1 Jan, 2025 13:05

Zelensky accused of lying in New Year’s address

The Ukrainian leader has received flak for allegedly misrepresenting South Korean weapons as domestically produced Sapsan missiles

VladimirZelensky has been accusedby several media outlets of presenting South Korean missiles as Ukrainian-made in his New Year’s address for 2025.

In the 20-minute speech released on Tuesday, Zelensky touted what he described as thecountry’s success in developing a variety of weapons, calling them “arguments for a just peace” with Russia.

”Ukraine is once again building its own, its own missiles. And for the first time, it produces over a million drones in a year. Forcing the enemy to learn Ukrainian. Palianytsia, Peklo, Ruta. Making them tremble at the words Neptune and Sapsan.All these are our missiles. Ukrainian.”he said.

As he was naming the types of weapons, his address featured footage of drones and missiles in action, either during testing or combat scenarios. When he mentioned the Sapsan missile, the video showed the projectile launch.

However, the Ukrainian outlet Strana, as well as Russian media outlets, pointed out that the clip shown in Zelensky’s address wassuspiciously similarto footage of theSouth Korean military launching a Hyunmoo-2A cruise missilein 2017.

In light of this, the Russian Telegram channel ‘Operation Z: War reporters of Russian Spring’ accused Zelensky of“blatant lies.”Another Telegram channel, ‘Voyenny Osvedomitel’, described the incident as “the first joke of 2025”and speculated that the video editor responsible might face a harsh punishment, such as being sent to the front line.

Sapsan has been under development since 2006, but the process has been hampered by delays and funding shortfalls. In 2018, Ukraine unveiled a mock-up of the system during a military parade. The complex is said to have an intended range of 500km, which is more than the ATACMS supplied to Kiev by the US, and Ukrainian experts have touted it as a potential game-changer in the conflict with Russia. However, there are no credible reports that it has ever been used on the battlefield.

(He never fails to anger and insult his allies. Jackass!)

https://www.rt.com/russia/610272-zelensky-lie-ukraine-missile-south-korea/

2 Jan, 2025 04:05

UN slams Ukraine’s crackdown on Orthodox church

Kiev’s restrictions on religious institutions could undermine basic freedoms, the organization’s human rights watchdog has said

Kiev has failed to justify its persecution of the Ukrainian Church(UOC), the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has stated in its periodic report on Ukrainian abuses published on Wednesday.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky banned the UOC in September last year, accusing the church of having Russian ties.

“The dissolution of a religious organization is a severe restriction that affects the ability of individuals to practice their religionor belief together and threatens the viability of the community as a whole, which requires very serious reasons for justification,” the OHCHR wrote.

Ukraine has not demonstrated the necessity and proportionality of this measure.

The OHCHR underscored the gravity of dissolving religious organizations, describing it as a “severe restriction that affects the ability of individuals to practice their religion or belief together.”

“The law introducing these provisions establishes disproportionate restrictions on the freedomto manifest one’s religion or belief,” the OHCHR noted. The report also suggested that these laws could erode fundamental freedoms protected under international human rights frameworks.

In 2023, the OHCHR raised similar concerns about religious discrimination in Ukraine, drawing a sharp retort from Kiev.

The persecution of the UOC intensified after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022.Several of its churches have been seized by force, and criminal cases have been opened against clerics.

Zelensky banned the UOC in September 2024, a few months after outlawing any activity by the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine,accusing it of promoting the “Russian world ideology.” The two churches have historic links. Kiev officially supports the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, founded in 2018, which the Russian Patriarchate views as schismatic.

The Russian Orthodox Church stated that banning the largest denomination in Ukraine is a violation of civil rights and isabsurd. “Everyone understands perfectly well that it is impossible to forbid people to pray,” Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk said in October last year.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin described Kiev’s ban on the UOC as a “blatant violation of human rights, the rights of believers.”He stressed that the Ukrainian leadership does “not care about anything that is dear to us and the overwhelming majority of the Ukrainian people.”

https://www.rt.com/russia/610327-un-ukraines-crackdown-christian-church/

(Finally the UN, EU and others have ignored this issue for 2+ years)