Putin Recognizes Donbass Republics, Sends Russian Military to 'Denazify' Ukraine

In France, they were afraid of Russia's reaction to Zelensky's visit to Paris
"Macron knows how to hit the sick! Putin will never recover," Redge One quipped.
"Poor Putin, he will be traumatized, how will he bear it!" added charly bravo 58.
"They have already been deprived of Eurovision. Don't go too far!"— jokingly warned JustAnIdee.
"How? Will he lose his chocolate medal? Tremble, Putin ..." — wrote anonymous.

"This decoration is no longer of great value, it is being abused. And Putin will feel the absurdity of this decision if it is implemented," Cyrano believes.
These comments simply show how little they know Putin. Although, like any of us, we don't know him intimately; his actions speak louder than words. For my own thoughts, Putin is above all these efforts to make him look foolish. He may shed a few regrets (after all, he knew the president who gave him that medal and honor), but he is so sure of himself and his people that this action speaks of a child's reaction to an adult who won't compromise (my father is better than yours type of childish act or I'll hold my breath until my face turns blue). Vladimir is playing for keeps to determine the future, not for memories and the past. He has only one focus: DE Nazify the world (close to his region at least) in order to keep Russia and its allies free.

As we have all seen in this thread, he has been studying the West for a very long time and has been preparing for it accordingly. The French Media's reaction to his "medal" being revoked is simply word play, nothing to be worried about. Not by him!


This simply shows how shallow the French Media and their leader has become. Shallow and irrelevant. This is the difference between a Great Leader and a seemingly self-important one.


Watching that on TV reminded me of another leader who lost everything after his regime and abuse became public knowledge: Nicolae Ceausescu of Romania. He was greatly influence by the personality cults of China's and North Korea's in the 70s. He was seemingly re-elected 5 times until 1989. Yes, it took a few years (deposed in 1989)to finally get rid of him. He got how many medals and honor while being "executive president"? And one given by Queen Elizabeth herself! His wife and his son were just as despotic as he became!


When I read those comments, I smile and shake my head! So childish! Our world is run by children in supposably adult costumes!

 

China comments on bombshell Nord Stream report


"The US owes the world an explanation on the sabotage of the Russian gas pipelines, Beijing’s Foreign Ministry says"

“If Hersh is telling the truth, what he revealed is clearly unacceptable and must be answered for. The US owes the world a responsible explanation,” Mao stated."

She added that the two Nord Stream pipelines were “vital transnational infrastructure” and that their destruction caused a serious economic and environmental impact.


 

US okays Ukrainian forces’ strikes on Crimea

WASHINGTON, February 11. /TASS/. The US authorities have no objections to Ukrainian strikes against targets on the territory of Ukraine, including Crimea, which Washington considers a part of Ukraine, US Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Dr. Celeste Wallander said, speaking at an event at the Washington-based Center for a New American Security."

"The United States supports Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty over its internationally recognized borders, and that includes Crimea," she said, when asked whether Washington supported Ukraine's ‘return of Crimea’ or the Ukrainian strikes on Russian targets on the peninsula with weapons supplied to Kiev by the West, "Ukraine has the right to defend every inch of its territory <...> as you know, we [the US] don't have objections and do not seek to limit Ukrainian military operations to achieve their objectives."

 
SpaceX has limited Ukrainian military access to Starlink satellite communications to control drones.
The president of the company that operates the Starlink satellite Internet service said that the use of the service by the Ukrainian military for offensive purposes is not provided for by an agreement with the country's authorities.

According to Andrei Martyanov, Starlink was always used for military purposes. Musk and/or SpaceX Prez Gwynne Shotwell are allegedly trotting out a nice-sounding narrative to cover the fact that Russia has developed a new system that targets Starlink terminals, which is bad for business:

Elon Musk is a cynical cold-hearted businessman and when he does something it is not out of charity.

"SpaceX has reduced the Ukrainian military’s ability to use Starlink satellite internet service to control drones in its conflict with Russia, the company’s president Gwynne Shotwell has said. SpaceX was “really pleased to be able to provide Ukraine connectivity,” but the technology “was never intended to be weaponized,” Shotwell told the 25th Annual FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference in Washington on Wednesday. “The Ukrainians have leveraged [Starlink] in ways that were unintentional and not part of any agreement. So you know, we have to work on that [with] Starlink,” she said. Shotwell later clarified to journalists that she was talking about Kiev’s forces relying on Starlink to control drones in surveillance and attack operations. “There are things that we can do to limit their ability to do that,” she explained, referring to Ukraine’s use of Starlink with the UAVs, as quoted by Reuters. “There are things that we can do, and have done,” Shotwell added, without identifying the exact measures that had been implemented."

Immediate BS, Starlink ALWAYS was viewed as a military asset for Comm and Recon, period. And the "leveraging" was exactly what Starlink was created for. Even eight-graders know this. The reason for limiting the use of Starlink is entirely different, and embarrassing for the US and SpaceX. The name of the reason is a Hog-weed, aka in Russia as Borschevik. Here it is:


It is Russia's EW complex specifically designed for detecting and issuing targeting at Starlink terminals. It's range is 10 kilometers in 180 degrees sector and the accuracy is between 5 and 60 meters (in Russian). And here are the result of the use of this complex since December 2022.

О проблемах ВСУ со спутниковой и радиосвязью, что приводит к потере оперативного управления войсками и нарушает координацию действий, сообщил представитель Народной милиции ЛНР Андрей Марочко. «Данный факт приводит к росту потерь украинских подразделений, паническим настроениям как у рядового, так и офицерского состава», — сообщил он. Практически полностью пропала связь, например, в Артёмовске (Бахмуте), в котором продолжают оказывать сопротивление наступающим штурмовым группам «Вагнера» подразделения ВСУ. С радиосвязью и мобильными телефонами понятно — их глушат российские станции РЭБ, но Starlink они вывести из строя не могут. Эти комплексы можно уничтожать огневым воздействием, но они малозаметны и достаточно мобильны.

Translation: "About the problems of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with satellite and radio communications, which leads to the loss of operational control of the troops and disrupts the coordination of actions, said Andrey Marochko, a representative of the People's Militia of the LPR. “This fact leads to an increase in the losses of Ukrainian units, panic among both privates and officers,” he said. Communication was almost completely lost, for example, in Artyomovsk (Bakhmut), where they continue to resist the advancing Wagner assault groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. With radio communications and mobile phones, it is clear that they are jammed by Russian electronic warfare stations, but they cannot disable Starlink. These complexes can be destroyed by fire, but they are hardly noticeable and quite mobile. The mobile direction finding complex (MCP) "Borshchevik", with which you can detect the work of Starlink satellite communication systems, is a new development of Russian scientists. Its creation was carried out by the private company "Sestroretsk Arms Plant" under the leadership of the candidate of technical sciences Alexei Tsarkov. By the way, he also supervised the development of a wearable radar station for detecting ultra-small targets Burdock."

In addition, single Borschevik can detect up to 50 terminals in its sector. Obviously Russian Army will not use expensive Krasnopols or Iskanders to blow Starlink terminals, but those who use them are of great interest, but sometimes a single artillery raid on known coordinates is enough to wipe out both terminals and those who use them, who are the real targets. So, as with all US-made weapon systems provided to VSU, Starlink faces the same discreditation and embarrassment as was the case with every weapon US supplied to 404, be that Javelins, NASAMS or M777, among many others.
 
Well, buckled down and get more popcorn!

Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin talked about how long he thinks the SMO will last. It all depends on specific goals:

“If we have to go as far as the Dnieper, that’s about three years; if we completely liberate the LPR and DPR, that’s about 1.5 to 2 years of work. If we need to go as far as La Manche, then I have my ideal plan.”

 
Odesa Crimea.

Line-1
The Zatoka bridge in Odesa was hit by an underwater drone about 2 hours ago. https://t.me/rusijausrcu
Line-2
A strategic goal.




Local residents of Ukraine did not receive Czech humanitarian aid (and aid from other countries).
 
Never been happier of being wrong.
Like many on this forum I'm a great Pink Floyd fan, and I really thought that Waters was "lost" after his " Putin is a gangster ' comments, I couldn't understand how somebody like him could have it so wrong on the Russian /Ukranian issue ..well turn out that actually he changed his mind ....and I was wrong about him.....

 
Well, buckled down and get more popcorn!




I think he was playing around and deflecting. I suspect it will be over a lot sooner than that!
 
Vucic predicted an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine over the next six months. According to his predictions, the intensity of fighting over the next six months could increase significantly.

At the same time, the pressure on Serbia will also increase as it supports Russia's position:

"The pressure on us will be two or three times stronger, a frighteningly terrible pressure on Kosovo and Metohija," Vučić said on Serbian television Prva.

According to the Serbian leader, the world is facing the biggest crisis since the Second World War.

"What happened before is almost nothing compared to what is ahead of us. <...> I know that a great escalation is still ahead of us, and I hope that some will understand that we don't need it. In the next five or six months, there will be the most difficult conflicts," Vučić said.
 
He is an idiot, a moron, an animal that has no brain at all but thinks about money all the time, and with no education. He is vulgar and he does not have elegance. He also looks dirty. Does he use soap, sometimes? How come he is received so gladly in places when a certain protocol is required? He represents, for me, the degradation of our civilization, the ugly put as beauty. Oh my oh my.
 
Pardon if this was posted, but I only have read this only recently, and I'm really pleased that almost 1/3 of Poles is starting to think by themselves. Results of study done by Warsaw Enterprise Institute should be very concerning for the current ruling elites in the country.

Poles more and more susceptible to Russian propaganda? [STUDY]​

The number of people who share the theses of Russian propaganda is growing, according to a study by the Warsaw Enterprise Institute. More and more Poles believe that refugees from Ukraine are in fact economic immigrants, that for the sake of Volhynia and Bandera, we should not support Kiev, that we should stop arms deliveries to Ukraine, because this only fuels the conflict. Colonel Adam Jawor, a reserve officer of the Polish special services, explains that external propaganda works best in divided societies, such as Poland, using mainly social media.
In September 2022 and January 2023, a survey commissioned by WEI was conducted on a representative sample of 1,061 Poles who were to refer to eight theses deemed consistent with the Kremlin's message sent abroad. These claims are intended to undermine support for Ukraine in the West and cause tensions in the countries where Ukrainian refugees have gone .

Disturbing results of the study​

It turns out that in January as much as 41 percent respondents “strongly agree” or “rather agree” with at least four of the statements . This is a clear increase compared to September 2022, when it was 34 percent.
Most respondents agree with the thesis that Poland cannot afford refugees. This is the opinion of 63 percent respondents, compared to 60 percent. last fall. It is worth pointing out in which cases the change in support over the past few months was the most visible. The number of people convinced that refugees from Ukraine are in fact economic immigrants increased by 6 percentage points, to 41% .
The number of people who believe that we should not help Ukraine has increased by 5 percentage points, to 30 percent, until it repents for Volhynia and condemns Bandera. Also, by 5 percentage points, to 40 percent, the percentage of respondents who believe that Russia should not be irritated because it has nuclear weapons increased.
By 4 percentage points, to 36 percent, the number of votes that we should promote peace at all costs, even at the price of Ukraine's territorial concessions to Russia, increased. Also, by 4 percentage points, to 34 percent, the share of those who believe that we should stop supplying arms to Ukraine, because it ignites a conflict that has nothing to do with us.

Conspiracy theories on the rise​

There are also opinions that the war is a liberal conspiracy of the Western elites, the same ones who planned the pandemic (34% vs. 31% in the September survey), or that if it wasn't for NATO's expansion to the East, Putin would not have attacked Ukraine (26% vs. 24 percent in the autumn survey).
In a recent survey, respondents were presented with two additional statements.
With the thesis that “helping Ukraine will not end there. We will be embroiled in many years of armed conflicts”, 52 percent agreed or rather agreed. respondents, and with the thesis that "currently Ukrainization of Poland is taking place, which is destroying our culture and society" - 40 percent.
It can be concluded that Russian propaganda shapes the attitudes of Poles more and more strongly, although other factors probably also influence people's moods, such as the growing uncertainty about the future or the deteriorating economic situation. One way or another, the number of people who share the views propagated by the Kremlin or are in line with Russian interests is growing.
"For Russia, this is clearly good news , and its propaganda apparatus will do everything in its power to perpetuate such attitudes in Poles and spread them even more," writes WEI in the report.
To strengthen their message, the Russians use the Internet, mainly social networking sites, and use the authorities appearing in the Polish public space , which by themselves proclaim views convergent with Moscow's policy.

Photo like Kalashnikov​

- Social media is a theater of war. Minister Sergei Shoigu famously said in 2015: we all need to accept that words and cameras , photos, the internet and general information have become another weapon and component of the armed forces. It follows that for modern Russia, smartphones and social media are the same weapons as Kalashnikovs , says Colonel Adam Jawor to the DGP.
In this war, he does not disguise himself by any means. We are facing a plague of fake news and rumors . Interestingly, false information spreads faster , is read and shared many times more willingly than true information, and the first impression caused by it remains in people for longer, even when they find out that they are dealing with false information.
- The results of the OECD report of 4 November are interesting. They indicate that tweets containing false information are 70 percent. more likely to be retweeted than factual , and fake news on Facebook generates six times more traffic than posts based on real news , says the colonel.
Furthermore, Brendan Nyhan and Jason Reifler of Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, described the counterproductive effect of rectifying lies: Not only do rectifications fail to correct errors and libel effects, they are counterproductive and reinforce misconceptions .

Chaos breeds disinformation​

Adam Jawor explains that external propaganda works best in divided societies , like the Polish one. Social media is adapted to political and social polarization , appeals to negative emotions, has a wide reach and works very quickly. They are extremely effective, especially among the younger population. Disinformation is fostered by information noise and chaos, but also by the use of war to clash on the domestic political scene . The brevity of social media posts along with striking visual images prevent the recipient from understanding the motives and values of others.
The Russians use public figures, celebrities , including Polish politicians , who go out with their message inspired by the Russian narrative beyond social media, to the mainstream media. The motivation of such people is different.
- Some may genuinely love Russia , some may have the type of views they present, some just want to be original - says Jawor. This is a dangerous phenomenon , because by some groups they are recognized as authorities, thus their opinions are more easily assimilated by observers of public life.
The colonel points out that the narrative used in the first phase of the invasion of Ukraine , i.e. the stories about the Nazis, about corruption in the country, about the fact that Ukrainian society will greet Russians with flowers, has completely failed . So another message was introduced , that the war must be ended because it causes a crisis, that we cannot afford it, that there is no reason for Europeans to suffer because of Ukraine, etc. Its purpose is not to convince her that she is right, but to raise doubts .

Fueling resentment against Ukrainians​

- Russia is trying to convince people that the war was caused by NATO , it threatens the uprising of angry Bandera Ukraine, it refers to Polish-Ukrainian relations, emphasizing difficult moments in history between the countries - says Jawor.
Rumors are widely used, and they are distributed at a very fast pace. An example are the stories of young Ukrainian women who use the services of beauty salons or hairdressers, and then leave saying: we don't pay.
Another message that was tried to popularize - Poland helps Ukraine, having a specific goal in front of it, which is the partition of western Ukraine . The intention of such actions is to set the two nations at odds, to make Ukrainians look bad in Poland, and to make Poles unwilling to continue helping Ukraine. The colonel emphasizes that most of this type of propaganda content is usually created by circles that previously questioned the pandemic . This pattern is repeated in every country.

How to react?​

We often refer to moral reasons in relation to the actions taken by the Russians in Ukraine. But that's not enough.
– This argument is good, but not sufficient. It must be emphasized all the time that supporting Ukraine is our particular, selfish national interest . We have to bear some costs in the form of high inflation, high energy prices, the aftermath of every war. Our safety is at stake . The question is whether we would prefer to pay PLN 5 for fuel and have Russian tanks near the Bug River - says the colonel.
How to fight disinformation and propaganda?
It is necessary to anticipate the directions of the narrative of a country that wants to destabilize society and give a quick repulse by building a convincing message based on truth. It would be advisable to develop a national narrative security strategy, believes Adam Jawor. Instead of straightening Russia's propaganda, let's compete with it, advise Christopher Paul and Miriam Matthews in the article "The Russian "Firehose of Falsehood" Propaganda Model: Why It Might Work and Options to Counter It." As in other areas of life, so in this, anticipatory and preventive actions turn out to be the most effective .
 
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