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Kiev regime kills Russian general who exposed Western Big Pharma’s crimes in Ukraine

By Lucas Leiroz | December 18, 2024

The Kiev regime continues to use terrorist tactics against Russia, carrying out targeted assassinations against public figures outside the conflict zone. In yet another provocative move, Ukrainian intelligence assets in Moscow killed Igor Kirillov, head of the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Forces of the Russian Federation. The case clearly shows the terrorist nature of the Ukrainian regime and the impossibility of any kind of peace negotiations.

Kirillov’s assassination was carried out using a remotely activated explosion. This type of tactic has become commonplace in Ukrainian intelligence’s operations, being one of the main techniques used by the regime to eliminate specific targets. Along with Kirillov, his top aide, Ilya Polikarpov, also died in the attack. Both were leaving a building in Moscow when the explosive was remotely activated by a mercenary working for Kiev.

The main suspect has already been captured by the Russian security service. He is a citizen of Uzbekistan who was hired by Ukraine to carry out the terrorist attack in exchange for a reward of around 100,000 dollars, as well as relocation to a European country. The operation was carefully planned, with the Uzbek mercenary receiving a series of specific instructions to be successful in the plot.

The first step of the plan was to place the explosive device – which he received from the Ukrainian team – on an electric scooter parked near Kirillov’s residence. He then rented a car equipped with a surveillance camera and transmitted live footage to the organizers of the attack. According to the suspect, the organizing team is based in the Dnepropetrovsk region of Ukraine. Watching the images in live broadcast, the Ukrainians chose the most appropriate moment to detonate the explosive, giving the order to the Uzbek terrorist to carry out the attack.

The case has a number of similarities with other recent terrorist attacks carried out by Kiev. The Ukrainian regime often uses explosives to kill its opponents, in addition to hiring mercenaries from Central Asia to carry out operations on Russian territory. It is worth remembering cases such as that of Daria Dugina and Maxim Fomin, both journalists who were murdered with explosives, as well as the Crocus City Hall massacre, when Tajik terrorists were hired by Ukrainian intelligence to murder civilians in Moscow.

The choice of Igor Kirillov as a target is easy to understand. He was responsible for investigating Ukrainian and Western crimes involving biological and chemical weapons. Since 2022, the Russian Federation has been releasing several reports showing illegal Western biomilitary activities in Ukraine, with Kirillov leading this investigative effort. He has published data proving the involvement of several Western public figures and companies in the production of biological weapons on Ukrainian soil. Those responsible for financing the biolabs included Big Pharma corporations and the Soros Foundation, as well as individuals such as Hunter Biden, the son of the US president.

In fact, the impact of Kirillov’s revelations was so deep that it caused a crisis in the Western pharmaceutical lobby. Since 2022, the crimes committed by American and European Big Pharma companies have been more easily exposed. Even the Covid-19 vaccine lobby has lost strength, with mandatory vaccinations being banned in many countries. These companies started to be the target of lawsuits and their shares have lost market value, which has obviously made Kirillov a target for several Western oligarchs.

In the same vein, Kirillov was the main investigator of chemical weapons provocations by Ukraine. The use of chemical weapons by Kiev troops has become commonplace in the conflict, with several cases of Russian military personnel and civilians being poisoned by toxic substances deliberately released by Ukrainians.

In 2023, I was invited by the Russian Mission in Geneva to present a report at the UN Human Rights Council on this topic, where I recalled several cases of Ukrainian use of chemical weapons. It must be mentioned that the US, which is the biggest supporter of the Kiev regime, is the only country in the world that still publicly maintains stockpiles of chemical weapons, and is therefore a possible supplier of these toxic materials to Ukraine. Without the work of the investigative committee led by Kirillov, this type of violation of international law would never have been revealed, which is why his efforts were so important.

It is still too early to determine the level of Western involvement in the assassination of the Russian general, but it is safe to say that the Kiev regime never acts “on its own.” Ukraine always receives authorization to carry out each attack, since it is a mere proxy agent without any sovereignty.

In addition, Kirillov has caused a great damage to the Western pharmaceutical lobby, becoming a public enemy of many oligarchs. In the end, this is just further proof that any negotiation in the conflict is unfeasible. Both the West and Ukraine are betting on terrorism and all-out war against Moscow, leaving no alternative but a military solution.

Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant.

You can follow Lucas on X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram.

December 18, 2024 Posted by | War Crimes | , , | Leave a comment

Alleged provocations exposed by Russia’s murdered general: The main cases

Igor Kirillov spent years investigating incidents involving chemical and biological weapons

RT | December 17, 2024

Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who was killed on Tuesday in Moscow along with his assistant in an assassination allegedly carried out by Ukraine, was the Russian military’s top official on the hazards posed by weapons of mass destruction.

Kirillov commanded the military branch responsible for protecting troops and civilians from chemical and biological weapons, and from the radioactive fallout of a nuclear strike or ‘dirty bomb’ attack. He was also in charge of military investigations into numerous high-profile cases directly and indirectly involving Russia.

He delivered over 40 briefings about the findings made by specialists under his command since being appointed in 2017. He also regularly offered his expert opinion to Russian officials and the media. His work came as allegations of chemical weapons use became an increasingly frequent tool in Western foreign policy over the past decade.

Syria

The turning point was arguably the war in Syria and claims by then-US President Barack Obama that Damascus had deployed chemical weapons against opposition forces, thus crossing a Washington-declared ‘red line’. In a Russia-mediated attempt to deflate tensions, the Syrian government agreed in 2013 to destroy all of its declared stockpiles of such weapons.

However, more incidents followed, which the West blamed on government forces, alleging that Damascus never actually fulfilled its obligations. Moscow, meanwhile, maintained that anti-government groups were conducting false flag operations, while foreign-funded organizations, such as the notorious White Helmets, were providing media support.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which has the mandate to investigate such allegations, was compromised by Western influence, Russia believes.

“Syrian authorities demanded on numerous occasions that the OPCW deploy specialists on the ground [for investigation], but received refusals that cited lack of security,” Kirillov said during a briefing in 2018, as he detailed cases of alleged manufacturing of chemical weapons by militant groups.

The same year, the OPCW faced what was arguably its worst internal crisis while investigating a chemical attack in the city of Douma.

According to whistleblowers, its top management suppressed findings by field investigators and manipulated testimony to implicate Damascus. Dissenting scientists argued behind closed doors that the evidence contradicted such a claim, only to be dismissed as disgruntled employees when they went public.

Kirillov reported in 2019 that Russian troops deployed in Syria conducted hundreds of tests for traces of chemical weapons as part of their monitoring mission.

Novichok

Moscow was accused of deploying a chemical weapon in 2018, after Andrey Skripal, a Russian intelligence defector, and his daughter fell ill in Salisbury, Great Britain. London and Western media claimed that they were poisoned with Novichok, a toxic chemical allegedly developed exclusively by the Soviet military.

Although civilian officials were responsible for Moscow’s messaging over the incident, Kirillov was called in to set the record straight about Novichok’s “Russian” nature. Western nations, including the UK, have chemical weapons programs of their own with enough expertise to synthesize highly lethal compounds, he pointed out.

The US and its allies had an opportunity to gain insight into Soviet research, including from chemists involved in it, he added during a briefing in 2018. A scientist named Vil Mirzayanov was the first person to discuss the program dubbed Novichok publicly after moving to the US.

He went as far as to publish a formula for one of the chemicals developed by the USSR, which Kirillov said was deeply irresponsible and posed a proliferation threat.

Ukraine and US-led biolabs

A significant part of Kirillov’s reports in the media focused on the Ukraine conflict after it escalated into open hostilities with Russia in 2022. Some of them documented alleged use of chemical agents by Ukrainian troops on the battlefield or warned of possible provocations by Kiev.

Others dealt with a network of US-backed microbiological labs, which have been a source of major concern for Russia and other countries. Washington claims that the Pentagon-funded activities by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency are merely meant to detect and identify naturally emerging threats. Critics, however, believe the program pursued more sinister aims.

Kirillov claimed that the US evacuated some 16,000 relevant samples from Ukraine while other pieces of evidence were destroyed. But some materials were captured by the Russian military, giving Moscow a glimpse into the clandestine research, the late general claimed.

With his visor up

In October, the UK placed personal sanctions on Kirillov, along with the entire Russian military branch under his command. London cited Kiev’s claims that the general was responsible for using chemical weapons in the Ukraine conflict. Moscow has consistently denied such accusations, insisting it destroyed such materials back in 2017.

The Ukrainian security service SBU announced formal charges against Kirillov hours before his murder. A source in the agency told the media that the assassination was its operation against a “war criminal.”

Kirillov spent years “exposing the crimes of the Anglo-Americans,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, commenting on his death.

“He worked without fear. Did not hide behind anyone’s back. Walked with his visor up. For the motherland and the truth,” she added.

December 17, 2024 Posted by | Deception, False Flag Terrorism, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

Key Revelations Slain Gen. Kirillov Exposed About Pentagon’s Biolabs Scheme

By Svetlana Ekimenko – Sputnik – 17.12.2024

General Kirillov, head of Russia’s Radiological Chemical and Biological Defense Forces, gained prominence due to his regular appearances at military briefings, accusing the Kiev regime and its US patrons of operating biolaboratories and using chemical weapons.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of the Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense troops of the Russian armed forces, was killed in a blast triggered by an improvised explosive device planted near his residence in Moscow. He leaves behind a legacy of eye-opening findings.

On Illegal US Bio-Research

Revelations by Russia’s Defense Ministry on illegal biological experiments at the Prestige Biotech’s California laboratory touched off a US Congressional investigation. The US Department of State played a direct role in the Biosecurity Engagement Program, which was initiated by ex-President Barack Obama, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov revealed in one of the Ministry of Defense briefings.

The program’s priority areas for implementation include the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Ukraine, and Africa.

Third-party contractors, intermediaries, and NGOs—such as Metabiota, CH2M Hill, and EcoHealth Alliance—are utilized to serve the interests of clients like the State Department, Pentagon, FBI, and CIA, as well as for military biological research.

“Unconditional deterrence of adversaries” from using weapons of mass destruction against Washington and its allies has become one of the points of the new US national strategy, it was noted.

On US Biolabs in Ukraine

The US State Department is directly involved in these biological programs, despite the federal foreign agency’s denials, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov repeatedly underscored.

The United States aims to exert global control over biological matters, he noted in one of his reports. He added that under Barack Obama, US biological programs in other countries were promoted at the recommendation of the State Department, with supporting documents available as evidence.

Pentagon’s Deadly Biological Warfare Program

Slain Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov regularly exposed the Pentagon’s biological warfare program. Recent developments indicate that the United States has embarked on preparations for a new pandemic by looking into virus mutations, he said at a briefing in August 2023.

Commenting on the establishment of the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, led by Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biosecurity at the National Security Council, retired Air Force Major General Paul Friedrichs, in July 2023, Kirillov told reporters:

“The priority areas of this department include work on the creation of vaccines and drugs for stopping viruses and their genetically modified variants, as well as the introduction of advanced technologies in bioproduction. Thus, the United States, as it was in 2019, began preparing for a new pandemic by implementing search for virus mutations.”

The newly established Office is prioritizing the creation of vaccines and drugs said to combat viruses and their genetically modified variants, Russia’s Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense Troops warned.

Furthermore, documents uncovered during the special military operation in Ukraine have confirmed that the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases is involved in accumulating dangerous pathogens across various regions of the world.

US Officials Linked to Hazardous Vaccines

The Russian Ministry of Defense released the names of American officials connected to the development and production of dangerous vaccines, General Igor Kirillov told reporters in 2023.

This list includes former Johnson & Johnson Board member Mark McClellan, Pfizer Board member Scott Gottlieb, and Stephen Hahn, the CEO of Flagship Pioneering Inc.

He underscored that officials from regulatory agencies have been lobbying and prioritizing the commercial interests of pharmaceutical companies to the detriment of existing safety and quality standards.

US Democratic Party’s Role in Military Biological Research

Investment funds belonging to prominent figures such as the Clintons, the Rockefellers, Soros, and Biden, along with other NGOs affiliated with the Democratic Party in the US, are bankrolling military biological research, documents and analytical materials studied by Russia’s Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense Troops have revealed.

Multinational corporations often referred to as “Big Pharma” are involved in this scheme, including Pfizer, Moderna, Merck, as well as Gilead, a US military-affiliated company. Furthermore, US experts are working on testing new medicines, bypassing international safety standards.

The involvement of non-governmental and biotech organizations enables the leaders of the Democratic Party to pocket additional financial revenue for election campaigns and to conceal cash flows.

Russia’s Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense Troops warned in January 2024 that Washington’s goals in the military-biological domain are multifold, ranging from the creation and manipulation of the causative agents of “particularly dangerous infections in regions of the world that are strategically important for the United States,” to efforts to achieve global “superiority” in biomanufacturing, biological monitoring, and the expansion of potentially unethical and illegal military biological research outside US jurisdictions.

December 17, 2024 Posted by | Corruption, Deception, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

Brussels further damages European industry by approving 15th sanctions package on Russia

By Ahmed Adel | December 17, 2024

The Council of the European Union announced the approval of the 15th round of sanctions against Russia on December 16. Clearly, by imposing a new package of sanctions, the EU is willing to continue destroying its own industries by persisting on a policy of economic warfare despite the boomerang effects.

“This package of sanctions is part of our response to weaken Russia’s war machine and those who are enabling this war, also including Chinese companies. It shows the unity of EU member states in our continued support to Ukraine,” said Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

“Our immediate priority is to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position. We will stand by the Ukrainian people on all fronts: humanitarian, economic, political, diplomatic and military. There can be no doubt that Ukraine will win,” she added.

The new package includes, in particular, a list of personal sanctions against 54 individuals and 30 organizations that, according to the Council’s announcement, are “responsible for actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.”

The restrictions are intended to “address the circumvention of EU sanctions through targeting” Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” and weaken the country’s military industry.

Specifically, 52 third-country vessels were sanctioned, which the bloc claims are involved in oil imports from Russia, the delivery of war material to this country, and/or “the transport of stolen Ukrainian grain.”

The new economic restrictions also target Russian defence companies, chemical plants, and civilian airlines. For the first time, sanctions are fully applied to several Chinese entities for cooperating with Russia.

Since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine on 24 February 2024, the EU has adopted numerous restrictive measures against Russia. According to the Castellum.AI database, more than 19,500 individual and sectoral sanctions have been triggered against Russia since the start of the military operation.

However, despite Russia becoming the most sanctioned country in the world, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the 22nd Congress of the United Russia Party that the Russian economy continues to develop despite the unprecedented Western sanctions.

“Russia is developing, the economy is growing and this is amid sanctions, literally unprecedented in world history, against the background of gross interference and pressure on the part of the governing elites of some countries,” the president said on December 14, adding that foreign blackmail and attempts to stop Moscow will come to nothing.

“Russia is confident, it is conscious of its righteousness and its strength, and this is why all objectives set for the short and long term will certainly be met,” Putin said.

The Russian president’s comments followed the EU’s announcement on December 11 that member states had agreed to the 15th EU sanctions package against Russia. Now, even as European companies more openly express their interest in returning to the Russian market, the EU acts against the interests of citizens and the business community alike as prices escalate and the cost of living gets out of hand.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that the country will stand up to the pressure of sanctions that the West began imposing on Russia several years ago and continues to intensify because they lack the courage to admit the failure of such punitive measures.

Rising costs, driven partly by a rejection of Russian energy, are causing Europe to lose its global competitive advantage. Although Europe has maintained energy supply security, prices on the European market are now much higher than before. Some analysts predict a further rise in energy prices and the danger this poses to the European industry.

It is worth remembering that current gas prices in the European Union are almost five times higher than those in the United States. As a September report on European competitiveness points out, EU companies continue to face electricity prices between two and three times higher than the US.

A separate study by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Deutsche Industrie und Handelskammer or DIHK) finds that high energy costs and a lack of reliable supplies are holding back industrial production, while “the risk of deindustrialization,” according to Siegfried Russwurm, chief executive of the industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp, “continues to increase.”

The energy crisis and the resulting economic recession in Europe are partly due to the EU’s refusal to accept cheap and reliable energy supplies from Russia. With these economically suicidal measures, Brussels wanted to force Moscow into capitulation. However, Russia has reoriented its export flows, particularly towards Asia.

Meanwhile, European buyers have been forced to purchase energy sources from alternative suppliers at higher prices, which obviously affected the competitiveness of European producers and hit the continent’s major economies. In effect, the anti-Russia sanctions have boomeranged, but Europe continues to insist on this economically suicidal policy.

Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher.

December 17, 2024 Posted by | Economics, Russophobia | , | 1 Comment

West pushing Russia beyond ‘red line’ – Putin

RT | December 16, 2024

The West’s support for Ukraine is pushing Russia to the point where it cannot help but retaliate, President Vladimir Putin has said, while warning the US against deploying medium-range missiles.

Speaking at a meeting of top Russian Defense Ministry officials on Monday, Putin accused the US of seeking “to weaken our country and inflict a strategic defeat” on Moscow by continuing “to pump a de facto illegitimate ruling regime in Kiev with weapons and money, sending mercenaries and military advisers, thereby encouraging further escalation of the conflict.”

Washington is instilling fear in Americans by resorting to “simple tactics,” Putin stated. “They push us to the red line… we begin to respond, and then they frighten their population,” he added, suggesting that the US used the same approach during its rivalry with the Soviet Union.

The Russian president also slammed the West for what he described as attempts to impose its own rules on the rest of the world while waging “hybrid wars” against anyone who resists, including Russia.

In this vein, NATO is boosting its defense spending and forming “strike groups” near Russia’s borders, he added. “The number of American service members in Europe has already exceeded 100,000 troops,” he noted.

NATO is ramping up its presence not only in Europe but also in regions that have never seen this type of military footprint, particularly the Asia-Pacific, Putin said, voicing particular concerns over US plans to deploy missile systems with a range of up to 5,500km.

Putin was referring to a type of weapon previously banned by the Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The US unilaterally pulled out of the treaty in 2018, citing Russian non-compliance – an allegation Moscow has denied.

The Russian president stressed that despite Washington’s withdrawal from the INF Treaty, Moscow made a unilateral and voluntary commitment not to deploy medium- and short-range missiles unless the US deploys such weapons anywhere in the world.

However, “if the United States begins to deploy such systems, then all our voluntary restrictions will be lifted,” Putin warned.

December 16, 2024 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

Germany’s AfD leader questions NATO membership

RT | December 15, 2024

Germany must ask whether NATO membership “is still useful for us,” Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leader Tino Chrupalla has said, arguing that the US-led military bloc forces Europe to act in America’s interests.

”Europe has been forced to implement America’s interests. We reject that,” Chrupalla told German daily Welt on Sunday.

”NATO is currently not a defense alliance,” he continued. “A defense community must accept and respect the interests of all European countries, including Russia’s interests. If NATO cannot ensure that, Germany must consider to what extent this alliance is still useful for us,” he explained.

West Germany joined NATO in 1955, at the height of the Cold War. Accession to the bloc meant that Bonn could focus its spending on post-WWII reconstruction and welfare while outsourcing defense to the US. However, NATO’s first secretary general, Britain’s Lord Ismay, reportedly remarked that the bloc’s purpose in Europe was to “keep the Soviet Union out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.”

While the AfD’s platform has never called for an outright withdrawal from NATO, Chrupalla has previously argued that the bloc’s confrontational stance toward Russia was “driving a wedge into the continent of Europe” and precluding reconciliation with Moscow, which, he said, would be vital “to ensure lasting peace and prosperity” on the continent.

With snap elections in February looming, the AfD is currently polling at around 18%, ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ Social Democrats at 15% but behind the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) at 32%. However, even if the AfD were to emerge as the largest party after the vote, all of Germany’s other mainstream parties have ruled out entering a coalition with the right-wingers.

The AfD nominated co-leader Alice Weidel as its candidate for chancellor earlier this month, marking the first time in its 11-year history that the party has put a name forward for the position.

Speaking to reporters after the nomination, Weidel promised to introduce drastic immigration restrictions, to roll back Scholz’s climate policies, and to cut off military aid to Ukraine.

“We want peace in Ukraine,” she said. “We do not want any arms supplies, we do not want any tanks, we do not want any missiles.”

Speaking to Welt, Chrupalla said that “Russia has won this war,” and that “reality has caught up with those who claim to want to enable Ukraine to win the war.”

December 15, 2024 Posted by | Militarism | , , , | 1 Comment

NATO’s New Hub: Bulgaria Announces Military Base in Yambol Region

Sputnik – 14.12.2024

MOSCOW – Bulgaria is planning to build a complex of facilities to accommodate a multinational NATO brigade of 3,000 military personnel, the Bulgarian News Agency reported on Saturday, citing Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov.

The complex, housing residential, educational and sports facilities, will be located in the Kabile military district near the southeastern city of Yambol, the news agency reported.

The report said that ammunition would be stored in warehouses at a distance from the residential settlements and barracks.

“Neither ammunition nor other dangerous materials are planned to be stored [in the complex],” Zapryanov was quoted as saying.

Bulgaria is currently in talks with the NATO Support and Procurement Agency to determine the cost of the construction, the report added.

In recent years, Russia has witnessed unprecedented NATO activity near its western borders. Moscow has repeatedly expressed concern about the bloc’s buildup of forces in Europe, especially since the bloc supported the Kiev regime amid its attacks on Donbass.

NATO has transformed its eastern flank from having no combat-ready troops in place in 2014 to tens of thousands now, former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg admitted earlier.

In February, Russian President Vladimir Putin explained in detail in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson that Moscow is not going to attack NATO countries, there is no point in it. The Russian leader noted that Western politicians regularly intimidate their populations with an imaginary Russian threat in order to distract attention from domestic problems.

December 14, 2024 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

UN Security Council ‘remains paralyzed’ by US – Russia

RT | December 14, 2024

By abusing its veto power, the US has made the UN Security Council incapable of enforcing peace in the Middle East, Russia has said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry released its statement after the UN General Assembly (UN GA) adopted two resolutions on the war in Gaza, including a resolution calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which is similar to a document earlier blocked by the US at the Security Council. Unlike resolutions passed by the Security Council, the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly are legally non-binding.

A resolution passed on Wednesday called for “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire,” as well for “or the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.” The second document confirmed “full support” for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), and “deplored” Israel’s legislation that banned the agency’s work in the West Bank and Gaza.

In a statement on Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the ceasefire resolution “largely repeated the content” of a draft that was vetoed by the US at the Security Council last month.

“Once again, since the start of the unprecedented escalation of violence and bloodshed in the Arab-Israeli conflict, it is the UN General Assembly that is adopting the urgently needed resolutions,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday. The call for a truce and access to humanitarian aid are “moral imperatives in the current catastrophic circumstances,” it added.

“The UN Security Council – the main body tasked with maintaining international peace and security – remains paralyzed as a result of the use of the veto power by Washington (six times since the beginning of the current crisis),” the ministry wrote on its website.

The US and Israel have argued that an immediate cessation of hostilities would only benefit Hamas and have accused the Palestinian armed group of sabotaging the negotiations. “It would be shameful and wrong if the General Assembly voted today to vindicate Hamas’ cynical strategy of stalling and obstruction,” US envoy to the UN, Robert Wood, said in a statement explaining Wednesday’s vote.

Israel has long accused UNRWA of covertly aiding Hamas and other militants. Despite the overwhelming evidence we submitted to the UN that substantiate Hamas’ infiltration of UNRWA, the UN did nothing to rectify the situation,” Israel’s envoy to the UN, Danny Danon, wrote on X last month.

UNRWA Philippe Lazzarini described Israel’s decision to block the operations of the agency as an “ongoing campaign to discredit UNRWA and delegitimize its role towards providing human-development assistance and services to Palestine refugees.”

Nearly 45,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israel’s operation in Gaza, according to local authorities. The war broke out on October 7, 2023, when Hamas and allied groups carried out a surprise attack on Israeli cities, killing some 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, around 100 of whom are believed to be still held in Gaza.

December 13, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , , | 2 Comments

Kremlin reacts to Trump’s stance on long-range strikes into Russia

RT | December 13, 2024

US President-elect Donald Trump’s statement regarding Ukraine’s use of Western long-range missiles to strike deep into Russia is completely in line with Moscow’s stance on the matter, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

Peskov was commenting on Trump’s sharp criticism this week of President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Kiev to conduct long-range strikes on Russian territory with US-supplied missiles.

“The statement itself completely coincides with our position,” Peskov told reporters. “In this case we have the same vision of the reasons for the escalation.” He added that Trump’s thinking on the matter “appeals” to Russia.

“It is obvious that Trump understands what exactly is escalating the situation around the conflict,” he said.

At the same time, the Russian presidential spokesman warned against “jumping ahead of ourselves” and predicting the actions of the incoming US administration.

“Let’s wait until the moment when the president-elect takes his post in the Oval Office,” he advised.

In an interview with Time magazine, which named him the 2024 Person of the Year, Trump stated that he disagrees “very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia,” asking rhetorically: “Why are we doing that?”

Trump said that missile strikes deep into Russia’s internationally recognized territory are “just escalating this war and making it worse,” and described such attacks as a “very big mistake.”

The US president-elect’s comments came a day after the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian forces had launched six US-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles towards an airfield in Rostov Region.

In response to Kiev’s attacks, Moscow hit a number of Ukraine’s key energy facilities overnight into Friday.

Russia has repeatedly warned that long-range strikes using foreign-made weapons would escalate the conflict and be seen as NATO’s direct participation in the hostilities.

In late November, Moscow used its new Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile system for the first time, striking the Yuzhmash military plant in the Ukrainian city of Dnepr.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned at the time that if Ukraine’s attacks deep inside Russia continue, Moscow reserves the right “to use our weapons against the military facilities of those countries that allow the use of their weapons against our facilities.

December 13, 2024 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

Can Europe be saved?

Professor Glenn Diesen interviewed by Dimitri Lascaris
Glenn Diesen | December 11, 2024

I was interviewed by Dimitri Lascaris about the future of Europe. I argue that Europe’s decline derives from its inability to adjust to a multipolar international system. Europe can become one of several centres of power by pursuing collective bargaining power based on common interests, diversifying economic partnerships to avoid excessive dependence on the US, and overcoming the Cold War legacy of zero-sum bloc politics.

The Europeans have done the exact opposite. The European security architecture has been built on the premise that expanding a military alliance ever closer to Russian borders would create peace and stability. Relations with Russia have subsequently collapsed and Europe is losing a costly proxy war against the world’s largest nuclear power. Countries in the shared neighbourhood (Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova) are destabilised and their democracy undermined to ensure pro-West/anti-Russia governments take power. These deeply divided societies have become the battleground for drawing new dividing lines in the new Cold War.

European economies are deindustrialising as they cut themselves off from the Russian market, and are also pressured by the US to decouple from the Chinese market. The US Inflation Reduction Act offers subsidies to what remains of struggling European industries if they relocate to the US. Excessive reliance on the US means that Europe cannot even criticise the US for destroying its energy infrastructure after the attack on Nord Stream. After centuries of a Europe-centric international system, the Europeans have not realised that they have been demoted from a subject to an object of security.

Governments that do not represent national interests will eventually be swept away, yet the political elites become increasingly authoritarian to keep their power. In France and Germany, their political opposition is pushed aside with undemocratic means. Hungary and Slovakia are punished by the EU for failing to fall in line. The election results in Romania were overturned after the electorate did not vote for the right candidate.

The continent desperately needs course correction, yet power structure and ideology prevent necessary changes from being implemented. More aggressive means to control the narrative also result in declining freedom of speech.

December 12, 2024 Posted by | Economics, Militarism, Russophobia | , , , , , | 1 Comment

Events in Syria and Future Prospects

By Mikhail Gamandiy-Egorov – New Eastern Outlook – December 12, 2024

The tragic events in Syria have clearly demonstrated that internal betrayal is one of the greatest challenges for any sovereign state. This is particularly true when such betrayal serves the interests of those seeking to destroy sovereign nations.

Terrorist groups

Terrorist groups, following a brief advance across several fronts and battles in which the government army effectively refused to engage, managed to capture the Syrian capital, Damascus. Initially, it seemed that this was merely a temporary disarray caused by years of complacency. However, it soon became evident that a large-scale betrayal had occurred within Syria’s political and military apparatus, favouring forces long intent on dismantling the country as a unified state.

Events in Syria as a Lesson

The recent takeover of power in Syria by overt Salafist terrorists is undoubtedly a tragedy, both for Syria itself and for all advocates of a multipolar world. However, it is likely that many representatives of Syria and other Arab nations have not yet fully grasped the far-reaching consequences of what has happened. These consequences are likely to be deeply tragic, both for Syria and for the broader region.

In reality, an undeniable fact remains: an outright terrorist affiliated with ISIL or al-Qaeda—no matter how his true masters might now attempt to portray him—has seized power in one of the world’s oldest nations. This was achieved, of course, not without the involvement of various regimes and intelligence agencies, ranging from the United States and Britain to Israel and Turkey. Furthermore, given the presence of sleeper cells linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL in nearly every Arab country, the future implications for Arab states could be catastrophic. Yet even now, many seem either unaware of this or, like the terrorists themselves, are merely executing the orders of their Western and Israeli patrons.

Nevertheless, no matter how certain hostile forces attempt to discredit Russia and Iran for their alleged failure to assist their ally, the reality lies elsewhere: when internal traitors in a given country gain the upper hand with the tacit approval of part of the population, external intervention becomes utterly futile.

This became clear to Russia—whose Aerospace Forces continued striking advancing terrorist positions—to Iran, which was reportedly ready to deploy a significant military contingent to Syria, and to Lebanon’s Hezbollah, whose fighters performed admirably in battles, including those near the Syrian city of Homs. Meanwhile, Syrian troops abandoned their positions and retreated in haste, despite Hezbollah still recovering from intensive clashes with the Israeli regime, which could reignite at any moment. In such circumstances, it became increasingly apparent that it would be entirely illogical for Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah to continue fighting terrorist forces if the Syrians themselves no longer wished to resist.

Necessary Conclusions and Prospects

There were, of course, evident mistakes at the level of Syria’s leadership. Mistakes that Moscow and Tehran had repeatedly pointed out in private discussions. The necessary reforms were not implemented in recent years, even though the opportunity was certainly there — thanks to the relative peace in Syria and the lull in hostilities. Notably, this peace was largely achieved through the efforts and support of Russia, Iran, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. These reforms were essential in the military sphere and many other areas, but they never materialised.

That said, despite these significant unresolved problems, the situation could not have unfolded as it did without mass betrayal. This is clearly evidenced by footage taken by Russian forces stationed in Syria, which not only confirm the lack of proper preparation among Syrian troops at the onset of the terrorist offensive but also highlight the betrayal by certain members of Syria’s political and military elite.

Who were the external players involved? It is almost certain that the Anglo-Saxons, the Israeli regime, Erdogan’s Turkey, and possibly some Arab states played a role. However, this has become a secondary issue. What truly matters now is that advocates of a multipolar world must closely monitor any attempts at betrayal within their own countries and eliminate them at the very earliest stages of destabilisation attempts—by the harshest means necessary. Furthermore, all necessary reforms across key sectors must be implemented without delay.

As for the enemies and rivals of a multipolar world order, their problems are only beginning. Engaging in a multi-front conflict against Russia across different parts of the globe, the representatives of the Western planetary minority and their agents aimed to provoke a new hot front for our country. They failed — the plans were clearly understood by Russian leadership. Consequently, all new Syrian problems now fall squarely on the enemies of multipolarity. The reemergence of al-Qaeda and ISIL terrorists will likely lead to another massive wave of refugees, increasing security threats. The West and several other nations still fail to understand that controlling terrorists indefinitely is impossible. Eventually, these groups slip out of control, bringing with them inevitable consequences.

So, to all the initiators of this campaign: best of luck in your “successes”, especially as former allies are already turning on each other. Pro-Turkish militants are clashing with pro-American Kurds from the so-called “SDF”, with the direct involvement of al-Qaeda, ISIL, and the US and Israeli regimes. Meanwhile, we will calmly observe from our side. Particularly as Syria’s leader, Bashar al-Assad, is now in Russia and has avoided the fate of Saddam Hussein or Muammar Gaddafi. As for those Syrians who are pleased with the “improvements”, they can fully immerse themselves in a world of total chaos and lawlessness — or, excuse me, democracy, freedom, and progress. Finally, regarding internal traitors: they always meet a grim end.

December 12, 2024 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Strikes deep into Russia ‘big mistake’ – Trump

RT | December 12, 2024

US President-elect Donald Trump has criticized Ukraine’s strikes deep into Russia using Western-supplied weapons, saying that they only escalate the conflict between Kiev and Moscow.

Trump made the statement on Thursday in an interview with Time magazine, which named him the 2024 Person of the Year.

“I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that?” he asked rhetorically.

According to the president-elect, such attacks are “just escalating this war and making it worse.”

“That should not have been allowed to be done… And I think that is a very big mistake, very big mistake,” he said of strikes deep into Russia’s internationally recognized territory.

Trump returned to the issue later in the interview, saying that “the most dangerous thing right now” is the fact that “[Ukrainian leader Vladimir] Zelensky has decided, with the approval of, I assume, the President [Joe Biden], to start shooting missiles into Russia.”

“I think that is a major escalation. I think it is a foolish decision,” he stressed.

The US president-elect’s comments came a day after the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian forces had fired six US-supplied ATACMS missiles at a military airfield near the southern city of Taganrog.

Two of them were shot down and the rest were diverted using electronic warfare during the attack, the ministry said. The fallen debris resulted in some injuries and minor damage to two buildings and several vehicles, it added.

On Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia’s response to the strike on Taganrog “will follow at the time and in the way that will be deemed appropriate. But it will definitely follow.”

In late November, Russia used its new Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile system for the first time, striking the Yuzhmash military plant in the Ukrainian city of Dnepr.

According to Moscow, the deployment of the state-of-the-art weapon was a response to Washington and its allies allowing Ukraine to target internationally recognized Russian territory with the long-range weapons they supply to Kiev.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned at the time that if Ukraine’s attacks deep inside Russia continue, Moscow reserves the right “to use our weapons against the military facilities of those countries that allow the use of their weapons against our facilities.”

December 12, 2024 Posted by | Militarism | , | 1 Comment

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