There Will Be 'High Price to Pay'--NATO Chief Warns

16th March 2022 at 6:27 AM

Russia is lying again on Russian Use of Chemical Weapons

March 15, 2022 | By C. TODD LOPEZ  

"They are making absurd claims about biological labs and chemical weapons in Ukraine," said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who spoke today during a press conference in advance of tomorrow's meeting of NATO countries' defense ministers. "This is just another lie. And we are concerned that Moscow could stage a false flag operation, possibly including chemical weapons." 

Stoltenberg said Russia has already staged "false flag" operations within Ukraine to justify its actions there. A false flag operation is a hostile action made to appear as if it were perpetrated by another party, then used to justify other aggressive actions. 

"We have seen that they, throughout this crisis, have tried to create different kinds of false flag operations to try to provide excuses for use of force," Stoltenberg said. "We saw that in the lead-up to the intervention. And now we are seeing them accusing Ukraine and also NATO allies of producing and developing chemical weapons, and that's an absolute lie." 

The secretary general said Russia's false claims that Ukraine and NATO operate chemical and biological weapons labs raise the specter that Russia itself may be planning to use such weapons. 

"The president of the United States and other allies also made very clear that if they use chemical weapons, there will be a high price to pay," he said. 

Russia is one of the nations that signed on to the Chemical Weapons Convention prohibiting the development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons, but it has not held true to the commitments it made there, Stoltenberg said. 

"Russia has used chemical agents before to attack and actually kill political opponents," he said. "We have also seen that Russia has supported the Assad regime in Syria and helped to facilitate the use of chemical weapons several times in Syria." 

Any use of chemical weapons is absolutely unacceptable, Stoltenberg said. 

"It is also extremely important that Russia understands that it is unacceptable if they consider any use of chemical weapons, and we are also very vigilant about the possibility of them trying to stage some kind of pretext, false flag operation to provide the excuse for any type of use of chemical weapons," he said. 

While Russian aggression continues in Ukraine, Stoltenberg said NATO will do what it's designed to do: defend the alliance. 

"NATO's core task is to protect and defend all allies," he said. "We have responded to this crisis quickly, activating our defense plans, raising our readiness, and deploying the NATO Response Force for the first time for collective defense." 

Right now, there are hundreds of thousands of NATO forces on heightened alert. Already, Stoltenberg  said, there are 100,000 U.S. troops in Europe and around 40,000 troops under direct NATO command, as well. Many of those are deployed in the eastern part of the alliance and are backed by major air and naval power, as well as air defenses. 

"The U.S. is currently deploying Patriot batteries to Poland and Germany, and the Netherlands are also deploying Patriots to Slovakia," he said. "All of this sends an unmistakable message: An attack on one ally will be met with a decisive response from the whole alliance." 

Tomorrow's meeting of defense ministers, Stoltenberg said, will focus in part on a reset of NATO's military posture in the face of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. 

"Ministers will start an important discussion on concrete measures to reinforce our security for the longer term in all domains," he said. "On land, this could include substantially more forces in the eastern part of the alliance, at higher readiness and with more pre-positioned equipment." 

lso to be considered are increases to air and naval deployments, the strengthening of integrated air and missile defense, the reinforcement of cyber defenses, and more military exercises for NATO partners. 

Stoltenberg also commended NATO nations that are increasing their own commitment to defense — something he said is now truly necessary in the face of Russian aggression. 

"Major reinforcements of defense will require major increases in investment," he said. "I welcome that Germany and other allies have already announced they're stepping up, and I encourage all allies to spend the minimum 2% of GDP on defense. We must do more, so we must also invest more to protect peace and freedom and uphold our values at this critical time." 

Continued strengthening of the alliance, he said, will involve continued strengthening of air and missile defense — which is ongoing, as well as investments in more advanced conventional capabilities, including fifth-generation aircraft, Stoltenberg said. 

Spotlight: NATO

"I welcome the German decision to invest in fifth-generation aircraft," he said. "We need also to increase readiness and our ability to monitor and detect. And, of course, we also need to make sure that NATO's nuclear deterrent remains safe and secure and effective." 

When it comes to Ukraine, Stoltenberg said that for many years now NATO allies have been training Ukrainian soldiers — many who are now fighting on the front lines in Ukraine. 

And now allies of Ukraine are providing to that country critical equipment — including anti-tank and air defense weapons, drones, ammunition and fuel — to help them in their fight. 

"This training and equipment is helping Ukraine to defend itself," he said. "Ukraine has a fundamental right to self-defense enshrined in the U.N. charter, and NATO allies and partners will continue to help Ukraine uphold that right by providing military equipment and financial and humanitarian assistance." Source Courtesy

Russian Strategic Forces Reportedly on High Alert

As Fighting in Ukraine Intensifies

27th February 2022 | By David Vergun DOD News

U.S. officials don't doubt reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has placed Russia's nuclear deterrence forces on high alert, a senior defense official said at a press briefing today.

"We have no reason to doubt the validity of these reports," the official said.

Two soldiers look out from a large military vehicle.

This is an unnecessary step for Putin to take because Russia has never been under threat from NATO and certainly not from Ukraine, the official said.

It is escalatory because it's potentially putting at play forces that could, if there's a miscalculation, make things much more dangerous, the official said.

"We remain confident in our ability to defend ourselves and our allies and our partners, and that includes in the strategic deterrent realm," the official said.

Regarding the situation in Ukraine, the official said that roughly two-thirds of Russian forces arrayed along the border are now inside Ukraine, an increase over the last 24 hours when roughly half of those forces were inside Ukraine.

Ukrainians are putting up stiff resistance in the face of invading Russian forces, the official said, adding that no major cities inside Ukraine have yet been captured.

Four soldiers walk around two tactical vehicles.

"We believe that their advance was slowed both by resistance from the Ukrainians, who have been quite creative in finding ways to attack columns, and, number two, by the fuel shortages and the sustainment issues that they have had," the official said.

Logistics shortages have been particularly acute in their advanced on Kharkiv," which is in northeast Ukraine, the official said.

Some Russian reconnaissance elements have been in Kyiv over the last two days, and there are reports that they are wearing Ukrainian military uniforms to disguise themselves, the official said. In some cases, they have been identified by locals and by the Ukrainian military.

Russian forces, which are converging from the northeast and northwest, remain about 30 kilometers from the city center of Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, the official said.

In the south of Ukraine, Russian forces are moving northeast toward Mariupol and are now about 50 kilometers from the center of that city, the official said. They are also moving northwest toward the city of Kherson.

"Our assessment is that Mariupol is defended, and the Ukrainians will put up stiff resistance there," the official said.

The airspace over Ukraine is still contested, and that means that Ukrainians are still using their own aircraft and air and missile defense systems, which are believed to be still intact and still viable, although somewhat degraded, the official said.

In flight, a long tube extends from one plane to a jet flying below it.

Russians continue launching missiles against targets in Ukraine, mostly short-range, ballistic missiles, the official said. There are indications that some of the missiles launched have experienced failures.

There are indications that Russian forces are adopting siege tactics around the city of Chernihiv, which is northeast of Kyiv. This is particularly troubling as it could result in civilian casualties, the official said.

The U.S. and NATO continue providing Ukraine with lethal and nonlethal assistance, the official said.

An increased number of people, including some Americans, are leaving Ukraine, with many going to Poland, the official said. The 82nd Airborne Division is poised near the border and prepared to assist should the need arise.

"Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is still governing his country, still viable, still active," the official said. "He still has command and control over his armed forces."

Russian Armed Forces hit 821 military objects of Ukraine

 Updated-26th February 2022

Updates from the Russian Defence Ministry-February 26, 2022

Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson: Groupings of troops of Donetsk and Luhansk, with the fire support from the Russian Armed Forces, expanded the areas of the breakthrough in the enemy's defence during the day and continue to develop the success of the offensive.

The grouping of troops of the Luhansk People's Republic advanced to a depth of 30 kilometers and captured the settlements of Bakhmutovka and Grechishkino.

Formations and military units of the Donetsk People's Republic, advancing in the direction of Novomayskoye, covered another 6 kilometers. Nationalist battalions, retreating, blow up power substations and bridges across rivers behind them.

The units of the Russian Armed Forces have established full control over the city of Melitopol. Russian servicemen are taking all measures to ensure the safety of civilians and exclude provocations by Ukrainian special services and nationalists.

During the night, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation struck with high-precision long-range weapons using air- and sea-based cruise missiles at the objects of the military infrastructure of Ukraine.

I would like to emphasize once again that the fire is conducted only on the objects of the military infrastructure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, excluding damage to residential and social infrastructure.

In total, the Russian Armed Forces hit 821 objects of the military infrastructure of Ukraine.

Among them: 14 military airfields, 19 control points and communication centers, 24 S-300 and Osa anti-aircraft missile systems, 48 radar stations. Downed: 7 combat aircraft, 7 helicopters, 9 unmanned aerial vehicles.

87 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 28 multiple rocket launchers, 118 units of special military vehicles were destroyed.

The forces of the Russian Navy destroyed 8 military boats of the Ukrainian Navy.

Oleksiy Danilov: Ukraine will return the temporarily occupied territories

 21st February 2022 at 14:59

But solely by peaceful means

Ukraine’s task is to return the temporarily occupied territories solely by peaceful means. Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov emphasized this at a press conference within the National Forum “Safe and Capable Communities of the Future”, organized by the NSDC Staff together with the Association of Small Towns of Ukraine under the patronage of the President of Ukraine.

Answering journalists’ questions, the NSDC stressed that security issues are under the constant control of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “The security and defense sector is working 24/7”, - he added.

The NSDC Secretary noted that Russia is trying to create a casus belli, underlining that the Russian occupation forces are conducting shelling but not the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

“They won’t manage to provoke us. We will not conduct warfare against our population”, - Mr. Danilov stated adding that “President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plan is a political and diplomatic way of de-occupying territories”.

Mr. Danilov also noted that the Russian Federation is conducting a powerful information campaign against Ukraine, and called to “calm down and not give in to panic”. “Our military and our society are ready for any challenge”, - he said.

Issued by National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine

Dr.Asok Samanta on illegal regime changes

Sun, Feb 17, 2013 at 10:36 PM
US imperialism involved directly and indirectly
To
The President,
IDBD

(People round the world must rise up to build powerful organized well-coordinated anti-imperialist movement to stop the murderous run of world imperialism led by US imperialism)

Dear Sir,
As you know, we are passing through a time when in the absence of mighty socialist camp led by the USSR, the imperialists-capitalists headed by US imperialists, unable to come out of the insoluble crisis they are ridden with, are on a rampage, pursuing their hegemonistic aspirations, overlordism and brigandage with impunity. Alongside military invasion and illegal occupation of others’ territories, they are now conducting their loot and plunder through neo-colonial route of exporting finance capital and ruling either by installing a puppet government or by forcing the governments of the weaker nations to be pliant with and subjugated to their dictates . They are also causing economic blockade or resorting to escalated violence to circumscribe the weaker nations. For more than six decades now, US imperialism in particular has been directly and indirectly involved in all types of illegal regime changes employing assassinations, bombings, sabotage, terrorism, electoral fraud and such other black means. Whenever the US imperialists can no longer use and abuse a peripheral country, they first attempt to employ open (or white) measures (diplomatic, political, economic, military, etc.) to force a necessary change in the national political leadership of the target state. However, when they fail to attain this objective using “white” or overt actions then, they do not hesitate to initiate, conduct and pursue “black reconnaissance” actions against its perceived and identified enemy targets, or threats to its global strategic interests. Black reconnaissance actions are primarily hidden in the dark and kept from the public, secret and clandestine in nature. They are almost always illegal and violate accepted international principles and norms. Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, Haiti, have all borne the brunt with variance in degree. Somalia has been victim of the US imperialism-designed “nation building process” and ‘‘kind of humanitarian mission”. The NATO air raid in Kosovo, undertaken without the authorization of the Security Council and largely by using US forces to save the victims of so called ‘ethnic cleansing’ by President Slobodan Milosevic was soon  proved  to  be  a  step  towards fragmenting the Balkan states and deepening  imperialist  strangulation. 
For last three decades, the US imperialists along with their allies like Zionist Israel and British imperialismhave targeted West Asia obviously with a view to having total control of the rich oil fields. USA and its imperialist allies invaded and occupied Iraq on a completely trumped-up charge of possession of weapons of mass destruction. After the occupation of Iraq, USA has tried to keep its stranglehold on the country by installing a puppet regime on the one hand and by instigating ethnic strifes and violent conflicts between religious communities on the other. On the dark pages of human history which record the worst instances of naked aggression of big powers over smaller nations, Afghanistan has been a recent hapless inclusion. The war-monger US imperialists, the chieftain of the world capitalist- imperialist forces, have pounced upon this poor country with such venom and cruelty and have brought about such murderous devastation of human life and property, that have shocked and worried the peace –loving people of the entire world, not to speak of their inflicting unfathomable sufferings upon the Afghan people themselves.Having established control over Iraq and Afghanistan, USA is now turning its attention to other countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Central to US strategy in Middle East is unqualified support to Zionist Israel and to set it up as a bulwark against the surging tide of nationalism and anti-imperialism in the Arab countries; side by side, the US is lending support to the autocratic, tyrannical and despotic rulers in the Arab countries who perpetrate the most ruthless repression on the people, but protect the US interests.For a long time, US imperialists have been using Israel in subduing the most legitimate and just demand of homeland of the Palestine people. In Libya and Syria they are fomenting troubles through agent provocateurs. They are setting up their agents to destabilize the governments through violent armed actions under the cloak of ‘fighting for democracy’.  In the name of providing humanitarian aid to the people under attack from Muammar Gaddafi’s government in Libya, and giving logistic assistance to the forces fighting Gaddafi they, under NATO banner, US imperialists launched a full-scale air-war on Libya and savagely assassinated Gaddafi with the help of so called National Transitional Council (NTC), an organization propped up and backed by the agents of reaction with the blessings of US imperialism and its associates. Alongside a direct armed assault and creating ‘fifth columnists’ inside Libya, the US imperialists also pressed into action the International Criminal Court (ICC) which is increasingly being used as a tool by the Pentagon and Western imperialist powers in their bid to establish direct control over the  huge natural resources of Africa and West Asia.After having demolished Libya, the US imperialists and their allies have now chosen Syria. The present turmoil of Syria was perpetrated and monitored by none other than the US imperialists, towing their allies behind them. It is revealed in the media that just like Iraq and Libya, $6 million was handed out to Syrian groups aligned with US imperialism by the Bush administration after 2006 with a view to ensuring fall of the incumbent Syrian government. Lebanon is also on the radar of the US imperialists. Just the other day, Zionist Israel bombed the territories of Syria. So is Iran who along with socialist North Korea and Cuba has been included by the US rulers in their “axis of evils”. It is reported in The New York Times that US is carrying out secret military and air strikes in Yemen. Sudan, the oil-rich mineral-rich East African country is now a prime target of the US imperialists. 
This is how the imperialist web now extends over the entire globe. How could the imperialist powers particularly the US imperialists be so unbridled in their pursuit of international gangsterism and hegemonism? The answer lies in the qualitative change in the international correlation of forces following sad dismantling of mighty socialist camp due to revisionist conspiracy aided and abetted by capitalist-imperialist powers. So long the socialist camp existed, it, notwithstanding certain limitations and shortcomings, worked as a bulwark of anti-imperialism and peace. Had the bipolar world existed, the US imperialists and their allies would not have the nerve to undertake such dastardly activities with alacrity, unleash a reign of terror round the globe and openly threat the countries or political personalities not seeing eye to eye with them of dire consequences. Cowardly acts like summarily executing political opponents openly and boastfully would not have been that easy and go unchallenged. One would have observed that since collapse of the USSR and Eastern European socialist states in 1989-1991, US imperialists have launched five wars of invasion — in Iraq twice, in Yugoslavia in 1999, in Afghanistan in 2001, and now in Libya.It is pertinent to mention that Indian capitalism has also assumed imperialist character, given rise to a financial oligarchy by merger of industrial capital with banking capital and is exporting finance capital abroad to exploit cheap labour and raw material. Thus, the Indian monopolists have become junior partners of world imperialism and in order to fulfil their aspiration to become a formidable power in central and south Asia, they are increasing tilting towards the US camp, entering into nuclear treaty with them, undertaking joint military exercises and backing US design to target Iran, North Korea and other regimes opposed to US imperialism.
But the freedom-loving people of the world cannot remain a mute spectator to this overlordism, brigandage and gangsterism of the world imperialist powers headed by US imperialism nor should they be duped by the incessant imperialist propaganda. The imperialist sharks will be unbridled in their tyranny if there is no organized people’s resistance against all their felonious acts. Just as they did in Libya, the US imperialists and their allies will sneak into every country under this or that pretext, implement their nefarious designs, pit one section of the people against another fomenting divisiveness centring on religion, ethnicity or such other count to buttress their heinous agenda, overpower countries not falling in line with them by unleashing military attack and plotting killing of political opponents. One after another country would fall to such imperialist machination spelling doom to mankind.When the US imperialists and their associates are merrily indulging in all kinds of criminal acts and trying to cover them with panoply of cooked up alibis and charade of ‘restoring democracy’, the obvious question people should ask is who are they to determine what kind of rule would prevail in any other country? It is the exclusive preserve of the people of a country to decide what nature of governance they would like to have. Even if rulers of a country perpetrate genocide, it is upto the people there to develop powerful democratic movement or if the situation so warrants, a strong resistance movement to dissuade or dislodge the incumbent repressive regime. Democratic minded people of the world can also develop strong international public opinion against such crimes and extend moral support to such movement so as to create pressure on the culprit regime for stopping the ghastly activities. There are international diplomatic codes, existence of international bodies like International Court of Justice or even UNO, notwithstanding considerable dilution in their roles and their sickening obedience to the wishes of the US imperialists and their allies, to look after such matters. What is the propriety of the US imperialists and their cohorts to arrogate to themselves the power of functioning as international gendarme and nakedly meddle into the internal affairs of any country and that too by moving armed troops? If such be the case, what would be the fate of the lofty concepts of freedom, sovereignty, territorial integrity and independent state then? Is it to be assumed then that all these concepts are slated to vanish into thin air because the US imperialists have now emerged as a superlord by dint of their brute military might and hence ordained to write a new doctrine of democracy which is tantamount to meek unquestioned surrender to their sermons and fiats? If any ruler of any country does anything wrong, runs an autocratic regime, it is up to the people of that country to decide how he should be dealt with, what punishment should be meted out to him. History will judge his actions. Same is the case with Libya. Wherefrom do the US imperialists and their cohorts who in their own countries are brutally suppressing democratic movements, muffling voice of dissent and practising fascist dictatorship under the garb of parliamentary democracy, flouting and disobeying all democratic norms, codes and practices, derive the authority to militarily intervene in Libya or Iraq and engineer a regime change by murdering Gaddafi and Saddam? 
We are to keep in mind that what these imperialist despots fear most is the united conscious people’s movement. People must act and act decisively. True, in the situation obtaining, people apparently seem to be having no weapon to halt the murderous run of the imperialist sharks, to thwart the sinister imperialist machination of “humanitarian intervention with daggers drawn” or “trigger-happy export of democracy”. But that weapon has to be developed in right earnest, the invincible weapon of asserting of people’s power in right form. Of late, there have been spontaneous upheavals of people against pro-imperialist regimes in Egypt and Tunisia. Undeterred by the bullets and brutality of the autocratic regime and defying the long-continuing repressions that they have dreaded so far, lakhs of oppressed Egyptians from all sections of the society including women congregated at the Tahrir Square of Cairo and other parts of the country in the last week of January, 2011 to demand an end to thirty long years of President Hosni Mubarak’s most oppressive rule, fully backed, geared and protected by the army, and restoration of democracy. This spontaneous militant people’s protest which spread like wildfire across the country and virtually assumed the character of a mass uprising was greeted throughout the world as “Arab spring’. Such people’s protest agitations ought to surge forth in other countries of West Asia and Africa where dictatorial rules are in operation, the surging people’s protests have not crystallized in that manner. Most importantly, in order to lead all these protest agitations to their logical culmination, it is essential that the toiling people overcome all hurdles and hassles to close their ranks and develop well-organized powerful movements along the right track, build their own instruments of struggle right from the grassroots level rising above all differences and divisions and give birth through struggle to appropriate revolutionary leadership to spur them on to accomplish the goal. Simultaneously, a mighty militant global people’s movement needs to be developed against imperialism, particularly US imperialism by coordinating the anti-imperialist movements in the different countries and involving all anti-imperialist forces. Any attack on any country must be considered by the people of fellow countries as an attack on all of them by the US imperialists.  Hence, it should be incumbent on the anti-war peace-loving democratic minded patriotic people of all countries to rise up against any such attack, resist and repel with all might.  In other words, it would just not be an expression of solidarity but beyond that--unleashing action spurned by a sense of oneness.  The enemy would know that if it targets one particular country, the people of the entire region would retaliate and strike back.  If such co-ordination and fraternity among the fighting people of Latin America could be developed, it would not only give fillip to the democratic movements in each country but would also enfeeble the enemy to a great extent. And it is also of immense importance to understand that unless the various anti-imperialist people’s struggles grow and develop under correct revolutionary leadership, they will not be led to their logical culmination and might either be aborted midway or end in a half-baked and truncated way and the imperialist conspirators, sly and wicked to the bone, would cunningly exploit the accumulated grievances of the people in those lands for implementing their ‘humanitarian mission” of “planting democracy” through imbedded “agents” shored up as “pro-democracy” fighters. This alone can resist the marauding acts of imperialism, and save the world from this scourge of imperialist terror and oppression. We call upon all anti-imperialist peace-loving people to come forward and shoulder the task of releasing the desired people’s movement to thwart imperialist prowl with due expediency. 

With struggling greetings
Dr. Asok Samanta
Vice-President, Medical Service Centre
Member of All India Anti-Imperialist Forum
14th Feb. 2013

Dr.Asok Samanta on illegal regime changes

A letter by Dr. Asok Samanta                           Nationwide strike on 2nd day at Ludhiana

In all illegal regime changes....                       Bank Unions hold a massive rally

                                            

Economic policies benefiting the rich                                          The Communist Manifesto

Communist Song l Che'Guevara                                  Strike call by 11 Central Trade Unions

We all should join her....without further delay

Russian Navy Capt.Andrey Lyalin with Gates

Russian Navy Capt. Andrey Lyalin, center, the director of the Central Naval Museum, presents U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates with the 122 mm howitzer casing after Gates' firing of the Noon Cannon during a tour of the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, Russia, March 21, 2011. (DoD photo by Cherie Cullen/Released)