WW3? Ukraine/US vs. Donbass/Russia

[Vicus]

Russia was ready to withdraw from southern Ukraine – Putin 14 Jun, 2024

Kiev could have retained sovereignty over two of its former regions if it had agreed to guarantee Moscow free land access to Crimea, the president has revealed

Russia was open to withdrawing its troops from Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions early in the Ukraine conflict on the condition that Kiev agreed to an uninterrupted land connection between Crimea and the mainland, President Vladimir Putin stated on Friday.

Speaking at a meeting with the country’s senior diplomats, Putin revealed that in early March 2022, as Russian troops were advancing into southern Ukraine, a senior foreign politician representing the West proposed mediating the conflict between Moscow and Kiev. While Putin did not name the leader, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev identified him as then-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

According to the Russian president, Bennett asked officials in Moscow at the time why Russian troops were operating in Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, given that their stated goal was to help Donbass.

Bennett was told the decision to send Russian troops to those regions was made based on the plans drawn by the General Staff, which sought to bypass heavily fortified Ukrainian positions in Donbass, Putin explained. According to the Russian leader, when Bennett asked whether Russian troops would remain in Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions after the end of the conflict, Putin said he was open to the idea of pulling them back to their bases.

Putin noted that to secure the guarantee, Moscow and Kiev would have to sign a legally binding “servitude” agreement, a property law that ties rights and obligations to the ownership or possession of land.

The deal would then have to be finalized with the involvement of the UN Security Council, as well as local citizens and the Russian public.

However, when Bennett traveled to Kiev to present Moscow’s proposal to the Ukrainian government, it was rejected, and the Israeli leader was branded a Russian sympathizer, Putin noted.

Now, this proposal is off the table, given that Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, along with the two Donbass republics, voted to join Russia in public referendums in the fall of 2022, Putin stated. “There can be no talk of violating our national unity... This question is closed forever and beyond any debate.”

At the same time, Putin signaled that Moscow was ready for talks with Ukraine on the condition that Kiev fully withdraws its troops from Donbass, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions and abandons plans to join NATO. But the proposal has been rejected by Kiev, which insists upon returning the country to its 1991 borders.

https://www.rt.com/russia/599297-put...ozhye-ukraine/

Vicus comment.
After last 2 post: Reality is a bitch, NOW serves only 1 REAL reality , Russia conditions or ELSE.period

[Vicus]

US-Ukraine deal ‘less important than some press releases – Moscow 14 Jun, 2024

The 10-year security agreement was touted as solidifying American commitments, but may be scrapped at whim by Donald Trump

The document signed by US President Joe Biden and Vladimir Zelensky on Thursday is largely irrelevant and meant to deceive the Ukrainian people, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.

The security deal was sealed on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy and declares Washington’s commitments to further Kiev’s goal of joining NATO by supporting and developing its military for years to come. Ukraine has similar arrangements with multiple other Western nations.

The terms do not include specific targets for military assistance or a pledge by the US to defend Ukraine, according to Western media reports. However, Washington has vowed to hold high-level consultations with Kiev within 24 hours if Ukraine is attacked in the future.

Zakharova on Friday called the deal a “scrap of paper” and claimed “some press releases are more important” than the document. She cited the lack of specifics and judicially binding power when explaining her dismissive attitude.

continue: https://www.rt.com/russia/599285-ukr...nt-irrelevant/

[Vicus]

No Patriots for Ukraine – Poland 13 Jun, 2024

Washington can find an air defense system elsewhere to hand over to Kiev, the Polish deputy defense minister has said

US-made Patriot air defense systems stationed in Poland are not going anywhere, the European nation’s deputy defense minister Cezary Tomczyk said on Thursday. The official was commenting on a New York Times article suggesting Washington could take one and hand it over to Ukraine.

“Poland did not agree to transfer the Polish battery,” Tomczyk said on X (formerly Twitter). “Polish Patriots defend the Polish sky and this will not change.”

The NYT piece published on Tuesday said, citing some “senior administration and military officials,” that President Joe Biden had approved a deployment of another Patriot air defense system to Ukraine. The decision was reportedly taken last week. The system – the second one to be supposedly donated by the US to Kiev – was to come from Poland, the media outlet claimed, adding that Washington was going to take one used to protect an American rotational force stationed in the Central European nation.

Speaking about America’s potential need to replace the system it was going to hand over to Kiev, Tomczyk said that Washington could find another Patriot somewhere else and not rely on the Polish arsenal. US officials have not commented on the NYT report, which claimed that a new air defense system could arrive on Ukrainian soil in the coming days.

According to Polish media, the system the US was supposedly planning to give Kiev was already protecting a logistics hub in the Polish city of Rzeszow, which is used by Ukraine’s Western backers to supply Kiev with military aid.

continue: https://www.rt.com/news/599245-no-pa...kraine-poland/

[Vicus]

Ukraine wants Russian athlete banned from Olympics for mourning dead father

Sports officials in Kiev claim wrestling champion Dinara Kudaeva’s dad died in the conflict in their country

Ukrainian sports officials have requested that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) bar three Russian athletes from participating in the upcoming Summer Games, over what they called “open support for the military action” against their nation.

The reason for the request was a social media post by Russian wrestling champion Dinara Kudaeva, in which she mourned her recently deceased father. According to Kiev, the man’s death occurred in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

The other two wrestlers – Natalia Malysheva and Olga Khoroshavtseva – responded to Kudaeva’s post with a like emoji, in a bid to console their fellow athlete.

”These athletes … do not meet the sufficient criteria for receiving the status of individual neutral athlete (AIN),” read a statement signed by the president of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee, Vadim Guttsait, acting Sports Minister Matvey Bedny and the national wrestling association head, Yury Kopytko. The three officials then claimed that the three Russian wrestlers in question “support the [Ukraine] war” and Moscow’s policies.

The written address, published on the Ukrainian Olympic Committee’s website, goes on to claim that Kudaeva called for her father to be honored as a “hero.” According to Ukrainian officials, who referred to him as an “occupier,” the man had died in the ongoing conflict in their country.

The Russian athlete has reportedly since deleted her post and closed her social media page to the public. A video published by a Ukrainian media outlet on YouTube supposedly shows the social media posts published by Kudaeva when they were still accessible. There, the athlete can be seen wishing her father an ascent to Heaven after his death and saying “father, I’ve died with you.” In another post the athlete wrote: “Father, you are my hero.”

The video published by Ukrainian media also does not show Kudaeva calling on anyone to honor her father as a “hero.” Instead, the woman, who is a Muslim, called on fellow Russian Muslims to pray for her father.

Khoroshavtseva can be seen leaving a crying emoji under one of Kudaeva’s posts. The IOC has so far not reacted to Ukraine’s request. The head of the Russian Wrestling Federation, Mikhail Mamiashvili, slammed the country’s officials for “stepping over universally accepted moral principles” with such actions.

“What happened to Kudaeva is such a personal issue that it should not even be discussed. The girl has lost her father,” he told RIA Novosti. “And [the Ukrainians] are exploiting it,” the Russian official said, adding that “compassion” has become a crime for Kiev nowadays.

https://www.rt.com/russia/599233-ukr...pics-mourning/

[Vicus]

Spain Not Planning to Donate Patriot System Deployed in Turkiye to Ukraine 12 hours ago

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Spain will not supply Ukraine with its Patriot air defense system deployed in Turkiye, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday.

"Despite this being a topic of discussion with the Ukrainian authorities, the Spanish government believes the Patriot missile system should remain in Turkey," Sanchez said at a joint press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Madrid.
The meeting of the two leaders, which was mainly focused on the economy, resulted in the signing of more than 10 bilateral agreements on science, energy, professional training and trade.

Spain has four Patriot batteries, one of which is deployed in Turkiye as part of a NATO mission to protect the country's airspace from possible missiles that could be launched from Syria.
On May 27, Spain became the 10th country to sign a security agreement with Ukraine regulating financial, military and humanitarian aid for the next 10 years. Under the agreement, Spain will give Ukraine a military aid package worth abour 1 billion euros ($5.4 billion) in 2024 and 5 billion euros more during the 2024-2027 period.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240614/sp...118942676.html

[Vicus]

Putin’s Eurasia Security Proposal is ‘Kind Gesture That Europeans Should Grasp’ 45 minutes ago

Speaking at a meeting with the top officials of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow on Friday, President Vladimir Putin called to initiate a broad discussion on a new system of bilateral and multilateral collective security guarantees in Eurasia.

It’s clear that Eurasia is the natural space for Russia to exist and it is in Moscow’s interests "to have a pacified, harmonious and collaborative set of relations" in the continent, Paolo Raffone, a strategic analyst and director of the CIPI Foundation in Brussels, told Sputnik.
Developing a new security architecture in Eurasia should become the main priority for Europeans, Raffone said, expressing regret that European leaders are "so mean and insignificant intellectually and in terms of power, that they are paralyzed by their self-fulfilling narratives."

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s "words and peace proposals are undoubtedly a kind gesture that Europeans should grasp to abandon the zealous standing and try to regain a ‘space’ in world affairs," the analyst stressed.

He recalled that Putin’s security vision on Eurasia was outlined in the Russian president’s speech at the Munich conference in 2007.

"Today, seventeen years later, those thoughts resound not as a prophecy but as an urgent need to deal with reality," according to Raffone.

"On the table remain a broken military alliance (NATO), the clear political defeat of European bellicose governments and political parties, and, more importantly, the absence of vision and a new security architecture for Europe and Eurasia," the CIPI Foundation director said.

Russia believes that this "dangerous situation" should be urgently resolved given "the reality of an irreversible multi-nodal and multi-centric world that requires harmonization in bilateral and collective actions," Raffone concluded.

The Russian president stressed that his proposal pertains to the formation of a framework for equal and indivisible security pertaining to Eurasia.
Putin underlined the need to promote the idea of a Eurasian security system by intensifying dialogue within the Union State, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240614/pu...118956878.html

[ExomatrixTV]

Posted by Vicus (here)
Arming Ukrainian neo-Nazis a sign of US desperation - ex-Pentagon official

RT
Wed, 12 Jun 2024


Azov Brigade

Washington's decision to greenlight the use of US-supplied weapons by Kiev's notorious Azov Brigade is a desperate move that only reinforces Russia's claim that it is fighting neo-Nazism in Ukraine, Michael Maloof, a former senior security policy analyst at the US Department of Defense, has told RT.

On Monday, the US State Department scrapped a ban on deliveries of arms to the Azov Brigade, which had been imposed by Congress in 2018 over the unit's ties to neo-Nazism. According to the agency, a recent review has found "no evidence" of the military formation being in violation of the Leahy Law, which prohibits Washington from aiding foreign security force units that violate human rights with impunity.

"Clearly, the Azov group didn't go from sinners to saints overnight," Maloof said in an interview on Tuesday. "There still is a list of atrocities that they had committed, human rights abuses... you still see them marching around as a group with their symbols, with their camaraderie and their discipline in support of fascism."

This change of stance on the Azov Brigade by Washington means "you no longer can really believe anything the State Department says, let alone the intelligence community," he stressed.

According to the former Pentagon official, the US move is "a sign of desperation" and a belated attempt to "bolster morale" among Ukrainians amid Russian gains on the front line this year.

"I question the rationale of wanting to continue to support a Nazi outfit like this because the war is basically lost already. To support the Azov just adds fuel to the fire... and reinforces and bolsters Russia's point of view that this is about fighting Nazism in Ukraine," he said.

Maloof noted that the Azov fighters "haven't really performed" in combat; they were defeated by Russian forces in the battle for Mariupol early in the conflict. It is unlikely that they would do any better if they are armed with American weapons, he believes.


The lifting of the ban by the US is "an effort to just prick the Russians because of their adamant opposition to Nazism," which wouldn't lead to any changes on the battlefield, the former Pentagon official stressed.

Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Moscow's attitude towards Washington giving weapons to "ultra-nationalist armed units" like the Azov Brigade was "extremely negative." The US wants to "suppress" Russia so much that it is ready to go as far as to begin "flirting with neo-Nazis," he said.

https://www.sott.net/article/492208-...tagon-official

Ukraine , Russia , USA | June 12, 2024

Source: RT Jun 11, 2024 ~~~

• Moscow has condemned Washington's decision to allow arms supplies to Ukraine's notorious Azov Brigade.

Washington will stop at nothing, including using neo-Nazis, to harm Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, following a US decision to lift a ban on arms deliveries to Ukraine's Azov Brigade.

The unit has infamously welcomed into its ranks people who espouse ultra-nationalist and neo-Nazi ideologies and has been described by the Western press as a magnet for such individuals from around the world.

On Monday, the US State Department cleared the brigade to receive US military support, saying it had found no evidence of human rights abuses by the group.

“This sudden change of position by Washington proves that [US officials] would go to any lengths in their efforts to suppress Russia, using the Ukrainian people as a tool. They are even okay with flirting with neo-Nazis,” Peskov told journalists at a press briefing.

Azov was founded in 2014 as a volunteer battalion of Ukrainian nationalists by white supremacist Andrei Biletskij. People who came to power in Kiev after the Western-backed armed coup that year used Azov fighters in an attempt to violently suppress an uprising in the east against the new government. The battalion was incorporated into the National Guard of Ukraine the following year.

In 2018, the US Congress banned the supply of weapons to the Azov Brigade due to its ties to neo-Nazi ideology.

Since the outbreak of the conflict with Russia, Ukrainian officials and Azov members have been working to rebrand the unit. The insignia, which originally paid tribute to Nazi symbols, was replaced with a less offensive logo and messaging was changed to claim that the unit had distanced itself from its roots.

Some former and serving U.S. officials, such as ex-ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, assisted Azov in his efforts by organizing events for them on U.S. soil.

However, Moscow insists that the nature of the unit has not changed significantly. It remains an “ultranationalist armed group,” Peskov said.

Top photo: US 'flirting with neo-Nazis' – Kremlin

• source

[Vicus]

Russian Northern Fleet Ships in Cuba: Photo Highlights


Russia's Admiral Gorshkov frigate arrives at the port of Havana on June 12, 2024.


A woman waves to crew members of the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, part of the Russian naval detachment visiting Cuba.


People wearing Russian flags watch the Kazan submarine arrive at the port of Havana. The Russian warships reached Cuban waters on Wednesday ahead of planned military exercises in the Caribbean.


A convertible car drives by as people watch the anticipated visit of the Russian ships.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240613/ru...118931733.html

[Vicus]

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

6 hours ago

[Bill Ryan]

Rich Dawe, a psychic, was featured on a new video posted by Gwin Ru on the Predictions for 2024 thread. Starting at 12:30, he describes a strong vision he had in which (at long last) Putin had made the decision to "go after NATO".

That caught my attention because of the match with Pepe Escobar's interview with Judge Napolitano, posted yesterday. (This was the first time Pepe had been on with Napolitano, and he was as delightful as always.)

In that conversation, Pepe reported that when he was in Russia attending this year's SPIEF, he'd been able to talk with several people who were close to Putin, and also had been paying very close attention to Russian media reports and discussions. (I believe that Pepe speaks Russian, but that may need to be confirmed.)

The essence of all this is that it seems that there's now mounting pressure on Putin, and a growing public consensus, that Russia needs to take much firmer and more decisive military action against all the threats that seem, increasingly credibly, to be coming from US and EU.

Pepe Escobar: Russia readies for war with NATO

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=A4fll7taZTw

[Ravenlocke]

Text:
‼️🇺🇦🇷🇺 BREAKING: #Putin announces conditions for the start of negotiations between the #Russian Federation and Kiev. #Ukraine

Ukrainian troops must be completely withdrawn from the territory of the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions

Ukraine must not join #NATO

Russia wants a neutral, non-aligned, nuclear-free status of Ukraine

All Western sanctions against the Russian Federation must be lifted

The status of Crimea and Sevastopol, DPR and LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions as regions of the Russian Federation should be recorded in international treaties

If Kiev and the West refuse the new peace proposal, further conditions will be different, Putin said.

https://x.com/MaimunkaNews/status/1801595823425269868

Text:

🇺🇦 Ukraine rejected Russia's peace proposal. Advisor to the head of the office of the Ukrainian president, Mykhailo Podolyak, said that the initiative does not contain “any real peace agreement.”

However, the Western press considers Putin's idea adequate.

For example, the Financial Times newspaper called the demands of the President of the Russian Federation very specific for the fire to stop. The article noted that Putin made it clear that he would stick to his position in any peace negotiations.

The AP publication emphasized that the Russian president clearly outlined his conditions, without including any new demands.

Le Monde believes that “the proposals are de facto a demand for Ukraine’s capitulation.”

Bloomberg assures that Ukraine is not ready now for peace negotiations - “but does it make sense for this unfortunate country to continue fighting against Russia?” - FRWL reports

https://x.com/Zlatti_71/status/1801647218752925830

[Ravenlocke]

https://x.com/_MariaZakharova/status...12323842388248

https://x.com/_MariaZakharova/status...29387600572678

[Ravenlocke]

https://x.com/tassagency_en/status/1801616073407488250

https://tass.com/politics/1803625?ut...m_social_share

DPR, LPR had the right to declare their independence — Putin

According to the Russian leader, this right was exercised "in accordance with international law, including the right of peoples to self-determination"
MOSCOW, June 14. /TASS/. The Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics had the right to declare their independence, but the Kiev regime unleashed a full-scale war against them, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the Foreign Ministry's senior staff.

"So did these republics - Donetsk and Lugansk - have the right to declare their independence? Well, of course, yes. The question cannot even be considered in any other way. What did the Kiev regime do in this situation? Completely ignored the people's choice and unleashed a full-scale war against the newly independent states - the people's republics of Donbass - using aircraft, artillery, tanks. Bombing and shelling of peaceful cities, acts of intimidation began. And what happened? The residents of Donbass took up arms to defend their lives, homes, rights and legitimate interests," Putin said.

The head of state recalled that in May 2014, referendums on the status of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics were held, in which the absolute majority of residents voted for independence and sovereignty. "The question immediately arises: could the people have expressed their will in such a way? Could they have declared independence? Those sitting in this room know that of course they could. They could, they had every right and reason to do so, and in accordance with international law, including the right of peoples to self-determination," the Russian president emphasized.

[Ravenlocke]

https://x.com/tassagency_en/status/1801624929080578347

https://tass.com/politics/1803659?ut...m_social_share


Ukrainian constitution doesn’t permit postponing presidential election — Putin

The president noted that the Verkhovna Rada "is a legitimate body, unlike the executive branch"
MOSCOW, June 14. /TASS/. The Ukrainian constitution does not under any circumstances allow postponing the presidential election, only delaying Verkhovna Rada elections, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with senior diplomats.

"The Ukrainian constitution does not provide for the possibility of canceling or postponing the election of the country's president, the continuation of his powers due to martial law, which they refer to," he stated. "The Ukrainian basic law says that elections of the Verkhovna Rada can be postponed during martial law. This is Article 83 of the country's constitution. So Ukrainian legislation has provided the only exception when the powers of the state authorities are extended for the period of martial law and elections are not held. This applies only to the Verkhovna Rada, thus designating the status of the Ukrainian parliament as a permanent body under martial law," Putin pointed out.

The president added that the Verkhovna Rada "is a legitimate body, unlike the executive branch."

"Ukraine is not a presidential republic, but a parliamentary-presidential one. That is the essence of it. Moreover, the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, acting as president, is endowed with special powers by Articles 106 and 112," the president said. He noted that it also concerns defense, security, and supreme command of the armed forces. "Everything is spelled out clearly there," he concluded.

[Ravenlocke]

Text:

Vladimir Putin’s new proposal for peaceful settlement in Ukraine, which provides for the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Russia’s new regions as a precondition for a ceasefire, would mean that Russia achieves its military goals, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said:
https://is.gd/xEfiLE

https://x.com/tassagency_en/status/1801624031386317037

https://tass.com/world/1803647?utm_s...m_social_share

Implementation of Putin’s conditions to mean achievement of Russia’s goal — NATO chief

Jens Stoltenberg has repeatedly said that the alliance cannot decide for Ukraine about acceptable conditions for ending the conflict

BRUSSELS, June 14. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s new proposal for peaceful settlement in Ukraine, which provides for the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Russia’s new regions as a precondition for a ceasefire, would mean that Russia achieves its military goals, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.

"This is a proposal that actually means that Russia should achieve their war games aims by expecting that that Ukraine should give up significantly more land than Russia has been able to occupy so far. So this is not a peace proposal," he said at a news conference after a meeting of NATO defense ministers.

The NATO chief has repeatedly said that the alliance cannot decide for Ukraine about acceptable conditions for ending the conflict.

[Ravenlocke]

Text:
🇺🇦 Ukraine's losses in a week amounted to 12,795 military personnel. This was reported to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

During the same period, air defense systems shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 and two Mi-8 helicopters. Su-27 and Su-25 were destroyed at their home airfields. It is also reported that 46 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered in a week. - FWRL reports

https://x.com/Zlatti_71/status/1801646405917749452

[Ravenlocke]

https://x.com/RT_com/status/1801632881271247146

https://www.rt.com/russia/599295-bel...ack-shebekino/

Apartment block partially collapses after Ukrainian strike on Russian town
A section of a five-story apartment block has collapsed as a result of a Ukrainian strike on the town of Shebekino in Russia’s Belgorod Region, local governor Vyacheslav Gladkov has said.

According to preliminary information, at least five people were injured in the attack, Gladkov wrote on Telegram on Friday. Three of them were hospitalized, while two others received medical assistance on site, he added.

Rescuers recovered two residents from the rubble and two others were evacuated from the fifth floor of the damaged building, the governor said.

The ongoing rescue operation involves around 80 emergency workers and 21 units of specialized equipment, Gladkov added.

Shebekino is located near the border with Ukraine and has a population of around 40,000. The town and surrounding settlements have been frequent targets of attacks by Kiev’s troops throughout the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

[Ravenlocke]

Text:

Participants in the conference on Ukraine in Switzerland will discuss how to include Russia in the negotiation process, the country's Federal Council said in a statement. It is noted that in order to develop a long-term solution to this situation, “the participation of both parties is necessary.”

https://x.com/SputnikInt/status/1801646859737272720

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Ravenlocke (here)
Text:
Ukraine's losses in a week amounted to 12,795 military personnel.

That's a proportional rate of 665,000 per year.

[Ravenlocke]

https://x.com/SputnikInt/status/1801663403099885873