Wagner Boss Prigozhin Announces Bid for Ukraine Presidency

This picture taken on July 4, 2017 shows Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin prior to a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow. The financier of the Wagner Group of mercenaries fighting for Moscow's interests in Ukraine made an outlandish announcement on March 11, 2023, that he intended to run for Ukrainian president. SERGEI ILNITSKY/GETTY IMAGES

The founder of the Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin said that in 2024 he intends to run for the presidency of Ukraine.

“I made a decision in 2024 to run for president — for the president of Ukraine,” Prigozhin said in an appeal published by the Wagner Orchestra Telegram channel.

He noted that he would compete with the incumbent President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and ex-president of the country Petro Poroshenko.

Prigozhin said that in 2024 he decided to go to the presidential elections in Ukraine

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the financier of the Wagner Group of mercenaries fighting for Russia, has made the outlandish claim that he intends to run for the presidency of Ukraine in 2024. It appeared to be a dig at the continued lack of ammunition his forces are enduring.

Dressed in combat gear and addressing the camera from an undisclosed location in which gunfire could be heard, he made a dramatic pause, before clarifying that he wanted to run for "president of Ukraine."

He said that if he defeated incumbent Volodomyr Zelensky and his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, "then everything will be fine" and that "ammunition will not be needed."

Wagner has been leading the offensive in Bakhmut, which has become the longest and bloodiest fight of Russia’s year-long assault.

According to him, the Wagner group needs some 10,000 tons of ammunition, worth approximately $1 billion, every month.

On human losses, Prigozhin said "fighters die at war in any case, the war is so invented that one army kills another."

In a separate statement, Prigozhin announced that Wagner recruitment centers have opened in 42 Russian cities.

"There are new fighters coming there who will go side by side with us to defend their country and their family. To make our common future and protect the memory of the past. Despite the colossal resistance of Ukraine's armed forces, we will go forward. Despite the sticks in the wheels that are stuck in ours at every move, we will overcome this together," Prigozhin said.

Last night a statement from him about the will to transform the "Wagner" into an army for the defense of the state and justice, had drawn attention to his now unlimited political ambitions. Precisely in an attempt to turn the fears of Russian political and military leaders into a joke, Prigozhin told Simonov: “I just got political ambitions, looking around me. I have decided that in 2024 I will run for the presidency… the presidency of Ukraine, and I will run for that post with (Volodymyr) Zelensky and (Petro) Poroshenko”: the current president of Ukraine and his immediate predecessor.

Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X Erupsi Gunung Merapi Erupsi Untuk Menutupi Tanah Berlubang Akibat Penambangan

Sri Sultan HB X saat memberikan keterangan kepada wartawan soal erupsi Merapi, hari Sabtu, 11/03/2023. (Foto : iNews.id /erfan erlin)

Gubernur DIY Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X menjelaskan jika Gunung Merapi tidak akan meletus seperti tahun 2010 meski telah mengeluarkan awan panas seperti yang terjadi pada hari Sabtu siang, 11/03/2023. Sultan enegaskan, bahwa erupsi Gunung Merapi yang terjadi biasanya untuk menutup lubang-lubang tanah yang dirusak akibat penambangan.

Menurut Sultan, jika lubang-lubang tanah yang rusak akibat tambang tersebut sudah tertutup kembali maka erupsi akan berhenti.

"Merapi itu ya erupsi begitu saja enggak akan meletus seperti dulu yang penting ngebaki (memenuhi) sik (yang) dirusak karena ditambang gitu saja," ujar HB X, pada hari Sabtu, 11/03/2023.

Raja Keraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat ini menambahkan untuk menutup kembali lubang-lubang tanah yang rusak akibat penambangan memang perlu waktu lama. Karena lubang tanah tersebut tidak hanya di atas namun juga ada lubang tanah di bagian bawah.

Sultan menandaskan pihaknya sebenarnya sudah menutup tambang-tambang yang ada dan tidak boleh ada penambangan lagi. Seharusnya sudah tidak ada warga lagi yang melakukan aktivitas penambangan. Terlebih untuk wilayah penambangan yang sudah ditutup kini sudah diratakan.

Agar warga tak kembali menambang di Merapi, Sultan berencana mengubah kawasan tambang menjadi kawasan pertanian dan peternakan.

"Ada yang bikin keju ada yang ditanami kopi kan gitu, supaya mereka punya pendapatan dari produk di sektor pertanian supaya tidak nambang lagi," jelas Sultan.

"Kita ratakan ada yang ditanami rumput, pohon kopi. Totalnya ada 500.000 tanaman supaya mereka memiliki pendapatan di sektor pertanian sehingga tidak menambang lagi,"ujarnya.

Sultan mengatakan sekalipun luncuran Sabtu siang mencapai 4 km namun hanya sampai atas saja dan tidak akan meletus. Karena sekarang ini kondisi Gunung Merapi sudah berbeda dengan sebelumnya.

Apalagi sekarang sudah 10 tahun lebih Gunung Merapi sehingga wajar kalau erupsi. Karena biasanya periodesasi Gunung Merapi erupsi adalah 4 tahun sekali. "Ya kalau memang harus keluar ya nyembure karena yang ditambang di sekitar itu,"kata Sultan.

Saat Gunung Merapi di Jawa Tengah meletus siang tadi, Gunung Merapi mengeluarkan awan panas.

Sejumlah titik di Jawa Tengah diguyur hujan abu. Balai Penyelidikan dan Pengembangan Teknologi Kebencanaan Geologi (BPPTKG) melaporkan ada luncuran awan panas ke arah Kali Bebeng atau Krasak.

"Terjadi awan panas guguran di Merapi tanggal 11 Maret 2023 pukul 12.12 WIB," tulis BPPTKG, hari Sabtu, 11/03/2023.

Luncuran awan panas itu disebut mengarah ke Kali Bebeng atau Krasak. Hujan abu mengguyur wilayah Kecamatan Selo, Kabupaten Boyolali.

Boyolali Diguyur Hujan Abu Pantauan detikJateng, erupsi Gunung Merapi itu terlihat jelas dari wilayah Desa Sruni, Kecamatan Musuk, Boyolali. Pada pukul 12.17 WIB, kepulan asap tebal tampak membubung dari puncak Merapi.

"Betul, itu APG (awan panas guguran). Ke barat daya," kata petugas Pos Pemantauan Gunung Merapi, Tri Mujiyanto.

Luncuran awan panas guguran dari Gunung Merapi itu menyedot perhatian warga. Warga pun mengabadikan fenomena tersebut menggunakan kamera ponselnya.

Sementara itu, sejumlah desa di Kecamatan Selo, Boyolali, saat ini diguyur hujan abu. Hujan abu itu di antaranya melanda wilayah Desa Tlogolele, Jrakah, dan Klakah.

"Sudah hujan abu ini, di wilayah Stabelan relatif tipis. Yang lumayan deras di wilayah bawah," kata Kadus Stabelan, Desa Tlogolele, Maryanto, kepada detikJateng.

"Sampai saat ini masih terjadi hujan abu. Sudah merata, untuk wilayah Klakah semuanya rata (hujan abu) karena angin mengarah ke barat laut. Langit yang semula kelihatan (cerah) sekarang sudah nggak kelihatan," kata Kades Klakah, Marwoto, kepada detikJateng, pada pukul 12.54 WIB.

Pantauan detikJateng pukul 13.15 WB, erupsi Gunung Merapi masih terjadi. Kepulasan asap masih terlihat membubung tinggi dan bahkan tampak lebih besar dari satu jam sebelumnya.

Medvedev suggests new name for Ukraine

Deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev. ©Sputnik/Ekaterina Shtukina Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has proposed renaming Ukraine in honor of notorious Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera. His suggestion came after Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky told his government to consider a proposal to change Russia’s name. 

On Friday, Zelensky instructed authorities to “thoroughly study” the proposal to officially rename Russia to ‘Moscovia.’ He was reacting to an online petition, which argued that the name ‘Russia’ provided grounds for “further encroachment” on the history of Kievan Rus, a medieval state from which both Russia and Ukraine trace their origin. Many Ukrainian nationalists claim that their homeland is the only true heir of Rus. 

The name ‘Moscovia’ dates to the Grand Duchy of Moscow and was historically used by some authors to describe the Russian state.

On Saturday, Medvedev, who served as Russian president between 2008 and 2012, and currently serves as deputy chairman of the Security Council, fired back in a post on his Telegram channel. “Our response?… Only the Schweinisch Bandera-Reich,” he wrote. The word “schweinisch” means “piggish” in German.

Medvedev was apparently referencing the idolization by some Ukrainian politicians of Stepan Bandera, a World War II-era leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). Bandera collaborated with Adolf Hitler’s government during the early stages of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. He was later arrested and imprisoned by the Germans over disagreements about the future of Ukraine. After the war, Bandera fled to West Germany, where in 1959 he was assassinated by a KGB agent.

The Ukrainian Insurgent Army – the OUN’s military wing founded in 1943 – positioned itself as a guerilla force fighting both Soviet and German troops. Its agents committed multiple atrocities against Polish, Jewish and Russian civilians. 

Bandera and his followers are honored as heroes in modern Ukraine, with streets and buildings named after them. Nationalists hold annual torchlit processions on Bandera’s birthday in Kiev and other cities.

Idea of renaming Russia to Muscovy proves attempts to create ‘anti-Russia’ — diplomat

The idea of renaming Russia into Muscovy in the Ukrainian language once again proves attempts to create "anti-Russia" from Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday.

Earlier it was reported that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky tasked Prime Minister Denis Shmygal with "carefully studying" the possibility of renaming Russia to Muscovy in the Ukrainian language.

"The bunker (President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky - TASS) proves that we are right every day. Here is another evidence of an attempt to create an "anti-Russia" from Ukraine," she wrote on her Telegram channel on Saturday, commenting on the instructions of the Ukrainian President.

The instructions came as a response to a petition that gathered 25,000 signatures on Zelensky’s website, and therefore was submitted for consideration to the president of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian President asked Shmygal to study whether the move is possible in the historic and cultural context, and what consequences it may entail in terms of the international law.

The petition also suggests replacing the term ‘Russian Federation’ with the ‘Moscow Federation,’ and the demonym ‘Russian’ with ‘Muscovite.’

A proposal to rename Russia to Muscovy was voiced by the Kiev city council in January 2022, following similar initiatives put forward by regional authorities from the Ukrainian regions of Lvov and Rovno in December 2021.

Russian MoD Releases Footage of British Stormer HVM Air Defense System Being Destroyed

The Stormer HVM (High-Velocity Missile) is a short-range air defense system. It can be used as for air defense with semi-automatic laser guidance. It is essentially "invisible" to on-board radar sensors mounted on enemy aircraft and helicopters, since there is no radar station on this air defense system.

On Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry released footage of a British Stormer HVM air defense system which had been supplied to Kiev being destroyed.

The video includes footage from a UAV of an enemy combat vehicle, footage from a loitering munition guidance camera and the destruction of the Stormer HVM air defense system.

The Russian Ministry of Defense showed footage of the destruction of the British air defense system delivered to Kyiv in the Donetsk direction with the help of loitering ammunition

The ministry specified that the enemy combat vehicle was detected by a UAV in the Donetsk direction. After detection, the vehicle was destroyed with high-precision loitering ammunition. The hit was monitored from a UAV.

Special operation of the Russian Federation, March 10. Main:

▪️ Losses of Ukrainian troops per day in several directions amounted to about 350 military;

▪️Washington has not deactivated its biological laboratories on the territory of Ukraine, despite the relevant statements by the representative of the US NSS John Kirby, Kyiv continues to cooperate with the Pentagon on almost 50 types of bacteria and viruses, the Russian Defense Ministry said;

▪️The West has decided that a hybrid war against Russia should go not for life, but for death, Lavrov said;

▪️Western countries are very close to seriously discussing the prospect of sending allied troops to the territory of Ukraine, Orban said;

▪️Macron and Sunak announced their intention to help Kyiv launch a "counteroffensive";

▪️ Ukrainian media for the first time reported on the use by the Kyiv troops of the American "smart bomb" JDAM near Artemivsk;

▪️A number of Western officials believe that the recent measures of the Russian Federation to build reliable defensive lines have made the prospect of a "breakthrough" of Kyiv "less likely", writes the Wall Street Journal;

▪️Despite the propaganda flows of hatred and the brainwashing of the Ukrainian population, there remain streams of sober approaches to future relations with Russia, Peskov said, commenting on calls in Kiev for dialogue with the Russian Federation.

Domino Effect Feared After Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, as First Republic Bank’s Shares Slump

A silhouetted security guard talks on a telephone inside Silicon Valley Bank’s headquarters in Santa Clara, California on March 10, 2023. © AFP 2023 / NOAH BERGER

On March 10, Council of Economic Advisers Chair Cecilia Rouse told reporters that US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was closely monitoring the situation concerning Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) after it collapsed earlier in the day.

The future of First Republic Bank - the 14th largest in the United States - has triggered concerns amid speculation of a “domino effect” in the wake of Friday’s bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank, media reported.

Specializing in supporting tech businesses, Silicon Valley Bank failed on March 10, and was taken into government control. Regulators marched in to seize its deposits, putting the brakes on the bank's 40-year stint. The bank's swift demise appears to have rattled other banks, with shares of First Republic sinking 50 percent the same day, according to media reports. Before the close of trading Friday, the drop was at 15 percent.

To allay fears, First Republic issued a statement on Saturday, cited widely by media outlets, assuring investors of "continued safety and stability and strong capital and liquidity positions."

"Sources beyond a well-diversified deposit base include over $60 billion of available, unused borrowing capacity at the Federal Home Loan Bank and the Federal Reserve Bank," First Republic said.

Amid the "bank panic," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who had rushed to meet with banking regulators, offered reassurances to the public, saying the American banking system remains "resilient." Yellen said she had "full confidence in banking regulators to take appropriate actions in response."

"Our Treasury Secretary Yellen is closely tracking the developments with Silicon Valley Bank. We have every faith in our regulators," Council of Economic Advisers Chair Cecilia Rouse told reporters on Friday.

Full-On Financial Crisis?

Amid the turmoil of speculation as to a ripple effect, Peter Schiff, CEO and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital, went on Twitter to warn that the US banking system was "on the verge of a much bigger collapse than 2008."

"Banks own long-term paper at extremely low interest rates. They can't compete with short-term Treasuries. Mass withdrawals from depositors seeking higher yields will result in a wave of bank failures," the American stock broker and financial commentator underscored.

The U.S. banking system is on the verge of a much bigger collapse than 2008. Banks own long-term paper at extremely low interest rates. They can't compete with short-term Treasuries. Mass withdrawals from depositors seeking higher yields will result in a wave of bank failures.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) March 10, 2023

The expert added that if more banks fail, like Silicon Valley, "the only way depositors are going to get their money back is if the Federal Reserve System (US central bank) prints it."

"Either the FDIC defaults and depositors lose their money, or the Fed bails out the FDIC with QE and deposits lose most of their value," Schiff tweeted.

If enough banks fail the only way depositors are going to get their money back is if the #Fed prints it. So either way everyone gets screwed. Either the FDIC defaults and depositors lose their money, or the Fed bails out the FDIC with QE and deposits lose most of their value.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) March 10, 2023

Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse sent more than a ripple across the banking sector, with the KBW Bank Index plunging the most in a week since March 2020, according to reports. Shares of Western Alliance Bancorp. also witnessed a new low since November 2020, closing down 21 percent on Friday.

Macroeconomist Philip Pilkington also weighed in on social media, tweeting that "months of inflation denialism in financial markets likely means many, many portfolios with bond exposure geared toward perma-ZIRP (Permanent zero interest rate policy)."

Wait until everyone realises that SVB did nothing unusual. Months of inflation denialism in financial markets likely means many, many portfolios with bond exposure geared toward perma-ZIRP. 🙈#SVBBankrun #SVBCollapse

— Philip Pilkington (@philippilk) March 11, 2023

So next I guess we see a mass default event in VC space. Private equity, private credit etc likely consider this a low probability tail event so they get whomped. That whole sector is highly leveraged and borrow from the banks. So that loan book gets hit. And so on.

— Philip Pilkington (@philippilk) March 11, 2023

According to Philip Pilkington, looking ahead, a worst case scenario could be "a full-on financial crisis."

If the private equity and private credit market takes a big hit and this passes through to the banks they borrow from the best case scenario is probably much tighter lending conditions. The worst case scenario is a full-on financial crisis.

— Philip Pilkington (@philippilk) March 11, 2023

On Friday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued a statement saying that Silicon Valley Bank, Santa Clara, California, had been closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. To protect insured depositors, the FDIC was setting up the Deposit Insurance National Bank of Santa Clara (DINB).

SVB, which had offered funding for 44 percent of all venture capital-backed tech and healthcare companies, as per its website, witnessed its shares sink 86 percent between early March 9 and the company's announced halt of trading Friday. The bank's demise has been linked to the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes and soaring inflation in the US.

Terungkap! WNA Ukraina Punya KTP Bayar Rp31 Juta lewat Calo

Fakta baru kasus warga negara asing (WNA) Ukraina, Rodion Krynin (37) memiliki kartu tanda penduduk (KTP) di Bali terungkap. Rodion membayar Rp31 juta ke calo KTP.

"Dia bayar jasa calo sampai habis Rp31 juta," kata Kabid Humas Polda Bali Kombes Pol Stefanus Satake Bayu Setianto, hari Jumat, 10/03/2023.

Dia mengungkapan, Rodion datang ke Bali bersama istri dan anaknya, tahun 2020 lalu (peranh Rusia Ukrania awal 2022?). Tujuannya mencari keamanan karena negaranya dilanda perang dengan Rusia.

Rodion dan keluarganya datang ke Bali dengan memakai visa kunjungan. Visa B2.11 itu berlaku hingga 05 Desember 2022

Selama di Bali, Rodion dan keluarganya tinggal di Legian, Kuta. Untuk biaya hidup sehari-hari, dia mendapatkan kiriman uang dari keluarganya di Ukraina.

Rodion berkeinginan memiliki KTP untuk memperpanjang izin tinggal. Dia lalu mengenal seseorang bernama Puji dari internet yang bisa membantu membuatkan KTP.

Untuk membayar jasa mengurus KTP sampai jadi, Rodion harus menghabiskan Rp. 31 juta. Jumlah itu dibayar secara bertahap sampai lunas.

Pengurusan KTP dimulai Oktober 2022. Lalu November 2022, Rodion diberikan dokumen kependudukan yang diduga palsu oleh Puji.

Dua minggu kemudian, Rodion diajak Puji ke kantor Dinas Kependudukan dan Catatan Sipil Kota Denpasar. Tujuannya untuk perekaman sidik jari, retina dan foto.

Di KTP yang diterbitkan 15 November 2022 itu, nama Rodion tertulis Alexander Nur Rudi kelahiran Jakarta 20 Februari 1986. Sedangkan alamatnya di Jalan Kerta Dalam Sari IV No 19 Sesetan Denpasar.

Menurut Bayu, penyelidikan masih dilakukan untuk mengusut tuntas kasus ini. "Ada sejumlah saksi yang sudah dimintai keterangan," ungkap dia.

Dia menambahkan, penyelidikkan juga masih dilakukan untuk Mohammad Zghaib bin Nizar (31), warga negara Suriah yang juga memiliki KTP Indonesia.

Zghaib memiliki KTP atas nama Agung Nizar Santoso setelah menyetor Rp15 juta kepada oknum yang mengaku aparat. "Untuk yang Suriah sekitar Rp15 juta," ujar Bayu.

Apa kata Dirjen Dukcapil

Direktur Jenderal Kependudukan dan Pencatatan Sipil (Dirjen Dukcapil) Zudan Arif Fakrulloh mengatakan, pihaknya telah menelusuri kasus warga negara Ukraina di Bali yang memiliki Kartu Tanda Penduduk (KTP).

Hasilnya, Zudan menemukan bahwa WN Ukraina tersebut memang telah mengirimkan berkas melalui online.

"Layanan pembuatan biodata berkasnya dikirimkan melalui online. Semua syarat sesuai aturan yaitu F.101, F.104," kata Zudan, Jumat, 10/03/2023.

Selain itu, warga negara Ukraina tersebut juga melampirkan surat pernyataan tidak memiliki dokumen kependudukan, surat keterangan kepala dusun, persetujuan kesediaan dari pemilik KK, dan bukti pengecekan biometrik iris mata.

Akan tetapi, dokumen permohonan tersebut semuanya ternyata dipalsukan.

Zudan memastikan, Dukcapil telah memblokir Nomor Induk Kependudukan (NIK) KTP elektronik tersebut dan tidak bisa dibuka kembali.

Pihaknya juga telah menegur dan mengingatkan Kadisdukcapil Kota Denpasar agar lebih cermat dalam menerbitkan NIK bagi orang dewasa.

"Verifikasinya harus ketat dan cermat, perlu cek secara fisik termasuk koordinasi dengan imigrasi," katanya lagi.

Pelanggaran izin tinggal warga negara asing

Diberitakan sebelumnya, Kantor Wilayah Kementerian Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia (Kanwil Kemenkumham) Bali menangkap seorang warga negara Ukraina yang memiliki KTP diduga palsu.

Dalam operasi itu, Kanwil Kemenkumham juga menemukan lima WNA yang melanggar izin tinggal atau over stay di Bali.

Penangkapan terhadap WN Ukraina ini bermula dari operasi intelijen imigrasi yang curiga atas keberadaan turis tersebut di sebuah vila di Kuta. Saat diperiksa, WN Ukraina tersebut ternyata memiliki KTP dengan nama orang Indonesia.

Bukan kali ini saja, pihak imigrasi sebelumnya juga pernah mengamankan seorang warga negara Suriah yang memiliki KTP.

Tulsi Gabbard Explains Why US Threw Ukraine Under the Bus by Blaming Kiev for Nord Stream Blasts

©AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

US media reported this week that a mysterious “pro-Ukrainian group” without established links to any state was responsible for last fall’s sabotage attacks against the Nord Stream gas pipeline network. Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev dismissed the reporting as a “cheap” but “epic Hollywood drama.”

Former Hawaii congresswoman and presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard has offered an explanation for the Biden administration’s attempt to use the media to shift the blame for the Nord Stream attacks on a third party, saying the international implications of suspected US responsibility for the crime are just too serious to admit.

“It is so obvious at this point that the United States and NATO are responsible for this act of sabotage and act of war, attacking and destroying this Nord Stream pipeline. They’ve been lying to us all along about it, now they’ve been busted and so they’re trying to sell us this absurd cover-up story,” Gabbard said in a segment on Tucker Carlson’s show, referencing Tuesday’s New York Times reporting citing US intelligence officials fingering a “pro-Ukrainian group” for the sabotage.

“The reality is that [Washington is] responsible for this and there are short term and long term, serious implications for this action. It sets this precedent for countries like Russia, North Korea, Iran and China to go ahead and launch attacks and sabotage against critical infrastructure against other countries, like gas pipelines, undersea cables, financial systems, satellites, the list goes on and on. Just imagine the kind of problems to say the least that that would cause for us, the American people, and for the world,” Gabbard said.

The former congresswoman and Iraq War veteran dismissed US and German media reporting on the "Ukrainian trace," saying it “implies that the United States and NATO’s military intelligence agencies are so inept and incapable that nobody knows what was going on,” and that “nobody saw this coming.”

“This pipeline fed Germany, which is the economic engine of Europe,” Carlson interjected. “Germany is the key player of NATO…We just wrecked the economy of our key NATO ally. If Germany blew up the Hoover Dam would they still be our tight NATO ally? Doesn’t NATO have to disintegrate after we get caught doing this?” he asked.

Gabbard agreed, saying that the White House and NATO want people to believe the cover-up story to nullify the implications of what actually took place – “an act of war not just against Russia but also against our ally, Germany,” and illegal under US laws to boot, since war can only be declared by an act of Congress.

Part of a Pattern

Tuesday’s reporting blaming Ukraine was not the first time during the Ukrainian crisis that the White House has used its access to the legacy press to push its narrative and throw Kiev under the bus.

In October, before any Ukrainian officials claimed responsibility for the attack on the Crimean Bridge, the New York Times reported that Kiev was responsible, citing a pair of anonymous Ukrainian intelligence officials. Separately last fall, anonymous officials told the newspaper that US intelligence assessed that Ukraine was responsible for last summer’s car bombing murder of Russian journalist Darya Dugina. Senior Russian officials have mostly avoided addressing the new reporting about the “pro-Ukrainian group's” and the Nord Stream attacks, instead repeating calls for a comprehensive and transparent probe into the act of terrorism.

However, former Russian president and Security Council deputy chairman Dmitry Medvedev could not help but react to the story, characterizing it as “ignorant US propaganda” that sounds like a Hollywood blockbuster about a group of “inglorious bastards”-style “lone rangers fighting against the damned Muscovites.”

Unfortunately, he said, the end result was just “so-so,” featuring “mediocre actors, a director that’s no Quentin Tarantino, very poor casting and camera work, and a script that’s boring as s***.”

Last month, bombshell reporting by veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh revealed that the pipelines were rigged to blow by a team of US Navy divers operating under the cover of a NATO exercise last summer, and remotely triggered by a Norwegian aircraft flying overhead months later. The Biden administration dismissed Hersh’s story, while most legacy media has either refused to report on it, or tried to smear Hersh, who has an unimpeachable reputation for accuracy and more than 60 years of journalistic experience, as a “discredited journalist.”