Big Lies repeated enough get most people to believe them. The power of repetition works.
Throughout months of Kiev instigated aggression on Donbass, Western officials outlandishly blamed Russia for their own wrongdoing.
In his State of the Union address, Obama accused Russia of “aggression” in Ukraine.
Earlier he said it’s “provable” that “Russian combat forces and tanks” moved into Ukraine. “(W)ith Russian weapons and Russian tanks.”
“(T)hese are the facts. They are provable. They’re not subject to dispute.” No proof whatever was presented. Not earlier. Not now. Now exists.
No Russian combat troops operate in Ukraine. Nor is Moscow supplying Donbas freedom fighters with weapons.
At his January 21 Moscow press conference, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said “we are constantly hearing about the flow of (Russian) troops and weapons” into Ukraine.
“Every time I say: ‘If you say this with such confidence, show us the facts.’ Before demanding from us that we stop doing something, please present proof that we have done it.”
“But nobody can present (it) or wishes to present (it), just as nobody can present the facts that our partners, primarily our Ukrainian and US partners, allegedly have with regard to” MH17.”
Wrongfully accusing Russia and Donbas freedom fighter for what happened. “Please show us the evidence that we did it in the first place,” said Lavrov. None exists. Plenty showing Kiev responsibility.
Earlier Lavrov said “(t)here will be no (Russian) military intervention” in Ukraine. None occurred. None is planned.
Claims otherwise are false. The latest from oligarch Ukrainian stooge president Petro Poroshenko.
Shamelessly invited to participate in the ongoing Davos-based World Economic Forum. An annual convocation of rich, powerful, privileged elites.
An exercise in self-congratulatory excess.
Washington’s man in Kiev. Outrageously claiming Russia has 9,000 troops in Ukraine.
Aiding Donbass self-defense forces. With tanks, artillery and armored vehicles. Offering no proof whatever. None exists.
It doesn’t matter. Claiming “(i)f this is not aggression, what is aggression?” Last April, Kiev forces launched premeditated aggression on Donbass.
Fighting rages daily. Abated somewhat after agreed on September Minsk protocol terms. Kiev violated them straightaway.
Resumed full-scale fighting last Sunday. Poroshenko spurns diplomacy. He lied saying “(o)ur approach is very simple…We have the Minsk format…”
“(W)e need immediately a just ceasefire and the withdrawal of heavy artillery and weapons and tanks from the frontline.”
“The solution is very simple…Stop supplying weapons. Withdraw the troops and close the border.”
“Very simple peace plan. If you want to discuss something different, it means you are not for peace, you are for war.”
Poroshenko repeatedly accuses Russia of supporting what he calls Donbass “terrorists.”
Citing the January 13 Volnovakha bus attack. Killing 12 civilians. Injuring 18 others.
Wrongfully blaming Donbass self-defense forces. Reinforcing his Big Lie with a piece of yellow metal sheeting pockmarked with holes.
Claiming it came from the attacked bus. Saying “I have here part of the Volnovakha bus with the hits of the fragments of the Russian missiles which are hitting my people.”
“It is a symbol of the terrorist attack against my country.”
His stunt fooled no one. Reminiscent of Netanyahu’s 2012 General Assembly “Bibi bomb” prop. Used to lie about nonexistent Iranian nuclear bomb development.
Days earlier, An OSCE observer team debunked Poroshenko’s claim. Saying rockets fired came from Kiev held territory.
It’s military bears full responsibility. False flag deception failed.
It didn’t deter Poroshenko from comparing Volnovakha with Charlie Hebdo killings and MH17’s downing. Wrongfully claiming a “Russian missile shot (it) down.”
Evidence shows one or more Ukrainian warplanes trailing MH17 brought it down. Poroshenko lied claiming otherwise.
A litany of Big Lies filled his WEF address. “Believe in Ukraine,” he said. “If we fight for (mutual) values we will be invincible.”
He ludicrously claimed post-February coup changes “have been positive…Ukraine has become stronger.”
“However, the country is facing the aggression not only regarding Crimea, but also regarding the significant part of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.”
Poroshenko left Davos the same day he arrived. Canceling his planned three-day visit.
Getting less financial support than he hoped for. Heckled on his arrival in Zurich. A local student called him “a child killer.”
Donbas freedom fighters continue hammering his military forces successfully. Ukrainian volunteer Yuriy Kasyanov’s comments perhaps reflect what many other (largely conscript) Kiev soldiers feel.
Saying “(g)lamorous inappropriate military shows and parades, victory propaganda allow fools to act foolishly, and high-ranking criminals to commit crimes.”
“The parades and shows have come to an end, ladies and gentlemen.”
“The recent events at the front show that we don’t even have adequate tactical reserves to localize the actions of the adversary.”
Reports suggest growing numbers of Ukrainian military-aged men want no part of Poroshenko’s Donbas war.
Many left for Russia. Expect more to follow. Whether world opinion changes remains to be seen.
Germany’s ZDF television reported Kiev killing civilians. So did AP. Saying Ukraine’s military shelled Donbas “residential areas.”
Sergey Pashinskiy is acting head of administration of the president of Ukraine. During Poroshenko’s absence, he threatened possible martial law.
A desperation move if instituted. Likely to arouse public anger. Further revealing the illegitimacy of a putschist government.
Perhaps turning public opinion increasingly against war in Donbas. For sure most Ukrainian military-aged men want no part in it.
On Wednesday, Russia’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin forthrightly accused Washington of stoking conflict.
Saying “(t)hroughout the whole Ukrainian crisis, the US has been playing a destructive – or to call a spade a spade – an instigative role.”
Each time US officials visit Kiev, its authorities “stepp(ed) up the confrontational nature of their actions.”
“The current military escalation has miraculously coincided with the visit of US Army Europe chief (Lt. General Frederick Ben Hodges) to Kiev.”
He said Washington intends expanding military cooperation with Ukraine. Meaning funding its killing machine.
Supplying more lethal weapons. Heavy ones. “Wherever Washington is turning its eyes – Iraq, Libya, Syria, Ukraine – there is destabilization, crisis and blood,” Churkin explained.
“During our multiple Security Council discussions, the Ukrainian delegation hasn’t said…a non-offensive word about the population of the south-east of the country.”
Outrageously calling heroic freedom fighters “bandits.” “Terrorists.” Diplomacy alone can resolve ongoing conflict, said Churkin.
Washington and Kiev reject it. Wanting war, not peace. Continued slaughter of Donbas civilians. Conflict without end.
Russia’s Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin accused 65 top Ukrainian government and military officials of war crimes.
Including Right Sector head Dmitry Yarosh. Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) chief Valentin Nalivaichenko.
Former national guard commander/current defense minister Stepan Poltorak. Interior minister Arsen Avakov.
Heads of Azov, Aidar and other paramilitary groups. Dnepropetrovsk region oligarch governor Igor Kolomoisky.
Five generals. Over 30 other former and current Kiev military officials.
Svoboda party head Oleg Tyagnibok. Markin said criminal cases began against some of the above named.
They’re “already been charged,” he said. “We know other names,” he added.
“Active work is (ongoing), and it is not ruled out that” further charges will follow “soon.”
Crimes including mass murdering civilians. Killing journalists. Downing MH17. Odessa’s massacre last May. Numerous other atrocities.
Hundreds of bodies discovered in mass graves in Ukrainian held territory. Murdered in cold blood. Shot in the head at close range.
The battle for Ukraine’s soul continues. European security and stability hang in the balance.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected]. His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.” http://www.claritypress.com/
