In the massive propaganda blitz over Ukraine, there is one place where you can find, in enormous detail, the truth about what is happening in the civil war conflict zone on a daily basis. That is in the daily reports of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Monitoring Mission.
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe is a brilliant organisation set up to monitor implementation of agreements on human rights and arms control during the Cold War period. It includes Russia, the UK and the USA among its 57 members as well as all EU states. It has been operating in conflict zones for over half a century.
Over 40 member states have monitors in the Ukraine monitoring mission. The head of the mission is Turkish, and almost all members have a military or diplomatic background. There are 700 monitors, and they have been in Ukraine since 2014. Their job is to patrol both sides of the civil war conflict zone and to record infringements of the ceasefire and de-escalation agreements, bringing these to the attention of the relevant authorities.
Their work is very comprehensive indeed, and their detailed daily reports are public. These provide the most fantastic journalistic resource for what is actually happening on the ground – which is why Western mainstream media never use this resource, because the truth is the opposite of the picture they wish to paint.
For example, three OSCE monitors attended the site of the famous “kindergarten missile” attack, to verify what kind of missile was used, where it came from, and then tally this against the OSCE’s detailed record of weapons on both sides in the area and their daily movements. This is, literally, the basic everyday job of the mission. The team of OSCE expert observers – two of whom were from European Union countries – were denied access by the Ukrainian government to the kindergarten when they arrived to determine what kind of missile it was and where it came from. This is in direct violation of the ceasefire accord.
For those of us who saw the kindergarten attack stunt as propaganda to begin with, this is powerful corroboration.
This is from the OSCE’s daily report of 18 February:
Damage to a working kindergarten in Stanytsia Luhanska, Luhansk region
On 17 February, the Mission followed up on reports of damage to a working kindergarten in
the north-western part of Stanytsia Luhanska (government-controlled, 16km north-east of
Luhansk), located about 4.5km north-west of the north-western edge of the disengagement area
near Stanytsia Luhanska.
At 22 Depovska Street, about 20m south-west of a two-storey kindergarten building, the SMM
observed a crater in the kindergarten playground, as well as marks assessed as caused by
shrapnel on the inner side of a concrete wall surrounding the building. Also, it observed a hole
(about 1m in diameter), and one shattered window on the north-eastern facade of the same
building, and two shattered windows on the building’s north-west facing wall (on its ground
and first floor).
The SMM assessed the damage as recent but was unable to determine the weapon used or the
direction of fire.
Staff from the Youth Affairs Department of the Stanytsia Luhanska Civil-Military
Administration told the Mission that 20 children had been in the kindergarten at the time of the
incident, but reported no injuries.
The SMM was only able to conduct its assessment from a distance of about 50m from the
north-eastern facade and of about 30m from the south-western facade of the damaged building,
as a law enforcement officer did not allow the Mission to access the site saying that an
investigation was ongoing.
That same report records numerous violations of the ceasefire agreement by the Ukrainian government in moving heavy weaponry in to menace separatist held areas and in keeping weaponry outside agreed storage facilities. It equally reports precisely the same kind of violations by separatist rebels. None of which balance has been recorded by the same western media which loves to give detailed accounts of troop movements within Russia. Here is just one tiny example of hundreds of the OSCE information, from the same report of 18 February as the kindergarten visit:
The SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons in implementation of the
Memorandum and the Package of Measures and its Addendum.
In violation of withdrawal lines, the Mission observed a surface-to-air-missile system in a
government-controlled area of Donetsk region. It also spotted 21 howitzers, five anti-tank guns
(four of which probable) and one probable multiple launch-rocket system, in two training areas
in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region.
Beyond withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites, the SMM saw ten towed
howitzers and two surface-to-air-missile systems in government-controlled areas of Donetsk
region, in two compounds (of which one near a residential area). It also spotted two surfaceto-air missile systems, 12 mortars and 41 tanks, in two training areas in non-governmentcontrolled areas of Luhansk region. (For further information, see the tables below.)
Indications of military and military-type presence in the security zone
In government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the Mission saw seven
armoured combat vehicles. In residential areas in non-government controlled areas of Donetsk
and Luhansk regions, it also saw one anti-aircraft gun and two armoured combat vehicles
(including one probable). (For further information, see the table below.)
During the day, the SMM saw a minibus, three minivans, two cars and ten men (age unknown)
wearing military-style clothing and carrying assault rifles in a residential area of Oleksandrivka
(non-government-controlled, 20km south-west of Donetsk).
The Mission also saw a convoy consisting of four trucks (three Ural and one Kamaz type) and
three cars carrying at least seven men in a residential area of Brianka (non-governmentcontrolled, 46km south-west of Luhansk) heading north-west. Later in the day, the SMM saw
the same convoy in Alchevsk (non-government-controlled, 40km west of Luhansk).
Three countries have now withdrawn their staff from the OSCE Monitoring Mission in preparation for a coming war – the UK, the USA and Canada. In my view, that speaks volumes about who is actually planning on starting a war here. Extraordinarily, having withdrawn their staff, the western powers are now briefing the media that the OSCE (which has for decades been a key tool of western security architecture) is a biased organisation.
Yet again the parallel to the Iraq War is striking to those of us who recall the rubbishing by the US/UK of the reports of the UN weapons inspection team, in favour of propaganda and outright lies in order to start a war.
———————————————
Forgive me for pointing out that my ability to provide this coverage is entirely dependent on your kind voluntary subscriptions which keep this blog going. This post is free for anybody to reproduce or republish, including in translation. You are still very welcome to read without subscribing.
Unlike our adversaries including the Integrity Initiative, the 77th Brigade, Bellingcat, the Atlantic Council and hundreds of other warmongering propaganda operations, this blog has no source of state, corporate or institutional finance whatsoever. It runs entirely on voluntary subscriptions from its readers – many of whom do not necessarily agree with the every article, but welcome the alternative voice, insider information and debate.
Subscriptions to keep this blog going are gratefully received.
Choose subscription amount from dropdown box:
Paypal address for one-off donations: [email protected]
Alternatively by bank transfer or standing order:
Account name
MURRAY CJ
Account number 3 2 1 5 0 9 6 2
Sort code 6 0 – 4 0 – 0 5
IBAN GB98NWBK60400532150962
BIC NWBKGB2L
Bank address Natwest, PO Box 414, 38 Strand, London, WC2H 5JB
Bitcoin: bc1q3sdm60rshynxtvfnkhhqjn83vk3e3nyw78cjx9
Ethereum/ERC-20: 0x764a6054783e86C321Cb8208442477d24834861a
Subscriptions are still preferred to donations as I can’t run the blog without some certainty of future income, but I understand why some people prefer not to commit to that.
Can please someone check the information on Stoltenberg’s statement? Our media report he says Russia – Nato basic treaty is voided.
Oh my!
Stoltenberg is leaving in October to become Norway’s next central bank chief. I doubt he’s in any position to make any sweeping changes.
Having skimmed through his interview, I haven’t noticed anything new. Maybe a different interview? He frequently claims Russia has violated the INF Treaty, was he referring to that perhaps?
One of the results of all this, Tatyana, is it’s probably strengthened NATO. Many across Europe, see NATO as the albatross around Europe’s neck. It leaves us at the sharp end of US foreign policy projection, which is not necessarily in our interests.
Scarily, our über-hawkish Defence minister Ben Wallace is in the running for the NATO top job.
He’s recently received lots of criticism here, even from those on the right, for saying “The Scots Guards kicked the backside of Tsar Nicholas I in 1853 in Crimea – we can always do it again.” If Daily Mail readers were calling him a prat.
Boris Johnson, Ben Wallace and Liz Truss… we’re doomed.
Oh, Goose, if you only knew how many ‘do-it-againers’ we have here in Russia!
I’ve seen Mr.Wallace’s remark being answered by our Defense Ministry. And it’s not flattering at all. It reminds that the very word ‘cannon fodder’ was coined after on the very same day an aristocratic English cavalry brigade under the command of Lord Cardigan was destroyed by Russian artillery.
Please, if there is any chance that you elect people to represent your country, please do choose more educated and less warmongering. I even think that maybe you better return to monarchy? Royals look like well educated. Just in case you cannot afford quality education for wider society. No joke, I’m serious, this is a very threatening problem. You cannot trust the responsibility for the fate of an entire country to people like Truss and Wallace. Jokes aside, we are on the verge of a big war.
A similar argument was made by Scott Ritter in the discussion on Consortium News yesterday
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/02/25/watch-cn-live-russia-hits-back/ (mentioned earlier).
He argues that after the “End of History”, the US to abandon all well trained and experienced staff from the Cold War. Paraphrasing him he said that people knowing history and respecting Russia — nevertheless seeing her as an adversary — have no chance in the administration anymore. These people are attacked as “friend of Russia.”
Transcript here:-
https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/opinions_192455.htm
He describes Russia as having ‘walked away’ from the Founding Act through it’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sergei Markov stated that we should not have trusted anything Russia has said in the last two months as two months ago they took decision to “liberate” Ukraine and having taken that military decision execution required deception. The lead up to an act of war understadably requires deceit. Very frank as people usually continue to protest that they were telling the truth but that things changed. However, it does suggest that we can no longer believe anything that is said by Russia is true or is said in good faith. I suppose that in a war that is obvious. Truth is out of the window. Know your side and carry on. When the war ends one can return to more civilised behaviour. War is shitty because it kills and harms people directly and indirectly. It is also bad because it throws truth, good faith, rule of law, loyal dissent and playing the game out of the window. If someone mugs you in the street all bets are off and you can behave in an uncivilised manner, but later you return to civilised behaviour. You hope not to have to encounter such incidents.
Lies are disgusting and I can’t put into words the pain I feel. I could never believe that in my life Russia could attack Ukraine. Half of my soul is here, but the other half is there.
The attitude here is: we don’t want war, but Ukraine deserves a slap in the face for Donbass. The attitude in Ukraine is: we don’t want war, Donbass is a domestic violence, if you don’t talk about it, then no one will know and we’ll get away with it.
I really hope this is just a slap in the face. I would very much like to see this performed like the revenge for the assassination of General Soleimani. The authorities were transparent in their intentions and honestly admitted their guilt when they shot down a civilian aircraft. Iran forever won my heart with this transparency, I would be proud to be a citizen of such a state. It would be easy for me to trust the words of such a government, I would be sure that they would not lie to me even in the most terrible situation.
Ukraine, I understand that just one reason is not enough for any action. Besides the hopelessness of the Minsk agreements, there is also NATO’s refusal to talk to Russia about security. There is an obvious ongoing coordinated action by the West against Russia. When Jack talks about how Russia’s reputation is now permanently tarred, it makes me laugh. What? Tarred again? Was Russia once good in the eyes of the West? The situation looks like Russia has nothing to lose, everything was spoiled a long time ago. And I’m very afraid that it unties the hands.
With all these lies and omissions, I think that I should stop commenting. Just sit and watch silently. Nothing depends on me. I don’t have Cassandra’s gift. What I am 100% sure of, may not be true. What’s the point of opening my mouth at all?
There is a difference between special ops and war. Some might say it is hypocritical to turn a blind eye to special ops and such games yet criticise war and they have a point, but hypocrisy is a hallmark of civilisation because it means people aspire to higher standards, understand that there are some things which should not be done and that they need to be careful not to overstep the line. That if they are pissing about on the line they need to be very careful. Presumably Russia thinks Western pissing about crossed the line and that civilised pretences are over. I obviously do not know the reality of Russian grievances. They obviously have some. But when Russia elects to change the game to war, full invasion and regime change then it knows that thereafter civilised behaviour is put to one side.
A slap in the face would be an Israeli style surgical strike but this is not that.
Finally, and this is a trivial observation, but when invading another country it is always important that the leader shows willing to risk their own life. That’s why royal families make a show of being in the military and unpopular Princes Andrew and Harry both saw active service in wars (whereas I don’t recall Tony Blair and his cabinet’s children risking their lives in wars). There is a marked difference between President Zelensky’s appearances in close proximity to his compatriots and President Putin’s physical distance from his. Just as it does not look good to give away (anything, but here it was Ukraine) and snatch it back it does not look good to invade a country, but still be personally worried of catching Covid. I don’t see how Putin can expect his soldiers to fight in close proximity in street fighting but he still keeps enormous physical space between himself and his advisers etc.
Anyway I’m always voicing dissent so it’s also time for me to shut up. Hopefully diplomats remain civilised and continue to talk out of sight.
A final thought. So far attempts at portraying Putin as a loose screw have looked a bit clumsy, but there is something in the fact that his action in Ukraine (clearing a space between the Russian border and NATO countries) looks like his personal actions in clearing an unnaturally large space between himself and Macron at the end of the extended table, himself and his special advisers in the hall and the Oligarchs…..it’s called;
out of touch.
You just do not see the humour in that last image you tried to construct do you? All governments are ‘out of touch’ all government ministers, aristocrats and royals are ‘out of touch’ and in order to climb any social ladder media and political wannabees have to, similarly, demonstrate that they are ‘out of touch’ with the normal life experiences of ‘ordinary people’ – other than the ‘lip service’ (BJ) devoted to persuading an increasingly ill-educated domestic population at various intervals that ‘we care’ (just leave your money on the dresser). If I was going to meet Macron I would treat him exacly the same because of his behaviour during the Convid saga – I thought it was hilarious…
My hopes for diplomacy, too. Zelensky said they will negotiate. There were suggestions to meet in Minsk or Ankara. Ukraine paused. Then, they turned up again and suggested Israel.
I fully understand the need to resolve problems by diplomacy but this is not just something that has been sparked by any recent event, not even the 2014 US coup in Ukraine, but goes back to constant vilification and provocations of Russia going back to 1990. It is clear that Russia saw no way that diplomacy is going to work here and that the only language that is understood in this situation is that of force and might. This is regrettable but not Russia’s fault.
Meanwhile the preparation for all this has been ongoing and Russia could not wait for it to suddenly be confronted by a Ukraine which is part of NATO, that is an existential threat. Whether Russia could have resolved this in any other way is debatable.
Here is an example of what has been going on behind the scenes;
https://declassifieduk.org/uk-commanders-in-ukraine-met-neo-nazi-linked-national-guard-to-deepen-military-cooperation/
SA
Justifying the attack? I see a military conflict and my logic fails me, just emotions.
Taking a side is a very hard moral choice. I’ve always adhered to the position that violence is the last argument and everything is destroyed after it. I teach my son to resolve conflicts with words, never strike first, only fight back and only if against an equally strong opponent, and never never ever use violence against those who are smaller and weaker.
Everything is very simple, my husband and son are 30 centimeters taller than me and 30 kilograms heavier. If I hit someone, it’s unlikely he’ll get a bruise. If he hits me, I have no other option but to break up the family. Safety is a mutual responsibility. One does not provoke, the second does not strike.
But I realize that my position is a woman’s position, the one of the weak. I saw how boys can fight, and then make friends as if nothing had happened. I do not know what processes they have in their heads, but there are many examples of this. I really hope that I just do not understand what is happening between Ukraine and Russia, because I am a woman.
Tatyana
You wrote:
“When Jack talks about how Russia’s reputation is now permanently tarred, it makes me laugh. What? Tarred again? Was Russia once good in the eyes of the West? The situation looks like Russia has nothing to lose, everything was spoiled a long time ago. And I’m very afraid that it unties the hands.”
Well, that’s because reputation is everything.
Just ask yourself, were the relations between Russia and the west better or worse 1 year ago vs today?
There is no way, no way, that relations with the west or even beyond that will be normal from now on.
There is no justification in trying to topple the leadership of Ukraine; no one is going to accept or approve that.
This move has hurt Russia tremendously and will keep hurting for the coming decades.
Russia will likely have a huge cut in gas revenue. Russia would become impoverished in decades to come.
I also believe it is a likely that Putin himself will be toppled and that self-proclaimed regions in Russia will call for independence.
When Russia does something good, one should give credit; but when it does something like this that has no benefit, it should be called out.
Jack, I’m pretty aware of everything you say. You bring your views often. I remember on the night of revenge for the death of General Soleimani. My memory fails me sometimes, so I’m not sure if it were you who said ‘come on, hit now!’ So thirsty for blood that I had to ask if you were sane. I apologise if that were another commentor. That person wondered how we bring up our children in school, asking if our children ever fight back, also Hitler’s attack on the USSR was brought for comparison. I had to go into historical detail then, to explain the difference.
Running circles crying panic won’t help now. We all are scared enough already. Thank you.
Tatyana
No that was definately not me, you confuse me with someone else.
I’m sorry, Jack. It was someone named Michael, whose sanity I doubted. The rest of conversation looks like was between you and me
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2020/01/lies-the-bethlehem-doctrine-and-the-illegal-murder-of-soleimani/comment-page-8/#comment-917587
I doubt that there was outright deception. Listening to Scott Ritter, or Ray McGovern the possibility seemed obvious where the former saw a war as inevitable — interesting discussion on Consortium News yesterday
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/02/25/watch-cn-live-russia-hits-back/.
John Mearshimer — acknowledged to be one of the leading “Realist” commentators on International Relation — predicted back in 2015 that Ukraine would be wrecked if NATO persisted in encouraging Kyiv to join and to reject all compromise with Russia.
https://twitter.com/ASBMilitary/status/1497346015233560581?s=20&t=KruGdj2MmB1gyLD-2l0Qfw
As Matt Kennard points out, “any Labour MP today even raising role of Nato in current crisis will get whip removed. Surely most absurd, Stalinist mainstream party in West”.
Seems like this page is under attack, a DDOS-attack protection pre-page was loaded before I got here and earlier I could not even reach the comment section.
Also, SWIFT ban is coming for Russia,
“Cutting Russia off from SWIFT a “matter of days” -euro zone central banker”
https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/cutting-russia-off-swift-matter-days-euro-zone-central-banker-2022-02-26/
Actually, I would not even mind that I there were some adults in the room in the West. If that is true, I see that it will hasten the decline of the USD. Russia will do well, maybe some hiccups. For us I wish sort of a soft landing and a new Balance of Trade mechanism without a reserve currency.
It appears that the servers have moved to the dreaded ‘Cloudfare’.
Although ‘admin’ appears to have been smart enough not to leave it at the ‘default’ settings otherwise proxies and VPNs would be getting blocked automatically which wouldn’t be very healthy for a website like this.
Sad to see.
I understand the fact some are frustrated and feeling powerless about this war disaster. But attacking sites that permit free speech, debate and dissent just undermines everything we claim we stand for. Everyone knows Craig’s been consistently anti-war and opposed torture – paying a heavy price in terms of his own personal career/health for his whistleblowing.
It’s the MSM that have been cheerleaders for our many invasions, occupations and renditions when Craig at al stood opposed. Their moral indignation and feigned outrage now, contrasts starkly with the gung-ho views expressed by ’embedded’ correspondents in our many military adventures.
Good article here: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/tom-tugendhat-and-the-worrying-rise-of-russophobia
Tom Tugendhat, as I understand things, has suggested ALL Russians could be expelled from the UK; this regardless of their war stance and/or neutrality on current events. This smacks of collective punishment, ‘othering’, and brings to the fore memories of the internment of Japanese Americans and the worst of the irrational ‘Reds under the bed’ hysteria scare.
We must be able to debate these things, including the earlier peace opportunities that were missed (Minsk) that led to this debacle. Otherwise we risk repeating it. As stated before, with or without Russian action, Ukraine had deep unresolved issues after the events of 2014 and probably will have for some time.
I think our China friends maybe delighted to see it 🙂
https://youtu.be/JFvTlALN5bI
Those who say there’s no Nazis in Ukraine, please see
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2021/12/protecting-the-nazis-the-extraordinary-vote-of-ukraine-and-the-usa/
and a lot of proof in the comments, including from those supporting nazi ideology and saying their allies forgave them.
The second day this video is posted everywhere. Zelensky asked people to come and get weapons. Come and get as much as you wish, nobody asks for papers or makes any checks and records. Very wise, Zelensky, very wise. You’ll escape to Israel and leave Ukraine another Libya.
https://youtu.be/cXz7JvUigME
You can’t blame chaos on the wish to defend. Chaos is the consequence of the invader. Russia opened the Pandora’s box. It is always advantageous in an invasion to have all households armed with guns. It makes occupation impossible. Everyone knows this. The US has always known it. The Swiss know it. The Iraqis knew it.
Weren’t the population of Afghanistan armed as the Taliban rode in? I have always wondered how a country can be taken over by a few guys riding in on trucks and waving guns. And then order the populace to leave their homes, line up in the streets and wait to be shot/beheaded. Or do they just drop their guns when ordered to by the aggressor? I don’t understand it. The turning point in the Warsaw Ghetto was when the Jews accessed guns. Admittedly if you are surrounded in a siege situation you probably can’t win but being taken over in open country when you aren’t boxed-in? Maybe someone can explain.
I think it just means that if every household is armed the invader has a problem keeping a lid on resistance. Of course there has to be morale, organisation, will power, support and luck.
Yes, in any fight the power always lies with the aggressor. Most people will just cower in the face of aggression. Even if they had the means to fight back.
I blame Zelensky for his refusal to implement Minsk, first and above all.
We had a treaty approved by everyone. It wasn’t advantageous for L&DNR either. Zelensky’s fear was that if autonomous, they would vote more peace-loving government, ready to return to maybe not good, but stable relations with Russia.
I blame Germany for their support of Ukraine in the refusal to implement Minsk. I blame US, UK, France for the same. I blame UN for being blind and impotent for so long time.
First I blame those who had time and means to set the conflict in a peaceful way. Who didn’t notice for years where it leads us. Who pretended to be adults and protection, but turned to be profit seekers.
And yes, today I blame Russia for striking, it’s disaster. War is always a disaster. I’m ashamed to look in the people’s eyes. And you know what? It’s all over the russian part of the Internet, that my Donbass people ask me – where was your shame when they bombed us? And I have no answer, but feel even more shame.
The whole world is f*cking mad. Perhaps we will have a new one soon, a better world without humankind.
It’s ok oppo. Apparently there is no intention to occupy. Oh, of course you maintain that the evil Ruski’s and their ‘mad-dog’ leader just invaded Ukraine for absolutely no reason other than their ‘evilness’ and ‘madness’… life is rarely, if ever, that simplistic.
No just replace Zelensky with a compliant puppet who’ll do whatever Vlad the Mad tells him to.
PearsMorgain
Zelenski is US puppet and are you happy now? I in no way support puppeting presidents, but this Zelensky one is absolutely f*cking idiotic thing, unable to simply understand he could just fulfil the Minsk agreement agreed by ALL sides and UN! We would all enjoy peace today and move on to really important issues.
Are you happy now? Is all this war just for US’s privilege to install THEIR puppets?
I’m sorry, I just find your comment ridiculous.
The Iraqis were wrong about that, weren’t they? 18 years and counting.
firstly I’ve been reading for some time the comments, and have enjoyed the mainly adult debate so thankyou its refreshing compared to the Daily mail dribble
Supposedly Ze, has actually left Kiev yesterday and is in Lvov.
Ive noticed the comments went from 7 down to 4 pages, has Craig been creatively editing
No, it just went up from 3 to 4 today. It has never been more, I have followed it daily.
You must be confusing it with a previous thread.
Essentially he has painted a bulls-eye on every civilian, armed or not. As I recall, at the beginning of the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, British soldiers sent there were told that the dastardly Afghans, even women and children, were to be shot on sight if they approached a checkpoint in a dangerous way, since they might be suicide bombers.
I agree with the second comment on the video – ‘super fake.
Among many fakes I still trust my Pikabu community, where we all are united and help each other in these difficult times, regardless of the citizenship. People share information, help with moving to safe places, offer shelter and so on. Much more human relation, than I ever see pictured in media. Also, accounts are easily checked and new-registered are exposed, fakes are exposed, like that one with the tank running into the car, or missile hitting the building.
Here is video of Grad systems in residential areas of Kharkov. Zelensky won’t negotiate?
https://pikabu.ru/story/strelyat_izza_spin_grazhdanskikh_yeto_podlo_8867820
Yesterday one of ours said he reads German English and Russian news, propaganda and lies everywhere. He said ‘cheer up, Russia, the noodles they hang on your ears is a bit shorter than Western’.
Watching that video I had to get up and check if there was a cat meowing outside. Then I muted the speakers before I figured out what was going on.
Scary news today, Peskov says that yesterday there were talks about possible negotiations, military were suspended in the wait for decision, Kiev is not happy with the terms, no hope for it now, the war proceeds.
Now some banks in China tag along with sanctions against Russia
” Chinese banks limit financing for Russian purchases – media
The two largest lenders reportedly restricted funding for the purchase of Russian commodities “
https://www.rt.com/business/550705-china-banks-restrict-russia-finance/
Money doesn’t matter, Jack.
Some people come to live here in Russia, they share the difference between russian and british way to express themselves. Craig Ashton said in an interview that the Russians are laconic, when the British ‘много кривляются’ – vivid abundant facial expressions, much too much for a Russian.
I, too, noticed this long ago, Craig only confirmed my observation. In my very few days of being here I pointed out to the film ‘A Knight’s Tale’, to the scene with 2 different approaches of introducing a person to the public.
Russians cannot present news in a way which would be catching your emotions, and without catching your emotions the news never gets much of your attention, never mind making you take the side.
The people of Donbass were Ukrainian citizens by passports, but didn’t want to obey anti-Russian politics of their government. The core of the confrontation is the rivalry of the collective West on one hand, and Russia alone on the other.
The Donbassians got into the moral trap. They didn’t want to be a burden for Russia. They were also afraid that ordinary russians would never support them, because of their Ukrainian citizenship.
They chose to resist and to hope for the international law, for the UN, OSCE, Minsk agreements.
Until recently that hope was living. Now it’s too late.
—
Many people appeal to drastic sanctions for Russia. Kind-hearted people, caring of well-being. Someone expressed their concerns on currency exchange rate, and a person from Donbass commented ‘Give me your currency rate trouble any day, instead of shelling’.
Jack, please, I’m Russian. I’m not afraid to be poor. I know how, I tried it and survived it with a smile. We are not lazy, we can earn money.
Many would support Ukraine now, because they woke up to hear Kiev slapped in the face. They are totally unaware of Donbass troubles for 8 years. Nobody shouted at their ears.
I’m tortured already with shame and pain and sympathy for both sides! May we put aside economy and talk about principles?
Tatyana
I dont really understand your argument but it goes without saying that if Russia is cut off both from west and asia transanctions there will be extreme hardship for people in Russia, Russia will probably be back at 90s chaos. Why? Because they are dependent on export (and import like any other developed nation).
That’s the difference between you and me, Jack. I know it gonna be hard. So what? Russian lives don’t matter?
Tatyana
How are Russia to survive and develop if it might get cut off from majority of markets outside of Russia?
I don’t know yet. But we survived somehow the WW2 ending in 1945 and already in 1954 we launched Sputnik into the space.
That generation was much less educated than ours.
In order to cut Russia off you would need to cut off China, India, Pakistan, Iran and others. No cutting off China would mean indirect trade. As US and Germany are much reliant on Russian gas, let them pay in Rubles. In order to consolidate the Balance of Trade, these countries need to trade, so what.
I do not assume that it would be a walk in the park for Russia, but they will survive as they did before. It will be much more troubles for us (commoners, not the elites), Monty Python’s knight in the Holy Grail comes to mind …
“How are Russia to survive and develop if it might get cut off from majority of markets outside of Russia?”
Why does Russia need markets outside Russia? Russia is a very large country. They can make what they need themselves. They have oil, they have gas, they have food, they have iron, they have a trading partner in China. Just because most western countries would collapse if they were cut off from foreign markets doesn’t mean that Russia will. If Russia is kicked out of SWIFT, how will foreign countries pay for their gas, in sacks of roubles?
Bayard
Russia is wholly dependent on their oil/gas revenue, totally, and majority of this money come from europe.
Russia will stagnate where if lifeline is cut off and that process have now started.
Errr… in Ukraine, Biden is fighting for Burisma, for his son’s desire to live a luxury life.
I fight for my son simply exist in this world.
Biden (and Pelossi, and Kerry) might find another Burisma and another Ukraine for their kids, since they are not going to teach their spoiled kids to earn their living, but only trade the parent’s political capital for money.
That’s why they didn’t succeed in Afghanistan. I watched some videos and I found Taliban boys are very indigenous core inhabitants of the country. No chance for capitalism ideology to succeed, when the very soul of the people stands up. It’s about principles.
I believe those uneducated Taliban guys may have coped with the reality of the modern world. They may develop into a thriving unique society once, enriching us all with precious cultural gifts.
It all is about if we give them a chance.
remember the death of Mr.Floyd? It wasn’t only the racism problem that it exposed. No. It exposed a very important flaw in the Western mentality – the belief that each representative of the law really represents the people who signed under this law.
But the real end of the “Western Democracy Tale” came with the shooting down of Ashley Babbitt. She truly believed that she lived in a democratic country, and that she had come to the Capitol to exercise democracy. The reason was asking about the legality of the elections in the confusing covid times. She was shot dead. Later she was declared a terrorist, mind you, she was the US army veteran.
Principles, it means nothing in the modern West. It’s all about money.
The law no longer reflects what all these people in the US want. They try to survive with the old law and modern life. Discrepancy. Spoiled air. Principles are forgotten, people are only focused to earn living. They cherish a job as the highest ever achievement in their life. Let themselves be bent down.
My friends day it was a dream once, every person, even having only basic school education, still was able to earn living and feed their family.
While her economy is not that big, here are some gems:
Russia has some gas customer in China and is about to connect the gas fields for Europe with the one destined for China So I would not worry about gas.
Russia is the world biggest wheat/meslin exporter, double as much as Canada or US (Ukraine is en par with France)
Russia is the biggest diamond producer. So she will not sell via Antwerp, anymore (see Barroso’s tweet.)
Russia is the second largest (but far behind South Africa) platinum producer. I guess that is also useful for the MICIMATT
I mean, we would do well if we had her as trading partner. But it might not matter as most of our industry has been outsourced, anyway 🙂
And Russia has been an industry country so they can use their natural resources, themselves..
Hi, Jordan, one more representative of the globalist worldview 🙂 busy calculating the balance? Biological unit capacity?
Live effectively, die as soon as retired, you’ll make one perfect citizen. Good luck.
I’m still busy sorting out my human values system.
You are completely right, Tatyana.
Nevertheless, I see this as our problem in the global west. And to some extent also yours, as this is part of a common history. No wars without funds.
“Russia is wholly dependent on their oil/gas revenue,”
Did you bother to read that article which I linked to? You may want to believe that Russia is wholly dependent on their oil/gas revenue, but that doesn’t make it necessarily true. If the Telegraph, a paper not noted for it’s pro-Russian stance, says that it’s not true, I’m prepared to believe it. I mean it’s not as if it’s TASS saying it, or RT.
Utter garbage from the Observer this morning.
The invasion has ground to a halt.
“Putin shunned by world as his hopes of quick victory evaporate”
No, it was paused while another attempt at negotiation was made.
“Russia deserted by its ally China”.
No, China at the UN abstained on a motion and called for negotiation.
The UAE and India also abstained!
Yes China abstained. Everybody was expecting it to vote with Russia against the motion.
Zelensky made a frequent approaches to negotiate before the invasion, including invoking the OSCE, all of which were ignored by Putin.
You don’t understand China, neither does anybody who thought it would vote with Russia.
The Chinese are able to count up to 1. As Russia was going to vote against, there was no earthly reason for China to do so as well.
Heard today that they were pulled out of Ukraine 3 months ago
The Braying Brexiteers who promised freedom to trade with the world did they bother asking to be trading partners with Russia (or the Ukraine?) ?
The Dillusional Mop wants his ‘Churchill Moment’..the nearest he will get to it is looking out of the back window of a car with a slack jaw …. Oh Yes!