The Russian army's retreat from Izyum and Kupyansk is a "complete collapse," says Phillips O'Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
“More troops were probably stationed there to fight for the Donbass than anywhere else, and now they don’t seem to be able to hold anything there,” O’Brien explains.
Due to the fiasco of the army, the referendums on the annexation of the occupied territories of Ukraine have again been postponed indefinitely, Meduza reports, citing sources close to the presidential administration.
Initially scheduled for May, then postponed to September, then postponed to November, the referendums were put on hold, one of the interlocutors of the publication said.
According to another, the political technologists sent to the Kharkiv and Zaporozhye regions to prepare the vote received an “order to go home,” says a Meduza source. In the Kherson region, Russian political technologists who prepared the referendum are still staying.
After a successful counterstrike, the Ukrainians will now have "logistical problems of their own: they will need to supply all the units now scattered throughout the territory" occupied by the offensive in the Kharkiv region, O'Brien says. “But the Russians will have trouble stabilizing the front line,” he continues. “So for a while, the situation will be chaotic until a new front line begins to emerge.”
Due to the fiasco of the army, the referendums on the annexation of the occupied territories of Ukraine have again been postponed indefinitely, Meduza reports
Medusa? That's the name of a news agency?Not a Slavic expert, but looks like it just means jellyfish (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meduza).
...Link (https://edwardslavsquat.substack.com/p/insane-in-the-ukraine): https://edwardslavsquat.substack.com/p/insane-in-the-ukraine
Internet war punditry: rapidly advancing towards total irrelevancy.
The Ukrainian military has launched a counter-offensive in the Kharkov region.
There are many hot takes about this.
We are not going to provide you with a Military Analysis. Instead, we will offer a brief overview of how we arrived at the current state of affairs—and ask the simplest of questions: Can we please stop with the malarkey and have an honest dialogue about what has occurred over the past six months? Please? It’s time.
The Kiev “feint”
Remember when thousands of Russian troops semi-surrounded Kiev and Zelensky was supposed to flee for his life (maybe he did, temporarily, to Poland. History’s Mysteries)? Oh, we remember.
“Going for the jugular” and “doing it the hard rock way” suddenly became a sneaky “feint”? Okay, sure.
Go back to mid-March—all the usual suspects were still predicting an imminent assault on Kiev. There’s a simple explanation for this: Russia was still signaling it had ambitious plans for Kiev and neighboring regions.Quote@colonelhomsi
In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry listed the areas of Ukraine where, according to their data, the population represents "good relations" with Russia - these are:
Image
March 18th 2022
But by late March the narrative had changed in a very radical way.
On March 25, Russia’s ministry of defense claimed that operations in Kiev, Kharkov, Chernigov, Sumy, and Nikolaev were designed to “tie down [Ukrainian] forces” and prevent them from “strengthening their grouping in the Donbass.”
March 13, 2022 (source: URA.ru)
A few days later, the Kremlin described the Russian withdrawal from these areas as a gesture of goodwill aimed at encouraging peace talks.
Seemingly overnight, Russia’s short-lived excursions into Kiev and the surrounding regions were rebranded as a “feint” that would allow for the swift liberation of Donetsk and Lugansk. (Current status: incomplete.)
A new narrative was born: with Phase I (“the feint”) a resounding success, the Russian military could now focus its attention on the Donbass. We were told, day after day, that Ukrainian forces in the east were going to be boiled alive, Ramen noodle-style, in a giant cauldron. Once the Ukrainians were encircled, Kiev would be forced to either surrender or crawl to the negotiating table.Quote@GonzaloLira1968
In the encirclement pictured on this map, there are some 60,000 Ukrainian combat troops—their finest men. They have no chance of being relieved, reinforced or resupplied. They have no chance to win. If they keep fighting, they will die—for nothing.QuoteThis is an utter tragedy.
Terror Alarm @Terror_AlarmQuote🚨🇺🇦🗺Battle of #Donbas starts.
Russian Red Zombie army is trying to pinch off a Ukrainian salient with two major strikes from the north and the south now. https://t.co/OYrFGgWXkT
It was all over, according to the liveliest intellects of our time. Gonzalo Lira proclaimed that Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin met with Zelensky in late April to inform Kiev that the United States would not be sending heavy weapons to Ukraine.
“It was a kiss-off. It was the signal to the Zelensky regime that US/NATO will not supply heavy weapons or planes, and will not get into this war. It's over,” Lira tweeted on April 27.
Scott Ritter had a slightly different take: Russia would destroy any NATO weaponry sent to Ukraine before it could reach the front lines.
The evolution of the Donbass “cauldron”
It wasn’t until mid-May that Ritter conceded “Russia has shown itself unable or unwilling to [intercept weapons shipments]—as a result—the Ukrainians are having a meaningful impact on the battlefield.”
Mariupol was officially cleared of Azov fighters at the end of May (some of whom were later released as part of a prisoner exchange), but the long-anticipated encirclement of Ukrainian forces in Donbass never materialized. Reinforcements and NATO-supplied weapons continued to flow across the Dnieper.
No biggie.
In a tweet commemorating the first three months of fighting, Lira mused that the AFU wouldn’t be able to hold out for another 90 days. The Ukrainian military, according to Lira, was now a spent force entirely reliant on reservists.Quote@GonzaloLira1968
Today is Day 90 of the conflict.
►Russian forces have captured +100,000 square kilometers, are destroying the AFU in the Donbas.
►The AFU has little-to-no airforce, tanks, APC's. They're down to reservists.
Does anyone really think Ukraine can stand another 90 days of this?
But after taking Mariupol, Russia’s advances slowed to a snail’s pace. Gains in East Ukraine came to a screeching halt after the AFU was expelled from Lugansk in early July.
“The special operation is going according to plan”
Suddenly, a new narrative was born: the longer the war went on, the better it was for Russia. Time was on Russia’s side—even as Ukraine was “rebuilding significant capability” (source: Scott Ritter).
But this wasn’t always the prevailing wisdom. For educational purposes, let’s briefly review what Very Serious Pundits were saying in the first weeks of the conflict.
On March 9, the Saker published an article under the headline: “The opinion of a professional about the special operation in Ukraine (MUST READ!)”. The analysis, written by a “military professional” named Alexander Dubrovsky, repeatedly stressed that speed was of critical importance to achieve Russia’s goals in Ukraine.
“The special operation does not stop, there will be no more delays. Every day of delay categorically harms us, unplanned diplomatic, political, economic and military problems appear. Only speed and onslaught, until in the West they begin to assess the situation with a cool head,” Dubrovsky wrote.
The article continued: “The final turning point will come after the cleansing of Kharkov, blocking or taking Odessa.”
A new directive had been issued by the Russian MOD, Dubrovsky revealed: the gloves were coming off and “hypothetical harm to civilians” would no longer take precedent over military objectives:
I want to reassure you, for the twelfth day our guys are operating in a different operational and tactical reality, losses will rapidly decrease. If earlier there was a strict order not to cause even hypothetical harm to civilians, civilian objects… today it has been modified. In one sentence: “not to the detriment of the personnel of the units.” As a military man, I am completely satisfied: now the humanitarian sensitivities are over – real work will go on.
This was the “must-read” that received a glowing preface from Andrei, the Saker’s chief curator.
Fast-forward five months. On August 10, the Saker penned a commentary explaining why he was no longer posting maps of the military situation in Ukraine.
“Unlike the first month or two of the SMO, there are very few changes worth showing on a map,” Andrei wrote, adding that the barely moving battle lines showed Russia was taking special care to avoid civilian casualties.
Okay, great—but what happened to the speedy “cleansing” (yikes) of Kharkov and Odessa? And how is it that “every day of delay” was bad news for Russia in March, but suddenly a non-issue in August?
On August 24, Shoigu explained the lack of progress in East Ukraine.
“[E]verything is done to avoid casualties among civilians. Of course, this slows down the pace of the offensive, but we are doing it consciously. The special operation is going according to plan,” Russia’s defense minister said.
Less than three weeks later, Russian forces abandoned their positions in Kharkov region, endangering the lives of countless civilians who were promised that “Russia is here forever.”Quote@nexta_tv
🤡"Russia is here forever"
On June 18, Alexander Sidyakin, a representative of Putin's "United Russia" party, announced the beginning of issuing Russian passports in #Kupyansk with the words "Russia is here forever".
On September 10, the occupiers fled the city in just 2 days.
September 10th 2022
Ukraine’s counter-offensive: “Meaningless”
Which brings us to the precarious present.
Marko Marjanović has an excellent write-up of the incredible events that have transpired over the past week:
In just 4 days the Russians lost a vast area—everything beyond the Oskil river gone. Just like that.
Positions that took months for Russia to capture and expand were gone in an instant. (The whole of March to take the city itself, followed by battles to expand the bridgehead over Seversky Donets to its south.)
Particularly around Izyum, the Russian military had fought bloody close-quarter battles to take and expand positions beyond the Oskil and Seversky Donetsk and was now giving it all back in a rout.
Russia’s MOD explained that the retreating troops were being “regrouped” in order to “boost efforts in the Donetsk region” (does that sound familiar?).
As our blog-friend Rolo Slavskiy wrote:QuoteThe SBU is going to be sent in now to do what they do best - slit throats and then demand confessions. Yes, in that order. These people are monsters. We have no idea how many people have simply been disappeared in Ukraine. I complain about the FSB, but the SBU just do whatever they want with no restraint at all. Torture, mutilations and mass-killings are standard SBU operating procedure. The Ukrainians, ironically enough, are fighting like Bolsheviks - with no concern for any norms or conventions or anything resembling humanity.
This regrettable episode reminds us of an article published in April by Strana.ua—home to Ukraine’s “pro-Russia fifth column”—about why Russia-sympathetic Ukrainians were so demoralized. One of the reasons given:
[Pro-Russia Ukrainians] do not openly support Putin even in the territories controlled by the Russians. Because the officially declared goal of Russia is to achieve a number of demands from Kiev, after which the Russian army will leave all the territories occupied since February 24 (except Donbass).
Naturally, as soon as the Ukrainian authorities return there, all those who collaborated with the Russians will go to trial in the best case for themselves, and in the worst case they will simply be shot as traitors. In such conditions, there are very few who want to openly help the Russian army.
After the events of the past week, could anyone blame them? And how does Russia intend to win over hearts and minds when it can’t even guarantee the safety and security of Ukrainians who welcomed Russian troops as liberators?
...
There is much more to say. It will be said (later). For now, we’ll close with this sober assessment published in Russian-language media:QuoteIn six months, Ukraine has become much more militarized, much more angry and closer to NATO, and the degree of nationalism and Russophobic hysteria is much higher. At the same time, Donbass has turned into an arena of fierce hostilities and shelling, which has increased tenfold, with no clear prospect of their completion, becoming much less protected and safe than before February 24.
How does this end, friends?
Our buddy Kissinger again showed his prophetic abilities (not that his ilk, aka the Jєωs, planned it all) when he prognosticated that the conflict would escalate in mid-August. Well, he was a few weeks early in his prediction, so perhaps his waning intellectual abilities manifested themselves here ... or, rather, the Jєωs had some reason to postpone their plans.Do you think NATO will join into the War and we going to a WWIII scenario? Is what worries me.
In any case, the Ukrainian propaganda has been that there was a major "counter-offensive" where Ukraine took back large swaths of territory in the Kharkiv region. Evidently that was just propaganda, as the Russians started withdrawing from there 8 days ago, and the Ukrainians just walked in to various abandoned outposts.
So one thought was that this was the famous Russian tactic of pulling out to draw the troops in so that they can be surrounded. But reportedly the intent here was precisely to set up this next phase. Withdrawal was actually ahead of this planned bombing, and the bombing was carried out so that they could cripple Ukraine's ability to send US and NATO arms to the front. In particular, they wanted to stop or slow down the trains that are carrying these armaments so as to destroy them.
Evidently the Russian public are getting tired of this stretching out so long and there has been pressure on Putin to escalate, especially from the right wing. Thus far he has tried to avoid taking out civilian infrastructure, but it seems like the pressure from the right has gotten too strong, so he had to up the game. Every time a Russian soldier died because Putin has been so "soft" in conducting this operation, that increased pressure on Putin to escalate.
But I marvel at what a political genius Kissinger is, that he could make these accurate predictions. No wonder he had all these high-ranking positions in every US administration for the past 80 years or so.
Our buddy Kissinger again showed his prophetic abilities (not that his ilk, aka the Jєωs, planned it all) when he prognosticated that the conflict would escalate in mid-August.I'm not sure if this was scrubbed from the Internet. Do you have a link? Was it a video interview?
Do you think it will escalate to a WWIII?Ukraine has proven that Russia's ground forces aren't up to task, unless they have somehow only feigned weakness. Russia probably has the best missile technologies ready-to-go and more warheads than anyone, but that would leave them open to massive retaliation by the United States. If they want to defeat the US and NATO, Russia's allies are going to have to get involved. China is apparently still waiting for something before its attack on Taiwan. Turkey may have something to do with it in Europe. Then there are countries such as North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Venezuela, etc.
Ukraine has proven that Russia's ground forces aren't up to task, unless they have somehow only feigned weakness. Russia probably has the best missile technologies ready-to-go and more warheads than anyone, but that would leave them open to massive retaliation by the United States. If they want to defeat the US and NATO, Russia's allies are going to have to get involved. China is apparently still waiting for something before its attack on Taiwan. Turkey may have something to do with it in Europe. Then there are countries such as North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Venezuela, etc.The president of Venezuela has already said that he is willing to sell gas and oil to the EU and the US. So I don't think Venezuela wants to join into war. Venezuela wants to do business.
So I don't think Venezuela wants to join into war. Venezuela wants to do business.Let's not forget how the current Venezuelan government came into existence. I'm sure you know about the close relationship that has been forged between Russia and Venezuela.
Seriously. The problem they have created between the Kremlin and Washington are countless. I don't mean to offend, but it's reality.Not offended. To my knowledge, there are no Catholic powers extant in the world. Governments in the West are largely run by Freemasonic principles. I believe the dynamic you have written is correct: Kremlin vs Washington. East vs West has a purpose which will be realized.
Yes, it's not because of ideology, it's only because of money that Maduro wants to collaborate with the West. It started a few months ago and there are already some European companies operating in Venezuela, I have given you the example of Repsol in this news.Lenin's New Economic Policy also embraced this approach, as did Mao's Yenan Way. Hang the capitalists with the rope sold to communists. Opportunistic capitalism and fake nationalism are two plays in the official playbook of Marxism-Leninism. So I would disagree that it has nothing to do with ideology.
A government arrives that does things well, Marcos Perez Jimenez, but he antagonizes the US because he refuses to establish US military bases in Venezuela, so Eisenhower conspires with part of the Venezuelan army to overthrow him.It's curious that Ukraine was doing so badly and managed to appear to push ("retreat") Russia out of many territories Ukraine, but you yourself posted the new offensive strategy that immediately followed. How organic are these movements and revolutions? Was Venezuela scripted to fall? The refugees from there and elsewhere in Latin America have been used to great effect. Destabilization, economic disruption and control, a base of terror operations, there are many possible goals that have been achieved.
Xi, 69, is due to meet Putin in Uzbekistan this week at a summit of the eight-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which also includes Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.
Putin and Xi will hold a one-on-one meeting Thursday and discuss Ukraine ahead of the next day’s security summit, the Russian president’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told reporters in Moscow.
The summit takes Xi abroad while the party prepares for an October congress at which he is expected to break with political tradition and try to award himself a third five-year term as leader.
Xi declared the two governments had a “no limits” friendship when the Russian leader attended the Winter Olympics in Beijing ahead of the Feb. 24 attack on Ukraine.Curious coincidence:
The two governments have no alliance and have differing interests in Europe, said Wang Yiwei, an international relations expert at Renmin University in Beijing. He said the “no limits” language is meant to give them leverage in dealing with the West on Taiwan and other issues.
“This is a deterrence,” Wang said. He said China wants an independent foreign policy: “If we put China and Russia too close, it’s not necessarily good for China.”
Pope Francis is to be in Kazakhstan at the same time as Xi, but there was no indication they might meet. Aboard his flight, the pope was asked about a possible meeting and replied, “I don’t have any news about this. But I am always ready to go to China.”
At a July meeting, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that China would “strengthen strategic communication” with Moscow about international security, according to a statement by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
That will “show the basic momentum of China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership” and “practice true multilateralism,” the ministry said.
So one thought was that this was the famous Russian tactic of pulling out to draw the troops in so that they can be surrounded. But reportedly the intent here was precisely to set up this next phase. Withdrawal was actually ahead of this planned bombing, and the bombing was carried out so that they could cripple Ukraine's ability to send US and NATO arms to the front. In particular, they wanted to stop or slow down the trains that are carrying these armaments so as to destroy them.
Evidently the Russian public are getting tired of this stretching out so long and there has been pressure on Putin to escalate, especially from the right wing. Thus far he has tried to avoid taking out civilian infrastructure, but it seems like the pressure from the right has gotten too strong, so he had to up the game. Every time a Russian soldier died because Putin has been so "soft" in conducting this operation, that increased pressure on Putin to escalate.
How organic are these movements and revolutions? Was Venezuela scripted to fall? The refugees from there and elsewhere in Latin America have been used to great effect. Destabilization, economic disruption and control, a base of terror operations, there are many possible goals that have been achieved.In my opinion, the coup against Perez Jimenez before he developed his politics was the main cause of what has happened with Venezuela. And behind the coup was the US in collaboration with a sector of the Venezuelan army. If you're asking if there was someone plotting behind Chavez, I really don't know. I have not investigated it.
Ukraine has proven that Russia's ground forces aren't up to task, unless they have somehow only feigned weakness. Russia probably has the best missile technologies ready-to-go and more warheads than anyone, but that would leave them open to massive retaliation by the United States. If they want to defeat the US and NATO, Russia's allies are going to have to get involved. China is apparently still waiting for something before its attack on Taiwan. Turkey may have something to do with it in Europe. Then there are countries such as North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Venezuela, etc.And what would that be? Unless they send massive divisions of transgenders from the rainbow battalion against Russians in Ukro-nαzι land? Russia already stated, that haven't even been trying there yet with it's real military. Ukrops shot their load with this big advance and took heavy losses, penetrated way too deep in what is more or less russian territory in Ukraine. They are completely surrounded and vulnerable. This is it for them, their big "win". They have nothing left. and NATO is not going full in, no way right now, they're already going to freeze to death this winter.
Speaking at the start of talks with Xi in Uzbekistan, Putin said he was ready to discuss unspecified “concerns” by China about Ukraine.
“We highly appreciate the well-balanced position of our Chinese friends in connection with the Ukrainian crisis,” Putin said, facing Xi across a long table.
“We understand your questions and your concerns in this regard, and we certainly will offer a detailed explanation of our stand on this issue during today’s meeting, even though we already talked about it earlier,” he added.
“I know that today’s era is not of war,” [Prime Minister (of India) Narendra Modi] said. “Today we will get a chance to discuss how we can move forward on the path of peace in the coming days.”Says about the same thing here:
The tone of the meeting was friendly, with both leaders referring to their long shared history. Before Mr. Modi made his comments, Mr. Putin said he understood India’s concerns about the war in Ukraine.
“I know your position on the conflict in Ukraine, your concerns that you constantly express. We will do our best to stop this as soon as possible,” he said. “Only, unfortunately, the opposing side, the leadership of Ukraine, announced its abandonment of the negotiation process,” he added.
Mr. Modi’s comments came a day after President Xi Jinping of China — in his first face-to-face meeting with Mr. Putin since the invasion began — struck a far more subdued tone than the Russian president, and steered clear in his public comments of any mention of Ukraine. The muted Chinese support was a sign that Russia lacks the full backing of its most powerful international partner as it tries to recover from a humiliating rout in northeastern Ukraine last week.
Russia is prepared to do everything possible to end the conflict in Ukraine “as soon as possible,” but Kiev refuses to talk, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. The first in-person meeting of the two leaders since 2019 took place on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Putin told the prime minister that he is aware of his “concerns” over the conflict in Ukraine and pledged to “do everything to ensure that all of this stops as soon as possible.”
...
“Unfortunately, the opposite side, the leadership of Ukraine, has refused the negotiation process. {They} declared that they want to achieve their goals by military means, or, as they say, ‘on the battlefield,’” Putin explained.
SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed Friday to press his attack on Ukraine despite Ukraine’s latest counteroffensive and warned that Moscow could ramp up its strikes on the country’s vital infrastructure if Ukrainian forces target facilities in Russia.
Speaking to reporters Friday after attending a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Uzbekistan, Putin said the “liberation” of Ukraine’s entire eastern Donbas region remained Russia’s main military goal and that he sees no need to revise it.
“We aren’t in a rush,” the Russian leader said, adding that Moscow has only deployed volunteer soldiers to fight in Ukraine. Some hard-line politicians and military bloggers have urged the Kremlin to follow Ukraine’s example and order a broad mobilization to beef up the ranks, lamenting Russia’s manpower shortage.
Russia was forced to pull back its forces from large swaths of northeastern Ukraine last week after a swift Ukrainian counteroffensive. Ukraine’s move to reclaim control of several Russian-occupied cities and villages marked the largest military setback for Moscow since its forces had to retreat from areas near the capital early in the war.
In his first comment on the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Putin said: “Let’s see how it develops and how it ends.”
He noted that Ukraine has tried to strike civilian infrastructure in Russia and “we so far have responded with restraint, but just yet.”
“If the situation develops this way, our response will be more serious,” Putin said.
“Just recently, the Russian armed forces have delivered a couple of impactful strikes,” he said in an apparent reference to Russian attacks earlier this week on power plants in northern Ukraine and a dam in the south. ”Let’s consider those as warning strikes.”
He alleged, without offering specifics, that Ukraine has attempted to launch attacks “near our nuclear facilities, nuclear power plants,” adding that “we will retaliate if they fail to understand that such methods are unacceptable.”
Russia has reported numerous explosions and fires at civilian infrastructure in areas near Ukraine, as well munitions depots and other facilities. Ukraine has claimed responsibility for some of the attacks and refrained from commenting on others.
Putin also sought Friday to assuage India’s concern about the conflict in Ukraine, telling Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Moscow wants to see a quick end to the fighting and alleging that Ukrainian officials won’t negotiate.
“I know your stand on the conflict in Ukraine and the concerns that you have repeatedly voiced,” the Russian leader told Modi. “We will do all we can to end that as quickly as possible. Regrettably, the other side, the leadership of Ukraine, has rejected the negotiations process and stated that it wants to achieve its goals by military means, on the battlefield.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says it’s Russia that allegedly doesn’t want to negotiate in earnest. He also has insisted on the withdrawal of Russian troops from occupied areas of Ukraine as a precondition for talks.
Putin’s remarks during the talks with Modi echoed comments the Russian leader made during Thursday’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping when Putin thanked him for his government’s “balanced position” on the Ukraine war, while adding that he was ready to discuss China’s unspecified “concerns” about Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters Friday, Putin said he and Xi “discussed what we should do in the current conditions to efficiently counter unlawful restrictions” imposed by the West. The European Union, the United States and other Western nations have put sanctions on Russian energy due to the war in Ukraine.
Xi, in a statement released by his government, expressed support for Russia’s “core interests” but also interest in working together to “inject stability” into world affairs. China’s relations with Washington, Europe, Japan and India have been strained by disputes about technology, security, human rights and territory.
Zhang Lihua, an international relations expert at Tsinghua University, said the reference to stability “is mainly related to China-U.S. relations,” adding that “the United States has been using all means to suppress China, which forced China to seek cooperation with Russia.”
China and India have refused to join Western sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine while increasing their purchases of Russian oil and gas, helping Moscow offset the financial restrictions imposed by the U.S. and its allies.
Putin also met Friday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss bolstering economic cooperation and regional issues, including a July deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations that allowed Ukrainian grain exports to resume from the country’s Black Sea ports.
Speaking at the Uzbekistan summit on Friday, Xi warned his Central Asian neighbors not to allow outsiders to destabilize them. The warning reflects Beijing’s anxiety that Western support for democracy and human rights activists is a plot to undermine Xi’s ruling Communist Party and other authoritarian governments.
“We should prevent external forces from instigating a color revolution,” Xi said in a speech to the leaders of Shanghai Cooperation Organization member nations, referring to protests that toppled unpopular regimes in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East.
Xi offered to train 2,000 police officers, to set up a regional counterterrorism training center and to “strengthen law enforcement capacity building.” He did not elaborate.
His comments echoed longtime Russian grievances about the color-coded democratic uprisings in several ex-Soviet nations that the Kremlin viewed as instigated by the U.S. and its allies.
Xi is promoting a “Global Security Initiative” announced in April following the formation of the Quad by the U.S., Japan, Australia and India in response to Beijing’s more assertive foreign policy. U.S. officials complain it echoes Russian arguments in support of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.
Central Asia is part of China’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative to expand trade by building ports, railways and other infrastructure across an arc of dozens of countries from the South Pacific through Asia to the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was formed by Russia and China as a counterweight to U.S. influence. The group also includes India, Pakistan and the four ex-Soviet Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran is on track to receive full membership.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-china-asia-japan-6a8ed850c06c21a4606cc7010697df11The "Pope"? May God help us.
It's lengthy. Some highlights:
Curious coincidence:
On Tuesday night Tucker Carlson opened his show suggesting the US and Joe Biden was behind the terrorist attacks on the Nord Stream Pipelines.
Joe Biden is behind nothing ... except for the latest 10-year-old girl he's trying to sniff. He controls nothing except perhaps what flavor of ice cream he'll get today.Biden did, in fact, threaten to do exactly this (https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1490792461979078662), to shut down the Nord Stream 2, as someone posted in another thread. A reporter asked him how he would shut down this pipeline since it belongs to Germany, and Biden basically said, "Trust me, we'll do it."
Since someone clearly blew up the pipe, it doesn't seem unreasonable to assume it was Biden making good on his threat.If the war does come, it gives them to excuse to denounce "MAGA Republicans" as traitors. They will be correct for a large number of them, too, and bring the public on their side. Another Qanon spook showed up a few months ago and it's likely that will be used to great effect again, as well. It all ends up being a cover for the Democrats to continue radically altering America and purging dissidents.
If the war does come, it gives them to excuse to denounce "MAGA Republicans" as traitors. They will be correct for a large number of them, too, and bring the public on their side. Another Qanon spook showed up a few months ago and it's likely that will be used to great effect again, as well. It all ends up being a cover for the Democrats to continue radically altering America and purging dissidents.I understand that a good number of MAGA Republicans are deluded in their slavish following of Donald Trump, but exactly how are large numbers of them traitors?
If you've ever read them, many of them welcome the invasion and talk about helping the Russians+Chinese in their conquest. There's overlap here with the NazBol types, but many others have been duped.Probably because they are sick of the traitors running this country.
If you've ever read them, many of them welcome the invasion and talk about helping the Russians+Chinese in their conquest. There's overlap here with the NazBol types, but many others have been duped.Sources for this?
I understand that a good number of MAGA Republicans are deluded in their slavish following of Donald Trump, but exactly how are large numbers of them traitors?Zero. Zip. Nada. Think about it.
Sources for this?Go on Telegram and Gab for yourself. Downvote me more :laugh1:
Traitors are those who violate the Constitution.https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title18/part1/chapter115&edition=prelim#:~:text=Whoever%2C%20owing%20allegiance%20to%20the,not%20less%20than%20%2410%2C000%3B%20and
§2381. Treason
Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 807 (https://uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume=62&page=807); Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, §330016(2)(J), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2148 (https://uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume=108&page=2148).)
Zero. Zip. Nada. Think about it.Yes I understand that but I'm trying to get dxcat40 to understand that the Maga Republicans are not the traitors , a good deal of the left is; especially the elites.
Another word for maga republicans is Constitutionalsts.
Traitors are those who violate the Constitution.
Some of these traitors who violate the Constitution work for the alphabet feds and they infiltrate groups of marginalized, homeless and mentally disabled people in order to create the illusion that the Constitutionalists are dangerous.
Look into the FBI-organized attempted kidnapping of the Governor of Michigan.
Look into the FIRST FBI-organized attempted bombing of the World Trade Center.
Look into the FBI involvement in the Oklahoma bombing.
Look into Ray Eps.
Study Hegel's dialectic.
Study problem- reaction- solution.
Study the history of fαℓѕє fℓαgs.
Yes I understand that but I'm trying to get dxcat40 to understand that the Maga Republicans are not the traitors , a good deal of the left is; especially the elites.It's not something you need to make me understand. You need to understand that I am denouncing those that invite the invasion and destruction of America. They are not going to clear off the traitorous Democrats and leave you to rebuild in peace.
Go on Telegram and Gab for yourself. Downvote me more :laugh1:I don't choose to waste time searching for shills.
Yes I understand that but I'm trying to get dxcat40 to understand that the Maga Republicans are not the traitors , a good deal of the left is; especially the elites.I agree with you.
It's not something you need to make me understand. You need to understand that I am denouncing those that invite the invasion and destruction of America. They are not going to clear off the traitorous Democrats and leave you to rebuild in peace.I agree with you too.
https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title18/part1/chapter115&edition=prelim#:~:text=Whoever%2C%20owing%20allegiance%20to%20the,not%20less%20than%20%2410%2C000%3B%20and
America needs to be destroyed. It has been the devil's chief tool for exporting Jєωιѕн filth and immorality throughout the world.
There's something seriously wrong with you. US is taken over by demonic forces, by the Jєωs, and you're denouncing as traitors those people who believe that this evil Masonic system (US founded by Freemasons on decidedly anti-Catholic principles).I denounce as traitors the people who support the invasion and destruction of the American people. That dream of destruction is really a nightmare, and a signal for the arrival of a far worse global empire than America could hope to be. Good priests I know pray for peace, not the violent annihilation of innocent people, which would be global and not limited to America.
Get lost.You have Matthew's blessing. You can act however you like and there is no recourse. He even fixed the voting system when you were picking up hundreds of downvotes in a few weeks. Even so, you are just a loud random Internet poster and currently have no power or authority, even if you like to put on a theoretical Pope hat every now and again.
US has been involved in one atrocity after another throughout its history, from the entire "cινιℓ ωαr", to Hiroshima/Nagasaki, to the war crimes against the people of Dresden, in one bloody coup after another in various sovereign countries, and have been the chief exporter of immorality throughout the world.It isn't a uniquely American institution. America was irrelevant for most of its history and it took leveling Europe to elevate it to superpower status. I can't remember you ever harping on as much about the crimes of the Soviets and the evils wrought in the world by Trotskyite Communist infiltration worldwide, which have been far worse than even the rotten Postwar American Empire. I think you are more intelligent than this.
There's something seriously wrong with you. US is taken over by demonic forces, by the Jєωs, and you're denouncing as traitors those people who believe that this evil Masonic system (US founded by Freemasons on decidedly anti-Catholic principles).
Get lost.
US has been involved in one atrocity after another throughout its history, from the entire "cινιℓ ωαr", to Hiroshima/Nagasaki, to the war crimes against the people of Dresden, in one bloody coup after another in various sovereign countries, and have been the chief exporter of immorality throughout the world.
Sources for this?
Although the US has its problems, I would argue that Catholic Americans have more temporal advantages than our coreligionists in Russia and especially China. Look at these plain truths - Traditional Catholics can have their own church buildings, and go to Mass at those churches without worry of persecution by the civil authorities. We can have processions, and not get arrested for it, as would happen in the gulaghomo countries (Russia and China). We can own firearms, and can send our youth to private traditional Catholic schools or have them homeschooled. These things are either legally impossible or come under incredibly difficult scrutiny by those countries, while we have it much easier here.
Now it's true that those freedoms have come under attack, but remember that priests here in the US were able to use the legal system against the tyrannical dictates of state governors (ex. Fr. Kevin Robinson in NJ against Governor Murphy) and win. Something like that is impossible in Russia and China under those present regimes.
We also have a much higher Catholic presence than in those nations. Russia was a Catholic country about a thousand years ago, but much of that influence is sadly gone. China had some Catholics, but they have to practice their faith in secret now or be sent to the gulag.
Bottom line is that you should have more appreciation for what we do have in the US that's worth fighting for, instead of just railing against the country.