s”, both countries would “come to each other’s support”, whether in the event of a disaster or military attack.
What we’re saying today is that upon request from the other party, we would come to the other party’s assistance.
…
e you seen a soldier?” The nun replied, “He went that way.” After the military police ran off, the soldier crawled out from under her skirt and said, “I can't thank you enough, Sister. You see, I don't want to go to Ukraine.” The nun said, “I understand completely.” The soldier added, “I hope I'm not rude, but you have a great pair of legs!” The nun replied, “If you had looked a little higher, you would've seen a great pair of balls too. I don't want to go to Ukraine either."
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din, publicly stated they would vote for him. According to Vote Abroad, Davankov gained the majority of votes at Russian polling stations in other countries. With such a “subversive” candidate on the ballot sheet, nothing other than absolute victory would have allowed Putin to sleep at night.
It was clear for some time that the Kremlin saw this election as a test of the regime’s legitimacy. It is reported to have spent close to €1bn on the election campaign, with funds overwhelmingly devoted to ensuring a large turnout. It was not enough for the Kremlin to win the election – it also had to demonstrate public engagement. There was a push for early voting, especially in the occupied territories in Ukraine, where electoral officials accompanied by armed men in uniform knocked on people’s doors and politely asked them if they would like to vote early. Those who did not yet have Russian passports were allowed to use their Ukrainian IDs. In Russia there were the usual raffles, discos and canteens at polling stations to entice people out.
Samantha de Bendern • The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/18/vladimir-putin-russian-society-kremlin-election-war…
he setback, the Kremlin and its proxies
insisted that the war would go on until President
Vladimir Putin’s goals are achieved, and they
blamed NATO and the United States for Ukraine’s
refusal to surrender.
…
Added by Michael Grove at 11:24 on September 13, 2022
gth to his henchmen who think he’s not been tough enough in Ukraine and to warn the plotters in Moscow that he will stop at nothing to hold onto power, no matter how many must die in the process.
His intended annexation of the areas of Ukraine now occupied by Russia means he could lawfully use nuclear weapons to defend them as they will formally be part of the Russian Federation. The fact that no other country will recognise Moscow’s sovereignty is beside the point – seen from the Kremlin, an attack on these areas with Nato munitions will be an attack on Russia itself.
…
Added by Michael Grove at 15:29 on September 29, 2022
hs, and banned
the Kremlin’s propaganda channel RT, and its news
agency, Sputnik. BP announced it would divest its
nearly 20% stake in the Russian oil corporation
Rosneft. Turkey declared that it would close the
Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to the Russian
navy, stopping its vessels moving between the
Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
Sweden will send military aid to Ukraine, including
anti-tank weapons, helmets and body armour, its
prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, said on
Sunday. A rare emergency session of the UN general
assembly has been called to discuss Ukraine,
starting on Monday. Russia voted against it, but was
unable to stop it. It is likely to underline Moscow’s
global isolation. Putin’s nuclear order came at a
meeting between the president, defence minister,
Sergei Shoigu, and the chief of the general staff of
the armed forces of Russia, Valery Gerasimov.
…
already known that Dresden would be part of Soviet-occupied zone of post-war Germany. After the bombing of February 13 the Russians entered a city of burnt ruins and piles of corpses resembling, according to the memoirs of witnesses, fallen timber. So it seems the motive of frightening the Russians also played a role.
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Just like Hiroshima, Dresden was supposed to serve as a demonstration to the Soviet Union of the power of the West. And in addition to power, a readiness to ignore all principles of humanity to achieve their aims. “Today it’s Dresden and Hiroshima, tomorrow it will be Gorky, Kuibyshev and Sverdlovsk – you understand, Mister Stalin?” Today we see this same cynicism manifested through the rocket attacks on cities of Eastern Ukraine.
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Of course, everything was perfectly clear to the Soviet Union. Following the Great Patriotic War we had to not only rebuild destroyed cities and razed villages but also create a defensive shield. One of the most important lessons of the war was the commitment of our country and its people to humanism. The orders coming from the front-line commanders and supreme command were to not take revenge on the Germans. Not long before the bombing of Dresden our soldiers saved another ancient city from such a fate – the city of Krakow.
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A very symbolic act was the saving of the collection of Dresden’s famous Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault) museum by Soviet soldiers. The pictures were meticulously restored in the USSR and returned to Dresden after the city was rebuilt with the active participation of Soviet specialists and in part on our money.
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People of the 21st century cannot forget about the ashes of Khatyn and tens of thousands of other Russian, Ukrainian and Belarussian villages, nor about Coventry, Dresden and Hiroshima. Their ashes continue to beat in our hearts. As long as humankind remembers, it will not allow new wars.
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Source: The Russian Military Historical Society
http://letschangetheworld.ning.com/profiles/blogs/remembering-dresden…