Russian Multi Day Strikes Shatter Kiev; Massive Ammo Explosion; US Vatican Truce Bid Fails; Orekhov

 
00:00:00 Overview of Russia's escalating multi day missile and drone campaign
00:00:40 Kiev under sustained strikes for three days with more expected
00:01:22 Odessa, Zaporizhzhia, Pavlograd and Kharkov also under heavy attack
00:04:13 Russian air campaign approaching Gulf War level intensity
00:07:30 Ukraine's ground based air defense systems have all but vanished
00:09:40 Russia shifts to jet powered Geran 4 and Geran 5 drones
00:14:39 New Iskander M ballistic missile reportedly used against Kiev
00:16:45 Massive ammunition depot explosion in Kiev near a residential district
00:19:22 Western media downplays the scale of the air campaign
00:22:13 Russia's May warning to Trump over threats to the Victory Day parade
00:25:11 US embassy warns Americans not to travel to Ukraine
00:27:30 Why Russia is expected to eventually strike central Kiev
00:33:01 Kiev's railway system breaking down, evacuation risk grows
00:35:21 Russia increasingly jamming Ukraine's Starlink terminals
00:41:01 Medvedev says Russia is now the world leader in drone warfare
00:47:08 Frontline update: Dobropillya and Orekhovo encirclements worsening
00:54:13 Veteran intelligence professionals rebut the New York Times Ratcliffe story
01:00:28 Western media spin on Russian losses aimed at persuading Trump
01:08:22 Vatican and CIA's coordinated Moscow peace push collapses
01:13:09 Looking ahead: SCO summit, Power of Siberia 2, and Putin's next speech

Russian Multi Day Strikes Shatter Kiev; Massive Ammo Explosion; US Vatican Truce Bid Fails
Topic 2002 

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Pepe Escobar : l’Iran DÉTRUIT le pont Bahreïn-Arabie, URGENCE F-35 alors que Trump DEVIENT FOU

 

 Pepe Escobar analyse l’escalade impensable de Trump dans la guerre contre l’Iran, alors que l’Iran élargit ses cibles de missiles et de drones du jour au lendemain. Pepe Escobar est un analyste géopolitique, journaliste indépendant et auteur.  
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Produced by: Danny Haiphong
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Houthis Join War; Strike Israel; Medvedev Warns Big Nuclear Risks; Massive Russian Donbass Buildup

 

Houthis Join War; Strike Israel; Medvedev Warns Big Nuclear Risks; Massive Russian Donbass Buildup
Topic 1855

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Les États-Unis frappent l’Iran ? Silence à Téhéran, riposte en vue ?

 

Les États-Unis viennent d’annoncer en grande pompe avoir bombardé les trois sites nucléaires en Iran : Forod, Natanz et Ispahan. Mais est-ce vrai ? Ont-ils réellement largué des bombes avec leurs avions, comme l’a affirmé le président ? Les Iraniens n’ont pas encore confirmé ce qui s’est passé et quelques rapports limités indiquent que ces frappes n’auraient pas causé beaucoup plus de dégâts que ceux déjà infligés lors de précédentes attaques israéliennes contre les mêmes installations. Qu’est-ce que cela pourrait signifier ?

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New York Times, newspaper from cia, loves war...

 

War Is a Racket - This is its price

Footage from various World War II battlefields in Europe, showing the recovery of numerous German and Soviet soldiers. Full videos explaining the context of the various scenes shown here can be seen on my channel: -"WWII German Mass Grave discovery at Villeneuve-Loubet" -"The Stalingrad Digging Camp" -"The Hell where Youth and Laughter go" -"Exhumation of 25 German soldiers from a 1945 field hospital cemetery" Crocodile Tear Productions https://battlefieldarchaeology.blogsp... https://researchww2.blogspot.com/ Music: "Lost Time", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) WWII - Soviet Union - Identification tag - exhumation - battlefield archaeology - helmet - shrapnel - gunshot - artillery - Germany - Wehrmacht - Stalingrad - Villeneuve-Loubet - militaria - army - 1942 - 1943 - 1944 - 1945 - missing in action - killed in action - cemetery - funeral - burial

Total War à Washington D.C. / Total War in Washington D.C.

source : http://www.dedefensa.org/article/total-war-a-washington-dc

Ca swingue à Washington D.C. ... Depuis le jeudi 2 mars et un article du Daily Mail, la “guerre totale” est déclenchée entre principalement le 44ème POTUS (Barack H. Obama) et le 45ème POTUS (Donald J. Trump). Inutile d’ajouter que cette situation, qui n’est guère appréciée en Europe (en France) où l’information concernant la situation à Washington D.C. est en mode hémiplégique, est un cas sans précédent dont les conséquences et les effets sont hors de toute appréciation possible. (En Europe [en France], l’anti-Trump reste en diffusion générale, le reste est soigneusement essoré par les flics de service, soit les journalistes de la presseSystème, pour être débarrassé de tous son agrégat FakeNews mesurées sur le mode choral habituel de l’inversion, c’est-à-dire de tous les éléments de vérité-de-situation, c’est-à-dire d’à peu près tout.)

• L’article du Daily Mail décrit l’installation par Obama, dans sa nouvelle maison de Washington D.C. prestement baptisée Black House, d’un véritable état-major de guerre, avec l’arrivée de sa conseillère spéciale du temps de la White House, Valerie Jarrett ; il y a aussi la présence d’autres anciens collaborateurs/collaboratrices, notamment de Susan Rice qui présidait le NSC après avoir été à l’ONU comme ambassadrice. Obama a pris un peu de temps avant d’installer son dispositif, parce qu’il avait une préoccupation urgente qui était la négociation de son contrat pour des “mémoires” à deux, du couple Obama : un volume pour Barack, un volume pour Michelle, – et $60 millions pour les deux. Toujours le sens du devoir et de la probité : les USA et le Rest Of the World seront ainsi directement instruits, de l’intérieur même de Ses Majestés, de la magnificence de la présidence du 44ème POTUS. En attendant, le nerf de la guerre est là et la Total War peut commencer.

(On peut trouver de très nombreuses source non encore mises à l’index ou déjà identifiées c’est selon, pour nous renseigner sur cet aspect de la crise en cours à Washington D.C., avec le projet principal d’Obama pour liquider sans conditions le président Trump, essentiellement par la destitution ou des pressions pour le forcer à démissionner : ZeroHedge.com, Breitbart.News bien sûr, y compris avec l’avis d’un spécialiste, le fameux avocat [Africain-Américain] Robert Barnes, de Barnes Law, qui estime que les très nombreuses fuites dont on est assuré par le seul bon sens qu’elles viennent de fonctionnaires fidèles à Obama dans la bureaucratie fédérale, et qui sont organisées d’une façon coordonnée, sont l’équivalent en communication d’une tentative de “coup d’État” contre le président Trump : « This is far, far worse than any of that. This is putting national security at risk. This is an effective de facto coup attempt by elements of the deep state. So hopefully there’s a meaningful investigation and a meaningful prosecution of these people who have engaged in reckless criminal acts for their personal political partisan purposes... ».)

On sait depuis longtemps qu’à côté de sa béatification éternellement renouvelée par la presseSystème et le ROW-Système, le côté sombre (c’est une image) d’Obama-l’activiste s’est déployé largement depuis que Trump est devenu un candidat sérieux, et bien entendu depuis son élection, durant la transition. L’on a déjà largement présenté sa Black House ou “contre-Maison Blanche”, avec l’avis du psychiatre-neocon Charles Krauthammer. L’on comprend que le 44ème POTUS est complètement “hors de contrôle”, avec sa psychologie transformée en hybris pur et simple, et donc l’on peut supposer qu’il s’est effectivement lui-même chargé d’une Mission de type-divin qu’il remplira d’autant mieux qu’il marche sur l’eau du Potomac, comme nous le savons désormais de source sûre... Krauthammer :

« I don’t know about the merits of the case. I would imagine that allowing mixed use and some exploration would be a good thing for the country, but Obama sees himself as God hovering over the country dispensing goodies to the extent that he’s got control. »

• L’épisode Sessions, – le ministre de la Justice dont on réclame la démission parce qu’il a rencontré l’ambassadeur de Russie durant la campagne, – devient presque banal au regard de ces géants qui nous entourent. C’est l’habituelle et truculente démarche, avec l’extraordinaire contraste entre la gravité des accusations et des sanctions réclamées (démission ! démission !), et la futilité des faits... Au reste, l’attaque portée contre Sessions, notamment par les démocrates du Congrès, Nancy Pelosi (cheftaine de la minorité démocrate à la Chambre) en tête, est suivie de contre-attaques diverses puisque l’ambassadeur de Russie a été reçu 22 fois à la Maison-Blanche, qu’il a rencontré Pelosi, notamment en présence de Medvedev... Inutile de poursuivre, tant l’absurdité du propos éclate de partout : un ambassadeur, c’est fait notamment pour rencontrer régulièrement les personnalités politiques, notamment et particulièrement les parlementaires, de la capitale où il est délégué par son pays...

Quoi qu’il en soit, on mentionnera l’analyse faite pour RT par Gilbert Doctorow, spécialiste réputé de l’American Committee for East-West Accord, qui nous détaille évidemment la gravité du cas, – un “assassinat politique” et une marche vers une “crise constitutionnelle”, – comme en France, certes : « This is a political assassination under way. The point is the US is heading into a constitutional crisis. I think it is impossible for President Trump to avoid taking steps that otherwise he would hope to postpone, otherwise he would enjoy basking in his great success on Tuesday evening's address to the nation – the support that he had from the whole Republican side of the House, and from a good number of Democrats as well. All of that is vitiated by this latest round of a political assassination attempt on one of his close advisers. I think it is not accidental that precisely Jeff Sessions has come in the sights of those who want to neuter, to destroy the Trump presidency. He is as Attorney General in control of the FBI, he is the one, who would be acting, or not acting on all of the accusations being made against the administration and the entourage of Trump for collusion with Russians, or for simply fraternizing with Russians, which has become our present hysteria, our present McCarthyite atmosphere cause for bringing down the government. »

• La cerise considérable sur cet imposant gâteau nous vient aujourd’hui, avec une étourdissante riposte du président Trump, au long d’une avalanche de tweets. Bien entendu, le comportement furieux et d’une certaine façon incontrôlable de Trump, est en train de prendre complètement le dessus et d’opposer une résistance désormais furieuse elle aussi, aux attaques de sabotage. Trump aborde un aspect bien précis, qui est sans aucun doute passible des rigueurs de la loi, ce qu’il semble annoncer très précisément. Il s’agit d’une mise en cause judiciaire lancée à l’encontre son prédécesseur, qu’il accuse de l’avoir fait écouter (par la NSA, who else ?), notamment durant la campagne présidentielle.

Pour avoir une idée de la chose, on transcrira deux tweets de suite (suivant d’autres de la même encre) autour de 12H00 ce 4 mars : « I'd bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election! » ... « How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy! »

Bien entendu, la presse antiSystème reprend les interventions de Trump en y flairant une querelle de dimension cosmique, entre les deux POTUS successifs. On lira ZeroHedge.com et nous nous arrêtons essentiellement sur un texte très court de Russia Insider (RI), qui nous dit l’essentiel ; savoir, que Trump est en train de devenir le plus fameux “lanceur d’alerte” (whistlebower) de l’histoire, notamment parce qu’il fait état de documents internes confirmant ces écoutes, qui ne peuvent venir que de la NSA (l’Agence informe le nouveau POTUS à sa demande-expresse après avoir espionné le candidat-POTUS [la même personne, certes], ce qui est dans l’ordre naturel des choses). RI cite un ancien de la NSA qui confirme l’implication de la NSA, y compris pour des écoutes fuitées depuis dans la presseSystème, de conversations de Trump-devenu-président, notamment avec les dirigeants australien et mexicain.

« Trump is now the most dangerous whistleblower alive. [...] We don't think Trump is exaggerating.

» William Binney, a former top NSA official turned whistleblower, agrees: Asked whether he believes the NSA is tapping Trump, Binney replied: “Absolutely. How did they get the phone call between the president and the president of Australia? Or the one that he made with Mexico? Those are not targeted foreigners.”

» The President of the United States of America just accused his predecessor of tapping his phones before the election.

» Pinch yourself. This is really happening. »

Il est bien entendu inutile de s’attarder aux détails de ces divers épisodes, que l’on commence à connaître, notamment avec tous les avatars extraordinaires de fausses nouvelles et de narrative fleuries, d’accusations insensées, de moyens illégaux, écoutes, fuites, etc., de cette entreprise systématique de sabotage de l’administration Trump et, désormais, des ripostes de plus en plus puissantes que lance et va lancer de plus en plus souvent Trump qui commence à contrôler certaines parties de l’appareil de sécurité nationale. Le constat est désormais d’une accélération extrêmement rapide et d’une aggravation à mesure de la paralysie du pouvoir à Washington D.C. ; et surtout, de son enfermement dans une guerre civile de communication menaçant de passer à l’échelon supérieur de la “guerre civile judiciaire et juridique” impliquant les plus hautes personnalités.

La situation de deux POTUS successifs s’affrontant comme ils le font désormais, à visage découvert est non seulement inédite, mais du domaine de l’impensable il y a seulement quelques mois encore. On ne peut savoir où cet affrontement peut mener, étant à cet égard et complètement sur une terra incognita qu’il était inimaginable de concevoir dans tous les schémas des possibilités politiques depuis la création des USA. En un sens, la Guerre de Sécession s’est déroulée, à son origine, dans une situation de moindre désordre que celle que nous connaissons aujourd’hui ; pour poursuivre la comparaison, bien entendu, il faudra voir où l’on en est dans cinq ans à Washington D.C.

Si l’on veut et pour adopter un terme juridique puisque c’est notamment sur ce terrain que va rapidement déborder le conflit, il s’agit d’une situation qui constitue une totale jurisprudence, où toute chose est désormais soumise à cette complète et infernale dualité imprévisibilité-incontrôlabilité. Tous les précédents sont balayés, y compris bien sûr les attentes diverses, soit d’un apaisement avec l’acceptation de l’autorité de Trump par le Système, soit d’un apaisement avec la complète subordination de Trump au Système. A la place, l’inconnu et le désordre, avec même ce supplément qu’il n’existe pas vraiment de moyen de faire basculer la situation, – même selon l’idée assez “classique” d’un assassinat (celui de Trump, par exemple). Une telle perspective, un peu trop “classique” justement pour une crise si intensément postmoderne, apparaît aujourd’hui comme un tel facteur d’explosion du pays qu’il est probable que même d’éventuels comploteurs dans ce sens devraient hésiter sinon reculer devant cette perspective catastrophique.

(A noter, bien entendu, que l’on retrouve, avec pas mal d’avance mais selon le même schéma, – paralysie du politique par les domaines de la communication et du judiciaire-juridique, – la similitude avec la situation française soulignée dans le Journal-dde.crisis de ce même 4 mars.)

Mis en ligne le 4 mars 2017 à 18H07

No to War, Hot or Cold, With Russia

Source  : http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/no_to_war_hot_or_cold_with_russia_20141201/

Posted on Dec 1, 2014

By Dennis Kucinich

plavevski / Shutterstock.com

Editor’s note: The following was adapted from an email by former Rep. Dennis Kucinich to his subscribers.
U.S.-Russia relations have deteriorated severely in the past decade and they are about to get worse, if the House passes H. Res. 758.

NATO encirclement, the U.S.-backed coup in Ukraine, an attempt to use an agreement with the European Union to bring NATO into Ukraine at the Russian border, a U.S. nuclear first-strike policy, are all policies which attempt to substitute force for diplomacy.

Russia’s response to the terror unleashed by western-backed neo-nazis in Crimea and Odessa came after the local population appealed to Russia to protect them from the violence. Russia then agreed to Crimea joining the Russian Federation, a reaffirmation of an historic relationship.

The Western press begins its narrative on the Crimea situation with the annexation, but completely ignores the provocations by the West and other causal factors which resulted in the annexation. This distortion of reality is artificially creating an hysteria about Russian aggressiveness, another distortion which could pose an exceptionally dangerous situation for the world, if acted upon by other nations. The U.S. Congress is responding to the distortions, not to the reality.

Similar distortions are developing now in the coverage of events in the eastern part of Ukraine, in Donetsk and Luhansk.

Tensions between Russia and the U.S. are being fueled every day by players who would benefit financially from a resumption of the Cold War which, from 1948 to 1991 cost U.S. taxpayers $20 TRILLION dollars (in 2014 dollars), an amount exceeding our $18 trillion National Debt.

With wars re-igniting in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Syria being a staging ground for an ongoing proxy war between the great powers, the U.S. treasury is being drained for military adventures, our national debt is piling up, and we are demonstrably less safe.

Tomorrow the U.S. House will debate and vote on H. Res. 758 which is tantamount to a ‘Declaration of Cold War’ against Russia, reciting a host of grievances, old and new, against Russia which represent complaints that Russia could well make against the U.S., given our nation’s most recent military actions: Violating territorial integrity, violations of international law, violations of nuclear arms agreements.

Congress’ solution? Restart the Cold War!

The resolution demands Russia to be isolated and for “the President, in consultation with Congress, to conduct a review of the force posture, readiness and responsibilities of United States Armed Forces and the forces of other members of NATO to determine if the contributions and actions of each are sufficient to meet the obligations of collective self-defense [my emphasis] under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, and to specify the measures needed to remedy any deficiencies…” In other words, ‘let’s get ready for war with Russia.’

This is exactly the type of sabre rattling which led to the initiation and escalation of the Cold War. It is time we demanded that the U.S. employ diplomacy, not more military expenditures, in the quest for international order.

It is time the U.S. stepped out of this expensive dialectic of conflict and seek to rebuild diplomatic relations with Russia and set aside the risky adventurism in the name of NATO.

If you agree, please contact your congressperson today, 202-224-3121, and ask them to vote against H. Res. 758.

H. RES. 758 

113TH CONGRESS
(Document certified by Superintendent of Documents <pkisupport@gpo.gov>) Signed by Superintendent of Documents <pkisupport@gpo.gov> Time: 2014.11.19 09:09:14 Z Reason: GPO attests that this document has not been altered since it was disseminated by GPO Location: US GPO, Washington, DC 20401
2D SESSION
H. RES. 758
Strongly condemning the actions of the Russian Federation, under President
Vladimir Putin, which has carried out a policy of aggression against
neighboring countries aimed at political and economic domination.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 18, 2014
Mr. KINZINGER of Illinois submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
RESOLUTION
Strongly condemning the actions of the Russian Federation,
under President Vladimir Putin, which has carried out
a policy of aggression against neighboring countries
aimed at political and economic domination.
Whereas upon entering office in 2009, President Barack
Obama announced his intention to ‘‘reset’’ relations with
the Russian Federation, which was described by former
United States Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul as
a policy to ‘‘engage with Russia to seek agreement on
common interests’’, which included the negotiation of the
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) in
which the United States agreed to major reductions in its
nuclear forces;
Whereas the Russian Federation has responded to this policy
with openly anti-American rhetoric and actions and with
armed aggression against United States allies and partner
countries, including Ukraine and the Republic of
Georgia;
Whereas the Russian Federation has subjected Ukraine to a
campaign of political, economic, and military aggression
for the purpose of establishing its domination over the
country and progressively erasing its independence;
Whereas the Russian Federation’s invasion of, and military
operations on, Ukrainian territory represent gross violations
of Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial
integrity and a violation of international law, including
the Russian Federation’s obligations under the
United Nations Charter;
Whereas the Russian Federation’s forcible occupation and illegal
annexation of Crimea and its continuing support for
separatist and paramilitary forces in eastern Ukraine are
violations of its obligations under the 1994 Budapest
Memorandum on Security Assurances, in which it
pledged to respect the independence and sovereignty and
the existing borders of Ukraine and to refrain from the
threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or
political independence of Ukraine;
Whereas the Russian Federation has provided military equipment,
training, and other assistance to separatist and
paramilitary forces in eastern Ukraine that has resulted
in over 4,000 civilian deaths, hundreds of thousands of
civilian refugees, and widespread destruction;
Whereas the Ukrainian military remains at a significant disadvantage
compared to the armed forces of the Russian
•HRES 758 IH

Federation in terms of size and technological sophistication;
Whereas the United States strongly supports efforts to assist
Ukraine to defend its territory and sovereignty against
military aggression by the Russian Federation and by
separatist forces;
Whereas the terms of the ceasefire specified in the Minsk
Protocol that was signed on September 5, 2014, by representatives
of the Government of Ukraine, the Russian
Federation, and the Russian-backed separatists in the
eastern area of the Ukraine have been repeatedly violated
by the Russian Federation and the separatist forces it
supports;
Whereas separatist forces in areas they controlled in eastern
Ukraine prevented the holding of elections on May 25,
2014, for a new President of Ukraine and on October 26,
2014, for a new Rada, thereby preventing the people of
eastern Ukraine from exercising their democratic right to
select their candidates for office in free and fair elections;
Whereas, on November 2, 2014, separatist forces in eastern
Ukraine held fraudulent and illegal elections in areas
they controlled for the supposed purpose of choosing
leaders of the illegitimate local political entities they have
declared;
Whereas the Russian Federation has recognized the results of
the illegal elections and continues to provide the military,
political, and economic support without which the separatist
forces could not continue to maintain their areas
of control;
Whereas the reestablishment of peace and security in
Ukraine requires the full withdrawal of Russian forces
•HRES 758 IH

from Ukrainian territory, the resumption of the government’s
control over all of the country’s international borders,
the disarming of the separatist and paramilitary
forces in the east, an end to Russia’s use of its energy
exports and trade barriers to apply economic and political
pressure, and an end to Russian interference in
Ukraine’s internal affairs;
Whereas Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a civilian airliner, was
destroyed by a Russian-made missile provided by the
Russian Federation to separatist forces in eastern
Ukraine, resulting in the loss of 298 innocent lives;
Whereas the Russian Federation has used and is continuing
to use coercive economic measures, including the manipulation
of energy prices and supplies, as well as trade restrictions,
to place political and economic pressure on
Ukraine;
Whereas military forces of the Russian Federation and of the
separatists it controls have repeatedly violated the terms
of the ceasefire agreement announced on September 5,
2014;
Whereas the Russian Federation invaded the Republic of
Georgia in August 2008, continues to station military
forces in the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and
is implementing measures intended to progressively integrate
these regions into the Russian Federation;
Whereas the Russian Federation continues to subject the Republic
of Georgia to political and military intimidation,
economic coercion, and other forms of aggression in an
effort to establish its control of the country and to prevent
Georgia from establishing closer relations with the
European Union and the United States;
•HRES 758 IH

Whereas the Russian Federation continues to station military
forces in the Transniestria region of Moldova;
Whereas the Russian Federation continues to provide support
to the illegal separatist regime in the Transniestria region
of Moldova;
Whereas the Russian Federation continues to subject
Moldova to political and military intimidation, economic
coercion, and other forms of aggression in an effort to establish
its control of the countries and to prevent efforts
by Moldova to establish closer relations with the European
Union and the United States;
Whereas under the terms of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear
Forces Treaty (INF), a flight-test or deployment of any
INF-banned weapon delivery vehicle by the Russian Federation
constitutes a violation of the INF Treaty;
Whereas, on July 29, 2014, the United States Department
of State released its report on the Adherence to and
Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and
Disarmament Agreements and Commitments, as required
by Section 403 of the Arms Control and Disarmament
Act, for calendar year 2013, which found that, ‘‘[t]he
United States has determined that the Russian Federation
is in violation of its obligations under the INF Treaty
not to possess, produce, or flight-test a ground-
launched cruise missile (GLCM) with a range capability
of 500 km to 5,500 km, or to possess or produce launchers
of such missiles’’;
Whereas according to reports, the Government of the Russian
Federation has repeatedly engaged in the infiltration of,
and attacks on, computer networks of the United States
Government, as well as individuals and private entities,
•HRES 758 IH

for the purpose of illicitly acquiring information and disrupting
operations, including by supporting Russian individuals
and entities engaged in these actions;
Whereas the political, military, and economic aggression
against Ukraine and other countries by the Russian Federation
underscores the enduring importance of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as the cornerstone
of collective Euro-Atlantic defense;
Whereas the United States reaffirms its obligations under the
North Atlantic Treaty, especially Article 5 which states
that ‘‘an armed attack against one or more’’ of the treaty
signatories ‘‘shall be considered an attack against them
all’’;
Whereas the Russian Federation is continuing to use its supply
of energy as a means of political and economic coercion
against Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and other European
countries;
Whereas the United States strongly supports energy diversification
initiatives in Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and
other European countries to reduce the ability of the
Russian Federation to use its supply of energy for political
and economic coercion, including the development of
domestic sources of energy, increased efficiency, and substituting
Russian energy resources with imports from
other countries;
Whereas the Russian Federation continues to conduct an aggressive
propaganda effort in Ukraine in which false information
is used to subvert the authority of the legitimate
national government, undermine stability, promote
ethnic dissension, and incite violence;
•HRES 758 IH

Whereas the Russian Federation has expanded the presence
of its state-sponsored media in national languages across
central and western Europe with the intent of using news
and information to distort public opinion and obscure
Russian political and economic influence in Europe;
Whereas expanded efforts by United States international
broadcasting across all media in the Russian and Ukrainian
languages are needed to counter Russian propaganda
and to provide the people of Ukraine and the surrounding
regions with access to credible and balanced information;
Whereas the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty (RFE/RL), Incorporated continue to represent a
minority market share in Ukraine and other regional
states with significant ethno-linguistic Russian populations
who increasingly obtain their local and international
news from Russian state-sponsored media outlets;
Whereas the United States International Programming to
Ukraine and Neighboring Regions Act of 2014 (Public
Law 113–96) requires the Voice of America and RFE/
RL, Incorporated to provide programming content to target
populations in Ukraine and Moldova 24 hours a day,
7 days a week, including at least 8 weekly hours of total
original video and television content and 14 weekly hours
of total audio content while expanding cooperation with
local media outlets and deploying greater content through
multimedia platforms and mobile devices; and
Whereas Vladimir Putin has established an increasingly authoritarian
regime in the Russian Federation through
fraudulent elections, the persecution and jailing of political
opponents, the elimination of independent media, the
seizure of key sectors of the economy and enabling sup
•HRES 758 IH