The New York Times has confirmed that videos circulating online of more than ten Russian Prisoners of War (PoW) getting executed by Ukrainians were filmed in the village of Makeevka at the time of its recapture by the Ukrainian forces.
"By comparing the videos to satellite imagery, The Times confirmed that the videos had been filmed at a farmhouse in the village. Some of the videos are part of a series of four drone videos circulated on Nov. 12 by a pro-Ukrainian Telegram channel reporting the recapture of Makeevka. The Times verified that the other aerial videos had also recently been filmed in the village," the newspaper said on Sunday.
It was emphasized in the report that in the videos the Russian soldiers can be seen lying dead, positioned as they were when they surrendered.
"It looks like most of them were shot in the head," Dr. Rohini Haar, medical adviser at Physicians for Human Rights, told the newspaper, adding "There are pools of blood. That indicates that they were just left there dead. There appears to have been no effort to pick them up or help them."
War crimes prosecution expert at Utrecht University Iva Vukusic told the paper that it was difficult to determine whether a war crime had or had not been committed by Ukraine, based on the video evidence. Meanwhile, Dr. Haar said that when they surrendered, the Russian soldiers had been lying down, apparently unarmed.
"They’re considered hors de combat, or noncombatants — effectively prisoners of war," the medical adviser stressed.
The report says the videos of the execution "offer a rare look into one gruesome moment among many in the war, but do not show how or why the Russian soldiers were killed."
On Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the Ukrainian military had deliberately killed more than ten captured Russian servicemen, shooting them in the head at point blank — a crime no one can present as a "tragic exception."
The Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal investigation on Friday into the execution of Russian POWs by the Ukrainian military. The committee said that Russian military investigators were also taking measures to identify individuals who captured the footage of the execution.
UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Friday that the United Nations was calling for a full investigation of all reported human rights violations in the context of more than 10 brutally executed Russian PoWs by the Ukrainian side.
Russia has sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the issue of inhumane treatment of Russian PoWs by Ukraine and asked the top official to circulate it as an official document of the UN Security Council and General Assembly.
Anies Baswedan di Masjid Agung Kota Tasikmalaya.(Kapol.id])
Calon Presiden usungan Partai Nasdem, Anies Baswedan menyambangi Kota Tasikmalaya, Jawa Barat pada hari Minggu kemarin, 20/11/2022. Salah satu agenda Anies di kota berjuluk Kota Santri itu adalah menyambangi ribuan jemaah Masjid Agung Tasikmalaya.
Sejumlah tokoh Tasikmalaya terlihat hadir dalam kesempatan itu, di antaranya adalah Wali Kota Tasikmalaya Budi Budiman. Terlihat juga tokoh lain seperti KH Aminudin Bustomi dan Dede Sudrajat.
Dalam kesempatan itu, Anies Baswedan menyampaikan pada jemaah yang hadir bahwa perubahan tak datang dengan sendirinya namun perlu diikthiarkan bersama.
“Amanat ini (di Pilpres) amanat yang besar, karena itu kami dengan rendah hati menerima amanat ini. Bersamaan dengan doa dari masyarakat,” katanya.
Anies mengatakan, kedatangan Tasikmalaya ini bukan perjumpaan terakhir.
“Insya Allah kita berjumpa lagi merasakan Indonesia yang lebih baik,” ucapnya di atas mimbar.
Sementara itu teriakan presiden menggema di Masjid Agung Kota Tasikmalaya saat Anies mengambil gambar suasana.
Ia mengapresiasi sambutan warga atas kedatangannya ke Tasikmalaya dan Ciamis selama dua hari ini.
“Terima kasih dua hari ini telah mengirimkan pesan yang mengguncang se-Indonesia,” ucapnya.
Selain itu, Anies juga bercerita mengenai perjalanannya di Priagan Timur menyambangi Tasikmalaya dan Ciamis selama dua hari.
“Saya diantar pak Aminudin selama perjalanan. Menteri Agama ya. Pilpres perasaan masih jauh,” ucapnya berseloroh disambut jamaah.
Menanggapi pernyataan sebagai Menteri Agama, KH. Aminudin Bustomi menjawab diplomatis. Karena semua kejadian merupakan skenario dari Allah SWT.
“Tidak sesuatu yang di luar skenario Allah. Humor, selingan yang jelas tentu harapan kami tentu jalan hidup ke depan bagaimana Allah,” katanya.
Ia bercerita mengantar ke sejumlah pesantren, mulai dari Cintapada Cibeureum Kota Tasik.
Kemudian Ponpes Suryalaya, takjiah ke Cipasung, Abah Aos, Ponpes Darusalam Ciamis, Idrisiyah hingga Masjid Agung Kota Tasikmalaya.
“Semalam sampai jam 2 pagi. Tidurnya pak Anies hanya 60 menit,” kata Amin, sapaan akrab Aminudin.
Amin menuturkan, saat transit di ruang VIP Masjid Agung Tasikmalaya juga sempat mencicipi kuliner khas Tasikmalaya nasi TO (tutug oncom) mang Ade.
“Alhamdulillah, jamuan juga spontanitas dari para ibu-ibu untuk Anies Baswedan,” ucapnya.
Selain itu, para ibu-ibu yang hendak selfie dengan Anies Baswedan malah berfoto dengan Wali Kota Tasikmalaya periode 2012-2021, H. Budi Budiman.
“Mending dengan Pak Budi susah (berdesakan) kalau mau foto dengan Pak Anies,” celetuk ibu-ibu.
Elon Musk reinstated Trump on Saturday night after a 24-hour poll. His account and previous tweets are now visible but he has not sent any tweets since being reinstated.
Trump confirmed today that he will not return to Twitter now that his account has been reactivated.
“I don’t see any reason for it, they have a lot of problems at Twitter, you see what’s going on. It may make it, it may not make it,” Trump told the Republican Jewish Coalition during a virtual appearance at their annual leadership meeting.
The statement confirms what he said on his Truth Social account while the poll was active.
“Vote now with positivity, but don’t worry, we aren’t going anywhere. Truth Social is special!”.
Truth Social is a social media site similar to Twitter that was created by Trump Media & Technology Group a few months after Trump was suspended.
Trump’s Twitter account was shut down two days after his supporters stormed the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021. At the time, Twitter called the suspension "Permanent" .
Before he purchased Twitter last month, Musk called the suspension a mistake. He indicated that would restore Trump’s account when he became the owner of Twitter. After taking control, Musk decided against making the decision unilaterally and instead put it to a poll.
More than 15 million Twitter users voted and Trump’s suspension won the poll with 52% of the vote. Trump was reinstated later that night.
Musk spent $44 billion purchasing Twitter and the first weeks under his control have been chaotic. In his first week as owner, he fired roughly half of Twitter’s 7,500 employees. That was followed by another 1,200 staff members resigning after Musk told them to commit to a “hardcore” work environment or leave.
Trump’s account became visible again on Saturday, including his past tweets.
The former president suggested in a Truth Social post on Saturday that he wouldn’t return to Twitter.
“Vote now with positivity, but don’t worry, we aren’t going anywhere. Truth Social is special!” Trump wrote.
The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” Musk tweeted, using a Latin phrase meaning “the voice of the people, the voice of God.”
The Trump Media & Technology Group social media platform, TRUTH Social, formally launched last month and has been up and running under its brand-new cloud services for four days, after having beta-tested since February. Former Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., is the company’s CEO.
He added: "The bottom line is, no, I am not going back to Twitter."
Trump was permanently suspended from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat following the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot. Twitter deemed a number of his tweets connected to the violent protests as inflammatory and warned of "the risk of further incitement of violence."
When asked whether a Musk-owned Twitter could be competition to TRUTH, Trump said that he feels it would be a positive development in the social media space.
"I think it is good. We want liberty and justice and fairness in our country, and the more we can have open, the better," Trump said. "But no, I don’t view that as a competition for what I am doing."
"This is a platform for my voice. TRUTH is a platform for my voice and for my supporters," Trump said. "But I want everybody to come over to TRUTH—conservatives, liberals, whatever."
The former president said Twitter "became very boring because conservatives were thrown off or got off the platform when I left."
"TRUTH Social will be a voice for me," Trump continued. "And that’s something nobody else can get."
The former president would not comment on whether he has been in contact with Musk.
A source familiar told Fox News that Trump and Musk have a very good relationship and are friendly. The source cited Trump coming to Musk’s defense in 2018 after the Tesla CEO was charged with securities fraud over misleading tweets about a potential transaction to take Tesla private.
Musk, on Monday, tweeted:
"I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means," Musk tweeted.
I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means
Meanwhile, TMTG CEO Devin Nunes told Fox News Monday that TRUTH Social has an "uncancellable architecture now that is working flawlessly and lightening-quick."
"What President Trump started with this company really is a movement, that has led us to a point where now Elon Musk is saying, hey, this is a problem," Nunes said. "And we're glad he is saying it is a problem."
The topic of content moderation has come under scrutiny from critics on the right, who have argued that tech giants should no longer benefit from protections of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act if they censor certain viewpoints.
Trump Media & Technology Group first launched in October. The company said last month that the partner has agreements for $1 billion in capital from institutional investors.
TMTG's plan is to become a publicly listed company through a merger with the publicly traded Digital World Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company whose sole purpose is to acquire a private company and take it public.
Kazakhstan is switching to a new form of the political system and the constitutional reform will be implemented consistently, incumbent President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Monday.
"We will implement the constitutional reform consistently and clearly. We are switching to a new form of the country’s political system," his election headquarters quoted him as saying.
He also announced cardinal reforms of the country’s economy. "We will do our best to improve people’s living standards," he pledged.
"Unity is needed to implement these goals. That is why I call on you for unity," Tokayev stressed.
Kazakhstan held early presidential elections on Sunday. The voter turnout was 69.43%.
According to the exit poll conducted by the Open Society international institute of regional studies and the Amanat party’s institute of public policy, Tokayev is winning 82.45% and 85.52% of votes, respectively.
Kazakhstan’s incumbent President Tokayev winning - exit poll
Kazakhstan’s incumbent President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is leading Sunday’s early presidential elections with 85.52% of votes, according to the exit poll conducted by the Amanat party’s institute of public policy.
According to the poll, Zhiguli Dairabayev is winning 2.67% of votes, Meiram Kazhyken - 2.43%, Karakat Abden - 2.61%, Saltanat Tursynbekova - 1.44%, Nurlan Auyesbayev - 1.93% As many as 3.40% of voters opted for the "against all" candidate.
Tokayev is leading Sunday’s early presidential elections with 82.45% of votes, according to the exit poll conducted by the Open Society international institute of regional studies.
According to the poll, Zhiguli Dairabayev is winning 3.33% of votes, Meiram Kazhyken - 2.23%, Karakat Abden - 2.54%, Saltanat Tursynbekova - 2.08%, Nurlan Auyesbayev - 2.17% As many as 5.20% of voters opted for the "against all" candidate.
Early presidential elections were held in Kazakhstan on Sunday. Six candidates, including incumbent President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, are vying for the presidential office.
More than 10,000 polling stations, including 68 in 53 foreign countries, were opened for 11.95 million eligible voters. The voter turnout was 69.43%.
The curious commentary comes on the heels of this week’s deadly missile explosion in Poland, which escalated Russia-NATO tensions to the brink of war before the US and its allies admitted the missile was Ukrainian.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is trying to manipulate Washington, and the US government has been forced to take a number of overt and behind-the-scenes actions in recent weeks when it feels Kiev’s actions escalate tensions with Moscow to dangerous levels, famed neocon columnist David Ignatius has suggested.
“Zelensky has the power of a brave, charismatic leader to pressure his superpower patron into actions that might not be in the United States’ interests. The Biden administration has tried to strike a balance between strong military support for Ukraine and avoiding anything that might trigger a direct Russian-American conflict,” Ignatius, known as privileged reporter for the US security state who was outed in 2018 for being fed stories by the CIA, wrote in a recent op-ed.
Ignatius pointed to a series of actions taken by Washington to defuse Russia-US tensions, including CIA director William Burns’ meeting with Russian Foreign Intelligence Service chief Sergei Naryshkin on Monday to keep channels of communication open.
Secondly, Ignatius indicated, in the aftermath of the Poland missile strike on Tuesday, instead of blaming Russia and triggering NATO’s Article 5 on collective defense, the Biden administration “cooled down” tensions, first by admitting that it “lacked reliable information” on who was responsible, and then acknowledging, together with Poland, that the missile was Ukrainian.
Washington also took other actions to “push back” when it felt Ukrainian actions were “too risky, or too rigid,” according to Ignatius, from the curious New York Times piece in October citing US intelligence admitting Ukrainian agents were responsible for the car bombing murder of Russian journalist Daria Dugina, to comments by US officials to media this month asking Zelensky to drop his iron-clad ban on talking to Moscow.
Ignatius’ op-ed in The Washington Post is not insignificant, as it serves as a recognition in a major mainstream media resource of a fact Russian officials have been warning about all along: that American support for Kiev risks escalating the Ukrainian security crisis into World War III.
The Washington Post is one of two US newspapers known to constitute the pinnacle of the propaganda arm of the US military-industrial complex and the deep state. Ignatius, who has spent decades rubbing shoulders with intelligence agencies, Congress, and the Justice Department, has also made a name for himself cheerleading every act of US military aggression abroad over the last quarter century, from Yugoslavia and Afghanistan to Iraq, Libya, and Syria. In 2019, he was revealed to be a privileged reporter fed stories by the CIA which the agency wants publicized. Russia slapped an entry ban on Ignatius in April.
French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Sunday that it was necessary to avoid false assessment and hasty judgments of the missile incident in Poland, which may lead to escalation of the Ukraine conflict.
"Escalation may develop very quickly. It is necessary to remain calm and carefully analyze what is happening to avoid any false assessment. Our military intelligence has been looking into the matter since Tuesday together with the United States and the United Kingdom," Lecornu told French magazine Le Journal du Dimanche.
On November 15, two missiles fell on Polish territory on the border with Ukraine, killing two people. Initially, Warsaw said that the missiles were Russian-made but later added that there was a high probability that they were shot by Ukrainian air defense forces. The Russian defense ministry said no strikes had been carried out on targets near the Ukrainian-Polish border and the debris on photos released on the internet looked nothing like Russian weapons.
French Politician Urges Paris to End Help for Zelensky Over Attempt to Provoke World War
Paris should stop supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after his attempt to provoke a third world war, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, the head of the party Debout la France (France Arise) and a former French presidential candidate, said on Saturday.
"Zelensky, sending a missile to Poland and blaming the Russians for this, almost provoked World War III! Stop supporting this dangerous man. It is necessary to urgently find a plan to return to peace," Dupont-Aignan said on Twitter.
According to the politician, the peace plan is the only possible solution to the conflict in Ukraine and should include a ceasefire, the autonomy of Donbass in accordance with the Minsk agreements and the neutrality of Ukraine.
On Tuesday, two missiles fell on Polish territory on the border with Ukraine, killing two people. Initially, Warsaw said that the missiles were Russian-made but later added that there was a high probability that they were shot by Ukrainian air defense forces. The Russian defense ministry said no strikes had been carried out on targets near the Ukrainian-Polish border and the debris on photos released on the Internet looked nothing like Russian weapons.
NATO Needs Enemies to Justify Its Existence, Keep Allies in Check, Experts Say
Whether it is funneling billions in military support to prop up the Kiev regime amid Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine, or trying to intervene in Southeast Asia and forge military alliances to ostensibly deter China and Russia, NATO always blatantly operates by wielding the “image of [an] enemy” as an excuse, Moscow has underscored.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated the mantra last month that the alliance was “not [a] party to the conflict” in Ukraine, despite Washington and its allies pouring over $100 billion worth of military and economic support to the Kiev authorities as Moscow continues its special military operation in Ukraine.
Both Russian officials and numerous analysts have seen through the rhetoric, pointing out that NATO hopes to accomplish its goal of weakening Russia via a proxy war. Similarly, when it comes to countering China’s clout, Washington and its allies try to depict Beijing as a bogeyman.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) needs external enemies in order to justify its very existence and for the purpose of keeping its allies disciplined, Dmitry Suslov, deputy director of the Center for European and International Studies at Russia’s Higher School of Economics, told Sputnik.
Unlike other multinational alliances, such as for example the Collective Security Treaty Organization, fanning the flames of tension around the world comes naturally to NATO, as it is not just a collective defense organization, but an institutionalization of American hegemony.
No longer a defensive oriented alliance, NATO has been searching for a mission since the fall of the Soviet Union, Earl Rasmussen, executive vice president of the Washington-based Eurasia Center, agreed.
A look at the past 30 years or so will show that NATO members have been involved in offensive actions against Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Syria, etc. Furthermore, the dogged expansion of NATO eastward was driven by the goal of containing Russia, the retired lieutenant colonel who spent over 20 years in the US Army recalled.
Unfortunately, in effect “the Cold War never ended it just took on a different form,” Earl Rasmussen said.
Boosting American Hegemony
NATO’s main purpose is not just to defend its members from outside aggression, but to impose, to strengthen American hegemony in Europe, in Eurasia, and in the world as such, by undermining the major rivals of the United States, the major powers which threaten American primacy, which disagree with American international dominance, Dmitry Suslov emphasized. One way the alliance can achieve this is by triggering and strengthening instability in the adjacent areas to these "competitors."
It is true that NATO needs a bogeyman to both justify its continued existence and to promote Western hegemony, concurred the Executive vice president of the Eurasia Center. According to Earl Rasmussen, without such an adversary, one would question why NATO should continue to exist.
‘Bogeyman Specter’
Russia and China have been singled out for the role of adversary, with NATO defining both nations as "challenges," "threats," and pulling out all the stops in a bid to stoke instability in the neighborhood of these countries. So, understanding mission of NATO’s mission, which is very different from classic collective defense, helps explain all of the alliance’s actions, Dmitry Suslov clarified.
Now, since not all foreign policy initiatives of the United States would go over well with its allies, NATO is resorting to exploiting the specter of a foreign enemy, the expert pointed out.
The goal of preserving American hegemony alone might not suffice to prompt some allies to get on board with Washington’s decisions. But if they are frightened by external enemies, or faced with the image of an adversarial enemy allegedly threatening their security, system of domestic governance, their interests and values, and perhaps even their existence, then these NATO member states might become more amenable, the expert underscored.
Accordingly, China is increasingly being presented as a threat to not just the United States, but to European countries as well, and to the security of NATO as such. The same goes for Russia, with European countries being “frightened” into a more “disciplined” demeanor regarding the foreign policy initiatives of the United States.
Defense Spending Bonanza
At this point, finances weigh in heavily. Back in the Cold War era, demonization of the Soviet Union played an immensely important role in justifying the defense expenses by the United States and also other members of NATO, Dmitry Suslov recalled. What we are witnessing now is a direct continuation of that line. Dangling the scary image of Russia as a “deadly enemy” to the Western world and to NATO allows Washington to justify the increase in defense spending.
Having a permanent enemy justifies the existence of NATO and, accordingly, provides significant windfall for the Military Industrial Complex, Rasmussen told Sputnik. He added that US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in his farewell address in January 1961, warned Americans of the dangers of the military-industrial complex, but his words of wisdom failed to be heeded.
‘Coalition of the Willing’
As for whether NATO allies are prepared to fall in line and feed into US ambitions, Dmitry Suslov believes there is a certain ambiguity on the part of European countries to support Washington in its confrontation against Russia and China.
He went on to add that in many ways, Europeans have essentially turned over their sovereign defense security to NATO, i.e. the US.
China-US ties have sunk to their lowest point since the normalization of relations in 1979, with problems stemming from the trade and tech wars launched by the Trump administration in 2018, complemented by the Biden White House’s repeated violations of the One China policy on Taiwan.
Taiwan is a security "red line" for China which Washington must never cross, Foreign Minister Wang Yi has indicated.
“In response to recent erroneous words and deeds by the United States on the Taiwan issue and Washington’s attempt to draw a line in Sino-US relations, President Xi Jinping comprehensively and systematically expounded on the origin of the Taiwan issue and China’s principled position, clearly pointing out that Taiwan issue is at the center of China’s core interests, and the core of Sino-US relations,” Wang indicated in a Foreign Ministry statement Sunday, summarizing President Xi’s trips to the G20 and APEC summits this week.
Stressing that “‘Taiwan independence’ is incompatible with peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” and that “the Chinese people will never agree to anyone who wants to separate Taiwan from China,” Wang warned that the issue is the “political foundation and the main red line that no one can cross.”
The Chinese top diplomat urged Washington to do its part to stick to the "Four No’s and One Without" pledge given by former Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian in 2000, which committed Taipei to maintain the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.
In his talks with President Joe Biden, Xi called on Washington to abandon its “zero-sum game” approach to China, “establish a tone of dialogue instead of confrontation,” and “adhere to mutual respect and peace,” according to Wang.
Xi was also said to have slapped down US criticism on issues including democracy and human rights, and to have informed his American interlocutors that “the United States has American-style democracy, and China has Chinese-style democracy,” and that both countries must recognize and respect one another’s “different systems and paths.”
Taiwan Strains
China-US ties, already rattled by Donald Trump’s trade and tech wars, sunk to new lows under President Biden amid his repeated pledges to “defend” Taiwan against “Chinese aggression,” and thanks to the ramping up of US arms sales to the wayward island.
In his address at the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party last month, President Xi reiterated that the PRC is committed to peaceful reunification with Taipei, characterizing integration under the One Country, Two Systems model applied to Hong Kong and Macau as “the best way to realize unification across the Taiwan Strait.”
Xi also warned that “Taiwan is China’s Taiwan,” and that Beijing would “never compromise to renounce the use of force” to resolve the issue to prevent “interference by outside forces and the few separatists seeking ‘Taiwan independence’” from trying to permanently separate the island from the mainland.
Xi also warned that “Taiwan is China’s Taiwan,” and that Beijing would “never compromise to renounce the use of force” to resolve the issue to prevent “interference by outside forces and the few separatists seeking ‘Taiwan independence’” from trying to permanently separate the island from the mainland.
Officials in the White House and the Pentagon have spent months accusing Beijing of making preparations to “invade” the island in the near future, and Washington has promised to “support” Taipei “militarily” by providing training and equipment.
Washington ramped up tensions with China over Taiwan this summer as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island. Her trip opened the floodgates for a series of visits to the island by other House lawmakers, senators, governors, and other officials, most recent among whom was a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (the US agency in charge of censoring indecent content in broadcasts).
China slammed the visits as a violation of the terms of agreements cementing Sino-US relations, which prohibit US diplomatic contacts with Taipei, and kicked off weeks of military drills around the island. Beijing also sanctioned Pelosi, her colleagues, and US arms makers, which have been shipping weapons to Taiwan.
The White House formally distanced itself from Pelosi’s visit, telling reporters back in August that “the military thinks it’s not a good idea right now.” However, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan defended the trip, saying it was “not unprecedented” and “not threatening to China.”
Former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori has censured Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky for having caused suffering to many of his fellow citizens, says an article published on the website of The Nikkei newspaper on Sunday.
"Why is it that everyone criticizes Russian President (Vladimir) Putin, but no one bashes Zelensky? He has caused suffering to many Ukrainians," the former prime minister said, speaking at an event organized by Muneo Suzuki, a member of the upper house of parliament, in Tokyo on November 18.
"The Japanese media practices a one-sided approach, they act in accordance with Western sources of information. I can't shake the feeling that they use only American and European media publications," Mori noted.
In addition, Mori expressed the opinion that the US has taken a one-sided position on the situation around Ukraine, which affected Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's stance on the issue.
Yoshiro Mori, 85, was Japan’s prime minister from April 2000 to April 2001.
"I don't quite understand why only President Putin is criticized while Mr. Zelenskyy isn't taken to task at all. Mr Zelenskyy has made many Ukrainian people suffer," Mori told a political gathering in Tokyo.
The former premier also lashed out at Japanese news outlets, saying their "one-sided" reporting on the war in Ukraine gives him the impression they "only rely on reports from Europe and the United States."
Mori made the remarks at a gathering related to Muneo Suzuki, another veteran lawmaker known for close ties with Russia and his efforts to resolve the issue of Russian-held Japanese islands off Hokkaido.
In February last year, Mori came under fire after telling an Olympics-related gathering that meetings involving women tend to drag on. He was replaced in the chief organizer role by Seiko Hashimoto, a former female Olympian.
