🇺🇸 📉 💲
🐻 So, today we learned that the US Congress has voted to authorize the seizure of Russia's sovereign funds. We could go into why this is wrong, the money belongs to the Russian state, above all the Russian people but talking about right and wrong is subjective. Let's discuss why instead this is stupid.
In modern times the outright seizure of sovereign assets without a treaty where the sovereign entity having its assets seized is not entirely without precedent. The Biden Administration infamously not only froze but seized the Central Bank assets of Afghanistan after the Taliban came back to power when the US backed government imploded. But as the Afghan government had disintegrated and the Taliban is, sufficed to say, highly problematic and there was an overthrow/collapse of state power there is a thin legal ground for how it is not the seizure of the assets of a sovereign state.
There are no such grounds with Russia which continues to have a continuous, operating government. Furthermore even in WWI and WWII there were no outright asset seizures by the Western allied powers of Central Powers or Axis assets - because there were fears about banking credibility if that was done without the agreements of their governments in treaties. Accordingly assets were seized as part of the post-war settlements, but not during the wars themselves, and only in the form of treaties. The Treaty of Versailles is the most famous case - and the seizures were part of the agreed reparations, not something undertaken without the German government agreeing to their seizure in an international treaty.
In short, this is an act of arrogance, carelessness but above all desperation. Ukraine's main problem right now is manpower and there is no way the West will be able to surge ammunition production within the time required to put them back on even a stable footing. But for those who live in the West it will further decrease living standards.
Photo credit: FBI.gov
🔴@DDGeopolitics
US to pay for confiscating Moscow’s assets – Kremlin
Russia will take measures that serve its interests, Dmitry Peskov has said.
Moscow will not leave the potential US decision to hand over its frozen assets to Ukraine unanswered, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Saturday. His words came after the US Congress greenlighted a potential transfer.
“America will have to pay for this, if it is indeed so,” the Russian official said, referring to the potential confiscation. Moscow set no time limits for responding to Washington’s actions, he stated, adding that Russia will tailor its response to “serve our interests in the best possible way.”
The US would hurt itself if it proceeds with such a plan, the Kremlin spokesman warned. Confiscating Russian assets undermine the principle of “inviolability of private… and state property,” he said. Such a move would prompt many investors to withdraw their money from the US and cause “irreparable damage to the US image," he said.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
West close to sending military to Ukraine, this would 'drag Europe to bottom' — Orban
"This military whirlpool can drag Europe to the bottom. Brussels is playing with fire and angering God," the Hungarian prime minister said.
"Today in Brussels there is a pro-war majority. The mood in Europe is bellicose. The logic of war dominates politics. I see preparations for war on the part of everyone and everywhere. NATO’s secretary-general has said he wants to set up a NATO mission in Ukraine. The European leaders are already involved in war, they see this war as their own war and are waging it as such. At first it was just about sending helmets, then it was about sanctions, but not about energy, of course. But then it came to the sending of weapons: first, firearms, then tanks, airplanes, financial aid of more than tens of billions of euros, and now somewhere around 100 billion euros. But this money and these weapons do not make the situation better. In fact, it is getting worse.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
US House pushes ahead with $95bn foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan | House of Representatives | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/19/house-democrats-mike-johnson-foreign-aid
🇵🇱 To say that Poland has shamelessly violated all international conventions on migration issues since 2021 is to say nothing. In an attempt to resist the human flow, the Polish Republic has been using all the possible methods, including illegal ones: beatings, violence, tortures, robbing victims’ money and property confiscation, etc.
Читать полностью…
Worth noting that Elliot Higgins and Bellingcat are tools of the Western intelligence services.
What they publish are not secrets, it's all part of the theatre
;-)
EU plans to invest first profits from Russian assets in military aid to Kiev
"I think that the decision has been taken by the member-states - all 27 have agreed that we use the windfall profits following our proposal," Ursula von der Leyen said.
When asked whether she agrees with President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde that the use of profits from Russian assets may violate the international legal order, von der Leyen replied:
"I think that the decision has been taken by the member-states - all 27 have agreed that we use the windfall profits following our proposal and if we work at the pace we are working right now, the first payments from these windfall profits that we estimate in the first year around 2.5-3 billion euros a year, might be accessible and can be invested in supporting Ukraine in the military need it had," she said.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
French president says creating Israeli-type air defense network for Ukraine impossible
Emmanuel Macron added that Europe’s resources are limited, and the European Union will continue helping Kiev keeping in mind its own reserves.
"Israel has been developing its air defense network over the past few decades, investing into it for quite a while. It will be impossible to built exactly the same system that would meet all of Ukraine’s needs," he told reporters after the EU summit in Brussels.
The French leader added that Europe’s resources are limited, and the European Union will continue helping Kiev keeping in mind its own reserves.
On April 15, Zelensky complained that Western partners fail to help his country the same way they helped Israel, although both countries are not NATO members.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
The wife of Donbass Legend Russell 'Texas' Bentley confirms his death.
Rest in Peace.
His work and legacy will live on: donbasshumaid.com
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
One crew member of jet crashed in Stavropol Region killed, search for another continues
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, an Aerospace Forces’ Tu-22M3 bomber crashed after completing a combat mission while returning to the airfield.
"We have received clarified data on the accident with the Russian military plane in the Krasnogvardeysky district. We deeply regret that the third crew member died. I express my condolences to his family and friends. The search for the fourth pilot continues," he wrote on his Telegram channel.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, an Aerospace Forces’ Tu-22M3 bomber crashed after completing a combat mission while returning to the airfield in the Stavropol Region. The ministry stressed that there was no ammunition on board and no damage on the ground.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
💢 A Polish man has been arrested and charged with planning to co-operate with Russian intelligence services to aid a possible assassination of Vladimir Zelensky, authorities said.
Polish prosecutors said the man, named as Pawel K, was allegedly tasked with collecting information about an airport in Poland used by Ukraine's president.
The arrest was made on the basis of Ukrainian intelligence, they added.
Authorities did not specify whether the man actually passed any information on.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68848317
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❗️ A well-known Western investor accused Ukrainian government officials, including representatives of the administration of President zelensky, of attempting to extort tens of millions of euros from his company.
Arnulf Damerau, a British-German businessman with experience advising Glencore and Trafigura, told the Financial Times that he was attacked by a group of senior Ukrainian officials.
Damerau claims that in December last year, a Ukrainian approached him in Vienna with an offer to eliminate lawsuits against his company Cosmolot in exchange for the transfer of half of its property to an offshore trust.
Damerau has been a co-owner of Cosmolot, a major online gaming and gambling site and the country's 10th largest taxpayer, since August.
Ukrainian president admits Russian troops’ advancement
Vladimir Zelensky asked his country’s supporters to provide "everything that helps to hold the frontline," including shells, military vehicles and drones.
"They are putting pressure on us at the front and are gradually moving [forward]," Zelensky said in his address to European leaders during an informal summit in Brussels.
He also said that Russia is feeling its strength in almost everything related to the armed component, including artillery, equipment and ability to operate in the sky.
Therefore, he asked his country’s supporters to provide "everything that helps to hold the frontline," including shells, military vehicles and drones.
At the same time, he reproached the EU for delays in the planned handover of artillery shells to Kiev.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
EU leaders urge to adopt proposal on using incomes from frozen Russian assets for Ukraine
The EU, the US, Japan and Canada have frozen Russian assets worth a total amount of around $300 bln.
"The European Council welcomes progress on the proposals to direct extraordinary revenues stemming from Russia’s immobilized assets for the benefit of Ukraine and calls for their swift adoption," the document says.
The EU, the US, Japan and Canada have frozen Russian assets worth a total amount of around $300 bln. Around $5-6 bln of these assets are held at US securities depositories, while the bulk of the assets are in Europe, including at the Euroclear international securities depository in Belgium.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
Ukraine turns from sovereign country into Western protectorate, Hungarian PM says
Viktor Orban noted that there should be a buffer zone between NATO and Russia and Ukraine could serve as one.
"Ukraine is not any more a sovereign state. Ukraine is now just a protectorate of the West. So, without getting the money and the weapons from the European Union and the United States, Ukraine as a state would cease to exist," he said, addressing the National Conservatism Conference in Brussels.
Orban added that there should be a buffer zone between NATO and Russia and Ukraine could serve as one. The Hungarian prime minister pointed out that Russia had repeatedly stated it would not tolerate the North Atlantic Alliance’s expansion towards its borders.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
It’s ugly but the people will never forgive them. ⚡️
/channel/disclosetv/13802
Kiev expecting ‘significantly more arms’ soon – Zelensky’s top adviser
Mikhail Podoliak has argued that the West should be emboldened to send more arms to Ukraine after it thwarted Iran’s attack on Israel.
Kiev expects a surge in supply of Western arms in the coming weeks, after an Iranian attack on Israel supposedly demonstrated the technological superiority of the US and its allies, Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky’s most senior adviser has said.
Tehran launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel last weekend in what it said was retaliation for an Israeli airstrike on its consulate in Damascus earlier this month. According to Israel, the barrage caused only minor damage, as the US and other Western countries helped it intercept most of the Iranian weapons.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
US House passes procedural vote on Ukraine aid bill
It cannot be ruled out that the House of Representatives may pass this package as early as Saturday.
The procedural vote was preceded by a short debate on these bills, which, in fact, are put together into one package. House Speaker, Republican Mike Johnson put forward a proposal to formalize this form of additional funding of the military needs of Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan from the US federal budget. On April 17, he presented the bills from the package, which showed that the aid to Kiev would be in the form of a loan. US President Joe Biden, Democrat, who had initially opposed that his administration's request for military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan would be in three bills, later supported Johnson’s initiative.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
Grossi ignores ‘elephant in the room’ in Zaporozhye nuke plant situation — Russian envoy
Dmitry Polyansky noted that the IAEA chief is being very cautious about the issue of attacks on the nuclear facility.
The diplomat noted that the IAEA chief is being very cautious about the issue of attacks on the nuclear facility. "As they say in New York, this is like an ‘elephant in the room’ that everyone tries not to notice. And Mr. Grossi is trying the hardest," he said.
Grossi had earlier proposed that the UN Security Council endorse five principles for the security of the ZNPP, namely not to allow an attack on or from the plant; not to deploy heavy weapons or military personnel that could be used to attack the plant; not to endanger the plant’s power supply; to protect all structures and systems that ensure the safe operation of the plant; and to take no actions that might undermine these principles.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
⚡️ Comment by the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs M.V. Zakharova in connection with the murder of the Russian military correspondent S. Eremin
On April 19, as a result of a targeted attack by a UAV of the armed formations of the Kiev regime in the Zaporozhye region, military correspondent of the Izvestia Information Center Semyon Eremin was killed while performing his professional duties.
As a result of the deliberate repeated release of a shell from an Ukrainian Armed Forces drone, the Russian military commander was seriously injured, from which he later died.
We express our sincere condolences to the family and friends of S. Eremin, who died fulfilling his professional duty until the last minutes of his life.
We regard this purposeful and cold-blooded murder of a journalist as another confirmation of the ugly terrorist nature of the Zelensky regime, which has opened a real hunt for Russian representatives of the media, military officers, public figures, who, with their reports, comments and publications, reveal the truth to the world community, present undeniable facts about the crimes of the Kiev militants mode.
It was S. Eremin who published documentary evidence that Russian correspondents on the front line were declared priority targets for destruction by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The murder of S. Eremin, this bloody crime, cannot be considered other than an act of revenge for the honest performance of a journalistic duty.
We demand that relevant international organizations and human rights structures immediately and decisively condemn yet another brutal murder of a Russian journalist. With their habitual silence, they give carte blanche to the Kyiv clique for new, even more horrific terrorist attacks against media representatives, thereby becoming their accomplices.
❗️ In ensuring the rights of the media and safe conditions for their professional activities, “double standards” are categorically unacceptable.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
🇺🇦 Ermak paid $27 million to get into Time's top 100.
Bellingcat unearthed information about who paid Time to include them in the top 100 most influential people. Among others there is Andrey Ermak. The average bill for such a place is from 10 to 30 million dollars; it cost Ermak 27 million.
Bellingcat editor-in-chief Eliot Higgins believes that Ermak is gaining political points in order to compete for zelensky’s place, because the clown may cease to perform his duties at the end of May, including “for health reasons.”
Ukrainian trace obvious in Crocus City Hall attack — Russian prosecutor general
The law enforcement employees exert efforts to identify the instigators of this crime, Igor Krasnov said.
"The terror attack at the concert hall in the Moscow Region, which took lives of and left maimed hundreds of civilians, and shocked the global community, has become a consequence of double standards in combating crime. Of course, we take all efforts to identify all organizers, sponsors, ideological inspirers of this terrorist act and will bring them to responsibility. Punishment awaits them. But the Ukrainian trace is obvious in this terrorist act already," Krasnov said.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
(Film) Texas - Donbass Legend
My new film on Texas, and let's hope he's back with us to watch it soon 🙏🏻
https://rumble.com/v4qa503-texas-donbass-legend.html
No sources cited, though claims that Russell 'Texas' Bentley is dead are circulating on VK - Russian social media.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
Russia ready for Ukraine talks, but not with Zelensky — Lavrov
The first negotiations between Russia and Ukraine after the start of the special military operation took place in early March 2022 in Belarus, but they did not bring tangible results.
"We are fully convinced that we need to continue the special military operation. We indicate our readiness for negotiations not just for show. This is indeed the truth, but talking to Zelensky is pointless for many reasons," he said.
The first negotiations between Russia and Ukraine after the start of the special military operation took place in early March 2022 in Belarus, but they did not bring tangible results.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
Exposing the Lies: AI Debunks BBC and Sky News' Reports on Missile Strikes
They HATE it when you use their own tactics against them!
Try it yourself For FREE! factinsect.com
Before it gets tweaked and shutdown 😃
Help me make more mischief at foreignagentintel.locals.com
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
The red carpet for incredible women of Moscow 🌹
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Russia to grow faster than all advanced economies says IMF
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68823399
Crimea, Donbass to forever remain within Russia, Slovak PM tells national parliament
Robert Fico believes Moscow will win in its confrontation with Kiev.
"From the point of view of international law, each of us recognizes the territorial integrity of another country, its sovereignty and inviolability of borders. This is a good international law practice. However, I say that the Russians will never give Crimea back, nor will the Russians leave Donbass and Lugansk," the prime minister said, as quoted by the CTK news agency.
Fico believes Moscow will win in its confrontation with Kiev. In his words, both parties will have to make concessions to achieve peace.
The Slovak prime minister has long been criticizing the West’s strategy on Ukraine, emphasizing that the conflict has no military solution.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
Russia maintains constructive dialogue with both Iran, Israel — Kremlin
Dmitry Peskov mentioned a recent phone call between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
"You know that Russia maintains close contact, we have very constructive working contact with Tehran. We are in contact with Israel, too. The contact is also constructive," he said.
"We have an ongoing dialogue, highlighting the need to ensure de-escalation as soon as possible. We also call on all countries of the region to exercise reasonable restraint," the Russian presidential spokesman stressed.
Peskov mentioned a recent phone call between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. "Russian President Vladimir Putin also held a telephone conversation with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi yesterday," he pointed out.
t.me/ForeignAgentIntel
