RUNNING UPDATES ON THE CONFLICT IN UKRAINE - 18.05.2023
RUNNING UPDATES ON THE CONFLICT IN UKRAINE - 18.05.2023
Including geopolitical issues affecting the balance of power in the ongoing end game war to establish our common future, a closely monitored prison planet or tolerance for diverse modes of governance.
THE ROAD TO THE ULTIMATE CONCLUSION OF WORLD WAR III RUNS THROUGH HERE.
Please note: We will be in various locations in Southern India for the next seven days. This will result in variations to the timing of updates and quite possibly their total absence on certain days.
*** WHO WILL DELIVER THE FINAL BLOW IN THE UKRAINE WAR? ***
…………
“Ukraine. What is the truth...?
Why won’t western media tell both sides…?”
***
VIRTUALLY UNREPORTED ATROCITY IN LUGANSK, 2nd JUNE 2014
A lot has been said about atrocities in the western media claimed to have been perpetrated by the Russians, for example at Bucha and Mariupol among others. These assertions are conveyed on the say so of the Ukrainian authorities. How willing though are western news broadcasters to convey atrocities attributed to the Ukrainians? The following will I think provide the answer.
If anyone wonders if they are receiving accurate coverage of the conflict in Ukraine I would suggest watching the video below of an event which occurred on the 2nd of June 2014 and ask themselves if they recall hearing about it on any mainstream media news channel at the time.
The video is harrowing to watch. The bodies (five women and three men) are real. Yet across western media there was only one single news report that occurred a day later. This was from CNN and occurred only because a CNN team happened to be nearby at the time of the atrocity and so the network could hardly ignore it as all others so obviously did.
The video below shows the unvarnished truth that was not considered newsworthy in western mainstream news.
THE SINGLE WESTERN MSM REPORT ON THE LUGANSK ATROCITY, 3rd JUNE 2014
The video at the CNN link below is the crime scene sanitised by CNN, though played straight with honest reporting on the scene not playing things to Kiev’s tune.
(There was a time early in the war in the Donbass when CNN were not afraid to contradict the Ukrainian regime in Kiev.) Watch because it's the first and last time you will see this.
5 women and 3 men died, all civilians.
Air attack on pro-Russian separatists in Luhansk kills 8, stuns residents.
…………
Lead feature:
ALEXANDER MERCOURIS of THE DURAN
Bakhmut Defences Disintegrate, US Confirms Patriot Strike: 7 Storm Shadows Downed; India-Rus Trade.
ALEX CHRISTOFOROU of THE DURAN
Borrell warns India. CNN, Patriot damaged. Elensky, Kinzhal 6 for 6. Hersh, Poland wants peace. U/1
THE DURAN
Summer proxy war escalation w/ Levan Gudadze (Live).
30 Patriot missiles in 2 minutes. Zelensky returns to Kiev.
The Durham Report and coverup. Where is Professor Mifsud?
BRIAN BERLETIC of THE NEW ATLAS
Russian Kinzhal Missile Strikes US Patriot System in Kiev + the Fundamental Disadvantage West Faces.
RACHEL BLEVINS
LIVE: G7 Summit to Focus on Russia & China, Syria Returns to Arab League.
FIRSTPOST
LIVE: Russia's Foreign Ministry Briefs on Strikes in Ukraine, Western "Spy Activity".
Iran, Russia Ink Deal for Suez Canal Rival | Pakistan’s Deadline for Imran Khan.
GARLAND NIXON - HARPAL BRAR
RUSSIA AND INDIA.
COLONEL DOUGLAS MACGREGOR
Talks W/ Clayton Morris Ukraine/Russia SMO.
SCOTT RITTER
Putin orders defensive lines to be held at all costs.
Escalating US-Russia Tensions: Viktor Bout Speaks Out.
Russia on high alert: Putin declares martial law.
AMIT SENGUPTA
Kinzhal damaged US Patriot system | Storm Shadow Missile | Russia Ukraine conflict update.
JUDGE ANDREW NAPOLITANO - TONY SHAFFER (EX-CIA)
Ukraine, CIA and Russia.
SCOTT RITTER IN RUSSIA
Ep. 68: Ask the Inspector (Live from Volgograd).
GEORGE GALLOWAY
PACK OF LIES - MOATS Episode 239.
HINDUSTAN TIMES
Putin to arm Russian forces with S-80FP 'wall-piercing' rockets amid Ukraine war | Details:
West 'snubs' Zelensky; Here's why G7 won't sanction Russian Gas after Oil | Report:
Putin 'bullies' NATO Nation; Finland cries foul as Russia freezes bank accounts of Embassy.
NATO Nations invite Putin's wrath; UK, Netherlands to procure F-16 jets for Ukraine | Details:
Allies want Zelensky to resign to 'save' Ukraine; American journalist makes sensational claim.
JUDGE ANDREW NAPOLITANO - JUDGING FREEDOM
Durham Report post-op/ Gun Rights Around the U.S.
ShanghaiEye魔都眼
Russian Duma approves withdrawal from key Cold War-era security deal on conventional forces.
Russia monitoring situation as CIA openly recruits spies in Russia with promo video.
Russia claims it destroyed Ukraine's US-built Patriot air defense system; Kyiv: 'no comment'.
TELETRUTH
American Patriot system in Kiev blown up by Kinzhal missile.
The fighters of the Wagner group practically cleared the western quarters of Artemovsk (Bakhmut).
SERGEY LAVROV
The current German leadership has largely inherited Nazi genes.
SCHILLER INSTITUTE
Will the U.S. Join the Global Majority?
JACKSON HINKLE
Syria DEFEATS Western Imperialists.
HistoryLegends
These American “Experts” Want WW3 So Bad.
BREAKING POINTS
EXCLUSIVE: RFK Jr On Covid, Ukraine, Border, Nuclear Power And MORE.
EXPOSED: Pentagon Opens New PROPAGANDA Office.
SEYMOUR HERSH
🧠 The Chessmaster: The Strategic Mind of Vladimir Putin. 💪
JACKSON HINKLE
Ukraine LAUGHABLY Claims They Shot Down HYPERSONIC Missiles.
TFIGlobal
#TheGlobalGame : Volodymyr Zelensky and Yevgeny Prigozhin decide to take it to the next level.
FIRSTPOST
EU to Cut Indian Fuel Imports? | India Takes on Brussels Over Russian Oil.
REDACTED
“This is Obstruction of Justice” ENTIRE Hunter Biden Investigation Team Canceled | Redacted News.
SYRIANA ANALYSIS
Germany's Annalena Baerbock WARNS Saudi Arabia against Syria normalization.
THROUGH THE EYES OF...
ABOUT KATYN, WOLYN, POLAND, UKRAINE AND RUSSIA W/ ANDREI MARTYANOV (@smoothieX12 ).
NEIL OLIVER
‘…we’ve come to a dangerous fork in the road!’
REPORTS ON CHINA
LIZ TRUSS IN TAIWAN: "LISTEN TO ME!"
USEFULIDIOTS
CIA Agent Reveals Trump Feared CIA Would Kill Him like Kennedy.
FIRSTPOST
LIVE | US Bank Collapse: Former Officials of Failed SVB, Signature Bank Face Heat in US.
LIU SIVAYA
MASSIVE ATTACKS IN UKRAINE: Russia destroys a Patriot anti-missile and disables another | liusivaya. (In Spanish.)
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
PROFESSOR JOHN J MEARSHEIMER: THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNATIONAL ORDER
Article published by Russia Today (RT) - 18th May 2023:
Wall-piercing Russian rocket slated for Ukraine battlefield – producer.
The recently developed S-8OFP unguided air-launched projectile is touted as offering a greater payload.
A new Russian air-launched rocket with increased range and firepower has gone into serial production and could be deployed in action against Ukraine this year, its manufacturer has reported.
The deputy director of defense producer Tekhmash, Aleksandr Kochkin, shared the news about the S-8OFP with RIA Novosti on the sidelines of a military exhibition in Belarus on Wednesday.
The rocket, which is nicknamed ‘Broneboyshchik’ (armor piercer), is the latest addition to the S-8 family of unguided projectiles meant for aerial platforms, including close air support planes and helicopters. According to Tekhmash, the weapon’s main feature is a new engine that uses a more powerful propellant.
This has allowed the propulsion part of the rocket to be reduced, providing engineers with a greater payload allowance. The rocket is tipped with a new warhead designed to penetrate walls and other obstacles, if necessary, before detonating. Previous versions had other types of payload, from regular high explosives to flechette antipersonnel projectiles.
Open-source data states that an S-8OFP can deliver its 9kg warhead to a target up to 6km away. Like the rest of the rocket family, the projectile has a caliber of 80mm and is compatible with standard 20-tube and seven-tube launchers used by Russian military aircraft.
The Russian Defense Ministry released footage in 2018 of S-8OFP deployments from a helicopter during trials. The following year, Tekhmash reported that the weapon had successfully completed tests and was cleared for service.
Kochkin spoke to RIA Novosti in Minsk, which is hosting the four-day MILEX-2023 expo this week. He also reported that his company, which is a subsidiary of Russian military conglomerate Rostec, had boosted production of projectiles for multiple rocket launch systems by 20 times compared to last year. Mass production of time-tested weapons is currently a priority for the firm, he noted.
MAPPING/ANALYSIS CHANNELS
* Updates will be added here as and when they become available.
MILITARY SUMMARY UPDATE
The Donbass Zugzwang | The Last Square Meters Of Bakhmut. Military Summary And Analysis 2023.05.17
NWE WAR REPORTS UPDATE
Russia Cut VITAL Bakhmut Intersection.
DEFENSE POLITICS ASIA UPDATE
UKRAINIAN KYIV PATRIOT BATTERY: 1 Destroyed, 1 Damaged, 1 Unharmed (wasnt used); at Zhulyany Airport.
DPA WAR UPDATE
No update posted so far today
THETI MAPPING UPDATE
No update posted so far today
BALKAN MAPPING UPDATE
Bakhmut Front Update [17 May 2023].
FREE RUSSIA UPDATE
No update posted so far today
THE RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE UPDATE
No update posted so far today
PROJECT GREAT UPDATE
No update posted so far today
MILITARY AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS UPDATE
Battlefield Ukraine Russian Missiles Strike Patriot.
RYBAR UPDATE
Rybar military highlights of special military operation in Ukraine 17.05.2023
M MAPPING UPDATE
No update posted so far today
HISTORY OF MAKUS UPDATE
No update posted so far today
WEEB UNION UPDATE
Bakhmut Endgame | Major Wagner Advances | Bakhmut Front Update 18/05/23.
Detailed situation reports can be found on a daily basis concerning events in Ukraine over the past 24 hours at the ‘A SKEPTIC’ Substack account:
Link to 'A SKEPTIC' Substack channel.
***
SUPPORTING SCOTT RITTER
I've been listening to Scott Ritter describe how things are for him and I suspect have been for him for quite some time now.
He has been doing a LOT of unpaid work with a great many interview requests coming in that he has been ready and willing to agree to. But the work where receives some pay for have suffered due to this, being left until the wee small hours of the night to complete work on.
Scott, I think you will agree, has been one of the most influential voices out there on Russia and Ukraine.
I was moved by Scott's words to take an annual subscription to his Substack account that he runs in coordination with his colleague on 'U.S. Tour of Duty', Jeff Norman. This is the main way that Scott recommends to help him with finances with which to upgrade his delivery of comment on Russia and Ukraine, via a better microphone etc. and perhaps the creation of a recording studio in his basement to create a more professional and impressive look. To invest in these things he would like to be sure that this has a viable financial future.
Would you also like to help by subscribing at one of the various levels to Scott's Substack account? I hope so. If so the link is here:
Below you'll find the edited part of the video where Scott talks of his commitments to get the facts out on events in Ukraine and of the finances that would come in handy to enhance their delivery:
***
VICTORY BELONGS TO RUSSIA: IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME
Each day that passes makes a conclusive Russian victory in the Donbass and beyond more certain. As Russia bolsters her forces, and weaponry, those of Ukraine decrease. Russian forces gain ready access to rest and recuperation as troop numbers increase. The increasingly exhausted and demoralised Ukrainian troops have an ever decreasing prospect of such respite. This situation is likely to bring them to complete breakdown as Russia unleashes the firepower of the more modern and advanced weaponry that is arriving with the newly mobilised Russian troops.
The various Ukrainian offensives are now weak when confronted by the reinforced Russian lines. A few futile efforts achieve quite miserable results before fire reigns down on the Ukrainian troops and they are forced back to their starting positions.
And now, all this being said, we have arrived at the wet, and later, freezing conditions where these pathetic Ukrainian forces will be subject to myriad forms of abject misery with death and injury all around them while they lie sodden or frozen, abandoned to their fate by Kiev.
The pitiable young and old of Ukraine have been frogmarched to their deaths as cannon-fodder while the bestial elites of the collective West urge their "president" to add more to their number there at the gates of Hell and their doom. We must feel for the majority of them as they are not the Nazis we revile, in most part they are decent men, fathers, sons, brothers, husband and uncles, who no doubt saw through the coup of 2014 for what it was. But sadly, their fate seems sealed.
Nothing will stop Russia now. Every factor favours them. Victory will be Russia's. In Donbass and beyond and in due course across the world.
Victory belongs to Russia: It is now only a matter of time.
UPDATES TO BE ADDED HERE AS AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
UPDATES TO BE ADDED HERE AS AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS
WHO BEGAN THE CARNAGE IN UKRAINE, AND WHO WILL FINISH IT?
You may say this is an easy question to answer, that clearly Russia began it with its invasion of Ukraine on the 24th of February this year. However, if so I would ask you to hold that thought while we examine two historical and undisputed events.
The first is the carnage which took place on Kiev's Maidan Square through the winter period of 2013-14. This period was marked by extreme savagery and although it is very likely that the more psychopathic members of Ukraine's 'Berkut' special security force began it with unnecessary violence against the protesters of that time it soon developed into an all-out war where the preponderance of the violence was carried out by an influx of particularly violent extremists. At that point onward until the fall of both president and government anything that could be used as a weapon was, including the burning down of buildings, toxic sprays, heavy chains, clubs of all descriptions modified for maximum effect, Molotov Cocktails, hunting rifles and handguns.
While all this was going on various officials of the United States were on hand to lend support.
Ultimately, in a final outbreak of unconscionable violence a group from another nation arrived to effect a false flag event shooting down scores of protesters. This was the first instance of the violence which led us to where we are now in Ukraine.
The second outbreak followed soon after when the people of eastern Ukraine in the region known as the Donbass took matters into their own hands on seeing what had transpired in Kiev and began surrounding and taking over as many administration offices and functions as they could. You must understand that Ukraine is a nation divided in so many ways and almost literally in half, with one side speaking Ukrainian and looking west and the other speaking Russian and looking east. You may say this was a completely illegal thing to do. Those who did it would point to the recent events in Kiev and ask you if what happened there was legal? (The president and government who had been overthrown by a West-approved and supported insurrection/coup/example of people power - however you wish to name it, were both democratically elected.) At any rate, no one died during the takeover of all administrative functions in the Donetsk and Lugansk (Luhansk) regions of the Donbass.
So where does the violence which descended into carnage emerge from in this case? Previously we saw that the arrival of violent militias who took over from the earlier, relatively peaceful protesters did, so what happened to stimulate a violent confrontation leading to a great many more deaths this time?
It was a week or two later that the response came from Kiev to the appeals from those who had taken over in Donetsk and Lugansk for autonomy to run their own affairs. (The main areas of concern for them was to preserve their language (Russian), maintain their long-held affiliations and good relations with Russia (inter-marriage being very common among them) and to preserve also their entire culture which also included honouring the memory of the Soviet Red Army liberating the country from the Nazis. The extremist minority in western Ukraine, many of whom were and still are within the Ukrainian military held an opposing view, that Hitler and the Nazis had been beneficial to the Ukrainian nationalist cause. This prompted an extremely violent urge among many of them who considered their fellow Ukrainians in the east to be Russians, traitors to Ukraine and they gave them the pejorative, generalized name, 'Moskals'.
So, where did the violence emerge from? It emerged, as I say, about a week or two after the takeover of the administration of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Kiev sent a large military force, perhaps with the initial purpose to merely intimidate the leaders of the autonomy movement in the Donbass. However, with an incident or two of violence at the checkpoints they set up these sparks led to the fire of general violence which led to the mass shelling of the urban areas of Donetsk and Lugansk. The worst of this shelling took place in 2014 and 2015 when random mortar shells landed indiscriminately among the civilian population. Gradually what was termed a self-defence force formed, some of whom travelled from Russia and elsewhere around the world to deter the extremes of random violence they saw occurring.
Once the self-defence forces of Donetsk and Lugansk regions were fully formed and mounting a fierce resistance against the Ukrainian military and militias the heavy bombardments seen during 2014 and 2015 diminished greatly, though they have continued on a sporadic basis and continue to this day and presently to a greater extent somewhat mirroring the events of 2014/15.
So, in order to fairly judge who began the carnage in Ukraine I would ask you to bring into consideration these two earlier and linked events when attempting to answer the question of who began all this that we see occurring in Ukraine today.
Finally, there is the question of the threat of violence which was implicit in Kiev rejecting the Minsk Agreement peace and reconciliation process. Kiev essentially said Minsk was dead, that though it had promised to speak directly to the leaders of the two autonomy-seeking republics of Donetsk and Lugansk and though it had promised these regions would receive a special status where they would have a high degree of autonomy, it had decided it would not do either. The Ukrainian army had been added to consistently since the year before Russia's operation, military vehicles had been delivered in their hundreds and thousands to the borders of the two connected regions and official statements from Kiev gave ever indication that a military offensive against the two republics could not be far off. In addition Russian military intelligence caught wind of a definite plan to initiate such an offensive. Soon after Russia recognised the republics and soon after this mounted what it calls its 'special military offensive' on February 24th.
Scan back and forth from the winter of 2013, look into the kind of ultraviolence which took place on Kiev's Maidan, attempt to imagine how those in eastern Ukraine felt when those they had democratically elected to power were removed and think too of the manner of their removal. Consider what the people of eastern Ukraine were facing as they heard of a law to downgrade their language and replace it and all else they were hearing from those they knew very well meant them no good and only harm. Consider also if military force and violence was appropriate in dealing with a bloodless revolution to establish right of autonomy in these extraordinary circumstances.
After reading the above I hope you will be in a good position to finally decide who began the carnage in Ukraine.
The next question is who will end it.
The answer to this is becoming ever clearer as Russia makes its incremental attacks with ever more powerful intent to bring the conflict to a conclusion. Each step of the way Russia has offered talks to minimise the casualties. Russia never wanted this war and worked for the best part of a decade to bring the needful change in the Donbass to a peaceful conclusion through the Minsk process. The collective west however has pushed this war endlessly looking to weaken and ultimately break up the Russian state.
The patient, incremental approach by Russia is coming to an end now. This can be seen by the most recent attacks upon the infrastructure and military forces of Ukraine. These are becoming more powerful and will become more powerful still while the West continues to escalate the war, rejecting all offers of negotiation. In light of the western powers insisting on ever more war Russia shows every sign now of being about to deliver it.
