Heading towards World War III?

Ankara has requested “explanations” from Ukraine over what Turkish media described as a campaign calling for sanctions against Turkish companies, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday. Turkish diplomats took steps to clarify the situation “both in Kiev and Ankara,” the foreign minister told journalists.

Cavusoglu confirmed that Turkey is aware of an extensive Ukrainian campaign targeting not “just Turkish companies,” but over 18,000 individuals and entities from various parts of the world, including the US and EU, over their supposed ties with Russia. However, it is “our companies that interest us,” he added.

The foreign minister’s comments came one day after Turkish newspaper Aydinlik drew attention to a website apparently “affiliated with the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs” that lists individuals and entities it wants sanctioned over their alleged dealings with Russia.

Ankara angered by anti-Turkish campaign in Ukraine – mediaREAD MORE: Ankara angered by anti-Turkish campaign in Ukraine – media
The Turkish government “requested clarifications” from the Ukrainian ambassador to Ankara and the government in Kiev on September 11, the paper reported.

“Considering our existing strategic partnership, solidarity and cooperation with Ukraine, it’s expected that Turkish individuals and organizations won’t be targeted by sanctions,” a diplomatic source told Aydinlik.

The ‘War & sanctions’ website, which describes itself as “the main database of sanctions imposed over Russia’s attack on Ukraine,” says it is supported by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and the National Agency on Corruption Prevention. It also features lists of companies and individuals “that have already been subjected to sanctions” and those who “are yet to be subjected to sanctions.”

Borrell compares anti-Russia sanctions to ‘diet’READ MORE: Borrell compares anti-Russia sanctions to ‘diet’
Among other things, it lists foreigners working for Russian companies and foreign companies which have assets in Russia and thus should be targeted with sanctions “for their support of Russia’s war against Ukraine.”

Subsidiary companies of at least three Turkish banks – Ziraat Bank, Isbank, and Credit Europe Bank – are on the list, among thousands of other entities.

Kiev has not publicly commented on the Turkish backlash so far, but Ukraine has repeatedly called on various nations, including the US and its allies in Europe and elsewhere, to keep adding sanctions pressure on Moscow.

www.rt.com/news/562813-turkey-demand-explanations-ukraine-sanctions

Ukraine says it has evidence of a mass grave in Izyum, the north-eastern city recently freed from Russian occupation.

Regional police head Volodymyr Tymoshko told the BBC more than 400 bodies were thought to have been buried there.

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62922674

As a result of a Ukrainian artillery attack, one civilian was killed and two were wounded in the town of Valuyki, Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said shortly after midnight on Friday. The projectiles that managed to get through the Russian air defenses also destroyed three vehicles and set eight private homes on fire.

“Air defenses were activated, but there is damage on the ground,” Gladkov said on Telegram. “The power substation was damaged and the electricity supply to the town was disrupted.”

Preliminary information indicates that one civilian resident was killed, while medical aid was rendered on the scene to two more people who were injured, Gladkov said, adding that top regional and local officials are on the scene responding to the attack.

Critical facilities and public buildings were switched to alternative power generators until the electricity was eventually restored before 5am Friday.

Valuyki is a town of around 35,000 residents, 150km east of Belgorod and 15km north of the border with Ukraine. It came in range of Ukrainian artillery after Russian troops vacated the northeastern portion of Kharkov Region last week.

Two other settlements in Belgorod Region were also targeted by Ukrainian artillery on Thursday. A fire broke out at a gas station in the border village of Nekhoteevka, while 14 houses were damaged in the nearby village of Krasny Khutor.

This is the second Ukrainian attack this week resulting in civilian casualties. On Monday, Kiev’s forces targeted the town of Logachevka, south of Valuyki, killing one elderly woman and injuring four other civilians. One local resident was among the wounded, while the others were refugees from Ukraine, according to Gladkov. Logachevka’s electricity and gas supplies were also disrupted in the attack, and the regional administration ordered an evacuation.

www.rt.com/russia/562896-ukraine-shelling-belgorod-region

Border guards from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan once again exchanged fire on Friday morning, following an escalation of tensions earlier in the week.

Kyrgyz military officials accused Tajikistan of a “treacherous attack on border and civilian facilities” and claimed that sporadic clashes were taking place “all along the border.” The situation remained tense as of 3am GMT. The government in Bishkek reportedly ordered evacuations from several border areas.

Tajikistan in turn claimed that Kyrgyz border guards shelled one of their border posts with mortars, and accused the neighboring state of conducting an unprovoked “armed attack” on several settlements.

There was no official confirmation of any fatalities from the latest flare-up. A similar incident on Wednesday morning claimed the life of at least one soldier, with several others wounded.

Tensions occasionally spike between the two Central Asian countries, as they are unable to fully agree on their 1,000km-long border. While Russia has no shared border with either, both former Soviet states are part of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a mutual defense pact analogous to the US-led NATO bloc, made up of six former Soviet republics, also including Russia, Armenia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.

In a separate border incident this week involving another CSTO member, Armenia accused Azerbaijan of launching artillery and drone strikes early Tuesday. Dozens of soldiers on both sides were killed in the ensuing firefight. However, after Yerevan sought help from the military bloc, Azerbaijan proposed a “humanitarian ceasefire.”

www.rt.com/russia/562901-tajikistan-kyrgyzstan-border-clashes

Washington becomes “complicit in war crimes” by supplying weapons to Kiev, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a media briefing on Thursday. If the US decides to supply longer-range missiles to Ukraine, “it would cross the red line and become an actual party to the conflict,” she added.

Such a move would be equivalent to deploying ground-based medium-range missiles to Europe, Zakharova said, adding that such weapons were previously banned by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), which the US abandoned back in 2019 under then-President Donald Trump.

“In such a scenario, we would have to come up with an adequate response,” the spokeswoman said, adding that Russia “reserves the right to defend its territory using any means available.”

Washington has already supplied Kiev with M142 HIMARS and M270 MLRS multiple launch rocket systems, as well as regular rounds for them capable of hitting targets at a range of about 70km. Now, Kiev also seeks to get ahold of the US-made Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS. These missiles, which can also be fired by HIMARS and MLRS systems, have a significantly longer range of some 300km and could strike targets deep in Russian territory.

Washington is seeking to drag the conflict in Ukraine out for as long as possible while still controlling how it develops, Zakharova said, calling it a sign of America's “direct involvement in the fighting.” She also accused the US of seeking “global destabilization” and instigating a new “arms race.”

Her words came just a day after the Russian ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, accused the US of “inciting Kiev” against Russia, as well as aiding Ukraine’s military efforts and “boasting” about it. The diplomat also blasted US claims about not being a party to the conflict as “ridiculous” and “unfounded.”

In September, the Pentagon revealed a new military aid package for Kiev worth $675 million. The package includes artillery ammunition, armored vehicles, and remote-launched mines, among other items.

www.rt.com/russia/562888-moscow-red-line-us-ukraine

Berlin appears to be increasingly out of step with its allies across the pond when it comes to arming Ukraine, Germany’s Die Welt daily reported on Thursday, adding that the issue is impacting relations between the NATO allies. The US allegedly wants Germany to take a more resolute approach towards military assistance for Kiev, it said.

Last Sunday, the US ambassador to Berlin, Amy Gutmann, told the German broadcaster ZDF that she expects Germany to “take on a greater leadership role.” She acknowledged Berlin’s military assistance to Kiev, but said her expectations are “even higher.”

“So far, Germany has done what we asked for,” a US official told Die Welt on Thursday, adding that Berlin could be moving “faster.” The paper reported that Washington has “doubts” about Germany’s fundamental loyalty to Kiev, questioning whether it wants Ukraine to “win” or just “not to lose.”

On Tuesday, the German tabloid Bild claimed that US officials allegedly sent a diplomatic note to Berlin, in which Secretary of State Antony Blinken supposedly said Washington would “welcome” a decision by Germany to send battle tanks to Ukraine while stopping short of directly asking for such a step. A spokeswoman for the US embassy in Berlin, however, denied this claim, telling Bild that no such outreach was made.

“It is not true that we told Germany that they had to supply tanks,” a US official also told Die Welt on Thursday, adding that the US would rather see Germany take a greater leadership role, which now “means helping Ukraine.”

Last week, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht told journalists that Berlin would not be the first to send Western-made tanks to Ukraine when no other nation had done so.

The reports of Washington’s dissatisfaction with Germany’s response came as Lambrecht announced a fresh weapons package for Kiev. The new batch will include two Mars II multiple rocket launchers and 200 missiles for them, as well as 50 Dingo armored personnel carriers, she told journalists on Thursday.

www.rt.com/news/562894-us-patience-germany-thin-ukraine