Chuyên mục: Russia

Russia using rape as ‘military strategy’ in Ukraine: UN envoy

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By Philip Wang, Tim Lister, Josh Pennington and Heather Chen, CNN

CNN

Updated 2:35 AM EDT, Sat October 15, 2022

Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, at a Security Council meeting in New York in 2018.

Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, at a Security Council meeting in New York in 2018.Xinhua/ShutterstockCNN — 

Russia is using rape and sexual violence as part of its “military strategy” in Ukraine, a UN envoy said this week.

The claim follows data released by a panel of UN experts recently that verified “more than a hundred cases” of rape or sexual assault incidents reported in Ukraine since February.

“When you hear women testify about Russian soldiers equipped with Viagra, it’s clearly a military strategy,” Pramila Patten, UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, said in an interview with AFP on Thursday.

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The Sources of Russian Misconduct – A Diplomat Defects From the Kremlin

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Foreignaffair.com – November/December 2022

“the Author BORIS BONDAREV worked as a diplomat in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2002 to 2022, most recently as a counsellor at the Russian Mission to the United Nations Office in Geneva. He resigned in May to protest the invasion of Ukraine.”

For three years, my workdays began the same way. At 7:30 a.m., I woke up, checked the news, and drove to work at the Russian mission to the United Nations Office in Geneva. The routine was easy and predictable, two of the hallmarks of life as a Russian diplomat.читать статью по-русски (Read in Russian)
February 24 was different. When I checked my phone, I saw startling and mortifying news: the Russian air force was bombing Ukraine. Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Odessa were under attack. Russian troops were surging out of Crimea and toward the southern city of Kherson. Russian missiles had reduced buildings to rubble and sent residents fleeing. I watched videos of the blasts, complete with air-raid sirens, and saw people run around in panic.

As someone born in the Soviet Union, I found the attack almost unimaginable, even though I had heard Western news reports that an invasion might be imminent. Ukrainians were supposed to be our close friends, and we had much in common, including a history of fighting Germany as part of the same country. I thought about the lyrics of a famous patriotic song from World War II, one that many residents of the former Soviet Union know well: “On June 22, exactly at 4:00 a.m., Kyiv was bombed, and we were told that the war had started.” Russian President Vladimir Putin described the invasion of Ukraine as a “special military operation” intended to “de-Nazify” Russia’s neighbor. But in Ukraine, it was Russia that had taken the Nazis’ place
“That is the beginning of the end,” I told my wife. We decided I had to quit.

Resigning meant throwing away a twenty-year career as a Russian diplomat and, with it, many of my friendships. But the decision was a long time coming. When I joined the ministry in 2002, it was during a period of relative openness, when we diplomats could work cordially with our counterparts from other countries. Still, it was apparent from my earliest days that Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was deeply flawed. Even then, it discouraged critical thinking, and over the course of my tenure, it became increasingly belligerent. I stayed on anyway, managing the cognitive dissonance by hoping that I could use whatever power I had to moderate my country’s international behavior.
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How Russian timber bypasses U.S. sanctions by way of Vietnam

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A new report says Russian birch wood is routed through Asia before being shipped to American stores.

Washingtonpost – By Michael Tatarski

Plywood allegedly made from Russian birch is being loaded on a ship in Haiphong, Vietnam, for export to the United States in May 2022. (Obtained by Environmental Investigation Agency)

October 1, 2022 at 2:00 a.m. EDT

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam — Russian birch wood has continued to flow to American consumers, disguised as Asian products, despite U.S. economic sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, a new report says.

The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a nonprofit watchdog group based in Britain, has found that most birch products currently being exported from Vietnam to the United States originate in Russia. According to Vietnam customs data, roughly 40,000 cubic meters of birch wood is transported every month from Russia andChina into Vietnam, where it’s assembled into furniture and plywood.

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Update by the Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, at the 51st session of the Human Rights Council

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23 September 2022

Erik Møse, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine

RELATES

PRESS RELEASES Human Rights Council holds clustered interactive dialogue on the right to privacy and on cultural rights

NEWS Human Rights Committee holds general discussion in preparation for a general comment on the right of peaceful assembly

STATEMENTS AND SPEECHES Strengthening the work of the Security Council on sexual and gender-based violence in conflict: the strategic use of evidence from UN investigations

Ukrainian version (Word)

Distinguished President,

Excellencies,

Together with Ms. Jasminka Džumhur and Mr. Pablo de Greiff, I will present an update on the progress of the work of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, in conformity with this Council’s resolution 49/1, adopted in March 2022.

Last time the Commissioners were present at the Human Rights Council was in May this year. The Council then requested the Commission, in resolution S-34/1, to address events that took place in late February and March 2022 in the areas of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Sumy, and to brief the Council on the progress of that inquiry as part of its oral update in September. Consequently, we have so far mainly focused on events in those four regions.

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People flee Russia after Putin’s military call-up

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Putin’s war in Ukraine, as he calls up 300,000 reservists and thousands of Russian citizens flee the country.

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Chinese energy companies lobby junta to import Russian gas

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frontiermyanmar.net

A leaked junta memo shows three Chinese firms appealing to Nay Pyi Taw to arrange liquified natural gas imports from Russia amid economic turmoil in Myanmar.

By FRONTIER

A leaked document from the junta’s Ministry of Electric Power reveals that three Chinese energy companies appealed to the junta for help importing liquified natural gas from the Russian government, as the regime’s economic policies wreak havoc on the energy sector.

The document, in the form of a memo, indicates a meeting took place on July 25 in Nay Pyi Taw with representatives from MoEP, Hong Kong-listed VPower and Chinese state-owned firms CNTIC and Genertec. (VPower is also part-owned by CITIC, another Chinese state-owned investment firm).

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Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar deepen Russia ties to blunt economic woes

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Nikkei – Southeast Asia nations seen giving Moscow breathing room on sanctions

Oil tanks at a petroleum depot in the port of Vladivostok, Russia. Myanmar starts importing Russian fuel oil as early as September.   © Reuters

YOHEI MURAMATSU and TOMOYA ONISHI, Nikkei staff writers

September 6, 2022 04:22 JST

BANGKOK/HANOI — From wooing more Russian tourists to boosting trade, Southeast Asian nations are bolstering economic ties with Russia in hopes of curbing inflation and spurring their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. and European countries have imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. But these efforts could be hindered by emerging nations as they prioritize addressing their own economic headwinds.

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Putin falsely claims Ukraine invasion ‘in full conformity’ with UN Charter

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FACT CHECK: Putin falsely claims Ukraine invasion ‘in full conformity’ with UN Charter

Voice of America – 26-8-2022

Addressing the 10th Moscow Conference on International Security on August 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that his war on Ukraine does not violate the U.N. Charter and was launched to protect the residents of Ukraine’s Donbas region from “genocide.”

“We have taken the decision to conduct a special military operation in Ukraine, a decision which is in full conformity with the Charter of the United Nations. It has been clearly spelled out that the aims of this operation are to ensure the security of Russia and its citizens and protect the residents of Donbas from genocide,” he said.

That statement is false.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine violated not only the U.N. Charter but also international law and even Russian law. Moreover, under international criminal law, the invasion is viewed as a crime of aggression.

Moscow fuels Myanmar war machine, then claims to bring peace

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Moscow fuels Myanmar war machine, then claims to bring peace

Voice of America – 20-8-2022

On August 3, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made an official visit to Myanmar, underscoring Russia’s support for the country’s military government.

The visit came just over a week after Myanmar’s military junta announced it had executed four pro-democracy activists – the country’s first executions in decades – sparking international condemnation.

Myanmar has spiraled into chaos since February 2021, when the military seized power by force from the elected government.

As of August 5, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, run by Myanmar citizens in exile, said 2,158 “people, pro-democracy activists and other civilians” have been killed as a result of the post-coup military crackdown.

Lavrov said Russia stood in solidarity with “efforts to stabilize the situation in the country” and welcomed planned elections next year. Analysts say the elections will be used to install a pro-military government.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova weighed in on what she described as Lavrov’s “rich visit.” In reference to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent trip to Taiwan, Zakharova said Lavrov visited “to promote cooperation,” rather than provoke China.

“Russia brings cooperation, peace, [and] stability to the region. Russia operates based on international law, mutual respect and the mutual consideration of interests,” Russian state broadcaster Sputnik quoted Zakharova as saying.

That is false. Russia, as a major supplier of arms to Myanmar’s military government, is doing anything but bringing peace and stability to the region.

Chính sách đối ngoại giai đoạn 1976 – 1986 và những bài học kinh nghiệm

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Chặng đường thiết lập quan hệ ngoại giao Việt Nam - Liên Xô ít người biết - 1

(Ảnh minh họa)

Thứ tư, 26 Tháng 9 2018 15:00

(LLCT) – Chính sách đối ngoại của Đảng giai đoạn 1976-1986 đã để lại những kinh nghiệm quý báu, đó là: cần phải đánh giá đúng sự vận động, biến đổi của bối cảnh quốc tế, khu vực; bám sát thực tiễn đất nước, kịp thời điều chỉnh chủ trương, chính sách đối ngoại, thường xuyên phòng, tránh nguy cơ mất độc lập, tự chủ về tư duy và đường lối đối ngoại; coi trọng công tác dự báo, tổng kết thực tiễn; chủ động khắc phục đường lối đối ngoại “nhất biên đảo”; tích cực thiết lập các mối quan hệ với các nước lớn và các nước láng giềng… Những kinh nghiệm này đã góp phần định hướng đường lối đối ngoại của Đảng trong thời kỳ đổi mới và hội nhập quốc tế; cần được vận dụng, phát huy có hiệu quả trong sự nghiệp xây dựng và bảo vệ Tổ quốc hiện nay.

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Why is the US not pushing for an end to the Ukraine war?

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Al Jazeera English – 16/6/2022

The United States is principally responsible for creating the crisis in Ukraine, according to University of Chicago political science professor John Mearsheimer, and it has no current interest in reaching a negotiated settlement now.

Mearsheimer sees US sanctions against Moscow as an attempt to knock Russia out of the ranks of the great powers.

The way he sees it, the US has declared war against Russia, in effect, but the Ukrainian people are doing the fighting.

Join host Steve Clemons for this wide-ranging conversation about how both sides consider themselves locked in an existential threat, with no way out.

Civilians killed as Russia intensifies attacks across Ukraine

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Aljazeera.com

Russian forces fire missiles and shells across Ukraine after military announces it is stepping up its onslaught.

A girl and an elderly lady walk among the debris of a destroyed local market after a Russian missile strike in the town of Bakhmut, Donetsk region on July 16, 2022
People walk by debris of a destroyed local market after a Russian missile attack in the town of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine [Anatolii Stepanov/AFP]

Published On 16 Jul 202216 Jul 2022

Russian forces have fired missiles and shells at cities and towns across Ukraine after Russia’s military announced it was stepping up its onslaught against its neighbour, with Ukrainian officials reporting that at least 17 more civilians had been killed.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu gave “instructions to further intensify the actions of units in all operational areas, in order to exclude the possibility of the Kyiv regime launching massive rocket and artillery attacks on civilian infrastructure and residents of settlements in the Donbas and other regions,” his ministry said on Saturday.

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