Putin announces the "liberation" of Mariupol; Kadyrov's forces shown in house-to-house clearing of the city

Putin announces the "liberation" of Mariupol; Kadyrov's forces shown in house-to-house clearing of the city

    Thursday, April 21, 2022   No comments

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced today that his country's forces succeeded in controlling the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, and ordered the besieging of the last Ukrainian fighters, instead of storming the Azovstal industrial site where they are holed up.

"The operation to liberate Mariupol was a successful operation," Vladimir Putin told Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Putin promised again to guarantee the safety of Ukrainian soldiers who surrender, saying: "I once again propose to all those who did not lay down their arms to do so, provided that the Russian side guarantee their safety and treat them with dignity."

This comes after the Russian "Interfax" news agency quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying that the Russian forces had taken control of the city of Mariupol, with the exception of the "Azovestal" factory, where the remaining Ukrainian soldiers were hiding.

Shoigu informed Putin of the control of the city through a report that stated: "The Russian armed forces and the militia of the Donetsk People's Republic managed to liberate Mariupol, while the rest of the nationalists are hiding in the (Azovstal) industrial zone."

 

As a result, Putin ordered not to storm the "Azovestal" plant, stressing on the other hand the need to completely close the area and "prevent even the fly from entering."

 

He continued, "I consider storming the industrial zone unacceptable, and I order to withdraw from it immediately," noting that the health of the Russian soldiers and the preservation of their lives must now be considered, according to the Russian agency.

 

Earlier, the Chechen President, Ramzan Kadyrov, announced in an audio recording that the Russian forces will, within two days, end the "Ukrainian extremists'" control of Mariupal. 

Kadirov, later, released videos (below) showing his fighters in close contact combat in the city, and the following statement:

My dear BROTHERS - Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Adam Delimkhanov, deputy commander of the police regiment of the FFGKU "UVO VNG of Russia in the Chechen Republic" police colonel Sultan Rashaev "Fighter" and dear NEPHEW Khalid Kadyrov planned an assault on the Azovstal plant yesterday.⠀

Today, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin canceled the assault on the enterprise and instructed to focus on other tasks. The main goal has already been achieved, Bandera and nationalists are blocked in industrial zones and will not go anywhere. Their only way out is to surrender. I hope they are smart enough to do so.

  

Chechen Special Purpose Police Regiment in Ukraine

Chechen Special Purpose Police Regiment in Ukraine

    Friday, April 15, 2022   No comments

Chechen Special Purpose Police Regiment, an elite unit named after Akhmad-Khadzhi Kadyrov, a Chechen revolutionary who served as chief Mufti of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in the 1990s during and after the First Chechen War, are shown here in action in southeast Ukraine. Akhmad Kadyrov's son, Ramzan Kadyrov, who is now the President of the Chechen Republic, is believed to be overseeing the deployment of these fighters in person. 

 

Irked by Kyiv cancellation of German President's Visit to Ukraine, Olaf Scholz says he won't visit Ukraine Soon

Irked by Kyiv cancellation of German President's Visit to Ukraine, Olaf Scholz says he won't visit Ukraine Soon

    Thursday, April 14, 2022   No comments

German Federal President Fran-Walter Steinmeier's visit to Kyiv was cancelled by Ukraine, which has irritated the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his surprise, Wednesday, at the Ukrainian government's sudden cancellation of the scheduled visit of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to Kyiv.

In an interview with German RBB radio, Schulz described Kyiv's decision to cancel Steinmeier's visit as "confusing," noting that the German president was looking forward to visiting Ukraine and "it would have been good if they had received him there."

The German newspaper "Bild" had previously quoted sources in the Ukrainian government saying that Kyiv canceled Steinmeier's visit scheduled for yesterday because of his previous role in developing his country's relations with Russia.

The German chancellor indicated that "he himself does not intend to visit Ukraine in the near future," stressing that "he visited Kyiv shortly before the start of the Russian military operation in the territory of this country and since the outbreak of the conflict has been in constant contact with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky by phone."

For his part, Vice-President of the German Bundestag, Wolfgang Kubiki, expressed his opposition to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit to Ukraine after it refused to receive the country's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

"I cannot imagine that the chancellor of the government supported by the FDP will go to a country that has declared the president of our country persona non grata," the DPA news agency quoted Kubiki, who is also vice-chairman of the Free Democratic Party of Germany, as saying.

 

Also on Wednesday, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov announced that more than 1,000 soldiers of the Ukrainian Marine Corps have surrendered to Russian forces in Mariupol.

"More than 1,000 soldiers of the Ukrainian marines surrendered in Mariupol, among them hundreds of wounded," Kadyrov said, adding that this was the "right choice."

The Chechen president, whose forces are fighting along Russian troops in Ukraine, said that there are about 200 wounded inside the Azovstal factory, and that they "cannot get medical help now", calling on the remaining Ukrainian forces in Mariupol to surrender.

India: "Our purchases in a whole month may be less than what Europe buys in one afternoon"; US: "an increase in human rights violations by some officials in India"

India: "Our purchases in a whole month may be less than what Europe buys in one afternoon"; US: "an increase in human rights violations by some officials in India"

    Tuesday, April 12, 2022   No comments

US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held "frank" video talks, which did not seem to succeed in bringing the two countries closer together on the Russian military operation in Ukraine, which is destabilizing their relationship.

At the beginning of the virtual meeting, the US president praised the "deep relationship" between the two countries, expressing his desire to "continue close consultations" in light of the military operation in Ukraine.

For his part, the Indian Prime Minister described the situation in Ukraine as "extremely worrying", noting that India supports negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, which Washington views with much pessimism.

After the meeting, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told reporters that "it is important to urge all countries, especially those that have influence on Russian President Vladimir Putin, to stop military operations."

"It is also important that democracies speak with one voice to defend the values ​​we share," he added.

On the other hand, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to a journalist who asked him why his country did not condemn the Russian military operation, saying: "Thank you for your advice and suggestion, but I prefer to do it my way."

After the White House said Biden had warned Modi that it would not be "in India's interest to speed up" its purchases of Russian energy exports—something that would partly offset the decline in Western purchases of these exports—the Indian foreign minister's response took a very sharp tone.

"Our purchases in a whole month may be less than what Europe buys in one afternoon," the minister told reporters.

For her part, US presidential spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, later, that "the president has made it clear that he does not believe it is in India's interest to accelerate or increase its imports of Russian energy," which so far represents a very small part of its purchases, or "other raw materials." .

Psaki stressed that Washington is ready to "help" India to "diversify" its energy sources.

The Biden administration wants to strengthen US alliances in the Asia-Pacific region to confront China, especially the re-launch of the so-called "Quad" alliance between the United States, India, Australia and Japan.

The disagreement shifted the conversation to another topic often used as pretext to frame conflict: human rights.

US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, announced that the United States is monitoring what he described as "an increase in human rights violations by some officials in India," in a rare direct criticism from Washington of the human rights record in the Asian country.

These statements come after US President Joe Biden's video talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday, which did not succeed in bringing the two countries' positions on the war in Ukraine closer, and continue to destabilize their relationship.

In a joint press briefing with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Indian Foreign Minister Subramaniam Jaishankar, and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh today, Blinken emphasized: “We communicate regularly with our Indian partners on these shared human rights values, and for that, we are monitoring some developments. Alarming situation in India recently, including the increase in human rights violations by some government, police and prison officials.

Blinken did not elaborate. Singh and Jaishankar, who spoke after Blinken at the press briefing, did not comment on the human rights issue.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's approval in Russia rises while Biden's drops in US

Russian President Vladimir Putin's approval in Russia rises while Biden's drops in US

    Thursday, March 31, 2022   No comments

 

Approval numbers regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin's activities since the start of the Russia-Ukraine War have seen a steep increase in recent months, according to a new poll from independent pollster Levada.

The poll showed that approval of Putin's actions increased from 69 percent in January to 83 percent in March.

But in the U.S., Putin's confidence rating has dropped to dismal lows, according to another new poll from the Pew Research Center. Just 6 percent of surveyed U.S. adults said that they have confidence in Putin after his decision to invade Ukraine.

....

The Pew Research poll found that 72 percent of Americans have some or a lot of confidence in Zelensky, the highest rating out of any global leader included in the survey.

When it comes to U.S. President Joe Biden's handling of international affairs, Americans are much more divided. Of the respondents, 48 percent said that they have confidence in Biden's handling of international affairs, while 52 percent said that they have no confidence or not too much confidence.

A Quinnipiac University national poll, conducted between March 10 and 14, found that 49 percent of respondents have a negative view of Biden's response to the war, compared to 42 percent who approve.

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Ukrainian government representatives appear to accept Russia's demands, including neutral status, disarmament, and non-NATO membership

Ukrainian government representatives appear to accept Russia's demands, including neutral status, disarmament, and non-NATO membership

    Tuesday, March 29, 2022   No comments

Based on the optimism of the first round of talks between Russia and Ukraine, it would appear that Ukraine will in fact give up its drive to join NATO, remove or limit nuclear capacity, allow for a referendum on autonomy or independence of eastern regions, where Russian speaking people are majority, and negotiate the status of Crimea. Should Ukraine agree to these terms now, Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, would appear to have made the costliest miscalculations. Since these are the same terms put forth by Russia before the war, had he accepted them then, he would have saved many lives, avoided the destruction of the nation's infrastructure, and perhaps reached even a more favorable agreement. But his home that EU and the West will step in to help led him to believe that Russia will not attack. He now negotiates from a weaker position, with Russian troops just miles away from his seat of government, not outside the border. 

Here is a summary of the first day of talks held in Turkey:

The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, confirmed today, Tuesday, that "the negotiations with Ukraine were constructive," at the conclusion of the first round of negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul.

Medinsky added, "We have received written proposals from Ukraine confirming its quest to be a neutral state free of nuclear weapons," which was confirmed by the Ukrainian negotiating delegation, explaining that "Kyiv proposed adopting a neutral situation in exchange for security guarantees."

Medinsky said that "Russia will study Ukraine's proposals," noting that "President Vladimir Putin will see them."

The chief Russian negotiator pointed out that "a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is possible, but after preparing the text of the agreement between the two countries."

He stressed in the context that "negotiations will continue in the coming weeks," noting that "if negotiations continue in this way, reaching an agreement will be much easier and faster."

Head of the Ukrainian delegation: Kyiv will not join "NATO"

In turn, the head of the Ukrainian delegation stressed that his country "will not join NATO" and that it will not host foreign military bases on its territory.

He added, "We are seeking security guarantees," noting that "Turkey may be among the guarantor countries."

With regard to the Donbas region, the head of the Ukrainian delegation considered that "a completely different issue, and a popular referendum can be held in the region," explaining that "the issue of Crimea can also be discussed calmly and without resorting to arms and fighting."

President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier that "the issue of Ukraine's neutrality, which is one of the central items in negotiations with Russia to end the conflict, is being studied in depth."

The delegations of Moscow and Kiev had held 3 rounds of negotiations in Belarus, and a meeting in Turkey, between the foreign ministers of the two countries, Sergey Lavrov and Dmitry Kuleba.

Russia-Ukriane War, after 1 month of fighting: about 1 Russian solier dead for every 10 Ukrainians, plus global economic costs

Russia-Ukriane War, after 1 month of fighting: about 1 Russian solier dead for every 10 Ukrainians, plus global economic costs

    Friday, March 25, 2022   No comments

Today, the Russian war on Ukraine completes its first month, amid continuing battles on several fronts, tightening sanctions against Russia and its leaders, and Western summits threatening Moscow with further escalation.

The Russian army announced Friday that 1,351 of its soldiers had died since the start of the country's war on Ukraine on February 24, accusing Western countries of making a "mistake" in delivering weapons to Kiev.

"During the special military operation, 1,351 soldiers were killed and 3,825 others were wounded," Deputy Chief of Staff Sergei Rudskoy told a press conference.

On the Ukrainian side, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that more than 14,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and about 16,000 wounded during the month of the war.

Control map after one month of fighting:

View from China: China sends tough signal ahead of Xi-Biden talk to set firm position on bilateral ties, Ukraine issue

View from China: China sends tough signal ahead of Xi-Biden talk to set firm position on bilateral ties, Ukraine issue

    Friday, March 18, 2022   No comments

 

Just hours before the phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden on Friday, China, in a rare move, sent tough signals, stating it will never accept US threats and coercion over the Ukraine issue and vowing to make a strong response if the US takes measures harming China's legitimate interests. 

In an exclusive interview with the Global Times, an anonymous Chinese official said China accepted the US' proposal for the phone call between the heads of the two countries on China-US relations and the Ukraine situation out of considerations of bilateral relations, promoting peace talks and urging the US to take right stance. 

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Welcome To Ukrainistan

Welcome To Ukrainistan

    Friday, March 11, 2022   No comments

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As soon as the war in Ukraine broke, leaders of that country called on people from around the world to join their fight. There is no evidence that Ukraine ever sent its people, in such an organized fashion, to support other communities devastated by wars, many were illegal wars of aggression. Yet, here we are, Ukraine is enabling its embassies around the world to facilitate the transfer of volunteers. As expected, Russian officials appear to do the same: they will transfer volunteers from the Middle East and Africa to eastern Ukraine to join the fight there. Another proxy-war is under way.

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Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan to Western leaders: "We are not your Slaves"

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan to Western leaders: "We are not your Slaves"

    Tuesday, March 08, 2022   No comments

Ukraine Russia War: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday responded to a joint letter by the heads of diplomatic missions of the European Union urging Pakistan to condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine. In response to this joint letter, Imran said, ‘What do you think about us.. You think that we are your slaves.. That we will do whatever you say?’

Imran Khan fiercely targeted Western envoys during a rally in Islamabad on Sunday. He said that I want to ask the ambassadors of the European Union whether they have sent a similar letter to India to abstain from voting? Given that Pakistan’s arch rival had also not participated, the EU did not send the letter to India. He said that the United Nations has never condemned India for its actions in Kashmir.

Imran Khan further says, ‘We are friends with Russia, and we are also friends with America, we also have good relations with China and Europe. We are not in any camp.” Khan said Pakistan would remain “neutral” and work with those who are trying to end the war in Ukraine.

After SoS, Blinken appeared to geenlight Poland sending fighter jets to Ukraine, the Pentagon clarifies: ‘No Decisions Made’

After SoS, Blinken appeared to geenlight Poland sending fighter jets to Ukraine, the Pentagon clarifies: ‘No Decisions Made’

    Tuesday, March 08, 2022   No comments

The Ukrainian government asked Western nations to supply them fighter jets or impose no-fly-zone over Ukraine. US state department appeared to support the idea of Poland providing such military support. Russia responded saying that any such move by a European nation will make them directly involved in the conflict and Russia will respond accordingly. Once that threat was issued and when Poland felt the lack of support should Russia respond, the Polish government commented on it sending fighter jets to Ukraine: "Fake News".

 On Monday, the Pentagon downplayed the chances of Poland sending Ukraine Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said such a plan would get a “green light” from the US.

Blinken said that the US was in discussions with Poland to replenish Warsaw’s fleet with US-made jets if it transfers the MiG-29s to Ukraine. But as recently as Sunday, Polish officials have characterized the idea of Poland sending warplanes to Ukraine as “fake news.”

When asked about the comments from Polish officials, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, “no decisions have been made,” and that the decision was ultimately up to Poland.

“This will be a sovereign decision for a nation-state to make. Whether it’s Poland or anybody else, that should they want to provide aircraft to the Ukrainian Air Force, that’s a sovereign decision that they can make,” he said.

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