Military Madness > Ukrainian soldiers found chained and dead; Trump dumps any responsibility for rebuilding Ukraine; Will Trump pull 20,000 troops out of Europe?

 

Russian military makes gruesome battelfield discovery (VIDEO)

The soldiers were left to die chained by their commanders, a Telegram channel linked to Russia’s North military group has said

The Russian military has found the chained bodies of Ukrainian troops after taking over the fortified positions of Kiev’s forces, according to a Telegram channel linked to Russia’s North military group.

The Russian soldiers were “shocked” by their discovery in one of the rooms inside a stronghold in Kharkov Region, the Severny Veter (Northern Wind) channel reported on Friday.

It published a graphic video showing at least two corpses in Ukrainian military uniforms with long rusty chains attached to their legs.

The Ukrainian troops “were simply abandoned without food and water. One of them had tried to escape, but could not break free from the chains,” the channel said.

READ MORE: Ukraine’s top general calls for censorship

It is up to the Russian investigative bodies to establish what exactly happened to the soldiers, but it is “already clear that they died in terrible agony, with traces of torture being clearly visible on their bodies,” Severny Veter stressed.

The channel claimed that the incident, which is likely not an isolated one, “not only proves that the Ukrainian military leadership are neo-Nazi criminals and terrorists… but also reveals the general level of motivation within the Ukrainian military.”

Severny Veter claimed that too many Ukrainian soldiers are refusing to fight and, because of this, their commanders are “staging demonstrative executions to persuade the troops to engage in another ‘meat assault’.”

Bloomberg reported in early December that at least 96,000 desertion cases have been opened in Ukraine since the escalation between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022.

Source: Telegram @warriorofnorth

Reports of Ukrainian soldiers voluntarily leaving their positions or refusing to obey orders have been on the rise in 2024 amid steady Russian military advances along the entire front line.

Last week, The Economist reported that Ukraine’s 155th Mechanized Brigade, trained and funded by France, has been plagued by mass desertions and internal mismanagement. Around 1,700 of its members (one-third of the brigade) have reportedly gone absent without leave, with some returning to their old units and 50 others disappearing in France.

Trump not willing to take part in Ukraine’s reconstruction – Bloomberg

The private sector should take over responsibility, the outlet has cited a senior official as saying

FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump. ©  Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images

US President Donald Trump’s administration is not interested in taking part in the reconstruction of Ukraine after the conflict is resolved, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

Trump’s team has signaled that it doesn’t intend to engage directly in rebuilding the country, suggesting that this responsibility would be handled by the private sector, the outlet said, citing a senior diplomat.

The stance marks a significant shift from the policies of Joe Biden’s administration, which has spent around $100 billion on financial aid and military assistance to Kiev since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, and pledged support with the post-conflict reconstruction.

Of course, the majority of that $100 billion was dedicated to the destruction of Ukraine and was returned to USA's War Industry. It's impossible for America to have no guilt or shame in what it and NATO have done to Ukraine, and yet...

Kiev has ramped up its privatization efforts to draw in foreign capital as it seeks private investors to support the country’s reconstruction. Aleksey Sobolev, Ukraine’s first deputy economy minister, outlined a $500 billion reconstruction initiative aimed at bringing both strategic and financial benefits to Western investors.

“It’s the private sector that’s going to be doing these investments,” Sobolev said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, according to Reuters.

“We’re looking at privatizing more. It’s the right time right now to open the bigger companies,” he added.

The US president told participants of the forum in Davos on Thursday that he wanted to end the conflict, which he described as “an absolute killing field.” Trump also reiterated that he is willing to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin “soon” to discuss the situation. 

READ MORE: Trump ‘not invested’ in Ukraine – Bloomberg

During his campaign, Trump repeatedly pledged to end the Ukraine conflict within 24 hours of returning to office. However, he later revised the timeline, expressing the hope that he could negotiate a peace agreement within six months.

US media outlets have reported that Trump’s team is considering a peace plan for Ukraine. The proposal could include a ceasefire along the current front lines and the establishment of a 1,300-km (800-mile) demilitarized zone monitored by European troops. Additionally, Ukraine would reportedly agree to postpone its NATO membership ambitions for at least 20 years.

Moscow, however, has rejected the idea of freezing the conflict, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stating that the Kremlin “is, of course, not satisfied” with proposals to delay Kiev’s NATO aspirations and deploy Western peacekeepers in Ukraine.

Russia has maintained that hostilities will cease only after Kiev agrees to permanent neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification, emphasizing that Ukraine must acknowledge territorial “realities on the ground.”

Moscow is now awaiting signals from the new US administration, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, stressing that the Russian president is ready to speak with his US counterpart.

I'm appalled that the Western War Industries made hundreds of billions of dollars destroying Ukraine and will not be required to contribute to its reconstruction.

America claims to be a Christian country and I am hard-pressed to find any evidence of Christian character in its actions and attitudes towards Ukraine. I wonder what God thinks of it?

Trump to pull 20,000 US troops from Europe

– Italian media

The US president could also demand that the EU pay for remaining American personnel, ANSA news agency has reported

Soldiers prepare a US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker plane for take-off at Spangdahlem Airbase in Germany. © Getty Images / Boris Roessler

US President Donald Trump is considering reducing his country's military contingent in Europe by 20% as he reviews Washington’s commitment to the continent, Italian news agency ANSA has reported, citing EU diplomatic sources.

If the pullout occurs, the number of US service personnel in Europe will decrease from around 100,000 to 80,000, the agency reported on Wednesday.

In recent conversations with European leaders Trump has “consistently” expressed a desire to downsize the US military presence on the continent, the sources said.

“Furthermore, for those [US troops] who remain, he would like financial contributions from European countries, because these soldiers are a deterrent, and the costs cannot be borne solely by American taxpayers,” one of ANSA’s sources claimed.

Earlier this month, Trump said NATO member states in the EU should be spending 5% of their GDP on defense, way beyond the current goal of 2%. “They can afford it,” he claimed.

“We are in there for $200 billion more than the EU. I mean, what are we, stupid? I guess the answer is ‘yes.’ They must think so,” he said.

Trump also pledged to impose tariffs on the bloc due to its trade surplus with the US. “The EU is very bad for us,” he claimed.

During a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron noted: “Now that the new administration has taken office in the US, it is more important than ever for Europeans… to play their full part in consolidating a united, strong, and sovereign Europe.”

READ MORE: Trump ready to meet with Putin ‘anytime’

Scholz backed Macron’s stance, acknowledging that “it is already clear that President Trump will be a challenge” for the EU.

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US Takes Away $230mn of Syria Stabilization Funding

People walk through debris in the ruins of Afrin, Syria © Khalil Ashawi / Reuters

The US has ended funding for stabilization projects in Syria, as President Trump looks to withdraw from the long-running conflict. The move comes as allies step up their contributions.

The US State Department said on Friday that some $230 million in funding for stabilizing Syria have been redirected elsewhere. The funding had been promised by former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in February, but had been placed under review and frozen since then.

State Department Press Secretary Heather Nauert said that the withdrawal of funding comes on the back of military successes against the terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS), and as America’s coalition allies have increased their contributions.

Following US intervention, and later Russian intervention in 2015, ISIS has lost roughly 98 percent of its territory throughout Syria and Iraq, and is now estimated to control only 400 square miles of desert.

America’s coalition allies in the Syrian conflict contribute $300 million to stabilization efforts. Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday that it would chip in $100 million to support the stabilization of the war torn country. Brett McGurk, an envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS, told reporters that this funding “not only offsets what the US Government was going to spend but actually increases the amount.”

As the US takes away its own contribution, Nauert said that “stabilization and early recovery programming is critical to ensure ISIS cannot reemerge and use Syria as a base to threaten the people of the region or plot attacks against the international community.”

‘Final phase’ and ‘strategic goals’

The withdrawal of stabilization money does not mean a reduction of American presence in Syria. On the contrary, McGurk said preparations are under way for a “final phase” of the offensive against ISIS.

Trump has often stated a desire to extricate the US from the Syrian conflict. While he has ordered airstrikes on Syrian government targets, he promised in March that the US would “be coming out of Syria, like very soon,” and that the US would “let other people take care of it.”

Trump campaigned on ending the US’ role as the ‘world’s policeman,’ and had repeatedly warned his predecessor, Barack Obama, against intervention in Syria. He warned that intervention would be costly and had “no upside and tremendous downside.”

But in April, Defense Secretary James Mattis said the US would be deepening its involvement in Syria.

As the Trump administration continues to flirt with the idea of leaving Syria, Nauert told reporters that "This decision does not represent any lessening of US commitment to our strategic goals in Syria," which remain the military defeat of ISIS, and now involve ensuring the withdrawal of Iranian-sponsored, pro-Assad forces.

Nauert also said that Friday’s decision would not affect humanitarian assistance to Syria, or US support for the White Helmets, an ostensibly humanitarian civil-defense group that has been accused of working with extremist groups.

Enter Russia

In the US, the decision to pull stabilization support was met with criticism from some Democrats, who predictably deployed the Russian boogeyman to make their point.

Senator Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) accused Trump of “rolling out the red carpet for Russia and Iran, who will seize the vacuum of US presence and assistance to double down on their support of the Assad regime.”

Russian forces have been providing military support to the Assad government, and have contributed to the fight against ISIS in Syria. After a bilateral summit in July, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to work together to resolve the Syrian conflict.

Beginning in 2011 when the Assad government quashed protests calling for his removal from power, the Syrian Civil War has grown into a multi-sided conflict that has pitted Assad and his allies against a hydra-headed gaggle of anti-government forces and extremist groups, some of whom are sponsored by the US. The US’ mission in Syria primarily involves carrying out airstrikes against ISIS targets, and providing support to Kurdish and anti-Assad fighters.

Islamic State still active in US controlled areas

Islamic State managed to regain access to Syrian oil fields and make profits from selling oil, a new UN report reveals. While the UN did not point fingers, the IS reemergence seems to occur in areas held by the US-backed forces.

“Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, having been defeated militarily in Iraq and most of the Syrian Arab Republic during 2017, rallied in early 2018. This was the result of a loss of momentum by forces fighting it in the east of the Syrian Arab Republic,” the recent report from the UN Security Council’s Sanctions Monitoring Team reads. The document is dated July 27, but was only released to the public this week.

The slow-down gave IS “breathing space to prepare for the next phase of its evolution into a global covert network.” As of June 2018, the terrorist group has been controlling “small pockets of territory in the Syrian Arab Republic on the Iraqi border,” effectively carrying on with its quasi-state ways.

“[IS] was able to extract and sell some oil, and to mount attacks, including across the border into Iraq,” the reports stated, adding that the terrorist group regained “access to some oil fields in northeastern” Syria.

While the report did not specify which forces exactly were having troubles with “momentum,” northeastern Syria is located on the left bank of the Euphrates river, controlled by the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia backed by the US-led coalition.

The softening of resolve to annihilate ISIS is most unfortunate for the thousands of Yazidi women and girls still in the hands of ISIS. Nor will the withdrawal of funds from the stabilization fund do anything for the 350,000 displaced Yazidis in desperate need of help rebuilding Sinjar City, Iraq.

‘We don’t need the West’: Assad to Ban Foreign Money from Syria Reconstruction

"The West is not honest at all, they don’t give, they only take."

Syrian President Bashar Assad speaks to Russian NTV channel © Reuters

Syria will not allow Western investors to step into the rebuilding of war-damaged country as they only come to “take” from foreign economies, Syria’s Bashar Assad told Russian media, adding he will seek friendly aid instead.

Friendly aid would mean Iran and Russia, for the most part, and possibly a small Gulf State or two. They are going to need a ton of money as most of the country is completely destroyed and may regret closing the door, especially if the west tightens the screws on Iran again.

And Assad surely knows that if Iran is spending kazillions of dollars in Syria it is going to want stuff in return. It has already opened schools in Syria and are teaching children Iran's toxic version of Islam.

The US and its Western allies have been actively engaged in the seven-year long war in Syria, including the illegal stationing of troops in the country and backing anti-government militants such as Free Syrian Army (FSA) and “moderate” Islamist groups. The war has dealt billions in damage to the country, but President Assad is determined to rebuild without a single penny from the “dishonest” West. 

“They [the West] won’t be part of reconstruction in Syria, because very simply we won’t allow them to be part of it… we don’t need the West. The West is not honest at all, they don’t give, they only take,” the Syrian leader told Russian NTV channel on Sunday. 

The country was historically built without external help, the Syrian president stressed, adding that any loans would be allowed only from “friends.” On the other hand, European investors, who have been privately contacting the Syrian authorities on the matter, will be banned from Syrian markets. Assad says that Europe has eyes for Syria just to save its own “dire” economies.

“They need this market, they are in a very dire situation economically since 2008, most of the European countries. They need many markets, Syria is one of them, and we are not going to allow them to be part of this market, very simply,” he said.

During the interview, Assad lashed out at Western powers, which he believes are controlled by Washington and only have “the substitute of statesmen” and “fake politics.” He said this approach needed “fake stories,” including the alleged use of chemical weapons, which Assad was repeatedly accused of despite Damascus destroying the stockpile in 2013.

The Syrian leader also said that negotiating with US President Donald Trump would be fruitless as Washington always comes up short on its promises and things only get worse when it’s involved.

“The problem with the American presidents is that they are hostages to their lobbies, to the mainstream media, to the huge corporations, financial, oil, armaments, etc.,” Assad said. He described President Trump as a “very stark example” of American approach in politics – always saying “what you want to hear,” but doing the opposite, get things “worse and worse.”

“So, talking and discussing with the Americans now for no reason, without achieving anything, is just a waste of time,” the Syrian leader said, adding that Damascus is ready for productive dialogue, but it is unlikely to have it with Washington “in the foreseeable future.”

So, it would seem, the door is closed, but not necessarily locked.

Saudi Arabia Gives Yemeni Gov't $10bn to Rebuild – President

FILE PHOTO © Naif Rahma / Reuters

Yemen has received $10 billion from Saudi Arabia to rebuild the war-torn country, the Riyadh-backed Yemeni president said.

“Saudi Arabia has provided Yemen with $10 billion,” Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi said, as cited by Al Arabiya, during a meeting of his Aden-based government on Wednesday.

A total of $8 billion from the sum will be spent on the reconstruction of government-held areas, with another $2 billion to be used to support Yemen’s National Bank, he explained.

According to the president, restoring normal functioning of electricity and the water supply, health, education and communications are among the “urgent priorities” for his government.

Yemen is going through a massive humanitarian crisis as a result of the conflict between the Sunni Muslim government of Hadi and the Shia Houthi rebels united with forces loyal to ex-president, Ali Abdullah Saleh.

This is widely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran as the latter backs the Houthis in an attempt to spread its influence throughout the region. 

The wisdom of spending billions rebuilding while the war is still in progress escapes me, but if it alleviates some of the incredible suffering of the people, then God bless it. If it's just an exercise in easing Saudi consciences or trying to look good to the world, that would be unfortunate.

There has so far been no official confirmation of $10 financial aid to Yemen by Saudi officials.

Saudi Arabia's numerous war crimes with USA & UK complicit

Saudi Arabia has contributed to the current state of affairs in Yemen as it has headed an international coalition against the Houthis since March 2015.

The coalition has imposed a blockade of the country and launched an air campaign to return Hadi to power.

Riyadh and its allies have been accused of war crimes by humanitarian groups after their airstrikes hit residential areas and public gatherings on numerous occasions.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported in October that the Saudi coalition, “with direct military support from the US and assistance from the UK,” conducted at least 58 “unlawful airstrikes.”

Earlier this week, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, said that around 10,000 have been killed in the country since Saudi Arabia intervened, with 7 million people close to starvation.

According to World Health Organization figures, more than 7,400 people have been killed, with around 1,400 of them being children.

In August, the UN said that it holds the action of the Saudi-led coalition as the reason for the majority of deaths among civilians and devastation.

Despite some military gains made by the government in recent months, the conflict in Yemen is far from being over as the Houthis remain in control of capital Sanaa, most of the central and northern highlands and the coast around Hodeida.

Hadi’s presidency is contested by the 10-member presidential council headed by Saleh Ali al-Sammad, which was established by the Houthis last year.