Ukraine: US Lies, Provocation, Broken Promises, Fake News

[Anthea]

Easter March for Peace

Around 3,000 citizens took part in Berlin's 'Easter March,' calling against the arms supplies to Kiev

Thousands are peacefully protesting ahead of Easter in Berlin, calling for halting arms supplies to Kiev and starting peace negotiations in Ukraine, an RIA Novosti correspondent reported on Saturday.

Easter marches are a practiced tradition in Germany, with this year's weekend peace demonstrations expected to be held in over 120 cities across the country.

The organizer of the Berlin march, Netzwerk Friedenskooperative (Peace Cooperation Network), estimated that up to 3,000 people took part in the march, which began at Berlin's central quarter of Wedding.

The participants can be seen carrying flags depicting the dove of peace, as well as banners that read "US and NATO Get Out of Ukraine," "Diplomacy, Not Arms," "Against Pointless Sanctions, Cheap Energy Now," "Tanks Never Bring Peace," as well as other slogans against Europe's dependence on the United States.

A performer sang a pacifist song in Russian, Yiddish, and German; some called for peace negotiations in Ukraine from a mobile stage before the beginning of the procession. "Stop supplying weapons to Ukraine, it only escalates and prolongs the conflict," one of the speakers said, stressing that Russia's security interests should be respected given NATO's weaponization and its expansion.

In the march's announcement, the organizers call against delivering weapons to Ukraine, deploying nuclear weapons at the Ramstein air base, and Russian sanctions, which, as organizers say, backfired on Germany itself. They also urge the German authorities to facilitate peace talks between Moscow and Kiev, as well as to create Europe's security architecture "from Lisbon to Vladivostok."

They argued that the German authorities to facilitate peace talks between Moscow and Kiev, as well as build Europe's security architecture "from Lisbon to Vladivostok."

Earlier last month, Germans took to the streets of Berlin on Sunday to protest against ongoing military support to Ukraine, calling on their government to engage in dialogue with Russia to achieve peace.

The demonstrators held banners saying, "You don't defend freedom with war," "Peace now! Without weapons!”, and "Diplomats instead of grenades".

"They must negotiate diplomatically; they must negotiate honestly with compromises from both sides. That is the case if you want peace,” one protester said.

“You do not send weapons in this case to kill people. People are being killed any moment here - well, not here, but there, with the weapons that are being funded here. And I am ashamed of that."

More than 250,000 people signed a petition in February, calling on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to stop increasing arms supplies to Ukraine and initiate peace talks on the issue, data on the change.org petition website showed.

The petition titled "Manifest for Peace" was launched on the change.org portal by Sahra Wagenknecht, a German lawmaker from The Left Party, and prominent German feminist journalist Alice Schwarzer on Friday. "A quarter of a million supporters have already signed the Manifest for Peace. Pressure from our side can lead to results!" Wagenknecht wrote on Twitter.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... s-supplies

[Anthea]

Iran, Russia hub for food exports

Iran's first vice president meet with Russian President’s Special Aide in Tehran and discuss the recent updates related to North-South corridor, cooperation in the fields of energy, transportation and trade

Iran and Russia can become the export center of some food items in the region with joint production and investment, Iran's first vice president Mohammad Mokhber said on Saturday during a meeting with Russian President’s Special Aide Igor Levitin in the Iranian capital.

During Levitin's two-day visit to Tehran, both sides reviewed the latest joint projects and cooperation between Iran and Russia in the framework of the North-South corridor, cooperation in the field of energy, transportation, and expansion of the two countries' trade relations.

"Fortunately, the implementation of the joint plans and projects between the two countries is in good progress and the serious and continuous follow-up of the presidents of the two countries has also laid the necessary ground for removing barriers to and speeding up the process of implementing agreements," the Iranian vice president said, referring to the increase in the exchanges of political and trade delegations between Tehran and Moscow.

"Iran and Russia can become the export center of some food items in the region with joint production and investment and meet some of the needs of the countries in the region", Mokhber added.

For his part, Levitin announced Moscow's readiness to invest in the transit sector and to accelerate the implementation of joint plans in transportation.

"Russia is ready to conclude bilateral and multilateral cooperation agreements with Iran to construct these projects", Levitin pointed out.

Putin's aide is also scheduled to meet the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Ali Shamkhani.

The North-South Corridor rail project is a top priority at the meetings, according to reports.

This meeting is the fifth between the Russian President’s Special Aide and Iran's first vice president in the last six months.

Back in January, Levitin visited Tehran and agreed on the Rasht-Astara railway mega project, which would be finalized by May 21.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/eco ... ms-exports

[Anthea]

Twitter lifts restrictions

Restrictions imposed on the accounts of Russian government organizations and officials put in place by the previous administration have been removed by Twitter

Twitter lifted on Saturday the restrictions imposed on accounts linked to the Russian government after having implemented them in April in light of the Ukraine war and as part of the Western strategy of isolating Russia.

Twitter search results are once again showing the accounts of the Russian Presidency, the Foreign Ministry, and Moscow's embassy in the United Kingdom; these accounts were once blocked from being accessed amid massive restrictions imposed on them in the wake of the war.

Twitter said last year that it would "not amplify or recommend government accounts belonging to states that limit access to free information and are engaged in armed interstate conflict" effective immediately.

The company explained that this would translate as follows: the Twitter accounts of Russian government organizations and officials would not be recommended in searches, the timeline, and other parts of the platform.

British newspaper The Telegraph reported that it carried out tests last week that showed Russian government accounts back at the top of certain search results as well as in the suggested accounts to follow.

Russia is no longer heavily censored on Twitter, and it is appearing in the platform's For You feed, which allows users to see tweets that the service's algorithm has picked for them.

Moreover, it was reported earlier that "Russian state-affiliated media" accounts were popping up on Twitter once more, marking a major shift in Twitter's policy regarding Russia.
Musk at the helm shows policy difference

Remarkably, the "only" difference between last year and this year is that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is at the helm of the blue empire, and he had expressed numerous neutral stances regarding Moscow, contrary to what the collective West has been doing through its practices aimed at isolating Russia.

"It would be exceedingly unlikely that this change would have happened accidentally, or without the knowledge and direction of the company's staff," one former Twitter executive said, according to The Telegraph.

The controversial CEO went under fire in late 2022 for proposing a "peace plan" as a resolution to the Ukraine war, and the main reason for the hate toward him was the fact that his proposal was not biased toward Kiev.

He explained that Russia will probably win the war eventually, thus "millions of people may die needlessly for an essentially identical outcome."

Musk posted his suggestion entailed with a poll on his Twitter account. He proposed that new elections are held in the regions of LPR, DPR, Kherson, and Zaporozhye which have voted to accede to Russia, but this time under UN supervision, with its outcome binding to all parties, while Crimea remains formally a part of Russia with no threat to its water supply and Ukraine be announced as a neutral country, arguing that, "This is highly likely to be the outcome" if the war goes on.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/tec ... ernment-ac

[Anthea]

Click Image to Enlarge:


US Resumes Biolab Program

The Russian Defense Ministry has asserted that the United States has recommenced its contentious biological laboratories (biolab) initiative within the territory of Ukraine, with a primary focus on the construction of secretive new facilities and the training of personnel

During a media briefing held on Friday, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the commander of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense Forces, presented a new collection of documents regarding purportedly US-funded biological programs in Ukraine.

During the briefing, Kirillov stated: "Despite the forced pause pertaining to the Russian special military operation (in Ukraine), (the US’) activities under the program have now been resumed. The main tasks at this stage are to continue the construction of biological laboratories in Ukraine, as well as expand the format for training Ukrainian biologists."

Kirillov referenced the meeting minutes of October 20, 2022, wherein delegates from the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), several Ukrainian dignitaries, and representatives from Jacobs/CH2M engineering firm were in attendance. The reported agenda of the meeting pertained to the recommencement of biological research activities in Ukraine, which had been temporarily halted in the context of the conflictual situation between Moscow and Kiev.

“Now, the project has been resumed with focus on renewal of legislative support, revision of training schedule, as well as conclusion and resumption of construction work,” the Ukrainian-language protocol stated, citing Jacobs/CH2M’s David Smith.

According to the document, it was revealed that the program which was originally referred to as “Joint Biological Research” has been renamed as “Biological Control Research.”

According to Kirillov, the United States has undertaken measures to mitigate any risks of information leakage stemming from Ukrainian experts concerning the authentic essence of the Biological research programs.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/US- ... -0008.html

[Anthea]

Ukraine may run out of missiles

Kiev's forces may be running out of missiles to defend themselves within a month, according to the Pentagon leaks

Ukraine may run dry on air defense missiles by May 3, rendering more than 40 critical infrastructure facilities unprotected, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday citing leaked Pentagon documents.

According to the report, Kiev will be completely out of ammunition for Buk and S-300 air defense systems by April 13 and May 3, respectively.

Most of the country's critical infrastructure that will be left defenseless is outside kiev and two other areas in the country's southwest, making them easy targets for bombing campaigns.

The leaked data is reportedly based on analysis conducted by Pentagon experts and were based on the rate of ammunition consumption of Kiev's forces, which currently ranges at around 200 missiles per month for S-300 systems and roughly 69 missiles a month for Buk batteries, the report said.

The United States, Norway, Canada, and Germany have over the past few months provided Ukraine with two NASAMS and one IRIS-T air defense system, but even their ammunition may run out by May, the report alleged.

Current estimations from the US European Command suggest that Ukraine needs 12 Patriot or SAMP-T batteries, as well as 16 batteries of NASAMS or IRIS-T class to provide adequate air defense.

Moreover, the leaked document suggested looking for more S-300 and Buk munitions abroad as a short-term solution, media reported, adding that over the medium term, the Pentagon proposed expediting the procurement of NASAMS, Patriot, IRIS-T, and other Western systems in order to repurpose air defense tasks for missiles that are more widely available and systems that were designed for other purposes.

As for the long-term, the leaked document suggested supplying enough Western air-defense systems to cover the entirety of Ukraine before integrating them digitally, the WSJ said.

Western nations have since the start of the Ukraine war provided Ukraine with a variety of weaponry systems, including air defense missiles, multiple-launch rocket systems, tanks, self-propelled artillery, and anti-aircraft guns.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said earlier in April that the alliance's member states provided 65 billion euros ($70 billion) in military aid to Kiev in light of the ongoing Ukraine war.

"We are united in our determination to stay the course and support Ukraine for as long as it takes. [NATO] Allies have delivered 65 billion euros of military aid," the NATO chief said.

Last week, confidential documents were leaked online on platforms such as Discord, Telegram, and Twitter, with US national security secrets concerning China, Ukraine, and the Middle East - including sensitive intelligence reports, Ukraine war plans, and information on allies that the US obtained through spying on them.

According to The New York Times, the breached documents detailed US and NATO plans for Ukraine's spring offensive against Russia. They also contained detailed information regarding weaponry, battalion strengths, and other sensitive data.

Ukraine was forced to change some military plans following the leak of US classified documents that exposed some of the strategies laid down by the Ukranian military, American broadcaster CNN reported on Monda, citing sources.

The Ukrainian army has already altered some field plans, a source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy told the news channel without expanding on the details.

Moreover, the leaked documents said the Ukrainian forces' capacity for medium-range air defense would be exhausted by May 23.

“[Ukraine's] ability to provide medium-range air defense to protect the [front lines] will be completely reduced by May 23. [Ukraine is] assessed to withstand 2-3 more wave strikes," one of the leaked Pentagon documents details.

"As 1st Layer Defense munitions run out, 2nd and 3rd Layer expenditure rates will increase, reducing the ability to defend against Russian aerial attacks from all altitudes," Washington Post quoted the leaked documents.

A set of directives were detailed in the documents, Ukrainian forces should prioritize using air defense systems against Russian jets and helicopters rather than smaller threats like drones.

Additionally, the US military analysts were especially concerned about artillery shells, whose supplies, based on their predictions, may run out in "days."

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... y-3:-penta

[Anthea]

Minsk Calls for Truce in Ukraine

Start of Talks

During his visit to Hungary on Wednesday, Sergey Aleinik, the Foreign Minister of Belarus, urged for a ceasefire in Ukraine, followed by negotiations.

"Belarus, like Hungary, is on the side of peace," said Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergey Aleinik

"Minsk’s position is straightforward: What’s needed is to stop the killing of people, announce a truce without delay and start talks - the sooner, the better," he said.

"The truce should be announced without the right to redeploy, regroup troops for both sides, without the right to move weapons, ammunition, personnel and equipment," the minister said.

In late March, the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, asserted the imperative nature of instigating discussions relating to a settlement in Ukraine and put forth the notion of terminating hostilities.

"Without the right to move and regroup troops on both sides, without the right to transfer weapons and ammunition, manpower and equipment," he said.

He also added that "if the West once again tries to use the pause to strengthen its positions by deception, then Russia has to use the full power of the military-industrial complex and the army to prevent the escalation of the conflict."

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Min ... -0015.html

[Anthea]

Zelensky embezzled millions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky embezzled hundreds of millions of dollars from the United States that Washington had allocated to purchase fuel, famed US investigative journalist and Pulitzer award winner Seymour Hersh said on Sunday in his latest report

Hersh accused the Ukrainian government of using US taxpayer money to purchase Russian diesel from Moscow to bolster its military, adding that Ukrainian officials were "competing" to set up front companies that aimed to get contracts from international private arms dealers.

"One estimate by analysts from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) put the embezzled funds at $400 million last year, at least; another expert compared the level of corruption in Kiev as approaching that of the Afghan war, 'although there will be no professional audit reports emerging from Ukraine'," Hersh's report read.

Hersh argued that he had knowledge that numerous Ukrainian government agencies were competing to establish front businesses to export guns and ammunition to arms dealers, noting that the importers included ones in Poland, the Czech Republic, and the Israeli occupation.

Instead of purchasing fuel through Pakistan, Ukraine, at the direction of its president, has been buying fuel from Russia, whom Kiev accuses of invading Ukrainian soil, Hersh revealed, noting that the Ukrainians were embezzling behemoth amounts of money allocated by the United States to diesel purchases.

Gains upon gains

The discrepancy comes when one compares the price of Russian diesel to that of other international parties such as the United States, as Russian energy is cheaper, therefore, the Ukrainians are pocketing the difference, earning them hundreds of millions of dollars, the US journalist claimed.

This comes after earlier reports came out about how oil products originating in Russia made their way to Ukraine through Bulgaria and Latvia.

Hersh underlined that an intelligence source highlighted the meeting that took place between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and CIA Director William Burns in Kiev, who the source said delivered a "striking message" to the Ukrainian leader.

"The senior generals and government officials in Kiev were angry at what they saw as Zelensky’s greed, so Burns told the Ukrainian president, because he was taking a larger share of the skim money than was going to the generals," he revealed.

"Burns also presented Zelensky with a list of thirty-five generals and senior officials whose corruption was known to the CIA and others in the American government," Hersh added.

He also stressed that in the wake of numerous corruption scandals surrounding the Kiev government coming to light, Zelensky on January 24 "announced ‘personnel decisions’ across different government ministries and within Ukrainian law enforcement."

The report recalled how Zelensky announced that state officials would be banned from traveling internationally for purposes unrelated to official work in the wake of a report revealing that a former top prosecutor vacationed in Spain despite there being a martial law in action banning Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving Ukraine without permission from the government.

Shady background

Hersh previously uncovered in February that the US was behind the sabotage that affected Russia's Nord Stream natural gas pipelines, with numerous reports coming out from the famed journalist on Ukrainian-US ties since.

Hersh also said in mid-March that the United States was looking at the possibility of delving into the Ukraine war if Kiev starts showing cracks in its defenses and signs of defeat against Russia.

Significantly, Hersh explained that the US administration was unhappy with the fact that its proxy war against Moscow was not "going well".

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... -us-taxpay

[Anthea]

Russia Survives NATO Attrition
Alastair Crooke

The Chinese, quite possibly, are genuinely perplexed at the US and European strategy: Why does the US not back-off now from this Ukraine war?

President Macron and EU Commission head, Von der Leyen, are back from China. Their visit achieved little that was tangible (except for a few contracts for French businesses), but the atmospherics were terrible. And von der Leyen reportedly cut her trip short.

President Xi was as courteous and patient as ever, but even he failed to hide his grimaces, as Macron went on, and on, about China’s responsibility to roll back President Putin over Ukraine. Xi’s frustration showed plainly when Macron did not seem to hear his repeated response that both Russia and Ukraine have their security concerns, and that ‘no’, China is not about to intervene in the conflict. Macron however, just persisted -- and at length.

So what was this visit all about? Well, essentially, it related to the fact that Secretary Blinken has been unable to reinstate the visit to Beijing that he cancelled in the wake of the US shoot down of the Chinese weather balloon. And nor has the White House been able to schedule a phone call between Presidents’ Biden and Xi. Beijing remains non-responsive to both.

So Macron took up an earlier invite to Beijing, and Von der Leyen tagged along to show EU ‘solidarity’ (but was largely ignored).

Ostensibly, Macron’s message was that France wanted to keep some commercial links with China open (in spite of US pressures to isolate China economically), but the European pair travelled essentially as American emissaries.

Their tasking was well understood by China. This sentiment was succinctly framed by the former editor-in-chief of China’s Global Times, Hu Xijin, who is close to Central Committee thinking, who gave us the ‘Big Picture’:

“The US repeatedly claims that China is preparing to provide “lethal military aid” to Russia in the ongoing Ukraine conflict. China has firmly denied the allegations: I believe the US is engaging in a ‘pre-emptive accusation’ to prevent China from weighing in on the conflict”.

“[The] Ukraine war has been going on for more than a year: And according to the West's previous calculation, Russia should have already collapsed by now. They didn't expect that Russia can still sustain it until now - and in recent days, Russia is advancing the encirclement of Bakhmut, a key hub for the supply route of the Ukrainian troops.

“It is a war of attrition between Russia and the West. Ukraine provides the troops. It is receiving all its military supplies, including ammunition, from NATO. And whilst NATO is supposed to be much stronger than Russia, the situation on the ground doesn't appear as such - which is why it causes anxiety in the West.

“The West has found it much more difficult than expected, to defeat Russia. They know that China has not provided military aid to Russia. But the question that haunts them is this: If Russia alone, is already so difficult to deal with, what if China really starts to provide military aid to Russia, using its massive industrial capabilities for the Russian military?

Russia alone … is more than a match for the Collective West. If they [the West] really forces China and Russia to join hands militarily - the question that haunts them is that the West will no longer be able to do as it pleases. Russia and China together, would have the power to check the US”.

In short, Hu Xijin is expressing this paradox: The US and Europe know that China is providing no military aid. In China’s view, Russia is managing handily in confronting the entire West in Ukraine -- ‘singlehandedly’. It therefore does not need China’s help, so why, has the US effectively pursued a policy of forcing “China and Russia to join hands”?

The answer, Hu says, is that that were China and Russia to join hands militarily – well, that would be paradigm change. US hegemony would no longer be able to do as it pleases. Russia and China together would have the power to check the US, whenever it oversteps its boundaries.

The Chinese, quite possibly, are genuinely perplexed at the US and European strategy: Why does the US not back-off now from this Ukraine war? For, should the West continue to escalate, with more and more NATO military support, ‘what if’ this ultimately does result in China and Russia militarily ‘joining hands’. Bang! Paradigm change will be done.

Does the US want that? Clearly not. It would result in the humiliation of the US and NATO. So, why persist with a project which looks to end badly -- and which shamefully is sacrificing so many lives?

Is there some unperceived strategy here, or is it just about having favourable 2024 US Presidential ‘optics’, irrespective of strategy: i.e. placing a short term Presidential ‘look’ above a long-term US strategic loss?

https://english.almayadeen.net/articles ... the-entire

[Anthea]

Ukraine connected to Kurdish SDF

Newly leaked documents reveal a rather likely alliance between Ukraine and the Syrian Democratic Forces, which under the patronage of the US made plans, as early as 2018, to attack Russian troops in Syria, while think tanks have written of such a scenario as early as 2014

The publication of allegedly leaked Pentagon documents indicated that the Ukrainian military intelligence officials planned, in numbers and tactics, to take advantage of what Sputnik called the "long-time US proxy against Russian forces in Syria" to attack Russian forces in Syria. An act that might have severe ramifications for multiple parties in the war-torn Arab country.

The Washington Post, in their report on the leaked files, highlighted that the Ukrainian plan would have been an "introduction of a new battlefield" located "thousands of miles from the war in Ukraine" which appeared to be designed to "impose costs and casualties on Russia and its Wagner paramilitary group."

According to the leaks, the Syria operation would have provided Ukraine with "deniability options" given that the Russian positions that would be targeted were previously attacked by US-backed and Turkish-backed militias fighting the Syrian government on Syrian territories.
Understanding the document, credibility, rhetoric

It is worth noting that the documents bore the mark HCS-P, which stands for HUMINT Control System - Product. In other words, the documents are part of the final report, which is the product of the raw operational intelligence compiled over a time period.

WashPo claimed to have exclusively obtained the document which was not reported on during the frenzy of the Ukraine documents leaked by Jack Teixeira.

In 2015, the Russian military intervened in Syria, following an official government request by the host country, and it was in line with that intervention that Russia deployed personnel and equipment to the Syrian territories and established fortified bases.

In 2014, before Russia's intervention, and just after the color revolution in Ukraine, which tipped the scale in favor of the collective West, the Carnegie Middle East Center (a US think tank) argued that both Russia and the collective West had a greater interest in maintaining security in Ukraine than in Syria, but that Syria is a geostrategic location which can offer high-risk/high-reward bargains.

In that regard, they wrote, "Leaders in Moscow, Brussels, Berlin, and Washington may well end up using their political leverage in Syria as a bargaining chip to gain concessions where they think it really matters—that is, in Ukraine."

Understanding the choice

Planning for the attack, the WashPo report read, was halted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in December 2022, however, the plan considered "training operatives of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)."

The SDF, which is classified by Sputnik as a US proxy, was described by the Washington Post as "the main partner of US troops in Syria."

The Kurdish forces controlled northeastern Syria under the excuse of Syrian Kurdistan, which allegedly gave the group legitimacy as it breached Syria's territorial integrity and threatened its sovereignty, which proved to be favorable for the US.

As such, the decision to launch strikes against Russia through the SDF would consolidate the "deniability option" by making the attack appear to be attributed to a “front, defunct or active non-state groups.”

According to a new publication by the Levantine Research Unit of the Emirates Policy Center, a UAE think tank, the Kurdish Autonomous Administration, of which the SDF is an integral and major group, understood that any political and tactical trajectory that undermined "US influence in Syria" would inevitably "deal with a major and potentially final blow to the Kurdish national project in Syria."

This comes to show the integral relationship not only between the SDF and the US vis-a-vis their often shared bases, as reported by The Washington Post, but also shows that the existence of a "Kurdish national project" is founded on the presence of US influence in Syria. That influence was regarded by the Syrian government as a flagrant occupation of Syrian territories, coupled with the looting Syria's oil riches

The strategy: SDF, Ukraine, US & Turkey

Interestingly, the leaked documents show that the Ukrainian military intelligence officers leaned more toward targeting Russian forces through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). They considered that such attacks could be "small", or containable, allowing Ukraine to limit its strikes against the Wagner Group.

Ukrainian intelligence officers argued that the trained SDF operatives would conduct "unspecified 'direct action' activities along with UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] attacks,” the leaked documents read.

SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami denied that claim, telling WashPo “The documents that you are talking about regarding our forces are not real; our forces have never been a side in the Russian-Ukrainian war.”

Opposite to what Shami said, the leaked documents stated, according to The Washington Post, that the SDF sought "training, air defense systems, and a guarantee that its role would be kept secret in exchange for supporting Ukrainian operations" and established a clear condition forbidding any strikes against Russian position within the SDF-controlled region.

Significantly, the documents revealed that Turkey was also aware of the planned potential attack, despite no clear proof of the extent of Ankara's knowledge on the matter. However, The Washington Post reported that Turkey had suggested the Ukrainians stage their attacks away from regions controlled by Turkey-backed militias. To "avoid potential blowback," Ankara proposed the attacks emerge from the Kurdish-controlled region.

It is also worth noting that Turkey believes the SDF to be an enemy, in the sense that it considered its "core military element, the People’s Protection Units or YPG, to be a terrorist group," the Washington Post wrote.

That being said, it is arguable that it would not make sense that Turkey would agree to Ukraine arming an enemy of the state. However, according to a former US official that worked in the region who had spoken to the Washington Post, Turkey considered the elimination of "the military capability and leadership of the SDF" to be a "goal."

In that context, the former official argued, “If Turkey were to be greeted with such a plan, it would be in their interest to bait the Ukraine-SDF alliance into drawing the wrath of Russia.”

In turn, the leaked product recognized that the attacks being planned by Ukraine could "complicate" US operations in eastern Syria in light of the fact that Russia could, as a result of any attack, guard Syrian airspace "more aggressively" and move its air defense weapons.

In that regard, the leak cited, according to the Washington Post, a "previously undisclosed Nov. 27 incident" wherein "a Russian SA-22 air defense system based in eastern Syria fired on a U.S. MQ-9 drone."

Tactic: Location, weaponry, options

A campaign of "notional" covert operations by the Ukrainian intelligence was also revealed by the leaked documents. The product ranked the attacks based on which operations would result in more aggressive Russian retaliations, and which would be the most costly for Russia in terms of damage.

The documents considered that any attack on fortified “priority” Russian facilities near Damascus and the Syrian coast would be very costly for Russia and equally very dangerous for the executing coalition.

The lower risk and lower cost position would be “Russia-affiliated petroleum infrastructure” in central Syria. The leaked files depicted those targets as "poorly protected," and as such, any attack on these locations would impose "modest costs", particularly on Russia's Wagner group.

The product also depicted an escalation graph according to the Washington Post. The highest on the graph was an attack on a “key Russian facility.” Alongside the escalation-rating graph was another graphic, dated 2018, outlining an attack on Latakia’s Bassel Al-Assad Airport. The suggested airport significantly shares facilities with the Hmeimim Air Base, which is considered to be Russia’s primary military base in Syria.

Notably, in 2018 that very air base was targeted by a “swarm” of UAVs that news outlets reported on, saying that “Syrian opposition UAVs" were "used" in the attack.

The documents, according to the Washington Post report, highlighted "the departure point and flight path of the UAV from a location in Idlib governorate around 50 kilometers northeast of the air base and illustrates how it flew over the air base itself." The departure point closely correlates to the location from which Russia said the drones took off.

Moreover, the leaked product also offered potential options. It denoted that the Russian naval base on the Syrian coastal city of Tartus could have been attacked using Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USV).

The lower-risk location exhibited on the escalation graph was an “oil and gas infrastructure” located in central Syria. A photograph, dated January 5, was attached to that option, and indicated that the target was set for the "Wagner-associated Jihar gas plant," which is located in Syria's Palmyra.

On the photograph, The Washington Post revealed, there were weaponry options categorized into “Group 1 or 2 UAVs.” These categories are likely in reference to the US Department of Defense ranking system which, the news outlet, argued was based on the "size, weight and speed of its unmanned aerial vehicles from lowest to highest."

Furthermore, the document also mentioned potential strikes on Wagner positions as one of the lowest-risk objectives for Russian escalation. A shot depicts parked vehicles and facilities at a Wagner facility near the Syrian town of Al-Furqlus.

What happened?

The leaked HCS-P marked document revealed that in November, potential logistical barriers to achieving their targets have been identified by Ukrainian military intelligence officers.

According to the documents, the officers noted complications such as “issues with intra-Kurdish border controls and establishing a base of operations.”

Based on WashPo, the involved officers discovered, by December 29, that the Ukrainian President had "halted their planning". The outlet explained that the document does not reveal any clear and concise reason as to why the operations were halted, however, it assessed a "variety of reasons".

On one end, the Washington Post wrote that what resulted in that decision could have been tied to US pressure, as well as Kiev's limited supply of drones. Moreover, the media outlet said one possibility could have also been that President Volodomyr Zelensky doubted that any of the outlined attacks would succeed in helping Kiev reach its goals.

On the other hand, it was written that the documents explained that the “comparative success” of operations conducted within Russia could have played a role in the decision-making process, leading up to the halt of operations in Syria.

In turn, the documents argued that there is a very low probability that Kiev would "revive the plans" without a green light from both the US and Turkey. Additionally, it was noted that in the event that the plans do get revived and the SDF conducts an attack on behalf of Ukraine, then the attack would likely “incur a Russian response targeting U.S. interests in the region if support for an operation is attributed to the United States.”

US influence in Syria cannot handle another blow

Reports have recently shown that even US and Western analysts believed that the US has failed to "establish deterrence" in Syria and Iraq, which led a number of US officials to urge Pentagon to withdraw US troops from the region.

Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, had earlier posted on Twitter "Warmongers in both parties say keeping troops in Syria is necessary to preserve the balance of power. That is simply not true. If they believe that, they should say it directly to the parents of Americans in Syria who have to sleep there tonight and guard oil fields against Iranian drones. We need to bring our troops home."

In parallel, it is noteworthy to remind that Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran's Armed Forces, underlined that Iran's goal to expel US troops from the region will continue until achieved.

Moreover, Bagheri pointed out that Operation Martyr Soleimani, wherein Iran targeted the Ain Al-Assad occupation base in Iraq days after the US assassinated martyr Qassem Soleimani, was the first retaliatory measure that was able to tear down US hegemony in the region in move unseen in the past 70 years.

Significantly, Bagheri warned that the operation was just the beginning of the strategy of Iran and the Axis of Resistance to expel US forces from the region, stressing that this goal will be pursued until achieved.

At a time when Syria has succeeded in resisting the global war against its Arab identity and defending its existence, and Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's legitimate position has once again been acknowledged by Arab and global leaders, the US influence in Syria is threatened to dwindle and eventually vanish.

With Syria and Turkey's rapprochement and the Kurdistan Autonomous Administration affirming adherence to Syria's "territorial integrity," the SDF has become significantly less likely to bargain their fate in favor of the US and Ukraine.

The West has lost its war in Syria, despite the long-lasting damage it has created, and the region has established its unwillingness to serve as a pawn in any proxy war that goes against its intrinsic and existential interests amid a changing global political order and geopolitical landscape.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... ia-through

[Anthea]

Free Fertilizer Africa

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said Friday that Moscow is preparing two shipments of fertilizers to be delivered free of charge to Kenya and Nigeria

Speaking to Russia 24 TV, the diplomat said the country has already sent 20 000 tons of its fertilizers to Malawi over a six-month period. This is the only shipment delivered, although Moscow has offered to donate 262 000 tons of fertilizers blocked in European ports to poor countries.

On this occasion, the Deputy Foreign Minister denounced the Western sanctions affecting the country's agricultural exports, with implications for payments, insurance, and shipping.

In this regard, Vershinin brought up the Black Sea Grain Initiative, stating that its expansion depends on the resolution of the problems blocking the access of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to the world market.

Referring to the conditions Russia sets for the extension of the Istanbul grain deal, the Russian diplomat stressed, "reconnection of the Rosselkhoznadzor to SWIFT, resumption of spare parts supply and maintenance of agricultural machinery."

In addition, Vershinin mentioned the "reinsurance of agricultural goods and lifting of the ban on their access to ports, lifting of sanctions on Russian companies and their owners engaged in food and fertilizer production."

The grain deal was negotiated last July by the UN and Türkiye to ship agricultural products from Ukrainian Black Sea ports amid Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.

Russia agreed in March to a 60-day extension of the agreement, which was due to expire on May 18. However, its suspension is feared due to the West's failure to fulfill its part of the agreement on maintaining barriers to the export of Russian grain and fertilizers.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Rus ... -0019.html

[Anthea]

Ukraine & SDF to attack Russia

Classified U.S. documents were posted to chat groups on the internet by a reserve Air Force technician. That became known early this month, after which the young man responsible was arrested. Major U.S. media have a substantial number of those documents, and as those of particular interest to our readers emerge, Kurdistan24 will be reporting on them

WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) – Last year, Ukraine was developing plans to work with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to attack Russian troops in Syria. However, in late December, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called a halt to that planning, as The Washington Post reported, citing a leaked U.S. document that dates from January 2023.

The document details Ukrainian planning for such an attack, although one never occurred.

A spokesman for the SDF, Farhad Shami, denied the authenticity of the document, claiming that his organization has been neutral regarding the war in Ukraine.

Russian Military Presence in Syria

Russia’s 2015 intervention in Syria “to help the embattled Assad regime retain power during the civil war has created a permanent presence of thousands of Russian troops” in that country, the Post stated, as it explained that the Russian presence includes “advanced warplanes and air defense systems,” as well as ground forces, some of which are deployed in northeast Syria.

Russia’s military intervention in Syria began on Sept. 30, 2015, shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the opening of the U.N. General Assembly. It was the first time in a decade that he had done so,

Standing before the diplomats assembled in New York, Putin denounced the U.S. policy of overthrowing Middle Eastern regimes and promoting democracy instead. Leaders like Bashar al-Assad, he claimed, were necessary to avoid that chaos that had ensued.

“Rather than bringing about reforms, an aggressive foreign interference has resulted in a brazen destruction of national institutions and the lifestyle itself,” Putin affirmed. “Instead of the triumph of democracy and progress, we got violence, poverty and social disaster,” he charged, before asking, rhetorically, “Do you see what you have done?”

Two days after Putin’s address to the General Assembly, Russia’s bombing campaign against the Syrian opposition and in support of Assad began. A month later, the private Russian military company, the Wagner Group, run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close associate of Putin, also deployed to Syria.

Ukrainian Planning to Work with SDF

The objective of the Ukrainian plans, which were developed by its military intelligence service, was to orchestrate “deniable attacks” on Russian targets, which “would avoid implicating the Ukrainian government itself,” the Post reported.

“Ukrainian military intelligence officers favored striking Russian forces using unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs] and starting ‘small,’” the Post said. Another possibility they considered was to limit attacks to the Wagner Group, as they judged that would be less likely to provoke a strong Russian response.

They also considered training SDF troops to strike Russian targets and conduct ‘unspecified direct action activities along with UAV attacks,’” it reported, citing the leaked U.S. document.

The SDF, in turn, sought “training, air defense systems and a guarantee that its role would be kept secret.” In addition, the SDF prohibited strikes on Russian forces in the area of Syria under its control.

However, in late December, Zelensky ordered a halt to that planning, according to the leaked document, although it did not reveal the reasons for his decision.

Did Turkey try to promote Russian Attacks on the SDF?

The document also discusses the attitude of the Turkish government, which was aware of Ukraine’s planning to strike Russian targets in Syria.

Turkish officials “sought to avoid potential blowback” from any such attack, the document states. It explains, as the Post reported, that Ankara suggested Ukraine “stage its attacks from Kurdish areas instead of those in the north and northwest held by other rebel groups, some of them backed by Turkey.”

Had that actually happened, Russia may well have retaliated harshly against the SDF. However, events never developed to the point where they were anywhere near to such action..

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/31 ... a-in-Syria

[Anthea]

Top Russian in New York

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has arrived in New York where on April 23 and on the 24 he will take an interest in UN Security Board sessions, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Monday

According to Maria Zakharova, spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergey Lavrov, the Foreign Minister of Russia, has recently arrived in New York on April 24 in order to partake in the United Nations (UN) Security Council sessions 25 on the 25.

"Sergey Lavrov has arrived in New York. Tomorrow, a session of the UNSC will be held chaired by him," she wrote on her Telegram channel.

She also noted that concurrently, a total of nearly 3 million individuals used Flightradar to monitor his flight, with over 700,000 individuals doing so constantly. “A record” Zakharova said.

It is anticipated that the Russian diplomat will convene a meeting with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, on Monday. Previously, Vasily Nebenzya, the Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations, conveyed that Russia had amassed a substantial number of issues to deliberate upon.

Moreover, Lavrov extended invitations to the top diplomats of numerous nations, including the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, to partake in United Nations Security Council sessions that are presided over by Russia.

As per the pronouncement of the Foreign Minister of Russia, Moscow is amenable to deliberating a rendezvous with Blinken and is never disinclined to substantial proposals of dialogue made by the American side.

Prior to the departure of the Russian delegation for New York, Sergey Ryabkov, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, articulated that no plans have been made for said meeting, and its potentiality is contingent upon prevailing conditions.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Top ... -0007.html

[Anthea]

US no idea where weapons went

The United States admits that it had no control over where weapons are going in Ukraine amid concerns it is winding up in the hands of the Azov Battalion

The US imposing prohibitions on the provision of arms and assistance to the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion has had no practical effects due to the group's status quo, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing a US State Department spokesperson.

Ukraine has since 2014 been deploying what it labels as "volunteer formations", which include the Azov Battalion, in its attacks on the Donbass republics throughout the years. Kiev even incorporated the neo-Nazi group into the Ukrainian national guard later that year

The group, with far-right and ultranationalist roots, has been one of Ukraine's most visible military forces fighting Russia in eastern Ukraine.

The Azov Batallion, according to a State Department spokesperson, is now a "different unit".

WashPo further quoted the spokesperson as saying that the Kiev regime "has agreed not to direct US support to any identified units of concern" such as Azov.

Moreover, the US budget for 2023 prohibits any funds from being allocated to the group now seeking to rebuild its ranks after suffering heavy losses to Russia in light of the ongoing war. It is also thinking about leading the expected Ukrainian counteroffensive, The Washington Post added.

The report explained that Kiev has designated the group as one of six "offensive brigades" to spearhead the spring assault, the report added.

It also said the group was hoping to recruit 6,500 new fighters, as more than 1,000 of its troops remain in Russian captivity.

Azov is not ruling out a possible strategy of "capturing small Russian towns," as was done during the First Chechen War, to have "leverage to recover Russian-held areas," the newspaper also said, citing the battalion's interim commander, Bohdan Krotevych.

Russia's Supreme Court designated Ukraine's Azov Battalion as a terrorist organization in August 2022.

The United States appears to have a trend when it comes to the Ukraine war, as it seldom seems to know where the arms and aid it is sending Kiev are going, with various reports coming out from Washington about the White House and the Pentagon not knowing how their arms and monetary aid are being utilized.

Despite countless visual evidence suggesting the opposite, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said during a congressional hearing in late February that the United States is not aware of whether the Azov Battalion has access to American arms provided to Ukraine.

The Biden administration is running into major obstacles tracking the aid sent from Washington to Kiev, which has amounted to tens of billions of dollars since the start of the Ukraine war, resorting to blockchain technology and Ukrainian personnel to help them track the aid flowing into their country, a State Department cable obtained by Politico said in mid-December 2022.

Furthermore, it was reported in March that a former US soldier who used to be a mercenary for over a year in Ukraine, serving in numerous units said there was prevalent Nazi influence within the Ukrainian armed forces.

"When I came, I was really surprised. Everybody had tattoos and Nazi symbolism," John McIntyre revealed, confessing that he did not believe ultra-right ideology was "that big of a problem" for Ukraine until he experienced the situation first-hand.

The former US soldier admitted that Ukrainian soldiers habitually use civilians as human shields, adding that he knew people who executed prisoners of war.

Despite there being various reports about Nazism within the Ukrainian armed forces, the Pentagon lobbied the House Defense Appropriations Committee to remove the amendment backed by Conyers and Yoho, arguing that such funding was already prohibited under another law.

The battalion's symbol is the neo-Nazi Wolfsangel, a black swastika against a yellow background.

Founded by Andriy Biletsky, who vowed to “lead the white races of the world in a final crusade…against Semite-led Untermenschen,” the group is a pack of neo-Nazis working with the US-backed Ukrainian military

It used to be condemned and labeled with Nazism all over it by Western media and the human rights industry - until the war in Ukraine in February 2022. Azov became the Ukrainian military’s defense of Mariupol, and Western media became suddenly inspired to rebrand Azov as a "misunderstood freedom fighter" and use the Kremlin as the anti-thesis.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... ed-up-in-u

[Anthea]

Russia To Manage Uniper & Fortum

On Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree granting the temporary control of the Russian assets of European foreign energy firms Fortum and Uniper to Rosimushchestvo, the federal government property agency

"Russia needed to respond to the illegal sanctions of the United States and its allies, which seized goods belonging to our citizens and companies,” he pointed out.

Based in Düsseldorf, Germany, Uniper company owns about 83.73 percent of Unipro corporation, which operates five power plants with a total capacity of over 11 gigawatts and employs at least 4,300 people in Russia.

The Fortum company, mainly owned by Finland, has seven thermal power stations in the Urals and Western Siberia. It also owns wind and solar power plants with local partners in other Russian territories.

The Russian decree does not affect the ownership of these companies or deprive its owners of their assets, whose external management is temporary. It only means that the original owner no longer has the right to make management decisions.

Russia Foreign Minister Lavrov at UN Security Council: "Against the backdrop of the hysteria whipped up by the United States and the European Union, I would like to ask in contrast: what did Washington and NATO do in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya? Were there threats to their security,…

Since the start of the armed conflict in Ukraine in 2022, German and Polish authorities have taken control of the branches of major Russian energy companies operating in their territories.

U.S. and European banks have also frozen over US$300 billion of Russian financial assets and threatened Moscow to transfer this money to the Kyiv regime.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov indicated that more foreign companies could come under the temporary control of the Rosimushchestvo agency if coercive economic measures against Russia continued.

“The decree aims to create a compensation fund in response to the illegal seizure of Russian assets abroad. Only companies owned by countries that imposed sanctions against Russia will be affected,” he stressed.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Rus ... -0015.html

[Anthea]

40 for 40 Prisoner Exchange

The Russian Defense Ministry reported Wednesday that 40 Russian servicemen have been returned from Ukraine in a "40 for 40" prisoner swap as a result of talks

"On April 26, as a result of the negotiation process, 40 Russian servicemen who were in danger of death in captivity were returned from the territory controlled by the Kiev regime," the ministry said in a statement.

According to the Russian Commissioner for Human Rights, Tatyana Moskalkova, Russia has returned four other severely wounded servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, in addition to the "40 for 40" prisoner exchange.

The released soldiers "will receive treatment and rehabilitation in the medical institutions of the Russian Defense Ministry."

"All those released are receiving the necessary medical and psychological help," the ministry also said.

Data from the Anadolu news agency indicate that since the Russian special military operation in Ukraine began in February last year, more than 2,000 prisoners of war have been exchanged between the two sides.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Rus ... -0018.html