WW3? Ukraine/US vs. Donbass/Russia

[shaberon]

Hrmph. After clearing out for a few days, I turn around and see The Saker is going to quit at the end of February. Truly a loss. It was around the beginning of the Syrian conflict that it seemed to me almost all websites were hopeless, and his was one of the only ones whose value stood the test of time. What is there now mentioned the latest RAND report, which, of all things, has switcheroo'd to *not* supporting a "prolonged" conflict in Ukraine.



So, there were a few more things cranked out by Republicans, which apparently gets tied in to a view from someone on the Street about Biolabs:



...according to Wall Street analyst Charles Ortel.

"Corrupt elements in the US (and elsewhere) have much to continue hiding – exposing underlying truths will, in time, mean that these same elements will find themselves in jail or subject to the death penalty for treason. So, they have been fighting fiercely to protect themselves and to resist exposing their long-standing criminal enrichment for decades," Ortel told Sputnik.


"Globalists in both political parties are addicted to lying and to promoting self-serving false narratives because they have enriched and empowered themselves for decades doing so time after time," Ortel said. "Clearly, dynastic political families have corruptly enriched themselves by selling their actual and perceived influence for money. Yet, with 17 known security services and the IRS, no one has been able to prosecute the Bush, Clinton, Obama or Biden families for obvious charity fraud, bribery or tax evasion? There is every reason to suspect that corrupt foreign interests have been blackmailing many DC insiders for decades, especially including the Bidens."


According to Ortel, "the only good news here is that Americans across the political spectrum do not and will not allow criminals in league with the military-industrial complex to develop, test or use bioweapons in bold contravention of treaty obligations."

The Wall Street analyst expressed confidence House Republicans "are already looking seriously into Biden family corruption and hopeful that they and real investigative journalists will push hard to expose the contours of this ongoing criminal conspiracy."



Risky position according to the author of law:


... the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989 (BWATA). Boyle, who drafted BWATA, explained that any American citizens who participated in these apparent programs could get a life sentence under law.


Treason might even be punishable by death.



Well, to tell you a little more about the disfunctional, backwards antics we have been up to on these shores, it does indeed sound like parasitic wealth transfer if all you wanted to do was live in a House:



But even though a majority of Gen Zers and millennials want to buy houses, they can’t. Their biggest reason? Affordability. At least 2/3 of polled adults said their biggest reason for not buying a home was cost. In 1980, the average home cost $47,200. For 2021, the average home sold for $301,000.

A year later, in 2022, the cost of a new home jumped to $344,400. The housing market has skyrocketed over the last two years thanks to a high demand for homes (up about 34%) since the start of the pandemic.

In 2022, the average age of home buyers shot up to 53, the highest on record according to National Association of Realtors (NAR) since 1981.

By mid-2022 the number of first-time home buyers dropped from 34% to 26%, which is the lowest level it has been in four decades.

“Anybody who already owned a house did very well,” said Gray Kimbrough, an economist at American University, of the competitive housing market.

“And because we’ve made homeownership primarily for people in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, it’s really hard for people who are earlier in their lives to move on to the next life stage.”



Thomas Jefferson promised us we would be mortgaged and homeless. That was only over two hundred years ago! What kind of excuse have we got for not keeping this guy's warnings in mind. Same problem we have spread by rigging national economies to private financiers, leading to such a $170B record loss for Norway:


According to Nicolai Tangen, the CEO of Norway’s Bank Investment Management, which oversees the Oil Fund, the market was impacted by the ongoing Ukraine conflict, high inflation (which broke decades-old records in many European nations), and rising interest rates. This negatively impacted both the equity market and bond market at the same time, which is very unusual, he said.

As of now, the fund, which has been firmly based in Norway’s vast oil and gas reserves in the North Sea, has invested in more than 9,300 companies in 70 countries around the world.


We "must raise the debt ceiling unconditionally". Well, I mean, ahem, you could just cut the Pentagon instead of the little people, but, instead, many of those in charge still kowtow the view of this mindless Dead Horse:


Former US presidential advisor John Bolton has made some rather frank admissions during a phone conversation with whom he thought was the ex-president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko.

Alas, his interlocutor turned out to be the well-known Russian prankster duo known as Vovan and Lexus, who promptly spilled the beans online.

During the chat, Bolton apparently insisted that all attempts by Germany or France to hold negotiations with Russia amid the current crisis in Ukraine should be disrupted, and claimed that the sooner Ukraine and Georgia become members of NATO, the better.

Regarding the sanctions imposed by western powers against Russia, Bolton complained that they weren't enough and that Moscow continues to bypass these punitive measures.

He also commented on the promise made over three decades ago by former US Secretary of State James Baker to the former leader of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev regarding NATO not expanding to the east, claiming that Baker merely “launched into arguments and looked for ways to avoid confrontation,” as the pranksters put it.




I also saw a new Gaullist phrase--"US out, Russia in, and Germany up"--will this kick in before Mr. Bolton throws you out on the street?

[Johnnycomelately]

Posted by shaberon (here)
Hrmph.

Bolton’s moustache is creepy.

High security enables contempt.

Fortunately, corporations are people too, so sometimes they screw up.

Beware scaremongering, even if things are bad.

Serious question: how is geopolitics different than personal affairs, as regards “throwing the first stone”? These guys get their power from us, from our examples of againstness.

[jaybee]

Posted by Rizotto (here)
All interesting analyses above, but something is missing. There's got to be an explanation for the apparently erratic behaviour from so many senior officials on the 'western' side. They're not exactly stupid, they're definitely psychopaths. Some of my thoughts about this:
[snipped see #8251

thanks for post...

Don't want to swerve too much off topic but just wanted to say... re bolded above - the only excuse they could possibly have for their insane, secretive, tyrannical behaviour would be if a huge natural disaster was on the way and they have been persuaded that the only way the human race will survive it is if the population is reduced to a manageable level and a few thousand (hundred thousand?) go into luxury bunkers and sit it out for a couple or more decades...?

for instance - the Asteroid Apophis - not long ago said to be on a collision course for earth is now declared to be no threat and will miss us in 2036... Wikipedia says it will miss, so it must be true {*cough*}...

https://www.wionews.com/world/astero...ays-nasa-24666
Asteroid Apophis to cause massive destruction on Earth in 2036, says NASA

this is just one of the potential natural threats -

but anyway ...

[ExomatrixTV]

• Jimmy Dore On Tucker Carlson: The MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX Is America’s Greatest Enemy:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=R2zQg8iYLbE

Briahna Joy Gray and Robby weigh in on Jimmy Dore's comments about the military industrial complex being a bigger threat to Americans than China.

[Bill Ryan]

Fans of Judge Andrew Napolitano (and I am one) may appreciate this, a 12 minute monologue and the strongest opinion video I've heard him make. It was published less than 24 hours ago.

He is fearful (his words) that the US is being dragged into a war that the US "cannot win and cannot afford to lose", and that the great risk is that Putin will be gradually but inexorably pushed, against his own wishes, into considering the use of nuclear weapons.

Just before the 8 minute mark, he addresses Joe Biden directly, with the hope that one of his staffers just might be watching.

Putin, Biden & what's really at stake in Ukraine

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=l7aVSaMD-6Y

[ExomatrixTV]

[ExomatrixTV]

• 2023.02.03 What Becomes of NATO After The Loss In Ukraine:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=MuMZu6EDqVY

[Michel Leclerc]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
Fans of Judge Andrew Napolitano (and I am one) may appreciate this, a 12 minute monologue and the strongest opinion video I've heard him make. It was published less than 24 hours ago.

(...)

Putin, Biden & what's really at stake in Ukraine

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=l7aVSaMD-6Y

Stark, impressive, human, desperate.

[Tintin]

"Michael Rubin, a former Bush appointee and avid supporter of America’s permanent conflicts in the Middle East and Afghanistan, vented his frustration in a 1945 article asserting that, “if the world allows Russia to remain a unitary state, and if it allows Putinism to survive Putin, then, Ukraine should be allowed to maintain its own nuclear deterrence, whether it joins NATO or not.” On its face, the suggestion is reckless, but the statement does accurately reflect the anxiety in Washington circles that Ukrainian defeat is inevitable."

- Douglas Macgregor

--------------------

Source: The American Conservative

FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Author: Colonel Douglas Macgregor (Ret.)
Published: January 26, 2023

This Time It’s Different

Neither we nor our allies are prepared to fight all-out war with Russia, regionally or globally.




Until it decided to confront Moscow with an existential military threat in Ukraine, Washington confined the use of American military power to conflicts that Americans could afford to lose, wars with weak opponents in the developing world from Saigon to Baghdad that did not present an existential threat to U.S. forces or American territory. This time—a proxy war with Russia—is different.

Contrary to early Beltway hopes and expectations, Russia neither collapsed internally nor capitulated to the collective West’s demands for regime change in Moscow. Washington underestimated Russia’s societal cohesion, its latent military potential, and its relative immunity to Western economic sanctions.

As a result, Washington’s proxy war against Russia is failing. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was unusually candid about the situation in Ukraine when he told the allies in Germany at Ramstein Air Base on January 20, “We have a window of opportunity here, between now and the spring,” admitting, “That’s not a long time.”

Alexei Arestovich, President Zelensky’s recently fired advisor and unofficial “Spinmeister,” was more direct. He expressed his own doubts that Ukraine can win its war with Russia and he now questions whether Ukraine will even survive the war. Ukrainian losses—at least 150,000 dead including 35,000 missing in action and presumed dead—have fatally weakened Ukrainian forces resulting in a fragile Ukrainian defensive posture that will likely shatter under the crushing weight of attacking Russian forces in the next few weeks.

Ukraine’s materiel losses are equally severe. These include thousands of tanks and armored infantry fighting vehicles, artillery systems, air defense platforms, and weapons of all calibers. These totals include the equivalent of seven years of Javelin missile production. In a setting where Russian artillery systems can fire nearly 60,000 rounds of all types—rockets, missiles, drones, and hard-shell ammunition—a day, Ukrainian forces are hard-pressed to answer these Russian salvos with 6,000 rounds daily. New platform and ammunition packages for Ukraine may enrich the Washington community, but they cannot change these conditions.

Ukraine’s materiel losses are equally severe. These include thousands of tanks and armored infantry fighting vehicles, artillery systems, air defense platforms, and weapons of all calibers. These totals include the equivalent of seven years of Javelin missile production. In a setting where Russian artillery systems can fire nearly 60,000 rounds of all types—rockets, missiles, drones, and hard-shell ammunition—a day, Ukrainian forces are hard-pressed to answer these Russian salvos with 6,000 rounds daily. New platform and ammunition packages for Ukraine may enrich the Washington community, but they cannot change these conditions.

Predictably, Washington’s frustration with the collective West’s failure to stem the tide of Ukrainian defeat is growing. In fact, the frustration is rapidly giving way to desperation.

Michael Rubin, a former Bush appointee and avid supporter of America’s permanent conflicts in the Middle East and Afghanistan, vented his frustration in a 1945 article asserting that, “if the world allows Russia to remain a unitary state, and if it allows Putinism to survive Putin, then, Ukraine should be allowed to maintain its own nuclear deterrence, whether it joins NATO or not.” On its face, the suggestion is reckless, but the statement does accurately reflect the anxiety in Washington circles that Ukrainian defeat is inevitable.

NATO’s members were never strongly united behind Washington’s crusade to fatally weaken Russia. The governments of Hungary and Croatia are simply acknowledging the wider European public’s opposition to war with Russia and lack of support for Washington’s desire to postpone Ukraine’s foreseeable defeat.

Though sympathetic to the Ukrainian people, Berlin did not support all-out war with Russia on Ukraine’s behalf. Now, Germans are also uneasy with the catastrophic condition of the German armed forces.

Retired German Air Force General (four-star equivalent) Harald Kujat, former chairman of the NATO Military Committee, severely criticized Berlin for allowing Washington to railroad Germany into conflict with Russia, noting that several decades of German political leaders actively disarmed Germany and thus deprived Berlin of authority or credibility in Europe. Though actively suppressed by the German government and media, his comments are resonating strongly with the German electorate.

The blunt fact is that in its efforts to secure victory in its proxy war with Russia, Washington ignores historical reality. From the 13th century onward, Ukraine was a region dominated by larger, more powerful national powers, whether Lithuanian, Polish, Swedish, Austrian, or Russian.

In the aftermath of the First World War, abortive Polish designs for an independent Ukrainian State were conceived to weaken Bolshevik Russia. Today, Russia is not communist, nor does Moscow seek the destruction of the Polish State as Trotsky, Lenin, Stalin, and their followers did in 1920.

So where is Washington headed with its proxy war against Russia? The question deserves an answer.

On Sunday December 7, 1941, U.S. Ambassador Averell Harriman was with Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill having dinner at Churchill’s home when the BBC broadcast the news that the Japanese had attacked the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. Harriman was visibly shocked. He simply repeated the words, “The Japanese have raided Pearl Harbor.”

Harriman need not have been surprised. The Roosevelt administration had practically done everything in its power to goad Tokyo into attacking U.S. forces in the Pacific with a series of hostile policy decisions culminating in Washington’s oil embargo during the summer of 1941.

In the Second World War, Washington was lucky with timing and allies. This time it’s different. Washington and its NATO allies are advocating a full-blown war against Russia, the devastation and breakup of the Russian Federation, as well as the destruction of millions of lives in Russia and Ukraine.

Washington emotes. Washington does not think, and it is also overtly hostile to empiricism and truth. Neither we nor our allies are prepared to fight all-out war with Russia, regionally or globally. The point is, if war breaks out between Russia and the United States, Americans should not be surprised. The Biden administration and its bipartisan supporters in Washington are doing all they possibly can to make it happen.

[jaybee]

.

George Galloway reporting that 84.5% of people taking part in a poll believed Putin over Boris Johnson...
Of course those taking part in the poll were tuning in because they aligned with George's views but even so...

George Galloway often speaks about the fact that there is no one in the British Parliament that will speak against the UKs involvement in arming Ukraine and prolonging the conflict... putting us all at risk if things escalate into open WW3 and the UK becomes a target - he says in the past there was always input from the anti war movement and Peace Movement and CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) but in today's climate of censorship and totalitarianism all those wanting Peace with Russia are silenced or afraid to speak up for fear of the repercussions - George is involved with the No2NATO No2WAR rally + events in Central London on Feb 25th - a venue was organized previously but they pulled out (obviously they were intimidated behind the scenes..) so now announcements about arrangements will take place very close to the day...

Boris Johnson bombshell clip. The public believed … Putin!(1:23)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=mRFtB_iAPOw

Join me this Sunday for The Mother Of All Talkshows from 7pm UK time.

George Galloway Channel...

https://www.youtube.com/@GeorgeGallowayOfficial

[ExomatrixTV]

Putin 'is buzzed by colour-changing UFO' spotted by Four Russian planes as he makes speech threatening nuclear war against the West

• Mysterious object spotted changing colour during Putin's Volgograd visit
• Putin marked the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad (now Volgograd)
• UFO sighting occurred during speech on a possible escalation to nuclear war

Pilots in multiple Russian planes reported a UFO buzzing Volgograd when Vladimir Putin visited the city on Thursday.

The extraordinary accounts say the unidentified object 'changed colour and height' in the sky.

A report by Telegram channel Aviatorschina said the UFO was seen and reported to the aviation authorities by the crews of four separate passenger planes.

Putin had flown to Volgograd under close security to attend ceremonies linked to the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad in the Second World War.

The incidents came as the dictator hinted that the conflict in Ukraine could turn nuclear following the West's moves to supply Kyiv with major supplies of tanks.

He said: 'We don't send our tanks to their borders but we have the means to respond, and it won't end with the use of armoured vehicles, everyone must understand that.
'A modern war with Russia will be completely different.'

Aviatorschina channel reported: 'The crew of an Airbus A321 of S7 Airlines, operating flight S72046 from Sochi to Moscow, 12 minutes before reaching Volgograd at an altitude of 10,000 meters, reported that they observed an unidentified flying object at right angles to the plane, on the left side.

'The object was changing colour and height, and the direction of movement.'

The channel monitors air incidents and added: 'Later, the crews of Aeroflot (SU1125), S7 Airlines (S73750) and Rossiya (SU6358) flights confirmed this information after flying near Volgograd.'

The Rossiya plane crew assessed the distance of the UFO at around 125 miles.

The sightings were reported to air traffic control and civil and military authorities.

'The competent authorities have been notified, since no flight plans were provided in the specified area at the time.

'Permission to use the airspace was not issued.'

The S7 crew reported the timing at 19:08 Moscow time [16:08 GMT] on Thursday.

The timing of the other sightings were not precisely revealed.

The 19:08 sighting was around three hours after Putin's arrival, and occurred as he took part in the commemorations which included his sabre-rattling speech.

It is known that laser displays linked to the 80th anniversary commemorations were taking place at 18:00, 19:00, 20:00 and 20:45.

Yet the pilots would be expected to be informed about this.

The Russian authorities have not commented on the UFO reports.

The flights reporting the strange sightings were S72046 - S7 or Siberia Airlines - from Sochi to Moscow, SU1125 - Aeroflot - also Sochi to Moscow, S73750 Istanbul to Moscow and SU6358 - Rossiya - from Mineralnye Vody to St. Petersburg.

The flight paths took the planes to the east of Volgograd, formerly called Stalingrad.
All the air routings show major detours to avoid flying close to the war zone in Ukraine before they flew past Volgograd.

• source

• Putin’s ‘Unstoppable’ Zircon To Be Launched Outside Russia, Timed As A Signal To Ukraine & West

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=CdxD3b9dKWs

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=OiN-rpkyG6w

• Can the U.S. Stop Russian and Chinese Hypersonic Missiles?

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=xtbD0mspjBE

[sunwings]

But will they ever let us use those Nuclear weapons? I think not...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...clear-war.html

[happyuk]

Looks like Ukrainians are starting to get fed up.

A Ukrainian man in Kharkov notices a group of mobilizers giving out draft notices while driving his car, and pulls over.

Driver:
"hey are you guys giving them out to disabled people too?"
[to the guy who was stopped by recruiters] "bro, don't sign any of this sh*t"

Recruiter:
"hey don't film this"

Driver:
"Nah I filmed this"

Recruiter:
"I will shoot!"

Driver:
"Who are you going to shoot? You were stacking f**king hay yesterday, today they gave you a gun"

Recruiter:
"Yes, *inaduible*"

Driver:
"Yeah right, get lost"


Video with sound:

https://files.catbox.moe/s244q3.mp4

[shaberon]

Posted by Johnnycomelately (here)
Fortunately, corporations are people too, so sometimes they screw up.

Beware scaremongering, even if things are bad.

Serious question: how is geopolitics different than personal affairs, as regards “throwing the first stone”? These guys get their power from us, from our examples of againstness.

Well, this is intriguing.

"Fortune" for corporations in terms of money alone. They have co-opted the 1871 Constitutional Amendment, which was designed to secure the rights of former slaves, for whom it was used one time.

There were however corporations before there was capitalism. The huge difference in the early days of the U. S. was that they were granted a twenty year charter, which was hardly ever renewed. That is why we fought 1812. Moreover, the corporation was usually only raised for significant public infrastructure projects such as bridges and canals. At any sign of corruption, they were routinely dissolved. Notice this behavior is much closer to that of modern China, and not of the U. S. after 1871.



I am not sure there is anything totally wrong with "a corporation", in the sense of a legal business entity, but, Corporatism is Fascism. Difference of who's in charge more or less. Some of the other stuff I had posted was to show an obvious gap between a 50+ well-to-do crowd, and everyone else. Not too hard to see why some people are satisfied by Corporatism. If you haven't already succeeded in that vein, you won't. If you won't, exactly how would you "believe" in it?


I am not quite sure where you are going with the question. "Stoning" would usually be a mob activity based on violation of a well-known rule.


My guess is you are using it as a metaphor for a physical attack.

In terms of the U. S., I can hardly agree with anything they have done. Sometimes I have tried to hold out that maybe Khmer Rouge was a legitimate target, but no one has said anything. In terms of what Russia is currently doing, in most ways it seems quite similar to myself. The actual difference is they seem to be succeeding, not just militarily, but in the relevant geopolitics.


If there was a violent neighbor, who got a gun and seemed to be headed my way, would I shoot them first? It is entirely conceivable.

[ExomatrixTV]

• Rage Against War Demonstration February 19th 2023 Anti-War Rally in Washington DC USA
  

[Gwin Ru]

...

... 'Twenty minutes of fighting and we surrendered', says UK-Trained Ukrainian conscript

[Tintin]

Source: https://t.me/Slavyangrad/32081

Text:

Children's draft - Ukrainian military commissars tried to mobilize two teenagers

A new case of the lawlessness of Ukrainian military commissars has been filmed in Ukraine. This time two uniformed troublemakers tried to "grave" two teenagers, 16 and 17 but were met with a harsh rebuff from the adults.

It is not clear how the story ended. However, it is obvious that to make up for high losses, including at Artemovsk , the AFU men hunters are ready for any tricks to take another troublemaker and throw him to his certain death. So it is not surprising that the Ukrainian military commanders are ready to "grave" teenagers as well.

---------
Source: https://t.me/Slavyangrad/32083

Text:

⚡️Ukrainian refugees in Poland begin to receive summonses

Reports of summonses for Ukrainian refugees in Poland have started to appear. The most common advice is to "take cover".

--------

Source: https://t.me/Slavyangrad/32078

Text:

The English language website SouthFront has received a message from its reader James from Ipswich, East England.

He is involved in the UK Government's 'Homes for Ukraine' initiative and is hosting a young refugee couple from Ukraine who are about 25-30 years old.

On 30 January he received an official letter from the UK Government's Department for Equality, Housing, and Communities (a photo of the letter is published), which was initiated by the Ukrainian Embassy in London and asked him for the following information:
- Whether he is hosting Ukrainian refugees;
- Whether any of the refugees are male, aged 18 or over;
- If the male refugee has left his place of residence, give his possible whereabouts and other available information;
- Personal details of male refugees over 18 years of age;
In their turn, refugees have to visit the Ukrainian embassy to "clarify their data on an individual basis" (to receive a summons).

What does this mean? Likely, Ukrainian male refugees aged 18 and over who are in Europe will be mobilized through the Ukrainian embassies in those countries, but not for shipment to Ukraine. At least for the next few months. Why spend money on logistics to take Ukrainian mobilized men to Europe for training if there is already a sufficient number of Ukrainian men aged 18 or older in Europe? So they will be mobilized and sent to military bases to be trained in handling NATO equipment, which will then be transferred to Ukraine. Plus the refugees know at least a little bit of the foreign language. A logical and cost-effective initiative.

Join Slavyangrad chat. Your opinion matters.
https://t.me/+PUg0rQrZdiw4YWFh

[ExomatrixTV]

• Athlete SLAMS Journalist For Asking Political Question, People Are Waking Up To Insane Media Lies:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=mFrdXPl1ge4

[Vicus]

4 Feb, 2023 13:13
HomeRussia & FSU
The logic behind the terror: Why does Ukraine keep attacking civilian areas in Donetsk?

Rockets have hit peaceful neighborhoods once again. Why does Kiev continue its policy, if not purely out of hate?

At least ten rockets hit central areas of Donetsk on Saturday morning, damaging three residential buildings, a local Russian official has reported in his Telegram channel.

One of the projectiles fired by Ukrainian forces hit an apartment building in the Kievsky district. While rescuers continue to search for survivors under the rubble, preliminary information suggests that there were three people in one of the apartments.

There was no information on casualties at the time of writing, but the absence of victims would be unusual; indeed, Ukrainian shelling of the capital of the Donetsk People's Republic intensified weeks before the Russian attack in February 2022, and has taken a heavy toll ever since.

The suffering of Donbass residents
According to the human rights commissioner of the DPR, Daria Morozova, at least 1,091 civilians were killed and another 3,533 were recorded as injured last year as a result of combat operations. The figures do not include places such as Mariupol, where the full scale of the tragedy has yet to be assessed.

The 4,624 people mentioned above were victims of regular artillery strikes on urban areas of Donetsk and Gorlovka.

When Donetsk residents are asked why the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to attack civilians, people usually have no explanation other than the desire of the Ukrainian government and military to destroy Donbass and its people. This is supported by a massive campaign to dehumanize local residents and a number of hateful statements by Ukrainian politicians. “We will kill them with nuclear weapons,” warned former Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko, while ex-president Pyotr Poroshenko has vowed: “Our children will go to school, while their children will go sit in basements. That’s how we will win this war.”

Ukrainian forces continue to bomb Donbass despite the shortage of shells experienced by both sides of the conflict. However, while Russia can solve this issue by activating its military-industrial complex, Ukraine is entirely dependent on foreign supplies.

It should make a lot more sense for Ukraine to use scarce ammunition on military targets rather than on peaceful residential areas. Even if a lot of the time, Kiev's forces misfire. A typical example is a Ukrainian shell landing in the frozen Kalmius River that divides Donetsk.

How Ukraine explains the attacks
Whenever Ukrainian artillery hits a civilian object – for example, a flower market – or kills civilians, officials in Kiev deny it. Unofficial voices resort to false claims that no such thing ever happened. Over the past eight years, the latter have come up with several memes allegedly proving that the Ukrainian Army wasn’t involved – with explanations such as “the air conditioner exploded.” Even if Ukrainian forces manage to hit a military facility, such as a warehouse, they usually deny involvement, claiming that “someone smoked in the wrong place” and that the explosion wasn’t related to the conflict. Thus, an information environment is created that denies the fact that Kiev attacks cities.

continue: https://www.rt.com/russia/570954-log...ian-terrorism/

[Vicus]

4 Feb, 2023 15:57
HomeRussia & FSU
Ukraine ‘will burn’ if it strikes Crimea, ex-Russian president warns
Moscow could retaliate “in any way possible” should Kiev decide to attack Crimea, Dmitry Medvedev has said

Washington’s decision to supply Ukraine with longer-range missiles and allow Kiev to use them at will can only lead to further escalation, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said on Saturday. He added that the US appears to not want the Ukraine conflict to end.

In an interview with Russian journalist Nadana Fridrikhson, Medvedev denied that Ukrainian strikes against the Crimean peninsula would force Moscow to sit down at the negotiating table. “The result would be exactly the contrary. There would be no talks in such a case. There would only be retaliatory strikes,” he warned .

Medvedev insisted that if Washington wanted peace in Ukraine, it could simply urge Kiev to engage in talks with Moscow, but that US President Joe Biden’s administration and “hawks” in Congress are “simply not interested in it.”

Russia could “retaliate in any way possible” should Ukrainian forces strike targets in Crimea or deep inside Russian territory, the former president warned. “We do not set any limits depending on the nature of threats, and are ready to use all types of weapons,” he insisted, adding that Russia would only be guided by its own doctrines, including the nuclear protocol.

“I can assure you a response would be swift, hard and convincing.”

Medvedev also accused European leaders, who have been supporting Kiev through various means, including weapon shipments, of acting at the behest of Washington and to the detriment of their own people. The cost of sanctions, military aid to Ukraine, trade wars, and embargoes are borne by ordinary EU citizens, he added.

Medvedev’s remarks came a day after the Pentagon announced it was supplying Kiev with ground-launched small diameter bombs (GLSDB) – munitions consisting of a rocket motor and an airplane bomb, with a range of up to 150 kilometers.

According to US Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, Washington will not prevent Ukraine from using these munitions to strike targets deep within Russia.

Moscow has repeatedly warned that providing heavy weapons to Ukraine could see the US and its allies directly involved in the conflict, and spiral into a military standoff between Russia and NATO.

https://www.rt.com/russia/570962-ukr...burn-medvedev/