Looks like Ukraine's Zelenskyy is on his last legs.
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy fires top security chief and prosecutor
The Russian military has declared a goal to cut off Ukraine’s entire Black Sea coast all the way to the Romanian border. If successful, such an effort would deal a crushing blow to the Ukrainian economy and trade, and allow Moscow to secure a land bridge to Moldova’s separatist region of Transnistria, which hosts a Russian military base.
Unfortunately, as long as the war persists, innocent casualties will rise. Will war ever cease?
In the Kharkiv region, at least three civilians were killed and three more were injured Saturday in a pre-dawn Russian strike on the city of Chuhuiv, just 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the Russian border, police said.
Lyudmila Krekshina, who lives in the apartment building that was hit, said a husband and wife were killed as well as an elderly man who lived on the ground floor.
Another resident said she was lucky to have survived.
Tony Blair says that Western dominance is coming to an end and that China is forecasted to soon be overtaking the West both economically as well as politically:
Ukraine war shows West's dominance is ending as China rises, Blair says
The Ukraine war shows that the West's dominance is coming to an end as China rises to superpower status in partnership with Russia at one of the most significant inflection points in centuries, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said.
The world, Blair said, was at a turning point in history comparable with the end of World War Two or the collapse of the Soviet Union: but this time the West is clearly not in the ascendant.
"We are coming to the end of Western political and economic dominance"...
...China in 1979 had an economy that was smaller than Italy’s, but after opening to foreign investment and introducing market reforms it has become the world’s second-largest economy.
Its economy is forecast to overtake the United States within a decade and it leads in some 21st century technologies such as artificial intelligence, regenerative medicine and conductive polymers.
"China’s place as a superpower is natural and justified"... Its allies are likely to be Russia and Iran...
Foreign secretary would not deploy British troops to help defend Ukraine
Liz Truss said, "Ukraine is not a NATO country, and I think it would be wrong to directly deploy our troops and our resources".
Alex Walters
26th July 2022 at 6:26am
Ukrainian soldiers have been taking part in a UK-led military programme, which will train up to 10,000 Ukrainians, as a part of the UK's enduring commitment to support Ukraine (Picture: MOD Crown Copyright).
British foreign secretary and Conservative leadership candidate Liz Truss has said she would not deploy British troops to help defend Ukraine.
During their latest leadership debate, Ms Truss and former chancellor Rishi Sunak were pushed to clarify whether they would deploy British troops to Ukraine.
"I am not prepared for the United Kingdom to become directly involved in the conflict," Ms Truss said.
She added: "We have done as much as we can: we were the first European country to send weapons to Ukraine, we've put the toughest possible sanctions on Russia, we're actually helping with areas about maritime insurance, in helping getting that grain out of Odesa, and an agreement has been reached.
"But Ukraine is not a NATO country, and I think it would be wrong to directly deploy our troops and our resources."
When asked whether he would deploy the British Navy to Ukraine, Mr Sunak said: "I think actually we should take a step back and recognise that we have put together one of the strongest set of economic sanctions that the world has ever seen and that has really hampered Putin's war effort.
"We also made sure that we supported Ukraine financially with the arms and weapons they needed to defend themselves, and actually that's something that Liz and I worked together on."
Aussie Reporter EXPOSES Zelensky As A FRAUD And Criminal — ‘He’s Nothing Like The Western Media Is Portraying Him’
The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, is not all that the Western media portrays him to be, according to reporter Cory Bernardi of Sky News Australia.
“Something about all this doesn’t add up. There’s an agenda at work in the Ukraine that is much greater than staving off the Russian invaders. We are wise to take everything we’re told about this conflict with a huge grain of salt” he says.
Zelensky is exposed by Bernardi in about five minutes, including his affiliation with the Nazi Azov Battalion, his restriction on free speech, his crimes, and his “fame whoring.”
For years, Ukraine was recognized as one of the most, if not “the” most, corrupt nation in Europe. It held on to that reputation all the way up to the day Russia invaded it, at which point media worldwide suddenly started rewriting history
A few days after firing several top officials, Zelensky also issued a blacklist of American “pro-Russian propagandists,” which includes Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, and independent journalist Glenn Greenwald
After receiving billions of dollars from American taxpayers, Zelensky now wants to silence American politicians and journalists who question government’s use of funds and America’s continued involvement in the Ukraine conflict — a move that raises questions about Ukraine being a bastion of democracy and freedom
U.S. aid to Ukraine may be a corrupt scheme to steal taxpayer funds, launder the money through Ukraine, and then funnel the money back into the hands of the transnational security elite
Another angle that can help explain U.S. support of Ukraine’s authoritarian regime is that we have a number of biolabs in Ukraine, the purposes of which the U.S. government is keen to obscure. Russia claims it will release a comprehensive report before U.S. midterms detailing how top Democrats facilitated illegal biowarfare research in Ukraine, in collaboration with Big Pharma, which in turn funneled massive campaign contributions back to Democrats
This is the U.S. under the leadership of the CCP. With such a high price tag of "an authorized $54 billion" there is probably more than military aid going on. Could be money laundering too.
U.S. shells out largest ever military-aid package for Ukraine
Ukraine targets Russian soldiers threatening Europe's largest nuclear power plant
By Natalia Zinets - Yesterday 11:56 PMBy Natalia Zinets
KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine is targeting Russian soldiers who shoot at Europe's largest nuclear power station or use it as a base to shoot from, as G7 nations, fearing a nuclear catastrophe, called on Moscow to withdraw its forces from the plant
Ukrainian servicemen prepare a D-30 howitzer for fire near a frontline in Mykolaiv region
Ukrainian serviceman stand next to a D-30 howitzer near a frontline in Mykolaiv region
Ukraine and Russia have traded accusations over multipleincidents of shelling at the Zaporizhzhia facility in southern Ukraine. Russian troops captured the station early in the war.
"Every Russian soldier who either shoots at the plant, orshoots using the plant as cover, must understand that he becomesa special target for our intelligence agents, for our specialservices, for our army," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an evening address on Saturday. Ukrainian serviceman fires with a D-30 howitzer near a frontline in Mykolaiv region
Zelenskiy, who did not give any details, repeated claims that Russia was using the plant as nuclear blackmail.
The plant dominates the south bank of a vast reservoir on the Dnipro river. Ukrainian forces controlling the towns and cities on the opposite bank have come under intense bombardment from the Russian-held side.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak accused Russia of "hitting the part of the nuclear power plant where the energy that powers the south of Ukraine is generated."
"The goal is to disconnect us from the (plant) and blame the Ukrainian army for this," Podolyak wrote on Twitter.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, which is seeking to inspect the plant, has warned of a nuclear disaster unless fighting stops. Nuclear experts fear fighting might damage the plant's spent fuel pools or the reactors.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has called for the establishment of a demilitarised zone around the Zaporizhzhia facility, which is still being run by Ukrainian technicians.
Ukrainian serviceman fires with a D-30 howitzer near a frontline in Mykolaiv region
Kyiv has said for weeks it is planning a counteroffensive to recapture Zaporizhzhia and neighbouring Kherson provinces, the largest part of the territory Russia seized after its Feb. 24 invasion and still in Russian hands.
Ukrainian serviceman fires with a D-30 howitzer near a frontline in Mykolaiv region
Russian and Ukrainian forces earlier fought for control of Chornobyl, the still-radioactive site of the world's worst nuclear accident, also raising fears of a disaster.
Russia's priority over the past week has likely been to reorient units to strengthen its campaign in southern Ukraine, British military intelligence said on Sunday.
Russian-backed forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in the eastern region of Donbas continued assaults to the north of Donetsk city, the British Defence Ministry said in its daily intelligence bulletin on Twitter.
Particularly heavy fighting has focussed on the village of Pisky, near the Donetsk airport, it said. Ukraine's military command said on Saturday "fierce fighting" continued in Pisky, an eastern village over which Russia had earlier claimed full control.
The British military said the Russian assault likely aims to secure the M04 highway, the main approach to Donetsk from the west.
UKRAINE GRAIN SHIPS
Two more ships carrying grain left Ukraine's Black Sea ports on Saturday, Turkey's defence ministry said, bringing to 16 the number of vessels to depart under a U.N.- and Turkey-brokered deal in late July aimed partly at easing a global food crisis.
Ukraine's infrastructure ministry said on Saturday that 16ships carrying 450,000 tonnes of agricultural products haddeparted from Ukrainian sea ports since early August under thedeal, which ensured safe passage for vessels.
The U.N.-chartered ship MV Brave Commander will depart Ukraine for Africa in coming days after it finishes loading more than 23,0000 tons of wheat in the port of Pivdennyi, a U.N. official said.
The ship, bund for Ethiopia, will be the first humanitarian food aid cargo to Africa since the start of the war, amid fears the loss of Ukrainian grain supplies could lead to outbreaks of famine.
Zelenskiy said that in less than two weeks, Ukraine had managed to export the same amount of grain from three ports as it had done by road for all of July.
Ukraine hopes to increase its maritime exports to over 3million tonnes of grain and other farm products per monthin near future.
Ukraine and Russia are major grains exporters. Theblockage of Ukrainian ports has trapped tens of millions ofgrain in the country, raising fears of severe food shortages andeven outbreaks of famine in parts of the world.
DIPLOMATIC RIFT DEEPENS
Russia's invasion, which it calls a "special military operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" its smaller neighbour, has pushed Moscow-Washington relations to a low point, with Russia warning it may sever ties.
The United States has led Ukraine's Western allies in supplying it with weapons to defend itself and punitive sanctions against Moscow.
A senior Russian official on Friday said Moscow had told Washington that if the U.S. Senate passed a law singling out Russia as a "state sponsor of terrorism", diplomatic ties would be badly damaged and could even be broken off.
On Saturday a senior Russian foreign ministry official warned that any seizure of Russian assets by the United States would completely destroy bilateral relations, TASS reported.
Alexander Darchiev, head of the ministry's North American Department, was quoted as saying U.S. influence on Ukraine had increased to the degree that "Americans are increasingly becoming more and more a direct party in the conflict".
The United States and Europe, wary of being dragged directly into the war, have refused Ukraine's request to establish a no-fly zone to help it protect its skies from Russian missiles and warplanes.
Related video: Ukraine, Russia exchange blame over damage done to Europe's largest nuclear power plant
Video in above link:
Ukraine, Russia exchange blame over damage done to Europes largest nuclear power plant
Russia blames Ukraine for Daria Dugina’s death: Daughter of ‘Putin’s brain’ killed in car bombing
Russia’s top counterintelligence agency on Monday blamed Ukrainian spy services for organizing the killing of the daughter of a leading Russian nationalist ideologue in a car bombing just outside Moscow.
Daria Dugina, the 29-year-old daughter of Alexander Dugin, a philosopher, writer and political theorist whom some in the West described as “Putin’s brain,” died when an explosive planted in her SUV exploded as she was driving Saturday night.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the main KGB successor agency, said that Dugina’s killing had been “prepared and perpetrated by the Ukrainian special services.”
In a letter expressing condolences to Dugin and his wife that was released by the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced the “cruel and treacherous” killing of Dugina, hailing her as a “bright, talented person with a real Russian heart — kind, loving, responsive and open.”
Putin added that Dugina has “honestly served people and the Fatherland, proving what it means to be a patriot of Russia with her deeds.”
On Sunday, Ukraine’s presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak denied any Ukrainian involvement in the killing.
In Monday’s statement, the FSB accused a Ukrainian citizen, Natalya Vovk, of perpetrating the killing and then fleeing from Russia to Estonia.
The FSB said that Vovk arrived in Russia in July with her 12-year-old daughter and rented an apartment in the building where Dugina lived to shadow her. It said that Vovk and her daughter were at a nationalist festival, which Alexander Dugin and his daughter attended just before the killing.
The agency said that Vovk and her daughter left Russia for Estonia after Dugina’s killing, using a different vehicle license plate on their way out of the country.
In a statement released by a close associate, Dugin described his daughter as a “rising star” who was “treacherously killed by enemies of Russia.”
“Our hearts are longing not just for revenge and retaliation, it would be too petty, not in Russia style,” Dugin wrote. “We need only victory.”
Dugin has been a prominent proponent of the “Russian world” concept, a spiritual and political ideology that emphasizes traditional values, the restoration of Russia’s global clout and the unity of all ethnic Russians throughout the world. He has been vehemently supported Russian President Vladimir Putin’s move to send troops into Ukraine and urged the Kremlin to step up its operations in the country.
The car bombing, unusual for Moscow since the gang wars of the turbulent 1990s, triggered calls from Russian nationalists to respond by ramping up strikes on Ukraine.
The explosion took place as Dugin’s daughter was returning from a cultural festival she had attended with him. Russian media reports cited witnesses as saying the SUV belonged to Dugin and that he had decided at the last minute to travel in another vehicle.
On Sunday, Denis Pushilin, head of the Russia-backed separatist “Donetsk People’s Republic” in Ukraine’s east, quickly blamed the blast on “terrorists of the Ukrainian regime, trying to kill Alexander Dugin.”
While Dugin’s exact ties to Putin are unclear, the Kremlin frequently echoes rhetoric from his writings and appearances on Russian state television. He helped popularize the “Novorossiya,” or “New Russia” concept that Russia used to justify the 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and its support of separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Dugin, who has been slapped with U.S. and European Union sanctions, has promoted Russia as a country of piety, traditional values and authoritarian leadership, and spoken with disdain about Western liberal values.
His daughter expressed similar views and had appeared as a commentator on nationalist TV channel Tsargrad, where Dugin had served as chief editor.
Dugina herself was sanctioned by the United States in March for her work as chief editor of United World International, a website that the U.S. described as a disinformation source. The sanctions announcement cited a United World article this year that contended Ukraine would “perish” if it were admitted to NATO.
In an appearance on Russian television just Thursday, Dugina said, “People in the West are living in a dream, in a dream given to them by global hegemony.” She called America “a zombie society” in which people opposed Russia but couldn’t find it on a map.
Boris Johnson visits Kyiv on Ukraine’s Independence Day.
The outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Wednesday, marking six months since Russia begun its full-scale invasion of the country which also falls on Ukraine’s Independence Day.
Announcing the visit on Twitter, 10 Downing Street shared an image of Johnson speaking to Zelensky outside the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv and added Johnson’s message was: “Ukraine can and will win this war.”
Johnson has been one of the most vocal supporters of Ukraine as it tries to defend itself against Russia’s unprovoked assault and the trip on Wednesday was his third visit to the Ukrainian capital since the war started in late February.
He became one of the first foreign leaders to make the precarious trip to the Ukrainian capital in late April, then returned on another surprise visit in June.
Johnson has forged a close relationship with Zelensky, who said he was sad to see the British PM leave office when the ruling Conservative Party forced him to resign in July.
On Wednesday, Zelensky presented Johnson with a parting gift, awarding him the Order of Freedom for “the work that Boris has been doing for our country and all of Europe.”
The UK has poured more than £2.3 billion ($2.71 billion) into military and financial aid to Ukraine since the invasion began, according to a statement from Downing Street.
On Wednesday, the UK government announced it will provide Ukraine with mine-hunting vehicles, drones and loitering munitions worth £54 million ($63.5 million).
