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Kremlin: We would agree to Vatican as mediator

Featured, Vatican, Dmitry Peskov, Moscow, Kyiv, peace talks Kremlin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. Photo: Flickr

Moscow announced it would welcome the Vatican to mediate peace talks, but, given the Ukrainian stance, it is impossible, writes Reuters.

The Vatican is among several other countries named as possible mediators between Russia and Ukraine, others including Turkey, Israel, and China. The Vatican said more than once that it would do anything to end the war in Ukraine.

Last month Pope Francis directly addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin and asked to stop the spiral of death and violence caused by Russia.

Kremlin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov blamed Ukraine for making peace talks with the Vatican mediating impossible: «Of course, we welcome such political will, but given the de facto and de jure situation that we now have on the Ukrainian side, such platforms cannot be in demand.»

Moscow says Kyiv deliberately shuts down any chance to discuss the situation, but Ukrainians had announced that they won’t give away their land.

Read also: Ukraine struggling to get the light and heat back

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Putin’s Russia ‘could fall apart at the seams in next five years’

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General Sir Richard Shirreff said: ‘Where does Russia go? I think downhill all the way.’

Putin’s Russia ‘could fall apart at the seams in next five years’

Vladimir Putin’s Russia could “come apart at the seams” within the next five years, one of the UK’s top military experts has said.

It comes as Putin continues to suffer setbacks in his disastrous war in Ukraine, with troops having been forced into a humiliating retreat from Kherson this month.

General Sir Richard Shirreff, a retired senior British Army officer and former Nato deputy supreme allied commander in Europe, said Putin’s grip on Russia is in “jeopardy” as Ukrainian advances continue and he is seen to have lost the war.

Sir Richard, asked on Times Radio where Russia goes from here, said: “Putin has lost this war and it’s going to take time for him for a penny to drop.

“Where does Russia go? I think downhill all the way.

“I think Putin’s position is going to become increasingly in jeopardy. I think the stresses and strains on Russia, on the Russian Federation, as Putin is seen increasingly to be defeated [and] loses face massively, are going to be really significant.

“Again, I wouldn’t put it too far outside the realms of possibility to say, frankly, the Russian Federation could come apart at the seams over the next five years or so.”

Sir Richard added of Ukraine’s fierce resistance: “The Ukrainian aim is very simple: to regain every ounce, every centimetre, of Ukrainian territory… including Crimea. I would put money on them achieving that, probably at least being able to invest northern Crimea by late spring next year.” Crimea was illegally annexed by Putin in 2014. 

In September, Putin announced a “partial mobilisation” of 300,000 extra troops to fight, in a major escalation of the war.

But in an intelligence update on Friday, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said their deployment has been “characterised by confusion”: including over eligibility for service, inadequate training and personal equipment, and “commitment to highly attritional combat missions”.

It added many of the reservists have been “compelled to serve with serious, chronic health conditions” and that there have been high numbers of casualties.

“The Kremlin will likely be concerned that an increasing number of reservists’ families are prepared to risk arrest by protesting against the conditions their relatives are serving under,” the update concluded.

On Friday, Putin met mothers of dead Russian soldiers, telling them “we share your pain”.

In an apparent attempt to counter online reporting about Russia’s struggles, Putin also said: “You can’t trust anything there at all, there are all sorts of fakes, deception, lies.”

Read more: Is Vladimir Putin suffering from a serious illness?

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Invaders hit Chuhuiv district with S-300 missiles (“Chuhuiv” sounds like a telling name and the insult in Russian. – M.N.)

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Russian troops fired S-300 missiles at Chuhuiv district of Kharkiv region.

“The Russian occupiers fired S-300 missiles at Chuhuiv district,” Oleg Synegubov, Head of the Kharkiv Regional Army Administration, posted on Telegram.

Examine also: Russian army strikes Kupyansk once more

In accordance to preliminary data, no one was hurt.

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The post Invaders hit Chuhuiv district with S-300 missiles appeared first on Ukraine Intelligence.

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EXPLAINED: What Declaring Russia “State Sponsor of Terrorism” Actually Means

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The European Parliament took the very dramatic-sounding step on Wednesday, Nov. 23, of declaring Russia a “state sponsor of terrorism”, accusing its forces of carrying out atrocities during its war on Ukraine.

“We called a spade a spade. Russia is not only a state sponsoring terrorism, but the state, which is using means of terrorism,” said Lithuanian MEP Andrius Kubilius, who spearheaded the push for the resolution.

“The recognition of this fact by the European Parliament sends a clear political signal. Europe, Europeans do not want to remain passive, when their big neighbour violates all humanitarian and international standards.”

That sounds like a big move?

Symbolically yes, but in reality, no.

Oh, so what does it actually mean?

Despite the resolution being adopted by the European Parliament with 494 votes in favor, 58 against and 44 abstentions, the European Union as a bloc has no official list of terrorist states and no legal definition of the consequences such a designation would have.

Wednesday’s declaration is basically a diplomatic international scolding without any legal consequences.

Who can declare someone a state sponsor of terrorism?

Individual countries can designate other countries as “terrorist states” and some including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, have already added Russia to their lists.

While the exact details will vary slightly from country to country, this designation usually means the cutting of trade and diplomatic ties with the target country, imposing sanctions and international isolation.

The consequences of the designation are directly tied to the financial and political clout of the country imposing it – not being allowed to trade with a global superpower is far more damaging than not being allowed to trade with a smaller country, for example.

It’s for this reason that the U.S. list of terrorist countries is the one that currently matters the most.

Will the U.S. declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism?

The U.S. has so far resisted making the move which would trigger more sanctions and would remove the state immunity of Moscow’s officials.

At the moment only four countries – North Korea, Iran, Cuba and Syria – are on the U.S. State Department’s list.

So will anything happen because of the European Parliament’s decision?

 The MEPs of the European Parliament have urged the governments of the 27-nation EU to follow their lead, but right now it’s unclear if any more will.

They also called on Brussels to put in place the “legal framework” to allow a list of terrorist states so that Russia could be added, though this would likely take some time to implement.

The EU has already imposed eight rounds of unprecedented sanctions targeting Russia’s key oil exports and top officials since President Putin ordered his troops to attack in February.

European diplomats say work is under way on preparing a new package of sanctions after Moscow unleashed a ferocious missile and drone blitz against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Oct. 10 following losses on the battlefield.

What has Ukraine said?

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the latest Russian attack on cities across Ukraine was a response to the decision by the European Parliament.

President Zelensky hailed the vote, saying on Wednesday evening: “Russia must be isolated at all levels and held accountable in order to end its long-standing policy of terrorism in Ukraine and across the globe. ”

What has Russia said?

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, wrote on Telegram: “I propose designating the European Parliament as a sponsor of idiocy.”

The post EXPLAINED: What Declaring Russia “State Sponsor of Terrorism” Actually Means appeared first on Kyiv Post.

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Putin’s Power Failure

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The post Putin’s Power Failure appeared first on Kyiv Post.

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Ukraine will join NATO but in ‘long- term’, says NATO chief Stoltenberg – The Daily Progress

Ukraine will join NATO but in ‘long- term’, says NATO chief Stoltenberg  The Daily Progress