Evgeny Lebedev May Be No Secret Agent: But Would Boris Johnson Notice If He Was?

THE GUARDIAN: Wild parties in Tuscany and a peerage for the Russian newspaper owner are hardly signs of a precautionary approach

Evgeny Lebedev and Boris Johnson pictured in 2015 as they slept outside in central London as part of a campaign against homelessness. Photograph: Nigel Howard
On the night Boris Johnson finally threw his lot in with the Brexiters, naturally only his nearest and dearest were privy to his thoughts.

His then wife, Marina Wheeler, was there, plus the leading leaver Michael Gove and his then wife, Sarah Vine. The odd one out over a supper of slow-roasted lamb at Johnson and Wheeler’s Islington home, meanwhile, was Evgeny Lebedev. The millionaire son of a former Russian KGB officer apparently hung out with the wives making “polite conversation in stage whispers” while Johnson and Gove talked by speakerphone to a fellow cabinet minister who was trying vainly to persuade them to back remain. Vine did not explain, in her subsequent newspaper column describing the evening, why Lebedev was playing gooseberry on such a momentous and sensitive night for the nation’s future. If the presence of the Evening Standard and Independent proprietor surprised her, however, she didn’t say so.

For a famously shy man, Lebedev certainly gets around. Here he is with Dame Judi Dench and Sir Ian McKellen, photographed for the annual Evening Standard theatre awards (at which, the Guardian’s veteran awards-coverer Hadley Freeman points out, winners would invariably thank “darling Evgeny” and mention his “beautiful house in Tuscany”). Here he is handing the Standard editorship to George Osborne, an ousted chancellor in need of a job but not noticeably a journalist. Here he is photographed with Prince William, with Peter Mandelson, with Tony Blair, with Elton John. And here he is hosting what Johnson’s biographer, Tom Bower, called bacchanalian weekends in his castle in Italy every summer, where Johnson could apparently behave “like a naughty schoolboy”. There are no photographs of those, of course; just reports of an unkempt Johnson the morning after one of them looking (according to a fellow passenger at the airport) like he’d slept in his clothes. Johnson was foreign secretary at the time. » | Gaby Hinsliff | Monday, March 14, 2022

Multiple links apropos of Evgeny Lebedev.

Can this prime minister really be trusted? – Mark

"They’re Lying to You”: Russian TV Employee Interrupts News Broadcast

THE GUARDIAN: Marina Ovsyannikova ran on to the set of the Channel One transmission shouting: ‘Stop the war. No to war’

An employee on Russia’s state Channel One television has interrupted the channel’s main news programme with an extraordinary protest against Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Marina Ovsyannikova, an editor at Channel One, burst on to the set of the live broadcast of the nightly news on Monday evening, shouting: “Stop the war. No to war.”

She also held a sign saying: “Don’t believe the propaganda. They’re lying to you here.” It was signed in English: “Russians against the war”.

The news anchor continued to read from her teleprompter speaking louder in an attempt to drown out Ovsyannikova, but her protest could be seen and heard for several seconds before the channel switched to a record segment. With video » | Pjotr Sauer | Monday, March 14, 2022

heute 19:00 Uhr vom 14.03.2022

Mar 14, 2022 • Der Chef der russischen Nationalgarde, Viktor Solotow, hat eingeräumt, dass der Militäreinsatz in der Ukraine langsamer vorankommt als erhofft. Die Äußerungen des engen Vertrauten von Präsident Wladimir Putin sind die ranghöchste öffentliche Bestätigung aus der russischen Führungsriege, dass die Dinge in der Ukraine nicht nach Plan verlaufen. Diese und weitere Nachrichten des Tages in den ZDFheute Nachrichten um 19 Uhr.

Time for the West to Grow a Spine! | Republished from March 1, 2022

We need to re-think our strategy re the Ukraine. Isn’t it high time that NATO and the West change rhetoric on giving full military support to our brave Ukrainian brothers and sisters?

Three things, in particular, need to happen: The European Union needs to suspend its bureaucracy and make an exception to admit the Ukraine into the EU, with immediate effect; NATO needs to grow a spine and give the Ukrainians all the military support it needs, including combat troops; and a no-fly zone needs to be declared over Ukrainian airspace. Call Putin’s bluff! Challenge him! Defy him! Destroy his economy and destroy his military! Bring Russia to its knees!

We need to face-off with Russia. Putin is a bully; and bullies are usually weak little men when all is said and done.

The Ukrainians are not simply fighting for their own beloved country; rather, they are also fighting for our freedoms, fighting for liberal democracy. It is a disgrace that we are allowing them to do this alone, allowing them to do our dirty—and dangerous—work for us.

If Ukraine falls, which country will be next to fall? Poland? One of the Baltic states? The former Yugoslavia? If we value our freedoms, our liberty, our democracies, then we need to step up to the plate and help the Ukrainians to repel the barbarians by whom they are being attacked.

Sanctions are all well and good; but they are not enough to defeat the Russian bear.

Let the Ukrainians join the EU; let Western nations send real military support to help the Ukrainians fight their enemy; let there be controlled airspace for the Ukrainians, too.

These measures are the decent measures to take. They are also Christian measures. How can we, in good conscience, sit idly by and allow a good Christian country be destroyed by barbarians? Moreover, while we are at it, the British government needs to seize the property and chattels of the Russian kleptocrats who have splendid homes here in the UK, particularly in London and Surrey. Let no stone go unturned to help our brothers and sisters in the Ukraine, who find themselves in great difficulties and indescribable danger, and who find themselves having to fight for our freedoms. Let the real war commence!

© Mark Alexander
All Rights Reserved

'I'm a US Marine': Americans among Volunteers Fighting for Ukraine

Mar 14, 2022 • Ukrainian officials say more than 20,000 volunteers are interested in joining Ukraine's international legion. CNN's Jim Sciutto speaks with volunteers to learn why they plan to join the fight against Russia.

Lionel Richie : The Only One

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group | Views on YouTube: 3,338,165

Don’t let the b**tards grind you down! Stay proud! Stay defiant! Enjoy being yourself! Rejoice in the way God created you! – Mark

Ausbildung für Wlad! Sensibilitätstraining.

Formation pour Vlad ! Sensibilisation. / Education for Vlad! Sensitivity training.
Ich bedanke mich sehr bei love for boys für dieses schöne Bild.

Proud to Be … !

Stolz … zu sein! / Fier d'être… !
Many thanks to Fine Art America for this delightful photo of these two colourful parrots expressing their affection for each other.

Envisager le scénario du pire : une Ukraine transformée en Syrie, et une Russie en Corée du Nord

LE MONDE : Alors que l’Ukraine résiste malgré l’acharnement de l’assaillant, la Russie de Poutine se raidit et s’isole toujours davantage.

Analyse. Chaque jour charrie son lot d’horreurs, depuis que la Russie a lancé une guerre injustifiable contre l’Ukraine. Chaque jour est gros, aussi, d’événements encore impensables il y a peu. La réponse occidentale a été unie et fulgurante : déclenchement immédiat de sanctions massives, chasse aux biens oligarchiques, livraisons d’armes aux Ukrainiens, prise en compte du drame migratoire et humanitaire qui ne fait que débuter. Mais cette réponse, si louable soit-elle, n’arrête pas les missiles et les frappes russes sur les civils. Elle ne permet nullement de contenir le sombre dessein du Kremlin et sa fuite en avant. Au contraire. Le régime russe a intégré depuis longtemps – à ses risques et périls – l’idée que la surenchère et le fait accompli seuls garantissent une position de force. » | Par Piotr Smolar (Washington, correspondant) | lundi 14 mars 2022

Article réservé aux abonnés

Luxusartikel-Ausfuhr nach Russland beschränkt

Der russische Oligarch Roman Abramowitsch und frühere Inhaber des englischen Fußballclubs FC Chelsea | Bild: DPA
VIERTES EU-SANKTIONSPAKET
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Europäer dürfen nicht mehr im russischen Energiesektor investieren und Russen müssen auf Luxusartikel aus Europa verzichten. Auch der Oligarch Abramowitsch kommt beim vierten EU-Sanktionspaket nicht ungeschoren davon.

Die EU-Staaten haben sich am Montag auf weitere Sanktionen gegen Russland verständigt. Das nach offizieller Zählung vierte Paket verbietet Investitionen im russischen Energiesektor und Transaktionen mit 13 Staatsunternehmen. Zudem dürften bestimmte Produkte aus Eisen und Stahl nicht mehr in die Europäische Union eingeführt werden. Die Ausfuhr von Luxusprodukten nach Russland wird beschränkt. » | Von Thomas Gutschker. Politischer Korrespondent für die Europäische Union, die Nato und die Benelux-Länder mit Sitz in Brüssel. | Montag, 14. März 2022

Homophobia in Russia I The Feed

Aug 5, 2013 • There's a rising tide of aggressive homophobia across Russia. But who is behind these attacks and how is Russia's legal system allowing them to continue? Andy Park look at why Russia is allowing homophobic attacks.

Vladimir Putin on Gay Rights in Russia | September 29, 2015 | Charlie Rose

Sep 30, 2015 • "The problem of sexual minorities in Russia [...] has been a deliberate exaggeration aimed at making an enemy image of Russia for political considerations. I believe this is one of the lines of attack against Russia." -- Vladimir Putin on the media representation of gay persecution in Russia.

Anyone listening to this short video clip would be forgiven for concluding that Russia is a paradise for gays! Alas, we all know the sad reality of gay rights in Russia: they are virtually non-existent. Russia is a bastion of homophobia. Indeed, from what I have read and watched over the months and years, gays in Russia are persecuted. This sad reality doesn’t chime with Putin’s comforting words! – © Mark

First Same-Sex Couples Wed in Chile

Pictured: newlyweds Jaime Nazar (left) and Javier Silva
ADVOCATE: “It’s something we didn’t think could happen,” Javier Silva observed as the nation's marriage equality law went into effect Thursday.

Javier Silva and Jaime Nazar have become the first same-sex couple to marry legally in Chile.

The men wed Thursday in a civil ceremony in a Santiago suburb as the nation’s marriage equality law, approved last year, went into effect.

“Being the first couple to get married in Chile for us is an honor, something to be proud of,” Silva said after the ceremony, according to Reuters. “We did it! It’s something we didn’t think could happen.”

The two have been together for seven years and have two children. They had been in a civil union for three years. Civil unions in Chile conferred many of the rights of marriage, but some were lacking, including the right to legally adopt children. » | Trudy Ring | Friday, March 11, 2022

Texas ‘Hate-preacher’ Tells Children: ‘I Can’t Wait for Gay People Just to Go to Hell’

Jonathan Shelley, a pastor for a church considered a hate group by activists. (Screen capture via YouTube) PINK NEWS: As Texas’ leaders shield trans youth from “abusive” gender-affirming healthcare, a “hate-preacher” is allowed to tell children he can’t wait for LGBT+ people to go to Hell.

Startling video footage shows the moment Jonathan Shelley of the Steadfast Bible Church in Hurst irls homophobia in front of young children.

While some giggle and turn away, others are left to stare at Shelley as he shouts against “fornicators” not being welcomed in his church, which is a considered by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group.

“So if there’s a whore she’s supposed to be thrown out until she repents and gets back in, and then on top of that, the sodomite’s never allowed in for any vow,” he said, according to a live stream of the 90-minute sermon posted to the church’s YouTube channel last Sunday (6 March).

“Love is love? No. There’s no promise you could make, there’s nothing you can say, you’re never welcome, go away. I just can’t wait until you just go to Hell.

“There’s just no place for them,” as people off-screen can be heard cheering in agreement.

But, you know, both the state governor, Greg Abbott, and its attorney general, Ken Paxton, both consider healthcare for trans youth as tantamount to “child abuse”. Texas pastor backs the ‘death penalty for homosexuals’ » | Josh Milton | Sunday, March 13, 2022

It must be something they put in the water over there! – Mark

Brent Renaud, First US Reporter Killed in Ukraine, Praised for Exposing Horrors of War

Mar 14, 2022 • On Sunday, the U.S. journalist and filmmaker Brent Renaud was shot dead near Kyiv while working on a documentary about refugees. He is the first foreign journalist known to have been killed in Ukraine since the Russian invasion. Ukrainian officials are accusing Russian forces of his death. We discuss Renaud’s remarkable documentary work and feature part of an interview he gave on Democracy Now! after he was embedded in Iraq with the National Guard from his home state of Arkansas. We are joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ann Marie Lipinski, who got to know both Renaud and photographer Juan Arredondo during their time as fellows at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, which Lipinski curates. “Brent was a very, very special journalist, yes, but also person,” says Lipinski. “He just brought a very, very rare humanity and patience to the work.” We also hear from Cora Weiss, former board of directors chair of Downtown Community Television, where Brent and his brother Craig started their filmmaking career in the same former firehouse building that housed Democracy Now! for over a decade. “He shouldn’t have been killed,” says Weiss. “Brent was terribly important as an educator for all Americans to understand the horrors of war and the unnecessary expense in life.” Carlos Martínez de la Serna of the Committee to Protect Journalists says Renaud’s killing amounts to a war crime.

Democracy Now! US News & World Headlines – March 14, 2022

Russia Threatens to Seize Western Assets | DW News

Mar 14, 2022 • Russian authorities have threatened foreign companies that are withdrawing from the country with arrests and asset seizures.. that's according to the Wall Street Journal. Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Apple have closed stores in Russia. Procter & Gamble, IBM and others have halted exports to the country. Over the weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would favor putting firms under 'external management'. The Russian government has allegedly threatened to also seize their assets, including intellectual property.

Russian Oligarch Oleg Deripaska & His Links to British Politicians - BBC Newsnight

Mar 19, 2018 • Has Britain been too willing to be a comfortable home to very wealthy Russians, often close to President Putin? John Sweeney examines the social connections of oligarch, Oleg Deripaska.

Related.

Activists Occupy Luxury Biarritz Villa Owned by Putin’s Ex-Son-in-Law

THE GUARDIAN: Pair say they have changed locks and will offer property to Ukrainian refugees fleeing war

One of the activists on an upper-floor balcony of the Alta Mira villa in Biarritz with a Ukrainian flag. Photograph: YouTube
Two Russian activists have broken into and occupied a luxury villa in Biarritz owned by Vladimir Putin’s former son-in-law.

Pierre Haffner, of the Svoboda Liberté Association, whose blog appears on the Mediapart news website, and Sergey Saveliev entered the eight-bedroom Alta Mira property in the French coastal resort, popular with Russian oligarchs. They announced on social media that they had changed the locks and would offer it to house Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war.

The property is said to belong to Kirill Shamalov, a Russian billionaire and former husband of Putin’s younger daughter Katerina Tikhonova. Haffner and Saveliev claimed to have found one of Shamalov’s passports and a translation of a Moscow electricity bill. » | Kim Willsher in Paris | Monday, March 14, 2022

Deux squatteurs évacués de la villa basque de l’ex-gendre de Poutine : Les deux personnes interpellées ont été placées en garde à vue ce lundi pour «violation de domicile». »

Squatters Occupy Russian Billionaire Oleg Deripaska’s London Mansion

THE GUARDIAN: Group enters property in Belgrave Square and warns oligarchs: ‘you occupy Ukraine, we occupy you’

Squatters occupying Oleg Deripaska mansion at Belgrave Square in London Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian
Squatters have occupied a mansion belonging to the Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska in central London in the early hours of Monday.

The five squatters in the building in Belgrave Square – two from eastern Europe, though not from Ukraine – say they feel their countries are also under threat from Vladimir Putin. Their plan is to open up the mansion, which they say “has too many rooms to count” including a cinema and a wine cellar, to Ukrainians fleeing the war, along with other refugees needing shelter.

In a message to Russian oligarchs, the squatters said: “You occupy Ukraine, we occupy you.”

A significant police presence barred entry to the cream-coloured stone building with a black front door and pillars at the entrance.

This part of London has been nicknamed “oligarchs’ quarter” because so many wealthy Russians have bought properties here, a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace. » | Diane Taylor | Monday, March 14, 2022

Ukraine: Squatters occupy Russian oligarch's London mansion: Squatters have occupied a central London mansion believed to belong to one of the oligarchs sanctioned by the UK government. »

Riot police using cherry picker storm Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska's £50million Knightsbridge 'crash-pad' after it was invaded by activists vowing to house Ukrainian refugees there »

Former White House Insider Says US Democracy Is Under Threat | 60 Minutes Australia

Miles Taylor, former chief of staff for the Department of Homeland Security under the Trump administration, tells 60 Minutes why he believes so many Americans have been swept up in the former president's election lies.

Ukraine War: Key Strategic City of Odesa Prepares for Battle

Mar 13, 2022 • Vladimir Putin's troops have been accused of abducting a second local mayor in a matter of days. The news has put officials in Odesa on high alert, with the port city thought to be next on Russia's list of strategic targets.

Boris Johnson wegen Nähe zu Lebedev unter Druck

Evgeny Lebedev mit der britischen Schauspielerin Claire Foy im November 2018 | Bild: PICTURE ALLIANCE / WWW.PIQTURED.
RUSSISCHER MEDIENUNTERNEHMER
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Evgeny Lebedev ist ein russischer Medienmogul in Großbritannien. Seit 2020 sitzt er im britischen Parlament. Möglich machte das vor allem Boris Johnson, indem er ihn zum Baron ernannte. Die Opposition kritisiert das nun.

Großbritanniens Premierminister Boris Johnson gerät wegen seiner Nähe zum russischstämmigen Medienmogul Evgeny Lebedev unter Druck. Johnson müsse angesichts der Tatsache, dass er Lebedev zum Baron ernannt und damit einen Sitz im Oberhaus verschafft habe, „ernste Fragen“ beantworten, sagte der Oppositionsführer von der Labour-Partei Keir Starmer am Sonntag im Sender „Sky News“. Der Zeitung „Sunday Times“ zufolge hatte Johnson Warnungen des Geheimdienstes MI6 im Zusammenhang mit der Verleihung der Adelswürde an Lebedev ignoriert. » | Quelle: AFP | Sonntag, 13. März 2022

Related links:

here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Russian Orthodox Church in Amsterdam Announces Split with Moscow

THE GUARDIAN: Clergy takes ‘difficult decision’ to cut ties with the Moscow patriarchate over the invasion of Ukraine

A Russian Orthodox church in Amsterdam in 2020. More than 280 Russian Orthodox priests and church officials from around the world have signed an open letter expressing their opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Photograph: Koen van Weel/ANP/AFP/Getty Images
A Russian Orthodox church in Amsterdam has announced it is to split with the Moscow patriarchate in the first known instance of a western-based church cutting ties over the invasion of Ukraine.

“The clergy unanimously announced that it is no longer possible for them to function within the Moscow patriarchate and provide a spiritually safe environment for our faithful,” the clergy said in a statement posted on its website.

“This decision is extremely painful and difficult for all concerned.”

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, a trusted ally of President Vladimir Putin, has declined to condemn Kremlin’s decision to invade its neighbour, referring to Russia’s opponents in Ukraine as “evil forces.” In a Sunday sermon last week he also said gay pride parades organised in the West were part of the reason for the war in Ukraine.

The statement said the Russian Orthodox parish of Saint Nicholas of Myra had asked the Russian archbishop of the diocese of the Netherlands who is based in The Hague to grant the church “canonical dismissal.”

The clergy of the parish said they had requested to join the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Istanbul-based Orthodox branch, seen as a rival to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Kirill’s position on the war has led to unease among some Russian Orthodox priests who object to the invasion of a country often referred to as a “brotherly nation” in religious circles. » | Pjotr Sauer| Sunday, March 13, 2022

Lien connexe à cet article.

Mon commentaire à ce sujet ici.

Russia Faces ‘Brain Drain’ as Thousands Flee Abroad Since Start of War with Ukraine - BBC News

Mar 13, 2022 • According to one estimate by a Russian economist, as many as 200,000 Russians have left their country since the start of the war in Ukraine, with more than 25,000 alone arriving in Georgia since Russia's invasion began.

The exodus does not stop there. The EU, US, UK and Canada have closed their airspace to Russian flights, so they are heading for countries where flights are still permitted and where visas are not required, such as Turkey, Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Many have fled to Armenia.


Lien connexe vers ce rapport.

The Second Coming of Donald Trump: Can He Become President Again? | 60 Minutes Australia

Not everyone in the west thinks Vladimir Putin is a dangerous megalomaniac - no less than former US President Donald Trump has called the man responsible for so much death and destruction in Ukraine a genius. Now of course Trump has made a career out of being unorthodox, and the more unpredictable he is, it seems the more his supporters love him. So much so, Donald Trump is now seriously considering another tilt at the White House. And if you thought it was a wild ride last time he was the leader of the free world, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

Donald Trump: Der Ex-Präsident deutet seine Kandidatur für 2024 klar wie selten zuvor an: Trotz seiner Niederlage im Kampf um eine zweite Amtszeit ist Donald Trumps Einfluss auf die amerikanische Politik immer noch enorm. Wie gross ist seine Chance auf ein Comeback? Und welche Gefahr droht ihm durch die Ermittlungen der Justiz? Ein Überblick. »

Anti-war Protests in Moscow | DW News

Streamed live 2 hours ago • Anti-war rally in Moscow amid heavy police presence

U.K. vs. Oligarchs: ‘The Gloves Are Now Off’

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Russia’s war in Ukraine has finally led the British government to go after ultrawealthy Russians in London. But curbing the flood of corrupt money will require going after more than the big names.

A view of London. Some Britons are calling on their government to curb a phenomenon that some call the “London laundromat.” | Andrew Testa for The New York Times
LONDON — On Friday, the day after Britain blacklisted seven prominent Russian oligarchs, residents of the wealthy London borough of Kensington and Chelsea rolled a washing machine overflowing with fake pound notes in front of a multimillion-dollar townhouse belonging to the family of the president of Azerbaijan.

It was a camera-ready stunt that made a serious point: For Britain to be successful in curbing the flood of dirty money — a phenomenon some call the “London laundromat” — it needs to go further than imposing sanctions on highly visible Russians like Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of the Chelsea soccer club.

The Azerbaijani leader, Ilham Aliyev, is one of hundreds of wealthy foreigners who have exploited Britain’s lax regulations to amass property and other assets, often under a web of offshore companies that disguise their ownership. Others have parlayed their fortunes into gilt-edged social status, endowing revered British cultural and educational institutions, or donating money to the Conservative Party.

Targeting these figures will be even more challenging than going after boldface names like Mr. Abramovich, whose ties to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia are longstanding and well documented. But the protesters in Kensington said such an effort was crucial if Britain genuinely wanted to rid itself of the taint of dirty money. » | Mark Landler and Stephen Castle | Sunday, March 13, 2022

‘My Mother Says I Am Betraying Russia’: Putin’s Invasion Divides the Generations

THE OBSERVER: Families torn apart as younger Russians opposing war in Ukraine fall out with older relatives reliant on diet of state propaganda

People walk past the letter Z, a symbol of the Russian military, and a hashtag reading ‘We don't abandon our own’ in St Petersburg on 9 March. Photograph: AP
On day three of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Victoria Gogh realised her mother was slipping away from her.

“I noticed on the phone that mum was starting to parrot the government’s narrative about this war – that this was all the fault of Nato, that Russia had no choice but to defend itself,” said Gogh, 28, a fashion consultant originally from a small town in Siberia who moved to Moscow.

“It became my mission to change her mind, to show her what was really going on,” said Gogh, who has strongly opposed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on her social media channels.

Vladimir Putin’s decision to start a war with Russia’s neighbour has seen many Ukrainian families torn apart, as their adult men are forced to stay behind and fight while other members of the family flee the violence.

But Russia has also been experiencing its own family rifts – between those who back the war and those who oppose it. Often, that divide runs along generational lines. » | Pjotr Sauer | Sunday, March 13, 2022

Russland trägt den Krieg vor die Haustür der NATO

Männer, die sich freiwillig als Soldaten melden, warten am Freitag auf dem Bahnsteig des Bahnhofs von Lwiw, der größten Stadt im Westen der Ukraine. | Bild: DPA
ANGRIFF AUF MILITÄRSTÜTZPUNKT
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Lange war es in Lwiw (Lemberg) und Umgebung vergleichsweise ruhig. Inzwischen greift Russland Ziele bis kurz vor der Grenze zu Polen an.

Zweieinhalb Wochen nach Beginn des Angriffs auf die Ukraine trägt Russland den Krieg immer weiter nach Westen. Die dritte Nacht in Folge heulten in Lemberg (Lwiw) und Umgebung in der Nacht zu Sonntag die Luftsirenen auf. Gut drei Stunden mussten die Menschen von 3.32 Uhr an in Keller und Schutzräume. Einwohner berichteten, sie hätten aus den oberen Stockwerken erstmals seit Beginn des Krieges selbst den Lichtschein von Explosionen am Horizont gesehen. Die Nächte in den Kellern werden langsam zur Routine. » | Von Alexander Haneke. Redakteur in der Politik. Lemberg | Sonntag, 13. März 2022

Dans les archives du « Monde » : 23 articles essentiels sur Vladimir Poutine

LE MONDE : De la guerre en Tchétchénie en 1999 à sa main-mise totale sur le pouvoir en Russie, Vladimir Poutine a fait l’objet de multiples enquêtes au fil des ans. Nous vous proposons une plongée à travers ces archives.

Depuis l’accession de Vladimir Poutine au pouvoir en Russie, en mars, « Le Monde » a publié beaucoup d’articles, d’enquêtes, d’analyses sur le président russe, ses actions, sa communication ou son influence. Voici une sélection non exhaustive. » | Le Monde | dimanche 13 mars 2022

Article réservé aux abonnés

After Three Decades Covering Russia, CNN's Nic Robertson Leaves in Despair

Mar 13, 2022 • CNN's Nic Robertson discusses leaving Russia after covering the country for over thirty years amid new laws cracking down on journalism.

Here is Nic Robertson’s article on CNN.com:

After over three decades of covering Russia, I leave in despair. One man has extinguished the bright hope many once felt »

Would You Trust a Man with Eyes Like These?

Screenshot taken from an image on Google Images

Let's Put Some Love into This Shitty World!

Lasst uns ein bisschen Liebe in diese beschissene Welt bringen! / Mettons un peu d'amour dans ce monde de merde !
Many thanks to another-way-of-love.tumblr.com for this lovely photo.

Saudi Arabia Executes 81 Men in 24 Hours

THE GUARDIAN: Officials say those executed were convicted of charges including terrorism and holding ‘deviant beliefs’

A man walks past a banner showing King Salman, right, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, outside a mall in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia. Photograph: Amr Nabil/AP
Saudi Arabia has executed 81 men over the past 24 hours, including seven Yemenis and one Syrian national, on charges including terrorism and holding “deviant beliefs“, state news agency SPA said on Saturday.

The number dwarfed the 67 executions reported in the kingdom in all of 2021 and the 27 in 2020.

“These individuals … were convicted of various crimes including murdering innocent men, women and children,” SPA said, citing a statement from the interior ministry.

“Crimes committed by these individuals also include pledging allegiance to foreign terrorist organisations, such as Isis (Islamic State), al-Qaeda and the Houthis,” it added.

Some travelled to conflict zones to join “terrorist organisations“, SPA said. » | Reuters | Saturday, March 12, 2022

Fear not! You can rest assured that all 81 were executed ‘In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful’! – Mark

PS: Expect this website to be hacked very shortly!

Putin Is “A Sick Man with a Sick Mind,” Says Moscow-based Journalist | Amanpour and Company

Mar 10, 2022 • Independent journalism has been all but silenced in Russia under new censorship laws that make it a crime to call the war a war, or to say Russia is attacking civilian infrastructure. But Yevgenia Albats continues to defy the government’s restrictions. She is editor-in-chief of The New Times magazine, and a radio host at Echo of Moscow – both independent media organizations recently shut down by the Kremlin. She risks imprisonment to join Michel Martin from Moscow and discuss the danger of a misinformation war. Originally aired on March 10, 2022

Ukraine Reveals ‘Russian Warship, Go Fuck Yourself!’ Postage Stamp

THE GUARDIAN: Stamp commemorates phrase uttered by border guards at Snake Island that has become a rallying cry

The illustration by the artist Boris Groh received the most votes in a competition held by the Ukrainian postal service. Photograph: Ukrposhta
Ukraine has chosen the image for a new postage stamp called “Russian warship, go fuck yourself!” as the besieged country continues to try to keep morale high and win the PR battle against invading Russian forces.

The country’s first deputy foreign minister, Emine Dzheppar, announced the stamp commemorating the Snake Island incident, in which 13 border guards stationed on a roughly 16-hectare (40-acre) rocky island about 186 miles (300km) west of Crimea reportedly replied, when asked to surrender: “Russian warship, go fuck yourself.” They were then attacked, and thought killed.

The phrase has become a rallying cry for Ukraine’s defenders. Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, announced he would posthumously award all the soldiers the Hero of Ukraine award, though it was later reported that they may in fact still be alive.

The illustration by the artist Boris Groh received the most votes in a competition held by the Ukrainian postal service, Dzheppar said. » | Chris Michael and agencies | Saturday, March 12, 2022

Fact-check: Fox's Tucker Carlson Caught Amplifying Kremlin Claims

Mar 12, 2022 • U.S. officials are calling out Russia for renewing false allegations the U.S. is funding bio-weapons labs in Ukraine. Despite this, Fox News host Tucker Carlson has been amplifying Russia’s claims. MSNBC’s Ari Melber is joined by Michael McFaul, the former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, to discuss.

Jusqu'où ira Vladimir Poutine ?

LE FIGARO : ENQUÊTE - Face à la résistance ukrainienne et la mobilisation de l'Occident, Poutine brandit désormais la menace de l'arme nucléaire. Faut-il le croire? Pour notre collaboratrice Laure Mandeville, qui a longuement enquêté auprès des hommes du Kremlin et de leurs opposants, le président russe est capable de tout.

Vladimir Poutine, entouré de son ministre de la Défense, Sergueï Choïgou (à gauche) et du chef des forces armées russes, Valéri Guérassimov. MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/ Sputnik via AFP
C'est une étrange vidéo d'une rencontre du président russe avec les personnels féminins de l'aviation qui a été diffusée par le Kremlin samedi 5 mars, à l'approche de la Journée internationale des femmes. On y voit Vladimir Poutine assis à une longue tablée décorée de fleurs, entouré de jeunes femmes ¬interdites et immobiles, qui boivent ses paroles comme celle d'un Dieu vivant. Une prise de vue très inha¬bituelle, le président n'ayant été vu récemment qu'à 10 ou 15 mètres au moins de son entourage.

« Les sanctions, c'est évidemment un combat contre la Russie, cela revient même à déclarer la guerre à la Russie, même si, grâce à Dieu, on n'en est pas encore là », déclare-t-il à ses interlocutrices d'un ton un peu exaspéré. « Tout le monde comprend la menace que cela représente pour nous tous », ajoute-t-il - une allusion claire à une guerre directe avec l'Ouest qui pourrait dégénérer en conflit nucléaire. Déformant totalement les propos qu'elle a prononcés, il accuse la ministre des Affaires étrangères britannique d'avoir évoqué une entrée en guerre de l'Otan au côté de l'Ukraine, et souligne qu'il a dû « mettre en alerte les ¬arsenaux stratégiques ». Une métaphore de la réalité de la Russie d'aujourd'hui » | Par Laure Mandeville | vendredi 11 mars 2022

Réservé aux abonnés

Pandemic Fears Give Way to a Rush for Bomb Shelters

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, European anxiety has shifted from Covid to nuclear annihilation. Bunkers, survival guides and iodine pills are flying off the shelves.

Giulio Cavicchioli, the owner of Minus Energie in Italy, has gone from working on 50 bunkers in the past 22 years to fielding 500 inquiries in the past two weeks. | Nadia Shira Cohen for The New York Times
BAGNOLO SAN VITO, Italy — Across a footbridge from a busy shopping outlet surrounded by verdant fields in northern Italy, workers in a nondescript warehouse are preparing for a nuclear attack, its radioactive fallout and the end of the world as we know it.

“We have found ourselves in the midst of this giant cyclone of demand,” said Giulio Cavicchioli, as he showed off an underground air filtration system that “cleans” radioactive particles, nerve gas and other biological agents and played a video tour of a nuclear shelter that was “ready to use.” His company, Minus Energie, has gone from working on 50 bunkers in the past 22 years to fielding 500 inquiries in the past two weeks.

“It’s a hysteria for construction of bunkers,” he said, driven by the fear of Russian nuclear warheads reaching across Europe. “It’s much scarier now.”

In the days since President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia launched his war on Ukraine, and put his nuclear forces into “special combat readiness,” the intensifying violence and the legacy of two world wars has revived fears in Europe of nuclear calamity for the first time in decades.

Europe has already spent two years on high alert against the pandemic. But now the manifestations of its anxieties and desires for self-defense have shifted from the masks, vaccines and lockdowns of Covid to the bunkers, iodine pills and air raid sirens of nuclear war. » | Jason Horowitz | Saturday, March 12, 2022

Gaia Pianigiani contributed reporting from Siena.

Putin unter Druck: Massive russische Bombardierung von Zivilisten soll Ukraine brechen | WELT Thema

Mar 12, 2022 • Die russische Armee setzt nach Angaben des Verteidigungsministeriums in Moskau ihre Angriffe auf «breiter Front» in der Ukraine fort. In der Nähe der Hauptstadt Kiew seien eine Luftwaffenbasis in Wassylkiw und das nachrichtendienstliche Aufklärungszentrum der ukrainischen Streitkräfte in Browary außer Gefecht gesetzt worden, teilte Ministeriumssprecher Igor Konaschenkow am Samstag in Moskau mit. Es war Tag 17 von Russlands Angriffskrieg gegen die Ukraine.

Den russischen Angaben zufolge nahmen die eigenen Truppen und jene der Separatisten aus Luhansk und Donezk erneut zahlreiche Ortschaften im Osten der Ukraine ein. Einheiten der Donezker «Volksmiliz» seien weitere 9 Kilometer vorgedrungen, die russischen Streitkräfte insgesamt 21 Kilometer und die Gruppierungen der «Volksrepublik Luhansk» 6 Kilometer. Überprüfbar waren die russischen Militärangaben nicht.

Zu Beginn des Krieges am 24. Februar hatten die Separatisten rund 30 Prozent der Regionen unter ihrer Kontrolle. Nun sind es nach ukrainischen Angaben im Gebiet Luhansk bereits 70 Prozent. Auch das russische Militär hatte zuletzt mitgeteilt, es fehle nicht mehr viel bis zur vollständigen Einnahme des Gebietes Luhansk.

Wie Generalmajow Konaschenkow weiter mitteilte, wurden erneut auch fünf Kampfdrohnen abgeschossen. Insgesamt seien bisher rund 3500 Objekte der militärischen Infrastruktur des Landes zerstört worden, darunter auch mehr als 1000 Panzer und andere gepanzerte Militärfahrzeuge. Russland hat den Angriff auf die Ukraine unter anderem damit begründet, das Land entmilitarisieren zu wollen.

Ukraine: Resisting the Aggressor I ARTE.tv Documentary

Mar 12, 2022 • Ordinary Ukrainian citizens are preparing to resist the Russian invader by joining the army and helping the resistance in any way they can.

Ukraine: Resisting the Aggressor I ARTE.tv Documentary
Available until the 01/03/2025

McDonald’s in Russia: Departure Is about a Lot More Than Burgers

THE GUARDIAN: Stung by its honeymoon with westernisation, Putin’s way of restoring Russian relevance has been to tear up global norms

Thousands of people gather in Pushkin Square, Moscow, on 31 January 1990 for the opening of the first McDonald’s in the Soviet Union. Photograph: Vitaly Armand/AFP/Getty Images
When the first McDonald’s in Moscow opened 32 years ago, the line of Russians waiting outside was hundreds of metres long, and there were long queues again this week for a last Happy Meal and a slice of history, as the fast-food giant closes its doors in Russia.

The shuttering of 850 McDonald’s franchises around the country is supposed to be temporary, but nothing about the war in Ukraine and the consequent exodus of western companies suggests the rift will be healed any time soon.

McDonald’s’ departure, like its arrival, is about a lot more than burgers. The golden arches of history, that once seemed to be bounding forward, now appear to be turning full circle and threatening to take Russia back in time.

An urban consumer culture built around Visa and Mastercard, Ikea, Nike, Apple, Zara and Netflix has evaporated in a few days.

“There’s just this sickening feeling that they’re going to go back, not to the 1990s, but to the 1970s when you didn’t have access to these things, and when you were living isolated from the rest of the world,” said Prof Angela Stent, a former national intelligence officer for Russia on the National Intelligence Council, now at Georgetown University. » | Julian Borger in Washington | Saturday, March 12, 2022

Kyiv ‘Ready to Fight’ as Russian Forces Close In Ukraine Capital

THE GUARDIAN: Ukrainian president warns of ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ as hundreds of thousands of civilians remain under fire across country

A Ukrainian army tank on a Kyiv street as Russian troops inch towards the capital. Photograph: Jonathan Alpeyrie/SIPA/REX/Shutterstock
Ukrainian officials have said Kyiv is “ready to fight” as Russian forces renewed their bombardment on the capital and observers warned of “an unimaginable tragedy” unfolding after more than two weeks of war.

Air raid sirens and shelling rang out over Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities on Saturday morning amid warnings from western defence officials that the Russians were beginning to gain ground around the capital.

There were reports of loud explosions in Dnipro in the country’s east on Saturday, as well as Mykolaiv, Nikolaev and Kropyvnytskyi.

But Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said the capital was “ready to fight”. He called it a “city under siege”, with checkpoints prepared and supply lines in place. “Kyiv will stand until the end.”

Satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies on Saturday has shown homes and buildings on fire and Russian artillery battalions appearing to fire on towns surrounding to the north-west of the Ukrainian capital as forces advance. The Guardian has not independently verified the images. » | Tess McClure, Peter Beaumont and Luke Harding in Lviv | Saturday, March 12, 2022

Londongrad: Großbritanniens Jagd auf reiche Russen I auslandsjournal

Mar 12, 2022 • Jahrelang haben russische Oligarchen in London ihr Geld geparkt. Mit den Sanktionen gegen Russland wird das jetzt schwerer. "Londongrad" gerät ins Fadenkreuz britischer Ermittler.

heute 19:00 Uhr vom 11.03.2022

Mar 11, 2022 • Zivile Gebäude werden wiederholt Ziel russischer Angriffe. Streumunitionen sollen in bewohnten Gebieten eingesetzt worden sein, obwohl dies gegen das Völkerrecht verstoßen würde. Diese und weitere Nachrichten des Tages in den ZDFheute Nachrichten um 19 Uhr.

Phil Collins : Everyday | Remastered 2016

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