US decides against sending tanks to Ukraine

A push to provide battle tanks to Ukraine is stalled after US officials this week expressed reluctance over difficulties in maintenance and training for the advanced tracked vehicle.

The US decision effectively prevents Ukraine getting tanks from other NATO allies as well, as Germany this week made clear it would only allow other countries to send German-made tanks if the US commits its own M1 Abrams tank first.

Ukraine has repeatedly asked for Western tanks to help in its fight with Russia, a topic that was front and center this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and will again be in the spotlight at a gathering of top defense ministers for a Ukraine Contact Group meeting on Friday. 

German officials have been mulling allowing Ukraine to have its Leopard 2 tanks, with speculation that the US and Germany may announce a deal on Friday to finally grant Kyiv’s wish for heavy tanks. 

But the United States believes it just doesn’t make sense for Washington to send over the Army’s main battle tank now, Sabrina Singh, deputy Pentagon press secretary, told reporters Thursday. 

“It’s more of a sustainment issue,” Singh said. “This is a tank that requires jet fuel. . . .. The maintenance and the high cost that it would take to maintain an Abrams, it just doesn’t make sense to provide that to the Ukrainians at this moment.” 

Months of pressure on the United States and Germany to hand over battle tanks appeared to make headway this week with the new appointment of German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius as well as discussions on tanks at Davos and high-level NATO meetings in Brussels.  

Also viewed as positive momentum was the US, French and German commitment earlier this month to provide Bradleys, AMX-10 RCs and Marder fighting vehicles, respectively, the first time the countries have done so. 

But former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst — who on Monday said it appeared that a deal to allow tank exports to Ukraine had been worked out between Washington and Berlin — told The Hill Wednesday that it appears a wrench had been thrown into the process. 

“There’s a game that’s been going on involving Berlin and the White House for months, which is the Germans would say ‘we’re not going to send any Leopards until the Americans sends Abrams.’ … The Americans say, ‘yes, we have no objection to Germany sending Leopards, we’re not gonna send Abrams.’ And then both countries get to avoid sending something they consider provocative to the Kremlin,” said Herbst, now a senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. 

While the West hasn’t completely closed the door on committing tanks to Ukraine — with the United Kingdom last week announcing that it will send the nation 14 Challenger 2s — reluctance reigns on shipping other heavy tanks to Kyiv.  

Some experts agree the Abrams isn’t a prudent addition to Ukraine’s war effort at the moment due to the sheer amount of effort it would take to run it, said Jeffrey Pryce, a former Defense Department special counsel now at the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. 

“The Abrams is a majestic tank, but it comes with corresponding logistical and maintenance burdens,” Pryce told The Hill. “What we’ve focused on is providing Ukrainians with capabilities that they can effectively use in the short term, and the Abrams doesn’t seem to be in that sweet spot.” 

He also disagreed with assertions that the U.S. was shying away from the system due to fears of escalating the conflict, pointing to Washington’s commitment to send such high-tech systems as the Patriot missile defense system and Bradley Fighting Vehicles. 

“I think it’s just a judgment as to what’s most helpful, what they can most efficiently absorb and effectively use in combat in the middle of a war,” he said. 

Late Thursday the United States announced a major US$2.5 billion weapons package for Kyiv, to include 90 Stryker armored combat vehicles but no Abrams tanks. The military aid was announced ahead of a gathering of the Ukraine Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, to be attended by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and about 50 other top defense officials from NATO as they look to coordinate future lethal assistance to Kyiv.  

Leaders of Ukraine’s military, which until now have used Soviet-era tanks on the battlefield, insist more modern tanks are needed, and soon, as Russia appears to gear up for a renewed spring offensive. 

“There is no rational reason why Ukraine has not yet been supplied with Western tanks,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this month.  

On Thursday, Zelensky reupped the request, saying that the need for Western tanks is still a “pressing and very sensitive” issue for Ukraine. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that he expected further announcements on military deliveries to Ukraine to come out of Ramstein but would not comment on whether Washington is pushing Berlin to give the green light for Leopard tanks for Kyiv. 

“On the question of, of tanks, and for that matter, any weapons system, these are sovereign decisions for each country to make,” Blinken said. 

On Thursday, Singh echoed that message, noting that Leopards are easier to fuel and maintain. 

“Ultimately this is Germany’s decision. It’s their sovereign decision on what security assistance they will provide. So we won’t be able to speak to them, but I think that we are certainly doing what we can to support Ukraine in what they need,” she said. 

“We’re continuing to work with other partners and allies around the world to see what else can be provided to Ukraine, and that’s the whole point of tomorrow’s meeting,” Singh added. 

While the Biden administration has offered little detail of its conversations with Germany, the German side has been clear about wanting the US to make the first move on heavy tanks, a message delivered by German chancellor Olaf Scholz in a call with President Biden and in-person to an American congressional delegation in Davos. 

Finland, Poland and the Baltic states all possess Leopard 2s in their own stocks and have publicly endorsed shipping the vehicle to Ukraine, but need Germany’s permission to do so due to German components within the tanks.  

The impasse has angered a number of American lawmakers, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who on Wednesday tweeted for the two sides to “stop bickering.”

“This impasse needs to come to an end. The tanks need to go to Ukraine from BOTH countries as soon as possible.  The future of Europe and a rules-based world is at stake,” Graham wrote. 

And Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) on Thursday called for Germany to immediately allow Poland and Finland to contribute Leopards.  

The latest public statements from Berlin and Washington suggest Ukraine may have to keep waiting; however. All involved will be keeping a close eye on the meetings at Ramstein on Friday. 

 

“There’s a decision that’s going to have to be made and we’ll see if there’s an agreement at Ramstein,” Pryce said. 

Economic costs of Ukraine war

The Ukraine war is one of the most important challenges in the world of politics, especially between Russia and the West. The war began in February 2014 with a speech by Russian President and continues until now.

Putin told the Russian people that he was conducting a “special military operation” to “denazify” Ukraine and prevent NATO from expanding to Russia’s borders.

Many in the West see the war, which they consider the most disruptive conflict in Europe since 1945, as a war of choice by Putin, but he says that NATO’s 2008 decision in favor of eventual Ukrainian membership brought an existential threat to Russia’s borders.

This article aims at exploring the reasons for the war, its process, and the costs.

Russia declared one of the reasons for starting the war to help the Russians living in the two republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, two separatist regions of eastern Ukraine in Donbas. Russia repeatedly stated that the two regions have a Russian majority and should either become autonomous or join Russia. The Kremlin declared racism against the Russians the reason for the war.

After the annexation of Crimea, Russians established self-rule governments in these two provinces. They were only able to take over parts of the two provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, a struggle started to conquer the two provinces.

Ukrainian government forces also engaged in a military conflict against the separatists. As a result, more than 14,000 people were killed and a many were displaced.

In 2015, with the mediation of France and Germany, an agreement was signed between Russia and Ukraine, which became known as the Minsk Agreement. The main goal of the deal was to end the conflict between the Ukrainian army and Russian-backed separatists in Donbass. According to the agreement, in exchange for regaining control of its borders with Russia, Ukraine gave these two regions autonomy in many areas, which was supported by the United States and its allies.

The agreement was annulled by the war, and once again Donbass became the core of the crisis between Russia and Ukraine and Putin said in his speech before the start of the war, the people's republics of Donbass have asked Russia for help.

As stated, one of the most important reasons for the start of Russia's war against Ukraine was Kyiv's decision to join NATO; in another word, to expand the military coalition to Russia's borders and threaten the country.

In his speech, Putin said, “I will begin with what I said in my address on February 21, 2022. I spoke about our biggest concerns and worries, and about the fundamental threats that irresponsible Western politicians created for Russia consistently, rudely, and unceremoniously from year to year. I am referring to the eastward expansion of NATO, which is moving its military infrastructure ever closer to the Russian border. It is a fact that over the past 30 years, we have been patiently trying to come to an agreement with the leading NATO countries regarding the principles of equal and indivisible security in Europe. In response to our proposals, we invariably faced either cynical deception and lies or attempts at pressure and blackmail, while the North Atlantic alliance continued to expand despite our protests and concerns. Its military machine is moving and, as I said, is approaching our very border.

Some sources say that another reason for the start of the war was Kyiv's threat to resume its nuclear program, and to prove it, they point finger at the statements of Dmitry Medvedev, the former president and prime minister of Russia and the current deputy of the Security Council of this country.

Ukraine’s threats to resume its nuclear program were largely the reason for Moscow’s special military operation, Medvedev said on Nov, 07, 2022.

One of the reasons for conducting the special military operation was the threats by Ukrainian leaders that hinted resumption of the nuclear program, which Kyiv relinquished under the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, Medvedev wrote in a message on the country’s VK social network, according to TASS.

“What do we see in contrast next to our own borders? Poor puppets from an inferior state, now weeping bitterly about the decision taken under the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 to withdraw the nuclear arsenal located on their territory and inherited from the USSR,” Medvedev said, following statements describing South Africa’s accession process to the Nonproliferation Treaty.

Later, Medvedev said that Ukrainians always perceived Kyiv’s accession to the international treaty as a forced step decided under harsh pressure from Washington, adding that this was the case even though Ukraine did not have the means to support the might (nuclear weapons) that had fallen to it by chance.

He further said Ukrainian leaders, from former President Leonid Kravchuk to current President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have expressed that they would be happy to use it (nuclear weapons) against us (Russia) and their own citizens (Ukrainians).
Whatever the reason for this war, it cost a lot for the parties, especially the European Union, which was highly dependent on Russian energy.

This cost can be examined in two dimensions:

The war in Ukraine, which is called the most destructive in Europe after World War II, has cost a lot to the parties involved.

Ukraine imports most of the weapons it needs. Although the country does not pay for the purchase of these weapons, its supporters - Europe, the US, and NATO - who are forced and committed to supplying Ukraine with weapons, bear the most costs.

Although the exact costs of these countries cannot be assessed, the cases announced by them show that Europe and the United States have incurred a lot of costs, some of which are as follows:

Short-Term Military Support (US$17 billion): This includes the transfer of weapons, both US weapons and those purchased from allies, training of Ukrainian military personnel, and intelligence sharing.

Long-Term Military Support (US$10.4 billion): This consists of money that Ukraine can use to buy new weapons, mostly from the United States but also elsewhere.

US Military Operations (US$9.6 billion): In the spring, the United States sent about 18,000 troops to Europe to strengthen defenses and deter Russia. These deployments cost money above what was planned in the DOD budget.

DOD General Support (US$1.2 billion): This covers a wide variety of activities, some only tangentially related to Ukraine, to prepare DOD for future conflicts.

Indirect costs can also be referred to human costs, war refugees and the EU energy debate.

Europe, as a place on the front line of Ukrainian immigrants, suffered from two aspects. First, Ukrainian refugees directly entered Europe. Second, there was the issue of gas and energy crisis.

Nearly 8 million refugees fleeing Ukraine have been recorded across Europe, while an estimated 8 million have been displaced within the country by late May 2022. Approximately one-quarter of the country's total population had left their homes in Ukraine by March 20, 2022.

Another impact of the Ukraine war was on the European benchmark natural gas prices.

The countries of the European Union, as importers of Russian gas, were deprived of energy due to their positions, and the energy challenge has turned into a super crisis for several months.

The benchmark price spiked to 227 euros after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and to around 350 euros in late August. As of January 03, 2023, the benchmark price is about 74 euros.

Of course, the same cases are also true for Russia; the country has also suffered a lot of financial losses in addition to the loss of lives.

The sanctions of the European Union and the United States against this country, especially in the field of energy, are one of these losses.

 

Disconnect in US foreign policy

The Ukraine war is just one symptom of a bigger disease. The war in Ukraine began with the 2014 US-backed coup d’état in Kiev and the weaponzing by the United States and NATO of an anti-Russian regime over eight years.

Absurd disconnect in US foreign policy, extraordinary provocations toward Russia, the scam of nuclear weapons and US military defense doctrine, and the stunning hubris of American national myth-making propaganda invoking a God-given right to control the world. This is the scope of US problems that threaten world peace.

Former Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter served as a United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq during the 1990s following the First Gulf War. He controversially challenged the official US and British narrative back then claiming Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

Those claims were later exposed as lies and fabrications but they were used to launch the Second Gulf War in 2003. A criminal war with massive repercussions that still haunts today.

In this interview, Ritter calls out the absurdity of the United States voicing concerns about the danger of nuclear conflict with Russia while at the same time fueling a war in Ukraine on Russia’s doorstep.

“One has to question who is the power seeking to turn this into a nuclear conflict. Because I don’t think it is Russia.”

He says the US has abandoned diplomacy and respect for other nations. “We view Russia as a defeated enemy from the Cold War… we want to dictate to Russia” and others.

Ritter compares the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 and the present tensions and dangers between the United States and Russia. He says it’s like comparing a knife fight with a machine-gun battle in the present. “We had a handful of nukes back then which would have destroyed cities. We now have nation-destroying nuclear arsenals that would end the planet”.

Ritter says the US leadership no longer fears or respects Russia as the John F Kennedy administration and previous administrations did. The stunning hubris in Washington makes the danger of war spinning out of control.

He also calls out the policy of ambiguity about under what circumstances the US would use nuclear weapons as a form of terroristic behavior.

Unlike Russia or China, the US deliberately refuses to adopt a sole-use purpose for defense and deterrence. This preemptive-use option is a form of blackmail on the rest of the world. Ultimately, the logic being used is, “Do what we say or we’ll nuke you”.

Ritter says a major structural problem is the money-making scam of the US nuclear and military-industrial complex where American politicians are bought and paid for to lobby for military profits; and therefore never adopt a more sane, peace-making and democratic policy in the interests of the majority of American citizens.

If the United States were to align its policy with that of Russia and China, that is, to adopt a sole-use purpose of defense then that would transform international relations, lower tensions and make eventual disarmament possible.

Ironically the United States is a hostage of its own nuclear blackmail against the world. It can’t adopt a saner, peaceful policy because of the propaganda narrative of depicting the world as full of enemies and because of the vested interests of the military-industrial complex and its politicians in Washington.

Ritter warns that America has to shed its supremacist thinking in the same way it has struggled for generations to overcome systematic racist attitudes. “Until we stop viewing ourselves as the exceptional people and start viewing ourselves as just another person, there isn’t going to be peace and harmony in the world.”

Russia intends to suspend grain export deal

Russia expresses intent to suspend its participation in the agreement to ensure the continuation of Ukrainian grain exports — vital for food supplies to poor countries — linking the decision to a drone attack on Russian ships in occupied Crimea on Saturday morning. The Defense Ministry announced the move, and it was also reported by the state news agency TASS.

"Taking into account the terrorist act carried out by the Kiev regime with the participation of British experts against ships of the Black Sea fleet and civilian vessels involved in the security of grain corridors, Russia suspends its participation in the implementation of the agreement on exports of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports," the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Telegram.

The move comes a day after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Russia and Ukraine to renew the deal that has seen more than nine million tons of grain exported from Ukraine and brought down global food prices.
The Ukrainian president's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, accused Russia of blackmail and invented terror attacks on its own territory — an apparent response to Russian accusations that Ukraine was behind the blasts.

An adviser to Ukraine's Interior Ministry, Anton Gerashchenko, claimed in his Telegram channel that "careless handling of explosives" in occupied Crimea led to explosions aboard four warships belonging to Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

Regarding the UK, the Russian Defense Ministry also blamed British specialists based in Ochakov, Mykolaiv region for preparing a terrorist act and training Ukrainian military personnel.

It also said British navy personnel blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines last month, without providing any evidence. Britain's Defense Ministry said the Russian claims were false and designed to distract from Russian military failures in Ukraine.

French call for NATO exit

Thousands of angry French protesters have gathered in the French capital to call for the country’s withdrawal from the US-led NATO military alliance. The protesters have also called for the resignation of the country’s President Emmanuel Macron.

The demonstration reflects similar rallies being held across Europe in opposition to their respective government’s support for the war in Ukraine. The constant supply of arms by mainly NATO members has prolonged the conflict in Eastern Europe, leading to the suffering of civilians caught up in the cross fire.

When Russia expressed legitimate concerns about the NATO military’s eastward expansion toward its border, it opened the door to discussion, negotiation and proposals on security guarantees. However, these were ignored which many critics said, at the time, will lead to a military confrontation that will hurt ordinary Europeans. In this case, Ukrainian civilians are suffering from the human cost and ordinary civilians are falling into poverty.

Russia’s sense of insecurity in the face of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization seemed quite genuine, but critics say the media coverage has dismissed Moscow's initial concerns.

Opposition to NATO has been strong in Europe. The military alliance’s summits are always met with anti-war demonstrations. In June this year, protesters marched during an anti-NATO rally ahead of the summit that was held in Madrid. The organizers said the American-led military alliance is not the solution to the war in Ukraine. US arms manufacturers have made lucrative profits from the war.

Last month, an estimated 70,000 people protested in Prague against the Czech government, calling on the ruling coalition to do more to control soaring energy prices and voicing opposition to the European Union and NATO.

For many years, the Kremlin has made it clear that if NATO continued to mass troops and weapons on the Russian border, the expansion would likely be met with serious resistance by the Russians, even with military action. That view was not just limited to Russian officials. Even some prominent American foreign policy experts backing the same possible scenario. The current director of the CIA, William Burns, has been warning about the provocation and consequences of NATO’s expansion on Russia for more than 20 years now.  

On the other hand, Europe’s decision to cave into American pressure and impose unprecedented sanctions on Moscow has heavily restricted the gas supplies to the continent which have instead pushed energy prices up, leaving many in poverty. Europe relied on 40% of Russian gas before the conflict erupted.

The shortage of energy on the continent and rising prices for the fuel has been met with angry voters bringing down governments at the polling stations.

A recent poll by Elabe reveals that support for anti-Russian sanctions is on the decline across France. The survey shows only 40% of the French population are in favor of the anti-Russian sanctions. The poll also reveals that 32% of French people think the anti-Russia sanctions must be restricted to diminish their effect on the livelihoods of the French people.

The opposition French Patriots party again called for the demonstrations after the initial protests that took place on September 3rd. The protesters want Macron to leave office and withdraw from both NATO and the European Union.

The French government, like others in Europe, is adopting or considering various emergency measures ahead of the winter, such as the possibility of three-hour power outages in the United Kingdom.

As inflation levels are biting, a group of French intellectuals, including Nobel literature prize winner Annie Ernaux, have urged people to join the protests being organized by the left for next week. They accuse President Macron of not doing enough to help the poor cope with high prices while the profits of some companies are spiking.

The group of 69 signatories, including writers, film directors and university teachers, said in a text published in the Journal Du Dimanche that "Emmanuel Macron is using inflation to widen the wealth gap, to boost capital income at the expense of the rest." 

"It is all a matter of political will," said the text, co-signed by Ernaux, who on Thursday became the first French woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

The statement also said the government has not done enough to fight the skyrocketing energy prices and declined to raise taxes on companies making enormous profits as a result of high inflation.

The signatories have also urged the public to join the protest march planned for October 16, which is being organized by the political movement of the France Unbowed party, which this year struck an alliance with more moderate leftwing parties to form France's largest opposition bloc.

Next week’s protest is being promoted as "against the high cost of living and climate inaction". It comes as Macron faces stiff resistance from unions over a planned pensions reform and as strikes by workers demanding a pay rise from retail to refineries have disrupted parts of the economy.

There is more misery for the French government as a number of fuel service stations are grappling with supply problems amid strike action at refineries run by major oil companies TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil. The walkout by members of the national trade union center CGT mainly over pay has disrupted operations at refineries and storage facilities. The industrial action has forced the government to tap into the country’s strategic reserves.

Environment Minister Christophe Bechu earlier told French media the government will, for the time being, not be rationing petrol for drivers or restrict the use of service stations in response to supply problems. "We haven't reached this point yet," Bechu said when asked if the government would impose any national measures beyond the bans already in place in some regions on filling large flat-sided metal containers for storing or transporting petrol.

The strikes at the refineries of ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies will continue, union officials at both companies have said. “It is continuing everywhere,” a CGT representative said, adding that there had been no contact from TotalEnergies since Saturday’s call by the union for the company’s managers to begin talks on pay.

In some areas, the share of affected petrol stations is much higher than the national average. An interactive map compiled by the website mon-essence.fr, where more than 100,000 users have reported outages in recent days, shows a large majority of petrol stations in and around Paris were marked out of service.

Across France, long queues have been seen outside fuel stations. "The waiting line will take you at least one-and-a-half hours or two", motorist Jean Galibert said as he entered the last stretch of a 700-metre tailback in front of a Paris service station. Another motorist, Franck Chang, said, "This situation right behind me reflects the state of France. We're struggling."

Reports say the strikes have reduced France's total refinery output by more than 60% which will be seen as another blow to the French government. On Sunday, TotalEnergies claimed to have offered to bring forward wage talks, in response to union demands, as it strongly seeks to end the industrial action that has disrupted supplies to almost a third of French petrol stations.

Amid warnings that energy shortages and rising inflation are set to extend in coming winter, further protests and anger at governments’ economic policies across Europe are expected to expand.

 

United States training Ukrainian troops in Germany

Reportedly, the United States has started training Ukrainian troops on howitzer artillery systems and radars at US military installations in Germany, said a Pentagon spokesperson on Friday.   

The efforts will build on initial artillery training given to a small number of Ukrainian forces elsewhere, and will also include training on the radar systems and armored vehicles the US recently pledged to Kyiv, press secretary John Kirby told reporters. 

The Florida National Guard will provide the bulk of the training, as those forces had been training Ukrainian troops before being moved out of Ukraine ahead of Russia’s February 24, 2022 invasion, Kirby said. 

“The recent reunion now of these Florida National Guard members with their Ukrainian colleagues, we are told, was an emotional meeting given the strong bonds that were formed as they were living and working together before temporarily parting ways in February,” Kirby said. 

The US is training 100 more Ukrainians on howitzer artillery systems in Europe in a five-day course, according to the Pentagon.

Washington has said it will send 90 howitzers total to the embattled country as part of two security assistance packages worth US$800 million each, announced earlier this month.  

Another 15 Ukrainians are being trained on radars for about a week.

The troops will then return to Ukraine to train their fellow soldiers on how to use the systems. 

Kirby also noted that Germany is one of roughly three sites being used by the US to train Ukrainians outside of their country, but he would not say where the other sites were. 

In addition, the US is considering the option of doing virtual training with Ukrainians on some defense equipment, Kirby said.  

 

Russia faces imminent default

According to a Bloomberg report, Russia faces imminent default. The Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee—which includes Goldman Sachs, Barclays and JPMorgan—said Wednesday that a “potential failure-to-pay” event occurred for credit-default swaps when Russia paid rubles after foreign banks declined to process US currency transfers. 

If Russia doesn’t pay up in US currency by the time its grace period expires on May 04, 2022, it would be the country’s first default on external debt in more than a century. Holders of the swaps could then start the process of getting paid on contracts covering about US$40 billion of debt.

Bloomberg says, this potential financial calamity for Russia is of course tied to Vladimir Putin’s bloody war on Ukraine and the subsequent storm of sanctions that’s rained down upon him. Some eight weeks after he sent troops across his southern border, Putin has failed to take Kyiv and reportedly lost thousands of soldiers and untold amounts of equipment. Now a small but growing number of senior Kremlin insiders are quietly questioning his decision to go to war. They believe the invasion was a catastrophic mistake that will set the country back for years, if not decades.

But most Russians (fear of voicing dissent  notwithstanding) tell pollsters they support Putin’s war, one in which thousands of civilians have likely been killed through seemingly indiscriminate bombing and alleged mass executions.

As Russian forces now move on the Donbas, Moscow is seeking to dissuade NATO from increasing its flow of weapons. On Tuesday, Putin Deputy Sergei Lavrov said Russia was against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, but failed to give a direct answer about whether Putin might use them anyway.

And on Wednesday, Russia tested a new nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile, an event Putin used to issue yet another thinly veiled threat against NATO.

In its new assault in Ukraine’s east, Russia has yet to gain significant ground, Ukraine officials contend, though surrounded defenders in the blasted port city of Mariupol have warned they are close to the end. But while Russia seeks to consolidate gains along the Sea of Azov, the potential expansion of NATO along its northern border is getting closer to reality.

Finland’s parliament began debate on policy changes that may pave the way for a bid to join the alliance. Putin still has friends in Beijing, at least. China said it will continue to strengthen its strategic ties with the Kremlin.

 

China and Russia to lead a new economic bloc

The news that Sinopec, Chinese state-run oil refiner, has canceled plans for US$500 million investment in Russia’s energy sector does not portend a general decoupling of the economies of China and Russia.

On the contrary, it signifies a temporary halt to an economic partnership that is likely to grow in size and complexity as world powers regroup into new, rival blocs in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the massive sanctions that aligned nations have levied on the aggressor.

That’s according to Ross Kennedy, a senior fellow at the Securities Studies Group and founder of Fortis Analysis, who spoke to EpochTV’s “China Insider” program on April 02, 2022.

A few weeks prior to Russia’s invasion, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “no limits” partnership, a relationship that has not shown signs of diminishing even as Moscow becomes a pariah on the world stage over its ongoing assault on Ukraine. But Beijing has not yet rushed in to provide significant economic help to Moscow, cautious about being impacted by Western sanctions in the process, according to Kennedy, a logistics and supply chain expert.

“Beijing, despite declaring pretty forcefully and openly that there are no limits on ties between Moscow and Beijing, still also has to take into consideration what the impact of sanctions may be. And right now there’s a bit of a gray area concerning how capital flow is going to work between the two countries, particularly on the investment side,” Kennedy said.

Calling China a “consumption powerhouse” that continues to need enormous amounts of energy and raw materials, Kennedy said that the availability and ease of goods produced in the Black Sea region and the eastern part of Russia still holds significant appeal for Beijing. Though China’s rulers are wary for the moment about what contravening the sanctions on Russia might mean for China’s economy. Hence Kennedy is skeptical about the long-term significance of Sinopec’s decision.

“I don’t think this is an indicator that China is cooling its support of Russia. I don’t think that it is really reflective of anything other than Sinopec, and other companies, being instructed by Beijing to just be a little bit more cautious right now and make sure that state-owned enterprises don’t have exposure to Western sanctions,” he said.

Despite the Sinopec decision, trade is still ongoing at a high volume between the two powers in such product groups as animal feed, vitamins and trace minerals, amino acids, building and construction materials, and other longstanding components of the Russia-China trade relationship, Kennedy said.

Rather than a decoupling, Kennedy sees the likelihood of Chinese state-owned enterprises ramping up their purchases of energy products and grain from Russia. In Kennedy’s analysis, China, India, and possibly other powers will take advantage of the lower prices of energy products available to be shipped by tanker from Russia as the latter power increasingly finds itself shut off from Western markets. A marked increase in non-dollar- and non-Euro-denominated transactions is highly likely, he added.

“It’s pretty clear that Moscow and Beijing and even some of the other countries of the world, like India and Iran, are working and collaborating pretty closely on having the ability to settle transactions among themselves,” Kennedy said.

The increasing reliance on transactions that do not involve Western currencies or banking systems takes place under the rubric of BRICS, the group of powers composed of Russia, China, India, Brazil, and South Africa. Kennedy sees BRICS as the nexus of this growing consolidation and formation of a bloc rivaling Western democracies.

Besides the devastation of Ukraine and the imposition of massive sanctions, Russia’s invasion of her neighbor has helped start to usher in a new geopolitical landscape. The new bloc will not emerge overnight. Rather, it is in nascent form, Kennedy said.

“We are seeing the emergence of Russia-China-led sphere of economic and geopolitical cooperation that will stand in contrast to what is more of an Anglosphere, or a transatlantic type of alliance among Canada, the US, and our NATO partners,” Kennedy said.

“I think as we look back in three years, five years, ten years, we’re going to see that it’s really two fully formed economic blocs that have some level of cooperation between them where necessary,” he continued.

To the extent that trade and cooperation occur between the rival blocs, it will depend on facilitators that have a presence in both blocs, such as India, Saudi Arabia, and possibly the United Arab Emirates, Kennedy predicted.

He called the new geopolitical configuration unprecedented since the days of the Cold War, when the world broke down largely of the Soviet Union, Western powers led by the United States, and a number of developing countries loyal to one or the other.

 

Zelensky calls for Russian expulsion from UN Security Council

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a dramatic video appearance at the United Nations called on the body to remove Russia from the Security Council days after evidence circulated of executions and other atrocities committed by Russian troops in his country.

Zelensky said Russia should be removed from its place as a permanent member of the Security Council, where it holds veto power, arguing that it was time to reform the global peace-keeping body.

“We are dealing with a state that is turning the veto in the UN Security Council into the right to die,” Zelensky said in his remarks. “This undermines the whole architecture of global security and allows them to go unpunished.” 

“The main thing is today, it’s time to transform the system, the United Nations,” he told the Security Council.

Photos of civilians apparently killed by Russian troops in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha — including at least one person whose hands were tied behind the back — suggested Russian troops had indiscriminately shot and killed civilians during their occupation of the town.

Satellite images indicated that bodies had been left in the streets for weeks, contradicting Russian suggestions that the photos were staged.

The Ukrainian president’s speech was accompanied by a graphic video showing harrowing images of some of the carnage discovered in Ukrainian cities that were under Russian occupation.

Among the images included what appeared to be the body of a man at the bottom of a well, the unclothed body of a child who was blindfolded and lying on top of other dead bodies, charred bodies piled on top of each other and trenches filled with bodies.

There is no provision or mechanism to remove a permanent member of the Security Council written into the UN charter. The five permanent members are Russia, the United States., United Kingdom, France and China. 

China has offered support for Russia before and during the invasion and would be unlikely to support removing Russia from the Security Council.

If Russia is not removed from the council, Zelensky said the body should just be dissolved.

“If there is no alternative and no option, then the next option would be dissolve yourself altogether,” he said. 

 

Ukrainian president being portrayed as war time hero by western media

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will make a direct appeal in an address to members of Congress and the United States on Wednesday as Russia continues its assault on Kyiv and President Biden plots a trio of his own to Europe next week.

Exactly three weeks into the war, Zelensky is expected to heap pressure on lawmakers and the public as he continues his push for the United States and its European allies to increase its support militarily for Ukraine as Russian forces continue to make inroads throughout the country.

The address will be Zelensky’s second to members of Congress, having talked to 300 of them during a Zoom call earlier this month. However, the speech marks the first time he will address the American public and make a direct call for help.

On Tuesday, Biden signed into law the year-end government spending bill, which included nearly US$14 billion in humanitarian and military aid for the war-torn nation. The aid, which Congress OK’d last week, comes after Biden barred imports of Russian oil and levied heavy sanctions on the Russian economy. Biden also could be on the verge of announcing an additional US$1 billion in new military aid for Ukraine.

Zelensky is expected to ask for more. His appeal will take place a day after two other speeches to the British Parliament and Canada’s House of Commons, where he pleaded for support for a no-fly zone over his country and requested further assistance in the deadly conflict with Moscow. He also directed questions at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, asking him to imagine what it would be like if Canadians were the ones being attacked.

“Dear Justin ... can you imagine every day you receive memorandums about the number of casualties including women and children? You heard about the bombings. Currently, we have 97 children that died during this war,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky’s pitch to Congress comes amid continued tumult in Kyiv, where the Russian military has continued its assault, including on Tuesday. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that missile strikes killed four more individuals in the Ukrainian capital, having also put the city under a 35-hour curfew amid a “difficult and dangerous” moment.

Adding to the drama in Kyiv, the prime ministers of Poland, Czech Republic and Slovenia became the first world leaders to travel to the city since the fighting began 21 days ago. Petr Fiala, the Czech prime minister, wrote in a Facebook post that the visit was meant to “to confirm the unequivocal support of the entire European Union for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.” 

As for Biden, the White House announced on Tuesday that he will visit Brussels on March 24 for discussions with European leaders, including a NATO summit and a separate one with the European Council.

“We’ve been incredibly aligned to date,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said of the US cooperation with European nations on the Ukraine situation. “That doesn’t happen by accident. The president is a big believer in face-to-face diplomacy. So it’s an opportunity to do exactly that”.

Meanwhile, the Russian government on Tuesday imposed its own set of sanctions against top U.S. officials, including Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The move blocks the three, among others, from entering Russia. According to Bloomberg News, the Russian Foreign Ministry added that the sanctions would not stand in the way of high-level contacts if needed.

United States disappoints Ukraine, once again

The Pentagon on Wednesday spelled out reasons for not supporting the transfer of aging Polish fighter jets to Ukraine, calling it a high risk plan that would likely heighten tensions with Russia.  

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in a morning conversation with his Polish counterpart, said the US government does not support the transfer of MiG-29 aircraft to the Ukrainian Air Force at this time, Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters. 

The United States does not want Poland to directly transfer the aircraft to Ukraine, nor does it want Warsaw to first give the MiG-29s to Washington to then give those to Kyiv, as publicly suggested by the Polish Government on Tuesday. 

“The intelligence community has assessed that the transfer of MiG-29s to Ukraine may be mistaken as escalatory and could result in significant Russian reaction that might increase the prospects of a military escalation with NATO,” Kirby said.  

“Therefore, we also assess the transfer of the MiG-29s to Ukraine to be high-risk.” 

NATO ally Poland caught Washington off guard with the announcement it would transfer its fleet of MiG-29s to the US military’s Ramstein Air Base in Germany, a move that would allow Washington to then move the jets to Ukraine. Kyiv has begged Western officials for the Russian-made combat aircraft, which its pilots are trained to fly.  

But the Pentagon swiftly met the announcement with one of its own on Tuesday, calling the plan untenable, due to the geopolitical battlefield that is moving jets from a US-NATO base to a non-alliance country to help in its fight against Russia. The Kremlin warned this week that such a move could be seen as NATO inserting itself into the conflict.   

The United States has already quickly moved to send Ukraine hundreds of millions of dollars in lethal aid — including a US$350 million package approved late last month — but Wednesday's announcement appeared to draw a line at transferring combat aircraft. 

Kirby said the US is not drawing a red-line here, but would not detail the sausage making of how this particular decision was made. 

The US believes the best way to support Ukraine is by providing the weapons and the systems that they need most to defeat Russian aggression, in particular anti-armor and air defense, Kirby said. 

He also asserted that the Ukrainian Air Force already has several squadrons of mission-capable aircraft and adding to the inventory is not likely to significantly change the effectiveness of the Ukrainian Air Force relative to Russian capabilities. 

In addition to ruling out combat aircraft transfers, at least for now, Washington has repeatedly stressed it would not send US troops into Ukraine to fight or to patrol the skies.  

The United States also does not support a no-fly zone over Ukraine over fears it could set off another world war with nuclear-capable Russia.

Austin will travel to Brussels next week to meet with his NATO counterparts, where the Ukraine-Russia conflict will likely dominate talks, Kirby said. 

 

Ukraine NATO membership in not on agenda, says German Chancellor

Ukraine’s membership is not on The North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO’s agenda, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Friday. “I also made it clear in Moscow and in my visit that this option, Ukraine’s membership of NATO, is not on the table and will not take place,” he said during an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF.

“I said publicly that we all know that Ukraine’s NATO membership is not on the alliance’s agenda today,” he added. “That was understood by the American President that was also understood by the French President.”

Scholz said he shares Russian President Vladimir Putin’s security concern and clarified to Putin that Ukraine will not be allowed to join NATO.

“The Russians were worried about the control issue of their security. Putin was worried that NATO has a military setup and rockets in Ukraine targeting Russian territory. That is why we tried to make it clear that this will not occur,” he elaborated.

Ukraine’s pursuit of NATO membership appeared to be one of the core disputes that caused the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

In February 2019, the then Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a constitutional amendment committing the country to becoming a member of NATO and the European Union after the parliament passed the bill.

Poroshenko told the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine days after he signed the amendment that joining NATO was a guarantee of security for Ukraine.

On the Russian side, Putin says Russia needs to lay down ‘red lines’ to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO saying that Ukraine’s growing ties with the alliance could make it a launchpad for NATO missiles targeted at Russia.

The United States and other Ukraine alliances have tried to avoid war by deescalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

However, the Kremlin criticized the United States and NATO for failing to address the fundamental security concerns of Moscow, demanding that NATO stop its eastward expansion and that strike weapons not be deployed near Russia’s borders.

Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 after the efforts to deter war failed.

Russian armed forces made rapid progress and had reportedly encircled several Ukrainian cities or facilities in the first week.

They also reportedly gained control of Kherson, a port city in Ukraine’s south.

However, the Russian forces were met with strong resistance from the Ukrainian military, especially on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

The resistance from Ukrainian forces and Russia’s own logistical difficulties has slowed down the Russian military’s speed of the advance, the UK’s Ministry of Defense said.

A United Nations official said around 1.2 million people have fled Ukraine as the war entered its ninth day. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi confirmed the staggering figure in a tweet on March 4.

Grandi said on Thursday that in his four decades of work in refugee emergencies, he had rarely seen an exodus as rapid as the one in Ukraine.

“Hour by hour, minute by minute, more people are fleeing the terrifying reality of violence. Countless have been displaced inside the country,” he said in a statement.

The UN also said that, as of March 3, they had recorded 1,006 civilian casualties in the context of Russia’s military action against Ukraine, mostly caused by shelling and airstrikes.

The agency said that 331 civilian deaths have been recorded, including 19 children, while 675 have been injured, including 31 children. The UN says, however, that the “real toll is much higher.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that, to date, 9,200 Russian soldiers have been killed in the war. Russian authorities have reported that 498 of its service members have been killed.

 

US Senator Lindsey Graham calls for the assassination of Russian President Putin

Reportedly, a senior US Senator, Lindsey Graham has called for the assassination of Russian President Vladimir Putin. This has sparked widespread condemnation and reflects another example of Washington’s failure to adhere to the rules of law within the international community. 

The White House tried to distance itself from the remarks made by the South Carolina Senator saying they do not reflect the position of the United States. 

Some congress members did come out and criticized Lindsey Graham’s remarks. The problem is that his statements represent the US foreign policy stance. 

Graham, who is widely viewed as an influential Senator within the Republican Party on military and foreign-policy matters, made public what many senators and the US foreign policymakers think privately. 

Speaking to the US media, Graham called for a hit job on a sovereign independent head of state saying "I'm hoping someone in Russia will understand ... you need to take this guy out back any means possible.”

The hawkish Senator carried on with his threatening rhetoric, telling the US media that Russians must rise up and take Putin down.

He also carried on his intimidating statements on social media platforms, making similar calls against the Russian President.

The Senator’s statements also reflect the inability of the United States to think, act and behave rationally in times of crisis. 

As the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov put it “Unfortunately, in such an extremely tense atmosphere, and even more so in countries such as the United States, a hysterical Russophobic fit is being whipped up. These days, not everyone manages to maintain sobriety, I would even say sanity, and many lose their mind.”

The Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, denounced Graham’s remarks as unacceptable and outrageous, saying the degree of Russophobia and hatred in the US towards Russia was off the charts. 

In a statement posted on the embassy’s social media platforms, Antonov said “It is impossible to believe that a senator of a country that promotes its moral values as a guiding star for all mankind could afford to call for terrorism as a way to achieve Washington’s goals in the international arena.”

Washington’s assassination of anti-imperialist figures and independent leaders hasn’t been off the US foreign policy agenda. 

In the 1960s, the US government put together several attempts and plans to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro using various methods such as exploding cigars, murderous mobsters, an exploding seashell, and the infamous poison pen.

Also in the 1960s, many political figures inside the US itself were assassinated, including one of history’s most iconic black civil rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther King as well as another very iconic black civil rights leader Malcom X. 

After the murder of former US President John F. Kennedy which shocked America, successive President’s claimed enough was enough and signed executive orders prohibiting the use of assassinations as a tactic of the US operatives.

Unfortunately, American executive orders are not worth the paper they are written on. 

There are also terrorist leaders who worked hand in hand with Washington and were later assassinated by US Special Forces instead of being captured and put on trial. Critics argue taking these individuals for instance, Osama Bin Laden, to an independent International tribunal would have exposed the level of coordination with leaders of the now many terror groups. 

Over the years, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, another sovereign head of state survived multiple American-backed attempts on his life. 
 
As lately as January 2020, the US carried out the assassination of Iran’s top military commander General Qassem Soleimani and the highest-ranking military commander in Iraq Abu Mehdi al-Muhandis with drone strikes in the vicinity of Baghdad International Airport under the direct order of former President Donald Trump.

The United Nations declared the US drone strikes against the late Iranian anti-terror war hero as unlawful and an arbitrary killing that violated the UN charter.

Again, that hasn’t stopped the US senators such as Lindsey Graham from adding fuel to the fire in Ukraine by openly calling for the killing of President Putin. 

Some congress members have hit back at the Republican Senator which critics say is aimed at distancing the US from any involvement in the Ukraine conflict, which the US and its NATO partners sparked in the first place. 

Representative IIhan Omar wrote, “I really wish our members of Congress would cool it and regulate their remarks.”

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said, “This is irresponsible, dangerous and unhinged.”

Representative Matt Gaetz wrote, “When has Sen. Graham encouraging regime change ever ended badly?”

Even Texas Senator Ted Cruz noted, “This is an exceptionally bad idea, use massive economic sanctions; boycott Russian oil and gas; provide military aid so the Ukrainians can defend themselves.”

The problem with Cruz’s thought process is that Ukraine has lashed out at the US-led NATO alliance for abandoning Kyiv. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has chastised the bloc for its refusal to establish a no-fly zone over the country amid the ongoing Russian offensive that hit Ukraine last week.

Zelensky, in a videotaped address, told the United States and its NATO allies that people will die because of you in the country.

He said, “NATO knowingly approved the decision not to close the skies over Ukraine. We believe that the NATO countries themselves have created a narrative that the alleged closing of the sky over Ukraine will provoke direct Russian aggression against NATO”.

He also slammed the lack of aid from the alliance, saying that it has only managed to authorize a small fuel delivery for the country. While Ukraine has been recognized as a special partner of the alliance, NATO has repeatedly reminded the Ukrainian President that it would not go into a war with Russia for the sake of his country.

Zelensky said “All that the NATO alliance could do today was to allocate some 50 tons of diesel fuel for Ukraine through its procurement system.”

He also lashed out at the latest NATO meeting saying "today there was a NATO summit, a weak summit, a confused summit, a summit where it was clear that not everyone considers the battle for Europe's freedom to be the number one goal," Zelensky said

A similar statement has been made by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, who said the ongoing conflict has exposed NATO’s weakness.

Speaking to Ukrainian media, Kuleba said “before the war, Ukrainian people believed that NATO was strong, while the EU was weak and indecisive. And after the war began, the people saw that the opposite was true.”

The top Ukrainian diplomat also claims that the European Union gave us a candidate status and prospects of membership, while NATO could not decide on anything. 

The reality is that Ukraine has not been given an EU candidate status, because a country needs to live up to certain conditions before attaining such a status.

The EU Parliament has only passed a non-binding resolution that states it would welcome Kyiv’s membership application. 

It’s actually not quite a difficult process to both enter or leaves the EU as Turkey and Britain found out. 

The Belarusian President, meanwhile, pointed out that the US and its Western allies want to prolong the conflict.

Alexander Lukashenko said, “All of NATO & EUmembers keep shouting about ending war in Ukraine. In public, but what they need there is war, the more of it, the better.

Lukashenko also said that the West is not allowing Ukraine to make a move to end the conflict.

 

Russia and China getting ready to create New World Order

Fifty years after Richard Nixon and Mao Zedong’s historic 1972 handshake, the geopolitical world order is once again reshaping. The world is now watching a growing alliance between Beijing and Moscow.

Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in early February this year on the opening day of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

The meeting could have granted an opportunity for Xi to urge Putin to pursue diplomacy with Ukraine and de-escalate tensions between the two countries. Instead, the Chinese regime appeared to have looked the other way as Russia planned its advances on its neighbor.

Many have described the February 04 meeting as a show of solidarity between the two regimes. The occasion was marked by a lengthy joint statement in which the two countries announced a no limits partnership, in which there were no forbidden areas of cooperation.

The 5,000-word communiqué also expressed opposition to the further enlargement of NATO and called on the North Atlantic Alliance to abandon its ideologized cold war approaches, to respect the sovereignty, security and interests of other countries … and to exercise a fair and objective attitude toward the peaceful development of other States.

Such a detailed statement clearly defined the nature of China and Russia’s emerging relationship, retired Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis told The Epoch Times. It is one wherein Xi and Putin are bent on stifling the West, dismantling NATO, and creating a new world order, he said.

Less than three weeks after the Putin-Xi meeting, Russia began its assault on Ukraine. Maginnis described the communique as a gentlemen’s agreement behind what many would consider very much an alliance. Putin, he added, is hopeful this newly forged alliance will help carry Russia through its invasion.

Behind the scenes, Maginnis suspects that the Xi-Putin rendezvous granted the “geopolitical back up and financial assurances” to Russia to soften the economic blow from Western sanctions. That the Chinese regime has not criticized Moscow for its attack on Ukraine could be a sign of Beijing’s silent support, he added.

“Xi is very likely encouraged by what the West is doing—or more appropriately, not doing,” Maginnis said. Russia has faced universal condemnation from the West, while receiving aid from several countries. Sanctions are also coming in from many directions in an effort to slow the Russian regime’s unprovoked assault.

But what’s most important to the Chinese regime is the fact that the United States is not sending troops to Ukraine, he noted.

In light of the raft of Western sanctions, Maginnis said he suspects “Xi will help launder whatever finances that Putin, the oligarchs, and the Russian government at large needs to keep moving forward.”

As the conflict in Ukraine continues to escalate and the Chinese regime continues its ambitions to seize Taiwan, he said that the United States and NATO have found themselves in a new cold war.

“Xi is seeking a new world order, as evidenced by many of his writings and speeches,” Maginnis said. This new world order, he added, is one that is “far more accepting of an authoritarian regime, rather than the liberal values that formulated the world order post-World War II.”

On the heels of a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and its handling of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, some countries are starting to consider the United States a second-rate world power, according to Maginnis. Some of these countries may soon be asking “Who do we want to align ourselves with?” and “Who’s going to really run things in the future?”

Maginnis didn’t consider Putin’s behavior to be “crazy” for invading Ukraine, but said that “Putin is pragmatic, not afraid of pulling the trigger if it’s going to benefit him in the long-term.”

With Russia and China working alongside each other to usurp the West, he said, “Taiwan should be greatly concerned, because it’s true of Xi as well; he would pull the same trigger when he feels like it will benefit him the most.”

Beijing is watching what the United States is doing in Ukraine. One thing to watch, Maginnis said, is whether or not the United States will transport or relocate critical assets out of the Pacific arena to Europe. Secondly, he added that Xi is also watching the effects of the sanctions on Russia’s ability to take on Ukraine.

America’s military presence in the Pacific, combined with the impact of crushing economic sanctions, remains the primary concerns of the Chinese regime as it eyes Taiwan, he said.

Zelensky testing limits of United States

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky participated in a call with a bipartisan group of more than 280 members of Congress on Saturday morning, during which the lawmakers said he laid out ways the United States could help his country's fight against Russia.

Over Zoom, Zelensky requested additional airplanes, a stoppage of oil purchases from Russia and the establishment of a no-fly zone over Ukrainian airspace. 

Both Democrats and Republicans lauded Zelensky after their virtual meeting and pledged to do what they could to assist Ukraine.

“Honored to hear from @ZelenskyyUa as he takes every measure to defend Ukraine from illegal Russian aggression and Putin’s indiscriminate attacks on civilians. Zelenskyy’s resilience and commitment to the people of Ukraine inspire the world. Proud to stand with you Mr. President,” the Senate Foreign Relations Committee tweeted.

Sen. Ben Sasse, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, confirmed in a statement that Zelensky had asked for either a no-fly zone over Ukrainian airspace or planes for Ukraine.  

“Ukraine needs airpower urgently and America should send it. Zelensky’s message is simple, ‘close the skies or give us planes.’ Let’s be clear-eyed about our options, a no-fly zone means sending American pilots into combat against Russian jets and air defenses — in a battle between nuclear powers that could spiral out of control quickly,” Sasse said. 

“But Americans should absolutely send Ukrainians planes, helicopters, and UAVs. Let’s resupply Ukraine’s Air Force today and keep the Ghosts of Kyiv in the skies.”

A no-fly zone is instituted to stop nations from carrying out attacks over groups of people or flying in certain areas. 

The Biden administration balked at declaring a no-fly zone over Ukraine, arguing that the move could easily escalate the Russia-Ukraine conflict into a wider war. 

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer also voiced support to supply Ukraine with planes. 

“President Zelenskyy made a desperate plea for Eastern European countries to provide Russian-made planes to Ukraine. These planes are very much needed. And I will do all I can to help the administration to facilitate their transfer,” he said in a statement.

Several senators also noted Zelensky asked for the United States to stop Russian oil and gas imports to further cripple the country's economy. Russia accounts for 10% of the crude oil global supply, the third-largest producer after the United States and Saudi Arabia. 

“President @ZelenskyyUa said stopping the purchase of Russian oil and gas around the world would be one of the most powerful sanctions possible, ‘even more powerful than SWIFT,’ ” Sen. Dan Sullivan tweeted.

“.@POTUS, enough is enough. Listen to this brave President and a growing bipartisan group of senators. Block imports of Russian oil and gas TODAY, and produce more oil and gas from America. #StandWithUkraine #BanRussianImports,” he added.

Sen. Chris Coons, chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, called on Congress to pass millions of dollars in humanitarian and economic aid for NATO and Ukraine.

Zelensky underscored the urgent need for more military support and humanitarian aid from his Western partners, Coons said in a statement. 

“This call to action must lead to swift passage by Congress of the US$10 billion in emergency supplemental aid that I have been calling for to give Ukraine and our NATO allies additional military, economic and humanitarian aid to respond to increasingly brutal Russian attacks on civilians and the rapidly growing humanitarian crisis in Eastern Europe,” he continued.

The call with the US lawmakers comes over a week after Russia invaded Ukraine. Ukrainian forces have fought fiercely against the Russian military, slowing its efforts to capture the country's major cities. 

Sen. Lindsey Graham said that Zelensky had detailed “numerous examples of war crimes” committed in Ukraine.

“There were numerous examples of war crimes provided by President Zelensky - mayors have been captured, imprisoned and murdered. There are wholesale attacks on civilian targets, random, indiscriminate, and the Putin war machine, in my view, is in full blown war crimes mode,” Graham said in a video message posted on Twitter after the call.

“President indicated that labeling Putin a war criminal is the right thing to do, and he thinks would help tremendously.”

The remarks come as roughly 1.3 million people have fled Ukraine since February 24, according to data from the United Nations refugee agency. The conflict has sparked some leaders to consider waiving travel requirements in order to handle the serious humanitarian crisis.

NATO wants bloodshed in Ukraine to continue

It has become quite clear that NATO, particularly two of its key members, the United States and Britain, has no desire for a peaceful settlement to the crisis unfolding in Ukraine.

The conflict could easily have been avoided in the first place as far back as early January this year when Russia provided several proposals to NATO and Washington on how to de-escalate the tensions by offering security guarantees.

Moscow has been calling for Ukraine, its neighbor and former Soviet republic, to be a neutral country, neither pro-Russia nor a NATO member.

From the outside that sounds like a relatively reasonable and simple demand, considering the US promised Russia it would not take measures to offer former Soviet republics, Ukraine in particular, NATO membership, a move that effectively expands the US-led military forces eastward towards Russia’s border.

For decades critics have been warning against this move and against threatening Russia and the consequences that such measures can lead to.

The last US ambassador to the Soviet Union, Jack Matlock, speaks extensively about this. He says there were definitely assurances provided to the Russians about NATO expansion. Assurances and promises that the US has broken, Washington has a culture of cheating.

But the US cheating and lies are not just limited to Russia-Ukraine. They date back to many wars and US invasions, such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere.

This crisis could have been so quickly resolved with just a treaty or a declaration of neutrality on the part of Ukraine. That would have allowed Kyiv to have warm ties with the West and the East.

Unfortunately, the US and other Western military complexes thrive on tension, it’s the only way they can persuade Congress and parliaments and convince lawmakers to vote in favor of legislation approving huge military spending.

Money that could be spent instead on rising healthcare problems, poverty, homelessness, damaged infrastructure, rising record inflation levels, and so many others issues in need of urgent attention back home.

NATO has proceeded to pump even more weapons to Ukraine, not giving a damn about the possibility of Ukrainians and Russians being killed. Critics say Ukraine is being used by imperialist powers to create a crisis with its eastern neighbor.

The colonial and imperialistic ideals of the US and its NATO military alliance also played a major role in rejecting Moscow’s proposals. Those proposals were rejected in the first few days of January and continue to be rejected today.

Washington not only placed the US weapons in Ukraine and on Russian borders threatening Moscow’s security, which is itself a violation of the UN charter.

Article-2, paragraph four of the United Nations Charter states, “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State.”

What can be more threatening than placing missiles and other weapons on another country’s border?

Even now, the US and NATO can very easily end the conflict by declaring they have no intention of including Ukraine in the Western military alliance and announce an end to NATO’s open-door policy, with which many of the newest members in Eastern Europe joined in violation of NATO owns membership rules on existing territorial disputes.

Does anyone imagine what the Pentagon’s reaction would be if Russia included Mexico or Canada as part of a defensive or military alliance, expanding Moscow’s military presence on the US borders?

Meanwhile, the US has shown no interest in peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv; despite both sides holding a second round of talks on the Belarusian border.

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price has dismissed the peace attempts saying "now we see Moscow suggesting that diplomacy take place at the barrel of a gun”.

Despite Washington's negative attitude, progress has been reported in the talks with Russia and Ukraine agreeing to the need for humanitarian corridors to help civilians escape the conflict.

The Kremlin says ‘substantial progress’ had been made in the negotiations, while the Ukrainian side pointed to an understanding on helping ordinary people.

Ukrainian Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak noted that a temporary halt to fighting in select locations was also possible. "That is, not everywhere, but only in those places where the humanitarian corridors themselves will be located, it will be possible to cease fire for the duration of the evacuation," he said.

Ukraine and Russia have also seen eye-to-eye on the delivery of medical and food supplies to the regions where the heaviest fighting has been taking place.

Delegations from Kyiv and Moscow will meet again next week the Belarusian state news agency Belta cited Podolyak as saying.

The US and its Western allies responded by imposing more sanctions on Russia.

The United Nations has said one million people have now fled, seeking refuge in neighboring countries mostly in Poland and also Russia.

While Ukraine has essentially been left abandoned by Washington (much to the frustration of Kyiv), the US first lady Jill Biden did wear a Covid-19 mask in honor of Ukraine, which will no doubt help towards finding peace to the conflict.

Then comes the British and American officials and their mainstream media’s double standards on the unfortunate conflict in Ukraine.

US administration officials and their British government counterparts say that occupied people in Ukraine have the absolute right to take up arms against an (imaginary) occupier.

While the argument is legally and logically correct; why has it been used only now and only for Ukraine where Washington and London are shedding crocodile tears for the Ukrainians instead of making real attempts at ending the fighting instead of abandoning what NATO describes in public as its ally.

And why is the same not said about the Palestinians who have been resisting the Israeli occupation for decades? Palestinians are instead referred to as “terrorists” for resisting the Israeli regime's occupation of their land.

The reality is Russia is not occupying Ukrainian land and has stated it has no intention of doing so, in addition to the fact that the conflict has not lasted for more than 10 days.

On the other hand, for 100 years, the Palestinians have been subject to occupation and they are denied weapons as an occupied people to resist an occupier and those who try to send weapons to the Palestinian resistance fighting the occupation are punished.

Essentially the West has shot itself in the foot for making such statements of double standards. It’s one rule for Ukraine because NATO is involved here and another for Palestine.

And what about other people who are under occupation? Do the occupied people in Iraq have the absolute right to take up arms against the US occupation? An occupation that has been classified as such by Iraqi parliament legislation, the country’s Prime Minister, and a million man march in Baghdad.

Anti-US sentiment is so high in Iraq right now after Washington assassinated General Qassem Soleimani, who commanded the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, and Abu Mehdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of the anti-terror popular mobilization units and arguably the most respected and decorated military commander in Iraq.

Under the logic of the US administration and the British government, shouldn’t the Iraqis have the absolute right to take up arms against the occupiers; instead of being labeled as terrorists?

What about Syria, where American forces illegally occupy large parts of the country’s east and northeast. The US entered the country from Iraq without an invitation from the government in Damascus and without a UN mandate so the Syrians have the absolute right to resistance against the US forces.

And the same of course can be said for Hezbollah in southern Lebanon who have been liberating their land from Israeli occupation.

But this slip of the tongue will soon be totally forgotten about once NATO gets what it wants from the conflict in Ukraine.