Moscow reacts to Pentagon’s warning of direct Russia-NATO clash

 

Source: RT

The statement by US defense chief Lloyd Austin shows who the real aggressor is, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said

A claim by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that NATO and Russia could end up in a direct confrontation if Kiev loses its conflict with Moscow is “mad,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.

During a US House Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, Austin suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin “won’t stop” if his forces prevail against Ukraine. Russia’s neighbors in the Baltic region “understand Putin and his capabilities. And frankly, if Ukraine falls, I genuinely believe NATO will be fighting Russia,” the Pentagon chief said.

In a post on Telegram later in the day, Zakharova said she wondered whether Austin’s remarks were “a direct threat to Russia or an attempt to come up with an excuse for [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky?”

“In both cases, it’s mad,” she insisted. “But now everyone sees who the aggressor is – it’s Washington.”

The Pentagon chief’s statement came as Republican lawmakers continue to resist attempts by the administration of US President Joe Biden to push through another $60 billion in military aid for Ukraine. Several lawmakers are demanding that assistance to Kiev be paired with measures to secure the border with Mexico.

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who visited Kiev last week, said Ukraine is currently “losing the war” to Russia. According to Schumer, Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials made it clear to him that “if they don’t get the aid, they will surely lose the war.”

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron hinted that NATO forces could be sent to Ukraine if the situation for Kiev continues to deteriorate. There is “no consensus” among the US-led bloc’s members about deploying troops in Ukraine, but “in terms of dynamics, we cannot exclude anything. We will do everything necessary to prevent Russia from winning this war,” he pledged.

In the days since then, the US, Britain, Spain, Italy, Germany and other NATO members have distanced themselves from Macron’s remarks, stressing that there are no plans to use the bloc’s forces in Ukraine.

In his address to the Federal Assembly on Thursday, Putin again rejected speculation by the US and its allies that Russia might target NATO states. “The West provoked the conflict in Ukraine... and they continue to lie. Now, without any shame, they say that Russia supposedly intends to attack Europe. We here understand that it’s nonsense,” he stressed.
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Pentagon warns of direct Russia-NATO clash

Source: RT


The US defense secretary calls for additional funding for Kiev’s war effort before it’s too late

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has warned eastern NATO members to prepare to fight Russia, claiming that Moscow “will not stop” if it defeats Kiev’s forces.

Addressing the US House Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, Austin once again urged lawmakers to approve additional funding for Kiev’s war effort, painting a grim picture for NATO allies.

”If you are a Baltic state, you are really worried about whether you are next… And, frankly, if Ukraine falls, I really believe that NATO will be in a fight with Russia,” the Pentagon chief said.

Austin went on to claim that “other autocrats around the world will look at this and will be encouraged by the fact that this happened and we failed to support a democracy.”

Washington quickly became Kiev’s top backer after Russia launched its military operation in 2022, but the $45 billion war chest has been spent and US assistance all but ground to a halt after Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive failed to make any significant gains.

President Vladimir Zelensky reportedly warned last week that his country would “surely lose the war” without continued US support, as a new $60 billion aid package for Kiev faces gridlock in Congress amid Republican opposition.

The US military is considering whether to draw on its last remaining $4 billion allocated for Ukraine – even with no assurances the money will be replaced by lawmakers amid fierce debate over renewed aid, multiple officials told CNN.

Russia has repeatedly denounced Western arms shipments to Ukraine, warning that they will only prolong the conflict and make the West a direct participant in the hostilities, and stating that all Western-supplied arms would “burn” on the battlefield.
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Key Donbass city of Avdeevka liberated – Moscow

 

© Kostiantyn Liberov / Getty Images

Source: RT

With Ukrainian forces routed, Russian soldiers are clearing the last pockets of resistance from the city

Russian forces have “completely captured” the city of Avdeevka, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Saturday. Some 1,500 Ukrainian troops were killed as they retreated, leaving their weapons and equipment behind, the ministry said.

The seizure moves the front line further away from the city of Donetsk, thereby shielding its civilian population from bombardment by Ukrainian forces. Situated around 20km away, Avdeevka had been fortified and used as a staging ground for such attacks since 2014.

“Under the continuous fire of Russian troops, only individual scattered formations of Ukrainian militants” managed to escape the city, the ministry said, stating that Kiev had lost 1,500 men in the 24 hours before the city was liberated. Those that fled left their weapons and equipment behind them, it added.

“Measures are being taken to fully clear the city of militants,” the defense ministry said, adding that Russian forces would soon move to block Ukrainian units holed up in a coke plant on the city’s outskirts.

After appointing a new commander-in-chief, who surged elite Western-trained units into Avdeevka in a failed bid to hold the city, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky conceded on Saturday that the order had been given to retreat. With the bastion almost completely encircled by Russia’s ‘Center’ group of forces, Zelensky called the order “absolutely logical.”

Following the capture of Avdeevka, Russian forces will continue their offensive to “further liberate the Donetsk People’s Republic from Ukrainian nationalists,” the ministry’s statement concluded.

A Ukrainian defeat at Avdeevka had been predicted by officials in Washington and Western journalists for several weeks. Earlier this week, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby blamed the loss of the city on the drying up of Western aid, while Zelensky echoed this excuse on Saturday, accusing his Western patrons of creating “an artificial shortage of weapons.”

In a briefing to reporters on Friday, a Pentagon official told reporters that the situation in Avdeevka could soon be repeated in “many other locations along the forward line,” and that “Ukraine’s defense will likely collapse” if American lawmakers fail to authorize a new $60 billion military aid package for Kiev.
--------------------------------------------

Zelensky Explains Avdeevka Retreat

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky delivers his speech at the Munich Security Conference on February 17, 2024. © Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP

Source: RT

Ukrainian troops are pulling back to avoid encirclement and destruction, the president has said

The Ukrainian military’s decision to withdraw from the Donbass stronghold of Avdeevka under relentless Russian pressure was “absolutely logical,” President Vladimir Zelensky has said. He explained that by doing so, Kiev is avoiding heavy casualties.

The announcement of the retreat was made on Friday by General Aleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine’s recently appointed commander-in-chief, who said that the decision sought “to stabilize the situation” and help Kiev maintain its positions.

His remarks came on the heels of reports from the front line suggesting that Ukrainian troops in Avdeevka were in dire straits. A senior commander of the Ukrainian 3rd Assault Brigade, which was recently urgently redeployed to the sector, described the situation as “critical” on Friday, adding that parts of the unit had been encircled. Several media reports also suggested that Russian troops had managed to cut the main logistics route to the embattled town.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Zelensky attempted to downplay the latest developments, explaining that “in order to avoid encirclement, it was decided to withdraw to other positions.” This was done to “keep the maximum number of Ukrainians safe,” the president said, insisting that it was the right call.

He also noted that it “does not mean that people have withdrawn kilometers back, and Russia has captured anything.” Zelensky claimed that Moscow had succeeded “only in destroying several small settlements and towns,” with most of the damage being to Ukrainian lives.

Despite the latest setback, the Ukrainian leader insisted that Kiev would still win, arguing that it was limited only by a lack of adequate weaponry. “It depends not only on us. And the situation in Avdeevka confirms this. Unfortunately, keeping Ukraine in an artificial shortage of weapons… allows [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to adapt to the intensity of hostilities,” he complained.

Avdeevka has been a frontline city since 2014 when hostilities first erupted in Donbass following a Western-backed coup in Kiev. The area was often used by the Ukrainian military to shell residential districts in Donetsk, located just 20km from the city.

Meanwhile, an unnamed Pentagon official suggested on Friday that Ukraine might soon be unable to hold the line against Russia unless Congress approves a new funding request. Recently, the US House of Representatives failed to pass an additional $60 billion in aid for Ukraine, after Republicans demanded more provisions to improve security on the US southern border.
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US, UK begin bombing Yemen

 

FILE PHOTO: British Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons fighter aircraft fly at RAF Coningsby on May 16, 2023 in Coningsby, England. © Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

The US and UK have begun carrying out strikes on Yemen in the early hours of Friday local time.

The action comes after Washington and London vowed to retaliate against attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The Houthis have pledged support for Gaza during the ongoing fighting between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. They have been launching drones and missiles at merchant vessels, as well as warships patrolling the vital waterway.

The US and the UK have launched an attack on Yemen, striking the cities of Sanaa and Hodeidah, Houthi spokesman Abdulsalam Jahaf said early on Friday.

US President Joe Biden said that the Western coalition has “successfully conducted strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways.”

“Today’s defensive action follows this extensive diplomatic campaign and Houthi rebels’ escalating attacks against commercial vessels,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House. He added that the military action sends “a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation” in the region.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak released a statement in the early hours of Friday, saying that the Royal Air Force “has carried out targeted strikes against military facilities used by Houthi rebels in Yemen.”

The PM accused the Houthis of “destabilizing” commercial shipping in the Red Sea. “Their reckless actions are risking lives at sea and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Yemen,” Sunak said.

“This cannot stand,” he added, describing the strikes as “limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defense.”

Houthi spokesman Abdulsalam Jahaf claimed that “a number of American and British warships have been hit” during “a major battle in the Red Sea.”

“Now America, Britain, and Israel are launching raids on Hodeidah, Sanaa, Dhamar, and Saada,” Jahaf said on X (formerly Twitter). “We will discipline them, God willing.”

“Whoever is involved, will pay the price,” he wrote on X. “We will not stop our attack until you leave the area.”

The strikes targeted “sites associated with the Houthis’ unmanned aerial vehicle, ballistic and cruise missile, and coastal radar and air surveillance capabilities,” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said. He added that the US reserved the right to “take follow-on actions” to protect its forces.

UK Secretary of Defense Grant Shapps announced that four Eurofighter Typhoon jets “conducted precision strikes on two Houthi military sites.”

Riyadh has called for “restraint” and urged to “avoid escalation.”

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is following with great concern the military operations taking place in the Red Sea and the raids on a number of sites in the Republic of Yemen,” the kingdom’s Foreign Ministry said in statement, as quoted by Al Jazeera.

Officially known as Ansar Allah (‘Supporters of God’), the Houthis declared solidarity with Gaza in late October, reacting to Israel’s offensive against the Palestinian enclave. They have since carried out over 20 attacks on various shipping vessels in the Red Sea, a major trade route connecting Europe and Asia via the Suez Canal. Major shipping companies have responded by rerouting their ships around Africa, driving up prices and insurance costs.

On Tuesday, the US Central Command announced that its ships and airplanes shot down more than 20 missiles and drones launched at vessels in the Red Sea.

“We cannot have a situation where a major sea route, a major ability to move goods around the world is being cut off by terrorists and thugs and we therefore must act,” British Defense Secretary Grant Schapps said after the incident.

Jahaf responded to threats from Washington and London by declaring on X that the Houthis will “respond to any American aggression,” and make the US “kneel and burn its battleships and all its bases and everyone who co-operates with it, no matter what the cost.”

“The world must prepare to hear America's defeat, and I say it with all pride: We will tread on America with our feet, and whoever does not know us, the battlefields will know about our strength and strength,” Jahaf had said.

Between 2015 and 2023, the Houthis had fought to a standstill a regional coalition led by Saudi Arabia that sought to restore the previous Yemeni government to power. The US had backed the Saudis with intelligence and military supplies.

Washington is fueling Ukraine’s ambitions to attack Russian territory

A Russian warship arrives in the port of Sevastopol in Russia’s Crimea. © Sputnik / Russia’s Defense Ministry

Source: RT

The US has again confirmed its direct involvement in the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, the Russian Embassy in Washington has claimed. The statement came after US Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said Russian military sites in Crimea were “legitimate targets” for Ukraine, and that her country was “supporting” strikes on them.

Nuland “has admitted that the [Biden] administration is fueling the ambitions of the Kiev regime to attack our country,” the Russian Embassy argued in a statement on Friday.

The words of the high-ranking American official were “clear confirmation of Russia’s position that the US is directly involved in the conflict” between Moscow and Kiev, it said.

The statement added that Washington is not just using rhetoric but is also taking “concrete actions” by supplying modern weapons and advising Ukrainian military leaders, and that “de facto, they plan operations together.”

Citing American and Ukrainian officials, the Washington Post reported last week that Kiev’s forces would not fire a single shot from artillery systems provided by the US without first confirming the coordinates of the target with the Americans.

“Inciting Kiev criminals to attack Crimea is the same as pushing them to attack Moscow or Vladivostok,” the embassy insisted, adding that Russia would defend its territory in any case.

Crimea overwhelmingly voted to reunite with Russia in 2014 after a violent coup in Kiev. Ukraine still views the peninsula as part of its territory, with the US sharing that stance.

In her interview on Thursday with American think tank the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Nuland said the US believes that Kiev is “owed and due all of their territory within their international borders,” including Crimea. “Ukraine is not going to be safe unless Crimea is – at a minimum, at a minimum – demilitarized,” she asserted, adding that the Biden administration backed Kiev’s attempts to target the peninsula.

Washington’s support for attacks on Crimea is “an undisguised manifestation of the bellicose attitude of the US towards our country,” the Russian Embassy insisted.
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Ex-Russian president explains why Moscow can’t lose in Ukraine

 

FILE PHOTO. Dmitry Medvedev. © Sputnik / Ekaterina Shtukina

Source: RT

Nuclear nations have never lost when their fates were at stake, Dmitry Medvedev has warned

Nations that are demanding Russia’s defeat in Ukraine seem to be oblivious to the fact that such an outcome could result in a nuclear escalation, the former President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev has pointed out.

Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, reiterated the warning ahead of a meeting on Friday of Ukraine’s military donors at the Ramstein US air base in Germany. He lashed out at Western politicians advocating a loss in the conflict for Russia as the only possible option in Ukraine.

“Not one of those morons is apparently willing to make the next logical step: a loss by a nuclear power in a conventional war may trigger the start of a nuclear war. Nuclear powers never lost a major conflict on which their fate depended,” he said on social media on Thursday.

The Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki is among those who support sending as many arms as possible to Kiev. He claimed this week that “the defeat of Ukraine may become a prelude to World War III, so today there is no reason to block support for Kiev and postpone matters indefinitely.”

A nuclear escalation was cited by some Western leaders, including US President Joe Biden, as a scenario they want to avoid by restricting their involvement in the Ukrainian conflict. They have also warned Moscow against deploying nuclear weapons in Ukraine, stating that this would be considered a major provocation.

The Russian military doctrine allows the use of such weapons of ultimate resort either in retaliation for an attack against Russia or its allies with weapons of mass destruction, or during a conventional conflict that puts the Russian statehood at significant risk.

Moscow considers the situation in Ukraine to be a proxy war waged against it by the US and its allies. Their goal is to hurt Russia as much as possible, which is why they are prolonging the hostilities by arming Kiev and forbidding it from pursuing a negotiated settlement, senior Russian officials have assessed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that his government would not hesitate to use all means at its disposal.
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Davos elite troubled by cost-of-living crisis

 

© Getty Images / Andrew Bret Wallis

Source: RT

Governments should cooperate in tackling a mix of risks to prevent a major crisis, World Economic Forum experts warn

The cost-of-living crisis, looming recession and mounting debt are the biggest short-term threats facing the global economy, the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual Global Risks Report has warned.

The world will hardly see any relief in the next two years as countries struggle with “energy, inflation, food and security crises,” the annual survey of 1,200 government, business and civil society professionals, published ahead of the Davos summit, said.

Two thirds of respondents suggested that multiple shocks stemming from the recent Covid-19 pandemic and an ongoing conflict in Ukraine will cause distress to the global economy in the near future, while a fifth of the experts are forecasting “catastrophic outcomes” within a decade.

“We’re looking at something that feels new, but at the same time eerily familiar,” risk management leader for Continental Europe at Marsh, Carolina Klint, told CNBC. “So we see a return of some older risks that we felt we had made good progress in terms of solving, but are now very much back on the risk map,” she added.

The cost-of-living crisis is seen as the most immediate risk which is “very difficult to accept” as it hits most vulnerable populations.

“Governments are now really working towards mitigating that impact, at the same time as they’re trying to protect from spiraling inflation and servicing historically high debt loads,” Klint concluded.

The authors of the report call for global cooperation and claim that if authorities fail to manage the current crisis, they “risk creating societal distress at an unprecedented level, as investments in health, education and economic development disappear, further eroding social cohesion.”

WEF managing director Saadia Zahidi, who believes that the world might be entering a “vicious cycle,” warns that “in this already toxic mix of known and rising global risks, a new shock event, from a new military conflict to a new virus, could become unmanageable.”

The world could face a challenge of “polycrisis” in the near future, with overlapping problems, the report said, highlighting “resource rivalry” as one of the biggest threats, as countries have entered into global competition for natural resources.
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US-made HIMARS destroyed in new strikes – Moscow

 FILE PHOTO. © JAM STA ROSA / AFP

Source: RT

More than 200 Ukrainian troops and foreign ‘mercenaries’ were killed in the missile attacks, Russia’s Defense Ministry has claimed

Russian forces have destroyed several US-supplied HIMARS rocket launchers and eliminated scores of Ukrainian troops and dozens of foreign fighters in a fresh series of missile strikes, Moscow’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

According to the military, two launchers were destroyed at the Druzhkovka railway station in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). The second pair of launchers, which were firing at other DPR cities, were located near the Ukrainian-held city of Kramatorsk, the ministry added.

In addition, nine HIMARS rockets were intercepted near the frontline in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), as well as in Kherson Region to the north of Crimea, the statement said.

The Russian Air Force’s “precision strikes” on positions of the “foreign legion” fighting for Ukraine near Kramatorsk and Maslyakovka destroyed over 130 “foreign mercenaries,” it added.

Up to 120 Ukrainian soldiers were eliminated at Druzhkovka railway station, the military claimed.

This attack comes after Russia confirmed on Monday that over 60 of its soldiers were killed in Makeyevka, when Kiev's forces targeted the building they were housed in with missiles fired from HIMARS launchers.

The strike had earlier been reported by the republic’s Information Minister Daniil Bezsonov, who claimed it happened precisely at 0:01 am on New Year’s night.

Ukraine continues to request more weapons from the US and other Western countries, while Moscow insists that deliveries of foreign arms to Kiev will not change the course of the conflict and can only lead to more casualties.

Russian military issues update on deadly Ukrainian strike

Russian emergency workers remove the rubble of vocational school 19 destroyed by shelling in Makeyevka, Donetsk People's Republic, Russia. © Sputnik

Source: RT

The number of casualties in the New Year’s night strike has grown to at least 89 people

Nearly 90 troops were killed by a Ukrainian missile strike that hit a temporary housing area used by the Russian forces in the city of Makeyevka in Donetsk People’s Republic just after midnight on January 1, the Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday.

The death toll has grown to 89 people, including the unit’s deputy commander, the ministry said, as more bodies were pulled from the rubble of a vocational school where the troops were stationed on New Year’s night.

The facility was targeted by six missiles from a US-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launcher, four of which penetrated air defenses, and hit the building at precisely 0:01am on January 1, the Defense ministry said, claiming that the launcher was later destroyed in a retaliatory strike.

While the fact-finding mission is still investigating the tragic incident, it is “already obvious that the main reason for what happened was the turning on and mass use of mobile phones by personnel – contrary to the ban – within the range of enemy weapons” which has allowed Ukrainian forces to trace their coordinates, Lieutenant General Sergey Sevryukov from the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces told reporters.

Moscow reiterated its pledge to provide all necessary assistance and support to the families of the fallen troops. Russia’s Foreign Ministry earlier condemned Washington for not only supplying sophisticated weapons to Kiev, but also providing the Ukrainian military with intelligence about the location of the Russian forces.

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Related:

The U.S. has sent around $113 billion in aid to Ukraine since February 2022

The U.S. has sent around $113 billion in aid to Ukraine since February 2022

This graph compares that aid to the 2021 military budgets of:

‣ India ($76.6B)
‣ U.K. ($68.4B)
‣ Russia ($65.9B)
‣ France ($56.6B)
‣ Germany ($56B).

The U.S. 2021 military budget was $800.67B.

So, who's at war with Russia? 

Is it the Ukraine or USA?

Dozens dead in Ukrainian strike on Russian troops – Moscow

 

Russian emergency workers remove the rubble of vocational school 19 destroyed by shelling in Makeyevka, Donetsk People's Republic, Russia. © Sputnik

Source: RT

The deadly attack took place in the city of Makeyevka in Donetsk People’s Republic, the Defense Ministry says

More than 60 Russian troops have been killed by a Ukrainian missile strike, Moscow confirmed on Monday. The bombardment hit a temporary housing area used by the Russian forces in Donbass.

The facility in the city of Makeyevka in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic was targeted by six missiles from US-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, the Defense ministry said. Two projectiles were intercepted by air defenses, but four made it through, the statement added.

"As a result of a strike by four missiles with high-explosive warheads on a temporary deployment point, 63 Russian servicemen were killed,” Defense Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said during a briefing.

All necessary assistance and support will be provided to the families of the fallen troops, the ministry assured.

The strike was earlier reported by the Donetsk People’s Republic’s Information Minister Daniil Bezsonov, who said the missiles targeted the building of a vocational school where the troops were stationed. It happened precisely at 0:01 am on New Year’s night, while the serviceman were celebrating, he added.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry earlier condemned Washington for not only supplying sophisticated weapons to Kiev, but also providing the Ukrainian military with intelligence about the location of the Russian forces.

RELATED:

Stoltenberg warns of potential new Russian offensive in Ukraine

Military support for Kiev should be long-term, the NATO secretary general said

The West needs to brace for a protracted conflict between Ukraine and Russia, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday, insisting that arms shipments to Kiev must continue.

Stoltenberg told the BBC that Russia’s partial mobilization, launched in September, shows that Moscow has no plans to end the hostilities in the near future. “All that indicates that they are prepared to continue the war and also try to potentially launch a new offensive,” he claimed.

The head of the US-led military bloc also insisted that the West continues to provide arms and other forms of support to Ukraine. According to the secretary general, “that's the only way to convince Russia that they have to sit down and negotiate in good faith and respect Ukraine as a sovereign independent nation in Europe.”

"What we do know is that what Ukraine can achieve around that table is totally dependent on the strength on the battlefield," he stressed.

On Friday, Stoltenberg claimed that while “it may sound paradoxical,” Western military support for Ukraine is "the quickest way to peace.”

Following the start of Russia’s military operation in late February, Western countries have ramped up their weapons shipments to Ukraine, a move that has been condemned by Moscow. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that NATO was using the military potential of nearly all of its member states against Moscow in Ukraine. According to the president, efforts to undermine the Russian economy in the “sanctions war” over Ukraine have largely failed.

Earlier, he also accused the West of turning Ukraine into “a colony”, and using its people as “cannon fodder, a battering ram against Russia.”

At the same time, the Kremlin maintains it is open to talks with Ukraine, accusing Kiev of refusing to negotiate. However, Moscow has insisted that Kiev must “recognize the reality on the ground” as a prerequisite for any peace talks, including the new status of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye as parts of Russia.

Serbian Army on standby amid Kosovo tensions – Belgrade

 

Serbian howitzers near the administrative border with Kosovo, December 26, 2022. © Serbian Defense Ministry Press Service / AP

Source: RT

The armed forces are ready to protect Serbs living in the country’s breakaway region, Defense Minister Milos Vucevic has said

Serbia has placed its army and police on high alert amid a tense standoff between Belgrade and the breakaway region of Kosovo. Officials say armed personnel are ready to intervene to defend the local Serb population.

“The president of Serbia, as the commander-in-chief, has ordered tonight that the Serbian Armed Forces be at the highest level of combat readiness, meaning the preparedness to use their armed potential,” Defense Minister Milos Vucevic told Tanjug news agency on Monday. He added that the government would ensure that “all measures are taken to protect the Serbian people in Kosovo.”

Kosovo is predominantly populated by ethnic Albanians, but has a Serb majority in its northern areas. Serbia pulled its troops from Kosovo in 1999 after NATO intervened in support of a local Albanian armed insurgency, bombing Belgrade and other Serbian cities. NATO peacekeepers have since been deployed to the region, which ultimately declared independence from Belgrade in 2008. Serbia still considers Kosovo to be part of its own territory.

Tensions have been brewing in recent months as the Kosovo authorities demanded that the Serbian community only use Kosovo-issued license plates instead of those issued by Belgrade. The situation deteriorated further this month when local Serbs erected roadblocks to protest the arrest of a former police officer accused of attacking municipal election commission offices.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has called for the barricades to be taken down.

Belgrade asked the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force to allow the deployment of Serbian military and police to Kosovo. According to UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which formalized the end of the 1999 NATO bombing campaign, Belgrade can send up to 1,000 personnel to protect the Serb-populated areas and border crossings if the request is approved by the leader of the peacekeeping force.
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NATO chief warns Ukraine conflict could escalate

 

News Source: RT

A direct confrontation between Russia and the West in Europe could happen, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says

The Ukraine conflict could erupt into a full-fledged war between Russia and NATO, the military alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said. He also claimed that NATO has been focused on avoiding a new global conflict.

“I fear that the war in Ukraine will spiral out of control and become a major war between NATO and Russia,” Stoltenberg told Norwegian broadcaster NRK on Friday, adding that “if things go wrong, they can go horribly wrong.”

“NATO’s most important task is to prevent a full-scale war in Europe, and that is something we work on every single day.”

The head of the US-led bloc however warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that NATO would defend its members. According to Article 5 of its founding treaty, an armed attack on one member state “shall be considered an attack against them all.” Stoltenberg said that Putin “knows that it’s one for all and all for one.”

After Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine in late February, NATO deployed 40,000 troops to its eastern flank, nearly ten times more than a year before. Moscow, meanwhile, considers NATO military sites close to its border as a national security threat and has warned that sending heavy weapons from the West to Kiev risks a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said this month that the US and NATO were already “directly involved” in the conflict by supplying Ukraine with arms and training its soldiers.

US greenlights Ukrainian attacks inside Russia – The Times

Washington now reportedly believes such strikes are less likely to trigger a direct clash between Moscow and NATO

The US has quietly given Ukraine the go-ahead to launch long-range strikes against targets inside Russian territory, The Times reported on Friday, citing sources. The Pentagon has apparently changed its stance on the matter as it has become less concerned that such attacks could escalate the conflict.

According to a US defense source interviewed by the outlet, the Pentagon is now “not saying to Kiev, ‘Don’t strike the Russians [in Russia or Crimea].’

“We can’t tell them what to do. It’s up to them how they use their weapons,” he said, adding that Washington only demands that Kiev conforms to international law and the Geneva conventions when using US-supplied weapons.

However, the Pentagon has revised the evaluation of threats linked to the Ukraine conflict, particularly on whether providing Kiev with arms might trigger a direct clash between NATO and Russia, the report says.

“We’re still using the same escalatory calculations but the fear of escalation has changed since the beginning,” a US official told the outlet, arguing that the calculus had changed due to “brutality the Ukrainians are being subjected to by the Russians.”

Against this backdrop, Pentagon officials are now reportedly “seriously” considering Ukraine’s requests for long-range weapons that could be used for strikes deep inside Russia. “Nothing is off the table,” a senior US defense official told The Times.

Earlier this month, Ukraine launched an attack on two Russian air bases in Ryazan and Saratov regions, both several hundred kilometers from Kiev-controlled territory, using a number of “Soviet-made” drones, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry. The raid “fatally injured” three service members, with another four being taken to hospital.

On Tuesday, following the attack, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed that Washington had “neither encouraged nor enabled the Ukrainians to strike inside of Russia.”

The report comes as Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba claimed on Thursday that, while Washington and Kiev agree that Ukrainian forces will not use US-supplied weapons to attack most Russian territory, this does not apply to Crimea.

In September, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned the US that, should it provide Kiev with long-range weapons, this would cross a “red line” and make America “a direct party to the conflict.”

Russia warns West about ‘consequences’ of arming Ukraine

Foreign-supplied rockets and shells are being used to strike schools and homes, Russia’s UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia says.

Western countries whose weapons are being used by Ukrainian troops to kill civilians in Donbass will face legal consequences, Russia’s envoy to the United Nations has warned.

Speaking at the UN Security Council on Friday, Vassily Nebenzia said HIMARS multiple rocket launchers and M982 Excalibur guided artillery shells were being used to indiscriminately fire on Donetsk and other cities.

“For example, the Druzhba sports arena [in Donetsk], where drinking water was being distributed to civilians, was attacked on December 4 with an Excalibur shell. The Ukrainian forces, emboldened by Western countries, are literally trying to level the city,” the Russian diplomat said.

According to Nebenzia, 22 civilians have been killed and more than 80 wounded in Donbass since November 27, and numerous homes and schools have been damaged. He added that HIMARS rockets have hit civilian sites, such as kindergartens and hotels.

“We are carefully recording all such criminal activities by the US and their allies. They will lead to concrete legal repercussions for all who are involved,” Nebenzia said.

The Pentagon announced an additional $275 million in security and military aid to Ukraine on Friday, including HIMARS rockets and 80,000 155mm artillery rounds.

Moscow has previously described deliveries of long-range and heavy weapons to Ukraine as “red lines,” warning it could lead to a direct conflict between Russia and the West. Washington and its allies insist they are not a party to the hostilities, but continue sending arms shipments to Kiev.

Restoring energy system ‘impossible’ – Zelensky

 

Source: RT

Ukrainians should accept rolling blackouts as part of their lives, the president suggests

Ukraine is unable to fully restore the national energy system, which has been degraded by Russian missile strikes, President Vladimir Zelensky has said, urging his citizens to cope with the situation.

Ukrainians should not forget “that it is now impossible to restore 100% of the energy system as it was before” Russian forces started attacking the infrastructure, the Ukrainian leader said in a video address on Wednesday evening.

“We need time. This is why shutdown schedules remain in most cities and regions,” he added.

The Russian military started targeting key elements of the Ukrainian power grid in October, days after a deadly bomb attack hit the Crimean Bridge. Moscow blamed the plot on Ukrainian military intelligence.

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated at the time that the bombing was the latest in a series of Ukrainian terrorist acts targeting crucial Russian infrastructure, and that his government would be justified in widening the scope of its military operation in response.

The Ukrainian government has urged citizens to reduce electricity consumption and has introduced rolling blackouts to keep the energy system operational. Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said in mid-November that roughly half of the national grid had been disabled by Russian strikes.

Kiev mayor warns of ‘apocalyptic’ winter

Be prepared to evacuate but don’t panic, Vitaly Klitschko tells citizens of Ukraine’s capital.

Continued Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power grid may bring about an “apocalyptic” scenario in Kiev, mayor Vitaly Klitschko told Reuters on Wednesday, but insisted that the authorities were doing everything they could and there was no need for residents to leave the city just yet.

“Kiev might lose power, water, and heat supply. The apocalypse might happen, like in Hollywood films, when it’s not possible to live in homes considering the low temperature,” Klitschko said. “But we are fighting and doing everything we can to make sure that this does not happen.”

The former boxer admitted that “nearly 500” heating points set up by the government are “nothing” in a city of over three million. Residents should prepare emergency supplies of food and water and have clothes and documents ready to depart quickly if central heating is shut off, he added.

“If electricity supply continues to be absent while outside temperatures remain low, we will unfortunately be forced to drain water from buildings,” Klitschko said. “Otherwise the water can freeze and break the entire water supply network, and buildings will then be totally unfit for further use.”

He also said there was no need to evacuate at the moment, since the city only had a 20% power deficit.

Meanwhile, a US-based NGO coordinating humanitarian aid in Kiev told Newsweek that Ukraine’s entire power grid could “collapse within weeks” if the attacks continued. Power could be off for “potentially weeks,” said Michael Young of Mercy Corps, making major cities “almost unlivable over the next four months.”

Russia began targeting Ukraine’s energy grid in October, “as a reaction to Kiev’s provocative attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure, including the Crimean Bridge and energy facilities,” in the words of President Vladimir Putin.

The defense ministry in Moscow said the strikes were intended to degrade the ability of Kiev to transport troops, as well as weapons and equipment funneled into Ukraine by the US and its allies, to the battlefield by rail.

Related Link:

Power Boss Urges Ukrainians to Leave

Oil in decline – U.A.E. energy minister

 

© Sputnik / Maksim Bogodvid

Source: RT

Crude will not be around forever despite high global demand, the UAE’s energy minister warned

Oil will not be here forever and is already in “decline mode,” Suhail Al-Mazrouei, the energy minister of the United Arab Emirates, a major crude exporter, has said.

Speaking at the ADIPEC energy conference in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, Al-Mazrouei warned against “wishful thinking” of assuming that oil “is going to be there forever.”

“No matter how much we defend it, it’s in decline mode,” the official added.

The remark comes as OPEC released its ‘World Oil Outlook’ earlier this week, which forecasts global oil demand continuing to rise until 2045 due to a focus on energy security even as the world moves toward renewable energy.

The report noted that oil is expected to retain the largest share in the global energy mix, accounting for 29% over the forecast period, and that the industry will require $12.1 trillion in investment by 2045 to meet demand.

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Comment: Stewart Brennan (The Activist Poet) - As I have written throughout the years, including my 3 books where I say we've entered the time beyond peak to explain the insanity that has engulfed and drives our world today; is now being admitted by the gulf oil monarchies...

Putin Recognizes Donbass Republics and Sends Russian Peacekeepers

 

Source: RT News

The president has signed a decree pledging cooperation between Russia and the two breakaway regions

President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian military to “secure the peace” in the newly recognized Donetsk and Lugansk republics, which were formerly considered to be part of Ukraine.

Moscow officially recognized the independence of the two breakaway regions on Monday.

Putin has instructed the Defense Ministry to send peacekeepers into the Donbass, while telling the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to establish diplomatic relations with the states.

The Kremlin’s official move comes shortly after Putin’s lengthy address to the nation on Monday evening. In it, he explained the step as a long overdue response to what he described as the “brotherly” Ukrainian nation becoming a “colony” of the West and falling under the rule of a “Russophobic” government both hostile to Moscow and denying ethnic Russians and Russian-speakers basic human rights.

Donetsk and Lugansk declared independence from Kiev in 2014, after US-backed nationalists overthrew the democratically elected government in the Maidan coup. However, Moscow has refused to recognize them until now, saying the problem is an internal affair of Ukraine and needs to be resolved according to the Minsk agreements, which established an uneasy armistice in 2015.

Earlier on Monday, however, the Donetsk leader Denis Pushilin and Lugansk leader Leonid Pasechnik formally requested recognition from Moscow once again, as both Donbass regions and Ukraine claimed intensive artillery exchanges along the armistice line.

In his speech, Putin said that the Minsk process had failed and that Ukraine is “not interested in peaceful solutions – they want to start a Blitzkrieg.”
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Putin signs ‘immediate’ recognition of Donbass regions

Source: RT News

The decision comes amid fears of a worsening conflict in Ukraine’s war-torn east

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that Moscow has recognized the two self-declared breakaway Donbass republics in Ukraine’s east as sovereign nations, as a military standoff across the contact line continues to escalate.

Speaking as part of a televised address to the nation on Monday evening, Putin signed the decree, saying that “I deem it necessary to make a decision that should have been made a long time ago to immediately recognize the Donetsk (DPR) and Lugansk (LPR) People’s Republics.” Lawmakers will now be asked to consider statements of friendship and support with the two regions.

The move, he said, was a direct result of the failure of the 2014 Minsk agreements, designed to put an end to fighting. “They are not interested in peaceful solutions – they want to start Blitzkreig,” he claimed. “Every day they are amassing troops in the Donbass,” Putin went on.

At the same time, he slammed Ukraine for “extreme nationalism,” “Nazism" and “Russophobia,” pointing to the shuttering of Russian-language news outlets and laws he said discriminate against Russian speakers.

The head of state also alleged that Kiev is sending saboteurs to target Russian infrastructure and attempting to “drag foreign states into conflict with our country.” Ukraine's ambitions to join NATO, he insisted, would mean an “immediate threat of attack against our country.”

Putin began the address by setting out his version of Ukrainian history and the former Soviet Republic's ties to Russia.

“Let me stress once again that Ukraine is not just a neighboring country for us. It is an integral part of our own history, culture, and spiritual world,” he said, emphasizing that Ukrainians are “people Russians have blood and family ties with,” as well as friends, neighbors and colleagues.

Putin asserted that “modern Ukraine was completely created by Russia, or to be more exact, by Bolshevik Communist Russia.” According to him, “Lenin and his supporters did it in a crude way, alienating Russia’s historical territories. Millions of people living there weren’t asked at all.”

The Russian President pointed out that since the fall of the USSR, Kiev has turned its back on its role in the Soviet Union, toppling statues of leading Marxists. “If you want de–communization, we are happy with that. But don’t stop halfway – we are ready to show what de–communization really looks like,” he went on.

Moments before the speech aired, the Kremlin revealed that Putin had given notice to French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that he intended to sign a decree recognizing the DPR and LPR “in the near future.” According to the official version of events, the two other world leaders “expressed their disappointment with this development,” but emphasized their willingness to maintain diplomatic efforts.

The announcement comes as forces loyal to the two breakaway regions and Kiev’s troops accuse each other of carrying out heavy shelling across the front lines. On Monday from Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik, the leaders of the DPR and LPR, calling for Moscow's backing for their independence. Putin chaired a televised meeting of the Russian Security Council to consider the request, in which he was urged by top officials to grant both regions recognition.

The two republics declared their autonomy from Kiev's control in 2014, following the events of the Maidan, when violent street protests toppled the democratically elected government in Ukraine. However, until now, neither Russia nor any other UN member nation has recognized them as sovereign nations, and Moscow has backed the Minsk agreements designed to bring a diplomatic solution to the conflict and reconcile the Donbass with Kiev.

Last week, Putin urged the Ukrainian government to begin talks to put an end to the increasingly tense situation. “All Kiev needs to do is sit down at the negotiating table with representatives of the Donbass and agree on political, military, economic, and humanitarian measures to end this conflict. The sooner this happens, the better,” he said on Friday.

Western leaders have been warning for months of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, and have said that Moscow could use “false flag” operations against the Donbass territories to justify sending its army in. Russia has repeatedly denied that it has any aggressive intentions, and has called for security agreements that would limit the expansion of NATO, the US-led military bloc, into Eastern Europe.

On Friday, US President Joe Biden announced that he had intelligence that had led him to believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin had decided to attack, and that it would take place in the next several days. The Kremlin has consistently denied it is planning to launch an offensive, branding intelligence reports released by Washington as “hysteria.”

Over the past several weeks, Russian officials have been seeking assurances from the West that it says are designed at ensuring stability on the European continent. Putin said that these had been “rejected” and that “the level of threat for our country is becoming greater and greater.”

In the proposals, sent to Washington and NATO in December, Moscow called for a halt to the US-led military bloc’s expansion, limits on missile placement, and for current bloc members to renounce any military activity on the territory of Ukraine, as well as in other Eastern European, Transcaucasian, and Central Asian states.

Another clause also demanded that Kiev would never be admitted to NATO, which Russia has long stressed is a “red line.”

“Some NATO member states are concerned about Ukraine joining, and we have got signals from European capitals saying ‘What are you worried about, it won't join NATO tomorrow’ – but what about the day after tomorrow? And the day after that?” he stressed.

Putin also confirmed “for the first time in public” that, in 2000, he had floated the idea of Russia joining NATO to then-President Bill Clinton during a visit to Moscow. According to him, the West has since created a vast political gulf to distance itself from Russia and undermined the relationship.

Azerbaijan-Armenia War 2020

 

A still image from a video released by the Armenian Defense Ministry shows what is said to be Azerbaijani tanks and service members during at attack in Nagorno-Karabakh, on September 27, 2020. (Via Reuters)

Source: Press TV

VIDEO: War Between Azerbaijan & Armenia

Heavy fighting continues in the South Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a day after a decades-long territorial dispute re-erupted with the heaviest clashes in years between Azerbaijan’s military and Armenian-backed forces.

Fighting was reported throughout the night into early Monday morning, with both sides deploying heavy artillery.

The latest flare-up of violence has resulted in scores of fatalities and hundreds of injuries on both sides.

Azerbaijan's foreign minister said on Monday that six Azeri civilians had lost their lives in the latest bout of fighting.

The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office reported that "as many as 26 civilians have been hospitalized with various bodily injuries."

An Armenian defense ministry spokesperson said 15 more separatist forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh region had been killed overnight, bringing their total fatality count to 32 since clashes erupted Sunday.

Also speaking on Monday, Armenian Ambassador to Russia Vardan Toganyan confirmed that around 30 Armenian servicemen had been killed and 100 others injured in the clashes.

An Armenian Defense Ministry representative, meanwhile, put the number of wounded Armenians at 200.

Both sides have accused each other of sustained artillery shelling.

Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defense said the Armenian-backed forces had shelled the city of Terter overnight, adding Azeri forces had attacked in retaliation, destroying at least two Armenian tanks.

Armenia also said Azerbaijan had kept targeting the region with artillery fire.

Sputnik reported on Monday that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had signed a decree authorizing partial mobilization of reserve servicemen.

Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh declared martial law and general mobilization on Sunday.

Oil Pipe Lines

World Countries React

The fresh escalation has concerned the international community and prompted calls for calm in the region.

The European Union asked all sides in the Karabakh conflict to prevent another war and avoid foreign interference.

EU Spokesman Peter Stano said Monday, "We urge everyone to do everything they can in order to prevent an all-out war from breaking out," because the escalation could endanger regional stability.

Likewise, the German government called for an immediate end to combat.

"The government sees the escalation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict as a very dangerous development. We call on both sides to immediately cease fire and resume negotiations. There is a special platform for this purpose, the OSCE Minsk group," cabinet spokesman Steffen Seibert said.

On Monday, Russia's Foreign Ministry called on all sides to show restraint.

China’s Foreign Ministry also called for restraint on Monday, saying that Beijing hoped Yerevan and Baku could resolve their differences through dialog. Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that maintaining regional peace and stability was in the interests of all parties.

Turkey and Russia were quick to react to the violence on Sunday, calling on both sides to cease fire and start negotiations.

Turkey, an Azerbaijan ally, accused Armenia of the flare-up and promised Azerbaijan its “full support.” 

VIDEO:(Turkish Backed Syrian Militants to Participate in Azerbaijani Armenian Conflict)

Russia, on the other hand, which maintains close ties with Armenia, called for “an end to hostilities.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed serious concern over the resumption of large-scale clashes and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he was holding talks with his Turkish counterpart to encourage a return to negotiations.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the meantime, spoke to his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev.

Erdogan called Armenia “the biggest threat to peace in the region" and urged “the entire world to stand with Azerbaijan in their battle against invasion and cruelty.”

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hit back, accusing Ankara of “dangerous behavior” and pleading for the international community to prevent Ankara's involvement in the conflict.

Iran was also one of the first countries to react to regional conflict, inviting the two sides to immediately end the fighting. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeid Khatibzadeh said Tehran was fully prepared to mediate the resumption of talks between the conflicting sides.

“Iran is closely monitoring the conflict with concern and calls for an immediate end to the escalation and the start of talks between the two countries,” Khatibzadeh said.

French President Emmanuel Macron also talked with his Azerbaijani counterpart over the phone during which he stressed the importance of resolving the conflict through negotiations.

US President Donald Trump also reacted to the fighting, saying that his administration would seek to stop the violence through its “good relationships” in the region.

His State Department also condemned the violence in a statement, calling on both Baku and Yerevan to halt the violence, as well as any rhetoric or other actions that could worsen tensions.

The statement said any participation in the escalating violence by outside parties would be “deeply unhelpful.”

Expressing concern over the escalation, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also urged both Baku and Yerevan to stop fighting and return to talks.

Pope Francis, the European Union (EU) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to stop military actions and return to the negotiating table.

Armenian separatists seized Karabakh in a move supported by Yerevan after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992.

Some 30,000 people were killed in the conflict that ensued, which ended with a fragile ceasefire in 1994, with about 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory remaining under the control of Armenian forces.

The latest clashes follow a flare-up along the two counties’ border in July, which claimed the lives of 17 soldiers from both sides. In April 2016, some 110 people were killed in the most serious fighting in years.

While Azerbaijan has promised to take back the area, by the use of force if necessary, Armenia says it will do all it can to defend the territory.

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Armenia claims Azerbaijani artillery attacks are intensifying

Azeri artillery firing on Nagorno-Karabakh, in still image from video released by Azerbaijan's Defence Ministry, September 28, 2020. ©  Handout via REUTERS

Source: RT News

Fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh intensified, on Monday, with heavy civilian and military casualties reported amid disputed claims of an Azeri warplane being shot down.

Azerbaijani troops and forces from Nagorno-Karabakh have been trading artillery and rocket fire, with the population of much of Karabakh told to seek shelter. Meanwhile, Armenia has declared a general mobilization and barred men between the ages of 18 and 55 from leaving the country, except with the approval of military authorities.

The most intense attacks took place in the Aras river valley, near the border with Iran, and the Matagis-Talish front in the northeast of the region, according to Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan. He claimed that the Azeri side has lost 22 tanks and a dozen other vehicles, along with 370 dead and many wounded.

Artur Sargsyan, deputy commander of the Nagorno-Karabakh military, said their own losses so far have amounted to 84 dead and more than 200 wounded. Both figures should be understood in the context of an ongoing information war run by the belligerents.

Vagram Pogosyan, spokesman for the president of the self-declared Artsakh Republic – the ethnic Armenian de-facto government in the capital Stepanakert – said their forces shot down an Azeri An-2 airplane outside the town of Martuni on Monday. This is in addition to some three dozen drones, including ones provided by Turkey, that the Armenian forces claim to  have shot down over the past 48 hours.

Baku has denied the reports, saying only that two civilians were killed on Monday, in addition to five on Sunday, and 30 were injured. There was no official information on military casualties. Reports concerning the downed airplane were rejected as “not corresponding to reality.”

Azeri forces have taken several strategically important locations near the village of Talish in Nagorno-Karabakh, Colonel Anar Eyvazov, spokesman for the Defense Ministry in Baku, said in a statement. He was also quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying that Lernik Vardanyan, an Armenian airborne commander, was killed near Talish. Armenia has denied this and labelled it “disinformation.”

In a video conference on Monday, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev told UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres that the question of Nagorno-Karabakh should be resolved in line with UN Security Council resolutions guaranteeing the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and called for the urgent withdrawal of Armenian troops from “occupied territories.”

The current Azeri offensive is backed by Turkey, whose President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called Armenia “the biggest threat” to peace in the region and called for it to end the “occupation” of Azeri land.

“Recent developments have given all influential regional countries an opportunity to put in place realistic and fair solutions,” he said in Istanbul on Monday.

Unconfirmed reports that Turkish-backed militants from northern Syria have been transported to Azerbaijan to fight the Armenians have been denied by Baku as “complete nonsense.” They amount to “another provocation from the Armenian side,” Khikmet Gadzhiev, an aide to President Aliyev, told Al Jazeera.

Meanwhile, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan vowed his people “won't retreat a single millimeter from defending our people and our Artsakh.” All Armenians “must unite to defend our history, our homeland, identity, our future and our present,” Pashinyan tweeted on Sunday from Yerevan.

Nagorno-Karabakh is one of several border disputes left over from the collapse of the Soviet Union. An enclave predominantly populated by Armenians, it seceded from Azerbaijan in 1988 and declared itself the Republic of Artsakh following a bitter war in 1992-94.

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Azerbaijan Armenia conflict a new threat to Russia's delicate balancing act with Turkey

FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan arrive for a news conference following their talks in Moscow, Russia March 5, 2020. © Pool via REUTERS/Pavel Golovkin

Source: RT News

By Paul Robinson, a professor at the University of Ottawa. He writes about Russian and Soviet history, military history, and military ethics.

Azerbaijan has never forgotten its 1990s humiliation at the hands of Armenia. Now stronger than its sworn enemy, and emboldened by Turkish support, Baku’s assertiveness is creating a headache for Moscow.

Russian president Vladimir Putin once complained that communist leader Vladimir Lenin had placed a ‘time bomb’ under Russia. He had in mind the introduction of the federal principle after Lenin’s Bolsheviks took power in 1917. Lenin gave national minorities their own republics within the Soviet Union. In so doing, he created a situation which allowed those republics to secede from the Union once communist power collapsed.

Soviet federalism brought other problems. The communists granted autonomy to the larger nationalities in the form of 15 ‘republics.’ Smaller nationalities also got autonomy, but of a different form – so-called ‘autonomous republics’ and ‘autonomous regions.’ When the union fell apart, fully-fledged republics got independence, but the autonomous republics and regions within them did not.

Unsurprisingly, many of the smaller minorities were not too happy with this somewhat arbitrary outcome, and attempted to secede from the seceding republics. The result was several wars, the first of which took place in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, an Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan, after it attempted to secede from Azerbaijan and join with Armenia. The war ended in an Armenian victory. Not only did the Armenians drive the Azeris out of Nagorno-Karabakh, but they also captured a swath of Azeri territory linking Armenia with the breakaway region.

Nagorno-Karabakh became a de-facto independent state, albeit one recognized by nobody and entirely dependent on Armenian support. Azerbaijan, meanwhile, has never abandoned its claim to its lost province nor to the territories seized by Armenia. The result has been occasional military clashes between Yerevan and Baku over the past 30 years.

This weekend, violence once again flared up on the front lines between the Armenian and Azeri forces. The Armenian government announced that it had repulsed an enemy offensive and issued a video showing the destruction of several items of Azeri military equipment. The Azeri government, in turn, accused Armenia of attacking it, and declared that it had launched its own counter-offensive in which it had ‘liberated’ several villages. Armenia has now mobilized its army. Many fear the outbreak of all-out war.

One explanation for the recent flare-up may be that Azerbaijan feels much stronger than it did when it suffered its defeat at the hands of Armenia 30 years ago. The Azeri economy, benefitting from substantial oil reserves, has outgrown that of its neighbor, as has the Azeri population – there are 10 million Azeris compared with only three million Armenians. Azerbaijan has invested heavily in its military and may feel much more confident about its prospects should matters escalate further.

Another explanation may be the support Azerbaijan is receiving from its primary ally – Turkey. Following this weekend’s clashes, Turkish president Recep Erdogan called on ‘the entire world to stand with Azerbaijan in its battle against invasion.’ Such Turkish support may embolden the Azeri leadership not to back down if things begin to get out of hand.

Russia has officially adopted a position of neutrality in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, and called on all sides to settle their differences peacefully. This has meant supporting the status quo. Since that status quo favours Armenia, in reality this position has meant supporting Armenia, a posture reinforced by Armenia’s membership of various multilateral initiatives sponsored by Russia, notably the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union.

The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh thus indirectly pits Russia against Turkey. It also undermines a common narrative that claims that Russia seeks to undermine democracy and promote authoritarian forms of government. After all, Russia’s ally Armenia is a democracy whereas Turkey’s ally, Azerbaijan, is not.

Nagorno-Karabakh is not the only location where Russian and Turkish proxies are clashing. In Syria, Russia has been backing the government of Bashar Assad while Turkey has been propping up the anti-Assad rebels in Idlib province. And in Libya, Russia is said to support rebel general Khalifa Haftar, while Turkey recently sent substantial aid to the government forces in Tripoli to help drive Haftar’s troops away from the capital.

Russia has good reasons, therefore, to regard Turkey as a spoiler, undermining Russian influence in the Caucasus, Middle East, and North Africa. But Russia isn’t the only state that Turkey has irritated in recent years. Turkey currently has poor relations with fellow NATO members, and this provides an opportunity which Russia can exploit for its own advantage. Economic opportunities also beckon in Turkey, as seen by the recent Turkish decision to purchase Russian-made S-400 air-defense missiles.

Consequently, whenever Russia and Turkey have clashed in recent years, the Russian government has sought to rapidly calm things down. Unsurprisingly, it is now taking the same approach regarding the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. On the one hand, Russia needs to stand by its Armenian ally. On the other hand, it wishes to avoid an escalation which would bring it into conflict with Turkey. A restoration of the ceasefire and the status-quo ante thus serves it best. Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs therefore issued a statement declaring that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was “intensively conducting talks to induce the parties to immediately cease firing and start negotiations to stabilize the situation.”

For now, this approach may work. In the longer term, though, economic and demographic considerations mean that power in the Southern Caucasus will likely continue to shift in Azerbaijan’s favor. As it does, Russia’s balancing act vis-à-vis Turkey could become increasingly difficult to maintain.

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Update: 2020 Sept 29

Azerbaijan-Armenian War - Turkish F-16s Enter the Game

Source: SouthFront

The Armenian-Azerbaijani war continues raging in the South Caucasus.

As of September 29, the Azerbaijani advance in the Nagorno-Karabakh region struck the Armenian defense and Azerbaijani forces were not able to achieve any military breakthroughs. Armenian troops withdrew from several positions in the Talish area and east of Fuzuli.

The Azerbaijani military has been successfully employing combat drones and artillery to destroy positions and military equipment of Armenia, but Azerbaijani mechanized infantry was unable to develop its momentum any further.

While both sides claim that they eliminated multiple enemy fighters and made notable gains, the real situation on the ground remains more or less stable with minor gains achieved by Azerbaijani troops. Armenian sources say that 370 Azerbaijani troops were killed and over 1,000 injured. The number of killed Armenian fighters, according to Azerbaijani sources, is over 1,000. Armenian sources also note the notable role of Turkey in the developing conflict.

Armenian President Armen Sarkissian said that Turkey has been assisting Azerbaijan in its war against the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic with advisers, mercenaries and even F-16 fighter jets. He added that the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is still possible through dialogue. However, the President emphasized that the Armenian nation cannot allow a return to the past.

“105 years ago, the Ottoman Empire carried out the genocide of the Armenians. In no case can we allow this genocide to be repeated,” Sarkissian said.

Armenia threatens to use Iskander short-range ballistic missile systems obtained from Russia against Azerbaijani targets if Turkish F-16 warplanes are employed on the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Armenian Ambassador to Russia Vardan Toganyan said that members of Turkish-backed Syrian militant groups have been already participating in the conflict. He said that recently about 4,000 Turkish-backed militants were deployed to Azerbaijan. In turn, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan said that “people who have arrived from Syria and other countries of the Middle East” are fighting on the side of Armenia. Earlier, pro-Turkish sources claimed that Armenia was transporting fighters from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Thus, the sides are not only claiming that they are gaining an upper hand in the war, but also accuse each other of using foreign mercenaries and terrorists.

On the evening of September 28, the Defense Ministry of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic confirmed that 84 of its troops were killed in the recent escalation. The Armenian side also claimed that its forces had shot down an Azerbaijani aircraft. However, this claim was denied by the Azerbaijani military. Baku continues insisting that all Armenian claims about the Azerbaijani casualties in the war are fake news.

On September 29, the Armenian side continued reporting about Azerbaijani helicopters being shot down, and declaring that they repelled Azerbaijani attacks. Nonetheless, the scale and intensity of the strikes by the Azerbaijani side did not demonstrate any decrease. On top of this, the Armenian Defense Ministry said that a Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet shot down an Armenian Su-25 warplane. The F-16 fighter jet allegedly took off from the Ganja Airbase in Azerbaijan and was providing air cover to combat UAVs, which were striking targets in Armenia’s Vardenis, Mec Marik and Sotk. Azerbaijan and Turkey denied Armenian claims that a Turkish F-16 shot down the Su-25.

So far, no side has achieved a strategic advantage in the ongoing conflict. However, the Azerbaijani military, which receives extensive support from Turkey, is expected to have better chances in the prolonged conflict with Armenia, if Erevan does not receive direct military support from Russia.