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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a tragedy and a crime, but it does not threaten American security. Even the Brookings Institution’s Robert Kagan, who has yet to find a war he doesn’t want the U.S. to fight—his new book blames America for not having stopped Adolf Hitler—admitted that Ukraine is not important for this country’s defense. Kagan was categorical: “There is no way that Putin’s conquest of Ukraine has any immediate or even distant effect on American security.” Yet he still supports Washington’s proxy war against Russia, like many others. Those who, like Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of...

ussia and Belarus began joint military exercises on Monday, sparking fears in Kyiv and the West that Moscow could use its ally to launch a fresh ground offensive in Ukraine. Russia-Belarus begin joint military exercises, sparking fear in Kyiv of new offensive Russia and Belarus began joint military exercises on Monday, which have triggered fears in Kyiv and the West that Moscow ... Reuters 2h

What hegemon USA created, Russia is systematically annihilating. And there’s nothing that the empire of lies and its Western vassals can do to change the course of history. In challenging Russia militarily, they bit off more than they can chew and swallow. Russia is a preeminent military power, China heading in the same direction — while the US-dominated West is in decline. The battle to demilitarize and NeNazify Ukraine is proceeding as planned. Russia’s liberation of Soledar assures deNazification of Artyomovsk to follow. These triumphs hasten the end of Nazi occupation throughout Donbass, Zaporozhye, Kherson, Kharkov and demise of the...

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered an unusual New Year’s address to his people on Saturday pledging victory against the “neo-Nazis” of the West who are intent on “destroying Russia.”Putin kicked off his 9-minute speech by noting that the year 2022 “put a lot of things in their place – clearly separating courage and heroism from betrayal and cowardice.”“It was a year of difficult, necessary decisions, the most important steps toward gaining full sovereignty of Russia and powerful consolidation of our society,” the he said in regards to Russia’s conflict with Ukraine.(Add Closed Captions and Auto-translate to English in Settings tab)“For...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping vowed Friday to deepen their bilateral cooperation against the backdrop of Moscow’s 10-month war in Ukraine, which weathered another night of drone and rocket attacks following a large-scale missile bombardment. Putin and Xi made no direct mention of Ukraine in their opening remarks by videoconference, which were broadcast publicly, before going into private talks. But they hailed strengthening ties between Moscow and Beijing amid what they called “geopolitical tensions” and a “difficult international situation,” with Putin expressing his wish to extend military collaboration. “In the face of...

Attacks come just hours after the Kremlin rejected Zelensky's peace proposals . .....Air raid sirens rang out across Ukraine this morning as Russia unleashed around 120 missiles in a savage barrage which targeted the capital Kyiv and several other major cities. 'A massive air raid. More than 100 missiles in several waves,' presidential office adviser Oleksiy Arestovych wrote on Facebook, while another adviser Mykhailo Podolyak claimed more than 120 missiles had been fired at Ukraine. Mayors of the capital Kyiv, Ukraine's second city Kharkiv and the western city of Lviv all reported that Russian missiles had caused a series of...

Led by a respected former PM, and given a lot of resources by the Russian State, meet the Imperial Orthodox Palestine SocietyThe Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, a humanitarian NGO founded in Russia 140 years ago, now plays a key role in expanding Russian influence in the Middle East and beyond. As relations between Russia and the Western world plunge, Middle East and African countries engage in developing ties with Moscow. It is also quite remarkable that this rapprochement is based not so much on political foundations as on the common values and moral foundations. The Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS)...

Live Stream 5:00 p.m. ✈ Denys Davydov Telegram Channel: https://t.me/pilotblog

Russia Matters Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs AUTHOR Alex Vershinin U.S. Lt. Col. Alex Vershinin retired after 20 years of service, including eight years as an armor officer with four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and 12 years working as a modeling and simulations officer in NATO and U.S. Army concept development and experimentation. This included a tour with the U.S. Army Sustainment Battle Lab, where he led the experimentation scenario team. The Ukrainian Strategy The Ukrainians’ terrain-focused war of maneuver is constrained by two factors: limited artillery ammunition and equipment production, and coalition...

In January 2023, Kazakhstan will try to transport oil to Germany through the “Dostyk” pipeline as a test. This was stated in the press release of “Kazmunaigaz” company dated December 21. “The raw materials of KMG’s oil producing organizations are sent to domestic oil refineries to fulfill the obligations to deliver oil products to the domestic market of Kazakhstan. And the volume of KMG’s oil for export is delivered to a single system trader – KMG Trading, which first meets the needs of oil refineries of “KazMunayGas” in Romania. The rest of the oil for export will be sold under...

Russia’s only aircraft carrier caught fire on Thursday, only a matter of months before it was meant to return to sea after lengthy repairs.The Admiral Kuznetsov was close to being released back to the Russian navy after years of repairs when it caught fire, Alexei Rakhmanov, head of the state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), told Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency.“There has been a little problem during repairs,” Mr Rakhmanov said. “The blaze has been put out. All fire alarms worked normally. There are no casualties or damage.”About 20 people were evacuated from the ship that caught fire at the drydock...

ransomnote: The 6 minutes of the transcript shown below are key remarks by Colonel MacGregor. More of the transcript linked at the bottom. Full 25 minute video is here:Douglas Macgregor - The Bottom LineMy summary of this excerpt: Chairman of the U.S joints Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley says the chances of the Ukraine winning 'are not high'.Colonel MacGregor says Zelensky has been lying all alongand the MSM has reported what he says as truth. MacGregor says the Ukraine is doomed: depleted of soldiers, weapons, electricity, food, water etc. He says the Russians are well-equipped and prepared for major...

Okay, Jon Meacham, we're going to take up your invitation, and mock you, you shameless hack! On today's Morning Joe, discussing Ukrainian President Zelensky's visit to D.C. today, Meacham said: "I think President Biden has led with immense skill throughout this crisis. It's reminiscent of the senior President Bush during the first Gulf War, and then back to the great World War II leadership. And I say that without, people can mock that, perhaps, but David [Ignatius] can check me on it. Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

Ukrainian leaders have vowed to retake all territory occupied by Russia, prompting a debate over what would be necessary for Ukraine to win and evict Moscow’s forces. The answer is primarily military because Russia is only going to abandon its hard-won gains if its troops suffer catastrophic losses, military strategists say. Behind those talks about weapons and ammunition is a deeper political question as Ukraine’s battlefield fortunes rely heavily on the willingness of Western governments to continue their multibillion-dollar military assistance to Kyiv. And pushing Russian forces out of the entrenched positions they hold in more than 15% of Ukraine’s...

They never had a chance. Fumbling blindly through cratered farms, the troops from Russia’s 155th Naval Infantry Brigade had no maps, medical kits or working walkie-talkies, they said. Just a few weeks earlier, they had been factory workers and truck drivers, watching an endless showcase of supposed Russian military victories at home on state television before being drafted in September. One medic was a former barista who had never had any medical training. Now, they were piled onto the tops of overcrowded armored vehicles, lumbering through fallow autumn fields with Kalashnikov rifles from a half-century ago and virtually nothing to...

A man was arrested Sunday night after Nazi symbols were found carved into the base of a large menorah in Beverly Hills on the first night of Hanukkah. Officers responded to reports of a man vandalizing a menorah near Sunset Boulevard and Foothill Road, according to a statement released by the Beverly Hills Police Department. The suspect, Eric Brian King, of Dallas, Texas, was captured on surveillance cameras hurling objects at the menorah, police said, and is now under investigation for felony, vandalism and a hate crime.

Alexander: I think the most important news is in fact this interview in the Economist. Three people involved; Zelensky himself; he gave his own version of the events which is exactly the same as he always gives...and then the two military leaders, Zaluzhny, the overall military commander and Syrskyi who is the commander of the Ukrainian army. You read these things and it all looks like on that one hand on the surface that they have had a triumphant autumn. They have won a whole load of victories. They've regained territory, but it doesn't take much reading below the surface...

A particularly good discussion focusing heavily on Zaluzhny's shocking Economist interview. Ritter shares The Duran analysts views (as does Judge Napolitano) that I already posted a few hours ago though goes into it more thoroughly. He thinks that Zelensky is history and that General Zaluzhny will be the one negotiating the terminal settlement (and hopes to be the next Ukrainian president.) One of the most interesting points is why this interview was set up. Clearly Britain and the U.S. wanted these disclosures made at this time. Ritter believes it is because they want this settled before Russia can take Odessa...

Russia: Parolin Apologises for Francis’ Ill-Considered WordsRussian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on December 15 that Russia had received an apology from the Vatican's Secretary of State over Francis' comments against Chechens and Buryats (en)."This incident is settled," she said, after Francis's claim that Russian soldiers from these two nations where the "cruellest" fighters in Ukraine.

Pope Francis has urged Christians to spend less on Christmas and to send their savings to the people of Ukraine amid the war with Russia.The Pontiff addressed crowds gathered in the Vatican for his weekly General Audience.“There is so much suffering in Ukraine, so much, so much!” the Pope said. “I would like to draw some attention to the coming Christmas, even the parties,” he said.“It’s nice to celebrate Christmas, to have parties… but let’s lower the level of Christmas spending a bit,” he added.The Pope then suggested that the money saved on the commercial side of Christmas should be...