RT News - November 15th 2022 Late

Massive blackouts across Ukraine with electricity facilities hit. Ukrainian officials say multiple cities across the country have been hit by missiles, targeting energy sites and leading to widespread blackouts. (1)

Belgorod's Shebenko city has been hit by missiles killing two civilians, injuring three more.

It's time for negotiations, like right now.

G20: While the West pushes its Ukraine agenda, most of the world wants a peaceful solution. That's the message from Russia's Foreign Minister at the ongoing G20 summit.

The UAE refuses to take sides between powers, according to the Diplomatic Advisor to UAE President.

Jens Stoltenberg says "we" (NATO) should strengthen Ukraine's hand on the battlefield. NATO's chief urges Ukraine to keep fighting on the battlefield, but some US officials are calling for peace talks, saying Kiev cannot beat Russia by military means.

The World Cup kicks off in Qatar on Sunday. Qatar says a smear campaign has already kicked off against them.

British media is responsible for false claims, harmful propaganda and encouraging terrorist style harms, as they report on the protests in Iran. Report.

David Pressman, US's "Ambassador" to Hungary, is trolling Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

***Stop Press***15 Nov, 2022 18:44

***Poland calls emergency security meeting after claim about missiles -- At least two people have reportedly been killed by an explosion in Poland allegedly caused by stray missiles, media says***

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has called an emergency meeting of the government’s national security and defense committee amid reports of a deadly strike on the nation’s border with Ukraine.

Poland is understood to have scrambled fighter jets in the wake of the reports that two people had been killed in an “explosion” allegedly caused by a missile strike. The Polish military and prosecutors have arrived at the scene of the blast, Visegrad 24 reports.

Earlier, the Polish media reported that “explosions” had rocked the town of Przewodow, which is located in the Lublin region, not far from the border with Ukraine. The blast reportedly hit a grain drier facility, killing at least two people, local media said.

“The reasons for this incident are not known at the moment,” local fire service spokesman, Senior Captain Marcin Lebiedowicz, told Radio Lublin. He confirmed that there had been casualties and said his agency had received “a report of an explosion.”

The Polish government spokesman Piotr Mueller also called on the media and the public “not to publish unconfirmed information.”

AP reported, citing a “senior US intelligence official,” that Russian missiles had crossed into Poland, killing two people. Mueller did not comment on the reports, only referring to the incident as a “crisis situation.”

Neither Kiev nor Moscow have commented on the incident so far.
https://www.rt.com/news/566586-poland-missile-emergency/
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Below 1) Massive missile strikes reported across Ukraine
Below 2) Kiev’s terms for talks ‘unrealistic’ – Moscow
Below 3) President Putin defines Russia’s national identity
Below 4) G20 host issues 'new cold war' warning
Below 5) US goal is to destroy Russia – security chief
Below 6) Conflict in Ukraine is hybrid war – Lavrov
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1) Via RT website 15 Nov, 2022 16:39

---- Massive missile strikes reported across Ukraine ----

President Vladimir Zelensky says Russia launched 85 projectiles that damaged the country's energy system

Russia targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure in a “massive” missile attack, the Ukrainian authorities said on Tuesday. The attack came less than a day after Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky set conditions for peace talks with Russia that Moscow called “unrealistic and inadequate.”

The Russian forces “launched 85 missile strikes at Ukraine,” Zelensky said in an emergency address on Tuesday evening. His office called the situation in the wake of the attack “critical,” adding that most strikes targeted facilities in the centre and north of Ukraine.

The situation in Kiev is particularly hard, according to the deputy head of the presidential administration, Kirill Timoshenko. The Ukrainian energy providers had resorted to emergency power cuts to avoid energy system failures, he added.

According to the local authorities, half of Kiev residents and up to 80% of people living in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv were left without electricity in the wake of the strikes.

Up to nine Ukrainian regions were targeted in the attack, according to the authorities.

Ukraine’s neighbour Moldova was also affected by the strike. Disruptions at the Ukrainian power plants led to a power-line disconnection in Moldova, causing “massive power outages across the country,” the nation’s deputy prime minister Andrei Spinu said on Telegram.

At least one person died in the attack in Kiev as a missile shot down by the Ukrainian air defence systems fell on a residential building in the capital, local emergency services confirmed. The Ukrainian Air Force spokesman said that a total of 100 X-101 and X-555 cruise missiles were launched at Ukraine.

Zelensky warned that further attacks could follow and called on people to stay in shelters.

Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushenko called the missile attack the “most massive shelling of [Ukraine’s] energy system since the beginning of the war.” He also confirmed that both Ukraine and “some of our neighbours” were affected.

Moscow has so far not commented on the development.
https://www.rt.com/russia/566581-strikes-across-ukraine/
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2) Via RT website 15 Nov, 2022 12:23

---- Kiev’s terms for talks ‘unrealistic’ – Moscow ----

The longer Ukraine rejects negotiations, the harder it will be to find common ground, the Russian FM has warned

Kiev’s conditions for the commencement of peace talks with Moscow are “unrealistic and inadequate,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has told journalists at the G20 summit. Moscow, however, is not refusing to negotiate, he added.

Lavrov, who is representing Russia at the high-profile gathering on the Indonesian island of Bali, said he had a brief conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron earlier on Tuesday. During this exchange, the French leader “confirmed his willingness to continue contacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin to find some agreements that would allow this whole situation to be settled, as he put it,” Lavrov said in a comment to RT’s correspondent.

“I reminded [Macron] that all the problems are on the Ukrainian side, which categorically refuses any talks and puts forward conditions that are invariably unrealistic and inadequate, considering the situation,” the foreign minister said.

Commenting on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s video address to the G20 summit, Lavrov said it was full of “militant, Russophobic and aggressive rhetoric.”

“I’ve made only one conclusion from his speech: that he’s still not listening to any advice from the West,” the Russian diplomat said.

Lavrov was likely referring to recent reports that Washington has been privately pushing Kiev to drop its uncompromising rejection of the peace process with Moscow. Also, last week, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, suggested that a Ukrainian victory may not be achievable militarily and that winter could provide an opportunity to begin talks with Russia.

“We’ve repeatedly, through the statements of our president, confirmed that we don’t refuse negotiations, if anyone does so, it’s Ukraine. And the longer it refuses to talk, the more difficult it’ll be to find common ground,” Lavrov stated.

In his video address earlier on Tuesday, Zelensky told the G20 leaders that he was “convinced now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped.”

While signaling Ukraine’s willingness to talk, he also stated that his country “shouldn’t be offered compromises with its sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence” to achieve peace.

Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said Zelensky’s address “absolutely confirms” the unwillingness of Kiev to look for a settlement of the conflict at the negotiating table.
https://www.rt.com/news/566555-lavrov-ukraine-zelensky-talks/
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3) 15 Nov, 2022 15:33

---- President Putin defines Russia’s national identity ----

It is based on moral guidelines that have been passed down through generations, the president said

The basis of Russia’s national identity is respect for the past and loyalty to long-standing traditions, President Vladimir Putin has said, accusing a number of states of aggressively attempting to rewrite world history.

Speaking at a government meeting on Tuesday, the Russian leader said that “the basis of our national identity has been and remains the continuity of generations, loyalty to traditions, and high spiritual and moral guidelines.”

Putin added that these guidelines were “reflected, supported, and developed” in Russia’s culture, creative spaces and all other aspects of everyday life and have even been defined on the governmental level.

Last week, Putin signed a decree on traditional values, which outlined the goal of state policy as the protection of Russia from socio-cultural threats. The document also defines traditional values as “moral guidelines that are passed down from generation to generation and outline Russia’s national identity.” They include: dignity, human rights and freedoms, patriotism, high moral ideals, strong family values, prioritizing the spiritual over the material, mercy, justice, mutual assistance and respect, shared historical memory, and national unity.

The decree also lists current threats to these values, such as the actions of the United States and other “unfriendly” countries, as well as a number of foreign NGOs. The document says these countries and organizations are engaged in the dissemination of a “destructive ideology, which leads to the formation of a society that neglects spiritual values and distorts historical truth.”

During his speech on Tuesday, Putin noted that attempts by a number of foreign countries to “rewrite and reshape world history” had grown more “aggressive” and sought to “shake” Russia’s sovereignty by dividing its people and depriving them of guidance.

According to the president, the “shaking” of the sovereignty of countries begins with historical “myths” as well as the distortion of history and erosion of values. “We’ve seen this scenario play out in a number of countries already, including in Ukraine,” he noted.

Putin added that this scenario was attempted in Russia as well, but the country managed to put up a strong enough barrier in time to defend its interests.
https://www.rt.com/russia/566573-putin-russia-national-identity/
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4) Via RT website 15 Nov, 2022 09:01

---- G20 host issues 'new cold war' warning ----

Indonesia’s president called on world leaders need to show responsibility and avoid conflict, for the sake of humanity

G20 summit host, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, has urged world leaders to avoid dividing the globe into blocs and launching a new cold war.

In his opening address to the gathering on Tuesday, the president, who goes by the nickname Jokowi, stressed that the world’s leading economies, comprising the G20, share a responsibility to humanity.

“Being responsible means creating not zero-sum situations, being responsible here also means that we must end the war. If the war does not end, it will be difficult for the world to move forward,” he said, in an apparent reference to the conflict in Ukraine.

President Widodo warned G20 leaders against ramping up global rivalries and returning to the form of confrontation that defined the second half of the 20th century.

“We should not divide the world into parts. We must not allow the world to fall into another cold war,” he urged his guests, calling for wisdom, leadership and cooperation.

The G20 summit has been largely overshadowed by the Ukraine conflict, which started almost nine months ago, also pitting Russia against the US and its allies, which have pledged to arm and fund Kiev “for as long as it takes” to defeat Moscow on the battlefield. They have also imposed harsh economic sanctions against Russia.

The sanctions have failed to garner support from some of the world’s leading economies, notably China, India and Brazil.

Beijing, which has criticized Moscow’s decision to send troops into Ukraine, has also blamed Washington’s actions and the expansion of NATO as root causes of the crisis.

The Indonesian leader called for immediate steps to address the shortage of food and fertilizer on the global market. Both issues have been exacerbated by anti-Russia sanctions. Moscow says it is largely unable to export grain and fertilizers, due restrictions affecting insurance for merchant ships and port services.

Before the G20 summit, President Widodo resisted pressure from Western nations to exclude Russian President Vladimir Putin from the gathering. Putin ultimately declined Widodo’s invitation, instead sending Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to head the Russian delegation.

On Tuesday, Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky delivered a speech to G20 attendees via videolink. He addressed the “G19”, presumably disregarding Russian membership, and reiterated Kiev’s uncompromising position. He demanded a full pullout of Russian troops to pre-2014 positions, reparations, and other concessions before a peace deal can be signed.
https://www.rt.com/news/566540-g20-jokowi-cold-war/
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5) Via RT website 15 Nov, 2022 13:17

---- US goal is to destroy Russia – security chief ----

Washington wants to use Ukraine to damage Russia, Nikolay Patrushev says

The US wants to weaken and destroy Russia, and is using Ukraine as a “battering ram” to achieve that goal, the secretary of Russia’s national Security Council has warned.

While Washington declares Russia “a source of instability”, it also fosters “anti-Russian alliances, builds up military strength, deploys NATO forces at our border,” Nikolay Patrushev said on Tuesday during a government meeting.

“The puppet Kiev regime, which took power through a coup that was supported by [the US and its closest allies], is being used as a battering ram against Russia,” Patrushev added, as quoted by TASS news agency. “The US goal is to weaken, disunite and ultimately destroy our nation.”

The official claimed Washington will stop at nothing to achieve its “selfish goals” aimed at global supremacy and is pushing the world “towards a global war” through policies that pit other nations against each other.

Patrushev made the remarks during a meeting on Russian domestic security, which he chaired in the city of Bryansk. He called for possible safety lapses at strategic sites to be fixed, and said Ukrainian saboteurs pose an increasing threat to Russia and its people.

“Attempts to infiltrate Russian territory by members of radical and extremist structures, who seek to conduct sabotage activities and terrorist attacks, have significantly increased,” he stated. Transport and energy sites are of particular interest for would-be plotters, he stressed.

Patrushev added that Russian law enforcement agencies have thwarted 28 terrorism-related crimes this year, including nine attempted acts of sabotage.
https://www.rt.com/russia/566561-patrushev-us-goal-russia/
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6) Via RT website 15 Nov, 2022 11:07

----- Conflict in Ukraine is hybrid war – Lavrov ----

Western nations have unleashed it, the Russian foreign minister has said

The conflict in Ukraine is a hybrid war, in which Russia is essentially facing the Western nations that triggered the crisis in the first place, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. He gave the assessment on Tuesday on the sidelines of the summit of G20 leaders in Indonesia.

The minister, who heads the Russian delegation, revealed that the US and its allies were pushing to include the Ukraine issue in the final summit declaration, which participants are set to sign on Wednesday.

“They wanted to add wording that would have condemned the actions of Russia on behalf of the entire G20 club, including Russia itself,” Lavrov said. Moscow’s delegation believes the Ukraine issue to be irrelevant to the summit agenda, but suggested reflecting the spectrum of opinion on the conflict, he added.

“Sure, there is a war underway in Ukraine. A hybrid war that was unleashed by the West and which it prepared for many years, starting with the moment it supported the [2014] armed coup [in Ukraine] and the empowerment of openly racist and neo-Nazi powers,” the diplomat added.

The launch this week of an EU mission to train 15,000 Ukrainian troops over two years, is the latest example Western nations taking part in the “hybrid war”, Lavrov told journalists. Arming and funding Ukrainian troops, supplying intelligence and assisting with identifying targets, which Western nations do, make them participants, he explained.

Lavrov noted that Western nations resembled the USSR in the way they championed the Ukraine cause at unrelated forums. During Communist Party gatherings in Soviet factories “it was considered correct to start a discussion with the obligatory condemnation of American imperialism. Western nations have used a similar approach at the G20,” he noted.

By repeating the mantra about Russia’s supposedly “unprovoked aggression” against Ukraine, Western nations are convincing non-aligned countries that the conflict was actually provoked by them and was not an act of aggression by Russia, but a legitimate response to threats created by the West, Lavrov stated.
https://www.rt.com/russia/566554-lavrov-ukraine-hybrid-war/
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