Foreign officials resign from boards of Russian corporations

A former Austrian chancellor says he is quitting Russian Railways amid the Ukraine offensive

Former European officials began withdrawing from the boards of Russian fully or partially state-controlled companies as the Russian Armed Forces confirmed it had launched its first airstrikes against military targets in Ukraine.

On Thursday, former Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern said he had resigned as a member of the board of directors of the state-owned Russian Railways (RZD) over the company’s alleged involvement in “war logistics.”

“In the early hours of today, I informed the bodies of Joint Stock Company Russian Railways that I am immediately resigning my mandate on the board of directors. As of last night, RZD has actually become part of the war logistics. I deeply regret that,” Kern said as quoted by Austria’s newspaper Der Standard.

Meanwhile, Finland’s former prime minister, Esko Aho, has withdrawn from the board of Sberbank, Russia’s largest lender, due to the latest developments in Ukraine.

“I have today initiated measures to withdraw from the board,” Aho told Finland’s Turun Sanomat newspaper on Tuesday.

A small number of less well-known foreigners also quit Russian companies on Thursday.

The news came hours after President Vladimir Putin ordered the operation to help the Donbass in response to the region’s request for assistance in countering what it called the aggression of the Ukrainian military forces.

https://www.rt.com/business/550471-foreign-officials-resign-russian-firms/

Russian troops ‘trying to seize’ Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Zelensky claims

The Ukrainian president says fighting has been raging in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, site of the 1986 nuclear disaster

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted on Thursday evening that Russian troops are trying to capture the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the northern part of the Kiev Region. The plant was the site of the 1986 disaster, which caused massive contamination of the surrounding area and parts of Europe.

Zelensky claimed there was fighting in Chernobyl hours into Moscow’s “special operation,” which the Kremlin says was launched to protect the breakaway eastern republics in the Donbass.

“Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated,” Zelensky tweeted.

The adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister and former MP, Anton Gerashchenko, wrote on social media that Russian forces have crossed into Ukraine from Belarus and entered the exclusion zone set up around the plant after the disaster.

“The national guardsmen, who are protecting the storage of unsafe nuclear waste, are fighting hard,” he claimed. Moscow has not confirmed or denied the situation so far.

When asked whether the Belarusian troops were also fighting in Ukraine, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said earlier on Thursday that “our troops are not taking any part in this operation.”

Russia said it began hitting Ukraine’s military targets on Thursday morning, insisting it was necessary to prevent Kiev’s attacks against the Donetsk (DPR) and Lugansk (LPR) People’s Republics. Moscow recognized the DPR and LPR’s independence from Kiev on Monday, also signing treaties that include military assistance.

The DPR and the LPR have alleged they were facing a full-blown assault on the eve of the operation. Kiev has denied trying to retake the area by force all along, claiming Moscow’s attack was unprovoked and calling on other countries to impose sweeping sanctions on Russia.

https://www.rt.com/russia/550511-ukraine-troops-chernobyl-fighting/

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>>15710774 Foreign officials resign from boards of Russian corporations

CHINA THREATENS: Foreign Ministry Says Taiwan Is “Not Ukraine” – Has Always Been Part of China

On Wednesday China’s foreign ministry asserted that Taiwan is “not Ukraine” and has always belonged to China.

On Thursday China refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

And, also on Thursday, China flew 9 aircraft into Taiwan’s Air Defense Zone.

Things are heating up.

Elections have consequences.

Stolen elections have catastrophic consequences.

Hat Tip Ed

The Hill reported:

China’s foreign ministry on Wednesday said Taiwan is “not Ukraine” and has always been a part of China amid Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s calls to ramp up vigilance on military activities in response to the crisis in Ukraine.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying dismissed the concerns of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who said there might be worldwide consequences, including for Taiwan, if Western nations failed to support Ukraine’s independence, according to Reuters.

“Taiwan is not Ukraine,” Hua said while speaking in Beijing. “Taiwan has always been an inalienable part of China. This is an indisputable legal and historical fact.”

Hua noted that the situation with Taiwan is the result of the country’s civil war in the mid-20th century but that China’s integrity should have never been compromised and has never been compromised.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/02/china-threatens-foreign-ministry-says-taiwan-not-ukraine-always-part-china/

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/02/china-threatens-foreign-ministry-says-taiwan-not-ukraine-always-part-china/

Xi Is On the Move — Taiwan Defense Ministry Says 9 Chinese Aircraft Have Entered its Air Defense Zone on Thursday Morning

On Thursday morning Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine and launched military operations on the Ukrainian people.

Russian forces launched attacks on several Ukrainian cities and military bases.

On Thursday morning the Taiwan Defense Ministry announced 9 Chinese aircraft have entered its Air Defense Zone.

Xi is on the move.

Al-Arabiya reported:

Taiwan’s air force scrambled again on Thursday to warn away nine Chinese aircraft that entered its air defense zone, Taiwan’s defense ministry said, on the same day that Russia invaded Ukraine, a crisis being watched closely in Taipei.

Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has complained of regular such missions by the Chinese air force over the last two years, though the aircraft do not get close to Taiwan itself.

The number of aircraft involved was well off the last large-scale incursion, 39 Chinese aircraft on January 23, and since then, such fly-bys have been sporadic with far fewer aircraft.

The ministry said the latest mission involved eight Chinese J-16 fighters and one Y-8 reconnaissance aircraft, which flew over an area to the northeast of the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands at the top end of the South China Sea.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/02/breaking-xi-move-taiwan-defense-ministry-says-9-chinese-aircraft-entered-air-defense-zone-thursday-morning/

UK Pushing To Kick Russia Out Of SWIFT, But Germany Says No

Yesterday we reported that in an unexpected twist, Russia's Ministry Of Finance had submitted a bitcoin bill proposal, surprising because until now Russia's central bank has called for a complete ban on the trading and mining of bitcoin, setting up a conflict with the Ministry of Finance, which has been far more favorably positioned vis-a-vis cryptos.

One reason for the favorable view by the Russian Ministry is that it has long been suggested that the west could expel Russia from SWIFT, effectively kicking Russia out of the entire dollar-payment system, and leaving Russia with few payment alternatives, one of which would be of course bitcoin.

Well, adding fuel to the fire, moments ago the FT reported that UK prime minister Boris Johnson was pushing “very hard” for Russia to be ejected from the Swift international payments system, "a move that would deliver a heavy blow to the country’s banks and its ability to trade beyond its borders."

“The PM is very keen on this — he’s pushing it very hard,” said one British official, referring to his efforts to eject Russia from Swift. Johnson also raised the idea at a meeting with City of London executives on Wednesday.

A similar appeal to kick Russia out of SWIFT was echoed moments ago by Ukraine foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba:

However, in an even more surprising twist, the FT also reports that Olaf Scholz, German chancellor, "warned Johnson on Thursday that his country would not support such a dramatic move and neither would the EU, according to officials close to sanctions negotiations." A German official declined to comment, saying only that “all options are still on the table”.

Johnson - as well as US president Joe Biden who has yet to address the nation - has faced criticism in the UK for deploying what critics described as “peashooter” sanctions in response to the first stage of Russian aggression in Ukraine; he is now trying to push western colleagues to deploy very tough reprisals.

Other such as Milos Zeman, Czech president, have backed BoJo, saying on Thursday that he wanted to impose harder EU sanctions on Russia, including ejecting its banks from Swift, arguing that it was important to isolate Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/uk-pushing-kick-russia-out-swift-germany-says-no

Stocks Plunge 770 Points at Open — Following Putin’s Military Operations into Ukraine

On Wednesday night Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the start of Russian military operations in Ukraine.

Russian forces attacked several cities and strategic sites across Ukraine.

Stocks plunged 770 points on Thursday morning following Russia’s surprise invasion of Ukraine.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/02/stocks-plunge-770-points-open-following-putins-military-operations-ukraine-video/

Global Stocks, Futures Crash; Nasdaq In Bear Market, Oil Soars Above $105 On Russia Attack

U.S. stock index futures crashed along with global markets on Thursday as Russia’s assault on Ukraine sent investors fleeing risky assets, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was set to open in a bear market. Contracts on the Nasdaq 100 were down 2.9% by 7 a.m. in New York, having dropped as much as 3.6% earlier and signaling that the underlying gauge was poised to fall 20% from its November record high for the first time since the pandemic; the S&P 500 was down 2.23% or 98 points to, 4,214, while Dow futures lost 2.3%. The flight to safety saw the 10-year Treasury yield tumble 14 basis points to under 1.9%. Gold hit the highest since September 2020, while the dollar also spiked higher.

Russian forces assaulted targets across Ukraine after Putin ordered an operation aimed at demilitarizing the country. Putin said Russia doesn’t plan to “occupy” its neighbor but that action was necessary after the U.S. and its allies crossed Russia’s “red line” by expanding the NATO alliance. Military vehicles breached into the Kyiv region that borders Belarus, Ukraine’s Border Guard Service said in a statement.

Western powers condemned the military incursion and vowed to step up penalties on Russia – President Joe Biden said the U.S. and its allies will impose “severe sanctions.” European leaders are planning sanctions that will target Russian banks. The government in Kyiv called it a “full-scale invasion” as it declared martial law and called for international support including harsher sanctions on Russia.

"Stock markets were already hit and are now pricing in further military escalation in Ukraine. The selloff will therefore continue,” Norbert Frey, head of portfolio management at Fuerst Fugger Privatbank, said in an email. “We expect volatility to rise in the coming weeks, which will require investors to have good nerves. We will see a flight into supposedly safe government bonds, gold and, above all, cash – at least temporarily.”

The escalation in the Ukraine conflict comes at a time when financial markets were already grappling with surging inflation and the economic impact of hawkish central bank policies. All eyes are now on the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting next month, where analysts still expect it to raise interest rates, but deliver fewer-than-expected hikes through the rest of the year.

“It’s an absolute lose-lose for central banks because they will have no control whatsoever over inflation risk,” said Michael Hewson, senior markets analyst at CMC Markets UK. “I still think the Federal Reserve will hike rates in March. They have to, if only try and normalize rates, but do I think we’ll get seven hikes this year? I think we’ll be lucky to get two.”

U.S. tech giants were among the biggest decliners in pre-market trading as Russian forces launched a "military operation" targeting military command centers across Ukraine after President Vladimir Putin vowed to “demilitarize” the country and replace its leaders, triggering the worst security crisis in Europe since World War II as the West threatened further punishing sanctions in response. Energy stocks, on the other hand, were outliers as the attacks sent Brent oil prices surging above $105 a barrel and WTI above $100…

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/global-stocks-futures-crash-nasdaq-bear-market-oil-soars-above-105-russia-attack

Horowitz: The Israeli data that nukes the Pfizer vaccine: What did Pfizer know and when did they know it?

Last year, Philip Dormitzer, the chief scientific officer at Pfizer, described Israel as “a sort of laboratory” to “see the effect” of his company’s vaccines. Well, it took over a year into the vaccine drive that injected most Israelis with three shots and some with four to finally publish information on adverse events. What Israel published earlier this month based on a health ministry survey of 2,049 people who got booster shots is not only damning, but unmistakably revealing that there is no way Pfizer did not see these adverse events during the clinical trials in 2020. What did they know and when did they know it?

On Feb. 10, the Israeli Health Ministry published (English version here) the results of a survey of adverse events among roughly 2,000 random Israelis who received booster shots. It’s shocking that it took this long for them to conduct such a survey and didn’t do this a year ago, but it’s better late than never. Just the top-line numbers from the survey should alarm us all. A total of 75% of women and 58% of men reported experiencing at least one side effect within the 21- to 30-day follow-up period of the interview. Obviously, the majority of these were minor, but 51% of the women and 35% of the men who experienced a side effect reported that as a result, they had difficulty performing daily activities.

Full stop right there. Even before we get into more serious problems. Just the fact that the shot knocked out such a massive percentage of people clearly violates the informed consent through which the shots were marketed and most certainly makes any mandate immoral. Right off the bat, it’s clear that this is not like taking a vitamin D pill. Moreover, the fact that we have zero long-term studies, but such a massive percentage get at least a sick feeling from it in the short run should concern everyone. Again, why wasn’t such a survey done in January 2021 after the first dose?

Just take a look at the massive percentage of reports, especially for females, experiencing weakness, muscle ache, shaking, high temperature, and even dizziness and vomiting.

https://www.theblaze.com/op-ed/horowitz-the-israeli-data-that-nukes-the-pfizer-vaccine-what-did-pfizer-know-and-when-did-they-know-it