Russian Men Try To Escape Mobilisation
Russia fails to show up at the UN Security Council meeting
The day that Putin announced a mobilisation of troops in Russia was the same day that the two prisoner swaps took place. Was that used as a deflection method, and there were actually two separate prisoner swaps—the 10 foreign prisoners of war was negotiated by Saudi Arabia (Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman), and 200 soldiers in Russia were exchanged for 55 Russian prisoners of war, where Erdogan of Turkey assisted in the negotiations.
For now, people are grateful that prisoners of war have been released and those that face death sentences are back in their own countries and are safe. The Azov soldiers that have been released have returned in poor shape, some badly beaten and tortured. Their release has also angered hardline Russians who wanted to see the alleged Nazi soldiers tried in court and persecuted.
The the prisoners of war arrived in Saudi Arabia, who then organised for the men to be returned to their respective countries. Among the other foreign nationals were two Americans, a Swede, a Moroccan, and a Croatian. Reports claims that some of the prisoners of war are being housed safely in Turkey.
The mobilisation in Russia does not seem to be going well. Mothers are hiding the suns so they don't get taken, minibuses of men have crossed over to Georgia for safety, one-way tickets to Turkey and Dubai have sold out. Georgia is now calling for there government to impose restrictions on Russians entering Georgia to control the situation. Those who have already been taken away for training, they have been given a few days induction and will be given two weeks of training before they are sent into the field, basically the front line to be cannon fodder. Those who protest are being arrested where mobilisation is considered burialisation, suggesting that it is a death trap. People who originally supported the 'special military operation' are now turning their backs on Putin because they are being personally involved in sacrificing their lives.
What is the answer here? How do Russians defend themselves against the government? Some say this is the right time for the Russian people to revolt and oust Putin and his supporters. In Russian history, we have seen this before when the people have just had enough. What Putin wants, is for people to sacrifice their lives for his ambition and aims.
As a document this it is hard to see some of the photos of those that have been killed, people sitting outside their homes that have been destroyed, yet this season so far removed from our every day lives in the west. A friend told me a story yesterday and I couldn't help but have shivers all over when they told me of an old work colleague who had relatives in Ukraine they were trying to get out of the country. The father was 91 years old and managed to get on a train to get out of Ukraine. Unfortunately, he fell ill on the train and died trying to leave the country. In the same family, the family home was destroyed by Russian missiles. It makes the wall so very real when you hear firsthand accounts of how the Russian invasion is affecting the lives of normal families.
It is time for the UN to serve its purpose, and that is to prevent a world war. So far, they have not been successful, nor have they served as a deterrent. As I have said before, is the United Nations fit for purpose or does it need to be replaced by another organisation that can serve as an alliance for peace in the world?
There are calls for the UN to set up a special tribunal to prosecute the war crimes carried out in Ukraine, as neither Russia or Ukraine are signatories to the ICC. The UN also knows by setting up such a tribunal would mean that Russia may escalate the war further
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Day 211 (22 September)
The good news is that the five British prisoners of war in Ukraine are safely back in the UK. In this particular deal negotiated by Saudi Arabia, there was no exchange of prisoners who were part of a group of 10 foreigners caught up in the invasion in Ukraine. Sean Pinner, Aiden Aslin, John Harding, Dylan Healy and Andrew Hill have all returned to the UK. Paul Urey unfortunately died while he was detained and his body showed signs of torture.
The intervention of Saudi Arabia is unusual as they have remained neutral but had ties with Russia in terms of their OPEC membership. Whatever the reasons, it has saved the lives of the foreign men.
In the other exchange, 215 Ukrainian soldiers were released including those from the Azov soldiers who had defended Mariupol. These included the Azov leaders, Denys Prokopenko and Svyatoslav Palamar.
In exchange, the Russians received 55 prisoners including Viktor Medvechuk, a former Ukrainian politician who faced charges of treason. He is pro-Kremlin, and is friends with Putin, who is godfather to his youngest daughter. This particular exchange involved Erdogan of Turkey, so perhaps Turkey may owe a favour to Russia now. Negotiations for both release parties have been in place since April, and so the announcement of the prisoner swaps on the same day that Putin announces a national mobilisation isn't a coincidence. However, we need to be grateful that he is brave man or in a safe place and they are alive for now
Zelenskyy has spoken at the UN General assembly, and has asked them to set up a war tribunal to hold Russia accountable for the war crimes they have committed. He has also called for tighter sanctions against Russia, and the EU and other countries immediately held talks to discuss this issue, and how to implement the sanctions. This is also in response to the Russian mobilisation as it is considered an act of escalation.
Zelenskyy named and shamed the seven countries who voted against his video address in the UN. These included Nicaragua, Syria, Cuba, Eritrea, and not surprisingly Belarus, North Korea and Russia. He also thanked the 101 countries who did vote for his video address to take place.
In his address he has laid out five non-negotiable conditions for peace: Russia to be punished for their aggression, Ukraine to be protected with territorial integrity and guarantees, security guarantees, and Ukrainians to be protected. The other condition is determination.
The fifth item is determination, something without which the other four items will not work. Our determination to fight, determination of partners to help us and themselves and determination of the world to unite around the one who fights against us and call to order the one who threatens all.(Zelenskyy)
Zelenskyy also added that neutrality is not an option, and states that 88 rounds of talks were held before the invasion in a bid to prevent the war, stating, ‘We had no choice but to defend ourselves.”
Lavrov used his address in the UN to try and justify Russia’s actions, and denied the accusations of Russian war crimes.
The United States and the allies, with the connivance of international human rights organisations, have been covering the crimes of the Kyiv regime. (Lavrov)
Instead, he accuses the US and Ukraine of covering up war crimes committed against Russian soldiers.
In Russia, crowds have been protesting against the mobilisation decree. These protests have occurred despite all Russians knowing that they could be arrested as such protests are not permitted. Some protesters were given draft papers and taken away, and more than 1,300 protestors were detained.
Most Russians are aware of how the government works, hence men that know that they will likely to be called up have left Russia either by car or by plane. One-way tickets to countries such as Turkey that don't require a visa have sold out or have gone up in price, they've been queues of traffic crossing over to the Finnish border and also to Georgia. Other border countries such as Latvia and Lithuania have stated that they will not issue visas for people to avoid mobilisation. The Czech Republic has also stated that they will not issue visas for men fleeing mobilisation.
In Zaporizhzhia, nine Russian missiles hit a hotel, a television tower, and an electrical substation. At least one person died and half dozen were wounded in the attack.
The US Attorney General and the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's office signed an agreement to pursue and prosecute those involved in war crimes in Ukraine. Some maybe Russian another's maybe Russian proxies who should also be prosecuted
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Orban of Hungary has claimed that he will promote a campaign to oppose the EU sanctions against Russia. One wonders how much longer the EU will tolerate such dissent and obvious support for the aggressor, while Hungary benefits from EU finding still?
Day 212 (23 September)
The Russian mobilisation plan does not seem to be going well nor do the Russians seem to approve of it. The government has claimed that they are only recruiting men with military experience. That is untrue as one witness has stated that when he arrived home with military personnel waiting for him to sign papers and take him away, and he has no military experience at all. Video footage shows that new recruits, either those who have volunteered or who have been taken away, have a three day induction, and then all given two weeks training before they are sent to the front line to be basically cannon fodder. They must remain as soldiers until the special military operation is over.
The likelihood of death is high, and the men all know that and have said they will do what they must to avoid being drafted. Some will break a limb, and others have gone into hiding. Many took their passport and ran, not through cowardice, but because they do not support the special military operation and they know that the chances of survival are low. Russian propaganda claims that 10,000 men have already signed up voluntarily however, that figure cannot be verified anywhere.
Hackers have hacked the website of the Russian Ministry of Defence and leaked the names of the 305,925 people that they have earmarked to be mobilised in the first three waves of mobilisation.
People can now check to see whether or not they are on the list and decide what they're going to do, either sign up or get out of Russia quickly
The UN General Assembly has been dominated by the invasion of Ukraine. Russia has tried to defend itself and to justify their actions, and did not show for a UN Security Council meeting yesterday. This shows all the signs of Russia either leaving the UN or the UN to remove them, similar to Germany and the League of Nations.
China is still supporting Russia as a permanent member of the UN Security Council despite other states calling for the removal as it damages the credibility of the UN.
In temporarily occupied regions in Ukraine, Russia has begun sham referendums in Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk. Soldiers have been seen knocking on the doors of home forcing them to vote, while the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic have declared the fourth and fifth days of voting as public holidays. Results will be announced on the 28th of September 2022. Soldiers have been arriving at homes and filling out forms for the household as votes are given verbally. In person voting begins on 27 September.
No democratic state will consider them valid, but this appears to be another mobilisation spree for Putin. Men of an age that can be enlisted will probably be banned from leaving the region. Most should have left by now as the Ukrainian government advised. Russia is spreading propaganda claiming that, 'Russia is the future,’ claiming that Ukraine is part of Russia and has been for the last thousand years. The claim is that Ukraine being separated from Russia, is causing political turmoil claiming that relatives are separated by an illegal border
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The call is to reunite Russia as it was centuries ago, which is Putin's plan to restore the old USSR. This goes back to the old days of the Russian empire where the propaganda claims that Ukraine part of Russia. Further propaganda continues stating that Russia has a duty to protect those regions that wish to be part of Russia, and that any attacks in these regions permits Russia to defend them.
The UN human rights Council has been documenting the legal use of weapons, violations such as executions and torture that have been carried out in Ukraine has the document the most recent deaths in the mass graves in Izyum. The council has been collecting data in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv.
The report has found that children as young as 4 years old were raped.
The former the NATO Secretary General, Angers Fogh Rasmussen has criticised Macron for weakening diplomacy, with his constant talks with Putin that have amounted to nothing, and with Macron insisting the world to not humiliate Russia in the years to come. He is of course assuming that Ukraine wins the war, yet he has done little to help the process.
With talk of prison swaps, the Russian mobilisation, we must remember that Ukraine is still liberating the occupied territories. In Donetsk, Yatskivka has been liberated by the Ukrainian troops. Little by little, Ukrainian troops are pushing the Russians out of Ukraine.
Ukraine claims that Russian spies have infiltrated the defence sector. Unfortunately, Russian spies have been the problem for years in Ukraine until they are all caught and prosecuted, there will always be a threat of a Russian invasion.
Odesa has been attacked again, this time with Iranian kamikaze drones launched from the sea. At least one person was killed, and a building in the port was destroyed. It is possible the targets were the grain silos. In response, Kyiv has removed the Iranian Ambassador’s accreditation and limited the number of Iranian diplomats. We all had heard the intelligence that Russia was punching Iranian weapons, and not that it has been proven, it indicates that Iran has officially chosen a side, and that is Russia.