Category Where is Kiev’s counteroffensive against Russian forces

Jan 24 2024

Zelensky Offers Multiple Citizenship to Replenish Dead Soldiers — The Story of a Drafted Man


Posted originally on Jan 24, 2024 By Martin Armstrong

Zelensky.Skulls

QUESTION: Why would anyone want to literally risk their lives to live in a war torn country?

ANSWER: President Volodymyr Zelensky is offering ALL ethnic Ukrainians citizenship, unless they live in Russia. Zelensky is implementing legislation that will allow Ukrainians living abroad to obtain multiple citizenship.

The declaration was made in honor of the 105th anniversary of Ukrainian Unity Day:

“Everyone who has Ukrainian blood in their veins and a free heart beating in their chest. Ukrainians by origin, who have long proven that they are Ukrainians in spirit. And after many years of waiting, they should finally become Ukrainians by passport. At the legislative level. Today I am submitting to the Verkhovna Rada a key draft law that will allow the adoption of comprehensive legislative amendments and the introduction of multiple citizenship.”

He also added, “And it will allow all ethnic Ukrainians and their descendants from around the world to have our citizenship. Of course, except for citizens of the aggressor country.” Hence there will be no need for an ancestry test to tell if someone is Ukrainian as it would be no different from Russian blood. In Zelensky’s mind, anyone who wants to FIGHT can become Ukrainian.

Foreign volunteers who took up arms to defend Ukraine, all those who fight for Ukraine’s freedom as if it were their homeland. And Ukraine will become such for them. For everyone who can feel that “being in Ukraine” means “being at home.” Not as tourists, but as citizens. Citizens of a great, united, single Ukraine.”

So you can now IDENTIFY as Ukrainian to receive citizenship if you are willing to fight. You can pay taxes as a Ukrainian to support a government that is entirely dependent on US aid to stay afloat.

ECM Ukraine 8.6 R

The fact of the matter is that Zelensky is running out of fighters. Another reader shared a Reddit post with me a few weeks ago entitled, “I don’t want to go to war, and I can’t make myself escape.”

“I'm a 30-year-old guy living in Ukraine. Despite all of the shortcomings of this country, I still feel that this is my home, and for the past years, I've always wanted to live here. Life here had and still has many positives too.

Now the war is raging with absolutely no end in sight. The first year and a half I didn't feel the urge to fight, but I didn't want to run away either, thinking that if it does come to it and I get drafted, I'll just accept it. I didn't want to bribe to become unfit or even look for other ways to avoid the draft. Now, with the state the war is in, especially after my friend who went there willingly last year told me not to go, I decided that I should try to actively avoid it. However, bribes to become unfit are no longer an option and there are little to no ways that would allow me to be exempt legally.

The new draft law is on the way. It would oblige all men eligible for service to update their information in the military offices. In case you don't do that or in case you do, get a draft notice and don't show, you will have your driver's license revoked, bank accounts blocked, get prohibited from buying or selling property, and that's not even the full list.

The option to get a 'one-way ticket' is still on the table. A lot of people who have done this hope to return when the war is over. You leave the country legally but simply don't come back in time. At least at the moment, it's just an administrative offense, not a criminal one.

Even if I do decide to proceed with this option, I'd probably hope to come back as well, and what kind of life is that. I don't have any relatives abroad, just some friends, I'm single, so I will have to start on my own. A few years back I had been traveling abroad alone for 9 months, so I know how it feels being far away from home on your own. I work remotely and make decent enough money, I have savings, so it's definitely possible, but leaving everything behind for an undetermined period of time is still difficult. But planning any kind of future here is virtually impossible as well.

Also, as I said, this is my home, and terrible things will happen to it if everybody just runs away and there's no one left to defend it. But dying in a ditch because some soviet-era commander doesn't value human lives just seems so horrible. I know it's not the only scenario, but it's still a very plausible one.

But many of my friends have already left, many are planning to, so I'm slowly ending up more and more alone here.

It's such a tough decision to make and the more I wait, the harder this all gets.

EDIT

I'll post some additional thoughts here based on some replies since there are way to many comments for me to be able to respond to them. I'll try to be as honest as possible.

- First of all, thank you everyone for your replies and your sympathies. This is an impossible choice to make and I wish I'd never had to. Many of you have said that whatever I do, it will be a right choice. But in the same way any choice I make will also be the wrong one. And any choice I make with a high degree of certainty will be something I at least partially regret until the end of my life.

- There's no such thing as a conscientious objection here.

- Getting a 'support' role is highly unlikely. If we're talking about the military, you are first and foremost a resource and you'll be utilized where you're needed most. Vast majority of loses occur in the active roles, so these are the positions that need to be replenished the most. I even heard a story of a pediatric surgeon who was designated to be not a combat medic, but an infantry man, since those are in the highest demand. Right now we're only starting to see the development of the system to create a possibility to 'choose' your position and place of service (including the ones in the rear). But as of now military service is indefinite and even if that works, it's still a post-soviet army in a big way, and there's no guarantee you won't be transferred to an active role in the future when someone deems it necessary. Also, currently it's obvious that the state does not have much interest in or enough resources for caring about wounded soldiers. In a huge way, once something happens to you, in a big way you're on your own and your only hope is your own resources or volunteers. And that, of course, is not sufficient to help everybody.

- I personally do believe this war is morally justified and existential for us. Yes, this is a failure of politics and politicians: Russia with its imperialism, the West with their inability to act after giving Ukraine guarantees of safety in 1994 and their leniency towards Russia, us with our naivety and short-sightedness. The immaturity of Ukrainian nation has also played its role here. However, for Ukraine this is not a war for resources or Zelensky. It's a war for existence.

- Advocating for peace talks is very unlikely to bear any results in the foreseeable future. There's no way to negotiate with someone who doesn't want to negotiate. Putin believes he can outlast us and the West in the war of attrition, get more territory, and achieve more of his goals, he doesn't care about the lives lost, so there's no reason for him to stop. At the very best there can be a pause that he will use to rearm and attack again with a new force. The only way this can be stopped is with force and deterrence.

- That being said, I'm not trying to paint my desire to leave as anything but concern for my personal safety. A lot of people who have commented believe that's justifiable. And I partly agree. A lot of people on the other hand believe that this is cowardice. And I partly agree with that as well. It's either you believe that you have a right to live your life and that it is precious, or that you have a duty that you never willingly took to give that life for a country where you happened to be born a male.

- There's no need to judge the whole of the Ukrainian nation by my character. There are hundreds of thousands of people who have willingly taken arms and sacrificed their own health and lives. There are many more who are ready to do that when the time comes.”
ZelenskyyTweetGuns

It is hard to envy this man’s position. He must choose between a violent bloody war or abandoning his home. Sadly, he and most others were led to believe that peace was not an option. Putin has offered Zelensky countless opportunities to end the war but he consistently chooses to amplify tensions by involving his NATO neocons. He mentions that conscientious objection is not an option for Ukrainians.

The original poster sheds light on the dire situation at the frontlines. “I even heard a story of a pediatric surgeon who was designated to be not a combat medic, but an infantry man, since those are in the highest demand,” he wrote. There are simply not enough men to meet the replenishment rate due to the high number of casualties.

There are comments calling this man a coward, stating that it is his patriotic duty to stay and fight what he perceives to be “an endless war.” These are the people who will choose to leave their homelands and accept multiple citizenship in Ukraine. They believe they are fighting a war between good and evil, as Zelensky frequently deems it.

People living in horrid conditions in other countries can simply come to the US now, where the borders are open, and they’ll receive a tax-payer subsidized life. If the neocons want to prey on the desperate, close the borders to the US, Canada, and Europe. I do not know who would make a decision to enter a war on behalf of a foreign nation for any reason outside of desperation or insanity.

Jan 13 2024

Govt of Volodymyr Zelensky Kills American Citizen Gonzalo Lira in Ukraine Prison


Posted originally on the CTH on January 12, 2024 | Sundance

After outlining the fraud behind the election of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, and after telling the truth about events inside Ukraine during the conflict with Russia, American journalist Gozalo Lira was arrested by the Ukrainian government and thrown in prison.  According to several sources, Gonzalo Lira (55) is dead.

Tucker Carlson stated, “Gonzalo Lira, Sr. says his son has died at 55 in a Ukrainian prison, where he was being held for the crime of criticizing the Zelensky and Biden governments. Gonzalo Lira was an American citizen, but the Biden administration clearly supported his imprisonment and torture. Several weeks ago we spoke to his father, who predicted his son would be killed.”

Indeed, Lira outlined the details of the fabricated case against him as well as the torture he was enduring while captive [SEE HERE].  When the government arrested him no one was pretending it was simply for his videos and free speech; everyone knew the Ukranian government arrested Lira because the truth he was telling was against the interests of the Zelenskyy regime.

(WSAU) – […] Lira stated in a post on X back in July of 2023 that he was in the process of trying to escape Ukraine to plead for political asylum in nearby Hungary, and laid out documents he had received from Zelensky’s government detailing the case and charges against him as well as allegations of abuse he was receiving inside the Ukrainian prison.

Ukrainian officials stated in a press release when Lira was initially arrested that he was “one of the first to support the Russian invaders and glorify their war crimes.” They stated that he had “engaged in discrediting the top military and political leadership and the defense forces of our state.” (more)

Read Gonzalo Lira story in his own words HERE.

Jul 21 2023

Ukrainian General said Zelensky is Responsible for 100,000’s Dead Ukrainians


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ukraine Re-Posted Jul 20, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Mr. Armstrong, My cousin is in government here ___________________, and he said you have the best sources that even surpass some intelligence agencies. Only you have been reporting that your Ukrainian sources told you that Zelensky is corrupt and has destroyed his country for a handful of silver. It is coming out that the Ukrainian Army General Serhiy Krivonos has openly said that Zelensky has indeed destroyed his country. He actually said, “This colossal mistake resulted in hundreds of thousands of dead Ukrainians and the destruction of a huge number of cities.”

My cousin said people from all countries go to you because they have a similar mindset. Would you agree? Why are your sources better than anyone else?

GDK

ANSWER: Zelensky is an actor – nothing more. He is destroying his country because he cares nothing about its people and plans his exit to a mansion in Miami. He always dresses in army clothing as a psychological ploy to constantly pretend he is fighting for freedom. This is such a lie, for Ukraine would never have been in such a position if Kiev did not start the civil war attacking the Donbas. This is the dissent against Putin that he did not invade Ukraine as the US did to Iraq. They are ethnic Russians who have been there for centuries in the Donbas. The US has done similar actions involving Americans in foreign nations. Zelensky wants them to surrender their language and their religion. This is absurd. He is willing to destroy his country and hopes that he will be able to sell the farmland and resources to Blackrock and live in Miami as a billionaire – tax-free, of course.

Zelensky is listed in the Panama Papers, and the fact-checkers try to divert people away from this fact. When Zelensky’s European tour took place begging for money, online claims went viral that he had purchased luxury villas in Crimea, Italy, and England with Western military aid money. This appears to be fake news. However, this may, in fact, be to cover the fact that he does have a property in Miami, most likely stashed under a fake name since this is where you find all the super-rich Ukrainians and Russians in Miami.

There are people in Ukraine, as there are in every country, who are the opposition to the current government. The Western press will never tell you about them because they are trying to create a false impression that the country is 100% behind him. Over 8 million have fled and are living mostly in Germany and Poland. They have lost everything, and many are now asking – For War? To occupy the Donbas with Russians?

People have been coming to us for decades. I have had central banks sharing info because they want it out but know that we have the largest institutional client base. Thus, they want the info to the people that matter. In addition, most journalists can spell and write nicely, but they do not know the subject matter of their writing. I remember an institutional session I did in Toronto, and the Bank of Canada took a table with 10 people. All the institutions knew who they were. They would ask me what the central bank was looking at. I would tell them, and everyone would look at that table for some reaction. When it was over, I told the head guy I hoped I did not say anything offensive. He responded it was fantastic. He wished he could tell these people outright but could not.

Even when I was invited by the People’s Bank of China during the Asian Currency Crisis of 1997, I had been warning that the capital flows shifted and turned back to Europe for the coming Euro in 1998. They said I was doing a fantastic job and to keep up the work. When I asked why they would not come out and say what I said, they replied that they could not criticize another central bank.

My sources are the best BECAUSE, in most cases, they cannot speak freely even to mainstream media, especially today. After what they did to me, it has had the OPPOSITE effect. Today, I have even more sources coming to me because they say

NOW I KNOW YOU ARE NOT PART OF NEW YORK. 

Interesting times. So yes, every intelligence agency reads this blog. I have the real-world experience of an international hedge fund manager, the only AI model that monitors the entire world.

When Nigel Farage came to our Rome WEC, he stood up and said, of course, he would appear because my WEC is the “alternative to Davos.”. I regard Nigel as a friend. Now the uproar over his treatment by the private bank Coutts, owned by NatWest Group, whose biggest shareholder just so happens to be the UK government since the 2008 financial crisis, has finally compelled them to apologize to Nigel. This is the world we live in. It has become so corrupt that you have to not just count your fingers when shaking hands with some; you better make sure you still have your arm.

Jul 19 2023

The Truth About Ukraine’s Failed Counteroffensive


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ukraine Re-Posted Jul 19, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

The American Neocons have been pushing for weapons and everything they can muster. They tell Ukraine they MUST get back the Donbas even though the people there are ethnically Russian and not Ukrainian. This would be like Mexico invading Texas, claiming it was their former border even though Americans live there. The Neocons want to believe that Russia is weak, so that is all they tell the press. How else to get Americans to support another endless war like they did in Vietnam?

Western weapons have proven not enough to give Kiev a decisive advantage to defeat Russia. Fighting in Ukraine has reached “a bit of a stalemate,” which is the first time a US Defense Intelligence Agency Chief of Staff John Kirchhofer told a conference in Washington. His assessment of Ukraine’s chances of actually winning this counteroffensive is about zero.

“Certainly we are at a bit of a stalemate,” Kirchhofer said, according to Bloomberg. “One of the things that the Russian leadership believes is that they can outlast the support of the West.”

Ukrainian forces have been unable to advance from Kherson to Donetsk since early June. They have failed to make any significant territorial gains against the Russians whatsoever. So much for the Nuland claims that weapons will defeat Russia. The Senate leader of the warmongers, Lindsey Graham, was willing to sacrifice every Ukrainian to defeat Russia.

Here is Graham cheering that it’s the best money the US has ever spent to kill Russians. They claim they are fighting for freedom when in fact Russia is not interested in conquering all of Ukraine. They are defending the Donbas which was supposed to have been granted the right to be free from Ukraine. Zelensky has destroyed his own country all to conquer the Donbas, occupied by Russians for hundreds of years. This has nothing to do with Ukraine’s freedom. It is the freedom of the Donbas — not Kiev.

If it were Americans in the Donbas, the US would also be there to defend them in a civil war had Russia instigated it. This is a sick individual who takes pleasure in killing Russians. This is how Americans are being viewed because we elect such people. He cares nothing about the loss of lives. This offensive cost Ukraine 26,000 men and over 3,000 pieces of military hardware in the first two weeks. Zelensky has publicly blamed the West for failing to provide enough weapons – including long-range missiles and fighter jets – to guarantee the offensive’s success.

UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace reportedly told Ukraine that his country was not “Amazon” for weapons and that members of NATO wanted “to see a bit of gratitude.” The Guardian reported that Wallace said during the NATO summit in Vilnius that “whether we like it or not, people want to see a bit of gratitude” from Ukraine. Zelensky never bothers to say thank you. Wallace made the point that Zelensky is running through all the NATO stockpile of weapons. He is “persuading countries to give up their own stocks” of weapons and ammunition,” and that they also had “to persuade doubting politicians” that supporting Ukraine was “worthwhile” in its war with Russia. Wallace then added: “I told them that last year, when I drove 11 hours to be given a list, that I’m not like Amazon.”

The Neocons keep putting out propaganda that Russia is losing. The truth is that 20% of Ukrainian weapons were destroyed in just the first two weeks. To my shock, New York Times actually told the truth that 20% of Ukrainian weapons were destroyed in just two weeks.

All of my sources are saying the same time. No weapon system will change Kiev’s fortunes. Neither US-supplied HIMARS rocket artillery and cluster bombs, nor British Storm Shadow cruise missiles, have thus far tilted the battlefield situation in Ukraine’s favor, he pointed out. All of this has failed, yet Zelensky continues to push his country toward annihilation, all to profit from Blackrock and JP Morgan.

The Neocons keep claiming using the White House that the pace of Ukraine’s counteroffensive is progressing. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said last month that Ukrainian forces were “advancing steadily,” but that progress would be slow and “very bloody.” This is simply an outright lie. There is no independent source on either side that confirms that outlook. The other Neocon spokesman of the White House National Security Council, John Kirby, told CNN last month that heavy Ukrainian casualties are “to be expected” but that Zelensky will continue to receive “the support he needs not just from the United States, but from 50 other partners.”

This is clearly propaganda coming from the White House, most likely at the direction of Victoria Nuland and crew refusing to acknowledge that their current war game is failing. The fellow Neocon Secretary of State Antony Blinken has repeatedly rejected the idea of Ukraine entering into peace talks with Russia. This is why India and France are turning their backs on the Biden Administration. They can see that the United States has undergone a coup, and the Neocons are in full control.

Russia maintains that Western arms deliveries will only serve to prolong the conflict without altering its eventual outcome. That appears to be an honest assessment from all my sources on both sides. This is why Zelensky wants F16s to escalate the war dramatically by attacking Crimea and Russia to provide a major confrontation to drag in NATO.

Western-supplied tanks and armored vehicles have all burned. Beginning in early June, Ukrainian forces launched a series of attacks all along the front line from Kherson to Donetsk. Advancing through minefields. That is what cost 26,000 men and more than 3,000 pieces of military hardware in just two weeks. Ukrainian losses were at their highest during the initial two weeks of the offensive. This was Ukraine’s 47th Mechanized Brigade – a NATO-trained unit – which by all reports, apparently lost 30% of its 99 Bradley Infantry Fighting vehicles in two weeks. Ukraian’s 33rd Mechanized Brigade lost nearly a third of its 32 German-made Leopard tanks in a single week. According to Russia, they destroyed a total of 311 Ukrainian tanks in two weeks. They claimed: “At least a third of them, I believe, were Western-made tanks, including Leopards,” was reported on Russia 24 TV.

This is why Ukrainian commanders decided to pause the counteroffensive. They simply lost so much. Zelensky acknowledged that there was a pause but blamed the West for failing to supply him with enough weapons and equipment for a successful operation. He omitted that some say he has lost more than one-third of all the weapons sent to Ukraine. Zelensky claims that the decisive phase of their counteroffensive has yet to begin. This, too, seems to be just propaganda.

Zelensky is running through ammunition like water, particularly 155mm artillery shells. Even Biden was forced to admit that “we’re low” on these shells, explaining that the shortage compelled him to send controversial cluster munitions in their stead, which is a war crime by all standards. What’s next? Tactical nuclear weapons instead of peace?

This is why there will be NO Real Election in 2024

The Neocons will NOT Allow their Loss of Power

There Worst Nightmare — Trump & RFK together

Jun 29 2023

Ukraine & Russia Coup


Armstrong Economics Blog/Russia Re-Posted Jun 29, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Kiev’s Great Offensive has been unimpressive, to say the least.  Ukrainian Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov has claimed that he has yet to deploy the bulk of its Western-trained forces he keeps in reserve for this much-touted counteroffensive against Russian forces. They have only been able to capture a few small villages quite some distance from the major Russian defensive lines.  The notorious Neocon, Lindsey Graham, says the counteroffensive is moving slowly but steadily.

Reznikov boasts, “When it [the major push] happens, you will all see it… Everyone will see everything.” These are supposed to be the main troop reserves, including most of the brigades trained in the West and armed with NATO-supplied tanks and armored vehicles. Reznikov also commented on the failed revolt by the Wagner private military company in Russia. He insisted that it was a “vivid illustration” of Moscow’s vulnerabilities.

The American Neocons were against Reagan even talking with Gorbachev. George Herbert Walker Bush, back in 1992, proclaimed the fall of the USSR and Communism would usher in the era of the peace dividend. The Neocons fight tooth & nail against any peace accord with anyone. Even the existence of NATO was being called into question once Communism fell, and with it, the Khruschev doctrine of spreading communism to overthrow capitalism. That seems to have made the Neocons’ blood boil, but they have adopted the same policy and believe that they now have the right to assassinate foreign leaders, overthrow dictators, and destroy both Russia and China to spread their view of Capitalism to the world which is still authoritarian since they impose their doctrines that the Western people are never allowed to vote on.

Nevertheless, the Western press has been so indoctrinated by the Neocons using the standard demonization of a leader to create hatred of everyone in that target country or like Hillary did to everyone who voted for Trump, calling them the “deplorable” thereby demonizing 50% of the nation. The Ukrainians were static, watching with joy as Russia, they were told, was on the verge of a Civil War. They had hoped that Yevgeny Prigozhin’s march on Moscow would not just end the war but overthrow Vladimir Putin’s regime. They have lied so much demonizing Putin that they themselves seemed to believe their own propaganda that replace Putin, and there would be peace, and Russia would crumble into dust.

Alas, the insurrection proved short-lived, for 75% of Prigozhin’s army did not follow him. This great counteroffensive that began on June 4th has shown little sign of breaking through Russian lines in force any time soon. This has called into question Reznikov’s claims, for at the same time, some Western officials are suddenly becoming very nervous and want to talk about peace. Zelensky exploited the event to further his propaganda calling it a “happy day” after visiting the front lines on June 26th.

The question is whether the events in Russia will have longer-lasting effects on the battlefield and this RIFT I have been writing about for money where the Russian Military has been divided and felt that Putin had their hands tied with this “special operation” only to protect the Donbas and not to invade Ukraine proper. Those in the Military see it as a losing strategy, just like the US failed in Vietnam for the same reason – not bombing the North.

Some fear that the Wagner Group might try to cut off the military supplies coming from Poland. Others see that moving to Belarus would allow them to invade and take Kiev. What is clear is that many of Wagner’s forces have joined the Russian Military and returned to Ukraine. Others, including the 2,500 to 5,000 troops who played a role in the mutiny, may join Mr. Prigozhin in Belarus, which concerns NATO.

Alexander Lukashenko offered the Wagner troops the use of an abandoned military camp. There is no question that these are professional troops who could be used on missions that the Russian Military does not formally sanction. That all depends on the relations with Moscow. The propaganda has no doubt caused much confusion on both sides. Prigozhin now insists that he was never out to topple Mr Putin. Indeed, it was unlikely that he could have ever done that for he would have been annihilated.

The impact on Russia’s high command raised by this insurrection is much more significant. The divisions and intrigues inside Russia’s leadership have been apparent for months. General Sergei Surovikin, the commander of Russian forces in Ukraine between October and January, had prior knowledge of the rebellion as did many others. This was no surprise and even came on time with our model’s forecast. Prigozhin, it was claimed, had intended to kidnap Sergei Shoigu, the defense minister, and General Valery Gerasimov when they visited the Ukraine border. That was well known. So this “coup” was certainly no secret.

Because Ukraine is making slower progress than the American Neocons and European officials had hoped, there are some calling for peace talks fearing that Russia will become much more aggressive after this coup. Ukrain’s casualties are enormous and over 8 million people have fled Ukraine resulting in a dwindling population even to draft people from. Assuming that Ukraine has yet to commit the majority of its new Western-equipped brigades to the battlefront, any attack against well-defended Russian positions, including minefields, has only exposed Ukraine’s troops with limited NATO training and is still no match for seasoned troops. That is a lesson that is as old as the Roman Empire.

Ukrainian commanders are suffering with significantly depleted forces, while the American Neocons wanted shock & awe for video clips on CNN. The Art of War is a great instruction. Pretend to be weak when you are strong. Things may not be what they appear – that is the lesson of war. The West reported this as if it was a real coup. They never had the army necessary to overthrow Putin or invade Moscow. Was this all a show to also appear weak and get the Ukrainians all excited, thinking they had just won?