Tag: ukraine

FTX partnership with Ukraine is latest chapter in shady Western aid saga

The Ukrainian government mysteriously disappeared online records of its fundraising arrangement with the FTX crypto scam just days before the scandal erupted. The initiative claims to have raised $60 million for Ukraine, but where did the money go?

The demise of FTX, the fifth-biggest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume in 2022, and the second-largest by holdings, has sent a wave of chaos through global financial markets. 

As the turbulence grows, the government of Ukraine is conducting an ongoing cleanup and whitewashing operation to rid any and all references to a high-level cryptocurrency fundraising arrangement it struck with FTX from the web. Eerily, it seems to have commenced just days before the scandal erupted. 

Online records unearthed by The Grayzone claim tens of millions were raised by FTX for the Ukrainian government, and put to a variety of belligerent uses. But with the company now exposed as a Potemkin village lacking underlying assets, and major question marks hanging over whether its operations were from day one fraudulent top to bottom, where does that leave the supposedly successful donation scheme? Were those sums truly raised, and if so, to what purposes were they actually put?

FTX’s destruction resulted from a mass sell-off of the company’s native bitcoin token, FTT, by the rival exchange, Binance. Its value plummeted, prompting a three-day “run” on billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency, which in turn created – or exposed – a “liquidity crisis” within FTX, as it did not have the available assets required to redeem client withdrawals. FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11th. 

FTX founder and top Democrat Party donor Sam Bankman-Fried now faces criminal investigations in the Bahamas, where the exchange was headquartered, and calls for official investigations into the largely unregulated cryptocurrency industry are reverberating across the globe.

The sudden death of FTX has been compared to the 2008 disintegration of Lehman Brothers that precipitated the financial crisis.

Massive customer holdings have apparently gone missing thanks to a secret “back door” in the FTX bookkeeping system that allowed Bankman-Fried to make changes to the company’s financial records without any accountability. This connivance may have been used to hide at least $10 billion in client funds Bankman-Fried transferred from exchange to another company he founded, digital asset trader Alameda Research. 

While mainstream media pores over the details of Bankman-Fried’s gargantuan crypto scam, not one single major outlet has investigated or even acknowledged FTX’s relationship with the government of Ukraine. 

Were client holdings unaccountably and illegally funneled into the West’s proxy war? Or did the supposed aid FTX sent to Kiev find its way into the hands of Ukrainian scammers, corrupt warlords and illicit actors? 

The corporate media’s failure to explore these questions appears all the more perverse given Bankman-Fried’s flamboyant promotion of his intimate financial relationship with the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

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U.S. Officials Admit Missile That Struck Poland Was Most Likely Fired by Ukraine, Not Russia

Three US officials admitted to the Associated Press late Tuesday night that preliminary assessments implicate Ukraine — not Russia — as the culprit behind the missile strike in Poland that killed two people in the rural village of Przewodow.

“Three U.S. officials said preliminary assessments suggested the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian one amid the crushing salvo against Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure Tuesday,” the AP reported. “The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.”

Another unnamed US official told the AP earlier in the day that the missile was fired by Russia.

They spread that disinformation all day and waited until the middle of the night to admit the opposite was likely true.

Biden first was sent out on Tuesday evening to soften the blow by saying “it’s unlikely” Russia fired the missile given its trajectory.

“I don’t want to say that till we completely investigate, but it’s unlikely in the minds of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia, but we will see,” Biden said, leaving open the possibility Russia was behind the attack.

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‘Wires To My Genitalia’: UN Report Details How Both Russia And Ukraine Tortured Prisoners Of War

Both Ukraine and Russia have committed acts against prisoners of war that amount to torture, a United Nations human rights body said in a report Tuesday.

The Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) cited instances of both Ukrainian and Russian forces subjecting prisoners of war (POWs) to electric shocks, beatings and forced nudity, according to testimony from over 300 prisoners interviewed during the course of several months, the organization found. A “vast majority” of Ukrainian POWs reported experiencing torture, while reports from Russian detainees were localized to three specific holding centers early in the conflict, mission leader Matilda Bogner said.

“The fundamental obligation of a state is to treat all prisoners of war in their power humanely at all times — from the very moment they are captured until their release and repatriation,” Bogner said, adding that Ukraine and Russia have both acceded to the Third Geneva Convention mandating fair treatment of former prisoners of war.

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Ukrainian Army Spotted Using Israeli-Made Armored Vehicles

The Ukrainian Army was spotted using several Israeli-made armored vehicles for the first time in the newly-liberated city of Kherson.

A Twitter account that tracks weapons and equipment supplied to Ukraine showed photos of the Gaia Amir Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles used in the invasion.

They were parked along residential buildings in an unspecified village in the Kherson region and are believed to have taken a large part in Ukraine’s retaking of the city.

While there is no information on how these vehicles appeared in the war-torn nation, Israel has made it clear that it would not supply military aid to Kyiv.

The Middle Eastern country only agreed to send humanitarian aid and early warning systems due to “operational restrictions.”

Meanwhile, a video released by a Russian Telegram channel showed a Gaia Amir MRAP vehicle targeted and destroyed by a Lancet suicide missile.

This fueled speculation that the unreported delivery of Israeli-made armored vehicles to Ukraine has been going on for a while.

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Russia Rejects Allegations Of Missile Attack On Poland, Slamming “Deliberate Provocation”

Russia has issued its first statements in the wake of conflicting reporting concerning the suspected missile attack on Polish territory, just across the border with Ukraine. Russia is calling the reports a “deliberate provocation” and is denying that its forces have aimed any missiles near the Ukraine-Poland border, per Interfax news. 

The Russian Defense Ministry issued a statement saying it has not taken part in “strikes against targets near the Ukrainian-Polish border” using “Russian weapons” – as is being alleged by Polish sources. The Russian statement further said it’s Warsaw’s attempt to escalate the situation. The Pentagon has meanwhile said it can’t corroborate the reports at this early stage but is gathering more information. A Pentagon spokesman vowed the US stands ready to “defend every inch of NATO territory.”

According to Polish radio broadcaster Radio Zet, local reports have said what hit Przewowo is most likely the remains of a rocket shot down by Ukraine’s armed forces. But there are conflicting and many unconfirmed claims still circulating. The US State Dept. said, “We are working with the Polish government to collect information and assess what happened.” It also called the reports “incredibly concerning.” 

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White House asks Congress for $37.7B in new Ukraine aid

The White House on Tuesday asked Congress to approve $37.7 billion in additional aid for Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion, a request that comes ahead of both a government funding deadline and the expected flipping of the House to Republican control.

The Biden administration is requesting that Congress authorize $21.7 billion in defense aid to continue providing equipment to Ukraine and to replenish Department of Defense stocks. It is also asking for $14.5 billion for direct budget support to Ukraine, critical wartime investments and security assistance as well as to strengthen global food security and provide humanitarian assistance.

Additionally, $626 million would go to providing nuclear security support for Ukraine and to modernizing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to reduce domestic energy costs and ensure sustainable access to energy resources. And $900 million would go to help with health care and support services to Ukrainians.

The new funding would be “to ensure that Ukraine has the funding, weapons, and support it needs to defend itself,” an administration official told reporters when previewing the request on Tuesday.

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