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61

For Your Information / The Bidens Funded the Activities of Secret US Biolabs Internationalist 360

« on: March 25, 2022, 06:54:42 PM »

The Bidens Funded the Activities of Secret US Biolabs Internationalist 360, ladimir Platov
March 24, 2022

A growing number of independent media and civil society organizations are joining the investigation of hundreds of secret US biological laboratories around the world, including around Russia and China, rightfully suspected of developing and testing internationally banned biological weapons, to prevent Washington from launching a new, this time biological war in the world. The New Eastern Outlook has been involved in this investigation for a number of years, and its sources have repeatedly uncovered US criminal activity in Ukraine, Georgia and the Central Asian countries.

   It is noteworthy that the more justified and documented such criminal activity by the United States becomes, the louder the "objections" from Washington resound. And on March 22, in a meeting with business representatives, even US President Joe Biden tried to assure that the United States allegedly has no biological or chemical weapons in Europe. "It's just not true, I guarantee it," Biden said. At the same time, the "wise" American leader decided to deflect the blame onto Russia, in yet another fake way, accusing it of developing biological weapons in Ukraine and clearly in US secret biological laboratories.

But as is well known, the loudest shout of "Catch the thief" is from the thief himself!

As everyone is well aware, the US has not yet destroyed its stockpiles of chemical weapons, Washington is artificially delaying the process, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on March 22. "The US, unlike Russia, has not yet destroyed its stockpiles of chemical weapons. It has been said that there are no such weapons in Europe, but in America they remain, and the rate of their destruction is extremely low," Ryabkov said.

As for US involvement in biological weapons development, in confirmation of yet another lie by Washington and Joseph Biden personally, there is evidence in internet investigations that Britain and the US are jointly developing biological weapons, and that the Biden family has been involved for years in funding US biological laboratories around Russia, where under a veil of secrecy Washington has been creating biological weapons.

According to alternative media outlets independent of Washington, particularly in France, Rosemont Seneca Technology Partners (RSTP) is directly involved in the funding of a number of US biological laboratories. This company, based in Washington, is named after the Rosemont farm of the Biden family's estate near Pittsburgh. It became an offshoot of Rosemont Capital and an investment fund founded by Hunter Biden and John Kerry's stepson Christopher Heinz in 2009, with Hunter as managing director.

The companies listed as closely related to RSTP in the archived versions of the firm's portfolio include Metabiota, a San Francisco-based company that detects, traces and analyzes emerging infectious diseases, as well as conducts biological weapons research. Financial reports show that the RSTP led the first round of US biological laboratories funding in Ukraine in 2014, which amounted to $30 million. In June 2021, The National Pulse detailed Biden's funding of Metabiota, based in San Francisco.

In 2014, Metabiota signed a federal contract worth $18.4 million for a program linked to DTRA (US Defense Threat Reduction Agency) biological weapons development in Georgia and Ukraine, according to the international scientific community. The contractor was Black & Veatch. And then some incomprehensible outbreaks of long forgotten diseases that the local authorities did away with a long time ago start in Ukraine: measles, diphtheria, tuberculosis, polio, cases of Ukrainian soldiers dying of some mysterious infection. Similar events took place in Georgia, where 24 people died in December 2015 and 49 more later in a Lugar laboratory when a drug manufactured by former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's company was tested on Georgian citizens.

Black & Veatch Special Project Corp and Metabiota even shared an office in the heart of Kiev. At the 2016 meeting in Lviv, representatives from Black & Veatch and Metabiota discussed US biological laboratories with representatives from Ukraine, Poland and the US.

Metabiota unveiled its relationship with Black & Veach in 2018: "Today, Metabiota, the pioneer in epidemic risk modeling, announced it has been awarded a subcontract from Black & Veatch (B&V) to support the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency's (DTRA) Cooperative Biological Engagement Program (CBEP) in Iraq under the Biological Threat Reduction Integrating Contract (BTRIC). Metabiota has also partnered with B&V on DTRA's recently awarded Cooperative Threat Reduction Integrating Contract (CTRIC) III with an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract ceiling of $970M."

In 2015, Infowars reported on Black & Veatch's involvement in US biological laboratories in an article entitled "Why does the Pentagon need laboratories in Ukraine?" In particular, it disclosed that the biological laboratories operating under the Pentagon's DTRA program from 2008 to 2017 were built and operated by Black & Veatch with $215.6 million in funding from that firm. That is, by the Biden family through RSTP-Metabiota-Black & Veatch.

Moreover, the American company Black & Veatch claims to have worked with the Pentagon since 2003. The Black & Veatch project has been building laboratories in Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Cameroon, Thailand, Ethiopia, Vietnam and Armenia.

So today there is actual confirmation that there are US biological laboratories in Ukraine and that Hunter Biden's company Rosemont Seneca has invested in the firms which built these laboratories.

Under these circumstances, it is completely incomprehensible why Joe Biden is trying to deny that there are US-funded biological laboratories in Ukraine. Could it be because his son's company financed the building of these laboratories in Ukraine and a number of other countries and he does not want the American people and the international public to know about it?

In earlier times, perpetrators used to be impeached for such activities. Time will tell whether the impeachment will catch up with Joe Biden and, by the same token, all the current US authorities.

US Company Metabiota Links Biolabs in Africa and Ukraine to the Pentagon's DTRA Made in the USA: Military Biolabs in Ukraine and the Spread of Disaster Pentagon Contractors Worked in Ukrainian Biolabs Under $80 Million Program

62

For Your Information / Re: Donetsk News Agency reports

« on: March 23, 2022, 09:13:13 PM »

   DPR militia, Russian forces find "Azov" gunmen's secret prison at Mariupol airport
Donetsk News AGency

March 22, 2022


   Donetsk, Mar 22 - DAN. Donetsk People's Republic militiamen and Russian forces found a secret prison after capturing the Mariupol airport where gunmen from "Azov" (organization banned in the DPR) had tortured people, the DPR People's Militia press service reported on Tuesday.

"The allied DPR-Russian liberation forces succeeded in taking control of the Mariupol airport which Ukrainian nationalists had used as a military unit," the press service said. "Each terminal showed signs of military use of its premises. They kept large quantities of weapons, ammunition and food there."

Every room in the terminal was used for a specific purpose; there were makeshift barracks and food units. A prison was found where they had kept and tortured people; supposedly it was the notorious secret prison "Biblioteka" (Library).

"Iron doors with slots for passing food and conversations; there were several such rooms and an area for walks in the end of the windowless corridor, with barbed wire at high ceilings," the DPR militia said. "Ukrainian nationalists set up a veritable prison on the airport premises where they had tortured to death innocent people. At present, DPR law-enforcers are investigating these war crimes."

63

For Your Information / Donetsk News Agency reports

« on: March 22, 2022, 11:44:30 AM »

Donetsk News Agency reports
Donetsk News Agency

March 21, 2022

   DPR SEIZURE OF SPANISH GREANDE LAUNCHERS Donetsk, Mar 21 – DAN. DPR service members have seized Spanish grenade launchers abandoned by retreating Ukrainian forces, the deputy Chief-of-staff of the Republican Defense Eduard Basurin said.

"We keep seizing foreign weapons. As the members of the 54th brigade hurried to retreat they left a large bunch of Instalaza C-90 grenade launchers behind in Novomikhailovka, shipped from Spain in March," he said.

The People's Militia has also seized four IFVs and two armored vehicles, which will be used to defend Donbass.

MARCH 21 - ATILERY DEPOT AND GRAD system destroyed The servicemen of the DPR People's Militia have liquidated 36 Ukrainian militants and 11 of their fire positions on Monday, the deputy Chief-of-Staff of the DPR Defence Eduard Basurin said.

"Since the beginning of the day, our servicemen have destroyed 36 Ukrainian occupants, 11 fire points, one infantry fighting vehicle, one BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket system, two armoured personnel carriers and a field artillery depot," Basurin said.

He said that over the past day six servicemen of the DPR People's Militia have been killed, and another 22 were injured.

EMERGENCY SERVICE WORKERS IN LIBERATED AREAS More than 140 members of Ukrainian State Emergencies Service agreed to continue working with the DPR, the DPR Emergencies Ministry said.

"As of today, 142 former members of the Ukrainian State Emergencies Service expressed willingness to continue their work within the DPR Emergencies Ministry," the report said.

Earlier emergency services workers in Volodarskoye, Mangush, Yalta decided to work in the DPR

DEFECTIONS TO DPR PEOPLE"S MILITIA DPR People's Militia has liquidated 44 members of Ukrainian armed formations over the last day, DPR Defence's deputy chief of staff Eduard Basurin said.

"Over the last day, DPR service members liquidated 44 Ukrainian occupants, destroyed one tank, two IFVs, three fire positions of MT-12 Rapira anti-tank guns," he said.

Two self-propelled Gvozdika howitzers, one IFV, two armoured vehicles and three trucks have been captured.

Nineteen service members of the 25th and 54th Ukrainian brigades have laid down arms and defected to the DPR

64

For Your Information / Bits Of Interest From The War In Ukraine

« on: March 22, 2022, 11:41:59 AM »

Bits Of Interest From The War In Ukraine
Moon of Alabama

March 21, 2022


   Below are various bits of interest from the war in Ukraine.

Zelensky says 'western' leaders said no to Ukrainian NATO membership, but rejected to do so publicly. U.S. supported 'activist' commits publicly to war crimes. CNN promotes leader of neo-Nazi Azov Battalion. Arch Zionists are pissed off by Zelensky's holocaust revisionism. Destroyed Kiev shopping mall was used as weapon and ammunition depot. Despite a hopeless situation the government in Kiev rejects to end war in Mariupol. Unconfirmed: Zelensky rejects Ukrainian military request for retreat from the Donbas front.

---

In two draft treaties, which Russia had sent to the U.S. and EU in December, it demanded written declarations that the Ukraine would never join NATO. The U.S. and the EU publicly rejected that demand. It was a major reason for Russia to start its intervention.

Consider the above in light of this interview Zelensky gave yesterday to CNN. He said:

I requested them personally to say directly that we are going to accept you into NATO in a year or two or five. Just say it directly and clearly or just say no, and the response was very clear, you are not going to be a NATO or E.U. member, but publicly the doors will remain open.

The cowards just didn't want to say it publicly, even as it could have avoided a war. ---

White Swan @SDyorin - 10:32 UTC · Mar 21, 2022

Head of #Ukrainian "1st volunteer mobile hospital" operating in #Donbass, political activist Gennady Druzenko claimed on '#Ukraine 24' channel that he 'ordered to ? captive #Russian soldiers, because they are cockroaches, not humans'. #neonazis - Video

Dan Cohen @dancohen3000 - 9:21 UTC · Mar 20, 2022

Druzenko is closely tied to the US government. He's had stints at USAID/Chemonics and the Wilson Center. - Image

---

Mark Ames @MarkAmesExiled - 12:47 UTC · Mar 21, 2022

Incredible. neo-Nazi Azov promoting Azov Regiment commander Denis Prokopenko's appearance on @CNN. Everything is upside-down. - Video

Oleksiy Kuzmenko @kooleksiy - 21:24 UTC · Mar 18, 2020

Azov Regiment never de-politicized. The current commander Denys "Redis" Prokopenko, has been with Azov since 2014, came, per "Redis" himself, from the milieu of Dynamo Kyiv soccer hooligans. The photos are from a 2014 rally. The cover is of Azov's own zine "The Black Sun". - Images

---

Israeli lawmakers tear into Zelensky for Holocaust comparisons in Knesset speech - Times of Israel

Caroline Glick @CarolineGlick - 15:37 UTC · Mar 20, 2022

Zelensky's claim that the Ukrainians were righteous gentiles who saved Jews in the Holocaust is sick historical revisionism. The Ukrainians were active, enthusiastic Nazis. Ukrainian Jewry wasn't annihilated in Poland, but in Ukraine, by their neighbors

---

Large explosion partially destroys Kyiv shopping mall, killing at least 8, officials say - Washington Post

> Early Monday, photographers documented several bodies laid outside an entrance to the mall. A Washington Post reporter who visited the site after the bodies were removed saw puddles of blood and olive green blood-soaked jackets on the ground. Abandoned surgical gloves were scattered about — apparently left over from medics who tried to save the victims. <

Aladin @aldin_ww - 9:41 UTC · Mar 21, 2022

Now that all is done and there is more light on that situation I will say that strike on Retroville Mall in Kyiv was not just a strike on a shopping mall. ... New images have been posted online showing military vehicles parked at the shopping mall. - Image

I don't like to do this stuff, I have promised to be as objective as possible and there it is.

Harry Boone @Harry_Boone - 11:54 UTC · Mar 21, 2022

looks like "Retroville" shopping center was used as military storage - Image

Secondary explosion after Russian missile strike on Kyiv's "Retroville" shopping center ... Ammo storage ? - Video

Yuri Lyamin @imp_navigator - 14:45 UTC · 21 Mar 2022

Fottages from Russian recc UAV (looks like Orlan-10) that tracked postion of the Ukrainian "Grad" MLRS that covered in parking of the Retroville Mall in Kiev. After that, a missile strike was carried out, that was also filmed from recc UAV. - Video

Bill Roggio @billroggio - 11:53 UTC · Mar 21, 2022 1) This map, from @BBC, dated March 20, shows the situation in Mariupol. Ukrainian forces, led by the Azov Battalion, are bottled up in an area approximately 6 square miles. There is no relief. - Map 2) A Russian general called for Ukrainian troops to surrender. "There can be no question of any surrender, laying down of arms" in the city, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk responded. Reuters: Ukraine defies Russian demand to lay down arms in Mariupol 3) The neo-Nazi Azov Battalion is unlikely to lay down its arms, so the fight for Mariupol will only get bloodier.

Gleb Bazov @gbazov - 12:34 UTC · Mar 21, 2022

Command of #UA Joint Forces Operation in #Donbass has urgently requested a full-scale withdrawal from around #Donetsk to escape a forming cauldron. JFO command has asked to retreat from positions at #Kurakhovo, #Dachnoye, #Avdeedvka. 1/4 - Map

#Russia|n forces have already reached the rear of #Ukrainian forces in this area, west of #Donetsk. The complete elimination of #UA units here is a matter of several days according to #JFO command. 2/4 - Map

According to #UA #JFO command, withdrawal from these positions could enable #Ukraine|ian troops to salvage the desperate situation and continue defensive operations in the area of #Dzerzhinsk and #Kramatorsk. 3/4

#Zelensky is refusing to allow the retreat for fear that it would be used by #Russia as a weapon in the information war against #Ukraine, as it would mean deblockading #Donetsk and abandoning defensive fortifications. 4/4

Posted by b on March 21, 2022 at 16:51 UTC | Permalink

65

For Your Information / Italian union protests against sending weapons to Ukraine in humanitarian cargo

« on: March 22, 2022, 11:33:52 AM »

Italian union protests against sending weapons to Ukraine in humanitarian cargo – ‘We risk WWIII'
Global Times, Zhao Yusha

March 21, 2022


   "We don't think sending weapons solves the situation [conflict between Russia and Ukraine] because we risk a third world war," said a representative of an Italian workers union that blocked arms shipments to Ukraine under the guise of humanitarian aid.

Nearly 2,000 people participated in a protest in Pisa, Italy on Saturday against the government's sending of weapons to Ukraine. Airport workers at Galileo Galilei Airport in Pisa revealed that under the guise of a humanitarian cargo, boxes with weapons and ammunition were sent to Ukraine. They refused to unload them, local media reported.

"The airport workers said the goods inside the aircraft weren't food or clothes. There were weapons. So they said it isn't their work. And they didn't prepare the cargo," Cinzia Della Porta, a representative of the Tuscan branch of the Unione Sindacale di Base (USB), one of Italy's biggest trade unions, who initiated the protest, said.

The union pointed out that, according to safety standards, such cargo cannot be sent from a civilian airport, which is dangerous for workers. "There is also a military airport nearby, but this simply could not have happened by mistake," Cinzia told the Global Times on Monday.

She said the protest was also held in support of peace and against NATO. "We don't agree to send weapons because we risk a third world war," Cinzia noted.

The incident is also an example of how "humanitarianism" can be abused. According to a USB statement: "We strongly condemn this blatant deception, which cynically uses the guise of 'humanitarian aid' to further fuel the war in Ukraine." Humanitarian measures, such as sending aid supplies and accepting refugees are not enough to end the war — and in this case they even served as a cover for militarism.

Mario Carrai, chairman of Tuscany airports [Toscana Aeroporti], who manages the Pisa airport, has since assured that there will be no more arms shipments through Pisa airport. Toscana Aeroporti failed to reply to an interview request from the Global Times as of press time.

66

For Your Information / Putin on Ukraine and the West: Key takeaways from latest speech

« on: March 17, 2022, 11:05:44 AM »

Putin on Ukraine and the West: Key takeaways from latest speech

RT

The collective West clinging on its “crumbling dominance” has been the ultimate driver of the crisis, Russian president says
Putin on Ukraine and the West: Key takeaways from latest speech
©  The Kremlin

President Vladimir Putin gave an extensive speech on the Ukrainian crisis on Wednesday, as he met with regional heads to discuss measures of socioeconomic support to counter the wave of anti-Russian sanctions. Putin provided his take on the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, its causes, and the goals Russia pursues.
Conflict was inevitable

Launching the “special military operation” was the only option Russia had left to end the years-long bloodshed in eastern Ukraine, Putin stressed. At the same time, limiting its scope to the breakaway Donbass republics only would only push the “frontline” westwards, rather than defuse the situation, he noted.

While waging the war against the breakaway regions of Donbass, Kiev has been preparing for a broad offensive to re-capture them, Putin said, adding that “almost 14,000 civilians, including children, have been killed” in the conflict. Ukrainian authorities also sought to attack Crimea, which split from the country back in 2014 and joined Russia via a referendum.

“Encouraged by the United States and other Western countries, Ukraine was purposefully preparing for a scenario of force, a massacre and an ethnic cleansing in Donbass. A massive onslaught on Donbass and later Crimea was just a matter of time. However, our Armed Forces have shattered these plans,” Putin said.
Kiev actively sought weapons of mass destruction

Ukrainian authorities have openly stated their goal to obtain weapons of mass destruction, namely nuclear bombs and means of their delivery, Russia’s president has said. Given the extremely hostile attitude of Kiev, such systems would have been used to target Russia once they were ready.
WHO advised Kiev to destroy disease-causing pathogens – media READ MORE: WHO advised Kiev to destroy disease-causing pathogens – media

Putin also touched upon the Ukrainian biolab network allegations, raised by the Russian military amid the offensive. The facilities scattered across the country have allegedly been engaged in biological weapons development with direct support of Washington. The allegations, backed by documents published by the Russian military, have been met with varying degrees of denial from the top US officials.

“There was a network of dozens of laboratories in Ukraine, where military biological programs were conducted under the guidance and with the financial support of the Pentagon, including experiments with coronavirus strains, anthrax, cholera, African swine fever and other deadly diseases,” Putin said, adding that now “frantic attempts” are underway to conceal the “traces of these secret programs.”
Ukraine established as ‘anti-Russia’

Over the past few years, under the close guidance of their Western handlers, the Kiev authorities have morphed Ukraine into “anti-Russia”, Putin suggested. The only goal of the incumbent Kiev “regime” is to drag the conflict on for as long as possible, with little regard to the fate of the civilians or destruction that ensues.

“We are seeing again and again that the Kiev regime, for which its Western masters have set the task of creating an aggressive ‘anti-Russia’, is indifferent to the fate of the people of Ukraine themselves,” Putin said.

“It is also obvious that the Western handlers are simply pushing the Kiev authorities to continue the bloodshed. They are supplied with more and more weaponry batches, they are provided with intelligence, they also receive other assistance, including military advisers and mercenaries.”
Kiev & West exhibit ‘shocking cynicism’

Both Ukrainian authorities and the collective West have exhibited “shocking cynicism” amid the conflict, Putin said, offering the ballistic missile strike on the center of Donetsk that occurred on Monday as an example of such behavior. The strike killed at least 20 civilians.
Kremlin responds to Biden calling Putin ‘war criminal’ READ MORE: Kremlin responds to Biden calling Putin ‘war criminal’

“They are striking randomly at squares with the fervor of fanatics and the exasperation of the doomed. They are acting like the Nazis did when they tried to drag as many innocent victims as they could to their graves,” Putin said, adding that Kiev had tried to blame the strike on Russia through “blatant lies.”

The attitude of “the so-called civilized world” to the missile strike turned to be “shocking in its extreme cynicism” as well, the president went on.

“The European and American press did not even notice this tragedy in Donetsk, as if nothing happened,” Putin said. “Just like they have been hypocritically looking the other way over the past eight years as mothers buried their children in Donbass, as elderly people were killed. This is simply moral degradation, complete de-humanization.”
Crumbling dominance of the West behind global turmoil

Ultimately, the West’s desire to maintain its global dominance is the root of the ongoing Ukrainian turmoil, as well as crises in the other parts of the globe, Putin believes.
West’s global political and economic dominance ends – Putin READ MORE: West’s global political and economic dominance ends – Putin

“Today, the entire planet has to pay the price for the ambitions of the West, for its attempts by any means to maintain its crumbling dominance,” he said.

Concerned only with their “vested interests and super profits,” the Western elites led the world into the current situation through “years of mistakes and short-sited decisions.”

For instance, the impact of the anti-Russian sanctions, imposed over the Ukrainian conflict, is already being felt by the common people in the West – while the elites have been bizarrely trying to blame it on Moscow, Putin noted.

    I want ordinary Western people to hear me as well. You are being persistently told that your current difficulties are the result of Russia’s hostile actions and that you have to pay from your own pockets for the efforts to counter the alleged Russian threat. All of that is a lie.

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For Your Information / Re: US dismissal of concerns over biomilitary activities shows irresponsible attitud

« on: March 16, 2022, 04:29:37 PM »

   WHO recommends that Ukraine destroys all dangerous pathogens in its labs
TASS

March 11, 2022


   The World Health Organization (WHO) has strongly recommended that Ukraine destroyed all dangerous pathogens in its laboratories to prevent their possible leak, the WHO has told TASS.

When asked what should be done to prevent a possible leak, the WHO said it "promotes biosecurity at laboratories, e.g. prevention of accidental or deliberate release of pathogens."

"As part of this work, WHO has strongly recommended to the Ministry of Health in Ukraine and other responsible bodies to destroy high-threat pathogens to prevent any potential spills," the organization said.

It called upon all parties "to cooperate in the safe and secure disposal of any pathogens they come across, and to reach out for technical assistance as needed." The organization "will assist wherever possible with technical guidance and coordination."

WHO also said that its country office in Ukraine "has been working for several years with the Ministry of Health and other partners, including other WHO Member States, to support the enhancing of biosafety and biosecurity of labs," as well as the capacity of lab personnel, "in particular to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic."

Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said earlier that evidence of a US-funded military biological program developed in Ukraine had been found during Russia's special operation in that country. The Defense Ministry also published documents proving that the US conducted research in Ukraine into ways that migratory birds can carry dangerous infections and the use of bats as biological warfare agents.

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For Your Information / Re: US dismissal of concerns over biomilitary activities shows irresponsible attitud

« on: March 16, 2022, 04:28:22 PM »

Ukraine was given $1.6 mln to study how migratory birds transmit infections — ministry
TASS

March 10, 2022


   Funding for a US project in Ukrainian biolabs to study transmission of infections by migratory birds totaled $1.6 million, according to a slide presentation for a news conference by Igor Kirillov, head of the radiation, chemical and biological protection forces at the Russian armed forces.

The presentation shows that the project was implemented in 2018-2020. Allocations reached $1.3 million. The slides show migration routes of wild ducks from southern Ukraine as tracked by GPS.

"During spring migration some of the birds migrated to the northeast," the materials said. "The maximum distance is 2,000 km, some birds covered the distance in 3-4 days."

"At the time of nesting, the birds were in Russia," the documents showed.

The main direction of duck migration in the spring is east and north, while a small portion of the birds migrate to the west and south, the papers said.

The slides indicate that 42 outbreaks of the H5N1 subtype (the highly pathogenic "bird flu") were recorded in Crimea, Kherson, Odessa and Sumy in 2005-2006, and three more outbreaks in Crimea in 2008. The virus affected chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, mute swans and cormorants.

Allocations for a project to study the spectrum of pathogens that are spread by bats reached $1.3 million. More than 60 scientists from the US, Ukraine and Georgia were involved in the studies, which are scheduled to run from 2020-2023. The program was aimed at identifying new viral, bacterial pathogens that are significant for human and animal health in bats in Ukraine and Georgia.

On Sunday, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov told reporters that the Russian armed forces, during a special operation in Ukraine, uncovered facts showing a US-funded military biological program was being implemented there. According to the general, information obtained from the employees of Ukrainian biological labs indicated that on February 24 there was an urgent destruction of extremely dangerous pathogens for the following diseases: plague, anthrax, tularemia, cholera and other deadly diseases.

69

For Your Information / Re: US dismissal of concerns over biomilitary activities shows irresponsible attitud

« on: March 16, 2022, 04:27:32 PM »

UK and US Jointly Develop Biological Weapons
New Eastern OUtlook, Vladimir Platov

March 14, 2022


   Documentary evidence of Washington's aggressive plans for developing and manufacturing biological weapons in secret US biological laboratories in Ukraine, banned by international conventions, has been uncovered during the Russian special operation to denazify and demilitarize Ukraine, and it is frankly horrifying! Although suspicions of such US activities have already been repeatedly published by many media outlets and their verification and official confirmation of such criminal anti-human plans by Washington was one of the goals of Moscow's special operation to demilitarize Ukraine.

In this regard, the former weak position in bringing clarity to the exposure and suppression of such forthcoming US crimes is highly surprising. First of all, it should have been long ago that the international community and international institutions should have initiated an independent inspection of some 400 such secret Pentagon biological laboratories scattered around the world, whose location in specific countries is clearly linked to the theatres of future US military action against "adversaries".

The unconditional involvement of Britain, which has long collaborated with the US in the development of chemical and biological weapons, has also surprisingly been ignored in relation to such criminal plans.

Thus, the US Federal Contractor Registry shows that the Pentagon has spent more than $70 billion in recent years alone on experiments with deadly viruses and nerve agents at the Porton Down military biological laboratory, which is located near Salisbury in Great Britain. The US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), led by the US Department of Defense, has funded a number of defense projects at this so-called "Defense Science and Technology Laboratory" (DSTL) at Porton Down. These include experimental infection of primates with anthrax, Ebola, Marburg, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, western and eastern equine encephalitis viruses, and poisoning of animals with mustard gas and phosgene. It is well known that experiments with LSD have been "incapacitating" British troops during exercises. The testing of chemicals on humans, however, was not out of the ordinary for Porton Down. According to El Pais, in 1963 Porton Down staff decided to test the vulnerability of public infrastructure to chemical and biological attacks by spreading a bacterium on the London Underground, which was initially thought to be harmless but turned out to be quite capable of causing septicemia.

The DTRA has full access to all scientific and technical developments at the Porton Down "laboratory". Such experiments involving animals are considered secret in Great Britain and it is a criminal offence under Chapter 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act to reveal information about such experiments.

According to information received by the media, military experiments with chemical and biological weapons have increased at Porton Down in recent years. Thus, between 2005 and 2016, 122,000 animals were infected with deadly viruses or poisoned with chemicals. The "laboratory" uses mice, guinea pigs, rats, piglets, ferrets, sheep and monkeys in its research.

It is also known that British military "scientists" received funding from the DTRA to develop a chemical testing system from 2012 to 2017, with experiments on the effects of VX and VM poisoning agents being conducted at Porton Down in 2015.

In 2013, scientists from Porton Down sprayed gas on the London Underground, which the British government tried to keep quiet about and not tell its citizens. At the time, thousands of persons were gassed without their knowledge, and no one asked for their consent to take part in such barbaric "research" against their own people. Nevertheless, data about this is recorded in a British Home Office document, telling also about other programs conducted jointly by the United States and Britain.

Information about the UK's Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) testing of the chemical poison VX on guinea pigs was posted on the US National Center for Biotechnology Information website on August 9, 2018. And on September 1, 2018, a report emerged on behalf of 10 more researchers at the DSTL about testing Bioscavenger, which is an effective delayed therapeutic intervention for VX chemical weapons poisoning. The DSTL itself officially admitted in mid-2016 that they were producing the poisonous substance and testing it on animals. The DTRA is a major foreign client of the UK's DSTL. Between 2012 and 2017, British military scientists received $39.7 million for the Pentagon's chemical system testing program, and judging by the US Federal Procurement System, the DSTL and DTRA collaboration continues.

The Porton Down secret laboratory has repeatedly been at the center of scandals involving human experimentation. Up to 20,000 people participated in litigation with the DSTL from 1949 to 1989. And in 2008, the UK Ministry of Defense paid 360 veterans £3 million without admitting responsibility.

According to The Guardian, in the late 2000s, the US and Britain experimented with biological weapons in Afghanistan, using a specially bred fungus called fusarium oxysporum and pleospora papaveracae to kill poppy crops. In 2000, the international NGO Sunshine Project published a report on the danger of this fungus infecting and killing not only coca, poppy and cannabis, but also other plants in environmentally sensitive areas of Asia and the New World. An indication of the dangers of such fungi is the fact that their use is banned in the US. According to the Sunshine Project report, genetically modified strains of the fungus have been bred in the US, which means that the deliverables can be classified as biological weapon.

Given this information alone, the extent of Britain's involvement in the possible development with the US of biological weapons already needs to be investigated in detail.

70

For Your Information / US dismissal of concerns over biomilitary activities shows irresponsible attitud

« on: March 11, 2022, 03:58:05 PM »

US dismissal of concerns over biomilitary activities shows irresponsible attitude: Chinese FM
Global Times

March 10, 2022


   The international community has expressed grave concern over US biomilitary activities and for the US to dismiss this as "fake news" shows an irresponsible attitude, said the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday when asked to comment on the US' denial that it operates biowarfare labs in the Ukraine.

The international community has no idea what the US has done in its domestic Fort Detrick lab and the 336 biolabs it has abroad, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian.

"We appeal to all parties to ensure the safety of the biological laboratories in Ukraine under the current circumstances, for the sake of people in Ukraine and in the surrounding regions," said Zhao. The Russian Ministry of Defense said on the same day that documents showed experiments on coronavirus samples from bats have been conducted in the biolabs founded and financed by the US in Ukraine.

Zhao also expressed concerns over US opposition to the founding of a multilateral inspections mechanism, and whether it complies with the Chemical Weapons Convention.

"Despite being a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention, the US remains the only country in the world that still possesses chemical weapons. It has twice exceeded the time limit to destroy all its chemical weapons stockpiles despite repeated requests by the international community," Zhao noted.

Zhao added that the data he mentioned about US biomilitary activities came from the US itself.

Zhao emphasized that China firmly opposes any country developing, possessing or using biological or chemical weapons, urging the US again to offer full clarification on its biological military activities at home and abroad, while also calling for it to accept multilateral inspections and finish the elimination of its chemical weapons stockpile as soon as possible.

According to the Arms Control Association, as part of its treaty obligations to the Chemical Weapons Convention, the US must finish destroying all of its declared chemical weapons stockpiles by September 2023, and as of May 2021, the US has not yet destroyed part of its Category 1 chemical weapons stockpile.

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For Your Information / Russian Communist Party Statement

« on: March 11, 2022, 03:55:06 PM »

Fascists from Europe and Terrorists from the Middle East Support the Bandera Nazis: Russian Communist Party Statement
Communist Party of the Russian Federation

March 8, 2022


   The CPRF resolutely condemns the attempt to internationalize the military conflict in Ukraine and the involvement in the hostilities of outright Nazis and terrorists from Europe and the Middle East.

The CPRF initially assessed the military conflict in Ukraine as a struggle against the neo-Nazis who seized power in a coup d'état in February 2014. We have repeatedly informed the Russian and international public that the Banderites, who are really in charge in Kiev, are direct descendants of Hitler's punishers, who committed monstrous atrocities against the residents of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia during World War II.

Now we have new confirmation of this fact. For this purpose it is enough to look at the composition of those who rushed to Ukraine to support their Nazi accomplices. These are, first of all, the Croatian "volunteers". And we remember very well that in the war of Germany against the USSR, including in Ukraine, two divisions of Croats, "famous" for bloody crimes against civilians, took part.

Thus in Croatian concentration camps on the Balkans in 1941-1944 about one million brothers-Serbs who were fighting with Germans on the side of the USSR in the partisan detachments were slaughtered. And now hundreds of Croats are back in Ukraine on the side of the Banderites. And the Serb brothers are again, as in 1941, on our side. On March 4, more than 15,000 Serbs took to the streets of Belgrade for a powerful demonstration in support of Russia.

Meanwhile, the Croats are not the only Europeans who want revenge. Other countries of the European Union also intend to send "volunteers" again. And that is not surprising. We remember that in that war Europe stood against the USSR with its regular troops and SS legions. The armies of Austria, Hungary, Romania, Italy, Slovakia and Finland fought on Hitler's side, in addition to Croats. Fascists from the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France and Spain vandalized the territory of the USSR, including Ukraine, as part of the SS legions. And today the descendants of unscathed Hitlerites are again eager to fight together with the Nazis and Banderaites.

There are alarming reports of fighters from terrorist organizations from the Middle East being recruited and transported to Ukraine to help the local neo-Nazis. These are those who have become famous for the terrible massacres of civilians in Syria, Libya, Iraq and other Arab countries.

The CPRF resolutely condemns the attempt to internationalize the military conflict in Ukraine and the involvement in the hostilities of outright Nazis and terrorists from Europe and the Middle East. The same fate awaits them as that of their ancestors from the SS legions during the Great Patriotic War. Russians and Ukrainians are brotherly peoples. Together we have shown the world an example of a victorious struggle against German fascism. We shall do everything to prevent this disgusting plague from spreading again over our planet.

Chairman of the CPRF Central Committee G.A. Zyuganov

72

For Your Information / Never again will we rely on the West: Lavrov says Russia will solve its economic

« on: March 11, 2022, 03:50:49 PM »

Never again will we rely on the West: Lavrov says Russia will solve its economic issues
TASS

Mar 10, 2022


   Russia will be able to solve its economic problems in such a way that it will not depend on Western governments and companies ever again, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said following talks with his Ukrainian and Turkish counterparts Dmitry Kuleba and Mevlut Cavusoglu.

"We will solve this problem in such a way that never again will we depend on [our] Western partners, be it governments or companies that are not guided by the interests of their business, but have become a tool of political aggression, Russia is now experiencing from the West," he said.

"We will make sure that we never find ourselves in a similar situation again and that no ‘Uncle Sam' or anyone else can make decisions that are aimed at destroying our economy," he vowed.

We will find a way to no longer depend on it, and it should have been done a long time ago," Lavrov added.

Oil and gas are not weaponized

Touching upon claims that Russia ‘weaponizes' its oil and gas supplies, Lavrov preferred to leave such accusations "to the discretion and conscience of Western colleagues."

"As for oil and gas: we leave it all to the discretion and conscience of our Western colleagues," he said, adding "We have never used oil and gas as a weapon, although they (Western colleagues - TASS) regularly accuse us of doing so."

In this regard, the minister recalled how more than ten years ago, Ukraine provoked a crisis by getting into the habit of stealing natural gas, which was supplied through its territory via transit from Russia to Europe.

"We regularly shipped transit gas to Europe in full compliance with our obligations regarding volumes and prices, but they siphoned it off," he said.

"Do you think Europe somehow tried to manage them? Not at all: they started to claim that it was Russia, which was weaponizing this gas, although they knew perfectly well what was really going on."

Ukraine as a tool against Russia

"Everything that is happening with regards to Ukraine is measured by a lone standard, how to harm Russia through this country, and how to contain Russia," the top diplomat said.

"This containment began long ago, before it was officially announced," he added.

Lavrov highlighted the fact that in the West they "called Russia every name in the book, imposed sanctions, banned their companies from staying in the country, everyone fled, but at the same time they say that they will buy oil and gas, because otherwise they will freeze from the cold." According to him, such behavior perfectly demonstrated Europe's so-called values.

The minister also spoke about the threats being echoed in the West to impose an embargo on the purchase of Russian energy resources. "Go ahead! If they stop buying oil and gas, our Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who oversees the energy sector, spoke in detail that we will not persuade them to buy our oil and gas," he stressed.

"If they want to substitute it, they are welcome to do so. "We will have markets for sales, we already have them," he added.

73

For Your Information / Ukraine's Kuleba: No cease-fire agreement reached at Turkey meeting DW

« on: March 11, 2022, 03:32:23 PM »

Ukraine's Kuleba: No cease-fire agreement reached at Turkey meeting
DW

Mar 10, 2022


   Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said no progress on a cease-fire was made at talks with his Russian counterpart. The meeting in Turkey was the first at this level since Russia's attack on Ukraine began.

It is the first time Lavrov and Kuleba have met since Russia invaded Ukraine last month

A face-to-face meeting in Turkey between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov failed to make progress on ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Kuleba said on Thursday.

It was the first time the top diplomats have met since Russia invaded its neighbor on February 24.

In comments carried by Reuters news agency, Kuleba said at a news conference that the "broad narrative" from Lavrov was that Russia would continue its invasion until Ukraine met its demands.

"Russia is not in a position at this point to establish a cease-fire. They seek a surrender from Ukraine. This is not what they're going to get. Ukraine is strong, Ukraine is fighting," Kuleba said. Watch video 01:01 Dmytro Kuleba: 'We are ready to seek balanced diplomatic solutions'

Kyiv has always rejected Moscow's calls for it to demilitarize, recognize Crimea as part of Russia and recognize two separatist regions in the Donbas regions as autonomous states, among other things.

Kuleba also said that it seemed Lavrov had a different idea than him about what foreign ministers do in such a crisis. What did Lavrov say?

For his part, Lavrov reiterated the Kremlin's allegations that the West has caused the conflict by forcing Ukraine to choose between close ties with Moscow and integration into Western Europe.

He said the West was creating a long-lasting danger in the region and that those who supplied weapons to Ukraine should be aware of how dangerous this was.

He added that Russia had presented its proposals to Ukraine at the meeting and wants a reply.

Lavrov said Russia wanted a "friendly, demilitarized Ukraine" without any threat to Moscow or Russian culture.

He also said President Vladimir Putin would not refuse a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss "specific" issues.

When asked about the bombing of a children's hospital in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Lavrov said Western media had not given "both sides" on this topic.

He said there had long been no women or children at the hospital, only "armed radicals."

Earlier, other Russian officials had claimed the reports were fake.

And when questioned on the possibility that the current conflict could lead to a nuclear war, Lavrov said, "I don't want to believe, and I do not believe, that a nuclear war could start,"

Kuleba tempered expectations ahead of the meeting, saying the prospects for a cease-fire agreement were "limited" as Russia continues its bombardment, as well as siege, of major cities.

He said the success of the meeting would depend on "what instructions and directives Lavrov is under" from the Kremlin.

"I am not pinning any great hopes on them, but we will try and get the most out of" the talks, he added.

Moscow has said it is ready for talks but that all of its demands, including that Kyiv takes a neutral position and drops aspirations of joining the NATO alliance, must be met to end its assault.

Turkey as mediator

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pushed for his country to play a mediation role between the two sides.

DW Russian affairs analyst Konstantin Eggert said ahead of the talks that Turkey's mediation was an important factor, as "Turkey, and specifically Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ... belong to the very few entities in the world that Putin respects."

He said that any prospect of an agreement being reached "essentially lies with Putin."

Eggert added that chances for the talks depended on Lavrov presenting a modified set of demands differing from those made by Moscow at the start of the invasion, as Ukraine would not be prepared to accept those given its current successes in the conflict.

74

For Your Information / Kiev's International Legion: Former elite soldiers from NATO countries

« on: March 03, 2022, 11:21:17 AM »

   Kiev's International Legion: Former elite soldiers from NATO countries – including Germany – participate in the war against Russia in Ukraine. This is considered a substitute for regular NATO deployment.
German Foreign Policy

Mar 2, 0222

   BERLIN/WASHINGTON/KIEV (Own report) – Former NATO special forces – including Germans – are in combat in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine on Ukraine's side. This was reported by a US news portal. According to this information, over the weekend several western ex-elite soldiers experienced in close combat and counterterrorism are preparing to leave from Poland to join the war in Ukraine. Numerous others are reported to be standing by. The government in Kiev has meanwhile created the legal prerequisites by establishing an "international legion," to ensure that soldiers of foreign nationalities entering the country will have regular combatant status. Observers consider that the voluntary engagement of former soldiers from the West will substitute, to a certain extent, for the deployment of regular NATO troops, which the military alliance does not want to send, to avoid an official engagement in a war with the nuclear power Russia. These methods are known, for example, from the 1980s Afghanistan war, also involving Bundeswehr soldiers. The "Georgian Legion" is currently a point of contact in Ukraine.

The Georgian Legion

The Georgian Legion was originally one of the various irregular militias formed in the course of 2014, to fight in eastern Ukraine against the pro-Russian People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. They had seceded from Ukraine following the coup in Kiev, of course, without being internationally recognized as full-fledged nations. In the militias, many irregulars from other countries of the former Soviet Union were fighting alongside Ukrainians. For example, one militia was comprised of exiled Chechens, who were continuing their fight in Ukraine, after their own uprising had been defeated (the "Dzhokhar Dudayev" Battalion).[1] Another unit formed in 2014, is the Georgian Legion, with a strong presence of former soldiers from Georgia's military, including veterans of the Russia-Georgian war of August 2008. In 2017, the unit made international headlines, when three Georgians testified to Italian TV journalists that they had been recruited in Tbilisi in January 2014, for a mission in Kiev on the side of the Maidan opposition and, on February 20, 2014, took part in firing the fatal shots at the Maidan. They testified that they had been recruited and commanded by the Georgian Mamuka Mamulashvilli, today's commander of the Georgian Legion.[2]

"To Foster Exchange"

The Georgian Legion had caught the attention of observers already years ago, because the US citizen Craig Lang had been one of its members, for a short period. Lang, a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, had gone to Ukraine as an irregular, in 2015. He had been under investigation by judicial authorities in the USA, suspected of having committed war crimes in eastern Ukraine. After having returned to the USA, he, along with another former irregular, had committed a murder and robbery, to raise money for his trip to Venezuela, where he sought to join the struggle against the government of President Nicolas Maduro. He was able to flee, however, he landed in jail in Kiev pending extradition.[3] In eastern Ukraine, Lang had mainly fought in the Right Sector militia, which along with the Asov Battalion, is one of the best-known extreme right-wing militias in Ukraine. Recent research indicates that extreme right-wing Ukrainians, who feel close to the Asov Battalion, but aspire to a career in the armed forces, have participated in training programs abroad – according to research, even in Germany. For example, a Ukrainian soldier, with extreme right-wing views, is said to have attended the "30th International Week" of the Army Officers Academy (OSH) in Dresden. This event is deemed to foster not only an "exchange among military personnel" but "partnerships" as well. [4]

"We are recruiting professionals"

As was reported by the US portal BuzzFeed News, the Georgian Legion has integrated more than 300 western irregulars since 2014, giving them the possibility of participating in the civil war raging in eastern Ukraine. Over the past few weeks, it has been accelerating its efforts to recruit more foreign volunteers from the West. Already at the end of January, Mamulashvilli reported that his unit had received "more than 30 requests" – most from the United States and Great Britain, but also "one from Germany."[5] "We are recruiting professionals," explained Mamulashvilli, to BuzzFeed News, noting that the Georgian Legion makes military capabilities a condition for joining, and added, in late January, "We have the green light." Following publication of that article, the US online portal reported having received emails from "dozens of men in the USA, the United Kingdom and countries in the European Union," saying they were interested in fighting in Ukraine against Russian units, if they should really invade the country. On Sunday, BuzzFeed News announced that ten elite soldiers experienced in close combat and counterterrorism are preparing to cross the Polish border to Ukraine, to go to war. The group is composed of six US citizens, three Brits, and a German.[6]

In the Chain of Command

Kiev has now established the legal prerequisites for the militias' combat volunteers to be treated not as irregular combatants, but as regular soldiers, enjoying the full protection of humanitarian international law. As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on the weekend, the armed forces have now created an "International Legion," allowing citizens of foreign countries to join. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba confirmed that now these people have the "legal framework, to fight under the chain of command of the armed forces of Ukraine," without being a Ukrainian citizen.[7] The chain of command also includes the Georgian Legion which, in 2016, had been integrated into the armed forces. On the side of the West, Britain's Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, gave the "green light," when she declared on Sunday that she "definitely" supports British nationals who might go to Ukraine to fight against Russia. As official policy, the latter is new. In 2014, the British Crown Prosecution Service explicitly warned, British citizens, traveling to Syria, to join the war, would be committing a crime, if they joined the Syrian insurgents, seeking to overthrow President Bashar al Assad. Overthrowing Assad was one of the British government's political objectives, at the time. Like Afghanistan

There is an obvious parallel between the participation of non-active-duty soldiers from western armed forces entering combat against the Russian Army in Afghanistan during the 1980s and today's war in Ukraine. Back then, West German soldiers, and others, were officially granted a leave of absence to go fight at the Hindu Kush.[8] In addition, like today, the uprising against Soviet troops was supported with weaponry. The most prominent parallel is, that back then, like today, western countries provided portable "Stinger" air defense missiles. In Afghanistan, these proved also decisive for the Soviet defeat.[9]

NOTES [1] Mark MacKinnon: Chechens and Georgians in Ukraine preparing to continue fight against Putin on a new front. theglobeandmail.com 13.02.2022. [2] Guerra in Ucraina, le verità nascoste. Canale 5, 15.11.2017. Gian Micalessin: La versione dei cecchini sulla strage di Kiev: "Ordini dall'opposizione". ilgiornale.it 15.11.2017. S. auch Chaos säen (II). [3] Christopher Miller: NATO Won't Put Troops Into Ukraine, But Western Foreigners Are Volunteering To Join The Fight Against Russia. buzzfeednews.com 28.01.2022. [4] Nicholas Potter: Wie rechtsextreme Soldaten in der Ukraine vom Westen ausgebildet werden. belltower.news 19.01.2022. [5] Christopher Miller: NATO Won't Put Troops Into Ukraine, But Western Foreigners Are Volunteering To Join The Fight Against Russia. buzzfeednews.com 28.01.2022. [6] Christopher Miller: A Team Of American And British Special Forces Veterans Are Preparing To Join Ukraine's Fight Against Russia. buzzfeednews.com 27.02.2022. Briten und Amerikaner schicken Spezialkommandos in die Ukraine. berliner-zeitung.de 28.02.2022. [7] Tom Sables: Ukraine invites foreign volunteers to combat invading Russian forces. forces.net 27.02.2022. [8] S. dazu Der Krieg kehrt heim (II). [9] S. dazu Die Zeitenwende.

75

For Your Information / Re: What the Russian, Ukrainian delegations agreed on and Moldova rejects NATO

« on: March 03, 2022, 11:15:36 AM »

Urgency of talks arises
Global Times, By Chen Qingqing and Zhang Han

March 3, 2022


   As Russia's military operation in Ukraine entered its seventh day, the world is closely observing the situation as the rising cost of the war is being felt not only by Russia and Ukraine, but also Europe, and has made the second round of negotiations for a possible ceasefire an urgent issue.

Countries like China have continued calling for diplomatic efforts to de-escalate Ukraine-Russia tensions, but the US-led Western bloc keeps fueling the crisis with more extreme sanctions and aggressive rhetoric, which would only lead to more conflicts, divisions and confrontations, experts said.

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone conversation with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at the latter's invitation on Tuesday. Kuleba said "China has played a constructive role on this issue and that Ukraine is ready to step up communication with China. He looked forward to China's mediation efforts for the ceasefire." The conversation proved that some accusations and reports to distort China's neutral stance from some Western politicians and media are groundless.

Peace talks urgent

The second round of negotiations between the delegations of Ukraine and Russia is scheduled on Wednesday night local time. According to information obtained by TASS, the talks are to be held in Belarus, in the Bialowieza forest. However, there is still no certainty about this, TASS said.

A second round of talks between Ukraine and Russia will take place later on Wednesday, Russian state news agency reported, citing an aide to the Ukrainian presidential office.

Although there's been a huge difference between the stances of the two sides, they have a strong willingness to solve the problem through negotiation, said the Chinese analysts.

Rather than encouraging the two sides to find a solution through negotiations as China advocated, the US and the West showed little encouragement for the peace talks. Instead, the US and its allies have been inciting Ukraine to continue confronting Russia, experts said.

The spillover effect of the crisis has become palpable. For Russia, given the multiple rounds of West-led sanctions, its economy and finance have been under mounting pressure. As the military conflict drags on, Ukraine has also been seeing significant consequences, which cast a shadow over the future of European countries as well.

Some experts said that given the growing pressure on energy prices, in addition to inflation pressure and the risk of triggering a new financial crisis, advancing the diplomatic measures to solve the crisis is echoing the interests of all relevant parties.

Continuing the military operation while having negotiations could be the target of Russia, which shows that Moscow is concerned that the other side may protract the process which will bring more uncertainties, some experts said.

Disrupting forces

"The US is unwilling to see the situation de-escalate soon, so it does not want to see any positive factors amid this crisis that could help ease the tensions, as the Ukraine crisis provides an opportunity for Washington to enhance its leading role in European security affairs," Li Haidong, a professor from the Institute of International Relations of China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko was quoted by Russian media as saying that Russian and Ukrainian counterparts will sit down at the negotiating table, but very powerful forces wish to derail this process.

"It is clear that the US needs geopolitical tensions to ease domestic pressure, but it also fears the tensions will burn the US itself. Russia would act tough to ensure its security if sanctions continue and even escalate, and threaten the Russian lifeline," Lü said.

US President Joe Biden raised his anti-Russia rhetoric during his State of the Union address on Tuesday vowing that Russian President Vladimir Putin "will pay a continuing high price over the long run" while he may make gains on the battlefield.

In the 6,500-word speech, nearly 1,200 words were dedicated to the Ukraine crisis, with both Republicans and Democrats cheering when Biden summarized US and EU financial sanctions imposed on Russia, including the closing of airspace to Russian flights. Ukrainian ambassador to the US Oksana Markarova was present at the event.

Judging from the atmosphere, Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes Biden partly achieved his goal — to unite the two parties and demonstrate US leadership in NATO and in front of its European allies.

However, experts suspected the short-term solidarity in the first week of battle may soon be forgotten when Europe, particularly Germany which has close economic interactions with Russia, suffers the pain of cutting trade ties with Russia.

"We have responded to this question many times," Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said during the press conference on Wednesday when he was asked whether China would follow as Western countries sanctioned Russia. Instead of putting the livelihood and economy of Russia in severe difficulties, the unilateral sanctions have never been an effective way of solving the problem, which would only escalate the confrontations and divisions, the Chinese official said.