Germany involved in ‘military biological activities’ in Ukraine

"Since 2013, under the auspices of the German Federal Foreign Office, the German
Government has been implementing the German Biosecurity Programme (GBP) which includes partnership projects with government agencies and research organisations in focus countries, which Ukraine became part of in 2014, the year of Maidan. German specialists from the Institute of Microbiology of the German Armed Forces (Munich), Friedrich Loeffler Institute (Greifswald-Riems Island), Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (Hamburg) and the Robert Koch Institute (Berlin), which specialise in research of deadly biological agents, are engaged in practical activities.

According to the German Federal Foreign Office, the third phase of the GBP will be implemented in 2020-2022. We can infer from the publicly available materials that the GBP’s stated technical goals include, among others, the gathering of epidemic intelligence in third countries, including with the use of big data technology, and developing the infrastructure of partner countries for handling dangerous biological agents.

The Institute of Experimental and Clinical Veterinary Medicine in Kharkov has been the Institute of Microbiology of the German Armed Forces’ main Ukrainian counterparty since 2016, which we know from its own data. The two institutes cooperate under the Ukrainian-German project titled “Initiative on Biological Safety and Biological Defence in the Management of the Zoonotic Risks at the Outer Borders of the European Union.” The fact that its official goal is to “improve the biological defence and security situation” in Ukraine, “particularly in the east of the country” gives rise to the rhetorical question of which border the German military biologists consider an outer border for the purposes of their professional interests. Is it the Russian-Ukrainian border?" IW

Moscow Warns US In Diplomatic Letter: Arming Ukraine To Result In "Unpredictable Consequences"

"Russia sent a formal diplomatic note to the US this week calling on Washington and NATO to

stop arming Ukraine. The note, which was obtained by The Washington Post, said the Western campaign to pour weapons into Ukraine was “adding fuel” to the conflict and could lead to “unpredictable consequences.”

The diplomatic note was sent Tuesday, when news broke of a new massive US military aid package for Ukraine. President Biden announced the new aid on Wednesday, which is worth $800 million and includes howitzers for the first time. The package also includes helicopters, armed Switchblade drones, coastal defense drones, armored vehicles, radar systems, and thousands of Stinger and Javelin missiles." ZeroHedge

Russian Long-Range Bombers Strike Ukraine For 1st Time In War

"For the first time since the Feb.24 invasion, it's being widely reported that the Russian
military has struck Ukrainian targets using long-range bombers. Ukrainian defense ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said Friday that bombs were dropped by Tu-22M3 aircraft over positions in the port city of Mariupol." ZeroHedge

BROKEN ARROW INCIDENT

"Russia’s Black Sea flagship which sank yesterday after an explosion on board may have been carrying nuclear warheads, analysts and experts have warned today, as a Russian politician said more than 400 sailors could have gone down with the ship. The Moskva, a Soviet-era guided missile cruiser, sank near the port of Sevastopol on Thursday after Ukraine said it hit the ship with two cruise missiles." PP

Beijing Carries Out Military Drills Over Taiwan As US Lawmakers Meet With President Tsai

"The cadre of American lawmakers who are currently visiting Taiwan will have the
opportunity to witness something that has become a common spectacle for the Taiwanese: CCP jets and bombers cruising overhead.

The bipartisan group of 6 US lawmakers (including members of the House and Senate) flew to Taiwan on Thursday in defiance of China's threats. The group includes: Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Richard Burr of North Carolina, and Rob Portman of Ohio, Republican Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson, and Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez." ZEROHEDGE

Putin speaks to France's Macron: Putin vows to take all of Ukraine

"Putin spoke to French President Macron. Macros said that the worst is yet to come as Putin
wants to take all of Ukraine." WION

 

Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet flagship, has sunk

"Russian defence ministry confirmed late on Thursday that country's guided-missile cruiser
Moskva had sunk in the Black Sea after getting damaged during a military operation against Ukraine.

Ukraine had claimed it struck the flagship with missiles but Russian authorities attributed the sinking to ammunition explosions.

"While being towed ... towards the destination port, the vessel lost its balance due to damage sustained in the hull as fire broke out after ammunition exploded. Given the choppy seas, the vessel sank," the state news agency TASS quoted the Russian defence ministry as saying. It said the crew was evacuated." WION

Ukraine War Revives Supply Chain Crisis

 "The war in Ukraine is making clear that large parts of the world depend on Russia, Ukraine
and Belarus for basic necessities such as food, energy and other commodities. 

Trade with Russia, Belarus and Ukraine (referred to as the warzone in the remainder of this piece) has come close to a halt due to a wide range of sanctions, self-sanctioning (mainly by western companies), and strongly disrupted production and transport in Ukraine." ZH

Japan, U.S. hold navy drills off Koreas

"U.S. and Japanese warships, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, are
conducting their joint naval exercise in waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula for the first time in five yeas, in a show of their close military alliance amid growing speculation of North Korea's missile or nuclear testing later this week.

The U.S. 7th Fleet and Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force said Wednesday they conducted a joint naval exercise at the Sea of Japan on Tuesday and Wednesday." JapanToday

Greece explains why it won’t send more weapons to Ukraine

"Greece has announced that it won't send any more weapons to Ukraine because it doesn’t
have any to spare, and can't afford to weaken its own defenses." RT

Russian Police Disrupt Recital Featuring Ukrainian Composer

"Moscow police halted a piano recital featuring a well-known Ukrainian composer’s music
Wednesday after receiving an anonymous bomb threat warning.

Video from the Rassvet cultural center shows two uniformed officers disrupting Russian pianist Alexei Lyubimov’s performance of Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov’s song cycle “Stufen” accompanied by verses of classic Russian poets.  

Lyubimov continues to play a song by Austrian composer Franz Schubert as the policemen make gestures to the audience. Once Lyubimov finishes playing, the audience’s applause drowns out the policemen's words." MT

Americans Are “In Charge” of the War Says French Journalist Who Returned From Ukraine

"A French journalist who returned from Ukraine after arriving with volunteer fighters told
broadcaster CNews that Americans are directly “in charge” of the war on the ground.

The assertion was made by Le Figaro senior international correspondent Georges Malbrunot.

Malbrunot said he had accompanied French volunteer fighters, two of whom had previously fought against ISIS.

“I had the surprise, and so did they, to discover that to be able to enter the Ukrainian army, well it’s the Americans who are in charge,” said Malbrunot.

Adding that he and the volunteers “almost got arrested” by the Americans, who asserted they were in charge, the journalist then revealed that they were forced to sign a contract “until the end of the war.”

“And who is in charge? It’s the Americans, I saw it with my own eyes,” said Malbrunot, adding, “I thought I was with the international brigades, and I found myself facing the Pentagon.” SummitNews

Russian Forces Destroy Ukrainian MiG-29 Jet, Mi-8 Helicopter, Bayraktar UAV at 'Dnepr' Airfield

"Overnight into 14 April, 12 enemy targets were destroyed by high-precision weapons. 

In the settlements of Velikaya Mikhailovka and Bogatyr, two warehouses of artillery weapons of Ukrainian troops, a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet, a Mi-8 helicopter, and a Bayraktar TB-2 unmanned aerial vehicle were destroyed at the Dnepr airfield", Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said." Sputnik

Russian warship ‘seriously damaged’ by explosion

"The entire crew of the missile cruiser ‘Moskva’ was evacuated after an ammunition explosion caused by a fire, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a brief statement on Wednesday night, as quoted by multiple Russian news agencies, including RIA, TASS and Interfax." RT

ISIS-style Ukrainian video investigated - The disturbing video features a mock execution of a Russian soldier

"Russia’s Investigative Committee launched a criminal probe on Monday over a Ukrainian
social media advertisement, which called for violence against Russian soldiers. The advertisement, shot in a distinctive style resembling propaganda videos by Islamic State terrorists, features the mock execution of a Russian soldier.

 

The controversial post emerged on social media over the weekend, sparking outrage in Russia. It features a woman, apparently portraying Ukraine, delivering a hateful speech against Russians with a ‘prisoner’ in clothes resembling the Russian military uniform kneeling by her side. The actress accuses Russian “pigs” of mocking, oppressing and killing Ukrainians for a long time and states that the situation has now changed.

“Something terrible woke up the peace-loving and grain-growing nation. Something that has been dormant for centuries in the bowels of the Dneper banks. Primordial and antique Ukrainian god. And now we’re reaping a bloody harvest. Death awaits you all,” the actress states, ‘slitting’ the throat of the ‘prisoner’ with a sickle.

 

The woman also vowed revenge for the northwestern Kiev suburb of Bucha, as well as for other Ukrainian towns and cities that allegedly suffered at the hands of Russian troops. Ukraine accused the Russian military of massacring civilians in Bucha early in April after troops withdrew from the area. Moscow denied any involvement in the deaths, insisting the whole Bucha affair was a staged “provocation” by Kiev to frame the country’s military." RT