On September 6, Newsweek confronted us with a rather strange comment on the Russian-Ukrainian war, launched by 'Russia's State TV Boss' Margarita Simonovna Simonyan, chief editor of RT ('Russia Today') and saying: Russia has no allies in the Ukraine war and is waging the "most difficult, toughest and generally unprecedented war in our history" while Russia's traditional allies are only watching the scene with some sympathy.
A certain Anton Gerashchenko, the provider of English subtitles to the official video, describes himself on his Twitter/X-account as "a Ukrainian patriot, advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and founder of the Institute of the Future, as well as an official enemy of Russian propaganda."
The video prepared by Gerashchenko, however, can be regarded as authentic because the same stance of Margarita Simonovna Simonyan has already been quoted by other sources, including China's Tencent 腾讯 news center.
There are public comments to the Chinese article mentioned above, including one that introduces a brandnew aspect, the role of North Korea :
在侵略乌克兰的战争中，俄罗斯只有朝鲜，白俄罗斯两个盟友。
[这说明了得道多助失道寡助的道理。]
In the battle of invading Ukraine, Russia has only two friends: North Korea and Belarus.
[This is clearly the reason for mentioning a little help when speaking of all help would be wrong.]
Editor's Opinion: This point of view can be easily understood when it comes to a recent North Korean offer to provide weapons for Russia in its war on Ukraine. In addition to weapons, North Korea could rent out, as well, a mercenary army of almost any size in order to benefit the financial needs of the Kim family. So there could be some kind of: Two misunderstood and sanctioned countries brotherly united against the rest of the world. Maybe this is what Russia's Margarita Simonyan had in mind and wants to lead on. In her video performance, however, she only mentioned Belarus.
Today, on 6 September 2023, Shiite pilgrims celebrate the holiday of Arbaeen (الأربعين) in Karbala, Iraq. The holiday marks the end of the fourty-day mourning period for Imam Hussein after the anniversary of his martyrdom, the Ashura عاشوراء). Karbala in Iraq is the location where Husayn ibn Ali الحسين بن علي lost his life in a battle against the ruling caliph Yazid in 680. Hussein was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Imam (or protector of the faith), and Muhammad's daughter Fatima. It is therefore that Hussein is being venerated by the followers of Shia Islam as the 3rd Imam after his predecessors Ali, his father, and Hassan, his elder brother. Shia Islam is practised especially in Iraq, Iran and Lebanon. The Lebanese TV station Al-Manar is therefore concentrating on the subject in today's broadcast and news edition.
The Mosque of Karbala in Iraq, center of veneration for Hussein, is hosting the shrine containing his remains.
Three hours ago, the Chinese news center 腾讯 quoted Russian, Ukrainian and Western reports about Ukrainian drones having attacked a remote Russian military airfield on August 30.
卫星照片曝光，至少2架伊尔-76受损！俄媒称乌军已在地面炸毁24架战机
Satellite photos exposed that at least 2 Il-76s were damaged ! Russian media said the Ukrainian army has blown up 24 war planes on the ground.
Planet Labs, a US remote sensing satellite data company, released satellite photos of Pskov airport in Russia after the drone attack. On the satellite photos two damaged Il-76 transport aircraft can clearly be seen. From the damaged position it is speculated that the drones tried to attack the fuel tank part of the Il-76 transport aircraft. Near one of the Il-76 transport aircraft, there are two red cars suspected as fire engines.
Editor's Note: Russia's Pskov airfield (普斯科夫机场) is situated north of Belarus, near the border to the Baltic states Estland and Lettland. That means it is more difficult to reach than most other military airfields in Western Russia.
It should be noted that due to the thick local clouds, the satellite did not take an overall photo of Pskov airfield. Earlier, the Main Intelligence Service of Ukraine (GUR) announced that Ukrainian forces destroyed four Il-76 transport planes in a suicide drone attack on Pskov airfield. The airport's refueling facilities were attacked, as well. The Russian side denied such claims and said there were no human and material losses.
After analyzing reports from the Russian Ministry of Defense, media and open-source intelligence agencies, Russian media outlet Verstka said that since the start of war last year, the Ukrainian army has launched at least nine attacks on air bases in Russia, Crimea and Belarus so far, in which at least 24 aircraft have been damaged.
Map of Russian military airfields attacked and aircraft damaged (number/type) by
Ukrainian suicide drone attacks since the beginning of war (2022 - August 2023).
The Berlin Wall 1961-1989 - Memories of Contemporary Witnesses
The Berlin Wall in August 1961 - Course of the sector border (red line)
Die Berliner Mauer im August 1961 - Verlauf der Sektorengrenze (rote Linie)
Originalaufnahme: Presse- und Informationsamt der Bundesregierung
In einigen Fällen verlief die Sektorengrenze direkt an der Häuserfront. Gehörte das Haus zum Westen, dann wurden Durchbrüche zu den Kellern der Nachbarhäuser geschaffen, damit die Bewohner von einer Nebenstraße aus in ihre Wohnungen gelangen konnten. Soweit die Keller während des Krieges als Luftschutzkeller vorgesehen waren, existierten bereits vorbereitete Mauerdurchbrüche, um die Druckwelle explodierender Bomben abzufangen und die Flucht der Schutzsuchenden durch einen anderen Hauskeller zu ermöglichen. Gehörte das Haus zum Osten, dann wurden die Fenster in den unteren Etagen zugemauert und die Bewohner möglichst bald zwangsweise umgesiedelt. Später wurde das Haus abgerissen, wobei manchmal eine "Geisterfassade" übrig blieb.
Am Tag des Mauerbaus und vereinzelt auch danach, gab es in solchen Ostberliner Grenzhäusern noch Bewohner, denen es in einem unbeobachteten Moment gelang, aus dem Fenster oder vom Balkon zu springen, - in ein bereit gehaltenes Sprungtuch der Westberliner Feuerwehr. Die hatte am 13. August einen unerwarteten Goßeinsatz. W.W. (=> Bericht der Berliner Feuerwehr zum Mauerbau 1961)
English Version:
In some cases, the sector boundary ran directly along the front of the houses. If the house belonged to the West, then openings were made to the basement walls of neighbouring houses so that residents could get to their apartments from a side street. As far as such cellars had been intended as air-raid shelters during the war, there were certain wall spots already prepared to intercept the blast wave of exploding bombs and to enable those seeking protection to escape through another basement. If the house belonged to the East, then all windows on the lower floors were bricked up and residents were forcibly resettled as soon as possible. Later, these houses were demolished, sometimes leaving a "ghost façade".
On the day the Wall was built and occasionally afterwards, there were still residents left in East Berlin border houses who managed to jump out of the window or from a balcony, - just into a jumping mat held ready by the West-Berlin fire brigade. Therefore, the fire brigade had an unexpected large-scale operation on August 13 (=> Link to a Berlin Fire Brigade report referring to 1961). W.W.
India accomplishes its first ever spacecraft landing on the moon, — days after Russia failed. The Chandrayaan-3 uncrewed spacecraft made a “soft landing” on the southern polar region of the moon on Wednesday, August 23 shortly after 6 p.m. Indian time.
Video: The technical details of a time-consuming but low-cost Indian moon mission.
Russia's foreign minister Lavrov congratulates his Indian counterpart at the BRICS Summit.
Only some days earlier, on Saturday, August 19, Russia’s first moon mission in 47 years had failed when its Luna-25 spacecraft had spun out of control and crashed into the moon after a problem preparing for pre-landing orbit, thus underscoring the post-Soviet decline of a once mighty space program.
The crash of a Russian business plane near Moscow is adding to the gloomy situation after Russia's space failure. It is at the origin of today's breaking news, as Russia's 'warlord' Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed as a passenger and is now believed to be dead. Speculations about the reason of that air crash are now spreading worldwide.
Today, Saturday August 5, 2023, the Jeddah Summit is to begin.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will host peace talks regarding Ukraine, in the city of Jeddah, provided that the talks will include the United States and a number of Western and developing countries.
The talks, according to US officials, are aimed at developing common principles for ending the war and discussing what kind of military assistance Kiev needs to deter a Russian invasion from attacking Ukraine again.
Earlier, US officials said that US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will be present on behalf of the United States. Ukraine said other major developing countries, such as India and Brazil, would also attend.
The talks are the second in a series of meetings organized by Ukrainian President Andriy Yermak's chief of staff, and the first took place earlier this year in Copenhagen.
The photo is showing Zelensky together with Saudi Crown Prince Salman
in an article published today, 5 August 2023. [Al-Youm Assaabiae اليوم السابع]
Here is a quotation from Al-Youm Assabiae / The Seventh Day اليوم السابع:
عبر الرئيس الأوكراني فولوديمير زيلينسكي عن شكره للمملكة العربية السعودية على تقديم منصة لمفاوضات السلام في أوكرانيا، في إشارة إلى قمة جدة التي تنعقد اليوم السبت.
وقال زيلينسكي ـ في بيان نُشر على الموقع الرسمي للرئاسة الأوكرانية - "في جدة بالمملكة العربية السعودية، سيبدأ اجتماع لمستشاري رؤساء الدول وممثلي وزارة الخارجية بشأن صيغة السلام، وسيتم تمثيل العديد من البلدان من قارات مختلفة، بما في ذلك بلدان الجنوب العالمي".
وأشار زيلينسكي إلى أن اجتماعا مماثلا (لقمة جدة) عُقد مؤخرًا في كوبنهاجن، مضيفا: "نحن نتحرك خطوة بخطوة نحو عقد قمة عالمية للسلام"، موجها الشكر لجميع الداعمين لخطة السلام والذين انضموا بالفعل إلى الجهود المشتركة من أجل التنفيذ الكامل لها.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his thanks to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for providing a platform for peace negotiations in Ukraine, referring to the Jeddah summit that will be held today [Saturday August 5, 2023].
Zelensky said - in a statement posted on the official website of the Ukrainian presidency - "In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a meeting of advisers to heads of state and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will begin on the peace formula, and many countries from different continents, including countries of the Global South, will be represented. "
Zelensky pointed out that a similar meeting like the Jeddah Summit was only recently held in Copenhagen, adding: "We are moving step by step towards convening a global peace summit," thanking all the supporters of the peace plan who have already agreed on joint efforts for its full implementation .
The website of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released on the evening of the 4th that China will send a delegation, including Li Hui, the special representative of the Chinese government for Eurasian affairs, to attend the Ukrainian peace summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Foreign media agreed that China will be the key to this negotiation . Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a message in Ukrainian and Chinese on social media at 2:04 pm local time on the 5th during the meeting, expressing condolences and support to the people in China who continue to be affected by the flood.
Yesterday, July 30, the Arabic news center El-AIN العين from the Emirates stressed the pro-Russian aspect of mass demonstrations directed against France, Niger's former colonial power. They are asking the following question:
انقلاب النيجر.. هل مخطط من "فاغنر" للإطاحة بفرنسا؟
The Niger Coup - What is the Wagner [group's] plan to subdue France ?
متظاهرون أمام السفارة الفرنسية بنيامي
وحاول بعض المتظاهرين اقتحام مبنى السفارة بينما انتزع آخرون اللوحة التي تحمل عبارة "سفارة فرنسا في النيجر" وداسوا عليها ووضعوا مكانها علمي روسيا والنيجر وسط هتافات "تحيا روسيا" و"لتسقط فرنسا".
وكانت "رابطة الضباط من أجل الأمن الدولي" التي تعتبرها الولايات المتحدة واجهة لمجموعة فاغنر في جمهورية أفريقيا الوسطى، بثت تسجيلاً صوتياً نسبته لزعيمها يفغيني بريغوجين مساء الخميس، يؤكد فيه أن محاولة الانقلاب في النيجر "كفاح ضد المستعمرين".
ويمكن التعرّف من خلال المقطع المنشور على تطبيق تليغرام على صوت بريغوجين ونبرته، لكن لم يتمكن مراسلو وكالة فرانس برس من التأكد من صحة التسجيل تمامًا. ومنذ 26 يونيو/حزيران الماضي بعد محاولة تمرده الفاشلة في روسيا لم يصدر رئيس فاغنر أي إعلان رسمي على حسابات منظمته.
Demonstrations in front of the French Embassy in Niamey
Some of the demonstrators tried to storm the embassy building, while others grabbed the plaque bearing the phrase "France's Embassy in Niger" and trampled on it, placing the flags of Russia and Niger in its place, amid chants of "Long live Russia" and "Down with France."
The "Association of Officers for International Security," which the United States considers a front for the Wagner Group in the Central African Republic, broadcast an audio recording attributed to its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, on Thursday evening, confirming that the coup attempt in Niger is "a struggle against the colonialists."
Prigozhin's voice and tone can be identified from the clip posted on Telegram, but AFP reporters were unable to verify the authenticity of the recording. Since last June 26, after his failed rebellion attempt in Russia, Wagner's president has not made any official announcement on his organization's accounts.
My UPDATE on August 4 is quoting an earlier article about Wagner chief Prigozhin, deliberating on the Niger coup and the fight against colonialism. It was published by the Saudi government near paper Al-Shark Al-Awsad (The Middle-East) الشرق الأوسط two days before, on July 28.
Russia’s surgical strike on the Moldovan-Romanian-Ukrainian Tri-Border on July 24 damaged Ukraine's grain port of Reni [Рени] on river Danube, - only within a stone's throw away from NATO territory. The West remained silent.
Russian forces targeting Ukraine's grain port of Reni [Рени]
right on the Danube river border to NATO member Romania.
Another video of Ukrainian military origin, hosted on a pro-Ukrainian twitter account and showing the moment of attack on Reni port more directly, couldn't be linked to this site for technical reasons. It is quoted by europereloaded on some military analysis website, dated July 25.
The Consequences: Rising Prices for Grain and Fertilizer
The below quoted information comes from Phenix Net and refers to (official) information from Beijing.
On July 25, Russia launched an air strike on Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine further escalated. And just the day before, Russia bombed the port of Reni on the Danube River in Ukraine, near the Romanian border, causing irreversible damage to the port and making it impossible to continue to use it. This port was once used by Ukraine as the last port for grain export after the black sea grain export agreement was interrupted. an alternate channel. In addition to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Ukraine’s shipping ports were completely blocked, and its grain exports through land transport and inland rivers were also boycotted by five neighboring countries. Ukrainian food is also difficult to export. Ukraine is a major grain producer and exporter in the world. Affected by the further intensification of conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, the global prices of major grain futures such as wheat, corn, and soybeans have risen to varying degrees. On July 24, the Bloomberg Grain Sub-Index rose 5.02%. CBOT (*) corn futures rose 6.45%; wheat futures rose 8.6%; soybean futures rose 1.68%. Industry insiders said that with the sharp rise in international grain prices again, the prices of the three major fertilizers, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which are necessary for grain cultivation, may be further affected and are expected to stabilize and rise. Among them, due to the higher concentration and stronger monopoly of global potassium resources, and being at the core of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, it affects SINOTRANS (*) in Russia and Belarus, the main suppliers of potassium fertilizers. This event has a more positive impact on potassium fertilizer prices. In addition, one of the most direct results is that farmers in some countries will profitably sell futures to lock in grain sales prices, ensuring the planting area and increasing the demand for potassium fertilizers, which will also support the continuous rise in potassium fertilizer prices.
* SINOTRANS: Sinotrans Ltd. is a logistics enterprise under China Merchants Group and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. 中國外運股份有限公司（简称“中国外运”）是招商局集团下属的物流企业，在上交所和港交所挂牌上市。
* CBOT: The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) is a designated contract market offering products subject to CBOT rules and regulations.
While the above text is quoting CBOT, here are latest market prices from another source, published by Easy Net on July 26:
The impact of rising food prices on Africa's population as a result of Russia obstructing any grain export from Ukraine, became a subject of discussion on the 2nd Russian-African Summit in Saint Petersburg in July 2023. On July 28 Al-Jazeera therefore dealt with the subject in the following evaluation.
اعتماد غالبية الدول الأفريقية على واردات القمح الروسي والأوكراني؛ فعلى سبيل المثال يعتمد الصومال وبنين اعتمادا كاملا على البلدين، في حين تستورد مصر ما يزيد على 80% من احتياجاتها منهما، تليها السودان بـ75% ثم الكونغو 69% والسنغال 66%، وفق تقارير.
The majority of African countries rely on imports of Russian and Ukrainian wheat; for example, Somalia and Benin are completely dependent on the two countries. Egypt imports more than 80% of its needs, followed by Sudan with 75%, Congo with 69% and Senegal with 66%, according to reports.
News Report from India TV: In a session of the United Nations Security Council, China showed its support for an international call on Russia to enable further grain exports from Ukraine.
By the way, it should be added that India belongs to the countries unwilling to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
China's deputy UN ambassador Geng Shuang said that he hoped Russia and the UN would work together to resume grain exports from both countries at "an early date" for maintaining international food security and alleviating the food crisis in developing countries.
This is the mildest form of protest China is willing to express in order to critisize its long-standing partner Russia.
On the same day, the Chinese news center NetEase published an article that clarifies China's strategy in its fight for supremacy against the West. As usual, NetEase marked that article as kind of 'personal opinion' and denies any responsibility.
The Russo-Ukraine war created a good opportunity for us. Russia, which has been sanctioned, has a better and better relationship with us. Crude oil and natural gas are sold to us cheaply, and the two sides have negotiated several big deals.
A large amount of resources have been imported into our country, which has also benefited our people. The Russo-Ukrainian war has been going on for more than a year, and our gasoline prices are basically stable. In contrast, in Europe, gasoline prices have soared, various living costs have also increased rapidly, and society has become turbulent.
In order to contain Russia, the United States is forced to relax its containment of our country, creating a good opportunity for our economic recovery. Therefore, for us, Russia cannot lose, and its defeat is not in the interests of our country.
____________________________________
In order to understand different strategic positions of China and India in comparison with those of rich Western countries, the global development of industrial production might be a key factor, as economic aspects have always driven geopolitical decisions.
Some Chinese language open platform on economy [爱集微] put it that way, using the followwing title for their related article published on July 17:
经济学人：欧美政客重金押注芯片和新能源，但他们注定会失望
The Economist: European and American politicians bet heavily on chips and new energy, but they are destined to be disappointed
In Western countries, the goal is to reverse the trend of industrial decline, which voters feel deeply important. As a share of global economic output, manufacturing has fallen from 19 per cent in 1997 to 16 per cent today, with the largest declines in rich countries. In China and India, industry's share of economic output appears to be about the same as it was three decades ago, but even in these countries, industry's share has declined in recent years.
The video, named Europe's Deindustrialization: Ukraine War's Ripple Effect [Asia Times], presents an intelligent perception of the subject by David Woo, some Wall Street expert of Chinese extraction. It seems to support the above quoted Chinese article in a certain way.
Here some excerpts from different Chinese sources that published their reports about the 2nd Ukrainian attack, targeting the strategically important Kerch Bridge in Russian occupied Crimea on July 17. They are quoting today's news from China's CCTV (July 19).
"A span of the highway section of the Crimea Bridge has been destroyed beyond repair," said Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin of the Russian Federation in charge of transport. In addition, "one rail of the bridge was slightly damaged." After the Kerch Strait Bridge in Crimea was bombed, how to restore traffic with the Crimea Peninsula became a top priority.
The Chinese source emphasizes that US satellites are obviously monitoring every move in the Russian-Ukrainian war theater almost 24 hours a day.
The Crimea Bridge was damaged again in the early morning of the 17th, resulting in two deaths, one injury, and damage to the road surface of the bridge. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Khusnullin said on the 18th that the destroyed bridge section leading to Kerch must be dismantled, and the materials and components needed for repair have been shipped from Togliatti [former Stavropol in Samara Oblast] on the 17th. Since the pier is located between the car lane and the railway lane, floating cranes cannot be used, and a 250-meter-long temporary bridge needs to be built. This work is expected to take 2 months. It is initially estimated that the repair cost may be 1 billion to 1.3 billion rubles (about 80 million to 100 million yuan).
On July 1st, the Iranian news center Tasnim quoted 'military-diplomatic sources' in Damascus, Syria, on the formation of Kurdish volunteers by Ukrainian experts inside Syria, in what is referred to as 'terrorist structures'. It is about both, countering Russian presence in Syria and preparing Kurdish fighters for a later deployment in Ukraine. The original text message from Iran is as follows:
Furthermore, the source revealed that American and Ukrainian intelligence officers hold regular joint consultations in Iraq to address the issue of countering the Russian presence in Syria. It was also disclosed that a decision has been made to double the number of 'terrorist structures' in the region.
According to the source, Ukrainian experts trained at US bases in Iraq are currently providing training to recruited militants who will be sent to Ukraine at a later stage. The source highlighted that the Ukrainian consul in the Kurdish Autonomous Region in Iraq is typically entrusted with the task of recruiting militants and facilitating their transfer to Syria.
Notably, recent meetings between US forces and armed factions from Arab tribes in Al-Hasakah and Raqqa in Syria have intensified. These meetings aim to coordinate efforts with the militants, raising questions about the nature of this movement and the potential resurgence of tensions along the Syrian-Iraqi border.
At the same time, tensions between the US side and Russia's air force in Syria seem to rise as has been reported by Kurdistan 24, a Kurdish news center on June 22:
In a briefing to journalists [in Washington], U.S. Air Force Lt. General Alexus Grynkewich, who heads CENTCOM’s Combined Forces Air Component, explained how the war in Ukraine is exacerbating tensions in northeastern Syria, where the U.S. supports the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the fight against ISIS. ..........
Asked by Kurdistan 24 if Russia’s aggressive posture toward U.S. forces in Syria might relate to its aggression against Ukraine, Grynkewich seemed to agree, providing several examples.
He suggested that Russia’s air force in Syria had become more aggressive “perhaps as a way to compensate for the fact that they have had to move capability and capacity out of Syria in order to support the war in Ukraine.”
Grynkewich also suggested that the difficulties Russia is facing in Ukraine may be contributing to reckless behavior by its pilots.
Editor's Comment:
I created this blogspot in order to shed some light on an alleged 'deployment of Kurdish mercenaries in Ukraine', a topic discussed by different Chinese media some days earlier.
As to the credibility of Russian sources, quoted by the Chinese, I have my seconds thoughts. Same goes with the Iranian news center:
Trying to verify any information given here, I stumbled on the fact that this article was only available in English. While other daily subjects of high importance usually go with a translation into other regional idioms like Arabic, Farsi or Hebrew, this was obviously not the case.
In a subsequent search of the net I therefore used keywords in Arabic, but without any relevant result. Among lots of Arabic sources of each provenance there was simply no (= zero) additional information on the subject coming from the region. I might have overlooked something of minor importance, but I don't believe so. So I come to think that this is just another disinformation campaign, as I already indicated in my last blogspot.
[By the way, I even found the Arabic version of a Tasnim article on Syria challenging the US in front of the United Nations Security Council for inflicting damage on Syria, including 100 billion US dollars of economic losses. That information had been quoted by the Chinese. => Compare last blogspot of mine !]
Syrian Ambassador Sabbagh during a session of the UN Security Council [Tasnim, Jan. 25, 2023]
On June 30, local time, RIA Novosti quoted sources from Syria as saying that the US authorities began recruiting armed forces from Syria to support Ukraine. To this end, relevant personnel of the US Central Intelligence Agency are negotiating with the Kurdish armed forces and some tribes in Syria. [Chinese news published on 1st July]
Another Chinese source, published the same day, is stressing that Ukrainian forces might be running out of active soldiers, referring to 'heavy losses' but, as well, to lots of Ukrainian 'citizens fleeing the country'.
As to the Ukrainian refugees now flooding West European countries, I should add that these are entirely women and children. Young male adults are forbidden to leave Ukraine and are, therefore, either joining the army or waiting to be called to the weapons. And this is just what happens.
Russia's media information is difficult to believe. In fact, the US position in Syria seems to be rather delicate such as US troops can neither advance nor retreat in a war against, both, the Islamic State (ISIS) and Iranian-backed groups in a semi-autonomous region, run by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish group. It looks as if the US are essentially relying on their Kurdish allies in some kind of perpetual war that cannot be won. How then send away their most able Kurdish partners in combat to Ukraine ?
The following information is the gist of an article published on June 15 by Jonathan Guyer, a foreign policy, national security, and global affairs editor for VOX News:
Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said that troops are needed because “if you completely ignore and turn your back, then you’re setting the conditions for a resurgence.”
But experts say that the US troops there are not building toward a sustainable outcome, and that resisting ISIS has become the pretext for a perpetual US presence.
“It’s a strategy that just makes no sense,” says Robert Ford, who served as US ambassador to Syria from 2011 to 2014. “The real way forward is not leaving 900 troops to play whack-a-mole in eastern Syria.”
Ford explains that the American mission to secure the outright defeat of ISIS is impossible. The 900 troops in the northeast of Syria and the US garrison at al-Tanf cannot stop a low level of recruitment into ISIS ranks. “So we can bomb some and we can kill some, but they'll always replace the people that they lose,” he told me. “This is a classic forever war.”
Anyway, it is difficult to understand why US units in Syria and their Kurdish allies should get into the focus of recruiters in need of loyal mercenaries for a deployment in the Russian-Ukrainian war. Instead, the whole story seems to be fabricated by the Russian side which follows different policies in the Syrian conflict and would welcome everything useful to weaken the US position there.
And there is another reason for the US to stay in Syria: It's the oil and gas fields that have to be 'secured' by US and allied military. Of course, US legitimacy for that can be questioned, but it's just another reason for the US to stay, as an earlier Chinese article indicated on June 16:
In December 2022, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Chairman of the UN Security Council, pointing out that the illegal presence of U.S. troops and the opposition forces supported by the United States have continued to smuggle Syrian oil and other resources and destroy Syrian infrastructure, which has caused 25.9 billion US Dollars damage to Syria in direct economic losses and of 86 billion US Dollars in indirect economic losses.
"We keep the military for the oil"
Many analysts pointed out that the U.S. military came here uninvited and refused to leave, and they did so for the oil here. However, the income from that oil was originally intended to improve the livelihood of the Syrian people, and Syrian oil has never belonged to the United States.
Extended oil and gas fields, as well as wheat in the northeastern provinces of Syria
On June 27, the Austrian paper 'Der Standard' published an article about Jewgeni Serebrjakow, prominent member of Russia's hacker group 'Sandworm'. Here some excerpts from the German language publication in the English and Chinese version:
In April 2018, Yevgeny Serebryakov and three other Russian agents are standing in a parking lot in The Hague, the Netherlands, with a lot of hacking equipment in his rental car. The men have a plan: they want to hack into the Wi-Fi in the nearby building of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). At that time, the OPCW was investigating whether the Assad regime, which was allied with Russia, had used poison gas against civilians.
But before the hackers can get started, they are surrounded by Dutch agents who had been shadowing Serebryakov and his colleagues. The Dutch confiscate the equipment – cash, mobile phones, laptops – and expel the men from the country. A few months later, the Dutch company held a press conference – and presented photos of the passports used, the rental car and a bag in which the hackers collected their garbage so as not to leave fingerprints in the hotel. It is, there is hardly any other way to put it, a public demonstration of the GRU secret service.
[GRU = Russia's military intelligence service]
However, the same Yevgeny Serebryakov now leads one of the most dangerous hacking groups in the world: Sandworms. That's a staggering increase, as sandworm forces play a central role in Russian military intelligence: Ukrainian hackers shut down the grid twice, albeit only for a brief time in 2015 and 2016. Sandworms also play an important role in Russia's war of aggression. In March, the US trade magazine Wired reported on the promotion, and soon after a document appeared on the Internet that was of particular interest to Western intelligence services: a certain Yevgeny Serebryakov's master's thesis on the title: "Information Confrontation in World Politics." In more than 90 pages and 77 footnotes, it explains the meaning behind the clumsy term "information confrontation": it is generally believed not only in Russia that information can be used as a weapon.
Associated Press, CNN and other US media reported that on October 19, local time, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania issued arrest warrants for six Russian hackers. The six wanted hackers belonged to the Sandworm hacker organization which is backed by Russian intelligence agencies. [They had allegedly] carried out cyberattacks on U.S. companies, Ukrainian energy systems, organizers of the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, etc., paralyzing thousands of computers and costing about $1 billion. The U.S. believes the six Russian hackers are behind the NotPetya ransomware.
Leaked IT contractor files detail Kremlin's stockpile of cyber-weapons: The NTC Vulcan Files.
How the 'Washington Post' got their hands on the Vulcan files, leaked from Russia's IT giant.
