INTERNATIONAL UKRAINE ANTI-FASCIST SOLIDARITY

Bye-bye Kiev, hello Cote d’Azur: how Ukraine’s corrupt elites are profiting from the conflict By Olga Sukharevskaya, a former Ukrainian diplomat Since the beginning of Russia's military offensive in Ukraine, the US, EU, and their allies have provided Kiev with $126 billion worth of aid, a number almost equal to the country's entire GDP. Moreover, millions of Ukrainians have found refuge in the EU, where they were given housing, food, work permits, and emotional support. The scope is huge, even by Western standards. Considering that the bloc has been funding Kiev while coping with an economic and energy crisis of its own, the assistance is perhaps especially notable.      Kiev bases its endless funding requests on the collapse of its economy, due to the war, and its need to “resist Russian aggression.” But is the aid reaching its intended destination?      While Ukraine has undergone a general mobilization affecting all men under the age of 60, many former and current high-ranki

 The US propaganda machine is playing dirtier than ever in its information war against Russia By Vitaly Sovin After the publication of a recent story in the New York Times based on allegedly ‘declassified materials’ from US intelligence agencies about Russia’s ‘purchase’ of millions of artillery shells and missiles from North Korea for use in Ukraine, something went awry.      Against the backdrop of statements from representatives of the State Department and the Department of Defense, who did not provide any factual information, John Kirby, the US National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, walked it back. He conceded that there were no indications that the arms purchase had actually occurred yet, or that any North Korean munitions had made it onto the battlefield in Ukraine. The narrative, however, serves a number of purposes: Highlighting the “serious logistical problems” for Russia and its local allies in the context of the military operation in Ukraine;

Ukraine has upped the ante in its conflict with Russia, how will Moscow respond? By Sergey Poletaev After Russia and its local allies liberated Severodonetsk and Lisichansk in early July, the fighting in Ukraine subsided somewhat. It seemed as if Moscow was deliberately letting the conflict settle into something with an air of the routine. Relatively little resources were being spent on it, while the state apparatus was working to overcome the effects of sanctions and to adapt the economy.     During this time, the military operation was taking place in a kind of ‘standby mode’ against the background of turbulence in the global economy and the deepening energy crisis in Europe.     However, in late summer and early autumn, events on the Ukrainian front called into question the prospects for such a frozen state. As we had anticipated, the operational pause on the part of the Russian army led to the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) seizing the initiative and eventually launching two counter-

  Six months into the conflict, what exactly does Russia hope to achieve in Ukraine? by Dmitry Trenin  Putin’s latest comments reveal that Moscow’s thinking has shifted and compromise is no longer on the agenda.      Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to Ukraine as an “anti-Russian enclave” which has to be removed. He also said that the Russian soldiers taking part in the military operation there were fighting for their “own country.” These statements carry important implications.      Over the last six-plus months, the mantra of the Russian officialdom has been that all aims of the offensive will be reached. On purpose, however, the specific objectives, such as how far Moscow’s forces plan move into Ukraine, have never been spelled out. This cannot but raise speculation about what the Kremlin is actually hoping to achieve.      The only person who can authoritatively answer that question, however, is the President, and second-guessing him makes no sense. Yet, two thi

 As the tide turns in Ukraine, is the US preparing to throw Zelensky under the bus? With Kiev’s defenses unraveling, the narrative surrounding the country’s leader has suddenly changed in Western media By Glenn Diesen Professor at the University of South-Eastern Norway and an editor at the Russia in Global Affairs journal In a display of support, the US has protected Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky from any criticism ever since Russia attacked Ukraine in February. As it becomes evident the war has been lost, someone will have to take the fall, and it appears that Washington is preparing to throw the leader in Kiev to the wolves. The beginning of the end The US proxy war against Russia was beneficial for Washington as long as there was a stalemate that was draining Moscow’s military, economic and human resources, even threatening to demote Russia from the rank of a great power. For example, Congressman Dan Crenshaw justified his support for the process by arguing that “investing

Kiev is routinely using schools and hospitals as military bases, the rights group says Ukrainian forces appear to have a pattern of placing troops and military vehicles in residential areas, including using hospitals as de facto military bases, Amnesty said on Thursday. Such actions violate international humanitarian law and put civilian lives at risk, the human rights NGO said.      The accusation is based on research that Amnesty conducted between April and July in the east of Ukraine. In 19 towns and villages, it found evidence that Ukrainian forces launched strikes from within residential areas. In several cases they were targeted by retaliatory Russian attacks, some of which killed civilians, the report said.      In 22 out of the 29 schools visited by Amnesty they said they found evidence of current or prior military activity. In five locations they witnessed Ukrainian troops using hospitals as bases, which was “a clear violation of international humanitarian law.”      Most resi

By Fyodor Lukyanov  Editor-in-chief of Russia in Global Affairs , Chair of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, and research director of the Valdai International Discussion Club  The West has failed to get the rest of the world on board to support its confrontation with Russia.  The US-led bloc no longer offers the only viable model for development, which means its ability to impose its will is fading      The recent festival of big Western politics – which began with a meeting of the European Council, continued with the G7 Summit, and ended with a major NATO gathering – provides plenty of food for thought about the fate of the world.      On the surface, what we have seen is impressive: The West is showing unprecedented unity in the face of the Russian campaign in Ukraine.      America has gathered almost all of its allies. Right now, from Australia to Norway, from Singapore to Portugal, and from Japan to Iceland, the agenda is the same – to prevent the success

The whole territory of the Lugansk People’s Republic has been wrested from Ukrainian control, Moscow says. The last remnants of Ukrainian forces have been driven out of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced on Sunday. He reported the news to President Vladimir Putin, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. Shoigu said Russian troops and Donbass forces had completely seized Lisichansk, the last major city which had remained under Ukrainian control since 2014, when the LPR declared its independence shortly after a coup in Kiev. Russia and Ukraine reported heavy fighting around Lisichansk earlier this week, with the most fierce combat occurring at the city’s oil refinery. News of the capture of Lisichansk comes after Ukrainian troops retreated from Severodonetsk, a nearby city on the opposite side of the Seversky Donets River, last week. The fighting for Severodonetsk had lasted for several months. Russia sent troops into Ukraine on Februa

By Dmitry Plotnikov The Ukrainian regiment adheres to its own brand of ‘National Idea,’ loosely modelled on Mussolini's Italy Despite the surrender of the Azov regiment at the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works during the fighting in Mariupol last month, the legend of this unit has turned out to be enduring. The Ukrainian command has already announced that new Azov special operations forces will be created in Kharkov and Kiev. At the same time, a partial rebranding has been carried out. A medieval heraldic symbol – a trident (the coat of arms of Ukraine) consisting of three swords – is now depicted on the chevron of the ‘new’ Azov in place of the stylized Wolfsangel (‘wolf's hook’) that has attracted so much criticism from not only Russia, but also the West and fellow Ukrainians. This condemnation is for good reason, as the symbol was used on the lapels of the SS’s Das Reich and Landstorm Nederland divisions, as well as the logo of the Dutch Nazi Party. The Azovites have rejected a

  The Dark Side Of The Ukrainian President  by Guy Mettan  Originally published on Voltairenet The Swiss MP and former editor-in-chief of the Tribune de Genève , Guy Mettan, paints a portrait of the acrobat who plays the role of president of Ukraine. He shows how this public entertainer became an ally of the Banderists and set up a dictatorship for them. “Héros de la liberté”, “Hero of Our Time”, “Der Unbeugsame”, “The Unlikely Ukrainian Hero Who Defied Putin and United the World”, “Zelensky, Ukraine in blood”: the Western media and leaders no longer know what superlatives to use to sing the praises of the Ukrainian president, so fascinated are they by the “amazing resilience” of the comedian miraculously transformed into a “warlord” and “saviour of democracy”. For the past three months, the Ukrainian head of state has been making the headlines, opening the news, inaugurating the Cannes Film Festival, haranguing parliaments, congratulating and admonishing his colleagues at the head of

by Evgeny Norin Much less than the heroic defenders they are made out to be, the extremist regiment’s many crimes are well documented Ukrainian propaganda has elevated the Azov Battalion’s protracted but ultimately doomed final stand in Mariupol to heroic proportions. Adding further pathos to this sentimental story were the desperate calls for help from the commanders of the units entrapped in the bowels of the Azovstal factory and the photogenic young wives of the besieged fighters pleading with Pope Francis at the Vatican. Yet, an observant eye could also wonder about the abundance of Nazi tattoos adorning the battalion’s POWs. The fighters of the Donetsk militia even came up with a joke about capturing “large numbers of pirates and electricians” in reference to the numerous individuals with the skull and crossbones and SS lightning bolts – the widely recognizable Totenkopf and Schutzstaffel symbols – emblazoned on their skin. Western media has been bending over backwards trying to e