RUSSIAN CITIES PREP FOR POSSIBLE MASS BURIALS OF WAR DEAD
Here is a digest of sometimes contradictory stories from Ukraine/Donbass/Russia. There is near silence from western, corporate media (or outright lies).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has travelled to the country’s eastern frontline after a surge in clashes with separatist forces and rising tensions with Russia.
It comes as tens of thousands of Russian troops mass near the border with Ukraine.
There are growing fears that Vladimir Putin’s military squeeze on his neighbour may spark an all-out war, which could drag NATO into the conflict.
Russian tanks, missile trucks and long-range guns have been filmed heading to Crimea and the border of the disputed Ukrainian region of Donbass.
There were also reports Mr Putin’s so-called robot army could soon be deployed to the flashpoint border.
Kiev estimates there are now 85,000 Russian troops between 10km and 40km from its frontier and in Crimea.
Meanwhile English language Russian media (RT and Sputnik) are silent on this.
Today on TRUNEWS, host Edward Szall lays out the prospects for war between NATO and Russia as the conflict ramps over the Ukraine and Crimea.
Edward Szall, Rick Wiles, Doc Burkhart. Airdate (04/12/21)
Watch the broadcast HERE
Russia: “If US Fires Cruise Missiles from Black Sea, U.S. Navy Ships Could Be Destroyed”
The Kremlin, when asked if Russian President Vladimir Putin has anything to say to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov responded:
“There is always talk about defusing tensions and preventing a potential war in Donbass. We hope that political wisdom will prevail in Kiev, the case will not take a serious turn and provocative actions (against Luhansk and Donetsk) will still come to naught.
The constant repetition of US calls to Russia to “abandon aggressive actions” devalues these statements of Washington –
A possible appeal of Kiev to the United States to use cruise missiles at Donbass targets will push Russia to recognize the DPR and LPR with the subsequent introduction of Russian peacekeepers into their territory.
In the case of the use of cruise missiles from the destroyers USS Donald Cook and USS Roosevelt of the US Navy from the Black Sea through the territory of the DPR and LPR, American warships may be destroyed. Thus, Russia will defend Russian citizens.
Are the Americans ready for this scenario? We believe – no.
Therefore, despite the enthusiasm of Ukrainian nationalists, the United States will not openly use its fleet in a potential conflict, as this implies a direct clash with the Russian Federation.”
Russia warns Turkey over drone deliveries to Ukraine
https://ahvalnews.com/ukraine-russia/russia-warns-turkey-over-drone-deliveries-ukraine
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov on Monday warned Turkey and other countries against provoking the “militarist’’ tendencies of Ukraine, Russian news agency Sputnik reported.
Lavrov made the remarks in Cairo, where he held a meeting with the president of Egypt, followed by a press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry.
“All concerning countries, including Turkey” should study the military declarations made by the Kiev regime and not provoke said tendencies, Lavrov said in response to a question about Turkish being spotted in the conflict-zone.
“Before selling weapons to Ukraine, they should think about the activities of neo-Nazi’s in Ukraine”, he added.
Tensions have been rising between Russia and Ukraine in recent weeks, prompting fears of a revival of the military conflict. Ukraine has accused of Russia of building up military presence along the eastern Donbass region. Russia says the buildup does not pose a military threat.
Ukraine has purchased several Turkish drones and control stations for the drones last year, while signing contracts for several more and an agreement for the manufacture of Turkish drones.
These drones played a major role in turning the tide in conflicts in countries like in Syria, Libya and most recently, the disupted region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where Russia backs the opposing sides in the conflicts.
The Ukrainian government wants to deploy Turkish drones in the escalating conflict to change the status-quo, Lavrov said.
West turns up the pressure on Erdoğan
All the activity on the international front that we observed last Tuesday obviously concerns us since it included the Greek prime minister’s official visit to Libya. We also had Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s almost simultaneous visit to the same country and a trip to Ankara by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, not to mention the U.S. State Department’s announcement of targeted sanctions against Turkey’s state military procurements agency and four of its top officials. In the meantime, we also witnessed a significant spike in tension on the Donbass front between Ukraine, Russia and the United States.
Are all these developments related? Yes. They are all part of the policy shift in Washington, signalled by the Biden administration’s decision to pick up the reins of the Western world again, to align all the countries it believes belong in this camp behind the United States, and to reactivate its presence in Europe, the Middle East and other parts of the world. This mobilisation is evidently aimed at: a) dealing with geopolitical and economic rivals China and Russia, and b) thwarting their ties with other countries (Germany, Russia or anyone else) or blocs (like the European Union).
The United States has gone back in this new “cold war” to the tactic of decrying human and civil rights abuses and highlighting the democratic shortfall in China, Russia and other countries, like Turkey, that are in the same playground. It is a tried-and-true recipe that was applied by the Carter administration (with Zbigniew Brzezinski as national security adviser), putting the USSR in a very tight spot and contributing to its downfall. The return of this tactic is so far working in Greece’s favour in terms of its disputes with Turkey.
Washington wants Turkey firmly in the Western camp and is making no secret of this. It is seriously put out by the close ties on various levels between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, from the acquisition of the S-400 missile defence system and the Turkish establishment tendency to see-saw between the different sides, to the threatening stance toward neighbours like Israel (a very important factor). By citing suppression of human and democratic rights and imposing sanctions, Washington also “forced” Europe, without any clear reactions from Germany, to harden its stance toward Ankara. This is evident from the comments made by von der Leyen and Michel following their meeting with Erdoğan.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was no doubt encouraged to make the trip to Libya, where the Western camp is busy trying to curb the influence of Turkey and Russia. Now we have to see what Erdoğan will do, particularly given the pressure he is under in so many vital areas.
This article was originally published by the Kathimerini
Troops From Poland and Belarus CLASH Along Border
Multiple reports are coming in as of this morning indicating Army troops from Poland have engaged in skirmishes with Army troops from Belarus as both Armies guard their respective (closed) Borders.
According to sources on the ground in Poland, there have been verbal tit-for-tats for the past couple weeks, and today, they got physical.
No one is saying who did what to whom, but troops from both Poland and from Belarus “swarmed” as fist fights broke out.
US warns of ‘consequences’ if Russia acts ‘aggressively’ in Ukraine
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned in an interview Sunday of “consequences” if Russia acts “aggressively” towards Ukraine.“I have to tell you I have real concerns about Russia’s actions on the borders of Ukraine,” Blinken told NBC’s “Meet the Press” of the military build-up in the region.
“President Biden’s been very clear about this. If Russia acts recklessly, or aggressively, there will be costs, there will be consequences,” Blinken said
Military source from the armed forces of the republic of the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk ( DNR) in Eastern Ukraine, said special task force of the U.s. was sent to Ukraine in the context of tensions between Kiev and Moscow in the border region escalate.
According to the source, a transport aircraft, heavy military C-17 A Globemaster III took a group of 12 soldiers of The commander of The special operations of the Us army with many weapons and equipment to Ukraine.
The army of the DNR said, this flight also delivered “the control devices, anti-tank missiles, mirror heat, encryption device, signal, as well as 81 weapons and ammunition, including sniper rifles, automatic weapons and ammunition comes”.
Sources said the plane flew in a group of soldiers and equipment of the U.s. landing in Lviv, a city in the Western region of Ukraine.
The data path of travel of the transport aircraft C-17.
After landing and dismantling of the goods, the U.s. military is a helicopter ride to the base of the Naval center number 73 of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Also take notice said that the battle group of the center for Naval number 73 is preparing to be sent to the operational area of the force the member of the Ukrainian military in a war zone of Donbass.
British special forces deployed to Ukraine
Ukraine’s Zelenskiy, amid tensions, asked to speak with Putin, but no reply yet: spokeswoman
https://whtc.com/2021/04/12/ukraines-zelenskiy-amid-tensions-asked-to-speak-with-putin-but-no-reply-yet-spokeswoman/KYIV (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has requested talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the escalating conflict in eastern Ukraine but has received no answer yet, his spokeswoman Iuliia Mendel told Reuters on Monday.Russia had massed more than 40,000 troops on Ukraine’s eastern border and more than 40,000 troops in Crimea, Mendel said.
Zelenskiy will head to Paris for talks on Russia’s troop build-up and the escalating conflict in Donbass, she added.
“The president’s office, of course, made a request to speak with Vladimir Putin. We have not received an answer yet and we very much hope that this is not a refusal of dialogue,” she said.
(Reporting by Ilya Zhegulev; writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
Ukraine claims Russia ignoring call for crunch talks to avert all-out war in Donbass, but Moscow says it never received an invite
House in the village of Veseloe, Donetsk region, damaged during the hostilities in the DPR.
The Kremlin has denied ignoring requests from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to hold a crisis summit after days of bloody escalations in the war-torn Donbass region, insisting it hasn’t actually been invited to take part.
On Monday morning, a government spokeswoman in Kiev claimed that an appeal for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin had gone unacknowledged. Yulia Mendel told journalists from Reuters that “we have not received an answer yet and we very much hope that this is not a refusal of dialogue.”
However, later that day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that he was unaware of the request, and had not seen any such contact from Ukrainian officials in recent days.
Mendel has since aimed to dispel any confusion, claiming that “the request for negotiations came immediately after the death of four servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – on March 26,” in an answer given to Interfax-Ukraine.
A statement posted by Zelensky to Twitter that day said, “we lost four defenders of Ukraine again. Sincere condolences.” He added that he urged all leaders of the Normandy Format, comprised of Germany, Russia, Ukraine, and France, “to do their utmost to preserve a full and comprehensive ceasefire.” It is unclear if a formal request was sent alongside the message.
Last week, Russian diplomats announced they had reached out to their US counterparts for emergency discussions over the situation in Donbass, with Peskov describing the situation on the contact line as frightening. Amid reports of increased shelling, Kiev’s forces have clashed with Moscow-backed separatist militants based in the breakaway Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
At the same time, US State Department spokesman Ned Price warned that Washington had seen credible reports of Russia amassing troops near the shared border, and issued a “call on Russia to refrain from escalatory actions.”
On Thursday, Putin’s deputy chief of staff, Dmitry Kozak, said Moscow would be forced to protect the residents of the Donbass region if the Ukrainian Army were to launch an all-out offensive. “Everything depends on what the scale of fighting will be.”
Putin has previously warned of a humanitarian crisis akin to the Srebrenica massacre of Bosnian Muslims during the breakup of Yugoslavia, remembered as one of Europe’s bloodiest post-war incidents. If this were to happen, Peskov said, “no country in the world would stand aside. And all countries, including Russia, would take measures to prevent such tragedies from happening again.”
- Full-scale Ukrainian war would threaten Russian security, Kremlin pledges action to prevent ‘humanitarian catastrophe – US war ships set sail for Black Sea
- US resumes military aid to Ukraine with payment of $250 million following Pentagon approved ‘reforms’
- How Ukraine’s neo-Nazis are preparing to ‘reintegrate’ Donbass
Political advisers working on preparing Normandy Four summit, says Kremlin
https://tass.com/politics/1276535
MOSCOW, April 11. /TASS/. Political advisers to the leaders of Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France are carrying out an effort to prepare for the Normandy format summit, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated in an interview with Moscow. Kremlin. Putin program on Rossyia-1 TV channel.
The Kremlin spokesman emphasized that Moscow would insist on fulfilling at least some previous agreements in order to hold the new summit of the Normandy Four group. “Nevertheless, the work is underway. And the work carried out by the political advisers is very intense,” Peskov stated.
According to the Kremlin spokesman, “the political advisers of the Quartet are in permanent contact.” “This is very difficult communication, it requires great patience of all four sides, nevertheless, it is being conducted. And it is being conducted precisely in the interests of preparing and holding such a summit,” Peskov went on to say.
In regard to the video conference held on March 30 by the leaders of Russia, Germany and France, Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron, Peskov noted that the counterparts of Russia’s president “in many ways” understood which side was not fulfilling the Minsk agreements. “There are certain disagreements with us too and there is a wish for us, as a party to the Minsk process, to show greater flexibility. But in general, there is understanding that there is a document that has no alternative at the moment, which must be complied with,” the Kremlin spokesman said. He also emphasized the unambiguity of the document signed in Minsk in 2015, in which “everything is written in black and white: both the essence and the sequence of steps.”
“And, of course, when we hear Kiev’s statements more and more often and at various levels that the Minsk package of measures is already outdated, then this probably causes bewilderment not only in our country but also in Paris and Berlin,” the Kremlin spokesman concluded.
Germany and France
Germany and France generally understand that Russia is not a party to the Donbass conflict, while Ukraine is a headache for them like an “enfant terrible”, Peskov emphasized.
Peskov noted that “the Ukrainian side had been tenaciously trying to present Russia as a party to the Donbass conflict”, which Russia could oppose only by patiently explaining its stance.
“Russia is not a party to the [Donbass] conflict. Russia is making every possible effort to help resolve this conflict. And we will tirelessly continue to clarify this,” the Kremlin spokesman said, noting that “the Normandy Four’s members, except Ukraine, generally understand this.”
“However, for them, probably, Ukraine is such an “enfant terrible” [French for “terrible child”, in a broader sense – a person who does not restrain himself with decency – TASS], yes, this terrible child, which you cannot kick out anywhere, but it causes severe headache,” Peskov concluded.
Since late February, the Donbass conflict has deteriorated, despite the additional ceasefire agreement of July 22, 2020. Intensive shellings resumed on the contact line. Both sides reported casualties, including among the civilian population.
The Normandy format refers to the negotiations on a peaceful settlement of the conflict in southeastern Ukraine, involving Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France. The first meeting of the four countries’ leaders was held in June 2014 during the events marking the 70th anniversary of the D-Day allied landings in Normandy.
