(2022-02-18). Shelling in Donbass brings Europe to brink of war. wsws.org Heavy artillery shelling reported in East Ukraine's Donbass region is the most significant military escalation of the conflict between the US-funded Ukrainian army and pro-Russian separatists since at least last spring.
(2022-02-18). Lavrov: Russia 'Alarmed' by Escalation of Shelling, Use of Arms Banned by Minsk Accords in Donbass. sputniknews.com The region was thrust into a civil war in the spring of 2014, in the aftermath of a US and EU-backed coup in Kiev.
(2022-02-18). Lugansk Suburbs Shelled in Ukrainian Military Attacks Overnight, Self-Proclaimed Republic Says. sputniknews.com Ukrainian security forces fired again at the territory of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic, opening fire in the suburbs of Lugansk, the LPR mission to the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire Regime (JCCC) said.
(2022-02-18). Breakaway Ukrainian region orders evacuation. rt.com 
(2022-02-18). Ukraine's security council chief sees no threat of Russian attack. tass.com Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Secretary Alexey Danilov said Kiev is registering "provocations by Russia in Donbass"
(2022-02-18). Lavrov labels Western 'Russia invasion' claims 'propaganda, fakes and fiction'. rt.com 
"If they enjoy it, let them," the foreign minister told RT regarding claims from officials and media | Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has lashed out at Western officials who have been peddling the purported threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Apparently, they do it for the sheer pleasure of accusing Moscow, he told RT in an exclusive interview on Friday. | "I am certain that even casual observers of foreign policy have long confirmed to themselves that all of it is propaganda, fake news, fiction," Lavrov said of the accusations. | He suggested that Western officials making such claims simply like…
(2022-02-18). UN received Russian documents about crimes in Donbass. tass.com The Russian Investigative Committee earlier said it had launched a criminal case into the discovery of mass graves of Donbass civilians killed in shelling…
(2022-02-18). Putin to take part in nuclear war drills. rt.com 
The strategic weapons exercises are scheduled to take place on Saturday | Russian President Vladimir Putin will take direct command of scheduled ballistic missile training on Saturday, which will see the country's military test its nuclear capabilities, Moscow has confirmed. | Officials released a statement on Friday, writing, "on February 19, under the supervision of the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, a planned exercise of the forces of strategic deterrence will take place, during which ballistic and cruise missiles will be launched." | The statement goes…
(2022-02-18). Ukraine's Prospects of Joining NATO Were Never Strong, Ex-MI6 Chief Reveals. sputniknews.com Ukraine switched from a policy of bloc neutrality toward aspiring to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 2014, after a US and EU-backed coup overthrew the country's democratically elected government.
(2022-02-18). US condones forceful assimilation of Russians in Ukraine – Russian ambassador to US. tass.com We see here not just double standards of the United States, but quite a primitive and crude cynicism, Anatoly Antonov said…
(2022-02-18). West bullies world while citing threats from China, Russia. asiatimes.com 
On January 21, Vice-Admiral Kay-Achim Schà∂nbach attended a talk in New Delhi organized by the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses. Schà∂nbach was speaking as the chief of Germany's navy during his visit to the institute. "What he really wants is respect," Schà∂nbach said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "And my god, giving someone respect is low-cost, even …
(2022-02-18). Documents Reveal US Gov't Spent $22M Promoting Anti-Russia Narrative in Ukraine and Abroad. mintpressnews.com 
The National Endowment for Democracy can claim it is in the business of democracy promotion. In reality, it does anything but that, unless "democracy" is entirely synonymous with elite U.S. interests.
(2022-02-18). U.S. Labor Against War opposes U.S. moves towards Ukraine combat. peoplesworld.org 
(2022-02-18). Venezuela Expresses Total Support for Russia on Ukraine Tensions. orinocotribune.com "Russia has the full support of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in the fight it is putting up to dispel the threats from NATO and the Western world," said the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, this Wednesday, February 16, during his meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Yuri Borisov. | During the meeting of the High-Level Intergovernmental Commission (CIAN), where strategic agreements were signed between both nations at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, the Venezuelan head of state stated his position, expressing his belief that Russia will continue to be a peaceful nation. | "
(2022-02-18). Headlines for February 18, 2022. democracynow.org Biden Claims Russia Is Plotting a "False Flag" Operation as Pretext for Ukraine Invasion, COVID-19 Cases Hit Record Highs in Asian Countries as Omicron Variant Surges, Donald Trump, Trump Jr. and Ivanka Ordered to Testify in New York Civil Fraud Probe, Florida Lawmakers Advance Bill to Ban Abortions After 15 Weeks, More Than a Quarter of World's Women Worldwide Have Experienced Domestic Violence, Haitian Sweatshop Workers Strike to Demand $15 a Day, Death Toll in Brazil Landslides Rises to 117, with 100+ Still Missing, Canadian Police Investigating Sabotage of Coastal GasLink Pipeline Worksite,…
(2022-02-18). Ukraine: Waiting for an 'imminent' war to start. asiatimes.com 
The situation in Ukraine continues to be very tense, fluid and evolving. The Donbas conflict that erupted in 2014 threatens to escalate, while Western media, politicians and analysts speculate about the exact date Russia may invade its neighbor. The very same pundits who claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin would attack Ukraine on February 16 now …
(2022-02-18). Russia Expels US Deputy Ambassador From Moscow, Says It's a Retaliatory Move. news.antiwar.com The State Department said Thursday that Russia had expelled Bart Gorman, who served as the deputy US ambassador in Moscow, amid heightened tensions between the US and Russia over Ukraine. Moscow said the move was a response to the US's "unreasonable expulsion" of a senior Russian diplomat by Washington. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova …
(2022-02-18). How the Russia-Ukraine Conflict is Lose-Lose for Israel. juancole.com By Adnan Abu Amer | — ( Middle East Monitor ) — It is almost 3,000 kilometres from Tel Aviv to Kyiv, and yet the crisis between Ukraine and Russia is having a huge impact on Israel. Why does it seem to be a party to the crisis when it shares no border with either …
(2022-02-18). Headlines that cause wars. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com And are designed to do just that. Recent stories picked up and circulated by Yahoo News. The first is only missing the adjectives Young and Innocent before the word Kids. Daily BeastPro-Russian Forces Shell Ukrainian Kindergarten Full of Kids The HillRussia likely to launch 'limited' attack against Ukraine, Estonia foreign intelligence agents say AxiosU.S. warns …
(2022-02-18). Second Ukrainian tests positive for banned drug at Olympics. rt.com 
The bobsledder's Winter Olympics sample contained a steroid, doping chiefs announced in the wake of a Ukrainian skier testing positive for three banned substances | Strongwoman-turned-bobsledder Lidiia Hunko has become the second Ukrainian to fail a drugs test at the Beijing Winter Olympic Games this week, the International Testing Agency (ITA) has announced. | The 28-year-old, who is a former world champion deadlifter, was tested by the ITA during an in-competition anti-doping control check on Monday, when she finished 20th in the women's monobob. | A World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited (WADA) laboratory in B…
(2022-02-18). Wednesday 2/23: Roundtable Discussion: Ukraine Crisis. indybay.org On Zoom! Link: rb.gy/bxhzue…
(2022-02-18). US Still Claims Russian Invasion of Ukraine Could Happen in the 'Coming Days'. news.antiwar.com US officials continue to warn that Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine despite Moscow's repeated denials and Ukraine's downplaying of the threat. At a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken Blinken claimed that the US has evidence that Russian forces "are preparing to launch an attack against Ukraine in the coming days." He accused Russia of creating a pretext fo…
(2022-02-18). Canadian junta accuses Russia of shelling kindergarten in Ukraine. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Several sites have run the Canadian Press account with identical language. Foreign Minister Joly seems alone in blaming Russia for the shelling in question. This is the leader of Canada's martial law regime in characteristic form yesterday. His government has trained the most Ukrainian government troops (over 30,000 as of last autumn) for the intensifying …
(2022-02-18). Zelensky Downplays Ukraine's Chances for Potential NATO Membership. news.antiwar.com On Thursday, Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky downplayed the chance of Ukraine joining NATO Zelensky said that despite Ukraine's desire to join the Western military alliance, the process was not advancing. Some NATO member states would not approve Ukraine's membership, which Zelensky recognized. | "Not only Russia is against [our] membership. Some individual NATO members support Moscow's position. That is an open secret," he told Bild. Z…
(2022-02-18). Blinken ready to meet with Lavrov late next week. tass.com US–ê ready to accept the proposed dates for late next week, "provided there is no further Russian invasion of Ukraine," US Secretary of State said…
(2022-02-18). Iran ready to help resolve crisis in Ukraine peacefully. en.mehrnews.com Referring to the crisis in the relations between Ukraine and Russia, the Iranian Foreign Minister said that Iran is ready to provide any necessary assistance and take any necessary action to resolve the crisis peacefully.
(2022-02-18). A Call for Peace: Russian & U.S. Women Push for Diplomacy, Not Military Action, to Resolve Crisis. democracynow.org 
U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have agreed to meet next week as tension remains high over Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia has announced plans to stage massive drills on Saturday of its nuclear forces, including multiple practice missile launches. We speak with Russian journalist Nadezhda Azhgikhina, one of a group of two dozen independent Russian and American women who released an open letter this week calling for peace. The letter reads, "We are united in the belief that diplomacy, dialogue, engagement and exchange are urgently needed to end the current crisis an…
(2022-02-18). War in Europe and the Rise of Raw Propaganda. strategic-culture.org Since the first Cold War, NATO has effectively marched right up to Russia's most sensitive border having demonstrated its bloody aggression in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and broken solemn promises to pull back. Having dragged European "allies" into American wars that do not concern them, the great unspoken is that NATO itself is the real threat to European security.
(2022-02-18). Trump Slams 'Crooked' Hillary Clinton As 'One of the Most Corrupt Politicians to Run for President'. sputniknews.com Addressing the New York State Democratic Party Convention on Thursday, Hillary Clinton called Special Counsel John Durham's court filing alleging she paid cybersecurity experts to hack into Donald Trump's election campaign to back her false claim that he "colluded" with Russia to defeat her in the 2016 presidential election a "conspiracy theory".
(2022-02-18). Olympic chief is 'weaving fiction' — Russian official. rt.com 
Russia's deputy prime minister attacked the comments made by IOC president Thomas Bach | International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach should stop "weaving his own fictional narrative" after he criticized figure skater Kamila Valieva's coaching team, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko has said. | Speaking to journalists in Beijing on Friday, Bach claimed he had been "disturbed" by the reaction from Valieva's trainers — including coach Eteri Tutberidize — after the teenager struggled badly in her free skate routine, finishing outside the medals. | Bach claimed Tutberidize…
(2022-02-18). The vicious US media campaign against Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva. wsws.org Valieva's positive drug test, a tragedy in any case for the young prodigy in the midst of what began as a triumphant Olympic debut, was a stroke of luck for the war propagandists that people the American media.
(2022-02-18). RUSADA responsible for delayed result in Valieva's doping sample — WADA. tass.com On February 14, the CAS turned down an appeal filed by the IOC, the WADA and the ISU against the decision of the RUSADA to lift a temporary suspension of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva…
(2022-02-18). Who is the coach at the center of Kamila Valieva's Olympic storm? rt.com 
Kamila Valieva's ordeal at the Beijing Olympics has brought added attention to a prominent Russian figure skating coach | Teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva has faced intense scrutiny at the Beijing Olympics, but the media has also been drawn to coach Eteri Tutberidze — someone who would otherwise have been a much less prominent presence. | Tutberidze is a renowned trainer of Olympic champions, a coach whose conveyor belt of talent has functioned relentlessly in recent years. | But as Tutberidze now faces questions over her methods in light of Valieva's unfortunate situation, we look at some of the key…
(2022-02-18). Blinken at the UN: A Colin Powell moment. wsws.org Developments over the past 24 hours make clear that the Biden administration, speaking for dominant sections of the American ruling class, is determined to escalate the confrontation with Russia, even to the point of triggering a world war.
(2022-02-18). Video: SGP chairman condemns NATO's war preparations against Russia. wsws.org In this video Christoph Vandreier, the chairman of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (SGP—Socialist Equality Party), condemns NATO's preparations for war against Russia and explains the need for an international anti-war movement.
(2022-02-18). The Russians Are Coming. Even in Africa, Moscow Beats a Path. strategic-culture.org For those countries who don't think they have a good deal from the EU, their regimes might well consider working more closely with the Russians. | And the cheers from the crowds seeing off the expelled French ambassador must be seen for what Europeans are. | The chicken or the egg? Did the Mali military junta's decision to bring in Russian military contractors create the inertia for Emmanuel Macron to reduce his own troops' presence there and initiate EU sanctions — or did his earlier decision to reduce troop numbers push the regime to take the measure to bring in around 400 Wagner mercenaries to keep it in…
(2022-02-18). NATO's campaign made European region 'a hotbed of crime' — Lavrov to RT. rt.com 
Russia's foreign minister says the bloc's bombing campaign has not brought prosperity to Kosovo | Russia finds it hard to believe that NATO is a purely defensive bloc, giving its bombing campaign in Yugoslavia in 1999, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told RT on Friday. | The minister made his comments while speaking about the talks between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday. | "Scholz and others NATO officials say that NATO is a defensive alliance. Putin reminded Scholz at a joint press conference about the bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999," Lavrov remar…
(2022-02-18). What Red Book Will You Read This Year on Red Books Day (21 February)? dissidentvoice.org 
On 16 February 2015, Govind and Uma Pansare went for a morning walk near their home in Kolhapur, in the western state of Maharashtra, India. Two men on a motorcycle stopped them and asked for directions, but the Pansares could not help them. One of the men laughed, pulled out a gun, and shot the …
(2022-02-18). Would-be putschists and other leaders of Canada's far-right Freedom Convoy. wsws.org A powerful faction of Canada's ruling elite, Donald Trump, many of his co-conspirators in the Jan. 6, 2020 coup attempt and Fox News have sought to cast a movement initiated and led by notorious right-wing extremists and outright fascists as a grassroots mobilization of truckers.
(2022-02-18). Wednesday 3/9: Oakland Privacy: Fighting Against the Surveillance State. indybay.org Please email contact@oaklandprivacy.org a few days before the meeting to get up-to-date location information or obtain Zoom meeting access info.
(2022-02-18). Activists arrested at FL state capitol for opposing abortion ban law. fightbacknews.org Tallahassee, FL- On February 17, around 12 a.m., members of Students for a Democratic
| Society and Tallahassee's chapter of Planned Parenthood were given trespassing warnings for speaking up against HB 5, an abortion ban bill that limits abortions to the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. After HB5 was passed despite significant public opposition, organizers and students joined a chant denouncing the bill and were subsequently removed from the capitol. | Capitol Police threatened to arrest organizers if they did not sign a trespassing warning that indefinitely banned them from entering the Florida Capitol Building…
(2022-02-18). Indonesia between the US and PRC: Hesitancy Rises. journal-neo.org 
Indonesia is the largest country in South East Asia (SEA), with a population of over 270 million. It is one of the leading states in the region, with considerable weight within ASEAN, and the world powers vying for influence in South East Asia are forced to pay a great deal of attention to Indonesia. The …
(2022-02-18). Opioids are Americans' "Comfort" for the Authorities' Failed Social Policies. journal-neo.org 
Drug addicts are commonly seen as marginalized people with a tourniquet around their arm who get hooked on drugs because of social and economic dislocation, personal problems, and an inability to fulfil themselves. But today, America is also suffering from a massive opioid crisis, which has already been declared an "emergency situation" by the authorities. …
(2022-02-18). Chicago activists continue to call for killer cop to be fired, charged in death of Anthony Alvarez. liberationnews.org 
On what would have been Anthony Alvarez's 23rd birthday, dozens of activists gathered outside the 16th District police station in Chicago on Feb. 14 to celebrate Alvarez's life and to demand justice for him. The event was organized by members of Alvarez's family in coordination with the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
(2022-02-18). Alaskans call for expulsion of fascist State Rep. David Eastman. liberationnews.org 
Eastman represents District 10 outside of Anchorage and has openly displayed admiration for Adolf Hitler and is a lifetime member of the Oath Keepers organization.
(2022-02-18). Labor Solidarity, and Worker Victories, Across Borders. cepr.net NACLA See article on original site Book Review: International Solidarity in Action: The Relationship Between the United Electrical Workers (UE) and Frente Auténtico del Trabajo, by Robin Alexander On February 3, workers at a General Motors plant in Silao, Mexico, secured an important victory for organized labor when a huge majority voted to join the …
(2022-02-18). Rodney Reed ‚àí overturn his conviction and death sentence! workers.org 
Rodney Reed's birthday was Dec. 22. This was the 24th birthday and holiday season he has spent away from his children, his five brothers, his mother and his large loving family — while entombed in solitary confinement on death row in Texas. Rodney Reed in court, 2015. WW PHOTO: Gloria . . . |
(2022-02-18). New Hampshire legislators escalate attack on abortion eights. liberationnews.org 
The state's first abortion ban in modern history went into effect at the beginning of this year, and legislative attempts to further erode reproductive freedom have followed.
(2022-02-18). Starbucks workers remain determined to unionize despite retaliatory firings. liberationnews.org 
The workers at the Poplar-Highland store who were fired have asserted that their termination is blatant retaliation against them for organizing a union.
(2022-02-18). Morning Commute: 2-18-2022. anchor.fm This ones a rambler… üòÇüòÇ I talk about the need to study, understand, and work through contradiction so nice to be able to overcome them and resolve them, I also talk about what contradictions are, how to organize and try to resolve contradictions within our organization, as well as a discussion on eliminating ideological purity within ourselves and our movements…