Tag: Russia

Putin: was it an assassination attempt?

Blog, Conflict, Europe, Politics, Russia

Brussels 26.05.2025 A Russian military commander of its air defense division claimed that President Vladimir Putin’s helicopter was “at the epicentre” of a Ukrainian drone attack on May 20, while travelling in Kursk oblast.

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“We were simultaneously engaged in an air defense battle and ensuring airspace security for the president’s helicopter flight. The helicopter was effectively at the epicenter of the response to the massive drone attack” Yury Dashkin said.

The claim, made five days after the alleged incident in Kursk Oblast, has not been independently verified. Dashkin provided no evidence to support the claim, and Russian authorities have not released further details.

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Putin’s visit to Kursk marked his first public trip to the region since Russian forces reclaimed most of the territory from Ukrainian control which was established there in August last year.

The incident raises question of the respect of the international law by Ukraine while attacking military target – the helicopter – in Kursk oblast, which is undisputable Russian territory. In international law, self-defense is the right of a state to use force in response to an armed attack. This right is recognized under Article 51 of the UN Charter and customary international law, which permits the use of force in self-defense when an armed attack occurs, according to the ICRC online casebook.
However the response must be necessary and proportional to the attack.

Zelenskyy frantic stunt in White House

Blog, International, Politics, World

Brussels 01.03.2025 Volodimir Zelenskyy should have come with an interpreter to the White House. His English is too rudimentary for a head of state. Unfortunately for Ukrainians he has no adequate assessment of his own skills, and capacities, which is not conducive to public good.

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Moreover Zelenskyy doesn’t not think, behave, and act as a President of a country. He looked like some obsessed WOKE ACTIVIST who broke through gates of White House, and was removed by agents to secure work environment.
The necessity to organize elections to return to democracy has never been so urgent in Ukraine as with this failed presidency. Elected due to promise of peace to his compatriots, Zelenskyy quickly mutated to “President of War” in his own words. His outfit, which causes raised brows, stands for incapacity to accept the grim realities: it is impossible to win this war, he is peddling with a remarkable insistence, omitting costs both in human lives, and resources channeled into production of lethal weapons.
It is time for elections in Ukraine to liberate the Ukrainian people from a showman, who can’t stop performing at world stage, confusing virtual reality, created by cameras with the grim realities of endless war his is so exited about. The frustrations outbursts of Zelenskyy in the White House revealed a comedian enjoying a spotlight at cost of a graveyards of young man, an aggressive Narcissist, playing a dream role of his life.
However Zelenskyy’ Harlequin mask have fallen during the White House stunt, revealing his tremendous deficiency of skills, and culture. The stunt which was a self-inflicted catastrophe. Nihilation of reputation.
The Ukrainian people deserve better. The need for elections of a President of Ukraine has become urgent.
The REAL FEEL: farewell to Harlequin !

EU further restricts freedom of speech

Blog, Conflict, EU

Brussels 24.02.2025 The EU Commission cheered the Council’s adoption of the 16th Russia sanctions package aligned with the III year anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war, including ban of a number of Russian mass media outlets.

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“As Russia’s illegal aggression enters its fourth year, this package is designed to further ramp up pressure on the aggressor and is part of the EU’s unwavering commitment to a just and lasting peace for Ukraine” reads the official text.
“In the 16th package, the EU has extended the prohibition to broadcast content to 8 Russian media outlets (EADaily, Fondsk, Lenta, NewsFront, RuBaltic, SouthFront, Strategic Culture Foundation and Krasnaya Zvezda) because these are under the permanent control of the Russian leadership and systematically participate in spreading misinformation and propaganda, which constitutes a threat to the Union’s public order and security” the reads the text of EU Commission Q&A page.
The explanation resonates with the words of the U.S. Vice-President J.D.Vance at Munich Security Conference: “…Now, to many of us on the other side of the Atlantic, it looks more and more like old, entrenched interests hiding behind ugly, Soviet-era words like “misinformation” and “disinformation,” who simply don’t like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion, or, God forbid, vote a different way, or, even worse, win an election”.
However the acknowledgment of mistakes, and admitting the failures are the most complicated mechanisms of human psychology, often causing well-known effect of “continuation of investment in failure”, which is both costly, and irrational waste of precious resources, including time.
The initial decision to cut off Russia Today TV channel in breach of the Lisbon Treaty Article 11 (
https://fra.europa.eu/en/eu-charter/article/11-freedom-expression-and-information)
was a precedent to open the gates into Soviet-like era of repression of freedom of speech, which later became normalized, and shifted from periphery to the centre, becoming the major instrument of dealing with the opponents – shut down. Unfortunately the pattern causes the irreparable damages to the EU project, indicating to lack of arguments, and deficiency of moral high ground.

Russia breaks CITES Convention and indulges in wildlife trade

Blog, Conflict, Russia

Strasbourg 23.10.2024 The atrocious death of Taigan safari-zoo keeper Leocadia Perevalova, 41, mauled by lions on October 16 caused serious concerns about the “pocket of lawlessness” in Russia-controlled Crimea, where along with the breach of security, sanitary norms, the illegal trade in big cats flourishes, breaching Russia’s government obligation imposed by the CITES Convention. Apparently after the second death of an employee of the safari-park in suspicious circumstances, the catastrophic lack of security measures came to public attention, leading further to a shocking discovery of the intentional character of the irregularities, covering the shady wildlife trade.

The founder, and the owner of the parc Oleg Zoubkov, who at times claimed that he is just an ordinary guide in the parc, attempting to avoid the responsibility for the systemic neglect of public safety, has already announced that the death of Perevalova was a result of omitting the rules, and “forgetting” to close the lock of the lion’s cage. However the animal rights activists have pointed to many contortions in Zoubkov statement, which contradict the official information from the ongoing investigation, namely five hours pause between discovering of a dead body of the keeper to calling police.

The activists, and civil journalists confirmed that they have been attempting to draw the attention of the authorities to the catastrophic situation in the parc for many years. The breach of basic safety rules is obvious, so is the total neglect of sanitary obligations: in the park hosting around 1500 wild animals there is no one single veterinary specialist!
The only vet, visiting park upon request, comes from the city of Simferopol – 50 km away, and offers services free off charge, being a founder of animal charity “Fauna Blago” to help animals in need.
Furthermore there is nobody monitoring the health of animals, and even their numbers are kept unknown to facilities the illegal trade. The activists were raising the issue of uncontrolled animal reproduction, and vanishing of lion’s and tiger’s cubs used for adverting of the park.

Recently the fate of a lion’s cub Sherkhan attracted attention of the activists: “…Let us recall that the cub Sherkhan was transferred to Crimea by a businessman from Donetsk in mid-November. The lion cub was given to him as a birthday present. A whole room was set up for the little predator. He was kept in excellent conditions, grew up affectionate and friendly. But at one fine moment the man realized that the king of beasts is not a house toy, and brought his pet to “Taigan” writes Russian tabloid KP.ru (VIDEO of Zoubrov advertising Sherkhan lion cub below)

In spite of being from unknown origin, Sherkhan was sold to notorious Harbin Zoo, China, in breach of the CITES convention. The activists point at the bragging of Zoubkov, being proud of responding to high demand for “Russian lions” internationally for private zoos, and circuses, advertising, photo-shooting etc. Animal welfare groups demand the independent investigation of the situation, claiming that the local authorities in Crimea are totally corrupt, and enjoy their “fair share” in illegal big cats trade. The workers of the park, tell stories of cruelty, and also inbreeding of lions, and tigers, describing the safari park as a cover for illegal farming and trade in big cats. So far the demands of the activists have fallen on deaf ears. Local authorities, and law enforcement simulate activities, in reality allowing the big cats farming to prosper, transforming Crimea into a platform for illegal wildlife trade.
(VIDEO of Harbin zoo lions in winter below)

The Russian Federation joined CITES in January 1992 through the continuation of its membership as part of the former USSR and was elected to serve as a regional member on the CITES Standing Committee at CITES CoP17.

Metsola: Enlargement must remain a top priority

Blog, EU, Europe, Politics, Russia

Brussels 27.06.2024 In her traditional address to the European leaders at the EUCO Summit the president of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola has drawn attention to the following:
“Competitiveness, security & defence, and social equality are clear electoral messages for the EU’s programme”, said EP President Roberta Metsola to the European Council.

Addressing the European Council today in Brussels, President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola highlighted the following topics:

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Ukraine
“The European Parliament welcomes the new security cooperation pact between Ukraine and the European Union.

The presence of President Zelenskyy here to mark the occasion is of important symbolical value and bears proof to our mutual commitment to our common security and shared destiny.”

Enlargement
“The step taken to begin formal EU membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova this month is significant and important. The European Parliament has been a strong advocate for the launch of EU accession negotiations.

Getting our Union ready for enlargement must remain a top priority in our next institutional cycle.”

Delivering on messages from the elections
“We have now a much clearer view of what people expect us to deliver on over the next five years. The challenge is now to turn these electoral messages into a political programme for the European Union. One that is serious, deliverable and implementable.”

Security and defence
“People have called for the robust defence of our values and for security to remain a top priority. Our support for Ukraine must continue.

It also means doing more to increase Europe’s ability to respond to any type of crisis and strategic autonomy. This requires a pressing need to develop a real common security and defence policy.

We have already worked together to ramp-up our capabilities, decrease duplications and reduce the fragmentation of the defence industries. Establishing a strong defence industrial base is the next step.”

Competitiveness and the Single Market
“European competitiveness is critical from an economic and a political perspective – we need to reinforce Europe’s place on the global stage.“

“We need to re-double our efforts for open, balanced, fair trade that is based on international rules, and broaden our network of trade agreements with partners by concluding and ratifying the ones we have in the pipeline.”

“Strengthening competitiveness will also require deepening the Single Market. Only by increasing productivity, speeding-up investments in own industrial capabilities, can we reduce strategic dependencies while simultaneously supporting and sustaining economic growth. The Single Market is our greatest economic driver.”

Financing growth
“If we are to grow our economies and pay back our debts, we have to get serious about finding innovative ways to fuel both public and private investment.”

“The increase of the ceilings in a mid-term revision of the EU’s current long-term budget was an important step in the right direction. As we prepare for the next MFF, we need to ensure a budget that is fit-for-purpose.”

“We need to complete our Banking and Capital Markets Unions, if we are serious about mobilising private capital to invest in our priorities, and to incentivise our companies to stay in Europe. This is how we sustain economic growth and create new quality jobs and futures with dignity.”

Leaving nobody behind
“When it comes to making progress on the green and digital transitions, no one should be left behind. Implementation here is key. That must be our focus now.”

“Whilst we are extremely proud of our world leading targets, burdens, bureaucracy and red-tape risk holding back progress. Each regulation may well be justified, but when taken together we need to be careful to ensure that this does not become too much. Our proposals must work for families. For industry. For farmers.”

“That is how we can bring Europe a little bit closer to how our people want it to be. How we can reflect on the message that the electorate sent us. How we will deliver on a stronger, safer, fairer and better Europe for all Europeans.”

Election of the President of the European Commission
“The European Parliament remains firmly behind the Lead Candidate process and we confirm that the European People’s Party is once again the largest political group in the European Parliament.

We will respect the due process. After the European Council communicates to us the name, we will invite the person to meet with Group leaders on Tuesday (2 July). The aim of this is to determine the candidate able to form the necessary qualified majority in Parliament to become the next Commission President. A candidate with a political programme that is able to capture the main electoral messages and reflect the views of the majority of the House.

The European Parliament stands ready to move the smooth process forward for electing a new Commission President without delay as soon as the European Council submits its candidate and for the hearings of the Commissioners after that.”

MEP Donato husband found strangled in Palermo

Blog, EU, Europe

Brussels 26.05.2024 The Italian MEP Francesca Donato husband – architect Angelo Onorato,54, – found dead yesterday afternoon in his car with a plastic band around his neck, blood stains were found on his shirt while there were no traces of a struggle inside the car.

According to the first body inspection carried out by the medical examiner, the entrepreneur died of suffocation. The autopsy, ordered by the deputy prosecutor Ennio Petrigni who coordinates the investigation, will provide more details.

There are currently two main hypotheses: murder or suicide. However, the latter is not taken into consideration by his family and friends.
“They killed my husband Angelo” Donato told her close ones when they called her to find out what happened.
Further in the evening when she was taken to the Flying Squad offices to be interviewed, she repeated “”Angelo didn’t kill himself”, insisting that the was not a suicidal type of character.

Even the people who were with Onorato at the start of summer party organized by the tennis club on Friday May 24 evening speak of a serene and happy person. However the hypothesis of suicide is not discarded by the operatives, for whom all hypotheses remain open during this stage of investigation. There is also an unconfirmed information about his debts.

Based on initial reports, the body was found by MEP Donato and her daughter Carolina. They worried about the cell phone silence, and found the car by GPS. They would have been the first to arrive at the site of the gruesome discovery, as reported by a witness who said he saw two women screaming next to the car with the door open, and that he recognized the MEP who is well known politician in Palermo.

Friends and family profoundly shattered by this sudden death of they speak of a happy family man with a lot of friends in various clubs. Francesca Donato married the entrepreneur in 1999 and on April 24th they celebrated their silver wedding.

The MEP, originally from Ancona, Marche, had moved to Palermo after her marriage, where she gave birth to Salvatore, 25, and Carolina, 21. Both spouses were involved in politics with the Democrazia Cristiana (DC) party, Donato joined after abandoning Lega which brought her to Brussels MEPs ranks.
Two years ago her husband also attempted a political career by running on the DC list in Palermo for the regional elections, obtaining 846 votes but not enough to be elected. Despite this, the entrepreneur was very active alongside his wife and participated in party meetings. Does this activity have anything to do with his death? Assumptions that some in the party put forward, thinking about the European elections on 8 and 9 June.

Taurus: Crimea bridge attack plans

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Brussels 03.03.2024 The German authorities are looking forward to the results of an investigation into a leaked conversation of Germany’s top officials about a perspective attack on the Crimean Bridge with the use of Taurus missiles. Bild am Sonntag reported the conclusions of this research will be published soon.
Earlier Russian media claimed it had obtained a 40 minutes long secret conversation between German Air Force Commander Ingo Gerhartz and other senior officers about the supply of Taurus missiles to Ukraine. Boris Pistorius said the released recording revealed officers discussing various scenarios and did not mean a “green light” for the transfer of Taurus missiles to Kiev.

According to the newspaper, the government intends to find out how the leak has occurred in a matter of days and then decide on appropriate measures. German Spiegel magazine ensures that first analyses show that the footage released is authentic.

Since this incident involves national security, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has taken it upon himself to make a decision, the newspaper said. He wishes to discuss potential measures with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

On Friday, March 1, Scholz gave assurances that NATO was not now and would not in the future be directly involved in the Ukraine conflict.

However he leak of German military conversations about the attack on the Crimean bridge with a Taurus missile is explosive, – Tagesschau TV channel:
▪️The officers conferred before a briefing for Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. The questions on the agenda were whether the Taurus could technically destroy the bridge, whether Kyiv would be able to carry out an attack without the participation of the Bundeswehr, and how long it might take to train the Ukrainians to work with these missiles.
▪️The recording shows that there is no green light from Berlin for the supply of cruise missiles. It says that first Germany can supply 50 missiles, and then another 50. But this is just speculation about the possibilities. The main result is a hole in the country’s security system. The media are asking the question: “how did Russia get the recording, was it a targeted interception? Did the fact that one of the participants in the conversation lived in a hotel in Singapore play a role?”
▪️The CDU party has already stated that it is necessary to investigate how Russian spies obtained phone numbers and “how they were able to gain access to this conference.”
▪️Russia’s main goal in the publication is to confirm that Germany has long been a participant in the confrontation in Ukraine and is deeply involved in the conflict, contrary to Berlin’s claims. The investigation is ongoing. – RVvoenkor reports.

Russia IL-76 crash under scrutiny

Blog, Conflict, Europe, Politics, Russia

Brussels 26.01.2024 In case the use of an U.S. or a German surface-to-air missile systems for the deadly attack on Russia’s Il-76 plane (pictured) is confirmed, Western countries will become complicit in the crime committed by the Kiev government, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said.

“According to preliminary investigation, Ukrainian armed forces carried out this terrorist attack using an anti-aircraft missile system. The missiles were launched from the village of Liptsy in Kharkov region,” the Russian diplomat said. “These could have been either American Patriot or German-made Iris-T missiles. If confirmed, this will make the Western suppliers of this ammo complicit in this crime. Just as they are complicit in shelling of peaceful neighborhoods of Russian cities that Ukrainian armed forces carry out with Western weapons.”

On January 24, Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian Il-76 military transport aircraft that was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) for exchange. All 74 people onboard, including 65 Ukrainians perished in the incident. The Russian Defense Ministry called the catastrophe a terrorist act and said Kiev authorities knew about the transportation POWs for an exchange that was planned at the Kolotilovka checkpoint.
In his video address late on Wednesday, President Zelensky said it was “obvious that the Russians are playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners, with the feelings of their relatives and with the emotions of our society”.

The Ukrainian leader, who has cancelled a planned regional trip linked to his birthday on Thursday, stressed that “all clear facts must be established”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov condemned the downing of the plane as a “monstrous act”, according to Russian news agencies. He told reporters that if Mr Zelensky meant an international inquiry into “the criminal actions of the Kyiv regime”, it was definitely needed.

Moscow drone attack hit two buildings

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Brussels 24.07.2023 Early morning hours an attack by two drones was carried out in Moscow, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced. The Ministry of Defense accused Kiev in conducting them.

“There were no victims in the thwarted terrorist attack by Kiev on objects in Moscow” the Ministry informed.
“Kiev drones that tried to attack Moscow targets were suppressed thanks to electronic warfare systems. Both drones crashed and fell” they concluded.

Russia’s state-owned Tass news agency reported that one drone fell close to the defence ministry.

Ukrainian officials are yet to comment, but they rarely claim responsibility for attacks inside Russia.

In a separate development, Russian-installed officials ordered people to evacuate one district of Crimea after a reported overnight Ukrainian drone attack.

EU establishes Russia Crime Centre

Blog, Conflict, EU, Human rights, International, Politics, Russia

Today, the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) started its operations in the Hague, hosted by the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust). The newly established Centre will be key to investigate Russia’s crime of aggression against Ukraine and facilitate case building for future trials. It will provide a structure to support and enhance ongoing and future investigations into the crime of aggression and contribute to the exchange and analysis of evidence gathered since the start of the Russian aggression.

The Centre will begin operating as of today. Eurojust will work closely with the Commission and the members of the Joint Investigation Team to ensure that the Centre can provide the best possible support to national authorities.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is competent to prosecute the gravest international crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and the crime of aggression). However, at the moment, the ICC cannot prosecute Russia for the crime of aggression, since Russia is not a State party to the ICC. To close this gap, in November 2022 the Commission presented options to the Member States to guarantee that there is full accountability for all crimes committed in Ukraine. These options explored the possibility of establishing an accountability mechanism to allow the prosecution of the crime of aggression.

While discussions continue, in particular within the Core Group on the establishment of the Special Tribunal, it is crucial to ensure that the relevant evidence is properly secured, and that investigations can begin within the existing legal frameworks.

The evidence collected by the Centre could be used before other jurisdictions, including national and international courts, including a possible tribunal for the crime of aggression or the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes within its jurisdiction.

Prosecutors from the members of the Joint Investigation Centre will be relocated to Eurojust, where they can work together on a daily basis. The prosecutors will be supported by legal and analytical experts from Eurojust. Evidence identified can be stored securely in Eurojust’s Core International Crimes Evidence Database, established following the changes to the Eurojust Regulation based on the Commission’s proposal to amend Eurojust’s regulation.