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Putin agrees what’s happening in Donbass ‘looks like genocide’
9 Dec, 2021 22:40
What is currently going on in the two eastern regions of Ukraine is “very reminiscent” of genocide, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a journalist that Kiev had imprisoned for reporting on the conflict.
On Thursday, Putin took part in a lengthy session of Russia’s Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, discussing a range of subjects from Covid-19 vaccinations to prison reform. At one point, journalist Kirill Vyshinsky raised the issue of the two regions in eastern Ukraine, where he said the Russian-speaking population was subjected to what he termed genocide.
“What is happening now in Donbass, you and I see very well, we know,” Putin responded. “This, of course, is very reminiscent of genocide of which you spoke.”
Putin called Russophobia the first step on the road to genocide, but noted that measures taken in response needed to be “very precise,” so as not to water down the concept. They should also “reflect the reality of the events taking place.”
“Let's think more on this,” he concluded.
Vyshinsky is the former head of RIA Novosti Ukraine who spent over a year in Ukrainian prison after Kiev accused him of treason and waging “hybrid information war” on behalf of Moscow, over his reporting from Donbass.
Putin addressed the issue of Ukraine in Tuesday’s video-call with US President Joe Biden, rejecting accusations from Washington that Russia was preparing an “invasion” but insisting that Ukraine’s membership in NATO would be a “red line” for the Kremlin.
Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday, among other things about the matters he discussed with Putin.
The Donetsk and Lugansk provinces in the eastern Donbass region declared independence from Ukraine in 2014, after the US-backed coup in Kiev overthrew the government and Crimea voted to rejoin Russia. After failing to seize the regions by force, Kiev has pledged to give them broad autonomy under the Minsk agreements, but has yet to do so.
Luhansk Oblast - The population is largely Russian-speaking, although ethnic Ukrainians constitute a majority (58.0%). Among the minorities are native Russians (39.1%).
Donetsk Oblast - the ethnic groups within the Donetsk Oblast were: Ukrainians – 2,744,100 (56.9%), Russians – 1,844,400 (38.2%).
At the 2001 census, the languages spoken within the oblast were: Russian — 74.9%, Ukrainian – 24.1%.
Bennett ‘ghosting’ Biden, won’t take his calls
It's been about 14 years since I first spoke about America abandoning Israel before Armageddon can occur. Biden and the Democrats are bringing that moment closer and closer.
December 22, 2021
By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News
Bennett’s office downplays report; Biden administration tacitly acknowledges its accuracy.
President Joe Biden has not responded to requests from Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for a phone call, as a punitive measure meant to signal Washington’s “frustration” with settlement building in Judea and Samaria, according to a new report from Hebrew language Channel 13.
The station reported that Bennett had reached out to the Biden administration three weeks ago to discuss the Iranian nuclear threat and the next steps to be taken as talks in Vienna stall. Iran appears to be closer than ever to maintaining a nuclear weapon.
The Biden administration has completely ignored the request, Channel 13 reported, because of Bennett’s refusal to agree to a settlement freeze in Judea and Samaria during a recent conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Bennett’s office downplayed the report, saying that it had not formally reached out to the Biden administration nor asked for a phone call.
Notably, the White House did not deny that it had brushed off Bennett’s phone call requests when asked for comment by Hebrew media.
A spokesman for the State Department said that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who touched down in Tel Aviv for talks with Bennett and senior Israeli security officials on Tuesday, is responsible for handling the Iranian issue.
The statement implied that Sullivan’s visit to the Jewish State was arranged in response to Bennett’s requests for a phone call.
Following several days of meetings with Israeli officials, Sullivan is expected to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
After taking office in January 2021, Biden waited nearly a month before calling then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu — a choice that was widely interpreted as a snub to Israel and a marked shift in U.S. policy towards Jerusalem after the staunchly pro-Israel Trump years.
Biden phoned Bennett just two hours after the latter was inaugurated in June 2021. The two leaders met at the White House in August 2021.
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White House reveals if it has ‘aggressive intent’ towards Russia
22 Dec, 2021 22:16
on December 22, 2021. © AP / Patrick Semansky
The US and NATO have no “aggressive intent” towards Russia, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, dismissing Russia’s warnings of a “military-technical” response to any hostile steps as rhetoric not aimed at the US.
And yet, you are aggressively attempting to recruit eastern European and western Asian countries into NATO, knowing that having NATO troops and weapons in countries bordering Russia is a clear and obvious threat.
Asked during a press briefing on Wednesday whether the US administration is concerned about the retaliatory measures promised by Moscow, Psaki said the ongoing diplomatic contacts were a “good sign” for strained US-Russia ties.
“The good sign is that there’s an open line of diplomatic discussion and engagement that is happening and we expect to continue, we hope to continue,” Psaki stated.
At the same time, she brushed off the warnings issued by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who said Moscow will take “appropriate military-technical measures” should the West continue with its “clearly aggressive stance.”
The remarks were not meant for the American audience altogether, Psaki claimed, apparently implying that it was merely tough talk for domestic consumption.
President Putin has his own audience, it is not the US or the people who live here, I don’t think for the most part.
And you, Jen, also have your own audience that you want to control by your spin in this story. If your boss cannot see that NATO's actions are a threat to Russia, he's in the wrong trade!
The warnings were produced by Russia’s president during a meeting with the country’s top brass on Tuesday. Putin said he no longer viewed the West as a reliable partner, reiterating his goal of reaching long-term, legally-binding security guarantees. At the same time, he warned that the country is capable of producing an appropriate response to the continuing hostile actions.
“If our western colleagues continue with this clearly aggressive stance, we will take appropriate military-technical measures in response and react harshly to hostile steps,” Putin said. “And I want to stress that we are within our rights to do what is required to ensure Russia’s security and sovereignty.”
The White House press secretary also reiterated the stance that the US and NATO pose no threat to Russia, while yet again blaming it for “aggression” against Ukraine.
“NATO is a defensive alliance, we don’t have aggressive intent with Russia, the United States doesn’t, neither do NATO partners. And certainly the aggression we’ve seen at the Ukrainian border, the bellicose rhetoric has been coming from one side,” Psaki stated.
It's a pity that Jen thinks Americans are stupid enough to believe whatever she tells them.
Over the past few weeks, top Western politicians have repeatedly claimed Moscow was seeking to invade the neighboring country, using the movement of Russian troops within Russia’s own territory as ‘proof’ for the alleged preparation for assault. Moscow has consistently denied such claims, insisting it is allowed to move its military unit wherever it pleases within Russia’s borders.
Russia planning nuclear attack, Ukraine claims
22 Dec, 2021 17:12
By Layla Guest
One of Ukraine’s top politicians has alleged that signals coming from Russia indicate that Moscow could be plotting a full-blown nuclear attack against its Eastern European neighbor in a new sensational intervention.
Speaking at a conference on Wednesday, the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, remarked that “as of 1991, Ukraine had the third largest nuclear capability in the world,” referring to its inherited arsenal of warheads from the collapse of the Soviet Union.
He noted that Kiev “voluntarily gave this up to become a non-nuclear state” just a few years later. However, the politician alleged that Russia, which “was the guarantor of such disarmament, hints that if we continue our democratic development, it may even launch a nuclear strike against us.”
The remarks from Stefanchuk come in the foreground of concerns from Western leaders and Kiev’s intelligence service that Moscow is planning to launch a full-blown offensive against Ukraine. However, the Kremlin has repeatedly denied allegations that Russia is massing its troops along the shared demarcation line in preparation for an invasion.
I'm not a military strategist, but it seems to me that if Russia was going to drop a nuclear bomb on Ukraine, that they would line up thousands of soldiers along their eastern border where they would likely be subject to fall-out.
Instead, Moscow has accused members of the US-led military bloc of shuttling a concerning amount of weapons toward Russia’s borders and said that Western states are encouraging Kiev’s officials to engage in provocations that could spiral into an all-out conflict.
Last month, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that in Ukraine, “more and more forces and equipment are being accumulated on the line of contact in the Donbass, supported by an increasing number of Western instructors.” He warned that if these states cannot hold back Kiev, and are instead actually spurring it on, Moscow will “take all necessary steps to ensure our security.”
Earlier in November, Lavrov warned that claims Kiev’s troops had deployed American-made Javelin rocket launchers were a concerning development, noting that “In recent weeks, we have seen a stream of consciousness from the Ukrainian leadership – especially when it comes to the military – that is excessively inflamed and dangerous.”
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