7 May, 2022 11:23

HomeBusiness News

European banks reveal cost of Russia exit. Sanctions wiped out billions from major lenders

why is this war so important to the EU and US, do they want to steal Russia and all it assets?

The need to write down assets as well as setting aside cash to shield against the expected economic ramifications of anti-Russia sanctions has resulted in billions of euro in losses for European banks.

The lenders have so far taken a hit of about $9.6 billion, led by Societe Generale and UniCredit. ING and Intesa Sanpaolo reported that Russian exposure had slashed their combined first-quarter net income by nearly $2 billion.

Several lenders have said their outlooks for the year would be scrapped if the drag of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the global economy worsens. Intesa has reportedly cut its 2022 profit target, warning that a “very conservative” scenario envisions an even harder blow.

Faced with this extreme uncertainty, the chief risk officers of several European banking majors are holding meetings with regulators and among themselves to assess the reliability of their models and provisioning, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

“Corporate insolvencies in our markets will probably rise” in 2022 amid surging energy prices, high inflation and supply-chain disruptions, according to Commerzbank Chief Executive Officer Manfred Knof, who was quoted by the agency.

UniCredit said it can absorb the latest macroeconomic knock-on effects in its wider business thanks to its “strong” capital levels, asset quality and prudent loan loss reserves. One of the European banks with the biggest presence in Russia, UniCredit reportedly took a $2 billion hit as it considers an exit strategy.

Meanwhile, French lender Societe Generale is expected to take a €3 billion loss from the sale of its stake in Russia’s Rosbank.

https://www.rt.com/business/555082-european-banks-billions-russia-ukraine/

7 May, 2022 07:42

HomeRussia & FSU

Biden issues Ukraine warning to US spies – NBC

The US president reportedly said such leaks are counterproductive and “distract” from the objective

(Kek I’m sure they are going to listen to him, since he probably ok’d it)

US President Joe Biden has told senior intelligence officials that leaks about alleged intelligence sharing with Ukraine should stop as they “distract” from Washington's objective in the crisis, NBC News reported on Friday.

During the phone conversation with CIA Director William Burns, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Biden hailed the intelligence services’ work but stressed that disclosures are counterproductive and ought to cease, the outlet claimed, citing two unnamed administration officials.

None of the organisations concerned have commented on the matter.

The NBC report came a day after several American outlets claimed that US-provided data had allegedly allowed Ukrainian forces to strike Russia’s Black Sea flagship ‘Moskva’ off the coast of Odessa last month. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby denied these reports, saying “the Ukrainians have their own intelligence capabilities to track and target Russian naval vessels, as they did in this case.” Russia insists that its missile cruiser wasn’t attacked, but sank on April 14 after a fire that had broken out on board caused ammunition to explode.

On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that the US had allegedly provided Kiev with intelligence data which allowed the Ukrainian military to target and kill many Russian generals. This report was dismissed by Kirby, who at the same time acknowledged that sharing “battlefield intelligence to help Ukraine defend their country” was part of the assistance being provided by Washington to Kiev.

Last week, NBC claimed that the US had provided Ukraine with “near real-time” data which allegedly helped it to shoot down a Russian transport plane carrying “hundreds of troops.” Commenting on this report, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council would only state that the US was “regularly providing detailed, timely intelligence to the Ukrainians on the battlefield to help them defend their country against Russian aggression and will continue to do so.”

On May 5, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that Russian authorities know that the US, the UK and NATO “on a permanent basis” transmit intelligence and other data to Kiev.

“Along with the flow of weapons that these same countries and alliances are sending to Ukraine, all these actions do not contribute to the quick completion of the operation, but at the same time they are not able to hinder the achievement of the goals set during the special military operation,” Peskov claimed.

Several former US intelligence and government officials took to social media to call on the Biden administration to stop speaking to the press on intelligence matters.

The Pentagon announced last week that the US had already spent $4.3 billion supporting the Ukrainian military since 2021.

6 May, 2022 21:04

HomeRussia & FSU

RT speaks to Croatian fighter captured in Ukraine

The man insists he joined the ranks of the Ukrainian military to obtain the country’s citizenship

RT’s Roman Kosarev spoke to Vjekoslav Prebek, a Croatian national who fought in the ranks of the Ukrainian military. Prebek says he was a serviceman in a Ukrainian marine brigade that was holed up in the city of Mariupol. He claims to have been taken prisoner during an attempt to flee the besieged city alongside a handful of other fighters.

“We were leaving Mariupol and we were walking on foot for 260 kilometers hiding, walking only during night, avoiding all contact possible,” he said. The plan flopped when the group ran into an artillery unit and surrendered to it.

Prebek’s unit has had multiple foreigners in its ranks, including three British nationals. Several other foreigners went AWOL from the brigade shortly after the ongoing conflict broke out late in February.

The fighter says he joined the ranks of the Ukrainian military back in 2020, seeking to get the country’s citizenship after serving a three-year contract. Back then, it seemed like a good idea, as the frontline in the Donbass was “stationary,” he said, adding that he “almost” didn’t fire a shot at the time.

“My reason for wanting to achieve the Ukrainian citizenship is because I met a woman here that I got in love. She had sick mother and she did not want to leave Ukraine,” Prebek said, without explaining how exactly he ended up in Ukraine in the first place.

Previously, Prebek served in Croatia’s army for five years. The man insisted he did not have any real battle experience and was merely an “infantryman” in his home country’s army. “I was an infantryman in the Croatian armed forces for five years, that’s all,” he claimed. “I haven’t been involved into any conflicts before.”

The prisoner says he has had little first-hand experience with far-right Ukrainian units, such as the notorious neo-Nazi Azov regiment. While the unit did participate in the battle of Mariupol alongside Prebek’s brigade, they had little communication and an entirely different command, he claims.

“They do participate in defense, but we get separate command line, completely separate. They are not a part of the Ukrainian armed forces,” he said.

I heard also that they [Azov] are very fascistic and Nazi. I heard also about terrible things they did to citizens, captured them even probably shooting at us at some time. I’ve heard there are a lot of criminals, drug users [among them]. I’ve not witnessed anything myself, but I’ve been shown videos that are terrible of what they are doing. Huge atrocities.

Prebek insists he would never take up arms ever again, probably joining “some charity” or the International Red Cross should he be set free. Obtaining Ukrainian citizenship through serving in the country’s military was the wrong decision, he admitted.

I believe I should have looked for other means of achieving Ukrainian citizenship and not serving in the armed forces.

“I want to survive, I want to live. I don’t want to take weapons in my hands any time again in my life. I would like to rejoin with the woman that I met here in Ukraine and, maybe, talk more about the truth that I’ve seen what happened here, how I was treated by my captors,” he said. According to Prebek, he has been treated well in custody, well-fed, and provided with necessary medical assistance.

Prebek’s fate however, remains uncertain, given his foreign nationality. In the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) foreigners are widely regarded as mercenaries, and being a mercenary might fetch a fighter a heavy punishment, up to the capital one.

The man himself insists he was a legitimate combatant and a member of the Ukrainian military. “They consider me POW but they are still [saying] that I’m a mercenary, that I’m not officially a member of the Ukrainian armed forces,” Prebek said. Under international law, foreign volunteers who join – on a personal basis and by their own initiative – the armed forces of one of the parties to an armed conflict are considered combatants.

https://www.rt.com/russia/555083-ukraine-captured-croatian-fighter/

7 May, 2022 06:11

White House outlines latest Ukraine weapons package

The new round of lethal aid follows more than $3.4 billion in US arms shipped into the Ukrainian war zone since late February

Washington has authorized yet another tranche of weapons for Ukraine’s armed forces, agreeing to send tens of millions of dollars in munitions and military hardware following a flurry of similar transfers in recent weeks.

The White House announced the move in a Friday press release, touting the “historical amount of security assistance” provided to Kiev since Russia launched its attack on February 24.

“I am announcing another package of security assistance that will provide additional artillery munitions, radars, and other equipment to Ukraine,” President Joe Biden said, arguing the American arms shipments have been “critical” to the country’s war effort.

A US official cited by Reuters offered a more detailed breakdown of the aid package, saying it comes with a $150 million price tag and will include “25,000 155mm artillery rounds, counter-artillery radar, jamming equipment, field equipment and spare parts.”

The new assistance will be financed with funds freed up under thePresidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the White House to transfer arms from US stocks to foreign states without congressional approval. The fund currently has about $250 million remaining, more than half of which will go to pay for the latest aid package.

Though President Biden argued the weapons will go “directly to the front lines of freedom in Ukraine,” their ultimate destination may never be known. US officials have acknowledged that the arms become virtually impossible to track once they enter the active conflict zone in Ukraine, withone intelligence source telling CNN they fall into a “big black hole” soon after arriving.

Prior arms shipments have included increasingly heavy weaponry, starting with small arms, ammunition, surveillance and attack drones, and later moving to large artillery pieces and shells.

Friday’s $150 million package is unlikely to be the last for Kiev, as Biden proposed a gargantuan $33 billion in assistance for the country last month, including more than $20 billion in military aid. Lawmakers have yet to approve the measure, though the president urged them to move “quickly” to pass it, citing a “nearly exhausted” weapons stockpile.

“For Ukraine to succeed in this next phase of war its international partners, including the US, must continue to demonstrate our unity and our resolve to keep the weapons and ammunition flowing to Ukraine, without interruption,” he said in the Friday statement.

Biden is also set to sign the Lend-Lease Act of 2022 into law on Monday, which will facilitate further arms shipments to Ukraine and allow new weapons systems to be delivered.

https://www.rt.com/news/555101-white-house-ukraine-weapons/

7 May, 2022 06:39

HomeBusiness News

Mystery of the rising ruble revealed

The Russian currency may strengthen further, expert says

After losing nearly half of its value in March due to Western sanctions, the Russian currency has staged an extraordinary recovery, strengthening to levels not seen in over two years. RT talked to Sergey Kopylov, a junior partner at consulting company BSC and a lead researcher at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, to find out what’s behind the ruble’s resilience.

According to the researcher, the West had defaulted on its obligations to Russia when it froze the assets of the country’s central bank. “This is the abolition (something like cancel culture) of the rules of international financial relations based on global total return swaps, redistribution of risk, guarantees of property rights and distribution of seigniorage.”

It was these rules that determined the old ruble exchange rateand the approaches to its establishment that we are accustomed to, the expert said, adding that those rules “no longer apply.”

Kopylov explained that the strengthening of the ruble is due to the fact that it is now based purely on exports and imports, and its value is determined by its purchasing power parity (PPP). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated the Russian currency’s PPP at the end of 2021 at 29.127 rubles per one dollar. According to the Big Mac Index, that rate stood at 23.24 rubles to the dollar.

The expert also noted that prior to sanctions, the artificial weakening of the Russian currency was supported by capital outflows. Thus, in 2021, net exports (the excess of exports of goods and services over imports) amounted to $122 billion. Those foreign exchange proceeds were used to purchase foreign assets, he said.

At a time of sanctions and the default of the West on its financial obligations to Russia, this outflow has become impossible, Kopylov said. Therefore, the $58 billion received by the Russian economy in the first quarter “puts pressure” on ruble appreciation.

“Expert assessment shows that under these conditions, the ruble may strengthen to the level of 45-to-50 rubles per one US dollar if there is no adjustment in monetary policy,” Kopylov concludes.

The Russian currency was trading around 69 rubles per US dollar as of Friday.

https://www.rt.com/business/555088-mystery-rising-ruble-revealed/

6 May, 2022 20:16

HomeBusiness News

Russia defies predictions of collapse – media

Oil revenue contributed to “surprisingly resilient” economy, says the British weekly The Economist

(I guess Putin made Russia Great Again. Kek)

The Russian economy has largely shrugged off “unprecedented sanctions” from the West, The Economist noted, crediting the sharp rise in revenues from oil and gas exports. Russian consumer spending is up again, interest rates are going down, and the ruble is stronger than before the conflict in Ukraine escalated.

“Russia’s economy is back on its feet,” the British weekly pointed out on Friday, adding that it was “defying predictions of collapse” as a result of embargoes imposed by the US and its allies.

The ruble is now “as valuable” as before, says The Economist, on account of “capital controls and high interest rates.” As of Friday, the Russian currency was actually stronger than before the conflict – 65.8 to the US dollar, compared to 81 on February 23. Russia is also continuing to pay its foreign-currency bonds, despite US and UK attempts to force it into a default.

Russians are spending “fairly freely” on cafés, bars and restaurants once again, according to numbers from Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank. The Russian central bank lowered the key interest rate from 17% to 14% in late April. Predictions that Russia’s GDP will decline up to 15% this year are “starting to look pessimistic,” notes The Economist.

Sanctions announced by the US and its allies after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine were intended to “degrade [Russia’s] industrial capacity for years to come,” according to US president Joe Biden’s words. Biden also vowed to “take robust action to make sure the pain of our sanctions is targeted at the Russian economy, not ours.”

Since then, the US has registered the highest annualized inflation increase since 1981, a quarter of negative GDP, and skyrocketing gas prices – which Biden blamed on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Meanwhile, according to The Economist, Russia has exported at least $65 billion worth of oil and gas, with government revenues from hydrocarbons rising over 80% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022.

https://www.rt.com/business/555097-russia-sanctions-recession-economist/

7 May, 2022 12:47

Japan warns of Ukraine-like conflict

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tokyo is against the use of force in the region

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has warned that a Ukraine-style armed conflict could break out in East Asia. He said that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is critical for Tokyo and the international community.

“We must collaborate with our allies and like-minded countries, and never tolerate a unilateral attempt to change the status quo by the use of force in the Indo Pacific, especially in East Asia,” Kishida said during a meeting with his British counterpart Boris Johnson in London on Thursday.

“Ukraine may be East Asia tomorrow,” the Japanese PM added.

Kishida said Japan remains committed to the issues surrounding Taiwan, which Beijing wants to bring under its control, to be resolved through dialogue.

The island raised the alert level shortly after Russia attacked the neighboring country in late February. Foreign Minister Joseph Wu expressed hope on Saturday that China would be sanctioned if it threatens the island with force or invades it. Taiwan and China previously accused each other of stirring up tensions in the region.

Beijing dismissed the comparisons of Taiwan to Ukraine at the time as inappropriate. Responding to Kishida's recent remarks on Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said: “If the Japanese side is sincere about maintaining peace and stability in East Asia, then it should immediately stop provoking major-country confrontation.”

Last month, citing the Russian military campaign in Ukraine among other reasons, Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) submitted a proposal to update the National Defense Program Guidelines, the country’s chief military strategy document. According to Japanese media, the move includes changes that would allow Japan to acquire “counterstrike capabilities” to attack enemy bases and command centers.

In December, the US and Japan drafted an emergency military plan in response to a potential conflict between China and Taiwan, according to Kyodo News. China had previously accused Japan of meddling in Taiwan issues, which it considers domestic affairs.

Admiral Samuel Paparo, the commander of the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet, said in April that Beijing was studying the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and that, under the current circumstances, a potential invasion of Taiwan would be “highly unpredictable.”

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said late last month that “a Global NATO” needs to arm Taiwan just as it has armed Ukraine, among other requirements.

Taiwan has been ruled by its own government after the civil war ended in mainland China in 1949. Beijing maintains that it favors a peaceful reunification, but had promised to retaliate if Taipei formally declares independence.

The US and many other nations have unofficial diplomatic relations with the island. President Joe Biden said last year that the US would defend Taiwan if China invades.

(MIC beast must be fed)

https://www.rt.com/news/555118-japan-ukraine-east-asia/

7 May, 2022 13:35

US comments on calls to strip Russia of permanent UN seat

The US vows to continue its efforts to “isolate” Russia at the United Nations, but admits it can’t strip Moscow of its permanent seat

The United States currently sees no way of stripping Russia of its status as a UN Security Council permanent member over the conflict in Ukraine, the US ambassador to the UN has said.

In an interview with PBS on May 6, Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Russia’s actions are “particularly galling” given its status as a permanent member, which can’t easily be revoked, despite calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“The Russians have the permanent seat, and I don't see at the moment that there will be any changes in that, but we will continue in our efforts to isolate them,” she said.

Earlier Thomas-Greenfield accused Russia of abusing its veto power and supported a resolution, tabled by Liechtenstein, requiring permanent members of the Security Council to justify their use of the veto. The resolution was adopted on April 26 but how it will work in practice remains to be seen. According to the resolution, the UN General Assembly must meet within 10 days if a veto is applied by one of the Security Council’s five permanent members.

The US has repeatedly made clear that Russia will remain a permanent member of the UNSC. In early April, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said her country shares Zelensky's “frustration” over Moscow's status but does not see it changing.

Her remarks followed the Ukrainian leader's address to the Security Council, which had assembled to discuss alleged atrocities in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

Accusing the Russian military of committing war crimes – something that Moscow has vehemently denied – Zelensky called on the UNSC to either exclude Moscow or disband.

The Security Council, whose primary responsibility is “the maintenance of international peace and security,” is the only UN body authorized to issue binding resolutions on member states.

Its five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US – can block any resolution.

The power of veto was first used by the Soviet Union in 1946, and since then Moscow has exercised it 143 times, far more than the other permanent members.

In April the United Nations General Assembly voted to suspend Russia from the organization’s Human Rights Council. The US-drafted resolution passed with 93 votes in favour and 24 against, while 58 abstained.

(All this chaos for a shithole country Ukraine, that’s important to the NWO cabal)

https://www.rt.com/russia/555120-un-us-council-russia/

6 May, 2022 20:24

UN reaches consensus on Ukraine for the first time

Security Council unanimously backs “search for a peaceful solution” to the conflict

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a statement on Friday supporting the secretary-general’s efforts to search for a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine, in the first such display of unity since February 24. Russia’s agreement demonstrated Moscow’s readiness for diplomacy, said Mexico, which co-authored the statement.

“The Security Council expresses strong support for the efforts of the secretary-general in the search for a peaceful solution,” says the statement, according to AP.

The Council also “expresses deep concern regarding the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine” and “recalls that all member states have undertaken, under the Charter of the United Nations, the obligation to settle their international disputes by peaceful means.”

While the AP says the text of the statement does not contain the phrases “war,” “conflict,” “invasion” or “special military operation,” the Security Council press release did refer to an “invasion” of Ukraine.

The US has also requested Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to deliver a briefing to the Security Council on this matter, “in due course.” The entire meeting on Friday lasted only about a minute.

Russia’s support for the statement, drafted by Mexico and Norway, shows Moscow’s readiness for diplomacy, Mexico’s permanent representative the UN Juan Ramón de la Fuente Ramírez told TASS.

Guterres visited Moscow and Kiev in late April. So far, he has successfully arranged two evacuations of civilians from the Azovstal factory in Mariupol, where “Azov” militants loyal to the government in Kiev and other Ukrainian fighters are holed up.

Russia attacked the neighboring state in late February, following Ukraine’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German- and French-brokered protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.

The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.

https://www.rt.com/russia/555099-security-council-unanimous-ukraine/

6 May, 2022 17:17

Top Western media outlet deletes video critical of Ukraine

Germany's Der Spiegel removes clip in which Azovstal evacuee criticized Ukraine

Citing “discrepancies in content,” the German magazine Der Spiegel has removed a video showing the testimony of an evacuee from Mariupol’s ‘Azovstal’ factory, a stronghold of the neo-Nazi Azov militants and other Ukrainian fighters.

The woman in the video had revealed that her family were basically being lied to,held hostage, and used as human shields by the Ukrainian militants.

(They certainly can’t let the truth be told to the world, media are evil creatures, obeying their masters commands)

Another German outlet, Junge Welt, noticed the deletion on Thursday evening. According to JW, Der Spiegel published the three-minute video on Monday. It featured Natalia Usmanova, who had worked at Azovstal before the conflict and sheltered there with her husband and children.

In the recording, Usmanova tells reporters thatAzov militants “kept us in the bunker” for two months and did not allow her family to leaveusing the humanitarian corridors established by Russian troops.

“They hid behind the fact that they are supposedly concerned about our safety,” Usmanova said, according to a German translation, adding that her family was repeatedly yelled at to “Go back to the bunker!”

“Ukraine has died for me as a state,” Usmanova said at the end of her testimony.

Der Spiegel said it had obtained the video from Reuters, and that it was temporarily taken down “because of discrepancies in content that were subsequently discovered.” Asked to specify the alleged discrepancies by RIA Novosti, Der Spiegel said they were “still in the process of clarifying this issue.”

The video published by Reuters is only a minute long, however, and has Usmanova talking about the intensity of artillery fire and the difficult life inside the bunker. Both videos come from the same interview with multiple press outlets – including RIA Novosti, which has confirmed the authenticity of Usmanova’s remarks from the now-deleted Spiegel clip.

Instead of the video, the German magazine now features a photo of Usmanova in a bus with other civilians, taken by a RIA Novosti photographer on May 1.

Usmanova’s testimony directly contradicts claims by Azov militants and the government in Kiev that Russia is preventing the evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal complex. Moscow has repeatedly opened humanitarian corridors from the area. The UN announced that another 500 civilians have been evacuated from the plant in the night between Thursday and Friday.

Russia attacked the neighboring state in late February, following Ukraine’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German- and French-brokered protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.

https://www.rt.com/russia/555093-spiegel-video-azovstal-mariupol/

7 May, 2022 13:37

HomeBusiness News

Russia ramps up sales of crude to India – Reuters

Rosneft reportedly sold 700,000 tons of Urals to an Indian refining major

Russia’s state-run oil giant Rosneft has reportedly sold a large shipment of crude to India as the South Asian nation keeps boosting energy imports from the sanctions-hit country.

Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the country’s top refiner, purchased 700,000 tons of Russian Urals crude, two traders familiar with the matter told Reuters, adding that Rosneft had allocated seven cargoes loading from the Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga between May 15 and 31 to India.

Shipments of Urals crude to India have risen since the launch of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, Refinitiv Eikon data shows, as Ukraine-related sanctions push Russian exports toward Asia.

In December, IOC and Rosneft signed a term contract for supply of up to two million tons of Urals oil until the end of the current year. Under the deal, the Indian firm bought several Urals cargoes from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.

Earlier this week, the EU authorities unveiled a sixth batch of sanctions targeting Moscow over its offensive against Ukraine. The latest measures include an embargo on Russian crude oil imports within six months.

International traders will have to stop purchases of oil from Rosneft after May 15 as EU sanctions on several Russian companies come into effect.

In April, India reportedly asked state-run energy companies toevaluate the possibility of acquiring a 19.75% stake, which was previously owned by UK-based energy giant BP, in sanctions-hit Rosneft.

https://www.rt.com/business/555119-russia-india-oil-sales-increase/

6 May, 2022 18:58

HomeWorld News

'Her Majesty's Russia Unit': How British spies have launched a full-scale propaganda war to demonize Moscow

Britain's international information war strategy was developed years ago

Part 1 of 1

(This is huge anons)

The growing political feud between Russia and the West has spurred the activation of specialized propaganda and intelligence units. With regards to the Ukraine crisis, experts say one of the most active parties has been the United Kingdom, which in recent years has stepped up its efforts to demonise Russia by waging a full-scale propaganda war.

As an RT analysis has shown, Britain’s "HMG Russia Unit," an interdepartmental government organization created several years ago, has acted as a front for soft influence operations against Moscow with the assistance of international consulting organizations.

Up until now, the activities of the operation had not been publicly visible. However, last month publications containing its employees’ personal information appeared in a number of Russian Telegram channels. It is alleged that the email addresses included in these posts belong to employees of the HMG Russia Unit who are also connected to various other UK government departments, including the Cabinet Office, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, military intelligence, MI5, and the Ministry of Defence, as well as American curators attached to the group.

Prioritized Propaganda

To begin with, let’s explain how a group specifically targeting Russia appeared within the British government, what its purpose is, and what it does.

“The government has long recognized the presence of a sustained and significant threat from Russia to the UK and its allies, including both conventional military capabilities and disinformation, illegal financial transactions, influence operations, and cyber-attacks,” said a report submitted to parliament by the Office of the British Prime Minister in 2020.

For the British government, Russia has become “one of the main priorities from the point of view of national security,” it adds.

“This is why in 2017 the Government implemented the NSC-endorsed (National Security Council — RT) Russia Strategy, and in 2017 established the cross-Government Russia Unit which brings together the UK’s diplomatic, intelligence and military capabilities to maximum effect,” the report goes on to say.

According to the British government’s own reports, the HMG Russia Unit, which was formally attached to the UK Foreign Office, was primarily tasked with coordinating information and propaganda campaigns aimed against Russia. This can be traced from data released by the British government and, in particular, from a large-scale program financed by the UK Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) that was carried out by the Foreign Office up until 2021 to develop media resources, including in Russian, and so-called "counter disinformation."

The program notes that the United Kingdom is working with a number of partners to improve the quality of public and independent media resources, including Russian-speaking ones, so they can “support social cohesion, uphold universal values and provide communities in countries across Eastern Europe with access to reliable information.”

The forms of support vary. They include, for example, mentoring by British media staff, consultations on creating broadcast networks, financing of joint productions, and support for regional media projects in Russian.

“In the coming year we will be investing over £8m in supporting public service and independent media. This will include projects in the Baltic States and Ukraine, as well as regional initiatives,” according to a document published by the UK government.

Continued below

https://www.rt.com/news/555064-london-consulting-companies-against-moscow/

>>16228852

'Her Majesty's Russia Unit': How British spies

Part 2 of 2

Contract for Demonization

However, the HMG Russia Unit’s efforts are not limited to coordinating propaganda efforts. From data on the UK government’s public procurement portal, it can be seen that it has served as a customer for the Green Finance initiative – a British-Russian project aimed at promoting sustainable financing for developing institutional ties between Moscow and London in the environmental and economic spheres. The final date for fulfilling the contract is March 31, 2022.

Funds in the amount of £987,600 were received by the well-known consulting company PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC).

If we analyze the UK government’s funding allocations targeting Russia, it turns out that in addition to PwC, Moody’s Analytics (a Moody’s subsidiary) received funds through a specialized non-profit entity namedUK Research and Innovationas part of a contract to track companies and individuals that have been sanctioned over the Ukraine conflict. The relevant restrictions are noted on a portal for the placement of UK government contracts.

The involvement of private international consulting companies in promoting the UK agenda with respect to Russia, as well as the post-Soviet space, logically correlates with the HMG Russia Unit’s involvement in large-scale projects to demonize Russia’s image.

In this regard, there is a noteworthy letter dated February 7, 2019, addressed to the British investigative journalist Till Bruckner, who had requested data on the activities of the Integrity Initiative from the British Foreign Office. It states that in 2017-2018, £296,500 was earmarked to finance the project, and an additional £1.961 million in 2019.

A response to the journalist’s request was received from the HMG Russia Unit.The Integrity Initiativehas been flagged as one of Britain’s main programs responsible for spreading anti-Russia fakes and waging a propaganda war against Moscow. At the same time, as RT noted back in 2018, the Anonymous hackers’ collective published internal documents from the Integrity Initiative that revealed the mechanisms British media networks employ in their subversive work aimed at Russia.

‘Fake’ Trendsetters

British influence networks initially set a certain standard for the West’s anti-Russian template, Alexey Martynov, a political scientist who heads the Institute of Newly Established States, said in an interview with RT.

“The British are trendsetters, in a sense. The now popular buzzword ‘fake news’, the formation of false narratives, the management of media streams – all this was born in their heads,” says the political scientist. “Goebbels studied with British military propagandists. What they are doing is military propaganda.”

The academic noted that using private consulting companies and rating agencies as tools to influence Russia was a ‘soft power’ tactic traditionally employed by specialized British agencies.

“Any rating agency is created as a tool for manipulating media flows, and other business dimensions grow out of this. They also have access to domestic statistics that are not available to the public,” the political scientist said. “These mechanisms have been tested since the 1990s, when all data was opened to foreign ‘partners’. Then these mechanisms were created – it is important to have a high ranking with rating agencies, otherwise you won’t receive loans.”

The UK continues to ramp up its sanctions against Russia. In May it announced another package of restrictive measures, adding more individuals and legal entities from Russia to the list and planning to ban imports of russian oil. In April, London also banned the import of Russian silver, caviar, and wood products.

https://www.rt.com/news/555064-london-consulting-companies-against-moscow/

6 May, 2022 15:56

Global energy watchdog warns against Russia sanctions

The crisis will have huge consequences for the global economy, IEA says

Western sanctions against Russia and Moscow’s retaliatory measures will have big implications for the global energy market, Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said in Vienna on Friday.

“I believe that we are in the middle of the first global energy crisis. In the 70s we saw the oil crisis, which had great consequences for the economy and inflation.But then it was only oil,” he said.

“Let’s remember that Russia … is the world’s number one oil and natural gas exporter, as well as a major player in the market for materials used by the energy sector,” Birol added.

“Therefore, the sanctions that were imposed on Russia or political decisions from the Kremlin have and will have great consequences for the energy market.”

According to Birol, it would be too optimistic to believe that the current volatility in the energy market could end soon and that the world could return to times of low prices and stable market conditions.

https://www.rt.com/business/555087-energy-warning-russia-sanctions/

6 May, 2022 18:01

US reveals date of major step in arming Ukraine

Legislation will make it easier for Washington to send unlimited military equipment to Ukraine

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has confirmed that President Joe Biden will sign the Lend-Lease Act of 2022 on Monday. The legislation will make it easier for Washington to ship more types of weapons to Ukraine.

The authorisation will take place onMay 9, or "Victory Day" – when the defeat of Nazi Germany is celebrated annually in Russia. The symbolism will almost certainly raise eyebrows in Moscow.

“The president will sign the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022,” Psaki said on Friday, aboard Air Force One en route to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Biden is set to meet manufacturing leaders in the Greater Cincinnati area on Friday afternoon.

The “Lend-Lease Act,” which was previously used to help the allies during WWII, was revived and backed by the US Congress last week and will allow the US to export unlimited weapons to Kiev.

While the bill was approved by Congress last week,it was put together back in January – more than a month before Moscow recognized the Donbassrepublics as independent and sent troops into Ukraine.

Moscow has repeatedly condemned the US and its NATO allies for delivering arms to Ukraine, insisting that the inflow of supplies will only prolong the conflict. The Kremlin has also said Western weapons are considered a legitimate target once they enter Ukrainian territory.

Since Russia launched its military operation on February 24, Washington has pledged almost $15 billion in military aid to Kiev. Biden has urged Congress to pass his $33-billion Ukraine aid package, which would direct $20 billion toward providing military support for Kiev.

https://www.rt.com/news/555096-biden-signing-lend-lease-ukraine/

6 May, 2022 15:06

Europe becoming cocaine hub – Europol

The second-most-consumed drug in Europe had a market retail value of over $11 billion in 2020

Europe’s cocaine market is expanding amid “unprecedented levels” of trafficking and “historically high availability,” EU agencies said in a report on Friday, warning that the continent is increasingly becoming a hub for the production and trans-shipment of drugs around the world.

The growth in the European market is driven by high levels of production in South America and new production capabilities inside Europ itself, the joint report by Europol and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) said.

This has resulted in “record levels of drug availability, rising violence and corruption, and greater health problems” across the continent, EMCDDA director Alexis Goosdeel said in a statement.

Cocaine is the second-most-consumed drug in Europe after cannabis, with a market value of around €10.5 billion ($11.1 billion) in 2020, the report said. Around 3.5 million Europeans aged between 13 and 64 reported using the drug in the past year. This could grow even more as new types of “smokable cocaine products” with added health risks appear on the market, it added.

Record amounts of cocaine have been seized on the continent for four consecutive years, with 2020 seeing a 6% rise from 2019. Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain accounted for three-quarters of the European total – but large quantities were also seized in Italy, France, Germany and Portugal, according to the report. Entry points for shipments are also diversifying, with larger amounts being seized in Eastern Europe and Turkey.

The EU report also warned about a “small, but steadily growing” methamphetamine market in the EU. Methamphetamine, the most widely consumed synthetic stimulant drug in the world, is produced in the region to supply internal and external markets. Europe is also a destination and transit zone for the drug from other production hubs in the Middle East, Africa and South America, the report said.

Europol Executive Director Catherine De Bolle said fighting the illegal drug trade remained a “key priority” for the EU and that “understanding the market dynamics” is crucial in formulating effective law enforcement responses.

(If they couldnt kill them with lockdowns, Covid, jabs and war in Ukraine, they’ll do it by flooding Europe with drugs)

https://www.rt.com/news/555090-europe-drug-hub-cocaine/

6 May, 2022 10:51

Europe buying natural gas at premium – media

The continent urgently needs to fill up its storage before the next heating season starts

(Seriously what country is benefitting from this stupid war, besides Russia?)

The EU has ramped up energy purchases, importing natural gas at a premium because of its urgent need to fill storage facilities before either winter comes or Russia turns the gas taps off due to importers refusal to pay in rubles.

Data from Reuters shows that inventories are currently filling up faster than previously expected. According to statistics, requests for Russian gas deliveries to Europe hit a five-month high this month. LNG imports have also been on the rise.

According to the report, at the start of May, natural gas inventory levels in Europe were 18% below the five-year average from before the pandemic. The amount of gas in storage in the EU and the UK has grown to 380 terawatt-hours (TWh). At this rate, gas in storage could reach 904 TWh by October 1 when the heating season begins, analysts say.

The EU pledged to slash Russian gas imports by two-thirds by next year and to eliminate its dependence before 2030. The push to wean itself off Russian energy comes amid already growing global demand and high LNG prices. Russia has been a major supplier of energy to the EU, meeting roughly 40% of the bloc’s demand for natural gas.

According to researcher EWI, if Moscow suspends gas flows now, the EU—excluding Spain and Portugal—and the UK, together, would need to slash gas consumption by 459 TWh during the summer. In case the region seeks to maintain a 33% level of gas inventories to total capacity, then it would have to reduce consumption by as much as 790 TWh, the researcher said.

Meanwhile, concerns have been growing that if the EU is buying up natural gas at “exceptionally high prices,” then the price it would sell it for to its consumers would simply be not affordable for everyone. Businesses and consumers across the continent have already been struggling with their electricity bills, and some have even warned about imminent bankruptcies because of excessive energy costs.

https://www.rt.com/business/555060-europe-paying-premium-gas-price/

5 May, 2022 15:44

Is the West at war with disinformation or dissent?

As populism rises in the West, so do crackdowns on narratives that deviate from those of the state

Rachel Marsden

When US President Joe Biden announced on April 27 that a new Disinformation Governance Board would serve the Department of Homeland Security, it was just the latest turn of the screw on freedom. This time, it’s an affront to citizens’ right to a diversity of information.

It’s one thing to correct inaccurate information, but this new entity seems more oriented towards narrative-policing that cracks down on the interpretation of information rather than the accuracy of it. Headed by a former communications advisor to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry,Nina Jankowicz, one of the board’s first responsibilities will be to address “disinformation coming from Russia as well as misleading messages about the US-Mexico border,” according to CBS News. Interesting that these two issues – immigration and foreign conflicts – are currently viewed as two of Washington’s most significant failures, which have given rise to populist dissent. Make no mistake, it’s the dissent that’s the ultimate target.

The fact that a former Ukraine government spin doctor was viewed as the best person to head up the new initiative tells you everything you need to know about its true purpose. Jankowicz published a book in 2020 whose title suggests that she believes the West to be in an online war with Russia. ‘How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict,’ portrays Western narratives as truthful and Russian narratives as “fake news.” Doing so obscures the fact that the mainstream Western media has not been immune to propagating narratives peddled by the state that could retroactively be considered fake news or war propaganda. Meanwhile, Russian media has often provided a platform for those seeking to express – or access – dissenting analysis or information that falls outside of the Western media bubble. Clearly, there are some ‘democracies’ that are bothered by this.

The appetite of Western nations to ensure that their citizens are only fed information that they control through their own highly concentrated government or corporate subsidized media isn’t new.It’s just getting more voracious. Perhaps it’s because the more authoritarian their agenda becomes, the more populist sentiment increases and gives rise to events such as Brexit or the election of Donald Trump, as well as trends such as opposition to US-backed conflicts, the rise in popularity of various populist political parties in Europe, and demonstrations against pandemic mandates, which just happen to be associated with government-issued QR codes.

Dissent is the enemy of authoritarian ambition. Supposedly free countries have manipulated their citizens into believing that censorship of certain views is for people’s own safety and security – hence why the military in Canada, the UK, and France, and now Homeland Security in the US, are involved in narrative policing. In reality, their efforts seem to be more about ensuring citizens’ compliance with their own agenda.

The fusion of domestic security and disinformation came to light as early as 2016, when the European Parliament grotesquely conflated Islamic terrorist propaganda with Russian media, in what seemed to be itself a propaganda effort to undermine the Russian media by equating these two totally unrelated things. But one by one, Western governments have placed free speech under national security control….

France its domestic intelligence agency (the DGSI). Canada has Communications Security Establishment and CBC and Britain has the psychological warfare specialists of the 77th brigade of Britain’s armed forces.

The fact that public safety and disinformation have suddenly become routinely conflated should be worrisome to defenders of whatever remnants of democracy that we still have left. Terrorism, health and now disinformation have all served as pretexts for the rapid erosion of our freedoms – all under the guise of protecting us from bad actors. But are we really safer?Or are we just increasingly less free?

https://www.rt.com/news/554978-us-disinformation-governance-board/