Penrhys, Rhondda Page
A page telling the story of a unique magical village - Penrhys, in the Rhondda !
Poet's Page
music and opinion from Wales' wandering poet.
Peace Page
3 minutes and 50 seconds.... to reduce stress!
(only on youtube)
'come and see'
- a partisan film
Watch this film --- and you
will - finally - understand.
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=NJYOg4ORc1w
Some in the West are fond
of a loose use of words...
''stunning'', for example, to describe
a work of art... but believe me
when I say - this film about a
lad of 14 - made me laugh
and cry and - by the end
- I was left stunned.
A recent attempt on youtube by an obvious anti-Russian, to pour scorn on this film's historical accuracy, tries to point out that the nazi troops state they are members of a unit that was not there.. but can't bring himself to see that they might have been lying!
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St. John of Kronstadt Orthodox
SpiritualCare Centre
THE TRAGEDY IN UKRAINE
"Veterans and children of the Great PatrioticWar: to the Government andpeopleof Germany".
By events in Ukraine
Today, when the German government decided
to supply Ukraine with lethal weapons, the
world has changed -- the silhouettes of a
new world war are more than clearly
outlined! And again - Germany!
But there are honest people in Germany.. anti-
fascists, and we hope that this Message will
fall into their hands. People born between
1927 and 1945 have the status of "war
children" in Russia.
All those who survived that war can subscribe to this letter. We think that actual signatures are not necessary, we suggest that veterans(or "war children"), read them this letter, independently or with someone's help,
and send us (at the coordinatesindicated below) something like the following:
Moscow, Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich, 90 years old, disabled war veteran (or otherwise), Hero of the Soviet Union (or Holder of the Order of Glory... or otherwise), was repatriated to Germany during the war (or otherwise).
Or just the city, full name, and age. The
main thing, is that they should be real
people who are familiar with the text.
MESSAGE TEXT
We, the last veterans -- and all the peoples of
Russia who survived that great and terrible
war.. are now on the verge of death! Our
time is already running out. For a huge
part of our lives, we hoped we would
come to the end of it, in peace -
without all-destroying hatred!
For the painfully long decades after the Second World War, we overcame our righteous anger! I long for retribution for the innumerable wounds, spiritual and physical.. that we still carry in our bodies and our hearts! And most of us have forgiven! And not in a small way due to the fact that Germany for many years, has demonstrated its repentance its understanding of what it has done! And we have overcome -- not only ourselves, but also the voice of the blood of our barbarically exterminated relatives! By whom? Germans ...fascists!
We have forgiven... following the laws of human
coexistence! So it was... until 2014. And then,
in 2014, when everything began in Ukraine...
we looked with hope at Germany, and at the
then Chancellor Angela Merkel. We couldn't imagine that after all that the Germans did
in Ukraine, after Babi Yar, after mountains
of mutilated corpses, they would still look
with lust: at the Ukrainian fields that can
feed Europe today! Or they, the Germans,
who have covered the Crimea they once
promised with blood, will still somehow be interested in turning the Crimea into an American - and in general - a NATO base, ideal for aggression against Russia! Which would be clearly
aimed at afuture war.
After all -- only fools do not understand the meaning and goals of the entire coup inUkraine..... in the conditions of which Russia behaved in the only possible way! But the Germans are not fools! We the Russians, know for certain your psychology, as "brothers in blood" - our blood, which you "prudently" shed in rivers!
We remember -- your "systematic methods of
population reduction"! Our population! Until
now - in different parts of our once united
Homeland - where the boot of German
fascism was trodden, we find hidden
mass graves of our civilians: in the
Novgorod region, in the Kuban, in
the Rostov region, in Karelia. In
Belarus, in 2021... hundreds of
civilian remains... were found
in Brest ...on the site of the
Jewish ghetto the Trostenets
concentration camp.... near
Minsk terrible in its tragedy
revealed the secret of the
remains... of thousands of
tortured and killed people!
We are talking about tens of thousands of newly discovered victims of Nazism! This blood - still cries out for revenge - and for decades the memory of these barbarously destroyed
Russian people -- and monuments to Russian soldiers, liberators - have been desecrated with impunity!
And the new Nazis are marching in the Baltic
States and Ukraine - in front of the entire
"civilized" world! But, in 2014, we were
sincerely convinced - that in this new
Nazi demarche it's the Germans who
will be our associates in preventing
this meanness!
We hoped that, guided by an elementary
conscience -- the Germans would not
participate.. in an obviously fascist
anti-state coup in Ukraine! After all
...the subsequent catastrophe of
modern Ukraine was committed
by direct descendants of those
who were special bastards in
the German army! Clearly,
openly!
Americans and Canadians have only hidden and preserved this diabolical heritage... feeding thisgeneration, but the product of this evil... is Germany! Hitler's Germany! And it was impossible for us to believe that it was Germany that would again give a "road map" to these inhumans! But we were wrong! Germany has once again allowed these fascist geeks...... to enter the world!
The support of modern Germany - in the face of
the new government of Ukraine-Bandera.. the
heirs of the SS division "Galicia" -- the thugs
of the UPA OUN, and all other abominations;
is simply unthinkable for us! This is beyond
all that is human! But you.. Germany, have already done it and continue to do it! You
have, once again, set your sights on the
Slavic world and these geeks are blood
from the blood of German Nazism! And
again to Russia!
Only, even more despicable: inciting our closest Ukrainian brothers against us! And you know it! You know this as well as we do! You killed one nation in that Great War! Yes, we are one people!
The truth is written and often spoken about
by your own Steinmeier, who at the same
time, viciously took a direct part in the
Kiev coup of 2014 — fascist in fact!
This American.. may not be clear about some-
things, but it's more than that, for you! And
after all, it was your vykormysh... that got
ready.. for their torchlight processions in
Kiev! The living shadow of Nazi Germany
is behind all this. It was only temporarily
covered up by sly diplomacy - "helmets
instead of guns"! But that's it, "masks
are reset"! Your supply of German
weapons to Ukraine today... is
natural - it is in the logic of
your policy of recent
decades.
Today it is clearly pro-fascist! You have taken
this step: German weapons will kill Russians
again! Keep killing. During the years of the
conflict in the Donbas, your professional
killers have already killed Russians, at
least by teaching them... "how to kill
correctly"! Only now -- it's even more
despicable — you're teaching this to
- your blood brothers! Donbass is on
your conscience! Thousands of lives
of its peaceful citizens --- again your
handiwork! We do not care about the
role of Americans, in everything that
happens: there, is money-God! We,
veterans of that war, its children,
are concerned about the role of
the Germans! Because it is you
who know -- exactly -- who the
Ukrainian "national battalions"
consist of --- and could have
prevented and stopped, this
new fascism ! But they did
not do it! And just by doing
this -- you are once again,
responsible to history!
And you are definitely participating ---- in the
preparation of Ukraine for war with Russia!
You can't help but understand the purpose
of everything that happened ---- from the
unconstitutional coup in Kiev .....to the
bloodshed in the Donbass! But, in fact
this is preparation for the Third World
War! And again, you are Germans...
Germany! We hear from the high
German rostrum in Berlin today:
"Russia, will pay a high price"!!!
This is the German Chancellor's
speech! Unthinkable! We have
already paid the price ------ 27
million of our lives! Isn't that
enough for you?! What price
are you still talking about?
There is no home ----- in Russia, Ukraine and
Belarus - where "this price" isn't paid! And
there is no home --- in Germany, that did
not participate in that terrible, bloody
barbarism! It's scary! It's wild! And
today, there are, already, more than
13 thousand dead Russian people
in the Donbass at the hands of
the new Nazis!
The German Chancellor's public mockery of the
Russian genocide in the Donbas, is a crime in
itself! How much can the lessons of history
be misunderstood - and discredited! The
scariest story in the world! Do you want
to be even scarier?! After all, this new
"Dranch nach Oschtern" ..may lead to
the fact that the 2nd Nuremberg trial
over you will no longer be - there will
simply be no humanity! You won't be
here! But a special Ecumenical trial
of you Germans is inevitable! Over
all aggressors — but over you
ESPECIALLY!
World justice will be served! And we --- the last
veterans of that terrible war, are leaving this
world ---- as witnesses! Witnesses for the
PROSECUTION! And today the victory
will be ours, but those who died
yesterday, or those of us who
will die today, already bear
witness to the role of the
German people, in the
history of the human
world — a bloody
history!
German weapons are back in the
hands of Nazi thugs! Please stop!
Email addresses for information:
veterans1945@yandex.ru
https://t.me/Veteran_v_stroy_chat
- Russian Union of Veterans: organizing
questions and collecting signatures of
veterans and children of the Second
World War
****************************
veteran1944@yandex.ru -questions about
this publication to its author: Monk John (Adlivankin), Deputy Head of the Russian Orthodox Church. head and ved.
specialist.... of the St. Peter's
Orthodox Counseling Centre.
St. John of Kronstadt.
__________________________________
If you want the truth about the massacre of civilans in Bucha - paste the web address below into your browser
https://www.bitchute.com/video/6ZHPL2pTuadJ/
REQUIEM
Efran and Poet's tribute to all those killed by wars
THE LATEST NEWS
The Black Sea Fleet has refuted
the SBU's statement about the destruction of the Varshavyanka in Novorossiysk
by Marina Sovina (night editor)
December 15th, 11:44pm
(Lenta.ru)
The head of the Black Sea Fleet's press service,
Captain 1st Rank, Alexey Rulev, said that the
''information'' ....of the special services of
Ukraine, about the alleged destruction
of one of the Russian submarines is
not true.
A representative of the Black Sea Fleet noted that Ukraine's
attempt to carry out a sabotage using an unmanned
underwater vehicle did not achieve its objectives.
No ships or submarines of the Black Sea Fleet were damaged
during the sabotage in the Novorossiysk base. The crews
rocket troops and artillery groups of troops of the Armed
Forces of the Russian Federation destroyed transport
infrastructure facilities involved in the delivery of
Western weapons to Ukraine," the Defense
Ministry said, in a daily summary.
In addition, air defense forces on Monday night destroyed
130 Ukrainian drones in the sky over Russian regions.
______________________________________________
Defense Ministry: Russian Armed Forces
Liberated Peschannoye in the
Dnepropetrovsk Region
December 15th, 9:42am
(Vesti.ru)
Russian troops have liberated the village of Peschanoye in the
Dnepropetrovsk region, according to the daily report by the
Russian Ministry of Defense.
The settlement was taken under control --- by fighters of the
Vostok group of the Russian Armed Forces, the report says.
Earlier, it was reported that during the week, Russian military
personnel liberated eight settlements in the special military
operation zone, including the city of Seversk in the DPR.
______________________________
RIA Novosti: Russian Airborne Trooper
Single-Handedly ----- Captures
Ukrainian Stronghold
December 15th, 5:52am
(Vesti.ru)
A soldier from the 11th Guards Air Assault Brigade with the call
sign Grant took control of an AFU stronghold single-handedly.
This was reported by his colleague with the call sign Filin.
In a conversation with a RIA Novosti correspondent, Filin noted
that the task of taking a fortified position was initially
assigned to a group, but during the advance, one
of the fighters was wounded. Grant, however,
decided to continue the combat mission
on his own.
"He was able to advance, shoot, throw grenades at the enemy,
and capture a stronghold. Three or four people were opposing
him. Everyone was surprised that such a young guy could do
that," Filin said.
The paratrooper also noted that he did not expect such actions
from a young soldier at first, but in a combat situation, Grant
proved himself to be an experienced fighter.
Earlier, it was reported that a Russian soldier saved an elderly
civilian -------- after a Ukrainian drone attack - on a civilian car.
____________________________________
TASS: AFU militants surrender
via QR codes on "dollars"
December 15th, 5:49am
(Vesti.ru)
Soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are actively
surrendering after being dropped fake dollar bills
with a QR code printed on them that leads to
a corresponding Telegram bot.
This was reported by TASS, citing a source
in the Russian security forces.
According to the source, the surge of those who want to
lay down their arms always occurs after the next drop
of "currency" on the positions of militants.
"In Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, Telegram bots for surrendering
work well. We also add leaflets with QR codes to the bot.
Sometimes.. instead of leaflets, we drop fake dollars,
and there is always a surge of Ukrainian soldiers
willing to surrender," he said.
The security forces added that there are sometimes
provocations: soldiers of the Armed Forces of
Ukraine who do not intend to surrender
write to the Telegram bot for no
reason. However, such
provocateurs ---- are
quickly identified
and blocked.
Earlier, a Russian Armed Forces soldier with the call sign Wind
said that almost all of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters
who are captured by the Russian military, say that they
are cooks or drivers, and that they were forced to go to the front.
___________________________________
Krasava, a Russian Armed Forces soldier:
encircling the Ukrainian Armed Forces
in Gulyai-Pole
December 15th, 4:59am
(Vesti.ru)
Russian military personnel ...have encircled Ukrainian Armed
Forces fighters in Gulyaypole city in the Zaporizhzhia region.
This was reported by the commander of the group, who
goes by the call sign Krasava, to the Russia 24
TV channel.
It is reported that the village of Varvarovka, which was liberated
by Russian troops, is the last settlement along the Pokrovskoye-Gulyaypole supply route.
"Every section is important, because there was a field road in this
section. The enemy was rolling across the river. We cut off the
road and cut off their supply lines. In other words, we are
slowly encircling them in Gulyai-Pole," Krasava said.
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that the servicemen
of the Russian Armed Forces of the Vostok group - completed the
liberation of the village of Varvarovka in the Zaporozhye region
- and continue to advance into the depth of the AFU defense.
_____________________________________
Senior Lieutenant Alzhanov destroyed an
APU ammunition depot in the SVO zone
December 13th, 9:20pm
(Izvestia.ru)
The commander of a tank company, Senior Lieutenant Renat Alzhanov, destroyed an ammunition depot of the Armed Forces of Ukraine - during the fulfillment of a combat mission.
Russia's Ministry of Defense reports on the feats of the military personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the zone of the special military operation (SVO).
After receiving the coordinates of the designated target --- the commander of the tank company secretly moved the combat vehicle to a firing position and began firing. As a result of accurate and targeted shooting, both the ammunition depot ----- and the enemy personnel, numbering up to five people, were destroyed.
It is noted that during the operation, Russian soldiers were exposed to enemy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
However, the professional and courageous leadership of the senior lieutenant allowed them to complete their tasks... without any losses.
The Ministry of Defense also reported --- that Senior Lieutenant Sayan Khadnaev, commander of a self- propelled artillery battery, completed the task of destroying an armoured group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
It was clarified that, as a result, two infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and two mortar crews that were trying to attack Russian soldiers... were destroyed.
As a result, the enemy lost its defensive capabilities, which led to its subsequent defeat.
___________________________________________
Grandmother Nadia on the liberation
of Seversk:"It was like I had
entered paradise"
by Maria Panyutina
December 13th, 7:01pm
(Komsomolskaya Pravda)
TO SHARE
A resident of Seversk --- shared her
impressions of the city's liberation
Photo: Alexey BULATOV.
A resident of Seversk Nadezhda Kondrashova spoke about
how the townspeople survived the years of occupation -
and felt relief after liberation. The woman shared her
first impressions - emotionally - with the military
correspondent of KP.RU, Grigory Kubatyan.
"I came to Lisichansk with the help of Russian guys. I was
well received. It was like - I had gone to heaven, after those cellars. We were waiting for the Russians, for our own people. It may have been four years.... but we did not give in," said Grandmother Nadia.
Nadezhda Kondrashova, a resident of the liberated city of
Seversk, thanked our soldiers and described life in the
city while it was under the control of the Ukrainian
Armed Forces.
Grandmother Nadya waited for our soldiers in Seversk
Kondrashova clarified that Seversk was completely destroyed
after the shelling. For 4 years, the residents of the city lived
under the occupation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and
tried to resist on their own. The woman emphasized that
the population.. was overjoyed to see Russian soldiers.
Earlier, KP.RU wrote that Russian fighters on December 11,
established full control over Seversk. Currently - work is
underway to clear basements and de-mine residential
buildings. Russian President Vladimir Putin noted,
that the previously given promise to liberate
Seversk by December 15th...... was
fulfilled on time.
___________________________________________
Poddubny: We talked with Belousov ---- about
problems in important areas and directions
December 13th, 5:53pm
(Vesti.ru)
At a working meeting of military correspondents with Russian
Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, the issues in important
areas and directions were discussed. This was reported
by VGTRK war correspondent and Hero of the Russian
Federation Yevgeny Poddubny.
The dialogue was extremely constructive and frank, he said.
"I can't give you any details --- such meetings are held behind closed
doors. We talked about problems in the most important areas, and
directions. First of all, about the development of new unmanned
systems," Poddubny wrote in his Telegram channel.
The war correspondent noted - that the Minister is controlling the
modernization of weapons, the logistical support of the Russian
Armed Forces - and other issues. The meeting also discussed
new social support projects ----- for participants in the smo.
The Ukrainian military leadership sent soldiers to positions
near Seversk in the Donetsk People's Republic without
prior information that the town was already under the control of the Russian army.
This was told in an interview with TASS by a serviceman of
the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) Viktor Demidov, who
surrendered to the servicemen of the "South" group
of troops.
"We were told that there was a second front line. We were led
there by a drone. When we arrived, we didn't even know that
there were Russian soldiers around. We spent four days in
a bunker," he said.
According to the prisoner, there were four older men in their unit
who had health problems. These problems were not taken into
account during the mobilization, and they were sent to the so
-called "second front line." Demidov also reported that on
the fourth day, the group decided to surrender.
Earlier --- a prisoner from the 53rd Mechanized Brigade of the
Armed Forces of Ukraine Yaroslav Doly said that Ukrainian
soldiers are sent to the front line in summer uniforms.
On December 11th, the Russian Ministry of Defense
showed footage from the liberated city of Seversk.
___________________________________
Solovyov: In Dimitrov,the remnants of the defeated Ukrainian garrison are surrendering en masse
December 13th, 11:39am
(Vesti.ru)
In Dimitrov, the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the remnants
of the defeated Ukrainian militant garrison, are surrendering
en masse. This was reported by journalist Vladimir Solovyov
on his Telegram channel.
According to the host, Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers
are surrendering to Russian soldiers of the 5th
Zaharchenko Brigade. Solovyov posted a
video of a Ukrainian prisoner of war.
"I am Ilya Eduardovich Fanailov - born on November 1, 1992, in Kramatorsk city. I voluntarily surrendered,"
the militant said.
____________________________________________
Platoon commander with the call sign Tyrone:
the enemy in Gulyai-Pole abandoned
everything and fled
December 13th, 11:13am
(Vesti.ru)
During the first breakthrough in Gulyai-Pole in the Zaporizhzhia
region, Russian troops captured two streets.... almost without
resistance. Ukrainian soldiers abandoned their positions and
retreated, as the commander of a platoon with the call sign
"Tiron" revealed in an exclusive interview with Russia 1
TV channel.
"We took two streets at once with our first push. They
just threw everything and ran away. There was
almost no fighting," the soldier said.
Systematic clearing continues ---- in the occupied neighbourhoods
of Gulyai-Pole. UAVs are working ahead of the infantry, scanning
the area for several kilometres. Their task -- detect the enemy,
warn about a counterattack, and clear the way ------ for the
motorized riflemen.
"The Armed Forces of Ukraine are trying to hold their positions,
but they are unsuccessful. They are moving from house to
house, trying to gain a foothold. However, our recon
forces and our infantry comrades are advancing,"
said the commander of the UAV strike platoon,
who goes by the call sign "Honda."
Earlier, VGTRK war correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny
reported that Gulyaypole and its surroundings are
under full fire control by Russian drones.
________________________________________
Kovalenko: The night strike on Odessa was
the most massive in the entire south
of Ukraine
December 13th, 9:41am
(Vesti.ru)
The nighttime air strike on Odessa was the most massive
attack on the region. This was stated by the Ukrainian
military expert, Alexander Kovalenko.
The expert claims that the purpose of the attack was to
"disable the energy sector throughout the region."
"Without exaggeration, this is the most massive
raid on Odessa and the region," he wrote on
his Telegram channel.
He also pointed out that the air defense system had
demonstrated its vulnerability from the sea.
Later, this attack was described as the largest not only for
the Odessa region, but for the entire south of Ukraine.
On December 13th, the head of the city's military administration
reported that a significant part of Odessa is left without heating
and water supply due to the shutdown of energy infrastructure
facilities that provided heat and water. On the same day,
Ukrainian media reported that air raid alerts were
issued in 11 regions of the country,
including Kyiv.
On the night of December 13, the Russian Armed Forces launched
a massive attack on the military-industrial complex (MIC) and
energy facilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). The
Russian Ministry of Defense noted that the attack was
carried out using high-precision ground- and sea-
based weapons..... aeroballistic hypersonic
Kinzhal missiles, and long-range drones.
The Russian Armed Forces began striking Ukrainian infrastructure
on October 10th, 202 ----, two days after the terrorist attack on the
Crimean Bridge, which Russia's authorities believe was carried
out by Ukrainian intelligence agencies.
The Russian side also claims to have targeted defense industry
facilities, military command and control systems, and
communication networks throughout Ukraine.
__________________________________
Russian air defense forces shot down two
HIMARS missiles and 169 drones in the
SVO zone..... during the day
December 13th, 9:28am
(Vesti.ru)
"Two US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launchers and 169 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down by air defense systems," the Russian Ministry of Defense report said.
The ministry clarified that since the start of the special operation,
a total of 669 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 102,347 drones, 639 anti-
aircraft missile systems, and other equipment....... have
been destroyed.
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry said that a serviceman
Khabibullin saved two wounded comrades in the SVO zone.
In the Sumy region, the Russian Armed Forces destroyed the
personnel and equipment of two mechanized, motorized
infantry, infantry, Jaeger, and assault brigades, two
assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces,
three territorial defense brigades, and a border
detachment of the Ukrainian Border
Guard Service.
Over the course of a week - the enemy lost more than 1,470
troops, as well as a tank, 8 armoured vehicles, 72 vehicles,
12 field artillery pieces, 2 counter-battery radar stations,
and 18 ammunition and material depots in the area of
responsibility of the Northern Group of Forces.
The troops of the Zapad military group - continued to destroy the
Ukrainian Armed Forces group encircled on the left bank of the
Oskol River. The settlements of Kurilovka and Kucherovka, in
the Kharkiv region - were liberated. It is also reported that formations of 4 mechanized, airborne, 2 assault brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a territorial defense brigade, and two brigades of the National Guard - were defeated.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces - lost more than 1,530 soldiers in this
area, as well as 2 tanks, 34 armoured vehicles, 17 of which were
of Western production, 98 vehicles, and 11 field artillery pieces.
Seven electronic warfare stations and 47 ammunition depots
were destroyed.
Over the past week, units of the Southern Group of Forces have
liberated the settlements of Seversk and Chervonoye (DPR).
The group's fighters defeated the personnel and equipment of
four mechanized, airborne, two assault, airborne-assault, and
mountain-assault brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,
a marine infantry brigade, 2 territorial defense brigades,
and two National Guard brigades.
Over the course of the week.... the South Military Group's forces
suffered over 1,095 casualties, including 24 armoured vehicles
(6 manufactured by NATO countries), 81 vehicles, and 8 field
The Black Sea Fleet's forces destroyed an unmanned Ukrainian
Armed Forces boat in the central part of the Black Sea.
In response to the terrorist attacks of Ukraine on civilian objects on
Russia's territory ------- the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
from December 6 to 12 launched a massive strike and five group
strikes -- including aeroballistic hypersonic missiles "Dagger",
as a result of which, the enterprises of the military industry
of Ukraine and the objects of the fuel and energy complex
that provided their work, transport, airfield and port
infrastructure used in the interests of the Armed
Forces of Ukraine, assembly shops, places of
storage, pre-flight training and launch of
long-range attack UAVs, fuel depots
and military-technical equipment
as well as temporary locations
of Kiev's armed formations
and foreign mercenaries
- were hit.
________________________________
A Russian Armed Forces soldier ---
who raised the flag in the centre
of Krasnoarmeyskfelt proud
of his country
December 12th, 11:25am
(Vesti.ru)
In an exclusive interview with Russia 1, a Russian soldier
with the call sign "Electrode", said that he felt proud of
his country --- when he raised the national flag in the
liberated city of Krasnoarmeysk, in the Donetsk
People's Republic.
On December 1, it became known that Russian troops had
liberated Krasnoarmeysk. A fighter - with the call sign
Elektrod, raised the Russian flag in the centre of
the city --- near Donetsk University.
"I felt proud. For the guys, for
Russia," the soldier shared.
_________________________________
Ushakov: A ceasefire can only be achieved
...after the Ukrainian Armed Forces
withdraw from Donbas
December 12th, 10:48am
(Vesti.ru)
A ceasefire in Ukraine can only be achieved after the
withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbas,
according to Yuri Ushakov, an aide to
the Russian president.
He made these statements in
a comment to journalists.
"A ceasefire can only be achieved -------- after the
withdrawal of Ukrainian troops," Ushakov said.
According to Ushakov, the head of the Kiev regime,
Vladimir Zelensky, still opposes the withdrawal
of Ukrainian troops from this territory.
"And this -- is one of the requirements that the Americans
make to him, yes. In any case - whatever the situation -
this territory is the Russian Federation's territory and
it will be under the control of our administrations,"
the Russian presidential aide added.
Earlier, Ushakov suggested that Zelensky may consider
the Ukrainian presidential election ...as a chance to
achieve a temporary ceasefire.
_________________________________
Russian Defense Ministry: Kiev Allows
UAVs ------- to Drop Poisonous Shells
December 12th, 7:36am
(Vesti.ru)
The Kiev regime plans to drop shells with chemical warfare
agents --- from drones. This was announced by Alexey
Rtishchev, the head of the Radiation, Chemical
and Biological Protection Troops (RCBP) of
the Russian Armed Forces.
He said that during the offensive in the Vremyevka tactical
area, on December 9th --- the Ukrainian Armed Forces'
unmanned systems control centre was destroyed.
It contained documents --- related to the technical
requirements for the Ukrainian-made Baba Yaga
unmanned aerial vehicle.
"These documents -- were agreed upon with the National Guard
of Ukraine in 2024. According to paragraph 39 of the technical
requirements, the UAV must deliver up to 15 artillery shells
equipped with "nerve-paralyzing, skin-irritating, or
suffocating agents," he said.
Rtishchev noted that, contrary to the requirements of the
Chemical Weapons Convention, the Kiev regime - openly
admits the possibility of using chemical warfare agents.
He clarified that since the start of the special military operation,
NATO countries have supplied Ukraine ------- with 280,000 military protective suits and gas masks, 150,000 sets of antidotes ------- and 20,000 tests for the rapid detection of chemical warfare agents.
In addition, in 2025, Kyiv requested over 200,000 gas masks
and chemical protection suits, as well as more than
160,000 individual dosimeters.
________________________________
Russian Defense Ministry: Ukraine continues
to use banned chemical weapons in its
conflict with Russia
December 12th, 7:28am
(Vesti.ru)
The Russian military department - has recorded systematic
violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention by Kiev.
This was stated by Major General Alexey Rtishchev, Chief of
the Chemical Defense Troops of the Russian Armed Forces,
at a briefing on Friday.
"During the special military operation, more than 600 cases of
the use by the Ukrainian side of chemical means to combat
riots - chloroacetophenone CS - and listed chemicals, such
as chloropicrin, and prussic acid --- were documented," the Major General said.
According to him, the Armed Forces of Ukraine regularly use
TRN-6, as well as improvised ammunition containing a
mixture of chloropicrin and chloroacetophenone.
Caches containing these substances have been discovered
in the village of Ratitnoye, in the Belgorod region.
"In 2025 -- similar attempts were made in the Lugansk and
Donetsk People's Republics. Attempts to poison Russian
military personnel, and officials of the administration of the new regions, continue," Rtishchev said.
He added that a sabotage attempt using poisoned
drinks was prevented ------- in November 2025.
"Attempts to sabotage using drinks containing a mixture of
toxic chemicals, a chemical compound comparable in
toxicity and speed of action to the nerve agent VX,
have been prevented. One of the perpetrators
has been detained and has confessed,"
the Major General said.
The Major General also recalled the attempts by Ukrainian
nationalists to destroy chemical facilities in the DPR and
LPR ------ which poses a threat to civilian populations.
__________________________________
TASS: The liberation of Seversk ---- poses
a threat to the Ukrainian Armed Forces'
rear communications
December 12th, 4:12am
(Vesti.ru)
The liberation of the town of Seversk in the Donetsk
People's Republic (DPR), will allow Russian forces
-- to increase the effectiveness of using artillery
and unmanned systems against the Ukrainian
Armed Forces' rear communications,
according to the Russian
security agencies.
According to the source, the capture of the city led to the
elimination of the so-called Seversk salient ---- and
"straightened" the front line. This - in turn -
creates conditions for a more effective
use of strike weapons.... and UAV
systems, which poses a threat
to the rear communications
of the Ukrainian troops.
The source added that the liberation of Seversk - was an
important step for the Russian army's further advance.
The city served as a preliminary frontier ---- and its
capture ----- led Russian forces to the next
defensive line of the enemy, the
Sloviansk-Kramatorsk line.
On December 11, Russian President's Press Secretary Dmitry
Peskov said that Seversk was completely under the control
of the Russian military. Russia's leader, Vladimir Putin,
thanked the military for the liberation of the city.
In turn, the adviser to the head of the DPR, Igor Kimakovsky,
noted that the liberation of this settlement opens the way
to Slavyansk.... for the Russian Armed Forces.
_______________________________________________
"STRANA.ua": In Odessa--- TSK
employees forcibly mobilized
a courier
December 11th, 10:17pm
(RT.ru)
In Odessa, five military registration and enlistment office
employees forcibly mobilized a courier, according
to STRANA.ua.
In the footage published by the publication, it can be seen
that the TSK officers are forcibly trying to put the courier
in a minibus. The man is resisting and shouting.
It is noted that no police officers, whose
presence is mandatory, were seen.
___________________________________________
RIA Novosti: Foreign Mercenaries
Massively flee.... the Armed
Forces of Ukraine
December 11th, 9:03pm
(RT.ru)
Foreign mercenaries are mass-terminating their
contracts with the Ukrainian Armed Forces
and fleeing.
This is reported by RIA Novosti with reference
to Russian law enforcement agencies.
"Foreign mercenaries are fleeing the Ukraine Armed Forces," the agency quoted the source as saying.
According to him, the mercenaries are afraid
that they will be sent to the assault troops.
Earlier, Russian security agencies told TASS
that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have
almost no mercenaries.. in the
Zaporizhzhia direction.
___________________________________
In Odessa,TSK officers beat
a Ukrainian military man....
undergoing rehabilitation
December 11th, 6:53pm
(RT.ru)
In Odessa, military enlistment office employees beat
and forced a military serviceman in rehabilitation
to get into a car.
This is reported by UNIAN.
"In Odessa, they bussed a Marine who was undergoing rehabilitation," the agency's Telegram channel says.
It is clarified that the incident occurred on December 4th.
The man was stopped by TSK officers, and despite the
fact that he presented his documents, they forced
him into a car, beat him, and then "threw him
out of the car while it was moving."
According to the regional military registration and
enlistment office, an investigation.. is underway.
The STRANA.ua Telegram channel noted that residents
of Odessa - broke into a minibus carrying Ukrainian
military enlistment office employees to rescue
forcibly mobilized people.
_____________________________
Putin: The enemy expected the
Russian Armed Forces to get
bogged down in the assault
on Seversk
December 11th, 4:16pm
(Vesti.ru)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Ukrainian Armed
Forces -- were unable to stop the Russian army's advance,
despite the reinforced defensive positions established
near Seversk and in the city itself.
"We understand that - by creating this fortified area in the area of
Seversk and in the city itself -- the enemy was counting on the
fact that we would get bogged down there -- in the assault of
this city and thereby it will be able to contain our offensive",
Putin said on Thursday during a meeting on the situation in
the zone of the SVO in the mode of a videoconference.
The frames were shown by the TV channel
"Russia 24"
The Head of State thanked the military personnel for the capture
of Seversk, noting that it was possible to do this thanks to the
coordinated work of the commanders of the associations.
"The enemy failed, but you succeeded in everything you planned
and everything you intended. Congratulations," he said,
addressing Sergei Medvedev, commander of the
Southern Group of Forces.
_________________________________
Putin - remembered the woman's
words in Dagestan:said and did
December 11th, 4:12pm
(Vesti.ru)
During a meeting on the situation in the special operation zone,
the President of Russia recalled the words of a woman in
Dagestan. He told the military personnel about it. The
footage was broadcast by the Russia 24 TV channel.
According to the President, the trip took place a long time ago,
after the completion of an important anti-terrorist operation.
"I went there to meet with the guys, including the local volunteers.
And there was a woman standing next to me, a beautiful young
woman from the mountains, and she took my hand and said,
'You said it and you did it. You're a man.' I want to return
these words to you and all your commanders and
soldiers. You said it and you did it. You're a
man!" said the President.
Earlier, the Russian leader thanked the military personnel
for the liberation of Seversk and announced that the
creation of a security zone in the border regions
of Ukraine is proceeding as planned.
_____________________________________
Russian Armed Forces -
advance on Slavyansk
December 11th, 2:41pm
(Vesti.ru)
The Russian Armed Forces are advancing on the town of
Slavyansk in the Donetsk People's Republic. This was
reported by Denis Pirogov, commander of the 123rd
Motorized Rifle Brigade, during a meeting on the
situation in the special military operation zone
with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He also said that the Russian military has full control of
the settlement of Seversk. Before that, the adviser to
the head of the DPR Igor Kimakovsky said that the
liberation of Seversk opens the way to Slavyansk.
"After the liberation of Seversk, units of the 3rd Army continue
their offensive towards Sloviansk," the army commander said.
Earlier, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces,
Army General Valery Gerasimov, reported that the Russian Armed
Forces - are successfully advancing in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
___________________________________
Gerasimov: the Russian Armed Forces
liberated Kurilovka in Kharkiv Region
December 11th, 2:40pm
(Vesti.ru)
The Russian Armed Forces have liberated the village of Kurilovka
in the Kharkiv region. This was announced during a meeting on
the situation in the special operation zone by the Chief of the
General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Army General
Valery Gerasimov. The footage was shown by the
Russia 24 TV channel.
The fighting is being conducted in accordance with the plan of
the special military operation, he said to Russian President
Vladimir Putin. The armed forces have expanded their
control over territories in the areas south and south
west of Yunakovka in the Sumy region and south
of the city of Volchansk.. in the Kharkiv region.
The village of Lyman has also been liberated,
and fighting is ongoing for Vilcha.
"After the liberation of Kupyansk, the Zapad group of troops
continues fighting to defeat the encircled enemy east of
the city on the left bank of the Oskol River. Squeezing
the encirclement ring, assault units liberated the
settlements of Kucherovka and Kurilovka,"
Gerasimov said.
He added ------- that active operations are being carried out, in the
Krasnolimansky and Rubtsovsky directions to capture the large
railway hub and logistics centre of Krasny Liman, as well as
the settlements of Drobyshevo and Yarovoye.
_______________________________
Gerasimov: Russian Armed Forces are
fighting for Vilcha - in Kharkiv Region
December 11th, 2:34pm
(Vesti.ru)
Russian troops are fighting for Vilcha in the Kharkiv region.
This - was announced by Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the
General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, during a
meeting on the situation in the special operation
zone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The footage was broadcast by Russia
24 TV channel.
He noted that in the area of responsibility of the North military
group, the main efforts are focused on - increasing the depth
of the security zone in the border regions of the Sumy and
Kharkiv regions.
"Over the past week, our troops have expanded their control over
territories in the areas south and southwest of Yunakovka in the
Sumy region --- as well as south of the city of Volchansk in the
Kharkiv region. The village of Liman, has been liberated, and
fighting is ongoing for the village of Vilcha," Gerasimov said.
Earlier, Russia's President, Vladimir Putin, thanked
the military personnel for the liberation of Seversk.
______________________________
Russian Defense Ministry: Russian Troops ---
Strike Ukraine's Fuel and Energy Facilities
December 11th, 1:02pm
(Vesti.ru)
Russian troops have attacked Ukrainian energy and fuel complex
facilities used in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
This was reported in the Ministry of Defense of the
Russian Federation.
The attack - was carried out by operational-tactical
aviation, strike drones, missile forces, and artillery.
"Power and fuel facilities used by the Armed Forces
of Ukraine have been destroyed," the report says.
In addition, Russian Armed Forces troops struck temporary
bases of Ukrainian militants and foreign mercenaries
in 152 areas.
On December 6, Russian military personnel launched a massive
attack on Ukraine's energy facilities. As a result of the attack -
areas in the Odessa, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk,
and Mykolaiv regions, were left without power.
__________________________
The Russian army has taken control
of Lyman.... in the Kharkiv region
December 11th, 9:09am
(Vesti.ru)
The Russian Armed Forces (RAF) have liberated
the village of Lyman in the Kharkiv region.
This is reported ---- by the Ministry of
Defense of the Russian Federation.
"The units of the Northern Group of Forces --- have
completed the liberation of the village of Lyman,
in the Kharkiv region through active operations,"
the report said.
Earlier, Russian troops liberated Ostapovskoye
and expanded the buffer zone by 1 km.
__________________________________
Lavrov: Trump is sincerely committed
to resolving the conflict in Ukraine
December 11th, 8:47am
(Vesti.ru)
US President, Donald Trump, is sincerely committed to helping
overcome the conflict in Ukraine. This was stated by Russian
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during the embassy round
table on the settlement of the situation around Ukraine.
The footage was broadcast on the air of "Russia 24".
Lavrov praised Trump's role in resolving the conflict in
Ukraine. According to him, Russia welcomes the
American president's efforts.
"We must give credit to the current American leader, who, upon
returning to the White House, has really taken up this issue
and, in our opinion, is sincerely committed - to resolving
the conflict through political and diplomatic means.
We welcome this," Lavrov said.
However, the Russian Foreign Minister
emphasized that desire alone is
not enough.
"We need practical steps --- to address the very root causes
of the conflict, which the Russian President and members
of his government have repeatedly stated and which are
unacceptable for us ------ to draw Ukraine into NATO
--- contrary to the promises made over the past
35 years... and unacceptable ---- for us ---- to
exterminate all Russian by the Ukrainian
regime ---- in gross violation of the UN
Charter and numerous conventions,
including ---- The Constitution of
Ukraine," he said.
Earlier, Trump said that the head of the Kiev regime, Vladimir
Zelensky, should soberly assess the situation that has
developed around the conflict in Ukraine. The
politician's speech was broadcast by the
White House's Youtube channel.
___________________________________
Kimakovsky: Russian Armed Forces --
Destroyed a Group of RDK Militants
Near Krasnoarmeysk
December 11th, 5:09am
(Vesti.ru)
A group of fighters from the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC,
a terrorist organization banned in Russia) was destroyed
during a counterattack near Krasnoarmeysk. This was
reported by Igor Kimakovsky, an advisor to the head
of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).
He noted that the militants tried to act secretly, but
were detected and destroyed by intelligence.
"Near Krasnoarmeysk, our UAV operators destroyed a group
of RDK militants who intended to counterattack our
positions," Kimakovsky said, in an interview
with TASS.
Earlier, the DPR head's advisor said that the Armed Forces
of Ukraine (AFU) lost the most prepared and elite units
in Krasnoarmeysk.
In turn, VGTRK war correspondent Grigory Vdovin noted
that the liberation of Krasnoarmeysk by Russian troops
was a media defeat for the Ukrainian armed forces.
__________________________________________
RIA Novosti: 11 residents of Torsky
spent four days in a basement
due to Ukrainian attacks
by Yulia Ryabinina
December 11th, 12:36am
(Rossiyskaya Gazeta)
To share
Eleven residents of Torsky in the DPR lived in a basement for
four days before being evacuated by Russian soldiers due
to constant attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
This was reported by Lina Polyakova, a refugee
from the village, to RIA Novosti.
According to the woman, the residents of Torsky were
completely trapped in their basements - due to the
constant attacks by Ukrainian drones.
They were forced to hide there, unable
to even use the bathroom.
"We spent four days in the basement. There were 11 of us,"
the woman said, adding that the villagers only came out
when they heard Russian soldiers.
Earlier, Polyakova told how a demobilized Ukrainian soldier
beat a woman to a pulp in Torsky. It was noted, that this
man lived on the same street with her and constantly
terrorized local residents ..because of suspicions
of supporting Russia.
We will remind, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian
Federation announced the release of Torsky by units
of the group of troops "West" on May 15.
_________________________________________
Poland was surprised by plans to transfer MiG-29s to Ukraine,the president- was unaware of it
Alina Kochneva
December 10th, 10:13pm
(Komsomolskaya Pravda)
TO SHARE
The Polish leadership --- was not notified of the country's
government's intention to transfer local MiG-29 fighter
jets to Kyiv. The head of state, Karol Nawrotski, did
not receive such information. This was stated by
the head of the Bureau of International Policy
of the presidential office, Marcin Przyda,
in an interview with journalists.
According to him, the leadership was surprised - to
hear about this plan. The speaker added, that the
government should have shared the agreement
with the country's president.
"We were somewhat surprised, but also interested, to
hear these words from the government, as well as
from senior officers of the Polish army..... who
spoke about specific plans in this regard,"
said Marcin Przydać.
According to the Polish General Staff, Warsaw and Kiev
have allegedly reached an agreement on this issue.
The transfer of fighter jets, is supposed to be part of
NATO's policy to support Ukraine, according to the
statement. However, it has been revealed..... that
Warsaw intends to provide "expired" aircraft.
______________________________________________
Expert Knutov explained what prospects
the liberation of Seversk......opens up
December 10th, 5:01pm
(Vesti.ru)
The liberation of Seversk in the Donetsk direction - opens
the way to Slavyansk. This was reported by Yuri Knutov,
a military expert and historian of air defense forces,
on the Russia 24 TV channel.
He suggested that it would take more
than a few days to clear Seversk.
"Seversk is a direct route to Sloviansk. This means that
....we can now move to Sloviansk from Seversk, from
north to south, and there may be some progress,"
Knutov said.
According to Dimitrov, Russian soldiers will be
able to clear the area - in two to three weeks.
"We have an opportunity to bypass Kramatorsk to the west
through Dolgopole, the famous Dolgopole salient, and
move from south to north. This --- creates a semi-
encirclement from Seversk to Sloviansk, and
we are also moving from the bottom to the
north. This --- creates a very interesting
pattern of semi-encirclement of this
powerful group," Dimitrov noted.
On December 9, military blogger Yuri Podolyaka said
that the settlement of Seversk was coming under
the control of the Russian Armed Forces.
______________________________________________
Medinsky ---- compared EU politicians to
androids devoid of reason & emotions
December 10th, 2:39pm
(RT.ru)
The EU politicians who claim that Russia is attacking
neighbouring countries ...are androids devoid of
reason and emotion.
This opinion was expressed by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide
to the Russian president, in response to Finnish Foreign
Minister Elina Waltonen's statement, about Russia's
alleged 19 attacks on neighbouring countries
over the past 100 years.
"No, it's not even a 'methodology.' I think they're androids
carrying a recording. These are.. iron woodcutters who
have neither heart nor mind." wrote Medinsky on his
Telegram channel.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said
that the Finnish elites have not yet recovered from
“animal Russophobia”.
______________________________________
The Russian Armed Forces shot down
an AFU Baba Yaga drone with a rare
munition....using an FPV fighter
December 10th, 1:40pm
(Vesti.ru)
Russian troops operating in the Dimitrov area of the DPR
...destroyed a heavy Baba-Yaga hexacopter of the
Ukrainian Armed Forces ----- with a rare main
ammunition on board using FPV fighters.
This was announced by a Russian Armed
Forces soldier with the call sign Sokol.
It is specified that the calculation was made by unmanned
systems troops of the 56th Separate Special Purpose
Battalion (OSPB) of the 51st Army of the Southern
Military District, which are part of the Center
military group.
"Troops calculations destroyed two leading Ukrainian
hexacopter-bomber type "Baba-Yaga". When
destroying the enemy UAVs.... Russian
FPV-drones -- performed the role of
fighter-interceptors" RIA Novosti.
quotes the words of Sokol.
It is noted that the hexacopter was equipped with
a rare and large munition, presumably of a
flamethrower-incendiary type.
On November 14th, it was reported that Russia had
developed an interceptor drone ----- to combat
Ukrainian hexacopters like the Baba Yaga.
The new device costs around 163,000 rubles
.....which is significantly cheaper than the
Ukrainian Armed Forces' drone, which
can cost up to 2 million rubles.
_____________________________________
The Armed Forces of Ukraine have assured
that Syrsky's statements about Dimitrov
do not correspond to reality
December 10th, 12:50pm
(Vesti.ru)
The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have stated that
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky's statement
regarding Dimitrov (Mirnograd Ukrainian name) in
the Donetsk People's Republic - is not accurate.
According to him, the settlement is not surrounded,
but this is not the case. This was reported by Ukrainian media outlets, citing
representatives --- of the 7th
Air Assault Corps of the
Ukrainian Army.
"Commander-in-Chief Alexander Syrsky..... continues to
claim that there is no encirclement of Myrhorod, the
official information is not true," the report said.
It is emphasized --- that the Ukrainian militants are trying to
withdraw their people from the city, but they are suffering
losses in the "gray corridor".
Earlier, the VGTRK war correspondent, Hero of Russia,
Evgeny Poddubny -- reported that the Ukrainian
authorities -- continue to deny the critical
situation of the Ukrainian militants in
Dimitrov. Soldiers of the troops of
the "Center" group, continue
to destroy the encircled
Ukrainian military.
_______________________________
MWM: The Armed Forces of Ukraine, lost
one of their most indispensable fighters
December 10th, 9:39am
(Vesti.ru)
The Armed Forces of Ukraine - have lost one of their
most indispensable fighter jets. This was reported
by the Military Watch Magazine (MWM).
The publication specifies that a Su-27 fighter jet of
the Ukrainian Air Force - was shot down during a
combat mission under unclear circumstances.
The publication notes that the Su-27, which Ukraine
inherited from the Soviet Union, is considered the
most combat-ready fighter in the Ukrainian Air
Force's arsenal .....due to its high payload
capacity ......and long flight range,
although it is inferior to the
Russian Su-30SM, and
Su-35 .....in terms of
its characteristics.
The day before, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported
that the Russian Aerospace Forces shot down an Su-27
aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force. The Ministry of
Defense report - stated that Russian military
personnel not only destroyed a Ukrainian
Su-27, but also.... struck a military
industry enterprise and energy
infrastructure facilities.
____________________________________
Lavrov: We will demand that the UN
stop playing into Ukraine's hands
December 10th, 8:40am
(Vesti.ru)
Russia will demand that the UN provide an objective review
of the facts related to the Ukrainian issue. This was stated
by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in a speech at
the "Government Hour" in the Federation Council, which
was broadcast by the Russia 24 TV channel.
Lavrov emphasized that most of the mechanisms and funds
that influence the UN Secretariat's activities are in the
hands of Western politicians, who -- "brashly exploit
them," including in relation to the Ukrainian crisis.
"Of course, we will demand that the UN stop playing one-sided
games in Ukraine & stop Ukrainianizing the activities of the
Secretariat, where the leading positions have been simply
privatized by the West, and where all policies are
dictated by NATO and EU members," the
Russian Foreign Minister said.
In addition, Sergey Lavrov said, in particular, that
Western countries are broadcasting false
information about Russia.
____________________________________
The Russian Armed Forces --- have almost
complete control over Lyman and Vilcha
in the Kharkiv region
December 10th, 4:13am
(Vesti.ru)
The settlements of Liman and Vilcha, have almost completely
come under the control of the Russian Armed Forces, as the
pace of the Russian troops' advance near Volchansk has
increased. This was reported by the military expert,
Andrey Marochko, to TASS.
He noted - that Russian fighters are
actively advancing west of Lyman.
"Lyman itself has already been almost completely taken over by
Russian troops, and most of the village of Vilcha has also been
liberated," the expert said.
Earlier, TASS wrote that the Armed Forces of Ukraine, during the
defense of Volchansk lost 46% of the personnel of the deployed
group: 8 thousand killed. On the liberation of the city, Russia's
President Vladimir Putin reported ---- on December 1.
The day before, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph
reported that the pace of the Russian fighters' offensive
in recent months, has been the fastest since 2022.
_____________________________________________
Fighter Shum: AFU militants leave elderly
comrades-in-arms in their positions
and flee
December 10th, 3:07am
(Vesti.ru)
Military personnel of the 36th motorized rifle brigade of the
Vostok group set up a flag in the centre of the village of
Pokrovskoye, located in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
A fighter with the call sign Shum told the Rossiya 1 TV channel
about the stampede of the AFU soldiers, who threw not only
equipment away, but also elderly colleagues.
According to him, during the assault on Ostapovskoye village,
Ukrainian units abandoned their equipment -- as well as
untrained mobilized and elderly fighters. The purpose
of this enemy maneuver was to create a distraction
in order to cover their own retreat.
"For the sake of distraction -- they leave the old people and
retirees behind, but they themselves, are already leaving
and running away. And they don't put up any resistance.
There's no sense of professionalism there. Either they
are retirees, or they're only mobilized, or they're
....sitting there," said the Russian soldier.
_____________________________________
Russian Armed Forces soldier Lavr told
how Ostapovskoye was liberated in
the Dnepropetrovsk region
December 10th, 2:23am
(Vesti.ru)
The Russian tricolor is now flying over the liberated village of
Ostapovskoye in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Soldiers of the
36th motorized rifle brigade of the Vostok group hoisted
the flag in the heart of the village. A Russian soldier
with the call sign Lavr, told Rossiya 1 TV channel
that the advance to the village was complicated
by the need to overcome swampy terrain.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces garrison ----- consisted of several companies, and armoured vehicles were also deployed there.
All the approaches were covered with dense minefields.
Russian assault troops found a gap in the defense,
and passed through the swamp.
"We had to wade through the swamp. But we were lucky ---- it
wasn't mined. We passed unnoticed. They weren't expecting
us on the other side, because there was waist-deep water.
It wasn't frozen yet, but it was cold and there were reeds.
There were birds flying around, but it was foggy, and you couldn't see a thing," said a Russian soldier.
The village was taken in just a few days ----- despite the fact
that the enemy clearly planned to stay there for a long time.
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed information
that units of the Vostok group of troops have liberated the
village of Ostapovskoye in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Military expert, Andriy Marochko, said that the liberation of
the settlement of Ostapivske in the Dnipropetrovsk region
.....expanded the buffer zone at the junction with the
neighbouring Zaporizhzhia region, by 1 km.
__________________________________________
Verkhovna Rada Deputy ---Accuses the
Ukrainian Armed Forces Commandof Lying About the Fate of Seversk
by Alexandra Sinitsyna
(Night Line Editor)
December 9th, 9:35pm
(Lenta.ru)
People's Deputy Bezuglaya: Seversk has actually been
taken over by the Russian Armed Forces, and the
Ukrainian Armed Forces --- are lying.
The city of Seversk in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR)
has effectively come under the control of the Russian
Armed Forces. This --- was stated by the deputy
of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Mariana
Bezuglaya in the Telegram channel.
The MP also accused the command of the Armed Forces
of Ukraine of lying about the fate of Seversk. "The
command hides and lies," Bezuglaya wrote.
On December 9th, it became known about the liberation of
Seversk, Russian troops control 99% of the city's territory.
According to military expert Anatoly Matviychuk, this event
..fully reveals the possibilities of Russia's armed forces to
take the Kramatorsk agglomeration: "this is Kramatorsk,
Slavyansk, and in fact, this is practically the end of the
offensive operation to liberate Donbass."
___________________________________________
Ukraine media reports that people are
leaving Sloviansk and Kramatorsk
by Borislav Agadzhanov
December 9th, 9:29pm
(Gazeta.ru)
Residents - are leaving the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk
in Donbas, which are under the control of the Ukrainian army.
This was reported by the newspaper Strana.ua.
The civilian population.. is concerned about the approaching front
line and the increased shelling of cities. In addition, the citizens'
hopes for an early end to the fighting have not been fulfilled, as
there has been no breakthrough in the peace negotiations. As
a result, many people are deciding to evacuate while they
still can.
In the Lviv region, a man attacked a TSK
employee with a meat tenderizer
December 9th, 8:32pm
(RT.ru)
In the Lviv region, a man attacked an employee
of a territorial recruitment centre - with a
kitchen meat tenderizer hammer.
This was reported by a spokesman of
the Western Operational Command.
According to him, the victim
was hospitalized and is in
a stable condition.
Earlier in Lviv region, a man threw a grenade
at patrolmen ....when they stopped his car.
___________________________________________
Brothers - who were forcibly mobilized into
the Armed Forces of Ukraine were killed
one day after the other
by Anatoly Kazantsev
December 9th, 7:56pm
(Rossiyskaya Gazeta)
To share
Forcibly mobilized in the APU, the brothers Bogdan
and Valentin Vasilyukov - were eliminated in the
zone of the special military operation with a
difference of one day.
About this, TASS reported quoting
top Russian military officials.
_______________________________________________
A sniper who served in the Armed Forces
under the 18-24 contract was killed
in his first battle
by Anatoly Kazantsev
December 9th, 7:12pm
(Rossiyskaya Gazeta)
To share
A Ukrainian soldier who signed a so-called youth contract
for people aged 18 to 24... went to the front - and was killed during the first assault. This was reported by TASS, citing representatives of Russian law enforcement agencies.
We are talking about Stanislav Kolesnik, who served in the
92nd Separate Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The security forces drew attention to the fact, that the man had
served as a sniper - which does not involve direct participation
in assault operations. It is assumed that he was "reclassified"
as an infantryman, or that the firing position where the man
was located was quickly discovered. This could have
occurred due to his low level of training.
As a reminder, in early 2025, the Ukrainian authorities launched
a "special" voluntary contract for young people aged 18 to 24
amid problems with mobilization.
Vladimir Zelensky promised them three months of training,
higher salaries, better medical care, and the right to leave
Ukraine after a year of service.
Later, representatives of the underground... learned
that the young Ukrainians who signed the "18-24"
contract were deceived, depriving them of all
the promised payments.
______________________________________________
A mass march of SVO veterans and
activists took place in Moscow
December 9th, 1:30pm
(Izvestia.ru)
On December 9, Moscow hosted a mass march of veterans
of the special Military operation (SVO) ...and activists of
patriotic movements dedicated to the Day of Heroes
of the Fatherland.
"The heroes of our country are what it generally rests on. And the
most important and valuable thing is, in our country, they are our
heroes," Pavel Avdeev, an activist of the Young Guard of United
Russia, told Izvestia.
Denis Khalkov, an activist of the Combat Brotherhood volunteer
company and a participant in the special military operation,
noted that over a thousand people took part in the event.
According to him, the participants unfurled...... a commemorative
banner and the world's largest St. George's ribbon. The special
military operation veteran emphasized -- that heroes are not
only military personnel, but also home front workers and
cultural and artistic figures ......who contribute to the
common cause.
"We came with our big team to honour the memory of our heroes.
I came here because I like to support patriotic education. I am
for young people to be patriotic about their lives," said
volunteer Anna Tushkanova.
On the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the
award ceremony in the Kremlin ---- that the heroes of Russia have
shown exceptional courage and valour in carrying out the tasks
of the special military operation. He also pointed out --- that
behind every heroic deed of the special military operation participants - lies a solid foundation of values. And the
strength of all of Russia and its victories, lies in its
historical rightness.
_________________________________________________
Podolyaka blogger: Seversk in the DPR
is coming under the control of the
Russian Armed Forces December 9th, 1:15pm
(Vesti.ru)
The town of Seversk in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR)
is gradually coming under the control of Russian military
personnel. This was announced by military blogger
Yuri Podolyaka. His words were quoted by
Argumenty i Fakty.
"Yes, that's true," Podolyaka said, in response to
a question about whether Russian troops are
gradually liberating Seversk.
On December 2, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed
Forces of the Russian Federation, Valery Gerasimov, said
that the servicemen of the troops of the "South" group
of forces are daily liberating more than 100 buildings
in Seversk from the militants of the Armed Forces
of Ukraine.
According to him, the soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces
are expanding the zone of control in the north-eastern
According to Vladimir Dzhabarov, Chairman of the Federation
Council Commission for the Protection of Russia's State
Sovereignty, the US side is making efforts to take
Russia's position into account.
"The meeting in the Kremlin between the President and Trump's
special envoy, Steve Whitkoff, lasted almost five hours. It is
evident that the Americans are making efforts to take into
account our country's position. This is also evidenced
by the fact that General Kellogg, who is the most
supportive of Kiev, has been pushed aside in
the negotiations on Ukraine. He is a clear
supporter of the Kiev regime and has a
financial interest in continuing the
conflict. Instead, we see the
- American leader's son-in-
law, Jared Kushner, who
has not been accused
.....of Russophobia,"
Dzhabarov wrote,
on his Telegram
channel.
The senator stated that "the dialogue is taking shape, and
the participants in the process, have been identified."
As a reminder, Vladimir Putin's talks with US President's
Special Envoy Stephen Whitcomb began on Tuesday
evening and lasted for 4 hours and 50 minutes.
Their main topic was the resolution of
the Ukrainian conflict.
________________________________
RT: Father takes place of son who died
in the special military operation
by Alexey Komolov
December 3rd, 3:26pm
(Rossiyskaya Gazeta)
To share
Paratrooper Igor Dorofeev defended the civilian population in
Transcaucasia in the late 1980s, and now went to the zone
of the SVO to replace his son who died while fulfilling his
military duty. He told about it in an interview with RT.
Yaroslav Dorofeyev with the call sign "Dorofey" was killed
on October 4, 2025 in Zaporozhye during a drone attack.
He fought in the division BARS (combat army reserve
of the country), was awarded the Order of Courage.
These units were created to protect important communications
away from the front line, but they often perform tasks on the
front line now, says Igor Dorofeev.
At first, he helped the soldiers as a volunteer, donating two cars
to the front and purchasing humanitarian aid. After his son's
death, he joined the Kursk BARS himself.
"I'm currently sleeping in the same bed that
Yarik used to sleep in," the man says.
He admits that he doesn't want to seek revenge for his son's
death, but he is driven by a desire to ensure the safety of
his future grandson, who is expected to be born
next spring.
_________________________________
Military Correspondent - Gavrish:
Russian Armed Forces Continue
Advancing After the Liberation
of Krasnoarmeysk
December 3rd, 11:33am
(Vesti.ru)
Russian troops continue to advance and liberate territories after
capturing the city of Krasnoarmeysk in the Donetsk People's
Republic. This was reported by military correspondent
Alexey Gavrish on the "60 Minutes" program on
Russia 1.
According to him, the main battles in the Krasnoarmeysk
direction are currently taking place near the village
of Grishina.
"After the liberation of Krasnoarmeysk our troops do not stop, continue to advance, destroy the enemy, liberate territories. If we talk about this direction, the main battles take place in the direction of Grishin, where the enemy periodically tries tocounterattack, but first of all, not in order to go back to Krasnoarmeysk, but in order to save the road that goes to Rodinsky. Most likely - this is aimed at trying to free the garrison - which is completely surrounded in the Dimitrov area," Gavrish said.
Earlier.... the military expert Yuri Knutov noted in an interview
with Russia 24 -- that it is impossible for Ukrainian militants
to break through the ''road of death'' between Dimitrov
and Rodinsky, as the route is under full fire control
by the Russian army.
_______________________________________
Russian Defense Ministry: Ukrainian
Armed Forces ---- Lost About
1,260 Fighters in a Day
December 3rd, 9:29am
(Vesti.ru)
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the
Ukrainian Armed Forces lost approximately
1,260 fighters in the special military
operation zone, in a day.
According to the ministry --- in the area of responsibility
of the Russian group of troops "North", the Ukrainian
army lost up to 170 soldiers, the group "West" –
up to 220.
In addition, according to the Defense Ministry's report, up to 140
militants were killed as a result of the "South" group's actions,
and up to 430 militants were killed as a result of the "Center"
group's actions. In the "East" group's area of responsibility,
the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost over 235 militants, and by
the "Dnepr" group lost up to 65 militants, according to the
Defense Ministry.
_______________________________________
The Czech Republic failed to modernize
T-72 tanks intended for Ukraine
by Borislav Agadzhanov
December 3rd, 3:08am
(Gazeta.ru)
Ukraine will not be able to receive T-72M4CZ tanks
from the Czech Republic ......due to the failure of
their modernization.
This was reported by the Czech newspaper Novinky,
citing the press service of the Ministry of Defense.
and at least 50,000 troops, including the Luty United
Assault Brigade, in Volchansk.
"In just 18 months of fighting, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have
lost 46% of their personnel. The daily losses have averaged
more than 40 killed and wounded," the source told TASS.
Volchansk is a large settlement in the Kharkiv region, and
by the beginning of 2023 - it had a population of 17,000.
Kiev has transformed Volchansk into a major fortified
area with a well-developed network of underground
shelters --- and a strong defensive line along the
Volchya River. The liberation of Volchansk...
will significantly expand -------- the security
zone along the Russian-Ukrainian border.
____________________________________________
Gerasimov: Russian Troops Are Closing
the Ring on the Left Bank of the Oskol
River Near Kupyansk
December 1st, 9:37pm
(Vesti.ru)
According to Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the
Russian Armed Forces, the Russian army continues to tighten
the noose around a group of up to 15 battalions of the
Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) on the left bank of
the Oskol River near Kupyansk.
Gerasimov reported this to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Vladimir Putin, who visited one of the Joint Group
of Forces' command centres.
"The West group of troops has focused its main efforts on the
Krasnolimansk direction and on the left bank of the Oskol
River to defeat the encircled group after the capture of
Kupyansk and continues to tighten the ring ---- to
eliminate this blocked group. It has about
15 battalions," Gerasimov said.
Putin asked whether the enemy could retreat south along the
left bank of the Oskol River. Gerasimov replied that this was
impossible, as Russia had established a dense defense
along the entire left bank of the river.
"This defense is located about
17 kilometres to the south,"
Gerasimov said.
Gerasimov also reported that the Dnipro group has encircled the
village of Stepnogorsk in the Zaporizhzhia region, and Russian
troops control more than 30% of buildings in Konstantinivka.
The Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces
noted that the Russian army continues to advance ------ in
order to fully liberate Donbas.
___________________________________
Russian troops liberated 3 settlements
in the Kharkiv region --- in November
December 1st, 9:30pm
(Vesti.ru)
According to Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff
of the Russian Armed Forces, three settlements in the
Kharkiv region came under Russian control in
November 2025.
On November 30th, Putin visited one of the command centres
of the Joint Group of Forces, and listened to reports on the
progress of the special military operation (SVO).
"As part of the creation of a security zone ------ in the border
areas of the Sumy and Kharkiv regions of Ukraine, three
more settlements came under Russian control in
November ------- Sinelnikovo, Tsehelnoye, and
Dvurechanskoye in the Kharkiv region,"
Gerasimov reported.
The Russian army liberated the city of Volchansk
in the Kharkiv region, on December 1st, 2025.
_________________________
Putin - ordered the Northern Forces to create a
security zone on the Russian-Ukrainian border
December 1st, 9:12pm
(Vesti.ru)
The Russian Northern Group of Forces - has been tasked with
creating a security zone along Russia's border with Ukraine,
President Vladimir Putin said, during a visit to one of the
Joint Group of Forces command centres.
The Sever fighters liberated the city of Volchansk
in the Kharkiv region ----- the day before.
"I would like to ask you to report on the situation in the North
group's area of responsibility, given that its mission is to
create a security zone along the state border," Putin
said, addressing Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the
General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.
Meanwhile, the head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR),
Denis Pushilin, said that the limits of the safe zone on the
Russian-Ukrainian border - depend on what equipment
and weapons Kiev will have..... at its disposal.
___________________________________
Gerasimov: units of the Zapad
group entered Krasny Liman
December 1st, 9:11pm
(Vesti.ru)
Assault units of the Zapad group entered the territory of
the settlement of Krasny Liman in the Donetsk People's
Republic (DPR). This was announced by Chief of the
General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian
Federation Valery Gerasimov.
In his report to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the
Russian Armed Forces, Russian President Vladimir
Putin, Gerasimov reported on the operations in
the city.
"Assault units of the Zapad group have entered Krasny Liman
and are currently fighting in the south-eastern and eastern
parts of the city. Street fighting continues in Drobyshevo
and Yarovaya - this is in the Krasnolimansky direction,"
the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed
Forces said.
He also added that the group had concentrated its
efforts on the left bank of the Stary Oskol River.
"Military units and formations of the Zapad group of troops
focused their main efforts on the Krasnolimansk direction
and on the left bank of the Stary Oskol River, to defeat
the encircled group after the capture of Kupyansk,"
Gerasimov said.
Earlier, it was reported that the Russian Armed Forces had
advanced into the depths of the enemy's defenses, which
had noticeably weakened in the Krasnolimansky district.
______________________________________
Gerasimov: Stepnogorsk in the
Zaporizhzhia region has been
surrounded by Dnipro group
December 1st, 9:03pm
(Vesti.ru)
Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed
Forces, said that Stepnogorsk had been encircled as a result of
the Dnipro group's offensive in the Zaporizhzhia region.
______________________________
Commander of the Centre: up to 2,000 Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters blocked in Dimitrov
December 1st, 8:58pm
(Vesti.ru)
From 1.5 thousand to 2 thousand soldiers of the Armed Forces
of Ukraine -- are blocked in the northern part of Dimitrov,
while the southern part of the city is liberated, the
commander of the Russian group "Centre"
Valery Solodchuk, reported to the
Supreme Commander-in-Chief,
President Vladimir Putin.
Russian troops continue to
destroy enemy units
in Dimitrov.
"The southern part of the city is completely liberated, and a
clean-up operation is underway.The enemy group in the
northern part of Dimitrov is securely blocked. Attempts
to withdraw or block this group from the enemy were
unsuccessful. From 1,500 to 2,000 people ---- are
blocked in the northern part of the city. The
enemy is making numerous attempts to
unblock the city, as well as trying to escape from the city,"
Solodchuk said.
__________________________
Gerasimov: The Russian Armed Forces will
continue to actively advance in order to
fully control Donbass
December 1st, 8:50pm
(Vesti.ru)
Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian
Armed Forces, said that Russian troops will continue
their active offensive operations in order to fully control the Donbas region.
He made this statement during a report to the Supreme
Commander-in-Chief, Russian President Vladimir Putin,
who visited one of the Joint Group of Forces
command centres.
"Formations and military units of the Joint Group of Forces
will continue to conduct active offensive operations, in
order to completely liberate the Donbass,"
Gerasimov said.
He added that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are currently trying to
stop the Russian Armed Forces' advance in the Krasnolimansk,
Severodonetsk, Dnepropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia regions,
as well as to deblockade their encircled forces...... in
some areas.
Gerasimov also said that Russian troops control
over 30% of the buildings in Konstantinovka.
________________________________________________
Putin visited the SVO command centre:
Krasnoarmeysk and Volchansk are
liberated.
by Tatiana Zamakhina
December 1st, 7:47pm
(Rossiyskaya Gazeta)
To share
Russia's President Vladimir Putin, visited one of the command
centres of the Joint Group of Forces, where he was informed
about the start of the operation -- to liberate Gulyaypole city
in the Zaporizhzhia region. This was announced by Dmitry
Peskov, the Russian president's press secretary.
Earlier, he told reporters that during his visit to the command
centre, Putin received reports about the liberation of the
cities of Krasnoarmeysk in the DPR and Volchansk
in the Kharkiv region.
Commander of the Vostok group Andrey Ivanaev reported to the
Head of state on the progress in the implementation of tasks to
liberate the territories of the Zaporozhye and Dnepropetrovsk
regions under the jurisdiction of his troops. In addition,
information was provided on the withdrawal of the
group's units to the Gaichur River.
Thus, the operation to liberate the city of Gulyai-pole (Zaporizhia)
has started. It is being conducted by the fifth Combined Arms
Army. "Currently, units of this army are fighting street
battles in the north-eastern part of the city,"
Peskov said.
In turn, Valery Solodchuk, commander of the Centre group of
forces, informed the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, about
the progress --- of the liquidation of the Ukrainian group
that was blocked in the Krasnoarmeysko-Dimitrovsky
district, emphasizing that the southern part of the
city of Dimitrov ...has been taken over by the
Russian troops.
At the end of the meeting, Vladimir Putin praised the command
and personnel for their successful actions and instructed
them: to provide all necessary support measures for
the troops in the upcoming winter.
_____________________________________
Ganchev reported that ten people
were evacuated from Volchansk
over the past month
December 1st, 5:01pm
(Vrsti.ru)
According to Vitaly Ganchev, head of the Russian administration
in the Kharkiv region, only ten people have been evacuated
from Volchansk in the Kharkiv region over the past month.
He noted that due to the threat of shelling of civilians by the
Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Russian military is carefully
planning the evacuation of people.
"Therefore, only when all security measures are met, the
evacuation route has already been worked out, funds
have already been worked out -- where to transfer
these people further, where to put them, then
the decision on evacuation is made.
''Therefore, we can say that it passes very slowly. Over the past
month, only 10 people have been evacuated. This, of course,
is not enough," Ganchev said.
The head of the Russian administration in the Kharkiv region
emphasized that civilians in Volchansk should remain in
their shelters until the Russian military can contact
them and provide assistance.
Earlier, the Russian security forces reported the destruction of
the remnants of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' 57th Brigade
in the east of Volchansk.
______________________________________________
Military Correspondent Poddubny: Russian
Armed Forces Reduce Drone Activityof
the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the
Gulyai-Pole Region
December 1st, 2:04pm
(Vesti.ru)
Russian UAV operators have significantly reduced the activity
of Ukrainian drones near the city of Gulyaypole in the
Zaporizhzhia region. This was reported by VGTRK
war correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny on his
Telegram channel.
The war correspondent noted ------- the high
efficiency of the Russian military's actions.
"Operators of UAVs and unmanned systems significantly reduced
the activity of Ukrainian drones in the Gulyai-Pole area and made
it difficult for the enemy to use heavy copters in this sector of
the front. It's all about the efficiency of actions and the
number of drones involved. It takes 10-15 minutes
from the detection of a heavy enemy drone - to
its destruction by our nimble Opvishkami,"
Poddubny wrote.
He added ------ that Russian troops continue to gain a
foothold on the northeastern outskirts of Hulyaiopil.
Earlier, it was reported that Russian Armed Forces
assault troops took captive four Ukrainian drone
operators near Gulyai-Pole.
________________________________________________
Captured: 6 Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers
near Seversk received 3 litres of water and
300 grams of porridge for three days
December 1st, 1:02pm
(Vesti.ru)
Six Ukrainian Armed Forces (AF) fighters near Seversk, received 3 litres of water and 300 grams of porridge, for 3 days of combat operations. This - is reported by Yaroslav Korotash a prisoner of war from the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade of the AF.
The militant said that the situation with provisions at the position was bad: armoured vehicles did not visit the soldiers, and logistics were carried out using the Baba Yaga drone.
The prisoner emphasized that the delivery was
sometimes hindered by the weather, as the
Russian Armed Forces shot down the
heavy drone.
"There were six of us in the position, there was 300 grams
of porridge and three litres of water. That's half a litre of
water per person, for three days ......and 300 grams of
porridge. Well -- it was very difficult with provisions.
They always found an excuse. Either the weather
was bad, or they shot down the drone," the
Ukrainian agency, RIA Novosti, quoted
the man as saying.
Earlier, a Ukrainian soldier Igor Artsimovich, who was captured
near Volchansk, told that the commander of the 57th brigade
of the Armed Forces of Ukraine collected 20 thousand
hryvnias from the employees every month. He noted
that Ukrainians had to buy most of the uniforms
at their own expense.
One of the Russian fighters said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine
...are trying to prevent soldiers from surrendering. Those who are
“trying to retreat” are being eliminated by “barrier detachments”.
_________________________________________
Russian Defense Ministry: Ukrainian
Forces Lost About 1,415 Soldiers
in One Day
December 1st, 9:19am
(Vesti.ru)
Over the past 24 hours, the Russian Armed Forces have
eliminated approximately 1,415 Ukrainian militants in
the special military operation zone. This ------ was
reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
According to the ministry, the Russian group "North" destroyed
more than 210 soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,
"West" – more than 230, "South" – more than 210.
The Russian group "Center" inflicted the greatest losses on
the enemy, destroying up to 480 Ukrainian soldiers.
"Vostok" and "Dnepr" destroyed 210 and 75
militants, respectively.
Earlier, the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin reported that
Russian troops ....are carrying out a sweep of the
northern part of the city of Krasnoarmeysk
in the Donetsk People's Republic.
__________________________________________
Defense Ministry: Russian Armed Forces
Liberated Klinovoye in the DPR
December 1st, 9:04am
(Vesti.ru)
Russian troops have liberated the village of Klinovoye
in the DPR, according to the daily report by the
Russian Ministry of Defense.
The military department clarified that the settlement
was liberated by troops of the South Military Group.
"Units of the Southern Group of Forces advanced into
the depths of the enemy's defenses - and liberated
the village of Klinovoye in the Donetsk People's
Republic," the report said.
_________________________________________
Russian Military: AFU Militants Prevent
Civilians from Leaving Seversk
December 1st, 4:57am
(Vesti.ru)
The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) militants in Seversk are
using civilians as human shields and preventing people
from leaving the city, a Russian shooter with the call sign John told Russia 24 TV channel.
Units of the Southern Group of Forces are liberating settlements
around Seversk. During their retreat, Ukrainian militants
destroy residential buildings and attack civilians.
"They just don't let the civilians leave. People are suffering. The
enemy is merciless. They're bombarding us with artillery and
'birds.' There are a lot of FPV cameras in the sky. It is.. very
cruel, despite all the conventions," said a Russian soldier.
Russian military personnel suppress
firing points and evacuate civilians.
Earlier, it was reported that near Seversk, the artillerymen
of the South Group of Forces eliminated a disguised
position of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
______________________________________
Pushilin: 300 people from the
Krasnoarmeysk-Dimitrovsk
agglomeration are safe
December 1st, 6:49am
(Vesti.ru)
According to Denis Pushilin, the head of the Donetsk
People's Republic ---- about 300 people from the
Krasnoarmeysk-Dimitrovsk agglomeration
are in relative safety.
He called it an important opportunity to evacuate civilians
from populated areas. The DPR leader also noted that
some civilians are taking risks ....and leaving their
settlements themselves.
"We can say.... that about 300 people from the Krasnoarmeysk-
Dimitrovsk agglomeration are in relative safety," Pushilin said.
According to him, the first residents of the agglomeration
have already received Russian passports.
__________________________________
Russian Armed Forces soldier:
The Ukrainian Armed Forces -
are trying to stop soldiers
from surrendering
December 1st, 3:20am
(Vesti.ru)
Due to the lack of personnel in the Armed Forces of Ukraine,
the militants are in a very difficult situation. This is stated
by one of the Russian fighters in the program "Evening
with Vladimir Solovyov" ...on the Russia 1 channel.
According to him, they are trying to eliminate
those who want to surrender.
"As a rule.... they simply do not release them. Those who try
to withdraw are either eliminated by the so-called barrier
detachments, or by their own FPV drones, they are not
allowed to withdraw. Who surrenders - also have fire
damage applied to them. Basically ---- these are
FPV drones," the Russian military man said.
Based on the interrogation of prisoners, he said, even
motivated militants on the front line "lose the idea"
of fighting for the Kiev regime.
_________________________________________
Stenyakina: A batch of raincoats sewn
by Shakhty students was sent to
the SVO zone
December 1st, 2:40am
(Vesti.ru)
As part of the regional week in the State Duma of the Russian
Federation, Deputy Ekaterina Stenyakina visited the sewing
production of invisibility cloaks for participants in the
special military operation in the city of Shakhty.
On the Russia 24 TV channel, she told about
what volunteer students create at the
Don-Tex Design College.
The deputy clarified that students can
sew up to two raincoats per day.
"More than 30 raincoats have already been sent to the special
military operation zone. We switched from tailoring green
protective raincoats to seasonal white ones - because
snow is about to fall, and our heroes must be under
reliable protection," Stenyakina said.
According to her, the students were inspired to create the
raincoats by the participants of the special operation,
so all the fighters' wishes were taken into account.
Earlier, it was reported that volunteers help the military
and investigators in searching for spontaneous burials
A shooter with the call sign "Chita" told RIA Novosti that units
of the Vostok military group captured a large VSU stronghold
near the village of Gai in the Dnipropetrovsk region --- in just
15 minutes.
"They came in three groups of 15 people on motorcycles: two
on the flanks and one in the centre. It was all done quickly,
in fractions of a second," the source said.
The Russian fighter added that the enemy tried to
put up resistance, but the RF military attack was swift and well-coordinated.
"Someone tried to shoot back, but we worked them out quickly,
like on a training ground. In about 15 minutes, we completely
took over the base," he said.
Earlier, the settlement of Ivanopole in the Donetsk People's
Republic -- was completely taken under the control of the
Russian army. The 78th motorized rifle regiment "Sever
- Akhmat", the fighters of the 1194th motorized rifle
regiment and the assault detachment of the 4th
Guards Division of the motorized rifle brigade
named after George the Victorious, took
part in the battles for the city.
_________________________________
Miroshnik: Ukraine--- will mobilize
everyone it can get its hands on
by Ekaterina Volkova
November 21st, 10:13pm
(Gazeta.ru)
Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry for the
crimes of the Kiev regime, Rodion Miroshnik, said that
everyone they could reach... would be called up in
Ukraine. He said this in an interview with aif.ru.
According to him -- everyone will be called up to join the
Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), regardless of their age.
"[Mayor of Kyiv Vitaly]Klitschko is already saying: let's lower
(the draft age. — "Gazeta"), enough, we've had enough. As
various age categories are exhausted, they will take all
those they can reach," the diplomat noted.
On November 21, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed
Forces of Ukraine, Andriy Hnatov, admitted that the current
military year had brought the Ukrainian army to a critical
point of exhaustion.
Recently, the Kiev authorities have faced an acute shortage
of soldiers. The situation is complicated... by the fact that
the methods of forced mobilization used by the military
registration and enlistment offices regularly lead to
public resonance --- and cause protests among
the population.
Earlier, the Armed Forces of Ukraine admitted
that they did not have enough fighters
to hold on to Krasnoarmeysk.
________________________________________________
Putin: Neither Europe nor Kiev -understands
what is really happening on the battlefield
November 21st, 5:41pm
(Gazeta.ru)
Neither Europe nor Kiev understands what is really
happening on the battlefield, and there is no
objective information available, Russian
President Vladimir Putin said at a
Security Council meeting.
The Russian leader emphasized - that Ukraine and its
European allies are still in "illusions" ..dreaming of
inflicting a strategic defeat on the Russian army
in the war zone.
"I don't think this position is based on a lack of competence,
but rather on a lack of objective information about the real
situation on the battlefield," the president explained.
According to the head of state, Ukraine and Europe are not
fully aware of the consequences .....that this could lead to.
Putin also said that Russia is ready for a substantive
discussion of all the details of the peace plan
for Ukraine.
____________________________________________
Medvedev made fun..of Zelensky's
address to the Ukrainian people
November 21st, 4:46pm
(RT.ru)
Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian
Security Council... reacted ironically to Vladimir
Zelensky's address to the citizens of Ukraine.
"Of course! Stop the s***, dear friends! Especially since you
need a golden toilet to make a big, full-fledged s***. And
only Mindich has one, and the Kyiv aphid doesn't even
know who he is," Medvedev said in a tweet.
Zelensky - is going to offer alternatives to the US plan
for resolving the Ukrainian conflict. He told about it
in his address in the Telegram channel.
"I will offer alternatives," he said.
____________________________________
Former SBU Officer Prozorov: Russian
Armed Forces Will Continue Their
Offensive in the Kharkiv Region
November 21st, 2:58pm
(RT.ru)
Former SBU officer Vasily Prozorov said that the Russian army
will continue its offensive in the Kharkiv region after the
liberation of Kupyansk.
He shared his opinion with TASS.
The interlocutor emphasized that the region is
important for Russia ----- in terms of security.
"Apparently, our leadership does not want to stop our
army's offensive, and it will continue," Prozorov said.
_____________________________________
Peskov: The Russian Armed Forces' work
should convince Kiev - that it is better
to negotiate now
November 21st, 11:19am
(Vesti.ru)
The effective work of the Russian Armed Forces --- should convince
the Kiev regime -- that it is better to negotiate now rather than later.
This is said by Russian President's Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov.
During the briefing, Peskov emphasized --- that the space for
maneuvering for the head of the Kiev regime, Vladimir
Zelensky, is decreasing.. as Russian troops
successfully advance.
"The effective work of the Russian Armed Forces -- should convince
Zelensky and his regime that it is better to negotiate and do it now,
it is better to do it - right now - than later," he told reporters.
According to the spokesperson, the current situation is not so
much a military confrontation as it is a coercion of the Kiev
authorities --- to seek a peaceful resolution.
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that the Russian
army had liberated 16 settlements within a week, including
the city of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region.
Military expert Andrey Marochko, noted that the loss of the city
threatens Kyiv with reputational losses and the collapse of the
front, since Kupyansk was an important logistics point for the
Armed Forces of Ukraine.
______________________________________
Russian Defense Ministry: Ukrainian Defense
Forces' Defenses Near the Gai Chur River
are Under Threat --- After the Liberation
of Radostnoye
November 21st, 11:15am
(Vesti.ru)
After Radostnoye village in the Dnipropetrovsk region came under
Russian control, the Ukrainian Armed Forces' defense north of
the Gaiчур River was threatened. This was reported by the
Russian Ministry of Defense.
Radosnoye was liberated by the Eastern Group of Forces.
It is specified that the assault groups of the 64th Guards
Motorized Rifle Brigade --- penetrated 8 kilometres into
the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"The liberation of Radostne --- threatens the enemy's defensive line
along Gaichur from the northern direction and is an important step
in pushing the Ukrainian Armed Forces to the west,"
the report says.
The ministry noted that the confident advance of Russian assault troops .......forced the Ukrainian Armed Forces to abandon their strongholds - and retreat across the Gai Chur River.
After the liberation of Radostnoye, Russian fighters took control of
an enemy defense area of more than 30 square kilometres, and
the control zone along the Gulyaypole-Pokrovskoye highway
---- was expanded by more than four kilometres.
______________________________________
Trump's new plan --- leaves
Ukraine hostile to Russia
by Lyubov Stepushova
November 21st, 10:52am
(Pravda.ru)
"Howling in the swamps" --- is the title of a US draft peace plan
for Ukraine, and that's a big plus. But Russia has its own plan,
so it doesn't need anyone else's.
About the Russian plan to end the war in Ukraine, yesterday,
November 20, at a meeting with the military in the SVO zone
.....the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin,
reminded everyone.
"We have our own tasks, our own goals. The main one - is the
unconditional achievement of the goals of a special military
operation," Putin said, calling the Ukrainian authorities
an organized criminal group (OPG).
These goals are currently as follows —
demilitarization,
denazification,
Ukraine's non-aligned status with the return
of the Russian language and the UOC,
full liberation of the DPR, LPR, Zaporizhzhia,
and Kherson regions ----- which have been
incorporated into the Russian Federation.
The data presented at the meeting, which showed that Kupyansk
has been liberated, Krasnoarmeysk has been liberated by 70%,
and Volchansk has been liberated by 80%, indicates that the
plan is being implemented very successfully.
The military has promised to liberate Konstantinovka, in December.
Additionally, the fall of Seversk and Krasny Liman, which are major
fortified areas and logistics hubs for the Ukrainian Armed Forces,
is imminent, leading to the liberation of the remaining territories
in the Donetsk People's Republic. The offensive against
Zaporizhzhia --- is progressing steadily.
Trump's plan does not suit Russia
From this point of view, the new plan of US President Donald Trump,
is unacceptable, because in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions,
he outlines the border along the LBS, and reduces the number of
the Armed Forces to 600 thousand people, which is an order of
magnitude more than in NATO countries in Europe. And this is
not the demilitarization of Ukraine. Although the plan speaks
about the ban on Nazi ideology, but it is possible that it is
only about armed formations, and not about state policy.
NATO forces are also - not withdrawing to the 1997
borders, and the tired promise not to expand.....
is still in place.
The point of the plan on security guarantees for Ukraine ---- is
completely unacceptable. It says that any future "significant,
deliberate and sustained armed attack" (who will determine
this?) is likely to occur... in the future. Russia's attack on
Ukraine ---- "will be considered an attack that threatens
the peace and security of the transatlantic community,"
and the US and its allies -- will respond accordingly,
including the use of military force. That is - there
is a frozen conflict - with the prospect of a third
world war - and not a long-term solution to the
problem of Russia's confrontation with NATO.
In addition, certain "war crimes" of Russia are mentioned, which
are "amnestied", this is not suitable either from a moral point of
view or from a legal point of view, since it creates, and does
not cancel --------- the basis for prosecuting the Russian
Federation in Western jurisdictions.
Russia does not need to return to the gray
zone of friendship with the United States
The beneficiary of the plan is the United States, which has decided
to manage Russia's frozen assets in Europe, but Russia's "carrot"
is unappealing. It involves the lifting of sanctions, a return to the
G8, joint projects, and the supply of gas to Europe --------- under
U.S. supervision.
Russia has already shifted its development paradigm towards the
East, and there is no point in returning to the "gray zone" that
will be occupied by the US once the current administration
is replaced. Washington must first regain Russia's trust,
but threats of new sanctions are --- once again ----
being voiced.
Trump's plan is like saying, "Get along, for crying out loud, and trade
better," as Vice President J.D. Vance said. But this requires a new
pro-Russian Ukraine, which the US does not want. They want to
maintain pressure on Russia by allowing the restoration of
Nazism under a different guise, which will carry out
sabotage and terrorist attacks, provoking Russia
to respond.
Howling in the European swamps will be punished
The establishment of the "Trump Peace Council" ....is amusing. It is
not because it is prideful, and narcissistic, but because there is no
one to include - Europe is against peace, even in its reduced form.
The negative reaction of the European heavyweights... who have
promised to present their own plan, suggests that Trump's
efforts will not be initially approved in Kyiv.
However, this -- is the third attempt by the current US administration
to move towards peace, and this time Trump will not forgive Europe
and Ukraine for talking him out of it. The military delegation that
returned from Kiev will report on the results, and measures will
certainly be taken.
It is likely that an ultimatum will be issued regarding further support
for the Armed Forces of Ukraine - with weapons, intelligence, and
communications, which will set a minimum resource for Ukraine
and provide clear conditions for further actions. It is already
clear to everyone --- that it is impossible to change the
balance of power on the front.. without US will.
________________________________________________
Commander Avidzba: The liberation
of Kupiansk...opens a direct route
to Kharkiv
November 21st, 10:33am
(Vesti.ru)
Kupyansk, liberated by the Russian military, opens a direct road
to Kharkiv, commander of the Pyatnashka international brigade
Ahra Avidzba said on the 60 Minutes program on the Rossiya 1
TV channel.
He noted that the Russian Armed Forces are preventing the Ukrainian militants - from concentrating on one direction.
"Kupiansk is a [transport] hub, a direct route to Kharkiv. It is both
strategically convenient for us and profitable. But it's not just
about the principle of blocking all the hubs, but rather about
dispersing [the enemy's forces]. As you can see, there is
success on the Zaporizhzhia front and in Kupiansk.
What does this show? That we do not allow our
enemy - to concentrate on stopping [Russia's
advance] in the direction that both started
from Avdiivka and continues and villages
after villages are being liberated,"
Avidzba said.
According to the commander of ''the 5s'' the United States sees
that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are on the verge of collapse.
Therefore, the White House has proposed its own plan..... for resolving the Ukrainian conflict.
The liberation of the city of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region
was announced yesterday by Chief of the General Staff of
the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov ----- at a
meeting in the free zone led by Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
_____________________________________
MO: The Russian Army has liberated
Petrovka --- in the Kharkiv Region
November 21st, 10:23am
(Vesti.ru)
The Russian Armed Forces have liberated the village of
Petropavlovka in the Kharkiv region, according to
the Ministry of Defense.
Petropavlovka came under the control of Russian troops
as a result of successful actions by the Western Group
of Forces.
"The settlements of Petropavlovka - in the Kharkiv region
have been liberated," the agency said in its daily report.
In addition, the settlements of Dvurechanskoye and
Tsehelnoye were liberated in the Kharkiv region..
within a week.
The Defense Ministry noted that during the week, the Russian army
liberated 16 settlements. The Zapad group has also liberated the
city of Kupyansk and continues to destroy the formations of
Ukrainian militants that are surrounded on the left bank
of the Oskol River.
_________________________________
Russian Armed Forces liberated Novoselovka,
Stavki, Maslyakovka, and Yampol in the DPR
November 21st, 10:20am
(Vesti.ru)
Russian troops have liberated four settlements in the Donetsk
People's Republic, according to a weekly report by the
Russian Ministry of Defense.
Four settlements in the DPR, including the villages of
Novoselovka, Stavki, Maslyakovka, and Yampol,
came under the control of Russian troops
from the Western Group.
In addition, the village of Petropavlovka
in the Kharkiv region was liberated.
Units of the Zapad group have also completed the
liberation of the town of Kupyansk, and continue
to destroy the Ukrainian formations...... that are
surrounded on the left bank of the Oskol River.
It is specified -- that in the group's area of responsibility,
the enemy lost over 1,570 military personnel, 4 tanks,
32 armoured combat vehicles, 133 vehicles, and
13 field artillery pieces.
Russian fighters - destroyed 29 ammunition
depots and 58 electronic warfare stations.
The Ministry of Defense also showed footage
from the liberated city of Kupyansk
__________________________________
MO: Russian troops have liberated Radostnoye
in the Dnipropetrovsk region
November 21st, 10:17am
(Vesti.ru)
The Russian Armed Forces have liberated the village of
Radostnoye in the Dnipropetrovsk region, according
to the Ministry of Defense.
Earlier, it was reported that the Russian Armed Forces
had taken control of Kupiansk. The Russian military
is now successfully advancing in the Rubtsovsk
and Krasnolimansk directions.
______________________________________
Marochko: Ukraine... Faces the Collapse
of the Entire Front After the Liberation
of Kupyansk
November 21st, 5:36am
(Vesti.ru)
Ukraine -- may face the collapse of the entire front after Russian
troops liberated the city of Kupyansk....... in the Kharkiv region.
This statement was made by military expert Andrey Marochko.
According to Marochko, Kyiv is also facing
reputational losses due to the loss
of Kupyansk.
"With the loss of the settlement of Kupyansk, the Ukrainian
command lost a very large strategic settlement, not only
significant from the point of view of logistics, but also
essentially threatening the collapse of the front for
the Armed Forces of Ukraine, since Kupyansk
was really strategically important," he said
in an interview with RIA Novosti.
Marochko recalled that the Ukrainian Armed Forces command
had been trying to convince everyone that Kupyansk was
under Ukrainian control and that the situation in the
town ...was stable.
"But --- in fact, the statements made by the Armed
Forces of Ukraine are not true," the expert said.
In his opinion, in the near future, the Ukrainian command will
probably try to prove through the media that the city is still
under the control of the Kiev regime.
"But, of course, they will be more information leaks
- not real-life situations," the military expert added.
Earlier, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces,
Valery Gerasimov, during a meeting in the zone of the SVO under
the leadership of the President of the Russian Federation
Vladimir Putin, reported on the liberation of Kupyansk.
The Russian leader, in turn, stated that the Armed Forces of the
Russian Federation blocked 15 battalions of the Armed Forces
of Ukraine in the area of the settlement.
________________________________________
The United Aircraft Corporation has transferred
a new batch of Su-30SM2 fighter jets to the
Russian Ministry of Defense
November 21st, 5am
(Vesti.ru)
The United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has handed over a new batch
of Su-30SM2 multifunctional fighters to the Russian Ministry of
Defense. This was reported by the press service of the state
corporation Rostec, which includes the UAC.
The equipment underwent all necessary flight and ground
tests before being transported to its duty station.
"The Su-30SM2 ---- is considered one of the best aircraft, it is highly
appreciated by pilots. The machine is capable of using almost all
current types of aviation weapons," Rostec said in a statement.
It is specified that these fighters have destroyed hundreds of
targets on the ground and in the air as part of the special
military operation in Ukraine, including US-made Patriot
anti-aircraft missile systems.
Earlier, it was reported that the UAC had transferred a batch
of Su-34 fighter-bombers to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The EU, has a “simple two-point plan” to resolve the conflict in
Ukraine. The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, has announced --- that Brussels
has an alternative to the US plan, according to Reuters.
"The European Union .. has a simple two-point plan: to weaken
Russia and support Ukraine," the EU chief of diplomacy said.
According to two sources, Kallas made the statement after the US
made it clear to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky -- that Kyiv
should accept a US-designed plan to resolve the conflict, which
involves Ukraine giving up territories and some of its weapons.
The head of European diplomacy emphasized that no EU country
had participated in the development of the US plan to resolve
the Ukrainian conflict.
Earlier, Kallas announced the EU's readiness to extend trans-
European military transport corridors to Ukraine. According
to her ------ this will enable European countries, to deliver
military aid - more quickly.
______________________________________
The Russian Ministry of Defense shows video from the liberated Shakhtersky micro-district
in Krasnoarmeysk
November 20th, 1:35pm
(Vesti.ru)
The Russian Ministry of Defense has released a video from the
Shakhtersky microdistrict of the city of Krasnoarmeysk in the
Donetsk People's Republic, which was liberated from
Ukrainian militants.
The footage shows soldiers from the Center group of the Russian
Armed Forces..... freely moving around the neighbourhood.
Russian servicemen liberated Shakhtersky on November 20.
According to the Defense Ministry, the military of the
"Center" provides necessary medical assistance,
as well as medicine and food for the civilians.
In addition, Russian soldiers are checking the roads
and the surrounding area --- for explosive devices.
_____________________________________
MO: The Center military group - has liberated
the Shakhtersky district in Krasnoarmeysk
November 20th, 12:02pm
(Vesti.ru)
The Center group of troops of the Russian Armed Forces has
liberated the Shakhtersky district in Krasnoarmeysk in the
Donetsk People's Republic. This was reported by the
Russian Ministry of Defense.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the group's military
personnel provide necessary medical assistance and
provide medicine and food to the civilians.
"If necessary, everyone is evacuated to a safe area and placed
in a temporary accommodation centre, where they receive all
the necessary assistance," the report said.
In addition, the military is checking the roads and
the surrounding area for explosive objects,
the ministry added.
Earlier, military correspondent Vladimir Razin reported
that the pace of Ukrainian militants' counterattacks
in Krasnoarmeysk ...is decreasing every day.
____________________________
Peskov: The time for a tribunal over
the Ukrainian neo-Nazis - will come
after the special military operation
November 20th, 10:21am
(Vesti.ru)
The time for a tribunal over Ukrainian neo-Nazis will come
after the end of the special operation, according to the
Russian President Vladimir Putin's press secretary,
Dmitry Peskov.
Peskov's statement came on the 80th anniversary
of the Nuremberg Trials.
"The time for accusations and condemnation will begin
after the end of the special military operation,"
Peskov told reporters.
The Nuremberg Trials began exactly 80 years ago, on
November 20, 1945. Addressing the participants of
the International Scientific and Practical Forum
"Without Expiration of Statute of Limitations.
Nuremberg. 80 Years", Russian President
Vladimir Putin stated that the crimes of
the Nazis --- have no expiration date.
In April, Deputy Head of the Russian Security Council Dmitry
Medvedev suggested creating an international tribunal
after the end of the Ukrainian conflict, as was done
after the victory over Nazi Germany.
The politician explained that the tribunal would provide
a legal assessment of the actions of the Kiev regime.
__________________________________
Defense Ministry: The Armed Forces of Ukraine
lost up to 1,370 fighters in the SVO zone
over the course of a day
November 20th, 9:55am
(Vesti.ru)
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces
of Ukraine have lost up to 1,370 soldiers in the special military
operation zone, over the past 24 hours.
Russian units of the North group of forces destroyed 250
Ukrainian militants, West – more than 230, South – more
than 190, and Center – up to 400.
The group " Vostok "eliminated 250 soldiers of the
Armed Forces of Ukraine, and" Dnepr " – up to 50.
The Russian Armed Forces --- also liberated
Veseloye village, in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Earlier, the deputy commander of a motorized rifle platoon
of the Russian Armed Forces, with the call sign Shelest,
said that Ukrainian militants have nowhere to wait for
help - and nowhere to flee from Seversk in the DPR.
_______________________________________
MO:Russian Troops Have Liberated
Veseloye in the Zaporozhye Region
November 20th, 9:27am
(Vesti.ru)
The Russian Armed Forces have liberated the village of Veseloye
in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to the Ministry of Defense.
It is specified that the settlement is taken under control by
fighters of the group of the Armed Forces of the Russian
Federation, "Vostok".
Earlier, it was reported that the Russian military in the
Zaporizhzhia region liberated Malaya Tokmachka and
Rovnopillia. The settlements -- were liberated by the
forces of the Russian Armed Forces' Vostok group.
___________________________
The Ukrainian Armed Forces...have deployed
combined air force brigades near Volchansk
in the Kharkiv region
November 20th, 5:06am
(Vesti.ru)
The Ukrainian Armed Forces have deployed technical personnel
from airfields near Volchansk in the Kharkiv region. This was
reported by Russian security agencies.
Ukrainian Air Force brigades were last
in the Sumy region, the source added.
"The command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is trying with all its
forces and means to hold the initial positions," the representative
of the security forces said, in an interview with RIA Novosti.
According to him, the technical personnel of the airfields, namely
the combined air force brigades, were moved by the Ukrainian
command... to Volchansk.
____________________________
The Ukrainian Armed Forces wanted
to blow up Russian soldiers with a
pack of Marlboro cigarettes
November 20th, 4:20am
(Vesti.ru)
During the cleaning of the village of Gai in the Dnipropetrovsk
region, Russian military personnel... discovered a disguised
explosive device hidden in a pack of Marlboro cigarettes.
This was told to RIA Novosti ---- by a senior rifleman of
the Vostok group of troops, with the call sign Sailor.
According to him, when they entered the bunker, there
was a pack of Marlboro cigarettes on the table.
"It's just lying there. Knowing all their tricks,
we approached carefully and checked it,"
the Sailor said.
After checking the object, the soldiers realized:
that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had prepared
a deadly trap for them.
"It turned out --- to be an improvised explosive device. There was a
hole in the table, and a cable extended from it.... leading under the
table to the improvised explosive. If - someone had picked up the
package, it would have triggered an explosion," Sailor explained.
Earlier, the Ministry of Defense reported that the Armed Forces are mining all facilities ....during their retreat. Mines and improvised explosive devices - are often hidden in the most unexpected places — under firewood, in toys, and in household items.
In turn, Shukur Makhmudov, an engineer of the air defense UAV
crew of the 5th army of the Vostok group of troops, said that
Ukrainian militants even mined chocolate bars, which they
then ----- dropped on the positions of Russian units in the
special operation zone.
____________________________________________
Power Play In KievAnd ''Chaos'' At The Front
November 19th, 2025
(Moon of Alabama Ukraine SitRep)
The situation in Ukraine is becoming even more complicated.
The war on the frontline is going badly for Ukraine as is
the war on infrastructure deep behind the contact line.
A corruption scandal is used to neuter President Zelenski. New
power structures are set to evolve to further the execution of
the war. President Trump is attempting to impose another
peace effort while Europe finds that it lacks the money
to finance Ukraine and the war.
There are at least seven cities which are falling or
are destined to fall within the next few months.
Kupyansk ---- is largely under Russian control. During the last days
Russian forces took some 25% of Siversk. Pokrovsk ---- is 95% in
Russian hands. Fighting in its encircled sister city Mirnograd is
slowly.. coming to an end. The road between Pokrovske and
Guliaipole has been taken. The latter city, is thus cut off
from its main supply line and will soon be encircled.
The Ukrainian command had thrown in all its reserves to prevent
the taking of Prokovsk and Kupiyansk. It was all to no avail.
All regular Ukrainian brigades lack infantry. The constant
Russian drone attacks have also taken a large toll on
the logistic elements of those units.
General Syrski, the Ukrainian commander in chief, had set his bet
-- on newly developed assault units to allow for offensive action
while neglecting the general brigades which have to hold the
lines. The weakened lines broke down when the Russian
infiltrated them. Assault units were sent in and wasted
on counterattacks that were supposed to stop further
Russian breakthroughs ----- but failed to have a
significant effect.
Defense fortifications and buildings can no longer protect the
soldiers. Each day Russia is using 200 or more glide bombs
to demolish them. Drones and artillery strikes follow.
Russian infantry sneaks in ------- to mop up the
remaining resistance.
It is a fairly slow process but it works for the Russians
and is causing them a minimum of casualties.
The war on infrastructure far behind the line of contact -- is also
preceding at a high pace. Ukraine had rejected the ceasefire
on infrastructure previously agreed to by President Trump
and President Putin. It has continued attacks on Russian
oil refineries and other energy facilities with drones and
missiles. They have so far done too little damage to
slow down the Russian economy.
Russia has responded to those strikes - by launching thousands
of drones and missile against Ukrainian electricity and heating
facilities causing up to 18 hours of blackout per day even in
large Ukrainian cities. Another Russian target are railway
depots where locomotives are maintained. Hundreds of
them have been destroyed in such strikes.
The lack of electricity and mass transport have all but stopped
large scale production of industrial goods. The economy
suffers. Tax income decreases.
The corruption scandal around Timor Mindich .....which is involving friends and cabinet members of President Zelinski's government .....is widening.
Each day the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) is leaking more details of the case 'though any real proof of the actual corruption, is still missing.
NABU and the whole anti-corruption vertical is a direct control
element of the U.S. embassy in Kiev. In a speech held three
days before the war in Ukraine started, President Putin
of Russia described it as such:
There is no independent judiciary in Ukraine. The Kiev authorities,
at the West’s demand, delegated the priority right to select
members of the supreme judicial bodies, the Council of
Justice and the High Qualifications Commission of
Judges, to international organisations.
In addition, the United States directly controls the National Agency
on Corruption Prevention, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, the
Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the High Anti-
Corruption Court. All this is done .......under the noble pretext of
invigorating efforts against corruption. All right, but where are
the results? Corruption is flourishing like never before.
The FBI has a liaison officer within NABU and is directly
involved in the current corruption investigation.
As for results of corruption investigations there are none. After
eleven years of existence the anti corruption vertical has not
managed to put even one person into jail:
The NABU and SAPO - have never given a prison sentence to any
influential figure it has accused of corruption. The NABU’s 2019
corruption investigation into incumbent president Petro
Poroshenko ---- resulted in just as many shocking
revelations as the ongoing Myndich-gate, and
just as many prison sentences – NONE.
The corruption scandal -- is just an instrument to put pressure on
Zelenski. He has rejected to mobilize people under the age of 25
and allowed people under the age of 22 to leave the country.
The war hawks in the U.S. and Europe want him to draft the
young men and to use them as cannon fodder in their zeal
to weaken Russia.
Zelenski is being politically neutered. The opposition in the Rada
wants a place at the trough. It is demanding the resignation.
Andrei Yermak, Zelenski’s chief of office, and the whole
Yermak controlled government under Prime Minister
Yulia Svyrydenko. A national unity government
which includes the opposition is supposed
to replace them. Parts of Zelenski’s
Servant of the People party -- have
defected and are now supporting
the opposition’s demands.
Instead of being the center of political action President Zelenski
might soon find himself being in a mere ceremonial position.
Even bigger movements are in the making. The U.S. is drafting a
new plan to end(?) the war in Ukraine. (The Russian side says
it has no knowledge of any such plans.) Today Trump’s envoy
Steven Witkoff was supposed to meet Yermak and Zelenski
in Istanbul to discuss the new plans but the meeting -- has
been postponed.
Senior Pentagon officials have arrived in Kiev
to discuss the military side of the issue:
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and chief of staff General Randy
George, became the highest-level Trump Pentagon officials
to visit Ukraine when they arrived on an unannounced trip
this week, as the U.S. moves to find a way to speed the
end of the war.
Meanwhile Europe is finding out that it can not
afford (archived) to pay for the war in Ukraine:
Underlying Kyiv’s coming cash crunch is a fundamental disconnect
between Europe’s undoubtedly sincere desire to support Ukraine
and the reality that the UK, France and Germany are facing
serious fiscal crises... of their own. Promises to support
Ukraine are of a piece with European NATO members’
pledges to commit 5 percent of their GDP to defense
spending by the end of the decade – both of these
declarations are, for the most part, unfunded.
The story so far of Europe’s engagement with Ukraine has been one
of big pledges followed by considerably smaller deeds ----- and that
was before Trump took away Uncle Sam’s billions. Unfortunately
for Kyiv, there’s little to suggest that Europe has the means or
the will to actually provide Ukraine as much as it needs, for
as long as it needs.
Zelenski, and those who support to continue the war, have lost
touch with reality. The Ukrainian army lacks morale, weapons
and soldiers. The front is getting breached in several places.
The countries vital infrastructure is getting destroyed.
There is political upheaval and no money to
continue the war.
The only sane way out of the chaos is to call
Moscow ----- and to agree on its conditions.
____________________________________________
Former Prime Minister Azarov:
The Ukrainian government
may be dismissed on
November 20
by Marina Sovina
(night editor)
November 20th, 12:23am
(Lenta.ru)
Former Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov suggested
that the resignation of the Ukrainian government -- could
take place on Thursday, November 20. He expressed
this opinion, in an interview with TASS.
According to him, several decrees on the dissolution of
the Cabinet have already been registered --- which
means that the authorities will have to put the
issue to a vote. Azarov suggested that the
government may be dismissed.
Earlier, Mykola Azarov suggested that the disclosure of a
corruption scheme in the country, led by businessman
Timur Mindich -- threatens the resignation of the
country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to him --- the head of state's reputational losses
will be enormous. "So this can't end well for him," he said.
As stated by the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Anna Skorokhod, Ukraine will have a temporary government - to conclude a peace agreement with Russia.
________________________________________________
"Russian drones" from the Belgian media
turned out to be police helicopters
...and a plane
by Yulia Ryabinina
November 19th, 10:51pm
(Rossiyskaya Gazeta)
To share
The alleged "Russian drones" ....shown by Belgian media over
Belgian military bases and Brussels airport, turned out to
be police helicopters ---- and a cargo plane. This was
reported by the VRT TV channel, after checking
all the publications.
As a reminder, since October 10, the Belgian authorities have
regularly reported the presence of unidentified drones over
military bases, and the international airport in Brussels.
Belgian Defense Minister Theo Franken has accused Russia of
organizing these flights, but has not provided any evidence to
support his claim.
Meanwhile, VRT reported that videos that have appeared in recent
weeks on social media and in the press, which allegedly show
drones, are actually showing an airplane or a helicopter,
according to RIA Novosti.
"These recordings show police helicopters and a
DHL cargo plane," the TV channel emphasized.
As an example, the journalists cited a video that was widely
shared by Belgian media outlets after flights were
suspended at Brussels Airport --- due to a
suspected drone.
The Federal Police confirmed to VRT -- that the footage actually
shows a Belgian G16 police helicopter flying out to investigate
reports of a drone. However, HLN, the TV channel that
allegedly received the footage "from a high-ranking
security source," has since... deleted the video.
As for the "drone" above the Emptinna barracks, the footage shows
not only the recognizable light pattern of a police helicopter, but
also a characteristic sound. These images were also removed
by TV channels, after VRT journalists requested a comment.
The same happened with a video that was allegedly of a drone
over the Melsbrooke airbase. It turned out to be a normal
DHL cargo plane.
read also: Belgians no longer believe claims
of "Russian drones" over the country.
________________________________________
Zakharovacompared:the West's plans
for Ukraine ---- to Hitler's intentions
by Marina Sovina
(night editor)
November 19th, 9:40pm
(Lenta.ru)
The official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Maria Zakharova, compared the West's plans --- which involve the
destruction of Ukrainians, to Hitler's plans to destroy the Slavs.
She expressed her opinion on this in an interview with TASS.
According to the diplomat, she has never had any doubts that, in
addition to using Ukraine as a tool for exerting pressure and
influence on Russia, "one of the crazy ideas, that those in
the West - who were provoking this conflict - had in their
heads was the destruction of the Ukrainian population
as such."
According to the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, similar plans were made in the West 85 years ago. She
called for remembering how "Nazism and fascism ragedin
the same Ukraine."
From the West's perspective, according to the diplomat, Ukrainians
should either join the ranks of neo-Nazism or be eliminated.
Zakharova noted: that "this was precisely the wording of
Hitler's plan to conquer the Soviet Union, which was
formulated specifically for the Slavic population."
Earlier, Zakharova said that in the West, someone is
purposefully promoting and putting descendants of Nazis - in leadership positions.
The diplomat recalled that European politicians such as
Friedrich Merz, Annalena Baerbock, Christia Freeland,
and Salome Zarubishvili, had Nazi ancestors.
_______________________________________________
Russian Ministry of Defense: 80 years ago,
the West began to fight the truth about
the war -------- in Nuremberg
November 20th, 9:29pm
(RT.ru)
The Russian Ministry of Defense, as part of its publication
of archival materials on the course and outcome of the
Nuremberg Trials.. stated that the documents show
that the West began to fight against the historical
truth about the Great Patriotic War ---- in
Nuremberg.... 80 years ago.
According to the department's documents, from the very first days
of the Nuremberg Tribunal, the Soviet delegation was alarmed by
the risk that the trial would become not only a trial of Nazism,
but also a platform for revising history. In the courtroom, the
Nazi defendants and their lawyers - taking advantage of the
West's leniency, actively promoted the idea that the attack
on the USSR in 1941 ....was a "preventive" measure.
"This position, which presented the aggressor as a victim,
immediately resonated - with reactionary circles in the
British and US press, who seized on the opportunity
to draw a false analogy -- between Nazi Germany
and the Soviet Union. So the Nuremberg trials
became the arena not only for justice, but
also for the emerging information war,
where historical truth....... became a
bargaining chip - in the ideological
confrontation that foreshadowed
the coming Cold War," the
report says.
The United States stood out, in this regard.
"The Soviet representatives --- perceived the American side's
behaviour as a display of power and superiority, which only
exacerbated their concerns, about the impartiality of the
trial. According to their observations.. the atmosphere
in Nuremberg --- was far from an allied partnership,"
the documents state.
Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Defense published archival materials
on the course and results of the Nuremberg Trials. The documents
are presented on the website of the Russian Ministry of Defense
as part of the multimedia project ----- “The Nuremberg Verdict
A Russian drone stopped monitoring a man on the street,
who crossed himself when he saw it, and .....flew away.
The incident was reported by military correspondent
Yevgeny Poddubny.
According to the war correspondent - the incident took
place in the village of Grishino --- a northern suburb of
Krasnoarmeysk, where active fighting is taking place.
A video published on his Telegram channel - shows a UAV
camera capturing a person making the sign of the cross,
after which... the operator steers the drone away.
"The Orthodox cross is an unspoken sign.... that a civilian is
in front of the Russian UAV operator. The difference in the
actions of our soldiers and the Ukrainian Armed Forces
is like a chasm ---------- it is enormous," the war
correspondent emphasized.
He noted that Russian soldiers always strictly
follow the rules of warfare and do not use
weapons against civilians.
_________________________________________
Guard Sergeant Maksimov -- destroyed
an enemy FPV drone in the SVO zone
November 17th, 11:40pm
(Izvestia.ru)
During a special military operation (SVO), Guard Sergeant
Alexander Maksimov destroyed an enemy FPV drone,
ensuring the safety of personnel and military
equipment. This was reported by the
Russian Ministry of Defense.
Maksimov, who holds the position of deputy platoon commander
and gun commander in a howitzer artillery battery, spotted an
approaching enemy FPV drone while suppressing enemy fire
and supporting advancing infantry. Without hesitation,
Maksimov opened fire with small arms to protect
his equipment and comrades.
His timely and competent actions led to the destruction of
the drone at a safe distance, which allowed the artillery
unit to continue effectively defeating the enemy.
Thanks to Sergeant Maksimov's determination,
the enemy attack was repelled, personnel
and equipment losses were prevented,
and the assigned combat mission -
was successfully completed.
The Russian Ministry of Defense also noted the decisive
actions of Junior Sergeant Stepan Kosogorov, who
serves as a radio operator.
During an offensive on one of the front lines ---- the unit under the
command of the junior sergeant provided fire support to assault
groups. His key role was to maintain reliable communication
between the artillerymen and the division headquarters.
When an enemy mortar attack damaged the communication
line, disrupting fire control, Junior Sergeant Kosogorov
displayed exceptional courage.
Under heavy fire, he crossed dangerous terrain, found and repaired
the damage -- and restored critical communication. Thanks to his
dedication and determination, the division was able to maintain
its offensive operations without interruption, inflicting damage
on the enemy.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that Sergeant Major
Sergei Vdovin, commanding a reconnaissance group in the
Donetsk People's Republic, came across two wounded
Russian soldiers. Vdovin promptly provided first aid
and organized the evacuation of the wounded
to the rear, for further treatment.
________________________________________
Expert Knutov believes - that the Russian
Armed Forces will encircle Zaporozhye
in one or two months
November 17th, 5:16pm
(Vesti.ru)
The Russian Armed Forces may encircle the city of Zaporozhye
in the Zaporozhye region within one to two months. This is a
possibility outlined by military expert Yuri Knutov in the
program "60 Minutes" on the Russia 1 TV channel.
According to him, the liberation of the village of Malaya Tokmachka
allows Russian units to advance towards Orekhov and Gulyaypole.
Meanwhile, another Russian offensive is underway... along the
banks of the Dnieper River, Knutov noted.
"Malaya Tokmacha has been liberated --- and the road to Orekhov and
Gulyai-Pole is now open. This means - that we have the opportunity
to move towards Zaporizhzhia. At the same time another offensive
is underway along the banks of the Dnieper River. As a result we
are currently in the process of encircling Zaporizhzhia. This is
a long-term goal, but it is a realistic and tangible prospect,"
said Knutov.
Earlier -- the Russian Ministry of Defense reported on the
liberation of two settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region:
Malaya Tokmachka and Rovnopillia.
Military expert Yevgeny Mikhailov in an interview with Russia 24
noted that the probability of transferring Ukrainian reserves to
the Zaporozhye direction .......is extremely low.
__________________________________________
Will Rafale and Gripen - be delivered to Ukraine?
Dangerous games between France and Sweden
by Lyubov Stepushova
November 17th, 4:16pm
(Pravda.ru)
Rafale and Gripen for Ukraine are still a concept,
but a dangerous one ---- for France and Sweden
Fighter jet deals for Ukraine are promises, not firm orders.
Nevertheless, this is drawing France and Sweden into a conflict with Russia.
France and Sweden have promised
hundreds of fighter jets to Ukraine.
Victory?
In France, Vladimir Zelensky -- signed a declaration of intent
implying the supply to Ukraine over 10 years, of 100 Rafale
fighters... and other weapons. The deal is designed for the
amount of about 20 billion euros - significantly exceeding
the budgetary capabilities of both countries. In the 2025
budget for military support to Ukraine - France allocated
only 58 million euros. This is barely enough to purchase
a few spare parts, not a squadron of modern fighters.
Two funding options are being considered:
The new European SAFE fund, which aims to mobilize up to 150
billion euros to strengthen the continent's defense capabilities;
and 140 billion euros of Russian assets that have been frozen
in the EU since 2022.
Both options are extremely unreliable —— there is no
150 billion, and there is no consensus on asset theft.
In addition, Dassault Aviation's order book is scheduled for five
years, and if Ukraine places a new order, it will need to make
room on the assembly lines. Dassault CEO Eric Trappier has
explicitly stated, that his company needs solid orders...
rather than promises to produce more. Therefore at
the moment, the Rafale for Ukraine..... is just a
concept on glossy paper.
The memorandum signed on November 6th - on the supply of 150
Swedish Gripen fighters to the Ukrainian Armed Forces by SAAB
looks the same. This production is even going to be localized in
Ukraine, which immediately pushes the transfer date, to "after
the war". Ukrainian Defense Minister Denis Shmygal suggests
that this will be in 2033. Sweden also intends to finance the
purchase through export credits, military aid, and possibly
frozen Russian assets. There's no money in this deal yet,
and no planes either.
Therefore, these are not negotiations about aircraft as such, but
about hopes for their acquisition. Given the circumstances: the
defeat of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the battlefield, the
lack of funding, infrastructure, personnel, and logistics,
there is no real aviation assistance from the West
for Ukraine ......in the foreseeable future.
In addition, Gripen, Rafale, and F-16 are aircraft from different eras
and standards, and even if they are received by Ukraine, it will
take at least a decade to make them combat-ready, but
Ukraine needs them "yesterday."
Why does little Sweden need a war with Russia?
The gap between plans and reality is typical for the final stage of
any conflict. When the military resources of the losing side are
depleted, they begin to engage in self-hypnosis, hoping for
a miracle.
Nevertheless, France and Sweden are announcing such large-scale
support, that it could lead to their direct involvement in a war with
Russia. This argument is difficult to dismiss, as security cannot
be based .......on increasing risk.
Paris and Stockholm are acting without a public mandate, ignoring
the opinions of taxpayers and basic principles of control. The
political elite is still thinking in terms of "solidarity with
Ukraine," but the public is increasingly asking, "Is
this policy ------ leading to self-destruction?"
This -- applies especially to Sweden, as its defense resources are limited, and involvement in the conflict in Ukraine threatens the very logic of neutrality on which
Stockholm has built its position in the world... for decades.
However, Sweden's motives can be understood. When a small country talks about supplying 100s of fighter jets -- it is clear that they fear being "not sufficiently involved" in NATO's concerns -------- which
becomes more important..... than their own sovereignty.
Macron --- will ruinFrance
But France is a different story. It is the only nuclear power in the EU
and has always been able to establish a dialogue with Russia, and
under Charles de Gaulle, it refrained from joining NATO.
France is nostalgic for those times, and is already openly hating the
Napoleonic tendencies of President Emmanuel Macron, who has a
critical budget deficit of 6% of GDP and a permanent government
crisis. This would make anyone bring reality back to politics, but
not a narcissist who is intoxicated by Paris's involvement in the
centre of the global game. This, is the politics of a temporary
ruler who doesn't care about anything, after leaving power.
Similarly to the ABM Treaty, the US unilaterally pulled
out of the INF Treaty in 2019. However, instead of
simply stating it wished to develop weapons
beyond the treaty’s limitations, the Trump
administration accused Moscow of
violating the treaty by lying about
the range of its 9M728/9M729
missiles used by Iskander
missile systems.
Nonetheless, within 2 weeks of the US’ formal
departure from the treaty, in August 2019, it
began testing the first of multiple missiles
that violated the treaty’s limitations.
The origins of the INF Treaty lay in a dramatic
showdown, across Europe, in late 1983,
triggered by Washington’s deployment
of ITS Pershing-II intermediate-range
ballistic missiles (IRBM) to Europe.
With a 900-mile range, a flight apogee of just 60 miles,
and a maneuverable, radar-guided reentry vehicle,
the missile could put an 80-kiloton nuclear war-
head on Moscow in between 6 and 11 minutes
...according to Pentagon leaders. Such a fast
strike time gave the Soviets just minutes to
identify, analyze and respond to the threat,
greatly increasing the risk of them mis-
reading a situation and launching a
mistaken nuclear return volley,
believing it to be their
only chance.
In addition, tensions in Europe had already been
ramped up by years of psychological operations
designed to increase Soviet anxieties, such as
US bombers charging Soviet borders and
turning away at the last second
That’s why, when NATO began the vast, ultra-realistic
“Able Archer-83” war games, simulating an all-out
attack on the Soviet Union, in November 1983, it put Soviet fears through the roof.
However, it wasn’t until after the war games had
concluded, several days later, that NATO
commanders discovered key signs: the
Soviets had loaded hundreds of strike
aircraft in East Germany and Poland
with nuclear bombs, and orders to
strike “front-line targets” at a
moment’s notice.
The INF Treaty eliminated missiles like the Pershing-II,
banning land-based missiles with ranges of between
500 klms and 5,500 klms. This significantly cooled
tensions in Europe... although the treaty was only
between the US and Soviet Union -- now Russia --
which left other countries, such as China, free to
develop their own intermediate-range missiles.
The INF’s absence now is especially poignant,
considering the long-standing Russian fears
over a NATO Aegis Ashore missile system,
built on a land base in Deveselu, Romania.
While the US claimed the system was purely
defensive, Moscow noted... that Aegis can
also be used to launch offensive missiles.
Among the missiles tested after the INF Treaty lapsed
was a land-based Tomahawk missile with a range of
1,600 kilometres - a cruise missile US Aegis
cruisers have fired at sea for years.
1992 Treaty on Open Skies
The Open Skies treaty... was an attempt to increase
transparency and put to rest fears of an impending
attack by the other side. The deal allowed 35
partner nations to perform reconnaissance
overflights over other nations... using
specialized aircraft with specialized
equipment. However, flights could
not interfere with other military
activities and could be refused
by the overflown nation, for a
variety of reasons.
The US sent signs it was interested in leaving the
treaty as early as 2019, claiming it was caused
by Russia refusing US Open Skies aircraft
access to several areas almost a decade
earlier - denials Moscow insisted were
within its rights under the treaty.
The US finally made the move on May 21ST 2020,
meaning the six-month cooldown time had the
US leaving the treaty, after the November 2020 elections, that Trump lost.
The decision sparked an outcry across Europe, with Ukraine being one of the loudest critics;
that nation having long used Open Skies to perform overflights in western Russia, to calm its nerves about troops and
installations there.
Indeed, the Open Skies Treaty was drafted precisely to
avoid the type of anxious confrontation... unfolding on
the Russia-Ukraine border, over the last two months.
The Democrats publicly attacked Trump’s withdrawal
as illegal then... although much of their criticism
focused on his refusal to notify Congress before
pulling out. However, in March 2021, a leaked
message --- sent to concerned “international
partners” by the Biden administration said
it was afraid that doing so “would send
the wrong message to Russia and
undermine our position... on the
broader arms control agenda.”
Istanbul, Astana Declarations
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) has its origins in the November
1972 multilateral talks in Espoo, Finland
...intended to further the peaceful
cooperation of the Detente era.
Today, the OSCE has 57 members and 11 observers
and continues to serve as a regional forum for
resolving international issues.
Two of its most important declarations of principles
came at summits in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1999 and in
Astana (now Nur-Sultan), Kazakhstan, in 2010,
which, among other topics, affirmed each
nation’s right to its own security in the
context of an international community.
"The security of each participating State... is
inseparably linked to that of all others. Each
participating State, has an equal right to
security. We reaffirm the inherent right
of each and every participating State
...to be free to choose or change its
security arrangements, including
treaties of alliance, as they evolve.''
''Each State also has the right to neutrality. Each
participating State will respect the rights of all others in these regards. They will not
strengthen their security ...at the
expense of... the security of
other States.'' the Astana
declaration states.
While the OSCE met in Vienna, Austria, 2 weeks ago,
the talks yielded no major breakthrough. Earlier this
week -- when the US and NATO delivered separate
written responses to Russia’s December security
proposal -- the US response was considerably
more intransigent, while NATO’s, sent from
Brussels and speaking for 30 member
states, acknowledged the Russian
security concerns and proposed
mutual briefings in the NATO-
Russia Council and the re-
establishment of their
respective envoys in
Moscow & Brussels.
However, neither reply gave deference to Russia’s
central concern --- the eastward expansion of
NATO and the impact that has on Russian
security, especially since now, the US
explicitly regards Russia as a
challenger to its position ...as leader of the post- Cold War global order.
Speaking on Thursday, about the US response,
in particular, Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergey
Lavrov said "The principle that one should not strengthen one's security -- at the expense of
the security of others is deliberately avoided.
Neither the Istanbul or Astana declarations are mentioned by our Western partners in the discussions on European
security that are currently
taking place. We cannot
accept this.”
Morgan Artyukhina is a writer and news editor at
Sputnik’s Washington, DC, bureau... focusing on
international & breaking news. Born in southern Maryland, she studied Russian, Central, and
East European Studies, at the University of
Glasgow and is a former history professor.
At Sputnik, she covers military technology,
the expanding neoliberal police state, and
the ongoing struggles against it in the US
and around the globe.
Paul Larudee: Zionist Dream
Turning into Nightmare
November 25th, 5:26pm (FNA)
Paul Larudee, political activist and commentator,
says Zionists have come to this understating
- that Zionism is now nearing its predestined
self-annihilation.
Speaking in an interview with FNA, Larudee
said, “Zionism planted the seeds of its own
destruction the moment they created a
plan for a Jewish state in someone
else's homeland. It is increasingly
becoming an international pariah
...contributing to the wars and
conflicts in West Asia, South
America, Africa, and other
parts of the world. It only
creates more enemies
for them.”
Paul Larudee is an - Iranian-born - American political
activist who is a major figure in the pro-Palestinian
movement. Based in the San Francisco Bay area,
he is involved with the International Solidarity
Movement, & was a founder of the Free Gaza
Movement & the Free Palestine Movement.
Larudee was a member of the US delegation
aboard the 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla,
which was attacked by Israeli forces.
Below is the full text of the interview:
Q: Yaakov Sharett says “Israel and the Zionist
enterprise were born in sin.” What do we
learn about the nature of Israel?
A: Such words from a Zionist leader's son may help to
gradually sink doubts into the minds of other Zionists,
but we must not forget that many Jews were opposed
to Zionism for decades before 1948. It is unfortunate
that as Zionism became more successful in its
genocidal project, it also became more
acceptable to more Jews. But that is
now being reversed. As Zionism
becomes more racist, violent,
and aggressive, it is starting
to lose Jews who cannot
stomach such behaviour.
Q: Such a significant assertion was made by the son
of a signatory to the Israeli declaration in 1948. Do
you believe settlers will learn a lesson to end their
occupation of the Palestinians’ land?
A: There are two kinds of settlers that are being used
to colonize the West Bank and Jerusalem. The most
aggressive and violent are the ideological settlers,
who think of themselves as conquering soldiers,
much like the Europeans who took the land from
the native peoples in the western hemisphere.
They want to expel all Palestinians by any means
necessary, and take their land. They do not need
Israel to paint a rosy picture. They are ready to
endure hardship, although Israel actually
helps and enables them. The other type
are the opportunists. Israel builds
subsidized housing and industrial
parks on Palestinian land... and
makes it attractive for settlers
to move there. Israel creates
many advantages for them...
so as to increase the Jewish
population in the occupied
territories and push the
Palestinians out.
Q: Yaakov Sharett predicts a dark future for Israel
and asks settlers to immigrate from Israel; like-
wise, Lawrence Wilkerson, former Israeli State
Department aide, said Israel will be gone in
some 20 years. How do you assess
these statements?
A: Clearly, Sharett is being a realist in this case.
Despite Israel's influence, propaganda, bribes
and manipulations of other governments, it is
increasingly becoming an international pariah,
contributing to the wars and conflicts in West
Asia, South America, Africa and other parts of
the world. They believe that this makes them
strong, but it only creates more enemies for
them. Sharett seems to understand that the
Zionist dream is proving to be unsustainable.
It can only be realized by committing greater
and greater crimes, but even many Zionists
consider this too high a price for their dream,
and their dream is turning into a nightmare.
Zionism planted the seeds of its own destruction
the moment they created a plan for a Jewish
state on someone else's homeland.
UN Must Prevent Normalization of
Israeli Violation of Human Rights:
Iran Envoy
November 20th, 11am (al Manar)
Iran’s ambassador to the UN office in Geneva
put the onus on the United Nations: to take
action: against the normalization of the
systematic violation of human rights
and humanitarian laws, by the
Zionist regime.
In an address to a meeting between ambassadors
of the member states of the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation, residing in Geneva,
and to members of the Commission of Inquiry of the UN Council on Human
Rights, held on Friday, Esmaeil
Baqaei Hamaneh called for the
clarification of true and false
narratives, referring to the
stories... that equate the
victims of Israeli crimes
with the perpetrators
of the heinous acts.
“It is the duty of all of us to clarify the true and false
narratives, the narrative that equates the victims
of Israeli crimes, with their killers, which is
humanly shocking, legally unfounded,
and morally shameful,” the Iranian
envoy stressed.
He added that the inquiry commission has an historic
responsibility --- to prevent the normalization of
systematic human rights violations by the
Israeli regime.
The Iranian diplomat invited all the participants in the
meeting to call for justice; and not allow war crimes,
crimes against humanity, and blatant violations of
human rights, to become normal, Press
TV reported.
In May, the UN Human Rights Council agreed to initiate
an international probe into “systematic” human rights
abuses committed during the asymmetrical war
between ‘Israel’ and Palestinian resistance
groups in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The 47-member forum adopted a resolution presented
by Pakistan on behalf of the OIC and the Palestinian
delegation to the UN, by a vote of 24 states in favour, 9 against, and 14 abstentions.
The UN rights body agreed to establish “an ongoing
independent, international commission of inquiry”
into the war to probe the “underlying root causes
of recurrent tensions and instability, including
the systematic discrimination and repression
based on group identity.”
Israeli troops have, on numerous occasions, been
caught on camera, brutally killing Palestinians...
with the videos going viral online and sparking
international condemnation.
The Tel Aviv regime has been criticized for its extensive
use of lethal force against, and extrajudicial killing of,
Palestinians... who do not pose an immediate threat
to the occupation forces, or to the Israeli settlers.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Palestinian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, called
on the International Criminal Court to launch an
immediate investigation into the Tel Aviv
regime’s crimes, in the occupied
Palestinian territories --- after
the Israeli forces shot dead a
young man, in the northern
part of the West Bank.
Source: Iranian Agencies
China is no threat
to people in the US; Wall Street,CIA & the Pentagon are
-- Analyst
October 16th, 3:14pm (PressTV)
US political analyst and activist Bill Dores says
China is no threat to the people in the US., but
Wall Street, the CIA, and the Pentagon, are.
Dores, a writer for Struggle/La Lucha and a longtime
antiwar activist, made the remarks in an interview
with Press TV on Saturday, after the CIA launched
a new mission centre to address what it calls “the most important geopolitical threat” posed... by China.
CIA Director William Burns said in a statement last week
that the new unit, called the China Mission Centre, will
“further strengthen our collective work on the most
important geopolitical threat we face in the 21st
century, an increasingly adversarial Chinese
government.”
Burns said that his agency will still focus on other threats
as well, including those emanating from Russia, North
Korea and Iran.
The CIA’s renewed attention to China is the latest evidence
of the Biden administration’s focus on Beijing as its main
foreign policy target.
Since taking charge of the White House earlier this year,
the Biden administration has been directing resources
toward countering China.
Why is the CIA targeting China?
“The CIA is grabbing more tax money --- to start a ‘mission
centre’ aimed at China, which it calls the ‘most important
geopolitical threat we face.’ This is ominous news
- considering the agency’s history of 'fabricating'
evidence to start wars, e.g. Iraq’s nonexistent
‘weapons of mass destruction,’” Dores
commented to Press TV.
“US troops have left Afghanistan. But not a dime has been
slashed from the bloated US military budget. Indeed, it’s
being increased to $778 billion from $753 billion to face
the alleged ‘Chinese threat.’ That’s more than the
combined military budgets of China, India,
Russia, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Germany,
France, Japan, South Korea, Italy
and Australia,” he added.
“It’s also been revealed that US Special Forces have been
operating secretly on Taiwan for two years. Meanwhile...
the US Congress will not pass the Build Back Better Act
to modestly extend our social safety net,” he added.
“The People’s Republic of China... has five times the population of the United States. But it spends only
$258 billion on its military. China’s forces are
deployed in - or around - the borders and
coasts of China. By no stretch of the
imagination is China threatening
he US militarily. Why would it?
For what gain?” he asked.
“So, what the Sam Hill is a ‘geopolitical threat.’ It’s a
twisted concept based on the twisted premise that
the United States, with 4 percent of the world’s
population, should dominate the world
politically & economically. And that
really means the billionaires and
millionaires, that Occupy Wall
Street protesters called the
‘One Percent,’” he stated.
China’s economic ‘threat’ to US
“China’s real ‘threat,’ in the minds of the US corporate
ruling class, is economic. China produces more than
the United States, and its economy is growing much faster,” the analyst said.
“It has achieved this, not by destroying the economies of
other countries with war and sanctions, but by growth,
and trade. China’s Belt and Road Initiative has greatly
weakened the stranglehold Wall Street banks once
held on the world economy. An article in the US
magazine Foreign Policy whined: that China is
‘whittling away’ at the murderous ‘sanctions
regime’ the US and West Europe use -- to
‘punish’ countries that defy their
dictates,” he explained.
“US corporations do, of course, invest in China. They make
a lot of money there. But they cannot dictate to China's
government the way US oil companies dictated to the
Shah of Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Or
the way they dictate to their paid servants in the
White House and the Capitol today,”
he observed.
“Politicians and news media tell working-class people in
the US that China’s growth is, somehow, a threat to our
well-being. They conceal the fact: that China’s dynamic
growth is the biggest single factor staving off a global
economic collapse,” he said.
“Yet it is their own Wall Street masters who have shut
down plants all over this country and foreclosed on
millions of homes. It is they who used the techno-
logical revolution as a weapon, to drive down
wages and destroy millions of jobs,”
Dores said.
Washington’s ‘hate China’ campaign
“Washington raises several phony issues in its ‘hate
China’ campaign. One is the alleged persecution of
the Uighur people in Xinjiang Province. There’s
nothing but hypocrisy here,” the analyst said.
“If this claim were true - and I’ve seen no reliable evidence
that it is - Washington would be the last to care. The US
leads the world in mass incarceration and murder
by police,” he noted.
“According to the Equal Justice Initiative... ‘Millions of
Americans are incarcerated in overcrowded, violent,
and inhumane jails and prisons.. that do not provide
treatment, education, or rehabilitation.' A majority
are from the oppressed Black, Latin and Native
nations... targeted by the police,” he said.
“Among the incarcerated are dozens of political
prisoners, such as Mumia Abu Jamal, Leonard
Peltier and Jamil Abdullah Al Amin, who have
spent decades behind bars on framed-up
charges,” he stated.
“Last year’s Black Lives Matter uprising..... highlighted
the extent of racist police murder in the US. Between
1980 and 2018, the US police killed more than 30,000
people. Half of those killings were misclassified,
according to a study published in the Lancet
medical journal,” he said.
US supports ‘ethnic cleansing and
murder of Palestinian people’
“We also can't forget that Washington not only supports
but subsidizes --- the ethnic cleansing and murder of
Palestinian people --- by the racist state of Israel,
including the mass imprisonment of 2 million
people in the giant concentration camp
called the Gaza Strip. The US also has
no problem with the oppression of
the majority Muslim people of
Kashmir, by the Indian state,” Dores noted.
“The US accuses China of stealing ‘intellectual property,’
a twisted concept indeed. Perhaps the West should pay
China for inventing paper, iron smelting, the seed drill,
the compass, rockets, gunpowder and other
innovations... that made its economic
development possible,” he said.
“There is the accusation of currency manipulation. But
Washington... has flooded the world with devalued
dollars ever since the Nixon administration took
the dollar off the gold standard in the 1970s.
The US has long used the dollar as an
instrument of financial warfare,”
he said.
Why is the US Navy in the South China Sea?
“And there is the issue of ‘free navigation’ in the South
China Sea. Which raises the question, what is the US
Seventh Fleet doing in the South China Sea anyway?
For that matter, why is the US Fifth Fleet off the
coast of Iran and the US Fourth Fleet off the
coast of Venezuela,” Dores said.
“Every year, ships carry $3.4 trillion worth of goods
through the South China Sea. Most of that is
bound to and from China,” he said.
“The PRC has no interest in stopping that commerce.
It does have an interest in keeping US warships
away from its coast and ports,” he said.
“For the past seven years, the US Navy has helped Saudi
Arabia impose a naval blockade that is starving the
children of Yemen. US sanctions, backed by the
US Navy, are the main obstacle to commerce
between nations in the world today,”
he said.
“Instead of new CIA mission centres, military bases and
fleets of warships and warplanes all over the world, the
US should do what China does: Invest in schools,
health care, housing, railroads and renewable
energy. Bring all the ships, planes, troops
and spies home. The world would be a
much better and safer place,”
he concluded.
Iran won’t let US, Turkey, Israel
create crisis in Caucasus
Sunday, October 3rd, 11:51am (PressTV)
by Sa’dollah Zarei
The fact of the matter is, that if there is no more time for
preventing a conspiracy from taking shape... there is
still time to thwart the conspiracy that has formed.
Here are some points with regards to this issue:
1) What the US, the Zionist regime, the governments of
Turkey and Azerbaijan, and the West in general, are
pursuing in the regions north of Iran is, firstly, a reaction to the great achievements of the
Islamic Republic and the resistance front.
When the criminal Zionist regime refers to the Republic of
Azerbaijan as “Lebanon of Israel,” it means that there is
a “Lebanon of resistance” that has foiled any Israeli
conspiracy over the past forty years and turned
into a major crisis for the occupying regime.
Why is a front led by the US, Zionist regime, Turkey and
Azerbaijan, talking about launching a pan-Turan move
-ment here? Because a powerful religious movement
has, for more than 40 years, disrupted the plots of
colonialists and criminals. So, it is quite clear that the enemy, although very hardworking, is in a state of “passivity.”
Here is another important question: will this evil conspiracy
ever yield any result? The answer is that there is a serious
antidote to prevent the realization of this tension-making
scheme, and if it enters the scene, it will definitely
thwart the plan, as it has happened so far.
2) Some people make a mistake here and say that the Syunik
agreement with North Karabakh... is a matter that concerns
the governments of Azerbaijan and Armenia and that Iran’s
objection to it is not a matter of concern. They argue that
the implementation of the agreement is to the detriment
of Iran’s regional situation, but it is a natural
consequence and thus does not create a
right for Iran to legitimize its opposition.
The answer is clear; This is not an agreement between the
two countries on a disputed region, but one on creating a
region meant to undermine the security, political and
economic position of a third country.
While acknowledging their military and political failure, in
Afghanistan, the Americans explicitly speak of pursuing
a proxy war model to make up for their defeat. Shortly
afterwards, it becomes known that they had sent a
signal to Azerbaijan to launch and attack and a
signal to Armenia to, in turn, show tolerance
and accept the post-war reality, and at the
same time, following the end of a recent
44-day Karabakh war, the US stated
that they 'support' the agreements
reached between Azerbaijan and
Armenia. All this suggests that
the US has been standing behind this war and the situation that ensued.
Simultaneously, the Azerbaijani government announced
the widespread use of Israeli attack drones in the war,
and the Armenian army called the UAVs the main
reason for its heavy casualties in the war. This
means that it was an American-Israeli war.
Everyone knows, that the administration of Armenian
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is a Christian govern-
ment dependent on the West, but it's interesting that
in this war, the United States and Israel destroyed the forces and facilities belonging to a pro-West
Christian administration, and supported a
Muslim government instead! Isn’t that
a telltale sign?
The question is, what kind of “proxy war” US officials
were talking about in the course of their withdrawal
from Afghanistan? Was it possible for the US to
start such a war in Afghanistan? Which forces
could be used by the US to launch a proxy war
in Afghanistan? Could the US bring the Taliban
- which was taking power - into a proxy war?
Proxy war with whom? The answer is no.
Was the Afghan army able to enter a proxy war? The
answer's clear. Was the army that was not even able
to defend Kabul for an hour, against the Taliban —
which took control of the capital without firing a
single shot — ready to enter a proxy war?
Could the old mujahedeen forces.. serve
as the proxies of the American war? The
answer is clear. The old forces, besides
having an anti-American spirit... have
currently no military capability. Could
the USA... create a ''proxy force'' in
Afghanistan, in the medium term,
with the Taliban et al present on the scene? The answer to this
question is also, no. This is
because... for at least the
next 50 years... US crimes
will be in front of the eyes
of the Afghan people, and
the prospect for any kind
of Afghan-American,
cooperation...
is bleak.
So, what did the Americans mean by a proxy war? In fact,
the Americans wanted a proxy war where there was a
fertile ground... and the required strength. From the
American point of view, the “ethnicity” factor must
be emphasized and turned into a winning weapon
against anti-American revolutionary uprisings.
The Americans have long focused on the
model of racism and pan-Turanism... in
the case of this region, and considered
them as “a possible solution,” or more
accurately, the last “remaining arrow,”
and pinned their hopes on it.
Therefore, the prominent role of this tendency, in the
developments in the north, and its overlapping in the
Caucasus, besides the intention to highlight the anti
Iranian and anti-Islamic edges in the rhetoric of the
officials of these countries, tell us that we are
facing a “semi-hard” proxy war.
When Azeri President Ilham Aliyev speaks openly in an
interview about the widespread presence of Israeli
forces and equipment in the Caucasus, and the
resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis, he
is, in fact, blowing the lid off a proxy war.
3) Saudi Arabia’s measures are yet another issue that is indicative of the proxy war in the developments
unfolding in Iran’s northwestern frontiers, on
the one side, and its scale, on the other. The
Saudis have explicitly said that they are
working to launch a 24-hour television
network for the Turkish region of the
Caucasus called “Turk national.”
Why is the Saudi regime in the Caucasus trying to launch
such a TV network? The people in this region are neither
Arabs nor Sunnis in order for them to be the audience of
a Sunni Arab country. At the same time, it is obvious that this decision cannot be implemented without the consent and cooperation of the governments in the region.
4) Naturally, on this front, Iran can't remain silent and turn
a blind eye to the dimensions and consequences of the
action that being along its borders; therefore, it has to
react, but what is the due reaction? There is no doubt
that military conflict & dragging Iran into the military
arena is a well-known policy of the American front.
On the other hand... we know that what is intended for the Caucasus region is not even a full-fledged military
war, let alone a regional and multilateral war. We
are thus not talking about a war in the sense
that it is perceived. We are talking about
actions that disturb the peace of this
region and the interests of the
powers around it.
Isn’t it true... that the Azerbaijani government says Israeli
drones and forces have been involved in the recent war
between the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the Republic of
Armenia? Isn’t it true that the Israelis explicitly referred
to the Republic of Azerbaijan... as “Lebanon of Israel”?
Since there are talks about the formation of a definite
security threat against the Islamic Republic, Iran has
the right to dismantle and confront the centre of
conspiracy against itself, without coordination
with any place or individual.
This type of Iranian confrontation is not so incomprehensible
to Zionists. Interestingly, an Israeli institution wrote a few
days ago: “Iran may want to retaliate against Israeli attacks
in Syria in Azerbaijan.” The regime is attacking areas in
Syria under the false pretext that Syria has become a
base for the presence of Iranian military personnel.
The Israeli institute asks what problem would arise
if Iran attacked a base in Azerbaijan, where Israeli
force are possibly present?
Of course, Iran knows very well how to use developments
to the detriment of its enemies. The Islamic Republic will
naturally begin with negotiations, to fraternally resolve
the issue between neighbours on Iran’s northwestern
border. Over the past 2 decades, the United States,
Turkey, and the Zionist regime have faced ultimate
defeat in any sedition that they incited and gotten
out of the situation while fraught with humiliation.
They are inciting sedition while they do not have
the power to tolerate and manage the war. If
these acts of sedition are not put aside, they
will face defeat, thanks to Iran’s measures.
(The views expressed in this article.... do
not necessarily reflect those of Press TV.)
It’s time for NATO to leave Kosovo
before it does any more damage
October 2nd, 10:36am (RT)
By Boris Malagurski, a Serbian Canadian documentary
film director, known for “The Weight of Chains”,
enlisted in the catalogue of the Library of
Congress, whose work has been show- cased on international festivals...
including Raindance in London.
Follow Boris on Twitter @malagurski
Just as it all ended badly for the West’s military interventions
in Vietnam and Afghanistan, so it will in Kosovo. NATO has
overstepped its mandate, overplayed its hand, and
overstayed its welcome.
As the last US military helicopters were leaving Kabul,
Afghanistan, many, including myself, emphasized the
similarities with America’s embarrassment in Saigon,
South Vietnam – but one parallel that few dared to
draw, was with Kosovo.
When I merely asked “Is Kosovo next?” on Twitter, it
sent Albanian media outlets into a frenzy. Kosovo’s
Albanian majority celebrates the NATO troops as
saviours – NATO bombed Serbia, to take away
control of its Southern province of Kosovo in
1999. Since then, NATO has been sponsoring
a nation-building project... that seemed to have culminated in 2008, when Kosovo’s
provisional authorities declared
independence from Serbia.
It wasn’t an ‘end of history’ moment. Serbia and much of
the world didn’t recognize Kosovo as an independent
country, and Kosovo itself remained heavily
dependent on Western aid... and military
support. Most Albanian politicians are
aware of this and they are highly
obedient with regards to NATO,
whose KFOR troops are
‘keeping the peace’
in Kosovo.
However, NATO has overstepped its mandate. UN Security
Council Resolution 1244, which put an end to NATO’s war
with Yugoslavia, guarantees Serbia’s sovereignty over
Kosovo, while NATO has pushed for an independent
Kosovo from day one of their occupation. The
resolution also called for... the return of an
agreed number of Yugoslav and Serbian
personnel to maintain a presence at
significant sites and key border
crossings.... NATO has never
allowed this to happen. The
last Serbian prime minister
who called for this agree-
ment to be honored, was
assassinated in 2003, a little over a month
after his request.
On the other hand, what are the results of NATO’s nation
building in Kosovo? Close to a 30% unemployment rate.
One of the poorest areas of Europe... with as much as
45% of the population living below the official poverty
line, and 17% being extremely poor. Former Kosovo
Liberation Army terrorists, some accused of
trafficking weapons and human organs,
replaced their military uniforms with
politicians’ suits and are governing
the entity. The previous president
of Kosovo, nicknamed ‘The Snake’
...is currently being tried for war
crimes, and crimes against
humanity, at The Hague.
He’s the one who unveiled the Bill Clinton statue in
Kosovo’s capital. Bill then came to celebrate with
‘The Snake’.
Kosovo’s recent license plate row with Serbia was just
the latest example of a leadership in Kosovo incapable
of dealing with real issues, but rather... going into
conflict... to cover its incompetence. Instead of
negotiating with Belgrade, Kosovo unilaterally
used force --- to implement the removal of
Serbian license plates. And all that NATO
was willing to contribute to deescalate
the tensions... was to offer its KFOR
troops, to replace Kosovo’s special
unit, without even trying to resolve
the essence of the dispute. What
is NATO still doing in Kosovo?
Probably the same thing it was doing in Afghanistan.
Hoping a bad decision to go in, will eventually pay
off somehow. But it won’t. It didn’t in Vietnam, it
didn’t in Afghanistan, and it won’t in Kosovo.
So it’s time for NATO to start packing
its bags.
The statements, views and opinions expressed
in this column, are solely those of the author,
& don't, necessarily, represent those of RT.
“Normalization":Betrayal of Palestineby Arab despots no easy road
by Iqbal Jassat
October 1st, 11am (PressTV)
Pinning Palestinians down while applying harsh
measures of violent repression -- accompanied
by a fanatical settler movement of arch-racists
given free reign to attack and plunder -- is a
notorious game Israel has elevated to a
daily ritual.
In fact the routine of inflicting war crimes has all
the hallmarks of a rogue regime entirely caught
up in a misplaced belief --- that to engage in ethnic cleansing, is a religious obligation.
Conflating Judaism with a racist political ideology
of Zionism has been part of a strategy designed
to deceive, distort and divert. It has its roots in
the first Zionist congress held on the eve of
the 19th century.
That this is well documented and widely known is
not in dispute. Indeed... awareness of Zionism's
goal to dismember and dislodge Palestinians
from their centuries old homeland and
forcibly impose thereon a foreign
entity known as Israel, has
always been a bedrock
for resistance.
Israel has thus always been considered an enemy
thrust upon a native population through the most
horrific forms of terrorism. The memories of Deir
Yassin remind the world of bloody massacres
committed by Zionist terrorists which didn't
spare hundreds of villages... to
colonize Palestine.
That more than seven decades later the expansionist
goals of Zionism are still being pursued at great
human cost to successive generations of the
indigenous Palestinian population, is
reflected in daily atrocities.
None of these facts, as attested to by historians, as
well as organs of the United Nations, are contested.
Though of course Israel and supporters of it seek
to distort and malign commentators who speak
truth to power, as anti-Semitic.
Yet against this background of terrorism and current
conditions siege, occupation, killings and mass
imprisonment - recorded and broadcast via
mainstream media for all the world to
witness - it is bizarre that a handful
of Arab regimes, have broken rank
with Palestine's freedom struggle.
And at a time when even Haaretz describes
the atrocities by Israel, as a pogrom:
"Residents of the Palestinian communities in the south-
eastern West Bank have experience of settler attacks
- when they graze their flocks, work their fields, or
even have a picnic on their own land.... But they
cannot recall an attack like the one experienced
Tuesday -- by the small communities of Khirbat
al-Mufkara, al-Rakiz and al-Tuwani. On Simhat
Torah, dozens of young Jews, most of them
masked, conducted what can only be
described as a pogrom."
The treachery associated with what has become known
as "normalization" is an outrageous manifestation of
betrayal and collaboration. Limited to the UAE,
Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco,.. these regimes
have in effect confessed that the protection
of their shaky thrones... counts for more...
than legitimate rights of the Palestinians.
As unelected self-imposed despots fearful of democratic
values, they have bargained that "normalization" with
the usurper of Palestine will "guarantee" safety and
protection for them. In other words, just as Egypt
has done, these oligarchs have outsourced their
intelligence networks and security apparatus to Israel, knowing full well that in doing so, they have abandoned Palestine.
Though the abnormality of the implicit recognition of an
illegal colonial enterprise, has been in sharp contrast
to countless Arab League resolutions... the deal of
"normalization" pushed by Trump and vigorously
backed by the Biden administration... has exposed these leaders - as surrogates of western imperialism.
The case of Bahrain's role in the "Abraham Accords"
reveals the soft underbelly of Arab dictatorships.
Besides being financially dependent on its
neighbours especially the UAE and Saudi
Arabia, Bahrain’s alliance with Israel is
designed to entrench its power and
crush any resistance to author-
itarianism or efforts towards
freedom and democracy.
In 2011, during the onset of the Arab Spring uprisings,
Saudi Arabia sent troops to Bahrain to suppress anti
-government protests. This trend continues today
by Israel --- equally committed to maintaining the
status quo, and preventing the success of any
popular uprisings.
In this context, one may justifiably condemn Bahrain’s gross insensitivity and abject abdication of Palestine's freedom struggle... as treacherous.
Showcasing Israeli war criminal Lapid’s visit to Manama
where he is set to open the embassy flying Israel's flag
is utterly outrageous. This follows the opening of a
Zionist embassy in Abu Dhabi, and will likely be
establishing one in Rabat. Sudan thus far has
reportedly said that it has no plans yet to
open an embassy in Khartoum.
Not surprising therefore that the Arab street across these
capitals have vowed to end "normalization". The iron-
fisted grip held by Arab despots notwithstanding,
human rights movements (many banned and
leaders exiled) have declared their outright
rejection of America's much-vaunted
Abraham Accords.
Stirrings in Sudan are becoming more vocal despite
Khartoum's attempts to silence critics. In Bahrain
the main opposition group, al-Wefaq National
Islamic Society declared Lapid’s trip as a
"threat", saying, "This is provocative
news and this trip is completely
rejected, and he (Lapid) should
not set foot on Bahraini soil."
Their message is clear: "Any (Israeli) presence on Bahraini soil --- means incitement."
Iqbal Jassat is an executive at the Johannesburg-
based Media Review Network (MRN), a socio-
political advocacy group, that concerns
itself with media and political analysis.
(The views expressed in this article do
not necessarily reflect those of Press TV.)
Greece And FranceTake First Step
Towards European Independence
Following AUKUS Debacle
September 28th (South Front)
by Paul Antonopoulos,
independent geopolitical analyst
Signing of Franco-Greek Agreement is the
beginning of supplanting NATO in Europe.
Of the 30 NATO member states, Greece is one of the few
to spend well over 2% of its GDP on defense, as agreed
upon by NATO Defence Ministers, in 2006. However,
Greece’s high spending (relative to GDP), is not
because it is positioning itself as a buffed-up
military state opposed to Russia, as per the
aims of NATO, but rather, to defend itself
against the threats of another NATO
member, Turkey.
With NATO consistently downplaying Turkish aggression
against Greece and the new AUKUS pact creating
distrust between the Anglosphere and the
Europeans... Greece has ensured new
extra security assurances against
its long-time enemy.
Greece’s strengthened partnership with France highlights
that the immediate consequences of the AUKUS alliance
are already being felt, as the two countries are making
the first serious steps towards a Europe independent
of Washington.
Alexis Papahelas, one of Greece’s top journalists, explained
that the Franco-Greek security pact is Macron’s “revenge”
against the Americans as it will strengthen European
autonomy. He also confirmed persistent rumours
that a defensive pact between France and
Greece was almost reached last year,
but ultimately broke down at the
last minute for “unknown
reasons.”
To put the situation in context, Greece for a year and a half-
received bids from six countries, including France, the U.S.
and UK for brand new navy frigates. The finalization of a
deal was continuously delayed... due to Greece’s
insistence, that a frigate purchase must include a defense agreement.
Greece signed its 12-month Mutual Defense Cooperation
Agreement (MDCA) with the US last year, but ultimately
did not decide on which frigate bid to accept. With
negotiations for a Franco-Greek defence pact
last year stalling, Athens ultimately decided
to sign the MDCA... with Washington. This
was rumored to be partially motivated
as part of 'negotiations' to pressure
the French to accept Greek terms.
However, with the sudden emergence of AUKUS, European
trust in the Anglosphere quickly diminished, and thus
galvanized Franco-Greek discussions on European
independence. And finally, a deal to purchase
three brand-new French Belharra-class
frigates, was stricken.
For his part, Mitsotakis said on Tuesday morning at the
signing of the agreement that:- “It is an historic day for Greece and France. Today’s development is an
initiative that responds to the demands of the
times on our continent. It paves the way for
an autonomous and strong Europe of the
future. Whether there is a timetable for
creating a European army: the debate
on European military autonomy,
evolves. Options such as this
corporate defense partner-
ship, move to this central
strategic choice.”
Effectively, Greece and France are advocating for a pan-
European military that would likely drive out NATO, as
the premier defensive pact in Europe.
Another demonstration that this pact is aimed at
supplanting NATO... is its careful wording.
Although Turkey was not mentioned
explicitly, there is little doubt that
part of the motivation for the
Franco-Greek defense pact
was Turkey’s unilateral
aggression in the
Mediterranean.
Even just minutes after the signing of the Franco-Greek
agreement, former Dutch diplomat Fons Stoelinga
tweeted: “EU autonomy in security and defense.
NATO still does not address the problem of
NATO-member Turkey destabilizing the
whole Eastern Mediterranean region.
France and Greece now react and
signed a security bilateral pact.”
The mutual defense assistance clause of the agreement
ensures that if Greece or France is attacked on its
territory, the other will come to assist, even if the
attacking country is part of other alliances.....
including NATO. This is an obvious message
directed towards Turkey, a NATO member
that on a daily basis violates Greek air-
space and threatens to invade its
Aegean islands.
These violations and threats receive no repercussions from
NATO as individual members are unwilling to risk their
economic relations with the country, whilst many
NATO leaders still believe that Turkey is a
bulwark against Russia.
France for most of its modern history, but especially
galvanized under President Emmanuel Macron.. had
an ambition of creating a more independent Europe.
The European experience under former U.S.
President, Donald Trump, and the recent
snub from President Joe Biden, with the
AUKUS debacle... has only increased the urgency of achieving European
independence from Washington.
Despite this ambition, as well as warning Europe that it will
become secondary in world affairs, if it does not become
independent, it appears that France can finally kickstart
its project alongside Greece.
Achieving EU unity is a difficult prospect, because minnow
states like Lithuania prioritize the interests of Washington
rather than the continent, but as Paris and Athens have
shown --- they will move ahead, in changing the geo-
political balance in the Mediterranean and will not
wait, while member states continuously bicker
amongst themselves on foreign policy issues.
If France and Greece can create strong foundations for an
independent Europe, it will only be inevitable before more
EU member states become interested in also being
integrated into a continental structure that is
independent of transatlantic alliances.
Why did the Taliban win against
the Americans in Afghanistan?
by Eric Zuesse
August 21st, 2021
Why did the communists win
against the Americans in Vietnam?
Why did the communists win
against the capitalists in the
Russian Revolution?
Why did the American Revolutionists
win against the British Empire?
I shall here propose an answer to all of them, because that answer applies to all such cases, as I'll explain:
When an imperialistic society is as corrupt as Britain has been since the creation of the British East India Company in 1600, and as America has been since the end of World War II in 1945, with its takeover and control by the MIC (military-industrial complex), which has inevitably produced the cancerous growth of America’s permanent-warfare state, what, then, is the reason to continue living by staying merely as a colonist or a vassal-regime (or even as the imperialist regime itself), which means, when the imposed regime is so profoundly corrupt --- as any
imperialist power necessarily is --- to accept such corruption, as this?
There’s something that is worse than dying... and it is to continue
living under a regime that one utterly despises. That’s a dragged
-out death, instead of a quick death. A regime which is as
corrupt as any imperialistic regime inevitably is, will be
intolerable for a significant number of the residents in
any one of its vassal-nations or “colonies.” Death, for
them, isn’t such a bad choice, if it means that they'll
go down fighting to overthrow it. They are driven by
the motivation, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”
This is a motivation that few, if any, of the imperialistic regime’s hired
soldiers (regardless of whether conscripted or not) can match. And
when they are foreigners who are fighting on a foreign soil (instead
of locals who are defending their land’s own locally determined
rulers), they especially and certainly cannot match such
motivation, because only the locals can be fighting with
a patriotic spirit. This is an intrinsic weakness in any
empire. And imperialist leaders tend to ignore it,
because they don’t want to understand how
repulsive they are, to virtually anyone but
their own boot-lickers.
Ultimately, the demoralization of a hired soldier’s continuing to place
his very existence in jeopardy so as to continue the war to enslave
and control the resisting local subject-population will mount high
enough to produce self-contempt, desertion, and sometimes
even suicide, in the oppressing power’s forces, especially if that’s a foreign power.
No longer will the rationalizations(that “We are protecting the residents here”) be able to continue fooling the invading-force’s soldier, and the imposed stooge- regime’s soldier. They both (the foreign regime, and its imposed local stooge-government or colony) are there really, to control the local subject-population; and, ultimately, enough of the oppressor’s forces will know this to cause the imposed stooge-government, to be conquered by those indigenous residents there - people who will be recalled as heroes, by the other
residents in that land.
This is an advantage that any revolutionists
have, against the imposed regime.
This is the real meaning of “martyrs,” in the deeper sense than
merely of a religious type — it is instead of the patriotic type; it
concerns the land -- and not necessarily any religion -- such as
Christianity, Islam, or Marxism. Their loyalty is to Afghanistan;
or it is to Vietnam; or it is to Russia; or it is to China; or (before
America became imperialistic) it was to America. And so forth.
It is to the local land, not to any dictators. It is to the country
that the foreign invader’s forces are occupying. The
invader’s forces and their imposed stooge-regimes
can’t match this motivation.
Similarly, when the American invaders were conquered by the
residents of Vietnam, the winners were the Vietnamese, not
really the communists; and, in fact, the Marxist philosophy
(or ‘religion’) subsequently has waned there. America, in
Vietnam, as in Afghanistan, was the invader, in a land
which had not invaded their own.
That similar situation exists in Afghanistan. The Sauds had invaded
America on 9/11, with the assistance of G.W. Bush, Condoleezza
Rice, and perhaps others in the Administration. And so, the U.S.
-imposed soldiers in Afghanistan couldn’t even possibly have
been fighting against Afghanistan for any authentically
patriotic real (factually true) reason, at all. Therefore,
lies were constantly needed by the U.S. regime, not
only against Iraq, but even against Afghanistan.
(Furthermore, if Bush’s objective had really been to identify whom
and how was actually behind the 9/11 attacks, then he would have
pursued that at the U.N. Security Council and would have gotten
unanimous backing for it, which would quickly have isolated
and led to the destruction of Al Qaeda. It could all have been
done without any war between nations, and also fully in
accord with international law. To the extent that 9/11 was state-sponsored terrorism, it was actually being
sponsored by the Governments of the U.S. and
Saudi Arabia.
George W. Bush, who was buddy-close with the Sauds, used 9/11 as
an excuse to trash both the U.S. Constitution and international law
so as to hoist yet higher his own tyranny, his own power - not only internationally but also.. in his own nation. An imperialist would,
of course, like to trash both, and to hoist his personal power as
high as possible. And GWB had the boldness to do it, and -
because America has been imperialistic ever since 1945
(i.e., international aggressions... have been America’s
culture since 1945) — he has been able to enjoy the
success of getting away with doing it. However,
everyone else, and especially outside America’s MIC, suffers from it.
What have the mere soldiers of invading and occupying
imperialist powers actually earned by having placed
their own lives at risk? Maybe a tombstone back
home, in the country that had invaded and
occupied that colony.
By contrast, even if a defending soldier has died as a
hero among the locals in a failed revolution against
the imperialist power, any tombstone will be
unnecessary to be that person’s memorial,
because the true memorial is in the heart,
and in the mind, of the locals there, not
in anything that is in the land of the
invading foreign power.
And, so, I propose that the answer, to the question here, is that,
whereas America’s Founders were waging war as heroes
(because their war was just), today’s Americans are
waging war as villains (because our wars are unjust
- imperialistic aggressions, instead of heroic
defenses against an aggressor). Between
America’s founding and the present time,
America has switched from doing war
against military occupiers, to doing
war as military occupiers.
And this, I maintain, is the reason why: “The Taliban’s 80,000
troops have retaken Afghanistan with cities falling like
dominos while the 300,000-strong government forces,
better equipped and trained, mostly melted and
surrendered with no will to fight.”
What today’s Taliban are to today’s Afghanistan is therefore what
the 1776 American Revolutionists were to the America of that era.
It’s not the ideology; it is the love of that land there, which has
motivated the residents’ forces to victory, against the forces
of the invading-and-occupying foreign power. This can
happen in any land, at any time.
America went into Vietnam focused on the “body counts.” That’s
how stupid America’s imperialistic leaders were, back then. The
only motivation they really understood was fear: “body counts.”
They’ve evidently learned nothing since. That is how corrupt
America is.
Right now in America, the ‘debate’ about Afghanistan is about Joe
Biden, who is basically irrelevant. He wanted to end America’s
military occupation there, just as Trump did, and just as
Obama did. He acted on it, whereas they did not — they
didn’t want to be accused by their political opponents
of having ‘lost Afghanistan on their watch’, but Biden
was evidently willing to risk it.
His only failure in the matter is that he kept lying to the American
people (and probably also to himself) about how chaotic the
evacuation would inevitably be, and about how collapsed
Afghanistan is, and has been, ever since the Soviets
invaded there in 1979.
Throughout America’s imperialistic era, the U.S. Government has
routinely been lying to the American people. Imperialism isn’t as
bad for the imperialistic nation’s public as it is for the conquered
land’s people, but it is very bad, even for them. The only people
who benefit from it are the billionaires, who control companies
such as Lockheed Martin, and ExxonMobil, and Amazon.
Those are the people (the owners), who hire the leading
politicians, including the members of Congress, and the
Presidents, to spread their empire, and their control.
They also hire the ‘journalists’ who shape their nation’s public
to support these invasions and military occupations. The
Government officials of an imperialistic regime represent
not the nation’s public - but its aristocracy - who hire and
appoint millions of the rest, the many agents (employees,
etc.) of the few billionaires. The billionaires really control
their country. After all: America is a thoroughly corrupt
country, just as any imperialistic country is. (All
imperialistic countries, are controlled by their
aristocracy. And every aristocracy is corrupt.)
The public in Afghanistan have long known this fact about America -
that it is corrupt. And this is the main reason why the Taliban now
rule that country. They represent that land. Not this land. It’s a
different culture, and a different place. To most Afghans,
America represents only corruption. There is nothing
unique about what is now happening in Afghanistan.
It has been happening for thousands of years, and
it’s just replaying an ancient script, but in that
particular location.
However, instead, the U.S.-and-allied media are focusing on Biden’s
bit part (which was always in a supporting role) in America’s
invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. So, probably
nothing will be learned from America’s invasion and
occupation of Afghanistan, just as nothing was
learned from America’s invasion & occupation
of Iraq, and from America’s invasion and
occupation of Vietnam, and from the
many other such post-WW-II
American foreign disasters.
For America’s billionaires, these have all been great successes
(very profitable); and, so, probably nothing that’s useful to the
American people will be learned from history; and, instead,
the myths will continue that have caused “The Military” to
be either the highest-respected or the second-highest-
respected of all of the 19 named institutions in America - the world’s permanent- warfare state.
The American military wastes the most money and the most blood
of any institution in America, but Americans nonetheless respect it
enormously. That, too, is a mark of an imperialistic country. The
way to control a public is to sustain the myths. U.S.-and-allied
billionaires make sure that it is done - however much it costs.
As regards the future of Afghanistan itself: On August the 19th,
the most reliable geostrategic reporter and analyst, Alexander
Mercouris, headlined at The Duran, “US Freezes Afghanistan
Reserves, Threatens Economic Crisis. Russia Works to
Establish New Government”, and he explained why the
Taliban will either cooperate with Russia, China, and
Iran, or else will degenerate yet further into a failed
state, especially because the U.S. and its allies will
do everything possible to strangle the fully looted
Government of Afghanistan — the new Islamic
Emirate of Afghanistan. So: even after the US
and its allies have all left that land, the war
against the people there will continue, in
full force, from the same people, though
with different methods.
PS: The philosopher Zizek headlined at RT on August 20th, “The
true enemy for Islamists is not the West’s neocolonialism or
military aggression, but our ‘immoral’ culture”, and he said
“it was not neocons who boosted Islamic fundamentalism,
this fundamentalism grew up in a reaction to the influence
of Western liberal secularism and individualism.”
He did not understand that though religious fundamentalists
(including the Taliban) focus especially on sexual and gender
issues, a person didn’t have to be at all religious in order to
consider the financial and economic corruption of the
imperialists and of their stooges to be disgusting.
Americans didn’t invade & occupy Afghanistan, in order to
spread “liberal secularism and individualism,” but in order
for US-and-allied billionaires to expand their wealth, their
empire, and their global control. Even if the Taliban and
other religious persons might object only (or even just
mainly) to the sexual and gender issues... a broader
segment of the Afghan population were repelled by
the rampant financial and economic corruption of
the imperialists, and of their stooge-rulers.
This was not a defeat for “secularism and individualism.”
It was a rejection of imperialism: a rejection of it even by people who don’t understand what “imperialism” means.
(Source: Strategic Culture Foundation)
Israel is committed to
aggressively pursuing
'Zionist colonialism',
says analyst
August 14th, 9:38am (PressTV)
A political commentator says Israel is relentlessly
following its "Zionist colonialism" in the occupied
Palestinian territories, and the evacuation orders
handed out to indigenous Palestinian families in the West Bank and Jerusalem al-Quds, are in line with the regime’s land
expropriation policies: to build more illegal settler homes.
“Israel aggressively pursues Zionist colonialism, which
has been the bedrock of the regime’s illegal ethnic-
cleansing agenda for the last seventy or more
years,” Iqbal Jassat, an executive member
of Johannesburg-based Media Review
Network, told Press TV, in an
exclusive interview
on Saturday.
He lambasted the Tel Aviv regime’s systematic theft of
Palestinian property as “a reprehensible disregard
for the inalienable rights of indigenous
Palestinians to their own lands
and homes.”
“The racist practice of evacuation, is a misleading
interpretation of forced expulsion, illegal under
the international law. It is also indicative of
the Group Areas Act [of 1950], under the
former apartheid regime of South
Africa,” Jassat noted.
The South African analyst also criticized the United Nations
and the International Criminal Court (ICC), for their
“impotence” ...to prevent Israel's unjust and
blatant violations of international
conventions and principles.
“It also raises serious questions about the inherent biases
existing within these institutions. These biases prevent
the exercise of law --- to halt land grabs, home demolitions, expulsions and incremental genocide,” he pointed out.
Jassat went on to say that Western countries’ decades-long
guilty conscience has prevented these states from
criticizing Israel, for its barbaric and brutal
practices, as such denunciations would
be treated as anti-Semitic.
“The US and its allies in NATO view Israel as a bulwark of
their interests in the heart of the Muslim world. They,
therefore, place their so-called security goals
above injustices against Palestinians,”
the analyst said.
“Moreover, the Arab world is mainly made up of unelected
despots, from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab
Emirates and Bahrain. Their collective view, pivots
on the false notion... that their security is tied
to Israel. That explains the close proximity
between their notorious intelligence
services and Israel's Mossad
and Shin Bet.”
Jassat further noted that the controversial normalization
agreements that several Arab states have struck with Israel, have stifled opposition to the Tel Aviv regime’s colonialist and expansionist policies.
He said the unacceptable betrayal of the Palestinians'
struggle for liberation from the Israeli occupation,
has even resulted in the regime being granted
observer status, at the African Union.
Peak hypocrisy: US is ''concerned'' aboutChina's nukes
by Daniel Patrick Welch
August 7th, 11:45am
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warns of
China's nukes, on the anniversary of his own
country dropping the only one ever.
The US empire never disappoints in its endless quest
to project the behavior of a true sociopath. As with
Goebbels’ Big Lie (which he stole from the US's
Bernays anyway), the tried-and-true strategy,
is to attack others, for actions it has itself
performed on a regular basis.
Hence the whole Russiagate charade about foreign
interference in sacred elections by a country other
than the US —reigning and uncontested champion
of regime change campaigns. Now comes Blinken,
the US talking head du jour on the world stage, to
warn Asia about China’s nuclear weapons. Huh?
If irony wasn’t dead, Blinken and crew (Winken, Nod
et al) would track it down and strangle it with their
bare hands. On August 6th, the State Department
announced Blinken’s warning... to China’s
neighbours: THE ANNIVERSARY OF HIS
OWN COUNTRY’S DROPPING OF A
NUCLEAR BOMB on Hiroshima.
I would say “not to put to fine a point on it,” but it just
can’t possibly be sharpened any further. Run that
back, with the reverse tape noise and all.
The ONLY country EVER to drop a nuclear bomb on another,
the United States, chooses the very anniversary of the first of those two genocidal crimes against humanity, to express grave concern about China’s nuclear
arsenal. I guess you could just drop the mic
here — there really is so little left to say.
What comes after tragedy and farce?
Even Old Man Marx didn’t mention
a third, though I might venture
Cynicism Made Flesh?
Of course, Blinken--I just can’t stop saying the name… it’s like
DICK Cheney and COLIN Powell, or that library cop Bookman
from Seinfeld—Blinken isn’t to blame for the blasphemy of
rewriting history. He and his cohorts have a generational
head start on stupid. Seventy-five years of relentless
assault on Americans’ knowledge of history and
political consciousness, has left a populace
with a Hollywood understanding of WWII
that has almost no relation to reality.
Even Eisenhower knew (and said) that the bombings were of no
military use. Lost to Americans’ history—but importantly, not
the world’s—is the cold truth that Truman knew as well and
didn’t care. Perhaps the meanest, and most small-minded
of US presidents, he offed a hundred thousand Japanese
in one fell swoop, just to scare the Russkies. And by his
own admission, never lost a night’s sleep. Brrrrrrrr.
But Back to the Future: Blinken’s degenerate idiocy also further
exposes the infantile disorder of the Lesser Evilists and the rest
of the Harm Reduction menagerie. He is himself, of course, no
more than a cardboard clown, or more likely made entirely of
wood, spouting vituperations like a useful ventriloquist’s
dummy while sitting on the knee of whoever plays Edgar
Bergen in this cynical farce. The masters who pay
Blinken, Biden, (O)Bama, Bush and Bacchus
keep them on a short leash. The sociopaths
in charge make the real decisions.
The notion that “getting back to normal” would yield anything other
than a smooth return to the endless killing machine was not just
wishful thinking, but deliberate self-delusion, a lazy and selfish
need to play pretend and self-soothe while the world burns.
Unforgiveable, really. From Iran to Venezuela, Russia, China and
beyond, and with clockwork precision, the Enemies of Humanity
are ramping up war fever, concocting lies & manipulating truth
and fear like never before. The New York Times’ perversion of
the Tokyo medal counts, to pretend the US won, is more than
instructive: it is the stock in trade and lifeblood of the
predator class, honing its exceptionalist rhetoric to
wield when needed. Dark days ahead.
Daniel Patrick Welch is a writer of political commentary and
analysis. Also a singer and songwriter, he lives and writes
in Salem, Salem, Massachusetts with his wife. Together
they run The Greenhouse School. He has traveled
widely, speaks five languages and studied Russian
History and Literature at Harvard University.
Welch has also appeared as a guest on several TV and radio
channels to speak on topics of foreign affairs and political
analysis--around his day job. He can be available for
interview requests as time and scheduling permit.
Despite the price of being outspoken against US foreign policy
and military adventurism -- which can be steep, in today's
circumstances -- he believes firmly, as did Rosa
Luxemburg, that "It will always be the most
revolutionary act, to tell the truth out loud."
Welch wrote this commentary for the Press TV website.
Russia-Chinathe Endgame
by Finian Cunningham
July 3rd, 1:41pm (Sputnik)
The consolidation of the Russia-China alliance this week
spells the endgame for Western imperialism and the
never-ending wars that it spawns.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and China’s leader Xi
Jinping celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Sino-
Russian Treaty of Friendship, first signed in July
2001. The hallmark of that historic accord is a
mutual commitment to peace, prosperity
and global stability.
As Putin commented, the alliance between Russia and China
is a vital source of “stability at a time of increasing geo-
political turbulence”. The latter remark is an oblique
reference to the US-led Western states which are
driven by ratcheting up antagonism and
tensions with Moscow and Beijing,
using all sorts of spurious
complaints.
The attempt by Washington (whether Republican or Democrat)
and its Western minions to make trouble with Russia and
China has become almost frenetic. Step back from the
daily headlines in Western media and it is glaring just
how much the agenda has become irrationally
hostile towards Moscow and Beijing.
Week after week there are unfounded allegations about
Covid-19, & so on. It’s like a mad cacophony to wind
up tensions. Nevertheless, the deranged attitude of
Western ruling cliques is but the death throes of a
world order that has reached its expiration.
Russia and China’s partnership has hugely transformative
geopolitical significance. Both these giant nations straddle
the continents of Asia and Europe, connecting the Pacific
with the Atlantic, ranging from the Arctic to the
Mediterranean. Both are committed to a vision
of a multipolar world where nations cooperate
for mutual development.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) linking Eurasia with
Africa and the Americas is the vision of the future, and
Russia is a key partner in implementing that
ambitious win-win project for global peace
and prosperity.
This vision stands in stark contrast to the prevailing Western
capitalist paradigm which operates through dominance,
control and exploitation for American and European
profiteering. That kind of centuries-old system
necessarily involves imperialist conduct ...
whereby the natural resources of foreign
nations are commandeered by brute
military force, conflict, subjugation,
subterfuge, skulduggery and
other machinations.
The multipolar vision of global relations advocated by Russia
and China is the nemesis of the Western imperialist system.
And that explains why the Americans and their European
vassals make every effort to demonize and distort
Russia and China.
But the geopolitical potential of Russia and China is
unstoppable. There is a force of natural justice that
all nations will inevitably subscribe to as the only
reasonable, feasible & sustainable way forward.
It’s about people-centered development ...
versus profit-driven disorder.
Moreover, the partnership between Russia and China is a
geographer’s wonder study. Russia is the world’s largest
national territory by landmass. With over 17 million sq.
kilometres, it covers 11 time zones out of the world’s
total of 24. The abundance of natural resources that
Russia possesses is astounding, from reserves of
natural gas, oil, metals and minerals, to forestry,
agriculture and fisheries. It also can boast of
highly advanced technology in multiple
sectors. And... it shares a long land
border with China, for easing trade.
Meanwhile, China has a population of 1.4 billion people, ten
times that of Russia. With highly advanced technology and
manufacturing, China is not only a vast market for Russian
resources, it is also a gateway to the world economy.
China has already become the world’s biggest
economy over the United States, according
to some measures.
The US and Europe are post-industrial economies that are
also post-peak of their prime. Their “prime” was always
based on an extractive predatory relationship with the
rest of the world that was predicated on inflicting
conflict and poverty on others.
As China and Russia build on their strategic partnership for
mutual prosperity and peace the upshot will inevitably
entail the endgame for Western imperial powers,
which are atrophying from massive inequality,
indebtedness, moral decadence and
social decay.
Fortunately, too, and this is crucial, Russia and China have
military defenses from new generations of hypersonic
weaponry that make them impregnable against any
warmongering notions by the United States. A
failing empire like the US and its Western
satellites is always a dangerous time, as
it tries to prevent the inevitable collapse,
but starting a war with Russia & China
...is not an option.
The views & opinions expressed in the article
do not - necessarily - reflect those of Sputnik.
Barry Grossman:US, Israel
Adopting Bullying Tactics
for ICC War Crimes
Investigation in
Palestine
June 30th (FNA)
Barry Grossman is an international lawyer and political
commentator focused on human rights related issues.
He has been extensively published, on various legal
subjects and is a frequent commentator on political
affairs. He has taught law at the University of
Melbourne’s Faculty of Law and Monash
University’s Faculty of Law.
Below is the full text of the interview:
Q: How do you see the ICC ruling and the
issue of anti-Semitism raised by Israel?
A: To be sure, Benjamin Netanyahu has himself said that
“when the ICC investigates Israel for fake war crimes,
this is pure antisemitism”.
There can of course be no doubt that antisemitism is real;
indeed, every bit as real as Islam-phobia. But the long
standing ruse of conflating antisemitism with any and
all criticism of Zionism or Israel, is no longer taken
seriously, by a growing and very substantial
minority of people in the wider population.
Meanwhile the tactic of tarring everyone who resists Zionism
or criticises Israel with the antisemitism brush is having the
unfortunate, though not necessarily unintended
consequence of discrediting even the most
genuine efforts to draw attention to those
people whose speech is, indeed,
motivated by little more than
hatred for Jews.
Q: There are huge media attacks towards ICC’s probe to
Israeli war crimes in Palestine. Do you believe the ICC
can make a correct ruling under this media hegemony?
A: Propaganda about the ICC case published by the
Atlantic World’s Corporate Media Cartel is of course
preceded by pressure and instructions from think-
tanks, as well as the security/policy making
apparatus, which are, of course, fully
infiltrated by individuals promoting
Zionist agendas.
In that regard, both the US and Israel have openly declared
their hostile intentions towards the ICC and there is already
clear evidence that they're deploying all their usual tactics,
including intimidation, extortion, bribery and garden variety
corruption, to get politicians around the world, lawyers
involved in making Palestine’s case, and members of
the ICC to fall into line.
That said, if the myriad jurisdiction related technicalities
raised by Israel can be overcome, I am quite sure the
ICC is capable of reaching what many of us consider
the correct position regarding ubiquitous war crimes
and other violations of international law, perpetrated
by the occupation.
The real problem is that the ICC is quite limited in its ability
to enforce any ruling against responsible individuals and
Israeli organizations, so long as the key Atlantic World
nations continue to provide unqualified support for
the occupation, or, at the very least, to remain
neutral, in the face of clear evidence of the
occupation’s crimes.
A second very significant strategic issue arises from a
prevailing political reality which dictates that, in order
to make a reasonable finding about the occupation’s
crimes, the ICC will also have to use its authority to
investigate violations of international law alleged
against Hamas and other Palestinian groups ---
bearing in mind that the law of armed conflict
does not concern itself with the order in
which things played out and any finding
against Palestinian groups will certainly
receive far more traction, both in the
international community as well as
in occupied Palestine, than any
finding of culpability on the
part of the occupation.
Indeed, from where I sit, I do not see Palestine as
having much to gain from this process, but it
does stand to lose no small part of the
standing in public opinion, which it
has taken decades to develop, at
the cost of thousands of
Palestinian lives.
Q: Is it hypocrisy that Israel says Palestine is not
a sovereign state to have a delegation at ICC?
A: Hypocrisy hardly even begins to cover it. No nation
is in a position to dictate that Palestine is not a
sovereign nation-state, even if the UN has not
yet extended Palestine’s observer nation
status to full membership --- the way it
quickly recognized Israel’s existence
as a full member, in 1949.
It is also worth remembering that
31 UN member nations still do
not recognize Israel.
Of course, none of this is relevant to the Palestinian
delegation’s participation in ICC proceedings
investigating allegations of war crimes and
other violations of international law
committed against Palestinians by
Israeli nationals & organizations,
even though Israel is not, itself,
a party to the ICC treaty.
On the other hand, the Palestinian Authority (PA),
whose statehood and sovereignty has been
subject to intense dispute across the
international community... is a
signatory to the Rome Statute
(that is, the ICC Treaty), so it
would be bizarre, if it was
not permitted to have a
delegation present, at
the ICC proceedings.
US Encirclement of China:
A 'Progress' Report
by Brian Berletic
May 22nd (The Saker)
We post this long-read article in full -
as the New Eastern Outlook site has
been down for a number of days.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing are not merely
the recent results of former US President Donald Trump’s
time in office – but rather, just the latest chapter in US
efforts to contain China, that stretch back decades.
Indeed, US foreign policy has, for decades, admittedly aimed at encircling and containing China’s rise, and maintaining primacy over the Indo-Pacific region.
The “Pentagon Papers” leaked in 1969 would admit in
regards to the ongoing US war against Vietnam that:
…the February decision to bomb North Vietnam and the
July approval of Phase I deployments make sense only
if they are in support of a long-run United States policy
to contain China.
The papers also admitted that China, “looms as a major
power threatening to undercut [American] importance
and effectiveness in the world and, more remotely but
more menacingly, to organize all of Asia against
[America].
The papers also made it clear that there were (and still are),
“three fronts to a long-run effort to contain China: (a) the
Japan-Korea front; (b) the India-Pakistan front; and (c)
the Southeast Asia front.”
Since then, it is clear that from the continued US military
presence in both Japan and South Korea, the now two
decades-long US occupation of Afghanistan on both
Pakistan’s and China’s borders, and the emergence
of the so-called “Milk Tea Alliance” aimed at over-
throwing Southeast Asian governments friendly
with China and replacing them with US-backed
client regimes – this policy to contain China
endures up to today.
Assessing US activity along these three fronts reveals
the progress and setbacks Washington faces -- and
the various dangers to global peace and stability
Washington’s continued belligerence poses.
The Japan-Korea Front
Military.com in their article, “Here’s What It Costs to
Keep US Troops in Japan and South Korea,” reports:
In all, more than 80,000 US troops are deployed to Japan
and South Korea. In Japan alone, the US maintains more
than 55,000 deployed troops — the largest forward-
deployed US force anywhere in the world.
The article notes that according to the US Government
Accountability Office (GAO), the US spent “$34 billion
to maintain military presences in Japan and South
Korea between 2016 and 2019.”
The article cites the GAO providing an explanation as to
why this massive US military presence is maintained in
East Asia:
“…US forces help strengthen alliances, promote a free
and open Indo-Pacific region, provide quick response
to emergencies and are essential for US national
security.”
“Alliances” that are “strengthened” by the physical
presence of what are -- essentially, -- occupying US
forces, suggests the “alliance” is hardly voluntary and claims of promoting a “free and open Indo- Pacific region” is highly subjective – begging the question of, to whom, is the Indo-Pacific “free and open”.
And as US power wanes both regionally in the Indo-
Pacific as well as globally, Washington has placed
increasing pressures on both Japan and South
Korea to not only help shoulder this financial
burden, but to also become more proactive
within Washington’s containment strategy
toward China.
Japan is one of three other nations (the US itself,
Australia, and India) drafted into the US-led
Quadrilateral Security Dialogue – also
known as the “Quad.”
Rather than the US solely depending on its own military
forces based within Japanese territory or supported by
its Japan-based forces, Japan’s military along with
India’s and Australia’s are also being recruited to
take part in military exercises and operations
in and around the South China Sea.
India’s inclusion in the Quad also fits well into the US
3-front strategy that made up Washington’s contain-
ment policy toward China as early as the 1960s.
The India-Pakistan Front
In addition to recruiting India into the Quad alliance, the
US helps encourage escalation through political
support and media campaigning of India’s
various territorial disputes with China.
The US also targets Pakistan’s close and ongoing
relationship with China – including the support of
armed insurgents in Pakistan’s Baluchistan
province.
Recently, a bombing at a hotel in Quetta, Baluchistan
appears to have targeted China’s ambassador to
Pakistan, Ambassador Nong Rong.
The BBC in its article, “Pakistan hotel bomb:
Deadly blast hits luxury venue in Quetta,”
would claim:
Initial reports had suggested the target
was China’s ambassador.
Ambassador Nong Rong is understood to be in Quetta
but was not present at the hotel at the time of the
attack on Wednesday.
The article also noted:
Balochistan province, near the Afghan border,
is home to several armed groups, including
separatists.
Separatists in the region want independence from the
rest of Pakistan and accuse the government and
China of exploiting Balochistan, one of
Pakistan’s poorest provinces, for its
gas and mineral wealth.
Absent from the BBC’s reporting is the extensive and
open support the US government has provided these
separatists over the years and how – clearly – this is
more than just a local uprising against perceived
injustice, but yet another example of armed
conflict-by-proxy waged by Washington
against China.
As far back as 2011 publications like The National
Interest in articles like, “Free Baluchistan” would
openly advocate expanding US support for
separatism in Pakistan’s Baluchistan
province.
The article was written by the late Selig Harrison
--- who was a senior fellow at the US-based
(corporate-financier funded) Centre for
International Policy --- & would claim:
Pakistan has given China a base at Gwadar in the
heart of Baluch territory. So an independent
Baluchistan... would serve US strategic
interests, in addition to the immediate
goal, of countering Islamist forces.
Of course, “Islamist forces”... is a euphemism for US-
Persian Gulf state sponsored militants used to both
fight Western proxy wars, as well as serve as a
pretext for Western intervention. Citing
“Islamist forces” in Baluchistan,
Pakistan - clearly - serves as an example of the latter.
In addition to op-eds published by influential policy
think tanks, US legislators like US Representative
Dana Rohrabacher, had proposed resolutions
such as (emphasis added),
“US House of Representatives Concurrent Resolution
104 (112th): Expressing the sense of Congress that
the people of Baluchistan, currently divided
between Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan,
have the right to self-determination and
to their own sovereign country.”
There is also funding provided to adjacent, political
groups supporting separatism in Baluchistan,
Pakistan, as listed by the US government’s
own National Endowment for Democracy
(NED) website under “Pakistan.”
Organizations like the “Association for Integrated
Development Balochistan” are funded by the US government and used to mobilize people
politically, constituting clear interference
by the US, in Pakistan’s internal
political affairs.
The Gwadar Port project is a key juncture within China’s
growing global network of infrastructure projects, as
part of its One Belt, One Road initiative. The US
clearly opposes China’s rise & has articulated robust strategies to counter it; everything up to and including, open war, as seen in the Pentagon Papers, regarding the Vietnam War.
The recent bombing in Baluchistan, Pakistan demonstrates
that this strategy continues, in regards to utilizing local
militants to target Chinese-Pakistani co-operation, and
is one part of the much wider, region-wide strategy:
of encircling and containing China.
The Southeast Asia Front
Of course the US war against Vietnam was part of a wider
effort to reassert Western primacy over Southeast Asia
...and deny the region from fueling China’s inevitable rise.
The US having lost the war and almost completely retreating
from the Southeast Asia region saw Southeast Asia itself
repair relations amongst themselves and with China.
Today, the nations of Southeast Asia count China as their
largest trade partner, investor, a ''key partner'' in infra-
structure development, a key supplier for the region’s
armed forces, as well as providing the majority of
tourism arrivals throughout the region. For
countries like Thailand, more tourists
arrive from China, than from all
Western nations combined.
Because existing governments in Southeast Asia have
nothing to benefit from by participating in American
belligerence toward China, the US has found it
necessary to cultivate and attempt to install
into power various client regimes. This has
been an ongoing process, since the
Vietnam War.
The US has targeted each nation individually for years.
In 2009 & 2010, US-backed opposition leader-in-exile,
Thaksin Shinawatra, deployed his “red shirt” rioters
in back-to-back riots - the latter of which included
some 300 armed militants and culminated in city-
wide arson across Bangkok, and the death of
over 90 police, soldiers, protesters, and
bystanders.
In 2018, US-backed opposition groups took power in
Malaysia after the US poured millions of dollars, for
over a decade, in building up the opposition.
Daniel Twining of the US National Endowment for Democracy subsidiary – the International
Republican Institute – admitted, during a talk by the Center for Strategic & International Studies, that same year, that:
…for 15 years working with NED resources, we worked
to strengthen Malaysian opposition parties -- and guess
what happened 2 months ago after 61 years? They won.
He would elaborate on how the NED’s network played a
direct role in placing US-backed opposition figures into
power, within the Malaysian government, stating:
I visited and I was sitting there with many of the leaders
the new leaders of this government, many of whom
were just our partners we had been working with
for 15 years and one of the most senior of them
who’s now one of the people running the
government said to me, ‘gosh IRI you
never gave up on us even when we
were ready to give up
on ourselves.’
Far from “promoting freedom” in Malaysia ---- Twining
would make clear the ultimate objective of interfering
in Malaysia’s internal political affairs, was to serve
US interests, not only in regards to Malaysia, but
in regards to the entire region and specifically
toward encircling and containing China.
Twining would boast:
…guess what one of the first steps the
new government took? It froze Chinese
infrastructure investments.
And that:
[Malaysia] is not a hugely pro-American country. It is
probably never going to be an actual US ally, but this
is going to redound to our benefit, and and that’s
an example of the long game.
It is a pattern that has repeated itself in Myanmar over
the decades --- with NED money building a parallel
political system within the nation and eventually
leading to Aung San Suu Kyi and her US-backed
National League for Democracy (NLD) party
taking power in 2016.
For Myanmar, so deep and extensive is US backing for
opposition groups there, that the elections virtually
guarantee US-backed candidates win.. every single
time. The US National Endowment for Democracy’s
own website alone... lists over 80 programs and
organizations receiving US government money
- for everything from election polling, and
building up political parties - to funding
media networks and “environmental”
groups used to block any Chinese-
initiated infrastructure projects.
The move by Myanmar’s military in February this year,
ousting Aung Sang Suu Kyi and the NLD, was meant to correct this.
However, in addition to backing political groups
protesting in the streets, the US has – for many
decades – backed and armed ethnic rebels
across the country. These rebels have now
linked up with the US-backed NLD and are
repeating the US-backed regime change
tactics used against the Arab World in 2011 --- in nations like Libya, Yemen,
and Syria – including explicit calls
for “international intervention.”
A US-Engineered “Asia Spring”
Just as the US did during the 2011 “Arab Spring” – the US
State Department, in a bid to create synergies across
its various regime change campaigns in Asia, has
introduced the “Milk Tea Alliance” to transform
individual US-backed regime change efforts in Asia, into a region-wide crisis.
The BBC itself admits in articles like, “Milk Tea
Alliance: Twitter creates emoji for pro-
democracy activists,” and that:
The alliance has brought together anti-Beijing protesters, in Hong Kong and Taiwan, with pro-democracy campaigners in Thailand and Myanmar.
Omitted from the BBC’s coverage of the “Milk Tea Alliance”
(intentionally) is the actual common denominators that
unite it – US funding through fronts like the National
Endowment for Democracy and a unifying hatred
of China - based exclusively on talking points
pushed by the US State Department itself.
Circling back to the Pentagon Papers and recalling the
coordinated, regional campaign the US sought to
encircle China with – we can then look at more
recent US government policy papers like the
“Indo-Pacific Framework” published in the
White House archives from the Trump
administration.
The policy paper’s first bullet point asks:
How to maintain US strategic primacy in the Indo-Pacific
region, and promote a liberal economic order, while
preventing China from establishing new, illiberal
spheres of influence, and cultivating areas of
cooperation to promote regional peace
and prosperity?
The paper also discusses information campaigns designed
to “educate” the world about “China’s coercive behaviour
and to influence operations around the globe.” These
campaigns have materialized in a propaganda war
fabricating accusations of “Chinese genocide” in
Xinjiang, China, claims that Chinese telecom
company Huawei is a global security threat,
and that China – not the US – is the single
largest threat to global peace and
stability today.
In reality US policy aimed at encircling China -- is
predicated upon Washington’s desire to continue
its own decades-long impunity upon the global
stage, and the continuation of all the wars,
humanitarian crises, and abuses, that
have stemmed from it.
Understanding the full scope of Washington’s
“competition” with China... helps unlock the
confusion surrounding unfolding individual
crises like the trade war; the ongoing
violence and turmoil in Myanmar;
bombings in southwest Pakistan;
students mobs in Thailand; riots
in Hong Kong; and attempts by
the US to transform the South
China Sea, into an inter- national conflict.
Understanding that these events are all connected - then
assessing the success or failure of US efforts - gives us a clearer picture of the overall success of Washington in encircling China. It also gives governments and
regional blocs a clearer picture of how to manage policy, in protecting against US subversion: that threatens national, regional, and global peace
and stability.
Brian Berletic, is a Bangkok-based geopolitical researcher and writer, especially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.
Australians should be ashamed that they have a regime propped up to serve US racist agendas!
How Exceptional America Is
by Eric Zuesse
September 30th, 2020
America is becoming exceptionally exceptional. In some votes
at the UN General Assembly - the Assembly of nations - only
Israel, or one or two other U.S. allies, vote along with it, and
all others either vote against it, or else abstain in order to
prevent U.S. retaliation against their own nation. No other
nation is anything like that. In fact, on many occasions,
the U.S. arm-twists other delegations -- in order to get
them to abstain from voting so as to make less stark,
and less embarrassing, America’s international
isolation. But America is also extraordinarily
exceptional in other ways, which have
nothing to do with the UN.
America is truly an exceptional nation. As the
Republican Party magazine National Review
stated, on September 15th, “Last week,
the US and Israel were the only states to vote against a General Assembly resolution on the coronavirus response. Some have seized upon that vote to paint the
USt as a bad faith actor that stands alone in the world.”
However, this vote wasn’t about only “the global
coronavirus response.” It was — perhaps even
more importantly - about U.S. sanctions against
Iran, Venezuela, Syria, Russia, China, and other
countries that the U.S. regime considers to be
its enemies. (None of these countries ever
invaded or even threatened to invade
the USA; all of those sanctions are
100% U.S. aggression.
They are target-countries that America’s aristocracy
wants to take over. (The world’s U.S.-sanctioned
countries are marked in red -- on the map of the
world below.) Israel strongly supports sanctions
against both Syria and Venezuela, and routinely
invades and bombs Syria just for good measure.
So, it joined America’s position on that.
That UN General Assembly vote was held on September
11th. America’s Associated Press bannered the next day,
“UN assembly approves pandemic resolution; US, Israel
object”, and reported that, “The 193-member world body
adopted the resolution by a vote of 169-2, with Ukraine
and Hungary abstaining. It was a strong show of unity
by the UN’s most representative body, though many
countries had hoped for adoption by consensus.”
The AP further stated:
It calls on governments and international financial institutions
“to provide more liquidity in the financial system, especially
in all developing countries.” It supports recovery plans that
“drive transformative change towards more inclusive and
just societies, including by empowering and engaging all
women and girls.”
And it urges UN member nations “to adopt a climate- and
environment-responsive approach to COVID-19 recovery
efforts”, including by aligning investments and domestic
policies with the UN goals & the 2015 Paris agreement
to combat climate change. …
By a vote of 132-3, the assembly amended the resolution to
urge all countries “to refrain from promulgating and applying
any unilateral economic, financial or trade measures not in
accordance with international law and the Charter of the
United Nations that impedes the full achievement of
economic and social development, particularly in
developing countries.”
The United States was then overwhelmingly defeated in
attempts to remove 2 paragraphs from the resolution,
one referring to women’s rights to “sexual and
reproductive health” --- and the other --- to
“promoting global sustainable transport.”
In addition to arguing against the language on sanctions,
the United States opposed all references to the World
Health Organization, which the US administration had
stopped funding, accusing the UN agency of failing
to do enough to stop the virus from spreading
when it first surfaced in China.
Nowhere in the AP’s article was any mention made that
in the “vote of 169-2,” the two nations which had voted
against the Resolution were the US and Israel, but only
that there had been “objections from the United States
and Israel,” regarding attachment, to the Resolution, of
the Amendment that added the anti-sanctions provision
to it. This omission was not an error. It is a type of
omission that is common in propaganda. America
was more isolated than that ‘news’-report
made clear.
This vote was about only a “Resolution,” a statement of
the various nations’ values, to work toward, not about
any nation’s policy, but the U.S. and Israel don’t share
those goals — not even rhetorically. This opposition
to that Resolution’s goals, was truly exceptional.
In particular, nothing is more abhorrent to the US regime
--- than to stop or impede its sanctions. These sanctions
include, for example, punishments against any company
or government that will, in any way, assist in Russia’s 96%
completed NordStream 2 natural gas pipeline to Germany,
for the EU to buy Russia’s pipelined natural gas instead of
America’s fracked, canned, shipped, natural gas. The U.S.
regime insists that EU nations buy the far costlier trans-
Atlantic-shipped fracked US liquefied natural gas (LNG).
That insistence upon the EU’s wasting money, in order to
prop-up America’s fracking industry, is, indeed, exceptional,
because European nations haven’t customarily been treated
as being mere colonies of other powers. America is treating
purchasers from, or cooperators with, that competitor (Russia),
as being its enemies. The way the U.S. Representative stated
this (after a lengthy diatribe which blamed China for Covid-19
and said that the U.S. had quit the World Health Organization
because WHO lacked “independence from the Chinese
Communist Party”) was: “Economic sanctions are a
legitimate means to achieve foreign policy, security,
and other national and international objectives, and
the United States is not alone in that view or in that
practice.” (That exact same sentence had, earlier,
been stated by the US regarding a different matter,
on 18 November 2019.) Actually, the U.S. regime is
very “alone” on it. Furthermore, the other part was
also a lie: the U.S. regime asserts that coercing
corporations and countries to not buy from the
lowest-cost supplier, is within its sovereign
right to do.
However, as Professor Alfred de Zayas, who until recently was
the UN’s top expert on this topic, explained in depth on 27th
June 2019, that assertion is blatantly false, on many clear
grounds concerning international law. It is a blatant lie, no
matter how many times the U.S. regime asserts it (and
asserts that the US regime isn’t “alone” in asserting it).
Even back when Barack Obama (the man who repeatedly
claimed that “The United States is and remains, the one
indispensable nation”) was America’s President, the US
was exceptional at the United Nations. For example, on
24th November 2014, I headlined “U.S. Among Only 3
Countries Officially Backing Nazism & Holocaust-
Denial”, and reported that - “In a UN vote, on
November 21st, only 3 countries - the US, Ukraine, and Canada — voted against a resolution to condemn racist fascism,
or nazism, and to condemn denial of Germany’s World War II Holocaust against, primarily, Jews.''
This measure passed the General Assembly, on a vote of 115
in favour, 3 against, & 55 abstentions (the abstentions were
in order not to offend U.S. President Obama, who was
opposed to the resolution).” Then, on 21 June 2015,
I headlined “America’s UN Ambassador Continues
Standing Up for Nazis” and noted that, again,
Obama’s UN Ambassador, Samantha Power,
had stood up for nazism; she had just
delivered an address -- in Ukraine --
rallying that country’s supporters
of nazism to war against Russia.
Then, on 21 November 2017, I headlined “Trump
Continues Obama’s Support of Nazism”, and
reported that:
On November 16th, US President Donald Trump, acting
through an agent of his agent, UN Ambassador Nikki
Haley, voted at the UN against a resolution that
condemns bigotry, and especially condemns
nazism & all forms of racism. He thus, yet
again, continues in the tradition from his
predecessors, Presidents Obama, and
Bush, each year, placing this nation in
the company of only one or two U.S.
allies throughout the world who join
with the US in refusing to commit to
opposing and doing everything to
reduce, not just political Nazism
(which, of course, is past), but
ideological nazism, racist
fascism - institutionalized
bigotry (which, sadly, is
not past).
But, be that as it may, the U.S. is also exceptional in
many other ways. I listed some of those on July 13th.
There are two main reasons why the U.S. regime is able
to coerce other nations to not violate its will. One is that
although publicly available reports allege it spends
approximately 37% of the entire world’s military
expenditures, the U.S. regime actually - spends
around 50% of the entire world’s military costs,
and therefore, it possesses an extraordinary
physical capacity to impose its will, if and
when merely economically blockading an
‘enemy’ country (via sanctions) fails to do the job of getting it to comply.
And the other main reason is that, since the US government
is at least as corrupt as the average “third-world” country is,
but is instead one of the world’s richest countries, arranging
pay-offs to other world leaders, in order to obtain their
cooperation, is easily affordable... (These payoffs are
being paid by all US.taxpayers, not by only America’s
billionaires, who reap all of the profits from the
empire that is imposed.)
American exceptionalism is real. It’s not the type of
exceptionalism that the regime’s propaganda claims
to be the case, but, nonetheless, it is real.
(Strategic Culture Foundation)
Please watch the video above... We have never existed in such peril, and yet almost no-one is able to act.
Nuclear words: Putin's FINAL warning:
(People DO need reminding -- unless US, UK and French policy changes, and stops being so 'exceptional' -- that is, outside the UN legal Charter and thus, criminal --- there will be a reaping.)
BREAKING: Russia's State TV Advising Russian Citizens on how to survive a World War ! WAKE UP NOW - AND STOP THE WAR ON CHINA/RUSSIA !
The Doomsday clock of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists website now has the final singular moment that will bring civilization to final nuclear annihilation, at 90 seconds to midnight.
This is the closest it has ever been. Scott Ritter says it should be 2 seconds
World Will Not Survive the US' Neocons' Doctrine of US World Hegemony - Paul Graig Roberts Wednesday, February 7th, 2018
"The government of the United States is clearly in demonic hands. We are overflowing with proof", writes American well known analytist and ex- official Paul Graig Roberts in his website.
Take today (2-2-18) for example. A report from the House Intelligence Committee was released that is proof that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Justice --- and the Democrat National Committee, are now in a conspiracy against American democracy and the President of the United States, with the full support of the presstitute media.
As if that is not enough, also released today, is the Pentagon’s new Nuclear Posture Review. A nuclear posture review specifies a country’s attitude to nuclear weapons and their use. In past posture reviews, nuclear weapons were regarded as unusable except in retaliation for a nuclear attack. The assumption was that no one would use them. There was always the chance that false warnings of incoming ICBMs would result in a nuclear button being pushed - setting off Armageddon.
There were many false warnings during the Cold War
President Ronald Reagan, was very concerned about a false warning, ending in mass death & destruction.
This is why his principal goal was to end the Cold War, which he succeeded in doing. It did not take successor governments long, to resurrect the Cold War.
The new US nuclear posture is a reckless, irresponsible, and destabilizing departure from the previous attitude toward nuclear weapons. The use of even a small part of the existing arsenal of the United States would be sufficient to destroy life on earth. Yet, the posture review calls for more weapons, speaks of nuclear weapons as “usable,” and justifies their use in First Strikes, even against countries that do not have nuclear weapons.
This is an insane escalation. It tells every country that the US government, believes in the first use of nuclear weapons against any & every country. Nuclear powers such as Russia & China must see this to be a massive increase in the threat level from the US.
Those responsible for this document should be committed to insane aslyums, not left in policy positions where they can put it into action.
The neoconservatives are a small group of conspirators. Most neoconservatives are Jews allied with Israel. Some are dual-citizens. They created an ideology of US world hegemony, specifying that the chief goal of US foreign policy, is to prevent the rise of any other power that could serve as a constraint on US unilateralism.
As neoconservatives control US foreign policy, this explains US hostility toward Russia and China and also the neo-conservatives’ use of the US military to remove governments in the Middle East, seen by Israel as obstacles to Israeli expansion. For two decades --- the US has been fighting wars for Israel in the Middle East. This fact proves the power and influence of the insane neo- conservatives. It is certain, that people as insane as the neoconservatives, would launch a nuclear attack on Russiaand China.
The Russian and Chinese governments seem to be completely unaware of the threat that the neo- conservatives pose to them. I have never experienced in interviews with Russians and Chinese, any awareness of the neo- conservative ideology. Possibly, it is too insane for them to grasp.
Ideologues such as the neoconservatives are not fact-based
They are chasing their dream of world hegemony. Russia & China are in the way of this hegemony. Having learned the limits of conventional military power—after 20 years the US “superpower” has been unable to defeat a few thousand lightly armed Taliban in Afghanistan—the neo-conservatives know: conventional invasions of Russia or China, would lead to the total defeat of US forces.
Therefore, the neoconservatives have elevated nuclear weapons to a First Strike, usable, arsenal that in the neoconservative dream of world hegemony can be used to destroy Russia and China.
Ideologues who divorce themselves from the facts create a virtual world for themselves. Their belief in their ideology blinds them to the risks for them- selves and others that they impose on the world.
Thanks to the American liberal/progressive/left, the entirety of the world is faced with a far more likely nuclear demise than ever threatened us during the Cold War with the Soviet Union.
By its collaboration with the military/security complex & the corrupt Hillary DNC, the liberal/progressive/left has forever discredited itself. It is now seen by every thinking person worldwide as an insane propaganda ministry --- for the neoconservatives’ plan to use nuclear weapons to eliminate constraints on US unilateralism.
The liberal/progressive/left has endorsed “hegemony or death.”
They will get death. For all of us.
(Source - DONi News Agency)
According to: PaulGraigRoberts.org
Legendary memorial at Saur-Tomb ''restored by May 2017''
DPR authorities have finished restoring the Saur-Tomb by May 2017. It was announced by the Building Minister, Sergey Naymets.
‘Saur Tomb has been being restored since November, and we planned to finish this by May 2017’, the Minister said.
He said "many people contributed to this project of restoration of the memorial damaged by shelling," Naumets noted.
____________________________
Cool Russia!
[Eng Subs] Children of Donbass, "Toys for Poroshenko" Music Video by Artem Grishanov
POWERFUL - PUT THIS ON HEADPHONES. I guarantee you will cry - and if you don't - please seek psychiatric help.
Full Text: Official Declaration of the Malorossiyan Federation
Zakharchenko announces a new federal state, Malorossiya, (means ''Little Russia'') as the legal successor of Ukraine. DONi News Agency
On 18.7.2017 the Head of the Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, declared the creation of a new federal state, Malorossiya, which will become the legal successor of 'Ukraine'. The new state formation, will consist of 19 regions of the former Ukraine with the capital in Donetsk city. Kiev remains a historical and cultural centre, without the status of capital city.
Here is the full English translation of the declaration:
Political Declaration
The project of the state of "Ukraine", formulated 150 years ago and implemented in different versions during the 20th century, has reached its logical conclusion --- and led to the country's disintegration, civil war and the death of tens of thousands of people, including children, women, and elderly people.
And this process is irreversible. An attempt to turn the story back will result in "balkanization" of the conflict, expansion of chaos, escalation of civil war and even bigger numbers of casualties.
To stop the civil war and avoid new victims, we representatives of the majority of the regions of former "Ukraine" assembled in Donetsk on July 18, 2017, discussed the current situation and came to the following conclusions:
- the state of "Ukraine" has revealed itself as a failed state and demonstrated its being incapable of granting its inhabitants a peaceful and prosperous present and future;
- the current authorities – elected in Kiev, after the coup d'etat, against the backdrop of political terror and the absence of elections in the Crimea and Donbass, are illegitimate;
- the state of "Ukraine" is on the brink of economic catastrophe and depopulation;
- an ultranationalist coup is brewing in Kiev, as a result of which outright neo-Nazis will come to power insteadof "Banderites with a European face";
- the Ukrainian nationalistic project (the Galician one) has discredited itself, by the shedding of civilians' blood in the country;
- the ideology of "Ukrainism" has proved to be misanthropic, mixed with xenophobia (Russophobia, anti-Semitism, Polonophobia) and neo-Nazism (the ideology of national exclusivity and superiority);
- resulting from historical development and due to the Maidan, the word "Ukraine" is forever associated with the names of the Nazi accomplices, Bandera and Shukhevich, with the tragedies of the Baby Yar, the Volyn massacre & Khatyn, and, nowadays, with the mass murder of people on the Maidan, in the Trade Unions' House in Odessa, and Genocide of the Donbass people.
On the basis of the above, we believe that the state of "Ukraine", in the form it was established, after the collapse of the USSR, is UNSERVICEABLE.
We, representatives of the regions of the former "Ukraine", propose to re-establish the state and to proclaim the state of MALOROSSIYA, under an historical background, out of the former "Ukraine". In this case, it is of fundamental importance to rename the country, since "Ukraine" as a state, is guilty of war crimes, mass terror and the genocide of its own people.
In turn, the new name of the country, based on historical traditions, will enable us to reunify those pieces of the former "Ukraine" that seemed to have parted ways forever, including because of participation in the civil war, on different sides of the front line.
We must turn the page of our people's history, which is flooded with the blood of our brothers and sisters.
Malorossiya is an INDEPENDENT, SOVEREIGN state, with a new name, a new flag, a new constitution, a new state structure, new principles of social and economic development, and new historical prospectives.
But this is NOT A REVOLUTION ! This is a return to history. This is a novelty that restores, not destroys.
In view of the economic plight of the country, the chaos & disintegration potential, and regarding the possibility of launching a "war of all against all", we consider it necessary to declare a state of emergency for the transition period – up to 3 years. During this time, the process of adoption of the new Constitution and the establishment of the rule of law, should be completed.
Under a state of emergency, a ban on the activities of political parties and foreign funds is to be introduced, & penalties for criminal offenses, especially against the person, are to be increased. The fight against corruption will be toughened, as well as the penalties for it.The shadow arms market is to be eliminated, including by registering weapons in accordance with the new law.
In the same period an investigation is to be carried out, with the involvement of foreign specialists –- from Russia, Belarus & the European Union –- into the crimes committed by the Maidan Kiev regime: the murders on the Maidan, the murder of Odessa citizens in the Trade Unions' House on May 2nd, 2014, and the war crimes in Donbass, in the so-called ATO.
In the same period, the People's Tribunal is to be prepared to charge the state criminals who have led the country into disintegration and civil war: V.F. Yanukovich (with a request to Russia for his extradition), P.A. Poroshenko and his clique: Turchinov, Yatsenyuk, Kolomoisky, Paruby, Nalivaichenko and others.
We are sure that, having recovered from the criminal neo-Nazi ideology of "Ukrainism", we will be able to build a new society on the basis of friendship and mutual assistance -- but not hatred and envy. The creative genius of our people will manage to bring Malorossiya to the forefront of global civilization and play a role in history. The role of Good, and Truth.
Official translation by the DONi Donbass News Agency, 07/18/2017
(Source - Russia Insider)
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Nato – A Dangerous Alliance May 24th
As Nato ends its summit in Brussels, Rae Street explains why the military alliance remains a threat to world peace
When the Warsaw Pact ended, after the collapse of communism, some optimists might have expected Nato to be broken up too. After all, the Labour Party in Britain had been opposed to Nato in the mid-1980s. But that was not to be. The US, which had always dominated Nato, quickly began to reinvent Nato and furthermore, to expand it.
Following the end of the Warsaw Pact many central and east European governments wanted to join Nato. This, of course, was music to the ears of the US military manufacturers. Indeed, the chair of the expand Nato committee, Bruce Jackson, was technical director of Lockheed Martin, the largest military manufacturer in the world. So, for the new Nato members because of the policy on “interoperability,” that is Nato personnel being able to use the same military equipment, it was out with the old Soviet military hard- ware and in with sales of, for example, Lockheed’s military aircraft ,costing millions of dollars.
This continues to this day in countries which can ill afford it, with struggling economies. The latter includes Greece. Think of the situation in Greece today.
Expanding Nato up to the borders with Russia, was a provocative policy. The dangers were pointed out but the military industrial complex and the “hawks” in the West, took no notice.
To this day, this helps President Vladimir Putin: more and more of the Russian people believe that “the West” is against them.
Decades later, we read: “British troops have arrived in Estonia, as part of a major Nato mission in the Baltic states, to deter Russian aggression.”
From the start, Nato has always held a nuclear armed policy. It continues to claim that nuclear weapons “preserve peace.” Manifestly, nuclear weapons do not deter conflict.
Governments, including Britain’s, now analyse the main threats to security as cyber warfare and terrorism. Remember September 11th 2001, when New York was attacked by terrorists in planes, brandishing knives?
The US then had and still has, 13 nuclear armed Trident submarines, of which several will be roaming the seas fully operational. Britain has four, with one constantly on alert at sea.
Were these any use in the madman’s attack on Westminster, or in any terrorist attacks?
Trident is “integrated” into Nato. Even worse, Nato still has a policy of “first use of nuclear weapons.”
When the then minister of defence, Geoff Hoon, was asked in Parliament why Britain has a policy of “first use,” he replied: “Because of our obligations to Nato.”
Under the direction of the US administration, with its policy of global domination, Nato has established a string of nuclear-armed bases across Europe, in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey, at Incirlik.
The latter is now causing deep problems as relations between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the US, become more and more fractious.
There is now a real problem for Nato, as Erdogan is a repressive dictator — how can Turkey remain in Nato?
Nato states are supposed to uphold principles of human rights and democracy, notably lacking in Turkey today.
The nuclear-armed bases come under Nato’s “nuclear sharing policy” — in effect a violation of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Nato continues to expand. The policy of not acting “out of area” was dropped long ago. “North Atlantic” simply means, a domination of policies by the US.
Nato claims in its “strategic concept” that “the promotion of Euro-Atlantic security is best assured through a wide network of partner relationships with countries and organisations around the globe.”
In 1994 Nato established the Partnerships for Peace across Europe, extending as far as Uzbekistan.
Nato surrounds Russia from the west and east. These Partnerships for Peace (note the language again) now include 22 states, including “neutral” Ireland.
Then there is the ''Mediterranean Dialogue,'' with ''arrangements'' with countries in the Middle East. Few people realise that Nato carries out military exercises with Israel.
Nato has also established bilateral relations — named individual partnerships — with Afghanistan, Australia, Iraq, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand and Pakistan.
In this part of the globe, where Nato carried out a military exercise in 2014 with Japan, named Ocean Shield, they are surrounding and menacing China, as the enemy.
Then there was the statement by Nato that “co-operation between Nato and the United Nations continues to make a substantial contribution to security in operations round the world.
“The alliance aims to deepen political dialogue and practical co-operation with the UN, as set out in the Nato/UN declaration, signed in 2008.”
This seems like Nato bidding to be the UN's military arm.
This hardly accords with the UN Charter. It was the Organisation for Security & Co-operation in Europe, set up under Chapter 8, of the UN Charter, to prevent and resolve conflict by non-military means and to promote co-operation in humanitarian and other fields.
The 54 member states stretch from Iceland to Kyrgyzstan and include Russia. Alas, how many times do you read of their work in the press, compared with the times you hear about Nato?
Nato is sold to us as a peace-making body. After all, the US is home to the finest PR companies in the world.
To summarise, Nato is pursuing yet more militarism and war:
- All Nato states are required to increase their military budgets to 2 per cent of GDP. That means stealing more money from social needs. Readers of the Morning Star know those all too well: the NHS, education, adult social services; the list is endless.
- Nato member states will have to spend 20 per cent of defence budgets on military equipment: warships, war planes, drones, bombs. By fuelling the arms race, Nato makes a mockery of moves for conflict resolution.
- Nato and its member states multiply interventions outside their territory and increase their presence through world- wide partnerships and “coalitions of the willing.”
- Nato extends its nuclear policies as a supreme “guarantee for the allies’ security,” notwithstanding that the majority of countries in the world are negotiating a treaty to ban nuclear weapons. In the meantime, nuclear weapons in Europe — under the guise of Nato — and elsewhere, are being modernised at a cost of many tens of billions of dollars and pounds. Think of Trident at a cost of £205 billion.
The Nato summit will be held and activists will beholding a “counter-summit” with protesters organising workshops and a demonstration.
CND activists will be there from the UK, but -- we also need people to raise the issues with their MPs, write letters to the press and raise awareness on social media.
Let’s put pressure on the government to invest in social welfare, not Nato, not war.
(Source - Morning Star)
In 2017 in the Donbass - give the children Peace!
Ethnic Ruthenes of sub-Carpathian Ukraine demand autonomy
Activists of a Slavic ethnic group known as Ruthenes -- or Rusyns -- who reside in the Trans-Carpathian (sub-Carpathian) region of Ukraine, have turned to President Pyotr Poroshenko with a demand:
recognize the results of 1991's regional referendum --- when 78% of the region's residents, voted in favor of granting it the status of a self-governing region.
"We have two main demands - to recognize the Rhuthenes as an ethnos and to acknowledge the regional referendum of 1991, where 78% sub-Carpathians voted for the region being a self-governed territory within Ukraine," Vesti quoted Ivan Palinkash, the leader of the Ruthene movement & a member of the People’s Council's presidium of Sub-Carpathian Ruthenes.
Natalya Magalina, a deputy of Uzhgorod district council, told the meeting of leaders of Ruthene ethnic organizations it is important to maintain the Ruthene language by establishing minimal norms for broadcasting in the native tongue, over the state regional TV Channel Tisa-1.
This isn't the first time that the Ruthenes of the sub- Carpathian area have asked the Kiev government to recognize the outcome of the referendum held 25 years ago. The Coordination Council of Ruthene Organizations of the Trans-Carpathian Region turned to the central authorities with the same requirement, the previous time, in the summer of 2015.
It was also in the summer of 2015 that the activists of Ruthene organizations adopted an appeal to the Council of Europe, the European Commission, the Organization for Security & Cooperation in Europe & the UN, as well as to the parliaments of Hungary, the Czech Republic, & Slovakia, to wield pressure on President Poroshenko and force the Ukrainian government towards accepting the result of their referendum.
The Ruthenes are an indigenous sub-Carpathian people. Ukrainian authorities do not consider them to be a separate ethnos, and continue calling them Ukrainians, although the UN has issued recommendations more than once, to recognize their status as a separate ethnos.
More than that, Kiev accuses the leaders of Ruthene organizations of making appeals for encroachments on the territorial integrity of the country.
(source - TASS)
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Zionist lobby preventing West from criticizing Israel: Analyst Fri Dec 16, 2016
The European Union has censured the Israeli regime for destroying Palestinian shelters and structures in the occupied territories. According to a statement by the European bloc, the Tel Aviv regime has demolished 866 structures so far in 2016 in Area C of the West Bank, which is under full Israeli military control.
Anthony Hall, editor-in-chief of the American Herald Tribune from Alberta, says that the European states have been under the influence of the Zionist lobby to go along with Israeli interests - and thus refuse to slam crimes against the Palestinian people.
“Every government within the EU has a very strong Israeli lobby, and this is one of the dilemmas that the Western people are facing,”Hall explained.
“Not only the governing parties but the opposition parties as well, are constraining discussion and discourse within a very narrow range, that puts Israeli priorities at the top of the list in all our Western countries,”he added.
The professor also called on Western citizens to“intervene directly and make contact with the Palestinian people, directly.”
“We, as the citizens in the EU, citizens in Canada, & citizens in the US, have to find ways to bypass the constraints of our governments & the biases and power of this lobby over our governments,” he noted.
Hall criticized the EU for its forensic accounting of homes demolished in Palestine.
“This type of numerical accounting fails to really describe the nature of this destruction of homes in its broader context ------ where thousands of Palestinian people are in dungeons and being tortured in Israeli incarceration facilities,” he said.
“The reality: that the world is letting this happen is very discouraging,” he added.
Hall warned that the prospect of a Palestinian state is no longer viable, given the emphasis on building up settlements, and destroying the structures of the indigenous people of Palestine.
"This goes beyond apartheid,” he said.
The Israeli policy of demolishing houses in the West Bank to build illegal settler units has affected 5,704 Palestinians, of whom, 1,221 have been rendered homeless, including 586 children.
(source - PressTv)
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UN Adopts"Paper Tiger" Resolution, on Israel's Withdrawal from the Syrian Golan
Fahwad Al-Khadoumi -The UN General Assembly adopted yet another resolution demanding that Israel withdraw from the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, in line with a resolution of June 4, 1967.
However, UN General Assembly resolutions are non-binding and no more than a paper tiger, with- out a unanimous decision by the permanent UN Security Council members, to enforce them; A highly unlikely prospect.
In its latest resolution, the UN General Assembly again condemned Israel's non-compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 497 (1981).
The General Assembly reiterated that Israel's decision from December 14th, 1981, to impose Israeli laws, administration & custody on the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, is null and void -- and has no legality at all.
The latest UNGA resolution was adopted by an overwhelming majority of UN member States.
The resolution --- reaffirmed the illegality of acquiring territories ----- through the use of military force. The General Assembly also repeated that Israel's continued occupation & enforcement of Israeli law & administration violates international law, the UN Charter, & the Geneva Convention's principles on the protection of civilians during war.
During the UNGA session, a number of states condemned the Israeli practices in occupied Syrian Golan, calling on Israel to withdraw from Golan, in line with June 4th, 1967.
37 states proposed the now adopted draft resolution. However, UNGA resolutions are non-binding and no more than a paper tiger, unless permanent Security Council members are willing to put their money where their mouth was, when they adopted UNSC Resolution 497 (1981) - decades ago.
Moreover, none of the permanent UNSC members - China, France, Russia, the UK and the US - took any tangible steps when the now former Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, defiantly declared that "Israel and the Golan are part and parcel" and that "the international community should get used to facing the fact that Israel will permanently annex the Syrian territory".
Most favourite scapegoat
The favorite scapegoat among permanent UNSC members, with regard to supporting Israel and neglecting Israel's illegal occupation of Golan is the US. However, Russia is in no way more actively pursuing Israel's adherence with UNSC Resolution 497 (1981) -- than any other -- of the self-anointed permanent UNSC members. In April 2016, Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin, were ominously silent about the Golan when Israeli PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, visited Moscow.
Russia failed to respond to what Netanyahu had declared "a red line" - occupation of the Golan.
A brief review of recent history pertaining to the Israeli occupation, international affairs & Israel's use of the Golan to wage war on Syria, suffices to show that the UN System has failed, utterly, and that it is perverted to the point that many analysts call for abolishing the UN altogether.
In June 2013 an Austrian UN Disengagement & Observer Force (UNDOF) officer told the press that Israel is -- running a joint operations room with the insurgents in Syria in the Golan.The UNSC failed to respond and more importantly, failed to take action. In July 2013, the Syrian permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, Dr. Fayssal al-Hamwi, noted how Israel, since it occupied the Syrian Golan Heights in 1967, has displaced about half a million of the Golan´s original inhabitants.
Also in Feb. 2014, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu preempted a public relations quagmire by visiting a field hospital for "Syrian Freedom Fighters" in the Golan to show how much Israel cares and does, on the humanitarian front. It turned out that the "Freedom Fighters" belonged to the Syrian Al-Qaeda franchise, Jabhat al-Nusra.
In March 2014, Israel launched one of many military attacks against Syrian military and security forces, from the Golan, while the UNSC and most media were "silent".
In April 2014 The Director of Israel's Military Intelligence, Brigadier General Aviv Kochavi, a protegé of the now deceased Ariel Sharon, was appointed to head the Israeli Defense Forces Northern Command.
NSNBC international editor-in-chief, Christof Lehmann, reported that the appointment of Kochavi, indicated that Israel was planning large-scale military operations in the Golan in the near future and the widening of the Syria war. Lehmann was right on the money.
In May 2014 Israel denied Syrians in Golan the right to participate in Syrian elections. The UN was "silent". In mid-April 2016, ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed that Israel would hold on to the Golan.
A UNDOF withdrawal has left a 12-16 km wide corridor uncontrolled by the UNDOF... In 2013, it transpired that Israel was giving support to Jabhat al-Nusrah, such as a joint intelligence and military operations room in the Israeli occupied Golan, plus logistical support, weapons, field hospitals, and direct combat support.
In September 2014, Israeli machinations, resulted in the displacement of UNDOF troops from a 12-16 kilometer-wide corridor in the disengagement zone in the Golan by Jabhat Al-Nusra.. The corridor has since been used to supply Al-Nusra and the other terrorists and to launch attacks against Syria.
All permanent UNSC members with the exception of Russia were "silent". Russian diplomats tentatively spoke out against terminating the peace keeping mission in the Golan. The UNSC failed to act.
In 2015 it came out that Israel planned a major hydrocarbon extraction project in the Golan. Partners in crime include Genier Energy.
On the board of directors? Dick Cheney, James Woolsey, Bill Richardson, Jacob Lord Rothschild, Rupert Murdoch, Larry Summers and Michael Steinhardt, among others. Other players involved include the Israeli subsidiary, Afek Oil and Gas, American Shale, French Total and BP. Thus, there exists a broad and powerful nexus of US, British, French and Israeli interests: at the forefront of pushing for the break-up of Syria and control of what's believed to be potentially vast untapped oil and gas resources in the country.
On April 20th, 2016, NSNBC international editor- in-chief Christof Lehmann -- said Netanyahu's "Red Line" would be a litmus test for Russia, as a permanent UNSC member. On April 21st, after talks between Netanyahu and Putin in Moscow, it could be concluded that Russia failed -- spectacularly.
In September 2016, Israel started a wave of home demolitions in the Golan. The UNSC was "silent".
In October 2016, Israel announced plans to build 1,600 settlement units in the Golan, & none of the permanent UNSC members took any action.
So much for the latest UN General Assembly paper tiger.
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The UK Labour MPs who didn’t back the Yemen vote have blood on their hands by David Wearing
Presenting the motion in the Commons, Thornberry was subjected to a series of ill-judged interruptions by Labour MPs, such as Kevan Jones, Toby Perkins and John Woodcock. Indeed, Thornberry received more vocal support in the chamber from the SNP group than from her own supposed comrades.
According to subsequent reports, some Labour members even tried to work with their Tory counterparts, in order to defeat their own party’s motion.
Woodcock, a former 'Progress' Chair, claimed that British support is “precisely focused on training the Saudis” to improve their targeting - so as to “create fewer civilian casualties” - parroting the official government line. The idea that the Saudis’ “widespread & systematic” attacks on civilian targets are just a series of well- meaning errors, is one that, to put it as gently as possible, lacks credibility.
And if decades of training provided by the British to the Saudi pilots hasn’t prevented these supposed errors by now --- it seems rather unlikely that it will in the near future.
In any case, this misrepresents the true nature of the UK's role. When the intervention began, the foreign secretary Philip Hammond, vowed to “support the Saudis in every practical way short of engaging in combat”, including “spare parts, maintenance, technical advice, resupply” and “logistical support”. The reality is that the Saudi Air Force, roughly half UK-supplied and half US-supplied jets, could barely function, without this ongoing assistance from Washington and London.
If there is Yemeni blood on the hands of the Saudi-led coalition - then that blood is also on the hands of the coalition’s western backers, enablers and apologists.
The Saudis and their allies can only wage this war because the Anglo-American suppliers of their air forces are providing active, material support. And British and American politicians can only collude in these outrages, because the political cost on them, so far, has been low. However, it is in the gift of their constituents – you, the reader – to change that equation.
(source - The Guardian)
This could be defeated --- with a UNITED LABOUR PARTY !!!
But unfortunately, there are "entryist" MPs who, for decades, have been groomed by CIA cold war relic organisations -- like the Atlantic Council -- and are now trying to misdirect the Labour Party towards cuts, a militarised police, and a US war agenda... and their anti-peace MPs are hobbling Labour.
129 Labour MPs voted to stop support for Saudi Arabia’s campaign in Yemen. The vote was defeated by a majority of 90.
The motion called for ---- support to be withdrawn from the Saudi government until a United Nations investigation could determine whether the Saudi bombing had breached international law.
The motion didn't explicitly include a suspension of UK arms sales.
100+ Labour MPs didn't vote on the motion. If all of them had voted to support it, the government would have been defeated.
The following, are the Labour MPs who abstained, or weren't present to vote.
Adrian Bailey Andy Burnham Angela Eagle Angela Smith Ann Clwyd Ann Coffey Anna Turley Barry Sheerman Ben Bradshaw Bridgit Phillipson Caroline Flint Catherine McKinnell Chris Bryant Chris Elmore (Teller) Chris Evans Chris Leslie Clive Lewis (ill) Connor McGinn Dan Jarvis David Crausby David Lammy Diana Johnson Fiona MacTaggart Frank Field Gareth Thomas Gavin Shuker Geoffrey Robinson George Howarth Gerald Kaufman Gill Furniss Gisela Stuart Gloria De Piero Graeme Jones Graham Allen Graham Stringer Heidi Alexander Helen Jones Ian Austin Ian Murray Ivan Lewis Jamie Reed Jim Fitzpatrick Joan Ryan John Mann John Spellar John Woodcock Judith Cummins (Teller) Julie Elliott Kate Hoey Keith Vaz Kevan Jones Kevin Barron Liz Kendall Luciana Berger Lucy Powell Madeleine Moon Margaret Beckett Margaret Hodge Maria Eagle Mark Hendrick Mary Creagh Meg Hillier (Paired) Melanie Onn Michael Dugher Mike Gapes Natascha Engel Neil Coyle Nia Griffith Pat McFadden Paul Flynn Peter Kyle Phil Wilson Rachel Reeves Rob Flello Rob Marris Roberta Blackman-Woods Rosie Cooper Rushanara Ali Ruth Smeeth Shabana Mahmood Siobhain McDonagh Stephen Kinnock Susan Jones Toby Perkins Tom Blenkinsopp Tom Watson Tracy Brabin Tristram Hunt Vernon Coaker Wayne David Wes Streeting Yasmin Qureshi Yvonne Fovargue
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‘How Can I Deselect My Labour MP?’ A Short Guideto Reselection and Democratic Accountability by Eric Sim, excellent free advice here:
Nicolas J S Davies is the author of Blood On Our Hands: the American Invasion and Destruction of Iraq. He also wrote the chapters on “Obama at War” in Grading the 44th President: a Report Card on Barack Obama’s First Term as a Progressive (Lol) Leader.
In the past weeks, Burundi and S. Africa have joined Namibia in declaring their intention to withdraw from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). They are likely to be followed by a parade of other African countries, jeopardizing the future of an international court, which has prosecuted 39 officials from 8 African countries, but has failed to indict a single person who is not African.
Ironically, African countries were among the first to embrace the ICC, so it is a striking turnaround that they are now the first to give up on it.
But it is the United States that has played the leading role in preventing the ICC from fulfilling the universal mandate for which it was formed, to hold officials of all countries accountable for the worst crimes in the world: genocide; crimes against humanity; and war crimes - not least, international aggression, which the judges at Nuremberg defined as “the supreme international crime”, from which, all other war crimes follow.
As the ICC’s founding father, former Nuremberg prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz, lamented in 2011: “You don’t have to be a criminologist to realize that if you want to deter a crime, you must persuade potential criminals that, if they commit crimes, they will be hauled into court and be held accountable. It is the policy of the US to do just the opposite as far as the crime of aggression is concerned.
"Our government has gone to great pains --- to be sure that no US citizen will be tried by any international criminal court, for the supreme crime of illegal war-making.”
The US has not only refused to accept the jurisdiction of the ICC over its own citizens. It's gone further, pressuring other countries to sign Bilateral Immunity Agreements (BIA), in which they renounce the right to refer US citizens to the ICC for war crimes committed on their territory.
The US has also threatened to cut off US aid to countries that refuse to sign them. The BIAs violate those countries’ own commitments under the ICC statute, and US pressure to sign them, has been rightly condemned: as an outrageous effort to ensure impunity for US war crimes.
Resistance to US Impunity
To the credit of our international neighbours, this US strategy has met with substantial resistance. The European Parliament overwhelmingly passed a resolution, stating that BIAs are incompatible with EU membership, and urging EU- member states and countries seeking EU membership not to sign them.
Fifty-four countries have publicly refused to sign BIAs, and 24 have accepted cut-offs of US aid as a consequence of their refusal. Of 102 countries that have signed a BIA, only 48 are members of the ICC in any case ----- and only 15 of those countries are on record as having ratified the BIAs in their own parliaments.
Thirty-two other ICC members have apparently allowed BIAs to take effect without parliament- ary ratification, but this has been challenged by their own country’s legal experts in many cases.
The US campaign to undermine the ICC is part of a much broader effort by the US government to evade all forms of accountability under the laws that are supposed to govern international behaviour in the modern world --- even as it continues to masquerade as a global champion of the rule of law.
The treaties US policy systematically violates today, were crafted by US statespersons and diplomats, working with foreign colleagues, to build a world where all people will enjoy some basic protections... from the worst atrocities, instead of being subject only to the law of the jungle or “might makes right.”
So current US policy is a cynical betrayal of the work and wisdom of past generations of US citizens, as well as of countless victims over the world to whom we are effectively denying the protections of the UN Charter & Geneva Conventions, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and many other multilateral treaties our country ignores, violates or refuses to ratify.
Avoiding jurisdiction in international courts is only one of the ways that the US evades international accountability for its criminal behaviour. Another involves an elaborate, well-disguised, public relations campaign that exploits the powerful position of US corporations in the world of commercial media.
Major Propaganda Funding
The US government spends a billion dollars per year on public relations or, more bluntly, propaganda, including $600 million from the Pentagon budget. The work of its PR teams and contractors is laundered by US news- papers --- and repeated and analyzed ad nauseam, by monolithic, flag-waving TV networks.
These profitable corporate operations monopolize the public airwaves in the US, and also use their financial clout, slick marketing, and the support of the US State Department to maintain a power- ful presence in foreign and international media markets.
Foreign media in allied countries provide further legitimacy and credibility to US talking-points and narratives as they echo around the world. Meanwhile, Hollywood fills cinema and TV screens across the world with an idealized, glamorized, inspirational version of the US that still mesmerizes many people.
This whole elaborate “information warfare” machine presents the US as a global leader for democracy, human rights and the rule of law, even as it systematically and catastroph- ically undermines those same principles. It enables our leaders to loudly, persuasively, demonize other countries and their leaders as dangerous violators of international law, even as the US and its allies commit far worse crimes.
Double Standards
The phrase “aggressive war” is also a no-no in the Western media - when the US government launches wars, across international borders. In the past 20 years, the US has violated the UN Charter to attack at least eight countries (Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Libya & Syria), and the resulting wars, have killed about two million people.
A complex whirlwind of conflict and chaos rages on in all the countries where the US and its allies have lit the flames of war since 2001, but our US leaders still debate new interventions ---- and/or escalations as if we are the fire brigade not the arsonists. (By contrast, the US government and the Western media are quick to accuse Russia or other countries of “aggression” --- even in legally murky situations, such as after the US-backed coup in 2014, that ousted the elected president of Ukraine.)
Systematic violations of the Geneva Conventions are an integral part of US war-making. Most are shrouded in secrecy: the propaganda machine spins the atrocities that slip through into the public record, as a disconnected series of aberrations, accidents and “bad apples,” instead of as the result of illegal rules of engagement and unlawful orders from higher-ups.
The senior officers and civilian officials who are criminally responsible for these crimes in US & international law -- systematically abuse their powerful positions to subvert investigations, cover up their crimes, & avoid any accountability whatsoever.
Pinter’s Complaint
When UK playwright Harold Pinter was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005, he bravely and brilliantly used his Nobel lecture to speak about the real role the US plays in the world, and how it whitewashes its crimes. Pinter recounted a meeting at the US Embassy in London in the 1980s in which a senior embassy official, Raymond Seitz, flatly denied US war crimes in Nicaragua ---- for which the US was in fact, convicted of aggression by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Seitz went on to serve as Assistant Secretary of State, US Ambassador to the UK, and then Vice-Chair of Lehman Brothers.
As Pinter explained: “this ‘policy’ was by no means restricted to Central America. It was conducted throughout the world. It was never-ending. And it is --- as if it never happened.
“The United States supported - and in many cases engendered every rightwing military dictatorship in the world, after the end of the Second World War. I refer to:- Indonesia, Greece, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Haiti, Turkey, the Philippines, Guatemala, El Salvador, and, of course, Chile. The horror the US inflicted upon Chile in 1973 can never be purged, & can never be forgiven.
“Hundreds of thousands of deaths took place throughout these countries. Did... they take place? & are they in all cases, attributable to US foreign policy? The answer is 'yes', they did take place, and are attributable to American foreign policy. But you wouldn’t know it.
“It never happened. Nothing ever happened. Even while it was happening it wasn’t happ- ening. It didn’t matter. It was of no interest. The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless, but very few people have actually talked about them. You have to hand it to the US. It has exercised a quite clinical manipulation of power, worldwide, while masquerading... as a force for universal good. It’s a brilliant - even witty - highly successful, act of hypnosis.”
If, in 2016, the world seems to be more violent and chaotic than ever, it's not because the US lacks the will to use force or project power, as both major party candidates for President, & their military advisers appear to believe, but because our leaders have placed too much stock in the illegal threat and use of force, and have lost faith in the rule of law, any international cooperation and diplomacy.
After a century of commercial dominance, & 75 years of investing disproportionately in weapons, military forces & geopolitical schemes, perhaps it is understandable that US leaders have forgotten how to deal fairly and respectfully with our international neighbours. But it's no longer an option, to muddle along, leaving a trail of death, ruin and chaos in our wake, counting on an elaborate propaganda mach- ine, to minimize the blowback on our country and our lives.
Sooner, rather than later, US citizens & our leaders must knuckle down and master the very different attitudes & skills that we will need to become law-abiding global citizens in a peaceful, sustainable, multipolar world.
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Russia ends treaty limiting plutonium production in response to recent US escalation of hostility Fort Russ News - Topwar.ru - Lenta - News.Ru - translated by J. Arnoldski
TopWar: On October 3rd, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on suspending compliance with the agreement with the US on disposing weapons-grade plutonium. The main reason for this decision was pointed out as the “unfriendly attitude of the US towards Russia.”
Sources from the State Duma have reported that Russia is ready to resume the agreement, if the US cancels all the anti-Russian sanctions. Plus, Russia demands that the US reduce its military contingent in Europe, before Russia resumes compliance with the protocols. The State Duma’s statement reads:
“Acting according to the agreement and the protocols of the agreement can be resumed after the US eliminates the reasons which led to this radical change in circumstances: after the US reduces its military infrastructure and the number of its troop contingents deployed on the territory of the NATO countries having joined NATO after September 1st, 2000, down to the level at which they were on the day that the agreement and its protocols entered force.
"Since then NATO has grown to encompass 9 states of Eastern Europe. Just around the corner is NATO’s 10th state to be included since 2000 - Montenegro.”
In addition, Russia has demanded, as one of its conditions, that Washington cancel the so-call- ed Magnitsky Act.
We await a reaction from the US.
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Popov: Russia can and should withdraw from 1997 treaty with Ukraine By Eduard Popov for Fort Russ - translated by J. Arnoldski -
The other day, the disturbing news came from Lvov, the unofficial capital of Ukrainian Galicia, that the Lvov regional council has filed a lawsuit to forcibly evict the Pushkin Russian Cultural Centre. As the head of the regional council, V. Girnyak, said in his statement, organizations tied to the Anti-Terrorist Operation are preparing to transfer the building on Korolenko Street. The Lvov deputies hardly expect to earn more money from these “ATOers.” Rather, the eviction of Pushkin Russian Cultural Centre is explained by a different motive: once again, punishing anyone ideologically representative of an “enemy” Russian culture.
This centre’s building was leased to the Russian community of Lvov, in 1990. In 1999, the then mayor Vasiliy Kuybida, set the symbolic rent fee of 5 hryvnia (around $1 back then).
Let us quote one founding document signed by Ukraine, the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership between the Russian Federation and Ukraine from May 31st, 1997. Point 12 of the agreement reads: “The High Agreeing Parties shall protect the ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious identities of national minorities on their territory and create conditions for the fostering of their identity….they will contribute to creating equal opportunities and conditions for studying the Russian language in Ukraine and the Ukrainian language in the Russian Federation, training pedagogical staff for teaching these languages in educational establishments, and for these purposes, provide equal state support.”
Points 1-2 of the agreement are based on the recognition of the friendly relations between the countries and their territorial integrity. Hence why the agreement is often called a border treaty. For Ukraine, whose territorial sovereignty over some territories (including Galicia, which was part of the Second Polish Republic until September 1939) is quite disputed, this agreement was a real gift. It is no coincidence that a number of patriotic politicians in Russia, demanded that this document not be signed.
Russia’s recognition of Kiev’s sovereignty over territories included in the Ukrainian state is founded on Ukraine’s observance of the rights of its Russian- cultured citizens. After the coup d’etat in 2014, Ukraine began pursuing a policy of cultural genocide (ethnocide) against the Russian-cultured population.
Now Ukraine is discussing the initiative of the scandalously infamous politician Irina Farion, to deprive Russian residents in Ukraine of civil rights.
In fact, this measure is already being implemented. The number of Russian schools has rapidly declined while Russian organizations are being prosecuted and their activities are under close surveillance by Kiev’s intelligence services.
In accordance with the 1997 treaty, an entire network of federal & regional organizations of Ukrainians is funded in Russia. For example, in the Rostov region there is a city-level and regional national-cultural autonomy of Ukrainians.
The organization receives funding from the city and regional budgets. Its head, the businessman Makarchuk, is a member of the Public Chamber of the Rostov region and is proud of his friendship with Rostov governor Vasili Golubev. Meanwhile, Makarchuk is published on the website of the Ukrainian neo-Nazi Svoboda party and frequently makes Russophobic statements.
Unfortunately, Russia is largely to blame for the fact that the civil rights of Russian-cultured people in Ukraine are being massively violated. An example of this is the patronizing policy of Rostov region's authorities. But on the federal level as well, the state does not make sufficient (or any) efforts to defend the Russian population of Ukraine (nearly half of the country’s total population).
Meanwhile, a more responsible attitude towards obligations would lead to discussion of the 1997 treaty. In a situation in which the second country (Ukraine), massively violates the treaty’s basic premises, then Russia has the right to withdraw from the treaty with all the legal and political implications. I see no reason for the Russian budget to support the activities of Ukrainian organizations in Russia, or recognize the territorial sovereignty of Ukraine.
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WHITE HELMETS -- SHAM
The Ron Paul Institute has pointed out: “We have demonstrated that the White Helmets are an integral part of the propaganda van- guard, that ensures obscurantism of fact and propagation of Human Rights fiction that elicits the well-intentioned and self righteous response from a very cleverly duped public. A priority for these NGOs is to keep pushing the No Fly Zone scenario which has already been seen to have disastrous implications for innocent civilians in Libya, for example.”
What better chance to push “the No Fly Zone scenario” than arriving within “moments” of the convoy tragedy, filming it and creating a propaganda scenario before any meaningful forensic investigation could even be started, since the trucks were still burning. And of course, the “White Helmets”, aka “Syrian Defence Force”, were filming, rather than attempting to put out the fire and rescue those in the burning trucks.
[Ed. Yet the UK's Guardian, that snivelling wreckage of a "Liberal" newspaper, lies, & describes them as "the White Helmets, a volunteer rescue group," quotes their accusations of Syrian & Russian "constant bombing of civilians" and calls for a "no-fly-zone" now --- as in Libya.]
The Russian Defence Ministry subsequently caused outrage by claiming that their Drone footage: “shows the bombed Syrian aid convoy included a truck full of militant fighters carrying mortar guns.”
However: “The footage emerged as the United Nations rowed back from describing the attack on the aid convoy as air strikes, saying it did not have conclusive evidence about what had happened.”
It must be asked, why on earth, after long and protracted negotiations over the convoy would Syria and or their Russian ally risk the wrath of the US & “coalition”, and of further decimation of the country, by laying themselves open to accusations of bombing aid convoys?
The tragedy has emphatically achieved 1 thing, however. Wiped from the headlines, is another atrocity - the US bombing which killed over 60 Syrian soldiers and wounded over 100 others, just two days earlier, on Saturday 17th Sept. - causing Russian Foreign Ministry spokes- woman Maria Zakharova, to comment: “We are reaching a really terrifying conclusion for the whole world: That the White House is defending Islamic State. Now there can be no doubts about that”, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.
Again - Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Who will guard the guards?
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US prepares an Islamic army in Kosovo
Pravda.Ru - The US is preparing a reserve echelon in the territory of its Kosova enclave. But to keep a secure strategic space, the Southern Serbian provinces may be separated from Kosovo. Given the total apathy of the authorities of Republika Srpska... this plan is inching closer to its implementation.
The goal of the Americans is clear: if Berlin's discontent ousts US bases from Germany, after all, the US will have a spot in Kosovo. It's no secret that the crime and terrorist mayhem plaguing Kosovo, is under the patronage of the US.
Yelena Guskova, a Senator, and member of the Academy of Sciences of the Republika Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina), honoured with many Russian and Serbian state awards, commented to Pravda.Ru on this matter, in an interview.
Former Commander of the French foreign legion in Kosovo -- General Jacques Ogar, has recently confirmed to Pravda.Ru, evidence obtained from confidential US sources -- that there are at least five ISIS training camps in Kosovo, which are preparing suicide bombers and an army of Islamists to conquer Europe.
Having found no evidence that proved Milosevic was guilty, the Hague tribunal exonerated him. What do you think of it?
Slobodan Milosevic is a very significant historical person in Serbia's modern history, and the whole of Yugoslavia. In the early 1990s he was seen as the last communist in Europe -- who should be annihilated. His own country turned him over to the Hague; the so-called new government -- after the colour revolution of 2000.
However he was a leader who defended his country and the truth. He combated a large amount of lies at the Tribunal, which tried to prove that only the Serbs were guilty of all the events of the 1990s, as they were charged with collective crimes.
No leader of the Muslim territories of Yugoslavia was convicted, only Serbian ones. The figure of Milosevic was very important, but they didn't manage to find any evidence.
His brother Borislav Milosevic says they secretly took some samples of food and water Slobodan had been given and tested it in Moscow. And it turned out that poison had been added. And it was difficult to breathe for him, which means that something was infiltrated into the air.
Then he stopped eating, but the process had been launched. His death is mysterious but the Tribunal admitted that he was not responsible for crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Colonel Jacques Ogar, who was Commander of a foreign legion in the territory of Yugoslavia in the UN group admits that they were ordered to stand for the Kosovars against the Serbians... Western troops openly supported separatists and participated in punitive actions against the Serbians. Do you have such data?
Surely. I'm a Head of the Centre for the Study of the Contemporary Balkan Crisis at the Russian Academy of Sciences. Our main task is to collect documents and publish them. There occur more and more documents on the events since 1990, which confirm it.
It's absolutely clear that international organizations were biased. The Albanians approach their dream - to create a big country with an Albanian population only. The US has worked a lot to support this movement, as Kosovo is a project of the US.
And they would have got independence long ago, unless it was for Russia. Russia said No to their plans in 2007. it disturbed them, and now they do not influence Russia, but try to govern the Serbian authorities. But I think the process hasn't been completed, & there's a chance to return Kosovo to Serbia.
As they say, there are 8 ISIS training camps in the territory of Kosovo. It is reported that they train suicide bombers to carry out acts in the Western Europe and create a whole army to conquer it. How can you comment on this?
When huge flows of refugees were going across the Balkans in Europe, there were mainly young men and almost no couples. They were well- dressed, were going by three, and had enough means to live in decent hotels. It is clear that there are those among them who should stay in the Balkans & orchestrate implementation of their leaders' aims.
As the Serbian officials struggle to join the EU, they implemented all the terms. And they were told, to not only to let in these refugees, but also to build camps for them. Many stayed in the South, where the population is majority Muslim . A great quantity went to Kosovo and Metohija.
And there's an uncontrolled NATO base Bondsteel there, where enormous resources are deployed. This territory is not controlled by anyone. And when questions of the US military camps in Europe occur, no one speaks of Kosovo.
In Kosovo's camps, where terrorists are trained, they are set absolutely free. It's very dangerous for the whole of Europe, and the Balkans first of all. The US, though, wants to whip Serbia into submission and recognize the independence of Kosovo and Metohija.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska, and Serbians who reside there, are hampering these plans.
There is evidence that, as early as in the mid- 1990s the US aimed to go down to the Balkans when the agreement with Germany terminated if they had to leave. They need a territory in Bosnia & Herzegovina, in Kosovo, Metohija, Montenegro, Serbia & Macedonia. Republika Srpska hampers implementation of this plan today.
They need to annihilate the Republic and make the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina a unitary state. They didn't manage to conduct a colour revolution in the Republika Srpska, while the terror acts, which may be backed by Muslims in other territories, may be fruitful.
These plans may come forward in the nearest future, and it's a threat for the whole of Serbia. As there is a plan to separate the Southern regions of Serbia, where a lot of Albanians and Muslims reside. Today Serbian officials regard these refugees calmly, as well as capable of possible terrorist acts. But it should be paid 'special attention'.
there's a big difference between the news, and the truth - if you want the latest news and the truth, say, on Brazil - then please go to our One Union page.
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US/UK elite bankrolled A. Hitler
Germans were paid in company shares for loans that managed Germany's war reparations -- thus US capital began to actively integrate into the German economy.
The total amount of foreign investment in German industry during 1924-1929 amounted to almost 63 billion gold Marks (30 billion was accounted for by loans), and the payment of reparations — 10 billion Marks. 70% of revenues were provided by bankers from the US, and most banks were from JP Morgan.
As a result, in 1929, German industry was in second place in the world, but it was largely in the hands of the USA's leading financial-industrial groups.
"Interessen-Gemeinschaft Farbenindustrie", main supplier of the German war machine, financed 45% of the election campaign of Hitler in 1930, and was under the control of Rockefeller's "Standard oil".
Morgan, through "General Electric", controlled the German radio and electrical industry, via AEG and Siemens (up to 1933, 30% of the shares of AEG were owned by "General Electric") and through the Telecom company ITT — 40% of the 'phone network in Germany.
In addition, they owned a 30% stake in the air- craft manufacturing company "Focke-Wulf".
"General Motors", belonging to the DuPont family, established control over "Opel".
Henry Ford controlled 100% of the shares of Volkswagen. In 1926, with the participation of the Rockefeller Bank, Dillon, Reed & Co, the second largest industrial monopoly in Germany, after I.G Farben, merged with metals group, "Vereinigte Stahlwerke" (Steel trust) plus Thyssen, Flick, Wolff, Feglera etc.
US co-operation with Germany's military- industrial complex, was so intense and pervasive, that by 1933, the key sectors of German industry, & large banks such as the Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank, Donat Bank, etc, were all under the control of US financial capital.
The political force that was intended to play a crucial role in the Anglo-American plans was being simultaneously prepared.
We are talking about the funding of the Nazi party and A. Hitler personally.
As former German Chancellor Brüning wrote in his memoirs, from 1923, Hitler received large sums from abroad. Where they went, is not known, but they were received through Swiss and Swedish banks.
It is also known that, in 1922 in Munich, a meeting took place between A. Hitler and the military attache of the US to Germany -- Captain Truman Smith -- who compiled a detailed report for his Washington superiors (in the office of military intelligence), in which he spoke highly of Hitler.
Through Smith's circle of acquaintances, A. Hitler was introduced to Ernst Franz Sedgwick Hanfstaengl, (Putzie), --- a graduate of Harvard University who played an important role in the formation of A. Hitler as a politician, rendered him significant financial support, and secured for him, acquaintance & communication with, senior British figures.
Hitler was prepared politically, but, as Germany reigned in prosperity, his party remained on the periphery of public life... The situation changed dramatically with the beginning of 'the crisis'.
In the autumn of 1929, the collapse of the US stock exchange was triggered by the Federal Reserve, and the next stage of the Anglo-US financial circles' strategy, had started.
The Federal Reserve and JP Morgan, decided to stop lending to Germany --- inspired by the bank crisis & economic depression in Central Europe.
In September 1931, England abandoned the gold standard, deliberately destroying international payments systems and completely cutting off "financial oxygen" to the Weimar Republic.
But a financial miracle occurred for the Nazi party: in September 1930 as a result of large donations by Thyssen and I.G. Farben --- the party got 6.4 million votes & took 2nd place in the Reichstag;- after this, more generous investments from abroad were activated.
The main link between the major German industrialists and foreign financiers, became H. Schacht.
On January 4th, 1932, a meeting was held with the largest English financier, a Mr M. Norman, A. Hitler, and von Papen, which concluded a secret agreement on the financing of the NSDAP.
This meeting was also attended by US policy-makers, the Dulles brothers --- something their biographers do not like to mention.
On January 14th, 1933, a meeting between Hitler, Schroder, Papen & Kepler took place, where Hitler's program was fully approved. It was here that they finally resolved the issue of the transfer of power to the Nazis, and on 30th January, A. Hitler became Chancellor.
The implementation of the next stage of the strategy thus began.
The attitude of Anglo-American ruling circles to the new government was very sympathetic. When Hitler refused to pay reparations, which naturally called into question the payment of war debts, neither the UK or France pressed their payment claims.
Moreover, after a visit to the US in May 1933, H. Schacht was placed, again, at the head of the Reichsbank, and, after his meeting with the President and the biggest bankers on Wall Street, the US allocated Germany new loans --- totalling $1 billion.
In June, during a trip to London & a meeting with M. Norman, Schacht sought an English loan of $2 billion and a reduction and then the cessation of payments, on old loans.
Thus, the Nazis got what they could not achieve with the previous government.
In the summer of 1934, Britain signed the Anglo- German transfer agreement, which became one of the foundations of British policy towards the Third Reich, &, at the end of the 30's, Germany became the main trading partner of England.
Schroeder Bank became Germany's main agent in the UK & in 1936 his New York office teamed up with the Rockefellers, to create Schroeder, Rockefeller & Co. investment Bank, which the Times magazine called the Berlin-Rome "economic propagandist axis".
As Hitler himself admitted, he conceived his 4- year plan on the basis of foreign financial loans, so it never inspired him with the slightest alarm.
In August 1934, US Standard oil acquired 730,000 acres of land in Germany... then built large oil refineries which supplied the Nazis with oil.
At the same time, Germany secretly took delivery of the most modern equipment for aircraft factories, from the US, which would begin producing German planes.
Germany gained large numbers of military patents from US firms Pratt and Whitney, Douglas, and Curtis Wright --- and it was US technology, building the Junkers-87.
In 1941 --- as world war ll was raging --- US investments in Germany's economy amounted to $475 million. Standard oil invested - 120 million, General motors - $35 million, ITT - $30 million, and Ford - $17.5 million.
The close financial & economic co-operation of Anglo-American and Nazi business circles, was the backdrop against which, in the 30's, a policy of appeasement led to world war II.
Today, as the world's financial elite begins to implement the 'Great depression 2' plan with its subsequent transition to the "new world order", identifying its key role in the organization of crimes against humanity, becomes a priority.
Yuri Rubtsov is a doctor of historical sciences, academician of the Academy of military sciences, & a member of the International Association of historians of world war II.
FREE POLITICAL PRISONER LEONARD PELTIER NOW!!!
Indigenous rights activist Leonard Peltier,
in prison in the US for 38 years, received the first international human rights prize of Uruguay's Mario Benedetti Foundation.
At a ceremony in Montevideo, where the winner was announced, the human rights group calls Peltier the longest-serving political prisoner in the Americas, AFP reports.
Peltier, a Native American activist who was a member of the American Indian Movement (AIM), was convicted in 1977 for the alleged murder of two US FBI agents during a 1975 shootout on the
Pine Ridge Reservation in S. Dakota.
He was sentenced to 2 consecutive terms of life imprisonment.
"Leonard Peltier, who on September 12th, 2014, turned 70, has spent over half his life in prison. He's a symbol of resistance to repressive state policies by the US, where there are people in jail for ethnic, racial, religious & ideological reasons," the foundation's statement says.
Ricardo Elena, a member of the foundation's honorary board, says Peltier's case "is one that is repeated over and over: violation (of rights), persecution, eviction, invasion and expropriation of indigenous people, from the time it was 'discovered', until now.
"It doesn't just happen in the United States; it is happening in southern South America, with the (indigenous) Mapuche people, and with indigenous people in North America," he states.
Elena says the United States "likes to think it's the seat of democracy, but it has political prisoners just like a dictatorship might have."
The Mario Benedetti Foundation was founded to support human rights and cultural causes in line with the work of the Uruguayan writer after whom it was named, who died in 2009.
Peltier is incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
James Swan, the head of the Black Hills chapter of the United Urban Warrior Society - a nonprofit group that helps Native Americans fight racial discrimination and injustice - describes Peltier as a political prisoner whose case needs to be reviewed by an independent body.
"What we want people to realize is that this is an injustice," AP quotes Swan as saying.
Peltier, 66, was given two life sentences in '77, on false charges of killing 2 FBI agents.
Peltier asserts that he is innocent and the FBI framed him for political reasons, especially for his activities as a member of the Native American Movement. He has lodged numerous appeals against the conviction - but all unsuccessfully.
He's been denied parole again and again, and will not be eligible for it again until 2024, when he turns 79.
Peltier's relatives say he suffers a number of health problems such as diabetes, arthritis, and the loss of vision in an eye after a minor stroke.
Many activists say Leonard Peltier is the most important political prisoner in the US.
In a review of the US' human rights record, at a United Nations Human Rights Council UPR conference in Geneva, a group called for a new trial for him.
The US Human Rights Network filed a 423-page submission to the Geneva meeting about him.
One item, entitled “Political Repression - Political Prisoners,” about 1970's cases, indicts the FBI: accusing COINTELPRO of “maiming, murdering, false prosecutions and frame-ups, destruction and mayhem throughout the country.”
It cites the FBI for targeting the Puerto Rican Independence Front, the Black Panther Party, the Weather Underground, the American Indian Movement, the Black Liberation Army, as well as “peace activists and everyone in between,” and says “many of today's political prisoners” in the US were jailed indefinitely as a result.
Repression has grown since 9/11, it says.
The political repression paper demands an “immediate criminal investigation into the conspiracy,” and also new trials for two aged activists jailed on murder charges, Mumia Abu Jamal and Leonard Peltier.
