Omnibus Russia Ukraine crisis

Twin_Moose

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Apr 17, 2017
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Twin Moose Creek
China is trying to broker a peace deal.

It consists of 12 items:
:
▪️respect for the sovereignty of all countries, observance of international law and the UN Charter;

▪️Rejection of the Cold War mentality and adherence to the principle that "the security of one country should not be ensured at the expense of others

▪️cessation of hostilities, avoidance of escalation;

▪️resumption of peace talks as "the only viable solution";

▪️resolution of the humanitarian crisis;

▪️protection of civilians and prisoners of war;

▪️Ensuring the safety of nuclear power plants;

▪️countering the threat of the use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons;

▪️promotion of grain export within the framework of the Black Sea Grain Initiative;

▪️the termination of unilateral sanctions, which "do not solve current problems, but create new ones";

▪️supporting the stability of production chains and supply chains, refusing to use the world economy for political purposes;

▪️Contribute to post-conflict reconstruction.

China ruled out achieving peace in Ukraine through the supply of weapons to UA.

Clear.💩
It could be used in negotiations against NATO for anything to do with Taiwan
 

Twin_Moose

Hall of Fame Member
Apr 17, 2017
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Twin Moose Creek
That piece of land has been fought over since before Christ , pretty much the history of all Europe .
Certainly some of the most blood thirsty tyrants rampaged through it from Attila to Putin


Sensational archaeological find uncovers “Ukrainian Stonehenge” in eastern Ukraine - Euromaidan Press
 
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spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
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Russia's Putin gives actor Steven Seagal top award for 'humanitarian work'
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Published Feb 27, 2023 • 1 minute read

LONDON — Russian President Vladimir Putin has bestowed a top state award on Hollywood actor Steven Seagal to reward him for his international humanitarian and cultural work, a state decree published on Monday showed.


The decree said the 70-year-old star of action films such as “Under Siege” had been given Russia’s Order of Friendship. There was no immediate reaction from Seagal.


The decree mentioned Seagal’s work as a special representative of Russia’s Foreign Ministry for humanitarian ties with the United States and Japan.

The U.S.-born actor and martial arts practitioner has worked in Japan and has long admired Putin, from whom he received a Russian passport in 2016.

Seagal, a frequent visitor to Russia, backed Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014 as “very reasonable,” joined a pro-Kremlin party in 2021, and visited a Russian-controlled part of eastern Ukraine last summer, where he met with a Russian-backed separatist leader.

Ukraine in 2017 banned Seagal from entering for five years on national security grounds.
 
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petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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Low Earth Orbit
Who won ?
I could make the same video in Saskatchewan and pass it off as Chinese soldiers clearing a building in the Donbass or Russian Steppes and the nobody would never know the difference. I could then claim the Katsaps got help from China.

There are thousand of farms, houses and even towns built by Ukrainians on land with the same vegetation and topography. Even the sharpest geolocation would be lost using the sun and latitude on shadows. It will approximate the same latitude in Ukrain or Russia.

Its pretty damn spooky to watching videos knowing they could have been filmed 20 minutes from Regina. They will be coming here one day to film war movies I guarantee it.
 

spaminator

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Ukraine military identifies soldier seen in grisly execution video
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Hanna Arhirova
Published Mar 07, 2023 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A man who appeared to be shot dead by Russian-speakers in a short video was tentatively identified Tuesday as a missing Ukrainian soldier while the footage circulated widely on Ukrainian social media and caused an uproar.


The country’s chief prosecutor announced a criminal investigation into the killing, and human rights chief Dmytro Lubinets argued that it was a violation of the Geneva Conventions.


Senior Ukrainian officials alleged, without providing further evidence, that the man was an unarmed prisoner of war killed by Russian soldiers. In the video, the man did not appear to be armed.

The 30th Mechanized Brigade on its Facebook page named the man as Tymofii Shadura. The identification is based on preliminary information and is not final, it said.

Shadura has been missing for just over a month, since disappearing during bitter fighting in the Bakhmut area of eastern Ukraine, the post said. The city has been a combat hot spot as the war extends into its second year.


His identity is to be confirmed once the body is returned from a Russian-occupied area, the post added, though it did not say when that might happen.

The Ukrainian military’s general staff gave the same name for the dead soldier, saying it was “according to preliminary information.”

In the 12-second video, the man in combat fatigues is seen in a wooded area smoking a cigarette.

Someone off-camera is heard speaking in Russian. The man then says “Glory to Ukraine” and is hit by a volley of gunshots, falling into a hole in the ground, with an off-camera voice saying “Die,” followed by an expletive.

The Associated Press could not verify the video’s authenticity, any details about when it was recorded or anything about the people involved.


Questions sent by the AP to the Russian military about the clip did not immediately receive a reply.

The video circulated widely on social media in Ukraine and unleashed an outcry.

In his nightly video address Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “I want us all together, in unity, to respond to (the soldier’s) words: “Glory to the hero! Glory to heroes! Glory to Ukraine!” And we will find the killers.”

Moscow also has expressed suspicion about the treatment of Russian prisoners of war by Ukrainian forces.

Last November, Ukraine said it would open an investigation into video footage that circulated on Russian social media, which Moscow alleged shows Ukrainian soldiers killing Russian troops who may have been trying to surrender after one of the men seemingly refused to lay down his weapon and opened fire.


In other developments:

— Ukraine and Russia completed another exchange of captives. Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak reported that 130 Ukrainian soldiers returned from Russian captivity, most of them with severe injuries. Russia’s Defense Ministry said 90 Russian servicemen were returned from territory controlled by Kyiv. Since the beginning of the war, 1,993 people have been returned from captivity, according to Lubinets.

— U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was on his way to Ukraine for a meeting Wednesday in Kyiv with Zelenskyy. The two are due to discuss the extension of an agreement that allows Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports and permits Russia to export food and fertilizers.


— Ukraine’s presidential office reported Tuesday that at least one civilian was killed and 11 more were wounded in Ukraine over the previous 24 hours. Fierce battles continued in the region for the key city of Bakhmut, where fewer than 4,000 civilians remain from a prewar population of 70,000, according to Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.

— A parliamentary delegation from Hungary said Tuesday during a visit to Denmark that it supports Sweden’s NATO membership. Some Hungarian lawmakers had balked at supporting the NATO membership applications by Sweden and Finland, due to what they called “blatant lies” from Stockholm and Helsinki on the state of Hungary’s democracy.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
108,904
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Low Earth Orbit
Ukraine military identifies soldier seen in grisly execution video
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Hanna Arhirova
Published Mar 07, 2023 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A man who appeared to be shot dead by Russian-speakers in a short video was tentatively identified Tuesday as a missing Ukrainian soldier while the footage circulated widely on Ukrainian social media and caused an uproar.


The country’s chief prosecutor announced a criminal investigation into the killing, and human rights chief Dmytro Lubinets argued that it was a violation of the Geneva Conventions.


Senior Ukrainian officials alleged, without providing further evidence, that the man was an unarmed prisoner of war killed by Russian soldiers. In the video, the man did not appear to be armed.

The 30th Mechanized Brigade on its Facebook page named the man as Tymofii Shadura. The identification is based on preliminary information and is not final, it said.

Shadura has been missing for just over a month, since disappearing during bitter fighting in the Bakhmut area of eastern Ukraine, the post said. The city has been a combat hot spot as the war extends into its second year.


His identity is to be confirmed once the body is returned from a Russian-occupied area, the post added, though it did not say when that might happen.

The Ukrainian military’s general staff gave the same name for the dead soldier, saying it was “according to preliminary information.”

In the 12-second video, the man in combat fatigues is seen in a wooded area smoking a cigarette.

Someone off-camera is heard speaking in Russian. The man then says “Glory to Ukraine” and is hit by a volley of gunshots, falling into a hole in the ground, with an off-camera voice saying “Die,” followed by an expletive.

The Associated Press could not verify the video’s authenticity, any details about when it was recorded or anything about the people involved.


Questions sent by the AP to the Russian military about the clip did not immediately receive a reply.

The video circulated widely on social media in Ukraine and unleashed an outcry.

In his nightly video address Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “I want us all together, in unity, to respond to (the soldier’s) words: “Glory to the hero! Glory to heroes! Glory to Ukraine!” And we will find the killers.”

Moscow also has expressed suspicion about the treatment of Russian prisoners of war by Ukrainian forces.

Last November, Ukraine said it would open an investigation into video footage that circulated on Russian social media, which Moscow alleged shows Ukrainian soldiers killing Russian troops who may have been trying to surrender after one of the men seemingly refused to lay down his weapon and opened fire.


In other developments:

— Ukraine and Russia completed another exchange of captives. Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak reported that 130 Ukrainian soldiers returned from Russian captivity, most of them with severe injuries. Russia’s Defense Ministry said 90 Russian servicemen were returned from territory controlled by Kyiv. Since the beginning of the war, 1,993 people have been returned from captivity, according to Lubinets.

— U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was on his way to Ukraine for a meeting Wednesday in Kyiv with Zelenskyy. The two are due to discuss the extension of an agreement that allows Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports and permits Russia to export food and fertilizers.


— Ukraine’s presidential office reported Tuesday that at least one civilian was killed and 11 more were wounded in Ukraine over the previous 24 hours. Fierce battles continued in the region for the key city of Bakhmut, where fewer than 4,000 civilians remain from a prewar population of 70,000, according to Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.

— A parliamentary delegation from Hungary said Tuesday during a visit to Denmark that it supports Sweden’s NATO membership. Some Hungarian lawmakers had balked at supporting the NATO membership applications by Sweden and Finland, due to what they called “blatant lies” from Stockholm and Helsinki on the state of Hungary’s democracy.
Screenshot_20230308_105528_YouTube.jpg
 
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spaminator

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Ukrainian city ready for 'brave' Canadian tourists
Ukrainian leaders say one of the best ways to support the embattled country's economy is to pack their bags and come see it for themselves

Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Laura Osman
Published Mar 12, 2023 • 4 minute read
Ukrainian officials in Lviv say there's another way Canadians can support the embattled country's economy and war effort, but it's not for the faint of heart: pack your bags and come be a tourist.

LVIV, Ukraine — Two women sit at a table near the front door of a small, nondescript bar in western Ukraine.


Speak the password, and they will escort you to a closet, inside which is a staircase that leads down to a stone cellar.


As they descend, they’re greeted with bass music from the chic restaurant below. It’s decorated with modern art installations that represent Ukrainian independence and the Russian occupation. On the menu is elevated traditional Ukrainian cuisine. All the ingredients and beverages are sourced from within the country.

The speakeasy restaurant in the thriving entertainment district of Lviv is an astonishing sight; certainly not what most people associate with a country at war.

Ukrainian leaders say one of the best ways for Canadians to support the embattled country’s economy is to pack their bags and come see it for themselves.


“If you’re brave, welcome to Lviv,” says mayor Andriy Sadovyi, spreading his arms wide to gesture to his beautiful city.

The mayor spoke to The Canadian Press from his office in the city’s town hall, in the heart of the cobblestoned streets of Old Town.

The area is relatively safe compared to the rest of the country. The streets sparkle with twinkly lights around the doorways of independent shops and vibrant restaurants, as small crowds of people bustle past ornate neo-Gothic and renaissance buildings.

But the charming sights are interrupted by jarring signs of war around every corner. Air raid sirens are an almost daily occurrence, though many people in the city do not heed them anymore. A curfew has been imposed under martial law, putting a slight damper on the nightlife.


Monuments are wrapped in burlap, boarded up with plywood and guarded by anti-tank traps to protect them from potential enemy shelling. Sandbags are stacked along basement windows so they can be used as makeshift bomb shelters. Military checkpoints block entrances to the city.

On a sunny day in February on a major promenade near the Lviv Opera House, a small boy plays a carnival game. He shoots a photograph of Russian President Vladimir Putin with a realistic-looking toy rifle.

Despite the mayor’s welcome, the municipality cannot actively encourage people to enter Ukraine. There is no way to guarantee they will not be targeted by a Russian missile attack, Khrystyna Lebed, who heads the tourism centre, said through a translator.


The Canadian government issued a travel advisory strongly urging Canadians to avoid all travel to the country because of the risks posed by the Russian invasion. Travel insurance is expensive and difficult to get.

“It may sound strange, but we do invite people not to be afraid to visit,” Ukrainian Railways’ passenger company CEO Oleksandr Pertsovskyi said in an interview from Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital city.

“Because the economy is struggling and of course incoming tourism could become one of the sources.”

Pertsovskyi said visitors need to decide for themselves how comfortable they are with the risk. But he underlined that making the journey to Ukraine could be one of the strongest ways for Canadians to support the war effort.


“We believe as soon as the situation stabilizes to a certain extent, people, and Canadians in particular, will start visiting at least the west of Ukraine,” he said.

The rail company has even created a scenic train route for tourists from Moldova to Kyiv called the “Victory Train,” and decorated each train car to represent an occupied territory of the country.

In Lviv, the tourism office has made an effort to point out the comparatively low frequency of rocket attacks in the region compared to other parts of the country, and how far Lviv is from the front lines of the war: about the distance between Calgary and Vancouver.

It has also started advertising which hotels in the city have their own bomb shelters.

Mayor Sadovyi says his people have come up with innovative ways to adapt to the difficult circumstances of the war. They have carried on with “resilience, bravery and huge love for motherland.”


When Russian bombs wiped out power infrastructure, restaurants and hotels bought generators to keep their businesses running. They can be seen lining the sidewalks outside of nearly every business in the city’s core.

Several new restaurants have opened in the city’s cellars. Some of the new eateries are run by restaurateurs from occupied territories who have started their businesses anew in Lviv.

“We every day come up with different new idea about our resilience,” said Sadovyi, who has been the city’s mayor for 17 years.

He said he has consulted with other tourism centres in countries facing conflict, including in Croatia and Israel, about how to balance the economic desire for tourists with the safety considerations of war.


Ultimately, he said, those places are learning from Lviv, too. “I think today in Ukraine we have very unique case, and our example is very interesting for a lot of mayors in different countries.”

All who arrive to Lviv are “my guests,” said Sadovyi.

A year after the war began, most of the people who come to the city are people from elsewhere in Ukraine who are looking for a short getaway, said Lebed, from the tourist centre.

Ukrainians fleeing their homes near the front lines, international journalists, aid workers and political delegations from other countries have also been paying into the city’s economy with their stay.

But week by week, the number of international tourists is inching up.

Their support, Lebed said, is “priceless.”
 
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