RT News - January 31st 2023 Late

Message from U.S.A. to Russia: Russia's top diplomat Sergey Lavrov says he's received a message from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, delivered by his Egyptian counterpart who's now in Moscow. The message says the conflict in Ukraine must be ended peacefully - that is, after Russia is defeated. Marina Kosareva reports from Moscow about Egypt's FM Sameh Hassan Sooukry's visit to Moscow
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South Africa mulls declaring a national state of disaster amid a crippling energy crisis, that regularly sees blackouts across the country. Karabo Letlhatlha reports. (Related, interesting: The battle for Africa: important documentary https://rumble.com/v279rd2-battle-for-africa-rt-documentary.html right here on Rumble)
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The US and Israel have accused Iran of "exporting aggression" and supplying Russia with drones. The statement came amid a drone attack on Tehran (QS was the strike carried out by Israel at the request of Ukraine/USA? )
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U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has said it is prepared to use nuclear weapons or any other means in it's "iron clad" commitment to it's allies whilst on a visit to South Korea. Don Mclain Gill warns of the danger and analyses.
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US exports of liquified natural gas are set to reach record highs, as Washington makes big profits satisfying the EU's hunger for energy, following September's attack on Russia's Nord Stream pipelines. Record high profits as sales to EU and other countries are at multiples of the prices in USA states. Report from Rachel Marsden "The Great Black-Gold Rush"
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Finland will continue on the path to join NATO, according to the Finnish FM Pekka Haavisto. Not if Türkiye has it's way however. Report from Janus Putkonen.
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China wants ties to middle east countries to be strengthened and a free trade zone could be created which uses local currencies or a newly created currency. Multipolar world. Anuradha Chenoy reports.
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Newly arrived "Hong-Kongers" ask UK government to "ditch the bill" against protests saying this sort of legislation is why they chose to leave Hong Kong in the first place. The "public order bill" is seen by most British too, as "anti-citizen" Andrew Leung, a China Specialist reports.
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More information about the Adani group (QS: If I had some money I would buy their shares at the low prices created by the report, that company isn't going anywhere and continues to operate at good profits - this is NOT a recommendation for anyone else to invest their hard-earned though and I am in no way qualified to give advice - just my opinion, if I had money, which I don't anyway)
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Below via RT website 1) --- Ukrainian army maimed own civilians with banned mines – NGO
2) --- Lavrov reveals message from Blinken
3) --- Ukrainian intelligence chief threatens attacks on Russia
4) --- China lashes out at NATO country’s newly elected president
F) --- Sex, lies and videotapes: Yet another scandal involving Western mercenaries engulfs Ukraine
5) --- UK economy to perform worse than Russia's – IMF
5a) --- IMF upgrades Russian economy forecast
6) --- Norway’s wealth fund posts heavy losses
7) --- Russian Navy rescues French national
8) --- Warsaw comments on F16s for Ukraine
8a) --- EU state’s president urges NATO to cross more ‘Russian red lines’
9) --- Türkiye reiterates proposal for Finland
10) --- Russian man jailed in first terrorism trial of its kind
11) --- Ukraine responds to Iran over drone attack
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31 Jan, 2023 17:56

1) --- Ukrainian army maimed own civilians with banned mines – NGO

Kiev’s forces scattered thousands of antipersonnel landmines in the city of Izium, Human Rights Watch has said

The Ukrainian military injured scores of civilians when it fired thousands of illegal mines across the city of Izium last year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has alleged. The mines, similar to those allegedly used by Ukraine against civilians in Donetsk, were found near schools and kindergartens.

The mines were fired into the city by rocket while it was occupied by Russian forces between April and September of last year, the NGO said in a report published on Tuesday. Dispersed hundreds at a time, the Soviet-era PFM mines are distinctively butterfly- or petal-shaped devices and are designed to main rather than kill those unfortunate enough to step on them or pick them up.

The HRW team entered the city following Russia’s withdrawal in mid-September and found the mines in nine locations, including a school, and kindergarten, and a hospital.

Healthcare workers said that more than 50 civilians, including at least five children, were wounded by the mines. Around half of the injuries led to amputations of the foot or lower leg. At least one death was recorded, that of an elderly man who picked up one of the devices in his yard. However, investigators could not rule out other factors in the man’s death.

Some of the mines were fitted with timed fuses, and would explode without warning up to three days after being dispersed.

According to more than 100 residents, Russian forces attempted to warn locals of the danger posed by the Ukrainian mines, cleared some of the explosives, and transported victims to Russia for treatment. Once the Russians left Izium, demining duties were reportedly carried out by Ukrainian troops.

Use of such antipersonnel mines is prohibited under the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, to which Ukraine is a signatory. The US and Russia are not parties to the treaty.

Questioned by HRW, the Ukrainian government insisted that it abides by all of its international obligations, but refused to comment on the type of munitions it used in and around Izium.

“Any use of antipersonnel landmines is unlawful, and Ukraine should thoroughly investigate what happened and ensure its forces do not use them,” HRW arms division director Steve Goose stated in the report. Speaking to US news outlet NPR, Goose said that while HRW believes that Russia has also used these mines, Ukraine's "moral high ground has been compromised" by the latest findings.

Ukraine also used PFM mines in the cities of Kharkov and Donetsk last year, according to officials in both locations, though Kiev denied the claims. The mines were also found strewn across Russia’s Belgorod Region in large numbers after a Ukrainian bombardment last summer.
https://www.rt.com/russia/570773-ukraine-banned-landmines-civilians/
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31 Jan, 2023 14:39

2) --- Lavrov reveals message from Blinken

The information contained no “serious proposals,” the Russian foreign minister said

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has conveyed a fresh message to Moscow on the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, although the statement offered nothing of value, according to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Russia’s top diplomat made the remarks on Tuesday following talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry.

While Moscow has been always ready to hear a “serious proposal” from Washington “aimed at resolving the current situation,” the message from Blinken contained no such information, Lavrov stated.

“Minister [Shoukry] said that he conveyed a certain message from Secretary of State Blinken, who was recently on a visit to Cairo. I can confirm that,” Lavrov said. The Russian diplomat added that the message once again urged Moscow to “stop” and “leave,” and “then everything will be fine.”

The real goals of the US and the collective West, however, have been articulated much more clearly by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Lavrov continued.

“In one of his speeches, he said that Russia must lose, Russia must be defeated, and the West cannot allow Ukraine to lose, because then the West will lose. And the whole world will lose,” Lavrov explained, referring to the NATO chief’s comments. “That is, he took it upon himself to speak not only on behalf of three-dozen NATO members, but also on behalf of all other countries of the world, [including] Asia, Africa, and Latin America.”

Multiple senior US officials have repeatedly urged Moscow to end its military campaign in Ukraine, as well as to cede the former Ukrainian territories which were incorporated into Russia following referendums. US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland signaled last week that doing so might prompt Washington to consider easing anti-Russian sanctions. The proposal, however, was dismissed in Moscow.

“We still don’t see anything [new] in Madame Nuland’s words. We are absolutely not inclined to exaggerate their importance,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at the time, adding that the remarks once again showed “the lack of flexibility in the position of the US.”

Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, citing Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, which were designed to give Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the agreement to buy time and “create powerful armed forces.” The idea was confirmed by then-Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and then-President of France Francois Hollande.
https://www.rt.com/news/570754-lavrov-gets-blinken-message/
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31 Jan, 2023 14:57

3) --- Ukrainian intelligence chief threatens attacks on Russia

Kirill Budanov refused, however, to take responsibility for previous strikes on the Crimea Bridge and airfields inside Russia

Russia will continue to experience “problems” until it withdraws from Ukraine and restores its territorial integrity, Kiev’s top intelligence official, Kirill Budanov, warned in an interview with the Washington Post on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian Intelligence Directorate (GUR) chief said that Kiev currently had people who were planting explosives on the territory of Russia, hinting at a potential string of terrorist attacks in the country in the near future.

Asked about his involvement in the attack on the Crimean Bridge in October and the two drone attacks on Russian air bases in December, Budanov refused to confirm his special forces were behind the strikes. He did, however, warn that there would be more attacks of that nature.

“This shattered their illusions of safety,” Budanov told the Post. “There are people who plant explosives. There are drones. Until the territorial integrity of Ukraine is restored, there will be problems inside Russia.”

He also issued a warning to the Kremlin, stating that there are Ukrainian collaborators in its midst –“people who are very easy to work with” and who Kiev actively supports.

Budanov went on to insist that Ukraine must “do everything to ensure that Crimea returns home by summer” and dismissed suggestions that Moscow could use nuclear weapons if Kiev’s troops reach the peninsula, which officially joined Russia following a referendum in 2014.

“It’s a scare tactic,” he said. “Russia is a country that you can expect a lot from but not outright idiocy. Sorry, but it’s not going to happen. Carrying out a nuclear strike will result in not just a military defeat for Russia but the collapse of Russia.”

Moscow, meanwhile, has insisted that Crimea is part of Russia and warned that it would respond to any threats to its territory with “more powerful weapons.”

Earlier this month, Duma chairman Vyacheslav Volodin also cautioned that a “global tragedy” could be in store for humanity if the West continued to arm Ukraine with weapons that Kiev could use to strike civilian cities and attempt to seize Russian territories.
https://www.rt.com/news/570760-ukraine-threatens-russia-attacks/
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31 Jan, 2023 14:36

4) --- China lashes out at NATO country’s newly elected president

Beijing has accused Petr Pavel of meddling in its affairs after his Taiwan phone call

Beijing has slammed Czech President-elect and former NATO general Petr Pavel over a phone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning stated on Tuesday that the conversation was “a serious interference in China’s internal affairs.”

“This is a blatant violation of the Czech Republic’s political commitment to the one-China principle and sends a wrong signal to the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces,” Mao said at a regular press briefing. She added that Prague held the call on Monday “despite China’s repeated dissuasion.”

“We urge the Czech Republic to take immediate and effective measures…to undo the negative impact of this incident and credibly abide by the one-China principle,” the spokeswoman said.

Beijing views Taiwan, which has been ruled by a separate government since the late 1940s, as its territory, and strongly opposes any form of recognition of the Taipei authorities. The majority of countries, including the Czech Republic, do not maintain formal diplomatic relations with the island.

A retired army general, Pavel won the election on Saturday, defeating former Prime Minister Andrej Babis. From 2015 to 2018, Pavel served as chair of the NATO Military Committee, a body that participates in the US-led bloc’s strategic planning.

Pavel wrote on Twitter on Monday that he and Tsai had “agreed on strengthening our partnership.” He also said he hoped to meet the Taiwanese leader in person in the future.

Taiwanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu said in a statement that the island’s government “will do its utmost” to deepen bilateral ties with Prague.

Last year, Beijing protested the visit of former US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the island. She was the highest-ranking US official to make such a trip since the 1990s. Beijing responded to the incident by holding large-scale snap military drills around Taiwan.

The Pavel-Tsai call took place amid heightened tensions between China and NATO. The alliance has accused Beijing of coercing its neighbors in the region and “threatening” Taiwan. Beijing, meanwhile, has rejected the portrayal of China as a threat and urged the US to abandon its “Cold War mentality.”
https://www.rt.com/news/570756-petr-pavel-taiwan-call/
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31 Jan, 2023 10:34

F) --- Sex, lies and videotapes: Yet another scandal involving Western mercenaries engulfs Ukraine

A lawsuit alleges that the American founder of the ‘Mozart’ group is a sex pest and conman

A lawsuit filed by a former member of the mercenary Mozart Group has raised serious questions about the controversial outfit, including its founder – former US marine Andy Milburn. It’s just the latest example of how grift in the Ukraine conflict has led to very serious consequences.

What is ‘Mozart Group’?
Founded in mid-March 2022, the organization was designed to make a major impact in the Ukraine conflict, in every way. Its name was attention seeking, a provocative pun on Wagner, the Russian private military company that in recent weeks has been steadily liberating Ukraine-occupied territory in the Donbass. The media-savvy, combat-experienced Milburn was highly effective at inserting himself into the coverage, being widely quoted by Western news outlets.

“Driven by the same pro-Ukrainian spirit that has put yellow and blue flags flying across the Western world, Mr. Milburn feels strongly that this is a just war,” the New York Times oozed in October 2022. “But there are other forces operating on him — boredom, guilt, his own sorrows and a quest for redemption.”

Mozart’s representatives publicly sought to characterize themselves not as an army-for-hire, but a team of seasoned veterans who don't personally carry guns, but provide vital military training to the Ukrainian army, and extract civilians from the frontline. While Milburn made much of his three decades of service, including deployments in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia, he also claimed staff would be fired on the spot if they engaged in direct combat with Russian forces.

The entire Western media bought the line that Mozart wasn’t in Ukraine for belligerent purposes. The idea that a bunch of battle-hardened marines would simply show up in a combat zone to help – but disavow violence while they were there – was always a farce and recent comments by Milburn make this clear. Speaking to RT on 28 January, he said his primary goal was to “kill Russians”:

“Why do we train guys? It isn’t simply to defend themselves, it’s to kill the enemy. Everything we’re doing is exactly within the parameters of NATO policy. The West is providing Ukraine with lethal weapons that kill Russians…When we train soldiers that is their goal. It’s why we teach them how to operate their weapons.”

Despite Milburn’s boasts that Mozart Group “is filling a niche no one is filling,” https://www.newsweek.com/wagner-group-targeting-volunteers-ukraine-mozart-group-russia-andy-milburn-1765321 and his consequent belief that sizable Western government funding should be “an absolute no-brainer,” neither sponsorship nor corresponding riches have been forthcoming. The organization has, to his immense disappointment, only received relatively small sums from unnamed US-based financiers with Ukrainian ancestry, and from a humanitarian organization for the purpose of evacuations. (paywall https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/09/world/europe/ukraine-war-americans.html )

Why was the leader of Mozart sued?
A lawsuit taken by Andy Bain, Mozart’s former chief financial officer, against Milburn, and “defendants John Doe 1 through 10,” who are “individuals or entities who have acted together with, or under the direction of” Milburn, might offer a clue as to why Washington and its international lackeys have been so reticent to stump up any cash for the effort. https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23580905/andy-bain-suit-against-andy-milburn-of-mozart-group.pdf

Bain’s suit paints a shocking picture of an utterly chaotic, corrupt, criminal organization, in which “on multiple occasions” Milburn “has taken actions which have and will continue to cause harm to the company.” A 26-point list, running from a-to-z, outlines the alleged behavior. This bombshell rap sheet has been completely ignored by the Western media since its publication.

They include “threatening and harassing a private business owner who volunteered a newly refurbished apartment for Mozart Group,” a residence where Milburn held “numerous late night parties,” and kept “a stray untrained dog…which defecated and urinated freely.” When the owner evicted the company due to this conduct, Milburn is said to have bombarded them with “hostile messages,” including one in which he warned “you have no idea who you are dealing with” and “will not escape unscathed.”

Milburn also “unilaterally” hired a Ukrainian woman he met on a dating app - “and with whom he had a prior personal relationship” - as his personal assistant, paying her an annual salary of $90,000, “which is at least four times more than the usual compensation rate for a Ukrainian based employee in such position.”

Milburn purportedly made “unwanted sexual advances and propositions to a female office manager” too, and when these were rejected, he “preemptively labeled her as a liar”to Bain and possibly others, “in the event she would not keep silent about his actions.”

Bain further charges that Milburn embezzled donations and enriched himself through a number of scams. For example, he is said to have secretly meddled with donation links on Mozart’s website, so money intended for the organization was actually redirected to another company he set up. Yet another business entity with an almost identical name to Mozart Group’s is also apparently being established “to confuse donors and continue to facilitate the diversion of funds.”

It could be the case that certain donors knew their money would be spent on highly dubious, if not outright criminal activities. Milburn allegedly solicited cash from private companies, “promising to use those funds to pay bribes to senior military leaders to make military decisions favorable to safeguarding specific private assets, irrespective of damage such decisions may have to Ukraine’s military position,” therefore “forcing the Ukrainian government to divert badly needed Ukrainian counter-intelligence resources to track his illegal activities.”

Bain claims to have received “numerous threatening texts”from Milburn when he left the company, including promises “to tell the media about non-existent compromising information,” should he go public with what he knew.

If Mozart’s chief financial officer is to be believed - and the nature of his accusations suggest he may have incriminating evidence to support them - senior Ukrainian military officers called Milburn the “Crazy American”, and wished he’d “go home and stop saving our country.”

Other areas of the filing imply Milburn’s public declarations that Mozart did not and never would engage in military activities were lies, and the company is an active mercenary outfit with plans to expand its operations. Bain also claims Milburn failed to acquire the necessary approvals to comply with International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR): “Outside the scope of original business interest in Ukraine, sought commercial contracts for military training in Armenia which would divert resources from Ukraine, having done so knowingly and deliberately without United States Department of State registration or approval in violation of ITAR.”

***
A day after Bain’s lawsuit was filed, Milburn responded with an enormous number of counter-accusations via various social media platforms, posts which he later deleted, claiming Bain was a “disgruntled” former employee who himself had been accused of financial and sexual misconduct.

Milburn even said Bain at one point attempted to sell Mozart to the Taliban. A wild charge, but believable, given the eagerness of foreigners to line their pockets off the back of the Ukraine conflict. As RT has repeatedly documented, the International Legion - including its celebrity fraudster spokeswoman - is a hotbed of embezzlement.

There are clear signs that Ukrainian military personnel, and the country's civilian authorities, aren’t above profiteering from the conflict, and engaging in crime in the process. A drunken Andy Milburn testified to this on a December podcast, where he said it was a “corrupt, f****d-up society,” run by “plenty of f****d up people.” Comically, this is referenced in Bain’s lawsuit. He says Milburn was “significantly intoxicated and making unfounded accusations and derogatory comments against the government of Ukraine and the Ukrainian military.”

By Felix Livshitz
https://www.rt.com/news/570708-sexual-harassment-threats-corruption/
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31 Jan, 2023 15:01

5) --- UK economy to perform worse than Russia's – IMF

Surging borrowing costs and rising taxes have prompted a sharp growth downgrade

The British economy will perform worst among the major industrialized nations, the International Monetary Fund has predicted. The UK will be the only G7 member to face a recession in 2023, falling behind the Russian economy, the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook update, published on Tuesday.

In its latest report, the IMF again sharply downgraded its forecast for the UK, predicting the economy will contract by 0.6% against the 0.3% growth expected last October. That places the expected performance even lower than sanctions-hit Russia, which is projected to expand by 0.3% after contracting 2.2% in 2022. A UK recession this year would be the first, excluding the pandemic, since the financial crisis in 2009.

Among the other G7 nations, the IMF’s 2023 GDP predictions show growth of 1.4% in the US, 0.1% in Germany, 0.7% in France, 0.6% in Italy, 1.8% in Japan and 1.5% in Canada.

The IMF stated that while the prospects for other G7 members had improved or remained unchanged since October, the forecast for the UK looks gloomier due to surging interest rates and rising taxes. This, along with the government’s spending restraint will exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis.

“Tighter fiscal and monetary policies and financial conditions and still-high energy retail prices weighing on household budgets” have eroded the country’s GDP, the IMF said.

Raging inflation, running above 10% and more than five times the Bank of England’s 2% target, has undermined household spending power, squeezing demand and dragging down the economy, the report concluded.
https://www.rt.com/business/570757-imf-uk-recession-forecast/
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31 Jan, 2023 09:10

5a) --- IMF upgrades Russian economy forecast

The fund expects 0.3% growth in 2023, having previously predicted a contraction

The International Monetary Fund has revised upwards its estimate of Russian economic development, projecting GDP to grow by 0.3% this year, and 2.1% in 2024.

According to the fund’s World Economic Outlook update published on Monday, Russia’s GDP fell by 2.2% last year. In its October forecast, the IMF reported that the decline was expected to be 3.4%. For this year, the fund previously predicted a drop of 2.3%, and for 2024, a 2.1% decline.

The IMF’s estimates are beginning to converge with Russian forecasts, the press service of the Ministry of Economic Development told RBK business daily following the release of the report.

“Indeed, the Russian economy is confidently overcoming the sanctions barriers of unfriendly countries. In 2023, further economic recovery will depend on the improvement of consumer demand, as well as measures to ensure the growth of corporate and consumer lending,” the ministry stated.

Earlier this month, President Vladimir Putin stated that the Russian economy is in better shape than previously expected, and is on course for further stabilization. He added that the Western sanctions and international pressure have failed to seriously harm the economy, and the results have shown this.
https://www.rt.com/business/570737-russia-economy-imf-improved/
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31 Jan, 2023 16:26

6) --- Norway’s wealth fund posts heavy losses

One of the world’s largest investment funds lost over $160 billion in 2022 amid market volatility

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, Government Pension Fund Global, posted a record loss of 1.64 trillion kroner ($164.4 billion) in 2022, according to data published on the fund’s website on Tuesday.

The return on investment last year was negative 14.1%, according to the released figures. The fund’s equities holdings posted a 15.3% loss, while its fixed-income portfolio was down 12.1%.

Nicolai Tangen, CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management, the entity that manages the fund, commented: “The market was impacted by war in Europe, high inflation, and rising interest rates. This negatively impacted both the equity market and bond market at the same time, which is very unusual. All the sectors in the equity market had negative returns, with the exception of energy.”

Despite the record loss, the overall value of the fund increased by 89 billion kroner ($8.9 billion) year-on-year. This was largely due to a record 1.1 trillion kroner ($109 billion) inflow, a figure roughly three times larger than the previous high from 2008. Currency fluctuations also helped, adding some 642 billion kroner ($64 billion) to the fund’s value.

The fund, which reportedly lost the status of the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund to China Investment Corporation, had a value of 12.4 trillion kroner ($1.2 trillion) as of December 31, 2022.

The fund invests the revenue from Norway’s oil and gas sales, which grew substantially last year after the country became Europe’s largest gas supplier due to the drop in Russian flows. The fund holds stakes in some 9,300 companies globally and owns the equivalent of 1.3% of all listed stocks.
https://www.rt.com/business/570748-norway-wealth-fund-losses/
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31 Jan, 2023 15:53

7) --- Russian Navy rescues French national

The man and his dog were adrift in the Atlantic Ocean after his yacht sustained damage

A French national in distress was rescued by the Russian tanker ‘Kama’ in the Atlantic Ocean, the country’s defense ministry said on Tuesday. A Russian naval detachment, led by frigate Admiral Gorshkov, was on a patrol mission when it received a distress call from a small vessel, the military revealed.

The tanker ‘Kama’ was dispatched immediately to investigate the call, deviated from its route, discovered the damaged yacht and boarded it. The crew took aboard “one man, his dog and their personal belongings,” the military statement read.

The rescued man is a French national who was traveling solo, accompanied only by his dog. His yacht was damaged in a storm, which ended up disabling its steering equipment and flooding the vessel.

Failing to fix the yacht on his own, the man was forced to send a distress call and was picked up by the Russian sailors. The man was given first aid by the crew and will be taken to the nearest port on his request, the military added.
https://www.rt.com/russia/570759-french-national-rescued-atlantic/
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31 Jan, 2023 17:24

8) --- Warsaw comments on F16s for Ukraine

Poland is not going to give Kiev the fighter jets, a deputy defense minister has said

Poland is not planning to supply Ukraine with US-made F16 fighter jets, Deputy Defense Minister Wojciech Skurkiewicz has said. His remarks came just a day after Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Warsaw could donate the aircraft provided that it is done as part of a concerted effort involving other NATO nations.

On Tuesday, Pawel Krutul, a Polish MP and the vice-chairman of the Parliamentary National Defense Committee, posted a tweet saying that “if the Ministry of National Defense hands over F16 fighters to Ukraine instead of Russian MiG-29, it will mean that we are disarming.”

Responding to that message, Skurkiewicz wrote: “There is no topic of handing over the Polish F-16s.”

Meanwhile on Monday, Morawiecki clarified to journalists that “just as it happened a few months ago with MiG-29 aircraft, any other aircraft assistance will be coordinated, implemented and, possibly, transferred together with other NATO member states.”

According to the Polish media, Warsaw has 48 F16 warplanes.

While Ukraine has long been asking Western powers to provide it with fighter jets, talk of such transfers has intensified in recent days, after several countries agreed to supply tanks to Kiev – something they had until recently refused to do.

Taking to Telegram on Monday, Andrey Yermak, the chief of staff to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, noted that “work is underway to acquire F-16 fighters,” adding that Kiev had received “positive signals from Poland.”

On Saturday, Politico reported that several US military officials have been “quietly pushing” the Department of Defense to approve the delivery of F16s to Kiev. According to the article, citing anonymous Pentagon staffers, these efforts are now “gaining momentum” after Washington gave the green light to the shipment of Abrams tanks to Ukraine.

When asked by reporters on Monday whether the US has any such plans, President Joe Biden, however, replied in the negative.

Russia, meanwhile, has repeatedly warned the West against supplying Ukraine with weapons, claiming that this would only serve to prolong the conflict. Last week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov argued that the continued arms deliveries are further proof that Western countries are directly involved in the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev.
https://www.rt.com/news/570767-poland-defense-official-f16-fighters-ukraine/
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31 Jan, 2023 12:30

8a) --- EU state’s president urges NATO to cross more ‘Russian red lines’

Kiev should get Western fighter jets and longer-range missiles, Lithuania’s Gitanas Nauseda has declared

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has called on NATO to escalate its brinkmanship in Ukraine by supplying Western-made fighter jets and long-range missiles to Kiev. Moscow suggested that Nauseda had failed to consider the potential consequences.

“I have seen many red lines… that were not drawn by us, democratic states,” the Lithuanian leader said in an interview with LRT television on Tuesday. “The terrorist state of Russia is trying to draw them, using fear and threats.”

Nauseda praised previous instances when NATO crossed “Russian red lines”, such as by greenlighting the supply of Western-made main battle tanks to Ukraine. The lines “exist only in our heads” and can be ignored, the Lithuanian president suggested.

In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Baltic states together with Poland “are apparently prepared to do anything to provoke more confrontation and probably don’t give thought to the consequences.” Peskov added it was “sad” that countries which “serve as the locomotives of all European processes” do not act to counterbalance such influence.

Western nations have claimed to be showing restraint with military assistance to Ukraine to avoid being drawn into a direct confrontation with Russia. However, increasingly advanced weapons systems have been supplied to Kiev throughout the conflict.

Moscow believes that Ukraine’s donors have long been party to a proxy war against Russia. Some Russian officials have warned that the crisis could spill beyond Ukraine and turn nuclear, should the trend continue.

Lithuania, which operates no fighter jets of its own and relies on other NATO nations for air policing, has been one of the most vocal proponents of arming Ukraine.

Fighter jets and long-range missiles are arguably the next primary targets for Kiev’s lobbying of its foreign backers after they agreed to supply tanks earlier this month. Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov asked for those systems during a meeting of donors at the US Ramstein Airbase in Germany two weeks ago, but the request was not granted.

In the long run, Kiev is eying as many as 200 modern warplanes for its defense, Ukrainian media reported on Tuesday, citing remarks by national armed forces spokesman Yury Ignat to French media.

The Lockheed Martin F-16 is the “most likely candidate” to replace Soviet-made fighter jets as the backbone of the fleet, Ignat told the Ukrainskaya Pravda news outlet when asked about modernization plans.
https://www.rt.com/russia/570753-lithuania-president-red-lines/
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31 Jan, 2023 13:19

9) --- Türkiye reiterates proposal for Finland

Unbundling its NATO bid from Sweden’s would help Helsinki gain Ankara’s consent, Foreign Minister Cavusoglu has said

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu suggested a solution to help Finland improve its chances to have its NATO application approved by his nation’s parliament – seeking accession without fellow candidate Sweden, he said.

“If the two countries want to follow a separate procedure, we said that we look at Finland more positively,” the minister said on Tuesday, as quoted by Turkish media. He was speaking at a press conference during a visit to Hungary.

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto indicated last week that his country was considering the option. On Monday, however, he said that Helsinki still wants a synchronized accession and can wait while Türkiye and Sweden resolve their differences.

The security guarantees that Finland has from individual nations are sufficient, Haavisto added, explaining the lack of urgency. Finland and Sweden claim they are abandoning their policies of neutrality due to the threat supposedly posed by Russia, when they submitted their applications to NATO last year.

Cavusoglu said Ankara understands the security concerns of the two nations, but wants them to reciprocate. “The PKK and FETO have an intense presence, especially in Sweden. Fundraising, financing of terrorism, recruitment, propaganda activities continue,” he claimed.

The Turkish foreign minister was referring to two organizations that Ankara considers major threats. The PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) is a Kurdish militia that has waged a decades-long guerilla war against the Turkish government. ‘FETO’ is the name that Türkiye uses for the network of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara accused of masterminding the failed military coup in 2016.

Cavusoglu reiterated his claim that Sweden is tolerating Islamophobia by allowing right-wing activist Rasmus Paludan to burn the Koran during political protests. Ankara insists that such protests should not be granted freedom of speech protections.
https://www.rt.com/news/570755-t%C3%BCrkiye-cavusoglu-finland-nato/
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31 Jan, 2023 10:30

10) --- Russian man jailed in first terrorism trial of its kind

The defendant was sentenced for his role in firebombing a military conscription office

A Russian court has sentenced a man to 12 years in prison after he was involved in an arson attack on a military office. The man and an accomplice were promised a large sum for tossing firebombs at the facility on camera, they told investigators.

The ruling by a military court in Ekaterinburg on Tuesday is the first time a defendant has been sentenced on terrorism charges in Russia for attacking a military commissariat, according to TASS. The commissar’s office is responsible for keeping records of military reservists and enrolling them into service during conscription or mobilization.

The incident happened in early May 2022 in the western Siberian city of Nizhnevartovsk and was filmed by a witness, with the footage later being published by local media. The video showed one man throwing seven Molotov cocktails into a window of the city’s military commissariat before he and his accomplice fled. The fire was dealt with by first responders and caused minimal damage, police said at the time.

The two perpetrators were identified as Vladislav Borisenko and Vasily Gavrilishen. Initially suspected of hooliganism and intentional property damage, they were later charged with the more serious offense of conspiracy to commit a terrorist act after more details of the case came to light.

The two men told investigators they had carried out the attack to make money. They claimed a person had contacted them on social media and offered to pay as much as $43,000 for staging and filming the incident, and even transferred an advance of around $1,000 in cryptocurrency.

Gavrilishen allegedly made and threw the firebombs, while Borisenko filmed the scene.

The two defendants were tried separately. Both confessed to the initial charges, but denied being terrorists. They faced up to 20 years in prison on terrorism charges, compared to up to 10 years for hooliganism.

Borisenko’s sentence was handed down by the Central District Military Court in Ekaterinburg. The 12-year term is the lowest allowed for the crime. Gavrilishen’s trial is ongoing.
https://www.rt.com/russia/570744-russia-terrorism-trial-military/
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30 Jan, 2023 22:03

11) --- Ukraine responds to Iran over drone attack

Kiev quoted a “Persian proverb” while claiming it didn’t know who was behind the Isfahan blasts

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Monday accused Tehran of “supporting aggression” and implied the reported explosions at a military industrial facility in Isfahan were legitimate punishment, while professing ignorance of who might have been behind them.

“Ukraine has repeatedly warned Iran: the consequences of supporting aggression against Ukraine will be much larger than the benefits of cooperation with Russia,” ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko wrote on Facebook, in Ukrainian.

“We do not know the cause of the blasts at Iranian facilities. But as a Persian proverb says, do not do evil to others, and you won’t injure yourself,” Nikolenko added.

His comment follows the news that the Iranian government had summoned the Ukrainian charge d’affaires in Tehran to explain a tweet by President Vladimir Zelensky’s aide Mikhail Podoliak.

“War logic is inexorable and murderous. It bills the authors and accomplices strictly … Explosive night in Iran – drone and missile production, oil refineries. Ukraine did warn you,” Podoliak tweeted on Sunday, commenting on the blast at the military facility in Isfahan.

The tweet amounted to a “tacit admission of Ukraine’s participation in the attack,” according to Iranian media outlets. Podoliak has previously called for strikes against the Iranian military industry, accusing Tehran in December of providing Russia with drones and missiles. The Iranian government denounced the “threatening rhetoric,” singling out Podoliak by name, and said that “all political and legal responsibility for such statements” will be on the Ukrainian government.

An unnamed official told Al Jazeera that the drone strike was launched from inside Iranian territory and said Israel was behind it. The Wall Street Journal also said the strike was organized by Israel, citing “people familiar with the operation.”

Moscow condemned the attack as a “provocative action that could lead to an uncontrolled escalation of tensions in an already volatile region.” The Pentagon denied any US military forces were involved.

According to Iranian authorities, the attack caused only minor damage to the facility and no casualties. The Jerusalem Post, however, cited Western sources claiming the damage was far more serious and the raid had been “a tremendous success.”

Ukraine and the US have accused Iran of supplying Russia with kamikaze drones and even ballistic missiles, but offered no evidence to back it up. Moscow has acknowledged “military-technical cooperation” with Tehran but says its drones are being manufactured domestically.
https://www.rt.com/russia/570721-ukraine-responds-iran-drones/
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