Military
Sunday 27 May 2018
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Yuri Shvytkin
State Duma Defense Committee
“How could they establish the fingerprints? They do not have a database that could identify biometric data (of Russian servicemen)… but how can they identify the real fingerprints of a serviceman who is serving?”RIA: The comment is “nullified.”
Read more...RIA Novosti admitted the Joint Investigation Team’s reference marks on the Buk surface-to-air missile system that could be used to identify it, comparing them to “fingerprints.” They were not talking about actual human fingerprints. -
RT
Op-ed
“U.S. envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker went to the Kiev-controlled side of the conflict zone in the eastern Donbass region, where he declared American military support for retaking the breakaway self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.”
Read more...Volker didn’t say that Ukraine should retake its territory by force, nor did he say the U.S. would lend military support to such an effort. -
Vladimir Putin
President, Russia
“That is an unprecedented thing. They are attempting to bring high treason charges against a person for what he did publicly and for performing his professional duties. I haven’t seen anything like this in a long time.”
Read more...Many nations, including Russia, have charged journalists with high treason. Despite Putin’s claim that he has not seen anything like this in a long time, he actually has – the case against Russian journalist Grigory Pasko, who was imprisoned on high treason charges -
Press service of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR)
“…When NATO service members, escorted by Ukrainian militants, were visiting today the combat contact line in the vicinity of Avdiivka, the (Ukrainian Armed Forces) command purposefully led the guests into their minefield, where a car with the foreigners was blown up by a landmine. As a result, three NATO servicemen from Canada were killed and two from the U.S. were injured.”
Read more...Donetsk People’s Republic officials, followed by Russian state media, released false information about the death of several NATO soldiers near the village of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine. The Voice of America’s Ukrainian service, citing several sources, reported that no NATO servicemen were in the Donbas, and that no NATO members had reported losses. -
RT
Russian state-funded news agency
A former British ambassador to Syria told RT the OPCW ‘s claim that chlorine was "likely used" in Saraqeb, Syria, in February is "seriously misleading" because it is based on evidence provided by “jihadists.”
Read more...The “jihadists” referred to in the RT story are actually members of Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets. The claim that they are jihadists is a conspiracy theory promoted by the Syrian and Russian governments, and RT’s source has worked for a pro-Assad government lobby group. -
Maria Zakharova
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson
“People in camouflage were running around the U.N.; they shouted, photographed Russian diplomats and threatened. It was about direct threats.”
Read more...One Russian diplomat was questioned by a female Ukrainian filmmaker, who recorded the encounter and posted it on her Facebook page. -
Alexander Domrin
Alexander Domrin, Professor of International Law, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow
“Up to this point, it (Crimea) has been perceived exclusively as a Russian territory. And in 2014 the peninsula joined the Russian Federation on the basis of a referendum in which the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of the peninsula took part. And now it will not be returned to Ukraine or any other country.”
Read more...The overwhelming majority of countries do not recognize Crimea as a part of Russia. The International Criminal Court considers Crimea to be occupied by Russia. The 2014 “referendum” conducted after soldiers wearing no insignia moved in. The results of the vote are highly dubious. -
Sputnik News
Russian state news agency
A Dutch lawyer working at the Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence (CCDCOE) in Estonia has noted that the April 14 airstrikes against Syria by the US, UK and France are in violation of international law.
Read more...While Western leaders say air strikes were "justified, legitimate and proportionate," and necessary to alleviate overwhelming human suffering, several experts contend this is not considered a justification under international law for military action against another country. -
RIA Novosti
Russian state news agency
“The House of Representatives has adopted a law banning the U.S. from aiding Syria”
Read more...H.R. 4681, a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives also known as the No Assistance for Assad Act, limits assistance for areas of Syria controlled by the government of Bashar al-Assad Syria or associated forces. The legislation does not apply to “assistance for projects to be administered by local organizations that reflect the aims, needs, and priorities of local communities in Syria; and assistance for projects to meet humanitarian needs, including demining and needs for food, medicine, medical supplies and equipment, education, and clothing.” -
Dmitry Kiselyov
Head of Rossiya Segodnya
"Literal information bombs! This week was a journalist's godsend for our military correspondent in Syria, Evgeny Poddubnyy."
Read more...Russian state TV used stills from a film about Syria and passed them off as real photos from Douma, Syria, where a chemical attack took place. It also claimed an 11-year-old boy who supposedly debunked reports that a chemical attack had taken place was interviewed without any coercion. Investigators found he was interviewed at a military installation in Damascus. -
Leonid Slutsky
Chairman of the Russian State Duma’s Foreign Affairs Committee
“I have no doubt that in terms of cooperation with Moscow, as well as within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union, full continuity will be maintained. Russia for many years has been Armenia’s strategic ally, and there are no factors for any changes.”
Read more...Thousands of Armenians protested against ex-President Sargsyan’s appointment as the Prime Minister. Hundreds were arrested in rallies over 11 days. 63-year old Sargsyan, yielding to the pressure, resigned on Monday. Chairman of Russia’s Foreign Affairs Committee Leonid Slutksy commented, “Russia for many years has been Armenia’s strategic ally, and there will be no changes.” Armenia depends on Russia militarily, politically and economically; thus, current political turmoil in Yerevan will not affect cooperation with Moscow -
Sergei Ryabkov
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister
"Everything rested on the absence of UN Secretariat security department approval for a visit by OPCW experts to the site of the events in Douma.”
Read more...The United Nations Secretariat has granted authorization for the OPCW's mission to inspect the site of the alleged chemical attack in Douma.