Absolutely no way the Russians could have expected this level of economic and cultural response. It's without limits.
Cardiff orchestra pulls Tchaikovsky concert due to Russian invasion | ITV News
The orchestra's decision has been made “in light of the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine”. | ITV News Waleswww.itv.com
US Tried to Fund Bio Labs in Ukraine as Early as 2005, Records Show
Moscow has unveiled evidence that Kiev ordered several bio laboratories, which received US funding, to destroy samples of dangerous pathogens. Russia's Defence Ministry says it has proof that these bio labs were working on biological weapons targeting certain ethnicities. Both Kiev and Washington deny it.
The US government has been dodging questions for some time about the fact that it funded biolabs in Ukraine, until Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, admitted on 8 March that Washington did provide assistance to these laboratories (but still avoided confirming accusations by Russia that Kiev developed biological weapons there). It is not clear what took the US so long – especially since it knew perfectly well about at least one such lab for more than a decade.
Thanks to the work of the US Armed Forces' Counterproliferation Center, a media clipping was preserved from 17 June 2010, telling how then-US Senator Richard Lugar "applauded the opening of the Interim Central Reference Laboratory (ICRL) in Odessa, Ukraine".
Article published on BioPrepWatch.com on 17 June 2010 and preserved by the US Armed Forces' Counterproliferation Center,
© BioPrepWatch.com//US Armed Forces' Counterproliferation Center,
According to the article, originally published by BioPrepWatch.com (and preserved only in web archives and the Counterproliferation Center clippings), the facility was a level-3 bio-safety lab – meaning it was equipped to handle the most dangerous pathogens on Earth, such as anthrax and Q fever. It was specifically designed to research these pathogens, the article said citing the late senator.
"The continuing cooperation of Nunn-Lugar partners has improved safety for all people against weapons of mass destruction and potential terrorist use, in addition to advancements in the prevention of pandemics and public health consequences", Lugar said at the time.
Moreover, talks about establishing the ICRL in Ukraine date back even further – to 2005, according to an archived Nunn-Lugar Report edition from August that year. Back then, Lugar and (at that time) fellow senator Barack Obama were coordinating efforts with Ukrainian authorities to study and help to prevent the spread of avian flu. Coincidentally, avian flu was one of the pathogens that Kiev's laboratories were studying in the context of potential spread of dangerous pathogens via bird migration from Ukraine to Russia, Russian Defence Ministry findings suggested.
Screenshot of archived Nunn-Lugar Report from August 2005
© Photo : Nunn-Lugar Report
Eventually, Ukraine signed an agreement with the US under the Nunn–Lugar Act, which sought to remove weapons of mass destruction from the former soviet states, and agreed to the construction of a modern laboratory for handling and studying dangerous pathogens on its territory.
Despite eventually admitting the presence of the US-funded bio laboratories in Ukraine, Victoria Nuland did not consider Russia's accusations about experiments on modifying dangerous pathogens and turning them into biological weapons. At the same time, she said Washington was "quite concerned" with the prospect of Russian military seizing these laboratories during their special operation on the Ukrainian territory.
CIA Director William Burns claimed that Ukraine conducts no research on dangerous pathogen that could be used in biological weapons. He dismissed the Russian military's statements as "propaganda" and a possible pretext for "false flag operations". The World Health Organisation, in turn, called on Ukraine to destroy high-threat pathogens housed in its laboratories – citing the need to prevent "accidental or deliberate release".
Scottish Nationalists Invent 'Ukrainian Tartan' in Sartorial Solidarity Stunt
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon backed calls for a NATO 'no-fly zone' over Ukraine this week, despite warnings from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden that the move could lead to a war between nuclear powers.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) has found a new way to show its solidarity with Ukraine — in tartan form.
Edinburgh Central MSP Angus Robertson tweeted on Friday an image of what he suggested was a new weave of the traditional textile, saying it combined the colours of the Ukrainian flag with the Scottish saltire of St Andrew.
"Ukraine forever" Robertson proclaimed of the woolen token in opposition to Russia's 'de-Nazification' campaign.
Tweet by Scottish National Party (SNP) MSP Angus Robertson of a design for "Ukrainian tartan"
© Angus Robertson/Twitter
Conservative MP Michael Fabricant urged Robertson to "persuade your Westminster colleagues to wear it," pledging that if their Parliamentary leader Ian Blackford dons a kilt sewn from it at the weekly Prime Minister's Questions, "I'll cheer him instead of groan!"
On Thursday, Nicola Sturgeon, SNP leader and the nation's First Minister, joined calls for NATO to impose a 'no-fly zone' over Ukraine — which could turn the US-dominated alliance into direct conflict with Russia.
Sturgeon previously supported attempts by separatists in Spain's Cataluña region to organise an independence referendum. Her predecessor, Alex Salmond, opposed the 1999 NATO bombing campaign against Serbia in support of Kosovar separatists, and until the current conflict presented a talk show on Russia's state-owned RT TV from its London studios.
J.K. Rowling Slams Scotland's Proposed Gender Recognition Law as Harming 'Most Vulnerable Women'
7 March, 09:18 GMT
Robertson was born in Wimbledon, south-west London, to a Scottish father and a German mother — whose tongue he speaks fluently. He joined the SNP at 15 with the assistance of Charlie Reid of the Scottish nationalist folk group The Proclaimers.
The pro-independence MSP represented the UK Parliamentary seat of Moray in Westminster from 2001 to 2017, and was simultaneously the SNP spokesman on both defence and foreign affairs from 2001 to 2015. Robertson lost his seat to current Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross at the 2017 snap general election.
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t.me
Words like hammers.#Zakharova: We confirm facts revealed during the special military operation in Ukraine, which prove that the Kiev regime has been destroying the evidence of military biological programmes Kiev was implementing. They were funded by the US Department of Defense.
We remember how they have been searching for chemical, biological or bacteriological weapons across the globe for years, with exceptional bloody efficacy, invading countries and killing people. Well, you have been searching in all the wrong places. We have found them for you. Your projects, your biological samples, including those for military purposes in the first place, are in Ukraine. What were you doing there? It's a different continent. No common borders. No US bases. What were your specialists doing then under the guise of scientific developments, giving regular instructions to the Ukrainian side?
The world has the right to know what they were going to make there, what their purpose was. The game is over.
(excerpt from 09.03 spox briefing)
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www.itv.com
Wow, yes! The note about Istanbul being occupied by a (non-Turkish) Muslim military to return Hagia Sophia so the Orthodox was kind of intriguing (if eyebrow-raising), especially in light of the C's saying conflict may reignite in the Balkans soon.
