Month: January 2022

Who is really causing the crisis at the Ukraine-Russia border? Interview with Bruce Gagnon

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From Peace and Planet News

By Bruce Gagnon – Winter 2022 Edition

In an off-the-cuff interview at a vigil in Portland, ME, against war in Ukraine, lifelong peace and justice activist Bruce Gagnon lays out the undoctored truth about the “crisis” at the Russian/Ukraine border. Video by Brian Leonard

Bruce Gagnon

Bruce Gagnon is coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space. He offers his own reflections on organizing and the state of America’s declining empire on his blog Organizing Notes.

https://peaceandplanetnews.org/crisis-at-the-russia-ukraine-border/

U.S. sending Russian weapons to Ukraine — for false flag?

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From RT
January 21, 2022

Kiev to receive Russian-made helicopters the US originally bought for Afghanistan

The Biden administration is expediting the transfer of five transport helicopters to Kiev, as Washington insists Moscow is about to “invade” Ukraine any day now. The Mi-17 helicopters were originally purchased from Russia and intended for the US-backed government in Afghanistan, before it surrendered to the Taliban last August.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed on Friday that Congress has been notified of the move, which will be conducted under the Excess Defense Articles program. The State Department said on Thursday this was the “fastest transfer ever” for the US government.

The helicopters are already in Ukraine, which was servicing them on behalf of the Pentagon and was supposed to send them to Afghanistan until the Taliban takeover disrupted those plans. Ukraine’s Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov requested them from the Pentagon in late November, along with ammunition also earmarked for the defunct Afghan army, Foreign Policy reported last month.

The US has echoed Ukraine’s claims of an impending Russian “invasion” since November, though Moscow has brushed off the accusations as “fake news” and insisted on talks with the US and NATO on security guarantees in Europe instead.

The Mi-17 was designed in the late 1970s as an upgrade to the Mi-8 transport. It is still known as Mi-8M in Russian service, the Mi-17 being its export designation. It is still in production at the helicopter plant in Kazan, east of Moscow.

The Pentagon had spent approximately $648 million by mid-2010 to buy 30 of the helicopters for the Afghan National Army, and asked Congress for funding for another 10, only to come under criticism for not buying American-made aircraft.

US military officials argued that the Mi-17 was designed with Afghanistan in mind, that the Afghans were more familiar with it, and that it was easier to operate than US-made Blackhawks or Hueys. 

Plans to buy “dozens” more Mi-17s for the ANA, as well as some for the US Special Operations Command to help disguise clandestine missions reportedly ran into pushback from Congress and cost issues, the Washington Post reported in June 2010, as Russia raised the price of the helicopter to “exorbitant” levels.

Much of the hardware the US has supplied to Afghanistan was captured by the Taliban last year, among them some Mi-17s, Mi-35 gunships, and even the US-made Blackhawk helicopters, as well as Hummvees, armored vehicles, and various small arms.

https://www.rt.com/russia/546812-ukraine-russian-helicopters-afghanistan/

Ukraine on Fire, documentary by Oliver Stone

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Ukraine on Fire: The Real Story – Full Documentary by Oliver Stone (Original English version)

Ukraine, the ‘borderlands’ between Russia and ‘civilized’ Europe is on fire. For centuries, it has been at the center of a tug-of-war between powers seeking to control its rich lands and Russia’s access to the Mediterranean.

The Maidan Massacre in early 2014 triggered a bloody uprising that ousted president Viktor Yanukovych, spurred Crimeans to secede and join Russia, and sparked a civil war in Eastern Ukraine.

Russia was portrayed by Western media as the perpetrator, and has been sanctioned and widely condemned as such. But was Russia responsible for what happened?

Ukraine on Fire provides a historical perspective for the deep divisions in the region which led to the 2004 Orange Revolution, the 2014 uprisings, and the violent overthrow of democratically-elected Yanukovych.

Covered by Western media as a ‘popular revolution’, it was in fact a coup d’état scripted and staged by ultra-nationalist groups and the US State Department.

Investigative journalist Robert Parry reveals how US-funded political NGOs and media companies have emerged since the 1980s, replacing the CIA in promoting America’s geopolitical agenda abroad.

Executive producer Oliver Stone gained unprecedented access to the inside story through his on-camera interviews with former President Viktor Yanukovych and Minister of Internal Affairs Vitaliy Zakharchenko, who explain how the US Ambassador and factions in Washington actively plotted for regime change.

And, in his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Stone solicits Putin’s take on the significance of Crimea, NATO and the US’s history of interference in elections and regime change in the region.

Now, at last, the full exposé is available in the West. Though, of course, everyone is encouraged to purchase a copy to support Stone’s important work.