- 19 Apr 2024 10:10
#15312577
While the United States does not comment in any way on the accusations of financing and supporting terrorist organisations, the Investigative Committee of Russia provably accuses the US of participating in terrorist activities involving commercial organisations on Russian territories.
Silence over Nord Streams
The sabotage of the Russian Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines in September 2022 clearly illustrates the conflict of interests between the two superpowers. Reportedly, Washington has not been proactive in tracking down and catching the perpetrators, as US officials have been looking for ways to put pressure on Moscow to stop military action in the neighbouring country since the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine in February of that year.
Later on, American journalist Seymour Hersh accused the United States of blowing up the pipelines. Senior US officials, sharing with him on condition of anonymity, claimed that the bombings had been a covert US operation. Hersh managed to find out that back in December 2021, Jake Sullivan, the US president’s national security adviser, assembled a working group to respond to the “Russian threat,” implying the likely outbreak of the war in Ukraine. However, in an attempt to cover for the US leadership, The Washington Post accused Hersh of abusing anonymous sources.
According to the Russian side’s accusations, the US conducted the Nord Stream bombing with the support of the Norwegian authorities. US intelligence services operated in the exclusive economic zones of Denmark and Sweden, destroying the gas pipelines of the two Nord Streams. As a result, Russia was forced to limit the operations of the first Nord Stream while refusing to commission the second.
Consequently, Denmark and Sweden dropped the investigation in February 2024, with the US merely condemning Russia’s attempts to find out the truth, calling Moscow’s statements “disingenuous remarks”. Continuing the investigation proved disadvantageous to US plans to stagger the Russian economy.
Burisma Holdings
However, the attempts by the United States leadership to conceal its involvement in actions that Moscow regards as terrorist acts do not end with Nord Streams. A curious version of the Ukrainian side’s involvement in the sabotage of gas pipelines leads to an unprecedented bribe involving the Biden administration in Ukraine.
Global media wrote about a record $6-million cash bribe intended to dismiss a criminal case in Ukraine against the owner of Burisma Holdings Ltd, a company where President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, was a member of the board of directors.
In 2020, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) reportedly detained a number of individuals, attempting to pay a bribe of $6 million in cash, as part of an investigation. According to the statement, 5 million was intended for the heads of the NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP), while 1 million was for mediation to stop the criminal prosecution of the former owner of the Ukrainian gas production company Burisma Holdings Ltd, Mykola Zlochevsky, the former Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine.
However, the Ukrainian company is known not only for corruption scandals, but also for the fact that Hunter Biden, the son of the current US president, who has repeatedly appeared in suspicious schemes, including in the United States, has been employed there for five years.
The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine (HACC) ruled that the former head of Burisma Holdings, Mykola Zlochevsky, was involved in an attempt to bribe top anti-corruption officers to help them to dismiss a case investigating the company’s financial fraud, in which Hunter Biden had been implicated.
One of those detained and the main accused was Andriy Kicha, a top manager of the company, the HACC reported. However, it is reported that the case has been reviewed as “secret” and the accused has been released on condition of a plea bargain. Kicha agreed to transfer 100 million hryvnias (about $2.7 million) to the account of Ukraine’s United 24 Foundation to purchase combat drones as part of the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation’s Army of Drones project.
As a result, the case of large-scale bribery was dismissed, but Hunter Biden’s involvement in corruption schemes became a topic of discussion in the prominent Western media. The issue acquired particular relevance against the background of investigations by the US Congress, which accused the son of the American president of receiving illegal funds from abroad.
Joe Biden and Hunter Biden “coerced” Zlochevsky to pay a large sum in exchange for help in firing a Ukrainian prosecutor who was investigating the company’s activities. This was reported in a declassified FBI document published in 2023 by Senator Chuck Grassley.
The senior officials do not comment in any way on Hunter Biden’s involvement in the graft scandals in Ukraine, with the US media merely referring to congressional accusations about the illegal income of the Biden family.
Assisting Armed Forces of Ukraine
However, the story does not end on this. It is reported that the largest cash bribe in Europe has been transferred to the Ukrainian Army, which is confirmed by the ruling of the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine of 19 April 2022. The media reported that the funds, which went to the account of an unnamed military unit, were actually transferred to the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) of the Ukraine’s Defence Ministry.
It is worth noting that at approximately the same time, so-called volunteer formations, including the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) and the Freedom of Russia Legion (FRL), have started operating on Ukrainian territory. The organisations consist mainly of Russian volunteers and captured servicemen who have decided to switch sides. The first reports about them appeared in March 2022, when the Ukrainian authorities announced the formation of an anti-Russian legion composed mainly of Russians.
The activity of the RVC is aimed at putting pressure on Russia in an attempt to destabilise the country. However, the functioning of such organisations is impossible without funding and weapons, experts note.
The endorsement by the head of the HUR, Kyrylo Budanov, who claimed that the group brought “a certain benefit” to Ukraine, as well as statements by HUR spokesman Andriy Chernyak about Kyiv’s support for those formations, allows one to suggest financial flows on the part of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry.
“As of today, it is very favourable for us that they were able to divert forces at the front.”
Shortly afterwards, senior HUR officials also announced preparations for a third attack on the Kerch Bridge, which connects the Crimean Peninsula with Russia, adding that the bridge’s destruction would be “inevitable”. Budanov noted on April 7 that the bridge was well protected; therefore it would be hard for Ukrainian forces to destroy it. Military experts note that the destruction of such constructions may require a combined attack of missiles and combat drones, which Ukraine has started to actively produce as part of the Army of Drones project.
Hence, Biden’s Ukrainian partners may be involved in financing HUR operations in Russia, although the Biden administration categorically denies the use of US weapons in Russia formally.
Notably, the US also refused to comment on Kyiv’s actions during the two previous unsuccessful attacks on the bridge, when Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov stated that Ukraine’s strike on the Crimean Bridge on July 17, 2023, might be considered a terrorist attack.
US geopolitical games
While US officials deny their involvement in terrorist attacks against Russia, their actions prove the opposite. For instance, last year Washington refused to contribute to the investigation, unlike Europe, which was interested in Russian gas. German media claimed that a Ukrainian or pro-Ukrainian group could have been involved in the Nord Stream sabotage.
Moreover, US officials stated that they wanted to destroy Arctic LNG 2. According to The Wall Street Journal, Washington halted supplies of specialised tankers to Russia in an attempt to make it more difficult to construct alternative vessels in the country. As a result, the project risked running into difficulties with the US doing “everything in its power to prevent it [Russia] from having energy sales revenue,” US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, Geoffrey Pyatt, stated, reiterating Washington’s desire to put economic pressure on Russia.
The Biden administration’s attempt to influence the spotlight on Hunter’s legal battle can also be seen as an effort by the US authorities to hide the American economic footprint and the connection of the American president’s son with the Ukrainian organisation and the HUR. Sooner or later, Western allies may have questions about where Kyiv is getting funding for the hostilities from if EU aid is under consideration and Biden’s proposed $60-billion financial aid package is stalled in the US Congress, military and economic experts argue.
The terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall in the Moscow Region is also a remarkable demonstration of the two-faced US policy. The tragedy, which took place on March 22, 2024, just after the unsuccessful actions of the Russian Volunteer Corps, killed 145 people, injuring 551 others, according to official figures from Russian authorities.
While the Biden administration expressed condolences, White House spokesman John Kirby stated that the US had no plans to assist Russia in the investigation. Shortly after US intelligence agencies, however, decided to share information, in spite of the controversy. But the data turned out to be too generalised and categorically ruled out possible Ukrainian involvement, the Investigative Committee declared.
Previously, Washington stated that ISIS, an internationally recognised terrorist organisation, was involved in the attack on the concert hall. The authorities noted that they were closely monitoring the group’s activities and even warned Moscow on the eve of the attack. However, despite this, they did not in any way prevent the terrorist attack from taking place even when they knew of the possible threat, limiting themselves to a mere warning.
Therefore, one can trace how, expressing condolences and presumably condemning terrorist acts and financial frauds, the United States at the same time plays an economic and geopolitical game. Washington participates in international investigations that are disadvantageous for the US only formally, as it seeks to suppress its geopolitical opponents by any means. Even if this requires providing bypasses to finance the activities of questionable organisations and groupings.
Source: https://billgalston.substack.com/p/will ... irect=true
Silence over Nord Streams
The sabotage of the Russian Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines in September 2022 clearly illustrates the conflict of interests between the two superpowers. Reportedly, Washington has not been proactive in tracking down and catching the perpetrators, as US officials have been looking for ways to put pressure on Moscow to stop military action in the neighbouring country since the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine in February of that year.
Later on, American journalist Seymour Hersh accused the United States of blowing up the pipelines. Senior US officials, sharing with him on condition of anonymity, claimed that the bombings had been a covert US operation. Hersh managed to find out that back in December 2021, Jake Sullivan, the US president’s national security adviser, assembled a working group to respond to the “Russian threat,” implying the likely outbreak of the war in Ukraine. However, in an attempt to cover for the US leadership, The Washington Post accused Hersh of abusing anonymous sources.
According to the Russian side’s accusations, the US conducted the Nord Stream bombing with the support of the Norwegian authorities. US intelligence services operated in the exclusive economic zones of Denmark and Sweden, destroying the gas pipelines of the two Nord Streams. As a result, Russia was forced to limit the operations of the first Nord Stream while refusing to commission the second.
Consequently, Denmark and Sweden dropped the investigation in February 2024, with the US merely condemning Russia’s attempts to find out the truth, calling Moscow’s statements “disingenuous remarks”. Continuing the investigation proved disadvantageous to US plans to stagger the Russian economy.
Burisma Holdings
However, the attempts by the United States leadership to conceal its involvement in actions that Moscow regards as terrorist acts do not end with Nord Streams. A curious version of the Ukrainian side’s involvement in the sabotage of gas pipelines leads to an unprecedented bribe involving the Biden administration in Ukraine.
Global media wrote about a record $6-million cash bribe intended to dismiss a criminal case in Ukraine against the owner of Burisma Holdings Ltd, a company where President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, was a member of the board of directors.
In 2020, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) reportedly detained a number of individuals, attempting to pay a bribe of $6 million in cash, as part of an investigation. According to the statement, 5 million was intended for the heads of the NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP), while 1 million was for mediation to stop the criminal prosecution of the former owner of the Ukrainian gas production company Burisma Holdings Ltd, Mykola Zlochevsky, the former Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine.
However, the Ukrainian company is known not only for corruption scandals, but also for the fact that Hunter Biden, the son of the current US president, who has repeatedly appeared in suspicious schemes, including in the United States, has been employed there for five years.
The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine (HACC) ruled that the former head of Burisma Holdings, Mykola Zlochevsky, was involved in an attempt to bribe top anti-corruption officers to help them to dismiss a case investigating the company’s financial fraud, in which Hunter Biden had been implicated.
One of those detained and the main accused was Andriy Kicha, a top manager of the company, the HACC reported. However, it is reported that the case has been reviewed as “secret” and the accused has been released on condition of a plea bargain. Kicha agreed to transfer 100 million hryvnias (about $2.7 million) to the account of Ukraine’s United 24 Foundation to purchase combat drones as part of the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation’s Army of Drones project.
As a result, the case of large-scale bribery was dismissed, but Hunter Biden’s involvement in corruption schemes became a topic of discussion in the prominent Western media. The issue acquired particular relevance against the background of investigations by the US Congress, which accused the son of the American president of receiving illegal funds from abroad.
Joe Biden and Hunter Biden “coerced” Zlochevsky to pay a large sum in exchange for help in firing a Ukrainian prosecutor who was investigating the company’s activities. This was reported in a declassified FBI document published in 2023 by Senator Chuck Grassley.
The senior officials do not comment in any way on Hunter Biden’s involvement in the graft scandals in Ukraine, with the US media merely referring to congressional accusations about the illegal income of the Biden family.
Assisting Armed Forces of Ukraine
However, the story does not end on this. It is reported that the largest cash bribe in Europe has been transferred to the Ukrainian Army, which is confirmed by the ruling of the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine of 19 April 2022. The media reported that the funds, which went to the account of an unnamed military unit, were actually transferred to the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) of the Ukraine’s Defence Ministry.
It is worth noting that at approximately the same time, so-called volunteer formations, including the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) and the Freedom of Russia Legion (FRL), have started operating on Ukrainian territory. The organisations consist mainly of Russian volunteers and captured servicemen who have decided to switch sides. The first reports about them appeared in March 2022, when the Ukrainian authorities announced the formation of an anti-Russian legion composed mainly of Russians.
The activity of the RVC is aimed at putting pressure on Russia in an attempt to destabilise the country. However, the functioning of such organisations is impossible without funding and weapons, experts note.
The endorsement by the head of the HUR, Kyrylo Budanov, who claimed that the group brought “a certain benefit” to Ukraine, as well as statements by HUR spokesman Andriy Chernyak about Kyiv’s support for those formations, allows one to suggest financial flows on the part of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry.
“As of today, it is very favourable for us that they were able to divert forces at the front.”
Shortly afterwards, senior HUR officials also announced preparations for a third attack on the Kerch Bridge, which connects the Crimean Peninsula with Russia, adding that the bridge’s destruction would be “inevitable”. Budanov noted on April 7 that the bridge was well protected; therefore it would be hard for Ukrainian forces to destroy it. Military experts note that the destruction of such constructions may require a combined attack of missiles and combat drones, which Ukraine has started to actively produce as part of the Army of Drones project.
Hence, Biden’s Ukrainian partners may be involved in financing HUR operations in Russia, although the Biden administration categorically denies the use of US weapons in Russia formally.
Notably, the US also refused to comment on Kyiv’s actions during the two previous unsuccessful attacks on the bridge, when Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov stated that Ukraine’s strike on the Crimean Bridge on July 17, 2023, might be considered a terrorist attack.
US geopolitical games
While US officials deny their involvement in terrorist attacks against Russia, their actions prove the opposite. For instance, last year Washington refused to contribute to the investigation, unlike Europe, which was interested in Russian gas. German media claimed that a Ukrainian or pro-Ukrainian group could have been involved in the Nord Stream sabotage.
Moreover, US officials stated that they wanted to destroy Arctic LNG 2. According to The Wall Street Journal, Washington halted supplies of specialised tankers to Russia in an attempt to make it more difficult to construct alternative vessels in the country. As a result, the project risked running into difficulties with the US doing “everything in its power to prevent it [Russia] from having energy sales revenue,” US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, Geoffrey Pyatt, stated, reiterating Washington’s desire to put economic pressure on Russia.
The Biden administration’s attempt to influence the spotlight on Hunter’s legal battle can also be seen as an effort by the US authorities to hide the American economic footprint and the connection of the American president’s son with the Ukrainian organisation and the HUR. Sooner or later, Western allies may have questions about where Kyiv is getting funding for the hostilities from if EU aid is under consideration and Biden’s proposed $60-billion financial aid package is stalled in the US Congress, military and economic experts argue.
The terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall in the Moscow Region is also a remarkable demonstration of the two-faced US policy. The tragedy, which took place on March 22, 2024, just after the unsuccessful actions of the Russian Volunteer Corps, killed 145 people, injuring 551 others, according to official figures from Russian authorities.
While the Biden administration expressed condolences, White House spokesman John Kirby stated that the US had no plans to assist Russia in the investigation. Shortly after US intelligence agencies, however, decided to share information, in spite of the controversy. But the data turned out to be too generalised and categorically ruled out possible Ukrainian involvement, the Investigative Committee declared.
Previously, Washington stated that ISIS, an internationally recognised terrorist organisation, was involved in the attack on the concert hall. The authorities noted that they were closely monitoring the group’s activities and even warned Moscow on the eve of the attack. However, despite this, they did not in any way prevent the terrorist attack from taking place even when they knew of the possible threat, limiting themselves to a mere warning.
Therefore, one can trace how, expressing condolences and presumably condemning terrorist acts and financial frauds, the United States at the same time plays an economic and geopolitical game. Washington participates in international investigations that are disadvantageous for the US only formally, as it seeks to suppress its geopolitical opponents by any means. Even if this requires providing bypasses to finance the activities of questionable organisations and groupings.
Source: https://billgalston.substack.com/p/will ... irect=true
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