You know you can tell when the West is tired of Zelensky and Ukraine? When corruption polls are taken in Ukraine! The shit is about to hit the fan, big time

11 Sep, 2023 22:05

Ukrainians blame Zelensky for corruption – poll

Nearly eight in ten citizens believe the country’s president is “directly responsible” for rampant graft, a new survey has shown

The vast majority of Ukrainians believe that President Vladimir Zelensky is at fault for widespread corruption in the country’s government and military, a new study has revealed.

The poll, released on Monday, found that 78% of Ukrainian adults see Zelensky as “directly responsible” for Kiev’s corruption problem. It was conducted bythe Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Charitable Foundationand the Kiev International Institute of Sociology.

Prior to the launch of Russia’s military offensive in February 2022, Ukraine consistently ranked among the world’s most corrupt nations, but it was touted as a bastion of freedom and democracy as the US and its NATO allies rallied public support for massive aid to Kiev. However, Ukrainian corruption remains a concern and could hinder the country’s bid to join the European Union, an unidentified Western diplomat told Politico on Monday.

Ukraine is a “very corrupt country,” the diplomat said, adding that Zelensky’s plan to use the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) to prosecute graft cases could “send the wrong message.” Upon landing in Kiev for a surprise visit on Monday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock reportedly said Ukraine needed to step up its efforts to fight corruption.

The Ukrainian poll wasconducted from July 3 to July 17 in face-to-face interviews with thousands of citizens across the country. There were no major differences in findings based on region or socioeconomic factors. Respondents aged 60 and older took a harsher view, with 81% saying Zelensky was responsible for government corruption. The rate was 70% in the youngest segment, ages 17 to 29. Overall, only 18% of Ukrainian adults disagreed with the statement that Zelensky bears responsibility.

Documents obtained by the International Association of Investigative Journalists in 2021 showed thatZelensky and his business partners set up offshore companies to purchase lavish properties in central London. Zelensky transferred his stake in one of the companies to an aide just before he was elected president in 2019. Supporters of former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko accused Zelensky and his associates of using their offshore accounts to evade taxes.

Zelensky has purged officials in his government for alleged corruption, including an embezzlement scheme involving humanitarian aid. Just this month, he sacked Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov, who came under fire earlier this year over purchases of military rations at inflated prices. However, the new defense chief, Rustem Umerov, is reportedly under investigation for alleged crimes in his previous job.

https://www.rt.com/news/582796-ukraine-corruption-poll-zelensky-responsible/

11 Sep, 2023 19:28

Musk responds to Ukraine ‘treason’ claims

The billionaire has dismissed criticism over his refusal to help Kiev attack the Russian naval fleet in Crimea

American tech billionaire Elon Musk has responded to criticism over his refusal to help enable a Ukrainian drone attack on Russian naval forces in Crimea by pointing out that he’s a citizen of only the US and isn’t obliged to fight for Kiev.

“I am a citizen of the United States and have only that passport,” Musk said on Monday in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) social media platform. “No matter what happens, I will fight for and die in America.” He added that in light of the fact that the US Congress hasn’t declared war on Russia, “if anyone is treasonous, it is those who call me such. Please tell them that very clearly.”

At issue is Musk’s decision last year to prevent his Starlink satellite network from being used to guide Ukrainian naval drones for an attack against the Russian Black Sea Fleet on the Crimean coast. When news of Musk’s refusal came to light last week, US media outlets suggested that he had been traitorous, and Ukrainian presidential aide Mikhail Podoliak accused him of “committing evil and encouraging evil.”

The Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder gave Ukraine free use of more than 20,000 Starlink terminals after Russia launched its military offensive against Kiev in February 2022. His aim was to keep Ukrainians from losing internet access and communications capabilities amid the conflict.

However, Musk expressed concern about his network being used for offensive purposes and potentially playing part in triggering a wider conflict. He therefore refused Kiev’s pleas to extend the country’s Starlink coverage all the way to Sevastopol. “If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation.”

CNN host Jake Tapper argued on Sunday that Musk had “effectively sabotaged” an American ally, and he asked US Secretary of State Antony Blinken whether the “capricious billionaire” should therefore face “repercussions.”Blinken declined to condemn Musk and pointed out that Starlink had been a vital tool for Ukraine’s defense.

(Tapper just tried to accuse Musk of treason on TV, who is the one that should be investigated?)

https://www.rt.com/news/582790-elon-musk-responds-to-ukraine-criticism/

11 Sep, 2023 22:52

Huge diamond discovered in Russia

A 390-carat gem was found at a mine in northern Siberia

The diamond conglomerate Alrosa announced on Monday the discovery of the largest diamond in Russia in the past decade. The gem came from a mine in the Anabar district of the Republic of Sakha, also known as Yakutia.

“Experts have yet to study in detail and evaluate the potential and the characteristics of the mined diamond, but without a doubt, this is a record holder both for our company and for the country’s diamond industry,” said Alrosa General Director Pavel Marinychev, calling the find “an excellent finale to the 2023 mining season.”

The diamond is 390.7 carats in sizeand was discovered on September 9 by the Anabar Diamonds company, an Alrosa subsidiary operating the Mayat mine in northeastern Siberia. According to Alrosa, the find happened during the night-time washing of the diamond-bearing sands.

A photo posted by Alrosa shows a crystal with an irregular shape and a yellow-brownish halo, which is a very rare combination. The yet-unnamed gem is slightly smaller than the 401-carat diamond found in 2013.

Another diamond found in the same batch is a 37.7-carat gem with the classic octahedral shape, Alrosa said. Both have been sent to morphologists for evaluation.

Alrosa is the world’s largest diamond producer, accounting for 30% of the $80 billion annual global trade in rough precious stones. It mines the alluvial deposits in Russia’s Arctic, both in Yakutia and Arkhangelsk Region. The work is limited by harsh climate conditions, but accounts for four percent of the world’s production of diamonds in the rough.

(Now do you understand why the West wants to destroy the Russian Government and People? It’s always about stealing their natural resources and boundless land mass!)

https://www.rt.com/russia/582794-russia-yakutia-huge-diamond/

11 Sep, 2023 22:08

US incapable of negotiating - Russian diplomat

Strategic dialogue with Washington has done nothing for Moscow’s national security, claims Aleksandr Kramarenko

No amount of negotiating with the US has been able to bring about any meaningful results as Washington has repeatedly broken the trust of its partners and refused to respect agreements, acting solely in its own interests, claims Russian diplomat Aleksandr Kramarenko.

In an article for The International Affairs newspaper published last week, Kramarenko pointed out that despite decades of trying to maintain strategic dialogue with the US, Russia has ultimately been unable to achieve any results in ensuring its national security and neither, for that matter, has China.

The director of the Russian Foreign Ministry Institute of Current International Problems stated that trust between Moscow and Washington had been undermined long ago. In 2011,Russia allowed the passing of what seemed to be a humanitarian UN resolution on Libya that was then used by the West to lay ruin the country. In 2015,Russia was deceived by the Minsk agreementsthat were meant to resolve the internal civil conflict in Ukraine, but instead were used to buy time to build up Kiev's army with the goal of inflicting a military or “strategic” defeat on Russia.

“What kind of trust can we talk about here?Where is the principle of pacta sunt servanda ('contracts must be respected')?And what then is the meaning of contracts when everything happens regardless and in spite of any contracts? Apparently, it turns out that Washington is simply unable to negotiate,”wrote Kramarenko, noting that not only Russia has come to this conclusion.

Commenting on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the diplomat recalled the words of US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at the recent Aspen security forum, who said that the US and its allies were willing to “take risks”with their arms supplies to Kiev. What Sullivan meant, according to Kramarenko, was that Washington was willing to take the risk of nuclear escalation, and that it was willing to do so because the principle of nuclear deterrence did not work for Russia.

“This means we need to think about how to restore trust in it,” suggested the diplomat.

Kramarenko went on to suggest that all the arms control systems that have been destroyed by the US in attempts to maintain strict control over other nations while remaining ambiguous with regards to its own nuclear potential, could soon be replaced by a new process based on a multipolar world.

“It is already clear that it will be multilateral, at least with the participation of China, which by that time will overtake the US and Russia in the number of warheads deployed on strategic carriers. American experts themselves admit this will happen by 2030, when China can no longer be contained.”

“We need freedom from the West and its ideological oppression,” Kramarenko surmised.

https://www.rt.com/russia/582797-us-incapable-of-negotiating/

11 Sep, 2023 20:13

EU is ‘racist’ against Russians – Moscow

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova blasted the bloc’s decision to confiscate the personal possessions of arriving Russian tourists

The European Union’s ban on Russian nationals bringing personal items into the bloc has nothing to do with sanctions and is instead an expression of blatant racism by Western officials, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has claimed.

Her comments come after Brussels explained on Friday that the sweeping sanctions imposed on trade with Russia over the conflict in Ukrainealso extends to personal items such as phones, luggage, and even shampoo and toilet paper.

The European Commission urged EU operators to “assess and understand the possible risks of sanctions circumvention” and confiscate any such belongings when conducting customs checks.

“Тhis is simply racism. This is not a policy of sanctions, this is not a question of creating some additional benefit for the sinking economy of the European Union. This is racism as it is,” Zakharova told TASS on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum on Monday.

“Now it is bursting out. Like an abscess that was not treated and which has simply become a fistula. This is a fistula of Western racism.”

The spokeswoman also recalled another “wild manifestation of Nazism” by the EU, pointing to an instance when a Russian journalist was banned from attending a press conference by French President Emmanuel Macron simply for being Russian.

“There are simply no justifications for this, no reasons,” she said. “Representatives of civil society, culture, and various scientific fields are facing this. When visas are not issued, planned events are canceled, they are not allowed to attend certain conferences, competitions. This is nothing but racism.”

Russia’s interim customs chief, Ruslan Davydov, also blasted the EU ban on personal items as “utter nonsense” and stated that the decision was a demonstration of “total lawlessness” that defies the normal logic of customs controls.

“At least they have not banned [Russian nationals] from wearing pants when crossing the border,” Davydov told journalists, adding that Russia’s Federal Customs Service will not adopt similar policies for tourists arriving from the EU.

https://www.rt.com/russia/582792-maria-zakharova-eu-racist/

>>19533115

Look at the EU countries that hire women, its a fucking disaster, but the men are pussified because they let them in

>>19533121

Sorry but that looks so pathetically staged without an ounce of emotion or empathy

>>19533156

I wish they get arrested by a higher power and prosecuted according to God’s law

Notable post

>>19533198

Bring, it should be much greater than Wrath at this point

>>19533200

That was funny

>>19533240

Damn I thought the sane thing

>>19533235

What is this about?