Tag: ukraine

Report Shows How Military Industrial Complex Sets Media Narrative on Ukraine

Wealthy donors have long funded think tanks with official-sounding names that produce research that reflects the interests of those funders (Extra!, 7/13). The weapons industry is a major contributor to these idea factories; a recent report from the Quincy Institute (6/1/23) demonstrates just how much influence war profiteers have on the national discourse.

The Quincy Institute—whose own start-up funding came mainly from George Soros and Charles Koch—looked at 11 months of Ukraine War coverage in the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, from March 1, 2022, through January 31, 2023, and counted each time one of 33 leading think tanks was mentioned. Of the 15 think tanks most often mentioned in the coverage, only one—Human Rights Watch—does not take funding from Pentagon contractors. Quincy’s analysis found that the media were seven times more likely to cite think tanks with war industry ties than they were to cite think tanks without war industry ties.

With 157 mentions each, the top two think tanks were the Atlantic Council and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Both of these think tanks receive millions from the war industry. The Atlantic Council has long been the brain trust of NATO, the military organization whose expansion towards Russia’s borders was a critical factor in Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine. (See FAIR.org, 3/4/22.) Both think tanks receive hundreds of thousands of dollars from Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, companies which have already been awarded billions of dollars in Pentagon contracts as a result of the war in Ukraine.

CSIS was revealed in a New York Times expose (8/7/16) to produce content that reflected the weapons industry priorities of its funders.  It also “initiated meetings with Defense Department officials and congressional staff to push for the recommendations” of military funders.

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Biden Close To Approving Cluster Bombs, Banned In 120 Countries, For Ukraine

President Biden is said to be close to approving controversial cluster munitions for Ukraine. CNN on Friday cites administration sources to say he is “strongly considering” approval of the transfer. 

“Officials told CNN that a final decision is expected soon from the White House, and that if approved, the weapons could be included in a new military aid package to Ukraine as soon as next month,” the report says.

“These would undoubtedly have a significant battlefield impact,” a US official said to the outlet. CNN further acknowledges that “Cluster munitions, which the US has stockpiled in large numbers since phasing them out in 2016, could help fill that gap, officials said.”

The White House would likely receive significant support from bipartisan lawmakers in Congress, given that’s precisely where the initiative to supply Kiev with cluster munitions originated. 

In March a Republican letter to the president chastised the White House’s “reluctance to provide Ukraine the right type and amount of long-range fires and maneuver capability to create.”

That particular letter had been signed by influential, high-level GOP Congress members, including: Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mike McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mike Rogers the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

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Zelensky Says No Elections In Ukraine Until War Is Over

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told BBC last week that there will be no Ukrainian presidential election in 2024 if martial law is still in effect, The New Voice of Ukraine reported.

Zelensky’s five-year term is due to end in 2024, but his comments suggest that it will be extended indefinitely if the war isn’t over by then. He made similar comments about Ukraine’s parliamentary elections, which are due to be held in October of this year, in an interview with The Washington Post last month.

When asked if parliamentary elections will be held this fall, Zelensky said, “If we have martial law, we cannot have elections. The constitution prohibits any elections during martial law. If there is no martial law, then there will be.”

However, in the latest interview he “expressed hope that there would be peace in Ukraine next year, and life would be returning to normal.”

Ruslan Stefanchuk, the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, also said this month that elections can’t happen in Ukraine under martial law, which Zelensky declared when Russia invaded. “Ukrainian legislation stipulates it is impossible to hold any elections during martial law. And this makes sense,” he said.

Stefanchuk added that if elections happen, it could “lead to the rupture of the state, which our enemy is waiting for. That is why I think the most correct and wise decision is to hold elections immediately after the end of martial law.”

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US to send $500 million in weapons, military aid to Ukraine, officials say

The Pentagon will announce it is sending up to $500 million in military aid to Ukraine, including more than 50 heavily armored vehicles and an infusion of missiles for air defense systems, U.S. officials said Monday, as Ukrainian and Western leaders try to sort out the impact of the brief weekend insurrection in Russia.

The aid is aimed at bolstering Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which has been moving slowly in its early stages. It wasn’t clear Monday if Ukrainian forces will be able to take advantage of the disarray in the Russian ranks, in the aftermath of the short-lived rebellion by Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner mercenary group that he has controlled.

An announcement on the aid package is expected Tuesday. This would be the 41st time since the Russian invasion into Ukraine in February 2022 that the U.S. has provided military weapons and equipment through presidential drawdown authority. The program allows the Pentagon to quickly take items from its own stocks and deliver them to Ukraine.

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The real casualties of Russia’s ‘civil war’: the Beltway expert class

Numerous serious casualties were incurred during Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s supposed “coup.” The Grayzone offers an in-depth look at the massacre carried out by some of America’s top Russia experts against their own credibility.

When Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin launched a supposed revolt against Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 23, sending his forces on a march toward Moscow following a series of tirades against the country’s defense establishment, Washington’s expert class overflowed with an orgy of regime change fantasies. 

For just over 12 hours, everyone from former US ambassador to Russia and noted Hitler apologist Michael McFaul to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to neocon pundit Anne Applebaum exploded with seemingly libidinal excitement about a supposed “civil war” that was certain to feature “Russians…killing Russians,” along with “lots of casualties” and Putin “probably hiding somewhere.”

It was as though the Soviet Union was collapsing all over again, and Prigozhin, a character named on the FBI’s most wanted list whom the US government has sanctioned for leading what it described as a “transnational criminal organization,” was suddenly a white knight storming into Moscow to liberate Russia from “the Putin regime” on the back of a tank. Move over, Juan Guaido.

Expecting a bloodbath and seismic political upheaval, corporate networks like CNN had budgeted wall-to-wall coverage of the coup that wasn’t, filling cable news green rooms with rent-a-generals, K Street think tankers, and war-hungry former diplomatic corps hacks.

On the afternoon of June 24, however, news broke across the US that Prigozhin had struck a deal with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to end his protest and go into exile. Thus ended a largely bloodless affair that ultimately saw fewer documented deaths than the January 6 Capitol Riot.

Though the supposed revolt in Russia burned out faster than a Leopard tank on the way to Zaporizhzhia, we now know that a number of serious casualties were incurred inside the DC Beltway. The Grayzone obtained an exclusive look at the massacre some of America’s top Russia experts carried out against their own credibility.

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Wagner’s March on Moscow Halted as Belarus’ Lukashenko Negotiates Stand Down with Prigozhin

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, one of the chief allies of Vladimir Putin, has reportedly brokered a deal with Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin to stop the paramilitary group’s advances towards Moscow.

Following negotiations that are said to have lasted the entire day, Aleksandr Lukashenko has claimed to have struck an agreement with the Wagner Private Military Company, Yevgeny Prigozhin, to stop his forces from marching on Moscow and work to “de-escalate tensions”, according to Belarussian state media BelTA.

The deal — which was reached as Wagner forces reportedly were within striking distance of the Russian capital — was struck as both the Belarussians and the Wagner leader agreed that it was “unacceptable to start a bloodbath in Russia’s territory.”

Lukashenko claimed that the two sides had come to an “absolutely advantageous and acceptable” way to end the situation, which will reportedly include safety guarantees for Wagner forces.

It remains to be seen, however, if any assurances were given personally to Prigozhin, who Russia’s Federal Security Service charged for allegedly orchestrating an “armed rebellion” against Moscow. Should Prigozhin not receive such assurances, the Belarussian-brokered deal may be short-lived.

Earlier in the day, Vladimir Putin called on Prigozhin to turn himself him and “answer” for his “betrayal” of the nation, statements that will likely be hard for the Russian leader to walk back without appearing weak, further complicating matters.

For his part, Prigozhin responded that Putin was “mistaken”, claiming that Wagner was not attempting a coup and that his band of mercenaries are “patriots” merely interested in “justice” for the alleged strikes against their forces in Ukraine by the Russian military top brass after Prigozhin refused to give up leadership of his private army to the Kremlin.

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Wagner Chief Attempts ‘Armed Insurrection’ in Russia: Kremlin

The head of Russia’s Wagner private military firm, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has claimed to have captured a military facility in the Russian city of Rostov, after the mercenary chief accused government forces of attacking his fighters in Ukraine. The Kremlin has denied the allegations, instead labeling the move an “armed insurrection.”

In a video shared on Prigozhin’s personal Telegram channel early on Saturday morning, he declared that his troops had taken Russia’s Southern Military District headquarters in Rostov, insisting there were “no problems” and that the base was “operating normally.”

“All that’s being done is we are taking control to ensure assault aviation does not conduct strikes on us, and instead on Ukrainians,” he said. “Military objects in Rostov are under control, including the airfield. Planes that leave for battle [in Ukraine] are leaving nominally.”

On Friday, Prigozhin claimed a Russian “missile attack” on a Wagner camp had left “many victims,” sharing footage purporting to depict the aftermath of the strike. While the video appears to show the body of one dead soldier and multiple small fires in a wooded area, it includes little direct evidence of an attack.

In another post, the Wagner head stated: “There are 25,000 of us and we are going to figure out why chaos is happening in the country,” suggesting he would advance on Rostov, a major city in Russia’s southwest. He argued his actions did not amount to a “military coup,” instead describing the move as a “march for justice.”

Prigozhin has led an increasingly public war of words with the Russian government and military, repeatedly accusing officials of declining to supply the ammunition and gear needed to capture the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut (known as Artyomovsk in Russia). The town finally fell in May, after months of brutal fighting.

Russian authorities have rejected Prigozhin’s charges outright, with the Defense Ministry stating they “do not correspond with reality” while deeming his claims an “informational provocation.” On Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s prosecutor general, Igor Krasnov, had launched criminal proceedings against Prigozhin for an “attempt to organize an armed insurrection.”

In a televised address, President Vladimir Putin later accused Prigozhin of a “betrayal of his country and people,” vowing to “react harshly” to the uprising.

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‘Dangerous Moment’: Zelensky Issues Nuclear Plant False Flag Warning As Counteroffensive Fails

Not for the first time thus far in the conflict, accusations of false flag events involving radioactive material are flying, after Ukraine’s President Zelensky accused Russia of plotting a “terrorist attack” on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which is to result in an intentional radiation leak, according to a Thursday video statement.

“Intelligence has received information that Russia is considering the scenario of a terrorist act at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – a terrorist act with radiation leakage,” he claimed. “Radiation has no state borders. Whomever it will hit is deterred only by the direction of the wind,” Zelensky added.

The Ukrainian leader further claimed to have evidence to back his assertions about the plot, but the Kremlin has blasted all of this as “another lie”. Russia has also stressed that an international team of UN-backed nuclear experts have been on-site observing safety protocol and proper operations.

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Zelensky Signs Bill Banning Russian Books

In the country’s latest blow to free speech, freedom of expression, and ethnic diversity, President Vladimir Zelensky announced Thursday he’s signed into effect a new law banning Russian books and publications in Ukraine. 

The law blocks any new Russian and Belarusian publications from being imported into the country. “I believe this law is the right decision,” Zelensky wrote of the measure.

But Ukraine has at the same time urged European authorities to fast-track the country into the EU, which could now be further complicated with this latest move.

Ukrainian national media itself has noted this will be a significant hindrance to future EU membership.

As The New Voice of Ukraine (republished by Yahoo) points out, “However, the new law has faced criticism and was vetoed by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for potentially violating certain provisions of the Ukrainian Constitution, and for not aligning with EU law.”

The publication added, “Nevertheless, a petition supporting the initiative gathered enough signatures to proceed.”

Russia’s RT has also picked up on the story, which is sure to drive further outrage among the Russian population, and in the Russian-speaking regions of eastern and southern Ukraine: 

The move comes after Ukrainian citizens registered an online petition on the official presidential website asking for the ban back in May. The petition reached the 25,000-vote threshold required for it to be formally considered by the head of state. 

The author of the petition noted that the Ukrainian parliament had already approved the law on June 19, 2022, but that Zelensky had never signed the bill. As a result, Russian books continued to be sold in Ukraine, which undermines “the information security of the state and the economic foundations of Ukrainian book publishing,” according to the petition.  

A key driving factor which unleashed civil war in the Donbas since 2014 in the first place was Kiev’s ongoing crackdown against Russian language and culture, impacting many millions of Ukrainians. 

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Russia Has Deployed Military Combat Dolphins to Crimea, Says UK Intelligence Digest

A bizarre Cold War throwback emerges as new intelligence claims Russia has deployed an “increased number” of military dolphins to its naval base in Crimea meant to attack human saboteurs.

Russia has been reinforcing its Black Sea naval base, says the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence (MOD), since the country launched another invasion of Ukrainian territory in 2022. While many of the defences deployed are conventional including nets and booms to catch torpedos, submarines, and surface ships, others are somewhat less so, including the deployment of military dolphins.

Satellite photos reveal, the MOD says, “a near doubling of floating mammal pens in the harbour” in recent weeks. These pens, they say are likely to be the home to bottle-nosed dolphins trained to “counter enemy divers”, in other words, to attack unauthorised visitors.

Discussing Russia’s earlier use of dolphins to protect its naval base in the Black Sea from enemy divers, King’s College London academic Professor Andy Lambert said last year: “Dolphins would be ideal for killing human divers … fast, clever, and powerful”. The report also notes that, unlike a warship, dolphins are not magnetic and don’t risk setting off proximity mines.

Russia has stationed its Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula for nearly 250 years, even after Crimea became a Ukrainian, post-Soviet territory at the end of the Cold War. Indeed, the return to prominence of military mammals in the Black Sea now has a Cold War flavour to it, as forces on both sides of the Iron Curtain attempted to train whales, dolphins, and seals to perform military tasks.

The MOD notes the Russian navy still uses beluga whales and seals in arctic waters to this day, and a suspected Russian-trained “spy whale” with a camera harness has been turning up in northern European ports in recent months. A 2016 report noting that Russia was seeking to buy five dolphins to reinvigorate its dolphin training programme also published the remarks of an ex-Soviet Colonel who witnessed the training of the animals by Russia during the Cold War.

Colonel Viktor Baranets said dolphins were trained to plant explosives on ships.

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