RT News - December 12th 2022

At least nine people have been reported wounded after recent sustained shelling by Kiev's forces which targeted the civilian only, residential areas of Donetsk. Old, Soviet style Grad rockets were used and rely on high volumes rather than pinpoint accuracy. They were never intended to be used against civilians. They fragment and some contain around 4000 sharp fragments. Their intended use is not for anti-civilian use or for bombing civilian homes or cities. 122 mm rocket projectiles are intended for use against enemy manpower in the open and in field shelters, for making passages in minefields and defence wiring, against hostile artillery and for destruction of ARMOURED materiel. The rocket projectiles are equipped with MRV-U contact delay fuses or with a proximity fuse. When a proximity fuse is used, fragmentation effect is increased up to 6 times. It's war crime on a daily basis.

Earlier, in Melitopol a hotel was hit, leaving two dead and others wounded.

Schools, kindergartens and other civilian buildings all part of Kiev's indiscriminate shelling of civilian only areas.

Belgrade slams the breakaway province of Kosovo and its Western backers over a recent border escalation with special forces reportedly deployed from both sides. (also see 1 below and catch up on previous posts)

An RT crew reports from a flash point on the Donbass front lines, observing the combat operations of a Russian artillery unit. Here you can see the proper, intended use of Grad rockets, well away from civilians and civilian buildings.

A former vice chancellor of Austria admits the EU has, in fact, harmed itself with sanctions meant to "bring Russia to its knees." In depth report by Rachel Marsden.

Namibia trolls Germans with invites to stay in the country as other African countries aren't quite as welcoming, especially after the hypocrisy shown to Africa in respect of the west's green agendas.

South Korea has woken up to the fact that sanctions on Russian energy significantly affect it's competitiveness. The USA Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a $430 billion is "sold as" climate protection and social investment plan. It was adopted by the US Congress in August. It says it is designed to "battle inflation and reduce energy prices, as well as tackling climate change" but it is only good for USA as it includes massive subsidies for US-produced electric cars and batteries, significantly disadvantaging South Korean manufacturers.

The IRA also affects every other country who have applied sanctions on Russian energy, including Europe (not Hungary and other countries who have "opted out")

A new development in the Twitter scandal, as recently leaked, internal company messages claim to show the platform broke its own rules to ban the US president at the time, Donald Trump.
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via RT website 12 Dec, 2022 00:42

1) ----- Serbia slams German ‘absurdity’

Top officials in Belgrade and Berlin have clashed over Kosovo tensions

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has dismissed Belgrade’s plan to request the deployment of Serbian troops to Kosovo as a “totally unacceptable” provocation, prompting accusations of double standards from Prime Minister Ana Brnabic.

“In terms of international law and stability, based on which criteria do you decide which [UN Security Council Resolutions] must be respected, and which must be ignored? ... Stunning level of absurdity,” Brnabic tweeted on Sunday night.

Under Resolution 1244 of the United Nations Security Council, Brnabic noted, Serbia has the right to send military and police personnel to Kosovo in certain situations, including in the event that the “peaceful and normal life” of its population there becomes threatened.

The importance of adhering to the respective UNSC resolutions in addressing “each and every problem” was also emphasized at the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in May – and yet when it comes to Serbia, Germany is now “explicitly saying that the UNSCR 1244… should be ignored,” according to Brnabic.

President Aleksandar Vucic announced on Saturday that Serbia will request that its forces be deployed to Kosovo amid an Albanian-led crackdown on the province’s Serb population, even though he had no doubt that NATO would reject the plea. On Sunday, Belgrade allegedly received assurances from the Kosovo Force (KFOR) that it would not take “violent actions” against demonstrators.

Baerbock called Belgrade’s statements provocative, while praising Pristina for allegedly doing its best to defuse tensions. “Recent rhetoric from Serbia did the opposite. Suggesting sending Serbian forces to Kosovo is completely unacceptable,” she said.

he latest standoff in the predominantly Serbian northern Kosovo was sparked by the arrest of a former local police officer accused of attacking an ethnic Albanian law enforcement patrol. Over the weekend, protesters erected barricades, with the authorities in Belgrade accusing the EU and other Kosovo backers of neglecting the grievances of local Serbs and only “paying attention… when they are on the barricades.”

Vucic urged Serbs in northern Kosovo to “be calm and peaceful and not to fall for provocations,” and especially refrain from any aggressive moves against EULEX and KFOR, the EU- and NATO-led missions stationed in Kosovo.
https://www.rt.com/news/568073-serbia-germany-kosovo-absurdity/
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via RT website 11 Dec, 2022 19:21

1a) ---- Serbia ‘pushed to the wall’ – president

The nation is facing a “difficult night,” Aleksandar Vucic said amid a standoff in northern Kosovo

Serbia has found itself in an extremely tough situation, the country’s president, Aleksandar Vucic, said on Sunday following a meeting of the National Security Council. He also accused Pristina and Washington of showing scant respect for any agreements.

Vucic’s words came as tensions have flared up between Belgrade and the Kosovo authorities in the northern part of the breakaway region, where Serbian protesters erected barricades over the weekend.

The standoff was nothing less than “an attempt to end the Serbian problem in Kosovo,” Vucic stressed, blaming Pristina for the tensions and accusing a “good part of the international community” of “participating” in the Kosovo authorities' scheme.

At the international level, information about the situation in Kosovo is full of “direct falsifications, naked lies,” the president said, adding that “on the ground, we have a difficult struggle of a people for survival.”

Vucic, who claimed that Sunday was his “most difficult” day as president, urged Serbs in northern Kosovo to “be calm and peaceful and not to fall for provocations.” In particular, the president asked them to refrain from any aggressive moves against EULEX and KFOR, the EU- and NATO-led missions, respectively, stationed in Kosovo.

He also said Belgrade had received “assurances” from KFOR that it would not take “violent actions” against the demonstrators. “We will do everything to preserve peace and stability,” he added.

At the same time, Vucic accused the US of siding with Kosovo against Serbia by failing to respect agreements reached with Belgrade. Washington nurtured Kosovo like a “child” for some 20 years, the president said, maintaining that the US is now “protecting” it.

"I have a question for our American partners: which agreements does Pristina respect and which do the Americans respect?"

The standoff in the predominantly Serbian northern Kosovo was sparked by the arrest of a former police officer accused of attacking a Kosovo law enforcement patrol. Tensions were already running high after Pristina announced snap elections in the area, which were expected to be boycotted by all Serbian parties. On Saturday, Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani postponed the vote until April.
https://www.rt.com/news/568064-serbia-pushed-to-wall/
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