RT News - June 26 2024 Late

Julian Assange arrives in Canberra, Australia - he's finally home.

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President Ruto, Kenya - the controversial finance Bill will be withdrawn. Protests have continued in Nairobi and several people have died, dozens have been injured. The protests have extended past Nairobi. See first (1) report below and this channel's post of last few days. Live rounds were used to "quell" the crowds. It's not yet ascertained if gunshots killed any of the protesters.
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Julian Assange is free - and he's home in Australia. Earlier, there was a press conference where his wife and Wikileaks colleagues spoke, in Canberra. https://rumble.com/v53u25b-wikileaks-holds-press-conference-in-canberra-after-assanges-prison-release.html
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Drone on Drone - Igor Zhdanov reports from the front lines.
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The ECHR/ICC has accused two top Russian military of war crimes. Rachel Marsden reports - please also see two posts below (2 and 2a)
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Marina Kosareva reports on the trial hearing of Evan Gershkovich who is accused of espionage. The trial is in Ekaterinburg although he has been detained until now in Moscow. The factory/place of arrest is Ekaterinburg. If he is convicted, he could face up to 20 years imprisonment.
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Short take: “The People Have Spoken” - The Kenyan President does a dramatic u-turn, ditching the controversial Finance Bill which had sparked deadly protests throughout the East African nation. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange takes his first steps on Australian soil, reunited with his family after a gruelling 14 year long legal battle. That's after a judge accepted a plea deal struck with the US government - which Assange had little choice but to agree to. The whistleblower's legal team slammed Washington for setting a dangerous precedent.
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1) Finance Bill to be withdrawn after deadly riots – Kenyan president 26 Jun, 2024 14:49

William Ruto has addressed the nation following unrest over proposed tax increases

Kenyan President William Ruto has said he will not sign a finance bill providing for major tax increases, which had caused deadly riots in the country. Announcing the decision on Wednesday, Ruto said the people’s voices had been heard.

Anti-tax protesters clashed with police in Kenya on Tuesday after lawmakers voted 195-106 to pass the government’s 2024 Finance Bill. The legislation included tax increases intended to generate $2.7 billion in revenue in line with International Monetary Fund (IMF) demands.

Protesters claimed that the tax increases in the bill would raise the cost of living.

“Having reflected on the continuing conversation around the Finance Bill 2024 and listening keenly to the people of Kenya, who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with the Finance Bill 2024… I concede. I will not sign the Finance Bill 2024. It will be fully withdrawn,” Ruto said as he addressed the nation from State House.

The Kenyan government has mobilized all available resources to prevent a repeat of the violence. The protesters were demanding Ruto’s resignation and threatening a “total shutdown.”

“About 214 Kenyans were involved in various escalations and many of them went to hospital,” the president said in response to questions.

Simon Kigondu, president of the Kenya Medical Association, reported that at least 13 people had lost their lives in Tuesday’s protests. He remarked that he had never witnessed “such level of violence against unarmed” people.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Amnesty Kenya reported that 31 people had been injured.

Footage published on social media and by local news channels shows the governor’s office in Nairobi on fire, as well as a group of demonstrators damaging flags and furniture inside parliament, and attempting to break down the Senate chamber doors.

Local media said security officers resorted to gunfire after tear gas and water cannons failed to disperse the crowd, which had torched at least one police vehicle and set fire to a section of the National Assembly building.

Ruto denounced the protests as “treasonous events” and vowed to crack down on “organized criminals” who “hijacked” the “legitimate” demonstrations and turned them into “violence and anarchy.”

Meanwhile, Kenya’s National Assembly has authorized the deployment of soldiers to assist the police amid nationwide protests against the controversial tax hikes. Protesters have vowed to continue their demonstrations, with plans to take to the streets again on Thursday.

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2) ICC issues arrest warrants for Shoigu and Gerasimov 25 Jun, 2024 15:07

Russia does not recognize the international body’s jurisdiction and has dismissed its latest move as part of a Western hybrid war

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for former Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu and the country’s current chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, citing alleged war crimes committed during the Ukraine conflict. Moscow has previously dismissed similar accusations, stressing that it does not recognize the international body’s jurisdiction.

Shoigu served as Russian defence minister between 2012 and 2024, covering the first two years of the ongoing hostilities with Kiev. President Vladimir Putin replaced him last month with Andrey Belousov, reassigning Shoigu to the role of secretary of the Security Council. Gerasimov has occupied his post since 2012, and has also played a pivotal role in Moscow’s military action against Ukraine.

In a press release on Tuesday, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II alleged that the two top-ranking officials committed specified crimes between October 2022 and March 2023. Shoigu and Gerasimov, the statement reads, are both “allegedly responsible for the war crime of directing attacks at civilian objects and the war crime of causing excessive incidental harm to civilians or damage to civilian objects, and the crime against humanity of inhumane acts.” The Hague-based court further claimed that “there are reasonable grounds to believe they bear individual criminal responsibility.”

Among other accusations, the ICC singled out Russian strikes targeting Ukrainian power plants.

According to ICC judges, “the key factual allegations are duly supported by evidence and other relevant material submitted… by the Prosecution.”

The press office of the Russian Security Council characterized the warrants as null and void, pointing out that Moscow is not a signatory to the 1998 Rome Statute. Officials clarified that the court’s jurisdiction does not apply to Russia, dismissing its latest move as part of the “West’s hybrid war against our country.”

In March 2023, the international body issued arrest warrants for President Putin and the country’s commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova. The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber had agreed with allegations put forward by court prosecutor Karim Khan. The latter argued at the time that both Russian officials “bear criminal responsibility for the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”

Responding to the warrants, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at the time that the documents had “no meaning for Russia.”

In addition to Russia, nations such as the US, China, India, and Israel also do not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction, although 124 countries are signatories to the Rome Statute.
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2a) ICC a ‘Western hybrid war’ tool – Moscow 25 Jun, 2024 15:31

The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for top Russian officials, Sergey Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov

Moscow has denounced the Hague-based International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue arrest warrants for two top Russian defence officials, branding the institution a mere tool of the West's “hybrid war” efforts.

The ICC on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for ex-Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu and the current chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, accusing the two of committing “alleged international crimes” during the Ukrainian conflict.

Russia’s Security Council has denounced as “void” the court’s move, pointing out that its jurisdiction does not extend to Russia.

“The decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber of the ICC against the Secretary of the Russian Security Council Sergei Shoigu is void. This is just hot air, since the jurisdiction of the ICC does not extend to Russia, and [the decision] was made as part of the West’s hybrid war against our country,” the council said.

The two top military officials are accused by the ICC of committing “international crimes,” namely “directing attacks at civilian objects,” as well as “causing excessive incidental harm to civilians.” The charges stem from Russia’s campaign of strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure, which Moscow regards as dual-purpose strategic installations rather than purely civilian facilities.

Earlier this year, the ICC also targeted two top Russian military commanders, Lieutenant-General Sergey Kobylash of the Long-Range Aviation fleet and Admiral Viktor Sokolov of the Black Sea fleet. The charges against the commanders was also a result of air strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure.

The Hague-based institution has taken multiple steps against Russia amid the Ukraine conflict, most notably by issuing an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin last spring. The president is accused of “unlawful deportation” of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Moscow, like many other countries, including the US, does not recognize the authority of the ICC and its actions hold no legal power in Russia.

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Macron’s brand ‘toxic’ – Bloomberg 26 Jun, 2024 12:46

Even close allies of the French president fear aligning with him ahead of snap elections, the outlet has reported

French President Emmanuel Macron’s allies could distance themselves from him ahead of snap elections as the leader has become a “toxic brand” due to his waning popularity, Bloomberg has reported, citing sources.

The heads of communication at the Elysee Palace have admitted they have “no polls or data to suggest candidates should publicly align themselves with Macron to retain their seats,” the outlet said on Wednesday, citing attendees at an emergency meeting of top French government officials.

Soon after Macron called snap elections earlier this month, dozens of lawmakers who initially supported the French leader now want him to keep a “low profile” as his behavior grows increasingly “erratic,” Bloomberg claimed.

Even political heavyweights such as French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, once Macron’s closest allies, are keeping their distance, the outlet stated.

Most pro-government candidates have not placed the president’s image in their campaign posters or leaflets as the Macron brand is feared to be toxic, Bloomberg added. A person close to the president claimed that it’s normal for candidates not to use his image, arguing that the election is about the parliament, not the presidency.

Speaking on Monday on the ‘Generation Do It Yourself’ podcast, Macron claimed that upcoming legislative elections in France could lead to civil war, should the far right or the leftist bloc sweep to power.

Only his centrist ruling coalition can prevent such a scenario, Macron insisted, arguing that both the right-wing National Rally party and the left-wing France Unbowed party have espoused divisive policies that stoke tensions.

Macron’s popularity has tumbled in recent months, and opinion polls indicate that his party is lagging far behind National Rally.

Macron, who has presented himself as a leading backer of Ukraine in the conflict with Russia, has floated the possibility of sending French – and other Western – troops to the battlefield. Jordan Bardella, the National Rally leader, recently said that if he becomes prime minister, he will not send troops or long-range missiles to Ukraine, describing any such moves as “very clear red lines.”

Macon dissolved the country’s parliament and called snap elections earlier this month, after the National Rally party trounced his ruling coalition in the European Parliament elections. He has vowed to stay on as president until his five-year term ends in 2027, but an opposition-controlled legislature and government would dramatically shift the balance of power.

The first round of the elections will be held on Sunday, while the second round is scheduled for July 7.

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Farage tells Zelensky only peace can save Ukraine 26 Jun, 2024 14:27

The British politician says Kiev is running out of ‘young men’ to fight Russia

Ukraine has no hope against Russia on the battlefield due to a lack of manpower, British politician Nigel Farage stated on Tuesday.

The Reform UK leader has been embroiled in a row with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky and former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson after arguing that NATO expansion in Europe contributed to the ongoing hostilities.

Farage defended his position on the BBC’s Panorama program last week, prompting Zelensky’s office to claim that the politician is infected with a “virus of Putinism.” Johnson branded Farage’s remarks “nauseating ahistorical drivel” and “Kremlin propaganda,” calling him “morally repugnant.”

Speaking to British journalists on Tuesday, Farage took aim at his critics, in particular Johnson, who he accused of pushing Zelensky into rejecting a peace deal with Russia in 2022.

The former Tory leader “very clearly did [that] for his own reasons. How many people have died as a result of that, I don’t know,” Farage said. He estimated that there have been “a million battle casualties” in the conflict.

Considering the heavy losses, “there may be no young men left in Ukraine” to achieve Kiev’s stated goal of defeating Russia, Farage pointed out. He said it was Zelensky’s choice whether to cede territory to stop the bloodshed and lamented that “no one is even talking about peace.”

“All we are talking about is ‘Ukraine is going to win’. Really? I’m pretty skeptical about that,” Farage added.

“I just think some attempt to broker negotiations between these two sides needs to happen,” the politician said, after citing his past opposition to Western military campaigns in Iraq and Libya.

Farage issued a similar rebuke during a campaign rally in Maidstone on Monday, when he suggested that Johnson is the one who is “morally repugnant.” He showed supporters a Daily Mail article from 2016 featuring a pro-Brexit speech by Johnson, a key figure in the campaign.

In it, Johnson blamed the EU’s expansionist foreign policy for stoking tensions with Russia in Ukraine. He was accused of being an “apologist” for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the remarks. Farage told the crowd that Johnson was a hypocrite for criticizing him for saying similar things.

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Lavrov reveals BRICS expansion stance 26 Jun, 2024 14:20

The bloc has voted to temporarily suspend accepting new members, according to the Russian Foreign Minister

The BRICS group of nations has voted to temporarily stop accepting new members and focus on integrating the most recent countries to join, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced on Wednesday.

In a statement published on the ministry’s website, Lavrov stated that the Group of Ten had decided to “take a break with the accession of new members in order to process the new arrivals, who have doubled the composition of the group.”

BRICS was initially founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining the group in 2010. This year, five more countries officially joined the organization, including Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.

In his statement, Lavrov said that while the new arrivals are being integrated into the group, a new category of “partner countries” would be formed as a “stepping stone” to full BRICS membership.

“We will certainly promote our Belarusian friends as well as a number of other like-minded allies,” the minister said.

This year, Russia holds the rotating chairmanship of BRICS and has announced a “special mission” to seek new members. According to Yury Ushakov, the Russian president’s foreign policy aide, more than 30 countries have formally applied, including Thailand and Malaysia, who are the latest to have submitted their bids. Earlier this month, Zimbabwe also announced a desire to join the group.

Previously, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov outlined the primary condition that all aspiring BRICS members should meet as “non-participation in illegal sanctions policies, [and] illegal restrictive measures against any BRICS participant, first of all of course against Russia.”

He said that all current members had expressed their “full understanding” of that position, which Moscow considers essential as the group’s growth continues.

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UK’s Cameron dashes Ukraine’s NATO summit hopes 26 Jun, 2024 11:57

Kiev won’t receive an invitation to join the bloc at next month’s meeting because the US won’t support it, the top diplomat has said

Ukraine will not receive an invitation to join NATO at the bloc’s summit next month, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron has said. He added that Kiev can only expect a strong declaration of support regarding its conflict with Moscow.

In a phone call with Russian prankster duo Vovan and Lexus – one of whom posed as former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko – which was made public on Wednesday, Cameron confirmed that Ukraine should not hope to make strides on its path to become a NATO member when the military bloc’s leaders convene in Washington July 9-11.

”There is not going to be an invitation because America won’t support one,” Cameron said, adding that he told Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky that Kiev and the West should come up with the best language possible with regard to NATO’s support for the country and its eventual inclusion in the bloc.

”But we can’t have an argument between NATO and Ukraine before the summit… Let’s make sure we go into the conference united. We can’t afford a sort of public argument about where Ukraine is vis-à-vis NATO in the run-up to the July summit,” the foreign secretary said, adding that he personally supports the country’s accession to the US-led military bloc. “I’m sure it will happen. But we are not going to get there this time.”

NATO first announced that Ukraine would become a member of the bloc back in 2008, without giving an exact timeline. In 2019, after the Western-backed coup in Kiev several years prior, Ukraine officially declared NATO membership to be a strategic objective. In 2022, after the conflict with Russia escalated and four of its former regions voted to join the neighboring country, Ukraine formally applied to join the bloc.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that Ukraine will not be able to join the bloc while it is embroiled in the conflict, amid widespread concerns that the move could trigger a direct clash with Russia.

Moscow has for years sounded the alarm about NATO’s expansion towards its borders, with President Vladimir Putin citing Ukraine’s aspirations to join the bloc as one of the main reasons for the conflict. Earlier this month, Putin said Russia is ready to begin peace talks with Ukraine once it withdraws from its four former regions and commits to neutrality. Both Kiev and its Western backers have rejected the offer.

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Reaper drone came ‘dangerously close’ to Russian Su-34 warplane – Moscow 26 Jun, 2024 10:22

The incident in Syrian airspace exemplified reckless flying by US-led forces, the military claims

Military aircraft operated by a US-led alliance have been responsible for multiple risky encounters with Russian forces in Syria, Moscow claimed on Tuesday.

In one incident over Homs province, an MQ-9 Reaper drone belonging flew dangerously close to a Su-34 strike aircraft, the Russian military mission in Syria said at a daily briefing.

“The Russian pilot demonstrated high professionalism and took necessary measures in time to avoid collision,” a military spokesman said.

The episode was one of nine violations of deconfliction protocols perpetrated by the “terrorist coalition” in just 24 hours, according to the statement. The protocols were signed in 2019 with a view to avoiding incidents. By failing to inform the Russian mission about its flight plans, the alliance “creates risks for air incidents and escalates the tensions in Syrian airspace.”

Other cases involved F-15, F-16 and Rafale jets flown by coalition forces near Al-Tanf, the US base in southeastern Syria near the borders with Jordan and Iraq, the statement said.

The US military continues to operate the facility despite objections from Damascus regarding what Russia and several other nations consider a violation of Syrian sovereignty.

The Russian military was invited to Syria by its government in 2015 to help it deal with jihadist groups trying to topple it. Washington claims that its military presence is required to prevent Islamic State, a once-powerful terrorist organization, from resurging.

The report followed rumors circulating online, which claimed that the US had lost a Global Hawk surveillance drone over the Black Sea after an encounter with a Russian MiG-31 interceptor jet. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about the speculations on Tuesday, and said the Russian government was not aware of any such incident.

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Ukraine destroys crucial sensors near Europe’s largest nuclear plant – officials 26 Jun, 2024 09:10

Kiev continues to carry out reckless attacks around the Zaporozhye NPP, staff at the facility have said

The Ukrainian military has shelled a radiation monitoring station near the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, the largest such facility in Europe, officials at the Russian facility reported on Wednesday.

The attack targeted a monitoring station in Velikaya Znamenka, a village around 15km west of the nuclear facility. It was “totally destroyed” by Ukrainian artillery fire, according to a statement from Russian officials on social media. The statement included photos of the burned-out equipment box.

Located in the city of Energodar, the Zaporozhye nuclear plant has a network of sensors, known as the ‘Koltso’ (Ring), on a 30km radius that monitors for possible radiation leaks. The system was upgraded several years ago.

Plant workers have taken measures to maintain the monitoring regime, the statement said, adding that no spikes in radiation levels have been detected.

Russia has been in control of the Zaporozhye NPP since the early weeks of the hostilities with Ukraine. Officials in Energodar reported several Ukrainian attacks on its key infrastructure last week, in which two transformer substations were damaged.

The attacks have disrupted electricity supplies to some of the power plant’s facilities and posed a threat to its personnel, according to its management. Ukrainian actions “may affect nuclear safety,” a statement released last Saturday said.

Kiev considers the Zaporozhye station to be illegally occupied and has accused Russia of using it for military purposes – allegation Moscow has denied. The UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), maintains an observer mission at the site, but declines to attribute blame for any attacks affecting the station.

“Whoever is behind this, it must stop,” IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said last week. “Drone usage against the plant and its vicinity is becoming increasingly more frequent. This is completely unacceptable and it runs counter to the safety pillars and concrete principles which have been accepted unanimously.”

The IAEA noted that the disruption of power had affected the radiological monitoring stations. The sensor network went offline for some time after backup batteries ran out, and went back online again after power was restored.

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Tapping Russian funds for Kiev perpetuates the war – financial expert to RT 26 Jun, 2024 07:46

Profits from frozen Russian assets will further enrich arms producers and will not help Ukrainians, Angelo Giuliano has predicted

The EU’s plan to tap profits from frozen Russian assets to buy arms for Ukraine is benefiting Western weapons producers and not the people of the country, Hong Kong-based financial consultant Angelo Giuliano has told RT.

Brussels intends to spend some $1.5 billion generated by Russian national wealth to procure military equipment and munitions for Kiev and bolster the Ukrainian defense industry, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced on Monday. The goal is to do so “in the swiftest possible manner for the benefit of Ukraine,” he said.

”It’s not for the sake of Ukraine, for the wellbeing of Ukraine to reconstruct. It’s for the profit of the military industrial complex, which wants to perpetuate this war,” Giuliano responded in an interview on Tuesday.

The entire conflict is not so much about Ukraine as it is about trying to hurt and potentially balkanize Russia, which is what globalist elites want, he believes. Lining the pockets of the arms makers is an extra benefit, he said.

In a sense, the refusal of Western nations to repay the money that was lent to them by Russia through purchase of their bonds was a default on debt, the expert added. This hurts the financial credibility of the US and its allies in the long term and unnerves foreign creditors.

”Many countries will think twice before they actually lend money to those countries, because they see the example,” he said.

Russia considers the immobilization of its sovereign funds illegal. It has warned that it will retaliate against the West for any attempt to “steal” its money.

The EU has rejected calls by Kiev and Washington to tap the Russian assets themselves, but applied a windfall tax on profits from them. Brussels reportedly used a legal loophole to circumvent Hungary, a critic of its Ukraine policy, when it decided how the $1.5 billion should be spent.

There is concern that Budapest, which was angered by the news, may oppose continued freezing of the Russian money the next time the EU needs to prolong it, which requires unanimity among members of the economic bloc.

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