Puppet MastersS


Putin

Putin assures Israel's Bennett Russia ready to talk to Ukraine, says Kiev showing 'inconsistency'

Ilya Tsukanov
Sputnik
Sun, 27 Feb 2022 00:00 UTC
Putin
© Sputnik/Alexei NikolskyPresident of Russia Vladimir Putin
Russia summoned Israel's ambassador to Moscow on Friday to ask why Tel Aviv "supports neo-Nazis" in Kiev after Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid blasted the Russian military operation in Ukraine as a 'grave violation of the international order'.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has assured Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett that Moscow remains open to talks with Kiev, but informed him that Ukraine's leaders have shown "inconsistency" on the matter. The Kremlin, in a statement summarising a phone call between Putin and Bennett that took place Sunday, said:
"It was noted that the Russian delegation is situated in the Belarusian city of Gomel and is ready for negotiations with representatives from Kiev, who, showing inconsistency, have not yet taken advantage of this opportunity.

"In turn, Naftali Bennett offered Israel's services as an intermediary in order to suspend hostilities."
Sunday's call took place on the initiative of the Israeli side, and "bilateral contacts" at various levels were said to have been agreed.
Read More...
Target

Kosovo asks for permanent US base, NATO membership


RT
Mon, 28 Feb 2022 00:23 UTC
Mehaj
© telegrafi .comKosovo Defense Minister Armend Mehaj
Kosovo has announced it would ask Washington to set up a permanent military base on its territory, urging the US and its allies to accept Pristina's bid to join NATO. Currently, four members of the US-led military block still refuse to recognize Kosovo as an independent state.

In a post on social media on Sunday, Kosovo's Defence Minister Armend Mehaj argued that Pristina was in an immediate need of an "accelerated membership in NATO and the establishment of a permanent base of American forces" in view of the ongoing military conflict between Russian and Ukraine.

Referring to the Kremlin's "special military operation" as "the military aggression," Mehaj said:
"The permanent deployment of the US forces is necessary to guarantee peace, security and stability in the Western Balkans and beyond. The Republic of Kosovo and its citizens, we have proven ... that we are worthy fighters in defense of the Euro-Atlantic values ​​of freedom, peace and democracy, the values ​​on which NATO stands and its mission."
The defense minister argued that now was the time for those NATO member states that have so far been unwilling to recognize Kosovo, namely Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain, to do so. "Do not hesitate anymore!" Mehaj wrote.
Read More...
Newspaper

Day 4 of Russia's military operation in Ukraine: Battles in the cities, Kiev using banned phosphorus rockets, Ukrainians defecting


SouthFront
Mon, 28 Feb 2022 09:30 UTC
Russia Ukraine war
On February 27, the Ukrainian military began mass use of phosphorus-filled ammunition in Kiev's suburbs near the Gostomel airfield. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian forces are using phosphorus-filled 122 mm shells for D-30 howitzers and phosphorus-filled rockets for BM-21 Grad launchers. These munitions are banned under the third protocol of the 1980 UN Convention on Inhumane Weapons.

New assault units of the nationalist organization Right Sector arrived in Mariupol from the Lvov Region. They deployed armored vehicles and artillery in residential areas of the city, using the local population as "human shields". Civilian cars are being shot at in the city. There are reports of dozens of civilians killed by nationalists.

Comment:



Read More...
Cult

Belligerent rhetoric & SS-style regalia: Who are Ukraine's Right Sector and neo-nazi Azov?

Svetlana Ekimenko
Sputnik
Mon, 28 Feb 2022 18:34 UTC
ukraine neo nazi
© AFP/Sergei SupinskyMember of the Azov battalion
Russia has been conducting its "special operation" to protect the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) to a chorus of Western mainstream media persistently slamming its actions as "an invasion." However, the latter for years turned a blind eye to crimes committed by the Ukrainian military with support from neo-Nazi militias.

The Azov Regiment, an openly neo-Nazi unit operating within Ukraine's National Guard that adopts Swastika-style runic insignia, along with the Right Sector*, a hardline nationalist paramilitary union notorious for its atrocities, are accused of being complicit in crimes committed in Donbass, Eastern Ukraine, according to a recent statement by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.

In total, the ICR is hoping to bring to court over 400 criminal cases pertaining to the events in Donbass, where the eight years of conflict have witnessed over 2,600 civilians killed, and some 5,500 more injured.

Comment: These psychopaths are considered Ukraine's elite military, and the West actively supports them. May Russia detain and try as many as possible

Read More...
Bad Guys

The truth slips out: PM's spokesman says bringing down the Putin regime is the goal, Downing street later backtracks


RT
Mon, 28 Feb 2022 18:34 UTC
downing street ukraine
© AP / Alberto PezzaliThe facade of 10 Downing Street is lit up with the colors of Ukraine's flag, in London, Britain on February 24, 2022.
Toppling Russia's President Vladimir Putin is the goal of the new wave of international sanctions introduced in response to Moscow's offensive in Ukraine, a spokesman for Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters on Monday. Downing Street later clarified that the spokesperson had "misspoken".

"The measures we are introducing, that large parts of the world are introducing, are to bring down the Putin regime,"the unnamed official said.

The restrictions, centered around Russia's financial sector, are aimed to "inflict financial pain on Putin", the spokesman went on. The sanctions are also meant to "stymie the Russian war machine as it attempts to subjugate a democratic European country," he added, referring to the Ukraine conflict.

Comment: See also:





Read More...
TV

'Russian Propaganda' claims is just the latest excuse to expand censorship

Caitlin Johnstone
caitlinjohnstone.substack.com
Mon, 28 Feb 2022 09:30 UTC
mark warner tech
"I'm concerned about Russian disinformation spreading online, so today I wrote to the CEOs of major tech companies to ask them to restrict the spread of Russian propaganda," US Senator Mark Warner tweeted on Friday.

Since then YouTube has announced that it has suppressed videos by Russian state media channels so that they'll be seen by fewer people in accordance with its openly acknowledged policy of algorithmically censoring unauthorized content, as well as de-monetizing all such videos on the platform. Google and Facebook/Instagram parent company Meta both banned Russian state media from running ads and monetizing on their platforms in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Twitter announced a pause on ads in both Russia and Ukraine.

"Glad to see action from tech companies to reign in Russian propaganda and disinformation after my letter to their CEOs yesterday," Warner tweeted on Saturday. "These are important first steps, but I'll keep pushing for more."

Comment: The censorship has begun in earnest:


See also: Russian military confirms casualties in Ukraine operation, condemns 'torture' of military captives by Kiev

And check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: The Truth About The Russia-Ukraine War




Read More...
Clipboard

Belarus carries out constitutional referendum


RT
Sun, 27 Feb 2022 18:43 UTC
belarus
© AP / Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr
Belarus' referendum on constitutional changes has been declared valid with more than 50% of the voters attending polling stations by midday, the local news agency Belta reported on Sunday.

The proposed amendments, if accepted by the Belarusians, would mean a drastic change to the country's government structure. The new People's Assembly - a council of the Belarus' government with industry leaders and top officials - would be responsible for approving key state documents, including military doctrine and security policies.

The role of a president would officially weaken, and a presidential term would be limited to only two five-year periods. However, the current president, Alexander Lukashenko, who has been ruling the country for more than 27 years, would potentially be able to stay in power till 2035 since the rule would apply only to "newly elected presidents" and Lukashenko's current term ends only in 2025.

Comment: Reuters reported that the referendum will also revoke Belarus' non-nuclear status:
A referendum in Belarus on Sunday approved a new constitution ditching the country's non-nuclear status at a time when the former Soviet republic has become a launch pad for Russian troops invading Ukraine, Russian news agencies said.


Read More...
Yoda

Just like Syria: Russian military offers 'safe passage' for evacuation from Kiev


RT
Mon, 28 Feb 2022 17:48 UTC
A road in Kiev.
© Mohammad Javad Abjoushak / SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesA road in Kiev.
The Russian Defense Ministry has called on Ukrainian civilians to evacuate from Kiev. They can do so by taking the highway towards Vasilkov, a city located 20km southwest of the capital, it said in a statement on Monday, claiming that "this direction is open and safe."

The ministry added that Russia "only attacks military objects" and insisted that the civilian population will not be at risk.

The call came on Monday as the Ukrainian and Russian delegations are set to start peace talks in Belarus. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a public address, from Kiev, that he had low expectations for the negotiations. His country does not intend to surrender, he added.

Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko told AP on Sunday that the city was fully encircled by Russian troops, but backtracked on the claim later.

The Ukrainian government earlier distributed firearms to civilians, released felons with military experience from prison, and called on the people to prepare firebombs to fight Russian troops.

Russia attacked Ukraine on Thursday, claiming that the country had to be demilitarized and "denazified" to protect the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, as well as Russia.

Comment: Kiev residents have far more to fear from the criminals now in possession of weapons handed out like candy by Zelensky's regime.

(Graphic)




Read More...
Putin

Putin is waging a halfway war and it shows

Marko Marjanović
Anti-Empire.com
Sat, 26 Feb 2022 14:39 UTC
burning military equipment ukraine
Ukrainian tanks burning after Russian airstrike
A lot is being asked of 30K troops who are being placed in unenviable positions

Putin wasn't kidding when he said he was launching a "special military operation". Relative to what the Russian military brought to the border this is not yet all-out war.

I would say about 30,000 Russian troops have crossed over into Ukraine so far. A small portion of the force assembled.

Moreover, the Russians are (so far) waging the war in a way that keeps civilian losses to a minimum and even trying to minimally disrupt civilian life.

The Russian operation could have opened with strikes against power plants and the electric grid (both bombed by US in Yugoslavia) that left civilians in shock and without power, and with ballistic and cruise missile strikes on Ukrainian army barracks.

Instead, the Russian enterprise is so far conducted in a way that limits not just Ukrainian civilian, but even Ukrainian military losses. The Russians have barely used their artillery.

It's as if so far Putin is trying to conduct less a war, and more a 1968-style policing action.

Comment: A map posted on 27/2/2022: There is speculation that since Ukraine concentrated nearly half its forces near the contact line in Donbass, the Russian forces in the east are seeking to link up, creating a cauldron similar to the actions in 2014 by the DNR/LPR. Those trapped inside may either surrender, or die. Whether heroically or not, is in the eye of the observer.
ukraine military situation february 20220
© @miladvisor/TwitterApproximate map outlining the front lines in Ukraine on 27/2/22.
An American in Kiev explains it from the ground:



Read More...
Boat

Turkey restricts Russian Navy access to Black Sea citing Montreux Convention


RT
Mon, 28 Feb 2022 09:30 UTC
Black Sea straits
Black Sea straits
Turkey is set to restrict the access of Russian warships to the Black Sea over the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, its Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday.

"It is not a couple of air strikes now, the situation in Ukraine is officially a war... We will implement the Montreux Convention," the official told CNN Turk in a live interview. "Turkey will implement all provisions of Montreux Convention in a transparent manner," he added.

Under the 1936 Montreux Convention, which regulates the Black Sea straits, Turkey is able to close the straits for military vessels of any nations at a formal state of war, as well as when it feels itself threatened with an imminent war. The country cannot shut down the straits completely, however, unless it is itself in a state of war.

Comment: It will be interesting to see what Russia's response is, and that may reveal just what the intention is behind this move from Turkey.

Back in April of 2021 Turkey highlighted the Montreux convention amidst US navy build up in the Black Sea as part of its relentless provocations against Russia.

See also: Russian military confirms casualties in Ukraine operation, condemns 'torture' of military captives by Kiev

And check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: The Truth About The Russia-Ukraine War



Read More...