Tag: russia

Russia Warns US Will Face ‘Much Harsher’ Consequences for Backing Kursk Invasion

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Tuesday that the US would face “much harsher” consequences for backing Ukraine’s offensive in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.

“The impression is that our colleagues [in Washington] have discarded the remnants of common sense and believe that they can do anything,” Ryabkov said, according to TASS.

“The consequences [for the United States] could be much harsher than those they are already experiencing, they know where and in what areas we are reacting in practical terms,” Ryabkov added.

The US claims it was not involved in the planning of the Kursk offensive, but it has allowed Ukraine to use US-provided armored vehicles, missiles, and bombs in the attack on Russian territory.

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‘There is a risk of a nuclear incident at the Kursk nuclear power plant,’ warns IAEA, blames Ukraine for drone strikes on plant

As the expanding frontline inches within just a few kilometers of the Kursk nuclear power plant in Russia, there are fears there could be a major nuclear disaster.

“There is a risk of a nuclear incident at the Kursk nuclear power plant,” said Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), after visiting the facility in Kurchatov, in the Kursk region bordering Ukraine, on Tuesday.

He added that he had seen evidence of drone strikes during his visit to the plant.

“I was told today that there have been several cases of drone attacks on the site (the site of the Kursk nuclear power plant), on the facilities. The fact that there is fighting a few kilometers away from the nuclear power plant raises great concerns and anxiety about the security system,” Grossi added.

He stressed that under no circumstances should a nuclear power plant be the target of military action, nor should it be used by either side for military purposes. The director general also said that the security systems of a plant must be fully operational under all circumstances.

Grossi noted that the IAEA delegation was shown the traces of the Ukrainian attack on the Kursk nuclear power plant. Based on the evidence his team gathered, he said there could be no doubt that Ukraine carried out these strikes and where they came from.

Putin also announced on Thursday that Ukraine had attempted a drone strike on the Kursk nuclear power plant.

Grossi, who said that he had visited the reactor hall, the engine room, and the control room of an operating power plant unit — as well as the spent nuclear fuel storage — found that the Kursk plant was operating at what is very close to “normal” mode.

He stressed that the IAEA is responsible for maintaining nuclear safety and security in nuclear installations worldwide. He said that he had accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invitation to visit the Kursk nuclear power plant with his team to assess the situation personally and to find solutions together with his Russian counterparts. Earlier in the day, the IAEA director general was received by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

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US Containment Strategy Against Russia Failing Amid Emergence of Multipolar World

The United States faces economic and geopolitical challenges in successfully implementing the kind of containment strategy it successfully pursued during the Cold War.

Containment was the famous term for the United States’ foreign policy, chiefly in regard to Russia, from the late 1940s until the end of the Cold War. The geopolitical strategy was intended to counter Russia by preventing the spread of friendly communist governments around the world and seeking to roll back and replace such regimes where possible. By starving the newly formed Soviet Union of allies the US hoped to undermine Russia itself, defeating the ideological threat posed by its socioeconomic system.

The US and its Western partners have sought to pursue a similar strategy presently against the emergent counter-hegemonic bloc anchored by Russia, but with far less success, argues political science professor Nicolai Petro. Petro joined Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program Monday to address the issue, discussing his new piece The Folly of a New Containment.

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NATO’s Arctic Strategy Is an Overreaction  

In July, the U.S. Department of Defense released its first Arctic strategy guide since 2019. Washington’s concerns peaked when American and Canadian jets intercepted two Russian Tupolev TU-95 strategic bombers and two Chinese H-6 bombers operating in international airspace around 200 miles off the coast of Alaska. While the United States must ensure the security of its territory, including Alaska, overreacting and developing a militaristic hyperfocus on the Arctic, where U.S. interests are limited, would be a blunder. 

The Arctic strategy document highlights the threat of recent Sino-Russian collaboration in the Arctic, citing PLAN and Russian Navy ships operating together in international waters off the coast of Alaska in 2022 and 2023. Russia, which controls the largest swath of Arctic territory of any Arctic nation, has expanded and modernized its Arctic military infrastructure. The region is of great importance to Moscow, as Russia aims to defend its second-strike, sea-based nuclear deterrent capability operating out of the Kola Peninsula to defend the homeland and protect its regional economic endeavors, including oil and gas megaprojects like the Yamal LNG and Vostok Oil ventures. 

Meanwhile, China’s activities in the Arctic have been mainly economic in nature. In the 21st century, China has invested over $90 billion in Arctic energy and minerals sector projects. Beijing’s economic activity aligns with its 2018 Arctic Strategy, which mentions Beijing’s aim to gain more influence in its claim as an Arctic stakeholder. As the U.S. strategy guide mentions, the PRC seeks to promote the Arctic region as a “global commons,” a statement that Washington perceives as an opportunity for China to shift governance of the region in its favor. 

Neither the modernization of Soviet-era military bases nor PRC attempts to construct a Polar Silk Road constitutes enough of a threat to warrant making the Arctic the next battleground of great power competition. Yet the NATO alliance, with Finland and Sweden recently becoming full-fledged members, is determined to confront the perceived threat in the Arctic region.

Although NATO has historically lacked an official position on the Arctic, following the start of the Russo–Ukrainian war in 2022, the Arctic region has become a larger security focus for the alliance. With Finland and Sweden’s ascension to NATO, the alliance’s Arctic presence increased significantly and has been accompanied by large-scale military exercises, such as Nordic Response 2024, which involved 13 NATO countries and 20,000 troops. Moreover, NATO’s new Arctic posture includes enhancing surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, as well as improving interoperability among NATO member states.

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WWIII: Russia Continues Opening Investigations Into Foreign Journalists Who Kremlin Says Crossed Into Russia Illegally To Film Ukrainian Incursion

Russia’s FSB security service said it had launched a case against “foreign journalists Simone Traini and Stefania Battistini, who illegally crossed the State Border of the Russian Federation”, reported The Moscow Times.

It said the journalists had “carried out video shooting in the territory of the settlement of Sudzha”, a town in the region that Ukraine’s forces claim to control.

The Italian reporters were shown driving in an armored vehicle past Russian road signs before arriving in Sudzha, around 10 kilometers (six miles) from the border, where a journalist spoke to local people.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has launched investigations into two more journalists, one German and one Ukrainian, who traveled to the town of Sudzha after illegally crossing the Russian border in the Kursk Region, the FSB said in a statement, reported Russian state news agency TASS.

“The Russian FSB has launched criminal investigations into Nicholas Simon Connolly, a reporter for the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (designated in Russia as a foreign agent media outlet), and Natalya Nagornaya, a correspondent for the Ukrainian TV channel 1+1, who illegally crossed the state border of the Russian Federation and recorded video footage near the town of Sudzha in the Kursk Region. The FSB is conducting the investigations under Article 322.3 of the Russian Criminal Code,” the statement reads.

The article carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.

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Ukraine Might Be Gearing Up To Attack Or Cut Off Belarus’ Southeastern City Of Gomel

Its Foreign Ministry’s ominously implied ultimatum to Minsk and reaffirmation of Ukraine’s right to self-defense suggest that Kiev might invade Belarus’ Gomel Region and/or Russia’s Bryansk Region.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry released a statement on Sunday warning about what it described as the “threat” posed by Belarus’ military buildup along the border, the motivations of which were analyzed here in early August. Belarusian President Lukashenko also drew attention last week to the whopping 120,000 Ukrainian troops that he claims were the first to deploy there. For reference, Belarus only has around 65,000 active soldiers, one-third of whom are stationed along the Ukrainian border.

Less than a week ago, a small Ukrainian force unsuccessfully tried to invade a tiny village in Russia’s Bryansk Region that’s only 30 kilometers from the Belarusian border. It was likely a probing attempt in hindsight, but any Kursk-like invasion along that front could risk impeding or even cutting off Russia’s military logistics to Belarus’ southeastern city of Gomel. That’s because there’s a nearby highway running between there and Bryansk’s eponymous capital just 30-50 kilometers inside of Russia from the border.

Ukraine might be gearing up to either attack Gomel (which is just 30 kilometers from the border) or at least threaten Russia’s military logistics to there from Bryansk judging by its Foreign Ministry’s statement, which the “Kyiv Independent” noted was the first about Belarus since last September. They ominously implied an ultimatum by writing that “we urge its armed forces to cease unfriendly actions and withdraw forces away from Ukraine’s state border to a distance greater than the firing range of Belarus’ systems.”

This was backed up by them reminding Belarus that “We warn that in case of a violation of Ukraine’s state border by Belarus, our state will take all necessary measures to exercise the right to self-defense guaranteed by the UN Charter. Consequently, all troop concentrations, military facilities, and supply routes in Belarus will become legitimate targets for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.” The stage is therefore set for opening up another front on this false pretext if Kiev has the political will to do so.

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Ukrainian Commanders Blame Poorly Trained Soldiers for Donbas Losses: ‘Panic & Chaos’

As Kiev attempts to bask in triumph over its territorial gains inside of Russia, its forces are losing territory along the Eastern front lines in Ukraine. Ukrainian military commanders say the reason for the losses is poorly trained soldiers; many are even afraid to fire their weapons. 

Speaking with the Associated Press, a battalion commander in Ukraine’s 47th Brigade said, “Some people don’t want to shoot. They see the enemy in the firing position in trenches but don’t open fire. … That is why our men are dying. When they don’t use the weapon, they are ineffective.”

After pushing Kiev to forego a diplomatic settlement with Moscow in April 2022, Western leaders pledged that they would arm, equip, and train Ukrainian soldiers to fight off the Russian invaders.

However, two and a half years into the conflict, it has turned into a war of attrition, and Kiev’s backers are struggling to sustain Ukraine’s military amid massive losses. 

While Kiev has not made an official statement regarding its casualties, they are estimated to be well into the hundreds of thousands. Support for the war has also been dipped in Ukraine, leading Kiev to draft more Ukrainians, including increasingly younger citizens, into the military. 

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Ukraine attempted attack on Kurchatov nuclear power plant

“The primary goal of the Ukrainians was to seize the Kursk nuclear power plant to blackmail Russia. They failed and now they are trying to bomb him risking nuclear destruction over Europe” revealed Russian officials and the president of Russia himself who also informed the IAEA.

In more detail, Russian special forces commander “Akhmat” revealed to Russia Today Kiev’s failed plan to seize the nuclear power plant in Kursk province and use it as a bargaining chip against Moscow in possible peace negotiations.

In this way, it is supposed that Ukraine could … trade the area around the nuclear plant for some of the territory that the Russians completely control, possibly in Donbass, Kherson and Zaporizhia.

And if their… demands were not met, then they might threaten the entire Russian border province with even a nuclear disaster, betting that the Russians would not dare to hit them inside the nuclear power plant.

Chechen General Apty Alaudinov added that the actual number of Ukrainian and foreign well-trained commandos who stormed Kursk is over 11,000.

“The Ukrainians wanted to seize the Kursk nuclear power plant by August 11. Obviously they could not achieve their goal.

The Ukrainians deployed over 11,000 men. Most of the military equipment that the Ukrainians brought with them has already been destroyed. They have already wasted all the resources they had available.”

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Could It Be This Cynical?

Bear with me while I engage in a bit of speculation.

Since the NATO/Ukraine invasion of Russia, in the Kursk direction, began the hot question has been: Why? None of the usual suspects can make this move make sense. The Ukrainians are stripping their main defense lines in Donbass and sending their best trained and equipped reserves to die in a futile adventure of some sort—even as the Russians appear to be rolling up the Donbass frontline. Most agree that these invading forces in Kursk are doomed—Macgregor: ‘I don’t think they’ll make it [out of the meat grinder]’. The Ukrainian losses are already horrific, since they are operating without air cover and are increasingly cut off from support and resupply. Larry Johnson paints a grim picture:

The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that it has killed more than 4,400 Ukrainian and mercenary troops, destroyed 65 tanks and more than 400 armored and infantry fighting vehicles. It appears that some of the Russian forces in the area are using this as a training exercise — i.e., a live fire event for untested troops where they get to put their training into practice. The new units are fighting alongside and under the guidance of experienced forces, with the Chechens playing their typical gnarly role.

Big Serge has written a lengthy substack trying to figure this out: Back to the Bloodlands. He presents four theories of what’s behind this, but ultimately finds none of them persuasive: 1) The Atomic Hostage; 2) Diversionary Front; 3) Bargaining Chip; 4) Pure Spectacle. As I type I’m listening to Ray McGovern admitting that no one seems able to make sense of this. And yet …

Listening the other day to John Mearsheimer and Danny Davis, Davis cited several usually reliable sources to the effect that Ukraine is reported to have moved 1/3 of their entire army to the northern border for use in a full scale offensive into Russia. The latest claim is that this is to force Putin to negotiate from a position of weakness—an utterly implausible notion. But Ukraine is about to double down. Is this pure madness?

Here’s the one thing that all these commentators appear to agree on: NATO—which means the US—is behind this. Does that fact help us to understand what’s going on? Why would the US do this—push Ukraine to commit its best remaining forces to a suicidal venture that will only hasten the end? Will the US somehow derive some benefit from this deepening Ukraine tragedy?

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WWIII: Belarus Masses Troops/Equipment On Ukrainian Border As Russia Strikes Kyiv

Belarus is reportedly gathering a substantial number of troops and military equipment, including tanks, artillery, multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS), and aircraft near its border with Ukraine under the pretext of conducting military drills.

The troop concentration is notably near the city of Gomel, approximately 30 km from the Ukraine-Belarus border, reported Inkerman.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has warned Belarus against making any aggressive moves and emphasised that any violations of Ukraine’s state border would trigger self-defence measures.

A Russian missile strike on a hotel in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, killed Ryan Evans, a 40-year-old British safety adviser for Reuters, on 24 August 2024. Four Reuters journalists were injured in the attack and are currently receiving medical treatment, one with serious injuries.

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