May 3rd, 2022
1. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s clarified some new details in an interview with Mediaset, Italian TV network, Moscow, May 1, 2022
There are some key points:
Russia has never ceased its efforts to reach agreements that would guarantee the prevention of a nuclear war. In recent years, it was Russia who has persistently proposed to its American colleagues that we repeat what Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan did in 1987: adopt a statement reaffirming that there can be no winners in a nuclear war, and therefore it must never be unleashed.
In June 2021, at a meeting between President of Russia Vladimir Putin and US President Joseph Biden in Geneva a statement was adopted on the inadmissibility of a nuclear war. Let me stress: this was done at our initiative.
In January 2022, five permanent members of the UN Security Council adopted a similar statement at the highest level, also at our initiative: there can be no winners in a nuclear war. It must never be unleashed. In order to achieve this goal, President Vladimir Putin proposed convening a summit of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. This proposal was supported by our Chinese colleagues and France. The United States and the United Kingdom, which always defers to it, are holding back this important event for the time being.
After I said this, I urged everyone to exercise utmost caution not to escalate the existing threats. I was referring to the statement made by President Vladimir Zelensky in February that it had been a mistake for Ukraine to give up its nuclear weapons and it was necessary to acquire them again. There was also a statement made by the leadership of Poland about their readiness to deploy American nuclear weapons on their territory, and much more.
Somehow there were no questions from the media about the statements made by Vladimir Zelensky and Poland. Or after the statement by Foreign Minister of France Jean-Yves Le Drian, who said suddenly: Let us not forget that France also has nuclear weapons. This is what I was talking about. When Western journalists take words out of context and distort the meaning of what I or other Russian representatives actually said, this does them no credit.
Our warnings issued in November and December 2021 about the need to stop NATO’s reckless expansion to the east and agree on security guarantees that that will not be related to the accession of new countries to the military-political bloc were rejected. I would even say the answer we received was not very polite: “It’s none of your business,” “we will expand NATO as we wish,” and “we won’t ask for your permission.”
It makes no difference to me what President Vladimir Zelensky refutes or does not refute. He is as fickle as the wind, as they say. He can change his position several times a day.
When Vladimir Zelensky said he was ready for Ukraine’s neutral non-bloc status, he made a serious step forward, which we welcomed. However, after that, his ministers and the Parliament speaker of Ukraine started saying that they should receive security guarantees but the goal of joining NATO (as stated in their constitution) will remain. Now NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the British started saying that if the Ukrainians want to preserve this goal, they have the right to do so. This is what I am talking about.
On March 30, Russian troops left Bucha. The following day, on March 31, Bucha Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk proclaimed victory in front of television cameras saying that the city had returned to normal life. Only three days later they began to show photographs of these bodies. I don’t even want to go into detail, because it is so obviously fake that any serious observer can see it at a glance.
All problems could have been solved peacefully by Petr Poroshenko who was elected in 2014 under the slogan “Peace in Donbass.” Then he started the war. It could have been solved by Vladimir Zelensky. During his election campaign, he presented himself as the “president of peace.” In December 2019, he promised to fulfill the Minsk agreements and adopt a law granting a special status to Donbass within the unbroken territorial integrity of Ukraine. He had every chance. All the cards and even the trump cards were in his hands.
Vladimir Zelensky chose to say publically and arrogantly that he will never abide by the Minsk agreements because allegedly this would mean the fall of the Ukrainian nation and state. Everyone who drafted and approved the Minsk agreements at the UN Security Council kept silent. They said that he could stop implementing them if he wanted but Russia should continue to. That’s who could have brought peace.
Vladimir Zelensky can also bring peace now if he stops giving illegal orders to his neo-Nazi battalions and makes them release all civilians and stop resisting.
We are not demanding that he surrender. We are demanding that he give the order to release all civilians and to stop resisting. Our goal does not include regime change in Ukraine. This is the specialty of the US. They do it all over the world.
We want to ensure the safety of people in eastern Ukraine, so that they won’t be threatened by militarisation and nazification and that no threats against the Russian Federation emanate from Ukrainian territory.
Money was stolen from us (over $300 billion). Just stolen. A large part of the sum was payment for gas and oil supplies. It was only possible because Gazprom had to keep money in accounts in Western banks (according to your rules). They wanted to punish Russia, so they stole it.
Now they suggest we continue trading as before, and the money remains in their accounts. They will steal it again when they want to. This is the reason. Somehow no one talks about it. What happened to honest journalism?
What we are now proposing is that supplies should be considered paid for not when Gazprombank receives euros or dollars but when they are converted into roubles, which cannot be stolen. That’s the entire story. Our partners know this very well. Note that nothing changes for the buyers. They still pay the sums specified in the contract in euros and dollars. It is converted after that.
Our servicemen will not artificially time their actions to any date, including Victory Day. We will solemnly observe May 9, like we always do. We will remember everyone who died to liberate Russia and other former USSR republics, to liberate Europe from the Nazi plague. The pace of the operation in Ukraine depends first of all on the need to minimize risks for civilians and Russian military personnel.
[full text is available at: https://www.mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/1811569/?lang=en]
2. Statement of the Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response in Ukraine (May 2, 2022)
The Joint Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation for Humanitarian Response, in co-operation with the authorized federal executive bodies and law enforcement agencies, continues to carefully record numerous egregious cases of nationalists using civilian infrastructure for military purposes, using civilians as "human shield":
(a) in Barvenkovo, Kharkiv Region, nationalists have set up a stronghold in the building of the Regional Psychiatric Hospital No 2 and forcibly detain civilians in the basement;
(b) in Dnepr (schools No. 2 and 28 and boarding school No. 2), Nikolaev (boarding school for deaf children), Kramatorsk (schools No. 9 and 6) and Slavyansk (school No. 14), the Ukrainian Armed Forces and fighters of the territorial defence battalions have equipped firing positions and deployed armoured vehicles, artillery and MLRS.
This fact is clear evidence of the continuing inhumane attitude of the Kiev authorities towards their own people.
Despite all the difficulties and obstacles imposed by the Ukrainian side, over the past day, without the participation of Kiev, 11,550 people were evacuated from dangerous areas, 1,847 of them children, and in total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 1,092,137 people have already been evacuated to Russia, of which 196,356 are children. More than 9,500 temporary accommodation centres continue to operate in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and are fully equipped with recreational facilities and hot meals.
A significant part of the population forcibly held by radicals in Ukrainian cities is still looking for any opportunities to evacuate to Russia, as evidenced by numerous appeals of citizens through various channels to the official structures of the Russian Federation. Over the past 24 hours, the hotline of the Interdepartmental Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation for Humanitarian Response, federal executive authorities, constituent entities of the Russian Federation and various NGOs received 142 requests from foreign and Ukrainian citizens to evacuate to Russia, the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, as well as to the Russian Armed Forces-controlled areas of Zaporozhye, Nikolaev, Kharkov and Kherson regions.
In total there are 2,754,241 such appeals from persons to be evacuated to Russia from 2,133 locations in Ukraine in the database.
Federal executive authorities, together with the subjects of the Russian Federation, various public organizations, patriotic movements, continue to accumulate humanitarian aid. More than 23 tonnes of basic necessities and food kits, including baby food and life-saving medicines, have been prepared at collection points. Since March 2nd, 17,285.6 tons of humanitarian cargo have already been delivered to Ukraine, 959 humanitarian actions have been carried out, including 8 actions in Kharkov and Kherson regions, as well as in Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics.
3. Situation on the battlefields
The Armed Forces of Ukraine continues the third military aggression vs Donbass, mainly targeting civilians and social infrastructure each day, including May 1-3.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation in Ukraine.
High-precision Onyx missiles near Odessa have hit a logistics center at a military airfield through which foreign weapons were being delivered. Hangars containing Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as missile weapons and ammunition from the US and European countries, were destroyed. High-precision air-based missiles of the Russian Aerospace Forces have hit 6 Ukrainian military assets. Among them: one command post, one ammunition depot near Slatino, and 4 areas of manpower and military equipment concentration.
Operational-tactical and army aviation of the Russian Aerospace Force have hit 69 strong points and areas of concentration of AFU manpower and military equipment.
Missile troops have hit the command posts of the 81st Airmobile Brigade near Dolina and the 77th Territorial Defence Brigade near Podolovka, Kharkov Region. One S-300 anti-aircraft missile launcher was also destroyed near Kulbakino, Nikolaev Region.
Artillery units have struck 54 AFU artillery firing positions, 38 strong points, as well as 195 areas of Ukrainian manpower and military equipment concentration.
Up to 230 nationalists, as well as 52 units of weapons and military equipment have been destroyed.
Russian air defence means overnight have shot down 6 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles near Berezovka, Odessa Region, Borshchevaya and Chernyshchina, Kharkov Region, Barvinok, Kherson Region and Mikhailovka, Donetsk People's Republic.
Also shot down in the air: 1 Ukrainian Tochka-U ballistic missile near Dmitrovka and 2 Smerch multiple-launch rockets near Izyum.
In total, 146 aircraft and 112 helicopters, 696 unmanned aerial vehicles, 286 anti-aircraft missile systems, 2,783 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 316 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,255 field artillery and mortars, as well as 2,590 special military vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed during the operation.
4. Politico: Combat death puts spotlight on Americans fighting in Ukraine
A former U.S. Marine who died last week was believed to be the first American citizen killed while fighting in Ukraine. Willy Joseph Cancel, 22, died April while working for a military contracting company that sent him to Ukraine, his mother, Rebecca Cabrera, told CNN.
Another American, Harrison Jozefowicz, quit his job as a Chicago police officer and headed overseas soon after Russia invaded Ukraine. An Army veteran, he said he couldn’t help but join American volunteers seeking to help Ukrainians in their fight.
Jozefowicz now heads a group called Task Force Yankee, which he said has placed more than 190 volunteers in combat slots and other roles while delivering nearly 15,000 first aid kits, helping relocate more than 80 families and helping deliver dozens of pallets of food and medical supplies to the southern and eastern fronts of the war. Jozefowicz, the former Chicago cop, says there are thousands of American and other volunteers in Ukraine. Multiple organizations are operating in the country, and he said his group alone has placed scores of volunteers in positions all over the country, with about 40 of those being combat jobs.
An undetermined number of other Americans — many with military backgrounds — are thought to be in the country battling Russian forces beside both Ukrainians and volunteers from other countries even though U.S. forces aren’t directly involved in fighting aside from sending military materiel, humanitarian aid and money.
Under some circumstances, Americans could face criminal penalties, or even risk losing their citizenship, by taking part in an overseas conflict, according to a senior federal law enforcement official.
[released May 1st, 2022// https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/01/marine-ukraine-killed-willy-cancel-00029197?utm_source=yxnews&utm_medium=desktop]]
Written by Vladimir P. Kozin
