PING!!!!!
Posted on 03/17/2023 4:58:17 PM PDT by UMCRevMom@aol.com
Update from Ukraine | The beginning of the end for the Ruzzian dictator | Arrest warrant for Putler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwh1m_SWFqk
ARTICLE
How war crimes prosecutions work
Zachary B. Wolf
Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf, CNN
Published 2:42 PM EDT, Fri March 17, 2023
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/17/politics/war-crime-prosecutions-what-matters/index.html
After more than a year of international outrage at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and shocking atrocities, there’s an arrest warrant out for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The International Criminal Court on Friday announced charges against Putin and Russian official Maria Lvova-Belova relating to an alleged scheme to forcibly deport thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia.
Read CNN’s full report about the charges and the arrest warrant.
And read about the scheme involving Ukrainian children taken to Russia.
Russia rejected the allegations Friday, and a ministry of foreign affairs spokeswoman said the court has “no meaning” in Russia.
There have long been calls for the court to bring charges against Putin. It has been investigating allegations of war crimes in Ukraine since Russia first invaded part of the country in 2014. Those calls intensified with the all-out invasion last year.
Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, has talked about his efforts and the need to methodically build cases with proof. That said, the likelihood that Russia’s president will ever actually physically see the inside of a courtroom as long as he remains in power in Russia seems beyond slim.
Here’s a very broad look at war crimes and the international justice movement.
Note: Some of what’s below comes from CNN’s research library, which compiled information about the International Criminal Court.
What is a war crime?
The International Criminal Court has specific definitions for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression. Read about them in this guide published by the ICC. [https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/Publications/understanding-the-icc.pdf]
Specifically, targeting civilian populations, violating the Geneva Conventions, targeting specific groups of people and more could be potential Russian war crimes.
Khan said there can be justified attacks in civilian areas if they are being used to launch attacks. But even then, he said, attacks in civilian areas cannot be disproportionate.
There is a method of gathering evidence from testimony, satellite images and elsewhere to meet a burden of proof.
What is the International Criminal Court?
Located in The Hague, Netherlands, and created by a treaty called the Rome Statute first brought before the United Nations, the International Criminal Court operates independently.
Most countries on Earth – 123 of them – are parties to the treaty, but there are very large and notable exceptions, including Russia and the US. And, for that matter, Ukraine.
Who can be tried by the court?
Anyone accused of a crime in the jurisdiction of the court, which includes countries that are members of the ICC, can be tried. The court tries people, not countries, and focuses on those who hold the most responsibility: leaders and officials. While Ukraine is not a member of the court, it has previously accepted its jurisdiction.
Putin is therefore eligible for being indicted by the court for ordering war crimes in Ukraine.
However, the ICC does not conduct trials in absentia, so he would either have to be handed over by Russia or arrested outside of Russia. That seems unlikely as long as Putin is in power.
What crimes does the court handle?
The ICC is meant to be a court of “last resort” and is not meant to replace a country’s justice system. The court, which has 18 judges serving nine-year terms, tries four types of crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression and war crimes.
How does the ICC bring proceedings?
Court proceedings can be brought in one of two ways: Either a national government or the UN Security Council can refer cases for investigation.
Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has veto power over council actions. It was requests by 39 national governments, most of them European, that sparked the current investigation.
Khan previously told CNN, “I want to emphasize that I’m willing to speak to all sides, and not just the Ukrainian side, but also the Russian Federation, state parties and non-state parties alike. This institution is not political. We’re not part of the geostrategic or geopolitical divisions that we witness around the world.”
How long do these investigations take?
If justice in general moves slowly, international justice barely moves at all. Investigations at the ICC take many years. Only a handful of convictions have ever been won.
A preliminary investigation into the hostilities in eastern Ukraine lasted more than six years – from April 2014 until December 2020. At the time, the prosecutor said there was evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Next steps were slowed by the Covid-19 pandemic and a lack of resources at the court, which is conducting multiple investigations.
That perception of slow and ineffective justice will test the system of international law, Khan told CNN’s Anderson Cooper last year.
“This is a test for the court. It’s a test for me, it’s a test for the office,” he said.
Why would a Ukraine prosecution be different?
The international outcry against Russia is unique, and that could give the court the ability to operate differently, according to Ryan Goodman, a law professor at New York University and co-editor-in-chief of Just Security, an online forum.
“It’s hard to judge the ICC’s investigation based on past practice,” Goodman said in an email after the court initially launched its investigation back in 2022. “In the Ukraine situation, the prosecutor is buttressed by an extraordinary outpouring of support from dozens of countries, which I expect will be followed by an infusion of resources.”
How would an ICC case affect the conflict?
“For better or for worse, the ICC investigation may affect the diplomatic space for negotiations,” said Goodman, arguing Putin and other Russians might not want to risk arrest if they travel outside the country.
The investigation could also, he argued, weaken Putin at home.
“Russians may come to realize this is another reason Putin can no longer serve their country,” Goodman said.
What happened before the ICC?
Previous trials for war crimes were brought by special UN tribunals, such as those empaneled for the former Yugoslavia, focusing on the Serbian autocrat Slobodan Milosevic, and for the Rwandan genocide.
All of this stems from the precedent of the Nuremberg trials to bring Nazis to justice after World War II and held by the Allies, including the US, the Soviet Union, France and Germany.
So it is interesting that neither the US nor Russia are members of the ICC.
Why aren’t the US and Russia ICC members?
Both the US and Russia are signatories to the treaty that created the court – meaning their leaders signed it – but neither is a member.
Russia pulled out of the court in 2016 days after an ICC report published what CNN called a “damning verdict” on Russia’s occupation of Crimea in 2014. The court also launched a probe in 2016 into Russia’s 2008 efforts to support breakaway regions in Georgia.
At the time, France had also accused Russia of committing war crimes in Syria.
As for the US, while President Bill Clinton signed the treaty creating the court in 2000, he never recommended the
Senate ratify it.
The George W. Bush administration, to a fair amount of criticism, pulled the US from being a party to the treaty in 2002. The Pentagon and many US policymakers have long opposed joining such an international court system since it could open US service members to allegations of war crimes.
“The president (George W. Bush) thinks the ICC is fundamentally flawed because it puts American servicemen and women at fundamental risk of being tried by an entity that is beyond America’s reach, beyond America’s laws and can subject American civilians and military to arbitrary standards of justice,” then-White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said at the time.
How has the US supported the court?
Opposing America joining the court did not mean the Bush administration opposed the court itself. It supported ICC efforts to seek justice for genocide in Sudan.
There has always been an awkwardness to how American presidents deal with the court, noted CNN’s Tim Lister in 2011. He wrote about Barack Obama applauding ICC efforts to bring justice to people like former Serb Gen. Ratko Mladic and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, while not endorsing the court for oversight of the US.
President Joe Biden told CNN’s Jeremey Diamond on Friday that the ICC’s case against Putin “makes a very strong point,” and voiced support for the investigation into Putin’s alleged war crimes.
“I think it’s justified,” Biden said. “But the question is, it’s not recognized internationally by us, either. But I think it makes a very strong point.”
The White House issued a statement earlier Friday that welcomed accountability for perpetrators of war crimes.
VIDEOS
1. Slovakia to hand over 13 MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine
Kanal13
1.48M subscribers
3-17-2023, 6:15 p.m. DST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ4lXLZ-OmE
2. Estonia to send sniper weapons and special equipment to Ukraine
Kanal13
1.48M subscribers
3-17-2023 10:15 a.m. DST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR3yYWPeuDI
PING!!!!!
“News along the same lines today for Trump’s arrest. Both Trump and Putin equally safe.”
Are you thus saying that if Trump is indicted, Putin should be, as well? And vice versa?
Video
17 Mar: Ukrainians Launch ATTACKS ALL OVER THE FRONT LINE | War in Ukraine [Explained]
Reporting from Ukraine
204K subscribers
3-17-2023 9:00 p.m.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOSoJfrbud4
I am a Ukrainian. My country has been invaded by Russia. In this video I will tell you what happened on the three hundred and seventy third day of the war.
Day 387: March 17
Today there are a lot of updates from the Zaporizhia region. Here, Ukrainians broke the long period of low activity by launching extensive artillery preparation on the closest Russian positions to the main Ukrainian strongholds. The artillery and airstrikes were immediately followed by a series of mechanized assaults, with the main goal of reducing the grey zone areas between Ukrainian and Russian forces and getting as close to Russian positions as possible.
Two days ago, Ukrainians started preparing for a number of assaults. They launched artillery preparation and shelled Russian positions in front of Robotyne and Novokarlivka. Russian sources also reported about the Ukrainian use of aviation to complement their artillery efforts. After that, Ukrainians conducted two localized assaults.
The first assault was launched in the direction of Polohy. Ukrainians reportedly passed Bilohiria and Novopokrovka and attempted to storm Russian fortifications near Luhivske and Novokarlivka. Russian sources reported that Ukrainians used at least one platoon supported by armor. The attack was unsuccessful and Russian forces pushed Ukrainians back by using anti-tank systems and artillery support.
The second attack was launched in the direction of Robotyne. The available geolocated footage shows that Ukrainians assaulted an extensive trench network near the highway, around 3 km south of Novodanylove. Ukrainians used at least two platoons, also supported by several tanks, and tried to open several lines of attack, namely from the highway and also directly through the field. The video shows that Ukrainians managed to push Russians from the trenches in the middle of the field, but because their second group did not manage to get close from the side of the highway, the attack failed, and Ukrainians retreated.
Russian sources were unanimously saying that if Ukrainians started launching similar assaults in other parts of this front line, then these two attacks, near Robotyne and Polohy, marked the beginning of the preparation for the Ukrainian counteroffensive operation. And seems like it is true because the next day, Ukrainians launched two more assaults.
The first assault happened near Novozlatopil, while the second one happened near Vasylivka. Russian sources reported that these attacks were much lighter and that Ukrainians used several squads for conducting these reconnaissance-in-force operations with artillery support. Russians also anticipated the resumption of attacks near Polohy and Robotyne because Russian trenches here were heavily shelled. Ukrainians also shelled Russian positions in completely different regions, such as near Myrne and Dorozhnianka. They also used several assault helicopters to conduct airstrikes.
Ukrainian officials, such as the Head of the Security and Defense Council, stated many times that the next Ukrainian counteroffensive would likely be in the south. The increased activity along the whole Zaporizhzhia front line and voluntary imposition of positional fights by Ukrainians is a strong signal that Ukrainians are preparing for the promised big move in late spring or summer. Some Russian sources are cautiously warning that Ukrainians may just want Russians to think that this is what they intend to do, but so far, the actions make sense.
At the moment, Ukrainians are attacking the most ambiguous areas, where a lot of territories have been considered as grey zones, especially Bilohiria and Novopokrovka, but also the southern part of Kamianske and the whole Huliapole line. Reduction of the grey zones and formulation of a clear picture of the enemy positions is a necessity, otherwise, launching a counteroffensive out of the blue will come at a high price.
The element of surprise is useful, but when it comes to large-scale operations, a complete understanding of the situation on the ground and the development of a high level of coordination between the troops as a result of combat shakedown play significantly more important roles, especially when it is known that Russian forces have been building fortification to complicate rapid Ukrainian advances.
As seen from the map of fortifications, it is clear that Russians are anticipating the main attack to come near the Dnipro River. So, the further it gets from the river, the fewer Russians have their fortification. That is why Ukrainians are launching attacks everywhere and trying to reduce the grey zones along the entire southern front. This means that in several months’ time, Ukrainians will be able to evaluate their chances for each possible course of action and pick the most promising direction to deliver their main blow.
“ I need to continue to post. Basically, believe it is very important NOT to allow a few discontents to control FR even if it means I must subject myself to the FR meat grinder..”
***************************************************************************
Well your propaganda postings here are FAR MORE LUCRATIVE TO YOU and FAR LESS DANGEROUS TO YOU than the REAL MEAT GRINDERS involuntarily faced by the poor cannon fodder souls that Zelensky’s goons dragged from the streets.
“FAR MORE LUCRATIVE TO YOU and FAR LESS DANGEROUS TO YOU than the REAL MEAT GRINDERS involuntarily faced by the poor cannon fodder souls”
A Freeper comment reflected concern using the term “meat grinders for continuous attacks by a few discontents.
Actually, many have expressed the same concern. Basically, these folks have created & ultimately travel with their own self-made reputations on FR
Get help.
“RuZZia!” is what Zeepers blurt out uncontrollably like Rainman… is my understanding…
VIDEOS
1. Poland will send fighter jets to Ukraine
Kanal13
1.48M subscribers
3-17-2023 7:30 p.m. DST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq-lKE622As
2. Sweden to deliver Ukraine eight wheeled 155mm Archer howitzers
Kanal13
1.48M subscribers
3-17-2023 4:45 p.m. DST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlDYTn9JyZQ
“ …Today there are a lot of updates from the Zaporizhia region. Here, Ukrainians broke the long period of low activity by launching extensive artillery preparation on the closest Russian positions to the main Ukrainian strongholds. The artillery and airstrikes were immediately followed by a series of mechanized assaults, with the main goal of reducing the grey zone areas between Ukrainian and Russian forces and getting as close to Russian positions as possible….”
********************************************************************
Mom, you post these pristine propaganda posts glorifying this war. For the actions mentioned in your post I’m addressing, here is what the GLORY mentioned looks like at the ground level:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fk_zzEkLSA
I’m assuming you’re merely posting propaganda and not sending any of your loved ones into the meat grinders to their GLORY.
VIDEOS
1. An injured Ukrainian fighter enters Russian trench, kills Russian soldiers
Kanal13
1.48M subscribers
3-17-2023 2:45 p.m. DST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSzoP4qbvGw
2. Wagner GOT AMBUSHED in Bakhmut. Ukraine SWITCHES TO OFFENSIVE Mode. Russians BACKSTAB THEIR OFFICERS
The Russian Dude
148K subscribers
253,215 views Mar 17, 2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJXGyH_We-o
ARTICLE
“Russia’s daily losses in Ukraine reach 1,500 military personnel, primarily in Bakhmut-NATO official”
Friday, 17 March 2023 19: 17
European Pravda [https://www.eurointegration.com.ua/news/2023/03/17/7158207/]
News.yahoo.com [https://news.yahoo.com/russian-losses-ukraine-reach-1-175753873.html]
The North Atlantic Alliance estimates the daily losses of Russian forces in the fighting in Ukraine – including both killed and wounded – at a number that reaches up to 1,500 people.
According to” European truth”, this was announced to journalists on Friday by a senior NATO official on condition of anonymity.
British intelligence: the pace of Russian operations along the entire front line is the lowest since January 2023
The overwhelming number of losses falls on Bakhmut, The Guardian correspondent Dan Szabo quotes the source of journalists. The ratio of dead to wounded Russians in NATO is estimated as one in three.
As for Ukraine, it loses “an order of magnitude less” in battles, but more specific data was not mentioned. In addition, according to the Alliance, both sides spend “several thousand” shells a day.
NATO cannot predict how long the fighting for Bakhmut will last. According to the source, intense fighting is currently taking place on the front line in the city, which runs along the Bakhmutka River, which has turned into a “murder zone”.
As of the beginning of March, Western intelligence estimated Russia’s losses in the battles for the city of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, in recent months at 20-30 thousand mercenaries of the private military company Wagner, and the dead among them may be about a third.
At the same time, NATO estimated the losses of the Russian side in the battles for the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region as five times higher than the Ukrainian ones.
VIDEOS
1. Wagner GOT AMBUSHED in Bakhmut. Ukraine SWITCHES TO OFFENSIVE Mode. Russians BACKSTAB THEIR OFFICERS
The Russian Dude
148K subscribers
253,215 views
Mar 17, 2023 6:15 a.m. DST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJXGyH_We-o
2. Elite Russian Soldiers Surrendered Helplessly: Russian marines witnesses power of Ukrainian navy!
Divine Justice
112K subscribers
Mar 17, 2023 8:30 p.m. DST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1V2PtVgVAI
2. Ukrainian forces blow up Russian rocket launcher in huge explosion in Luhansk Oblast
The Sun
3.79M subscribers
Mar 17, 2023 9:15 a.m. DST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw4GQvbiOKQ
13 hours ago
ARTICLE
Secret document reveals Russia’s 10-year plan to destabilize Moldova
CNN
Tim Lister
3-17-2023 6:00 a.m. DST
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/16/europe/russia-moldova-secret-document-intl-cmd/index.html
A secret plan drawn up by Russia’s security service, the FSB, lays out detailed options to destabilize Moldova – including supporting pro-Russian groups, utilizing the Orthodox Church and threatening to cut off supplies of natural gas.
The document appears to have been drawn up to thwart Moldova’s tilt to the West, which includes closer relations with NATO and an application to join the European Union. It repeatedly refers to the importance of preventing Moldova from joining NATO.
It was obtained and first disclosed by a consortium of media, including VSquare and Frontstory, RISE Moldova, Expressen in Sweden, the Dossier Centre for Investigative Journalism, Yahoo News and Delfi.
CNN has seen the full document, which appears to have been written in 2021 by the FSB’s Directorate for Cross-Border Cooperation. Its title is “Strategic objectives of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Moldova.”
The document sets out a 10-year strategy for bringing Moldova, a former Soviet republic sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania, within Russia’s sphere of influence.
The plan includes making Moldova dependent on imports of Russian gas and stirring up social conflict, as well as trying to block Moldova’s efforts to gain influence in the pro-Russian breakaway region of Transnistria, where some 1,500 Russian soldiers are stationed.
The five-page document is separated into multiple headings with short-, medium- and long-term aims. Among the immediate objectives are “support for Moldovan political forces advocating constructive relations with the Russian Federation,” and “neutralization of the initiatives of the Republic of Moldova aimed at eliminating the Russian military presence in Transnistria.”
Medium-term goals include “opposition to the expansionist policy of Romania in the Republic of Moldova” and “opposition to cooperation between the Republic of Moldova and NATO.”
The FSB document lays out long term goals including the “creation of stable pro-Russian groups of influence in the Moldovan political and economic elites” and “the formation of a negative attitude towards NATO.”
Asked about the document Thursday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “We know nothing of the existence of such a plan. I do not rule out that this is another fake. Russia has always been and remains open to building good-neighborly, mutually beneficial relations, including with Moldova.”
Peskov added: “We are very sorry that the current leadership of Moldova is experiencing completely unjustified and unfounded prejudices against Moscow.”
Russia has accused Ukraine of planning to invade and take over Transnistria, which borders southwestern Ukraine. The Russian defense ministry said last month that the Ukrainians were gathering armor in several border villages. Moldova and Ukraine have both dismissed the claim.
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin canceled a 2012 decree underpinning Moldova’s sovereignty, saying the move was to “ensure the national interests of Russia in connection with the profound changes taking place in international relations.”
In recent weeks, the Moldovan authorities have arrested several alleged pro-Russian activists as well as an alleged operative of the Wagner private military company who tried to enter the country.
There have also been several protests organized by a pro-Russian party in the capital, Chisinau.
Ukraine and the United States have both warned of Russian efforts to destabilize the Moldovan government. Last Friday, the White House said that “Russian actors, some with current ties to Russian intelligence, are seeking to stage and use protests in Moldova as a basis to foment a manufactured insurrection against the Moldovan Government.”
Western intelligence officials say the Russian strategy is in itself not surprising, but it may have been accelerated as the Moldovan government intensifies efforts to cooperate more closely with the US and European states.
The current Moldovan president, Maia Sandu, replaced Igor Dodon, who was close to the Kremlin, in late 2020. The pro-Western PAS party won parliamentary elections the following year.
The pro-Russian Shor party has organized weekly demonstrations this year in the capital Chisinau, drawing several thousand people to protests about high energy prices. The party has organized transport for attendees.
The party is led by Ilan Shor, a businessman with links to Russia who is accused of stealing billions of dollars from Moldovan banks in 2014. He was later convicted of fraud but has denied any wrongdoing.
The US Treasury Department sanctioned Shor, his wife and the party in October 2022, saying that, “Shor worked with Russian individuals to create a political alliance to control Moldova’s parliament, which would then support several pieces of legislation in the interests of the Russian Federation.”
Shor is currently thought to be in Israel.
The US has pledged budget support for the Moldovan government to help it cope with high energy prices. Gas tariffs have shot up over the past year as a result of the conflict in Ukraine.
The UK Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, was in Chisinau on Thursday. He said: “Few societies understand the underhand tactics of Russian malign activity more than Moldova and Georgia,” adding that “the UK will not stand idly by while Moscow blatantly undermines their democracy, sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Cleverly announced further financial support for Moldova to cope with high energy prices.
One of Shor’s leaders, Marina Tauber, told CNN’s Swedish affiliate Expressen that the party was demanding that the government covered people’s energy bills for the winter months. She denied that Russia was helping to organize or fund the protests.
Expressen reporter Mattias Carlsson, who is in Chisinau, told CNN that the latest protest organized by Shor on Friday last week had led to a few arrests. Among the media attending the event, he said, was a reporter with Russian state-run outlet Sputnik.
Russian officials have frequently stressed the importance of a Moscow-friendly Moldovan government as well as the significance of the Transnistria region.
Soon after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February last year, the then-commander of Russia’s Central Military Region, Maj. Gen. Rustam Minnekaev, said that one aim of the so-called “special military operation” was to establish a corridor through southern Ukraine to the Transnistria region.
The partnership that originally reported the document also includes Süddeutsche Zeitung, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR); Frontstory and the Kyiv Independent.
ADDENDUM VIDEO
“Secret Russian document outlines plan for destabilizing Ukraine neighbor”
CNN
14.8M subscribers
Mar 16, 2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRUggpdkcxM
A secret plan drawn up by Russia’s security service, the FSB, lays out detailed options to destabilize Moldova — including supporting pro-Russian groups, utilizing the Orthodox Church and threatening to cut off supplies of natural gas. CNN’s Nic Robertson reports. #CNN #News
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