February, 13, 2023

1. Lavrov: US openly admits it blew up Nord Stream

US officials are basically admitting that they were behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, which was perpetrated to prevent rapprochement between Moscow and Berlin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. “The US decided that we [Russia] have been cooperating too well with Germany over the past 20 or 30 years; or rather, the Germans cooperated with us too well,” he said in an interview published on the Foreign Ministry’s website on February 12. The “powerful alliance” based on Russian energy resources and German technology “began to threaten the monopoly position of many American corporations,” Lavrov explained.

So, Washington decided to destroy this alliance between Moscow and Berlin, and did it “literally” by attacking the pipelines, which were built to deliver Russian gas to Europe through Germany, he added. “American officials are basically admitting that the explosions that occurred at Nord Stream 1 and 2 were their doing. They even speak about it with joy,” the foreign minister stated.

Lavrov was likely referring to a confession made by US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland during a Senate hearing in late January, 2023. “I am, and I think the administration is, very gratified to know that Nord Stream 2 is now... a hunk of metal at the bottom of the sea,” she said at that time.

“The vileness of Western politicians is well known,” Lavrov continued, suggesting that “the plan, which is now being implemented through ‘inciting’ Ukraine against Russia and waging a war by the entire West against Russia by means of Ukraine, is to a large extent aimed at preventing a new rapprochement between Germany and Russia.”

For months, the Russian authorities have been pointing to the fact that the only side to benefit from the destruction of Nord Stream was the USA, which has seen supplies of its more expensive liquefied natural gas to Europe increase massively since the explosions in the Baltic Sea.

2. Pentagon seeking to resume top-secret programs in Ukraine

The US Department of Defense is trying to convince lawmakers to fund two top-secret programs in Ukraine, which were put on hold after Russia launched its military operation in the country last year, the Washington Post reported on February 10. If the Pentagon gets its way, the operations involving US Special Forces could resume in 2024, the newspaper claimed.

The WP, citing unnamed current and former US officials, alleged that the schemes in question would allow US commandos to employ Ukrainian operatives to “observe Russian military movements and counter disinformation.” It said the programs are considered to be a form of “irregular warfare” intended for use against adversaries with whom Washington is not engaged in a military conflict.

While the Pentagon has already begun preparing its case for the resumption of these operations, Congress is unlikely to make a decision on the matter before the fall of 2023, the paper reported. The article also noted that a big question mark remains over whether the Biden administration would allow US commandos to actually reestablish a physical presence in Ukraine to oversee surrogates’ activities.

According to the WP, American special operations forces could end up having to oversee activities from a neighboring country – a format they have reportedly become accustomed to in recent years.  However, it is unknown whether lawmakers will give the programs a green light as a number of critics remain unconvinced, the article claimed. Some of these are reportedly concerned that such operations may risk dragging the US deeper into the conflict between Moscow and Kiev.

“What started as a reconnaissance mission can quickly turn into combat when the surrogates start getting shot at,” one official told reporters on condition of anonymity. They went on to add that it is not clear “how the [defense] department is going to change people in Congress’ minds about that.”

Representatives of the Senate and House Armed Services committees, as well as the White House and the Pentagon, declined to comment, citing the programs’ classified status, the WP reported. Since the start of the military conflict between Moscow and Kiev, Washington has pledged to support Kiev with arms, money and other forms of assistance “for as long as it takes” to defeat Russia strategically. Moscow, meanwhile, has called such aid as “direct and combined massive aggression of Ukraine and NATO against Russia” in the form of undeclared war with the aim to preserve Western dominance and to kill more Ukrainians and Russians.

NATO has surveyed its munitions stockpiles to ascertain how depleted they have become due to the Ukrainian war against Russia, Reuters has reported. What has been revealed, the news agency said, is that a number of European members are not prepared for a possible direct confrontation with Russia.

“If Europe were to fight Russia, some countries would run out of ammunition in days,” a European diplomat told Reuters on February 13, speaking on condition of anonymity. The NATO official who described the secret survey of ammunition stocks was not named either.

[See latest US “assistance list” of military hardware to be sent to Ukraine, in the Annex below]

Annex

Pentagon Official Fact Sheet on U.S. ‘Security Assistance’ to Ukraine

Released on February 3, 2023

In total, the United States has committed $32 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration, including more than $29.3 billion since the commence of Russia’s SMO on February 24, 2022.

United States military aid recently committed to Ukraine includes:

• Over 1,600 Stinger anti-aircraft systems;

• Over 8,000 Javelin anti-armor systems;

• Over 52,000 other anti-armor systems and munitions;

• Over 700 Switchblade Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems;

• 160 155mm Howitzers and over 1,000,000 155mm artillery rounds;

• Over 6,000 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds;

• Over 10,000 155mm rounds of Remote Anti-Armor Mine (RAAM) Systems;

• 100,000 rounds of 125mm tank ammunition;

• 45,000 152mm artillery rounds;

• 20,000 122mm artillery rounds;

• 50,000 122mm GRAD rockets;

• 72 105mm Howitzers and 370,000 105mm artillery rounds;

• 298 Tactical Vehicles to tow weapons;

• 34 Tactical Vehicles to recover equipment;

• 30 ammunition support vehicles;

• 38 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and ammunition;

• 30 120mm mortar systems and over 175,000 120mm mortar rounds;

• 10 82mm mortar systems; • 10 60mm mortar systems;

• Over 2,500 Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles;

• 545,000 rounds of 25mm ammunition;

• 120mm ammunition;

• Precision-guided rockets;

• Ten Command Post vehicles;

• One Patriot air defense battery and munitions;

• Eight National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) and munitions;

• Two HAWK air defense firing units and munitions;

• RIM-7 missiles for air defense;

• 12 Avenger air defense systems;

• Anti-aircraft guns and ammunition;

• Equipment to integrate Western air defense launchers, missiles, and radars with Ukraine’s air defense systems;

• Equipment to sustain Ukraine’s existing air defense capabilities;

• High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARMs);

• Precision aerial munitions;

• 4,000 Zuni aircraft rockets;

• 20 Mi-17 helicopters;

• 31 Abrams tanks;

• 45 T-72B tanks;

 • 109 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles;

• Over 1,700 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs);

• Over 100 light tactical vehicles;

• 44 trucks and 88 trailers to transport heavy equipment;

• 90 Stryker Armored Personnel Carriers;

 • 300 M113 Armored Personnel Carriers;

• 250 M1117 Armored Security Vehicles;

• Over 500 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs); • Six armored utility trucks;

• Mine clearing equipment and systems;

• Over 13,000 grenade launchers and small arms;

• Over 100,000,000 rounds of small arms ammunition;

• Over 75,000 sets of body armor and helmets;

• Approximately 1,800 Phoenix Ghost Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems; • Laser-guided rocket systems;

• Puma Unmanned Aerial Systems;

• 15 Scan Eagle Unmanned Aerial Systems;

• Two radars for Unmanned Aerial Systems;

• Unmanned Coastal Defense Vessels;

• Over 70 counter-artillery and counter-mortar radars;

• 20 multi-mission radars;

• Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems and equipment;

• Counter air defense capability;

• 14 air surveillance radars;

• Two harpoon coastal defense systems;

• 58 coastal and riverine patrol boats;

• M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel munitions;

• C-4 explosives, demolition munitions, and demolition equipment for obstacle clearing;

• Obstacle emplacement equipment;

• Tactical secure communications systems;

• Four satellite communications antennas;

• SATCOM terminals and services;

• Thousands of night vision devices, surveillance systems, thermal imagery systems, optics, and laser rangefinders;

• Commercial satellite imagery services;

• Explosive ordnance disposal equipment and protective gear;

• Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear protective equipment;

• 100 armored medical treatment vehicles;

• Over 350 generators;

• Medical supplies to include first aid kits, bandages, monitors, and other equipment; • Electronic jamming equipment;

• Field equipment, cold weather gear, and spare parts;

• Funding for training, maintenance, and sustainment

The United States also continues to work with its Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with additional capabilities to defend itself.

3. UN condemns executions of Russian POWs by Ukrainian Army

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is aware of recently-emerged footage apparently showing the execution of Russian soldiers who had surrendered by Ukrainian troops, a spokeswoman for the UN watchdog, Marta Hurtado, has said. “We have raised concerns about the treatment of prisoners of war, including alleged killings of POWs by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, with Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense,” Hurtado told TASS in a statement on February 10.

The graphic video in question surfaced earlier this week, filmed by an armed individual speaking Ukrainian and demanding answers from three men in military uniforms lying on the ground. After failing to elicit a coherent response from them, the man shoots one of the men in the head multiple times at point blank range.

One of the men, lying motionless on the ground, also has visible blood around his head, apparently getting shot and killed before the video started. A fellow Ukrainian soldier appeared to try to reason with the gunman, pointing out that the third captive was holding a grenade. The killer briefly showed his face at the very end of the video, concluding it with an obscenity and ‘Glory to Ukraine’ slogan, which is commonly associated with World War II-era Nazi collaborators but is widely used in present-day Ukraine.

Additional footage seemingly filmed in the immediate aftermath of the incident showed the killer trying to provide excuses to justify his actions. The UN is aware of this footage as well, Hurtado said, adding that none of the excuses actually have merit.

“We are also aware of another video that has appeared on social media platforms that includes additional footage of the original incident and also appears to show a Ukrainian soldier confessing [to] the killing and trying to justify it by alleging that the victims refused to surrender or that they were part of the Wagner Group military and security contractors fighting on behalf of the Russian Federation,” the spokeswoman said. “These excuses do not provide justification for the soldier's actions under international humanitarian law.”

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the killing of unarmed soldiers who surrendered is a “widespread practice” by Kiev’s troops, and multiple incidents of this sort have occurred amid the ongoing Ukrainian-NATO aggression, with some of them published online by the killers themselves. The Russian Investigative Committee said on February 9 that the footage appeared to show the recent murder of three Russian POWs by “Ukrainian nationalists,” pledging to investigate further, identify the perpetrators, and bring them to justice.

Written by Vladimir P. Kozin