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Russia has accused Ukraine of attacking the Kremlin with drones to assassinate President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine denied the accusation, calling it a “terrorist provocation”.
The Kremlin threatened retaliation, and hardliners demanded retribution against President Zelenskiy. The Kremlin said in a statement:
<blockquote>
Two unmanned aerial vehicles were aimed at the Kremlin. As a result of timely actions taken by the military and special services with the use of radar warfare systems, the devices were put out of action.
We regard these actions as a planned terrorist act and an attempt on the president’s life, carried out on the eve of Victory Day, the May 9 Parade, at which the presence of foreign guests is also planned …
The Russian side reserves the right to take retaliatory measures where and when it sees fit.
</blockquote>
A video was posted on the Telegram channel Baza, linked to Russia’s law enforcement agencies, showing an object approaching the Kremlin Senate building and exploding before reaching it. The building overlooks Red Square, where the Victory Day parade is held. The authenticity of the video could not be immediately verified.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said in comments sent to Reuters:
<blockquote>
Ukraine has nothing to do with drone attacks on the Kremlin. We do not attack the Kremlin because, first of all, it does not resolve any military tasks.
</blockquote>
Mykhailo Podolyak stated that reports of an attack on the Kremlin and the supposed detention of Ukrainian saboteurs in Crimea indicate Russia’s preparation for a terrorist provocation. 
Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, demanded the use of weapons to stop and destroy Ukraine’s “terrorist regime”. Margarita Simonyan, head of the state broadcaster RT, expressed hope that things would now get started for real.
Russia’s presidential administration confirmed that drones had been used to attack the Kremlin, but there were no casualties or material damage. Putin was not at the Kremlin at the time and was working at his residence outside Moscow.
Another video showed smoke over the Kremlin.
Russia has accused Ukraine of cross-border attacks, but Ukraine does not typically claim responsibility.
Victory Day will still be celebrated with a military parade on Red Square, for which the Kremlin has announced tighter security.
<h2><a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

Pindula News

Russia Says Ukraine Sent Drones To Assassinate President Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a warship towards the Atlantic and Indian oceans armed with new hypersonic Zircon cruise missiles, which he said were unique worldwide, reported Al Jazeera.
Putin confirmed the development in a video conference with defence minister Sergei Shoigu and Igor Krokhmal, commander of the frigate named Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov.
He said the ship was armed with Zircon hypersonic weapons. Said Putin:
<blockquote>
This time the ship is equipped with the latest hypersonic missile system – Zircon – which has no analogues.
I would like to wish the crew of the ship success in their service for the good of the motherland.
</blockquote>
Shoigu added that the hypersonic missiles, known as either Tsirkon or Zircon, could overcome any missile defence system.
He also said the missiles fly at nine times the speed of sound and have a range of more than 1 000km.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said that Patriot air defence systems are expected to be deployed in Ukraine soon.
He said preparations for transferring the Patriot air defence systems from the United States of America have already begun.
On 21 December, US President Joe Biden announced a $1.85bn military aid package for Ukraine, including a Patriot missile defence system.
Ukraine is also expecting the US Congress to approve another package of almost $45 billion.
The package includes new HIMARS multiple rocket launcher systems and the Patriot air defence systems. | <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/4/live-russia-says-phone-use-allowed-ukraine-to-target-its-troops">Al Jazeera</a>

Putin Sends A Warship Equipped With Hypersonic Weapons To Atlantic

Thousands of Czechs protested in Prague on Friday, demanding the government step down to allow an early election and calling for talks with Russia on gas supplies ahead of winter.
The demonstration on a national holiday in Prague’s main square was the third organised by far-right political movements, fringe groups and the Communist party, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/czech-protesters-call-new-government-direct-gas-talks-with-russia-2022-10-28/">Reuters</a>.
 Police estimated the crowd in the lower tens of thousands, less than the two previous rallies.
The organising group “Czech Republic First!” opposes the European Union and NATO transatlantic alliance, and wants the nation of 10.7 million to be militarily neutral.
Protesters waved Czech flags, chanted “Resign, Resign” and carried signs calling for an exit from NATO and the EU. Event organiser Ladislav Vrabel said:
<blockquote>
This is a new national revival and its goal is for the Czech Republic to be independent. When I see a full square, no one can stop this.
</blockquote>
High energy prices, fuelled by <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/ukraines-foreign-minister-putin-launched-full-scale-invasion-well-defend-and-win/">the war in Ukraine</a>, have piled pressure on governments across Europe to cushion the blow of mounting energy costs for consumers and businesses.
The Czech government of Prime Minister Petr Fiala has signed up for EU sanctions against Russia and taken a tough stance over the invasion of Ukraine. 
It has also adopted a string of measures, including financial aid for companies and price caps on electricity for households.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

Czech Protesters Call For Gas Talks With Russia, Exit From NATO And EU

Russia has dismissed claims by the United Nations (UN) that Moscow was of employing a “deliberate” rape “strategy” as part of its military campaign in Ukraine.
Pramila Patten, UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, told AFP on Thursday that there were many cases of sexual violence against children in Ukraine. Patten said:
<blockquote>
When you hear women testify about Russian soldiers equipped with Viagra, it’s clearly a military strategy.
There are many cases of sexual violence against children who are raped, tortured and sequestered.
I have not stopped since February to emphasize the importance of having credible investigations into these cases of violence.
</blockquote>
Russia has, however, dismissed the report saying the claims go “beyond the reach of reason.” 
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Sunday:
<blockquote>
One cannot even comment on P. Patten’s … words in a serious way.
Once again, what we are seeing is a classic ‘highly likely’ [story], which has this time reached the level of twisted imagination.
</blockquote>
Zakharova said Patten made her conclusions based on fragmentary data provided by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine – a group created in spring 2022 on the basis of a resolution of the UN Human Rights Council. Russia has not recognized its mandate.
Zakharova recalled 2011 claims by US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, that then-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi supplied his troops with Viagra to supposedly encourage mass rape during a conflict with NATO-backed rebels.
The conflict ended with the brutal murder of Gaddafi.
US military and intelligence officials subsequently told NBC that there was no evidence that the Libyan military was being supplied with Viagra or engaging in systematic rape in “rebel areas.”
Zakharova said the West is using the “same patterns in its hybrid war.” 
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

Russia Dismisses UN Claims That Russian Soldiers Were Given Viagra To Promote "Rape" In Ukraine

The government of Zimbabwe has taken delivery of a “specialised” medical helicopter and an ambulance from Russia which will be used by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The helicopter was reportedly recently received by State security agents at Manyame Airbase in Harare under strict orders that the event should not be made public.
An anonymous source close to procurement and delivery of the aircraft told <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200001856/russian-chopper-ambulance-for-ed">NewsDay</a>:
<blockquote>
We can confirm that President (Emmerson) Mnangagwa received a specialised medical helicopter and an ambulance. It was donated to him by Russia. 
</blockquote>
A Russian website last week confirmed the deal saying: 
<blockquote>
The rescue services of Zimbabwe received an Ansat ambulance helicopter and an ambulance, Rossiyskaya Gazeta writes. They were handed over by the Russia delegation during a visit to the African State.
Alexander Kozlov, head of the Russian Department of Natural Resources and Ecology, delivered congratulations from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko to Mnangagwa.
In turn, the President of Zimbabwe sincerely thanked the Russian authorities. He called the new equipment a real treasure, hoping that it will make medical services in the country much more accessible, they will be provided much faster and better.
</blockquote>
The Russian website said the visit to Zimbabwe was timed to coincide with Mnangagwa’s 80th birthday celebrations.
Mnangagwa is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Harare has always sided with the Kremlin on key international issues discussed at the United Nations General Assembly.
The President visited Russia in 2019 as part of his official tour of Eurasia.
The development comes after reports that the <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/2021/09/04/new-details-emerge-on-mnangagwa-helicopter-crash/">president’s helicopter</a> crashed <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/?s=helicopter+crash">several times</a> in recent years.
The cost of the helicopter and ambulance is not known.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

President Mnangagwa Gets Helicopter, Ambulance From Russia

The United Nations General Assembly voted on Monday to reject Russia’s call for the 193-member body to hold a secret ballot later this week on whether to condemn Moscow’s move to<a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/russia-annexes-nearly-20-of-ukraine-says-its-not-restoring-the-soviet-union/"> annex four partially occupied regions in Ukraine.</a>
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/un-publicly-rejects-russias-call-secret-vote-ukraine-2022-10-10/?rpc=401&amp;">Reuters</a> reported that 107 countries voted for a public vote, 13 voted for a secret ballot, another 39 abstained and the remaining, including Russia and China, did not vote.
Diplomats said the vote on the resolution would likely be on Wednesday or Thursday.
Russia had argued that Western lobbying meant that “it may be very difficult if positions are expressed publicly.”
Moscow annexed four partially occupied regions in Ukraine, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, after staging referendums described by Ukraine and its allies as illegal, a sham and coercive.
The draft U.N. General Assembly resolution calls on states not to recognize Russia’s move and reaffirms the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya called on countries to defend the principles of the founding U.N. Charter saying the scenario is similar to what happened in Syria.
Meanwhile, Russia rained cruise missiles on busy Ukrainian cities on Monday in what the United States called “horrific strikes”, killing civilians and knocking out power and heat with its most widespread air attacks since the start of the war more than seven months ago.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed the international community earlier on Monday to make clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions were “completely unacceptable.”
Russia vetoed a similar resolution in the 15-member Security Council last month. 
Developments at the United Nations reflect what happened in 2014 after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea. At the Security Council, Russia vetoed a draft resolution that opposed a referendum on the status of Crimea and urged countries not to recognize it.
The General Assembly then adopted a resolution declaring the referendum invalid with 100 votes in favour, 11 against and 58 formal abstentions, while two dozen countries didn’t take part.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

UN Reject Russia's Call To Hold Secret Ballot On Whether To Condemn Annexation Of Ukraine's Regions

Russian President Vladimir on Friday 30 September 2022 signed documents signifying the <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/russia-annexes-nearly-20-of-ukraine-says-its-not-restoring-the-soviet-union/">annexation of nearly 20 per cent of Ukraine</a> maintaining that Russia is not aiming to restore the Soviet Union. 
According to Putin’s decrees published by the official database of legislative information on Friday, Russia has recognized the independence of the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. 
Konstantin Kisin, a professional translator for 10+ years, summarises Putin’s speech made during the signing ceremony. Pindula News presents Kisin’s Twitter thread below:
<blockquote>
I wish every single person in the West would listen to Putin’s speech. Obviously, that won’t happen so let me summarise as a professional translator for 10+ years. He states, as he has done from the outset, what his intentions and complaints are in the plainest terms possible. 
Setting aside his brief comments on the recent “referendums”, he spends most of his speech discussing the West. His primary complaint isn’t NATO expansion, which gets only a cursory mention. The West is greedy and seeks to enslave and colonise other nations, like Russia.
The West uses the power of finance and technology to enforce its will on other nations. To collect what he calls the “hegemon’s tax”. To this end, the West destabilises countries, creates terrorist enclaves and most of all seek to deprive other countries of sovereignty.
It is this “avarice” and desire to preserve its power that is the reason for the “hybrid war” the collective West is “waging on Russia”. They want us to be a “colony”. They do not want us to be free, they want Russians to be a mob of soulless slaves – direct quote.
The rules-based order the West goes on about is “nonsense”. Who made these rules? Who agreed to them? Russia is an ancient country and civilization and we will not play by these “rigged” rules. The West has no moral authority to challenge the referendums because it has violated the borders of other countries. Western elites are “totalitarian, despotic and apartheidistic” – direct quote. They are racist against Russia and other countries and nations. “Russophobia is racism”. They discriminate by calling themselves the “civilised world”.
They colonised, started the global slave trade, genocided native Americans, pillaged India and Africa, forced China to buy opium through war. We, on the other hand, are proud that we “led” the anti-colonial movement that helped countries develop to reduce poverty and inequality.
They are Russophobic (they hate us) because we didn’t allow our country to be pillaged by creating a strong CENTRALISED (emphasis his) state based on Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism. They have been trying to destabilise our country since the 17th century in the Times of Trouble (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_of_T…). Eventually, they managed to “get their hands on our riches” at the end of the 20th century. They called us friends and partners while pumping out trillions of dollars (his irony game is strong today).
We remember this. We didn’t forget. The West claims to bring freedom and democracy to other countries but it’s the exact opposite of the truth. The unipolar world is anti-democratic by its very nature. It is a lie. They used nuclear weapons, creating a precedent. They flattened German cities without “any military need to do so”. There was no need for this except to scare us and the rest of the world. Korea, Vietnam. To this day they “occupy” Japan, South Korea and Germany and other countries while cynically calling them “allies”.
The West has surveillance over the leaders of these nations who “swallow these insults like the slaves they are”. He then talks about bioweapon research (haven’t heard about them for a while) and human experiments “including in Ukraine”.
The US rules the world by the power of the fist. Any country which seeks to challenge Western hegemony becomes an enemy. Their neocolonialism is cloaked in lies like “containment” of Russia, China and Iran. The concept of truth has been destroyed with fakes and extreme propaganda (irony game still strong). You cannot feed your people with printed dollars and social media. You need food and energy. But Western elites have no desire to find a solution to the food and energy crises *they* (emphasis his) created.
They solved the problems at the start of 20c with WW1 and the US established dominance of the world via the dollar as a result of WW2. In the 80s they had another crisis they solved by “plundering our country”. Now they want to solve their problems by “breaking Russia”.
Russia “understands its responsibility to the international community” and will “do everything to cool the heads of these neocolonials who are destined to fail”. They’re crazy. I want to speak to all Russian citizens, do we want to replace mum and dad with parent 1 and 2?
They invented genders and claim you can “transition”. Do we want this for our children? We have a different vision. They have abandoned religion and embraced Satanism – direct quote.
The world is going through a revolutionary transformation. A multipolar world offers nations freedom to develop as they wish and they make up the majority of the world. We have many like-minded friends in Western countries. We see and appreciate their support. They are forming liberation, anti-colonial movements as we speak – direct quote. These will only grow. We are fighting for a fair world for our country. The idea of exceptionalism is criminal and we must turn this shameful page. The breaking of the West’s hegemony is INEVITABLE (emphasis his).
There is no going back. We are fighting for our “great (as in big), historic Russia”. Our values are (irony game crescendo): love of our fellow man, compassion and mercy. Truth is with us, Russia is with us.
That’s the end of the speech. As I said from day 1, the purpose of what Putin is doing in Ukraine is to throw the West off its pedestal. This isn’t about NATO or Ukraine, this is the big play to replace the current world order. 
I’ve tried to explain to people in the West what is actually happening in Russia but seeing is believing. This is from yesterday’s state-organised rally in Red Square. Remember, nothing gets said at these without approval from the top. The very top. On Friday 
</blockquote>
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

What Putin Said In His Speech While Annexing Ukrainian Territories - A Thread

Russian President Vladimir on Friday 30 September 2022 signed documents signifying the annexation of nearly 20 per cent of Ukraine maintaining that Russia is not aiming to restore the Soviet Union. 
According to Putin’s decrees published by the official database of legislative information on Friday, Russia has recognized the independence of the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions..
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, a ceremony to sign accession treaties with four new territories – the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk (DPR and LPR), as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions – will be held in the Kremlin at 15:00 Moscow time.
Russia recognized the independence of the DPR and the LPR in February.
Referendums on becoming a part of Russia were held in the DPR and the LPR, as well as in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions from September 23 to 27. 
The referendums were described as a “sham” by Ukraine’s allies.
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday warned Russia against the “annexation” of the four regions accusing Moscow of prompting a “dangerous escalation,” and called on the Kremlin “to step back from the brink.”
His remarks came one day before the ceremonial signing of treaties on the inclusion of the two Donbass republics, as well states in Kherson and Zaporozhye, into the Russian Federation. 
Speaking to the reporters, Guterres described the accession procedure as “a process of annexation of the Ukrainian regions.” Guterres said:
<blockquote>
Any decision to proceed with the annexation of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions of Ukraine would have no legal value and deserves to be condemned. It cannot be reconciled with the international legal framework.
</blockquote>
Last week Friday 23 September 2022, United States of America’s President Joe Biden <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/joe-biden-warns-russia-of-swift-and-severe-costs-if-moscow-annex-more-of-ukraine/">warned Russia there will be “swift and severe” costs</a> if Moscow uses “sham” referendums to annex more of Ukraine.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

Russia Annexes Nearly 20% Of Ukraine, Says It's Not Restoring The Soviet Union

Russian Ambassador in Washington Anatoly Antonov has said American politicians are wrong if they think that Russia would not defend Crimea or the territories that may join it.
His remarks come as Russia is <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/ukrainians-in-breakaway-states-vote-to-join-russia-election-officials/">set to annex</a> the Donetsk and the Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) and the Kherson and the Zaporozhye Regions on Friday 30 September 2022. 
Antonov said in an article published on the website of the US’ National Interest magazine on Wednesday:
<blockquote>
We are not threatening anyone. But we confirm that, as President Vladimir Putin said on September 21, Russia is ready to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and our people with all weapon systems we have. 
What is so aggressive about this statement? What is unacceptable? Would the United States not do the same if faced with an existential threat?
I would like to add that certain American politicians are under a delusion if they think that our readiness to defend our territory does not apply to Crimea or to territories that may become part of Russia on the basis of a free expression of popular will.
</blockquote>
The planned annexation comes after <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/ukrainians-in-breakaway-states-vote-to-join-russia-election-officials/">“referendums” on joining Russia</a> in the mentioned Ukrainian territories were held on September 23-27. 
Russian elections officials said the overwhelming majority in all four regions supported their accession to Russia. 
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Zelensky dismissed the results in a video posted on Telegram saying, “This farce in the occupied territory cannot even be called an imitation of referendums.”
Last week Friday 23 September 2022, United States of America’s President Joe Biden <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/joe-biden-warns-russia-of-swift-and-severe-costs-if-moscow-annex-more-of-ukraine/">warned Russia there will be “swift and severe” costs</a> if Moscow uses “sham” referendums to annex more of Ukraine.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

Russia Moves To Annex Ukraine Regions On 30 Sept, Vows To Protect It's Territorial Integrity

President Vladimir Putin recently warned that he is ready to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia amid the war in Ukraine and Tony Brenton, a former British ambassador to Russia says that’s a possibility.
Western politicians, diplomats and nuclear weapons experts are divided. Some say he could use smaller, tactical nuclear weapons to prevent military defeat, protect his presidency, scare off the West or intimidate Kyiv into surrender, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/truth-or-bluff-why-putins-nuclear-warnings-have-west-worried-2022-09-28/?utm_medium=Social&amp;utm_source=twitter">Reuters</a> reported.
In his most recent comments, Putin explicitly warned the West which he accused of discussing a potential nuclear attack on Russia. He said:
<blockquote>
This is not a bluff. And those who try to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the weathervane can turn and point towards them.
</blockquote>
Putin’s warning might mean the Kremlin is considering an escalation after <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/ukrainians-in-breakaway-states-vote-to-join-russia-election-officials/">Russia annexes four Ukrainian regions which it only partly occupies.</a>
Russia’s parliament is expected to declare the regions as part of Russia on October 4, 2022. Once that happens the way would be clear, from Moscow’s viewpoint, for a possible defensive strike if it felt the territory was under serious threat.
Putin controls the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, including a new generation of hypersonic weapons and ten times more tactical nuclear weapons than the West, and the United States and the NATO military alliance are taking him seriously.
Tony Brenton told Reuters in August before Putin stepped up his warnings:
<blockquote>
If the choice for Russia is fighting a losing war, and losing badly and Putin falling, or some kind of nuclear demonstration, I wouldn’t bet that they wouldn’t go for the nuclear demonstration. 
</blockquote>
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told U.S. TV networks on Sunday that President Joe Biden’s administration was taking Putin’s comments “deadly serious” and had warned Moscow of specific “catastrophic consequences” if it used nuclear arms.
Washington has not spelt out its likely response, but using a nuclear device could trigger a nuclear escalation, which is why most experts believe a massive conventional attack on Russian military assets would be more likely.
Asked if Putin was moving towards a nuclear attack, CIA Director William Burns told CBS on Tuesday: 
<blockquote>
We have to take very seriously his kind of threats given everything that’s at stake.
</blockquote>
Burns, though, said U.S. intelligence had no practical evidence that Putin was moving towards using tactical nuclear weapons imminently.
If Putin did order a nuclear strike inside Ukraine, it would be the first use of nuclear weapons in battle since the United States unleashed the atomic bomb attacks on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

Putin Warns He's Ready To Use Nuclear Weapons, Ex-UK Diplomat Says It's Possible

According to election officials installed by Russia, 93% of votes cast in the Zaporizhzhia region supported annexation, as did 87% in the Kherson region, 98% in Luhansk and 99% in Donetsk
Dismissing the results in a video posted on Telegram, Ukraine’s President Zelensky said: “This farce in the occupied territory cannot even be called an imitation of referendums”
<blockquote>
Earlier he told the United Nations that Ukraine would not be able to negotiate with Russia after the votes. People are forced to fill out some papers for a TV picture under the muzzles of machineguns.
</blockquote>

The referendums began last Friday, often with armed officials going door to door collecting votes. The ballots asked residents whether they wanted the areas to be incorporated into Russia.
Dmitry Medvedev, a former president who serves as deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and an ally of President Vladimir Putin, said on Telegram:
<blockquote>
The results are clear. Welcome home, to Russia!
</blockquote>
President Putin is expected to address Russia’s parliament about the referendums on Friday, and officials said MPs could consider annexation legislation on October 4.
Last week Friday 23 September 2022, United States of America’s President Joe Biden <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/joe-biden-warns-russia-of-swift-and-severe-costs-if-moscow-annex-more-of-ukraine/">warned Russia there will be “swift and severe” costs</a> if Moscow uses “sham” referendums to annex more of Ukraine.
The vote was announced earlier last week after a Ukrainian counteroffensive seized most of the northeastern Kharkiv region, bringing hundreds of settlements back under Kyiv’s control after months of Russian occupation.
The four regions’ integration into Russia would represent a major escalation of the conflict as Moscow would consider any military move there as an attack on its own territory.
The referendums are reminiscent of the one held after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014.
Observers say President Putin is not just enlarging the borders of Russia, “he is daring and baiting NATO for conflict.”
Some say any attack on the new territories now part of Russia amount to a causa belli – an event or action that justifies or allegedly justifies a war or conflict.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

"Ukrainians In Breakaway States Vote To Join Russia" - Election Officials

United States of America’s President Joe Biden on Friday warned Russia there will be “swift and severe” costs if Moscow uses “sham” referendums to annex more of Ukraine.
Biden said in a statement:
<blockquote>
Russia’s referenda are a sham, a false pretext to try to annex parts of Ukraine by force in flagrant violation of international law. We will work with our allies and partners to impose additional swift and severe economic costs on Russia.
</blockquote>
Kremlin-held regions of eastern and southern Ukraine entered the second day of voting to become part of Russia on Saturday.
The voting on whether Russia should annex four regions of Ukraine started Friday, dramatically raising the stakes seven months after Moscow’s troops invaded.
The votes even prompted a reaction from Beijing, Moscow’s closest ally since the war began in February.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in comments made to his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba at the UN General Assembly Friday, said the “sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected.”
<ul>
<li><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/dont-dont-dont-biden-warns-putin-against-using-weapons-of-mass-destruction-against-ukraine/">“Don’t. Don’t. Don’t” Biden Warns Putin Against Using Weapons Of Mass Destruction Against Ukraine</a></li>
<li><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/russia-responds-to-bidens-warning-against-use-of-weapons-of-mass-destruction-in-ukraine/">Russia Responds To Biden’s Warning Against Use Of Weapons Of Mass Destruction In Ukraine</a></li>
</ul>
Voting is being held in Russian-controlled areas of Donetsk and Lugansk in the east, and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south.
Polling stations open Tuesday for residents to cast ballots on the final day. It was also possible to vote at the building in Moscow that represents the Donetsk breakaway region.
The vote was announced earlier last week after a Ukrainian counteroffensive seized most of the northeastern Kharkiv region, bringing hundreds of settlements back under Kyiv’s control after months of Russian occupation.
The four regions’ integration into Russia would represent a major escalation of the conflict as Moscow would consider any military move there as an attack on its own territory.
The referendums are reminiscent of the one held after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday denounced the polls describing them as “crimes against international law and the law of Ukraine.”
Earlier Friday, G7 nations said the polls will “never” be recognized and have “no legal effect or legitimacy.”
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

Joe Biden Warns Russia Of “Swift And Severe” Costs If Moscow Annex More Of Ukraine

United States president Joe Biden has warned his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin against using weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in Ukraine.
He said in an interview with CBS News scheduled to air Sunday night:
<blockquote>
Don’t. Don’t. Don’t. You will change the face of war unlike anything since World War II,” 
</blockquote>
Biden would not comment specifically on a U.S. response if Russia were to use chemical or nuclear weapons in Ukraine. He added:
<blockquote>
They’ll become more of a pariah in the world than they ever have been. And depending on the extent of what they do will determine what response would occur.
</blockquote>
Following a meeting with European Union and G-7 partners and NATO allies in March, Biden said NATO would respond “in kind” to any use of WMDs in Ukraine. Biden said, referring to Putin:
<blockquote>
We will respond if he uses it. The nature of the response depends on the nature of the use.
</blockquote>
A month later, Biden chastised Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as “irresponsible” after Lavrov told Russian state television that the risks of nuclear war were “considerable.” Biden said:
<blockquote>
No one should be making idle comments about the use of nuclear weapons or the possibility of the need to use them.
</blockquote>
<h2>Context:</h2>
Just days into his invasion of Ukraine, Putin ordered Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert for the first time since the fall of the former Soviet Union, prompting the White House to assemble a team of national security officials — the so-called Tiger Team — to study potential responses in the event Russia deployed chemical, biological or nuclear weapons against Ukraine, neighbouring nations or NATO convoys of weapons and aid headed for Ukraine.
In 2000, Russia updated its military doctrine to allow the first use of nuclear weapons “in response to large-scale aggression utilizing conventional weapons in situations critical to the national security of the Russian Federation,” according to the U.S.-based Arms Control Association. 
The 1997 version of the doctrine had allowed the first use of nuclear arms only “in case of a threat to the existence of the Russian Federation.”
The newest version also states for the first time that Russia has the right to use nuclear weapons to respond to all “weapons of mass destruction” attacks.
Meanwhile, Russia’s targeting of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has renewed nuclear anxiety across Europe. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi reported Saturday that the plant, Europe’s largest, is once again receiving electricity from the national grid.
Ukraine recently reclaimed some lost territories allegedly due to aid from its allies, the United States included.
There are fears that Russia might want to use sophisticated weapons to outsmart Ukraine and its allies.
<a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/ukraines-foreign-minister-putin-launched-full-scale-invasion-well-defend-and-win/">Russia invaded Ukraine</a> on the 24th of February 2022 citing gross human rights violations against Russian-speaking people in the neighbouring country. Ukraine dismissed the allegations of human rights abuses as propaganda and an excuse for invasion.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

"Dont'. Don't. Don't" Biden Warns Putin Against Using Weapons Of Mass Destruction Against Ukraine

Russia President Vladimir Putin said he was considering restricting grain exports through the reopened Black Sea ports accusing Ukraine and its western allies of sending most of the grain to Europe instead of poorer, food insecure countries.
A deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey on July 22 allowed Ukraine, one of the world’s top grain exporters, to begin shipments through the ports that had been sealed in February after Russia’s invasion of its neighbour.
More than 2 million tonnes of grain have been exported over the last five weeks, according to the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) that oversees the shipments.
In a speech to an economic forum in Russia’s Far East region of Vladivostok, Putin suggested that he may speak with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about revising the deal. The Associated Press cites him as saying:
<blockquote>
With the exclusion of Turkey as a mediator, practically all the grain exported from Ukraine was sent to (European Union) nations instead of the poorest countries.
It’s obvious that with an approach like that, the magnitude of the food problem in the world will keep growing, and that could lead to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. Maybe it’s worth thinking about restricting the exports of grain and other products on that route? I will certainly discuss the issue with the president of Turkey.
</blockquote>
The JCC, which is coordinated by the UN, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia, said 30 per cent of cargo had gone to low and lower-middle-income countries such as Egypt, Iran, Libya, India, South Korea, China and Israel. 
It noted that one of five commercial vessels scheduled to set sail from Ukraine on September 7 is destined for Kenya with 51 400 tonnes of wheat. The four other ships are destined for Spain and Turkey.
In all, 96 outbound ships have left Ukrainian ports with more than 2.2 million tonnes of grain.
<h2><a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

Putin Considers Restricting Grain Exports Through Black Sea Ports, Cites "Europe's Deception"

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday expanding a fast-track to Russian citizenship to all Ukrainians.
Until recently, only residents of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as residents of the southern Zaporizhzhia and the Kherson regions, large parts of which are under Russian control, were eligible for the simplified procedure.
Between 2019, when the procedure was first introduced for the residents of Donetsk and Luhansk, and this year more than 720 000 residents of the rebel-held areas in the two regions – about 18% of the population – have received Russian passports.
In late May this year, three months after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, the fast-track procedure was also offered to residents of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. 
According to <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/putin-expands-fast-track-russian-citizenship-to-all-ukraine/articleshow/92807375.cms?utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=TOIDesktop">The Times of India</a>, the first Russian passports were reportedly handed out there a month ago. 
A document published on the government’s website showed that applicants are not required to have lived in Russia or pass a Russian language test. 
<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/11/putin-expands-fast-track-russian-citizenship-to-all-of-ukraine">Al Jazeera reports</a> that the decree marks a further step towards “Russification” of the two regions, where Moscow’s war in Ukraine has enabled it to establish a continuous land bridge linking Russia to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014.
<h2>Pindula News</h2>

Putin Signs Decree Expanding A Fast-track To Russian Citizenship To All Ukrainians

Russia has said it is impossible to isolate Kremlin considering that it is a huge economy, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.
Western powers imposed sanctions on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February this year. 
The Washington Post, in April, reported that Russia had already been isolated as “governments are going so far as to subvert long-standing policies and traditions to pour weapons and other equipment into Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Peskov says the isolation of Russia, even as far as technology goes, is impossible. Said Peskov:
<blockquote>
No one is talking about isolation. It is impossible to isolate Russia, despite the fact that countries unfriendly, or rather hostile to us, are trying to isolate us economically, politically, and in the sphere of trade. They cannot and will not succeed, because in today’s world it is impossible to isolate a country, especially such a huge country like Russia.
</blockquote>
The world is reeling from the effects of the war between Russia and Ukraine which interrupted international trade.
Fuel prices went up following the war as it became difficult for Russia to export oil to other countries and continents.
Some NATO members even opposed sanctions on Russia saying they will also be negatively affected as they depend on Russia for oil and grain. 
<h2>More: <a class="external text" href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/download/" rel="nofollow">Pindula News </a>is best enjoyed <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/download/?utm_source=PindulaArticles&amp;utm_campaign=DownloadLink">via the App. Download it here</a></h2>

"It Is Impossible To Isolate Russia" - Dmitry Peskov

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Monday pushed back against calls from the U.S. and Ukraine for a ban on imports of Russian gas and oil as part of international sanctions on Moscow.
In a statement, Scholz said Europe has deliberately exempted energy supplies from Russia from sanctions. He added:
<blockquote>
At the moment, Europe’s supply of energy for heat generation, mobility, power supply and industry cannot be secured in any other way. It is therefore of essential importance for the provision of public services and the daily lives of our citizens.
</blockquote>
The Ukrainian government, some U.S. and European politicians are arguing that the West must end imports of Russian energy in order to stop helping to finance Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war chest.
Scholz said that his government and European partners have been “working hard for months” to develop alternatives to Russian energy supplies, but stressed that “this cannot be done overnight.” He added:
<blockquote>
That is why it is a conscious decision on our part to continue the activities of business enterprises in the area of energy supply with Russia.
</blockquote>
The chancellor’s intervention followed comments by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who said on Sunday that the United States and European Union were in “very active discussions” to ban imports of Russian oil. Japanese media reported that Tokyo had joined those discussions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday also called for “a boycott of Russian exports, in particular, the rejection of oil and oil products from Russia.”
The U.S. met with Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro amid reports that the Joe Biden administration is seeking an alternative to Russian oil and oil products. Oil prices are already soaring due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
More: <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-rejects-calls-for-banning-russian-oil-and-gas/">Politico.eu</a>

Germany Pushes Back Calls For A Ban On Russian Gas And Oil

Bishop Talbert Swan, a prominent US activist and leader of the Springfield chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)NAACP and other activists have accused Ukrainian authorities of preventing the escape of black people stuck in the conflict-riven country. 
This comes after unverified videos showing crowds of black people physically blocked from boarding trains and held at gunpoint by guards in Ukraine were shared on social media. Swan tweeted on Sunday:
<blockquote>
White folks in Ukraine are: blocking Black people from getting on trains, dragging Black people off buses, denying shelter to Black people in freezing temperatures, and holding Black students at gunpoint.
</blockquote>
The videos show what appeared to be Ukrainian law enforcement or military members linking arms to prevent black people from boarding a train, leaving them waiting outside, and in one scene apparently pointing weapons at them as they raise their hands. Watch videos below for more:
<div class="wp-video" style="width: 640px;">
<video class="wp-video-shortcode" controls="controls" height="640" id="video-227426-1" preload="metadata" width="640"><source src="https://t792ae.c2.acecdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/BLACKS-SAGRIGATED-UKRAINE.mp4?_=1" type="video/mp4"/><a href="https://t792ae.c2.acecdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/BLACKS-SAGRIGATED-UKRAINE.mp4">https://t792ae.c2.acecdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/BLACKS-SAGRIGATED-UKRAINE.mp4</a></video></div>
<div class="wp-video" style="width: 640px;"><video class="wp-video-shortcode" controls="controls" height="1131" id="video-227426-2" preload="metadata" width="640"><source src="https://t792ae.c2.acecdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/WE-DONT-HAVE-ARMS-STUDENTS-IN-UKRAINE.mp4?_=2" type="video/mp4"/><a href="https://t792ae.c2.acecdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/WE-DONT-HAVE-ARMS-STUDENTS-IN-UKRAINE.mp4">https://t792ae.c2.acecdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/WE-DONT-HAVE-ARMS-STUDENTS-IN-UKRAINE.mp4</a></video></div>
Nigerian activist and World Health Organization envoy Dr. Ayoade Alakija claimed that she contacted her country’s foreign minister, who in turn contacted Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. According to Alakija, the Ukrainian government then “directed their border guards that ALL foreigners should be allowed to leave.”
Pro-Ukrainian accounts on social media have claimed that videos of the alleged abuse were fabricated by Moscow. Swan refuted those claims, stating: 
<blockquote>
Black people don’t need Russian disinformation campaigns to convince us of the reality of white supremacy, racism, and anti-Black bigotry around the globe.
</blockquote>
<h2>More: <a href="https://www.rt.com/russia/550787-ukraine-black-people-train/">RT</a></h2>

WATCH: Black People Physically Blocked From Boarding Trains In Ukraine

Russia has issued a statement on the “recent” supply of weapons to Ukraine by NATO countries. The statement is issued as Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday authorised military action against Russia’s neighbour citing violation of human rights of pro-Russian people in that country. The move was condemned by several Western powers including the U.S., the U.K., France and Germany who say Russia’s aggression was uncalled for and that President Putin and his country must pay a huge price. Pindula News presents the statement in full below:
<blockquote>
<h2>Recent Supplies of Weapons to Ukraine by NATO Countries</h2>
(background paper)
Starting from the beginning of the year to the end of the second decade of February, nearly fifty military transport aircraft from various countries – USA, Great Britain, Canada, Poland, and Lithuania – landed in Ukraine. In a joint statement of Ukrainian Defence Minister A. Reznikov and the head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces V. Zaluzhny on February 14 this year, it was noted that last month Ukraine received 2,000 tons of advanced weapons, ammunition and protective equipment.
In December 2021, U.S. President Biden approved a $200 million package of additional military assistance for Ukraine. It includes anti-tank systems, grenade launchers, firearms, a large amount of ammunition and other equipment. Overall, according to the State Department, since 2014 the U.S. has committed $2.7 billion in military assistance to Ukraine ($650 million in 2021). It is planned to transfer to Ukraine Mi-17 helicopters originally destined for Afghanistan. The Americans have allowed their allies to supply U.S.-made weapons and equipment to Ukraine. The White House threatens to reinforce the NATO military grouping in Eastern Europe with 8,500 American troops. On February 16-17 this year, at the meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence, the head of the Pentagon L. Austin announced the deployment of the units of the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division to Poland, relocation of the U.S. contingent from Germany to Romania and the sending of 125 U.S. servicemen on Stryker combat vehicles from Germany to Bulgaria to participate in the exercises.
On February 8 this year, the U.S. National Security Council (NSC) agreed to the Pentagon’s proposal to provide an emergency military aid package to Kiev. This includes urgent deployment to Ukraine from February 14 to February 20 this year of 40 instructors from the U.S. Department of Defense on sabotage and guerrilla operations, 20 specialists on anti-tank weapons, and 15 – on counter-battery warfare.
It is also planned that a group of experts will arrive in Ukraine this February to work together with the representatives of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence with a view to developing proposals on how to quickly improve the effectiveness of the air defence system. The possibility of transfer to Ukraine of two batteries (4 launchers each) of MIM-104C (PAC-2) PATRIOT air defence system from the storage sites of the U.S. Armed Forces is being considered. It is also planned to donate to Ukraine a batch of counter-battery radars from storage depots: 12 AN/TPQ-36 and 24 AN/TPQ-48. The NSC also preliminarily approved the acquisition by the Ukrainian side (at the price of transportation and repair) of two Cyclone-class patrol crafts withdrawn from the U.S. Navy.
Great Britain is increasing the number of its troops deployed in Eastern Europe as part of NATO’s forward presence. Since February 17, its contingent in Estonia doubled to 1,630 soldiers and its contingent in Poland increased by 3.5 times to 490 soldiers. Moreover, London has recently transferred over 2,000 anti-tank weapons to Kiev.
In addition, B. Johnson announced the deployment of two EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON fighters to Romania, and the transfer of 1,000 troops to the NATO Response Force reserve for rapid deployment in case of a “humanitarian crisis” on the eastern borders of the bloc. Four more fighters of this type, as well as the patrol ship HMS Trent and the destroyer HMS Diamond are being redeployed to the eastern Mediterranean.
The Canadian Defence Ministry announced its intention to transfer pistols, sniper rifles, machine guns, as well as 1.5 million cartridges to Ukraine.
The government of Poland approved the delivery of MANPADS, ammunition and drones to Ukraine.
Estonia announced its plans to supply to Ukraine the 122-mm howitzers D-30 manufactured back in the Soviet Union, which had previously been located in the GDR (after the reunification of Germany, Berlin handed them over to Finland in the 1990s, which, in turn, handed them over to Estonia in 2009). However, according to the Wall Street Journal, German authorities do not allow Tallinn to supply weapons of German origin.
On February 18 this year, the Government of the Netherlands decided to transfer to Ukraine 3,000 helmets, 2,000 bullet-proof vests, 30 metal detectors, two portable underwater sapper robots, 100 sniper rifles and 30,000 ammunition cartridges, five counter-battery radars and two radar locators for monitoring the situation on the battlefield. It declared its readiness to expand the medical program for the rehabilitation of the Ukrainian military, as well as to transfer 5 million euros to the NATO Trust Fund for Ukraine.
On February 10 this year, during her visit to Kiev, Lithuanian Prime Minister I. Šimonytė announced the delivery of a batch of Stinger MANPADS to Ukraine free of charge (according to available estimates, there may be 10 sets of 5-7 rounds each), as well as an increase in the number of Lithuanian military instructors in Ukraine. On February 15, a group of military specialists from the Baltic republic arrived in Ukraine to train local servicemen to work with the Stingers.
In October 2021, during interdepartmental consultations of the Ministries of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and France, contracts were signed for the supply to Kiev of object surveillance systems, non-lethal ammunition of various assortment and simulators for training UAV operators. This year it is planned to sign additional agreements on the sale of H-135, H-145 and H-225 multi-purpose helicopters to Ukraine. A draft agreement has been prepared on the creation of a Pleiades Neo platform-based imagery intelligence satellite in Kiev’s interests. The possibility of allocating up to 100 million euros to Ukraine for modernizing the ports of Berdyansk and Mariupol, airfields and railway infrastructure in the southeast of the country is under consideration.
</blockquote>
<h2>More: <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

FULL TEXT: Russia Speaks On Recent Supplies Of Weapons To Ukraine By NATO Countries

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Thursday banned all male citizens from 18- to 60-years-old leaving the country as part of a general military mobilisation. 
According to the State Border Guard Service, Zelensky said that “in order to ensure the defense of the state, maintaining combat and mobilisation readiness of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations,” a broad-based mobilisation was ordered, including in the capital, Kyiv, and all Ukraine’s major cities.
The mobilisation also instructed the “conscription of conscripts, reservists for military service, their delivery to military units and institutions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine” and other state security services. 
  
 Some 18 000 guns with ammunition have been distributed to reservists in the Kyiv region alone since the Russian invasion began early Thursday, according to Ukrainian authorities. 
In a joint statement, defense minister Oleksiy Reznikov and Valeriy Zaluzhniy, chief of staff for the Armed Forces, said there were more arms coming. They said:
<blockquote>
Soon we are to receive additional support with modern weapons and other resources from our partners.
</blockquote>
This comes as NATO, the United States and European countries have ruled out sending troops into Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that move would be the gravest mistake of any country.
More:<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-news-02-25-22/h_56cdb5c118413732c7b34cf51ba5d62b"> CNN</a>

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky Bans All Male Citizens Aged 18-60 From Leaving The Country

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his dissatisfaction towards the US and his western allies on Friday claiming that Ukraine is left alone to fight the Russian invasion. 
The Ukrainian army lost Chernobyl to Russia late on Thursday and at least 130 Ukrainians were reported dead, according to a report by news agency AFP.  
When Russian president Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine on Thursday, Ukraine Foreign Minister said <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/2022/02/24/ukraines-foreign-minister-putin-launched-full-scale-invasion-well-defend-and-win/">Kyiv will defend and win</a>. 
<a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/2022/02/24/watch-whoever-would-try-to-stop-us-russias-response-will-be-immediate-putin/">Putin warned</a>, “Whoever would try to stop us and further create threats, to our people, should know that Russia’s response will be immediate and lead you to such consequences that you have never faced in your history.”
Ukraine’s allies – NATO, the United States of America and other world powers, in the meantime, ruled out sending troops to Kyiv and rather pledged to send financial and technical support to Ukraine. to help it defend itself from Russian aggression. Zelensky said on Friday:
<blockquote>
We have been left alone to defend our state. Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don’t see anyone. Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of NATO membership? Everyone is afraid.
</blockquote>
Zelensky said that 137 Ukrainians, including troops and civilians, died due to Russian aggression. More than 300 people were injured, the president further added.
Zelensky said that he remains Russia’s target number one and maintained that he will remain in Ukraine with his family.
His concerns were echoed by some US lawmakers on Thursday who urged the Biden administration to help Ukraine with weapons along with announcing strict financial sanctions on Russia.
Retired United States Navy admiral James Stavridis, who also served as NATO chief, urged the Biden administration to bolster NATO’s strength in eastern Europe to thwart any further plans of Russian aggression.
More: <a href="https://www.news18.com/news/world/war-in-ukraine-latest-updates-day-2-zelensky-says-ukraine-left-alone-to-defend-itself-former-us-nato-lawmakers-agree-4807811.html">News18</a>

Ukraine President Zelensky: This Morning We're Defending Our State Alone

World leaders Thursday condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “barbaric” and quickly slapped heavy sanctions on the Russian economy, President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle and many of the country’s oligarchs. 
U.S. President Joe Biden declared:
<blockquote>
Putin chose this war, and now he and his country will bear the consequences.
</blockquote>
The United States, the 27-nation European Union and other Western allies announced sanctions against Russian banks and leading companies and imposed export controls aimed at starving the country’s industries and military of semiconductors and other high-tech products.
The invasion initially sent stocks slumping and oil prices surging on fears of higher costs for food and fuel.
The West and its allies showed no inclination to send troops into Ukraine and risk a wider war on the continent. But NATO reinforced its member states in Eastern Europe as a precaution against an attack on them, too. Said NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg:
<blockquote>
Make no mistake: We will defend every ally against any attack on every inch of NATO territory.
</blockquote>
In the meantime, countries began taking steps to isolate Moscow in hopes of forcing it to pay so high a price that it changes course.
Biden, for now, held off imposing some of the most severe sanctions, including cutting Russia out of the SWIFT payment system, which allows for the transfers of money from bank to bank around the globe. 
Ukraine’s president called for Russia to be cast out of SWIFT, but the U.S. has expressed concern about the potential damage to European economies.
EU leaders held an emergency summit and agreed on sanctions that cover, among other things, the financial, energy and transport sectors and various Russian individuals. In a statement, the leaders said the measures will have “massive and severe consequences” for Russia. 
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also announced financial restrictions and export controls. In addition, Britain will also prohibit Russia’s flagship airline, Aeroflot, from landing at British airports.
Canada imposed sanctions that will target 58 people and entities, including members of Russia’s elite and their families, the paramilitary Wagner Group, major Russian banks, and members of the Russian Security Council, including key cabinet ministers. 
In the days before the attack, Germany suspended approval of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia.
The new U.S. sanctions also targeted the military and financial institutions of Belarus, Ukraine’s neighbor to the north. Russia is using Belarus as a staging ground for troop movements into Ukraine.
Separately, the U.N. Security Council is expected to vote Friday on a resolution condemning Russia and demanding the immediate withdrawal of all its forces. But Moscow is certain to veto it.
China accused the United States and its allies of worsening the crisis and “called on parties to respect others’ legitimate security concerns.”
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that “all parties should work for peace instead of escalating the tension or hyping up the possibility of war.”
China went further and approved imports of wheat from Russia, a move that could reduce the impact of Western sanctions. Russia, one of the biggest wheat producers, would be vulnerable if foreign markets were closed off.
<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/eu-plans-harshest-sanctions-package-russia-83079403">Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.</a>

World Leaders Impose Sanctions On Russia While China Accuses USA And Allies

Zimbabwe has said the embassy in Berlin recorded 256 citizens in Ukraine and has also advised its nationals to leave Ukraine if it is safe to do so and travel to any third country. Russian President, Vladimir Putin Thursday 24 February 2022 authorised the military invasion of Ukraine citing a genocide against pro-Russian rebel states in the neighbouring country. The attacks have sent many into panic mode aid reports that at least <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/2022/02/24/at-least-200-zimbabwean-students-stranded-in-ukraine/">200 Zimbabwean students are still stuck in Ukraine</a>. Pindula News presents an update on the situation as presented by Information Secretary, Nick Mangwana:
<blockquote>
<h2>ZIMBABWEANS IN UKRAINE UPDATE: </h2>
-Zim Embassy in Berlin has registered 256 citizens in Ukraine. 
-Advised nationals to leave Ukraine if it is safe to do so and travel to any third country. 
-Representations were made to different embassies to allow safe passage of our nationals.
-Officers being dispatched to Poland subject to authority being granted, to assist in coordinating those going there. 
-The Embassy can pay for hotels and buy tickets from Berlin. 
-Nationals advised to maintain contact with the embassy so decisions can be made faster.
Help will be given when nationals have accessed any of the following third countries; Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary Moldova and Russia. Currently there are no flights out of Ukraine so travel has to be by other means. Stay Safe.
</blockquote>
<h2>More: <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

Zimbabwe Advises Citizens In Ukraine To Leave Amid Russian Attack

Zimbabwe’s former Deputy Prime Minister, Professor <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Arthur_Mutambara">Arthur G.O. Mutambara</a> has said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was inevitable. Russian President Vladimir Putin <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/2022/02/24/ukraines-foreign-minister-putin-launched-full-scale-invasion-well-defend-and-win/">announced a military operation in Ukraine on Thursday 24 February 2022</a> with explosions heard soon after in the capital and other parts of the country. Pindula News presents Mutambara’s statement on the invasion:
<blockquote>
<h2>The Invasion of Ukraine was Inevitable:</h2>
<h2>Understanding Russian Concerns and the Folly of Western Diplomacy</h2>
By Arthur G.O Mutambara
Developing the future of knowledge involves understanding the ‘relationship between what we know and what will happen, for the purpose of improving both, for everyone’.
This endeavour demands a questioning and contrarian mindset that challenges conventional wisdom. It requires a festival of ideas that cherishes the diversity of views, becoming a crucible for new knowledge and thought leadership.
What we have witnessed in the public discourse building up to the events in Ukraine does not augur well for creating intelligent and nuanced understanding of global affairs. The single, unsophisticated and wholly unbalanced narrative we have been receiving from Western leaders and the leading global news outlets such CNN, BBC and Sky News is not conducive to resolving global challenges. To the contrary, such brazen and self-serving intellectual ineptitude inflames conflicts.
We need to create and embrace new knowledge and innovative frameworks that prevent wars and human strife globally.
<h2>The future of diplomacy must be reimagined and reinvented.</h2>
For a start, the whole mainstream discourse on Ukraine is ahistorical. It is decontextualised. Ukraine was part of the USSR, the superpower at the centre of the Warsaw Pact – an Eastern military alliance established in opposition to NATO, a Western military alliance. This was the configuration that constituted the military arithmetic of the Cold War.
Between 1989 and 1992, the Warsaw Pact collapsed, and the USSR disintegrated with the Soviet republics becoming independent nations such as Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Estonia and Belarus. Russia remained a superpower, having inherited the bulk of the Soviet military and industrial strength, particularly a potent nuclear arsenal.
In 1999, former Warsaw Pact members Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic joined NATO, with vicious Russian opposition to the move. Another NATO expansion came with the accession of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Russia, a global superpower, felt encircled by its former NATO adversaries. Clearly, given the history of the Cold War, Russia’s security concerns are understandable.
A particularly mischievous ambition of the Western alliance was to control the Black Sea fleet, thus completely undermining Russia. Putin stopped that adventure by annexing Crimea. It is instructive to note that the ill-conceived expansion of NATO into areas of previous Soviet influence was done in bad faith and in disgraceful violation of an understanding struck between NATO and the Russian Federation at the end of the Cold War; that NATO will welcome the independence of the former Soviet states and satellite states but not expand the military alliance into these territories.
In the context of the recent history of the Cold War, Russian demands that Ukraine must remain independent but should not join NATO are not entirely unreasonable. Ukraine has a nearly 2000km border with Russia, and its joining of NATO leads to the total encirclement of Russia by its current and historical opponents.
The posturing by NATO members that Ukraine is free to join since it is a sovereign nation is at best naïve if not an outright manifestation of primitive ignorance.
Sovereignty is not absolute. In October 1962, when the USSR placed nuclear-armed missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from the United States, the Americans recoiled with anger leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Cuba was a sovereign country with the right to have whatever weapons they wanted on their territory.
<h2>Why was this sovereignty not respected?</h2>
There was a threat to US national security, and hence that part of Cuban sovereignty was not respected.
This is common sense.
In the end, Nikita Khrushchev backed down, and the Russian missiles were removed from Cuba.
If today France was to exercise its sovereign right, pull out of the EU and NATO, and join a military alliance with Russia or China, will the USA and NATO fold their arms and respect France’s sovereignty? Will Western Europe accept a member of a hostile military alliance right at the centre of Europe?
<h2>Why not?</h2>
<h2>What is good for the goose is good for the gander.</h2>
It does not make geo-political-strategic and military sense, nor foster global peace and security to have Ukraine as a member of NATO. Such a scenario presents a patently obvious threat to Russian national security.
In fact, by invading Ukraine now, Putin is being preemptive. When Ukraine becomes a member of NATO, Russia will be totally encircled and thus vulnerable. More importantly, any attack on Ukraine then will invoke a swift NATO military response by operation of the NATO agreement. Hence Putin’s demand that Ukraine must never be a member of NATO is reasonable. Both NATO and the people of Ukraine must have accepted this position.
This analysis should be clear to all peace-loving people.
<h2>So, what should be done? What could have been done?</h2>
While asserting their sovereignty and remaining an independent nation, the people of Ukraine and their leaders must commit to NOT joining NATO. Realpolitik demands this. They will not be the first to follow this pragmatic posture.
Finland is an example of what Ukraine should do. Finland is fiercely unapologetic about its independence and works closely with Western countries. However, it is not a member of NATO and strategically avoids any confrontation or disagreeable conduct with the Russians.
The distinguished and revered former US Secretary of State, Dr. Henry Kissinger, eloquently supports this view: ‘Ukraine should have the right to choose freely its economic and political associations, including with Europe. [However] Ukraine should not join NATO … Ukraine should be free to create any government compatible with the expressed will of its people.’
It is also essential to note that Ukraine can never be just another foreign independent country to Russia, given the historical relationship between the two nations. It has been part of Russia for centuries, and their histories are inextricably linked with large pockets of Russian speaking folks in Ukraine in the year 2022.
This objective reality must inform Western intellectuals, pundits and leaders.
Now, what of Western diplomacy with respect to the crisis unfolding in Ukraine?
The stance of NATO and Western leaders has been that: ‘If Russia invades Ukraine, there will be no military response from us. We will impose ‘crippling’ sanctions against Russia.’ What a miserably pathetic position! In fact, it is encouragement or an invitation for an invasion!
For a start, what is the basis of the assumption that the sanctions will be crippling? The Russian economy is relatively robust and largely independent of the West, with the foundation of that independence in the Cold War, after which Russia inherited a vast military-industrial complex that is still ostensibly intact.
The so-called sanctions are to be imposed by only the United States and a few of its Western allies. Really?
There has been no effort to lobby for the involvement of the rest of the world, such as China (the world’s second-biggest economy), the rest of Asia, the rest of Europe, Latina America and Africa. How can a country – Russia – still able to trade with all these economies (in fact 80% of the world) be crippled by sanctions from a paltry number of Western countries?
This is so presumptuous and pretentious on the part of the United and its allies.
It would be comical if it were not a war situation.
Surely, these measly NATO threats have not been thought through. How does one stop a leader, and his country, bent on invading a country by threatening to impose ineffectual sanctions? Are those measures not a small price to pay for the big prize?
This failure of diplomacy is not helped by global media outlets which do not question these foolish foreign policy pronouncements but act as echo chambers of the unintelligent posturing by Western leaders. In their analysis of the unfolding crisis, the key media outlets do not engage experts or scholars with different viewpoints.
They just churn out the same unsophisticated narrative where one cannot distinguish the anchor/journalist from the subject expert.
There is total irrational jingoism in the main media outlets.
The journalists are emotionally attached to the positions of their national governments.
Shameful, indeed.
We need informed and innovative diplomacy enabled by vibrant, ethical, critical and professional journalism and scholarship.
Yes, the crisis in Ukraine could have been avoided if a different understanding of global affairs was at play and world leaders had a better understanding of history and geo-strategic considerations.
Journalists and scholars have a duty and an obligation to enrich the discourse around global challenges and not become cheerleaders of absurdities.
<h2>We do not want war. We should do all we can to avoid war.</h2>
Unfortunately, given the failure by Western leaders to understand and resolve Russia’s concerns and the pitiful folly of their empty and ineffectual threats, the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 was inevitable.
We must create a new body of knowledge that will determine the future of diplomacy – foreign policy positions that prevent or effectively manage conflict and not enable wars.
</blockquote>
<h2>More: <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

"The Invasion Of Ukraine Was Inevitable" - Zimbabwe's Former Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara

Russian President Vladimir Putin <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/2022/02/24/ukraines-foreign-minister-putin-launched-full-scale-invasion-well-defend-and-win/">announced a military operation in Ukraine on Thursday 24 February 2022</a> with explosions heard soon after in the capital and other parts of the country, prompting outrage from Joe Biden who warned of a “catastrophic loss of life”. 
Putin said in a television announcement shortly before 6:00 am (0300 GMT) in Moscow:
<blockquote>
I have made the decision of a military operation…
Whoever would try to stop us and further create threats, to our people, should know that Russia’s response will be immediate and lead you to such consequences that you have never faced in your history.
</blockquote>
Watch the video below for more:
<div class="wp-video" style="width: 640px;">
<video class="wp-video-shortcode" controls="controls" height="360" id="video-227053-1" preload="metadata" width="640"><source src="https://t792ae.c2.acecdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/PUTIN-DECLARES-WAR-ON-UKRAINE.mp4?_=1" type="video/mp4"/><a href="https://t792ae.c2.acecdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/PUTIN-DECLARES-WAR-ON-UKRAINE.mp4">https://t792ae.c2.acecdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/PUTIN-DECLARES-WAR-ON-UKRAINE.mp4</a></video></div>
He also called on Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their arms and justified the invasion by claiming a “genocide” in Ukraine’s east.
The Kremlin had earlier said rebel leaders in eastern Ukraine had asked Moscow for military help against Kyiv. 
Some world leaders have since castigated the attack on Ukraine and threatened to respond decisively. 
<h2>More: <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

WATCH: Whoever Would Try To Stop Us, Russia's Response Will Be Immediate - Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he is happy with the constructive relations his country shares with Zimbabwe.
He expressed his happiness in a letter on Africa Day in which he also said that he expected the good relations to be enhanced during the Russia-Africa Summit and Business Forum set for October in Sochi. He said:
<blockquote>I am pleased to note the friendly and constructive relations that our countries enjoy.
I am confident that the Russia-Africa Summit and the Business Forum that we will hold in Sochi in October will foster qualitative development of these relations and help us outline new forms of fruitful cooperation.
I sincerely wish you good health and success in State activities as well as peace and well-being to the peoples of the African continent.</blockquote>
Zimbabwean and Russian relations go back to pre-independence. Zimbabwean liberation fighters received their training from Russia. After Independence, the two countries continued working together in areas such as mining.
Critiques, however, argue that the relationship is not balanced as Russia, like China, is robbing Zimbabwe of its natural resources.
More: <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/putin-happy-with-friendly-zim-relations/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Herald</a>

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