9 Mar, 2022 08:12

HomeRussia & FSU

Russia claims to have discovered Ukrainian Donbass attack plan

The Russian Defense Ministry alleges that classified documents prove that Kiev planned a major Donbass offensive in March

Secret Ukrainian documents allegedly captured by the Russian military seemingly prove that Kiev was planning a major offensive against the breakaway eastern Donbass regions, this month, which Moscow preempted with its own attack, Russia’s Ministry of Defense has declared. It published the purported evidence on Wednesday.

The release includes images of six pages, which are claimed to have been captured in Ukraine. Written in the Ukrainian language and bearing the traits of official paperwork, they appear to be classified communications of the Ukrainian National Guard. RT has been unable to independently verify the documents.

According to the papers, in late January, National Guard Commander Colonel General Mykola Balan ordered at least some units under his command to boost their capabilities for conducting warfare against the breakaway Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.

Various parts of the preparation had to be completed throughout February, with a final deadline of February 28, according to the documents. The measures were ordered based on an instruction purportedly issued by President Volodymyr Zelensky on January 18. The presidential website does not list a document that the papers released by Moscow correspond with.

The Russian military claims the documents provide clear indication that Kiev was planning to launch a major offensive against the rebels sometime in March. It pointed out that the commander apparently stressed the need to screen soldiers based on their mental state, including the capacity to take risks when carrying out orders.

“We remember well the statements by the Kiev regime, which the Western media disseminated in February, claiming there were no plans for a military takeover of [the breakaway republics], their determination to resolve all issues through diplomacy,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said during a briefing on Wednesday.

“But the originals of the secret combat documents of the National Guard of Ukraine conclusively prove that those statements were false,” he stated.

The official said the Russian military operation preempted a major Ukrainian attack against Donetsk and Lugansk, which the ministry believes would have started in March.

He added the only question that remains to be answered is to what degree, if any, Western nations participated in the planning. NATO nations have been training and arming the Ukrainian National Guard for years, Konashenkov said.

Russia attacked Ukraine in late February, days after recognizing the two breakaway regions as sovereign nations and pledging to defend them with force. Among other things, Moscow claimed the offensive was necessary to stop hostilities between government and rebel forces, which have continued since 2014, and the deaths of civilians amid the fighting.

Kiev and its foreign backers have described the Russian assault as unprovoked. The US and its allies have imposed crippling economic sanctions against Russia, stating that the damage that their own economies would suffer as a result was a price worth paying to defend Ukraine.

https://www.rt.com/russia/551518-ukraine-national-guard-documents/

9 Mar, 2022 12:56

Russia not seeking regime change in Ukraine – Foreign Ministry

Moscow says it doesn’t want to “destroy Ukrainian statehood” either

Moscow is not aiming to overthrow the current leadership in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, amid the ongoing military campaign in the neighboring state.

“Its objectives don’t include occupation of Ukraine, destruction of its statehood, or the toppling of the current government. It’s not directed against the civilian population,” Zakharova told reporters at a regular press conference on Wednesday.

The spokeswoman reiterated that Moscow wants to defend the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, which broke away from Ukraine shortly after the 2014 coup in Kiev. She added that Russia seeks the “demilitarization and denazification” of Ukraine.

Zakharova accused NATO of “flooding” the country with weapons, which has created “a military threat” to Moscow.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, repeatedly said that Ukraine had never posed a threat to Russia. Kiev stated that the Russian attack was entirely unprovoked and denied claims that it was planning to retake the rebellious republics by force.

Russia claims that it is only hitting military sites, such as airfields, air defense units, and radar stations. Ukraine, however, has accused Moscow of heavy shelling of residential areas in Kiev, Kharkov, and other cities.

Many countries, including the US, UK, and EU member states, imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia.

https://www.rt.com/russia/551550-russia-ukraine-regime-change/

9 Mar, 2022 11:25

German court rules authorities can spy on major political party

The ruling allows the political group to be classified as a “suspected case of right-wing extremism”

Germany returns to Nazism

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party can be officially classified as a “suspected case of right-wing extremism” and a threat to democracy, a court ruled on Tuesday, paving the way for authorities to spy on the group’s politicians.

An administration court in Cologne dismissed a legal challenge brought by the AfD back in March 2021 over plans by Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) to put the party under surveillance.

The BfV’s decision came after the court found that there were “sufficient indications of anti-constitutional goals within the AfD,” the court announced, explaining its ruling. Classifying AfD under the terms now permitted by the court gives authorities the green light to monitor the party’s communications and use undercover informants to gather information on the political group and its activities.

Seeking to distance itself from extremist elements that had aligned themselves with the AfD, the party recently broke up its hard-line ‘Wing’ faction, led by Bjoern Hoecke. However, the court in Cologne claimed that, despite this step, key figures from that now disbanded grouping still maintained “significant influence” in the party.

The court similarly condemned the AfD’s youth wing, which the judges claimed, along with the former ‘Wing’ faction, believe that “German people should be kept ethnically intact and ‘outsiders’ should be excluded as far as possible.” The court’s judgement stated that “this goes against the Basic Law,” citing the German constitution.

In the 2021 general election, the AfD secured just over 10% of the vote, a decrease from its previous performance. In January, Jorg Meuthen stepped down as the party’s co-leader after accusing the AfD of drifting to the right and displaying “totalitarian” leanings.

https://www.rt.com/news/551543-alternative-for-germany-court-spy/