A former Canadian Armed Forces sniper now fighting Russian forces in Ukraine says he was the last to learn of his own death.
The former CAF member — who goes by the nom de guerre Wali — told CBC News he returned to a safe location in Ukraine Monday after a week spent battling Russian forces on the front lines in the Kyiv region. When he turned on his phone, he discovered hundreds of urgent messages from people convinced he’d been killed in action.
This comes from the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces, which means it’s time for another round of everyone’s favorite game when processing war news, “Truth or propaganda?”
It has been three weeks since Russia updated the official death toll to its invasion in Ukraine, leaving open the question of how many of its soldiers have been killed or wounded in the chaotic opening stages of its war.
In early March, the Russian defence ministry admitted that 498 Russian soldiers had been killed in action and 1,500 wounded, a large number after just 10 days of fighting that pointed to the danger of its attempts to take Kyiv in a lightning raid.
Russia’s false accusation that Ukraine has biological and chemical weapons is a “clear sign” that a desperate Vladimir Putin is considering using them himself, Joe Biden has said.
The US president said Putin’s “back is against the wall and now he’s talking about new false flags he’s setting up including, asserting that we in America have biological as well as chemical weapons in Europe – simply not true. I guarantee you,” Biden said at an event on Monday.
I do not believe anything Biden’s handlers have him mouth, I doubt he even remembers anything beyond his last tapioca hit. Very little of what the MSM spews can be trusted, Russiagate, Hunter Biden’s Laptop, Hillary’s ongoing shenanigans have proved them willing propagandists and nothing more.
How war in Ukraine conflict is creating a global humanitarian crisis
The world is facing a potential food crisis because of the Russo-Ukraine conflict. As I discussed before, the impact of this conflict is global and long-term. A few of us geopolitical commentators have examined the potentially lasting effects on global commodities. Africa will especially feel the impact of this war, where food imports are critical.
Via Hotair
As the first of hundreds of Canadians began flooding into Ukraine earlier this month to battle alongside the country’s own troops, Russia’s defence ministry spokesman issued an ominous warning.
Foreign fighters in Ukraine are actually mercenaries, Igor Konashenkov said, have no protection under international law and “at best … can expect to be prosecuted as criminals” if they’re captured.
Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine has clarified for the world, except those wilfully blind, that green policies weakened Europe and emboldened the ruthless dictator to reclaim territory of the former Soviet Empire.
WARSAW, POLAND — Forced civilian deportations from Ukraine’s besieged port town of Mariupol to Russia are “unconscionable,” U.S. officials said Sunday after authorities in Kyiv and Mariupol’s mayor accused Moscow of transporting thousands of people against their will.
The claims are unverified so far but earlier this month Kyiv rejected an offer from Moscow to create “humanitarian corridors” allowing civilians to flee six heavily bombed Ukrainian cities when it emerged that Moscow expected the civilians to use the proposed safe routes to go to Russia or its ally, Belarus.
EU ministers meet to discuss further Russian sanctions as cracks emerge
Lithuania is urging the European Union to ban Russian oil as cracks begin to show in how far the EU will go in imposing further sanctions on the Kremlin’s war machine.
As Ukraine defied a Russian ultimatum to surrender the port city of Mariupol, EU foreign ministers gathered in Brussels to discuss further sanctions against Russia at the start of an intense week of diplomacy.
But after four rounds of sweeping EU sanctions in three weeks, tensions are emerging. The Baltic states and Poland are calling for tougher measures, including an oil embargo, while Germany fears a short-term energy ban would cause joblessness and fuel shortages.
LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials defiantly rejected a Russian demand that their forces in Mariupol lay down their arms and raise white flags Monday in exchange for safe passage out of the besieged port city.
As Russia intensified its effort to pound Mariupol into submission, its ground offensive in other parts of Ukraine has become bogged down. Western officials and analysts say the conflict is turning into a grinding war of attrition, with Russia bombarding cities.
#Ukraine: A burning Russian MBT slowly cooks off, via @OSINTua pic.twitter.com/M6bggJmUjB
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 20, 2022
#Ukraine: A VERY rare Russian T-80UK tank was captured by the Ukrainian forces. In total, the Russian army has only a few of these tanks – and two of them were already lost in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/SjnmVjml3L
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 20, 2022
A few days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, one of Russia’s largest media companies, Russian Media Group (RMG), released a statement explaining why it would no longer be playing certain artists on its popular radio stations or music TV channel.
“The reason for this decision was the harsh statements these musicians made towards Russia in the context of the difficult situation between Russia and Ukraine,” the statement read.
It explained that respect for its listeners was the company’s top priority, and the “arrogant and contemptuous attitude of the musicians towards Russian listeners” left it no choice but to terminate its contract with the artists.
Unleashing Neil Young on the Russians would be a war crime.
From anti-communist groups in Brazil to former Colombian police, a broad spectrum are hoping to take up arms against Putin
Emílio Teixeira Alarcón thinks he knows exactly how he will feel after slaying his first Russian soldier.
“Mission accomplished,” shrugged the Brazilian army reservist. “In war, it’s either kill or be killed.”
“If I get someone in my crosshairs and don’t shoot, he might shoot me. It’s just like a game of paintball,” he added, as the mid-morning sun bathed his home in north Rio.
Kyiv calling: famous Clash anthem reborn as call to arms
The Clash have given their blessing to a new version of their song London Calling by a Ukrainian punk band called Beton. Kyiv Calling, recorded near the frontline, has lyrics that call upon the rest of the world to support the defence of the country from Russian invaders.
All proceeds of what is now billed as a “war anthem” will go to the Free Ukraine Resistance Movement (FURM) to help fund a shared communications system that will alert the population to threats and lobby for international support.
It’s foolish to speculate about the future course of a war, but three weeks into Mr. Putin’s War, it’s evident that Russia’s Plan A laid an egg.
Apparently, Plan A was, more or less, to win a stunning, virtually bloodless victory in the vein of Russia’s Little Green Men taking over Crimea in 2014 with only about a half-dozen deaths on all sides.
Airborne troops would seize Kiev’s Hostomel cargo airport, establishing an air bridge in the capital’s suburbs. The Kiev government would ignominiously collapse and the Russian conquerors would be cheered by their millions of Ukrainian supporters. Numerous popular Ukrainian politicians, many of them on the Kremlin’s payroll, would jockey to be Moscow’s new best friend in Kiev.
One — Reassuring an enemy what one will not do ensures that the enemy will do just that and more. Unpredictability and occasional enigmatic silence bolster deterrence. But President Joe Biden’s predictable reassurance to Russian President Vladimir Putin that he will show restraint means Putin likely will not.
They would much rather shout “Slava Ukraini” than “God Bless America.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed a joint session of Congress Wednesday. Never has one man united the political elite in such admiration. Zelenskyy’s video message drew standing ovations from lawmakers and effusive praise from journalists. His message to American lawmakers: intervene, even if it leads to World War III.
The rapturous reception to Zelenskyy demonstrates a curious phenomenon. Many Americans, particularly liberals, have embraced Ukrainian nationalism.
