8 Feb, 2023 08:47

Moscow assesses prospects for peace with Kiev

Russia’s UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia has called on the West to stop using Ukrainians in a “proxy war”

The West is onlyprolonging the bloodshed in Ukraine by supplying Kiev with weapons and waging a proxy waragainst Moscow, Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, said on Tuesday. The statement came the same day US President Joe Biden vowed to support Ukraine for “as long as it takes.”

“The prospects of peace will be closer when the flooding of Ukraine with weapons stops… and when they realistically listen to our concerns,” Nebenzia told reporters at a press conference. He urged Ukraine’s Western backers to stop “using Ukrainians to wage a proxy war against us.”

Asked by a reporter if a peaceful resolution to the conflict could happen in 2023, the diplomat replied: “We all hope for peace.”

Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine nearly a year ago, citing the need to protect the people of Donbass and Kiev’s failure to implement the 2014-2015 Minsk peace accords. Many Western countries and NATO members have since supplied Ukraine with heavy weapons, including anti-armor systems, multiple rocket launchers, howitzers and combat drones. Last month, the US, Britain and Germany pledged for the first time to deliver tanks.

In his annual address to Congress on Tuesday, President Biden described Russia’s military operation in Ukraine as “a test for the ages” and threat to “our security and prosperity.”

“Together, we did what America always does at our best.We led. We united NATO and built a global coalition… We stood with the Ukrainian people,” Biden said.

Russia, meanwhile, maintains that foreign arms will not change the course of the conflict and only lead to further escalation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in December that the US and NATO were “directly involved” by providing weapons and training to Ukrainian troops.

Ukrainian officials insist that peace can only be achieved if Russia agrees to surrender its newly incorporated territories. Moscow has rejected these terms as unacceptable.

The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, together with two other former Ukrainian territories – the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions – became parts of Russia after holding referendums on the matter in September. Crimea did the same shortly after the 2014 coup in Kiev.

https://www.rt.com/russia/571156-russian-envoy-ukraine-peace/

8 Feb, 2023 11:36

UK offers to train Ukrainian pilots

PM Rishi Sunak has announced plans to expand assistance to Kiev’s marines and aviators

The UK will step up its military assistance to Ukraine in the coming year and will expand its training program to include fighter pilots and marines, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office stated on Wednesday. The announcement comes as Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky visits London.

The training will be in addition to the recruit training program already running in the UK, which has already seen 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers brought to battle readiness in the last six months, Downing Street said, stating that it hopes to upgrade the skills of a further 20,000 troops in 2023.

“I am proud that today we will expand that training from soldiers to marines and fighter jet pilots, ensuring Ukraine has a military able to defend its interests well into the future,” said Sunak in a statement.

His office also noted that last week a number of Ukrainian troops had arrived in the UK to learn how to command the Challenger 2 tank after Sunak announced the delivery of the hardware to Kiev last month. Additionally, London said it will offer longer-range capabilities to Ukraine in the hopes of helping Kiev relieve the pressure on its frontlines.

Ukraine has repeatedly demanded more advanced weaponry from the West, including tanks, drones and longer-range missiles, arguing that it needs such capabilities to push back Russian forces and take control of territories that it claims as its own.

After the US, Germany, and UK announced the delivery of Leopard 2, M1 Abrams and Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine’s armed forces last month, the Ukrainian government stepped up itsdemands to also include US-made F-16 fighter jets. Berlin and Washington, however, have so far refused to send them, fearing Kiev would use them to strike Russian territory and thus escalate the conflict further.

Downing Street’s statement comes as Zelensky is making his first trip to the UK since fighting broke out between Moscow and Kiev in late February of last year. The president is expected to address the British parliament and hold talks with Sunak about further military aid to Ukraine.

Sunak’s office also said it would soon announce more sanctions on Russia, which will target individuals who are accused of helping President Vladimir Putin “build his personal wealth,” as well as companies who are “profiting from the Kremlin’s war machine.”

(The PM is in a hedge fund invested in Covid vaccines and the fund has made billions on it)

https://www.rt.com/news/571162-uk-ukraine-pilot-training/

8 Feb, 2023 10:01

German defense minister admits Ukraine doubts

Boris Pistorius said it was “difficult” to determine if Kiev could retake Crimea and Donbass

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has expressed uncertainty over Ukraine’s ability to achieve its goal of retaking Crimea and Donbass. The official claimed that the West’s continued support for Kiev would be key in determining the outcome of the conflict with Russia. (Watch for theUkraine Outrage Machineblast out a nasty response shortly)

Speaking to Germany’s Bild newspaper on Tuesday during an official visit to the Ukrainian capital, Pistorius was asked if Kiev would manage to restore control over all the territories within its 1991 borders.

The minister described the question as “difficult” and likened it to a “look into the crystal ball.” While stopping short of a prediction, Pistorius commended the bravery of Kiev’s forces, adding that “it is vital that we continue to support Ukraine to the best of our ability.”

“This is an intense war of attrition. There are insanely high losses,” the German official said.

When asked if he stood by his previous maxim that “Ukraine must win the war,” Pistorius replied: “Yes, of course.”

According to the German minister, much like Ukraine’s ability to make territorial gains, the prospect of peace negotiations remains uncertain.

Pistorius, who took office on January 19, confirmed Berlin’s commitment to providing Kiev with 14 Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks by late March, with the training of Ukrainian personnel expected to start in the near future.

Pistorius stressed that he sees the delivery of air defense systems in the coming months as crucial, whilecalling into question the potential usefulness of submarines, should Kiev request them further down the line.

Responding to Western nations’ plans to supply Ukraine with tanks and other heavy weapons, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu warned on Tuesday that “such moves are essentially dragging NATO countries into the conflict and could lead to an unpredictable escalation.”

However, he expressed confidence that the Russian military would destroy the hardware.

Top Russian officials have consistently argued that Western arms deliveries only serve to prolong the conflict unnecessarily.

(They all know Ukraine will never win!)

https://www.rt.com/news/571155-german-defense-minister-ukraine-crimea-donbass/

8 Feb, 2023 10:12

Exiled opposition leader accuses Western-backed forces of using neo-Nazis in Ukraine

The US and EU have a vested interest in the country, no matter how radical the government becomes, Viktor Medvedchuk said

Radical political forces are a weapon routinely used by Western-backed actors in Ukraine to stifle opponents, exiled opposition leader Viktor Medvedchuk believes. The US and its allies are willing to overlook this as long as it serves their interests, he said.

“Neo-Nazism is the cudgel that pro-Western forces turn to when they lose. Then, the mask of democracy and peacemaking comes off instantly, and opponents find themselves back in the harsh reality ofpolitical cannibalism,” the Ukrainian politician wrote in an analysis of the ongoing conflict, which was published on Wednesday by RIA Novosti.

Medvedchuk’s Opposition Platform – For Life party was the largest opposition faction in the Ukrainian parliament before a government crack down led by President Vladimir Zelensky banned the bloc for supposedly being pro-Russian.

The party was targeted because it had every chance to topple Zelensky at the ballot box, he said, citing opinion polls, but a “system of oppression” was deployed against it.

Historically, in Ukraine “as soon as a non pro-Western force gains ground, scores higher approval, pro-Western forces do everything to ban it,” he wrote. Radicals in the media “slander opposition politicians, threaten their supporters and urge a mass crackdown.”

Today, any speech in the pro-Western media is hailed asfreedom of expression, whereas outlets allowing dissent are “declared propagandists, and its journalists branded traitors” and blacklisted.

The West never sees this as incitement, as a call for violence and lawlessness, as it never sees the ensuing violence and lawlessness.

Meanwhile, thugs who are used to suppress the opposition act with impunity in Ukraine, even maiming and killing their targets, Medvedchuk asserted. Any attempt to defend oneself is treated as “aggression and separatism.”

“Today, Ukraine is in the hands of people, who don’t speak Ukrainian [as their mother tongue] and who are mostly not ethnic Ukrainians,” the politician stated. “They turned the Ukrainian language into a ‘friend-or-foe’ designatorto cover up their true intentions.”

The Ukrainian case stands out because of the resources that the US and its allies have invested into tearing the country away from Russia and showcasing it as an example of pro-Western development, Medvedchuk believes.

If Kiev fails, the “political bankruptcy” of Washington’s global leadership would be exposed, as will the failure of EU expansion, which the politician compared to the construction of theTower of Babelin terms of the chaos it produces.

https://www.rt.com/russia/571158-medvedchuk-west-neonazis-opposition/

What is this guys problem?Ian Miles Cheong really hates PDJT, Catturd and any supporter of him. Meanwhile he’s in love with DeSantis

The insane protecting of DeSantis is really bizarre, I guess they all forget Trump is right about everything!

https://twitter.com/VivaLaAmes11/status/1623099777578635274?s=20&t=KTxAJHluq_9QiG5ej6oypg

https://twitter.com/catturd2/status/1623109612034457600?s=20&t=FQO0dwi_ukE-SlEYRB1qfA

https://twitter.com/catturd2/status/1623339949926883328?s=20&t=H1cUGZYYJsRve9UNMk-zXA

Catturd ™@catturd2

Damn right - it's his fault.

Townhall.com@townhallcom

BIDEN: "Fentanyl is killing more than 70,000 Americans a year."

From the crowd: "IT'S YOUR FAULT!"

10:05 AM · Feb 8, 2023

https://twitter.com/catturd2/status/1623337228058480641

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1622745298438176770?s=20&t=H1cUGZYYJsRve9UNMk-zXA

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1622627861013180417?s=20&t=H1cUGZYYJsRve9UNMk-zXA

Lots of comments from congress today

https://twitter.com/SpeakerMcCarthy/status/1623155367357054982?s=20&t=H1cUGZYYJsRve9UNMk-zXA

youtube.com

Watch Live: Former Twitter executives testify in House hearing on…

10:22 AM ·

https://www.youtube.com/live/-Fo_yD8r

https://www.youtube.com/live/-Fo_yD8r3w4?feature=share

youtube.com

Watch Live: Former Twitter executives testify in House hearing on…

10:22 AM ·

https://www.youtube.com/live/

8 Feb, 2023 04:58

Biden heckled during State of the Union address

The president was jeered by rival lawmakers after claiming some Republicans would like to take the US economy “hostage”

US President Joe Biden was interrupted by boos and shouting during his State of the Union address, with Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene calling him a “liar” after he criticized the GOP’s economic agenda.

Putting heavy emphasis on his domestic policies, Biden touted his administration’s efforts against inflation, unemployment, climate change, Covid-19, and a range of other issues during Tuesday’s speech, at one point accusing lawmakers across the aisle of conspiring to end welfare benefits for Americans.

“Some of my Republican friends want to take the economy hostage – I get it – unless I agree to their economic plans. All of you at home should know what those plans are,” he said. “Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset.”

The comment immediately triggered an uproar, with Republicans loudly booing and hissing at the president, who attempted to appease the angry crowd.

I’m not saying it’s a majority of you,” he continued, going on to offer a copy of a GOP proposal on Medicare and Social Security benefits for “anybody who doubts it.”

Amid the heckling, Congresswoman Greene – known to critics and supporters alike as ‘MTG’ – was heard shouting “liar” toward the podium, also repeatedly giving Biden a thumbs-down. Other lawmakers joined in the display, though some, such as House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, refrained from open disruption and merely shook their heads in disapproval.

While largely focused on economic issues and problems at home, Biden’s speech also touched on foreign affairs, declaring that the US would continue to seek fierce “competition” with China.

“Before I came to office, the story was about how the People’s Republic of China was increasing its power and America was failing in the world. Not anymore,” he said, adding “Today, we’re in the strongest position in decades to compete with China or anyone else in the world.”

The president noted that his administration would cooperate with Beijing wherever possible, but insisted “if China threatens our sovereignty we will act to protect our country, and we did,” referring to the recent shooting-down of a Chinese high-altitude balloon which passed over the US. Washington has suggested the device may have been intended for surveillance, though Chinese officials have rejected the charge.

The conflict in Ukraine was also briefly discussed, with Biden claiming to have “united NATO” and “built a global coalition” to oppose Russia, labeling the hostilities a “test for America.” The president introduced Ukraine’s ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, as a special guest, and reiterated vows to support Kiev with weapons and other aid for “as long as it takes,” having authorized some $30 billion in direct military assistance since last year.

https://www.rt.com/news/571145-biden-heckled-sotu-speech/

https://twitter.com/DrewHLive/status/1623151755017224192

>>18307143

The Democrats are totally ignoring the IC manipulating and lying about Hunter Laptop story on the Live Congressional meeting, Dems are trying to say it was totally justified