Month: May 2022

Washington has been ‘very clear’ on which weapons it’s sending to Ukraine, an envoy claims

Washington does not want to become a party to the conflict between Kiev and Moscow, and while the US intends to continue supplying Ukraine with weapons, systems that allow Ukrainian forces to attack Russia will not be among them, US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Tuesday.

“Look, it’s very very simple. We have been clear from day one that we will provide Ukraine with weapons to defend itself from Russian aggression, to defend itself inside its borders, to fight against Russia,” Thomas-Greenfield told reporters at a press conference marking the end of Washington’s presidency over the UN Security Council. “We’re not providing any weapons that will allow the Ukrainians to attack Russia from inside of Ukraine, and President [Joe] Biden has been very clear on that.”

“We’re not going to become [a] party to the war,” she added.

On Monday, Biden confirmed media speculation that the US intends to ship multiple rocket launcher systems (MLRS) to Ukraine. He offered no details beyond saying he was “not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that can strike into Russia.”

US media outlets have mentioned MLRS systems as possibly destined for Ukraine – the M270 tracked launcher, retired in 2003, or the more modern M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). Both can launch tactical ballistic missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers, as well as barrage rockets with an effective range of around 30 kilometers.

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Ukrainian shelling kills 5-year-old child – DPR

“Seventy kilometers is more than enough for us,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Alexey Arestovich said on Monday, commenting on what he said were the missiles the US would send Kiev. He also threatened an “exemplary tantrum” if Washington changed its mind.

So far, the US and its NATO allies have sent over 100 pieces of towed and self-propelled artillery to replace some of Ukraine’s combat losses. Since the start of hostilities in February, Kiev’s forces have lost more than 450 MLRS launchers in addition to more than 1,700 artillery pieces, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

Russia has repeatedly warned the US and its NATO allies against sending weapons to Ukraine, and the Western press has worried about retaliation if any of the artillery systems were used to attack Russian territory. Moscow has blamed Ukrainian artillery for more than half a dozen instances of cross-border fire that have killed civilians and caused property damage. Kiev has neither claimed nor denied responsibility for the incidents.

Russia attacked the neighboring state in late February, following Ukraine’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German- and French-brokered Minsk Protocol was designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.

The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.

Authorities say they will start easing curbs in Shanghai that affected the economy and confined millions to their homes.

The UK’s transport secretary demands to meet with airlines and airports to “find out what’s gone wrong”.

Its top prosecutor accuses Russian military officials and politicians of committing war crimes.

THEY ARE LOSING THE WAR! (FULL) WITH TOM LUONGO + GARLAND NIXON

SUBSCRIBE TO ME HERE – https://bit.ly/cryptorichodysee THEY ARE LOSING THE WAR! (FULL) WITH TOM LUONGO + GARLAND NIXON Tom Luongo, Garland Nixon and I meet online to discuss the Ukraine Russia war a…

THEY ARE LOSING THE WAR! (FULL) WITH TOM LUONGO + GARLAND NIXON

Tom Luongo, Garland Nixon and I meet online to discuss the Ukraine Russia war and the war on culture that is being waged against us. We discuss immigration, the state of the ECB, the mid-terms, Hungary, Turkey and the expansion of Nato.

Russia, unimpressed with EU sanctions. Azov rebranding. Aiden Aslin YT channel. Update 1
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Mainstream Media Praises Ukraine’s Azov Battalion For Dropping Nazi Patches From Uniform

Amid their looming defeat in the Donbas, which even The New York Times and Washington Post have belatedly and reluctantly begun to acknowledge of late, the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion is still struggling to make over its image, given the Western mainstream had long ago admitted them as a significant “neo-Nazi threat” – as one BBC documentary bluntly described years ago.

Chancellor Scholz accused of “doing Putin’s bidding”

Berlin has only sent two shipments of weapons to Ukraine over the past nine weeks, and only of smaller items such as anti-tank missiles and land mines, according to documents obtained by the German media conglomerate Axel Springer. The pro-NATO company accused Chancellor Olaf Scholz of doing Russia’s bidding.

Between March 30 and May 26, Germany made only two weapons deliveries to Kiev, the US-based Insider reported on Tuesday, citing the original report by the German daily Die Welt am Sonntag. Both outlets are owned by Axel Springer. The company’s values statement, which all German employees are required to sign, is explicitly pro-NATO.

According to Insider, Germany “reduced its military support” to Ukraine over the past several weeks, even as Kiev ramped up its demands for more and heavier weapons to fight against Russia. The outlet framed as suspicious the fact that the alleged reduction came ahead of the May 28 phone call, in which Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron that sending more weapons to Kiev would cause “further destabilization.”

Not only has Scholz refused to send German tanks and armored vehicles to Ukraine, but Germany has “supplied hardly any light weapons worth mentioning,” according to Die Welt. When reached for comment by the outlet, the German defense ministry said it could not provide detailed information on the matter because “information on specific arms deliveries is security-related and classified.”

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Greek opposition protests Ukraine weapons deal

Speaking in Brussels on Tuesday, Scholz announced a “ring swap” deal with Greece, which would see Athens get refurbished German infantry fighting vehicles in exchange for sending some of its old East German BMPs to Kiev. The Greek opposition protested the arrangement.

Berlin has not yet granted Kiev’s request for Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Insider claimed, citing the government documents in Die Welt’s possession. Denmark agreed to do so instead, the Pentagon confirmed on May 23.

Scholz has repeatedly told German media outlets that he supports Ukraine but does not want to see Germany and NATO drawn into the conflict with Russia directly. In April, he explained that Berlin could not send any more of its own weapons because the Bundeswehr stocks had been depleted, but said Germany would pay for its weapons industry to send refurbished equipment to Kiev instead. 

A request by the US for Ukraine to get some of the Spike anti-tank missiles, produced in Germany under an Israeli license, failed due to opposition from Tel Aviv, however. The very first shipment of German heavy vehicles – 15 of the retired Gepard anti-aircraft systems – is due to reach Ukraine sometime in July. 

Talks took place on facilitating Russian grain and fertiliser exports to global markets, UN spokesman says.

A tumultuous May for markets ended almost exactly where it started in equities.

State Department says with ‘significant’ funding approved by Congress, US will soon reveal new assistance.