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NATO and EU states already parties to Ukraine conflict – top Hungarian MP

RT | March 5, 2023

Massive deliveries of military aid to Ukraine have made multiple NATO and EU nations parties to the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev, according to Laszlo Kover, the speaker of Hungary’s National Assembly.

Speaking to Hir TV late on Friday, Kover said certain members of the two blocs are already participants in the conflict, despite not “yet” actually engaging in the fighting themselves. He did not identify the countries to which he was referring.

“Members of NATO and the EU have already sent almost $60 billion worth of lethal military equipment to Ukraine, one of the warring parties. This means that individual countries – members of the European Union and NATO – are participants of this war, although not yet fighting,” he said.

The speaker also shared his opinion on the potential accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO.

While the move has already been approved by the vast majority of member states in the US-led military alliance, it has been opposed by Hungary and Türkiye. Budapest is expected to dispatch a delegation to the two Nordic nations shortly in an effort to resolve differences regarding the accession bid, Kover noted.

Both Finland and Sweden have caused “damage” to Hungary, repeatedly making hostile moves against Budapest within the EU, he continued.

“They cause specific, measurable damage to Hungary’s national interests. These people are putting pressure on the European institutions so that they do not allocate the EU funds due to Hungary. This is about specific damage, not just that our souls are sensitive,” Kover explained.

He also claimed that their potential accession to NATO would not increase the “sense of security” within the bloc, but rather yield the opposite result, greatly extending the alliance’s border with Russia.

Earlier this week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called for the creation of a “European NATO,” arguing that America’s desire for the further expansion of its influence has led to the current tensions between the West and Russia. The EU needs to create a military bloc of its own to become free of American influence and stop doing Washington’s bidding, Orban suggested.

Hungary has repeatedly called for peace since the outbreak of conflict between Moscow and Kiev, criticizing both the Western sanctions imposed on Russia and the continuous flow of arms to Ukraine. Budapest has also been the only NATO nation to voice support for China’s recently unveiled peace plan for Ukraine.

March 5, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , , , , | Leave a comment

Viktor Orban: “In A War Taking Place In Europe The Americans Have The Final Word”

By Tyler Durden | Zero Hedge |  March 5, 2023

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said in a fresh interview with Swiss weekly Weltwoche that his country’s leadership is “strong enough to keep the war away from our country” while also stressing that Washington has become prime the decision-maker over the conflict in Ukraine.

He further addressed the proxy war nature of the conflict in saying, “There are some who want to force Hungary into the war, and they are not picky about the means with which to achieve that goal.”

“Ukraine is our neighbor where Hungarians live as well,” he continued. “They are being conscripted and are dying by the hundreds on the front.” The Hungarian government has long protested this practice and presented its complaints to Kiev.

“Europe has retired from the debate,” Orban complained of EU countries being dragged into confrontation with Moscow by Washington. “In the decisions adopted in Brussels, I recognize American interests more frequently than European ones.”

“In a war that is taking place in Europe the Americans have the final word,” he stressed in the interview.

Most recently, Hungary has shown its unwillingness to go along with the rest of NATO by delaying a vote on ratifying Sweden and Finland’s accession bids.

According to a Thursday Associated Press report, “The delay, which pushes the vote back by two weeks to the parliamentary session beginning March 20, comes as Hungary remains the only NATO member country besides Turkey that hasn’t yet approved the two Nordic countries’ bids to join the Western military alliance.” The report indicates:

Hungary’s populist prime minister, Viktor Orban, has said that he is personally in favor of the two countries joining NATO, but alleges that the governments in Stockholm and Helsinki have “spread blatant lies” about Hungary which have raised questions among lawmakers in his party on whether to approve the bids.

“It’s not right for them to ask us to take them on board while they’re spreading blatant lies about Hungary, about the rule of law in Hungary, about our democracy and about life here,” Orban complained. “(How) can anyone want to be our ally in a military system while they’re shamelessly spreading lies about Hungary? So let’s stop for a friendly word and ask them how this can be.” But even if Budapest were ready and willing to give its approval, Turkey’s ongoing resistance has been even fiercer, and thus Sweden and Finland are unlikely to enter the alliance anytime soon.

Orban also recently broke ranks with other European leaders regarding China’s 10-point peace plan for resolving the Ukraine war. He was a lone Western voice in expressing approval. “We also consider China’s peace plan important and support it,” the Hungarian leader said before parliament last Monday. He also reiterated Hungary’s position that it will not be supplying weapons to Kiev.

March 5, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , , , , | Leave a comment

Tulsi Gabbard Slams US ‘Warmongering Elite’ for Waging ‘Proxy War’ in Ukraine

Sputnik – 05.03.2023

Former US congresswoman and ex-presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard has verbally slammed the Democratic Party establishment and US President Joe Biden himself over the conflict in Ukraine.

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Gabbard told the audience that she parted ways with the Democratic Party because it fell “under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers, led by the queen of warmongers herself, Hillary Clinton, and embodied by President Joe Biden.”

She accused Biden of pushing the United States to “the precipice of nuclear war,” which may well lead to the destruction of “the world as we know it,” and insisted that the Democratic Party is “focused on filling the pockets of their bosses in the military-industrial complex.”

She pointed at the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, stating that Biden and “warmongers from both parties in the Congress” have already sent over $100 billion to fuel what she described as a “proxy war” waged by the US and NATO through the regime in Kiev against Russia.

“Last week, it was another $500 million. Yesterday, it’s another $400 million of our taxpayer money — continuing to escalate this war that could at any moment spark a direct conflict between the US and NATO and Russia, the world’s most nuclear-armed country,” Gabbard lamented.

Tulsi also blasted the “warmongering elite” in the United States which does not seem to care about the potentially catastrophic consequences of their actions. As she put it, this elite have the means to protect themselves and their families in case of a nuclear attack and they are fine with leaving the rest of the American people to perish in the ensuing armageddon.

“The reality is, though, it doesn’t need to be this way. Our future is in our hands. But we have no time to waste to protect our children, to protect our loved ones, to protect this country that we love,” Gabbard said. “We have to lift our voices and stand up to these cowardly warmongering positions in both parties and stop them from destroying us all.”

March 5, 2023 Posted by | Corruption, Militarism | , | Leave a comment

Irish grandmother jailed for calling Ukrainians ‘rapists and criminals’

RT | March 4, 2023

A homeless grandmother in Ireland has been sentenced to 16 weeks behind bars for entering a hotel housing Ukrainian refugees and shouting that they were“rapists and criminals.” The woman had sought accommodation, but was told no rooms were available.

Margaret Buttimer appeared before a district court in Bandon, County Cork on Thursday, where police told the judge that they were called to a disturbance at a hotel in the town in late January.

They found Buttimer shouting in the reception area, recalling that “she wanted to know how many Ukrainian nationals were staying in this hotel, what was the cost to the Irish people, and saying ‘these Ukrainians are rapists and criminals’,” according to a report by the Irish Times.

Police said that she refused to desist and leave the hotel, and they had “no option” but to arrest her.

Buttimer was sentenced to six weeks in prison, with half the sentence suspended on the condition that she stay away from any facility housing Ukrainian refugees.

The 68-year-old woman has 13 previous convictions, including for a similar incident at the same hotel in December. The court heard that she entered the premises and asked staff “why are all the Ukrainians getting a room and there is no room for me, an Irish citizen?

Buttimer’s earlier convictions involved breaches of coronavirus restrictions.

It is unclear if the hotel in Bandon was housing migrants from other countries in addition to Ukrainians. Ireland took in more than 70,000 Ukrainian refugees last year and more than 13,000 migrants from other countries. The arrival of the latter group, the majority of whom are male and hail from the Middle East and Africa, has triggered protests in the communities where they have been housed.

The migrant influx has come amid a record housing shortage in Ireland. House prices and rents have more than doubled in the last decade, and according to the government’s most recent figures, there are more than 8,300 homeless people in emergency shelters in the country.

March 4, 2023 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism | , | Leave a comment

Germany’s Rheinmetall in Talks With Kiev on Construction of Tank Plant in Ukraine

Sputnik – 04.03.2023

German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall is currently holding “promising” talks with Kiev on the construction of a tank plant worth 200 million euros ($213 million) in Ukraine, Armin Papperger, the head of the company, said on Saturday.

“A Rheinmetall plant could be built in Ukraine for about 200 million euros,” Papperger told the German newspaper, adding that the negotiations were “promising.”

Such a plant will be able to produce up to 400 Panther tanks per year, the company’s chief said. He expressed hope that a final decision on the deal would be made “in the next two months.”

Ukraine needs from 600 to 800 tanks to win in the conflict with Russia, so even if Berlin gives Kiev all 300 Leopard 2 tanks from the reserves of the German armed forces, this will still “not be enough,” Papperger told the news outlet.

Over the past months, the German arms manufacturer has been an active participant in projects aimed at providing military support to Ukraine. Rheinmetall is supplying ammunition for German-made Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns used by Ukraine in the conflict, as well as providing Kiev with high-mobility HX swap-body trucks and automated reconnaissance systems, among other items.

Western countries have been supplying Ukraine with various types of weapon systems, including air defense missiles, multiple launch rocket systems, tanks, self-propelled artillery and anti-aircraft guns since Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine over a year ago. Moscow has warned that arms deliveries do not contribute to a peaceful resolution and further escalate the conflict, risking full-scale NATO involvement in the fighting.

March 4, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , | Leave a comment

EU must shift to wartime economy – industry commissioner

RT | March 4, 2023

The European Union’s industry chief has said the bloc will have to shift to a “wartime” economic model if it hopes to meet Kiev’s battlefield needs, with senior Ukrainian officials voicing hopes for a massive influx of shells from their foreign sponsors.

Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton discussed plans to bolster arms and ammo shipments to Ukraine during a sit-down with the Financial Times, saying he is working with the EU’s foreign policy head Josep Borrell to expand industrial capacity in Europe, slash supply bottlenecks and pressure banks to boost their lending to facilitate military transfers to Kiev.

“I believe it is time that the European defense industry moves to a wartime economy model to cater for our defense production needs,” he told the outlet on Friday, adding that he and Borrell are “fully determined to support the production ramp-up of the European defense industry to face the realities of a high-intensity conflict – starting with the question of ammunition.”

Though unnamed diplomats voiced their doubts to FT – with one asking “How are we going to pay for this?” – the efforts to speed deliveries to Kiev and replenish Europe’s own domestic stocks come after Ukrainian Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov pleaded with the bloc for 250,000 artillery shells per month, vastly outpacing any existing EU plan.

In a letter to European defense chiefs on Friday, Reznikov spoke of the “crucial role” played by artillery on the battlefield, claiming Ukrainian troops burn through 110,000 155mm shells every few weeks.

Ukrainian troops are “limited by the amount of available artillery shells” and need at least 356,400 rounds per month to “successfully execute” their tasks – or a whopping 594,000 shells monthly to use their artillery power to full capacity, Reznikov claimed.

According to the Times, Borrell is aiming at a “less ambitious” scheme, instead hoping to disperse €1 billion over “the next few months” to partially cover the bill for donated shells from allies.

With costs soaring amid growing shortages on the continent, 155mm shells produced in Europe could run as much as €3,300 for a single round, a recent weapons contract inked between EU members suggests. Based on that estimate, the ammunition sought by Kiev could cost the bloc some €825,000,000 for just one month, though officials have yet to confirm any specific figures.

It is hard to trace how many shells Ukraine has been getting from the armories of its European backers, but over the past year the United States alone sent “over 1,000,000 155mm artillery rounds,” according to the Pentagon’s latest data.

March 4, 2023 Posted by | Economics, Militarism | , | Leave a comment

China Boosting Defense Budget to Respond to Changing Security Situation

Sputnik – 04.03.2023

BEIJING – China is increasing its defense budget to meet complex security challenges and fulfill the country’s obligations, Wang Chao, a spokesman for the first session of the 14th National People’s Congress, said on Saturday.

“The increase in defense spending is driven both by the need to respond to complex security challenges and the need to fulfill the obligations of a large country,” Wang told reporters.

The spokesman added that the scale of the military spending was also determined by the basic needs of defense construction and the level of development of the national economy.

At the same time, Wang refused to specify how much China would increase its defense spending in 2023, though adding that all the details would be set in the country’s draft budget expected to be published on Sunday.

The spokesman noted that the share of China’s defense budget as s percentage of the country’s GDP had remained largely stable and below global average figures for many years.
“The growth rate is relatively moderate and reasonable,” Wang added.

He also said that the modernization of China’s armed forces would not pose a threat to any country “but on the contrary, it will become a positive force for maintaining stability and peace in the region and around the world.”

China steadily increases its defense budget every year, although Beijing adheres to the defensive nature of its military doctrine and does not participate in wars or military conflicts. In 2022, China planned to raise its military budget by 7.1% year-on-year to 1.45 trillion yuan ($209.9 billion).

March 4, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | | Leave a comment

US defies North Korea’s threats

RT | March 4, 2023

A US Air Force B-1B bomber flies in formation with South Korea’s Air Force KF-16 during a joint air drill in South Korea, March 3, 2023 © South Korea Defense Ministry via AP
The US and South Korean militaries have announced their largest joint exercises in at least five years and their longest on record, defying threats from North Korea that such drills can be considered a “declaration of war” and will lead to “unprecedentedly persistent and strong counteractions.”

The exercises, including amphibious landings, will run from March 13 to March 23 and will be the largest-scale joint drills held by the two countries since then-President Donald Trump throttled back such training amid peace talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The concurrent drills, called Freedom Shield and Warrior Shield, are designed to strengthen the allies’ response capabilities amid a changing security environment, North Korean “aggression” and “lessons learned from recent wars and conflicts,” US Forces Korea spokesman Colonel Isaac Taylor told reporters on Friday in Seoul.

For good measure, the US made a show of force on Friday, deploying a B-1B stealth bomber in a joint air drill with Korean aircraft. The aim of the drill was to demonstrate Washington’s “strong and credible extended deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats,” Seoul’s defense ministry said.

Pyongyang has called such joint exercises dress rehearsals for invasion. North Korean officials said last month that this year’s upcoming joint drills are “preparations for an aggressive war,” adding that the peninsula will “again be plunged into the grave vortex of escalating tension.”

The two Koreas have technically been at war for more than seven decades, as their 1950-1953 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. Tensions in the region have escalated in the past year, with North Korea conducting a record number of missile tests.

If North Korea reacts to this month’s drills with “provocative acts,” such as a nuclear weapon test, the US and South Korea will respond “sternly, based on the overwhelming capabilities of the alliance,” said Colonel Lee Sung-jun, spokesman for the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff.

March 4, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , | Leave a comment

Europe needs new NATO without US – Orban

RT | March 2, 2023

Europe needs its own military bloc free of American influence, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told Swiss magazine Weltwoche on Thursday. The politician accused the US of dragging Europe into a conflict that cannot be won and risking a global war.

“The solution would be a European NATO,” Orban said, arguing that America’s desire for further expansion of its influence is what led to the current tensions between the West and Russia.

Moscow is concerned about NATO expanding further east into Ukraine and Georgia, Orban stated, referring to his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin just weeks before the conflict between Moscow and Kiev erupted in late February 2022.

“Putin told me his problem was with the American missile bases in Poland and Romania and possible NATO expansion in Ukraine and Georgia,” Orban told the Swiss media, noting that the Russian leader was concerned about the US potentially deploying its weapons to these nations as well.

According to the Hungarian premier, that was one of the underlying reasons behind the conflict in Ukraine. “I understand what Putin said. I do not accept what he did,” Orban explained.

He insisted that Hungary should stay out of the conflict, but added that Budapest was subjected to “constant pressure” as other Western nations “want to drag us into the war through every possible means.”

Orban believes that this is because the EU is serving the interests of the US at the expense of its own. “Decisions made by Brussels reflect American interests more often than European ones,” he said.

Orban argued that Western nations need to demonstrate a true “desire” and “will” for peace in Ukraine, adding “that will is what is lacking today, at least in the West.”

Hungary has repeatedly called for peace amid the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, and has criticized the Western sanctions imposed against Russia and arms deliveries to Ukraine. Earlier this week, Orban said that the hostilities benefitted no one in the world. Hungary was also the only NATO nation to voice support for China’s peace plan for Ukraine.

March 3, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , , , | Leave a comment

China Demands US Stop All Military Contact With Taiwan: Defense Ministry

Sputnik – 03.03.2023

BEIJING – China has demanded that the United States stop all military contacts with Taiwan and stop arms sales to the island, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei said on Friday.

“China demands that the United States stop selling arms to Taiwan and military contacts with Taipei, stop interfering in the Taiwan issue and aggravate tensions in the Taiwan Strait,” Tan said.

Beijing also made a representation to Washington on the approval of a possible deal to sell Taiwan ammunition for US-made F-16 fighter jets and equipment worth more than $600 million, the official added.

“China strongly opposes the arms sale to Taiwan by the United States. US actions are a gross interference in China’s internal affairs, seriously violate the ‘one China’ principle and the provisions of the three joint US-Chinese communiques, cause serious damage to China’s sovereignty and security interests, and pose a serious threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” Tan said, adding that China has already made a representation to the US side on this issue.

The Chinese military is always ready to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, the official concluded.

Earlier in the week, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said the US State Department has granted preliminary approval for a $619 million sale of F-16 munitions and related equipment to Taiwan.

March 3, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , | Leave a comment

Medvedev names ‘red line’ for direct war with NATO

RT | March 2, 2023

Canadian and German troops teaching Ukrainians how to use Leopard tanks already qualifies as participation in the conflict, but sending fighter jets to Poland would mean “direct entry,” former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday.

Medvedev, who is also deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, warned the US and its allies that they can be treated as parties to the conflict “if, in addition to supplying weapons, they train personnel to operate them,” citing legal precedents from the early 20th century.

Tank training on EU territory already applies, Medvedev noted on Telegram, but if that expands to fighter jets based somewhere in Poland, “that would be direct entry of the Atlanticists into war against Russia, with all the consequences that entails.”

“Everyone who made the decision to deliver those weapons or repair them, along with foreign mercenaries and military trainers, ought to be considered legitimate military targets.”

According to Medvedev, only fear of this has so far restrained the “infantile” West from giving airplanes and long-range weapons to Kiev, though he predicted their desire to destroy Russia would prevail before long.

While the US, NATO and the EU talk about the “freedom-loving people of Ukraine,” Thursday’s attack on Russia’s Bryansk Region shows that they are supporting “Nazi bastards, terrorist scum who attack civilians,” Medvedev said.

“These are your proteges, Mr. Sunak, Macron, Scholz and Biden!” he wrote, addressing the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, and US. “And our attitude towards you is now the same as towards them. Your countries are now participants in the terrorist acts of the Ukrainian regime, and you are direct accomplices of terrorists.”

Though the West considered him a “liberal” during his 2008-2012 presidency, Medvedev has been blunt and outspoken about the military operation in Ukraine since it was launched in February 2022. Just last month, he warned the US that its talk about “strategic defeat” means Russia now sees the conflict as existential.

A group of Ukrainian soldiers crossed the border into Russia on Thursday morning, attacking two villages and shooting up a car with civilians inside. Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the “terrorist attack” and vowed to punish the perpetrators.

March 3, 2023 Posted by | Militarism, War Crimes | , | Leave a comment

Majority in France Opposes French Military Presence in Africa, Poll Reveals

By Gleb Chugunov – Sputnik – 02.03.2023

On February 27, President Emmanuel Macron announced France’s new policy towards Africa, which is planning to reduce its military presense on the continent.

More than half of French respondents that took part in a survey held by the French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP), came out in favor of shutting down all French military bases on the continent, media report.

According to sociologists, the closure of military bases is supported mostly by residents of rural areas (60% of respondents) as well as by people over 65 years of age (57%).
The number of people who took part in the IFOP’s survey is unknown.

As for the political views of the respondents, supporters of the two main opposition parties, the right-wing “National Rally” and the left-wing “La France Insoumise”, are those who favor the withdrawal of the army the most – 72% and 63% accordingly. Approximately 47% of respondents supporting President Macron’s social-liberal “Renaissance” party, back the idea of closing the bases, as do 54% of polled voters of the center-right “The Republicans”.

The survey regarding France ‘s military presence on the continent was held after President Emmanuel Macron announced a shift in his Africa policy, promising to implement a “noticeable reduction” in the French military contingent there. However, he did not give specific information concerning the cuts.

According to the leader, France has decided to start managing its army bases on the continent together with the military departments of African nations. The new military partnerships involve training programs for host countries personnel, France’s assistance to local military authorities, in particular, in the field of intelligence.

This followed the recent French troop withdrawals from African countries in the Sahel region. French forces left Mali on August 15, 2022, after the local government announced that it was terminating defense agreements with France, while Mali’s top officials, including its Foreign Minister, Abdoulaye Diop, accused the European state of supporting terrorist groups inside the African country.

Subsequently, France officially terminated its military operations in Burkina Faso on February 20, due to a significant deterioration in relations between Paris and Ouagadougou, including Burkina Faso’s request for France to recall its ambassador and to withdraw French troops from the African country.

March 2, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , | Leave a comment