Puppet MastersS


Tank

Kiev launches cross-border attack into Kursk Region - governor

UkTank
© Sputnik/Russian Defence MinistryUkrainian tank damaged during an attempted incursion into Russia’s Belgorod Region on March 12, 2024.
A similar attempted incursion into Russian territory ended in failure on Tuesday...

Ukrainian forces have attempted a second incursion into Russia's Kursk Region in the last 48 hours, officials reported on Thursday. A similar operation took place on Tuesday and ended in failure.

Russian border guards and military troops will not allow "Ukrainian terrorists" to enter the country, Governor Roman Starovoyt said on social media, adding that fighting was ongoing near the village of Tyotkino.

The Russian National Guard said its units, along with Federal Security Service (FSB) border guards, were "repelling an attack" in the area.

On Tuesday, several militia forces backed by Kiev tried to cross the border into the regions of Kursk and Belgorod, with the stated goal of disrupting the Russian presidential election scheduled for this week.

The Defense Ministry said Russian security forces eliminated 234 fighters, seven tanks, three Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, and two armored personnel carriers while repelling the incursion.

Oil Well

Russian oil plant suspends operations after drone attack

Russian anti-drone gun
© Sputnik/Maksim BlinovFILE PHOTO.
An oil refinery near the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don has temporarily suspended operations following a drone attack, regional Governor Vasily Golubev announced on Wednesday.

Several other oil plants in Russia were also targeted by Ukrainian UAVs on the same day, in Ryazan and Leningrad Regions. On Tuesday, Kiev also conducted drone raids on refineries in Oryol and Nizhny Novgorod Regions.

According to Golubev, on Wednesday morning, three Ukrainian drones were brought down over the Novoshakhtinsk refinery after they were suppressed using electronic warfare systems.

He reported that there were no casualties or injuries to any personnel in the incident, but that the plant's operations have been paused while the consequences of the attack are assessed.

The Novoshakhtinsk Petroleum Plant, which is located around 100km from the regional capital, Rostov-on-Don, is the largest supplier of petroleum products in the area and is the only oil refinery in Rostov Region. It previously came under attack in June 2022 when a Ukrainian UAV struck a crude oil tank, causing a fire.

Also on Wednesday, Ryazan Region Governor Pavel Malkov reported that four fixed-wing drones rammed into a local oil plant around 200km from Moscow. The crash caused a fire at the facility, which has since been put out. According to TASS news agency, citing local health officials, two people were admitted to the hospital after the attack.

Comment: The West was told that drones were going to be a game changer for the war. Well, does it look like the game has changed?


Syringe

Kiev-backed terrorist cell tried to poison soldiers - FSB

Russian Volunteer Corps, Kiev-backed terrorists, poison plot
© RT
A Kiev-backed terrorist cell, which plotted to poison food intended for Russian soldiers on the frontline, has been busted in St. Petersburg, the Federal Security Service (FSB) reported on Thursday.

The four members of the group were identified as far-right radicals and members of the 'Russian Volunteer Corps' (RDK), a militia affiliated with Ukrainian military intelligence. The conspirators were acting on orders from their leadership and on behalf of the Ukrainian government, the FSB said.

In addition to the alleged poisoning plot, the suspects were surveilling crucial infrastructure in and around Russia's second-largest city for possible future attacks, the agency stated.

All four persons were arrested and are facing prison terms of at least ten years for being members of a terrorist organization, according to the press release.

Attention

A Risky Read: The real reason for Ukraine, Gaza, Yemen, and our misery

Tabloids Headlines
© New Eastern Outlook
Russia has no future. The British Isles do. Long before the last serving of fish and chips has passed into gastronomy history, Blinis and Pelmeni will have been stricken from all the languages of Earth. At least, this is what Owen Matthews, the author of the book Stalin's Children, believes. Sadly, he is not alone in his ludicrous and addictive hate of all things Russia.

Spectator's View

Somebody, please stop me! Morning research has inextricably led me to another media analysis — this time on the weekly British newspaper The Spectator. The title of Matthews's story will help you understand how a geopolitical analyst can't seem to get off of Western news. "Putin may seem confident - but Russia's future is bleak," is problematic because it is entirely based on a dark fantasy. Matthews, after whining about Mr. Putin running things in Russia some more, launches into a spew about the Ukraine military operation. In his vent, the British son of Ukrainian S.S.R. parents belches a familiar Western strategy burp - the idea that Ukraine ever had any chance of winning a conflict against Russia.

It's counterproductive to hover over this "made" British journalist for long. As many in the service of the liberal elites freaked over the new multipolar order, Matthews has made the rounds for his lords and masters. During the Bosnian war, he was a mouthpiece from Budapest, Sarajevo, and Belgrade. He also ran interference in the Second Chechen War, as well as in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan - the usual places propagandist altar boys get sent. The most significant difference between Matthews and a cadre of corporate-owned contemporaries is he's one hell of a lot better at slicing and dicing the Ukraine situation. On Russia? Well, let's just say he has to play his role according to direction most of the time.

Like all the other stories we've read about Putin, the Euromaidan, Ukraine, Russia, and the state of West-East affairs, all the familiar bell tones are there. Ideas like new Russian imperialism, Russia's weak army, Putin's destroyed economy, and even a Russian brain drain exodus are there to rivet the willing idiots tuned in. I assume the Russian mafioso, former Yukos oil boss Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and other Western-backed privateers are the "best and brightest" to whom the Statesman story refers. The magazine's paywall prevented me from diving deeper into this latest Russophobic rant. The exciting thing here is the question that arises from observing so many talented writers being sucked into the dark wormhole of elitist illusion. Aha! You say? We are onto something much more profound than painting paid propagandists.

Cell Phone

House overwhelmingly approves divestment bill: TikTok one step closer to US ban

tiktok protest
© Getty ImagesProtestors hold signs in support of TikTok outside the U.S. Capitol Building on March 13, 2024 in Washington, DC.
House lawmakers voted Wednesday to compel Chinese Communist Party-tied ByteDance to sell off TikTok within six months or face the popular social media app being banned in the US — amid elevated national security concerns and despite full-throated protests from fervent fans.

The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act passed the House, 352-65, easily overcoming the two-thirds requirement.

The bill now heads to the Senate and an uncertain future — with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) non-committal Wednesday about when or whether he will bring the legislation up for a vote

Comment: Others perceive different, but not necessarily conflicting motivations for banning the platform:



"We really have a TikTok problem."



Explosion

Ukrainian attempt to break into Russia thwarted (DISTURBING VIDEO)

A Russian TOS-2 multiple rocket launcher during an exercise.
© Sputnik/Mikhail VoskresenskiyA Russian TOS-2 multiple rocket launcher during an exercise.
As many as 195 soldiers were killed in the failed operation, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Ukraine has lost up to 195 troops and materiel stemming from a failed attempt to enter Russia's Belgorod Region, the Defense Ministry said in a daily briefing on Thursday.

The attackers had breached the Russian border and was moving towards the village of Spodaryushino, when it was struck by aviation and artillery. Kiev lost five tanks, four armored combat vehicles, three UR-77 mine-breaching vehicles and three military engineering vehicles, Moscow claimed.

Disturbing images circulating on Russian social media purport to show Ukrainian soldiers killed in action during the operation. According to the description in the post, Russia used a TOS rocket system against a group of Ukrainian troops. The multiple rocket launcher uses thermobaric munitions and is designed to attack military personnel in the field.

Quenelle - Golden

Yemen's Houthis have a hypersonic missile - Russian state media

Yemen houthi ansra allah
© APHouthi fighters stage a rally against the US government designating Houthis as a terror group and against the US-led sustained airstrikes on Yemen, near Sanaa, Yemen, on January 25, 2024.
Yemen's Houthis claim to have a new, hypersonic missile in their arsenal, Russia's state media reported Thursday, potentially raising the stakes in their ongoing attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways against the backdrop of Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.


Comment: That's odd wording, because their attacks were against ships owned by, or ferrying to, Israel, because of its genocide in Gaza. The US and UK, which were facilitating the genocide, only became added to the target list because they attacked Yemen. Other ships are free to pass.


The report by the state-run RIA Novosti news agency cited an unnamed official but provided no evidence for the claim. It comes as Moscow maintains an aggressively counter-Western foreign policy amid its grinding war on Ukraine.

However, the Houthis have for weeks hinted about "surprises" they plan for the battles at sea to counter the United States and its allies, which have so far been able to down any missile or bomb-carrying drone that comes near their warships in Mideast waters.


Comment: It seems reasonable to assume that the fighters of Yemen have been gifted a hypersonic missile by a multipolar world partner to assist them in their righteous cause - a cause which the other major multipolar world players are, understandably, being more reserved about in order to not escalate the situation.

Notably, Russia and China have demonstrated their hypersonic capabilities, but even North Korea is believed to possess the technology. The US, too, has obtained it, however it appears to be struggling to further its previous achievements, whilst Russia and China just keep advancing:


Light Saber

Turkey to launch Iraq military assault to secure road-rail project to Gulf

middle east trade turkey india
Turkish troops set to launch new assaults on PKK in western parts of Iraq's Kurdistan region in the summer after domestic criticism of military tactics in Iraq's northern mountains Construction of the tunnel that will connect Iraq's coastal region to international trade links through Turkey, in al-Faw 8 February
Turkey intends to use a military assault in northern Iraq this summer to push the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) south and secure a new trade route, sources familiar with the plans told Middle East Eye.

The sources said Turkey will target the Kurdish armed group with a series of operations.

Since late last year, Turkey has lost dozens of soldiers to PKK attacks on Turkish outposts in northern Iraq's mountainous terrain. Those deaths have triggered a domestic controversy and scrutiny of the effectiveness of Turkey's tactics.

Army sources last year told MEE that the Turkish military was deployed in high-altitude temporary outposts, which were manned to prevent the PKK from infiltrating Turkey's border.

Comment: See also: Expelling US troops: Iraq's resistance efforts gain steam in Baghdad


Whistle

Russia warns UN: Israel deliberately obstructing crimes probe amidst 'probable Gaza genocide', UN not doing enough

UN Maria Zabolotskaya
Russian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Maria Zabolotskaya
Russia says Israel is deliberately obstructing investigations into crimes it has committed in the besieged Gaza Strip.

In a speech delivered at the United Nations Security Council on Monday, Russian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Maria Zabolotskaya said Moscow would "welcome any efforts aimed at shedding light on the crimes committed during the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."

Israel began the campaign of death and destruction in Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Comment: In the following interview, around the 30-40 minute mark, Pepe Escobar, who has attended numerous conferences with officials and diplomats in Russia in recent months, details how the issue with Israel issue seems to be the most sensitive of them all - which perhaps highlights just unstable those running Israel are, as well as how significant the situation is for the planet - however, he notes that both Russia and China are becoming increasingly frank as to the reality of the situation; rather uncharacteristically for China which is, usually, so diplomatic:




Caesar

Russia is 'fully prepared' for nuclear war in case of threat to Russia's sovereignty, Putin warns West

Vladimir Putin
© ReutersVladimir Putin speaks during an interview in Moscow, March 12, 2024.
President Vladimir Putin has warned the Western countries that Russia is "fully prepared" for a nuclear war, emphasizing that any deployment of United States troops to Ukraine would be regarded as a substantial escalation of the ongoing military operation.

"From a military-technical point of view, we are, of course, ready," Putin told Rossiya-1 television and news agency RIA in response to a question whether the country was really ready for a nuclear war.

In line with the country's security doctrine, he said on Wednesday that Moscow is ready to use nuclear weapons in case of a threat to "the existence of the Russian state, our sovereignty and independence."

"Weapons exist in order to use them," Putin said. "If the United States conducts nuclear tests, Russia might do the same," he added.

Comment: See also: 'Your Vampire Ball is Over' - Putin to Western Elites

It seems rather unlikely that it will come to a nuclear confrontation, but there are a myriad of other threats, connected to the West's belligerence and warfronts, that are looming on the horizon, and which will prove sufficiently dire for its citizenry, and vassals: PressTV also reported:
Russia deploys 'game changer' weapon as US says Ukraine's ammo shortage costs dearly

Russia's air force has started deploying powerful aerial bombs to counter Ukraine amid Kiev's shortages of ammunition provided by the US and other Western allies.

The Russian defense ministry hailed FAB-500 glide munitions a "game-changer" in the Ukraine war for their destructive potential and deployment range of up to 80 kilometers.

It also deployed the FAB-1500, FAB-1500 - a 1.5-tonne weapon, nearly half of which consists of high explosives.

The bombs are equipped with a unified planning and correction module (UMPC), which turns regular free-falling bombs into guided glide munitions.

In addition to Russian drones, missiles, and artillery, glide bombs have introduced a fresh wave of destructive power to Moscow's operations in eastern Ukraine, exemplified by the recent seizure of the frontline city of Avdiivka.

According to Western experts, these upgraded explosives have demonstrated their remarkable effectiveness against Ukrainian forces, as the troops in Kiev struggle to counter such weaponry as US ammunition shortage bites.

"These bombs completely destroy any position. All buildings and structures simply turn into a pit after the arrival of just one," recalled one fighter of a Ukrainian assault brigade operating near Avdeevka, which was captured by Russian forces last month.

The Ukrainian military also uses guided bombs, including the US made Joint Direct Attack Munition system (JDAM).

But, unlike the Kremlin, Kiev's availability of arms in need is significantly limited.

US President Joe Biden's administration recently unveiled a fresh aid package worth up to $300 million for Ukraine, after facing a financial shortfall in providing weapons to the country two months ago.

The Biden administration confirmed in January that it had run out of those replenishment funds, "unanticipated savings" that the Pentagon negotiated in its weapons contracts freed up money for a new aid package, US national security advisor Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday in a White House press briefing.

"When Russian troops advance, and its guns fire, Ukraine does not have enough ammunition to fire back," Sullivan said. "That's costing terrain, it's costing lives, and it's costing us - the United States and the NATO alliance - strategically."

This comes as the approved Ukraine aid of $113 billion has already been utilized by the administration.

Meanwhile, the house of representatives, controlled by the Republicans, has resisted Biden's request for additional funds, arguing that he is only prolonging the conflict with Russia without providing a clear strategy to end the violence.

Sullivan emphasized Biden's plea for the House to pass a $95 billion emergency spending bill, which encompasses assistance for Ukraine, Israel, and Chinese Taipei - also known as Taiwan.

He highlighted that the "limited" aid package unveiled on Tuesday will solely sustain Ukraine's military capabilities for a brief duration, and it will not avert Ukraine from depleting its ammunition in the near future.

"The world is watching, the clock is ticking, and we need to see action as rapidly as possible, even as we do everything in our power to get Ukraine what it needs in its hour of need," Sullivan added.

Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky said his country has lost ground in recent months due an "artificial shortage" of weapons and urged allies to send arms to Kiev.

Moscow has repeatedly warned the West that flooding Ukraine with weapons and munitions will only prolong the war.
See also: