The Russian Monster can be Defeated

To paraphrase Hans Christian Andersen: Russia is vulnerable.

From the battlefield, to the hallowed halls of the United Nations, and to an urban crime scene, imperial Russia last week fell flat on its cold-blooded face with a thud heard round the world raising the real specter that it can be defeated.

BATTLEFIELD

Russian invaders are fast realizing that their earlier gains in the war against Ukraine are now threatened by a battle-tested Ukrainian army. UNIAN reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces on May 22 destroyed an enemy position near the village of Troyitske at the Svitlodarska Duha hill in Donbas.

Ukrainian volunteer and civil activist Yuriy Mysyagin wrote on his Facebook page that Russian-led forces had begun firing on the frontline positions of the 54th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. “The K-2 combat group, which is part of the brigade, reacted and launched its drone. The (enemy) position from which fire was opened was identified,” Mysyagin wrote.

“The position was completely destroyed by precision fire from three different positions: a BMP-1 (infantry fighting vehicle), ZU-23-2 (a towed 23 mm anti-aircraft twin-barreled auto cannon) and an anti-tank guided missile, which became a security shot. The facility burned and collapsed,” Mysyagin added.

On May 28, Mysyagin wrote about additional battlefield victories and called on Ukrainians to have faith in the army and help it to protect the native land.

Ukrainian soldiers of the 25th battalion of the 54th brigade were forced to relocate several of their advanced positions at the Svitlodarska Duha bulge. “They took a new strategic height, expanded by several hundred meters and advanced as much forward,” he wrote on Facebook.

He also noted that in addition to improving its tactical positions, the battalion took full control of the advanced position left by the Russian terrorists. In fact, it turned out to be a fortified underground bunker. Excavators were used to build it and a container was installed under the ground and the position was fortified with a wooden frame and concrete.

“Now this fortified position is under full control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” Mysyagin said.

Ukrainian Member of Parliament and leader of the Information Resistance OSINT community Dmytro Tymchuk observed that despite a recent escalation in Donbas, there is no significant transfer of regular troops from Russia to the area, so the militants are unlikely to have any chances for large-scale operations.

Under current conditions, the Russian militants have almost no chance of carrying out successful attacks on the positions of Ukrainian troops, he said. “It is difficult to say how much tension will grow. We should understand if we take the current configuration of the occupation forces and those formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that are involved in the joint Forces Operation, the militants have no chances for any large-scale offensive operation at the operational-tactical level,” he said. “But amid escalation, which is now being observed, we do not yet see any large-scale transfer of troops from Russia to the occupied territory of Donbas. The situation may change at any time, but we do not see that at the moment,” Tymchuk said.

And now Ukrainian soldiers are reinforced by American Javelin anti-tank missiles.

MH17

A Dutch-led international criminal investigation has concluded that the Buk missile that shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine in 2014 actually came from Russia’s 53rd Antiaircraft Missile Brigade. As Ukraine said at the time, the Russian launched missile show down MH17 over the war zone in the Donetsk region on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 people on board.

The Joint Investigative Team (JIT), comprising authorities from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands, and Ukraine, made the announcement at a press conference on May 24 in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

The JIT “has come to the conclusion that the Buk-TELAR that shot down MH17 came from the 53rd Antiaircraft Missile Brigade based in Kursk in Russia,” top Dutch investigator Wilbert Paulissen told reporters. “The 53rd Brigade is part of Russia’s armed forces.”

Moscow can scream all it wants, but the Netherlands and Australia told Moscow on Friday it will hold the Russia legally responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in July 2014, after investigators concluded that a Russian army missile system was used in the attack. And the world will know the truth about Russia.

In a related revelation, investigators led by Bellingcat, British investigative journalists’ website, identified conclusively that the person of interest known as “Andrey Ivanovich” or “Orion,” whose identity is sought by the Joint Investigating Team as commander of the Russian unit that destroyed MH17 is in fact Russian citizen Oleg Vladimirovich Ivannikov, born on April 2, 1967. He is also responsible for war crimes in Ukraine.

UNITED NATIONS

Condemnations of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have been reverberating in the halls of the United Nations since the war began. And the Ukrainian delegation is not the only source of the denunciations – though, understandably, it leads the diplomatic community in doing so.

Recently, Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN, declared: “In the history of the United Nations there are numerous examples of violations of the Charter. I will bring up the most recent and blatant one. Russia’s temporary occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol and territories in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine clearly demonstrate that the violation of fundamental principles of international law by a permanent member of the Security Council is one of the most serious threats to peace and security.”

Russia faced sharp criticism at a special session on Ukraine in the UN Security Council on Tuesday, May 29, over the its invasion of eastern Ukraine and Crimea, and its rejection of an investigation linking the Russian military to the downing of MH17 over Ukraine.

Among them, Ambassador Nikki Haley, Permanent Representative of the US to the UN, called on Russia to withdraw from Ukraine and acknowledge its role in the destruction of the commercial plane.

“We condemn, in the strongest terms, Russia’s involvement in eastern Ukraine and its purported annexation of Crimea,” Haley said, promising US sanctions will remain in place until Russia withdraws from the long-simmering conflict, which she called “a textbook example of the direct violation of the sovereignty of one (UN) member-state by another member state.”

Haley further accused Russia of creating “a catastrophe of suffering,” by supporting separatist groups and violating its obligations under an international cease fire agreement.

“Unsurprisingly, Russia has serially disregarded all of these promises. And it has permitted – if not instructed – its forces to detain, threaten, and even shoot at monitors, their vehicles, cameras, and observation drones. In short, Russia has created a catastrophe of suffering in Ukraine,” she said.

“Despite its transparent denials,” said Haley, “there is no doubt Russia is driving the Ukrainian conflict.”

Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom, Ambassador Karen Pierce declared that London we stands “in solidarity with the Ukrainian people.”

Pierce also said: “Since 2014, the fighting in eastern Ukraine has continued unabated. The Under Secretary-General set out some compelling facts of what is happening on the ground. But I think for me, Mr. President, one of the most shocking was that there have been over 100,000 violations of the ceasefire. That’s 100,000 too many, but 100,000 is a very, very large number. And we should just think about what that really means for the people on the ground. Not only the conflict, but also the resulting humanitarian situation as the Assistant Secretary-General said, and also the potential for long-term environmental damage. These are the many reasons why the topic of Ukraine needs to be on the Council’s agenda and to be repeatedly discussed here.”

She noted that Russian belligerents demonstrate complete disregard for the Minsk ceasefire.

As for Crimea, Pierce pointed out: “A number of speakers, Mr. President, have cited Crimea. We share the view that the annexation of Crimea four years ago by Russia is illegal and it is in violation of the first principle of international law. General Assembly Resolutions 68-262, 71-205 and 72-190 reaffirm the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine and the absence of any legal basis to change the status of Crimea. These resolutions characterized Russia as an occupying power.”

Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz, who presided over the Security Council session, renewed his call for a peacekeeping mission to be deployed to east Ukraine and urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to appoint a special envoy for Ukraine.  Czaputowicz said Warsaw supports Ukraine’s efforts to “become part of Western Europe.”
In his speech, the Polish official said 2018 marked the fourth anniversary of the “Revolution of Dignity,” referring to the Ukrainian revolution which toppled President Viktor Yanukovych, the Kremlin’s henchman. Czaputowicz said the revolution was sparked by the will of the Ukrainian people to be part of the broader community of the West.
“This spirit will not be broken,” he stated, “either by the illegal annexation of Crimea or the conflict in the east of the country.”
He also pointed to the systematic violation of human rights in the Crimean peninsula since it was invaded, occupied and annexed by Russia in 2014.

Urging the international community not to forget the lingering war, he cited systematic human rights violations by the Russian Federation in the occupied territories and called on the United Nations to take up its role in defense of civilians.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, dramatically raised the emotional stakes at the session by holding up a photograph of 15-year Dariya Kazemirova, who turned 15 a week ago and a day later she was killed in the backyard of her home in an explosion of a 122 mm Russian shell that is prohibited by Minsk agreements.

“I will ask the Russian delegate: is this shell from the latest so-called humanitarian convoy? Or did the Russian proxies buy heavy ammunition and weaponry in local supermarkets?” Klimkin insisted.

While Ukraine is willing to fulfill the Minsk ceasefire accords, Klimkin said, “Russia’s persistent denial of its responsibility as a party to the conflict have a devastating impact on the situation on the ground.”

Klimkin accused Russia of concealing heavy weapons that have been banned under the truce only to reveal then when it is time to attack and inflict substantial losses among military personnel and civilian population.

“The activities of Russia’s occupation authorities are already causing an ecological disaster in Donbas. The shootings carried out by Russia in the vicinity of the Donetsk Water Filter Station make operation of this critical infrastructure facility impossible. The plans of the occupation administration to shut off pumps at the Yunkom mine — the site of Soviet nuclear test in 1979 — risk radioactive contamination of drinking water,” he said.

Klimkin said the war in eastern Ukraine can easily stop as “soon as Moscow takes the decision to stop violence, the conflict will end. I urge Russia to take this decision.”

The first step in assuring regional peace, he suggested, is to deploy UN Peacekeepers throughout the occupied territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

So that no one is confused about Ukraine’s goal, Klimkin resolutely added Kyiv stands for “reintegration of all of our Donbas,” meaning Kyiv will not allow it to be absorbed into Russia’s restored prison of nations.

Turning to the Russian occupation of Crimea, Klimkin said Russia’s invasion, occupation and annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula constitute the “most flagrant breach of the UN Charter since the World War II,” challenging the “norms and rules of international law and created the atmosphere of fear and hatred.”

The result has been an accelerated militarization of Crimea, he said. Russia has more than doubled the strength of its military and continues expanding Crimean military infrastructure for deployment of nuclear weapons, including overhaul of Soviet-era nuclear warhead storage facilities. “In fact, Crimea today is a huge military base often used for Russian interventions in distant hot spots, including Syria. In return, the Syrian regime thankfully sends delegations to Crimea and as it happened today recognized so-called independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” he said.

On the human side, Russian occupation is characterized by gross violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, blatant suppression of opposition and systematic persecution of Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians as the most vulnerable communities, Klimkin said.

“Along with killings and enforced disappearances, intimidation and fierce attacks on the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian identity and culture, the phenomenon of political prisoners has become the sad reality in the Russia-occupied Crimea. My courageous compatriots fight now not only for freedom and justice, but for their lives as well,” he said.

Klimkin listed individuals persecuted by the Russian regime for protesting Crimea’s subjugation, notably Oleh Sentsov, Volodymyr Balukh, Emir-Usein Kuku, Nariman Memedeminov, Server Mustafaiev, Edem Smailov, Uzeir Abdullaiev and many other Crimean Tatars, who now need support of the international community. “Using this opportunity, I urge the Security Council members and the wider UN community to join our call on Russia to free them,” he asked. “Russia continues its blatant disregard for the provisions of UN General Assembly resolutions on Crimea.”

He said the list of Russia’s human rights violations is “practically endless.”

Klimkin condemned the opening of the Kerch bridge and said it is another violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty. He expressed gratitude to those countries that denounced this “attempt to cement the illegal occupation of Crimea” and urged all other countries and organizations, including the UN, to support this position.

Exhorting Russia to reverse the illegal occupation of Crimea and to stop its aggression, Klimkin concluded his address at the Security Council session, saying he has been compelled to present detailed lists and stories of Russia aggression against Ukraine because “this issue is a matter of life and death of many of my fellow Ukrainians.”

“There is nothing I would have wanted more than being able to tell you that we reached a resolution of the conflict,” he said. “But since the end is nowhere near in sight, we will not spare any effort to ensure that justice is served and the Russian state bears full responsibility for its aggression.”

Since the start of the Russo-Ukraine War of 2014, more than 10,300 Ukrainians have been killed, 25,000 were injured, and 3.4 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, particularly along the front lines.

For his part, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia ridiculed what he termed “pathetic expressions” accusing Russia of aggression as “propaganda.”

“We are not in a state of war with anyone,” Nebenzia lied in his characteristically impassioned remarks, which were often laced with sarcasm and peppered with heated criticism of the Ukrainian government.

He profanely insisted that it is Kyiv, not Moscow, that has undermined the cease fire and stoked the conflict.

Speaking for more than half an hour, Nebenzia dismissed Haley’s criticism, as his predecessors dismissed Ambassador Samantha Power’s reproaches, noting the United States’ “long history of illegally invading sovereign states.”

No, he didn’t make any reference to Russia’s own history of invading and subjugating nations around the world.

THE STING AND RUSSIA MURDER INC.

In a storyline worthy of Ian Fleming, the Security Service of Ukraine devised a historic gambit that proved its stealth and saved the life of a targeted Russian journalist and uncovered the would-be Russian assassins.

The world media said the assassination bore all the trappings of yet another contract killing planned by Russia, this time in Ukraine.

A photo of the victim, Arkady Babchenko, regarded as an anti-Putin Russian journalist, showed him lying face down Tuesday, May 29, in a pool of his own blood. He was found by his wife, and died on the way to a hospital from multiple gunshot wounds to the back, said police in Ukraine’s capital.

Then lo and behold, the next day, Babchenko, very much alive, walked into a news conference that Ukrainian security officials had called to discuss his “murder.” It was like a Gary Powers news conference in reverse. This time Moscow was guilty.

“First of all, I would like to apologize that all of you had to live through this, because I know the horrible feeling when you have to bury your colleagues,” Babchenko told stunned reporters after the gasps died down. “Separately, I want to apologize to my wife for all the hell she had to go through.”

The staged murder, said Vasyl Hrytsak, head of the Ukraine Security Service, was a sting operation aimed at stopping a real assassination plot against Babchenko.

While Russian officials first denied the plot and then tried to explain it with egg on their faces, Ukrainian officials unveiled a scheme that called for a Ukrainian traitor to kill Babchenko for $30,000 – American currency. The whole lot of them was busted.

While some media pundits decried this successful entrapment, The Wall Street Journal in an editorial on May 31 was blistering in this indictment of Moscow, declaring: Russia Murder Inc., a spin on the epithet usually afforded American gangsters and the Mafia. The newspaper’s editors wrote:

“The message of this extraterritorial murder and intimidation spree is that nowhere is safe for Kremlin critics, and it’s good to see that Western countries are finally responding. After the Russian nerve-agent attack in March on former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, Britain expelled Russian spies and is considering more measures. The Trump Administration has sanctioned Mr. Putin’s inner circle and lobbied countries like Latvia to stop laundering Russian money.

“More needs to be done to expose and stop Russian Murder Inc., and let’s hope Ukraine tells the world more about this latest plot to kill Mr. Babchenko.”

WORLD CUP 2018

Sixty members of the European Parliament from 16 EU countries and five political groups have seen the light about Russia’s global transgressions. They signed an open letter calling upon EU governments to boycott the FIFA World Cup 2018, which will be held in August in Russia. The letter was initiated by Rebecca Harms, expert on Eastern Europe of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament.

The letter calls on government officials, who represent EU citizens, to join Island and the UK in boycotting the World Cup over Russia’s wars in Syria and Ukraine, war crimes in Syria, occupation of Crimea, and holding of Ukrainian political prisoners.

In addition, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on world leaders to boycott the games’ opening ceremony – only – of the World Cup soccer tournament in Russia unless Russian President Vladimir Putin takes steps to protect Syrian civilians.

CONCLUSION

So why is Russia still tolerated?

The free world should take all steps to ensure that Russia doesn’t wash the mud off its face.

Officials like Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European commission, implored the international community to end what he called “Russia-bashing.” Juncker said he believed it was time to renew ties with Vladimir Putin’s country, given its size and importance. Not to mention its military strength and global aggression.

“I do think we have to reconnect with Russia,” Juncker said. “I am not very happy with the state of our relations. We will never accept what Russia did with Crimea or eastern Ukraine.”

On the other hand, Russia’s fuhrer Vladimir Putin would happily accept Juncker’s inconsequential reprimand.

Russia will not implode tomorrow and Juncker’s observation will not keep Moscow from waging war against any other country on earth. That will only happen if the free world mobilizes all of its political, military and diplomatic resources to cage Russia’s belligerence. The time is now because the Russian monster is vulnerable.