The refutation of fake information became possible thanks to the work of the fighters of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), who took part in extinguishing ships and releasing crews. The correspondent of the WarGonzo telegram channel talks about it in his video from the scene. He confirms that the ship was completely burned out but no civilians were injured thanks to the actions of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, (войнасфейками.рф) #Ukraine #Russia #Donbass
❗Mass Media of Russia about Situation in Ukraine (April 13, 2022)❗
1. Political statements by the leadership of the Russian Federation and friendly countries
President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin said that Russia's special military operation in Ukraine is proceeding according to plan. “Our task is to fulfill and achieve all the goals set, minimizing losses. And we will act rhythmically, calmly, according to the plan that was originally proposed by the General Staff” , Putin stressed. He recalled that the purpose of the special operation “is to help people living in the Donbass, who feel their inseparable connection with Russia and who have been subjected to genocide for eight years”. The special operation will continue until the fulfillment of the initially set tasks, if agreements acceptable to all are not reached at the talks, Putin said. “Of course, I am closely watching the discussions that take place in our society, abroad. We must not hide anything from the public. But they must cover this combat work objectively”, the head of state said. Ukraine for the West is a means to achieve goals that have nothing to do with the interests of the Ukrainian people, Putin said. He stressed that “even in today's tragic conditions, Ukrainians are a brotherly people”. (tass.ru)
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said, that the US authorities intentionally fuel the conflict in Ukraine for containing China and Russia. “US and NATO policies have brought Russia-Ukraine rifts to a critical point. The American side has taken no steps to ease the escalation of tensions, but on the contrary, it has been adding fuel to the conflict, thus forcing other countries to take sides”, he said. “The US is systematically spreading disinformation in order to discredit China and distort its fundamental stance in favor of peace talks. It has been trying to dodge responsibility, staging provocations and trying to derive benefits, find room for maneuver and at the same time contain Russia and China”, – Zhao said. (tass.ru)
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times said that India and Russia are 'natural allies', but this relationship does not negatively affect the country's cooperation with the United States.
Speaking about whether Russia will be able to meet its obligations to India to supply spare parts and equipment already purchased by India amid the conflict in Ukraine, Singh said he ruled out the impact of that conflict on India's national security preparedness. (tass.ru)
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said at a joint press conference in Washington following the two-plus-two talks that the Indian authorities are seeking a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine and are ready to promote a diplomatic settlement. “Ukrainians contacted us, in particular, on the issue of the supply of medicines. We have already provided humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, some of its neighbors. And even at the moment, a batch of medicines is being delivered or will soon be delivered to Kyiv”, Jaishankar added.
In addition, the Indian Foreign Minister rejected the journalist's question about India's imports of Russian oil and Washington's calls not to increase the volume of purchases of this fuel. The Foreign Minister stressed that such purchases are “necessary for the energy security” of India. At the same time, the minister pointed out that India purchases less oil from Russia in a month than Europe in half a day. (tass.ru)
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said that by agitating the population to fight against Russia and condoning the mercenaries, Europe and the United States do not calculate the consequences. The «activists» who do not run away in the very first days will be trained and remain in the ranks of the Ukrainian paramilitary formations, fighting shoulder to shoulder with the notorious Nazis.
1. Political statements by the leadership of the Russian Federation and friendly countries
President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin said that Russia's special military operation in Ukraine is proceeding according to plan. “Our task is to fulfill and achieve all the goals set, minimizing losses. And we will act rhythmically, calmly, according to the plan that was originally proposed by the General Staff” , Putin stressed. He recalled that the purpose of the special operation “is to help people living in the Donbass, who feel their inseparable connection with Russia and who have been subjected to genocide for eight years”. The special operation will continue until the fulfillment of the initially set tasks, if agreements acceptable to all are not reached at the talks, Putin said. “Of course, I am closely watching the discussions that take place in our society, abroad. We must not hide anything from the public. But they must cover this combat work objectively”, the head of state said. Ukraine for the West is a means to achieve goals that have nothing to do with the interests of the Ukrainian people, Putin said. He stressed that “even in today's tragic conditions, Ukrainians are a brotherly people”. (tass.ru)
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said, that the US authorities intentionally fuel the conflict in Ukraine for containing China and Russia. “US and NATO policies have brought Russia-Ukraine rifts to a critical point. The American side has taken no steps to ease the escalation of tensions, but on the contrary, it has been adding fuel to the conflict, thus forcing other countries to take sides”, he said. “The US is systematically spreading disinformation in order to discredit China and distort its fundamental stance in favor of peace talks. It has been trying to dodge responsibility, staging provocations and trying to derive benefits, find room for maneuver and at the same time contain Russia and China”, – Zhao said. (tass.ru)
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times said that India and Russia are 'natural allies', but this relationship does not negatively affect the country's cooperation with the United States.
Speaking about whether Russia will be able to meet its obligations to India to supply spare parts and equipment already purchased by India amid the conflict in Ukraine, Singh said he ruled out the impact of that conflict on India's national security preparedness. (tass.ru)
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said at a joint press conference in Washington following the two-plus-two talks that the Indian authorities are seeking a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine and are ready to promote a diplomatic settlement. “Ukrainians contacted us, in particular, on the issue of the supply of medicines. We have already provided humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, some of its neighbors. And even at the moment, a batch of medicines is being delivered or will soon be delivered to Kyiv”, Jaishankar added.
In addition, the Indian Foreign Minister rejected the journalist's question about India's imports of Russian oil and Washington's calls not to increase the volume of purchases of this fuel. The Foreign Minister stressed that such purchases are “necessary for the energy security” of India. At the same time, the minister pointed out that India purchases less oil from Russia in a month than Europe in half a day. (tass.ru)
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said that by agitating the population to fight against Russia and condoning the mercenaries, Europe and the United States do not calculate the consequences. The «activists» who do not run away in the very first days will be trained and remain in the ranks of the Ukrainian paramilitary formations, fighting shoulder to shoulder with the notorious Nazis.
They will return home like people with a broken psyche, like militants saturated with misanthropic ideology, accustomed to the violence and skilled in the use of weapons. (ria.ru)
2. The course of special military operation. Briefings by Russian Defense Ministry
12.04.2022 (10:05)
Russian Armed Forces continue the special military operation in Ukraine.
At night, high-precision air- and sea-based missiles destroyed an ammunition depot and a secure hangar with Ukrainian aircraft at Starokonstantinov military airfield, Khmelnitskiy region and an ammunition depot near Gavrilovka in Kiev region.
Air Force and Army aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces hit 32 military assets of Ukraine.
Among them: 1 anti-aircraft missile system «Вик-Ml» near Novomikhailovka, 1 radar for illumination and guidance of anti-aircraft missile system «S-ЗОО» near Zolotarevka, 1 command post and 18 areas of Ukrainian military equipment stockpile.
Russian Air Defence systems shot down 2 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles near Berdyansk and Melitopol.
In total, 130 aircfaft and 99 helicopters, 244 anti-aircraft missile systems S-300, Buk-Ml, Osa AKM, 443 unmanned aerial vehicles, 2,139 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 241 multiple launch rocket systems, 917 field artillery and mortars, 2,046 units of special military vehicles of Ukrainian Armed Forces were destroyed during the operation.
On April 11, in Mariupol, the units of Ukrainian troops surrounded in the plant «Illicha» made an unsuccessful attempt to break out at night. A group of up to 100 Ukrainian soldiers on armoured vehicles tried to fight their way out of the plant and leave the city in a northern direction. Air and artillery strikes foiled this breakthrough attempt. 3 tanks, 5 infantry fighting vehicles, 7 vehicles were destroyed and up to 50 personnel were killed. Another 42 Ukrainian servicemen voluntarily laid down their arms and surrendered. (mil.ru)
12.04.2022 (20:00)
Russian Armed Forces continue the special military operation in Ukraine.
Russian artillery units hit 6 strong points of units of 24th Ukrainian Mechanized Brigade near Popasnaya, Donetsk Region. As a result of strikes, more than 120 military personnel were killed, 11 armoured vehicles and 14 vehicles were destroyed.
Air Force and Army aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces hit 38 military assets of Ukraine. Among them: 1 ammunition depot in Toshkivka, Lugansk Region, 8 areas of Ukrainian weapons and military equipment stockpile in Glazunovka, Pyatigorskoe and Prishib in Kharkov Region.
Russian Air Defence systems shot down 2 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in the air over Ochakov and Nikolaev.
In total, 130 aircfaft and 99 helicopters, 244 anti-aircraft missile systems S- 300, Вuк-Ml, Osa АКМ, 445 unmanned aerial vehicles, 2,153 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 241 multiple launch rocket systems, 924 field artillery and mortars, 2,063 units of special military vehicles of Ukrainian Armed were destroyed during the operation.
2. Crimes of the Ukrainian Nazis and the armed forces of Ukraine
3. The representative office of the Donetsk People's Republic in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire reported that eleven civilians on the previously liberated territories were injured as a result of shelling by Ukrainian troops. It is noted that nine of them are residents of Mariupol. According to the agency, the total number of recorded victims in the liberated territories of the Donetsk People's Republic has reached 1,036 people, including 54 children. On April 11, Ukrainian troops opened fire on the Donetsk People's Republic 34 times, firing 189 rounds of ammunition. Two people died and seven were injured. (ria.ru)
4. Exposure of disinformation
The CNN channel released a story about the disastrous state of the Russian economy, in which famine began. This story is an attempt by the Western media to divert attention from internal problems and at the same time prove the effectiveness of the sanctions imposed against Russia.
2. The course of special military operation. Briefings by Russian Defense Ministry
12.04.2022 (10:05)
Russian Armed Forces continue the special military operation in Ukraine.
At night, high-precision air- and sea-based missiles destroyed an ammunition depot and a secure hangar with Ukrainian aircraft at Starokonstantinov military airfield, Khmelnitskiy region and an ammunition depot near Gavrilovka in Kiev region.
Air Force and Army aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces hit 32 military assets of Ukraine.
Among them: 1 anti-aircraft missile system «Вик-Ml» near Novomikhailovka, 1 radar for illumination and guidance of anti-aircraft missile system «S-ЗОО» near Zolotarevka, 1 command post and 18 areas of Ukrainian military equipment stockpile.
Russian Air Defence systems shot down 2 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles near Berdyansk and Melitopol.
In total, 130 aircfaft and 99 helicopters, 244 anti-aircraft missile systems S-300, Buk-Ml, Osa AKM, 443 unmanned aerial vehicles, 2,139 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 241 multiple launch rocket systems, 917 field artillery and mortars, 2,046 units of special military vehicles of Ukrainian Armed Forces were destroyed during the operation.
On April 11, in Mariupol, the units of Ukrainian troops surrounded in the plant «Illicha» made an unsuccessful attempt to break out at night. A group of up to 100 Ukrainian soldiers on armoured vehicles tried to fight their way out of the plant and leave the city in a northern direction. Air and artillery strikes foiled this breakthrough attempt. 3 tanks, 5 infantry fighting vehicles, 7 vehicles were destroyed and up to 50 personnel were killed. Another 42 Ukrainian servicemen voluntarily laid down their arms and surrendered. (mil.ru)
12.04.2022 (20:00)
Russian Armed Forces continue the special military operation in Ukraine.
Russian artillery units hit 6 strong points of units of 24th Ukrainian Mechanized Brigade near Popasnaya, Donetsk Region. As a result of strikes, more than 120 military personnel were killed, 11 armoured vehicles and 14 vehicles were destroyed.
Air Force and Army aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces hit 38 military assets of Ukraine. Among them: 1 ammunition depot in Toshkivka, Lugansk Region, 8 areas of Ukrainian weapons and military equipment stockpile in Glazunovka, Pyatigorskoe and Prishib in Kharkov Region.
Russian Air Defence systems shot down 2 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in the air over Ochakov and Nikolaev.
In total, 130 aircfaft and 99 helicopters, 244 anti-aircraft missile systems S- 300, Вuк-Ml, Osa АКМ, 445 unmanned aerial vehicles, 2,153 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 241 multiple launch rocket systems, 924 field artillery and mortars, 2,063 units of special military vehicles of Ukrainian Armed were destroyed during the operation.
2. Crimes of the Ukrainian Nazis and the armed forces of Ukraine
3. The representative office of the Donetsk People's Republic in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire reported that eleven civilians on the previously liberated territories were injured as a result of shelling by Ukrainian troops. It is noted that nine of them are residents of Mariupol. According to the agency, the total number of recorded victims in the liberated territories of the Donetsk People's Republic has reached 1,036 people, including 54 children. On April 11, Ukrainian troops opened fire on the Donetsk People's Republic 34 times, firing 189 rounds of ammunition. Two people died and seven were injured. (ria.ru)
4. Exposure of disinformation
The CNN channel released a story about the disastrous state of the Russian economy, in which famine began. This story is an attempt by the Western media to divert attention from internal problems and at the same time prove the effectiveness of the sanctions imposed against Russia.
These are refuted by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade. Supply and demand for all goods are steady and stable, a long-term stock of socially important goods has been formed. A shortage in retail trade is not expected. (войнасфейками.рф) #Russia #Ukraine #Donbass
⚡️ Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with Rossiya television network, Moscow, April 11, 2022
Question: I would like to ask you about “strange” statements by European diplomats on the course of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell said it must be won on the battlefield. This doesn’t really jibe with the EU’s status as a primarily political and economic organisation. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed regret over his earlier stance on the possibility of normal dialogue with Russia. So now he doesn’t think it’s possible. How is one supposed to talk with these people? How is one supposed to come to terms with them?
Sergey Lavrov: This is a major shift in the policy of the EU and the entire West under the leadership of the US (there is no doubt about that) that occurred after the start of our special military operation. Their current policy is rooted in bitterness and derangement (excuse the non-diplomatic word choice), though it’s not all about Ukraine but rather turning that country into a bridgehead from which Russia can finally be subjugated and subordinated to the global system built by the West even though the Cold War ended and the USSR and Warsaw Treaty disappeared. The West was moving closer to our borders all the time despite its promises not to expand NATO, statements to the effect that we were no longer adversaries and many other things. Our special military operation is designed to put an end to NATO’s unlimited expansion and to keep the US and other NATO countries from achieving total domination in the world arena. They are building this system based on “rules” which they just now started going on about, despite violating international law in the crudest manner in the process. They devise these rules on a case-by-case basis. It is fine to recognise independence in Kosovo without a referendum but not in Crimea even after a referendum that was monitored by hundreds of unbiased foreigners.
A threat to US security was detected in Iraq (10,000 km away from the US). They bombed it but didn’t locate the threat and didn’t even apologise. They are cultivating neo-Nazis and ultra-radicals on our borders. The Pentagon is setting up dozens of laboratories conducting experiments to develop biological weapons. The documents found there leave no doubt about this. But we are not allowed to respond to a threat on our borders, as opposed to across the ocean. That’s the message.
President Vladimir Putin explained in detail the reasons for the decision on the special military operation. These include eight years of sabotage of the Minsk agreements accompanied by the daily bombing of Donbass; the flooding of Ukraine with Western weapons; and the sending of instructors that trained the most extremist units that were later sent to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They formed the backbone of the groups that are now resisting our operation to demilitarise and denazify Ukraine. Western propaganda immediately used all this to portray Russia as pure evil and themselves, consequently, as purely good. The current Ukrainian regime is described as a model of democracy, justice, freedom and European aspirations in all things, including the values that Europe has supposedly always preached. The response that followed shows that they understand very well that Ukraine isn’t really the point. The point is their own dominance, which far from all countries are willing to accept. Russia, with its history and traditions, is one of those countries that will never accept a subordinate status. We can be members of the international community only on equal terms, on conditions of indivisible security. We wanted to reach some accommodation but were ignored by our Western colleagues.
But what Mr Borrell said – even by the standards of the unprecedented, aggressive level things have reached – marks a serious change in the rules of the game. Until now the EU has never acted as a military organisation.
Question: I would like to ask you about “strange” statements by European diplomats on the course of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell said it must be won on the battlefield. This doesn’t really jibe with the EU’s status as a primarily political and economic organisation. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed regret over his earlier stance on the possibility of normal dialogue with Russia. So now he doesn’t think it’s possible. How is one supposed to talk with these people? How is one supposed to come to terms with them?
Sergey Lavrov: This is a major shift in the policy of the EU and the entire West under the leadership of the US (there is no doubt about that) that occurred after the start of our special military operation. Their current policy is rooted in bitterness and derangement (excuse the non-diplomatic word choice), though it’s not all about Ukraine but rather turning that country into a bridgehead from which Russia can finally be subjugated and subordinated to the global system built by the West even though the Cold War ended and the USSR and Warsaw Treaty disappeared. The West was moving closer to our borders all the time despite its promises not to expand NATO, statements to the effect that we were no longer adversaries and many other things. Our special military operation is designed to put an end to NATO’s unlimited expansion and to keep the US and other NATO countries from achieving total domination in the world arena. They are building this system based on “rules” which they just now started going on about, despite violating international law in the crudest manner in the process. They devise these rules on a case-by-case basis. It is fine to recognise independence in Kosovo without a referendum but not in Crimea even after a referendum that was monitored by hundreds of unbiased foreigners.
A threat to US security was detected in Iraq (10,000 km away from the US). They bombed it but didn’t locate the threat and didn’t even apologise. They are cultivating neo-Nazis and ultra-radicals on our borders. The Pentagon is setting up dozens of laboratories conducting experiments to develop biological weapons. The documents found there leave no doubt about this. But we are not allowed to respond to a threat on our borders, as opposed to across the ocean. That’s the message.
President Vladimir Putin explained in detail the reasons for the decision on the special military operation. These include eight years of sabotage of the Minsk agreements accompanied by the daily bombing of Donbass; the flooding of Ukraine with Western weapons; and the sending of instructors that trained the most extremist units that were later sent to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They formed the backbone of the groups that are now resisting our operation to demilitarise and denazify Ukraine. Western propaganda immediately used all this to portray Russia as pure evil and themselves, consequently, as purely good. The current Ukrainian regime is described as a model of democracy, justice, freedom and European aspirations in all things, including the values that Europe has supposedly always preached. The response that followed shows that they understand very well that Ukraine isn’t really the point. The point is their own dominance, which far from all countries are willing to accept. Russia, with its history and traditions, is one of those countries that will never accept a subordinate status. We can be members of the international community only on equal terms, on conditions of indivisible security. We wanted to reach some accommodation but were ignored by our Western colleagues.
But what Mr Borrell said – even by the standards of the unprecedented, aggressive level things have reached – marks a serious change in the rules of the game. Until now the EU has never acted as a military organisation.
Yes, now they are discussing their “strategic compass.” For the first time in history, Germany allocated an additional 100 billion euros to exercise its military muscles, which represents a qualitative change. This “strategic compass” includes a tangible increase in military spending and the formation of a certain collective structure for defence against potential aggressors. But the upshot of all this independence is zero because the United States is controlling everything that is being done. The EU has not been given any independent role, even internally. Its efforts are being skillfully controlled by the Baltic states, Denmark and Poland, which will not allow any kind of separation between the EU and NATO. Quite the contrary, they will be pushing it back into NATO’s web.
Question: A NATO branch?
Sergey Lavrov: So it seems. Whenever the chief diplomat of a country or an organisation (in this case, head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell) says that a particular conflict can be resolved exclusively by military means, that is how such a statement is construed. This means that either he has a personal grudge, or it was a slip of the tongue, or he got ahead of his orders. This statement is out of line. We will cover this in more detail in our official documents. I hope we will be able to analyse all this within the next couple of days.
You also mentioned Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whom I know well back from his days as Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is now the President of Germany. In an interview that he gave several days ago, he was asked whether an international tribunal was needed to try representatives of the Russian leadership, starting with President Vladimir Putin and the Foreign Minister, as war criminals. He agreed, saying that everyone who is responsible for the military operation and the political decisions should be held accountable. I leave this to his conscience. I think that the facts will become known in Germany, and the perpetrators of war crimes will become known. This will be determined not on the basis of fakes (such as Bucha or Kramatorsk), but on the basis of the deadly evidence that we present, and that our military discover during the special military operation and on the basis of the testimony of the people who have lived in the divided Donbass under the yoke of these neo-Nazis for many years, cut off from their sons who stayed on the eastern side of the line of contact. As these people are being liberated now, it is impossible to fake the feelings that they have or to make up the hardships they went through living under the control of neo-Nazi and other “territorial” battalions.
Steinmeier said another interesting thing about Ukraine. He said that, as a diplomat, he had never dedicated as much time to any other country as he did to Ukraine. He recalled that when Germany chaired the EU in 2007, he was the one to initiate the talks on preparing an Association Agreement with the EU. In 2013, when the riot began on the Maidan, he brokered the talks between Viktor Yanukovych and the opposition. That’s how it was, indeed. Importantly, a half-truth is worse than a lie. In fact, Mr Steinmeier left out some important episodes and turning points in the events that he mentioned. First, the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU provided for the transition to zero tariffs for the vast majority of goods. By the time this Agreement had already been in the works in 2013, we reminded our Ukrainian colleagues that we also have a free trade area with them as part of the CIS. We introduced significant protections against European goods when we joined the WTO. So, if they have zero tariffs with Europe, and we have long had zero tariffs for most goods with Ukraine, then goods from the EU will pour into our country freely contrary to the agreements that we reached when joining the WTO. We told them we need to sit down and decide on this issue so that we are not impacted by their relations with the EU.
Question: A NATO branch?
Sergey Lavrov: So it seems. Whenever the chief diplomat of a country or an organisation (in this case, head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell) says that a particular conflict can be resolved exclusively by military means, that is how such a statement is construed. This means that either he has a personal grudge, or it was a slip of the tongue, or he got ahead of his orders. This statement is out of line. We will cover this in more detail in our official documents. I hope we will be able to analyse all this within the next couple of days.
You also mentioned Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whom I know well back from his days as Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is now the President of Germany. In an interview that he gave several days ago, he was asked whether an international tribunal was needed to try representatives of the Russian leadership, starting with President Vladimir Putin and the Foreign Minister, as war criminals. He agreed, saying that everyone who is responsible for the military operation and the political decisions should be held accountable. I leave this to his conscience. I think that the facts will become known in Germany, and the perpetrators of war crimes will become known. This will be determined not on the basis of fakes (such as Bucha or Kramatorsk), but on the basis of the deadly evidence that we present, and that our military discover during the special military operation and on the basis of the testimony of the people who have lived in the divided Donbass under the yoke of these neo-Nazis for many years, cut off from their sons who stayed on the eastern side of the line of contact. As these people are being liberated now, it is impossible to fake the feelings that they have or to make up the hardships they went through living under the control of neo-Nazi and other “territorial” battalions.
Steinmeier said another interesting thing about Ukraine. He said that, as a diplomat, he had never dedicated as much time to any other country as he did to Ukraine. He recalled that when Germany chaired the EU in 2007, he was the one to initiate the talks on preparing an Association Agreement with the EU. In 2013, when the riot began on the Maidan, he brokered the talks between Viktor Yanukovych and the opposition. That’s how it was, indeed. Importantly, a half-truth is worse than a lie. In fact, Mr Steinmeier left out some important episodes and turning points in the events that he mentioned. First, the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU provided for the transition to zero tariffs for the vast majority of goods. By the time this Agreement had already been in the works in 2013, we reminded our Ukrainian colleagues that we also have a free trade area with them as part of the CIS. We introduced significant protections against European goods when we joined the WTO. So, if they have zero tariffs with Europe, and we have long had zero tariffs for most goods with Ukraine, then goods from the EU will pour into our country freely contrary to the agreements that we reached when joining the WTO. We told them we need to sit down and decide on this issue so that we are not impacted by their relations with the EU.
However, the EU, which (as Steinmeier says) started the talks on the Association Agreement on his initiative, told us that this was not our business and that they would reach an agreement with Ukraine as they see fit. After that, Yanukovych realised that this would be a problem and Russia would be forced to build a barrier on the border with Ukraine against Ukrainian-made goods. The President of Ukraine asked to postpone the signing for several months so that we could resolve these problems taking into account the interests of Ukraine, Russia and the EU.
It was after this that Europe, which Mr Steinmeier was so proud of when he said that Ukraine aspired to European values, provoked the Maidan. They rallied the people under the banner of fighting Yanukovych who allegedly wasn’t letting Ukraine join the EU.
Mr Steinmeier did not mention that he did not just broker the talks between Yanukovych and the opposition, but also took part in concluding them by signing a settlement agreement. On behalf of Germany and the EU, Steinmeier signed this agreement as a guarantor alongside the foreign ministers of Poland and France. The next morning, they spat on his signature. The opposition tore up the agreement and, from day one, advocated the abolition of the special status of the Russian language (contrary to the Constitution of Ukraine), called for Russians to “get out” of Crimea, sent “friendship trains” there with armed thugs who wanted to storm the Supreme Soviet. After that there was a referendum. Eastern Ukraine completely refused to recognise the coup. They did not attack anyone, but they were declared terrorists and an anti-terrorist operation was announced.
Mr Steinmeier forgot to say that Germany, France, Poland and the entire European Union showed total helplessness and lack of self-respect. Their signatures were trampled on. Tacitly, they even began to encourage this whole thing when they realised that the thugs who came to power would help the West in every possible way and manipulate it. They remained silent when these people burned dozens of innocent people in Odessa’s House of Trade Unions and when, on June 2, 2014, Ukrainian Air Force bombed central Lugansk. They just remained silent. Later, during the attempts to resolve the situation months and years later, we asked them how they allowed a coup to happen. They told us it was “not quite a coup.” Then what? “The costs of the democratic process.” How can you say that with a straight face?
Frank-Walter Steinmeier forgot to mention February 2015, when, alongside the Normandy format leaders, he co-authored the Minsk agreements. Soon after the signing, actually the next day, Petr Poroshenko and his team, speaking in the Verkhovna Rada, refused to act on them. They called the Minsk agreements a “political declaration” which allegedly was not binding. Then we unanimously approved the Package of Measures at the UN Security Council. It has become part of international law and thus binding. They ignored it and in every possible way encouraged the Ukrainian regime as it continued to sabotage its obligations.
We continued our efforts to find compromises, and were ready to make additional concessions and encourage the republics with which Kiev refused to talk to directly to do so as well. At some point during the talks we supported what was called the “Steinmeier formula” as a sign of our flexible approach. When we had to decide what should be done first - granting a special status or holding elections - he came up with a solution that suited everyone and became known as the “Steinmeier formula.” A couple of weeks after the “formula” had been approved and everyone welcomed it, it was consigned to oblivion as well. Petr Poroshenko and Vladimir Zelensky after him were vehemently opposed to following it.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier has to live down a diplomatic disgrace for the second time in several years if he considers himself the initiator (as he proudly stated in that interview) of many things related to the state of Ukrainian society.
It was after this that Europe, which Mr Steinmeier was so proud of when he said that Ukraine aspired to European values, provoked the Maidan. They rallied the people under the banner of fighting Yanukovych who allegedly wasn’t letting Ukraine join the EU.
Mr Steinmeier did not mention that he did not just broker the talks between Yanukovych and the opposition, but also took part in concluding them by signing a settlement agreement. On behalf of Germany and the EU, Steinmeier signed this agreement as a guarantor alongside the foreign ministers of Poland and France. The next morning, they spat on his signature. The opposition tore up the agreement and, from day one, advocated the abolition of the special status of the Russian language (contrary to the Constitution of Ukraine), called for Russians to “get out” of Crimea, sent “friendship trains” there with armed thugs who wanted to storm the Supreme Soviet. After that there was a referendum. Eastern Ukraine completely refused to recognise the coup. They did not attack anyone, but they were declared terrorists and an anti-terrorist operation was announced.
Mr Steinmeier forgot to say that Germany, France, Poland and the entire European Union showed total helplessness and lack of self-respect. Their signatures were trampled on. Tacitly, they even began to encourage this whole thing when they realised that the thugs who came to power would help the West in every possible way and manipulate it. They remained silent when these people burned dozens of innocent people in Odessa’s House of Trade Unions and when, on June 2, 2014, Ukrainian Air Force bombed central Lugansk. They just remained silent. Later, during the attempts to resolve the situation months and years later, we asked them how they allowed a coup to happen. They told us it was “not quite a coup.” Then what? “The costs of the democratic process.” How can you say that with a straight face?
Frank-Walter Steinmeier forgot to mention February 2015, when, alongside the Normandy format leaders, he co-authored the Minsk agreements. Soon after the signing, actually the next day, Petr Poroshenko and his team, speaking in the Verkhovna Rada, refused to act on them. They called the Minsk agreements a “political declaration” which allegedly was not binding. Then we unanimously approved the Package of Measures at the UN Security Council. It has become part of international law and thus binding. They ignored it and in every possible way encouraged the Ukrainian regime as it continued to sabotage its obligations.
We continued our efforts to find compromises, and were ready to make additional concessions and encourage the republics with which Kiev refused to talk to directly to do so as well. At some point during the talks we supported what was called the “Steinmeier formula” as a sign of our flexible approach. When we had to decide what should be done first - granting a special status or holding elections - he came up with a solution that suited everyone and became known as the “Steinmeier formula.” A couple of weeks after the “formula” had been approved and everyone welcomed it, it was consigned to oblivion as well. Petr Poroshenko and Vladimir Zelensky after him were vehemently opposed to following it.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier has to live down a diplomatic disgrace for the second time in several years if he considers himself the initiator (as he proudly stated in that interview) of many things related to the state of Ukrainian society.
Question: Is it possible to speak about a change in the positions of the sides at the Russia-Ukraine talks after the provocations in Bucha and Kramatorsk and considering the collective West, primarily the US, is doing all it can to prolong hostilities?
Sergey Lavrov: President of Russia Vladimir Putin emphasised more than once that we prefer talks. During the very first round of talks when Ukraine suggested contacts and we agreed to arrange them, President Vladimir Putin ordered a pause in the special military operation. When we realised that the Ukrainians were not going to reciprocate, we decided not to make any pauses for subsequent rounds of talks until the final agreement was reached and signed.
The provocations are outrageous. Our military personnel provided chronological arguments and videos made in Bucha (excuse me for going into details but they depicted the positions of corpses and how they looked). They presented all the evidence they could. I don’t understand how adults who consider themselves politicians and diplomats can try to say otherwise without any support.
It is revealing that they tried to keep Bucha going as a story for several weeks but quickly stopped talking about Kramatorsk. Evidence was presented on the same day, including ballistic trajectories, the absence of Tochka-U systems in our forces and the like. More provocations will follow.
Recently, the Defence Ministry and the National Defence Management Centre of Russia submitted intelligence data revealing the plans of the Ukrainian regime to stage new provocations with direct support of Western intelligence services, for instance, involving the use of toxic chemicals, mass executions and burials. There will be more provocations. We must respond to them with facts. Our main argument is what is taking place on the ground.
I don’t see reasons that could prevent us from continuing the talks even though Ukrainians keep making an about face and rejecting what they have just suggested.
We are patient and persistent.
Question: What are conditions like for our diplomats working now in unfriendly countries and the UN Headquarters? We are seeing a worrying surge in Russophobic attitudes. Families with children abroad are receiving threats. Did you have to harden security for the employees? How can the interests of our compatriots be protected against the backdrop of mounting Russophobia?
Sergey Lavrov: Diplomats live and work in difficult conditions. There are attacks, actually terrorist acts against our offices and their physical security but our diplomats are more or less protected by their status. We often do not advise people to go out alone.
We are most of all concerned over the situation of our compatriots, citizens, simply Russians living abroad. They are subjected to regular physical attacks. I know that Western capitals and Western embassies in Moscow are discussing this issue. EU ambassadors hold meetings from time to time for this purpose. Some of our good acquaintances said that EU ambassadors in Moscow are expressing serious concern over examples of Russophobia in Europe. They think this is wrong because it spoils the EU’s image. I wouldn’t say spoil but rather further reveals it for what it is now.
The speed with which the Russophobic wave was set in motion shows (as a US scholar put it) that “latent racism” is alive and well in Europe. At one time, Adolf Hitler mobilised his own society and other European countries against the Jews (and Slavs, for that matter). Now the command to attack is against Russians. The gloves have come off, the pretense and political correctness are gone. Nothing remains.
Ukrainian politicians say “a good Russian is a dead Russian." All other Russians are bad. Ministers are saying that Europe must discriminate against all Russians without distinction. They want them ostracised whether or not they support Putin because there is no time to determine that. They are openly saying this.
Sergey Lavrov: President of Russia Vladimir Putin emphasised more than once that we prefer talks. During the very first round of talks when Ukraine suggested contacts and we agreed to arrange them, President Vladimir Putin ordered a pause in the special military operation. When we realised that the Ukrainians were not going to reciprocate, we decided not to make any pauses for subsequent rounds of talks until the final agreement was reached and signed.
The provocations are outrageous. Our military personnel provided chronological arguments and videos made in Bucha (excuse me for going into details but they depicted the positions of corpses and how they looked). They presented all the evidence they could. I don’t understand how adults who consider themselves politicians and diplomats can try to say otherwise without any support.
It is revealing that they tried to keep Bucha going as a story for several weeks but quickly stopped talking about Kramatorsk. Evidence was presented on the same day, including ballistic trajectories, the absence of Tochka-U systems in our forces and the like. More provocations will follow.
Recently, the Defence Ministry and the National Defence Management Centre of Russia submitted intelligence data revealing the plans of the Ukrainian regime to stage new provocations with direct support of Western intelligence services, for instance, involving the use of toxic chemicals, mass executions and burials. There will be more provocations. We must respond to them with facts. Our main argument is what is taking place on the ground.
I don’t see reasons that could prevent us from continuing the talks even though Ukrainians keep making an about face and rejecting what they have just suggested.
We are patient and persistent.
Question: What are conditions like for our diplomats working now in unfriendly countries and the UN Headquarters? We are seeing a worrying surge in Russophobic attitudes. Families with children abroad are receiving threats. Did you have to harden security for the employees? How can the interests of our compatriots be protected against the backdrop of mounting Russophobia?
Sergey Lavrov: Diplomats live and work in difficult conditions. There are attacks, actually terrorist acts against our offices and their physical security but our diplomats are more or less protected by their status. We often do not advise people to go out alone.
We are most of all concerned over the situation of our compatriots, citizens, simply Russians living abroad. They are subjected to regular physical attacks. I know that Western capitals and Western embassies in Moscow are discussing this issue. EU ambassadors hold meetings from time to time for this purpose. Some of our good acquaintances said that EU ambassadors in Moscow are expressing serious concern over examples of Russophobia in Europe. They think this is wrong because it spoils the EU’s image. I wouldn’t say spoil but rather further reveals it for what it is now.
The speed with which the Russophobic wave was set in motion shows (as a US scholar put it) that “latent racism” is alive and well in Europe. At one time, Adolf Hitler mobilised his own society and other European countries against the Jews (and Slavs, for that matter). Now the command to attack is against Russians. The gloves have come off, the pretense and political correctness are gone. Nothing remains.
Ukrainian politicians say “a good Russian is a dead Russian." All other Russians are bad. Ministers are saying that Europe must discriminate against all Russians without distinction. They want them ostracised whether or not they support Putin because there is no time to determine that. They are openly saying this.
These are serious things. We will use all legal channels at our disposal to protect our citizens. There is the Foundation for Supporting and Protecting the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad. For the most part, it helps hire attorneys for people abroad. We are substantially increasing its financing.
This is a huge problem. We will discuss it.
This is a huge problem. We will discuss it.
⚡️ Article dated April 14, 2022 in The Jakarta Post by Axender Ivanov, Russian Ambassador to ASEAN
Ukraine: The Western-led massacre of truth
It is unfortunate that The Jakarta Post, in its editorial on April 11, 2022, is following the latest Western trend when no evidence is needed to identify those responsible for crimes against civilians. Today, the West’s “highly likely” is enough.
It may seem that the Post has already conducted an investigation into the tragedy in Kramatorsk in stating that it was “last week’s Russian missile strike”. But still, I wish to give readers a chance to reach their own conclusions.
First, Tochka-U tactical missiles, the wreckage of which was found near Kramatorsk railway station, are used only by the Ukrainian armed forces. The Russian army doesn’t possess them.
Second, an analysis of the engagement radius of the warhead, as well as the characteristic position of the Tochka-U missile's tail section, clearly shows that it was launched from a southwesterly direction away from Kramatorsk. This area is still under the full control of the Ukrainian troops in Donbass.
And last, but not least: The serial number of the Tochka-U missile found in Kramatorsk is very close to the sequential numbers of the missiles used by the Kyiv regime to kill civilians in Donbass since 2014. (Readers can easily find their pictures on the internet for comparison.)
Regarding Bucha, on March 30, the Russian military finalized the distribution of 452 tons of humanitarian aid to the people of Bucha and other places in the Kyiv region. Following another round of talks in Ankara, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the withdrawal of its forces from Bucha.
On March 31, Bucha Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk, who is loyal to Kyiv, stated that Russian forces had peacefully pulled out of the city. On April 1, Zhan Belenyuk, a deputy of the Ukrainian parliament, joyfully visited Bucha. On April 2, members of the Ukrainian armed forces entered Bucha, posting footage of empty streets and interviewing civilians, who never mention mass killings.
On April 4, Kyiv and its Western masters started to promote fake news via mass and social media about the alleged “atrocities” of Russian forces in Bucha with video footage showing bodies on the city’s roads, claiming that they had been lying there for at least four days. The bodies were not stiff, did not show signs of decomposition, and their wounds were not bloody.
Later on April 4, no questions were asked as to why those photos and video footage had not been seen before, or why nobody had mentioned any killings for almost a week since the withdrawal. And yet, immediately after the video footage was published, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed support for banning Russian oil and coal as part of a new round of sanctions against Russia.
The United States launched the campaign to suspend Russia from the United Nations Human Rights Council and announced new sanctions against Moscow. The provocation was not considered or analyzed. It was used to blame Russia without evidence.
On April 3 and 4, Russia twice requested a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Bucha. Our efforts have been met with the fierce opposition from the United Kingdom presidency in gross violation of the Security Council’s rules of procedure, with the support of other Western delegations, namely the US, France, Ireland, Norway and Albania.
Why? Ask them.
If you think that such staged attacks are something new for the West, you are wrong. We have been watching these shows over and over again for many years. We saw this in Syria with the so-called White helmets, the Novichok poisonings, the Mariupol hospital bombing. When the truth surfaced a few days later, nobody in the West wanted to speak about it anymore.
At 11:30 a.m. on March 14, Ukrainian forces hit a residential neighborhood in Donetsk with a Tochka-U missile with a cluster munitions warhead, which is prohibited under international law. Why has no Western media covered that tragedy? Because there was no political request for that.
Ukraine: The Western-led massacre of truth
It is unfortunate that The Jakarta Post, in its editorial on April 11, 2022, is following the latest Western trend when no evidence is needed to identify those responsible for crimes against civilians. Today, the West’s “highly likely” is enough.
It may seem that the Post has already conducted an investigation into the tragedy in Kramatorsk in stating that it was “last week’s Russian missile strike”. But still, I wish to give readers a chance to reach their own conclusions.
First, Tochka-U tactical missiles, the wreckage of which was found near Kramatorsk railway station, are used only by the Ukrainian armed forces. The Russian army doesn’t possess them.
Second, an analysis of the engagement radius of the warhead, as well as the characteristic position of the Tochka-U missile's tail section, clearly shows that it was launched from a southwesterly direction away from Kramatorsk. This area is still under the full control of the Ukrainian troops in Donbass.
And last, but not least: The serial number of the Tochka-U missile found in Kramatorsk is very close to the sequential numbers of the missiles used by the Kyiv regime to kill civilians in Donbass since 2014. (Readers can easily find their pictures on the internet for comparison.)
Regarding Bucha, on March 30, the Russian military finalized the distribution of 452 tons of humanitarian aid to the people of Bucha and other places in the Kyiv region. Following another round of talks in Ankara, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the withdrawal of its forces from Bucha.
On March 31, Bucha Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk, who is loyal to Kyiv, stated that Russian forces had peacefully pulled out of the city. On April 1, Zhan Belenyuk, a deputy of the Ukrainian parliament, joyfully visited Bucha. On April 2, members of the Ukrainian armed forces entered Bucha, posting footage of empty streets and interviewing civilians, who never mention mass killings.
On April 4, Kyiv and its Western masters started to promote fake news via mass and social media about the alleged “atrocities” of Russian forces in Bucha with video footage showing bodies on the city’s roads, claiming that they had been lying there for at least four days. The bodies were not stiff, did not show signs of decomposition, and their wounds were not bloody.
Later on April 4, no questions were asked as to why those photos and video footage had not been seen before, or why nobody had mentioned any killings for almost a week since the withdrawal. And yet, immediately after the video footage was published, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed support for banning Russian oil and coal as part of a new round of sanctions against Russia.
The United States launched the campaign to suspend Russia from the United Nations Human Rights Council and announced new sanctions against Moscow. The provocation was not considered or analyzed. It was used to blame Russia without evidence.
On April 3 and 4, Russia twice requested a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Bucha. Our efforts have been met with the fierce opposition from the United Kingdom presidency in gross violation of the Security Council’s rules of procedure, with the support of other Western delegations, namely the US, France, Ireland, Norway and Albania.
Why? Ask them.
If you think that such staged attacks are something new for the West, you are wrong. We have been watching these shows over and over again for many years. We saw this in Syria with the so-called White helmets, the Novichok poisonings, the Mariupol hospital bombing. When the truth surfaced a few days later, nobody in the West wanted to speak about it anymore.
At 11:30 a.m. on March 14, Ukrainian forces hit a residential neighborhood in Donetsk with a Tochka-U missile with a cluster munitions warhead, which is prohibited under international law. Why has no Western media covered that tragedy? Because there was no political request for that.
Yet, Italy’s La Stampa published photos of dead civilians taken by a Russian news agency in Donetsk, but attributed their killings to “the Russian missile attack in Kyiv”. Later, the editor of La Stampa had to make difficult explanations.
Do you need more examples of fake news and the hypocrisy of the Western media? How about showing the world the footage of brutal executions of Russian prisoners of war (POWs) by Ukrainian nazis cutting their throats, shooting their legs and waiting until they died of blood loss? Footage of Russian POWs burned alive? What about the Geneva Convention on POWs? When it comes to Russians, the Western “democracies” just don't care.
Where are the BBC and CNN reports that reveal the truth behind the US political elite’s involvement in biological weapons activity in Ukraine?
Since the end of last year and even before then, Moscow has been the target of a coordinated information war aimed at discrediting Russia’s reasonable demands for security guarantees and at justifying the West’s geopolitical aspirations and the militarization of Ukrainian territory.
Now, this information war is used to undermine the negotiation process and to destroy established international political and economic frameworks. The goal is the West’s unipolar dominance over the world and imposing Western “rules” on others to shape the world order.
All the ongoing anti-Russian hysteria is just a disguise for sanctions and removal of the Russian “obstacle” that is hindering the creation of a unipolar world. There is no doubt that containing any rival is one of the “rules” that the West is eager to implement. Today, Russia is that rival. Tomorrow, it could be any other country with independent thinking.
What worries us most are the tactics chosen by the Kyiv regime when peaceful Ukrainians are killed by their own radicals and nazis in order to, in the best Goebbels tradition, blame the Russian army for their deaths. We have information about new plans for barbaric tragedies such as those in Bucha, Kramatorsk and elsewhere in Ukraine that have been prepared by Kyiv regime. And the position of its Western masters, unfortunately, gives it carte blanche to carry them out.
Think for yourselves as to who is massacring the truth, and why.
Do you need more examples of fake news and the hypocrisy of the Western media? How about showing the world the footage of brutal executions of Russian prisoners of war (POWs) by Ukrainian nazis cutting their throats, shooting their legs and waiting until they died of blood loss? Footage of Russian POWs burned alive? What about the Geneva Convention on POWs? When it comes to Russians, the Western “democracies” just don't care.
Where are the BBC and CNN reports that reveal the truth behind the US political elite’s involvement in biological weapons activity in Ukraine?
Since the end of last year and even before then, Moscow has been the target of a coordinated information war aimed at discrediting Russia’s reasonable demands for security guarantees and at justifying the West’s geopolitical aspirations and the militarization of Ukrainian territory.
Now, this information war is used to undermine the negotiation process and to destroy established international political and economic frameworks. The goal is the West’s unipolar dominance over the world and imposing Western “rules” on others to shape the world order.
All the ongoing anti-Russian hysteria is just a disguise for sanctions and removal of the Russian “obstacle” that is hindering the creation of a unipolar world. There is no doubt that containing any rival is one of the “rules” that the West is eager to implement. Today, Russia is that rival. Tomorrow, it could be any other country with independent thinking.
What worries us most are the tactics chosen by the Kyiv regime when peaceful Ukrainians are killed by their own radicals and nazis in order to, in the best Goebbels tradition, blame the Russian army for their deaths. We have information about new plans for barbaric tragedies such as those in Bucha, Kramatorsk and elsewhere in Ukraine that have been prepared by Kyiv regime. And the position of its Western masters, unfortunately, gives it carte blanche to carry them out.
Think for yourselves as to who is massacring the truth, and why.
🎼 Between 14 and 27 June, 2022 Moscow will host the Rachmaninoff International Competition for Pianists, Composers and Conductors. The official opening will take place on June 15th at the Moscow State Conservatory.
The competition is founded in 2021 by the Government of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation on the eve of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sergei Rachmaninoff and the Year of Music in 2023.
The artistic director of the competition, who initiated its founding, is a well-known pianist, People’s Artist of Russia Denis Matsuev. He will also head the piano jury. The conductors' jury will be headed by Valery Gergiev and the composers one – by Alexander Tchaikovsky.
The organizing committee of the competition includes officials, famous musicians, and directors of leading musical institutions: Valery Gergiev, Yuri Bashmet, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Valery Polyansky, Alexander Sladkovsky, Mikhail Shvydkoy, Alexei Shalashov, Alexander Sokolov and others.
Following three main specialties in the life and work of Sergei Rachmaninoff, the competition has three nominations: piano, composition and conducting. After a qualifying round (based on video applications), the maximum number of participants in the live rounds will be 24 pianists, 24 conductors, and 12 composers. The piano nomination participants should be at least 16 and no older than 32 years inclusive by the Competition opening, conductors – no older than 45 years. The Composition nomination has no age restrictions. Each of the three nominations provides six main prizes, special and additional prizes.
On April 1, the birthday of Sergei Rachmaninoff, the acceptance of applications for participation in the Rachmaninoff International Competition for Pianists, Composers and Conductors ended. In total, 529 applications were submitted for the competition from 33 countries: Russia, Belarus, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Poland, Serbia, Moldova, Slovenia, Iran, Israel, USA, Canada, Cuba, Brazil, Colombia, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Ukraine, LPR, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan. The largest number of applications was submitted in the nomination conducting – 210, followed by the nomination piano – 167 applications and composition – 152 applications.
The competition rounds will take place at the best concert venues in Moscow. Pianists are to perform in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, conductors – in the Tchaikovsky Hall; the Composition rounds will be held in the Rachmaninoff Hall (Philharmonia-2).
The Rachmaninoff International Competition for Pianists, Composers and Conductors
Official website: rachmaninoffcompetition.com VKontakte: https://vk.com/rachmaninoffcompetition Telegram: https://news.1rj.ru/str/rachmaninoffcompetition
The competition is founded in 2021 by the Government of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation on the eve of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sergei Rachmaninoff and the Year of Music in 2023.
The artistic director of the competition, who initiated its founding, is a well-known pianist, People’s Artist of Russia Denis Matsuev. He will also head the piano jury. The conductors' jury will be headed by Valery Gergiev and the composers one – by Alexander Tchaikovsky.
The organizing committee of the competition includes officials, famous musicians, and directors of leading musical institutions: Valery Gergiev, Yuri Bashmet, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Valery Polyansky, Alexander Sladkovsky, Mikhail Shvydkoy, Alexei Shalashov, Alexander Sokolov and others.
Following three main specialties in the life and work of Sergei Rachmaninoff, the competition has three nominations: piano, composition and conducting. After a qualifying round (based on video applications), the maximum number of participants in the live rounds will be 24 pianists, 24 conductors, and 12 composers. The piano nomination participants should be at least 16 and no older than 32 years inclusive by the Competition opening, conductors – no older than 45 years. The Composition nomination has no age restrictions. Each of the three nominations provides six main prizes, special and additional prizes.
On April 1, the birthday of Sergei Rachmaninoff, the acceptance of applications for participation in the Rachmaninoff International Competition for Pianists, Composers and Conductors ended. In total, 529 applications were submitted for the competition from 33 countries: Russia, Belarus, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Poland, Serbia, Moldova, Slovenia, Iran, Israel, USA, Canada, Cuba, Brazil, Colombia, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Ukraine, LPR, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan. The largest number of applications was submitted in the nomination conducting – 210, followed by the nomination piano – 167 applications and composition – 152 applications.
The competition rounds will take place at the best concert venues in Moscow. Pianists are to perform in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, conductors – in the Tchaikovsky Hall; the Composition rounds will be held in the Rachmaninoff Hall (Philharmonia-2).
The Rachmaninoff International Competition for Pianists, Composers and Conductors
Official website: rachmaninoffcompetition.com VKontakte: https://vk.com/rachmaninoffcompetition Telegram: https://news.1rj.ru/str/rachmaninoffcompetition
❗Mass Media of Russia about Situation in Ukraine (April 14, 2022)❗
1. Political statements by the leadership of the Russian Federation and friendly countries
The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin stated that a clash with anti-Russian forces nurtured in Ukraine was inevitable; it was just a matter of time. He said that it was the West who began to turn Ukraine into an anti–Russian springboard and grow the sprouts of nationalism and neo-Nazism that had been there for a long time. The subsequent events showed how deeply neo-Nazi ideas had grown in Ukraine. This was an obvious fact that neo-Nazism had become
a fact of life in a fairly large country close to Russians.
Vladimir Putin noted that by achieving the goals of a special military operation, the Russian Federation helped the people of Donbass, and on the other hand, took measures to ensure the security of Russia itself. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky publicly stated that Kiev didn't like any of the Minsk-2 points as well as other officials also said that the implementation of the Minsk agreements was impossible. Vladimir Putin stressed that it was impossible to continue to tolerate this genocide, which has been going on for eight years. (https://kremlin.ru)
Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council Andrey
Kortunov in an interview with Krasnaya Zvezda said that that the Biden administration didn't set up Kiev for sanity and search for a compromise with Moscow. Rather, on the contrary, Washington warned Ukraine against "excessive flexibility" and "unjustified concessions." It is understandable – the conflict in Europe affected America only indirectly, and it is mainly the European allies of the United States who has to pay for it. The Europeans are forced to accept Ukrainian refugees, suffer from a sharp rise in gas and oil prices, and withdraw from the Russian market, which is important for Europe. The cost for the United States is much lower, and therefore the incentive to end the conflict as quickly as possible is lower for
Americans than for Europeans. On the other hand, these events anyway strengthen Washington's position as the leader of the West, cement the North Atlantic Alliance, and encourage the allies to increase their military spending. (http://redstar.ru)
2. The course of special military operation. Briefings by Russian
Defense Ministry
13.04.2022 (10.30 a.m.)
Russian Armed Forces continue the special military operation in Ukraine.
At night, high-precision sea- and air-based missiles destroyed 2 large missile and artillery weapons depots of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near Sadovoe and Chudnov. Ukraine's 2 helicopters Mi-24 and 2 Mi-8 were destroyed at Mirgorod military airfield.
Air Force and Army aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces hit 46 military assets of Ukraine. Among them: 2 command posts and 1 radar station near
Borovoe, 2 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS'), and 4 areas of Ukrainian military equipment stockpile near Borovoe and Peski-Radkovskoe. Russian Air Defence shot down 2 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Russian missiles and artillery hit 693 enemy assets: 676 areas of Ukrainian personnel strongholds and military equipment stockpile, 11 command posts and
5 logistics depots.
In Mariupol city, near the Illich Steelworks, 1,026 Ukrainian servicemen
of the 36th Marines Brigade has laid down their arms and surrendered voluntarily as a result of a successful offensive by the Russian Armed Forces and Donetsk People's Republic units. Among them 162 officers and 47 service-women have surrendered. 151 wounded people received primary medical care immediately on the spot and were taken to the Mariupol city hospital for further treatment. (http://mil.ru)
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation in Ukraine.
1. Political statements by the leadership of the Russian Federation and friendly countries
The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin stated that a clash with anti-Russian forces nurtured in Ukraine was inevitable; it was just a matter of time. He said that it was the West who began to turn Ukraine into an anti–Russian springboard and grow the sprouts of nationalism and neo-Nazism that had been there for a long time. The subsequent events showed how deeply neo-Nazi ideas had grown in Ukraine. This was an obvious fact that neo-Nazism had become
a fact of life in a fairly large country close to Russians.
Vladimir Putin noted that by achieving the goals of a special military operation, the Russian Federation helped the people of Donbass, and on the other hand, took measures to ensure the security of Russia itself. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky publicly stated that Kiev didn't like any of the Minsk-2 points as well as other officials also said that the implementation of the Minsk agreements was impossible. Vladimir Putin stressed that it was impossible to continue to tolerate this genocide, which has been going on for eight years. (https://kremlin.ru)
Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council Andrey
Kortunov in an interview with Krasnaya Zvezda said that that the Biden administration didn't set up Kiev for sanity and search for a compromise with Moscow. Rather, on the contrary, Washington warned Ukraine against "excessive flexibility" and "unjustified concessions." It is understandable – the conflict in Europe affected America only indirectly, and it is mainly the European allies of the United States who has to pay for it. The Europeans are forced to accept Ukrainian refugees, suffer from a sharp rise in gas and oil prices, and withdraw from the Russian market, which is important for Europe. The cost for the United States is much lower, and therefore the incentive to end the conflict as quickly as possible is lower for
Americans than for Europeans. On the other hand, these events anyway strengthen Washington's position as the leader of the West, cement the North Atlantic Alliance, and encourage the allies to increase their military spending. (http://redstar.ru)
2. The course of special military operation. Briefings by Russian
Defense Ministry
13.04.2022 (10.30 a.m.)
Russian Armed Forces continue the special military operation in Ukraine.
At night, high-precision sea- and air-based missiles destroyed 2 large missile and artillery weapons depots of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near Sadovoe and Chudnov. Ukraine's 2 helicopters Mi-24 and 2 Mi-8 were destroyed at Mirgorod military airfield.
Air Force and Army aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces hit 46 military assets of Ukraine. Among them: 2 command posts and 1 radar station near
Borovoe, 2 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS'), and 4 areas of Ukrainian military equipment stockpile near Borovoe and Peski-Radkovskoe. Russian Air Defence shot down 2 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Russian missiles and artillery hit 693 enemy assets: 676 areas of Ukrainian personnel strongholds and military equipment stockpile, 11 command posts and
5 logistics depots.
In Mariupol city, near the Illich Steelworks, 1,026 Ukrainian servicemen
of the 36th Marines Brigade has laid down their arms and surrendered voluntarily as a result of a successful offensive by the Russian Armed Forces and Donetsk People's Republic units. Among them 162 officers and 47 service-women have surrendered. 151 wounded people received primary medical care immediately on the spot and were taken to the Mariupol city hospital for further treatment. (http://mil.ru)
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation in Ukraine.
The seaport in Mariupol has been liberated completely from the militants of the Nazi units "Azov". All hostages held by the Nazis on ships, including foreigners, have been released. The units of the Ukrainian troops and the Nazis of "Azov" located in the city are blocked and deprived of the opportunity to breakout from the encirclement.
On April 13 high-precision missiles destroyed 36 assets of Ukraine. Among them: two repair depots and two stockpile of rocket and artillery weapons of the 57th and 24th Ukrainian Mechanized Brigades, five strong points of the 24th Mechanized Brigade, the command post of the 15th regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine. The headquarters and fuel deport of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade were destroyed.
Air Force and Army aviation hit 10 military assets of Ukraine. Among them: a control center, three stockpile of rocket and artillery weapons and 6 areas of Ukrainian military equipment stockpile.
Totally 130 aircraft, 103 helicopters, 244 anti-aircraft missile systems, 447 UAVs, 2,173 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 243 MLRS', 937 field artillery and mortar guns and 2,082 units of special military vehicles were destroyed during the operation.
There are some attempts of sabotage and strikes by Ukrainian troops on the territory of the Russia. If such cases continue, the Russian Armed Forces will strike at decision-making centers, including in Kiev. (http://mil.ru)
3. Crimes of the Ukrainian Nazis and the armed forces of Ukraine
The Russian Federation's Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response in Ukraine continues registering the egregious facts of the inhumane treatment of civilians by Ukrainian forces. In Kharkov militants of nationalist units continue to set up positions in residential buildings, kindergartens and schools, as well as to place heavy weapons in densely populated neighbourhoods. At the same time, the evacuation of civilians has been banned since 10 April 2022.
Ukrainian armed forces equipped firing positions and deployed armored
vehicles in schools in Severodonetsk, Serebryanka and Belozerskoe. Nationalists in Chernigov Region also continue to conduct raids on private households. They
forcibly seize food, valuables, and personal vehicles from people under threats of physical violence and murder. (http://mil.ru)
4. Exposure of disinformation
The Russian embassy in Washington dismissed as baseless the US Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price’s claims about the possibility of Russia
using chemical weapons in Ukraine. The Russian Armed Forces didn't and couldn't have any chemical warfare agents at their disposal, because Russia eliminated all chemical weapons stockpiles back in 2017.
Washington is to stop spreading disinformation. Instead, Americans should have intensified the process of chemical demilitarization of their country. The United States remains the only state party to the Chemical Weapons Convention that has not fulfilled the international commitments it made. (https://ria.ru)
The Kiev authorities, under the guidance of the West countries led by the US, continue to collect pseudo-evidence of Russia's so-called guilt. For this purpose
a curfew and a complete blockade of the city was imposed in Irpin from 6 a.m. April, 12 until 9 a.m. April, 15. Security forces and "obscure" volunteers only were allowed to enter the city during this period. It has been confirmed that this period of time would be used by Kiev to stage a cynical filming for further promotion of the fakes by the Western media. (http://mil.ru)
The National Battalion "Azov" claimed that Russian troops had used chemical weapons (probably zarin) in Mariupol, spraying an unknown substance from
a UAV.
In 2017, Russia completely destroyed all its chemical weapons stockpiles, including zarin. This was confirmed by Deputy Director General of the Technical Secretariat of the International Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Hamid Ali Rao.
On April 13 high-precision missiles destroyed 36 assets of Ukraine. Among them: two repair depots and two stockpile of rocket and artillery weapons of the 57th and 24th Ukrainian Mechanized Brigades, five strong points of the 24th Mechanized Brigade, the command post of the 15th regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine. The headquarters and fuel deport of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade were destroyed.
Air Force and Army aviation hit 10 military assets of Ukraine. Among them: a control center, three stockpile of rocket and artillery weapons and 6 areas of Ukrainian military equipment stockpile.
Totally 130 aircraft, 103 helicopters, 244 anti-aircraft missile systems, 447 UAVs, 2,173 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 243 MLRS', 937 field artillery and mortar guns and 2,082 units of special military vehicles were destroyed during the operation.
There are some attempts of sabotage and strikes by Ukrainian troops on the territory of the Russia. If such cases continue, the Russian Armed Forces will strike at decision-making centers, including in Kiev. (http://mil.ru)
3. Crimes of the Ukrainian Nazis and the armed forces of Ukraine
The Russian Federation's Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response in Ukraine continues registering the egregious facts of the inhumane treatment of civilians by Ukrainian forces. In Kharkov militants of nationalist units continue to set up positions in residential buildings, kindergartens and schools, as well as to place heavy weapons in densely populated neighbourhoods. At the same time, the evacuation of civilians has been banned since 10 April 2022.
Ukrainian armed forces equipped firing positions and deployed armored
vehicles in schools in Severodonetsk, Serebryanka and Belozerskoe. Nationalists in Chernigov Region also continue to conduct raids on private households. They
forcibly seize food, valuables, and personal vehicles from people under threats of physical violence and murder. (http://mil.ru)
4. Exposure of disinformation
The Russian embassy in Washington dismissed as baseless the US Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price’s claims about the possibility of Russia
using chemical weapons in Ukraine. The Russian Armed Forces didn't and couldn't have any chemical warfare agents at their disposal, because Russia eliminated all chemical weapons stockpiles back in 2017.
Washington is to stop spreading disinformation. Instead, Americans should have intensified the process of chemical demilitarization of their country. The United States remains the only state party to the Chemical Weapons Convention that has not fulfilled the international commitments it made. (https://ria.ru)
The Kiev authorities, under the guidance of the West countries led by the US, continue to collect pseudo-evidence of Russia's so-called guilt. For this purpose
a curfew and a complete blockade of the city was imposed in Irpin from 6 a.m. April, 12 until 9 a.m. April, 15. Security forces and "obscure" volunteers only were allowed to enter the city during this period. It has been confirmed that this period of time would be used by Kiev to stage a cynical filming for further promotion of the fakes by the Western media. (http://mil.ru)
The National Battalion "Azov" claimed that Russian troops had used chemical weapons (probably zarin) in Mariupol, spraying an unknown substance from
a UAV.
In 2017, Russia completely destroyed all its chemical weapons stockpiles, including zarin. This was confirmed by Deputy Director General of the Technical Secretariat of the International Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Hamid Ali Rao.
The more so opposition Russian and Ukrainian publications also wrote about the early elimination of all chemical weapons in Russia. (http://www.xn--80aaenqccitej3b1b.xn--p1ai/) #Russia #Ukraine #Donbass
⚡ Spokesperson Maria Zakharova’s interview with "RT" TV Channel, Moscow, April 16, 2022
Question: It became known that during the special military operation in Ukraine, Russian troops discovered new documents on military biological activities in Ukraine. Can you talk about this in more detail?
Maria Zakharova: As a result of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine (SMO), Russia’s Armed Forces found documents that shed some light on the bio-military programme implemented by the US Defence Department in Ukraine. The researchers in the programme were studying the most dangerous pathogens – potential biological agents for biological weapons that have natural focuses in both Ukraine and Russia. They were also researching ways that epidemics spread based on these agents. The scale of work makes it obvious that a considerable, and probably the most important, part of the information on the American military programme remains concealed from the international community.
Speaking at a US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing on March 9, 2022, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, said Washington was trying to prevent the transfer of some research materials from Ukrainian bio-laboratories to Russian forces. During press briefings on March 7, 10, 17, 24 and 31, Chief of the Russian Armed Forces’ Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defence Forces Igor Kirillov described the US bio-military activities in Ukraine, based on the information obtained during the SMO in Ukraine by the Armed Forces of Russia. He also set forth conclusions based on expert analysis. Researchers continue to study these materials.
Question: What is Russia doing to see that the United States provides clarification on its military biological cooperation with Ukraine?
Maria Zakharova: Russia has made public the facts that have come to light to date at the UN and other international organisations and called on the US authorities to provide detailed explanations, but, predictably, Washington does not appear to be ready to share with the public any meaningful information on its military biological programme in Ukraine.
Furthermore, clearly, the White House thinks that offence is the best defence and has launched yet another propaganda campaign centered on the false assertion that our country’s efforts to draw the attention of the international community to the activities of US military biologists in Ukraine are allegedly nothing more than a smoke screen, which, they say, Moscow will try to use to cover up the potential use of biological or chemical weapons during the special military operation that is conducted by the Russian Armed Forces.
This crude attempt by the US to divert public attention from this dangerously explosive issue of US-controlled biological laboratories in Ukraine and to drown it in this “apocalyptic sensation” was – at first glance unexpectedly – strongly supported by German political leadership. A number of leading German politicians and top officials, including Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz, have released statements that mimic the US narrative in the form of righteous threats and warnings directed at Russia. Berlin’s official proactive verbal stance remains in line with the strategy that it has pursued for a long time now in the context of the Ukraine crisis (which isn’t helpful in settling it now and which earlier led the Minsk process into a dead-end with its deliberate pro-Kiev slant), but nevertheless stands out in its blatant cynicism of the overall flow of anti-Russia rhetoric that has been coming from Germany in recent weeks. First of all, in view of the key circumstance that even before the Russian Armed Forces started this special military operation, Germany, alongside the United States, had been conducting vigorous military biological activities in Ukraine for many years and, possibly, continues to do so.
Question: It became known that during the special military operation in Ukraine, Russian troops discovered new documents on military biological activities in Ukraine. Can you talk about this in more detail?
Maria Zakharova: As a result of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine (SMO), Russia’s Armed Forces found documents that shed some light on the bio-military programme implemented by the US Defence Department in Ukraine. The researchers in the programme were studying the most dangerous pathogens – potential biological agents for biological weapons that have natural focuses in both Ukraine and Russia. They were also researching ways that epidemics spread based on these agents. The scale of work makes it obvious that a considerable, and probably the most important, part of the information on the American military programme remains concealed from the international community.
Speaking at a US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing on March 9, 2022, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, said Washington was trying to prevent the transfer of some research materials from Ukrainian bio-laboratories to Russian forces. During press briefings on March 7, 10, 17, 24 and 31, Chief of the Russian Armed Forces’ Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defence Forces Igor Kirillov described the US bio-military activities in Ukraine, based on the information obtained during the SMO in Ukraine by the Armed Forces of Russia. He also set forth conclusions based on expert analysis. Researchers continue to study these materials.
Question: What is Russia doing to see that the United States provides clarification on its military biological cooperation with Ukraine?
Maria Zakharova: Russia has made public the facts that have come to light to date at the UN and other international organisations and called on the US authorities to provide detailed explanations, but, predictably, Washington does not appear to be ready to share with the public any meaningful information on its military biological programme in Ukraine.
Furthermore, clearly, the White House thinks that offence is the best defence and has launched yet another propaganda campaign centered on the false assertion that our country’s efforts to draw the attention of the international community to the activities of US military biologists in Ukraine are allegedly nothing more than a smoke screen, which, they say, Moscow will try to use to cover up the potential use of biological or chemical weapons during the special military operation that is conducted by the Russian Armed Forces.
This crude attempt by the US to divert public attention from this dangerously explosive issue of US-controlled biological laboratories in Ukraine and to drown it in this “apocalyptic sensation” was – at first glance unexpectedly – strongly supported by German political leadership. A number of leading German politicians and top officials, including Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz, have released statements that mimic the US narrative in the form of righteous threats and warnings directed at Russia. Berlin’s official proactive verbal stance remains in line with the strategy that it has pursued for a long time now in the context of the Ukraine crisis (which isn’t helpful in settling it now and which earlier led the Minsk process into a dead-end with its deliberate pro-Kiev slant), but nevertheless stands out in its blatant cynicism of the overall flow of anti-Russia rhetoric that has been coming from Germany in recent weeks. First of all, in view of the key circumstance that even before the Russian Armed Forces started this special military operation, Germany, alongside the United States, had been conducting vigorous military biological activities in Ukraine for many years and, possibly, continues to do so.
We strongly believe that this is largely what motivates Germany to be more active, as compared to other EU countries, in its attempts to ascribe to our country criminal plans concerning the use of biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine and the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, which have not yet been liberated.
Question: Are there any additional details about Germany’s military biological activities in Ukraine?
Maria Zakharova: For you to better understand the situation, I will cite the following facts. Since 2013, under the auspices of the German Federal Foreign Office, the German Government has been implementing the German Biosecurity Programme (GBP) which includes partnership projects with government agencies and research organisations in focus countries, which Ukraine became part of in 2014, the year of Maidan. German specialists from the Institute of Microbiology of the German Armed Forces (Munich), Friedrich Loeffler Institute (Greifswald-Riems Island), Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (Hamburg) and the Robert Koch Institute (Berlin), which specialise in research of deadly biological agents, are engaged in practical activities.
According to the German Federal Foreign Office, the third phase of the GBP will be implemented in 2020-2022. We can infer from the publicly available materials that the GBP’s stated technical goals include, among others, the gathering of epidemic intelligence in third countries, including with the use of big data technology, and developing the infrastructure of partner countries for handling dangerous biological agents.
The Institute of Experimental and Clinical Veterinary Medicine in Kharkov has been the Institute of Microbiology of the German Armed Forces’ main Ukrainian counterparty since 2016, which we know from its own data. The two institutes cooperate under the Ukrainian-German project noscriptd “Initiative on Biological Safety and Biological Defence in the Management of the Zoonotic Risks at the Outer Borders of the European Union.” The fact that its official goal is to “improve the biological defence and security situation” in Ukraine, “particularly in the east of the country” gives rise to the rhetorical question of which border the German military biologists consider an outer border for the purposes of their professional interests. Is it the Russian-Ukrainian border?
The Institute of Microbiology claims in its materials that the project is related to the “potential threat of biological terrorism” in Ukraine amid the unending hostilities in eastern regions of that country. It is crystal clear that this is a way to send a subtle message about the DPR and LPR’s possible “involvement” in hatching plans for the use of internationally prohibited biological weapons. In so doing, the German military have been deliberately intimidating their Ukrainian counterparts for a long time and have, in fact, been psychologically pitting them against the Donbass republics. Ukrainian biological safety experts invariably participate in the medical biodefence conferences that are regularly held by the Institute of Microbiology of the German Armed Forces.
Obviously, to ensure protection against a potential biological attack, it is first necessary to study the potential biological agents with which it can be made. In other words, it is necessary to conduct research in the field of biological or chemical weapons. The Armed Forces of Germany (AFG) have enough knowledge and practical skills in this area, as was demonstrated by the scandalous incident with the mysterious poisoning of blogger Alexey Navalny. Specialists from the AFG Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology – a military institution allied with the AFG Institute of Microbiology – supposedly very quickly detected in the body of the Russian citizen traces of some military toxin that NATO lists in the Novichok family.
Question: Are there any additional details about Germany’s military biological activities in Ukraine?
Maria Zakharova: For you to better understand the situation, I will cite the following facts. Since 2013, under the auspices of the German Federal Foreign Office, the German Government has been implementing the German Biosecurity Programme (GBP) which includes partnership projects with government agencies and research organisations in focus countries, which Ukraine became part of in 2014, the year of Maidan. German specialists from the Institute of Microbiology of the German Armed Forces (Munich), Friedrich Loeffler Institute (Greifswald-Riems Island), Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (Hamburg) and the Robert Koch Institute (Berlin), which specialise in research of deadly biological agents, are engaged in practical activities.
According to the German Federal Foreign Office, the third phase of the GBP will be implemented in 2020-2022. We can infer from the publicly available materials that the GBP’s stated technical goals include, among others, the gathering of epidemic intelligence in third countries, including with the use of big data technology, and developing the infrastructure of partner countries for handling dangerous biological agents.
The Institute of Experimental and Clinical Veterinary Medicine in Kharkov has been the Institute of Microbiology of the German Armed Forces’ main Ukrainian counterparty since 2016, which we know from its own data. The two institutes cooperate under the Ukrainian-German project noscriptd “Initiative on Biological Safety and Biological Defence in the Management of the Zoonotic Risks at the Outer Borders of the European Union.” The fact that its official goal is to “improve the biological defence and security situation” in Ukraine, “particularly in the east of the country” gives rise to the rhetorical question of which border the German military biologists consider an outer border for the purposes of their professional interests. Is it the Russian-Ukrainian border?
The Institute of Microbiology claims in its materials that the project is related to the “potential threat of biological terrorism” in Ukraine amid the unending hostilities in eastern regions of that country. It is crystal clear that this is a way to send a subtle message about the DPR and LPR’s possible “involvement” in hatching plans for the use of internationally prohibited biological weapons. In so doing, the German military have been deliberately intimidating their Ukrainian counterparts for a long time and have, in fact, been psychologically pitting them against the Donbass republics. Ukrainian biological safety experts invariably participate in the medical biodefence conferences that are regularly held by the Institute of Microbiology of the German Armed Forces.
Obviously, to ensure protection against a potential biological attack, it is first necessary to study the potential biological agents with which it can be made. In other words, it is necessary to conduct research in the field of biological or chemical weapons. The Armed Forces of Germany (AFG) have enough knowledge and practical skills in this area, as was demonstrated by the scandalous incident with the mysterious poisoning of blogger Alexey Navalny. Specialists from the AFG Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology – a military institution allied with the AFG Institute of Microbiology – supposedly very quickly detected in the body of the Russian citizen traces of some military toxin that NATO lists in the Novichok family.
Such a high level of expertise – if, of course, all statements were factually accurate – suggests that the AFG is able to synthesise toxic substances independently, including the notorious Novichok and its markers.
Germany’s Friedrich Loeffler Institute that is in charge of the centre for the study of the most dangerous viruses and zoonotic infections on the Baltic Island of Riems, maintains active cooperation with the Ukrainian State Research Institute of Laboratory Diagnostics and Veterinary-Sanitary Expertise (Kiev), the State Scientific Control Institute of Bio-Technology and Strains of Microorganisms (Kiev) and also with the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Veterinary Medicine (Kharkov) that cooperates in parallel with the AFG Institute of Microbiology. In Ukraine, the Friedrich Loeffler Institute has focused on Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. Soviet scientists discovered it for the first time on the territory of Russian Crimea in 1944. There is documented evidence that the institute commissioned its Ukrainian partners to collect samples of ectoparasite recipients of bats that were transferred to the afore-mentioned Reims Island under the existing agreements.
The Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine has concentrated its activities in Ukraine on extremely dangerous fevers – Denge, Chikungunya, West Nile and Usutu, to name a few.
This information on Germany’s bio-military activities in Ukraine is far from exhaustive. It cannot be ruled out that, as the special military operation progresses, additional documents will be discovered by the Russian Armed Forces. According to confirmed reports, Germany closely coordinated its work on biological security with its American allies that established a network of at least 30 biological laboratories in Ukraine. In addition to their other activities, they were involved in dangerous research.
We urge German officials to immediately stop spreading false allegations about our country’s intentions to use weapons banned by international law. We believe that such statements can only serve to push neo-Nazi battalions to commit horrible provocations, and moral responsibility for their tragic consequences will be shared by Berlin.
Germany’s Friedrich Loeffler Institute that is in charge of the centre for the study of the most dangerous viruses and zoonotic infections on the Baltic Island of Riems, maintains active cooperation with the Ukrainian State Research Institute of Laboratory Diagnostics and Veterinary-Sanitary Expertise (Kiev), the State Scientific Control Institute of Bio-Technology and Strains of Microorganisms (Kiev) and also with the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Veterinary Medicine (Kharkov) that cooperates in parallel with the AFG Institute of Microbiology. In Ukraine, the Friedrich Loeffler Institute has focused on Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. Soviet scientists discovered it for the first time on the territory of Russian Crimea in 1944. There is documented evidence that the institute commissioned its Ukrainian partners to collect samples of ectoparasite recipients of bats that were transferred to the afore-mentioned Reims Island under the existing agreements.
The Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine has concentrated its activities in Ukraine on extremely dangerous fevers – Denge, Chikungunya, West Nile and Usutu, to name a few.
This information on Germany’s bio-military activities in Ukraine is far from exhaustive. It cannot be ruled out that, as the special military operation progresses, additional documents will be discovered by the Russian Armed Forces. According to confirmed reports, Germany closely coordinated its work on biological security with its American allies that established a network of at least 30 biological laboratories in Ukraine. In addition to their other activities, they were involved in dangerous research.
We urge German officials to immediately stop spreading false allegations about our country’s intentions to use weapons banned by international law. We believe that such statements can only serve to push neo-Nazi battalions to commit horrible provocations, and moral responsibility for their tragic consequences will be shared by Berlin.
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
#Opinion by Maria Zakharova
Medvedchuk’s spouse Oksana Marchenko appealed to the British government and people: “I appeal to the relatives and friends of Aiden Eslin and Shaun Pinner: Angela Eslin, Nathan and Shannon Wood, Derby and Evan Pinner. It's in your power to ask the Prime Minister of your country, Boris Johnson, to influence the Ukrainian leadership and achieve the release of Aiden and Sean by exchanging them for the Ukrainian opposition politician detained by the Kiev authorities, my husband Viktor Medvedchuk.”
💬 Maria Zakharova: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who recently went to Kiev, must be aware of the developments with Her Majesty’s subjects. He is sure to reply, isn’t he?
Meanwhile, Liz Truss might take the opportunity to reveal what exactly the British nationals were doing there [in Mariupol, with Neo-Nazis] anyway.
Medvedchuk’s spouse Oksana Marchenko appealed to the British government and people: “I appeal to the relatives and friends of Aiden Eslin and Shaun Pinner: Angela Eslin, Nathan and Shannon Wood, Derby and Evan Pinner. It's in your power to ask the Prime Minister of your country, Boris Johnson, to influence the Ukrainian leadership and achieve the release of Aiden and Sean by exchanging them for the Ukrainian opposition politician detained by the Kiev authorities, my husband Viktor Medvedchuk.”
💬 Maria Zakharova: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who recently went to Kiev, must be aware of the developments with Her Majesty’s subjects. He is sure to reply, isn’t he?
Meanwhile, Liz Truss might take the opportunity to reveal what exactly the British nationals were doing there [in Mariupol, with Neo-Nazis] anyway.