☕️📰Three weeks after Grayzone’s Kit Klarenberg published a report on UK involvement in the Crimea Bridge attack, citing “leaked documents”, he published another report, again citing “leaked documents” (appear to be just emails, screenshots of which are included in the story) — on British military-intelligence operatives inking an agreement with the Security Service of Ukraine’s Odessa branch, to create and train a secret Ukrainian partisan terror army.

The journalist links this alleged training with a drone attack on Crimea conducted on October 28th (after which Russia temporarily withdrew from the grain deal). Moscow blamed Britain for assisting and orchestrating the strike, as well as blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines, the publication notes.

While we take any such investigations with a pinch of salt, there is little doubt about the involvement and the role of the Western, including British, military-linked private organizations, networks, and consultants in arming Ukraine with various skills — from surviving to attacking to generating propaganda to drafting security guarantees. Particularly because some of this information is very much public.

The figure of Chris Donnelly, whom Grayzone story describes as a British military-intelligence operative best known for hatching the covert, Foreign Office-funded Integrity Initiative information warfare program, is particularly interesting. Do find time to go through this report.

https://thegrayzone.com/2022/11/03/british-spies-terror-army-ukraine/

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FT has yet another “horror” story of Russian occupation — this time from Skadovsk, 100 km south of Kherson.

The story says a woman was hanged in front of the courthouse building for saying “Skadosvk is Ukraine”.

No FT/western journalist has been known to operate in these areas that are under Russian control since the beginning of the war. This simply means the story is based on someone’s allegations, and FT notes it could not verify it. But the paper still publishes it — with details “it could not confirm” (in those newspapers I worked for, such a thing would be nearly impossible).

Not a single video, or picture of this horrific act, really? From a city, where some residents haven't been very welcoming to Russians?

Details of FT’s story are available here, for everyone not having a subnoscription.

On my visit to Skadovsk earlier this year, I and other journalists met quite a number of people, mainly women, who told us they were not happy with Russia’s arrival and wanted Ukraine to be back. Those conversations took place in the park, in front of other people and the military, who were following us (reporters) everywhere. The photo is from the May visit.

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A very interesting interview with Ukrainian journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk by Meduza. It’s not yet translated to English, I believe.

While I personally disagree with her views on journalists’ objectivity during wartime (when your country is being attacked, and you are reporting on the frontline, and you have to hide from bombs, you cannot stay objective), I believe Gumenyuk raises the important topic of covering the war from anywhere else expect the war zone or the country you are covering.

In the conversation, the journalist also discreetly pokes Meduza, Russian opposition media that now operates from outside Russia, like most other opposition media, for covering war while not having its reporters in the warzone, either on Ukraine-controlled or Russia-controlled sites. She also points out that Russian media, even the opposition ones, are preoccupied with Russia and its problems and not being able to report on Ukraine as it is, not as Russia’s problem.

(rough translation) “I really think that the imperial complex is a problem for Russia, for Russian society. Of course, it is also felt in the Russian media… Here you say (I'm not talking to you personally, I'm talking about some general sentiment) that the Ukrainian media are probably biased because they have a war, [and] we are on the sidelines, we probably understand it better from the outside. I don't think that's the case. It seems to me that since very few [Russian journalists] are physically in Ukraine, the Russian media have lost a little understanding of Ukrainian society. Very often they do not understand the difference between Ukrainian and Russian society, because they continue to treat Ukraine as in something almost the same country, almost the same society, but it is different.”

Of course, the same can be said about Ukrainian journalists not being present in Russia-controlled Donbass and ignoring their sentiments and reality, but what matters here most — the war should be covered from the frontline, and not from cozy (or not cozy) offices, while the audience should be given FREEDOM to get all the coverage available. For now, the last part is effectively disabled by both the Russian & Ukrainian governments, as well as the Western media industry.

❗️CNN: Ukraine suffered a comms outage when 1,300 SpaceX satellite units went offline over funding issues

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/11/04/politics/spacex-ukraine-elon-musk-starlink-internet-outage/index.html

Elon fired 4000 employees
Twitter sacked roughly half of its workforce on Friday, one of the worst things the social network has seen in nearly 16 years of existence. Facing widespread criticism, Elon Musk on Saturday justified the restructuring decision. Musk stressed that "unfortunately there is no choice." He also added that Twitter is losing $4 million a day. AFP accessed an internal document that revealed that 3800 employees of Twitter's 7500-strong staff have been sacked. #share

❗️NYT: Kyiv is preparing to evacuate 3 million residents if it faces complete blackout

"If there's no power, there will be no water and no sewage. That's why the government and city administration is taking all possible measures to protect our power supply system," said Roman Tkachuk, the director of security for the Kyiv municipal government.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/05/world/europe/kyiv-ukraine-electricity-russia-infrastructure.html

The founder of Grayzone Max Blumenthal talks to RT on this report. Take note of the last statement

⚡️⚡️ Key updates on Russia and #UkraineCrisis as on November 7

⚠️Kyiv blackout
Kyiv residents were warned on Sunday that a significant deficit is expected in the capital’s power grid on Monday, which could lead to emergency outages. This was announced by Sergey Kovalenko, CEO of the DTEK D.Solutions (YASNO), who cited Ukrenergo's data showing the deficit will be 32% higher than forecasted. (YASNO is an umbrella brand that unites a number of electricity suppliers, operating within Ukraine's largest private energy holding, DTEK).

“It's a lot and it's force majeure. Therefore, we will have to resort to emergency outages. That means in that case the outage schedules don't work. Brace yourselves, restrictions may be implemented first thing in the morning,” Kovalenko wrote in a Facebook post.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday warned of more potential Russian attacks on his country's energy infrastructure, as officials urged residents in the capital Kyiv to consider making plans to leave as ongoing strikes threaten the power supply.

🚫Kherson blackout
Over 10 settlements in the Kherson region, including Kherson city, were left without electricity and water supply as a result of what pro-Russian authorities called “an act of sabotage” on the Berislav - Kakhovka power line. The Russian-installed Kherson administration said the "terrorist attack" that damaged three power lines in the region was organized by Ukrainian saboteurs. Ukrainian authorities blamed Russia for the attack, alleging that “the occupiers in the Kherson region purposefully turn off electricity and water, deprive the population of access to the Internet in order to force people to "evacuate" from their homes”.

Local emergency services also reported that the Nova Kakhovka dam was partially damaged in shelling by Ukrainian forces using HIMARS missiles (five missiles were intercepted, but one had hit the dam lock). The official quoted by TASS said it was an "attempt to create the conditions for a humanitarian catastrophe" by breaching the dam.

Pro-Russia authorities have earlier evacuated around 70 000 people from Kherson and other settlements on the right bank of the Dniepr river to the left bank as well as to Crimea and Krasnodar region. At the moment, efforts to evacuate around 1000 residents of villages around the Nova Kakhovka dam are being undertaken.

🧿War diplomacy
President Biden’s top national-security adviser Jake Sullivan has been in contact with Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy adviser of Vladimir Putin, in an effort to reduce the risk of a broader conflict over Ukraine and warn Moscow against using nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, U.S. and allied officials told Wall Street Journal.

According to the WSJ report, Sullivan appealed to the leadership of Ukraine to publicly declare their readiness to resolve the conflict. According to the WSJ, contacts with the leadership of Ukraine were not aimed at pushing Kyiv to negotiate with Moscow, but to demonstrate to its allies in this way that Ukraine is looking for a solution to the conflict.

❗️Sanctions pressure
The European Central Bank (ECB) and UniCredit have clashed over the bank’s operations in Russia, sources told the Financial Times. The chief executive officer of Italy's largest bank, Andrea Orcel, earlier this summer announced that he was “preparing to leave Russia”.

According to the FT, the ECB considers UniCredit's presence in Russia as an "undesirable source of risk" and pushes the bank to exit the country. Mr. Orchel told one of the newspaper's sources that he was "under strong pressure" from the regulator. He ruled out the sale of the bank to a "local oligarch" and is negotiating with potential buyers from China, India, and Turkey. UniCredit told the newspaper that they are "committed to leaving Russia in an orderly and decisive manner."

👉Follow t.me/russiawire for daily updates, analytics, and ground reportage from Russia, Donbass, and the neighborhood.

☘️As UN Climate conference (COP27) kick off, the climate agenda is back in the headlines (most probably, just for this week). Russia Wire will keep an eye on the key discussions in Egypt as we believe climate crisis & politics around it is something that deserves broader attention & better understanding.

Developing countries are the ones facing most acute damage from climate change, even as they contributed the least to it. For quite some time, they have been demanding compensation from the wealthier nations that have emitted half of all heat-trapping gases since 19th century.

For the first time, the compensation issue takes the key spot in COP’s agenda

https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/cop27-summit-begin-with-plea-discuss-climate-compensation-2022-11-06/

It’s just a new trend among Ukrainian officials…Heard that from Arestovich before

https://news.1rj.ru/str/scottritterlivestreams/1924

❗️Ukraine nationalizes assets of its oligarchs — who will no longer “undermine effective reform and development”

The assets of Motor Sich, Zaporizhtransformator, AvtoKrAZ, Ukrnafta, and Ukrtatnafta have been placed under the management of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, local media reported today. All of these are “strategically important enterprises”, associated with Ukraine’s oligarchs Konstantin Zhevago, Igor Kolomoisky, Vyacheslav Boguslaev and Konstantin Grigorishin, and their nationalization was discussed since the first months of the war (or even before it started?)

To understand more about Ukraine's current relations with its oligarchs, do have a look at Carnegie's piece from September, which claims “Ukraine’s oligarchs corrupted the Ukrainian state and undermined effective reform and development, preventing it from escaping from its post-Soviet stagnation. But they were also a key protective mechanism against anyone else usurping power.”

Now, the report states, “With every passing day [of the war], the influence of Ukraine’s oligarchs is fading, and their capital alongside it. Without them, Ukraine is becoming a different country”.

No doubt, that’s just the beginning of Ukraine’s transformation to what its Western partners want it to be like to effectively manage it and reap the benefits.

👉Follow t.me/russiawire for daily updates, analytics, and ground reportage from Russia, Donbass, and the neighbourhood.

⚡️⚡️ Key updates on Russia and #UkraineCrisis as on November 8

✍️Peace talks, anyone?
The US President's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, commented on WSJ report that revealed he had been negotiating with Russian high-ranking officials over Ukraine, aiming to reduce nuclear risks. Mr. Sullivan did not specify whether he had actually personally contacted the Kremlin, but confirmed the fact of negotiations between Washington and Moscow, according to RIA. WSJ report stated that US authorities appealed to the leadership of Ukraine to publicly declare their readiness to resolve the conflict.

Meanwhile, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in his evening address on Monday outlined the conditions under which Ukraine is ready for peace talks with Russia: the return of the annexed territories, compensation for losses, punishment of war criminals, and guarantees of Ukraine's security.

⚠️START talks
Russia and the United States are discussing the possibility of holding a meeting of the bilateral advisory commission on the Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty (START), Kommersant has learned. For the first time, the parties are considering the Middle East region as a venue for it. There have been no such face-to-face meetings for a year, and the parties have many questions to resolve: from guarantees of the impossibility of reverse conversion of American jets and ballistic missile launchers of submarines to the resumption of inspections suspended by the Russian Federation, publication notes.

☘️⚔️Climate vs war
On Day 1 of COP27 held in Cairo, world leaders used climate crisis to push their criticism of Russia, repeatedly pointing out that “accumulating threats of war, warming and economic crisis” take a toll on every continent, hitting the world’s most vulnerable.

“We are in the fight of our lives, and we are losing,” Mr. Guterres said in opening remarks at the summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. “Putin’s abhorrent war in Ukraine, and rising energy prices across the world, are not a reason to go slow on climate change,” UK PM Rishi Sunak said. President Emmanuel Macron of France said the war in Ukraine should not change countries’ commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

🐤Twitter freedoms
Global media has — finally — acknowledged the issue of Twitter silencing the voices of officials, diplomats, journalists, and just citizens from countries that are in confrontation with the West. “Elon Musk has some new super fans: Russia, China, and the Islamic State.  

After the world's richest man bought Twitter for $44 billion last month, officials and journalists linked to Russia and China — and even some jihadists — urged him to lift restrictions on their use of the platform,” Politico writes, suggesting that those silenced will use Musk’s takeover as a chance to make a comeback on Twitter.  It notes, however, that so far “their pleas have fallen on deaf ears”.

PR stint
Russian controversial businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, who’s known as “Putin’s chief” and the founder of Wagner mercenary group currently fighting alongside the Russian army in Ukraine, is in the headlines of international media for his ironic comment on Moscow’s potential interference in the US elections.

"I will answer you very subtly, and delicately and I apologize, I will report to a certain ambiguity. Gentlemen, we have interfered, we are interfering and we will interfere. Carefully, precisely, surgically and in our own way, as we know how. During our point operations, we will remove both kidneys and liver at once,” Prigozhin, who is known for his ironic and often contradictory remarks. (No publication has used the full quote, making it look more credible than it was meant to).

Prigozhin has been lately collecting political scores by commenting on Russia’s “special military operation” and criticizing acting commanders and politicians for their actions (most often inactions).


👉Follow t.me/russiawire for daily updates, analytics, and ground reportage from Russia, Donbass, and the neighbourhood.

Emergency sirens are being tested in St.Petersburg

Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar lands in Moscow for a two-day trip, his first visit since February 24.

S Jaishankar will meet his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov later today.

According to Economic Times, regular defence supplies from Russia during the winters amid India's lukewarm ties with China would be a key element of foreign minister S Jaishankar's two-day Moscow trip.

People’s Militia of DPR released footage of battle for Donetsk airport - a place of great significance for DPR forces since the first phase of the conflict (May 2014), as they suffered huge losses there.

Today, DPR authorities have confirmed it now fully controls the territory of the Airport.

The footage shows pro-Russia forces assaulting Ukrainian troops around so-called "Anthills" - well-fortified strongholds behind the runway of the Donetsk airport.

❗️Russia has been a steady and time-tested energy partner — Indian FM Jaishankar to RT

During Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s diplomatic trip to Moscow, RT’s Donald Courter asked for clarification about New Delhi’s energy relationship with the Russian Federation.

“It is our fundamental obligation to ensure that the Indian consumer has the best possible access and the most advantageous terms to international markets,” Jaishankar said - citing India’s continued purchase of Russian energy resources.

Subscribe to RT

Indian foreign Minister S Jaishankar in Moscow:
“For us, Russia has been a steady partner and as I said any objective evaluation of the relationship over many decades would confirm that it has served both countries very well for many decades”

Picture credit: ANI

Ukraine fatigue.. or something else? Stanly Johny points out the timing of latest reports around potential peace talks.

https://twitter.com/johnstanly/status/1589865419778973697?s=21