Ukraine war: Time to shift strategies: We must do more to aid Ukraine - "give terrorist Putin an ultimatum to declare cease-fire or else"

War is dynamic, a contest of wills between warring parties, each of which is fighting to achieve its political objectives and thwart its enemy. War reveals vulnerabilities not apparent when it begins, and opportunities absent at the start. Momentum shifts. Strategies should shift accordingly. This is where we are with the war in Ukraine today.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin started his illegal war to conquer and subjugate Ukraine, in his mind, Russia would quickly defeat the Ukrainian military and, thereby, the nation’s will to fight. That didn’t happen. Ukraine resisted, showing weaknesses in the Russian military machine. And global sanctions reduced Russia’s ability to fund the war. The result: stalemate. Russia has lost tactical momentum. Now Ukraine must seize it.

Two opportunities emerged. The stalemate allowed Ukraine to go on the offensive — local counterattacks and maybe a more general counter-offensive. And it provided an opportunity for the Allies to shift strategy.

Read more at: https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/598908-time-to-shift-strategies-we-must-do-more-to-aid-ukraine

Ukraine War: Biden to join NATO leaders in Brussels and attend European Council summit next week amid Ukraine war

President Joe Biden will travel to Europe next week to meet with world leaders and discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday. The President will travel to Brussels, Belgium, to participate in a NATO summit on March 24 and will also join a European Council meeting, Psaki told reporters at a White House briefing.

The trip, which will be one of the most closely watched visits to Europe by an American president in decades, comes weeks after Russia launched an unprovoked attack on Ukraine. Biden will "discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts," during the NATO summit and reaffirm the US' commitment to its NATO allies, Psaki said.

"He will also join a scheduled European Council summit to discuss our shared concerns about Ukraine, including trans-Atlantic efforts to impose economic costs on Russia, provide humanitarian support to those affected by the violence and address other challenges related to the conflict," she said.

Note EU-Digest: It is high time for the West to give Putin an ultimatum to stop the agression against Ukraine, or that they will establish a no-fly zone. It is also important that Russia realizes that if they use nuclear weapons, Russia itself will become a nuclear wasteland. US, NATO, EU and all its allies, please stop acting like "sissies", being pushed around by this bully !

Read more at: https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/15/politics/biden-travel-to-europe/index.html

Russia: Crimes Against Humanity: Is Russia committing war crimes by bombing hospitals in Ukraine? - by Dr Amir Khan

Whether in times of peace or conflict, a set of medical ethics and principles guides the work of healthcare workers and hospitals – the commitment to save lives and reduce suffering.

In times of war, to maintain some humanity in armed conflict, certain rules and agreements have been made that mean targeting civilians and civilian buildings – including healthcare facilities – constitute a war crime.

Read more at: Is Russia committing war crimes by bombing hospitals in Ukraine? | Russia-Ukraine war | Al Jazeera

Russia: Could Vladimir Putin Be Overthrown by His Own People? - by Brendan Cole

Ukraine may be battling for its sovereignty, but could Russian President Vladimir Putin be fighting for his presidency if the invasion he declared goes badly for him?

Senator Lindsey Graham invoked the downfall of Julius Caesar in calling for the Russian leader's assassination. "Is there a Brutus in Russia?" he said in a tweet which sparked condemnation from both Republicans and Democrats.

Read more at: Read more at: Could Vladimir Putin Be Overthrown by His Own People?

Ukraine Crises: in Pictures: Mass demonstrations engulf Russia

Russian police have arrested more than 3,000 people in nationwide protests demanding the release of opposition leader Alexey Navalny, the Kremlin’s most prominent foe.

The unprecedented demonstrations in more than 60 cities – in temperatures as low as -50 Celsius (-58 Fahrenheit) – highlighted how Navalny has built influence far beyond the political and cultural centres of Moscow and St Petersburg.

In Moscow, an estimated 15,000 demonstrators gathered in and around Pushkin Square in the city centre, where clashes with police broke out and demonstrators were dragged off by helmeted riot officers to police buses and detention trucks. Some were beaten with batons.

Read more at: In Pictures: Mass demonstrations engulf Russia | Gallery News | Al Jazeera

Ukraine Crises:Putin orders troops into Ukraine after recognizing separatist regions

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized two regions in Ukraine as independent and ordered Russian troops to conduct "peacekeeping" operations there, raising fears that Russia is paving the way for an attack.

The Biden administration announced that the U.S. will respond with limited economic sanctions, with more to follow on Tuesday.

Putin's declaration named the two regions the Luhansk People's Republic and the Donetsk People's Republic. Both are unrecognized territories carved out by Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine after fighting broke out there against Ukrainian government forces in 2014.

Read more at: Putin orders troops to Ukraine after recognizing separatist regions : NPR

EU: Time to make new alliances? European diplomacy in the Ukraine crisis

The Ukrainian parliament witnessed an unusual scene this week. A group of representatives gathered around the lectern and held up flags of NATO and allied countries for the cameras — a demonstration of gratitude for foreign support for Ukraine in the confrontation with Russia. The flag of the United Kingdom, the Union Jack, featured twice.

It was also on display in the streets of the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday, when the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, visited Kyiv. Ukraine is clearly grateful to the beleaguered Johnson, who is under considerable pressure on the domestic front. His government supplied Ukraine with anti-tank weapons in recent weeks, the British army is training Ukrainian soldiers, and now the British Conservative leader is holding out the prospect of financial support equivalent to 100 million euros to assist Kyiv in the current crisis.

Read more at: Time to make new alliances? European diplomacy in the Ukraine crisis | Europe | News and current affairs from around the continent | DW | 04.02.2022

The Netherlands-Ukraine Relations: Dutch PM, in Kyiv, urges justice for MH17 victims, dialogue in Ukraine crisis

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte urged dialogue to defuse a crisis with Russia on Wednesday during a trip to Kyiv in which he also reaffirmed his resolve to secure justice for families of the victims of an airliner downed over eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Rutte is the latest leader - following in the tracks of the British and Polish premiers - to visit Kyiv in a show of solidarity after Russia massed tens of thousands of troops near Ukraine's borders in a standoff that has alarmed the West.

The Ukraine crisis is closely watched in the Netherlands, where Dutch prosecutors have sought the convictions of four men charged with murder over the shooting down of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

Read more Dutch PM, in Kyiv, urges justice for MH17 victims, dialogue in Ukraine crisis | Reuters

Netherlands, Ukraine take Russia to European rights court - by Mike Corder

The Netherlands and Ukraine argued Wednesday that a top European court should hear their cases that seek to hold Russia responsible for human rights violations in eastern Ukraine including the 2014 downing of a passenger jet that killed all 298 people on board.

Lawyers representing the Dutch government told the European Court of Human Rights in the French city of Strasbourg that Russia had effective control over rebel forces in eastern Ukraine when Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down on July 17, 2014.

The preliminary hearing into whether the Ukraine and Dutch cases against Russia are admissible opened amid soaring tensions between Russia and the West over Moscow’s huge troop buildup near the border with Ukraine and fears of conflict.

Read more at: Netherlands, Ukraine take Russia to European rights court | The Seattle Times

NATO allies put forces on standby as tensions rise over Ukraine crisis - by Eliza Mackintosh

NATO announced on Monday that some member countries are putting forces on standby and sending additional ships and fighter jets to eastern Europe as the United Kingdom and the United States ordered diplomats' families to withdraw from Ukraine amid concerns of a Russian invasion.

The developments underscore growing fears of a possible Russian incursion, following months of military maneuvering by Moscow that has set off a tit-for-tat series of escalations with NATO, a military alliance of Western powers.

Read more at: NATO allies put forces on standby as tensions rise over Ukraine crisis - CNN

Ukraine Crises: Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will not open if Russia invades Ukraine, says US - by Martin Farrer and Kate Connolly

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany will not move forward if Russia invades Ukraine, the US state department has said, in a significant strengthening of the west’s previous position on the strategically vital gas supply.

Read more at: Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will not open if Russia invades Ukraine, says US | Ukraine | The Guardian

Global Energy Supplies: Europe needs an energy policy independent of US interference

It is no secret to the world that the US government has been obstructing the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline for many years by imposing all types of political and economic sanctions on related parties. The stake is high behind the US' suppression of the project, because the pipeline could enable more cheap gas supplies from Russia to Europe, depriving US suppliers of a prime export market.

Whether the Nord Stream 2 will promote energy cooperation between Russia and Europe, or become a trigger of tensions across the Atlantic will remain to be seen. While the US doesn't really care about Europe's energy security, Washington won't tolerate anything that threatens its energy trade.

What the US government wants is to preserve its global hegemony in the energy sector. The US energy hegemony is one of the important pillars of American global hegemony. So, the US will do everything in its position to ensure global energy supply patterns are in line with its global geopolitical power play. If the energy cooperation between Russia and Europe were allowed to unfold without any complications, it is conceivable that many things would be out of the control of the US.

If anything, the energy crisis is another example demonstrating why Europe needs to have the ability to independently form its own political and economic policies including energy security. Europe needs to be clear that its interests are not the same as the US', and it cannot completely follow the US lead on many issues, or it will end up hurting itself.

Read more at: GT Voice: Europe needs an energy policy independent of US interference - Global Times

Dutch PM withheld information from parliament on talks with Russia: report

Prime Minster Mark Rutte incompletely informed parliament about talks that senior Dutch officials had with Russia. Rutte said that these conversations were only a "free exchange of views", but the talks included controversial topics and agreements were made, Follow the Money and The Investigative Desk reported.

The Netherlands officially severed ties with Russia after flight MH17 was shot down in 2014, but communications were picked up again three years later. Senior officials from the Ministries of Economic Affairs and Foreign Affairs resumed talks with their Russian colleagues. The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, only found out about this after the two research platforms reported about it earlier in the year.

Read more at: Dutch PM withheld information from parliament on talks with Russia: report | NL Times

Netherlands-Russian Relations: Netherlands expels two Russians after uncovering 'espionage network'

he Netherlands has expelled two alleged Russian spies who were working in the country as diplomats, its intelligence service says.

They are accused of targeting the high-tech sector and building a "substantial network of sources" in the industry.

The two individuals were working for Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Dutch officials said.

Russia described the accusations as "unfounded" and said the decision to expel its citizens was "provocative".

Read more at: Netherlands expels two Russians after uncovering 'espionage network' - BBC News

The Origins of the EU: How the CIA Created the EU - by Eric Zuesse

The details are supplied in an exhaustive 1,000-page biography of Jean Monnet by Éric Roussel, which was published only in France in 1996, and which seems to have been successfully suppressed. It has never been translated, and has no reviews even at Amazon. However, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard of UK’s Telegraph newspaper has provided some of the core information from it. Furthermore, Richard J. Aldrich’s 2003 The Hidden Hand also provides key details, such as by Aldrich’s saying, on page 366, about the American Committee for a United Europe: ACUE, more than any other American front organization of the Cold War, was a direct creature of the leading lights of the CIA. Indeed, it was so replete with famous CIA figures that its ‘front’ was very thin. Its early years seemed to have formed something of a laboratory for figures such as [Bill] Donovan, [Allen] Dulles, [Walter] Bedell Smith and [Tom] Braden, before they moved on to other projects in the mid-1950s. Over its first three years of operations, 1949-51, ACUE received $384,650, the majority being dispersed to Europe. This was a large sum, but from 1952 ACUE began to spend such sums annually. The total budget for the period 1949-60 amounted to approximately $4 million. As the quantity of money flowing across the Atlantic began to increase, ACUE opened a local Paris office to monitor more closely groups that had received grants. By 1956, the flood of increased funding was prompting fears among the Directors of ACUE that its work would be publicly exposed.

The emerging European Economic Community (EEC) and the growing Western intelligence community overlapped to a considerable degree. This is underlined by the creation of the Bilderberg Group, an informal and secretive transatlantic council of key decision-makers [representatives of the billionaires who controlled U.S. and U.S.-allied international corporations]. Bilderberg was founded by Joseph Retinger and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands in 1952 in response to the rise of anti-Americanism in Europe. … Retinger secured support from Averell Harriman, David Rockefeller and Walter Bedell Smith. The formation of the American wing of Bilderberg was entrusted to Eisenhower’s psychological warfare chief, C.D. Jackson, and the funding for the first meeting, held at the Hotel de Bilderberg in Holland in 1954, was provided by the CIA.

Funds for these CIA operations came not only from the U.S. Treasury but from private sources, America’s super-rich, and, also from organized gangsters, as was revealed in the 1998 classic by Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair, Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs and the Press. This off-the-books funding comes from narcotics kingpins throughout the world, as protection-money, which is essential to keep them in business. So, the EU was financially fueled from all of these sources, and, basically, was a bribing-operation (to end up getting the ‘right’ people into the EU’s Parliament, etc.), in addition to be receiving funds from what might be considered idealistic philanthropic donors (because the dream of a united Europe had long preceded the grubby version of it that the CIA created for Europeans). The EU was a Cold War operation, from the very start. Though the Cold War was allegedly ideological, it was actually the result of a decision that U.S. President Harry S. Truman made on 26 July 1945, for the post-WW-II U.S. to achieve, ultimately, the world’s first all-encompassing global empire. The EU was designed to serve the political aspects of that, and NATO the military aspects, for America’s European ‘allies’ (America’s European vassal nations). The aim was for the Soviet Union (subsequently only Russia) to become surrounded by enemies, so that, in the final analysis, the U.S. and its ‘allies’ would be offering the U.S.S.R. “a deal they can’t refuse.” This deal (quite fitting to come from an international gangland operation such as America’s Deep State) would be inclusion in the U.S. empire, on terms that are set solely by the U.S. Government — either this, or else conquest. Then, the same thing would be done to China.

Pritchard issued two important articles about this, the first being his 19 September 2000 “Euro-federalists financed by US spy chiefs”: DECLASSIFIED American government documents show that the US intelligence community ran a campaign in the Fifties and Sixties to build momentum for a united Europe. It funded and directed the European federalist movement. … One memorandum, dated July 26, 1950, gives instructions for a campaign to promote a fully fledged European parliament. It is signed by Gen William J Donovan, head of the American wartime Office of Strategic Services, precursor of the CIA.

The documents were found by Joshua Paul, a researcher at Georgetown University in Washington. They include files released by the US National Archives. Washington’s main tool for shaping the European agenda was the American Committee for a United Europe, created in 1948. The chairman was Donovan, ostensibly a private lawyer by then.

The vice-chairman was Allen Dulles, the CIA director in the Fifties. The board included Walter Bedell Smith, the CIA’s first director, and a roster of ex-OSS figures and officials who moved in and out of the CIA. The documents show that ACUE financed the European Movement, the most important federalist organisation in the post-war years. In 1958, for example, it provided 53.5 per cent of the movement’s funds.

The European Youth Campaign, an arm of the European Movement, was wholly funded and controlled by Washington. The Belgian director, Baron Boel, received monthly payments into a special account. When the head of the European Movement, Polish-born Joseph Retinger, bridled at this degree of American control and tried to raise money in Europe, he was quickly reprimanded.

The leaders of the European Movement — Retinger, the visionary Robert Schuman and the former Belgian prime minister Paul-Henri Spaak — were all treated as hired hands by their American sponsors. The US role was handled as a covert operation. ACUE’s funding came from the Ford and Rockefeller foundations as well as business groups with close ties to the US government.

Read the complete report at: How the CIA Created the EU - Modern Diplomacy

US Elections: Trump's Turkish Ally Erdogan and other populists/authoritarian leaders around the world Stay Mum on Biden Victory

Erdogan, along with the leaders of Russia, Israel, Iran, Hungary, Saudi Arabia and China, offered no initial congratulations to the president-elect.

Read more at: Trump's Turkish Ally Erdogan Stays Mum on Biden Victory | Greek Reporter Europe

'Europe can only be stronger with Russia,' claims Moldova's president

"I believe in a big Europe, from Lisbon to Vladivostok," Igor Dodon told Euronews.

Read more at:
https://www.euronews.com/2020/02/14/europe-can-only-be-stronger-with-russia-claims-moldova-s-president

China - EU - Iran - Russia -Turkey -- a new Dawn? : Donald Trump′s risky short-sightedness - by Frank Sieren

New World  Order? China,-EU Russia

Like the rest of the world, Beijing was forced to look on idly as US President Donald Trump ordered the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani last Friday. Even the Iraqi government in Baghdad, which considers Iran an enemy, called on the US to withdraw. On Tuesday night, Iran responded by launching missile attacks on US bases in Iraq.

For now, the situation seems to be, if not de-escalated, at least not re-escalated. But the stakes in the Middle East are also high for China now. As the country with the second-highest oil consumption in the world, it sources a good 50% of its imports from the region. Although Iran is ranked only seventh in the list of oil exporters to China, it has become a close economic and diplomatic partner of Beijing's in recent years.

China is also Iran's largest trading partner. China's investments in Iran are also rising steadily, amounting to over $27 billion (€24.3 billion) between 2005 and 2018. Last summer, the two governments agreed that China would invest $280 billion in Iran's energy sector and $120 billion in its infrastructure and manufacturing sector over the next 25 years. In return, Beijing would receive cheaper oil as well as other benefits. The idea is also that the transactions be conducted in Chinese yuan or Russian rubles, as Russian companies will also be involved.

Iran is playing an increasingly important role for China's "New Silk Road." One of the most important axes of the geostrategic project of the century leads from China to Turkey, via Pakistan and Iran, and then from Istanbul to the Greek port of Piraeus.

Not far from the Pakistan-Iranian border and the Strait of Hormuz, through which 40% of the world's oil transports pass, lies the deep-sea port of Gwadar. In future, the idea is that this be used to transport oil and goods directly to China via an economic corridor in Pakistan. Pakistan shares a common border with both Iran and China, while goods still have to cross three Central Asian countries to get to China via the northern route.

Note EU-Digest: China, the EU and Russia for some time now are starting to cooperate on trade and technology much closer and in the process are by-passing the US at an ever increasing rate, specially following the election of Donald Trump.

Read more: Sieren’s China: Donald Trump′s risky short-sightedness | Asia| An in-depth look at news from across the continent | DW | 09.01.2020

Belarus’s Soviet Economy Has Worked Better Than You Think

Belarus kept old factories, jobs, and social services alive after communism. Now that model is under threat from Russia.

Read more:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-27/belarus-s-soviet-economy-has-worked-better-than-you-think?utm_source=pocket-newtab

EU-Digest editorial: Turkey - Northern Syria - Incursion: Turkey's military operation has made one thing more clear - the world has become a far more dangerous place than it already was

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said any military operation must fully respect the UN Charter and international humanitarian law (LOL) - unfortunately nobody listens to them anymore.

EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker demanded Turkey to halt its military operation, telling Ankara the bloc would not pay for any so-called "safe zone" that might be created.  Sure, he probably does not believe that statement himself  !!!  (LOL).

The EU's top foreign policy official, Federica Mogherini warned that "unilateral action on Turkey's part threatens concerted action by the West and Turkey and other countries to defeat ISIL".

Turkish military action, she said, risked "protracted instability in northeast Syria, providing fertile ground for the resurgence of Daesh". 

Obviously this EU response had no "bite" to it, since the EU does not have its own military force, or the  backing among its members to support such actions, and, unfortunately, because they still closely follow US directives, when it comes to their foreign affairs policies. 

Erdogan also threatened  that he would be sending back all the  + 3 million refugees who were in Turkey, to the EU, if the EU continued to condemn Turkey's  incursion into Syria. That obviously is the last thing the EU wants, not even having a comprehensive policy on Migration in their "back-pocket".

Chief Jens Stoltenberg of NATO (another unneeded US military relic from the past in Europe), urged Turkey to show "restraint", while acknowledging that Ankara had "legitimate security concerns".( LOL ) - as he was obviously told to say that by the US, which controls NATO. 

As to the US Trump Administration- the US President, who has been rightly accused of double-crossing the Kurdish fighters, crucial in the war on ISIS, by pulling US troops out of the war-torn country,made another one of his brilliant statements and said: "the Kurds didn't help us in the Second World War; they didn't help us with Normandy”. He added the Kurds were only willing to help with “their land”, and concluded  "With all of that being said, we like the Kurds.”  

At least this drama is giving the President of the US a moment of relief from the ever louder cries in his country for his impeachment. Hopefully the country does not forget to get rid of him a.s.a.p.

China voiced concern over the Turkish incursion in Syria, urging Ankara to exercise restraint and calling on all parties to respect Syria's sovereignty. However deep down, "China must be laughing all the way to the bank, looking at the lunatic actions of the US Trump Administration". 

Russian reactions to the incursion were more complicated:   What’s already clear is that deeper divisions are likely to emerge among Russia, Iran, and Turkey, three actors that previously had mostly been united in their opposition to U.S. interests in the region. Though in recent months leaders from Moscow, Tehran, and Ankara—as the so-called Astana Group—have been working toward conflict resolution in Syria through the framework of the Russia-led Syrian constitutional committee, disagreements among them have prevented serious progress. As Turkey stages its incursion into territory previously held by U.S.-allied Kurdish forces, Russia’s reaction has been rooted in a mix of implicit apprehension and explicit platitudes about integrity and restraint. The Kremlin’s frustrations will grow as Turkey expands its attacks in a way that further risks the constitutional committee’s progress and jeopardizes Bashar al-Assad’s consolidation of power.

And so, the sad result of the U.S. decision to withdraw its troops from Syria abruptly, without prior consultation with its allies, is a guarantee that the eight-year conflict in Syria will rumble on with no end in sight. 

©   EU- Digest