Zelensky, half of Europe from being at risk of falling into the Kremlin's orbit -, hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles, thousands of soldiers trained abroad and a planned tactic In detail, the offensive was to be, if not definitive, then a turning point in the war.
Almost four months after its start, when the first Western tanks, flanked by a much larger number of equipment of Russian or Soviet design, first advanced towards the open fields of Zaporozhie, the turning point can be said to have been different from expected by Kiev. Media like The New York TimesThey have even stated that the brigades that participated in those first days of the failed assault lost a fifth of the material delivered by the West in that attempt, unsustainable losses that caused a rapid change in tactics. Ukraine abandoned armored columns in favor of smaller, more flexible groups, something Russian commanders on the ground noted after the first week of the offensive, but which the Western press did not admit until weeks later. This abrupt change in the way the offensive continues has brought kyiv all kinds of reproaches from its partners, who have come to blame Ukraine for being excessively allergic to casualties. NATO tactics had sent its subsidiary army into battle against an artillery power without the slightest air cover, conditions that, as Ukrainian commanders have publicly warned, the United States would never have accepted for its own soldiers. The value of the lives of the proxy army is noticeably lower than those of the own armies.
The change in tactics, which has eliminated from the means the large air attacks, with drones and artillery that filled the Zaporozhye fields with destroyed Ukrainian columns, has given the only successes of the Ukrainian offensive. Although in no way what Ukraine hoped to achieve, its troops have advanced towards Artyomovsk, again complicating the situation in the city, which Zelensky says he has a plan to vacate before the end of the year, and have managed to reach the first line of Russian defense in Zaporozhie, especially in the Rabotino area, where they are now trying to advance on Tokmak. Gone is the idea that the current offensive involved the fight for the coast of the Azov Sea or even the capture of Melitopol.
Almost four months after the start of the counteroffensive, the objectives are much more modest and the personnel casualties and material losses, although always a state secret, are high. In the Ukrainian case, rumors and questionable data offered by the Russian Federation are the only figures available, none of them sufficient to estimate the real casualties that have occurred as a result of the offensive. In the case of Russian casualties, recent reports from Mediazona , which since the beginning of the Russian invasion reported Russian casualties following obituaries and posts from relatives on social networks, indicate strikingly reduced numbers in recent months.
To the relatively low level of casualties we must add two economic data that have been recently published: the solvency of industrial production in the military sphere despite the sanctions and the announcement of an increase in military spending in the next budgets. All of this indicates not only that Russia is aware that the war will be long, but that it is in a position to fight it. In this context, and despite the evident wear and tear that necessarily exists in all the armies in the fray, the idea that a long war favored Ukraine has now remained the fiction that the European Union tried to install in the collective imagination while waiting for that their sanctions caused the Russian economy to collapse.
That long war is the reason why media like The Economist raise the need for tactical changes, not strategic ones. The objective has not changed and there is no will to move the military conflict to a diplomatic level. A negotiation under current conditions, with Ukraine in a position that is not one of strength and that would imply concessions, is out of the question. “Seeking a ceasefire or peace talks is useless,” the outlet states, adding that “Vladimir Putin shows no signs of wanting to negotiate and, even if he did, he could not be trusted to follow through with the deal.” Nine years after the signing of the first peace agreement to try to resolve the Ukrainian conflict, the first Minsk agreements of September 2014, the idea that it is Russia that is not going to comply with the agreements continues to be the main argument against the search for a negotiated solution. It helps, without a doubt, that Ukraine's actions throughout the entire Minsk process have not been recorded in the collective memory. Although even Kiev officials now boast of having refused to comply with the terms of those agreements, Russia remains guilty, in this case, of the Ukrainian non-compliance.
The elimination of everything related to the Ukrainian war before the arrival of Russian troops affects even those who choose the opposite path and defend the need for negotiation to stop the suffering caused by the war. This is the case of certain sectors of American realism that this week have been reflected in an article by Stephen Walt published in Foreign Policy, who appeals to morality to defend his position. From pro-Ukrainian positions, condemning the war as unprovoked aggression and blaming Russia for its outbreak, Walt is certain that Ukraine will not be able to expel Russian troops, so the moral calculation is simply not to prolong a suffering that is not going to achieve the result that would be desirable. This moral calculation does not include the situation of the population of Donbass and Crimea, who showed their rejection of Ukraine years ago and who have suffered, although in different ways, collective punishment because of that option. Donbass was militarily attacked in an action that has not deserved condemnation, while Crimea, defended by Russian troops, not by local militias,
If not even the basic rights of a part of the population that Ukraine and its partners claim to consider Ukrainian are to be considered a factor in the moral calculation of the war by the most moderate sectors, it is logical that the press is able to show that It is Vladimir Putin who is the obstacle to a negotiation. It can be debated whether Russia would accept the current separation line as a final resolution, something that would resemble the feared “Minsk-3” whose shadow extends practically from the Istanbul summit. The reality is that the most important territory for Moscow is Crimea and protecting it, stopping attacks like the one on Friday and finally obtaining official recognition of the peninsula's sovereignty could be presented by Russian authorities as a victory. The increase in territory would also be although the objectives of recovering the city of Kherson and the entire territory of Donbass were not met. Evidently, dreams beyond the current territory were left in the pipeline at the moment when the Russian offensive potential was extinguished in the spring of 2022. The facts and interests suggest that Russia, not Ukraine, would be less reluctant to sign an agreement . The steps taken in the last year and a half point in the same direction: it was not Moscow but kyiv that broke off the Istanbul negotiations and subsequently banned all negotiations with Vladimir Putin's administration. The insistence of war until the recovery of the last meter of Ukrainian territory according to the 1991 borders makes any negotiation with the Ukrainian side unfeasible,
Although not necessarily for the reasons it claims, the Western press is correct when it says the war will continue. Ukraine has openly chosen war until the desired end. The grace period waiting for a big success to justify continuing without changes has ended and even the loyal The Economistpoints to the failure of the counteroffensive. “Ukraine has liberated less than 0.25% of the territory that Russia occupied in June. The front line of almost a thousand kilometers has practically not changed,” he says to justify the need to introduce changes. The future promises of Zelensky, who assures that Ukraine will recover Artyomovsk and two more cities before the end of the year, or of Budanov, who announced that the offensive will not stop with the winter, are no longer enough. Nor are the words of Antony Blinken, who continues to repeat that Ukraine has recovered half of the territory captured by Russia, without specifying that practically all of these recoveries occurred in 2022, before the great flow of weapons for the current one began. counteroffensive. The optimism of the most fanatics has been reduced, while moderates appeal to the moral calculus of reducing suffering. In this context, there are two options: escalation or negotiation. This dilemma only leaves one option, since negotiation has been ruled out by the political authorities.
Continuing to fuel war in an increasingly dangerous way continues to be the preferred option for the great powers and the big media. This week, Foreign Affairs , for example, argues for the need to send “American advisors” to Ukraine and eliminate the limit on military personnel on the ground. Although the objective claims to be solely to train more Ukrainian soldiers, the danger of a growing number of American soldiers in a country at war with Russia should not escape, as it actually does, the authors of the article.
The option defended by The EconomistFor the long war it is different, although it must also be considered a form of escalation. Winter will make major offensives difficult, especially on the central front, Zaporozhie, so the media proposes a tactic of attacks on strategic Russian objectives that hinder their ability to continue the war. In other words, a change in tactics is proposed that stops prioritizing the recovery of territory in favor of another in search of hitting objectives that are more media and symbolic than effective in undermining the population's confidence in the Russian ability to defend the territory. It is no coincidence that this strategy coincides with the ideas of Kirilo Budanov, one of the main architects of the strategy of attacking the Russian rear. The strategy is also consistent with a comment made weeks ago by Mijailo Podolyak, who wrote that Ukraine's plans do not involve fighting for each town up to the 1991 borders. It seems evident that Ukraine has placed part of its hopes in its ability to destruction, not only in advancing over minefields. Hence the insistence on sending tactical missiles ATACMS from the United States or Taurus from Germany.
The escalation proposed by The Economist not only portends an increase in missile attacks on targets in the Russian rear, but also a general remilitarization of the continent justified by the possibility of reduced US military assistance. “In the long run, Europe will have to take on more weight. “That means strengthening its defense industry and reforming the European Union’s decision-making process so it can accept more members.” To the question of what to do , The Economist 's answer , which reflects the position of the political establishment , is the remilitarization of a Europe in which an open war against the largest and most populous country in the world is maintained, without the possibility of resolution. continent
https://slavyangrad.es/2023/09/24/28203/#more-28203
(I have previously stated that no one wants a long war. I was incorrect as I did not take into account the monstrous cynicism of the West, which seems to indeed fight 'to the last Ukrainian'. Shame on me for assuming rationality and humanity.)
Ukraine and the world
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 21/09/2023
Like every year since 2014, and especially since 2022, Ukraine has thoroughly prepared the week in which world diplomacy meets at the United Nations General Assembly. With reproaches exchanged about the lack of decisive success in the summer counteroffensive, the main Western bet for 2023, the main objective of Zelensky's executive was precisely to maintain the centrality that the Ukrainian issue acquired a year and a half ago. A prominence, which Kiev has achieved through a careful communication strategy and the favor of the Western media apparatus, willing to highlight Ukrainian suffering in a very different way from other more distant wars and in which the population is not European.
Managing to maintain that favor is the fundamental prerequisite to continue demanding the weapons and financing that make it possible for the Armed Forces of Ukraine to continue fighting and for the State to maintain at least part of its structure and its economy. In a war in which Ukraine claims to be fighting for its independence and sovereignty, the reality is precisely the opposite: kyiv's dependence on its partners is not only maximum, but growing. This implies the need to maintain the favor of Western countries and ensure that difficulties in the production of material and ammunition in European countries do not pose a supply problem and that war fatigue does not force Ukraine into a negotiation in which was forced to make a compromise.
Despite not corresponding to the correlation of forces or the situation on the ground, Ukraine has made it clear that the only result it is willing to accept is its complete victory, one in which the civil factor of the war is not taken into account. and there are no concessions of territory or rights to the population of those territories. Once again, Zelensky insisted on the idea that “all Russians” must leave Ukraine. It is possible that the Ukrainian president is referring only to Russian troops, although precedents suggest that it is not only that population but all those that identify with Russia that the Government wants to leave. Long before Russian troops violated Ukraine's borders, in a somewhat condescending way, Zelensky appealed to those people, “for the sake of their children,” to leave their homes and move to Russia. For a long time no one has hidden the goal of creating a purely nationalist Ukraine.
Even then, the intentions were clear. Now, the war has given Ukraine the unconditional support that it had been demanding for years to resolve the conflict, which precedes the arrival of Russian troops, unilaterally, without any commitment or concession. Ukraine's actions in the Minsk process are sufficient indication of the authoritarianism of the Ukrainian authorities. During the seven years of talks, Kiev never took steps towards the implementation of the road map, which it always considered unacceptable for not resolving the Crimea issue and for seeing the cultural, linguistic and political rights to Donbass as an unaffordable concession. The reality is that this minimal cultural autonomy destroyed the possibility of creating a unitary Ukraine, centralized and with nationalism imposed from above in the regions that have rejected it. The commitment, even when the counterpart was the recovery of the territory, was always beyond doubt. The war with Russia has significantly facilitated the Ukrainian narrative, which even before 2022 was based on the Russian aggression , but with the generalization of the conflict to the entire country has meant the arrival of the unconditional support that Kiev had been demanding for years.
That centrality that the war has acquired in Ukraine, which has left no room for other wars and other human suffering that occurs in places outside Europe, and the military, financial and political support that Kiev has acquired has also given it a sense of superiority in the ability to dictate the only acceptable terms for ending the war. For a State that absolutely depends on the constant and growing support of its allies, this arrogance is precisely the chosen strategy to continue demanding more support from its allied countries and also from those that are not. In the same way that the discourse of unity of the Ukrainian population, widely adopted by the press, prefers to forget the Ukrainian population that identifies with Russia and that has fought and is fighting against the Ukrainian Armed Forces,unity against the aggressor ignores that a large part of the countries on the planet have remained neutral. Among them are the two most populous countries, India and China, which have not only refused to impose sanctions on Russia, but have benefited from the economic opportunities brought about by Russia's need to redirect its products to markets far from its home country. traditionally a priority European market.
However, none of this prevents Ukraine from continuing to exploit the discourse of full national and international support for Ukraine. “Despite the differences of vision, the world is united in basic things: Russia has to lose, the reestablishment of the territorial integrity of Ukraine is imperative to the restoration of respect for international law,” he wrote, confusing the Western world and the world. , Mikhailo Podolyak after Zelensky's intervention. Hours earlier, the Foreign Minister of China, the second most populous country on the planet, had met with Sergey Lavrov in a meeting in which both agreed that the war cannot be resolved without taking into account Russian demands. What's more, a large part of the existing peace or negotiation proposals take into account issues such as Crimea,
None of that matters either to Ukrainian politicians or to the press that supports them. “Zelensky calls for unity in dramatic speech at the UN,” headlined CNN after the Ukrainian president's appearance at the United Nations General Assembly, in which he used each and every one of the main points of the Ukrainian narrative to demand more military aid to Ukraine and more sanctions and isolation of Russia. However, somewhat strangely, the Ukrainian president opened his speech with an unexpected note referring to nuclear weapons.
Zelensky, who although praised the non-proliferation strategy, also stated that “it should not be the only strategy to protect the world from this final war.” As the Ukrainian film director and nationalist activist Oleh Sentsov did in the past in his acceptance speech for the Sakharov Prize - a person who, it must not be forgotten, had fought for the elimination of nuclear weapons -, the Ukrainian president recalled, without much subtlety, Ukraine's nuclear renunciation. In a clear tone of reproach to his allies for forcing Kiev to renounce nuclear weapons that were not even its own but those of the Soviet Union and later Russia as a successor state, Zelensky stated that “Ukraine renounced what was the third largest nuclear arsenal. biggest in the world. At that time, "The world decided that Russia must become the guardian of that power." In reality, the codes for that weaponry were in Moscow, so that arsenal would have been useless without the transfer of those mechanisms, something that could even have been considered nuclear proliferation. Even so, Zelensky insisted in his speech that "history has shown that it was Russia that deserved nuclear disarmament most, back in the 90s. And Russia deserves it now, terrorists do not deserve to have nuclear weapons," the president stated. Ukraine in what appears to be a first step to suggest to its partners the installation of nuclear weapons on its territory as a defense. This is not the first time Zelensky has hinted at Ukraine's nuclear aspirations,conspiracy theory of the West, always ready to blind itself to the authoritarian and tremendously belligerent tendencies of its Ukrainian proxies.
In his speech, and in his subsequent media appearances in the United States, in which he has repeated ad nauseam that “evil cannot be trusted,” Zelensky also introduced other common aspects, such as deportation .of children - Ukraine has described as deportation, for example, the transfer of boys and girls from Donbass to spend the summer in Belarusian camps - the idea of using hunger as a weapon and the use of nuclear power plants as an element of blackmail. In a great projection exercise, Zelensky accused Russia of causing hunger in the third world with the blockade of Ukrainian grain which, as we have known thanks to data on shipments made during the year in which the Ukrainian Grain Initiative was in force, Black Sea, was mainly destined for countries like China, Spain and Turkey.
The third element, that of the use of nuclear power plants as an element of blackmail, is also, to say the least, curious. Once again Zelensky accused Russia of bombing the Zaporozhie nuclear power plant, the only nuclear power plant in Ukraine under Russian control and which has been bombed by Ukraine precisely to create a situation that would make its defense unviable. The hypocrisy of the Ukrainian president in this regard is blatant. However, with a televangelist tone similar to that of his boss, Joe Biden, who stated that “the road ahead will be long and difficult. But if we persevere, we will prevail. If we keep the faith, we will show that it is possible.” Empty speeches that only seek to maintain the status quo and force all those countries that have distanced themselves from Ukraine's intention to expand the war to the maximum to comply with the official version, an extreme simplification of the war in which good faces evil.
https://slavyangrad.es/2023/09/21/ucran ... more-28182
Zelensky's trip to North America and the state of the war
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 23/09/2023
Far from the exaggerated expectations that Ukraine always maintains regarding its actions abroad, Zelensky's visit to the United States has lacked the halo of unconditional support, optimism and victory that the Ukrainian president projected on his previous trip to North America, which took place in a much more favorable time for Ukrainian interests. The reality of national politics and the timing of next year's election campaign, in which the Ukrainian issue will be used as an argument both for and against Joe Biden's re-election, make it increasingly difficult to repeat the virtually complete consensus that greeted Zelensky with a standing ovation in his previous appearance before the US Congress. For obvious reasons - Canada welcomes the most nationalist Ukrainian diaspora and,
That is, without a doubt, the great concern of Zelensky, who wanted to present the current war in his country as a turning point in world history, a moment in which the world must rise to the occasion and supply what the world asks for . proxy army ready to fight for everyone. Hence, presenting Ukraine as the savior of the Western world, or at least of Europe, continues to be one of the main arguments of the Ukrainian discourse, which must exaggerate its political and geopolitical importance in order to guarantee itself the weapons with which to continue the war.
In that narrative that Zelensky's entourage has created with so much effort, the idea of certain victory intersects with that of inevitable defeat in the event of not obtaining the required material, something that would result in a catastrophic sequence for the European continent. Cynically taking up the always false but useful domino theory, which in the Cold War was repeated ad nauseam to justify coups d'état, open or covert military interventions or support for far-right dictators to prevent the fall of countries into the Soviet orbit , Ukraine has created a tremendously simple narrative, but one that remains effective in achieving its objectives.
“Putin's list of countries to destroy was long,” Zelensky said during his visit to the United States. "Until very recently. If Ukraine fell, half of Europe would have been at risk of falling into Moscow's sphere of influence,” he added despite there being not the slightest indication that there was any truth to his claims. The objective was none other than to exaggerate an imaginary threat to further exalt the American effort.
Unlike Russia, which publicly raised aspects such as the denazification or demilitarization of Ukraine as objectives of its military intervention and which it has never really been able to explain nor is it close to achieving, Kiev has been able to create a narrative according to which it must become the center from the political agenda and must receive the necessary weapons to defeat what Zelensky has described this week as “second Hitler.” The interest of the great Western powers in waging a proxy war against a historical enemy, Moscow, has made it possible that this simple and fallacious speech has been enough to launch a machinery that has made it possible for Ukraine to achieve its objectives little by little. politicians.
Faced with the criticism that has been raised for years about the issue of corruption, the reforms that Ukraine had to carry out to even achieve the status of a candidate country for entry into the European Union, the media advanced last week that Úrsula Von der Leyen prepares changes to facilitate the country's accession to the Union. Ukraine's entry into the European Union, even despite not meeting the conditions that have been demanded of other countries, seems only a matter of time. The argument, the same one that Kiev intends to use for its accession to NATO, somewhat more difficult, especially due to the enormous destruction of the country, is that Ukraine has paid the price in blood to achieve that objective.
The war has also managed to accelerate the process of continental separation between Berlin and Moscow, something that both kyiv and Washington had been fighting for for years. The explosions in the Nord Stream, still to be resolved after almost a year of investigations, are nothing more than the most graphic reflection of the end of an era in which the dialogue between the two great countries of Europe translated into an economic relationship that was always considered a threat to the United States. Ukraine, aware of being a good tool in this objective of breaking political and economic ties, exploited - metaphorically and perhaps literally - that possibility to its benefit. She did it before Russian troops got involved in the war and, of course,
In this time, Ukraine has also obtained, although not as quickly as it had demanded, a large part of the weapons it demanded. In wartime in Donbass, their wish list was limited to Javelin anti-tank systems or Bayraktar drones and no heavy weapons or anti-aircraft systems had yet made an appearance. Although Ukraine has always claimed to be fighting Russia, the difference between its opponent in the Donbass war and the army it has faced since February 24, 2022 is notable. kyiv has managed to send Leopard, Challenger tanks and other Western armor, it has received a significant number of Soviet-made fighters - sent by the countries of the former Warsaw Pact, who have taken advantage of the option of sending this ideologically uncomfortable weaponry to be replaced by something more in line with the times - long-range precision artillery, Patriot anti-aircraft systems, depleted uranium ammunition and even cluster bombs. Much of that list was considered a red line at the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war and is now delivered without even the weapons prohibited by some of Washington's partners being considered controversial.
Despite the social tendency to quickly lose interest in any topic and the loss of the central relevance of the Ukrainian issue for months in 2022, Ukraine continues to provide good publicity for politicians and celebrities of all kinds who want to promote themselves. Hence, visits to kyiv continue to be a way to initiate mandates or mark important dates and Zelensky continues to receive invitations to attend all types of political forums. During his visit to the United States, for example, Volodymyr Zelensky received an award from the Atlantic Council, the same organization that during his election campaign presented his arrival to power as a danger. Those were the times when candidate Zelensky's commitment speech made him a possible pro-Russian. The Ukrainian president's visits also usually coincide with big announcements. In this case, it was to be expected that the head of state of Ukraine could celebrate Biden's success in convincing Congress to expand the already million-dollar supply of weapons by $24 billion, amounts that have practically equaled the military budget. Russian. Even so, and despite the constant attempt to present Russian troops as ineffective, poorly trained and poorly equipped, Ukraine has not yet managed to balance capabilities on the battlefield, something that is being observed in the counteroffensive in the south of the country.
This has caused the need to demand more efforts from its partners. Months ago, Antony Blinken stated that Ukraine already had the necessary weapons and training to defeat Russia. The almost four months of offensive and constant Ukrainian demands for increased supplies deny that possibility. Ukraine's tactic to convince the most reluctant sectors to continue a practically eternal supply of weapons has been on this occasion to praise the investment that its military spending in Ukraine represents for the United States. “American investments in Ukrainian security and the global protection of freedom are working. One hundred percent. "Down to the last cent," said the Ukrainian president before proceeding to demand, once again, more weapons and more quickly.
During his trip, Zelensky has not been able to obtain either the increase in the budget for his army or some of the weapons that he had quickly demanded. These days, the United States has announced a new military assistance package to Ukraine - of a smaller amount than that announced a few days ago during Blinken's visit to Kiev - which highlights the arrival of the first Abrams tanks next week. kyiv will get more cluster munitions, anti-aircraft missiles and ammunition for its precious HIMARS. The White House's intention seemed not to be to announce the shipment of ATACMS tactical missiles, the latest wunderwaffewith which to defeat Russia in Crimea. Unblocking the delivery of these American missiles would also be the argument to pressure the German Government to deliver Taurus missiles to Ukraine, thus repeating the strategy with which Kiev got Olaf Scholz to agree to approve the shipment of Leopard tanks after the American approval of the future delivery. of their Abrams (which have not yet arrived, compared to the German tanks, which arrived months ago and some of which have already burned on the Zaporozhie front).
The United States' refusal to send long-range missiles and the delay in training and sending Western aviation are two important setbacks to Kiev's strategy, since these are weapons without which it knows it is unable to fight for Crimea. It is possible that, in the event of greater success in the counteroffensive, which is still struggling to break the Surovikin line and delve deeper into Russian territory in Zaporozhie, those deliveries would have been unlocked more quickly. It is also likely that the attack carried out yesterday, when Ukraine hit the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet with missiles, possibly British, is an example of what Ukraine is capable of doing with the weapons it has at its disposal, an argument for demand from the United States what it still denies it. With actions like this,
Western interest involved a rapid Ukrainian offensive in which control of Crimea would be called into question. The failure, at least momentary, of that plan has forced Zelensky to insist again on the possibility of catastrophe for Ukraine and the world if the country does not obtain the required weapons. “If we don't get the assistance, we will lose the war,” Zelensky said, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Ukraine's ability to change its discourse has been notable throughout this war. Depending on the needs and fundamentally as an argument to demand more weapons, kyiv went from denying the existence of casualties to warning of an unsustainable number due to the imbalance in artillery potential.
Now, after months of claiming to shoot down virtually all Russian missiles and drones, the need to draw attention to the issue of grain exports and prepare for possible attacks on energy infrastructure throughout the winter has made Ukraine show again the consequences of Russian missiles and demand more anti-aircraft ammunition from its partners. Likewise, Kiev is balancing between certain victory and the responsibility of its partners to avoid inevitable defeat, all in order to take the battle - not just sporadic attacks - to Crimea, the only political objective that Ukraine has not yet achieved. . For it, The Ukrainian proxy has not hesitated to be increasingly demanding and harsh with the countries that allow its army to continue fighting and provide it with the financing to pay the pensions of its elders. Yesterday, the Ukrainian Government described the latest US military assistance package as insufficient, more than 300 million dollars (to which we must add the more than 600 announced by Canada) which did not include the expected ATACMS. Minutes after that complaint, and after the attack on Sevastopol, the American media began to publish that the United States is now willing to send the missiles to Ukraine. kyiv continues its trend of demanding weapons from its partners until it achieves its objective.
https://slavyangrad.es/2023/09/23/el-vi ... la-guerra/
Google Translator
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Chronicle of a special military operation for September 23, 2023
September 23, 2023
Rybar
For several days in a row, Ukrainian formations have been carrying out massive attacks on Crimea . This time the port infrastructure of Sevastopol came under attack again .
The Ukrainian Armed Forces are gathering forces to the flanks of Bakhmut , preparing an attack on the city. There are battles near Kleshcheevka and Andreevka , but there are no changes. Russian troops also identified the first Swedish-made CV9040C infantry fighting vehicle in this direction, which they destroyed.
Positional battles in the landings continue in the Vremevsky and Zaporozhye sectors of the front. The enemy makes sorties from time to time in small infantry groups, but to no avail.
Missile attack of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Crimea
In the morning, Ukrainian formations again struck at the port infrastructure of Sevastopol . The enemy fired six Neptune anti-ship missiles from the Odessa region .
Berths No. 17 and 19 in the bays of Holland and Sukharnaya came under attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces , which were hit by two Neptunes, and the targets were the ships that were stationed there and were subject to decommissioning. The extent of the damage is still unknown.
According to preliminary data, the remaining missiles were shot down by air defense units. The fragments of one of them fell on Sukharnaya Balka (on the Internet this was mistaken for flying across the territory).
The enemy's attacks do not stop. Judging by the choice of objects not only in Crimea , but also in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions , the Ukrainian Armed Forces are pursuing the goal of disrupting control, command and communication systems.
Attempt to land the Ukrainian Armed Forces on a boat near Tarkhankut
Last night an interesting incident occurred at Cape Tarkhankut , which until now had not been known. Under the cover of darkness, a Ukrainian boat with a DRG of the Ukrainian Armed Forces again tried to land troops on Cape Tarkhankut.
The speedboat moved along the coast towards Chernomorskoye at low speed: the bet was made on stealth. However, the group was discovered by our border guards: a fighter opened fire on the craft. A shooting fight ensued, and the DRG was forced to retreat. The boat was escorted by a drone almost to the Odessa region .
In this situation, the reaction of the serviceman, who immediately opened fire on the DRG, is encouraging. However, the question arises as to how the boat passed so far from the Ukrainian shores undetected, given that in recent times attacks on the landing force were carried out almost immediately after they left the Odessa region.
Either the boat was sailing in pitch darkness without means of navigation and communication, or it was using gas production and drilling rigs in the Black Sea to provide logistics for the boats. The infrastructure on the towers makes it possible to place not only weapons and equipment there, but also supplies to accommodate advanced groups.
Using them to their advantage to attack Crimea is more a fact than a theory. Do not forget that this happened immediately after the attack on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol . All the sailors' efforts were focused on this, and the movement of the lone boat came as a surprise.
In the context of intensifying attacks on Crimea, such attempts to land and drop the DRG on Cape Tarkhankut , which is extremely convenient in this regard , will happen more and more often. Moreover, for many months the British intelligence services have been preparing the Main Intelligence Directorate and Special Operations Forces units specifically for the landing operation in Crimea.
The situation on the front line and combat operations
On September 22, 2023, Russian forces launched an attack on Kremenchuk . While the Ukrainian authorities urged citizens not to approach the impact site, chats were talking about what had landed at the amusement park. The Ferris wheel was indeed located nearby, but the area was hit by a shock wave.
At the address Gogol Street 2, open sources indicate a certain oncology clinic, which was deployed on the basis of a former military hospital and closed in 2008. Back in 2014-2015, the hospital was put in order, in 2016 the bunker and underground communications were updated , and photographs from 2018 quietly showed military equipment on the territory.
Members of the Ukrainian formations underwent recovery and rehabilitation in the hospital before returning to the front. It flew along them. To say that this is “the answer for Sevastopol” is somewhat incorrect, because military hospitals and clinics are no less important targets than headquarters and warehouses.
Exactly a year ago, we raised the topic of the justification of attacks on hospitals in Nikolaev and the Kharkov region : such actions sharply reduce the ability of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to restore combat effectiveness. There is no need to talk about any kind of mental anguish or conventions today: Ukrainians do not care at all about the death of the civilian population of Russia , and human rights activists work only for the benefit of Ukrainian propaganda, in every possible way forgiving them what is unforgivable to us.
I wonder how many adherents of the “we are not like that” ideology remain among Russians? Surely someone still thinks that we should play knighthood. Or not?
In the Starobelsky direction, fighting continues in the forests near Kremennaya . The artillery is working closely, destroying enemy positions and personnel. A similar situation is observed in the Sinkovka area .
In the Soledar direction, Ukrainian formations continue to fight for Kleshcheevka and Andreevka . The settlements themselves are in the “gray zone”, and the artillery and tanks of the Russian Armed Forces are actively working against enemy manpower.
Footage has appeared of an abandoned Swedish infantry fighting vehicle CV9040C near the Berkhovsky reservoir . The appearance of this type of armored vehicle in the Bakhmut direction indicates the transfer of a unit with the CV90 in service. Previously, Swedish vehicles were noted only in the Svatovsky sector , so this may be a unit that took part in the battles there.
Earlier we wrote that the forces of the 17th tank brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were redeployed to Bakhmut . It was restocked with equipment and people near Kharkov , and it was there that most of the Swedish infantry fighting vehicles were delivered. So, quite possibly, the picture shows the first confirmed loss of the 17th brigade near Bakhmut.
Positional clashes continue in the Donetsk direction . Crews of the Tornado MLRS are working on the remains of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ fortified area in the west of Marinka . In Avdeevka , the Russian Aerospace Forces targeted the location of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the industrial zone with an air-launched X-38 missile, destroying enemy personnel.
The situation in the Vremyevsky sector remains stable: Ukrainian formations continue to make up for losses in manpower and equipment. The Armed Forces of Ukraine carried out sporadic attacks near Staromayorsky and Priyutny , but they did not lead to anything. Russian artillery, in turn, is actively working on enemy strongholds, preventing him from rotating.
There are also no significant changes in the Orekhovsky sector : fighting continues in the plantings between Rabotino and Verbov . Artillery and unmanned aircraft are actively operating along the contact line. Neither side is taking any active action.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to transfer personnel and armored vehicles to the Kherson direction on the right bank of the Dnieper . An airstrike was carried out on one of these concentrations in the village of Lvovo in order to prevent the accumulation of enemy forces.
Shelling of rear areas and residential areas
The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to regularly shell the border areas of the Belgorod region . Today, Vyazovoe and Novaya Tavolzhanka came under fire from the Armed Forces of Ukraine several times , and the Nekhoteevka checkpoint was covered with mortar fire . In the evening the shelling of Shebekino began . In addition, Russian air defense intercepted a UAV in the Belgorod area .
Ukrainian formations continue to shell populated areas of the DPR every day . In the Kievsky district of Donetsk , due to damage to transformers, more than a thousand subscribers remain without electricity, and residential buildings in Kuibyshevsky were damaged .
In the Kirov region, the air defense system was activated, an enemy AGM-88 HARM missile was shot down, two people were injured, and destruction was recorded on the territory of the kindergarten. The Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out strikes, including Yasinovataya , Gorlovka and Makeevka , two people received shrapnel wounds in Ozeryanivka .
Ukrainian formations continue to fire dozens of shells daily along the left bank of the Kherson region . This time, the civilian infrastructure of Kakhovka , Staraya Zburevka , Korsunka and Krynoki came under enemy fire . In Novaya Kakhovka, as a result of a mortar attack on a bus stop, one person was killed and another was taken to the hospital in serious condition.
In the Zaporozhye region in the evening, Ukrainian formations tried to strike Berdyansk , but air defense systems intercepted enemy missiles.
Political events
How will the American shutdown affect support for Ukraine?
On Friday it became known that the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Republican Kevin McCarthy, was unable to bring up the party's defense spending bill for discussion. This happened due to opposition from the conservative layer of the Republican Party, which deliberately blocked the vote.
After the second attempt to pass defense spending failed, it became clear that a “shutdown” could occur as early as October 1 - a temporary cessation of the work of the US government that occurs when Congress fails to agree on funding for government activities. organs.
This circumstance has fueled rumors in the press and online that due to the suspension of government work, support for Ukraine will also be paused. This, however, is not the case. Yesterday, the Pentagon announced that it would continue to support Ukraine despite the shutdown, using the right to act in emergency situations.
In addition, as a safety net, during the break the United States will shift part of the responsibilities for supporting Ukraine to the “shoulders” of Europe . This is evidenced by the public statement of US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin , who called on the Europeans to supply the Ukrainian Armed Forces with more air defense systems.
Thus, this situation once again demonstrates that the United States is not going to stop supporting the Kyiv regime, at least under the current American administration.
About the supply of ATACMS missiles to Ukraine
Biden promised to supply Zelensky with a “Limited Batch” of ATACMS after the announcement of the next package of military supplies. The “ limited batch ” of ATACMS missiles numbers about 60 units and was delivered to Poland last month . Yesterday's news in Politico is only intended to legalize deliveries already made.
Another example of the legalization of already de facto arms supplies to Ukraine: The Wall Street Journal writes that Germany may transfer Taurus cruise missiles after the appearance of American ATACMS in the Armed Forces of Ukraine .
German long-range Taurus were delivered in a small batch by rail to Ukraine at the end of August , but the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not use them without the approval of Germany. And the information game in the media was needed in order to show how the Bundestag supposedly does not want escalation.
Now, having looked at the reaction of the Russian Federation (or rather, its absence) to the attacks on Crimea , Berlin decided that there would be no consequences for the country. And there is nothing to be surprised here. But if Atakms is more noticeable and easier to shoot down, then German missiles are essentially an analogue of Storm Shadow , which can hit a much greater distance. What this entails, we think, is unnecessary to explain.
In addition, the United States has appointed a special commission that will check the expenditure of American military assistance to Ukraine and control the allocated funds. The task force , led by Pentagon Inspector General Robert Storch, will operate in cooperation with USAID and the State Department .
Zelensky's statements about the elections
During his visit to Canada , Zelensky said that Ukrainian legislation allegedly prohibits holding elections during hostilities. According to him, it is impossible to ensure this now.
In fact, many observers believe that Ukrainian society, tired of fighting without much success and corruption, may simply not re-elect Zelensky . Moreover, many believe that he has serious rivals, including the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny .
About the ban of the UOC MP
Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk commented on the possible legislative ban on the canonical UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate. According to him, it is unlikely that such a bill will now be able to gain a majority of votes in the Ukrainian parliament, although it was introduced in December last year. According to Stefanchuk, if this initiative comes to a vote and fails, this will give rise to information pressure from Russia.
Secret negotiations between Russia and Great Britain
British media write that Great Britain and Russia have been regularly engaged in dialogue on issues of nuclear and general security, and food shortages in the world for a year and a half since the very beginning of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Such meetings are held periodically on the sidelines of major international events.
British diplomats confirmed this information , saying that they never raised the topic of peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, as this is a matter for the Ukrainian authorities.
New strategies for Ukraine
The Economist published an article suggesting that Ukraine might be wise to try to freeze the conflict and restore its economy to something similar to the country's condition in 2014, when fighting was taking place in the east. Journalists believe that this can provide more room for maneuver and subsequent victory in combat operations.
However, they also admit that given the country’s collapsed economy and the flight or death of the male population, this may be unrealistic. Moreover, the scale of the conflict is incomparably greater than during the so-called “ATO”.
Other options in The Economist called a final freeze in hostilities or a sharp resumption of hostilities next year after increasing technical potential with the help of Western countries.
Lavrov's speech at the UN
On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly , Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia is ready for peace negotiations on Ukraine, but is no longer ready to discuss an immediate ceasefire. In addition, the minister noted that the “peace formula” promoted by the Ukrainian authorities is unrealizable . This formula implies the return of Ukraine to the borders of 1991.
In addition, Lavrov noted that the Ukrainian part of the grain deal will resume as soon as obligations towards Russia begin to work.
Rybar
https://rybar.ru/hronika-speczialnoj-vo ... 2023-goda/
Google Translator
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Damage to the naval headquarters building
September 24, 9:57
Satellite photographs of damage to the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol.
Repairing the damage and assessing the cost of repairing the building are ongoing.
https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8656633.html
Standing ovation for SS veteran
September 24, 14:23
Nazism in the West is no longer particularly shy.
In the Canadian Parliament, the veteran of the Waffen SS Galicia division was given a standing ovation.
(Video at link.)
https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8656784.html
(Many US liberals consider Canada an oasis of decency. It is of a piece...)
"Volga" in Zaporozhye
September 23, 9:30
In Zaporozhye, on the streets, local underground fighters began placing signs with the call sign “Volga” and the already known frequency 149.200, on which one can surrender.
According to current statistics, according to this frequency, more than 8,900 people have already surrendered. who chose life. The topic gradually seeps through the enemy’s information cap.
https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8653740.html
Google Translator
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."
Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part V
The grain of discord: how the Polish-Ukrainian conflict arose and what it will lead to
September 21, 2023
Warsaw mermaid
For several weeks now, the whole world has been observing the deterioration of Polish-Ukrainian relations. The formal reason was the embargo on grain from Ukraine, and now it has reached the point of unequivocal hints about blocking the Ukrainian Armed Forces supply channel.
What makes the conflict especially significant is that Poland, which was not very independent in the international arena, was appointed to the role of the main “hub” for the supply of weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and a key ally of Ukraine, both in terms of military-political and humanitarian cooperation. It was from Warsaw that the most radical statements were made against those who did not sufficiently support Ukraine and demands to continue the war at any cost.
Therefore, it is impossible to believe that such a sudden reversal occurred on the initiative of the Polish authorities. And for good reason, since the dispute over grain is just another tool to close the “Ukraine project”, diligently implemented by the (seemingly illogical) aggressive actions of the Ukrainian government towards its allies.
But first things first.
Chronology of events
Issues regarding the import of Ukrainian agricultural products to Poland have long been on the agenda of the authorities in Warsaw. For almost a whole year, local farmers staged protests, outraged by the terms of the grain deal, because of which they completely lost their income and were at risk of bankruptcy.
However, until a certain time, the exhortations of farmers and their demands were ignored in Warsaw , with little satisfaction of requests for financial support.
Later, the Polish authorities not only imposed an embargo on Ukrainian grain and some other goods, but also assembled a coalition of countries whose governments supported the ban.
And then parliamentary elections loomed on the horizon of Polish events .
Before the vote on October 15 in Poland, people increasingly began to wonder what the government would do with Ukrainian grain. Officials in Warsaw confidently announced back in the summer that the ban on supplies would be extended . They confirmed their intentions in early September, indicating that the decision would be made regardless of the actions of the European Commission, which in the summer approved the embargo until September 15.
In response, the Kiev authorities almost immediately “showed their character”: the Council of Ministers banned Ukrainian legislators from traveling to Poland, without hiding that the measures were related to the ongoing dispute over grain imports. Ukrainian Ambassador to Poland Vasily Zvarych later clarified: the exceptions apply to official trips of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, NATO-related visits or official invitations. The official did not forget to add that it would be “difficult for Kyiv to accept” an extension of the current embargo.
There was no reaction from the Poles at the official level, but there was enough information for nationalist circles in the republic to start talking again about the need to “show the Ukrainians their place” and knock down their arrogance. The scandal surrounding the possible expulsion of citizens of Nezalezhnaya of military age and publications about the connections of the Ukrainian mafia with the Polish government added fuel to the fire.
The Ukrainians perceived the ignoring by Polish officials as an invitation to continue to put pressure on Warsaw, and then Kiev announced that if after September 15 the embargo on Ukrainian grain was not lifted, Ukraine would file a claim against Poland and the European Union in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmyhal stressed that Kiev may respond by banning the import of certain categories of goods from these two countries.
The threat regarding a complaint to the WTO, frankly speaking, is so-so: these actions will not give much result in any case, but it sounds good for the people.
With all this, the squabbles of imaginary allies did not prevent the Poles from concluding a contract for the production of large-caliber shells for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Participation of the Polish opposition
While Warsaw was fighting off the resurfaced migration scandal associated with the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, the opposition joined the grain rhetoric. The opportunity to seize the initiative was not bad, and the head of the main opposition party in Poland, Donald Tusk , promptly accepted the head of the Agrounia farmers' association, Michal Kolodziejczak, as an ally .
In order to interrupt the agenda, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki presented an ultimatum to the European Commission, saying that if it does not support the ban on grain imports, the republic will do everything itself. According to him, for Warsaw the interests of local farmers are a priority (could it be different before the elections?) and the country will say “no” to “all Ukrainian oligarchs who want to destabilize the Polish agricultural market.”
In addition, Warsaw indicated that the likelihood of a complaint to the WTO from Ukraine is not impressive and, in general, the authorities of the republic do not like this state of affairs . Some European officials tried to “calm down” the Kyiv authorities, assuring that this was a test for lice. They say this is how national governments show Kyiv how to work with public opinion. And this is simply a “painful lesson in European integration.”
At the same time, quietly, without fanfare, Polish President Andrzej Duda signed an amendment to the law on export insurance guaranteed by the State Treasury. It would seem, what does Ukraine have to do with it? Yes, the document is simply the basis of the Independence Square restoration program with the participation of Polish business, which also provides for special support for investments. Thus, companies from Poland received the privilege of post-war development of the country: seizing the prerogative of investment insurance.
Already at this stage, it became clear that Warsaw would try to use the scandal to remind Kyiv of long-standing agreements, including on the topic of the Volyn massacre.
The issue of the Volyn massacre
Member of the Polish Sejm Michal Dworczyk recently made a statement about the Volyn massacre and the exhumation of victims, with which the Ukrainian authorities literally blackmailed the Poles for a long time. It should be noted that this issue is not particularly important for the Polish government, but it constantly affects the reputation: citizens perceive any failure in it as a personal defeat, which affects the results on the ballot.
Dvorchik said that a “very unsatisfactory situation” has developed in the issue of Volyn with Kiev, but work to find victims of genocide is already underway. They are held in the town of Puzniki in Podolia, the former Ternopil Voivodeship, where UPA soldiers killed between 80 and 100 Poles in February 1945.
But this was not news and not a breakthrough in the topic of Volyn. There really was consent - the Kiev authorities gave it last year . At the same time, Ukrainian specialists not only issued permission, but also set conditions : they had to be present during the work. This is, in fact, the only data that has been received since November 2022.
So a step in the right direction led everyone somewhere wrong. But in Kiev they decided not to react .
Escalation of the conflict
Meanwhile, the opposition was hot on PiS's heels. The leader of “Agrounia” Kolodziejczak, on behalf of Tusk’s party, went to a meeting of the European Parliament , where he was supposed to tell deputies about the need to extend the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain to Poland. Therefore, the authorities in Warsaw had to quickly, a few days before the EC decision, which would have been made on September 15, declare a unilateral extension of the embargo in order to prevent “flooding the country with Ukrainian grain.”
This became the main trigger for the Ukrainian government.
The Ukrainian authorities filed claims against Poland with the WTO, noting that it was interfering with the transit of grain, and President Vladimir Zelensky proudly stated that in this way he was fighting “ in arbitrations” for a “common Europe . ”
In response, Polish officials advised that now is not the time for Ukraine to join the EU and, especially, NATO . At the same time, President Duda recalled the effect of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty , which imposes obligations of collective defense.
And in order to enter the EU, Ukrainians generally must undergo a whole initiation rite, and the Poles will not allow it unless it includes a condition for regulating food from Ukraine, so that it does not linger in the EU countries.
In Kyiv, the advice was not appreciated and they almost started talking about betrayal on the part of Warsaw. Pro-Ukrainian experts and activists began to put pressure on the Poles, arguing that such behavior would greatly “undermine the image” of Poland on the world stage.
Around this time, a visa scandal broke out in the republic (we talked about it in more detail in a recent article). In general, the scandal arose due to the dismissal of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Piotr Wawrzyk : it turned out that the official was arrested for fraud with work visas. The essence of the scam was that embassies issued documents to people who had never worked a day in Poland. Such actions should be stopped, but, as you might guess, no one was tracking such stories.
As a result , the European Parliament unofficially reported that behind-the-scenes negotiations had begun to suspend the validity of visas issued by Polish consular departments, since the Schengen zone was “losing confidence in Poland” and the visas it issues. The worst-case scenario involves Poles in Europe again needing documents to cross borders.
Scandal at the UN General Assembly
Against this background, certainly not in the best way, which reflects on the reputation of PiS, Warsaw resorted to the main trump card and weapon, which was initially actively used by far-right parties .
President of the country Andrzej Duda , speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, commented on Kiev’s lawsuit against Warsaw over the decision to extend the ban on the supply of Ukrainian grain to the republic:
“It would be good if Ukraine remembered that it receives help from us and that we are a transit country for Ukraine as well.”
After which Duda compared the actions of the Ukrainian authorities against the Poles with rescuing a drowned man, who himself is “incredibly dangerous,” including because “he can pull you into the depths.”
After this, the previously planned meeting between Duda and Zelensky in New York as part of the UN General Assembly summit was cancelled . The Polish president explained that the reason was delays in the schedule of speeches at the summit.
In turn, Zelensky, making a speech at the UN, said that “it is alarming to watch how <...> some of our friends in Europe are playing out solidarity in the political theater - and making a thriller on the grain. It may seem that they are playing their role, but in fact they are helping <...> the Moscow actor.”
Poland responded that they hoped Zelensky’s words did not refer to Warsaw. Many opposition publications shared the same point of view, trying to equate these words with anti-Russian rhetoric. But just in case, the Poles still called the Ukrainian ambassador to explain to the Foreign Ministry .
Later, at the official level, the Foreign Ministry indicated that they expressed a “strong protest” to Zvarych regarding Zelensky’s statements at the UN General Assembly. The Polish side claims that the thesis is untrue and putting pressure on Warsaw in forums or sending complaints to international tribunals “are not appropriate methods for resolving disputes between our countries.”
Zvarych, in turn, explained to Warsaw Kiev’s position on the unacceptability of Poland’s unilateral ban on the import of Ukrainian grain. And the representative of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Oleg Nikolenko, called on “Polish friends to put aside emotions,” because, according to him, Kiev offered Poland a constructive way to solve the grain problem.
The backroom deal between Warsaw and Kyiv
It is interesting that a little later, some sources in the Ukrainian delegation that arrived at the UN General Assembly said that the Poles offered Zelensky a deal . Before the parliamentary elections in Poland, he makes complete concessions to the republic so that the ruling PiS party can win with a majority, in response to which the conditions for grain from Ukraine will supposedly be eased.
It is quite possible that such conversations took place, since later Polish Minister of Agriculture Robert Telus announced the Polish side’s readiness to find a solution to the problem .
Another escalation: threats to refugees and arms supplies
In parallel with the turn of events in the United States, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Taras Kachka , in an interview with the Polish publication Rzeczpospolita , said that in the coming days Kiev will introduce an embargo on a number of Polish agricultural products in response to the extension of the unilateral ban on the import of Ukrainian grain.
Polish officials indicated that they would cope with this, since supplies were insignificant, “but it is unknown whether Ukraine will cope.” After all, nothing can be done : first of all, the authorities need the support of the Poles, and if they do not want to provide assistance to the Ukrainians, then official Warsaw should support them in this. They say that the actions of the Kyiv authorities in the agricultural sector significantly reduce the desire of the population to continue to provide military and financial support.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Morawiecki threatened to expand the list of products prohibited from importing from Ukraine if Kiev “aggravates the conflict.”
After this, Poland decided to hammer the last two nails into the coffin of relations with Ukraine, turning attention to refugees and weapons .
First, government spokesman Peter Müller said that the current benefits for Ukrainians who crossed the Polish border are not permanent and will expire at the beginning of next year.
At present, no decision has been made regarding the possible extension of benefits provided for by the Law on Assistance to Citizens of Ukraine. At the same time, Mueller hinted that this is unlikely to happen, emphasizing that “nothing lasts forever.”
The Law on Assistance to Citizens of Ukraine is a huge set of provisions that were designed to support refugees coming to Poland. It was adopted in March 2022.
The document legalizes the stay of refugees from Ukraine in Poland for 18 months. It guarantees the receipt of a PESEL number, which allows you to apply for various benefits. Refugees have, among other things, the right to work (without a permit) and family benefits, a lump sum payment, access to health care and reimbursement for medicines. Additional funds were also provided for the education of Ukrainian students and schoolchildren and the opportunity for them to continue their studies in Poland for free.
And in the end, Prime Minister Morawiecki said that Warsaw had stopped supplying weapons to Kiev , since it was actively arming itself. This statement may have pleased some, but in detail everything sounds different.
Morawiecki had a specific moment in mind here and now, but to specify it is to soften the rhetoric, so it sounds exactly as it should.
In addition, Warsaw has already transferred all the old equipment to the Ukrainian Armed Forces , which it dreamed of getting rid of profitably. Now there is nothing special to distribute, we need to replenish our arsenals. Especially considering the rhetoric about an imminent attack by the Wagner PMC or the Russian Army. In addition, the Poles need to fulfill the task they have taken upon themselves: becoming the strongest army in Europe .
At the same time, the Kyiv authorities (and European officials) managed to conclude contracts with Warsaw for future supplies, for example, for Krab howitzers and artillery shells. This is in addition to small contracts for the same uniforms.
What's the result?
A little over a week ago, we paid attention to Vladimir Zelensky’s interview with the Economist magazine, in which the Ukrainian president threatened European countries with riots by refugees from Ukraine if military and financial assistance was curtailed.
Behind Zelensky’s very straightforward threat lies another, more important meaning. Speaking about a possible rebellion of refugees, Zelensky exposes his own citizens as ungrateful savages who do not appreciate any help provided to them primarily by the inhabitants of Europe - after all, their taxes provide accommodation for Ukrainians.
These words will accelerate the formation of a negative attitude towards refugees, which is already at a fairly low level due to the actions of Ukrainian citizens themselves in Europe. Discontent will only grow, as fatigue from the conflict increases every day, and most importantly, the standard of living of Europeans is falling. All this will increase tension among ordinary EU citizens. If the Ukrainians’ own president says that they can rebel, then this is what Europeans should expect from the Ukrainian savages. In the end, everything could escalate to such a scale that Ukrainian migrants will be beaten even for gagging.
Exactly the same goal – preparing public opinion for the closure of the “Ukraine” project and discrediting Ukrainians – is being pursued by the current grain dispute.
Along with the understandable goals of the globalists, who are served by the Polish authorities, more mundane domestic political problems are also being solved.
The behavior of the Ukrainian elite and undisguised impudence towards the Poles not only irritates the latter, but also awakens in them revanchist sentiments towards Western Ukraine. And by leading this narrative, the Polish leadership attracts to its side not only the ultra-right, but also the entire conservative population, which treats Ukrainians with the same negativity as Russians.
On the other hand, the seriousness of the statements suggests that even after the elections, relations with Kiev are not going to be resumed at the previous level (as unnecessary ), and the party in power will be able to continue to satisfy the demands of the anti-Ukrainian electorate. Including by discrediting the leadership of Ukraine and promoting the thesis “if we were there, there would be order.”
No, the Poles will not ride horses and carry pitchforks into Ukraine; in modern realities this is of no use. To indicate their presence in Western Ukraine, the Poles do not necessarily have to enter there in huge columns. It will be enough to organize several small outposts outside major cities, for example, as part of an initiative to create a joint Polish-Ukrainian brigade or a NATO peacekeeping mission. Subsequently, the geography and size of the contingent can be gradually increased, preparing the ground for the actual annexation of the regions of Western Ukraine. The process can last for years and is linked to the same systematic economic and legal integration. But the result will be the same.
At the same time, there are no fundamental obstacles to this: Poland is actively militarizing and massively purchasing military equipment abroad, and the number of current armed forces is quite sufficient for such an operation.
In addition, Polish expansionist aspirations are evidenced by all the steps that the Polish government is taking today, including hints to Ukrainian refugees that it would be better to obtain Polish citizenship and the privileged position of Poles in the restoration of Ukraine.
Warsaw mermaid
https://rybar.ru/zerno-razdora-kak-vozn ... privedyot/
Google Translator
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Poland Hinted That Germany Is To Blame For Its Dispute With Ukraine
Posted on September 23, 2023 by Yves Smith
Yves here. Andrew Korybko suggests that it would behoove the US to notice the Ukraine-Germany-Poland power struggles and intervene on behalf of Poland v. Germany. But that would require finesse, a quality not much in evidence in the Administration.
I also am curious to see if European readers agree with this take. It seems plausible that Germany, despite becoming weaker due to de-industrialization and increasingly sharp political divides, would still seek to maximize its position.
By Andrew Korybko, a Moscow-based American political analyst who specializes in the global systemic transition to multipolarity in the New Cold War. He has a PhD from MGIMO, which is under the umbrella of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Originally published at his website
The Biden Administration can either turn a blind eye to its German liberal-globalist allies’ dual power plays over Ukraine and Poland or pragmatically support the latter in order to maintain the geopolitical balance in Europe by averting German hegemony. Whichever of these two options it chooses will have far-reaching implications for US grand strategy.
Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk’s interview on Friday with the RMF24 radio station saw him hint that Germany is to blame for his country’s dispute with Ukraine. Their bilateral tensions, which saw Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki reveal that Warsaw won’t supply Kiev with modern arms any longer, were discussed here and should be read for background. What follows are highlights from the Google Translated version of Mularczyk’s interview that will then be analyzed in the larger context:
———-
* Poland expects the US to take its side by convincing Ukraine to correct its attitude
– “I think that in some way the participation of the United States will cool down hot Ukrainian heads.”
* Kiev’s decision to publicize its problems with Poland risks weakening the anti-Russian coalition
– “This dispute, which is publicly disseminated around the world, serves neither Poland nor Ukraine. Neither does it serve our common cause – defeating Russia in this war. It should be absolutely quiet, all kinds of misunderstandings resolved. This is our goal.”
* Germany is suspected of trying to cut deals with Ukraine behind Poland’s back
– “We see attempts to ‘bypass’ Poland, i.e. talks about transit through Poland and trade in Ukrainian grain over our heads. Certain clues lead to Berlin. It is probably obvious that the frequent recent visits of many ministers to Kiev, as well as meetings of President Zelensky with important German politicians, including Ursula von der Leyen, are perhaps arrangements above our heads.”
* German-controlled Brussels has ulterior motives in offering to resolve the grain dispute
– “Thank you for such help, where Poland is ordered over our heads to open its Polish borders to Ukrainian grain, the aim of which is to finish off Polish agriculture and Polish farmers. Mrs. von der Leyen is not the President or Prime Minister of Poland and these matters are decided in Poland, not in Brussels.”
* Ukraine needs to engage directly with Poland, not Germany, if it wants to improve bilateral ties
– “Ukrainians must understand that if they want to have good relations with Poland, they must establish it with Poland, not with Berlin.”
* Ukrainian oligarchs profit from the German plot to kill Poland’s domestic agricultural industry
– “For these large, global farms and oligarchs in Ukraine, it is best to sell grain in Poland, because it is the cheapest transport, the closest to a large market and it is the most convenient for them. We are open to transit. Let this grain go to France, Berlin, Hamburg, and then to Spain. However, we cannot allow this grain to reach Poland and eliminate Polish agriculture.”
———-
Mularczyk’s argument is intriguing for several reasons. First, it absolves Zelensky of full responsibility by portraying him as a German puppet, which secondly revives Poland’s traditional paranoia about that country’s geopolitical intentions. Third, it replaces prior fears of a secret German-Russian deal over Poland with a new German-Ukrainian one. Fourth, it implies that oligarchs put Zelensky up to this, which finally suggests that he can crack down on them and other pro-German forces to resolve this dispute.
Germany’s alleged power play to kill Poland’s domestic agricultural industry by flooding it with Ukrainian grain aligns with the geostrategic motives explained in this analysis here earlier the summer about how “Germany’s Military Patronage Of Ukraine Ramps Up Its Regional Competition With Poland”. In brief, it was assessed that Berlin is striving to replace Warsaw as Kiev’s top European partner, all with the aim of further pressuring Poland into returning to its traditional post-communist status as a German vassal.
The upcoming elections on 15 October will play a pivotal role in this respect since the return to power of the “Civic Platform” (PO) opposition would end the ruling “Law & Justice” (PiS) party’s plans to replicate the late Jozef Pilsudski’s policy of remaining equidistant from Germany and Russia via a regional sphere of influence. If the incumbents win re-election though, even if they have to form a coalition government with the anti-establishment Confederation party, then they’re expected to largely retain this course.
Therein lies one of the reasons why Germany is supposedly trying to destroy Poland’s domestic agricultural industry as soon as possible via the means that Mularczyk detailed through Ukrainian grain since PiS will require the continued loyalty of its rural base in order to remain in power. Economically ravaging this electorally strategic part of the country ahead of the next elections could very well doom PiS’ plans, ergo why Berlin allegedly cooked up this latest grain scheme with Kiev’s related oligarchs.
Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus claimed in late August prior to the European Commission lifting its prior compromise deal over its eastern members’ unilateral ban on associated Ukrainian imports that this was an attempt to meddle in the polls:
[It’s] a purely political decision…There are no substantive arguments, nor has anyone presented them to us. Politically, there are elections on 15 October and it’s about destabilising…The EU is trying to use us as part of a partisan struggle. These are very important elections for Poland, but also for Europe, because the narrative in Europe is changing completely: right-wing narratives are starting to win and this leftist policy of the EU is starting to lose.
Mularczyk’s arguments are essentially a more detailed elaboration of Telus’ assessment that doesn’t shy away from directly blaming Germany for the dispute that subsequently unfolded with Ukraine over this extremely sensitive issue.
It’s also interesting to draw attention to his emphasis on Germany’s suspected cultivation of influence among Ukraine’s agricultural oligarchs. That point implies that Poland is well aware of who truly calls the shots behind the scenes in that country, namely shadowy but very powerful forces much more than its public representatives. Apart from the oligarchs, who operate in a wide array of industries, this also includes various factions among its military and intelligence services.
Germany’s supposedly secret alliance with Ukraine’s agricultural oligarchs show that it’s trying to pull Zelensky’s strings via these forces, though that doesn’t absolve him of responsibility for this dispute since it was he himself who hinted at the UNGA that Poland was doing Russia’s bidding. Mularczyk’s condemnation of him for those remarks and his concern that they risk weakening the anti-Russian coalition flips the script by ironically suggesting that it’s Zelensky who’s the one doing Russia’s bidding.
Even so, the rest of his interview builds the narrative that powerful agricultural oligarchs pushed him to do this at Germany’s urging, but it gives Zelensky the chance to resolve the Polish-Ukrainian dispute by cracking down on these forces. For that to happen, however, Poland believes that the US would have to convince him to make this move and fully back him in the face of the potential consequences. In effect, Mularczyk wants Zelensky to purge German agents of influence on a US-backed anti-corruption pretext.
He’s unlikely to do this on his own at that Polish official’s thinly disguised request, which is why it’ll ultimately come down to whatever the US decides to do. The Biden Administration can either turn a blind eye to its German liberal–globalist allies’ dual power plays over Ukraine and Poland or pragmatically support the latter in order to maintain the geopolitical balance in Europe by averting German hegemony. Whichever of these two options it chooses will have far-reaching implications for US grand strategy.
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/09 ... raine.html
The Coming Ukraine Collapse and the “Rebuilding” Headfake
Posted on September 22, 2023 by Yves Smith
Marguerite Yourcenar salvaged one of the finest lines in all literature from the first version of her masterpiece Memoirs of Hadrian: “I begin to discern the profile of my death.” We are approaching that point with Ukriane, not just its military campaign, but also its economy. That baked-in collapse has been camouflaged by the bizarre pretense that there will be a huge reconstruction push, even more absurdly, funded by private sector interests. One has to think that the “rebuilding” patter is part of the cover for the fact that Project Ukraine is a lost cause.
At the end of this post, we are embedding a chapter on the devastation in Russia in the 1990s to give an idea of what the downside in Ukraine might look like.1 Recall that even though the USSR had suffered from underinvestment in many sectors, it still had ample resources and considerable manufacturing capacity. It did not, as Ukraine has, suffer from considerable infrastructure destruction, a fall in its population to half its former level, through flight, annexation, and death in the war, and the loss of some of its most economically developed areas.
The war is now entering a critical phase, with experts now warning of a breakdown of the Ukraine military in the not-terribly-distant future or using formulations that amount to the same thing. Scott Ritter had predicted that outcome for late summer-fall based on Ukraine’s dwindling missiles supplies, but that horizon has been extended by the US supply of cluster munitions, whose use is considered a war crime by many countries.
An indicator of the increased willingness to admit the inevitable military disintegration was coming is the early September article, How Ukraine’s Heroic Stand Against Russia Could Collapse Into Failure by Daniel Davis in 19FortyFive. Some parts of the press are admitting that the much-ballyhooed counteroffensive has failed; others are following official messaging via the revisionist history of claiming it had limited objectives and holding out the laughably false hope that Ukraine might still puncture Russian fortified defense lines and reach Tokmak before the fall mud season starts.
Seymour Hersh’s latest newsletter depicted both Biden and Zelensky as dug in on continuing the war (without mentioning that Banderite guns at the back of Zelensky’s head mean he cannot act otherwise even if he wanted to). But as the saying goes, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. And there is a noteworthy failure of wishes to translate into improved capabilities. From Hersh:
There are significant elements in the American intelligence community, relying on field reports and technical intelligence, who believe that the demoralized Ukraine army has given up on the possibility of overcoming the heavily mined three-tier Russian defense lines and taking the war to Crimea and the four oblasts seized and annexed by Russia. The reality is that Volodymyr Zelensky’s battered army no longer has any chance of a victory….
“There were some early Ukrainian penetrations in the opening days of the June offensive,” the official [ with access to current intelligence] said, “at or near” the heavily trapped first of Russia’s three formidable concrete barriers of defense, “and the Russians retreated to sucker them in. And they all got killed.” After weeks of high casualties and little progress, along with horrific losses to tanks and armored vehicles, he said, major elements of the Ukrainian army, without declaring so, virtually canceled the offensive. The two villages that the Ukrainian army recently claimed as captured “are so tiny that they couldn’t fit between two Burma-Shave signs”—referring to billboards that seemed to be on every American highway after World War II….
“The truth is if the Ukrainian army is ordered to continue the offensive, the army would mutiny. The soldiers aren’t willing to die any more, but this doesn’t fit the B.S. that is being authored by the Biden White House.”
This outcome is not a surprise to anyone who has ventured outside mainstream reporting to find sources that have been paying attention to what is happening on the battlefield and with weapons supplies. Russia was outproducing the entire Collective West in artillery when the war began, and if anything, that gap has widened. Russia also has the advantage in missile production, has substantially increased drone output, and already had the most advanced air defense systems. The West despite handwaves has done little to increase capacity.
Worse, Russia burning the hodge-podge of supposedly game-changing Western tanks and armored vehicles had been both so embarrassing and effective that Ukraine has been reduced to moving men on foot to assault Russia positions, resulting in predictably horrific loss rates. Alexander Mercouris has correctly called the results a killing field.
As the offensive has quietly slowed down, Ukraine’s support is also breaking down. Even if resolve had held, there was the unanswered question of where adequate weapons supplies would come from and how Ukraine would build yet another army, since by my count, its third is in the process of being destroyed. The idea of forced repatriation of military-aged men from the rest of Europe was a joke, another demonstration of Ukraine’s sense of entitlement.2
But Zelensky’s effort to drum up more money and goodies from the West via his UN and Washington sales effort fell worse than flat. For one-stop shopping, see Simplicius the Thinker in Zelensky’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad D.C. Snubfest.
Zelensky’s visit revealed how the cost of Project Ukraine has become far too high as recognition rises that what would be required just to keep things going is an open checkbook…even before getting to the looming manpower problem. In an attempt to keep the optics up as Team Biden and other over-invested in Ukraine try to regroup, more and more spokescritters are shifting their patter from “Great Ukraine victory when it restarts the offensive” to the new sick fantasy of a multi-year war.
And even worse, European support is also buckling. As we discussed yesterday via Andrew Korybko’s post, Poland & Ukraine Have Plunged Into A Full-Blown Political Crisis With No End In Sight, both Slovakia and Poland have elections soon. Parties opposed to continuing high levels of support for Ukraine have good potential to win. If they were to prevail, it would knock the wind out of the pretense of NATO support for Ukraine.3
Poland in particular has been one of the most rabid supporters for Ukraine, and by virtue of location and inclination, has been imagined to be a source of troops if the US and NATO were to be so foolish as to put their own boots on the ground. Polish president Duda may be pandering to save his electoral hide by standing up to what he depicts as Ukraine’s abuse of the grain deal and describing Ukraine a drowning man that he will not allow to pull Poland down into the drink, even as Prime Minister Morawiecki says no new weapons will be sent to to Ukraine. But some things cannot be unsaid.
Now after that introduction, to the main event of the exceedingly poor economic prospects for what will be left of Ukraine… which is not even known. It’s pretty remarkable to see chipper talk in the West of rebuilding Ukraine, since it presupposes there will be a meaningful Ukraine left. It’s reminiscent of children discussing how much of an ailing parent’s wealth they expect to carve up when the process of dying could well wipe out the remaining assets.
The quality of data about Ukraine is terrible. Western reporters appear to have mainly visited Kiev, which so far has been spared most of the destruction, and only a few hardy souls have gone to the front lines. As far as I can tell, we don’t have sightings of conditions in much of Western Ukraine, save also for the shellings of Odessa. Note that Russia has increased its strikes on Lviv in the past month. So we don’t have much of an idea of how much physical damage has been done.
We have discussed Russia’s selective destruction of the electrical grid. Even though enough was patched up to keep it running, some have claimed that the repairs are glue-and-bandaid enough that parts will probably fall over on their own with increased winter load.
Russia has also been using drones a lot of late and holding back on missiles, which means it could easily rinse and repeat its grid attacks. Since only Russia makes the major components of the Ukraine electrical system, and Ukraine had been some of its replacements from former Warsaw Pact members, more Russian attacks would eventually put large parts of the electrical system beyond anyone’s ability to fix save Russia’s (the West is simply not going to build special purpose factories for the a big blip of Ukraine refitting).
So Russia if it wants to controls Western Ukraine’s future if it sufficiently takes out its power network.
Let’s consider other complicating factors. One is the loss of population, particularly of the working age. As Michael Vlahos pointed out:
However, Luttwak bases his prediction on Ukraine having a population of 30 million. That number comes from January 2022. In an analysis by the think tank Jamestown Foundation, which is connected to the American intelligence community, it is said that the Ukrainian population has today shrunk to just 20 million, slightly more than the Netherlands, but fewer than Taiwan. And of the 20 million, according to the Jamestown Foundation, retirees make up over half: 10.7 million.
Ukraine’s government is now substantially if not totally dependent on Western funding. Federal spending was $35 billion in 2021 and $61 billion in 2022. A substantial portion of US aid was to prop up the government.
And even if spending falls from war-level peaks, Ukraine’s fall in GDP (estimated at 25%, which seems low) in combination with not just an aged population, but now a large number of war disabled, including many amputees, means an increased social burden with greatly diminished productive capacity.
And we have not even factored in what happens if Russia eventually marches up to the Dnieper, getting even more of Ukraine’s most productive farm land, and/or takes the Black Sea coast, turning Ukraine into an even poorer landlocked rump state. The fact that the US is unwilling to make any concession to the key Russian demand of no Ukraine ever in NATO means Russia will prosecute the war until it has subjugated Ukraine, by whatever combination of conquest, installation of a captive government, and economic destruction needs to happen.
Consider what has happened to the hyrina under the tender ministrations of the US:
What happens when the Western budget support to Ukraine dries up? Huge deficit spending. And what do big deficits in combination with a big loss of economic productive capacity produce? Hyperinflation.
Now with these sorry prospects, we nevertheless have the touting of the reconstruction plans, because big private sector names like BlackRock are attached to them.
[youtube]http://twitter.com/i/status/1703109560913854765[/youtube]
People like Greenwald are concerned, but not to worry. This rebuilding program is a hollow mandate. The fact that various players might skim some fees while spinning their wheels does not meant there is a prospect of anything meaningful happening. I could go on at great length and may do a fuller kneecapping later. But this will hopefully do for now.
First, those who remember the 2015 Greek bailout crisis may recall that the Trokia tried hawking Greek assets, hired agents, and had planned to reap €50 billion. As we wrote in Look What You Can Buy in the Greek Liquidation Sale!, that figure was wildly exaggerated. As far as I could tell, aside from the sale of the port of Pireaus, the effort was a huge flop. And remember, Greece was suffering merely from a very depressed economy and the related loss of workers with employment prospects in the rest of Europe, as it was nothing even remotely as bad a basket case as Ukraine will be.
Second, by making reconstruction a private sector initiative, governments are effectively washing their hands of Ukraine.4 The most critical parts of Ukraine to rebuild will be the foundations of functioning communities: roads, water systems, bridges. Those are built by governments because they are shared goods. Pray tell, what kind of society would Ukraine have if it ran on the infrastructure fund basis of having only/mainly toll roads and bridges?
Third, the numbers Ukraine needs are ginormous. Even the $300 billion of Russia assets that “seize not freeze” Ursula von der Leyen would like to get her hands on is not enough. Zelensky in July said Ukraine needed $750 billion for reconstruction.
Even if Zelensky were miraculously to get the funding, where would the know-how and skilled laborers come from? Very few Western countries (France and Australia high on the list) are good at large scale infrastructure. But all of the members of the Project Ukraine would want their piece of the reconstruction pie. Imagine the squabbling and the low odds that the best qualified players would get the green light.
Fourth, Zelensky is again selling hopium. Per the Daily Mail:
The meeting discussed the creation of a platform for attracting private capital to rebuild Ukraine. Zelensky also focused on directions of large investment projects in Ukraine specifically in green energy, IT, and agricultural technologies.
All those initiatives presuppose a functioning economy, such as a decent number of high-end professionals and well-functioning logistics. Those are conditions not likely to be much in evidence.
Finally, for an initiative this large to have any chance of success, you’d need to divvy the work among top infrastructure players around the world. Instead, Team Biden threw a US party. Note how far down on the Infrastructure Investor list below BlackRock is. Ukraine’s lead adviser JP Morgan is #78. KKR, which is #4, has strong Republican ties, which is the presumed reason for them not being much in evidence in this effort despite being the best qualified US player:
In other words, the Ukraine tragedy will not be over if and when the war ends. Americans should be embarrassed that we plan to add investor looting to the damage, even though as indicated that is actually unlikely to get much of anywhere.
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1 Keep in mind that when the USSR broke up, the members of the Warsaw Pact had been as a whole net recipients of support from Russia (that does not mean that there were not serious economic consequences to Russian industry via enterprises having operated in an integrated manner in Russia and Warsaw Pact countries suddenly being balkanized).
2 Refugees and asylum-seekers are entitled to due process. They can’t be tossed out in bulk. They would need to be extradited individually for draft evasion. That means supplying names to the legal authorities in the country where they now reside. Tell me how Ukraine even would know that, before getting to the wee problems of whether those courts would even consider those cases and how many they could process.
3 Scott Ritter pointed out long-form in an important speech that the Ukraine conflict has revealed NATO to be a paper tiger.
.4 We do have the bizarre specter of the World Bank proposing to launder $25 billion through the Clinton Foundation, which has no track record in infrastructure-building. They do claim to have built “health infrastructure” in the DRC, whatever that means.
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/09 ... dfake.html
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How Will The Biden Administration Cope With Its Loss In Ukraine?
While this piece will touch on the war in Ukraine it is more about the U.S., and the Biden administration, and how they will cope with their defeat in their war on Russia. Please keep that in mind when commentating.
Washington's moment of recognizing the defeat in Ukraine, and its consequences, has yet to arrive.
In his latest piece (archived) Seymour Hersh reports on the state of the war and of significant differences of opinion between the U.S. intelligence services:
There are significant elements in the American intelligence community, relying on field reports and technical intelligence, who believe that the demoralized Ukraine army has given up on the possibility of overcoming the heavily mined three-tier Russian defense lines and taking the war to Crimea and the four oblasts seized and annexed by Russia. The reality is that Volodymyr Zelensky’s battered army no longer has any chance of a victory.
The war continues, I have been told by an official with access to current intelligence, because Zelensky insists that it must. There is no discussion in his headquarters or in the Biden White House of a ceasefire and no interest in talks that could lead to an end to the slaughter. “It’s all lies,” the official said, speaking of the Ukrainian claims of incremental progress in the offensive that has suffered staggering losses, while gaining ground in a few scattered areas that the Ukrainian military measures in meters per week.
...
The American intelligence official I spoke with spent the early years of his career working against Soviet aggression and spying has respect for Putin’s intellect but contempt for his decision to go to war with Ukraine and to initiate the death and destruction that war brings. But, as he told me, “The war is over. Russia has won. There is no Ukrainian offensive anymore, but the White House and the American media have to keep the lie going.
“The truth is if the Ukrainian army is ordered to continue the offensive, the army would mutiny. The soldiers aren’t willing to die any more, but this doesn’t fit the B.S. that is being authored by the Biden White House.”
The differences between the current CIA and the more neoconned Defense Intelligence Agency extend to their view on China:
A byproduct of the Biden administration’s neocon hostility to Russia and China—exemplified by the remarks of Secretary of State Tony Blinken, who has repeatedly stated that he will not currently countenance a ceasefire in Ukraine—has been a significant split in the intelligence community. One casualty are the secret National Intelligence Estimates that have delineated the parameters of American foreign policy for decades. Some key offices in the CIA have refused, in many cases, to participate in the NIE process because of profound political disagreement with the administration’s aggressive foreign policy. One recent failure involved a planned NIE that dealt with the outcome of a Chinese attack on Taiwan.
I have reported for many weeks on the longstanding disagreement between the CIA and other elements of the intelligence community on the prognosis of the current war in the Ukraine. CIA analysts have consistently been far more skeptical than their counterparts at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) on the prospect for a Ukraine success. The American media has ignored the dispute, but the London-headquartered Economist, whose well-informed reporters do not get bylines, has not.
...
The DIA is still saying that the Ukrainian army has a chance, a small one though, to break through the Russian lines. The White House still seems to believe in that. The CIA knows that the Ukraine is done.
Alastair Crooke, in a talk (vid) with Judge Napolitano, says that the moment of truth will only arrive in November.
But what will happen when everyone recognizes and acknowledges, if silently, that the war on Russia has failed?
Michael Brenner argues that the US Can’t Deal With Defeat:
Ukraine, today, has suffered huge losses of even greater (proportional) magnitude [than the German Wehrmacht in the Battle of Kursk], without achieving any significant territorial gains, unable even to reach the first layer of the Surovikin Line. That will clear the road to the Dnieper and beyond for the 600,000 strong Russian army equipped with weaponry the equal of what the West has given Ukraine. Hence, Moscow is poised to exploit its decisive advantage to the point where it can dictate terms to Kiev, Washington, Brussels et al.
The Biden administration has made no plans for such an eventuality, nor have its obedient European governments. Their divorce from reality will make this state of affairs all the more stunning — and galling. Bereft of ideas, they will flounder. How they will react is unknowable. We can say with certainty one thing: the collective West, and especially the U.S., will have suffered a grave defeat. Coping with that truth will become the main order of business.
Here is a menu of options for handling it:
Redefine what is meant by defeat, victory, failure, success, loss, gain. There is a new narrative that is scripted to stress these talking points: ...
...
This narrative already has been given an airing in speeches by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland. Its target audience is the American public; nobody outside the Collective West buys it, though — whether Washington has registered that fact of diplomatic life or not.
Retroactively Scale Back the Goals & Stakes
...
Cultivate Amnesia
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Next: China
...
It is likely that the administration will use all four options to make the pain and memory of defeat go away. Declare victory over Russia because Russia was stopped at the border with Poland. Then forget about all the details and consequences and move towards war on China.
That could end catastrophically.
The focal shift from Russia in Europe to China in Asia is less a mechanism for coping with defeat than the pathological reaction of a country that, feeling a gnawing sense of diminishing prowess, can manage to do nothing more than try one final fling at proving to itself that it still has the right stuff — since living without that exalted sense of self is intolerable.
...
The U.S. was fortunate, in the case of Vietnam, that the United States’ dominant position in the world outside of the Soviet Bloc and the PRC allowed it to maintain respect, status and influence.
Things have now changed, though. The U.S. relative strength in all domains is weaker, strong centrifugal forces around the globe are producing a dispersion of power, will and outlook among other states. The BRICs phenomenon is the concrete embodiment of that reality.
Hence, the prerogatives of the United States are narrowing, its ability to shape the global system in conformity with its ideas and interests are under mounting challenge, and premiums are being placed on diplomacy of an order that seems beyond its present aptitudes.
The U.S. is confounded.
Major offices in the CIA, according to Hersh, have recognized the danger of such plans. It may well be the reason why the CIA's informal spokesmen, David Ignatius, and others wrote that Biden should step down.
If he doesn't the neoconservatives around him will have a great incentive to move on China as fast as possible. As Biden will have difficulties in winning next year's election he needs some objective that can unify the country. A war that he can claim the U.S. will win is one. Some hostile naval exchanges with China will follow.
(Please don't use the comments of this thread for details from the war in Ukraine. The current thread for such is here.)
Posted by b on September 21, 2023 at 17:05 UTC | Permalink
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/09/h ... .html#more
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ZKP.
About a hit on the building of Staff of Black Sea Fleet. Immediately for people who may have questions: NOBODY IS in this building except for maintenance and guard crew. During war time all C4 departments of the Staff operate out of ZKP (Запасной Командный Пункт--ЗКП)--a Reserve Command Post, which is underground and is very difficult to identify and attack. So, the attack is primarily for PR reasons, militarily it has a very low value, plus disruption of the civilian traffic in the area of Lenin's Street, Nakhimov's Square, Nakhimov's Ave and on the hill where the Staff and Rear Service of the Fleet are located.
Per US P-8 Poseidon in the vicinity in the international air space--this is US MO--fight through proxy, hide behind them. Poseidon was scanning electromagnetic picture of Sevastopol's Air Defense during attack for "library" reasons and transfer of data to VSU for the next attack. In real war, there would have been no US assets anywhere above the Black Sea because they would have been all shot down. Pentagon knows this, but, as was pointed out many times--they see for the first time the real war, so they want "to take part". Expect some response from Russia, Misters Kalibr, Iskander and Geran will be very busy in the next few days.
http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2023/09/zkp.html
September 21, 2023
Warsaw mermaid
For several weeks now, the whole world has been observing the deterioration of Polish-Ukrainian relations. The formal reason was the embargo on grain from Ukraine, and now it has reached the point of unequivocal hints about blocking the Ukrainian Armed Forces supply channel.
What makes the conflict especially significant is that Poland, which was not very independent in the international arena, was appointed to the role of the main “hub” for the supply of weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and a key ally of Ukraine, both in terms of military-political and humanitarian cooperation. It was from Warsaw that the most radical statements were made against those who did not sufficiently support Ukraine and demands to continue the war at any cost.
Therefore, it is impossible to believe that such a sudden reversal occurred on the initiative of the Polish authorities. And for good reason, since the dispute over grain is just another tool to close the “Ukraine project”, diligently implemented by the (seemingly illogical) aggressive actions of the Ukrainian government towards its allies.
But first things first.
Chronology of events
Issues regarding the import of Ukrainian agricultural products to Poland have long been on the agenda of the authorities in Warsaw. For almost a whole year, local farmers staged protests, outraged by the terms of the grain deal, because of which they completely lost their income and were at risk of bankruptcy.
However, until a certain time, the exhortations of farmers and their demands were ignored in Warsaw , with little satisfaction of requests for financial support.
Later, the Polish authorities not only imposed an embargo on Ukrainian grain and some other goods, but also assembled a coalition of countries whose governments supported the ban.
And then parliamentary elections loomed on the horizon of Polish events .
Before the vote on October 15 in Poland, people increasingly began to wonder what the government would do with Ukrainian grain. Officials in Warsaw confidently announced back in the summer that the ban on supplies would be extended . They confirmed their intentions in early September, indicating that the decision would be made regardless of the actions of the European Commission, which in the summer approved the embargo until September 15.
In response, the Kiev authorities almost immediately “showed their character”: the Council of Ministers banned Ukrainian legislators from traveling to Poland, without hiding that the measures were related to the ongoing dispute over grain imports. Ukrainian Ambassador to Poland Vasily Zvarych later clarified: the exceptions apply to official trips of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, NATO-related visits or official invitations. The official did not forget to add that it would be “difficult for Kyiv to accept” an extension of the current embargo.
There was no reaction from the Poles at the official level, but there was enough information for nationalist circles in the republic to start talking again about the need to “show the Ukrainians their place” and knock down their arrogance. The scandal surrounding the possible expulsion of citizens of Nezalezhnaya of military age and publications about the connections of the Ukrainian mafia with the Polish government added fuel to the fire.
The Ukrainians perceived the ignoring by Polish officials as an invitation to continue to put pressure on Warsaw, and then Kiev announced that if after September 15 the embargo on Ukrainian grain was not lifted, Ukraine would file a claim against Poland and the European Union in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmyhal stressed that Kiev may respond by banning the import of certain categories of goods from these two countries.
The threat regarding a complaint to the WTO, frankly speaking, is so-so: these actions will not give much result in any case, but it sounds good for the people.
With all this, the squabbles of imaginary allies did not prevent the Poles from concluding a contract for the production of large-caliber shells for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Participation of the Polish opposition
While Warsaw was fighting off the resurfaced migration scandal associated with the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, the opposition joined the grain rhetoric. The opportunity to seize the initiative was not bad, and the head of the main opposition party in Poland, Donald Tusk , promptly accepted the head of the Agrounia farmers' association, Michal Kolodziejczak, as an ally .
In order to interrupt the agenda, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki presented an ultimatum to the European Commission, saying that if it does not support the ban on grain imports, the republic will do everything itself. According to him, for Warsaw the interests of local farmers are a priority (could it be different before the elections?) and the country will say “no” to “all Ukrainian oligarchs who want to destabilize the Polish agricultural market.”
In addition, Warsaw indicated that the likelihood of a complaint to the WTO from Ukraine is not impressive and, in general, the authorities of the republic do not like this state of affairs . Some European officials tried to “calm down” the Kyiv authorities, assuring that this was a test for lice. They say this is how national governments show Kyiv how to work with public opinion. And this is simply a “painful lesson in European integration.”
At the same time, quietly, without fanfare, Polish President Andrzej Duda signed an amendment to the law on export insurance guaranteed by the State Treasury. It would seem, what does Ukraine have to do with it? Yes, the document is simply the basis of the Independence Square restoration program with the participation of Polish business, which also provides for special support for investments. Thus, companies from Poland received the privilege of post-war development of the country: seizing the prerogative of investment insurance.
Already at this stage, it became clear that Warsaw would try to use the scandal to remind Kyiv of long-standing agreements, including on the topic of the Volyn massacre.
The issue of the Volyn massacre
Member of the Polish Sejm Michal Dworczyk recently made a statement about the Volyn massacre and the exhumation of victims, with which the Ukrainian authorities literally blackmailed the Poles for a long time. It should be noted that this issue is not particularly important for the Polish government, but it constantly affects the reputation: citizens perceive any failure in it as a personal defeat, which affects the results on the ballot.
Dvorchik said that a “very unsatisfactory situation” has developed in the issue of Volyn with Kiev, but work to find victims of genocide is already underway. They are held in the town of Puzniki in Podolia, the former Ternopil Voivodeship, where UPA soldiers killed between 80 and 100 Poles in February 1945.
But this was not news and not a breakthrough in the topic of Volyn. There really was consent - the Kiev authorities gave it last year . At the same time, Ukrainian specialists not only issued permission, but also set conditions : they had to be present during the work. This is, in fact, the only data that has been received since November 2022.
So a step in the right direction led everyone somewhere wrong. But in Kiev they decided not to react .
Escalation of the conflict
Meanwhile, the opposition was hot on PiS's heels. The leader of “Agrounia” Kolodziejczak, on behalf of Tusk’s party, went to a meeting of the European Parliament , where he was supposed to tell deputies about the need to extend the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain to Poland. Therefore, the authorities in Warsaw had to quickly, a few days before the EC decision, which would have been made on September 15, declare a unilateral extension of the embargo in order to prevent “flooding the country with Ukrainian grain.”
This became the main trigger for the Ukrainian government.
The Ukrainian authorities filed claims against Poland with the WTO, noting that it was interfering with the transit of grain, and President Vladimir Zelensky proudly stated that in this way he was fighting “ in arbitrations” for a “common Europe . ”
In response, Polish officials advised that now is not the time for Ukraine to join the EU and, especially, NATO . At the same time, President Duda recalled the effect of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty , which imposes obligations of collective defense.
And in order to enter the EU, Ukrainians generally must undergo a whole initiation rite, and the Poles will not allow it unless it includes a condition for regulating food from Ukraine, so that it does not linger in the EU countries.
In Kyiv, the advice was not appreciated and they almost started talking about betrayal on the part of Warsaw. Pro-Ukrainian experts and activists began to put pressure on the Poles, arguing that such behavior would greatly “undermine the image” of Poland on the world stage.
Around this time, a visa scandal broke out in the republic (we talked about it in more detail in a recent article). In general, the scandal arose due to the dismissal of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Piotr Wawrzyk : it turned out that the official was arrested for fraud with work visas. The essence of the scam was that embassies issued documents to people who had never worked a day in Poland. Such actions should be stopped, but, as you might guess, no one was tracking such stories.
As a result , the European Parliament unofficially reported that behind-the-scenes negotiations had begun to suspend the validity of visas issued by Polish consular departments, since the Schengen zone was “losing confidence in Poland” and the visas it issues. The worst-case scenario involves Poles in Europe again needing documents to cross borders.
Scandal at the UN General Assembly
Against this background, certainly not in the best way, which reflects on the reputation of PiS, Warsaw resorted to the main trump card and weapon, which was initially actively used by far-right parties .
President of the country Andrzej Duda , speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, commented on Kiev’s lawsuit against Warsaw over the decision to extend the ban on the supply of Ukrainian grain to the republic:
“It would be good if Ukraine remembered that it receives help from us and that we are a transit country for Ukraine as well.”
After which Duda compared the actions of the Ukrainian authorities against the Poles with rescuing a drowned man, who himself is “incredibly dangerous,” including because “he can pull you into the depths.”
After this, the previously planned meeting between Duda and Zelensky in New York as part of the UN General Assembly summit was cancelled . The Polish president explained that the reason was delays in the schedule of speeches at the summit.
In turn, Zelensky, making a speech at the UN, said that “it is alarming to watch how <...> some of our friends in Europe are playing out solidarity in the political theater - and making a thriller on the grain. It may seem that they are playing their role, but in fact they are helping <...> the Moscow actor.”
Poland responded that they hoped Zelensky’s words did not refer to Warsaw. Many opposition publications shared the same point of view, trying to equate these words with anti-Russian rhetoric. But just in case, the Poles still called the Ukrainian ambassador to explain to the Foreign Ministry .
Later, at the official level, the Foreign Ministry indicated that they expressed a “strong protest” to Zvarych regarding Zelensky’s statements at the UN General Assembly. The Polish side claims that the thesis is untrue and putting pressure on Warsaw in forums or sending complaints to international tribunals “are not appropriate methods for resolving disputes between our countries.”
Zvarych, in turn, explained to Warsaw Kiev’s position on the unacceptability of Poland’s unilateral ban on the import of Ukrainian grain. And the representative of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Oleg Nikolenko, called on “Polish friends to put aside emotions,” because, according to him, Kiev offered Poland a constructive way to solve the grain problem.
The backroom deal between Warsaw and Kyiv
It is interesting that a little later, some sources in the Ukrainian delegation that arrived at the UN General Assembly said that the Poles offered Zelensky a deal . Before the parliamentary elections in Poland, he makes complete concessions to the republic so that the ruling PiS party can win with a majority, in response to which the conditions for grain from Ukraine will supposedly be eased.
It is quite possible that such conversations took place, since later Polish Minister of Agriculture Robert Telus announced the Polish side’s readiness to find a solution to the problem .
Another escalation: threats to refugees and arms supplies
In parallel with the turn of events in the United States, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Taras Kachka , in an interview with the Polish publication Rzeczpospolita , said that in the coming days Kiev will introduce an embargo on a number of Polish agricultural products in response to the extension of the unilateral ban on the import of Ukrainian grain.
Polish officials indicated that they would cope with this, since supplies were insignificant, “but it is unknown whether Ukraine will cope.” After all, nothing can be done : first of all, the authorities need the support of the Poles, and if they do not want to provide assistance to the Ukrainians, then official Warsaw should support them in this. They say that the actions of the Kyiv authorities in the agricultural sector significantly reduce the desire of the population to continue to provide military and financial support.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Morawiecki threatened to expand the list of products prohibited from importing from Ukraine if Kiev “aggravates the conflict.”
After this, Poland decided to hammer the last two nails into the coffin of relations with Ukraine, turning attention to refugees and weapons .
First, government spokesman Peter Müller said that the current benefits for Ukrainians who crossed the Polish border are not permanent and will expire at the beginning of next year.
At present, no decision has been made regarding the possible extension of benefits provided for by the Law on Assistance to Citizens of Ukraine. At the same time, Mueller hinted that this is unlikely to happen, emphasizing that “nothing lasts forever.”
The Law on Assistance to Citizens of Ukraine is a huge set of provisions that were designed to support refugees coming to Poland. It was adopted in March 2022.
The document legalizes the stay of refugees from Ukraine in Poland for 18 months. It guarantees the receipt of a PESEL number, which allows you to apply for various benefits. Refugees have, among other things, the right to work (without a permit) and family benefits, a lump sum payment, access to health care and reimbursement for medicines. Additional funds were also provided for the education of Ukrainian students and schoolchildren and the opportunity for them to continue their studies in Poland for free.
And in the end, Prime Minister Morawiecki said that Warsaw had stopped supplying weapons to Kiev , since it was actively arming itself. This statement may have pleased some, but in detail everything sounds different.
Morawiecki had a specific moment in mind here and now, but to specify it is to soften the rhetoric, so it sounds exactly as it should.
In addition, Warsaw has already transferred all the old equipment to the Ukrainian Armed Forces , which it dreamed of getting rid of profitably. Now there is nothing special to distribute, we need to replenish our arsenals. Especially considering the rhetoric about an imminent attack by the Wagner PMC or the Russian Army. In addition, the Poles need to fulfill the task they have taken upon themselves: becoming the strongest army in Europe .
At the same time, the Kyiv authorities (and European officials) managed to conclude contracts with Warsaw for future supplies, for example, for Krab howitzers and artillery shells. This is in addition to small contracts for the same uniforms.
What's the result?
A little over a week ago, we paid attention to Vladimir Zelensky’s interview with the Economist magazine, in which the Ukrainian president threatened European countries with riots by refugees from Ukraine if military and financial assistance was curtailed.
Behind Zelensky’s very straightforward threat lies another, more important meaning. Speaking about a possible rebellion of refugees, Zelensky exposes his own citizens as ungrateful savages who do not appreciate any help provided to them primarily by the inhabitants of Europe - after all, their taxes provide accommodation for Ukrainians.
These words will accelerate the formation of a negative attitude towards refugees, which is already at a fairly low level due to the actions of Ukrainian citizens themselves in Europe. Discontent will only grow, as fatigue from the conflict increases every day, and most importantly, the standard of living of Europeans is falling. All this will increase tension among ordinary EU citizens. If the Ukrainians’ own president says that they can rebel, then this is what Europeans should expect from the Ukrainian savages. In the end, everything could escalate to such a scale that Ukrainian migrants will be beaten even for gagging.
Exactly the same goal – preparing public opinion for the closure of the “Ukraine” project and discrediting Ukrainians – is being pursued by the current grain dispute.
Along with the understandable goals of the globalists, who are served by the Polish authorities, more mundane domestic political problems are also being solved.
The behavior of the Ukrainian elite and undisguised impudence towards the Poles not only irritates the latter, but also awakens in them revanchist sentiments towards Western Ukraine. And by leading this narrative, the Polish leadership attracts to its side not only the ultra-right, but also the entire conservative population, which treats Ukrainians with the same negativity as Russians.
On the other hand, the seriousness of the statements suggests that even after the elections, relations with Kiev are not going to be resumed at the previous level (as unnecessary ), and the party in power will be able to continue to satisfy the demands of the anti-Ukrainian electorate. Including by discrediting the leadership of Ukraine and promoting the thesis “if we were there, there would be order.”
No, the Poles will not ride horses and carry pitchforks into Ukraine; in modern realities this is of no use. To indicate their presence in Western Ukraine, the Poles do not necessarily have to enter there in huge columns. It will be enough to organize several small outposts outside major cities, for example, as part of an initiative to create a joint Polish-Ukrainian brigade or a NATO peacekeeping mission. Subsequently, the geography and size of the contingent can be gradually increased, preparing the ground for the actual annexation of the regions of Western Ukraine. The process can last for years and is linked to the same systematic economic and legal integration. But the result will be the same.
At the same time, there are no fundamental obstacles to this: Poland is actively militarizing and massively purchasing military equipment abroad, and the number of current armed forces is quite sufficient for such an operation.
In addition, Polish expansionist aspirations are evidenced by all the steps that the Polish government is taking today, including hints to Ukrainian refugees that it would be better to obtain Polish citizenship and the privileged position of Poles in the restoration of Ukraine.
Warsaw mermaid
https://rybar.ru/zerno-razdora-kak-vozn ... privedyot/
Google Translator
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Poland Hinted That Germany Is To Blame For Its Dispute With Ukraine
Posted on September 23, 2023 by Yves Smith
Yves here. Andrew Korybko suggests that it would behoove the US to notice the Ukraine-Germany-Poland power struggles and intervene on behalf of Poland v. Germany. But that would require finesse, a quality not much in evidence in the Administration.
I also am curious to see if European readers agree with this take. It seems plausible that Germany, despite becoming weaker due to de-industrialization and increasingly sharp political divides, would still seek to maximize its position.
By Andrew Korybko, a Moscow-based American political analyst who specializes in the global systemic transition to multipolarity in the New Cold War. He has a PhD from MGIMO, which is under the umbrella of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Originally published at his website
The Biden Administration can either turn a blind eye to its German liberal-globalist allies’ dual power plays over Ukraine and Poland or pragmatically support the latter in order to maintain the geopolitical balance in Europe by averting German hegemony. Whichever of these two options it chooses will have far-reaching implications for US grand strategy.
Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk’s interview on Friday with the RMF24 radio station saw him hint that Germany is to blame for his country’s dispute with Ukraine. Their bilateral tensions, which saw Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki reveal that Warsaw won’t supply Kiev with modern arms any longer, were discussed here and should be read for background. What follows are highlights from the Google Translated version of Mularczyk’s interview that will then be analyzed in the larger context:
———-
* Poland expects the US to take its side by convincing Ukraine to correct its attitude
– “I think that in some way the participation of the United States will cool down hot Ukrainian heads.”
* Kiev’s decision to publicize its problems with Poland risks weakening the anti-Russian coalition
– “This dispute, which is publicly disseminated around the world, serves neither Poland nor Ukraine. Neither does it serve our common cause – defeating Russia in this war. It should be absolutely quiet, all kinds of misunderstandings resolved. This is our goal.”
* Germany is suspected of trying to cut deals with Ukraine behind Poland’s back
– “We see attempts to ‘bypass’ Poland, i.e. talks about transit through Poland and trade in Ukrainian grain over our heads. Certain clues lead to Berlin. It is probably obvious that the frequent recent visits of many ministers to Kiev, as well as meetings of President Zelensky with important German politicians, including Ursula von der Leyen, are perhaps arrangements above our heads.”
* German-controlled Brussels has ulterior motives in offering to resolve the grain dispute
– “Thank you for such help, where Poland is ordered over our heads to open its Polish borders to Ukrainian grain, the aim of which is to finish off Polish agriculture and Polish farmers. Mrs. von der Leyen is not the President or Prime Minister of Poland and these matters are decided in Poland, not in Brussels.”
* Ukraine needs to engage directly with Poland, not Germany, if it wants to improve bilateral ties
– “Ukrainians must understand that if they want to have good relations with Poland, they must establish it with Poland, not with Berlin.”
* Ukrainian oligarchs profit from the German plot to kill Poland’s domestic agricultural industry
– “For these large, global farms and oligarchs in Ukraine, it is best to sell grain in Poland, because it is the cheapest transport, the closest to a large market and it is the most convenient for them. We are open to transit. Let this grain go to France, Berlin, Hamburg, and then to Spain. However, we cannot allow this grain to reach Poland and eliminate Polish agriculture.”
———-
Mularczyk’s argument is intriguing for several reasons. First, it absolves Zelensky of full responsibility by portraying him as a German puppet, which secondly revives Poland’s traditional paranoia about that country’s geopolitical intentions. Third, it replaces prior fears of a secret German-Russian deal over Poland with a new German-Ukrainian one. Fourth, it implies that oligarchs put Zelensky up to this, which finally suggests that he can crack down on them and other pro-German forces to resolve this dispute.
Germany’s alleged power play to kill Poland’s domestic agricultural industry by flooding it with Ukrainian grain aligns with the geostrategic motives explained in this analysis here earlier the summer about how “Germany’s Military Patronage Of Ukraine Ramps Up Its Regional Competition With Poland”. In brief, it was assessed that Berlin is striving to replace Warsaw as Kiev’s top European partner, all with the aim of further pressuring Poland into returning to its traditional post-communist status as a German vassal.
The upcoming elections on 15 October will play a pivotal role in this respect since the return to power of the “Civic Platform” (PO) opposition would end the ruling “Law & Justice” (PiS) party’s plans to replicate the late Jozef Pilsudski’s policy of remaining equidistant from Germany and Russia via a regional sphere of influence. If the incumbents win re-election though, even if they have to form a coalition government with the anti-establishment Confederation party, then they’re expected to largely retain this course.
Therein lies one of the reasons why Germany is supposedly trying to destroy Poland’s domestic agricultural industry as soon as possible via the means that Mularczyk detailed through Ukrainian grain since PiS will require the continued loyalty of its rural base in order to remain in power. Economically ravaging this electorally strategic part of the country ahead of the next elections could very well doom PiS’ plans, ergo why Berlin allegedly cooked up this latest grain scheme with Kiev’s related oligarchs.
Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus claimed in late August prior to the European Commission lifting its prior compromise deal over its eastern members’ unilateral ban on associated Ukrainian imports that this was an attempt to meddle in the polls:
[It’s] a purely political decision…There are no substantive arguments, nor has anyone presented them to us. Politically, there are elections on 15 October and it’s about destabilising…The EU is trying to use us as part of a partisan struggle. These are very important elections for Poland, but also for Europe, because the narrative in Europe is changing completely: right-wing narratives are starting to win and this leftist policy of the EU is starting to lose.
Mularczyk’s arguments are essentially a more detailed elaboration of Telus’ assessment that doesn’t shy away from directly blaming Germany for the dispute that subsequently unfolded with Ukraine over this extremely sensitive issue.
It’s also interesting to draw attention to his emphasis on Germany’s suspected cultivation of influence among Ukraine’s agricultural oligarchs. That point implies that Poland is well aware of who truly calls the shots behind the scenes in that country, namely shadowy but very powerful forces much more than its public representatives. Apart from the oligarchs, who operate in a wide array of industries, this also includes various factions among its military and intelligence services.
Germany’s supposedly secret alliance with Ukraine’s agricultural oligarchs show that it’s trying to pull Zelensky’s strings via these forces, though that doesn’t absolve him of responsibility for this dispute since it was he himself who hinted at the UNGA that Poland was doing Russia’s bidding. Mularczyk’s condemnation of him for those remarks and his concern that they risk weakening the anti-Russian coalition flips the script by ironically suggesting that it’s Zelensky who’s the one doing Russia’s bidding.
Even so, the rest of his interview builds the narrative that powerful agricultural oligarchs pushed him to do this at Germany’s urging, but it gives Zelensky the chance to resolve the Polish-Ukrainian dispute by cracking down on these forces. For that to happen, however, Poland believes that the US would have to convince him to make this move and fully back him in the face of the potential consequences. In effect, Mularczyk wants Zelensky to purge German agents of influence on a US-backed anti-corruption pretext.
He’s unlikely to do this on his own at that Polish official’s thinly disguised request, which is why it’ll ultimately come down to whatever the US decides to do. The Biden Administration can either turn a blind eye to its German liberal–globalist allies’ dual power plays over Ukraine and Poland or pragmatically support the latter in order to maintain the geopolitical balance in Europe by averting German hegemony. Whichever of these two options it chooses will have far-reaching implications for US grand strategy.
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/09 ... raine.html
The Coming Ukraine Collapse and the “Rebuilding” Headfake
Posted on September 22, 2023 by Yves Smith
Marguerite Yourcenar salvaged one of the finest lines in all literature from the first version of her masterpiece Memoirs of Hadrian: “I begin to discern the profile of my death.” We are approaching that point with Ukriane, not just its military campaign, but also its economy. That baked-in collapse has been camouflaged by the bizarre pretense that there will be a huge reconstruction push, even more absurdly, funded by private sector interests. One has to think that the “rebuilding” patter is part of the cover for the fact that Project Ukraine is a lost cause.
At the end of this post, we are embedding a chapter on the devastation in Russia in the 1990s to give an idea of what the downside in Ukraine might look like.1 Recall that even though the USSR had suffered from underinvestment in many sectors, it still had ample resources and considerable manufacturing capacity. It did not, as Ukraine has, suffer from considerable infrastructure destruction, a fall in its population to half its former level, through flight, annexation, and death in the war, and the loss of some of its most economically developed areas.
The war is now entering a critical phase, with experts now warning of a breakdown of the Ukraine military in the not-terribly-distant future or using formulations that amount to the same thing. Scott Ritter had predicted that outcome for late summer-fall based on Ukraine’s dwindling missiles supplies, but that horizon has been extended by the US supply of cluster munitions, whose use is considered a war crime by many countries.
An indicator of the increased willingness to admit the inevitable military disintegration was coming is the early September article, How Ukraine’s Heroic Stand Against Russia Could Collapse Into Failure by Daniel Davis in 19FortyFive. Some parts of the press are admitting that the much-ballyhooed counteroffensive has failed; others are following official messaging via the revisionist history of claiming it had limited objectives and holding out the laughably false hope that Ukraine might still puncture Russian fortified defense lines and reach Tokmak before the fall mud season starts.
Seymour Hersh’s latest newsletter depicted both Biden and Zelensky as dug in on continuing the war (without mentioning that Banderite guns at the back of Zelensky’s head mean he cannot act otherwise even if he wanted to). But as the saying goes, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. And there is a noteworthy failure of wishes to translate into improved capabilities. From Hersh:
There are significant elements in the American intelligence community, relying on field reports and technical intelligence, who believe that the demoralized Ukraine army has given up on the possibility of overcoming the heavily mined three-tier Russian defense lines and taking the war to Crimea and the four oblasts seized and annexed by Russia. The reality is that Volodymyr Zelensky’s battered army no longer has any chance of a victory….
“There were some early Ukrainian penetrations in the opening days of the June offensive,” the official [ with access to current intelligence] said, “at or near” the heavily trapped first of Russia’s three formidable concrete barriers of defense, “and the Russians retreated to sucker them in. And they all got killed.” After weeks of high casualties and little progress, along with horrific losses to tanks and armored vehicles, he said, major elements of the Ukrainian army, without declaring so, virtually canceled the offensive. The two villages that the Ukrainian army recently claimed as captured “are so tiny that they couldn’t fit between two Burma-Shave signs”—referring to billboards that seemed to be on every American highway after World War II….
“The truth is if the Ukrainian army is ordered to continue the offensive, the army would mutiny. The soldiers aren’t willing to die any more, but this doesn’t fit the B.S. that is being authored by the Biden White House.”
This outcome is not a surprise to anyone who has ventured outside mainstream reporting to find sources that have been paying attention to what is happening on the battlefield and with weapons supplies. Russia was outproducing the entire Collective West in artillery when the war began, and if anything, that gap has widened. Russia also has the advantage in missile production, has substantially increased drone output, and already had the most advanced air defense systems. The West despite handwaves has done little to increase capacity.
Worse, Russia burning the hodge-podge of supposedly game-changing Western tanks and armored vehicles had been both so embarrassing and effective that Ukraine has been reduced to moving men on foot to assault Russia positions, resulting in predictably horrific loss rates. Alexander Mercouris has correctly called the results a killing field.
As the offensive has quietly slowed down, Ukraine’s support is also breaking down. Even if resolve had held, there was the unanswered question of where adequate weapons supplies would come from and how Ukraine would build yet another army, since by my count, its third is in the process of being destroyed. The idea of forced repatriation of military-aged men from the rest of Europe was a joke, another demonstration of Ukraine’s sense of entitlement.2
But Zelensky’s effort to drum up more money and goodies from the West via his UN and Washington sales effort fell worse than flat. For one-stop shopping, see Simplicius the Thinker in Zelensky’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad D.C. Snubfest.
Zelensky’s visit revealed how the cost of Project Ukraine has become far too high as recognition rises that what would be required just to keep things going is an open checkbook…even before getting to the looming manpower problem. In an attempt to keep the optics up as Team Biden and other over-invested in Ukraine try to regroup, more and more spokescritters are shifting their patter from “Great Ukraine victory when it restarts the offensive” to the new sick fantasy of a multi-year war.
And even worse, European support is also buckling. As we discussed yesterday via Andrew Korybko’s post, Poland & Ukraine Have Plunged Into A Full-Blown Political Crisis With No End In Sight, both Slovakia and Poland have elections soon. Parties opposed to continuing high levels of support for Ukraine have good potential to win. If they were to prevail, it would knock the wind out of the pretense of NATO support for Ukraine.3
Poland in particular has been one of the most rabid supporters for Ukraine, and by virtue of location and inclination, has been imagined to be a source of troops if the US and NATO were to be so foolish as to put their own boots on the ground. Polish president Duda may be pandering to save his electoral hide by standing up to what he depicts as Ukraine’s abuse of the grain deal and describing Ukraine a drowning man that he will not allow to pull Poland down into the drink, even as Prime Minister Morawiecki says no new weapons will be sent to to Ukraine. But some things cannot be unsaid.
Now after that introduction, to the main event of the exceedingly poor economic prospects for what will be left of Ukraine… which is not even known. It’s pretty remarkable to see chipper talk in the West of rebuilding Ukraine, since it presupposes there will be a meaningful Ukraine left. It’s reminiscent of children discussing how much of an ailing parent’s wealth they expect to carve up when the process of dying could well wipe out the remaining assets.
The quality of data about Ukraine is terrible. Western reporters appear to have mainly visited Kiev, which so far has been spared most of the destruction, and only a few hardy souls have gone to the front lines. As far as I can tell, we don’t have sightings of conditions in much of Western Ukraine, save also for the shellings of Odessa. Note that Russia has increased its strikes on Lviv in the past month. So we don’t have much of an idea of how much physical damage has been done.
We have discussed Russia’s selective destruction of the electrical grid. Even though enough was patched up to keep it running, some have claimed that the repairs are glue-and-bandaid enough that parts will probably fall over on their own with increased winter load.
Russia has also been using drones a lot of late and holding back on missiles, which means it could easily rinse and repeat its grid attacks. Since only Russia makes the major components of the Ukraine electrical system, and Ukraine had been some of its replacements from former Warsaw Pact members, more Russian attacks would eventually put large parts of the electrical system beyond anyone’s ability to fix save Russia’s (the West is simply not going to build special purpose factories for the a big blip of Ukraine refitting).
So Russia if it wants to controls Western Ukraine’s future if it sufficiently takes out its power network.
Let’s consider other complicating factors. One is the loss of population, particularly of the working age. As Michael Vlahos pointed out:
However, Luttwak bases his prediction on Ukraine having a population of 30 million. That number comes from January 2022. In an analysis by the think tank Jamestown Foundation, which is connected to the American intelligence community, it is said that the Ukrainian population has today shrunk to just 20 million, slightly more than the Netherlands, but fewer than Taiwan. And of the 20 million, according to the Jamestown Foundation, retirees make up over half: 10.7 million.
Ukraine’s government is now substantially if not totally dependent on Western funding. Federal spending was $35 billion in 2021 and $61 billion in 2022. A substantial portion of US aid was to prop up the government.
And even if spending falls from war-level peaks, Ukraine’s fall in GDP (estimated at 25%, which seems low) in combination with not just an aged population, but now a large number of war disabled, including many amputees, means an increased social burden with greatly diminished productive capacity.
And we have not even factored in what happens if Russia eventually marches up to the Dnieper, getting even more of Ukraine’s most productive farm land, and/or takes the Black Sea coast, turning Ukraine into an even poorer landlocked rump state. The fact that the US is unwilling to make any concession to the key Russian demand of no Ukraine ever in NATO means Russia will prosecute the war until it has subjugated Ukraine, by whatever combination of conquest, installation of a captive government, and economic destruction needs to happen.
Consider what has happened to the hyrina under the tender ministrations of the US:
What happens when the Western budget support to Ukraine dries up? Huge deficit spending. And what do big deficits in combination with a big loss of economic productive capacity produce? Hyperinflation.
Now with these sorry prospects, we nevertheless have the touting of the reconstruction plans, because big private sector names like BlackRock are attached to them.
[youtube]http://twitter.com/i/status/1703109560913854765[/youtube]
People like Greenwald are concerned, but not to worry. This rebuilding program is a hollow mandate. The fact that various players might skim some fees while spinning their wheels does not meant there is a prospect of anything meaningful happening. I could go on at great length and may do a fuller kneecapping later. But this will hopefully do for now.
First, those who remember the 2015 Greek bailout crisis may recall that the Trokia tried hawking Greek assets, hired agents, and had planned to reap €50 billion. As we wrote in Look What You Can Buy in the Greek Liquidation Sale!, that figure was wildly exaggerated. As far as I could tell, aside from the sale of the port of Pireaus, the effort was a huge flop. And remember, Greece was suffering merely from a very depressed economy and the related loss of workers with employment prospects in the rest of Europe, as it was nothing even remotely as bad a basket case as Ukraine will be.
Second, by making reconstruction a private sector initiative, governments are effectively washing their hands of Ukraine.4 The most critical parts of Ukraine to rebuild will be the foundations of functioning communities: roads, water systems, bridges. Those are built by governments because they are shared goods. Pray tell, what kind of society would Ukraine have if it ran on the infrastructure fund basis of having only/mainly toll roads and bridges?
Third, the numbers Ukraine needs are ginormous. Even the $300 billion of Russia assets that “seize not freeze” Ursula von der Leyen would like to get her hands on is not enough. Zelensky in July said Ukraine needed $750 billion for reconstruction.
Even if Zelensky were miraculously to get the funding, where would the know-how and skilled laborers come from? Very few Western countries (France and Australia high on the list) are good at large scale infrastructure. But all of the members of the Project Ukraine would want their piece of the reconstruction pie. Imagine the squabbling and the low odds that the best qualified players would get the green light.
Fourth, Zelensky is again selling hopium. Per the Daily Mail:
The meeting discussed the creation of a platform for attracting private capital to rebuild Ukraine. Zelensky also focused on directions of large investment projects in Ukraine specifically in green energy, IT, and agricultural technologies.
All those initiatives presuppose a functioning economy, such as a decent number of high-end professionals and well-functioning logistics. Those are conditions not likely to be much in evidence.
Finally, for an initiative this large to have any chance of success, you’d need to divvy the work among top infrastructure players around the world. Instead, Team Biden threw a US party. Note how far down on the Infrastructure Investor list below BlackRock is. Ukraine’s lead adviser JP Morgan is #78. KKR, which is #4, has strong Republican ties, which is the presumed reason for them not being much in evidence in this effort despite being the best qualified US player:
In other words, the Ukraine tragedy will not be over if and when the war ends. Americans should be embarrassed that we plan to add investor looting to the damage, even though as indicated that is actually unlikely to get much of anywhere.
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1 Keep in mind that when the USSR broke up, the members of the Warsaw Pact had been as a whole net recipients of support from Russia (that does not mean that there were not serious economic consequences to Russian industry via enterprises having operated in an integrated manner in Russia and Warsaw Pact countries suddenly being balkanized).
2 Refugees and asylum-seekers are entitled to due process. They can’t be tossed out in bulk. They would need to be extradited individually for draft evasion. That means supplying names to the legal authorities in the country where they now reside. Tell me how Ukraine even would know that, before getting to the wee problems of whether those courts would even consider those cases and how many they could process.
3 Scott Ritter pointed out long-form in an important speech that the Ukraine conflict has revealed NATO to be a paper tiger.
.4 We do have the bizarre specter of the World Bank proposing to launder $25 billion through the Clinton Foundation, which has no track record in infrastructure-building. They do claim to have built “health infrastructure” in the DRC, whatever that means.
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/09 ... dfake.html
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How Will The Biden Administration Cope With Its Loss In Ukraine?
While this piece will touch on the war in Ukraine it is more about the U.S., and the Biden administration, and how they will cope with their defeat in their war on Russia. Please keep that in mind when commentating.
Washington's moment of recognizing the defeat in Ukraine, and its consequences, has yet to arrive.
In his latest piece (archived) Seymour Hersh reports on the state of the war and of significant differences of opinion between the U.S. intelligence services:
There are significant elements in the American intelligence community, relying on field reports and technical intelligence, who believe that the demoralized Ukraine army has given up on the possibility of overcoming the heavily mined three-tier Russian defense lines and taking the war to Crimea and the four oblasts seized and annexed by Russia. The reality is that Volodymyr Zelensky’s battered army no longer has any chance of a victory.
The war continues, I have been told by an official with access to current intelligence, because Zelensky insists that it must. There is no discussion in his headquarters or in the Biden White House of a ceasefire and no interest in talks that could lead to an end to the slaughter. “It’s all lies,” the official said, speaking of the Ukrainian claims of incremental progress in the offensive that has suffered staggering losses, while gaining ground in a few scattered areas that the Ukrainian military measures in meters per week.
...
The American intelligence official I spoke with spent the early years of his career working against Soviet aggression and spying has respect for Putin’s intellect but contempt for his decision to go to war with Ukraine and to initiate the death and destruction that war brings. But, as he told me, “The war is over. Russia has won. There is no Ukrainian offensive anymore, but the White House and the American media have to keep the lie going.
“The truth is if the Ukrainian army is ordered to continue the offensive, the army would mutiny. The soldiers aren’t willing to die any more, but this doesn’t fit the B.S. that is being authored by the Biden White House.”
The differences between the current CIA and the more neoconned Defense Intelligence Agency extend to their view on China:
A byproduct of the Biden administration’s neocon hostility to Russia and China—exemplified by the remarks of Secretary of State Tony Blinken, who has repeatedly stated that he will not currently countenance a ceasefire in Ukraine—has been a significant split in the intelligence community. One casualty are the secret National Intelligence Estimates that have delineated the parameters of American foreign policy for decades. Some key offices in the CIA have refused, in many cases, to participate in the NIE process because of profound political disagreement with the administration’s aggressive foreign policy. One recent failure involved a planned NIE that dealt with the outcome of a Chinese attack on Taiwan.
I have reported for many weeks on the longstanding disagreement between the CIA and other elements of the intelligence community on the prognosis of the current war in the Ukraine. CIA analysts have consistently been far more skeptical than their counterparts at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) on the prospect for a Ukraine success. The American media has ignored the dispute, but the London-headquartered Economist, whose well-informed reporters do not get bylines, has not.
...
The DIA is still saying that the Ukrainian army has a chance, a small one though, to break through the Russian lines. The White House still seems to believe in that. The CIA knows that the Ukraine is done.
Alastair Crooke, in a talk (vid) with Judge Napolitano, says that the moment of truth will only arrive in November.
But what will happen when everyone recognizes and acknowledges, if silently, that the war on Russia has failed?
Michael Brenner argues that the US Can’t Deal With Defeat:
Ukraine, today, has suffered huge losses of even greater (proportional) magnitude [than the German Wehrmacht in the Battle of Kursk], without achieving any significant territorial gains, unable even to reach the first layer of the Surovikin Line. That will clear the road to the Dnieper and beyond for the 600,000 strong Russian army equipped with weaponry the equal of what the West has given Ukraine. Hence, Moscow is poised to exploit its decisive advantage to the point where it can dictate terms to Kiev, Washington, Brussels et al.
The Biden administration has made no plans for such an eventuality, nor have its obedient European governments. Their divorce from reality will make this state of affairs all the more stunning — and galling. Bereft of ideas, they will flounder. How they will react is unknowable. We can say with certainty one thing: the collective West, and especially the U.S., will have suffered a grave defeat. Coping with that truth will become the main order of business.
Here is a menu of options for handling it:
Redefine what is meant by defeat, victory, failure, success, loss, gain. There is a new narrative that is scripted to stress these talking points: ...
...
This narrative already has been given an airing in speeches by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland. Its target audience is the American public; nobody outside the Collective West buys it, though — whether Washington has registered that fact of diplomatic life or not.
Retroactively Scale Back the Goals & Stakes
...
Cultivate Amnesia
...
Next: China
...
It is likely that the administration will use all four options to make the pain and memory of defeat go away. Declare victory over Russia because Russia was stopped at the border with Poland. Then forget about all the details and consequences and move towards war on China.
That could end catastrophically.
The focal shift from Russia in Europe to China in Asia is less a mechanism for coping with defeat than the pathological reaction of a country that, feeling a gnawing sense of diminishing prowess, can manage to do nothing more than try one final fling at proving to itself that it still has the right stuff — since living without that exalted sense of self is intolerable.
...
The U.S. was fortunate, in the case of Vietnam, that the United States’ dominant position in the world outside of the Soviet Bloc and the PRC allowed it to maintain respect, status and influence.
Things have now changed, though. The U.S. relative strength in all domains is weaker, strong centrifugal forces around the globe are producing a dispersion of power, will and outlook among other states. The BRICs phenomenon is the concrete embodiment of that reality.
Hence, the prerogatives of the United States are narrowing, its ability to shape the global system in conformity with its ideas and interests are under mounting challenge, and premiums are being placed on diplomacy of an order that seems beyond its present aptitudes.
The U.S. is confounded.
Major offices in the CIA, according to Hersh, have recognized the danger of such plans. It may well be the reason why the CIA's informal spokesmen, David Ignatius, and others wrote that Biden should step down.
If he doesn't the neoconservatives around him will have a great incentive to move on China as fast as possible. As Biden will have difficulties in winning next year's election he needs some objective that can unify the country. A war that he can claim the U.S. will win is one. Some hostile naval exchanges with China will follow.
(Please don't use the comments of this thread for details from the war in Ukraine. The current thread for such is here.)
Posted by b on September 21, 2023 at 17:05 UTC | Permalink
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/09/h ... .html#more
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ZKP.
About a hit on the building of Staff of Black Sea Fleet. Immediately for people who may have questions: NOBODY IS in this building except for maintenance and guard crew. During war time all C4 departments of the Staff operate out of ZKP (Запасной Командный Пункт--ЗКП)--a Reserve Command Post, which is underground and is very difficult to identify and attack. So, the attack is primarily for PR reasons, militarily it has a very low value, plus disruption of the civilian traffic in the area of Lenin's Street, Nakhimov's Square, Nakhimov's Ave and on the hill where the Staff and Rear Service of the Fleet are located.
Per US P-8 Poseidon in the vicinity in the international air space--this is US MO--fight through proxy, hide behind them. Poseidon was scanning electromagnetic picture of Sevastopol's Air Defense during attack for "library" reasons and transfer of data to VSU for the next attack. In real war, there would have been no US assets anywhere above the Black Sea because they would have been all shot down. Pentagon knows this, but, as was pointed out many times--they see for the first time the real war, so they want "to take part". Expect some response from Russia, Misters Kalibr, Iskander and Geran will be very busy in the next few days.
http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2023/09/zkp.html
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."
Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part V
Canada, the Ukrainian diaspora and the apology of fascism
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 09/25/2023
After some disappointment in his visit to the United States, where he did not get a public commitment from Joe Biden and a delivery schedule for the expected ATACMS missiles and saw his request to address Congress rejected, a symptom that the unanimity of support for Ukraine has disappeared, Volodymyr Zelensky finally experienced the moment of ecstasy he was waiting for on his North American tour. He was not at the legislative branch of his most important ally, the United States, but of perhaps his closest partner, Canada. In a speech that remained along the usual lines, the Ukrainian president obtained, according to Canadian public television, a dozen moments of standing ovation with the audience. All parties on the political spectrum participated in these displays of praise for the Ukrainian leader,extreme left of the NDP passing, of course, through the liberals led by Justin Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland.
Volodymyr Zelensky was overwhelmed by the displays of affection from the Parliament closest to post-Maidan Ukraine, which actively collaborated even during the revolution of dignity, allowing the use of its embassy in Kiev for political objectives and which has publicly and privately financed weapons. for the Ukrainian Armed Forces since the start of the war in 2014. No other country has taken Ukraine's fight against Russia as seriously as Canada, which quickly organized to begin supplying everything necessary to the regular army and battalions nationalists who fought on their side. In recent months, much has been said about the importance of drones in battle and articles from prestigious media such as Foreign PolicyThey have argued that, even during the Donbass war, Ukraine suffered from this lack. Nothing could be further from the truth, when the Popular Republics absolutely lacked this material, Canadian organizations were already working to supply drones to the Ukrainian forces.
Canada, with even less scruples than the United States, took charge of training the troops of the Azov regiment at the time when US Congressman Conyers's amendment achieved, if only temporarily, a prohibition on arming and training the members of the group. However, Canada's proximity was not born in 2014 but rather has a long historical trajectory that dates back to the Cold War, as it is one of the main places where the Ukrainian nationalist diaspora settled and where it knew how to become strong in areas such as academics. From there, the theory and history created by these groups, much more nationalist than any trend existing at that time in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, They marked the nationalist renaissance that occurred after independence and that would have been very different without that foreign presence. Canada has been, thanks to the support of the conservative government first and then the liberal one and always with the strong presence of the pressure group of the Ukrainian-Canadian Congress at the helm, one of the great supporters of the nationalist rise that has taken place in Ukraine in the last decade.
During this time, there have been several controversies that have linked Canada with the most radically Ukrainian nationalist positions, both public and private. The Ukrainian-Canadian Congress, one of the major pressure groups seeking weapons for Ukraine, also fought, for example, to cancel a concert by the Ukrainian pianist Valentina Lisitsa. The Government, possibly the most radically anti-Russian, has always struggled to impose increasingly severe sanctions against Russia. At the head of that fight was Chrystia Freeland, who has always described as “Russian propaganda” the accusations of collaboration by her grandfather, Mijailo Chomiak, editor in Poland occupied by Nazi Germany of an openly anti-Semitic newspaper and whose family lived in an arianized floor, that is, stolen from a Jewish family deported to the extermination camps during the genocide of the Jewish people of Eastern Europe. This information never came from Russia but from Canada, initially from historian John-Paul Himka and later from research in the archives of a Ukrainian-Canadian communist.
The origin of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada is not the arrival to the country of families like that of Chrystia Freeland from the refugee camps in Europe nor the subsequent distribution of the soldiers of the Galizien Division of the SS from the Rimini camp after the ally victory but dates back to the 19th century. Generally progressive, even socialist, the first Ukrainian diaspora was overwhelmed by the arrival of that second wave, in this case radically nationalist and which Canada used, for example, as strike-breaking shock forces. As in the United States, there were no questions about the actions of these people during the war years, not even those who came from a British detention camp where they had been sent when they surrendered to the Allied authorities at the end of the war.
This is the case of what had then become the Ukrainian National Army, a successful attempt to change the name to wash the face of an SS division made up of Ukrainian volunteers under German command. Decimated in the Battle of Brody due to a defeat against the Red Army, in which more Ukrainians always participated than in the groups that collaborated with the Nazis - SS units, OUN-UPA -, the division was rebuilt to continue the fight for the independence of Ukraine until the final defeat of Germany on May 9, 1945.
The imminent German capitulation found the Ukrainian National Army and its German patrons in southern Austria, fleeing by forced marches from the Soviet and Yugoslav partisan advance in search of a more comfortable surrender. Towns and villages in southern Austria still have numerous monuments that commemorate the Ukrainian National Army, always without specifying that they fought on the German side.
The bulk of the remains of the Ukrainian SS division surrendered to the British authorities in the Austrian town of Spittal and, claiming to be Polish citizens, demanded not to be repatriated to the Soviet Union. Converted into Poles, the Ukrainian soldiers were sent to Rimini. From there a small group left for their new destination that, with the mediation of the Vatican, arrived in Barcelona and later moved to Madrid in December 1946, an arrival important enough to be reflected in the newspaper ABC .. These “Ukrainian students” were the precursors of Western broadcasts of anti-communist propaganda in the Soviet Union. Long before Radio Free Europe broadcasts began, veterans of the Galizien Division of the SS began broadcasting in Ukrainian from the National Radio facilities in Francoist Spain.
However, the Spanish contingent was minimal. The main destinations of this contingent of around 10,000 Ukrainians who had surrendered to the allied authorities were three: the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, where, with few exceptions, there have been no questions about the actions of each of those people. during the war. Some of them even continue to receive tributes. The last one took place in the Ottawa Parliament, within the framework of the political reception of Volodmyr Zelensky as an absolute hero.
In its piece on Zelensky's speech to the legislature, CBC , the Canadian national corporation, stated that the Ukrainian president had received a dozen standing ovations and added that one more had gone to “this 98-year-old man, a Ukrainian -Canadian who fought for the independence of Ukraine against the Russians during World War II.” The definition left little room for doubt, just knowing whether he had fought in groups like OUN-UPA or in the Galizien Division. In any case, without specifying that Yaroslav Hunka fought, not only against the Russians but also against the allies of the Canadian soldiers who fought in the Second World War, the way in which the medium decided to define the hero is significant .. Coincident or not, this idea of fighting for the independence of Ukraine is the basis of the legislation that, in 2015, made heroes by decree of those who fought in World War II at the hands of Nazi Germany. And as Volodymyr Vyatrovich pointed out, the symbols of the Galizien Division of the SS should not be affected by the law that supposedly prohibited Nazi and communist symbols. Hunka, according to his own publications, a volunteer in the Ukrainian division of the SS, can perfectly claim to be a hero of the fight for the independence of Ukraine despite having carried out his fight in his German uniform adorned with the lion of Galizia and under the orders of Fritz Freitag. According to his own account, in 1943 he received training as an anti-aircraft machine gun operator in Munich.
Canada, home to a huge community of Ukrainian origin, had the possibility of presenting as a hero a person who had fought under any Allied uniform on the same side as, for example, Volodymyr Zelensky's grandfather, a member of the Red Army. However, once again, they chose to praise a man who cannot even be described as a collaborationist, who did not even fight in the OUN or UPA, groups that, manipulating reality, have alleged that they fought against the Soviet Union, but also against Germany. Ottawa, with Zelensky's evident approval, chose to honor a soldier from a Nazi unit, a person who chose to fight for Ukraine alongside those who wanted to enslave it and did so against the majority of the country, an integral part of the Soviet effort to liberate Eastern Europe from the Nazi occupation.
The last year and a half, if not the last nine years, have shown that the war against Russia has served Western authorities to justify steps that had previously been considered red lines. That argument is not limited to the type of weapons to send to the front, but also extends to praising all those who have ever fought against Russia or the Soviet Union, the common fight against the most genocidal regime in history.
https://slavyangrad.es/2023/09/25/canad ... more-28210
Google Translator
Liberals will tell you that Canadians are 'nicer' than Americans.....
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Chronicle of a special military operation for September 24, 2023
September 24, 2023
American number
The situation in the northern Black Sea region remains tense. To the west of the Crimean
coast, a Ukrainian unmanned boat was sunk during another attempt to attack. Russian troops, in turn, worked on enemy positions on Zmeiny Island , which is used as a transshipment base for raids on the Crimean Peninsula.
Meanwhile, in the Kherson direction, Ukrainian formations continue to transfer infantry groups to the islands on the Dnieper. Thus, Russian troops are trying to prevent the Ukrainian Armed Forces from gaining a foothold on Kozatsky Island and are striking enemy strongholds in this area.
On the front line, a certain calm remains in the Zaporozhye direction . At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are not abandoning attempts to break through Russian defenses in the Soledar direction .
In addition, today the Ukrainian Armed Forces actively attacked the border regions: the city of Kursk , the Khalino airfield and border villages came under attack from Ukrainian forces . The enemy also carried out massive attacks on Tokmak in the Zaporozhye region .
The situation on the front line and combat operations
Off the coast of Crimea at night, Russian border guards repelled an attack by Ukrainian formations west of the Black Sea . A few kilometers from the coast, an unmanned enemy boat was discovered, which with a high degree of probability was monitoring the activities of the fleet.
As a result of fire from a border service boat and detachments on the shore, the naval drone was first damaged and subsequently scuttled. Later it became known that a Su-24M naval aviation aircraft of the Russian Black Sea Fleet struck two FAB-500s with UMPC on Zmeiny Island .
This piece of land is actively used by Ukrainian formations as a logistics base for sabotage and reconnaissance groups. Over the past few days, ammunition, fuel and food have been actively transported there, preparing for new attacks on the Crimean peninsula.
In the Starobelsky direction, positional battles are taking place in the area of Sinkovka and Petropavlovka . Nevertheless, the configuration of the front in this section of the front did not change significantly. The advance of the Russian Armed Forces is slowed down by impressive forest plantations, which, moreover, are heavily mined.
In the Soledar direction south of Bakhmut , heavy fighting continues in the area of Kleshcheevka , Andreevka and Kurdyumovka , where the Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to break through to the railway. If they manage to do this, expanding the zone of control, the supply routes of the Russian Armed Forces in Bakhmut will be under possible attack from artillery and even mortars. All three settlements are heavily destroyed and practically do not exist, but the enemy is still frantically pushing forward, regardless of losses.
In the Donetsk direction, attacks on the Avdeevsky fortified area continue . The Russian Aerospace Forces are attacking buildings occupied by Ukrainian formations with aerial bombs from the UMPC.
To the south of Avdiivka, fighting is taking place in the Opytne area , where the Ukrainian Armed Forces have repeatedly attempted to advance to a populated area and start a battle in the village. Currently unsuccessful.
There have been no significant changes at the Vremyevsky site ; the calm that began a few days ago continues. The sides exchange artillery strikes along the entire line of contact, but no one takes active action.
In the Orekhovsky sector, Ukrainian formations intensified their actions near Verbovoy , trying to break into the depths of the Russian defensive formations. Today, several infantry assault groups tried to attack again, but were scattered by artillery fire and retreated.
The situation in the occupied part of the Kherson region is becoming more and more interesting. The Armed Forces of Ukraine with the forces of the Omaha tactical group continues to gain a foothold on Kozatsky Island , despite the losses. Yesterday, the observation post of the 131st reconnaissance battalion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was destroyed by an artillery strike from the Russian Armed Forces. However, by evening, in the southwestern part of the island, Ukrainian units again began to equip positions.
The activity of enemy reconnaissance groups is covered by artillerymen and mortars, who fire at the front line with all means. Russian fighters respond with artillery and air strikes. At the same time, the transfer of units of the Marine Corps Command of the Ukrainian Navy continues to the Kherson region. To date, 6,870 people, 46 tanks, 223 armored fighting vehicles and eight artillery pieces have been deployed to the area.
So far, only formations of the 35th, 36th and 37th Marine Brigades have arrived. It is also expected that 38 infantry infantry fighting vehicles and seven artillery battalions will appear. All these connections were removed from the Vremevsky site , which is why there is now a lull there. Judging by the concentration of forces, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have prioritized an offensive across the Dnieper to reach Crimea . Therefore, attempts continue to occupy the island zone of the Dnieper to provide a bridgehead.
The most likely direction should be considered Novaya Kakhovka . But the implementation of the plan is only possible with a simultaneous attack on the Orekhovsky sector , as well as from the Black Sea. Given the increasing activity of the Ukrainian landing force off the coast of the peninsula, preparations are in full swing. Moreover, at the Rabotino - Verbovoe line , the Ukrainian Armed Forces are again preparing for an assault.
Shelling of rear areas and residential areas
In the Bryansk region , the Ukrainian Armed Forces fired at a farmland in the village of Kister , Pogarsky district, no one was injured.
This afternoon, Ukrainian formations attacked the center of Kursk several times with drones . According to the governor's report, a Ukrainian UAV damaged the roof of an administrative building in the Central District. The district administration building was attacked.
Later, some sources wrote about the FSB building being hit, but the information was not confirmed, as were reports of explosions in the area of the oil depot. According to Mash, a total of four UAVs were involved, which were aimed at the administrative building and the station.
In the evening, air defense operated south of the city; in the evening, an air target was intercepted in the Kursk region . In addition, several border settlements came under fire. In Elizavetovka , according to the regional governor, an agricultural enterprise was damaged, but there were no casualties. In Tyotkino , after five flights, there were no casualties or damage.
In the evening, several UAVs of Ukrainian formations attacked a military airfield in Halino . According to some reports, there are casualties, but there is no exact information yet.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to shell the border areas of the Belgorod region. An enemy drone dropped ammunition on the village of Novy , Volokonovsky district. One person was injured as a result of the attack and is receiving medical assistance. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov also reported that a Ukrainian drone was shot down over Belgorod, there were no casualties or damage.
Local residents also reported shelling of the Shebekinsky urban district , Novaya Tavolzhanka , Dolgoye , Grafovka , Rzhevka , Voznesenivka and Prilesye ; official information has not yet been received.
The barbaric shelling of the Donetsk agglomeration continues . The western regions of Donetsk , Gorlovka and Yasinovataya were again under enemy fire . Several administrative buildings, apartment buildings and a nursery were damaged.
Five civilians of the republic were injured of varying degrees of severity. Four are in Donetsk , of which two are in the Kievsky district , two more in the Kuibyshevsky district , and one person in the Nikitovsky district of Gorlovka .
In the Zaporozhye region, one of the priority targets of the Ukrainian formations in the Zaporozhye direction is Tokmak , which today came under massive shelling. As a result of strikes by the American HIMARS MLRS in the city, one civilian was killed and 11 more people were injured.
In addition, the village of Novofedorovka in the Pologovsky district came under fire from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, where three more citizens were wounded.
During the day, Ukrainian formations intensively shelled the left bank of the Kherson region. During the night alone, about 30 shells were fired at Aleshki , Dniepryan , Korsunka , and Krynki . Air defense work was also reported in the Chaplynka area .
In Novaya Kakhovka, a shell hit a bus stop. A woman waiting for the bus was killed, and a man was hospitalized with shrapnel wounds. In addition, the enemy struck a multi-story building in Kakhovka . According to preliminary data, there are no casualties.
Political events
On the transfer of German naval drones to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The German government approved a new package of military assistance to Ukraine worth more than 400 million euros . The most interesting position in it was unmanned boats in the amount of 50 units (on the government website they say about ten). However, in this situation, not everything is so simple. Before the Northern Military District, Germany actually did not have its own program for the development of an unmanned fleet, and everything that is in service was purchased abroad. This was also noted in Forbes . Therefore, we are more inclined to the option with ten copies.
In 2016, the Bundeswehr acquired only one ARCIMS drone from the British company Atlas Elektronik UK . Outwardly, it is similar to the hydroscooter that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have already used for attacks on Sevastopol , but the variant with German origin can most likely be discarded. The most common type of drone for the German Navy was the autonomous underwater vehicle Remus - 100 , which Berlin purchased in batches from the United States for more than ten years . Their exact number remains questionable.
But it is precisely this type of drone that was most likely discussed, only they were delivered to Ukraine a few months ago. Not long ago we tested the V-BAT UAV , which crashed near Odessa . And to search for debris they used the Remus-100.
And unlike other types of BeKov, which are semi-submersible, Remus can operate underwater at a depth of up to 100 meters, which reduces its visibility. Its use even for monitoring the Black Sea Fleet makes it an extremely dangerous weapon in enemy arsenal
About the real delivery time of Taurus missiles
The Bild newspaper reminded readers of the main problems that the Ukrainian Armed Forces may face when trying to lobby for the supply of Taurus missiles to Ukraine. It is no secret that for several months now Germany and Ukraine have been unable to reach a consensus on the supply of Taurus. At the same time, the German newspaper notes that even if the missiles hit Ukraine, it will take about three months to prepare the Ukrainian Armed Forces for the Taurus launch.
However, we have already written that the first small batch of Taurus missiles arrived in Ukraine at the end of August, but their use requires approval from Germany. Taking into account Bild's comment, it can be assumed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are undergoing this three-month training. Therefore, we can assume that the long-awaited agreement for Ukraine may come in the coming months, or even earlier.
I would also like to remind you that such statements by the foreign press are often created for the purpose of misinformation. After reading such publications, an illusion of imaginary security and control over the situation arises. What happens next can be recalled by the example of “unexpected deliveries” of Western weapons, which, as it turns out, are already being fully used during the conflict.
https://rybar.ru/hronika-speczialnoj-vo ... 2023-goda/
Google Translator
(Other images at link)
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History of Fascism in Ukraine Part III: 1944-1963 UPA War, Ratlines, and the Assassination of Stepan Bandera
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on SEPTEMBER 23, 2023
Hugo Turner
Dedicated to the memory of Luciana Bohne.
With special thanks to T.P. Wilkinson.
The “Heroes” monument in Ellenville incorporates busts of Roman Shukhevych and Stepan Bandera, both Nazi collaborators. A monument to Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and Ukrainian Insurgent Army was unveiled in Hamptonburgh in 1989.
Just prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, stories began to appear in the Western press on American plans to set up a Gladio-style stay behind network in Ukraine that would resist the Russian invasion from behind enemy lines. It would be an underground army equipped with hidden arms caches. Unsurprisingly this meant that such a Gladio terror network had already been set up. However in the context of the bloody stalemate that the war has become, it has been so far only a minor annoyance for the Russians, assassinating officials in Russian controlled areas and helping to target Ukrainian attacks. These plans were history repeating themselves, for as the Nazis prepared to retreat from Ukraine back in 1944, they made a deal with the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army) to act as a stay behind army to continue to wage war on the Soviets from behind enemy lines.
The UPA had been created to ethnically cleanse eastern Poland of Poles and the few remaining Jews who had survived the mass killings throughout the occupied territories. It pretended to fight the Nazis while secretly working for German military intelligence. Yet the UPA and their OUN/B (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists/ Bandera) masters knew that Germany was losing the war and in mid-1944 the head of OUN/B intelligence the SB Mykola Lebed made a secret deal with the British. Soon the Americans were also in on the act. In Ukraine World War 2 would go on for another eight years after the defeat of Nazi Germany. The campaign against the Soviet Union would continue to be waged by OPC, MI6, Gehlen Org, and the CIA who secretly backed the doomed UPA.
And Ukraine was merely the biggest of these Western backed covert wars that are usually completely ignored by mainstream accounts of the Cold War. The UPA war itself took place in Poland, Belarus, and Czechoslovakia as well as Western Ukraine. There were also covert wars in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Albania, Yugoslavia and other countries in the Eastern Bloc. In the Baltics remnants of the Waffen SS, known as “The Forest Brotherhood”, continued the war with the backing of combined Western intelligence services. The UPA campaign in Ukraine was fundamental in the start of the Cold War. OUN-UPA propaganda promised that World War 3 was just around the corner and that Britain and America would arrive to “liberate” Ukraine and deliver it to the OUN/B — who were genocidal fascists. In exchange for Western arms, the UPA were spying for the West. Their information was being used to pick targets inside Ukraine for the planned U.S. atomic “Doomsday” strikes. Living in Western exile, future OUN/B head Yaroslav Stetsko was actively lobbying for atomic war at the expense of millions of Ukrainian dead. He considered this a small price to pay for the “liberation” of Ukraine from Communism.
This article will tell the story of these early Cold War years. It will cover the UPA war, the ratlines and the resettling of 120,000 Ukrainian fascists around the globe. It will discuss riots, torture and assassination the OUN/B conducted in displaced person camps and prisons. It will discuss the OUN/B in exile and its split into two factions: the MI6 and Gehlen backed Zch OUN led by Stepan Bandera and Stetsko and the CIA backed ZP UHVR led by Mykola Lebed. It will cover the OUN/B and MI6 creation of the largest fascist umbrella group of the postwar years the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations or ABN which united escaped fascist war criminals from across Eastern and Central Europe. The ABN would form close ties with the Asian People’s Anti-Communist League and the two would eventually launch the World Anti-Communist League. Finally it will discuss the assassination of Stepan Bandera.
I recommend you read parts one and two for a detailed account of the origins of the OUN and its role in helping the Nazis murder masses of Slavs and Jews during World War 2. However, I will attempt a recap along with new details discovered in my many months of research over the last year.
(much more, recommended)
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/09/ ... n-bandera/
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Latest news on the war: these past two days we have advanced considerably to a full-blown Russia-NATO war
Latest news on the war: these past two days we have advanced considerably to a full-blown Russia-NATO war
This past week most Western media discussion of the Russia-Ukraine war has focused on developments in New York, where Zelensky and Biden gave their propaganda speeches about Russian imperialism threatening the world order, and then in Washington, where Zelensky met with Congressional leaders and with the President in his pursuit of further deliveries of arms. The focus was on air defense systems, on F-16 fighter jets and on the ATACMS ground to ground missiles.
This past week Western media broke ranks on the prospects for a Ukrainian victory. It appeared that there is growing consensus that the Ukrainian counter-offensive had failed and there was more talk of Ukraine-fatigue in American political circles. Speculation now turned both in major media and in dissident media on how the United States will respond to a looming defeat in Ukraine. Many decided that Washington would just move on after ‘throwing Ukraine under the bus’ and raise the war cries against China so as to avoid getting bogged down in recriminations over ‘who lost Ukraine.’
However, that was two days ago. Today Washington’s Plan B is becoming clearer. And what I see does not look good for world peace and for our chances of surviving this conflict.
Plan B took the form of the Storm Shadow strike a couple of days ago directly on the General Staff building of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol. You have not seen or heard much about this in Western media and the Russians were dead silent until today. And even today what little information we have comes from the civilian administration in Sevastopol, not from the Russian Ministry of Defense, a fact which by itself raises the intrigue.
The Russian news tickers, by which I mean Dzen (formerly Yandex news) and mail.ru, tell us that one staff member of the general staff is unaccounted for. We are told by the Governor of Sevastopol that another strike may be expected and people were warned not to visit the downtown area. As for the building itself, the attack touched off a fire which took several hours to bring under control. There were reports that debris was scattered up to several hundred meters away. There was talk of back-up equipment being prepared to carry on the functions that were performed in the staff building. Finally, the attacking missile has been identified as a British-made Storm Shadow air-to-ground cruise missile. There may have been a cluster of these missiles incoming, because Russian air defense is said to have shot down five.
Judging by past experience when the Ukrainians have committed some sensational act, such as their bombing of the Crimean bridge or the destruction of the Kakhovka dam or their incursion across the border to the Belgorod region of Russia, there was some menacing response from the Russian Defense Ministry. Now there is silence. Why? Russian state television news yesterday and today has carried on as if there is nothing more important than the price of diesel fuel and whether the new ban on export will dampen the price and improve availability across the country.
The next troublesome straw in the wind is the reversal of the Biden administration on the question of sending the ATACMS to Kiev. The optimal moment to announce such a decision would have been during Zelensky’s day on Capitol Hill and meetings in the Oval Office. Instead Jake Sullivan told reporters that no decision had been taken as yet by the President.
I believe there is a clear connection between the successful Storm Shadow attack on the general staff building in Sevastopol and the decision to ship ATACMS to Ukraine now. I also note that the decision to supply the American missiles will surely be followed in a few days by the German decision to ship its long-range TAURUS missiles. Both decisions have till now been held back on grounds that they would lead to a Russian escalation of the war. Now it would appear that, facing imminent defeat, the Biden administration is throwing caution to the wind and is ready to risk outbreak of a direct, not proxy Russia-NATO war.
As a further straw in the wind, I point to another deeply troublesome bit of information that you will not find in The New York Times. The Russian news ticker today carries a report from a Russian commander in the field in Ukraine that his unit just destroyed a Leopard tank and found that the entire crew was Germans. Two of them were killed and one injured tank officer was taken prisoner. Those manning a Leopard surely were not soldiers of fortune but genuine Bundeswehr boys. Put in other words, NATO is now directly on the battlefield and not as advisers or instructors. We are headed into very dangerous territory.
©Gilbert Doctorow, 2023
Poscript: One reader has sent in a valuable further bit of information that is not in mainstream reporting:
See https://en.lentafeed.com/@infodefENGLAND/12520
This, coming from Turkish sources, says that the Russians retaliated to the Sevastopol destruction by staging their own cruise missile attack on the Kremenchug Airport, the launch site used by the Ukrainians. “Both SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles, which were stationed at the airbase, along with the SU24M/MR bombers responsible for today’s attack, have been detroyed. A substantial number of firefighters and ambulances have been dispatched to the airfield. There are significant casualties among pilots, ground personnel and even NATO personnel, ncluding Poles, who were involved in coordinating the operatoins and maintaining the missiles.”
This all suggests an additional reason for Biden to consent to shipment of the ATACMS missiles to Ukraine now: unlike the Storm Shadow, they are launched from the ground on mobile launchers similar to HIMARS. Therefore the loss of airfields and bombers and pilots does not constrain their use and holds the promise of more destuction of Russian assets in Crimea. I would also wager that US forces will be sent not just to maintain but to target and launch the ATACMS.
https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2023/09/23/ ... -nato-war/
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This War Wasn’t Just Provoked — It Was Provoked Deliberately
So while we members of the public were blindly speculating about whether or not Russia would attack Ukraine, the US intelligence cartel was fully aware that the US was taking actions ensuring that that would happen.
Caitlin Johnstone
September 24, 2023
In an interesting speech about the way US imperial aggression provokes violence around the world, antiwar commentator Scott Horton made reference to an April 2022 article from Yahoo News that had previously escaped my attention.
The article is titled “In closer ties to Ukraine, U.S. officials long saw promise and peril,” and it features named and unnamed veterans of the US intelligence cartel saying that long before the February 2022 invasion they were fully aware that the US had “provoked” Russia in Ukraine and created a powderkeg situation that would likely lead to war.
“By last summer [meaning the summer of 2021], the baseline view of most U.S. intelligence community analysts was that Russia felt sufficiently provoked over Ukraine that some unknown trigger could set off an attack by Moscow,” a former CIA official told Yahoo News’ Zach Dorfman, who adds, “(The CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment.)”
Dorfman writes that initial support provided to Ukraine during the Obama administration had been “calibrated to avoid aggravating Moscow,” but that “partially spurred by Congress, as well as the Trump administration, which was more willing to be aggressive on weapon transfers to Kyiv, overt U.S. military support for Ukraine grew over time — and with it the risk of a deadly Russian response, some CIA officials believed at the time.”
Policymakers “would always say, ‘If we do X thing, if we give the Ukrainians X system, how are the Russians going to react?’ And our answer would always be, ‘You can’t look at any one thing in isolation,’” the unnamed former CIA official told Yahoo News. “And we might look and say, ‘Well, it’s just a few hundred MANPADs [man-portable air-defense systems] or a few hundred Humvees,’ but it’s missing the point that the Russians are taking all of this stuff in the aggregate, and they’re drawing this picture of this ever-increasing relationship between the U.S. and Ukraine.”
“I understand the moral argument,” says former CIA official Jeffrey Edmonds regarding the weapons transfers into Ukraine, “but I also understand the argument that, well, why would you want to give these things if it’s just going to increase the chances that Russia does something?”
So while we members of the public were blindly speculating about whether or not Russia would attack Ukraine, the US intelligence cartel was fully aware that the US was taking actions ensuring that that would happen. That’s the environment the US security state knew it was operating under when it continued to taunt the idea of adding Ukraine and Georgia to NATO right up until the final moments before the invasion.
This war wasn’t just provoked, it was knowingly provoked. Off ramp after off ramp was sped past by the US war machine at a hundred miles an hour on its beeline toward a horrific proxy war, because empire managers had calculated that such a war would serve US interests. And now we routinely see US officials like Mitch McConnell openly saying that this war serves US interests.
They really couldn’t be more obvious about it if they tried.
It’s been funny to watch the response of empire apologists to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s surprising refutation of a year and a half of empire propaganda by openly admitting that NATO expansion provoked the invasion of Ukraine and acknowledging that NATO powers rejected Moscow’s proposed compromises which could have averted the war. Basically the only argument they now have after this admission is to say that Russia should not have viewed NATO expansion as an existential threat.
Their only remaining trick is to argue with reality; to basically say that yes it’s reality that NATO expansion provoked this war because Moscow saw it as a threat, but reality shouldn’t have been what reality was. They argue that Russia should have felt completely different feelings about a military threat on its border than nations like the United States would feel, since as we’ve discussed previously the last time there was a credible military threat near the US border the US responded so aggressively that the world almost ended.
That’s really all they’ve got: “Yes it’s true that all the people who’ve died and lost their homes in this war did so because we were amassing a hostile military alliance near Russia’s border, but in our defense the Russians should’ve thought different thoughts in their heads than the ones that we ourselves would think about a hostile military threat on our border.”
If all westerners deeply understood all the suffering and danger that has been unleashed upon our world by this war, and deeply understood the fact that their own governments played a role in starting it, the political status quo of the western world would be impossible to maintain. Which is why such unprecedented levels of propaganda and internet censorship have gone into preventing westerners from coming to such an understanding.
Westerners were deceived into supporting yet another evil war, which once again is showing every sign of dragging on for the foreseeable future with no exit strategy in sight. The only difference between this war and all those other wars is that this one is laden with the risk of nuclear annihilation, a risk which the US empire has been treading less and less carefully around as the bloodshed continues.
The more you think about it, the more horrifying it gets.
These people are absolute monsters.
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2023/09 ... iberately/
Memorial in Goryachy Klyuch
September 25, 8:32
Memorial in Goryachy Klyuch.
Engraved on the stele are the numbers of the badges of the Wagner PMC fighters who died during the Northern Military District.
Most of the dead were from the Battle of Artyomovsk. During the battles for the city, the irretrievable losses of the Wagner PMC amounted to about 25 thousand people. The enemy lost 65 thousand people during the battles for the city.
https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/colonel ... 36_900.jpg
Google Translator
Not keen on glorifying mercenaries but those numbers are more realistic, if still unconsciousable, than those announced by Wagner's croaked boss. 'Ashes to dust', as they say.
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REVEALS THE NEW YORK TIMES
UKRAINE BOMBS ITS OWN CITIES
Sep 21, 2023 , 2:00 pm .
Compiled evidence shows that a 9M38 missile was launched from the Buk anti-aircraft system (Photo: AFP)
The kyiv regime is a danger to Ukrainian citizens. The inhabitants of Donbas who have suffered criminal bombings against the population have said it and now the New York Times exposes it with an investigation titled "Ukraine is bombing its own cities" :
"The September 6 missile attack on Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine was one of the deadliest in the country in months, killing at least 15 civilians and wounding more than 30. The payload of metal fragments of the weapon hit a market, went through windows and walls and injured some victims until they were unrecognizable," the media notes.
He also states that, in this regard, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky blamed Russian "terrorists" for the attack and many media outlets followed that narrative, a logic that has operated since the beginning of the war. The authorities of that country initially tried to prevent Times journalists from accessing the remains of the missile and the impact area, but they were finally able to reach the scene, interview witnesses and collect remains of the weapon used.
Compiled evidence shows that, like the Malaysian Boeing incident in 2014, a 9M38 missile was launched from the Buk anti-aircraft system. The Times investigation showed that the warhead was different from that used by the Russian S-300 system, the impact it leaves and the sound it emits are also different.
The New York Times journalists discovered that the Ukrainian authorities were trying to organize an entire special information operation after learning that this was a mistake by their army. The United States participated in this concealment plot, whose research group did not send material from its satellites.
https://misionverdad.com/ucrania-bombar ... s-ciudades
Google Translator
The NYT calls this news? See our previous thread....Note that the Times calls this a mistake, but neglects to mention that this 'mistake' has occurred thousands of times since 2014. Ass covering for war criminals, nice.
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 09/25/2023
After some disappointment in his visit to the United States, where he did not get a public commitment from Joe Biden and a delivery schedule for the expected ATACMS missiles and saw his request to address Congress rejected, a symptom that the unanimity of support for Ukraine has disappeared, Volodymyr Zelensky finally experienced the moment of ecstasy he was waiting for on his North American tour. He was not at the legislative branch of his most important ally, the United States, but of perhaps his closest partner, Canada. In a speech that remained along the usual lines, the Ukrainian president obtained, according to Canadian public television, a dozen moments of standing ovation with the audience. All parties on the political spectrum participated in these displays of praise for the Ukrainian leader,extreme left of the NDP passing, of course, through the liberals led by Justin Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland.
Volodymyr Zelensky was overwhelmed by the displays of affection from the Parliament closest to post-Maidan Ukraine, which actively collaborated even during the revolution of dignity, allowing the use of its embassy in Kiev for political objectives and which has publicly and privately financed weapons. for the Ukrainian Armed Forces since the start of the war in 2014. No other country has taken Ukraine's fight against Russia as seriously as Canada, which quickly organized to begin supplying everything necessary to the regular army and battalions nationalists who fought on their side. In recent months, much has been said about the importance of drones in battle and articles from prestigious media such as Foreign PolicyThey have argued that, even during the Donbass war, Ukraine suffered from this lack. Nothing could be further from the truth, when the Popular Republics absolutely lacked this material, Canadian organizations were already working to supply drones to the Ukrainian forces.
Canada, with even less scruples than the United States, took charge of training the troops of the Azov regiment at the time when US Congressman Conyers's amendment achieved, if only temporarily, a prohibition on arming and training the members of the group. However, Canada's proximity was not born in 2014 but rather has a long historical trajectory that dates back to the Cold War, as it is one of the main places where the Ukrainian nationalist diaspora settled and where it knew how to become strong in areas such as academics. From there, the theory and history created by these groups, much more nationalist than any trend existing at that time in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, They marked the nationalist renaissance that occurred after independence and that would have been very different without that foreign presence. Canada has been, thanks to the support of the conservative government first and then the liberal one and always with the strong presence of the pressure group of the Ukrainian-Canadian Congress at the helm, one of the great supporters of the nationalist rise that has taken place in Ukraine in the last decade.
During this time, there have been several controversies that have linked Canada with the most radically Ukrainian nationalist positions, both public and private. The Ukrainian-Canadian Congress, one of the major pressure groups seeking weapons for Ukraine, also fought, for example, to cancel a concert by the Ukrainian pianist Valentina Lisitsa. The Government, possibly the most radically anti-Russian, has always struggled to impose increasingly severe sanctions against Russia. At the head of that fight was Chrystia Freeland, who has always described as “Russian propaganda” the accusations of collaboration by her grandfather, Mijailo Chomiak, editor in Poland occupied by Nazi Germany of an openly anti-Semitic newspaper and whose family lived in an arianized floor, that is, stolen from a Jewish family deported to the extermination camps during the genocide of the Jewish people of Eastern Europe. This information never came from Russia but from Canada, initially from historian John-Paul Himka and later from research in the archives of a Ukrainian-Canadian communist.
The origin of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada is not the arrival to the country of families like that of Chrystia Freeland from the refugee camps in Europe nor the subsequent distribution of the soldiers of the Galizien Division of the SS from the Rimini camp after the ally victory but dates back to the 19th century. Generally progressive, even socialist, the first Ukrainian diaspora was overwhelmed by the arrival of that second wave, in this case radically nationalist and which Canada used, for example, as strike-breaking shock forces. As in the United States, there were no questions about the actions of these people during the war years, not even those who came from a British detention camp where they had been sent when they surrendered to the Allied authorities at the end of the war.
This is the case of what had then become the Ukrainian National Army, a successful attempt to change the name to wash the face of an SS division made up of Ukrainian volunteers under German command. Decimated in the Battle of Brody due to a defeat against the Red Army, in which more Ukrainians always participated than in the groups that collaborated with the Nazis - SS units, OUN-UPA -, the division was rebuilt to continue the fight for the independence of Ukraine until the final defeat of Germany on May 9, 1945.
The imminent German capitulation found the Ukrainian National Army and its German patrons in southern Austria, fleeing by forced marches from the Soviet and Yugoslav partisan advance in search of a more comfortable surrender. Towns and villages in southern Austria still have numerous monuments that commemorate the Ukrainian National Army, always without specifying that they fought on the German side.
The bulk of the remains of the Ukrainian SS division surrendered to the British authorities in the Austrian town of Spittal and, claiming to be Polish citizens, demanded not to be repatriated to the Soviet Union. Converted into Poles, the Ukrainian soldiers were sent to Rimini. From there a small group left for their new destination that, with the mediation of the Vatican, arrived in Barcelona and later moved to Madrid in December 1946, an arrival important enough to be reflected in the newspaper ABC .. These “Ukrainian students” were the precursors of Western broadcasts of anti-communist propaganda in the Soviet Union. Long before Radio Free Europe broadcasts began, veterans of the Galizien Division of the SS began broadcasting in Ukrainian from the National Radio facilities in Francoist Spain.
However, the Spanish contingent was minimal. The main destinations of this contingent of around 10,000 Ukrainians who had surrendered to the allied authorities were three: the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, where, with few exceptions, there have been no questions about the actions of each of those people. during the war. Some of them even continue to receive tributes. The last one took place in the Ottawa Parliament, within the framework of the political reception of Volodmyr Zelensky as an absolute hero.
In its piece on Zelensky's speech to the legislature, CBC , the Canadian national corporation, stated that the Ukrainian president had received a dozen standing ovations and added that one more had gone to “this 98-year-old man, a Ukrainian -Canadian who fought for the independence of Ukraine against the Russians during World War II.” The definition left little room for doubt, just knowing whether he had fought in groups like OUN-UPA or in the Galizien Division. In any case, without specifying that Yaroslav Hunka fought, not only against the Russians but also against the allies of the Canadian soldiers who fought in the Second World War, the way in which the medium decided to define the hero is significant .. Coincident or not, this idea of fighting for the independence of Ukraine is the basis of the legislation that, in 2015, made heroes by decree of those who fought in World War II at the hands of Nazi Germany. And as Volodymyr Vyatrovich pointed out, the symbols of the Galizien Division of the SS should not be affected by the law that supposedly prohibited Nazi and communist symbols. Hunka, according to his own publications, a volunteer in the Ukrainian division of the SS, can perfectly claim to be a hero of the fight for the independence of Ukraine despite having carried out his fight in his German uniform adorned with the lion of Galizia and under the orders of Fritz Freitag. According to his own account, in 1943 he received training as an anti-aircraft machine gun operator in Munich.
Canada, home to a huge community of Ukrainian origin, had the possibility of presenting as a hero a person who had fought under any Allied uniform on the same side as, for example, Volodymyr Zelensky's grandfather, a member of the Red Army. However, once again, they chose to praise a man who cannot even be described as a collaborationist, who did not even fight in the OUN or UPA, groups that, manipulating reality, have alleged that they fought against the Soviet Union, but also against Germany. Ottawa, with Zelensky's evident approval, chose to honor a soldier from a Nazi unit, a person who chose to fight for Ukraine alongside those who wanted to enslave it and did so against the majority of the country, an integral part of the Soviet effort to liberate Eastern Europe from the Nazi occupation.
The last year and a half, if not the last nine years, have shown that the war against Russia has served Western authorities to justify steps that had previously been considered red lines. That argument is not limited to the type of weapons to send to the front, but also extends to praising all those who have ever fought against Russia or the Soviet Union, the common fight against the most genocidal regime in history.
https://slavyangrad.es/2023/09/25/canad ... more-28210
Google Translator
Liberals will tell you that Canadians are 'nicer' than Americans.....
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Chronicle of a special military operation for September 24, 2023
September 24, 2023
American number
The situation in the northern Black Sea region remains tense. To the west of the Crimean
coast, a Ukrainian unmanned boat was sunk during another attempt to attack. Russian troops, in turn, worked on enemy positions on Zmeiny Island , which is used as a transshipment base for raids on the Crimean Peninsula.
Meanwhile, in the Kherson direction, Ukrainian formations continue to transfer infantry groups to the islands on the Dnieper. Thus, Russian troops are trying to prevent the Ukrainian Armed Forces from gaining a foothold on Kozatsky Island and are striking enemy strongholds in this area.
On the front line, a certain calm remains in the Zaporozhye direction . At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are not abandoning attempts to break through Russian defenses in the Soledar direction .
In addition, today the Ukrainian Armed Forces actively attacked the border regions: the city of Kursk , the Khalino airfield and border villages came under attack from Ukrainian forces . The enemy also carried out massive attacks on Tokmak in the Zaporozhye region .
The situation on the front line and combat operations
Off the coast of Crimea at night, Russian border guards repelled an attack by Ukrainian formations west of the Black Sea . A few kilometers from the coast, an unmanned enemy boat was discovered, which with a high degree of probability was monitoring the activities of the fleet.
As a result of fire from a border service boat and detachments on the shore, the naval drone was first damaged and subsequently scuttled. Later it became known that a Su-24M naval aviation aircraft of the Russian Black Sea Fleet struck two FAB-500s with UMPC on Zmeiny Island .
This piece of land is actively used by Ukrainian formations as a logistics base for sabotage and reconnaissance groups. Over the past few days, ammunition, fuel and food have been actively transported there, preparing for new attacks on the Crimean peninsula.
In the Starobelsky direction, positional battles are taking place in the area of Sinkovka and Petropavlovka . Nevertheless, the configuration of the front in this section of the front did not change significantly. The advance of the Russian Armed Forces is slowed down by impressive forest plantations, which, moreover, are heavily mined.
In the Soledar direction south of Bakhmut , heavy fighting continues in the area of Kleshcheevka , Andreevka and Kurdyumovka , where the Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to break through to the railway. If they manage to do this, expanding the zone of control, the supply routes of the Russian Armed Forces in Bakhmut will be under possible attack from artillery and even mortars. All three settlements are heavily destroyed and practically do not exist, but the enemy is still frantically pushing forward, regardless of losses.
In the Donetsk direction, attacks on the Avdeevsky fortified area continue . The Russian Aerospace Forces are attacking buildings occupied by Ukrainian formations with aerial bombs from the UMPC.
To the south of Avdiivka, fighting is taking place in the Opytne area , where the Ukrainian Armed Forces have repeatedly attempted to advance to a populated area and start a battle in the village. Currently unsuccessful.
There have been no significant changes at the Vremyevsky site ; the calm that began a few days ago continues. The sides exchange artillery strikes along the entire line of contact, but no one takes active action.
In the Orekhovsky sector, Ukrainian formations intensified their actions near Verbovoy , trying to break into the depths of the Russian defensive formations. Today, several infantry assault groups tried to attack again, but were scattered by artillery fire and retreated.
The situation in the occupied part of the Kherson region is becoming more and more interesting. The Armed Forces of Ukraine with the forces of the Omaha tactical group continues to gain a foothold on Kozatsky Island , despite the losses. Yesterday, the observation post of the 131st reconnaissance battalion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was destroyed by an artillery strike from the Russian Armed Forces. However, by evening, in the southwestern part of the island, Ukrainian units again began to equip positions.
The activity of enemy reconnaissance groups is covered by artillerymen and mortars, who fire at the front line with all means. Russian fighters respond with artillery and air strikes. At the same time, the transfer of units of the Marine Corps Command of the Ukrainian Navy continues to the Kherson region. To date, 6,870 people, 46 tanks, 223 armored fighting vehicles and eight artillery pieces have been deployed to the area.
So far, only formations of the 35th, 36th and 37th Marine Brigades have arrived. It is also expected that 38 infantry infantry fighting vehicles and seven artillery battalions will appear. All these connections were removed from the Vremevsky site , which is why there is now a lull there. Judging by the concentration of forces, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have prioritized an offensive across the Dnieper to reach Crimea . Therefore, attempts continue to occupy the island zone of the Dnieper to provide a bridgehead.
The most likely direction should be considered Novaya Kakhovka . But the implementation of the plan is only possible with a simultaneous attack on the Orekhovsky sector , as well as from the Black Sea. Given the increasing activity of the Ukrainian landing force off the coast of the peninsula, preparations are in full swing. Moreover, at the Rabotino - Verbovoe line , the Ukrainian Armed Forces are again preparing for an assault.
Shelling of rear areas and residential areas
In the Bryansk region , the Ukrainian Armed Forces fired at a farmland in the village of Kister , Pogarsky district, no one was injured.
This afternoon, Ukrainian formations attacked the center of Kursk several times with drones . According to the governor's report, a Ukrainian UAV damaged the roof of an administrative building in the Central District. The district administration building was attacked.
Later, some sources wrote about the FSB building being hit, but the information was not confirmed, as were reports of explosions in the area of the oil depot. According to Mash, a total of four UAVs were involved, which were aimed at the administrative building and the station.
In the evening, air defense operated south of the city; in the evening, an air target was intercepted in the Kursk region . In addition, several border settlements came under fire. In Elizavetovka , according to the regional governor, an agricultural enterprise was damaged, but there were no casualties. In Tyotkino , after five flights, there were no casualties or damage.
In the evening, several UAVs of Ukrainian formations attacked a military airfield in Halino . According to some reports, there are casualties, but there is no exact information yet.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to shell the border areas of the Belgorod region. An enemy drone dropped ammunition on the village of Novy , Volokonovsky district. One person was injured as a result of the attack and is receiving medical assistance. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov also reported that a Ukrainian drone was shot down over Belgorod, there were no casualties or damage.
Local residents also reported shelling of the Shebekinsky urban district , Novaya Tavolzhanka , Dolgoye , Grafovka , Rzhevka , Voznesenivka and Prilesye ; official information has not yet been received.
The barbaric shelling of the Donetsk agglomeration continues . The western regions of Donetsk , Gorlovka and Yasinovataya were again under enemy fire . Several administrative buildings, apartment buildings and a nursery were damaged.
Five civilians of the republic were injured of varying degrees of severity. Four are in Donetsk , of which two are in the Kievsky district , two more in the Kuibyshevsky district , and one person in the Nikitovsky district of Gorlovka .
In the Zaporozhye region, one of the priority targets of the Ukrainian formations in the Zaporozhye direction is Tokmak , which today came under massive shelling. As a result of strikes by the American HIMARS MLRS in the city, one civilian was killed and 11 more people were injured.
In addition, the village of Novofedorovka in the Pologovsky district came under fire from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, where three more citizens were wounded.
During the day, Ukrainian formations intensively shelled the left bank of the Kherson region. During the night alone, about 30 shells were fired at Aleshki , Dniepryan , Korsunka , and Krynki . Air defense work was also reported in the Chaplynka area .
In Novaya Kakhovka, a shell hit a bus stop. A woman waiting for the bus was killed, and a man was hospitalized with shrapnel wounds. In addition, the enemy struck a multi-story building in Kakhovka . According to preliminary data, there are no casualties.
Political events
On the transfer of German naval drones to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The German government approved a new package of military assistance to Ukraine worth more than 400 million euros . The most interesting position in it was unmanned boats in the amount of 50 units (on the government website they say about ten). However, in this situation, not everything is so simple. Before the Northern Military District, Germany actually did not have its own program for the development of an unmanned fleet, and everything that is in service was purchased abroad. This was also noted in Forbes . Therefore, we are more inclined to the option with ten copies.
In 2016, the Bundeswehr acquired only one ARCIMS drone from the British company Atlas Elektronik UK . Outwardly, it is similar to the hydroscooter that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have already used for attacks on Sevastopol , but the variant with German origin can most likely be discarded. The most common type of drone for the German Navy was the autonomous underwater vehicle Remus - 100 , which Berlin purchased in batches from the United States for more than ten years . Their exact number remains questionable.
But it is precisely this type of drone that was most likely discussed, only they were delivered to Ukraine a few months ago. Not long ago we tested the V-BAT UAV , which crashed near Odessa . And to search for debris they used the Remus-100.
And unlike other types of BeKov, which are semi-submersible, Remus can operate underwater at a depth of up to 100 meters, which reduces its visibility. Its use even for monitoring the Black Sea Fleet makes it an extremely dangerous weapon in enemy arsenal
About the real delivery time of Taurus missiles
The Bild newspaper reminded readers of the main problems that the Ukrainian Armed Forces may face when trying to lobby for the supply of Taurus missiles to Ukraine. It is no secret that for several months now Germany and Ukraine have been unable to reach a consensus on the supply of Taurus. At the same time, the German newspaper notes that even if the missiles hit Ukraine, it will take about three months to prepare the Ukrainian Armed Forces for the Taurus launch.
However, we have already written that the first small batch of Taurus missiles arrived in Ukraine at the end of August, but their use requires approval from Germany. Taking into account Bild's comment, it can be assumed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are undergoing this three-month training. Therefore, we can assume that the long-awaited agreement for Ukraine may come in the coming months, or even earlier.
I would also like to remind you that such statements by the foreign press are often created for the purpose of misinformation. After reading such publications, an illusion of imaginary security and control over the situation arises. What happens next can be recalled by the example of “unexpected deliveries” of Western weapons, which, as it turns out, are already being fully used during the conflict.
https://rybar.ru/hronika-speczialnoj-vo ... 2023-goda/
Google Translator
(Other images at link)
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History of Fascism in Ukraine Part III: 1944-1963 UPA War, Ratlines, and the Assassination of Stepan Bandera
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on SEPTEMBER 23, 2023
Hugo Turner
Dedicated to the memory of Luciana Bohne.
With special thanks to T.P. Wilkinson.
The “Heroes” monument in Ellenville incorporates busts of Roman Shukhevych and Stepan Bandera, both Nazi collaborators. A monument to Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and Ukrainian Insurgent Army was unveiled in Hamptonburgh in 1989.
Just prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, stories began to appear in the Western press on American plans to set up a Gladio-style stay behind network in Ukraine that would resist the Russian invasion from behind enemy lines. It would be an underground army equipped with hidden arms caches. Unsurprisingly this meant that such a Gladio terror network had already been set up. However in the context of the bloody stalemate that the war has become, it has been so far only a minor annoyance for the Russians, assassinating officials in Russian controlled areas and helping to target Ukrainian attacks. These plans were history repeating themselves, for as the Nazis prepared to retreat from Ukraine back in 1944, they made a deal with the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army) to act as a stay behind army to continue to wage war on the Soviets from behind enemy lines.
The UPA had been created to ethnically cleanse eastern Poland of Poles and the few remaining Jews who had survived the mass killings throughout the occupied territories. It pretended to fight the Nazis while secretly working for German military intelligence. Yet the UPA and their OUN/B (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists/ Bandera) masters knew that Germany was losing the war and in mid-1944 the head of OUN/B intelligence the SB Mykola Lebed made a secret deal with the British. Soon the Americans were also in on the act. In Ukraine World War 2 would go on for another eight years after the defeat of Nazi Germany. The campaign against the Soviet Union would continue to be waged by OPC, MI6, Gehlen Org, and the CIA who secretly backed the doomed UPA.
And Ukraine was merely the biggest of these Western backed covert wars that are usually completely ignored by mainstream accounts of the Cold War. The UPA war itself took place in Poland, Belarus, and Czechoslovakia as well as Western Ukraine. There were also covert wars in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Albania, Yugoslavia and other countries in the Eastern Bloc. In the Baltics remnants of the Waffen SS, known as “The Forest Brotherhood”, continued the war with the backing of combined Western intelligence services. The UPA campaign in Ukraine was fundamental in the start of the Cold War. OUN-UPA propaganda promised that World War 3 was just around the corner and that Britain and America would arrive to “liberate” Ukraine and deliver it to the OUN/B — who were genocidal fascists. In exchange for Western arms, the UPA were spying for the West. Their information was being used to pick targets inside Ukraine for the planned U.S. atomic “Doomsday” strikes. Living in Western exile, future OUN/B head Yaroslav Stetsko was actively lobbying for atomic war at the expense of millions of Ukrainian dead. He considered this a small price to pay for the “liberation” of Ukraine from Communism.
This article will tell the story of these early Cold War years. It will cover the UPA war, the ratlines and the resettling of 120,000 Ukrainian fascists around the globe. It will discuss riots, torture and assassination the OUN/B conducted in displaced person camps and prisons. It will discuss the OUN/B in exile and its split into two factions: the MI6 and Gehlen backed Zch OUN led by Stepan Bandera and Stetsko and the CIA backed ZP UHVR led by Mykola Lebed. It will cover the OUN/B and MI6 creation of the largest fascist umbrella group of the postwar years the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations or ABN which united escaped fascist war criminals from across Eastern and Central Europe. The ABN would form close ties with the Asian People’s Anti-Communist League and the two would eventually launch the World Anti-Communist League. Finally it will discuss the assassination of Stepan Bandera.
I recommend you read parts one and two for a detailed account of the origins of the OUN and its role in helping the Nazis murder masses of Slavs and Jews during World War 2. However, I will attempt a recap along with new details discovered in my many months of research over the last year.
(much more, recommended)
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/09/ ... n-bandera/
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Latest news on the war: these past two days we have advanced considerably to a full-blown Russia-NATO war
Latest news on the war: these past two days we have advanced considerably to a full-blown Russia-NATO war
This past week most Western media discussion of the Russia-Ukraine war has focused on developments in New York, where Zelensky and Biden gave their propaganda speeches about Russian imperialism threatening the world order, and then in Washington, where Zelensky met with Congressional leaders and with the President in his pursuit of further deliveries of arms. The focus was on air defense systems, on F-16 fighter jets and on the ATACMS ground to ground missiles.
This past week Western media broke ranks on the prospects for a Ukrainian victory. It appeared that there is growing consensus that the Ukrainian counter-offensive had failed and there was more talk of Ukraine-fatigue in American political circles. Speculation now turned both in major media and in dissident media on how the United States will respond to a looming defeat in Ukraine. Many decided that Washington would just move on after ‘throwing Ukraine under the bus’ and raise the war cries against China so as to avoid getting bogged down in recriminations over ‘who lost Ukraine.’
However, that was two days ago. Today Washington’s Plan B is becoming clearer. And what I see does not look good for world peace and for our chances of surviving this conflict.
Plan B took the form of the Storm Shadow strike a couple of days ago directly on the General Staff building of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol. You have not seen or heard much about this in Western media and the Russians were dead silent until today. And even today what little information we have comes from the civilian administration in Sevastopol, not from the Russian Ministry of Defense, a fact which by itself raises the intrigue.
The Russian news tickers, by which I mean Dzen (formerly Yandex news) and mail.ru, tell us that one staff member of the general staff is unaccounted for. We are told by the Governor of Sevastopol that another strike may be expected and people were warned not to visit the downtown area. As for the building itself, the attack touched off a fire which took several hours to bring under control. There were reports that debris was scattered up to several hundred meters away. There was talk of back-up equipment being prepared to carry on the functions that were performed in the staff building. Finally, the attacking missile has been identified as a British-made Storm Shadow air-to-ground cruise missile. There may have been a cluster of these missiles incoming, because Russian air defense is said to have shot down five.
Judging by past experience when the Ukrainians have committed some sensational act, such as their bombing of the Crimean bridge or the destruction of the Kakhovka dam or their incursion across the border to the Belgorod region of Russia, there was some menacing response from the Russian Defense Ministry. Now there is silence. Why? Russian state television news yesterday and today has carried on as if there is nothing more important than the price of diesel fuel and whether the new ban on export will dampen the price and improve availability across the country.
The next troublesome straw in the wind is the reversal of the Biden administration on the question of sending the ATACMS to Kiev. The optimal moment to announce such a decision would have been during Zelensky’s day on Capitol Hill and meetings in the Oval Office. Instead Jake Sullivan told reporters that no decision had been taken as yet by the President.
I believe there is a clear connection between the successful Storm Shadow attack on the general staff building in Sevastopol and the decision to ship ATACMS to Ukraine now. I also note that the decision to supply the American missiles will surely be followed in a few days by the German decision to ship its long-range TAURUS missiles. Both decisions have till now been held back on grounds that they would lead to a Russian escalation of the war. Now it would appear that, facing imminent defeat, the Biden administration is throwing caution to the wind and is ready to risk outbreak of a direct, not proxy Russia-NATO war.
As a further straw in the wind, I point to another deeply troublesome bit of information that you will not find in The New York Times. The Russian news ticker today carries a report from a Russian commander in the field in Ukraine that his unit just destroyed a Leopard tank and found that the entire crew was Germans. Two of them were killed and one injured tank officer was taken prisoner. Those manning a Leopard surely were not soldiers of fortune but genuine Bundeswehr boys. Put in other words, NATO is now directly on the battlefield and not as advisers or instructors. We are headed into very dangerous territory.
©Gilbert Doctorow, 2023
Poscript: One reader has sent in a valuable further bit of information that is not in mainstream reporting:
See https://en.lentafeed.com/@infodefENGLAND/12520
This, coming from Turkish sources, says that the Russians retaliated to the Sevastopol destruction by staging their own cruise missile attack on the Kremenchug Airport, the launch site used by the Ukrainians. “Both SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles, which were stationed at the airbase, along with the SU24M/MR bombers responsible for today’s attack, have been detroyed. A substantial number of firefighters and ambulances have been dispatched to the airfield. There are significant casualties among pilots, ground personnel and even NATO personnel, ncluding Poles, who were involved in coordinating the operatoins and maintaining the missiles.”
This all suggests an additional reason for Biden to consent to shipment of the ATACMS missiles to Ukraine now: unlike the Storm Shadow, they are launched from the ground on mobile launchers similar to HIMARS. Therefore the loss of airfields and bombers and pilots does not constrain their use and holds the promise of more destuction of Russian assets in Crimea. I would also wager that US forces will be sent not just to maintain but to target and launch the ATACMS.
https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2023/09/23/ ... -nato-war/
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This War Wasn’t Just Provoked — It Was Provoked Deliberately
So while we members of the public were blindly speculating about whether or not Russia would attack Ukraine, the US intelligence cartel was fully aware that the US was taking actions ensuring that that would happen.
Caitlin Johnstone
September 24, 2023
In an interesting speech about the way US imperial aggression provokes violence around the world, antiwar commentator Scott Horton made reference to an April 2022 article from Yahoo News that had previously escaped my attention.
The article is titled “In closer ties to Ukraine, U.S. officials long saw promise and peril,” and it features named and unnamed veterans of the US intelligence cartel saying that long before the February 2022 invasion they were fully aware that the US had “provoked” Russia in Ukraine and created a powderkeg situation that would likely lead to war.
“By last summer [meaning the summer of 2021], the baseline view of most U.S. intelligence community analysts was that Russia felt sufficiently provoked over Ukraine that some unknown trigger could set off an attack by Moscow,” a former CIA official told Yahoo News’ Zach Dorfman, who adds, “(The CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment.)”
Dorfman writes that initial support provided to Ukraine during the Obama administration had been “calibrated to avoid aggravating Moscow,” but that “partially spurred by Congress, as well as the Trump administration, which was more willing to be aggressive on weapon transfers to Kyiv, overt U.S. military support for Ukraine grew over time — and with it the risk of a deadly Russian response, some CIA officials believed at the time.”
Policymakers “would always say, ‘If we do X thing, if we give the Ukrainians X system, how are the Russians going to react?’ And our answer would always be, ‘You can’t look at any one thing in isolation,’” the unnamed former CIA official told Yahoo News. “And we might look and say, ‘Well, it’s just a few hundred MANPADs [man-portable air-defense systems] or a few hundred Humvees,’ but it’s missing the point that the Russians are taking all of this stuff in the aggregate, and they’re drawing this picture of this ever-increasing relationship between the U.S. and Ukraine.”
“I understand the moral argument,” says former CIA official Jeffrey Edmonds regarding the weapons transfers into Ukraine, “but I also understand the argument that, well, why would you want to give these things if it’s just going to increase the chances that Russia does something?”
So while we members of the public were blindly speculating about whether or not Russia would attack Ukraine, the US intelligence cartel was fully aware that the US was taking actions ensuring that that would happen. That’s the environment the US security state knew it was operating under when it continued to taunt the idea of adding Ukraine and Georgia to NATO right up until the final moments before the invasion.
This war wasn’t just provoked, it was knowingly provoked. Off ramp after off ramp was sped past by the US war machine at a hundred miles an hour on its beeline toward a horrific proxy war, because empire managers had calculated that such a war would serve US interests. And now we routinely see US officials like Mitch McConnell openly saying that this war serves US interests.
They really couldn’t be more obvious about it if they tried.
It’s been funny to watch the response of empire apologists to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s surprising refutation of a year and a half of empire propaganda by openly admitting that NATO expansion provoked the invasion of Ukraine and acknowledging that NATO powers rejected Moscow’s proposed compromises which could have averted the war. Basically the only argument they now have after this admission is to say that Russia should not have viewed NATO expansion as an existential threat.
Their only remaining trick is to argue with reality; to basically say that yes it’s reality that NATO expansion provoked this war because Moscow saw it as a threat, but reality shouldn’t have been what reality was. They argue that Russia should have felt completely different feelings about a military threat on its border than nations like the United States would feel, since as we’ve discussed previously the last time there was a credible military threat near the US border the US responded so aggressively that the world almost ended.
That’s really all they’ve got: “Yes it’s true that all the people who’ve died and lost their homes in this war did so because we were amassing a hostile military alliance near Russia’s border, but in our defense the Russians should’ve thought different thoughts in their heads than the ones that we ourselves would think about a hostile military threat on our border.”
If all westerners deeply understood all the suffering and danger that has been unleashed upon our world by this war, and deeply understood the fact that their own governments played a role in starting it, the political status quo of the western world would be impossible to maintain. Which is why such unprecedented levels of propaganda and internet censorship have gone into preventing westerners from coming to such an understanding.
Westerners were deceived into supporting yet another evil war, which once again is showing every sign of dragging on for the foreseeable future with no exit strategy in sight. The only difference between this war and all those other wars is that this one is laden with the risk of nuclear annihilation, a risk which the US empire has been treading less and less carefully around as the bloodshed continues.
The more you think about it, the more horrifying it gets.
These people are absolute monsters.
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2023/09 ... iberately/
Memorial in Goryachy Klyuch
September 25, 8:32
Memorial in Goryachy Klyuch.
Engraved on the stele are the numbers of the badges of the Wagner PMC fighters who died during the Northern Military District.
Most of the dead were from the Battle of Artyomovsk. During the battles for the city, the irretrievable losses of the Wagner PMC amounted to about 25 thousand people. The enemy lost 65 thousand people during the battles for the city.
https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/colonel ... 36_900.jpg
Google Translator
Not keen on glorifying mercenaries but those numbers are more realistic, if still unconsciousable, than those announced by Wagner's croaked boss. 'Ashes to dust', as they say.
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REVEALS THE NEW YORK TIMES
UKRAINE BOMBS ITS OWN CITIES
Sep 21, 2023 , 2:00 pm .
Compiled evidence shows that a 9M38 missile was launched from the Buk anti-aircraft system (Photo: AFP)
The kyiv regime is a danger to Ukrainian citizens. The inhabitants of Donbas who have suffered criminal bombings against the population have said it and now the New York Times exposes it with an investigation titled "Ukraine is bombing its own cities" :
"The September 6 missile attack on Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine was one of the deadliest in the country in months, killing at least 15 civilians and wounding more than 30. The payload of metal fragments of the weapon hit a market, went through windows and walls and injured some victims until they were unrecognizable," the media notes.
He also states that, in this regard, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky blamed Russian "terrorists" for the attack and many media outlets followed that narrative, a logic that has operated since the beginning of the war. The authorities of that country initially tried to prevent Times journalists from accessing the remains of the missile and the impact area, but they were finally able to reach the scene, interview witnesses and collect remains of the weapon used.
Compiled evidence shows that, like the Malaysian Boeing incident in 2014, a 9M38 missile was launched from the Buk anti-aircraft system. The Times investigation showed that the warhead was different from that used by the Russian S-300 system, the impact it leaves and the sound it emits are also different.
The New York Times journalists discovered that the Ukrainian authorities were trying to organize an entire special information operation after learning that this was a mistake by their army. The United States participated in this concealment plot, whose research group did not send material from its satellites.
https://misionverdad.com/ucrania-bombar ... s-ciudades
Google Translator
The NYT calls this news? See our previous thread....Note that the Times calls this a mistake, but neglects to mention that this 'mistake' has occurred thousands of times since 2014. Ass covering for war criminals, nice.
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."
Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part V
Negotiations to Take Place on the Battlefield: Lavrov
Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov, Sept. 24, 2023. | Photo: X/ @nxt888
"We will not entertain ceasefire proposals because we have done so before and were deceived," the Russian FM stated.
On Saturday, Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Russia is prepared to return to the negotiating table with Ukraine but will not entertain any proposals for a ceasefire.
"President Vladimir Putin has declared our readiness to engage in negotiations. However, we will not entertain ceasefire proposals because we have done so before and were deceived," Lavrov mentioned during a press conference following his address at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
He reminded that meetings had taken place between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in April of 2022 and accused Kyiv of aiming to extend the military conflict to "wear down" Russia.
Lavrov also accused the U.S. and Western nations of prolonging the war by refusing to consider any peace proposal that deviates from President Volodymir Zelensky's position, which includes Russia's withdrawal from Ukrainian territory. According to the Russian FM, however, such a proposal is not viable.
"Do they want negotiations to take place on the battlefield? Very well, then it will be on the battlefield," he stressed.
Lavrov also questioned the position of Western countries regarding the requests that Russia has made to host the "Grain Deal," which aims to facilitate the flow of food and fertilizers through a secure corridor in the Black Sea.
He referred to proposals by UN Secretary Antonio Guterres to enable Russian financial transactions through a subsidiary of the Russian Agricultural Bank in Luxembourg to revive the agreement.
"We do not reject them.. They are simply not realistic," the Russian FM said and explained that the Luxembourg branch still needs to receive a banking permit to operate.
Lavrov accused Washington and its NATO allies of seeking to maintain the "status quo" out of fear of a "new world order" with greater involvement from the Global South nations.
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Neg ... -0009.html
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THE US WOULD REGISTER 100,000 CASUALTIES A MONTH IN A DIRECT WAR AGAINST RUSSIA
Sep 19, 2023 , 5:22 pm .
The United States could lose 1.2 million soldiers a year in a war against Russia (Photo: United States Army War College)
The United States Army War College warns that, if the North American country goes into an armed scenario against Russia to defend Ukraine, it should expect 100,000 casualties per month, a figure that represents double the total of American casualties in the War of Vietnam (1955-75) during the time the conflict lasted.
The military academy document reveals that it is possible that more than 1.2 million American men and women will be killed, maimed or wounded in the first year of war against the Slavic nation. In total there would be 3,600 falls per day, according to the report.
The study is prospective and puts the experience of the war in Ukraine as a lesson to be learned should the country want to take part in a large-scale conflict, and against a militarily powerful enemy like Russia.
To this we must add the warning recently made by a sector of the Pentagon , which indicated that the United States may not be prepared for any possible war event against the People's Republic of China, so it should better prepare its troops.
https://misionverdad.com/eeuu-registrar ... ntra-rusia
Google Translator
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Is Washington preparing to hang its stooge Zelensky out to dry?
As well as losing its proxy war against Russia, Washington is also losing control of the propaganda war.
Proletarian writers
Friday 22 September 2023
Large numbers of the supposedly ‘game-changing’ tanks that were sent to ensure the success of Ukraine‘s ‘spring offensive’ were destroyed as soon as they neared the front lines. When an ‘invincible’ British Challenger 2 shared the same fate, its manufacturers were furious, demanding that from now on all Challengers should be kept at a safe distance from Russian artillery!
Now that it is beginning to dawn on everyone that Kiev’s ‘counteroffensive’ is a complete failure and that pouring more and more young lives and vastly expensive weaponry into the bottomless pit of the proxy war against Russia has all been an utter waste of time, it is now proving impossible to keep everyone humming along with the same old song sheets (‘Stand with Ukraine!’ ‘Forward with the Spring Offensive!’)
Where before the media airbrushed away anything that jarred with the official narrative and were ready at the drop of a hat to provide wall-to-wall coverage of whatever stunt the psyops team cooked up to slander Russia, there is now a rising crescendo of media chatter that is asking the most blunt questions about what the war was really about and what choices the collective west have now that the whole bloody shambles stands exposed.
Cackle from the ‘free world’ hencoop getting louder and louder
Some are blaming the catastrophe on the incompetence of Nato’s bought-and-paid-for Ukrainian army and advocate abandoning their stooges. Some (belatedly) blame the west for sabotaging the chance to engage in peace talks early on in Russia’s special military operation, instead instructing stooge actor-president Volodymyr Zelensky to make his mad gamble.
Some want to sue for peace, some want to prolong the war indefinitely, some want to ‘freeze’ the conflict along the lines of Korea, some want to bomb Russia and have done with it. (Be it noted that this last option would in fact hasten the overthrow of imperialism.)
With the old war narrative in tatters, the pressure is now on the US imperialist administration in Washington to come up with a coherent plan going forward, so all eyes are turning towards President Joe Biden and his secretary of state Antony Blinken.
The signals from that quarter are decidedly mixed, however, as was teased out by one persistent journalist on ABC news who asked Secretary of State Blinken about his recent attendance at the G20 summit in New Delhi. The journo noted that “the joint statement coming out of that G20 meeting does not explicitly condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine”, and asked him: “Why is it that you couldn’t get world leaders to agree on a statement calling out Russia’s aggression, as they’ve done in the past?”
Blinken simply flannelled his way out of the question, and went on later in the interview to pretend that “Putin has already lost in what he was trying to achieve. He was trying to erase Ukraine from the map and its independence, subsume it into Russia. That has already been a failure.”
The obvious flaw in this argument – that no such ambition had ever been entertained by Moscow – is of no concern to Blinken. This sophistry is solely a way to square the circle: Putin has already ‘lost’, so if Zelensky agrees to talks, that’s okay, because he must have ‘won’ (despite all the evidence to the contrary).
This ‘victory’ might fool a few credulous fools in the west, but it won’t fool the fascist Banderites around President Zelensky, who have long since marked his card. No wonder the former comedian is looking so grim these days.
Now read the following and decipher it as you may. Here is Blinken discussing what form possible talks with the Russians might take: “Now, where exactly these settle, where lines are drawn, that is going to be up to Ukrainians, but I’ve found a strong determination to continue to work to get their territory back that’s been seized by Russia.
“And as to negotiations … it takes two to tango. And thus far, we see no indication that Vladimir Putin has any interest in meaningful diplomacy. If he does, I think the Ukrainians will be the first to engage, and we’ll be right behind them.”
In plain English, the message seems to be: “Carry on with the war if you want, but don’t rely on us to keep you propped up indefinitely. And if you’d rather sue for peace – well, that’s for you to decide. After all, it’s your war, not ours pal.” (It takes two to tango by Tim Hains, Real Clear News, 10 September 2023)
https://thecommunists.org/2023/09/22/ne ... ut-to-dry/
******
Bill Kristol’s Refreshingly Honest Ukraine War Ad
One of the dumbest things the empire asks us to believe is that this war simultaneously (A) was completely unprovoked and (B) just coincidentally happens to massively advance the strategic interests of the government accused of provoking it.
Caitlin Johnstone
September 25, 2023
The Bill Kristol-led group “Republicans for Ukraine” has released a TV ad to help drum up GOP support for Washington’s proxy war against Russia, and it’s surprisingly honest about what this war is really about: advancing US strategic interests using Ukrainians as sacrificial pawns.
Here’s a transcript:
“When America arms Ukraine, we get a lot for a little. Putin is an enemy of America. We’ve used 5% of our defense budget to arm Ukraine, and with it, they’ve destroyed 50% of Putin’s Army. We’ve done all this by sending weapons from storage, not our troops. The more Ukraine weakens Russia, the more it also weakens Russia’s closest ally, China. America needs to stand strong against our enemies, that’s why Republicans in Congress must continue to support Ukraine.”
“Republicans for Ukraine” was launched last month by “Defending Democracy Together”, another Kristol-led narrative management operation which is funded by oligarchs like Pierre Omidyar. Kristol, who as a neoconservative thought leader played a pivotal role in pushing for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, tweeted on Saturday that the ad “will air on the Sunday shows tomorrow in DC.”
One of the dumbest things the empire asks us to believe is that this war simultaneously (A) was completely unprovoked and (B) just coincidentally happens to massively advance the strategic interests of the government accused of provoking it. From the moment Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 westerners were aggressively hammered over and over and over again by the mass media with the uniform propaganda message that this was an “unprovoked invasion”, but ever since then we’ve also been receiving these peculiar messages from US empire managers and spinmeisters that this war is helping the United States crush its geopolitical enemies and advance its interests abroad.
This bizarre two-step occurs because the US-centralized empire needs to convey two self-evidently contradictory messages to the public at all times:
1. that the US is an innocent little flower who just wants to help its good friends the Ukrainians protect their democracy from the murderous Russians who invaded solely because they are evil and hate freedom, and
2. that it’s in the interest of Americans to continue this war.
The second point is required because the message that the US is merely an innocent passive witness to the violence in Ukraine necessarily causes certain political factions to ask, “Okay, so what are we doing there then? Why are we pouring all this money into something that has nothing to do with us?” So another narrative is required to explain that backing this proxy war also just so happens to be a massive boon to US strategic interests abroad while creating American jobs manufacturing weapons at home.
And of course this war advances US strategic interests. Of course it does. Only an idiot would believe the US is pouring weapons into another country because it loves the people who live there and wants them to be free, and that it is only by pure coincidence that this happens to kill a lot of Russians, bolster NATO, and advance US energy interests in Europe. It doesn’t benefit normal Americans at home, but it absolutely does serve the interests of the globe-spanning empire that’s centralized around Washington. That’s why the empire deliberately provoked it.
Empire managers were openly discussing the ways a war in Ukraine would directly benefit the US empire long before the invasion. In 2019 a Pentagon-funded Rand Corporation paper titled “Extending Russia — Competing from Advantageous Ground” detailed how the empire can use proxy warfare, economic warfare and other Cold War tactics to push its longtime geopolitical foe to the brink without costing American lives or sparking a nuclear conflict. The US Army-commissioned paper mentioned Ukraine hundreds of times, and explicitly discussed how a war there could be used to promote sanctions against Moscow and attack Russia’s energy interests in Europe.
In December of 2021 John Deni of NATO propaganda firm The Atlantic Council authored a piece for The Wall Street Journal titled “The Strategic Case for Risking War in Ukraine,” subtitled “An invasion would be a diplomatic, economic and military mistake for Putin. Let him make it if he must.” Deni argued that “there are good strategic reasons for the West to stake out a hard-line approach” against Moscow and refuse to negotiate or back down over Ukraine, because if doing so provokes Russia to invade it would “forge an even stronger anti-Russian consensus across Europe,” “result in another round of more debilitating economic sanctions that would further weaken Russia’s economy,” and “sap the strength and morale of Russia’s military while undercutting Mr. Putin’s domestic popularity and reducing Russia’s soft power globally.”
The minds on the inside of the empire were talking about how this war would benefit the US before the invasion, and they’ve been talking about how much it benefits the US ever since. As the Washington Post’s David Ignatius put it this past July: “these 18 months of war have been a strategic windfall, at relatively low cost (other than for the Ukrainians). The West’s most reckless antagonist has been rocked. NATO has grown much stronger with the additions of Sweden and Finland. Germany has weaned itself from dependence on Russian energy and, in many ways, rediscovered its sense of values. NATO squabbles make headlines, but overall, this has been a triumphal summer for the alliance.”
The managers of the empire are getting everything they want out of this war. In public they rend their garments and cry crocodile tears and call it a terrible criminal atrocity, but every now and then they look at the camera and flash it a quick Fleabag-style grin.
They knew exactly what they were doing when they provoked this war, and they know exactly what they’re doing by keeping it going.
And they’re loving every minute of it.
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2023/09 ... ne-war-ad/
*******
Ukraine SitRep: Battlefield Reports Show Lack Of Armor And Certain Munitions
Certain trends on the Ukrainian battle field can be seen in the daily reports the Russian military puts outs.
When the Ukrainian president Zelensky visited Washington he was criticized for his failing military strategy:
Ukraine will retake the fiercely contested eastern city of Bakhmut from Russia by the end of the year, President Volodymyr Zelensky predicted during his visit to Washington, an assertion that shows the gulf between Kyiv and American war planners who believe that Ukraine should be focusing more on the south.
...
U.S. intelligence and military officials have long questioned why Ukraine has fought so hard in Bakhmut, the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the war. In March, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said the city was “more of a symbolic value than it is strategic and operational value.”
But Mr. Zelensky has been intent on trying to retake lost territory, and Ukraine has committed large numbers of troops and weapons to retaking Bakhmut and defending the surrounding Donbas region.
Some American officials say the fight in Bakhmut has become something of an obsession for Mr. Zelensky and his military leaders. The Ukrainians’ relentless focus on the city led them to believe that a possible victory was just around the corner, long after American officials had counseled them to move on to other targets because victory for either side would be pyrrhic.
I somewhat agree with U.S. officials on Bakhmut. It does not have any strategic value and Ukraine is losing many soldiers and equipment in its continuing attacks there. In fact it is currently losing many more around Bakhmut than it is losing in its southern attack towards the Sea of Azov.
Today's report by the Russian Ministry of Defense lists 445 Ukrainian casualties in the Donetzk direction, mostly around Bakhmut, and only 100 casualties on the Zaporozhye front in the south. Yesterday's report had 305 versus 35. Last week's summary listed 1,455 Ukrainian troops killed and wounded around Bakhmut and 515 in the southern direction. There was no discernible progress in either direction.
Another trend noticeable in the daily reports is an increasing Ukrainian lack of armored vehicles.
A month ago the reported destruction of armored vehicles (including tanks) and unarmored trucks and pick-ups was still somewhat equal with, depending on the intensity of fighting, some 10-20 of both being destroyed per day. This has been the case since early March. My spreadsheet derived from the daily reports since March 2 sums up a total of 3,663 armored versus 3,600 unarmored vehicles as Ukrainian losses.
Over the last weeks that ratio has changed. Today the report says 12 armored versus 20 unarmored rides. Yesterday the ratio was 7 to 19. Last week's summary list 84 armored versus 145 unarmored vehicles. Over the last 30 days the numbers are 419 armored versus 632 unarmored.
The ratio has not changed due to tactics. The fist counter-offensive movements with high concentrations of tanks have failed. But those were only a few days with high losses. Ukraine is since empathizing infantry attacks. But the soldiers must still be transported towards their frontline positions. It is what armored vehicles, also called battle taxis, are used for as the frontline is usually under strong artillery fire. But it now seems that trucks and pick-ups are also used for this. They do not have a chance to survive under fire.
Another trend can be seen in the type of Ukrainian artillery that the daily reports claim as destroyed. The Soviet era 152mm howitzer D-20 and MSTA-B as well as the self propelled 152mm Akatzíya are becoming less mentioned. There are now higher losses of 122mm D-30 and the self propelled 122mm 2S1 Gvodzdika. The bigger guns could reach further. Their diminishing numbers have been replaced by western derived 155 mm guns like the British made M-777 howitzer and various types of western self propelled 155mm howitzers like the Polish Krab systems. Losses of Soviet era Multi Launch Rocket Systems like the truck mounted Grad system have become a rarity on the Ukrainian side.
I believe that the observable change in destroyed guns reflects the availability of ammunition. In February the New York Times reported that the production of 122mm ammunition in Bulgaria has been increased:
The factory stopped making the 122-millimeter shells in 1988 as the Cold War came to a close. But soon the assembly lines will be running again. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has turned Soviet-era arms and ammunition into critically important matériel as Western nations seek to supply Ukraine with the munitions it needs to foil Moscow’s assault.
And so in January, 35 years after the last 122-millimeter shells left the Terem plant, the company recommissioned production.
I have seen no such reports for a 152 mm production line. Nor can I find any report about the production of Grad missiles.
While probably not exact in their numbers the daily reports by the Russian Ministry of Defense do show certain trends on the battle field that reflect the economic and logistic realities of the war quite well.
The overall high number of Ukrainian human losses in these reports, especially in the Bakhmut direction, have been confirmed by reports from the Ukrainian side. Videos also show that the Ukrainian side is using fewer armored vehicles and more trucks or even civilian vehicles. The losses of artillery pieces reflect the availability of certain types of ammunition.
Following the daily Russian reports is quite useful. We wonders why western media are not doing it.
Posted by b on September 25, 2023 at 16:38 UTC | Permalink
Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov, Sept. 24, 2023. | Photo: X/ @nxt888
"We will not entertain ceasefire proposals because we have done so before and were deceived," the Russian FM stated.
On Saturday, Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Russia is prepared to return to the negotiating table with Ukraine but will not entertain any proposals for a ceasefire.
"President Vladimir Putin has declared our readiness to engage in negotiations. However, we will not entertain ceasefire proposals because we have done so before and were deceived," Lavrov mentioned during a press conference following his address at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
He reminded that meetings had taken place between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in April of 2022 and accused Kyiv of aiming to extend the military conflict to "wear down" Russia.
Lavrov also accused the U.S. and Western nations of prolonging the war by refusing to consider any peace proposal that deviates from President Volodymir Zelensky's position, which includes Russia's withdrawal from Ukrainian territory. According to the Russian FM, however, such a proposal is not viable.
"Do they want negotiations to take place on the battlefield? Very well, then it will be on the battlefield," he stressed.
Lavrov also questioned the position of Western countries regarding the requests that Russia has made to host the "Grain Deal," which aims to facilitate the flow of food and fertilizers through a secure corridor in the Black Sea.
He referred to proposals by UN Secretary Antonio Guterres to enable Russian financial transactions through a subsidiary of the Russian Agricultural Bank in Luxembourg to revive the agreement.
"We do not reject them.. They are simply not realistic," the Russian FM said and explained that the Luxembourg branch still needs to receive a banking permit to operate.
Lavrov accused Washington and its NATO allies of seeking to maintain the "status quo" out of fear of a "new world order" with greater involvement from the Global South nations.
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Neg ... -0009.html
******
THE US WOULD REGISTER 100,000 CASUALTIES A MONTH IN A DIRECT WAR AGAINST RUSSIA
Sep 19, 2023 , 5:22 pm .
The United States could lose 1.2 million soldiers a year in a war against Russia (Photo: United States Army War College)
The United States Army War College warns that, if the North American country goes into an armed scenario against Russia to defend Ukraine, it should expect 100,000 casualties per month, a figure that represents double the total of American casualties in the War of Vietnam (1955-75) during the time the conflict lasted.
The military academy document reveals that it is possible that more than 1.2 million American men and women will be killed, maimed or wounded in the first year of war against the Slavic nation. In total there would be 3,600 falls per day, according to the report.
The study is prospective and puts the experience of the war in Ukraine as a lesson to be learned should the country want to take part in a large-scale conflict, and against a militarily powerful enemy like Russia.
To this we must add the warning recently made by a sector of the Pentagon , which indicated that the United States may not be prepared for any possible war event against the People's Republic of China, so it should better prepare its troops.
https://misionverdad.com/eeuu-registrar ... ntra-rusia
Google Translator
*******
Is Washington preparing to hang its stooge Zelensky out to dry?
As well as losing its proxy war against Russia, Washington is also losing control of the propaganda war.
Proletarian writers
Friday 22 September 2023
Large numbers of the supposedly ‘game-changing’ tanks that were sent to ensure the success of Ukraine‘s ‘spring offensive’ were destroyed as soon as they neared the front lines. When an ‘invincible’ British Challenger 2 shared the same fate, its manufacturers were furious, demanding that from now on all Challengers should be kept at a safe distance from Russian artillery!
Now that it is beginning to dawn on everyone that Kiev’s ‘counteroffensive’ is a complete failure and that pouring more and more young lives and vastly expensive weaponry into the bottomless pit of the proxy war against Russia has all been an utter waste of time, it is now proving impossible to keep everyone humming along with the same old song sheets (‘Stand with Ukraine!’ ‘Forward with the Spring Offensive!’)
Where before the media airbrushed away anything that jarred with the official narrative and were ready at the drop of a hat to provide wall-to-wall coverage of whatever stunt the psyops team cooked up to slander Russia, there is now a rising crescendo of media chatter that is asking the most blunt questions about what the war was really about and what choices the collective west have now that the whole bloody shambles stands exposed.
Cackle from the ‘free world’ hencoop getting louder and louder
Some are blaming the catastrophe on the incompetence of Nato’s bought-and-paid-for Ukrainian army and advocate abandoning their stooges. Some (belatedly) blame the west for sabotaging the chance to engage in peace talks early on in Russia’s special military operation, instead instructing stooge actor-president Volodymyr Zelensky to make his mad gamble.
Some want to sue for peace, some want to prolong the war indefinitely, some want to ‘freeze’ the conflict along the lines of Korea, some want to bomb Russia and have done with it. (Be it noted that this last option would in fact hasten the overthrow of imperialism.)
With the old war narrative in tatters, the pressure is now on the US imperialist administration in Washington to come up with a coherent plan going forward, so all eyes are turning towards President Joe Biden and his secretary of state Antony Blinken.
The signals from that quarter are decidedly mixed, however, as was teased out by one persistent journalist on ABC news who asked Secretary of State Blinken about his recent attendance at the G20 summit in New Delhi. The journo noted that “the joint statement coming out of that G20 meeting does not explicitly condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine”, and asked him: “Why is it that you couldn’t get world leaders to agree on a statement calling out Russia’s aggression, as they’ve done in the past?”
Blinken simply flannelled his way out of the question, and went on later in the interview to pretend that “Putin has already lost in what he was trying to achieve. He was trying to erase Ukraine from the map and its independence, subsume it into Russia. That has already been a failure.”
The obvious flaw in this argument – that no such ambition had ever been entertained by Moscow – is of no concern to Blinken. This sophistry is solely a way to square the circle: Putin has already ‘lost’, so if Zelensky agrees to talks, that’s okay, because he must have ‘won’ (despite all the evidence to the contrary).
This ‘victory’ might fool a few credulous fools in the west, but it won’t fool the fascist Banderites around President Zelensky, who have long since marked his card. No wonder the former comedian is looking so grim these days.
Now read the following and decipher it as you may. Here is Blinken discussing what form possible talks with the Russians might take: “Now, where exactly these settle, where lines are drawn, that is going to be up to Ukrainians, but I’ve found a strong determination to continue to work to get their territory back that’s been seized by Russia.
“And as to negotiations … it takes two to tango. And thus far, we see no indication that Vladimir Putin has any interest in meaningful diplomacy. If he does, I think the Ukrainians will be the first to engage, and we’ll be right behind them.”
In plain English, the message seems to be: “Carry on with the war if you want, but don’t rely on us to keep you propped up indefinitely. And if you’d rather sue for peace – well, that’s for you to decide. After all, it’s your war, not ours pal.” (It takes two to tango by Tim Hains, Real Clear News, 10 September 2023)
https://thecommunists.org/2023/09/22/ne ... ut-to-dry/
******
Bill Kristol’s Refreshingly Honest Ukraine War Ad
One of the dumbest things the empire asks us to believe is that this war simultaneously (A) was completely unprovoked and (B) just coincidentally happens to massively advance the strategic interests of the government accused of provoking it.
Caitlin Johnstone
September 25, 2023
The Bill Kristol-led group “Republicans for Ukraine” has released a TV ad to help drum up GOP support for Washington’s proxy war against Russia, and it’s surprisingly honest about what this war is really about: advancing US strategic interests using Ukrainians as sacrificial pawns.
Here’s a transcript:
“When America arms Ukraine, we get a lot for a little. Putin is an enemy of America. We’ve used 5% of our defense budget to arm Ukraine, and with it, they’ve destroyed 50% of Putin’s Army. We’ve done all this by sending weapons from storage, not our troops. The more Ukraine weakens Russia, the more it also weakens Russia’s closest ally, China. America needs to stand strong against our enemies, that’s why Republicans in Congress must continue to support Ukraine.”
“Republicans for Ukraine” was launched last month by “Defending Democracy Together”, another Kristol-led narrative management operation which is funded by oligarchs like Pierre Omidyar. Kristol, who as a neoconservative thought leader played a pivotal role in pushing for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, tweeted on Saturday that the ad “will air on the Sunday shows tomorrow in DC.”
One of the dumbest things the empire asks us to believe is that this war simultaneously (A) was completely unprovoked and (B) just coincidentally happens to massively advance the strategic interests of the government accused of provoking it. From the moment Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 westerners were aggressively hammered over and over and over again by the mass media with the uniform propaganda message that this was an “unprovoked invasion”, but ever since then we’ve also been receiving these peculiar messages from US empire managers and spinmeisters that this war is helping the United States crush its geopolitical enemies and advance its interests abroad.
This bizarre two-step occurs because the US-centralized empire needs to convey two self-evidently contradictory messages to the public at all times:
1. that the US is an innocent little flower who just wants to help its good friends the Ukrainians protect their democracy from the murderous Russians who invaded solely because they are evil and hate freedom, and
2. that it’s in the interest of Americans to continue this war.
The second point is required because the message that the US is merely an innocent passive witness to the violence in Ukraine necessarily causes certain political factions to ask, “Okay, so what are we doing there then? Why are we pouring all this money into something that has nothing to do with us?” So another narrative is required to explain that backing this proxy war also just so happens to be a massive boon to US strategic interests abroad while creating American jobs manufacturing weapons at home.
And of course this war advances US strategic interests. Of course it does. Only an idiot would believe the US is pouring weapons into another country because it loves the people who live there and wants them to be free, and that it is only by pure coincidence that this happens to kill a lot of Russians, bolster NATO, and advance US energy interests in Europe. It doesn’t benefit normal Americans at home, but it absolutely does serve the interests of the globe-spanning empire that’s centralized around Washington. That’s why the empire deliberately provoked it.
Empire managers were openly discussing the ways a war in Ukraine would directly benefit the US empire long before the invasion. In 2019 a Pentagon-funded Rand Corporation paper titled “Extending Russia — Competing from Advantageous Ground” detailed how the empire can use proxy warfare, economic warfare and other Cold War tactics to push its longtime geopolitical foe to the brink without costing American lives or sparking a nuclear conflict. The US Army-commissioned paper mentioned Ukraine hundreds of times, and explicitly discussed how a war there could be used to promote sanctions against Moscow and attack Russia’s energy interests in Europe.
In December of 2021 John Deni of NATO propaganda firm The Atlantic Council authored a piece for The Wall Street Journal titled “The Strategic Case for Risking War in Ukraine,” subtitled “An invasion would be a diplomatic, economic and military mistake for Putin. Let him make it if he must.” Deni argued that “there are good strategic reasons for the West to stake out a hard-line approach” against Moscow and refuse to negotiate or back down over Ukraine, because if doing so provokes Russia to invade it would “forge an even stronger anti-Russian consensus across Europe,” “result in another round of more debilitating economic sanctions that would further weaken Russia’s economy,” and “sap the strength and morale of Russia’s military while undercutting Mr. Putin’s domestic popularity and reducing Russia’s soft power globally.”
The minds on the inside of the empire were talking about how this war would benefit the US before the invasion, and they’ve been talking about how much it benefits the US ever since. As the Washington Post’s David Ignatius put it this past July: “these 18 months of war have been a strategic windfall, at relatively low cost (other than for the Ukrainians). The West’s most reckless antagonist has been rocked. NATO has grown much stronger with the additions of Sweden and Finland. Germany has weaned itself from dependence on Russian energy and, in many ways, rediscovered its sense of values. NATO squabbles make headlines, but overall, this has been a triumphal summer for the alliance.”
The managers of the empire are getting everything they want out of this war. In public they rend their garments and cry crocodile tears and call it a terrible criminal atrocity, but every now and then they look at the camera and flash it a quick Fleabag-style grin.
They knew exactly what they were doing when they provoked this war, and they know exactly what they’re doing by keeping it going.
And they’re loving every minute of it.
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2023/09 ... ne-war-ad/
*******
Ukraine SitRep: Battlefield Reports Show Lack Of Armor And Certain Munitions
Certain trends on the Ukrainian battle field can be seen in the daily reports the Russian military puts outs.
When the Ukrainian president Zelensky visited Washington he was criticized for his failing military strategy:
Ukraine will retake the fiercely contested eastern city of Bakhmut from Russia by the end of the year, President Volodymyr Zelensky predicted during his visit to Washington, an assertion that shows the gulf between Kyiv and American war planners who believe that Ukraine should be focusing more on the south.
...
U.S. intelligence and military officials have long questioned why Ukraine has fought so hard in Bakhmut, the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the war. In March, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said the city was “more of a symbolic value than it is strategic and operational value.”
But Mr. Zelensky has been intent on trying to retake lost territory, and Ukraine has committed large numbers of troops and weapons to retaking Bakhmut and defending the surrounding Donbas region.
Some American officials say the fight in Bakhmut has become something of an obsession for Mr. Zelensky and his military leaders. The Ukrainians’ relentless focus on the city led them to believe that a possible victory was just around the corner, long after American officials had counseled them to move on to other targets because victory for either side would be pyrrhic.
I somewhat agree with U.S. officials on Bakhmut. It does not have any strategic value and Ukraine is losing many soldiers and equipment in its continuing attacks there. In fact it is currently losing many more around Bakhmut than it is losing in its southern attack towards the Sea of Azov.
Today's report by the Russian Ministry of Defense lists 445 Ukrainian casualties in the Donetzk direction, mostly around Bakhmut, and only 100 casualties on the Zaporozhye front in the south. Yesterday's report had 305 versus 35. Last week's summary listed 1,455 Ukrainian troops killed and wounded around Bakhmut and 515 in the southern direction. There was no discernible progress in either direction.
Another trend noticeable in the daily reports is an increasing Ukrainian lack of armored vehicles.
A month ago the reported destruction of armored vehicles (including tanks) and unarmored trucks and pick-ups was still somewhat equal with, depending on the intensity of fighting, some 10-20 of both being destroyed per day. This has been the case since early March. My spreadsheet derived from the daily reports since March 2 sums up a total of 3,663 armored versus 3,600 unarmored vehicles as Ukrainian losses.
Over the last weeks that ratio has changed. Today the report says 12 armored versus 20 unarmored rides. Yesterday the ratio was 7 to 19. Last week's summary list 84 armored versus 145 unarmored vehicles. Over the last 30 days the numbers are 419 armored versus 632 unarmored.
The ratio has not changed due to tactics. The fist counter-offensive movements with high concentrations of tanks have failed. But those were only a few days with high losses. Ukraine is since empathizing infantry attacks. But the soldiers must still be transported towards their frontline positions. It is what armored vehicles, also called battle taxis, are used for as the frontline is usually under strong artillery fire. But it now seems that trucks and pick-ups are also used for this. They do not have a chance to survive under fire.
Another trend can be seen in the type of Ukrainian artillery that the daily reports claim as destroyed. The Soviet era 152mm howitzer D-20 and MSTA-B as well as the self propelled 152mm Akatzíya are becoming less mentioned. There are now higher losses of 122mm D-30 and the self propelled 122mm 2S1 Gvodzdika. The bigger guns could reach further. Their diminishing numbers have been replaced by western derived 155 mm guns like the British made M-777 howitzer and various types of western self propelled 155mm howitzers like the Polish Krab systems. Losses of Soviet era Multi Launch Rocket Systems like the truck mounted Grad system have become a rarity on the Ukrainian side.
I believe that the observable change in destroyed guns reflects the availability of ammunition. In February the New York Times reported that the production of 122mm ammunition in Bulgaria has been increased:
The factory stopped making the 122-millimeter shells in 1988 as the Cold War came to a close. But soon the assembly lines will be running again. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has turned Soviet-era arms and ammunition into critically important matériel as Western nations seek to supply Ukraine with the munitions it needs to foil Moscow’s assault.
And so in January, 35 years after the last 122-millimeter shells left the Terem plant, the company recommissioned production.
I have seen no such reports for a 152 mm production line. Nor can I find any report about the production of Grad missiles.
While probably not exact in their numbers the daily reports by the Russian Ministry of Defense do show certain trends on the battle field that reflect the economic and logistic realities of the war quite well.
The overall high number of Ukrainian human losses in these reports, especially in the Bakhmut direction, have been confirmed by reports from the Ukrainian side. Videos also show that the Ukrainian side is using fewer armored vehicles and more trucks or even civilian vehicles. The losses of artillery pieces reflect the availability of certain types of ammunition.
Following the daily Russian reports is quite useful. We wonders why western media are not doing it.
Posted by b on September 25, 2023 at 16:38 UTC | Permalink
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."
Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part V
Calculation errors
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 09/26/2023
Miscalculations have been, as usually happens when theoretical plans have to be applied to practical ones, one of the constants of this war. These days, a parliamentary commission of the Ukrainian Rada wants to understand how it was possible for Russia to advance as quickly as it did from Crimea towards Kherson or Energodar in the first weeks of its military intervention. A year and a half after the events, Ukraine still does not understand why the Chongar bridge that connects the Crimean peninsula with mainland Ukraine was not destroyed or if the withdrawal of units was due to an order that should be subject to trial. The term “Zaluzhny question” clearly defines who the person is being questioned.
According to the information provided this week by the BBC-curiously, only in its Ukrainian edition, which indicates that there is no interest in questioning the performance of the hero Zaluzhny before the international audience-, the lack of foresight and the imbalance of forces marked the outcome of that first battle of war, a Russian victory that Ukraine is now trying to reverse. The recovery of the southern territories is the objective of the counteroffensive that kyiv's troops began in the first week of June and which has not yet given the expected results. Neither the billions of dollars invested in weapons, nor the hours of training of the new brigades abroad, nor the Ukrainian courage have managed, for the moment, to overcome the Russian troops, destroy their aviation to balance the terrain or definitively break the trench lines using the penultimate wunderwaffe , cluster bombs. Calculations in war are never exact, especially when they are cooked with large doses of propaganda, exaggeration of one's own capabilities and underestimation of those of others.
This mistake has been repeated throughout the war on both sides of the front, as the first weeks of the Russo-Ukrainian war showed. While Ukraine practically dropped the entire southern front - its best units were in Donbass or defending the capital - Russia was trying to advance, somewhat naively, towards Kiev That operation, especially the way it was carried out and the way in which Ukraine was going to defend itself, it was one of the great miscalculations of the Russian Federation, whose intelligence had to foresee that the troops and the Government of Kiev would not flee but rather defend themselves and that they would have help to do so. At that time, the flow of weapons and financing that has ensured that Ukraine can continue to fight reliably despite the casualties of people and losses of material had not begun.
The failure of the operation to quickly capture the Gostomel airfield created an unforeseen battle in which Russia suffered enormous casualties among its elite troops, an unexpected setback derived from intelligence failures. At the same time, the large armored columns that advanced towards Kiev with little air cover and completely in sight of their opponents, were easy targets for the Ukrainian troops, which made them successes to highlight in the propaganda, necessary at that time to maintain the trust of the population and, above all, of foreign allies, who would soon begin to feed the flow of weapons. By the time the Battle of kyiv entered the trenches, it was evident that Russian calculations, especially those of Russian intelligence, had failed.
Since then, the calculations of all parties to the conflict have proven wrong, and not only when it comes to the front. Ukraine's allies saw in the Zaporozhie operation the possibility of repeating the success of a year ago in Kharkiv, something that depended on several certainties that have turned out to be false: Russia would not be able to use partial mobilization to recompose its group in the South, the superiority of Western weapons would mark the development of events and, above all, the Russian command would not be able to apply the lessons of the war to improve its performance. As expected from a country with a competent military industry and that prepared its defense for months, each of those three points has turned out to be wrong.
Among the parties that participate in the war although they do not fight directly on the military front, the European Union is, without a doubt, the one that has erred the most in its forecasts. The toughest sanctions in history were going to be able to destroy the Russian economy to prevent Vladimir Putin from continuing the war. Those were the terms in which they were referring to the sanctions offensive in the first months of 2022. At that time, the hope to defeat Russia was not to create a new army for Ukraine and arm it for proxy war, but to make it impossible for the Russian Federation could continue fighting. To achieve this, several types of sanctions were designed, including the disconnection of the intentional SWIFT payment system or the reduction of the acquisition of Russian gas and oil, which should limit Moscow's income to a minimum. Another objective of the European Union and, above all, of the United States, was the Russian military industry, an element capable of marking the differences as the war became more chronic. As the mainstream media now recognizes, a miscalculation has occurred here too. “In addition to investing more than $40 billion in arms supplies to Ukraine, the United States has made limiting Russian military supplies an integral part of its strategy to support Kiev,” he says this week.The New York Times , increasingly critical of the current situation in the war. The data collected by the American media is not unknown and had already been raised by sanctions experts such as Agathe Demarais, who months ago anticipated that Russia had recovered its missile production capacity. Even so, it is relevant that a medium as important as The New York Times once again insists on what is actually another failure of Western sanctions policy.
“As a result of the sanctions, American officials estimate that Russia was forced to dramatically slow down its production of missiles and other weapons at the start of the war in February 2022,” says the outlet, which is later forced to admit that , with the help of other countries that have not joined the sanctions, the situation has changed. “At the end of 2022, Moscow's military industrial manufacturing began to gain traction again, American officials who spoke anonymously to discuss sensitive issues now admit.” The hope that the Russian arsenal would run out of missiles has been one of the ideas constantly repeated by Ukrainian propaganda practically since the beginning of the Russian military intervention. Already in March 2022, The then spokesman Arestovich stated for the first time that Russia only had missiles for a few weeks. Russia continued to use missiles even during those months in which Western experts say its industry suffered the consequences of sanctions. At that time, Moscow sought a way to “subvert American export controls by using its intelligence services and Ministry of Defense to create illicit networks of people who traffic key components by exporting them to other countries from which they can be sent to Russia with more ease.”
The Western miscalculation in this sense was, perhaps, the most serious, fundamentally because it was the easiest to foresee. Underestimating the ability of other countries to resist unilateral sanctions not ratified by the United Nations Security Council, the West believed it was capable of imposing a blockade similar to that of Cuba against the largest country in the world, a nuclear power with an alliance - possibly opportunistic and that could suffer in the future, but that is firm under current conditions - with the second economic power on the planet.
https://slavyangrad.es/2023/09/26/error ... more-28218
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Chronicle of a special military operation for September 25, 2023
September 26, 2023
Rybar
Last night, Russian troops carried out combined strikes on Ukrainian territory. Among the targets were port infrastructure facilities in the Odessa region . Attacks on the Dolgintsevo airfield near Krivoy Rog were also reported . In addition, information appeared about two arrivals in the area of Kulbakino airport near Nikolaev .
In the evening, Ukrainian formations attempted to attack the Crimean Peninsula . For this, the Ukrainian Armed Forces used Storm Shadow cruise missiles . Their exact number is being specified. Apparently, Ukrainian troops tried to strike airfields of the Aerospace Forces and Navy in Crimea.
For the second day in a row, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are actively attacking the rear of the border regions of Russia. All day long, Russian air defense systems and electronic warfare systems intercepted Ukrainian drones in the Bryansk , Kursk and Belgorod regions . This is one of the most massive UAV raids on the Russian border in recent times.
Night combined strike of the Russian Armed Forces
At night, Russian troops attacked targets on Ukrainian territory, including the port infrastructure of the Odessa region . Local sources indicated very dense air defense work and explosions in the area of the Ilyichevsk port , Bolshevik district , the village of Ilyinka , and the village of Kotovskoye . According to some reports, sounds of secondary detonation were heard from the warehouses of the Yuzhny port .
One of the blows hit the closed Odessa hotel . Although some resources claim that the building was never used for military purposes, this is not entirely true: back in May, people in uniform were seen there, and for some reason generators were working at the “abandoned” facility. However, there is no objective evidence of the destruction of manpower there during the night raid.
Information also appeared about another combined strike by drones and cruise missiles on the Dolgintsevo airfield near Krivoy Rog. And already in the morning, footage appeared of the defeat of a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter there: it is possible that this particular episode occurred several days ago, but the very fact of regular raids indicates the unambiguous attention to it from the Russian Armed Forces and the desire to hit the aircraft located there.
Near Nikolaev there are two powerful arrivals in the area of Kulbakino airport . Nikolaev had not heard explosions for a long time and had time to relax a bit: Su-24Ms, carriers of cruise missiles, began to be based at the airport, and Anas began to regularly land there, transferring personnel and ammunition. Although the front line is only 40 km.
The results of the arrival have yet to be clarified, but a cavalcade of ambulances rushed there from the regional center. What exactly arrived is also a question. Because in Kiselevka, located not so far away , they hit an ammunition depot with a one and a half ton FAB with an UMPC.
Ukrainian Armed Forces missile strike on Crimea
Ukrainian formations again tried to strike the Crimean peninsula . According to some reports, at least two Storm Shadow cruise missiles were launched from Su-24M bombers .
The Storm Shadow flight route ran through Cape Tarkhankut in the direction of Sevastopol and the Kherson region to Dzhankoy and Gvardeyskoye . One of the cruise missiles was destroyed on approach to the Belbek airfield by crews of the 31st Air Force and Air Defense Division. Three or four minutes later, the air defense also worked on another cruise missile north of Cossack Bay on approach to Sevastopol.
Also, servicemen of the 31st division worked on two targets ( preliminarily, Storm Shadow ) above Dzhankoy and Gvardeysky. The exact number of downed targets will become clear later. We do not exclude at all that there could be more of them. Judging by the areas where the missiles hit, Ukrainian troops tried to strike airfields of the Aerospace Forces and Navy in Crimea. And while Storm Shadow/SCALP carriers remain in the air, the threat of repeated attacks remains.
The situation on the front line and combat operations
In the Soledar direction, clashes continued in the areas of Kleshcheevka and Andreevka . In addition, there were reports of a successful assault by Russian troops on the settlement. Orekhovo - Vasilevka . Since this village is located at tactical heights, its control improves the position of our troops in this area. It is too early to talk about complete control over Orekhovo-Vasilevka, since after its liberation the enemy attempts to counterattack.
News channels posted footage of arrivals and explosion clouds in the Krasnodon area in the LPR. The strike was carried out by three Storm Shadow cruise missiles fired from Ukrainian Air Force Su-24M bombers. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation stated two dead and three wounded as a result of this attack. The launch, with a high probability, was carried out from the outskirts of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration from a distance of over 150 kilometers from the front line. Missile strikes deep in the rear are usually part of the enemy's preparation for an offensive. Given the concentration of Ukrainian Armed Forces forces in the Bakhmut area , it is likely that Ukrainian formations will again try to attack in several areas.
In the Donetsk direction, clashes are mostly of a positional nature. More than two months have passed since the last update of the situation near Avdeevka , and the situation in this area has not changed radically. Either ours or Ukrainian units attack positions, trying to improve the tactical situation.
Over the last few weeks, enemy formations, reinforced by detachments of marines, tried to break through to Vodyanoye and Opytny . At some point they managed to advance, but after a massive artillery strike and a subsequent counterattack by the 1st Slavic Brigade, everything returned to its original state. At the same time, fighters of the Russian Armed Forces also carried out several attacks in other directions. Operating from the outskirts of Opytnoye, Russian Army personnel advanced towards the residential complex “ 446 km ” and secured new positions.
Similarly, units of the Russian Armed Forces leveled the front along the H20 highway , clearing out strong points near the 3rd pond and water treatment plant. Now the line of contact runs along the road from Kamenka to Krutaya Balka and Kashtanovoye . However, the situation does not change significantly. A head-on assault on Avdeevka is physically impossible without huge losses in manpower and equipment. Another option is to cut off supplies from the north, but the defense density of the Ukrainian Armed Forces there is high, so at the moment we should not expect any significant advance.
Yesterday, footage appeared on the Internet of a strike by the Russian Armed Forces on a train near the village of Rodinskoye in the occupied part of the DPR, which occurred a few days ago. Judging by the recording, there were also MLRS on the platforms among several dozen wheeled vehicles. The enemy personnel fled after an air explosion and fire. According to some reports, the target was fired from the Tornado-S MLRS , which made it possible to cover the train 40 km from the front line. At the same time, objective control of fire damage was carried out by a reconnaissance drone, which also flew deep beyond the line of combat contact.
It is difficult to say whether the train was completely destroyed, but this is far from the only blow to a specific outcome. A kilometer to the south, satellite images discovered by colleagues from Lostarmour show a large-scale defeat in the area of the Rodinskaya railway station . Coupled with the recent raid on the railway junction in Vapnyarka and the statement of the Russian Ministry of Defense about the destruction of two echelons of the 37th Infantry Marine Corps of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at loading stations, it can be assumed that attacks on enemy trains in the rear are becoming more systematic.
In the Vremyevsky sector, the enemy attempts attacks in small groups east of Urozhainy , but to no avail. On the approaches to Staromayorsky, the artillery of the Russian Armed Forces inflicts fire on the fortifications of the Ukrainian Armed Forces under construction, including with the use of “Solntsepeks”. Positional clashes continue in the Priyutnoye area.
In the Orekhovsky section, the tense situation remains in the Rabotino - Verbovoe section . Russian troops were able to repel several attacks by Ukrainian Armed Forces assault groups in the Verbovoy area . The Russian Armed Forces also inflicted fire on enemy concentrations of manpower and equipment in the areas of the settlement. Malaya Tokmachka , Novodanilovka and north of Rabotino .
Colleagues from the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies drew attention to a video from a Ukrainian UAV documenting the use by Russian troops in the Zaporozhye direction of inflatable mock-ups of T-72 tanks as decoys for enemy reconnaissance. Both sides have long resorted to such methods, and Ukrainian formations have established mass production of such products. Among other things, they were prompted to do this by significant losses in artillery from the arrival of Lancet loitering ammunition. As for the mock-ups with videos, they clearly could use a little more detail: at a distance, and especially with satellite imagery, you can confuse them with real tanks, but up close it’s already difficult.
In the Kherson direction, for several days in a row, Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft have been striking with controlled aerial bombs at areas where Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel are concentrated in the village of Lvovo . Not long ago, the enemy transferred reserves to this direction for a future offensive, and therefore the activity of Russian tactical aviation increased.
Shelling of rear areas and residential areas
In the Bryansk region, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked the Starodub municipal district with the Grad MLRS. The territory of the agricultural enterprise and the buildings on it were damaged, several cows died. Air defense was activated twice in the region, in the Surazhsky region and on approach to Bryansk . Both times the attack was repelled by air defense forces. Destruction and casualties were avoided.
In the Kursk region , the village of Volfino came under fire from Ukrainian forces ; residents took refuge in basements; there were no casualties, and no destruction occurred. Local authorities reported air defense operations and crashes of Ukrainian UAVs in the Central District of Kursk and in the Kursk region . In both cases, residential buildings were damaged by drone fragments. There were no casualties.
Since the very morning, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been launching massive attacks on border settlements in the Belgorod region :
In the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka , five houses and a power line were damaged by shells, the village was partially de-energized, emergency crews were working on the site, and there were no casualties. There were no casualties. In the village of Urazovo , Valuysky urban district , two people were wounded ; they received medical assistance on the spot. Shell fragments destroyed one outbuilding and damaged a residential building.
In the Grayvoronsky urban district, air defense units shot down an Ukrainian Armed Forces drone; no casualties were reported. In the village of Murom , Shebekinsky urban district, a kamikaze drone attacked a communications facility, special services are working on the spot, no one was injured. In Shebekino, two women were injured during shelling . One was shell-shocked while traveling in a car, the second was injured at one of the enterprises. Shell fragments damaged eight private houses and power lines; repair crews are working at the scene of the incident. In the sky above the Shebekinsky urban district, an air defense system shot down an enemy target in the area of the village of Batratskaya Dacha, no one was hurt. In the Belgorod regionAir defense crews hit two Ukrainian Armed Forces drones; according to preliminary data, there was no damage.
In addition, the Ministry of Defense reported several times during the day on the destruction of the UAV. In the evening, the regional governor reported another massive attack from seven UAVs, which was also repelled by air defense forces. Emergency services are working; at the time of writing, one car was damaged.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces do not stop attacking populated areas of the Donetsk agglomeration . According to local authorities, 64 shells were fired across the territory of the DPR over the past 24 hours. The enemy used 152, 155 mm caliber artillery and attack UAVs. There were some casualties. In the Kuibyshevsky district of Donetsk, one man was killed as a result of shelling . In addition to the regional capital, Makeevka , Gorlovka and Yasinovatsky district were under fire .
Ukrainian formations continue to shell the left bank of the Kherson region every day . The following were under fire: Novaya Kakhovka , Korsunka , Krynki , Cossack Camps , Kardashinka and Kakhovka . In the village of Obryvka, an arrival at a cemetery was recorded. In the village of Dnepryany, shells damaged a gas pipe, the operation of the local energy network was partially disrupted, and restoration work is underway.
Political events
The true size of the International Legion: where have all the mercenaries gone?
If in 2022, after the creation of the “ International Legion ,” the Internet was full of footage from different sectors of the front from dozens of foreigners, today fresh videos and photos are difficult to come across. According to our data, a total of 12,046 foreigners officially took part in Ukraine (we are not even talking about any 20,000-strong army). Of these, at the moment, about 1,800 mercenaries remain in the Northern Military District zone on the other side. Why is that? Large losses and a significant number of disillusioned people.
During the SVO, over 5,680 people from the International Legion were liquidated . And more than 4,560 foreigners left the ranks of the Ukrainian formations and returned to their countries. The largest number of mercenaries in the Legion came from Poland and Georgia , which is not at all surprising, given the maximum anti-Russian sentiments prevailing in these countries. The large number of Americans, British and Australians is also not at all surprising: it is the soldiers of fortune and PMCs who do the most dirty work abroad, acting as an excellent cover for regular units.
The beginning of the conflict was marked by widespread support for Ukraine in the Western media. The aura of Ukraine “under aggression”, which needs protection, pushed thousands of people to go to an unfamiliar country to participate in the war with Russia for good money. Faced with the real situation and the actual state of affairs, when, for example, mercenaries were used as cannon fodder without support, many did not want to continue their participation. And the lack of success at the front after the retreat of the Russian Armed Forces from Kherson further reduced the influx of volunteers. The mercenaries remaining in Ukraine are either the most ardent opponents of Russia who want to “hunt Russians”, or professionals performing highly specialized tasks, for example, managing high-tech weapons or training Ukrainians.
Option for a Polish compromise on grain transportation from Ukraine
In some places, even the funny story of the Polish-Ukrainian squabbles shows no sign of stopping. President Andrzej Duda announced Poland's readiness to ensure the transit of Ukrainian grain for subsequent shipment to the poorest countries in Africa and Asia .
And if at first glance the statement looks like a mockery ( even the most narrow-minded Ukrainian is unlikely to believe in the realism of such a proposal), then if you look closely, you will notice a curious motive behind the Polish initiative. To send grain to African countries, very large and at the same time free elevators are needed in Spain, Italy and on the southern coast of France. There are none in principle, because this logistics route has never been worked out. All existing elevators are fully loaded for the domestic market, which has been in this state for several decades. Before loading a ship with grain, you must first drive 10-20 trains, transfer the grain to an elevator in a port, for example Malaga, and from there send it to Africa. But again, there is no free infrastructure for such operations. The EU railway system works like clockwork, and if an unplanned flow of trains unexpectedly flows in, it will easily disrupt established logistics.
So it turns out that, judging by Duda’s proposal, the scheme will look like this: “grain” in an unspecified amount is transported by rail to ports in the south of the EU, where there is simply no infrastructure for receiving grain. At least in such volumes. Next, this grain needs to be loaded onto ships, insured, sent to Africa and unloaded. It is unknown who will pay the associated costs.
The scheme proposed by Duda, but clearly invented by someone higher up, can work and bring profit only in one case: if, under the guise of grain transit, everything valuable that comes across is exported from Ukraine. In this case, the sender of the Ukrainian “grain” will be unknown Ukrainian companies, and the recipients will be the same unknown legal entities or, possibly, even government organizations. But since the “grain” will not be supplied under a contract, but as a free supply, the final volumes of cargo will be unknown. And along with the grain, tons of contraband, weapons, slaves, organs, cultural and material assets will go to Europe. Of course, such logistics can work in both directions, for example, in the interests of supplying weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Thus, if the Polish “grain” transit really works, we can confidently say that we are facing another “Trojan horse” for the EU economy and a scheme to enrich the same interests that profited from the recently deceased “grain deal.”
On the supply of Abrams tanks and ATACMS missiles for the Ukrainian Armed Forces
The New York Times writes about the delivery of the first batch of Abrams tanks to Ukraine. This information was later confirmed by Vladimir Zelensky , saying that the tanks were being prepared to enter the brigades. Politico previously reported that the first ten vehicles will arrive in September, and the rest at a later date, so such a small number of tanks will not be able to radically affect the situation on the battlefield. At the same time, information appeared in the American media that within this week the United States would make a decision on the transfer of ATACMS missilesto the HIMARS MLRS, presumably they will soon appear at the front, which will complicate the work of Russian air defense crews for some time and will require additional time to learn how to shoot them down.
About the trial of Igor Kolomoisky
Today, the Kiev Court of Appeal considered the complaint of oligarch Igor Kolomoisky for arrest with bail. The businessman tried to appeal the decision, calling it illegal and “made in haste.” The trial took place in open mode. The oligarch's lawyer said that Kolomoisky is a citizen of Ukraine, although the prisoner himself confirmed that he was being tried as a citizen of Israel and Cyprus, despite having a Ukrainian passport. At the same time, the businessman himself claims that he does not consider the case against him to be politically motivated; in his words, we are talking about “cases of bygone years.”
Several people came to the trial who were supposed to take the oligarch on bail. Among them were TV presenters of the 1+1 channel, Yuriy Gorbunov , Alla Mazur and Natalya Moseychuk , Chief Rabbi of the Dnepropetrovsk region Shmuel Kaminetsky , ex-Minister of Culture and former general director of the 1+1 TV channel, Verkhovna Rada deputy Sergei Demchenko and Nikopol City Council deputy Evgeniy Bovkun . Despite their fiery speeches and requests to release the businessman under personal guardianship, the court left Igor Kolomoisky in pre-trial detention and rejected the petition to change the preventive measure. At the same time, the number of people somehow associated with the 1+1 channel is somewhat surprising: they are clearly not justtried to get their boss out of prison
Rybar.
https://rybar.ru/hronika-speczialnoj-vo ... 23-goda-2/
Google Translator
(Other images at link.)
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More lies and “spin” in Western media, while Russian media provides some worthwhile coverage of the attack last night on Odessa
September 25, 2023
I closed my essay yesterday asking whether the premier Russian state television news program of the week, Vesti Nedeli with Dmitry Kiselyov, would report on Russia’s dramatic destruction during the night of 22-23 September of the Kremenchug airport, planes and pilot. This was the airport, the equipment and the personnel involved in a Ukrainian missile attack hours earlier that destroyed the staff headquarters building of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, Crimea. No, not a word about this was said on Russian television. All that we know from the Russian side is what is published in unofficial, one might say “underground,” private portals.
Last night, early this morning there was another wave of dramatic Russian air attacks on Ukraine, in particular on the port city of Odessa. From some indications, depending on the actual use of the “hotel” hit by Russian missiles, this attack would appear to be the perfect tit-for-tat revenge for the loss of Russia’s Black Sea staff building in Sevastopol. Western reporting speaks of the hotel as “not in use for years” or as being used for military training purposes. Russian state television, Sixty Minutes, this evening says that the strike on the hotel resulted in the deaths of Ukrainian officers and foreign mercenaries who worked there. In the shadowy world of unofficial Russian internet sites, there is the view that the building was effectively used as a staff headquarters for what remains of the Ukrainian fleet. For what it is worth, The Financial Times identified the hotel as a “landmark…that had stood at the foot of Odesa’s famous Potemkin Stairs.” Surely that helps cinema fans locate the site.
Additionally, Russian missiles destroyed the maritime passenger terminal of Odessa. More importantly, the Russians destroyed silos and other port infrastructure essential to grain export. There were explosions and fires that lit up the sky for hours. Even The Financial Times article this morning understood and explained to its readers that the Russians were continuing “their months-long campaign of air strikes aimed at hobbling Ukraine’s grain exports.”
The FT put this in a context of Russia’s seeming inability to enforce a blockade on Ukrainian shipping, noting that several ships have successfully used an improvised corridor hugging the coastline of Romania and Bulgaria “to depart safely with grain cargoes.” I would call that creative spin.
Put another way, the Russians have decided that it is easier and less risky in terms of conflict with NATO member states on the Black Sea and in terms of relations with Turkey to put a stop to Ukrainian grain shipping at the source, inside Ukraine, rather than out at sea.
If the FT was, like the official Russian media, rather restrained in its report of the Russian missile strikes on Odessa, other British mass media went rogue. I have in front of me the Daily Mail Online report which has the eye-catching headline: “Putin rains down hell on Ukraine’s Odessa in terrifying overnight blitz on Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur – as Russian warmonger’s lawless invasion grinds into its 20th month.”
It is very interesting that The Daily Mail put the accent on Yom Kippur. A caption under one photo of the Hotel Odessa afire tells us that the powerful missile strike came “just as the city’s large Jewish population marks the holy days of Yom Kippur.” It is quite amazing what this paper will do to divert attention from real news. To my knowledge, the Jewish population of Odessa numbers 12,000 in an overall urban population of just over one million. Odessa is not Tel Aviv.
©Gilbert Doctorow, 2023
https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2023/09/25/ ... on-odessa/
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We’re Being Prepared For The Ukraine War To Last Into The 2030s
Western officials and media pundits are now directly acknowledging that Ukraine’s much-touted “spring counteroffensive” has been a catastrophic failure, but rather than seeing this as a reason to reconsider the mainstream political consensus on this war, they are instead telling everyone that the counteroffensive’s failure means we must commit to the status quo of bloodshed…
Caitlin Johnstone
September 23, 2023
Western officials and media pundits are now directly acknowledging that Ukraine’s much-touted “spring counteroffensive” has been a catastrophic failure, but rather than seeing this as a reason to reconsider the mainstream political consensus on this war, they are instead telling everyone that the counteroffensive’s failure means we must commit to the status quo of bloodshed and nuclear brinkmanship for years to come.
In a recent article titled “US and G-7 Allies Expect War in Ukraine to Drag On for Years,” Bloomberg reports that the US-centralized power structure expects to be backing its proxy conflict against Russia for a very long time, potentially into the 2030s.
Bloomberg reports:
“The US and its allies in the Group of Seven now expect the war in Ukraine may drag on for years to come and are building that possibility into their military and financial planning.
“A senior official from one European G-7 country said the war may last as much as six or seven more years and that allies need to plan financially to continue support for Kyiv for such a long conflict.
“That’s much longer than many officials had expected earlier this year, but slow progress in Ukraine’s counteroffensive in recent months has tempered expectations.”
In a recent interview with CNN, outgoing Joint Chiefs chair Mark Milley said that achieving Kyiv’s official goal of fully recapturing all Ukrainian territory is going to require “very significant effort over a considerable amount of time.”
“I can tell you that it’ll take a considerable length of time to militarily eject all 200,000 or plus Russian troops out of Russian-occupied Ukraine,” Milley added. “That’s a very high bar. It’s going to take a long time to do it.”
In a recent interview with German newspaper Berliner Morgenpost, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also pounded home the point that this war will drag on for a very long time.
“Most wars last longer than is expected when they first start. Therefore, we must prepare ourselves for a long war in Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said.
“We are all wishing for a quick peace,” Stoltenberg added. “But at the same time, we must recognize: If President Zelensky and the Ukrainians give up the fight, their country would not exist anymore. If President Putin and Russia laid down their weapons, we would have peace. The easiest way to end this war would be if Putin withdrew his troops.”
You see this claim from empire managers and their apologists all the time: that the only obstacle to peace in Ukraine is Russia refusing to leave. This of course ignores the many extensively-documented western aggressions which are known to have provoked Russia’s invasion, a fact that Stoltenberg himself admitted to earlier this month.
Demanding that Russia end its aggressions without the west agreeing to end its own aggressions which led to this conflict is just demanding that Russia lie down and submit to being ruled and dominated by the western empire. It’s not a call for peace, it’s a call for the total victory of Washington and its cohorts.
Stoltenberg reinforced his point that this war will drag on for years by affirming that Ukraine will gain NATO membership when this war is over, which is effectively a message to Moscow that if it still finds NATO membership for Ukraine unacceptable it must either annex Ukraine into the Russian Federation entirely or keep this war going on forever.
“Ukraine will become a member of NATO — all allies have made that clear,” Stoltenberg said, adding that Ukraine will need NATO protection when the war ends, otherwise “history could repeat itself.”
The western media are conveying the same message. Notorious empire propaganda rag The Economist has a new article out titled “Ukraine faces a long war. A change of course is needed,” featuring a Ukrainian flag with the words “TIME FOR A RETHINK” scrawled across it. If you didn’t know anything about The Economist you might assume at first glance that this was an article about rethinking the approach of backing an endless proxy conflict — especially after its opening paragraphs acknowledge that “The plan is not working” and “Ukraine has liberated less than 0.25% of the territory that Russia occupied in June.”
You would be wrong though. What The Economist means is that we should switch from thinking of this as a war that can be won in a timely fashion to one which will continue for the foreseeable future:
“Both Ukraine and its Western supporters are coming to realise that this will be a grinding war of attrition. President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Washington this week for talks. ‘I have to be ready for the long war,’ he told The Economist. But unfortunately, Ukraine is not yet ready; nor are its Western partners. Both are still fixated on the counter-offensive. They need to rethink Ukraine’s military strategy and how its economy is run. Instead of aiming to “win” and then rebuild, the goal should be to ensure that Ukraine has the staying power to wage a long war — and can thrive despite it.”
So western empire managers and their agenda-setters in the mass media are making it as clear as could be that the US-centralized empire has found itself in yet another endless war, another “grinding war of attrition” featuring unfathomable destruction and suffering with no exit strategy, which once again pours vast fortunes into the coffers of the military industrial complex. The only difference is that this time it comes with the added bonus of the threat of nuclear annihilation.
All for what? To advance the US empire’s goal of total planetary domination, a status quo that it can only maintain by brandishing armageddon weapons at its enemies with increasing hostility year after year.
When it comes to the war in Ukraine it is definitely time for a rethink, but not by the same monsters who thought us into this horror in the first place.
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2023/09 ... the-2030s/
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Blinken’s ‘variable geometry’ for a New Cold War
Originally published: Al Mayadeen on September 24, 2023 by Alastair Crooke (more by Al Mayadeen) | (Posted Sep 25, 2023)
Last week, Secretary of State Blinken, in a speech at Johns Hopkins University, said bluntly:
What we’re [facing], is no test of the post-Cold War order. It’s the end of it … a hinge moment in history … Countries and citizens are losing faith in the international economic order—their confidence rattled by systemic flaws … The longer these disparities persist, the more distrust and disillusionment they fuel in people, who feel the system is not giving them a fair shake.
So far, so good—but he continued:
the U.S. is leading in this pivotal period from a position of strength … One era is ending, a new one is beginning … We must act, and act decisively … We must live history forward. We must put our hand on the rudder of history, because …
No nation on Earth has a greater capacity to mobilize others in common cause. Because our ongoing endeavour … allows us to fix our flaws and renew our democracy from within. And because our vision for the future—a world that is open, free, prosperous, and secure—is not America’s alone, but the enduring aspiration of people in every nation on every continent (emphasis added).
The ‘new era’, then, resembles the familiar ‘old one’: Our Western ‘liberal vision’ and its economic doctrine is that of everyone, everywhere in the world—claims Blinken.
But the ‘new era’ challenge is that,
‘our’ competitors [Russia and China] have a fundamentally different vision … The contrast between these two visions could not be clearer. And the stakes of the competition we face could not be higher—for the world, and for the American people.
So we—Team America—are working:
to align our friends in new ways so that we can meet the three defining tests of this emerging era: a fierce and lasting strategic competition; existential threats to lives and livelihoods everywhere—and the urgent need to rebalance our technological future and our economic future, so that interdependence is a source of strength—not vulnerability. (Interdependence? … hmm)
We’re doing this through what I like to call diplomatic variable geometry. We’ve aligned scores of countries in imposing an unprecedented set of sanctions, export controls, and other economic costs on Russia.
Ahh—so the old Cold War is over? And what is to replace it? Well, a new Cold War of ‘variable geometry’. Plainly, the message emanating out from the BRICS and the G20 summits has not ‘sunk in’.
The message ringing out in a clear peal of bells from these summits was that the collective Non-West has coalesced around the urgent demand for radical reform of the global system. They want change in the global economic architecture; they contest its structures (i.e. the voting systems that lie behind those institutional structures such as the WTO, the World Bank and the IMF)—and above all they object to the weaponised dollar hegemony.
The demand—put plainly—is for a seat at Top Table. Period.
To that demand, Blinken’s response is that of outright challenge—Variable Geometry:
We’re assembling a fit‑for‑purpose coalition. We’re transforming the G7 into the steering committee for the world’s most advanced democracies; combining our political and economic muscle … We’re taking critical bilateral relationships, [especially] with the European Union to a new level. We’re using that power to shape our technological and economic future.
Plainly put, the Variable Geometry to the new Cold War on China and Russia amounts to continued weaponised financial war:
We’ve aligned scores of countries in imposing an unprecedented set of sanctions, export controls, and other economic costs on Russia. We coordinated the G7, the European Union, and dozens more countries to support Ukraine’s economy, to build back its energy grid. That’s what variable geometry looks like.
The new Cold War tools—as defined in Blinken’s speech—are firstly, ‘Narrative’ (our vision is the world’s vision); a weaponised economy; new lending capacity for the U.S.-controlled IMF; and a protective ‘belt’ that constrains the commanding heights of western tech from finding an exit to China.
What is clear is that the ruling strata in Washington are settled on the primacy of containing China. Debate over.
There are, however, two principal paradoxes contained within this blueprint: The first is that financial war on Russia has resulted in an economically stronger Russia, and a weaker, poorer U.S. ally: Europe. Similarly, as one Chinese official highlighting the breakthrough represented by the Huawei Mate 60 Pro noted: “Sanctions are not such a bad thing. They only strengthen the ‘de-westernization movement”’, as it is informally termed in China. In other words, ultimately they strengthen China, and weaken the U.S.
The second paradox is that in framing the ‘New Cold War’ in such explicitly Manichean ‘with or against us’ terms that foreclose on any ‘middle ground’, BRICS waverers such as India will have little room in which to play ‘both ends’. Geography alone, finally, will impel India to mesh unreservedly into the Heartland sphere.
https://mronline.org/2023/09/25/blinken ... -cold-war/
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Ukrainian-Polish Relations Deteriorating with Warsaw No Longer Sending Weapons
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on SEPTEMBER 25, 2023
Uriel Araujo
On September 20, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said his country is no longer sending weapons to Ukraine. The day before, Polish President Andrzej Duda told journalists that “Ukraine is behaving like a drowning person clinging to anything available”, adding that “a drowning person is extremely dangerous, capable of pulling you down to the depths … simply drowning the rescuer.”
Ukraine is currently at a commercial battle with its neighbors, including Poland, over agricultural bans. The same week, on September 18, Ukraine filed a lawsuit against Poland (and also Hungary, and Slovakia) at the World Trade Organization (WTO) pertaining to a ban on food imports.
On September 15, the European Commission decided not to extend a previous ban on the Ukrainian grain imports into Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and also Bulgaria and Romania. The ban had been imposed by the European Union in May, blocking domestic sale of maize, wheat, and sunflower seeds from Ukraine – and has now been revoked. Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia, however, have announced they will keep enforcing such restrictions to protect the economic interests of their own farmers. Radoslaw Fogiel, who heads Poland’s parliamentary foreign affairs commission, was quoted by Reuters as saying that “our decision is not aimed at Ukraine, it is dictated by the protection of the Polish farmer and the protection of Poland’s interests.” Poland’s current Law and Justice party (PiS) government boasts great support precisely from farming regions. With the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict an influx of agricultural food products flowing into Poland ensued and this has caused a decline in prices which affects the local farmers from these neighboring countries.
Duda has indeed vowed to keep supporting Kiev, but it is now quite obvious that Polish-Ukrainian relations have been deteriorating, which is an interesting development, considering that Warsaw in fact had been one of the staunchest supporters of that country.
Already in May 2022, Poland and Ukraine were clearly taking steps towards a confederation – in spite of the historically complicated Ukrainian-Polish relations, made worse by post-Maidan Ukrainian ultra-nationalism and the two countries historical disagreements over key WWII issues, pertaining to genocide and to Ukraine’s nationalism connection to Nazism.
In any case, the so-called “Ukraine’s fatigue” has now also reached Poland’s public opinion, as former CNN journalist Sarah Fortinsky writes. A recent Reuters poll shows that support for Ukrainian refugees in Poland fell from 91 percent (in early 2022) to merely 69 percent. 25 percent of Poles today are actually against supporting them – in 2022 it was only 4 percent. The country has taken over a million refugees. In May, I wrote about Poland and other neighbors’ efforts to pressure Kiev into a peace deal – migration and economic issues have a lot to do with it.
It is true that some observers have been talking about a Polish “economic miracle”, which could even lead to “Polexit”, as analyst David Coombs notes in a Financial Times letter. For one thing, the Polish economy could surpass the UK one by 2030 (at current growth rates). Its GDP per capita is already higher than that of Portugal and Greece and could soon surpass Spain also. To say that Europe’s center of gravity is moving eastwards has become common sense – in May and then again in June I wrote on how the German-Polish dispute for hegemony in Europe is escalating.
In any case, Poland’s economic vigor should not be underestimated: for one thing, its reliance on foreign capital, according to political economist Jan Bogusławski, a German Marshall Fund of the United States fellow, still “casts a shadow”. The nation’s foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows have reached unprecedented heights and the country in the last years has developed industrially by attracting Western investments – which often come “with caveats”. Such a structural dependence (described by political scientists Arjan Vliegenthart and Andreas Nölke as common to “Dependent Market Economies”) means an economic growth tied to a Western inflow of foreign capital – and profits being transferred abroad, thereby hampering the development of domestic companies.
This is why the PiS’ rhetoric in Poland has increasingly turned to economic nationalism and developmentalism – and this could be bad news to Kiev. More importantly, despite the economic growth, the cost of living driven by a very high inflation continues to affect millions of Poles and, in this context, Ukrainian refugees can become a convenient rhetorical target. Support for the PiS is declining, and, by April, support in the country for the radical right-wing party Konfederacja had already doubled to around 10% (compared to six months before). Anti-Ukrainian speeches are increasingly common among such political forces, which draw on the aforementioned historical grievances, and this could also influence the current government due to the electoral factor, plus domestic economic problems and the current trade dispute with Ukraine.
Nathan Alan-Lee, a School of Slavonic and East European Studies (University College London) researcher, wrote months ago on how the growth of the Konfederacja party could have an impact on Poland’s foreign policy. This is part of a larger trend that can be seen in the continent: European “populists” and the far-right have been successfully capitalizing the growing popular discontent with NATO and the EU itself, as one can see also in Germany and elsewhere. It is quite unfortunate that, in Europe, opposition to NATO and to suicidal economic policies have been largely marginalized to the point of almost becoming a monopoly of so-called extremist discourse – one should in any case expect this camp to grow.
Therefore, a factor of unpredictability still looms in the horizon, and Poland’s thus far seemingly consolidated strategic role as an Ukrainian key partner since February 2022 should not be taken for granted.
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/09/ ... g-weapons/
Washington Wakes Up to Harsh Reality Amid Ukraine Proxy War
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on SEPTEMBER 25, 2023
Brian Berletic
Washington Wakes Up to Harsh Reality Amid Ukraine Proxy War Long gone are Western headlines heralding Ukraine’s NATO-trained and armed forces and the prospects of them able to “sweep Putin’s conscripts aside,” as former British Army Colonel Hamish De Bretton-Gordon claimed in an article published as recently as June this year.
As Ukraine’s offensive forces broke across extensive Russian defenses all along the line of contact from Zaporozhye to Kharkov, the realization that Washington, London, and Brussels underestimated the Russian Federation economically, politically, diplomatically, and most importantly, militarily and industrially, began to set in.
Russian Military Production Grows, Western Stockpiles Dry Up
Today, different kinds of headlines now appear across the collective West’s media. The New York Times recently reported in an article titled, “Russia Overcomes Sanctions to Expand Missile Production, Officials Say,” that Russia ammunition production was at least seven times greater than the collective West.
The same article acknowledged that Russia had increased its tank production two-fold and was producing 2 million artillery rounds per year, a number that is larger than the combined planned expansion of shell production of the US and European Union some time between 2025 and 2027. Not only is Russia out-producing the West, it is producing weapons and ammunition at a fraction of the cost of Western arms and munitions.
As Russian military industrial production expands, producing more tanks, artillery, cruise missiles, and ammunition for the ongoing special military operation in Ukraine, Ukrainian forces find their sources of arms and ammunition drying up.
The BBC would report in a recent article, “Poland no longer supplying weapons to Ukraine amid grain row,” that:
One of Ukraine’s staunchest allies, Poland, has said it is no longer supplying weapons to its neighbour, amid a diplomatic dispute over Kyiv’s grain exports.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Poland’s focus was instead on defending itself with more modern weapons.
While both Poland and the BBC attempt to frame the decision as motivated by growing tensions between Poland and Ukraine, the reality is Poland had a finite amount of expendable arms and ammunition it could send Ukraine, and it has expended those stocks. This leaves a much smaller number of more modern systems Poland has acquired for its own defense. Neither Poland nor its foreign arms suppliers produce weapons and ammunition in the quantities required to sustain Ukrainian forces on the battlefield, meaning that should Poland continue supplying Ukraine from this point forward, it will eventually find itself “demilitarized.”
Other nations are failing to deliver much anticipated weapon systems. This includes the ATACMS ballistic missile Ukraine has demanded from the United States for months now, and despite claims of its arrival being imminent, Reuters in a recent article has ruled them out once again ahead of the Pentagon’s next assistance package.
Germany’s air-launched cruise missile, the Taurus, has also failed to turn up in additional assistance packages. Bloomberg in its article, “Germany Plans Additional $428 Million in Military Aid to Ukraine,” noted that Berlin is still weighing “a multitude of political, legal, military and technical aspects,” before finally sending any.
It should be noted that neither missile, along with a wide array of other so-called “wonder weapons,” has any prospect of changing the outcome of the fighting in Ukraine. While the missiles, if delivered, will result in tactical victories for Kiev, they will have little to no impact on the fighting strategically.
What remains of Western military assistance to Ukraine is inadequate amounts of ammunition, older and/or increasingly inappropriate armored vehicles including relics of the Cold War like the Leopard 1 main battle tank, and “training” for Ukrainian soldiers conducted in compressed timelines producing entirely unprepared soldiers almost certain to perish within days of arriving at the battlefield.
The US-led proxy war against Russia in Ukraine is unsustainable, and it appears many in the halls of power across the collective West are coming to grips with that.
Delusion Persists
However, elsewhere in the Western media, a deep sense of delusion is still reflected in articles that, despite admitting Ukraine’s failures, believe a “rethink” of Ukraine’s military strategy could help win what is obviously transforming into a “long war.”
For example, The Economist in its article, “Ukraine faces a long war. A change, of course, is needed,” admits the long-anticipated offensive “is not working,” but goes on to demands more offensive and defensive capabilities for Ukraine, including additional air defense systems and “reliable supplies of artillery,” both of which objectively do not and will not exist in the necessary quantities Ukraine requires for years to come.
At one point in the article, The Economist insists on Europe “beefing up its defense industry,” apparently oblivious to the lead times involved in doing so being measured in years – years Ukraine does not have.
The collective West apparently realizes their plans are failing to end the war in their favor sooner rather than later, but appear unaware that the “long war” they now realize awaits them is beyond their capability to fight by proxy or otherwise. The proxy war, designed to “extend Russia,” is now making Russia stronger militarily and industrially. At the same time, the conflict and the sanctions the West imposed on Russia are serving as a catalyst for other nations to pivot away from the US-led unipolar world and instead invest in a multipolar alternative, fearing that eventually the West may target them in a similar manner.
It is clear that the harder the collective West attempts to place Ukraine in a stronger position at the negotiation table, the weaker Ukraine and its Western sponsors become. The longer this conflict continues, the worse it will be for Ukraine and its sponsors. For the collective West, winning their proxy war is impossible militarily and industrially, but accepting this reality appears equally impossible for the collective West’s leadership psychologically.
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/09/ ... proxy-war/
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 09/26/2023
Miscalculations have been, as usually happens when theoretical plans have to be applied to practical ones, one of the constants of this war. These days, a parliamentary commission of the Ukrainian Rada wants to understand how it was possible for Russia to advance as quickly as it did from Crimea towards Kherson or Energodar in the first weeks of its military intervention. A year and a half after the events, Ukraine still does not understand why the Chongar bridge that connects the Crimean peninsula with mainland Ukraine was not destroyed or if the withdrawal of units was due to an order that should be subject to trial. The term “Zaluzhny question” clearly defines who the person is being questioned.
According to the information provided this week by the BBC-curiously, only in its Ukrainian edition, which indicates that there is no interest in questioning the performance of the hero Zaluzhny before the international audience-, the lack of foresight and the imbalance of forces marked the outcome of that first battle of war, a Russian victory that Ukraine is now trying to reverse. The recovery of the southern territories is the objective of the counteroffensive that kyiv's troops began in the first week of June and which has not yet given the expected results. Neither the billions of dollars invested in weapons, nor the hours of training of the new brigades abroad, nor the Ukrainian courage have managed, for the moment, to overcome the Russian troops, destroy their aviation to balance the terrain or definitively break the trench lines using the penultimate wunderwaffe , cluster bombs. Calculations in war are never exact, especially when they are cooked with large doses of propaganda, exaggeration of one's own capabilities and underestimation of those of others.
This mistake has been repeated throughout the war on both sides of the front, as the first weeks of the Russo-Ukrainian war showed. While Ukraine practically dropped the entire southern front - its best units were in Donbass or defending the capital - Russia was trying to advance, somewhat naively, towards Kiev That operation, especially the way it was carried out and the way in which Ukraine was going to defend itself, it was one of the great miscalculations of the Russian Federation, whose intelligence had to foresee that the troops and the Government of Kiev would not flee but rather defend themselves and that they would have help to do so. At that time, the flow of weapons and financing that has ensured that Ukraine can continue to fight reliably despite the casualties of people and losses of material had not begun.
The failure of the operation to quickly capture the Gostomel airfield created an unforeseen battle in which Russia suffered enormous casualties among its elite troops, an unexpected setback derived from intelligence failures. At the same time, the large armored columns that advanced towards Kiev with little air cover and completely in sight of their opponents, were easy targets for the Ukrainian troops, which made them successes to highlight in the propaganda, necessary at that time to maintain the trust of the population and, above all, of foreign allies, who would soon begin to feed the flow of weapons. By the time the Battle of kyiv entered the trenches, it was evident that Russian calculations, especially those of Russian intelligence, had failed.
Since then, the calculations of all parties to the conflict have proven wrong, and not only when it comes to the front. Ukraine's allies saw in the Zaporozhie operation the possibility of repeating the success of a year ago in Kharkiv, something that depended on several certainties that have turned out to be false: Russia would not be able to use partial mobilization to recompose its group in the South, the superiority of Western weapons would mark the development of events and, above all, the Russian command would not be able to apply the lessons of the war to improve its performance. As expected from a country with a competent military industry and that prepared its defense for months, each of those three points has turned out to be wrong.
Among the parties that participate in the war although they do not fight directly on the military front, the European Union is, without a doubt, the one that has erred the most in its forecasts. The toughest sanctions in history were going to be able to destroy the Russian economy to prevent Vladimir Putin from continuing the war. Those were the terms in which they were referring to the sanctions offensive in the first months of 2022. At that time, the hope to defeat Russia was not to create a new army for Ukraine and arm it for proxy war, but to make it impossible for the Russian Federation could continue fighting. To achieve this, several types of sanctions were designed, including the disconnection of the intentional SWIFT payment system or the reduction of the acquisition of Russian gas and oil, which should limit Moscow's income to a minimum. Another objective of the European Union and, above all, of the United States, was the Russian military industry, an element capable of marking the differences as the war became more chronic. As the mainstream media now recognizes, a miscalculation has occurred here too. “In addition to investing more than $40 billion in arms supplies to Ukraine, the United States has made limiting Russian military supplies an integral part of its strategy to support Kiev,” he says this week.The New York Times , increasingly critical of the current situation in the war. The data collected by the American media is not unknown and had already been raised by sanctions experts such as Agathe Demarais, who months ago anticipated that Russia had recovered its missile production capacity. Even so, it is relevant that a medium as important as The New York Times once again insists on what is actually another failure of Western sanctions policy.
“As a result of the sanctions, American officials estimate that Russia was forced to dramatically slow down its production of missiles and other weapons at the start of the war in February 2022,” says the outlet, which is later forced to admit that , with the help of other countries that have not joined the sanctions, the situation has changed. “At the end of 2022, Moscow's military industrial manufacturing began to gain traction again, American officials who spoke anonymously to discuss sensitive issues now admit.” The hope that the Russian arsenal would run out of missiles has been one of the ideas constantly repeated by Ukrainian propaganda practically since the beginning of the Russian military intervention. Already in March 2022, The then spokesman Arestovich stated for the first time that Russia only had missiles for a few weeks. Russia continued to use missiles even during those months in which Western experts say its industry suffered the consequences of sanctions. At that time, Moscow sought a way to “subvert American export controls by using its intelligence services and Ministry of Defense to create illicit networks of people who traffic key components by exporting them to other countries from which they can be sent to Russia with more ease.”
The Western miscalculation in this sense was, perhaps, the most serious, fundamentally because it was the easiest to foresee. Underestimating the ability of other countries to resist unilateral sanctions not ratified by the United Nations Security Council, the West believed it was capable of imposing a blockade similar to that of Cuba against the largest country in the world, a nuclear power with an alliance - possibly opportunistic and that could suffer in the future, but that is firm under current conditions - with the second economic power on the planet.
https://slavyangrad.es/2023/09/26/error ... more-28218
Google Translator
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Chronicle of a special military operation for September 25, 2023
September 26, 2023
Rybar
Last night, Russian troops carried out combined strikes on Ukrainian territory. Among the targets were port infrastructure facilities in the Odessa region . Attacks on the Dolgintsevo airfield near Krivoy Rog were also reported . In addition, information appeared about two arrivals in the area of Kulbakino airport near Nikolaev .
In the evening, Ukrainian formations attempted to attack the Crimean Peninsula . For this, the Ukrainian Armed Forces used Storm Shadow cruise missiles . Their exact number is being specified. Apparently, Ukrainian troops tried to strike airfields of the Aerospace Forces and Navy in Crimea.
For the second day in a row, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are actively attacking the rear of the border regions of Russia. All day long, Russian air defense systems and electronic warfare systems intercepted Ukrainian drones in the Bryansk , Kursk and Belgorod regions . This is one of the most massive UAV raids on the Russian border in recent times.
Night combined strike of the Russian Armed Forces
At night, Russian troops attacked targets on Ukrainian territory, including the port infrastructure of the Odessa region . Local sources indicated very dense air defense work and explosions in the area of the Ilyichevsk port , Bolshevik district , the village of Ilyinka , and the village of Kotovskoye . According to some reports, sounds of secondary detonation were heard from the warehouses of the Yuzhny port .
One of the blows hit the closed Odessa hotel . Although some resources claim that the building was never used for military purposes, this is not entirely true: back in May, people in uniform were seen there, and for some reason generators were working at the “abandoned” facility. However, there is no objective evidence of the destruction of manpower there during the night raid.
Information also appeared about another combined strike by drones and cruise missiles on the Dolgintsevo airfield near Krivoy Rog. And already in the morning, footage appeared of the defeat of a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter there: it is possible that this particular episode occurred several days ago, but the very fact of regular raids indicates the unambiguous attention to it from the Russian Armed Forces and the desire to hit the aircraft located there.
Near Nikolaev there are two powerful arrivals in the area of Kulbakino airport . Nikolaev had not heard explosions for a long time and had time to relax a bit: Su-24Ms, carriers of cruise missiles, began to be based at the airport, and Anas began to regularly land there, transferring personnel and ammunition. Although the front line is only 40 km.
The results of the arrival have yet to be clarified, but a cavalcade of ambulances rushed there from the regional center. What exactly arrived is also a question. Because in Kiselevka, located not so far away , they hit an ammunition depot with a one and a half ton FAB with an UMPC.
Ukrainian Armed Forces missile strike on Crimea
Ukrainian formations again tried to strike the Crimean peninsula . According to some reports, at least two Storm Shadow cruise missiles were launched from Su-24M bombers .
The Storm Shadow flight route ran through Cape Tarkhankut in the direction of Sevastopol and the Kherson region to Dzhankoy and Gvardeyskoye . One of the cruise missiles was destroyed on approach to the Belbek airfield by crews of the 31st Air Force and Air Defense Division. Three or four minutes later, the air defense also worked on another cruise missile north of Cossack Bay on approach to Sevastopol.
Also, servicemen of the 31st division worked on two targets ( preliminarily, Storm Shadow ) above Dzhankoy and Gvardeysky. The exact number of downed targets will become clear later. We do not exclude at all that there could be more of them. Judging by the areas where the missiles hit, Ukrainian troops tried to strike airfields of the Aerospace Forces and Navy in Crimea. And while Storm Shadow/SCALP carriers remain in the air, the threat of repeated attacks remains.
The situation on the front line and combat operations
In the Soledar direction, clashes continued in the areas of Kleshcheevka and Andreevka . In addition, there were reports of a successful assault by Russian troops on the settlement. Orekhovo - Vasilevka . Since this village is located at tactical heights, its control improves the position of our troops in this area. It is too early to talk about complete control over Orekhovo-Vasilevka, since after its liberation the enemy attempts to counterattack.
News channels posted footage of arrivals and explosion clouds in the Krasnodon area in the LPR. The strike was carried out by three Storm Shadow cruise missiles fired from Ukrainian Air Force Su-24M bombers. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation stated two dead and three wounded as a result of this attack. The launch, with a high probability, was carried out from the outskirts of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration from a distance of over 150 kilometers from the front line. Missile strikes deep in the rear are usually part of the enemy's preparation for an offensive. Given the concentration of Ukrainian Armed Forces forces in the Bakhmut area , it is likely that Ukrainian formations will again try to attack in several areas.
In the Donetsk direction, clashes are mostly of a positional nature. More than two months have passed since the last update of the situation near Avdeevka , and the situation in this area has not changed radically. Either ours or Ukrainian units attack positions, trying to improve the tactical situation.
Over the last few weeks, enemy formations, reinforced by detachments of marines, tried to break through to Vodyanoye and Opytny . At some point they managed to advance, but after a massive artillery strike and a subsequent counterattack by the 1st Slavic Brigade, everything returned to its original state. At the same time, fighters of the Russian Armed Forces also carried out several attacks in other directions. Operating from the outskirts of Opytnoye, Russian Army personnel advanced towards the residential complex “ 446 km ” and secured new positions.
Similarly, units of the Russian Armed Forces leveled the front along the H20 highway , clearing out strong points near the 3rd pond and water treatment plant. Now the line of contact runs along the road from Kamenka to Krutaya Balka and Kashtanovoye . However, the situation does not change significantly. A head-on assault on Avdeevka is physically impossible without huge losses in manpower and equipment. Another option is to cut off supplies from the north, but the defense density of the Ukrainian Armed Forces there is high, so at the moment we should not expect any significant advance.
Yesterday, footage appeared on the Internet of a strike by the Russian Armed Forces on a train near the village of Rodinskoye in the occupied part of the DPR, which occurred a few days ago. Judging by the recording, there were also MLRS on the platforms among several dozen wheeled vehicles. The enemy personnel fled after an air explosion and fire. According to some reports, the target was fired from the Tornado-S MLRS , which made it possible to cover the train 40 km from the front line. At the same time, objective control of fire damage was carried out by a reconnaissance drone, which also flew deep beyond the line of combat contact.
It is difficult to say whether the train was completely destroyed, but this is far from the only blow to a specific outcome. A kilometer to the south, satellite images discovered by colleagues from Lostarmour show a large-scale defeat in the area of the Rodinskaya railway station . Coupled with the recent raid on the railway junction in Vapnyarka and the statement of the Russian Ministry of Defense about the destruction of two echelons of the 37th Infantry Marine Corps of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at loading stations, it can be assumed that attacks on enemy trains in the rear are becoming more systematic.
In the Vremyevsky sector, the enemy attempts attacks in small groups east of Urozhainy , but to no avail. On the approaches to Staromayorsky, the artillery of the Russian Armed Forces inflicts fire on the fortifications of the Ukrainian Armed Forces under construction, including with the use of “Solntsepeks”. Positional clashes continue in the Priyutnoye area.
In the Orekhovsky section, the tense situation remains in the Rabotino - Verbovoe section . Russian troops were able to repel several attacks by Ukrainian Armed Forces assault groups in the Verbovoy area . The Russian Armed Forces also inflicted fire on enemy concentrations of manpower and equipment in the areas of the settlement. Malaya Tokmachka , Novodanilovka and north of Rabotino .
Colleagues from the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies drew attention to a video from a Ukrainian UAV documenting the use by Russian troops in the Zaporozhye direction of inflatable mock-ups of T-72 tanks as decoys for enemy reconnaissance. Both sides have long resorted to such methods, and Ukrainian formations have established mass production of such products. Among other things, they were prompted to do this by significant losses in artillery from the arrival of Lancet loitering ammunition. As for the mock-ups with videos, they clearly could use a little more detail: at a distance, and especially with satellite imagery, you can confuse them with real tanks, but up close it’s already difficult.
In the Kherson direction, for several days in a row, Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft have been striking with controlled aerial bombs at areas where Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel are concentrated in the village of Lvovo . Not long ago, the enemy transferred reserves to this direction for a future offensive, and therefore the activity of Russian tactical aviation increased.
Shelling of rear areas and residential areas
In the Bryansk region, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked the Starodub municipal district with the Grad MLRS. The territory of the agricultural enterprise and the buildings on it were damaged, several cows died. Air defense was activated twice in the region, in the Surazhsky region and on approach to Bryansk . Both times the attack was repelled by air defense forces. Destruction and casualties were avoided.
In the Kursk region , the village of Volfino came under fire from Ukrainian forces ; residents took refuge in basements; there were no casualties, and no destruction occurred. Local authorities reported air defense operations and crashes of Ukrainian UAVs in the Central District of Kursk and in the Kursk region . In both cases, residential buildings were damaged by drone fragments. There were no casualties.
Since the very morning, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been launching massive attacks on border settlements in the Belgorod region :
In the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka , five houses and a power line were damaged by shells, the village was partially de-energized, emergency crews were working on the site, and there were no casualties. There were no casualties. In the village of Urazovo , Valuysky urban district , two people were wounded ; they received medical assistance on the spot. Shell fragments destroyed one outbuilding and damaged a residential building.
In the Grayvoronsky urban district, air defense units shot down an Ukrainian Armed Forces drone; no casualties were reported. In the village of Murom , Shebekinsky urban district, a kamikaze drone attacked a communications facility, special services are working on the spot, no one was injured. In Shebekino, two women were injured during shelling . One was shell-shocked while traveling in a car, the second was injured at one of the enterprises. Shell fragments damaged eight private houses and power lines; repair crews are working at the scene of the incident. In the sky above the Shebekinsky urban district, an air defense system shot down an enemy target in the area of the village of Batratskaya Dacha, no one was hurt. In the Belgorod regionAir defense crews hit two Ukrainian Armed Forces drones; according to preliminary data, there was no damage.
In addition, the Ministry of Defense reported several times during the day on the destruction of the UAV. In the evening, the regional governor reported another massive attack from seven UAVs, which was also repelled by air defense forces. Emergency services are working; at the time of writing, one car was damaged.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces do not stop attacking populated areas of the Donetsk agglomeration . According to local authorities, 64 shells were fired across the territory of the DPR over the past 24 hours. The enemy used 152, 155 mm caliber artillery and attack UAVs. There were some casualties. In the Kuibyshevsky district of Donetsk, one man was killed as a result of shelling . In addition to the regional capital, Makeevka , Gorlovka and Yasinovatsky district were under fire .
Ukrainian formations continue to shell the left bank of the Kherson region every day . The following were under fire: Novaya Kakhovka , Korsunka , Krynki , Cossack Camps , Kardashinka and Kakhovka . In the village of Obryvka, an arrival at a cemetery was recorded. In the village of Dnepryany, shells damaged a gas pipe, the operation of the local energy network was partially disrupted, and restoration work is underway.
Political events
The true size of the International Legion: where have all the mercenaries gone?
If in 2022, after the creation of the “ International Legion ,” the Internet was full of footage from different sectors of the front from dozens of foreigners, today fresh videos and photos are difficult to come across. According to our data, a total of 12,046 foreigners officially took part in Ukraine (we are not even talking about any 20,000-strong army). Of these, at the moment, about 1,800 mercenaries remain in the Northern Military District zone on the other side. Why is that? Large losses and a significant number of disillusioned people.
During the SVO, over 5,680 people from the International Legion were liquidated . And more than 4,560 foreigners left the ranks of the Ukrainian formations and returned to their countries. The largest number of mercenaries in the Legion came from Poland and Georgia , which is not at all surprising, given the maximum anti-Russian sentiments prevailing in these countries. The large number of Americans, British and Australians is also not at all surprising: it is the soldiers of fortune and PMCs who do the most dirty work abroad, acting as an excellent cover for regular units.
The beginning of the conflict was marked by widespread support for Ukraine in the Western media. The aura of Ukraine “under aggression”, which needs protection, pushed thousands of people to go to an unfamiliar country to participate in the war with Russia for good money. Faced with the real situation and the actual state of affairs, when, for example, mercenaries were used as cannon fodder without support, many did not want to continue their participation. And the lack of success at the front after the retreat of the Russian Armed Forces from Kherson further reduced the influx of volunteers. The mercenaries remaining in Ukraine are either the most ardent opponents of Russia who want to “hunt Russians”, or professionals performing highly specialized tasks, for example, managing high-tech weapons or training Ukrainians.
Option for a Polish compromise on grain transportation from Ukraine
In some places, even the funny story of the Polish-Ukrainian squabbles shows no sign of stopping. President Andrzej Duda announced Poland's readiness to ensure the transit of Ukrainian grain for subsequent shipment to the poorest countries in Africa and Asia .
And if at first glance the statement looks like a mockery ( even the most narrow-minded Ukrainian is unlikely to believe in the realism of such a proposal), then if you look closely, you will notice a curious motive behind the Polish initiative. To send grain to African countries, very large and at the same time free elevators are needed in Spain, Italy and on the southern coast of France. There are none in principle, because this logistics route has never been worked out. All existing elevators are fully loaded for the domestic market, which has been in this state for several decades. Before loading a ship with grain, you must first drive 10-20 trains, transfer the grain to an elevator in a port, for example Malaga, and from there send it to Africa. But again, there is no free infrastructure for such operations. The EU railway system works like clockwork, and if an unplanned flow of trains unexpectedly flows in, it will easily disrupt established logistics.
So it turns out that, judging by Duda’s proposal, the scheme will look like this: “grain” in an unspecified amount is transported by rail to ports in the south of the EU, where there is simply no infrastructure for receiving grain. At least in such volumes. Next, this grain needs to be loaded onto ships, insured, sent to Africa and unloaded. It is unknown who will pay the associated costs.
The scheme proposed by Duda, but clearly invented by someone higher up, can work and bring profit only in one case: if, under the guise of grain transit, everything valuable that comes across is exported from Ukraine. In this case, the sender of the Ukrainian “grain” will be unknown Ukrainian companies, and the recipients will be the same unknown legal entities or, possibly, even government organizations. But since the “grain” will not be supplied under a contract, but as a free supply, the final volumes of cargo will be unknown. And along with the grain, tons of contraband, weapons, slaves, organs, cultural and material assets will go to Europe. Of course, such logistics can work in both directions, for example, in the interests of supplying weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Thus, if the Polish “grain” transit really works, we can confidently say that we are facing another “Trojan horse” for the EU economy and a scheme to enrich the same interests that profited from the recently deceased “grain deal.”
On the supply of Abrams tanks and ATACMS missiles for the Ukrainian Armed Forces
The New York Times writes about the delivery of the first batch of Abrams tanks to Ukraine. This information was later confirmed by Vladimir Zelensky , saying that the tanks were being prepared to enter the brigades. Politico previously reported that the first ten vehicles will arrive in September, and the rest at a later date, so such a small number of tanks will not be able to radically affect the situation on the battlefield. At the same time, information appeared in the American media that within this week the United States would make a decision on the transfer of ATACMS missilesto the HIMARS MLRS, presumably they will soon appear at the front, which will complicate the work of Russian air defense crews for some time and will require additional time to learn how to shoot them down.
About the trial of Igor Kolomoisky
Today, the Kiev Court of Appeal considered the complaint of oligarch Igor Kolomoisky for arrest with bail. The businessman tried to appeal the decision, calling it illegal and “made in haste.” The trial took place in open mode. The oligarch's lawyer said that Kolomoisky is a citizen of Ukraine, although the prisoner himself confirmed that he was being tried as a citizen of Israel and Cyprus, despite having a Ukrainian passport. At the same time, the businessman himself claims that he does not consider the case against him to be politically motivated; in his words, we are talking about “cases of bygone years.”
Several people came to the trial who were supposed to take the oligarch on bail. Among them were TV presenters of the 1+1 channel, Yuriy Gorbunov , Alla Mazur and Natalya Moseychuk , Chief Rabbi of the Dnepropetrovsk region Shmuel Kaminetsky , ex-Minister of Culture and former general director of the 1+1 TV channel, Verkhovna Rada deputy Sergei Demchenko and Nikopol City Council deputy Evgeniy Bovkun . Despite their fiery speeches and requests to release the businessman under personal guardianship, the court left Igor Kolomoisky in pre-trial detention and rejected the petition to change the preventive measure. At the same time, the number of people somehow associated with the 1+1 channel is somewhat surprising: they are clearly not justtried to get their boss out of prison
Rybar.
https://rybar.ru/hronika-speczialnoj-vo ... 23-goda-2/
Google Translator
(Other images at link.)
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More lies and “spin” in Western media, while Russian media provides some worthwhile coverage of the attack last night on Odessa
September 25, 2023
I closed my essay yesterday asking whether the premier Russian state television news program of the week, Vesti Nedeli with Dmitry Kiselyov, would report on Russia’s dramatic destruction during the night of 22-23 September of the Kremenchug airport, planes and pilot. This was the airport, the equipment and the personnel involved in a Ukrainian missile attack hours earlier that destroyed the staff headquarters building of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, Crimea. No, not a word about this was said on Russian television. All that we know from the Russian side is what is published in unofficial, one might say “underground,” private portals.
Last night, early this morning there was another wave of dramatic Russian air attacks on Ukraine, in particular on the port city of Odessa. From some indications, depending on the actual use of the “hotel” hit by Russian missiles, this attack would appear to be the perfect tit-for-tat revenge for the loss of Russia’s Black Sea staff building in Sevastopol. Western reporting speaks of the hotel as “not in use for years” or as being used for military training purposes. Russian state television, Sixty Minutes, this evening says that the strike on the hotel resulted in the deaths of Ukrainian officers and foreign mercenaries who worked there. In the shadowy world of unofficial Russian internet sites, there is the view that the building was effectively used as a staff headquarters for what remains of the Ukrainian fleet. For what it is worth, The Financial Times identified the hotel as a “landmark…that had stood at the foot of Odesa’s famous Potemkin Stairs.” Surely that helps cinema fans locate the site.
Additionally, Russian missiles destroyed the maritime passenger terminal of Odessa. More importantly, the Russians destroyed silos and other port infrastructure essential to grain export. There were explosions and fires that lit up the sky for hours. Even The Financial Times article this morning understood and explained to its readers that the Russians were continuing “their months-long campaign of air strikes aimed at hobbling Ukraine’s grain exports.”
The FT put this in a context of Russia’s seeming inability to enforce a blockade on Ukrainian shipping, noting that several ships have successfully used an improvised corridor hugging the coastline of Romania and Bulgaria “to depart safely with grain cargoes.” I would call that creative spin.
Put another way, the Russians have decided that it is easier and less risky in terms of conflict with NATO member states on the Black Sea and in terms of relations with Turkey to put a stop to Ukrainian grain shipping at the source, inside Ukraine, rather than out at sea.
If the FT was, like the official Russian media, rather restrained in its report of the Russian missile strikes on Odessa, other British mass media went rogue. I have in front of me the Daily Mail Online report which has the eye-catching headline: “Putin rains down hell on Ukraine’s Odessa in terrifying overnight blitz on Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur – as Russian warmonger’s lawless invasion grinds into its 20th month.”
It is very interesting that The Daily Mail put the accent on Yom Kippur. A caption under one photo of the Hotel Odessa afire tells us that the powerful missile strike came “just as the city’s large Jewish population marks the holy days of Yom Kippur.” It is quite amazing what this paper will do to divert attention from real news. To my knowledge, the Jewish population of Odessa numbers 12,000 in an overall urban population of just over one million. Odessa is not Tel Aviv.
©Gilbert Doctorow, 2023
https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2023/09/25/ ... on-odessa/
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We’re Being Prepared For The Ukraine War To Last Into The 2030s
Western officials and media pundits are now directly acknowledging that Ukraine’s much-touted “spring counteroffensive” has been a catastrophic failure, but rather than seeing this as a reason to reconsider the mainstream political consensus on this war, they are instead telling everyone that the counteroffensive’s failure means we must commit to the status quo of bloodshed…
Caitlin Johnstone
September 23, 2023
Western officials and media pundits are now directly acknowledging that Ukraine’s much-touted “spring counteroffensive” has been a catastrophic failure, but rather than seeing this as a reason to reconsider the mainstream political consensus on this war, they are instead telling everyone that the counteroffensive’s failure means we must commit to the status quo of bloodshed and nuclear brinkmanship for years to come.
In a recent article titled “US and G-7 Allies Expect War in Ukraine to Drag On for Years,” Bloomberg reports that the US-centralized power structure expects to be backing its proxy conflict against Russia for a very long time, potentially into the 2030s.
Bloomberg reports:
“The US and its allies in the Group of Seven now expect the war in Ukraine may drag on for years to come and are building that possibility into their military and financial planning.
“A senior official from one European G-7 country said the war may last as much as six or seven more years and that allies need to plan financially to continue support for Kyiv for such a long conflict.
“That’s much longer than many officials had expected earlier this year, but slow progress in Ukraine’s counteroffensive in recent months has tempered expectations.”
In a recent interview with CNN, outgoing Joint Chiefs chair Mark Milley said that achieving Kyiv’s official goal of fully recapturing all Ukrainian territory is going to require “very significant effort over a considerable amount of time.”
“I can tell you that it’ll take a considerable length of time to militarily eject all 200,000 or plus Russian troops out of Russian-occupied Ukraine,” Milley added. “That’s a very high bar. It’s going to take a long time to do it.”
In a recent interview with German newspaper Berliner Morgenpost, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also pounded home the point that this war will drag on for a very long time.
“Most wars last longer than is expected when they first start. Therefore, we must prepare ourselves for a long war in Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said.
“We are all wishing for a quick peace,” Stoltenberg added. “But at the same time, we must recognize: If President Zelensky and the Ukrainians give up the fight, their country would not exist anymore. If President Putin and Russia laid down their weapons, we would have peace. The easiest way to end this war would be if Putin withdrew his troops.”
You see this claim from empire managers and their apologists all the time: that the only obstacle to peace in Ukraine is Russia refusing to leave. This of course ignores the many extensively-documented western aggressions which are known to have provoked Russia’s invasion, a fact that Stoltenberg himself admitted to earlier this month.
Demanding that Russia end its aggressions without the west agreeing to end its own aggressions which led to this conflict is just demanding that Russia lie down and submit to being ruled and dominated by the western empire. It’s not a call for peace, it’s a call for the total victory of Washington and its cohorts.
Stoltenberg reinforced his point that this war will drag on for years by affirming that Ukraine will gain NATO membership when this war is over, which is effectively a message to Moscow that if it still finds NATO membership for Ukraine unacceptable it must either annex Ukraine into the Russian Federation entirely or keep this war going on forever.
“Ukraine will become a member of NATO — all allies have made that clear,” Stoltenberg said, adding that Ukraine will need NATO protection when the war ends, otherwise “history could repeat itself.”
The western media are conveying the same message. Notorious empire propaganda rag The Economist has a new article out titled “Ukraine faces a long war. A change of course is needed,” featuring a Ukrainian flag with the words “TIME FOR A RETHINK” scrawled across it. If you didn’t know anything about The Economist you might assume at first glance that this was an article about rethinking the approach of backing an endless proxy conflict — especially after its opening paragraphs acknowledge that “The plan is not working” and “Ukraine has liberated less than 0.25% of the territory that Russia occupied in June.”
You would be wrong though. What The Economist means is that we should switch from thinking of this as a war that can be won in a timely fashion to one which will continue for the foreseeable future:
“Both Ukraine and its Western supporters are coming to realise that this will be a grinding war of attrition. President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Washington this week for talks. ‘I have to be ready for the long war,’ he told The Economist. But unfortunately, Ukraine is not yet ready; nor are its Western partners. Both are still fixated on the counter-offensive. They need to rethink Ukraine’s military strategy and how its economy is run. Instead of aiming to “win” and then rebuild, the goal should be to ensure that Ukraine has the staying power to wage a long war — and can thrive despite it.”
So western empire managers and their agenda-setters in the mass media are making it as clear as could be that the US-centralized empire has found itself in yet another endless war, another “grinding war of attrition” featuring unfathomable destruction and suffering with no exit strategy, which once again pours vast fortunes into the coffers of the military industrial complex. The only difference is that this time it comes with the added bonus of the threat of nuclear annihilation.
All for what? To advance the US empire’s goal of total planetary domination, a status quo that it can only maintain by brandishing armageddon weapons at its enemies with increasing hostility year after year.
When it comes to the war in Ukraine it is definitely time for a rethink, but not by the same monsters who thought us into this horror in the first place.
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2023/09 ... the-2030s/
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Blinken’s ‘variable geometry’ for a New Cold War
Originally published: Al Mayadeen on September 24, 2023 by Alastair Crooke (more by Al Mayadeen) | (Posted Sep 25, 2023)
Last week, Secretary of State Blinken, in a speech at Johns Hopkins University, said bluntly:
What we’re [facing], is no test of the post-Cold War order. It’s the end of it … a hinge moment in history … Countries and citizens are losing faith in the international economic order—their confidence rattled by systemic flaws … The longer these disparities persist, the more distrust and disillusionment they fuel in people, who feel the system is not giving them a fair shake.
So far, so good—but he continued:
the U.S. is leading in this pivotal period from a position of strength … One era is ending, a new one is beginning … We must act, and act decisively … We must live history forward. We must put our hand on the rudder of history, because …
No nation on Earth has a greater capacity to mobilize others in common cause. Because our ongoing endeavour … allows us to fix our flaws and renew our democracy from within. And because our vision for the future—a world that is open, free, prosperous, and secure—is not America’s alone, but the enduring aspiration of people in every nation on every continent (emphasis added).
The ‘new era’, then, resembles the familiar ‘old one’: Our Western ‘liberal vision’ and its economic doctrine is that of everyone, everywhere in the world—claims Blinken.
But the ‘new era’ challenge is that,
‘our’ competitors [Russia and China] have a fundamentally different vision … The contrast between these two visions could not be clearer. And the stakes of the competition we face could not be higher—for the world, and for the American people.
So we—Team America—are working:
to align our friends in new ways so that we can meet the three defining tests of this emerging era: a fierce and lasting strategic competition; existential threats to lives and livelihoods everywhere—and the urgent need to rebalance our technological future and our economic future, so that interdependence is a source of strength—not vulnerability. (Interdependence? … hmm)
We’re doing this through what I like to call diplomatic variable geometry. We’ve aligned scores of countries in imposing an unprecedented set of sanctions, export controls, and other economic costs on Russia.
Ahh—so the old Cold War is over? And what is to replace it? Well, a new Cold War of ‘variable geometry’. Plainly, the message emanating out from the BRICS and the G20 summits has not ‘sunk in’.
The message ringing out in a clear peal of bells from these summits was that the collective Non-West has coalesced around the urgent demand for radical reform of the global system. They want change in the global economic architecture; they contest its structures (i.e. the voting systems that lie behind those institutional structures such as the WTO, the World Bank and the IMF)—and above all they object to the weaponised dollar hegemony.
The demand—put plainly—is for a seat at Top Table. Period.
To that demand, Blinken’s response is that of outright challenge—Variable Geometry:
We’re assembling a fit‑for‑purpose coalition. We’re transforming the G7 into the steering committee for the world’s most advanced democracies; combining our political and economic muscle … We’re taking critical bilateral relationships, [especially] with the European Union to a new level. We’re using that power to shape our technological and economic future.
Plainly put, the Variable Geometry to the new Cold War on China and Russia amounts to continued weaponised financial war:
We’ve aligned scores of countries in imposing an unprecedented set of sanctions, export controls, and other economic costs on Russia. We coordinated the G7, the European Union, and dozens more countries to support Ukraine’s economy, to build back its energy grid. That’s what variable geometry looks like.
The new Cold War tools—as defined in Blinken’s speech—are firstly, ‘Narrative’ (our vision is the world’s vision); a weaponised economy; new lending capacity for the U.S.-controlled IMF; and a protective ‘belt’ that constrains the commanding heights of western tech from finding an exit to China.
What is clear is that the ruling strata in Washington are settled on the primacy of containing China. Debate over.
There are, however, two principal paradoxes contained within this blueprint: The first is that financial war on Russia has resulted in an economically stronger Russia, and a weaker, poorer U.S. ally: Europe. Similarly, as one Chinese official highlighting the breakthrough represented by the Huawei Mate 60 Pro noted: “Sanctions are not such a bad thing. They only strengthen the ‘de-westernization movement”’, as it is informally termed in China. In other words, ultimately they strengthen China, and weaken the U.S.
The second paradox is that in framing the ‘New Cold War’ in such explicitly Manichean ‘with or against us’ terms that foreclose on any ‘middle ground’, BRICS waverers such as India will have little room in which to play ‘both ends’. Geography alone, finally, will impel India to mesh unreservedly into the Heartland sphere.
https://mronline.org/2023/09/25/blinken ... -cold-war/
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Ukrainian-Polish Relations Deteriorating with Warsaw No Longer Sending Weapons
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on SEPTEMBER 25, 2023
Uriel Araujo
On September 20, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said his country is no longer sending weapons to Ukraine. The day before, Polish President Andrzej Duda told journalists that “Ukraine is behaving like a drowning person clinging to anything available”, adding that “a drowning person is extremely dangerous, capable of pulling you down to the depths … simply drowning the rescuer.”
Ukraine is currently at a commercial battle with its neighbors, including Poland, over agricultural bans. The same week, on September 18, Ukraine filed a lawsuit against Poland (and also Hungary, and Slovakia) at the World Trade Organization (WTO) pertaining to a ban on food imports.
On September 15, the European Commission decided not to extend a previous ban on the Ukrainian grain imports into Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and also Bulgaria and Romania. The ban had been imposed by the European Union in May, blocking domestic sale of maize, wheat, and sunflower seeds from Ukraine – and has now been revoked. Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia, however, have announced they will keep enforcing such restrictions to protect the economic interests of their own farmers. Radoslaw Fogiel, who heads Poland’s parliamentary foreign affairs commission, was quoted by Reuters as saying that “our decision is not aimed at Ukraine, it is dictated by the protection of the Polish farmer and the protection of Poland’s interests.” Poland’s current Law and Justice party (PiS) government boasts great support precisely from farming regions. With the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict an influx of agricultural food products flowing into Poland ensued and this has caused a decline in prices which affects the local farmers from these neighboring countries.
Duda has indeed vowed to keep supporting Kiev, but it is now quite obvious that Polish-Ukrainian relations have been deteriorating, which is an interesting development, considering that Warsaw in fact had been one of the staunchest supporters of that country.
Already in May 2022, Poland and Ukraine were clearly taking steps towards a confederation – in spite of the historically complicated Ukrainian-Polish relations, made worse by post-Maidan Ukrainian ultra-nationalism and the two countries historical disagreements over key WWII issues, pertaining to genocide and to Ukraine’s nationalism connection to Nazism.
In any case, the so-called “Ukraine’s fatigue” has now also reached Poland’s public opinion, as former CNN journalist Sarah Fortinsky writes. A recent Reuters poll shows that support for Ukrainian refugees in Poland fell from 91 percent (in early 2022) to merely 69 percent. 25 percent of Poles today are actually against supporting them – in 2022 it was only 4 percent. The country has taken over a million refugees. In May, I wrote about Poland and other neighbors’ efforts to pressure Kiev into a peace deal – migration and economic issues have a lot to do with it.
It is true that some observers have been talking about a Polish “economic miracle”, which could even lead to “Polexit”, as analyst David Coombs notes in a Financial Times letter. For one thing, the Polish economy could surpass the UK one by 2030 (at current growth rates). Its GDP per capita is already higher than that of Portugal and Greece and could soon surpass Spain also. To say that Europe’s center of gravity is moving eastwards has become common sense – in May and then again in June I wrote on how the German-Polish dispute for hegemony in Europe is escalating.
In any case, Poland’s economic vigor should not be underestimated: for one thing, its reliance on foreign capital, according to political economist Jan Bogusławski, a German Marshall Fund of the United States fellow, still “casts a shadow”. The nation’s foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows have reached unprecedented heights and the country in the last years has developed industrially by attracting Western investments – which often come “with caveats”. Such a structural dependence (described by political scientists Arjan Vliegenthart and Andreas Nölke as common to “Dependent Market Economies”) means an economic growth tied to a Western inflow of foreign capital – and profits being transferred abroad, thereby hampering the development of domestic companies.
This is why the PiS’ rhetoric in Poland has increasingly turned to economic nationalism and developmentalism – and this could be bad news to Kiev. More importantly, despite the economic growth, the cost of living driven by a very high inflation continues to affect millions of Poles and, in this context, Ukrainian refugees can become a convenient rhetorical target. Support for the PiS is declining, and, by April, support in the country for the radical right-wing party Konfederacja had already doubled to around 10% (compared to six months before). Anti-Ukrainian speeches are increasingly common among such political forces, which draw on the aforementioned historical grievances, and this could also influence the current government due to the electoral factor, plus domestic economic problems and the current trade dispute with Ukraine.
Nathan Alan-Lee, a School of Slavonic and East European Studies (University College London) researcher, wrote months ago on how the growth of the Konfederacja party could have an impact on Poland’s foreign policy. This is part of a larger trend that can be seen in the continent: European “populists” and the far-right have been successfully capitalizing the growing popular discontent with NATO and the EU itself, as one can see also in Germany and elsewhere. It is quite unfortunate that, in Europe, opposition to NATO and to suicidal economic policies have been largely marginalized to the point of almost becoming a monopoly of so-called extremist discourse – one should in any case expect this camp to grow.
Therefore, a factor of unpredictability still looms in the horizon, and Poland’s thus far seemingly consolidated strategic role as an Ukrainian key partner since February 2022 should not be taken for granted.
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/09/ ... g-weapons/
Washington Wakes Up to Harsh Reality Amid Ukraine Proxy War
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on SEPTEMBER 25, 2023
Brian Berletic
Washington Wakes Up to Harsh Reality Amid Ukraine Proxy War Long gone are Western headlines heralding Ukraine’s NATO-trained and armed forces and the prospects of them able to “sweep Putin’s conscripts aside,” as former British Army Colonel Hamish De Bretton-Gordon claimed in an article published as recently as June this year.
As Ukraine’s offensive forces broke across extensive Russian defenses all along the line of contact from Zaporozhye to Kharkov, the realization that Washington, London, and Brussels underestimated the Russian Federation economically, politically, diplomatically, and most importantly, militarily and industrially, began to set in.
Russian Military Production Grows, Western Stockpiles Dry Up
Today, different kinds of headlines now appear across the collective West’s media. The New York Times recently reported in an article titled, “Russia Overcomes Sanctions to Expand Missile Production, Officials Say,” that Russia ammunition production was at least seven times greater than the collective West.
The same article acknowledged that Russia had increased its tank production two-fold and was producing 2 million artillery rounds per year, a number that is larger than the combined planned expansion of shell production of the US and European Union some time between 2025 and 2027. Not only is Russia out-producing the West, it is producing weapons and ammunition at a fraction of the cost of Western arms and munitions.
As Russian military industrial production expands, producing more tanks, artillery, cruise missiles, and ammunition for the ongoing special military operation in Ukraine, Ukrainian forces find their sources of arms and ammunition drying up.
The BBC would report in a recent article, “Poland no longer supplying weapons to Ukraine amid grain row,” that:
One of Ukraine’s staunchest allies, Poland, has said it is no longer supplying weapons to its neighbour, amid a diplomatic dispute over Kyiv’s grain exports.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Poland’s focus was instead on defending itself with more modern weapons.
While both Poland and the BBC attempt to frame the decision as motivated by growing tensions between Poland and Ukraine, the reality is Poland had a finite amount of expendable arms and ammunition it could send Ukraine, and it has expended those stocks. This leaves a much smaller number of more modern systems Poland has acquired for its own defense. Neither Poland nor its foreign arms suppliers produce weapons and ammunition in the quantities required to sustain Ukrainian forces on the battlefield, meaning that should Poland continue supplying Ukraine from this point forward, it will eventually find itself “demilitarized.”
Other nations are failing to deliver much anticipated weapon systems. This includes the ATACMS ballistic missile Ukraine has demanded from the United States for months now, and despite claims of its arrival being imminent, Reuters in a recent article has ruled them out once again ahead of the Pentagon’s next assistance package.
Germany’s air-launched cruise missile, the Taurus, has also failed to turn up in additional assistance packages. Bloomberg in its article, “Germany Plans Additional $428 Million in Military Aid to Ukraine,” noted that Berlin is still weighing “a multitude of political, legal, military and technical aspects,” before finally sending any.
It should be noted that neither missile, along with a wide array of other so-called “wonder weapons,” has any prospect of changing the outcome of the fighting in Ukraine. While the missiles, if delivered, will result in tactical victories for Kiev, they will have little to no impact on the fighting strategically.
What remains of Western military assistance to Ukraine is inadequate amounts of ammunition, older and/or increasingly inappropriate armored vehicles including relics of the Cold War like the Leopard 1 main battle tank, and “training” for Ukrainian soldiers conducted in compressed timelines producing entirely unprepared soldiers almost certain to perish within days of arriving at the battlefield.
The US-led proxy war against Russia in Ukraine is unsustainable, and it appears many in the halls of power across the collective West are coming to grips with that.
Delusion Persists
However, elsewhere in the Western media, a deep sense of delusion is still reflected in articles that, despite admitting Ukraine’s failures, believe a “rethink” of Ukraine’s military strategy could help win what is obviously transforming into a “long war.”
For example, The Economist in its article, “Ukraine faces a long war. A change, of course, is needed,” admits the long-anticipated offensive “is not working,” but goes on to demands more offensive and defensive capabilities for Ukraine, including additional air defense systems and “reliable supplies of artillery,” both of which objectively do not and will not exist in the necessary quantities Ukraine requires for years to come.
At one point in the article, The Economist insists on Europe “beefing up its defense industry,” apparently oblivious to the lead times involved in doing so being measured in years – years Ukraine does not have.
The collective West apparently realizes their plans are failing to end the war in their favor sooner rather than later, but appear unaware that the “long war” they now realize awaits them is beyond their capability to fight by proxy or otherwise. The proxy war, designed to “extend Russia,” is now making Russia stronger militarily and industrially. At the same time, the conflict and the sanctions the West imposed on Russia are serving as a catalyst for other nations to pivot away from the US-led unipolar world and instead invest in a multipolar alternative, fearing that eventually the West may target them in a similar manner.
It is clear that the harder the collective West attempts to place Ukraine in a stronger position at the negotiation table, the weaker Ukraine and its Western sponsors become. The longer this conflict continues, the worse it will be for Ukraine and its sponsors. For the collective West, winning their proxy war is impossible militarily and industrially, but accepting this reality appears equally impossible for the collective West’s leadership psychologically.
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/09/ ... proxy-war/
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."
Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part V
Canada’s World War II Revisionism on Full Display in Nazi’s Visit to Parliament
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on SEPTEMBER 25, 2023
Owen Schalk
Parliamentarians gave a standing ovation to Yaroslav Hunka, a former member of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, the military wing of the Nazi Party, during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Ottawa. Photo courtesy CBC News.
World War II revisionism in Canada is leading to some shocking, dangerous new places.
On September 22, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is continuing his campaign to shore up Western support amidst his military’s flagging counteroffensive, to address the Canadian parliament.
In attendance and seated in the House of Commons visitors’ gallery was a 98-year old Nazi war veteran named Yaroslav Hunka.
Parliamentarians across party lines, including Trudeau, treated Hunka as a guest of honour. House Speaker Anthony Rota introduced Hunka as a “hero” and a “veteran from the Second World War” who had “fought… against the Russians.” Rota then said that the House of Commons “thank[s] him for all his service” in the fight against Russians during the Second World War. Neither Rota nor anybody present thought to mention the obvious: that those fighting Russia during the war were almost exclusively Nazis.
Not only did nobody seem to notice this shocking omission, the entire House of Commons and President Zelensky rose to applaud Hunka, who served in the 14th SS Division Galicia. Shortly before the end of the war, the unit was renamed the “First Ukrainian Division” in order to remove its association with the Waffen-SS, the military wing of the Nazi Party. In fact, the SS Galicia “subscribed to and served the ideology of Adolf Hitler and SS leader Heinrich Himmler.”
I still can’t believe the entire Canadian parliament gave a standing ovation to a literal Nazi SS officer who fought against the army that liberated Auschwitz, and Canada itself. But it’s true. They actually did. And no one will face any consequences. In fact they’ll do it again pic.twitter.com/Rxx1pUWglg
— ? (@zei_squirrel) September 24, 2023
Hunka is unrepentant about the years he spent fighting for Hitler’s Germany. He proudly posted photographs of himself in uniform on a blog for Ukrainian veterans of the division. In another post, Hunka describes the period under Nazi occupation from 1941 to 1943 as “the happiest years of my life.”
Now that the media is reporting on the Canadian government’s celebration of a Nazi, politicians are rushing to assign blame. Rota has taken responsibility for inviting Hunka, but his statement that the decision to invite Hunka was “entirely [his] own” strains belief. Surely the Prime Minister’s Office would fully vet every formal guest invited to a speech by a foreign head of state in the House of Commons (particularly one who is acknowledged directly).
Predictably, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre is blaming Trudeau for allowing the Nazi veteran to attend the session. But it is hard to deflect the blame onto one person given the entire Parliament, not just Rota or Trudeau, gave a standing ovation when Hunka was introduced.
The reality is that historical revisionism in Canada runs much deeper than one political “gaffe.”
There are today numerous statues honouring the SS Galicia division in Canada, including a bronze bust of Ukrainian Holocaust perpetrator Roman Shukhevych in Edmonton. When someone vandalized the Shukhevych statue with the words “ACTUAL NAZI” last year, the Canadian media refused to condemn Shukhevych as a Nazi war criminal. Coverage mainly focused on the act of vandalism itself, while major news outlets like CTV and CBC equivocated on condemning Shukhevych; articles noted that he played a “controversial” role in history and that he is “celebrated by some as a Ukrainian military leader.”
Photo taken from a blog by an SS Galicia veterans’ group. Yaroslav Hunka is in the front row, middle.
When Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was photographed last year holding the flag of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), a notorious Nazi collaborator group, the Ottawa Citizen published an appalling piece of Holocaust revisionism defending the OUN.
And when a Toronto-area cenotaph honouring the SS Galicia division was vandalized with the words “Nazi war monument” in 2020, Ontario police announced that they were investigating the anti-Nazi graffiti as a “hate crime.”
Many groups, including national Jewish organizations, have tried to draw attention to the creeping rehabilitation of Nazi war criminals across Canada. Yet media and politicians continue to excuse the crimes of Ukrainian Nazi collaborators, particularly in the wake of Russia’s invasion.
Canada’s openness toward Ukrainian Nazi collaborators goes back much farther than is widely known in this country. By 1950, Western countries had welcomed thousands of members of the OUN and the SS Galicia division. For its part, Canada welcomed between 1,200 and 2,000 veterans of the Galicia division—including, it seems, Yaroslav Hunka.
Even Timothy Snyder, a vocal supporter of Ukrainian nationalism and a proponent of the anti-communist “double genocide” theory, has described the OUN’s actions in Poland as “not military operations but ethnic cleansing.” Snyder writes:
Ukrainian partisans and their allies burned homes, shot or forced back inside those who tried to flee, and used sickles and pitchforks to kill those they captured outside. Churches full of worshipers were burned to the ground. Partisans displayed beheaded, crucified, dismembered, or disemboweled bodies, to encourage remaining Poles to flee.
The Canadian Jewish Congress condemned the government’s embrace of Ukrainian Nazi collaborators after the war. Nevertheless, Canada was noted for its “lax pursuit of accused war criminals,” with a New York Times headline labelling Canada a “Haven for Nazi Criminals.” With this history in mind, it is hardly a shock there are so many statues glorifying Nazis on Canadian soil.
In 2009, the Canadian Parliament voted unanimously to adopt August 23 as Black Ribbon Day. The purpose of Black Ribbon Day is to equate the crimes of Nazism with communism, and equate the actions of Nazi forces with those of the Soviet troops who defeated them.
Such a position is historically illiterate. As Taylor Noakes writes: “The victims of Nazism cannot, and must not, be lumped together with the so-called victims of communism: the ‘victims’ of Soviet forces in the Second World War were the Nazis, their collaborators and the various fascist puppet states who allied with Hitler.”
At its heart, Canada’s adoption of Black Ribbon Day represents “deliberate rewriting of history to suit contemporary geopolitical interests.” It is, Noakes argues, “designed deliberately to relativize the Holocaust and even the entirety of the Second World War” to make the communist forces seem just as bad or even worse than the Nazis.
Parliament’s decision to honour a Nazi can be viewed as the latest stage in a national attempt to rewrite the history of the Second World War to serve contemporary political objectives. It is telling that Hunka was introduced as someone who “fought against the Russians.” Which Russians he was fighting, which army he was serving, and why seem to be irrelevant to the House. The simple fact that he fought Russia at some time, for any reason, is enough to merit a laudatory welcome.
Many of those who honoured Hunka are self-described liberals who claim to value democracy, human rights, and the protection of the marginalized above all. But the Canadian government’s tendency to twist history to suit contemporary political aims—namely, the demonization of all things Russian—has led them toward a startling kinship with an unrepentant Nazi.
Strange bedfellows? Hardly. Canadian leaders have long excused the crimes of Ukrainian Nazi collaborators, and long courted the support of far-right European diaspora communities. Friday’s appalling display in the House is the predictable culmination of decades of deliberate government policy.
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/09/ ... arliament/
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Eva's Sacred Rage.
She published op-ed at RT.
Whether Trudeau (and his Stepan Bandera-sympathizing deputy PM Chrystia Freeland) knew about Yaroslav Hunka or not, the question remains: why was he never brought to justice? He, or any of the other 2,000 SS Nazis Canada reportedly took in in the years following WW2. Having been accepted as anti-communist refugees with little to no scrutiny, these suspected war criminals and collaborators have been allowed to live out the rest of their days in peace, and most of them have done so openly under their own names, as the Simon Wiesenthal Center has repeatedly reported.
There is much to be said about Canada's history with Ukrainian Nazis. Not only did it take them in after WW2, but the government-backed Ukrainian Canadian Congress, which, until recently, listed Nazi-collaborator veterans organizations as members, as well as government-funded Ukrainian ‘youth centers’ that celebrate Nazi collaborators like Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevich. There are even monuments honoring Nazi collaborators and Ukrainian Insurgent Army criminals still standing in Canadian cities. Canada has also supported modern-day Nazis in Ukraine itself, by training members of the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion on Canadian soil, although Canadian corporate media has in recent years attempted to downplay this.
I fully agree with Eva--this was NOT a coincidence. It is also not a coincidence that US Congress is "blind" to the fact that they support Nazi regime in Kiev.
http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2023/09 ... -rage.html
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CNN’s Spin On The Polish-Ukrainian Dispute Dishonestly Ignores Why Poles Are So Offended
ANDREW KORYBKO
SEP 25, 2023
Zelensky's remarks were absolutely unacceptable because they falsely equated Poland’s role in Ukraine with Russia’s despite all that the former’s government and civil society have done to support Kiev and its refugees.
CNN’s Luke McGee published a piece on Saturday declaring that “Poland’s spat with Ukraine angered many in Europe, and was a gift for Putin”, which downplays the real reasons behind the Polish-Ukrainian dispute that Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk recently hinted was Germany’s fault. The preceding two hyperlinked pieces provide the background context for better understanding the forthcoming critique and subsequent analysis of CNN’s spin on this issue.
McGee began by describing Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s decision to stop sending modern arms to Ukraine as “the latest example of more confrontational behavior from Poland’s government toward Kyiv”, though without citing other alleged incidents. He also dishonestly omitted the part from Zelensky’s UNGA rant where he strongly implied that Poland was the country that the Ukrainian leader accused of “helping set the stage to a Moscow actor.”
This false framing of Morawiecki’s announcement manipulates unaware readers into thinking that Poland is bullying Ukraine when the reality is that it’s actually Ukraine that’s bullying Poland, which will be returned to at the end of this piece. Moving along, CNN’s UK and European Policy and Politics Editor then implied that the ruling “Law & Justice” (PiS) party’s unilateral extension of its Ukrainian grain restrictions is purely motivated by an interest to retain the rural vote ahead of the 15 October elections.
He wrote that “Farmers are motivated political agents and citizens tend to care about food security, sometimes disproportionately and irrationally. And the PiS will need rural votes to remain in power.” This assessment makes it seem like it’s abnormal for anyone to care about food security even though it’s actually an issue of universal concern. There’s nothing “irrational” in caring about food prices or farmers’ livelihoods so that part of McGee’s article is yet another example of his dishonesty.
Therefore, unilaterally extending Ukrainian grain restrictions makes perfect sense from the standpoint of Poland’s objective national interests, which discredits McGee’s description of this policy as “a tub-thumping, headline-grabbing, nationalist gesture.” He’s not the only one in CNN’s article who’s biased against Poland since the unnamed European officials who he then cites also don’t have a favorable impression of that country or its two latest moves either.
One European official was quoted as saying that “This is all elections blabla…farmers are a PiS constituency”, while another told him that “[Poles] have to play muscles now because of the elections.” A third European official who was described as a “senior” one said that “Ukraine already offered Poland a solution on grain. Which is why they’re so pissed off at Poland. As are 24 member states who have been bullied for 18 months by Poland for not doing enough to support Ukraine.”
An EU Commission official also that “It needs to be seen in the context of the upcoming elections, the nationalist agenda of the current government and aggressive stances on the grain issue, migration and anything they see as a ‘threat’ to national interests of Poland. They also attack Brussels and the EU when it fits their agenda. It’s a desperate effort to mobilize the voter – if you have no substance to offer then you start to create and blame an outside enemy to cover up for domestic policy failures.”
These quotes from four unnamed European officials are meant to authoritatively reinforce the spin the McGee earlier put on this story, after which he segued into supporting Zelensky’s innuendo that Poland is doing Russia’s bidding. In his words, “Poland’s arms tantrum allows countries who feel they have been strong-armed – not least by Poland – to support Ukraine can now legitimately push back on the wisdom of the West throwing so much support to a country that is not even in the alliance.”
This spin artist concluded that “Russia’s misinformation war is often described by diplomats as a zero-sum game: what is bad for the West is good for Russia. Public spats between the West makes it easy to claim that the West is divided, and a divided West is certainly a good thing for the Kremlin.” None of what McGee wrote in his piece accurately reflects reality so the rest of this analysis will explain the reasons why Poles across the political spectrum are so offended in order for observers not to be misled.
The grain disagreement that set the Polish-Ukrainian dispute into motion affects Poland’s objective national interests since it’s doubly irresponsible to kill its own agricultural industry and then make the population’s food security dependent on production in a war-torn neighbor. Ukraine should have calmly understood this and been content with the fact that Poland still allows its grain to transit through the country to other markets, but instead Zelensky escalated by smearing Poland as a Russian puppet.
That was absolutely unacceptable because it falsely equated Poland’s role in Ukraine with Russia’s despite all that the former’s government and civil society have done to support Kiev and its refugees. Not only that, but most Poles have a negative view of Russia for historical reasons even if they themselves aren’t Russophobic in the bigoted sense, so this was a major insult to them personally. It also proved that Kiev is indeed ungrateful for all the help that they and their government have provided.
Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau admitted in a tweet that “Titanic work will be necessary to rebuild the trust of Polish society in the goodwill of the Ukrainian authorities”, after which Morawiecki thundered that “I want to tell President Zelensky never to insult Poles again, as he did recently during his speech at the UN. The Polish people will never allow this to happen, and defending the good name of Poland is not only my duty and honor, but also the most important task of the Polish government.”
These reactions embody the sincere emotions of the Polish people after Zelensky’s unprecedented insult against all of them, which were expressed despite pressure to remain silent out of alleged concern that speaking out would supposedly contribute to “Russia’s misinformation war” like McGee fearmongered. What he and those unnamed European officials who he cited in his piece want is for Poland to sacrifice its objective national interests and swallow its pride for the sake of so-called “solidarity” against Russia.
That’s even more unacceptable than what Zelensky just did since it suggests that the West considers Poland and its people to be second-class in the sense that they’re expected to let Ukraine bully them with impunity lest they be smeared as “Russian puppets” for daring to speak up after being disrespected. In truth, this is how they’ve always been treated as proven by the EU’s lawfare against them for carrying out judicial reforms and refusing immigrant quotas, but it’s only now that most Poles are realizing this.
Some might describe those two issues as “partisan”, but the grain one and Zelensky’s insult indisputably cut across political divides since they involve objective national interests and personal self-respect. Most observers either can’t grasp this for whatever reason or are driven by dishonest intentions like McGee is to deceive their audience. Regardless of what’s behind every misportrayal of the Polish-Ukrainian dispute, these information provocations will only fuel more resentment from average Poles.
https://korybko.substack.com/p/cnns-spi ... -ukrainian
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Analysis of Ukraine's Escalating Crimean Strike Campaign
SIMPLICIUS THE THINKER
SEP 25, 2023
There’s been a strong uptick in strikes on Crimea, as Ukraine shifts focus once again on providing some tangible media victory to crown Zelensky’s big North American tour. This is done to keep him from looking bad when put on the spot during his all-important and perhaps final alms circuit.
The Black Sea theater in general has escalated so it would be instructive to dig into that a little more in depth and bring us up to speed on what’s been happening in that corridor of late.
There are several distinct categories, most notably attacks targeting the naval assets and those targeting the static land-based assets like HQs and Russian air defense batteries. The attacks have been stronger and perhaps even more successful than many in the pro-Russian sphere would like to admit, as there have been a couple that went by under the radar, and which the Russian MOD has done a thorough job of sweeping under the table.
One was a strike on 9/20 on the north part of Sevastopol:
(Video at link)
Before and after satellite imagery of yesterday's AFU Storm Shadow missile strike on the Russian Navy command post north of occupied Verkhnosadove, Crimea (44.714735, 33.704408).
As you can see above, Ukrainian sources claim this is a “Russian Navy command post”, but there has been no confirmation of that which I saw and it seems doubtful, particularly given its odd location. Either way, whatever it was, it did appear to be successfully hit by a Storm Shadow missile.
There were also some fake attacks which were completely refuted. In order to maximize and amplify the propaganda effect from the couple successful ones, pro-Ukrainian bot accounts spread several other alleged attacks on Russian airfields in Crimea. One of them was even debunked by a Twitter community note:
This is just a reminder that every “strike” needs to be carefully examined and verified as a large portion, and dare I say even majority, of them are usually fake. This is why the strike on the Sevastopol port, hitting the Rostov and Minsk ship and sub was also under suspicion of being fudged with, particularly the seeming photoshopped photos of the sub.
Let’s turn to that strike next and work our way up to the recent hit on the Black Sea Fleet HQ. The Ropucha class landing ship Minsk and Kilo class sub Rostov-on-Don were struck.
I’ve already covered this a bit. One interesting thing to note is that the Russian landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak, previously struck by Ukrainian naval drone, has already returned to surface after a faster-than-expected repair:
This is the massive hole the ship incurred in its hull:
And that was fixed in only a month or less. That’s after Ukrainians laughed and jeered that it was “done” and would be a write off. The Russian MOD likewise said it will repair the damage on the present ships.
As for the Rostov and Minsk, TASS released an official statement that the sub did not in fact suffer any catastrophic damage and its previous repair time would hardly even be affected:
The damages sustained by the submarine "Rostov-on-Don" of the Black Sea Fleet on September 13th are not critical and will not significantly extend its planned maintenance time. This information was provided to TASS by a source in the defense-industrial complex.
"The submarine has minor damage that did not affect its robust hull. Eliminating them can only slightly increase the time the submarine is undergoing scheduled repairs," he said.
The agency's interviewee clarified that an assessment of the extent of upcoming repair work is underway for the other vessel affected by the Ukrainian strike, the large landing ship "Minsk" of the Baltic Fleet.
Some are skeptical, but we’ll have to wait and see. Either way the sub was sitting in that maintenance dock for half a year or so, it’s not like the strike took out an active component of the fleet.
Now Ukraine has hit the HQ of the Black Sea fleet. First a little context and then we’ll get into the biggest question at the heart of the matter: how is Ukraine doing this?
Russian MOD claims that 7/10 missiles were shot down. This is likely true as other eyewitness videos like the above have depicted many explosions in the sky, sounds of air defense intercepting missiles, while the post-op BDA satellite photos showed only 2 or maximum 3 strikes were inflicted on the building itself:
(Video and other images at link.)
The key to understanding how Ukraine is able to hit this HQ is by understanding its proximity to the shore:
You can see that the building is almost right on the water. Here’s a zoomed out map to understand its location spatially:
This means that the area lacks any forward screening line of air defense because it sits right on the edge of what would be considered the line of contact.
Normally, any mission critical assets like headquarters would be positioned deep in the rear of a frontline. This allows a safety net of multiple layers of integrated air defenses to buffer the HQ so that even if it’s a low-flying, fast, or stealthy type of missile, it may be missed by the first layer but will eventually be detected as it flies along over several layers of the overlapping radar net coverage. For instance, the first line of area defense may detect something, but not be able to respond fast enough to down it. But they will at least pass the info down to further defenses which will receive either their sensor-fused radar data or simple verbal warning that objects are incoming, allowing them to be far better positioned and prepared to intercept it.
But due to the obvious impossibility of doing that when your HQ happens to sit right on the water, that means Sevastopol is situated on a particularly exposed and dangerous position for which there can be no forward AD or ‘advance warning’. This means as missiles come in, there are only a few seconds of lead time, and given that the strikes were said to be saturation attacks which included drones from other directions as well as the ADM-160 Mald decoy missiles, it makes it extremely difficult to defend all this without any forward coverage.
Rybar illustrated how the attacks were done.
We know from past reports that a Russian S-300/400 system exists somewhere on that Tarkankhut peninsula of Crimea, where the drone icon is on the above map. This is an area that “juts out” and should give forward coverage of the Black Sea. The problem is, as I explained last time, low flying missiles allow radars to only spot them at most at something like 30-40km. This is irrespective of how powerful a radar system is—it’s down to the simple physics of how radar horizons work.
You can do the calculation yourself here:
This example shows that a radar system with a dish height of 10ft will see a target flying at 150ft altitude only at 35km or so. The problem is, you can see from the Rybar map the trajectory goes around radar coverage such that the distance from the ‘forward point’ of S-300/400s to where the missiles would pass is more than 80km+:
Also I should mention the Storm Shadow appears to often fly even lower than 150ft, which would make the detection distance even further.
(Much more...)
https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/ana ... ng-crimean
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Original Sin: How the Weak Legal Foundations of NATO Make Negotiations With Russia Virtually Impossible
Posted on September 26, 2023 by Yves Smith
Aurelien published a very important post last week, So They Want Negotiations, Now.. It included a deep dive on the background and key provisions of NATO and the Minsk Agreements. It’s worth highlighting his discussion of these two pacts because both are far flimsier (especially Minsk) than most would imagine. Aurelien exposed a critical conundrum that was somewhat obscured by his focus on the history of some key negotiations, focusing on multi-party agreements where participants have overlapping and presumably sufficiently aligned interests to come up with what looks like an agreement. His observations:
For their part, it’s clear that the Russians don’t consider the Ukrainians to be independent actors, and so would demand that the negotiations be between themselves and NATO, with Ukraine being just an item on the agenda….
Negotiations are classically between sovereign entities that have the legal ability to enter into treaties. The European Union does (for example in the Withdrawal Treaty with the UK) but NATO does not….
So in practice, a future “negotiation” would be between however many paid-up members NATO then has, negotiating independently but trying to keep to a common position, Russia, Ukraine in one configuration or several, and perhaps others. Would Australia want a seat? What about Switzerland? Who decides? And what status would, say, Australia have, as an equipment supplier? What obligations would Canberra sign up to? An almost superhuman degree of consensus would be needed even to agree on the content of the negotiations and the rules of procedure.
I’ll serve up some additional extracts from Aurelien’s post. But at the danger of grossly oversimplifying (particularly since my frame of reference is corporate, not international, governance), European states wanted a security guarantee from the US at a time when strong formal support was politically unpopular and apparently didn’t have many stealthy backers in the Beltway either.
However, NATO became more solid due to the later setting up of a large-scale military operation, due in large measure to the US being willing to set up bases and put troops all over Europe (one wonders how much the profit potential of this operation was what Eisenhower had in mind when he warned of the growing power of the military industrial complex). It also has rituals and routines, like joint exercises, periodic high level meetings, and terrific media amplification, that give NATO the appearance of being more akin to the EU in terms of its cohesiveness.
However, Scott Ritter, who recall was a military brat in Germany and then was a NATO weapons inspector, has pointed out deficiencies in NATO’s ability to act in a well-synched manner. And this is not just Article 5, which merely tasks NATO members to consider coming to each other’s aid in the event one is attacked, as opposed to obligating them to do so.
On top of that, Ritter has also described multiple times in his interviews how when Ukraine troops are sent in at most the thousands (over time) to train in various NATO member states, the process impedes them operating as a cohesive force. One obvious lapse (also described by Brian Berletic) is that even after soldiers learn how to operate as a basic capacity in a specific role, say an infantryman or tank gunner, they then have to learn how to work together in increasingly bigger formations. That takes years.
The way the various NATO members train impedes creating bigger-unit cohesion. Even putting aside language differences, Ritter has stressed that every NATO member’s basic training differs somewhat. I have not heard him give an example, but he seems to regard those differences as big enough to matter.
Another example of lack of a desirable level of integration from a military perspective is the way many NATO members have their own weapons systems, such as in Ukraine, the US Abrams tank, the UK Challenger, the German Leopards. Any effort to provide a single fighting force with with disparate weapons creates a logistical and training nightmare. If NATO had had more central authority, one would imagine weapons development would have been on Airbus lines: a consortium so as to create a coherent, more streamlined “product line” with the manufacturing doled out among NATO members. But US arms-makers would likely not have tolerated being components suppliers and designers as part of a big US-EU combine.
Before you disagree with Aurelien conclusion that NATO can’t enter into treaties and why that is fatal to any effort to settle the conflict with Russia (even before getting to the wee problem that it is inconceivable that the West, or more accurately the US, will retreat from its position that no outside party can block NATO’s “open door” policy, when it is essential to Russia that any surviving independent Ukraine not join NATO), consider the nation-level duct tape and bandaid process for admitting new members. Again from Aurelien:
Thus, Finland’s accession to NATO was registered in the form of a Protocol to the Washington Treaty, recording that “The Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty” had agreed that Finland would depose an instrument of accession with the US (as the depositary state) and that each NATO member would then notify its acceptance of the instrument. The reason for this clumsy system is that “NATO” cannot agree anything, nor would its member states allow it to do so. In any future theoretical treaty, “NATO” would not be a signatory, nor would it be represented at the negotiating table, not would it have obligations and rights under the treaty. All this is down to individual states. Something like this happened before, with the above-mentioned Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty in 1990. There, some very clever footwork was needed to reconcile the fact that the negotiations were bloc-to-bloc, between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, with the fact that the treaty had to be signed and implemented by individual nations. Likewise, endless, laborious and often acrimonious internal negotiations were needed within NATO itself to try to establish a common position.
So this goes a long way towards explaining why the so-called Collective West gets so wrapped around the axle of having to negotiate with itself. If “NATO” has to act in some manner to settle the conflict in Ukraine, every member of NATO (an as Aurelien argues, potentially even interested parties like Switzerland) would have to come to an agreed position, since each country would have to sign off individually on any pact for it to amount to a NATO-equivalent treaty.
And look at what has happened of late with the supposedly agreed ascension of Sweden to NATO. Erdogan was browbeating into saying Turkiye was on board despite not having gotten what it wanted with Sweden’s handling of Kurdish separatists, which Turkiye deems to be terrorists. But Erdogan likely knew full well what would happen next. Turkiye’s parliament has to ratify Sweden’s membership. Sweden’s refusal to crack down on Koran burning, which they see as permitted free speech, means Sweden’s membership is in limbo. Of course, that it not preventing NATO from treating Sweden as a member in most respects, but this is not a very good fudge.
Some have suggested a Minsk III as another device for resolving the Ukraine conflict. After reading how tissue-thin Minsk I and Minsk II were, one wonders how lawyer Putin was able to talk himself into them, even before getting to the duplicity of Ukraine, Germany, and France.1 Aurelien has an excellent discussion which I am hoisting perhaps over-liberally:
Since the [Minsk] Agreements are often referred to but seldom actually quoted, let’s have a look at the texts. They aren’t easy to find….The first of the Agreements, dated 5 September 2014 (“Minsk 1”) was eventually transmitted by the Ukrainian delegation to the UN on 24 February 2015…First, the document itself consists both of a “Protocol”, described as an “Understanding,” and an accompanying “Memorandum” covering parts of its implementation. That is to say, there are no individual undertakings by any country in the documents, and no individual legal, or even political obligations. The documents simply record what the participants say they have agreed. There is provision for monitoring, but not enforcement.
The second is the participants and signatories. The text is signed by representatives of the Trilateral Contact Group (Ukraine, Russia, and the breakaway Oblasts as well as by the OSCE, which was responsible for monitoring.) The leaders of France and Germany facilitated the talks but did not sign any of the documents. On the other hand, the Ukrainians (who did not recognise the breakaway regions) insisted that their then leaders signed only as individuals, not as representing any political entity….
The third is the content. Both documents are very short, as might be expected from documents concerned mainly to establish principles. That said, the Memorandum is extremely detailed in one part, and obviously drafted by military specialists, since it also contains very precise lists of equipment (mainly artillery) together with distances that they should be drawn back from the line of contact…
Finally, the language. This is always difficult where translations are involved, but what we can say is that both documents contain largely statements of good intentions, without targets or associated dates. Someone (presumably the Ukrainian government) will “implement decentralisation of power,” several somebodies will “enact a law” to punish atrocities, someone will “adopt a programme” for the economic revival of the Donbas. The texts carefully avoid saying who is responsible for what, and how the what is to be accomplished and when, yet alone evaluated. The document ostentatiously avoids anything resembling treaty language (eg “reached an understanding” rather than “agreed.”). But this is not really a criticism: it was just what could be extracted from the parties at the time….
As a result of the lack of trust and commitment, fighting began again and, following more pressure from France and Germany and a very long and difficult meeting, a “Package of Measures” was finally agreed on 12 February 2015, to implement the original Minsk Agreements (this became known as “Minsk 2.”) Note again that this is not a treaty, or an enforceable document of any kind…In certain cases (eg Constitutional reform) it is clear that the Ukrainian government has promised to do something, in others, who should do what is unclear….It’s also worth pointing out that some of the provisions go outside the normal bounds of a treaty, because they commit non-signatories to do things: for example, the Ukrainian Parliament is supposed to adopt a resolution on the areas to which a special political regime will apply. This kind of thing never appears in treaties, for the simple reason that no government can commit its parliament. In essence, therefore, this is a collection of Clever Ideas, which, if they could be implemented, were intended to help with the implementation of the Minsk Agreement…
For all that, the Agreements fell apart very quickly…The reality is that, had there been a willingness on both sides to make the agreements work, then somehow they would have worked.
So again, to perhaps oversimplify, Minsk was a set of aspirations, at best a toothless roadmap with only the military pullback well specified. Russian in late 2021 provided the US with draft treaty language as an opener to negotiating the new European security arrangement that Putin has been calling for since at least the 2007 Munich Security Conference. The US did not deign to respond.
In other words, this is yet another proof of what many paying close attention have already surmised: not only are the bargaining positions of Russia and Ukraine plus its Western allies too far apart for any deal to be possible, but the huge process issues with Russia needing a commitment from NATO creates yet another very large impediment.
Of course, Russia has already told itself there can be no deal. It has correctly called the US “not agreement capable”. You can’t sensibly sign a pact with an untrustworthy counterparty. Russia keeps formulaically saying it is willing to negotiate. But once you consider the history and the parties, these Russian statements are simply playing to the non-hostile parts of its global audience. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov just said the quiet part a bit louder: “If you insist on the battlefield, OK, let’s decide it on the battlefield.”
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1 Yours truly has seen and even signed agreements that were clearly defective. One reason this sort of thing happens is one side putting too much trust into the other side, per the classic saying that an agreement is only as good as the parties to it. So a party agreeing to suboptimal terms may think the other side has incentives to perform beyond their weak obligations. In my case, my defective deal actually wound up working out to my advantage when breached by the other side….not that I could have expected that.
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/09 ... sible.html
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Ukraine Receives US Abrams Battle Tanks
U.S. M1 Abrams battle tanks. | Photo: X/ @ALanoszka
Published 26 September 2023 (2 hours 38 minutes ago)
Operated by a four-person crew, Abrams is a battle tank with a range of up to 420 km.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that his country has received U.S. Abrams battle tanks.
"Abrams are already in Ukraine and are preparing to reinforce our brigades. I am grateful to the allies for fulfilling the agreements," Zelensky stated, without specifying the modifications made to the tanks or the exact quantity that has been delivered to Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden in January announced that the United States would send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
Operated by a four-person crew, Abrams is a U.S.-designed third-generation battle tank with a range of up to 420 km.
Biden on Thursday announced a new military aid package worth US$325 million for Ukraine, including more air defense weapons. This announcement was made during Zelensky's visit to Washington.
Aid to Ukraine has been one of the core issues in the U.S. Congress deadlock over the next financial year's budget, which may lead to a U.S. federal government shutdown after Sept. 30.
Since February 2022, U.S. military aid to Ukraine has totaled US$43.9 billion, according to U.S. government figures.
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Ukr ... -0001.html
There is No Urgency to Ratify Sweden's NATO Accession: PM Orban
Hungarian PM Viktor Orban (Front) speaks in parliament in Budapest, Hungary, Sept. 25, 2023. | Photo: Xinhua
Published 26 September 2023
Hungary and Turkey are the only NATO countries that have not yet ratified Sweden's accession to the Alliance.
On Monday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said there is "no urgency" to ratify Sweden's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Speaking in parliament to open the autumn session, the Hungarian leader said: "There is no urgency from the government to push for support regarding Sweden's NATO accession, and Sweden's security is not under threat."
The issue of Swedish NATO accession has been under discussion for over a year. Within the military alliance, only the Turkish and Hungarian parliaments are yet to approve Sweden's membership.
Divergences between Hungary and Sweden have escalated in recent weeks as a past film resurfaced, shown in Swedish schools, presenting Hungary as a bad example of democracy.
On Thursday, Mate Kocsis, group leader of Orban's Fidesz party, said the chances that the Hungarian Parliament would vote on Sweden in the current autumn session were "low."
So far, Hungary and Turkey are the only two NATO countries that have not yet ratified Sweden's accession to the Alliance.
In fact, Hungary has been postponing the corresponding vote in Parliament for months and the issue of ratification has appeared and disappeared several times from the agenda of the plenary sessions.
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/The ... -0004.html
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on SEPTEMBER 25, 2023
Owen Schalk
Parliamentarians gave a standing ovation to Yaroslav Hunka, a former member of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, the military wing of the Nazi Party, during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Ottawa. Photo courtesy CBC News.
World War II revisionism in Canada is leading to some shocking, dangerous new places.
On September 22, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is continuing his campaign to shore up Western support amidst his military’s flagging counteroffensive, to address the Canadian parliament.
In attendance and seated in the House of Commons visitors’ gallery was a 98-year old Nazi war veteran named Yaroslav Hunka.
Parliamentarians across party lines, including Trudeau, treated Hunka as a guest of honour. House Speaker Anthony Rota introduced Hunka as a “hero” and a “veteran from the Second World War” who had “fought… against the Russians.” Rota then said that the House of Commons “thank[s] him for all his service” in the fight against Russians during the Second World War. Neither Rota nor anybody present thought to mention the obvious: that those fighting Russia during the war were almost exclusively Nazis.
Not only did nobody seem to notice this shocking omission, the entire House of Commons and President Zelensky rose to applaud Hunka, who served in the 14th SS Division Galicia. Shortly before the end of the war, the unit was renamed the “First Ukrainian Division” in order to remove its association with the Waffen-SS, the military wing of the Nazi Party. In fact, the SS Galicia “subscribed to and served the ideology of Adolf Hitler and SS leader Heinrich Himmler.”
I still can’t believe the entire Canadian parliament gave a standing ovation to a literal Nazi SS officer who fought against the army that liberated Auschwitz, and Canada itself. But it’s true. They actually did. And no one will face any consequences. In fact they’ll do it again pic.twitter.com/Rxx1pUWglg
— ? (@zei_squirrel) September 24, 2023
Hunka is unrepentant about the years he spent fighting for Hitler’s Germany. He proudly posted photographs of himself in uniform on a blog for Ukrainian veterans of the division. In another post, Hunka describes the period under Nazi occupation from 1941 to 1943 as “the happiest years of my life.”
Now that the media is reporting on the Canadian government’s celebration of a Nazi, politicians are rushing to assign blame. Rota has taken responsibility for inviting Hunka, but his statement that the decision to invite Hunka was “entirely [his] own” strains belief. Surely the Prime Minister’s Office would fully vet every formal guest invited to a speech by a foreign head of state in the House of Commons (particularly one who is acknowledged directly).
Predictably, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre is blaming Trudeau for allowing the Nazi veteran to attend the session. But it is hard to deflect the blame onto one person given the entire Parliament, not just Rota or Trudeau, gave a standing ovation when Hunka was introduced.
The reality is that historical revisionism in Canada runs much deeper than one political “gaffe.”
There are today numerous statues honouring the SS Galicia division in Canada, including a bronze bust of Ukrainian Holocaust perpetrator Roman Shukhevych in Edmonton. When someone vandalized the Shukhevych statue with the words “ACTUAL NAZI” last year, the Canadian media refused to condemn Shukhevych as a Nazi war criminal. Coverage mainly focused on the act of vandalism itself, while major news outlets like CTV and CBC equivocated on condemning Shukhevych; articles noted that he played a “controversial” role in history and that he is “celebrated by some as a Ukrainian military leader.”
Photo taken from a blog by an SS Galicia veterans’ group. Yaroslav Hunka is in the front row, middle.
When Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was photographed last year holding the flag of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), a notorious Nazi collaborator group, the Ottawa Citizen published an appalling piece of Holocaust revisionism defending the OUN.
And when a Toronto-area cenotaph honouring the SS Galicia division was vandalized with the words “Nazi war monument” in 2020, Ontario police announced that they were investigating the anti-Nazi graffiti as a “hate crime.”
Many groups, including national Jewish organizations, have tried to draw attention to the creeping rehabilitation of Nazi war criminals across Canada. Yet media and politicians continue to excuse the crimes of Ukrainian Nazi collaborators, particularly in the wake of Russia’s invasion.
Canada’s openness toward Ukrainian Nazi collaborators goes back much farther than is widely known in this country. By 1950, Western countries had welcomed thousands of members of the OUN and the SS Galicia division. For its part, Canada welcomed between 1,200 and 2,000 veterans of the Galicia division—including, it seems, Yaroslav Hunka.
Even Timothy Snyder, a vocal supporter of Ukrainian nationalism and a proponent of the anti-communist “double genocide” theory, has described the OUN’s actions in Poland as “not military operations but ethnic cleansing.” Snyder writes:
Ukrainian partisans and their allies burned homes, shot or forced back inside those who tried to flee, and used sickles and pitchforks to kill those they captured outside. Churches full of worshipers were burned to the ground. Partisans displayed beheaded, crucified, dismembered, or disemboweled bodies, to encourage remaining Poles to flee.
The Canadian Jewish Congress condemned the government’s embrace of Ukrainian Nazi collaborators after the war. Nevertheless, Canada was noted for its “lax pursuit of accused war criminals,” with a New York Times headline labelling Canada a “Haven for Nazi Criminals.” With this history in mind, it is hardly a shock there are so many statues glorifying Nazis on Canadian soil.
In 2009, the Canadian Parliament voted unanimously to adopt August 23 as Black Ribbon Day. The purpose of Black Ribbon Day is to equate the crimes of Nazism with communism, and equate the actions of Nazi forces with those of the Soviet troops who defeated them.
Such a position is historically illiterate. As Taylor Noakes writes: “The victims of Nazism cannot, and must not, be lumped together with the so-called victims of communism: the ‘victims’ of Soviet forces in the Second World War were the Nazis, their collaborators and the various fascist puppet states who allied with Hitler.”
At its heart, Canada’s adoption of Black Ribbon Day represents “deliberate rewriting of history to suit contemporary geopolitical interests.” It is, Noakes argues, “designed deliberately to relativize the Holocaust and even the entirety of the Second World War” to make the communist forces seem just as bad or even worse than the Nazis.
Parliament’s decision to honour a Nazi can be viewed as the latest stage in a national attempt to rewrite the history of the Second World War to serve contemporary political objectives. It is telling that Hunka was introduced as someone who “fought against the Russians.” Which Russians he was fighting, which army he was serving, and why seem to be irrelevant to the House. The simple fact that he fought Russia at some time, for any reason, is enough to merit a laudatory welcome.
Many of those who honoured Hunka are self-described liberals who claim to value democracy, human rights, and the protection of the marginalized above all. But the Canadian government’s tendency to twist history to suit contemporary political aims—namely, the demonization of all things Russian—has led them toward a startling kinship with an unrepentant Nazi.
Strange bedfellows? Hardly. Canadian leaders have long excused the crimes of Ukrainian Nazi collaborators, and long courted the support of far-right European diaspora communities. Friday’s appalling display in the House is the predictable culmination of decades of deliberate government policy.
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/09/ ... arliament/
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Eva's Sacred Rage.
She published op-ed at RT.
Whether Trudeau (and his Stepan Bandera-sympathizing deputy PM Chrystia Freeland) knew about Yaroslav Hunka or not, the question remains: why was he never brought to justice? He, or any of the other 2,000 SS Nazis Canada reportedly took in in the years following WW2. Having been accepted as anti-communist refugees with little to no scrutiny, these suspected war criminals and collaborators have been allowed to live out the rest of their days in peace, and most of them have done so openly under their own names, as the Simon Wiesenthal Center has repeatedly reported.
There is much to be said about Canada's history with Ukrainian Nazis. Not only did it take them in after WW2, but the government-backed Ukrainian Canadian Congress, which, until recently, listed Nazi-collaborator veterans organizations as members, as well as government-funded Ukrainian ‘youth centers’ that celebrate Nazi collaborators like Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevich. There are even monuments honoring Nazi collaborators and Ukrainian Insurgent Army criminals still standing in Canadian cities. Canada has also supported modern-day Nazis in Ukraine itself, by training members of the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion on Canadian soil, although Canadian corporate media has in recent years attempted to downplay this.
I fully agree with Eva--this was NOT a coincidence. It is also not a coincidence that US Congress is "blind" to the fact that they support Nazi regime in Kiev.
http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2023/09 ... -rage.html
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CNN’s Spin On The Polish-Ukrainian Dispute Dishonestly Ignores Why Poles Are So Offended
ANDREW KORYBKO
SEP 25, 2023
Zelensky's remarks were absolutely unacceptable because they falsely equated Poland’s role in Ukraine with Russia’s despite all that the former’s government and civil society have done to support Kiev and its refugees.
CNN’s Luke McGee published a piece on Saturday declaring that “Poland’s spat with Ukraine angered many in Europe, and was a gift for Putin”, which downplays the real reasons behind the Polish-Ukrainian dispute that Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk recently hinted was Germany’s fault. The preceding two hyperlinked pieces provide the background context for better understanding the forthcoming critique and subsequent analysis of CNN’s spin on this issue.
McGee began by describing Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s decision to stop sending modern arms to Ukraine as “the latest example of more confrontational behavior from Poland’s government toward Kyiv”, though without citing other alleged incidents. He also dishonestly omitted the part from Zelensky’s UNGA rant where he strongly implied that Poland was the country that the Ukrainian leader accused of “helping set the stage to a Moscow actor.”
This false framing of Morawiecki’s announcement manipulates unaware readers into thinking that Poland is bullying Ukraine when the reality is that it’s actually Ukraine that’s bullying Poland, which will be returned to at the end of this piece. Moving along, CNN’s UK and European Policy and Politics Editor then implied that the ruling “Law & Justice” (PiS) party’s unilateral extension of its Ukrainian grain restrictions is purely motivated by an interest to retain the rural vote ahead of the 15 October elections.
He wrote that “Farmers are motivated political agents and citizens tend to care about food security, sometimes disproportionately and irrationally. And the PiS will need rural votes to remain in power.” This assessment makes it seem like it’s abnormal for anyone to care about food security even though it’s actually an issue of universal concern. There’s nothing “irrational” in caring about food prices or farmers’ livelihoods so that part of McGee’s article is yet another example of his dishonesty.
Therefore, unilaterally extending Ukrainian grain restrictions makes perfect sense from the standpoint of Poland’s objective national interests, which discredits McGee’s description of this policy as “a tub-thumping, headline-grabbing, nationalist gesture.” He’s not the only one in CNN’s article who’s biased against Poland since the unnamed European officials who he then cites also don’t have a favorable impression of that country or its two latest moves either.
One European official was quoted as saying that “This is all elections blabla…farmers are a PiS constituency”, while another told him that “[Poles] have to play muscles now because of the elections.” A third European official who was described as a “senior” one said that “Ukraine already offered Poland a solution on grain. Which is why they’re so pissed off at Poland. As are 24 member states who have been bullied for 18 months by Poland for not doing enough to support Ukraine.”
An EU Commission official also that “It needs to be seen in the context of the upcoming elections, the nationalist agenda of the current government and aggressive stances on the grain issue, migration and anything they see as a ‘threat’ to national interests of Poland. They also attack Brussels and the EU when it fits their agenda. It’s a desperate effort to mobilize the voter – if you have no substance to offer then you start to create and blame an outside enemy to cover up for domestic policy failures.”
These quotes from four unnamed European officials are meant to authoritatively reinforce the spin the McGee earlier put on this story, after which he segued into supporting Zelensky’s innuendo that Poland is doing Russia’s bidding. In his words, “Poland’s arms tantrum allows countries who feel they have been strong-armed – not least by Poland – to support Ukraine can now legitimately push back on the wisdom of the West throwing so much support to a country that is not even in the alliance.”
This spin artist concluded that “Russia’s misinformation war is often described by diplomats as a zero-sum game: what is bad for the West is good for Russia. Public spats between the West makes it easy to claim that the West is divided, and a divided West is certainly a good thing for the Kremlin.” None of what McGee wrote in his piece accurately reflects reality so the rest of this analysis will explain the reasons why Poles across the political spectrum are so offended in order for observers not to be misled.
The grain disagreement that set the Polish-Ukrainian dispute into motion affects Poland’s objective national interests since it’s doubly irresponsible to kill its own agricultural industry and then make the population’s food security dependent on production in a war-torn neighbor. Ukraine should have calmly understood this and been content with the fact that Poland still allows its grain to transit through the country to other markets, but instead Zelensky escalated by smearing Poland as a Russian puppet.
That was absolutely unacceptable because it falsely equated Poland’s role in Ukraine with Russia’s despite all that the former’s government and civil society have done to support Kiev and its refugees. Not only that, but most Poles have a negative view of Russia for historical reasons even if they themselves aren’t Russophobic in the bigoted sense, so this was a major insult to them personally. It also proved that Kiev is indeed ungrateful for all the help that they and their government have provided.
Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau admitted in a tweet that “Titanic work will be necessary to rebuild the trust of Polish society in the goodwill of the Ukrainian authorities”, after which Morawiecki thundered that “I want to tell President Zelensky never to insult Poles again, as he did recently during his speech at the UN. The Polish people will never allow this to happen, and defending the good name of Poland is not only my duty and honor, but also the most important task of the Polish government.”
These reactions embody the sincere emotions of the Polish people after Zelensky’s unprecedented insult against all of them, which were expressed despite pressure to remain silent out of alleged concern that speaking out would supposedly contribute to “Russia’s misinformation war” like McGee fearmongered. What he and those unnamed European officials who he cited in his piece want is for Poland to sacrifice its objective national interests and swallow its pride for the sake of so-called “solidarity” against Russia.
That’s even more unacceptable than what Zelensky just did since it suggests that the West considers Poland and its people to be second-class in the sense that they’re expected to let Ukraine bully them with impunity lest they be smeared as “Russian puppets” for daring to speak up after being disrespected. In truth, this is how they’ve always been treated as proven by the EU’s lawfare against them for carrying out judicial reforms and refusing immigrant quotas, but it’s only now that most Poles are realizing this.
Some might describe those two issues as “partisan”, but the grain one and Zelensky’s insult indisputably cut across political divides since they involve objective national interests and personal self-respect. Most observers either can’t grasp this for whatever reason or are driven by dishonest intentions like McGee is to deceive their audience. Regardless of what’s behind every misportrayal of the Polish-Ukrainian dispute, these information provocations will only fuel more resentment from average Poles.
https://korybko.substack.com/p/cnns-spi ... -ukrainian
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Analysis of Ukraine's Escalating Crimean Strike Campaign
SIMPLICIUS THE THINKER
SEP 25, 2023
There’s been a strong uptick in strikes on Crimea, as Ukraine shifts focus once again on providing some tangible media victory to crown Zelensky’s big North American tour. This is done to keep him from looking bad when put on the spot during his all-important and perhaps final alms circuit.
The Black Sea theater in general has escalated so it would be instructive to dig into that a little more in depth and bring us up to speed on what’s been happening in that corridor of late.
There are several distinct categories, most notably attacks targeting the naval assets and those targeting the static land-based assets like HQs and Russian air defense batteries. The attacks have been stronger and perhaps even more successful than many in the pro-Russian sphere would like to admit, as there have been a couple that went by under the radar, and which the Russian MOD has done a thorough job of sweeping under the table.
One was a strike on 9/20 on the north part of Sevastopol:
(Video at link)
Before and after satellite imagery of yesterday's AFU Storm Shadow missile strike on the Russian Navy command post north of occupied Verkhnosadove, Crimea (44.714735, 33.704408).
As you can see above, Ukrainian sources claim this is a “Russian Navy command post”, but there has been no confirmation of that which I saw and it seems doubtful, particularly given its odd location. Either way, whatever it was, it did appear to be successfully hit by a Storm Shadow missile.
There were also some fake attacks which were completely refuted. In order to maximize and amplify the propaganda effect from the couple successful ones, pro-Ukrainian bot accounts spread several other alleged attacks on Russian airfields in Crimea. One of them was even debunked by a Twitter community note:
This is just a reminder that every “strike” needs to be carefully examined and verified as a large portion, and dare I say even majority, of them are usually fake. This is why the strike on the Sevastopol port, hitting the Rostov and Minsk ship and sub was also under suspicion of being fudged with, particularly the seeming photoshopped photos of the sub.
Let’s turn to that strike next and work our way up to the recent hit on the Black Sea Fleet HQ. The Ropucha class landing ship Minsk and Kilo class sub Rostov-on-Don were struck.
I’ve already covered this a bit. One interesting thing to note is that the Russian landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak, previously struck by Ukrainian naval drone, has already returned to surface after a faster-than-expected repair:
This is the massive hole the ship incurred in its hull:
And that was fixed in only a month or less. That’s after Ukrainians laughed and jeered that it was “done” and would be a write off. The Russian MOD likewise said it will repair the damage on the present ships.
As for the Rostov and Minsk, TASS released an official statement that the sub did not in fact suffer any catastrophic damage and its previous repair time would hardly even be affected:
The damages sustained by the submarine "Rostov-on-Don" of the Black Sea Fleet on September 13th are not critical and will not significantly extend its planned maintenance time. This information was provided to TASS by a source in the defense-industrial complex.
"The submarine has minor damage that did not affect its robust hull. Eliminating them can only slightly increase the time the submarine is undergoing scheduled repairs," he said.
The agency's interviewee clarified that an assessment of the extent of upcoming repair work is underway for the other vessel affected by the Ukrainian strike, the large landing ship "Minsk" of the Baltic Fleet.
Some are skeptical, but we’ll have to wait and see. Either way the sub was sitting in that maintenance dock for half a year or so, it’s not like the strike took out an active component of the fleet.
Now Ukraine has hit the HQ of the Black Sea fleet. First a little context and then we’ll get into the biggest question at the heart of the matter: how is Ukraine doing this?
Russian MOD claims that 7/10 missiles were shot down. This is likely true as other eyewitness videos like the above have depicted many explosions in the sky, sounds of air defense intercepting missiles, while the post-op BDA satellite photos showed only 2 or maximum 3 strikes were inflicted on the building itself:
(Video and other images at link.)
The key to understanding how Ukraine is able to hit this HQ is by understanding its proximity to the shore:
You can see that the building is almost right on the water. Here’s a zoomed out map to understand its location spatially:
This means that the area lacks any forward screening line of air defense because it sits right on the edge of what would be considered the line of contact.
Normally, any mission critical assets like headquarters would be positioned deep in the rear of a frontline. This allows a safety net of multiple layers of integrated air defenses to buffer the HQ so that even if it’s a low-flying, fast, or stealthy type of missile, it may be missed by the first layer but will eventually be detected as it flies along over several layers of the overlapping radar net coverage. For instance, the first line of area defense may detect something, but not be able to respond fast enough to down it. But they will at least pass the info down to further defenses which will receive either their sensor-fused radar data or simple verbal warning that objects are incoming, allowing them to be far better positioned and prepared to intercept it.
But due to the obvious impossibility of doing that when your HQ happens to sit right on the water, that means Sevastopol is situated on a particularly exposed and dangerous position for which there can be no forward AD or ‘advance warning’. This means as missiles come in, there are only a few seconds of lead time, and given that the strikes were said to be saturation attacks which included drones from other directions as well as the ADM-160 Mald decoy missiles, it makes it extremely difficult to defend all this without any forward coverage.
Rybar illustrated how the attacks were done.
We know from past reports that a Russian S-300/400 system exists somewhere on that Tarkankhut peninsula of Crimea, where the drone icon is on the above map. This is an area that “juts out” and should give forward coverage of the Black Sea. The problem is, as I explained last time, low flying missiles allow radars to only spot them at most at something like 30-40km. This is irrespective of how powerful a radar system is—it’s down to the simple physics of how radar horizons work.
You can do the calculation yourself here:
This example shows that a radar system with a dish height of 10ft will see a target flying at 150ft altitude only at 35km or so. The problem is, you can see from the Rybar map the trajectory goes around radar coverage such that the distance from the ‘forward point’ of S-300/400s to where the missiles would pass is more than 80km+:
Also I should mention the Storm Shadow appears to often fly even lower than 150ft, which would make the detection distance even further.
(Much more...)
https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/ana ... ng-crimean
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Original Sin: How the Weak Legal Foundations of NATO Make Negotiations With Russia Virtually Impossible
Posted on September 26, 2023 by Yves Smith
Aurelien published a very important post last week, So They Want Negotiations, Now.. It included a deep dive on the background and key provisions of NATO and the Minsk Agreements. It’s worth highlighting his discussion of these two pacts because both are far flimsier (especially Minsk) than most would imagine. Aurelien exposed a critical conundrum that was somewhat obscured by his focus on the history of some key negotiations, focusing on multi-party agreements where participants have overlapping and presumably sufficiently aligned interests to come up with what looks like an agreement. His observations:
For their part, it’s clear that the Russians don’t consider the Ukrainians to be independent actors, and so would demand that the negotiations be between themselves and NATO, with Ukraine being just an item on the agenda….
Negotiations are classically between sovereign entities that have the legal ability to enter into treaties. The European Union does (for example in the Withdrawal Treaty with the UK) but NATO does not….
So in practice, a future “negotiation” would be between however many paid-up members NATO then has, negotiating independently but trying to keep to a common position, Russia, Ukraine in one configuration or several, and perhaps others. Would Australia want a seat? What about Switzerland? Who decides? And what status would, say, Australia have, as an equipment supplier? What obligations would Canberra sign up to? An almost superhuman degree of consensus would be needed even to agree on the content of the negotiations and the rules of procedure.
I’ll serve up some additional extracts from Aurelien’s post. But at the danger of grossly oversimplifying (particularly since my frame of reference is corporate, not international, governance), European states wanted a security guarantee from the US at a time when strong formal support was politically unpopular and apparently didn’t have many stealthy backers in the Beltway either.
However, NATO became more solid due to the later setting up of a large-scale military operation, due in large measure to the US being willing to set up bases and put troops all over Europe (one wonders how much the profit potential of this operation was what Eisenhower had in mind when he warned of the growing power of the military industrial complex). It also has rituals and routines, like joint exercises, periodic high level meetings, and terrific media amplification, that give NATO the appearance of being more akin to the EU in terms of its cohesiveness.
However, Scott Ritter, who recall was a military brat in Germany and then was a NATO weapons inspector, has pointed out deficiencies in NATO’s ability to act in a well-synched manner. And this is not just Article 5, which merely tasks NATO members to consider coming to each other’s aid in the event one is attacked, as opposed to obligating them to do so.
On top of that, Ritter has also described multiple times in his interviews how when Ukraine troops are sent in at most the thousands (over time) to train in various NATO member states, the process impedes them operating as a cohesive force. One obvious lapse (also described by Brian Berletic) is that even after soldiers learn how to operate as a basic capacity in a specific role, say an infantryman or tank gunner, they then have to learn how to work together in increasingly bigger formations. That takes years.
The way the various NATO members train impedes creating bigger-unit cohesion. Even putting aside language differences, Ritter has stressed that every NATO member’s basic training differs somewhat. I have not heard him give an example, but he seems to regard those differences as big enough to matter.
Another example of lack of a desirable level of integration from a military perspective is the way many NATO members have their own weapons systems, such as in Ukraine, the US Abrams tank, the UK Challenger, the German Leopards. Any effort to provide a single fighting force with with disparate weapons creates a logistical and training nightmare. If NATO had had more central authority, one would imagine weapons development would have been on Airbus lines: a consortium so as to create a coherent, more streamlined “product line” with the manufacturing doled out among NATO members. But US arms-makers would likely not have tolerated being components suppliers and designers as part of a big US-EU combine.
Before you disagree with Aurelien conclusion that NATO can’t enter into treaties and why that is fatal to any effort to settle the conflict with Russia (even before getting to the wee problem that it is inconceivable that the West, or more accurately the US, will retreat from its position that no outside party can block NATO’s “open door” policy, when it is essential to Russia that any surviving independent Ukraine not join NATO), consider the nation-level duct tape and bandaid process for admitting new members. Again from Aurelien:
Thus, Finland’s accession to NATO was registered in the form of a Protocol to the Washington Treaty, recording that “The Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty” had agreed that Finland would depose an instrument of accession with the US (as the depositary state) and that each NATO member would then notify its acceptance of the instrument. The reason for this clumsy system is that “NATO” cannot agree anything, nor would its member states allow it to do so. In any future theoretical treaty, “NATO” would not be a signatory, nor would it be represented at the negotiating table, not would it have obligations and rights under the treaty. All this is down to individual states. Something like this happened before, with the above-mentioned Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty in 1990. There, some very clever footwork was needed to reconcile the fact that the negotiations were bloc-to-bloc, between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, with the fact that the treaty had to be signed and implemented by individual nations. Likewise, endless, laborious and often acrimonious internal negotiations were needed within NATO itself to try to establish a common position.
So this goes a long way towards explaining why the so-called Collective West gets so wrapped around the axle of having to negotiate with itself. If “NATO” has to act in some manner to settle the conflict in Ukraine, every member of NATO (an as Aurelien argues, potentially even interested parties like Switzerland) would have to come to an agreed position, since each country would have to sign off individually on any pact for it to amount to a NATO-equivalent treaty.
And look at what has happened of late with the supposedly agreed ascension of Sweden to NATO. Erdogan was browbeating into saying Turkiye was on board despite not having gotten what it wanted with Sweden’s handling of Kurdish separatists, which Turkiye deems to be terrorists. But Erdogan likely knew full well what would happen next. Turkiye’s parliament has to ratify Sweden’s membership. Sweden’s refusal to crack down on Koran burning, which they see as permitted free speech, means Sweden’s membership is in limbo. Of course, that it not preventing NATO from treating Sweden as a member in most respects, but this is not a very good fudge.
Some have suggested a Minsk III as another device for resolving the Ukraine conflict. After reading how tissue-thin Minsk I and Minsk II were, one wonders how lawyer Putin was able to talk himself into them, even before getting to the duplicity of Ukraine, Germany, and France.1 Aurelien has an excellent discussion which I am hoisting perhaps over-liberally:
Since the [Minsk] Agreements are often referred to but seldom actually quoted, let’s have a look at the texts. They aren’t easy to find….The first of the Agreements, dated 5 September 2014 (“Minsk 1”) was eventually transmitted by the Ukrainian delegation to the UN on 24 February 2015…First, the document itself consists both of a “Protocol”, described as an “Understanding,” and an accompanying “Memorandum” covering parts of its implementation. That is to say, there are no individual undertakings by any country in the documents, and no individual legal, or even political obligations. The documents simply record what the participants say they have agreed. There is provision for monitoring, but not enforcement.
The second is the participants and signatories. The text is signed by representatives of the Trilateral Contact Group (Ukraine, Russia, and the breakaway Oblasts as well as by the OSCE, which was responsible for monitoring.) The leaders of France and Germany facilitated the talks but did not sign any of the documents. On the other hand, the Ukrainians (who did not recognise the breakaway regions) insisted that their then leaders signed only as individuals, not as representing any political entity….
The third is the content. Both documents are very short, as might be expected from documents concerned mainly to establish principles. That said, the Memorandum is extremely detailed in one part, and obviously drafted by military specialists, since it also contains very precise lists of equipment (mainly artillery) together with distances that they should be drawn back from the line of contact…
Finally, the language. This is always difficult where translations are involved, but what we can say is that both documents contain largely statements of good intentions, without targets or associated dates. Someone (presumably the Ukrainian government) will “implement decentralisation of power,” several somebodies will “enact a law” to punish atrocities, someone will “adopt a programme” for the economic revival of the Donbas. The texts carefully avoid saying who is responsible for what, and how the what is to be accomplished and when, yet alone evaluated. The document ostentatiously avoids anything resembling treaty language (eg “reached an understanding” rather than “agreed.”). But this is not really a criticism: it was just what could be extracted from the parties at the time….
As a result of the lack of trust and commitment, fighting began again and, following more pressure from France and Germany and a very long and difficult meeting, a “Package of Measures” was finally agreed on 12 February 2015, to implement the original Minsk Agreements (this became known as “Minsk 2.”) Note again that this is not a treaty, or an enforceable document of any kind…In certain cases (eg Constitutional reform) it is clear that the Ukrainian government has promised to do something, in others, who should do what is unclear….It’s also worth pointing out that some of the provisions go outside the normal bounds of a treaty, because they commit non-signatories to do things: for example, the Ukrainian Parliament is supposed to adopt a resolution on the areas to which a special political regime will apply. This kind of thing never appears in treaties, for the simple reason that no government can commit its parliament. In essence, therefore, this is a collection of Clever Ideas, which, if they could be implemented, were intended to help with the implementation of the Minsk Agreement…
For all that, the Agreements fell apart very quickly…The reality is that, had there been a willingness on both sides to make the agreements work, then somehow they would have worked.
So again, to perhaps oversimplify, Minsk was a set of aspirations, at best a toothless roadmap with only the military pullback well specified. Russian in late 2021 provided the US with draft treaty language as an opener to negotiating the new European security arrangement that Putin has been calling for since at least the 2007 Munich Security Conference. The US did not deign to respond.
In other words, this is yet another proof of what many paying close attention have already surmised: not only are the bargaining positions of Russia and Ukraine plus its Western allies too far apart for any deal to be possible, but the huge process issues with Russia needing a commitment from NATO creates yet another very large impediment.
Of course, Russia has already told itself there can be no deal. It has correctly called the US “not agreement capable”. You can’t sensibly sign a pact with an untrustworthy counterparty. Russia keeps formulaically saying it is willing to negotiate. But once you consider the history and the parties, these Russian statements are simply playing to the non-hostile parts of its global audience. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov just said the quiet part a bit louder: “If you insist on the battlefield, OK, let’s decide it on the battlefield.”
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1 Yours truly has seen and even signed agreements that were clearly defective. One reason this sort of thing happens is one side putting too much trust into the other side, per the classic saying that an agreement is only as good as the parties to it. So a party agreeing to suboptimal terms may think the other side has incentives to perform beyond their weak obligations. In my case, my defective deal actually wound up working out to my advantage when breached by the other side….not that I could have expected that.
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/09 ... sible.html
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Ukraine Receives US Abrams Battle Tanks
U.S. M1 Abrams battle tanks. | Photo: X/ @ALanoszka
Published 26 September 2023 (2 hours 38 minutes ago)
Operated by a four-person crew, Abrams is a battle tank with a range of up to 420 km.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that his country has received U.S. Abrams battle tanks.
"Abrams are already in Ukraine and are preparing to reinforce our brigades. I am grateful to the allies for fulfilling the agreements," Zelensky stated, without specifying the modifications made to the tanks or the exact quantity that has been delivered to Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden in January announced that the United States would send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
Operated by a four-person crew, Abrams is a U.S.-designed third-generation battle tank with a range of up to 420 km.
Biden on Thursday announced a new military aid package worth US$325 million for Ukraine, including more air defense weapons. This announcement was made during Zelensky's visit to Washington.
Aid to Ukraine has been one of the core issues in the U.S. Congress deadlock over the next financial year's budget, which may lead to a U.S. federal government shutdown after Sept. 30.
Since February 2022, U.S. military aid to Ukraine has totaled US$43.9 billion, according to U.S. government figures.
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Ukr ... -0001.html
There is No Urgency to Ratify Sweden's NATO Accession: PM Orban
Hungarian PM Viktor Orban (Front) speaks in parliament in Budapest, Hungary, Sept. 25, 2023. | Photo: Xinhua
Published 26 September 2023
Hungary and Turkey are the only NATO countries that have not yet ratified Sweden's accession to the Alliance.
On Monday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said there is "no urgency" to ratify Sweden's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Speaking in parliament to open the autumn session, the Hungarian leader said: "There is no urgency from the government to push for support regarding Sweden's NATO accession, and Sweden's security is not under threat."
The issue of Swedish NATO accession has been under discussion for over a year. Within the military alliance, only the Turkish and Hungarian parliaments are yet to approve Sweden's membership.
Divergences between Hungary and Sweden have escalated in recent weeks as a past film resurfaced, shown in Swedish schools, presenting Hungary as a bad example of democracy.
On Thursday, Mate Kocsis, group leader of Orban's Fidesz party, said the chances that the Hungarian Parliament would vote on Sweden in the current autumn session were "low."
So far, Hungary and Turkey are the only two NATO countries that have not yet ratified Sweden's accession to the Alliance.
In fact, Hungary has been postponing the corresponding vote in Parliament for months and the issue of ratification has appeared and disappeared several times from the agenda of the plenary sessions.
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/The ... -0004.html
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."
Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part V
Fake about Admiral Sokolov
September 26, 13:51
The shortest possible exposure of the Ukrainian fake about “the death of the Black Sea Fleet commander Admiral Sokolov.”
https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8662374.html
Google Translator
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(From the Department of 'Can You Believe This Shit?')
Russia publishes video appearing to show Black Sea Fleet commander in meeting as Ukraine claims he was killed
From CNN’s Clare Sebastian, Florence Davey-Attlee and Olga Voitovych
A screengrab taken from video published by the Russian Ministry of Defense appears to show the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Viktor Sokolov, participating in a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other Russian military leaders on Tuesday.
A screengrab taken from video published by the Russian Ministry of Defense appears to show the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Viktor Sokolov, participating in a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other Russian military leaders on Tuesday. Handout/Russian Ministry of Defense
The Russian defense ministry published video Tuesday that appears to show the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Viktor Sokolov, participating in a meeting. The video comes after the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces claimed Monday that Sokolov was killed in a strike on Sevastopol military headquarters on Friday.
In the video, a man who resembles Sokolov appears to join the meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other Russian military leaders via video conference.
The nametape on his uniform reads Sokolov V. N. and his screen shows the Cyrillic letters "ЧФ," the abbreviation for the Black Sea Fleet. He appears healthy.
CNN cannot confirm the person is Sokolov, when the meeting took place or where his video appearance was filmed.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov earlier on Tuesday refused to comment on the Ukrainian claim that Sokolov had been killed.
“There has been no information from the Ministry of Defense. This is entirely in their purview and we have nothing to say here,” Peskov told reporters Tuesday during a routine call.
Ukraine's response: After the video was released, Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces said on Telegram that they are “clarifying” information received about Sokolov.
“Available sources claim that the Black Sea Fleet Commander is among the dead. Many have not yet been identified due to the fragmentation of body fragments,” the special forces said.
https://us.cnn.com/europe/live-news/rus ... index.html
Yet I can assure you that today someone will tell me that Sokolov is dead. Bet on it.
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UKRAINIANS BLAME ZELENSKY FOR CORRUPTION – POLL
SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 NATYLIESB LEAVE A COMMENT
RT, 9/12/23
The vast majority of Ukrainians believe that President Vladimir Zelensky is at fault for widespread corruption in the country’s government and military, a new study has revealed.
The poll, released on Monday [9/11/23], found that 78% of Ukrainian adults see Zelensky as “directly responsible” for Kiev’s corruption problem. It was conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Charitable Foundation and the Kiev International Institute of Sociology.
Prior to the launch of Russia’s military offensive in February 2022, Ukraine consistently ranked among the world’s most corrupt nations, but it was touted as a bastion of freedom and democracy as the US and its NATO allies rallied public support for massive aid to Kiev. However, Ukrainian corruption remains a concern and could hinder the country’s bid to join the European Union, an unidentified Western diplomat told Politico on Monday.
Ukraine is a “very corrupt country,” the diplomat said, adding that Zelensky’s plan to use the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) to prosecute graft cases could “send the wrong message.” Upon landing in Kiev for a surprise visit on Monday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock reportedly said Ukraine needed to step up its efforts to fight corruption.
The Ukrainian poll was conducted from July 3 to July 17 in face-to-face interviews with thousands of citizens across the country. There were no major differences in findings based on region or socioeconomic factors. Respondents aged 60 and older took a harsher view, with 81% saying Zelensky was responsible for government corruption. The rate was 70% in the youngest segment, ages 17 to 29. Overall, only 18% of Ukrainian adults disagreed with the statement that Zelensky bears responsibility.
Documents obtained by the International Association of Investigative Journalists in 2021 showed that Zelensky and his business partners set up offshore companies to purchase lavish properties in central London. Zelensky transferred his stake in one of the companies to an aide just before he was elected president in 2019. Supporters of former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko accused Zelensky and his associates of using their offshore accounts to evade taxes.
Zelensky has purged officials in his government for alleged corruption, including an embezzlement scheme involving humanitarian aid. Just this month, he sacked Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov, who came under fire earlier this year over purchases of military rations at inflated prices. However, the new defense chief, Rustem Umerov, is reportedly under investigation for alleged crimes in his previous job.
https://natyliesbaldwin.com/2023/09/ukr ... tion-poll/
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Elections Take Place in Russian-Controlled Parts of Ukraine While Authoritarian Rule Prevails in Kiev-Controlled Regions
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on SEPTEMBER 25, 2023
Dmitri Kovalevich
The Ukrainian authorities even before the 2014 coup were always very wary of any referendum initiatives or even polls addressing ‘uncomfortable’ issues of language, culture, economic or social policies.
On September 10, elections to regional and municipal assemblies were held across the Russian Federation. For the first time, they were held under Russian law in the two Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk which formally became part of the Russian Federation in February 2022. Elections also took place in the two ‘new territories’, as they are called in Russia, of the Russian-controlled parts of Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions (that is, the areas of those two regions lying south and east of the Dnieper River).
Ukraine gov’t does not like polls, referendums or even a census of its population
The governing regime in Ukraine as well as the Western countries allied with it condemned and refused to recognize the elections in the Donbass republics and new territories, just as they had earlier refused to recognize referendums in 2022 in all four territories to join the Russian Federation. International observers were threatened with all kinds of sanctions if they dared to witness and report the voting, as many of the inhabitants of the regions would wish. On election day, September 10, the Ukrainian army shelled polling stations, destroying election materials and voting infrastructure. Officially, Ukraine treats participation in these elections as “high treason”.
The Ukrainian authorities even before the 2014 coup were always very wary of any referendum initiatives or even polls addressing ‘uncomfortable’ issues of language, culture, economic or social policies. That’s because results were predictable in opposing the official, ultranationalist course of successive Ukrainian governments since secession from the Soviet Union in 1990/91. For similar reasons, Ukraine has not even conducted a census since 2001, rebuffing urgent recommendations by the United Nations to conduct one. The reason for this refusal is that a census would have demonstrated a sharp population decline caused by the disastrous political and economic course of post-Soviet Ukraine.
Fictious populist parties fill a void and undermine genuine democracy
In elections since 1991, it has been common to create fictitious populist parties that can ‘catch a wave’ and score surprise election results. This was the case in 2021 with the ‘Servant of the People’ party created by Volodymyr Zelensky and his cohorts. He and his ‘party’ swept the 2021 elections to the presidency and to the legislature (Rada). They did so by flirting with Russian-speaking voters as well as other voters opposed to, or uneasy with, the anti-Russia policies brought to the fore in Ukraine by the 2014 coup. They promised socially oriented policies and probes towards peace with Russia, but once in power immediately changed course to impose neoliberal policies, urge more NATO military intervention directed against Russia, and continue promoting right-wing, Ukrainian nationalism.
The actual absence of real democracy in post-Soviet Ukraine was always quietly approved by the Western countries. They have long simply slapped the label ‘democratic’ on the most dictatorial of regimes so long as they submit to a status of ‘ally’, that is underling, of the United States and NATO. Accordingly, any free election or referendum would not meet the standards of Western-style “democracy” if the results contradicted U.S. and NATO policies. Should such results occur, groups of pro-Western vigilantes and paramilitaries representing tiny portions of the electorate would be mobilized to conduct ‘color revolutions’ against elected officials getting in the way.
Had there been referendums on important issues in Ukraine before the upheavals and coup of late 2013/early 2014, the country would very likely have avoided the eight years of bloody civil war waged by Kiev against the Donbass republics and avoided the Russian military intervention begun on February 24, 2022. The world would not today be on the brink of nuclear conflict. Ukraine would have remained a neutral country with competing interests and allegiances being balanced; pro-socialist sentiments that are widespread in the east of the country would balance against the pro-capitalist and pro-European Union sentiments widely prevalent in the west. The country’s economic relations would be balanced between the West and the Russia-led economic bloc to the east, while its multicultural and multilingual character would be intact. But it was precisely this genuine model of democracy that was done away with because it contradicted the fraudulent Western brand of ‘democracy’.
Moldova threatened by Western-style ‘democracy’
Something similar to the Ukrainian political crisis is now rising again in neighboring Moldova (population 2.6 million). Transnistria (the Transnistrian Moldovan Republic, population app. 500,000) seceded from greater Moldova in the 1990s in reaction to Moldovan authorities embracing nationalism and pursuing cooperation with NATO.
This year, elections took place in the Autonomous Republic of Gagauzia (population app. 135,000). Located in the south of Moldova with its capital in the town of Comrat, the republic is predominantly populated by Gagauz, a Turkic people. Pro-Soviet sentiments have always been strong there.
The election of the Bashkan (president) of autonomous Gagauzia was won by the female Gagauz leader Eugenia Gutsol. But Moldovan President Maia Sandu has refused to recognize the vote, dismissing Gutsol for being “pro-Russian” and opposed to a pro-NATO course. In September, President Sandu declared that power in Gagauzia was now “in the hands of a pro-Russian criminal group”. Prime Minister Dorin Recean added that his cabinet would not work with a politician who favored strengthening ties with Russia. Thus, the non-recognition of an inconvenient vote threatens tiny Moldova with another conflict with an entire people, the Gagauz.
Transnistria is mostly populated by Russian speakers, with a significant Ukrainian population in its north. Gagauzia has a large ethnic Bulgarian population in its southeast. It is obvious that the policy of ethnic nationalism being increasingly promoted by the central government in the capital could only lead to the political collapse of the country.
But let us return to the elections in former Ukrainian territories. During the regional elections across Russia on September 10, including the new, former Ukraine territories, little attention was paid to issues surrounding the military intervention in Ukraine and geopolitics. After all, these were elections to municipal and regional bodies, not for the presidency and the national government. Alexei Makarkin of the Russian Center for Political Technologies summarized the election campaign in the magazine Profile, writing, “The majority of voters would like to live their usual lives, while the candidates, of course, try their best to avoid interfering with this.”
(One of the unexpected moments of the regional elections in Russia was the fact that American MMA boxer and anarcho-communist Jeff Monson, who has supported Donetsk in its conflict with Kiev and has become a Russian citizen, was elected as a deputy to the Kurultai (legislative assembly) of Bashkortostan, a Muslim autonomous republic of the Russian Federation. Monson had earlier condemned U.S. government policy and capitalism in general.)
Elections in Russia’s two Donbass republics and its two new territories
The four new regions of the Russian Federation held elections on September 10 with the rest of the country. Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party won the overwhelming majority of votes everywhere, from 74 percent to 83 percent. Second and third places were shared by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Liberal-Democratic Party. The Party of Just Russia (social democrats) placed in fourth place everywhere except Zaporizhzhya region where it finished third, displacing the Communist Party.
The Donetsk Republic elected a regional assembly (‘Peoples Council’) of 90 deputies while the Lugansk Republic elected 50 deputies to a similarly named assembly. Zaporizhzhya elected 40 deputies to its ‘Legislative Assembly’, while Kherson elected 36 deputies to its ‘Regional Duma’.
Residents of the new regions voted using Russian or Ukrainian passports as identification; displaced people from these regions living in other regions of the Russian Federation voted similarly. According to the Russian Central Electoral Committee, a total of 1,313 people were registered as candidates for regional parliaments in the new regions as of August 31. Ukrainian media tried to discredit the candidates by emphasizing their “low” social background. The vast majority of candidates in these regions were from the working classes. Many were housewives, students, pensioners, and unemployed, which was ridiculed by Kyiv.
Among the well-known Ukrainian personalities who ran for office were the acting leaders of the Zaporizhzhya region (Yevgeny Balitsky), Kherson region (Vladimir Saldo), and the incumbent leaders of the two Donbass republics. Candidate Dmytro Tabachnyk in Zaporizhzhya region was the head of the administration of former Ukraine president Leonid Kuchma (1994 to 2005) and also a former education minister (2010 to 2014).
Many of the candidates on the lists were previously members of parties banned in Ukraine, including the Communist Party of Ukraine, the Opposition Platform, the Sharij Party, and the Socialist Party.
Voter turnout in the new regions (former Ukrainian regions) was much higher than in the existing Russian regions. While the average turnout in the Russian Federation was 43.5%, in the new territories it ranged from 65% to 94%. In the Donetsk Republic, it was 94.34% and in the Lugansk Republic, it was 72.53%. Turnout in the Kherson region was 65.14%, while in the Zaporizhzhya region, it was about 70%. High voter turnout is also characteristic of Crimea since 2014.
The new regions of the Russian Federation are, as a rule, more loyal to Moscow than to Russian regions per se. Voting there under new and different laws for new and different parties as well as fears of possible retribution by Ukraine may have lowered slightly the turnout.
Predictably, Ukraine and the Western countries have dismissed the election figures. No official representatives from there were willing to observe and monitor the voting and counting process. The Russian Federation responded to disparaging Western comments by saying that the elections were an “internal” affair.
In Ukraine itself, elections are not likely to be held soon. The head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Alexey Danilov, warned earlier in September that elections in Ukraine could be used by Russia for “destabilization”. “The holding of elections in the conditions in which our country finds itself is simply an issue of internal destabilization,” Danilov said. He also said that elections require discussion and debate, and public political discussion is impossible in today’s Ukraine because those in Ukraine holding pro-Russian views have not yet been purged from all institutions of government and the state.
Corruption remains intractable in Ukraine
The reluctance to hold elections is related to Zelensky’s falling ratings. A poll published in Ukraine in September showed that 78 percent of Ukrainians believe that Zelensky is personally responsible for corruption in the government and local administrations. The New York Times recently published an analysis of Ukraine headlines ‘Corruption is an existential threat to Ukraine, and Ukrainians know it’.
Corruption scandals in Ukraine do not cease for a single day. Entire shipments of humanitarian aid have been reported stolen. Payment of large bribes to avoid obligatory military service or in order to flee abroad is common. The military often purchases food and other supplies at much higher prices than prevailing market prices. Only recently in the Kiev region, the inoperative Trilessky distillery in the city of Zaporizhzhia was sold for the equivalent of US$176 by Ukraine’s State Property Fund. The sale includes adjoining land of 104 hectares containing warehouses, fuel oil facilities, a locomotive depot, auto repair shop, cellars, workshops, alcohol storage facilities, and even a summer cinema.
Zelensky is considered by many Ukrainians as personally responsible for all these problems, in part due to his earlier actions in effectively suppressing the operations of local self-government in the country, replacing elected bodies in a number of regions with military administrations appointed by him. The elected mayors of a number of cities were removed from power under various pretexts, described in detail by no less than the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a leading U.S. think tank in Washington.
The post-2014 government and state in Ukraine is highly centralized government with few real powers exercised by local or regional governments. Western media chooses to completely overlook this. The Carnegie analysis explains, “The government is increasingly undermining the very idea of local self-government.” It continues, “The standoff between the central government and the mayors in Ukraine has been going on since the 2020 local elections, the last major vote before Russia’s invasion. Back then, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party was defeated in the mayoral elections in key cities.”
The authoritarianism and dictatorship that Zelensky has built in Ukraine has a flip side working very much to its detriment and that of its allies. The Ukrainian Telegram channel ‘Kriogen’ explains: “With such an unprecedented concentration of power in the hands of one person and one political force, there is no one else to whom to shift responsibility.”
Notwithstanding all the evidence to the contrary, Western governments and media continue to present Ukraine as a democracy while dismissing Russia and its elected local, regional and national governments as “authoritarian”.
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/09/ ... d-regions/
To Be or Not to Be: One With Russia
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on SEPTEMBER 23, 2022
Deborah L. Armstrong
“REFERENDUM” sign taped to car windshield. Photo: Eva K. Bartlett
The right to hold free elections is one of the fundamentals of a democratic society, but it’s a freedom which has been outlawed in Nazi-controlled Ukraine where eleven opposition parties have been banned. In August, the Kiev regime warned that anyone who promotes or organizes referendums faces a staggering fifteen years behind bars.
But even such dire warnings could not stop citizens of the Kherson and Zaporozhe regions nor those from the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, who began voting in earnest Friday on whether or not to become republics of the Russian Federation.
Sample Ballot. “Are you in favor of the Donetsk People’s Republic becoming part of the Russian Federation as a subordinate republic of the Russian Federation? Yes/No” Photo: RIA Novosti
According to Canadian correspondent Eva K. Bartlett, who was in Kalinskiy district when the voting started, the process is simple and straight-forward. People show their ID, write their home address, get a ballot and vote “yes” or “no.”
“Of course, western pundits have already decided this is a sham referendum,” Eva notes on her Telegram channel, “but the people here don’t care what the West says. The West has been arming Ukraine, which is raining bombs down on Donetsk, killing 6 people yesterday, 16 people Monday, 4 people Saturday…and thousands over the past 8 years. Enough is enough, the people are voting and don’t be surprised if the results are for the DPR to join Russia.”
As a correspondent working in the Donbass region, Eva has already seen enough death and destruction to last a lifetime, and this month has been especially brutal, as Ukrainian military forces have been shelling civilian areas with long-range artillery supplied by the US and NATO allies. You can see just some of the mass murder here, but I must warn you that these photos are uncensored and extremely graphic. There are bodies, pieces of bodies, and blood everywhere.
So it is no shock to anyone who has seen this terrifying slaughter, why the majority of people living in the eastern part of Ukraine may no longer want to be part of a country which has targeted them for oblivion.
Voting in Kalinskiy district. Video courtesy Eva K. Bartlett
But like everything in the Donbass these days, voting is dangerous. Special precautions have to be taken so that people can vote despite intermittent bombardment by Ukrainian troops and neo-Nazi militias. Many residents volunteer to go door to door, delivering ballots to their neighbors who will vote from home rather than risk traveling to the center of the city where bombs are more likely to fall.
A woman delivers ballots to neighbors in Kirovsky district. Photo: Eva K. Bartlett
The voting will go on for five days, from September 23rd until September 27th, to help ensure the safety of the people living in the war-torn regions where the referendum is taking place. Because of the danger of shelling, voting is not being held at polling stations but in adjacent areas and in people’s homes. However, on the final day, the polling stations will be open.
The day before the referendum began, Eva talked with a woman at a market in Donetsk. The woman was from Makeevka, an area which has been bombarded by shells from Ukraine’s nationalist militias and fighting forces, who show no mercy when it comes to civilians.
Woman in Donetsk talks about the referendum. Video courtesy Eva K. Bartlett
“The choice is up to the people,” the woman said. Her name is withheld, common practice in eastern Ukraine where residents have been punished for having “pro-Russian” views. “If Russia protects us, we are ready to vote for it.”
She worries about her tiny grandson, only seven months old. And about her family and those who are unable to flee to safer places.
“Many do not know how we live here. It’s very, very scary,” she continues, referring to people in countries influenced by western media, which has been mostly silent about the suffering of Russian-speaking Ukrainians, referring constantly to Russia’s Special Military Operation as “unprovoked.”
As the Nazi propagandist Goebbels (a man much-adored by the nationalists in Kiev) famously stated: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”
But none who know Ukraine’s history of Nazi collaboration doubt the real reason Russia crossed its borders into the Donbass.
Donetsk resident Russell Bentley has no doubt that the majority of people will vote to join Russia. An American ex-pat who has served alongside soldiers from the Donetsk People’s Republic, Russell is more concerned that the referendum might divert the Russian Federation from its originally-stated goals.
“The concern is that the referendums in the liberated territories may be used as an excuse to scale back the original goal of the operation — ‘the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine,’ — to ‘protecting the liberated territories,’ which will neither ensure their security or that of Russia,” Russell wrote. “Anything less than Russia’s full military control of Kiev and everything east of a line from Kiev down to the Moldovan border is a military and political failure that threatens Russia’s very existence. We are fighting the Nazis of the 21st century, war criminals and terrorists.”
Russell Bentley’s full statement on the referendum to join Russia.
“The people of the Donbass Republics were forced into a military response in order to defend themselves against terrorist attacks by the Ukrainian military and the Kiev regime 8 years ago,” Russell continues. “The Russian government, after exhausting every diplomatic option, was forced into a military response to prevent genocide of Russian people in Donbass. A military response has been taken, and must be adequately maintained until full victory is achieved, because in this war, just as in the Great Patriotic War, we have only 2 choices — Victory or Death.”
Russell supports the referendum, he says, “to the extent that the referendum promotes and enables the full victory over Nazism in Ukraine.”
“We are tired of fighting this. Tired. We’re scared. We’re really scared,” the woman at the marketplace says, her eyes filling with tears. Like most of her neighbors, she speaks Russian, a language de-facto outlawed by the nationalists of Ukraine. Just one of many reasons that she, her family and friends, have been targeted by the nationalists. “These are not people. They pit brothers against brothers, they pit their relatives and loved ones against each other. How is it possible to live in one city and bomb another? It is impossible. It’s unreal! We are peaceful people. We are all alive. You can’t just do that!”
Many Russian-speakers look forward to unification with the Russian Federation. It isn’t just that they want the military security that Russia is already providing. It’s because they miss their family. Ukraine, they feel, has not treated them as family but as unwanted bastards, or as outlanders, despite the fact that many have lived in the region for generations. Now, they just want to live in peace.
In a Friday address, the head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, said, “We have been waiting for this moment for more than 8 years! We waited through anxious nights and busy weekdays, at the battlefront and from behind lines. We waited as people wait for their return to the family after many years of separation.”
DPR Head Denis Pushilin speaks about referendum, Video courtesy Denis Pushilin
“Holding a referendum is a historic milestone,” Pushilin continues. “Not only because we are confident in its positive result, but because it is the end of the difficult road we have traveled together.”
He refers to the eight-year struggle of the people in the Donbass, who formed their own independent states, which were finally recognized as sovereign republics by the Russian Federation and its allies in February of this year. The third step of the journey, he says, is joining Russia. To him, it is a foregone conclusion that the voters of DPR will follow the voters of Crimea in their desire to reunite with the rodina — the motherland.
“We are returning home ,” he says. “This is the main reason for all our deeds and battles, the innermost desire, and at the same time the absolute certainty that the day will come when we will become Russia.”
This desire to be one with Russia may sound strange to western ears. Let me put it this way:
For hundreds of years, Ukraine was a region, not a country. Russians and Ukrainians are not truly separate ethnicities. Though many Ukrainian nationalists insist that they are descended from Rurik Vikings and are not related to the “Moskals,” which is what they call Russians, the truth is that both peoples have occupied the region for hundreds of years, and they share the same ancestors. Their DNA is the same Eastern Slavic DNA. The same blood runs through their veins. Many Russians have family in Ukraine and vice-versa.
The longing to return to Russia is a literal longing for family, and an end to the ostracization and persecution of the excruciating, nightmarish years which pushed many beyond what they can bear.
“I want there to be peace in the world. I want everything to be good and beautiful,” the woman at the marketplace says, tears now running down her cheeks.
“We have come a long and dangerous way home,” Pushilin says, concluding his address. “Each of your votes will confirm the truth: Donbass is Russia.”
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/09/ ... th-russia/
How the Russian-Speaking Donbass First Attempted to Win Independence from Ukraine in 2004
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on JULY 11, 2022
Alexander Nepogodin
The foundations for the current Ukraine conflict were laid almost two decades ago
In late June, after fierce fighting, the last remaining units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces pulled out of Severodonetsk, a large industrial center in the western part of the Lugansk People’s Republic.
Back in 2004, the city hosted the famous congress of the ‘federalists’, Ukrainian politicians – elected at different levels – who backed the presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych during the Western-backed Orange Revolution. Back then, they declared then that the Kiev protests were an attempted coup and warned that an illegitimate government coming to power could prompt the congress to establish south-eastern autonomy to protect local residents.
At the same time, regional deputies decided to hold a referendum on changing the country into a federal state and appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin for support. In this article, RT recounts the first attempt of Ukraine’s southeastern regions to gain independence from Kiev and explains why the events of 2004 defined the future armed conflict in Donbass.
Just a step away from federation
Political discussions about a possible disintegration and reconfiguration of Ukraine have been going on ever since the country became independent in 1991. Ironically, one of the first people to doubt the country’s unity was Vyacheslav Chornovol, the founder of the national democratic party Narodny Rukh (People’s Movement) and a hero for Ukrainian nationalists. Admittedly, he only mentioned the possibility of turning Ukraine into a federation. The idea of federalization was the focal point of discussions that – until the Maidan political crisis of 2014 – were commonly referred to as “separatist” discourse.
As early as 1989, Chornovol said that Ukraine should be a “union of lands.” “I imagine future Ukraine as a federal state, a union of lands, which have come together throughout the course of history and whose natural, climatic, cultural, ethnographic, and linguistic differences, as well as idiosyncrasies in their economies, habits, and customs define the unique diversity of a single people. I envision the People’s Republic of Ukraine, which includes such lands as the Kiev Region, Podolye, Volhynia, Galichina, Bukovina, Transcarpathia, Getmanshchina, Sloboda Ukraine, Zaporozhye, the Donetsk region, and Tauria, whereas Crimea could be an independent neighbor or an autonomous republic in alliance with Ukraine,” he wrote.
Chornovol added that Ukrainian should be the only state language in the new federation, although local authorities could make certain provinces bilingual.
Two years later, in 1991, Chornovol initiated the convention of the so-called Galicia Assembly, which spoke in favor of administrative reform and the creation of a new autonomous regional entity, Galichina, based on the amalgamation of the Lviv, Ternopol, and Ivano-Frankovsk Regions. Even though the assembly was one of the catalysts of Ukraine’s independence, Chornovol’s supporters were accused of separatism after Leonid Kravchuk was elected president. This was in large part due to ideas to create a Donetsk Republic and Novorossiya in the Russian-speaking southeast of Ukraine, which began circulating in the 1990s. Over time, Chornovol’s proposals came to be viewed as too radical, and opponents of federalization have been linking his designs with the breakup of the country for more than 30 years now.
When the Ukrainian constitution was adopted in 1996, it defined Ukraine as a unitary state, which removed the issue of federalization from the agenda. And yet, apart from the 24 regions and two federal-level cities (Kiev and Sevastopol), Ukraine also included the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which, for a few years, even had its own constitution and president. Throughout those years, Ukrainian presidents Leonid Kravchuk and Leonid Kuchma managed to strike the right balance in their foreign and domestic policies, especially as regards to handling relations between regions on both sides of the “Subtelny line,” which is traditionally used to divide Ukraine into two distinct parts.
FILE PHOTO. Some 3,500 local officials from 17 of Ukraine’s 27 regions meet in Severodonetsk, an eastern Ukrainian town 28 November, 2004. © AFP / PHOTO MIG
However, in 2004, when the outcome of the protests was still uncertain, politicians who supported Yanukovych (dubbed “pro-Russian” in the West, despite his years of negotiations with the EU) revived the idea of federalization. Members of the Party of Regions claimed that Ukraine had failed as a unitary state and therefore had to be reorganized as a federation with a high degree of autonomy at the level of administrative and territorial entities. Ukraine was going through a real crisis, and, probably for the first time, that schism was pushing the country to the brink of an all-out civilian conflict.
“Not going to let Galichina tell us how to live our lives”
The mass protests in Kiev, which would later be known as the Orange Revolution, were met with little enthusiasm in the southeast of Ukraine, especially in Donbass. While protesters at the Maidan claimed their ‘pro-European’ candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, had his victory “stolen from him,” many supporters of Yanukovych felt the same watching their opponents clamor for official election results, which had declared the latter victorious, to be repealed. A response to the protests in the capital was imminent.
On November 28, the All-Ukrainian Congress of Deputies of All Levels welcomed more than 3,500 pro-Yanukovych delegates from across the country. They declared that the protests were an attempted coup and warned that an illegitimate Yushchenko-led government taking over Kiev could prompt the congress to establishautonomy to protect the residents of southeastern Ukraine.
The final statement of the congress, which had been unanimously adopted by its delegates, said: “If the sociopolitical situation in the country develops according to the worst crisis scenario, we will stand firm and united to defend the vote of the people of Ukraine going as far as holding a referendum on possible changes to the administrative and territorial structure of Ukraine.” The significance of the gathering was further elevated by the presence of Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who delivered a sharp rebuke to Ukraine’s radical opposition. “On the one hand, we’re seeing this orange-fueled mayhem [orange became the symbol of support for Yushchenko – RT], which claims to represent the majority in Ukraine. On the other hand, we have this quiet force gathered in this room today,” Luzhkov said to a round of applause.
At the same time, the Regional Council of Lugansk came up with an alternative project, proposing the establishment of the South-East Ukrainian Autonomous Republic with Kharkov as its capital city. Along with the initiative, local MPs also asked President Putin to help them organize a referendum on Ukraine’s federalization. The referendum was scheduled for December 5, 2004. At the same time, the Regional Council of Donetsk decided to establish its own police force.
Leaders of Ukraine’s southeastern regions began to voice their support for the idea of reorganizing the country. Kharkov’s authorities decided to set up committees that would have executive state powers. Governor Yevgeny Kushnarev was elected head of the regional executive committee – he was well known as a pro-Russian politician and supporter of federalization, as well as a presidential hopeful according to many journalists and activists. His responsibilities at the time included coordination between other councils in the southeastern territories. The Kharkov Region also stopped making payments to the national budget, waiting for the situation in Kiev to stabilize.
It was Kushnarev who put into words the idea that later defined the development of the Donbass armed conflict. Speaking at the Severodonetsk conference, he said, “I’d like to remind you that we are 400 kilometers away from Kiev and 40 kilometers away from Russia. We understand that the east is very different from Galicia in the west. We are not imposing our way of life on Galicia, but we will never let Galicia lecture us either.” Together with Boris Kolesnikov, head of the Regional Council of Donetsk, he proposed organizing a referendum in every city to see if people trusted the government and asked what they thought of ‘relaunching’ Ukraine as a federal republic.
All of this political activity in the country’s southeast caused some serious concerns in the West, where governments started to see that the dissolution of the state was quite possible. The diplomatic channels were activated. EU and Russian representatives began making frequent visits in order to work out some compromises. At the end of the day, they didn’t include a referendum, but a process was agreed on to transfer power to Yushchenko. The compromise worked like this: Yushchenko got the green light at the election, and his win in the runoff was accepted by the opponents. In return, he agreed to change the constitution and have presidential privileges reduced as of January 1, 2005, thus turning Ukraine into a parliamentary republic. The local governments in the South-East wrapped up their plans.
One Step Closer to the Abyss
As time went on, everyone felt comfortable forgetting about the convention of ‘federalists’ in Severodonetsk and the programs announced by the local governments in the South-East. They were only recalled when attempts were made to blackmail or jail the local big wigs. One shouldn’t underestimate the significance of those events, however. It was the very first time the South-East made it clear what its response was to “patriots” in Kiev trying to seize power and disregard the opinion of half the country’s population while they were at it. Back then, there were no consequences because the parties to the conflict worked out a solution based on compromise, while Russia abstained from backing and pushing Yanukovych.
A little later, however, the members of the Severodonetsk rally came under severe pressure. A criminal charge was launched against Evgeny Kushnarev – a famous member of the Party of Regions – on the grounds of separatism, to be dropped later. That was enough for Kushnarev to distance himself from the separatism agenda, focusing instead on regional issues. In 2005, he “engaged,” as he called it, Yanukovych by merging his New Democracy platform into the Party of Regions. The two politicians ran together in the parliamentary elections in 2006. It was Kushnarev who addressed the items on the election program the most, including the issue of the status of the Russian language.
In January 2007, Kushnarev was severely wounded during a wolf hunt in the Izyum district of Kharkov Region. He was shot by one of his friends, who had joined him for the hunt. A day later, Kushnarev died in spite of two surgeries. He was regarded as the leading anti-Maidan spokesman and a pro-Russian candidate for presidency.
The events of those years – Maidan, federalization attempts in southeastern Ukraine and the death of a popular champion of Russia and federalism, Evgeny Kushnarev – marked the end of the first era in the history of an independent Ukraine. The people in power, Kuchma included, were anything but impeccable. They had a lot to answer for. But they were forged in the Soviet era and they had a sense of responsibility for their country and understood how complex the situation really was in Ukraine and abroad.
During that period, politicians avoided any radical steps and tried to resolve conflicts through compromise. But when Yushchenko came to power, he abandoned this approach and attempted to impose on Ukraine an agenda that was alien to millions of its citizens. Aggressive ‘Ukrainianization’ and a policy aimed at distancing the country from Russia eventually resulted in mounting tensions and a protracted political crisis.
All of that has brought Ukraine to its present state – a country plagued by domestic political crises and economic instability, a nation suffering territorial loss and ravaged by an armed conflict in the southeast that began in 2014. Today, Ukrainians look back on the period, which ended in 2004, as the last peaceful era in Ukraine’s modern history. Kiev’s failure to draw the right conclusions from the ‘Severodonetsk case’ contributed to the tragedy Ukraine experienced in 2014. Ukrainian society was never able to bridge its internal divide, and the revolution that came a decade later only split the country further, leading to the loss of Crimea and a bloody war in Donbass.
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/07/ ... e-in-2004/
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End the War in Ukraine: Let us Know About Your Action, September 30 – October 7
Please come out to the streets, have a discussion, show a film. Show you opposition to the Ukraine War!
Come out between September 30 and October 7
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers have died in this war. Sanctions meant to hurt Russia have cause economic instability around the world. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been given to the US arms industry and to Ukraine to wage this war. It is time to build a movement to stop the war.
End the War in Ukraine!
No to NATO!
No Weapons, No Money for War!
View listed the actions HERE. https://unac.notowar.net/end-the-war-in ... ns-listed/
https://unac.notowar.net/let-us-know-ab ... n-ukraine/
September 26, 13:51
The shortest possible exposure of the Ukrainian fake about “the death of the Black Sea Fleet commander Admiral Sokolov.”
https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8662374.html
Google Translator
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(From the Department of 'Can You Believe This Shit?')
Russia publishes video appearing to show Black Sea Fleet commander in meeting as Ukraine claims he was killed
From CNN’s Clare Sebastian, Florence Davey-Attlee and Olga Voitovych
A screengrab taken from video published by the Russian Ministry of Defense appears to show the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Viktor Sokolov, participating in a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other Russian military leaders on Tuesday.
A screengrab taken from video published by the Russian Ministry of Defense appears to show the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Viktor Sokolov, participating in a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other Russian military leaders on Tuesday. Handout/Russian Ministry of Defense
The Russian defense ministry published video Tuesday that appears to show the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Viktor Sokolov, participating in a meeting. The video comes after the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces claimed Monday that Sokolov was killed in a strike on Sevastopol military headquarters on Friday.
In the video, a man who resembles Sokolov appears to join the meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other Russian military leaders via video conference.
The nametape on his uniform reads Sokolov V. N. and his screen shows the Cyrillic letters "ЧФ," the abbreviation for the Black Sea Fleet. He appears healthy.
CNN cannot confirm the person is Sokolov, when the meeting took place or where his video appearance was filmed.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov earlier on Tuesday refused to comment on the Ukrainian claim that Sokolov had been killed.
“There has been no information from the Ministry of Defense. This is entirely in their purview and we have nothing to say here,” Peskov told reporters Tuesday during a routine call.
Ukraine's response: After the video was released, Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces said on Telegram that they are “clarifying” information received about Sokolov.
“Available sources claim that the Black Sea Fleet Commander is among the dead. Many have not yet been identified due to the fragmentation of body fragments,” the special forces said.
https://us.cnn.com/europe/live-news/rus ... index.html
Yet I can assure you that today someone will tell me that Sokolov is dead. Bet on it.
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UKRAINIANS BLAME ZELENSKY FOR CORRUPTION – POLL
SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 NATYLIESB LEAVE A COMMENT
RT, 9/12/23
The vast majority of Ukrainians believe that President Vladimir Zelensky is at fault for widespread corruption in the country’s government and military, a new study has revealed.
The poll, released on Monday [9/11/23], found that 78% of Ukrainian adults see Zelensky as “directly responsible” for Kiev’s corruption problem. It was conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Charitable Foundation and the Kiev International Institute of Sociology.
Prior to the launch of Russia’s military offensive in February 2022, Ukraine consistently ranked among the world’s most corrupt nations, but it was touted as a bastion of freedom and democracy as the US and its NATO allies rallied public support for massive aid to Kiev. However, Ukrainian corruption remains a concern and could hinder the country’s bid to join the European Union, an unidentified Western diplomat told Politico on Monday.
Ukraine is a “very corrupt country,” the diplomat said, adding that Zelensky’s plan to use the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) to prosecute graft cases could “send the wrong message.” Upon landing in Kiev for a surprise visit on Monday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock reportedly said Ukraine needed to step up its efforts to fight corruption.
The Ukrainian poll was conducted from July 3 to July 17 in face-to-face interviews with thousands of citizens across the country. There were no major differences in findings based on region or socioeconomic factors. Respondents aged 60 and older took a harsher view, with 81% saying Zelensky was responsible for government corruption. The rate was 70% in the youngest segment, ages 17 to 29. Overall, only 18% of Ukrainian adults disagreed with the statement that Zelensky bears responsibility.
Documents obtained by the International Association of Investigative Journalists in 2021 showed that Zelensky and his business partners set up offshore companies to purchase lavish properties in central London. Zelensky transferred his stake in one of the companies to an aide just before he was elected president in 2019. Supporters of former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko accused Zelensky and his associates of using their offshore accounts to evade taxes.
Zelensky has purged officials in his government for alleged corruption, including an embezzlement scheme involving humanitarian aid. Just this month, he sacked Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov, who came under fire earlier this year over purchases of military rations at inflated prices. However, the new defense chief, Rustem Umerov, is reportedly under investigation for alleged crimes in his previous job.
https://natyliesbaldwin.com/2023/09/ukr ... tion-poll/
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Elections Take Place in Russian-Controlled Parts of Ukraine While Authoritarian Rule Prevails in Kiev-Controlled Regions
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on SEPTEMBER 25, 2023
Dmitri Kovalevich
The Ukrainian authorities even before the 2014 coup were always very wary of any referendum initiatives or even polls addressing ‘uncomfortable’ issues of language, culture, economic or social policies.
On September 10, elections to regional and municipal assemblies were held across the Russian Federation. For the first time, they were held under Russian law in the two Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk which formally became part of the Russian Federation in February 2022. Elections also took place in the two ‘new territories’, as they are called in Russia, of the Russian-controlled parts of Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions (that is, the areas of those two regions lying south and east of the Dnieper River).
Ukraine gov’t does not like polls, referendums or even a census of its population
The governing regime in Ukraine as well as the Western countries allied with it condemned and refused to recognize the elections in the Donbass republics and new territories, just as they had earlier refused to recognize referendums in 2022 in all four territories to join the Russian Federation. International observers were threatened with all kinds of sanctions if they dared to witness and report the voting, as many of the inhabitants of the regions would wish. On election day, September 10, the Ukrainian army shelled polling stations, destroying election materials and voting infrastructure. Officially, Ukraine treats participation in these elections as “high treason”.
The Ukrainian authorities even before the 2014 coup were always very wary of any referendum initiatives or even polls addressing ‘uncomfortable’ issues of language, culture, economic or social policies. That’s because results were predictable in opposing the official, ultranationalist course of successive Ukrainian governments since secession from the Soviet Union in 1990/91. For similar reasons, Ukraine has not even conducted a census since 2001, rebuffing urgent recommendations by the United Nations to conduct one. The reason for this refusal is that a census would have demonstrated a sharp population decline caused by the disastrous political and economic course of post-Soviet Ukraine.
Fictious populist parties fill a void and undermine genuine democracy
In elections since 1991, it has been common to create fictitious populist parties that can ‘catch a wave’ and score surprise election results. This was the case in 2021 with the ‘Servant of the People’ party created by Volodymyr Zelensky and his cohorts. He and his ‘party’ swept the 2021 elections to the presidency and to the legislature (Rada). They did so by flirting with Russian-speaking voters as well as other voters opposed to, or uneasy with, the anti-Russia policies brought to the fore in Ukraine by the 2014 coup. They promised socially oriented policies and probes towards peace with Russia, but once in power immediately changed course to impose neoliberal policies, urge more NATO military intervention directed against Russia, and continue promoting right-wing, Ukrainian nationalism.
The actual absence of real democracy in post-Soviet Ukraine was always quietly approved by the Western countries. They have long simply slapped the label ‘democratic’ on the most dictatorial of regimes so long as they submit to a status of ‘ally’, that is underling, of the United States and NATO. Accordingly, any free election or referendum would not meet the standards of Western-style “democracy” if the results contradicted U.S. and NATO policies. Should such results occur, groups of pro-Western vigilantes and paramilitaries representing tiny portions of the electorate would be mobilized to conduct ‘color revolutions’ against elected officials getting in the way.
Had there been referendums on important issues in Ukraine before the upheavals and coup of late 2013/early 2014, the country would very likely have avoided the eight years of bloody civil war waged by Kiev against the Donbass republics and avoided the Russian military intervention begun on February 24, 2022. The world would not today be on the brink of nuclear conflict. Ukraine would have remained a neutral country with competing interests and allegiances being balanced; pro-socialist sentiments that are widespread in the east of the country would balance against the pro-capitalist and pro-European Union sentiments widely prevalent in the west. The country’s economic relations would be balanced between the West and the Russia-led economic bloc to the east, while its multicultural and multilingual character would be intact. But it was precisely this genuine model of democracy that was done away with because it contradicted the fraudulent Western brand of ‘democracy’.
Moldova threatened by Western-style ‘democracy’
Something similar to the Ukrainian political crisis is now rising again in neighboring Moldova (population 2.6 million). Transnistria (the Transnistrian Moldovan Republic, population app. 500,000) seceded from greater Moldova in the 1990s in reaction to Moldovan authorities embracing nationalism and pursuing cooperation with NATO.
This year, elections took place in the Autonomous Republic of Gagauzia (population app. 135,000). Located in the south of Moldova with its capital in the town of Comrat, the republic is predominantly populated by Gagauz, a Turkic people. Pro-Soviet sentiments have always been strong there.
The election of the Bashkan (president) of autonomous Gagauzia was won by the female Gagauz leader Eugenia Gutsol. But Moldovan President Maia Sandu has refused to recognize the vote, dismissing Gutsol for being “pro-Russian” and opposed to a pro-NATO course. In September, President Sandu declared that power in Gagauzia was now “in the hands of a pro-Russian criminal group”. Prime Minister Dorin Recean added that his cabinet would not work with a politician who favored strengthening ties with Russia. Thus, the non-recognition of an inconvenient vote threatens tiny Moldova with another conflict with an entire people, the Gagauz.
Transnistria is mostly populated by Russian speakers, with a significant Ukrainian population in its north. Gagauzia has a large ethnic Bulgarian population in its southeast. It is obvious that the policy of ethnic nationalism being increasingly promoted by the central government in the capital could only lead to the political collapse of the country.
But let us return to the elections in former Ukrainian territories. During the regional elections across Russia on September 10, including the new, former Ukraine territories, little attention was paid to issues surrounding the military intervention in Ukraine and geopolitics. After all, these were elections to municipal and regional bodies, not for the presidency and the national government. Alexei Makarkin of the Russian Center for Political Technologies summarized the election campaign in the magazine Profile, writing, “The majority of voters would like to live their usual lives, while the candidates, of course, try their best to avoid interfering with this.”
(One of the unexpected moments of the regional elections in Russia was the fact that American MMA boxer and anarcho-communist Jeff Monson, who has supported Donetsk in its conflict with Kiev and has become a Russian citizen, was elected as a deputy to the Kurultai (legislative assembly) of Bashkortostan, a Muslim autonomous republic of the Russian Federation. Monson had earlier condemned U.S. government policy and capitalism in general.)
Elections in Russia’s two Donbass republics and its two new territories
The four new regions of the Russian Federation held elections on September 10 with the rest of the country. Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party won the overwhelming majority of votes everywhere, from 74 percent to 83 percent. Second and third places were shared by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Liberal-Democratic Party. The Party of Just Russia (social democrats) placed in fourth place everywhere except Zaporizhzhya region where it finished third, displacing the Communist Party.
The Donetsk Republic elected a regional assembly (‘Peoples Council’) of 90 deputies while the Lugansk Republic elected 50 deputies to a similarly named assembly. Zaporizhzhya elected 40 deputies to its ‘Legislative Assembly’, while Kherson elected 36 deputies to its ‘Regional Duma’.
Residents of the new regions voted using Russian or Ukrainian passports as identification; displaced people from these regions living in other regions of the Russian Federation voted similarly. According to the Russian Central Electoral Committee, a total of 1,313 people were registered as candidates for regional parliaments in the new regions as of August 31. Ukrainian media tried to discredit the candidates by emphasizing their “low” social background. The vast majority of candidates in these regions were from the working classes. Many were housewives, students, pensioners, and unemployed, which was ridiculed by Kyiv.
Among the well-known Ukrainian personalities who ran for office were the acting leaders of the Zaporizhzhya region (Yevgeny Balitsky), Kherson region (Vladimir Saldo), and the incumbent leaders of the two Donbass republics. Candidate Dmytro Tabachnyk in Zaporizhzhya region was the head of the administration of former Ukraine president Leonid Kuchma (1994 to 2005) and also a former education minister (2010 to 2014).
Many of the candidates on the lists were previously members of parties banned in Ukraine, including the Communist Party of Ukraine, the Opposition Platform, the Sharij Party, and the Socialist Party.
Voter turnout in the new regions (former Ukrainian regions) was much higher than in the existing Russian regions. While the average turnout in the Russian Federation was 43.5%, in the new territories it ranged from 65% to 94%. In the Donetsk Republic, it was 94.34% and in the Lugansk Republic, it was 72.53%. Turnout in the Kherson region was 65.14%, while in the Zaporizhzhya region, it was about 70%. High voter turnout is also characteristic of Crimea since 2014.
The new regions of the Russian Federation are, as a rule, more loyal to Moscow than to Russian regions per se. Voting there under new and different laws for new and different parties as well as fears of possible retribution by Ukraine may have lowered slightly the turnout.
Predictably, Ukraine and the Western countries have dismissed the election figures. No official representatives from there were willing to observe and monitor the voting and counting process. The Russian Federation responded to disparaging Western comments by saying that the elections were an “internal” affair.
In Ukraine itself, elections are not likely to be held soon. The head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Alexey Danilov, warned earlier in September that elections in Ukraine could be used by Russia for “destabilization”. “The holding of elections in the conditions in which our country finds itself is simply an issue of internal destabilization,” Danilov said. He also said that elections require discussion and debate, and public political discussion is impossible in today’s Ukraine because those in Ukraine holding pro-Russian views have not yet been purged from all institutions of government and the state.
Corruption remains intractable in Ukraine
The reluctance to hold elections is related to Zelensky’s falling ratings. A poll published in Ukraine in September showed that 78 percent of Ukrainians believe that Zelensky is personally responsible for corruption in the government and local administrations. The New York Times recently published an analysis of Ukraine headlines ‘Corruption is an existential threat to Ukraine, and Ukrainians know it’.
Corruption scandals in Ukraine do not cease for a single day. Entire shipments of humanitarian aid have been reported stolen. Payment of large bribes to avoid obligatory military service or in order to flee abroad is common. The military often purchases food and other supplies at much higher prices than prevailing market prices. Only recently in the Kiev region, the inoperative Trilessky distillery in the city of Zaporizhzhia was sold for the equivalent of US$176 by Ukraine’s State Property Fund. The sale includes adjoining land of 104 hectares containing warehouses, fuel oil facilities, a locomotive depot, auto repair shop, cellars, workshops, alcohol storage facilities, and even a summer cinema.
Zelensky is considered by many Ukrainians as personally responsible for all these problems, in part due to his earlier actions in effectively suppressing the operations of local self-government in the country, replacing elected bodies in a number of regions with military administrations appointed by him. The elected mayors of a number of cities were removed from power under various pretexts, described in detail by no less than the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a leading U.S. think tank in Washington.
The post-2014 government and state in Ukraine is highly centralized government with few real powers exercised by local or regional governments. Western media chooses to completely overlook this. The Carnegie analysis explains, “The government is increasingly undermining the very idea of local self-government.” It continues, “The standoff between the central government and the mayors in Ukraine has been going on since the 2020 local elections, the last major vote before Russia’s invasion. Back then, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party was defeated in the mayoral elections in key cities.”
The authoritarianism and dictatorship that Zelensky has built in Ukraine has a flip side working very much to its detriment and that of its allies. The Ukrainian Telegram channel ‘Kriogen’ explains: “With such an unprecedented concentration of power in the hands of one person and one political force, there is no one else to whom to shift responsibility.”
Notwithstanding all the evidence to the contrary, Western governments and media continue to present Ukraine as a democracy while dismissing Russia and its elected local, regional and national governments as “authoritarian”.
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/09/ ... d-regions/
To Be or Not to Be: One With Russia
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on SEPTEMBER 23, 2022
Deborah L. Armstrong
“REFERENDUM” sign taped to car windshield. Photo: Eva K. Bartlett
The right to hold free elections is one of the fundamentals of a democratic society, but it’s a freedom which has been outlawed in Nazi-controlled Ukraine where eleven opposition parties have been banned. In August, the Kiev regime warned that anyone who promotes or organizes referendums faces a staggering fifteen years behind bars.
But even such dire warnings could not stop citizens of the Kherson and Zaporozhe regions nor those from the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, who began voting in earnest Friday on whether or not to become republics of the Russian Federation.
Sample Ballot. “Are you in favor of the Donetsk People’s Republic becoming part of the Russian Federation as a subordinate republic of the Russian Federation? Yes/No” Photo: RIA Novosti
According to Canadian correspondent Eva K. Bartlett, who was in Kalinskiy district when the voting started, the process is simple and straight-forward. People show their ID, write their home address, get a ballot and vote “yes” or “no.”
“Of course, western pundits have already decided this is a sham referendum,” Eva notes on her Telegram channel, “but the people here don’t care what the West says. The West has been arming Ukraine, which is raining bombs down on Donetsk, killing 6 people yesterday, 16 people Monday, 4 people Saturday…and thousands over the past 8 years. Enough is enough, the people are voting and don’t be surprised if the results are for the DPR to join Russia.”
As a correspondent working in the Donbass region, Eva has already seen enough death and destruction to last a lifetime, and this month has been especially brutal, as Ukrainian military forces have been shelling civilian areas with long-range artillery supplied by the US and NATO allies. You can see just some of the mass murder here, but I must warn you that these photos are uncensored and extremely graphic. There are bodies, pieces of bodies, and blood everywhere.
So it is no shock to anyone who has seen this terrifying slaughter, why the majority of people living in the eastern part of Ukraine may no longer want to be part of a country which has targeted them for oblivion.
Voting in Kalinskiy district. Video courtesy Eva K. Bartlett
But like everything in the Donbass these days, voting is dangerous. Special precautions have to be taken so that people can vote despite intermittent bombardment by Ukrainian troops and neo-Nazi militias. Many residents volunteer to go door to door, delivering ballots to their neighbors who will vote from home rather than risk traveling to the center of the city where bombs are more likely to fall.
A woman delivers ballots to neighbors in Kirovsky district. Photo: Eva K. Bartlett
The voting will go on for five days, from September 23rd until September 27th, to help ensure the safety of the people living in the war-torn regions where the referendum is taking place. Because of the danger of shelling, voting is not being held at polling stations but in adjacent areas and in people’s homes. However, on the final day, the polling stations will be open.
The day before the referendum began, Eva talked with a woman at a market in Donetsk. The woman was from Makeevka, an area which has been bombarded by shells from Ukraine’s nationalist militias and fighting forces, who show no mercy when it comes to civilians.
Woman in Donetsk talks about the referendum. Video courtesy Eva K. Bartlett
“The choice is up to the people,” the woman said. Her name is withheld, common practice in eastern Ukraine where residents have been punished for having “pro-Russian” views. “If Russia protects us, we are ready to vote for it.”
She worries about her tiny grandson, only seven months old. And about her family and those who are unable to flee to safer places.
“Many do not know how we live here. It’s very, very scary,” she continues, referring to people in countries influenced by western media, which has been mostly silent about the suffering of Russian-speaking Ukrainians, referring constantly to Russia’s Special Military Operation as “unprovoked.”
As the Nazi propagandist Goebbels (a man much-adored by the nationalists in Kiev) famously stated: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”
But none who know Ukraine’s history of Nazi collaboration doubt the real reason Russia crossed its borders into the Donbass.
Donetsk resident Russell Bentley has no doubt that the majority of people will vote to join Russia. An American ex-pat who has served alongside soldiers from the Donetsk People’s Republic, Russell is more concerned that the referendum might divert the Russian Federation from its originally-stated goals.
“The concern is that the referendums in the liberated territories may be used as an excuse to scale back the original goal of the operation — ‘the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine,’ — to ‘protecting the liberated territories,’ which will neither ensure their security or that of Russia,” Russell wrote. “Anything less than Russia’s full military control of Kiev and everything east of a line from Kiev down to the Moldovan border is a military and political failure that threatens Russia’s very existence. We are fighting the Nazis of the 21st century, war criminals and terrorists.”
Russell Bentley’s full statement on the referendum to join Russia.
“The people of the Donbass Republics were forced into a military response in order to defend themselves against terrorist attacks by the Ukrainian military and the Kiev regime 8 years ago,” Russell continues. “The Russian government, after exhausting every diplomatic option, was forced into a military response to prevent genocide of Russian people in Donbass. A military response has been taken, and must be adequately maintained until full victory is achieved, because in this war, just as in the Great Patriotic War, we have only 2 choices — Victory or Death.”
Russell supports the referendum, he says, “to the extent that the referendum promotes and enables the full victory over Nazism in Ukraine.”
“We are tired of fighting this. Tired. We’re scared. We’re really scared,” the woman at the marketplace says, her eyes filling with tears. Like most of her neighbors, she speaks Russian, a language de-facto outlawed by the nationalists of Ukraine. Just one of many reasons that she, her family and friends, have been targeted by the nationalists. “These are not people. They pit brothers against brothers, they pit their relatives and loved ones against each other. How is it possible to live in one city and bomb another? It is impossible. It’s unreal! We are peaceful people. We are all alive. You can’t just do that!”
Many Russian-speakers look forward to unification with the Russian Federation. It isn’t just that they want the military security that Russia is already providing. It’s because they miss their family. Ukraine, they feel, has not treated them as family but as unwanted bastards, or as outlanders, despite the fact that many have lived in the region for generations. Now, they just want to live in peace.
In a Friday address, the head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, said, “We have been waiting for this moment for more than 8 years! We waited through anxious nights and busy weekdays, at the battlefront and from behind lines. We waited as people wait for their return to the family after many years of separation.”
DPR Head Denis Pushilin speaks about referendum, Video courtesy Denis Pushilin
“Holding a referendum is a historic milestone,” Pushilin continues. “Not only because we are confident in its positive result, but because it is the end of the difficult road we have traveled together.”
He refers to the eight-year struggle of the people in the Donbass, who formed their own independent states, which were finally recognized as sovereign republics by the Russian Federation and its allies in February of this year. The third step of the journey, he says, is joining Russia. To him, it is a foregone conclusion that the voters of DPR will follow the voters of Crimea in their desire to reunite with the rodina — the motherland.
“We are returning home ,” he says. “This is the main reason for all our deeds and battles, the innermost desire, and at the same time the absolute certainty that the day will come when we will become Russia.”
This desire to be one with Russia may sound strange to western ears. Let me put it this way:
For hundreds of years, Ukraine was a region, not a country. Russians and Ukrainians are not truly separate ethnicities. Though many Ukrainian nationalists insist that they are descended from Rurik Vikings and are not related to the “Moskals,” which is what they call Russians, the truth is that both peoples have occupied the region for hundreds of years, and they share the same ancestors. Their DNA is the same Eastern Slavic DNA. The same blood runs through their veins. Many Russians have family in Ukraine and vice-versa.
The longing to return to Russia is a literal longing for family, and an end to the ostracization and persecution of the excruciating, nightmarish years which pushed many beyond what they can bear.
“I want there to be peace in the world. I want everything to be good and beautiful,” the woman at the marketplace says, tears now running down her cheeks.
“We have come a long and dangerous way home,” Pushilin says, concluding his address. “Each of your votes will confirm the truth: Donbass is Russia.”
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/09/ ... th-russia/
How the Russian-Speaking Donbass First Attempted to Win Independence from Ukraine in 2004
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on JULY 11, 2022
Alexander Nepogodin
The foundations for the current Ukraine conflict were laid almost two decades ago
In late June, after fierce fighting, the last remaining units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces pulled out of Severodonetsk, a large industrial center in the western part of the Lugansk People’s Republic.
Back in 2004, the city hosted the famous congress of the ‘federalists’, Ukrainian politicians – elected at different levels – who backed the presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych during the Western-backed Orange Revolution. Back then, they declared then that the Kiev protests were an attempted coup and warned that an illegitimate government coming to power could prompt the congress to establish south-eastern autonomy to protect local residents.
At the same time, regional deputies decided to hold a referendum on changing the country into a federal state and appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin for support. In this article, RT recounts the first attempt of Ukraine’s southeastern regions to gain independence from Kiev and explains why the events of 2004 defined the future armed conflict in Donbass.
Just a step away from federation
Political discussions about a possible disintegration and reconfiguration of Ukraine have been going on ever since the country became independent in 1991. Ironically, one of the first people to doubt the country’s unity was Vyacheslav Chornovol, the founder of the national democratic party Narodny Rukh (People’s Movement) and a hero for Ukrainian nationalists. Admittedly, he only mentioned the possibility of turning Ukraine into a federation. The idea of federalization was the focal point of discussions that – until the Maidan political crisis of 2014 – were commonly referred to as “separatist” discourse.
As early as 1989, Chornovol said that Ukraine should be a “union of lands.” “I imagine future Ukraine as a federal state, a union of lands, which have come together throughout the course of history and whose natural, climatic, cultural, ethnographic, and linguistic differences, as well as idiosyncrasies in their economies, habits, and customs define the unique diversity of a single people. I envision the People’s Republic of Ukraine, which includes such lands as the Kiev Region, Podolye, Volhynia, Galichina, Bukovina, Transcarpathia, Getmanshchina, Sloboda Ukraine, Zaporozhye, the Donetsk region, and Tauria, whereas Crimea could be an independent neighbor or an autonomous republic in alliance with Ukraine,” he wrote.
Chornovol added that Ukrainian should be the only state language in the new federation, although local authorities could make certain provinces bilingual.
Two years later, in 1991, Chornovol initiated the convention of the so-called Galicia Assembly, which spoke in favor of administrative reform and the creation of a new autonomous regional entity, Galichina, based on the amalgamation of the Lviv, Ternopol, and Ivano-Frankovsk Regions. Even though the assembly was one of the catalysts of Ukraine’s independence, Chornovol’s supporters were accused of separatism after Leonid Kravchuk was elected president. This was in large part due to ideas to create a Donetsk Republic and Novorossiya in the Russian-speaking southeast of Ukraine, which began circulating in the 1990s. Over time, Chornovol’s proposals came to be viewed as too radical, and opponents of federalization have been linking his designs with the breakup of the country for more than 30 years now.
When the Ukrainian constitution was adopted in 1996, it defined Ukraine as a unitary state, which removed the issue of federalization from the agenda. And yet, apart from the 24 regions and two federal-level cities (Kiev and Sevastopol), Ukraine also included the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which, for a few years, even had its own constitution and president. Throughout those years, Ukrainian presidents Leonid Kravchuk and Leonid Kuchma managed to strike the right balance in their foreign and domestic policies, especially as regards to handling relations between regions on both sides of the “Subtelny line,” which is traditionally used to divide Ukraine into two distinct parts.
FILE PHOTO. Some 3,500 local officials from 17 of Ukraine’s 27 regions meet in Severodonetsk, an eastern Ukrainian town 28 November, 2004. © AFP / PHOTO MIG
However, in 2004, when the outcome of the protests was still uncertain, politicians who supported Yanukovych (dubbed “pro-Russian” in the West, despite his years of negotiations with the EU) revived the idea of federalization. Members of the Party of Regions claimed that Ukraine had failed as a unitary state and therefore had to be reorganized as a federation with a high degree of autonomy at the level of administrative and territorial entities. Ukraine was going through a real crisis, and, probably for the first time, that schism was pushing the country to the brink of an all-out civilian conflict.
“Not going to let Galichina tell us how to live our lives”
The mass protests in Kiev, which would later be known as the Orange Revolution, were met with little enthusiasm in the southeast of Ukraine, especially in Donbass. While protesters at the Maidan claimed their ‘pro-European’ candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, had his victory “stolen from him,” many supporters of Yanukovych felt the same watching their opponents clamor for official election results, which had declared the latter victorious, to be repealed. A response to the protests in the capital was imminent.
On November 28, the All-Ukrainian Congress of Deputies of All Levels welcomed more than 3,500 pro-Yanukovych delegates from across the country. They declared that the protests were an attempted coup and warned that an illegitimate Yushchenko-led government taking over Kiev could prompt the congress to establishautonomy to protect the residents of southeastern Ukraine.
The final statement of the congress, which had been unanimously adopted by its delegates, said: “If the sociopolitical situation in the country develops according to the worst crisis scenario, we will stand firm and united to defend the vote of the people of Ukraine going as far as holding a referendum on possible changes to the administrative and territorial structure of Ukraine.” The significance of the gathering was further elevated by the presence of Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who delivered a sharp rebuke to Ukraine’s radical opposition. “On the one hand, we’re seeing this orange-fueled mayhem [orange became the symbol of support for Yushchenko – RT], which claims to represent the majority in Ukraine. On the other hand, we have this quiet force gathered in this room today,” Luzhkov said to a round of applause.
At the same time, the Regional Council of Lugansk came up with an alternative project, proposing the establishment of the South-East Ukrainian Autonomous Republic with Kharkov as its capital city. Along with the initiative, local MPs also asked President Putin to help them organize a referendum on Ukraine’s federalization. The referendum was scheduled for December 5, 2004. At the same time, the Regional Council of Donetsk decided to establish its own police force.
Leaders of Ukraine’s southeastern regions began to voice their support for the idea of reorganizing the country. Kharkov’s authorities decided to set up committees that would have executive state powers. Governor Yevgeny Kushnarev was elected head of the regional executive committee – he was well known as a pro-Russian politician and supporter of federalization, as well as a presidential hopeful according to many journalists and activists. His responsibilities at the time included coordination between other councils in the southeastern territories. The Kharkov Region also stopped making payments to the national budget, waiting for the situation in Kiev to stabilize.
It was Kushnarev who put into words the idea that later defined the development of the Donbass armed conflict. Speaking at the Severodonetsk conference, he said, “I’d like to remind you that we are 400 kilometers away from Kiev and 40 kilometers away from Russia. We understand that the east is very different from Galicia in the west. We are not imposing our way of life on Galicia, but we will never let Galicia lecture us either.” Together with Boris Kolesnikov, head of the Regional Council of Donetsk, he proposed organizing a referendum in every city to see if people trusted the government and asked what they thought of ‘relaunching’ Ukraine as a federal republic.
All of this political activity in the country’s southeast caused some serious concerns in the West, where governments started to see that the dissolution of the state was quite possible. The diplomatic channels were activated. EU and Russian representatives began making frequent visits in order to work out some compromises. At the end of the day, they didn’t include a referendum, but a process was agreed on to transfer power to Yushchenko. The compromise worked like this: Yushchenko got the green light at the election, and his win in the runoff was accepted by the opponents. In return, he agreed to change the constitution and have presidential privileges reduced as of January 1, 2005, thus turning Ukraine into a parliamentary republic. The local governments in the South-East wrapped up their plans.
One Step Closer to the Abyss
As time went on, everyone felt comfortable forgetting about the convention of ‘federalists’ in Severodonetsk and the programs announced by the local governments in the South-East. They were only recalled when attempts were made to blackmail or jail the local big wigs. One shouldn’t underestimate the significance of those events, however. It was the very first time the South-East made it clear what its response was to “patriots” in Kiev trying to seize power and disregard the opinion of half the country’s population while they were at it. Back then, there were no consequences because the parties to the conflict worked out a solution based on compromise, while Russia abstained from backing and pushing Yanukovych.
A little later, however, the members of the Severodonetsk rally came under severe pressure. A criminal charge was launched against Evgeny Kushnarev – a famous member of the Party of Regions – on the grounds of separatism, to be dropped later. That was enough for Kushnarev to distance himself from the separatism agenda, focusing instead on regional issues. In 2005, he “engaged,” as he called it, Yanukovych by merging his New Democracy platform into the Party of Regions. The two politicians ran together in the parliamentary elections in 2006. It was Kushnarev who addressed the items on the election program the most, including the issue of the status of the Russian language.
In January 2007, Kushnarev was severely wounded during a wolf hunt in the Izyum district of Kharkov Region. He was shot by one of his friends, who had joined him for the hunt. A day later, Kushnarev died in spite of two surgeries. He was regarded as the leading anti-Maidan spokesman and a pro-Russian candidate for presidency.
The events of those years – Maidan, federalization attempts in southeastern Ukraine and the death of a popular champion of Russia and federalism, Evgeny Kushnarev – marked the end of the first era in the history of an independent Ukraine. The people in power, Kuchma included, were anything but impeccable. They had a lot to answer for. But they were forged in the Soviet era and they had a sense of responsibility for their country and understood how complex the situation really was in Ukraine and abroad.
During that period, politicians avoided any radical steps and tried to resolve conflicts through compromise. But when Yushchenko came to power, he abandoned this approach and attempted to impose on Ukraine an agenda that was alien to millions of its citizens. Aggressive ‘Ukrainianization’ and a policy aimed at distancing the country from Russia eventually resulted in mounting tensions and a protracted political crisis.
All of that has brought Ukraine to its present state – a country plagued by domestic political crises and economic instability, a nation suffering territorial loss and ravaged by an armed conflict in the southeast that began in 2014. Today, Ukrainians look back on the period, which ended in 2004, as the last peaceful era in Ukraine’s modern history. Kiev’s failure to draw the right conclusions from the ‘Severodonetsk case’ contributed to the tragedy Ukraine experienced in 2014. Ukrainian society was never able to bridge its internal divide, and the revolution that came a decade later only split the country further, leading to the loss of Crimea and a bloody war in Donbass.
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/07/ ... e-in-2004/
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Please come out to the streets, have a discussion, show a film. Show you opposition to the Ukraine War!
Come out between September 30 and October 7
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers have died in this war. Sanctions meant to hurt Russia have cause economic instability around the world. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been given to the US arms industry and to Ukraine to wage this war. It is time to build a movement to stop the war.
End the War in Ukraine!
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"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."
Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part V
Hide the present, erase history
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 09/27/2023
The fact that an entire parliament stood up to unanimously and heartfeltly applaud a veteran soldier of the Waffen SS has surprised locals and strangers and even those who participated in the event. The honoree, Yaroslav Hunka, was presented as a hero who fought “for the independence of Ukraine against Russia in the Second World War”, a fact that should have been enough to understand on which side he had done so. The veteran was not even a member of OUN or UPA, whose cry “Slava Ukraina. Geroyam Slava” (glory to Ukraine, glory to the heroes”) has been openly assumed by the post-Maidan State in the institutionalization of nationalist discourse as the only possible national discourse. Thanks to Ivan Katchanovski, Ukrainian-Canadian and professor at the University of Ottawa,
The images and opinions published by Hunka in recent decades, which show a man who saw the years of war and his military training in Nazi Germany as the happiest of his life, not only show no regret, but Added to the tears of emotion last Sunday, they are evidence of the pride that the veteran feels for having served in the SS-Freiwilligen-Division “Galizien”, a name that is excessively German to avoid scandal by justifying the facts. Scandal has been inevitable even in Canada, one of the most advanced countries when it comes to rewriting the history of the Second World War. After all, as an article published following the scandal by the Jewish media The Forward recalls,quoting historian Irving Arbella, showing Nazi tattoos was a way to advance the immigration process to the country in the post-war years: it was proof that the person was anti-communist. With anti-communism as its official ideology, Canada accepted, without questions, to welcome thousands of veterans of SS units and other collaborationists who, like Chrystia Freeland's grandfather, have been, little by little, converted, if not into heroes, then yes. at least in complex figures who, in situations of extreme pressure, acted in a way that cannot be judged from the comfortable present.
The Ukrainian sociologist Volodymyr Ischenko, whose essay on the Ukrainian voices highlighted by the Western press, all nationalist and conservative, was widely debated and hated at the beginning of the year by the current establishment , took up his argument to remember that what is happening now is a test more that “the voices of those who represent nothing more than the most shameful pages of Ukrainian history are being amplified, while the erasure of those that are more universally relevant is systematically legitimized.” Ischenko also criticizes that, despite the political scandal generated, a part of the population and the intelligentsia is actively trying to justify, not only Hunka's presence in Parliament, but his choice to volunteer for a Nazi unit or to describe the German occupation of Eastern Europe, scene of the greatest massacres of the war, as a “civilized occupation.” and the Holocaust.
The anti-communist historiography of recent decades and all kinds of theories such as those of Timothy Snyder, the theory of double genocide or the generalization of the idea of the evil empire help in this distortion of history . Among all the regimes in the history of humanity, it was the Soviet Union that the Western establishment decided to give that adjective to. In the case of widespread glorification of those who fought against the Soviet Union in World War II in groups like the OUN or UPA, a small minority compared to the millions of Ukrainians who fought in the Red Army or as partisans, it is useful also the Holodomor narrative and the way in which a famine throughout the south of the Soviet Union has been artificially converted into a planned action by Stalin specifically against Ukraine. Canada tops the list of countries where Holodomor is considered genocide. The obsessive hatred of the Soviet Union and everything it represented and the will to justify and make disappear the crimes of those who fought against it at the hands of Nazi Germany even at times when the USSR was an ally - purely circumstantial. in the case of Canada - are nothing more than a reflection of who was considered the true enemy. Hence a hero of OUN or UPA would not have caused the slightest scandal in Canada despite having collaborated with Nazism and having participated in the Holocaust with bullets and the mass murder of people of Polish, Roma or Russian ethnicity as well as, of course, communists.
Unfortunately for the Speaker of the Canadian Parliament, Anthony Rota, who has been forced to take all the blame, the normalization of Waffen SS soldiers has not yet made it to the agenda. The global focus implied by a political appearance by Zelensky has also prevented the issue from going unnoticed, leading to an attempt at damage control that has only just begun. Above all, the Canadian response has been generated from a double reaction: the tendency of human beings to deny all knowledge and the fear that the episode will be used by the feared Russian propaganda . Special mention deserves media such as EuromaidanPR , which aspired to carry out a fact-check exercise remembering that a Canadian war crimes commission found nothing punishable in the members of the Galizien Division settled in the country. The Ukrainian propaganda, one step ahead of the Canadian one, has already accepted the Vyatrovich option of describing as freedom fighters those who fought in the division, which the former guardian of Ukraine's memory stated without blushing that it was not a unit Nazi.
Two speeches have been made in Ottawa scandal these days the most representative. The first is Justin Trudeau's attempted apology, who in a video apparently recorded in a hallway appeals to the President of Parliament's statement exonerating the entire parliamentary arc of an error that he personally assumes. “Obviously it is extremely upsetting that this has happened,” said the Canadian Prime Minister, looking at the ground to continue saying that “the Speaker of Parliament has admitted his mistake and has apologized, but this is something that is deeply embarrassing for the Parliament of Canada.” and, by extension, for all Canadians. I think especially for the Jewish deputies for all the Jews in the country who celebrate Yom Kippur today.” From there, Trudeau focuses on what truly matters. "I think it's going to be very important for all of us to stand up against Russian propaganda, Russian disinformation and continue our unequivocal support for Ukraine." This is not the only mention that has been made this week of the danger that the Russian propaganda uses the episode, although it is surely the most relevant. Obviously, Russian propaganda and disinformation He did not have to work excessively on this occasion and it was enough to publish the facts. Perhaps the most relevant comment was made by Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman, who accused the West of having created a generation that does not know who fought against whom in World War II. None of the Canadian MPs were able to understand that “fought against Russia in the Second World War” also meant against Canada and its allies and on the Nazi side. Hence the resignation of the President of Parliament, which was announced yesterday afternoon, was only a matter of time. This is how the political class wants to turn the page on a crisis that has shown in all its splendor the shame felt by the Canadian authorities, who have unwittingly staged the true ideology and ignorance of their country.
The second relevant speech was given by the leader of the majority faction in Parliament Karina Gould, also from Justin Trudeau's party. Her argument before the camera was the need to eliminate from the session diary the moment of Yaroslav Hunka's presentation as a hero and the reaction that this provoked. After warning of the danger of Russian propaganda, erasing history is the second solution that the Liberal Party of Canada has found to cover up its shame. For evidently political reasons and the future electoral use of the episode, the conservative opposition has rejected Gould's request, which only deepens the notorious inability of the Canadian political class to understand what has happened, how it could happen so naturally. and, above all, how to erase it from the collective memory. Blaming a single person for inviting and honoring a Nazi soldier seems like a way to justify the fact that not a single Canadian MP understood who he was applauding. Warn of the danger that Russian propagandaYou can use the facts as an argument, for its part, it seems to be the way to turn the page as quickly as possible.
Neither of these two positions answers the question with which the Wiesenthal Foundation in Canada closes its statement of condemnation. “The fact that a veteran who served in a Nazi military unit was invited and received an ovation in Parliament is surprising,” condemns Wiesenthal, adding that “at a time of increasing anti-Semitism and distortion of the Holocaust, it is incredibly disturbing.” see the Parliament of Canada rise to applaud an individual who was a member of a Waffen SS unit, a Nazi military wing responsible for the murder of Jews and other populations and which was declared a criminal organization in the Nuremberg trials. "There should be no confusion that this unit was responsible for mass murders of innocent civilians with a level of brutality and malice that is unimaginable,"
At the end of the text, Wiesenthal gets to the question that no one is asking right now. The Foundation demands an “apology from every Holocaust survivor and World War II veteran who fought against the Nazis,” but first and foremost states that “an explanation must be provided as to how this individual entered the hallowed halls of the Parliament of Canada.” and received recognition from the President of Parliament and a standing ovation.” The personal acceptance of guilt by the Speaker of Parliament seems to be a sufficient answer to the question of who chose Yaroslav Hunka to be honored. Perhaps the question should not be directed only to the Canadian political authorities, but also to the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, a pressure group that, without a doubt,
https://slavyangrad.es/2023/09/27/28223/#more-28223
Google Translator
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Chronicle of a special military operation for September 25, 2023
September 26, 2023
Rybar
Last night, Russian troops carried out combined strikes on Ukrainian territory. Among the targets were port infrastructure facilities in the Odessa region . Attacks on the Dolgintsevo airfield near Krivoy Rog were also reported . In addition, information appeared about two arrivals in the area of Kulbakino airport near Nikolaev .
In the evening, Ukrainian formations attempted to attack the Crimean Peninsula . For this, the Ukrainian Armed Forces used Storm Shadow cruise missiles . Their exact number is being specified. Apparently, Ukrainian troops tried to strike airfields of the Aerospace Forces and Navy in Crimea.
For the second day in a row, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are actively attacking the rear of the border regions of Russia. All day long, Russian air defense systems and electronic warfare systems intercepted Ukrainian drones in the Bryansk , Kursk and Belgorod regions . This is one of the most massive UAV raids on the Russian border in recent times.
Night combined strike of the Russian Armed Forces
At night, Russian troops attacked targets on Ukrainian territory, including the port infrastructure of the Odessa region . Local sources indicated very dense air defense work and explosions in the area of the Ilyichevsk port , Bolshevik district , the village of Ilyinka , and the village of Kotovskoye . According to some reports, sounds of secondary detonation were heard from the warehouses of the Yuzhny port .
One of the blows hit the closed Odessa hotel . Although some resources claim that the building was never used for military purposes, this is not entirely true: back in May, people in uniform were seen there, and for some reason generators were working at the “abandoned” facility. However, there is no objective evidence of the destruction of manpower there during the night raid.
Information also appeared about another combined strike by drones and cruise missiles on the Dolgintsevo airfield near Krivoy Rog. And already in the morning, footage appeared of the defeat of a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter there: it is possible that this particular episode occurred several days ago, but the very fact of regular raids indicates the unambiguous attention to it from the Russian Armed Forces and the desire to hit the aircraft located there.
Near Nikolaev there are two powerful arrivals in the area of Kulbakino airport . Nikolaev had not heard explosions for a long time and had time to relax a bit: Su-24Ms, carriers of cruise missiles, began to be based at the airport, and Anas began to regularly land there, transferring personnel and ammunition. Although the front line is only 40 km.
The results of the arrival have yet to be clarified, but a cavalcade of ambulances rushed there from the regional center. What exactly arrived is also a question. Because in Kiselevka, located not so far away , they hit an ammunition depot with a one and a half ton FAB with an UMPC.
Ukrainian Armed Forces missile strike on Crimea
Ukrainian formations again tried to strike the Crimean peninsula . According to some reports, at least two Storm Shadow cruise missiles were launched from Su-24M bombers .
The Storm Shadow flight route ran through Cape Tarkhankut in the direction of Sevastopol and the Kherson region to Dzhankoy and Gvardeyskoye . One of the cruise missiles was destroyed on approach to the Belbek airfield by crews of the 31st Air Force and Air Defense Division. Three or four minutes later, the air defense also worked on another cruise missile north of Cossack Bay on approach to Sevastopol.
Also, servicemen of the 31st division worked on two targets ( preliminarily, Storm Shadow ) above Dzhankoy and Gvardeysky. The exact number of downed targets will become clear later. We do not exclude at all that there could be more of them. Judging by the areas where the missiles hit, Ukrainian troops tried to strike airfields of the Aerospace Forces and Navy in Crimea. And while Storm Shadow/SCALP carriers remain in the air, the threat of repeated attacks remains.
Attack on the MiG-29 aircraft parking area at Kulbakino airfield
A new video of the attack on the Kulbakino airfield in Nikolaev from the Turned in War channel has appeared : at least one attack hit a MiG-29 fighter of the Ukrainian Air Force, parked near the runway.
This is the third documented case of the destruction of Ukrainian MiG-29s over the past few days: before that, two aircraft of this type were hit at the Dolgintsevo airfield near Krivoy Rog. In this case, the target was also located at a considerable distance from the front line - 55 km from the front line.
Such effective raids in such a short period of time clearly indicate the increased combat capabilities of the Russian Armed Forces in the matter of destroying aircraft on the ground, which previously had certain difficulties. I really want to hope that such attacks will become systematic: each such precise arrival reduces the combat capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force.
The situation on the front line and combat operations
In the Soledar direction, clashes continued in the areas of Kleshcheevka and Andreevka . In addition, there were reports of a successful assault by Russian troops on the settlement. Orekhovo - Vasilevka . Since this village is located at tactical heights, its control improves the position of our troops in this area. It is too early to talk about complete control over Orekhovo-Vasilevka, since after its liberation the enemy attempts to counterattack.
In the Donetsk direction, clashes are mostly of a positional nature. More than two months have passed since the last update of the situation near Avdeevka , and the situation in this area has not changed radically. Either ours or Ukrainian units attack positions, trying to improve the tactical situation.
Over the last few weeks, enemy formations, reinforced by detachments of marines, tried to break through to Vodyanoye and Opytny . At some point they managed to advance, but after a massive artillery strike and a subsequent counterattack by the 1st Slavic Brigade, everything returned to its original state. At the same time, fighters of the Russian Armed Forces also carried out several attacks in other directions. Operating from the outskirts of Opytnoye, Russian Army personnel advanced towards the residential complex “ 446 km ” and secured new positions.
Similarly, units of the Russian Armed Forces leveled the front along the H20 highway , clearing out strong points near the 3rd pond and water treatment plant. Now the line of contact runs along the road from Kamenka to Krutaya Balka and Kashtanovoye . However, the situation does not change significantly. A head-on assault on Avdeevka is physically impossible without huge losses in manpower and equipment. Another option is to cut off supplies from the north, but the defense density of the Ukrainian Armed Forces there is high, so at the moment we should not expect any significant advance.
Yesterday, footage appeared on the Internet of a strike by the Russian Armed Forces on a train near the village of Rodinskoye in the occupied part of the DPR, which occurred a few days ago. Judging by the recording, there were also MLRS on the platforms among several dozen wheeled vehicles. The enemy personnel fled after an air explosion and fire. According to some reports, the target was fired from the Tornado-S MLRS , which made it possible to cover the train 40 km from the front line. At the same time, objective control of fire damage was carried out by a reconnaissance drone, which also flew deep beyond the line of combat contact.
It is difficult to say whether the train was completely destroyed, but this is far from the only blow to a specific outcome. A kilometer to the south, satellite images discovered by colleagues from Lostarmour show a large-scale defeat in the area of the Rodinskaya railway station . Coupled with the recent raid on the railway junction in Vapnyarka and the statement of the Russian Ministry of Defense about the destruction of two echelons of the 37th Infantry Marine Corps of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at loading stations, it can be assumed that attacks on enemy trains in the rear are becoming more systematic.
In the Vremyevsky sector, the enemy attempts attacks in small groups east of Urozhainy , but to no avail. On the approaches to Staromayorsky, the artillery of the Russian Armed Forces inflicts fire on the fortifications of the Ukrainian Armed Forces under construction, including with the use of “Solntsepeks”. Positional clashes continue in the Priyutnoye area.
In the Orekhovsky section, the tense situation remains in the Rabotino - Verbovoe section . Russian troops were able to repel several attacks by Ukrainian Armed Forces assault groups in the Verbovoy area . The Russian Armed Forces also inflicted fire on enemy concentrations of manpower and equipment in the areas of the settlement. Malaya Tokmachka , Novodanilovka and north of Rabotino .
Colleagues from the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies drew attention to a video from a Ukrainian UAV documenting the use by Russian troops in the Zaporozhye direction of inflatable mock-ups of T-72 tanks as decoys for enemy reconnaissance. Both sides have long resorted to such methods, and Ukrainian formations have established mass production of such products. Among other things, they were prompted to do this by significant losses in artillery from the arrival of Lancet loitering ammunition. As for the mock-ups with videos, they clearly could use a little more detail: at a distance, and especially with satellite imagery, you can confuse them with real tanks, but up close it’s already difficult.
In the Kherson direction, for several days in a row, Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft have been striking with controlled aerial bombs at areas where Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel are concentrated in the village of Lvovo . Not long ago, the enemy transferred reserves to this direction for a future offensive, and therefore the activity of Russian tactical aviation increased.
Shelling of rear areas and residential areas
In the Bryansk region, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked the Starodub municipal district with the Grad MLRS. The territory of the agricultural enterprise and the buildings on it were damaged, several cows died. Air defense was activated twice in the region, in the Surazhsky region and on approach to Bryansk . Both times the attack was repelled by air defense forces. Destruction and casualties were avoided.
Since the very morning, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been launching massive attacks on border settlements in the Belgorod region :
In the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka , five houses and a power line were damaged by shells, the village was partially de-energized, emergency crews were working on the site, and there were no casualties. There were no casualties. In the village of Urazovo , Valuysky urban district , two people were wounded ; they received medical assistance on the spot. Shell fragments destroyed one outbuilding and damaged a residential building.
In the Grayvoronsky urban district, air defense units shot down an Ukrainian Armed Forces drone; no casualties were reported. In the village of Murom , Shebekinsky urban district, a kamikaze drone attacked a communications facility, special services are working on the spot, no one was injured. In Shebekino, two women were injured during shelling . One was shell-shocked while traveling in a car, the second was injured at one of the enterprises. Shell fragments damaged eight private houses and power lines; repair crews are working at the scene of the incident. In the sky above the Shebekinsky urban district, an air defense system shot down an enemy target in the area of the village of Batratskaya Dacha, no one was hurt. In the Belgorod regionAir defense crews hit two Ukrainian Armed Forces drones; according to preliminary data, there was no damage.
In addition, the Ministry of Defense reported several times during the day on the destruction of the UAV. In the evening, the regional governor reported another massive attack from seven UAVs, which was also repelled by air defense forces. Emergency services are working; at the time of writing, one car was damaged.
News channels posted footage of arrivals and explosion clouds in the Krasnodon area in the LPR. The strike was carried out by three Storm Shadow cruise missiles fired from Ukrainian Air Force Su-24M bombers. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation stated two dead and three wounded as a result of this attack. The launch, with a high probability, was carried out from the outskirts of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration from a distance of over 150 kilometers from the front line. Missile strikes deep in the rear are usually part of the enemy's preparation for an offensive. Given the concentration of Ukrainian Armed Forces forces in the Bakhmut area , it is likely that Ukrainian formations will again try to attack in several areas.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces do not stop attacking populated areas of the Donetsk agglomeration . According to local authorities, 64 shells were fired across the territory of the DPR over the past 24 hours. The enemy used 152, 155 mm caliber artillery and attack UAVs. There were some casualties. In the Kuibyshevsky district of Donetsk, one man was killed as a result of shelling . In addition to the regional capital, Makeevka , Gorlovka and Yasinovatsky district were under fire .
Ukrainian formations continue to shell the left bank of the Kherson region every day . The following were under fire: Novaya Kakhovka , Korsunka , Krynki , Cossack Camps , Kardashinka and Kakhovka . In the village of Obryvka, an arrival at a cemetery was recorded. In the village of Dnepryany, shells damaged a gas pipe, the operation of the local energy network was partially disrupted, and restoration work is underway.
Political events
The true size of the International Legion: where have all the mercenaries gone?
If in 2022, after the creation of the “ International Legion ,” the Internet was full of footage from different sectors of the front from dozens of foreigners, today fresh videos and photos are difficult to come across. According to our data, a total of 12,046 foreigners officially took part in Ukraine (we are not even talking about any 20,000-strong army). Of these, at the moment, about 1,800 mercenaries remain in the Northern Military District zone on the other side. Why is that? Large losses and a significant number of disillusioned people.
During the SVO, over 5,680 people from the International Legion were liquidated . And more than 4,560 foreigners left the ranks of the Ukrainian formations and returned to their countries. The largest number of mercenaries in the Legion came from Poland and Georgia , which is not at all surprising, given the maximum anti-Russian sentiments prevailing in these countries. The large number of Americans, British and Australians is also not at all surprising: it is the soldiers of fortune and PMCs who do the most dirty work abroad, acting as an excellent cover for regular units.
The beginning of the conflict was marked by widespread support for Ukraine in the Western media. The aura of Ukraine “under aggression”, which needs protection, pushed thousands of people to go to an unfamiliar country to participate in the war with Russia for good money. Faced with the real situation and the actual state of affairs, when, for example, mercenaries were used as cannon fodder without support, many did not want to continue their participation. And the lack of success at the front after the retreat of the Russian Armed Forces from Kherson further reduced the influx of volunteers. The mercenaries remaining in Ukraine are either the most ardent opponents of Russia who want to “hunt Russians”, or professionals performing highly specialized tasks, for example, managing high-tech weapons or training Ukrainians.
Option for a Polish compromise on grain transportation from Ukraine
In some places, even the funny story of the Polish-Ukrainian squabbles shows no sign of stopping. President Andrzej Duda announced Poland's readiness to ensure the transit of Ukrainian grain for subsequent shipment to the poorest countries in Africa and Asia .
And if at first glance the statement looks like a mockery ( even the most narrow-minded Ukrainian is unlikely to believe in the realism of such a proposal), then if you look closely, you will notice a curious motive behind the Polish initiative. To send grain to African countries, very large and at the same time free elevators are needed in Spain, Italy and on the southern coast of France. There are none in principle, because this logistics route has never been worked out. All existing elevators are fully loaded for the domestic market, which has been in this state for several decades. Before loading a ship with grain, you must first drive 10-20 trains, transfer the grain to an elevator in a port, for example Malaga, and from there send it to Africa. But again, there is no free infrastructure for such operations. The EU railway system works like clockwork, and if an unplanned flow of trains unexpectedly flows in, it will easily disrupt established logistics.
So it turns out that, judging by Duda’s proposal, the scheme will look like this: “grain” in an unspecified amount is transported by rail to ports in the south of the EU, where there is simply no infrastructure for receiving grain. At least in such volumes. Next, this grain needs to be loaded onto ships, insured, sent to Africa and unloaded. It is unknown who will pay the associated costs.
The scheme proposed by Duda, but clearly invented by someone higher up, can work and bring profit only in one case: if, under the guise of grain transit, everything valuable that comes across is exported from Ukraine. In this case, the sender of the Ukrainian “grain” will be unknown Ukrainian companies, and the recipients will be the same unknown legal entities or, possibly, even government organizations. But since the “grain” will not be supplied under a contract, but as a free supply, the final volumes of cargo will be unknown. And along with the grain, tons of contraband, weapons, slaves, organs, cultural and material assets will go to Europe. Of course, such logistics can work in both directions, for example, in the interests of supplying weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Thus, if the Polish “grain” transit really works, we can confidently say that we are facing another “Trojan horse” for the EU economy and a scheme to enrich the same interests that profited from the recently deceased “grain deal.”
On the supply of Abrams tanks and ATACMS missiles for the Ukrainian Armed Forces
The New York Times writes about the delivery of the first batch of Abrams tanks to Ukraine. This information was later confirmed by Vladimir Zelensky , saying that the tanks were being prepared to enter the brigades. Politico previously reported that the first ten vehicles will arrive in September, and the rest at a later date, so such a small number of tanks will not be able to radically affect the situation on the battlefield. At the same time, information appeared in the American media that within this week the United States would make a decision on the transfer of ATACMS missilesto the HIMARS MLRS, presumably they will soon appear at the front, which will complicate the work of Russian air defense crews for some time and will require additional time to learn how to shoot them down.
About the trial of Igor Kolomoisky
Today, the Kiev Court of Appeal considered the complaint of oligarch Igor Kolomoisky for arrest with bail. The businessman tried to appeal the decision, calling it illegal and “made in haste.” The trial took place in open mode. The oligarch's lawyer said that Kolomoisky is a citizen of Ukraine, although the prisoner himself confirmed that he was being tried as a citizen of Israel and Cyprus, despite having a Ukrainian passport. At the same time, the businessman himself claims that he does not consider the case against him to be politically motivated; in his words, we are talking about “cases of bygone years.”
Several people came to the trial who were supposed to take the oligarch on bail. Among them were TV presenters of the 1+1 channel, Yuriy Gorbunov , Alla Mazur and Natalya Moseychuk , Chief Rabbi of the Dnepropetrovsk region Shmuel Kaminetsky , ex-Minister of Culture and former general director of the 1+1 TV channel, Verkhovna Rada deputy Sergei Demchenko and Nikopol City Council deputy Evgeniy Bovkun . Despite their fiery speeches and requests to release the businessman under personal guardianship, the court left Igor Kolomoisky in pre-trial detention and rejected the petition to change the preventive measure. At the same time, the number of people somehow associated with the 1+1 channel is somewhat surprising: they are clearly not just tried to get their boss out of prison
https://rybar.ru/hronika-speczialnoj-vo ... 23-goda-2/
(Other images at link.)
How many unmanned boats were used by the APU in the Black Sea?
September 26, 2023
Rybar
How many unmanned boats were used by the APU in the Black Sea?
Since the fall of last year, Ukrainian formations began using unmanned boats (BEC) to attack Russian ports, warships, tankers, as well as the Crimean Bridge, in the Black Sea.
We decided to analyze what types of BeK the Armed Forces of Ukraine have? How have areas and tactics of their use changed? How many of them have been destroyed to date and, most importantly, how to deal with them?
Where did the Ukrainian Armed Forces use BeKi?
If you look at the statistics, together with the recent drone sunk off the Black Sea coast of Crimea, it turns out that Ukrainian units used 52 naval drones to attack Russian ships and territories.
Of these, 44 units were successfully destroyed, but eight were somehow able to cause damage. This was the case with the patrol ships “Vasily Bykov” and “Sergey Kotov”, the large landing ship “Olenegorsky Gornyak”, the oil depot and the support of the Crimean Bridge.
Moreover, the lion's share of attacks occurred in the southwestern part of the Black Sea, where unmanned boats repeatedly tried to hit Black Sea Fleet ships in order to push them out of the zone and organize a new grain corridor.
What types of BeK does the Ukrainian Armed Forces have?
During the special operation, the Ukrainian authorities and volunteers presented many different versions of naval drones, announcing the start of mass production and imminent use against Russia.
However, in reality, as with dozens of unmanned aerial vehicles, the fate of a significant part of the declared maritime drones is still unclear. They were presented, but whether they are in production and not as a prototype is a question.
So far, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have used three types of unmanned boats : Magura V5, Sea Baby and a hydro scooter (something similar to a Jet Ski jet ski). They were the ones observed during attacks on Sevastopol, the Crimean Bridge and Black Sea Fleet ships.
But the other day, Ukrainian media published footage of the Marichka underwater drone, capable of carrying a charge of up to 1000 kg, being launched into the water. As the Russian engineer noted , since it was shown against the backdrop of the port of Odessa, it will soon be used for an attack.
The danger of this particular drone is that it is underwater and not semi-submersible, which is due to the need to overcome barriers near the Crimean Bridge to hit the supports. The activation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Crimea will not be limited to the peninsula; the bridge is one of the priority goals.
How have the tactics of the Ukrainian Armed Forces changed?
While last year and early this year attacks were rare and more like testing drones in combat conditions, now the attacks have become more meaningful and consistent.
Their massive use allowed Ukrainian troops to diversify their battle tactics for supremacy at sea. Combined attacks by UAVs, BeKs, or missiles allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to maintain the initiative, constantly threatening the Russian fleet.
Combined attacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from September 20 to 23, 2023
Judging by the variation in means of destruction, the Ukrainian authorities are pursuing the goal of squeezing Russia out of the Black Sea to its home ports. This will allow full control of the situation in the water area, and will also provide the necessary advantage for attacks on the Crimea and the bridge.
And in the future, this could pose a threat not only to the landing operation, but also to Russia’s shipping communications by sea (which, in the context of the West’s intentions to implement the “Middle Corridor” project , including through the Black Sea, is of concern), as well as the Turkish Stream gas pipeline "
How to deal with this?
The July attack on the Crimean Bridge was carried out by unmanned naval boats, which unhindered approached the supports.
Soon booms appeared around the bridge. This step will partially secure the approaches to the bridge and reduce the likelihood of such an attack being repeated by semi-submersible vehicles, but as we have already noted, underwater drones pose a much more serious threat.
It can be fought with active anti-submarine defense - depth charges and torpedoes.
Equipping booms to the full depth can also be used as a protective measure, but there is a danger of a breakthrough in numbers: the first attacking drones are blown up, the rest pass through. A similar option could be fencing the underwater part of the supports with screens, but this would also be the “last line of defense.”
As for the ships of the Black Sea Fleet, there is a well-known list of solutions that would help effectively combat modern threats.
These include:
Equipping ships with air defense and anti-aircraft defense systems for protection against torpedoes and any underwater threat.
Equipping minesweepers with effective mine action systems so that they stop acting as “ships before the first mine.”
Expansion of the line of patrol and anti-submarine aircraft, as well as the production of AWACS helicopters.
In any case, with new attacks on Russian infrastructure facilities using BeK, we will have to respond to them, as well as develop new measures to prevent such attacks.
https://rybar.ru/skolko-bezekipazhnyh-k ... rnom-more/
Google Translator
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Hersh Reveals U.S. Motive For Destruction Of Nord Stream Pipelines
Seymour Hersh just published a new piece about the bombing of the Nord Stream pipelines.
When the pipelines were blown up on September 27 2022 I had asked:
Whodunnit? - Facts Related to The Sabotage Attack On The Nord Stream Pipelines
I had collected the various known facts around the incident and they in sum suggested that it had been the U.S. of A.
Seymour Hersh put the same question to some of his intelligence contacts. He was given the same answer.
He now reports on further facts and final motives to trigger the incident.
A YEAR OF LYING ABOUT NORD STREAM
The Biden administration has acknowledged neither its responsibility for the pipeline bombing nor the purpose of the sabotage
(archived version)
At the core of Hersh's report is this:
It was no surprise to the agency’s secret planning group when on January 27, 2022, the assured and confident Nuland, then undersecretary of state for political affairs, stridently warned Putin that if he invaded Ukraine, as he clearly was planning to, that “one way or another Nord Stream 2 will not move forward.” The line attracted enormous attention, but the words preceding the threat did not. The official State Department transcript shows that she preceded her threat by saying that with regard to the pipeline: “We continue to have very strong and clear conversations with our German allies.”
...
The German leader was considered then—and now—by some members of the CIA team to be fully aware of the secret planning underway to destroy the pipelines.
...
What I did not know then, but was told recently, was that after Biden’s extraordinary public threat to blow up Nord Stream 2, with Scholz standing next to him, the CIA planning group was told by the White House that there would be no immediate attack on the two pipelines, but the group should arrange to plant the necessary bombs and be ready to trigger them “on demand”—after the war began. “It was then that we”—the small planning group that was working in Oslo with the Royal Norwegian Navy and special services on the project—“understood that the attack on the pipelines was not a deterrent because as the war went on we never got the command.”
After Biden’s order to trigger the explosives planted on the pipelines, it took only a short flight with a Norwegian fighter and the dropping of an altered off-the-shelf sonar device at the right spot in the Baltic Sea to get it done. By then the CIA group had long disbanded. By then, too, the official told me: “We realized that the destruction of the two Russian pipelines was not related to the Ukrainian war”—Putin was in the process of annexing the four Ukrainian oblasts he wanted—“but was part of a neocon political agenda to keep Scholz and Germany, with winter coming up and the pipelines shut down, from getting cold feet and opening up” the shuttered Nord Stream 2. “The White House fear was that Putin would get Germany under his thumb and then he was going to get Poland.”
...
All of this explains why a routine question I posed a month or so after the bombings to someone with many years in the American intelligence community led me to a truth that no one in America or Germany seems to want to pursue. My question was simple: “Who did it?”
The Biden administration blew up the pipelines but the action had little to do with winning or stopping the war in Ukraine. It resulted from fears in the White House that Germany would waver and turn on the flow of Russia gas—and that Germany and then NATO, for economic reasons, would fall under the sway of Russia and its extensive and inexpensive natural resources. And thus followed the ultimate fear: that America would lose its long-standing primacy in Western Europe.
The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will now have to answer some serious questions ...
Added:
This is of course related:
Stephen Stapczynski @SStapczynski - 22:47 UTC · Sep 25, 2023
Europe must rely on LNG from the US for decades, said EU’s top energy official
“There will be a need for American energy,” said Jørgensen, energy director-general
This is one of the strongest signals that the EU needs US LNG well past 2030
ft.com - Top EU energy official says US gas will be needed for decades
Posted by b on September 26, 2023 at 14:26 UTC | Permalink
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/09/h ... .html#more
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Sharing the microphone with Scott Ritter on Press TV (Iran)
September 26, 2023
It was a pleasure yesterday evening to join celebrated analyst and critic of the Ukraine War Scott Ritter on a Press TV “News Review” program commenting on the latest U.S. arms deliveries to Kiev. The link to this broadcast is here:
http://www.urmedium.net/c/presstv/126358
I freely acknowledge that the expert evaluation of U.S. military supplies which I brought to the table was given me by professional panelists appearing on the Russian state television program Sixty Minutes earlier in the day. The point is that the various elements in the mix of materiel being delivered to Kiev amount to contradictory signals on how the Pentagon reads the situation on the ground and, in particular, whether Ukraine is out of necessity about to change its posture from offense to defense.
The Abrams tanks would have been a major asset in an offensive posture had they come much earlier in the conflict and had the Russians not built the formidable “Surovikin” defense lines making grouped tank assault on their positions impossible. Coming as they do now, the Abrams tanks, all 31 of them, represent rhetorical support to Kiev, checking of the box of what had been promised, without any regard for the practical effect on the course of the war. The White House and Pentagon are only considering what to say to the broad American public after the Ukrainians are properly defeated.
On the other hand, the ATACMS 300 km-range missiles equipped with cluster bomb as opposed to unitary warheads are being shipped to Ukraine precisely in anticipation of the conclusion of the ongoing, failed offensive campaign and switch-over by the Ukrainians to a defense: as the Russians push them back to the West, these ATACMS will serve to continue bombing residential neighborhoods in the Donbas from distances much further away than today. They could be useful against waves of Russian infantry charging Ukrainian positions across open fields, but it is hardly likely the Russian command would repeat this kind of folly which the Ukrainians have committed in the last three months of their “counter-offensive.” Instead, using their superior air force, in particular the multifunctional “Alligator” helicopters and Lancet attack drones, the Russians may be expected to hunt and destroy both Ukrainian artillery pieces and HIMARS/ATACMS launchers in the field before their infantry advance.
There is no reason to be surprised that Washington is placing its bets on appearances rather than on realities as it pursues its assistance to the Ukraine war effort. The United States was once known to be results-oriented, pragmatic. No more: it is ideologues who call the shots in the corridors of power.
©Gilbert Doctorow, 2023
https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2023/09/26/ ... s-tv-iran/
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Poland Chose The Right Time To Finish Its Investigation Into Last November’s Przewodow Incident
ANDREW KORYBKO
SEP 27, 2023
The past ten days saw Kiev sue Poland at the WTO, Zelensky suggesting that his country’s western neighbor is doing Russia’s bidding, Warsaw’s efforts to extradite a Ukrainian “hero” from Canada for suspected war crimes, and Poland concluding that Kiev was responsible for last November’s incident that killed two Poles. Suffice to say, the cumulative effort of all this is that average Poles’ perceptions of Ukraine will probably worsen right before the national elections on 15 October.
Rzeczpospolita reported earlier this week that Polish investigators concluded that a wayward Ukrainian S-300 air defense missile was responsible for last November’s Przewodow incident that killed two Poles, which Kiev falsely blamed on Russia at the time. For a very brief moment, there was a real possibility of World War III breaking out, but thankfully Polish and US officials quickly rubbished that regime’s claim. Zelensky still insisted that the Kremlin attacked NATO territory, but now Poland knows that it was Kiev.
The timing of this disclosure wasn’t coincidental since it follows the deterioration of Polish-Ukrainian relations since mid-September. Warsaw unilaterally retained its ban on Ukrainian agricultural imports upon the expiry of the European Commission’s temporary deal from earlier this spring, which provoked Zelensky into suggesting during his UNGA speech that Poland was doing Russia’s bidding. Poland then announced that it won’t send modern arms to Ukraine and its officials condemned that regime too.
Although they also reaffirmed their support for Kiev’s role in waging NATO’s proxy war on Russia, the illusory trust that hitherto characterized their bilateral relations over the last 19 month was indisputably shattered. Even prior to this fast-moving sequence of events, Zelensky’s senior advisor Mikhail Podolyak predicted in early August that these two’s ties will return to their historically competitive nature upon the end of that conflict. Little did he know that they’d slide back to that point just six weeks later.
This latest development comes on the heels of another related scandal in their relations after Zelensky enthusiastically cheered a Ukrainian Nazi who was honored as a “hero” last Friday at the Canadian Parliament. It was soon discovered that he volunteered for a division that genocided Poles, which prompted the Polish Education Minister to seek that likely war criminal’s extradition. Considering the present state of Polish-Ukrainian relations, this move represents yet another deterioration of their ties.
The past ten days thus saw Kiev sue Poland at the WTO, Zelensky suggesting that his country’s western neighbor is doing Russia’s bidding, Warsaw’s efforts to extradite a Ukrainian “hero” from Canada for suspected war crimes, and Poland concluding that Kiev was responsible for last November’s incident that killed two Poles. Suffice to say, the cumulative effort of all this is that average Poles’ perceptions of Ukraine will probably worsen right before the national elections on 15 October.
About those, the ruling “Law & Justice” (PiS) party is struggling to fend off strong challenges from the “Civic Platform” (PO) opposition and the anti-establishment Confederation party. It therefore decided to make national security central to its re-election platform, which adds context to why Poland is finally standing up to Ukraine. Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak’s recent remarks on the grain dispute can correspondingly be interpreted as imbuing a relevant security dimension into this agricultural issue.
This approach serves PiS’ electoral interests vis-à-vis those two previously mentioned parties since it’s aimed at reaffirming the incumbent’s national security credentials in response to PO’s accusations of hypocrisy together with trying to woo some of Confederation’s anti-Ukrainian supporters to its side. The end goal is to remain ahead of PO and contain Confederation’s rise so that the latter has less leverage over PiS in the scenario that those two agree to form a coalition government after the coming polls.
These electoral motivations and associated developments set the backdrop for properly understanding the timing of Poland’s disclosure that Kiev was responsible for last November’s incident that killed two Poles. This latest move is meant to maximally inflame popular resentment against the Ukrainian regime, though importantly not the Ukrainian people, which is intended to help PiS win re-election by the widest margin possible.
The ruling party knows that it’ll likely prove impossible to fully contain this nationalist sentiment, which is why there are reasons to suspect that there might be ulterior motives behind its latest cultivation. It could very well be the case that they want popular support after the elections, provided that they win of course and irrespective of whether they have to form a coalition government with Confederation, for pursuing the best possible trade and investment terms with Ukraine.
To that end, they could press for this in lieu of restitution from bankrupt Ukraine for its accidental killing of those two Poles last November, absent which PiS might threaten to escalate their ongoing trade war. Poland’s trump card is that it controls almost all third parties’ access to that country via its road and rail routes, which no other EU state can match in terms of quality or quantity, thus leading to the scenario of it possibly obstructing their trade and investment ties with Ukraine too until this dispute is resolved.
This would mostly be relevant with respect to Germany, which is making a major power play in Ukraine at Poland’s expense as was earlier explained in this analysis here. With that newfound geostrategic challenge in mind, Poland might seriously countenance this scenario in order to keep Germany in check at the same time as securing its envisaged “sphere of influence” in Western Ukraine. Kiev’s officially proven role in the Przewodow incident provides the perfect pretext for achieving these two objectives.
Even if PiS eschews exploiting this opportunity for whatever reason, perhaps due to American pressure in the event that Washington becomes worried about the Polish-Ukrainian dispute spiraling out of control, then that party will still probably score some political points through its latest disclosure. The fact of the matter is that average Poles now know that Zelensky’s regime has the blood of their two compatriots on its hands despite its denials, and they’re unlikely to forgive him for trying to cover it up.
https://korybko.substack.com/p/poland-c ... -to-finish
The Polish Foreign Minister Is Right: Olaf Scholz Is Indeed Meddling In Poland’s Elections
ANDREW KORYBKO
SEP 26, 2023
The combined effect of Poland's deteriorating relations with its two largest neighbors, first Ukraine and now Germany, is the impression that it’s either gone rogue or they’re teaming up against it.
Polish-German ties are deteriorating in parallel with Polish-Ukrainian ones after that country’s Foreign Minister just accused Chancellor Olaf Scholz of meddling in its elections. The German leader demanded that Poland clarify the visa scandal from earlier this month in which it was alleged that several hundred thousand people from the Global South illegally purchased visas from its consulates. Warsaw claimed that the real number is just a few hundred but Scholz hinted that he might impose border controls.
His innuendo provoked Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau to tweet the following condemnation:
“The latest statement by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz violates the principles of sovereign equality of states, which is the foundation of good neighborly relations and friendly cooperation with Poland, declared by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany in the 1991 treaty with Poland. The competences of the German Chancellor clearly do not apply to the proceedings pending in Poland.
Statements on this matter indicate an attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of the Polish State and the ongoing election campaign in Poland. In the name of good bilateral relations, I appeal to the German Chancellor to respect Poland's sovereignty and refrain from making statements that harm our mutual relations.”
This is an extremely serious allegation, but he has a solid point for the reasons that’ll now be explained.
Whatever doubts Scholz might have about the Polish authorities’ claim that the number of people who illegally purchased visas from their consulates should have been shared discretely through the appropriate diplomatic channels per protocol. By publicizing his concerns, he lent credence to the opposition’s speculation that they’re lying, which could influence voters’ perceptions ahead of the next elections on 15 October.
For as much as Scholz thought that he’d help oust the ruling party through these means, his meddling might actually backfire if it inspires Poles to vote for them out of patriotism to foil Germany’s regime change plot. The incumbents consistently claimed that Berlin backs the opposition, though that could have been dismissed as election rhetoric until now since nobody can any longer honestly deny that this is the case. Average Poles will certainly keep this in mind when they go to the polls.
As for outside observers, they now have grounds for considering whether there’s a hidden German hand behind the latest Polish-Ukrainian dispute like Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk recently speculated. After all, if Germany is openly meddling in the next Polish elections like Scholz’s remark proves as was explained, then it therefore follows that it’s probably meddling through more hidden means too.
The takeaway from Rau’s tweet is that Poland will now call Germany out for its unfriendly policies even if this threatens to further weaken European unity. The combined effect of his country’s deteriorating relations with its two largest neighbors is the impression that it’s either gone rogue or they’re teaming up against it. Regardless of whichever interpretation one subscribes to, the fact of the matter is that Poland has suddenly become the center of continental attention in the run-up to its next elections.
https://korybko.substack.com/p/the-poli ... r-is-right
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 09/27/2023
The fact that an entire parliament stood up to unanimously and heartfeltly applaud a veteran soldier of the Waffen SS has surprised locals and strangers and even those who participated in the event. The honoree, Yaroslav Hunka, was presented as a hero who fought “for the independence of Ukraine against Russia in the Second World War”, a fact that should have been enough to understand on which side he had done so. The veteran was not even a member of OUN or UPA, whose cry “Slava Ukraina. Geroyam Slava” (glory to Ukraine, glory to the heroes”) has been openly assumed by the post-Maidan State in the institutionalization of nationalist discourse as the only possible national discourse. Thanks to Ivan Katchanovski, Ukrainian-Canadian and professor at the University of Ottawa,
The images and opinions published by Hunka in recent decades, which show a man who saw the years of war and his military training in Nazi Germany as the happiest of his life, not only show no regret, but Added to the tears of emotion last Sunday, they are evidence of the pride that the veteran feels for having served in the SS-Freiwilligen-Division “Galizien”, a name that is excessively German to avoid scandal by justifying the facts. Scandal has been inevitable even in Canada, one of the most advanced countries when it comes to rewriting the history of the Second World War. After all, as an article published following the scandal by the Jewish media The Forward recalls,quoting historian Irving Arbella, showing Nazi tattoos was a way to advance the immigration process to the country in the post-war years: it was proof that the person was anti-communist. With anti-communism as its official ideology, Canada accepted, without questions, to welcome thousands of veterans of SS units and other collaborationists who, like Chrystia Freeland's grandfather, have been, little by little, converted, if not into heroes, then yes. at least in complex figures who, in situations of extreme pressure, acted in a way that cannot be judged from the comfortable present.
The Ukrainian sociologist Volodymyr Ischenko, whose essay on the Ukrainian voices highlighted by the Western press, all nationalist and conservative, was widely debated and hated at the beginning of the year by the current establishment , took up his argument to remember that what is happening now is a test more that “the voices of those who represent nothing more than the most shameful pages of Ukrainian history are being amplified, while the erasure of those that are more universally relevant is systematically legitimized.” Ischenko also criticizes that, despite the political scandal generated, a part of the population and the intelligentsia is actively trying to justify, not only Hunka's presence in Parliament, but his choice to volunteer for a Nazi unit or to describe the German occupation of Eastern Europe, scene of the greatest massacres of the war, as a “civilized occupation.” and the Holocaust.
The anti-communist historiography of recent decades and all kinds of theories such as those of Timothy Snyder, the theory of double genocide or the generalization of the idea of the evil empire help in this distortion of history . Among all the regimes in the history of humanity, it was the Soviet Union that the Western establishment decided to give that adjective to. In the case of widespread glorification of those who fought against the Soviet Union in World War II in groups like the OUN or UPA, a small minority compared to the millions of Ukrainians who fought in the Red Army or as partisans, it is useful also the Holodomor narrative and the way in which a famine throughout the south of the Soviet Union has been artificially converted into a planned action by Stalin specifically against Ukraine. Canada tops the list of countries where Holodomor is considered genocide. The obsessive hatred of the Soviet Union and everything it represented and the will to justify and make disappear the crimes of those who fought against it at the hands of Nazi Germany even at times when the USSR was an ally - purely circumstantial. in the case of Canada - are nothing more than a reflection of who was considered the true enemy. Hence a hero of OUN or UPA would not have caused the slightest scandal in Canada despite having collaborated with Nazism and having participated in the Holocaust with bullets and the mass murder of people of Polish, Roma or Russian ethnicity as well as, of course, communists.
Unfortunately for the Speaker of the Canadian Parliament, Anthony Rota, who has been forced to take all the blame, the normalization of Waffen SS soldiers has not yet made it to the agenda. The global focus implied by a political appearance by Zelensky has also prevented the issue from going unnoticed, leading to an attempt at damage control that has only just begun. Above all, the Canadian response has been generated from a double reaction: the tendency of human beings to deny all knowledge and the fear that the episode will be used by the feared Russian propaganda . Special mention deserves media such as EuromaidanPR , which aspired to carry out a fact-check exercise remembering that a Canadian war crimes commission found nothing punishable in the members of the Galizien Division settled in the country. The Ukrainian propaganda, one step ahead of the Canadian one, has already accepted the Vyatrovich option of describing as freedom fighters those who fought in the division, which the former guardian of Ukraine's memory stated without blushing that it was not a unit Nazi.
Two speeches have been made in Ottawa scandal these days the most representative. The first is Justin Trudeau's attempted apology, who in a video apparently recorded in a hallway appeals to the President of Parliament's statement exonerating the entire parliamentary arc of an error that he personally assumes. “Obviously it is extremely upsetting that this has happened,” said the Canadian Prime Minister, looking at the ground to continue saying that “the Speaker of Parliament has admitted his mistake and has apologized, but this is something that is deeply embarrassing for the Parliament of Canada.” and, by extension, for all Canadians. I think especially for the Jewish deputies for all the Jews in the country who celebrate Yom Kippur today.” From there, Trudeau focuses on what truly matters. "I think it's going to be very important for all of us to stand up against Russian propaganda, Russian disinformation and continue our unequivocal support for Ukraine." This is not the only mention that has been made this week of the danger that the Russian propaganda uses the episode, although it is surely the most relevant. Obviously, Russian propaganda and disinformation He did not have to work excessively on this occasion and it was enough to publish the facts. Perhaps the most relevant comment was made by Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman, who accused the West of having created a generation that does not know who fought against whom in World War II. None of the Canadian MPs were able to understand that “fought against Russia in the Second World War” also meant against Canada and its allies and on the Nazi side. Hence the resignation of the President of Parliament, which was announced yesterday afternoon, was only a matter of time. This is how the political class wants to turn the page on a crisis that has shown in all its splendor the shame felt by the Canadian authorities, who have unwittingly staged the true ideology and ignorance of their country.
The second relevant speech was given by the leader of the majority faction in Parliament Karina Gould, also from Justin Trudeau's party. Her argument before the camera was the need to eliminate from the session diary the moment of Yaroslav Hunka's presentation as a hero and the reaction that this provoked. After warning of the danger of Russian propaganda, erasing history is the second solution that the Liberal Party of Canada has found to cover up its shame. For evidently political reasons and the future electoral use of the episode, the conservative opposition has rejected Gould's request, which only deepens the notorious inability of the Canadian political class to understand what has happened, how it could happen so naturally. and, above all, how to erase it from the collective memory. Blaming a single person for inviting and honoring a Nazi soldier seems like a way to justify the fact that not a single Canadian MP understood who he was applauding. Warn of the danger that Russian propagandaYou can use the facts as an argument, for its part, it seems to be the way to turn the page as quickly as possible.
Neither of these two positions answers the question with which the Wiesenthal Foundation in Canada closes its statement of condemnation. “The fact that a veteran who served in a Nazi military unit was invited and received an ovation in Parliament is surprising,” condemns Wiesenthal, adding that “at a time of increasing anti-Semitism and distortion of the Holocaust, it is incredibly disturbing.” see the Parliament of Canada rise to applaud an individual who was a member of a Waffen SS unit, a Nazi military wing responsible for the murder of Jews and other populations and which was declared a criminal organization in the Nuremberg trials. "There should be no confusion that this unit was responsible for mass murders of innocent civilians with a level of brutality and malice that is unimaginable,"
At the end of the text, Wiesenthal gets to the question that no one is asking right now. The Foundation demands an “apology from every Holocaust survivor and World War II veteran who fought against the Nazis,” but first and foremost states that “an explanation must be provided as to how this individual entered the hallowed halls of the Parliament of Canada.” and received recognition from the President of Parliament and a standing ovation.” The personal acceptance of guilt by the Speaker of Parliament seems to be a sufficient answer to the question of who chose Yaroslav Hunka to be honored. Perhaps the question should not be directed only to the Canadian political authorities, but also to the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, a pressure group that, without a doubt,
https://slavyangrad.es/2023/09/27/28223/#more-28223
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Chronicle of a special military operation for September 25, 2023
September 26, 2023
Rybar
Last night, Russian troops carried out combined strikes on Ukrainian territory. Among the targets were port infrastructure facilities in the Odessa region . Attacks on the Dolgintsevo airfield near Krivoy Rog were also reported . In addition, information appeared about two arrivals in the area of Kulbakino airport near Nikolaev .
In the evening, Ukrainian formations attempted to attack the Crimean Peninsula . For this, the Ukrainian Armed Forces used Storm Shadow cruise missiles . Their exact number is being specified. Apparently, Ukrainian troops tried to strike airfields of the Aerospace Forces and Navy in Crimea.
For the second day in a row, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are actively attacking the rear of the border regions of Russia. All day long, Russian air defense systems and electronic warfare systems intercepted Ukrainian drones in the Bryansk , Kursk and Belgorod regions . This is one of the most massive UAV raids on the Russian border in recent times.
Night combined strike of the Russian Armed Forces
At night, Russian troops attacked targets on Ukrainian territory, including the port infrastructure of the Odessa region . Local sources indicated very dense air defense work and explosions in the area of the Ilyichevsk port , Bolshevik district , the village of Ilyinka , and the village of Kotovskoye . According to some reports, sounds of secondary detonation were heard from the warehouses of the Yuzhny port .
One of the blows hit the closed Odessa hotel . Although some resources claim that the building was never used for military purposes, this is not entirely true: back in May, people in uniform were seen there, and for some reason generators were working at the “abandoned” facility. However, there is no objective evidence of the destruction of manpower there during the night raid.
Information also appeared about another combined strike by drones and cruise missiles on the Dolgintsevo airfield near Krivoy Rog. And already in the morning, footage appeared of the defeat of a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter there: it is possible that this particular episode occurred several days ago, but the very fact of regular raids indicates the unambiguous attention to it from the Russian Armed Forces and the desire to hit the aircraft located there.
Near Nikolaev there are two powerful arrivals in the area of Kulbakino airport . Nikolaev had not heard explosions for a long time and had time to relax a bit: Su-24Ms, carriers of cruise missiles, began to be based at the airport, and Anas began to regularly land there, transferring personnel and ammunition. Although the front line is only 40 km.
The results of the arrival have yet to be clarified, but a cavalcade of ambulances rushed there from the regional center. What exactly arrived is also a question. Because in Kiselevka, located not so far away , they hit an ammunition depot with a one and a half ton FAB with an UMPC.
Ukrainian Armed Forces missile strike on Crimea
Ukrainian formations again tried to strike the Crimean peninsula . According to some reports, at least two Storm Shadow cruise missiles were launched from Su-24M bombers .
The Storm Shadow flight route ran through Cape Tarkhankut in the direction of Sevastopol and the Kherson region to Dzhankoy and Gvardeyskoye . One of the cruise missiles was destroyed on approach to the Belbek airfield by crews of the 31st Air Force and Air Defense Division. Three or four minutes later, the air defense also worked on another cruise missile north of Cossack Bay on approach to Sevastopol.
Also, servicemen of the 31st division worked on two targets ( preliminarily, Storm Shadow ) above Dzhankoy and Gvardeysky. The exact number of downed targets will become clear later. We do not exclude at all that there could be more of them. Judging by the areas where the missiles hit, Ukrainian troops tried to strike airfields of the Aerospace Forces and Navy in Crimea. And while Storm Shadow/SCALP carriers remain in the air, the threat of repeated attacks remains.
Attack on the MiG-29 aircraft parking area at Kulbakino airfield
A new video of the attack on the Kulbakino airfield in Nikolaev from the Turned in War channel has appeared : at least one attack hit a MiG-29 fighter of the Ukrainian Air Force, parked near the runway.
This is the third documented case of the destruction of Ukrainian MiG-29s over the past few days: before that, two aircraft of this type were hit at the Dolgintsevo airfield near Krivoy Rog. In this case, the target was also located at a considerable distance from the front line - 55 km from the front line.
Such effective raids in such a short period of time clearly indicate the increased combat capabilities of the Russian Armed Forces in the matter of destroying aircraft on the ground, which previously had certain difficulties. I really want to hope that such attacks will become systematic: each such precise arrival reduces the combat capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force.
The situation on the front line and combat operations
In the Soledar direction, clashes continued in the areas of Kleshcheevka and Andreevka . In addition, there were reports of a successful assault by Russian troops on the settlement. Orekhovo - Vasilevka . Since this village is located at tactical heights, its control improves the position of our troops in this area. It is too early to talk about complete control over Orekhovo-Vasilevka, since after its liberation the enemy attempts to counterattack.
In the Donetsk direction, clashes are mostly of a positional nature. More than two months have passed since the last update of the situation near Avdeevka , and the situation in this area has not changed radically. Either ours or Ukrainian units attack positions, trying to improve the tactical situation.
Over the last few weeks, enemy formations, reinforced by detachments of marines, tried to break through to Vodyanoye and Opytny . At some point they managed to advance, but after a massive artillery strike and a subsequent counterattack by the 1st Slavic Brigade, everything returned to its original state. At the same time, fighters of the Russian Armed Forces also carried out several attacks in other directions. Operating from the outskirts of Opytnoye, Russian Army personnel advanced towards the residential complex “ 446 km ” and secured new positions.
Similarly, units of the Russian Armed Forces leveled the front along the H20 highway , clearing out strong points near the 3rd pond and water treatment plant. Now the line of contact runs along the road from Kamenka to Krutaya Balka and Kashtanovoye . However, the situation does not change significantly. A head-on assault on Avdeevka is physically impossible without huge losses in manpower and equipment. Another option is to cut off supplies from the north, but the defense density of the Ukrainian Armed Forces there is high, so at the moment we should not expect any significant advance.
Yesterday, footage appeared on the Internet of a strike by the Russian Armed Forces on a train near the village of Rodinskoye in the occupied part of the DPR, which occurred a few days ago. Judging by the recording, there were also MLRS on the platforms among several dozen wheeled vehicles. The enemy personnel fled after an air explosion and fire. According to some reports, the target was fired from the Tornado-S MLRS , which made it possible to cover the train 40 km from the front line. At the same time, objective control of fire damage was carried out by a reconnaissance drone, which also flew deep beyond the line of combat contact.
It is difficult to say whether the train was completely destroyed, but this is far from the only blow to a specific outcome. A kilometer to the south, satellite images discovered by colleagues from Lostarmour show a large-scale defeat in the area of the Rodinskaya railway station . Coupled with the recent raid on the railway junction in Vapnyarka and the statement of the Russian Ministry of Defense about the destruction of two echelons of the 37th Infantry Marine Corps of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at loading stations, it can be assumed that attacks on enemy trains in the rear are becoming more systematic.
In the Vremyevsky sector, the enemy attempts attacks in small groups east of Urozhainy , but to no avail. On the approaches to Staromayorsky, the artillery of the Russian Armed Forces inflicts fire on the fortifications of the Ukrainian Armed Forces under construction, including with the use of “Solntsepeks”. Positional clashes continue in the Priyutnoye area.
In the Orekhovsky section, the tense situation remains in the Rabotino - Verbovoe section . Russian troops were able to repel several attacks by Ukrainian Armed Forces assault groups in the Verbovoy area . The Russian Armed Forces also inflicted fire on enemy concentrations of manpower and equipment in the areas of the settlement. Malaya Tokmachka , Novodanilovka and north of Rabotino .
Colleagues from the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies drew attention to a video from a Ukrainian UAV documenting the use by Russian troops in the Zaporozhye direction of inflatable mock-ups of T-72 tanks as decoys for enemy reconnaissance. Both sides have long resorted to such methods, and Ukrainian formations have established mass production of such products. Among other things, they were prompted to do this by significant losses in artillery from the arrival of Lancet loitering ammunition. As for the mock-ups with videos, they clearly could use a little more detail: at a distance, and especially with satellite imagery, you can confuse them with real tanks, but up close it’s already difficult.
In the Kherson direction, for several days in a row, Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft have been striking with controlled aerial bombs at areas where Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel are concentrated in the village of Lvovo . Not long ago, the enemy transferred reserves to this direction for a future offensive, and therefore the activity of Russian tactical aviation increased.
Shelling of rear areas and residential areas
In the Bryansk region, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked the Starodub municipal district with the Grad MLRS. The territory of the agricultural enterprise and the buildings on it were damaged, several cows died. Air defense was activated twice in the region, in the Surazhsky region and on approach to Bryansk . Both times the attack was repelled by air defense forces. Destruction and casualties were avoided.
Since the very morning, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been launching massive attacks on border settlements in the Belgorod region :
In the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka , five houses and a power line were damaged by shells, the village was partially de-energized, emergency crews were working on the site, and there were no casualties. There were no casualties. In the village of Urazovo , Valuysky urban district , two people were wounded ; they received medical assistance on the spot. Shell fragments destroyed one outbuilding and damaged a residential building.
In the Grayvoronsky urban district, air defense units shot down an Ukrainian Armed Forces drone; no casualties were reported. In the village of Murom , Shebekinsky urban district, a kamikaze drone attacked a communications facility, special services are working on the spot, no one was injured. In Shebekino, two women were injured during shelling . One was shell-shocked while traveling in a car, the second was injured at one of the enterprises. Shell fragments damaged eight private houses and power lines; repair crews are working at the scene of the incident. In the sky above the Shebekinsky urban district, an air defense system shot down an enemy target in the area of the village of Batratskaya Dacha, no one was hurt. In the Belgorod regionAir defense crews hit two Ukrainian Armed Forces drones; according to preliminary data, there was no damage.
In addition, the Ministry of Defense reported several times during the day on the destruction of the UAV. In the evening, the regional governor reported another massive attack from seven UAVs, which was also repelled by air defense forces. Emergency services are working; at the time of writing, one car was damaged.
News channels posted footage of arrivals and explosion clouds in the Krasnodon area in the LPR. The strike was carried out by three Storm Shadow cruise missiles fired from Ukrainian Air Force Su-24M bombers. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation stated two dead and three wounded as a result of this attack. The launch, with a high probability, was carried out from the outskirts of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration from a distance of over 150 kilometers from the front line. Missile strikes deep in the rear are usually part of the enemy's preparation for an offensive. Given the concentration of Ukrainian Armed Forces forces in the Bakhmut area , it is likely that Ukrainian formations will again try to attack in several areas.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces do not stop attacking populated areas of the Donetsk agglomeration . According to local authorities, 64 shells were fired across the territory of the DPR over the past 24 hours. The enemy used 152, 155 mm caliber artillery and attack UAVs. There were some casualties. In the Kuibyshevsky district of Donetsk, one man was killed as a result of shelling . In addition to the regional capital, Makeevka , Gorlovka and Yasinovatsky district were under fire .
Ukrainian formations continue to shell the left bank of the Kherson region every day . The following were under fire: Novaya Kakhovka , Korsunka , Krynki , Cossack Camps , Kardashinka and Kakhovka . In the village of Obryvka, an arrival at a cemetery was recorded. In the village of Dnepryany, shells damaged a gas pipe, the operation of the local energy network was partially disrupted, and restoration work is underway.
Political events
The true size of the International Legion: where have all the mercenaries gone?
If in 2022, after the creation of the “ International Legion ,” the Internet was full of footage from different sectors of the front from dozens of foreigners, today fresh videos and photos are difficult to come across. According to our data, a total of 12,046 foreigners officially took part in Ukraine (we are not even talking about any 20,000-strong army). Of these, at the moment, about 1,800 mercenaries remain in the Northern Military District zone on the other side. Why is that? Large losses and a significant number of disillusioned people.
During the SVO, over 5,680 people from the International Legion were liquidated . And more than 4,560 foreigners left the ranks of the Ukrainian formations and returned to their countries. The largest number of mercenaries in the Legion came from Poland and Georgia , which is not at all surprising, given the maximum anti-Russian sentiments prevailing in these countries. The large number of Americans, British and Australians is also not at all surprising: it is the soldiers of fortune and PMCs who do the most dirty work abroad, acting as an excellent cover for regular units.
The beginning of the conflict was marked by widespread support for Ukraine in the Western media. The aura of Ukraine “under aggression”, which needs protection, pushed thousands of people to go to an unfamiliar country to participate in the war with Russia for good money. Faced with the real situation and the actual state of affairs, when, for example, mercenaries were used as cannon fodder without support, many did not want to continue their participation. And the lack of success at the front after the retreat of the Russian Armed Forces from Kherson further reduced the influx of volunteers. The mercenaries remaining in Ukraine are either the most ardent opponents of Russia who want to “hunt Russians”, or professionals performing highly specialized tasks, for example, managing high-tech weapons or training Ukrainians.
Option for a Polish compromise on grain transportation from Ukraine
In some places, even the funny story of the Polish-Ukrainian squabbles shows no sign of stopping. President Andrzej Duda announced Poland's readiness to ensure the transit of Ukrainian grain for subsequent shipment to the poorest countries in Africa and Asia .
And if at first glance the statement looks like a mockery ( even the most narrow-minded Ukrainian is unlikely to believe in the realism of such a proposal), then if you look closely, you will notice a curious motive behind the Polish initiative. To send grain to African countries, very large and at the same time free elevators are needed in Spain, Italy and on the southern coast of France. There are none in principle, because this logistics route has never been worked out. All existing elevators are fully loaded for the domestic market, which has been in this state for several decades. Before loading a ship with grain, you must first drive 10-20 trains, transfer the grain to an elevator in a port, for example Malaga, and from there send it to Africa. But again, there is no free infrastructure for such operations. The EU railway system works like clockwork, and if an unplanned flow of trains unexpectedly flows in, it will easily disrupt established logistics.
So it turns out that, judging by Duda’s proposal, the scheme will look like this: “grain” in an unspecified amount is transported by rail to ports in the south of the EU, where there is simply no infrastructure for receiving grain. At least in such volumes. Next, this grain needs to be loaded onto ships, insured, sent to Africa and unloaded. It is unknown who will pay the associated costs.
The scheme proposed by Duda, but clearly invented by someone higher up, can work and bring profit only in one case: if, under the guise of grain transit, everything valuable that comes across is exported from Ukraine. In this case, the sender of the Ukrainian “grain” will be unknown Ukrainian companies, and the recipients will be the same unknown legal entities or, possibly, even government organizations. But since the “grain” will not be supplied under a contract, but as a free supply, the final volumes of cargo will be unknown. And along with the grain, tons of contraband, weapons, slaves, organs, cultural and material assets will go to Europe. Of course, such logistics can work in both directions, for example, in the interests of supplying weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Thus, if the Polish “grain” transit really works, we can confidently say that we are facing another “Trojan horse” for the EU economy and a scheme to enrich the same interests that profited from the recently deceased “grain deal.”
On the supply of Abrams tanks and ATACMS missiles for the Ukrainian Armed Forces
The New York Times writes about the delivery of the first batch of Abrams tanks to Ukraine. This information was later confirmed by Vladimir Zelensky , saying that the tanks were being prepared to enter the brigades. Politico previously reported that the first ten vehicles will arrive in September, and the rest at a later date, so such a small number of tanks will not be able to radically affect the situation on the battlefield. At the same time, information appeared in the American media that within this week the United States would make a decision on the transfer of ATACMS missilesto the HIMARS MLRS, presumably they will soon appear at the front, which will complicate the work of Russian air defense crews for some time and will require additional time to learn how to shoot them down.
About the trial of Igor Kolomoisky
Today, the Kiev Court of Appeal considered the complaint of oligarch Igor Kolomoisky for arrest with bail. The businessman tried to appeal the decision, calling it illegal and “made in haste.” The trial took place in open mode. The oligarch's lawyer said that Kolomoisky is a citizen of Ukraine, although the prisoner himself confirmed that he was being tried as a citizen of Israel and Cyprus, despite having a Ukrainian passport. At the same time, the businessman himself claims that he does not consider the case against him to be politically motivated; in his words, we are talking about “cases of bygone years.”
Several people came to the trial who were supposed to take the oligarch on bail. Among them were TV presenters of the 1+1 channel, Yuriy Gorbunov , Alla Mazur and Natalya Moseychuk , Chief Rabbi of the Dnepropetrovsk region Shmuel Kaminetsky , ex-Minister of Culture and former general director of the 1+1 TV channel, Verkhovna Rada deputy Sergei Demchenko and Nikopol City Council deputy Evgeniy Bovkun . Despite their fiery speeches and requests to release the businessman under personal guardianship, the court left Igor Kolomoisky in pre-trial detention and rejected the petition to change the preventive measure. At the same time, the number of people somehow associated with the 1+1 channel is somewhat surprising: they are clearly not just tried to get their boss out of prison
https://rybar.ru/hronika-speczialnoj-vo ... 23-goda-2/
(Other images at link.)
How many unmanned boats were used by the APU in the Black Sea?
September 26, 2023
Rybar
How many unmanned boats were used by the APU in the Black Sea?
Since the fall of last year, Ukrainian formations began using unmanned boats (BEC) to attack Russian ports, warships, tankers, as well as the Crimean Bridge, in the Black Sea.
We decided to analyze what types of BeK the Armed Forces of Ukraine have? How have areas and tactics of their use changed? How many of them have been destroyed to date and, most importantly, how to deal with them?
Where did the Ukrainian Armed Forces use BeKi?
If you look at the statistics, together with the recent drone sunk off the Black Sea coast of Crimea, it turns out that Ukrainian units used 52 naval drones to attack Russian ships and territories.
Of these, 44 units were successfully destroyed, but eight were somehow able to cause damage. This was the case with the patrol ships “Vasily Bykov” and “Sergey Kotov”, the large landing ship “Olenegorsky Gornyak”, the oil depot and the support of the Crimean Bridge.
Moreover, the lion's share of attacks occurred in the southwestern part of the Black Sea, where unmanned boats repeatedly tried to hit Black Sea Fleet ships in order to push them out of the zone and organize a new grain corridor.
What types of BeK does the Ukrainian Armed Forces have?
During the special operation, the Ukrainian authorities and volunteers presented many different versions of naval drones, announcing the start of mass production and imminent use against Russia.
However, in reality, as with dozens of unmanned aerial vehicles, the fate of a significant part of the declared maritime drones is still unclear. They were presented, but whether they are in production and not as a prototype is a question.
So far, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have used three types of unmanned boats : Magura V5, Sea Baby and a hydro scooter (something similar to a Jet Ski jet ski). They were the ones observed during attacks on Sevastopol, the Crimean Bridge and Black Sea Fleet ships.
But the other day, Ukrainian media published footage of the Marichka underwater drone, capable of carrying a charge of up to 1000 kg, being launched into the water. As the Russian engineer noted , since it was shown against the backdrop of the port of Odessa, it will soon be used for an attack.
The danger of this particular drone is that it is underwater and not semi-submersible, which is due to the need to overcome barriers near the Crimean Bridge to hit the supports. The activation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Crimea will not be limited to the peninsula; the bridge is one of the priority goals.
How have the tactics of the Ukrainian Armed Forces changed?
While last year and early this year attacks were rare and more like testing drones in combat conditions, now the attacks have become more meaningful and consistent.
Their massive use allowed Ukrainian troops to diversify their battle tactics for supremacy at sea. Combined attacks by UAVs, BeKs, or missiles allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to maintain the initiative, constantly threatening the Russian fleet.
Combined attacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from September 20 to 23, 2023
Judging by the variation in means of destruction, the Ukrainian authorities are pursuing the goal of squeezing Russia out of the Black Sea to its home ports. This will allow full control of the situation in the water area, and will also provide the necessary advantage for attacks on the Crimea and the bridge.
And in the future, this could pose a threat not only to the landing operation, but also to Russia’s shipping communications by sea (which, in the context of the West’s intentions to implement the “Middle Corridor” project , including through the Black Sea, is of concern), as well as the Turkish Stream gas pipeline "
How to deal with this?
The July attack on the Crimean Bridge was carried out by unmanned naval boats, which unhindered approached the supports.
Soon booms appeared around the bridge. This step will partially secure the approaches to the bridge and reduce the likelihood of such an attack being repeated by semi-submersible vehicles, but as we have already noted, underwater drones pose a much more serious threat.
It can be fought with active anti-submarine defense - depth charges and torpedoes.
Equipping booms to the full depth can also be used as a protective measure, but there is a danger of a breakthrough in numbers: the first attacking drones are blown up, the rest pass through. A similar option could be fencing the underwater part of the supports with screens, but this would also be the “last line of defense.”
As for the ships of the Black Sea Fleet, there is a well-known list of solutions that would help effectively combat modern threats.
These include:
Equipping ships with air defense and anti-aircraft defense systems for protection against torpedoes and any underwater threat.
Equipping minesweepers with effective mine action systems so that they stop acting as “ships before the first mine.”
Expansion of the line of patrol and anti-submarine aircraft, as well as the production of AWACS helicopters.
In any case, with new attacks on Russian infrastructure facilities using BeK, we will have to respond to them, as well as develop new measures to prevent such attacks.
https://rybar.ru/skolko-bezekipazhnyh-k ... rnom-more/
Google Translator
******
Hersh Reveals U.S. Motive For Destruction Of Nord Stream Pipelines
Seymour Hersh just published a new piece about the bombing of the Nord Stream pipelines.
When the pipelines were blown up on September 27 2022 I had asked:
Whodunnit? - Facts Related to The Sabotage Attack On The Nord Stream Pipelines
I had collected the various known facts around the incident and they in sum suggested that it had been the U.S. of A.
Seymour Hersh put the same question to some of his intelligence contacts. He was given the same answer.
He now reports on further facts and final motives to trigger the incident.
A YEAR OF LYING ABOUT NORD STREAM
The Biden administration has acknowledged neither its responsibility for the pipeline bombing nor the purpose of the sabotage
(archived version)
At the core of Hersh's report is this:
It was no surprise to the agency’s secret planning group when on January 27, 2022, the assured and confident Nuland, then undersecretary of state for political affairs, stridently warned Putin that if he invaded Ukraine, as he clearly was planning to, that “one way or another Nord Stream 2 will not move forward.” The line attracted enormous attention, but the words preceding the threat did not. The official State Department transcript shows that she preceded her threat by saying that with regard to the pipeline: “We continue to have very strong and clear conversations with our German allies.”
...
The German leader was considered then—and now—by some members of the CIA team to be fully aware of the secret planning underway to destroy the pipelines.
...
What I did not know then, but was told recently, was that after Biden’s extraordinary public threat to blow up Nord Stream 2, with Scholz standing next to him, the CIA planning group was told by the White House that there would be no immediate attack on the two pipelines, but the group should arrange to plant the necessary bombs and be ready to trigger them “on demand”—after the war began. “It was then that we”—the small planning group that was working in Oslo with the Royal Norwegian Navy and special services on the project—“understood that the attack on the pipelines was not a deterrent because as the war went on we never got the command.”
After Biden’s order to trigger the explosives planted on the pipelines, it took only a short flight with a Norwegian fighter and the dropping of an altered off-the-shelf sonar device at the right spot in the Baltic Sea to get it done. By then the CIA group had long disbanded. By then, too, the official told me: “We realized that the destruction of the two Russian pipelines was not related to the Ukrainian war”—Putin was in the process of annexing the four Ukrainian oblasts he wanted—“but was part of a neocon political agenda to keep Scholz and Germany, with winter coming up and the pipelines shut down, from getting cold feet and opening up” the shuttered Nord Stream 2. “The White House fear was that Putin would get Germany under his thumb and then he was going to get Poland.”
...
All of this explains why a routine question I posed a month or so after the bombings to someone with many years in the American intelligence community led me to a truth that no one in America or Germany seems to want to pursue. My question was simple: “Who did it?”
The Biden administration blew up the pipelines but the action had little to do with winning or stopping the war in Ukraine. It resulted from fears in the White House that Germany would waver and turn on the flow of Russia gas—and that Germany and then NATO, for economic reasons, would fall under the sway of Russia and its extensive and inexpensive natural resources. And thus followed the ultimate fear: that America would lose its long-standing primacy in Western Europe.
The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will now have to answer some serious questions ...
Added:
This is of course related:
Stephen Stapczynski @SStapczynski - 22:47 UTC · Sep 25, 2023
Europe must rely on LNG from the US for decades, said EU’s top energy official
“There will be a need for American energy,” said Jørgensen, energy director-general
This is one of the strongest signals that the EU needs US LNG well past 2030
ft.com - Top EU energy official says US gas will be needed for decades
Posted by b on September 26, 2023 at 14:26 UTC | Permalink
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/09/h ... .html#more
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Sharing the microphone with Scott Ritter on Press TV (Iran)
September 26, 2023
It was a pleasure yesterday evening to join celebrated analyst and critic of the Ukraine War Scott Ritter on a Press TV “News Review” program commenting on the latest U.S. arms deliveries to Kiev. The link to this broadcast is here:
http://www.urmedium.net/c/presstv/126358
I freely acknowledge that the expert evaluation of U.S. military supplies which I brought to the table was given me by professional panelists appearing on the Russian state television program Sixty Minutes earlier in the day. The point is that the various elements in the mix of materiel being delivered to Kiev amount to contradictory signals on how the Pentagon reads the situation on the ground and, in particular, whether Ukraine is out of necessity about to change its posture from offense to defense.
The Abrams tanks would have been a major asset in an offensive posture had they come much earlier in the conflict and had the Russians not built the formidable “Surovikin” defense lines making grouped tank assault on their positions impossible. Coming as they do now, the Abrams tanks, all 31 of them, represent rhetorical support to Kiev, checking of the box of what had been promised, without any regard for the practical effect on the course of the war. The White House and Pentagon are only considering what to say to the broad American public after the Ukrainians are properly defeated.
On the other hand, the ATACMS 300 km-range missiles equipped with cluster bomb as opposed to unitary warheads are being shipped to Ukraine precisely in anticipation of the conclusion of the ongoing, failed offensive campaign and switch-over by the Ukrainians to a defense: as the Russians push them back to the West, these ATACMS will serve to continue bombing residential neighborhoods in the Donbas from distances much further away than today. They could be useful against waves of Russian infantry charging Ukrainian positions across open fields, but it is hardly likely the Russian command would repeat this kind of folly which the Ukrainians have committed in the last three months of their “counter-offensive.” Instead, using their superior air force, in particular the multifunctional “Alligator” helicopters and Lancet attack drones, the Russians may be expected to hunt and destroy both Ukrainian artillery pieces and HIMARS/ATACMS launchers in the field before their infantry advance.
There is no reason to be surprised that Washington is placing its bets on appearances rather than on realities as it pursues its assistance to the Ukraine war effort. The United States was once known to be results-oriented, pragmatic. No more: it is ideologues who call the shots in the corridors of power.
©Gilbert Doctorow, 2023
https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2023/09/26/ ... s-tv-iran/
******
Poland Chose The Right Time To Finish Its Investigation Into Last November’s Przewodow Incident
ANDREW KORYBKO
SEP 27, 2023
The past ten days saw Kiev sue Poland at the WTO, Zelensky suggesting that his country’s western neighbor is doing Russia’s bidding, Warsaw’s efforts to extradite a Ukrainian “hero” from Canada for suspected war crimes, and Poland concluding that Kiev was responsible for last November’s incident that killed two Poles. Suffice to say, the cumulative effort of all this is that average Poles’ perceptions of Ukraine will probably worsen right before the national elections on 15 October.
Rzeczpospolita reported earlier this week that Polish investigators concluded that a wayward Ukrainian S-300 air defense missile was responsible for last November’s Przewodow incident that killed two Poles, which Kiev falsely blamed on Russia at the time. For a very brief moment, there was a real possibility of World War III breaking out, but thankfully Polish and US officials quickly rubbished that regime’s claim. Zelensky still insisted that the Kremlin attacked NATO territory, but now Poland knows that it was Kiev.
The timing of this disclosure wasn’t coincidental since it follows the deterioration of Polish-Ukrainian relations since mid-September. Warsaw unilaterally retained its ban on Ukrainian agricultural imports upon the expiry of the European Commission’s temporary deal from earlier this spring, which provoked Zelensky into suggesting during his UNGA speech that Poland was doing Russia’s bidding. Poland then announced that it won’t send modern arms to Ukraine and its officials condemned that regime too.
Although they also reaffirmed their support for Kiev’s role in waging NATO’s proxy war on Russia, the illusory trust that hitherto characterized their bilateral relations over the last 19 month was indisputably shattered. Even prior to this fast-moving sequence of events, Zelensky’s senior advisor Mikhail Podolyak predicted in early August that these two’s ties will return to their historically competitive nature upon the end of that conflict. Little did he know that they’d slide back to that point just six weeks later.
This latest development comes on the heels of another related scandal in their relations after Zelensky enthusiastically cheered a Ukrainian Nazi who was honored as a “hero” last Friday at the Canadian Parliament. It was soon discovered that he volunteered for a division that genocided Poles, which prompted the Polish Education Minister to seek that likely war criminal’s extradition. Considering the present state of Polish-Ukrainian relations, this move represents yet another deterioration of their ties.
The past ten days thus saw Kiev sue Poland at the WTO, Zelensky suggesting that his country’s western neighbor is doing Russia’s bidding, Warsaw’s efforts to extradite a Ukrainian “hero” from Canada for suspected war crimes, and Poland concluding that Kiev was responsible for last November’s incident that killed two Poles. Suffice to say, the cumulative effort of all this is that average Poles’ perceptions of Ukraine will probably worsen right before the national elections on 15 October.
About those, the ruling “Law & Justice” (PiS) party is struggling to fend off strong challenges from the “Civic Platform” (PO) opposition and the anti-establishment Confederation party. It therefore decided to make national security central to its re-election platform, which adds context to why Poland is finally standing up to Ukraine. Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak’s recent remarks on the grain dispute can correspondingly be interpreted as imbuing a relevant security dimension into this agricultural issue.
This approach serves PiS’ electoral interests vis-à-vis those two previously mentioned parties since it’s aimed at reaffirming the incumbent’s national security credentials in response to PO’s accusations of hypocrisy together with trying to woo some of Confederation’s anti-Ukrainian supporters to its side. The end goal is to remain ahead of PO and contain Confederation’s rise so that the latter has less leverage over PiS in the scenario that those two agree to form a coalition government after the coming polls.
These electoral motivations and associated developments set the backdrop for properly understanding the timing of Poland’s disclosure that Kiev was responsible for last November’s incident that killed two Poles. This latest move is meant to maximally inflame popular resentment against the Ukrainian regime, though importantly not the Ukrainian people, which is intended to help PiS win re-election by the widest margin possible.
The ruling party knows that it’ll likely prove impossible to fully contain this nationalist sentiment, which is why there are reasons to suspect that there might be ulterior motives behind its latest cultivation. It could very well be the case that they want popular support after the elections, provided that they win of course and irrespective of whether they have to form a coalition government with Confederation, for pursuing the best possible trade and investment terms with Ukraine.
To that end, they could press for this in lieu of restitution from bankrupt Ukraine for its accidental killing of those two Poles last November, absent which PiS might threaten to escalate their ongoing trade war. Poland’s trump card is that it controls almost all third parties’ access to that country via its road and rail routes, which no other EU state can match in terms of quality or quantity, thus leading to the scenario of it possibly obstructing their trade and investment ties with Ukraine too until this dispute is resolved.
This would mostly be relevant with respect to Germany, which is making a major power play in Ukraine at Poland’s expense as was earlier explained in this analysis here. With that newfound geostrategic challenge in mind, Poland might seriously countenance this scenario in order to keep Germany in check at the same time as securing its envisaged “sphere of influence” in Western Ukraine. Kiev’s officially proven role in the Przewodow incident provides the perfect pretext for achieving these two objectives.
Even if PiS eschews exploiting this opportunity for whatever reason, perhaps due to American pressure in the event that Washington becomes worried about the Polish-Ukrainian dispute spiraling out of control, then that party will still probably score some political points through its latest disclosure. The fact of the matter is that average Poles now know that Zelensky’s regime has the blood of their two compatriots on its hands despite its denials, and they’re unlikely to forgive him for trying to cover it up.
https://korybko.substack.com/p/poland-c ... -to-finish
The Polish Foreign Minister Is Right: Olaf Scholz Is Indeed Meddling In Poland’s Elections
ANDREW KORYBKO
SEP 26, 2023
The combined effect of Poland's deteriorating relations with its two largest neighbors, first Ukraine and now Germany, is the impression that it’s either gone rogue or they’re teaming up against it.
Polish-German ties are deteriorating in parallel with Polish-Ukrainian ones after that country’s Foreign Minister just accused Chancellor Olaf Scholz of meddling in its elections. The German leader demanded that Poland clarify the visa scandal from earlier this month in which it was alleged that several hundred thousand people from the Global South illegally purchased visas from its consulates. Warsaw claimed that the real number is just a few hundred but Scholz hinted that he might impose border controls.
His innuendo provoked Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau to tweet the following condemnation:
“The latest statement by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz violates the principles of sovereign equality of states, which is the foundation of good neighborly relations and friendly cooperation with Poland, declared by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany in the 1991 treaty with Poland. The competences of the German Chancellor clearly do not apply to the proceedings pending in Poland.
Statements on this matter indicate an attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of the Polish State and the ongoing election campaign in Poland. In the name of good bilateral relations, I appeal to the German Chancellor to respect Poland's sovereignty and refrain from making statements that harm our mutual relations.”
This is an extremely serious allegation, but he has a solid point for the reasons that’ll now be explained.
Whatever doubts Scholz might have about the Polish authorities’ claim that the number of people who illegally purchased visas from their consulates should have been shared discretely through the appropriate diplomatic channels per protocol. By publicizing his concerns, he lent credence to the opposition’s speculation that they’re lying, which could influence voters’ perceptions ahead of the next elections on 15 October.
For as much as Scholz thought that he’d help oust the ruling party through these means, his meddling might actually backfire if it inspires Poles to vote for them out of patriotism to foil Germany’s regime change plot. The incumbents consistently claimed that Berlin backs the opposition, though that could have been dismissed as election rhetoric until now since nobody can any longer honestly deny that this is the case. Average Poles will certainly keep this in mind when they go to the polls.
As for outside observers, they now have grounds for considering whether there’s a hidden German hand behind the latest Polish-Ukrainian dispute like Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk recently speculated. After all, if Germany is openly meddling in the next Polish elections like Scholz’s remark proves as was explained, then it therefore follows that it’s probably meddling through more hidden means too.
The takeaway from Rau’s tweet is that Poland will now call Germany out for its unfriendly policies even if this threatens to further weaken European unity. The combined effect of his country’s deteriorating relations with its two largest neighbors is the impression that it’s either gone rogue or they’re teaming up against it. Regardless of whichever interpretation one subscribes to, the fact of the matter is that Poland has suddenly become the center of continental attention in the run-up to its next elections.
https://korybko.substack.com/p/the-poli ... r-is-right
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."
Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part V
Biden Appoints Billionaire From CIA-Mafia Linked Family to Oversee Exploitation of Ukraine’s Economy by Multi-National Corporations
By Jeremy Kuzmarov - September 25, 2023 0
Former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker with Secretary of State Tony Blinken at his State Department office on September 13. Pritzker is the new U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery. [Source: chicago.suntimes.com]
On September 14, President Joe Biden appointed former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, an heir to the Pritzker banking dynasty whose net worth is around $3.3 billion, to be Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery.
In a statement, Biden said that Ms. Pritzker would “drive the United States’ efforts to help rebuild the Ukrainian economy” by “working in lockstep with the Ukrainian government, our allies and partners, international financial institutions, and the private sector.”
The New York Times emphasized that Ms. Pritzker in her new job would encourage pro-investment strategies in Ukraine, and drum up public and private investment from other nations.[1]
Put in different terms, Pritzker is to help open the floodgates to Ukraine’s economic exploitation by multi-national corporations which stand to profit from a war that the U.S. and Ukraine deliberately provoked as part of a scheme to weaken Russia.
The profits will be astronomical because of the opportunity that the war has presented for “disaster capitalists” and because of the low-wage, low-tax economy that President Volodymyr Zelensky has established.
Zelensky has dismantled progressive labor laws, supported land privatization, and initiated attacks on unions and left-wing politicians and political parties, which have been banned.
Founder and chairman of a private investment firm, PSP Partners, and past member of the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations, Wall Street’s think tank, Pritzker visited Kyiv during her tenure as Commerce Secretary following the February 2014 Maidan coup.
There she helped deliver a $3 billion loan that was contingent on the government adopting neoliberal reforms beneficial to foreign corporations.[2]
Penny Pritzker during a visit to Ukraine in 2015. [Source: pravda.com.ua]
As a result of the “reforms” championed by Pritzker, U.S. corporations such as Cargill, DuPont (which has long supported Joe Biden’s political career) and Monsanto have been able to invest heavily in Ukrainian agriculture and, according to a report in The Australian National Review, purchased more than 17 million hectares of Ukraine’s arable land—more than all the arable land that exists in Italy.[3]
The main shareholders in these latter companies are Wall Street investment firms—The Vanguard Group, BlackRock and Blackstone—which donate heavily to both the Democratic and Republican parties and own major weapons companies like Raytheon, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin that have done brisk business contributing to the destruction of Ukraine.
An April 2021 report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) made the lifting of a moratorium on the sale of land to foreign companies a condition for the loan package that Pritzker helped to deliver.
A poll found that 81% of Ukrainians were against the sale of land to foreigners and lifting of the moratorium, while only 13% were in favor of it.[4]
Geopolitical analyst Drago Bosnic wrote that “the Ukrainian people have not only been quite literally robbed of the lands their ancestors gave their lives for”; they are also “effectively dying in battle to make sure this theft continues unabated.”
[Source: en.interaffairs.ru]
A Family Tradition
Penny Pritzker’s involvement in Ukraine’s exploitation follows from a long family tradition.
In 2011, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) discounted a balance of $144 million from a $460 million fine Pritzker had been assessed for illegal bank and loan shark operations at the failed Hinsdale, Illinois, Superior Bank while depositors who were still owed $10.3 million lost their savings.[5] According to journalist Greg Palast, the depositors included “poor folk in [then] Senator [Barack] Obama’s South Side district [who] lost their homes.”
Superior Bank’s failure resulted from years of sub-prime lending combined with fraudulent reporting practices and the deception of regulators.[6] This did not stop Obama—a man supposedly committed to cleaning up the financial system—from appointing Pritzker as Commerce Secretary.
Obama and Penny Pritzker greet each other warmly after Pritzker’s appointment as Commerce Secretary. [Source: chicagotribune.com]
Obama was also not dissuaded by the abysmal record on labor rights of the Pritzker-owned Hyatt hotel chain. In 2009, it shamefully replaced Latina room cleaners holding the highest rate of injury of any chain with non-union subcontractors after a strike in the Boston Hyatt hotels.[7]
Strikers outside the Boston Hyatt. [Source: peoplesworld.org]
Abram Pritzker was one of three brothers who inherited the family law firm from their father,
Abram Pritzker [Source: nypost.com]
After Pritzker’s appointment as Commerce Secretary, Daily Kos ran an article entitled “Penny Pritzker as an example of the criminality of our elites.”
The article noted that the origins of the Pritzker family fortune was Penny’s grandfather, Abram Nicholas Pritzker’s mob connections. Abram was a tax attorney for people in “The Outfit,” the Chicago mob, beginning under Al Capone, and continuing through the 1980s.
The connection to organized crime was reportedly what financed the creation of Hyatt Hotels by Penny’s father, Donald Pritzker, a University of Chicago-trained lawyer, and uncles Jay and Robert Pritzker, who at one time co-owned the Grand Hyatt New York with Donald Trump.
Jay Pritzker with Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan at the White House in 1983. [Source: nypost.com]
Before Superior Bank, the Pritzkers controlled Frontier Finance, a loan company in Chicago that one source told historian Gus Russo “is believed to be the secret to the origins of the family’s involvement with criminals.”
The president of Frontier Finance was Frank Buccieri, whose brother, Fiore “Fifi” Buccieri, was one of the Outfit’s top gambling bosses and a dreaded “juice collector” whom Life magazine in 1969 called the “leader of [Sam] Giancana’s assassination squads.”[8]
Frank Buccieri [Source: milwaukeemafia.com]
Fiore “Fifi” Buccieri [Source: pinterest.co.uk]
Abram owned another venture, Franklin Investments, in partnership with Arthur Greene, who was described by the Chicago Crime Commission as the
“brains of all the Chicago rackets,” and was an investor for Meyer Lansky.[9]
Sam Giancana [Source: fineartamerica.com]
Meyer Lansky [Source: leshp.org]
In 1953, Jay and Robert Pritzker founded the Marmon Group, an industrial holding company which invested in military-defense contractors, and were basically corporate raiders buying industrial companies and laying off much of the work force to show profitability before selling.
The Pritzkers were close associates of Sidney Korshak, a labor lawyer and fixer for the Chicago mob, and Burton Kanter, a CIA and Mossad-linked lawyer specializing in tax evasion, who helped the Pritzker’s off-shore money in the Bahamas-based Castle Bank, a CIA outfit founded by Kanter and the CIA’s mob liaison, Paul Helliwell.[10]
That the Pritzkers became the largest depositors in the Castle Bank—a source of revenue for CIA black operations—indicates not only their mob but also CIA connections, which undoubtedly persist to this day.
Penny Pritzker’s closeness to Obama (she gave $500,000 for his second inaugural and was his top fundraiser) is one sign of her family’s continued work for the Agency, as Obama comes from a CIA family, worked for a CIA front company after he graduated from Columbia University, and gave the CIA everything they wanted when he was president.[11]
Obama speaks on his home turf at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. [Source: politico.eu]
The CIA has been heavily involved in the Ukraine conflict since Obama helped coordinate the 2014 Maidan coup, with the CIA operating as always at the behest of large financial interests.
The latter can certainly count on Ms. Pritzker in her new role, where she will be taking the Pritzker tradition of exploiting others to make money to a whole new level.
1.Michael Crowley, “Biden Creates Role to Buoy Investment in Ukraine,” The New York Times, September 15, 2023, A11. ↑
2.Crowley, “Biden Creates Role to Buoy Investment in Ukraine,” A11. ↑
3.The Australian National Review report has been disputed in U.S. media such as USA Today. Cargill announced last year that it had become majority owner of the deep-water port terminal called Neptune in the Odessa region on the Black Sea. ↑
4.As many as two-thirds of respondents believed that a decision of such importance for the state should have been made after a referendum. Nearly 60% believed that agricultural land should be owned by the state. ↑
5.Jeremy Kuzmarov, Obama’s Unending Wars: Fronting the Foreign Policy of the Permanent Warfare State (Atlanta: Clarity Press, 2019), 36. ↑
6.The Pritzker name is visible all over Chicago, sponsoring the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine, the Pritzker Military Museum and Library and the Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo. The family’s private foundations and charities have recently funneled a lot of money into what is called “gender affirming medical care,” the controversial treatment that critics say encourages youths to undergo transition surgery or take puberty blockers without first going through adequate therapy. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Penny’s brother, has signed off on transgender legislation, in essence making “gender affirming care” the law in Illinois. Jennifer Pritzker’s personal foundation, Tawani, leverages her chunk of the family’s vast fortune to make pro-transgender grants to universities and establish university departments promoting this ideology. Even the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine now offers a class claiming to teach a new generation of doctors how to fight “misinformation” in the medical field, including alleged falsehoods about “gender-affirming hormone care.” ↑
7.Kuzmarov, Obama’s Unending Wars, 37; Greg Palast, “Billionaire Bankster Penny Pritzker Breaks into Obama’s Cabinet,” May 2, 2013. UNITE HERE, the union that represents Hyatt workers, initiated a five-year boycott of the Hyatt that ended only when Hyatt agreed to pay the fired workers $1 million. ↑
8.See Gus Russo, Supermob: How Sidney Korshak and His Criminal Associates Became America’s Hidden Power Brokers (New York: Bloomsbury, 2006). ↑
9.Whitney Webb, One Nation Under Blackmail – Vol. 1: The sordid union between Intelligence and Organized Crime that gave rise to Jeffrey Epstein (Walterville, OR: Trine Day, 2022), 31. ↑
10.Webb, One Nation Under Blackmail, 32. Senior editor of the Journal of Taxation who financed movies such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Kanter was the criminal mastermind of a long-running kickback and tax-evasion scheme in which money was siphoned from funds managed by the Prudential and Travelers insurance companies. He was rewarded for his service to the Pritzkers by being appointed to the Board of Directors of Hyatt Hotels. ↑
11.Penny claims to have met Obama in the early 1990s when her kids were playing on a basketball team coached by Michelle Obama’s brother, Craig Robinson, though the meeting is unlikely to have been coincidental. ↑
https://covertactionmagazine.com/2023/0 ... porations/
******
Ukrainian Whoppers
Propaganda only works so long.
Ukraine’s Military Claims to Have Killed the Head of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet - New York Times
Ukraine’s military asserted on Monday that it had killed the commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in a missile attack last week, which, if confirmed, would make the strike among the most damaging for the Russian Navy since the sinking of the fleet’s flagship last year.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow’s Defense Ministry on the status of its fleet commander, Adm. Viktor Sokolov, who is one of the most senior figures in the Russian Navy. Ukraine’s claim could not be independently verified.
Ukraine’s special operations forces on Friday said they had struck a headquarters of the Russian fleet in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, a storied port that is now under regular bombardment from Ukraine’s long-range missiles and exploding drones. Fleet officers were holding a meeting there at the time, the Ukrainian military said.
Russian sources say that no one was in the very exposed building when the Ukrainian missiles hit. The real headquarter is underground in an unknown place.
Today there was an expanded Board meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow (machine translation):
Opening the meeting, the Defense Minister briefly highlighted the situation in the special military operation zone.
"Groups of Russian troops," he said, " continue active operations to defeat the enemy. Thanks to the professionalism and courage of the personnel of the 25th and 138th motorized rifle brigades in the Kupyansk direction, the control zone near the settlements of Sinkovka and Petropavlovsk was significantly expanded. As a result of effective fire damage, the armed forces of Ukraine are suffering serious losses along the entire line of contact.
During the current month, more than 17 thousand people, more than 2,700 weapons and military equipment were destroyed, including 7 American Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, 77 American M777 artillery systems, 51 self-propelled artillery installations from Germany, France, Poland and the United States of America, as well as two German Leopard tanks and one English tank "Challenger".
The commander of the Black Sea fleet, Adm. Viktor Sokolov, took part in the briefing via a live TV link.
Dmitri Alperovitch @DAlperovitch - 10:29 UTC · Sep 26, 2023
Russian MoD released a photo of a claimed meeting today between Shoigu and military commanders, with Black Sea Fleet Admiral Sokolov participating (bottom on the left) and not dead as has been alleged No way to verify the date of the photo though
And now video of Shoigu’s speech. I think this is now a pretty good proof of life that Sokolov didn’t die on the strike on Black Sea Fleet HQ
full video
---
Another whopper comes from the neoconservative Institute for the Study of War:
ISW @TheStudyofWar - 4:03 UTC · Sep 25, 2023
6/ Putin may have ordered the Russian military command to hold all Russia’s initial defensive positions to create the illusion that Ukrainian counteroffensives have not achieved any tactical or operational effects despite substantial Western support.[/i]
As one commentator remarked:
“Putin orders Russian army to win battle to create the illusion of having won battle”
---
The White House has put out a letter with a list of demands Ukraine has to fulfill to receive further aid.
The "DELIBERATIVE // PRE-DECISIONAL WORKING DRAFT – SUBJECT TO REVIEW" five page letter includes the "Priority Reform List - Reforms Linked to Conditions on U.S. Assistance".
It demands a complete reform of major Ukrainian power structures and the insertion of designated foreign personnel. It sets 3, 6 and 12 month limits for certain reforms to be achieved.
Examples:
Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU) Reform : Implement newly enacted law #3277-IX by standing up the Advisory Group of Experts with the meaningful participation of Venice Commision, EU, and U.S. nominated experts and supporting the vetting process of CCU judge candidates. *Passage of #3277 was one of seven requirements for Ukraine to begin EU accession process.
...
Ministry of Defense (MOD) : o Without undermining readiness, re-design both military armament and public procurement processes and procedures reflecting NATO standards of transparency, accountability, efficiency, and competition in defense procurement.
...
o Invest in Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) initiatives.
...
Ministry of Strategic Industries / Ukraine Defense Industry (formerly UkrOboronProm) : Stand up UDI supervisory board that complies with OECD standards, including participation by foreign defense experts. Build stronger institutional connections (e.g., liaison or procurement offices) with MOD and General Staff planning, to ensure UDI’s work is aligned with the country’s most pressing needs. Ensure NATO standards of transparency, accountability, efficiency, and competition across the defense industrial sector. Institute transparency procedures (even taking into account wartime needs for secrecy) to allow later audit and avoid even the appearance of politicization or corruption in defense production.
I believe that the Ukrainian government currently has very different problems and priorities than those dreamed up in some offices in DC.
Posted by b on September 26, 2023 at 12:53 UTC | Permalink
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/09/u ... .html#more
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Caitlin Johnstone: Bravado on the Nuclear Brink
September 25, 2023
Sean Penn — who is now plugging his new Zelensky movie — says it’s cowardly not to risk the life of every terrestrial organism on earth to achieve U.S. military objectives.
Film director Sean Penn at the premiere of his documentary Superpower, chronicling his trips to Ukraine, at the Berlin Film Festival 2023. (Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0)
By Caitlin Johnstone
CaitlinJohnstone.com.au
During a recent appearance on Face the Nation to plug his new Zelensky movie, actor Sean Penn decried the “cowardice” of the U.S. government in its caution around provoking a nuclear exchange with its proxy warfare in Ukraine.
“It is my absolute feeling that the caution with which the United States has pledged support, which seemed, in my reading of February 2022 was a, like a lean on in the fear of nuclear conflict, something I think all of us should look very carefully at and understand that, of course, is possible,” Penn said. “And that’s to be concerning. The likelihood is extremely low. And as one of our witnesses in the film says, you know, are we going to let a gangster with nuclear weapons dictate the way we live?”
Penn emotionally lamented the fact that the Biden administration did not pour F-16 warplanes into Ukraine from the very beginning of the conflict, initially fearing the move to be too escalatory. Describing this hesitation, Penn said that “at some point, caution becomes cowardice.”
As you might expect, the interviewer refrained from challenging Penn on his claim that the likelihood of nuclear war is “extremely low” in spite of his acknowledgement that it’s a real possibility, or on his claim that resisting increasing the likelihood of nuclear war is an act of cowardice.
Sean Penn has been one of Hollywood’s most egregious empire apologists for some time now (in 2020 he told CNN that “there is no greater humanitarian force on the planet than the United States military”), but even by his standards these comments about nuclear brinkmanship are remarkably odious.
There’s this obnoxious idea that comes up in mainstream political discourse about Ukraine that an aversion to nuclear brinkmanship is somehow cowardly, and that being willing to risk the life of every terrestrial organism advancing US strategic objectives is somehow an act of courage.
We saw this back in July from Paul Massaro, an adviser to the U.S. government’s Helsinki Commission and a minor celebrity in online Zelenskyite circles.
During this year’s “Captive Nations Summit” with the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, Massaro mocked Westerners for being “fearful” of proxy warfare in Ukraine leading to nuclear warfare.
“I think the biggest thing is fear, I think we’re fearful,” Massaro said.
“It’s very funny to me, because you meet Ukrainians, not a single Ukrainian is fearful. You talk to Ukrainians it’s like ‘What if the Russians use nuclear weapons?’, they’re like ‘We’ll keep fighting, we’ll win.’ You know it’s only the westerners that are like ‘Oh my god, I’m over here in California and what if the Russians use nuclear weapons?’ You know, it’s almost pathetic.”
It’s a common theme. Any time you talk publicly about the risk of the continually escalating war in Ukraine leading to nuclear catastrophe you’ll get empire apologists calling you a coward and saying we all need to be brave and stand up to the big bully Putin. And it’s just such a disgusting perversion of what courage actually is and what it looks like.
Empire loyalists often talk about nuclear brinkmanship like it’s something courageous that they personally are doing, as though gambling every terrestrial life on strategic grand chessboard maneuverings is a brave risk that could only hurt them. If you think you are brave for risking the life of everyone on earth to advance your personal geopolitical agendas, you might be a malignant narcissist, because you think the world revolves around you, and other lives exist only as props to support your main character adventures.
Hardly any human on this planet cares who governs Crimea or the Donbass — and exactly zero of the plants and animals do — but people like Sean Penn and Paul Massaro think they have every right to not only gamble all their lives on a bid to control that outcome, but to call themselves courageous for doing so.
Imagine being so self-absorbed you think you’re a brave hero for putting the lives of Africans, Asians, and South Americans on the betting table who’ve never even heard of Donetsk or Luhansk and don’t care who governs them, as well as every non-human life on earth.
It’s as emotionally stunted and infantile a perspective as you could possibly come up with, but these are the people whose worldview is shaping outcomes on this planet. These are the sort of people who are setting the trajectory of our species as a collective.
The mainstream Western political consensus is a sickness of the mind. Its existence should make us all want to fall to our knees and beg the forgiveness of every life on this earth that it imperils.
https://consortiumnews.com/2023/09/25/c ... ear-brink/
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Russia accuses US and UK for attack on Crimea
Last Friday, kyiv launched missiles against the main headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea. | Photo: Sputnik
Published September 27, 2023
According to Moscow, the attacks were “in close coordination” with the US and British intelligence services.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused the United States and the United Kingdom of cooperating with the recent Ukrainian attack on the Russian city of Sevastopol, located in the south of the Crimean peninsula.
“Without the slightest doubt the attack was planned in advance with the use of Western reconnaissance equipment, including NATO reconnaissance aircraft and satellite equipment, and at the request and in close coordination with the intelligence services of the United States and Great Britain.” , said the spokesperson.
Last Friday, kyiv launched a missile attack against the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the city of Sevastopol, resulting in the disappearance of a member of the armed forces.
Likewise, Zakharova affirmed that Russia will continue to insist that the United States fulfill its commitments in the context of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC).
"We are convinced of the fundamental importance of preserving APEC as a constructive platform for inclusive dialogue, which no one can usurp for selfish purposes," he stressed.
In turn, the spokesperson for Russian diplomacy pointed out that Washington tries to employ authoritarian methods and use an "ultimatum" tone in its relations with various international partners.
APEC will hold its next summit from November 12 to 18 in the American city of San Francisco, where representatives of the 21 member countries, which represent 60 percent of the world's Gross Domestic Product, will meet.
https://www.telesurtv.net/news/rusia-ee ... -0010.html
Google Translator
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The House of Anti-Communists, and the Nazi Monster it Spawned
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on SEPTEMBER 26, 2023
Aidan Jonah
Ukrainian Nazi, Jaroslav Hunka, waiting in the Parliament Gallery before he was honoured by a joint parliament and senate sitting of Canada’s House of Commons, to hear Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech. Image credit: Hindustan Times
It was a rare show of unity in Canada’s increasingly frayed parliament. 336 of 338 Members of Parliament, the Prime Minister, Senators and other guests of honour joined Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a standing ovation for “Canadian hero,” Yaroslav Hunka. The 98-year-old was heralded for fighting “for Ukrainian independence against the Russians in the Second World War.”
The touching moment was, however, short-lived. Unfortunately, for Canadian statesmen and their Ukrainian patrons, astute netizens had the presence of mind to question that if Hunka was fighting “the Russians,” then who was he fighting alongside?
The answer also wasn’t hard to find.
Hunka fought in the 14th division of the Waffen SS, having voluntarily joined in 1943, by his own admission. Suddenly, the beautiful show of solidarity and unity took a very dark turn. By Sunday afternoon, House Speaker Anthony Rota, who supposedly was behind Hunka’s invitation, and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre were claiming that lawmakers had no about the ex-Nazi’s past.
Rota and the Prime Minister’s Office are in charge of who gets to be in the Parliamentary gallery, and who gets recognition in Parliament. Interestingly, Liberal MP and Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland, who would know full well what it meant to fight “for Ukrainian independence against the Russians in the Second World War,” was seen smiling and joyful during Hunka’s recognition.
On Poilievre’s claim, people must realize that the opposition force against the USSR even after Nazi Germany was forced out of Soviet Ukraine, were Nazis who wanted an independent fascist Ukraine. These Nazis were outnumbered by the near seven million Ukrainians who fought in the USSR’s Red Army.
Claiming ignorance is farcical on their part as well, showcasing their anti-communism, which naturally leads to defence of fascists fighting socialist states such as the USSR. These same MPs support billions to Ukraine, support of the Azov battalion and the whitewashing of Nazis in Ukraine, and wouldn’t have condemned Hunka’s honouring if the Canadian people and international media didn’t catch onto what they did.
However, putting aside the Canadian regime’s dubious idiot defence, the episode sheds light on a larger issue. Hunka is hardly the first former Nazi with national name recognition (albeit the first to get a standing ovation in the House of Commons). For years Canada struggled to deport Helmut Oberlander, a former translator for the Einsatzkommando 10a unit, a Nazi death squad involved in numerous war crimes during WWII. In fact, Canada’s Nazi footprint goes right to the top, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s right-hand woman, Chrystia Freeland, being the granddaughter of a Nazi propagandist.
All of which begs the question, how exactly did Hunka and others like him enter Canada after World War II? While many scholars admit that the importation of Ukrainian and other fascists was done to crush burgeoning leftist diasporas, this is where analysis of fascists and reactionaries being imported to Canada usually ends.
Quite the opposite. The Nazi “underground railroad” was just the first salvo of the Canadian state’s 75-year drive to import fascists and anti-communists, in service of maintaining Canadian colonialism and bolstering support for Canadian imperialism. Hunka is just the everyday Nazi, one of many.
The Nazi “Underground Railroad”
As Adolf Hitler spent his final days hiding in his Berlin bunker, many Nazis were drawing up contingency plans. In the months and years, after the Hammer and Sickle flew over the Reichstag thousands of war criminals would fan out across the world in the hope of evading justice. Canada was one of the desired destinations.
While talk of screening processes would usually be relevant, as early as 1947, the Canadian government was actively seeking out European Nazis and on RCMP orders, Ukrainians with an SS tattoo, rejected by European screening agencies, were being brought to Canada. The Ukrainian Canadian, the English-language newspaper of the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians, reported that these people had already been targeting the Canadian left almost immediately upon coming to Canada.
According to Howard Margolian, in Unauthorized Entry: The Truth about Nazi War Criminals in Canada, Canada used an immigration organization fully aware of Estonia’s significant SS membership, many of whom had fled to Sweden. As Ukrainian Nazis were being imported to Canada in 1948, the Canadian government amended immigration regulations to “permit the admission of up to five thousand Estonians from Sweden. (pg. 129)”
Canadian government minister C.D. Howe dictated “Canadian immigration teams were not to disqualify Baltic veterans of the German Army from bulk-labour movements unless there was clear evidence they had been volunteers,” which was determined by checking records to see if Baltic citizens had joined the SS Forces before December 1, 1943 (pg. 93 & 94).”
Voluntary service in the Nazi SS was no longer grounds for automatic rejection by 1950 (pg. 94). The change simply codified existing government policy. The Jewish News of North California reported that the Canadian government admitted more than 2,000 Ukrainian members of the Nazi 14th SS Division in the 1950s.
Canadian political elites were just getting started, in reshaping Canadian society into an anti-communist monster. This societal reconstruction would require that European Nazis were just the first set of anti-communists imported into Canada.
Hungary: Anti-communist lynching of Jews? Import 37,500 anti-communists to Canada
Every failed anti-communist uprising now became an opportunity for Canada. The first chance to further their anti-communist reconstruction came in 1956. That year, the Hungarian Uprising occurred, a fascist coup attempt which was eventually put down by the USSR.
Some legitimate grievances were put forward by some elements of the uprising. However, that uprising was dominated by anti-Communist and outright Fascist groups and led by the right-wing, anti-communist Smallholder’s Party, supported by the Social Democratic Party. An individual who played an important role in leading the demonstrations was anti-communist Catholic priest József Mindszenty.
Daniel Xie explained the fascist nature of the uprising:
“Counter-revolutionaries destroyed memorials to the Red Army, lynched Jewish Hungarians and Communists, burned communist literature and removed communist iconography from buildings. Even the CIA would admit that fascist ideology drove the Hungarian counter-revolution. According to the CIA, participants in the uprising adhered to Hungarian ultranationalism, which is defined by anti-Semitism, Catholic Fundamentalism, and Slavophobia. These were also the ideological tenets of the Fascist Arrow Cross Party, which dominated Hungary in the last years of the Second World War before Hungary’s liberation by the Soviets. Under Arrow Cross rule, 565,000 Jews were murdered as the regime worked with Nazi Germany in perpetuating the Holocaust.”
While elements of the Hungarian Communist Party under Imre Nagy supposedly formed the face of the uprising, they sought to leave the Warsaw Pact. Under the threat of Hungary potentially falling into the NATO camp, the USSR chose to intervene militarily, crushing the uprising.
Canada took advantage of the situation, importing 37500 Hungarian ‘refugees’ in 1956 and 1957, with no review of their actions during the uprising before letting them in. Xie explained: “The majority of Hungarian anti-Communists, arriving via a streamlined immigration process, settled in urban areas such as Toronto, Vancouver, and Montréal.”
The Toronto Star noted, “There were only two countries accepting Hungarian refugees without quotas: Canada and Venezuela.”
The line between importing European Nazis, and importing Hungarian counterrevolutionaries only years later is clear, bolstering Canadian anti-communism during the Cold War.
Tibetan feudalists’ failed counterrevolution of 1959
However, Canada’s embrace of anti-communist reactions goes beyond Europe.
In 1959, a CIA-backed feudalist uprising against the Communist Party of China in Tibet, was defeated, and the conspirators including the Dalai Lama himself, fled to India. Before the Chinese government took control of Tibet in 1950, Tibet had been a brutal theocracy (even declassified Canadian cables admitted this), where “The Tibetan people, as serfs, suffered extreme poverty. The Tibetan elites viewed servants as an inferior race, and Tibetans were only allowed to marry those of the same rank in the societal hierarchy.”
After 1950, “the CPC only engaged in moderate land reform, infrastructure projects such as schools, and provided financial supports to serfs, to allow their children to go to school, along with low-interest loans to improve their financial standing until 1955. That year, the government began to push through land reform, a move supported by the peasantry.”
The feudal leaders were not forced out of leadership by the CPC, and in 1959, the feudal theocrats sought to take advantage of this with counter-revolution, led by feudal monks and their paid militias. The CPC defeated this effort “with the firm support of the Tibetan people. Tibetan serfs voted for the first time ever in 1961. By 1965, Tibet had become an autonomous region of the People’s Republic of China.”
In 1970, Canada’s immigration department allowed 200 Tibet ‘refugees’ to enter Canada, after an appeal from ex-theocratic leader Dalai Lama. The news clipping specifically notes that the refugees had been living in refugee camps in India since the early 1950s, meaning that these were firm anti-communists, who were gone even before the failed 1959 CIA-backed feudalist uprising. The number went higher, to 228, by the end of 1971, and by 2010, there were 5000 Tibet dissidents in Canada. In 2011, the Canadian government created a special immigration policy to bring in a thousand more ‘displaced Tibetan[s]”.
These Tibet dissidents have organized to win significant influence in Canadian politics, even having their own political representative in Ontario’s parliament, NDP MPP Bhutila Karpoche. They constitute a reliable anti-China force in Canadian politics.
Vietnam’s re-unification as an opportunity to import anti-communists
The Vietnamese people had to spend 30 years, from 1945 to 1975, fighting off two different invaders, first the French and then the United States.
The US created a puppet ‘South Vietnam’ government which massacred communists and those even suspected of supporting them, and had US troops brought in to prop up this government. Despite the extensive support offered by the US government, the ‘South Vietnam’ government fell on April 30, 1975, and anti-communist collaborators rushed to flee along with general anti-communists.
Canada saw opportunity yet again.
Only days later, the Canadian government confirmed that it would initially bring in 3000 ‘South Vietnamese’ refugees to Canada.
As NDP MP Don Davies said, Canada would welcome “some 150,000 Vietnamese refugees who have contributed so much to our nation.” Davies inadvertently showcased the use of these ‘refugees’ by saying “We stand with them and all fighting for liberty, democracy and human rights.” More Vietnamese immigrants have come over the last few decades, but the ‘refugees’ are a noticeably large, reliable, mostly anti-communist contingent which Canada can count on.
Confirmation of Britain returning Hong Kong to Canada, sees mass anti-communist immigration
As China was just beginning to assert itself on the world stage, it was able to obtain the return of its stolen territory.
In 1984, the Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed, setting the terms and timing of Britain’s handover to China, with Hong Kong to become a Special Administrative Region governed under the ‘One-Country, Two-Systems’ framework beginning on July 1, 1997. While China had to make concessions to Britain, to return its territory stolen after the Opium War, the special framework was only set to last 50 years after 1997, and anti-communists feared the influence of China’s socialist government.
More than 335,000 Hong Kong residents came to Canada specifically between 1984 to 1997, and as of 2019, there were 300,000 Canadian citizens hailing from Hong Kong. The ‘HongKongers’ constituted a very reliable anti-communist force especially during the 2019 NATO coup attempt in Hong Kong, supporting the riots and helping the Canadian elite ramp up demonization of China. They continue to be reliably anti-China, claiming Chinese government intimidation without proof for years (which has never resulted in a case being filed), and being active supporters of CSIS’ Chinagate campaign.
China cracks down on Falun Gong cult, Canada imports members for anti-communist use
While Canada-China trade relations were Canada’s priority, its anti-communist project meant all opportunities for importation should be taken.
This opportunity came after the anti-science Falun Gong cult was cracked down upon in China beginning in July 1999. Daniel Xie explains: Falun Going is in “opposition to the use of medicine to treat diseases, claiming that diseases can simply be gotten rid of if one expels bad karma from their body. The deaths associated with this school of thought were the Chinese government’s reason for moving against Falun Gong.”
China’s embassy in Thailand notes that in 1998, there were multiple instances of Falun Gong members organizing to besiege news agencies who reported on deaths caused by the cult, and the embassy claims that before it was banned, “Falun Gong had organized over 300 such besieging actions.” The Chinese Consulate in Auckland said that between 1992 to April 12, 2000, “1,559 of them [Falun Gong members] died of suicide or rejecting medical treatment”.
The various reactionary beliefs of Falun Gong include “racist beliefs demonizing interracial relationships as the prelude to societal moral decay, with mixed-race children seen as intellectually and physically deformed compared to non mixed-race children. Belief that science and technology are anti-human concepts introduced by space aliens into human society in order to ferment war and chaos.”
Between 1999 to 2006, Xun Li of the Falun Dafa Association, said 75 Falun Gong practitioners had been given refugee status in Canada. They joined up with Falun Gong practitioners in Canada, who had begun working to restrict the ability of Chinese Canadian media to oppose Falun Gong, as early as 2001. Falun Gong followers helped provide the long-term basis for whipping up paranoia about China, by ‘coming forward’ in 2005, to claim China was spying on Falun Gong practitioners in Canada.
Falun Gong front groups have spread smears against China, while its newspaper, the Epoch Times, and TV station, New Tang Dynasty Television, have spent two plus decades whipping up anti-China fears in both Canada and the USA. Xie explained “New Tang Dynasty expanded to Canada on September 30, 2008 starting with it’s broadcast debut on Rogers cable, this was followed by the creation of NTD Canada on March 28, 2012.” In 2013, a Falun Gong member, Sonia Zhao, got a Confucius Institute at McMaster University shuttered.
Canada’s government has shown favouritism to Epoch Times, rejecting a request “last May [2020] from a Toronto postal workers’ union to cease circulation of the Epoch Times via Canada Post.” A “Flying Cloud Productions” movie sympathetic to Falun Gong was financially supported by the Canadian government.
Predictably, Falun Gong members imported into Canada have been consistently anti-communist, and have firmly backed CSIS’ Chinagate campaign.
Uygur ‘genocide’ lies and demonization of Tibet boarding schools, part of effort to bring in more anti-communists
Despite Obama’s Pivot to Asia, Uygur dissidents in Canada had a low profile during the 2010s. But as that pivot was fully realized under former US president Donald Trump, they came to the public eye the Western media started pushing claims of a Uygur genocide in 2018. The lie of a ‘Uygur genocide’ is debunked by “extensive reporting by the Grayzone, exposing how CIA cut-outs and NED funded organizations were the main drivers of these allegations. They further showcased how the allegations of genocide against the Uighur population are totally false, and motivated by the American desire to smear China.”
The Canada Files showcased how an NED (CIA-front) funded organization, Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, drove a subcommittee report which was the basis for a 2021 Canadian parliament non-binding vote that saw parliament claim there was a ‘Uygur genocide’ occurring in Xinjiang, China saw.
Then, a February 2023 Canadian parliament non-binding vote passed unanimously for the resettlement of 10000 Uygur ‘refugees’, in 2024 and 2025. These Uygur ‘refugees’, if the Canadian government approves them, will be a flat 10000-person block of anti-communists in Canada, fervently against China.
Meanwhile this year, the very same Canadian parliament subcommittee falsely equated boarding schools in Tibet, needed because of the vast nature of the Chinese province, with genocidal Canadian residential schools. The subcommittee report recommended, among other things, “That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada create a new temporary resident stream that enables human rights defenders to seek immediate and non-permanent safe haven in Canada.”
In both cases, the ‘refugees’ that would be imported into Canada, if the Uyghur and Tibetan dissidents get their way, would be fervently anti-communist, and seek the secession of Chinese provinces.
Hunka as the everyday Nazi
Canada has multiple statues honouring Ukrainian Nazis. A statue in Oakville, Ontario, honours Ukrainians who served in the 14th division of the Nazi SS. A statue in Edmonton, Alberta, honours Roman Shukyevch, Ukrainian fascist genocidal mass murderer and World War II Nazi collaborator. As well, this author explained that:
“In 2010, the Canadian government authorized a memorial to the “victims of communism” after an aggressive campaign from Tribute to Liberty. This group minimizes Nazi war crimes, in favour of targeting the Soviet Union, which lost 25 million citizens in the fight against fascism, during World War II. The Liberals have continued to support it, even after public outcry forced the monument to be downsized and moved out of its spot near the Supreme Court of Canada.”
The statues come as a direct result of Canadian government policy.
Richard Sanders explained that the Ukrainian Canadian Congress “was created by Mackenzie King’s infamously antisemitic Liberal government in 1940. Its purpose was to unify anti-Communist Ukrainian groups in support of government policies, and to help them crush the anti-fascist Ukrainian organizations which—although thoroughly despised and long persecuted by Canada’s government— then dominated the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada.”
It brought together Ukrainian groups, such as the Ukrainian National Front (UNF), with activists were outspoken supporters of National Socialism (Nazism) long before the outbreak of World War II. As early as 1933, when Hitler’s National Socialists came to power in Germany, the official newspaper of the UNF «Novy Schlach» gleefully wrote: «We cheerfully welcome the triumph of the new German world over the old world.” Other organizations brought together included the Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood (UCB) and the monarchist United Hetman Organization (UHO), which was controlled by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN).
Sanders continued: “The UCC also brought together the OUN-B with its rival faction within the OUN. That faction, the OUN-M, led by Andriy Melnyk, was more trustworthy to the Nazis. As such it was instrumental in coordinating overall collaboration and establishing the Waffen SS Division, whose volunteers pledged to fight to the death for Hitler’s anti Bolshevik cause. The OUN-M is represented within the UCC by the Ukrainian National Federation of Canada.”
In 1939, UСС president Vasil Kushnir, who had held office for two decades stated the following at a meeting in Winnipeg:
“Let our (Ukrainian) culture be national and not serve ‘international Jewry.’ Ukrainian forces must join with Nazi Germany because ‘Germany has inscribed on its banner the destruction of Bolshevism’.”
Michael Chomiak, Nazi propagandist and grandfather of Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland would be just one of the thousands of Ukrainian Nazis brought to Canada post-WWII.
Canada’s allowed Nazi Ukrainians to roam free, and gain influence in Canadian politics, while grooming a next generation of right-wing Ukrainian Canadians who’d carry on their political aims.
Imported fascist diaspora groups in Canada began pushing for the creation of a Black Ribbon Day in the mid-1980s, which equated the USSR (socialism) with Nazi Germany (fascism), with the Toronto chapter of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress being an important initial booster. In 2009, Canada’s parliament adopted Black Ribbon Day. All the while, Canadian government funded youth centers have been honouring fascist genocidal mass-murders Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukyevch.
Right-wing Ukrainian Canadians provided justification for and played their part in Canadian interference which they’d have done anyways to Ukraine, both during the 2004 ‘Orange Revolution’ and the 2014 Maidan coup, by vocally condemning Ukrainian politicians they opposed and supporting the opposition. The latter interference has given Canada the chance to get its share of looting Ukraine post-Maidan, while publicly training the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion from 2014 to 2022. The Canadian governments of both Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau have repeatedly refused to vote in favour of UN resolutions opposing the glorification of Nazism, since 2014.
Meanwhile, the UCC now holds significant influence on the Canadian government. A UCC friend (who has the UCC answer critical emails from journalists) and Nazi-collaborator apologist who honoured her Nazi propagandist grandfather, MP Chrystia Freeland, is Deputy Prime Minister.
Hunka is only unique because the Canadian Parliamentarians and Senators honoured him in Canada’s House of Commons. Hunka is one of the 2000 plus Ukrainian Nazis and 10000 plus European Nazis Canada imported after World War II.
The claim of MPs, that they didn’t grasp that the 98-year old Nazi veteran was a Nazi, seeks to obscure their outright anti-communism, exposed for the world to see by the Hunka incident. Fighting “for Ukrainian independence against the Russians in the Second World War” means only one thing, you were a Nazi. That MPs would applaud an obvious Nazi veteran, speaks to their support for Nazis against socialist states and states harming Western imperialism. The only reason opposition condemnations, and Liberal MP claims that they didn’t know about Hunka’s past, is that condemnation came en masse from Canadians and international media.
Over 75 plus years, to maintain support for Canadian colonialism and imperialism, the Canadian state imported anti-communists at almost every opportunity. This importation has shaped Canadian society post-World War II.
It’s clear that Canada’s parliament is the House of Anti-Communists.
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/09/ ... t-spawned/
By Jeremy Kuzmarov - September 25, 2023 0
Former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker with Secretary of State Tony Blinken at his State Department office on September 13. Pritzker is the new U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery. [Source: chicago.suntimes.com]
On September 14, President Joe Biden appointed former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, an heir to the Pritzker banking dynasty whose net worth is around $3.3 billion, to be Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery.
In a statement, Biden said that Ms. Pritzker would “drive the United States’ efforts to help rebuild the Ukrainian economy” by “working in lockstep with the Ukrainian government, our allies and partners, international financial institutions, and the private sector.”
The New York Times emphasized that Ms. Pritzker in her new job would encourage pro-investment strategies in Ukraine, and drum up public and private investment from other nations.[1]
Put in different terms, Pritzker is to help open the floodgates to Ukraine’s economic exploitation by multi-national corporations which stand to profit from a war that the U.S. and Ukraine deliberately provoked as part of a scheme to weaken Russia.
The profits will be astronomical because of the opportunity that the war has presented for “disaster capitalists” and because of the low-wage, low-tax economy that President Volodymyr Zelensky has established.
Zelensky has dismantled progressive labor laws, supported land privatization, and initiated attacks on unions and left-wing politicians and political parties, which have been banned.
Founder and chairman of a private investment firm, PSP Partners, and past member of the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations, Wall Street’s think tank, Pritzker visited Kyiv during her tenure as Commerce Secretary following the February 2014 Maidan coup.
There she helped deliver a $3 billion loan that was contingent on the government adopting neoliberal reforms beneficial to foreign corporations.[2]
Penny Pritzker during a visit to Ukraine in 2015. [Source: pravda.com.ua]
As a result of the “reforms” championed by Pritzker, U.S. corporations such as Cargill, DuPont (which has long supported Joe Biden’s political career) and Monsanto have been able to invest heavily in Ukrainian agriculture and, according to a report in The Australian National Review, purchased more than 17 million hectares of Ukraine’s arable land—more than all the arable land that exists in Italy.[3]
The main shareholders in these latter companies are Wall Street investment firms—The Vanguard Group, BlackRock and Blackstone—which donate heavily to both the Democratic and Republican parties and own major weapons companies like Raytheon, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin that have done brisk business contributing to the destruction of Ukraine.
An April 2021 report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) made the lifting of a moratorium on the sale of land to foreign companies a condition for the loan package that Pritzker helped to deliver.
A poll found that 81% of Ukrainians were against the sale of land to foreigners and lifting of the moratorium, while only 13% were in favor of it.[4]
Geopolitical analyst Drago Bosnic wrote that “the Ukrainian people have not only been quite literally robbed of the lands their ancestors gave their lives for”; they are also “effectively dying in battle to make sure this theft continues unabated.”
[Source: en.interaffairs.ru]
A Family Tradition
Penny Pritzker’s involvement in Ukraine’s exploitation follows from a long family tradition.
In 2011, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) discounted a balance of $144 million from a $460 million fine Pritzker had been assessed for illegal bank and loan shark operations at the failed Hinsdale, Illinois, Superior Bank while depositors who were still owed $10.3 million lost their savings.[5] According to journalist Greg Palast, the depositors included “poor folk in [then] Senator [Barack] Obama’s South Side district [who] lost their homes.”
Superior Bank’s failure resulted from years of sub-prime lending combined with fraudulent reporting practices and the deception of regulators.[6] This did not stop Obama—a man supposedly committed to cleaning up the financial system—from appointing Pritzker as Commerce Secretary.
Obama and Penny Pritzker greet each other warmly after Pritzker’s appointment as Commerce Secretary. [Source: chicagotribune.com]
Obama was also not dissuaded by the abysmal record on labor rights of the Pritzker-owned Hyatt hotel chain. In 2009, it shamefully replaced Latina room cleaners holding the highest rate of injury of any chain with non-union subcontractors after a strike in the Boston Hyatt hotels.[7]
Strikers outside the Boston Hyatt. [Source: peoplesworld.org]
Abram Pritzker was one of three brothers who inherited the family law firm from their father,
Abram Pritzker [Source: nypost.com]
After Pritzker’s appointment as Commerce Secretary, Daily Kos ran an article entitled “Penny Pritzker as an example of the criminality of our elites.”
The article noted that the origins of the Pritzker family fortune was Penny’s grandfather, Abram Nicholas Pritzker’s mob connections. Abram was a tax attorney for people in “The Outfit,” the Chicago mob, beginning under Al Capone, and continuing through the 1980s.
The connection to organized crime was reportedly what financed the creation of Hyatt Hotels by Penny’s father, Donald Pritzker, a University of Chicago-trained lawyer, and uncles Jay and Robert Pritzker, who at one time co-owned the Grand Hyatt New York with Donald Trump.
Jay Pritzker with Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan at the White House in 1983. [Source: nypost.com]
Before Superior Bank, the Pritzkers controlled Frontier Finance, a loan company in Chicago that one source told historian Gus Russo “is believed to be the secret to the origins of the family’s involvement with criminals.”
The president of Frontier Finance was Frank Buccieri, whose brother, Fiore “Fifi” Buccieri, was one of the Outfit’s top gambling bosses and a dreaded “juice collector” whom Life magazine in 1969 called the “leader of [Sam] Giancana’s assassination squads.”[8]
Frank Buccieri [Source: milwaukeemafia.com]
Fiore “Fifi” Buccieri [Source: pinterest.co.uk]
Abram owned another venture, Franklin Investments, in partnership with Arthur Greene, who was described by the Chicago Crime Commission as the
“brains of all the Chicago rackets,” and was an investor for Meyer Lansky.[9]
Sam Giancana [Source: fineartamerica.com]
Meyer Lansky [Source: leshp.org]
In 1953, Jay and Robert Pritzker founded the Marmon Group, an industrial holding company which invested in military-defense contractors, and were basically corporate raiders buying industrial companies and laying off much of the work force to show profitability before selling.
The Pritzkers were close associates of Sidney Korshak, a labor lawyer and fixer for the Chicago mob, and Burton Kanter, a CIA and Mossad-linked lawyer specializing in tax evasion, who helped the Pritzker’s off-shore money in the Bahamas-based Castle Bank, a CIA outfit founded by Kanter and the CIA’s mob liaison, Paul Helliwell.[10]
That the Pritzkers became the largest depositors in the Castle Bank—a source of revenue for CIA black operations—indicates not only their mob but also CIA connections, which undoubtedly persist to this day.
Penny Pritzker’s closeness to Obama (she gave $500,000 for his second inaugural and was his top fundraiser) is one sign of her family’s continued work for the Agency, as Obama comes from a CIA family, worked for a CIA front company after he graduated from Columbia University, and gave the CIA everything they wanted when he was president.[11]
Obama speaks on his home turf at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. [Source: politico.eu]
The CIA has been heavily involved in the Ukraine conflict since Obama helped coordinate the 2014 Maidan coup, with the CIA operating as always at the behest of large financial interests.
The latter can certainly count on Ms. Pritzker in her new role, where she will be taking the Pritzker tradition of exploiting others to make money to a whole new level.
1.Michael Crowley, “Biden Creates Role to Buoy Investment in Ukraine,” The New York Times, September 15, 2023, A11. ↑
2.Crowley, “Biden Creates Role to Buoy Investment in Ukraine,” A11. ↑
3.The Australian National Review report has been disputed in U.S. media such as USA Today. Cargill announced last year that it had become majority owner of the deep-water port terminal called Neptune in the Odessa region on the Black Sea. ↑
4.As many as two-thirds of respondents believed that a decision of such importance for the state should have been made after a referendum. Nearly 60% believed that agricultural land should be owned by the state. ↑
5.Jeremy Kuzmarov, Obama’s Unending Wars: Fronting the Foreign Policy of the Permanent Warfare State (Atlanta: Clarity Press, 2019), 36. ↑
6.The Pritzker name is visible all over Chicago, sponsoring the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine, the Pritzker Military Museum and Library and the Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo. The family’s private foundations and charities have recently funneled a lot of money into what is called “gender affirming medical care,” the controversial treatment that critics say encourages youths to undergo transition surgery or take puberty blockers without first going through adequate therapy. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Penny’s brother, has signed off on transgender legislation, in essence making “gender affirming care” the law in Illinois. Jennifer Pritzker’s personal foundation, Tawani, leverages her chunk of the family’s vast fortune to make pro-transgender grants to universities and establish university departments promoting this ideology. Even the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine now offers a class claiming to teach a new generation of doctors how to fight “misinformation” in the medical field, including alleged falsehoods about “gender-affirming hormone care.” ↑
7.Kuzmarov, Obama’s Unending Wars, 37; Greg Palast, “Billionaire Bankster Penny Pritzker Breaks into Obama’s Cabinet,” May 2, 2013. UNITE HERE, the union that represents Hyatt workers, initiated a five-year boycott of the Hyatt that ended only when Hyatt agreed to pay the fired workers $1 million. ↑
8.See Gus Russo, Supermob: How Sidney Korshak and His Criminal Associates Became America’s Hidden Power Brokers (New York: Bloomsbury, 2006). ↑
9.Whitney Webb, One Nation Under Blackmail – Vol. 1: The sordid union between Intelligence and Organized Crime that gave rise to Jeffrey Epstein (Walterville, OR: Trine Day, 2022), 31. ↑
10.Webb, One Nation Under Blackmail, 32. Senior editor of the Journal of Taxation who financed movies such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Kanter was the criminal mastermind of a long-running kickback and tax-evasion scheme in which money was siphoned from funds managed by the Prudential and Travelers insurance companies. He was rewarded for his service to the Pritzkers by being appointed to the Board of Directors of Hyatt Hotels. ↑
11.Penny claims to have met Obama in the early 1990s when her kids were playing on a basketball team coached by Michelle Obama’s brother, Craig Robinson, though the meeting is unlikely to have been coincidental. ↑
https://covertactionmagazine.com/2023/0 ... porations/
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Ukrainian Whoppers
Propaganda only works so long.
Ukraine’s Military Claims to Have Killed the Head of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet - New York Times
Ukraine’s military asserted on Monday that it had killed the commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in a missile attack last week, which, if confirmed, would make the strike among the most damaging for the Russian Navy since the sinking of the fleet’s flagship last year.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow’s Defense Ministry on the status of its fleet commander, Adm. Viktor Sokolov, who is one of the most senior figures in the Russian Navy. Ukraine’s claim could not be independently verified.
Ukraine’s special operations forces on Friday said they had struck a headquarters of the Russian fleet in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, a storied port that is now under regular bombardment from Ukraine’s long-range missiles and exploding drones. Fleet officers were holding a meeting there at the time, the Ukrainian military said.
Russian sources say that no one was in the very exposed building when the Ukrainian missiles hit. The real headquarter is underground in an unknown place.
Today there was an expanded Board meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow (machine translation):
Opening the meeting, the Defense Minister briefly highlighted the situation in the special military operation zone.
"Groups of Russian troops," he said, " continue active operations to defeat the enemy. Thanks to the professionalism and courage of the personnel of the 25th and 138th motorized rifle brigades in the Kupyansk direction, the control zone near the settlements of Sinkovka and Petropavlovsk was significantly expanded. As a result of effective fire damage, the armed forces of Ukraine are suffering serious losses along the entire line of contact.
During the current month, more than 17 thousand people, more than 2,700 weapons and military equipment were destroyed, including 7 American Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, 77 American M777 artillery systems, 51 self-propelled artillery installations from Germany, France, Poland and the United States of America, as well as two German Leopard tanks and one English tank "Challenger".
The commander of the Black Sea fleet, Adm. Viktor Sokolov, took part in the briefing via a live TV link.
Dmitri Alperovitch @DAlperovitch - 10:29 UTC · Sep 26, 2023
Russian MoD released a photo of a claimed meeting today between Shoigu and military commanders, with Black Sea Fleet Admiral Sokolov participating (bottom on the left) and not dead as has been alleged No way to verify the date of the photo though
And now video of Shoigu’s speech. I think this is now a pretty good proof of life that Sokolov didn’t die on the strike on Black Sea Fleet HQ
full video
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Another whopper comes from the neoconservative Institute for the Study of War:
ISW @TheStudyofWar - 4:03 UTC · Sep 25, 2023
6/ Putin may have ordered the Russian military command to hold all Russia’s initial defensive positions to create the illusion that Ukrainian counteroffensives have not achieved any tactical or operational effects despite substantial Western support.[/i]
As one commentator remarked:
“Putin orders Russian army to win battle to create the illusion of having won battle”
---
The White House has put out a letter with a list of demands Ukraine has to fulfill to receive further aid.
The "DELIBERATIVE // PRE-DECISIONAL WORKING DRAFT – SUBJECT TO REVIEW" five page letter includes the "Priority Reform List - Reforms Linked to Conditions on U.S. Assistance".
It demands a complete reform of major Ukrainian power structures and the insertion of designated foreign personnel. It sets 3, 6 and 12 month limits for certain reforms to be achieved.
Examples:
Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU) Reform : Implement newly enacted law #3277-IX by standing up the Advisory Group of Experts with the meaningful participation of Venice Commision, EU, and U.S. nominated experts and supporting the vetting process of CCU judge candidates. *Passage of #3277 was one of seven requirements for Ukraine to begin EU accession process.
...
Ministry of Defense (MOD) : o Without undermining readiness, re-design both military armament and public procurement processes and procedures reflecting NATO standards of transparency, accountability, efficiency, and competition in defense procurement.
...
o Invest in Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) initiatives.
...
Ministry of Strategic Industries / Ukraine Defense Industry (formerly UkrOboronProm) : Stand up UDI supervisory board that complies with OECD standards, including participation by foreign defense experts. Build stronger institutional connections (e.g., liaison or procurement offices) with MOD and General Staff planning, to ensure UDI’s work is aligned with the country’s most pressing needs. Ensure NATO standards of transparency, accountability, efficiency, and competition across the defense industrial sector. Institute transparency procedures (even taking into account wartime needs for secrecy) to allow later audit and avoid even the appearance of politicization or corruption in defense production.
I believe that the Ukrainian government currently has very different problems and priorities than those dreamed up in some offices in DC.
Posted by b on September 26, 2023 at 12:53 UTC | Permalink
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/09/u ... .html#more
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Caitlin Johnstone: Bravado on the Nuclear Brink
September 25, 2023
Sean Penn — who is now plugging his new Zelensky movie — says it’s cowardly not to risk the life of every terrestrial organism on earth to achieve U.S. military objectives.
Film director Sean Penn at the premiere of his documentary Superpower, chronicling his trips to Ukraine, at the Berlin Film Festival 2023. (Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0)
By Caitlin Johnstone
CaitlinJohnstone.com.au
During a recent appearance on Face the Nation to plug his new Zelensky movie, actor Sean Penn decried the “cowardice” of the U.S. government in its caution around provoking a nuclear exchange with its proxy warfare in Ukraine.
“It is my absolute feeling that the caution with which the United States has pledged support, which seemed, in my reading of February 2022 was a, like a lean on in the fear of nuclear conflict, something I think all of us should look very carefully at and understand that, of course, is possible,” Penn said. “And that’s to be concerning. The likelihood is extremely low. And as one of our witnesses in the film says, you know, are we going to let a gangster with nuclear weapons dictate the way we live?”
Penn emotionally lamented the fact that the Biden administration did not pour F-16 warplanes into Ukraine from the very beginning of the conflict, initially fearing the move to be too escalatory. Describing this hesitation, Penn said that “at some point, caution becomes cowardice.”
As you might expect, the interviewer refrained from challenging Penn on his claim that the likelihood of nuclear war is “extremely low” in spite of his acknowledgement that it’s a real possibility, or on his claim that resisting increasing the likelihood of nuclear war is an act of cowardice.
Sean Penn has been one of Hollywood’s most egregious empire apologists for some time now (in 2020 he told CNN that “there is no greater humanitarian force on the planet than the United States military”), but even by his standards these comments about nuclear brinkmanship are remarkably odious.
There’s this obnoxious idea that comes up in mainstream political discourse about Ukraine that an aversion to nuclear brinkmanship is somehow cowardly, and that being willing to risk the life of every terrestrial organism advancing US strategic objectives is somehow an act of courage.
We saw this back in July from Paul Massaro, an adviser to the U.S. government’s Helsinki Commission and a minor celebrity in online Zelenskyite circles.
During this year’s “Captive Nations Summit” with the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, Massaro mocked Westerners for being “fearful” of proxy warfare in Ukraine leading to nuclear warfare.
“I think the biggest thing is fear, I think we’re fearful,” Massaro said.
“It’s very funny to me, because you meet Ukrainians, not a single Ukrainian is fearful. You talk to Ukrainians it’s like ‘What if the Russians use nuclear weapons?’, they’re like ‘We’ll keep fighting, we’ll win.’ You know it’s only the westerners that are like ‘Oh my god, I’m over here in California and what if the Russians use nuclear weapons?’ You know, it’s almost pathetic.”
It’s a common theme. Any time you talk publicly about the risk of the continually escalating war in Ukraine leading to nuclear catastrophe you’ll get empire apologists calling you a coward and saying we all need to be brave and stand up to the big bully Putin. And it’s just such a disgusting perversion of what courage actually is and what it looks like.
Empire loyalists often talk about nuclear brinkmanship like it’s something courageous that they personally are doing, as though gambling every terrestrial life on strategic grand chessboard maneuverings is a brave risk that could only hurt them. If you think you are brave for risking the life of everyone on earth to advance your personal geopolitical agendas, you might be a malignant narcissist, because you think the world revolves around you, and other lives exist only as props to support your main character adventures.
Hardly any human on this planet cares who governs Crimea or the Donbass — and exactly zero of the plants and animals do — but people like Sean Penn and Paul Massaro think they have every right to not only gamble all their lives on a bid to control that outcome, but to call themselves courageous for doing so.
Imagine being so self-absorbed you think you’re a brave hero for putting the lives of Africans, Asians, and South Americans on the betting table who’ve never even heard of Donetsk or Luhansk and don’t care who governs them, as well as every non-human life on earth.
It’s as emotionally stunted and infantile a perspective as you could possibly come up with, but these are the people whose worldview is shaping outcomes on this planet. These are the sort of people who are setting the trajectory of our species as a collective.
The mainstream Western political consensus is a sickness of the mind. Its existence should make us all want to fall to our knees and beg the forgiveness of every life on this earth that it imperils.
https://consortiumnews.com/2023/09/25/c ... ear-brink/
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Russia accuses US and UK for attack on Crimea
Last Friday, kyiv launched missiles against the main headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea. | Photo: Sputnik
Published September 27, 2023
According to Moscow, the attacks were “in close coordination” with the US and British intelligence services.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused the United States and the United Kingdom of cooperating with the recent Ukrainian attack on the Russian city of Sevastopol, located in the south of the Crimean peninsula.
“Without the slightest doubt the attack was planned in advance with the use of Western reconnaissance equipment, including NATO reconnaissance aircraft and satellite equipment, and at the request and in close coordination with the intelligence services of the United States and Great Britain.” , said the spokesperson.
Last Friday, kyiv launched a missile attack against the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the city of Sevastopol, resulting in the disappearance of a member of the armed forces.
Likewise, Zakharova affirmed that Russia will continue to insist that the United States fulfill its commitments in the context of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC).
"We are convinced of the fundamental importance of preserving APEC as a constructive platform for inclusive dialogue, which no one can usurp for selfish purposes," he stressed.
In turn, the spokesperson for Russian diplomacy pointed out that Washington tries to employ authoritarian methods and use an "ultimatum" tone in its relations with various international partners.
APEC will hold its next summit from November 12 to 18 in the American city of San Francisco, where representatives of the 21 member countries, which represent 60 percent of the world's Gross Domestic Product, will meet.
https://www.telesurtv.net/news/rusia-ee ... -0010.html
Google Translator
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The House of Anti-Communists, and the Nazi Monster it Spawned
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on SEPTEMBER 26, 2023
Aidan Jonah
Ukrainian Nazi, Jaroslav Hunka, waiting in the Parliament Gallery before he was honoured by a joint parliament and senate sitting of Canada’s House of Commons, to hear Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech. Image credit: Hindustan Times
It was a rare show of unity in Canada’s increasingly frayed parliament. 336 of 338 Members of Parliament, the Prime Minister, Senators and other guests of honour joined Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a standing ovation for “Canadian hero,” Yaroslav Hunka. The 98-year-old was heralded for fighting “for Ukrainian independence against the Russians in the Second World War.”
The touching moment was, however, short-lived. Unfortunately, for Canadian statesmen and their Ukrainian patrons, astute netizens had the presence of mind to question that if Hunka was fighting “the Russians,” then who was he fighting alongside?
The answer also wasn’t hard to find.
Hunka fought in the 14th division of the Waffen SS, having voluntarily joined in 1943, by his own admission. Suddenly, the beautiful show of solidarity and unity took a very dark turn. By Sunday afternoon, House Speaker Anthony Rota, who supposedly was behind Hunka’s invitation, and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre were claiming that lawmakers had no about the ex-Nazi’s past.
Rota and the Prime Minister’s Office are in charge of who gets to be in the Parliamentary gallery, and who gets recognition in Parliament. Interestingly, Liberal MP and Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland, who would know full well what it meant to fight “for Ukrainian independence against the Russians in the Second World War,” was seen smiling and joyful during Hunka’s recognition.
On Poilievre’s claim, people must realize that the opposition force against the USSR even after Nazi Germany was forced out of Soviet Ukraine, were Nazis who wanted an independent fascist Ukraine. These Nazis were outnumbered by the near seven million Ukrainians who fought in the USSR’s Red Army.
Claiming ignorance is farcical on their part as well, showcasing their anti-communism, which naturally leads to defence of fascists fighting socialist states such as the USSR. These same MPs support billions to Ukraine, support of the Azov battalion and the whitewashing of Nazis in Ukraine, and wouldn’t have condemned Hunka’s honouring if the Canadian people and international media didn’t catch onto what they did.
However, putting aside the Canadian regime’s dubious idiot defence, the episode sheds light on a larger issue. Hunka is hardly the first former Nazi with national name recognition (albeit the first to get a standing ovation in the House of Commons). For years Canada struggled to deport Helmut Oberlander, a former translator for the Einsatzkommando 10a unit, a Nazi death squad involved in numerous war crimes during WWII. In fact, Canada’s Nazi footprint goes right to the top, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s right-hand woman, Chrystia Freeland, being the granddaughter of a Nazi propagandist.
All of which begs the question, how exactly did Hunka and others like him enter Canada after World War II? While many scholars admit that the importation of Ukrainian and other fascists was done to crush burgeoning leftist diasporas, this is where analysis of fascists and reactionaries being imported to Canada usually ends.
Quite the opposite. The Nazi “underground railroad” was just the first salvo of the Canadian state’s 75-year drive to import fascists and anti-communists, in service of maintaining Canadian colonialism and bolstering support for Canadian imperialism. Hunka is just the everyday Nazi, one of many.
The Nazi “Underground Railroad”
As Adolf Hitler spent his final days hiding in his Berlin bunker, many Nazis were drawing up contingency plans. In the months and years, after the Hammer and Sickle flew over the Reichstag thousands of war criminals would fan out across the world in the hope of evading justice. Canada was one of the desired destinations.
While talk of screening processes would usually be relevant, as early as 1947, the Canadian government was actively seeking out European Nazis and on RCMP orders, Ukrainians with an SS tattoo, rejected by European screening agencies, were being brought to Canada. The Ukrainian Canadian, the English-language newspaper of the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians, reported that these people had already been targeting the Canadian left almost immediately upon coming to Canada.
According to Howard Margolian, in Unauthorized Entry: The Truth about Nazi War Criminals in Canada, Canada used an immigration organization fully aware of Estonia’s significant SS membership, many of whom had fled to Sweden. As Ukrainian Nazis were being imported to Canada in 1948, the Canadian government amended immigration regulations to “permit the admission of up to five thousand Estonians from Sweden. (pg. 129)”
Canadian government minister C.D. Howe dictated “Canadian immigration teams were not to disqualify Baltic veterans of the German Army from bulk-labour movements unless there was clear evidence they had been volunteers,” which was determined by checking records to see if Baltic citizens had joined the SS Forces before December 1, 1943 (pg. 93 & 94).”
Voluntary service in the Nazi SS was no longer grounds for automatic rejection by 1950 (pg. 94). The change simply codified existing government policy. The Jewish News of North California reported that the Canadian government admitted more than 2,000 Ukrainian members of the Nazi 14th SS Division in the 1950s.
Canadian political elites were just getting started, in reshaping Canadian society into an anti-communist monster. This societal reconstruction would require that European Nazis were just the first set of anti-communists imported into Canada.
Hungary: Anti-communist lynching of Jews? Import 37,500 anti-communists to Canada
Every failed anti-communist uprising now became an opportunity for Canada. The first chance to further their anti-communist reconstruction came in 1956. That year, the Hungarian Uprising occurred, a fascist coup attempt which was eventually put down by the USSR.
Some legitimate grievances were put forward by some elements of the uprising. However, that uprising was dominated by anti-Communist and outright Fascist groups and led by the right-wing, anti-communist Smallholder’s Party, supported by the Social Democratic Party. An individual who played an important role in leading the demonstrations was anti-communist Catholic priest József Mindszenty.
Daniel Xie explained the fascist nature of the uprising:
“Counter-revolutionaries destroyed memorials to the Red Army, lynched Jewish Hungarians and Communists, burned communist literature and removed communist iconography from buildings. Even the CIA would admit that fascist ideology drove the Hungarian counter-revolution. According to the CIA, participants in the uprising adhered to Hungarian ultranationalism, which is defined by anti-Semitism, Catholic Fundamentalism, and Slavophobia. These were also the ideological tenets of the Fascist Arrow Cross Party, which dominated Hungary in the last years of the Second World War before Hungary’s liberation by the Soviets. Under Arrow Cross rule, 565,000 Jews were murdered as the regime worked with Nazi Germany in perpetuating the Holocaust.”
While elements of the Hungarian Communist Party under Imre Nagy supposedly formed the face of the uprising, they sought to leave the Warsaw Pact. Under the threat of Hungary potentially falling into the NATO camp, the USSR chose to intervene militarily, crushing the uprising.
Canada took advantage of the situation, importing 37500 Hungarian ‘refugees’ in 1956 and 1957, with no review of their actions during the uprising before letting them in. Xie explained: “The majority of Hungarian anti-Communists, arriving via a streamlined immigration process, settled in urban areas such as Toronto, Vancouver, and Montréal.”
The Toronto Star noted, “There were only two countries accepting Hungarian refugees without quotas: Canada and Venezuela.”
The line between importing European Nazis, and importing Hungarian counterrevolutionaries only years later is clear, bolstering Canadian anti-communism during the Cold War.
Tibetan feudalists’ failed counterrevolution of 1959
However, Canada’s embrace of anti-communist reactions goes beyond Europe.
In 1959, a CIA-backed feudalist uprising against the Communist Party of China in Tibet, was defeated, and the conspirators including the Dalai Lama himself, fled to India. Before the Chinese government took control of Tibet in 1950, Tibet had been a brutal theocracy (even declassified Canadian cables admitted this), where “The Tibetan people, as serfs, suffered extreme poverty. The Tibetan elites viewed servants as an inferior race, and Tibetans were only allowed to marry those of the same rank in the societal hierarchy.”
After 1950, “the CPC only engaged in moderate land reform, infrastructure projects such as schools, and provided financial supports to serfs, to allow their children to go to school, along with low-interest loans to improve their financial standing until 1955. That year, the government began to push through land reform, a move supported by the peasantry.”
The feudal leaders were not forced out of leadership by the CPC, and in 1959, the feudal theocrats sought to take advantage of this with counter-revolution, led by feudal monks and their paid militias. The CPC defeated this effort “with the firm support of the Tibetan people. Tibetan serfs voted for the first time ever in 1961. By 1965, Tibet had become an autonomous region of the People’s Republic of China.”
In 1970, Canada’s immigration department allowed 200 Tibet ‘refugees’ to enter Canada, after an appeal from ex-theocratic leader Dalai Lama. The news clipping specifically notes that the refugees had been living in refugee camps in India since the early 1950s, meaning that these were firm anti-communists, who were gone even before the failed 1959 CIA-backed feudalist uprising. The number went higher, to 228, by the end of 1971, and by 2010, there were 5000 Tibet dissidents in Canada. In 2011, the Canadian government created a special immigration policy to bring in a thousand more ‘displaced Tibetan[s]”.
These Tibet dissidents have organized to win significant influence in Canadian politics, even having their own political representative in Ontario’s parliament, NDP MPP Bhutila Karpoche. They constitute a reliable anti-China force in Canadian politics.
Vietnam’s re-unification as an opportunity to import anti-communists
The Vietnamese people had to spend 30 years, from 1945 to 1975, fighting off two different invaders, first the French and then the United States.
The US created a puppet ‘South Vietnam’ government which massacred communists and those even suspected of supporting them, and had US troops brought in to prop up this government. Despite the extensive support offered by the US government, the ‘South Vietnam’ government fell on April 30, 1975, and anti-communist collaborators rushed to flee along with general anti-communists.
Canada saw opportunity yet again.
Only days later, the Canadian government confirmed that it would initially bring in 3000 ‘South Vietnamese’ refugees to Canada.
As NDP MP Don Davies said, Canada would welcome “some 150,000 Vietnamese refugees who have contributed so much to our nation.” Davies inadvertently showcased the use of these ‘refugees’ by saying “We stand with them and all fighting for liberty, democracy and human rights.” More Vietnamese immigrants have come over the last few decades, but the ‘refugees’ are a noticeably large, reliable, mostly anti-communist contingent which Canada can count on.
Confirmation of Britain returning Hong Kong to Canada, sees mass anti-communist immigration
As China was just beginning to assert itself on the world stage, it was able to obtain the return of its stolen territory.
In 1984, the Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed, setting the terms and timing of Britain’s handover to China, with Hong Kong to become a Special Administrative Region governed under the ‘One-Country, Two-Systems’ framework beginning on July 1, 1997. While China had to make concessions to Britain, to return its territory stolen after the Opium War, the special framework was only set to last 50 years after 1997, and anti-communists feared the influence of China’s socialist government.
More than 335,000 Hong Kong residents came to Canada specifically between 1984 to 1997, and as of 2019, there were 300,000 Canadian citizens hailing from Hong Kong. The ‘HongKongers’ constituted a very reliable anti-communist force especially during the 2019 NATO coup attempt in Hong Kong, supporting the riots and helping the Canadian elite ramp up demonization of China. They continue to be reliably anti-China, claiming Chinese government intimidation without proof for years (which has never resulted in a case being filed), and being active supporters of CSIS’ Chinagate campaign.
China cracks down on Falun Gong cult, Canada imports members for anti-communist use
While Canada-China trade relations were Canada’s priority, its anti-communist project meant all opportunities for importation should be taken.
This opportunity came after the anti-science Falun Gong cult was cracked down upon in China beginning in July 1999. Daniel Xie explains: Falun Going is in “opposition to the use of medicine to treat diseases, claiming that diseases can simply be gotten rid of if one expels bad karma from their body. The deaths associated with this school of thought were the Chinese government’s reason for moving against Falun Gong.”
China’s embassy in Thailand notes that in 1998, there were multiple instances of Falun Gong members organizing to besiege news agencies who reported on deaths caused by the cult, and the embassy claims that before it was banned, “Falun Gong had organized over 300 such besieging actions.” The Chinese Consulate in Auckland said that between 1992 to April 12, 2000, “1,559 of them [Falun Gong members] died of suicide or rejecting medical treatment”.
The various reactionary beliefs of Falun Gong include “racist beliefs demonizing interracial relationships as the prelude to societal moral decay, with mixed-race children seen as intellectually and physically deformed compared to non mixed-race children. Belief that science and technology are anti-human concepts introduced by space aliens into human society in order to ferment war and chaos.”
Between 1999 to 2006, Xun Li of the Falun Dafa Association, said 75 Falun Gong practitioners had been given refugee status in Canada. They joined up with Falun Gong practitioners in Canada, who had begun working to restrict the ability of Chinese Canadian media to oppose Falun Gong, as early as 2001. Falun Gong followers helped provide the long-term basis for whipping up paranoia about China, by ‘coming forward’ in 2005, to claim China was spying on Falun Gong practitioners in Canada.
Falun Gong front groups have spread smears against China, while its newspaper, the Epoch Times, and TV station, New Tang Dynasty Television, have spent two plus decades whipping up anti-China fears in both Canada and the USA. Xie explained “New Tang Dynasty expanded to Canada on September 30, 2008 starting with it’s broadcast debut on Rogers cable, this was followed by the creation of NTD Canada on March 28, 2012.” In 2013, a Falun Gong member, Sonia Zhao, got a Confucius Institute at McMaster University shuttered.
Canada’s government has shown favouritism to Epoch Times, rejecting a request “last May [2020] from a Toronto postal workers’ union to cease circulation of the Epoch Times via Canada Post.” A “Flying Cloud Productions” movie sympathetic to Falun Gong was financially supported by the Canadian government.
Predictably, Falun Gong members imported into Canada have been consistently anti-communist, and have firmly backed CSIS’ Chinagate campaign.
Uygur ‘genocide’ lies and demonization of Tibet boarding schools, part of effort to bring in more anti-communists
Despite Obama’s Pivot to Asia, Uygur dissidents in Canada had a low profile during the 2010s. But as that pivot was fully realized under former US president Donald Trump, they came to the public eye the Western media started pushing claims of a Uygur genocide in 2018. The lie of a ‘Uygur genocide’ is debunked by “extensive reporting by the Grayzone, exposing how CIA cut-outs and NED funded organizations were the main drivers of these allegations. They further showcased how the allegations of genocide against the Uighur population are totally false, and motivated by the American desire to smear China.”
The Canada Files showcased how an NED (CIA-front) funded organization, Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, drove a subcommittee report which was the basis for a 2021 Canadian parliament non-binding vote that saw parliament claim there was a ‘Uygur genocide’ occurring in Xinjiang, China saw.
Then, a February 2023 Canadian parliament non-binding vote passed unanimously for the resettlement of 10000 Uygur ‘refugees’, in 2024 and 2025. These Uygur ‘refugees’, if the Canadian government approves them, will be a flat 10000-person block of anti-communists in Canada, fervently against China.
Meanwhile this year, the very same Canadian parliament subcommittee falsely equated boarding schools in Tibet, needed because of the vast nature of the Chinese province, with genocidal Canadian residential schools. The subcommittee report recommended, among other things, “That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada create a new temporary resident stream that enables human rights defenders to seek immediate and non-permanent safe haven in Canada.”
In both cases, the ‘refugees’ that would be imported into Canada, if the Uyghur and Tibetan dissidents get their way, would be fervently anti-communist, and seek the secession of Chinese provinces.
Hunka as the everyday Nazi
Canada has multiple statues honouring Ukrainian Nazis. A statue in Oakville, Ontario, honours Ukrainians who served in the 14th division of the Nazi SS. A statue in Edmonton, Alberta, honours Roman Shukyevch, Ukrainian fascist genocidal mass murderer and World War II Nazi collaborator. As well, this author explained that:
“In 2010, the Canadian government authorized a memorial to the “victims of communism” after an aggressive campaign from Tribute to Liberty. This group minimizes Nazi war crimes, in favour of targeting the Soviet Union, which lost 25 million citizens in the fight against fascism, during World War II. The Liberals have continued to support it, even after public outcry forced the monument to be downsized and moved out of its spot near the Supreme Court of Canada.”
The statues come as a direct result of Canadian government policy.
Richard Sanders explained that the Ukrainian Canadian Congress “was created by Mackenzie King’s infamously antisemitic Liberal government in 1940. Its purpose was to unify anti-Communist Ukrainian groups in support of government policies, and to help them crush the anti-fascist Ukrainian organizations which—although thoroughly despised and long persecuted by Canada’s government— then dominated the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada.”
It brought together Ukrainian groups, such as the Ukrainian National Front (UNF), with activists were outspoken supporters of National Socialism (Nazism) long before the outbreak of World War II. As early as 1933, when Hitler’s National Socialists came to power in Germany, the official newspaper of the UNF «Novy Schlach» gleefully wrote: «We cheerfully welcome the triumph of the new German world over the old world.” Other organizations brought together included the Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood (UCB) and the monarchist United Hetman Organization (UHO), which was controlled by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN).
Sanders continued: “The UCC also brought together the OUN-B with its rival faction within the OUN. That faction, the OUN-M, led by Andriy Melnyk, was more trustworthy to the Nazis. As such it was instrumental in coordinating overall collaboration and establishing the Waffen SS Division, whose volunteers pledged to fight to the death for Hitler’s anti Bolshevik cause. The OUN-M is represented within the UCC by the Ukrainian National Federation of Canada.”
In 1939, UСС president Vasil Kushnir, who had held office for two decades stated the following at a meeting in Winnipeg:
“Let our (Ukrainian) culture be national and not serve ‘international Jewry.’ Ukrainian forces must join with Nazi Germany because ‘Germany has inscribed on its banner the destruction of Bolshevism’.”
Michael Chomiak, Nazi propagandist and grandfather of Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland would be just one of the thousands of Ukrainian Nazis brought to Canada post-WWII.
Canada’s allowed Nazi Ukrainians to roam free, and gain influence in Canadian politics, while grooming a next generation of right-wing Ukrainian Canadians who’d carry on their political aims.
Imported fascist diaspora groups in Canada began pushing for the creation of a Black Ribbon Day in the mid-1980s, which equated the USSR (socialism) with Nazi Germany (fascism), with the Toronto chapter of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress being an important initial booster. In 2009, Canada’s parliament adopted Black Ribbon Day. All the while, Canadian government funded youth centers have been honouring fascist genocidal mass-murders Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukyevch.
Right-wing Ukrainian Canadians provided justification for and played their part in Canadian interference which they’d have done anyways to Ukraine, both during the 2004 ‘Orange Revolution’ and the 2014 Maidan coup, by vocally condemning Ukrainian politicians they opposed and supporting the opposition. The latter interference has given Canada the chance to get its share of looting Ukraine post-Maidan, while publicly training the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion from 2014 to 2022. The Canadian governments of both Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau have repeatedly refused to vote in favour of UN resolutions opposing the glorification of Nazism, since 2014.
Meanwhile, the UCC now holds significant influence on the Canadian government. A UCC friend (who has the UCC answer critical emails from journalists) and Nazi-collaborator apologist who honoured her Nazi propagandist grandfather, MP Chrystia Freeland, is Deputy Prime Minister.
Hunka is only unique because the Canadian Parliamentarians and Senators honoured him in Canada’s House of Commons. Hunka is one of the 2000 plus Ukrainian Nazis and 10000 plus European Nazis Canada imported after World War II.
The claim of MPs, that they didn’t grasp that the 98-year old Nazi veteran was a Nazi, seeks to obscure their outright anti-communism, exposed for the world to see by the Hunka incident. Fighting “for Ukrainian independence against the Russians in the Second World War” means only one thing, you were a Nazi. That MPs would applaud an obvious Nazi veteran, speaks to their support for Nazis against socialist states and states harming Western imperialism. The only reason opposition condemnations, and Liberal MP claims that they didn’t know about Hunka’s past, is that condemnation came en masse from Canadians and international media.
Over 75 plus years, to maintain support for Canadian colonialism and imperialism, the Canadian state imported anti-communists at almost every opportunity. This importation has shaped Canadian society post-World War II.
It’s clear that Canada’s parliament is the House of Anti-Communists.
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/09/ ... t-spawned/
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."
Re: Footnotes from the Ukrainian "Crisis"; New High-Points in Cynicism Part V
The limits of the alliance
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 09/28/2023
Since the beginning of the conflict, especially since the Russian invasion, but also in the previous eight years, Ukraine's tendency has always been to demand more in every way. Since 2014, Ukraine has tried to obtain weapons to fight its enemy, always presented as Russia. The type of weapons that Kiev requested - Javelin anti-tank systems or drones, has nothing to do with the F16s and Patriots that it demands now - shows the difference between the enemy it faced then, the militias of the Popular Republics and volunteers arriving from Russia, and the Russian army for which requires cluster bombs. But Ukraine's demands have never been solely military. The war provided kyiv with the best argument for its economic and political demands. Since 2014,
That has always been the basis of Ukraine's demands on its partners in search of more lines of credit and more financing with which to transform the State it was building using the war as an excuse. Politically, the idea that Ukraine had become the external borderof Europe - not even of the European Union - and its protector precedes the arrival of Russian troops by eight years. What's more, this idea of protecting the European Union as an argument to demand favorable treatment from the bloc was the center of Ukraine's foreign policy during the years of the Minsk process, openly sabotaged by Kiev due to its absolute refusal to implement the peace that he had signed. The Russian invasion has made it easier for Ukraine to demand much more ambitious objectives: it is no longer a question of demanding visa-free travel or more financing, but of Ukraine's apparently natural right to be immediately admitted to the bloc, a demand that is no longer met. It is limited only to the EU but has been expanded to NATO. The argument is simple: Ukraine has paid the price of entry into Western institutions with the war.
The war marks everything and a large part of the daily demands of Ukraine continue to be the perpetual supply of weapons and financing to continue fighting. Although Kiev sells through its political communication the investment in a sure victory against the common enemy - proxy war long ago ceased to be an element of Russian propagandato be the main claim - the reality is that Ukraine would be doomed to inevitable defeat if it lost its sponsors. Hence, it is driven by the wire of demanding the maximum, aware that losing it would entail military and political consequences. Without a military victory, Ukraine's case for accession to the EU and NATO would suffer markedly. This has marked the constant escalation that Ukraine has demanded from its partners, from whom it has demanded increasingly heavier weapons and in greater quantities - something that has increased exponentially since it has become evident that things were not going well in the counteroffensive. , demands that have not always maintained a minimum of realism. This is the case of the long fight for the F16s, which Ukraine intended to receive before even having the pilots to use them. Now, When the United States has not yet officially confirmed that it will send ATACMS tactical missiles, Kiev raises the ante by demanding, not only those long-range missiles with which it promises to attack Crimea, but that they have cluster munitions to do the greatest possible damage. In this effort to achieve the most in the shortest possible time, Ukraine's demands have generally exceeded the willingness of its allies and suppliers, causing a series of disappointments that Kiev has actively used as an element of pressure.
Ukraine failed to get its allies to close the skies , that is, to shoot down Russian aircraft and missiles by engaging in direct combat against Russia, which would have caused an open war between the Russian Federation and NATO. That same objective, directly involving his partners in the war, was the reason why the Zelensky Government openly lied to its partners and its population, alleging that Russian troops had deliberately attacked Poland. Although the denial came from the interested country itself and was later confirmed by the United States, this week the final verdict of that episode that cost the lives of two people was publicly announced: a missile from the Ukrainian S-300 defenses hit a Polish village as the Russian authorities stated at the time.
The reproaches about the refusal to deliver the weapons demanded by kyiv have been directed fundamentally at three destinations: Israel, for its refusal to share its Iron Dome; Germany, first because of Olaf Scholz's reluctance to start supplying weapons, then because of his delay in confirming the shipment of Leopard tanks and finally because of his refusal, for the moment, to send Taurus missiles; and to the United States, for maintaining a policy of progressive increase in weapons and rejecting the option of unilateral escalation that Ukraine demands.
But the reproaches are not only related to the type of weapons supplied nor do they come solely from the Ukrainian Government. “Nearly 600 days of Russia's war in Ukraine have resulted in almost 600 days of confrontation between pro-Ukrainian groups and other Kremlin appeasers in the US administration,” writes an article published by The Kyiv Post this week, demanding support more explicit for Ukraine and, above all, more involvement against Russia from one of the sectors that has been most involved in the war: intelligence. Despite this being one of the most important aspects of the war for Ukraine, which has benefited enormously from the real-time service of its American and British partners, this is where lobbyists find themselves at fault .of communication, tactics and strategy that, in his opinion, has led to confusion in the actions of the United States, which has dragged its feet in the supply and has allowed itself to be carried away by those contacts between the heads of US intelligence and Russian especially in an aspect that they consider central: the US ban on attacking targets in continental Russia using Western heavy weapons. That ban, which Ukraine has flouted at will with the use of Western tanks and armor in its propaganda raids in regions such as Belgorod, appears to remain in force with regard to the use of missiles.
However, this reluctance to give Ukraine everything it asks for is not limited to the United States but extends to other countries that, in Kiev's opinion, must deliver the requested weapons. This is the case of Germany, where the press has published that the Taurus missiles would be modified so that they would be disabled if they were fired at Russia. The fact that this rumor existed is sufficient evidence to highlight the lack of confidence in the Ukrainian proxy, which is not due to its lack of efficiency or military capacity, but rather to the willingness to escalate the conflict to a point of no return to, among other aspects, directly involve its partners in a war against Russia that is common, but in which neither Germany nor the United States want to participate directly.
The contacts between Bill Burns and Sergey Naryshkin, intelligence chiefs of the United States and the Russian Federation, are precisely due to avoiding this scenario, something that Kiev and its defenders do not seem to want to understand, possibly because their policy involves using war to achieve its economic and political objectives. The greater the danger, the greater the destruction and death, but also the more arguments for Ukraine in its political ambitions. That also seems to be the calculation of lobbyists who publish articles like the one in the Kyiv Post, which finally demands an investigation against Bill Burns and also National Security Advisor Jack Sullivan to study the Burns-Putin “pact” and to find out if there is a dialogue between the United States and Ukraine to set limits on the war. It is possible that the obsession with achieving a great war - if this one is not destructive enough already - prevents Kiev and its most staunch fans from appreciating the limits of its alliance with the United States, a country that has always been comfortable with war on its borders. and that is achieving economic and political benefits as a result of the current conflict, but that continues to see Ukraine as a tool to achieve its objectives. This is where the need arises to maintain minimal communication with Moscow to ensure that the war continues to be limited to Ukrainian territory.
https://slavyangrad.es/2023/09/28/28232/#more-28232
Google Translator
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Chronicle of a special military operation for September 27, 2023
September 27, 2023
Rybar
A temporary calm continues at the front. In the Starobelsky direction there are sluggish battles in the Serebryansky forestry area . In the Bakhmutsky section , violent clashes continue in the area of the railway between Andreevka and Kleshcheevka , both settlements are in the “gray zone”.
In the Donetsk direction, units of the Russian Armed Forces were able to somewhat improve the tactical situation by taking control of a strong point on the approaches to Krasnogorovka . In the Yuzhnodonetsk and Orekhovsk sectors, the situation has not undergone significant changes: there are mutual exchanges of blows and rotation of battered units.
Massive shelling of the border regions of Russia continues: throughout the day, settlements in the Kursk , Belgorod , Kherson regions , as well as the DPR , were under enemy fire . Unfortunately, there were casualties and destruction.
The situation on the front line and combat operations
Positional clashes continue in Serebryansky forestry . In the area of the settlements of Kuzmino and Dibrova , further enemy attempts to attack were repelled. Having lost up to a company of manpower and several armored vehicles, units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the 67th infantry brigade and the 12th special forces brigade were forced to retreat without achieving success.
In the Soledar direction there are battles using artillery and UAVs in the area of Kleshcheevka and Andreevka . At this point, the enemy cannot move forward and build on the success. A video has appeared online showing at what cost the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to take a narrow section of forest belt near the railway track east of two settlements.
In the Donetsk direction, during the assault, Russian motorized infantry units, with the support of tanks and artillery, captured a Ukrainian Armed Forces stronghold in a forest plantation on the outskirts of Krasnogorovka , improving their tactical position. In the area of Marinka and Avdeevka, positional clashes continue without any significant changes in the configuration of the front.
In the Vremevsky sector the enemy is still passive. The Armed Forces of Ukraine show minor activity between Urozhainy and Novodonetsk , but it is suppressed by the work of artillery. The enemy is not using large forces; small infantry groups are observed moving in landings. In the Staromayorsky - Priyutny area , artillerymen from the 5th Combined Arms Army worked on the rear facilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Zeleny Gai , Novodarovka , Makarovka and Rovnopol .
In the Orekhovsky sector, Russian troops repelled an attack by the assault group of the 71st Jaeger Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of the village of Verbovoye . In addition, in the Rabotino area , concentrations of manpower and equipment of the 47th and 117th mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were defeated. In addition, during the counter-battery fight, it was possible to hit several enemy artillery systems, including the American-made M777 howitzer.
Shelling of rear areas and residential areas
Throughout the day, Ukrainian formations have been carrying out massive attacks on the border of the Kursk region . In the village of Giryi, Belovsky district, a Ukrainian UAV dropped ammunition on one of the enterprises, the building was damaged. In the village of Lokot , Rylsky district, two residential buildings were damaged as a result of shelling. In addition, one woman was injured and received medical assistance. In the Sudzhansky district, the villages of Guevo and Plekhovo came under attack , there was no destruction and no casualties. Local residents also reported shelling of the villages of Elizavetovka and Gordeevka , but at the moment there is no official information.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces also continue massive shelling of border settlements in the Belgorod region . Twice a day the enemy struck the village of Bolshetroitskoye , Shebekinsky urban district. One man received shrapnel wounds to his thigh and was taken to hospital. In addition, civilians reported attacks on the villages of Glotovo , Gora - Podol and Bezymeno in the Grayvoronsky district, Novaya Tavolzhanka and Murom in the Shebekinsky urban district, as well as the village of Dolgoye in the Valuysky district.
During the day, Ukrainian formations carried out over three dozen strikes on populated areas of the Donetsk People's Republic , including using cluster munitions. In the Kirovsky district of Donetsk, a man was killed as a result of a direct hit by a shell on a house; his wife was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. The Ukrainian Armed Forces also shelled the Kiev and Kuibyshevsky districts of Donetsk, wounding two men and damaging four houses in Petrovsky . Yasinovataya , Makeevka and Olginka were also hit ; in Gorlovka , the infrastructure of the Donbassgaz Group of Companies was damaged; there is no information about casualties.
Ukrainian formations again shelled settlements on the left bank of the Kherson region . This time Nova Kakhovka , Kakhovka , Krynki , Dnepryany , Peschanivka came under attack - this time there were no casualties, but some damage was caused to civilian infrastructure.
Political events
Ukraine's plans to strike Geranium production sites
Journalists from the British newspaper Guardian reported that last month the Ukrainians asked the West for long-range missiles to attack facilities where kamikaze drones of the Geranium family are produced. At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces command allegedly planned to use the shells, among other things, for attacks on Syria and Iran , where the Shahed UAVs, which became the prototype of the Russian Geraniums, are produced.
Bulgaria will transfer out-of-service S-300 missiles to the Ukrainian Armed Forces
The Bulgarian parliament decided to transfer missiles for the S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukrainian formations . The nuance is that the ammunition planned for transfer is so old that even Bulgarian manufacturers could not repair it. At the same time, there is no point in ironizing this beyond measure : it is very likely that with the support of Western engineers and technologies, old Soviet shells will soon serve as Ukrainian air defense systems.
Honoring Ukrainian Nazis in the Canadian Parliament
“Debriefings” continue after the honoring of the Ukrainian Nazi Yaroslav Gunka from the SS Galicia division in the Canadian Parliament. The deputies decided to condemn Nazism in all forms, also condemned Gunka’s invitation and “withdrew” the honors previously given to him. Some opposition forces in Canada hold Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responsible for this incident .
On Ukraine's preparation for attacks on energy infrastructure
The head of Ukrenergo, Vladimir Kudrytsky , said that the department is actively preparing for new massive attacks by the Russian Armed Forces on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure. According to him, to protect objects for the first time in the world, “certain” methods will be used that have not been used anywhere before. Judging by the official’s speech, by these methods he means combined protection from air defense systems and advanced engineering structures.
Polish-Ukrainian conflict
The ministers of agriculture of Poland and Ukraine held negotiations, which, according to officials, will help sort out the issues of Ukrainian grain supplies. Polish Minister Robert Telus asked the Ukrainian authorities to withdraw the claim to the WTO. However, the parties are likely to come to some kind of compromise soon.
https://rybar.ru/hronika-speczialnoj-vo ... 2023-goda/
Google Translator
(Other images at link.)
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Russian response to the Nazis in the Canadian Parliament
September 27, 17:18
Shmelevsky readings.
About the Nazi invasion of the USSR.
“I am so illuminated by the event of 22.VI, the great feat of the Knight who raised his sword against the Devil. I firmly believe that strong ties of brotherhood will now bind both great nations. Great suffering purifies and uplifts. Lord, how my heart beats with unspeakable joy”
About the Nazi attack on Moscow.
“I heard fanfares, a drum at 2:30 a.m., a special communiqué: the devil’s front has been broken, near Vyazma, in front of Moscow, the armies are surrounded... the butchering is underway, the Reverend is entering his patrimony, God’s things are happening...”
About the occupation of Crimea by the Nazis.
“The taking of Crimea from the executioners and demons, from the tormentors. It doesn’t matter whether the Crimea was taken from the demons by the Germans, allies, or white troops... one thing was in the soul: the tortured were not in their power, not in their malice!.. Not Crimea from Russia has been taken away: the sacred ashes have been torn out from the bloody clutches of the murderers...”
About support for Vlasov’s army.
“This is a battle with demonic power... and the one who fights is not guilty before God and his conscience if the demons hide behind our own blood.”
About supporting Hitler.
“Now the demons are in alliance with the Anglo-Saxons and the Americans, Germany is defeating them, and they are no longer afraid of “notoriety”! ... The forces of Russian emigration are slumbering in vain, not attracted to the great cause of universal liberation and renewal. They simply are not known. And this is the main thing... I could not achieve the right to go to those close to me by blood, spirit and heart... - but I could - I know! - to influence... I could have done a miracle, how many hearts I would have won... - with just my “Politics”!.. And how could we, with our knowledge of our own soul, make this great and terrible feat easier - world cleansing! If there was more mutual trust... - and a miracle would happen, a miracle!!! It will happen, only... with great delay, with unnecessary - and great! - expenditure of effort. I deeply believe in God's purpose, the punishing and purifying "sword" was placed in the hand of Germany... so it was given in the historical course, by the Higher Will, one worthy of this was chosen. But... we are only witnesses..! And if there was complete faith in us, in our predestination... - if there was a fraternal union of two great nations..! - oh, what would have happened!!”
About the bombing of Britain.
Well, let's find some knight... - as happens in fairy tales! - and he grabbed us, and - bombs... - and you bring it, everyone knows that! - happiness, at a glance! - will rush to the shores of Albion, gasp at some Hull or Birmingham - "coo-de-bu" - and fall on the fields of Normandy. What if such a wonderful thing happens?! I would gladly ride under English machine guns - they shoot badly, not the Germans!
That Hitler is not to blame.
“When will this madness end, of which the English-Americans are alone guilty... Freemasonry... yes, yes! - and certainly not the Germans! How many times did the German Fuhrer offer, warn!..”
As we see, the rehabilitation of Nazi servants (and Shmelev not only supported the Nazis, but also served them in a propaganda publication) is taking place not only in Canada.
https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8664952.html
Google Translator
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Menendez Indictment Exposes the US-Egypt Weapons to Ukraine Dispute
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on SEPTEMBER 26, 2023
Steven Sahiounie
US Senator Robert Menendez, (D. NJ.) temporarily stepped down from his powerful role as chairman of the Senate Relations Committee, according to Senate Minority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer, following accusations of political corruption and breach of US national security.
On September 22, Menendez was indicted by federal prosecutors in New York, along with four others, including his wife Nadine Arslanian Menendez, on one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion.
New Jersey businessmen Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, also included in the indictment are unnamed Egyptian government officials Menendez dealt with between 2018 and 2022, from which he received bribes.
Menendez opened the US Senate for business with Egypt, and is facing serious corruption charges, which have US national security implications, as he passing along confidential US government information to Egyptian officials.
Instead of fighting for the safety and prosperity of his New Jersey constituents, Menendez was working for the benefit of the Egyptian government, which represses their own people, including foreign journalists in jail without charges or trial, as is the case of journalists from Al Jazeera media.
Fellow Senators, and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, called on Menendez to resign, and Murphy said the allegations “implicate national security”. Menendez held a seat in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2006 and has been in the Senate since 2006.
Menendez was working on behalf of the Egyptian government to release pending US military aid to Egypt, that the State Department had held up due to Egyptian human rights violations. The indictment says Menendez, and his wife, met with Egyptian officials in July 2018 and promised to lobby for “Egyptian foreign policy goals and positions and setting forth Egypt’s requests for the approval of foreign military financing and foreign military sales to Egypt.”
At first glance, the Menendez story looks like a classic case of US political corruption, but it coincides with a US pressure campaign on Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi because he refused to cave-in to pressure from US President Joe Biden to send weapons to Ukraine. Is the exposure of Menendez corruption with Sisi, a pay-back from Biden?
Egypt had tried to remain neutral in the Ukraine conflict, while maintaining good relations with both Russia and the US. Egypt relies on Russian wheat imports, and increased sales are in Russia’s interest.
In March, US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, asked Sisi to send artillery shells, anti-tank missiles, air defense systems and small arms to Ukraine, but Washington did not receive the answer they expected.
In subsequent talks between the US and members of the Sisi administration, it was confirmed that there were no plans to supply weapons to Kiev.
The Egyptian request came after US President Joe Biden admitted previously that the stocks of weapons that the US could send to Ukraine, especially artillery shells, were depleting.
In early April, US intel leaks indicated that Cairo sought to export 40,000 missiles, and other equipment to Russia, after Sisi instructed a minister to provide the arms. Under pressure, Egypt agreed it wouldn’t send weapons to Russia.
In early August, the US asked Egypt to supply artillery, antitank missiles, air defense systems and small arms for Ukraine, but Egypt refused to back down to pressure from Washington according to Egyptian media.
Egypt’s failure to deliver requested weapons has concerned members of the US Congress. Pressure is mounting on the Biden administration not to release $320 million in military aid to Egypt over human rights violations. The US currently provides Egypt with $1.3 billion in annual military aid, with a portion depending on Egypt’s human rights improvement.
The new indictment features photographs of the $480,000 in cash, close-ups of the two one-kilogram gold bars worth over $100,000 and a photo of the brand new Mercedes Benz C-300 found in the garage of the Menendez home. Further bribes included payments on a home mortgage, home furnishings, and exercise equipment. Equally surprising, was compensation for the senator’s wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, for a job dubbed as ‘low-or-no-show’.
US Attorney Damian Williams said a grand jury charged Menendez for using his power and influence to protect and enrich those businessmen and to benefit the government of Egypt.
In 2015, Menendez was indicted on bribery and fraud charges involving requests that the State Department pressure a foreign government which would benefit a Florida businessman, who gave Menendez money, and paid for his lavish vacation trips on a private jet.
In 2017, Menendez escaped conviction when a judge in New Jersey declared a mistrial, and by January 2018, the Department of Justice announced that it was dropping all charges.
On January 25, Biden approved a whopping $2.5bn in arms sales to Egypt. Typically, the State Department will honor requests to delay grants and weapons sales from the chair or the ranking member of the Senate committee. Menendez, who has served as the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee since 2018, has publicly criticized Sisi over human rights violations, while privately acting as his ‘man on Capitol Hill’.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), co-founder of the Egypt Human Rights Caucus, urged Menendez to resign. The indictment alleges that a person who acted between Sisi and Menendez bribed the Senator to use his position as a leader of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to weaken America’s response to human rights violations in Egypt.
The Justice Department accuses Egypt’s intelligence and military of a scheme that saw payments of bribes to ensure US military assistance and arms sales continued despite congressional objections to Egypt’s abysmal record of repression.
Beyer recently urged the Biden administration to significantly withhold military assistance to Egypt in response to ongoing human rights violations by the Sisi government.
For years, Egypt was the second-largest recipient of US aid, behind Israel. During the three-decade rule of Hosni Mubarak, the US-Egypt relationship was stable with Egypt stepping up to provide valuable security in conflicts in the region.
In 2011, the US-NATO project called Arab Spring, engineered by President Obama and VP Biden, forced Mubarak from power, and through a rigged election executed by Hillary Clinton operatives, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Mursi was put in power. But, in less than a year, after killing thousands of protesters, Mursi was overthrown and Sisi came to power in 2013.
If Sisi continues to refuse Biden’s request for weapons to Ukraine, we may see further attacks on his government.
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/09/ ... e-dispute/
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Mainstream Media Admit - Ukraine's Propaganda Is Full Of Lies
As a sign of the turning narrative of the war in Ukraine we find a new New York Times piece about 'disinformation' that is not about Russia but about lies from Ukraine.
Andrew E. Kramer, the NYT correspondent in Kiev, opens with an anecdote from the first weeks of the war:
Six weeks after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Ukraine sank the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, dealing a serious blow to the enemy navy, and, a Ukrainian official said, killing the ship’s captain.
“We do not mourn,” an adviser to the interior minister at the time, Anton Gerashchenko, said.
The only problem was that the captain — or somebody who resembled him — later appeared in a video of survivors released by the Russian Navy. He had escaped his sinking ship, the Moskva, the video seemed to indicate.
Then comes a paragraph that could fit both countries but the following one it is again related to disinformation from Ukraine:
What is clear is that misdirection, disinformation and propaganda are weapons regularly deployed in Russia’s war in Ukraine to buoy spirits at home, demoralize the enemy or lead opponents into a trap. And it is often hard to know when reports are false or why they may have been disseminated.
Now, Ukraine and Russia are offering dueling narratives over whether a more senior Russian naval officer, the commanding admiral of the Black Sea Fleet, is alive or dead.
Well, in this interview Adm. Viktor Sokolov looks quite alive.
Then comes an astonishing admission:
Few military analysts, [...], believe the Ukrainian military’s optimistic daily account of Russian casualties running into the hundreds that is nonetheless reported widely in Ukrainian media.
It is the first time I see a public refutation of Ukraine's laughable claims about Russian casualties in the mainstream media. It is also an indictment of the Biden administration and the Pentagon who publicly use the Ukrainian numbers.
The piece ends with a wise acknowledgement:
Mr. Gerashchenko said that, in the end, war propaganda is only effective when it accompanies battlefield successes. The missile strike on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet last week, he said, was a “stunning success of Ukrainian intelligence and the air force that fired the cruise missiles on a supposedly well-defended site.”
“You cannot win the propaganda war without winning the real war,” he added.
Oh really? Guess who told you so:
*Disarming Ukraine - Day 13 - Lies Do Not Win Wars - Moon of Alabama, March 8 2022
*Propaganda Does Not Change The War - The Ukraine Is Still Losing - Moon of Alabama, March 25 2022
*No - Such Propaganda Delusions Will Not Win The War - Moon of Alabama, June 8 2023
Good to see that this obvious truth is finally sinking in.
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Yesterday the Minister of Defense in Russia, Sergei Shoigu, gave an update (in Russian) on the war in Ukraine. The speech seemed to include a time frame for the war to end (machine translation):
The United States and its allies continue to arm the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the Kiev regime throws untrained soldiers into senseless assaults, for slaughter.
Such cynical actions by the West and their cronies in Kiev only encourage Ukraine to self-destruct."
"Under these conditions, we continue to increase the combat power of the Armed Forces, including through the supply of modern weapons and improving the training of troops, taking into account the experience of a special military operation. Consistent implementation of the activities of the Action Plan until 2025 will allow us to achieve our goals."
Shoigu expects the war to run throughout 2024 and into 2025. But if the current loss rate of the Ukrainian army continues the country will be running out of soldiers and armored vehicles before the end of next year.
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Schadenfreude:
*Canada's House speaker steps down after making tribute to Nazi veteran
*Canada’s honoring of Nazi vet exposes Ottawa’s longstanding Ukraine policy
*60 Minutes video (1997) about Nazis war criminals living in Canada
Posted by b on September 27, 2023 at 13:50 UTC | Permalink
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/09/m ... .html#more
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U.S. sees Ukrainian army demoralized, no chance to win: Seymour Hersh
Originally published: Al Mayadeen on September 21, 2023 (more by Al Mayadeen) | (Posted Sep 27, 2023)
Citing a U.S. official familiar with current intelligence, U.S. journalist Seymour Hersh said that the U.S. intelligence believes that the Ukrainian forces have become demoralized and have no chance of winning, adding that there currently exists no discussion in Kiev or the White House regarding a ceasefire.
In a new post on his Substack account, Hersh said,
There are significant elements in the American intelligence community, relying on field reports and technical intelligence, who believe that the demoralized Ukraine army has given up on the possibility of overcoming the heavily mined three-tier Russian defense lines and taking the war to Crimea and the four oblasts seized and annexed by Russia. The reality is that Volodymyr Zelensky’s battered army no longer has any chance of a victory.
Hersh also noted there is no interest in peace talks. Quoting the official, Hersh continued that Ukraine’s claims of incremental progress in the offensive constitute of “all lies”.
The renowned investigative journalist reported last month that the CIA informed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the Ukrainian counteroffensive would not likely yield results.
This information, said Hersh, came from a U.S. intelligence official, who stated more specifically, that “the word was getting to him [Blinken] through the Agency [CIA] that the Ukrainian offense was not going to work. It was a show by Zelensky and there were some in the administration who believed his bullshit.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has been calling on his Western allies for months to provide his military with long-range missiles, arguing that this could drastically improve the outcome of the counteroffensive. But before that, it was the anti-air missiles, the advanced offense tanks, heavily armored troop carriers, and the HIMARS system.
Ukraine is depleting resources at an unsustainable rate, firing 90,000 artillery rounds per month when the Pentagon is only capable of producing a third of that number, while also losing around 20 percent of NATO-provided weapons–that were either destroyed or damaged–within the first two weeks of the counteroffensive, which saw very limited ground gains since it was launched almost three months ago.
https://mronline.org/2023/09/27/u-s-see ... our-hersh/
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Nobody Who Fought Against Russia Could Possibly Be Bad!
Having fought against Russia at any point in history is just reflexively assumed to have put you on the right side.
Caitlin Johnstone
September 26, 2023
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Just because Ukraine has Nazi paramilitaries and just because it’s impossible to take photos of Ukrainian soldiers without capturing Nazi insignia and just because Ukrainian Nazis get applauded in parliament doesn’t mean we’re on the side of the Nazis, you crazy Russian shill.
Western minds have become so warped by cold war hysteria these last few years that it never occurred to a single person in an entire giant room full of professional politicians that someone who fought against Russia during World War II might be a bad guy. Having fought against Russia at any point in history is just reflexively assumed to have put you on the right side.
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Remember when US liberals were conditioned to hate Russia by a completely false narrative which was fed to the media by the western intelligence cartel, while the west was engaging in actions that same intelligence cartel knew would provoke a war with Russia? Crazy coincidence.
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If you think the US government has been doing evil things in Ukraine, wait til the information becomes declassified in a few decades about the real nasty shit they were up to behind the veil of government secrecy.
The media and online psyops alone will be jaw dropping.
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I love how it’s no longer seriously disputed that NATO expansion provoked this war and even the head of NATO now admits it, so now empire apologists’ only argument is claiming that Russia simply shouldn’t have viewed NATO expansion as a threat. As though that’s an answer.
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They work so hard on internet control for the same reason they’ve worked so hard on media control: to control the public. The easiest way to control people is to control how they think, and the easiest way to control how they think is to control what information they consume.
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When Russia and China draw a “red line”, it’s about a threat to their national security on their own borders. When the US draws a “red line”, it’s about the internal affairs of another country on the other side of the world.
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I guess if you spend generations training a population to believe that it’s perfectly fine and normal for your government to work to topple communist governments around the world solely because they are communist, a lot of them will be on board when it’s time to go after China.
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The US empire is a global version of Israel. One’s a nation that can only exist by endless war, the other’s a globe-spanning power structure of allies, assets, military bases, and economic/monetary norms that can only exist by endless war.
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The fastest way to get me to completely lose interest in your analysis is to start pouring your energy into divisive culture war issues. In a world that’s hurtling toward nuclear annihilation and environmental collapse there’s just no reason to be running around shitting on trans people and shrieking about pronouns or whatever. Even if you’re generally right about other important issues, the fact that you think that’s a wise expenditure of your political energy tells me you don’t truly understand the gravity of those other issues and only have a very limited perspective.
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Leftists who oppose past wars but never the present one are the absolute worst. Their posture on past wars allows them enough anti-imperialist cred to maintain influence over leftist circles, while their position on what’s happening here and now (the only thing that actually matters) is indistinguishable from John Bolton or Lindsey Graham.
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The most significant feature of leftists as a group is the same as the most significant feature of any other group: they’re mostly confused, dysfunctional, and dominated by ego. That’s just where the human species is at right now. Socialism has failed to manifest in the western world for a whole host of reasons, but a big one is just that humans are too easily distracted, divided, manipulated and led astray to create a healthy world at this particular point in spacetime. We’re not going to be able to organize effectively and start moving toward health until we wake up from the dysfunctional relationship with thought that allows manipulators to continually neuter and nullify our political energy.
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2023/09 ... ly-be-bad/
POSTED BY @NSANZO ⋅ 09/28/2023
Since the beginning of the conflict, especially since the Russian invasion, but also in the previous eight years, Ukraine's tendency has always been to demand more in every way. Since 2014, Ukraine has tried to obtain weapons to fight its enemy, always presented as Russia. The type of weapons that Kiev requested - Javelin anti-tank systems or drones, has nothing to do with the F16s and Patriots that it demands now - shows the difference between the enemy it faced then, the militias of the Popular Republics and volunteers arriving from Russia, and the Russian army for which requires cluster bombs. But Ukraine's demands have never been solely military. The war provided kyiv with the best argument for its economic and political demands. Since 2014,
That has always been the basis of Ukraine's demands on its partners in search of more lines of credit and more financing with which to transform the State it was building using the war as an excuse. Politically, the idea that Ukraine had become the external borderof Europe - not even of the European Union - and its protector precedes the arrival of Russian troops by eight years. What's more, this idea of protecting the European Union as an argument to demand favorable treatment from the bloc was the center of Ukraine's foreign policy during the years of the Minsk process, openly sabotaged by Kiev due to its absolute refusal to implement the peace that he had signed. The Russian invasion has made it easier for Ukraine to demand much more ambitious objectives: it is no longer a question of demanding visa-free travel or more financing, but of Ukraine's apparently natural right to be immediately admitted to the bloc, a demand that is no longer met. It is limited only to the EU but has been expanded to NATO. The argument is simple: Ukraine has paid the price of entry into Western institutions with the war.
The war marks everything and a large part of the daily demands of Ukraine continue to be the perpetual supply of weapons and financing to continue fighting. Although Kiev sells through its political communication the investment in a sure victory against the common enemy - proxy war long ago ceased to be an element of Russian propagandato be the main claim - the reality is that Ukraine would be doomed to inevitable defeat if it lost its sponsors. Hence, it is driven by the wire of demanding the maximum, aware that losing it would entail military and political consequences. Without a military victory, Ukraine's case for accession to the EU and NATO would suffer markedly. This has marked the constant escalation that Ukraine has demanded from its partners, from whom it has demanded increasingly heavier weapons and in greater quantities - something that has increased exponentially since it has become evident that things were not going well in the counteroffensive. , demands that have not always maintained a minimum of realism. This is the case of the long fight for the F16s, which Ukraine intended to receive before even having the pilots to use them. Now, When the United States has not yet officially confirmed that it will send ATACMS tactical missiles, Kiev raises the ante by demanding, not only those long-range missiles with which it promises to attack Crimea, but that they have cluster munitions to do the greatest possible damage. In this effort to achieve the most in the shortest possible time, Ukraine's demands have generally exceeded the willingness of its allies and suppliers, causing a series of disappointments that Kiev has actively used as an element of pressure.
Ukraine failed to get its allies to close the skies , that is, to shoot down Russian aircraft and missiles by engaging in direct combat against Russia, which would have caused an open war between the Russian Federation and NATO. That same objective, directly involving his partners in the war, was the reason why the Zelensky Government openly lied to its partners and its population, alleging that Russian troops had deliberately attacked Poland. Although the denial came from the interested country itself and was later confirmed by the United States, this week the final verdict of that episode that cost the lives of two people was publicly announced: a missile from the Ukrainian S-300 defenses hit a Polish village as the Russian authorities stated at the time.
The reproaches about the refusal to deliver the weapons demanded by kyiv have been directed fundamentally at three destinations: Israel, for its refusal to share its Iron Dome; Germany, first because of Olaf Scholz's reluctance to start supplying weapons, then because of his delay in confirming the shipment of Leopard tanks and finally because of his refusal, for the moment, to send Taurus missiles; and to the United States, for maintaining a policy of progressive increase in weapons and rejecting the option of unilateral escalation that Ukraine demands.
But the reproaches are not only related to the type of weapons supplied nor do they come solely from the Ukrainian Government. “Nearly 600 days of Russia's war in Ukraine have resulted in almost 600 days of confrontation between pro-Ukrainian groups and other Kremlin appeasers in the US administration,” writes an article published by The Kyiv Post this week, demanding support more explicit for Ukraine and, above all, more involvement against Russia from one of the sectors that has been most involved in the war: intelligence. Despite this being one of the most important aspects of the war for Ukraine, which has benefited enormously from the real-time service of its American and British partners, this is where lobbyists find themselves at fault .of communication, tactics and strategy that, in his opinion, has led to confusion in the actions of the United States, which has dragged its feet in the supply and has allowed itself to be carried away by those contacts between the heads of US intelligence and Russian especially in an aspect that they consider central: the US ban on attacking targets in continental Russia using Western heavy weapons. That ban, which Ukraine has flouted at will with the use of Western tanks and armor in its propaganda raids in regions such as Belgorod, appears to remain in force with regard to the use of missiles.
However, this reluctance to give Ukraine everything it asks for is not limited to the United States but extends to other countries that, in Kiev's opinion, must deliver the requested weapons. This is the case of Germany, where the press has published that the Taurus missiles would be modified so that they would be disabled if they were fired at Russia. The fact that this rumor existed is sufficient evidence to highlight the lack of confidence in the Ukrainian proxy, which is not due to its lack of efficiency or military capacity, but rather to the willingness to escalate the conflict to a point of no return to, among other aspects, directly involve its partners in a war against Russia that is common, but in which neither Germany nor the United States want to participate directly.
The contacts between Bill Burns and Sergey Naryshkin, intelligence chiefs of the United States and the Russian Federation, are precisely due to avoiding this scenario, something that Kiev and its defenders do not seem to want to understand, possibly because their policy involves using war to achieve its economic and political objectives. The greater the danger, the greater the destruction and death, but also the more arguments for Ukraine in its political ambitions. That also seems to be the calculation of lobbyists who publish articles like the one in the Kyiv Post, which finally demands an investigation against Bill Burns and also National Security Advisor Jack Sullivan to study the Burns-Putin “pact” and to find out if there is a dialogue between the United States and Ukraine to set limits on the war. It is possible that the obsession with achieving a great war - if this one is not destructive enough already - prevents Kiev and its most staunch fans from appreciating the limits of its alliance with the United States, a country that has always been comfortable with war on its borders. and that is achieving economic and political benefits as a result of the current conflict, but that continues to see Ukraine as a tool to achieve its objectives. This is where the need arises to maintain minimal communication with Moscow to ensure that the war continues to be limited to Ukrainian territory.
https://slavyangrad.es/2023/09/28/28232/#more-28232
Google Translator
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Chronicle of a special military operation for September 27, 2023
September 27, 2023
Rybar
A temporary calm continues at the front. In the Starobelsky direction there are sluggish battles in the Serebryansky forestry area . In the Bakhmutsky section , violent clashes continue in the area of the railway between Andreevka and Kleshcheevka , both settlements are in the “gray zone”.
In the Donetsk direction, units of the Russian Armed Forces were able to somewhat improve the tactical situation by taking control of a strong point on the approaches to Krasnogorovka . In the Yuzhnodonetsk and Orekhovsk sectors, the situation has not undergone significant changes: there are mutual exchanges of blows and rotation of battered units.
Massive shelling of the border regions of Russia continues: throughout the day, settlements in the Kursk , Belgorod , Kherson regions , as well as the DPR , were under enemy fire . Unfortunately, there were casualties and destruction.
The situation on the front line and combat operations
Positional clashes continue in Serebryansky forestry . In the area of the settlements of Kuzmino and Dibrova , further enemy attempts to attack were repelled. Having lost up to a company of manpower and several armored vehicles, units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the 67th infantry brigade and the 12th special forces brigade were forced to retreat without achieving success.
In the Soledar direction there are battles using artillery and UAVs in the area of Kleshcheevka and Andreevka . At this point, the enemy cannot move forward and build on the success. A video has appeared online showing at what cost the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to take a narrow section of forest belt near the railway track east of two settlements.
In the Donetsk direction, during the assault, Russian motorized infantry units, with the support of tanks and artillery, captured a Ukrainian Armed Forces stronghold in a forest plantation on the outskirts of Krasnogorovka , improving their tactical position. In the area of Marinka and Avdeevka, positional clashes continue without any significant changes in the configuration of the front.
In the Vremevsky sector the enemy is still passive. The Armed Forces of Ukraine show minor activity between Urozhainy and Novodonetsk , but it is suppressed by the work of artillery. The enemy is not using large forces; small infantry groups are observed moving in landings. In the Staromayorsky - Priyutny area , artillerymen from the 5th Combined Arms Army worked on the rear facilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Zeleny Gai , Novodarovka , Makarovka and Rovnopol .
In the Orekhovsky sector, Russian troops repelled an attack by the assault group of the 71st Jaeger Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of the village of Verbovoye . In addition, in the Rabotino area , concentrations of manpower and equipment of the 47th and 117th mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were defeated. In addition, during the counter-battery fight, it was possible to hit several enemy artillery systems, including the American-made M777 howitzer.
Shelling of rear areas and residential areas
Throughout the day, Ukrainian formations have been carrying out massive attacks on the border of the Kursk region . In the village of Giryi, Belovsky district, a Ukrainian UAV dropped ammunition on one of the enterprises, the building was damaged. In the village of Lokot , Rylsky district, two residential buildings were damaged as a result of shelling. In addition, one woman was injured and received medical assistance. In the Sudzhansky district, the villages of Guevo and Plekhovo came under attack , there was no destruction and no casualties. Local residents also reported shelling of the villages of Elizavetovka and Gordeevka , but at the moment there is no official information.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces also continue massive shelling of border settlements in the Belgorod region . Twice a day the enemy struck the village of Bolshetroitskoye , Shebekinsky urban district. One man received shrapnel wounds to his thigh and was taken to hospital. In addition, civilians reported attacks on the villages of Glotovo , Gora - Podol and Bezymeno in the Grayvoronsky district, Novaya Tavolzhanka and Murom in the Shebekinsky urban district, as well as the village of Dolgoye in the Valuysky district.
During the day, Ukrainian formations carried out over three dozen strikes on populated areas of the Donetsk People's Republic , including using cluster munitions. In the Kirovsky district of Donetsk, a man was killed as a result of a direct hit by a shell on a house; his wife was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. The Ukrainian Armed Forces also shelled the Kiev and Kuibyshevsky districts of Donetsk, wounding two men and damaging four houses in Petrovsky . Yasinovataya , Makeevka and Olginka were also hit ; in Gorlovka , the infrastructure of the Donbassgaz Group of Companies was damaged; there is no information about casualties.
Ukrainian formations again shelled settlements on the left bank of the Kherson region . This time Nova Kakhovka , Kakhovka , Krynki , Dnepryany , Peschanivka came under attack - this time there were no casualties, but some damage was caused to civilian infrastructure.
Political events
Ukraine's plans to strike Geranium production sites
Journalists from the British newspaper Guardian reported that last month the Ukrainians asked the West for long-range missiles to attack facilities where kamikaze drones of the Geranium family are produced. At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces command allegedly planned to use the shells, among other things, for attacks on Syria and Iran , where the Shahed UAVs, which became the prototype of the Russian Geraniums, are produced.
Bulgaria will transfer out-of-service S-300 missiles to the Ukrainian Armed Forces
The Bulgarian parliament decided to transfer missiles for the S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukrainian formations . The nuance is that the ammunition planned for transfer is so old that even Bulgarian manufacturers could not repair it. At the same time, there is no point in ironizing this beyond measure : it is very likely that with the support of Western engineers and technologies, old Soviet shells will soon serve as Ukrainian air defense systems.
Honoring Ukrainian Nazis in the Canadian Parliament
“Debriefings” continue after the honoring of the Ukrainian Nazi Yaroslav Gunka from the SS Galicia division in the Canadian Parliament. The deputies decided to condemn Nazism in all forms, also condemned Gunka’s invitation and “withdrew” the honors previously given to him. Some opposition forces in Canada hold Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responsible for this incident .
On Ukraine's preparation for attacks on energy infrastructure
The head of Ukrenergo, Vladimir Kudrytsky , said that the department is actively preparing for new massive attacks by the Russian Armed Forces on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure. According to him, to protect objects for the first time in the world, “certain” methods will be used that have not been used anywhere before. Judging by the official’s speech, by these methods he means combined protection from air defense systems and advanced engineering structures.
Polish-Ukrainian conflict
The ministers of agriculture of Poland and Ukraine held negotiations, which, according to officials, will help sort out the issues of Ukrainian grain supplies. Polish Minister Robert Telus asked the Ukrainian authorities to withdraw the claim to the WTO. However, the parties are likely to come to some kind of compromise soon.
https://rybar.ru/hronika-speczialnoj-vo ... 2023-goda/
Google Translator
(Other images at link.)
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Russian response to the Nazis in the Canadian Parliament
September 27, 17:18
Shmelevsky readings.
About the Nazi invasion of the USSR.
“I am so illuminated by the event of 22.VI, the great feat of the Knight who raised his sword against the Devil. I firmly believe that strong ties of brotherhood will now bind both great nations. Great suffering purifies and uplifts. Lord, how my heart beats with unspeakable joy”
About the Nazi attack on Moscow.
“I heard fanfares, a drum at 2:30 a.m., a special communiqué: the devil’s front has been broken, near Vyazma, in front of Moscow, the armies are surrounded... the butchering is underway, the Reverend is entering his patrimony, God’s things are happening...”
About the occupation of Crimea by the Nazis.
“The taking of Crimea from the executioners and demons, from the tormentors. It doesn’t matter whether the Crimea was taken from the demons by the Germans, allies, or white troops... one thing was in the soul: the tortured were not in their power, not in their malice!.. Not Crimea from Russia has been taken away: the sacred ashes have been torn out from the bloody clutches of the murderers...”
About support for Vlasov’s army.
“This is a battle with demonic power... and the one who fights is not guilty before God and his conscience if the demons hide behind our own blood.”
About supporting Hitler.
“Now the demons are in alliance with the Anglo-Saxons and the Americans, Germany is defeating them, and they are no longer afraid of “notoriety”! ... The forces of Russian emigration are slumbering in vain, not attracted to the great cause of universal liberation and renewal. They simply are not known. And this is the main thing... I could not achieve the right to go to those close to me by blood, spirit and heart... - but I could - I know! - to influence... I could have done a miracle, how many hearts I would have won... - with just my “Politics”!.. And how could we, with our knowledge of our own soul, make this great and terrible feat easier - world cleansing! If there was more mutual trust... - and a miracle would happen, a miracle!!! It will happen, only... with great delay, with unnecessary - and great! - expenditure of effort. I deeply believe in God's purpose, the punishing and purifying "sword" was placed in the hand of Germany... so it was given in the historical course, by the Higher Will, one worthy of this was chosen. But... we are only witnesses..! And if there was complete faith in us, in our predestination... - if there was a fraternal union of two great nations..! - oh, what would have happened!!”
About the bombing of Britain.
Well, let's find some knight... - as happens in fairy tales! - and he grabbed us, and - bombs... - and you bring it, everyone knows that! - happiness, at a glance! - will rush to the shores of Albion, gasp at some Hull or Birmingham - "coo-de-bu" - and fall on the fields of Normandy. What if such a wonderful thing happens?! I would gladly ride under English machine guns - they shoot badly, not the Germans!
That Hitler is not to blame.
“When will this madness end, of which the English-Americans are alone guilty... Freemasonry... yes, yes! - and certainly not the Germans! How many times did the German Fuhrer offer, warn!..”
As we see, the rehabilitation of Nazi servants (and Shmelev not only supported the Nazis, but also served them in a propaganda publication) is taking place not only in Canada.
https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8664952.html
Google Translator
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Menendez Indictment Exposes the US-Egypt Weapons to Ukraine Dispute
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on SEPTEMBER 26, 2023
Steven Sahiounie
US Senator Robert Menendez, (D. NJ.) temporarily stepped down from his powerful role as chairman of the Senate Relations Committee, according to Senate Minority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer, following accusations of political corruption and breach of US national security.
On September 22, Menendez was indicted by federal prosecutors in New York, along with four others, including his wife Nadine Arslanian Menendez, on one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion.
New Jersey businessmen Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, also included in the indictment are unnamed Egyptian government officials Menendez dealt with between 2018 and 2022, from which he received bribes.
Menendez opened the US Senate for business with Egypt, and is facing serious corruption charges, which have US national security implications, as he passing along confidential US government information to Egyptian officials.
Instead of fighting for the safety and prosperity of his New Jersey constituents, Menendez was working for the benefit of the Egyptian government, which represses their own people, including foreign journalists in jail without charges or trial, as is the case of journalists from Al Jazeera media.
Fellow Senators, and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, called on Menendez to resign, and Murphy said the allegations “implicate national security”. Menendez held a seat in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2006 and has been in the Senate since 2006.
Menendez was working on behalf of the Egyptian government to release pending US military aid to Egypt, that the State Department had held up due to Egyptian human rights violations. The indictment says Menendez, and his wife, met with Egyptian officials in July 2018 and promised to lobby for “Egyptian foreign policy goals and positions and setting forth Egypt’s requests for the approval of foreign military financing and foreign military sales to Egypt.”
At first glance, the Menendez story looks like a classic case of US political corruption, but it coincides with a US pressure campaign on Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi because he refused to cave-in to pressure from US President Joe Biden to send weapons to Ukraine. Is the exposure of Menendez corruption with Sisi, a pay-back from Biden?
Egypt had tried to remain neutral in the Ukraine conflict, while maintaining good relations with both Russia and the US. Egypt relies on Russian wheat imports, and increased sales are in Russia’s interest.
In March, US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, asked Sisi to send artillery shells, anti-tank missiles, air defense systems and small arms to Ukraine, but Washington did not receive the answer they expected.
In subsequent talks between the US and members of the Sisi administration, it was confirmed that there were no plans to supply weapons to Kiev.
The Egyptian request came after US President Joe Biden admitted previously that the stocks of weapons that the US could send to Ukraine, especially artillery shells, were depleting.
In early April, US intel leaks indicated that Cairo sought to export 40,000 missiles, and other equipment to Russia, after Sisi instructed a minister to provide the arms. Under pressure, Egypt agreed it wouldn’t send weapons to Russia.
In early August, the US asked Egypt to supply artillery, antitank missiles, air defense systems and small arms for Ukraine, but Egypt refused to back down to pressure from Washington according to Egyptian media.
Egypt’s failure to deliver requested weapons has concerned members of the US Congress. Pressure is mounting on the Biden administration not to release $320 million in military aid to Egypt over human rights violations. The US currently provides Egypt with $1.3 billion in annual military aid, with a portion depending on Egypt’s human rights improvement.
The new indictment features photographs of the $480,000 in cash, close-ups of the two one-kilogram gold bars worth over $100,000 and a photo of the brand new Mercedes Benz C-300 found in the garage of the Menendez home. Further bribes included payments on a home mortgage, home furnishings, and exercise equipment. Equally surprising, was compensation for the senator’s wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, for a job dubbed as ‘low-or-no-show’.
US Attorney Damian Williams said a grand jury charged Menendez for using his power and influence to protect and enrich those businessmen and to benefit the government of Egypt.
In 2015, Menendez was indicted on bribery and fraud charges involving requests that the State Department pressure a foreign government which would benefit a Florida businessman, who gave Menendez money, and paid for his lavish vacation trips on a private jet.
In 2017, Menendez escaped conviction when a judge in New Jersey declared a mistrial, and by January 2018, the Department of Justice announced that it was dropping all charges.
On January 25, Biden approved a whopping $2.5bn in arms sales to Egypt. Typically, the State Department will honor requests to delay grants and weapons sales from the chair or the ranking member of the Senate committee. Menendez, who has served as the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee since 2018, has publicly criticized Sisi over human rights violations, while privately acting as his ‘man on Capitol Hill’.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), co-founder of the Egypt Human Rights Caucus, urged Menendez to resign. The indictment alleges that a person who acted between Sisi and Menendez bribed the Senator to use his position as a leader of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to weaken America’s response to human rights violations in Egypt.
The Justice Department accuses Egypt’s intelligence and military of a scheme that saw payments of bribes to ensure US military assistance and arms sales continued despite congressional objections to Egypt’s abysmal record of repression.
Beyer recently urged the Biden administration to significantly withhold military assistance to Egypt in response to ongoing human rights violations by the Sisi government.
For years, Egypt was the second-largest recipient of US aid, behind Israel. During the three-decade rule of Hosni Mubarak, the US-Egypt relationship was stable with Egypt stepping up to provide valuable security in conflicts in the region.
In 2011, the US-NATO project called Arab Spring, engineered by President Obama and VP Biden, forced Mubarak from power, and through a rigged election executed by Hillary Clinton operatives, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Mursi was put in power. But, in less than a year, after killing thousands of protesters, Mursi was overthrown and Sisi came to power in 2013.
If Sisi continues to refuse Biden’s request for weapons to Ukraine, we may see further attacks on his government.
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/09/ ... e-dispute/
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Mainstream Media Admit - Ukraine's Propaganda Is Full Of Lies
As a sign of the turning narrative of the war in Ukraine we find a new New York Times piece about 'disinformation' that is not about Russia but about lies from Ukraine.
Andrew E. Kramer, the NYT correspondent in Kiev, opens with an anecdote from the first weeks of the war:
Six weeks after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Ukraine sank the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, dealing a serious blow to the enemy navy, and, a Ukrainian official said, killing the ship’s captain.
“We do not mourn,” an adviser to the interior minister at the time, Anton Gerashchenko, said.
The only problem was that the captain — or somebody who resembled him — later appeared in a video of survivors released by the Russian Navy. He had escaped his sinking ship, the Moskva, the video seemed to indicate.
Then comes a paragraph that could fit both countries but the following one it is again related to disinformation from Ukraine:
What is clear is that misdirection, disinformation and propaganda are weapons regularly deployed in Russia’s war in Ukraine to buoy spirits at home, demoralize the enemy or lead opponents into a trap. And it is often hard to know when reports are false or why they may have been disseminated.
Now, Ukraine and Russia are offering dueling narratives over whether a more senior Russian naval officer, the commanding admiral of the Black Sea Fleet, is alive or dead.
Well, in this interview Adm. Viktor Sokolov looks quite alive.
Then comes an astonishing admission:
Few military analysts, [...], believe the Ukrainian military’s optimistic daily account of Russian casualties running into the hundreds that is nonetheless reported widely in Ukrainian media.
It is the first time I see a public refutation of Ukraine's laughable claims about Russian casualties in the mainstream media. It is also an indictment of the Biden administration and the Pentagon who publicly use the Ukrainian numbers.
The piece ends with a wise acknowledgement:
Mr. Gerashchenko said that, in the end, war propaganda is only effective when it accompanies battlefield successes. The missile strike on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet last week, he said, was a “stunning success of Ukrainian intelligence and the air force that fired the cruise missiles on a supposedly well-defended site.”
“You cannot win the propaganda war without winning the real war,” he added.
Oh really? Guess who told you so:
*Disarming Ukraine - Day 13 - Lies Do Not Win Wars - Moon of Alabama, March 8 2022
*Propaganda Does Not Change The War - The Ukraine Is Still Losing - Moon of Alabama, March 25 2022
*No - Such Propaganda Delusions Will Not Win The War - Moon of Alabama, June 8 2023
Good to see that this obvious truth is finally sinking in.
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Yesterday the Minister of Defense in Russia, Sergei Shoigu, gave an update (in Russian) on the war in Ukraine. The speech seemed to include a time frame for the war to end (machine translation):
The United States and its allies continue to arm the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the Kiev regime throws untrained soldiers into senseless assaults, for slaughter.
Such cynical actions by the West and their cronies in Kiev only encourage Ukraine to self-destruct."
"Under these conditions, we continue to increase the combat power of the Armed Forces, including through the supply of modern weapons and improving the training of troops, taking into account the experience of a special military operation. Consistent implementation of the activities of the Action Plan until 2025 will allow us to achieve our goals."
Shoigu expects the war to run throughout 2024 and into 2025. But if the current loss rate of the Ukrainian army continues the country will be running out of soldiers and armored vehicles before the end of next year.
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Schadenfreude:
*Canada's House speaker steps down after making tribute to Nazi veteran
*Canada’s honoring of Nazi vet exposes Ottawa’s longstanding Ukraine policy
*60 Minutes video (1997) about Nazis war criminals living in Canada
Posted by b on September 27, 2023 at 13:50 UTC | Permalink
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/09/m ... .html#more
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U.S. sees Ukrainian army demoralized, no chance to win: Seymour Hersh
Originally published: Al Mayadeen on September 21, 2023 (more by Al Mayadeen) | (Posted Sep 27, 2023)
Citing a U.S. official familiar with current intelligence, U.S. journalist Seymour Hersh said that the U.S. intelligence believes that the Ukrainian forces have become demoralized and have no chance of winning, adding that there currently exists no discussion in Kiev or the White House regarding a ceasefire.
In a new post on his Substack account, Hersh said,
There are significant elements in the American intelligence community, relying on field reports and technical intelligence, who believe that the demoralized Ukraine army has given up on the possibility of overcoming the heavily mined three-tier Russian defense lines and taking the war to Crimea and the four oblasts seized and annexed by Russia. The reality is that Volodymyr Zelensky’s battered army no longer has any chance of a victory.
Hersh also noted there is no interest in peace talks. Quoting the official, Hersh continued that Ukraine’s claims of incremental progress in the offensive constitute of “all lies”.
The renowned investigative journalist reported last month that the CIA informed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the Ukrainian counteroffensive would not likely yield results.
This information, said Hersh, came from a U.S. intelligence official, who stated more specifically, that “the word was getting to him [Blinken] through the Agency [CIA] that the Ukrainian offense was not going to work. It was a show by Zelensky and there were some in the administration who believed his bullshit.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has been calling on his Western allies for months to provide his military with long-range missiles, arguing that this could drastically improve the outcome of the counteroffensive. But before that, it was the anti-air missiles, the advanced offense tanks, heavily armored troop carriers, and the HIMARS system.
Ukraine is depleting resources at an unsustainable rate, firing 90,000 artillery rounds per month when the Pentagon is only capable of producing a third of that number, while also losing around 20 percent of NATO-provided weapons–that were either destroyed or damaged–within the first two weeks of the counteroffensive, which saw very limited ground gains since it was launched almost three months ago.
https://mronline.org/2023/09/27/u-s-see ... our-hersh/
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Nobody Who Fought Against Russia Could Possibly Be Bad!
Having fought against Russia at any point in history is just reflexively assumed to have put you on the right side.
Caitlin Johnstone
September 26, 2023
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Just because Ukraine has Nazi paramilitaries and just because it’s impossible to take photos of Ukrainian soldiers without capturing Nazi insignia and just because Ukrainian Nazis get applauded in parliament doesn’t mean we’re on the side of the Nazis, you crazy Russian shill.
Western minds have become so warped by cold war hysteria these last few years that it never occurred to a single person in an entire giant room full of professional politicians that someone who fought against Russia during World War II might be a bad guy. Having fought against Russia at any point in history is just reflexively assumed to have put you on the right side.
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Remember when US liberals were conditioned to hate Russia by a completely false narrative which was fed to the media by the western intelligence cartel, while the west was engaging in actions that same intelligence cartel knew would provoke a war with Russia? Crazy coincidence.
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If you think the US government has been doing evil things in Ukraine, wait til the information becomes declassified in a few decades about the real nasty shit they were up to behind the veil of government secrecy.
The media and online psyops alone will be jaw dropping.
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I love how it’s no longer seriously disputed that NATO expansion provoked this war and even the head of NATO now admits it, so now empire apologists’ only argument is claiming that Russia simply shouldn’t have viewed NATO expansion as a threat. As though that’s an answer.
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They work so hard on internet control for the same reason they’ve worked so hard on media control: to control the public. The easiest way to control people is to control how they think, and the easiest way to control how they think is to control what information they consume.
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When Russia and China draw a “red line”, it’s about a threat to their national security on their own borders. When the US draws a “red line”, it’s about the internal affairs of another country on the other side of the world.
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I guess if you spend generations training a population to believe that it’s perfectly fine and normal for your government to work to topple communist governments around the world solely because they are communist, a lot of them will be on board when it’s time to go after China.
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The US empire is a global version of Israel. One’s a nation that can only exist by endless war, the other’s a globe-spanning power structure of allies, assets, military bases, and economic/monetary norms that can only exist by endless war.
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The fastest way to get me to completely lose interest in your analysis is to start pouring your energy into divisive culture war issues. In a world that’s hurtling toward nuclear annihilation and environmental collapse there’s just no reason to be running around shitting on trans people and shrieking about pronouns or whatever. Even if you’re generally right about other important issues, the fact that you think that’s a wise expenditure of your political energy tells me you don’t truly understand the gravity of those other issues and only have a very limited perspective.
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Leftists who oppose past wars but never the present one are the absolute worst. Their posture on past wars allows them enough anti-imperialist cred to maintain influence over leftist circles, while their position on what’s happening here and now (the only thing that actually matters) is indistinguishable from John Bolton or Lindsey Graham.
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The most significant feature of leftists as a group is the same as the most significant feature of any other group: they’re mostly confused, dysfunctional, and dominated by ego. That’s just where the human species is at right now. Socialism has failed to manifest in the western world for a whole host of reasons, but a big one is just that humans are too easily distracted, divided, manipulated and led astray to create a healthy world at this particular point in spacetime. We’re not going to be able to organize effectively and start moving toward health until we wake up from the dysfunctional relationship with thought that allows manipulators to continually neuter and nullify our political energy.
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2023/09 ... ly-be-bad/
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."