Last week (August 22–28), the russian elite continued to do their favorite thing – the blackmail.

Deputy Foreign Minister of the russian federation, sergey ryabkov, said that ignoring the russian "red lines" is very risky and can lead to a military conflict between the two nuclear powers. The self-proclaimed President of Belarus, alexander lukashenko, also joined the threats.

In turn, the spokeswoman of the russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, zakharova, said, in the typically russian manner, that the IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant was disrupted by the "curators" from Kyiv.

Instead, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, said during the Crimean Platform that Ukraine will de-occupy Crimea in any case, and will choose the method of de-occupation on its own, without consultation with other states.

“We have been warning you”

This week, Russia's permanent representative to the UN, vasiliy niebienzia, once again told tales about the aggressive “collective West” and the US. According to him, russia has been trying for 30 years to negotiate with NATO on the principles of equal and indivisible security in the Euro-Atlantic area, but in response, they said to have heard empty promises only.

“...in response to our proposals, we have kept facing either cynical lies or attempts at pressure and blackmail. The Alliance continued to steadily expand, bringing its military infrastructure closer to our borders, including deploying missile defense systems and offensive weapons,”the diplomat said.

The russian Ambassador to the UN also added that the actions of the West pose a real threat to the national security of the russian federation. He recalled that vladimir putin, during the 2007 Munich Security Conference, urged the US and NATO to abandon their ideas, but they did not listen and pushed the Georgian authorities into a military venture against South Ossetia and russian peacekeepers, which led to catastrophic consequences for Georgia.

Strangely enough but NATO is expanding, the threat is supposedly coming for russia but the affected country is Georgia. Quite a lame justification for the occupation of Georgian territories. We have heard some similar things about Ukraine. However, in response to the claims that our country is not a NATO member state the russians are just shrugging the shoulders.

In his speech at the UN Security Council, vasiliy niebienzia also emphasized that the the last time russians tried to save the security system in Europe was in December 2021. Back then, russia purportedly made a set of proposals to the US and NATO on confidence- and security-building measures in the Euro-Atlantic region, but they were rejected:

“We proposed to the US to conclude a treaty on mutual legally binding security guarantees, which would take into account the concerns of both sides in this area and would return the situation in the relations between NATO and russia pre-1997, when the Fundamental Act of Russia-NATO was signed. A similar agreement was sent to NATO.”

In short, this treaty provided for the actual division of spheres of influence in Europe. According to it, Ukraine, the Baltic countries, and Poland would be under the influence of russia. In addition, russians would certainly force Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland to leave the Alliance. Of course, NATO and the United States sent a "russian warship" along the specified route.

“It's not us” and threats of nuclear ash

russia's political elite continue to intimidate the US and EU countries with a “big war with a nuclear power.” Thus, this week, the deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of russia, sergey ryabkov, noted that ignoring the russian "red lines" is very risky and can lead to an armed conflict between the two nuclear powers.

The self-proclaimed President of Belarus, alexander lukashenko, also joined the threats of nuclear weapons, saying that russia helped Belarus equip the SU-24 to carry nuclear ammunition.

It is not the first time that the declarations about the "red lines" come from the russian mouths. Thus, the possible accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO also came as a “red line” for the russian federation. They promised to give a "corresponding" answer which turned out to be the mapped trajectory of the Sarmat missile that has not been even put in service yet. The war in Ukraine vividly showed that nuclear blackmail and threats are the standard tactics of russians to intimidate the countries of the West and turn a blind eye to the further occupation of Ukraine and other states.

In addition, the russians do not stop their cynical lies about the situation in the West. The spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the russian federation expressed "great regret" that the IAEA mission never arrived at the power plant. Of course, it is not russia who is responsible for the disruption of the mission but the "curators" from Kyiv who supported the ongoing provocations of the Kyiv regime, in particular, with the dangerous shelling of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. zakharova added:

“russia, like no other party, is interested in the IAEA representatives being at the station, so that they could see for themselves the devastating consequences of its shelling by the Ukrainian side and provide an unbiased – and tough – assessment of what is happening. We call on Western countries to stop indulging in the geopolitical ambitions and whims of the Zelensky regime, and to put the interests of nuclear safety to the fore.”

Independence Day of Ukraine and the "deliberate" slowdown of the "special military operation"

On August 24, Ukrainians celebrated the most important national holiday, the Independence Day of Ukraine. In addition to numerous air raid alarms, it will be remembered for the statements of the russians. In particular, maria zakharova gave the following message.

"Today, Ukraine was supposed to celebrate the Independence Day, but instead there was a performance: Boris Johnson decorated his residence with sunflowers and hydrangeas, and visited Kyiv in person; Ursula von der Leyen shouted out the fascist slogan of the Bandera collaborators in her video address against the background of the Independent Ukraine's flag; and Joe Biden promised almost $3 billion to be used to kill Ukrainians."

Instead, the defense minister, sergey shoigu, said that the armed forces of the russian federation strictly adhere to the norms of international law and deliberately slow down the pace of the so-called "special military operation" because russia allegedly wants to avoid civilian casualties.

In addition, he lied that the russian military "in the liberated territories organized systematic work to establish a peaceful life" and that "Ukrainian troops allegedly" use the scorched ground tactics, grossly violate international norms, and act like terrorists", although this is a purely russian tactic that the army of the russian federation used during the seize of Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities. The supply of Western weapons to Ukraine, according to shoigu, allegedly "increases the number of victims and prolongs the military conflict." The russian Defense Minister also said that "Kyiv, fearing revelation, is killing their own soldiers who surrender in captivity."

It should be noted that the only factor that constrains the course of the "operation" is the courage and professionalism of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who daily transform the military of the russian federation into the "good Russians".

It all started in Crimea, and it will end there.

The second Crimean Platform was held on 23 August. During the speech, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that russia began to degrade precisely from the occupation of Crimea in 2014.

"The degradation of russia began with the seizure of Crimea. It began with terror against the Crimean Tatar people, who are the indigenous people of Crimea. It started with religious repression, which is the largest religious persecution in Europe in the 21st century, targeting against the Crimean Muslim community,”the President said.

Volodymyr Zelensky added that for Ukraine, Crimea is not just a territory, not a chip in a geopolitical game, but a part of our people, our society, a community of people to whom we guarantee freedom and to whom we shall return the present. According to the President, Crimea was and has been Ukraine, and after de-occupation, together with our entire state, it will become part of the European Union.

“Ukraine is the only one to care about the real security of Crimea. That is, about a normal supply of clean water, normal garbage disposal, effective waste and sewage management rules. Only Ukraine can build a modern irrigation system in Crimea and integrate the agricultural production of Crimea and the entire business sector into a colossal European market,” the President said and added,“ We will return Crimea because this is our territory. Any way we decide proper. We will decide on our own, without consulting any other state. Ukraine has long demonstrated its desire to end the conflict around the occupied territories, in particular around Crimea, through diplomatic methods but russia never accepted this approach. ”

Does that mean that there will be more "bavovna" in Crimea, and the russians "will not feel like leaving Crimea" – we will see later.

Original article: Ukrainska Pravda