Tag Archives: eastern Ukraine

Europe’s black hole: How much of the more than $185 billion given by the West to Ukraine has been stolen?

This article first appeared on RT, but as most ISPs block RT in the UK, we have reproduced it here so Brits can read it.

The fate of huge amounts of aid sent to Ukraine is uncertain amid endemic corruption and a lack of accountability

As a result of last week’s NATO summit in Vilnius, the US-led military bloc promised Ukraine fresh tranches of financial and military aid. This was despite the fact that by the beginning of the summer, Kiev had already received a total of €165 billion ($185.6 billion) from Western countries.… Click here to continue reading this article

The Military Situation in Ukraine

The Military Situation in Ukraine: This article first appeared in The Postil Magazine in April 2022 and is republished here as Twitter prevents linking to the original citing it as “unsafe”. You may think that is because it goes against the mainstream narrative – we couldn’t possibly comment. The author is Jacques Baud, a former colonel of the General Staff, ex-member of the Swiss strategic intelligence, and specialist on Eastern countries. He was trained in the American and British intelligence services.

Part One: The Road To War

For years, from Mali to Afghanistan, I have worked for peace and risked my life for it.… Click here to continue reading this article

Dedollarisation and Reducing Dollar Hegemony Following the Russian Military Operation in Ukraine

We’ve been writing about dedollarisation here for some time.

Russia and much of the world have been seeking to dedollarise for a while. In the wake of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, one of the outcomes of countersanctions by Russia against the US and the rest of the west is them being forced to use the Russian Rouble to buy oil and gas.

This does something Russia has wanted to do for a while: reduce US dollar hegemony.

When it comes to what we often call dollar hegemony one can get all technical (and often wrong) or we can make things much more simple.… Click here to continue reading this article

A new Swiss humanitarian convoy for the city of Donetsk

This article first appeared in French on the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation website.

On 22 May 2016, two humanitarian convoys Confederation carrying chemicals for treating water and medical supplies left for Ukraine in the conflict zone.

Part of the convoy with medical equipment and medicine was awarded to the Kurakhove hospital this morning.

The products have been transported by road but also, for the first time by rail .

Sunday morning, a train ferrying chemicals for water treatment left Switzerland to Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine.

The cargo is for waterworks of Donbass, which supply the population with drinking water on both sides of the line of contact.… Click here to continue reading this article

War Returns to Ukraine

This article first appeared on Russia Insider.

Whilst all eyes are on Syria there has been a steady deterioration of the situation in Ukraine.

In violation of the ceasefire shelling of the territories of the two people’s republics has resumed, and the OSCE has confirmed that the Ukrainian military has moved heavy weapons back to the contact line.

The Ukrainians meanwhile have extended their ban of commercial flights to and from Russia by banning also transit flights.

Ukraine has placed Crimea under food blockade. To the intense embarrassment of its Western backers (see this editorial in the Financial Times, headlined “Kiev should act to end the blockade of Crimea”) it has enlarged this to an energy blockade.… Click here to continue reading this article

Russian Ukrainian Adventures Forum Newsletter – Summer 2015

Russian Ukrainian Adventures Forum Newsletter – Summer 2015.

Hello,

It has been over a year since we sent out a newsletter, so we thought one was long overdue.

We would like to bring you up-to-date on the changes at RUA the last year.

The Forum Has Changed Direction a Little to Include More Travel, Culture, News and Politics.

The site was stuck in what is a dying and declining niche. When the site first started back in the mid naughties, it was firmly aimed at what some termed the “mail-order bride” niche.… Click here to continue reading this article

What Next After the Neocon Rape of Ukraine?

Since its divestment from the Soviet Union, Ukraine has been something of a schizophrenic nation with conflicting allegiances in the West and East of the country. In recent years, a neocon agenda has stoked up this internal strife to incendiary levels.

The people in the East speak Russian and incline towards Russia, while those in western Ukraine march to a different drum: they speak Ukrainian and foster fond hopes of becoming real Europeans. In Crimea, the majority converse in Russian and their hearts have always beaten patriotically for the motherland. Crimea, after all, was part of Russia from 1784 until 1954, at which juncture Nikita Khrushchev, a native of Ukraine incidentally, made what some consider a major blunder: the Soviet leader gift-wrapped the peninsula and handed it over to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.

… Click here to continue reading this article

Russian “Threat” Proves American Ignorance, Arrogance and Hypocrisy

A recent story headlined on CNN.com asked the question, “Why is Russia sending bombers close to U.S. airspace?”, after several Russian military aircraft flew near U.S. airspace along the coasts of Alaska and California. Perhaps a better question would be why has Russia waited so long to do so?

The story includes a smattering of ominous, juvenile-level rhetoric from Rep. Adam Kinzinger, Republican Congressman from Illinois, who describes what Russia is doing as an “act of aggression.” He compares Vladimir Putin to a diminutive school bully who acts overly tough, no doubt an allusion to Russia’s reduced influence in world affairs since the end of the Cold War.… Click here to continue reading this article

Poroshenko Is Wondering When He WIll Be Deposed by Coup.

They say that what goes around comes around.

It seems a while ago now that President Yanukovych of Ukraine was ousted in an illegal US and EU led coup d’etat and the softly-spoken Poroshenko installed in his place as American puppet.

Readers can be forgiven for not understanding that what happened in Ukraine as a coup d’etat, as it is hard to get to the facts sometimes above the constant – yet incorrect – western media propaganda drone of Russian Aggression we hear daily.

The United States and the ever-pliant EU have been earnestly telling us that Mr Yanukovych’s removal was alright really as he was a not nice bloke who was more concerned in filling his pockets than helping Ukraine prosper.… Click here to continue reading this article

NATO is using Ukraine crisis to advance towards Russian borders

NATO is using the situation in Ukraine to push closer to Russia’s border, according to the Russian deputy defense minister. He says the Alliance’s activities have expanded considerably over the past years.

In their push, Anatoly Antonov says Allied forces are ignoring diplomacy.

“We’ve noticed that NATO member states are using the situation in southeastern Ukraine as a pretext to discard all diplomatic conventions, tricks and slogans and push forward, closer to the Russian border.”

According to the minister, what NATO is doing is completely out of proportion with what NATO commanders call the build-up of Russian forces on its side of the border in Ukraine.… Click here to continue reading this article

The Cabinet of Ukraine plans to nationalize bank deposits of Ukrainians

The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine intends to take a decision allowing wartime involvement in the country’s budget, bank deposits of citizens of more than 200 thousand. UAH ($8000 US).

It is reported by Ukrainian edition ZN.UA citing its own sources.

The Ministry of Finance has prepared a draft law “On the financial system of Ukraine in the special period”, one of the points which concerns bank deposits of citizens and organizations.

“In the event of martial law and imposing a moratorium on the payment of bank deposits from customers who are on deposit (deposit) accounts with banks.… Click here to continue reading this article

Russia blocks alcohol imports from Ukraine

Russia suspends alcohol imports from Ukraine – consumer rights watchdog

Russia has decided to suspend alcohol imports from Ukraine on August 15. On Wednesday the consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said there had been a number of breaches in consumer legislation.

The restrictions apply to beer produced by Obolon and SUN Inbev Ukraine, and alcohol from the Ukrainian Distribution Company.

“When scrutinizing imports of vodka, beer and other beverages from Ukraine a number of breaches in consumer protection legislation were discovered,” the watchdog’s statement said.

Rospotrebnadzor said Ukrainian beer doesn’t meet the nutritional value written on the bottles, and its branding broke the rules as it doesn’t have the right alcohol content.… Click here to continue reading this article

Russia’s Cunning Plan on Sanctions, Europe and the US.

The Russian President Vladimir Putin has implemented a cunning plan in relation to Europe and their sanctions on Russia.

I call it “Right back at ya – watch this!”

“Russia is finished! Sanctions from Obama and the European Union will finish the Russian economy and now it will become the poorest country in the world! Russia can not do anything to answer the West! They will all die”

So love to scream those in the west who do not know about Putin’s cunning plan and underestimate Russia.

Europeans believed that Russia does not respond to sanctions; but Russia has.… Click here to continue reading this article

Why is the Western Media so Biased Against Russia?

The British media and especially the BBC are anti-Russian.

The language they use is always purposely misleading. The Russian point of view is never considered. The western media on the whole start from an assumed point that Russia is always in the wrong, always the aggressor, and every item reported is in the same vein. British media is like a mouthpiece for America.

The BBC even has its own propoganda channel in Russian: http://www.bbc.co.uk/russian/

Take turning the gas off to Ukraine: That has always been framed as nasty Russia spitefully turning the gas off on poor little helpless Ukraine.… Click here to continue reading this article

What is the real story with Ukraine, Russia, the EU and America?

What is the real story with Ukraine, Russia, the EU and America?

Anyone who reads Western media might feel that they have a handle on what is going on in Ukraine.

You have been misled by the Western media to hold one, and only one view: There is ‘terrorism’ perpetrated by ‘pro-Russian separatists’, armed by Russia, and Vladimir Putin is the main culprit. Especially with flight MH17.

End of story. Anyone who believes differently is a Russian propaganda merchant.

Vladimir Putin is the evil bogeyman (white cat optional). America wants to spread democracy across the world.… Click here to continue reading this article

NATO trains terrorists who destabilize situation in Ukraine

About 400 elite commandos from a notorious US private security firm, Academi, are involved in a punitive operation mounted by Ukraine’s new government against federalization supporters in eastern Ukraine, the German Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported on Sunday.

According to the newspaper, Academi mercenaries participate in attacks against federalization supporters near Slavyansk. So far, it’s unclear who hired them.

Media reports claiming that the Ukrainian leadership wants to recruit personnel from private foreign military companies “to maintain law and order” may suggest that the Kiev regime wants to suppress civil protest and discontent, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

… Click here to continue reading this article

Ukraine: So What is Vladimir Putin Really Planning?

Unlike most westerners, I do not blindly believe western media, I do not subscribe to the “America good – Russia bad” media hysteria being shamelessly stage-managed by our governments.

Perhaps having a Russian-born wife makes me take a more balanced view.

I am not anti-Russian, I am not anti-Putin. Nor am I anti-American. I might be anti-EU, if voting for Nigel Farrage labels me that.

However, I am very interested in the whole Ukraine and Russia situation.

We had a guest post here recently by the former Soviet Union resident commentator Andrew Wilson entitled Ukraine and American News Propaganda Fed to the Sheeple.… Click here to continue reading this article