News Bulletin #23

November 18 – 10 Russians prisoners of war were executed by the Ukrainian military. The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding this blatant war crime. Excerpts:

-       These shocking videos are further evidence of the crimes committed by Ukrainian neo-Nazis.

-       Clips regularly disseminated by the militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine showed how they murder, torture, humiliate and beat people. Without any embarrassment, Ukrainian neo-Nazis showed their “exploits” for everyone to see. These videos will make your blood run cold – they shoot tied up soldiers in the legs, disrespect the bodies of the dead and shoot unarmed soldiers and civilians. They have even shared footage of tanks crushing people alive.

-       The collective West that supports Kiev totally paid no attention to these numerous facts. Such approval by the US and European curators makes them accomplices to the crimes committed by the Ukrainian neo-Nazis whom they foster.

-       We demand that international organisations condemn and thoroughly investigate this shocking crime. No atrocity committed by Ukrainian military units will remain unpunished.

-       All those guilty and their accomplices will be identified and punished accordingly. Nobody will escape retribution.

November 19-22 - the Ukrainian armed forces undertook heavy shelling of the Zaporozhkaya Nuclear Power Plant. The plant avoided serious damage, and no radioactive material was exposed. The situation is on the brink of a technogenic disaster.

November 22-23 - Regular session of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) took place in Yerevan, Armenia. The President of Russia took part in a meeting with the heads of CSTO states in closed format, while Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russia’s Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu participated in several ministerial level meetings. Key points by the President of Russia:

-Military-technical cooperation between the CSTO member states is expanding.

-All of us rally together to preserve the memory of the common history of our states, of the fact that our peoples won in the Great Patriotic War together.

-Cooperation in the CSTO format yields tangible, practical results and helps us ensure the protection of our countries' national interests, sovereignty and independence.

-The threat of militants from different international terrorist organisations penetrating the CSTO member states’ territories remains high. The spread of extremist ideology among the people of the Central Asian countries promotes the risk of increased activity of the radical underground in the region.

-We will facilitate stabilisation in Afghanistan through other multilateral mechanisms as well.

Following the summit, the leaders of the CSTO member states signed a package of documents in the area of regional security.

On the sidelines of the CSTO summit President Putin also met with Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. Parties discussed the rising level of bilateral economic cooperation, as well as the security situation in the Caucasus region.

November 22 - President Vladimir Putin and President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev had a telephone conversation today.

The two Heads of State discussed issues pertaining to practical implementation of the agreements that the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia reached in Sochi on October 31, 2022, as well as the previous top-level joint statements made by the three countries. They also emphasized the importance of continuing this work in the trilateral format to ensure security along the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and to restore the transport links in the South Caucasus.

November 19-22 – President of the Republic of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez arrived in Moscow with an official visit.

His first high-level meeting was with Dmitry Medvedev, acting deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. At the meeting, parties discussed issues of cooperation in the field of security, expansion of inter-party interaction, joint work to counter the unprecedented sanctions pressure that Russia and Cuba are facing. Separately, they considered the formation of a movement of supporters of the fight against modern practices of neo-colonialism.

Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel also spoke at the plenary session of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, where he drew parallels in the common struggle of Russia and Cuba against unfair sanctions. He emphasized the importance of assistance from friends in Moscow, and praised the level of economic cooperation with Russia in various fields - from geology and heavy industry to the development of railway infrastructure.

The climax of the visit was a meeting with President of Russia Vladimir Putin on November 22, during which the parties discussed the status and prospects of the Russia-Cuba strategic partnership in the political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian areas, as well as international issues.

Earlier this day two heads of States attended the ceremony for unveiling a monument to Fidel Castro in Moscow.