Ukraine Weekly Update

20th September 2024

Russian soldier in the Donbass

On September 17th, in the Middle East, a new and deadly type of terrorist attack has been perpetrated by some evil force which has caused personal ‘pagers’ (mostly owned by Hezbollah) to explode all around Lebanon, killing eleven and injuring around 3000 people, many of whom were innocent civilians, according to Sputnik (see below). A number of children are among the dead. The Iranian ambassador to Lebanon was also injured. The following day, another attack affected walkie talkies, cars, scooters and kitchen appliances which began exploding killing 14 and injuring 450 (so far). Mossad is suspected of carrying out this indiscriminate terrorist attack and Hezbollah has vowed revenge. Some believe that this was an attempt by the Israeli to disrupt Hezbollah’s communications prior to an invasion of southern Lebanon (see below).

Even without this attack, the war in the Middle East has become more intense, as Israel strikes deep into Lebanon and Syria, while Hezbollah retaliates effectively with drone/rocket attacks. Meanwhile, the Houthis have breached Israeli and US defences to hit a target in Tel Aviv with a hypersonic missile over a distance of 2,000 kms (more below). They have also damaged a number of ships and taken out many US MQ-9 ‘Reaper’ drones.

Optimistic views at the prospects of avoiding all out war in the Middle East are not common at the moment with Alistair Crooke, Jacques Baud and our own Richard Steven Hack¹ providing gloomy analyses that anticipated Netanyahu’s announcement on the 18th September, that Israel will be invading Southern Lebanon.

Netanyahu confidently announced that a ‘buffer zone’ will be created thereby permitting many displaced Israelis to return to their homes. The Israeli war cabinet has confirmed this according to Zero Hedge. Israel will be reinforcing the northern front considerably. The Lebanese PM, Najib Mikati, has announced that his nation is now at war with Israel, according to RT. All this will divert attention away from the Ukraine conflict which will not please the once great Z. At the time of writing, Israel has ‘restrained’ itself by bombing innocent civilians from the air rather than risk casualties in a ground assault.

In the US, another attempt has been made to kill Donald J which is being presented as the work of a madman but which was probably orchestrated by the Deep State. If so, the would be assassin may not survive for very long because he knows too much. Meanwhile, Cackling Kamala continues to deliver word salads and embarrass herself.

The unity of the European Union is showing signs of unraveling as opposition to the ruling elites grows amid economic and political chaos, especially in Germany. In France, impeachment proceeding against Macron have begun.

On the battlefronts, the Kursk misadventure could develop into a total catastrophe as Russia takes back much territory, while in the east, Pokrovsk, Uhledar, Toretsk and Chasiv Yar are showing early signs of disintegration. Ukrainian losses and casualties have reached record levels.

It appears that NATO and the West are not yet willing to assist the Ukrainians in striking deep into Russia after Putin’s warning. But that could change. In a statement of rebellion, apparently, the EU parliament voted overwhelmingly to let the Ukrainians do what they want (showing open disagreement with Olaf Scholtz and others). But this assumption that Ukraine has any power is astonishing. This was simply a gesture by an organisation that is very much aware of its own powerlessness in the face of America’s foreign policy. Reminder: Ukraine cannot use long range missiles without Western/NATO assistance: I doubt that many in the EU ‘parliament’ know that.

Putin’s Warning - The Aftermath

To recap: Vladimir Putin in a recent interview, told the West that the Ukrainian military does not have the capability of directing Western long range missile systems onto their targets. Ukraine cannot operate these systems and it cannot direct them onto it’s targets without Western help. Therefore, in providing this assistance to enable Ukraine to do this, NATO will necessarily become a combatant in the conflict. This is Putin’s legal mind operating. I can’t really see how the West can argue against Putin on this. Some legal experts will probably disagree but would be defying logic in doing so.

Vasily Nebenzya

Vasily, who is Russia’s permanent member on the UNSC, followed Putin’s lead when he warned:

If the decision to lift restrictions is actually made or will be made, this will mean that from this moment NATO countries will begin a direct war with Russia. In this case, we will, of course, be forced to make the appropriate decisions with all the ensuing consequences for Western aggressors. Our Western colleagues will no longer be able to shift all the blame onto Kiev.

The White House Response

In response to Putin’s statement, the White House said that it’s position on not allowing Ukraine to use its missiles deep into Russia has not changed. It appears that the matter will be discussed at the next UN General Assembly Meeting at the end of September. This will allow some of the BRICS countries to have a say. I doubt that any long range Western missiles will be launched by Ukraine into Russia before then. But who knows.

Some commentators have pointed out that even if Ukraine were allowed to send long range missiles deep into Russia, it would not benefit it very much because there aren’t sufficient missiles to make a difference and because Russian air defences are very efficient. So, why risk WW3 by allowing Ukraine to engage in an activity which will not benefit them or the West. Alexander Mercouris discusses this issue with reference to an article in the Financial Times by ex-British diplomat Kim Darroch - as you can see here. Darroch does not believe that the potential benefits of allowing such strikes deep into Russia would outweigh the risks. Darroch warned the West not to assume that because Putin has not retaliated in the past that he will not do so in the future when ballistic missiles are hitting civilian targets in Russia.

Alex Krainer, speaking with Nima on Dialogue Works, has made some interesting observations regarding Starmer’s recent visit to the White House. Apparently, Starmer was hoping to persuade Biden and Blinken to allow Ukraine (i.e. help Ukraine) to launch long range missiles deep into Russia. But Starmer, unexpectedly, met with opposition even though he was fairly confident of obtaining support. Krainer entertains the possibility that there has been a ‘palace coup’ of sorts in the White House and that Blinken and Biden are no longer making decisions in this connection. As Krainer puts it ‘some adults entered the room’ in the form of top US generals - and pragmatism was able to triumph over the infantile irrationalism that we have seen from the Administration before now. More sensible heads have, hopefully, prevailed. Such people appreciate Russian fears, highlighted by Krainer, that a ballistic missile launched deep into Russia could be armed with a nuclear device.

For a while, a number of commentators have been talking about a divide between the Pentagon on the one hand and the Biden Administration on the other. This could be an expression of that. The Pentagon and the army must know that they are in no fit state to fight a war against Russia but even if they were, they know the risk of escalation to a nuclear conflict is quite high. They have a grasp on reality that the neo-cons/neo libs don’t possess.

If a ‘palace coup’ has indeed been carried out then Krainer believes this could involve a different relationship with Israel: a relationship in which the US will refuse to back Israel if they escalate - as they are now doing. Krainer also believes that the Pentagon and their counterparts in the Kremlin are talking to each other. Which is hopeful, if true. Only time will tell whether Israel commits ground troops, thereby defying the US. This matter is complicated by the fact that Netanyahu’s personal survival is at stake. The parallels between this and the Ukraine conflict are worthy of some analysis.

European Divide

Europe is without doubt divided on the issue of allowing Ukraine to use long range missiles. It seems that the UK and the Baltic states are in favour but many in France, Italy and Germany are against. Indeed, Italy is even calling for peace talks before the end of the year, according to RT.

In the UK, Two Tier Kier, responding to Putin’s warning, said ‘We are not seeking any conflict with Russia, it is not part of our intentions in the slightest’. Now, Dear Keir, if you are part of an alliance that has stated openly that it seeks the strategic defeat of Russia, how will you go about achieving this without seeking conflict with Russia. I can assure you Kier, that Russia will not agree to a strategic defeat without an almighty fight that will engulf the whole world - so don’t let the clown use the Stormshadows. You know it makes sense - surely.

But five ex-Defence Ministers have told Starmer that he should ignore the US and give Ukraine permission to start Armageddon. However, the British Times newspaper has reported that Stormshadows cannot operate effectively without US data to guide them to their targets - so they would need US approval. You can read more at RT. It should also be noted that Stormshadows have a range of only 150 kms, which would not increase penetration into Russia very much - as Alistair Crooke points out here. ATACMS have a much longer range of 300 kms, he claims.

Alexander Mercouris, has identified another element of US involvement in the launching of Stormshadows which only the US can provide: i.e. decoys. I have no idea how this works but it appears that Stormshadow launches benefit from the launch of decoys which only the US can provide. Yes - I know: it’s complicated.

Olaf Scholtz has said that Germany will not be sending its Taurus long range missiles to Ukraine and does not agree that Ukraine should be allowed to attack deep into Russia for fear of escalation - according to Tass.

On the 19th September, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to allow Ukraine to use long range missiles deep into Russia. You can read details here. This vote is not binding on anyone.

Russian Army To Become 1.5 Million Strong

Vladimir Putin has announced that the Russian army is to be increased to 2.38 million men with an increase of active servicemen by 180,000 to total of 1.5 million. The Russian army will then become the second largest in the world after China.

Could Russia Render Ukraine Uninhabitable This Winter?

Many months ago, I considered the possibility that Russia, through it attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, could make the country uninhabitable. I believed that if the war could be ended sooner by pursuing this policy, then that would not be a bad thing. Inconveniencing people is much more preferable to killing them - as the war has been doing for the past two and a half years. Some Ukrainian sources believe that this is possible.

RT Sanctioned by US and Meta

I have been following RT for more than a decade and have always found that it provides reliable news often exposing issues that the legacy media won’t touch. I have no idea of the extent to which the Russian government interferes with the news provided by RT. But it is clearly not a propaganda tool for the Kremlin. RT has been banned in most Western places but I am still able to gain access to it. Yet Anthony Blinken has accused the outlet of being an extension to Russian intelligence that is engaged in undermining democracy around the world.

Individuals and ‘elements within’ RT parent companies Rossiya Segodnya and TV-Novosti, have been accused of interfering in the Moldovan elections. You can read more at RT.

The Meta organisation which controls platforms such as Facebook and Instagram has banned RT from its apps due to alleged ‘foreign interference’ - according to Sputnik. The Russians have denied this and have described the move as ‘an attempt to suppress alternative points of view - which, of course, it is.

The People Fight Back

Rukh Opir (Resistance Movement)

According to Telegram Channel, СВАРЩИКИ:

On the night of September 15-16, a major fire broke out in the Lithuanian city of Šiauliai at the production facility of the well-known telecommunications company TVC. The fire was started by direct arson and quickly spread over an area of ​​about 1,000 square meters. As a result, assembly shops were completely destroyed, as well as dozens of cars and trailers filled with expensive electronics.

Some time ago the firm TVC began fulfilling a US order for electronic warfare stations which were to be sent to Ukraine. Much of this was destroyed by the fire. On August 25th, a fire broke out at the Speed Mail and Logistics Hub in the Polish city of Plock which destroyed thermal imaging equipment, night sights, helmets, body armor, uniforms and equipment. It is suspected that the ‘Opir’ group could have been involved in this and an attack in early September on engineering equipment in Odessa which was destined for the front.

Deadly Biolabs - Could This Be True?

The Ukrainian mayor of Genichesk, Stalnislav Bunyatov, who was a member of the Nazi ‘Aidar’ assault group, has made a confession that Kiev, with the help of the Americans, intended to kill a third of Russia's population in 10 days, according to Slavyangrad:

According to the plan, the biological laboratories that were lost in Mariupol were supposed to wipe out a third of Russia's population in 10 days. It's a pity it didn't work out, it was a good prospect.

He could be making it up, of course.

Ukraine Budget for 2025 Announced

Verkhovna Rada has announced its draft budget for 2025 and it does not include any money for elections - so Ukraine will continue to be a dictatorship for a while yet.

Ukraine: Highest Death Rate, Lowest Birth Rate

The death rate in Ukraine is currently 18.6 per 1,000 people, the highest rate in the world. In terms of birth rate, Ukraine ranks last with 6 births per 1,000 people - according to the Two Majors. It’s not surprising really is it. Births are difficult when there is a sparsity of men, many of whom are contributing to the high death toll. If this trend continues, Ukraine will become depopulated.

Hundreds of Thousands Renounce Ukrainian Citizenship

According to Rada Deputy Knyazhytsky:

Hundreds of thousands of applications for renunciation of Ukrainian citizenship are lying in embassies.

Knyazhytsky called the situation a ‘demographic disaster'

Poland To Send Ukrainians Home

Send the buggers home!

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorsky has announced that Ukrainians in Poland will no longer receive benefits so they will be forced to become cannon fodder in Ukraine - according to Alex Christoforou.

Zelensky v Syrsky

According to this Ukrainian source, back in July, Syrsky wanted to organise a counter attack in Pokrovsk since the Russians were gaining the upper hand there. However, the once great Z, wanting to be great again, over ruled him because he wanted the escalatory possibilities associated with an attack on Russia. Zelensky realises that his only hope is to bring NATO into the war - otherwise he is toast.

In an interview, Zelensky said that he wanted to be able to strike at Russia’s interior to destroy the energy system so that Russian citizens are deprived of electricity just like Ukrainians are.

If the Russian people are in danger, if they don’t have a comfortable life, if they live without energy, like our people, they will understand the price of war. They will be not happy with it and will begin to influence him, Putin.

So, this is part of his plan if he gets permission to strike deep into Russia with Western missiles - according to RT. The end goal is the same as that of the West: i.e. regime change. Of course this is totally delusional and if he did manage to get ‘regime change’ Putin’s replacement is unlikely to be any kinder towards Ukraine.

Zelensky v Zaluzhny

A Ukrainian source has claimed inside knowledge that Zaluzhny opposed the Kursk ‘invasion’ plan because it did not consider further actions following the initial occupying of Russian territory. ‘What next?’, he asked - and the once great Z had no answer. This sounds like a good story but I’m not convinced that the decision to invade Kursk was a matter between Ze and Za alone because I can’t imagine the Americans giving them that much freedom of action. However, it is possible that Zelensky and Co have managed to gain some wiggle room due to the incompetence and lack of unity within and without the US Administration. If the incompetents manage to provide us with Armageddon, I think it will take them completely by surprise because they are so out of touch with reality.

Ukraine: No More Modern Vehicles For New Brigades

Where have all the Bradleys gone?

According to an article in Forbes (quoted by Simplicius) Ukraine has modern vehicles to equip only four of the new brigades it is forming.

Ukraine Engages Terrorists To Attack Russia

Al Nasra

Slavyangrad has reported that according to a Turkish newspaper the Ukrainians have been seen negotiating with a terrorist group in order to involved it with terrorists attacks on Russia:

The Turkish newspaper Aydınlık, which had previously spread news about the Zelensky regime’s ties with the terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Al-Qaeda in the SAR), reported that it had received footage from negotiations in Idlib, Syria.

The footage was taken in Idlib on the 18th June this year.

According to Egyptian newspaper Al-Watan, the Ukrainian GUR is recruiting terrorists from the ‘Nusra’ group.

Ukraine Terrorist Attacks (those that target individuals)

13th/14th September

Many villages in Belgorod district were attacked overnight with shelling and drones causing damage to houses, mainly. A man was injured when a drone attacked his combine harvester while another suffered injury when a drone attacked his lorry.

14th/15th September

Overnight, a 75 year old woman was killed by shelling in the garden of her home in Kherson. Overnight, a total of 29 Ukrainian drones were shot down, most over Bryansk but some over Kursk, Belgorod, Kaluga, Rostov and Smolensk.

15th/16th September

Early on the morning of the 16th, Belgorod City came under attack from MLRS which set 15 cars alight and injured eight people. Many villages in the Belgorod Region came under drone attack which damaged houses and outbuildings but claimed only one civilian casualty.

16th/17th September

In Bryansk Region, 15 ‘aircraft type’ drones were shot down overnight.

17th/18th September

Overnight, in the Shebekinsky district of Belgorod, a drone hit a car injuring two civilians. Many other villages were attacked causing damage to cars, houses and agricultural equipment but no further casualties.

The Two Majors gave the following report on the 18th September:

The governor of the Bryansk region reported the destruction of 14 aircraft-type UAVs. Air defence worked in Smolensk (9 UAVs destroyed) and Oryol regions. 2 Ukrainian missiles and 27 aircraft-type UAVs were shot down in the skies of Kursk region.

In the DPR, five people were injured by shelling and drone attacks.

18th/19th September

Many villages in Belgorod region came under attack from shelling and drones overnight, according to the Two Majors. In Shebekino district, a woman was killed by shelling and a lorry driver injured by drone attack. Two people were injured by drone attack in the village of Murom and another four in Shebekino village. Finally, two people were injured by drone attack in the DPR.

19th/20th September

Many villages in Belgorod region were attacked with shelling and drones overnight causing damage to dwellings and cars - but no casualties were reported. In the DPR, five people were injured by drone attacks and shelling.

The Sea War

The Air War (Map)

Russian Missile/Drone Attacks

13th/14th September

Overnight, 20 Geranium drones attacked targets in Odessa, Vinnytsia, Kiev, Zhitomir and Poltava.

15th/16th September

According to the Two Majors:

Geran UAVs operated at night in BelayaTserkva, Fastov, Obukhov, Kiev, Dnepropetrovsk, Kanev, Cherkassy region, Khmelnisky, Zhitomir, Vinnitsa regions.

16th/17th September

Sumy suffered huge attacks by FAB 500s overnight according to this source.

17th/18th September

According to the Two Majors:

The RFAF carried out strikes by ‘Geraniums’ at night, with explosions reported in Kropivnitsky district of Kirovograd region, Voznesensk in Nikolayev region, Bershad in Vinnitsa region, Dnepropetrovsk, Sumy, Poltava, Kiev, Zaporozhye regions.

19th/20th September

According to a Ukrainian source, 25 explosions were heard in Ukraine overnight:

Kanev in Cherkasy, Vinnytsia, Kharkiv and Poltava regions of Ukraine - fuel storage facilities and places of deployment of personnel - did not sleep. Ivano-Frankivsk region - fuel storage and military facility. Dnepropetrovsk region - air defense installation.

Ukraine Missile/Drone Attacks

17th/18th September

Overnight, Ukrainian drones set an ammunition depot alight in Tver Region. People have been evacuated from the area. The depot, situated in Toropets is one of the largest in Russia and the explosions induced there registered at 2.8 on the Richter scale. Some believe that NATO Cruise missiles were used rather than drones, according to the Military Chronicle. 150 fire fighters are on the scene. Simplicius writes about the incident here.

The Ground War

Russian MoD Reports

w/e 30th August 16, 910 Casualties killed and wounded): equipment losses 737.

w/e 6th September 16,215 Casualties killed and wounded: equipment losses 602.

w/e 13th September 16,960 Casualties killed and wounded (record high): equipment losses 693.

w/e 20th September 16, 810 Casualties killed and wounded: equipment losses 553

Kursk

Th Ukrainians are losing between 300-500 soldiers a week. In total, since the Kursk incursion began, the Ukrainians have lost 15,300 troops; 124 tanks; 53 IFVs; 93 APCs; 780 AFVs; 471 motor vehicles etc. etc.

The Fronts

Front Line Cats

Kursk

According to a Ukrainian source, Zelensky has told Syrsky to keep the Kursk incursion going and to prevent a breakthrough at places such as Pokrovsk until the end of the month when Z presents his ‘plan’ to Biden, Harris and Trump. Syrsky has been told not to spare men or equipment in these efforts. Apparently, Syrsky is withdrawing troops from Odessa, Nikolaev and Kherson regions (where the Russians are unlikely to attack) in order to achieve this. According to this source, reserves from Zaporozhye are also being redeployed to the Donbass and Kursk.

The Russians continued their counter offensive this week liberating villages on a daily basis and inflicting severe losses on the Ukrainians. Snagost and Borki were among those liberated.

On the 19th September, the Military Chronicle gave the following report:

From the Kursk region comes confirmations of the capture of Nikolaev-Daryino and Darino, with the prospect of reaching Sverdlikovo. This is an important result of the last 7 days of fighting and our counteroffensive. The Russian army is cutting off the grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine along the border, which is the most correct strategy. Cutting off the enemy's logistics south of Sudzha puts an end to the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the entire area - the enemy will have to quickly flee to the border in an attempt to save their units.

It will certainly not look good if the Ukrainian troops get trapped and have to surrender.

By the end of the week, the Ukrainians were still attacking towards Glushkovo using Leopard tanks but without success - according to the Two Majors.

Kupyansk

By the end of the week, Russian troops were attacking north and west of Peschanoye and south of Stelmakhovka - according to the Two Majors.

Toretsk/Gorlovka

Fighting continued in Toretsk and Nyu York over the week, according to the Two Majors

Pokrovsk

Pokrovsk North - Marat Khairullin

Pokrovsk South - Marat Khairullin

Ukrainsk came under full Russian control on the 17th September according to Slavyangrad. On the 19th September, the Two Majors gave the following brief report:

In the Pokrovsk direction, the RFAF have expanded the zone of control in Grodovka, on the enemy's maps it is almost completely occupied by our troops. The territory liberated from the AFU around the recently taken Ukrainsk is expanding. To the south, battles are reported on the outskirts of Gornyak and in the area of Zhelannoye1st.

Uhledar

North of Uhledar, fighting continues near Vodyanoye and the Yuzhnodonbasskaya Mines - according to the Majors.

Zaporozhye

There are signs that the Russians could be planning an offensive in this Direction. According to Military Analytics:

There are already a number of signs of this, first of all, yesterday the Russian Armed Forces advanced in the Marfopol area towards Gulyaipole. A couple of days before that, Russian forces attacked near Kamenskoye, a village right next to the Dnieper, and also captured positions there. Also, for the first time in a long time, the suburbs of Zaporizhia were hit by KABs, a village 15 km away, and, judging by local publics, twice, yesterday and today. There is also information about the activation of Russian troops on the Zaporizhia front not only near Marfopol, but also near Malaya Tokmachka near Orekhov. At the moment, this looks like preparation for more active military actions in the near future, on the part of the Russian Armed Forces, but for now, the defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is being tested in different places.

The Ukrainians have weakened their defences here by sending forces to the Kursk front.

Kherson

The Russians are constantly shelling the enemy in the suburbs of Kherson city ‘depriving him of transport and field depots'.

The Economic War

Russia Considers Export Cap on Key Minerals

Russia could limit the supply of certain raw materials, such as titanium, uranium and nickel to the global market, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov (pictured). According to the senior official, Moscow is currently “weighing the pros and cons” of the move. This would be a retaliatory move but Russia will not take it if analysis shows that it could harm the country - according to RT. It’s good to see Russia fighting back in this respect after taking Western ‘punches’ for so long. But unlike the West it will consider the consequences of its response carefully.

World Politics

Exploding Pagers - A New Type of Terrorism

Hezbollah believes that Israeli hackers have caused the batteries to overheat on a certain brand of pagers from Taiwan which they have started using recently. Others believe that Mossad planted explosives in the devices. The implications of such an attack will be obvious to anyone who owns a mobile phone: a Rubicon has been crossed. You can read more at RT. These attacks will not go unanswered by Hezbollah making escalation to full scale war more likely in the region. Some say the attack was made as a prelude to an invasion of Lebanon - which could begin shortly, according to Zero Hedge. Americans who were using this brand of pager threw them away days before the explosions - according to Slavyangrad. Reuters is claiming evidence that Mossad planted explosives in the devices before they were delivered from Taiwan. The explosives were then triggered by a signal. This short vid on X shows an explosion in a market place.

Maria Zakharova has called for an international investigation - according to Sputnik.

Middle East expert, Elijah J Magnier, speaking with Rachel Blevins, believes that the attacks could have been made to disrupt Hezbollah’s communications prior to an invasion of Southern Lebanon. Hezbollah will now revert to their old battery operated pagers but won’t use mobile phones because they are detected easily by the Israelis. Middle East expert, Laith Marouf provides some good exposition/analysis here. He believes that the explosions were facilitated by applying extra lithium to the batteries rather than explosives. This is why it was not detected in transit in the way that explosives would have been.

On the 18th September, Lebanon suffered another wave of attacks made through walkie talkies and other devices killed 14 and injured 450 according to Al Jazeera. According to this report, explosions were detonated in car radios, solar panels, fingerprint locks, cars, scooters and kitchen appliances. People in Lebanon are being advised to turn off any lithium powered appliances and stay away from them.

Was the US involved?

It appears that Israeli terrorists have paved the way for all terrorists to adopt these methods and the world just became a more dangerous place to live in. Already, bloggers are advising people not to purchase electronic goods from Taiwan, Canada, the US, the UK, the EU, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. This could become an issue that will impact negatively on the sale of certain Western electronic goods which will not benefit the companies that produce them or the world market as a whole.

A report from Sputnik suggests that Israel created a ‘shell’ company that produced the explosive devices which were then shipped to Lebanon but I don’t find this convincing given the large range of devices involved.

Lebanon’s PM, Najit Mikati, who has announced that his country is now at war with Israel, described the attacks as an ‘indescribable crime’ against defenceless people in their own homes. Mikati told the press:

We are facing an enemy that disregards all international and humanitarian laws, and the question is – can this continue? Where is the UN, whose primary mission is to distribute peace?

So, Israel has taken the plunge and many expect the Israeli invasion of Lebanon to start soon. The destruction of pagers and walkie talkies is a card that the Israelis can play only once - so - apart from exposing itself as a terrorist state after killing innocents so indiscriminately, they have gained very little and may have lost some intelligence sources. Hezbollah has been given time to reorganise in time for the offensive which appears to have begun on the 19th September with Israel (typically) bombing residential areas in South Lebanon. No ground troops have been committed at the time of writing.

Trump Survives Second Assassination Attempt

Ryan Wesley Routh (pictured), who has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to assassinate Trump at his golf club, is a big Ukraine supporter who helped to recruit mercenaries for the Foreign Legion in Ukraine. Trolling Medvedev hinted that Routh could have been enlisted by neo-Nazis in Ukraine to do the deed. You can read more at RT. After the last assassination attempt, I said that we should expect more and I am saying the same thing now: The Deep State want this man dead.

And A Third?

According to Zero Hedge:

Police in Nassau County, New York are investigating a possible security breach after a reported discovery of explosives near the site of former President Donald Trump's rally on Long Island, just hours before his scheduled speech Wednesday evening.

As I said, they will keep trying.

28% of Democrats believe America would be better off if Trump were killed which is testimony to the effectiveness of the Orange Man Bad campaign that’s been going on for years.

UN General Assembly Calls To End Israeli Occupation

Two thirds of the assembly supported a call for the Israelis to end the occupation of Palestine withing the next year. 122 voted in favour, 12 against with 43 countries abstaining. You can read more at Al Jazeera.

Stoltenberg Calls For Negotiations

Jens Stoltenberg, who is still NATO General Secretary, has said that it is necessary to resume dialogue with Russia in order to end the conflict through negotiations. But this dialogue must be based on ‘Ukraine’s strength’ - whatever that means.

Stoltenberg said that NATO would not be crossing any red lines by allowing Ukraine to use Western missiles to attack deep into Russia. Sorry Stolty boy, you don’t get to set Russia’s red lines. If Western personnel are involved in assisting the delivery of these missiles then they are combatants - how could they not be?

Serbia to Introduce Mandatory Military Service

According to World Pravda:

I have signed an agreement for a 75-day term of regular military service and believe the government will support my decision," Serbian President Vučić announced during a graduation ceremony for young officers of the Serbian Army.

Vučić said that we live in a world where values are trampled and ‘where everyone expects to win by overthrowing others and that is why we are approaching catastrophe’.

Robert Fico

Fico, the Prime Minister of Slovakia who survived an assassination attempt, has condemned the West for turning a blind eye to Nazi troops fighting the Russians in Ukraine:

The international community must recognize that it is impossible to allow troops that use nazi symbols and often behave accordingly to fight in Ukraine.

‘Blinken Go Home’ - Polish MP

Following Blinken’s recent visit to Poland, Polish MP, Grzegorz Braun (pictured) expressed the following sentiments with a passion:

Blinken, go home as soon as possible. Get lost. Get lost. We don’t want you here. We don’t want Polish people paying and dying for your wars. Thank you very much.

I have to say that I enjoyed Braun’s outburst.

Macron’s Impeachment

The impeachment of France’s President has passed the first stage of its journey through the French parliament having been approved by the lower house (the Bureau) by 12 votes to 10. A left wing party submitted the application to impeach under section 68 of the French constitution following Macron’s failure to appoint a prime minister who represents the majority of voters. You can read more at Sputnik. The impeachment must be approved by the Senate, where the left does not have a majority. If approval is obtained here, both houses, comprising 925 parliamentarians, must meet. At least 617 of these must vote in favour in order to impeach the president. If this is achieved, Macron must resign immediately..

Houthis Go Hypersonic

The Houthis launched a missile from Yemen which travelled 2000 kms to Tel Aviv, passing over some US destroyers in the Red Sea before hitting military targets in Israel, according to a Yemeni Spokesman who also claimed that the missiles were hypersonic. Netanyahu has said that the Houthis will pay a heavy price for this. You can read more at Zero Hedge. Twitter is showing this image of the missile strike.

The emerging Multi-Polar World Order

US Has ‘Dollar or Die’ Policy

According to ex-US army psychological warfare officer, Scott Bennett (speaking to Sputnik) the Ukraine conflict is part of the US’s policy of preventing Russia leading BRICS nations away from the dollar - through various forums including BRICS and the SCO. Washington views these as ‘existential threats’ to its dominance. Note, the use of language here. This assumes that if the US can’t dominate then its existence is threatened - which may be true. The US will sacrifice its ‘colony regimes’ in Europe in order to prevent this. But why, many will ask, is it not confident of competing with other nations as part of a Multi-Polar World Order? I think the MAGA movement could have been motivated in part by a realisation that confidence has been lost among Americans and Making America Great Again is really about regaining that confidence - rather than dominating the world. It would be good to hear what Americans think of this.

With regard to Z’s ‘peace summit’, Bennett said:

Any new peace summit planned by Volodymyr Zelensky and his backers in the US and NATO is a ruse or a trap designed to… shift the narrative towards how Russia is obstinate and refusing to negotiate,

BRICS Media Summit - Moscow Sept 14th

I get lots of my information from Tass - Congratulations!

Media leaders from 45 countries met in Moscow this week to discuss the role of the media in promoting stability in a multi-polar world. Representatives from BRICS countries and countries with close links to BRICS were in attendance. The Summit was hosted by Tass which celebrated its 120th anniversary on September 1st. You can read more at Tass.

According to the Two Majors:

Vladimir Putin in his message to the media summit underlined the importance of freedom of speech, the freedom to disseminate objective information in the era of developing multipolarity. The media should play a significant role in building a just world order by giving people “an objective and unadulterated picture of the world”. The summit participants resolutely condemned Western censorship and pressure on media outlets in member countries and around the world

Whether ‘an objective and unadulterated picture of the world’ is possible will occupy the thoughts of many but I think most would agree that it is something we should be aiming at after all these decades of Deceit.

It’s been another eventful week in which the Middle East escalation has overshadowed the SMO somewhat. Many thanks for your views, subscriptions, likes, shares, restacks and kind comments. Have a good week - best Rob

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1. Richard’s analysis is lengthy but well researched/presented and will be useful to those who want detail.