Russia In New 'Red Line': Western Countries Supplying Weapons To Ukraine Will "Bear Responsibility"==

Update(1449ET): Already Putin has previously been on record as saying Western actions such as sanctioning a sitting head of state or targeting the central bank would be viewed as an "act of war". But now another red line has been drawn, following more and more European governments - most notably Germany - ditching their policies of neutrality when it comes to shipping their weapons into foreign conflicts:

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SAYS THOSE SUPPLYING LETHAL WEAPONS TO UKRAINE WILL BEAR RESPONSIBILITY SHOULD THESE WEAPONS BE USED DURING RUSSIA'S MILITARY OPERATION - IFAX

More than likely, US and UK-supplied weapons, particularly anti-tank missile systems as well as possibly Stingers, are already being used by Ukraine forces against Russian tanks and armored vehicles. Unverified footage circulating widely online suggests as much at this early stage.

But it appears Russia's military is taking steps - or at least threatening action - against any external supply lines coming from NATO countries in support of Ukrainian forces. This clearly has the potential to quickly spiral into direct military conflict with the US and West…

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ukraine-frustrated-low-level-russian-delegation-ceasefire-talks-kick-belarus

Jill Biden Introduces Kamala Harris as “the President of the United States”

Jill Biden on Monday introduced Kamala Harris as “the President of the United States” during a Black History Month celebration at the White House.

Nurse Jill caught herself mid-sentence and made a correction.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United — the Vice President of the United States!” Jill said laughing.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/02/jill-biden-introduces-kamala-harris-president-united-states-video/

Putin slams West’s ‘empire of lies’

Russia’s president has criticized the West as the country faces a new massive wave of sanctions

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the West an “empire of lies,” responding to a new wave of sanctions that hit the country over its special military operation in neighboring Ukraine.

Speaking to top government officials on Monday, he said: “I invited you to discuss economic and financial issues … bearing in mind the sanctions that the so-called Western community — an empire of lies, as I called it in my address — is trying to implement against our country.”

The “empire of lies” term was coined by Russia’s president last Thursday, when he announced the launch of the offensive in Ukraine. Since the US is a “system-forming power,” the whole collective West has become such an “empire,” he said then.

“By the way, American politicians, political scientists, and journalists themselves write and say that, in recent years, an actual ‘empire of lies’ has been created inside the United States. It’s hard to disagree with that, as it’s true,” Putin stated.

All [the US] satellites not only dutifully agree, sing along to its music, but also copy its behavior, and enthusiastically accept the rules they are offered. Therefore, with good reason, we can confidently say that the entire so-called Western bloc, formed by the United States in its own image and likeness, all of it is an ‘empire of lies.’

Russia’s operation in Ukraine has become the only option left to prevent further bloodshed in the country and stop Kiev from trying to launch an all-out assault on the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in the country’s east, the Kremlin has explained. Ahead of the offensive, Moscow formally recognized the People’s Republics there as independent states.

Kiev, however, claimed the attack was “unprovoked,” insisting it has had zero plans to retake the breakaway regions by force. Donetsk and Lugansk split from Ukraine back in 2014 following the Maidan coup, which ousted the democratically-elected government of the country. While active, large-scale combat ended with the 2014-15 Minsk agreements, the roadmap out of the crisis the deal had provided was never implemented, with the republics enduring years of low-intensity warfare that left thousands of people dead.

https://www.rt.com/russia/550888-putin-wests-empire-lies/

Bulgarian defense minister fired over Ukraine comments

Sofia’s military chief has been sacked for calling Russia’s conflict in Ukraine a ‘military intervention’ rather than a ‘war’

Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov has fired defense chief Stefan Yanev over his word choices in describing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, calling the situation a “military intervention” or an “operation” rather than a “war.”

“My defense minister cannot use the word operation instead of the word war,” Petkov told reporters on Monday. “You cannot call it an operation when thousands of soldiers from the one and the other side are already killed.”

The prime minister added that “the Bulgarian interest is not in bending our heads down.” Rather, “When we see something we do not agree with, something so obvious, we cannot keep quiet.”

All four parties in Bulgaria’s ruling coalition agreed to call for Yanev’s resignation, Petkov noted. A new defense minister – reportedly Todor Tagarev, who held the position in 2013 – will be appointed in an extraordinary session of Parliament that will be held on Tuesday.

The firing came in reaction to a Facebook post by Yanev. Commenting on the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the defense minister warned against using the word “war.” He said there was no need for Bulgaria to side with Russia, the US, or European allies in the conflict, adding, “Our suffering motherland does not deserve to be sacrificed in the game of the great powers.”

Petkov chided him for the post, saying, “No minister can attempt to do foreign policymaking on his own, especially on Facebook.” Yanev argued that he was being targeted for removal so the government could install a defense minister who will be more willing to serve foreign interests, in some cases at the expense of Bulgaria’s security.

Bulgaria was for long a close ally of Russia and was a Soviet satellite as a member of the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War. However, the country joined NATO in 2004 and became part of the European Union in 2007. Petkov has said that standing in solidarity with Western allies is the best way to ensure Bulgaria’s security.

Moscow last week closed its airspace to flights from Bulgaria, after the Balkan country blocked Russian air carriers from its territory in response to the attack on Ukraine.

https://www.rt.com/news/550891-bulgaria-fires-defense-chief/

No plans to occupy Ukraine, Russia tells UN

Moscow seeks to “demilitarize and denazify” Kiev, ambassador tells the UN General Assembly

Russia seeks to save lives in the Donbass and punish those responsible for eight years of genocide and atrocities, Moscow’s envoy to the UN Vasily Nebenzia told the General Assembly during a session called to denounce the invasion of Ukraine.

“Occupation of Ukraine is not part of our plans. The purpose of this special operation is to protect people, who have been subjected to abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for the past eight years. This is why it’s necessary to demilitarize and de-nazify Ukraine,” Nebenzia said.

As one example of “ghastly crimes” committed by the government in Kiev, the Russian envoy cited the murder of people protesting the US-backed coup in Kiev, when 40 people were burned alive in a building in Odessa. Moscow is seeking to bring to justice anyone who committed such atrocities, “including Russian citizens,” Nebenzia said.

Russia is defending itself from a “regime” which “aspires to gain access to nuclear weapons,” the UN envoy added, noting the statement of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to that effect at the Munich Security Conference on February 18.

Rather than violating the underlying principles of the UN, as critics have accused Russia of doing, Nebenzia argued the military operation is actually ensuring the key principle is upheld – to prevent another world war.

NATO’s placement of military assets in Ukraine would have forced Russia to take measures that would have put Moscow and the alliance “on the brink of conflict,” he said.

Ukraine and its Western backers have accused Russia of unprovoked aggression and dismissed accusations of genocide and atrocities in the two breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk.

“Everyone knows that Russia and Russia alone started this invasion,” said Kiev’s ambassador to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya.

The UN General Assembly is meeting at the request of the US, which last week submitted a joint resolution with Albania to condemn Russia at the UN Security Council, where it was vetoed by Moscow.

https://www.rt.com/russia/550889-nebenzia-unga-ukraine-occupation/

Facebook, Twitter Remove Alleged Russian ‘Covert Influence Operations’

Social media platforms Facebook and Twitter have reportedly removed two anti-Ukrainian “covert influence operations” from their platforms. One group appears to be based in Russia and a second in Belarus, according to the Silicon Valley Masters of the Universe.

NBC News reports that Facebook and Twitter have removed what they refer to as anti-Ukrainian “covert influence operations.” One operation was linked to Russia and another appeared to have connections to Belarus according to the social media giants.

One of the alleged disinformation operations was a propaganda campaign featuring a website promoting anti-Ukraine information. This was reportedly linked to a known Russian disinformation operation. A Facebook spokesperson explained that the disinformation operations used AI-generated faces linked to fake columnists and news articles in an effort to add credibility to the campaign.

The other disinformation operation allegedly used hacked legitimate accounts to push anti-Ukrainian propaganda and had links to a known Belarusian hacking group. The networks were removed by both Facebook and Twitter.

Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of security policy, said that the larger of the two campaigns operated from Russia as well as the Donbas and Crimea regions of Ukraine. The group is reportedly tied to the websites News Front and South Front which the U.S. government previously designated as part of broad disinformation efforts by Russia.

Gleicher noted that the propaganda campaign aimed to “seed stories across the internet that Ukraine isn’t doing well” by “pretending to be journalists based in Kyiv.” Gleicher added: “The good news is that neither of these campaigns have been that effective, but we do see these actors trying to target Ukraine at this point.”

He went on to say: “These actors are trying to undermine trust in the Ukrainian government, suggest that it’s a failed state, suggest that the war is going very poorly in Ukraine or trying to praise Russia.”

In 2020, Facebook removed the profiles of News Front and South Front from its platform. The websites featured articles such as “Zelensky is building a neo-Nazi dictatorship in Ukraine” and “Why Ukraine will only get worse.”

Facebook claims to have taken down 40 profiles linked to disinformation campaigns, saying that they were part of a larger persona-building operation across Twitter, Instagram, Telegram, and Russian social media networks.

Twitter claims to have banned over a dozen accounts linked to the News Front and South Front operations. A Twitter spokesperson said in a statement: “On Feb. 27, we permanently suspended more than a dozen accounts and blocked sharing of several links in violation of our platform manipulation and spam policy. Our investigation is ongoing; however, our initial findings indicate that the accounts and links originated in Russia and were attempting to disrupt the public conversation around the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.”

Misinformation has been a large part of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and many are falling victim to internet hoaxes and memes. Breitbart News recently reported that Rep. Adam Kinzinger fell for a popular prank which framed internet comedian Sam Hyde as the pilot referred to as the “Ghost of Kyiv.” Breitbart News wrote:

NeverTrump Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) fell victim to internet pranksters over the weekend, retweeting the viral hoax that the “Ghost of Kyiv,” an alleged Ukrainian fighter ace, was a man called “Samuyil Hyde.” Tricksters are quick to spread memes naming American comedian Sam Hyde as the culprit in media events such as mass shootings. In this case, Rep. Kinzinger fell for a poor photoshop of Hyde into a cockpit along with an ethnic spin on his name.

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2022/02/28/facebook-twitter-remove-alleged-russian-covert-influence-operations/

World Economic Forum pushes digital ID system that will determine access to services

The digital ID system proposes monitoring online behavior, purchases, biometrics, and more.

The WEF suggests that this data collection dragnet would allow a digital ID to scoop up data on people’s online behavior, purchase history, network usage, credit history, biometrics, names, national identity numbers, medical history, travel history, social accounts, e-government accounts, bank accounts, energy usage, health stats, education, and more.

Once the digital ID has access to this huge, highly personal data set, the WEF proposes using it to decide whether users are allowed to “own and use devices,” “open bank accounts,” “carry out online financial transactions,” “conduct business transactions,” “access insurance, treatment,” “book trips,” “go through border control between countries or regions,” “access third-party services that rely on social media logins,” “file taxes, vote, collect benefits,” and more.

https://reclaimthenet.org/world-economic-forum-pushes-digital-id/

Hollywood Woman and TV Actor Charged with Participating in Home-Delivery Drug Trafficking Ring that Led to Fatal Fentanyl Overdose

https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/hollywood-woman-and-tv-actor-charged-participating-home-delivery-drug-trafficking-ring

=Americans should not fear nuclear war with Russia, Biden says

President Biden said Monday that Americans should not fear Russia’s invasion of Ukraine developing into a global nuclear war despite Moscow putting its nuclear forces on high alert following harsh US sanctions.

“Should Americans be worried about nuclear war?” a reporter asked the president following a Black History Month event at the White House.

“No,” Biden replied.

Russian President Vladimir Putin directed his military Sunday to move to heightened readiness to launch nuclear weapons because of “aggressive statements” by NATO countries.

Putin directed Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the military’s general staff, to put their nuclear forces in a “special regime of combat duty.”

“Western countries aren’t only taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic sphere, but top officials from leading NATO members made aggressive statements regarding our country,” Putin said.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a key Putin ally, claimed Sunday that sanctions against Russia could cause a third world war, though for now the US has not targeted Russia’s oil and gas exports.

“A great deal is being said about the banking sector. Gas, oil, SWIFT,” Lukashenko said. “It’s worse than war. Russia is being pushed towards a third world war. We should be very reserved and steer clear of it. Because nuclear war is the end of everything.”

After announcing initially limited sanctions last week, the White House over the weekend imposed additional sanctions targeting Putin’s vast personal wealth while cutting Russian banks out of the SWIFT international transaction system.

https://nypost.com/2022/02/28/no-americans-should-not-fear-nuke-war-with-russia-biden-says/