RFE/RLFri, 08 Apr 2022 19:40 UTC
Bodies are covered with plastic sheets after a rocket attack on April 8 at a train station in Kramatorsk on April 8.
Thirty-nine people have been killed and more than 100 wounded
in a Russian missile strike on a railway station in eastern Ukraine in what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said was a deliberate attack on civilians.
Ukraine's state railway company said two Russian rockets struck the station on April 8 in Kramatorsk, which was being used to evacuate civilians from areas that are
expected to come under heavy attack as Moscow redirects its war efforts to focus on eastern areas where the separatists it has backed since 2014 have been fighting Ukrainian troops.
"Lacking the strength and courage to stand up to us on the battlefield, they are cynically destroying the civilian population," Zelenskiy said in a statement. "This is an evil that has no limits. And if it is not punished, it will never stop."
Zelenskiy later said in a video address to Finland's parliament that Europe cannot offer a "partial response" to Russia and its aggression "because freedom will not survive if we leave the channels of tyranny."
Video and images posted on social media showed dozens of dead civilians next to backpacks and suitcases they were carrying with them.
Ukrainian officials, including Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, said at least four children were among the dead.
Comment: For videos and pictures, see
South Front. Ukrainian officials first claimed the missile was an Iskander (i.e. Russian). But when photos of an unexploded portion of one of the missiles turned up, and it was obviously a Tochka-U, Zelensky changed his tune.
Since
Russia uses Iskanders, not Tochka-U's, anti-Russian analysts are trying to claim that Russia has and uses Tochkas, citing video evidence of said missiles in a military convoy in Belarus from sometime this year. (Belarus does have Tochkas, and they
were launched during joint military exercises in Belarus in February.) The fact remains that Russia itself does not officially have any Tochkas in its arsenal, and there is no evidence they have used any Tochkas in Ukraine. See Gleb Bazov's
Twitter thread on the missile strike.
The trajectory appears to have been from the Southwest. This is what the Russian MOD
has to say:
⚡️Russian Defence Ministry denies statements made by Kiev regime about an alleged missile attack on the railway station in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Region
▫️All statements by representatives of the Kiev nationalist regime about an alleged missile attack by Russia on the railway station in Kramatorsk city on April 8 are a provocation and are absolutely untrue.
▫️The Russian Armed Forces did not have or plan to carry out any firing missions in Kramatorsk city on April 8.
▫️We emphasize in particular that Tochka-U tactical missiles, the wreckage of which was found near the Kramatorsk railway station and published by eyewitnesses, are used by Ukrainian Armed Forces only.
▫️On March 14, 2022, a similar Tochka-U missile of Division of 19th Separate Missile Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces struck the centre of Donetsk, killing 17 people on the spot and injuring another 36 civilians.
⚡️Statement by Russian Defence Ministry
▫️In order to accuse Russia of an alleged missile strike on Kramatorsk railway station, Kiev regime has posted on social media pictures of Tochka-U missile launchers that took part in "Union Courage 2022" Russian-Belarusian exercise in February.
▫️Please note, all photos published by Kiev from "Union Courage 2022" exercise show non-Russian missile systems.
▫️Tochka-U tactical missiles whose wreckage was found near Kramatorsk railway station are used only by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
▫️According to clarified information, the strike on Kramatorsk railway station was carried out by missile division of the Ukrainian armed forces from area of Dobropol'e, 45 kilometres south-west of the city.
▫️The aim of Kiev regime's strike on the railway station in Kramatorsk was to disrupt the mass exit of residents from the city in order to use them as a "human shield" to defend Ukrainian armed forces positions, as in many other Ukrainian population centres.
❗️Today, the Ukrainian Armed Forces struck Kramatorsk railway station with Tochka-U tactical missile.
▫️Tochka-U tactical missile, the wreckage of which was found near Kramatorsk railway station, is only used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
▫️I would like to point out that the maximum range of Tochka-U missile is 120 km. The warhead weighs 482kg and contains 20 fragmentation warheads, each 7.5kg, forming around 16,000 fragments.
▫️An analysis of the engagement radius of the warhead, as well as the characteristic position of Tochka-U missile's tail section, clearly confirm that it was launched from a south-western direction away from Kramatorsk.
▫️According to intelligence reports, one of the divisions of the 19th Missile Brigade armed with Tochka-U missile systems at the time of the strike on Kramatorsk was located near Dobropol'e in Donetsk Region, 45 km south-west of Kramatorsk.
▫️This area is still under the full control of the Ukrainian military grouping troops in Donbass.
❗️I would like to stress that the Ukrainian Armed Forces still possess a significant arsenal of Tochka-U missiles.
▫️Before the start of the special military operation, the Kiev regime had 20 Tochka-U missile systems with 2 launchers each.
▫️During the special military operation, 8 Ukrainian Tochka-U rocket launchers and around 90 per cent of the missiles at the arsenals were destroyed.
▫️Nevertheless, the threat by the Kiev regime of continued provocations and missile attacks on populated areas with civilians remains high.
⚡️⚡️ Foreign Ministry statement on Ukraine's strike at Kramatorsk.
On April 8, the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) committed yet another war crime by striking a railway station in Kiev-controlled Kramatorsk with a Tochka-U tactical missile.
Dozens were killed and over a hundred injured.
🕯 We convey our deep condolences to the families and friends of the deceased.
🚫 The choice of the target was not random - the Kiev regime is striving to maximise the number of civilian victims.
Their murders in Donbass have become standard practice for Ukrainian armed units in the past eight years. By cynically killing civilians in cold blood, Kiev is trying to blame Russia for its own crimes in order to discredit Moscow's special military operation to defend the DPR and the LPR.
* * *
❗️ We urge the international community to objectively evaluate the crimes committed by Ukrainian units, to stop supplying them with arms and prompt Kiev to renounce its unacceptable methods of hostility.
Pro-Ukrainian sources claim the missiles were launched from Shakhtars'k, approximately 100 km to the south
east of Kramatorsk, in the DPR. They cite
this video as proof, showing the launch of two missiles. (Rybar
responds by observing that the video was filmed at 9:22, whereas the missile landed at around 10:30. If the device was set to GMT+2, the missile still should have reached Kramatorsk in 2 minutes, not 8. Certain signatures also suggest the missiles filmed are not Tochkas but air-defense missiles.)
UPDATE: See these two telegram links (
one,
two). The serial number almost certainly suggests the Tochka in question was from Ukraine's arsenal. Combined with the most likely trajectory, it's all but certain that Ukraine launched this attack on on the evacuating civilians in Kramatorsk:
Serial number of the missile, that hit Kramatorsk is Ш91579. It suggests, that Kramatorsk was shelled by Ukrainian military.
Previous Ukrainian Tochka-U missiles with similar serial numbers that hit Donbass and territories under Russian control:
- 1. 04.09.2014 Khartsyzsk (Ш915622);
- 2. 02.02.2015 Alchevsk (Ш91565);
- 3., 4., 5. с 13.02.2015 Logvinovo (Ш91566, Ш915527, Ш915328),
Recently:
- 6. до 19.03.2022 Berdiansk under Russian control (Ш915611);
- 7. до 17.03.2022 Melitopol under Russian control (Ш915516).
And cherry on top:
blurring of the serial number on the photo published by the National police of Ukraine - Tochka-U missile, that fell 11.03.2022 in Avdeyevka on Ukrainian controlled territory.
RTFri, 08 Apr 2022 18:13 UTC
© Timothy Clary/AFPSerbian President Aleksandar Vucic speaks at the UN General Assembly in New York, US, 2017
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said that his country has been pressured under the threat of sanctions to back Russia's suspension from the UN Human Rights Council.
Belgrade has close historical ties with Moscow but joined other Western nations this week in a vote against Russia in response to its ongoing military campaign in Ukraine.
"Our initial decision was to abstain, but then we were subjected to countless and difficult pressure," Vucic told RTS TV on Thursday.
"They said - do you know that a decision is being made whether Serbia will be exempted from the package of sanctions on [Russian] oil, and whether it will be able to import oil after May 15?" the president said. He compared the possible effect of sanctions on Serbia to "a nuclear strike."
© XinhuaChinese ambassador Zhang Jun speaks ahead of voting at the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday. China opposed the resolution.
China has warned of the implications of Russia's suspension from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) over the Russian offensive against Ukraine.
Speaking at a press briefing in Beijing on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said his government was against "politicizing and instrumentalizing" human rights, warning against a "selective" approach toward the issue.
"China resolutely opposes
politicizing and instrumentalizing the human rights issue, opposes selectivity, double standard, and confrontation on the issue, and
opposes putting pressure on other countries under the pretext of human rights issue," Zhao said.
Comment: Below is a tweet that sums up the current state of the UN, along with details of who voted for what:
© AFPBucha Deaths
The apparent mass murder of civilians in Bucha and other locations in Ukraine has enraged Western public opinion against Russia.
Russia is facing mounting accusations of genocide and its president Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials are condemned as war criminals to be prosecuted in international tribunals similar to the Nuremberg trials of Nazi leaders.Western media are blaring like foghorns while Russian media and other independent outlets are banned or stifled by the toxic anti-Russia political climate. In this grossly imbalanced situation,
propaganda is amplified manyfold. There is a sense that
the wholesale shutdown of media prior to the latest alleged massacres in Ukraine is all part of the orchestration.When the Kiev regime and Western media
warn of more massacres to follow in Ukraine that is a sinister prediction.
Comment: Narrative is more important than truth and blame is more important than facts when a particular outcome is required to raise the stakes and further a self-serving agenda.
Jordain Carney
The HillThu, 07 Apr 2022 11:00 UTC
© ReutersCapitol Hill
The Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a package to end normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus and codify the administration's ban on Russian oil imports, capping off weeks of negotiations that had stalled the legislation.
Senators voted 100-0 on two bills. The first ends permanent normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus. The bill also reauthorizes Magnitsky Act sanctions that target human rights violations and corruption with penalties like visa bans or asset freezes.The second bill, which also passed 100-0, codifies the Biden administration's ban on Russian oil imports.Because the Senate made changes to both bills, they need to be passed by the House before they go to President Biden's desk. The House is expected to pass the bills on Thursday, a day after the Senate
announced on Wednesday night that it has reached a deal.
Comment: The
legislation was not an immediate pushover:
A standoff with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) over sanctions language dashed hopes of quickly passing it, potentially dragging out the legislation for weeks. It's a significant stumbling block for a bill that passed the House in a 424-8 vote — sparking rare unity between Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — only to get snagged despite Senate leaders working out a deal to move it quickly.
Paul demanded his language linked to human rights-related sanctions get added into the bill. And unlike other recent Russia-related standoffs with the libertarian-leaning GOP senator, he is drawing a red line that he won't let the bills move quickly unless it is added. Paul said:
"We've just told them they need to put the definition in there of what a human rights abuse is. But we won't let them pass it unless they put it in there so they're either going to put it in there or they're going to be here for a week doing it."
Paul is taking issue with the way the Magnitsky sanctions are reauthorized as part of the bill that limits trade with Russia. The original Magnitsky bill targeted "gross" violations of human rights. The language in the Russia trade bill would expand that to target "serious" human rights violations, codifying language used in a Trump-era executive order.
Paul wanted language put into the bill that would reinsert "gross" violation of human rights and define that as dealing with torture, cruel and inhumane treatment and indefinite detention, though Paul said he was open to including other actions in the definition.
© UnknownUS President Joe Biden
NBC News has a new report out citing multiple anonymous US officials, humorously titled "
In a break with the past, U.S. is using intel to fight an info war with Russia, even when the intel isn't rock solid".
The officials say the Biden administration has been rapidly pushing out
"intelligence" about Russia's plans in Ukraine that is
"low-confidence" or
"based more on analysis than hard evidence", or even
just plain false, in order to fight an information war against Putin.
The report says that toward this end the US government has deliberately circulated false or poorly evidenced claims about impending chemical weapons attacks, about Russian plans to orchestrate a false flag attack in the Donbass to justify an invasion, about Putin's advisors misinforming him, and about Russia seeking arms supplies from China.
Comment: Nothing startling new about spewing false warnings - the US does it all the time. Biden can't tell the difference and the public is approaching his level. What has become most 'far-fetched' is the truth (and how easily this has been accomplished).
© Denver GazetteDefense Secretary Lloyd Austin • Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley
Austin affirmed that the two Pentagon leaders have "frequently" reached out to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Gen. Valery Gerasimov but have been unsuccessful.
Austin made this disclosure during his and Milley's testimony in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday morning.
"Both the chairman and I myself have frequently reached out to our counterparts in Russia to try to ensure that we maintain a dialogue. That's in the last — since mid-February. That's not been very successful because the Russians have not responded."
Despite being "disappointed" by the lack of Russian engagement with him and Milley, the secretary said:
"It doesn't mean we'll stop reaching out to engage them. I think we have to have the ability to talk to the leadership."
Comparatively, Austin and Milley have regularly communicated with their Ukrainian counterparts.
Comment: When Russia wanted talks back in January, the US was unavailable: "Please hang up and try again."
© AP/Infowars/LKJNUS Special Council John Durham • Hillary Clinton
More and more damaging evidence continues to surface against Hillary Clinton in Special Counsel John Durham's investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation. During an interview with journalist Sharyl Attkisson, California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa argued that it's time for Durham to get the ball rolling.
He said:
"Justice delayed is justice denied is not some sort of a trite statement. It's very true. The fact is, the time has passed. It is pretty irrelevant, except it's a lesson to Congress that putting real-time limits and putting real meat in activities, including inspector general's reports and so on, is more important than ever. The time it takes to complete an investigation, or the time it takes for Congress to get to the truth, impacts whether or not you're going to get the truth and compliance in a timely fashion. If you can hold an administration accountable in real-time, they will cooperate. If they know they can run out the clock, as they often do, they won't."
Last month, a federal judge
rejected a bid by Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann to "strike" a "factual background" section of Special Counsel John Durham's early February court filing.
Hans von der Burchard
PoliticoThu, 07 Apr 2022 21:14 UTC
© Sean Gallup/Getty ImagesThe chancellor's hesitation has caused a backlash from his coalition partner
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is delaying a final decision over whether to give Ukraine high-end tanks for its battle against Russia, despite pressure from several other top officials, according to four people familiar with the deliberations.
The plan, pushed by Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock — both senior members of the Green party — would involve about 100 tanks. It comes amid a growing acceptance in Berlin and other Western capitals that Russia's war in Ukraine could drag on for months or years, and as Kyiv directly appeals for such equipment.A decision on the matter was initially expected this week. But it's now in limbo as the Social Democrat chancellor — much to the frustration of his governing coalition partners — argues Germany should first reach a common position with Western allies on the subject before delivering such heavy military equipment, the officials said.
© Liu Rui/Global Times
In Russia, World War II is the best-studied period of history. Schools and universities emphasize the Stalingrad battle of 1942 and the 1944 Allies' Normandy landing. When I attended school 20 years ago, Russia was influenced by Western culture, which is why textbooks focused on the Western front and
very little was mentioned about the Chinese theatre of World War II.
Only when I was much older, I was able to learn about the War of Resistance against Japan. I remember my shock when I learned about the Nanjing Massacre and other tremendous atrocities committed in China by the occupants.
Since WWII, a lot of changes happened, but the villains and their tactics remained the same. In 1937, the White House along with the Western powers kept their eyes blind to Nanjing and other fascist crimes committed by the Japanese militarists. Oil restrictions against the aggressor, Imperial Tokyo, were imposed only in August 1941, when its war against the US over control of East Asia had become inevitable.
On the other front, in Europe, American enterprises supplied Japan's ally, Nazi Germany, with fuel and chemicals until 1944, using neutral countries as trade proxies to make money from the chaos of World War. The objective of the US was obvious: to become the world's leader by selling both a problem and a solution.
Comment: For videos and pictures, see South Front. Ukrainian officials first claimed the missile was an Iskander (i.e. Russian). But when photos of an unexploded portion of one of the missiles turned up, and it was obviously a Tochka-U, Zelensky changed his tune.
Since Russia uses Iskanders, not Tochka-U's, anti-Russian analysts are trying to claim that Russia has and uses Tochkas, citing video evidence of said missiles in a military convoy in Belarus from sometime this year. (Belarus does have Tochkas, and they were launched during joint military exercises in Belarus in February.) The fact remains that Russia itself does not officially have any Tochkas in its arsenal, and there is no evidence they have used any Tochkas in Ukraine. See Gleb Bazov's Twitter thread on the missile strike.
The trajectory appears to have been from the Southwest. This is what the Russian MOD has to say: Pro-Ukrainian sources claim the missiles were launched from Shakhtars'k, approximately 100 km to the southeast of Kramatorsk, in the DPR. They cite this video as proof, showing the launch of two missiles. (Rybar responds by observing that the video was filmed at 9:22, whereas the missile landed at around 10:30. If the device was set to GMT+2, the missile still should have reached Kramatorsk in 2 minutes, not 8. Certain signatures also suggest the missiles filmed are not Tochkas but air-defense missiles.)
UPDATE: See these two telegram links (one, two). The serial number almost certainly suggests the Tochka in question was from Ukraine's arsenal. Combined with the most likely trajectory, it's all but certain that Ukraine launched this attack on on the evacuating civilians in Kramatorsk: