Russia calls for boosting ties between Caspian nations, Putin says

Dhaka June 30 2022 :

Inside Russia : Outside Russia : News Digest by the Embassy of Russian Federation in Bangladesh on June 30 2022.

INSIDE RUSSIA

Vladimir Putin comments on Boris Johnson’s remarks

Speaking to journalists in Turkmenistan on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to questions about several recent remarks from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. During the latest G7 summit, the UK leader joked that his allies should take their clothes off for the photoshoot – to show that they are “tougher than Putin.”

“I don’t know how they wanted to undress, waist-high or not, but I think it would be a disgusting sight either way,” the Russian president quipped. “Everything should be harmoniously developed in a person, both the body and the soul. However, in order for everything to be harmonious, one has to abandon excessive drinking and break other bad habits, start exercising, take up a sport.”

Johnson’s another recent remark suggested that what he described as a “macho war of invasion” in Ukraine would not happen “if Putin was a woman, which he obviously isn’t.”

The Russian leader responded: “I just want to remind you about the events of modern history, when Margaret Thatcher made a decision to launch military action against Argentina over the Falkland Islands. Here’s a woman, deciding to launch military action. Where are the Falkland Islands and where is Britain? And this was dictated by nothing but imperial ambitions.”

“So coming from an acting British Prime Minister, this is not exactly a correct remark in regards to what is happening today.”

Vladimir Putin visited Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on Wednesday, during his first foreign trip since the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. He attended the sixth Caspian summit, meeting with the leaders of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The day before that, he visited Tajikistan and met with its president Emomali Rahmon.

Russia launches probe over Ukrainian terror threats

Moscow is investigating Kiev’s military intelligence chief over remarks about “attacks and sabotage operations”

The Russian Investigative Committee launched a criminal probe on Wednesday over remarks made by the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kirill Budanov, who threatened “attacks and sabotage operations” on Russia’s territory.

Budanov made the warning in an interview with the Financial Times over the weekend, claiming that Moscow has been already facing “partisan activities” in the Ukrainian territories seized amid the ongoing conflict that began in late February. The attack and sabotage operations are not limited to these areas and “are held everywhere, and they were and will be held in Russia and many other places,” he told the newspaper.

Budanov now faces charges in Russia over “threatening to stage a terror act.” According to Russian law, such an offense incurs a heavy penalty and can land someone convicted behind bars for up to 15 years.

Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and “create powerful armed forces.”

In February 2022, the Kremlin recognized the Donbass republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked.

Russia warns Norway over conflict in Arctic

Moscow has summoned, on Wednesday, Norway’s charge d’affaires Solveig Rossebo over the “unacceptable” ban on the delivery of supplies to a Russian Arctic mining operation in the Svalbard Islands, the Foreign Ministry has announced.

Norwegian media outlets had previously cited the authorities as confirming that the Russians on Svalbard were denied an exemption from sanctions that were imposed on Moscow over its conflict with Ukraine.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that miners and other personnel have been unable to receive “critical” goods, including food, medical equipment, building materials, and spare parts.

Moscow promised “appropriate retaliatory measures” if the issue was not resolved.

Svalbard has been a flashpoint of diplomatic tensions between Moscow and Oslo before, when Norway tightened entry requirements following the 2015 visit of a senior Russian official under EU sanctions on account of Ukraine. Norway is not a member of the bloc.

Russia protested that such behavior was violating the 1920 treaty that established Norwegian rule over the islands.

This month, Moscow also accused Lithuania of breaking international law by suspending the transit of sanctioned goods in the Kaliningrad Region, a small Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea, and the rest of Russia.

Diplomat says Kiev must stop intimidating Russian journalists

MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/. The Kiev regime and Ukraine’s special services should stop trying to intimidate Russian journalists through assassination attempts and provocations, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Wednesday.

“The Ukrainian security services have been working very closely in the journalistic environment for a long time, coming up with terrible provocative actions, preparing to assassinate Russian journalists,” she said, “By trying to intimidate our journalists with their ‘punishments’, the Kiev regime is demonstrating a new facet of lawlessness and misanthropy. Stop intimidating people who work in the media, stop threatening them.”

The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman recalled in this regard the threats made by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in his Tuesday night video address, in which he promised to “punish” Russian journalists for being dedicated to performing their professional duties.

“It is indicative that Zelensky’s address with the mentioned threats was made public right after the Ukrainian president tried to accuse our country of terrorism from the UN tribune,” the diplomat said, “I see an analogy with the terrorist act of the Ukrainian Nazis, foiled in April, with the aim to eliminate several prominent representatives of the Russian media. The attack was planned and carried out under the coordination of the Ukrainian special services and with the knowledge of their Western handlers.”

Zakharova pointed out that in Ukraine, “over which the West has exercised its protectorate for many years, the murders of journalists have not been investigated at all”. “You live in the 21st century, after all, and everything that you thought you could do in your country is not acceptable in our country and in the whole world, which you consider civilized,” she adressed Zelensky, “All the crimes of the Kiev regime are thoroughly documented, and all the perpetrators will be brought to justice and will suffer the punishment they deserve, as established by law”.

Bank of Russia believes it’s possible to further reduce key rate

At the same time, Elvira Nabiullina clarified that the Bank of Russia will reduce the key rate as inflation slows down

MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/. The Bank of Russia sees a possibility of further reducing the key rate, the regulator’s Governor Elvira Nabiullina said on Wednesday.

“We see a possibility for a further reduction in the key rate, but, of course, the situation is very volatile,” she said.

At the same time, she clarified that the Bank of Russia will reduce the key rate as inflation slows down.

At a meeting on June 10, the Board of Directors of the Bank of Russia lowered the key rate from 11% to 9.5% per annum. The next meeting will be held on July 22.

Russian division of Nokian Tyres will continue to operate

MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/. The division of Nokian Tyres in Russia will continue to operate, the plant in Vsevolozhsk will maintain the production, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

However, the company noted that the final decision on the mechanism of further operation has not yet been made, negotiations with the parent company will be completed during the third quarter of this year.

Andrey Pantyukhov, General Director of Nokian Tyres in Russia, noted that “the sanctions restrictions adopted by the EU made it impossible for us to continue working in Russia as part of the Nokian Tyres concern.”

“The management of the Russian company Nokian Tyres prepared and submitted a proposal on the future format of the company’s operation in Russia in an autonomous mode to the board of directors of the concern,” he added.

“We believe that the approval of this proposal will allow us to continue operating in Russia. However, the Board of Directors needs more time to make a decision. Also, the Board of Directors may consider other potential decisions as part of a controlled exit from the market. In any case, the goal is to implement the decision, which will ensure the continuation of the company’s sustainable activities in Russia,” Pantyukhov said.

He added that the company will continue its work in Russia, including the production of tires at the Vsevolozhsk plant, and does not plan further layoffs, despite the decrease in the production of the plant, whose products were mainly exported.

“Meanwhile, Nokian Tyres in Russia will continue its work, including production at the plant in Vsevolozhsk, and will fully fulfill all its obligations to employees, customers, consumers, suppliers, other partners and tax authorities,” Pantykhov said.

He explained that after the EU introduced fifth package of sanctions the company will no longer be able to export tires manufactured at the the Nokian Tires plant in Vsevolozhsk after July 11.

“There will be a significant decrease in production of the Russian plant. The company does not plan to further reduce the number of personnel in Russia. Currently, we are working on how to provide the plant with raw materials amid sanctions restrictions to continue operating activities,” Pantyukhov said.

On Tuesday, Nokian Tyres announced on its website that it has decided to initiate a controlled exit from the Russian market due to the situation in Ukraine.

The company stressed that this process will be done with due consideration to local employees and legislation. The Finnish tire maker notified the authorities of Russia’s Leningrad region that it will lay off over 300 employees of its local plant in July.

Also on Tuesday, the French tire manufacturer Michelin announced that it would cease operations in Russia by the end of 2022 and transfer the Russian division to local management.

Russian politician warns Finland, Sweden to realize impact of joining NATO

MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/. Sweden and Finland joining NATO is their choice, but these Nordic nations must realize the consequences this will have on their ties with Russia, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) and Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky said.

“The accession of Finland and Sweden, in fact, to the front line of the alliance and the rejection of [their] non-aligned status will be the choice of these countries. However, they should clearly understand the consequences such a step would have on their relations with Russia and on the general security architecture in Europe, which is already in deep crisis,” Slutsky wrote on his Telegram channel Wednesday, commenting on Turkey dropping its veto of Finland and Sweden’s entry to NATO.

The politician noted that since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US-led military bloc has consistently sought to move closer to Russia’s borders, and all the mantras about its “defensive nature” were simply a “smokescreen.” “For Russia, NATO’s eastward expansion began not with the alliance inviting Sweden and Finland to get onboard, but by breaking promises once made to the first president of the Soviet Union. Since then, we have already seen several waves of this kind, which time after time has triggered new concerns on ensuring the security and national interests of our country,” he added.

“Yes, and if I were Turkey, I would not be too flattered about the assurances I received in exchange for not vetoing the Finns’ and Swedes’ accession to NATO. Gorbachev was also once promised something,” Slutsky argued.

On May 18, Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO. They were supposed to receive an invitation to join at the bloc’s Madrid summit, but Turkey’s veto blocked the process. On June 28, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg held negotiations in Madrid on the topic. As a result, Turkey rescinded its veto, and subsequently the three parties signed a memorandum paving the way for Sweden and Finland to join NATO. In exchange, a ban on the sale of weapons to Ankara was lifted, and the parties vowed to fight terrorism. Erdogan’s office told TASS that Turkey considered the signed document as a result achieved by Sweden and Finland, which will allow them to join the alliance.

Boris Johnson’s comments on ‘female Putin’ draw response from Moscow

The Kremlin has mocked the UK PM’s suggestion that Putin wouldn’t have attacked Ukraine if he were a woman

The Kremlin responded to Boris Johnson’s claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not have launched the military operation against Ukraine if he were a woman, suggesting the British PM would have been of great interest to psychoanalysts.

“Old Freud would have dreamed of such a research subject during his lifetime,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Wednesday.

The Kremlin’s response comes after Boris Johnson said in an interview with German media on Tuesday that Putin’s offensive in Ukraine was a prime example of “toxic masculinity.”

“If Putin was a woman, which he obviously isn’t, if he were, I really don’t think he would have embarked on a crazy, macho war of invasion and violence in the way that he has,” Johnson said, according to ZDF.

“If you want a perfect example of toxic masculinity, it’s what he’s doing in Ukraine,” he insisted, adding that there should be more women in positions of power.

The interview came after the three-day G7 Summit in Krun, Germany, where the member nations attempted to project unity against Russia and agree on a set of measures to punish Moscow for its ongoing military campaign in Ukraine.

Ahead of the summit on Sunday, Johnson and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau jokingly argued over whether they should take off their shirts and show off their ‘pecs’, so as to appear “tougher than Putin,” as the British PM suggested the Western leaders should take their clothes off.

The quip was in reference to several photo ops in which Vladimir Putin appears shirtless while riding a horse, fishing, and swimming in the Siberian mountains. In an interview with NBC’s Megyn Kelly in 2018, the Russian leader explained that there was never any intention to distribute the photos, which became widely shared on the internet simply due to journalists and people “taking the photos they like.” He added that “nobody is interested” in photos of him sitting in his office looking at papers.

OUTSIDE RUSSIA

Russia calls for boosting ties between Caspian nations, Putin says

ASHGABAT, June 29. /TASS/. Moscow calls for boosting cooperation between the five Caspian nations, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a summit of five Caspian nations in the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat on Wednesday.

“Russia has consistently called for boosting partnership relations between the five Caspian nations in the fields of politics, security, economy and environmental protection, as well as on many humanitarian aspects,” he pointed out.

Putin was confident that strict adherence to the principles of the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea would guarantee the region’s prosperity. According to the Russian president, the five Caspian nations are responsible for preserving the Caspian Sea and ensuring sustainable regional development.

The Caspian Five includes Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

Syria makes decision to recognize LPR, DPR — Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/. Syria has made a decision to recognize the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

“Based on the common will and desire to improve relations in all areas, the Syrian Arab Republic has made a decision to recognize the independence and sovereignty of the Lugansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement cited by Syria’s SANA agency.

The report says that “contacts will be established with each of the two countries [LPR and DPR] to agree on a framework for strengthening relations, including the establishment of diplomatic relations in accordance with the existing norms.”

On June 16, Syria’s President Bashar Assad said during a meeting with a DPR delegation that the procedure of recognizing the DPR had officially begun. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia would hail the recognition of the DPR and the LPR by Syria and any other country.

Kherson region begins preparations for referendum on accession to Russia

KHERSON, June 29. /TASS/. Authorities in the Kherson region have begun preparations for a referendum on accession to Russia, Deputy Head of the Regional Military-Civilian Administration Kirill Stremousov said on Wednesday.

“We are indeed making preparations for a referendum, and we will hold it. Surprisingly, the Kherson region will make a decision to join Russia and it will become a full-fledged constituent entity,” he said in a video posted on Telegram.

The Kherson region is located in southern Ukraine and borders Crimea. The Russian Defense Ministry said in mid-March that Russian troops had taken full control of the region. A military-civilian administration was formed there in late April. The regional authorities later announced plans to join Russia.

Anti-Russian sanctions spur global food crisis — ambassador

WASHINGTON, June 29. /TASS/. The recent wave of West’s anti-Russian restrictions imposed over the special military operation in Ukraine has exacerbated the global food crisis, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov has said.

“As to the food security, it was the wave of anti-Russian restrictions, imposed by the US-led collective West, that spurred the global food crisis. Its root causes are incompetent macroeconomic steps taken by a number of developed nations, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic,” the embassy’s press service quoted the ambassador as saying.

According to the diplomat, the crisis can be solved “only through free access of grain and fertilizers, including Russian ones, to global markets.”

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a special military operation in Ukraine in response to a request from the leaders of the two Donbass republics. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukrainian territories but that the goal was to demilitarize and denazify the country.

The West responded with sweeping sanctions against Russia. Also, Western countries have so far supplied billions of dollars worth of arms and military equipment to Kiev. Some Western politicians have acknowledged that an economic war is being waged against Russia. Putin said in March the West’s policy of sanctions on Moscow had been showing all signs of aggression, with its containment of Russia being a long-term strategy. He also noted that problems on the global food market had begun back in February 2020. Putin dismissed statements that Russia was allegedly blocking grain in Ukrainian ports as mere bluffing.

NATO admits it’s been preparing for conflict with Russia since 2014

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that increases in deployments and military spending were done with Russia in mind

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Wednesday that increases in military spending and rising numbers of troop deployments in Eastern Europe since 2014 were carried out in anticipation of a conflict with Russia.

Speaking after a meeting of NATO members and partner states in Madrid, Stoltenberg accused Russia of “using force in the eastern Donbass since 2014,” despite the fact that Kiev’s forces have shelled cities in the region ever since the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics declared independence from Ukraine that year.

Nevertheless, Stoltenberg said that the US-led military bloc decided in 2014 to start beefing up its forces in Eastern Europe.

“The reality is also that we have been preparing for this since 2014,” he stated. “That is the reason that we have increased our presence in the eastern part of the alliance, why NATO allies have started to invest more in defense, and why we have increased [our] readiness.”

Updated strategy, new members, old enemies: NATO summit highlights

According to NATO figures, the alliance’s European members and Canada have increased their military expenditure by between 1.2% and 5.9% every year since 2014. However, only 10 out of 30 NATO states currently meet the bloc’s target of spending 2% of GDP on defense.

The increase in expenditure has been most noticeable in Eastern Europe and the Baltics, with Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania all meeting the target for the first time in 2022.

Earlier on Wednesday, NATO members agreed to adopt a new Strategic Concept. This policy blueprint sets out the alliance’s stance toward partners, non-members, and adversaries, with the 2022 iteration naming Russia as the “most significant and direct threat” to the bloc.

On the other hand, Moscow has labeled NATO’s expansion into former Soviet states since the end of the Cold War – which Western leaders explicitly promised in the early 1990s would not happen – as a threat against its own security. NATO’s official position on Ukraine, set out in the 2008 Bucharest Declaration, is that it and Georgia “will become members of NATO” at an unspecified future date. Russia has cited Ukraine’s pursuit of NATO membership as a key factor behind the current conflict.

Despite the alliance’s post-Cold War march into the former Eastern Bloc, Stoltenberg claimed on Wednesday that “NATO has strived for a better relationship with Russia for decades.”

SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATION IN UKRAINE

Ukraine mulls series of provocations – Russia

Kiev wants to trigger Russian strikes on civilians and stage a fake chemical weapon attack, Moscow claims

The Ukrainian government is setting the stage for a number of provocations that would falsely implicate Russia in war crimes and atrocities, including a chemical weapon attack, the Russian military claimed on Tuesday.

Among other things, Kiev plans to launch rocket artillery strikes from the city of Krivoy Rog in Dnepropetrovsk Region, according to a statement by Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev. Ukrainian nationalists would fire from a location in a residential area at a hospital in a Russia-controlled community, he claimed.

“The Ukrainian neo-Nazis want to trigger return fire and then accuse the Russian armed forces of indiscriminate attacks against civilian infrastructure and Ukrainian non-combatants,” Mizintsev said.

In a separate case, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has been in contact with health officials in Odessa Region to “work out issues with reception and treatment of people injured by toxic chemicals,” the official added. The Russian military believes this to be an indicator that Kiev wants to stage a fake chemical weapon attack and blame it on Russia.

Mizintsev is the head of the National Defense Control Center of Russia, and also supervises the Russian military’s humanitarian mission for the Ukraine operation. In his statement, he addressed Western nations and international organizations such as the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross, warning that Kiev is preparing “these and other similar provocations” against Russia, using the supportive media to make the claims seem credible.

Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and “create powerful armed forces.”

In February 2022, the Kremlin recognized the Donbass republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked.

Russian forces take out Ukrainian nationalists – Moscow

Over a hundred personnel of the Kraken battalion have been killed near Kharkov, according to the Russian Defense Ministry

Russian forces have reportedly conducted a series of precision artillery strikes on several military targets in eastern Ukraine, including the base of the Kraken nationalist battalion, according to the latest daily report published by Russia’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday.

Over one hundred Kraken fighters were neutralized, near the city of Kharkov, as a result of artillery strikes on Wednesday, according to the report, as well as ten armored vehicles. The ministry added that high-precision missile strikes also took out a number of command bases in the region, including a foreign mercenary training center, as well as ammunition depots and repair bases.

The ministry noted that, after suffering significant casualties, leaders of the Kraken unit ordered its forces to abandon their positions and retreat to the city of Kharkov.

The Kraken unit is considered by Russia’s Defense Ministry to be a nationalist fighting force and an offshoot of the notorious neo-Nazi Azov regiment, which recently suffered a crushing defeat in the city of Mariupol. Kraken designates itself as a special reconnaissance and sabotage unit under the Ministry of Defense, operating separately from the Armed forces of Ukraine.

While there is no official information on exactly how many fighters are part of this battalion, some sources believe that the unit has about 1,800 soldiers and primarily consists of Azov veterans and volunteers, many of whom come from ultranationalist and far-right backgrounds.

Russia has accused the battalion of committing several war crimes since the start of its ongoing military operation in Ukraine, as Kraken unit fighters have reportedly been responsible for brutally mistreating Russian POWs, as shown on video.

The Kraken unit’s leader, Konstantin Nemichev – a former Azov commander who unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Kharkov last year – was placed on a Russia’s most wanted list last month for “threatening the lives of at least eight Russian servicemen on the territory of the Kharkov region.”

The head of Russia’s National Defense Control Center, Mikhail Mizintsev, has also accused Kraken members of harassing Kharkov region residents and accused them of conducting “punitive raids” against people suspected of harboring pro-Russian sentiments.

“Militants of the nationalist unit Kraken, comprised mainly of radicals and rapists and murderers released from prisons, conduct punitive raids in the Kharkov Region, during which the so-called death squads at night break into the houses of local residents that are suspected by the SBU of pro-Russian sentiments, subject them to physical violence and take them away to unknown locations,” he said.

Last week, the Russian Defense Ministry warned Kraken was attempting to mine a Kharkov children’s hospital full of patients and doctors with the intention to blow it up once Russian forces started attacking military targets in the city. Mizintsev also added that reporters from foreign news outlets like CNN had already arrived to several cities across Ukraine to film terrorist acts on civilian infrastructure, which will then be blamed on Russian forces.

Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and “create powerful armed forces.”

In February 2022, the Kremlin recognized the Donbass republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked.

Russia and Ukraine hold largest POW exchange

Russia and Ukraine held a new prisoner of war exchange on Wednesday. The swap has become the largest exchange since the beginning of the ongoing conflict, with each side surrendering 144 prisoners.

Ukraine’s military intelligence service was the first to announce the exchange, releasing photos of the swap.

The batch included 43 fighters with the notorious Azov regiment, Ukraine’s military intelligence noted. Hundreds of fighters of the neo-Nazi unit ended up in Russia’s custody after surrendering at the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol.

While Moscow has remained silent on the swap so far, the exchange was confirmed by the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin. “Today, 144 fighters of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Russian Federation, captured by the enemy, we are returning home,” Pushilin wrote in a social media post.

“We gave Kiev the same number of prisoners from the armed forces of Ukraine, most of whom were wounded. Several of them are privates of nationalist battalions, their condition is deplorable: the wounds are severe, with amputation of limbs and other complications,” he added.

Both Russia and Ukraine claim to have captured scores of each others’ soldiers since Moscow launched its military campaign in the neighboring country in late February. Early in June, Moscow said it was holding nearly 6,500 Ukrainian fighters in custody. Ukrainian officials previously reported that 11 rounds of exchanges had taken place, with dozens of prisoners swapped. 

Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and “create powerful armed forces.”

In February 2022, the Kremlin recognized the Donbass republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked.

Ukraine planning series of provocations – Russia

Kiev wants to trigger Russian strikes on civilians and stage a fake chemical weapon attack, Moscow claims

The Ukrainian government is setting the stage for a number of provocations that would falsely implicate Russia in war crimes and atrocities, including a chemical weapon attack, the Russian military claimed on Tuesday.

Among other things, Kiev plans to launch rocket artillery strikes from the city of Krivoy Rog in the Dnepropetrovsk Region, according to a statement by Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev. Ukrainian nationalists would fire from a location in a residential area at a hospital in a Russia-controlled community, he claimed.

“The Ukrainian neo-Nazis want to trigger return fire and then accuse the Russian armed forces of indiscriminate attacks against civilian infrastructure and Ukrainian non-combatants,” Mizintsev said.

In a separate case, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has been in contact with health officials in Odessa Region to “work out issues with reception and treatment of people injured by toxic chemicals,” the official added. The Russian military believes this to be an indicator that Kiev wants to stage a fake chemical weapon attack and blame it on Russia.

Mizintsev is the head of the National Defense Control Center of Russia, and also supervises the Russian military’s humanitarian mission for the Ukraine operation. In his statement, he addressed Western nations and international organizations such as the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross, warning that Kiev is preparing “these and other similar provocations” against Russia, using the supportive media to make the claims seem credible.

Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and “create powerful armed forces.”

In February 2022, the Kremlin recognized the Donbass republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked.

INSIGHTS

West former colonies did not support excluding Russia from the world economy policy — Readovka.world

Russia was not alone when the West tried to exclude it from the world economy – the former colonies of Europe, who refused to support the West, leaned to Russian side

After the start of the special operation in Ukraine, the former colonies of the West did not support the policy of exclusion from the world economy and refused to take sides, the French magazine Le Point tells. The Non-Aligned Movement countries that refused to join any military blocs, adhering to the principle of respect for their interests, refrained from condemning Russia during the UN vote and did not impose sanctions.

The author of the article notes with surprise and regret that Saudi Arabia resisted pressure from the United States to increase oil production and reduce its price, India suspended exports of wheat and sugar, and Indonesia suspended palm oil exports, choosing its own citizens as a priority. Now they condemn the West for the food crisis, linking its cause precisely with sanctions against Russia, and after that they lean on Russian side. As a result, the Non-Aligned Movement countries rejected by the West enjoy the support of India, Indonesia, the Persian Gulf countries and most African countries.

The article notes that the West is trying to remind the former colonies of the sovereignty of Ukraine, but the countries of the Non-Aligned Movement continue to explain the reason for the start of the special operation in the constant expansion of NATO, which lasted for thirty years. In addition, the countries of the South agree that it is time to reconsider the world system, which is too favorable for the United States, and build a multipolar world.

In the end, the author concludes that in the era of a multipolar world, the West cannot lose the South, so «democratic countries should include openness to developing countries in their strategy», show a reaction to their humanitarian problems and «rehabilitate democratic values and institutions in their eyes, even if they do not fit well with the realities of today’s West».

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