UKRAINE

“The surrender of militants of the nationalist unit Azov blocked at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol began yesterday,” Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said at a news briefing. “Over the past 24 hours, 265 militants laid down their arms and surrendered, including 51 seriously wounded,” he added. A hospital in Novoazovsk would take the wounded, Konashenkov said. He didn’t specify where other Ukrainian servicemen would be placed.

It is worth noting that earlier information appeared that the wounded of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were being taken out of the basements of Azovstal for treatment in the DPR. Our observer Nikolai Varsegov comments on this news:

“To tell the truth, I initially had … a misunderstanding of this decision on our part. By accepting enemy wounded, including the Nazis of Azov, we, of course, make life much easier for those who hid under the plant. Now they do not have to share the meager remains of water and food with those who came out of the sunken galleries…No need to waste physical and moral strength to help them, and therefore the surrender of these basement warriors will drag on for some time, tying down our military over Azovstal.” I have no doubt that many Russians, who worry about our soldiers and wish for a speedy victory, think the same way.

Journalism has virtually now ceased to exist around the entire sphere of activity known as western mainstream news. All pretence to integrity of reporting has vanished when those who laud Hitler and his Nazis can be greeted by wails of sympathy when they are forced to emerge and surrender themselves.

And now there’s this Ukraine, where Nazis are playing an outsized role. I’m not saying they’re a majority, but in the political and military life, they play an outsized —disproportionate let’s call it— role. This Ukraine where Nazis are playing an outsized role, are aligned with a formidable military bloc called NATO, NATO keeps advancing and advancing and advancing, closing on Russia, trying to suffocate it… And beginning around 2016, under Trump, begins to arm the Ukraine, pouring in weapons, engaging in military exercises with NATO, behaving very provocatively. And then the Foreign Minister Lavrov finally says we’ve reached the boiling point.

Now everything I just told you, Professor Chomsky, John Mearsheimer and others will acknowledge it. The mainstream press won’t even acknowledge that but people who call themselves just, legitimately call themselves dissidents, although Mearsheimer wouldn’t call himself a dissident, he just calls himself a realist.

Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Polyansky stated that the Russian position on Kiev’s desire to join the EU has changed. It is now similar to the position on Ukraine’s accession to NATO. He also noted that he does not see diplomatic options for resolving the situation in Ukraine at the moment, given Kiev’s position. Polyansky added that without demilitarization and denazification, peace in Ukraine cannot be achieved.