Ukraine: US Lies, Provocation, Broken Promises, Fake News

[Anthea]

US could stop pumping arms into Ukraine

The days when Congress unanimously supported the US giving arms and equipment to Ukraine are seemingly over, with widespread support for aid dwindling as House Republicans are questioning whether American taxpayers' money would be better spent either against China or the economic hardship that is facing the United States, members of Congress have reported, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Since the start of the war, the US has given Ukraine $15.8 billion for "security assistance", which includes a package worth $600 million in early September. Additionally, the White House asked Congress for $13.7 billion for "security and economic assistance" for Ukraine, which the body must pass by the end of the month to keep the Ukrainian government standing.

The opposition to aid to Ukraine is growing; not because the continuous flow of arms would only prolong the war, but because Republican members of Congress cannot justify spending so much money overseas when their country is grappling with various economic and financial crises, most notably soaring inflation

[Anthea]

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Calls for New Global Leadership at the United Nations

The Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, assured that geopolitical conflicts can be resolved with quality global leadership, and reproached the international community for its indifference in the face of escalating aggressions

During his speech at the 77th UN General Assembly, Gonsalves urged the United Nations to intervene drastically to end the wars being waged in Ukraine, Yemen and Syria.

He also called for intervention to end the oppression of the Palestinian people, and condemned the economic blockade imposed on Cuba and attempts to overthrow democratic governments such as those in Venezuela and Nicaragua.

The Vincentian prime minister urged the incorporation of new ideas that would lead to renewed global governance, since, he said, the old ideas of powerful nations dominating the world justified by their presumption of exceptionalism or their riches have been left behind.

"I ask the relevant and disturbing questions: what's new, what world, and who gives the orders? The future of humanity depends on satisfactory answers to these questions," he argued.

He emphasized that the achievement of security, sustainable development, peace and an equitable agenda leading to a civilized and productive life throughout the world depends on the establishment of such global leadership.

He rejected the dangerous vanities, delusional conceits and arrogance of men and women in power, particularly in the global centers of imperialism and in the places of those intoxicated with the quest for hegemony

Gonsalves described the challenges his nation has faced in recent months, noting the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the 32 volcanic eruptions in the country, the passage of Hurricane Elsa and the effects of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

He highlighted that, in spite of this scenario, the people of San Vicente have been recovering and "embrace a new hope".

He thanked the Caribbean community and international organizations such as the UN World Food Program, the World Bank and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) for their support to St. Vincent and the Grenadines in this context.

He assured that this type of initiative must go from occasional support to continuous solidarity in order to prosper globally.

The member countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People's Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP) evaluated on Friday the most pressing challenges facing the region and the world at a Political Council meeting. @telesurenglish pic.twitter.com/FvAHjp6qfg
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) September 24, 2022

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/St. ... -0002.html

[Anthea]

LPR, DPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye

vote for reunification with Russia

All four regions have said their word; they voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining Russia

The results of the referenda on the accession of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions to the country, have been released by Moscow.

The head of the regional electoral committee Galina Katyushchenko declared that 93.11% of voters supported reunification with Russia, as 100% of ballots have been counted in the Zaporozhye Region.

Lugansk People's Republic

In the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), 98.42% of voters backed accession to Russia, as per the head of the regional electoral committee, Elena Kravchenko.

"With 100% of the protocols of precinct commissions processed, 98.42% voted for the republic's entry into the Russian Federation," Kravchenko said.

Kherson

In the Kherson region, 87.05% of voters supported reunification with Russia, according to the head of the regional election commission, Marina Zakharova.

"A total of 497,051 (87.05%) participants in the referendum answered 'Yes' to the question put forward at the referendum 'Are for the withdrawal of the Kherson region from Ukraine, the formation of an independent state by the Kherson region and its entry into the Russian Federation as a constituent entity of the Russian Federation?'" she said.

Donetsk People's Republic

With all referenda counted, Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) reported 99.23% of voters in favor of becoming part of Russia.

There were 2,133,326 voters who voted, accounting for 97.51% of the total number of voters, as per the DPR central election commission.

Meanwhile, more than a hundred foreign observers from 40 countries, excluding specialists from Russia, attending the referenda in the Lugansk and Donetsk people’s republics, as well as in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, on joining the Russian Federation, reported no violations, with the exception of threats and shelling from Ukraine.

The voting in the referenda of DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye, and Kherson's accession to the Russian Federation has begun early on Friday.

Residents of the Zaporozhye and Kherson areas joined the initiative last Tuesday after local public organizations submitted identical demands to their authorities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has lately indicated in a televised address last Wednesday that Russia will support the referenda results.

NATO countries came together to condemn the referenda, according to a statement revealed last Thursday.

On his account, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has lately threatened Russia with new sanctions in the event of referenda after White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated that the US condemned the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye, and Kherson referenda to join Russia as "sham" actions and asserted that the US would not recognize the results.

The referenda, according to Sullivan, and a reported Russian plan to mobilize more soldiers, reflect Moscow's recent military defeats, including ceding sizable amounts of land to the Ukrainian military.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the Russian military took control of the Azov part of Zaporozhye and Kherson, liberating large cities, such as Kherson, Melitopol, and Berdiansk, and cutting off Kiev from the Sea of Azov.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... ion-with-r

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Thank you, USA

Former Polish minister and member of the European Parliament Radoslaw Sikorski thanked the US for the Nord Stream 2 explosions

Former Polish minister and member of the European Parliament Radoslaw Sikorski had no reservations about who could have been responsible for Monday's Nord Stream pipeline explosion that shut off Germany from Russian gas.

On Tuesday, Sikorski tweeted "Thank you USA," along with a picture of the massive gas spill in the Baltic Sea. Off the shore of the Danish island of Bornholm, both pipelines sustained significant damage in what is now largely seen as a premeditated attack.

In addition to Sikoski’s comments, Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister of Poland, according to Prowy news agency, called the Nord Stream incident "an act of sabotage, related to the next step of escalation of the situation in Ukraine."

In response, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova questioned if Sikorsky's tweet constituted an “official statement that this was a terrorist attack.”

Furthermore, Sikorski was thanked for "making it crystal clear who stands behind this terrorist-style targeting of civilian infrastructure," according to Dmitry Polyanskiy, Moscow's deputy ambassador to the UN.

Sikorski is not just any MEP; he was formerly a citizen of the UK, a fellow at multiple US and NATO think tanks, and Poland's former defense (2005-2007), and foreign minister (2007-2014)

It is also worth noting that the MEP is wed to American commentator Anne Applebaum, a staunch critic of Russia.

He was forced to retract a statement he had made, in October 2014, after it was revealed that he had made up the claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to divide Ukraine with Warsaw.

In January 2022, Sikorski referred to Russia as a "serial rapist," and in June, he told Ukraine's Espreso TV that NATO had the right to provide Kiev with nuclear weapons.

Additionally, Kiev blamed Russia at the same time Sikorski thanked the US.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s adviser, Mikhail Podoliak, claimed that the incident was “a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression towards EU,” arguing the best course of action to respond to this attack would be to provide the Ukrainian army with German tanks.

In February of 2022, and prior to the Russian special operation in Ukraine, US President Joe Biden threatened to terminate the existence of the civilian infrastructure of Nord Stream 2 when he said that "If Russia invades...then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it."

When pointed out to him that Nord Stream 2 is not only civilian but also under German sovereignty, Biden made it clear that the US considered that collateral information and damage as he replied saying "I promise you, we will be able to do that."

Biden in Feb 2022: "If Russia invades...then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it."

Q: "But how will you do that, exactly, since...the project is in Germany's control?"

Biden: "I promise you, we will be able to do that."pic.twitter.com/e091ddF4Pv https://t.co/DHaCuETo8y
— Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) September 27, 2022

People across Eurasia have a lot to say in response to the diplomatic war. One example is that of the Coordinator of the International Secretariat of Progressive International who is based in Berlin. Pawel Wargan responded to Sikorski's "Thank you, USA" tweet by pointing out that the Polish official is praising a US attack on German territory.

Poland’s former Foreign Minister, a sitting member of the European Parliament, is praising what he suggests is a US attack on part-German-owned civilian infrastructure, which could condemn millions to poverty in a frigid winter. I am speechless. https://t.co/QqtdPDIdJc
— Paweł Wargan (@pawelwargan) September 27, 2022

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... ion:-thank

[Anthea]

Click image to enlarge:



DPR, LPR, Kherson, Zaparozhye are safe

After 2 peace agreements (Minsk and Minsk 2) were broken by Ukraine central government and 8 years of attacks in which thousands of innocent people were slaughtered by Ukrainian government, the people of DPR, LPR, Kherson, Zaparozhye are now (by choice) part of Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin announces that the liberated - formally Ukrainian - regions are now and forever part of Russia

The landmark address had been awaited since the results of the referenda of the liberated Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions' accession to Russia came out.

"Contrary to the direct will of the people, the [Soviet Union] was ruined, and the people were confronted with a fact. We cannot go back to the past. And Russia no longer needs it. But there is nothing stronger than the determination of millions of people who consider themselves part of Russia, whose ancestors lived in a single state for centuries," President Putin added.

"There is nothing stronger than the determination of these people to return to their true historical fatherland," the Russian leader underlined.

KURDS TAKE HEED

He announced that the people living in the DPR, LPR, Kherson, and Zaparozhye "have become [Russian] citizens forever. I want people in Kiev and their real owners to listen to me; we call on Kiev to enter an immediate ceasefire to end the war they initiated back in 2014."

Putin announced Russia's formal recognition of the independence of the DPR and LPR in late February. This led to Ukraine escalating against the republics and using various tactics to try and undermine their leadership and hurt their civilians.

Putin went on to explain that the opinion of the peoples of the liberated regions was not up for discussion with Kiev. "Russia will not betray them."

The President promised to protect Russia's territories, by all means, saying Moscow would rebuild all the leveled cities and towns and back the industrial sector, develop enterprises, upgrade the infrastructure, and introduce healthcare systems.

"The West's claims to world domination have been shattered more than once by the courage of our soldiers," Putin said in light of various military feats achieved by the Russian military in Ukraine. "Russia is a thousand-year-old country-civilization that will not live by rigged rules."

He was referencing the fact that several bodies and states have said they would not recognize the accession of the regions to Russia and the fact that the UN Security Council even moved to condemn the referendum.

The resolution - drafted by the United States and Albania - has no chance of passing thanks to Moscow's veto power, though it can then be presented to the United Nations General Assembly.

"The West does not and never had the moral right to stutter about freedoms and democracy. They divide the world into their vassals and everyone else who, according to the plan of the Western racists, should join the list of 'barbarians' and 'savages'," Putin underlined.

He then pointed out that the West has been upholding its colonialist practices, saying its elites "are what they were and have remained so - colonialist. We have never accepted and will never accept this political racism. What, if not racism, is Russophobia spreading in the world?"

"We are proud that in the 20th century, it was our country that opened the anti-colonial movement," the Russian President added.
US subverts its allies

Putin recalled how the United States, alongside the United Kingdom, ran Germany into the ground and leveled its cities. "This was done defiantly, without any need, in order to intimidate both our country and the whole world."

He highlighted how Washington has occupied its closest "allies", such as Germany, Japan, and South Korea, while "cynically calling them equal allies."

"They call their development of biological weapons and conducting of human experimentation 'noble medical research'," Putin underlined.

"The goal of the United States is the deindustrialization of Europe, and European elites understand this. This is not even servility, but a direct betrayal of their peoples," the Russian leader explained.
West behind Nord Stream explosions

"The Anglo-Saxons turned to sabotage by organizing explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines," Putin said, explicitly accusing the US and its allies of carrying out the attacks on Russia's Baltic Sea natural gas pipelines.

"By starting a sanctions blitzkrieg against the Russian Federation, the West believed that it could 'build' the whole world on its own command. But such a prospect excites only political masochists and fans of other non-traditional forms of international relations," Putin said.

"People cannot be accumulated with printed dollars and euros, and inflated virtual capitalization cannot heat up your home. You can not feed people with papers," the Russian people said in criticism of Europe's policy toward Russia.

"There is every reason to believe that the West is not going to look for a constructive way out of the food and energy crisis. There are fears that they are ready to use other recipes familiar to them," he added in a hint to the West not being willing to sit at a negotiations table with Russia due to its ability to provide its markets with what they need.

"The profits from World War II allowed the United States to impose the power of the dollar on the planet, and the imminent crisis of the 80s was overcome by appropriating the legacy and resources of the Soviet Union. Now they need at all costs to break Russia and other states that choose a sovereign course of development."

Anti-unipolar hegemony movement

"A liberation movement against unipolar hegemony is developing all over the world," Putin said. "Today, we are fighting to make dictatorship and despotism forever a thing of the past. We must turn this shameful page. The collapse of Western hegemony that has begun is irreversible. It won't be like before."

He also highlighted how the US was moving to contain Russia, China, and Iran, but other countries were next in line, "including current partners and allies of Washington."

I believe that other countries in Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, as well as current partners and allies of the United States are next in line," Putin said.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... orever:-pu

[Anthea]

Ukrainians behind Darya's assassination

The United States intelligence agencies believe that bodies pertaining to the Ukrainian government have authorized the car bomb attack which killed political philosopher Alexander Dugin's daughter, Darya Dugina. The US officials providing the information in question divulged it to The New York Times

US officials fear that this part of Washington's covert campaign could widen the scope and severity of the conflict.

The officials noted that the US may have provided intelligence or other forms of assistance, while officials at home say they were not aware of the operation beforehand, and had they been consulted, they would have opposed the assassination.

Evidence of Ukrainian complicity was shared with US governmental officials last week, against a background of Kiev denying involvement in killing Dugina. Top Ukrainian officials kept repeating those denials, particularly when asked about Washington's intelligence involvement.

According to the NYT, US officials have been dissatisfied with Kiev's lack of transparency about its military and covert schemes on Russian soil in particular.

As for the real target of the assassination, some US officials speculate that Dugina's father, a Russian intellectual, was the actual target and not his daughter.

The bodies in the Ukrainian government that may have planned out the assassination were not disclosed. Whether the Ukrainian president authorized the assassination or not was also in question, and was not disclosed.

In late August, The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) revealed that Ukrainian citizen Vovk Natalya, part of the Ukrainian special services, was behind the murder.

"The crime was prepared and committed by the Ukrainian special services. The performer is a citizen of Ukraine Vovk Natalya ... born in 1979, who arrived in Russia on July 23, 2022, together with her daughter ... In order to organize the murder of D. Dugina and obtain information about her lifestyle, they rented an apartment in Moscow in the house where the deceased lived," the FSB said.

The assassination was carried out at 21:35 Moscow time. Witnesses divulged that the explosion happened in the middle of the road, where debris and metal wreckage scattered in the air right before the car crashed into a fence, as seen in photos and videos.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/mis ... ssassinati

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Hungary Secures Exemptions

On Thursday, Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Szijjarto said that his country has secured exemptions from crude oil and nuclear energy sanctions at an European Union (EU) Heads of Missions meeting in Brussels

"As a result of difficult negotiations, a price cap on crude oil will not be applied to pipeline deliveries or to emergency replacement seaborne deliveries," he said.

The Hungarian exemption also applies to constructing a new nuclear power plant in Paks, a central Hungarian city. Russian nuclear giant Rosatom is to build the plant

Foreign Affairs Minister Szijjarto added that institutes important to cooperation in nuclear energy research and development are also exempted.

"As we have already said many times before, the Hungarian government will not support any sanctions that cause harm to Hungary or the Hungarian people," he stressed, following the meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU.

Late Tuesday night, EU ambassadors reached a preliminary agreement on the 8th round of sanctions against Russia, including a price cap on Russian oil sales.

Hungary, however, is highly dependent on Russian oil and gas and has always been opposed to energy sanctions, calling them a "red line."

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Hun ... -0002.html

[Anthea]

Russia Opens Criminal Investigation

On Saturday, the Russian government opened a criminal investigation into the explosion of a cargo truck that caused a fire and the collapse of two sections of the bridge road linking the Crimean peninsula with the rest of Russian territory

Russia's Investigative Committee said it had "launched a criminal investigation in connection with the incident on the Crimean bridge."

From the Kremlin they noted that officials of the Investigative Committee are establishing all the circumstances of the incident and the persons involved in the crime.

The spokesman of the Russian Government indicated to the Russian media and official agencies that President Vladimir Putin ordered the creation of a governmental commission to clarify the facts of the incident.

According to the Russian National Anti-Terrorist Committee, at 06H07 on the road side of the Crimean bridge, there was an explosion of a cargo truck, causing the fire of seven railway tankers on their way to the peninsula, causing the partial collapse of two lanes of the bridge.

After the fire on the bridge was confirmed, the head of the Crimean Assembly, Vladimir Konstantinov, was quick to accuse Ukraine of the events on the bridge linking the peninsula with the rest of Russia.

Hours after the incident, the Russian Agency for the Sea and Inland Waters restored maritime transit in the vicinity of the bridge and the Kerch Strait.

The Crimean bridge is essential for the transport of people and goods to the peninsula, but also for the provisioning of Russian troops involved in the special military operation in eastern Ukraine.

The bridge, opened in 2018 and promoted by order of President Vladimir Putin, is the symbol of the annexation of the peninsula to Russia in 2014.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Rus ... -0001.html

[Anthea]

Massive rallies across Europe

The EU's punitive measures on Russia have backfired on their own citizens

Multiple rallies took place today in some of the EU's major capital cities over soaring prices and the crushing costs of living.

Since the beginning of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, the EU sought to contain Russia through the imposition of various sanctionary and punitive mechanisms.

But due to the EU's overreliance on Russian gas, anti-Russian sanctions have caused more damage to EU citizens than they did to Russia, and as EU governments struggle to find alternatives to Russian oil, the masses are taking to the streets to voice their opposition to NATO's proxy war on Ukraine.

Prague: "Five Minutes to Midnight"

Thousands of people gathered in Prague’s Wenceslas Square on Saturday in protest of the government's incapacity to address the crushing costs of living and the downgrade in living standards,

The protests were called "Five Minutes to Midnight" by their organizers, the Czech Confederation of Trade Unions, because they wanted to point out the incompetence of the government in dealing with the rising costs of living. The president of the confederation Josef Stredula said that people took over the streets over fears of "tomorrow, fear to lose their job and leave their families without money."

Numerous actions in Prague against anti-Russian sanctions, Nazi Ukraine, its own government and poverty#EuropeanUnion #crisis #sanctions #protests #Czech #Prague pic.twitter.com/IpzwxuDXY6
— Alexander Ivanov (@innova_center) October 8, 2022

Activists are calling on the government to introduce regulations on food prices, basic goods, electricity, and gas and to raise the minimum wage.

In light of the upcoming presidential election that is scheduled to take place in January 2023, some media sources are suspecting Stredula of using mass protests to gather more popular support.

Berlin: "I want Russian gas and oil."

Germany's far-right group, the AfD, gathered in front of Berlin's Reichstag building today to protest the rising cost of living in light of soaring energy prices.

The AfD protesters then began to march across the city whose co-leader accused the government of waging a war against the German people by causing an energy crisis through the sanctioning of Russia. The police estimate that about 8,000 participants took part in the rallies.

Although the group encountered several counterdemonstrations on its way, some of the protestors in the AfD rally were seen waving not only German flags but also Russian flags, including the imperial Reichskrieg flag which is used as a far-right symbol.
— dkenna (@bigDkenna1) October 8, 2022

Tino Chrupalla, the AfD co-leader, demanded that sanctions on Russia be lifted and called for Economy Minister Robert Habeck to resign over his reckless policy which caused him to wage a war on the German population instead of Moscow.

While many were seen chanting "Away with Habeck!" Chrupalla went off on the Minister's Green Party for pushing ahead on the imposing of a cap on gas prices

"The Greens want our country to be poor and weak," he said during the rallies.

"We don't need a cap on gas prices; we have to put a cap on the Greens," he said, adding that "gas price will become normal again when we buy cheap gas from Russia,"

Chrupalla noted that purchasing gas from the US and the UAE, as Germany plans to do, is just as morally suspect.

Co-leader, Alice Weidel, was scheduled to deliver a speech but canceled due to illness.

Vienna: "Prices Down!"

The Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) has been hosting a series of protests in the past few days in the streets of Austria's capital, Vienna, to protest the government's "inactivity" in addressing rising energy costs.

Protests were held again today over citizens' dissatisfaction with the government's incapacity to deal with the current economic crisis. The key demands citizens are calling for are the imposition of a price cap for heating, suspension of VAT on groceries and public transport tickets, lower taxes on fuel, and a freeze on rents.

Anti-government protests are continuing around the world. This time, in Vienna, Austria, thousands marched to protest sanctions on Russia and resulting oil & gas price-increases. Take a look.pic.twitter.com/2OzYYAxuvk
— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) October 7, 2022

"With every day that the government remains inactive in the fight against inflation, prices rise and the concerns of employees increase," said ÖGB state chairman Andreas Stangl in yesterday's protest. He criticized, "One-off payments only work once, but it is to be feared that inflation will remain. Something must finally be done now to bring prices down and stop inflation!"

More protests are underway as the ÖGB plans to host a series of rallies from October 10 to October 14. The whole week will be dedicated to "high-profile" protests under the motto “Prices down”.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... living-cos

[Anthea]

Russia appeals over Kupyansk execution

Russian Human Rights Council chief Valery Fadeev appealed to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, the Red Cross, and Amnesty International over footage showing the execution of civilians near Kupyansk, the Russian Human Rights Council said

A former commander of the Azov nationalist battalion, Maxim Zhorin, published last week footage showing the bodies of killed civilians with their hands tied in Kupyansk, Kharkov.

After the video went viral, Zhorin claimed that Russian servicemen had a hand in the civilians' murder.

On the other hand, the report of the Russian Investigative Committee revealed that the video's metadata indicated that it was recently filmed, specifically during the period when the Ukrainian forces were in control of the region. The video's internal parameters show that it was filmed on the afternoon of October 9.

According to the Investigative Committee, the aforementioned facts show new war crimes committed by Kiev against innocent civilians.

This would not be the first time, as a video that began circulating around March 27 showed three men in fatigues with their hands tied behind their backs. They were thrown to the ground by Ukrainian soldiers who proceeded to shoot them in the legs.

AFP reported that they were able to geolocalise the footage to the village of Mala Rogan outside Kharkov, recently seized by Kiev's forces. Correspondents made it to the village on March 28 and saw the bodies of two Russian soldiers on its streets with shopping bags on their heads

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine tweeted this photo of himself. Just so you know where the billions worth of weapons from the US and EU are going. https://t.co/5V0N2k1JBc pic.twitter.com/OzMqT03NZU
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) October 9, 2022

Human Rights Watch called on Kiev to investigate "possible" war crimes after the footage emerged.

"Russian presidential aide, HRC Chairman Valery Fadeev. on Monday sent appeals to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Amnesty International, the European Council and the European Parliament in connection with the appearance of a video of executions of civilians near Kupyansk," the statement says.

In the letter, Fadeev underlined how "the video testifies to extrajudicial killings, the physical destruction of people who show a civil position and dare to oppose official Kiev."

The situation is aggravated by the fact that the Ukrainian authorities previously publicly announced the conduct of "tough cleansing" and "filtration measures."

"We call on you and the international community to take the information presented seriously and to achieve an international investigation into the crimes recorded on the video," the letter said.

Ukraine has been accused by Amnesty International of violating international humanitarian law protocols by endangering civilians during the ongoing military conflict with Russia.

According to the organization, it has been operating weapons out of bases established in residential areas while civilians are present, which breaches rule 23 of Article 58(b) of Additional Protocol I that separates military objectives and civilian populations.

As NATO continues to support providing ammunition to Ukraine, schools were not exempt, as Amnesty International also found that Ukraine had established military bases in 22 out of 29 schools in the Donbass and Mykolaiv regions during the investigation, which resulted in multiple deaths and injuries according to the World Health Organization

The Azov Battalion, with far-right and ultranationalist roots, has been one of Ukraine's most visible military forces fighting Russia in eastern Ukraine. It is a former volunteer unit incorporated into Ukraine's army, which was declared a terrorist organization by Russia's Supreme Court.

Russia has frequently referenced Azov to bolster its claim that Ukraine is under the hands of "fascists".

The Azov Battalion is not the only body in Ukraine with a Nazi background. An armed guard who works for the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has been spotted with a Nazi insignia; a symbol that dates back to Nazi Germany during World War II.

The skull-and-bones image, which was spotted on the back of a heavily armed Ukrainian soldier, is attributed to the SS-Totenkopfverbande units of Nazi Germany's paramilitary Schutzstaffel, which was responsible for maintaining security at the concentration camps in which Jews were burned alive.

The symbol was also adopted by the Panzer Division – the ‘Totenkopf’ – of the Waffen-SS, which emerged from concentration camp guards initially, going on to fight on the Eastern front, committing serious war crimes.

The United States and Canada over the years have aided the neo-Nazi units with weapons and training, strengthening their presence in Ukraine.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... -execution

[Anthea]

Putin Offers Additional

Gas Supply to Europe

Russia is ready to deliver additional volumes of natural gas to the European Union in the autumn-winter period, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday

One of the two branches of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has survived the recent leak incident and Russia is willing to send gas through it to Europe, Putin said at the plenary session of the "Russian Energy Week" international forum in Moscow.

"Its capacity is 27.5 billion cubic meters per year, which is about 8 percent of all gas imports of Europe. Russia is ready to start such deliveries. The ball is on the side of the European Union," he said.

Russia could also transfer the lost volumes through the Nord Stream pipelines to the Black Sea region and create key supply routes to Europe via Türkiye, "if, of course, our partners are interested in this," he added.

At the forum, Putin expressed concerns about unstable energy prices and an imbalance in supply and demand, and he criticized certain countries "who are guided solely by their own geopolitical ambitions, resort to outright discrimination in the market."

He called the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines "an act of international terrorism."

Putin said that those behind the sabotage sought to break ties completely between Russia and the European Union, weaken Europe's industrial potential and seize the market.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Put ... -0014.html

[Anthea]

Members of the Islamic State are now fighting on the side of the Ukrainian Nazi government

Money for their services is being paid to both the fighters and the Islamic State governing body

However: as much of the money and a large portion of arms sent from the US to Ukraine has vanished and is being sold on the dark web. There is also a great possibility that some of those weapons are being given to ISIS in exchange for their support

[Anthea]

Hungary on Sanctions Against Russia

On Friday, the government of Hungary launched a "national consultation" survey, asking citizens for their opinions on the European Union's (EU) sanctions against Russia

"We believe that the Brussels sanctions are destroying us. Have your say too," the government said in a Facebook post presenting the seven questions.

The questions relate to the EU's existing or planned sanctions, including those on Russia's deliveries of oil, gas, raw materials and nuclear fuel, as well as the Moscow-backed expansion of the Paks nuclear power plant, and the sanctions' impact on tourism and food prices.

Although Hungary's government led by Viktor Orban has voted for all the EU's sanctions packages --in exchange for exemptions from sanctions on energy --the prime minister has been a harsh critic of the West's sanctions in recent months.

"Further obsession with the sanctions, if I may say so, will inevitably lead to the most complex and difficult to reverse consequences for the European Union, for its citizens, as well as for the poorest countries in the world, which are already facing the risks of famine, pic.twitter.com/gU5cdTWGXG
— Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil (@ivan_8848) May 13, 2022

Addressing the inaugural autumn session of Hungary's Parliament in late September, Orban said that "Brussels shot itself in the foot" with the sanctions. He argued that families across Europe have to pay the price of the sanctions in their energy bills.

On Friday morning, in a radio interview, he blamed the sanctions for Hungary's record inflation rate of over 20 percent. The government's "national consultation" consists of a questionnaire mailed to every household.

People can respond by mail or online. Orban said on Friday that the government will use the results as a political tool in its "fights in Brussels."

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Hun ... -0006.html

[Anthea]

Russia requested a one million barrels reduction in OPEC production, but Saudi Arabia insisted on a two million barrels reduction, which was a surprise to Putin:

Finally countries/populations are turning away from the propaganda and learning the TRUTH for themselves

[Anthea]

Click Image to Enlarge:

Free heating centers in EU

The Russian agency for foreign humanitarian cooperation announces opening its centers in the EU equipped with free electricity and heating to help citizens fight the winter amid the energy crisis hitting Europe

As winter is just around the corner, the Russian agency for foreign humanitarian cooperation, Rossotrudnichestvo, announced launching an initiative that aims to "warm the hearts of freezing European families" where European citizens will be able to visit their fully heated centers equipped with electricity to charge their electronic devices, all for free.

"For as long as gas and electricity prices keep up, the centers will work as heating hubs," Rossotrudnichestvo said in a statement on Telegram.

The visitors will also be able to watch movies, and cartoons for children all while charging their phones and drinking a hot cup of tea free of charge.

Rossotrudnichestvo added that "with the onset of autumn cold and wet weather in Europe, Russian Houses are starting the 'From Russia with warmth' campaign. Amid temperatures falling outside and, what's more, inside homes, the Russian Houses and cultural centers in European capitals are opening their doors to everyone starting today."

The Director of Russian House in Brussels, Vera Bunina, stressed that the centers are open to everyone who, "values communication, mutual understanding, and warmth," without discrimination based on political views.

"In the face of growing social tensions in Europe, as well as Russophobia, the Russian Houses’ humanitarian campaign should demonstrate our traditional hospitality and warm the hearts of freezing European families," the statement added.

The disruptions in supply chains following Russia's operation in Ukraine and the subsequent comprehensive Western sanctions imposed on Russia caused a sharp increase in energy and food prices across the EU, where most EU countries by now have resorted to rationing electricity while citizens are suffering from increased energy prices, sometimes costing more than a months salary in across the EU, as the energy crisis is expected to be further aggravated with winter on the doors.

EU governments have been urging citizens to limit house heating and curb consumption of electricity and gas.

Protests and rallies have been taking place in some of the EU's major capital cities over soaring prices and the crushing costs of living, as anti-Russian sanctions have caused more damage to EU citizens than they did to Russia, and as EU governments struggle to find alternatives to Russian oil, the masses are taking to the streets to voice their opposition to NATO's proxy war on Ukraine.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/mis ... h-a-warm-c