RT News - February 20th 2023 Late

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Ukraine, Kiev: Pres. Joe Biden makes a surprise visit to Kiev, and meets with Pres. Zelensky. The trip comes exactly nine years after the deadliest day in the Maidan coup protests which was glossed over by the US leader.

Türkiye/Syria Earthquake - see below (not on this news edition) https://rumble.com/v2a7t06-two-new-earthquakes-hit-turkiyes-hatay-province.html?mref=6zof&mrefc=11 and https://rumble.com/v2a70qa-volunteers-prepare-meals-for-earthquake-victims-at-latakia-shelter.html?mref=6zof&mrefc=12

Belgord, Novaya Tavolzhanka, Russia: A 12 year old girl who was playing outside was killed as Ukraine forces shelled the town with nine artillery rounds. (QS: NATO wants to send longer ranger missiles for Kiev?) Residential property was also damaged. Later, another round of shelling in the same town of just 5,000 people, killed another resident and injured another; the strikes also hit a poultry farm.

Donbass, advance to Artyomovsk: Russia has confirmed the taking of Paraskoviyevka, to the north of Artyomovsk. Heavy fighting has led to the capture of a key railway station by Wagner Group and Russian forces. Vehicles such as ambulances are used to drop Kiev soldiers by way of "safety disguise" but it doesn't help when they unload on the battlefield. The railway station and the whole Artyomovsk region is very strategically important as it's capture cuts off the supply routes for the Kiev forces, especially weaponry (if it can't get to the front lines, it can't kill Russians) RT reports from the Donbass front lines, as Russian forces break through Ukrainian defences in and around the key city of Artyomovsk.

South Africa, Russia and China drills/ joint exercises: RT gives first-hand coverage of the naval exercises held between Russia, China and South Africa - with the countries seeking to improve cooperation despite unprecedented pressure from the West. Anna Knishenko reports from aboard the Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov.

All eyes on Africa: Africa must not be left in China's hands - that's the view of western political elites at the Munich Security Conference, as EU leaders call for a stronger presence on the continent - something they see as crucial for Europe's future. (QS it would have helped/ been useful for the EU and "the west" generally to have paid some attention to Africa for more than her resources over the past decades). Rachel Marsden reports and analyses.

Türkiye: Despite having paid for some F-35s jets they have not been forthcoming. Türkiye wants her money back! Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu says the decision not to supply was from USA unilateral decisions and Turkiye is into the programme for $1.4 billion with nothing to show for it. Mesut Hakki Casin discusses with Eunan.

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via RT website --- 1) --- Powerful earthquakes strike Turkish-Syrian border
2) --- Joe Biden arrives in Ukraine
2a) --- No strikes reported in Kiev despite sirens during Biden’s visit – Reuters
2b) --- Biden rules out trip to Ukraine
2c) --- US ‘notified’ Russia before Biden’s Kiev visit
2d) --- Biden makes weapons pledge in Kiev
3) --- EU’s Borrell outlines ‘red line’ for China
3a) --- US draws ‘red line’ for China
4) --- Chinese report decries US hegemony
5) --- Bestiality may be legalized in EU state
6) --- Dirtiest cities in US ranked
QS) --- New website announced for Russia, India and the world (not sure if it's subject to censorship yet?) bookmark it anyway?
7) --- Russia details claims of ‘mutilations’ by Ukrainian forces
8) --- Italy considers sending warplanes to Ukraine – La Repubblica
9) --- Joe Biden is making Europe great again – for the US
10) --- Iran reacts to uranium claim
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20 Feb, 2023 19:08

1) --- Powerful earthquakes strike Turkish-Syrian border

Two consecutive quakes have struck Türkiye’s Hatay province, one of the areas worst hit by a similar disaster two weeks ago

Türkiye was struck by two earthquakes on Monday evening, local media have reported, citing emergency services. The disaster struck just two weeks after Türkiye and Syria were devastated by another set of powerful tremors.

https://twitter.com/MeghUpdates/status/1627741230418509824

The country’s Anadolu agency reported that several buildings collapsed as a result of the new quakes. The Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) called on locals to avoid coastal areas, warning about a risk of a rising sea level on the Mediterranean coast.

At least three people died and 213 were injured in the fresh earthquakes, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said. Two weeks ago, two major quakes with a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6 respectively hit as many as ten Turkish provinces, claiming at least 41,000 lives and affecting more than 13 million people in total.

Monday’s quakes were also felt in Syria, which was also hit by the natural disaster two weeks ago, as well as in Jordan, Egypt and Israel.
https://www.rt.com/news/571797-turkey-syria-earthquakes-new/
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20 Feb, 2023 09:55

2) --- Joe Biden arrives in Ukraine

The US president has previously ruled out such a visit, saying he will travel to Poland but would not go further

US President Joe Biden arrived in Ukraine on Monday, making his first visit since Moscow launched its military operation in the neighboring state nearly a year ago.

Biden has met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in the Mikhailovsky Cathedral in Kiev. Ukrainian news organizations published photos and video showing Biden and Zelensky walking towards the church flanked by armed security.

Biden said he was meeting with Zelensky to “reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” according to the statement released by the White House.

The US president added that he would announce a new delivery of “critical equipment” for the Ukrainian army, including artillery rounds, anti-tank systems, and radars. “Later this week, we will announce additional sanctions against elites and companies that are trying to evade or backfill Russia’s war machine,” Biden said.

According to Reuters, air raid sirens were heard in Kiev during Biden’s trip, but there were no reports of Russian strikes.

The trip takes place as the US and other NATO members are ramping up military aid to Ukraine, having recently pledged the transfer of modern main battle tanks and other additional heavy weapons.

Biden ruled out traveling to Ukraine earlier this month, saying that he only had plans to go to Poland.

Russia sent troops to Ukraine last February, citing the need to protect the people of Donbass and Kiev’s failure to implement the 2014-2015 peace accords. The US has since then been one of Ukraine’s primary backers in the conflict.

According to the Pentagon, Washington provided Kiev with more than $27.4 billion in security aid between February 24, 2022 and January 20, 2023. The delivered weapons include HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, M777 howitzers, shoulder-fired anti-tank systems, and combat drones. The US has also pledged to transfer Bradley Fighting Vehicles and M1 Abrams tanks, and has been training Ukrainian soldiers.

Russia maintains that the “flooding” of Ukraine with weapons will not change the course of the conflict and only leads to more casualties. The Kremlin has warned that the Western-supplied equipment would be treated as legitimate targets for Russian troops.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in the past that sanctions have failed to bring down the country’s economy and that Moscow has managed to adapt to restrictions.

Moscow has repeatedly accused Ukraine of using Western arms to kill civilians. Aleksandr Bastrykin, the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, told TASS news agency on Monday that around 5,000 people have been killed in Donbass since 2014 and nearly 9,000 wounded. Overall, more than 120,000 people were identified as victims of the crimes committed by Ukrainian forces, Bastrykin claimed.
https://www.rt.com/russia/571765-biden-arrives-ukraine-trip/
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20 Feb, 2023 12:01

2a) --- No strikes reported in Kiev despite sirens during Biden’s visit – Reuters

Aerial attack alarm was heard in the Ukrainian capital, news agencies reported on Monday

Air raid sirens rang out in Kiev during US President Joe Biden’s unannounced visit on Monday, but there were no reports of Russian strikes, Reuters said.

According to AFP, the alarm was heard when Biden and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, flanked by armed security, were exiting St Michael’s Cathedral where the leaders had a meeting. The siren did not cause any panic, the news agency said.

Biden's trip to Ukraine is his first since Russia launched a military operation in the neighboring state nearly a year ago.

He promised to announce more weapons deliveries to Kiev and additional sanctions against Moscow, according to the White House.

The visit comes as NATO members are ramping up military aid to Kiev. The US, Britain and Germany are among the countries that pledged last month to transfer modern main battle tanks to Ukraine.
https://www.rt.com/russia/571771-biden-kiev-air-sirens/
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9 Feb, 2023 17:41

2b) --- Biden rules out trip to Ukraine

The US president says he may visit Poland, but he won’t travel to Kiev to mark the anniversary of the ongoing conflict

US President Joe Biden has confirmed that he’s contemplating a trip to Poland as NATO members prepare to mark the one-year anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but he won’t be making a stop in Kiev.

Asked by a White House reporter on Thursday whether he may visit Ukraine in the foreseeable future, Biden replied, “There is a possibility that I can go to Poland, but that’s all.”

He added that he still hadn’t finalized his travel plans, and said, “I haven’t made a decision when I’m going to Poland or even if, for certain, I am going to Poland.”

The president’s comments came amid speculation that he would make a visit to Warsaw for the anniversary marking the beginning of Russia’s military offensive against Ukraine on February 24. Polish officials claimed last week that Biden had already committed to making the trip at the invitation of President Andrzej Duda.

“We already know for sure that President Joe Biden will respond positively to President Duda’s invitation and will come to Poland,” said Marcin Przydacz, an adviser to Duda. “We have agreed with the American side that we will announce the date of the visit in due course, but I can assure that it will be sooner rather than later.” He added that the visit would be “very important and crucial to continue supporting Poland’s security.”

Biden has reportedly been considering how to mark the anniversary of the Ukraine crisis and tout Kiev’s resilience in defending against Russian forces. The White House is also aiming to signal solidarity with the Ukrainian people and unity among NATO bloc members, NBC News reported earlier this week. Western media outlets have also speculated that Biden would meet with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in Poland during his visit.

Washington has led the Western charge in trying to punish Russia and support Ukraine since the conflict began. The US government has pledged $100 billion in military aid and other support to Kiev, including $29.3 billion already approved by Biden.

The US president traveled to Poland last March, a month after the fighting in Ukraine began. While there, he met with Duda and visited US troops stationed in the country. During the trip, he also made an off-the-cuff comment suggesting that the US was demanding regime change in Moscow – a remark that raised eyebrows and that the White House quickly tried to walk back.
https://www.rt.com/news/571250-biden-confirms-possible-poland-trip/
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20 Feb, 2023 15:59

2c) --- US ‘notified’ Russia before Biden’s Kiev visit

The decision to inform Moscow was made for “deconfliction purposes,” Washington said

The US told Moscow in advance that President Joe Biden was planning to visit Kiev, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Monday. The American leader had previously stated he would visit Poland, but not Ukraine.

“We did notify the Russians that President Biden would be traveling to Kiev,” Sullivan said, adding that the message was sent “hours before” Biden departed Washington and was provided “for deconfliction purposes.” Sullivan did not indicate how Russian officials were contacted, or how they responded to the information.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of the Security Council, confirmed via his Telegram channel that Biden had received “safety guarantees” from Moscow for his visit. In the same post, Medvedev called Washington’s aid to Kiev a way for “NATO countries’ military industries to profit,” and referred to the US president as an “old man from across the ocean.”

Biden made the surprise trip to Kiev on Monday, in his first visit to the country as president. He met his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky and the pair visited the Mikhailovsky Cathedral. Despite the forewarning and apparent guarantees from Russia, air raid sirens were heard in the city. However, there were no reports of Russian strikes and the sirens did not cause alarm to Biden or Zelensky, according to AFP.

Speaking at a press conference, Biden pledged another $500 million in US military aid to Ukraine, saying more “critical equipment, including artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems, and air surveillance radars” would be on the way. Russia has maintained that sending more weapons will not change the course of the conflict, and will instead prolong the suffering of the people.
https://www.rt.com/news/571785-us-warned-russia-biden-kiev/
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20 Feb, 2023 14:54

2d) --- Biden makes weapons pledge in Kiev

The US is promising another $500 million in military aid to Ukraine, including additional rockets and anti-armor weapons

Washington is readying another major military aid package for Kiev that will include more artillery ammunition, more javelin missiles, anti-armor systems and air-surveillance radars, President Joe Biden announced during his trip to Kiev on Monday. The surprise visit cAME nearly a year after Moscow launched its military offensive in the neighboring state.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, Biden said Washington has led a coalition that provided “unprecedented” support for Kiev.

“Together, we have committed nearly 700 tanks, thousands of armored vehicles, 1,000 artillery systems, more than two million rounds of artillery ammunition, more than 50 advanced … rocket systems,” Biden said.

He added that this newest US military aid package would be worth “another half a billion dollars” and will include “artillery ammunition for howitzers, more javelins, anti-armor systems, air surveillance radars” and more.

Washington would later this week unveil new sanctions, he said, targeting “elites and companies that are trying to evade or backfill Russia’s war machine.”

Russia sent troops into Ukraine last February, citing the need to protect the people of Donbass and Kiev’s failure to implement the 2014-2015 Minsk peace accords. Washington has since been one of Ukraine’s main backers.

According to the Pentagon, the US provided more than $27.4 billion in security assistance to Kiev between February 24, 2022 and January 20, 2023.

The Kremlin has repeatedly warned that the flow of foreign arms will not change the course of the conflict and that all equipment would be treated as legitimate targets by Russian forces.

Russia has also accused Ukraine of using Western-supplied weapons to attack civilians. Around 5,000 people were killed in Donbass and nearly 9,000 wounded since 2014, Aleksandr Bastrykin, the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, said on Monday.
https://www.rt.com/news/571776-biden-new-weapons-ukraine/
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20 Feb, 2023 16:39
HomeWorld News
3) --- EU’s Borrell outlines ‘red line’ for China

The diplomat said he has warned Beijing not to provide weapons to Moscow

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has conveyed the bloc’s “strong concerns” about Beijing potentially providing weapons to Russia. The warning came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made similar accusations last week, suggesting that China was preparing to send “lethal assistance” to Russia’s forces.

Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, the bloc’s top diplomat told journalists that he had personally asked Wang not to provide any arms to Russia.

“I asked him not to do that, and expressed not only our concern, but the fact that for us, it would be a red line in our relationship,” Borrell said.

According to the Foreign affairs chief, Wang assured him that China has no plans to make any such deliveries, but Borrell said the EU would “remain vigilant.”

Over the weekend, US envoy to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told CNN that any lethal support from Beijing to Moscow in the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine would cross Washington’s “red line.”

Blinken said such a move would have “serious consequences” on US-China relations, adding that Washington was apparently already aware of Beijing providing non-lethal assistance to Moscow.

China’s Foreign Ministry responded to the allegations by urging the US to “seriously reflect” on its own role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“It is the US, not China, that has been pouring weapons into the battlefield,” said ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Monday. “The US is in no position to tell China what to do. We would never stand for finger-pointing, or even coercion and pressurizing from the US on our relations with Russia,” he added.

Beijjing has repeatedly insisted that it is “on the side of peace and dialogue” and called for talks between Moscow and Kiev, while accusing the US and NATO of fanning the flames of the conflict.
https://www.rt.com/news/571788-eu-china-russia-aid-borrell/
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19 Feb, 2023 21:26

3a) --- US draws ‘red line’ for China

Beijing providing Moscow with “lethal” aid would be unacceptable, top American officials warn

Any nation providing lethal support to Moscow in its ongoing conflict with Kiev would cross Washington’s "red line," the US envoy to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told CNN on Sunday. Earlier the same day, US State Secretary Antony Blinken directly warned a top Chinese diplomat, Wang Yi, against considering such an option.

“We … have to be clear that if there are any thoughts and efforts by the Chinese and others to provide lethal support to the Russians in their brutal attack against Ukraine, that that is unacceptable,” Thomas-Greenfield told CNN’s ‘State of the Union,’ adding that it “would be a red line.”

Her words came as Blinken was meeting Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany. There, the US diplomat told his Chinese counterpart that the US was “very concerned that China is considering providing lethal support to Russia,” Blinken told NBC’s Chuck Todd in the wake of the meeting.

“I made clear that that would have serious consequences in our relationship,” the state secretary added. He also claimed that the US was aware of Beijing providing Moscow with nonlethal assistance “over these past months,” adding that this aid allegedly goes “directly to aiding and abetting Russia's war effort.”

Blinken also said Washington has received some information that “indicates” China is “strongly considering providing lethal assistance to Russia.” He did not provide details on the nature of the information or the exact type of aid for Russia that China was supposedly considering. Instead, he said that some more details would be revealed in the future.

The state secretary also said Beijing had “not crossed that line yet.”

On Sunday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry also issued a statement on the meeting between Blinken and Wang Yi. There, China called on the US to work toward a political settlement of the conflict in Ukraine instead of “fanning the flames” of this military standoff between Moscow and Kiev and “profiteering from the situation.”

China itself is “committed to promoting peace talks,” the statement said, adding that a strategic partnership between Moscow and Beijing is a “sovereign right of… two independent states.” China would “not accept the US finger-pointing or even coercion targeting China-Russia relations,” the ministry warned.
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20 Feb, 2023 13:52

4) --- Chinese report decries US hegemony

Washington uses the rest of the world for its economic benefit, displaying “arrogance and prejudice,” the keynote document says

The US has been abusing its hegemonic position in the world for decades to reap benefits for itself and sow rivalry and instability in other nations, a report published on Monday on the Chinese Foreign Ministry's official website claims.

The document seeks to draw international attention “to the perils of the US practices to world peace and stability and the well-being of all peoples.” It offers examples of Washington’s purported selfishness in the areas of politics, the military, the economy, technology and culture.

For a century, the US has treated Latin America as its backyard, where those who resist the US face “political interference, military intervention and regime subversion,” the text claims. Elsewhere, it creates divisive blocs under its influence, and fosters “color revolutions” against opponents. Lately Washington has posited the false dichotomy of “democracies vs. autocracies” and arbitrarily labels nations as members of one of the camps.

The use of force has been a feature of US expansionism since its independence, the document says. Since 2001 alone, wars launched by Washington “in the name of fighting terrorism have claimed over 900,000 lives with some 335,000 of them civilians.”

The Pentagon has used an array of “appalling methods” of war, from biological weapons in Korea to depleted uranium munitions in more recent times, “causing… countless civilian casualties and lasting environmental pollution,” the piece notes.

The US government has used the dollar’s status as the global reserve currency, and its influence on the international financial system, to quash competition and slap unilateral sanctions against opponents. Washington “is basically collecting ‘seigniorage’ from around the world,” and during the Covid-19 pandemic, disrupted the global economy by injecting trillions of dollars into it, the report says.

The report accuses the US of using its status as a leading technological power to conduct electronic surveillance and espionage, including against its closest allies, as well as cyberwarfare, noting that having the leverage of big tech companies allows the US government to censor speech online and push its narratives on a global scale, while silencing critics.

The document concludes that the US should do some “soul-searching” and change its approach, as “the historical trends of peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit are unstoppable.”
https://www.rt.com/news/571773-chinese-report-us-hegemony/
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20 Feb, 2023 13:52

5) --- Bestiality may be legalized in EU state

The practice would no longer be considered a criminal offense, according to proposed amendment to Spain’s Penal Code

Zoophilia in Spain may soon become decriminalized after lawmakers finalized the draft of a new Penal Code amendment on Monday. The legislation is part of an Animal Welfare bill that was approved by the lower house of the Spanish parliament earlier this month and is now awaiting final approval in the Senate.

The bill was initially introduced and pushed through by Spain’s Social Rights Minister Ione Belarra, who has promoted it as seeking to protect the well-being of animals, regardless of whether they are pets or wild animals.

The amendment seeks to introduce several changes to the Spanish Penal Code, which, as of 2015, has treated bestiality as a form of abuse, and suggested a three-month to one-year prison sentence for causing “injuries that seriously impair” the health of animals or for “subjecting them to sexual exploitation.”

If the Penal Code reform is approved, the previous article would be deleted and replaced by a new one titled “crimes against animals.” The new law would only introduce punishments to animal owners who “by any means or procedure, including acts of a sexual nature” cause an animal an injury that “requires veterinary treatment to restore its health.”

Belarra’s Animal Welfare bill would also introduce prison sentences and hefty fines of up to €50,000 ($53,400) for killing a rat at home, and a penalty of up to €200,000 ($213,800) for owners of female dogs that become pregnant if they are not registered as breeders.

The Animal Welfare Law would also ban the sale of puppies and kittens in pet stores, the keeping of dogs and cats in confined spaces, and would prohibit keeping certain animals as pets altogether.

These include spiders, birds not native to Spain such as parakeets and lovebirds, hedgehogs, turtles, lizards, snakes and chameleons. The list of permitted animals also doesn't yet include rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, mice and hamsters.

Zoos and dolphinariums would also be converted into centers for the recovery of native species and the use of wild animals in circuses or other cultural performances would be banned. Notably, the bill does not make any mention of bullfighting, which the Spanish government believes should be addressed separately as a cornerstone of Spanish culture.
https://www.rt.com/news/571775-spain-law-beastiality-decriminalized/
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20 Feb, 2023 16:14

6) --- Dirtiest cities in US ranked

A new report suggests the country’s most-littered cities are all run by Democratic mayors

A new study has ranked 152 cities across the US on their overall level of cleanliness and found that the five dirtiest cities are all run by Democratic mayors. The top spot went to Houston, Texas, followed by Newark, San Bernardino, Detroit and Jersey City.

The research was carried out by lawn care company LawnStarter, which evaluated each city using publicly available data on a number of factors like air quality, gas emissions, littering, pests, home quality, and resident opinions.

These factors were then compiled into four categories – pollution, living conditions, infrastructure, and consumer satisfaction. The scores were then weighted and averaged for each city, producing a final ranking of cities.

Houston, which came in first place on the list, was also placed third in the nation for pollution, fourth for poor living conditions, 12th for infrastructure, and 34th for consumer satisfaction. The city was also found to have the third-most gas emissions from large industrial facilities per capita and the biggest cockroach problem, according to data from the Census Bureau.

Meanwhile, the cleanest city in the overall ranking turned out to be Republican-run Virginia Beach, which also came in 149th for pollution, 112th for living conditions, 98th for infrastructure, and 132nd for consumer satisfaction.

The cleanest city in terms of pollution turned out to be Honolulu in Hawaii, while the most polluted was San Bernardino, California, which also had the worst consumer satisfaction rating. New York City, meanwhile, scored the lowest for living conditions, at the opposite end of the table to Lexington, Kentucky.

Last month, a study by WalletHub found that the cities with the highest homicide rates in the US were also predominantly run by Democratic governments, as murder rates across the country have seen a rapid increase in the past few years. Of the 45 cities ranked, the worst five turned out to be Atlanta, Baltimore, Detroit, Las Vegas and Kansas City. Only one Republican-run city, Jacksonville, Florida, made it into the top ten.
https://www.rt.com/news/571787-us-dirty-cities-ranked/
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QS) --- New website announced for Russia, India and the world (not sure if it's subject to censorship yet?)

https://m.dailyhunt.in/news/india/english/rt+news-epaper-rtnews/news-updates-news?mode=pwa

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20 Feb, 2023 08:55

7) --- Russia details claims of ‘mutilations’ by Ukrainian forces

Troops beheaded slain Polish fighters to hide their identities, top investigator Aleksandr Bastrykin said

Ukraine is attempting to cover up its use of foreign mercenaries and in some cases the bodies of dead fighters have been mutilated to make them harder to identify, a top Russian investigator has claimed.

The gruesome allegations were described by Aleksandr Bastrykin, the head of the Russian Investigative Committee, in an interview with TASS published on Monday. He said Ukrainian troops had even beheaded and cut off the hands of some foreign fighters who had already been slain.

“Several such bodies have been discovered in the zone of the special military operation,” Bastrykin stated. “Later, based on records on their mobile phones, it was established that the bodies belonged to Polish mercenaries.”

Claims of deliberately mutilated corpses were made in late January by Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of private military company the Wagner Group. He reported that several bodies without heads and hands were found on the frontline near the city of Artyomovsk, known as Bakhmut in Ukraine.

“Due to intensive fighting, the enemy could not recover the bodies and attempted to cover up their identities this way,” Prigozhin said, adding that electronic devices found on the fighters would be handed over to Russian investigators.

Kiev has urged foreign nationals with military experience to fight for its cause, and has claimed that thousands have volunteered to join its so-called International Legion. The Russian Defense Ministry has identified Poland as Kiev’s biggest source of foreign personnel.

Russia considers the fighters to be mercenaries who should be prosecuted. According to Bastrykin, Kiev typically pays foreign troops between $820 and $2,700 a month, and tries to legalize their presence in the Ukrainian military.

“It is known that foreign citizens who came [to Ukraine] as volunteers are often given a fast track to receive Ukrainian citizenship and then join the Ukrainian Army to take part in combat action,” Bastrykin said
https://www.rt.com/russia/571762-bastrykin-beheaded-polish-fighters/
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20 Feb, 2023 16:17

8) --- Italy considers sending warplanes to Ukraine – La Repubblica

Rome will reportedly only provide Kiev with fighter jets if other Western nations do so first

The Italian government is confidentially examining options for sending military jets to Kiev, La Repubblica newspaper reported on Sunday.

According to the paper, a deal involving up to five planes could be struck during an upcoming visit to the Ukrainian capital by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The consignment could include old AMX A-11 Ghibli ground-attack aircraft as well as Tornado jets, La Repubblica said in another article published on Monday. The paper was skeptical about the initiative, however, noting that such a small number of jets is unlikely to change the situation in the skies over Ukraine.

According to the media outlet, the AMX Ghibli fighter-bombers are scheduled to be retired altogether by the Italian Air Force by the end of the year. “Delivery of Tornados or Eurofighters is more complex,” it said.

Rome does not want to be the first nation to supply Kiev with Western-made aircraft, La Repubblica said. It would agree to deliver the planes only if other countries do so first, the paper explained, adding that Italy wants some other “allies” like the UK to lead the charge.

Italy would also reportedly not prevent the UK from sending Typhoon fighter jets to Ukraine, the paper said, adding that such a move would require the consent of all nations involved in the fighter jets’ production.

London itself is in no rush to supply Ukraine with warplanes. Earlier in February, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told Sky News that the UK would not be sending jets to Kiev anytime soon. Some 200 Royal Air Force personnel would have to accompany the planes, he argued.

Instead, the UK and other Western nations are focused on ensuring Ukraine’s “long-term resilience” through other means like surface-to-air missiles or drones, which have “the same effects” as fighter jets, according to Wallace.

Last week, the Financial Times reported that the US may still consider sending F-16 fighter jets to Kiev or greenlight their re-export from other nations. Kiev has repeatedly asked its Western backers for heavier weapons like warplanes and fighter jets. Ukrainian officials recently expressed their optimism about overcoming reluctance in this regard.

Moscow has warned that Western weapons deliveries only prolong the conflict and extend human suffering, as well as risking a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.
https://www.rt.com/news/571789-italy-send-warplanes-ukraine-media/
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20 Feb, 2023 15:14 --- OP ED ---

9) --- Joe Biden is making Europe great again – for the US

The American president’s annual address celebrated ‘saving’ the Western part of the continent from the last remnants of independence - Rachel Marsden

In his State of the Union address earlier this month, US President Joe Biden referenced Europe several times, and the underlying message was always the same: Captain America has swooped in to save his Western allies from a horrible fate.

“Our nation is working for more freedom, more dignity, and more peace, not just in Europe, but everywhere,” Biden said. Woah, slow your roll there, big guy. The world can only handle so much “freedom” after recent debacles in Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, and elsewhere. Europe was actually a pretty chill place as far as conflicts went, right up until Washington decided that it wanted to set up a flophouse for itself in Ukraine to better keep tabs on Russia, then managing to convince its European NATO allies to come help it move in and provide some weapons as housewarming gifts.

The result for Ukraine? “A murderous assault evoking images of the death and destruction Europe suffered in World War II,” Biden described, conveniently ignoring the fact that this time around, it was Washington’s NATO allies that trained the Nazis. “Canada’s Joint Task Force Ukraine even produced a briefing on the Azov Battalion, acknowledging its links to Nazi ideology,” according to the Ottawa Citizen.

When Russia finally drew the line and the conflict went red hot, Biden was quick to hightail it over to Brussels to take that dirty authoritarian Russian gas off Europe’s hands and replace it with molecules of freedom. Captain America was going to save the day, and European bureaucrats ignored the fact that US-branded freedom has a price tag. For starters, it has ended up costing Europe an amount several times the typical domestic market price paid for US liquified natural gas. American gas exports to Europe have spiked 148% year on year.

Biden also pushed Europe to go green as yet another reason not to ever again turn back to Russian gas. “Today we’ve agreed on a joint game plan toward that goal while accelerating our progress toward a secure clean energy future. This initiative focuses on two core issues: One, helping Europe reduce its dependency on Russian gas as quickly as possible. And, secondly, reducing Europe’s demand for gas overall,” Biden said last March during his EU visit. However, now the US President has changed his tune. “We’re still going to need oil and gas for a while,” Biden declared, going off script to say the quiet part aloud in his State of the Union address. “We’re going to need oil for another decade. And beyond that.”

Oh wow, in that case, maybe Europe should be turning the Nord Stream pipeline of cheap Russian gas back on so that European governments can stop shoveling cash out the door in an attempt to keep their industry and economy – not to mention consumers – from being crushed by exorbitant energy costs. Whoops, the pipelines were mysteriously blown up. “If Russia invades – that means tanks or troops crossing the border of Ukraine – then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it,” Biden said last February.

A new report by Pulitzer and Polk Prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh now attributes the terrorist act to a covert American operation in cooperation with Norway, whose sales of gas to Europe have risen from $27 billion in 2021 to $109 billion last year, with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki accusing Oslo of war profiteering. Both countries have denied the accusations. But even without cheap gas, as Biden sees it, Europe has a bright future. “Time and again, Democrats and Republicans came together…to defend a stronger and safer Europe,” he said in his annual address. Maybe share that with French and German economic ministers who were just in Washington to tell big bipartisan Team America to lay off Europe and to stop shutting out European imports under the new Inflation Reduction Act favoring “made in America” products – particularly green ones. Screwing over the EU because, hey, “business is business” is one of the very rare concepts on which both Democrats and Republicans seem to agree. (accusing... paywall : https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/10/08/norway-gas-prices-supply-europe/)

Brussels could have at least stopped sanctioning its own natural resource supplies from Russia if it had realized, as Biden just admitted, that fossil fuels were here for the foreseeable future. But that would mean not being able to pretend to stick it to Russian President Vladimir Putin. If the EU’s commitment to its green energy fantasies to the detriment of its own economy has proven anything, it’s that blind ideology is the first and foremost criteria for decision making in the EU. So, the EU is staying the course while the US actively works to seduce its industry to relocate across the pond where energy is still plentiful because, unlike Europe, the US is not dumb enough to actually align reality with their lofty rhetoric if it’s going to be economically suicidal.

There’s no doubt that Europe is doing better than ever as far as US interests are concerned. Washington planted the idea of a divorce from Russia in Brussel’s ear, and then rushed in to take Moscow’s place before the ink was even dry. Europe is hardly more free than it was when it at least had the option to play the field between the two geopolitical spheres. Now it’s totally dependent on Washington with European citizens subsidizing American greatness and freedom at the expense of their own.
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Rachel Marsden is a columnist, political strategist, and host of independently produced talk-shows in French and English.
" ...The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT...."
https://www.rt.com/news/571766-biden-europe-us-sotu/
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20 Feb, 2023 07:16

10) --- Iran reacts to uranium claim

Tehran denies changing its enrichment targets, after US media reported that it has produced ‘almost’ weapons-grade material

Tehran has rejected as misleading a Bloomberg report, which claimed that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was investigating how the country enriched uranium “to levels just below that needed for a nuclear weapon.”

The news agency cited two anonymous diplomats, who alleged that the UN nuclear watchdog found uranium of 84% purity, or “just 6% below what’s needed for a weapon” in Iran, Bloomberg explained in its article, published on Sunday.

Responding on Monday, Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said the piece was “slander and a distortion of the facts”.

“The presence of uranium particles above 60% during the enrichment process does not mean enrichment above 60% level,” he told IRNA news agency, claiming that in publishing the story, Bloomberg was serving as a tool of anti-Iran pressure.

Bloomberg did, however, acknowledge the possibility that the sample was found after unintended accumulation in an enrichment centrifuge cascade.

The IAEA has commented on the news by stating that it was “discussing with Iran the results of recent Agency verification activities” and would report the outcome to its board of governors when appropriate.

Iran agreed to impose restrictions on its nuclear industry, including enrichment activities, under a 2015 deal with world powers. The agreement was torpedoed by US President Donald Trump, who pulled out in 2018 to pursue a so-called “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions.

Iran eventually started reneging on its commitments, and announced it was enriching uranium to 60% purity at its Natanz facility in 2021 and at the Fordo site in 2022.

The nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was touted as a way to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, an ambition that Tehran denies having.
https://www.rt.com/news/571753-iran-uranium-enrichment-bloomberg/
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