21 Apr, 2024 13:12

Moscow issues dire warning after Ukraine aid bill

Washington’s hybrid war against Russia will turn into a humiliating fiasco, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said

The approval of a large aid package for Ukraine by the US House of Representatives is the same as funding terrorism, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

In a post on her Telegram channel on Saturday, Zakharova said that the potential allocation of further military assistance to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan would only aggravate the crisis in the world.

“Military aid to the Kiev regime is direct sponsorship of terrorist activities, funds sent to Taiwan is interference in the internal affairs of China, while aid sent to Israel is a straight way to unprecedented escalation of a conflict in the region,” she said.

On Saturday, the lower house of the US Congress passed a $95 billion package that includes almost $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, including funds for the purchase of weapons and military equipment. Most of the rest is allocated to Israel and Taiwan. The Senate is poised to vote on the bill on April 23 with final passage expected by the end of the week.

Washington is driving deeper into a hybrid war with Russia, Zakharova said in a separate statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry, adding that theUS would end up facing a “loud and humiliating fiasco on a par with Vietnam or Afghanistan.”

The spokeswoman said “the US is ready to pump Ukraine with weapons so that Kiev could fight to the last Ukrainian, and continue to terrorist acts against civil objects on Russian sovereign territory and civilians, as well as sabotage attacks and killings of journalists.”

Zakharova stated that ordinary Ukrainians were being “forcibly driven to slaughter as cannon fodder” withWashington no longer betting on a Ukrainianvictory against Russia,but hoping to keep Kiev afloat until the US presidential election in November.

(That right there, that is the bottom line,the WH actually thinks if the allow Kiev to enter peace negotiations, then Americans will vote against Bidan, Kek,too late to stop that. But the EU has also in invested too much into Ukraine. They have to get through their June elections. Wait until Ukrainians are freed from the lies and propaganda, and they find out there was no jeopardy to them, and Zelensky et al killed 1/2 millions of mostly their sons and some daughters. Kiev and the West intentionally sacrificed them, for theft and money. The absolute EVIL that went into this stupid plan is beyond them hanging, the second and final death at the Lake of Sacred Fire for them.)

https://www.rt.com/russia/596341-moscow-warning-ukraine-aid-bill/

21 Apr, 2024 12:37

Musk decries lack of ‘exit strategy’ in Ukraine conflict

The billionaire’s comments come in response to new funding for Kiev being approved by the House of Representatives

The parties involved in the Ukraine conflict need to work on ways to bring it to a close, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk suggested on Saturday.

Responding to an X (formerly Twitter) post by fellow billionaire David Sachs, in which the latter commented on the House of Representatives approving a long-delayed emergency spending bill that includes new funding for Kiev, Musk noted that the conflict was turning into “a forever war.”

David Sacks

Apr 20, 2024

@DavidSacks

“Based on some simple math, the new funding bill that’s being widely hailed as saving Ukraine will buy precisely half of a Summer Counteroffensive.” (If they don’t steal most of it)

“My biggest concern is that there is no exit strategy, just a forever war where kids diein trenches from artillery or charging machine guns and snipers through minefields,” Musk wrote.

Musk did not elaborate on his position towards the aid bill itself this time, but in late March he noted that it “should be contingent on proper accounting of how [the funding] is used and a plan to resolve the conflict.”

Musk has not explicitly taken sides during the Ukraine conflict. He did supply Kiev with free Starlink internet terminals and access to the satellite-based network but later refused to activate the service near the Russian port city of Sevastopol in Crimea over fear that Ukraine could use the technology to escalate the conflict by attacking Russia’s Black Sea Fleet with guided drones.

In February, Musk said the US should stop aiding Ukraine altogether as there was “no way in hell” Russia would lose the war.

“This spending doesn’t help Ukraine. Prolonging the war doesn’t help Ukraine,” he stated at a forum on X Spaces. Last month, Musk also warned that the “real question” in the conflict now lies in how much territory Kiev will lose before it agrees to sit down to peace talks with Moscow.

Russia has repeatedly said that it was open to peace negotiations if Ukraine accepts the “reality on the ground.” Moscow also warned that Western aid and weapons shipments to Ukraine only exacerbate and prolong the conflict.

The US, meanwhile, is getting closer to approving another $61 billion for Kiev. After being passed by the House, the Ukraine aid bill is set to be voted on by the Senate later this week.

https://www.rt.com/news/596339-musk-us-aid-ukraine/

21 Apr, 2024 11:14

WATCH German-made Leopard towed to trophy show outside Moscow

German media had reported that Russian troops captured one of the tanks near Avdeevka

The Russian military has seized a German-produced Ukrainian Leopard tank and plans to display it at a trophy exhibition outside Moscow, according to a new video circulating on social media.

A clip shared by the Solovyov Live Telegram channel on Sunday appears to show the evacuation of the tank from the combat area by Russian troops. The video, filmed in the rural area in an undisclosed location, appears to show it being towed down the road by another Russian heavy vehicle. The German-made armor appears relatively undamaged from the outside, but it is missing tracks from both sides.

The Telegram channel explained that Russian troops had to devise a means of evacuating the tank from the battlefield, noting that they had to blow off the tracks with explosives to get it moving.

According to the outlet, the Leopard will be showcased at a Park Patriot outside of Moscow. Other Telegram channels suggested that the vehicle would be on display as early as this summer.

The new video came after Solovyov Live shared a picture in March of a Russian soldier standing in front of a disabled Ukrainian Leopard tank. A few days later, German tabloid Bild reported that Moscow’s troops had indeed seized a Leopard 2A6, adding that the image was taken not far from the Donbass town of Avdeevka liberated by Russian forces in late February.

Germany has provided Ukraine with a total of 18 Leopard 2 A6 tanks. Other countries, including Portugal, Sweden, Poland, Spain, Canada, the Netherlands and Denmark have also committed to provide Kiev with dozens of Leopard 2s of various modifications, amounting to just under 100 vehicles. Ukraine’s Western backers have also promised to send dozens of less advanced Leopard 1 tanks. Both types were actively used by Ukraine during its botched counteroffensive last year.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported the destruction of Leopards on numerous occasions on the battlefield. In late January, Foreign Affairs magazine reported that Ukraine had lost more than a quarter of its Leopard 2s, adding that “others cannot be used due to repair and maintenance issues.”

(Approximate cost of each tank $150,000,now read Newsweek’s glowing review in 2023when Germany said they are sending them. Every weapons system Kiev received is destroyed or disable in a short period of time.)

https://www.rt.com/russia/596342-leopard-tank-ukraine-captured/

>>20756114

Germany's 'Panther' Tanks Compared to U.S. Abrams

Nick Mordowanec

Updated Feb 10, 2023 at 4:18 AM

The German defense contractor Rheinmetall is offering the powerful Panther military tanks to Ukraine, according to its CEO Armin Papperger.

Although it would take 15 to 18 months for delivery if the German government approves the export, arms experts told Newsweek that the announcement will further help galvanize Western allies while allowing the Ukrainian military to plan accordingly based on its present stock.

Previously, German-made Leopard 2 tanks and U.S.-made M1A2 Abrams tanks were announced to be sent to Ukraine over the next few months. Earlier this week, Leopard tanks shipped from Canada arrived in Poland and will make their way to Ukraine.

Papperger called the Panther tanks the most powerful in the world. The KF51 Panther debuted last summer during a military trade show in France. That Panther model is the successor to the Leopard 2 tank.

Popular Mechanics reported following the newest model's unveiling that the shape of its hull "suggests newer, thicker armor along the front and sides." Both the Panther and Leopard both have 1,100-kilowatt, 1,500 horsepower engines.

Jordan Cohen, policy analyst at the Cato Institute, touted the technological capabilities of the new model, notably its larger 130-millimeter cannon, ability to launch drones, top-down protection, and 360-degree sensors. The Abrams tank has a 120-millimeter gun and weaker sensors.

It is also lighter than the approximate 70-ton Abrams, coming in at about 59 tons.

The German publication Europäische Sicherheit & Technik reported the new gun's barrel length is 52 times the diameter of the barrel—or 22.1 feet long.

Other features include a container for unmanned aerial vehicles, day and night vision observation, and enough room for a crew including a commander, gunner, driver and optional systems specialist.

"I am not sure if it could really outperform the most recent Abrams models, but I am also skeptical that the U.S is actually going to sell the v4 variant of the Abrams that has similar capabilities to the KF51 Panther," Cohen told Newsweek. "Therefore, this is a very clear signal of what Germany is willing to send Ukraine should the conflict last more than 12 to 18 months."

The Pentagon has stated that the U.S. is sending 31 M1A2 tanks to Ukraine as part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.

Cohen referred to them as the "static" models that lack new, advanced meteorological sensors, laser warning and detection receivers, and directional smoke grenade launchers.

Ian Williams, deputy director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies' (CSIS) Missile Defense Project, told Newsweek that the "bells and whistles" separate the Panther and Abrams.

Panther tanks are "bigger and have a little more punch and longer range," he said, adding that the technological and industrial jump from the Leopard to the Panther tanks is bigger than the one between the Abrams and Panther.

"From the Ukrainian perspective I think it's a good thing," Williams said. "It is going to be a while before they start getting them, but it does allow the Ukrainians to be more thoughtful of how they use the current tanks…If you know where you're going to be getting your next meal from, it helps with other things."

CSIS senior adviser Mark Cancian told Newsweek that, if produced, the Panther would be more powerful than the M1A2SEPv3 Abrams model.

It may prove more beneficial to expend resources into the current Leopard tanks, he added.

"The conceptual Abrams 'X' would be the equivalent, though there is no current plan to produce that Abrams upgrade…Post-war Ukraine will need to standardize its equipment since it now has small numbers of many NATO systems," Cancian said. "Panther—a new, complex, and expensive system—does not fit well with such a rationalization. Better to standardize around the latest version of the Leopard."

https://www.newsweek.com/germany-panther-tanks-compared-us-abrams-1780248

21 Apr, 2024 08:05

‘No consensus’ in West on seizing Russian assets – WaPo

The EU is worried that the move would breach international law and trigger a backlash, the outlet reports

EU officials are reluctant to bow to US pressure and transfer frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, fearing that Moscow’s retaliation would be aimed primarily at the bloc rather than America, the Washington Post reported on Saturday.

As part of unprecedented sanctions over the Ukraine conflict, Western countries have frozen around $300 billion in Russian assets in a move denounced by Moscow as “theft,” with many Western officials suggesting the money could be used to help Ukraine. The bulk of this sum is located in European countries,while the US only holds around $6 billion.

In recent months, there have been several proposals on how to use this money to help Ukraine. While the US has pushed for the more hardline option of outright seizing the funds, the EU has proposed using the profits generated by the assets to help Ukraine. Another option under discussion is to use the assets as collateral to secure loans for Kiev.

According to the Post, EU officials are reluctant to confiscate the Russian assets due to concerns that the move “could breach international law, discourage investors from trusting the euro and invite Russian retaliation.”(it DOES breach international law)

They have also pushed back against the US proposal to seize the funds as Europe holds most of the frozen assets, and “any Russian retaliation will probably fall on Europe, not the United States.”

According to an unnamed US Treasury official, both the EU and US agree that “more needs to be done for Ukraine, but there is no consensus on specifics.” He added that “we’re thinking of the Russian sovereign assets as a sustainable medium-to-long-term solution for this funding problem.”

The report comes as the US House of Representatives passed the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for UkrainiansAct (REPO)on Saturday, whichcould allow the administration of US President Joe Biden to seize Russian assets in US banksand transfer them to Ukraine for reconstruction. (Congress betrayed Trump by passing this ticking time bomb on his upcoming Presidency.)

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has warned that Russia will not leave the potential seizure unanswered, adding that the move could undermine the principle of the “inviolability of private… and state property,” as well as causing “irreparable damage to the US image.”

(Now that the majority of House Republicans work for Bidan, they will willingly join his International Mafia ran out of the WH. When did Congress back an undeclared war, they have never demanded from Bidan what his plan is. The incompetence and laziness of Congress is astounding. Unfortunately the karma they are creating will come down on citizens of America, not them.)

https://www.rt.com/news/596337-no-consensus-west-seizure-russian-assets/

America First Legal Sues HHS Secretary Becerra and National Archives Following Investigation Revealing the Biden Administration Illegally Deletes Former CDC Employees’ Email–Illustrating Two-Tiered System of Justice

April 17, 2024

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, America First Legal (AFL)sued Secretary Xavier Becerra. the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, theArchivist of the United States Colleen Shogan, and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) forillegally destroying federal recordsfrom the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC)in violation of the Federal Records Act.

On March 29, 2023, AFL sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, requesting an investigation of theCDC’s unlawful policy of deleting employee emails. AFL requested records regarding the CDC’s support forteacher-led indoctrination of children with radical gender ideology.

Federal law requires that each agency “make and preserve records containing adequate and proper documentation of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions of the agency and designed to furnish the information necessary to protect the legal and financial rights of the Government and of persons directly affected by the agency’s activities.”

Yet, in a routine email regarding the disclosure of these records, the CDC told AFL that theCDC routinely deletes the emails of nearly all of its employees thirty days after they leave the agency: (WTF, how many crimes do they commit?)

Pic 1

NARA investigated the allegations but determined that because the “CDC instructs individual email account holders to apply retention based on the email’s content value and its applicability to a NARA-approved records schedule,” NARA considered the matter closed.

In short,NARA appears to entrust individual CDC employees to decide which emails can be automatically deleted.

Pic 2

This is patently inconsistent with the law. Moreover,if the federal governmentwants tounlawfully assert that anytime a government employee leavesan agencytheir records are no longer considered records of the United States, then the same assumption would apply to former Presidents== of the United States.

According to this logic, Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of President Trump over Presidential records would be voided null as the records in question would effectively no longer be considered records of the United States upon the end of the Trump presidency. It cannot be that a career bureaucrat at the CDC, or any government agency, has more say than a former President — and yet, under the Biden Administration, this appears to be the case.

Notably, in one case involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), formerFBI agent Scott Payne intentionally removed official records from the FBI’s custody. According to press reports cited by NARA, “Sitting in the crates [Mr. Payne] brought home when he retired are the field notes and transcripts ofevery case he’s worked.”

NARA did not refer Mr. Payne to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for investigation. Instead, it permitted the FBI to “retriev[e] 99 discs from the former employee’s residence, documented that the former employee affirmed that he does not possess any hard copy documents and that the discs are the ‘totality of government records and information in his possession.’”

A former FBI agent who intentionally removed sensitive law enforcement records from a federal agency and held those records for several years is not referred for investigation nor prosecuted.Yet, President Trump — who transferred records he believed to be personal records or non-records to his home — was referred to the DOJ for investigation by NARAwithout authority.

And, of course–aside from the illegality of systematically deleting these records–=what is the CDC trying to hide?Why does it have a records deletion process that entrusts individual bureaucrats to decide what are official records and what aren’t?

America First Legal will continue to relentlessly fight the government’s partisan two-tiered system of justice.

https://aflegal.org/america-first-legal-sues-hhs-secretary-becerra-and-national-archives-following-investigation-revealing-the-biden-administration-illegally-deletes-former-cdc-employees-email-illustrati/

>>20756214

Statement from America First Legal Vice President Dan Epstein:

“The CDC destroyed records it determined were unimportant. However, as this lawsuit shows, the CDC, like any other person who destroys government records, may not evade the law. The Archives and the Department of Justice have a statutory responsibility to apply the law fairly to all persons. Unfortunately, as this lawsuit shows, the Biden Administration views the law differently. To illustrate: a former FBI agent kept all of his official investigative files at his home and simply faced a slap on the wrist from the Archives. However, a former president who sent personally designated records to his residence was subject to a criminal investigation and prosecution instigated by the Archives. The rule of law cannot mean one set of rules for unelected bureaucrats and another for democratically-elected officials who happen to be a political challenger to the sitting President,” said Dan Epstein.

(Can’t Trump’s lawyers bring this up with the Jack Smith case, if NARA, the Executive and Judicial branch with the agencies of FBI, CDC and many others are daily allowing illegal acts and crimes,how can they prosecute Trump when he has the defense of the Presidential Records act.

This Government is really fucked up and they knowingly and willingly do illegal acts constantly and viciously, on the ones that uphold the law.

Anons, I really don’t think there is anyway to fix this government

>>20756216

I love the First Lady! God Bless her, PDJT, Barron, Don jr, Eric, Ivanka, Tiffany and their expended family.

A Family of Patriots that volunteered their lives, honor and fortune to save America.

We will never forget their Sacrifice!

>>20755710

So is he saying the lowers levels are alerting the world that the FBI is captured by foreign powers like China? Looks like a third Reich symbol to me

>>20755729

You really don’t believe that, right? Why did they build out Gitmo with a huge geriatric wing, and hospital under Bidan?

Too many signs there will be justice done.If everything is not revealed they will just take over again

>>20755739

Wow, My mom was from NH, we actually went there with our cousins in the late 60s. This seems like the ongoing destruction of culture and history.

>>20755763

They will use illegals, blacks are with Trump. Antifa, BlM and illegals are causing massive crimes already

>>20755775

Excellent

>>20755778

You are an idiot! All of us knew what was coming, Trump knew the plan

>>20756302

Man he’s losing his hair pretty fast

>>20756258

Extended Family, not expended. Shit that was stupid