14 Mar, 2023 14:04

Kiev decides on defense of key Donbass city

President Zelensky’s office has announced that Ukrainian troops will not leave Bakhmut

Kiev has decided to keep holding and defending the strategic Donbass city of Artyomovsk, known in Ukraine as Bakhmut, President Vladimir Zelensky’s office announced on Tuesday. The city has seen some of the most brutal fighting amid Russia’s year-long military campaign in Ukraine.

President Zelensky met with his top military officials to hear the reports of the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as well as battlefield commanders, who explained the situation on the front line.

“After considering the progress of the defensive operation in the Bakhmut direction, all members of the Staff expressed a common position regarding the further holding and defense of the city of Bakhmut,” a statement on the Presidential Office website read.

Kiev officials also discussed the provision of weapons and ammunition to the front lines, as well as the rates and quantities of Western arms shipments, and their distribution to military groups, according to the statement.

The fight for Artyomovsk – amajor foothold and logistics hubfor Kiev’s forces in the Donetsk People’s Republic – has been raging since August. Russian forces have captured several villages in the region, and recently almost surrounded the city, according to Wagner Private Military Company chief Evgeny Prigozhin. While the situation on the battlefield is constantly changing, last week Prigozhin claimed that Russian forces were also in control of the eastern half of the city.

Although no official casualty numbers have yet been released, Ukraine is believed to have suffered significant losses in the defense of Artyomovsk. According to reports from the Washington Post and other media outlets, Washington has been urging Kiev not to “fixate” on defending the city “at all costs” and has suggested relinquishing it in order to look for opportunities to attack elsewhere.

Nevertheless, Zelensky has insisted on holding Artyomovsk. In an interview with CNN last week, he explained that the battle for the city is “tactical” for Ukraine and that if Russia were to take control of the stronghold, it would have an “open road” to more Kiev-held parts of Donbass.

Zelensky has also suggested that if Artyomovsk were to fall to Russian forces, it would help “mobilize their society” and bolster domestic support for the Russian army.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has claimed that Artyomovsk’s importance is more symbolic than operational. However, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has confirmed that taking the city would allow for “further offensive actions” against the Ukrainian forces.

https://www.rt.com/russia/572967-kiev-defense-bakhmut-zelesnky/

14 Mar, 2023 14:32

Defending Ukraine not key US interest – DeSantis

The Florida governor has contradicted top Republican leaders in his stance on the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev

Becoming increasingly involved in the military confrontation between Ukraine and Russia is not a key interest for the US, Florida’s Republican governor Ron Desantis wrote in response to a question posed by Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Monday.

Carlson asked several “2024 GOP hopefuls” whether opposing Russia in Ukraine was a “vital strategic interest” for the US and shared DeSantis’ response on Twitter. The governor stated that the US had many “vital national interests,” such as securing its borders, addressing the recruitment crisis within the US military, achieving energy security and independence, and “checking the economic, cultural, and military power of the Chinese Communist Party.”

However, becoming “further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them,” DeSantis noted.

He added that the Biden administration’s policy of issuing virtual “blank checks” to Ukraine in order to fund the conflict for “as long as it takes,” without any defined objectives or accountability, only serves to distract from the most pressing challenges currently facing the US.

The governor also blasted Washington for effectively driving Russia closer to China, which he believes represents a much greater threat than Moscow.

DeSantis, who many expect to contend for the US presidency in the 2024 elections, has set himself apart from other top Republican leaders with his stance on Ukraine.

Responding to the same question,former vice president Mike Pence insisted that “there is no room for Putin apologistsin the Republican Party” and that Putin must be stopped to prevent Russia from moving toward Washington’s NATO allies. Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell has also pledged the Republican party’s commitment to the Ukrainian war effort.(Putin Apologist??? Pence has converted to full scale uniparty woke monster, I hope Judus Pence likes the heat of hell)

In his response to Carlson’s question, former president Donald Trump insisted that the conflict, which he believes would have never happened if he’d been in office, must end as soon as possible and that the US president must meet with both sides and quickly work out a deal.

He also stated that while opposing Russia in Ukraine is not a vital American national strategic interest for the US, it is important for Europe. “That is why Europe should be paying far more than we are, or equal,” Trump said.

Asked if the US should support regime change in Russia, the former president stated that he did not, and instead called for regime change in the United States itself. “That's far more important,” he wrote. “The Biden administration are the ones who got us into this mess.”

https://www.rt.com/news/572968-ukraine-defense-us-interest/

14 Mar, 2023 14:04

Government bailout signals death of capitalism – Ken Griffin

The billionaire has criticized Washington’s plan to help depositors recover their money

The US government’s intervention in the unfolding banking crisis has been slammed by Citadel hedge fund founder Ken Griffin, who told the Financial Times the situation should have served as a good lesson for investors.

According to the report on Monday, Griffin said the strength of the US economy meant the authorities did not have to take such forceful action. “It would have been a great lesson in moral hazard,” he was quoted as saying by the FT. “Losses to depositors would have been immaterial, and it would have driven home the point that risk management is essential.”

The CEO of the $62-billion hedge fund pointed out: “We’re at full employment, credit losses have been minimal, and bank balance sheets are at their strongest ever. We can address the issue of moral hazard from a position of strength.”

Griffin also lashed out at the US Federal Reserve over the banking turmoil, saying the regulator “was the definition of being asleep at the wheel.”

“The US is supposed to be a capitalist economy, and that’s breaking down before our eyes,” he claimed. “There’s been a loss of financial discipline with the government bailing out depositors in full,” Griffin added.

Concerns over the health of the US financial system have grown since the failure of one of the country’s largest tech lenders last week. Silicon Valley Bank, which had over $200 billion in assets only a few months ago, imploded on Friday after what analysts called “a classic case of bank run.”

Alarmed over the state of the bank, depositors rushed to withdraw funds, which saw SVB’s shares crash and forced the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to shut the lender down. SVB became the largest US financial institution to collapse since the 2008 financial crisis.

SVB’s decline followed an announcement last Wednesday from California-based, crypto-focused bank Silvergate about its impending liquidation. On Sunday, New York-based Signature Bank was shut down by regulators, becoming the third failure in the US banking industry in less than a week.

On Tuesday, Moody’s ratings agency placed the First Republic Bank and five other American lenders on review for a downgrade. Global banking stocks have plummeted.

https://www.rt.com/business/572964-government-bailout-capitalism-death/

Ken Griffin biggest donor to DeSantis and anyone that hates Trump as much as he does. Not only that he has sunk billions into China, so now he’s worried about capitalism. China bails out every shit company that fail.

14 Mar, 2023 13:14

Western sanctions shielding Russian financial system from global crisis – Kremlin

Disconnection from international banking has turned out to be “a blessing in disguise” for Moscow, Dmitry Peskov said

The Russian financial sector is practically immune to the effects of the unfolding US banking crisis largely thanks to Western sanctions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.

When asked about a spillover effect from the collapse of US lenders, which has led to a global stock rout, Peskov said problems in the American banking system cannot affect Russia in any way.

“Our banking system, of course, has, let’s say, certain connections with some segments of the international financial system, but for the most part it is under illegal restrictions,” he said.

Peskov added thatsanctions have been “a blessing in disguise”because Russia is “to a certain extent immune to the negative impact of the crisis that is now unfolding across the ocean.”

Russia’s financial sector became the subject of sweeping sanctions imposed by the US, the EU and their allies over the conflict in Ukraine.

Last year, US-led restrictions on Russia cut off the country’s ten key banks from the Belgium-based financial messaging system SWIFT, which facilitates banking transactions around the globe. Nine of these lenders are also subject to blocking sanctions, which ban international financial institutions from cooperating with them. The US imposed punitive measures on Russia’s largest state-owned lender Sberbank, banning it from processing payments through the US financial system.

Russia has its own financial messaging system, SPFS, which can act as a substitute for SWIFT in the domestic market. While its coverage is still much smaller than that of SWIFT – which boasts 11,000 financial organizations globally – the spread of SPFS has been gaining speed in recent months.

Meanwhile, the US banking sector has been rocked by a series of collapses that began last week and continue to rattle regional and global markets.

California-based, crypto-focused Silvergate was the first to announce its liquidation last Wednesday, followed by the implosion of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday. The SVB failure was the largest US bank collapse since the financial crisis of 2008. Signature Bank was the latest to be shut down over the weekend. Bank failures have sparked concerns over the health of the entire US banking system, with many other lenders seeing their stocks plunge.

https://www.rt.com/business/572952-us-crisis-russian-banks-immune/

14 Mar, 2023 10:51

Top general illustrates how US helps Kiev's air force

Personnel from the US and Ukraine have been just a phone call away during the conflict, the director of US Air National Guard has claimed

American pilots have remained in constant contact with their Ukrainian counterparts during the conflict with Russia, advising on operational tactics and how to use US-made weapons, director of the US Air National Guard, Lieutenant General Michael Loh, has said.

Air-launched weapons, supplied by Washington to Kiev, come with permanent US support, Loh reminded journalists at the Air and Space Forces Association symposium in Colorado last week.

The Americans initially explained to Ukrainian airmen “what you need to do to survive the initial attack,” with cooperation later expanding to “here's how you can continue to deliver airpower,” Loh explained, in comments cited on Monday by Business Insider.

Most of this consulting has been provided through the California National Guard, which has been cooperating with Ukraine since the early 1990s as part of the National Guard’s State Partnership Program, according to the report.

This has reportedly “allowed a Ukrainian soldier to pick up the phone to say, 'Hey, I'm having a problem with this weapon system' to somebody who actually trained them and solve a problem on the ground,” the general pointed out.

Among other things, he said, the US pilots have been advising the Ukrainians on how to conduct combat in line with the US Air Force’s concept for dispersed operations and on how to use US-made weapons, including the AGM-88 anti-radiation missiles and JDAMs guidance kits, which allow bombs to go farther.

“We're continuing to provide them the tactics, techniques and procedures for things like agile combat employment [and] new weapons systems,” Loh said, as cited by Business Insider, adding that these consultations have “continued over this last 13 months of conflict.”

While it has sent missiles and other weaponry to Ukraine, the US has so far been reluctant to heed Kiev's call to provide it with F-16 fighter jets. However, NBC reported earlier this month that at least two Ukrainian pilots have been training on simulators at a military base in Arizona, to establish how long it will take to train them to fly Western fighter jets.

Russia has long decried deliveries of weapons to Ukraine by the US and its allies, arguing that these only serve to escalate and prolong the fighting, while also failing to change the ultimate outcome of the Russian military operation. According to Moscow, arms deliveries, intelligence sharing and training provided to Kiev's troops and other forms of assistance have already made Western nations de-facto parties to the conflict.

https://www.rt.com/russia/572946-ukraine-us-pilots-weapons/

14 Mar, 2023 11:04

Yacht 'linked' to Nord Stream blasts located – media

Der Spiegel claims ‘Andromeda’ is moored in the open air at a former Navy base in north-east Germany

A vessel allegedly linked to the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines is currently anchored off the north-east coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea, Der Spiegel has reported. The German news website also claimed one of the e-mail addresses used by the alleged bombersmight pointto Ukrainian involvement.

According to Monday's report, Der Spiegel journalists found the ‘Andromeda’ yacht on the Bug peninsula in the Dranske municipality, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern region, which used to serve as abase for the German Democratic Republic’s Navy.

Currently, the site is allegedly being used by a charter firm which, as several German media outlets have claimed, rented out the vessel to the suspected saboteurs on September 6. The report alleged that one of the crewmembers, who paid for the yacht in cash, flashed a“Bulgarian or Romanian passport.”The company supposedly has the number of his ID document and boating license details.

In addition, an e-mail address used by one of the individuals “could, according to Der Spiegel’s investigation, point to Ukraine.” However, the outlet cautioned that this does not necessarily mean the Ukrainian government was involved in the alleged operation, noting that it might be a deliberate red herring.

The version of events suggesting that the yacht was used to plant the bombs began circulating in the German media earlier this month. Several outlets claimed a team of six people, including a captain, two divers, two diving assistants, and a female doctor were behind the attack. According to initial reports, the alleged saboteurs presented “professionally forged passports,” meaning that their identities and nationalities were unknown.

Last Tuesday, the New York Times released a report, citing anonymous US intelligence officials, that alleged a “pro-Ukrainian group” was behind the September 2022 attacks, with “no American or British nationals” involved.

The following day, the German Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the vessel had been searched in January, but stopped short of divulging further details.

Commenting on the reports, top Ukrainian officials have denied any involvement.

The Kremlin, for its part, has been skeptical of theories pointing to Kiev, with Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov saying it looked like an attempt to deflect attention from the real culprits.

“As for a pro-Ukrainian ‘Dr. Evil’ who organized this, it’s hardly believable,” he said on Thursday.

Last month, veteran American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh released a bombshell report accusing Washington of destroying the Nord Stream pipelines.

(They are still pushing the fake NYTs phony theory)

https://www.rt.com/news/572941-german-media-locate-yacht-nord-stream-blast/

14 Mar, 2023 11:02

WHO chief predicts end of Covid-19 pandemic (already dead dude)

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he’s confident the virus will cease to be an international concern in 2023

(He meant the WHO will cease to be a concern because it will stripped of its fact powers by the end of 2023)

The Covid-19 pandemic will no longer be considered a global health emergency by the end of this year, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the University of Michigan, where he was awarded the Thomas Francis Jr. medal for his contribution to healthcare, Tedros said he’s “confident that at some point this year we will be able to say that Covid-19 is over as a public health emergency of international concern – and as a pandemic.”

The WHO chief noted that the weekly number of reported deaths is now lower than when the organization first used the word “pandemic” to describe the Covid-19 outbreak three years ago on March 11, 2020.

Tedros stressed that while the pandemic may end this year, it is important to remember that nearly seven million lives lost to the virus and learn lessons from the outbreak. “If we do not, we will repeat the cycle of panic and neglect that has been the hallmark of the global response to epidemics and pandemics for decades,” he said.

The health official outlined three main takeaways from the Covid-19 pandemic. The first was the importance of public health. Tedros called on all countries at all income levels to invest in a robust primary healthcare system, capable of detecting outbreaks at the earliest possible stages.

The second lesson, according to the health chief, was theimportance of science and the dangers of politicizing issues like masks, vaccines and lockdowns, which ultimately “impeded the response to the pandemic and cost lives.”

He also pointed out that the question of how the pandemic started remains unanswered due to a “lack of cooperation from China”which, he said, has refused to be transparent in sharing data and conduct “the necessary investigations and share the results.”

Finally, the director-general said thethird lesson was the importance of cooperation.Tedros stated that one of the defining characteristics of the Covid-19 pandemic was the lack of cooperation and coordination on the part of the international community due to “narrow nationalism.”

To that end, the WHO has proposed a so-called ‘pandemic accord’ – an agreement between nations to work in cooperation with each other to prepare for and respond to future epidemics and pandemics.

https://www.rt.com/news/572947-who-covid-pandemic-end/

14 Mar, 2023 07:22

Russia shares Nord Stream communications with UN – top diplomat

==Germany, Denmark and Sweden have allegedly failed to keep Moscow informed about their investigations

Russia shares Nord Stream communications with UN – top diplomat==

Russia has released its communications with Denmark, Sweden and Germany regarding the Nord Stream sabotage to members of the UN Security Council, a senior diplomat has said.

“Those documents allow our colleagues at the UN to confirm that the claims by these nations that they were informing us about their investigations are not true,” Dmitry Polyansky, the deputy head of the Russian mission to the UN, explained on Tuesday.

He announced Russia’s intention to share the messages with the Security Council last week, as Moscow pushes for an impartial UN-backed investigation into the incident.

The Nord Stream pipelines, which were built to supply Russian natural gas directly to Germany under the Baltic Sea, were blown up in late September. Germany, as well as Denmark and Sweden, in whose territorial waters the sabotage took place, are conducting separate probes into the incident. Russia’s requests to participate in the investigations have been rejected.

While the Western media were initially quick to accuse Russia of destroying its own infrastructure, European investigators reportedly found no evidence to support this theory. Moscow claimed the US was the party that benefited most from the “terrorist attack.”

Veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported last month that the operation to destroy the Russian-German gas link had been ordered by US President Joe Biden and conducted by a joint US-Norwegian team. Both nations have denied the allegation.

A series of reports in Western media last week suggested an alternative explanation, involving a private “pro-Ukrainian group,” possibly funded by a wealthy Ukrainian individual, planting explosives on the pipeline from a rented yacht. The group was not connected to any government, according to the reports.

Nikolay Patrushev, the secretary of the Russian national security council, argued that this theory could only convince people who “cannot think logically,” considering the specialized equipment and expertise that the sabotage of Nord Stream required.

Polyansky warned that if the international community does not get to the bottom of the incident and hold the culprits accountable, a new dangerous age may dawn, in which nations consider clandestine attacks on their rivals’ critical infrastructure permissible.

https://www.rt.com/russia/572936-nord-stream-communications-released/