RT News - February 14th 2023 - major extra info and links (Main post archive)

Iran visit to China: The Iranian president's first visit to China is planned for Tuesday as the two countries seek to expand their economic cooperation amid growing pressure from the West. The visit will last three days and sees some of the highest ranking Iranian officials accompany Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian president. Many memorandums of cooperation will be signed as well as trade and practical cooperation memorandums of mutual interest. Yousef Jalali reports.
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- Press "see more" for x-ref, links and background. Major cross ref + below
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Donbass, Donetsk. Five people were injured by Ukraine shelling on Monday. The bombing/shelling of Donbass villages, towns and cities civilian only areas has become an almost daily occurrence in the past year. Sami Abu Diab from RT Arabic reports from Donetsk and talks to some of the people who are forced to accept this terrorism (QS: yes, the intentional bombing of civilians is terrorism) as part of daily life. "Ukraine has lost it's mind" (QS I couldn't agree more)
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NATO - weapons and ammunition for Ukraine. Jens Stoltenberg announced that NATO is to ramp up supplies to Kiev. Stoltenberg pointed out that the consumption of weapons by Ukraine out-paces NATO countries (primarily U.S.) production.Show more

Stoltenberg confirmed NATOs plans to fuel the proxy war against Russia commenced in 2014

(QS - this isn't true; it began in 2008 when NATO countries began to groom and grow the Nazi elements in Ukraine and begin to incite what they hoped would be a mass hatred of Russia, in particular Pres. Putin. It was successful enough to enable the deadly Maidan coup and to have ready enough "soldiers" to commence trench warfare and create the blockade between the rest of Ukraine ("Kiev") and Donbass.
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Many think Maidan "just happened" at the wave of the hands of Nuland and Biden. It was at least six years in the planning.
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It was all entirely paid for by the citizens of Britain and Europe. The cost paid by the citizens of UK and EU is estimated in tens of £€ billions.

This funding has never received a debate in any parliament, nor was there a list of any .gov objectives. In effect it was embezzlement and state terrorism, as well as state sponsored terrorism and funding of known fascist elements in a foreign country, without ever informing the citizens of what vast quantities of their money was going on. Unlike regular .gov debt this money immediately becomes external debt and cannot be printed away.

It was also mass deception with countries such as Britain externally, hypocritically decrying Nazis. A blogger's joke post of training his pug to do a "Nazi salute" became big news and subject for debate in British parliament (as if a pug dog understood the salute and was familiar with Hitler.) Whilst it was in poor taste it was a joke to wind up his girl-friend whom the blogger thought had become a bit too bossy. It was headlines and debates for weeks, all whilst the grooming and growing of a dangerous, known Nazi movement was undertaken in Ukraine. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-43864133
There has never been so much hypocrisy or so many lies and spun stories.

No country's political parties would have received election votes had their citizens been made aware of those posing as .gov in political parties actions. It was literally criminal. On the days of the deadly coup, there were terrorists from all of the "Liberal Democracies" in place; snipers, activists, paid activists, people posing as activists, antagonists, murderers and arsonists. Please see twitter thread with links to peer-reviewed documents https://twitter.com/I_Katchanovski/status/1611196287122116609

The Nazi elements grew strong enough to literally take over the democratically elected Ukraine government.)

As Ukraine shells cities in the Donbass using NATO-supplied weapons the bloc's Secretary-General urges the alliance to ramp up production.

(QS: Only around 1/3rd of the weapons and ammo reach the front lines; the rest "disappears" with much of it reaching the dark web and sold for a fraction of it's cost. These weapons end up in the hands of anyone who has enough money to buy them. The "stolen" weapons have reached every country in the world.
Of the 1/3rd left, a huge proportion is used to attack the civilians of Donbass, with daily, high quantity shelling/bombing. If only that 1/3rd of the weapons that the citizens of NATO are forced to fund were used in combat and not in the war crimes against civilians and daily shelling of civilian only regions, Ukraine would already have enough weapons and ammo for years to come)

Jens Stoltenberg said the proxy war in Ukraine has made NATO stronger.

In the midst of what can only be called a wartime economy, with most of the citizens in NATO/EU countries and Britain suffering personal financial meltdowns, unable to pay bills - security tags placed on supermarket cheese, meat, fish and poultry, 15 minutes cities and the announcement of digital currencies without so much as consultation for either, NATO announces that they will be installing satellite surveillance and intelligence systems. The cost has yet to be announced but it will be in the €£billions. Martin Dolzer explains the feathering of the nests of NATO to the detriment of everyone else in the world (QS: NB - NATO is not our military. It is a political-only alliance of the most corrupt debtor nations in the world with hundreds of
$£€trillions of unaccountable debt which can't be printed away)

Non-Zero target: The principal 24 companies fail to meet pledged emission cuts. Rachel Marsden reports

Israel/Palestine: An Israeli policeman was killed at a checkpoint in a stabbing attack, however the deadly bullet which killed him came from an Israeli security guard. It's complicated. Maria Finoshina reports.

World: Three people have been killed in a shooting at a Michigan Uni campus, five more were injured, the suspect is reported dead. Albania: Protesters are demanding the resignation of their government, there are clashes with police. in Moscow a massive fire broke out at a car service centre, the cause is unknown, two may have perished.

Crypto, Binance: the Paxos crypto company is to face charges of Binance U.S. dollar security allegations. Chris Emms reports and discusses with Nikki. (good explainer)

Iraq: the illegal, constructed war, 20 years on. Today marks 20 years since the UN report on the absence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq which was insufficient to stop the US from starting the war, actively justified by western media. One war reporter shares her memories of the events. RT continues with it's excellent coverage of the most deadly of illegal wars, created and fought by NATO on entirely false pretexts and lies, in world history. Presented by Donald Courter. (essential viewing)

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Todays links (casual)

1) --- Caleb Maupin (rightfully) rants about the skewed nature of big tech taking over even search results https://youtu.be/JRxvOVOcnl8?t=58 - you don't need to watch it all, everything is clear and present from a few minutes. Sorry this isn't on Rumble
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2) --- The best pieces of journalism of the century to bookmark(whether you agree with them or not) Nord Stream 2 https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/how-america-took-out-the-nord-stream
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2a - How journalist and propagandists in the pay of our governments (thus paid for by you and me) set about literally wasting four years of our time - this is a very long read in four parts - once again it doesn't matter if you are pro or anti Trump, this is about how we are entirely manipulated - in my opinion it's one of the best reads and pieces of investigative journalism of the decade https://www.cjr.org/special_report/trumped-up-press-versus-president-part-1.php (and if you like it or hate it, please take the time to read it and share it - it's a small but important book - read time say 1+ hours v.v.v. important no matter which side or political flavour you are)
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via RT website 1) --- Washington pushing Kiev to fight harder, sources tell WaPo
2) --- Host of Eurasian bloc military drill announced
3) --- Dollar crash coming – Robert Kiyosaki
4) --- High US inflation could last a decade – investment expert
4a) --- Warning issued for petrodollar (RE-POST, from Jan 31st post)
5) --- Washington ally wants missiles ahead of schedule
6) --- Australia accused of holding ex-US marine in ‘inhumane conditions’
7) --- NATO eyes fighting two wars – Bloomberg
8) --- Moscow weighs in on ‘spy balloon’ saga
9) --- ‘Brave Ukrainians doing dirty work’, ex-Pentagon chief says in prank call
10) --- Russia ready to help India with tanks – senior official
10a) --- India's defence spending reaches a crossroads: Will New Delhi buy Russian or American weapons? LIST
11) --- Wheat prices surge on Ukraine harvest concerns – media
12) --- US has no long-range missiles for Ukraine – Politico
13) --- The man behind the curtain: A new report exposes how George Soros’ propaganda machine has corrupted the media
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24 Feb, 2022 02:54 *** Archive) --- Pres. Putin announces 'special operation' in Donbass
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Kremlin website Pres. Putin address/announcement of special operation http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67843
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14 Feb, 2023 09:08

1) --- Washington pushing Kiev to fight harder, sources tell WaPo

The US is pursuing a “Western war with Russia to the last Ukrainian,” Moscow commented after the claims

Ukraine has a diminishing window of opportunity to make territorial gains against Russia before military assistance from the US and its allies dwindles, senior American officials have told the Washington Post.

“We will continue to try to impress upon them that we can’t do anything and everything forever,” a senior member of President Joe Biden’s administration was quoted by the newspaper as saying about the Ukrainian leadership.

Publicly, Biden has pledged to support Kiev for “as long as it takes” to defeat Russia. However, that stance does not apply to the extent of resources that Washington is prepared to send, according to the story published by the Post on Monday.

“‘As long as it takes’ pertains to the amount of conflict,” the unnamed official said. “It doesn’t pertain to the amount of assistance.”

The newspaper cited a shift in mood in the US House of Representatives, where the Republican majority appears increasingly skeptical of Biden’s Ukraine aid policy. It also referenced fatigue in Europe as another key threat for Kiev, as nations struggle with volatile energy prices and rampant inflation. The Ukrainian military likely has until summer to make progress, before the current US weapons package is exhausted, the Post added.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the newspaper had effectively described what officials in Moscow have called a “Western war against Russia to the last Ukrainian.”

“US neoliberals have destroyed Ukraine and are exterminating the Ukrainian people. American hegemonic ambitions lead to a colossal loss of life,” Zakharova stated on Tuesday.

According to the Post, senior US officials have relayed the Biden administration’s position to the Ukrainian leadership. Its sources said that on occasion it had been difficult to convince Kiev to take Washington’s preferred course of action.

One example cited was the conduct of the Ukrainian military in Artyomovsk (called Bakhmut by Ukraine), where Kiev’s forces are clinging on even though US officials have told them it is not worth the sacrifice. President Vladimir Zelensky “attaches symbolic importance” to the city, the newspaper wrote.

The report stated that the US wants Kiev to launch a counteroffensive using new deliveries of weapons in the coming months, in an effort to seize as much land as possible before entering into negotiations with Russia.

Moscow has accused Kiev’s Western backers of derailing peace talks in the early weeks of the conflict. Four former Ukrainian regions have since joined Russia after the local populations voted for the move in referendums. Russian officials have repeatedly asserted that the status of the new territories is non-negotiable.
https://www.rt.com/news/571445-us-pressures-kiev-fight/
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14 Feb, 2023 10:58

2) --- Host of Eurasian bloc military drill announced

Kyrgyzstan will substitute for Armenia as the site of annual regional military exercises involving Russia

Kyrgyzstan will be the location of this year’s military exercise of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) after Armenia pulled out as host, the top military commander of the regional defense bloc has announced. Kyrgyzstan skipped its turn last year due to border tensions with Tajikistan.

The change of site of the ‘Indestructible Brotherhood-2023’ exercise was confirmed by Russian general Anatoly Sidorov, who serves as chief of joint staff of the CSTO, during a press conference on Tuesday. In addition to Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan, the bloc also includes Belarus and Kazakhstan.

The drill is normally conducted by the organization’s peacekeeping forces annually in the autumn. The exercise that was set to take place in mid-October 2022 was canceled at the last moment by the intended host, Kyrgyzstan.

The Kyrgyz government made the decision in September, citing short but deadly border clashes with Tajikistan, a fellow CSTO member. Kyrgyzstan’s Vice Prime Minister Edil Baysarov confirmed that the instability was the reason for scrapping the exercise.

In January, Armenia announced that it had decided not to host any CSTO drills in 2023, with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan calling it “inadvisable.” Yerevan had previously complained about the bloc’s negative response to its request to deploy troops amid a border standoff with rival Azerbaijan. The flare-up last September left dozens of soldiers killed on both sides.

The CSTO opted for a diplomatic approach and offered to deploy a border observer mission after the hostilities were over. The Pashinyan government snubbed the organization and called in EU monitors instead. Moscow expressed displeasure with the development, accusing the EU of trying to “get a foothold in Armenia and sideline Russia” on behalf of NATO.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have a decades-old conflict over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly ethnic Armenian part of Azerbaijan, which considers itself a sovereign state. During a 44-day war in early 2021, Baku made some territorial gains. The fighting ended with a Moscow-brokered truce and the deployment of a Russian peacekeeping force. Pashinyan said last month that his country may want it replaced with a UN one after its mandate expires in 2025.
https://www.rt.com/russia/571447-csto-drill-armenia-kyrgyzstan/
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14 Feb, 2023 10:00

3) --- Dollar crash coming – Robert Kiyosaki

By 2025, faith in the greenback will be destroyed, the famed author claims

Famed writer and economist Robert Kiyosaki has warned investors that the stock markets are about to crash and the US economy is heading into a “depression.”

According to the ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ co-author, this will be fueled by the fact that the US Federal Reserve will print billions in “fake money.”

“Giant crash is coming. Depression possible,” Kiyosaki tweeted late Sunday.

He also wrote that by 2025, Bitcoin will hit $500,000, followed by $5,000 and $500 price marks for gold and silver respectively. He explained that this will be “because faith in the US dollar, fake money, will be destroyed,” adding that Bitcoin is the people’s money, and gold and silver are “God’s money.”
https://twitter.com/theRealKiyosaki/status/1624988584267894784
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14 Feb, 2023 12:04

4) --- High US inflation could last a decade – investment expert

The Federal Reserve will find it tough to rein in soaring prices, according to Smead Capital Management

The high rate of inflation in the US is likely to be “far stickier” and longer-lasting than many have predicted, the chief investment officer at Smead Capital Management, Bill Smead, told CNBC on Tuesday.

The comments come ahead of a much-anticipated US inflation report by the Labor Department due later in the day.

“The enthusiasm… right now is the hope that we’ll get a friendly Fed out of a soft landing, and we do not believe that is going to be the case,” Smead stated.

“We think the inflation is going to be far stickier and longer-lasting – in fact, a decade, because in the United States, we have incredibly favorable demographics,” he said.

Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman has warned the regulator will need to continue to hike interest rates to bring inflation back down to the central bank’s 2% target.

According to Smead, the Fed will find it tough to tame inflation despite the recent rate hikes.

“We have 92 million people between 22 and 42, and they’re all going to spend their money on necessities the next 10 years, whether the stock markets are good or bad,” he noted. “They’re just going to be living their life. The economy should be pretty good and the Fed’s going to have a hard time controlling inflation.”

Investors polled by Reuters have forecasted that the consumer price index (CPI), which measures the cost of dozens of goods and services spanning the economy and is a widely-followed inflation gauge, has risen 0.5% on the month in January. The core index, which strips out food and energy, is expected to increase 0.4%.
https://www.rt.com/business/571448-high-us-inflation-decade/
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4a) --- Warning issued for petrodollar (RE-POST, from Jan 31st post)

Refusal to use the greenback for oil payments around the world could undermine the US economy, a former White House official has said

The US is facing serious economic risks as more countries around the globe move away from the dollar in energy trade, according to former White House official Paul Craig Roberts.

Roberts, who served as US Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy during the Reagan administration, cautioned in an article published on Monday that the end of the petrodollar would have severe adverse effects on the value of the dollar, as well as on US inflation and interest rates.

He pointed to Saudi Arabia’s recent announcement that it was open to accepting payment for oil in currencies other than the dollar. According to Roberts, if that happens the demand for dollars and the currency’s value will fall. By billing for oil in dollars, the Saudis guaranteed worldwide demand for the greenback, he explained. “This is a major threat to Washington’s power and to the financial power of American banks,” the economist added.

Roberts noted that for half a century the petrodollar has supported the value of the US dollar and ensured financing for America’s large budget and trade deficits. “The petrodollar supported the continuing role of the dollar as world currency after President Nixon closed the gold window in 1971, in effect ending the Bretton Woods system following WWII that gave the US dollar the reserve currency role.”

However, according to Roberts, in recent years Washington has so abused the dollar’s reserve currency role with sanctions and asset seizes that many countries desire to settle trade imbalances in their own currencies, “in order to escape Washington’s ability to threaten and punish them for serving their own interests rather than Washington’s.”

The article stated if the Saudis do drop the petrodollar, Americans will face stiff inflation and high interest rates necessary to finance US budget deficits, unless the Federal Reserve itself finances the deficits by printing money. In that case, monetary inflation would be added to inflation caused by the drop in the dollar’s foreign exchange value resulting from declining foreign demand for the greenback. “Should this come to pass the implication for the US is massive austerity,” Roberts warned.
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14 Feb, 2023 11:20

5) --- Washington ally wants missiles ahead of schedule

The weapons will be acquired in fiscal year 2023, Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada has said

Japan will buy US-made Tomahawk cruise missiles in fiscal year 2023, much earlier than originally planned, Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said on Tuesday. The statement comes as Japan aims to radically boost its military, and has looked at revising its post-World War II pacifist constitution.

Tokyo will procure “all the required quantity” in the year starting April 1, the defense minister said, as quoted by Kyodo News. Japanese media reported last year that the country was planning to acquire up to 500 missiles by fiscal year 2027.

In December, Japan approved a defense budget of $51.4 billion, the country’s largest ever, which is an increase of more than 26% from the previous budget. The country’s ruling parties have also advocated for Japan acquiring “counterstrike capability” amid tensions with China and North Korea.

Pyongyang has stepped up missile tests in recent years, which has rattled Tokyo. North Korea maintains that the launches were a response to US military drills in the region, which it sees as a threat.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is also seeking to strengthen ties with Washington, as both Japan and the US accuse China of making threatening moves around Taiwan. Beijing says the cause of the escalation is Washington’s military and diplomatic aid to Taiwan.

In 2017, then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled a plan to make the status of the country’s self-defense forces more “explicit” in the 1947 constitution, which formally bans Tokyo from maintaining a standing army.

Some politicians have criticized Japan’s turn to militarization. Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki warned that obtaining weapons to “attack enemy bases placed in Japan’s southwest area… strays from the purpose of the constitution.”

The southwestern island of Okinawa is home to several US military bases. Local politicians and residents often hold protests near the installations, demanding their removal and citing numerous offenses committed by American troops.
https://www.rt.com/news/571450-japan-tomahawk-missile-schedule/
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13 Feb, 2023 21:43

6) --- Australia accused of holding ex-US marine in ‘inhumane conditions’

Daniel Duggan, now an Australian citizen, has allegedly been held by Canberra for 115 days without conviction

The family of detained Australian citizen and former US marine Daniel Duggan plans to petition the UN Human Rights Committee to intervene to stop his “inhumane treatment,” his wife, Saffrine Duggan, said in a statement on Sunday, calling the imprisonment of her fighter pilot husband an “affront to Australia’s rule of law.”

“The father of six children has been held in a tiny cell in Sydney under extreme conditions without any conviction for 115 days, based on unproven charges from the United States,” she said, adding that he is classified as an “extreme high risk restricted inmate” at the Silverware Correctional Complex despite having no criminal history. The cell measures just two by four meters, she said.

Duggan was arrested in October and accused of training Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers, evaluating Chinese military pilot trainees, and providing aviation services in China, all without the required authorization from the US State Department. He is alleged to have received at least A$116,000 ($81,000) in 2011 and 2012 for the training work, which took place at a flight academy in South Africa, during a period when he was still an American citizen, according to a 2017 indictment unsealed in the US in December.

He relinquished his US citizenship in 2012 and became a naturalized Australian citizen.

Canberra approved a US extradition request for Duggan in December. He faces another hearing next month on whether he can be extradited. Duggan maintains his innocence of all charges.

Saffrine Duggan previously filed a complaint with the Australian Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security. Her husband’s lawyer, Dennis Miralis, lamented last week that both the Australian and US governments have been reluctant to hand over documents relevant to the case “on the basis of secrecy provisions,” hinting that Duggan might have to launch separate legal proceedings himself.

“Dan strenuously rejects all charges against him as being of a political character and politically motivated,” his wife said in her statement. “His indictment contains half-truths, falsehoods and gross embellishments.”

Australia’s extradition treaty with the US prohibits extradition if the charges are of a “political character” and requires that the offense in question be a crime in both countries.
https://www.rt.com/news/571435-australian-pilot-inhumane-wife-un/
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14 Feb, 2023 13:16

7) --- NATO eyes fighting two wars – Bloomberg

The US-led bloc is reportedly drawing up contingencies for a defensive “Article 5 conflict” and an "out-of-area" battle

NATO is set to adopt a guidance that lays out plans for a scenario in which member states find themselves fighting on the home front and beyond the borders of the alliance at the same time, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. This comes as the US increasingly shifts its priorities to confronting China.

The classified document is to be discussed and signed off on by NATO defense ministers during a two-day summit in Brussels that starts on Tuesday, the news outlet reported. Members will be asked to prepare national plans for future military engagements.

The guidance will map out ways for NATO to engage in a “high-intensity so-called Article 5 conflict” – defending a NATO nation attacked by a foreign party under the treaty’s mutual defense provision – and “an out-of-area, non-Article 5 event.” The contents of the guideline were revealed to Bloomberg by “people familiar with the matter.”

While NATO bills itself as a defensive alliance, it has an extensive record of engaging in hostilities on foreign soil, including in Yugoslavia in the 1990s and against Libya in 2011. Critics regard the bloc as a tool of US foreign policy that is aligned with Washington’s goals and in rivalry with China and Russia.

“The Americans get what they were aiming for,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov remarked in an interview earlier this month, discussing NATO’s increasing reach. “There are military blocs being created against China and Russia in the Asian Pacific region, like AUKUS. There is a drive to drag new members into them.”

The ability to fight a two-theater war was at the core of US military planning during the Cold War. Think tanks and US officials pushed the strategic objective of having a military force strong enough for two simultaneous ground conflicts, arguing for higher Pentagon budgets and against spending cuts.

According to Bloomberg's sources, NATO defense ministers will also discuss in Brussels a boost in military spending by member states. Countries that fail to meet the target of 2% of GDP would be pressured to accept this level as a mandatory floor rather than merely as a recommendation. Such a change may be adopted during a summit of NATO leaders in Vilnius in July, the outlet said.

The structure of spending would be pushed towards increased procurement of weapons by European allies, according to the article, since the US “may decide to move some of its assets” from the continent closer to China.

14 Feb, 2023 13:35

8) --- Moscow weighs in on ‘spy balloon’ saga

America should resolve the matter on its own, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said

The US should not make accusations regarding the alleged spy balloons recently shot down over North America, and would be better off “figuring out” the issue on its own, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters, Peskov was asked to comment on remarks by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who claimed on Monday that the unmanned flying objects downed over the US and Canada could be “part of a pattern where China but also Russia are increasing their intelligence and surveillance activities against NATO allies.”

“Regarding this balloon issue, which the whole of America is dwelling on, willingly or unwillingly, I doubt that anybody should be blamed,” Peskov said. “It would be better if the Americans figured it out on their own.”

The presidential press secretary went on to describe NATO as “a hostile organization.” The US-led military bloc “reaffirms its hostility every day, and is doing its best to signal its involvement in the conflict over Ukraine as clearly as possible,” Peskov added.

The US military has downed four objects flying over North America this month. The first, which was destroyed by a fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina on February 4, was described by officials in Washington as a Chinese high-altitude balloon used to “surveil strategic sites.”

Beijing dismissed that allegation, asserting that the object was a civilian airship which had strayed into US territory due to “force majeure.” It also accused American politicians and media of “hyping” the incident to “attack and smear” China.

On Friday, the Pentagon announced the downing of a “high-altitude object” off the coast of Alaska, and the following day a US jet destroyed an “unmanned object” over Yukon in northwest Canada. Another flying object was shot down on Sunday over Lake Huron.

While the authorities did not say where the three aerial objects came from, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin claimed that they “present a risk to civil aviation and potentially an intelligence collection threat.”

Last week, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned the American media’s “impulsive reaction” to the incident involving the Chinese balloon, arguing that it “can’t be described as anything other than hysterical.”
https://www.rt.com/russia/571463-kremlin-us-spy-balloons/
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14 Feb, 2023 11:18

9) --- ‘Brave Ukrainians doing dirty work’, ex-Pentagon chief says in prank call

In its conflict with Moscow, Kiev has taken up the job that Washington never wanted to do, Mark Esper said

The US should make every effort to arm Ukraine in its conflict against Russia, because the nation is doing the dirty work Washington has shied away from, former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said on Monday. He added that Ukraine has every right to attack Russian military targets, including those located within the country.

Esper, who served as the Pentagon chief in the administration of former President Donald Trump, spoke his mind in a phone call with the Russian pranksters who go by the names of Vovan and Lexus, believing that he was talking to former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko. Several clips of the conversation were uploaded to Russia’s Rutube video platform.

“Brave Ukrainian people are doing the dirty work of what we never wanted to do here in the United States, which is why we should continue to support you with everything we can, whether it’s munitions or arms or intelligence,” he said.

The ex-official recommended that Ukraine conduct more strikes on Russian military warehouses and logistics centers. He also told the pranksters that Kiev had “a sovereign right to conduct strikes on any targets you see fit,” including within Russia, explaining that an adversary with an off-limits “sanctuary” has an advantage.

Esper added, however, that he assumed that Kiev would still stick to a “strategic approach” that would not undermine NATO’s support for the country or make Russians rally around President Vladimir Putin.

In December, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted that Washington had “neither encouraged nor enabled the Ukrainians to strike inside of Russia.” Last week, however, Celeste Wallander, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, said that the US had “no objections” to Kiev attacking targets in Crimea, the peninsula that overwhelmingly voted to join Russia in 2014 but is still claimed by Ukraine.

Esper is not the first Western official to have been tricked by Vovan and Lexus. In a call earlier this month, former US national security advisor John Bolton stressed the need to “stop efforts by whether it’s the French or the Germans or whoever it might be to try negotiating with the Russians” over Ukraine.

The stunts by the pair have not gone over well with the West. In March 2022, YouTube banned their channel on the platform following indignation from the UK’s Defense Ministry after the pranksters released a call in which British defense chief Ben Wallace disclosed information about arms deliveries to Ukraine
https://www.rt.com/news/571451-ukrainians-dirty-work-esper/
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14 Feb, 2023 07:58

10) --- Russia ready to help India with tanks – senior official

Moscow can share its Armata tracked platform with New Delhi, the deputy director of the military cooperation agency has said

Moscow is ready to provide technology for India’s new tanks, Vladimir Drozhzhov, the deputy director of the Russian Federal Service of Military-Technical Cooperation (FSVTS), said on Tuesday. According to Drozhzhov, Russia can share its advanced Armata modular tracked platform with India.

“The Russian side is planning to participate in joint development of the Indian main battle tank with the use of modern Russian technology,” Drozhzhov told RIA Novosti news agency at the Aero India 2023 expo in Bangalore.

He added that India plans to launch an international tender for the new tank.

Indian media reported last year that New Delhi was seeking to procure tanks under its Future Ready Combat Vehicle project in order to replace the aging fleet of Soviet-designed T-72s.

The Armata platform serves as a base for Russia’s T-14 heavy tank and the T-15 armored infantry fighting vehicle (AFI). The same modular technology can be used for other hardware, including self-propelled howitzers. The Armata tanks and AFIs were first shown to the public in 2015.

The T-14 is equipped with a 125mm gun mounted on an unmanned turret. According to several reports, the tank has been used in Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.

Moscow and New Delhi have worked together in the past to design India’s BrahMos medium-range supersonic cruise missile.
https://www.rt.com/russia/571441-russia-help-india-tanks/
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11 Feb, 2023 15:20

10a) --- India's defence spending reaches a crossroads: Will New Delhi buy Russian or American weapons? LIST

Will Moscow's long term partner bite the bullet and embrace Washington at its expense?

By Joydeep Sen Gupta, Asia Editor

India ranks third globally in terms of defense budget and will increase its military spending this year. The country is facing challenges from Pakistan and China on its borders to the west, north and northeast, and New Delhi’s military might is in critical need of a technological upgrade. The problem is that India’s defense capabilities in recent years have oscillated in their dependency between Moscow and Washington. The moment is fast approaching when the world’s most populous country, one of its fastest growing economies, will have to choose between two rivals.

India’s new defense budget
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India seeks to become a $5 trillion economy by 2025, which could have been achieved earlier had it not been for the Covid-19 pandemic. While bidding to achieve a growth rate of 6.1% despite the global headwinds due to the inflationary pressures that the West is facing, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled her fifth consecutive Union Budget in early February.

Total federal spending under the fiscal year 2023-2024 budget, which starts in April, will be 45 trillion rupees, the equivalent of nearly $550 billion. Capital expenditure (capex) is being increased 33% year-on-year, to $122 billion, with a view to boosting India’s infrastructure.

Data compiled by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), an independent resource on global security, showed India’s military spending of $70.6 billion last year ranked third highest in the world, after the US’ and China’s.

This year, Sitharaman has allocated 12.95% more to the armed forces and the total amount of military spending will be 5.94 trillion rupees ($72.6 billion). According to the minister, 2.77 trillion rupees will be spent on salaries and benefits for the military, 1.38 trillion on pensions for retired military personnel, and the remaining amount on other expenses, including the purchase of new weapons, air assets, warships and other military equipment.

According to the latest budget document, India plans to spend about 242 billion rupees ($3 billion) on the navy and 571.4 billion rupees ($7 billion) on procurement for the air force, including aircraft.

New Delhi’s military needs
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The capital budget, which caters to the modernization needs of the armed forces such as buying new equipment and firepower, has seen a modest increase of 6.57%, research and development (R&D) brings out the rear, despite a growing accent on indigenization.

Army veterans have been clamoring for R&D, speedy orders, creation of testing facilities, an ecosystem to support innovation for the defense and aero industry coupled with non-lapsable funds to expedite the modernization process.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in the penultimate year of his second successive term, has been laying emphasis on the country’s self-reliance, including the domestic manufacture of state-of-the-art weapons. This is a vital part of his vision of ‘Amrit Kaal,’ a term that comes from the ancient Vedic astrology as practiced by the country’s Hindu majority and means ‘golden era,’ during which India aims to “ascend to new heights of prosperity,” according to Modi.

The Indian government has implemented several changes to boost its defense sector and military might. For instance, data shows that the total capital allocation for the defense services sector has risen over 75% since 2013.

The Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020, released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), has put forth a turnover of $144 billion by 2025, including export of $4.3 billion in aerospace and defense goods and services. The cap on foreign direct investment (FDI) into India’s defense sector via the “automatic route” (without requiring government approval) was increased in 2020, from 49% to 74%.

Russia, the US – the best of both worlds
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Historically, India has been importing weapons from Russia since the 1950s after it gained independence from Great Britain in 1947 –first the Ilyushin II-14 cargo transport aircraft and, later, MiG-21 fighters.

Now, the Indian Army is equipped with Russian-made tanks and Kalashnikov rifles. Indian Air Force uses Sukhoi fighter jets and Mi-17 transport helicopters, while the Indian Navy’s aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, also known as the Admiral Gorshkov, was formerly part of the Russian fleet. India has spent $12.4 billion between 2018 and 2021 in defense procurements, with Russia accounting for $5.51 billion, according to the SIPRI Arms Transfers Database.

Similarly, India has been buying arms from the US since the collapse of the USSR in 1991 and significantly more in the past decade.

India has bought aircraft, helicopters and missiles worth $22 billion in the last decade or so. Talks are on to purchase military hardware and software worth close to $10 billion, including repeat orders for six P-8I Poseidon long-range maritime patrol aircraft and six C-130J transport aircraft.

Also, negotiations are underway for the purchase of 30 MQ-9 Predator-B drones worth $3 billion, as well as NASAMS-II, a missile shield meant to protect vital installations in New Delhi from aerial threats, and two intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) aircraft.

Is Washington wooing New Delhi?
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The US and India have been forging a partnership in a bid to share advanced defense and computing technology.

The Biden administration appears to be assiduously wooing New Delhi to wean it off Russian military hardware and simultaneously offer a way to counter a resurgent China, with which India has unresolved border disputes.

Last May, the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies, which aims to strengthen military, technology and political links between the two nations, was launched. Recently US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan rekindled that initiative and singled out India over China’s aggressive overtures that had a “profound impact on the thinking in (New) Delhi.”

India is known to be keen to jointly manufacture, and domestically, the General Electric Co jet engines it uses in its combat aircraft. A proposal to that effect is pending before Washington. The bilateral initiative also includes transfer of technology on artillery systems, armored infantry vehicles and maritime security, coupled with semiconductors, quantum computing and artificial intelligence.

Sullivan acknowledged the long-standing weapons trade between India and Russia, and New Delhi’s reliance on Moscow. Ending that partnership is apparently one of the intended goals of the US’ own advances towards India.

“I’m not going to say that facilitating the movement of India off of Russian equipment to other equipment is an irrelevant consideration – of course it is not,” he was quoted as saying by an international wire service.

However Sullivan’s overtures are unlikely to be a deciding factor in India’s foreign policy, where pragmatism has often triumphed over ideological moorings.

Putin or Biden?
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Modi is likely to get face time with US President Joe Biden over the next few months. They will attend a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) security partners’ summit in Sydney, Australia, in the middle of this year, which also includes Japan. In September, Biden is expected to travel to India for the Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit in New Delhi.

However, ahead of Modi’s scheduled meeting with Biden, the Indian PM will have a one-on-one with Russian President Vladimir Putin in May, in Goa, India, on the sidelines of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) – a Eurasian political, economic, international security and defense organization headquartered in Beijing. He will likewise have an opportunity to meet Putin during the G20 summit.

India, whose hands are tied because of limited defense budget for arms procurement, needs to make an informed choice – whether time-tested Russian military wares or those of ‘newfound ally’ the US make the cut.

Earlier, India’s refusal to join any camp over the Russia-Ukraine conflict earned PM Modi generous praise from Putin, who called the Indian leader a “true patriot” for following an independent foreign policy.
https://www.rt.com/india/571335-worlds-third-biggest-defense-spender/
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14 Feb, 2023 11:03

11) --- Wheat prices surge on Ukraine harvest concerns – media

March futures are near their highest level in over two months

Wheat prices have soared to two-month highs this week amid fears that Russia’s military operation may jeopardize this year’s planting and harvesting season in Ukraine, several media outlets have reported, citing traders.

March futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange closed at over $8.0075 a bushel on Monday, the highest since November 23. Quotes were slightly down on Tuesday but are still up for the year.

Wheat prices initially jumped on Friday, with analysts attributing the surge to Russia’s latest missile strikes in Ukraine. Traders warn that infrastructure damage from the missiles or a potential worsening of the conflict would jeopardize Black Sea shipments, which are already a third below the previous season.

“Wheat has been the leader linked to increased tension in Ukraine, which could slow the Ukrainian exports and the planting for the 2023 crop and it could also lead to increased sanctions against Russia,” Mark Polowy, a senior account executive at Archer Financial Services, told Reuters.

Concerns about the supply of wheat to the global market emerged right after the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine just under a year ago. The two countries together are responsible for over a quarter of the global supply of grains. Shipments were halted in mid-2022 due to the conflict and Western sanctions against Russia, but Ukraine was able to resume exports under the UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative. The agreement, which was reached last July between Ukraine, Russia, and Türkiye, allowed shipments of wheat and other agricultural products interrupted by the conflict to be restored.

Under the deal, the UN was also expected to help Russia resume its own grain shipments via the Black Sea, which, although not directly targeted by Western sanctions, have faced problems due to the restrictions. Russia’s ambassador to the UN said earlier this month that Moscow has not been able to export any grain as part of the agreement.

Meanwhile, Russia’s grain crop last year was the largest on record, according to Rosstat, the country’s official statistics agency. The overall grain harvest amounted to 153.8 million tons, a 26.7% increase year-on-year against 2021, with the wheat harvest alone reaching a historic high of 104.4 million tons.
https://www.rt.com/business/571444-wheat-prices-surge-ukraine-crisis/
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14 Feb, 2023 05:48

12) --- US has no long-range missiles for Ukraine – Politico

Multiple rounds of arms shipments to Kiev have already dwindled US arsenals

The US will not supply Ukraine with its Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) due to concerns it will not have enough for itself, officials told Politico. Kiev continues to demand longer range missiles and other heavy weapons, despite $30 billion in military aid already authorized by the White House.

Ukrainian officials were informed that Washington has no ATACMS missiles to offer during a recent meeting in the US capital, with the Pentagon concluding that transfers would “dwindle America’s stockpiles and harm the US military’s readiness,” the outlet reported on Monday.

“With any package, we always consider our readiness and our own stocks while providing Ukraine what it needs on the battlefield. There are other ways of providing Ukraine with the capabilities it needs to strike the targets,” a senior military official said on condition of anonymity.

While it is unclear how many ATACMS remain in US stocks, weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin has produced only about 4,000 units of various makes over the last 20 years, with around 600 used up by US forces during the Persian Gulf War and the Iraq War. A number of those missiles have also been sold to allies, including Bahrain, Greece, Poland, Qatar, Romania, South Korea, and Turkey.

Short of obtaining the weapon directly from the US, Kiev is considering whether to ask one of those allied countries to provide the ATACMS instead, a move that would have to be approved by Washington.

Arms transfers to Ukraine have stressed US stocks over the last year, with shortages in Javelin and Stinger missiles reported as early as last March, just weeks after the conflict with Russia kicked off. As of February 3, Washington has sent at least 1,600 Stinger systems and more than 8,000 Javelins, in addition to a massive quantity of other arms, including drones, mortars, howitzers, armored combat vehicles, and dozens of HIMARS multi-launch rocket systems.

In addition to concerns about shrinking arms inventories, US officials also fear that Ukrainian forces would use the ATACMS to “attack deep inside Russian territory” given their range of 190 miles, according to Politico. Though the White House has approved increasingly heavy weapons for Kiev – including the M1 Abrams main battle tank – it believes strikes on Russian soil mean crossing a “red line” with the Kremlin.

The NATO bloc has urged member states to “ramp up production” of weapons and ammunition to keep up with Kiev’s needs, with the alliance’s head, Jens Stoltenberg, warning on Monday that the Ukrainian military is consuming an “enormous amount” of materiel. A recent NATO assessment obtained by Reuters found that arsenals across the alliance have been significantly depleted thanks to the conflict, with one official telling the outlet that “If Europe were to fight Russia, some countries would run out of ammunition in days.”

(QS Possible Paywall - worked fine for me as only occasional user https://www.newsweek.com/nato-allies-would-run-out-ammunition-within-days-war-russia-report-says-1780851)

Moscow has repeatedly urged against foreign arms deliveries to Ukraine, saying they would only prolong the fighting without changing the outcome of the conflict. The Kremlin has also warned that the aid creates a greater risk of escalation, especially if Western weapons are used to strike Russian cities or to try to seize Russian territory.
https://www.rt.com/news/571440-us-ukraine-atacms-missile/
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14 Feb, 2023 10:27

13) --- The man behind the curtain: A new report exposes how George Soros’ propaganda machine has corrupted the media

The Budapest-born billionaire has constructed an incredible global network of influence

A new report from the US-based Newsbusters has exposed a vast web of media and activist organizations, funded with millions of dollars, annually, by the billionaire George Soros. The outlet bills itself as “an online rapid-response vehicle for documenting, exposing, and neutralizing liberal bias in the media.” (open this in a new tab, it's apdf https://cdn.mrc.org/static/pdfuploads/PropagandaPowerhouse_Part1_FINAL.pdf-1670340182273.pdf )

The extensive global influence of the Hungarian tycoon is well-known, and Soros himself has admitted it on countless occasions – including boasts about his efforts in Ukraine. Soros openly declared his role in promoting the 2014 US-orchestrated Maidan coup in Kiev, stating at the time: “I set up a foundation in Ukraine before Ukraine became independent of Russia [sic]. The foundation has been functioning ever since. And it played an important part in events now.” https://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2014/05/25/soros-on-russian-ethnic-nationalism/

In a lengthy interview with the New York Times in October of 2019, Soros explained: “The arc of history doesn’t follow its own course [and] needs to be bent,” and he was “engaged in trying to bend it in the right direction.” (paywall https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/25/business/dealbook/george-soros-interview.html#click=https://t.co/mzmGG7tok9)

The Newsbuster report identifies the hundreds of media, humanitarian, and social justice organizations that Soros funds annually and asserts that his donations allow him to “wield massive power over information in international politics,” and “mold public opinion on practically every continent and in many languages.”

Who gets the money?
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Newsbusters lists Project Syndicate as the biggest propaganda platform funded by the Hungarian. It styles itself as “the world’s opinion page” and has a “global audience” that includes “prominent politicians, policymakers, scholars, business leaders, and civic activists from six continents” and “over 140 heads of state.” From 2016 - 2020, he funneled at least $1.5 million to the outlet. It actively promoted abortion, criticism of Israel and pushed for global climate lockdowns during this period.

The Poynter Institute is also at the top of this list, which Newsbusters condemns as “a global Soros-backed Ministry of Truth.” It received $492,000 during the same period. This money was used to finance Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network, which brings together 100 so-called “fact-checkers”. The network includes the controversial PolitiFact, and actively works with major social media platforms to boost their operations, while censoring alternative voices and opinions.

Newsbusters argues that these initiatives in reality serve only to restrict opinions on issues like abortion, transgenderism, and COVID-19. The reports also points out that there is significant academic research to suggest fact-checking does not stop the spread of false information online, raising questions about why so many organizations and wealthy individuals pump huge amounts of money into such entities in the first place.

UK-based openDemocracy also received $1,633,457 from 2016 - 2020. The website attracts over 11 million visits per year, publishes in a variety of languages, and its content is picked up by a variety of newspapers and magazines in many countries.

However, Soros isn’t just funding content creators. His foundation supports a broad range of social justice activists, who often become media and online influencers. For example, in July 2021, he pledged $100 million to advance the cause of radical feminism worldwide over the next five years. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/newsroom/open-society-foundations-commit-100-million-to-support-feminist-political-mobilization-and-leadership

Organizations receiving cash secure major news coverage for events and activities they orchestrate on his dime, and influence public perception along the way. Soros has explicitly stated that his goal is to ensure “more women, transgender, and gender non-conforming people in positions of leadership in politics and governance,” are drawn from these recipients.

The individual donations from the tycoon, his foundations, and network may appear minor based on their size, but the total volume of financial support over the entire network of nearly 300 organizations is highly significant.

How does this propaganda network operate?
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The Newsbusters report contains numerous examples of how these allegedly independent information sources not only publish articles reflecting the US government’s line, but also influence policy and statements by White House officials, and often reinforce false information.

In mid-2022, the Biden administration announced that despite two consecutive quarters of negative growth, the technical definition of a recession, the country was not in fact in a recession.

This announcement immediately followed a Project Syndicate column by a Harvard economist Jeffrey Frankel, which argued that even if official estimates pointed to two quarters of negative growth, “it does not necessarily mean that the US has entered a recession.” Then, days after the White House denied the US was in recession, the Soros-connected Politifact published a “fact-check” arguing the Biden administration hadn’t changed the definition of recession. https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/us-recession-bea-release-second-quarter-gdp-growth-by-jeffrey-frankel-2022-07 and
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/jul/27/instagram-posts/no-white-house-didnt-change-definition-recession/

For its report, Newsbusters consulted Matt Palumbo, author of the 2022 book The Man Behind the Curtain: Inside the Secret Network of George Soros. He stated that “one of the biggest consequences” of Soros funding and effectively controlling major media outlets is “creating a filter on what we can see” in the general public.

It’s not merely individual news outlets, but journalists at highly influential Western publications – including The New York Times, Washington Post, CBS, CNN, and ABC – who are influenced by his money.

Soros assets identified in the Newsbusters report,substantiated by Palumbo, help insulate him from inquiry “as reporters see him as an ally, not a target for investigation.” "That’s going to influence your coverage. Just type in Soros’ name in any of the major liberal publications he’s linked to and see how they cover him,” Palumbo assesses.

He believes this clout means Soros “can create any impression” he wants about any issue - including the false narrative that any criticism of him is anti-Semitic.

“If they’re ever covering him in a negative way, it’s framed as if his critics are the bad guys for noticing.…but because it’s convenient for them on the left, they can do that and the media goes along with it,” Palumbo explained.

Soros’ latest project
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In 2020, Project Syndicate published an op-ed from economist Marianna Mazzucato. She argued that if Earth’s population were not prepared to accept a “green economic transformation” truly revolutionary in scope, with huge consequences for human rights and citizens’ daily lives, then the world should trial “climate lockdowns”, a completely new and untested concept in science, to counter global warming. Government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic were said to show they were possible. https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/business/joseph-vazquez/2020/09/25/sorosgates-funded-org-65m-world-may-need-climate-lockdown

“The world is approaching a tipping point on climate change, when protecting the future of civilization will require dramatic interventions. In the near future, the world may need to resort to lockdowns again - this time to tackle a climate emergency,” Mazzucato, whose research was funded by none other than Soros, insisted.

That same year, Soros told Italian newspaper La Repubblica that the COVID-19 pandemic was a “revolutionary moment when the range of possibilities is much greater than in normal times,” and “what is inconceivable in normal times becomes not only possible but actually happens” because “people are disoriented and scared.”

***
According to Newscasters, it remains unclear which movement Soros will fund next, what catastrophe he will exploit, or create, in order to advance his ideological and financial interests.

Feature - By Felix Livshitz

https://www.rt.com/news/571293-man-who-bends-arcs/
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*archive* --- )

24 Feb, 2022 02:54

Archive) --- Pres. Putin announces 'special operation' in Donbass

The special military operation is aimed at "the defense of" the newly recognized republics of Donetsk and Lugansk

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that he ordered his country's military to conduct a special operation in the Donbass region after the leaders of the breakaway republics asked Moscow for military assistance in response to what they claim is an increase in “Ukrainian aggression.”

“Circumstances require us to take decisive and immediate action," the order reads. “The People's Republics of Donbass turned to Russia with a request for help. In this regard, in accordance with Article 51, part 7 of the UN Charter, with the sanction of the Federation Council and in pursuance of the friendship treaties ratified by the Federal Assembly and mutual assistance with the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, I have decided to conduct a special military operation,” Putin stated.

At the same time, in an address to the public, the Russian president said he wanted to "demilitarize" and "de-Nazify" Ukraine. According to him, "we have no plans to occupy Ukrainian territory." Within moments of the speech, a series of explosions were reported in cities across Ukraine, with CNN, CBC and a number of Ukrainian media outlets reporting a blast in the capital, Kiev.

In a statement, US President Joe Biden said that “the prayers of the world are with the people of Ukraine tonight as they suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack by the Russian military forces.”

The decision comes days after Moscow recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk breakaway republics in the Donbass, alleging Kiev had not lived up to its obligations under the Minsk agreements struck in 2014 and 2015 to resolve conflict between separatists and the Ukrainian government.

Officials later authorized what they described as a "peacekeeping operation" in the region. Western leaders for months had predicted a looming incursion, claiming Russia has amassed troops near its border with Ukraine and in neighboring Belarus, where Moscow has conducted joint drills in recent weeks.

Russia has so far denied plans for an attack, however, and maintains its actions in the Donbass will be defensive in nature. The US and its European partners have already imposed sanctions on a series of Russian financial institutions, officials and lawmakers following the recognition of the break-away states, vowing to bring more penalties should Moscow “further invade” Ukraine.
https://www.rt.com/russia/550408-special-operation-putin-donbass/

Pres. Putin address/announcement of special operation http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67843
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