● The Special Military Operation ends;
● US and EU recession;
● People's Republic of China saves the planet;

💬 "We believe a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine in the first half of 2023 will reduce the geopolitical risk premium included in asset prices and also reduce pressure from commodity prices [note Crimson: Exchanged commodities are usually commodities with liquid futures markets: oil, gas, industrial metals, gold, wheat, corn, etc.]. In addition, a recession in the US and the EU will further lower inflation, while the end of China's "zero covid" policy should normalise supply chains and avoid a global recession."

Lars Kalbraier,
Head of Global Investments, Private Banking, Edmond de Rothschild Bank

PS: Sorry, no direct links: those wishing to take Citywire Selector, Outlook for 2023 (publication Q4-2022), Outlooks section, page 10. (Link)(Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator)(free version)

The Ukrainian leader puppet told Congress Ukraine doesn't have 'enough' artillery | Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday met with President Biden and addressed Congress during his trip to Washington DC, which marked his first foreign visit since Russia invaded on February 24. In his address to Congress, Zelensky thanked the chamber and the US for its support but mentioned that Ukraine doesn’t have “enough” artillery. His visit came after Congress unveiled a $1.7 trillion omnibus bill that includes another $45 billion in Ukraine aid, which will bring total US spending on the war to about $112 billion. 💬 “We have artillery, yes. Thank you. We have it. Is it enough? Honestly, not really,” he said. Ahead of his visit, Zelensky said in a video recorded in Bakhmut that he would tell Congress that Ukraine is “grateful for their support, but it is not enough. It is a hint — it is not enough.” [It's never enough...]

■ US rejected top Ukrainian arms request – WaPo (RT.com)
■ Russia: Zelensky-Biden talks prove Ukraine, US not interested in peace (TASS)
■ Kremlin Says No Chance of Ukraine Talks as Zelenskiy Travels to Washington (US News)
■ Puppet Zelensky Is Coming to Town (Stephen Lendman)

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has announced the need to make a number of structural changes to the country’s armed forces in light of NATO’s attempts to bolster its presence on Russia’s border and expand its membership to Finland and Sweden. | During a Russian Defense Ministry meeting on Wednesday, Shoigu proposed a number of measures to strengthen the security of the Russian Federation, including creating a special grouping of troops on the country’s northwestern border and expanding Russia’s armed forces to amount to 1.5 million servicemen in total, with some 695,000 of them being contract soldiers. ● Shoigu’s comments come as Helsinki and Stockholm have submitted bids to join NATO, citing a perceived threat from Russia in light of its ongoing military operation in Ukraine. Their accession to the US-led bloc is currently stalled by Türkiye and Hungary, but all other members have already welcomed their membership.

Acting head of the DPR Denis Pushilin, during a meeting with the President of the Russian Federation, noted that the system of double standards in this case is obvious | Foreign media and human rights organizations remain silent about Ukraine’s shelling attacks targeting civilians in Donetsk, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during talks with the acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, on Tuesday. 💬 "I call attention to the fact that not a single foreign media outlet or human rights organization has broken the silence on this issue," Putin said, commenting on intensified shelling attacks on Donetsk. ● In turn, Pushilin said the situation has been like that since 2014. 💬 "Let’s face the truth: Donbass was seeking to resolve the conflict peacefully, and so did Russia, who, as a guarantor nation was doing everything within its power and even more. If only we could foretell back then - based on what we saw during negotiations - that Europe and the West cannot be trusted," Pushilin said, adding that he was shocked by former German chancellor Angela Merkel’s recent confessions. 💬 "They said they were not planning to honor any commitments, that they signed documents only to win time, [and] rearm Ukraine," Putin said.

The Ukrainian president may visit the White House as Congress votes on a $45 billion aid package | Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky may be going to Washington, multiple US outlets reported on Tuesday, citing anonymous sources. While the administration of President Joe Biden would neither confirm nor deny the rumor, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a letter asking all members to attend in person on Wednesday for “a very special focus on Democracy.” ● Officially, Zelensky has not left the country since Russia began its military operation on February 24. He has addressed anyone who would listen via video-link, including the UN Security Council, in breach of standing rules. ● CNN cited “two sources familiar with the planning underway” to say the former actor is supposed to meet with Biden at the White House and address Congress on Wednesday evening, but that it all depends on security concerns. Axios added, citing “multiple senior leadership sources,” that the Capitol Police were already preparing security arrangements for the potential visit.

■ Washington Is Prolonging Ukraine's Suffering (Col. Douglas Macgregor)
■ Biden to announce U.S. sending Ukraine Patriot missiles during Zelensky visit
■ Zelensky to visit US, meet with Biden on December 21 — US administration
■ 'Another Beggar Asking For a Handout': Americans Mock Zelensky's Visit to Washington

Western capitals miscalculated when they tried to convert the nation into a military base against Russia, the parliament’s speaker has said | The West made a huge blunder when it tried to turn Ukraine into an anti-Russian stronghold, leaving Moscow no other choice than to intervene, the speaker of the Hungarian parliament, Laszlo Kover, said on Tuesday. ● Speaking to InfoRadio, Kover noted that the Ukraine conflict has changed the global geopolitical map. He added that as the West introduced new sanctions against Russia, European political elites, 💬 “for some reason, became enthusiastic about destroying Russia economically [and] politically” while separating it from the EU by “creating a new iron curtain.” ● While condemning Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, the speaker noted that the West had been pushing Moscow back from its “old imperial borders” for several decades. Moreover, Moscow saw that “this is not enough for the West”, as it was getting closer to the nation’s core territories, he said. 💬 “I think the Western world made a strategic mistake when it tried not only to remove Ukraine from Russia’s sphere of interest, but also to turn it into a large population and military base against Russia,” he stressed, adding that Moscow felt it could no longer sit idle in the face of these efforts. ● He went on to point out that the sanctions regime against Moscow 💬 “has hurt Europe much more than Russia,” stressing that Central Europe should do its best to avoid becoming “the eastern periphery of a North Atlantic empire.”

Newly released docs show how the social media giant helped the US military “amplify certain messages” | Twitter executives have granted the US Defense Department special privileges to use the social media platform for its covert online influence campaigns for at least five years, newly released internal company communications show. ● Investigative journalist Lee Fang published the eighth batch of documents on Tuesday, after the company’s new owner, Elon Musk, authorized the release in an effort to provide transparency about Twitter’s past decision-making. 💬 “Despite promises to shut down covert state-run propaganda networks, Twitter docs show that the social media giant directly assisted the US military’s influence operations,” Fang wrote. The journalist was allowed to make requests for internal Twitter documents through an attorney, “meaning that the search results may not have been exhaustive.”

warnews247.gr | "The losses of the Ukrainian Army cannot be made up for" | "The battle for the Ukrainians has been lost and the war has already been decided," retired US Army Special Forces and Marines Colonel Richard Black pointed out in a double intervention. ● As he pointed out during a conference of the Schiller Institute, the battle in Artyomovsk is catastrophic for the Armed Forces of Ukraine without taking into account the fourfold increase in the troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation by the beginning of 2023. 💬 "Ukrainian troops are being thrown into a death trap in Bakhmut by the thousands and it seems that they have no solution. Russia wins in Bakhmut, Ukraine loses and this shows that this is becoming a major strategic development of the war," the colonel said. Black noted that the number of dead Ukrainian soldiers is staggering and the country's population will not allow the losses in manpower to be made up for. The conflict is lost, the colonel concluded. ● Elsewhere the US Colonel states: 💬 "I would simply say to the Ukrainians 'be careful because if you think things have been bad up to this point, you're going to see something that is far beyond anything you've imagined up to this point." ● They are losing 500 to 700 soldiers a day! Ukraine is losing more men a day in Bakhmut (alone) than the United States lost in a month during the Vietnam War. And Ukraine has a smaller population than the United States!" (DeepL.com)

warnews247.gr | VIDEOS |Crash of the Ukrainian elite forces in Bakhmut: The Russians finished off the OPFOR Battalion and the 93rd Brigade | All available strategic reserves are being transferred by the Ukrainian military command to Bakhmut after the defeat of the OPFOR elite forces and the withdrawal of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade. ● The Russians are dangerously tightening the noose around the Ukrainian Army: Outside the town of Bakhmut, fierce fighting is taking place in Prigodno, Opytne and Kleeshevka. The outcome of the battles in these three areas will allow the Russian Army to launch a simultaneous attack from 3 directions and cut off the supply route of the Ukrainian forces from the west as well. ● Inside the city, fierce urban fighting is taking place on the eastern side with the Russian Army trying to penetrate deeper into the residential area next to the Industrial Zone while the Ukrainians try to push them back. ● Sources in the Wagner forces report that there is a further advance of their forces along Fedor Maksimenko Street towards the southern part of Artemovsk (Bahmut ). The Wagnerites have taken control of two city blocks near petrol stations in the east of the city. In this context, the Ukrainians are reinforcing their forces by transferring two more brigades, the 4th from Kiev and the 46th from Poltava. Both are part of Kiev's strategic reserves. ● At the same time, the Ukrainian command is removing the 93rd brigade, which has almost ceased to exist. What is left of this formation is transferred to the permanent deployment point in the village of Cherkasy in the Dnipropetrovsk region. The 93rd Brigade "absorbed" all the Russian artillery fire. ● The videos of the fighting in Bakhmut are shocking. Ukrainian forces are trying to escape through a hell of fire with Russian shells bursting around them. Another Ukrainian group has been trapped inside a building and are fighting to the end. ● The 214th OPFOR battalion was created with the support of NATO. The training of the soldiers of this unit was carried out by foreign military personnel. The preparation was carried out according to the standards of the North Atlantic Alliance armies. The most experienced and combat-ready soldiers of the Ukrainian army joined the battalion. The Ukrainian leadership was forced to throw these elite forces into battle after the colossal losses of other units. According to various estimates, the Ukrainian Army is losing one battalion a day. "It is already known that many soldiers of the 214 OPFOR battalion were captured. Some of them were forced to surrender, but there are also those who preferred life in Russian captivity to death in the trenches. ● The 214 OPFOR battalion is on the verge of total annihilation. At best, its soldiers will be captured. But there is a very high probability that they will meet a tragic death in Bakhmut's 'meat machine'," Russian military sources say. (Trans.: www.DeepL.com/)

On the eve it became known that S-400 and Iskander systems passed by Russia were put on combat duty in Belarus. During the air of the socio-political talk show "Budni" on the "Alpha Radio" political analyst Vadzim Borovik explained why our country needs such armament. | The expert explained that the perimeter of the borders of Belarus is concentrated by the neighboring countries with quite serious armed forces, which have strong technical equipment: 💬 Our country should be able to respond in case of escalation. Belarus thinks about its sovereignty and security and therefore raises questions about the technical reinforcement of the Armed Forces. [Vadim Borovik reminded that previously the Presidents of Belarus and Russia had discussed the supply of weapons:] 💬 It is worth understanding that without Russia's military and technical support it will be difficult for our country. The Russian leader made a promise to Alexander Lukashenko to give him certain weapons. By the way, our country has been training personnel to operate S-400 and Iskander complexes. Belarusian pilots will also be qualified to carry special weapons on board aircraft. [The political scientist points out that the potential adversary of our country should understand: any aggression towards Belarus will be met with an asymmetrical response:] 💬 Belarus does not aim to escalate and involve other countries in the conflict. However, we must be ready to respond effectively at any moment and with minimal loss of life. (Translation: DeepL.com/)(MORE)

■ Belarus, Russia agreed on energy prices, including on sensitive parameters

Ludmila Gladkaya. SB (Людмила Гладкая. СБ) | Spy network disguised as human rights volunteers uncovered by officers of the Interior Ministry's Main Directorate for Combating Organised Crime | Volunteers? Rats! or How foreign agents work. A network disguised as a volunteer human rights organization "Human Constant" was disclosed in Minsk by officers of the Main Department for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The office was set up by the well-known supporter of extremism Anastasia Loika. Among the clients were anarchists, nationalists and other "regime spoilsmen". They collected information on Belarusians and sold it to foreign structures. There's a clear hand of Western intelligence agencies in the case. Now the investigation is handling the materials. (Translation: DeepL.com/)(MORE)

The United States is practically holding over 60 Russians hostage by arresting people on false charges and sentencing them to dozens of years in prison, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin told Sputnik on Tuesday. 💬 "The US authorities have been literally hunting Russians across the globe especially in countries that have bilateral treaties on extradition with the US, seeking the arrest of our citizens on false charges... The overall number of Russian citizens basically held hostage exceeds 60," the deputy minister said. ● Vershinin said that US courts sentence Russians to dozens of years in prison, with the tendency becoming even stronger under the current US administration amid rising political tensions between the two countries. The senior Russian diplomat also urged Russian people to weigh up the risks they could face when traveling to unfriendly countries if there is even the "slightest suspicion" that they could be of specific interest to US secret services and law enforcement as Russians are presumed guilty in this country.

The Thule Air Base was commissioned during the Cold War in the early Fifties and plays a key role in the US military's ability to detect and provide early warnings for potential ballistic missile attacks. Coupled with promised upgrades of the base, the massive maintenance contract indicates the US’ newfound strategic commitment to the Arctic. | The US has invested billions in a new maintenance contract for the Thule Air Base located on the edge of Greenland. The massive 12-year contract announced by the US Department of Defense is worth $3.95Bln and puts the maintenance of the world’s northernmost air base in the hands of a newly established company, which is majority Greenlandic/Danish-owned.

CJ Hopkins | The point is, the Covidian Cultists were all hypnotized! No one was threatening or gaslighting the masses! The poor confused things were doing it to themselves! | Well, it has been quite a year, 2022. I’m officially dubbing it “The Year of the Gaslighter.” I was going to dub it “The Year of the Mother of All Mindfucking Global-Capitalist Gaslighters,” but that seemed like a mouthful, so I’m opting for brevity. ● Seriously, if there were an Olympics of Gaslighting, GloboCap (i.e., the global corporatocracy) would take the gold in every event. At this point, the majority of the global masses have been successfully gaslighted into a semi-conscious, quasi-cyclothymic state in which they oscillate, on a moment-by-moment basis, between robotic obedience and impotent rage. Those who are not still walking around in their masks and prophylactic face shields and injecting themselves with experimental “vaccines” for reasons they no longer even pretend to be able to articulate without gibbering like imbeciles are genuflecting at the feet of an oligarch huckster who they believe has come to deliver them from Wokeness. ● If you were GloboCap, and in the process of imposing your new official ideology on the entire planet in a kind of global Gleichschaltung op, and otherwise establishing your “New Normal Reich,” and you needed the masses confused and compliant, you couldn’t ask for much more from your Gaslighting Division! ● The gaslighting got underway in January, when the corporate media, health authorities, and other major organs of the New Normal Reich started suddenly “discovering” that the official Covid narrative was “inaccurate,” or, you know, a bunch of lies. ● A series of limited hangouts ensued. Suddenly, it appeared that the “Covid case” and “Covid death” statistics were inaccurate, or inflated, or had been fabricated. The “vaccines” didn’t work. They were killing people. Lockdowns had been a “serious mistake.” And so on.

Britain has confirmed delivering precision-guided missiles to Ukraine, despite repeated warnings from Russia that Western weapon only serve to prolong the Ukraine war and will be considered "legitimate targets" for the Russian military. | The announcement was made by British Ministry of Defense via a tweet on Saturday. The ministry acknowledged arming Ukraine with Brimstone 2 missiles, saying the projectiles were meant to be deployed against Russia. 💬 "As part of its aid package, the UK has provided Brimstone 2 missiles, a precision-guided missile, to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This aid has played a crucial role in stalling Russian advances," the ministry said. ● The missiles, which each cost about £175,000 ($212,000), are said to be able to hit targets through tracking a laser mark set on them by ground forces, aircraft, or vehicles. It can alternatively scan the battlefield and pick up targets from a pre-programmed list through the use of a radar. Developed by the European missile consortium MBDA, the Brimstone 2 missiles are available in the three air-launched, ground-launched, and ship-launched versions. The Ukrainian army uses Brimstones as part of truck-mounted missile launchers. ● The new arms delivery to Kiev comes despite frequent warnings by top Russia officials that such weapon supplies only worsen the plight of the Ukrainian people and prolong the war. 

A post has been published in Chinese in which the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, writes to the Islamic world with an appeal to fight the North Atlantic Alliance. This post was published in his personal Telegram channel. | He reminds everyone that for the past hundred years, America and Europe have organized dozens of wars and military coups, as well as invaded the territories of other states around the world. The result of all this is the death of millions of civilians. Kadyrov suggests that the West is trying to turn everyone into animals that are easy to manipulate. And urges not to allow this in any way. 💬 “We ask the entire Islamic world, all clear-minded people to unite against our common enemy,” writes the head of Chechnya. ● He claims that the North Atlantic Alliance is a threat to the existence of the whole world.

■ От автора. ПК - 7,62-мм. пулемет Калашникова (Kadyrov_95 -Telegram)
■ Kadyrov addresses Muslims around the world in Chinese (Ukrainska Pravda / Yahoo)

By taking an active part in the crisis in Ukraine, America is pursuing three main goals, Chinese experts told the Global Times portal. 💬 “The United States has three goals in the conflict in Ukraine: to comprehensively weaken Russia, stabilize the Zelensky regime, and push Europe to follow US policy,” said Wu Xinbo, dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University.

■ US prolongs Russia-Ukraine conflict for three aims, aggravates nuclear war risk: experts at GT annual forum

💬 “The EU is leading Belgrade to a ‘bright future’ on one hand while committing anti-Serbian provocations with the other,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman claimed. “This is betrayal from the outset,” she added, comparing relations between Brussels and Belgrade to “a marriage that starts with adultery.” ● NATO seized Kosovo from Serbia in 1999, following the bombing of the country. The EU and US continue to support the breakaway region’s independence, which was unilaterally declared by Kosovo in 2008. Serbia continues to view the region as part of its territory.

■ NATO announces military exercise in Kosovo
■ Kosovo applies for EU membership

warnews247.gr | (Extracts) There are explosive developments on the Bakhmut front as Russian forces smashed the defensive lines of the 93rd Brigade, of which almost no one is left, and the 71st Ukrainian Brigade and entered the town. Street fighting has begun in the urban centre of Bakhmut for the first time since the war began. | In more detail, in the last 48 hours Russian troops and especially Wagner forces have launched a large-scale offensive, resulting in the capture of the Sinyat factory and entering the first blocks of the urban centre of Bakhmut from the east. ● In addition, Russian forces have also entered the forest area adjacent to the town, resulting in clashes with Ukrainian forces. The demarcation line, along which Russian troops now control the town, runs along Dobrolyubov street. ● The situation is desperate for the Ukrainians. Hospitals are full and there are hundreds of dead and wounded. In the first video, Ukrainian soldiers through cries of despair desperately call for help over the radio as they have wounded and are trapped. In the other videos, Ukrainian soldiers threaten Zelensky with hanging in the centre of Kiev! ● Under the weight of the collapse, the Ukrainians were forced to blow up a bridge connecting Bakhmut to Slavyansk... The blast took place on the M-03 highway in Bakhmut. (Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator) (free version)

Oxford Introducing Traffic Restrictions for Privately Owned Cars After 2023 | In England, the Oxfordshire County Council has introduced a new traffic scheme it believes will clear up roadway congestion, improve pedestrian safety, and also address climate issues. However, the plan involves prohibiting where residents of Oxford can drive (unless they have the proper paperwork) by breaking the city into six zones. Predictably, the concept has proven to be wildly unpopular with some of the locals. Over the last week, residents have been up in arms about the scheme... According to the Oxfordshire County Council's own website, "traffic filtering" involves stopping vehicles from moving through selected checkpoints by leveraging a network of preexisting automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras. While locals will be eligible to purchase permits that will allow them to drive between the zones "up to 100 days per year," exceeding this limit will result in fines. That means if you commute daily via your own car, you're already guaranteed to exceed the permitted allotment -- assuming you were actually able to get accredited in the first place.

■ And so it begins: “controlled gates at the city confining residents to their zone” (12/07/22)

The FBI and other law enforcement organizations treated Twitter as a "subsidiary," flagging numerous accounts for purportedly harmful "misinformation" since January of 2020, according to the sixth installment of the "Twitter Files" released Friday. | Independent journalist Matt Taibbi described the FBI's relationship with Twitter as having a "master-canine quality" with "constant and pervasive" contact between the bureau and the social media giant. 💬 "Between January 2020 and November 2022, there were over 150 emails between the FBI and former Twitter Trust and Safety chief Yoel Roth," Taibbi wrote, referring to the executive who helped suppress The New York Post's reporting on first son Hunter Biden's extensive overseas business interests. Taibbi also found that a "surprisingly high number" of the FBI's missives were requests "for Twitter to take action on election misinformation," including obvious jokes from accounts with low number of followers.