RUNNING UPDATES ON THE CONFLICT IN UKRAINE - 20.02.2023
RUNNING UPDATES ON THE CONFLICT IN UKRAINE - 20.02.2023
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.
*** MOST OF OUR WORLD OPPOSES THE WAR MACHINE ***
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“Ukraine. What is the truth...?
Why won’t western media tell both sides…?”
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THE UNREPORTED ATROCITY IN LUGANSK, 2 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.
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Lead feature:
Alexander Mercouris: Biden Empty Handed in Kiev, Russia Advances Bakhmut; Borrell Begs Ammo; Leaders Shun West in Munich.
Judge Napolitano: Do you support American military involvement in Ukraine?
Biden and Zelenskiy walk in a clown show in Kyiv.
West tells Global South 'you can't be neutral' in Ukraine war: You are either with us, or against us.
THE DURAN: Biden visits Kiev, with Putin's permission.
Alex Christoforou: Estonia PM, Russia should be re-educated. Josep, EU 'urgent war mode.' Sean Penn, Superpower. U/1
Biden PR disaster trip to Ukraine. Merkel prank call. Reuters, Russia targets North Sea. U/2
DONETSK
Donetsk - A hit by Grad MLRS wounded 12 people and killed one civilian.
iEARL GREY: News From Russia.
Jeffery Sachs: First UKRAINE next TAIWAN.
Professor John J. Mearsheimer: QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
Rage Against the War Machine Rally.
Thousands of people gather in Washington to demand suspension of military aid to Ukraine.
Scott Ritter: Speech Against The War Machine.
Diane Sare addresses to Rage Against The War Machine Rally.
Seymour Hersh, Jeffrey Sachs & Noam Chomsky on Ukraine - What you won't hear in the media!
George Galloway: INTERVIEW: US diplomat SAMANTHA POWERS visited Budapest to suborn opposition.
Russia Today (RT) - News.
Scott Ritter: The Beginning of the End.
Col. Douglas Macgregor: Ukraine/Russia War Conflict.
Scott Ritter: Ukraine/Russia War! NATO & The West.
John Mearsheimer | SCARY TIMES Ahead...
The Duran: Reversing Brexit.
Judge Napolitano: WHO LOVES WAR? What's the job of the U.S. military?
Levan Gudadze: Biden in Ukraine, Bakhmut Retreat, Kyiv-NATO nuclear provocation, US vs China, Iran-nuclear program.
Morning Briefing of The Ministry of Defense of Russia (February 20, 2023)
HINDUSTAN TIMES
Putin bombs Ukraine's East as Biden appears in Kyiv; Russia reveals Bakhmut plan amid fighting.
Zelensky's 'World War' warning if India's neighbour helps Putin in Ukraine | Details:
Russia exposes Ukraine's 'brutality' to conceal its 'lie' about NATO nation fighters | Details:
Russia’s Bakhmut onslaught makes Ukrainian soldiers ‘beg’ for more weapons | Watch:
Europe confirms Putin's victory in Ukraine? 'War will be over unless...' | Details:
Putin's win in Donetsk inevitable? Zelensky admits, ‘Ukraine won't defend Bakhmut beyond…’
Putin scolds Macron over Ukraine 'duplicity'; Reminds him of Napoleon's fate after 'defeat' remark.
Putin's forces defeat Ukrainian troops in Kharkiv; Russia wins Gryanikovka battle | Details:
Russia gets support from NATO member; 'Sanctions have hit Europe, not Putin's war'.
Russia releases dramatic footage of aerial bombing on Ukrainian Army; Nine regions pounded in 24 hrs.
Europe ditches Ukraine over tanks? NATO nation's big admission; 'Our Armies Hollowed Out..'
Should Putin and Xi worry about U.S. military's 'Swarms-of-Swarms' drone system? New tech in making.
Life on the Donetsk frontline through the eyes of a little girl.
Ukrainian infantry advanced on Svatovo Kremennaya front but met by Russian artillery.
Belarusian Special Forces show their skills, ready to go to war with Russia in Ukraine.
Norway is Trembling with Fear┃Oslo is sure that Russia will avenge the Nord Stream Pipelines.
Jimmy Dore: Ukraine/Russia War Explained & Nordstream.
Ukraine News: Big Kabooms, War Crimes and Women in Combat.
REVOLUTION ROAD - MOATS Episode 214 with George Galloway.
George Galloway: The US spent millions of dollars shooting down $12 hobby balloons.
Useful Idiots Monday Mourning with Aaron Maté and Katie Halper.
Nuclear Weapons are no longer a deterrence.
China Calls US "HYSTERICAL" Over Balloon Panic | Breaking Points.
CGTN
U.S. blew up the Nord Stream pipeline for its own interests, says top investigative journalist.
The Point: China at Munich Security Conference.
Protester interrupts U.S. senator's speech: China is not our enemy.
ShanghaiEye魔都眼
Beijing: US has been 'pouring weapons' into Ukraine while China has always supported talks for peace.
'Not our war!' Hungarian PM Orban criticizes EU for prolonging conflict in Ukraine.
Beijing reveals what Wang Yi had to say to Blinken on sideline of Munich Security Conference.
Munich Security Conference concludes: 'Little talk about peace, lots of talk about sending weapons'.
Europe's Ongoing Energy Catastrophe JUST DEEPENED | Heading Towards DISASTER | Russia-Ukraine War.
America needs to start a war with China by 2025 | GUEST: Former U.S. Marine Brian Berletic.
Richard Medhurst: Is Assad the One Blocking Aid for Earthquake Victims in Syria?
Rachel Blevins: LIVE: Israel bombs earthquake-stricken, war-torn Syria.
Americans Have Nearly $1 Trillion in Credit Card Debt | Vantage with Palki Sharma.
This is a DISASTER and Biden’s response has made it worse | Redacted with Clayton Morris.
Sean Foo: The Economic War Just Got Crazier - Let’s Take Their Money!
Jeffery Sachs | EUROPE is DOOMED.
Mark Moss: What The Death of The US Dollar Looks Like | Nik Bhatia.
Liu Sivaya: UKRAINE IS NOT IRAQ: RUSSIA REBUILDS the territories of DONBAS that it considers its own.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
John J Mearsheimer: The Great Delusion
Article from Russia Today (RT) - 20th February 2023:
Former presidential candidates rally against US ‘war machine’.
Speakers accused President Biden of pushing the world to the brink of nuclear holocaust.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Washington, DC for the ‘March Against the War Machine’ rally, with a number of prominent speakers from across the political spectrum calling on the US government to end its military support of Ukraine in favor of diplomacy, and slashing the Pentagon budget to address numerous domestic issues.
The anti-war event held at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday marked almost one year since the start of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, and featured a wide range of public figures, journalists and former politicians, including several US presidential hopefuls.
Former US Congresswoman and presidential candidate, Tulsi Gabbard, addressed the crowd of several hundred people with a reminder of what caused her to run in 2020, and how there was “no other candidate willing to talk about… the dangers where this new Cold War and nuclear arms race would eventually lead.”
“And so here we are. Two short years later what I warned about then is now a reality. This proxy that we are fighting against Russia right now could turn at any moment into a direct conflict between the United States/NATO and Russia,” she said, warning that “anyone with a little bit of common sense” knows that a Cold War can at any moment turn into a hot war against a nuclear-armed country.”
“And here is the insanity of it all: we have talking heads on TV, we have politicians, we have very powerful people here in the United States and all around the world speaking with a straight face… about ‘how we gonna fight and win’… as if such a war could ever be won. It cannot be won,” she stated.
“Whether intentional or accidental, there is only one destination for such war, and that is a nuclear holocaust.”
Former Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein called for slashing the Pentagon’s enormous budget, arguing in her speech that even the “$100 billion we are spending to support war in Ukraine” could help mitigate a whole range of domestic problems.
“This murderous military spending consumes resources desperately needed here at home: by 70,000 people who die each year for lack of health insurance; for a half million homeless people on any given night out in the street; for 33 million marred in student debt; a 100 million in medical debt, 22 million impoverished children and on and on..”
Former Congressman, Dennis Kucinich, who fought for the Democratic nomination in 2004 and 2008, cited a bombshell report by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh to demand accountability from the US government.
“In blowing up the Nord Stream pipeline, this government… has used illegal and unconstitutional means to destroy the energy resources needed to protect millions of people in Europe during the winter, and then to profit from its illegal actions by selling energy to Europe at a four to six times markup,” Kucinich said.
“We know what each of you did… we will not rest until you are held accountable by Congress, by the International Criminal Court, and by the American people at the next election.”
Kucinich added that the US government’s “greatest talent is to craft misinformation and disinformation to subvert the media and misuse it as an instrument to incite fear and hatred among our people, exciting partisan divisions at home through cross-politics, and stirring ancient hatreds abroad through lies, deceit, false flag operations and provocations which profane the very essence of democracy.”
MAPPING/ANALYSIS CHANNELS
* Updates will be added here as and when they become available.
LATEST UPDATE FROM DIMA OF THE MILITARY SUMMARY CHANNEL (85.7k subscribers):
Ukraine. Military Summary And Analysis 2023.02.20
KEEP IT SECRET NEWS CHANNEL (1.51k subscribers):
Russian Ukrainian War, Rybar Map, Analysis and Events for February 18-19, 2023.
'NWE WAR REPORTS' (30.2k subscribers):
No update posted so far today
LATEST UPDATE FROM DEFENSE POLITICS ASIA (55.5k subscribers):
[ Bakhmut Front ] Russia encircling Berkhivka & Yahidne in 1 move; Wagner racing toward Khromove road.
LATEST UPDATE FROM 'DPA War’ (22.8k subscribers):
[ Kupyansk Front ] Russian forces captured Hryanykivka, confirmed by Russia MoD; advancing southward.
[ Vuhledar Front ] Ukraine wiped out Russian forces from Vuhledar area, fighting in Mykilske dachas.
LATEST UPDATE BY THETI MAPPING (21.5k subscribers):
No update posted so far today
LATEST UPDATE FROM ‘WAR IN UKRAINE’ (35.6k subscribers):
No update posted so far today
LATEST UPDATE BY ‘BALKAN MAPPING’ (135k subscribers):
Ukraine [20 Feb 2023] 'Today' -Biden in Ukraine.
LATEST UPDATE BY THE ‘MILITARY AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS NETWORK’ (57.2k subscribers):
Russian Air Defense vs NATO.
Battlefield Ukraine Fire Storm.
LATEST UPDATE FROM ‘RYBAR’:
❗️🇷🇺🇺🇦🎞 Rybar Daily Digest of the Special Military Operation: February 18-19, 2023.
LATEST UPDATE FROM ‘M MAPPING’ (4.42k subscribers):
No update posted so far today
LATEST UPDATE FROM WEEB UNION (60.8k subscribers):
Quick Update 20/02/23 | Successful Ukrainian Counterattack on the Vuhledar Front.
Bakhmut Front Update 20/02/23
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.
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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:
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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
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THE WRECKING BALL POLICY OF THE WESTERN WORLD
In the days after 9/11 the highest echelons of the U.S. state met to discuss the way forward in light of the catastrophe that had befallen their nation.
The agreement arrived at was that no other pathway could produce the required result but they one they had fatefully decided upon.
Fundamental principles adhered to, to a greater or lesser degree for a generation, were required now to be abandoned.
Concepts such as the supremacy of the concept of competition, the inclination for diplomacy to be the desired method to resolve geopolitical disputes, the level of truthfulness to be high where possible to build trust and co-operation as a means of furthering U.S. goals... all of these were to be abandoned and replaced by a constant determination to use ‘all means possible’ to undermine those now designated as targets.
What caused this fundamental shift in approach? Why had confidence been lost to such an extent that future destruction rather than further construction had been chosen?
Two events. One extremely sudden, the other taking place over a much longer but inexorable time scale.
The first of course was 9/11 which eventuated in a dramatic change of policy which saw regime change take centre stage in the USA’s foreign policy agenda.
The second was the rise of China and the clear unwillingness (by 2007) of Russia to agree to the concept of the USA and its allies becoming a combined world hegemon.
We all know what occurred in regard to the first event.
Regarding the second we have seen the tactic deployed against Russia, pushing it ever further into a corner which it has now exploded out of.
However, this leaves the rise of China as the most insistent danger to the USA’s goal (along with its allies) to achieve full universal oversight and ability to act at will against threats regarding the entire planet.
China, with its stupendous rise in economic success and attendant influence posed a direct threat to the incontrovertible goal of the USA to move ever closer to its de facto goal of becoming the world’s jailer, judge and executioner where deemed necessary. Post 9/11 no potential threats were to be countenanced, nothing even remotely threatening to the goal of ‘full spectrum dominance’ was to be ignored any longer.
The ‘Wrecking Ball’ policy was at this point adopted as the only viable tool considering that Russia and China were so far down the path toward facing down this new and urgent goal the USA set for itself after the eleventh of September 2001.
Diplomacy would no longer be conducted as before if it was to be conducted at all. Deception would be incorporated within the semblance of what others would call diplomacy but which would now be only a fig-leaf to cover war by other means.
Every single statement or move made would incorporate the innate goal to undermine the individual, corporation, nation of any other entity deemed a target for destruction. Building trust would only be incorporated when dealing with allies of the USA and only then to a limited degree where confidence allowed. To all others a wide-ranging facade of deception and modes of trust betrayal would be applied to undermine, weaken and destroy them.
All was to be predicted upon destruction of the status quo which had eventuated in 9/11. That status quo could no longer be contemplated. This was at the core of the new ‘Wrecking Ball’ policy which we have seen wielded from September 11th 2001 to this day.
In recent times the visit of Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan exemplifies the way the wrecking ball policy works. Far from seeking to ameliorate tensions the wrecking ball policy aims to exacerbate them. In respect of Taiwan the goal is to provoke China into responses which can be used to make further provocations and propaganda even more effective. China is to be portrayed in even more strident terms as an aggressive and dangerous nation and a grave threat to others in the region.
China is to be goaded into reflecting the propaganda image that has already been built up into a sometimes very convincing facade with which to scare and influence others and drive them into the arms of the USA and NATO, or at the very least make them doubt the wisdom of doing business with China.
Just as Russia was goaded for eight long years since 2014 with the willing connivance of western mainstream media in regard to Ukraine, so China too will now be on the receiving end of this same policy. The goals are several but all subservient to the accomplishment of the final and unquestioned outcome, the world rendered safe and secure for the USA and its allies.
The preliminary goals to eventually achieve the above end consist of using every possible tactic and technique to undermine all aspects of success (economic, political, social etc. etc.) of target individuals, corporate entities and entire nations. Mistrust is to be fostered, doubt spread, allegations repeated, rhetoric toughened, betrayal and deception made order of the day and all coordinated across allies for maximum effect.
For the USA and its allies all this is imperative to maintain what they conceive of as their benign guardianship of the planet having set in motion a self-sustaining belief in their own exceptionalism and superiority. This is the most charitable rendering of the situation at least. This gives those in charge the benefit of the doubt regarding motivation. Being less charitable this can be seen as those who are long used to being in charge and able to manipulate most things to their advantage now cynically attempting to act in every possible way, criminal or otherwise, to undermine their “enemies” to obtain what amounts to a global dictatorship.
Whichever description most accurately fits the situation I leave to others to decide.
However, whichever is more true, both in essence comprise what can only be described as the ‘Wrecking Ball Policy’ as adopted by the western world.
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