Strange States: Transnistria
Will Russia Establish A Land Bridge To Transnistria & Re-create Novorossiya?
(Scroll down for news updates)
While the EU & NATO continue beating World War III drums over the invasion of Ukraine and the referenda in the provinces of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye & Kherson voting to unify with the Russian Federation, they have ignored one of the strangest states in the world: the separatist stronghold of Transnistria (Transdniestria) pinched between Moldova’s Dniester River and Ukraine’s western border. Even though the self-proclaimed Transnistrian Moldovan Republic prints its own currency, has its own flag and national anthem, it’s not recognized by any other nation on the planet. One of the aims of the Russian invasion is surely the re-creation of Novorossiya, formerly part of the Russian Empire, but attached to Ukraine by Lenin in 1922. With Moldova & Ukraine still discussing EU/NATO membership with Brussels, what would happen to this Russian exclave between them?
“According to a statement by Russian senior military commander, Gen. Rustam Minnekayev, the Russian plan is to link-up the Donbass and Crimea with Transnistrian forces: ‘And in a line that will be concerning to Chișinău, he is also reported to have said that control of Ukraine’s south will give Russia another gateway to Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria. Control over the south of Ukraine is another way to Transnistria, where there is also evidence that the Russian-speaking population is being oppressed,’ Tass quoted Minnekayev as saying at a meeting in Russia’s central Sverdlovsk region.” (nytimes.com 4/22/22)
Formally part of the Republic of Moldova, the breakaway state has its capital in Tiraspol on the Dniester River. Founded in 1795 as a result of the Treaty of Jassy (Moldavia) following the Russo-Turkish War (1787-1792) in which Catherine the Great successfully established dominance over Crimea and the Black Sea, Tiraspol developed around a fort built to secure Russian gains against the Ottomans between the Dniester and Bug Rivers.
Moldova proper was known as Bessarabia, a suzerain of the Ottoman Empire, but was ceded to Russia in 1812 and remained under Tsarist rule until after WWI when it became part of Greater Romania. One of the founders of Russian literature, Alexander Pushkin, was exiled to Chisinau from 1820-23 by Tsar Alexander I for his controversial political poems. Moldova’s rich multiculturalism inspired numerous Pushkin compositions, including The Gypsies, the basis of Rachmaninoff’s opera Aleko and the first drafts of his classic Eugene Onegin.
Historically distinct from Moldova proper, Tiraspol became the capital of a thin strip known as the Moldovan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic from 1924 to 1940 that was occupied by the Nazis in 1941, then retaken by the Soviets in 1944. After the Nazi defeat in Romania, the Soviets created the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, including the historically autonomous strip across the Dniester. With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the Soviet Union fracturing, Transnistria proclaimed independence in 1990. When the Soviet Union collapsed in August 1991, Moldova declared its independence as a republic, joining the UN in 1992.
A civil war broke out between Transnistrian Republican Guards and the Moldovan National Army when the latter’s troops attempted to seize Dubăsari in December, 1991. The Moldovans were repelled, but the Transnistrian War required the intervention of the Russian army to secure a shaky 1992 ceasefire that remains in effect today, along with its troops. Thus, Ukraine was pinched between a trifecta of Russian forces in Donbass, Transnistria and Crimea.
Compounding the problems for Moldova as a state is the bulk of electricity and industrial production are across the river in Transnistria. Moldova never had a history of self-governance under the Ottomans, Romanians or Soviets, so its growing pains have been a challenge. For example, in October 2021, Moldova declared a state of emergency after Russia’s state-sponsored Gazprom threatened to substantially raise prices. The EU claimed Russia was weaponizing gas prices to “bully” Moldova. Gazprom reminded Moldova the $700 million debt it owed would be due immediately if a deal moving forward was not sealed. The emergency was averted when both sides struck two new deals, one for the gas debt and a five-year deal for natural gas.
“In many ways, the Transnistria conflict presaged the methodology of Russia’s conflict undertakings in South Ossetia and Abkhazia against Georgia, and later in Crimea against Ukraine. It was also the Transnistria conflict that set the pattern of Western tolerance of Russia’s conduct in its claimed sphere of special interests” (International Center For Defense & Security 8/15/14); it was the same “frozen conflict” strategy the Russians had been deploying in Donetsk & Lugansk before the invasion of Ukraine on 2/24/22.
In 2014/2015 the Ukrainian Army lost a war with Russian-backed militias in Donbass. Their subsequent capitulation led to the signing of the Minsk Agreements between Ukraine, Russia, the OSCE (Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe) and Donbass leaders in order to secure a ceasefire. Minsk II was implemented when the first agreement failed, with Germany and France joining to create the “Normandy Format” to keep the peace talks going, but intermittent fighting continued.
"‘I wouldn't really want the conflict in Donbass to become frozen, I wouldn't really want us to have a kind of Transnistria or Abkhazia there,’ Ukrainian President Zelensky said during a press event in Kyiv… when asked about scenarios, including a frozen conflict in Donbass, if a Normandy summit fails to reach an agreement.”
President Zelensky said he would not exclude such a scenario. ‘And what is happening there now? Now we virtually have a Transnistria there... The only difference between temporarily occupied Donbass and Transnistria or Abkhazia today is that shots are fired there [in eastern Ukraine], that's it. But physically it doesn't matter whether we are going to have a fence or a mine field... That is, if there are no relations and we don't recognize that is a separate territory, it will be a Transnistria. I wouldn't want that, I wouldn't really want it.’" (Unian.com 10/19/19)
On November 30, 2021, President Putin warned NATO against stationing troops and weapons in Ukraine, saying it would cross a red line for Russia. Many Western media outlets reported on December 7, 2021 that President Biden told Putin “where to shove his red lines” during their two-hour video summit.
Treaty between The United States of America and the Russian Federation on security guarantees (12/17/21):
“The United States of America shall undertake to prevent further eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and deny accession to the Alliance to the States of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
The United States of America shall not establish military bases in the territory of the States of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics that are not members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, use their infrastructure for any military activities or develop bilateral military cooperation with them.”
On December 17, 2021 Russia also proposed the “Agreement on measures to ensure the security of The Russian Federation and member States of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization,” but received no response for a month.
Following January 2022 talks between the US, NATO, OSCE & the Russian Federation in Geneva & Brussels respectively, the State Department chose to ignore Russia’s request for security guarantees to not expand into Ukraine and Georgia, stating: “Washington will not consider Russian proposals on no expansion of NATO, and has no intention of even discussing the idea”. This was immediately followed by US Democrat senators led by Bob Menendez introducing the "Defending Ukraine Sovereignty Act of 2022," which declared the US would support continued NATO expansion into Ukraine. The Russian response was to threaten stationing military assets in Cuba and Venezuela.
On January 25, 2022, RT reported two nuclear armed warships, the Soobrazitelnyy and Stoikiy of the Baltic Fleet “have been launched from their home port of Baltiys and embarked on a long-destance mission”. The two ships were most likely headed to Cuba and Venezuela to checkmate the US & NATO.
Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Grushko responded in Brussels: "Russia honestly and directly pointed out to NATO that a further slide of the situation could lead to dire consequences for European security.” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Rybakov added: "I see no reason to organize a new round of talks on security guarantees in the near future. The rejection by the US of key security guarantee proposals is leading the situation to a standstill.” He stressed, once again, that Russia’s red line is unmovable: “For us, it’s absolutely mandatory to make sure that Ukraine never, never, ever becomes a member of NATO.”
“Since the beginning of Russian (pre-invasion) aggression in Ukraine over 100 military exercises have been held in Transnistria, and they are important because exercises by the Russian occupation forces there include both local Transnistrian armed formations and the Russian ‘peacekeeping contingent.’ Participants in the exercises strive to frighten Moldova with an imitation of a crossing of the Dniester River by the use of military pontoon bridges.” (Euromaidenpress.com)
The Russians have stated the American Democrat bill is a declaration of war. “‘We are calling on the US to demonstrate a maximum of responsibility at this moment. Risks related to a possible increase of confrontation shouldn’t be underestimated,’ Ryabkov said, adding that ‘significant’ effort has been made to persuade the Americans that ‘playing with fire’ is not in their interests.” (rt.com 1/10/2022)
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference during the January 2022 talks, “The several hundred American and Brit ‘instructors’ directly interfering in Donbass will ‘cross all red lines’ and mean a direct clash between Russian people and NATO military.”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg replied: “Only Ukraine and 30 allies can decide when Ukraine becomes a member...Russia does not have a veto.”
In closing the week of talks, Lavrov said: “Patience has come to an end. We are very patient…we have been harnessing [burdens] for a very long time, and now it’s time for us to go.”
Ukraine’s crisis was indeed existential, surrounded on three fronts by one of the most powerful militaries on the planet, with the Minsk II agreement the only way forward. In fact, German Foreign Minister Annalenna Baerbock stated the obvious following her January 18 meeting with Sergey Lavrov in Moscow: "Now it is important to flesh out the Normandy process again in order to move forward with the implementation of the Minsk agreements. This would contribute to the reinforcement of security in Europe. It is encouraging that all sides to the Normandy Format and Minsk Agreements stated their adherence to the Agreements.” Yet, Transnistria remained a wild card, as it was not part of the Minsk II Agreements.
French President Macron, realizing the world was fast approaching war, agreed with the German Foreign Minister on January 19, 2022 and called for European talks with Russia to ensure its own security: “And we see that looking at the dialogue that the US and Russia are currently undertaking. I think that it is good for there to be coordination between Europe and the US, but it is vital that Europe has its own dialogue with Russia.”
Yet, after a meeting in Geneva between the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Sergey Lavrov on January 21, 2022, Blinken stated: “I made clear to Minister Lavrov that there are certain principles that the US, our partners and allies, are committed to defend. That includes those that would impede the sovereign right of the Ukrainian people to write their own future. There is no trade-space there – none.”
Lavrov’s response: “Further US disregard for Russia's security guarantee requirements would have the most serious consequences.”
On January 24, 2022, President Zelensky stated: “We have learned to contain external threats. It is time to launch an offensive to secure our national interests. We are united in wanting our territory returned immediately”.
Kremlin spokesman Peskov responded the same day: "Indeed, the Ukrainian authorities are concentrating a huge amount of forces and equipment on the border with the self-proclaimed republics on the line of contact. Indeed, the nature of this concentration points to preparations for offensive operations, and, indeed, there is such a threat now. The threat of provocations from Kiev in Donbass is now very high, even higher than before".
Speaking to the Duma on January 26, 2022, Foreign Minister Lavrov confirmed Russia’s threat to arm Cuba and Venezuela in response to NATO encroachment was real: “President Putin held recent telephone conversations with his colleagues from these three governments (Cuba, Venezuela & Nicaragua), with whom we are very close and friendly, and they agreed to look at further ways to deepen our strategic partnership in all areas, with no exceptions”. He noted Russia already has close relations with these countries in many spheres, “including military and military-technical.”
After receiving an official non-response concerning NATO expansion from the US State Department on January 27, 2022, Foreign Minister Lavrov diplomatically stated, "The content of the US response on security guarantees allows you to count on a serious conversation, but on secondary topics. There is no answer to the most important question - about the non-expansion of NATO to the east and deployment of strike weapons that can pose a threat to the territory of Russia, which we consider unacceptable."
He added in a letter to all NATO member nations: “I am referring to our demands that everyone faithfully implement the agreements on the indivisibility of security that were reached within the OSCE in 1999 in Istanbul and in 2010 in Astana. These agreements provide not only for the freedom to choose alliances, but also make this freedom conditional on the need to avoid any steps that will strengthen the security of any state at the expense of infringing on the security of others…Our Western colleagues are not simply trying to ignore this key principle of international law agreed in the Euro-Atlantic space, but to completely forget it.”
Despite Ukraine and Russia agreeing to an unconditional ceasefire along with Germany and France through the Normandy Format on January 27 (which excludes the United States), Tass reported on January 28, 2022: "‘According to our intelligence, the Ukrainian General Staff under the guidance of US advisers at the Ukrainian Defense Ministry is putting final touches to a plan for an offensive operation in Donbass. The date of aggression against the people’s republics will be set when the attack groups have been created and the operation’s plan approved by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council,’ the Deputy Chief of the Donetsk Peoples’ Republic Militia said.”
Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Vasily Nebenzya at the UN Security Council on January 31: “The situation in Ukraine can be corrected only if Kiev fulfills the Minsk agreements, which primarily provide for a direct dialogue with Donetsk and Lugansk.”
Also on January 31 Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "The hysteria that the United States is instigating is, indeed, leading to hysteria in Ukraine where people are almost packing frontline bags. This is obvious and this is a fact. This is the downside of this very malicious and damaging campaign being run by Washington. We consistently criticize this stance and call on Washington and its allies on the European continent to give up this policy and assume a constructive, calm and balanced approach.” (tass.com 1/31/22)
“On February 1, 2022 Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzya stated the situation in Donbass is an internal Ukrainian problem that can only be resolved by the government in Kiev and its implementation of the Minsk agreements, ‘which primarily provide for direct dialogue with Donetsk and Lugansk.’
‘If our Western colleagues are pushing Kiev to sabotage the Minsk agreements, which the Ukrainian authorities are happy to do, this could end in the most disastrous way for Ukraine. And not because someone will destroy it. But because it will destroy itself,’ Nebenzya said.
‘And Russia has absolutely nothing to do with it. Don’t try to shift the blame from the sick to the healthy,’ the diplomat continued.” (rt.com 2/2/2022)
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba immediately responded saying in an interview for Rzeczpospolita after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit: "No Ukrainian region will have a right power for national state decisions. This is set in stone! There will be no special status, as Russia imagines it, no voting power,” thus voiding one of the critical tenets of the Minsk Agreement.
With the US having sent 81 tons of munitions and NATO countries sending military advisors and numerous weapons systems, “‘Would that be enough to help the Ukrainian Army withstand a Russian Army assault, and prevail in a hypothetical battle?’ asked retired Russian Colonel Mikhail Khodarenok.
‘The answer to both these questions is ‘no’. Russia’s economic and military potential significantly exceeds Ukraine’s. No supplies of single-use missile launchers or MANPADs can balance out the forces – which is why all the involved parties would be better off looking for a diplomatic solution.’” (rt.com 1/31/22)
In a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on February 2, 2022, President Putin outlined Russia’s nightmare scenario: “Let us imagine that Ukraine is a NATO member and is stuffed with weapons and there are state-of-the-art missile systems just like in Poland and Romania. Who will stop it from unleashing operations in Crimea, let alone Donbass? Let us imagine that Ukraine is a NATO member and ventures such a combat operation. Do we have to fight with the NATO bloc? Has anyone thought anything about it? It seems not.”
When President Biden announced an additional 3,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne would be sent to Eastern Europe to bolster NATO defenses later the same day, diplomacy seemed to be taking a backseat.
The French President, however, offered a glimmer of hope: “The geopolitical objective of Russia today is clearly not Ukraine, but to clarify the rules of cohabitation with NATO and the EU,” Macron explained in a weekend interview with the weekly Journal du Dimanche before his departure for Moscow. (rt.com 2/7/22)
Following his meeting with the French President, President Putin stated: “If Ukraine joins NATO and tries to take Crimea by military means, all European countries will become parties to war with Russia — Russia is the leading nuclear power and there will be no winners — neither Macron, nor I want this.”
He continued: "They are trying to reassure Russia by saying that NATO is a peaceful and purely defensive organization. Iraqis, Libyans, Afghans experienced in their own life the extent to which this corresponds to reality..."
"Ukrainian authorities have already tried twice to solve the Donbass issue with military means. After a failure the Minsk agreements were signed. So will they try again? Who guarantees there won't be a third attempt?"
On February 11, after a phone conversation between Secretary of State Blinken and Foreign Minister Lavrov that preceded one between their respective presidents, the Russian Foreign Ministry summarized the discussion: "The minister emphasized that the propaganda campaign launched by the United States and its allies about 'Russian aggression' against Ukraine has provocative goals, encouraging the authorities in Kiev to sabotage the Minsk Agreements and pernicious attempts to resolve the 'Donbass problems' by force.
"As the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry noted, the reaction by Washington and Brussels to the draft Russian-US treaty and the draft agreement with NATO on security guarantees which we submitted ignores provisions which the Russian side considers to be key, first and foremost on the non-expansion of the alliance and the non-deployment of strike weapons near Russia's border."
Kremlin foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov then gave a summary of the phone conversation between Presidents Biden and Putin on February 12: “Russia’s president spoke with Biden about ‘destructive’ policies pursued by the Ukrainian authorities to ‘sabotage’ the Minsk agreements, a major 2015 multinational deal that outlined a roadmap out of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where Kiev forces face off the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Russia’s president stressed that the Western countries do not put enough ‘pressure’ on Kiev to fulfill the deal.” (rt.com 2/13/22)
With the West threatening severe sanctions if the Russians do or don’t invade Ukraine, their Ambassador to Sweden captured their sentiment: “‘Excuse my language, but we don’t give a s**t about sanctions,’ Viktor Tatarintsev told Stockholm daily Aftonbladet. The diplomat accused the US and NATO of stoking tensions in Europe. ‘The expansion of NATO is the biggest threat to Russia,’ Tatarintsev said.” (rt.com 2/13/22)
After meeting with President Putin on February 15, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: "‘For Europeans, it is clear that lasting security cannot be achieved against Russia but only with Russia.’ The chancellor added the the ‘inviolability of borders... is not to be negotiated,’ referring to Ukraine. ‘Dialogue can not end in a cul de sac, that would be a disaster for everyone,’ he added, ‘it is important to go the road of diplomacy so as to avoid war in Europe.’” (dw.com 2/15/22)
After days of shelling of the Donbass by the Ukrainian Army along the line of control, RT reported: “The Ukrainian rebels are expecting President Volodymyr Zelensky to order an offensive ‘in the nearest future.’ Their military forces are prepared to fight, but civilians in rebel-controlled areas are at risk of being caught in the crossfire, the head of the Donetsk Peoples’ Republic warned.
‘That is why starting today, February 18, a mass evacuation of people to the Russian Federation has been organized,’ he said, adding that vulnerable groups like women, children, and the elderly would be given priority.
‘I urge my fellow citizens who are in the reserves to come to military conscription offices. Today I signed a decree on general mobilization,’ stated Denis Pushilin, leader of Donetsk Peoples’ Republic on February 18.” (rt.com 2/18/22)
In a speech to the nation on February 21, 2022, President Putin stated: "The regime in Kiev only knows aggression, it represents the continuity of the regime that was brought to power illegally in 2014, they only believe in a military solution for Donbass. This is why I decided to recognize the independence of Donetsk Peoples’ Republic and the Lugansk Peoples’ Republic.” After that speech, Ukraine was formally in the crosshairs of the Russian Trifecta: Transnistria, Crimea, Donetsk & Lugansk (Donbass), and it was about to get worse.
Putin continued: “We've made it clear that any further movement of NATO to the East is unacceptable. Is there anything unclear about this? Are we deploying missiles near the US border? No, we are not. It's the US that has come to our home with its missiles and is standing at our doorstep.”
At an emergency UN Security Council meeting the same day, Russian Permanent Representative Vasily Nebenzya stated: “I would like to remind you that at the time of the conclusion of the Minsk agreements, the LPR and DPR had already declared independence. The fact that Russia today recognized it does not change the composition of the parties to the Minsk agreements, since Russia is not one. Another thing is that the Minsk agreements have long been openly sabotaged by Ukraine under the auspices of our Western colleagues. Now we see that many colleagues want to say that the Minsk agreements are dead. But this is not the case. We are still open to diplomacy, but we do not intend to allow a new bloody massacre in the Donbass. The main task of our decision [on recognizing independence] was to preserve and protect these lives. This is more important than all your threats.”
“Ahead of Russia’s recognition of the independence of breakaway regions in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to suggest last weekend (at the Munich Security Conference) that his country could pursue nuclear weapons to defend itself against Russia’s ambitions as Putin mobilizes his forces into eastern Ukraine.
‘Ukraine has the nuclear technologies created back in the Soviet times and delivery vehicles for such weapons, including aircraft, as well as the Soviet-designed Tochka-U precision tactical missiles with a range of over 100 kilometres,’ said Putin. ‘But they can do more; it is only a matter of time. They have had the groundwork for this since the Soviet era. In other words, acquiring tactical nuclear weapons will be much easier for Ukraine than for some other states I am not going to mention here, which are conducting such research, especially if Kyiv receives foreign technological support. We cannot rule this out either,’ he said.
‘If Ukraine acquires weapons of mass destruction, the situation in the world and in Europe will drastically change, especially for us, for Russia,’ Putin continued. ‘We cannot but react to this real danger, all the more so since, let me repeat, Ukraine’s Western patrons may help it acquire these weapons to create yet another threat to our country.’” (rebelnews.com 2/23/22)
On February 24, 2022 President Putin announced the invasion of Ukraine: “Circumstances require us to take decisive and immediate action. The Peoples’ Republics of Donbass turned to Russia with a request for help. In this regard, in accordance with Article 51, part 7 of the UN Charter, with the sanction of the Federation Council and in pursuance of the friendship treaties ratified by the Federal Assembly and mutual assistance with the Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples’ Republics, I have decided to conduct a special military operation.” (rt.com 2/24/22).
The same day Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the incursion would be halted if Ukraine agreed to two demands: “The president formulated his vision of what we would expect from Ukraine in order for the so-called ‘red-line’ problems to be resolved. This is neutral status, and this is a refusal to deploy weapons”.
Apparently, President Putin told his forces to halt operations on February 25 after offering to negotiate with the Ukrainians: “Alexey Arestovich, an adviser at Zelensky’s office, confirmed to Ukrainian media that Kiev has declined the talks with Russia, citing the ‘terms’ put forward by Moscow through intermediaries. ‘It was an attempt to force us into capitulation,’ he said, without elaborating.” (rt.com 2/26/22)
The Russian invasion continued after President Zelensky rejected negotiations, fleeing from Kiev to Lviv. On February 28 the Ukrainians agreed to talks in Gomel, Belarus after Russia’s deterrence forces were ratcheted up to “a special regime of duty”. Following five hours of discussion they agreed to meet again on March 3 in Brest, Belarus for discussions. Russia’s demands in negotiations with Ukraine are: Crimea is part of the Russian Federation, recognition of the DPR and LPR within administrative borders, demilitarization, which should have certain parameters & Ukraine must undergo the de-nazification procedure, as in Germany post WWII.
During an EU Disarmament Conference video on March 1, Foreign Minister Lavrov reminded the gathering of President Zelensky’s call for Ukraine to acquire nuclear weapons at the Munich Security Conference: "Ukraine has Soviet nuclear technologies and delivery vehicles. We cannot but react to this real danger. I can promise you that Russia as a responsible member of the international community, determined to adhere to its WMD non-proliferation commitments, has been taking every measure to prevent Ukraine from laying hands on nuclear weapons and the related technologies.” (tass 3/1/22)
“The Russian president has now definitively put an end to the post-Cold War era, which rested on an assumption that major European land wars were gone for good…The threat of thermonuclear conflict was omnipresent for those who came of age during the Cold War…Yet after decades of peace between the West and Russia, that collective cultural awareness has largely dissipated — even though the threat of nuclear conflict remains, and has, in the past week, ramped back up to levels unseen since the Cold War…I fear that Russia’s invasion, regardless of its outcome, portends a new era of immense hostility with Moscow — and that this new cold war will be far worse than the first”. (Professor Mary Elise Sarotte from Johns Hopkins University, in her open letter “I’m A Cold War Historian. We’re In A Frightening New Era”)
The March 3 meeting between Ukraine and Russia in Brest, Belarus was somewhat successful in protecting the lives of civilians: “The parties have reached an understanding on the joint establishment of humanitarian corridors with a temporary ceasefire. Russia and Ukraine will soon create channels of communication and cooperation to organize these corridors,” Ukrainian presidential aide Mikhail Podolyak said. (rt.com 3/3/22)
Then a breaking report from “Transnistria: The APU blew up a bridge on the border with the republic in order to complicate the hypothetical participation of a group of Russian troops in the PMR (Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic) in the operation to liberate Odessa.” (thesaker.is 3/4/22)
RT reported on March 5: “Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that he chose to attack Ukraine beyond the borders of the Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples’ Republics (DPR and LPR) to prevent the West from ‘endlessly’ supplying ‘nationalists and radicals’ with various resources, such as weapons and money.”
On March 8th, a ceasefire was agreed to by Ukraine and Russia following negotiations in Brest, Belarus: “Russia on Tuesday announced it would observe a ceasefire from 10am Moscow time (12.30pm IST) to allow for humanitarian corridors for civilians to flee from five cities.
The Russian embassy in India released a statement about the corridors from Kyiv (called Kiev by Russia), Chernigov, Sumy, Kharkiv (called Kharkov by Russia) and Mariupol.” (theweek.in)
Also on March 8 President Biden stated: “Today I am announcing the United States is targeting the main artery of Russia’s economy. We’re banning all imports of Russian oil and gas and energy,” Biden said at the White House. “That means Russian oil will no longer be acceptable at U.S. ports and the American people will deal another powerful blow to Putin’s war machine.”
Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers Sergey Lavrov and Dmitry Kuleba met in the Turkish province of Antalya on Thursday, March 10, and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also attended, but little progress was made towards a ceasefire. However, Lavrov did say: “Those supplying arms to Ukraine must understand that they bear responsibility for their actions. The same goes for those who encourage sending mercenaries to Ukraine to fight there in keeping with the traditions extreme radicals and their battalions introduced in Ukraine’s everyday life.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on the same day that 16,000 foreigners had volunteered to fight for Ukraine against the Russian invasion.
“Around 450 militants from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) armed group, a re-branded Jabhat al-Nusra (the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda), arrived in Ukraine on 8 March to fight against the Russian army. The militants reportedly left Idlib governorate in northern Syria only three days ago, entering Ukraine after passing through Turkey. The militants consist of both Arab and foreign nationals, as HTS, ISIS, and other militias in Syria allow foreigners to join their ranks.
The newly arrived fighters in Ukraine reportedly consist of approximately 300 Syrians, with the rest a mix of Belgian, French, Chechen, Chinese, Tunisian, British, and Moroccan nationals.” (thecradle.co 3/8/22)
“Russia on Saturday (3/12/22) said its troops could target supplies of Western weapons in Ukraine where the Russian army has been advancing since late February. We warned the United States that the orchestrated pumping of weapons from a number of countries is not just a dangerous move, it is a move that turns these convoys into legitimate targets," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told state television.
He said Moscow had warned "about the consequences of the thoughtless transfer to Ukraine of weapons like man-portable air defence systems, anti-tank missile systems and so on.” (barrons.com)
On March 13, Russia followed up on its threat: “Russia's defence ministry has said its attack on a training facility in Yavoriv killed "up to 180 foreign mercenaries".
The facility, near the city of Lviv, in western Ukraine, also destroyed a large amount of weaponry supplied by other nations, they added.
Defence ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov told a briefing that Russia would continue its attacks against the "foreign mercenaries”.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan responded: "If there is a military attack on NATO territory it would cause the invocation of Article 5, and we would bring the full force of the NATO alliance to bear in responding to it." (news.sky.com 3/13/22)
To send an additional message not only to the Ukrainians but also NATO, Russia launched its Mach 10 Kinzhal (Dagger) missile against an arms bunker in Western Ukraine: “The Russian military has said it used its state-of-the-art Kinzhal hypersonic missiles to destroy an arms depot near the city of Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine.” (rt.com 3/19/22)
There were also hints another ceasefire might be agreed to, with the Ukrainians and Russians meeting again in Brest on March 14 and later in the week in Antalya, Turkey: “Turkey’s presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said the two sides were nearing agreement on several issues — Moscow’s demand that Kyiv back off its ambitions to join NATO; demilitarization of the country, which Russia has called ‘de-Nazification;’ and proposals to protect the Russian language in Ukraine.” (nypost.com 3/20/22)
In an interview with Fareed Zakaria on CNN, President Zelensky revealed the war could have been avoided if the West had been honest with the Russians about Ukraine’s future: “I requested them personally to say that we are going to accept you into NATO…just say it directly and clearly, or just say no. The response was very clear, you're not going to be a NATO member, but publicly, the doors will remain open.” (nationalfile.com 3/22/22
Following a meeting with Abkhazian President Aslan Bzhaniaon March 26, Foreign Minister Lavrov stated: "Today a real hybrid war, a 'total war' has been declared against us. This term, which was used by Nazi Germany, is now used by many European politicians when they explain what they want to do to the Russian Federation. And their goals are not hidden: to destroy, to break, to strangle the Russian economy, and Russia as a whole. Here, when we see this sanctions free-for-all, it is of course clear that all of these values that our Western colleagues had constantly preached to us about the freedom of expression, a market economy, the inviolability of private property and the presumption of innocence, all of these values are worthless," Lavrov said in a separate engagement with reporters. (sputniknews.com 3/26/22)
The Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Major General Igor Konashenkov said on March 30: “All main lines of communications, supply and approach of reserves are taken under full control. The air defense systems of Ukraine, the airfield infrastructure, the largest military depots, training and concentration centers for mercenaries were destroyed. Work on them continues. Thus, all the main tasks of the Russian Armed Forces in the directions of Kiev and Chernigov have been completed.” (rt.com 3/30/22)
The Transnistrian wild card then reappeared in the news: “Odessa, on the Black Sea, is the main base for Ukraine's navy. It has been targeted by Russian forces seeking a land corridor to Transdniestria.” (yahoo.com 4/3/22)
Belatedly, it was revealed that German “Chancellor (Scholz) told Zelensky in Munich on February 19 “that Ukraine should renounce its NATO aspirations and declare neutrality as part of a wider European security deal between the West and Russia,” the paper (WSJ) says. “The pact would be signed by Mr. Putin and Mr. Biden, who would jointly guarantee Ukraine’s security.”
Zelensky, however, refused to accept the concession in order to avoid confrontation and said that “[Russia’s President Vladimir] Putin couldn’t be trusted to uphold such an agreement and that most Ukrainians wanted to join NATO.” (massnews.com 4/3/22)
Not unsurprisingly, Russia’s Foreign Minister weighed in on the true nature of the war in Ukraine: “Our special military operation is meant to put an end to the unabashed expansion [of NATO] and the unabashed drive towards full domination by the US and its Western subjects on the world stage,” Lavrov told Rossiya 24 news channel.
“This domination is built on gross violations of international law and under some rules, which they are now hyping so much and which they make up on a case-by-case basis,” he added. (rt.com 4/11/22)
“Kiev has gone back on the tentative agreements made between the Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams in Istanbul in late March, Vladimir Putin has claimed. According to the Russian president, the peace talks have now ‘returned to a deadlock’.
Ukraine has refused to recognize Crimea as Russian and the Donbass republics as independent, Putin explained at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East on Tuesday.” (rt.com 4/13/22)
“Russia will view U.S. and NATO vehicles transporting weapons on Ukrainian territory as legitimate military targets, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the TASS news agency in an interview on Wednesday.
Any attempts by the West to inflict significant damage on Russia’s military or its separatist allies in Ukraine will be “harshly suppressed,” he added. We are warning that US-NATO weapons transports across Ukrainian territory will be considered by us as legal military targets,” TASS quoted Ryabkov as saying.
We are making the Americans and other Westerners understand that attempts to slow down our special operation, to inflict maximum damage on Russian contingents and formations of the DPR and LPR (Donetsk and Luhansk People’s republics) will be harshly suppressed,” he said.” (nationalist.com 4/13/22)
Also on April 13, 2022 the Russian Ministry of Defense warned: “We see attempts of sabotage and strikes by Ukrainian forces against facilities on Russian Federation territory.
If such cases continue, the Russian Armed Forces will strike at decision-making centres, including in Kiev, from which the Russian army has so far refrained,” Major-General Konashenkov said.
The West can’t say it wasn’t warned: “Russia this week sent a formal diplomatic note to the United States warning that U.S. and NATO shipments of the “most sensitive” weapons systems to Ukraine were “adding fuel” to the conflict there and could bring “unpredictable consequences.” (washingtonpost.com 4/14/22)
“The US and its allies have slapped a grand total of over 9,600 sanctions against Russian officials, the state, companies, tycoons and other entities in connection with the crisis in Ukraine. Moscow now has more restrictions against it than Iran, Syria, North Korea, Venezuela and Myanmar combined. Russia has successfully withstood unprecedented sanctions pressure from the West.
The calculation was to quickly undermine the financial and economic situation in our country, to provoke panic in the markets, the collapse of the banking system, and a large-scale shortage of goods in stores," Putin said, speaking at a briefing on the economic situation on Monday. We can say with confidence that this policy against Russia has failed - that the strategy of the economic blitzkrieg has failed," he added. (sputniknews.com 4/18/22)
“The Russian Aerospace Forces launched a strike with high-precision missiles at the 124th Joint Logistics Support Center of the Logistics Forces Command of the Ukrainian troops in the Lviv region, the Russian Defense Ministry reports on 4/18/22. The logistics center and the large consignments of foreign weapons that were delivered to Ukraine from the United States and European countries over the past 6 days were destroyed.”
“The second phase of the Russian offensive in Ukraine and the Donbass has started, President Volodymyr Zelensky and his advisers claimed on Monday evening. Kiev said there were reports of heavy fighting on the Donetsk, Lugansk, and Kharkov fronts, and that Ukrainian troops were holding the line.
We can now confirm that Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbass, which they have been preparing for a long time,” Zelensky said” (rt.com 4/18/22)
“In a new 'message' aimed at the West, Russia on Wednesday (4/20/22) test launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile, the Sarmat, according to Interfax citing the Russian defense ministry.
President Vladimir Putin said in a statement which accompanied the announcement that the new Sarmat missile will provide ‘food for thought for those who try to threaten Russia." He congratulated the armed forces on the successful test launch. According to another translation, he said that the Sarmat will "make the madmen who attempt to threaten Russia think.’”
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, the strange state of Transnistria will undoubtedly become more engaged in the Russian Trifecta confronting Ukraine & NATO. In fact, the 2019 Rand Corporation report on “Overextending and Unbalancing Russia”, which US foreign policy had followed to the letter until the February 24, 2022 invasion, states that after fomenting color revolutions in Belarus and Kazakhstan (✓) the West needs to “flip Transnistria and expel the Russian troops from the region.”
Cue the first attacks: “The Ministry of State Security building in Tiraspol, Transnistria has been rocked by a series of explosions, a Sputnik correspondent has reported. Images of the building published on social media show a number of its windows blown out. The windows of buildings next to it also sustained damage.” (sputniknews.com 4/25/22)
“On Tuesday, early in the morning, two explosions occurred at a TV and radio center in the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR): "In the early morning of April 26, two explosions thundered in the village of Mayak, Grigoriopol district. Grigoriopol policemen cordoned off the territory of the Mayak radio center, the sappers of the Ministry of Defense began examining all the objects of the PRTC [Pridnestrovian Radio and TV Center]. According to the data at 9 am, it is known that two of the most powerful antennas have been disabled: one megawatt, the second half-megawatt. Both relayed the radio of the Russian Federation," the PMR Telegram channel claimed.
“The purpose of today’s incident is to create pretexts for aggravating the security situation in the Transnistrian region, which is not controlled by the constitutional authorities,” the (Transnistrian) Ministry said in a statement. (ru-main.ru 4/26/22)
“There is only one chance left to save Mariupol – a blow to Transnistria. Let’s look at the situation objectively – Putin has chosen the path of total war. And the only chance to save our prisoners from mass killings by Russian punishers now is the demilitarization of occupied Transnistria from illegal bandit groups that have seized this legitimate part of Moldova,” Yuri Butusov said on 4/26/22, (Ukrainian journalist & ex-advisor to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine 2020-2021).
“Traces of terrorist attacks lead to Ukraine, - President of Pridnestrovie: Vadim Krasnoselsky called on Kyiv to investigate the penetration of Ukrainian combat groups for terrorist attacks in the PMR and called on Chisinau not to succumb to provocations and not allow Moldova to be drawn into aggression against Tiraspol.
President Vadim Krasnoselsky held a meeting of the Security Council of Pridnestrovie. The main issue is terrorist attacks on infrastructure facilities and state institutions of the republic. Three attacks were recorded: the building of the Ministry of State Security in Tiraspol, the military unit near the village of Parkany and the towers of the radio and television center near the village of Mayak were damaged.” (https://t.me/intelslava 4/26/22)
Transnistria also contains the largest arms depot in Eastern Europe: “The powder magazine is located in the small town of Kolbasna, located about two kilometers from the border with Ukraine, guarded by about 1,500 Russian soldiers. Although there are currently an estimated 20,000 tons of Soviet weapons and ammunition left in Kolbasna, it is not known for sure how much material is left there.” (americanpost.news 12/23/21)
With the Russian invasion grinding down Ukrainian forces momentum is building for its troops to seize Transnistria and the mammoth weapons depot in Kolbasna to make-up for its losses in Donbass.
“A group of saboteurs came to the warehouses in the PMR. A sabotage and reconnaissance group tried to enter to military warehouses in Transnistria near the village of Kolbasna, it was seen on the way to a strategic facility, a shootout ensued.
Ministry of Internal Affairs of Transnistria about the shooting in Kolbasna. Information at 10:00. Last night, several drones were seen in the sky above the village of Kolbasna, Rybnitsa region. UAV on the territory of Transnistria were launched from Ukraine. On the morning of April 27, at 8:45, shots were fired from the Ukrainian side in the direction of the Pridnestrovian settlement of Kolbasna. There are no data on casualties.” (https://t.me/intelslava 4/27/22)
The Russians were diplomatic in their response: “The Russian Federation would like to avoid a scenario in which Moscow will have to intervene in the conflict in Transnistria,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said on 4/26/22.
The Russian President warned the West again about its ongoing interference in the war on behalf of Ukraine: “I would like to stress once again that if someone intends to interfere with the ongoing events from the outside and creates strategic threats unacceptable to Russia, they should know that our retaliatory strikes will be lightning-fast. We have all the tools for this, such that no one can boast of now. And we will not boast, we will use them if necessary. And I want everyone to know about this, all the decisions we have made in this regard.” (Putin remarked to the Council of Legislators of the Federal Assembly in the Tauride Palace on 4/27/22)
“The breakaway region of Transnistria has ordered the mobilization of all adult males following several reports of explosions – amid fears that the war in Ukraine is starting to spread beyond its borders.” (balkaninsight.com 4/28/22)
“U.S. citizens should depart Transnistria immediately via commercial or private means. Visitors may encounter difficulties at checkpoints along roads leading into and out of Transnistria. Taking photographs of military facilities and security forces is prohibited and may result in trouble with authorities.” (www.travel.state.gov 4/29/22)
“The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Transnistria confirmed the attempt of a new terrorist attack with the help of a drone stuffed with explosives. A drone with explosives was launched into Transnistria from the territory of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.” (https://t.me/intelslava 5/3/22)
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reiterated Wednesday: "The United States and its NATO allies continue to pump weapons into Ukraine. I can confirm that any transport from the North Atlantic alliance that arrives in the country with weapons or materiel for the Ukrainian armed forces will be considered by us as a legitimate target for destruction.” (sputniknews.com 5/4/22)
"The European Union is considering ways to further boost Moldova’s military, EU Council President Charles Michel said Wednesday, following recent attacks in the country’s pro-Moscow breakaway region of Transnistria," CNN reports. And further: Speaking alongside Moldova’s president Maia Sandu in Chisinau, Michel said ‘some decisions’ have already been taken to enhance support in the fields of logistics and cyber defense. The pair discussed what further military support could be provided, he said, but would not go into detail “to avoid any escalation.” (cnn.com 5/4/022
“According Ukrainska Pravda sources close to Zelensky, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson, who appeared in the capital almost without warning, brought two simple messages. The first is that Putin is a war criminal, he should be pressured, not negotiated with. And the second is that even if Ukraine is ready to sign some agreements on guarantees with Putin, they are not. Johnson’s position was that the collective West, which back in February had suggested Zelenskyy should surrender and flee, now felt that Putin was not really as powerful as they had previously imagined, and that here was a chance to "press him.” Three days after Johnson left for Britain, Putin went public and said talks with Ukraine "had turned into a dead end”. (pravda.com.ua 5/5/22)
“The current generation of NATO politicians clearly does not take the nuclear threat seriously,” ambassador Anatoly Antonov told Newsweek. While it’s widely believed that a direct war between NATO and Russia would quickly turn nuclear, the danger doesn’t appear to be factored into the Western approach to the war in Ukraine.” (5/6/22)
"Evidence found at the site of terrorist attacks in Transnistria indicates that they were organized from the territory of neighboring Ukraine, as follows from the investigators’ preliminary conclusions the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Investigative Committee of the unrecognized republic presented on Friday.
‘Transnistrian investigators, using the memory cards extracted from the drone that was to be used for a terrorist attack at the radio center near the village of Mayak, examined all of its launches. The device’s first flight was in Transcarpathia on April 18. And the last one was over the village of Mayak,’ the IC’s official said on the local TV channel TSV. According to the official, on May 3 the device took off from a road between the villages of Rymarovka and Sadovoe in Ukraine. It was carrying a payload of explosives, meant for an act of sabotage at the radio center's cooling facility, which would have put it out of order. The drone hit a cable, lost control and was intercepted by Transnistria’s law enforcement officers. Bomb disposal specialists defused the explosive device." (5/6/22)
"In a nuclear war, NATO countries will be destroyed by us in half an hour, but we must not allow it, because the consequences of the exchange of nuclear strikes will affect the state of our Earth. Therefore, we will have to defeat this economically and militarily more powerful enemy by conventional military means,” Dmitry Rogozin, head of Russia's Roscosmos space agency (newsweek.com 5/8/22)
“General Aleksandr Dvornikov, of Syria fame, has a clear mandate: to conquer the whole of Donbass, totally free up Crimea and prepare the advance towards Odessa and Transnistria while reducing a rump Ukraine to the status of failed state without any access to the sea.” (Pepe Escobar: Megalopolis x Russia - Total War 5/8/22)
“NATO countries did not want to hear us, they had completely different plans, preparations were made for an attack on Crimea, the alliance began military development of the territories adjacent to us, everything indicated that a clash with neo-Nazis would be inevitable.” (Putin Victory Day Speech 5/9/22)
“The former president of Russia has warned NATO that military assistance for Ukraine risks sparking a wider conflict. Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said the supply of weapons to Ukraine “increased the likelihood of a direct and open conflict between NATO and Russia instead of their ‘war by proxy’.” (cnbc.com 5/12/22)
“As soon as Finland and Sweden become NATO members and NATO units are deployed to these countries— Finland and Sweden will become targets for the Russian military.” - Deputy Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Polyansky (5/14/22)
“We couldn’t care less about the non-recognition of changes to Ukraine’s borders by the countries of the G7. What matters is the true will of the people living there.” (Dmitri Medvedev 5/14/22)
The West has declared a “total hybrid war” against Russia, resorting to open “robbery” and “state piracy,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday. Everyone “without exception” is set to feel the impact of this conflict, the top diplomat warned.
“Political correctness, decency, rules, and the legal norms are simply discarded, the cancel culture is applied to everything Russian, any hostile actions against our country are allowed, including outright robbery,” Lavrov said during his speech at a meeting of the Foreign and Defense Policy Council (SVOP) forum. We did all we could to avoid the confrontation, but Russia accepts the challenge. It's not like sanctions are something new to us – they have been in place in some sense practically for the entire time". (rt.com 5/14/22)
“No negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations are being conducted at the moment. In fact, Kiev has quit the talks, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said on the sidelines of the 2nd Central Asian conference of the international discussion club Valdai. ‘The talks are not continuing. Ukraine has in fact quit the process of negotiations,’" he said in reply to a TASS question. (tass.com 5/17/22)
The New York Times published an editorial devoid of the usual Western propaganda: “The War In Ukraine Is Getting Complicated, And America Isn’t Ready”, wherein it states: “A decisive military victory for Ukraine over Russia, in which Ukraine regains all the territory Russia has seized since 2014, is not a realistic goal...Russia remains too strong, and Mr. Putin has invested too much personal prestige in the invasion to back down...Mr. Biden should make clear to President Volodymyr Zelensky and his people that there is a limit to how far the United States and NATO will confront Russia, and limits to the arms, money and political support they can muster”. (nytimes.com 5/19/22)
“Russia is tightening the noose on Ukrainian troops in the country's east. A fierce ground and artillery assault has seen Moscow's forces advance, and they now appear close to encircling the last two hold-out cities in Luhansk province — which together with neighboring Donetsk forms the Donbas region that has become the key focus of the Kremlin’s war. With Ukrainian officials voicing concern their troops are now outmanned and outgunned, this Russian push could prove a decisive moment in the conflict.” (yahoo.news 5/26/22)
“The US and its allies have communicated to Ukraine the danger of escalation should weapons provided by the West be used to attack targets inside Russia, according to a report from Reuters, citing anonymous officials, on Thursday. However, Washington has apparently not explicitly banned Kiev from taking such action.” (rt.com 5/26/22)
“Under the fire of Russia’s long-range arsenal and facing a desperate need for ammunition and weapons, Ukrainian forces remain outgunned on the long and pockmarked eastern front, according to military analysts, Ukrainian officials and soldiers on the ground. Just one engagement on Thursday and Friday on a small swath of the line, in a forest north of the town of Sloviansk, sent about a dozen Ukrainian soldiers to a military hospital with harrowing shrapnel wounds. ‘You ask how the fighting is going,’ said Oleksandr Kolesnikov, the commander of a company of soldiers fighting in the forest, interviewed on an ambulance gurney outside a military hospital in Kramatorsk. ‘There was a commander of the company. He was killed. There was another commander. He was killed. A third commander was wounded. I am the fourth.’” (nytimes.com 5/28/22)
“No amount of western military aid has been able to prevent Russia from achieving its military objective of liberating the entire territories of both Lugansk and Donetsk as Phase Three begins.” (Scott Ritter: consortium news.com 5/30/22)
“Russia on Wednesday sharply criticised a U.S. decision to supply advanced rocket systems and munitions to Ukraine, warning of an increased risk of direct confrontation with Washington. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "We believe that the United States is purposefully and diligently adding fuel to the fire.” When asked how Russia would respond if Ukraine used U.S.-supplied rockets to strike Russian territory, Peskov said: "Let's not talk about worst-case scenarios”. (yahoo.com 6/1/22)
"Our relevant agencies, including the Defense Ministry and border guards, understand all the risks, they are comprehensively evaluating them and taking the necessary measures," Peskov said, when asked if Moscow saw the risk that Ukraine might start attacking Russia with US-made multiple rocket launchers if provided with such weapons.
At the same time, Peskov was confident that the US was adding fuel to the fire of what was happening in Ukraine by providing weapons to Kiev. "The US is clearly pursuing a policy to fight Russia until the last Ukrainian," the Kremlin spokesman noted, commenting on Washington’s plans to provide multiple rocket launchers to Kiev. According to Peskov, "these sorts of supplies are unlikely to make the Ukrainian leadership willing to resume peace talks." "This is why we are certainly negative about it," the Russian presidential spokesman stressed. (tass.com 6/1/22)
“Alexei Zhuravlev, a member of Russia’s parliament, proclaimed on the state TV channel Russia-1 Monday that the country has the capability to launch a devastating nuclear attack on the US over its support of Ukraine in the war. ‘I will tell you absolutely competently that to destroy the entire the East Coast of the United States, two Sarmat missiles are needed,’ the pro-Kremlin pundit said, referring to Russia’s new intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are known as Satan-2 in NATO countries. ‘And the same goes for the West Coast,’ Zhuravlev continued. “Four missiles, and there will be nothing left.’” (nypost.com 6/2/22)
“The Parliament of Moldova banned Russian news programs in the country. Another step towards a future military conflict on the territory of Moldova and Transnistria, which is being constructed at an accelerated pace.” (https://t.me/intelslava 6/2/22)
“Ukraine will use US-supplied rocket systems to strike into Russian territory should it deem such attacks necessary, Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Alexey Arestovich said on Thursday. Responding to a question about whether the restrictions on the use of US-supplied rocket systems apply to Crimea, a peninsula that overwhelmingly voted to become part of Russia in a 2014 referendum, Arestovich said that it belonged to Ukraine. ‘Crimea is ours. It belongs to Ukraine. And they [Russia] know it. Therefore, it will fly to Crimea double-time, should the need arise’, he pointed out, alleging that Kiev has already successfully struck targets on the peninsula.” (rt.com 6/3/22)
“Moscow will strike Ukraine’s ‘decision-making centers’ if Kiev uses the weapons it had received from the United States to attack the territory of Russia, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview to Qatar’s Al Jazeera television. ‘If those types of weapons are used against the territory of Russia, the armed forces of our country will have no other choice but to strike decision-making centers,’ he said. ‘It is obvious what those decision-making centers are: the defense ministry, the general staff and so on,’ he continued. ‘But it should be understood that, in this case, the ultimate decision-making centers are regretfully not even on the territory of Kiev. That is why it is certainly a threat that should be reckoned with.’” (tass.com 6/3/22)
What if those “ultimate decision-making centers” include the US?: “(General Glen D. VanHerck, commander of United States Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command) characterize(d) Russia as the ‘primary military threat’ to the US, and referenced Russian efforts to deploy new hypersonic and cruise missiles and other stealthy strike weapons which can evade detection and ‘strike targets in our homeland with multiple vectors of attack and in all domains’. VanHerck pointed to Russian plans to deploy new long-range missiles which could reach the US from both northern or southern trajectories, and said such attack vectors would deprive US leaders of the ability to respond effectively to protect government functions and order retaliatory strikes. ‘Quite bluntly, my ability to conduct missions assigned to US NORTHCOM and NORAD has eroded and continues to erode,’ VanHerck said, speaking to members of the Senate Armed Services Committee at a closed briefing last month.” (sputniknews.com 6/3/22)
“President Vladimir Putin warned the United States in an interview broadcast on Sunday that Russia would strike new targets if the West supplied longer-range missiles to Ukraine for use in high-precision mobile rocket systems. If longer-range missiles are supplied, ‘we will strike at those targets which we have not yet been hitting,’ Putin was told the Rossiya-1 state television channel in an interview.” (reuters.com 6/4/22)
“The longer the range of weapons that Western countries will supply to Ukraine, the further Moscow will move away the line of threat from its territory, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at an online press conference on international issues on Monday. ‘Russian President Vladimir Putin has already commented on the situation that will emerge with the arrival of new armaments and I can only add that the longer the range of armaments that you will supply, the further away we will move from our territory the line, beyond which Neo-Nazis can threaten the Russian Federation,’ Lavrov cautioned.” (tass.com 6/6/22)
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines: "We assess President Putin is preparing for prolonged conflict in Ukraine during which he still intends to achieve goals beyond the Donbas. We also see indications that the Russian military wants to extend the land bridge to Transnistria.” (6/7/22)
“They are firing at you for days on end—it’s exhausting, and starts to eat at you,” one soldier said, of the Russian military. “It feels as if they are trying to smash into atoms every Ukrainian soldier and every inch of Ukrainian land.” (newyorker.com 6/9/22)
“The Ukrainians are still fighting back, but they are running out of ammunition and suffering casualties at a far higher rate than in the initial stages of the war. Around 200 Ukrainian soldiers are now being killed every day, up from 100 late last month, an aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky told the BBC on Friday — meaning that as many as 1,000 Ukrainians are being taken out of the fight every day, including those who are injured.
Ukrainian and U.S. hopes that the new supplies of Western weaponry would enable Ukraine to regain the initiative and eventually retake the estimated 20 percent of Ukrainian territory captured by Russia since its Feb. 24 invasion are starting to look premature, said Oleksandr V. Danylyuk, an adviser to the Ukrainian government on defense and intelligence issues.” (washingtonpost.com 6/10/22)
“The West could provide Ukraine with nuclear weapons to help defend itself against Russia, Radoslaw Sikorski, a member of the European Parliament and former Polish foreign minister, said. ‘The West has the right to give Ukraine nuclear warheads so that it could protect its independence,’ Sikorski told Ukraine’s Espreso TV on Saturday. Sikorski, who served as Poland’s foreign minister between 2007 and 2014, argued that Russia violated the Budapest Memorandum. Under the 1994 document signed by Ukraine, Russia, Britain, and the US, Kiev agreed to surrender its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal. The signatories promised to ‘respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine.’” (rt.com 6/12/22)
“The people and the government of Ukraine, led by President Zelensky, must decide on their own the issue of the possibility of territorial concessions.” – US Secretary of State Blinken.” (npr.com 6/14/22)
Russia’s EU Ambassador Breaks Down Inter-Union Dynamics at St Petersburg Economic Forum: “Kiev’s desire to open a military front in Transnistria would spell the end for Moldova.” (rt.com 6/15/22)
“Ukraine should target the bridge connecting Crimea to the Russian mainland via the Kerch Strait as soon as it gets the required weapons from the West, Major General Dmitry Marchenko said on Wednesday in an interview with US state-run media. ‘The Kerch Bridge is absolutely our number one target,’ Marchenko told Crimea Realities (Krym.Realii), speaking of the longest such construction in Europe, opened in 2018. The website is a project of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, part of the government-controlled US Agency for Global Media. ‘As the main way of sending in reserves, we just have to cut it off. As soon as that road is cut off, they will start to panic. And believe me, those who flew Russian flags in Simferopol will quickly get Ukrainian flags and start flying them instead,’ he said. (rt.com 6/15/22)
"‘Just a question,’ Dmitry Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel. ‘Who said that in two years Ukraine will even exist on the world map?’ Medvedev, Russian Security County Deputy Chairman, made the alarming comments in reference to reports that the United States may consider supplying Ukraine with liquefied natural gas (LNG) under a "lend-lease" program ahead of the autumn and winter months amid Putin's war. ‘I saw a message that Ukraine wants to receive LNG from its overseas owners with payment for delivery in 2 years. Otherwise, the coming winter will simply freeze," Medvedev wrote, before he expressed doubts about Ukraine's existence in 2024. ‘The Americans don't care anymore,’ he added. ‘They have invested so much in the 'anti-Russia' project that everything else means nothing to them.’” (newsweek.com 6/15/22)
“Petro Poroshenko has admitted that the 2015 ceasefire in Donbass, which he negotiated with Russia, France and Germany as president of Ukraine, was merely a distraction intended to buy time for Kiev to rebuild its military. He made the comments in interviews with several news outlets this week, including Germany's Deutsche Welle television and the Ukrainian branch of the US state-run Radio Free Europe. Poroshenko also defended his record as president between 2014 and 2019.
‘We had achieved everything we wanted,’ he said of the peace deal. ‘Our goal was to, first, stop the threat, or at least to delay the war - to secure eight years to restore economic growth and create powerful armed forces.’” (malaysiasun.com 6/17/22)
"The Russian Foreign Ministry’s official spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said it was no longer possible for Ukraine to return to its previous borders. 'The Ukraine that you and I had known, within the borders that used to be, no longer exists, and will never exist again. This is evident,' the diplomat said in an interview to Sky News - Arabia, published in her Telegram channel on Friday.” (tass.com 6/18/22)
“Russia's response to the restrictions targeting cargo transit from Kaliningrad through Lithuania will NOT be diplomatic - Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.” (@intelrepublic 6/22/22)
“With the success of Russia’s operations in Ukraine, we have to be concerned about NATO reacting to their strategic defeat by shifting their aggression not only to intense economic and propaganda warfare against Russia but also against Russia’s position in the Baltic region. The blockade imposed on Kaliningrad on June 20th by Lithuania, a NATO member, and approved by the European Union, on the pretext of enforcing their illegal ‘sanctions,’ is a direct act of war against Russia which will lead to immediate action by Russia to end the blockade, and follows the NATO logic which has been expressed openly for some time.” (Christopher Black journal-neo.org 6/24/22)
“Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday told his counterpart from Belarus that Moscow would supply Minsk with missile systems capable of carrying nuclear weapons, the Russian foreign ministry said. At a meeting with Putin in St Petersburg, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko expressed concern about the ‘aggressive’, ‘confrontational’ and ‘repulsive’ policies of its neighbours Lithuania and Poland. He asked Putin to help Belarus mount a ‘symmetrical response’ to what he said were nuclear-armed flights by the U.S.-led NATO alliance near Belarus' borders. In the past week, Lithuania in particular has infuriated Russia by blocking the transit of goods subject to European sanctions travelling across its territory from Russia, through Belarus, to Russia's Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad.” (usnews.com 6/25/22)
“Russian forces launched missile attacks from Belarus on Saturday in the first strikes of their kind since Russia abandoned its offensives north and east of Kyiv. A wave of six Russian Tu-22M3 “Backfire” bombers launched 12 Kh-22 cruise missiles from Belarusian airspace at ground targets in Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy oblasts. The Ukrainian government claimed this is thus far the first time Russian aircraft have launched airstrikes on Ukrainian territory from Belarusian airspace.” (thedrive.com 6/25/22)
“Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned the West that continuing to supply Ukraine with advanced weaponry will only prolong the conflict in the east European country. Speaking at a press conference, on Tuesday, the veteran diplomat stated that the position of the West regarding Ukraine is ‘absolutely counterproductive and harmful.’ Pumping up Ukraine with Western weapons will only lead Russia ‘to perform more missions on the ground,’ he added. ‘The more weapons are pumped into Ukraine, the longer this conflict will last, the longer the agony of the Nazi regime, which is supported by Western capitals, will last.’” (rt.com 6/29/22)
“NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Wednesday that increases in military spending and rising numbers of troop deployments in Eastern Europe since 2014 were carried out in anticipation of a conflict with Russia. Speaking after a meeting of NATO members and partner states in Madrid, Stoltenberg accused Moscow of ‘using force in the eastern Donbass since 2014,’ despite the fact that Kiev’s forces have been shelling cities in the region ever since the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics declared independence from Ukraine that year.” (rt.com 6/29/22)
Meanwhile, “The last remnants of Ukrainian forces have been driven out of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced on Sunday. He reported the news to President Vladimir Putin, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. Shoigu said Russian troops and Donbass forces had completely seized Lisichansk, the last major city which had remained under Ukrainian control since 2014, when the LPR declared its independence shortly after a coup in Kiev.” (rt.com 7/3/22)
“In the evening, the Russian Armed Forces launched a missile attack on AFU positions in Odessa region near Rozdil’na near the border with Transnistria.” (Russian Ministry of Defense 7/5/22)
“Today we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. What can you say, let them try,” Putin said in televised remarks to parliamentary leaders. “We have heard many times that the West wants to fight us to the last Ukrainian. This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it seems that everything is heading towards this. Everyone should know that, by and large, we haven’t started anything yet in earnest,” he added. “At the same time, we don’t reject peace talks. But those who reject them should know that the further it goes, the harder it will be for them to negotiate with us.” (nationalpost.com 7/7/22)
“They should have realized that they had already lost from the very beginning of our special military operation, because its beginning also means the beginning of a complete breakdown of the American world order.” Vladimir Putin (rt.com 7/7/22)
“Russia is in a ‘world war’ with Western nations amid Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday. ‘We should understand that amid the world war, all the talks that it's is a regional or a local war must be dropped,’ Vucic, an ally of Putin, told independent Serbian TV channel Pink in an interview. ‘The entire Western world is fighting against Russia via Ukrainians. It is a global conflict,’ he said, according to Russia's state-run news agency TASS.” (newsweek.com 7/14/22)
“Committee of Constitutional Legislation of Russia’s Federation Council, Andrey Klishas, called for extending the special military operation to the entirety of ‘Ukraine’:
‘Threats from the Ukrainian junta to attack Crimea or the Crimean bridge only confirm that ‘denazification’ and demilitarization must be carried out throughout the whole of Ukraine, otherwise there will always be a threat to our territory, our citizens and infrastructure,’”. (rt.com 7/16/22)
“Inspector of the German Ground Forces, Lieutenant General of the German Army (Bundeswehr) Alfons Mais made a statement about the West's hopes to ‘weaken Russia by exhausting its resources.’ In an interview with one of the German publications, the Bundeswehr general said that this kind of hope of the West is unrealizable, since ‘Russian resources, like the resources of the Russian army, are practically inexhaustible.’” (en.topwar.ru 7/22/2022)
“If Ukraine receives long-range weapons from Western countries, then the geographical tasks of the special operation of the Russian troops will change, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and the Rossiya Segodnya media group.
‘The President said very clearly, as you quoted him - denazification, demilitarization in the sense that there are no threats to our security, military threats from the territory of Ukraine, this task remains,’ the minister stressed.” (RIA Novosti 7/20/22)
“The Moldovan Foreign Ministry on Friday called for the withdrawal of Russian peacekeeping troops from the breakaway region of Transnistria in response to the remarks of a senior official of the unrecognized republic. In an interview with RIA Novosti on Thursday, Transnistrian Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatiev said that the region was worried about ‘destructive demarches’ from Chisinau, and accused the Moldovan authorities of interfering with the rotation of Russian peacekeepers. The Moldovan Foreign Ministry denied the accusations, stressing that the rotation of Russian peacekeepers is carried out in accordance with ‘a mechanism established with the aim of avoiding risks and ensuring a coordinated movement of contingent personnel.’” (rt.com 7/22/22)
"‘We are determined to help the people of eastern Ukraine to liberate themselves from the burden of this absolutely unacceptable regime,’ Lavrov said while meeting with Arab League officials in Egypt. ‘We will certainly help the Ukrainian people to get rid of the regime, which is absolutely anti-people and anti-historical,’ according to The Associated Press.” (apnews.com 7/25/22)
“‘Ukraine is more likely to be reduced to Kiev and its surroundings than to ever re-encompass Crimea and the Donbass republics,’ former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said on his Telegram channel on Wednesday, posting a future map of the ‘country.’” (rt.com 7/27/22)
“Russia has blunted everything thrown at them – to the shock of Western planners. Every assumption underpinning their scorched-earth assault on the Russian economy has proven mistaken. A dismal record of analytical error even by C.I.A. and think tank standards. Off-the-charts forecasts on the country’s economy, and the global impact of sanctions, crippled Washington’s plan from the outset. Tactical initiatives of a military nature have proven equally futile; another 1,000 vintage Javelins with dead battery packs will not rescue the Ukrainian army in the Donbass. So, you are stuck with the albatross of a truncated, bankrupt Ukraine hung around your neck. There is nothing that you can do to cancel these givens — except a direct, perhaps suicidal test of force with Russia. Or, perhaps, a retaliatory challenge elsewhere. The latter is not readily available — for geographic reasons and because the West already has expended its arsenal of economic and political weaponry.” Michael Brenner (consortiumnews.com 6/16/22)
“Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said on Tuesday that the fighting in Donbass was ‘hell,’ claiming that Kiev’s military remained heavily outgunned and even outnumbered by Russia and appealing to the US and its allies for even more weapons such as the HIMARS rocket launchers. ‘Yet we are unable to break the Russian army’s advantage in artillery and manpower, and this is very much felt in the fighting, especially in Donbass. Peski, Avdeevka, other directions … It’s just hell there. It cannot even be described in words,’ the Ukrainian president added.’” (rt.com 8/3/22)
“Alexander Darchiev, director of the Russian foreign ministry's North America department, told the TASS news agency that ‘pumping Ukraine with more long-range weapons systems’ will mean that the ‘geographical tasks of the special operation will be pushed back even further. Russia cannot allow the remaining Ukrainian territory to contain weapons that pose a direct threat to our country, ‘ he said, referring to the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics as well as the ‘liberated regions.’” (newsweek.com 8/13/22)
"We are at the edge of war with Russia and China on issues which we partly created, without any concept of how this is going to end or what it’s supposed to lead to,” Henry Kissinger said. (tass.com 8/13/22)
“Speaking at the (international security) forum, part of the ongoing Army 2022 expo near Moscow, Shoigu claimed that the weapons provided to Kiev have not had a significant effect on the battlefield, as has been claimed by the West. ‘Initially, it was about the supply of Javelin anti-tank systems and some unique drones. More recently, HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems and long-range howitzers were being promoted to the role of superweapons by Westerners. However, all of these weapons are being ground up in battle,’ the minister said.
Shoigu added that Russian forces are ‘carefully examining’ the Western weapon systems seized on the battlefield in Ukraine, and are ‘taking into account the features and specific qualities’ of these weapons when planning combat operations.” (rt.com 8/16/22)
“No one in NATO has any doubts that Moscow will achieve its goals during the special operation in Ukraine, Russian Defense Minister, General of the Army Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday during the Moscow Conference on International Security.‘NATO's efforts are aimed at prolonging the agony of the Kiev regime. At the same time, we know for certain that no one in NATO has any doubts that the goals of the special military operation set by the Russian leadership will be achieved,’ he stressed.”(tass.com 8/16/22)
Russian troops have occupied Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant since March 4, yet the West insists they are bombing themselves: “‘Washington will have 15 minutes’, Alexey Leonkov on the consequences of the Ukrainian Armed Forces shelling of Zaporizhia NPP. According to the military expert, the Russian leadership should warn Washington that a man-made disaster that may occur as a result of the shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant by the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be regarded by Russia as a nuclear attack on the country. As a result of this provocation, territories within a radius of 1000 km, including part of the Crimean Peninsula, may be at risk of infection. In this case, Moscow will immediately take decisive measures against the West.
‘Washington and London should try very hard to ensure that the NPP does not suffer, otherwise they will have 15 minutes and 5 minutes. I’m talking about the flight time of Avangard to the decision-making centers,’ Leonkov explained. The effective shelling of the Zaporizhia NPP by the Ukrainian Armed Forces will lead the West to unexpected but harsh consequences. Such a provocation can cause a major international conflict, as well as a global catastrophe.” (riafan.ru 8/18/22)
“Russia's foreign minister warned Thursday that any actions seen as endangering a Russian peacekeeping contingent in a separatist region of Moldova would be considered as an attack on Russia itself. Sergey Lavrov's statement in an address at Russia's top foreign affairs school underlined concerns that Moldova's Transnistria region, which borders Ukraine, could be drawn into the Russia-Ukraine conflict.” (abcnews.go.com 9/1/22)
“The UN is appreciates Russia’s efforts to safeguard the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team that came to inspect the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, on Thursday. That's according to the secretary-general’s chief spokesman, who was speaking after the Russian Defense Ministry said it was ‘bewildered’ at the lack of reaction to an alleged Ukrainian attempt to seize the facility by force. ‘We are glad that the Russian Federation did what it needed to do to keep our inspectors safe,’ Stephane Dujarric told reporters at a briefing in New York, when asked about Moscow’s comments.
Right before their visit, however, Ukrainian artillery targeted the city of Energodar and the Zaporozhye NPP itself, while a group of commandos crossed the Kakhovka Reservoir by boat and attempted to storm the facility, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Both the initial assault group and the reinforcements that followed were wiped out by the National Guard and combat helicopters, the Russian military said. Their goal, according to Moscow, was to seize the Russian-held power plant and use the IAEA staff as ‘human shields’ to maintain control over the facility.” (rt.com 9/1/22)
“Germany has crossed a red line with Russia by sending arms to Ukraine, Moscow’s ambassador in Berlin said on Monday. The decision undermined decades of reconciliation since the end of World War II and the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, the diplomat added. ‘The very fact that the Ukrainian regime is being supplied with German-made lethal weapons, which are used not only against Russian military service members, but also the civilian population of Donbass, crosses the red line,’ Ambassador Sergey Nechaev said in an interview with Izvestia newspaper. He added that Berlin should have known better, ‘considering the moral and historic responsibility that Germany has before our people for the Nazi crimes. They have crossed the Rubicon,’ Nechaev stated, using an idiom for passing the point of no return.” (rt.com 9/12/22)
“The ‘security guarantees’ proposal unveiled by Kiev on Tuesday was ‘really a prologue to the Third World War,’ said Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev, calling it a ‘hysterical appeal’ to Western countries engaged in a proxy war against Russia. If the West continues its ‘unrestrained pumping of the Kiev regime with the most dangerous types of weapons,’ Russia’s military campaign will move to the next level, where ‘visible boundaries and potential predictability of actions by the parties to the conflict’ will be erased and the conflict will take on a life of its own, as wars always do, Medvedev argued. ‘And then the Western nations will not be able to sit in their clean homes, laughing at how they carefully weaken Russia by proxy. Everything will be on fire around them. Their people will harvest their grief in full. The land will be on fire and the concrete will melt,’ Medvedev wrote, before citing a Bible verse from Revelations 9:18. ‘Yet still the narrow-minded politicians and their stupid think tanks, thoughtfully twirling a glass of wine in their hands, talk about how they can deal with us without entering into a direct war. Dull idiots with a classical education,’ Medvedev wrote.” (rt.com 9/13/22)
“Gennady Zyuganov, General Secretary of the Communist Party, and a powerful voice in the State Duma, said at the first plenary meeting of the Russian State Duma’s fall session on Tuesday that the ‘special operation’ has grown into a full-fledged war and the situation on the front has ‘changed drastically’ in the past couple of months. ‘The military-political operation…has escalated into a full-fledged war, which has been declared against us by the Americans, NATO members, and a unified Europe. A war is fundamentally different from a special operation. A special operation is something you announce — and something you can choose to put an end to. A war is something you can’t stop even if you want to. You have to fight to the end. War has two possible outcomes: victory or defeat.’” (indianpunchline.com 9/14/22)
“Possible supplies of longer-range missiles to Kiev by Washington will be tantamount to crossing a red line and making the United States a direct party to the conflict, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Thursday, adding that in this case Moscow would be forced to react ‘appropriately.’ ‘Should Washington decide to supply longer-range missiles to Kiev, by doing so it will cross a red line and become a direct party to the conflict. Under such a scenario, we will be forced to respond appropriately,’ she said. Zakharova warned that Russia reserved the right to defend its territory ‘by all available means.’” (tass.com 9/15/22)
“Destroying Russia and ‘disintegrating’ it into a number of petty states has always been a top priority for the collective West, the Russian president said. Ukraine, in its modern state, has been selected to become an ‘anti-Russian enclave’ and the main tool to achieve such goals, Putin believes. ‘The fact that they’ve always strived for the disintegration of our country is certain. It is only regrettable that at some point they decided to use Ukraine to achieve such goals,’ Putin said. ‘In order to prevent such developments, we have launched the special military operation.’” (rt.com 9/16/22)
“The Russian Defense Ministry has stated that its artillery and Air Force landed a series of strikes against Ukrainian command centers and footholds, as well as a local base of the US private military company helping Kiev's forces.The ministry specified that the mercenary base belonged to the Academi PMC – formerly known as the notorious Blackwater company. It was situated near the town of Krasatorsk, in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).” (sputniknews.com 9/18/22)
“In his TV address on Wednesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Russia was at war with the collective West rather than Ukraine. ‘In reality, we are fighting the collective West plus NATO. When we speak about it, we mean not only the weapons being supplied [to Kiev] in huge batches, but also about systems of communication and information processing systems,’ Shoigu said.
The Western states as well as NATO, he said, are supplying Kiev with ‘huge’ amounts of weapons. The minister went on to stress that the Ukrainian forces are increasingly using Western weapons to target civilian infrastructure, including hospitals. He stressed that more than 70 military satellites and 200 civilian satellites are working to aid Ukraine and added that some 150 Western military specialists have been deployed to Kiev, de facto leading Ukrainian forces.” (sputniknews.com 9/21/22)
“Putin also commented on the upcoming referendums in the two Donbass republics and two regions of Ukraine currently controlled to a large extent by Russian troops. The four entities are putting to a general vote a proposal to ask Moscow to accept them as new parts of the Russian Federation, with polling scheduled to start on Friday.
The Russian leader pledged to support the plebiscites in terms of security and said his government would respect whatever outcomes they produce. Russia’s goal is to protect civilians from the Ukrainian government, which had escalated the persecution of its opponents at home and had been using terrorist tactics against people living in Russia-controlled lands, Putin said.” (rt.com 9/21/22)
“Washington, London and Brussels are openly encouraging Kiev to move the hostilities to our territory. They openly say that Russia must be defeated on the battlefield by any means, and subsequently deprived of political, economic, cultural and any other sovereignty and ransacked.
They have even resorted to the nuclear blackmail. I am referring not only to the Western-encouraged shelling of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, which poses a threat of a nuclear disaster, but also to the statements made by some high-ranking representatives of the leading NATO countries on the possibility and admissibility of using weapons of mass destruction – nuclear weapons – against Russia.
I would like to remind those who make such statements regarding Russia that our country has different types of weapons as well, and some of them are more modern than the weapons NATO countries have. In the event of a threat to the territorial integrity of our country and to defend Russia and our people, we will certainly make use of all weapon systems available to us. This is not a bluff.” (Vladimir Putin 9/21/22)
“I would like to emphasize that the collective West, led by the United States, is openly seeking to defeat Russia ‘on the battlefield.’ The United States and its allies are ready to sacrifice Ukraine for the sake of their geopolitical goals. To achieve them, they pump the country with weapons, and this leads to an escalated and prolonged conflict. It puts off the prospects of its settlement.
‘Today, Western states funnel weapons and military hardware into the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev, and train Ukraine’s armed forces. NATO and US weapons are used to fire at Russian territory bordering Ukraine, killing civilians there. The Pentagon does not hide that it’s providing Kiev with intelligence and target designations for strikes. We’ve recorded the presence of American mercenaries and advisers on the battlefield,’ Lavrov told the US magazine.
Washington is not interested in establishing peace and tranquility in Ukraine. That became clear already in March, when Moscow and Kiev came close to reaching mutual agreements. Such turn of events obviously frightened the Americans and the British, so they actually forbade Ukraine to conduct further dialogue with Russia. Since then, the Ukrainian authorities have been shying away from negotiation process.” Sergey Lavrov. (newsweek.com 9/21/22)
“The referendum on September 23-27 in the Donbass and southern Kherson and Zaporozhye regions of Ukraine on their accession to Russian Federation is, prima facie, an exercise of the right of self-determination by the native population who reject the western-backed regime change in Kiev in 2014 and the ascendancy of extreme nationalist forces with neo-Nazi leanings in the power structure.” (M. K. Bhadrakumar, indianpunchline 9/22/22)
“Russia will regard Ukraine’s attempts to retake Donbass and other territories as attacks on its lands, if the referendums held there produce positive results, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Friday. ‘It goes without saying,’ he said, when asked if in case of a positive outcome of the referendums all of Kiev’s attempts to retake these territories would be regarded as attacks on Russia. Peskov explained that ‘immediately [after the decision to join Russia] the Constitution of Russia will come into force in relation to these territories.’” (tass.com 9/23/22)
“Lavrov recalled (@ the UN Security Council) that since the end of July, the Ukrainian armed forces have been remotely mining the center and suburbs of Donetsk with the banned anti-personnel mines “Lepestok”, but their use violates the 1997 contract ratified by Ukraine, as well as the 1997 contract ratified by Ukraine. The second protocol of the Geneva Convention on the prohibition of non-self-destructing mines. ‘Such atrocities were made possible and unpunished because the United States and its allies, with the connivance of international human rights institutions, systematically covered up the crimes of the Kyiv regime for eight years and formulated their policy toward Zelensky based on the well-known American principle: ‘he may be a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch’,” Lavrov said.’ (sputniknews.com 9/22/22)
“Ukraine is able to use US-provided weapons to launch attacks on territories controlled by Russian forces, where referenda are being held on accession to the Russian Federation, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday. ‘Ukraine has the absolute right to defend itself throughout its territory, including to take back the territory that has been illegally seized one way or another by Russia. The equipment, the weapons that we and many other countries are providing them have been used very effectively to do just that, as we’ve seen in northeast Ukraine and as we see as well in the south,’ Blinken said during a press conference.” (sputniknews.com 9/27/22)
"Today, Donbass, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions have turned away from Kiev, and the process will go further if the Kiev authorities do not realize the mistakes and strategic miscalculations" (Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Security Council Nebenzya 9/27/22)
“Asked about recent comments from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken – who said the White House has no problem with Kiev using Western arms to attack territories that voted to join Russia – Ambassador Anatoly Antonov warned that the weapons shipments only risk “further escalation of the conflict.” “In instigating Kiev to continue using the military equipment received from the West, Washington does not realize the riskiness of its actions,” the envoy said on Tuesday, adding that the Joe Biden administration is “approaching the dangerous line that Russia has repeatedly and clearly warned about: the United States becoming a party to the Ukrainian conflict.”
Earlier in the day, Blinken insisted the US “will never recognize the annexation of Ukrainian territory by Russia,” referring to votes in the two Donbass republics already recognized by Moscow – Donetsk and Lugansk – as well as the Ukrainian regions of Zaporozhye and Kherson, which are largely under the control of the Russian military. All four regions voted overwhelmingly to join Russia, according to local referendum observers.” (rt.com 9/28/22)
“Russia will soon transition from conducting a “special military operation” to a de-facto anti-terrorist operation to defend its own territory, the head of the Republic of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, said on Monday. Anticipating the results of the vote in Donbass republics Kherson and Zaporozhye, Aksyonov said this would lead to greater clarity and determination.
“Soon we will pass a certain point of no return. A new status for the liberated territories will put an end to uncertainty,” the Crimean governor said. “They will become full-fledged subjects of the Russian Federation, and we will de facto stop conducting a special military operation and start a counter-terrorist operation on our own territory.” (rt.com 9/28/22)
“American politicians are wrong if they think that Russia would not defend Crimea or the territories that may join it, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said in an article published on the website of the US’ National Interest magazine on Wednesday.
‘We are not threatening anyone. But we confirm that, as President Vladimir Putin said on September 21, Russia is ready to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and our people with all weapon systems we have,’ he stressed. ‘What is so aggressive about this statement? What is unacceptable? Would the United States not do the same if faced with an existential threat?’
‘I would like to add that certain American politicians are under a delusion if they think that our readiness to defend our territory does not apply to Crimea or to territories that may become part of Russia on the basis of a free expression of popular will,’ he noted.” (tass.com 9/29/22)
“Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed two decrees recognizing the former Ukrainian regions, Kherson and Zaporozhye, as independent sovereign states. The decrees come into force immediately. ‘Recognize the state sovereignty and independence’ of the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions ‘effective from the day of signing,’ say the two decrees dated and signed September 29.” (rt.com 9/29/22)
“President Vladimir Putin has signed treaties on the inclusion of four former Ukrainian regions, into the Russian Federation. Friday’s ceremony marked the start of the formal process of their accession. The heads of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik, as well as the leaders of Kherson and Zaporozhye, Vladimir Saldo and Evgeny Balitsky, signed the documents together with Putin.” (rt.com 9/30/22)
"I am sure that the Federal Assembly will support the constitutional laws on the admission and formation in Russia of four new regions, of four new subjects of the Russian Federation, because this is the will of millions of people," Putin said. "This is of course their right, their inalienable right, enshrined in Article 1 of the United Nations Charter, where the principle of equality and self-determination of peoples is stated directly," he added.” (sputniknews.com 9/30/22)
“Russia will view strikes on its new territories as an act of aggression, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday. ‘It will be nothing else,’ the spokesman said, answering a question if Moscow will view Ukrainian strikes on the new territories as an act of aggression against Russia.” (tass.com 9/30/22)
“Now the moment of truth has come. We are not reacting to imaginary threats in distant countries, we are defending our borders, our Motherland, all our people.” (Lavrov to the State Duma, 10/3/22)
“‘The US is increasing the deliveries of weapons to Ukraine, providing its military with intelligence information, ensuring the direct participation of its fighters and advisers in the conflict,’ Vorontsov, who is the deputy head of the Russian delegation, told the General Assembly’s First Committee, a body charged with arms control and security issues. This ‘not only prolongs hostilities and leads to new casualties, but also brings the situation closer to the dangerous line of a direct military clash between Russia and NATO,’ Vorontsov added.” (rt.com 10/4/22)
“The Federation Council (the upper house of parliament) unanimously approved four federal constitutional laws on accepting the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR, LPR), as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, into Russia at a plenary meeting on Tuesday.” (tass.com 10/4/22)
‘“Gazprom has the right to completely terminate gas supplies to Moldova in case of breaching payment commitments by October 20 and rescind the contract due to a gross violation of timeframe to enter into an agreement to settle the legacy debt of Moldovagaz, the Russian gas holding said on Tuesday.” (tass.com 10/4/22)
“Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law four unification treaties with the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, on Wednesday morning.” (rt.com 10/5/22)
“Secret U.S. operations inside Ukraine are being conducted under a presidential covert action finding, current and former officials said. The finding indicates that the president has quietly notified certain congressional leaders about the administration’s decision to conduct a broad program of clandestine operations inside the country. One former special forces officer said that Biden amended a preexisting finding, originally approved during the Obama administration, that was designed to counter malign foreign influence activities.” (theintercept.com 10/5/22)
“A call by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky for NATO members to deploy nuclear weapons against Russia is a reminder of why Moscow launched military action against his country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said ‘Yesterday, Zelensky called on his Western masters to deliver a preemptive nuclear strike on Russia,’ Moscow’s top diplomat stated during a media conference on Wednesday.In doing so, the Ukrainian leader ‘showed to the entire world the latest proof of the threats that come from the Kiev regime.’ Lavrov said Russia’s special military operation had been launched to neutralize those threats.” (rt.com 10/7/22)
“The blast that rocked the Crimean Bridge early on Saturday is just ‘the beginning,’ a top aide to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has warned. ‘Crimea, the bridge, the beginning,’ Mikhail Podoliak tweeted. ‘Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled.’ The former journalist, who is effectively the Kiev regime's main propagandist, controls the president's ‘information policy.’ He previously warned, in August, that Europe’s largest bridge ‘should be destroyed’ because it’s ‘an illegal construction and the main gateway to supply the Russian army in Crimea.’ ‘The reaction of the Kiev regime to the destruction of civilian infrastructure testifies to its terrorist nature,’ Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova wrote on Telegram several hours after the blast.” (rt.com 10/8/22)
“‘The terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge is no longer just a challenge, but a declaration of war without rules,’ said Russia’s State Duma on October 8 after an explosion rocked the Kerch Strait crossing earlier this morning. Speaking to RIA Novosti, Deputy Oleg Morozov said that the explosion was ‘a blatant terrorist war is being waged against us...if there is no ‘adequate’ response, such acts of aggression would be more likely to occur. ‘If we keep silent in response and do not give an adequate response, such terrorist attacks will multiply,’ he said.”
"This morning, on the initiative of the Ministry of Defense and according to a plan [formulated by] the Russian General Staff, massed strikes were carried out using high-precision, long-range air, sea and land-based weapons against energy, military command and communications facilities of Ukraine. If attempts to carry out terrorist attacks against our territory continue, Russia's responses will be tough and will correspond in scale to the level of threat posed to the Russian Federation," Putin warned.” (sputniknews.com 10/10/22)
“Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday called for a ‘complete dismantling’ of Ukraine’s ‘political regime.’ Writing on Telegram, Medvedev, who now serves as deputy head of the Security Council, shared his personal opinion, claiming that the current ‘Nazi political regime’ in Kiev will represent ‘a constant, direct and clear threat to Russia. Therefore, in addition to protecting our people and protecting the borders of the country, our future actions, in my opinion, should be aimed at a complete dismantling of the political regime of Ukraine,’ Medvedev said.” (rt.com 10/10/22))
“Thousands of people took to the streets of Moldova’s capital, Chisinau, on Sunday to protest the high cost of living and the policies of the government, as well as those of President Maia Sandu. The protest, organized by the opposition Shor Party, decried the government's austerity policies, demanded the resignation of Sandu and the cabinet and called for early presidential and parliamentary elections. Up to 60,000 people took part in the protest, according to Dinu Turcanu, Shor Party member and head of Moldova’s Orhei region. She claimed that between 6,000 and 9,000 people from various regions could not attend because police blocked roads leading to Chisinau.” (rt.com 10/10/22)
“Russia’s State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has shared a map, revealing the scale of Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian military targets and infrastructure earlier this week. Moscow’s ‘response to terrorist acts by the Kiev regime’ saw 70 facilities of Ukrainian energy infrastructure hit, which resulted in the country losing 50% of its generating capacity, Volodin wrote on Telegram on Thursday. The accompanying map shows that only three Ukrainian regions – Chernigov in the north, and Volyn and Transcarpathia in the west – were unaffected by the strikes. ‘If the terrorist attacks continue, the response will be even harsher,’ he warned, adding all who organized Ukrainian attacks must be found, and ‘those who resist will be destroyed.’” (rt.com 10/13/22)
“Partial mobilization is almost over, it will be completed in about two weeks. By now 222,000 men out of an estimated 300,000 have already been called up for military service, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the media on Friday. ‘This work is already being completed. Now 222,000 men out of 300,000 have been mobilized. I think that all mobilization activities will be completed within about two weeks,’ he said.” (tass.com 10/14/22)
“Tens of thousands of supporters of the opposition (Shur) party demonstrated in Moldova today, renewing their call for the resignation of the country's President Maya Sandu. The TASS news agency reported that the police prevented the demonstrators from reaching the main square of the capital and dispersed them by force, as it estimated the number of participants in the demonstration at about 60 thousand people. The demonstrators demanded Sandow's resignation and the holding of early parliamentary elections, chanting slogans "shame" and "no to dictatorship.” The country has previously witnessed protest demonstrations due to dissatisfaction with the actions of the authorities loyal to NATO, in which the Socialists Party, the Communist Party and the Shor Party participated, as they demanded the resignation of the government for its failure to deal with the crises.” (newsrnd.com 10/16/22)
“The North Atlantic Alliance has already suffered a defeat in Ukraine, associated with the collapse of the Western project to turn Ukraine into ‘anti-Russia’, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said in an interview with TASS. ‘NATO has already been defeated in Ukraine. This defeat is connected with the collapse of the project of turning Ukraine into ‘anti-Russia’,’ Grushko said.” (tass.com 10/15/22)
“‘I don’t want to sacrifice the lives of the Russian soldiers in a partisan war of hoards of fanatics armed by NATO. We’ve got enough power and technical means to lead Ukraine to total capitulation.’ General Surovikin (https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses/11836)
“In just over one week of Russian airstrikes targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, 30% of the power plants in the country have been destroyed, President Vladimir Zelensky has claimed. The devastation has caused ‘massive blackouts across the country,’ he added in a tweet posted on Tuesday morning. He concluded that there is ‘no space left for negotiations’ with the government of his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
“Putin announced the shift in the military operation in Ukraine on Monday of last week, just after Russian forces launched massive long-range missile strikes across Ukraine. He accused Kiev of masterminding several ‘terrorist attacks’ targeting key Russian infrastructure over the past several months, including the Crimean Bridge bombing attack.” (rt.com 10/18/22)
“The NATO command of the armed forces of Ukraine has long been demanding offensive operations in the Kherson direction from the Kiev regime, regardless of any casualties – both in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and among the civilian population. The Russian military is aware of Kiev’s plans to use ‘prohibited’ means of waging war in the Kherson area, and Ukraine is preparing a massive strike on the Kakhovka hydroelectric plant, located on the Dnieper River, as well as launching massive rocket and artillery attacks on Kherson itself. These actions can lead to the destruction of the infrastructure of this large industrial center and massive casualties among the civilian population. In the ongoing effort to dislodge the Russian military from its positions, Kiev is pouring its reserves en masse into the frontline.” General Surovikin (rt.com 10/18/22)
“Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday declared martial law in four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claims to have annexed as the Russian military continues to be plagued by setbacks in its eight-month offensive. ‘I signed a decree to introduce martial law in these four subjects of the Russian Federation,’ Putin said during a televised meeting of Russia’s Security Council, referring to Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
‘The Kyiv regime, as you know, refused to recognize the will and choice of the people and rejected any proposals for negotiations,’ Putin said. He also accused Ukraine of using ‘terrorist methods. They send sabotage groups into our territory,’ he said, claiming Moscow had foiled other attacks after its Crimea bridge was targeted ‘including at our nuclear power facilities.’” (themoscowtimes.com 10/19/22)
“The US Army's 101st Airborne Division would not hesitate to enter Ukraine should a conflict break out between Russia and NATO, CBS News reported on Friday citing the unit’s military commanders. The elite division is currently conducting war games in Romania, close to the country’s border with the war-torn state.
The unit's commanders told CBS that they would be prepared to cross into Ukraine if the fighting escalates – without elaborating what that would entail – or if NATO were to come under attack. They highlighted that their current deployment in Europe, the first since WWII, is ‘to defend NATO territory. We're ready to defend every inch of NATO soil’, Deputy Commander Brigadier General John Lubas told the news network.” (rt.com 10/22/22)
“More than 90,000 people joined a protest against Moldova's government, although the actual scale is hard to gauge as people have been separated into two files by police cordons, the vice president of the Sor opposition party, Marina Tauber, said on Sunday. ‘Representatives of the authorities and law enforcement agencies are at war with us, Moldovan citizens. We don't want to be bad, we don't want to sow hatred, but it is unacceptable that we are met by police officers with guns and batons,’ Tauber said.” (sputniknews.com)
“The Kiev regime plans to explode a low-yield nuclear device in order to blame Russia for using weapons of mass destruction in the Ukrainian theater of combat operations, the chief of the Russian army’s radiation, chemical and biological protection force, Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov, said on Monday.
‘The Defense Ministry has evidence that the Kiev regime is planning a provocation involving the detonation of a so-called dirty bomb or a low-yield nuclear device. The purpose of the provocation is to accuse Russia of using weapons of mass destruction in the Ukrainian theater of operations, thus launching a major anti-Russian campaign around the world aimed at undermining trust towards Moscow,’ he said.” (tass.com 10/24/22)
“The US troop deployment in Romania increases risks for Russia’s security, and will prompt Moscow to take countermeasures, Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday. He was referring to the US Army’s 101st Airborne Division, which is currently stationed in Romania on the border with Ukraine. Speaking to reporters, Peskov noted that ‘the closer American troops are to our borders, the greater danger we are in.’ He went on to say that Moscow factors in such a military presence when developing its security framework. Peskov reiterated that such a deployment on Russia’s doorstep ‘does not contribute to predictability and stability.’” (rt.com 10/26/22)
“Just like Azerbaijan and Turkey taking Nagorno Karabakh, if NATO can grab Tiraspol nobody other than Russia is going to squawk about it. A key military objective for NATO / 101st Airborne is likely to be Tiraspol, the capital of Transnistria, which because of its geography, is the most difficult region for Russia to defend. Sandwiched between Ukraine and NATO, Russia has no supply lines to it. And more importantly, the two best bridges over the Dneister on the best-paved route to Odessa from Romania are located at Tiraspol.” (https://thesaker.is/nato-set-to-attack-tiraspol/ David Sant 10/27/22)
“No less a statesman than George Kennan, the architect of containment, called the (NATO) expansion decision ‘the most fateful error of American policy in the entire post-Cold War era’. Where we made a serious strategic mistake--and where Kennan was prescient--was in later letting inertia drive us to push for NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia, despite Russia's deep historical attachments to both states and even stronger protestations. That did indelible damage, and fed the appetite of future Russian leadership for getting even”. (CIA Director William Burns: The Back Channel: A Memoir of American Diplomacy and the Case for Its Renewal)
“The Kiev regime carried out a terrorist attack on the ships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian ships in Sevastopol, using drones, the Russian Ministry of Defense told reporters on Saturday. ‘Today at 04:20 am, the Kiev regime carried out a terrorist attack on ships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian ships,’ the ministry said. According to the statement, nine drones and seven autonomous marine unmanned vehicles were involved in the attack. ‘All air targets were destroyed,’ the ministry said.” (tass.com 10/29/22)
“Ukraine says power and water supplies across the country have been badly hit after Russia launched more than 50 missiles targeting critical facilities. In the capital Kyiv, 40% of residents are without water, according to the latest update from the mayor, and 270,000 apartments have no electricity. Energy facilities were also hit in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv. Thirteen people were injured across the country. Russia said it targeted Ukraine's military command and energy systemsThe country's defence ministry added that all ‘designated objects were hit’ by long-range high-precision weaponry.” (bbc.com 10/31/22)
“American troops are now on the ground in Ukraine, where they are monitoring NATO arms deliveries to the country, an anonymous Pentagon official told several US media outlets on Monday. It is unclear how many personnel are involved, or where they are located. Speaking to reporters from the Associated Press, NBC News, and other members of the Pentagon press pool, the official said that the contingent of troops is led by Brigadier General Garrick Harmon, the US defense attache to Kiev.”(rt.com 11/1/22)
“Relocating civilians from the southern Russian city of Kherson is a top priority, President Vladimir Putin has said. The vicinity around the city has become an area of intense combat in recent weeks, with Moscow accusing Kiev’s forces of repeatedly targeting the bridges crossing the Dnieper River, as well as the local hydroelectric plant and its dam, threatening large-scale flooding if a rupture occurs. ‘Those living in Kherson must be evacuated from the most dangerous zone of action. The civilian population must not suffer from shelling, any kind of offensive and counter-offensive, and other activities related to military operations,’ Putin stated.” (rt.com 11/4/22)
“Emergency services in Moscow-occupied Ukraine said Sunday the key Kakhovka dam in the Russian-controlled region of Kherson was ‘damaged’ by a Ukrainian strike, Russian news agencies reported. ‘Today at 10:00 there was a hit of six (American) HIMARS rockets. Air defense units shot down five missiles, one hit a lock of the Kakhovka dam, which was damaged,’ Russian agencies quoted local emergency services as saying. Ukraine has in recent weeks warned that Moscow forces intended to blow up the strategic facility to cause flooding. The RIA Novosti news agency then quoted a local Moscow-backed official saying the damage was not ‘critical.’” (themoscowtimes.com 11/6/22)
“Since September 18, regular anti-government demonstrations have been taking place across Moldova, attracting thousands of Sor supporters. The Sunday demonstration ended with the participants adopting a resolution, calling on Moldovan President Maia Sandu to resign. Moldova's opposition has repeatedly accused the government of failing to cope with the economic crisis amid record inflation that reached 33.97% in September and deteriorating living standards. The country's leadership has also been criticized for its unwillingness to negotiate better gas prices with Russia and for putting political pressure on opponents.” (sputniknews.com 11/6/22)
“Russia has decided to withdraw its troops from the right bank of the Dnieper River, including the regional capital of Kherson. The Defense Ministry explained that it wants to avoid unnecessary losses among its forces and spare the lives of civilians. While saying the decision was not easy, the commanders see little sense in keeping the troops on the right bank, the chief of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, Army General Sergey Surovikin, told Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu on Wednesday. The general pointed to continued Ukrainian attacks on the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric dam on the Dnieper River, arguing that it could mean the total isolation of Russian troops in Kherson.” (rt.com 11/9/22)
“Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has made the case in internal meetings that the Ukrainians have achieved about as much as they could reasonably expect on the battlefield before winter sets in and so they should try to cement their gains at the bargaining table, according to officials informed about the discussions. But other senior officials have resisted the idea, maintaining that neither side is ready to negotiate and that any pause in the fighting would only give President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia a chance to regroup.” (nytimes.com 11/10/22)
“The withdrawal of Russian forces from Kherson doesn't effect the legal status of the region, Moscow insisted on Friday, as it was officially incorporated into Russia last month after a public referendum. Speaking to journalists, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that ‘Kherson Region remains part of the Russian Federation, and this status is legally fixed and defined, and there can be no changes to this status.’” (rt.com 11/11/22)
“Reports have circulated in Russian media about secret US-Russian talks hosted by Türkiye. The Kommersant daily reported, citing anonymous sources, that the un-announced meeting is allegedly being held on Monday in the Turkish capital Ankara. The outlet reports that Moscow has sent Sergey Naryshkin, director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR, to the talks. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov later confirmed to Russian media that bilateral talks had taken place in Ankara, adding that they were held at the US’ initiative.” (rt.com 11/14/22)
"I assured [General Mark Milley] that we will fight for as long as we have the strength. Our goal is to liberate the entire Ukrainian land from Russian occupation. We will not stop on this path under any circumstances. The Ukrainian military will not accept any negotiations, agreements or compromises. We have only one condition for negotiations - Russia must withdraw from all captured territories.” (General Zaluzhnyi, Ukrainska Pravda 11/14/22)
“About ten million Ukrainians have been left without electricity due to a Russian missile barrage, President Vladimir Zelensky said on Wednesday. In recent weeks, Moscow has been targeting the Ukrainian power grid after Moscow accused Kiev of staging ‘sabotage’ attacks on its critical infrastructure.
In a video address on Telegram, Zelensky stated that many Ukrainian cities are experiencing power outages, with Kiev, Kharkov, Zhytomyr, and Lviv Regions affected the most. ‘About ten million Ukrainians are without electricity,’ he said.” (rt.com 11/16/22)
“As the first full winter of Russia’s war with Ukraine sets in, the US is running low on some high-end weapons systems and ammunition available to transfer to Kyiv, three US officials with direct knowledge tell CNN. The strain on weapons stockpiles – and the ability of the US industrial base to keep up with demand – is one of the key challenges facing the Biden administration as the US continues to send billions of dollars of weapons to Ukraine to support its fight against Russia. One of the officials said the stockpiles of certain systems are ‘dwindling’ after nearly nine months of sending supplies to Kyiv during the high-intensity war, as there’s “finite amount” of excess stocks which the US has available to send.
Among the weapons systems where there’s particular concern about US stockpiles meeting Ukrainian demands are 155mm artillery ammunition and Stinger anti-aircraft shoulder-fired missiles, the sources said.” (cnn.com 11/17/22)
“Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday that contrary to the expectations of ‘enemies,’ Russia has sufficient inventories of weapons to continue strikes. Enemies continue to carefully count our launches and our stockpiles. They should know better than to hope for a depletion of our resources,’ he said on Telegram on Wednesday. ‘To be continued. There’s enough for everyone!’” (tass.com 11/23/22)
“The Donbass republics should probably have rejoined Russia sooner, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the mothers of troops involved in the military operation in Ukraine on Friday. In such a case, fewer lives might have been lost, the president stressed. ‘There might not have been so many casualties among civilians, there would not be so many children killed,’ the Russian leader suggested. He maintained, however, that back in 2014, Russia did not have a full understanding of the situation in Donbass or of the true sentiments of the locals.
‘[We] believed that we might still be able to reach an agreement and … reunify Donetsk and Lugansk with Ukraine within … the Minsk Agreements,” Putin noted, adding that Russia was “genuinely working towards that.’ Commenting on the matter further, the president blamed the 2014 coup in Kiev for the subsequent crisis in Donbass and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. ‘If not for the coup d’état in Ukraine in 2014, none [of this] would have happened,’ he said.” (rt.com 11/25/22)
“Russian forces have destroyed six command posts of Ukrainian troops in the Kherson and Kharkov regions, as well as in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov told a briefing on Sunday. ‘Six command posts of the enemy were destroyed in the area of the settlements of Sadovoye, Dudchany and Zolotaya Balka in the Kherson region, Yampol in the DPR as well as Kislovka in the Kharkov region, along with 62 artillery units in firing positions, manpower and military hardware in 137 regions,’ the spokesman said.” (tass.com 11/27/22)
“Ukrainian officials said Sunday that they had managed to restore most of the electricity to the capital city of Kyiv, even as Russian strikes hit cities across southern Ukraine and intense fighting continued in the country’s eastern Donetsk region. Even though parts of Ukraine’s electricity grid have been hobbled by Russian strikes over the past few weeks, officials in the capital said that power, water and heat had been almost completely restored. Utility workers have been scrambling to restore power in recent days as temperatures drop and snow starts falling on the city of three million.” (wsj.com 11/27/22)
“Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Gordon insists that the government in Chisinau should allow Ukraine to enter Transnistria: ‘We are forced to keep troops on the border with Moldova, and not send these troops to liberate the Kherson region, Zaporozhye, Donbass, Crimea. If President Maia Sandu asked Kyiv to free Moldova from the Russian military, this could be done, because it is in the interests of Ukraine.’”(https://t.me/ukraina_ru/119376 11/29/22)
“European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has presented the total number of losses estimated to have been suffered by Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. ‘More than 100,000 Ukrainian military officers have been killed so far,’ von der Leyen claimed on Wednesday, while adding that around 20,000 civilian lives have also been lost amid the fighting, which has continued since late February.” (rt.com 11/30/22)
“Apart from Ukraine, Moldova has been hit hardest by Russia’s invasion of its neighbor, the Moldovan foreign minister said Wednesday, as NATO offered fresh support to three countries shaken by the effects of Moscow’s 10-month-old war. Nicu Popescu told The Associated Press in an interview in Romania’s capital that ‘we want to be expanding our cooperation with partners who support Moldova ... that includes the European Union (and) NATO.’
That support for Moldova — as well as Georgia and Bosnia — came from NATO allies also on Wednesday when the three countries’ foreign ministers met with their NATO counterparts to discuss how the world’s biggest security organization could help them in the face of political, energy and territorial uncertainty precipitated by the war.” (abcnews.go.com 11/30/22)
“A retired US general has pinpointed a ‘major issue’ for NATO as the West look to keep up with ammo demands as fighting in Ukraine continues to eat up Western stockpiles. Ukraine is burning through ammunition and shells at a faster rate than the West can maintain according to retired US Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. The former commander believes that NATO lacks the industrial base to replace depleted stockpiles and Ukraine continues to demand ammunition to use against Russian forces.
Mr Leighton told CNN: ‘The defence industrial base of all these countries, the NATO countries in Europe as well as the United States it is really not built for this kind of war. That very fact has made it really difficult for the West to resupply Ukraine, Ukraine is using weapons at a very high rate it is using ammunition as well as part of this. Then the other thing we are confronted with is the barrels of the various artillery pieces are overheated because of overuse. So that is a major for the Ukrainians and for the West, especially if the West wants to continue helping the Ukrainians stop the Russians.’” (express.co.uk 12/2/22)
“Soldiers from Russia and Belarus are training to fight as a unified force, the latter's President, Alexander Lukashenko, has said amid heightened tensions with the West over the Ukraine conflict. He made his comments during Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu’s visit to Minsk on Saturday. ‘Today we are preparing like a single force, a single army,’ Lukashenko said, adding that instructors from both countries were training each other’s troops. ‘Everyone knows this. We did not hide this fact. Well, it is impossible to hide this in a modern world.’ Lukashenko insisted that both Minsk and Moscow ‘did not want and do not want war,’ but are working together to be able to ‘repel any aggression.’” (rt.com 12/4/22)
“A Ukrainian drone strike on two Russian airbases in the Ryazan and Saratov regions has resulted in the deaths of three service members and minor damage to two airplanes, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday. A number of ‘Soviet-made’ jet drones, flying at low altitude, targeted the long-range strategic aviation assets at the Dyagilevo airfield in Ryazan Region and Engels airfield in Saratov Region, the ministry said. While they were detected and shot down by air defenses, the debris impacted the airfields ‘slightly’ damaging two aircraft. Three service members were ‘fatally injured’ while four more were taken to military hospitals for treatment.” (rt.com 12/5/22)
“Strikes by Russian missiles in multiple regions of Ukraine targeted its ability to transport troops and their Western-supplied weapons, as well as equipment to the front lines, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Monday. Ukrainian officials reported power supply disruptions in the capital and several regional centers. ‘Energy objects’ in the Kiev, Vinnitsa and Odessa regions were damaged by Monday’s strikes, leading to power outages, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal claimed. There were also reports of full blackouts in the Sumy region, as well as partial disruptions in Cherkasy, Kharkov, Krivoy Rog, Kirovograd, Nikolaev, and Zhitomir. Multiple targets were struck in Dnepropetrovsk.” (rt.com 12/5/22)
“In its eighth missile attack in eight weeks, Russia hit infrastructure on Monday causing power outages, as authorities said half of the Kyiv region would be without electricity in the coming days. Overnight on Monday, more missiles hit critical infrastructure near the southern city of Zaporizhzhya, officials said. With an estimated 50 percent of Ukraine's energy infrastructure damaged due to continuous Russian missile strikes, officials said that the country's ‘entire national grid could collapse within weeks if the attacks continue. By that, we mean facing power outages of not just hours or days, but potentially weeks’” (newsweek.com 12/6/22)
“Russian President Vladimir Putin waited only six months before switching from a special military operation to full scale war against Ukraine. Putin's initial assault was limited to barely 150,000 troops. He expected a quick victory followed by negotiations on his principal concerns: Russian control of Crimea, Ukrainian neutrality, and autonomy for the Russian population in the Donbas, but he was wrong. Putin had not counted on Ukraine's stiff resistance or the West's massive military and economic intervention. Faced with a new situation, Putin changed his strategy. Now he is about to unleash his own General Sherman and make Ukraine howl.” (Newsweek.com 12/6/22)
“Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has confirmed her government’s duplicity regarding the conflict in Ukraine by confirming that the 2014 ceasefire agreement was meant to give Kiev time to build up its military, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.
In an interview with Die Zeit magazine published on Wednesday, Merkel said that the Minsk protocol brokered by Germany and France was ‘an attempt to give Ukraine time,’ which it used to ‘become stronger’ as evidenced on the battlefield now. She was referring to the first of the two documents known collectively as the ‘Minsk agreements’ that were designed to help Kiev reconcile with rebels in the east, who had rejected the outcome of an armed coup in the capital in 2014.” (rt.com 12/8/22)
“There’s a lot of noise right now about our strikes against the energy infrastructure of the neighboring country,” Putin said after an awards ceremony. “Yes we are doing it, but who started it? Who struck the Crimean bridge? Who blew up the power lines of the Kursk Nuclear Power Station? Who is not providing water to Donestk? Not providing water to a city of one million is an act of genocide. No one said a word about it anywhere. At all. Complete silence. Just as we make a move, do something in response. Noise and crackle start from the whole universe. This will not stop us from completing military objectives.” (thedrive.com 12/8/22)
“NATO countries are increasingly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, with the United States intentionally proceeding with an escalation on this track, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on the Rossiya-24 TV channel on Thursday. ‘NATO members are increasingly and directly involved in this conflict. Their support for Kiev is now much diversified than it was a few months ago. This is a reflection of Washington’s intentional policy, obediently pursued by the Europeans, of escalating the conflict. They are playing with fire. The risks are soaring,’ Ryabkov said. Moscow does not see that the West has any caps on the range of arms supplies to Ukraine.” (Tass.com 12/8/22)
“Former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko eventually admitted that Kiev mainly intended to use the ceasefire to rebuild its military and the economy. Merkel seemed to confirm this in an interview with German newspaper Die Zeit on Wednesday, saying that by signing the (Minsk) agreements, Ukraine won ‘valuable time’ to muster a stronger army.” (rt.com 12/11/22)
“EU members must pour more resources into boosting their military capabilities to ensure the flow of weapons will continue ‘until Ukraine prevails’ over Russia, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said. He acknowledged that insufficient preparation has led to member states’ stockpiles becoming depleted. ‘We have given weapons to Ukraine, but in so doing, we realized that our military stockpiles have been depleted,’ he wrote in a blog post on Sunday. ‘And we should be able to do this as long as necessary, until Ukraine prevails.’ The situation ‘has been a wake-up call for all of us about our military capabilities,’ he said, reiterating his assessment from the previous week that the EU is ‘lacking critical defense capabilities.’” (rt.com 12/12/22)
“There can be no discussion about a withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine before the end of the year, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Tuesday. He stressed that in order to achieve peace it would be necessary to take into account the new realities, such as the accession of new regions to Russia.
‘It is out of the question,’ Peskov said when asked whether Russia was considering the possibility of starting the withdrawal of its troops from Ukraine before the end of this year. ‘The Ukrainian side will have to take into account the realities that emerged lately,’ Peskov said. ‘These realities are a product of the policy that the Ukrainian leadership and the current Ukrainian regime have conducted for the past 15 or even 20 years,’ he stressed.
‘These realities indicate Russia has new constituent territories. They appeared as a result of referendums that took place on these territories.’ He pointed out that ‘without taking these new realities into account, any progress [towards a settlement] will be impossible.’” (tass.com 12/13/22)
“Washington will not be able to evade responsibility for Kiev's terrorist actions, including for aiming rockets at Russian targets, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing Thursday. ‘Washington, which has practically become a party to the conflict, will not be able to evade complicity in the terror unleashed by the Kiev regime against Russian civilians and absolve itself of responsibility for the deaths and destruction caused by American weapons on American tip-off,’ she said.
The diplomat drew attention to the fact that the shelling of civilian objects on the territory of the Russian Federation was carried out on direct orders from Kiev "with the approval of the United States, which is directly involved in the aiming of artillery and missile systems and provides satellite intelligence to the Ukrainian armed forces.’” (tass.com 12/15/22)
“A group of American specialists assisted Ukraine in modernizing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that were subsequently used in an attack deep inside Russia, the acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) has said. ‘A US company directly helped the Ukrainian [military] modernize… the drones that were used to strike airfields in Russian territory,’ Denis Pushilin told RT in an interview published on Saturday. He added that the UAVs in question had been fitted with a US GPS navigation system. According to Pushilin, the drones were modernized at an aviation plant in the Ukrainian city of Kharkov.” (rt.com 12/17/22)
“If the pre-war dividing line between Ukraine and Russia cannot be achieved by combat or by negotiation, recourse to the principle of self-determination could be explored. Internationally supervised referendums concerning self-determination could be applied to particularly divisive territories which have changed hands repeatedly over the centuries.” Henry Kissinger (spectator.co.uk 12/17/22)
“Monday, Dec. 19 saw the first Ukrainian strikes inside Russia with advanced US missiles that President Joe Biden promised the Ukraine leader a week earlier. DEBKAfile’s military sources report that the Ukrainians used their fresh supplies of AGM-88 Harm missiles to strike power and water supply plants in the Russian town of Belgorod in retaliation for Moscow’s unceasing Iranian-made drone assaults on its vital facilities including power – in a bid to freeze Ukraine into submission.
The American AGM-88 is a high-speed anti-radiation missile designed to disarm the radar systems of antiair weapons. Powered with solid fuel, it can reach a speed of Mach 2 without generating smoke, which makes it hard for the targeted victims to detect in time to ward off its strike.” (Debka.com 12/20/22)
“The delivery of a battery of Patriot missile systems to Ukraine will prolong the Ukrainian security crisis, but cannot alter its outcome, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. ‘Our adversaries proceed from the idea that this is supposedly a defensive weapon. Alright, we'll keep that in mind. And an antidote can always be found,’ Putin said, speaking to reporters after a meeting of the Russian State Council on Thursday. The president assured that the Patriot deliveries will be ‘in vain,’ and would ‘just prolong the conflict, that's all.’ As for the combat characteristics of the Patriot missile system, Putin said it was ‘a rather old system that does not work like, say, our S-300.’” (sputniknews.com 12/22/22)
“Intensified cooperation with NATO undermines Moldova’s security and the supply of western arms would only bring negative consequences, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told Sputnik. ‘A boost in cooperation between Chisinau and NATO countries in the military and military-technical spheres is a factor that undermines the security of Moldova itself to a greater extent. As experience shows, the reckless pumping of Western weapons to a given country or the deployment of NATO contingents on its territory does not at all add to its security or sovereignty, but, on the contrary, brings it closer to disaster. The sad experience of Ukraine can be seen very clearly from the Moldovan land, I believe,’ Galuzin said.” (sputniknews.com 12/24/22)
“‘The only thing that stops our enemies today is the understanding that Russia will be guided by [the doctrine] on nuclear deterrence. And if there is a real threat, we will act,’ Medvedev wrote in the article published on Sunday. In such a grim scenario there will be nobody left to argue about whether that was ‘a retaliatory strike or a preventive one. Therefore, the Western world is balancing between a burning desire to maximally humiliate, dismember and destroy Russia, on the one hand, and the desire to avoid a nuclear apocalypse, on the other,’ he explained.
Until Russia receives the security guarantees it has demanded, the world ‘will continue to teeter on the brink of World War III and nuclear catastrophe,’ Medvedev wrote, noting that Moscow is doing ‘everything we can to prevent it.’” (rt.com 12/26/22)
“Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has alleged that up to ‘hundreds’ of American servicemen are deployed to Ukraine. Lavrov claimed that US soldiers, military advisers, and intelligence officers have long been direct participants in the conflict. Sitting down with Russia’s Channel One for an interview on Wednesday, Lavrov spoke at length about Washington’s deep involvement in the hostilities in Ukraine, which has steadily grown despite repeated assurances from American leaders that US personnel would have no role in the fighting.” (rt.com 12/30/22)
“The 2014 Minsk Agreement was indeed a ploy to buy Ukraine time and should be credited for Kiev’s ‘successful resilience’ now, former French president Francois Hollande said on Friday. Confirming former German chancellor Angela Merkel’s assessment of the truce, Hollande also blamed US weakness for the failure to deter Russia. Earlier this month, Merkel described Minsk as ‘an attempt to give Ukraine time’ to build up its military. Speaking with the Kyiv Independent, a pro-government Ukrainian outlet, Hollande agreed, saying Merkel was ‘right on this point.’” (rt.com 12/30/22)
“More than 60 Russian troops have been killed by a Ukrainian missile strike, Moscow confirmed on Monday. The bombardment hit a temporary housing area used by the Russian forces in Donbass. The facility in the city of Makeyevka in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic was targeted by six missiles from US-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, the Defense ministry said. Two projectiles were intercepted by air defenses, but four made it through, the statement added.
‘As a result of a strike by four missiles with high-explosive warheads on a temporary deployment point, 63 Russian servicemen were killed,’ Defense Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said during a briefing.” (rt.com 1/2/2023)
“Russian forces have destroyed several US-supplied HIMARS rocket launchers and eliminated scores of Ukrainian troops and dozens of foreign fighters in a fresh series of missile strikes, Moscow’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. The Russian Air Force’s ‘precision strikes’ on positions of the ‘foreign legion’ fighting for Ukraine near Kramatorsk and Maslyakovka destroyed over 130 ‘foreign mercenaries,’ it added. Up to 120 Ukrainian soldiers were eliminated at Druzhkovka railway station, the military claimed.” (rt.com 1/3/23)
“Germany is looking for new problems, and long-term ones, said State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin in his Telegram channel. ‘Today, the German government decided to shift the problems that their predecessors created onto our country. To this end, they plan to seize Russian assets to restore Ukraine. As soon as such a decision is made, we have the right to take similar actions with respect to the assets of Germany and other states,’ he emphasized. Volodin also added that the countries that recognized the independence of Kosovo ‘have no other choice but to agree with the right’ of South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Crimea, the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions to self-determination. ‘This will initiate a process when all states will begin to ignore international law, take whatever they see fit at their own discretion,’ he concluded. (tass.com 1/5/23)
“With the supply of weapons, the United States is inciting Kyiv ‘to new terrible deeds.’ The decision to transfer the Bradley BMP to Kyiv confirms that the United States was not going to heed the calls of the Russian Federation to take into account the dangerous consequences. There has long been no talk of any ‘defensive character’ of the weapons transferred to Kyiv. Washington demonstrates by its actions that it does not want a political settlement around Ukraine.” Ambassador Antonov (izvestia.com 1/5/23)
"‘We've been in the war for almost a year now,’ (Ukraine’s Ambassador to the UK) Vadym Prystaiko said. ‘We're losing people left and right. We're not advertising how many of those lost are military or civilians, but you can imagine that numbers are huge, indigestible. And the cities, some of them are totally destroyed.’” (newsweek.com 1/7/23)
“Both of us have dealt with Putin on a number of occasions, and we are convinced he believes time is on his side. For Putin, defeat is not an option. Although Ukraine’s response to the invasion has been heroic and its military has performed brilliantly, the country’s economy is in a shambles, millions of its people have fled, its infrastructure is being destroyed, and much of its mineral wealth, industrial capacity and considerable agricultural land are under Russian control.” (Condoleezza Rice/Robert Gates: “Time Is Not On Ukraine’s Side” washingtonpost.com 1/7/23)
CIA Director Burns foretold the tragic Russia/Ukraine war in a 2008 cable when Ambassador to Moscow:
“Russian Opposition Neuralgic and Concrete: Ukraine and Georgia’s NATO aspirations not only touch a raw nerve in Russia, they engender serious concerns about the consequences for stability in the region. Not only does Russia perceive encirclement, and efforts to undermine Russia’s influence in the region, but it also fears unpredictable and uncontrolled consequences which would seriously affect Russian security interests. Experts tell us that Russia is particularly worried that the strong divisions in Ukraine over NATO membership, with much of the ethnic-Russian community against membership, could lead to a major split, involving violence or at worst, civil war. In that eventuality, Russia would have to decide whether to intervene; a decision Russia does not want to have to face.” Wikileaks
“The U.S. is considering sending Stryker armored combat vehicles to Ukraine in an upcoming aid package to help Kyiv fend off an expected Russian spring offensive, according to two people familiar with the discussion.
The news follows the Biden administration’s announcement last week that it will send 50 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, a powerful tracked armored vehicle that carries an autocannon, a machine gun and TOW missiles.” (politico.com 1/9/23)
“Why have we achieved the level of success we've achieved in Ukraine? Because after Russian aggression in 2014 and 2015, we earnestly got after preparing for future conflict: training for the Ukrainians, pre-positioning of supplies, identification of sites from which we could operate support, sustain operations. We call that setting the theatre.” Marine Lt. General Bierman (ft.com 1/8/23)
“Officials from Russia, Ukraine and Türkiye met in Ankara on Wednesday, where they held several rounds of talks. The delegations discussed opening a humanitarian corridor between Moscow and Kiev, swapping prisoners, and establishing a ceasefire amid the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine.” (rt.com 1/11/23)
“Western—and some Ukrainian—officials, soldiers and analysts increasingly worry that Kyiv has allowed itself to be sucked into the battle for Bakhmut on Russian terms, losing the forces it needs for a planned spring offensive as it stubbornly clings to a town of limited strategic relevance. Some of them say that it would make sense to retreat to a new defensive line on the heights west of Bakhmut while such a pullback can still be organized in a coordinated fashion, preserving the Ukrainian military’s combat strength.” (wsj.com 1/11/23)
“Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice thinks the way forward for the war in Ukraine is: more, now. More weapons and more money to Ukraine's forces trying to kick Russia out of their country. ‘My argument is simply, let's have a sense of urgency about getting everything to the Ukrainians that they need to fight this war on the behalf of people who believe that the international system cannot allow an aggressor to win,’ she told NPR. If funneling more weapons and more money to Ukraine sounds like an escalation, Rice argues it is ‘Vladimir Putin's escalation,’ pointing to the continued bombing of civilian targets and infrastructure by Russian forces.” (npr.com 1/13/23)
"Washington and NATO are waging a proxy war against Russia with the help of Ukraine and vice versa. However, if there is no ultimate goal, if there is no plan, then everything will end up like in Afghanistan.” (Croatian President Zoran Milanovic @Slavyangrad 1/15/23)
“Kiev’s foreign backers who have vowed to supply tanks and other heavy weapons to Ukraine don’t care about Ukrainian lives and are motivated by their desire to hurt Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. Promises made by Poland and the UK to provide main battle tanks to Kiev indicate that they want the conflict in Ukraine to spiral further, the Russian official told journalists on Monday. However, those weapons will not change the outcome of the conflict, he added. ‘Those tanks can burn and they will burn like the rest [of the weapons],’ Peskov stated.” (rt.com 1/16/23)
"It is said that American MLRS HIMARS as well as Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles could be used in the future to launch the offensive in the Crimean direction. Commentators naively believe that Russia will not respond to attacks on its territory. It should be clear for everyone – we will destroy any weapons supplied to the Zelensky's regime by either the United States or NATO.” (Anatoly Antonov sputniknews.com 1/19/23)
“Weapons supplies to Ukraine by the United States and NATO for attacks on Russia would lead to retaliatory use of more powerful armaments, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin warned on Sunday. ‘Supplies of offensive weapons to the Kiev regime would lead to a global disaster. If Washington and NATO countries send arms that will be used for attacks on peaceful cities or attempts at occupying our lands, a threat they have been making, this would provoke retaliatory measures with the use of more powerful weapons,’ Volodin wrote on Telegram.” (tass.com 1/22/23)
“What is going on in Ukraine is no longer a hybrid war, but a real war between the West and Russia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday. ‘When we talk about what is going on in Ukraine, we are talking about the fact that this is no longer a hybrid war, but a real one, the West has been preparing for a long time against Russia, trying to destroy everything Russian: from language to culture, which has been in Ukraine for centuries, and forbidding people to speak their native language,’ he said at a press conference.” (tass.com 1/23/23)
“The chief of Russia’s armed forces, Army General Valery Gerasimov, has said that Moscow intends to set up new military districts and put together fresh units to counter the most pressing security threats it faces, including hybrid war in Ukraine, as well as Finland and Sweden potentially joining NATO. ‘At the moment, such threats are the aspirations of NATO to expand by incorporating Finland and Sweden, as well as the use of Ukraine as a tool for waging a hybrid war against our country’ by the US and its allies, the general said in an interview in the Argumenty i Fakty newspaper on Monday.
According to Gerasimov, the Russian military’s response to those challenges will, among other things, include the creation of the Moscow and Leningrad military districts and the formation of three motorized rifle divisions in Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, which joined Russia in autumn after referendums, as did the Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Also on the agenda is putting together an army corps in the Republic of Karelia, located in Russia’s northwest and bordering Finland.Speaking about the conflict in Ukraine, Gerasimov pointed out that the Russian military hasn’t seen hostilities of such scale and intensity in the country’s modern history and that Moscow was ‘opposed by almost the entire collective West.’” (rt.com 1/24/23)
“Supplying Ukraine with depleted uranium munitions for western military hardware would be regarded by Moscow as the use of ‘dirty bombs,’ said Konstantin Gavrilov, head of the Russian delegation to the Vienna Negotiations on Military Security and Arms Control.
‘We know that Leopard 2 tanks, as well as Bradley and Marder armored fighting vehicles, can use depleted uranium shells, which can contaminate terrain, just like it happened in Yugoslavia and Iraq,’ he said. ‘If Kiev were to be supplied with such munitions for the use in western heavy military hardware, we would regard it as the use of dirty nuclear bombs against Russia, with all the consequences that entails.’
Gavrilov also warned that Moscow will retaliate if the West were to supply Kiev with long-range weaponry to carry out strikes against Russian cities.
‘If Washington and NATO countries provide Kiev with weapons for striking against the cities deep inside the Russian territory and for attempting to seize our constitutionally affirmed territories, it would force Moscow to undertake harsh retaliatory actions. Do not say that we did not warn you,’ he remarked. (sputnik news.com 1/26/23)
"After calling for lethal aid to Ukraine in their “Overextending & Unbalancing Russia” in a 2019 analysis, Rand now supports negotiations: “After A dramatic, overnight shift in U.S. policy is politically impossible—both domestically and with allies—and would be unwise in any case. But developing these instruments now and socializing them with Ukraine and with U.S. allies might help catalyze the eventual start of a process that could bring this war to a negotiated end in a time frame that would serve U.S. interests. The alternative is a long war that poses major challenges for the United States, Ukraine, and the rest of the world.” (rand.org “Avoiding a Long War” 1/23)
"‘The leaders of the US and their NATO client states have come close to a red line,” Russia’s deputy envoy to the OSCE Maksim Buyakevich said, citing the US and other western nations’ plans to send dozens of modern battle tanks to Kiev. Buyakevich accused Washington and its allies of ‘deliberately escalating the military standoff’ in Ukraine and of provoking Kiev into ‘military action against the Russian population.’
‘This is a straight path into a full-blown conflict in Europe, which absolutely all people living on our continent definitely stand to lose from,’ the Russian diplomat warned. He also said that the US and the UK, which he described as the ‘puppet masters’ of the ongoing escalation, would hardly be able to ‘sit it out’ either.” (rt.com 1/28/23)
“Russia's Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense (RCB) Troops began detailing the extent of the US bioweapons program in Ukraine last spring. Washington initially dismissed the revelations, but undersecretary of state Victoria Nuland eventually confirmed that the US does indeed have biolabs in Ukraine.
The Russian military has accumulated a collection of over 20,000 documents related to the US military-biological program in Ukraine, RCB Troops Chief Igor Kirillov has revealed.”(sputniknews.com 1/30/23)
"‘We see how NATO’s entire military infrastructure is working against Russia, and we see how NATO’s entire intelligence infrastructure, including reconnaissance aviation, and satellite groupings are working in the interests of Ukraine in a 24/7 mode,’ Kremlin spokesman Peskov said. According to Peskov, such actions create ‘very peculiar, hostile’ conditions for Russia which Moscow cannot help but notice.” (tass.com 2/1/23)
“Ukrainian forces will be pushed further back from Russian territories in response to the West’s decision to provide Kiev with longer-range weapons, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has claimed. Ukraine’s foreign sponsors are getting more bogged down in the conflict with every step, he told the media on Thursday, and Russia will react accordingly.
‘Now our goal is to push the artillery of the Ukrainian Armed Forces back to a distance, where they would not create a threat to our territories. The longer range the weapons supplied to the Kiev regime have, the further the troops will need to be moved,’ Lavrov stated.” (rt.com 2/2/23)
"‘The West’s plans to supply Ukraine with German tanks have united Russian citizens, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday. ‘The West’s biggest mistake is that they have announced supplies of tanks, especially terrific German-made tanks. But they have only rallied the Russian nation. It is the West’s biggest political mistake because they have united the Russians in the span of one day,’ he said.” (tass.com 2/3/23)
“The decision to supply Ukraine with longer-range missiles marks a ‘deliberate escalation’ by the United States, Russia’s ambassador to Washington has said, warning that Moscow would not tolerate strikes on Russian cities. In a statement on Friday evening, Ambassador Anatoly Antonov commented on the latest round of US military aid approved for Ukraine earlier in the day, which is set to include Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDB) – munitions with an operational range of 93 miles (150 kilometers).
‘Washington sees no boundaries in seeking to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. The transfer of increasingly powerful weapons to the Kiev regime is a deliberate escalation of the conflict by the United States,” he said, adding “Any attempt to harm the Russian Federation is doomed to failure. The sooner the United States realizes this, the sooner the current conflict will end.’” (rt.com 2/4/23)
“The US and its allies are actively trying to prolong the conflict between Moscow and Kiev for as long as possible, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu stated on Tuesday. In order to ensure that the fighting continues, the West has begun delivering heavy weapons to Ukraine, while openly urging Kiev to capture Russian territories, Shoigu said, warning that ‘such moves are essentially dragging NATO countries into the conflict and could lead to an unpredictable escalation.’
Commenting on these deliveries, Shoigu stated on Tuesday that the Russian forces continue to ‘grind up’ all the weapons and equipment being supplied to Kiev, noting that the equipment is being destroyed both on the routes of delivery and in combat positions.” (rt.com 2/7/23)
“The US has ‘unleashed a total hybrid war’ and is putting two nuclear nations on a path to direct confrontation, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said. Moscow claims Washington’s demands for nuclear inspections in Russia are ‘cynical’, and noted its ‘obvious’ assistance in Ukrainian attacks on Moscow's strategic nuclear forces.” (rt.com 2/8/23)
"‘I would like to say it one more time: we did not start any hostilities, we are trying to end them. These hostilities were started by Ukrainian nationalists and those who supported them in 2014, when the coup took place; that is how it all began, the events in Crimea and in Donbass followed after that,’ Putin said. He pointed out that Kiev started the war against Donbass in 2014, and, in violation of all agreements and obligations, effectively blockaded the Donbass regions.
‘Heavy military vehicles were used against them, major military operations were carried out against them,’ the head of state noted. ‘This is when they started the war. It lasted for eight years and aimed to exterminate the people who live there and feel themselves tied to Russia, Russian culture and the Russian language by blood. How long could we have kept tolerating it?’” (tass.com 2/9/23)
"‘The entire Western world has turned against us. But it is already clear today that plans to inflict a strategic defeat on our country have been thwarted. Russia, especially over the last year, has restructured the economy, strengthened its military power and intensified cooperation with most states,’ Ambassador Antonov said.” (tass.com 2/10/23)
“Dr Celeste Wallander, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, was asked whether Washington supports Kiev in seizing Crimea, or at least in striking Russian targets there. The peninsula overwhelmingly voted to become part of Russia in 2014 following a Western-backed coup in Kiev. Speaking at the Center for a New American Security, Wallander reiterated that the US ‘supports Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty over its internationally recognized borders, and that includes Crimea.’ With this in mind, the official argued that Kiev ‘has the right to defend every inch of its territory.’
As long as Ukraine ‘identifies operational value in targeting Russian forces on Ukrainian territory… we don’t have objections and do not seek to limit Ukrainian military operations to achieve their objectives.’” (rt.com 2/11/23)
“‘It is evident that the conflict, initially a limited territorial war, has evolved into a global economic confrontation between the whole West on one side, and Russia, backed by China, on the other. It has become a world war,’ Emmanuel Todd said. Todd added that ‘the resistance of the Russian economy is pushing the U.S. imperial system toward the abyss’ and that Biden must ‘hurry’ to rescue a ‘fragile’ America.
According to the historian, U.S. control of the world financial system is at risk because the Russian economy’s resistance to sanctions is pushing ‘the American imperial system toward the precipice,’ with Russia still able to rely on China for monetary backing. Todd says America ‘cannot withdraw from the conflict, they cannot let go,’ because it has no exit strategy and the stakes are too high.” (summit.news 2/14/23)
“Ukraine would have levelled the Donbass republics a year ago if Russia had not intervened in time by recognizing the Lugansk and the Donetsk People's Republics and launching its special military operation, Former LPR ambassador to Moscow Rodion Miroshnik said on Friday. ‘Exactly one year ago, the Ukrainian regime began artillery preparations before attacking Donbass! A 150,000-soldier group, armed and trained by NATO, was preparing to sweep away the Donbass. And if it were not for Russia's decision to start a special military operation, we would have simply been levelled," he wrote on his Telegram channel on the anniversary of the beginning of the escalation of the situation in the Donbass, ‘And neither the UN nor the OSCE would have noticed it.’” (tass.com 2/17/23)
“Transnistria must be demilitarized, and Russian troops must leave, after which it is necessary to integrate the inhabitants of the region economically and socially. This was announced on Sunday, February 19, by the Prime Minister of Moldova, Dorin Recean. According to Recean, the left bank should be demilitarized ‘through the evacuation of Russian troops and the demilitarization of local residents. We must achieve one main thing – demilitarization. After that, everything else follows, and the economic and social integration of our people who are there is very important, but demilitarization comes first. It depends on many things, but at some point it will be resolved,’ he said.” (bunatimes.com 2/19/23)
“Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin has shot back at Washington’s accusations that Beijing is considering providing “lethal support” for Moscow in Ukraine. The diplomat said the US was in no position to tell China what to do. ‘It is the US, not China, that has been pouring weapons into the battlefield,’ the diplomat said at a regular press briefing on Monday. He added that, unlike Washington, Beijing had been ‘supporting talks for peace’ since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict.” (rt.com 2/20/23)
"Exactly 9 years ago (on the night of February 21-22), an unconstitutional armed coup d'état orchestrated by the West took place in Kiev. National radicals were brought to power in the country, who did not hide their Russophobia and aggressive anti-Russian plans. The bloody putsch has become a watershed and the starting point of the Ukrainian tragedy unfolding before our eyes. Everything that happened in Ukraine in the future can only be described as political chaos, legal nihilism and rampant ultranationalism and Nazism.” (Maria Zakharova 2/22/23)
"‘According to available information, in the near future the Kiev regime is preparing an armed provocation against the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic [PMR], which will be carried out by units of the armed forces of Ukraine, including with the involvement of the Azov nationalistic unit,’ the ministry said on Telegram. As a pretext for the invasion of the PMR, Ukraine plans to stage an alleged offensive by Russian troops from the territory of Transnistria. To do this, saboteurs will be clad in Russian military uniforms, the Russian Defense Ministry said. It said it is closely monitoring the situation on the border between Ukraine and the PMR and is "ready to respond to any changes in the situation.” (sputniknews.com 2/23/23)
“Ukraine is gearing up to invade Moldova’s breakaway Transnistria region, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Thursday evening. The MOD reported a ‘significant buildup of Ukrainian military personnel and equipment near the Ukrainian-Transnistrian border,’ as well as the setting up of artillery positions and an ‘unprecedented’ increase of drone flights over the region. ‘The Russian Armed Forces will respond appropriately to the impending provocation by the Ukrainian side,’ the ministry said.’” (rt.com 2/24/23)
“Any action by Ukraine or the West that poses a threat to Russian peacekeepers or nationals in the Moldovan breakaway region of Transnistria will be seen as an attack on Russia, the country’s Foreign Ministry has stated. It warned Kiev and its Western backers against carrying out ‘provocations”’there.
In a statement released on Friday, Russian diplomats cited data from the country’s Defense Ministry, according to which Ukraine has amassed considerable numbers of military personnel, as well as hardware and artillery on its border with Transnistria. In light of this, Moscow warned the ‘US, NATO member states and their Ukrainian underlings against any further adventurous steps.’ While Russia favors ‘political-diplomatic’ ways of resolving issues, ‘no one should have any doubt that the Russian armed forces will react appropriately to any provocation by the Kiev regime,’ the statement reads.” (rt.com 2/24/23)
“Ukraine is readying an offensive to try and seize Russia’s Crimean peninsula, President Vladimir Zelensky said on Friday at a press conference. Kiev is forming new units specifically for the task, with servicemen undergoing training abroad, he revealed. ‘We’re taking military steps, we are preparing for them. We are mentally prepared already. We prepare technically, with weapons, forces, we form new brigades, we form offensive units of various kinds and types, we are sending people for training not only in Ukraine, you know, but also in other countries,’ Zelensky stated.” (rt.com 2/24/23)
“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.’” (rt.com 3/2/23)
“Moscow has repeatedly warned against such training and weapons shipments, arguing they only prolong the fighting and make a diplomatic settlement impossible. On Thursday, former Russian president and current deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, said that Washington and its allies must be treated as direct parties to the conflict if ‘in addition to supplying weapons, they train personnel to operate them. Everyone who made the decision to deliver those weapons or repair them, along with foreign mercenaries and military trainers, ought to be considered legitimate military targets,’ Medvedev insisted, adding that the provision of Western warplanes to Kiev would also constitute a major ‘red line’ for Russia.” (rt.com 3/3/23)
“For the past several weeks, Eastern Europe has been on the verge of a new war. Moldova risks returning to active conflict with the self-proclaimed republic of Transnistria – a separatist region, with a slavic majority, which broke away from Chisinau during the collapse of the USSR.
Ukraine has a special interest in the territory, because launching a military action there could be doubly beneficial for Kiev. It would embarrass Moscow, which only has 1,500 peacekeepers stationed and no way to currently reinforce them, and would also allow Kiev potential access to a huge arms dump. The facility at Kolbasna – with a reported 22,000 tons of weaponry – is one of the largest in Europe, and it's located only 2km from the Ukrainian border.” (rt.com 3/6/23)
"‘The support of the Kiev regime by NATO countries does not lead to the success of Ukrainian troops on the battlefield. On the contrary, there is a significant increase in losses among the personnel of the Ukrainian armed forces,’ Shoigu said at a meeting with the Russian armed forces' leadership on Tuesday.
The Russian Foreign Ministry underscored that NATO countries ‘play with fire’ by supplying weapons to Kiev, and that any convoy of arms for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russian forces. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, for his part, stressed that Western countries are directly involved in the Ukrainian conflict.” (sputniknews.com 3/7/23)
“Transnistria’s State Security Ministry on Thursday said it thwarted an assassination of the breakaway region’s leader, Vadim Krasnoselsky. According to the agency, the attack had been plotted by Security Service of Ukraine.
The announcement of the foiled terrorist attack was issued amid the tensions around Transnistria as, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian troops had been massing up near the border of the breakaway republic in recent weeks. TASS has put together the highlights of what has been reported about the situation.” (tass.com 3/9/23)
“In western Ukraine a Russian Forces Kinzhal struck a bunker extending to 80 metres deep. The RF believes this bunker near Lvov was a NATO strategic command point used to control anti-aircraft systems. It’s still early days but the RF assumes there were up to 300 personnel in the bunker, 40 of which were high ranking foreign specialists, hence we can expect 40 body bags heading west in due course. Unconfirmed in the Nikolaevsk region the RF destroyed four senior militants, and a number of officers and planners.
As NATO flies its spy planes along the Moldavian/Transnistrian (Priednestrovie) border collecting data for the Ukrainians, their troops are positioning themselves to invade Transnistria in Moldova’s breakaway region. A significant build-up of Ukrainian personnel and equipment including setting up of artillery positions and an “unprecedented” increase of drone flights over the region indicate the preparation for an invasion of the sovereign territory that was declared independent in the early 1990s. Half of Transnistria’s 500,000 residents have Russian citizenship.” (inteldrop.org 3/9/23)
“There are currently no conditions for a peace settlement in Ukraine, meaning Russia has no other option but to keep fighting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has argued. ‘The absolute priority for us remains and will always remain reaching the goals that we’ve set for ourselves. At this point in time, they can only be achieved through military means,’ the official told journalists on Monday.” (rt.com 3/13/23)
“The quality of Ukraine’s military force, once considered a substantial advantage over Russia, has been degraded by a year of casualties that have taken many of the most experienced fighters off the battlefield, leading some Ukrainian officials to question Kyiv’s readiness to mount a much-anticipated spring offensive.” (washingtonpost.com 3/13/23)
“The Russian financial sector is practically immune to the effects of the unfolding US banking crisis largely thanks to Western sanctions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday. ‘Our banking system, of course, has, let’s say, certain connections with some segments of the international financial system, but for the most part it is under illegal restrictions,’ he said. Peskov added that sanctions have been ‘a blessing in disguise’ because Russia is ‘to a certain extent immune to the negative impact of the crisis that is now unfolding across the ocean.’” (rt.com 3/14/23)
“As spring approaches, U.S. officials are increasingly concerned about Ukraine’s dwindling supply of ammunition, air defenses and experienced soldiers. Moscow and Kyiv are continuing to throw bodies into the fight for a southeastern city the U.S. does not consider strategically important. But the Pentagon says that regardless of Kyiv’s battlefield strategy, the U.S. wants Ukraine’s soldiers to have the weapons they need to keep fighting.
Russia has spent months pummeling the country with missiles, seeking not only to cause destruction but also deplete Ukraine’s air defense stocks. Ukrainian soldiers have described acute shortages of basic ammunition, including mortar rounds and artillery shells. And upwards of 100,000 Ukrainian forces have died in the year-long war, U.S. officials estimate, including the most experienced soldiers.” (politico.com 3/15/23)
“Moscow will attempt to recover the wreckage of the American MQ-9 Reaper drone that fell into the Black Sea on Tuesday, the secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, has announced. Patrushev also added that ‘Americans keep saying that they are not participating in the hostilities’ in Ukraine and that this latest incident with the drone is ‘yet another confirmation that [the US] are directly involved’ in the ongoing military conflict.” (rt.com 3/16/23)
“The AASC (Atlantic-Asian Security Community) could have a long-term purpose similar to NATO’s, but in the short term its main task would be to supervise and legitimize the indefinite presence of Western military troops on Ukrainian soil. These troops—from NATO and non-NATO countries alike—would monitor Russian troop activity, help train Ukraine’s armed forces, assist with demobilization, monitor any future peace deal, and act as a tripwire to prevent fresh Russian aggression. This mission could be led by a non-NATO officer, perhaps from India or another country seen as neutral, but it must include U.S. troops. Nothing short of American boots on the ground can ensure Ukraine’s democratic future.” (foreignaffairs.com 3/20/23)
“‘Today it became known that the United Kingdom, through its deputy head of the ministry of defense, announced not only the supply of tanks to Ukraine, but also shells with depleted uranium,’ Russian President Vladimir Putin said, adding that ‘it seems that the West really decided to fight Russia to the last Ukrainian, not in words, but in deed.’
‘I would like to note in this regard that if all this happens, then Russia will be forced to react accordingly - I mean that the Collective West is already starting to use weapons with a nuclear component,’ Putin added.” (sputnikglobe.com 3/21/23)
"‘We need to achieve all the goals that have been set to protect our territories... Drive out all the foreigners who are there, in the broadest sense of the word, create a sanitary zone that will not allow the use of any types of weapons that work at medium and short distances, that is, 70-100 kilometers, to demilitarize it, if we talk about the military component,’ Medvedev said.” (sputnikglobe.com 3/24/23)
“The Ukrainian leadership demonstrates readiness to intervene in the Transnistrian situation, including with the use of force. Russia will proceed from its security mandate, the country’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told TASS in an interview on Tuesday.
‘The Ukrainian leadership is also playing its extremely negative, subversive role, clearly siding with Chisinau in violation of its mediator status in the '5+2' format. The Kiev authorities support its belligerent, destructive policy towards Transnistria, dig defenses, fortifications between Ukraine and Transnistria and demonstrate in every way its readiness to interfere in this process, including with the use of force,’ the top diplomat said.
‘I would like to reiterate that Russia is fully responsible for the security of Transnistria in full accordance with the mandate that our troops have. We will be guided by this mandate,’ Lavrov pointed out.” (tass.com 3/28/23)
"‘I am deeply convinced that through Pridnestrovie there is a direct path to a world war. These may be such loud statements, but nonetheless, if Pridnestrovie intervenes, Moldova will intervene. This is natural. We are neighbors. Moldova will intervene, Romania will intervene, and this is a NATO member; Romania will intervene, and Russia will also intervene. By what means, by what use of weapons, and so on, this is already an open question. If it concerns a global conflict, then the means will not be limited in their use,’ the head of the PMR said at the meeting with the deputies of the Grigoriopol region.” (https://t.me/+PUg0rQrZdiw4YWFh 3/28/23)
“Russian President Vladimir Putin sees Western countries as ‘initiators and instigators’ of the conflict in Ukraine. ‘An armed coup - that's where it all started. We were forced to protect the population of Crimea, and this way or another we ended up supporting Donbass. They pretend they had nothing to do with it. They are the initiators of this conflict and the instigators. And today they are handing over millions more munitions, hardware and so on," the president said.” (tass.com 3/26/23)
“A discussion about a possible deployment of Western peacekeepers in Ukraine is potentially a very dangerous idea, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has warned, in response to comments made by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday.
‘If we are talking about some kind of serious negotiations, then this is a potentially extremely dangerous discussion. In world practice, such forces, as a rule, are used only with the consent of both parties. In this case, it is potentially a very dangerous topic,’ Peskov told journalists.” (rt.com 3/31/23)
“Russia will consider so-called NATO peacekeepers as legitimate targets if they get deployed in Ukraine on the front line, Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday. ‘They will be a legitimate target for our armed forces if they are placed on the front line without the consent of Russia with weapons in their hands and directly threaten us,’ Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel. According to the official, the West’s real goal is to establish a ceasefire on the front line that is favorable to them.
‘It is clear that the so-called NATO peacekeepers are simply going to enter the conflict on the side of our enemies [Ukraine]. Unleash that very third world war, which they so fear when they talk,’ Medvedev said.” (sputnikglobe.com 3/31/23)
“‘The expansion of NATO is an encroachment on our security, on the interests of the Russian Federation. That is exactly how we see it,’ Peskov said during a call with journalists. ‘We will apply countermeasures to ensure our security in a tactical and strategic sense,’ the spokesman added. He reiterated that Finland’s new status would affect relations between the two neighbors, arguing that the US-led bloc is ‘unfriendly and, in many ways, hostile to Russia.’
Peskov said Moscow would monitor the deployment of NATO forces and installations on Finnish territory, including those along the border it shares with Russia, and would adjust its response to the situation.” (rt.com 4/4/23)
“The US has resumed the program for the construction of biological laboratories in Ukraine and is expanding the format to train Ukrainian biologists, Igor Kirillov, head of the radiation, chemical and biological defense troops of the Russian Armed Forces, said on Friday.
‘Despite the forced pause pertaining to the Russian special military operation [in Ukraine], [the US’] activities under the program have now been resumed. The main tasks at this stage are to continue the construction of biological laboratories in Ukraine, as well as expand the format for training Ukrainian biologists,’ Kirillov told reporters.
This conclusion is based on the analysis of the minutes of the meeting of the working group of US and Ukrainian specialists under the leadership of representatives of the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) dated October 20, 2022 on the plans for the implementation of the ‘Biological Threat Reduction Program’ in Ukraine, the Russian official explained.” (sputnikglobe.com 4/8/23)
“Germany is doing everything possible to avoid a direct clash with Russia, and is instead using Ukraine as a proxy in an attempt to inflict a strategic defeat on Moscow, Russian ambassador to Berlin Sergey Nechaev has claimed. During an interview with the Izvestia newspaper published on Monday, Nechaev did not rule out that Germany would provide fighter jets to Kiev, despite Chancellor Olaf Scholz repeatedly saying in recent months that there are no plans to do so.
‘The range of German weapons supplied to Ukraine is constantly expanding. From the deliveries of helmets, Berlin moved on to pumping the Kiev regime with modern deadly weapon systems, including heavy battle tanks, howitzers, multiple rocket launchers, and air defense guns,’ Nechaev said. ‘The German government has long crossed all possible ‘red lines’ in its effort to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. So, we have no particular illusions,’ the diplomat added.” (rt.com 4/10/23)
“Russia was aware that fighters and instructors from NATO states were taking part in hostilities in Ukraine before the latest leak of classified Pentagon documents, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
‘Like everyone else, we do not know how reliable these documents are, but even if we put it aside, long before the appearance of these documents, we had and still have information that many instructors from NATO countries, including the UK, and fighters take part in hostilities [in Ukraine],’ Peskov told reporters.” (sputnikglobe.com 4/12/23)
“The West’s sweeping sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine are shaping up to be the West’s most monumental miscalculation in modern history. The sanctions have not brought the Russian economy to its knees, as was widely predicted. Instead, it’s the Western economies that are reeling, their economic growth all but stopped. Many of them are simultaneously suffering from both high inflation and energy shortages. Russia, meanwhile, is not only surviving but thriving, acquiring more potency and prestige throughout Asia, Africa and South America than at any time since the collapse of the Soviet Union.” “(americanthinker.com 4/12/23)
“According to a report in an alternative news agency in Greece that was then amplified by Russian news wire agencies shortly after March 9th, we were told that 200-300 NATO generals and high officers together with their Ukrainian counterparts were killed by the strike of a Russian hypersonic missile Kinzhal in what was called a ‘revenge attack’ for the murderous incursion of Ukrainian saboteurs in the RF’s Bryansk province a week earlier. Nearly all Western media imposed a blackout on this news. The few pro-Washington internet news portals that mentioned it did so only to blacken the sources of the report.
Now the Russians have once again put on their news tickers reports on the attack while giving some more details. See the Russian language article entitled ‘Catastrophe for NATO forces in Ukraine: in one blow of its Kinzhal against a secret bunker Russia postponed the Ukrainian Armed Forces counter-attack.’ The subtitle goes on to say ‘Russian Kinzhal hypersonic rockets destroyed a secret bunker with 200 NATO and UAF officers.’ The article appeared in the online version of the fairly respectable Komsomolskaya Pravda: https://www.kp.ru/daily/27490.5/4748875” (gilbertdoctorow.com 4/14/23)
“The start of Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian troops has been planned for April 30, Newsweek reported on Sunday, citing a leaked Pentagon document. Dated February 28, the file details equipment deliveries and a training schedule for nine brigades that ‘can be generated for the spring counteroffensive’ with the help of the US and its allies. Three additional brigades are expected to be gathered ‘internally’ in Ukraine, according to the file. Out of the nine brigades trained and equipped by Western countries, six will be ready by March 31, while the ‘final’ three will be ready by April 30, the document claimed.” (rt.com 4/17/23)
“Former Russian President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who is currently Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, told reporters on Tuesday that a ‘quiet partition’ of Ukraine among its neighbors ‘would be better than Ukraine in NATO or a World War.’
‘Greed, malice, hatred, and ambitions are often stronger than reason and common sense. Poland, and let’s be honest, Hungary and Romania as well, have been dreaming for years of taking over Ukraine’s western regions,’ Medvedev added. His statement marks the first time that a high-ranking Russian official, at least indirectly, has recognized the legitimate territorial claims of Romania, Hungary, and Poland to territories that are currently occupied by Ukraine.” (tsarizm.com 4/25/23)
“The West is no longer hiding that it is really behind the planning for Ukraine’s much-vaunted counteroffensive, and will pull out all the stops to ensure its success, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing on Thursday.
‘The West openly states that it will do everything possible to make the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian armed forces, which is planned for the near future, a success. That is to say, as you can imagine, they do not even hide that they are behind all this military planning, not only tactical guidance, which we have repeatedly talked about, but also the ongoing disposition [of forces] according to their strategic plan,’ she said.” (tass.com 4/27/23)
“Russian ground forces have suffered significant losses in Ukraine. Despite these setbacks, and their diminished stockpiles of equipment and munitions, Russian ground forces still have substantial capability and capacity, and continue to possess the ability to regenerate their losses.
Russia remains a formidable and unpredictable threat that will challenge U.S. and European interests for the foreseeable future. Russian air, maritime, space, cyber, and strategic forces have not suffered significant degradation in the current war. Moreover, Russia will likely rebuild its future Army into a sizeable and more capable land force [..] Russia retains a vast stockpile of deployed and non-deployed nuclear weapons [..]” (General Cavoli, US European Command 4/28/23)
“To successfully foil Kiev’s plans, Russia must inflict ‘mass destruction of personnel and military equipment’ during the much-hyped Ukrainian counteroffensive and inflict a ‘maximum military defeat’ on Kiev’s military, Medvedev said. Ultimately, the ‘Nazi regime in Kiev’ must be ‘completely dismantled’ and demilitarized throughout the entire territory of ‘former Ukraine,’ he added. Apart from that, Russia must pursue those who manage to flee, and seek ‘retribution’ against the ‘key figures of the Nazi regime, regardless of their location and without statute of limitations,’ Medvedev stressed. Anything short of that would not suffice, the ex-president believes.” (rt.com 4/29/23)
“In Ryabkov’s opinion, Washington is using its ‘puppets’ in Kiev to stage more and more dangerous provocations. ‘I think that any reasonable person in any country will understand that the United States continues its escalatory policies and uses its subordinates in Kiev, their puppets, to stage and carry out more and more audacious, more and more dangerous acts of provocation,’ the diplomat continued.
He went on to say that US officials may deny any responsibility and involvement in this ‘outrageous, shocking and totally unprecedented act of terror, which goes beyond all limits imaginable,’ but nobody will believe them.” (tass.com 5/4/23)
“Today, civilization is again at a decisive turning point, and a real war has been unleashed against our Motherland. But we repelled international terrorism, and we will protect the residents of Donbass, ensuring our security.
Their goal - and there is nothing new here - is to achieve the collapse and destruction of our country, cross out the results of the Second World War, finally break the system of global security and international law, and strangle any sovereign centers of development
We believe that any ideology of superiority is inherently disgusting, criminal and deadly. However, the Western globalist elites still talk about their exceptionality, pit people against each other and split society. They provoke bloody conflicts and upheavals, and sow hatred, Russophobia, aggressive nationalism, as well as destroy traditional family values that make a person a person.
We see memorials to Soviet soldiers being ruthlessly and cold-bloodedly demolished in a number of Western countries, where a real cult of the Nazis and their accomplices is being created, and the memory of true heroes is being erased and slandered.
Over the top ambitions, arrogance and lack of accountability inevitably turn into tragedies. This is the reason for the catastrophe that the Ukrainian people are now going through. It became a hostage of the coup and the criminal regime that its Western masters developed on its basis, a bargaining chip in the implementation of their cruel and selfish plans.
The battles that decide the fate of our Motherland have always become patriotic and sacred. We are faithful to the precepts of our ancestors, and we clearly understand what it means to be worthy of the grandeur of their military, labor and moral achievements.” (Vladimir Putin, 78th Anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany 5/9/23)
"It is obvious that a full-scale hybrid war has been unleashed against our country. Their [Ukraine’s] American and European masters are heavily pumping our enemies with lethal weapons of all kinds …in fact, they are leading the matter to a third world war, to a global catastrophe in which, as you know, there are no winners," Medvedev said in an address to the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum.” (sputnikglobe.com 5/12/23)
“Despite public assurance that he would limit military action to his own country's 1991 borders, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky formed plans to conduct attacks deep inside Russia and suggested that Kiev ‘destroy’ the industry of Hungary, the Washington Post reported on Saturday, citing leaked Pentagon documents.
Citing US intelligence reports recently published on a gaming server, the Post described how Zelensky suggested at a meeting in January that his troops ‘conduct strikes in Russia,’ while moving across the border to ‘occupy unspecified Russian border cities’ in order to ‘give Kiev leverage in talks with Moscow.’” (rt.com 5/13/23)
“Western countries continue down the path of escalation and Moscow will take their plans to send F-16 aircraft to Ukraine into account, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told TASS on Saturday.
‘We can see that Western countries continue to stick to an escalation scenario, which carries enormous risks for them. In any case, we will take it into account when making plans. We have all the necessary means to achieve our goals,’ he said on the sidelines of the 31st Assembly of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, when asked to comment on the possible supplies of F-16 aircraft to Ukraine.” (tass.com 5/20/23)
“Ukrainian forces have already lost dozens of tanks and hundreds of armored vehicles in their attacks on Russian positions, President Vladimir Putin told war correspondents on Tuesday. Kiev’s troops have so far failed to achieve success on any of the fronts in their long-touted counteroffensive, he added.
Russian positions have faced attacks from four major directions, the president said during a meeting at the Kremlin. He added that Ukrainian reserves, including those equipped with Western-supplied military hardware, had also been thrown into the fray.” (rt.com 6/13/23)
“We were forced to try to end the war that the West started in 2014 by force of arms. And Russia will end this war by force of arms, freeing the entire territory of the former Ukraine from the United States and Ukrainian Nazis. There are no other options. The Ukrainian army of the US and NATO will be defeated, no matter what new types of weapons it receives from the West. The more weapons there are, the fewer Ukrainians and what used to be Ukraine will remain. Direct intervention by NATO’s European armies will not change the outcome. But in this case, the fire of war will engulf the whole of Europe. It looks like the US is ready for that too.” (Putin to Russian journalists & bloggers, Kremlin.ru 6/13/23)
“Russian officials have said repeatedly over the past year that the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis into a full-blown NATO-Russia proxy war in February 2022 served to accelerate the creation of an alternative to the US and Western-led global political and economic order.
The emerging multipolar world order is strengthening, and Russia's adversaries have failed utterly in their quest to isolate the country from international trade and destroy its economy, President Vladimir Putin has said.” (sputnikglobe.com 6/16/23)
“We warn against any attempts to destabilize the situation around Pridnestrovie. The Russian military are in the region on legitimate grounds as part of the joint peacekeeping forces and the Operational Group of Russian Forces. Any action that poses a threat to their security will be considered, in accordance with international law, as an attack on Russia.” (Director of the CIS Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexey Polishchuk 6/19/23)
“In a statement on Tuesday, the [Russian] embassy commented on the Pentagon’s latest decision to provide Ukraine with an additional $500 million security assistance package, including armored vehicles, anti-tank systems, and various types of ammunition.
By supplying Kiev with arms, the US ‘is making futile attempts to defeat the Russian Federation ‘on the battlefield’ with the hands of Kiev puppets,’ the embassy said. It added that the Russian military is ‘debunking the myths about the unsurpassed quality of American and NATO weapons’ on a daily basis as the conflict continues, citing ‘mangled machinery smoking on the fields of Donbass’ as a prime example.” (rt.com 6/28/23)
“Ukrainian officials aim to station long-range weapons near Crimea in order to gain the upper hand in future peace negotiations with Russia, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing three people familiar with the matter. According to the Post, the Ukrainian leadership shared the plans with CIA head William Burns during his secret trip to Kiev last month, where he met with President Vladimir Zelensky.” (rt.com 7/1/23)
"‘If NATO, primarily the US and its vassals, stop shipping weapons and munitions to Ukraine, the special military operation would end in several months; and if they stop shipping their weapons now, then the special op will end in mere days,’ Medvedev said.” (rt.com 7/5/23)
“We agree that NATO’s door is open. We agree that Ukraine will become a member which is an important message. And then we agree that it's for the NATO Allies and Ukraine to decide when the time is right and not for Russia to have a veto. And then the most urgent task, and all Allies agree on that, is that we will stand by Ukraine. We will provide support to Ukraine for as long as it takes. Because unless Ukraine wins this war, there's no membership issue to be discussed at all. And that's the reason why Allies are stepping up and providing donations, military support, in an unprecedented way.” (Jens Stoltenberg nato.int 7/7/23)
“The US decision to include cluster munitions in its latest batch of military aid to Kiev is an admission of failure and a desperate attempt to stave off defeat, Russian ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, said on Friday.
‘Cluster munitions are a gesture of desperation. Such a measure speaks of the awareness of the United States and its satellites of their impotence,’ Antonov told reporters. ‘However, they do not want to admit their own setbacks and the failure of the Ukrainian military’s attempts to carry out an offensive against the Russian regions. Therefore, they commit new acts of madness.’” (rt.com 7/7/23)
“The White House rushed into preemptive damage control mode on Friday amid backlash over President Joe Biden’s controversial decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine. ‘The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition,’ Biden said in a media interview. ‘This is a war related to munitions, and they’re running out of that ammunition and we’re low on it,’ he added.
Under Secretary of Defense Colin Kahl confirmed to reporters that the US would try to get the cluster munitions to Ukraine ‘in a timeframe that is relevant for the counteroffensive.’ But the latest news from the front suggests otherwise, with Ukrainian frontline commanders and grunts telling Western media that they’re running low on everything from vehicles and ammunition to man portable air defense missiles, while the much-advertised NATO main battle tanks once expected to turn the tide have actually been pulled back from the front after taking losses.”(sputnikglobe.com 7/9/23)
“USAFE Commander Gen. James Hecker, who also leads US air forces in Africa, urged fellow NATO members to take a hard look at the status of their weapon stockpiles:
‘I think it’s very important that we kind of take stock of where we are in our weapons state across the 32 nations of NATO, and we’re getting way down compared to where we were,’ said Hecker - a topic of heated discussion at the NATO summit in Lithuania this week.
‘If you look at the US itself — and let’s not just talk about the munitions we recently have given away to Ukraine — but we’re [at] roughly half the number of fighter squadrons that we were when we did Desert Storm,’ Hecker said, pointing to a similar decline in fighter strength for the UK. ‘So we don’t have nearly what we had at the heart of the Cold War. Now you add that we’re giving a lot of munitions away to the Ukrainians — which I think is exactly what we need to do — but now we’re getting dangerously low and sometimes, in some cases even too low, that we don’t have enough. And we need to get industry on board to help us out so we can get this going.’” (breakingdefense.com 7/13/23)
“In the first two weeks of Ukraine’s grueling counteroffensive, as much as 20 percent of the weaponry it sent to the battlefield was damaged or destroyed, according to American and European officials…The toll includes some of the formidable Western fighting machines — tanks and armored personnel carriers — the Ukrainians were counting on to beat back the Russians.” (nytimes.com /7/15/23)
“In connection with the termination of the Black Sea Initiative and the curtailment of the maritime humanitarian corridor, from 00:00 Moscow time on July 20, 2023, all ships proceeding to Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea waters will be considered as potential carriers of military cargo. ▫️ Accordingly, the flag countries of such ships will be considered involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Kyiv regime. ▫️ In addition, a number of sea areas in the northwestern and southeastern parts of the international waters of the Black Sea have been declared temporarily dangerous for navigation. Appropriate informational warnings about the withdrawal of safety guarantees to seafarers were issued in accordance with the established procedure.” (Russian MOD 7/19/23)
“Poland is considering establishing control over the western part of Ukraine through the deployment of its troops there, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergei Naryshkin said on Friday. The SVR head believes that Warsaw is coming to realize that the defeat of Ukraine is a matter of time.
‘The Polish leadership is intensifying the mindset to introduce control in the western territories of Ukraine, the western regions by deploying their troops there,’ Naryshkin said at a meeting held by President Vladimir Putin with the permanent members of the Security Council. In this regard, Putin instructed the Russian foreign intelligence head to monitor Poland's plans for Ukraine.” (sputnikglobe.com 7/21/23)
“The Ukrainian military has failed in its long-anticipated counteroffensive against Russia, losing tens of thousands of service members in the process, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. On Sunday, Putin met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in St. Petersburg, who said, citing US intelligence assessment, that the Ukrainian military has sustained 26,000 ‘irreplaceable losses. It’s more than that,’ Putin replied.
In addition to this, Russian forces have eliminated numerous foreign fighters in Ukraine, he said. ‘Foreign mercenaries…are also suffering significant losses. Because of their stupidity.’” (rt.com 7/23/23)
“Ukraine launched its much-touted counteroffensive in early June. Ukrainian President Zelensky admitted that progress was ‘slower than desired.’ The Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukrainian troops had been trying — but failing — to advance in the South Donetsk, Artemovsk (Bakhmut) and Zaporozhye sectors.
‘Since the start of the so-called 'offensive,' the Ukrainian armed forces lost over 43,000 soldiers in June-July. This number does not include the injured, who were evacuated to hospitals in Ukraine and abroad, foreign mercenaries as well as the soldiers that were neutralized in long-range high-precision strikes in rear areas,’ the ministry stated.
Kiev has also lost 76 US-made M777 artillery systems, 84 self-propelled artillery systems from Western countries over the two months of its counteroffensive operation, it added.” (sputnikglobe.com 8/4/23)
“A defeated army and a broken one are two different things...An army merely defeated in battle can often make successful withdrawals, reform itself, and reconstitute its strength—as Rome did after its humiliation at Cannae, eventually destroying its great rival, Carthage…But when whole armies break, when they lose their will to fight, the whole nation can likewise break...That is what happened to the great empires in World War I...It is also the fate awaiting the Ukrainian army”. (Michael Vlahos compactmag.com 8/3/23)
“The Russian military will go on the offensive once the situation on the ground becomes ‘favorable,’ Senator Dmitry Perminov, a member of the defense committee of Russia’s Federation Council, the country’s upper chamber, has said. ‘We are currently grinding up the armed forces of Ukraine. When the moment is favorable for us, our army will go on the offensive,’ Perminov told Russian news outlet URA.RU in an interview published on Sunday.” (rt.com 8/6/23)
“Warsaw is planning to establish a regular Polish-Ukrainian union for subsequent occupation of Western Ukraine and announced its intention to build ‘the strongest army’ in Europe, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday.
Poland has become the main instrument of the US anti-Russian policy and declares its intention to build "the most powerful army" in Europe, for this purpose Warsaw has started large-scale arms purchases from the US, the UK and South Korea, Sergei Shoigu said at a meeting of the board of the Russian Defense Ministry. ‘In addition, there are plans to create on a regular basis a so-called Polish-Ukrainian compound, ostensibly to ensure the security of western Ukraine, and in fact - for the subsequent occupation of this territory,’ Shoigu added.” (sputnikglobe.com 8/9/23)
“Western weapons being sent to Ukraine, as well as NATO tactics being taught to Kiev’s commanders, have failed to provide an upper hand on the battlefield, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has said. Speaking at the Moscow Conference on International Security, the minister noted that Russia is currently fighting ‘not just the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but the entire collective West,’ which he claimed has also recently been joined by several Asia-Pacific states.
Nevertheless, Shoigu insisted that Western countries have lost their leadership in the military sphere since the start of Russia's operation in Ukraine and that ‘it has become obvious that the use of Western weapons and NATO methods of planning operations cannot ensure superiority on the battlefield.’
Shoigu argued that the Ukraine conflict has shown there is ‘nothing unique or invulnerable for Russian weapons’ and that even some Soviet-era weapons have proven to be superior in combat to their modern Western equivalents. As proof of the West’s failure to ensure Kiev’s success in its much-lauded counteroffensive, Shoigu pointed to the high number of casualties the Ukrainian army has sustained in recent months.
‘Despite all-round assistance from the West, the Armed Forces of Ukraine fail to achieve results,’ he claimed, pointing out that the ‘preliminary results of the hostilities show that Ukraine’s military resource is almost exhausted.’” (rt.com 8/15/23)
“Some Ukrainian units have suffered casualty rates of 85% during their ongoing counteroffensive against Russian forces, Western mercenaries told ABC News on Thursday. The report aligns with casualty figures released by Russia, which claims that its forces have destroyed 43,000 Ukrainian troops in two months.
An American veteran fighting with Ukrainian special forces near Donetsk told ABC that his unit of ‘dozens’ of men took ‘85% casualties’ during an assault on a village near the city two weeks ago. Of those hit, 40% were injured so badly that they were left ‘combat ineffective’ afterwards, he added.” (rt.com 8/18/23)
“For Russia, it is an ‘existential’ conflict and a fight for its very existence, Medvedev, who is currently deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, wrote in a Telegram post. Russia must destroy and fully dismantle the Ukrainian state that is ‘terrorist in its essence,’ making sure ‘this filth’ never re-emerges again, he stressed.
‘Should it take years or even decades, then so be it. We have no choice: either we will destroy their hostile political regime, or the collective West will eventually tear Russia to pieces. And in this case, it will perish with us. Nobody needs this,’ Medvedev wrote, presumably hinting at all-out nuclear destruction.
Therefore, the only way is a complete dismantling of the state machine of the hostile country and absolute guarantees of loyalty for the future. They can only be provided by Russia’s control over everything that is happening and will happen in the territories of the former Banderite state. And we will achieve that.” (rt.com 8/20/23)
“A recent claim by a top aide to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky that Western nations support Kiev’s attempts to ‘destroy everything Russian’ increases the risk of all-out war between Moscow and NATO, former president Dmitry Medvedev has said.
Commenting on Mikhail Podoliak’s statement, the former Russian leader wrote on his Telegram channel: ‘If this is true, and we have no reason to doubt that it is, then it constitutes direct, legally significant proof of Western involvement in a war against Russia’ and serves as a reasonable casus belli to justify corresponding actions by Moscow against ‘everyone in NATO states.’ Medevedev went on to warn that ‘the predictions of the Apocalypse are getting closer.’” (rt.com 8/29/23)
“The military confrontation in Ukraine has reached a point where it could easily spiral into a full-blown conflict between Russia and NATO, Moscow’s deputy envoy to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, said on Friday. The diplomat blamed the US-led military bloc’s ever deeper involvement in the fighting between Moscow and Kiev.
‘We have repeatedly warned that the situation is quite dangerous and there is a big risk of a direct clash between Russia and NATO,’ Polyansky said while answering questions on X (formerly Twitter). The US-led alliance is already supporting Ukrainian forces by every means possible, except for direct troop deployment, he said.
Moscow sees ‘many indications that there are some instructors, mercenaries’ in Ukraine, the deputy envoy stated. He also pointed to some ‘strange messages’ about the deaths of NATO officers and generals. ‘That does raise major suspicions,’ he said, adding that ‘we cannot rule out that they [NATO specialists] are participating in certain actions in Ukraine,’ Polyansky added, without naming any specific examples.” (rt.com 9/2/23)
“Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated the nation on the anniversary of the liberation of Donbass from Nazi invaders. The leader stressed that September 8, 1943, is an important and momentous date in the country's history.
‘This day, 80 years ago, the legendary, unconquered Donbass - a century-old stronghold of Russia, a land of hard workers, warriors, a rich and generous region - was liberated from the Nazi invaders. Its resources were of colossal importance to the enemy, to seize them was one of the goals of the German attack on the Soviet Union. And the Nazis did everything to keep the Donetsk Steppes for themselves, to force people to work for the war machine of the Third Reich,’ Putin stated.” (sputnikglobe.com 9/9/23)
“Western politicians are so obsessed with the idea of delivering a ‘strategic defeat’ to Russia that they put themselves and their own nations in danger, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the UN General Assembly on Saturday. The prolonged feeling of impunity has made the West blind to the risks to its own survival, he added.
‘A goal of inflicting a ‘strategic defeat’ upon Russia has been declared,’ Lavrov said, commenting on the current policies of the US and its allies. ‘This obsession has ultimately blurred the vision of the reckless politicians, who feel a sense of impunity,’ he warned, adding that ‘all the while, [they] lose the sense of self-preservation.’
The minister pointed to a recent series of NATO exercises that, he said, involved simulating scenarios of nuclear strikes against Russia. According to Lavrov, these drills, which included the troops of the US and its European allies, were ‘unprecedented since the end of the Cold War.’” (rt.com 9/23/23)
“Speaking at the meeting of the Russian Defence Ministry on September 26, Shoigu stated that the United States and its allies continue arming the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the Kiev regime continues sending untrained soldiers to senseless attacks to slaughter.
Such cynical actions of the West and their henchmen can only push Ukraine to self-destruction, Shoigu said. The Ministry continues increasing the combat power of the Russian Armed Forces, by supplying modern weapons and improving training based on the experience of the special operation.
‘The consistent implementation of measures and activity plans until 2025 will allow us to achieve our goals,’ Shoigu concluded.” (english.pravda.ru 9/26/23)
“Moscow is ready for talks on Ukraine, which would take the situation on the ground and Russian security interests into account, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with TASS.
‘Our position remains the same: we are ready to make agreements provided that the current situation on the ground is taken into account, as well as our position that everyone is well aware of and our security interests, including the need to prevent the creation of a hostile Nazi regime near Russian borders, which is openly declaring the goal to eliminate all things Russian in the areas in Crimea and Novorossiya that Russian people have been exploring and developing for centuries,’ he pointed out.” (tass.com 9/28/23)
“Millions of people made a conscious choice to unite with their Fatherland a year ago, President Vladimir Putin has said in an address marking the first anniversary of Russia’s reunification with the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, and Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.
The signing of agreements on September 30, 2022 incorporating the four territories into the Russian state was a ‘defining and truly historic event,’ Putin stated in a video message, which was published early on Saturday.
‘Millions of residents of Donbass and the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions made their choice to be with their Fatherland,’ he said.
Their reunification with Russia was a ‘conscious, long-awaited, hard-won and genuinely popular decision...made collectively through referendums in full compliance with international norms,’ the president added.” (rt.com 9/30/23)
“This war, the one that the regime sitting in Kiev started with the vigorous and direct support from the West, has been going on for more than nine years, and Russia’s special military operation is aimed at stopping it. And it reminds us that unilateral steps, no matter who takes them, will inevitably prompt retaliation. As we know, every action has an equal opposite reaction. That is what any responsible state, every sovereign, independent and self-respecting country does.” (Putin’s Valdai Club speech, 10/5/23)
“President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine made a surprise visit to NATO headquarters on Wednesday, as top defense officials representing members of the military alliance gathered to consider how many more weapons — and for how much longer — the West can give Ukraine in its war against Russia.” (nytimes.com 10/11/23)
“The four-month ‘counteroffensive’ by Ukrainian forces has failed to reach any of its objectives, the Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, told the Security Council on Friday.
‘For several days now, Russian troops have switched to combat operations, practically along the entire front line. Therefore, we can consider the so-called Ukrainian counteroffensive formally over,’ Nebenzia said.
According to the Russian envoy, four months of Ukrainian attacks resulted only in ‘hundreds of units of destroyed Western equipment’ and ‘tens of thousands of lives of those conscripted by the Kiev regime, most of whom did not want to fight.’ Some of the lucky ones surrendered and stayed alive, Nebenzia added.” (rt.com 10/13/23)
“Washington has a habit of discarding previous agreements depending on political whims, as seen with its exit from the multilateral agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, Putin said, adding that the Ukraine conflict is rooted in the same problem.
‘We were told as far back as 1991 – by the then-US administration – that NATO would not expand further east. Since then, there have been five waves of NATO expansion. How can we agree on anything if every new administration starts from scratch?’” (rt.com 1016/23)
“Ukraine on Tuesday used Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to strike nearby Russian troops near Lugansk and Berdyansk, marking the first use of the US-made long-range missiles in the conflict, a US newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing people in the know.
The United States has secretly shipped a small number of surface-to-surface missiles to Ukraine in recent days to provide Kiev with a long-range strike capability against Russian forces amid the ongoing counteroffensive, the report said. The versions of the ATACMS that were provided have a range of about 100 miles (160 km).” (sputnik globe.com 10/17/23)
“Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned US deliveries of ATACMS long-range missiles to Ukraine’s forces when speaking to the press in Beijing on Wednesday. Putin argued that Moscow would still be able to repel such attacks, making it yet another mistake on Washington’s part.
‘We, of course, will be able to repel these attacks,’ Putin said, suggesting the US missiles will ultimately fail to have a significant impact on the situation on the battlefield. ‘What’s most important is that [these deliveries], fundamentally, won’t be able to change the situation on the contact line at all. We can say this for sure,’ Putin emphasized.
He also added that the ATACMS delivered will not be able to help Ukraine turn the tide on the battlefield and that ‘there is nothing good for Ukraine in this sense. It just prolongs the agony.” (rt.com 10/18/23)
“Facing war on two fronts — in Ukraine and in the Middle East — Kyiv is calling on Western democracies to ramp up investment in weapons, saying that arms factory output worldwide is falling miles short of what is needed. In an interview, Ukraine’s Minister for Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin told POLITICO Western countries needed to accelerate production of missiles, shells and military drones as close to frontlines as possible.
‘The free world should be producing enough to protect itself,’ Kamyshin said, on a mission to the German capital to persuade arms producers to invest in war-ravaged Ukraine. ‘That's why we have to produce more and better weapons to stay safe.’” (politico.com 10/23/23)
“The town is a strategic point for ‘the whole Donbass front,’ Russell Bentley said, stressing that ‘when it falls, the Donbass front is going to shatter like glass. Once Avdeevka is out of the way, Russia will be able to move in any direction that they want for as far as they want. It’s one of the strongest positions that’s ever been built in this war. Once it’s taken, the Ukrainians aren’t going to have…any defensive positions that can anywhere near match what they built up in Avdeevka over almost nine years of reinforcing it.’” (sputnikglobe.com 10/27/23)
“Technically, the Russian Armed Forces defeated the Armed Forces of Ukraine last fall. Russia does not boast of it, but is simply waiting for winter and spring to finish off the Ukrainian regime. Many Western publications, such as National Interest, Politico, Time, Business Insider, Military Watch, etc. share a similar point of view in their materials about Ukraine.” (english.pravda.ru 11/7/23)
“There is no way the Russian military can be defeated, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has insisted. His comments follow recent claims by President Vladimir Putin that Western governments were lowering their expectations regarding the outcome of the Ukraine conflict. Speaking to Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin on Thursday, Peskov stated ‘it is high time that everyone in Kiev and Washington realized: it’s impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield.’ Putin claimed on Friday that Western powers were ‘changing their tune now [and] saying different things’ compared to their previous insistence on inflicting a military defeat on Russia.” (rt.com 11/9/23)
“If we break through a land corridor to Hungary, then Serbia will be magnetized to this axis. And it can be followed by Slovakia and Romania, where very interesting processes are taking place. Eastern Europe will begin to break away from old Europe, which will be severely depressed due to the economic situation.” Alexey Leonkov (ukraina.ru 11/10/23)
“In remarks at a recent meeting on November 3 on the eve of the National Unity Day with members of the federal and regional heads of civic chambers at the Victory Museum in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin repeated once again that Russia is ‘defending our moral values, our history, our culture, our language, including by helping our brothers and sisters in Donbass and Novorossiya to do the same. This is the key to today’s events.’
A noted political figure from Ukraine, Vladimir Rogov who used to be a lawmaker in Kiev reminded Putin with passionate intensity, ‘Believe me, we, people living in the southern part of Russia, which was cut off from its roots for 30 years, are, in fact, a storehouse of the Russian people’s historical forces, which was mothballed and could not make any efforts to regenerate our great Russia.’
Putin responded by underscoring the historical fact that Novorossiya constituted ‘the South Russian lands – all the Black Sea region and so on’ that were founded by Catherine the Great after a series of wars with the Ottoman Empire.” (indianpunchline.com 11/15/23)
“As Russian President Vladimir Putin looks toward the second anniversary of his all-out assault on Ukraine, his self-confidence is hard to miss. A much-anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive has not achieved the breakthrough that would give Kyiv a strong hand to negotiate. Tumult in the Middle East dominates the headlines, and bipartisan support for Ukraine in the U.S. has been upended by polarization and dysfunction in Congress, not to mention the pro-Putin leanings of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump. Putin has reason to believe that time is on his side.” (wsj.com 11/16/23)
“Ukraine has lost over 13,700 troops and approximately 1,800 tanks and other heavy weaponry so far this month, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu told his government colleagues on Tuesday during a ministerial meeting.
Russian forces have been actively thwarting Kiev’s attempts to breach their defensive lines and continue to reduce Ukraine’s military capacity, the senior official said. He claimed that Ukrainian soldiers were surrendering in droves after realizing the futility of their counteroffensive.” (rt.com 11/21/23)
“Germany and the US will put pressure on Ukraine to negotiate with Russia by scaling back weapons deliveries in what would be a major blow to Kyiv’s hopes of victory, German media reported on Friday. Bild, a German tabloid, reported what it described as a ‘secret’ German-American plan to force Ukraine’s hand on opening peace talks, citing sources in the German government.
Under the plan, Washington and Berlin would supply Ukraine with sufficient weapons and armour to hold the current front line, but not enough to retake occupied territory. They hope to push Volodymr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, towards the negotiating table with Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader.” (thetelegraph.co.uk 11/24/23)
“On Friday, the Moldovan parliament passed a law on the implementation of international restrictions on the territory of the former Soviet Republic. It was passed as part of reform measures supporting its bid to join the EU. Among other provisions, the new law allows for punitive actions to be taken against individuals and institutions subject to sanctions imposed on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.
‘We regard this as another hostile step by the Moldovan leadership, which is entirely integrated into the anti-Russian campaign of the West,’ Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a briefing on Friday.
The government of President Maia Sandu is working towards ‘a complete destruction of relations between Russia and Moldova, which, due to the actions of Chisinau, are already in quite a deplorable state,’ she stressed. Zakharova insisted that the ‘destructive course’ pursued by the Moldovan authorities ‘hardly meets the interests of the country’s residents, who are overwhelmingly friendly towards Russia.’” (rt.com 11/25/23)
“Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov delivered a blunt message to Western leaders Friday and declared at an international security conference that his government was not prepared to ‘review its goals’ in Ukraine.
‘We aren’t seeing any signals from Kyiv or its masters about their readiness to seek any kind of political settlement,’ Lavrov told reporters while attending an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe conference in North Macedonia. ‘We see no reason to review our goals,’ he said.” (news.yahoo.com 12/2/23)
“In Dubai I had a couple of conversations with people in the Russian security intelligentsia. They were hell bent on continuing the war against Ukraine. The minimum objective was described as occupying Odesa and Kharkiv as well, and then some sort of controlled regime in Kyiv.” (Former Swedish Prime Minister @carlbildt 12/10/23)
“‘We would never have done anything like [the military operation] if they had not started to destroy Russia in our historical territories, expel people from there, declared Russians a non-indigenous ethnic group in Ukraine. Have they gone completely crazy? Are they completely – how can I put it more bluntly – nuts?’ Putin told the [Hero of Russia] medal recipients.” (rt.com 12/11/23)
“Peskov reminded that the Kiev regime promised the Americans ‘victory on the battlefield’ for $100 billion, and now they understand that they were deceived - there is no victory on the battlefield. Moreover, the Ukrainian armed forces are rapidly and inevitably losing ground.” (iz.ru 12/13/23)
“Several NATO member states have boots on the ground in the Ukraine conflict, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has claimed. Western military personnel are operating certain weapons systems, he alleged, and that hundreds of the US-led military bloc's satellites are providing surveillance data to Kiev.
Speaking at a meeting of Defense Ministry officials on Tuesday, where President Vladimir Putin was also present, Shoigu stated that ‘NATO service members are directly operating air defense systems, tactical ballistic missiles, and multiple launch rocket systems’ in Ukraine. He cited radio intercepts featuring English and Polish speakers. According to the minister, Western officers are also playing an active role in preparing Ukrainian military operations as well as training troops, both in their home countries and in Ukraine.” (rt.com 12/19/23)
“‘It’s time for them [Western leaders] to stop playing the fool and waiting for us to collapse. Everyone realizes by now that if they want to benefit from cooperation with Russia, they should do so,’ Putin said.
Western nations have a choice between following ‘ephemeral considerations’ motivating them to seek Russia’s destruction and ‘the interests of their own nations and peoples,’ which require cooperation based on a ‘new foundation of a multipolar world,’ Putin stated.” (rt.com 12/23/23)
“With U.S. and European aid to Ukraine now in serious jeopardy, the Biden administration and European officials are quietly shifting their focus from supporting Ukraine’s goal of total victory over Russia to improving its position in an eventual negotiation to end the war, according to a Biden administration official and a European diplomat based in Washington. Such a negotiation would likely mean giving up parts of Ukraine to Russia.” (politico.com 12/27/23)
“Ukraine is a mere tool in the hands of the collective West which is using it to fight Russia, President Vladimir Putin said on Monday. He was speaking at a military hospital in Moscow where he met servicemen wounded during the ongoing conflict.
Asked about the enduring Western support for Kiev, the president said the elites of the collective West were actually the true enemy of Russia, rather than Ukraine itself. ‘The point is not that they are helping our enemy, but that they are our enemy. They are solving their own problems with [Ukraine’s] hands, that’s what it’s all about,” Putin stated.” (rt.com 1/1/24)
“‘Striking Belgorod and disrupting the life of the city is a dramatic way for Ukraine to show that it can strike back at Russia, whose armed forces are larger than Kiev’s. The tactic appears to be having some success, with the attacks causing concern among the public, political leaders and military observers,’ ABC News writes.
This, in turn, was answered by Dmitry Polyanskiy, First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN:
‘Well, they made their choice! Then the ‘buffer zone’ will simply go further and further to the west and south of Russia. As much as is required to ensure the safety of our cities and our citizens, even if Ukraine no longer remains. We will not tolerate a Western-sponsored Russophobic neo-Nazi hornet’s nest on our border, this should be clear to everyone. So the fate of Kharkov is decided, the only question is the timing and degree of destruction in the city.’” – suggests the telegram channel Actually in Kharkov
.“According to the [Russian Defense] Ministry, since the beginning of the special operation, 565 Ukrainian military aircraft, 265 helicopters, 10,488 unmanned aerial vehicles, 447 anti-aircraft missile systems, 14,494 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,201 multiple launch rocket systems combat vehicles, over 14 thousand tanks, over 10 thousand UAVs, 7,645 field artillery pieces and mortars, as well as 17,121 units of special military vehicle equipment have been destroyed.” (sputnikglobe.com 1/6/24)
“Ukraine’s much-touted counteroffensive has now ‘completely failed’ and its very statehood could soon suffer an irreparable blow, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the Small Motherland – the Strength of Russia forum in Moscow on Tuesday.
Putin noted that the head of Ukraine’s negotiation team, which participated in peace talks with Russia in the early months of the conflict, had recently admitted that Kiev was at one point ready to reach an agreement with Moscow. However, after a visit by then-British prime minister Boris Johnson, the Ukrainian authorities were convinced to stop pursuing a deal with Russia and continue fighting.
‘Are they not idiots?’ Putin asked, adding that if Ukraine had simply ignored Johnson, then the fighting could be long over by now. ‘This just proves yet again that they are not independent people,’ the Russian leader said.” (rt.com 1/16/24)
“The United Kingdom has offered its NATO allies to consider sending an alliance expeditionary force to Ukraine, an informed source told RIA Novosti.
‘Due to the unfavorable development of events in the Ukrainian theater of operations (Theater of Operations) for Kiev, Britain suggested that NATO allies consider sending an alliance expeditionary force to Ukraine, as well as establishing a no — fly zone over the territory controlled by the Kiev authorities, and increasing the supply of weapons and equipment to the Armed Forces of Ukraine,’ the source said.
He clarified that the kingdom offers to secretly transfer large highly maneuverable NATO forces to Ukraine from the border areas of Romania and Poland to occupy defensive lines along the right bank of the Dnieper.” (February 2-RIA Novosti)
“The Ukrainian military is facing a critical shortage of infantry, leading to exhaustion and diminished morale on the front line, military personnel in the field said this week — a perilous new dynamic for Kyiv nearly two years into the grinding, bloody war with Russia.
In interviews across the front line in recent days, nearly a dozen soldiers and commanders told The Washington Post that personnel deficits were their most critical problem now, as Russia has regained the offensive initiative on the battlefield and is stepping up its attacks. One battalion commander in a mechanized brigade fighting in eastern Ukraine said that his unit currently has fewer than 40 infantry troops — the soldiers deployed in front-line trenches who hold off Russian assaults. A fully equipped battalion would have more than 200, the commander said.” (washingtonpost.com 2/8/24)
“Ukraine’s worsening lack of ammunition and battle fatigue will most likely force Kiev to abandon its current frontline positions unless it receives new aid from the West, the New York Times reported on Friday.
The paper said that Ukrainian defenses near the key stronghold of Avdeevka in Russia’s Donetsk Region are reeling under relentless attacks, and Kiev’s problems extend beyond one single battle.
Ukrainian troops, the Times added, are exhausted and suffer from a lack of weapons and ammunition, especially with regard to air defense systems. According to unnamed US officials interviewed by the outlet, Kiev only has enough air defense assets to last until March, unless it receives new shipments.” (rt.com 2/10/24)
“The West does not want to take into account Russia's geopolitical interests, so at the moment there are no options for reaching an agreement on Ukraine at the negotiating table, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during the so-called 'government hour' in the State Duma.
‘In the absence of serious proposals from those who declared war on us and [taking into account] their unwillingness to take into account either our interests or the realities on the ground, it is not yet be possible to speak at the negotiating table. Such options are not visible,’ Lavrov added.” (sputnikglobe.com 2/14/24)
“Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Galuzin, has warned Moldova of ‘a military scenario’ if it attempts to resolve the problem of the breakaway Transnistrian region by force.
‘We are extremely concerned about such a possibility and have always made it clear that attempts to resolve the Transnistrian issue by force are counterproductive. We expect Chisinau to understand what a military scenario could mean for Moldova,’ Galuzin told the Russian daily Izvestia on Thursday.
The minister said that any actions that pose a threat to the Russian military, or to fellow citizens [of Transnistria], would be ‘considered by Moscow, in accordance with international law, as an attack on Russia’.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday told the Russian Duma that Russia will defend its citizens in Moldova from any alleged danger from the government in Chisinau or its US and EU backers.
‘We will do everything we can to reverse this trend to resume the political process. After all, we have 200,000 citizens living there, and, of course, we are concerned about their fate and will not allow them to become victims of another Western adventure,” Lavrov said. Russia allegedly has 220,000 Russian citizens in Moldova, most of them in the breakaway region.’” (balkaninsight.com 2/16/24)
“Ukraine is engaged in a desperate fight to hold back the Russian onslaught. Outmanned and outgunned, Ukrainian ground forces are in perhaps their most precarious position since the opening months of the war.” (nytimes.com 2/17/24)
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) lost 166 thousand troops and more than 800 tanks during their counteroffensive, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said. According to him, the losses of Ukrainian troops amounted to ‘166 thousand killed and wounded, more than 800 tanks, almost 2,400 armored combat vehicles. In fact, of what they have today, more than half of the Leopards were destroyed, they lost 123 aircraft and helicopters,’ the minister said in an interview with TASS editor-in-chief Mikhail Petrov.” (tass.com 2/20/24)
“Neither Ukraine nor its Western backers are willing to put an end to hostilities with Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has claimed. For peace to prevail in Ukraine, he said its leadership must return to its ‘neutral, non-bloc and non-nuclear’ status, as well as accepting ‘new territorial realities.’” (rt.com 2/22/24)
“Nebenzia went on to reiterate Moscow’s position [at the UN] that the coup in Kiev was one of the root causes of the ongoing conflict, and stressed that Russia launched the military operation in 2022 to protect the largely Russian-speaking population of Donbass from Kiev’s troops. He argued that the conflict could have been avoided if not for Ukraine’s ‘nationalist’ policies.
‘Russia did not start this war. Russia came to finally stop it. All Kiev had to do was to respect the rights of the people and allow them to live peacefully, receive education in their native language and have the freedom of religion and the freedom of thought,’ Nebenzia said.” (rt.com 2/23/24)
“Pro-Russian rebel officials in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria appealed to Russia for ‘protection’ on Wednesday, amid fears the territory could become a new flashpoint in Moscow’s conflict with neighbouring Ukraine.
At a special congress in the region – only the seventh in its history – lawmakers passed a resolution asking Russia’s parliament to ‘protect’ Transnistria from mounting Moldovan pressure.
They said the Moldovan government in Chisinau had unleashed an ‘economic war’ against Transnistria, blocking vital imports in the aim of turning it into a ‘ghetto’.
‘The decisions of the current congress cannot be ignored by the international community,’ the breakaway republic’s foreign policy chief Vitaly Ignatiev told the meeting. Moldova described the calls for protection as merely ‘propaganda.’” (scmp.com 2/28/24)
“German chancellor Olaf Scholz has been accused of a ‘flagrant abuse of intelligence’ for divulging details of British aid for Ukrainian forces. Mr Scholz said Germany will not be sending Kyiv Taurus, Berlin’s version of the Storm Shadow missile, pointing to a risk of his country becoming directly involved in the war, referring to the UK and French assistance to Ukraine.
On Monday, he said that German soldiers could not follow the lead of their British and French allies in ‘the way of target control and accompanying target control. This is a flagrant abuse of intelligence deliberately designed to distract from Germany’s reluctance to arm Ukraine with its own long-range missile system,’ said Tobias Ellwood, the former chairman of the Commons defence committee. He added that Mr Scholz’s argument will ‘no doubt be used by Russia to racket up the escalator ladder.’” (ca.news.yahoo.com 2/28/24)
“When there was no mention of Transnistria — Moldova's Russia-led breakaway republic — in Vladimir Putin's speech on Feb. 29, Moldovans sighed with relief.
A day prior, the leaders of the unrecognized breakaway entity, sandwiched between Ukraine and Moldova, had asked Russia for ‘protection’ — a plea that some saw as an invitation for Moscow's covert attack against Chisinau.
There were fears that the Kremlin would repeat the February 2022 scenario when it recognized the ‘independence’ of the Russian-controlled militant groups in eastern Ukraine to justify its all-out war against the country launched a few days later.” (kyivindependent.com 3/3/24)
In response to CIA Director William Burns releasing his article ‘Spycraft And Statecraft: Transforming The CIA For An Age Of Competition’, legendary Russian master spy chief retired Lieutenant General Leonid Reshetniko replied with a lengthy letter to CIA Director Burns (US Mired in Impunity and Corruption), wherein he concluded: ‘I don’t rule out the possibility that you, Mr. Burns, believe that the Democratic administration is living out its last months, and seek to secure your place in the history of the Central Intelligence Agency by presenting your own failures and blunders as achievements and clever traps...If my impression is correct, and your article, Mr. Burns, is in some sense a farewell one, I can only wish you good luck in your future work.’” (tass.com 3/5/24)
“Russia’s Ministry of Defense building or the HQ of the country’s intelligence service in central Moscow are legitimate targets that should be attacked, the deputy chairman of the German parliament’s oversight committee, Roderich Kiesewetter, has stated.
The lawmaker, who is a former German Army (Bundeswehr) general staff officer, insisted that Ukraine should take the war to Russia. ‘Ukraine should be given the opportunity to take the war to the Russian territory,’ Kiesewetter told a talk show on state broadcaster ZDF, noting that Defense Minister Boris Pistorius had already called for the same in April 2023.” (rt.com 3/6/24)
“Vladimir Zelensky announced an audit of the Ukrainian troops, during which a ‘shortage’ of 700 thousand mobilized military personnel was revealed. The Washington Post indicates that Kyiv still cannot understand where these people went.
At the same time, Alexander Syrsky, who was appointed to the post of commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian troops instead of Valery Zaluzhny about a month ago, has not yet been able to understand the situation and find out everything about the size of his army.
‘Almost a month after his appointment, no one in the military leadership or administration has explained where these 700 thousand people are or what they are doing.’” (en.topcor.ru 3/7/24)
“Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev has attributed French President Emmanuel Macron's statement regarding the possibility of sending NATO forces to Ukraine to the failure of Kiev’s counter-offensive and the successful actions of the Russian army in the special military operation.
‘The collective West is trying to push ahead with its unrealistic plans for inflicting a strategic defeat on our country in Ukraine using the neo-Nazi terrorist regime. By continuing to provide large-scale military and military-technical assistance, the West is actually participating in the armed conflict,’ Patrushev said at a meeting in Magas on national security issues in the regions of the North Caucasus Federal District.” (tass.com 3/7/24)
“French President Emmanuel Macron met with parliamentary parties on Thursday. During the meeting Macron said he was open to the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine, as announced by, according to French newspaper L’Independant.
Fabien Roussel, a representative of the French Communist Party, said after the meeting that ‘Macron referenced a scenario that could lead to intervention [of French troops]: the advancement of the front towards Odesa or Kyiv.’
He noted that the French President showed parliamentarians maps of the possible directions of strikes by Russian troops in Ukraine. Following the meeting, Jordan Bardella of the far-right National Rally party noted that ‘there are no restrictions and no red lines’ in Macron’s approach.” (kyivpost.com 3/8/24)
“Moldovan President Maia Sandu signed a defense cooperation agreement with France during her visit to Paris on Thursday. The deal comes as Western nations seek to strengthen the fractured former Soviet state, located between Ukraine and Romania, amid what they claim are attempts by Russia to destabilize the region.
President Emmanuel Macron has pledged France’s ‘unwavering support’ for Moldova. Paris is boosting its presence in countries it believes that Moscow sees as its area of influence. France struck similar defense deals with Armenia last month.” (rt.com 3/9/24)
“The Western countries are building up their military potential and pursuing a policy of total militarization in an attempt to defeat Russia, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said.
‘What is happening now is madness. They all thought that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin would be easily defeated. Now they see that this is not so,’ Vucic said. ‘The current trend is toward total militarization and a five-fold build-up in all respects," he told the media while visiting the Belgrade Military Technical Institute and inspecting armaments on display.
The Serbian leader together with Defense Minister Milos Vucevic inspected new weapons of the Serbian Armed Forces. He noted the importance of increasing the production of UAVs and other weapons.
Earlier, Vucic stressed that under the current circumstances it should not be ruled out the West might send its soldiers to Ukraine and there was a risk of the conflict’s escalation.” (tass.com 3/9/24)
“Few men of fighting age are left in this village in southwest Ukraine, and those who remain fear they will be drafted at any moment...Civilians here say that means military recruiters are grabbing everyone they can...In the west, the mobilization drive has steadily sown panic and resentment in small agricultural towns and villages like Makiv, where residents said soldiers working for draft offices roam the near-empty streets searching for any remaining men...Locals use Telegram channels to warn of soldier sightings and share videos of troops forcing men into their vehicles — stoking rumors of kidnappings...’People are being caught like dogs on the street,’ said Olha Kametyuk, 35, whose husband, Valentin, 36, was drafted in June by soldiers who approached him and asked for his papers after he stopped for coffee on the main road outside Makiv.” (washingtonpost.com 3/16/24)
“A kamikaze drone has attacked a military base in Tiraspol, the capital of the unrecognized republic of Transnistria, the press service for the region’s security ministry told RIA Novosti. The Sunday incident reportedly caused a fire but resulted in no casualties.
According to TASS, a military airfield was targeted in the attack. A helicopter stationed at the airfield was destroyed by the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the news agency added.
The de facto authorities in Transnistria have so far not commented on the extent of the damage. The breakaway republic’s state security ministry only confirmed that one of Tiraspol’s military bases saw a fire caused by an ‘explosion,’ which, in turn, was the result of a drone attack. Photos and videos that surfaced on social media show what appears to be the wreckage of a military helicopter, with its hull almost completely destroyed.
Transnistria’s state security ministry alleged that the drone arrived from the so-called Clover Bridge area – a major multi-level highway junction located north of the city of Tiraspol and close to the Ukrainian border. The unrecognized republic’s authorities have not named any suspects behind the incident so far. A criminal case has been opened into the attack.” (rt.com 3/17/24)
“Emmanuel Macron broke the taboo in February. NATO already assists Ukraine in virtually every possible aspect, from supplying weaponry and intelligence on Russian targets and the positions of enemy bombers to training thousands of Ukrainian troops in Europe. But until the French president suggested it, no one had dared to raise the question of Atlantic Alliance soldiers going into action to stop the Kremlin’s invasion. Macron not only opened a debate; his words also served to confirm that there are already military personnel from NATO countries on Ukrainian soil, albeit without taking an active role in combat operations.” (english.elpais.com 3/18/24)
“It’s clear the goal is to bring Moldova into the fold, entrench the region and create massive military buildups there to make sure Russia can never take back Odessa or retain supremacy over the Black Sea. That is why it is more imperative than ever for Russia to get the job done, capture Odessa and unlock PMR to keep from being strangled by NATO. Don’t forget, PMR just suffered one of its first direct military assaults, as an Mi-8 helicopter was destroyed by an ‘unknown’ FPV drone, a provocation with a clear angle. (simplicius76.substack.com 3/19/24)
“The timing of France’s defence deal with Moldova, which follows a security pact with Ukraine last month, hints at geopolitical considerations to get a toehold in that vital region — where Dniester River rising on the north side of the Carpathian Mountains and flowing south and east for 1350 kms drains into the Black Sea near Odessa — to challenge the rise of Novorossiya, which is in the throes of renewal and regeneration.
For more than three decades, Transnistria has been considered a possible flash point for a conflict. The endgame in Ukraine has a domino effect on Moldavia, which, encouraged by the West, step by step, is strategically defying Russia to ‘erase’ its influence, and move into the EU and NATO camp. Russia has been watching closely but patience is wearing thin.” (MK Bhadrakumar indianpunchline.com 3/19/24)
“The Russian side has information that France is preparing a military contingent of 2,000 troops to be sent to Ukraine, Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergey Naryshkin said.
‘The current leadership of the country (France - TASS) does not care about the deaths of ordinary French people or about the concerns of the generals. According to information coming to the Russian SVR, a contingent to be sent to Ukraine is already being prepared. Initially, it will include around 2,000 troops,’ he said.
According to the director of the SVR, the French military is afraid that such a significant unit will not be able to be quietly transferred to Ukraine and quartered there. ‘Thus, it will become a priority legitimate target for attacks by the Russian Armed Forces. This means that the fate of all Frenchmen who have ever come to the territory of the Russian world with a sword awaits him,’ Naryshkin concluded.”(tass.com 3/19/24)
“Marianne’s editor Natacha Polony wrote: ‘It is no longer about Emmanuel Macron or his postures as a virile little leader. It is no longer even about France or its weakening by blind and irresponsible elites. It is a question of whether we will collectively agree to sleepwalk into war. A war that no one can claim will be controlled or contained. It’s a question of whether we agree to send our children to die because the United States insisted on setting up bases on Russia’s borders.’” (marianne.net 2/27/24)
The Russian Armed Forces will destroy all French soldiers who appear on Ukrainian soil - State Duma deputy speaker Pyotr Tolstoy to French channel BFM TV. ‘The idea of sending French soldiers to Ukraine will end with coffins covered with the French flag arriving at Orly airport. And it won't be Macron who will come to pick them up. The French must understand the consequences, that's all,’ the MP said in an interview with French TV.
‘We will kill all French soldiers who come to Ukrainian soil,’ said the deputy speaker of the Russian State Duma. ‘You, the French, who want to send soldiers to Odessa, are provoking World War III,’ Tolstoy added. (bfmtv.com 3/21/24)
“We're entering into the most dangerous part of the war...Russia is winning...Ukraine is losing...And panic is spreading in Europe, in Berlin and in Paris and in the US as well...No one knows what to do”. (Daniel Lazare rt.com 3/21/24)
“Peskov: Russia is in a state of war, everyone should understand this:
Russia will continue to act in such a way that the military potential of Ukraine could not threaten the security of its citizens and its territory, he said in a conversation with reporters. ‘What is the president talking about? We have four new regions of the Russian Federation. And the main thing for us is to protect people in these regions and liberate the territory of these regions, which is currently de facto occupied by the Kiev regime,’ Peskov said.
According to the presidential press secretary, Russia cannot allow the existence of a state on its borders that has documented the intention to use any methods to take Crimea from it, not to mention the territory of new regions.
‘We are at war. Yes, it started out as a special military operation, but as soon as this little group was formed there, when the collective West became a participant in this on the side of Ukraine, it already became a war for us. I am convinced of this. And everyone should understand this for their internal mobilization,’ Peskov added.” (moonofalabama.org 3/22/24)
“Russia will destroy US-made F-16 fighter jets that eventually make it to Ukraine, just as it has other Western equipment, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.
Several NATO member states have promised to donate their F-16s to Kiev and have trained Ukrainian pilots to fly them, but no deliveries have been made yet. Russia has warned the West that fielding the nuclear-capable jets will represent an unacceptable escalation of the Ukraine conflict.
‘If they deliver the F-16s, I think you know better than others that this will not change the situation on the battlefield,’ the president said. ‘And we will destroy these planes just as we have destroyed tanks, armored vehicles, and other equipment, including multiple launch rocket systems.’
‘Of course, if they are used from airfields of third countries, they become a legitimate target for us, wherever they are located,’ he said.” (rt.com 3/27/24)
Patrushev: "NATO exercises have been taking place regularly in Ukraine since 1995. And in 2004, the Verkhovna Rada passed a law on free access of NATO forces to the territory of Ukraine, thereby sacrificing the country's sovereignty for the sake of the alliance."
"The increased militarization of Ukraine began after the Western coup in Kiev in February 2014 and the genocide of the Russian-speaking population carried out by the Ukronazis. There is irrefutable evidence that Kiev, at the behest of the US and NATO, intended to use extreme force to resolve the problem of “unruly” regions."
"NATO is a de facto party in the Ukraine conflict and is actively involved in organizing the shelling of Russian territories by neo-Nazis. Within its framework, collective decisions are made on new supplies of weapons, increasing their technical capabilities and range, and NATO trainers in several countries train mercenaries and saboteurs to take part in anti-Russian operations."
"The US and NATO plan is to keep Ukraine, or at least part of it, under their complete control as an anti-Russian territory that serves the interests of the North Atlantic bloc. In this context, the task of demilitarizing Ukraine remains relevant."
“Big trouble may be brewing in little Moldova, which is starting to look like a staging area for the European Union to offset an emerging Russian victory in Ukraine. Whether such a plan, if attempted, would succeed is not clear. But Moldova is not the most stable country in the world with the nation split between pro-EU and pro-Russian elements.
US troops are now in Moldova with Romanians, ostensibly for a military exercise called JCET 2024 (Joint Command Exchange Training). The exercise started on April 1 and will continue until April 19.” (asiatimes.com 4/5/24)
“As Ukrainian officials plead for more Western arms and a U.S. aid package remains stalled in Congress, Russia is advancing on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine, seizing new territory and intensifying attacks to capture the town of Chasiv Yar and others in the Donetsk region...Away from the front line, Ukraine’s dwindling air defense capabilities are showing vulnerabilities, as more Russian missiles and drones are able to hit targets such as critical infrastructure facilities...Outside Kyiv — considered Ukraine’s best-protected city — the largest power plant serving the capital was destroyed Thursday, stoking concerns that Ukraine might be running out of surface-to-air missiles to counter the Russian airstrikes” (washingtonpost.com 4/12/24)
“Just outside Kyiv is a smoking crater where one of Ukraine's largest power plants used to be. The bombed-out ruin of the Trypilska Thermal Power Plant — the main electricity producer for millions of people — is a symbol of a devastating shift underway in Ukraine. In recent weeks, Russia has started inflicting far more permanent damage on Ukraine’s energy system, not only taking out generating stations but even going after the vast underground gas storage facilities the EU leaned on last winter to avoid its own energy shortages.” (politico.eu 4/18/24)
“Medvedev, who serves as the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, argued that ‘the vote of gleeful American bastards’ will only prolong the fighting and ‘increase the number of victims of this war. Obviously, we will win, regardless of the bloody dollars shoved down the throat of the insatiable [American] defense industry. The strength and the truth are on our side,’ Medvedev wrote on Telegram, calling the US ‘a despicable empire of evil of the 21th century.’” (@medvedev_telegram 4/21/24)
“Poland is ready to welcome nuclear weapons on its territory if NATO, of which it is a member, decides to strengthen its eastern flank in the face of Russia's deployment of new weapons in Kaliningrad and neighboring Belarus, said the Polish President Andrzej Duda in an interview published Monday in the popular daily Fakt.” (fakt.pl 4/22/24)
“Ukraine is planning to increase its long-range strikes against Russia, stated the head of the British armed forces. In Britain, there is satisfaction with the strikes on Russian territory, and they are urging Kiev to undertake new acts of sabotage
‘Ukraine is poised to expand the scope of its strikes inside Russia, as a surge of Western military aid aims to assist Kiev in combatting the war in much more decisive ways,’ noted the head of the British armed forces, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin.
Radakin acknowledged the somber atmosphere surrounding Ukraine's defense and the country's challenging fight to repel the Russian offensive. However, he did not express overt regret about Ukrainian attacks and sabotage missions on Russian soil.” (ft.com 2/25/24)
“ Western leaders are falsely claiming Moscow intends to attack their nations in order to justify stoking the Ukraine conflict, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu warned on Friday.
Unlike the US and its allies, Russia does not seek to meddle in the affairs of other states, Shoigu said. Meanwhile, NATO has expanded six times since 1999 – in violation of promises given to Moscow – creating a direct military threat to Russia, he added.
‘We did not come to them, they came to us,’ he said. ‘This proves once again that the West cannot be trusted.’ NATO’s intention to absorb Ukraine, and its increasing presence in the country, was one of the key triggers of hostilities with Russia, according to Moscow.” (rt.com 4/26/24)
“Kiev’s losses of military personnel have surpassed 8,000 over the past week amid Moscow’s continued offensive in Donbass, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a series of Telegram posts on Saturday. The nation’s military seized two settlements from Ukrainian forces and has gained ground across the region, it stated.
Moscow’s forces took control of the villages of Novomikhailovka in the central part of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Bogdanovka, near the key strategic town of Chasov Yar in the DPR’s north, the statements read. Around two dozen Ukrainian attacks in the region were also repelled.” (rt.com 4/27/24)
“But from the economic standpoint too, neither Kiev, nor Washington have the long-term wherewithal to continue the conflict indefinitely, says Dr. Rodney Shakespeare, a visiting professor of binary economics at Trisakti University in Indonesia, and co-founder of the Global Justice Movement.
In Ukraine’s case, ‘the loss of productive assets in east Ukraine, the rapidly weakening military situation, and the dislocations produced by the war mean that the Ukrainian economy is a basket case (which will get worse, if that is possible,’ Shakespeare told Sputnik.
‘It is now very likely that there will soon be a huge military '(and associated economic and political) collapse,’ the professor believes, suggesting that the US will be unlikely to continue funding the proxy war in a situation where Ukraine no longer exists ‘in its present form and, if it remains,’ becomes ‘an area requiring considerable humanitarian relief.’” (sputnikglobe.com 4/30/24)
“French President Emmanuel Macron does not rule out that sending troops to Ukraine could be considered based on Kiev’s request if Russian forces broke through the front lines.
"‘I’m not ruling anything out, because we are facing someone who is not ruling anything out. We have undoubtedly been too hesitant by defining the limits of our action,’ he said in an interview with The Economist, when asked if he stood by what he had said about possibly sending ground troops to Ukraine. The French leader pointed out that ‘many countries understood’ Paris’s approach and agreed ‘that this position was a good thing.’
‘If the Russians were to break through the front lines, if there were a Ukrainian request - which is not the case today - we would legitimately have to ask ourselves this question,’ Macron noted. ‘At the NATO summit in the summer of 2022, we all ruled out the delivery of tanks, deep-strike missiles, aircraft. We are now all in the process of doing this, so it would be wrong to rule out the rest,’ he added.” (tass.com 5/2/24)
“Russian forces are steadily advancing in the Ukraine conflict, the US Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, told senators on Thursday. She also accused China of providing Russia with dual-use components, which has ‘tilted the momentum on the battlefield in Moscow’s favor.’
During a hearing at the US Senate Armed Services Committee on Global Threats on Thursday, Haines said Russia ‘is making incremental progress on the battlefield with the potential for tactical breakthroughs along the front lines in areas such as Donetsk and Kharkiv.’” (rt.com 5/3/24)
“Any Western-backed Ukrainian attack against Russia’s Crimean Bridge or Crimea itself will be met with a powerful revenge strike from Moscow, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.
According to Zakharova, Kiev is openly preparing for a new attack on the Crimean Bridge, with the support of the West. She told a press briefing on Friday that, on the eve of May 9, Russia’s annual Great Victory Day commemorating the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, ‘the Kiev regime and its Western masters are hatching plans for new terrorist attacks on Russian territory.
‘I would like to again warn Washington, London, Brussels, that any aggressive actions against Crimea are not only doomed to failure, but will also be met with a retaliatory blow,’ the diplomat said.” (rt.com 5/3/24)
“France has sent its first troops officially to Ukraine. They have been deployed in support of the Ukrainian 54th Independent Mechanized Brigade in Slavyansk. The French soldiers are drawn from France’s 3rd Infantry Regiment, which is one of the main elements of France’s Foreign Legion (Légion étrangère).” (asiatimes.com 5/4/24)
“The US may have to deploy troops to Ukraine if Kiev suffers a complete collapse against Russia, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has warned. In an interview with CBS News released on Sunday, the senior Democratic lawmaker suggested that if Kiev cannot win the war with Russia using billions if dollars worth of US military aid, Washington could potentially have to intervene directly in the conflict.
‘We can’t let Ukraine fall because if it does, then there’s a significant likelihood that America will have to get into the conflict – not simply with our money, but with our servicewomen and our servicemen,’ Jeffries said.” (rt.com 5/6/24)
“The deployment of Western troops to Ukraine would be akin to these countries declaring war on Russia, and lead to a catastrophe on a global scale, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said.
"Sending their troops to the territory of former Ukraine will mean their direct involvement in the war. We will have to respond to this. And, alas, not on the territory of former Ukraine," he wrote on his Telegram channel.
He added that in this case, Western leaders ‘won’t be able to hide on Capitol Hill, or in the Elysee Palace, or on 10 Downing Street. A global catastrophe will ensue," Medvedev concluded.” (tass.com 5/6/24)
“Russia will do all in its power to prevent a ‘global conflict,’ but will also not allow any threats to the country, President Vladimir Putin has said in his address to the Victory Day military parade in Moscow.
At the event celebrating the 79th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany, Putin noted that the Russian military is “always on alert” and ready to defend the country’s sovereignty.
‘The West would like to forget the lessons of World War II, but we remember that the fate of humanity was decided in grandiose battles near Moscow and Leningrad,’ as well as other cities, Putin said. ‘Russia will do everything to prevent a global conflict, but at the same time we will not allow anyone to threaten us.’” (rt.com 5/9/24)
“The yet another package of aid for Ukraine, announced by the US Administration, is a reaction to the success of Russian forces at the frontline, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said.
‘The yet another arms shipment to the Zelensky regime is a reaction to the success of the Russian Armed Forces at the frontline. Our soldiers and officers continue to liberate the Russian land by their heroic efforts. America acknowledges this fact,’ the envoy said in his commentary, published on the Russian embassy’s Telegram channel.
Antonov also castigated the US administration for shrugging off responsibility for Ukrainian attacks at civilian facilities in Russia with the use of weapons being supplied from the United States.” (tass.com 5/11/24)
"‘If they want [to resolve the conflict in Ukraine] on the battlefield, let it be on the battlefield,’ Lavrov said.
He reiterated that Russia was ready to negotiate peace not only in words, but also in deeds. ‘[During talks] in Istanbul, we indeed were a step away from signing an initial document to end the special military operation on conditions that Ukrainian sponsors now admit were very beneficial to Ukraine,’ Lavrov continued. ‘Our political analysts also say so. And I agree with this,’ he added.
According to Lavrov, the Istanbul negotiations were Russia's last attempt ‘to extend trust and show good will, despite multiple past deceits on the part of the West. And we were misled again, so they forced us to go fight,’ he concluded.” (tass.com 5/13/24)
“Ukraine can use any weapons supplied by the UK to launch strikes on Russia’s Crimean Peninsula, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed to journalists on Tuesday. London considers the region, which joined Russia in 2014 following a referendum, to be an ‘integral part of Ukraine,’ he said.
Russia has already warned that it could retaliate to any strikes by attacking British military targets in Ukraine and beyond.
Speaking at a Royal Navy conference in the British capital, Shapps maintained that a victory for Russia would be ‘unimaginable and unacceptable’ for the UK, and called for intensified arms deliveries to Kiev.” (rt.com 5/14/24)
"NATO allies are inching closer to sending troops into Ukraine to train Ukrainian forces, a move that would be another blurring of a previous red line and could draw the United States and Europe more directly into the war, Ukrainian officials have asked their American and NATO counterparts to help train 150,000 new recruits closer to the front line for faster deployment.” (nytimes.com 5/16/24)
“The profile of the American and British handlers of the [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky regime is clearly visible behind these barbaric attacks,’ Zakharova told reporters. ‘They are not only providing longer-range missiles and heavy weapons, but are giving the green light for their use against Russia.’
‘Once again, we would like to unequivocally warn Washington, London, Brussels and other Western capitals, as well as Kiev, which is under their control, that they are playing with fire. Russia will not leave such encroachments on its territory unanswered,’ the spokeswoman stressed.” (rt.com 5/18/24)
“Russia's Southern Military District has begun the first stage of an exercise involving practical training in the preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons, the Defence Ministry said.
‘In accordance with the instructions of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, the first stage of the drills has begun in the Southern Military District under the leadership of the General Staff of the armed forces of the Russian Federation with practical testing of the preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons,’ the statement said.” (sputnikglobe.com 5/20/24)
“After meeting with a delegation of Ukrainian parliamentarians, the congressional lawmakers emphasized that in order for Ukraine to better defend itself against Russia, the United States should authorize the use of weapons by Ukraine that would allow its military to strike strategic targets within Russia, train additional Ukrainian F-16 pilots, and bolster Ukraine's air defense systems.” (intelligence.house.gov 5/20/24)
“Russia’s Foreign Ministry repeated a warning to the U.K. Thursday suggesting that Moscow could strike U.K. targets if British weapons are used by Ukraine to attack Russian territory.
The U.K.’s Foreign Minister David Cameron caused uproar in Moscow at the start of May when he said Ukraine was free to use British long-range missiles on targets inside Russia. Ukraine has used British Storm Shadow missiles to successfully target Russian military sites in Crimea.” (cnbc.com 5/23/24)
“The West is already ‘at war’ with Russia and the weaponry it supplies to Ukraine is being actively used to strike deep inside the country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters on Friday.
The top diplomat dismissed repeated claims by the US and its allies that they somehow restrict Kiev from using Western-supplied weapons to attack Russian territory. Any such statements are ‘tricks’ that the ‘Americans are trying to feed to their public opinion or to NATO members,’ Lavrov argued.
‘American weapons are already being used against various targets outside the combat zone,’ he added. ‘We proceed from the fact that American and other Western weaponry strikes targets on the territory of Russia, primarily civilian infrastructure and residential areas.’” (rt.com 5/24/24)
“The Zelensky we are seeing now is a man who would like nothing better than to try to escape defeat by escalating the war to an open clash between NATO and Russia. The essence of his strategy – if that is the right word for this sort of betting on Armageddon – is to make this war go global.” (Tarik Cyril Amar rt.com 5/24/24)
“Western politicians are in disarray because Moscow now has all the strategic initiative in the conflict around Ukraine, Sergey Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), told reporters.
‘Mixed and often conflicting statements and assessments regarding developments in Ukraine are coming [from] the West. The reason is that Western elites are pretty much in disarray after realizing the fact that all the strategic initiative on the battlefield has passed to the Russian Armed Forces,’ he pointed out.” (tass.com 5/24/24)
“Orban said that in Brussels preparations are underway for Europe’s entry into the war...He said Hungary should strengthen its defensive capabilities...I've talked about this with Victor twice...Of course, he has intelligence from NATO, which I don't have...According to my estimates, everything will be much more complicated and worse, and it may happen that we have a greater tragedy than in the Second World War...I wish I was wrong...I am afraid that we are approaching a great world conflict”. (Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic 5/26/24)
“Ukraine's top commander said on Monday he had signed paperwork allowing French military instructors to visit Ukrainian training centres soon.
‘I am pleased to welcome France's initiative to send instructors to Ukraine to train Ukrainian servicemen,’ Oleksandr Syrskyi said on the Telegram messaging app after talks via video link with French defence minister Sebastien Lecornu.
‘I have already signed the documents that will enable the first French instructors to visit our training centres shortly and familiarize themselves with their infrastructure and personnel,’ Syrskyi said.” (reuters.com 5/27/24)
“Moldova can join the EU without Transnistria, as stated by the European Ambassador in Chisinau Janis Mazeiks. He said that the EU leadership does not rule out that Moldova could join the Union without Transnistria, so as not to depend on this ‘unsettled issue.’
‘Our preference, of course, is to wait or get a situation in which a country that has already been reintegrated joins the EU. In that case, it would be much easier for us,’ - said Mazeix.
He added that the option of a phased accession has not been ruled out. Transnistria previously stated that the approach to Moldova joining the EU without Pridnestrovie is quite realistic.” (@slavyangard 5/28/24)
“In [Peskov’s] opinion, NATO countries, primarily the United States, are consciously heading for a new round of tensions and provoking Ukraine to continue a senseless war with Russia.
‘The North Atlantic Alliance’s member-countries, the United States in particular, other European capitals in recent days and weeks were coming close to a new round of escalating tensions. They are doing this on purpose,’ the Kremlin spokesman stated. He noted that Moscow ‘hears quite a few bellicose statements.’
‘This is nothing but a policy of provoking a new level of tensions. We realize that this negative trend in their approach unfortunately persists. They provoke Ukraine in every possible way to continue this senseless war,’ Peskov stated” (tass.com 5/30/24)
“In the event of the use of long-range weapons, the Russian Armed Forces will again have to make decisions about expanding the sanitary zone further (…) Do they want global conflict? It seemed they wanted to negotiate [with us], but we don’t see much desire to do this.” (Vladimir Putin 5/28/24)
“NATO land corridors could rush US troops to front line in event of European war. Pre-planned logistical routes could help stave off a potential Russian attack. Nato is developing multiple ‘land corridors’ to rush US troops and armour to the front lines in the event of a major European ground war with Russia. U.S. soldiers would land at one of five ports and head along marked routes, officials said.
This comes amid warnings from NATO leaders that Western governments should prepare for conflict with Russia in the next two decades. Logistics routes have become a key priority since NATO leaders decided to train 300,000 military personnel to defend the alliance.
The plan is for U.S. troops to land in Dutch ports and then travel by train through the FRG to Poland. Behind the scenes, arrangements are being made to extend routes to other ports to ensure Moscow's forces don't cut off logistics.
If NATO trains coming from the Netherlands are hit by Russian bombing or northern European ports are destroyed, the alliance will switch to ports in Italy, Greece and Turkey.
From Italian ports, U.S. troops can be moved overland through Slovenia and Croatia to Hungary, bordering Ukraine. There are plans to move troops from Turkish and Greek ports through Bulgaria and Romania. And also by ports in the Balkans; via Norway, Sweden and Finland.” (telegraph.co.uk 6/4/24)
“A direct conflict with NATO would be an existential threat to Russia, according to Moscow, considering the bloc’s superiority in conventional forces. Consequently, any such clash would warrant the deployment of nuclear weapons under Russian nuclear doctrine, it has warned.” (rt.com 6/4/24)
“French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will supply Kiev with Mirage 2000 fighter jets and train Ukrainian pilots on the jets. However, Macron did not specify how many planes would be provided, or when they would arrive.
‘Tomorrow we will launch a new cooperation and announce the transfer of Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to Ukraine, made by French manufacturer Dassault, and train their Ukrainian pilots in France,’ Macron told France’s TF1 broadcaster on Thursday.” (rt.com 6/6/24)
“Any airfields hosting Ukraine's F-16 fighter jets, whether they are in or outside the country, will be legitimate targets for the Russian military if they participate in combat missions against Moscow’s forces, the chairman of the Russian State Duma Defense Committee, Andrey Kartapolov, has warned.
The comments come as Kiev prepares to receive the first delivery of US-made fighter jets from its Western backers, after Ukrainian pilots were trained to fly them.” (rt.com 6/10/24)
“NATO wants to help Ukraine by creating the so-called NATO-Ukraine mission. Which means that NATO will coordinate the transfer of weapons to Ukraine. They are going to set up three big bases from where they will transfer weapons to Ukraine. These are on the territory of NATO countries: in Poland, Slovakia, Romania. We are not ready for this, because we believe that where weapons are transferred, this place becomes a military target from the enemy's point of view.” (Viktor Orban 6/14/24)
“President Vladimir Putin’s statement about Russia’s intention to ‘go to all the way’ referred to achieving its objectives in the Ukraine conflict, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
Peskov was asked for clarification about remarks the Russian leader made on Thursday during a press conference in Vietnam. Putin was asked by a reporter what intentions he believed Western nations had in escalating tensions with Moscow.
‘Apparently, they count on us to chicken out at some point. But at the same time, they say they want to achieve a strategic defeat against Russia on the battlefield,’ he replied.” (rt.com 6/21/24)
“I think the purpose of the terrorist attack in Crocus and the terrorist attacks in Derbent and Makhachkala is the same. That is to intimidate the population. This is a terrorist attack aimed at achieving political gain by killing civilians.
As for Sevastopol, there are no military facilities there today. The Russian fleet has left Sevastopol and is in Novorossiysk. Thus, the launching of 5 missiles, each costing 1 million dollars, an attack costing 5 million dollars has the purpose of killing or injuring civilians, Intimidating them .” (Xavier Moreau 6/24/24)
“Formal negotiations between Ukraine and Moldova on joining the European Union begin on Tuesday, a landmark moment for the two former Soviet-bloc countries that marks the start of a long, drawn-out process.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X: ‘Congratulations to Moldova and Ukraine on opening accession negotiations. This is very good news for the people of Ukraine, Moldova, and the entire European Union. The path ahead will be challenging but full of opportunities.’” (cnn.com 6/25/24)
"‘This morning, the Russian armed forces launched a group strike with long-range sea-based precision weapons, the Kinzhal airborne hypersonic missile, and unmanned aerial vehicles against Ukraine's airfield infrastructure planned to station aircraft from Western countries,’ the MoD said in a statement, adding that all targets were hit.” (sputnikglobe.com 6/27/24)
“ The Russian Defence Ministry noted the increased intensity of U.S. strategic unmanned aerial vehicles over the Black Sea waters, which are conducting reconnaissance and targeting high-precision weapons supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine by Western states to launch strikes at Russian facilities.
This demonstrates the increasing involvement of the United States and NATO countries in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Kiev regime. Such flights increase the possibility of air incidents involving the Russian Aerospace Forces' aircraft, increasing the risk of a direct confrontation between the alliance and the Russian Federation.
The NATO countries will be responsible for this. The Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation Andrei Belousov has instructed the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces to make proposals on measures for rapid response to provocations.” (eng.mil.ru 6/28/24)
“Russia stands for completely ending the conflict in Ukraine, and not for a ceasefire or a pause so the Kiev regime can rearm itself, Putin emphasized.
‘It should not just be a truce or a temporary cease-fire, not some kind of pause that the Kiev regime could use to recover losses, regroup and rearm itself. Russia stands for a full and final end to the conflict,’ he said.
According to Putin, Kiev is rejecting the ceasefire proposals because they will lose the pretext for extending the martial law. Ukraine will have to hold a presidential election in the absence of the martial law, and the current rulers will have a low chance for reelection, Putin said.” (sputnikglobe.com 7/6/24)
“In Ukraine, Killings of Surrendering Russians Divide an American-Led Unit:
A German medic said he was so troubled that he confronted his commander. Others boasted about killings in a group chat. Caspar Grosse, a German medic in that unit, said he saw the soldier plead for medical attention in a mix of broken English and Russian. It was dusk. A team member looked for bandages. That is when, Mr. Grosse said, a fellow soldier hobbled over and fired his weapon into the Russian soldier’s torso.” (nytimes.com 7/8/24)
“In World War II, German soldiers were looking for Americans to surrender to because they knew we would treat them humanely, unlike the Russians or the French. Today, American-led units in Ukraine carry out mass executions of captured Russian prisoners of war. This is a war crime. There should be no ‘American-led units’ in Ukraine at all.” (@RobertKennedyJr 7/9/24)
“The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carried out a group strike with high-precision weapons on American HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems prepared for strikes on the territory of Crimea, as well as the venue of an official meeting of the AFU [Armed Forces of the Ukraine] command staff. The objectives of the strike have been achieved. Four US-made HIMARS MLRS launchers were destroyed, as well as up to 35 foreign specialists who serviced them.” (Russian MOD 7/9/24)
“The leaders of the US, the Netherlands, and Denmark released a joint statement Wednesday during the ongoing NATO summit in Washington, stating that the transfer of US-made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine is underway.
'The Danish and Dutch governments are in the process of donating American-made F-16s to Ukraine, with the support of the United States,’ the statement reads. ‘The transfer process for these F-16s is now underway, and Ukraine will be flying operational F-16s this summer.’” (DaveDeCamp news.antiwar.com 7/10/24)
“Documents signed at the recent NATO summit in the United States show that the West is not supporting a dialogue and the alliance itself is an instrument of confrontation, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
‘We see that our opponents in Europe and in the United States are not in favor of a dialogue,’ Peskov noted. ‘Judging by the documents signed at the NATO summit, they are not supporters of peace,’ the Kremlin spokesman said, adding that ‘the North Atlantic Alliance is an instrument for confrontation and not a tool for security provision.’” (tass.com 7/12/24)
“‘[President Vladimir] Putin has spoken about this more than once: we will work with any American leader, we will be ready to work with any American leader who is elected by the American people and who is ready for an equal, mutually respectful dialogue,’ Lavrov said.” (rt.com 7/17/24)
“Russia has other priorities than waiting for the outcome of the US presidential elections, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, when reached for comment on US President Joe Biden withdrawing from the race.
Winning the conflict against Ukraine is among the top priorities for Russia, Peskov told Russian news outlet Life late on Sunday. ‘For us, reaching the goals of the special military operation [against Ukraine] is a priority, rather than the outcome of the US elections. That’s certainly the case, but the elections are still four months ahead. And it’s a long period, over which many things can change,’ Peskov noted.” (rt.com 7/22/24)
“A missile strike has destroyed a temporary deployment point housing Western instructors and mercenaries, the Russian Defense Ministry reported. The Russian Defense Ministry has shared a video apparently showing a missile strike on a temporary deployment center near the city of Kharkov in Ukraine that supposedly housed Western ‘instructors and mercenaries.’ Some 50 foreigners are said to have been killed in the ballistic missile strike, which was conducted using an Iskander-M system, the ministry said, noting that the facility was located in Dergachi, a town in Kharkov region.” (rt.com 7/23/24)
“Russian troops carried out one of the most massive drone attacks in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion early on Wednesday, July 31, with Kyiv being the main target, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration (KMVA) via Telegram.
‘This was already the seventh attack on Kyiv by enemy drones in July! It became the most massive for the capital in 2024 in terms of the number of UAVs used,’ the report read. The air alert lasted more than seven hours. Russian drones entered Kyiv in waves and from nearly every possible direction.” (kyivpost.com 7/31/24)
“President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said on Sunday that his military had received a first batch of F-16 fighter jets. The long-awaited arrival of the Western-supplied jets should bolster the country’s defenses, although Kyiv appears to have received too few of them so far to have an immediate impact on the battlefield. ‘F-16s are in Ukraine. We did it.’” (nytimes.com 8/4/24)
“Ukraine has lost over 115,000 servicepeople in less than two months, this might not have happened if Kiev had met Russian President Vladimir Putin Putin's initiatives halfway, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday.
In June, Putin said that Russia would immediately cease fire and begin negotiations with Ukraine after Kiev withdraws troops from the territory of Russia's new regions and officially abandons plans to join NATO.
‘Over these two months, the territory liberated by our troops has increased by 420 square kilometers, and Ukrainian troops have lost, according to the [Russian] Ministry of Defense, more than 115,000 [servicemen] of their troops ... Although this could have been stopped if the demands set out by our president had been met. Therefore, our position is clear, understandable — the troops are moving forward," Shoigu told reporters.’” (sputnikglobe.com 8/6/24)
“The Ukrainian military initiated a cross-border raid involving some 1,000 troops this week, which has so far claimed five civilian lives and left over 30 others wounded in Russia. The operation has largely been thwarted by the Russian army and border guards, Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported on Wednesday. He estimated Ukrainian casualties at 315, including 100 killed in action.
‘From this moment, the special military operation should become openly exterritorial in nature,’ Medvedev, who serves as deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, argued in a post on Thursday.
‘We can and should go further into what still exists as Ukraine. To Odessa, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Nikolaev. To Kiev and further. There should be no restrictions in terms of recognized borders,’ he explained.” (rt.com 8/8/24)
“Russian forces continue to inflict heavy losses on Ukrainian troops that crossed the border into Kursk Region earlier this week, the Defense Ministry in Moscow reported on Friday, providing an estimate of Kiev’s casualties in the incursion.
According to the ministry, Ukraine has lost up to 945 soldiers as well as 102 armored vehicles, including 12 tanks and 17 armored personnel carriers. The figures include more than 280 troops and 27 armored vehicles destroyed over the past 24 hours in areas bordering Kursk Region, Moscow added.” (rt.com 8/9/24)
“Speaking at a meeting of top officials on Monday, Putin noted that Kiev’s attack in Kursk – the largest assault on a Russian border region since the start of the conflict – had been aimed at undermining the morale of the population.
Ukraine wanted to ‘sow discord and division… to intimidate people, to undermine unity and solidarity’ in Russian society, but has failed, Putin said. ‘Russian citizens have already responded: they unanimously expressed willingness to help those in trouble and support for the army,’ he added.
‘What is important, the number of those who are willing to join our men, our fighters, who defend Russia heroically with a weapon in hand, has increased.’ (rt.com 8/13/24)
“The major general [Apti Alaudinov] also said that Kiev was planning on seizing the Kursk nuclear power plant on August 11 and use this to start negotiations with Moscow with an ultimatum.
‘We received very interesting materials — the whole layout of the operation, which was being prepared, by what forces and what was planned. What can I say: on the 11th [of August] it was necessary to take the nuclear power plant in Kurchatov... [Ukrainian President] Zelensky's blitzkrieg, which was planned with the seizure of the Kursk nuclear power plant and already entering negotiations with an ultimatum... failed,’ Alaudinov explained.” (sputnikglobe.com 8/14/24)
“Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region is ‘a fatal mistake’ that Kiev will regret bitterly, Moscow’s first deputy permanent representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, has warned.
Commenting on Kiev’s offensive during a meeting at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday, Polyansky said that ‘undoubtedly, this is a move that Ukraine will bitterly regret as its last trained military reserves are being eliminated there as we speak.’
The envoy noted that in June, Russia ‘made a very generous negotiation proposal to Ukraine, given its desperate situation on the front line,’ but said the incursion into the Kursk region has shown that ‘the Zelensky regime chose escalation and war’ over dialogue.” (rt.com 8/14/24)
“Ukraine lacks the capacity and munitions to overcome Russia’s air and ground advantages and is suffering heavy casualties, the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General (OIG) said in a new quarterly report published on Thursday.
‘The UAF [Ukrainian Armed Forces] continued to suffer heavy attrition rates and lack sufficient capabilities and munitions—particularly artillery, air defense, and long-range strike capabilities—to overcome Russia’s air and ground advantages,’ the report said.
Despite US supplies of munition that began arriving in June, Ukraine will not be able to overcome Russia's daily fire rate of 10,000 artillery rounds or conduct a large-scale offensive operation for at least six months, the report added.’ (sputnikglobe.com 8/16/24)
“Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it absolutely clear that there cannot be any talks with Kiev after its attack on Russia’s borderline Kursk Region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
‘The president said it very clearly that following attacks, or even incursion, on the Kursk Region, any talks are impossible. The president also said a very important thing and I would like to draw attention to it that we will give an assessment of this situation later,’ he said in an interview with the Moscow.Kremlin.Putin program on the Rossiya-1.” (tass.com 8/20/24)
“Moscow will not hold talks with Ukraine after Kiev’s attack on the Kursk Region, not until the enemy is completely defeated, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said.
‘Everything fell into place after the neo-Nazis carried out this act of terrorism against the Kursk Region. Idle talk about wonderful peace by unauthorized mediators is over. Now, everyone understands - even if no one says it publicly - that there will be no talks until the enemy is completely defeated,’ he wrote on Telegram.” (Tass.com 8/21/24)
“A Ukrainian drone carrying an anti-tank grenade attempted to reach the Kursk nuclear power plant overnight, news agency TASS reported on Friday, citing a local police source. The unmanned aerial vehicle was intercepted by electronic warfare countermeasures and downed near a spent nuclear fuel storage facility, according to the report.” (tass.com 8/23/24)
“‘EuroMaidan’ was a ploy to pivot Ukraine towards the US at Russia’s expense by turning it into NATO’s easternmost vanguard. This hegemonic goal aimed to coerce Russia into a series of incessant concessions that would ultimately neutralize its sovereignty and was influenced by Brzezinski’s precept that Russia ceases to be an ‘empire’ without Ukraine in its sphere of influence. The largest conflict in Europe since World War II would never have broken out had it not been for the US’ pursuit of this.” (korybko.substack.com 8/25/24)
“The consequences for the United States over Washington's involvement in the Ukrainian attack on Russia’s Kursk Region will be much harsher than before, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters.
‘The impression is that our colleagues [in Washington] have discarded the remnants of common sense and believe that they can do anything. Their clients in Kiev have a similar approach. The consequences [for the United States] could be much harsher than those they are already experiencing, they know where and in what areas we are reacting in practical terms,’ the senior diplomat pointed out.” (tass.com 8/27/24)
“The Kursk ploy no doubt seemed clever and audacious to London and Washington. Yet with what result? It achieved neither objective of taking Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, nor of syphoning Russian troops from the Contact Line. The Ukrainian presence in the Kursk Oblast will be eliminated.
What it did do, however, is put an end to all prospects of an eventual negotiated settlement in Ukraine. Distrust of the U.S.in Russia is now absolute. It has made Moscow more determined to prosecute the special operation to conclusion. German equipment visible in Kursk has raised old ghosts, and consolidated awareness of the hostile western intentions toward Russia.” (Alistair Crooke zerohedge.com 8/28/24)
“Moscow warns that its red lines are not to be fooled with in the light of the possible US supplies of long-range missiles to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.
‘The US has already crossed the threshold that they designated for themselves. They are being incited and [Ukrainian President] Zelensky, of course, sees this and uses it. Whoever jokes about our red lines, do not fools with our red lines. They know perfectly well what they are,’ Lavrov told reporter Pavel Zarubin. According to media reports, the US is close to an agreement on providing Ukraine with long-range JASSM cruise missiles.” (sputnikglobe.com 9/4/24)
“High casualties incurred by the Ukrainian military since Kiev launched its incursion in Russia’s Kursk Region could render its armed forces useless, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.
‘Our military has stabilized the situation and is now gradually pushing the opponent from the border territories. More importantly, there is no resistance to our advancement [in Donbass],’ he explained. ‘The opponent has weakened itself on the key axis by moving those relatively strong and well-trained units to the border areas.’
Putin said Russian troops had been securing more land in Donbass, which is a priority for Moscow, at a pace unseen in a long time. Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops are ‘suffering very high losses in manpower and hardware.’
‘Because of that, [Kiev] risks a collapse of the front line on the most important axis. The casualties may result in a loss of fighting capability of the entire armed forces, which is what we are looking to achieve,’ the president added.” (rt.com 9/5/24)
“The former Russian president (Medvedev) noted that the Soviet Union was under sanctions for most of the 20th century. Now, Russia is facing similar treatment from the US and its allies, but on a much larger, ‘unprecedented’ scale, he added.
‘So, it is sanctions forever. Or rather, until the US collapses during an imminent new civil war. After all, Hollywood makes films about this for a reason,’ Medvedev wrote.” (rt.com 9/7/24)
“Earlier this week, the secretary of the Russian security council, Sergey Shoigu, cited Ukrainian military casualties as he accused Kiev of rejecting multiple opportunities to deflate the tensions and end the hostilities.
‘There was a first wave of mobilization, second wave of mobilization… They have reduced the age limit for mobilization. This was not necessary,’ he said in an interview. ‘Every day they lose 28 square kilometers on average. Every day,’ the official added. ‘But the most important thing is that they lose up to 2,000 people every day.’” (rt.com 9/12/24)
Putin warns the West: “The Ukrainian army is not capable of using cutting-edge high-precision long-range systems supplied by the West. They cannot do that. These weapons are impossible to employ without intelligence data from satellites which Ukraine does not have. This can only be done using the European Union’s satellites, or US satellites – in general, NATO satellites. This is the first point.
The second point – perhaps the most important, the key point even – is that only NATO military personnel can assign flight missions to these missile systems. Ukrainian servicemen cannot do this.
Therefore, it is not a question of allowing the Ukrainian regime to strike Russia with these weapons or not. It is about deciding whether NATO countries become directly involved in the military conflict or not.
If this decision is made, it will mean nothing short of direct involvement – it will mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries are parties to the war in Ukraine. This will mean their direct involvement in the conflict, and it will clearly change the very essence, the very nature of the conflict dramatically.
This will mean that NATO countries – the United States and European countries – are at war with Russia. And if this is the case, then, bearing in mind the change in the essence of the conflict, we will make appropriate decisions in response to the threats that will be posed to us.” (Vladimir Putin, tass.com 9/12/24)
“‘It would be a direct war of NATO against Russia. NATO is already waging a war against Russia, but it is a hybrid war through the hands of Ukrainians. If we are talking about long-range missile weapons, it is clear to everyone that the Ukrainians themselves will not be able to use them,’ he stated, explaining that tasks such as target guidance, data collection from satellites and forming flight assignments can only be carried out by specialists from countries that produce a particular weapon.” (rt.com 9/22/24)
"‘The fact is that Russia is winning the war despite hundreds of billions of dollars and the best weapons systems from the US and NATO countries. Each new shipment of increasingly sophisticated weapons does not produce battlefield victories for Ukraine. It only produces more dead Ukrainian soldiers and more profits for the weapons manufacturers,’ Senator Rand Paul said in a column for the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.” (sputnikglobe.com 9/24/24)
“Moscow will achieve victory in Ukraine because that is the only language the West understands. And that victory will be achieved, we have no doubt whatsoever. We have truly united in the face of the war that the West unleashed against us with Ukrainian hands” (Sergey Lavrov, rt.com 9/26/24)
“The Ukrainian military has been so depleted by attrition that new infantry troops are often unfit for combat and flee at the first sign of fighting...In some units, around two thirds of soldiers are reportedly killed or wounded within days of arriving at the front.” (ft.com 9/23/24)
“The United States will face ‘dangerous consequences’ if it presses on with growing military aid to Ukraine rather than backing a proposed Russian settlement that would see Moscow take over swathes of territory, the man serving as Russian President Vladimir Putin's top diplomat for 20 years said in exclusive responses to Newsweek questions.
Well over two and a half years after Putin ordered a ‘special military operation’ against Ukraine in what has become the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the Kremlin offers a viable blueprint to end the bloodshed and revamp the security architecture of the continent. He accused the U.S.-led NATO military alliance of first sowing the seeds of war a decade ago and continuing to fan the flames.
‘Russia is open to a politico-diplomatic settlement that should remove the root causes of the crisis,’ he said. ‘It should aim to end the conflict rather than achieve a ceasefire.’
‘They are discussing authorizing the AFU [Armed Forces of Ukraine] to use Western long-range missiles to strike deep into Russian territory. 'Playing with fire' in this way may lead to dangerous consequences,’ Russia’s top diplomat said. ‘As stated by [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin, we will take adequate decisions based on our understanding of the threats posed by the West. It is up to you to make conclusions,’ Lavrov emphasized.” (newsweek.com 10/7/24)
“Military chiefs are considering sending British troops to Ukraine to train soldiers and boost Kyiv’s recruitment efforts, it has emerged. Ministry of Defence (MoD) sources confirmed to The Independent that discussions are ongoing about whether to send troops to the country to support it amid Russia’s ongoing invasion. There is already a small number of British medical personnel in Ukraine, delivering training and mentoring to the country’s armed forces.” (independent.co.uk 10/10/24)
“German intelligence chiefs on Monday warned of the increasing threat posed by Russia, which they said could be capable of launching a direct assault on NATO ‘by the end of this decade.’
Speaking to an annual parliamentary oversight committee in Berlin, the heads of Germany's three intelligence branches – the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) – reported a ‘quantitative and qualitative’ increase in acts of Russian-sponsored espionage and sabotage in Germany.
‘We are observing aggressive behavior on the part of the Russian intelligence services,’ said BfV chief Thomas Haldenwang, adding that such activities ‘have reached a new level in recent months, which ought to be a wake-up call to all.’” (dw.com 10/14/24)
“The so-called ‘victory plan’ unveiled by Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky on Wednesday is merely a roadmap for the continuation of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told journalists. Peace can only come if the government in Kiev ‘sobers up’ and acknowledges the roots of the problems that led to the fighting, he added.
‘Most likely, it’s the same American plan to keep fighting a war with us to the last Ukranian, which Zelensky has camouflaged and now calls a peace plan,’ the Russian official said. Kiev can come up with a genuine roadmap for peace only if it ‘sobers up and reflects on the causes, which have led to the Ukraine conflict,’ Peskov added.” (rt.com 10/16/24)
What happens to Transnistria if Moldova joins the EU? “Moldovans have voted by the thinnest of margins in favor of joining the European Union, near-complete results showed Monday, as President Maia Sandu condemned an ‘unprecedented assault’ by foreign actors on the country’s democracy.
With more than 99% of votes counted, 50.4% had voted “yes” in the pivotal referendum on whether to enshrine in the country’s constitution a path towards the EU, according to the Central Election Commission.” (cnn.com 10/21/24)
According to Moldova, 300,000+ Transnistrians are part of their country, but they weren’t allowed to vote in recent elections unless they crossed into Moldova proper.
“Ukraine has approached Russia twice with proposals through Turkish mediation but subsequently walked back its initiatives. ‘When we agreed, it turned out that the Ukrainian side had already withdrawn. This happened twice,’ Putin revealed. ‘We agreed to it, and the next day [Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky] publicly announced that he will not negotiate anything,’ the president said. ‘This is irrational behavior, which is hard to predict. No plans can be based on this foundation. So there is no sense in discussing whether we would reach an agreement and what it would be,’ Putin explained.” (rt.com 10/25/24)
“‘If Western countries, especially the United States, had had enough flexibility and wisdom to make a security agreement with Russia, there would have been no special military operation [in Ukraine]. But they’re in the habit of bullying everyone into submission. They operate on a principle of American exceptionalism and the primacy of US interests. This is a big mistake. You know what, I’ll say this – it will be their undoing someday,’ Medvedev stressed.” (rt.com 11/1/24)
“American military and intelligence officials have concluded that the war in Ukraine is no longer a stalemate as Russia makes steady gains, and the sense of pessimism in Kyiv and Washington is deepening.
The dip in morale and questions about whether American support will continue pose their own threat to Ukraine’s war effort. Ukraine is losing territory in the east, and its forces inside Russia have been partially pushed back.” (nytimes.com 11/1/24)
“Moldova’s pro-Western President Maia Sandu has won a second term in a pivotal presidential runoff against a Russia-friendly opponent, in a race that was overshadowed by claims of Russian interference, voter fraud, and intimidation in the European Union candidate country.
The result will be a major relief for the pro-Western government, which strongly backed Sandu’s candidacy, and her push for closer Western ties on Moldova’s path toward the EU.” (apnews.com 11/3/24)
“Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Peskov remarked that US-Russia relations, already at a ‘historic low’, could hardly worsen, regardless of the election outcome.
‘It is still almost impossible to worsen relations – they are at the lowest point in history,’ Peskov stated, referring to the strained diplomatic ties with the Biden administration, especially in light of the US' extensive military and financial support for Ukraine.” (english.almayadeen.net 11/6/24)
“US President-elect Donald Trump will pull his country out of the Ukraine conflict, leaving EU leaders in an ‘uncomfortable and difficult position,’ Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said.
‘The situation on the front line is obvious. It’s a military defeat. The Americans will get out of this war,’ he told Kossuth Radio on Friday. ‘Europe alone cannot finance this war.’” (rt.com 11/8/24)
“Moscow could sever diplomatic relations with Washington if the latter persists in its hostile policies toward Russia, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov warned in an interview with the news outlet Izvestia published on Saturday. The diplomat said that any steps the US takes that could escalate the Ukraine conflict may justify a rupturing of ties.
‘We never take escalatory steps of this kind without provocation, but I admit to the possibility of this action if, in an attempt to put pressure on us, the West throws away the last shreds of decency,’ he stated.
When asked what US actions could make Russia further downgrade ties, he mentioned US attempts to confiscate Russia’s frozen assets, as well as ‘dramatic and further escalatory actions leading to a worsening of the situation on the contact line’ in Ukraine. Ryabkov noted that there are a ‘number of plots that the West continues to discuss’ that could escalate the conflict. For instance, Kiev has for months been pushing the US and its allies to lift a ban on strikes deep inside Russia with Western-supplied long-range weapons.” (rt.com 11/9/24)
“Commenting on the potential impact of the US presidential election on the Ukraine conflict in an interview broadcast on Russia 1 on Wednesday, Lavrov suggested that Washington will always seek to control everything that is happening in the areas bordering NATO territory, no matter who the president is.
‘I have no doubt that they will want to keep these processes under their control… Washington’s attitude towards Ukrainian affairs and European affairs will not change in principle, in the sense that Washington will always strive to keep under its watchful eye everything that happens in the areas near NATO and the NATO area itself,’ Lavrov said. This comes after recent statements from Trump, who has promised to end the Ukraine conflict as soon as he returns to the White House.” (rt.com 11/14/24)
“Senior Russian lawmakers threatened on Nov. 17 that outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to strike deep inside Russian territory with ATACMS missiles could lead to World War III and the loss of Ukrainian statehood.‘This is a very big step towards the start of World War III,’ lawmaker Vladimir Dzhabarov said, according to Russia’s state-owned TASS state news agency.” (kyivindependent.com 11/18/24)
“If long-range missiles are going to be applied from Ukraine into Russian territory, it will also mean that they are operated by American experts, military experts, and we will be taking this as a qualitatively new phase of the Western war against Russia and will react accordingly.” (Sergey Lavrov @RussiaMfa 11/19/24)
“President Biden’s decision to provide anti-personnel mines to Ukraine, and allow the use of long-range missiles on Russian territory comes as the Russian military is accelerating its gains along the front line.
Data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) shows that Russia has gained almost six times as much territory in 2024 as it did in 2023, and is advancing towards key Ukrainian logistical hubs in the eastern Donbas region.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk region is faltering. Russian troops have pushed Kyiv's offensive backwards. Experts have questioned the success of the offensive, with one calling it a "strategic catastrophe" given manpower shortages faced by Ukraine.” (bbc.com 11/20/24)
“The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv has received specific information of a potential significant air attack on November 20. Out of an abundance of caution, the Embassy will be closed, and Embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place. The U.S. Embassy recommends U.S. citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced.” (usembassy.gov 11/20/24)
“‘Between 5:00 and 7:00 a.m. on Nov. 21, Russian troops attacked the city of Dnipro, hitting enterprises and critical infrastructure,’ the Air Force stated. ‘The assault included an ICBM launched from Russia’s Astrakhan region, a Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missile fired from a MiG-31K jet in the Tambov region, and seven Kh-101 cruise missiles launched by Tu-95MS bombers near the Volgograd region.’” (kyivpost.com 11/21/24)
“‘Europe is wondering what damage the system could cause if the warheads are nuclear, whether it is possible to shoot down these missiles, and how quickly they would reach the capitals of the Old World. The answer: The damage would be unacceptable, it is impossible to intercept them with modern means, and we are talking about a matter of minutes,’ Medvedev wrote. ‘Bomb shelters will not help, so the only hope is that kind Russia will warn in advance about the launches. Therefore, it is better to stop supporting the war,’ he added.” (rt.com 11/24/24)
“As the conflict in Ukraine enters a new phase of escalation, discussions over sending Western troops and private defense companies to Ukraine have been revived, Le Monde has learned from corroborating sources. These are sensitive discussions, most of which are classified – relaunched in light of a potential American withdrawal of support for Kyiv once Donald Trump takes office on January 20, 2025.” (lemonde.fr 11/25/24)
“NATO and Russia are engaged in a hybrid conflict that is already worse than a second Cold War, a senior official in the US-led military bloc has claimed. Gen. Christian Badia, deputy chief of the Allied Command Transformation (ACT), who previously served in the German Air Force, made the remarks in an interview with the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, published on Tuesday.
‘Russia is waging a hybrid war against the West,’ Badia stated, warning the conflict could escalate in an uncontrollable manner at any moment. ‘There are too many grey areas and a resulting miscalculation is the biggest risk,’ he said.” (rt.com 11/28/24)
“The West is secretly planning to occupy Ukraine and freeze the conflict with Russia by deploying tens of thousands of supposed peacekeepers to the country, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has said.
In a statement on Friday, the spy agency cited intelligence sources as saying that NATO is increasingly in favor of halting the hostilities along the current front line, as the US-led military bloc and Ukraine have come to realize that they are failing to inflict a ‘strategic defeat’ on Russia.” (rt.com 11/29/24)
“‘The key principle is non-bloc status of Ukraine,’ Sergey Lavrov told Tucker Carlson. ‘No NATO. Absolutely. No military bases, no military exercises on Ukrainian soil with participation of foreign troops.’” (rt.com 12/6/24)
“US President-elect Donald Trump has criticized Ukraine’s strikes deep into Russia using Western-supplied weapons, saying that they only escalate the conflict between Kiev and Moscow.Trump made the statement on Thursday in an interview with Time magazine, which named him the 2024 Person of the Year.
‘I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that?’ he asked rhetorically. According to the president-elect, such attacks are ‘just escalating this war and making it worse.’” (rt.com 12/12/24)
“Speaking at a meeting of top Russian Defense Ministry officials on Monday, Putin accused the US of seeking ‘to weaken our country and inflict a strategic defeat’ on Moscow by continuing ‘to pump a de facto illegitimate ruling regime in Kiev with weapons and money, sending mercenaries and military advisers, thereby encouraging further escalation of the conflict.’
Washington is instilling fear in Americans by resorting to ‘simple tactics,’ Putin stated. ‘They push us to the red line… we begin to respond, and then they frighten their population,’ he added, suggesting that the US used the same approach during its rivalry with the Soviet Union.
In this vein, NATO is boosting its defense spending and forming ‘strike groups’ near Russia’s borders, he added. ‘The number of American service members in Europe has already exceeded 100,000 troops,’ he noted.” (rt.com 12/16/24)
“Moldovan President Maia Sandu is planning a military operation in Transnistria, and no one can guarantee that she will not attempt to start a war, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said in a statement made available to TASS.
According to the SVR, the Moldovan president recently convened a meeting on energy security issues with senior government officials. ‘At the end of the meeting, Sandu emphasized the need to organize a military operation to take control of Transnistria and end Russia’s peacekeeping presence in the region,’ the statement reads.
‘The European Union certainly would not mind if another crisis emerged in the area of Russia’s direct interests. However, Brussels is not ready for it yet. Besides, it’s close to the EU border, which is dangerous. However, no one can guarantee that the Moldovan president won’t actually try to start a real conflict in the region,’ the SVR added. ‘Many observers wonder how much longer the Moldovan people, many of whom have in fact been through military operations on the Dniester River in 1992 and remember them well, will endure the experiments that Sandu, a Romanian national, is carrying out with them,’ the document notes.” (tass.com 12/24/24)
“The head of Moldova’s breakaway region Transnistria has urged residents to burn firewood for heating and warned that blackouts cannot be avoided, after Moscow stopped supplying gas via Ukraine.
Vadim Krasnoselskyi, the president of the Russian-backed separatist sliver on Moldova’s eastern flank, said in a message on Telegram on Friday that ‘1,500 multi-story apartment buildings have no heating and hot water. Almost 72,000 private households have no gas. One hundred and fifty gas boiler houses have been shut down.’
‘Fortunately, our region is rich in wood. There are still reserves,’ he added, encouraging residents in rural areas with active stoves to find and burn wood where possible.
The region has been plunged into an energy crisis since New Year’s Day, when Ukraine made good on its promise to halt the transport of Russian gas to Europe through its territory after a key deal with Moscow expired. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the move as ‘one of Moscow’s greatest defeats.’” (cnn.com 1/6/25)
“About 10 thousand NATO military will take part in the Steadfast Dart exercise, the alliance's press service said in a statement. The maneuvers will be held in Romania, Bulgaria and Greece from January 13 to February 26 with the participation of nine countries of the bloc. The training will involve 17 ships, more than 20 airplanes and helicopters, 1,500 units of military equipment, including tanks, MLRS, SPH, AVs and APCs.
‘The exercise will demonstrate NATO's ability to rapidly deploy forces to reinforce its eastern flank. The deployment of reinforcements will take place during a simulated conflict with an almost equally strong adversary. It should demonstrate the ability of the NATO Response Force to conduct complex combat operations in a theater thousands of kilometers long under any conditions,’ the statement said,” (NATO 1/13/25)
“Moscow and Tiraspol are reportedly considering an alternative method of supplying gas to Transnistria. This would bypass the TurkStream pipeline, which had been viewed as the main option after Ukraine stopped Russian gas transit. Instead, they are discussing the possibility of purchasing gas on the European spot market through an intermediary company, with costs to be covered by the Russian treasury.
Rumours suggest that discussions are ongoing for gas purchases under this scheme from January to April, with a daily volume of 3 million cubic metres, potentially costing around US$164 million. These volumes would cover domestic consumption in Transnistria, though they would be insufficient to export electricity from the Moldovan Cuciurgan power station to the right bank, the Moldovan government-controlled territory.” (ukrayinskapravda.com 1/16/25)
"‘We see the statement of the newly elected US president and members of his team about the desire to restore direct contacts with Russia, which were interrupted by the outgoing administration through no fault of ours. We also hear his statement about the need to do everything possible to prevent a third world war. Of course, we welcome this attitude and congratulate the president-elect of the United States on his inauguration,’ Putin said at a meeting with members of the Russian Security Council.” (sputnikglobe.com 1/20/25)
“Since being sworn in, Trump has said that he wants to end the war in Ukraine and that he would likely impose sanctions on Russia if Putin refused to negotiate about ending the war in Ukraine.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who oversees U.S. relations and arms control, told the pre-eminent Russian think tank on U.S. and Canadian affairs that the window of opportunity existed but that it was small.” (reuters.com 1/22/25)
“The Kremlin is not impressed by United States President Donald Trump’s threat to impose new sanctions against Russia if it does not agree to strike a peace deal with Ukraine.
‘We do not see any particular new elements here,’ Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian media Thursday. Peskov added that Trump ‘liked sanctions’ and used them often during his first presidential term.
‘Russia is ready for an equal and careful dialogue with the United States, which we had during Trump's first term,’ Peskov said, according to Russian independent media outlet Meduza. ‘We are waiting for signals that have not yet been received.’” (politico.eu 1/23/25)
“Ukraine could collapse by the summer if it does not agree to peace talks with Russia, the country’s top intelligence official has told lawmakers in Kiev, according to a report on Monday by local outlet Strana.ua.
According to the website’s sources, Kirill Budanov, the chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence, made his remarks during a closed-door meeting in the Ukrainian parliament. ‘Someone asked him: How much time do we have left? He responded, with his signature cold smile: If there are no serious negotiations by summer, very dangerous processes could begin for the very existence of Ukraine.’
Budanov’s reported warning comes as Kiev’s forces have been pushed back across the front line by Russian troops. Ukrainian officials and commanders have also complained of manpower shortages amid a troubled mobilization campaign, with recruitment officers often facing open resistance from reluctant draftees.” (rt.com 1/27/25)
“But though he tried to downplay or dismiss it, Ukrainian outlet Strana now reports that criminal charges have been opened by the SBU for the leaking of Budanov’s comments to the media—which indirectly validates them.”(simplicius76.substack.com 2/1/25)
“More than 20 Americans are missing in action on the front lines in Ukraine, with a spike in casualties over the past six months as foreigners fill urgent gaps in the country’s embattled defenses, according to a CNN investigation.
The bodies of at least five American volunteers who signed up to the Ukrainian military could not be retrieved from the battlefield after being killed in action in the past six months, CNN found. Two of these were repatriated from Russian-occupied territory on Friday to Ukrainian soil after lengthy negotiations.” (cnn.com 1/30/25)
"Russia was able to survive and regain its rightful place in global geopolitics, thwarting the plans of the Biden administration, which promoted a liberal-globalist rules-based world order, to inflict a strategic defeat on Moscow in a hybrid war to the last Ukrainian.” (NikolayRybakov,
2/6/25)“‘Peacekeepers’ cannot operate without a mandate from the UN Security Council. Otherwise, any foreign military contingents sent into the combat zone will be regarded as ordinary combatants under international law and a legitimate military target for our armed forces,’ UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia stressed. Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, meaning it can veto any resolution to send foreign troops to Ukraine.” (rt.com 2/10/25)
“Commenting on US President Donald Trump's statement that Ukraine could one day become Russia, the spokesman [Peskov] said: ‘The fact that a large part of Ukraine wants to become Russia or has already joined it is obvious. This is a fact that has materialized on the ground: Russia now has four new regions. People who, despite many dangers, were queuing to vote in a referendum on joining Russia - this in many ways corresponds to the words of [US] President [Donald] Trump, Peskov pointed out.” (tass.com 2/11/25)
“Sir Keir Starmer has announced he is ‘ready and willing’ to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine to enforce any peace deal. In an exclusive article for The Telegraph, the Prime Minister said he had not taken the decision to consider putting British servicemen and women ‘in harm’s way’ lightly.
It is the first time he has explicitly said he is considering deploying British peacekeepers to Ukraine, and comes ahead of a meeting with European leaders in Paris on Monday.” (telegraph.co.uk 2/16/25)
“The future Ukraine should be a demilitarized, neutral state, not part of any blocs or alliances. After all, as our American colleagues, in particular President Trump, recognize today, it was the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO that was the trigger of the crisis. This I think is clear to everyone.” (Vasily Nebenzia, UN 2/17/25)
“The Kropotkinskaya station, which was struck by Ukrainian drones on Monday morning, is part of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which includes major American companies Chevron and ExxonMobil and transports oil from western Kazakhstan along with Russian products. The CPC reported a reduction in pumping capacity due to the attack.
Medvedev, currently the deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, said in a post on Tuesday that the Ukrainian assault was a desperate attempt to show the West – and Trump personally – that Kiev could inflict significant damage if deprived of foreign aid.
‘Trump has publicly declared his intention to lower oil prices. An attack on the oil consortium risks halting deliveries, destabilizing the market, increasing price volatility, and directly harming American companies,’ he stated. ‘The CPC attack represents a triple blow to American businesses, the oil market, and Trump himself.’” (rt.com 2/18/25)
“Russian forces have destroyed 655 Ukrainian combat aircraft since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.
‘In all, the following targets have been destroyed since the beginning of the special military operation: 655 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 44,007 unmanned aerial vehicles, 594 surface-to-air missile systems, 21,534 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,518 multiple rocket launchers, 21,883 field artillery guns and mortars and 31,846 special military motor vehicles,’ the ministry said in a statement.” (tass.com 2/21/25)
"‘It's a sh*t sandwich,’ a Trump administration official acknowledged.
’But Ukraine is going to have to eat it because [Trump] has made clear this is no longer our problem.’” (axios.com 2/21/25)
“Trump has repeatedly said he wants to negotiate a swift end to the full-scale war. Members of his administration held direct talks with Russian officials earlier this week and are currently working to secure a critical minerals deal with Ukraine.
‘The president, his team are very much focused on continuing negotiations with both sides of this war to end the conflict, and the president is very confident we can get it done this week,’ Leavitt said following the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Feb. 22.” (kyivindependent.com 2/23/25)
“The Kremlin on Tuesday reiterated its opposition to the presence of European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine to secure a potential ceasefire, following comments by US President Trump claiming that Russia would accept such a move.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov called the presence of peacekeepers from NATO countries in Ukraine unacceptable, while his deputy Alexander Grushko labelled such a deployment as an escalation in the war launched by Moscow three years ago.” (yahoo.com 2/25/25)
“‘The Kiev regime and Zelensky do not want peace,’ Peskov told journalists on Monday. ‘In this situation, Washington’s efforts and Moscow’s readiness alone will clearly not be enough [to stop the fighting] as a very important element is missing.’” (rt.com 3/3/25)
“The Trump administration is pausing all aid to Ukraine, including weapons in transit or in Poland, until Ukrainian leaders show more appreciation for U.S. support and a commitment to peace, Fox News has learned.
The pause comes days after a contentious meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump in the White House over how to end the three-year conflict initiated by Russia.” (foxnews.com 3/4/25)
“The part that is really interesting to those who have followed the events of the past three years, is literally who has been in control of and deploying these missile and drone attack systems [against Russia]. All of the intellectually honest researchers know that it is the USA (special forces) and to a lesser extent the collaborating U.K (special forces) who have been operating these systems.
In reality, this means the USA/UK are the forces doing the actual fighting of consequence against Russia in the geography of Ukraine. A true and genuine proxy war between NATO and Russia has been ongoing. This stoppage of the missile/drone targeting system by President Trump is factually exposing this proxy war reality.” (theconservativetreehouse.com 3/6/25)
“Thousands of Ukrainian troops who stormed into Russia’s Kursk region last August are almost surrounded by Russian forces there in a major blow to Kyiv, which hoped to use its presence as leverage over Moscow in any peace talks, Reuters has reported, citing open source maps. The news agency said the maps showed Ukraine’s situation in Kursk had deteriorated sharply in the past three days, after Russian forces retook territory as part of a gathering counteroffensive that has nearly cut the Ukrainian force in two and separated the main group from its principal supply lines.” (theguardian.com 3/8/25)
"Many are in a hurry to put on pink glasses, to say that now the Americans will stop supplying weapons or have already stopped, now Musk will turn off its communication systems — and we will succeed, but Russia will certainly win regardless of US actions — Our guys are getting out without any outages, without any stops, and they are moving forward”. (Dmitry Peskov, 3/12/25)
“What are we going to do with this incursion force in Kursk Region? If we stop fighting for 30 days, what does it mean? That everyone who is there will leave without a fight? We should let them go after they committed mass crimes against civilians? Or will the Ukrainian leadership order them to lay down their arms. Simply surrender. How will this work? It is not clear.” (Putin, rt.com 3/13/25)
“Almost the whole territory of the Kursk Region has been liberated, Deputy Chief of the Russian Armed Forces’ Main Military-Political Department, Akhmat Special Forces Commander Lieutenant General Apty Alaudinov said in an interview with TASS. ‘We can state the fact now that almost the whole t
Despite this, Kiev struck an oil depot in Russia’s Krasnodar Region the day after the agreement and blew up a gas metering station in Sudzha on Friday. The Ukrainian army also deliberately targeted ‘residential buildings and social institutions,’ Zakharova said in a press statement on Saturday
‘Kiev is once again demonstrating its complete inability to negotiate, as well as its lack of desire to achieve peace,’ the spokeswoman said. ‘As in 2022, they have once again turned to provocations aimed at disrupting the negotiation process.’” (rt.com 3/23/25)
“Moscow holds the advantage on the battlefield, having adapted to outside efforts to assist Ukraine, the report’s authors explain. The ‘grinding war of attrition’ is expected to further weaken Kiev, ‘regardless of any US or allied attempts to impose new and greater costs on Moscow.’
While the conflict has taken a significant toll in terms of manpower, the assessment notes that it has also afforded Moscow ‘a wealth of lessons regarding combat against Western weapons and intelligence in a large-scale war.’” (rt.com 3/26/25)
“Not long ago I said, ‘We’ll squeeze them.’ Now there’s reason to believe we’ll finish them off. Then, I think a moment of realization must come to the Ukrainian people themselves.” (Putin, rt.com 3/27/25)
“February 27, 2025: Putin stated that Russia would escalate Federal Security Service (FSB) activities in Donbas and Novorossiya, signaling a shift from the terms proposed in June 2024. His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, reinforced that Donbas and Novorossiya are considered integral to Russia.
March 19, 2025: Putin claimed Novorossiya as a Russian entity during an address to the Prosecutor General’s Office Board. He also referred to Odessa as a ‘Russian city,’ further underscoring he will expand territorial claims if Kiev does not accept the deal on the table.
March 28, 2025: During a meeting with servicemen, Putin highlighted Russian advances in Donbas and Novorossiya, claiming that 99% of the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) and over 70% of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) have been ‘liberated.’ He asserted that the strategic initiative lies entirely with Russian forces.” (Larry Johnson, sonar21.com 3/28/25)
"‘As for Russia's strategic goals after the end of the conflict, they remain the same. The terms of a peace agreement should provide, of course, for a nuclear-free, neutral status of Ukraine, demilitarization and denazification of the Ukrainian state, and abolition of all discriminatory laws that were adopted after the coup d'etat in 2014,’ Sergey Naryshkin said in response to a question from TASS.
European countries are stepping up escalation around Ukraine, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Director Sergey Naryshkin said. According to the official, Russia and Belarus see increasing military activity of NATO countries along their borders.
‘We feel and see that European countries, especially France, the UK and Germany are raising the level of escalation around the Ukrainian conflict,’ he told reporters. ‘So we need to act pre-emptively. We're ready for it.’” (tass.com 4/15/25)
“Ukraine must withdraw its troops from the territories of Donbas and Novorossiya, which have become part of the Russian Federation. There will be no ‘reset’, rollback or surrender of new regions. This is not even a subject for bargaining – it is a closed topic.” (Peskov, lepoint.fr 4/23/25)
“The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv has received information concerning a potentially significant air attack that may occur at any time over the next several days. The Embassy, as always, recommends U.S. citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced.” (ua.usembassy.gov 5/9/25)
“‘All enemies of Russia that issue negotiating ultimatums should remember a simple thing: peace negotiations alone do not always lead to the end of hostilities,’ Medvedev, currently the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, wrote on X on Saturday. ‘Unsuccessful negotiations can lead to the onset of a more terrible stage of the war with new weapons and participants,’ he added.” (rt.com 5/17/25)
“Speaking at an international legal forum in St. Petersburg on Tuesday, Medvedev - who serves as the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council - admitted that Moscow doesn’t like the current political regime in Kiev ‘at all.’
Nevertheless, he suggested that Ukraine’s leaders have ‘one last chance to preserve, under certain conditions, after the end of military actions, some kind of statehood or, if you like, some kind of international legal personality and gain a chance for peaceful development.’” (rt.com 5/21/25)
“The conditions for Ukraine are deteriorating every day, and if it refuses a peaceful settlement, it will be left without Odessa, Sumy, Kharkov, and a number of other territories, Andrey Kartapolov, head of the Russian State Duma Committee on Defense, told TASS.
Commenting on American economist Jeffrey Sachs's forecast, the lawmaker said: ‘As for Jeffrey Sachs' statement about Odessa, he is a very experienced and knowledgeable person who can correctly predict certain events. But we have said from the beginning that each day a diplomatic solution to this conflict is delayed worsens the situation for Ukraine.’
According to Kartapolov, this will continue as long as ‘the hysterical regime of [Vladimir] Zelensky behaves like a spoiled girl. They will be left without Zaporozhye, Dnepropetrovsk, Sumy, Kharkov, Odessa and Nikolayev,’ the lawmaker concluded.” (tass.com 5/31/25)
“Russia aims to occupy all Ukrainian territory east of the Dnipro River and advance toward Odesa and Mykolaiv in a broader plan to sever Ukraine's access to the Black Sea, President Volodymyr Zelensky's Deputy Chief of Staff Pavlo Palisa said, Politico reported on June 6. The remarks come amid continuing Russian offensives in eastern and northern Ukraine, along with escalating diplomatic efforts that have yet to yield a ceasefire.
According to Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR), Moscow hopes to seize the entirety of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts by this fall and establish a buffer zone along Ukraine's northern border with Russia. The second phase of the plan envisions more ambitious territorial gains, including an advance into southern Ukraine aimed at cutting the country off from the sea.” (kyivindependent.com 6/6/25)
“The countries bordering Ukraine might become new battlegrounds as the war continues. An example is Transnistria, a breakaway region of Moldova on Ukraine’s western border that is aligned with Moscow and hosts a Russian ‘peacekeeping’ force. Using Russian defectors and other local forces, Ukraine considered an operation to attack the Russian troops there but decided against opening this new front.
Now, Russia is considering sending 10,000 additional troops to Transnistria and seeks to destabilize pro-Western Moldova, the Moldovan prime minister claimed in an interview with the Financial Times this week.” (David Ignatius, washingtonpost.com 6/5/25).
“‘At the beginning of the war, we provided the Ukrainians with 31 Abrams. Almost all of them have now been destroyed by Russian kamikaze drones. This suggests that the era of mechanized warfare, which began during the First World War, is coming to an end,’ Kirchhoff said.” (Christopher Kirchhoff, cnn.com 6/9/25)
“There was a time, not so long ago, when the United States believed sanctions could shape Russian behavior. That era is over. If it ever existed at all, it ended in the wreckage of Western assumptions outside Bakhmut, in the charred remains of NATO-supplied armor near Avdiivka, and in the Kremlin’s growing confidence that time – and the strategic geography of Eurasia—is on its side.
Washington continues to act as if economic punishment is a form of strategy. But from the Kremlin’s point of view, sanctions no longer signal strength. They signal political exhaustion masquerading as resolve.” (Andrew Latham, nationalsecurityjournal.org 6/9/25)
“Russian news agency RIA Novosti stated clearly that this Israeli attack was a rehearsal for similar tactics that Russia might face. Intelligence agencies—Mossad, CIA, MI6—are using a common pattern, which has been developed over a year or more, as seen in attacks on Russian strategic bombers. The objective is consistent: weaken Iran, weaken Russia, divide Russia from China, and ultimately allow the U.S. to pivot towards China. Russia has recognized this strategy and is responding accordingly.” (Alistair Crooke on Judge Napolitano 6/16/25)
What’s to stop Russia from recognizing Transnistrian independence, holding a referendum on reunification, then recreating Novorossiya?
© 2022 James B. Angell All Rights Reserved
Your best yet and better by orders of magnitude over any other reporting of the current geopolitical confrontation there.