Russia

[LFC]

Putin is a butcher and should be branded a war criminal by all decent nations.

EBAM, Cameroon—Ella* and Béatrice*—both 16—returned from visiting a friend earlier this year to discover that their homes were on fire.

Friends and neighbors, who had lost almost everything, were wailing uncontrollably as their whole compound in the Central African Republic village of Aïgbado was engulfed in flames.

It was Jan. 16, the day of an infamous massacre—first reported by The Daily Beast—when Putin’s private army slaughtered more than 70 people in eastern CAR, setting homes ablaze and leaving hundreds homeless near a gold mine outside Aïgbado.

On the sandy ground outside their compound, the girls said they saw two dead bodies riddled with bullet wounds.They couldn't believe what they had witnessed, and would never have imagined that their ordeal was soon to become even worse.

Once their homes had been burned down, they fled to a refugee camp where they say they were held against their will and repeatedly raped by white men believed to be soldiers hired by the Wagner Group.

The infamous Wagner Group is run by one of President Putin’s closest associates, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who sends the mercenaries all over the world on secretive missions that the Kremlin wants to keep off the books. The private army has served extensively in Syria, several African countries, and now in Ukraine, where it has been accused of war crimes.

The mercenaries have been in CAR for four years and accused of carrying out a host of barbaric acts including the Aïgbado assaults, which led to Ella and Béatrice immediately fleeing to a makeshift Internally Displaced Persons camp in nearby Bria, a regional capital.

Instead of refuge, they say they found more torment at the hands of the European soldiers who they say kidnapped them, took them to a second location and subjected them to repeated sexual assaults.

“For us, it was like we were living in hell," said Béatrice. "We kept begging them to have mercy on us but they didn’t listen. They made us bleed.”

[LFC]

Russia gets totally dissed at the G20 summit. The hunger for respectability and acceptance is still there. Too bad you're a pariah state run by war criminals.

Poor old Sergei Lavrov left the G20 summit in Bali early Friday after Western leaders ignored him and refused to be pictured alongside him in a customary photo op as his country waged its brutal war on Ukraine. The Russian foreign minister had a torrid time on the Indonesian island this week, where diplomats also snubbed a dinner Thursday night because Lavrov would be attending. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was said to have led the “family photo” boycott, with other G7 colleagues joining Blinken in giving Lavrov the cold shoulder. It’s thought the photo op might go ahead without Lavrov following his departure Friday. “In terms of meeting with me, the declaration that they won’t be photographed with me—I never asked anyone to be photographed,” Lavrov insisted in a Friday interview with Russian state TV. “Yesterday, there was a reception that the Indonesians organized; it was sort of an introductory reception with a concert, and they [Western leaders] didn’t attend.”

Meanwhile Putin continues to talk up his puppet. ("No puppet! No puppet! You're the puppet!")

Russia is starting to feel the sting of Western sanctions, with state media shows featuring multiple experts who talk of “rebuilding” or “re-starting” the country’s economy. They urge everyday Russians not to delude themselves into thinking that pre-war life would return to normal for years or decades to come. The only bright spot on the Kremlin propagandists’ horizon is the potential return of Donald J. Trump.

Following years of doubt and fears that Trump would face criminal repercussions for his unwillingness to accept defeat in presidential elections, Russian experts are now firmly convinced that their favorite candidate will come through unscathed—despite being “lynched,” as they put it, by the January 6 Committee.

Appearing on Tuesday’s broadcast of The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, Americanist Dmitry Drobnitsky noted: “Despite [Trump’s] looks and various criticisms of him, he is the most acceptable politician in today’s world—as well as a couple of Republicans.”

During Wednesday’s live broadcast The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, host Vladimir Solovyov—who recently spent time in meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin—detailed the only semi-plausible scenario of Moscow eventually escaping consequences for invading Ukraine. Solovyov said, “I liked it a lot when the White House said, “We have no opportunity to talk. Throw us a pass so that we’ll want to talk to you.” And we say, “We don’t want to. Maybe you want to talk, but we don’t. We don’t want to take any steps towards you. We’ll wait for Trump.”

Donald Trump, friend of dictators and murderers all over the world.

[LFC]

The largest gas pipeline from Russia to Europe was closed for "maintenance." The failure of European nations to reduce / cut its dependence on fossil fuels from an unstable nation ruled by a really unstable despot is coming back to bite them. Hopefully they'll wake up like Germany has.

The spigot on Europe’s largest gas pipeline funneling Russian gas into the bloc closed at 6 a.m. Monday for a ten-day maintenance, and almost no one believes it will be turned back on as scheduled.

Repairs on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline—which carries 55 billion cubic meters of gas each year from Russia across the Baltic Sea into Germany—are expected to give the Kremlin an opportunity to show just how reliant Europe is on Russian gas. An extended closure will undoubtedly also underscore the hypocrisy of sanctions—which exempt Russian gas—that have for the most part meant Russia is actually earning more on fuel exports than in the last decade.

Russia’s Gazprom also suddenly reduced gas flow by a third into Italy on Monday, citing unplanned repair work, which means one of the backup pipelines for Nord Stream’s scheduled maintenance is also drying up.

The summer gas flows are largely used to fill reservoirs for the winter months, which were depleted after Russia reduced exports when the war in Ukraine broke out. Russia also cut off Poland, Bulgaria, Finland and the Netherlands entirely after those countries refused to pay for the gas in rubles.

Energy experts across Europe have warned for weeks that sanctions give the Kremlin incentive to further weaponize Europe’s unbalanced dependence on Russian fuel. The bloc’s largest importers Germany and Italy have launched plans to reduce their dependence on Russian gas, but neither country can effectively do so before 2023.

[LFC]

Putin has turned his stink-eye on Russian expats who are stepping out of line.

The Russian government has added a new target to its geopolitical shit list: expat social media influencers.

As first reported by Bloomberg Monday, Russian-born social media influencers living outside the country are reportedly being targeted by government officials for discussing or posting about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, something the government insists isn’t actually really a war at all. The expats claim those officials are trying to censor their speech by threatening to prosecute them under a recently passed fake news law prohibiting criticism of Russia’s so-called “special military operation.” Violators of that law risk facing up to 15 years in prison.

Expats charged under the fake news decree vary in background, from journalists and political opposition figures to science fiction writers and lifestyle influencers. Izabella Evloeva, a Russian-born journalist living in Latvia, was reportedly sentenced to three years in prison for a Telegram post where she said the “Z” sign used by supporters of the war is a, “synonym for aggression, death, pain and shameless manipulation.” Alexei Navalny ally Violetta Grudina and journalist Alexander Nevzorov were both reportedly charged for spreading false information about the military on their socials.

A number of those influencers were also reportedly dubbed “foreign agents,” by Russian social media regulators. Under that designation, users are reportedly required to write a 24-word disclaimer accompanying each of their social media posts, a designation that risks scaring away potential advertisers. Failure to do so can reportedly result in criminal charges for those influencers if they return to Russia.

“The point is to destroy the audience’s trust as in the mass consciousness as the term ‘foreign agent’ is closely associated with Stalinist repressions, and to jeopardize their advertising revenue as advertisers contact them less,” Maria Kuznetsova, a spokesperson for rights group OVD-Info said in an interview with Bloomberg.

[LFC]

Things aren't going smoothly for Putin and he clearly feels the need for some kind of reset.

Russia’s State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin announced an emergency session Monday, calling back Russian lawmakers for an “extraordinary” meeting just as representatives went out for summer vacation, raising alarm that Russia’s parliament might be preparing to escalate the war in Ukraine.

“The need for an extraordinary plenary meeting is due to the fact that issues have accumulated that require urgent solutions,” Volodin said on Telegram. “Government initiatives will also be considered.”

The head of the United Russia party, Vladimir Vasilyev, chimed in as well.

“It is necessary that the processes going on now receive a legal response,” Vasilyev said on Telegram.

It was not immediately clear what goals the emergency session will achieve specifically, but Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warnings in recent days have colored the haziness about the emergency callback with an ominous tinge. The emergency meeting comes just days after Putin noted that he hasn’t even gotten serious about the war yet, according to Reuters.

[LFC]

Russia suffers another self-inflicted wound. I wonder how big the technology benefits were from not being an asshole nation. Now they're gone and I doubt they'll come back, at least not while Putin survives.

The European Space Agency has officially terminated cooperation with Russia on a mission to put a rover on Mars, with Russia's space chief furiously responding by banning cosmonauts on the ISS from using a Europe-made robotic arm.

The ESA had previously suspended ties on the joint ExoMars mission, which had planned to use Russian rockets to put Europe's Rosalind Franklin rover on the red planet to drill for signs of life, due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

ESA Director-General Josef Aschbacher tweeted on Tuesday that because the war and resulting sanctions "continue to prevail", the agency would "officially terminate" ties with Russia on ExoMars and its landing platform.

The firebrand head of Russian space agency Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin issued an angry response.

"Has the head of the European Space Agency thought about the work of thousands of scientists and engineers in Europe and Russia which has been ended by this decision? Is he prepared to answer for sabotaging a joint Mars mission?" Rogozin said on Telegram.

"I, in turn, order our crew on the ISS to stop working with the European manipulator ERA," he added.

Installed just a few months ago, the European Robotic Arm (ERA) is one of three such robots on the International Space Station, but it is the only one that can reach the Russian segment.

[LFC]

Sounds like Putin isn't happy with his head spaceman's firey rhetoric. I suspect he understands that being cut off from Western space technology and funding isn't helpful to Russia.

On Friday, the Russian government announced the dismissal of Dmitry Rogozin from Roscosmos, appointing Yury Borisov, Russia’s deputy prime minister, to the agency’s top role. The decree is effective immediately, according to a brief communique by the Kremlin.

Russian space chief Dmitry Rogozin was dismissed from his position just days after he lashed out against the European Space Agency, threatening to restrict access to a robotic arm attached to the International Space Station. It was one in a long string of outbursts that came to characterize his blustery four-year tenure at Roscosmos.

Indeed, Rogozin had a turbulent run as head of the Russian space agency, and things escalated recently with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He spoke out in support of the ongoing war, expressing dismay at the international sanctions imposed against Russia by the U.S. and Europe. Rogozin constantly threatened to pull out of the ISS, endangering a longstanding partnership with NASA and the European Space Agency. In March, Russian state media posted a fabricated video made by Roscosmos of Russian cosmonauts packing up their belongings and seemingly departing from the ISS for good, detaching the Russian module from the orbital station.

[LFC]

Just Russia being Russia. I have long found it interesting that so often the more authoritarian a state or organization becomes the more infantile its rhetoric becomes.

Russia’s Trade Ministry has decided that white copy paper is now dangerous for Russians’ health and must be avoided at all costs.

“We have learned that this kind of gleaming, white office paper is harmful to human health,” Deputy Trade Minister Oleg Bocharov said, according to RIA Novosti.

“It turns out that paper with a rougher texture is better for your eyes.”

The reality is much simpler: Sanctions imposed on Russia after President Vladimir Putin ordered the illegal invasion of Ukraine in February has left paper manufacturers without whitening chemicals for paper. Normally, Russian manufacturers relied on imports from Finland to do the trick.

But the government is scrambling for a way to explain away the changes in paper quality—particularly because officials have yet to formally admit that Russian forces are fighting a full-fledged war and continue to claim that they are not attacking Ukrainian cities. Kremlin officials continue to tell Russians that their forces are simply a part of a “special military operation” meant to demilitarize Ukraine.

[LFC]

Russia is angry about videos on YouTube and has issue fines. Sounds like quite the pissing contest.

Google came under fire from Russian authorities yet again on Monday for the company’s ongoing flubs in removing content that the country had deemed illegal. Specifically, according to an official Telegram post from the Roskomnadzor, Russia’s telecom regulator, the company had failed to pull down clips from Russian YouTube that promoted “extremism and terrorism,” and anti-Russian propaganda centered on the country’s ongoing war with Ukraine. For these failures, Google’s being charged just over 21 billion rubles—or about $364 million USD.

Right now, YouTube is the last Western platform still standing in Russia following the country’s crackdown on Facebook and Twitter this past March over the two platform’s failure to pull content deemed to contain “misinformation” about the war in Ukraine. But while Russian authorities have fully banned Facebook and Instagram and restricted most citizen’s access to Twitter, officials have made it pretty clear that there are no plans to axe access to the video-streaming platform—at least not yet.

People have come up with different theories for why Russian authorities just can’t quit YouTube, but the prevailing one is that the platform is simply too sophisticated to recreate on Russian soil. Facebook and Twitter, meanwhile, were quickly replaced with the popular Russian social network VK and the somewhat questionable messaging app Telegram, respectively.

Russian authorities might not be willing to fully give Google the boot, but they haven’t made things easy for the tech giant, either. Earlier this year, Russian bailiffs seized 7.7 billion roubles—about $143 million—from the company’s bank accounts after it had failed to cough up a fine it had been issued over alleged anti-Russian content last year.

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, is worth some $1.5 trillion, but the Russian government’s fines have been enough for Google’s Russian wing to file for bankruptcy in their immediate wake.

[LFC]

Europe is paying the price for depending upon Russian gas.

Russia's Gazprom has told customers in Europe it cannot guarantee gas supplies because of 'extraordinary' circumstances, according to a letter seen by Reuters, upping the ante in an economic tit-for-tat with the West over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The July 14 letter from the Russian state gas monopoly said it was retroactively declaring force majeure on supplies dating from June 14. The news comes as Nord Stream 1, the key pipeline delivering Russian gas to Germany and beyond, is undergoing annual maintenance meant to conclude on Thursday.

The letter added to Europe's fears that Moscow could keep the pipeline mothballed in retaliation for sanctions imposed on Russia over the war in Ukraine, heightening an energy crisis that risks tipping the region into recession.

Known as an 'act of God' clause, force majeure is standard in business contracts and spells out extreme circumstances that excuse a party from their legal obligations.

Gazprom did not respond to a request for comment.

Russian gas supplies have been declining via major routes for some months, including via Ukraine and Belarus as well as through Nord Stream 1 under the Baltic Sea.

A trading source, asking not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the force majeure concerned supplies through Nord Stream 1.

"This sounds like a first hint that the gas supplies via NS1 will possibly not resume after the 10-day maintenance has ended," said Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN Amro.

“Depending on what ‘extraordinary’ circumstances have in mind in order to declare the force majeure, and whether these issues are technical or more political, it could mean the next step in escalation between Russia and Europe/Germany," he added.

[AnBr]

Good way to make the pipeline obsolete. Europe cannot wait it out. They will need to step on it to convert to other types and sources for energy. Short term pain, long term FU Putin and Russia.

[jackd]

Can they hold out in the meantime?

[andydp]

This popped up on my Morning Feed:

Russia tasks mercenaries with frontline sectors as infantry losses mount - UK

KYIV, July 29 (Reuters) - Russia has tasked mercenaries to hold sections of the frontline in Ukraine in a sign it is running short of combat infantry, Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Friday, as Kyiv steps up a counter-offensive in the south.

Greater reliance on paid fighters from the Russian private military company Wagner Group for frontline duties rather than their usual work in special operations would be another sign that Russia's military is under stress six months into its war in Ukraine.

www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-bombs-russian-forces-drive-retake-south-2022-07-28/

Comment:  Looks like that Crimea bridge is either heavily damaged or not usable.  If the Crimea is completely cut off, there's few ways of bringing supplies.  If they start using ships for resupply, that would be a "free fire drone zone". 

[LFC]

More on how Western sanctions are destroying Russia's economy. I wonder if he's now desperately looking for a face saving way to declare victory and make it all stop, or if he's so insane and committed that he just doesn't give a shit and won't unless his ability to bully Ukraine collapses.

On Tuesday, Axios reported that a new paper headed up by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld of Yale University suggests Western sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine are doing their job — and decimating the Russian economy.

"The paper's results include sobering facts about the Russian economy," the report states. "'Russian imports have largely collapsed,' the paper says — creating massive supply shortages and denying the country crucial parts and technologies.

The exodus of over 1,000 global companies from Russia has severely damaged its economy, the authors argue, and any posturing of strength or resilience by Moscow is not an accurate reflection of what's actually going on. Official data coming out of Russia are not true, they said.

This on fossil fuel exports.

Making matters worse for Russia, their one bit of leverage of Europe — cutting exports of natural gas — doesn't appear to be working, because only 46 percent of Europe's gas comes from Russia, whereas 83 percent of Russian natural gas exports go to Europe, meaning the cuts actually hurt Russia more than Europe.

But, according to the study, Russia needs Europe as an energy customer to a greater degree than Europe needs Russian natural gas.

At what point does their economy collapse? Can they outlast Biden's administration? Can they expect Europe to blink over gas when they've given them every reason to be scared as shit about their hostility?

[andydp]

Based on what we've seen about Russian Military capabilities, I have the feeling we would have won in Europe. 

We saw a show once, where they discussed Russian military strength, capabilities, etc.  One factor that made a lot of sense to us, the Russian would have to expend a lot of manpower securing their supply lines through their "allies" like Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia. 

 Russia Failing To Gain Air Superiority As U.S. HIMARS Hit SAMs: Pentagon

American weapons have stopped Russia gaining air superiority in the Ukraine war, the Pentagon has said.

Ukraine has used the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, to strike dozens of Russian command-and-control sites, ammunition depots, and other targets as it begins a counter-offensive to take back the key southern city of Kherson.


www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russia-failing-to-gain-air-superiority-as-us-himars-hit-sams-pentagon/ar-AA1083oI

[LFC]

Netherlands is moving to increase its nuclear power. Putin has really put energy independence, or at least lack of dependence on Russia, front and center in European nations.

The Dutch government will reveal plans this week to develop two new nuclear power stations, in what will be “a good addition to all sustainable techniques” in the Netherlands, Climate and Energy Minister Rob Jetten has said.

“We are fully committed to wind, sun and other sustainable energy sources. But you also want a stable CO2-free energy source in that energy mix,” he added, according to NL Times.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February and Gazprom cutting gas supplies to the Netherlands after wholesaler GasTerra refused to bow to the Kremlin’s demand to pay in roubles for fear of breaching EU sanctions, a majority in the Dutch House of Representatives urged Jetten to develop further plans for nuclear energy.

Following the coalition agreement, which will prepare “for the construction of new nuclear power plants,” the government allocated €5 billion for the initial development, Dutch broadcaster NOS reported. The government’s next step is to find parties to build and operate the plants.

[LFC]

This analyst says Russia has done massive long-term damage to their military capabilities.

The long-term damage to the Russian army, marines, VDV from this war cannot be overstated. It goes beyond the numbers of men killed and equipment destroyed. This will also be a story of a military generation that is damaged or gone, and who remains. /1

Heavy losses to what professional NCOs RS had, junior + field-grade officers means that the group of people who signed up in the last 10-15 years, when the military tried to reform and who knew something even a little different than 90s or Soviet military life, are gone /2

When this is over, the parts of those service branches left unscathed are conscripts, those officers or NCOs they didn't trust to go in the first place (who are back at home garrisons), senior officers who received commissions as Soviet officers (50/60 year olds) and/3

....those who survived in Ukraine, bringing back combat stress/trauma/criminality with them, right back into the barracks. This will be a toxic brew for incoming conscripts for years to come. Without significant oversight the conditions hazing could get out of control /4

Then, add in the mass casualty events that the Russian military has not coped with since WW2, being sent in unprepared for the Kremlin's war of choice, the lies, the war crimes, atrocities, the list goes on and on. /5

In sum, the numbers of Russian casualties are severe enough -- but the damage that will ricochet around inside those service branches after this war is over, will be worse.

www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-taking-hundreds-casualties-daily-ukraine-war-us-official-2022-07-22/

[LFC]

Things must be getting real bad as Putin's batshit crazy rhetoric continues to ramp up. If he thinks his country is in deep shit now he has no idea what would happen if he creates a massive nuclear fallout event.

Russia has threatened that it is prepared to blow up Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, in the latest indication that Russia’s war in Ukraine could be headed towards a nuclear disaster.

The head of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops nuclear power plant, Major General Valery Vasiliev, claimed that Russians had mined the nuclear power plant, according to Energoatam, a Ukrainian state nuclear agency.

“There will be either Russian land or a scorched desert,” Vasiliev said, according to Energoatam. “The enemy knows that the station will be either Russian or no one's. We are ready for the consequences of this step.”

Located in the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar along the Dnipro river, which is now Russian-occupied, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is standing perilously close to the frontlines of battle between the two warring countries. On Friday, Russians shelled the power plant twice, damaging critical infrastructure and radiation sensors.

The attacks continued throughout the weekend. Energoatom said in a Telegram post on Friday the attacks came within hours of each other, with the second attack using rocket-propelled grenades that struck Zaporizhzhia “near one of the power units where the nuclear reactor is located,” the company said.

“There are risks of hydrogen leakage and sputtering of radioactive substances. Fire danger is high.” On Sunday, as more explosions could be heard, the company posted again, warning: “This time a nuclear catastrophe was miraculously avoided, but miracles cannot last forever.”

The plant is in control of the Russians though it is handled by Ukrainians, with both sides blaming each other for the attacks. As tensions of the power plant have ratcheted up, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a grim warning following talks with European Council President Charles Michel.

“God forbid something irreparable will happen—and no one will stop the wind that will spread the radioactive contamination," Zelensky said. "Russian nuclear terror requires a stronger response from the international community—sanctions on the Russian nuclear industry and nuclear fuel.”

[goldenvalley]

Aug 8, 2022 21:00:05 GMT LFC said:

Things must be getting real bad as Putin's batshit crazy rhetoric continues to ramp up. If he thinks his country is in deep shit now he has no idea what would happen if he creates a massive nuclear fallout event.

Russia has threatened that it is prepared to blow up Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, in the latest indication that Russia’s war in Ukraine could be headed towards a nuclear disaster.

The head of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops nuclear power plant, Major General Valery Vasiliev, claimed that Russians had mined the nuclear power plant, according to Energoatam, a Ukrainian state nuclear agency.

“There will be either Russian land or a scorched desert,” Vasiliev said, according to Energoatam. “The enemy knows that the station will be either Russian or no one's. We are ready for the consequences of this step.”

Located in the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar along the Dnipro river, which is now Russian-occupied, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is standing perilously close to the frontlines of battle between the two warring countries. On Friday, Russians shelled the power plant twice, damaging critical infrastructure and radiation sensors.

The attacks continued throughout the weekend. Energoatom said in a Telegram post on Friday the attacks came within hours of each other, with the second attack using rocket-propelled grenades that struck Zaporizhzhia “near one of the power units where the nuclear reactor is located,” the company said.

“There are risks of hydrogen leakage and sputtering of radioactive substances. Fire danger is high.” On Sunday, as more explosions could be heard, the company posted again, warning: “This time a nuclear catastrophe was miraculously avoided, but miracles cannot last forever.”

The plant is in control of the Russians though it is handled by Ukrainians, with both sides blaming each other for the attacks. As tensions of the power plant have ratcheted up, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a grim warning following talks with European Council President Charles Michel.

“God forbid something irreparable will happen—and no one will stop the wind that will spread the radioactive contamination," Zelensky said. "Russian nuclear terror requires a stronger response from the international community—sanctions on the Russian nuclear industry and nuclear fuel.”

Stupid Russians stomping around in a nuclear facility.  What could go wrong?

[LFC]

Despots of a feather...

[LFC]

China goes full "Look what you made them do!" in defense of Russia.

China, which Russia has sought as an ally since being cold-shouldered by the West over its invasion of Ukraine, has called the United States the "main instigator" of the crisis.

In an interview with the Russian state news agency TASS published on Wednesday, China's ambassador to Moscow, Zhang Hanhui, accused Washington of backing Russia into a corner with repeated expansions of the NATO defence alliance and support for forces seeking to align Ukraine with the European Union rather than Moscow.

"As the initiator and main instigator of the Ukrainian crisis, Washington, while imposing unprecedented comprehensive sanctions on Russia, continues to supply arms and military equipment to Ukraine," Zhang was quoted as saying.

"Their ultimate goal is to exhaust and crush Russia with a protracted war and the cudgel of sanctions."

The ambassador's reasoning closely followed one of Russia's own justifications of its invasion of Ukraine, which has resulted in thousands of deaths and the devastation of entire cities, as well as driving more than a quarter of the population to flee their homes.

[andydp]

Meanwhile, on the southern Russian border...

North Korea coming to Russia’s rescue in Ukraine ?

Reports that Pyongyang could supply as many as 100,000 volunteers to Russia’s war effort are way off the mark

According to the New York Post, 100,000 North Korean “volunteers,” armed with “counter battery experience,” could be deployed to assist the Russian military effort in Ukraine.

The possibility, citing unreferenced reports, was raised in a state-run TV program of Russia’s Channel One by defense pundit Igor Korotchenko. Korotchenko’s segment drew a surprised smile from a fellow panelist, and expressions of some bemusement subsequently.

According to experts who spoke with Asia Times, Korotchenko’s contention is dubious for multiple reasons. Yet, at a time when a controversial “legion” of international volunteers is fighting on Ukraine’s side, the experts do not discount the story completely.

asiatimes.com/2022/08/north-korea-coming-to-russias-rescue-in-ukraine/?fbclid=IwAR0j6YqsxGNH9R5q3SIq4mgs4WLXPpuZt79-g7elAZk9H4VFnrQrQooceVY

From a FB comment where I got this article:

I should add that one point raised during the interviews for this story is that - according to defectors who have served - the rank and file KPA troops are not well trained, and are used for very basic and repetitive tasks, including labor and agriculture. So the "10-year-service" obligation can be misleading. OTOH, elite units - strategic rocket forces, their latest tactical artillery/MLRS units, and the vast grouping of "special forces" - light infantry, paras, marine commandos and legit tier-one units - are probably very good. Overall, Russian troops - remember Putin is using exclusively professional ("kontraktniki") troops and volunteers for this war - are probably better trained. The Russian conscript mass? I dont know.

[pnwguy]

Aug 10, 2022 19:39:59 GMT andydp said:

Meanwhile, on the southern Russian border...

North Korea coming to Russia’s rescue in Ukraine ?

Beetlejuice will demand a Nobel Prize for putting Putin and Kim together for helping Russia bring "peace to Ukraine".

[LFC]

Putin's lashing out ... again. His unjust war and abundant war crimes are making him a pariah and Russia along with him. And outside of an actual attack on a NATO member could he do any more to strengthen the alliance?

Latvia’s parliament has moved to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine—and the Kremlin does not appear to be taking it well.

Russia is committing a “genocide against the Ukrainian people,” Latvian MPs said in a statement Thursday, according to AFP. Russia “uses suffering and intimidation as tools in its attempts to weaken the morale of the Ukrainian people and armed forces, and to paralyze the functioning of the state in order to occupy Ukraine.”

Over 40 countries have already committed to helping document and investigate Russia’s suspected war crimes and atrocities in Ukraine, from the senseless killing of civilians, to rapes, to mass graves. The International Criminal Court might be putting forward a case as soon as this winter.

Already, Russian officials and lawmakers are indignant at the news that another government believes the country’s behavior on the world stage is as vile as terrorists’ behavior, and claiming there's no evidence behind it.

“Given that there are no facts behind this decision but only savage xenophobia, the authors of this idea should be called nothing but neo-Nazis,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, claimed on Telegram.

[LFC]

Russia's state media is having a little meltdown over Trump being busted with classified materials. I found it amusing that they referred to him as "our agent Trump."

Concerns are swirling within the Kremlin and splashing onto the screens of Russia’s tightly controlled state media. Moscow’s grueling invasion of Ukraine and Washington’s potential designation of Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism are at the top of the list—but the upcoming U.S. elections are likewise causing some heart palpitations.

Having gotten over their initial shock over the FBI’s search of Donald Trump’s Florida estate, Russian experts and pundits started to dismiss it as much ado about nothing, albeit a convenient tale they could use to smear American democracy. Now they’re singing a different tune. Inhe most recent broadcast of the state TV show Sunday Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, host Vladimir Solovyov remarked: “I’m very worried for our agent Trump. They found everything at Mar-a-Lago, they got packages of documents. In all seriousness, they say he should be executed as a person that was ready to hand off nuclear secrets to Russia.”

Appearing on Solovyov’s show, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova likewise raged against the alleged persecution of Moscow’s favorite former U.S. president. In a bizarre tirade, she attempted to tie the search of Mar-a-Lago with Trump’s earlier statement that there are only two genders, male and female. “In the West, you’re not allowed to call a man a man. You can’t call a woman a woman. You’re not allowed to call a child male or female, until it reaches the age of 2-3 years old,” she fumed. “In the run-up to the upcoming electoral battles, one of the contenders for a political role—the most important political role in the United States—Donald Trump steps up and says, ‘We’ve gone too far. There are only two genders: male and female.’”

Zakharova then implied that the search of Trump’s property was somehow related to his stance on gender identity. “Immediately, practically momentarily, dozens of cars of U.S. intelligence agencies, dozens—approaching hundreds—of special agents, FBI and so on, searched his home, seized boxes of some papers... and started to say that he broke the law—attention—on espionage! Five minutes from now, this man could be declared an American spy.”

Solovyov chimed in: “[He could be declared] a Russian spy... Will we try to exchange him to bring Trump to Russia? Will they include Trump on the prisoner exchange list?” A day before, the host had bemoaned “repressions” against Trump and complained about what a terrible mess the U.S. had become on his radio show. Nonetheless, the decorated Russian propagandist boasted about not being sanctioned by the United States, even though his visa recently expired. Waiting for a better political climate, Solovyov decided not to renew it just yet.

They really are working hand in hand with the Republican traitors, but I repeat myself.

More than ever, Russian state media is stressing the need to influence Americans in the run-up to the midterms and the future presidential election. Kremlin-controlled talking heads are hoping out loud that Americans will see things their way, opting to concentrate on internal issues, abandoning Ukraine and letting go of the sanctions against Russia.

In addition to their convenient talking points, furthered by the likes of Fox News’ Tucker Carlson and former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, Russian state media has also announced that it would like to pipe news from Russia straight into the U.S. During Monday’s broadcast of The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, Americanist Dmitry Drobnitsky said: “The main point of polarization is fast approaching. In November, people in the West have to hear the Russian news, especially in light of the growing interest... We need to break through those barriers, why isn’t anyone doing that? That will be one of the most important components of our future success.”