RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Zelensky threatens unsupportive Americans
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky warned Americans to keep supporting Ukraine or risk geopolitical irrelevance, during a press conference on the anniversary of Russia’s military operation in the country. Should it stop funding Kiev’s war effort, the US will "lose the leadership position that they are enjoying in the world," the Ukrainian leader declared on Friday.
"If they do not change their opinion…they will lose NATO, they will lose the clout of the United States, they will lose the leadership position they are enjoying in the world," Zelensky declared, following a speech in which he declared 2023 the "Year of Invincibility" and vowed to unite the world against Russia.
The warning was a response to a reporter asking what Zelensky would tell the "growing number of Americans" who believe their country is giving too much money and support to Ukraine. The president made sure to thank his American supporters – a group he hinted included not just Congress and President Joe Biden but also "the TV channels" and "the journalists" – before threatening those who held the "dangerous" opinion that the US should "give up" on Kiev.
"The US is never going to give up on a NATO member state," Zelensky declared, insisting that should Ukraine fall because of flagging support from Washington, Russia would "enter the Baltic states, NATO member states, and then the US will have to send their sons and daughters exactly the way as we are sending their [sic] sons and daughters to war."
"They will be dying," the Ukrainian leader stressed.
The actor-turned-politician added that interrupting the flow of dollars to Ukraine would also cause the US to "lose the support of a country with 40 million population, with millions of children. Are American children any different from ours?" he asked.
The Republican Party regained control of the House of Representatives in last year’s midterm elections in part on a promise to curtail the Biden administration’s blank check to Kiev. While Congress has not yet passed any legislation to rein in spending on the conflict, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) promised earlier this week to introduce a bill to force an audit of the Ukraine aid program and the House Oversight Committee demanded the administration turn over documents proving the military and economic aid being sent to Ukraine was not being lost to "waste, fraud, and abuse."
The US has thus far pledged $113 billion to Ukraine's war effort, vowing to continue pouring money into the conflict for "as long as it takes."
** Ukraine has ‘total dominance’ over US – Trump
Ukraine has asserted "total dominance" over the US, former President Donald Trump said Friday during an interview with Glenn Beck. The ex-president also suggested that Kiev might be the real culprit behind the destruction of Russia’s Nord Stream pipelines last October.
Commenting on the recent report by veteran American journalist Seymour Hersh, who suggested the pipelines were targeted by Washington in a clandestine operation ordered directly by President Joe Biden, Trump did not rule out US involvement but rubbished allegations that Moscow destroyed the installation itself.
"Well, it could have been us, and it could have been Ukraine, and it could have been some third-party country that wants to see trouble. The one group it wasn’t is Russia… This is a main source of massive income for them. They didn't blow it up to make a point. That's the one thing I can tell you for sure," Trump stated, adding that "everything gets blamed on Russia" by the "sick" people.
The US might have been "working in conjunction" with Ukraine to target the pipelines, the ex-president suggested, since Kiev has already asserted "total dominance" over Washington.
"We’ve given them probably $150 billion, and Europe has given them almost nothing," he added.
Earlier this week, Trump, who is seeking to get elected back into the White House in 2024, already vowed to end the Ukraine conflict within hours should he make it to the office again. "I would literally start calling, not from the day I took over, but from the night I won," he told a campaign rally in Florida this week.
The ex-president has also blamed the "warmongers and ‘America Last’ globalists" entrenched at the State Department, the Pentagon, and the "national security industrial complex" for pushing the hostilities forward. "I was the only president who rejected the catastrophic advice of many of Washington’s generals, bureaucrats and so-called diplomats who only knew how to get us into conflicts,"he said in a campaign video released Tuesday.
** Russian forces down three Ukrainian warplanes in past day
Russian forces shot down three Ukrainian warplanes over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Saturday.
"Fighter aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces shot down Ukrainian Air Force Su-24 and MiG-29 planes in areas near the settlements of Rozovka and Dmitrov in the Donetsk People’s Republic. In the area of the settlement of Tyaginka in the Kherson Region, air defense capabilities shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 plane," the spokesman said.
Russian air defense forces destroyed eight Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, two HIMARS rockets and three Tochka-U ballistic missiles over the past 24 hours, the general added.
Russian forces inflicted damage on Ukrainian manpower and equipment in the Kupyansk area
Russian forces inflicted damage on Ukrainian manpower and equipment in the Kupyansk area, eliminating roughly 60 enemy troops over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Kupyansk area, army aviation and artillery of the western battlegroup inflicted damage on the enemy units in areas near the settlements of Masyutovka and Ivanovka in the Kharkov Region and Novosyolovskoye in the Lugansk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.
The strikes eliminated enemy manpower and equipment, the general said.
"The Ukrainian army’s losses amounted to 60 personnel, three pickup trucks, a US-made M777 artillery system and a Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery gun," Konashenkov reported.
Russian forces eliminated roughly 180 Ukrainian troops in the Krasny Liman area
Russian forces eliminated roughly 180 Ukrainian troops in the Krasny Liman area over the past day, he said.
"In the Krasny Liman area, active operations by units from the battlegroup Center, air strikes, artillery and heavy flamethrower fire inflicted damage on the Ukrainian army’s manpower and equipment in areas near the settlements of Yampolovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Stelmakhovka, Chervonaya Dibrova and Kuzmino in the Lugansk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.
Russian forces eliminated enemy manpower and military hardware during the battles, the general said.
"About 180 Ukrainian troops, six armored combat vehicles, a Grad multiple rocket launcher, a D-20 howitzer and a counter-battery radar were destroyed in that area in the past 24 hours," Konashenkov reported.
Russian forces eliminated over 120 Ukrainian troops and an ammunition depot in the Donetsk area
Russian forces eliminated over 120 Ukrainian troops and an ammunition depot in the Donetsk area over the past day, he said.
"In the Donetsk area, over 120 Ukrainian troops, three armored combat vehicles, D-20 and D-30 howitzers were destroyed in the past 24 hours as a result of active operations by units of the southern battlegroup, air strikes and artillery fire. In addition, an artillery ammunition depot was destroyed in the area of the settlement of Avdeyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.
Russian forces destroyed over 90 Ukrainian troops and three tanks in the southern Donetsk and Zaporozhye areas
Russian forces destroyed over 90 Ukrainian troops and three tanks in the southern Donetsk and Zaporozhye areas in the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the southern Donetsk and Zaporozhye areas, operational/tactical aircraft and artillery of the battlegroup East delivered a massive strike on the Ukrainian army units near the settlements of Ugledar and Dobrovolye in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Gulyaipole in the Zaporozhye Region. Over 90 personnel, three tanks, two infantry fighting vehicles, two armored combat vehicles, two pickup trucks, a Msta-B howitzer and a D-20 howitzer were destroyed in those areas in the past 24 hours," the spokesman said.
Two Ukrainian ammunition depots destroyed near Ugledar in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Malinovka in the Zaporozhye Region
In areas near the settlements of Ugledar in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Malinovka in the Zaporozhye Region, two Ukrainian ammunition depots were destroyed, the general added.
Russian forces destroyed a US-made M777 howitzer in the Kherson area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Kherson area, a US-made M777 artillery system and two Gvozdika self-propelled artillery guns were destroyed in counter-battery fire," the spokesman said.
Russian forces struck deployment sites of the Ukrainian army’s marine corps and special operations units in the Dnepropetrovsk Region
Russian forces struck deployment sites of the Ukrainian army’s marine corps and special operations units in the Dnepropetrovsk Region over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the past 24 hours, operational/tactical and army aviation, missile troops and artillery of the Russian group of forces struck 97 Ukrainian artillery units at firing positions, and also manpower and equipment in 135 areas. In the area of the settlement of Glukhoye in the Dnepropetrovsk Region, the temporary deployment sites of marine infantry and special operations units were struck," the spokesman said.
In all, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 390 Ukrainian combat aircraft, 210 helicopters, 3,236 unmanned aerial vehicles, 405 surface-to-air missile systems, 8,027 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,045 multiple rocket launchers, 4,215 field artillery guns and mortars and 8,538 special military motor vehicles since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, Konashenkov reported.
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Most G20 nations condemn Russia for war, China silent
Finance chiefs of the world's largest economies strongly condemned Moscow for its war on Ukraine on Saturday, with only China and Russia itself declining to sign a joint statement.
India, which as chair of the Group of Twenty (G20) economies was hosting a meeting in the city of Bengaluru, was reluctant to raise the issue of the war but Western nations insisted they could not back any outcome that did not include a condemnation.
The lack of consensus among G20 members meant India resorted to issuing a "chair's summary and outcome document" in which it simply summed up the two days of talks and noted disagreements.
"Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed that it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy," it said, citing disruption of supply chains, risks to financial stability and continuing energy and food insecurity.
"There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions," it said, referring to measures put in place by the United States, European countries and others to punish Russia for the invasion and to starve it of revenues.
The outcome was similar to that of a G20 summit in Bali last November when host Indonesia also issued a final declaration acknowledging differences. The G20, formed over two decades to tackle economic crises, has increasingly struggled to reach the consensus needed to issue an official end-of-meeting communique.
"Although there was not what we would call a communique, but only an outcome statement, we still think we've made some progress in having all the ministers on board," Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said China's refusal to join the declaration was "regrettable".
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen earlier told Reuters that it was "absolutely necessary" for any statement to condemn Russia. Two delegates told Reuters that Russia and China did not want the G20 platform to be used to discuss political matters.
Russia, a member of the G20 but not of the G7, refers to its actions in Ukraine as a "special military operation", and avoids calling it an invasion or war.
India has kept a largely neutral stance, declining to blame Russia for the invasion, seeking a diplomatic solution and sharply boosting its purchases of Russian oil.
China and India were among the nations that abstained on Thursday when U.N. voted overwhelmingly to demand Moscow withdraw its troops from Ukraine and stop fighting.
Besides the G7 nations, the G20 bloc also includes countries such as Australia, Brazil and Saudi Arabia.
"It's becoming difficult for the G20 to engage in constructive discussion because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which is an act that shakes the foundations of the global order," Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki told reporters.
** Russia's Medvedev floats idea of pushing back Poland's borders
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday that the only way for Moscow to ensure a lasting peace with Ukraine was to push back the borders of hostile states as far as possible, even if that meant the frontiers of NATO member Poland.
Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, made the comments in a message on his Telegram account exactly a year after Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in what it called a "special military operation" to protect Russian speakers and ensure its own security.
Ukraine says it is defending itself from an unprovoked colonial-style war of aggression and has vowed to retake all of its own territory by force, including Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Medvedev, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, forecast on Friday that Russia would be victorious and that some kind of loose agreement would eventually end the fighting.
"Victory will be achieved. We all want it to happen as soon as possible. And that day will come," said Medvedev. He predicted that tough negotiations with Ukraine and the West would follow that would culminate in "some kind of agreement."
But he said that deal would lack what he called "fundamental agreements on real borders" and not amount to an over-arching European security pact, making it vital for Russia to extend its own borders now.
"That is why it is so important to achieve all the goals of the special military operation. To push back the borders that threaten our country as far as possible, even if they are the borders of Poland," said Medvedev.
Poland shares long eastern borders with Ukraine and with Russia's ally Belarus, and a frontier of some 200 km (125 miles) in its northeastern corner with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
Any encroachment on Poland's borders would bring Russia for the first time into direct conflict with NATO. U.S. President Joe Biden pledged in a speech in Warsaw this week to defend "every inch" of NATO territory if it was attacked.
Medvedev, 57, has adopted an increasingly hawkish tone and made a series of outspoken interventions since the war began with some political analysts suggesting he is one of the people that Putin might one day consider as a successor.
RT/TASS/Reuters
