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A Side Skirmish in Russia-Ukraine War Flares up in South Africa

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It’s thousands of miles from the front lines, but South Africa suddenly finds itself in the thick of a diplomatic dust-up over the war in Ukraine, and over whether the man who started the war should be welcomed here later this year.

Pretoria‘s busy weekend featured President Cyril Ramaphosa speaking by phone with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, addressing a slew of murky allegations that South Africa had secretly sold weapons to Moscow. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken put in a call to South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, seeking to clear the air on an incident that has strained relations between the two capitals.

The diplomatic dancing began Thursday after U.S. Ambassador to Pretoria Reuben Brigety went public with U.S. suspicions that a Russian ship, the Lady R., had picked up badly needed ammunition, guns and other equipment when it docked near Cape Town in December.

“Weapons of war were loaded onto that vessel, and I will bet my life on that assertion,” Mr. Brigety told reporters.

The ambassador later met with Mrs. Pandor who claimed that he “apologized unreservedly,” but in a tweet, Mr. Brigety said he had merely “corrected any misimpressions left by my public remarks.” There remained, he added, a “strong partnership between our two countries.” (Read more from “A Side Skirmish in Russia-Ukraine War Flares up in South Africa” HERE)

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Trump Vows to End Ukraine War if Elected

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Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday at a CNN town hall-style event in New Hampshire that the European Union needs to start paying “a lot more money” to subsidize the war in Ukraine, which he vowed to have “settled in one day” if elected.

A student from Saint Anselm’s College asked the 45th president if he supports the Biden administration’s posture to continue sending military equipment to Ukraine.

Trump responded:

Here’s the thing — have to say it to start off, no longer matters — if I were president, this would have never happened, and even the Democrats admit that. Putin knew it would have never happened, and his pipeline would have never happened. A lot of things would never have happened … and all those dead people, both Russian and Ukrainian, they wouldn’t be dead today. And all those cities that are blown up and disintegrated right to the ground, that wouldn’t have happened.

Now, here’s the problem, we’ve given so far $171 billion. They’ve given — they meaning [the] European Union, which is approximately the same size altogether as our economy — they’ve given about $20 [billion]. So we’re at $170 and they’re at $20, you don’t have to know too much about history … or geography to realize they’re a little bit more affected than we are … so they’ve got to put up a lot more money because they’re taking advantage of us just like every other country did.

(Read more from “Trump Vows to End Ukraine War if Elected” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

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U.S. Patriot System Behind Downing of Russian Hypersonic Missile: Ukraine

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Ukraine has confirmed it successfully shot down a Russian Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missile over Kyiv on Thursday, clarifying earlier conflicting reports over whether one of the state-of-the-art weapons had been destroyed.

The announcement was made on Saturday by Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, who described it as a “historic event” on the social media platform Telegram.

Russia launched a wave of missile and drone attacks at Ukraine on Thursday, most of which were intercepted by air defense, one day after two drones exploded near the Kremlin in Moscow. Russian authorities said the drones were “a planned terrorist act” aimed at assassinating President Putin, though Kyiv has denied having any responsibility.

The Defense Express, a military-focused Ukrainian website, first reported one of the intercepted missiles was a hypersonic Kinzhal on Friday, publishing photographs it said showed the downed missile. (Read more from “U.S. Patriot System Behind Downing of Russian Hypersonic Missile: Ukraine” HERE)

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RFK Jr. Blames Zelensky and U.S. ‘Neocons‘ for Russian Invasion of Ukraine; Russia Claims Ukraine Tried to Kill Putin With Drone Attack

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By The Daily Beast. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and American “NeoCons” of intentionally provoking Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Monday. In a paragraph-long tweet, the Democratic presidential candidate claimed that Zelensky could have prevented the invasion by just saying the five words “I will not join NATO.” Instead, Kennedy said, Zelensky cozied up to NATO, bowing to alleged pressure from “NeoCons in the Biden White House” and “fascist elements” in his own government.

(Read more from “RFK Jr. Blames Zelensky and U.S. ‘Neocons‘ for Russian Invasion of Ukraine” HERE)

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Russia Claims Ukraine Tried to Kill Putin With Drone Attack

By NBC News. Russia claimed Wednesday that Ukraine tried to assassinate President Vladimir Putin in an overnight drone attack on the Kremlin, news that drew denials from Kyiv and furious demands for retaliation from nationalists in Moscow.

The Kremlin’s accusation, made without providing evidence, was the latest in a string of reported incidents far from the war’s front lines. Kyiv said it had nothing to do with the alleged incident and suggested it could be used as a pretext for a new Russian attack inside Ukraine.

The United States had no advance notice if there was a drone attack against the Kremlin by Ukraine, three U.S. officials told NBC News. Two of the officials expressed skepticism that a drone could get that close to the Kremlin given the fact that Russia has so many air defense systems protecting it.

An attack on the heart of Moscow, even if foiled, would represent a dramatic illustration of Russian vulnerability ahead of an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive that will seek to push the Kremlin’s forces out of of occupied land. (Read more from “Russia Claims Ukraine Tried to Kill Putin With Drone Attack” HERE)

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The Intelligence Leak Shows Us Nothing New or Surprising about Ukraine

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As a retired U.S. Army intelligence officer, I was struck by three things about the recent Discord leaks of classified information. First, that top secret information is far more widely distributed than it was 25 years ago, and second, that the claim that “our government is lying to us” about the situation in Ukraine is wildly overblown. And lastly, that we barely dodged a bullet. . .

As was seen in the most recent leak, the other aspect to classification is how significantly overclassified things have become. (Is “Confidential” still used as a classification? Because I can’t recall the last time I saw any leak of classified documents marked “Confidential.”) It’s as if the classifying authorities — actual people (and I’ve classified a few documents in my time) — believe they derive some authority or prestige by the volume of top-secret documents they produce. It’s almost as if they’re acting like academics looking to pad their publication count. . .

On to the claim that the leaked documents show our government isn’t leveling with the American people about the progress of Russia’s war on Ukraine. . .

The fact is that the U.S. and its Western allies are woefully unprepared for an extended conventional conflict. So too is Russia, as seen with its own significant shortages of artillery ammunition, missiles, and tanks. This problem isn’t new. Maintaining military-industrial base readiness was a costly investment few were willing to make after the end of the Cold War. American production of missiles such as the Javelin anti-armor system are only now being ramped up to a rate where it will take a couple of years to replenish stocks used in Ukraine so far.

It’s also true that some of the military supplies America is sending to Ukraine would be useful in deterring China from threatening Taiwan or its other neighbors, but some analysts see China and Russia as creating an authoritarian alliance of convenience against the West. If this is the case, Ukraine — and maybe Taiwan — are separate parts of what may become the same conflict. (Read more from “The Intelligence Leak Shows Us Nothing New or Surprising about Ukraine” HERE)

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Kyiv Seeks US Technical Support at ‘Maximum Proximity to the Battlefield’

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Over the past 14 months, Western countries have pledged to provide Ukraine with more than $65 billion worth of direct military aid, most of it coming from the United States. Now, with a major Ukrainian counteroffensive looming, prominent officials in Kyiv have begun to call for those Western countries to assume a more forward role in the maintenance of that new arsenal, including the provision of technical personnel on the ground closer to the war zone.

“I am sure that our partners could hire such specialists, and we would do everything in our capacity to organize for them to come to Ukraine,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in response to a question from Newsweek at a briefing held on April 10 at the Ukraine Media Center in Odesa. “We have been suggesting for quite a long time that our partners assist in providing maintenance at the maximum proximity to the battlefield.”

“It is very complicated to send a tank all the way to Europe for repairs,” Reznikov explained. “If we could have specialists with access to the necessary documents come here, it would really help.”

Currently, all of the Western technicians known to be assisting Ukraine with the maintenance of imported weapons systems are located outside the country’s borders. Although thousands of ex-active duty military personnel have voluntarily taken up arms on Kyiv’s behalf, maintenance specialists, even experienced ones, require access to classified technical manuals in order to perform their duties at the requisite standard. (Read more from “Kyiv Seeks US Technical Support at ‘Maximum Proximity to the Battlefield’” HERE)

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War Without End: White House Approves Fresh $320M+ Military Aid Package for Ukraine

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The White House approved a fresh Ukraine military aid package Wednesday with $325 million worth of battlefield supplies from U.S. stores placed at Kiev’s disposal.

The announcement came on the same day Ukraine´s defense minister said his country has just received U.S-made Patriot surface-to-air guided missile systems it has long craved.

The latest equipment includes ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, precision aerial bombs, TOW guided missile systems, AT-4 anti-armor weapons systems, anti-tank mines and demolition munitions, UPI reports.

It will all be pulled from Pentagon stocks to expedite delivery to the front lines. (Read more from “War Without End: White House Approves Fresh $320M+ Military Aid Package for Ukraine” HERE)

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HOUSE INVESTIGATION: New Evidence Emerges That Biden Family Profited From Human Trafficking

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By Washington Times. Two Republican lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee say the Biden family profited from a human trafficking scheme that included a prostitution ring in the U.S. and countries such as Russia and Ukraine.

Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Nancy Mace of South Carolina said they have viewed bank documents at the Treasury Department that contain “jaw-dropping” evidence about an extensive web of Biden family foreign business deals, some of which showed evidence of human trafficking and prostitution rings.

The two lawmakers sit on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, which is investigating the Biden family’s foreign business deals to determine if President Biden participated or had knowledge of them. The Republican-led panel is combing through Treasury Department Suspicious Activity Reports or SARs that have been generated by banks for transactions made by Biden family members and their business associates.

Ms. Greene, in a video posted to her Twitter account, said the House Oversight Committee had just finished reviewing over 2,000 pages of financial records related to the business dealings of the Biden family.

“I just saw evidence of human trafficking,” Ms. Greene said. “This involved prostitutes, not only from here in the United States but foreign countries like Russia and Ukraine.” (Read more from “HOUSE INVESTIGATION: New Evidence Emerges That Biden Family Profited From Human Trafficking” HERE)

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Rep. Taylor Greene Accuses Biden and Family of ‘Human Trafficking’

By Al Mayadeen English. In a controversial statement on Twitter, US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed that President Joe Biden and some members of his family are responsible for running a human trafficking ring connected to Russia and Ukraine.

“The Biden crime family participated in human trafficking by soliciting prostitutes from the United States and abroad in countries like Russia and Ukraine. There is an entire crime enterprise wrapped around Joe Biden and his family. The House Oversight Committee has a much bigger investigation to do than ever thought possible,” she posted in a video on Twitter.

She continued to claim that funding the ring went through foreign nations, including China and Ukraine. . .

“This is an investigation that needs to be revealed to the American people,” Greene said. “This is going to extend into developing a web of corruption, a web of fake companies, that’s going to reveal money that came in from many foreign countries and went directly into the personal bank accounts of the Biden family.” (Read more from “Rep. Taylor Greene Accuses Biden and Family of ‘Human Trafficking’” HERE)

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Putin Visits Russian Troops in Occupied Ukraine

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Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the headquarters of Russian troops fighting in Ukraine early Tuesday, his second trip to the Russian-held territories there since March.

A video released by the Kremlin and broadcast by Russian state television showed Putin visiting the command post for Russian forces in the southern Kherson region. It showed Putin arriving by helicopter to receive reports from the top military brass about the combat situation.

The Russian leader then moved by helicopter to the headquarters of the Russian National Guard of the eastern Luhansk region to hear a report from commanders.

In both locations, Putin congratulated the military on Orthodox Easter, which was celebrated Sunday and presented them with icons.

Russia annexed the Kherson and Luhansk regions along with the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions in September in a move that was rejected by much of the world as illegal. (Read more from “Putin Visits Russian Troops in Occupied Ukraine” HERE)

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Biden Tries to Contain Classified Documents Leak Fallout: ‘Stakes Just Got Higher’

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A Massachusetts Air National Guardsman has been arrested after the leak of classified information that has already had consequences for the Ukraine war and the United States’s relationship with critical allies, including Egypt, Israel, and South Korea.

But while the suspected source of the leak, 21-year-old intelligence information technology officer and gamer Jack Teixeira, has been identified, the national security and political implications of his actions for President Joe Biden are only now being understood.

Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Mick Mulroy excoriated Teixeira’s alleged leak for threatening national security by undermining the country’s collection of intelligence.

“It is bad enough that our adversaries know what we know, or at least in part,” Mulroy told the Washington Examiner. “It is really bad if our adversaries know how we know it. That goes to our sources and methods. They will review what documents are out there and use that to launch their own counterintelligence operations.”

Teixeira reportedly started sharing photos of classified information in a pandemic-era online chatroom he led on the Discord social media website that is popular with gamers months ago before they were found on other platforms and located by the Biden administration last week. And his leak has caused “substantive damage” to Ukraine by disclosing secret U.S. assessments of Ukraine’s capabilities and how the U.S. has compromised Russia’s communication channels, according to American Enterprise Institute foreign policy senior fellow Dalibor Rohac. (Read more from “Biden Tries to Contain Classified Documents Leak Fallout: ‘Stakes Just Got Higher’” HERE)

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