WW3? Ukraine/US vs. Donbass/Russia

[Ravenlocke]

Dr. Michael Vlahos & Col. Douglas Macgregor: Is the war in Ukraine entering its decisive phase? Pt.1

Michael Vlahos and Douglas Magcregor meet in the library of the Army-Navy Club, Washington, D.C., to reflect on the war in Ukraine: Past, Present, and Future. Part 1

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=GhA1yofpkMg

[Ravenlocke]

Ania K with Alexander Mercouris in this 16 minute video

ALEXANDER MERCOURIS (@TheDuran) ON HOW LONG THE CRISIS WILL LAST AND WHAT GOOD WILL COME OUT OF IT?

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=JU0tKi5e9_o

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/RT_com/status/1601290776629092353

https://www.rt.com/russia/567980-donetsk-shelling-fire/

Fire erupts after Donetsk rocket strike (VIDEO)

A volley of rockets fired by the Ukrainian military has struck the Voroshilov neighborhood of Donetsk city, setting a residential high-rise ablaze and reportedly causing the deaths of at least three civilians. Rescue crews are at the scene.

Local authorities reported that 20 ‘Grad’ rockets were fired at the very heart of Donetsk, starting at 8pm local time on Friday. Several missiles impacted on Shkolnyy Boulevard, while another scored a direct hit on a high-rise on Vatutin Avenue.

Videos of the resulting conflagration are making rounds on social media, showing firefighters putting out a blaze in the ruins of what looks like a completely destroyed private residence. Mayor Aleksey Kulemzin later said the intense fire was the result of damage to a gas main.

Other videos show several cars on fire on Shkolnyy Boulevard.

Donetsk has been subjected to heavy artillery and missile attacks by Ukrainian forces on almost a daily basis since Russia launched its military operation in late February. Another rocket salvo earlier this week killed six people, including a 29-year-old member of the local council.

READ MORE: Ukrainian attack leaves six dead in Donetsk – Mayor
In addition to legacy Grad BM-21 multiple rocket launchers and 152mm tube artillery, Kiev’s forces have also targeted the city with the US-provided HIMARS systems and NATO 155mm howitzers.

Since 2014, when the Donbass conflict broke out in the aftermath of the Maidan coup in Kiev, the city has endured years of low-intensity fighting and sporadic shelling by the Ukrainian military.

[Ravenlocke]

https://www.rt.com/news/567972-polan...nteers-prison/

Poles fighting in Ukraine risk jail – media


Polish nationals currently serving in Ukraine’s International Legion of the Armed Forces and other divisions could face up to five years in prison when they return home, Polish news outlet Rzeczpospolita has reported, citing the country’s penal code.

According to the outlet, by the end of October, only 34 people had submitted applications for permission to serve in a foreign army. Of that amount, two applications were approved by the Defense Ministry, while 14 were greenlighted by the Ministry of Interior.

Yet dozens, if not hundreds, of Poles are fighting in Ukraine, Miroslaw Czech – a journalist, former MP and Ukrainian activist – told the outlet. Technically, they are breaking the law and could theoretically face conviction, the paper wrote on Thursday.

Wojciech Skurkiewicz, deputy head of Poland’s Ministry of National Defense, has however pointed out that the government does not see those fighting in Ukraine as lawbreakers. He suggested that those combatants are not violating Polish interests or interfering with the goals of the country’s armed forces, and this justifies an “exclusion of criminal liability.”

READ MORE: The death of a US mercenary exposes the bleak reality of service with Ukraine’s 'International Legion'
Some Polish lawmakers, however, have said a promise from the Defense Ministry is not enough to guarantee that fighters returning from Ukraine won’t be subjected to investigations, interrogations and persecution. Independent Senator Krzysztof Kwiatkowski suggested that the best protection for them would be a general amnesty, according to the newspaper. He has introduced draft legislation to this effect in the Polish parliament.

Poles killed in Ukraine to get ‘American’ burial – media
Poles killed in Ukraine to get ‘American’ burial – media
It’s estimated that as many as 1,200 Poles have died fighting in Ukraine as of late November, according to Polish media outlet Niezalezny Dziennik Polityczny, while thousands more have been injured.

On Thursday, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that Moscow’s forces had destroyed a number of high-value targets with precision strikes, which also killed 90 Poles, who Moscow referred to as “mercenaries.”

Russia has repeatedly warned foreigners against traveling to Ukraine to fight alongside Kiev’s forces, stating that it would treat them as mercenaries, who would not be granted the status of prisoners of war as defined by the Geneva Convention.

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[url]https://twitter.com/RT_com/status/1601267934550188032

https://www.rt.com/news/567939-us-mi...e-air-defense/

US to unveil new military aid package for Ukraine – Reuters

Washington is about to send another security assistance package to Kiev, which will include anti-drone and air defense systems, Reuters reported, citing sources. The $275 million measure is expected to be officially announced on Friday.

According to officials and documents cited by the news agency, the security aid will also include rockets for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), 155mm ammunition, Humvee vehicles, and generators. At the same time, there are no details on the air defense equipment, the report says. In addition to this, the contents and the size of the aid package may change before it is approved by US President Joe Biden.

The new measure is expected to be covered by the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows Washington to dispatch military equipment quickly and without congressional approval.

Supporting Ukraine with air defense systems has become an “absolute priority” for Western countries since Russia began targeting the country’s energy infrastructure, according to the US Department of Defense. The recurring bombardments picked up steam after Moscow accused Kiev of conducting “terrorist attacks” on Russian structures, including the strategic Crimea Bridge.

Missile strikes disrupt Ukrainian military logistics – Russia
Missile strikes disrupt Ukrainian military logistics – Russia
In early November, the Pentagon announced a $400 million security package for Ukraine, which included ammunition for the HAWK air defense system as well as four Avenger air defense systems and additional Stinger missiles.

The same month, Ukraine received two first National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), with Washington promising to send another six.

Since the start of the conflict, the US has committed more than $19 billion in security assistance to Kiev.

Moscow has repeatedly warned Western countries that providing heavy weapons to Ukraine risks both crossing Russia’s “red lines,” and could lead to their direct involvement in the conflict. Washington and its allies insist they are not a party to the hostilities, but continue sending arms shipments to Kiev.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the strikes on Ukraine’s power infrastructure were intended to degrade Kiev’s ability to transport troops, and Western-supplied weapons and equipment to the battlefield by rail.

[Ravenlocke]

https://sputniknews.com/20221209/why...medium=twitter

Why Didn't Biden Swap Paul Whelan Convicted for Espionage in Russia?

Earlier this week, Russian businessman Viktor Bout, who spent 15 years in a US prison, was swapped for US WNBA basketball player Brittney Griner, who was arrested in Russia earlier this year. The deal did not involve Paul Whelan, presently serving a 16-year prison term in Russia for espionage.




"I am very happy that President Putin and President Biden decided to trade Griner for Bout and that she will now be home in order to spend Christmas with her family and friends. She made a very silly mistake and paid a high price for it," Francis A. Boyle, professor of international law, told Sputnik.
Bout was arrested in 2008 in Thailand on terrorism charges accused by the US of smuggling weapons. In 2009 and 2010 the courts of Thailand rejected the US request for Bout's extradition due to insufficient evidence of his guilt presented by Washington, defining the nature of the US extradition request as political persecution. However, in August 2010, the Court of Appeal of Thailand ruled in favor of Bout's extradition.
At the time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov qualified the move as "an example of blatant judicial injustice," stressing that the decision was the result of "unprecedented political pressure on the judiciary and the government of Thailand." On April 5, 2012, the Russian citizen was sentenced to 25 years in US prison. Bout pleaded not guilty. Still, he was smeared by both the US mainstream press and film-makers being depicted as "the merchant of death" and a brutal "warlord."


Meanwhile, the US press is bemoaning the fact that this week's swap deal wasn’t all that US officials had wanted. Last July, US Secretary of State Anony Blinken lifted the veil on his secret talks with Moscow and announced that the Biden administration had made a "substantial proposal" to Russia to release Russian citizen Viktor Bout in order to bring back home two US nationals: Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan.
On Thursday, detained American Paul Whelan expressed his frustration that the US administration had not done enough to secure his release in an exclusive CNN interview. President Joe Biden has been subjected to criticism by the US conservatives for his decision to exchange Bout for a basketball player instead of the ex-marine. The US liberals are much softer on the US president: they say that he did the right choice, citing the fact that Griner is an openly lesbian African American woman.
"I think Biden thought he'd get some political points if he had her released before Christmas. And that's why they went for her and not for him. It comes down to politics, really," remarked Dan Kovalik, adjunct professor of law at the University of Pittsburgh and the author of "No More War: How the West Violates International Law by Using 'Humanitarian' Intervention to Advance Economic and Strategic Interests."
However, an unnamed US senior official told the media that the Biden administration did not have a choice of which American to bring home. Instead, it was a choice between releasing Griner or no one, the official claimed
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on December 9, that the swap was initiated by the Americans, that the negotiations were held in a normal mode and that they will be continued.
"We do not use any ultimatums, but we (…) will continue to firmly defend our position," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told journalists on Friday, when asked whether the "one-for-one" Griner-Bout swap was the Russian primary condition.


Who is Paul Whelan?
Apparently, the problem is that Whelan is accused of espionage which seems to be far more serious than Griner's drug smuggling.
"As for Whelan, it does appear from what I have seen in the public record that he is a spook," said Boyle. "I am certain that negotiations will continue for his release. The Biden administration will have to offer an equivalent high value prisoner in order to obtain his release. Hopefully this can be accomplished in the immediate future."
The Paul Whelan case is very difficult, according to Daniel Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "America's Undeclared War."
"It (…) appears that the Russian government regards his case as more serious than Grinder's case because they believe he was engaged in espionage," Lazare told Sputnik. "Obviously [this is] a much more serious offense. A lot depends on the future course of US-Russian relations. I presume if they were to improve that the chances of Whelan's release would greatly increase. But unfortunately, I see no prospect of that occurring. So it's difficult to make predictions."
US Marine Corps veteran Whelan is a Canadian national who also has US, British, and Irish citizenship. On December 28, 2018, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested him at his room in the Metropol hotel in Moscow after the ex-military serviceman received a flash drive containing a list of employees for a secret Russian agency. For his part, Whelan insisted that he was in Russia only to attend a friend’s wedding. He traveled to Russia several times, apparently, from 2006.
A former FSB official told Rossiya Segodnya that judging from the circumstances of Whelan's arrest, the Russian counterintelligence agents had thwarted a major operation by US intelligence services. Whelan was convicted on June 15, 2020, and received a 16-year prison sentence.

While the British mainstream press attempted to depict Whelan as "a Mr. Bean on holiday," he does not appear to be a simpleton.
From 1988 through 2000, Whelan worked as a police officer on the Chelsea, Michigan, force and as a deputy in the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office. It was also reported that Whelan began his military service as a US Marine reservist in 1990 (or 1994) to 2001.
Between 2003 and 2008, he served in Iraq being part of Operation Iraqi Freedom as a staff sergeant with Marine Air Control Group 38. Either in 2006 or 2007, Whelan spent his two vacation weeks in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, according to the US press.
At the time of arrest, Whelan worked as director of global security and investigations for BorgWarner, a large automotive components manufacturer with more than 60 offices and manufacturing facilities located in 18 countries. Prior to being hired by BorgWarner, the Canadian-born national worked in global security operations for the office staffing firm Kelly Services. He managed and conducted investigations concerning the company's interests globally.

According to the US media, Whelan's position at Kelly Services put him in frequent contact with various US federal agencies, including DEA and FBI in the US and Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) at the foreign embassies, to name but a few.
At the same time, however, the US press tries to cast a shadow on Whelan's resume. US journalists claimed that the ex-Marine was "perhaps the last person" that the US government would use to collect intelligence.
They said that he did not have diplomatic immunity, something a CIA agent typically has when dispatched to Russia, according to them. Furthermore, they referred to the fact that in January 2008, Whelan was convicted in a special court-martial for attempted larceny, three specifications of dereliction of duty, making a false official statement, and other wrongdoings. While the reported misdeeds do not make Whelan look like James Bond, they don't prove his innocence, either.

Whelan is Not the First and, Perhaps, Not the Last One
It's not the first time that a US citizen suspected of espionage has been caught in Moscow. On the night of May 13-14, 2013, FSB agents arrested a career CIA officer Ryan Christopher Fogle, who worked as the third secretary of the political section at the US Embassy in Moscow. Fogle was accused of trying to recruit a Russian officer to work as a US agent. The CIA agent was ordered to leave by the Russian authorities and was declared persona non grata.
A far more interesting case happened on July 15, 1977, when US intelligence officer Martha Peterson, who worked in the US Embassy in Moscow, was caught red-handed while laying a secret container on the Krasnoluzhsky Bridge in Moscow. The aforementioned container was intended for Soviet diplomat Alexander Ogorodnik, recruited by the CIA, and arrested on June 21, 1977 by the Soviet intelligence service KGB.

While it is usual that spooks and their backers deny being involved in espionage, Martha went public on her CIA background and secret mission in Moscow: in 2012 she published her memoir "The Widow Spy: My CIA Journey from the Jungles of Laos to Prison in Moscow." In the book, Peterson described the Cold War spy operation in Moscow and her arrest and detention in Lubyanka Prison.
The Peterson case emerged as a huge international scandal, especially because the CIA intelligence officer smuggled poison into the USSR which was used to kill at least one Soviet citizen. Eventually, Peterson was expelled from the USSR and declared persona non grata. The story was used by Soviet filmmakers to make a series titled "TASS is Authorized to Declare" (1984).

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/loffredojeremy/s...38427025088512

A lot cheaper than here, (US), prices up every week now. Diesel fuel here is higher than gasoline, used to be cheaper, has been, $5 a gallon, now down a few cents.

Online stores now charge shipping or it’s free shipping but it means shipping cost is included in the item price.

Sale price is now what used to be the regular price before markdown.

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/VanessaBeeley/st...98695633965056

https://twitter.com/fabushka_/status...89147724177410

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Ravenlocke (here)
https://twitter.com/loffredojeremy/s...38427025088512

Excellent, thanks — a most interesting 5 minutes very well spent.

There are quite a few in the US, the UK and the EU who might envy that Russian supermarket, fully stocked and with almost everything very moderately priced.

[Ravenlocke]

Me included Bill, I added why above in the original post.

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/fabushka_/status...23201532268545

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/2ndNewMoon/statu...91502620327938

https://twitter.com/2ndNewMoon/statu...02300943650816

https://twitter.com/2ndNewMoon/statu...32646826516482

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Ravenlocke (here)
https://twitter.com/fabushka_/status...23201532268545

And not forgetting STEPAN BANDERA. He's in there, too.

[Ravenlocke]

From Southfront.org

https://twitter.com/MaimunkaNews/sta...80316735643649

https://twitter.com/MaimunkaNews/sta...81392536850435

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/MaimunkaNews/sta...57041414483969

https://twitter.com/MaimunkaNews/sta...57197626748929

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/narrative_hole/s...40255632199680

[Ravenlocke]

Some cuties,

https://twitter.com/LogKa11/status/1601162056220446722

https://twitter.com/LogKa11/status/1598249588607320064

https://twitter.com/LogKa11/status/1592250152345309187

https://twitter.com/LogKa11/status/1592250933265956864

[ExomatrixTV]

• Journalist Travels To Moscow To See How Bad The Sanctions Are 'Cutting In'

Rebel News investigative journalist Jeremy Loffredo has traveled to Moscow . According to the Western mainstream media, the sanctions are having a devastating effect on the Russian economy.

PBS NewsHour reported that the sanctions are hitting hard. The New York Times reported that Russia is facing food shortages. The Washington Post even compared the sanctions to Soviet times.

Loffredo put it to the test and visited a supermarket in the heart of Moscow. The shelves were well stocked. Among other things, the journalist bought a liter of milk for 89 rubles (€1.33), a loaf of bread for 60 rubles (90 cents), half a kilo of minced meat for 175 rubles (€2.62), 10 eggs for 99 rubles (€1. .48) and a bowl of mushrooms for 79 rubles (€1.18). He lost 799 rubles ($11.94) for a basket of groceries.



source

• All lies ...
  

The media is not telling the truth about the effect of the sanctions on food prices in Russia, Loffredo notes.

He spoke to market vendors just outside Moscow. A woman told him that the price of some products has increased, but that most prices have remained the same. A man who sells berries said the price has barely changed.

• Not true

A young woman told the journalist that it is not true that Russians are suffering under the sanctions.

Gasoline prices took a big jump in our country 'because of the war in Ukraine'. Loffredo paid 47 rubles (70 cents) at the pump for a liter of petrol in Russia. He spoke to a professional driver who said that the price has remained virtually unchanged over the past year.

• dutch 🇳🇱 (+ Multi-Language Options). 🦜🦋🌳

• Groceries & Gasoline in Russia: Soviet-style shortages?

[shaberon]

Who will Turkey listen to?


Under the new Russian offer, which meant to prevent a Turkish invasion of northern Syria, the SDF would withdraw from the towns of Manbij and Kobane in the northern and northeastern Aleppo countryside. The two key towns will be handed over to Syrian government forces.



Those particular areas incurred a lot of proxy Kurdish casualties and are considered pretty important for a grip on that region.

The SDF is itself pretty insane.


Is this Russian aggression?


No but Americans are there unlawfully.

They will stand around and try to insult your supermarkets. Then they will send you to a high attrition battlefield twenty miles away from where they are. Better take the offer because they are liable to an assassination attack, which will take you out too. They are worth as much as Osama bin Laden, who got hit in the head with a rocket propelled grenade, a mortar round, and a sea-launched cruise missile at the same time, and he turned into vegetable soup. "Human safari season" was over in 329 B. C. and if you have not got the lesson yet, you are really dangerous.

But we can always buy some more time to try.

[Tintin]

Posted by Ravenlocke (here)
Dr. Michael Vlahos & Col. Douglas Macgregor: Is the war in Ukraine entering its decisive phase? Pt.1

Michael Vlahos and Douglas Magcregor meet in the library of the Army-Navy Club, Washington, D.C., to reflect on the war in Ukraine: Past, Present, and Future. Part 1

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=GhA1yofpkMg

Yes, a most excellent intelligent conversation; for completion, here's Part 2:

Dr. Michael Vlahos & Col. Douglas Macgregor: Why NATO strategic failure? A war of deceit, denial Pt2

Description:

Dec 9, 2022
Michael Vlahos and Douglas Magcregor meet in the library of the illustrious Army-Navy Club, Washington, D.C., the Imperial City, to reflect on the war in Ukraine.

Part 2 examines the the strategic choices that have led to NATO strategic failure in Ukraine, conflict with Russia, and lays bare how deliberate deceit and denial have misled the American people.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=qvYCxK8THbg

[ExomatrixTV]

• Zelensky Is A Dangerous Dictator Who Has Set Up A Police State With Our Tax Money

It is quite clear that President Zelensky is not interested in freedom and democracy. He is a dangerous dictator who has used $100 billion in US tax dollars to build a police state in Ukraine, Tucker Carlson said on his show.

Over the past year, Zelensky has banned opposition parties, forcibly shut down critical media outlets, arrested political opponents and sent soldiers to churches, Carlson summed up.

• Contrary to the Constitution

His secret service has raided monasteries, including a convent full of nuns. He has arrested dozens of priests for no reason, in violation of the Ukrainian Constitution, which incidentally no longer matters.

Western leaders have not said a word. They keep sending tax money to Zelensky. As a result, he has become even bolder. For example, he has announced that he will ban an entire religion, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and confiscate all its property.

A free country does not ban major religions, Carlson noted. Zelensky does and his cabinet is now looking for ways to punish Christians who profess their faith.

• "Standing ovation"

Economist Kees de Kort previously called him a dictator. “Opposition is banned, companies are closed, if you open your mouth, you are in jail. It is welcomed in the Dutch parliament,” said De Kort. "He's just a dictator."

President Zelensky received a standing ovation after his speech in the House of Representatives.

• dutch 🇳🇱 (+ Multi-Language Options). 🦜🦋🌳

backup video:

• source