Judicial Watch FOIA Bombshell: How the Biden State Dept. Let YouTuber Gonzalo Lira Die in Ukrainian Prison

On Jan. 11, 2024 conservative US YouTuber Gonzalo Lira died in a Ukrainian prison, where he was held for the crime of criticizing the war, and the US and Ukrainian governments. Now, a FOIA request by Judicial Watch sheds stark light on the Biden Regime’s complete failure to stand up for a US political prisoner in a Ukrainian prison. The e-mails reveal the US Embassy was aware of threats to Gonzalo Lira’s life, which it considered “no rush.”

Judicial Watch FOIA Bombshell: How the Biden State Dept. Let YouTuber Gonzalo Lira Die in Ukrainian Prison

Related: Part 2: Judicial Watch Smoking Gun in Gonzalo Lira Case: How Biden State Dept. Could Have Saved His Life and Didn’t

The racial and class question

The racial and class question

Virtually forgotten due to the discourse of Ukrainian unity and the general lack of interest in analyzing the nuances of events, the racial and class question is going virtually unnoticed in this war. If the Donbass conflict had a proletarian aspect that the press mocked in the first weeks of the DPR due to those Soviet-looking press conferences of workers and academics, in the current context, there have not even been any such comments. Presented as a war of national liberation, no aspect other than nationalism has deserved much mention in the Western press or in academia. Volodymyr Ishchenko and Ilya Matveev, who have sought to study the class aspect in the outbreak of the conflict, are the rare exception. To Ischenko’s surprise, RFE/RL published an article last September that dealt, albeit in generalities and without great depth, with the increase in inequality that war implies, an aspect that is, on the other hand, perfectly evident. “As the war drags on, the gaps in Ukrainian society are widening,” the American media headlines.

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Recruitment and far right: “I Love the Third Brigade”

Recruitment and far right: “I Love the Third Brigade”

The United States is putting pressure on Zelensky to lower the age of conscription again, but for the moment the Ukrainian president is rejecting this possibility. This is what Ukrainian media such as Ukrainska Pravda reported this week, referring to the mobilization of men between 18 and 25 years old, a very small population group in which the country’s future cannot afford to lose. Even before the law on mobilization was approved, which is very unpopular despite not being as harsh as foreign allies demanded, prominent figures and self-proclaimed friends of Ukraine such as US Senator Lindsey Graham have publicly encouraged Ukraine to recruit those over 18 years old despite the demographic risk that this implies for the country they claim to defend. These suggestions seem to have become a demand that is confirmed even by people who belong to the state apparatus. “If this information has come to light, it may confirm that American politicians from both parties are putting pressure on President Zelensky on the question of why there is no mobilisation for those aged 18-25 in Ukraine,” said Serhiy Leshchenko, one of Andriy Yermak’s advisers and a figure who has gone from representing the third sector, civil society in Maidan Ukraine to all kinds of well-paid positions in government or in the few state-owned companies that Kiev has not yet privatised. The past ten years show a double standard between those who have been privileged and those who have been impoverished and marginalised thanks to the European and liberal reforms of the peacetime years. However, Ukraine’s refusal to recruit its most vulnerable population group strictly responds to the future needs of the state, which, if it hopes to rebuild itself, must maintain minimum levels of youth population.

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Zelensky Ukraine victory speech: Listen for the quiet parts

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Zelensky Ukraine victory speech: Listen for the quiet parts

Zelensky is going to give his “victory” speech on October 16 to Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, but much of the speech will be secret. The secret part is about giving up territory to Russia.

The Rada has just passed new legislation that allows NATO officers to command Ukrainian units. So far, the Russians have been mostly quiet, probably because they do not believe NATO will supply field commanders for Ukraine’s military. But if it happens, and that is a big if, the Russians will see it as NATO sending combat troops and react accordingly.

Some speculate that Zelensky will hint at a desire to get some sort of ceasefire and establish a buffer zone patrolled by a kind of coalition of NATO-willing. This is being billed as a Zelensky “concession” to the reality of Russia occupying Ukrainian territory.

There also are rumors that Ukraine may try to attack Transnistria, the breakaway area of Moldova that includes a few thousand Russian troops – some of them on an agreed peace-keeping mission and others protecting a huge ammunition dump left over from the Soviet period.

The Russians also have been attacking dry cargo ships in the port of Odessa that are unloading weapons and military supplies from Turkey.  

Moldova also has an important election on October 20. An attack on Transnistria could backfire and topple the current pro-NATO. pro-EU Moldovan government.

Following in the footsteps of Nikita Khrushchev? FYI, “Khrushchev Lied!”😉

Related:

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Meet Ukraine’s top fighting unit — at least that’s what their ad says

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Ukraine’s brigades can recruit their own soldiers, and they compete with each other to craft the best advertising campaigns to sell the war.

The creative work, Bondarenko said, is done by a team of 20 — 13 military personnel and seven civilians. Their messaging feels impossible to escape, covering more than 1,000 billboards across Ukraine, which she said are largely donated. Digital ads are funded by the profits from their YouTube channel, she said, which has nearly 1.3 million subscribers and generates more than $15,000 monthly. On Instagram, they have another 115,000 subscribers.

Soon, they hope to expand into a new area — merchandising. The brigade envisions it as a one-stop shop where people can purchase T-shirts, patches and other mementos of the war.

Meet Ukraine’s top fighting unit — at least that’s what their ad says

The 3rd Assault Brigade is the Neo-Nazi Azov Battalion rebranded. Andriy Biletsky was its founder.

Related:

Thirst Trap Nation: How E-girls Are Luring Young Boys Into Joining Army, with Alan MacLeod

“Sexualized fascism”: how the taboo nature of Nazi imagery made the alt-right more powerful

Ukraine: Gas and regional geopolitics

Gas and regional geopolitics

“Ukraine and Slovakia will create an energy hub for Eastern Europe,” headlined Ukrainska Pravda on Monday , citing the words of Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal after his meeting with Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has recovered and returned to his post after the assassination attempt that put his life in danger. Although the Ukrainian media mainly focused on news about energy cooperation, the Slovak president did not hesitate to repeat to Shmyhal his position regarding Ukraine’s geopolitical position. As Politico stated on Monday, the Slovak president said on Sunday in an appearance in a Slovak media that “as long as I lead the government, I will direct the deputies under my control as chairman of the party [Smer] to never accept Ukraine’s accession.” According to Strana, Fico insisted on his “100%” support for Ukraine’s entry into the European Union, but not into NATO. This “no” attitude towards Ukraine’s entry into the military bloc is compounded by Fico’s intention to resume normal relations with Russia if the war ends during his term in office. However, as his meeting with the Ukrainian prime minister shows, this position is not in contradiction with cooperating with Kyiv on issues affecting both countries, including energy.

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Did ‘Our Little Baby’ Make a Nazi International?

Rumble

This year on Ukraine’s Independence Day, some prominent Russian neo-Nazis found themselves in Lviv, the unofficial capital of Ukrainian nationalism, to attend the first “Nation Europa” conference, which brought together representatives of an extreme-right network in Europe and neo-Nazi movements in the Ukrainian armed forces.

Did ‘Our Little Baby’ Make a Nazi International?

Related:

More Ukrainians Want to Negotiate an End to the War. Soldiers Don’t Agree.

Interview with Moss Robeson: On the history of Washington’s ties to the Ukrainian Banderites and their role in the war against Russia