Showing posts with label war in Ukraine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label war in Ukraine. Show all posts
Saturday, May 13, 2023
Russia's Silent Protest against War | Focus on Europe
Saturday, November 26, 2022
Putin Talks with Mothers of Russian Soldiers in Staged Meeting | DW News
Nov 26, 2022 | Russian president Vladimir Putin met with mothers of soldiers who have been killed in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In a staged meeting with carefully selected women from across Russia, Putin said that he shared their pain, but that their sons had died not died in vain. There has been growing protest across Russia from mothers of young men who are being forcibly recruited and sent to the front, often lacking training and equipment.
Meanwhile, Russian shelling in the liberated city of Kherson has killed 15 people, according to Ukrainian officials. Authorities have begun evacuating civilians from the city, including children and hospital patients. The latest attack comes as authorities race to repair damage to critical infrastructure destroyed by Russian airstrikes earlier this week. The damage knocked out power to much of the country. Authorities have restored it in some areas, but more than six million people are still without heat or electricity. Analysts say Russia is seeking to demoralize Ukrainians over the harsh winter months. Ukraine's President has called on the nation to endure.
Meanwhile, Russian shelling in the liberated city of Kherson has killed 15 people, according to Ukrainian officials. Authorities have begun evacuating civilians from the city, including children and hospital patients. The latest attack comes as authorities race to repair damage to critical infrastructure destroyed by Russian airstrikes earlier this week. The damage knocked out power to much of the country. Authorities have restored it in some areas, but more than six million people are still without heat or electricity. Analysts say Russia is seeking to demoralize Ukrainians over the harsh winter months. Ukraine's President has called on the nation to endure.
Sunday, September 04, 2022
Russia Blacklists Artists and Pop Stars Critical of Ukraine War | Focus on Europe | DW News
Friday, July 29, 2022
The Rouble Is Soaring and Putin Is Stronger Than Ever - Our Sanctions Have Backfired
THE GUARDIAN: Energy prices are rocketing, inflation is soaring and millions are being starved of grain. Surely Johnson knew this would happen?
Western sanctions against Russia are the most ill-conceived and counterproductive policy in recent international history. Military aid to Ukraine is justified, but the economic war is ineffective against the regime in Moscow, and devastating for its unintended targets. World energy prices are rocketing, inflation is soaring, supply chains are chaotic and millions are being starved of gas, grain and fertiliser. Yet Vladimir Putin’s barbarity only escalates – as does his hold over his own people.
To criticize western sanctions is close to anathema. Defence analysts are dumb on the subject. Strategy thinktanks are silent. Britain’s putative leaders, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, compete in belligerent rhetoric, promising ever tougher sanctions without a word of purpose. Yet, hint at scepticism on the subject and you will be excoriated as “pro-Putin” and anti-Ukraine. Sanctions are the war cry of the west’s crusade.
The reality of sanctions on Russia is that they invite retaliation. Putin is free to freeze Europe this winter. He has slashed supply from major pipelines such as Nord Stream 1 by up to 80%. World oil prices have surged and eastern Europe’s flow of wheat and other foodstuffs to Africa and Asia has been all but suspended.
Britain’s domestic gas bills face tripling inside a year. The chief beneficiary is none other than Russia, whose energy exports to Asia have soared, driving its balance of payments into unprecedented surplus. The rouble is one of the world’s strongest currencies this year, having strengthened since January by nearly 50%. Moscow’s overseas assets have been frozen and its oligarchs have relocated their yachts, but there is no sign that Putin cares. He has no electorate to worry him. » | Simon Jenkins | Friday, January 29, 2022
Western sanctions against Russia are the most ill-conceived and counterproductive policy in recent international history. Military aid to Ukraine is justified, but the economic war is ineffective against the regime in Moscow, and devastating for its unintended targets. World energy prices are rocketing, inflation is soaring, supply chains are chaotic and millions are being starved of gas, grain and fertiliser. Yet Vladimir Putin’s barbarity only escalates – as does his hold over his own people.
To criticize western sanctions is close to anathema. Defence analysts are dumb on the subject. Strategy thinktanks are silent. Britain’s putative leaders, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, compete in belligerent rhetoric, promising ever tougher sanctions without a word of purpose. Yet, hint at scepticism on the subject and you will be excoriated as “pro-Putin” and anti-Ukraine. Sanctions are the war cry of the west’s crusade.
The reality of sanctions on Russia is that they invite retaliation. Putin is free to freeze Europe this winter. He has slashed supply from major pipelines such as Nord Stream 1 by up to 80%. World oil prices have surged and eastern Europe’s flow of wheat and other foodstuffs to Africa and Asia has been all but suspended.
Britain’s domestic gas bills face tripling inside a year. The chief beneficiary is none other than Russia, whose energy exports to Asia have soared, driving its balance of payments into unprecedented surplus. The rouble is one of the world’s strongest currencies this year, having strengthened since January by nearly 50%. Moscow’s overseas assets have been frozen and its oligarchs have relocated their yachts, but there is no sign that Putin cares. He has no electorate to worry him. » | Simon Jenkins | Friday, January 29, 2022
Friday, July 08, 2022
Russia Sentences a Lawmaker to Seven Years in Prison for Denouncing the War.
THE NEW YORK TIMES: A court in Moscow on Friday sentenced an opposition lawmaker to seven years in prison for denouncing Russia’s war in Ukraine, handing down the first prison term for what the government made a crime shortly after the invasion.
The sentence is likely to have a chilling effect on Russian society by further raising the stakes for anyone who publicly opposes the war that President Vladimir V. Putin began in late February. While thousands of people protested across Russia in the first weeks of the conflict, the dissent was quickly suppressed amid police violence and the passage of draconian laws that limited free speech.
The opposition lawmaker, Aleksei Gorinov, a municipal deputy in Moscow’s Krasnoselsky district, was found guilty of spreading false information about the Russian Army and its activities, the Tverskoy Court said in a statement on Friday. It said Mr. Gorinov had conspired with others and had used his public office to commit that crime. » | Ivan Nechepurenko and Alina Lobzina | Friday, July 8, 2022
The sentence is likely to have a chilling effect on Russian society by further raising the stakes for anyone who publicly opposes the war that President Vladimir V. Putin began in late February. While thousands of people protested across Russia in the first weeks of the conflict, the dissent was quickly suppressed amid police violence and the passage of draconian laws that limited free speech.
The opposition lawmaker, Aleksei Gorinov, a municipal deputy in Moscow’s Krasnoselsky district, was found guilty of spreading false information about the Russian Army and its activities, the Tverskoy Court said in a statement on Friday. It said Mr. Gorinov had conspired with others and had used his public office to commit that crime. » | Ivan Nechepurenko and Alina Lobzina | Friday, July 8, 2022
Wednesday, June 29, 2022
War in Ukraine: '"We Must Think of the Unthinkable' - Says Former Estonian President
Tuesday, June 28, 2022
Boris Johnson Warns Russian Victory in Ukraine Would Be 'Catastrophic'
Why ask BoJo if we are heading towards a global recession? He doesn't know the first thing about economics! At university, he studied the classics, not economics. Further, he wrote articles for newspapers; to my knowledge, he hasn't ever worked in industry or finance. What a bloody joke to ask him about what is going to happen to the world economy! By the way, if BoJo had known anything, even the slightest thing, about economics, he wouldn't have yanked the UK out of the greatest and biggest single market in the world: The Single Market. I'll give him one thing, though: He is right to say that it would be a catastrophe if Russia were victorious in this war. – © Mark Alexander
Wartime Economy, Can G7 Stare Down Russia over Ukraine? • FRANCE 24 English
British Army Chief Warns UK and Allies Facing '1937 Moment'
Jun 28, 2022 • The Head of the British Army, General Sir Patrick Sanders has stated the UK and its allies face their "1937 moment" following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Chief of the General Staff stressed the importance of being prepared for all eventualities in the years ahead.
The Chief of the General Staff stressed the importance of being prepared for all eventualities in the years ahead.
Tuesday, June 14, 2022
How Does It Feel to Be Russian Right Now? | NYT Opinion
Jun 14, 2022 • With Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February, it suddenly became very difficult to be Russian in this world. A nation, it seemed, had become a global pariah overnight.
This fell particularly heavily on cosmopolitan Russians who had viewed themselves as citizens of the global community and had opposed the war but now feared a kind of international cancellation based on their nationality alone.
Yet for many, things were even worse inside Russia. The country they called home and was central to their identity had revealed itself as something different and darker than they knew.
In the Opinion video above, three women who oppose the war speak about how it feels to be Russian now, how it feels to be them.
Two of the women — Natasha Zamorskaya, an activist, political aide and journalist; and Elina Kulikova, a performance artist and theater director — fled Russia, like tens of thousands of others, soon after the war began. The third — Anna Narinskaya, a literary critic, curator and educator — has remained in Russia.
With aching honesty, they describe the feelings that have overwhelmed them: anger and sadness, loss and regret, and a near-paralyzing uncertainty about who they are now and what will become of their lives, which were so closely tied to a country that in some ways feels foreign to them now.
Their struggle has been complicated by a concern that this might not be the time to give voice to their pain, not while their government inflicts such horror on Ukrainians.
As Ms. Zamorskaya says, “I think silence is my punishment now.”
This fell particularly heavily on cosmopolitan Russians who had viewed themselves as citizens of the global community and had opposed the war but now feared a kind of international cancellation based on their nationality alone.
Yet for many, things were even worse inside Russia. The country they called home and was central to their identity had revealed itself as something different and darker than they knew.
In the Opinion video above, three women who oppose the war speak about how it feels to be Russian now, how it feels to be them.
Two of the women — Natasha Zamorskaya, an activist, political aide and journalist; and Elina Kulikova, a performance artist and theater director — fled Russia, like tens of thousands of others, soon after the war began. The third — Anna Narinskaya, a literary critic, curator and educator — has remained in Russia.
With aching honesty, they describe the feelings that have overwhelmed them: anger and sadness, loss and regret, and a near-paralyzing uncertainty about who they are now and what will become of their lives, which were so closely tied to a country that in some ways feels foreign to them now.
Their struggle has been complicated by a concern that this might not be the time to give voice to their pain, not while their government inflicts such horror on Ukrainians.
As Ms. Zamorskaya says, “I think silence is my punishment now.”
Friday, May 27, 2022
Serbia, Russia and the War in Ukraine | DW Documentary
May 24, 2022 • Serbia has refused to impose sanctions on Russia up to now. The majority of Serbs support Putin’s war in Ukraine. Many have traumatic memories of NATO bombing during the Kosovo War and mistrust the West.
This documentary shows how the war in Ukraine has actually strengthened many Serbs’ feelings for Russia and upped President Vladimir Putin’s popularity. At demonstrations, protesters chant "Serbia and Russia: brothers forever” and "Putin, Putin”. Construction worker Sreten Mijovic regards Ukrainians as antichrists. For him, the most important things in life are Russia, Serbia and the Serbian soccer club Red Star Belgrade. The Grbovic family remembers the frightening weeks that they spent in the cellar during the NATO bombing campaign in 1999 — when Russia was the only country that took Serbia’s side.
Serbia would like to join the European Union, but it feels strong ties to Russia because of a shared culture and the Christian orthodox faith.
This documentary shows how the war in Ukraine has actually strengthened many Serbs’ feelings for Russia and upped President Vladimir Putin’s popularity. At demonstrations, protesters chant "Serbia and Russia: brothers forever” and "Putin, Putin”. Construction worker Sreten Mijovic regards Ukrainians as antichrists. For him, the most important things in life are Russia, Serbia and the Serbian soccer club Red Star Belgrade. The Grbovic family remembers the frightening weeks that they spent in the cellar during the NATO bombing campaign in 1999 — when Russia was the only country that took Serbia’s side.
Serbia would like to join the European Union, but it feels strong ties to Russia because of a shared culture and the Christian orthodox faith.
Monday, May 23, 2022
Concertgoers in Russia Chant ‘F**k the War!’
Saturday, May 21, 2022
The Russian Orthodox Leader at the Core of Putin’s Ambitions
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Patriarch Kirill I has provided spiritual cover for the invasion of Ukraine, reaping vast resources for his church in return. Now, in an extraordinary step, the E.U. is threatening him with sanctions.
Alexander Zemlianichenko/Associated Press
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine unfolded, Patriarch Kirill I, the leader of the Moscow-based Russian Orthodox Church, had an awkward Zoom meeting with Pope Francis.
The two religious leaders had previously worked together to bridge a 1,000-year-old schism between the Christian churches of the East and West. But the meeting, in March, found them on opposing sides of a chasm. Kirill spent 20 minutes reading prepared remarks, echoing the arguments of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia that the war in Ukraine was necessary to purge Nazis and oppose NATO expansion.
Francis was evidently flummoxed. “Brother, we are not clerics of the state,” the pontiff told Kirill, he later recounted to the Corriere della Sera newspaper, adding that “the patriarch cannot transform himself into Putin’s altar boy.”
Today, Kirill stands apart not merely from Francis, but from much of the world. The leader of about 100 million faithful, Kirill, 75, has staked the fortunes of his branch of Orthodox Christianity on a close and mutually beneficial alliance with Mr. Putin, offering him spiritual cover while his church — and possibly he himself — receives vast resources in return from the Kremlin, allowing him to extend his influence in the Orthodox world.
To his critics, the arrangement has made Kirill far more than another apparatchik, oligarch or enabler of Mr. Putin, but an essential part of the nationalist ideology at the heart of the Kremlin’s expansionist designs.
Kirill has called Mr. Putin’s long tenure “a miracle of God,” and has characterized the war as a just defense against liberal conspiracies to infiltrate Ukraine with “gay parades.” » | Jason Horowitz | Saturday, May 21, 2022
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine unfolded, Patriarch Kirill I, the leader of the Moscow-based Russian Orthodox Church, had an awkward Zoom meeting with Pope Francis.
The two religious leaders had previously worked together to bridge a 1,000-year-old schism between the Christian churches of the East and West. But the meeting, in March, found them on opposing sides of a chasm. Kirill spent 20 minutes reading prepared remarks, echoing the arguments of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia that the war in Ukraine was necessary to purge Nazis and oppose NATO expansion.
Francis was evidently flummoxed. “Brother, we are not clerics of the state,” the pontiff told Kirill, he later recounted to the Corriere della Sera newspaper, adding that “the patriarch cannot transform himself into Putin’s altar boy.”
Today, Kirill stands apart not merely from Francis, but from much of the world. The leader of about 100 million faithful, Kirill, 75, has staked the fortunes of his branch of Orthodox Christianity on a close and mutually beneficial alliance with Mr. Putin, offering him spiritual cover while his church — and possibly he himself — receives vast resources in return from the Kremlin, allowing him to extend his influence in the Orthodox world.
To his critics, the arrangement has made Kirill far more than another apparatchik, oligarch or enabler of Mr. Putin, but an essential part of the nationalist ideology at the heart of the Kremlin’s expansionist designs.
Kirill has called Mr. Putin’s long tenure “a miracle of God,” and has characterized the war as a just defense against liberal conspiracies to infiltrate Ukraine with “gay parades.” » | Jason Horowitz | Saturday, May 21, 2022
Thursday, May 19, 2022
Nina Khrushcheva: Talks to End War in Ukraine Are Collapsing as US Seeks Regime Change in Moscow
The Coup in the Kremlin: How Putin and the Security Services Captured the Russian State »
Thursday, May 05, 2022
Ukraine War: Putin in 'An impossible Position', Says Former UK Ambassador to Russia
May 5, 2022 • Former British Ambassador to Russia Sir Andrew Wood says Moscow has already lost more troops than died in Afghanistan, where 15,000 were killed.
He added that "the Russians do not care about the number of deaths, and they lie about it anyway."
May 9th marks Victory Day to commemorate the end of the Second World War, a day when Vladimir Putin would aim to have signs of a "victory" to show the Russian people.
He added that "the Russians do not care about the number of deaths, and they lie about it anyway."
May 9th marks Victory Day to commemorate the end of the Second World War, a day when Vladimir Putin would aim to have signs of a "victory" to show the Russian people.
Tuesday, May 03, 2022
Russia's Looming Victory Day: What Success Can Putin Claim in Ukraine?
Monday, May 02, 2022
Amb. Michael McFaul: "There's Now Momentum on the Side of the Ukrainians"
Thursday, April 28, 2022
Russia’s President Putin Warns against Foreign Intervention in Ukraine War – BBC News
Apr 28, 2022 • Any country trying to intervene in the Ukraine war will face a "lightning-fast" response, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned.
"We have all the tools no-one can boast of... we will use them if necessary," he said, in what is seen as a reference to ballistic missiles and nuclear arms.
Ukraine's allies have stepped up the supply of weapons, with the US vowing to make sure Ukraine defeats Russia.
Western officials say Russia is being hampered in its efforts in the east.
"We have all the tools no-one can boast of... we will use them if necessary," he said, in what is seen as a reference to ballistic missiles and nuclear arms.
Ukraine's allies have stepped up the supply of weapons, with the US vowing to make sure Ukraine defeats Russia.
Western officials say Russia is being hampered in its efforts in the east.
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