Posted on

Ukraine and the propaganda war

Along with the military conflict in Ukraine, there is also an intensive propaganda war going on at the same time. It has been said many times that the first casualty of war is the truth. Western nations are being particularly targeted by the propaganda war. In looking at foreign news and independent media since the start of the Russian special operation, comment on events, causes, responses and reactions is far more nuanced. To the West, this conflict is cast more as a black-and-white issue. We will examine the propaganda war in this post, continuing on from the military side in the previous post. Continue reading “Ukraine and the propaganda war”

Posted on

The Donbas republics

Those Russians have done it again. Amidst the best-laid plans of Kiev to bring the rebellious regions of the Donbas back into the Ukrainian fold, the Russians have instead recognized the independence of the two republics – Donetsk and Lugansk. They now fall under the umbrella of Russian protection. The Western media, especially the American and British media, are heaping scorn on the decision, as well as many Europeans, with all the usual talk about international law, abandonment of the Minsk II accords, Russia ready to invade Ukraine and sanctimony about sanctions, with Biden already having signed an executive order slapping sanctions on the miscreant republics. But as always, the story is not cut and dried when it comes to international affairs and there is always more than one side of any story – especially when it comes to the US and Russia. We will have a look at the two new republics here and the how and why of what has brought us to this state of affairs. Continue reading “The Donbas republics”

Posted on

Valentine’s Day in Ukraine

That evil Vlad is up to his old tricks again, weaponizing the Western media to stir up hopes for a Russian invasion of Ukraine. See how he does it? Uncle Joe is having a little chat with him about it today. But Vlad was a little careless this time. He left the detailed battle plans he had so meticulously worked on for the invasion in his desk drawer – unlocked – while he was out for a dinner. The Kremlin cleaning staff (a.k.a. spies), noticing the unlocked drawer, found the plans and promptly turned them over to the German news outlet, Bild. Truth is stranger than fiction. Fantasy aside, there is one fiction that is stranger than truth in this case – a pending Russian invasion of Ukraine. Alas, it is not to be, and the factions in the West and EU itching for such a war will find coal in their boxes of chocolate for Valentine’s Day instead of a massacre in the Donbass. For more, read on. Continue reading “Valentine’s Day in Ukraine”

Posted on

The Russian R2P decree

On 15 Nov 2021 Vladimir Putin signed what amounts to a Russian version of the American R2P doctrine – the Resposibility to Protect. The situation in Ukraine is about to get very interesting. The gist of the decree is that Russia will protect certain goods going in and out of the Donbass region, as well as the people there. The people of Donbass are essentially of Russian ancestry and many people throughout Russia have relatives there. That is not the case with the remainder of the Ukraine. NATO leaders may just get their wish for more relevance, and sooner than they think, but what is arising is an event, pushed by the US and EU, that will have ill effects for the EU, and ultimately, for NATO. We will have a look at the decree, Ukraine and NATO here. Continue reading “The Russian R2P decree”

Posted on

A Ukrainian fandango [Updated at end]

Fandango: Def. – 1) a Spanish dance, or 2) tomfoolery (a foolish activity)

Most readers will have heard by now about increasing Russian aggression and troop movements in far eastern Ukraine. That’s the story we get – “Russian aggression”. Ukrainian forces, egged on by certain NATO partners, have chosen to forego talks with Lavrov over the increasing tensions in Ukraine. As a result, and reading from the 1st two parts of this series of posts, we hold the thought there will be no ‘conversation’ between the Ukrainian armed forces and Shoigu about the Donbass or Crimea. But the situation there is looking increasingly to be the case. Rumor has it that there may be a full assault on the Donbass by mid-April – the 15th to be exact – the date for the region to turn hot, or sometime in May at the latest. We need to have a look at this rapidly evolving situation. Continue reading “A Ukrainian fandango [Updated at end]”

Posted on

Shoigu’s other workshop

Following from the post about Syria, we move on to consider the situation in Ukraine, and whether or not Ukrainian and NATO partners would rather speak with Lavrov or with Shoigu. It would appear at the moment that Ukrainians, at least the ones in power in Kiev and nationalist minorities, would prefer to speak with Shoigu, given the points outlined in the previous article. There is also an ulterior motive with the NATO forces – largely an Atlanticist contingent – in pushing for a conflict in eastern Ukraine. We will outline what that might be here, as well as what the astrology is showing for Ukraine, which is looking to be increasingly fractious. Continue reading “Shoigu’s other workshop”

Posted on

Russia-gate V 2.0: “Ukraine-gate”

On August 12 a supposed whistleblower (we don’t know this person’s identity yet) leaked information about a phone call between Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president Zelensky, with the former asking Zelensky to investigate matters in relation to Joe Biden, Biden’s son and the DNC before and during the 2016 presidential campaign. The accusation is that Trump pressured Zelensky ‘mafioso style’ to do so in order to gain enough dirt on Biden to scuttle his 2020 campaign. There is a further accusation that the White House tried to cover it up. We are told by Trump detractors that this is the one, the ‘smoking gun’, the thing we have been waiting for, that will finally bring an end to the Trump presidency. So, here we go again in the US, with yet another attempt to remove Trump from office. Continue reading “Russia-gate V 2.0: “Ukraine-gate””

Posted on

The fractious state of Ukraine

Following on from the previous post it would probably be useful to look at Ukraine in  more detail, given what is taking place there, and what we might expect there in the near future. There are also the issues of Western meddling in that country, bad government within Ukraine, the neo-liberalization of Ukraine under Western direction, neo-Nazism, religious schisms and the fractious and fraught relations it has with its neighbors and internally. Ukraine is not a happy place, not where you might want to take your significant other for a vacation at the moment. Continue reading “The fractious state of Ukraine”

Posted on

The Sea of Azov incident and Poroshenko’s gamble

As you may have heard, there was an incident on the Black Sea near the entrance to the Sea of Azov on the morning of 25 November between three Ukrainian military vessels and the Russian coast guard. No one was killed, and only three Ukrainian sailors slightly injured. The incident took place beginning at 6:10 am Kerch time and went on for most of the day. It started when the three Ukrainian vessels – two naval artillery boats and a naval tugboat – left Odessa headed for Mariupol, entered Russian territorial waters without following agreed protocol and regulations and proceeded to attempt to enter the Kerch Strait, over which the new Russian Kerch Strait bridge now crosses. The Russians are quite protective of their new bridge. Continue reading “The Sea of Azov incident and Poroshenko’s gamble”