Rape Allegations Against Russian Troops In Ukraine Were Fake
There is a first and still very low noise signal that the Zelenski regime in Kiev is coming apart.
Six weeks ago there were suddenly many claims that Russian soldiers in Ukraine had raped people.
Time headlined:
Ukrainians Who Have Been Raped by Russian Troops Are Refusing to Stay Silent
Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Lyudmyla Denisova said that 25 teenage girls were kept in a basement in Bucha and gang-raped; nine of them are now pregnant. Elderly women spoke on camera about being raped by Russian soldiers. The bodies of children were found naked with their hands tied behind their backs, their genitals mutilated. Those victims included both girls and boys, and Ukrainian men and boys have been sexually assaulted in other incidents. A group of Ukrainian women POWs had their heads shaved in Russian captivity, where they were also stripped naked and forced to squat.
Eager anti-Russian activists were spreading those dubious claims:
Julia Ioffe @juliaioffe - 23:21 UTC · Apr 20, 2022
"25 teenage girls were gang-raped; 9 are now pregnant. Elderly women spoke about being raped by Russian soldiers. The bodies of children were found naked with their hands tied behind their backs, their genitals mutilated." A harrowing read, by @Amie_FR. Link to Time report
Quoting Julia Joffe's tweet I immediately dismissed those claims:
Moon of Alabama @MoonofA - 8:44 UTC · Apr 21, 2022
Such accusations of mass rape by the enemy de jour are made in every war (Libya, Syria) . They rarely turn out to be true.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Libyan_rape_allegations
It turns out that my hunch was right:
Christopher Miller @ChristopherJM - 15:17 UTC · May 31, 2022
Ukraine's parliament just fired human rights ombudsman Lyudmila Denisova. MPs claimed her work focusing on the rape of Ukrainians by Russian troops which "couldn't be confirmed with evidence [...] only harmed Ukraine and distracted the global media from Ukraine's real needs."238 MPs voted her out. Other complaints were that Denisova had failed to organize humanitarian corridors and POW exchanges, and that she had spent time in "warm Western Europe" during the invasion "but not in Russia or Belarus, where her status and powers could help prisoners."
Lyudmila Denisova had made lots of sensational claims about Russian soldiers:
Ukraine's human-rights commissioner said on Tuesday that investigators had heard more than 400 allegations of sexual violence, including rape, of Ukrainians by Russian soldiers in the space of two weeks.
...
"There are two features," Denisova said.First, she said, the allegations generally involve young soldiers between 20 and 25 years old. "That is, those who just grew up on Putin's rule, on his propaganda," she said.
Second, the soldiers are typically accused of committing rape in public or in view of others, she said. She gave an example of a 25-year-old woman who said she was made to watch the rape of her 16-year-old sister and begged that they rape her instead.
"We need help for both," said Denisova. She went on to describe the alleged rapes of two 11-year-olds, a girl and a boy, and a 14-year-old.
She said she had received a report that the 11-year old girl was raped after sneaking out to pick flowers in Hostomel, a city northwest of Kyiv that has been under heavy assault. She said the girl "remembers only the beginning, and then remembers nothing, only when she was knocked to the ground."
Back then the rape allegations were part of the Ukrainian propaganda campaign:
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Friday that Russian soldiers had committed rape in Ukrainian cities.Kuleba did not give any evidence for his claim. Reuters was unable to independently verify the claim.
"When bombs fall on your cities, when soldiers rape women in the occupied cities - and we have numerous cases of, unfortunately, when Russian soldiers rape women in Ukrainian cities - it's difficult, of course, to speak about the efficiency of international law," Kuleba told an event at Chatham House in London.
However, a bunch of eager NGOs in Ukraine, hoping for fresh 'western' money for new 'rape consultation and recovery' projects, tried to find real rape cases. They were disappointed when they found that there was no evidence that any rape had taken place (machine translation):
On May 25, a number of media outlets and NGOs published an open appeal to Lyudmila Denisova calling for improved communication on sexual crimes during the war.The signatories insist that Denisova should disclose only information about which there is sufficient evidence, avoid sensationalism and excessive detail in their reports, use correct terminology and take care of the confidentiality and safety of victims.
"Sexual crimes during the war are family tragedies, a difficult traumatic topic, not a topic for publications in the spirit of the 'scandalous chronicle.' We need to keep in mind the goal: to draw attention to the facts of crimes, "the appeal reads.
Other reason cited for firing Denisova were her extensive stays in west Europe during the war and her neglect of negotiations with Russia about prisoner exchanges and other humanitarian issues:
[Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee the Verkhovna Rada Pavlo] Frolov also noted that since the beginning of the war and the great suffering of Ukrainians, Denisova has hardly exercised her authority to organize humanitarian corridors, protect and exchange prisoners, oppose the deportation of people and children from the occupied territories, and other human rights activities.The incomprehensible concentration of the ombudsman's media work on numerous details of "unnatural sexual crimes" and "rape of children" in the occupied territories, which could not be confirmed by evidence, only harmed Ukraine and distracted the world media from Ukraine's real needs.
After February 24, the current Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights spent abroad, but not in Russia or Belarus, where her status and powers could help prisoners, deportees and victims of the occupation of Kherson, and in Davos, Vienna, Warsaw and other warm Western Europe.
Denisova had become too embarrassing. Her firing seems to be part of a remake of the Ukraine propaganda campaign. Here is another data point from The London Times that points into this direction:
Azov Battalion drops neo-Nazi symbol exploited by Russian propagandists (not satire)
The Azov Battalion has removed a neo-Nazi symbol from its insignia that has helped perpetuate Russian propaganda about Ukraine being in the grip of far-right nationalism.At the unveiling of a new special forces unit in Kharkiv, patches handed to soldiers did not feature the wolfsangel, a medieval German symbol that was adopted by the Nazis and which has been used by the battalion since 2014.
This reminds one of al-Qaida in Syria which was relabeled to Jabhat al-Nusra before being named Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and ended up being called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Names and symbols changed. But all the time the leadership, ideology and behavior of the group stayed the same.
Rebranding of radical groups to make them more acceptable in 'western' media happens all the time. Here are two more Moon of Alabama headlines about similar product name changes:
- Policy Change: "Terrorists" Are Now "Insurgents" - July 23, 2012
- Yemen: Saudis To Arm "Popular Committees" (aka Al Qaeda) - April 23, 2015
To summarize:
- The rape allegations against Russian soldiers in Ukraine were made up and false.
- The Ukrainian propagandist responsible for them has been fired.
- Ukraine and its Nazi stormtroopers of the Azov battalion are correcting their appearance to become more acceptable for the 'western' public.
Nothing of the above will change the cold fact that Ukraine and the 'west' are losing in their war against Russia.
Posted by b on May 31, 2022 at 16:18 UTC | Permalink
next page »Well, good golly:
Wartime allegations of rape seem to be false.
Personally, I'm inclined to believe the falsehood, w/r/t formal Russian forces.
It doesn't make sense--an Officer-dominated army where (we are told) Generals have been destroyed in-the-field, and yet:
The rank-and-file are allowed to willy-nilly let their willies lead their unlawful decisions?
That just doesn't make sense, to me.
None of it.
Posted by: Pacifica Advocate | May 31 2022 16:24 utc | 3
Has Julia Joffe yet managed an article critical of IDF and Israeli cruelty to unarmed journalists ?
Thought not
Posted by: Paul Greenwood | May 31 2022 16:31 utc | 4
thanks b.... i never cease to be amazed at your ability to untangle all this bullshit.... impressive! to quote part of you - "a bunch of eager NGOs in Ukraine, hoping for fresh 'western' money" ...... russia was smart to ban this soro full shit...
hey lex!! ot-
tripped on a bernard purdie recording from 2018... the guy is still alive and making great music! deep in love 2018 feels like 1968! ivan neville singing, bernard purdie on drums... what is not to love about that? lol...
Posted by: james | May 31 2022 16:32 utc | 5
B, thanks for bringing this to our attention. I wonder if the tiny matter of false rape allegations will be reported by the western MSM. It would be a shock to consumers of western propaganda to learn that Russians are not actual monsters.
Posted by: Rob | May 31 2022 16:33 utc | 6
I saw the faces of the women claiming rape of their friends and neighbours and I am sorry asI did not believe them at all. They looked paid to say that , or simply scared and said what they had been told. Real neighbours of raped women cry and scream. These babushkas were calm and clinical as if discussing the weather.
Has some rape occurred? Yes, almost certainly ,as it does in all wars. It is horrible , illegal and unethical. Yet, i fail to see evidence of mass rape by Russian forces. What I do know for a fact is that Ukro Nazis did rape opposition women as I saw the evidence in Mariupol and even reports from yesteryear.
Posted by: Brother Ma | May 31 2022 16:35 utc | 7
Posted by: Pacifica Advocate | May 31 2022 16:24 utc | 3
PA - your entry is not clear to understand;Do you mean that the rapes did happen? What have the generals to do with the matter of rapes?
Posted by: fanto | May 31 2022 16:37 utc | 8
For one exposed case, there were many un-exposed victims.
https://meaningfulworld.com/our-work/un/sexualized-violence-against-iraqi-women-by-us-occupying-forces
Sexualized Violence Against Iraqi Women By US Occupying Forces
A Briefing Paper OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jul/10/usa.iraq
More US troops charged with Iraqi girl's rape and murder
Posted by: KitaySupporter | May 31 2022 16:46 utc | 9
I guessed those allegations were BS after seeing counter-physiological claims of rapes that carried on "for hours", with specific number of hours often mentioned.
Posted by: just a rat | May 31 2022 16:47 utc | 10
Too bad. I was really enjoying the deranged performance art of women filling their underwear with tomato paste in public and screaming their lungs out -- really captured the essence of contemporary activism.
Consider that debunked narratives are often hijacked to support the cause of the original narrative. I wonder if that's possible in this case. For instance, it's a popular narrative that Russian demographics are the absolute worst on the planet (usually citing obsolete statistics) so perhaps this uncharacteristic lack of rape says something about deficiencies in Russian manhood? Maybe their soldiers are too drunk in the field to even get it up? There are plenty of avenues for talented spin artists to criticize Russia and Putin for non-rape.
Question is if street activists can figure out some extravagant visual representation deriding Russian soldiers for being impotent. Maybe fill their panties with spaghetti?
Posted by: Skiffer | May 31 2022 16:55 utc | 11
As I’ve been telling my Ukrainian friends, I will now tell my Russian friends. Everyday the war goes on will result in a worse outcome for Ukraine/Russia. As Putin as reminded us as nauseum Russian and Ukrainian history are inextricably interwoven. What matters for the future is not if Ukrainian woman were raped, it is whether Ukrainians believe they were raped. After the Russians level a few more cities and the Ukrainians start counting their dead in the hundreds of thousands, no one will care that the early war propaganda was full of lies.
Posted by: Wobblie | May 31 2022 16:57 utc | 12
She wasn't let go because she made false claims, she was let go for doing nothing to try to preserve and disseminate the evidence that exists. She literally didn't even look into the rape allegations. That is why she was fired, comrades.
If any of you cares about the actual truth and not the MOA bs,
"KYIV -- Ukrainian lawmakers have fired Ombudswoman Lyudmila Denisova almost one year before her term's end, saying she failed to help organize humanitarian corridors and citing other alleged inaction related to Russia's invasion.
Lawmakers Yaroslav Zheleznyak and Oleksiy Honcharenko said the move was approved by parliament on May 31.
Denisova said the move to fire her was initiated by the office of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Andriy Smyrnov, deputy chief of the presidential office, rejected the accusation.
Earlier in the day, representatives of Zelenskiy’s Servant of the People party said they would support Denisova’s removal due to what they called her "failure to organize humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from towns and cities in the center of clashes between invading Russian troops and Ukrainian armed forces.”
They also said she had not shown enough effort to find facts proving war crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine and had spent a significant time abroad during Russia's ongoing aggression against Ukraine.
Former President Petro Poroshenko's European Solidarity party and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party voted against her dismissal."
As for asdads bs, she was fired for not meeting the propaganda needs of the regime. She was an embarrassment, just like the Nazi emblems on Azov banners. Go spin elsewhere.
Posted by: nook | May 31 2022 17:11 utc | 14
asdads@13
Given that the Rada has been purged of any opposition interested in honesty. And that it was elected after the banning of the main opposition parties. And that its majority have been supporting a genocidal campaign against Russian speakers for the past eight years, it would not be surprising if they had not acted in this matter as b, bending over backwards to be fair, suggests.
But the real story is of the allegations of rape and specifically of those cited by the former Ombud. These were clearly fabrications, as is almost everything issued out of Kiev.
It is a matter of interest that once again Bucha features in these tales, So we can take it that there were rapes in Bucha, they took place after the withdrawal of Russian personnel. And they were carried out by members of the Ukrainian secret police, the same fascists who performed the massacres which were sold to the imperialist media as Russian atrocities.
Posted by: bevin | May 31 2022 17:15 utc | 15
This is the second restyling of Azov. Earlier they had removed the black sun from their logo.
Posted by: Wim | May 31 2022 17:16 utc | 16
Wobblie @12 "Everyday the war goes on will result in a worse outcome for Ukraine/Russia"
Agreed. The best outcome for both the Ukraine and Russia would be for the Ukrainian population to immediately revolt against the Nazis and hang them from lamp posts, outlaw pro-Nazi media and political organizations, and purge pro-Nazi garbage from education.
That is not happening, so we get the next best thing which is the Russians doing the dirty work of taking out the Nazi trash.
It would be nice to live in a perfect world, but we are not there yet. Killing Nazis does bring us closer, though.
Posted by: William Gruff | May 31 2022 17:21 utc | 17
asdads @13: "They also said she had not shown enough effort to find facts proving war crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine..."
Why waste effort trying to find "evidence" for nonsense that you just made up?
When you tell a lie, you don't then go hunting for nonexistent "evidence" to support that lie. Instead you tell another lie and hope nobody ever looks closely at the first one. Keep spooling out lies in rapid succession and hope nobody notices there were no "incubator babies" or "rape rooms" or "OMG! WMDs!" or "aluminum toobs!" or "Nigerian yellowcake" and so on.
Posted by: William Gruff | May 31 2022 17:30 utc | 18
Check the new “mass graves” in Mariupol being put forward, again. I have an idea for Russia since Ukraine won’t remove KIAs, find a couple of things he older POWs who really are done with their government’s bullshit. Fill some trucks with dead Ukrainians and send the POWs west with them. Publicize it. Hell, send notice to next of kin if possible. Ukraine can keep the POW drivers and trucks.
Posted by: Lex | May 31 2022 17:32 utc | 19
But Bernhard, the article you link to in Ukrainian does not say the accusations of rape were false, merely that they they considered how she used rape anecdotes was improper. Soldiers rape, rape happens in every war, in every army. I have no doubt that some Russian soldiers did rape. It’s important to not be either or about this.
Posted by: Fred Flintstone | May 31 2022 17:35 utc | 20
"The Ukrainian propagandist responsible for them has been fired."
Sounds like the opening credits to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Makes sense, Zelensky is a comedian afte all.
Posted by: James J O'Meara | May 31 2022 17:48 utc | 22
Yeah, the lies are wearing thin. Had a picnic with extended family yesterday and the silence about previous support for Ukraine was deafening.
Posted by: ChrisHerz | May 31 2022 17:52 utc | 23
Gruff, Russians killing nazis is a poor replacement for Ukrainians taking on the task, and in the end will not be sufficient unless Russia occupies all of Ukraine.
Posted by: the pessimist | May 31 2022 17:53 utc | 24
Posted by: ChrisHerz | May 31 2022 17:52 utc | 23
> Yeah, the lies are wearing thin. Had a picnic with extended family yesterday and the silence about previous support for Ukraine was deafening.
What happened, got tired or change of heart?
Posted by: hopehely | May 31 2022 18:02 utc | 25
btw, I have read that the coal fired portion of the Ukrainian power grid cannot operate at capacity due to problems with supplying fuel and as a result the load has been shifted to npps which have suffered lack of maintenance since 2014. Funds for maintenance have been diverted to the general fund and military expenses. The suggestion was that this situation increases the chance of accidents. Would make rape allegations insignificant by comparison.
Posted by: the pessimist | May 31 2022 18:05 utc | 26
It feels like things are rapidly falling apart for Zelensky. America has lost interest, and is wondering why they should keep paying so much for gas. The recent 40 billion approved is sunk cost for payoffs (10% for the big guy) and defense contractors.
The big question is what will the final borders look like?
https://askeptic.substack.com/p/daily-report-from-the-ukraine-field-7fa?s=w
Daily Report from the Ukraine Field for 2022-05-31
Posted by: Will | May 31 2022 18:16 utc | 27
IMO, the Rada fired the wrong person--Zelensky is the one most needing to be ousted followed by most of the Rada.
I produced and published an article based on yesterday's commentary making it all into a more cohesive essay, "Some of the Major Contradictions in Outlaw US Empire's War on the World".
A related issue was editorialized today by Global Times, "UN OHCHR should investigate US shootings":
Facts have proven once again that the "darkness under the lights," including the shooting cases, is a chronic human rights disease that the US, the so-called "beacon of light," neither dares nor is willing to illuminate. To solve this problem, one cannot rely on self-touching "ceremonies," or use "human rights" as a weapon to attack other countries. We urge the US government to take concrete actions to solve its own severe human rights problems, and stop being a negative example of double standards in terms of human rights. We call on the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to launch an investigation into human rights problems in the US as soon as possible, so that the US-style hegemony cannot cover up its bad deeds.
Beyond the above demand, the editorial also said the following:
It is worth noting that when the US' internal problems have become increasingly prominent, it has intensified its external aggression, which is a vicious circle at another level. US Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday spoke at a memorial service for Ruth Whitfield, a victim of the Buffalo supermarket shooting, that the US "is experiencing an epidemic of hate." Another fact that she was reluctant and inconvenient to say is that the US is undergoing "an epidemic of hostility" externally. In recent days, Washington was still obsessed with fabricating a lie of the century over "the human rights in Xinjiang" and has been recklessly attacking and smearing UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet's visit to China. They probably did not expect Bachelet to reserve her longest answer for the US shootings and the racism at the press conference at the end of her visit. She said that "people believe that they are superior to others and feel they have the right to kill other people, but they are not." [My Emphasis]
That paragraph invites the reader to think about its hypothesis--the relationship between the Outlaw US Empire's internal violence and the violence it visits on innocent peoples both internally and globally contemporarily and historically. A similar hypothesis based on the UK would likely produce a similar result. Most US-based barflies intimately know its history from 1950-1970, where IMO the hypothesis is easily proven, but it also applies to the entire period from 1492 onward.
In response to Fred Flintstone@20,
But Bernhard, the article you link to in Ukrainian does not say the accusations of rape were false, merely that they they considered how she used rape anecdotes was improper.
Improper in what way? Both articles, hromadske & interfax, stress that Denisova was making allegations which were unsubstantiated. Evidence free allegations are certainly improper, especially for a government official tasked with investigating human rights abuses, and the term for it is false allegation.
If there are actual rapes going on, that this human rights ombudsman chose to ignore in favor of cases that don't have enough substance to initiate even a single criminal process, then it's even more improper that she instead focused on false allegations for their value as a "spectacle." I think it's reasonable for you to appeal to the law of averages in forming your personal opinion, but that's as far as it can take you -- you won't, or at least shouldn't be able to, hold an individual or a group of people responsible on that basis. I don't have any doubts that rapes happen during peace-time and all over the world either, but if I pull some specific ethnic group or social organization out of a hat and pin it on them, I need to have something concrete to back it up or it's a false accusation. The only inherently true general argument is that rapes are committed by rapists.
Posted by: Skiffer | May 31 2022 18:28 utc | 29
From IntelSlava
🇷🇺🇺🇦❗Russia and Ukraine were close to an agreement under which Ukraine would remain outside the blocs, but its external management did not allow it to be signed - Federation Council Speaker Matvienko.Now Ukraine will have to sign a surrender
Posted by: Down South | May 31 2022 18:36 utc | 30
RT provides a progress report on the rapidly increasing volume of non-dollar trade between Russia and China, "
Ruble-yuan trade soars over 1,000%":
"Russia and China are continuing to eliminate the US dollar from mutual trade as monthly volumes on the ruble-yuan pair have reportedly soared 1,067% to nearly $4 billion over the past three months.
"According to Bloomberg calculations, some 25.91 billion yuan, or $3.9 billion, have been exchanged for rubles on the Moscow spot market so far in May, marking a twelvefold surge versus the volumes recorded in February, when Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine. The spike coincides with a rally in the ruble to a five-year high against the yuan and the US dollar."
The rape reports miss the ongoing Great Rape by the Outlaw US Empire of Europe's economy. All the West's Presstitutes must be blinded by the Syphilis they contracted when they ceased to be journalists.
From IntelSlava
🇺🇦❗The militants of the 57th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine refuse to go to the front lineThe Ukrainian battalion commander unsuccessfully tries to persuade the fighters to go to fight, but he does not want to fight with them.
There is a video attached to this post which I don’t know how to link which shows the commander arguing with the soldiers.
Posted by: Down South | May 31 2022 18:42 utc | 32
RT reports that Patrushev pointed out the rapists at today's Security Council meeting:
"American corporations and financial institutions are conducting a rapid expansion into Europe, using the crisis in Ukraine for their gain, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Nikolay Patrushev, said during a meeting of the body on Tuesday."
The latest info on the SMO:
❗️🇷🇺🇺🇦 The situation in the north of Kharkov region by 18.00 on May 31, 2022
After the retreat of the AFU from Tsupovka and Tokarevka and the actual withdrawal to the Dergachi — Tsircuna line, fighting for the village of Sosnovka began. According to preliminary information, Ukrainian units have suffered losses and have already retreated from the settlement.
▪️ Artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation destroyed the AFU positions in Zolochev, Konstantinovka and Slatino.
▪️To contain the impact of the AFU, additional units were transferred to the Slatino area.
From the area of Zolochev and Dergachy, Ukrainian artillery strikes the positions of the Russian Armed Forces in Kazakhny Lopan and the recently taken Dementievka. Target designation is provided by the AN/TPQ-36 counter-battery warfare radars supplied from the USA, located in Rogan.
At night, the AFU bombed with cluster munitions the village of Poliotdelsky, Belgorod region. The infrastructure has suffered material damage.
Posted by: Barofsky | May 31 2022 18:48 utc | 34
Whilst encouraging the EU to embargo Russia oil the US:
🇷🇺🇺🇸❗Russia in March rose to 6th place in the ranking of the largest oil suppliers to the United States from 9th, almost doubling monthly deliveries to 4.218 million barrels, according to the Energy Information Administration of the US Department of Energy (EIA).
Posted by: Down South | May 31 2022 18:48 utc | 35
Posted by: Down South | May 31 2022 18:42 utc | 32
DS, just copy the link info:
https://t.me/EurasianChoice/14492
Posted by: Barofsky | May 31 2022 18:50 utc | 36
Wobblie | May 31 2022 16:57 utc | 12 " Everyday the war goes on will result in a worse outcome for Ukraine/Russia."
The worse outcome for Russia was the necessity of going to war. Now every day of the war is a day closer to a better outcome.
Ukrainians chose their bed and now they are laying in it. If Ukrainians want a better outcome than simply fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian, they will have to fight not Russia but their own so called leadership.
https://tass.com/russia/1411363
Putin does not expect to reach any agreements with "a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis that are holed up in Kiev." The Russian leader urged Ukrainian servicemen to take matters into their own hands."I am addressing the servicemen of Ukraine’s Armed Forces once again: do not let neo-Nazi and Bandera supporters use your children, your wives and seniors as a human shield, take matters into your own hands," the Russian head of state said at a meeting with permanent members of Russia’s Security Council on Friday. "It seems that you and I will have a better chance of reaching an agreement than with that gang of junkies and neo-Nazis that are holed up in Kiev and is holding hostage the entire Ukrainian nation," Putin said.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 31 2022 18:54 utc | 37
Posted by: Barofsky | May 31 2022 18:50 utc | 36
Thank you
Can anyone who speaks Russian/Ukrainian give a rough translation of the video?
Posted by: Down South | May 31 2022 18:54 utc | 38
that a majority of the parliament of Ukraine shorn of opposition parties voted for the dismissal of Lyudmila Denisova is encouraging to me. with 100,000 mostly young men with guns in a war situation it would be inevitable that a rape would occur. The accusations of Denisova though sounded false. From all the reports I have come across the Russian troops are behaving better then I would have expected. Better than some US troops in Vietnam.
Posted by: gepay | May 31 2022 18:55 utc | 39
Okay, so Russia defeats the Ukraine militarily, then what? It's clear that the Fascists are installed in every part of the state, so the only way to remove them is to remove the existing state apparatus. Perhaps the Russians should have let Kadyrov take Zelensky out right at the beginning? He did offer.
Posted by: Barofsky | May 31 2022 18:58 utc | 40
From Alexander Rubinstein:
The FBI has indicted several American white nationalists associated with the Rise Above Movement after they trained with the neo-Nazi Azov Battaliion and its civilian wing, the National Corps, in Kiev. But that was almost four years ago. Today, federal law enforcement has no idea how many US neo-Nazis are participating in the war in Ukraine, or what they are doing there.
DHS ‘concerned’ over Nazis returning to US after fighting in Ukraine. Why isn’t the media?
https://thegrayzone.com/2022/05/31/american-neo-nazi-ukraine-hero-corporate-media/
Posted by: Aleph_Null | May 31 2022 19:00 utc | 41
The EU wants to try and ban third party countries from buying Russian oil, who the f*ck do these people think they are, I've never seen such a concerted effort by the West to destroy a countries economy.
"Poland and an increasing number of European Union countries are talking loudly about the so-called secondary sanctions. Firstly, it is the possibility of imposing sanctions in such a way that Russian oil cannot be sold also to third countries, to countries outside the European Union,"
"The European Union wants to ban third countries from buying oil from Russia, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters in Brussels."
https://ria.ru/20220531/neft-1792125117.html
Posted by: Republicofscotland | May 31 2022 19:15 utc | 42
William Gruff et Al. Flatten the cities to get the Nazis. That is called collective punishment. At the rate the SMO is progressing Putins army will not be at the Dniester/Bug line till winter. Putin’s army will win every battle it fights (assuming they don’t do something )stupid), that does not guarantee a victory in a long war . Destroy the village to save the villagers was the US strategy in Nam. We can make peace with them now because we don’t live next to one another. Ukraine and Russia do not have that reality. Putin May in fact want to turn Ukrainians into blood enemies. Necessary move to bring Russia under the CCP. B always refers to Ukraine as the ukraine, because it will form the edge-boundary of the Sino-Russian world in the west.
If Putin does not figure out a way to make peace, he will be fighting Poland and the Baltic Republics by then, Finland as well perhaps. Long wars are full of unexpected results. The US warned Putin it would be a long war.
Posted by: Wobbli | May 31 2022 19:15 utc | 43
@William Gruff (18) ”When you tell a lie, you don't then go hunting for nonexistent "evidence" to support that lie. Instead you tell another lie and hope nobody ever looks closely at the first one. ”
Unless you are OJ Simpson
Posted by: Rob | May 31 2022 19:20 utc | 44
The Times of UK Headline should read:
"Ukrainian Nazis Remove Nazi Symbol so People Can't Identify or Criticize them for Still Being Nazis"
Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | May 31 2022 19:22 utc | 45
Posted by: Aleph_Null | May 31 2022 19:00 utc | 41
The more of them killed and maimed by Russian artillery fire the better. Send 'em all over there to die.
Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | May 31 2022 19:33 utc | 46
Posted by: the pessimist | May 31 2022 18:05 utc | 26
What I have seen in videos generally critical of energy policies of Ukraine (once the war started, this guy got arrested, not an apologist), the maintenance of nuclear power stations was OK. Now Russia occupies 4 out of 15 reactors, but with the chaos of war, electricity demand is way down, moms with children abroad, big part of manufacturing down (although some re-opened when Russian left several regions), and like France, Ukraine survived winter by running all reactors with no current issues.
While maintenance was there, new investments were not. The current European reality is that either Russian build it, or the cost and time at least double. Ukraine had all foundations ready for one more reactor, that means that construction time and cost would be halved -- those guys have very solid foundations! Probably with all kinds of pipes and wires too.
Posted by: Piotr Berman | May 31 2022 19:37 utc | 47
Two curious items from Sputnik. First is a lie told by the Outlaw US Empire's UN agent, "US Won't Provide Ukraine With Weapons That Can Attack Russia", which as we all know is untrue given the howitzers, manpads, Javelins, drones, machine guns, etc., along with vital intel. The second is this report, "Brits Returning From Ukraine's Foreign Legion Report Being Used as 'Cannon-Fodder'". I mean, WTF did they think they'd be used as!?! Here's an excellent example of Kissinger's very uncomplimentary remark about military personnel being proven correct.
And then as we scroll down the page we're treated to this very obvious fact presented in a headline:
"Dominic Raab: It's 'Obvious' That a Woman ‘Can't Be Born With a Penis'."
"After the Russians level a few more cities and the Ukrainians start counting their dead in the hundreds of thousands, no one will care that the early war propaganda was full of lies."
Posted by: Wobblie | May 31 2022 16:57 utc | 12
______
Remind us which cities the Russians have leveled thus far.
Posted by: Doug Hillman | May 31 2022 19:55 utc | 49
Seems Barovsky @40 and Wobbli @43 are unable to read the two very major as in most important memos set forth by Russia in December then February--Russia's Security Proposals/Requirements and the SMO's twin goals, both of which myself alone has repeated well over a dozen times if not more in which I've cited Russia's top leaders, most recently Patrushev: Russia's SMO goals--demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine--will be "fulfilled," as will Russia's Security Requirements as laid out in December. The most salient of those requirements being the rolling back of NATO to its 1997 status, which implies the freeing of Europe from the boot of Ango-Saxon Tyranny. For some additional context, they'd both benefit from reading the article I published today announced and linked @28 above.
The world's at one of its few Paradigm Changes, which entails a reset that's in complete opposition to the one envisioned by the Neoliberal Davos Globalist Parasites. One historical Epoch is ending while another emerges, in a change that ought to have occurred in 1945 but was hijacked by fascists from the USA who turned it into the Outlaw US Empire--an Empire the world must now rid itself of once and for all that puts an end to the Era of Imperialism and Colonialism.
james | May 31 2022 16:32 utc | 5
tripped on a bernard purdie recording from 2018...
Another blast from the past, Bernard Purdie, Chuck Rainey, Larry Coryell...1971, six or so months after Hendrix died.
Posted by: john | May 31 2022 20:12 utc | 51
I would like to lobby for the rehabilitation of Scott Ritter. He more thoroughly explains his "game changer" thoughts in this article SCOTT RITTER: Phase Three in Ukraine
Ritter does not claim that he is accurately predicting the future, only a possible future.
Posted by: Fiji Refugee | May 31 2022 20:31 utc | 52
On Saturday, Lavrov was interviewed by French TV channel TF1", with the transcript provided in English. Essentially, the interview centers around the answering of this initial question as all the follow-ups follow-on:
"Question (translated from French): The special military operation in Ukraine is going on for three months. Since its beginning, Russia has faced problems both on the battlefield and the international scene, where it is being accused of war crimes. What is the result of this military operation? Can you sum it up now? Is it a success or, more likely, a failure? A few days ago, you said: “The “collective West” has declared total hybrid war against us… We did everything in our power to avoid a direct clash. But they issued a challenge and we have accepted it.” What did you mean? How do you want to respond? Does this mean that the third world war could start in a week or in a month and that a nuclear strike will be delivered?
"Could you begin by summing up this operation? Is it a success or, more likely, a failure?"
Since the transcript's in English, I'll refrain from posting a very long excerpt, although there're two excellent candidates. Instead, this short bit serves to answer some of the incessant questions being posed daily:
Question (translated from French): Will the battle for Donbass be the last one? Many Europeans are wondering if there will be other hostilities after Donbass.Sergey Lavrov: I just answered this question. The liberation of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, recognised by Russia as independent states, is an absolute priority.
As for other territories of Ukraine where the special military operation is being conducted, their residents need to decide their future themselves. They must choose for themselves where they would like to live – in a President Zelensky-created environment (with a ban on Russian education, media, culture and language in everyday life) or in an atmosphere where they can bring up their children the way they want, without following the dictates of Vladimir Zelensky and his team.
I wrote back in February that Ukrainians will decide for themselves the question of their sovereign status. And again, that's what Lavrov said above. Since the SMO will extend to all of Ukraine, it's indeed possible for all of those regions to decide they want to not be part of Ukraine any longer, which is in complete accordance given that Russia's a Defender of the UN Charter and the right for people to self-determination.
So, enjoy the interview as there are some excellent points Lavrov makes to the French audience. Too bad the interview wasn't conducted and aired prior to France's presidential elections.
To whom it may concern.
Anyone new to the bar, please spend some weeks reading before you bother commenting. If you’re too eager to comment, binge-read several days if not weeks worth of articles and comments.
Don’t be offended. I’ve spent years and no longer bother commenting, because the people who contribute frequently cover a lot. Eventually, many of the same questions you might ask or arguments you might make have already been discussed. That’s why regular patrons will often simply ignore you, as they should.
Further, IF anyone is paid to visit this bar to spread pro-empire memes or just does so voluntarily, imagine what life could be like if you were instead paid or otherwise incentivized to:
- work in a hospital, healing those who are sick now
- work as a biomedical researcher, developing cures for those who are sick now or will be later
- work as an LEO and protect innocent people from harm in *your* country
- work as an LEO but actually follow up on social media posts by people who are truly mentally ill
- work as a teacher, thereby lowering student:teacher ratios and improving outcomes for the next generation that will take care of you when you’re old
- work as an civil engineer or construction worker, fixing all those decaying bridges
Use your imagination.
In other words, find a more noble calling in life. Working for evil is evil. If you’re young, you can still change your direction. Indeed, eventually, you might have to invest in other skills anyway, because you’ll be laid off when this Ukraine adventure turns out for the West about as well as their adventures in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
This era of unipolarity is ending. But, there’s life after unipolarity. Embrace the future. Embrace your future.
Posted by: adg | May 31 2022 20:38 utc | 54
Wobblie @12: "...the Ukrainians start counting their dead in the hundreds of thousands..."
Doesn't it bother you Nazi-lovers that even after some heavy military action with your Ukropian heroes hiding behind the skirts of little girls with their eyes turned the color of frozen meat that the Russians still have not killed even a fraction of the number of Ukrainian civilians that your beloved Nazis have?
You may be ignorant of who is killing who, but the Ukrainian people in the combat zones know.
Posted by: William Gruff | May 31 2022 20:45 utc | 55
An article that gave me a chuckle or two. (It even contains a complaining effing -enko)
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/central-otago/z-ukraine-colours-%E2%80%98zwastika%E2%80%99
Now if you draw another Z rotated 90 degrees, you could place it midway crossing the other one and that would complete the ancient good luck symbol.
A stroke though a Z creates a wolfsangle.
Or you could place the rotated Z to the left of the other one and have NZ on top of the blue and gold -
totally appropriate in the province of Otago! Such an image is also very apt for NZers to meditate upon while thinking about what forces we don't want unleashed here (NZ).
Posted by: tucenz | May 31 2022 20:46 utc | 56
There may be more than meets the eye to here firing. The Ukrainian POWs may have access to a cell phone from time to time to call their loved ones. Sort of like you get one call a day to call whomever of your relatives you want. It would be a smart move for the Russians.
The relatives may be pushing back to get some prisoner exchanges and the Ukrainian politicians are feeling the heat. This may be a sign of pressure from below push up to the politicians. They then throw the person in charge out and do a slight mea culpa over Bucha.
Something may be in the wind on this move. A slight bending of the hard line position.
Posted by: circumspect | May 31 2022 20:47 utc | 57
Today, Lavrov's in Bahrain where he delivered this statement after meeting the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and his FM Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani. As noted in earlier commentary, Lavrov and Russian diplomacy as a whole is keeping very busy cultivating its ties with the nations of the Global South. One item of importance among many follows:
"On a broader plane, we discussed the situation in the Gulf and the need to ensure reliable security for the Arab states in the Gulf and the Islamic Republic of Iran. For many years now, Russia has been promoting the Collective Security Concept for the Persian Gulf. Six months ago, the document was revised and a series of meetings were held with the participation of experts from the Gulf countries. We will continue to work towards ensuring stability, peace and mutual trust in the region. Our concept includes a set of steps to this end."
IMO, a treaty along the lines both Russia and Iran have suggested will be implemented and the Outlaw US Empire's presence in the Persian Gulf region will finally cease, which would be a huge coup for humanity.
So, what do people like Julia Ioffe do when these stories inevitably turn out to be fake?
I never see any correction or retraction, let alone an admission they called people names
on fake news.
Posted by: Ivan | May 31 2022 20:50 utc | 59
The EU agreed today to stop oil from Russia in 6 months via tankers, but Hungary is allowed to access Russian oil via a pipeline. Why not today? The complete submission of Nazi Ukraine will be over much sooner.
Negotiations ( real this time) is now back on the Western table. As Kissinger indirectly put it to allow the West to spin it as a win. The controlled media will do a good job spinning, but you must agree to everything that Putin laid out to USA NATO.
Negotiations is not in the cards, no matter how much of the west, including Turkey insist. Nothing will stop until the entire Donbass region is free, and hopefully Odessa.
Trolls like wooblie and pacific advocate will somehow spin a humiliation and loss into a win. Such is the programed warped mind.
karlof1 @31: "Ruble-yuan trade soars over 1,000%"
We knew that was going to happen but it is exciting to see things turning out as predicted. Russia's military actions will address the immediate problems in the Ukraine, but the details you are keeping us updated on are what is really going to take the empire down.
Posted by: William Gruff | May 31 2022 20:58 utc | 62
Is voltairenet accessible to all? I have had some trouble but it is available now.
Here is some interesting news:
"In accordance with the Montreux Convention (1936), Turkey has banned NATO ships participating in the Ramstein Legacy 2022 exercise from crossing the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits.
"This ban is an indication that Turkey considers this exercise not only as a test of the interoperability between NATO forces, but also as inherent to the war in Ukraine. She feels that allowing this armada to go through would put her own safety in jeopardy.
"The Turkish president had spoken to his Russian counterpart on May 30."
There are also articles on Schwab and this one on Ukraine's sudden acquisition of 30 tons of plutonium.
https://www.voltairenet.org/article217092.html
Posted by: bevin | May 31 2022 21:07 utc | 63
fanto@8
It seemed clear enough to me: Pacifica is arguing in that in the well disciplined (in his view) Russian forces it is most unlikely that soldiers would be allowed to engage in gang rapes on a large scale.
Perhaps you have so many friends that you can enjoy misrepresenting their opinions? I don't and Pacifica is making a valuable addition to b's post.
Posted by: bevin | May 31 2022 21:13 utc | 64
A slight bending of the hard line position.
Posted by: circumspect | May 31 2022 20:47 utc | 57
That doesn't make any sense. TO WHOSE hardline position do you refer? Aislain is all over YoutTube soliciting questions; UAF is shoveling frozen corpses into POW exchange; but how many RF POWs are holding court on YouTube or phoning home? How many and at what cost do calls from US penal system afford "criminals"? Conversely, the Victims of Communinism Foundation, being exercised that they haven't gotten a call from their families in xYears, lobbied Bachelet hard to include telecommunication "rights" to her OHCR violations report, forthcoming.
Posted by: sln2002 | May 31 2022 21:14 utc | 65
Wobbli | May 31 2022 19:15 utc | 43 "At the rate the SMO is progressing Putins army will not be at the Dniester/Bug line till winter."
Other than clearing the two regions, there is no real reason to push forward. US is feeding the cannon fodder in at a steady rate. All fighting and dying for the right to outlaw the Russian language, the right to target and kill civilians in the ethnic Russian regions, the right to put up monuments a rename streets after WWII figures responsible for genocide.
I far as I am concerned, they can keep dying in large numbers until they start to think they don't really want those rights.
Oh and don't forget the right to host US bio weapons labs that were in the process of unleashing bio warfare on Russia and other parts of the world - that had already used bio weapons against the people of the Donbas. Handing out fake currency to children contaminated wit antibiotic resistant TB.
All of that you come here to support...There will be more than 50,000 Ukraine KIA's at this point plus the wounded. Sooner or later the ordinary Ukrainian will decide they don't really want the above mentioned rights but until then they will die in large numbers.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 31 2022 21:17 utc | 66
Posted by: karlof1 | May 31 2022 20:33 utc | 53
Yes there will be referenda to allow the people to decide their future, but as of now the situation seems to be:
Lugansk - almost completely freed from Ukraine. Either independent or part of Russia. This vote should take place as soon as possible
Donetsk - still some fighting there. While they too will get some choice it is still a while away. I am also not sure about Mariupol. Perhaps it should be kept by Russia.
Zaporishia - it seems also to be nearly fully taken from Ukraine, except for the large city. Possibly two referenda- one in the south, where I suspect they will choose to join Russia (Russian pensions paid from today) and another in the North - mainly the city of Zaporizhia
Kherson - Pretty much already Russian controlled but as it is on the front line of combat, delay any voting.
Kharkov- still a problem
Rest of Ukraine should be part of negotiation. Strategically Odessa and Nikoleyev should fall to Russia, but that may be a step too far, although a vote would be a great idea, if possible.
Posted by: watcher | May 31 2022 21:25 utc | 67
William Gruff @62--
Thanks for your reply. I find details daily. Although they're not always in the form of media headlines, each one constitutes a straw piled atop Uncle Sam's back. I find our newest troll @64 brought many such straws of the projection variety and had the decency to name itself properly. Your commentary is quite helpful as it provides stimulation. It's a good thing the French TV station sent a woman to interview Lavrov as he probably wouldn't have been as diplomatic with his answers had it been a man.
@ john | May 31 2022 20:12 utc | 51
thanks john! that is a great track, especially for the rhythm section! larry sounds good too.. i might have heard this a very long time ago, but didn't know purdie was on drums for any of the coryell albums..
thanks everyone for the great posts - skiffer, bevin,pacifica advocate, karlof1, barofsky, peter au, gruff, etc/ etc/ and all the truth warriors here..
Posted by: james | May 31 2022 21:30 utc | 69
Montreux Convention (1936)
Posted by: bevin | May 31 2022 21:07 utc | 63
Look it up. It lists "Black Sea Powers". It is the successor of the Peace Treaty of Sèvres, 10 August, 1920 which superceded the Treaty of Lausanne, because Allied Forces never give up territory without a fight.
Posted by: sln2002 | May 31 2022 21:32 utc | 70
circumspect | May 31 2022 20:47 utc | 57
Thanks for making that connection between the POW's phoning family and the sacking of the relevant official.
Add that tro the families of the territorial defence being sent to frontlines, plus the units that that make statements on social media about no longer fighting, not supported ect.
Those issues will only grow and become worse then there is the general economic situation in Ukraine. There will be a dawning amongst the population of the sheer numbers that have died on the frontline as it becomes too large to hide and the war drags out. Another month or two and we might be looking at a reverse maidan.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 31 2022 21:32 utc | 71
slightly ot, but related... the poster roger wrote a great article here -
Is the EU using the Ukraine Crisis to Facilitate its Climate Change Policies?
Posted by: james | May 31 2022 21:34 utc | 72
@fanto #8
These crimes usually occur when combatants find themselves on their own, cut off from the chain of command.
When generals are sent to the front, the situation is reversed.
Posted by: Marjorie | May 31 2022 21:42 utc | 73
Talking about weird propaganda, I just took a quick look at so pro-Nazi channels on Twitter (that's most of Twitter) and they are still talking about the "Kherson Offensive" like it is still going on! They are even claiming the Ukes are heading for Sevastopol!
Twitter has become a bizarre inverse of reality.
Posted by: William Gruff | May 31 2022 21:43 utc | 74
watcher @68--
Thanks for your reply. I'm sure that by Fall we'll see several elections with more to come.
////////
For some comic relief, one of my VK friends posted this short video of a public street fight between Russia's 5000 Ruble Note and The Benjamin.
This rape BS is standard MI6 perverted (or pervert) propaganda - similar stories about Russians in WW II, Gadaffi more recently in Libya. They used false stories about Saddam Hussein stealing incubators in Kuwait. The story was given extra PR-spin by using a young woman to tell the UN - who was careful trained by an infamous British PR outfit, and was in fact the daughter of a high Kuwaiti official.
Posted by: Arfur Mo | May 31 2022 21:54 utc | 76
This is more in line with b's Ukraine Bits from yesterday, and it may have been covered by someone in comments, but if so I didn't see it.
MSN admits that Ukraine is losing and will lose the war
Yet, as the campaign in Donbas shows, Russia is not close to any kind of definitive defeat in Ukraine. Politicians in Kyiv and many of their Western backers maintain a maximalist view of how the conflict should end, with Russian capitulation and the return of every inch of territory under Moscow’s control, including the Crimean peninsula.That view of the war clashes with the growing fears of foreign policy experts over the risks of prolonging it. In Davos, former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger called for immediate negotiations and Ukrainian territorial concessions to avert further crises and global instability.
Regarding Russian tactics, something that won't surprise any regular MoA reader:
Yet, as the campaign in Donbas shows, Russia is not close to any kind of definitive defeat in Ukraine. Politicians in Kyiv and many of their Western backers maintain a maximalist view of how the conflict should end, with Russian capitulation and the return of every inch of territory under Moscow’s control, including the Crimean peninsula.That view of the war clashes with the growing fears of foreign policy experts over the risks of prolonging it. In Davos, former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger called for immediate negotiations and Ukrainian territorial concessions to avert further crises and global instability
Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | May 31 2022 22:01 utc | 77
Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | May 31 2022 22:01 utc | 78
My copy function must have malfunctioned. I selected the following for the second block of text. Should have previewed first.
The Russian advance has been characterized by the same brutality and relentlessness of previous offensives. Observers report similar tactics to those deployed in the conquest of the port city of Mariupol, with endless days and nights of artillery fire and missile strikes pulverizing urban areas.“They’re just raining down metal on us,” a Ukrainian soldier wounded in the fighting told my colleagues. Eyewitnesses spoke of the stench of death stalking the streets as early summer temperatures rise.
The Russians “use the same tactics over and over again. They shell for several hours — for three, four, five hours — in a row and then attack,” Luhansk’s regional governor, Serhiy Haidai, told Reuters. “Those who attack die. Then shelling and attack follow again, and so on until they break through somewhere.”
Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | May 31 2022 22:03 utc | 78
Posted by: Fiji Refugee | May 31 2022 20:31 utc | 52
I read that article and posted about it. I was unimpressed. He's merely dialed back his "Russia is in an unwinnable war because of a reconstituted Ukraine army armed with NATO weapons" crap in favor of arguing that Russia needs to justify any further move to the west of Ukraine (which Ritter correctly states is a necessary concomitant to "de-Nazification" and "de-militarization".) He's wrong on that, too. NATO development in Ukraine is all the "justification" that Russia needs - if justification is even needed, which it isn't.
Ritter continues to make the false argument that because Russia isn't doing something now to his satisfaction that Russia isn't going to do it. It's the same error as those here who claim because Russia isn't doing it now that Russia is never going to do it.
I reiterate for the slow: No one knows the Russian objectives in Ukraine or beyond except Putin, certain members of his team, and the Russian General Staff. Even the Russian General Staff may not know Putin's ultimate objectives. We can only speculate on what Russia should logically do based on their draft treaties submitted in December, 2021, which lay out their objective goals - but not the means to achieve them.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 31 2022 22:03 utc | 79
We will now hear from all the usual suspects who come out of the woodwork whenever it is suggested that Russia actually has a goal outside of Donbass.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 31 2022 22:04 utc | 80
Posted by: Marjorie | May 31 2022 21:42 utc | 74
If that is true, How might one then explain the long and pathetic US congressional hearings to force US mil to investigate and prosecute rape d/b/a sexual misconduct and assault within domestic ranks?
Posted by: sln2002 | May 31 2022 22:07 utc | 81
Posted by: karlof1 | May 31 2022 20:33 utc | 53
I like this stuff Lavrov hands out. It's pure diplomatic language. Nothing concrete to it at all. It never says what Russia will actually do, just what the goal is - a goal so overarching and general that almost anything done subsequently could be claimed to be part of attaining it. I think it's called "not limiting your options" which is a core of diplomacy.
And everyone buys this stuff and tears off making conclusions that satisfy their own desires.
I'll reiterate again (you already know this): The only thing that matters are the treaty proposals. Those specify objective goals on the ground. How Russia achieves them is behind a fog of smoke and mirrors. But there are certain actions with regard to Ukraine that logically follow.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 31 2022 22:10 utc | 82
Pepe Escobar's latest update, "The Sanctioned Ones: How Iran-Russia are setting new rules. While China, keen to ward off US sanctions as long as possible, is lagging, its RIC partners Iran and Russia are doing the legwork to break the west's global financial grip."
Pepe cites what Glazyev said the EAEU Forum was about, but I looked at his website I couldn't find anything, although there might be something at his Telegram:
"According to Glazyev, the forum 'discussed the model of a new global settlement currency pegged to baskets of national currencies and commodities. The introduction of this currency instrument in Eurasia will entail the collapse of the dollar system and the final undermining of the US military and political power. It is necessary to start negotiations on signing an appropriate international treaty within the framework of the SCO.'"
Yet much more must be done to bring the numerous aspects into harmony for the new system to properly function. And that's what much of the update's about.
And Putin, who with the PRC has given his people and the world nothing of quality or interest ever, already declared Ukraine a "preemptive" war. [...] Such a sad waste.
Posted by: ahole | May 31 2022 21:12 utc | 64
For better or worse, a dominant power of a historical period determines what is cool. Before a queen of France in a period where France was dominant in Europe decided to use a corset, that would be ridiculous, but afterwards, it became cool and for generation simply required for women in the "society". Around the same time, colonizing little islands was all the rage, the coolest kids like Lower Countries, France and England were doing it, so the likes of Sweden or Duchy of Courland had to try it too. Now USA is the dominant power, so the modes of operation, like preemptive war and humanitarian interventions, are highly coveted. If you can do it alone, you do it, otherwise, if allowed, you join a crowd doing it.
Of course, for every fad there were victims, like women getting sick and worse from highly unhealthy corsets, natives of the little islands etc.
Posted by: Piotr Berman | May 31 2022 22:15 utc | 84
.After the Russians level a few more cities and the Ukrainians start counting their dead in the hundreds of thousands, no one will care that the early war propaganda was full of lies.
Posted by: Wobblie | May 31 2022 16:57 utc | 12
****************************************
Ooh! The irony is thick around this one!
Posted by: Garry Owen | May 31 2022 22:16 utc | 85
The only thing that matters are the treaty proposals. Those specify objective goals on the ground. How Russia achieves them is behind a fog of smoke and mirrors. But there are certain actions with regard to Ukraine that logically follow.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 31 2022 22:10 utc | 83
You contradict yourself. Everyone is puzzled as to how RU (alone) will execute (enforce) any treaty without cooperation of the so-called contracting parties. Anyone with two eyes knows US, UK, and UA do.not.respect international law. And the EU(CO) operates on a supernatural plane of governance which its constituents on earth can neither comprehend nor associate with national politics d/b/a kind of representative democracy, if referendums apply. Moreover, cooperation is not well understood in capitalist societies where "sovereignty" of the individual signifies freedom from TYRANNY.
Posted by: sln2002 | May 31 2022 22:23 utc | 86
Comment from https://t.me/polkovnik_hodarenok Telegram channel on the 155 mm SpGH Zuzana guns being provided by Slovakia.
155 mm SpGH Zuzana
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/155_mm_SpGH_Zuzana
"Suzans" is the same wunderwaffe as the Polish "Crabs" and the French "Caesars". Media support for this delivery is unprecedented, but in fact:8 self-propelled guns is just one battery. For comparison, in the RF Armed Forces, fire superiority is now 4 batteries against 1.
Slovaks push "Suzany" away for a reason. A study was published last year (https://www.czdefence.com/article/caesar-and-dita-howitzers-different-approaches-not-direct-competition), which says: “... it may seem that self-propelled guns with an armored turret “This is a smart choice, but in reality the risk of failure of the loading system is too great, and the operating costs ... are too high.” Multiply this by the begging of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and you get a one-time toy for a 155-mm caliber.
The good length of the 52 caliber gun is offset by the poor quality of the metal. Trunks "Suzana" wear out ~ 5-7 times faster than the Russian self-propelled guns "Msta-S".
In total, the Slovaks ordered 25 of these machines. Now they don't know where to put it.
About shooting at 40 km - we are talking about Excalibur active-rocket projectiles. The usual "Suzana" shoots, like everyone else - 22-24 km, depending on weather conditions and position.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 31 2022 22:26 utc | 87
Posted by: sln2002 | May 31 2022 22:23 utc | 87
Suggest you reread what you wrote. Then reread this: "How Russia achieves them is behind a fog of smoke and mirrors." Then think about it rather more deeply.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 31 2022 22:28 utc | 88
A new generation of US-trained extremists is fighting Russia. Are we prepared for the blowback? (The Grayzone, T.J. Coles, May 31, 2022)
Posted by: S | May 31 2022 22:30 utc | 89
Comment from Army Russia Telegram channel on an article from Britain's Daily Express... About time some reality sunk in.
Daily Express: Britain has no means of intercepting Russian "Daggers"The UK does not have the means to intercept Russian hypersonic and ballistic missiles, says international relations expert Professor Andrew Futter of the University of Leicester.
Almost from the very beginning of the Cold War, the UK has relied on deterrence, because missile defense is extremely expensive, and in some cases it is simply impossible to provide, - said the scientist, in an interview with the Daily Express.
The publication published a list of targets in the United Kingdom, which, "Russia is capable of destroying in 20 minutes." These are six military air bases - including Mildenhall, from where reconnaissance aircraft and US strategic bombers fly to the borders of Russia - and three naval bases. One of them, the Clyde in Scotland, is home to the Royal Navy's Trident II ballistic missile submarines.
“At the core of British policy is the threat of a nuclear retaliatory strike in response to an attack,” Futter explained. - We have at our disposal naval deterrents deployed since the 60s. And the United Kingdom has not invested in missile defense technology since the 90s.
The Kinzhal hypersonic missile is the only Russian "superweapon" that is actually used during a special operation in Ukraine.
This is an Iskander land-based missile modified for aviation use. It is capable of accelerating to Mach 10 and has a range of 2,000 kilometers,” said analyst Alex Lord. - Missiles are launched from MiG-31K aircraft. Some of them are deployed in Kaliningrad, which makes it possible to strike at the UK.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 31 2022 22:44 utc | 90
Another needless death, courtesy of the US:
https://citizenfitz09.blogspot.com/2022/05/ukrainian-girl.html
Posted by: Citizenfitz | May 31 2022 22:44 utc | 91
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 31 2022 22:28 utc | 89
I read that before I posted, and I meant what I said. MoA correspondents are deeply puzzled about how RF will execute, enforce, any and all provisions of a treaty concluding hostilities. Few have gotten further than territorial sops to appease Poland. Some wonder how to de-nazify and de-militarized (neutralize) prospective DPR and LPR jurisdictions. Some are content to fanticize violent punishment. These thoughts are analagous to business ideas, "smoke and mirrors" as you imply, notably without reference to DPR or LPR goverment pro temp; "smoke and mirrors" is neither a mission statement or constitutional framework capable of inducing cooperative industry nor business plans.
Posted by: sln2002 | May 31 2022 22:47 utc | 92
Posted by: sln2002 | May 31 2022 22:47 utc | 93
Yes, "MoA" - or at least your crowd - are "puzzled". And well they should be - which is the fucking point you have completely missed. No surprise there.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 31 2022 23:00 utc | 93
Gonzalo Lira better watch his butt again... From Donbass Insider Telegram channel... The Kraken unit is the one everyone thought grabbed him the first time.
In the Kharkiv region, militants of the national battalion "Kraken" carry out punitive raids⠀Militants of the nationalist unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine "Kraken" are conducting punitive raids on the territory of the Kharkiv region, looking for citizens who sympathize with Russia, Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the National Center for Defense Control (NTsUO) of the Russian Federation, said on May 30.
“In the Kharkiv region, militants of the Kraken nationalist unit, formed mainly of radicals and rapists and murderers released from prisons, carry out punitive raids, during which the so-called death squads break into the houses of local residents at night, suspected by the SBU of pro-Russian sentiments, expose them to physical violence and taken away in an unknown direction,” Mizintsev specified.
According to him, dozens of people were detained by Ukrainian nationalists, but no information has yet been received about what happened to them afterwards.
The head of the NCUO emphasized that such criminal acts, carried out at the suggestion of the current Ukrainian authorities, are clear evidence of Kyiv's inhuman attitude towards its own population and absolute disregard for the norms of international humanitarian law.
In his opinion, the collective West does not intend to impartially investigate such facts and identify those responsible. Instead, Western politicians prefer to turn a blind eye to Kyiv's multiple violations of international conventions, shifting the blame for them to the Russian side.
@ia_rossa (https://t.me/ia_rossa/18017)
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 31 2022 23:02 utc | 94
karlof1 @ the above stated:
'"IMO, a treaty along the lines both Russia and Iran have suggested will be implemented and the Outlaw US Empire's presence in the Persian Gulf region will finally cease, which would be a huge coup for humanity."
From your thoughts to the Universal ear hopefully.
Posted by: vetinLA | May 31 2022 23:11 utc | 95
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 31 2022 23:00 utc | 94
I don't have a crowd, but you have a distinctive M.O.
I simply read the last three threads, beginning to end, without comment.
Posted by: sln2002 | May 31 2022 23:12 utc | 96
Discussion from Rybar Telegram channel via Colonel Cassad channel on Ukraine's preparations for another attempt to recover Snake Island... As I said before, Ukraine doesn't learn.
🇺🇦 (https://i.ibb.co/fkBx5Jk/31-05-01.jpg)When will the next attempt of the Armed Forces attack on Serpentine?We have repeatedly written (https://t.me/rybar/33219) about the preparation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the next operation on Zmeiny Island.
The command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and, in particular, the Western advisers in charge of it, have taken into account past failures, and are now preparing more thoroughly.The main task for the Armed Forces of Ukraine is to obtain Western weapons. The Ukrainian command is awaiting the delivery of Harpoon anti-ship missiles (https://t.me/rybar/33160), which are necessary to destroy ships of the Russian Navy.
At present, the Ukrainian forces are actively conducting training on landing on an unequipped coast.
There is a reconnaissance of the positions of the Russian Armed Forces on the island with the help of the Bayraktar UAV.
In addition, since May 25, the strategic UAV RQ-4B Global Hawk of the US Air Force and RQ-4D Phoenix of the NATO Air Force have been operating daily in the Black Sea waters, which monitor the activities of the ship group of the Russian Navy.
Yesterday, a joint training session was held to organize communications between units of the 73rd SOF center, Navy boats, and the 14th Air Force Tank Brigade of Ukraine. The leadership was carried out by the staff of the Main Intelligence Directorate with the KP grouping of heterogeneous forces, which we wrote about earlier (https://t.me/rybar/32824).
Anti-aircraft missile systems have been deployed in the area of Desantnoye and Glubokoye to cover units from missile strikes.
In the coastal zone from Odessa to Zatoka, marine security boats "Grigory Kuropyatnikov", "Balaklava", "Krym", "Nikolaev" and "Odessa", equipped with Western-made MANPADS, are on constant duty.
High resolution infographic (https://i.ibb.co/fkBx5Jk/31-05-01.jpg)
#Snake #Odessa #Ukraine
@rybar
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Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 31 2022 23:15 utc | 97
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 31 2022 23:15 utc | 98
There you go again! Tell us more about tech advantages and waste.
Posted by: sln2002 | May 31 2022 23:18 utc | 98
The EU Needs More Than $1 Trillion For Plan To Ditch Russian Oil And Gas From Oilprice.com.
Its actually more than 1 trillion Euro:
"Assuming an average cost for solar PV of €1.1 million per megawatt (MW) of installed capacity, installing 411 GW between now and 2030 would represent an investment of €452 billion. Reaching 45% renewable energy supply by 2030 additionally requires significant investments in wind capacity – for which the plan does not have a lot of detail. Rystad Energy’s estimates suggest another 450-490 GW of wind capacity would need to be installed by 2030 to reach the target of 45% renewable energy supply, requiring an additional €820 billion in investments."
That's 1.3 trillion Euro, plus all the grid updates and then add in the cost of moving heating over to electrical instead of natural gas, plus the cost of all those closed ICE car plants and at least 2 trillion Euros. Then the cost of all that overpriced US military shit. No money left for the plebs, but lots of scope for profiteering. And a few other issues:
"Regardless of the total amount being assigned to new renewable energy developments, the figures seem to fall considerably below the required additional investment needed in power transmission, storage, gas infrastructure, and hydrogen production. Furthermore, such a large demand for new capacity will put additional pressure on the supply chain for solar panel and wind turbine manufacturing and could lead to a further increase in costs for these technologies ... While the targets are achievable, it will require wartime-like planning, levels of investment, construction, and production to meet goals by 2030"
They needed a war.
Look it up. It lists "Black Sea Powers". It is the successor of the Peace Treaty of Sèvres, 10 August, 1920 which superceded the Treaty of Lausanne, because Allied Forces never give up territory without a fight.
sln2002@71
So what point are you making? I was simply pointing out that Turkey, which does not always act exactly according to its Treaty Obligations, has, in effect, vetoed a projected NATO provocation in the form of a naval exercise.
If that doesn't interest you, OK. But it will interest others. If you want to be offensive please stick to your sparring partner RS Hack who seems to enjoy such point scoring.
Posted by: bevin | May 31 2022 23:27 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
Perhaps Azov can learn from these guys:
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/heil-hipster-the-young-neo-nazis-trying-to-put-a-stylish-face-on-hate-64736/
Posted by: Ursula Zandt | May 31 2022 16:21 utc | 1