US directly involved in Ukraine conflict : Moscow

Dhaka August 03 2022 :

Inside Russia : Outside Russia : News Digest by the Embassy of Russian Federation in Bangladesh on August 03 2022 

INSIDE RUSSIA

Russian Supreme Court designates Azov nationalist battalion as terrorist organization

MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/. The Russian Supreme Court has designated the Ukrainian Azov nationalist battalion as a terrorist organization and outlawed its activities in Russia, TASS reports.

“To satisfy the administrative motion of the prosecutor general and to recognize the Ukrainian paramilitary unit Azov as a terrorist organization, banning its activities on the territory of the Russian Federation,” the judge read out the decision.

The court announced only the operative part of the judgement, its motives remain unknown. The ruling has not yet come into effect, and it may be appealed against in the court of appeal.

The suit was examined in the absence of representatives from the opposite side. Most of the hearing took place behind closed doors, journalists were only allowed to watch the broadcast at the stage of the examination of witnesses. The witnesses – Russian human rights activists and journalists, told the court about the numerous episodes of crimes committed by Azov militants. In the courtroom, they showed interviews with residents of Mariupol and Volnovakha, whose relatives had been killed, kidnapped, or tortured by militants from the Azov battalion.

Members of the organization recognized by the court as a terrorist organization are criminally liable. The founders and leaders are punished by 15 to 20 years in prison with a fine of up to 1 million rubles (over $16,500), while rank-and-file participants – from 5 to 10 years in jail with a fine of up to 500,000 rubles. Those who had voluntarily stopped participation in the activities of the organization before the investigation began, are exempt from criminal liability.

Washington destabilizes global situation — Russian diplomat

MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/. The United States brings destabilization to the world, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday, commenting on information that China suspended importing a number of Taiwanese food products in response to Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s potential visit to Taipei.

“Washington brings destabilization to the world. Not a single conflict has been settled over past decades yet many have been provoked,” the diplomat wrote on her Telegram channel.

According to the Zhongguo Shibao newspaper, Pelosi will arrive in Taipei on Tuesday evening leading a delegation of six people representing the Democratic Party. It is expected that an American military aircraft will fly to the northern part of the island over its eastern coast and, by all appearances, the Taiwanese army is beefing up security measures in that part of the region.

This trip may become the first visit of a Speaker of the US House of Representatives to Taiwan in the last 25 years. Beijing repeatedly cautioned Washington that if Pelosi visited the island, this would have repercussions and China would take severe measures.

BRICS contributes significantly to solution of global challenges and threats — Lavrov

MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/. Member states of the BRICS association (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) contribute significantly to the search of collective responses to multiple present-day challenges and threats and play an important role in the formation of the positive and future-oriented global agenda, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.

In his video message addressed to participants of the 2nd BRICS International Youth Camp, Lavrov noted that the association preserves at its core “the general devotion to values of an equal dialogue and cooperation, mutual attraction of unique cultures and authentic civilizations” represented by various regions around the globe.

“Our association is an example of a true multilateral and multipolar diplomacy, which meets the realities of the 21st century,” the top Russian diplomat continued. “Its member states play an important role in the formation of a positive and future-oriented global agenda.”

“They [BRICS member states] contribute significantly to the search of collective responses to numerous present-day challenges and threats using a solid base of generally accepted norms of the international law,” he noted.

According to the minister, the Russian side pays a particular attention to the significance of youth contacts within the framework of the BRICS member states’ cooperation.

“The development of cultural, educational and sports contacts are designed to strengthen further the atmosphere of friendship and trust between the peoples of the ‘Five’,” Lavrov said.

“We traditionally pay a particular attention to contacts at the youth level. The interaction in this direction is an obvious proof of the stamina of the BRICS concept and its deep attraction,” the minister stated.

“Leaders of the association’s member states confirmed at the recent summit meeting their support of the priority development of the youth exchanges,” Lavrov added.

Moscow warns of cutting ties with US

Washington’s idea to brand Russia a sponsor of terrorism would have severe consequences, the Kremlin has cautioned

If the hawks in the US Congress get their way and have Washington designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, it would likely result in a full breakdown of diplomatic relations between the two nations, The Russian Foreign Ministry warned on Tuesday.

“If people in Washington decide to fully stop any interaction with Moscow, we can live with that. There should be no doubt about that,” ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova told journalists during a media briefing.

The idea to add Russia to the blacklist, which already includes Iran, North Korea, Syria and Cuba, is championed by some lawmakers, like Senator Lindsey Graham. A non-binding resolution calling on the US Department of State to take such a move was passed by the Senate last week.

A similar move by the House is strongly advocated by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who drew media attention this week due to her potential visit to Taiwan. China called the trip a serious provocation.

“I hope that the flying speaker will soon return to her home base and discuss [branding Russia a sponsor of terrorism] with people who have at least some interest in how the diplomacy trade works,” Zakharova remarked.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reportedly resisted calls from Capitol Hill and from Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky for the terrorism designation to be slapped on Russia. The White House argued that such a move would have no practical effect in terms of anti-Russian sanctions that the US is willing to impose and may backfire in various ways.

Zakharova said if the US were to label Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, it would constitute a “point of no return” for the two nations. The calls to do so are a sign of American weakness, she stated, since Washington is no longer in a position to simply bend to its will any nation whose policy it does not like for some reason.

Russian Foreign Ministry: Hybrid War Against Moscow Could Lead to a Conflict Between Nuclear Powers

The UN Headquarters in New York is currently hosting the Review Conference on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the participants of which, in the current extremely tense global situation, are discussing a strategy for preventing nuclear war.

The hybrid warfare unleashed against Russia is fraught with the potential to develop into a conflict between nuclear powers, said Igor Vishnevetsky, deputy director of the Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“A hybrid military campaign has been unleashed against Russia, which is forced to defend its legitimate right to ensure its fundamental security interests, fraught with slipping into a direct conflict between nuclear powers,” Vishnevetsky said at the conference on Tuesday.

Thus, Vishnevetsky noted, Russia believes that there can be no winners in a nuclear war and it should never be started.

“We believe that a nuclear war cannot be won, and it must never be fought. And we stand for equal and indivisible security for all members of the global community,” the diplomat said.

The situation in the field of strategic stability is rapidly deteriorating, and NATO’s malicious activity has caused a crisis in the middle of Europe, Vishnevetsky pointed out in his speech.

“A gross violation of the principle of equal and indivisible security as a result of the harmful expansion of the military bloc of countries claiming undivided military-strategic and geopolitical dominance provoked an acute crisis in the middle of Europe,” he stated.

Vishnevetsky claimed that Washington has devalued the positive developments in the negotiations on strategic stability.

“Russia continues to fulfill its obligations under the START Treaty of 2010. On our initiative, in February 2021, it was extended for 5 years, and in July 2021, by agreement of the presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States, a comprehensive dialogue on [strategic stability] was initiated,” Vishnevetsky said.

However, he added, “the positive developments were devalued by the US policy of ignoring Russia’s red lines in the field of security.”

“Washington used our rebuff to the destructive course as a pretext for freezing the strategic dialogue,” the diplomat explained.

Reacting to the statements of some countries about Russian aggression against Ukraine and the special military operation conducted by Moscow, Vishnevetsky rejected all accusations of unfounded aggression.

“We would like to resolutely reject all accusations against us of unprovoked aggression against Ukraine. The regime now ruling in Kiev came to power as a result of a coup d’état and immediately began persecution and then an armed conflict against the Russian-speaking population of Donbass,” Vishnevetsky said.

He reminded those at the conference that the Kiev authorities, having signed the Minsk agreements, were not ever going to fulfill them.

“The situation in Ukraine has reached its limit, and Russia’s actions have become a forced response to the atrocities that took place there, and they will be brought to their logical end,” he asserted.

He promised to give a detailed Russian response to insinuations about alleged threats with nuclear weapons and actions aimed at undermining nuclear security in Ukraine.

Further, Russian envoy to the conference Alexander Trofimov stressed that given the aforementioned situation, Russia strictly followed the 1994 Budapest memorandum, which guaranteed Ukraine security in exchange for its nuclear weapons, and said that accusations against Russia of intentions to use nuclear weapons are unscrupulous.

“Russia has strictly fulfilled its obligations. Among them is the obligation not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons. It is being carried out in relation to Ukraine in full, including in recent months,” Trofimov said.

He concluded by saying that none of the scenarios of the possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia is applicable in the situation in Ukraine.

“Russian doctrinal guidelines on this issue are well known and extremely clear. We hypothetically allow a nuclear response only in response to aggression using WMD or in response to aggression using conventional weapons, when the very existence of the state is threatened. None of these hypothetical scenarios has anything to do with the situation in Ukraine,” he underscored.

Russian Foreign Ministry warns against trying not to honor agreement on Russian grain exports

MOSCOW. Aug 2 (Interfax) – Moscow warns the West against trying to dodge the agreement on Russian grain exports, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.

“Please be advised that the agreements reached in Istanbul are of a package nature. […] Hence, we are warning against trying to stall or dodge the second part of the package and doing everything to prevent it from being implemented. Or else the world may fail to receive tens of millions of tonnes of Russian grain because of the irresponsible policy of the West,” Zakharova said at a press briefing.

The first ship, flying the flag of Sierra Leone, left the Odesa port on Monday with corn onboard headed to Lebanon, she said.

“We are expecting Kyiv to honor its obligation to ensure the safety of ships in Black Sea ports and the territorial waters of Ukraine,” Zakharova said.

“At the same time, the full-scale resolution of the food problem implies that the West gives access to global markets to Russian fertilizers and food, i.e. removes the financial and logistical impediments created by its anti-Russian restrictions,” she said.

OUTSIDE RUSSIA

Lavrov to visit Myanmar on August 3 — Russian Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Myanmar on August 3 for talks with the country’s top diplomat Wunna Maung Lwin, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Tuesday.

“On August 3, the Russian top diplomat will make a working visit to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. He is expected to hold talks with the country’s foreign minister and meet with Myanmar’s leadership,” she noted.

According to Zakharova, the parties plan to discuss “the current state of and the prospects for the entire complex of Russia-Myanmar relations, including political dialogue, trade and economic cooperation, interaction in the field of defense and security, as well as humanitarian ties.”

“Pressing international and regional issues will also be considered,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman added.

Russia rejects ‘nuclear saber-rattling’ accusations

Conflict in Ukraine falls short of Moscow’s nuclear threshold, but NATO involvement could change that, envoy says

Russia’s doctrine for use of nuclear weapons is very clear and the current conflict in Ukraine does not meet any of its criteria, Moscow’s envoy to the UN nonproliferation review conference said on Tuesday. Alexander Trofimov also rejected a series of claims by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as “utterly unfounded” speculation, perhaps intended to fuel “anti-Russian hysteria.”

“We would also like to strongly reject the utterly unfounded, detached from reality and unacceptable speculations that Russia allegedly threatens to use nuclear weapons, particularly in Ukraine,” Trofimov said on Tuesday, using the right of reply to address the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference in New York.

Russia’s nuclear doctrine is “explicitly clear,” envisioning their use only to attacks involving weapons of mass destruction or a conventional aggression endangering the state’s existence, Trofimov said. “Neither of these two hypothetical scenarios is relevant to the situation in Ukraine.”

The Russian diplomat condemned “unscrupulous interpretations” of Moscow’s decision to put its nuclear deterrent on alert earlier this year, saying the grounds for it were “confrontational actions and provocative statements by representatives of Western nuclear powers about the possibility of NATO interference in military actions in Ukraine against Russia.”

While he did not name the accusers, Trofimov’s response specifically addressed the claims by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who on Monday accused Russia of “reckless, dangerous nuclear saber-rattling,” to “those supporting Ukraine’s self-defense.”

Blinken also accused Russia of violating the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which guaranteed Ukraine’s independence in exchange for giving up Soviet nuclear weapons left on its territory.

According to Trofimov, “Russia has strictly fulfilled its obligations” under the memorandum, “including in recent months,” while Kiev’s statements about obtaining nuclear weapons “call into question the viability” of the 1994 document. Ukraine has also violated the memo for “many years,” in particular regarding provisions against “aggressive nationalism and chauvinism,” he added.

Blinken’s interpretation of the Russian leadership’s statements as a threat to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine is “unscrupulous and does not stand up to any criticism,” Trofimov argued. They were directed at NATO, as a way to deter the West from direct aggression against Russia in the context of the Ukrainian crisis, he added, noting that the West has already “moved towards a fierce hybrid confrontation and dangerously balances on the edge of open military clash.”

Such a move would be able to trigger one of the two emergency scenarios described in our doctrine. We obviously stand for preventing this, but if Western countries try to test our resolve, Russia will not back down.

The Russian mission to the UN has already objected to Blinken’s accusation that Moscow is using the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant as a “human shield,” pointing out on Monday evening that the Ukrainian side has been targeting the plant, Europe’s largest, with artillery and explosive drones in recent weeks.

Trofimov also felt compelled to note that “only one country in the world actually used nuclear weapons – it was the United States, which dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, even though this has not reasons from the point of view of military expediency and was in fact a testing of weapons of mass destruction on Japanese cities and their inhabitants.”

Russia working on new BRICS sports formats – minister

Oleg Matytsin predicted that world sport would not live for long without Russian participation

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin has said his country is working on new competitions with partners in the BRICS group of nations, adding that he does not fear a wave of Russian athletes changing their citizenship in the face of international bans.

Russian athletes find themselves barred from global competition across a range of sports following a recommendation by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after the onset of the conflict in Ukraine.

According to Matytsin, world sport cannot hope to thrive without Russian participation – and in any case, the situation provides an opportunity for closer sporting ties with the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) groups of nations.

“We’re working on various formats with the BRICS and SCO countries, four billion people live there, this is not an alternative to the world championships, but new formats,” Matytsin said at the Russian athletics championships in Cheboksary, according to RIA.

“I think that in any case, this period [of Russians being banned] will not last long, world sport will not be able to live without Russian athletes for a long time.”

The current bans on Russian athletes has triggered debate inside the country about a possible wave of talent seeking alternative citizenship to be able to compete.

The likes of tennis stars Andrey Rublev and Daria Kasatkina recently did not rule out the move, while some political figures have claimed such a step would be tantamount to treason – a position which the Kremlin suggested it did not agree with.

Matytsin told reporters on Tuesday that he was not fearful of an exodus of Russian athletes changing their sporting colors.

“I’m not afraid that they will change citizenship, I see no objective reasons,” said the Russian sports official.

“Prize money is not a panacea for everything, the system that we have in Russian sports involves not only prize money, but also social guarantees, training opportunities, and so on.

“But I don’t see such risks. We will overcome this difficult temporary period, it must be used for the development of our sport.”

SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATION IN UKRAINE

US directly involved in Ukraine conflict – Moscow

The United States is directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman says

Statements made by Vadim Skibitsky, a representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, confirm that the United States is directly involved in the ongoing conflict there, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

In an interview with the Telegraph published on Monday, Skibitsky refused to answer questions about whose satellites are used to confirm targets for US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems. He did acknowledge, however, that they consult with Washington before launching strikes and that Washington has veto power over decision-making.

“No other confirmation of the direct involvement of the United States in hostilities on the territory of Ukraine is required,” Zakharova said on Tuesday, because the US doesn’t just arm and train Ukrainian forces but essentially shoots the weapons themselves.

Zakharova stressed that the US is directly involved and that its distance from the situation is irrelevant.

“They are fully involved. Now Kiev representatives are talking about their military involvement not only through the supply of weapons, but through personnel management in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, direct instructions and the choice of targets,” Zakharova added.

Speculation has been ongoing about Washington’s involvement in the conflict. For example, in April French journalist Georges Malbrunot went viral on social media after claiming to have seen first-hand that Americans are “in charge” of the Ukrainian war effort on the ground.

However, he stressed that this was not an official involvement as it was American mercenaries that he met in Ukraine. Nevertheless, skeptics have questioned the veracity of promises by US officials to avoid direct involvement or so-called “boots on the ground.”

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 Pyotr 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 strikes foreign fighters’ base in Ukraine

Russia’s Defense Ministry reports the successful missile strike has neutralized over 250 mercenaries

Over 200 foreign mercenaries have reportedly been killed in a missile strike in southern Ukraine, Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported on Tuesday. The statement also added that over 20 units of military equipment were also destroyed during the attack.

In its daily briefing on Telegram, the ministry reported that Russian Aerospace Forces delivered a blow to a temporary deployment point of the Ukrainian ‘foreign legion’ near the city of Nikolaev, using high-precision weapons. As a result, up to 250 foreign mercenaries were eliminated, according to the report.

Russia also claims to have neutralized up to 500 nationalist fighters in the Kharkov region via high-precision strikes, as well as “a significant amount” of military equipment.

Last week, Russia also claimed to have killed over 40 foreign mercenaries, most of whom were Polish citizens, after a missile strike on a temporary deployment point near Konstantinovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). The week before that, the Russian military claimed it had killed up to 250 such soldiers in the same settlement.

Kiev’s international military unit was created in late February at the request of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, and is officially known as the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine. In April, the Russian military estimated their numbers at almost 7,000.

However, an updated estimate provided by the Russian defense ministry earlier this month suggests that only about 2,700 of these soldiers remain in Ukraine. Many of them were eliminated while others fled abroad, some complaining about disorder in the ranks of the Ukrainian forces and about poor equipment.

Moscow has repeatedly warned that it will not view foreign mercenaries in Ukraine as combatants as defined by the Geneva Convention and that “the best thing that awaits them if they are captured alive is a trial and maximum prison terms.”

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 Pyotr 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.

US responsible for Ukrainian ‘war crimes’ – Russian MoD

Advising Ukraine on what to strike with US-supplied arms makes Washington complicit in committing atrocities, Moscow argues

Washington bears “political, criminal, and moral responsibility” for “war crimes” committed by the Ukrainian military, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. The statement came in response to an interview by a top Ukrainian spy, who revealed that Kiev consults with Washington before using US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems and that Washington actually has veto power over decision-making.

“All this irrefutably proves that Washington, contrary to the statements of the White House and the Pentagon, is directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine. It is the Biden administration that is directly responsible for all the Kiev-approved missile attacks on residential areas and civilian infrastructure in the settlements across Donbass and other regions that caused mass civilian casualties,” Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov has said.

According to Moscow, US-supplied HIMARS systems have repeatedly been used by Kiev forces to target facilities that were not legitimate military targets. Arguably the most dire recent example of this strategy was an attack on a penal colony in Elenovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, which was housing Ukrainian POWs, including fighters with the notorios neo-Nazi Azov regiment. The attack left at least 50 prisoners dead and another 73 injured.

“The Biden administration, together with Zelensky, bears political, criminal, and moral responsibility for the massacre in Elenovka and other war crimes in Ukraine,” Konashenkov said.

The explosive interview with a Ukrainian senior intelligence official, Major General Vadim Skibitsky, was published by The Telegraph newspaper on Monday. The spy revealed Kiev’s troops were getting feedback from Washington and London before launching HIMARS rockets. This allows “Washington to stop any potential attacks if they were unhappy with the intended target,” The Telegraph noted.

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 Pyotr 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

US has veto over Ukrainian rocket strikes – intel officer

Washington has ultimate control over Ukrainian use of HIMARS, top intelligence official told The Telegraph

A senior Ukrainian military intelligence official has claimed his agency was getting advice from British and American counterparts on which targets to attack with Western-supplied weapons, such as the HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems.

The Americans can ban any selection they don’t like, the general reportedly said.

The revelation came on Monday in an interview that Major General Vadim Skibitsky gave to The Telegraph newspaper. When discussing Ukraine’s reported successes in destroying Russian military targets with weapons provided by the West, he claimed Ukrainian forces were using “real-time information” to direct fire.

“I can’t tell you whether [we are directly tasking] British and American satellites, but we have very good satellite imagery,” the British newspaper cited him as saying.

The general did not claim that US officials were feeding targeting information directly to Ukraine, but said troops were getting feedback from Washington and London before launching rockets. This allows “Washington to stop any potential attacks if they were unhappy with the intended target,” The Telegraph said.

US officials have frequently claimed that America does not have direct involvement in Russia’s hostilities with Ukraine, since it would put it at risk of escalating the conflict.

Russia and its allies in Donetsk and Lugansk accused Ukraine of using the US-made launchers to strike non-military targets. In a recent incident a rocket attack hit a detention facility, where dozens of Ukrainian POWs were kept. Officials from the Donetsk People’s Republic showed images of what they described as fragments of HIMARS rockets used in the strike.

Over 50 of the prisoners were reported killed in what Russia alleged to be an assassination of potential witnesses and perpetrators of war crimes committed by the Ukrainian side. Kiev denied responsibility for the incident and accused Russia of hitting the prison camp in Elenovka. Ukrainian officials claimed the attack was meant to cover up either abuse of the POWs or the embezzlement of money.

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 Pyotr 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.

Economic war launched by the West not to end the Ukraine conflict — Readovka.world

Ansgar Plumer, expert on economics and geopolitics, expresses his views on arms supplies to Ukraine, migration, and anti-Russian sanctions.

Arms deliveries to Ukraine obviously do not contribute to a peaceful resolution of the problem, but rather exacerbate it. Do you think Germany’s participation in the armament of Ukraine is a big mistake?

Ukraine cannot win this war. It is slowly losing more and more territory to the Armed Forces of the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk and the Russian Federation. That’s why the morale of the Ukrainian army is relatively low. Thus, the military equipment that Germany supplies to Ukraine can only prolong the war. Furthermore, the delivery of German weapons to Ukraine can dramatically weaken the defense potential of the Bundeswehr, because Germany soon will not be able to produce enough heavy weapons for national defense, because (Russian) gas is needed for steel production and this gas will soon be rationed in Germany. World War II has shown that Germany cannot win a long bloody material war against a resource-rich country like Russia if lack of basic resources like gas (in World War II it was oil), weakens the German war machine.

How do sanctions against Russia affect ordinary Germans? Are there any negative or positive results?

The sanctions against Russia hurt above all the citizens of Europe. Not only the prices of gas are rising, but also the prices of all products and services that need this raw material (steel, electricity, etc.). Furthermore, production in many industrial enterprises will no longer be profitable, which will lead to unemployment, deindustrialization and rising inflation. If, in the following winters, the gas supply for private households completely collapses, this could lead to households heating with electricity, which could overload the power grid. The consequences would be catastrophic: Germany’s leading media are already openly discussing the possibility of civil unrest due to shortages of essential goods. The ruble, on the other hand, is at a record high because Russian investors are putting more money into the Russian economy as a result of the sanctions, and large Western companies are being bought up by the Russians. Russia is now exporting less gas overall, but the gas it is exporting is now being sold at a much higher price, which is pouring a lot of foreign currency into Russian coffers. Meanwhile, Russia is improving its economic and diplomatic relations with numerous non-aligned states and cannot simply be isolated. These factors show that the economic war launched by the West will not be able to end the Ukraine conflict and that peace can only be achieved through diplomacy.

Ukrainian refugees do not see Germany as a temporary safe haven, but as a jumping-off point to settle in Europe. Will there be negative consequences in terms of the economic burden on German society and a worsening of the crime situation?

For Germany, the mass immigration of Ukrainians has some negative consequences: The already very big problem of housing shortages in major German cities will worsen. Since Ukrainians get social benefits very easily, the German state will also soon increase taxes, which will negatively affect Germany’s economic competitiveness. The additional money allocated to Ukrainians circulating in the German market will continue to drive inflation. In the rest of Europe, it is probably not very different.

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