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March 28, 2024

Putin not to blame

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The kinetic phase of the conflict in Ukraine began eight years ago in February 2014, when a US-sponsored coup installed a neo-Nazi backed regime that immediately began persecuting the ethnically Russian population in the east and south of the country. For an informative account of this coup, watch Oliver Stone’s 2016 documentary, Ukraine on Fire.

Prior to this violent, unconstitutional regime change, the democratically elected government of Ukraine had enjoyed friendly relations with Russia. When the local administrative regions of Crimea and the Donbas refused to recognise the US-imposed puppet regime in Kiev, Russia took steps to protect their people and support their moves toward independence, in accord with international law.

Over the next eight years, Washington increased Ukrainian armed forces by 50 per cent to 300,000 personnel, adding 10,000 recruits each year. The US military trained Ukrainian forces to NATO standards, armed them with US-made weapon systems and funded numerous biolabs, all the while supporting Kiev in its war on the Donbas.

The Russians repeatedly attempted to broker a peace deal between the warring factions in Ukraine and sponsored the Minsk agreements, which were consistently violated by the regime in Kiev. Every effort to resolve the conflict diplomatically was obstructed by Washington’s neocon warmongers.

US foreign policy wonks, safely cocooned in Washington, knew exactly what they were doing when they repeatedly dismissed Russia’s attempts at diplomatic resolution of the conflict. Washington’s plan, detailed in a Rand report titled ‘Overextending and Unbalancing Russia’, was to use Ukraine as a proxy force with which to goad Russia into a protracted and destructive war.

But the Russian leadership is clearly more competent and experienced than their counterparts in the West. They obviously anticipated the US strategy, prepared for and pre-empted Washington’s plans. Even though the Americans knew the Russians would eventually react, they were nonetheless caught off-guard when the Russians finally made their move.

Having lost the initiative, Washington found itself scrambling for options to respond and rashly implemented plans for economic sanctions that had been loudly announced in advance. Not surprisingly, the Russians, having been forewarned of the West’s plans for economic war, had an effective response ready to deploy; gas for rubles, a dagger to the heart of the petrodollar.

We don’t get any of the historical context necessary for a proper understanding of this conflict from the mainstream media, which has rendered itself irrelevant by peddling a fictitious narrative that completely absolves the West and puts all the blame on Vladimir Putin. Thankfully the internet obviates any need for the mainstream media.

The West’s hysterical resort to self-harm by sanctioning Russian energy supplies has predictably accelerated the West’s economic decline, which had been evident already for quite some time. Having staked their reputation on the fate of their puppet regime in Kiev, their inevitable defeat there now will be a geostrategic disaster for the West.

John Scrivener, Main Arm

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35 COMMENTS

    • Yep.

      And John absolutely nails it.

      It can be very difficult, actually extremely difficult for most of us who have been “educated” by our trusty media to comprehend that we are being fed one sided propaganda on Ukraine.

      Raw, inconvenient truth will do that.

      Convenient “stories” are typically easier to swallow.

      • How do you know ? are you on the ground to verify all of this ? or do you just read the same sources on the internet?

        I find it odd how the main stream media is always wrong (I am not claiming them to be right), but the sources you have are the truth.

        Laptop warriors in the hills with too much time on their hands, must know the true source!

        • Nobody is always wrong, or always right Mick. Even a broken analogue clock is right twice a day.

          And propaganda is not reserved for the exclusive use of one side.

          E.g. “Weapons of Mass destruction” complete fib, repeated over and over by media so we the public, could justify Australia’s involvement in an illegal invasion of a foreign country.

          Did you read both the Kremlin’s press release at the start of this war and that of the White House?
          Divide both by half and do you best to remove the left over BS to find a snippet of truth.

          Takes someone with in-depth military, political and foreign policy knowledge to provide some clarity on Ukraine.
          One particular scholar, John J Mearsheimer will be roasted for his recent commentary whereby he suggest this conflict is largely due to the actions of the USA (his own country). “What would he know” will be coming from the sponsored media outlets and recently anointed talking head “experts” who will do EVERYTHING possible to discredit him and his analyses, making it very difficult for the average you and I to determine truth………..as the war machine marches on.

          How good was Afghanistan again?

          Peace mate!

          • Steve mate!, why don’t emigrate from that strange world you inhabit and join the real world and try preaching “peace to Russia’s Putin, China’s Xi and North Korea’s Kim who are all intent on imposing their brutal rule on the rest of the free world. Forget the past, yes it was full of terrible injustices perpetrated by the major powers of the day, but it’s US who are now under threat from these control freaks who see countries whose populations have wide ranging freedoms as a threat to their own existence.
            Start your brain up and think, mate!

          • I’ve been to Russia. They are allowed to do all sorts of things we aren’t allow too. They can even put up a shed in their back yard without having to get permissions and licences. You don’t realise how micro managed we are in Australia until you send some time outside of western countries.

  1. Seriously, that’s the biggest load of crap I’ve seen for many moons, sounds more like that arsehole Putin wrote it; John Scrivener, that’s an insult to the innocent Ukrainian civilians dying by by that madman Putin’s hand every day, you should be ashamed of you yourself.

    • Everything that John has mentioned here is factual and the opposite to what the elites with their corperate media have people believing.

    • The Ukrainian People are not the Ukrainian Government. Those weapons being sent in keep ending up for sale on the dark web.

    • Keith, there’s a reason you haven’t “seen” anything that questions the propaganda.

      If you are really open to peace, rather than cheering one particular side and inevitably WW3, go beyond the usual channels mate and dig for info from non-vested interest sources.

      Follow the money.

      • Steve, there’s a very good reason why I haven’t “seen” anything that questions the propaganda, it’s because I’m not into conspiracy theories. If you want to see propaganda why don’t you try living in Russia under Putin’s autocratic regime where he alone decides what the media covers; oh, and don’t think the internet isn’t heavily censored by the madman either, I think I’ll trust our main media outlets, (except for SkyNews) any day compared with Russia. And please don’t panic and start digging bomb shelters, we are a very long way from WW3, Putin may be a demented warmonger but it’s highly unlikely he’s suicidal.

        • You shouldn’t trust any countries media. While your at it, go watch ‘Rules for Rulers’ so you may realise what all of this looks like to the people in power so you can understand why ALL government lie to their people.

          • Jason, seriously! when I read this unsubstantiated drivel from people like you I’m never sure whether to laugh at the outlandish unfounded allegations, or cry in disappointment that there are people like you who live in one of the best and freest countries on the planet, and still constantly deride all of the hard fought rights that give you the right to peddle insulting crap without repercussions. Against my better judgement, I will part ways but offer some good advice; spend much less time in front of your computer, it is likely to be infecting your brain from the electro-magnetic rays, like Telstra’s 5G phone towers are supposed to do; Bill Gates has no intension of taking over the world; the COVID19 vaccine has not killed thousands of people; and in 1969 the USA did in fact send three men to the moon and safely land two. I hope these explanations are of some help, and by the way. the world definitely round.

  2. Thanks John for writing the true story.
    It will sink in slowly for many.
    Wow – the cooperate media sure has embedded their lies well into the minds of those who refuse to do some real research and think for themselves.

    • True story, as in you guys just watched the same documentary and other videos online ? and have absolutely no way of proving any of it from your desk in regional NSW, Australia?

      • You mean interviews with people on the ground since 2014 when this all started? Oliver Stone made those docos because there is a market for them as we non-sheeple have been following what’s been going on over there since the CIA overthrew Ukraine’s democratic government in 2014 and installed a puppet regime.

  3. Wow. Russia is about as dark a society as I could imagine. It exists only for dominating its neighbours, old school expansionary wars where they use its poor people as cannon fodder, hide the casualties, lie at every opportunity, kill and arrest the media and the opposition. The west is rotten but we arent living in a full blown fascist state like the russians. The people of Ukraine on the whole do not want to be invaded. That should be the end of that story. Very sad that people in the protected paradise of the northern rivers think Putin is some saviour but cool that you can express very alternate views here without fear of being locked up or worse.

    • Your living in a dark society dude. Australia has helped invade several countries in the last 20 years and hidden the casualities, and left our soldiers broken without any help. The people in Eastern Ukraine have been pleading with Russia to invade since 2014. Three areas seceded from Ukraine to get away from the new regime.
      Putin is the saviour…of the Russian people. He’s not helpful to your interests because he doesn’t work for you.
      ‘ It exists only for dominating its neighbours’, are you talking about Australia? The pacific islanders will agree with you if you are. They would add ‘stealing from it’s neighbours’ to Australia’s MO.

      • If this wasn’t so stupid, it would be funny. The island nations are much much better off because Australia is their neighbour. No country is perfect but your ‘own country bashing’ (a ridiculous pastime of western nations that have too cushy lives) is misguided.
        Russian leader care only about enriching g themselves. The leaders there don’t care about the Russian economy because they control the commodities. That is all that matters.

        Come on, just be sensible.

  4. The comments here are extremely interesting for what they say about our community of Echo readers. Thank you, Echo!

  5. I watch CNN, BBC World News, and Fox News (as an alternative point of view) also Al Jazeera. And if all those media outlets are wrong about Ukraine then we are in trouble. The nutters who have posted absolute tripe suggesting Putin is a hero need to emigrate to anywhere and leave. Please I beg of you, just leave. Go to Timbuktu perhaps, maybe outer Siberia. Leave, begone and do not come back.

    • Do you know what living in Russian was like before Putin compared to now? I think Russians are right to have him as their hero. None of our politicians could have achieved that level of improvement in living standards. Russia and China’s interests are simply opposed to Australia’s. We dominate the little countries around us as well.

      • I enjoy an excellent standard of living gained by living in a democratic country where my vote counts. Outer Siberia for you so catch the next ship/plane or swim if you have to.

        Ajay

        • Australia is a Constitutional Monarchy, not a democracy. Russia is a Republic. China is a Democracy. Singapore is a Republic that had the same president for decades until he died and his son has been president ever since.

          • Seriously, where do you people come up with this crap? your utterings are becoming more ridiculous by the day. Australia is both a Constitutional Monarchy AND a democracy, and if you think China is a democracy and Russia is a republic you are beyond any form of help, do us all a favour and go and live there.

          • China has elections too. The people vote for their representatives. They even have oppositions parties. Go do your research.

    • Ajay
      lol – those news programs you mentioned are wrong.
      They are all part of the corporate media who all have the same agenda.
      What John wrote here is absolutely true.
      If you wish to do some research, I’m not hard to find and glad to give you the links to the facts.

    • Resist the “us good, them bad” narrative Ajay, otherwise you’ll end up wishing your friendly neighbours leave town for thinking differently.

      Putin is no a hero and main stream media is no tusty news source on war. Peace is priceless, war has a price and it sells…a lot unfortunately.

      • Most of the military weapons sent to the Ukraine have a bitcoin price now. Russia wants to search out-going grain ships for weapons to stop them selling to terrorists. The Ukraine is refusing.

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