On January 21, far-right provocateur Rasmus Paludan travelled from Denmark to Sweden to set the holy book of Islam alight in what appeared to be a one-man show in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
The act sent shockwaves across large parts of the Muslim world, sparking mass protests in Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, and of course in Turkey, where anti-Sweden rallies grew so violent that the Swedish embassy in Ankara was briefly forced to close.
Xi Jinping said China was ready with Russia “to stand guard over the world order based on international law” as he arrived for a state visit to Moscow that comes days after Vladimir Putin was made the subject of an arrest warrant by the international criminal court.
The Chinese leader is expected to position himself as a potential peacemaker in the Ukraine war during his two-day visit to Russia – his first state visit since Putin’s invasion. For his part, the Russian president will be hoping to project unity in the face of western isolation, as the US condemned Xi for providing “diplomatic cover” for Moscow to continue to commit further crimes in Ukraine.
#Ukraine: The first footage of a 🇫🇷 French Crotale NG short-range air-defense system in service with the Ukrainian army.
We can see two missiles fired in an attempt to take down a Russian cruise missile- the second one hits the target. pic.twitter.com/avdf9HBn5J
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 20, 2023
She doesn’t have the flowing locks, soaring voice, or radiant smile of Vera Lynn. But for Russian “turbo-patriots” who cheer Putin’s war with Ukraine, there’s a modern forces’ sweetheart every bit as inspiring: Yulia Chicherina.
Her dark, short-cropped curls often encased in a black balaclava, her guitar strung over military fatigues, she performs her self-penned songs to troops in draughty halls in occupied Ukrainian towns and forest clearings behind the trenches.
China’s president Xi Jinping has arrived in Russia for the start of a three day state visit. The aim of the trip, according to the Chinese, is to strengthen relations between the two countries in a world threatened by ‘acts of hegemony, despotism and bullying’.
It’s no secret that there has been an increase in the number of Americans who oppose feeding an endless supply of weapons and cash into Ukraine to support the war against Russia or are at least skeptical about the process. Such people are regularly decried in the media as being “Putin stooges” or supporters of Russia. But who are these people?
Xi Jinping is not going to Moscow to make peace.
His meetings with President Putin on Monday and Tuesday and his virtual talks with President Zelensky are clearly intended to look like an effort to end the war in Ukraine. And indeed the
Chinese leader would surely prefer the conflict to be over than to see it continue. Already, in just over a year, it has damaged China’s interests in various ways: by reinvigorating Nato, by undermining Beijing’s efforts to mend diplomatic ties with Europe, by weakening demand in crucial export markets, by galvanising the rearmament of Japan, by prompting the United States to rush weapons to Taiwan.
But Xi has a more urgent priority: his aim is to ensure that Russia does not lose.
An American assessment of Ukrainian fighter pilots has revealed they would be ready to fly F-16 jets after fewer than six months of training, their commander has told The Times.
In his first interview since President Putin’s tanks crossed the border last year, General Serhii Holubtsov, chief of aviation of Ukraine’s air force, said that two of his pilots had returned to the country last week after a rigorous assessment by the US military.
#Ukraine: The moment that a Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter was shot down by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile, as filmed by a Russian soldier.
Unfortunately, the precise date and location is unclear. pic.twitter.com/jVnmJWIojY
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 19, 2023
Furniture shops in Moscow have started selling Wagner Group-branded sledgehammers as home decorations.
The metal sledgehammers are etched with the mercenary fighters’ logo, as well as a pile of skulls – and come in a presentation box that resembles a coffin.
The Russian Telegram channel Caution, Moscow quoted home decorations managers as saying that there was “high demand” for the sledgehammers, which are described as “perfect accessories in loft conversions”.
In a surprise move, the Slovak government has announced that it will supply 13 MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. Bratislava has been mulling sending the planes for weeks, but appears to have been spurred into action by Poland’s announcement yesterday that it would send four of its own MiGs to Ukraine in the coming days, with more to follow.
Chinese companies, including one connected to the government in Beijing, have sent Russian entities 1,000 assault rifles and other equipment that could be used for military purposes, including drone parts and body armor, according to trade and customs data obtained by POLITICO.
The shipments took place between June and December 2022, according to the data provided by ImportGenius, a customs data aggregator.
China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, one of the country’s largest state-owned defense contractors, sent the rifles in June 2022 to a Russian company called Tekhkrim that also does business with the Russian state and military. The CQ-A rifles, modeled off of the M16 but tagged as “civilian hunting rifles” in the data, have been reported to be in use by paramilitary police in China and by armed forces from the Philippines to South Sudan and Paraguay.
THE HAGUE (AP) — The International Criminal Court said Friday it has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes because of his alleged involvement in abductions of children from Ukraine.
The court said in a statement that Putin “is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”
Infamous Russian mercenaries the Wagner Group put a $15 million bounty on the head of Italy’s defence minister, Guido Crosetto. After Crosetto publicly accused Wagner of contributing to the Mediterranean migrant crisis, the bounty suggests he may have hit a nerve.
News of the hit was communicated to Crosetto by the Italian intelligence services, Il Foglio reported on Wednesday, March 15th. The intelligence officials believe the hit may be carried out by Wagner itself, which allegedly has two cells in Europe, one in the Balkans and one in the Baltic. However, Crosetto has not increased his security.
Poland will send four Soviet-era Mig fighter jets to Ukraine – becoming the first Nato country to send planes since Russia invaded last year.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said they would be sent in the coming days, with others handed over in the future.
Though a welcome boost to Ukraine’s air defence, the extra jets are not expected to be decisive in the war.
The deputy speaker of Ukraine’s parliament Olena Kondratyuk said she hoped more countries would follow.
ROSTOCK, Germany—The small marina on the edge of this north German city is a popular summertime spot for recreational sailors. German intelligence believes it was also the jumping-off point for the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, an assault on Europe’s civilian energy infrastructure unprecedented since World War II.
On Sept. 6, a small group set out from Rostock aboard a rented yacht, the Andromeda, a slender 50-foot-long, single-masted sloop, ostensibly on a pleasure cruise around Baltic Sea ports. Within two weeks, the group returned the boat and disappeared.
DESPERATE Vladimir Putin is attempting to use adverts on Pornhub in a frantic bid to recruit more men to fight in Ukraine.
The tyrant is desperate to get more troops onto the battlefield to replenish ranks as he continues to suffer huge losses.
