darkcalling

joined 5 years ago
[–] darkcalling@lemmygrad.ml 20 points 1 week ago (12 children)

What is to say that the anti-imperialist Russian Federation will not simply take the place of the United States upon its defeat?

Historical and material reality.

The US didn't appear as a magician on the scene out of nowhere. It invaded western Europe not to defeat Nazis but to ensure the survival of western European capital, under new management of course. With US troops and guns at their backs they were spared their people being liberated by socialism, in exchange fealty was given to the US.

Quite honestly the US is a product of and beneficiary of CENTURIES of European colonialism. Russia cannot reproduce that in a day or a decade.

The wealth, power, geopolitical control, cultural dominance and propaganda hegemony the US enjoys was built off those European empires, their looted wealth, and their influence. Was built off cooperation with the British who in the post-colonial moment of WW2 still had deep penetration of many societies, governments, etc.

Even assuming the US suffers a huge fall in a few years the lingering tendrils of its cultural influence and dominance will be fighting it out with Russian and Chinese influence for many years if not decades to come.

In other words Rome was not built in a day, the US did not morph magically into an omni-power empire in a year or a decade out of nowhere. And Russia cannot do the same.

Western Europe did not resist US imposition as it came as a rescue, they will likely resist joining with or being dominated by Russia to form a new bloc to subjugate the world.

One strong, all-powerful enemy or a bunch of enemies in disarray with shifting alliances, backstabbing, and various weaknesses and uncertainty. In the latter situation one can even bargain with imperial powers scrambling for influence a socialist in some cases because of their weakened state being but one of many smaller fish.

[–] darkcalling@lemmygrad.ml -2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Saying the Iranians put themself in this position is ridiculous though.

I mean they didn't put themselves in this position alone but they teased the monster by enriching uranium beyond their needs.

They don't need 60% enrichment, not at the quantities they were making. Not for medical research or other bullshit I'm pretty sure. It was done as a middle finger to the west to kind of taunt them to get them back to the table and to get something like the JCPOA back. It was a negotiating tactic and an attempt to punish the west by saying "see, you break your deal, we'll enrich far beyond our needs, now that we're here at this mark you need to give us more concessions compared to when we were at that lower mark". It was a bunch of "bad stuff" they could in theory trade to a west that doesn't exist, the west that maybe existed in the minds of Iranian liberals in exchange for things they wanted.

That was a tease, it was insincere and a negotiating tactic most likely and a taunt against the zionists and the US who have been hounding them about getting nukes. It was silly to go half-way thinking they could negotiate with the west and it was a bluff clearly as they didn't go the rest of the way.

And we can see from other Iranian actions they do other gestures like firing their oldest and most easily intercepted rockets at the Americans, warning them ahead of time as a "response" to US aggression and bombing them that they intone highly of "retribution" and god and blah blah blah but when the time comes they duck the war or striking back. They avoid doing anything that would seriously escalate the situation and alter the status quo they've had in tit for tats with the zionists for decades. They chose the off-ramp.

Fact is Iran blinked. It was probably the right move under the circumstances for their own situation (maybe not the world, probably not Palestine but who knows). They threatened the US not to get involved, the US punched them in the face and they did this purely propagandistic gesture of spitting at their feet and stomping off while declaring victory (while the US does the same).

So yes, in conclusion they put themselves in this position to be doubted as anything but a paper tiger with their moves as mentioned AND by not getting that nuke.

I have no doubt if the US starts a full on invasion of Iran they'll respond but the US knows this and is content to manage it and knows what lines it can step up to and how to salami-slice. The zionists got Iran to stop firing missiles at them after all. Palestinians got nothing. Iran got a propaganda victory that's transparent and empty.

[–] darkcalling@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Happy birthday!

[–] darkcalling@lemmygrad.ml 26 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

This is 100% for their planned war of aggression.

It's not just kayfabe, it's not just money for land mine manufacturers. It's to provide a defense against a Russian counter-thrust after they drive NATO forces deep into Russia via a hole in this. That way they figure they can shape things via controlling where troops end up. Russia should 100% lay their own mine-fields in response because it's impossible to know exactly where NATO forces are going to dismantle their own minefields in future to thrust through some armored columns. They should wait until after NATO does it of course so they look worse but make the mines now, get out the plans for razor wire deployments and signage to attempt to block off the mine-fields from wandering people.

Westoids are completely deranged about losing hegemony to China and multipolarity and are preparing a suicide-rush on Russia. That or they want to dissuade Russia from helping China when they commit 80% of their forces along with the US to attacking and containing China (and possibly attacking Russian shipping in the process thus giving them valid reason to respond).

 

(archive link)

[...]

“The regime is lying about nuclear programs just to justify aggression and murder,” Marandi told RT. “Tulsi Gabbard, who is the Director of US National Intelligence, just recently said Iran is not developing nuclear weapons. So it’s clear that the issue is Netanyahu, neat escalation, and the Zionist lobby in the United States is behind him.”

[...]

If the United States will put its hands on Iran again [like it was before 1979],” Ibrahim told RT, “they will block the Russian southern wall. This means that Russia will not be able to expand its influence beyond the Caspian Sea. And it will be restricted to a very narrow place between Central Asia and the Arctic.”

Ibrahim warns that China, too, would suffer consequences from a weakened Iran. “China will not be able to reach the Middle East. Because if Iran becomes part of the Western bloc, it will sever China’s access. And the most important thing of all – a new world order will emerge. It will be a new American world order.”

Ibrahim believes this is not a regional conflict, but part of a sweeping strategy to restore American hegemony.

“To make America great again is to regain American control across the globe. The war in Iran is just a chapter in that plan.”

[...]

“In strategy, if you want to make war, talk about peace,” he said. “The United States is preparing for a very big war – first against China, then Russia. After this, they will try to build an American century. One government for the world, headquartered in the White House. That’s the final goal.”

[...]

“This war,” Ibrahim concluded, “will be the starting point of reshaping the world. If Iran wins – and I believe it will, eventually – the world will shift to a multipolar order. That is the shared vision of Iran, Russia, and China. But if Iran loses, we will all live under an American empire. The White House will rule from Washington to Beijing. This is a decisive battle – not just for Iran, but for the destiny of the world.”

[–] darkcalling@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Sadly the US is an old master at front companies and re-routing logistics. They bought all that titanium from the USSR for their SR-71 and other advanced warplane projects through an elaborate network of front companies. So it will mildly increase costs but not stop the US from getting what it wants if any significant amount at all is made available to western companies.

[–] darkcalling@lemmygrad.ml -5 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Drugs are bad. Don't use anything addictive or too mind-altering. I think even regular (daily) consumption of coffee is bad but it's one of those things that under capitalism I suppose I understand as a kind of necessary evil.

Mind-control MKUltra drugs which encourage frivolous hedonism, individualism, magical/irrational thinking are of course a weapon of the enemy and often directly fund them and their proxies as well. Escapism would not be a needed thing under socialism as well, they are at most a crutch and I am very suspicious of those who advocate their use. This person you speak of is not a Marxist and may well be a fed.

[–] darkcalling@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 4 weeks ago

Critical support to him in exposing the empire's lies. At a time like this I think his role in providing an anti-empire view is far more important than his problems.

Yes, he is problematic to put it mildly as he has patronized prostitutes in Germany and bragged about it. Being proud of r*pe is not a good look but I'd certainly rather he be popular and young people flock to him and his views than any other mainstream view on offer in the US. He is unambiguously a net good at present despite his problematic attitude towards sexual exploitation of women, his ambiguous views towards China, the fact he's not an ML, etc.

So now is not the time I think to attack him as he's on the right side of these issues at least usually.

[–] darkcalling@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 4 weeks ago

The problem is the zionists also have access to the production capacity of Europe and the US. As well as other vassals like occupied Korea. Combined these are substantial amounts of production.

The war against Iran will be economic, by sea, and by air not by land. So having working anti-air, being able to intercept enemy stealth bombers (including US) before they can deliver big payloads to take out industry or nuclear sites is important.

The big worry is the zionist entity resorting to using nuclear bunker busters on Iran's nuclear sites, likely with US approval and help and with Europe rushing to justify it as being absolutely necessary and/or cast doubt on the bombs being nuclear and call it Iranian propaganda. At that point Iran's nuclear program is moot and in the past and the west and the zionists can afford to settle with Iran in exchange for some sanctions relief and an end to direct hostilities. I expect if that approval goes through, the US and the zionists will burn another cyber-weapon and/or electronic warfare to bring down Iran's air defense long enough to deliver the nuclear weapons.

This will buy the zionists breathing room to complete the genocide and cement hegemony over the middle east/west Asia so sadly I think its very likely they do it especially once this conventional war escalates to stopping shipping and taking out oil refineries and infrastructure (we're basically there already) they have little to lose at that point. As it is Hezbollah is out of the picture for the time being, Yemen and Iran are the only ones standing aside from the resistance in Palestine which is well only able to do so much and really on the back-foot at this point.

Russia cannot help Iran given its own war with Ukraine and its need to apply its entire arsenal there. Another reason why the west might be okay with the zionists using nuclear bunker busters is their own resources are stretched thin by Ukraine and short of abandoning it and just dropping it right this moment to shift all production to supporting the zionists they can't do both so may see this as their option to continue Ukraine while also allowing their zionist proxy to win its battles.

I really hope they don't dare do that but they seem so deranged and probably feel so close to victory and yet also collapse at the same time that they may be pushed to do it.

If the US and Europe get dragged into an extended war here or have to empty their reserves to support the zionists it'll push back conflict with China by years more. Then again the plan could be all along to do everything to cement hegemony in as many places as possible before confronting China in order to ensure they have few friends, no trade routes, and limited partners.

[–] darkcalling@lemmygrad.ml 13 points 1 month ago

The US is doing everything in its power to undermine MAD and nuclear deterrence in general. This doesn't surprise me given how many more nuclear weapons the US has to China that they think they can and should use some in a conventional war. The logic being they afford to, it kills enemies that would weaken their conventional forces, and enemy use of the same would undermine their limited stockpile while US use wouldn't matter to their deterrent. Still deeply alarming.

[–] darkcalling@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

The mainland can obviously send far more missiles back and destroy their strike capacity. Russia does this in Ukraine all the time.

These are not rational actors. Neither is Ukraine. Both are and would be in this scenario run by liberal fanatics/fascist fanatics willing to burn their nation to a cinder for the US. Ukraine is illustrative of this point not really mattering per se.

Meanwhile, if the island is under blockade then the US trying to fly things in will be an act of war.

And targeting Russia's nuclear triad and hitting their bombers with obvious help from NATO intelligence isn't? The point is the west thinks rules don't apply to them and given Russia hasn't hit MI:6 with an oreshnik yet they seem to be right. In that they can do whatever they want and if you hit them back directly as long as they have a cover THEY themselves believe in no matter how flimsy for their actions they will fly off the handle into a genocidal self-righteous indignant rage. Russia seems to know this, China probably does as well.

I’m not saying the US wouldn’t do that, but at that point it’s a direct war with China for them.

Only if China chooses to and given Russia keeps blinking they may think China will as well and that they can unilaterally escalate while their foes will avoid it, giving them the advantage.

Also, the whole US strategy is predicated on China doing a ground invasion. Every naval battle the US simulated against China, they lost horribly.

Is it? I saw a story of the head of JSOC talking of naval drones and basically mining the whole straits, turning into a zone China cannot cross and using that time to do whatever they want including landing forces. I don't think the US plans to send in their carrier battlegroups and fight on China's front door. They are not that stupid and even if they were good strategy would call for assuming they're smarter than that as one should never underestimate one's enemy. They have island chains and have been building naval drones in secret for some time now so they can do over the horizon type fighting. Their point like with Ukraine is to bleed China, not to triumphantly plant the US flag but to bleed them, to hurt them, to study them and learn their secrets, to demoralize them, to force it to take longer and be costlier and to make it a big spectacle they can use to rally the western world against China around as this big travesty and atrocity.

I maintain given the US advantage, given island chains not just around China but those policing west Asia, Africa, etc and NATO's combined naval sizes plus all the land bases and air assets they have that most likely they want to bleed China in the SCS, use it to justify decoupling, sanctions and an embargo and blockade and carry out that blockade off the coast of Africa, Diego Garcia, in the various straits using the zionist entity in west Asia, etc, etc. To draw China out, to spread them out, to hit them with combined naval and air assets and use the superior logistics and amounts of bases NATO has. By doing this they cross out the major advantage China has in the SCS with land-based missiles and rocketry and fight from the high-ground.

Just look at how the trade war is destroying the US economy right now. Imagine what happens if China explicitly cuts off exports to the US.

Which is why they're so desperate to decouple. The bribes didn't work and were pocketed, Trump is very clumsily trying tariffs. But when it comes down to it they might think they can force decoupling with a conflict when all else has failed. Sure the consumer economy would implode but I'm not sure capitalists and empire planners wouldn't consider that and forcing the proles to a much lower quality of life as they work to re-shore an acceptable if painful cost of survival and maintaining hegemony.

A coup is not that unlikely either, some retired military people in Taiwan have openly talked about it already.

I really hope that happens but I wouldn't count on it. I'm sure the island is filled with US spies and trained dogs and any coup would face a counter-coup of ferocious proportions with support from US assets in Japan and possibly those US special forces already on the ground.

I just worry most about the nukes flying. I hope this conflict doesn't start until China has a chance to massively expand their arsenal and proof it against Aegis and ground and orbital interceptors.

[–] darkcalling@lemmygrad.ml 7 points 1 month ago (4 children)

I suppose the issue is the puppet regime there would likely respond to a blockade with military force. Not day one, maybe not even week one but eventually.

They have thousands of rockets trained on the mainland which they'd fire and rain down on the military and civilians alike in China to push the issue. Yes they'd eventually run out but the problem is the US would try to fly more in. Ships you can ram and get in the way of and blockades are therefore effective without needing to blow up a carrier, planes you have to shoot down and at that point it becomes a question of whether China would shoot down a US military transport plane and put itself in drawing first blood type of thing at which point you get American chuds hooting and baying for blood in response and liberals declaring we also must respond to "stand with Taiwan".

Make no mistake the US does not intend to let the Taiwan card be only half played. They won't let China quietly strangle it into submission with a blockade or sanctions, they will force the government to attack China and start a war no matter how doomed a position it puts them in because it lets them paint China as militarily aggressive and rally Europe and the anglo-sphere and their loyal Asian vassals to decouple from and sanction China in response with a purported cause they can blast to their populations.

Let's also not forget the US has reserve currency status. They can spend as much as they like. Let's recall the Berlin airlift where the Soviets cut off truck and land shipments into divided Berlin post-war and the US just responded by using its immense wealth and military and industrial and logistics might to just fly supplies in.

Frankly short of a coup by rational military generals in Taiwan who order the stand-down to save their lives and those of their countrymen I just don't see a situation where the US doesn't use Taiwan in a Ukraine style play. They won't last as long but they really only need to hold out for a week of breathless western propaganda coverage and crying about evil China to get things done. After that it doesn't really matter if they crumple and China doesn't need to do a massive invasion because they'll have drawn the blood they wanted and cast China as the villain and victimized Taiwan to do it.

 

(archive link)

Civil defense chief seeks “at least“ €10 billion so that Berlin can be “ready for war” with Moscow

Germany is accelerating plans to expand and modernize its civil defense infrastructure as its European NATO allies pursue rapid militarization in preparation for a potential direct confrontation with Russia, according to Ralph Tiesler, head of the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK).

Germany currently has only 580 operational shelters with room for about 480,000 people – less than 1% of the population. In a series of interviews with the country’s media last week, Tiesler said that to address this shortfall, the BBK plans to convert underground garages, metro tunnels, and public basements into shelters capable of accommodating one million people, complete with food, toilets and sleeping areas.

[...] a full national shelter plan is expected to be presented later this summer.

“Nearly every basement can become a safe place in the event of an attack,” he said in a separate interview with Zeit, encouraging citizens to reinforce windows, stock essentials, and prepare to shelter for extended periods.

Tiesler [...] warned that as a major NATO logistical hub, Germany would become a target for “selective strikes” in the event of an eastern front conflict.

German hospitals are being assessed for their ability to treat mass casualties, with Tiesler warning that the health system could face up to 1,000 additional patients per day in a wartime setting. Other plans include doubling the number of warning sirens nationwide, upgrading emergency apps to include missile strike instructions, and possibly introducing a national civil service requirement.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced last month that he intends to make the Bundeswehr the “strongest army” on the continent.

 

(archive link)

Arms provided to Kiev by Western allies are being transferred to groups destabilizing the Sahel region, according to a Russian Foreign Ministry official

Ukraine is training jihadist fighters and supporting terrorist groups in Africa’s Sahel region, a Russian Foreign Ministry official has said, accusing Kiev of funneling Western-supplied weapons to militants operating across the continent.

Tatyana Dovgalenko, deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department for Partnership with Africa, made the remarks on Thursday at the 13th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues in Moscow. Representatives of 104 countries, including African delegations, have gathered at the event to discuss a new global security architecture.

“The Kiev regime continues systematic efforts to destabilize the continent, collaborating with terrorist networks in the Sahel, particularly by training and organizing militants,” Dovgalenko said, according to TASS.

“There is evidence that the arms delivered to Ukraine by Western states are being transferred to terrorist factions operating in various global regions, including Africa,” she added. Moscow has made terrorism and counter-extremism a central focus of its security cooperation with African states, particularly those in the Sahel, which have been embroiled in a decade-long jihadist insurgency.

[...]

Ukraine has been at the center of a growing diplomatic storm in the Sahel region since an ambush by Tuareg rebels in July 2024 left dozens of Malian soldiers and Russian Wagner Group contractors dead. Reports have claimed that Ukrainian military intelligence supplied information used in the deadly attack.

Moscow and the Alliance of Sahel States made up of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have jointly denounced Kiev’s “criminal alliance” with extremist groups. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier accused Ukraine of openly abetting terrorists in the region.

 

(Archive link)

Russia’s foreign minister said attempts were being made to provoke a serious clash between the Asian giants

“Take note of the current developments in the Asia-Pacific region, which the West has started calling the Indo-Pacific region to give its policy a clear anti-China orientation — expecting thereby to additionally make our great friends and neighbours India and China clash,” Lavrov was cited as saying on Thursday at a meeting of the ‘Culture without Borders’ diplomatic club.

[...]

“Western colleagues, as in any other part of the world, want to play a major role here, they want to undermine the central role of ASEAN, which has suited everyone for many, many decades and was based on the formation of a unifying space by the ASEAN countries and their partners in dialogue both in the field of politics and in the field of military cooperation, in the field of defense,” Lavrov was quoted as saying by TASS.

[...]

(Most of the article which is very short touches on his remarks about ASEAN and the need for collective security for Eurasia but I thought this merited touching on given India is the real problem child of BRICS, is nuclear armed, and is run by religious supremacists, and is going to suffer the worst effects of climate change far more harshly and sooner than China)

 

German readers of RT remember how small acts of hope helped them rebuild their lives after the war

Interesting read, not too long but too long to really post it all here.

The fate of Germans in the aftermath of World War II continues to be a subject of reflection and discussion. The memories are as varied as the people who lived them.

Sadly, the number of eyewitnesses who can share their firsthand experiences is dwindling with each passing year. That makes it all the more important to give a voice to those who are still with us. RT’s German-language editorial team recently reached out to its readers, inviting them to record and submit their own recollections – or the stories passed down by relatives – about the early postwar years.

From East and West, Germany and Austria, readers shared a broad range of experiences: encounters with Russian soldiers, both positive and negative, and personal reflections on the war itself. These deeply personal letters from our German readers have now been translated into English.

(archive link)

 

*The former child porn researcher had subjected his daughter to years of sexual abuse *

A child rapist who worked for five years with the Western OSINT agency Bellingcat killed himself shortly before he was due to be imprisoned, recently published Dutch court documents reveal.

The operative, known under the alias Daniel Romein, took his life in 2022 after being sentenced to prison for sexually abusing his own daughter.

Romein had been involved in the investigation of the MH17 crash by the Western-funded “open-source intelligence” group, as well as in the Stop Child Abuse initiative, dedicated to geolocating explicit materials involving minors.

The news was first made public by independent Dutch journalist Eric Van De Beek last month, and the surrounding events were further explored in a piece released by The Grayzone last Friday.

Van De Beek said that Romein hadn't died from “cardiac arrest” in December 2022 as previously reported, stating a close friend had confirmed that the ex-Bellingcat operative had taken his own life.

The researcher, who worked for Bellingcat between 2014 and late 2019, was sentenced to 36 months in prison earlier that year for prolonged sexual abuse of his daughter, the journalist claimed, citing an anonymized court case on the matter. The case was released by Dutch authorities only in March of this year after repeated inquiries by independent media, Van De Beek noted.

[...]

The court materials quote a lackluster letter of apology sent by the defendant to his daughter when the scandal became public, in which he appeared to blame her.

The case also revealed that the defendant had been convicted of possession of child pornography “over 15 years” prior.

Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins, when questioned by The Grayzone, denied that Romein’s firing in December 2019 had been related to his criminal past.

In August 2021, Romein was stripped of his European Press Prize, which had been awarded for his work on the Stop Child Abuse project. At the time, the Netherlands-based non-profit cited “unidentified substantiated complaints” from different individuals as the reason for its decision. (RT)

[Bellingcat founder Eliot] Higgins did not respond to requests for clarity on why Romein was suddenly terminated after five years of work with his organization.

[...]

The shocking revelation that Bellingcat relied on a convicted pedophile to handle its investigations into child sexuality exploitation has effectively been buried by legacy media outlets, which frequently cited the organization to accuse designated enemy states of everything from chemical attacks to assassinations. (Grayzone)

(archive link to RT coverage)

Grayzone piece: https://thegrayzone.com/2025/05/02/bellingcat-operative-dies-conviction/

 

Basically they've committed to sourcing all iPhones for the US market from India which requires doubling production capacity.

On Tuesday, Indian Telecommunications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said Apple “has decided to source and produce all its mobile phones in India in the years to come.”

[...]

Trump says his tariff campaign is part of a broader effort to revive US manufacturing and bring jobs back home. The measures have been paused until July while the administration seeks bilateral agreements.

Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday the two sides were making “very good” progress and expected to finalize a deal soon.

Industry experts say shifting production from China may not be easy, as high-value components like semiconductors are still made there, and chip manufacturing in India is “five to ten years away.”

This doesn't free them from Chinese semiconductor components but I will note many top US decoupling planners never actually expected or wanted to fully remove all Chinese inputs from the global production system so it's important not to crow unduly about that.

These planners merely intended to have measures to prevent China from moving up the value chain, to keep them a low value unfinished products maker 10 years behind the US and west technologically and to keep finished products including the brands themselves firmly in the hands of the west. This is why Huawei was banned. They seek to keep the high-ground, the lions-share of the profits which is selling the assembled device (and pressuring component manufacturers for maximum discounts with threats), as well as the ability to use that commanding position to discipline other countries by controlling flows of those finished products via companies in the west that obey US sanctions. As well as of course products compromised by NSA backdoors in design, by 14 eyes intelligence sharing and national security letters forcing cooperation inside the western development branches of these companies, etc which are leveraged to maintain western dominance via their vast intercept, hacking, spying, blackmail operation.

In my opinion this is just further proof that decoupling is proceeding albeit slowly. Not perhaps to plans of being ready for a war next year or 2028 but eventually and next decade likely.

I think 10 years for semiconductors in India may be optimistic but I expect they'll make SOME progress by then and western firms will also have some plants in the west they can use so there will be a shortage over Taiwan but not an implosion.

 

(archive link)

“The Russian people will never forget the sacrifice of the Korean special forces,” Russian President Vladimir Putin declared. “We will forever honor these heroes who gave their lives for Russia, for our shared freedom.” He praised the allied units for fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with Russian troops, defending the country as if it were their own.

[...]

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called the soldiers who fought in Kursk “heroes,” framing their involvement as a “sacred mission” to strengthen ties with Russia. Pyongyang plans to erect a monument in their honor.

While official numbers remain classified, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service estimates that up to 15,000 North Korean troops have fought on Russia’s side.

According to Russian war correspondent Alexander Kots, the North Koreans began with intensive training at Russian ranges before being deployed to the front. “They lived in field conditions,” he said. “At first, they were held in reserve, then moved to more active positions – eventually participating in direct assaults.” The troops reportedly impressed Russian commanders with their discipline, coordination, and tenacity. And they had a standing order: never be taken alive.

One Russian soldier remarked that this ethos reminded him of Wagner Group fighters, who were known to carry grenades “just in case.” “They were instantly accepted by our former Wagner guys,” he noted.

Another correspondent, Semyon Pegov of WarGonzo, described their combat debut near Kursk as “nothing short of cinematic.” Drones captured footage of large North Korean formations advancing steadily, five to six meters apart, under heavy Ukrainian artillery fire – including cluster munitions.

At first, it seemed the group had been wiped out. But hours later, survivors emerged from the snow and resumed the assault. “Seventy percent of them got up and pressed forward, covering up to eight kilometers in a single day,” Pegov reported, adding that casualties were in the dozens.

[...]

North Korean troops were primarily stationed in the southern Suzhansky district – around the villages of Plekhovo, Guevo, and Kurilovka. The contingent included special forces, conscripts, and a dedicated medical evacuation unit.

[...]

Military analyst Boris Rozhin suggested North Korea may continue rotating units through Russia’s conflict zones to build a combat-hardened force – one group at a time.

[...]

According to Russian outlet Mash, the troops lived separately and communicated via a designated interpreter. They were equipped with North Korean-made weapons, including the 170mm “Koksan” artillery piece. They also sampled Russian food – and reportedly became fans of Russian rap music.

The language barrier proved to be a significant hurdle at first. To overcome it, the soldiers memorized a cheat sheet of 20 essential Russian commands like “Take cover,” “Cover me,” and “Fire!” – allowing them to train without an interpreter.

A Russian officer with the callsign ‘Kondrat’ said the most difficult challenge was adjusting the North Korean troops’ attack strategies. “They wanted to charge in formation, textbook-style,” he explained. “We had to convince them that small, flexible units were more effective – and they adapted quickly once the bullets started flying.”

“Once one wave stalled, another would follow with the same relentless rhythm and fatalism,” a Russian battalion member remarked. “What drives men to fight like that? It must be something stronger than fear of death.”

 

Putin has announced the complete liberation of Kursk with the last Ukrainian elements eliminated or driven from the internationally recognized Russian region of Kursk.

‘Not a single North Korean violated his oath’: How our allies helped us liberate Kursk

Pyongyang’s troops showed discipline, coordination and disregard for death, contributing greatly to the defeat of Ukrainian invaders

Until this moment, Russia had neither confirmed nor denied the presence of DPRK (North Korean) troops on the front line. Strictly speaking, we were not obligated to notify anyone about it. This is a matter of bilateral relations and agreements. Meanwhile, North Korean units gradually began to arrive in Russia during the Kursk campaign.

At first, they underwent training at military ranges, familiarizing themselves with modern combat tactics, mastering drone operation skills, and adapting to field realities. Then, the “combat Buryats,” as our military jokingly and covertly called them, were transferred to the Kursk region. They lived in field conditions to avoid attracting attention. Initially, they held the third line of defense, then the second, and eventually, they were tested in fortifications and, finally, in assaults.

Korean soldiers distinguished themselves by their coordination, discipline, a fatalist disregard for death, and remarkable endurance. Understandably so – they were mostly young, strong, well-built men, decently trained back home, particularly the units from the Special Operations Forces. They made a significant contribution to the liberation of the Korenevsky District, fought in battles near Staraya and Novaya Sorochina, and broke through to Kurilovka.

They had a strict rule – never to be captured alive, and never to surrender voluntarily.

Incidentally, the enemy tried to persuade them to do just that by dropping counterfeit DPRK banknotes, bearing inscriptions in Korean that read: “Surrender! Kim Jong-un has driven you to death and starved your families. Place a yellow flag before you, raise your hands, and loudly shout ‘Freedom!’ Then slowly walk toward the Ukrainian soldiers and follow their instructions.”

Not a single Korean soldier violated his oath or allied commitments. For Pyongyang, it was crucial to gain experience in modern warfare, study the tactics and technologies of a potential enemy (“the collective West”), and acquire knowledge that had been inaccessible due to sanctions. These objectives were achieved. Moreover, under the framework of a comprehensive bilateral agreement, the Koreans made a substantial contribution to the defeat of the Ukrainian forces on our soil.

Their arrival allowed us to maintain pressure on other sections of the front, continue the offensive in the Donbass, and inflict enormous damage on the invasion force, which consisted of 95 (!) battalions.

Coverage: https://www.rt.com/news/616375-north-korea-kursk-russia/

https://www.rt.com/russia/616373-north-koreans-liberate-kursk/

https://www.rt.com/russia/616360-kursk-region-liberation-putin-recap/

So as expected DPRK troops did not enter into territory previously recognized as being part of Ukraine, they merely participated in fighting within historical Russian borders in a defensive capacity. Hence all claimed "captures" of Koreans by Ukraine are fabrications likely involving Russian minorities from the east.

I hope the lessons they learned from their combat are taken back and widely shared and discussed to better prepare and harden the DPRK against any future attacks by the imperialist US.

 

(archive link)

The US president is reportedly not interested in informal diplomatic contact with China on trade

US President Donald Trump has stifled almost every channel of diplomatic outreach with China, aiming to deal directly with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, as the trade war between the two superpowers escalates, Politico has reported citing anonymous sources.

Ahah. All the claims of China not wanting to negotiate proven false yet again. They've been reaching out through the usual channels but Trump isn't interested.

The US president is adamant about direct negotiations with Xi, and has stifled other diplomatic avenues, Politico wrote on Saturday, citing anonymous former US State Department officials and an industry official.

Trump has not authorized White House delegates to engage with Beijing, the outlet cited its sources as saying. In addition, the Senate has not confirmed a US ambassador to China, Trump has not nominated an official to lead a diplomatic effort, and Washington has thus far not reached out to the Chinese embassy, Politico reported.

“The backchannels don’t work because President Trump doesn’t want them to,” [...]

“Trump wants to deal directly with President Xi in the same way he has with Putin,” he said.

Washington is waiting for Beijing to reach out and call first, CNN wrote earlier this month, citing anonymous officials.

Trump doesn't want to flinch first because of saving face. Xi understandably doesn't want to deal with this. Trump sees himself as some incredible negotiator and I think has an innate admiration for people he sees as "strongmen" according to western propaganda hence his desires to get directly together with Putin and Xi to act tough and feel tough standing up to them. He thinks he can talk "Mano a Mano" or man to man and get the best deal.

This bodes badly for any resolution to this obviously as Trump is going to keep pushing for a sit-down with Xi.

 

A very extreme example of Ukrainian Nazism supporters (this guy openly wanted to topple the US government because he believed it was controlled by Jews and saw Ukraine as a based Nazi bastion). Some kid killed his parents and was in talks with someone online about hoping to kill Trump and get asylum in Ukraine.

A Wisconsin teenager accused of murdering his parents also plotted to assassinate US President Donald Trump and flee overseas while framing Russia for the crime, according to an unsealed FBI affidavit.

Nikita Casap, 17, was charged last month with first-degree murder after police found the bodies of his mother and stepfather, both shot in the head, inside their Waukesha home. He was arrested in Kansas after fleeing in a stolen vehicle with $14,000 in cash, passports, and the family dog. Officers also recovered an unloaded revolver, boxes of ammunition, and two cell phones during the traffic stop.

“Casap appears to have written a manifesto calling for the assassination of the President of the United States. He was in touch with other parties about his plan to kill the President and overthrow the government of the United States,” the warrant unsealed on Friday stated

[...]

Agents also found screenshots of a three-page document titled “Accelerate the Collapse,” created on February 28. The manifesto called for political violence, including the assassination of the president, to spark societal chaos and “protect the white race.” It argued that it was “necessary to accelerate the collapse” of what it called “Jewish-occupied governments,” beginning with the United States. “The white race cannot survive unless America collapses,” Casap claimed.

(ABC News archive link)

 

(Archive link)

They're building a luxury building which might as well be a victory monument on the site of an army compound NATO bombed in 1999.

Jared Kushner plans to build a luxury hotel on the site of a military headquarters in Belgrade bombed by NATO in 1999

The location for the new hotel in central Belgrade is the General Staff building, a former Yugoslav army headquarters heavily damaged during NATO’s 78-day bombing of Serbia and Montenegro over the Kosovo conflict. Over 500 cilviians were killed by the US-led military bloc throughout the months-long raids, which had no backing from the UN.

The Serbian government last year approved a multimillion-dollar deal with Affinity Global Development, to redevelop the location. The agreement includes a 99-year lease for a three-block area and plans to build a Trump-branded hotel, luxury apartments, offices, shops, and a memorial for bombing victims.

Opposition parties have criticized the deal, while President Aleksandar Vucic and his government have defended it as a move to modernize the capital.

Monday’s protest coincided with Serbia’s Remembrance Day, marking the anniversary of the start of NATO’s bombing campaign on March 24, 1999. Demonstrators gathered around the ruins of the former military complex, demanding the site be restored as a heritage landmark and that redevelopment plans be scrapped. Protesters described the complex as “a monument to NATO aggression” and objected to “gifting it” to American developers.

Videos shared online showed crowds chanting anti-NATO slogans and holding signs that read “f--k NATO and Trump Tower” and “we will never forget,” alongside the dates of the 1999 airstrikes. Protesters waved Serbian flags, as well as banners opposing NATO and the EU. Some demonstrators waved flags from Russia, China, North Korea, and Palestine.

If these are the same protestors who've been trying to protest or oust the current government there it seems they're pretty cool.

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