by russia's actions in ukraine, why is that? ah ah, ukraine's president zalinski says nato publicly misled russia into believing the block was prepared to accept you praying as a member, despite privately telling to you that it couldn't join. i'm being told that every day, more and more such trophy weapons fall in the hands of the russian troops are g. takes a look at 8 years of western arms supplies to ukraine, some of which have been thieves by rushing back to troops in the dawn back. russia declares meta in extremist organization betting the popular social networks instagram, facebook after the company says it would allow, hate speech against russian soldiers ah,

broadcasting live direct, more studios in moscow. this is our to international. i'm john thomas. glad have you with us. as we recap. what's happening in the war in ukraine now ukraine's president zalinski suggests the conflict with russia could have been avoided. if nato had made it clear that it had no immediate intention to allow ukraine to become a member. i requested them personally. i hate to say direct please. if we're going to accept you into new york or nato in a year or 2 or fall and the response was really clear, you're not going to be in a tour member, but publicly one of the doors will remain open. so basically, it turns out that there was a chance of avoiding this conflict altogether. zalinski saying that nato has essentially been bluffing about the possibility of accepting ukraine into the military alliance. all this time comes as a real shock. basically, the west could have potentially stopped this whole situation of an escalation of

tensions and 2 armed conflict between russia and ukraine. if it just told moscow the truth. and let's not forget back when joe biden was actually a senator, he also warned against the further eastward expansion of nato, he said it could have possibly lead to an open conflict between russia and the west . and in 1990 nato. actually promised the soviet union, but it would not expand any farther east than the older river in central europe. and since the western media began its hysteria, campaign late last year, russia's main negotiating point has been to hold the military alliance to its promise. lucille knew conflict with juno, one's own conflicts of bloodshed. we want to resolve the situation by political and diplomatic means. we should at least have some clear and understandable legal guarantees. this is the purpose of a proposal which has been written and sent to brussels and washington time and time again. moscow has said that accepting ukraine and to nato would be a violation of several treaties of the council for security and cooperation in

europe. agreements that specifically states that a country cannot enter military alliance at the expense of another country's national security. in response to this washington just called that a nonstarter negotiations. and of course, moscow itself was not very happy about that. and he will know they literally put the principle of freedom of choice, of alliances at the forefront, completely ignoring the conditions that were agreed, the highest level on the inn admissibility of infringing on the security of, of the states. and has been a negative response to our security proposals about the non expansion of nato eastwood. this cannot satisfy us. they maintain the rights of any country to choose join and change alliances. it's non negotiable. after zalinski is recent statement, we now know that ukraine never had a real chance to become a member state of nato. but if russia knew that it's very possible that diplomacy could have diffused this situation that's exploded into

a serious escalation in the don boss conflict that already been going on for some time. now instead, nato just decided to tease everyone. basically, bagels door remains open. so the enlargement of night thought has been a great success that helps to spread democracy freedom. we will not compromise on our core principles. now one more thing that's a bit embarrassing for zalinski is that he just kind of laid down and accepted. the west's rejection of what was one of his government's main goals. and when these hostilities with russia broke out, the washington said no to sending troops that said no to opening a no fly zone. it basically said no to any serious direct help to ukraine. and basically left to fend for itself. that was don quarter earlier speaking with my colleague nikki aaron. now, while western powers have said that they cannot enforce a no fly zone, they are sending lethal weaponry to ukraine. in fact, hundreds of millions of dollars of it from the u. s. and e. u. the latest package

was announced just a few days ago. the united states delivered $650000000.00 in military equipment to ukraine. it is more than we've ever provided to ukraine in the past. it is a significant amount of assistance that we have expedited the delivery on. and we will continue to do exactly that. and we're not doing the salon or ours and partners of stepped up to revise significant shipments of security assistance. and we'll continue to help facilitate these deliveries as well. russian armor versus american missiles, ukraine, once a country. now the world's largest test site, where the u. s. and allies are duking it out with russia who's weapons and more lethal. it's to weapons buffet for the ukrainian military from small arms to advanced anti tank and anti aircraft missiles. american go seem eager to make caves, every request come true. western made weapons are in such abundance. the ukrainian

forces have no 2nd thoughts leaving them behind on the retreat. like a trail of breadcrumbs pollen hair. you have the infamous american made javelin an anti tank single use miss, i'll here it's will, little brother, the german made panza faust, the same panza vows just there. a better, a more modern version of the same unit of the same missile used by the nazi germany against soviet troops. back during the 2nd world war, arguably these world complex as these missiles, they caused the most problems for the russian army. but i'm being told that every day, more and more of such trophy weapons, fall in the hands of the russian troops. the factory packaging even contains this pansy faust, anti tanks, weapons, passport. and that's when the unpleasant truth about its foreign origin comes out. apparently this particular b g was decommissioned by germany all the way back in 2013. now americans

stinger missiles are a common threat for russia's helicopter pilots. in fact, some pundits are concerned of a looming security catastrophe. potentially caused by such a flood of indiscriminate weapons in ukraine. we cannot cross live to ukraine, expert and investigative journalist alex rubinstein. thanks for being with us here on our international st. you for having me. if we get right down to the nato countries say that they support ukraine, including by sending weapons, but they refuse to actually enter the conflict. so how genuine is their support? and are they afraid to escalate the conflict as it stands right now? well, i would say these governments, their support is pretty genuine, given that they're donating millions of taxpayer funds towards the war effort in supplying ukraine with this weaponry, mostly anti tank and anti aircraft, as well as you know, kalashnikov and other small arms. and not only that,

but they're willing to crush their economies in order to see this war progress. so, why would nato promote ukraine as a potential member, while apparently suggesting that membership wouldn't come anytime soon? i mean, georgia is kind of in the same boat from many, many, many years ago. that a little bit of dirty politics. i. yeah, i actually think so. i mean it's, it's, they're kind of dangling the nato membership in front of the one sky. and at the same time, just using him as a pond to, to increase hostilities of russia as i, as i wrote in my recent article for the gray zone. foreign policy leads across the united states and, and in europe are making statements to the effect of this being kind of a long war. and the goal of that is an afghan style operation, where they use this proxy conflict to chip away at russian morale, the russian economy, the russian military, etc. so it's really

a reinvigoration of the cold war that we haven't seen in quite some time. well, let's take a look, look at that long war aspect. could ukraine actually descend into humanitarian catastrophe? a so called new afghanistan and of all places in europe? well, i think so. i mean, you have all the markings of what the cia did in afghanistan arming and training the militia dean with billions of dollars against russia. you have the same markings with what the c i did with timber sycamore and syria, which is much the same arming and training. these extremist factions in order to serve as proxy forces to take out an opposing state. the, the real question as is whether russia will be able to move fast enough to cut off the supply lines because they're not flying anything in it's all coming in through poland, in and, and trains, and truck convoys. that the polish people have been forbid for forbidden from

taking any photographs or video evidence of. but what's the one thing that does distinguish this? and i think that this, this is an effect of their just being so much a animosity in the west against russia. they're doing this all out in the open with operation sy, phone in afghanistan to see i had it for years. the same thing with timber psycho more in syria here. it's being done in the open because they can and that's, that's really the scary part about it. is because it shows that the, the great power competition is an accepted doctrine for the west. they don't want to have international cooperation. i mean, they're the long term foreign policy, international relations. consequences of, of these actions that the united states is taken against russia have not been examined. the people of russia are seeing their currency be valued, and they're remembering the pain of the 1990 s that the united states brought. so i think that long, long term planning was not on something that was considered because what we see now

is that the west is shitting themselves in the foot. so we've talked a little bit about the fact that there are some other aid coming into ukraine from poland and other places, but they're also fighters. why are foreign fighters joining the ukrainian forces? i mean, we've seen reports about them sharing some neo nazi ideology. what you make of them? yeah, i think i think it's a mix of 2 things. one, i think that it's a lot of people who are hard core nazis and want to participate in kind of a holy war against russia. i have published video of liter of a neo nazi game called c 14 in ukraine, calling it a holy war against russia. so i think that a lot of people, you know, in syria foreign fighters went in because they were enamored by this idea, islamic caliphate. here, a lot of them are interested in this idea of a 4th reich, of overtaking europe from ukraine. but i would also say that there's a lot of veterans from the west,

people who have fought in wars. they come back to civilian life. the government doesn't take care of them and they find themselves bored with civilian life. and so there this is just an excuse for them to, so it's war tourism for them. all right, and really briefly, western media outlets have held up zalinski is jewish roots and deny that he has ties with neo nazi groups. have you seen a link between his government and neo nazis? oh yes i have. i mean there's quite a number of them. first of all it's, it's really worth pointing out the once he's trip to the laughton 2019 on the front lines of the war. where he ordered the as a battalion to leave and they refused, they threatened him with sending more even more fighters to the front line. basically, these neo nazi group zalinski let's not forget once he was elected on a platform of, of having peace. these new nazi groups wanted to stop that. they one zalinski lost and he wound up having them at the table to discuss ukraine. russia relations. you

haven't caught us of see 14, the leader of the, that nazi gang representative from the as a battalion. he gave a hero of ukraine award to a commander from the right sector, who brags about feeding the bones of russian children to his pet wolf and, and, and you can see that even right sector as well as the, as a battalion more recently have been getting british made anti tank weapons. so western weapons in the hands of neo nazis. that's the kind of dirty long term war that is being prepared. all right, alex rubenstein, ukraine expert and investigative journalist. interesting to hear your thoughts here on our t international. thank you. are now these images show a shopping center in the ukranian capital devastated by shelling local authorities say 8 civilians were killed and a nearby buildings were also damaged. she is mayor, has declared a curfew to keep civilians off the streets during potential nighttime attacks. and

russia says it wouldn't to targets villing infrastructure without a justifiable reason, alleging that the shopping center was being used by the ukrainian military to deploy and fire heavy artillery, as well as the store ammunition ukrainian doctor who reportedly runs a field hospital has backtracked on his statement that captured russian soldiers should be castrated. here's what dr. godaddy does. anchor has told ukrainian tv channel. i instructed my doctors to castrate all men because the cockroaches, not people russians will die here in large numbers. the doctors comments sparked accusations that such measures would violate the geneva convention on that the humane treatment of prisoners following the backlash drizzle went on the record to say that it was an emotional outburst. he is the director of an n g o called mobile hospital, reportedly been linked to the u. s. government. this comes just days after human

rights watch slammed. ukrainian authorities for publishing, images of russian soldiers, apparently being humiliated in captivity. ukraine and authorities should stop posting on social media and messaging apps videos of captured russian soldiers that exposed them to public curiosity in particular, those that show them being humiliated. such treatment of prisoners of war or pose, violates protections under the geneva conventions intended to ensure dignified treatment of captured competence on all sides. it sounds like a doctor should not say, and he's breaking the geneva convention for the treatment of prisoners of war. and why, why does he come out and say, such a thing, greatest thing for a doctor to say one mind because a depth of hatred which he now feels towards rushing into a rushing shoulders because of the warm because the, again, the killing of civilians and women and children,

and sean and all of these things are playdoh in his mind. and he's now really in a state of thought and hatred toward russians and everything russian. ah, and this may be shared by other ukrainians. and that's why this is one of the results of war. unfortunately, that people react like this. and the change of opinions on this statement is better credible. the doctors don't make that statement, but he's made it well the who say right, that's a good idea. and so on. why did we supported hardships for local residence in the embattled city of variable where there has been destroyed numerous groups of buildings, including hospitals, as fuel and drinking water are scarce civilians have to leave their shelters, to fill up bottles with water and cook outside as shells rained down on residential areas, it is unclear who is responsible for the devastation though. is that correct?

as av took 250 people out of their homes starting from the 1st floor and line them up in a row over there, then they began shooting people. 8 people killed 4 wounded, including children and elderly women onion. they stole our food and kicked us out of our flats to use them as firing positions. you'd give us you are the number i did yet as to letting us people went to phillip bottles with drinking water and the ukrainian troops open fire. children were shot, 2 adults and 2 children were killed. sure, i don't lie. a block other does a buck a don't information on water and on gas, we have nothing. there is no mobile phone coverage was the hospitals are being shells. it is. it's incredibly scary on the full report of the john's gone, the sea of as off is now being used to support relief efforts for civilians in the battle. the city of multiple russia recently took control of the site after local

ukrainian forces, allegedly fled without a fight. not he's broad goes, you've got an exclusive look at the operations there by land, air, and now sea russian troops continued to advance and reinforce into ukraine. these is a unique sight, a russian naval armada at a port which ukrainian troops had abandoned without a fight, leaving its facilities entirely intact. the as of sea with its ports and towns is now honda, russian control, all save several districts in the coastal city of mary jo pal, which has allowed russia's black sea fleet and the ost landing ship to stage this operation translated from russian. this is a large marine ship code named alligator by nato. it is harmed the sludge caliber, odo cannon for example. but the point of this ship is to transport troops and heavy

equipment. it can fit as many as 20 tanks or 40 armored personnel carriers along with hundreds upon hundreds of troops. this conflict needs one of the most intense in recent decades, both sides of leverage, sophisticated and highly destructive weapons for rushes, operation to succeed. it is paramount. the troops, us applied and reinforced non stop, but at which it was our arrival here is a milestone mantle. it opens up completely new opportunities for the black, safely to use existing ukrainian infrastructure for our logistics operations. this logistics operation is not only geared for fighting. it is also humanitarian. millions of ukrainians in liberated territories must be fed and supplied with essentials. just kilometers away. thousands of scared and battered refugees pack the roads leading from mary opal. the russian military has set up camps for those

who want to stay and supplies fuel for those who wish to drive to. i mia all elsewhere off of what they had been through popped up what ukrainian nationalists had put them through. they need the help says a prosecution. there is no fuel in mary, you, paul. all the fuel was stolen by looters. one of the root was difficult. there are no roads. the bridges have been blown up. the city itself no longer exists. this is a chance for people to go somewhere wrong. we're really thankful. there's a little in the root was difficult, there was no green zone. we drove at our own risk, so there were a lot of dead bodies and blown up cars along the way. a petrol is now more expensive than going, but you can't go anywhere without health. i'm thankful for russia's help. i'm very thankful you hiding among the refugees. i'll ukrainian military desert as they will say that once they caught. but it is feared that some may be lying and may have

other goals such as the stage terror attack. so acts of sabotage in liberated areas . the units commander told us in a message to change into civilian clothes, joined the civilians, get into the vehicles, taking them out or simply joined the civilians in the green zone and leave mary paul. without escalade, we joined the civilians who were being released from the city and left without any have been identified. not all wish to appeal camera. whether or not they are telling the truth will be up to russian law enforcement to judge their here in force center d not supply ukraine. that and to bring those nationalists and neo nazis responsible for killings and atrocities. to account for i guess the of o t for the desk is reported to, to touch guy. you ballistic missiles were intercepted by air defense forces of the

done. yet the republic fire has been recorded in the area of the fallen missiles and the number of buildings have been damaged as well. and local emergency workers have set up a refugee camp and a secure part of the done yes. republic. the camp has been provided with heat and electricity, and civilians can get food and medical assistance there. and also in the don, yes republic, russian forces are continuing to help the civilians flee to safety. as hundreds of people have been evacuated from arguable to the village of doom name in just the past day. we heard from some of them, i do see you soon with up children the way it would be with a you

with, with, with, with that that was enough that during a good that included them all the family loses. a school with the russian court has banned the american social networks, instagram and facebook as extremist organizations. after their parent company. meta said it would allow hate speech against russian soldiers, but russian citizens who continued to use those networks are reportedly not to be punished. metas, what's apt messenger service is also not to be prohibited because it isn't a public platform. the law will band funding for meta particularly for

advertisements met earlier said it would permit hate speech against russian soldiers within the context of ukraine conflict. for this week across live to new boucher mallet, who is an rti senior writer, thanks for being with us here on our t international. so russia has declared meant to be an extremist organization. thus banning instagram, facebook based on met his decision to allow his speech against russian soldiers within this context of the crane conflict. do you think that russia's reaction is just a viable in this case? well, the paraphrase the famous american comedian, i wouldn't do it, but i understand why they did what happened in the circumstances that you got to sort of zoom out and see what meta of that facebook is known as now did in america itself and globally, the try to basically put themselves above the law and above governments in the us,

they literally band a sitting president based on allegations that were never even tested or proven. they just said, you know, it's all right, we're going to do this and you know, we're above the law and brushes, obviously not letting them do that. and even though they went all over the place saying, well, you know, we're going to make an exception for ukraine and we get to make an exception for poland. and, you know, they even tried it out there. a global vice president who was a former british government official to say, oh, well, you know, we need to do this because it would be bad to punish ukrainian, right. reach your current in government disc, calling on its own people to refrain from hate speech that would violate conventions. and here's facebook, you know, saying you should, they should be able to do that. so obviously, i mean i'm, i'm opposed to censorship personally, but i can separate, you were, russian government is coming from. so it's we, we've seen it actually with big oil. and now with the giant tech companies that corporations are almost bigger than countries right now, who's running, who?

so, democratic governments consider freedom of speech to be the fundamental right then why now are supposedly democratic western countries banning r t and other sources of russia's positions about the conflict and ukraine? well, that's the thing. if you regard, if you define democracy as the interest opinions you as to that yes, freedom of speech would be a thing. but unfortunately, over the past several years in the west, what they define is democracy. something called our democracy, which translates in practice, into ruled by whoever declares themselves to be democrats. and they basically say ok, well anybody who disagrees with us and hateful and evil and needs to be banned because they're promoting this information. and it's not just r t, obviously he's been heavily targeted and any sort of perspective coming from russian, this particular conflict. but it's also something that they've turned against their own citizens. think of what canada recently back in february,

right before the conflict and ukraine broke out. this is what kennedy did to its own people to the truckers protesting decoded, mandates. this is what american big tech companies, which are the worst of the off the lot have done against their own citizens simply because of their political persuasion. they hadn't, didn't have to do anything. simply believing things that everybody would have considered normal 10 years ago was now grounds for being on person by silicon valley. so we've got a democracy already talking about the clearly redefined demeaning of the word. so we go way back for a long time. the u. s. u k and e u member states have, well, they've upheld their views of tolerance as virtue. why now are we seeing so much discrimination and hate speech against russians in those western countries? i mean, i mean russia has always been a bad guy on some level, but i mean, we haven't seen this level of bruce a phobia and so love i haven't seen anything like this is the 1990 s campaign,

vilifying the serbs in yugoslavia in fact, it's probably just a carbon copy of the same campaign except dealing with russians that you know, much bigger country, much more numerous people are much more influential. lovely. but it seems like the people they're managing, the narratives in the west have basically just copied the entire playbook and using it all over again. and what they're doing is degrees. i don't know, know what the reason i can guess at it. but my best guess is that their sole, their entire order, this whole, our democracy thing that i mentioned before, is based on narratives and did key simply cannot tolerate any discussion, any debate, much less any challenge to these narratives. simply put, if you back, anybody who disagrees, everything is going to be harmonious and everybody's going to do what they're told . well, i thought of the world work, but that's how they think the world works. and i think they've mistaken the map,

which is these virtual social media met a verse, twitter, youtube, facebook, etc, for the territory, which is the objective observable physical reality. and they think that by controlling the met a verse, they can shape physical reality. so if the decree that you know there is no war or there is a war or this side is where the, where that site is when he that will actually happen. and that's not again, that's not how any of this works. right? you're butcher mileage, the serbian american journalist and a senior writer at r t international. it's a pleasure to hear your thoughts and very interesting indeed. thanks for being with us. thank you. all right, that is a for me, this hour. i will be back and let's say 30 minutes with another full fresh look your news? well, have you with us as we unwrap the war and you can stay with us. ah,

ah. this is the start of russia's military operation in ukraine. the west has talked at russia and russians, russia side of the story is essentially absent and intentionally. so on this edition of the program, we talk with 2 pre eminent russian scholars about their own country and ukraine. ah,

who.