RT News - March 2nd 2023

Russia, Bryansk - terrorist attack. https://rumble.com/v2bgotc-ukrainian-terrorists-attack-russian-bryansk-region.html?mref=6zof&mrefc=5

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Donbass, Donetsk republic, Russian advance. Fighting intensifies near the strategic town of Ugledar in Donetsk Republic, as the Russian military reports 80 Ukrainian troops killed on that front over the past day. Overall the losses are high in terms of men and equipment/materiel. Whole towns and villages have also been destroyed. The next job is to reconstruct the regions which have been subject to the shelling and for people to go back home. Sami Abudiab talks to some of the prospective new-home residents.
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Terrorist attack - please see posts below for up to date details - ongoing news not on this video post - will be on next post 20:00
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As the collective west continue to arm Ukraine, the Nord Steam 2 sabotage still remains un-investigated formally with only one point being crystal clear, it was sabotage and an act of war carried out by a NATO member state. A piece of civilian infrastructure, built at the request of German government, it's destruction will adversely affect the lives of every citizen in Europe and Britain. Rory speaks with Pepe Escobar and asks "will the truth ever come out"
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India, G20 FM's meeting: "The world is facing a multilateral crisis, global governance has failed" India's Prime Minister Modi delivers a powerful warning to world powers at the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi, as he calls for the global community to support developing nations. Runjun Sharma reports on what is looking to be a real landmark conference with no holds barred.
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Africa, Pres. Macron tour: France's President Macron sets out on a tour of Africa amid deteriorating relations and rising sentiments against the former colonial power on the continent. France has been asked to remove itself from several African nations recently after protests from citizens which couldn't be ignored. RT speaks to some of the people protesting Pres. Macron's visit to DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo). Karabo Letlhatlha reports. Soumaila Lah discusses from Bamako, Mali.
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Mexico: Mexico has more democracy than the U.S. - that's the sentiment coming from Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Mexico's president, citing the US.'s propensity to overuse the Monroe doctrine as if Mexico is the U.S.'s back yard and should hold some power over the sovereign country. Daniel Shaw discusses and say it's time for Mexico to stand up against those who would seek to impose their controls from other countries. Multipolar world.
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The US government issues a report saying Russia is unlikely to have been involved in the so-called Havana Syndrome incidents, in which American diplomats in Cuba developed mysterious illnesses.
(QS still no evidence ever supplied by UK .gov to Russia or anyone else, to substantiate the claims of "Novichok" ever having been used anywhere, let alone in Britain. the "Skripal Incident" took place in 2018. Since then a policeman is said to have been a victim of Russia's Novichok and a lady with a drug habit called Dawn Sturgess who is allegedly said to have died after her husband gave her a perfume bottle containing some which he put under the kitchen sink. Nada. Not even blood samples. Nobody officially knows where the Skripals are either) **"chirping crickets"**.
Ray McGovern talks about the propensity of U.S. to demonise Russia for just about everything
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Below via RT website
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-- - - - - - A) --- Russian forces eliminating Ukrainian saboteurs that violated border – FSB
B) --- Putin condemns ‘terrorist attack’
1) --- Russian security chief addresses foreign-backed ‘revolutions’
2) --- NBC journalist added to Ukrainian ‘kill list’
2a) --- *** 'Peacemaker' of death:*** This Ukrainian website threatens hundreds of thousands with extrajudicial killings — some are Americans and it's run by the CIA on behalf of Ukraine government.
3) --- remember the tank ? It's moved to Estonia.
3a) --- Estonian towns ‘reluctant’ to host destroyed Russian tank – media
4) --- Lavrov blasts Western critics at G20
5) --- Moscow issues warning of nuclear clash
6) --- US rallying allies for new China sanctions – Reuters
7) --- West pressuring UAE to stop trading with Russia – FT
8) --- Danish mayor defends decision not to sack Russian-born teacher
9) --- US has Iran war plan – media
10) --- Russia’s debt-to-GDP lowest in G20 – data
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2 Mar, 2023 14:13 +++++++++ 11) --- Russian security service comments on Ukrainian saboteur attack BREAKING 2 Mar, 2023
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2 Mar, 2023 09:52

A) --- Russian forces eliminating Ukrainian saboteurs that violated border – FSB

The Bryansk region governor earlier said at least one man had been killed by a group of attackers

Russian forces are conducting an operation against a group of Ukrainian saboteurs that intruded across the border into Bryansk region, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday.

In a statement, the service said that “the FSB and the attached forces of the Russian Ministry of Defense are taking measures to destroy armed Ukrainian nationalists who violated the state border” in the Klimovsky district of Bryansk region.

Earlier in the day, Aleksandr Bogomaz, the region's governor, said that a group of Ukrainian operatives had launched a raid into the area and that the group attacked a moving car, killing one person and injuring a ten-year-old child.

Some media reports suggested that the saboteurs also had taken several local residents hostage, a claim that has not been confirmed by local authorities.

Russia’s regions bordering Ukraine have been repeatedly attacked by Kiev's forces in recent months. On Thursday, Kursk governor Roman Starovoit wrote in a Telegram post that Ukrainian troops had shelled a local village. Kursk officials confirmed that one person was killed in the attack.
https://www.rt.com/russia/572314-russian-forces-eliminate-ukrainian-saboteurs/
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2 Mar, 2023 08:38

Russian governor reports Ukrainian attack on border villages
A few dozen ‘saboteurs’ have allegedly targeted two settlements near the countries’ shared frontier
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A group of Ukrainian operatives has launched a raid across the border in Russia’s Bryansk Region, local governor Aleksandr Bogomaz claimed on Thursday. Fighting is reportedly ongoing in two border villages, Lyubechane and Sushany, which are about 20km apart. There is also unconfirmed information about deaths and injuries.

Writing on Telegram, Bogomaz stated that “today a sabotage-reconnaissance group intruded from Ukraine."

“Saboteurs fired at a moving car. As a result of the attack, one local resident was killed, with a ten-year-old child wounded,” he added. The child has been taken to hospital, the official said.

Russian forces “are taking all the necessary measures to eliminate the saboteur group,” Bogomaz added, without providing details on how many apparently Ukrainian personnel had taken part in the alleged attack.

The group is said to have attacked a school bus, a claim which has not been verified. Other unconfirmed reports indicated that the children were rescued by eyewitnesses. A passing car picked up three children, including a wounded boy who was shot in the back, reports claimed.

Unconfirmed reports on social media suggested that the region has been attacked by two Ukrainian groups with a combined strength of 50, who took an unspecified number of residents hostage in the village of Sushany. It was also reported that security forces are confronting the attackers.

There has been no official confirmation of the claims, although Bogomaz claimed that Kiev had earlier staged a drone attack on Sushany.
https://www.rt.com/russia/572307-ukrainian-saboteurs-stage-attack-russian-territory/
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2 Mar, 2023 09:08

Russian regions come under mortar fire from Ukraine
Kiev’s forces have carried out artillery and mortar strikes against civilian buildings in Russia’s Bryansk and Kursk regions, officials report

Villages in the Russian regions of Kursk and Bryansk came under heavy artillery fire from Kiev’s forces, the governors of the two regions neighboring Ukraine reported on Thursday morning. The attacks have damaged several residential buildings and civilian structures. Several people have reportedly been killed or injured.

Kursk governor Roman Starovoit wrote in a Telegram post that Kiev’s troops had shelled the village of Tetkino, which is on the Russian-Ukrainan border. At 11:17am local time he reported that the attack was still ongoing and that Russian forces were returning fire.

He also noted that there had been casualties from the attack and that emergency services had been dispatched to the area. Kursk officials have since confirmed that one person was killed and another was injured in the attack on Tetkino.

At the same time, Bryansk governor Aleksandr Bogomaz reported that the villages of Sushany and Lomakovka were also attacked using mortars and drones, which damaged several residential buildings. No casualties have so far been reported there, according to the governor.

While the shelling was taking place, a group of Ukrainians launched a raid in Bryansk region, attacking a vehicle and reportedly killing at least one person and injuring a ten-year-old child, according to Bogomaz. He added that Russian forces were taking all required measures to eliminate the saboteur group.

Russian regions bordering Ukraine have repeatedly come under attack from Kiev’s artillery and drones since Moscow launched its military operation in the country one year ago. The strikes have targeted energy infrastructure and residential areas, destroying civilian buildings and leading to a number of civilian casualties.
https://www.rt.com/russia/572310-russian-regions-artillery-fire/
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2 Mar, 2023 12:36

B) --- Putin condemns ‘terrorist attack’

Gunmen attacked civilians after crossing the border, the Russian president said

President Vladimir Putin has described as a “terrorist attack” an incident in Russia’s Bryansk Region that involved Ukrainian saboteurs. The statement came after the regional governor and national security service reported a cross-border raid targeting two settlements earlier on Thursday.

Gunmen “infiltrated the border area and opened fire at civilians. They could see the vehicle was civilian, that civilians were inside, children… and opened fire,” the Russian leader said.

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, earlier told journalists that “measures are being taken to destroy these terrorists.” He added that Moscow will continue “to draw the attention of the global public to the terrorist attacks that these people conduct.”

Russian officials accused Kiev of using terrorist tactics after a powerful explosion at the Crimean Bridge in October killed three civilians and damaged the structure. Putin said at the time that it was the latest Ukrainian attack against crucial Russian infrastructure. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) accused Ukrainian military intelligence of executing the bombing.

Another high-profile incident which Russian investigators pinned on the Ukrainian government was the August assassination of Darya Dugina, whose car was blown up near Moscow. Dugina was a political activist and the daughter of philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, whom Western media have described as a prominent Russian nationalist.

Putin mentioned Dugina on Thursday and said that people like the ones who carried out her murder were also responsible for the latest raid. The leader identified them as “neo-Nazis and terrorists” as he praised Russian troops for defending the country from them.

Bryansk Region Governor Aleksandr Bogomaz claimed that “a sabotage-reconnaissance group intruded from Ukraine” earlier in the day and targeted two villages. He said the infiltrators fired at a moving car, killing a local resident.
https://www.rt.com/russia/572321-kremlin-bryansk-region-raid/
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2 Mar, 2023 08:41

Nikolay Patrushev spoke in Cuba, which is another country subject to US economic restrictions

Nikolay Patrushev, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, met with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana on Wednesday. They discussed ways to counter foreign meddling, with both nations now living under sweeping US sanctions.

During his trip, Patrushev spoke about measures against the “destructive activities” of NGOs and so-called “color revolutions,” according to a statement from the Security Council. In this context, the term “color revolution” describes a Western-backed coup.

The two sides also spoke about cooperation against drug and human trafficking, as well as other forms of organized crime.

Patrushev also met with Cuban Interior Minister Lazaro Alberto Alvarez Casas and former President Raul Castro.

The Russian security chief also visited Venezuela on Tuesday, where he had a meeting with President Nicolas Maduro and spoke about “unprecedented pressure” by the US on Moscow’s partners.

A Russian ally since the Soviet times, Cuba has refused to condemn Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine and blamed the US for provoking the hostilities. “We denounce the sanctions against Russia and the sources of the current conflict… make no mistake, Russia is not responsible,” Diaz-Canel said in November during his meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Diaz-Canel argued that both countries were subjected to Washington’s “unjust” economic restrictions. The island nation has been living under a US trade embargo since 1962.

Diaz-Canel called the expansion of NATO closer to Russian borders “unacceptable.”

Moscow has maintained that the US-led bloc’s military infrastructure near its western border is a threat. Russian officials have cited the growing military ties between Ukraine and NATO members as one of the key reasons for the conflict.
https://www.rt.com/russia/572306-russia-cuba-color-revolutions/
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2 Mar, 2023 00:22

2) --- NBC journalist added to Ukrainian ‘kill list’

The notorious ‘Mirotvorets’ database labeled Keir Simmons a pro-Russian “propagandist” for reporting from Crimea

NBC News correspondent Keir Simmons has been placed on the Ukrainian state-linked ‘Mirotvorets’ (Peacemaker) blacklist for “crimes” against the country. The government in Kiev has also announced it was investigating the British journalist after he filed a report from Crimea on Tuesday.

“Visiting the temporarily occupied Crimea from the territory of the Russian Federation is a violation of the legislation of Ukraine,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said on Wednesday. Violators are subject to legal liability, such as being “banned from entering Ukraine for such actions,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Mirotvorets website has published a photo of Simmons and his personal details, accusing the reporter of “violating Ukraine’s sovereignty,” participating in Russian propaganda, and “attempted legalization of the occupation.”

Simmons traveled to the Crimean peninsula by train from Moscow, across the Kerch Bridge, which he described as having been “blown up in a strategic and symbolic blow” to Russia last October, but is “now fully restored.”

He then tuned in to an NBC newscast live from Sevastopol, claiming it was “the closest any US news crew has got to the Russian Black Sea Fleet in many, many years.” Speaking with NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Simmons expressed doubt about US officials’ hopes that Crimea would be “demilitarized” or taken by Ukrainian troops.

Simmons also insinuated that Russia has somehow intimidated local residents, even though they explicitly told him otherwise.
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https://twitter.com/KanekoaTheGreat/status/1631046414926225408
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The US government has not yet commented on Ukraine targeting a journalist from a major corporate outlet. Neither has the UK, even though Simmons is a British national.

Mirotvorets, which claims to be based in “Warsaw, Poland and Langley, Virginia” – the headquarters of the CIA – is a notorious website that posts private information of individuals labeled enemies of Ukraine without any process or trial. It was established in August 2014, as Kiev launched its “anti-terrorist operation” against civilians in Donbass, and allegedly maintains ties with Ukrainian and Western security services.

“This kill list is maintained by the Ukrainian Ministry of Interior, which lists an address in Langley, Virginia, has an IP in Brussels,” said American political activist Jackson Hinkle, who was also added to the database on Wednesday. Hinkle noted that Mirotvorets celebrated last year’s assassination of Russian journalist Darya Dugina, which US intelligence has reportedly blamed on sections of the Ukrainian government.

Several prominent people were killed after the site declared them public enemies, including writer and historian Oles Buzina and politician Oleg Kalashnikov. Western media outlets mostly ignored its existence until 2016, when Mirotvorets targeted dozens of journalists and human right activists for daring to operate in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. The move drew condemnation from the OSCE, which declared it “simply unacceptable for journalists to be threatened for what they say or write.”

More recently, Mirotvorets has targeted Croatian President Zoran Milanovic, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, retired US diplomat Henry Kissinger, and rock musician Roger Waters, for deviating from the official narratives about the conflict. The US and its allies have continued to send weapons and money to Ukraine, claiming Kiev is fighting for “democracy” and “freedom.”
https://www.rt.com/russia/572294-ukraine-kill-list-journalist/
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26 Aug, 2022 10:54

2a) --- *** 'Peacemaker' of death:*** This Ukrainian website threatens hundreds of thousands with extrajudicial killings — some are AmericanS and it's run by the CIA on behalf of Ukraine government.

Mirotvorets, which compiles lists of ‘enemies of Ukraine’, has been operating with impunity for eight years

For the last eight years, a group of publicly unknown activists in Ukraine have been compiling lists of ‘enemies of the people’ with impunity. Hundreds of thousands have been declared criminals without trial.

Among them are not only Russian citizens, but also Ukrainian opposition figures and bloggers, European politicians, and US citizens. At the very least, being added to this list is a stigma that makes life difficult in Ukraine, but it can also serve as justification for imprisonment or, in some cases, even being killed. This is exactly what happened last weekend to Daria Dugina, daughter of world-famous Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin, who’s name also can be found on that list.

RT explains what is behind the Mirotvorets, or ‘Peacemaker’, website, whose creators seek to bring ‘peace’ to their country with the help of extrajudicial killings, and why the Ukrainian authorities have done nothing about this despite condemnation from the international community.
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What is Mirotvorets?
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The main page of the Ukrainian Mirotvorets website proclaims that the outlet represents a ‘Center for Research of Signs of Crimes against the National Security of Ukraine, Peace, Humanity, and the International Law’. It claims to have been created by a group of academics, journalists, and other specialists. However, their names are known to no one, and the outfit itself has never even been officially registered in Ukraine.

Nevertheless, this organization has been in operation for nine years, since August 2014. And although it positions itself as “independent, non-state media,” government officials still had a hand in its creation. In fact, the website emerged at the initiative of Anton Gerashchenko, a former adviser to the Ukrainian minister of internal affairs.

Mirotvorets’ activities boil down to publishing personal information on people who the site’s administrators consider a threat, in one way or another, to Ukrainian statehood.

The site’s owners urge the country’s law enforcement agencies to take note of the personal data and activities of the people it lists. However, street radicals sometimes also take heed of Mirotvorets’ lists.

And every time someone unlucky enough to have had his or her home address or other personal data revealed turns up dead, the site is updated: the name of the deceased now appears in bright flickering letters reminiscent of a Las Vegas casino, and the person’s photo is crossed out with the callous inscription: ‘liquidated’.

For example, the current Mirotvorets’ web page design displays this way the data of the Russian journalist Darya Dugina, daughter of the philosopher Aleksandr, who was brutally killed last weekend in her own car.

Despite the accusations from the Russian FSB, Ukraine denies any involvement in that murder. On Mirotvorets, however, Dugina’s death is described with a brief, dehumanizing commentary, along with a conspiracy theory: “Liquidated by the special services of fascist russia (sic) due to interspecies disagreements.”
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Who gets on the Mirotvorets lists and how?
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According to the site’s administrators, “the sources of information used by the Mirotvorets Center for ongoing academic research are publicly available materials that are printed and posted on social networks, web publications, private web pages, and specialized forums and blogs, as well as radio and TV broadcasts.”

However, it’s not that simple. In 2017, the site launched its IDentigraF facial recognition system, which was funded by donors from 40 countries, according to the center’s editorial board. This database contains more than 2 million images of “persons who have committed crimes against Ukraine and its citizens.”

In addition, up until 2016, the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and other law enforcement agencies in the country were among Mirotvorets’ partners. One can’t help but conclude that the personal information of the people who ended up in ‘Purgatory’ – a section of the site where personal information, including addresses, phone numbers, and documents, is published – were not obtained solely from social networks and newspapers.

As of 2019, when the latest Mirotvorets report was published, the site contained data on “more than 30,000 Russian war criminals”, “more than 70,000 terrorists, militants, mercenaries, members of illegal armed formations and private armies controlled by the Russian aggressor”, “about 40,000 flagrant violators of Ukraine’s national borders”, “more than 44,000 traitors to the Motherland”, “more than 6,000 anti-Ukrainian propagandists”, etc.

In total, nearly 200,000 people have been declared ‘criminals’ over the five years.

However, these figures are far from complete since the site continues to collect personal information on a daily basis. Recently, participants in Russia’s Special Military Operation to demilitarize Ukraine, as well as Russian politicians, have been added to the list – although to an insufficient extent, according to the website’s creators, who support the official government in Kiev.
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Presumption of guilt
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Mirotvorets’ creators claim that the center “carries out its activities in strict accordance with the current legislation of Ukraine and international legal acts ratified by our state.” As an example, they refer to Article 17 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which obliges citizens to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.

In legally justifying its activities, Mirotvorets refers to laws on information, terrorism, and privacy, as well as the ‘Convention on the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automated Processing of Personal Data’ adopted in 1981. However, the articles cited in the above-mentioned pieces of legislation have been chosen very selectively, with an emphasis on “protecting the security of the state.”

Legally speaking, the Mirotvorets’ approach is very controversial. First of all, one of the basic principles of justice is the presumption of innocence, which is reflected, in particular, in the Council of Europe’s ‘Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms’.

Among the crimes for which Mirotvorets collects data are “impingement on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine”, being a “traitor to the Motherland”, “aiding militants and terrorists”, disseminating “war propaganda”, “inciting ethnic hatred, fascism, or anti-Semitism,” etc., which are included in the Criminal Code of Ukraine. However, only a court can find a person guilty of such acts, whereas Mirotvorets has no such authority.

Mirotvorets not only accuses people of committing ‘crimes’ but also includes more abstract offenses in its lists, such as producing “anti-Ukrainian propaganda” and “participating in anti-Ukrainian propaganda events.” The list even has a section for “agents of influence of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.” However, such areas are regulated by articles 9-11 of the ‘European Convention on Human Rights’, which concern freedom of expression, conscience, religion, thought, assembly, and association. The Mirotvorets center’s administrators are essentially seeking to deprive people whose opinions and beliefs do not suit them of their right to expression.

In addition, in the site’s ‘On Interaction and Cooperation with the Center’ section, there is a sample form for reporting personal information on ‘criminals’ and their relatives, which includes fields for addresses, phone numbers, photos, links to social network profiles, and their ‘crime’ (i.e., categorization as ‘militant’ or ‘terrorist’), all without trial or investigation.

The ‘criminals’ on public display, along with their wives, children, and parents, don’t even know they’re in ‘Purgatory’, let alone given a chance to defend themselves or cross-examine witnesses and confront their accusers.

A scandal in the noble family
As long as Mirotvorets was limiting itself to publishing information on Ukrainian citizens living in Crimea and Donbass, Ukrainian opposition politicians and journalists, and Russian residents and officials, the odious organization went unnoticed in the ‘civilized world’. But a scandal erupted in 2016, when Mirotvorets published information on employees of a host of media outlets, including the BBC, Reuters, Al Jazeera, AFP, Le Monde, the Guardian, Le Figaro, France 24, El Mundo, CBS News, CNN, Sky News, The Daily Telegraph, The Times, Cheska Televize, Radio France, Channel 9 Australia, the Associated Press, Japan TV, the Daily Mail, Die Welt, the Washington Post and New York Times, as well as representatives of Human Rights Watch and many other organizations, for “cooperating with a terrorist organization" (i.e., the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics).

US State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau noted at the time that the US was “very concerned about the hacking of a database and publication of personal information about journalists in combat areas.”

“It is simply unacceptable for journalists to be threatened for what they say or write. Governments should do everything possible to ensure the safety of journalists. A wave of online threats against journalists worsens the situation,” said Dunja Mijatovic, OSCE representative on Freedom of the Media.

In addition to journalists and human rights defenders, politicians have also made it into Mirotvorets’ database. The website published information on German Bundestag deputies who visited Crimea, a list that includes Evgeny Schmidt, Rainer Balzer, Gunar Lindeman, Harold Latch, Nick Vogel, Helmut Seifen, and Blakes Christian.

Ten US citizens, as well as French actor Samy Naceri, were relegated to ‘Purgatory’ for the same ‘offense’. According to the website, the Greek ‘enemies of Ukraine’ include former Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, cartoonist Stathis Stavropoulos, retired Air Force Lieutenant General Pavlos Hristou, and ‘Russian Athens’ editor Pavel Onoiko. While former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras also visited Crimea, he was removed from the database after expressing support for Petro Poroshenko. Top-tier politicians are also represented in Mirotvorets’ lists. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder can be found there, while Croatian President Zoran Milanovic and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban have also been recently added, as has authoritative American diplomat Henry Kissinger.

Inclusion in the Mirotvorets list has been used as a justification for threats directed not only against ordinary citizens and journalists, but politicians as well. As the infamous and recently recalled Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andrey Melnyk, wrote, "an irresponsible trip of several would-be deputies can carry very, very unfortunate legal consequences for them. It is a pity that our warnings are still not taken seriously. Well, we’ll see.” In turn, Benjamin Moreau, deputy head of the UN’s human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine, stressed that the problem is moving from a purely legal to a practical one: some banks refuse to issue loans to persons included in the Mirotvorets database.

Ten US citizens, as well as French actor Samy Naceri, were relegated to ‘Purgatory’ for the same ‘offense’. According to the website, the Greek ‘enemies of Ukraine’ include former Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, cartoonist Stathis Stavropoulos, retired Air Force Lieutenant General Pavlos Hristou, and ‘Russian Athens’ editor Pavel Onoiko. While former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras also visited Crimea, he was removed from the database after expressing support for Petro Poroshenko. Top-tier politicians are also represented in Mirotvorets’ lists. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder can be found there, while Croatian President Zoran Milanovic and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban have also been recently added, as has authoritative American diplomat Henry Kissinger.

The uproar involving the murders of opposition politician Oleg Kalashnikov and journalist Olesya Buzina after their addresses were published in the Mirotvorets database is widely known. Of course, the word ‘after’ does not necessarily mean ‘due to’, but the creators of the notorious center played along. In commenting on these murders, they wrote: “Agent 404 has distinguished himself again. He has been granted a short-term leave for the successful completion of today’s combat mission.”
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Closing Mirotvorets
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There have been repeated demands to shut down the website. In 2018, Germany joined the chorus of journalists and human rights activists protesting Gerhard Schroeder’s inclusion in the database. According to the Cabinet of Ministers, “the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany most definitely condemns Mirotvorets and demands that the Ukrainian government and authorities assist in its removal.”

In February of 2021, the European Parliament approved a resolution stating: “The EP regrets that the political climate in the country has deteriorated when intimidation, hate speech and political pressure are widely used for political purposes; urges the authorities to strongly condemn and ban the activities of extremist and hateful groups and websites, such as Mirotvorets, which create tension in society and misuse the personal data of hundreds of people, including journalists, politicians and members of minority groups.”

But so far, calls for the closure of Mirotvorets have, in fact, been limited to a chorus of journalists, human rights defenders, and parliamentarians, who lack the power to make legally binding decisions with respect to Ukraine. This issue is not included among the list of requirements put forth by the Council of Europe or the European Commission that Kiev must fulfil in order to implement the EU Association Agreement. Allocation of European and American assistance to Ukraine for carrying out reforms has not been made contingent on closing down Mirotvorets, nor have measures been taken to pressure the Kiev authorities to respect privacy and the presumption of innocence.

With the Western authorities turning a blind eye, the Ukrainian government has been able to ignore the activities of the scandalous site and dismiss demands from international human rights defenders by coming up with various pretenses. For example, in response to demands by the UN for it to be shut down, Dmitry Razumkov, the ex-speaker of Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, said that the Rada does not have the authority to close media outlets.

Nevertheless, when the Ukrainian authorities want to shut down certain media outlets, they do not hesitate to do so. For example, the National Security and Defense Council granted Zelensky the ability to close the 112 Ukraine, NewsOne, and ZIK opposition TV channels, and subsequently First Independent and UKRLIVE, as well as an online publication called Strana, among other media outlets.

The Mirotvorets site is still up and continually updated with new data to this day.
https://www.rt.com/russia/560965-ukrainian-mirotvorets-website/

(QS update, 2.3.2023 - as of today the Mirotvorets website is still active and now contains the names of peace organisations such as LaRouche / Schiller Institute and some of the people working for them and just yesterday I watched a show from "Ask the Inspector and Scott Ritter announced his name have been elevated to the top of the list. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXpu_QYZlOs

Upon bringing this up to my MP and local government leader in Wales, me and others have been studiously ignored.)
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3) --- remember the tank ? It's moved to Estonia. Estonia annually celebrates the Nazi SS, in case anyone didn't know this. It was put on hold for just one year, during COVID https://twitter.com/ArthurM40330824/status/1629986777141325825
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1 Mar, 2023 22:00

3a) --- Estonian towns ‘reluctant’ to host destroyed Russian tank – media

The Baltic nation’s Defense Ministry has planned a ‘tour’ for the military vehicle handed over by Ukraine

A plan by the Estonian Defense Ministry to stage a “tour” of a destroyed Russian tank through several Estonian cities has faced opposition from the local authorities. Some of them called it a political stunt ahead of upcoming elections, while others treated it like a “natural disaster,” the Postimees newspaper reported on Tuesday.

“After all, we all understand that it is propaganda,” said Triin Varek, the mayor of the northern Estonian city of Rakvere, adding that it would be out of place ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for early March.

“At any other time, yes, please. But at the moment, this tank would be inappropriate between the political parties’ election tents,” Varek stated. She insisted that the city “has not given permission to the Ministry of Defense to organize a public event.”

The head of Estonia’s north-eastern region of Johvi, which includes a city of the same name, opposed the idea of the tank being placed on display. Some local government officials believe “the tank should not be brought here at all,” Maris Toomel, the Johvi municipal head, told the media, adding that the region has a sizable Russian-speaking community and the exhibition could lead to “confrontation.”

According to Postimees, the Estonian cities of Johvi, Narva, and Rakvere have “explicitly refused” to host the exhibition and the south-western port city of Parnu is still “considering” the proposal. Other cities such as Tartu and Viljandi have agreed to the Defense Ministry’s idea, the media outlet said.

The ministry insisted on Tuesday that it would not change the exhibition plan despite opposition from local authorities, according to Postimees.

“The cities that have demonstrated an interest in hosting the tank have not changed their minds,” the ministry told the newspaper, adding that an exact route of the “tour” would be revealed shortly.

The tank, which arrived in Estonia from Ukraine and was put on display in a central square of the Estonian capital of Tallinn over the weekend, has already sparked controversy, with some locals laying flowers by it, much to the dismay of the authorities.

On Tuesday, Estonian police fined a man after he refused to remove flowers he had placed at the tank, despite repeated demands from officers, Postimees reported.
https://www.rt.com/russia/572292-estonia-destroyed-russian-tank-exhibition/
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2 Mar, 2023 13:00

4) --- Lavrov blasts Western critics at G20

Detractors of Moscow have turned the work of the global forum “into a circus,” the Russian FM has said

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has apologized to India for the behavior of some members of the G20, who, in his words, “turned into a circus” work on the group’s agenda in an attempt to blame Moscow for their own mismanagement. New Delhi currently holds the rotating presidency of the club of the world’s leading economic powers.

Lavrov expressed his embarrassment to the host and other countries from the “global South” during a summit of member state foreign ministers being held at the presidential palace in the capital on Thursday.

The attacks against Moscow at the G20 look “particularly wild” coming from nations who “never complained at [the organization’s] meetings over the many hundreds of thousands of victims of Washington’s adventures in the Middle East, which were conducted under a pretext of national security” thousands of miles from American soil, Lavrov remarked.

Western officials have accused Russia of launching an “unprovoked attack” on Ukraine and causing a spike in global energy and food prices as a result. They have used several G20 events over the past year to express their views. Moscow has argued that the root cause of the market turbulence is ultra-loose monetary policy by the US following the Covid-19-triggered economic slowdown.

The top Russian diplomat blasted the US and its allies for trying to replace international law with “voluntarist rules and double standards.” He urged the world to drop the “flawed logic of domination, diktat and sanctions” in favor of a fair multipolar arrangement, in which civilizational diversity is respected.

“We need to guard against illegal sanctions, manipulation of markets, arbitrary price caps and other attempts to appropriate other parties’ resources,” he stated. Western policies are “degrading international economic relations, weaponizing them,” Lavrov stated.

He said Russia was shocked by the “unpunished sabotage” against the Nord Stream pipelines, which happened “in NATO‘s and the EU’s zone of responsibility” and called for an international investigation, in which all stakeholders, including Moscow, would play a role.

The ministerial meeting was opened with a recorded message from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who called for a “unity of purpose and unity of action” by G20 states to overcome a crisis in post-World War II international architecture. He urged the participants of the summit to overcome their differences toward achieving that goal.
https://www.rt.com/russia/572318-lavrov-g20-western-nations/
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2 Mar, 2023 13:02

5) --- Moscow issues warning of nuclear clash

The West’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict could lead to “catastrophic consequences,” Russia’s deputy foreign minister has said

Washington’s efforts to add fuel to the Ukraine conflict could potentially trigger a direct nuclear standoff, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov warned on Thursday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Geneva Conference on Disarmament, Ryabkov said “the most acute strategic threat comes from” the policies of the US and NATO, which seek to “further stoke the conflict in Ukraine and [tensions] around it which they deliberately initiated.”

Against this backdrop, the senior diplomat warned that the “increased involvement” of the US and NATO in hostilities was “fraught with the threat of a direct military clash of nuclear powers with catastrophic consequences.”

Ryabkov said Moscow had alerted Western countries about these risks but that its warnings “are being distorted for propaganda purposes” and deliberately misinterpreted. He went on to add that such policies are at odds with nuclear states’ declaration that a nuclear conflict should never be fought.

In January 2022, in a rare display of unity, five nuclear powers – Russia, China, the US, UK, and France – issued a joint statement saying that they “consider the avoidance of war between Nuclear-Weapon States and the reduction of strategic risks” as their foremost responsibilities.

The diplomat added that the “destructive actions” by the US and its allies are fomenting tension in several regions across the world, which suggests that “we can talk about the growing global struggle for a new world order,” Ryabkov added.

All of these developments “make it harder and harder to deal with arms control and strategic risk reduction,” according to Ryabkov.

His comments come after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last month that Moscow would suspend its participation in the New START treaty, the last remaining nuclear deal between Russia and the US, which puts restrictions on the number of nuclear assets deployed by the two sides around the world.

Explaining the reason for the move, Putin said that the West had denied under formal pretexts Moscow’s requests to inspect Western nuclear facilities in accordance with the treaty. At the same time, he noted that NATO countries were demanding access to Russia’s strategic facilities.

Earlier this week, Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the US, said that Washington must reconsider “its hostile anti-Russian policy” to “create conditions for a return to full-scale operation of New START.”
https://www.rt.com/russia/572325-moscow-warning-nuclear-clash/
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2 Mar, 2023 05:34

6) --- US rallying allies for new China sanctions – Reuters

A proposal from Beijing to end the fighting in Ukraine has been met by ramped-up threats and accusations from Washington

The US is coordinating with its close allies to impose new sanctions on China should it decide to support the Russian military campaign in Ukraine, according to Reuters. Beijing has rejected claims that it intends to offer lethal aid to Moscow, and recently unveiled a plan seeking a peaceful settlement to the conflict.

Washington is in “consultations” with foreign partners, namely those from the G7 nations, regarding new economic penalties, several unnamed US officials told the outlet on Wednesday. They declined to provide details about the potential sanctions, only confirming that discussions are “laying the groundwork for potential action.”

The report follows repeated warnings toward China from the US and other Western nations, which claim Beijing intends to supply weapons to Russian forces for the campaign against Ukraine.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg echoed the charges during a recent interview with the Associated Press, saying “we have seen some signs that they may be planning for that,” but without offering evidence.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared that Washington would “not hesitate” to target Chinese firms with sanctions in the event that Beijing supplies lethal aid to Moscow. Blinken insisted the move would carry “implications and consequences,” adding that he had raised the issue with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi when they met at the Munich Security Conference last month.

China has dismissed the claims as “groundless speculation,” arguing that it does not intend to provide weapons to Russian troops and accusing Washington of hypocrisy.

“The US has no right to dictate China-Russia relations, and we will never accept coercion and pressure from the US,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday. She went on to observe that Washington, not Beijing, has been “pouring lethal weapons into the battlefield in Ukraine.”

While Western nations have long pressured China to sever ties with Russia, accusations toward Beijing have only grown louder since it unveiled a 12-point roadmap for a diplomatic settlement for the conflict in Ukraine last month. Moscow has signaled willingness to “carefully analyze” the details of the proposal, though US officials quickly rejected the plan, claiming Beijing has adopted “Russia’s false narrative about the war” and is not “serious” about ending hostilities. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/24/united-states-china-ukraine-00084384
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https://www.rt.com/news/572297-us-allies-china-sanctions/
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2 Mar, 2023 13:02

7) --- West pressuring UAE to stop trading with Russia – FT

Washington views the surge in electronics exports to Moscow as potential sanctions evasion

Western countries are seeking to compel the United Arab Emirates to stop exporting critical goods to Russia, particularly electronics, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

According to the report, Washington believes these exports, which have recently spiked in volume, can be used for military purposes in Russia’s operation in Ukraine. Officials are concerned that the UAE is being used as a “re-exporting” hub through which certain goods are sold in order to evade Western sanctions on Moscow.

The news outlet notes that a number of officials from the US, EU, and UK have already approached the UAE authorities in order to clarify the trade restrictions that were placed on Russia throughout the past year and urge them to stop what they suspect to be sanctions evasion.

“Our main request [to the UAE] is that they stop the re-exports [and] acknowledge these re-exports are problematic,” an unnamed official close to the discussions told the FT, noting that “conversations are continuing.”

The UAE is home to one of the world’s biggest transshipment hubs, the Jebel Ali port in Dubai, and is Russia’s largest Gulf trading partner, accounting for 55% of total trade between Russia and the Gulf countries. UAE exports of electronic parts to Russia grew more than sevenfold in 2022, amounting to nearly $283 million and making them the largest export item to the country, the FT stated, citing Russian customs data analyzed by the Free Russia Foundation. UAE exports of microchips to Russia reportedly surged 15-fold versus 2021.

Apart from soaring exports, the UAE has reportedly been gaining popularity as a financial haven for wealthy Russians. The Gulf state hosts more than 4,000 Russian companies and is currently in talks with Moscow over a free-trade agreement between the UAE and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union.

Several officials warned that the Gulf country could face sanctions itself should it fail to stop the allegedly illicit re-exports to Russia.

“Part of the message for the private sector… is that they’re playing roulette. Anyone who’s trading in these goods, they now are subject to sanctions because some of the goods they ship are showing up on the battlefield,” said James O’Brien, head of the US office of sanctions coordination following a trip to the UAE last month.

The UAE has been largely neutral in the Ukraine conflict. It has refrained from placing sanctions on Russia but has kept close ties with its Western partners, with which it shares historically close bonds.
https://www.rt.com/business/572309-west-pressure-uae-russia-trade/
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2 Mar, 2023 11:43

8) --- Danish mayor defends decision not to sack Russian-born teacher

Ukrainian parents wanted the educator fired for “propaganda”

The mayor of a Danish city has backed the refusal to fire a Russian-born schoolteacher despite demands from Ukrainian parents, some of whom are refugees from the current conflict with Moscow. The teacher was accused of mistreating children and spreading “propaganda” at the Nordvestskolen school in Helsingor, although the management has disputed those claims.

“These mothers want the school to fire the teacher. But we don’t do that in Denmark. We don’t fire people because of their ethnic background,” Helsingor Municipality Mayor Benedikte Kiaer told TV 2 on Sunday.

The teacher was described as a woman who has been living in the country for decades and is a Danish citizen. According to local media, out of the school’s 32 students, 27 are Ukrainian and one is a student from Ukraine who is a Russian speaker.

The row broke out on February 3, when students were having a music class taught by the Russian-born teacher and her colleague. School inspector Soren Pedersen said both teachers complained to him about “very abusive behavior” from two Ukrainian students towards the teacher of Russian ethnicity. They also played and sang the Ukrainian national anthem in the middle of a lesson “as a provocation,” Pedersen said.

The school sent a letter to parents about the incident. Three parents wrote back, saying that they did not want the teacher in question in class. “It is disrespectful to all Ukrainians to invite a teacher from Russia to work with Ukrainian children who have fled the war with Russia,” wrote one of the mothers, Diana Chynba, as quoted by the media.

A second altercation occurred on February 24, exactly one year after Moscow launched its military operation in the neighboring state. Two schoolgirls brought a Ukrainian flag with them and tried to enter the classroom in the middle of a lesson they were not due to attend, the school said.

“The intention was to display the Ukrainian flag as a provocation against the Danish-Russian teacher,” Pedersen said, adding that another member of staff had tried to stop them from interrupting the lesson and make them hide the flag. According to Pedersen, one of the girls told him that “if you have Russian employees, you support Russia.”

Tereza Podoliak, one of the Ukrainian students involved, told TV 2 that she and her classmate, who had a Ukrainian flag wrapped around her shoulders, arrived to pick up a friend from another class. She accused the Russian-born teacher of starting the conflict.

Speaking to the media, Tereza’s mother, Olga Podoliak, claimed she had no problem with the teacher’s ethnicity. “But it is important to protect our rights and stop Russian propaganda,” she stated.

Kari Jorgensen, the school’s headmaster, defended the decision not to allow the displaying of the Ukrainian flag. “We are in Denmark. We celebrate the national days that are in Denmark,” she said, arguing that students “need to get to know Danish culture.”
https://www.rt.com/news/572319-finland-russian-teacher-ukraine/
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2 Mar, 2023 10:11

9) --- US has Iran war plan – media

Devised under Trump, the document may be what’s guiding the latest increase in joint military exercises with Israel, according to The Intercept

The Pentagon developed a conceptual plan for war with Iran during the presidency of Donald Trump, The Intercept has reported, citing budgetary documents. The document is one of several indications of Washington’s increased hawkishness towards Tehran, the outlet argued.

The contingency plan code-named ‘Support Sentry’ was funded in the fiscal year 2019. Given that the Pentagon’s resources are not unlimited, the fact that effort was expended to produce such a document means that US military planners consider the risk of a clash with Iran significant enough, The Intercept suggested.

Another sign of a possible escalation was the order to reassign Israel from European Command (EUCOM) to Central Command (CENTCOM) in the Pentagon’s responsibility structure, the story said. Carried out by Trump just four days before the inauguration of President Joe Biden, the reassignment built on the rapprochement between Israel and the Arab states under the so-called Arab Accords. Israel was previously kept under the European Command in order to avoid stoking tensions with countries such as Saudi Arabia.

Under the Biden administration, the Pentagon has conducted a series of joint military maneuvers with Israel. The Juniper Oak exercise in January was openly touted by the Israeli leadership as a simulation of a war with Iran. The Intercept suggested that Support Sentry probably guided the drills.

“CONPLANs [Concepts of Operations Plans] serve as the intellectual framework or context when developing military exercises because it makes sense for units that are honing their skills to have that work be relevant to likely tasks,” Dakota Wood, a retired US military planner, told the outlet.

Last week, US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides stated that “Israel can and should do whatever they need to deal with [Iran] and we’ve got their back.” While Israel has had an array of cabinets in the past several years amid an ongoing domestic political crisis, all of them have been hawkish towards Iran.

Aviv Kochavi, who retired from the position of the chief of staff of the Israel Defense Force in January, told the media that his nation’s military had devised three operational plans to attack Iran. One includes “taking out Iranian nuclear installations and auxiliary sites” so that it could not create a nuclear weapon. Tehran denies that it is seeking nuclear armaments.
https://www.rt.com/news/572312-pentagon-war-plan-iran/

recall post from 23 Jan, 2023 : (precis) Israel and US aim to send message with record military drill - Iran will take notice of the joint exercise, which is the largest ever held by the two countries, the Pentagon. US and Israeli militaries began their largest-ever joint exercise on Monday, seeking to hone seamless coordination of their forces and prove a point to Iran about their readiness to fight a conflict in the Middle East even as Washington juggles rising tensions with Russia and China. “I do think that this scale of the exercise is relevant to a whole range of scenarios, and Iran may draw certain inferences from that. Dubbed Juniper Oak, the exercise will involve over 140 aircraft, including nuclear-capable bombers and F-35 fighter jets, as well as 12 warships and about 7,500 troops, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM). It’s designed to improve the “interoperability” of both forces.
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2 Mar, 2023 09:54

10) --- Russia’s debt-to-GDP lowest in G20 – data

This is a fundamental factor of economic stability, according to the country’s Accounts Chamber

Russia’s foreign debt decreased for the first time in three years in 2022, official data from the country’s Accounts Chamber showed on Thursday.

External debt amounted to 4.04 trillion rubles ($53.3 billion) last year, down from 4.44 trillion ($58.5 billion) in 2021, according to the department. The figure had been steadily growing in 2019 and 2020.

Meanwhile, the country’s total national debt amounted to 22.82 trillion rubles ($302.7 billion) last year, putting the debt-to-GDP ratio at 17.1%, down from 18.1%.

The Accounts Chamber noted that the debt figures are within the “norm,” while the debt-to-GDP ratio, a fundamental indicator of economic stability, is the lowest among the G20, which signals that Russia’s economy is in good shape.

“Taking into account the accumulated reserves, the public debt of the Russian Federation is currently at a safe level,” the Accounts Chamber press service said.

Last year, many experts predicted a drastic downturn for the Russian economy amid the military operation in Ukraine and unprecedented sanctions and economic restrictions imposed by the West in retaliation.

However, official figures released earlier this month showed Russia’s GDP having decreased by just 2.1% in 2022, far better than some earlier Western projections of a decline of up to 20%. The IMF recently improved its forecast for Russia’s economy and now expects the country’s GDP to return to growth, rising by 0.3% this year and by 2.1% in 2024.
https://www.rt.com/business/572308-russia-low-foreign-debt/
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++++++++++++ BREAKING 2 Mar, 2023 14:13 +++++++++

11) --- Russian security service comments on Ukrainian saboteur attack BREAKING 2 Mar, 2023

Authorities say they have found a large number of explosive devices after Kiev's operatives carried out a cross-border raid

The situation in Russia’s Bryansk Region is under the control of law enforcement agencies, the Federal Security Service (FSB) reported on Thursday after an attack by Ukrainian saboteurs. The agency also confirmed earlier reports that one local resident had been killed in the attack and that an 11-year-old child had received a gunshot wound.

The FSB stated that the area is currently being checked and inspected and that a large number of explosive devices of various types had been found. Bomb squads are working on the scene to disarm the explosives.

On Thursday morning a number of Ukrainian saboteurs crossed the Russian border and launched raids on the villages of Lyubechane and Sushany. The gunmen attacked a civilian vehicle, killing one man and injuring a child. At the same time, Bryansk Governor Aleksandr Bogomaz also reported artillery and mortar strikes in the area.

The FSB along with the Russian Defense Ministry have since reported that they are taking measures to eliminate the attackers.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the incident as a “terrorist attack,” identifying the people responsible for such acts as “neo-Nazis and terrorists.” He also suggested whoever was behind Thursday’s attack may have also been responsible for the assassination of Russian journalist Darya Dugina, whose car was blown up near Moscow in August.

Russia’s regions bordering Ukraine have been repeatedly attacked by Kiev’s forces in recent months. On Thursday, the governors of Bryansk and Kursk regions reported that Ukrainian troops had shelled local villages. Kursk officials confirmed that one person was killed in the attack.
https://www.rt.com/russia/572329-fsb-comments-bryansk-attack/

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