27 Sep, 2022 19:39

Donbass referendum results revealed

The republics previously recognized by Moscow have opted to join Russia, based on preliminary polls

The majority of citizens of both the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) support the idea of uniting with Russia, according to local election commissions.

In the DPR, more than 99% of voters supported the idea of joining Russia, according to early official figures. The referendum in the LPR yielded a similar result, with more than 98% of voters supporting the potential reunification. In both republics, all the ballots have already been counted, according to local authorities.

The polls were conducted in the republics, as well as in the Moscow-controlled parts of Ukraine’s Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions, between September 23 and 27.

Both republics – which broke away from Kiev in the aftermath of the 2014 Maidan coup and the conflict in Ukraine’s east that followed – have shown a turnout of over 80% for the referendums, official figures show.

Ukraine and its Western supporters have already rejected the referendums on joining Russia as a “sham” ballot, vowing to not recognize the results regardless of their outcome. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky warned that Russia’s completion of the referendums would “make it impossible, in any case, to continue any diplomatic negotiations” with Moscow.

https://www.rt.com/russia/563562-donbass-referendums-results-polls/

27 Sep, 2022 19:39

Donbass referendum results revealed

The republics previously recognized by Moscow have opted to join Russia, based on preliminary polls

The majority of citizens of both the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) support the idea of uniting with Russia, according to local election commissions.

In the DPR, more than 99% of voters supported the idea of joining Russia, according to early official figures. The referendum in the LPR yielded a similar result, with more than 98% of voters supporting the potential reunification. In both republics, all the ballots have already been counted, according to local authorities.

The polls were conducted in the republics, as well as in the Moscow-controlled parts of Ukraine’s Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions, between September 23 and 27.

Both republics – which broke away from Kiev in the aftermath of the 2014 Maidan coup and the conflict in Ukraine’s east that followed – have shown a turnout of over 80% for the referendums, official figures show.

Ukraine and its Western supporters have already rejected the referendums on joining Russia as a “sham” ballot, vowing to not recognize the results regardless of their outcome. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky warned that Russia’s completion of the referendums would “make it impossible, in any case, to continue any diplomatic negotiations” with Moscow.

https://www.rt.com/russia/563562-donbass-referendums-results-polls/

27 Sep, 2022 19:39

Donbass referendum results revealed

The republics previously recognized by Moscow have opted to join Russia, based on preliminary polls

The majority of citizens of both the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) support the idea of uniting with Russia, according to local election commissions.

In the DPR, more than 99% of voters supported the idea of joining Russia, according to early official figures. The referendum in the LPR yielded a similar result, with more than 98% of voters supporting the potential reunification. In both republics, all the ballots have already been counted, according to local authorities.

The polls were conducted in the republics, as well as in the Moscow-controlled parts of Ukraine’s Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions, between September 23 and 27.

Both republics – which broke away from Kiev in the aftermath of the 2014 Maidan coup and the conflict in Ukraine’s east that followed – have shown a turnout of over 80% for the referendums, official figures show.

Ukraine and its Western supporters have already rejected the referendums on joining Russia as a “sham” ballot, vowing to not recognize the results regardless of their outcome. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky warned that Russia’s completion of the referendums would “make it impossible, in any case, to continue any diplomatic negotiations” with Moscow.

https://www.rt.com/russia/563562-donbass-referendums-results-polls/

27 Sep, 2022 19:39

Donbass referendum results revealed

The republics previously recognized by Moscow have opted to join Russia, based on preliminary polls

The majority of citizens of both the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) support the idea of uniting with Russia, according to local election commissions.

In the DPR, more than 99% of voters supported the idea of joining Russia, according to early official figures. The referendum in the LPR yielded a similar result, with more than 98% of voters supporting the potential reunification. In both republics, all the ballots have already been counted, according to local authorities.

The polls were conducted in the republics, as well as in the Moscow-controlled parts of Ukraine’s Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions, between September 23 and 27.

Both republics – which broke away from Kiev in the aftermath of the 2014 Maidan coup and the conflict in Ukraine’s east that followed – have shown a turnout of over 80% for the referendums, official figures show.

Ukraine and its Western supporters have already rejected the referendums on joining Russia as a “sham” ballot, vowing to not recognize the results regardless of their outcome. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky warned that Russia’s completion of the referendums would “make it impossible, in any case, to continue any diplomatic negotiations” with Moscow.

https://www.rt.com/russia/563562-donbass-referendums-results-polls/

Ukraine can use Western weapons against ‘territories seized by Russia’ – US

US Secretary of State Blinken says Washington won’t recognize “annexed” regions as Russian

Washington has no objections to Kiev using Western-supplied weapons to target territories that may decide to join Russia, as the US considers the vote to do so illegitimate, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday.

The US and its allies have supplied Ukraine with a variety of weapons, including tube and rocket artillery. At a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Washington, Blinken was asked if the US had any objections to Ukraine using those weapons to attack targets in Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye and Kherson, which just wrapped up a vote on joining Russia.

“We will never recognize the annexation of Ukrainian territory by Russia,” Blinken told reporters. “Ukraine has the absolute right to defend itself throughout its territory, including to take back the territory that has been illegally seized, one way or another, by Russia. And the equipment, the weapons that we and many other countries are providing, have been used very effectively to do just that.”

Russia’s “annexation” of the Donbass republics and the two regions will make zero difference to either Ukraine or the US, Blinken insisted. “The Ukrainians will continue to do what they need to do to get back the land that has been taken from them. We will continue to support them in that effort.”

In June, when the US first sent long-range HIMARS rocket artillery to Ukraine, Blinken said he had received “assurances” from Kiev that they will not be used on Russian territory, and that he believed them due to a “strong trust bond.”

Kiev’s forces have since used the US-supplied weapons to target civilians in Donbass, Kherson and Zaporozhye, which are under Russian control. Ukraine has also bombed Crimea and border towns in the Russian regions of Kursk and Belgorod. Crimea rejoined Russia in March 2014, after the US-backed coup in Kiev, while Donetsk and Lugansk declared independence.

Blinken also accused Russia of a “diabolical scheme” to deport or “disappear” the local Ukrainian population and “bus in” Russians who would then vote in a manipulated referendum to get annexed by Moscow.

https://www.rt.com/news/563631-blinken-ukraine-targeting-russia/

The US and Blinken are giving the green light on killing innocent civilians

27 Sep, 2022 20:02

Four regions vote to join Russia: What’s next?

The accession process of Donbass and two regions of southern Ukraine to Russia will include several steps

The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (LPR and DPR) along with Kherson Region and part of Zaporozhye Region in southern Ukraine have voted to join Russia in referendums that were held between September 23 and 27.

In Lugansk, more than 98% of voters have supported the idea to join Russia, official figures show with all the ballots counted. Donetsk has shown similar results withmore than 99% of voterssupporting the move. Both Zaporozhye and Kherson regions have process all the ballots by late Tuesday, with 93% and 87% of voters respectively backing the split from Ukraine and reunification with Russia.

The process of integrating new regions into Russia may take some time as it requires the approval of the country’s parliament and the president. But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that he was “convinced it will be fast enough.”

Under the Russian constitution and the federal law on the accession of new constituent members, the procedure includes several steps. Once the regions willing to become part of the Russian Federation submit their proposals to Moscow, the president should inform parliament and the government on the matter, Senator Konstantin Kosachev explained in a Telegram post last week.

If a political agreement on the accession is reached, “draft international treaties on the admission of foreign states or parts of them” to Russia should be developed, Kosachev, the vice speaker of the upper house of parliament, said. These agreements regulate issues such as the name and status of new territories, citizenship, succession, the functioning of public authorities, the operation of legislation, and so forth.

After these treaties are signed, the Russian Constitutional Court should verify if they comply with the country’s supreme law. If there are no violations, the next step will be the ratification of the documents by the lower house, the State Duma, and their approval by the upper house, the Federation Council.

Simultaneously, a draft federal constitutional law on the admission of new constituent units to Russia should be submitted to the Duma. If approved, it then goes to the upper house for consideration.

“This law enters into force no earlier than the entry into force of the international treaties themselves,” Kosachev noted.

Moscow warned earlier that if the Donbass republics and the two southern Ukrainian regions united with Russia, it would consider any attempts by Kiev to retake them as attacks on its own land. “Immediately the Russian Constitution will come into force in relation to these territories where everything is very clearly stated in this regard,” Peskov told journalists last week.

Shortly after the regions decided to hold referendums, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization that involved calling to arms some 300,000 reservists, according to the military. Media reports have suggested that Moscow allegedly plans to mobilize up to a million.

Kiev considers the territories willing to join Russia to be under illegal occupation and said it would not recognize the results of the referendums. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has ruled out any possibility of talks after the voting.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba stated last Tuesday that “Ukraine has every right to liberate its territories and will keep liberating them, whatever Russia has to say.”

The EU and the US have already called the voting a “sham.” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS on Sunday that the LPR, DPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions “will never be recognized” as part of Russian territory. He added that Kiev had “every right”to take them back.

https://www.rt.com/russia/563558-donbass-joining-procedure-steps/

27 Sep, 2022 19:47

Ukraine’s Kherson votes to join Russia

According to early referendum results, Kherson Region has opted to break away from Ukraine and become part of Russia

Ukraine’s Kherson Region, which is largely controlled by Russian forces, has opted to break away from Kiev in a referendum, official results made public on Tuesday show.

Some 87% of voters have supported the idea of breaking away from Ukraine and joining Russia, according to official figures.

The polls were conducted in the region from September 23 to 27.

Russian forces took Kherson Region under control early in the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev that broke out in late February. In recent weeks, Ukraine launched an offensive to try and recapture it, but its military efforts have largely failed.

Kiev and its Western supporters have repeatedly condemned the referendums, denouncing them as a “sham” vote. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky warned that the completion of the referendums would make any further diplomatic negotiations with Moscow “impossible.”

Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian president Pyotr Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and “create powerful armed forces.”

In February 2022, the Kremlin recognized the Donbass republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked.

https://www.rt.com/russia/563564-kherson-referendum-early-results/

27 Sep, 2022 19:47

Ukraine’s Kherson votes to join Russia

According to early referendum results, Kherson Region has opted to break away from Ukraine and become part of Russia

Ukraine’s Kherson Region, which is largely controlled by Russian forces, has opted to break away from Kiev in a referendum, official results made public on Tuesday show.

Some 87% of voters have supported the idea of breaking away from Ukraine and joining Russia, according to official figures.

The polls were conducted in the region from September 23 to 27.

Russian forces took Kherson Region under control early in the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev that broke out in late February. In recent weeks, Ukraine launched an offensive to try and recapture it, but its military efforts have largely failed.

Kiev and its Western supporters have repeatedly condemned the referendums, denouncing them as a “sham” vote. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky warned that the completion of the referendums would make any further diplomatic negotiations with Moscow “impossible.”

Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian president Pyotr Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and “create powerful armed forces.”

In February 2022, the Kremlin recognized the Donbass republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked.

https://www.rt.com/russia/563564-kherson-referendum-early-results/

27 Sep, 2022 17

US speaks out on claims of ‘sabotage’ on Russia’s Nord Stream

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says initial reports point to sabotage or attack on the gas pipelines

Commenting on reports that the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines have been disabled by sabotage or deliberate attacks, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said such an attack is “in no one’s interest.” He added, however, that the current situation represents an opportunity for Europe.

“The leaks are under investigation. There are initial reports indicating that this may be the result of an attack or some kind of sabotage, but these are initial reports and we haven’t confirmed them yet. But if it is confirmed, that’s clearly in no one’s interest,” Blinken said during a joint press conference with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who is visiting Washington.

Following up on the question, Blinken said the US priority was to impose a price cap on Russian oil exports and “surge” supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe. The US became the world’s largest LNG exporter this year, partly due to the embargo against Russia imposed by Washington and its allies.

While there are “clear challenges in the months ahead” in terms of Europe’s energy supply, “there is also a very significant opportunity to do two things,” Blinken pointed out. The first is to “finally end the dependence of Europe on Russian energy” and the second is to “accelerate the transition to renewables”so the West can address the “climate challenge.”

Both Nord Stream pipelines, which connect Russia to Germany under the Black Sea, lost pressure on Monday. Danish authorities discovered a massive gas leak near the island of Bornholm, and closed the area off to navigation. Berlin has been investigating the incident as a deliberate attack, either by pro-Ukrainian forces or as a “false flag” by Russia, German media reported, citing anonymous government officials.

Russia is “very concerned” about the situation and has called for an immediate investigation, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. Nord Stream’s operator said three undersea gas lines had suffered “unprecedented” damage, adding that it was impossible to estimate when service might be restored.

Nord Stream 1 had been in service since 2011, but has been operating under a reduced regimen since the end of August, with Russia citing technical difficulties caused by Western sanctions.

Nord Stream 2 was completed in September 2021 and fully pressurized, but Berlin froze its certification in February, prior to the Russian military operation in Ukraine. The pressure loss came amid rising protests in Germany, demanding the unblocking of the pipeline to deal with the worsening energy crisis.

https://www.rt.com/news/563626-blinken-nord-stream-sabotage/

There’s no fucking climate challenge, you want to kill another million citizens. Blinken is seriously underfunded in his abilty to cognize and access knowledge and wisdom.

.

27 Sep, 2022 18:24

US must end ‘blind engagement’ with China – Pompeo

The former secretary of state says Washington must work to prevent a “Chinese century”

The US must abandon the “old paradigm of blind engagement” in its relations with Beijing if it wants to prevent Xi Jinping’s dream of a “Chinese century,” former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo warnedduring a four-day visit to the self-governing island of Taiwan.

Speaking at the first Global Business Forum in Kaohsiung on Tuesday, Pompeo criticized the Biden administration’s “muddled and confusing” comments on how it would respond to a Chinese attack on Taiwan, the South China Morning Post reported.

“America must admit the hard truth. If we want a free 21st century, and not the Chinese century – the century which Xi Jinping dreams up – the old paradigm of blind engagement must end,” he urged.

Washington must engage with Beijing on “the terms of freedom,” Pompeo said, calling on the US and its allies to pursue “strategic decoupling with China,” which he called a“repressive adversary.”

Pompeo, who also served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, has long been one of the most vocal critics of the Chinese government, and was seen as one of the key architects of Washington’s hawkish stance towards Beijing during Donald Trump’s presidency.

China, meanwhile, has urged the US to change its attitude if the two countries wish to get along on the world stage. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his US counterpart Antony Blinken last week that Sino-American relations were at a “critical juncture” and insisted that both sides must find a way to cooperate in a “responsible attitude towards the world.”

“We hope that the US will correct its perception of China… and stop trying to deal with the Chinese from a position of strength,”said Wang.

Tensions between Washington and Beijing have been on the rise since US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi became the highest-ranking US official to make a trip to the self-governing island of Taiwan last month despite China’s repeated warnings against it.

Wang has stated that if Washington continues to interfere in Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory, it would be an affront to China’s sovereignty. He further added that any pledge to defend the island in the event of Beijing deciding to reclaim it would send a “very wrong and dangerous signal.”

https://www.rt.com/news/563629-mike-pompeo-us-china/

Once SeeEyeAye, always SeeEyeAye

27 Sep, 2022 13:25

HomeRussia & FSU

Timofey Bordachev: Russia’s conflict with the West leads to questions over the value of military and political alliances

Even if we survive a global nuclear catastrophe over the next few years, the future fabric of international life is very uncertain

The continuing military and diplomatic clash between Russia and the West, led by the United States, raises questions to which, until recently, the answers seemed obvious. These include the phenomena of permanent alliances and allied relations.

It is no secret that the behaviour of Moscow’s formal allies in the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in today’s environment raises questions for the Kremlin, while Russia’s opponents are raising hopes that the existence of these blocs is no longer an advantage, but a problem, for Russia’s foreign and defence policy.

We see examples of individual member countries of the CSTO or the EAEU meeting US demands in matters related to economic warfare against Russia. This makes one wonder how important and necessary are Russia’s allies when it cannot, like the US, exercise authoritarian control over its foreign and defence policies?

The phenomenon of permanent alliance relations is a relatively recent invention in international politics – it emerged after the Second World War and it is entirely unknown whether the next round of global upheavals of a similar scale will see it survive. Even if we are not all blown to bits by a general nuclear catastrophe in the coming years, what is happening makes the prospects for all the phenomena that have shaped the fabric of international life in recent decades, without exception, highly uncertain.

Today, the benchmark example of a permanent alliance of sovereign states is European integration. Another similar example is the NATO bloc, in which participation is cemented by the unconditional authority of a power far superior to its allies and not shy in making that clear.

It is no coincidence that the conflict around Ukraine, the first major war of the new era in international politics, is linked to the development of these two alliances. A strong group of states inevitably creates conflicts around itself. Indeed, this becomes a consequence of the fact that it protects the interests of its members.

From a theoretical point of view, the phenomenon of alliances is based on a simple formula: stability comes from mitigating inevitable injustices between states of different strengths, through consciously considering the interests of alliance partners as their own, or at least as close as possible to this.

This is also the basis of the idea of collective security, first formulated back in the [early 19th century] era of the Congress of Vienna by Klemens von Metternich. By the way, he was the representative of the weakest power among of the victors over Napoleon and, moreover, located in the centre of Europe, and therefore most interested in a stable order. In other words, even relatively permanent alliances are a product of weakness rather than strength and are not the best way for a state to survive if it is unable to defend its interests on its own.

Not surprisingly, the idea of permanent alliances did not take root until the middle of the twentieth century, because the world in which the great European empires ruled did not require them to have permanent relations, only ad hoc or interest-driven ones.

Everyone knows how chaotic the formation of the coalitions that engaged with each other in 1914 was. Their final composition had less to do with common views, or even the strategic interests of the participating countries, and more to do with an ad hoc calculation of the balance of forces and resources each side needed to win. And because the balance proved to be evenly matched, the war, instead of the impetuous campaigns of the 19th century or the elegant manoeuvres of the 18th century, became an endless mutual annihilation…

https://www.rt.com/russia/563607-bordachev-russias-conflict-with-west/

27 Sep, 2022 16:38

Türkiye responds to ‘vulgar’ comments by German politician

Germany’s ambassador to Ankara was handed note of protest after a senior official called President Erdogan a “sewer rat”

Türkiye has expressed outrage over derogatory remarks made by German Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Berlin’s ambassador to Ankara was summoned on Tuesday to be handed a note of “strong” protest over the statements, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgic condemned Kubicki’s “insulting statements”made during his election campaign in Lower Saxony, claiming they were “unacceptable”and that the politician was “not suitable” for his position in parliament.

While the Foreign Ministry did not disclose which particular statements drew the attention of Ankara, some media outlets pointed to Kubicki referring to Erdogan as a “sewer rat”and blaming him for potentially creating another migrant crisis in Europe.

“He is completely devoid of political morality and responsibility,” Bilgic said of Kubicki, adding that such “indecent statements”indicate his “political and moral level, and reveal his vulgarity."

Kubicki has since confirmed to Reuters that he did in fact refer to Erdogan as a “sewer rat”while addressing a rally during his election campaign. The German politician, who is part of the pro-business Free Democratic Party, one of the ruling parties in the country, said he made the comparison while trying to draw attention to the rise in the number of illegal migrants moving to Germany from Türkiye, which he said “could intentionally spark the next [migrant] crisis.”

“The wave of refugees along the Balkan route [from Türkiye] is again increasing, which is a challenge for German foreign and domestic policy," he was quoted as saying by Reuters.

According to the Guardian, Ankara has allowed thousands of Syrian refugees to gather along the border between Türkiye and Greece, who are expected to try and collectively cross into the EU. Dubbed the “Caravan of Light” by its organizers, the refugee convoy is believed to have between 85,000 to 100,000 members.

https://www.rt.com/news/563624-turkey-germany-erdogan-insult/

Well he is a sewer rat but he’s your ally sewer rat and avoid dividing the world even further. EU and NATO breaking up in real time. There is no such thing as political morality and responsibility. These people are really strange!