World War III.2 - Russian Perspective
On 24 February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine. The West, in response to Moscow's decision, began to gradually introduce numerous and large-scale sanctions against the Russian Federation. Along with this, the Western states began to supply weapons and military equipment to Kyiv for amounts estimated at this stage in tens of billions of dollars. Moscow perceives the hostilities with Kiev as part of a proxy war that the US and its allies are waging against Russia. The West’s goal is to contain and damage its opponent, Russian officials claimed, and it would fuel the conflict “to the last Ukrainian.”
"The Third World War began in 2014, and since then, Russia has been preparing to fighy" popular Ukrainian video blogger Yuriy Podolyaka, who is based in Sevastopol, said 10 March 2022. “Russians perceive the current Russian special operation in Ukraine as a local episode of the war between Russia and the United States, as the third Patriotic war, but in a different format,” Podolyaka said. “Events in the information and psychological war are no less important than what is happening now on the fronts in Ukraine…. But what I really see in Russia is an unprecedented patriotic upsurge.” According to him, many Russians perceive the current special operation of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine as necessary - to liberate the Ukrainian state from the clique that unleashed the war in 2014.
The term Patriotic War was first used when referring to Napoleon’s invasion of Russia. The term Fatherland War was also applied by some for the Great War, as an allusion to the Napoleonic conflict. The Soviet Union called the war of the USSR against Germany (1941-1945) the Great Patriotic War. So either of the two World Wars of the early 20th Crntury might be regarded as the second Patriotic War, with the ar against Ukraine standing as the Third Patriotic War.
The Western alliance maintained that it is not a party to conflict in Ukraine, despite revelations in the Pentagon leaks that in addition to training, intelligence support and tens of billions worth of advanced weaponry, several NATO countries actually have special forces boots on the ground. Moscow considers the crisis in Ukraine a “proxy war” between itself and the Western alliance, emphasizing that the conflict would end immediately if Washington and its allies ended their military support for Kiev, and wouldn’t have started if NATO had respected Russia’s security concerns in the first place.
NATO promises to provide Ukraine with membership in the alliance in order to motivate it to fulfill the alliance's tasks, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on 21 April 2023. Earlier in the day, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that all allies have agreed that Ukraine should become a member of the alliance. "NATO sets itself the goal of 'defeating' Russia in Ukraine, and in order to motivate Kiev, it promises that after the end of the conflict, the country can be accepted into the alliance. Such statements are short-sighted and simply dangerous. This may lead to the final collapse of the European security system," Zakharova said in a statement.
Russia has long insisted that the conflict in Ukraine is an indirect standoff between Moscow and the West. In December 2022, the secretary of Russia's national security council, Nikolay Patrushev, claimed that "the events in Ukraine are not a confrontation between Moscow and Kiev" but a military confrontation between NATO and Russia.
Patrushev also accused the West of sacrificing other people's lives for profit and ambition. The senior official, who previously served as director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), insisted that Washington and its allies were simply using Ukrainians for their own goals because an independent Russia had "no place" in their minds.
This viewpoint was echoed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, who said that Russia was fighting the West in Ukraine.
Earlier in January 2023, the Kremlin accused Western nations of indirectly taking part in the conflict. "Their involvement in this conflict is obvious," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at the time. Although both Washington and Brussels maintain they have no intention of getting involved in the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, "de facto they have already become an indirect party" to it, he said.
One of Vladimir Putin's allies claimed World War Three had already started as he called for Russia to launch a nuclear missile strike on Britain, France and Poland. TV propagandist Vladimir Solovyov told Russians on 12 January 2023 that Moscow should target the West to disrupt NATO countries from sending supplies to Ukraine.
Deputy President of the Security Council of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev said the defense of Ukraine, which nobody in Europe needs, will not help the "rotten Old World to avoid paying for its sins." According to Medvedev, if the Third World War does happen at all, it will not be fought with the help of tanks and planes, but the whole world will turn to ashes. He reminded that Great Britain, among other things, demands that the countries of the Alliance should deliver weapons to Kyiv immediately, as well as that these fighters, tanks and long-range missiles will prevent the expansion of Russia and the outbreak of the Third World War.
Russian officials have gone to lengths to draw comparisons between fighting Nazis in World War Two and Ukraine.
Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, on 03 March 2022 accused the international community of "hysteria" over Ukraine, comparing the United States to Nazi Germany and stating that "Americans have had Europe under their grip." He said that the Americans are telling the Germans what is good for European energy security. "They're trying to impose their own view of the future of Europe on us. ... Napoleon and Hitler had the objective of having the whole of Europe under their control; now the Americans have got Europe under control. And we see that this situation has really demonstrated what role the EU is playing in the global situation." Lavrov went on to explain that there is "an absolute evil and an absolute good" in movies, and that the global picture is comparable.
At a Kremlin ceremony 30 September 2022 to mark the illegal annexation of four Ukrainian territories, Putin said" ...it is important to recall that the West bailed itself out of its early 20th century challenges with World War I. Profits from World War II helped the United States finally overcome the Great Depression and become the largest economy in the world, and to impose on the planet the power of the dollar as a global reserve currency. And the 1980s crisis – things came to a head in the 1980s again – the West emerged from it unscathed largely by appropriating the inheritance and resources of the collapsed and defunct Soviet Union. That's a fact.
"Now, in order to free itself from the latest web of challenges, they need to dismantle Russia as well as other states that choose a sovereign path of development, at all costs, to be able to further plunder other nations’ wealth and use it to patch their own holes. If this does not happen, I cannot rule out that they will try to trigger a collapse of the entire system, and blame everything on that, or, God forbid, decide to use the old formula of economic growth through war."
Sergei Lavrov said on 18 January 2023 that the United States had assembled a coalition of European countries to solve "the Russian question" in the same way that Adolf Hitler had sought a "final solution" to eradicate Europe's Jews. Lavrov made the comparison at his annual press conference, saying Washington was using the same tactic as Napoleon and the Nazis in trying to subjugate Europe in order to destroy Russia. Lavrov said, "they are waging war against our country with the same task: the "˜final solution' of the Russian question" using Ukraine as a proxy.
"Just as Napoleon mobilized practically all of Europe against the Russian Empire, just as Hitler mobilized and captured"¦ the majority of European countries and sent them against the Soviet Union, now the United States has organized a coalition," Lavrov said. "Just as Hitler wanted a "˜final solution' to the Jewish question, now, if you read Western politicians " they clearly say Russia must suffer a strategic defeat", Lavrov told journalists in Moscow.
"What is happening in Ukraine now is the result of preparations by the US and its satellites for the start of a global hybrid war against the Russian Federation. Nobody is hiding this fact. This is clear from statements by unbiased Western politologists, scientists and politicians. In his recent article, Ian Bremmer, political science professor at Columbia University, wrote: "We are not in a cold war with Russia. We are in a hot war with Russia. Now it's a proxy war. And NATO is not fighting it directly. We are fighting it through Ukraine."...
"The European Union has been completely subsumed by this US dictatorship (there's no point in discussing this at length). The signing of the Joint Declaration on EU-NATO Cooperation on January 10 was the high point of this process, something that has been in the making for several years. It states explicitly that the alliance and the EU's goal is to use all political, economic and military means in the interests of the golden billion... the one billion residents of NATO and the EU countries.... These two organisations are being presented as an alliance of democracies against autocracies amid global rivalry....
"Western politicians - not only from the Baltics and Poland but also from more reasonable countries - say that Russia must be dealt a strategic defeat. Some political analysts write about decolonising Russia, that our country is too big and "gets in the way." The other day I read an item in The Telegraph that called for liberating Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria, while leaving Karelia, Koenigsberg and the Kuril Islands for negotiations. ...
"They openly say that sanctions against Russia are designed to incite the people to rise in a revolution to overthrow the current leaders. Nobody is observing or intends to observe proprieties any longer. But their reaction and frenzied attempts to ensure, by hook or by crook, by any foul means possible, the domination of the US and the West, which Washington has already brought to heel, is proof that, historically, they are acting contrary to the objective course of events by trying to stop the rise of a multipolar world....
"The United States drafts its strategy, including the national security doctrine, and the Declaration on NATO-EU Cooperation, listing Russia and China in them. There is a small nuance though: they view Russia as an immediate threat that they need to deal with right now, while designating China as the main, long-term, serious and system-wide challenge. The West believes that dealing with the Chinese threat will take more time....
"It was not a coincidence that they enslaved Europe and devoted it to serving its strategy of domination, and nothing else. They are doing the same thing to Japan right now. They will probably try and draw New Zealand and Canada into AUKUS-like alliances in order to have all five Anglo-Saxon countries locked in. There is also an effort to reach out to South Korea....
"The Americans cannot carry out their policy of dominance, which primarily consists of constraining Russia and China, on their own. It is for this reason that they need the Western camp to be fully mobilised. A partial mobilisation would no longer suffice."
One of Vladimir Putin's allies claimed 12 January 2023 that World War Three had already started as he called for Russia to launch a nuclear missile strike on Britain, France and Poland. TV propagandist Vladimir Solovyov told Russians that Moscow should target the West to disrupt NATO countries from sending supplies to Ukraine. Solovyov told his viewers across Russia's 11 time zones: "There is a full-scale Third World War."
The world has come close to the threat of World War III, the special operation has become a forced and extreme measure of Russia in response to the preparation of aggression by the United States and its satellites. This was announced on 23 January 2023 by the chairman of United Russia, deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev.
"Our party must help people in the world understand that the special operation that is being carried out has become a forced and extreme measure, a response to the preparation of aggression on the part of the United States of America and its satellites. It is obvious that the world has come close to the threat of a Third World War due to for what happened," he said at a meeting of the bureau of the supreme council of United Russia.
TV propagandist Vladimir Solovyov told Russians 13 January 2023 that Moscow should target the West to disrupt NATO countries from sending supplies to Ukraine. Solovyov told his viewers across Russia’s 11 time zones: “There is a full-scale Third World War. “We do not strike at the territory of NATO countries, because ‘then NATO will intervene’.” But such supplies should amount to a “red line” for Putin, said the war hawk who the Kremlin leader is said to watch avidly on state TV.
Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the Russian state-controlled media organization RT, said that "World War III is already underway" during a recent televised discussion about Russia's conflict in Ukraine. She made the comment during an interview on the program Life and Fate, which airs on Russia state TV. Simonyan indicated she was surprised at the amount of support Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has received from Western nations. As a result of that support, she said, the conflict in Ukraine has escalated into a full-blown global war. "I didn't think it would be easy, but of course I didn't think we'd have to fight the entire Western world, that it would be World War III," Simonyan said. She added, "World War III is already underway."
"I think that obviously no one has foreseen this, because no one had anticipated that we would not fight against Zelensky, Ukraine's armed forces, its security service, but we will fight against the entire collective West," she said. "We are fighting against all of them. Listen, of course, to defeat the collective West, the might of NATO, it's hard and difficult. I didn't anticipate the crushing scale of what the West is prepared to do in order to destroy us."
Deputy head of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev expanded the list od war aims: “Changing the bloody and full of false myths consciousness of a part of today's Ukrainians is the most important goal. The goal is for the sake of the peace of future generations of Ukrainians themselves and the opportunity to finally build an open Eurasia – from Lisbon to Vladivostok.”
Apparently, having found out by experience that all the goals of the special operation declared aloud had failed and their further use began to raise bad questions, it was decided to cover them up with something else - the fight against Satanism. Medvedev turned to the biblical theme at the end of April 2022: “History will put everything in its place and indicate which side is right. Who became the custodian of true Christian values, protecting them from atheists, bandits and nationalists. Who kept a single cultural code of communication between the peoples of Europe, based on the Christian faith... In life, good and truth do not always quickly overcome evil and lies. But sooner or later it happens. And for this you have to act as it is said in Deuteronomy: “When I sharpen My shining sword, and My hand receives judgment, I will avenge My enemies and repay those who hate Me” (Deut. 32:41).
On 04 November 2022, on National Unity Day, Dmitry Medvedev told subscribers: “We have the opportunity to send all enemies to fiery hell, but this is not our task. We listen to the words of the Creator in our hearts and obey them. These words give us a sacred purpose. The goal is to stop the supreme ruler of hell, no matter what name he uses - Satan, Lucifer or Iblis. For his goal is death. Our goal is life."
The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, said in his telegram channel 26 October 2022 that "Satanism is openly acting against Russia in the West." What is Satanic democracy, he decided to explain with examples: “This is when the rights of atheists are protected, but believers are offended. Or when traditional couples are deprived of children and transferred to same-sex families. Intentionally same-sex, not by chance. And in Europe they swallowed it. They consider it modern, civilized. The more liberated the topic “below the belt”, the better for them. And I see degradation and Satanism in this. And I'd rather fight it in the bud there than let this abomination envelop our Motherland here."
Lieutenant General Alexei Pavlov worked for the FSB before taking up the position of Assistant Secretary of the Security Council in 2009. Then in 2022, he attracted attention with a statement about the need to “desatanize” Ukraine: Pavlov said in an interview that since the 1990s the number of followers of religious sects has increased in the country, and after the change of power in 2014, the country’s leadership set out to “reformat the minds of Ukrainian citizens” and "prohibit the real values that carry the Orthodox faith, Islam and Judaism." After the publication of the article, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev apologized. He stated that Pavlov's words about Lubavitcher Hasidim in the material about religion in Ukraine were erroneous.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia made a presentation at the 25 October 2022 plenary session of the 24th World Russian People's Council "Orthodoxy and Peace in the 21st Century". The word "Ukraine" did not sound, he spoke about the opposition to globalism - "the project of world unity, but without taking into account the true intention of the Creator about man", transhumanism and atheism. “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of the darkness of this world, the spirits of wickedness in high places,” Cyril quoted the message of the Apostle Paul. “Today, these words are taking on a visible expression, and everyone can understand what is being said, and with understanding, the possibility of resistance opens up.”
Philosopher and political scientist Alexander Dugin, who spoke at the same council, spoke of the "war of Heaven against Hell", "the rati of the Archangel Michael against the devil", referring to the clash of ideas. “The battlefield is just Ukraine,” he said. - On the one hand, we, Holy Rus', as His Holiness the Patriarch speaks, and against us are the forces of absolute, world historical evil. Therefore, more and more often we are talking about Armageddon, about the end of time, the Apocalypse. It's all happening before our very eyes."
Dmitry Medvedev mocked President Joe Biden on 10 February 2023, characterizing the American leader as old and confused. Medvedev referred to Biden as an "old man," and suggested he may be suffering from dementia. Biden could "absent-mindedly start World War III," the Russian official wrote.
Elon Musk confirmed that he would restrict the Ukraine military’s use of his Starlink satellite internet service so that it could not be used in a way that would lead to the “escalation of a conflict that may lead to” World War III. Musk tweeted on 12 February 2023 “... we will not enable escalation of conflict that may lead to WW3”. A top aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, tweeted that SpaceX needs to decide whether it is on the side of Ukraine’s right to freedom or Russia’s “‘right’ to kill & seize territories.”
Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI) warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is “doing everything that he can to bring us and NATO into this war.” Gabbard noted on Tucker Carlson Tonight on 20 February 2023 “You heard it from Zelensky himself, talking about the consequences of World War III,”. “The thing is, he has made very clear that that’s where he thinks we are already — that we’re in World War III. Ukraine is the tip of the spear. This is how he justifies demanding — making demands of the United States and all of these NATO countries to equip him with the weapons and aircraft and tanks that the United States and NATO have to go and fight this war that we are in against Russia.”
The former congresswoman, who left the Democratic Party because it is “under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness,” called the notion that supporting the Ukraine war was in the name of democracy a “lie.”
“You look at the lies that American people are being told by President Biden, by Mitch McConnell, by these warmongers in both parties selling this lie that this is about defending freedom and democracy,” Gabbard said. “There’s no greater threat to that democracy than this fight against this war against Russia.”
The North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO) is directly involved in the Ukrainian crisis, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev said 24 March 2023. "I will only say one thing, something that is already so obvious: the Russian Federation is not at war with Ukraine, not with the Ukrainian half-Nazi or Nazi regime – our country is at war with a 3.6 million [strong] NATO army. They are participating, of course, in such a hybrid conflict, and they, in fact, no longer hide it," he said.
Medvedev also stressed that in order to "exterminate this [neo-Nazi] infection (...) nothing can be ruled out" during the special military operation. “...If you need to reach Kiev, then you need to go to Kiev, if you need to reach Lvov, then you need to go to Lvov in order to exterminate this infection,” he stressed.
"There is no turning back. Things will never be the same again… The dictate of the Anglo-Saxon countries is over. This becomes clear in the light of the events that are taking place and yesterday's talks (on Tuesday with the head of China)," he said. “I don’t know what will happen next, but it is obvious that the era of regional agreements such as BRICS, SCO, bilateral relations is coming. This may even seem like a step backwards in some ways, but such a step back is better than an attempt to portray unanimity under the auspices of the UN or some other political body," Medvedev concluded.
Perhaps for the first time, on 24 March 2023 Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Security Council, issued a very specific description, apparently to Russia's liking, of what is necessary to stop hostilities. According to Medvedev, “it is necessary to achieve all the goals that have been set to protect our territories, that is, the territories of the Russian Federation. Throw out all foreigners who are there in the broadest sense of the word. It is clear that we are talking about the Donbass, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions." The second point is the creation, to use Medvedev's terminology, of a "sanitary belt." This is a demilitarized zone, "which will not allow the use of any types of weapons that work at medium and short distances, that is, 70-100 kilometers." That is, from the side of Ukraine, no heavy weapons should be deployed a hundred kilometers from the border. This means that if the voiced option does not suit, it will not be possible to agree on it, “if this is not enough, then it’s time to make some other decisions. Nothing can be ruled out here. If you need to get to Kyiv, then you need to go to Kyiv, if to Lvov, then you need to go to Lvov in order to exterminate this infection."
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin offered a ten-point list of things the government in Kiev needs to do in order for hostilities to cease. In an interview on 29 March 2023, Galuzin said the future of Ukraine itself will depend on how soon Kiev and its Western backers "come to grips with reality". The diplomat stressed that Moscow would not tolerate "the existence of an openly anti-Russian state on its borders, whatever its borders", and returning to the origins of its statehood.
- demilitarization and "denazification" of Ukraine
- Ukraine's military forces must stand down and the West must halt all deliveries of weapons to Kiev
- a pledge to never join the EU or NATO
- affirmation of Kiev’s non-nuclear status
- recognition of “new territorial realities” [added in October 2022] – commonly understood to mean the decision of Kherson, Zaporozhye and the republics of Donetsk and Lugansk to join Russia
- Ensure the protection of the Russian language and the rights of Russian-speaking citizens, as well as all other ethnic groups in Ukraine
- Ukraine needs to reopen the border with Russia
- restore the legal framework of relations with Moscow and other ex-Soviet republics, which it renounced in 2014.
- Moscow demanded for the first time the lifting of all anti-Russian sanctions and the “withdrawal of claims and termination of prosecutions against Russia, its individuals and legal entities,” presumably including the recent International Criminal Court (ICC) warrants for President Vladimir Putin and the children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova.
- restoration - with the money of the West - of the Ukrainian civilian infrastructure destroyed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine after 2014.
Ukraine’s peaceful future depends on respecting the rights of its Russian population, restoring friendly relations with all neighbors, and returning to its founding principle of neutral and non-bloc status, enshrined in the 1990 declaration of independence, Galuzin said. “The future of the territories of present-day Ukraine should be determined by the inhabitants of this country themselves,” Galuzin told RTVI, noting that this includes “Ukrainians, Russians, Jews, Hungarians, Moldovans, Bulgarians, Romanians, Poles, and Greeks.” Moscow will simply not tolerate “an openly anti-Russian state, whatever its borders,” as a neighbor, said Galuzin. “Neither Russia, nor any other state, would accept this from the standpoint of security.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed to the participants in the 11th St Petersburg International Legal Forum , May 12, 2023: "Washington and its henchmen have been criticising us for what they allege was a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Once again, I have to emphasise that the special military operation is being carried out as per Article 51 of the UN Charter, which sets forth the right to individual and collective self-defence, of which the UN Security Council has been notified in due course. The operation came as a response to an armed attack by the Kiev regime. As part of the special military operation, Russia seeks to prevent Russians and Russian speakers from being exterminated, while also eliminating long-standing security threats created by the West along its borders as a way to anticipate and counter an even broader aggression. Let me remind you that Russia made every effort until the very last moment to de-escalate tensions in Europe. This was the purpose of the well-known initiatives President Vladimir Putin presented in December 2021. "
The size of the "sanitary zone" or "cordon sanitaire" in Ukraine will depend on the range of Ukrainian weapons, from which Russian territory must be secured. This was stated to TASS 17 June 2023 by the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov, answering the question whether the possible boundaries of such a zone are outlined. "No, it depends on what types of weapons Ukraine has. The higher the tactical and technical characteristics of weapons in Ukraine, the greater this distance should be," the Kremlin spokesman said. "The main goal is clear: so that they do not reach Russian citizens with these weapons," Peskov added.
Answering the question whether there is a deadline after which the creation of such a "sanitary zone" will begin, Peskov noted that in fact this process has been going on "for a year and a half." "There can be neither new nor old ["sanitary zone"], it can be only one. [This is a continuation of] the work that is being done," the presidential press secretary stressed.
On June 13, at a meeting with military officers, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Russian Federation, in the event of continued shelling of its regions, could consider creating a "sanitary zone" on the territory of Ukraine. Once again, the head of state returned to this topic at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on June 16. "If these attacks on our adjacent territories continue further, we will consider the possibility of creating a cordon sanitaire on Ukrainian territory. They just need to understand what they are all leading to," Putin said at the time.
The crisis in Ukraine acquired a global dimension through the efforts of the United States, Great Britain and their satellites and manifested itself in most regions of the world. This is stated in the message of the Russian diplomatic department following the meeting of the collegium of the Russian Foreign Ministry held on 26 June 2023 under the chairmanship of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov."The Anglo-Saxons have assumed the role of headquarters and supplier to [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky of weapons, intelligence and target designations for systematic strikes against civilian targets and civilians in Russia. Through the efforts of Washington, London and their satellites, the crisis has acquired a global geopolitical dimension, manifesting itself not only in Europe and the United States, but also in other regions, including the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, the Arctic," the ministry said.
The Board emphasized that the current international relations are characterized by a high level of conflict, "in the center of which is a hybrid war unleashed by the collective West against Russia." The ministry noted that the West chose Ukraine as a springboard and instrument of armed struggle against Russia, "cultivating a neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv and turning Ukraine into a new international terrorist cell." "At the same time, the collective West is sacrificing to its colonial ambitions the prospects for universal cooperation in space, cyberspace, science, culture, as well as in the fight against new challenges and threats (NVU): terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crime and corruption," the Foreign Ministry added.
The victory of Russia in Ukraine is not just the destruction of the Nazi regime in a particular territory. This is the defeat of the old world, the end of the hegemony of the Anglo-Saxon elite and "old Western money", the onset of a new multipolar era, which is a terrible dream of the true rulers of the United States.
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said 19 August 2023 that the defeat of the West in the Ukrainian direction is inevitable and that "any counteroffensive" of Ukraine will fizzle out. “It must be destroyed to the ground. Or rather, so that even the ashes from it did not remain. So that this abomination can never, under any circumstances, be reborn ,” the politician wrote in his social networks.
President Vladimir Putin said 05 October 2023 Russia is tasked "with building a new world" on Thursday and reiterated his position that Russia did not start the war in Ukraine but launched what it calls a “special military operation” to try to stop it. In his yearly speech to the Valdai Discussion Club, being held in Sochi, Putin said "[Russia is] tasked, essentially, with building a new world," adding the West was aiming for global "hegemony". He said the conflict was not therefore imperial or territorial but about the global order, and that the US, which had lost its hegemonic power and always needed an enemy, had lost touch with reality and grown arrogant. “All the time, we hear ‘You must’, ‘You have to’, ‘We’re seriously warning you’. Who are you anyway? What right do you have to warn anyone? Maybe it’s time you yourself got rid of your arrogance, stopped behaving that way towards the world,” Putin said about the US.
Russia's special military operation in Ukraine is a mission to protect national sovereignty and liberate Eurasia from the yoke of Western powers. This was stated 23 October 2023 by the head of the Club of Friends of Crimea in Japan, Mitsuhiro Kimura, at a session of the Yalta International Forum. "Russia's military actions are truly a defense of national sovereignty and the liberation of Eurasia from the yoke of Western powers. I would once again like to express my sincere respect to all Russian people who risk their lives for this important mission," he said.
At the same time, Kimura emphasized that the SVO is the result of the reluctance of the Nazi regime of Ukraine to support international peace. “Ukraine rejects the agreements reached in Minsk. We recognize that the SVO is a necessary military measure aimed at protecting people from provocations against Russia. This is a measure against the mass murders of people planned by Ukraine in the regions of Crimea and Donbass,” he added. Mitsuhiro Kimura is the leader of the Japanese far-right ethnic group Issuikai and publishes "Monthly Reconquista", a newsletter of the group. He visited Russia-occupied regions of Georgia South Ossetia and Abkhazia (2010) as well as Crimea (2014).
Russian geopolitical analyst and editor-in-chief of the Geopolitika website, Leonid Savin, drew on interlinked influences between Ukraine and Palestine vis-a-vis US foreign policy and global influence 16 November 2023. The official Russian position regarding the ongoing war in Palestine is to condemn the Israeli aggression and demand the establishment of a Palestinian state as stated in United Nations resolutions. Savin stressed that within Russia, a clear understanding has been established of the existence of a humanitarian catastrophe as a result of the ongoing aggression against Palestine, confirming that Russia had already provided assistance for the Gaza Strip through Egypt.
Savin pointed out that the interests of the West and weapons supplies reveal interconnections in global politics, especially noting the ongoing war in Ukraine. "Russia is conducting the special military operation in Ukraine against the neo-nazi regime (where Ukraine is being used as a proxy actor by Western powers)," he said, before stressing that "the fight for the freedom of the Palestinian people, as well the liberation of Ukraine by Russian forces, are both issues of justice."
According to the analyst, "The role of the US is purely destructive and provocative" which meant that "Washington is merely interested in keeping its own hegemony and control over West Asia," adding that Israel is Washington's ally in "achieving this goal."
The West, according to Savin, even sought to control processes through schemes introduced by Bernard Lewis and Ralph Peters, which aimed to redraw the map of the region, however, "Now the world order has shifted from US-led unipolarity to multipolarity, and Washington is afraid and impulsive because of the current lack of trust in it, as many Arab countries are slowly withdrawing their support."
Speaking of the US sending the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower to the eastern Mediterranean, joining the aircraft carrier it sent to the region earlier at the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Stripin order to bolster its presence in support of the Israeli occupation, Savin said that "it was a signal to Hezbollah not to interfere in this conflict, and also a message to Iran and all parties that reject the Zionist entity."
In itself, said Savin, this approach highlights the "double standards" of the US as "it continues its military support for Israel, which has killed thousands of innocent Palestinians, while at the same time, the US is also impotent because its diplomatic tools have failed to resolve this conflict." Commenting on Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, the Russian analyst stated that "Hamas did an impossible thing when it attacked Israeli posts and military bases," especially noting, "After its defeat by Hezbollah in 2006, the Israeli army received good combat experience fighting a small yet highly motivated actor."
On 20 February 2024, Alexander Lukashenka conducted a meeting with the leadership of national security bodies, outlining guidelines and assessments of the military-political situation around Belarus. During his address, he urged security forces to abandon any illusions about a diplomatic resolution to the global conflict between Russia and the West, asserting that international law cannot alleviate the tension. Consequently, Lukashenka foresaw the onset of World War III and emphasized the necessity for mental and strategic preparedness. According to his assessments, a significant escalation of the conflict between Russia/Belarus and Ukraine/the West seems unavoidable. Lukashenk? attributes territorial redistribution plans in Europe and attacks on Russia and Belarus to the United States and NATO, echoing the Kremlin’s position.
He advocates for preemptive military action against them to prevent a global defeat. Lukashenka also suggests that the wording of the upcoming NATO and US military exercises, “Defender 2024,” especially in the Baltic countries, Germany, and Poland, conceals preparations for aggression against Belarus and Russia.
It is important to understand where the Russian borders are outlined in our time and what they may look like in the future, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev said 03 March 2024. Speaking at Knowledge. The first Marathon of the Knowledge society, Medvedev said that territories on both banks of the Dnieper River were part of Russian strategic and historical borders. Therefore, all attempts to "forcibly change them, cut them off alive” are doomed, Medvedev said.
To expand, Medvedev quoted President Vladimir Putin. "The president was succinct and to the point about our borders when he said: "Russia's borders do not end anywhere.” This is a very good quote,” Medvedev said. Strategic boundaries of a particular state directly depend on how far its political power extends, how strong and sovereign this country is. For example, strategic borders of weakening states coincide with geographic ones. Russia does not need someone else's land, but it will not give up on its own land, he added.
During his speech, Medvedev also said that the Russian administration had no plans to recreate the USSR. Russia does not have any territorial disputes with neighbouring countries either, he added. "The near abroad, as a concept, is not just a figure of speech, but a reflection of the essence, a key point. We have no territorial disputes with the states included in this belt. Over the years since the collapse of the USSR, we have maintained profitable trade cooperation and comfortable interpersonal communication with them,” he said.
Speaking about Ukraine, Medvedev noted that its population was part of the all-Russian civilisation. "One of the former leaders of Ukraine said once that Ukraine was not Russia. This concept must disappear forever. Ukraine is, of course, Russia," Dmitry Medvedev said. Russia must return its historical lands, he also said. "Dozens of generations of our ancestors had been building the Russian Empire for centuries — Great Russia, Little Russia and New Russia. These parts must return home,” he said.
Other states that recognise the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia thereby agree with the entry of the Donbass and Novorossiya into the country. "These regions are an integral part of the Russian Federation, they are enshrined in our Constitution. Every state that recognises the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, thereby recognises — I repeat, recognises — the entry of these regions into Russia,” he said. There are countries that try to think differently, but this "is not so important,” Medvedev said.
The head of the Russian General Staff Academy called 07 March 2024 for preparations for a large-scale war in Europe. Russia's protracted military operations in Ukraine could develop into a major war in Europe, said the head of the General Staff Academy, Colonel General Vladimir Zarudnitsky. “The possibility of an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine into a large-scale war in Europe cannot be ruled out. The likelihood of our state being deliberately drawn into new military conflicts increases significantly,” Zarudnitsky wrote in an article for the magazine “Military Thought”.
According to him, the United States and its allies are “trying by all means to maintain their hegemony” and have set themselves the task of inflicting a “strategic defeat” on Russia. The West is also seeking a change of power in the Kremlin in order to limit the country’s sovereignty and destroy its territorial integrity. Therefore, according to the Colonel General, even with the end of the war in Ukraine, the “crisis confrontation” between Russia and the West will not end. “The launched process of transformation of the existing world order is associated with growing contradictions, the resolution of which almost always leads to the use of military force,” Zarudnitsky emphasized.
At the same time, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, there was no major split in the world and a large group of neutral countries emerged that seek autonomy from the United States and Western states, the military man claims. However, according to him, “with rare exceptions” these are “short-term” allies of Russia and Moscow needs to take into account their military potential when planning measures to ensure military security.
Vladimir Putin said 13 March 2024 the "so-called golden billion for centuries, 500 years, practically parasitized other nations. They tore apart the unfortunate peoples of Africa, they exploited Latin America, exploited the countries of Asia, and, of course, no one forgot about this. I have a feeling that it’s not even about the leadership of these countries, although this is very important, but ordinary citizens of these countries feel in their hearts what is happening. They associate our struggle for their independence and true sovereignty with their aspirations for their own sovereignty and independent development. But this is aggravated by the fact that the Western elites have a very strong desire to freeze the existing unfair state of affairs in international affairs. They have been accustomed for centuries to fill their bellies with human flesh and their pockets with money. But they must understand that the vampire ball is ending."
Putin returned 18 March 2024 to the possibility of an existential war with NATO during his very first press conference after Russian electoral authorities announced his reelection for another six-year term. “This will be one step away from full-scale World War III,” he told reporters when asked what a full-fledged conflict between Russia and NATO would entail. When commenting on his main post-election tasks, Putin said: “First of all, we need to solve problems within the framework of the special military operation, strengthen defense capabilities, strengthen the Armed Forces [and] this is happening, we all see, at a very good pace and with excellent quality..... We are forced, literally, with arms in hand, to defend the interests of our citizens, our people and create a future for the full sovereign, safe development of the Russian Federation, our Motherland. And, I think - I don’t think so, but the results, first of all, the turnout, show that people, ordinary people feel this and understand that a lot, a lot depends on them.”
Moscow is not seeking a confrontation with America’s vassals in Eastern Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on 27 March 2024. Multiple Western officials have tried to drum up support for additional aid to Ukraine by claiming that Moscow will not stop if Kiev is defeated on the battlefield. Putin addressed these claims during a visit to Torzhok air base in Tver Region, RT reported. “This is just nonsense,” the Russian president said, noting the disparity in Russian defense spending and the budgets of NATO militaries. “The claims that we are going to attack Europe after Ukraine – it is utter nonsense and intimidation of their own population just to beat the money out of them.”
US “satellites” in Eastern Europe have no reason to be afraid, Putin added. Talk of a potential Russian attack on Poland, the Czech Republic, or the Baltic states is just propaganda by governments that seek to scare their citizens “to extract additional expenses from people, to make them bear this burden on their shoulders.” NATO has been expanding towards the borders of Russia, not the other way around, the president noted, adding that Russia is merely "protecting our people on our historical territories.” “They came right up to our borders… Did we go across the ocean to the borders of the United States? No, they are approaching us, and they have come very close,” he said.
Ivan Timofeev, programme director of the Valdai Club noted 14 June 2024 "NATO countries have long been involved in the conflict. This takes several forms.
"First, Western countries provide Kiev with substantial financial and military assistance, including increasingly advanced and destructive weapons systems. As the stockpiles of Soviet-style kit in the arsenals of the USSR’s former allies in the Warsaw Treaty Organisation have been depleted, the Ukrainian army is receiving more Western systems and ammunition. So far, mass deliveries have been limited by the production capacity of the Western defence industry and size of existing stockpiles. But if hostilities are prolonged, industrial capacity has the potential to grow. Increasing supplies are also inevitable in the event of a peaceful pause, which would allow Ukraine to prepare for a new phase of hostilities. Russia can hardly hope that the West lacks the political will and resources to increase support for Kiev. Moscow appears to be preparing for the worst-case scenario, namely a steady increase in substantial and long-term military assistance to Ukraine. In addition to the supply of arms and ammunition, this aid includes the training of personnel, help with the development of military industry and infrastructure, and the reimbursement of expenses in other areas that allow Ukraine to focus its resources on the defence sector.
"Second, Ukraine receives extensive Western support in the form of intelligence, including technical data from satellites, radars, reconnaissance aircraft, etc. The information received enables a wide range of operations, from scoping the theatre of operations to the identification of specific targets. Data providers can be selective in granting the Ukrainian side access. But its use in military operations against Russia is not in doubt.
"Third, military specialists who are citizens of NATO countries are involved in combat operations. Their role does not always appear to be official. They may be ‘volunteers’ or simply mercenaries, whose participation the authorities of their countries turn a blind eye to. Russian estimates put their number at around 2,000 in October 2023. Whether that is accurate or not, it’s clear that foreigners are fighting on Ukraine’s side, that their participation is systematic rather than accidental, and that at least some of them are citizens of Western countries."
Around 60% of Russians are concerned that a Third World War could begin soon, a survey conducted by the Field research group in Moscow has found. According to a report published on 14 June 2024, 57% of survey respondents believe a global conflict could begin in the next 5-10 years, though 13% said they are confident this will not happen. Among those surveyed, people aged 30-59 with higher education and who source news online were more likely to speak about a possible world war than those with lower education and income.
Around seven in ten of the 1,617 survey respondents named the US and Russia as the most likely parties in the hypothetical war, with the UK, France, Germany, Poland, and the Baltic States mentioned among Washington’s potential allies. Only one in ten respondents named Ukraine as a potential enemy of Russia in a global conflict. The respondents named China, Belarus, Iran, North Korea, India, and Kazakhstan as Russia’s main allies in the event of a global war. More than 60% of respondents said they believe that Russia or a coalition led by Russia would win a world war, while only 6% said the US and the Collective West would achieve victory, and 18% believe that neither side would win.
Almost three-quarters of respondents (73%) said they believe Russia is currently moving in the right direction with regard to the conflict in Ukraine, with 79% saying the operation is going well for the Russian army. Around half of the respondents believe it is time for peace talks and a diplomatic solution.
Ukraine and Israel are trying to spark major regional wars which they believe will solve their own problems at the expense of others, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. he country’s senior diplomat made the remarks in an exclusive interview with RT’s Anna Knishenko, aired on 31 August 2024. Asked about the prospects of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East devolving into a major regional war, Lavrov suggested Israel was effectively the only party seeking such conflict. “It seems that the only one who wants such a development is Israel. Probably the Israeli government, which is rather hard politics-wise, and they do not even hide that,” Lavrov stated.
“Probably, they want to take advantage of this situation to once and for all try to solve all their problems with Hamas and with Hezbollah, and with pro-Iranian groups in Syria and Iraq,” the minister suggested, adding that Tehran seems to be avoiding such a conflict and “does not want to get involved in any large-scale military actions.”
Israel’s behavior shares striking similarities to Ukraine’s, with Kiev apparently seeking to drag its Western backers into a direct conflict with Moscow, Lavrov pointed out. “I’m seeing an interesting parallel there, [Vladimir] Zelensky too, who is fully controlled by the US as well, he wants roughly the same thing, only around Ukraine – to unleash a major war here, and to step aside himself, so that the Americans and other NATO members would start fighting for him,” the minister added.
The ongoing Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Region, launched by Kiev early this month, was likely approved by its Western handlers, Lavrov suggested. A “large number of Nazi units” as well as foreign mercenaries – who might actually be “regular troops” – are taking part in the hostilities, he noted. “It is difficult for me to tell what the idea was behind this situation, because our Western colleagues have very convoluted minds, they sometimes bend everything in their own way, and then nothing comes of it,” Lavrov stated, invoking questionable results the collective West has achieved in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere.
Removing restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western weapons would directly involve the US and its allies in the conflict with Russia and would be met with an appropriate response, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned 12 September 2024. The West has sent Ukraine long-range missiles such as Storm Shadows and ATACMS, which Kiev has so far used against Crimea and Donbass. In the past several days, however, the US and UK had suggested they might allow these weapons to be used to strike targets deeper into internationally recognized Russian territory. “We are not talking about allowing or prohibiting the Kiev regime from striking Russian territory,” Putin said. “It is doing so already, with unmanned aerial vehicles and other means.” Ukraine lacks the capability to use Western long-range systems, Putin added, noting that targeting for such strikes requires intelligence from NATO satellites, while firing solutions can “only be entered by NATO military personnel.”
“If this decision is made, it will mean nothing less than the direct participation of NATO countries, the US and European countries, in the conflict in Ukraine,” the Russian president said. “Their direct participation, of course, significantly changes the very essence, the very nature of the conflict.” With that in mind, Putin added, Russia will “make the appropriate decisions based on the threats facing us.”
On 19 November 2024, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched an attack with American ATACMS missiles on a military arsenal in Karachev, Bryansk Oblast. The next day, a large command post was attacked with British Storm Shadow cruise missiles. The headquarters was located in the estate of the princes Baryatinsky, which was used as a government sanatorium before the armed conflict. The use of British and American missiles was a direct challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who in September of this year directly stated that the use of Western missiles to strike Russia "would mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries are at war with Russia." The Anglo-Saxons demonstratively stepped over the "red line" drawn before them - and immediately received a response: on the morning of November 21, the Strategic Missile Forces struck the Yuzhmash enterprise in Dnepropetrovsk with an exceptionally powerful missile system.
Putin stated at an extended meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Defense, which was held 16 December 2024 at the National Defense Control Center of the Russian Federation. "We see that the current US administration, practically the entire collective West, do not abandon their attempts to maintain their global dominance, continue to impose their so-called rules on the world community, which they change time after time, distorting them in a way that is convenient for them. In fact, there is only one stable rule: no rules for those who do this, for those who consider themselves to be at the head of the whole world, those who consider themselves to be representatives of God on earth, although they themselves do not believe in God....
"... under the pretext of a mythical Russian threat... They simply frighten their population by saying that we are going to attack someone, because the tactics are very simple: they bring us to the red line, across which we can no longer retreat, we begin to respond, and then they frighten their population - then, in ancient times, with the Soviet - now already Russian threat. Meanwhile, NATO countries themselves are increasing military spending. Strike groups of alliance troops are being formed and put together near the Russian borders. Thus, the number of American servicemen in Europe has already exceeded 100 thousand people. ....
"I want to emphasize once again: we are not fighting the Ukrainian people, but the regime – the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv, which seized power back in 2014. This is the source of power – the coup d'etat. All the troubles of both Ukraine and Russia began right after this bloody state unconstitutional coup. This is important today, because these people who are in power commit crimes every day against their own people and against ours. This regime has lost – is losing, at least, it is obvious – the signs of statehood.
"When we talk about illegitimacy, what do we mean? Didn't go to the elections? Didn't go. Does the constitution provide the opportunity to extend the powers of the president? No. The constitution provides the opportunity to extend the powers of only the representative body of power - the Rada, that's all. And the reference to martial law is irrelevant: the constitution does not provide any means of extending the powers of the presidential power.
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