The General Who Predicted the Russian Invasion on What's Next | A Discussion between Gen. Richard Shirreff and Dominik Presl about the Likelihood of a Major War

Feb 1, 2024 | This is a conversation with General Richard Shirref. General Shirreff was one of the highest ranking British military commanders and a second in command of NATO forces. He has been warning of the Russian threat long before it became mainstream and in 2016, after he left the military he published a book called War with Russia in which Russia attacks Ukraine and afterwards continues to invade the Baltics, catching NATO completely unprepared - a book that was meant as a warning for what might be coming.

In this conversation, we talk about why he was one of the few people who saw the threat clearly years before everyone else, why it would be extremely dangerous to underestimate the Russians and how prepared is NATO for a Russian aggression. Richard is extremely candid in his answers and he's not afraid to be critical and say things as they really are and so I think it's an extremely interesting conversation.


This has been a wonderful, sobering and enlightening discussion. Thank you both so much. – © Mark Alexander

Inside Russia: What Putin Will Tell Tucker Carlson in an Interview – Explained

Feb 4, 2024

Please note that the man’s name is Tucker Carlson, not “Carlson Tucker” as Konstantin calls him. – Mark

AND FROM TODAY’S GUARDIAN:

Kremlin quiet as Tucker Carlson Russia visit creates Putin interview rumours: Far-right broadcaster spotted at Bolshoi ballet in Moscow, having reportedly arrived last week »

Russia’s New Threats to Exiles: Seized Assets and Forced Returns

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Kremlin is sending a chilly message to antiwar Russians abroad: A new law will allow their property back home to be seized, and other countries are being pressured to crack down on them.

In Bangkok this week, members of an antiwar Russian-language rock group were fighting deportation to Russia, detained in what supporters described as a cramped, hot, 80-person immigration holding cell.

On Wednesday in Moscow, the lower house of Parliament passed a law that will allow the Russian government to seize the property of Russians living abroad who, in the words of the legislature’s chairman, “besmirch our country.”

The two developments, though thousands of miles apart, reflected the same grim calculus by the Kremlin: Using new legislation and apparent diplomatic pressure on other countries, it is turning the screws on Russia’s sprawling antiwar diaspora.

“Historic Russia has risen up,” President Vladimir V. Putin said at a meeting with backers of his presidential campaign on Wednesday, reprising his contention that the time has come to cleanse Russian society of pro-Western elements. “All this scum that’s always present in any society is being slowly, slowly washed away.”

Under the law, any Russian, even those in exile, found to be engaged in “crimes against national security” — including criticizing the invasion of Ukraine — could have their assets confiscated. Mr. Putin is expected to sign the law, though it is not yet clear how widely or aggressively the Kremlin plans to use it. » | Anton Troianovski | Thursday, February 1, 2024

In Russia, Gays Are Extremists! | #shorts

All LGBT are banned in Russia. Yes, that’s right – banned! Gays must be striking fear into Russians’ hearts, or something.

US to Station Nuclear Weapons in UK to Counter Threat from Russia

THE TELEGRAPH: Warheads to be housed at RAF Lakenheath for first time in 15 years, Pentagon documents reveal, as Moscow warns of 'escalation'

The United States is planning to station nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in 15 years as the threat from Russia increases, Pentagon documents seen by The Telegraph reveal.

Procurement contracts for a new facility at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk confirm that the US intends to place nuclear warheads three times the strength of the Hiroshima bomb at the air base.

The US removed nuclear missiles from the UK in 2008, judging that the Cold War threat from Moscow had diminished.

The disclosure comes in the wake of warnings that Nato countries need to ready their citizens for war with Russia.

Last week, Adml Rob Bauer, a senior Nato military official, said that private citizens should prepare for all-out war with Russia in the next 20 years that would require wholesale change in their lives. » | Tony Diver, US Editor | Friday, January 26, 2024

Sunak Forced to Rule Out Conscription as Russia War Threat Rises

THE TELEGRAPH: Downing Street shoots down comments by Gen Sir Patrick Sanders that the UK must be ready to train and equip citizens for future conflict

Downing Street has been forced to rule out conscription after the head of the Army warned that British civilians would need to fight Russia in a future war.

Gen Sir Patrick Sanders said the UK needed a military that could not only expand rapidly but also “train and equip” a citizen army, in a speech first reported by this newspaper.

In his address to the International Armoured Vehicles conference in Twickenham on Wednesday, Gen Sir Patrick stressed that the Army, which is predicted to have just 72,500 fully trained soldiers by 2025, would not be big enough to fight an all-out war with Russia even if it numbered 120,000.

Defence sources previously told The Telegraph that Gen Sir Patrick wants there to be a shift in the mindset of British men and women, in which they think like troops and are mentally prepared for a possible war with Russia. » | Danielle Sheridan, Defence Editor | Thursday, January 25, 2024

War with Russia is coming. Britain is determined to lose: »

‘No Time to Go Wobbly’: Why Britain Is Lobbying U.S. Republicans on Ukraine: The U.K., often a wingman to the United States in defense, is pushing its ally to stand firm against President Vladimir V. Putin, amid fears that Russia poses an existential threat to Europe. »

Russian Plane Carrying 65 Ukrainian PoWs Has Crashed, Moscow Says | BBC News

Jan 24, 2024 | A Russian Ilyushin-76 military transport plane has crashed in the southern Belgorod region bordering Ukraine. At least 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed, according to Russia's ministry of defence. Ria Novosti news agency said another nine people were on board, including six crew. None of the details surrounding those on board can be independently verified.

US State Dept Responds to Russian President Putin’s Claim over Alaska | Dawn News English

Jan 23, 2024 | Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the 1867 sale of Alaska to the US is 'illegal,' asserting Russia's ownership. The US State Department swiftly responded, stating that Putin won't be getting it back. In 1867, Alaska's purchase marked a historic moment, symbolizing the end of Russian efforts to expand trade to North America. The formal transfer to the US occurred on October 18, 1867, for 7.2 million dollars, a pivotal milestone in the US becoming a major power in the Asia-Pacific region.

Russia lays claim to Alaska and huge swathes of Asia as Vladimir Putin issues new decree: New edict affects all of Moscow's historic holdings across three continents, including former imperial colonies in the US. »

Zelenskiy Slams Trump’s Rhetoric on Stopping the War as ‘Very Dangerous’

GUARDIAN EUROPE: Ukrainian leader invited Trump to Ukraine but says if he returns to White House he could make unilateral concessions to Russia

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, fears that if Donald Trump returns to the White House next year he could make unilateral concessions to Russia that override Ukraine’s interests and branded the former US president’s claims he could stop the war in 24 hours as “very dangerous”.

In an interview with the UK’s Channel 4 News, Zelenskiy said he was “stressed” that the former president “is going to make decisions on his own, without … I’m not even talking about Russia, but without both sides, without us.”

“If he says this publicly, that’s a little scary. I’ve seen a lot, a lot of victims, but that’s really making me a bit stressed,” he said. » | Edward Helmore and agencies | Saturday, January 20, 2024

Analysts Warn There Could Be a Russian Attack on a NATO Member State

Jan 30, 2024 | “If that’s not a wake up call I don’t know what is.” NATO should “start negotiations” with Russia before it’s too late, as analysts believe there could be a Russian attack on a NATO state “in the next seven years”, former BBC correspondent Martin Sixsmith tells Times Radio.

NATO Prepares for All-out War with Russia | Jamie Shea

Jan 19, 2024 | “We're past the point where Nato taking steps to defend itself is going to be a contributory factor to war.” “Nato’s preparations for defence has started”, as Nato official Rob Bauer warns that civilians must prepare for all-out war with Russia in the next 20 years, explains Jamie Shea.

Russians Are Freezing! | In January 2024 the Utility Industry Is Collapsing

Jan 16, 2024 | 2 years after the start of the invasion of Ukraine, Russia starts collapsing. The utilities industry fails the first.

Those who wish to support Konstantin can do so on Patreon here.

Houthis Strike a Russian Oil Ship

Jan 13, 2024 | “The Houthis are doing it in part to push their own domestic and regional interests.” Houthis are striking “random” ships to give themselves a stronger position in the war in Yemen, Gregg Carlstrom tells Times Radio.

Russia Designates Popular Writer a Foreign Agent over Ukraine Stance

GUARDIAN EUROPE: Books by bestselling author Grigori Chkhartishvili, who writes under pen name Boris Akunin, removed from shelves

Russia accused Grigori Chkhartishvili of distributing false and negative information. Photograph: Murdo Macleod/The Guardian
Russia’s justice ministry late on Friday designated one of the country’s most popular fiction writers a foreign agent because of his opposition to Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

The historical detective stories of Boris Akunin, the pen name of Georgian-born Grigori Chkhartishvili, used to be bestsellers in Russia before the authorities turned on him for what they said were his unacceptable anti-Russian views.

The justice ministry cited Chkhartishvili’s opposition to what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine and accused him of distributing false and negative information about Russia and of helping raise money for the Ukrainian military.

The 67-year-old author lives in Britain. » | Reuters | Saturday, January 13, 2024

Margaret Thatcher on Russia, Communism

Listen to Margaret Thatcher destroying communism.

UN Chief Condemns Latest Attacks on Ukraine which Leave 30+ Dead | DW News

Dec 30, 2023 | UN Secretary General António Guterres has condemned Russia's latest attacks on Ukraine. At least 30 people were killed and many more injured. Ukraine's government says more than 150 missiles and drones struck cities nationwide, damaging vital infrastructure, as well as industrial and military facilities. Schools and a maternity hospital were among the buildings hit

USSR Established December 30, 1922 - This Day In History

Dec 30, 2023 | In post-revolutionary Russia, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is established, comprising a confederation of Russia, Belorussia, Ukraine and the Transcaucasian Federation (divided in 1936 into the Georgian, Azerbaijan and Armenian republics). Also known as the Soviet Union, the new communist state was the successor to the Russian Empire and the first country in the world to be based on Marxist socialism

Read about it here.

Russia Launches 'Biggest Attack of Year' against Ukraine

THE TELEGRAPH: Key cities bombarded in apparent revenge attack after Russian warship was destroyed in Crimea

Russia launched its largest aerial assault on Ukraine since the beginning of the war, targeting cities across the country with a barrage of missile and drone strikes.

Overnight, high-velocity projectiles rained down near a maternity hospital and on a shopping centre in the central city of Dnipro, while an attack in the capital Kyiv set a high-rise residential building ablaze as air raid sirens sounded nationwide.

Hypersonic, ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as Iranian-made kamikaze drones, were also launched at Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Odesa, Konotop and Lviv, in the west.

Scores of deaths and injuries were reported in the attacks, an apparent retaliation for the destruction of the Novocherkassk warship in occupied Crimea. » | Joe Barnes and Tim Sigsworth | Friday, December 29, 2023

NATO Makes Major Changes to Address New Threats | DW News

Dec 28, 2023 | The war in Ukraine has led NATO to re-evaluate security, especially on its eastern flank with Russia. Germany's recent announcement of a permanent troop deployment there – the first of its kind since the second world war – is just one such change.

Anne Applebaum: Orbán Evidence of What a Determined, Anti-democratic Figure Can Do

Dec 19, 2023 | The Atlantic's Anne Applebaum discusses Hungary's PM Viktor Orbán blocking the EU's plan for further aid to Ukraine.

Orbán should be kicked out of the EU. Hungarians belong in the EU, but not under Orbán’s leadership. Orbán is one of Putin’s stooges. – © Mark Alexander