At the same time as Russia has targeted railway lines as part of the effort to block U.S. arms shipments into Eastern Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has now followed through on the previous warning to stop Russian gas supplies unless payments are made in non-sanctioned Rubles.

Poland is obviously the primary target for retaliation here, as the NATO alliance is using Poland as the gateway for arms deliveries into Ukraine.

According to multiple reports from the EU Russia has halted gas shipments into Poland and Bulgaria.  (Reuters) “Gazprom Russia’s gas export monopoly, suspended gas supplies “due to absence of payments in roubles”, as stipulated in a decree from Russian President Vladimir Putin that aims to soften the impact of sanctions.”

There are conflicting reports as to whether Germany is paying Russia, or whether they are trying to avoid running afoul of the NATO alliance by reducing Russian imports.

Ukraine President Zelenskyy is using the opportunity to reinforce his position that all European countries need to stop purchasing energy from Russia, or else they are not supporting Ukraine.   However, it’s not as simple as it seems because multiple EU countries are dependent on Russia for energy products and there are no immediate alternatives.  Russia is leveraging this dependency in an effort to break the western sanctions.

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I think we are now seeing the outlines of how the Fourth Branch of Government are planning to keep control over information, specifically public discussion on Big Tech platforms, even as Elon Musk moves to open the valves of information from the social media platform Twitter.

Previously the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced a new Dept of Homeland Security priority to combat disinformation {LINK} on technology platforms including social media.

Many eyebrows were raised as the announcement appeared to be an open admission that the U.S. government was going to control information by applying labels, that would align with allies in social media, who need a legal justification for censorship and content removal.

This CISA announcement was quickly followed by various government officials and agencies saying it was critical to combat Russian disinformation, as the events in Ukraine unfolded.  In essence, Ukraine was the justification for search engines like Google, DuckDuckGo, and social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to begin targeting information and content that did not align with the official U.S. government narrative.

Previously those same methods were deployed by the U.S. government, specifically the CDC and FDA, toward COVID-19 and the vaccination program. All of this background aligns with the previous visibility of a public-private partnership between the bureaucracy of government, the U.S. intelligence agencies and U.S. social media.  That partnership now forms the very cornerstone of the DHS/CISA effort to control what information exists in the public space.  It is highly important that people understand what is happening.

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Given the scale of the stakes for western government; and given the professed intentions of govt-aligned big tech to control the story; it is almost impossible to have an honest and open dialogue on the internet about what is happening in Ukraine.  That said, for those who have been using independent resources to form their own opinion of the events in/around Ukraine, this interview highlights some important aspects.

First, notice how Prime Minister Shmyhal is not the least bit bashful about saying cash is important because American taxpayers, the working American people, have a duty to fund the pensions and retirement accounts of the Ukrainian people, including govt politicians. [03:37] Indeed, much of the financial assistance Joe Biden has been sending to Ukraine (beyond the weapons to support the proxy war) is going toward paying the wages and salaries of corrupt Ukranian leadership.

Let that first point settle in deeply, as we consider how working Americans are being financially destroyed by U.S. monetary/fiscal policy, yet the same U.S. officials wiping out your bank account are funding the bank accounts of people in Ukraine.  Interview WATCH:

Second point.  Notice [06:02] how Prime Minister Shmyhal hedges, pauses and thinks about the response to the question of ‘what is victory’, a stalemate or Russian exit?  In the U.S. proxy war against Russia, Shmyhal is not the person who can answer that question, only the White House can.

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This interview is gag-worthy as two condescending leftists wax philosophically about how progressive U.S. foreign policy should dictate global society.  However, it does show just how flawed the ideology of the interventionist political leftists has become, and why their expansionist ideology always culminates in conflict.

Example: Right now, China is threatening to put military bases in the Solomon Islands.  Australia and the collective west are aghast and ready to draw “red lines.”  At the same time the U.S/NATO put military forces ever closer to Russia and are shocked that Putin would eventually respond to the red lines he previously drew.  The geopolitical hypocrisy is ridiculous.

That hypocritical example above highlights the ironic point made in an interview between Margaret Hoover and former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch as they discuss President Trump.

If Trump had won reelection, there was no reason for Putin to invade Ukraine because Donald Trump was not trying to expand pressure on Russia or any other foreign government.  Yovanovitch admits directly that Trump foreign policy did not create conflict; yet, Yovanovitch pretends not to see the cause and effect in her leftist intervention advocacy.  WATCH (prompted to 14:42):

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised more weapons for Ukraine according to Reuters. “British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday to confirm Britain will supply fresh weaponry to support Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s invasion.” (link)

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are heading to Kyiv tomorrow for talks with Zelenskyy. “[I]n what would be the highest-level visit by U.S. officials to Ukraine since the start of the war. The Defense Department and State Department declined to comment. Mr. Zelensky, speaking to reporters in a subway station in Kyiv on Saturday, said he would discuss military supplies and the pace of their delivery with the U.S. officials. The Ukrainian president has pressed Western countries for more weapons and support, and the U.S. and allies have raced to supply Ukraine with NATO-standard heavy weaponry.” (link)

Meanwhile Russia is reporting to have captured a massive Ukranian military weapons cache near Kharkiv (northeastern Ukraine).  The video is quite remarkable:

https://youtu.be/A5u101ZsDdE

When you watch that video, it’s hard not to wonder where all that military hardware came from previously, and how long the buildup of that particular Kharkiv weapons depot had been happening.  There are thousands of tons of weapons and ammunition in that video.

Additionally, Russia’s defense ministry said on Saturday that its forces had shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jet and destroyed three MI-8 helicopters at an airfield in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. There was no immediate reaction from Ukraine regarding the Russian claims.

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In a very late-night filing by Special Counsel John Durham {pdf HERE}, in the case against former Clinton lawyer Michael Sussmann, the special counsel gives the most detailed construct of the “joint venture” between the Clinton team and allies to fabricate a Russian Collusion Conspiracy Theory against Donald Trump in 2016.

As we have noted, Durham is focused on the people outside government who fabricated information and triggered years of false accusations against Donald Trump, which ultimately included the creation of a special counsel, Robert Mueller.

John Durham has not touched any of the players inside government within any of his filings, with the exception of former FBI legal counsel James “Jim” Baker, who is a witness and gave testimony for three days to a grand jury. Durham will not touch anyone inside government [fn¹].

Durham is focused on who, how and why they originated the Trump-Russia lies, and whether any laws were broken as they pushed those lies into government institutions which created four years of crisis for the government and former President Trump.  Within this filing, Durham focuses on the “joint venture”, or what can be described as a conspiracy to manufacture and/or defraud the government.

I have tried to put clarity on the filing by outlining who/what the terms are. DETAILS:

As you can see, the filing speaks for itself in outlining the origination of the conspiracy. Durham continues….

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It’s not exactly a confidence builder when the Director of the International Monetary Fund answers the question about forward priorities by saying, “Perhaps we need to pay attention to the law of unintended consequences.”  You had one job Kristalina, one job.

During an International Monetary Fund (IMF) spring debate and discussion segment, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, outlined her perspective against the backdrop of massive inflation caused by the global financial institutions telling government to spend money and they will print it, during COVID.  [The video is prompted to 01:04:50] WATCH:

The discussion included EU Central Bank President Lagarde, US Fed Chair Powell, Indonesian Finance Minister Mulvani – when IMF Director Kristalina Georgieva admitted they channeled their COVID fear and emotions by unsustainably printing money without pausing to think through the consequences.

Now, the world is facing massive inflation, economic contraction, looming hunger, widespread famine and a pending global financial collapse.

Their response? “Whoops.”

Not to worry, they’ll have a little wine and chocolate and figure things out.  Swear.

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Colonel Douglas Macgregor appeared on Tucker Carlson to give a brutally honest assessment of the conflict in Ukraine. Regarding the transfer of heavy weapons and artillery, Macgregor notes something many have discussed.

The logistics of sending in those weapons from western Ukraine (Poland border) to the eastern Ukraine battle encompasses a thousand-mile trek. Russia can easily hit those convoys en route, negating the supply line. Additionally, the U.S. has sent $4.7 billion in military equipment and financial aid so far (see graphic below), and we have no idea who is in control of those weapons.  WATCH:

To give scale for the proxy war the U.S. government is waging in Ukraine, check out the extreme ratio of who in NATO is sending support, and how much.

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There comes a time when ideology runs headfirst into the monolith of unwavering reality.  Today, during a press briefing as a part of the IMF World Bank Meetings [TRANSCRIPT HERE], Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was forced to admit the sanctions against Russia have hurt the EU more than Vladimir Putin and the Russian economy.

Secretary Yellen was asked about the need for increased western government bans against Russian exports.

Yellen was faced with the discomfort of admitting the global market is still open to receiving Russian products, specifically oil and gas, and that banning the EU from receiving those products only drives the EU prices higher, which has already led to unsustainable inflation.

Key Segment:

…”Europe clearly needs to reduce its dependence on Russia with respect to energy. But we need to be careful when we think about a complete European ban on say oil imports. We want to harm Russia – that would clearly raise global oil prices would have a damaging impact on Europe and other parts of the world. And counterintuitively it could actually have very little negative impact on Russia because although Russia might export less, its price for its exports would go up.”

The EU is already experiencing massive energy price increases.  Yesterday, Germany announced manufacturing price increases of more than 30% following increased energy costs exceeding 80%.  The current western government sanctions against Russia are hitting the EU economy harder than they are hurting Russia as alternative customers (India, China) for Russian energy exports are still purchasing.

In essence, the EU has partly removed themselves as a customer, but the seller, Russia, is still selling; only now they are getting higher prices because the EU and U.S. are disrupting oil and energy production in an effort to chase their climate change goals.

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The German government released their version of the producer price index for inflation, and they are reporting 30.9% inflation for products leaving German factories.  [DETAILS HERE] That’s the highest rate of inflation since shortly after the second world war.

The inflation rate is being driven mostly by energy costs which are more than 80% higher than last year.   However, each nation’s overall inflation rate is also driven by the amount of central bank spending they used during the COVID economic lockdowns.  The more any govt spent on subsidies, the more money they printed, the more they devalued their money and subsequently, the higher their current rate of inflation.

Germany is the largest economy in the European Union.  This level of inflation within Germany has major ramifications.

First, with this level of energy inflation Germany cannot afford to stop purchasing Russian energy products.  There’s no way for Germany to join or increase western sanctions against oil and gas they need to stay sufficient.  Germany is dependent on Russian energy.

Second, with Germany’s economy this vulnerable; and with Germany being so dependent on Russian energy; Germany will have to distance itself further from any Ukraine assistance.   In the background of western voices already being upset with Germany for not providing more support for Ukraine, their economic vulnerability explains their unwillingness.   The U.S. proxy war against Russia does not benefit Germany, at all.

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