Military
Saturday 15 August 2020
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![Leonid Kalashnikov]()
Leonid Kalashnikov
State Duma deputy
“I believe that the allocation of $300 million in the United States for military assistance to Ukraine, on the contrary, opens the door for us to help the people at whom they want to shoot with these weapons.”
Read more...Russia was first to supply arms to proxy forces in eastern Ukraine, despite official denials. The support has continued since the war began in 2014. -
![Amir Ali Hajizadeh]()
Amir Ali Hajizadeh
Aerospace Force brigadier general, Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps
"During the Payambar-e Azam 14 (The Great Prophet) war games in south Iran, IRGC successfully launched underground ballistic missiles for the first time in the world."
Read more...A first? Underground launch “silos” have been around since WWII, invented by Nazi Germany. Silos have been used worldwide since. Some say they’re outdated. -
![Maria Zakharova]()
Maria Zakharova
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman
“… [W]hat relation do the closest relatives of R.A. Kadyrov have to the imputed violations? … I am not going to comment on these trumped-up charges. Moreover, evidence and arguments are traditionally lacking.”
Read more...Evidence supporting alleged human rights violations under Chechen Republic ruler Ramzan Kadyrov’s is abundant. -
![Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi]()
Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi
Egyptian president
“President El-Sisi confirmed Egypt's unwavering strategic position on Libya, which aimed at restoring stability in the country, preserving its national institutions, and preventing further deterioration in Libya’s security situation via curbing illegal foreign interference in the Libyan issue.”
Read more...As al-Sisi spoke with Trump, Egypt’s parliament was voting to approve his request to intervene militarily. -
![Kim Kardashian West]()
Kim Kardashian West
Reality TV star
“Azerbaijan has threatened to bomb the nuclear power plant in Armenia.”
Read more...Azerbaijan’s military did state that it would attack the Metsamor nuclear plant – but only in retaliation for an Armenian attack on its gas and oil facilities. -
![Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs]()
Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Foreign Ministry
“We would like to point out that Russia has always advocated the delivery of humanitarian aid to all those in need throughout Syria in strict compliance with the norms of international humanitarian law.”
Read more...Russia and the Assad regime have tried to block humanitarian aid from reaching territory not under government control. -
![Zhao Lijian]()
Zhao Lijian
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman
“China has never sought to establish a maritime empire in the South China Sea, and has always treated the littoral countries as equals.”
Read more...China asserts ownership of over 90 percent of the South China Sea and has not cooperated with efforts to defuse tensions in disputed areas. -
![Maria Zakharova]()
Maria Zakharova
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman
“For centuries, Syria has been a country where various ethnic and religious groups peacefully coexisted and safely coexisted ... This cannot but cause respect. We are convinced that such historical traditions should be fully preserved and continued.”
Read more...The Assad regime in Syria has relied heavily on religious sectarianism since seizing power in a 1970 coup d’etat. Ethnic minorities also have been systematically disenfranchised. -
![Maria Zakharova]()
Maria Zakharova
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman
“The appearance of this book testifies to the increasing desire of the Malaysians to form their own opinion about what happened. We believe that the latter is especially important, given how one-sided and engaged in the West this tragedy has been illuminated for years.”
Read more...The author of the book is a Malaysian conspiracy theorist. Based on the title, the work appears to blame the MH17 shootdown over Ukraine on the “Jewish antichrist Illuminati.” -
![Fu Cong]()
Fu Cong
Director General of the Department of Arms Control, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, People’s Republic of China
“Some glaring omissions in the US Annual Arms Control Compliance Report: Withdrawal from ABM, JCPOA, INF, Open Skies Treaty …”
Read more...Fu Cong’s tweet, prompted by talks to extend a key U.S.-Russian arms treaty, is a mashup of misleading and partly true assertions about the Trump administration’s arms control posture. -
![Vladimir Putin]()
Vladimir Putin
President of the Russian Federation
“[I]t is unfair to claim that the two-day visit to Moscow of Nazi Foreign Minister Ribbentrop was the main reason for the start of the Second World War. All the leading countries are to a certain extent responsible for its outbreak.”
Read more...Putin’s view is not shared by most historians. The subsequent Molotov-Ribbentrop pact between the USSR and Germany triggered the Nazi invasion of Poland, and it provided Soviet economic aid that made German conquests possible. -
![Dmitry Peskov]()
Dmitry Peskov
Russian presidential spokesman
“No, Russia doesn’t have any territorial claims against its neighbors.”
Read more...In 2014, Russia invaded the Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and, after a “referendum,” brought it into the Russian Federation. Moreover, Russia maintains effective control over separatist territories in former Soviet states without annexing them.
