Day: May 12, 2023

On the day that Russia was marking the victory of the Soviet Union and its Western allies over Nazi Germany, the unelected president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, thought it would be a good idea to head over to Kiev, where neo-Nazis have recently been re-emerging in Europe.

“Nazi defeat day” is an odd occasion for a Western figurehead to go praise Ukraine as “the beating heart of today’s European values” considering the country integrated neo-Nazi fighters into the military and welcomed Western countries in training and equipping them. Perhaps next year’s Paris Olympics can introduce a new event for Queen Ursula to showcase her world-class mental gymnastics skills.

Von der Leyen then praised Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky for rebranding May 9 as Europe Day, just like in the European Union where countries mark Victory Day on May 8, the date to which Zelensky also moved Victory Day this year. Suddenly, Victory Day in Ukraine wants to self-identify as Europe Day and it’s a done deal with the simple stroke of a pen.

European leaders treated Victory Day in Russia like it was the birthday of an ex who lives full-time and rent-free in their heads. Speaking at the European Parliament, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that “2,200 kilometers north-east of here, in Moscow, Putin is parading his soldiers, tanks and missiles today. Let us not be intimidated by such outward manifestations of power!”

Right, because Russian President Vladimir Putin was totally trying to scare Scholz and not at all just hosting an annual historic commemoration of the 78-year-old victory of the Red Army over fascism. Maybe if people are intimidated enough by a ceremonial parade, they’ll conveniently forget all about Nazi Germany.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron took to Twitter with a lengthy ode to Europe that mistook stated ambition for actual reality.

“During the pandemic, it was our democracies that took the necessary steps to protect our most vulnerable citizens. It was our open societies that looked to science to develop, manufacture and provide vaccines to the entire world,” Macron said, in celebration of the jabs that enabled people to catch and transmit Covid enough times for governments to stop caring, while ignoring that lockdowns, mandates, and government-mandated QR codes to access basic venues of daily life were anything but open and democratic. He also failed to mention that rather than actually just protecting the most vulnerable, everyone else was also made more vulnerable as a result of government action that controlled their basic rights of work, travel, and freedom of movement.

“We drew a line under European dependence on Russian fossil fuels,” Macron said, conveniently omitting the fact that they’ve switched out that energy security for an over-reliance on pricy American fuel – over which Macron himself has lambasted the US. Not to mention that Europe is still actually buying Russian fuel, except that it gets effectively laundered through third countries such as India which conveniently allows the EU to keep up virtue-signaling appearances.

Macron tweeted on about Europe boasting “the most ambitious climate plans.” Nothing says climate ambition like firing up coal plants as the bloc’s economic engine, Germany, did in the wake of effectively cutting itself off from cheap Russian gas. “By 2050, we will have achieved carbon neutrality,” Macron added. So be sure to mark that down on your calendar for 27 years from now so you can see if he kept his word.

“It is together as Europeans that we will preserve our ability to decide for ourselves,” said the French president. Too late. You had that chance, but decided to hitch yourselves to Uncle Sam’s regime change bandwagon and be dragged along for the ride. Chalk it up to a lack of courage when it mattered.

It’s one thing for Macron to talk a good game about strategic European autonomy, as he did recently en route back from China. Or for German Economy Minister Robert Habeck to underscore the need for Europe to carve out its own independent trade agenda, but every time such words get put to the test when it counts, European leaders fail. Instead, they end up finding refuge in their own propaganda and revisionism. Burrowing out from under their own nonsense and doing the heavy lifting to match their actions with words takes far more courage.

Source: Russia Today

Russia has the tools needed to disable hostile satellites, but refrains from doing so to avoid escalation, Dmitry Rogozin, former head of Roscosmos space agency, said on Wednesday.

In an interview with the Moscow Speaking radio station, Rogozin was asked to comment on Russia’s capability to destroy Western satellites, including Starlink systems operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company.

“If we need to whack down, physically destroy, or simply neutralize the enemy orbital constellation… we will do that very quickly. We have all the necessary means for this,” the ex-Roscosmos head, who now commands a volunteer fighting force called ‘Tsar’s Wolves’, said.

However, Rogozin cautioned that any attack or other actions seeking to disable satellites would be seen as a casus belli. “This is a pretext for war, which will spill into space.”

Russia would face retaliation, immediately losing all of its own satellites, he said, adding that this would lead to an escalation and war.

He also said that Moscow really needs a satellite system like Starlink, which has thousands of relays enabling users to control drones in real time and evade electronic warfare measures.

Since the start of the Ukraine conflict, SpaceX has provided Kiev with thousands of Starlink terminals to help the local population to stay connected to the internet.

In February however, as Kiev started to increasingly rely on the satellites to fight Russia, SpaceX limited the Ukrainian military’s ability to control drones, with a senior company official explaining that this technology “was never intended to be weaponized.”

Musk himself has said that he did not intend for his satellites to be the reason for the Ukraine conflict spiraling into WWIII.

In early April, the Russian Foreign Ministry also accused Kiev and “a number of foreign states” of attempting to tamper with Russian civilian satellites, warning that this is in violation of international law and could trigger “an appropriate response.”

Source: Russia Today

A truck driver targeted Belarusian troops with an explosive device late Thursday, the Defense Ministry in Minsk has said.

The alleged incident took place on the M-5 highway, which connects the capital, Minsk, with the country's border with Ukraine, the ministry said in a short statement on Friday.

“A truck driver has attempted an attack with the use of an explosive device made of pyrotechnics on a group of servicemen involved in reinforcement of sections of the state border,” the statement read.

The suspect tried to flee the scene, but the troops managed to block his vehicle and detain him, the ministry said. None of the servicemen were injured in the incident, it added.

The attacker, who was described as a 51-year-old male, was handed over to police. “Traits of extremism are being identified in the actions of the driver,” the statement read.

Belarus, a close ally of Russia, shares a 1,084-km border with Ukraine. Minsk is not directly taking part in the fighting between Moscow and Kiev – however, Russia and Belarus created a joint military grouping within Belarus last autumn to address perceived threats from the West.

Ukraine has reportedly been reinforcing its border with Belarus due to concerns over a potential Russian military incursion. Minsk has accused Kiev of conducting provocations and attempting to drag Belarus into the conflict.

In March, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko called his Ukrainian counterpart, Vladimir Zelensky, “scum” after a Russian A-50 surveillance aircraft sustained minor damage in a drone attack on an air base in Belarus. The operation could not have been carried out without the Ukrainian leader knowing, he said.

Last month, Kiev recalled its ambassador to Belarus for consultations, after Lukashenko held a meeting with the acting head of Russia’s People’s Republics of Donetsk (DPR), Denis Pushilin. Along with the People’s Republics of Lugansk (LPR), and Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions, the DPR became part of Russia last autumn after people in the four regions voted overwhelmingly in favor of the move in referendums. Ukraine considers the territories to be occupied by Russia.

Source: Russia Today