Heading towards World War III?

The Iranian navy will take part in joint exercises with Russian and Chinese warships “this autumn,” Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri announced on Thursday in Tehran.

The chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces did not offer much in the way of details about the planned maneuvers, but said other countries such as Oman and Pakistan might participate as well.

Bagheri made the announcement on the sidelines of a military parade in Tehran marking Sacred Defense Week, according to the Mehr news agency.

“Exercises involving the navies of Iran, Russia and China will be held in the northern part of the Indian Ocean this autumn,” Mehr quoted Bagheri as saying.

This would be the fourth joint exercise by the three navies since 2019, and the first since the escalation of hostilities in Ukraine. Eleven Iranian vessels, three Russian and two Chinese warships took part in the January 2022 exercises in the northern Indian Ocean. Among the activities practiced at the time were artillery fire on naval targets, search-and-rescue operations, and the liberation of a civilian ship from pirates, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Russia and China conducted a joint patrol in the northern Pacific, off the coast of Japan, earlier this month. A total of eight ships from Russia’s Pacific Fleet and the People’s Liberation Army Navy took part in those maneuvers.The Iranian navy will take part in joint exercises with Russian and Chinese warships “this autumn,” Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri announced on Thursday in Tehran.

The chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces did not offer much in the way of details about the planned maneuvers, but said other countries such as Oman and Pakistan might participate as well.

Bagheri made the announcement on the sidelines of a military parade in Tehran marking Sacred Defense Week, according to the Mehr news agency.

“Exercises involving the navies of Iran, Russia and China will be held in the northern part of the Indian Ocean this autumn,” Mehr quoted Bagheri as saying.

This would be the fourth joint exercise by the three navies since 2019, and the first since the escalation of hostilities in Ukraine. Eleven Iranian vessels, three Russian and two Chinese warships took part in the January 2022 exercises in the northern Indian Ocean. Among the activities practiced at the time were artillery fire on naval targets, search-and-rescue operations, and the liberation of a civilian ship from pirates, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Russia and China conducted a joint patrol in the northern Pacific, off the coast of Japan, earlier this month. A total of eight ships from Russia’s Pacific Fleet and the People’s Liberation Army Navy took part in those maneuvers.

www.rt.com/news/563344-iran-russia-china-naval-drills

Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in speech to Russia.

Former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has defended Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, saying Russia's leader was "pushed" into the conflict.

The 85-year-old said Russian troops were meant to replace the government with "decent people" then leave.

The three-time Italian PM is a long-term ally of the Russian president.

This weekend his party is expected to take power as part of a right-wing coalition in a general election in Italy.

A narrative alleging the Ukrainian government was slaughtering Russian speakers in the east of the country was created by the media in Moscow, Mr Berlusconi told Italian TV.

He said the reporting, pushed by separatist forces and nationalist politicians in the Russian government, had left Mr Putin with no choice but to launch a limited invasion.

"Putin was pushed by the Russian population, by his party and by his ministers to invent this special operation," he said.

"The troops were supposed to enter, reach Kyiv in a week, replace the Zelensky government with decent people and a week later come back," Mr Berlusconi added.

"Instead they found an unexpected resistance, which was then fed by arms of all kinds from the West."

Opposition leaders were quick to condemn Mr Berlusconi's comments, with Centrist Party leader Carlo Calenda accusing him of speaking "like a Putin general".

And Enrico Letta of the centre-left Democratic Party said the intervention proved if Sunday's election is "favourable to the right, the happiest person would be Putin".

But on Friday, Mr Berlusconi attempted to clarify his comments, saying his views had been "oversimplified" .

"The aggression against Ukraine is unjustifiable and unacceptable, [Forza Italia's] position is clear. We will always be with the EU and Nato," he said.

Mr Berlusconi has long been an admirer of Mr Putin, in 2012 joining the then-prime minister for a skiing trip in the Russian city of Sochi.

But in April, he condemned the invasion and said he was "deeply disappointed and saddened" by Mr Putin's behaviour, adding that the "massacres of civilians in Bucha and other localities are real war crimes".

The Forza Italia party leader is currently campaigning as part of a right-wing coalition ahead of Sunday's general election.

His centre-right party is the junior partner of the alliance, which is anchored by Giorgia Meloni's hard-right Brothers of Italy and Matteo Salvini's populist Lega Nord party. Polls have suggested the bloc will win a majority.

Despite Mr Berlusconi's past friendship with Mr Putin, and Mr Salvini's criticism of Western sanctions on Russia, Ms Meloni, who is expected to lead any potential government, has pledged to continue Italy's support of Ukraine.

"The war in Ukraine is the tip of the iceberg of a conflict aimed at reshaping the world order," she said earlier this month. "So we have to fight this battle."

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63005402

Ukrainians have reported armed soldiers going door-to-door in occupied parts of the country to collect votes for self-styled "referendums" on joining Russia.

"You have to answer verbally and the soldier marks the answer on the sheet and keeps it," one woman in Enerhodar told the BBC.

In southern Kherson, Russian guardsmen stood with a ballot box in the middle of the city to collect people's votes.

The door-to-door voting is for "security", Russian state media says.

"In-person voting will take place exclusively on 27 September," Tass reported. "On the other days, voting will be organised in communities and in a door-to-door manner."

One woman in Melitopol told the BBC that two local "collaborators" arrived with two Russian soldiers at her parents' flat, to give them a ballot to sign.

"My dad put 'no' [to joining Russia]," the woman said. "My mum stood nearby, and asked what would happen for putting 'no'. They said, 'Nothing'.

"Mum is now worried that the Russians will persecute them."

The woman also said there was one ballot for the entire household, rather than per person.

Although the evidence is anecdotal, the presence of armed men conducting the vote contradicts Moscow's insistence that this is a free or fair process.

Experts say the self-styled referendums, taking place across five days, will allow Russia to claim - illegally - four occupied or partially-occupied regions of Ukraine as their own.

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63013356

Today the Referendums To Join Russia Started In Ukraine. Ukraine condemns it calling them a ‘propaganda show’ but never the less the voting begins in Russian-controlled territory of what is internationally recognized as Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, & Lugansk Regions (Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics).
As you most probably know there have been huge developments in the Russia - Ukraine war this week.
The west keeps supporting Ukraine with more and more weapons which seems to be antagonizing Russia. They continue to refuse to show the full story of what has been happening in Donbass for the last 8 years. The Russian President seems to have had enough and says Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons & any other means of mass destruction in case of a threat to territorial integrity and weapons of mass disruption are used on Russia. and he says “This is not a bluff,” . The Russian Defense Minister Shoigu says Russia is at war with the collective West," and a Partial mobilization has been announced by Russia. The has today US privately warned Russia against using nuclear weapons.
We are on the ground in Kherson to show you what is really happening and we will be going to all 4 referendums making the most in-depth coverage available.

The G7 has condemned the referendums in Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye as “illegitimate” and undemocratic, vowing to never accept their results and continue supporting the government of Ukraine with weapons, money, and everything else, according to a statement released by the White House on Friday.

The US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan denounced the “sham referenda that Russia attempts to use to create a phony pretext for changing the status of Ukrainian sovereign territory,” which “have no legal effect or legitimacy,” and “in no way respect democratic norms,” according to the statement.

The two Donbass republics – recognized as independent states by Moscow in February – and the two southern regions of Ukraine mostly under control of Russian troops are holding a vote on joining Russia. The voting started on Friday and is expected to end next week.

Insisting it would “never recognise these referenda” or the subsequent “Russian annexation,” the G7 said they “in no way represent a legitimate expression of the will of the Ukrainian people.”

Instead, the G7 said it would continue to provide “financial, humanitarian, military, diplomatic and legal support” to the government in Kiev and launch “reconstruction efforts” at a conference in Germany next month. “We will stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” the statement concluded.

Following the February 2014 US-backed coup in Kiev, several regions refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Ukrainian government. Crimea voted to rejoin Russia in March that year. Ukraine and the G7 have refused to recognize this as well, calling it an illegitimate annexation. Shortly thereafter, Donetsk and Lugansk declared independence, and were targeted by the Ukrainian military in what Kiev called an “anti-terrorist operation.”

Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Ukraine’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian president Pyotr Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and “create powerful armed forces.”

After recognizing the two Donbass republics as independent states, Moscow demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked.

www.rt.com/news/563431-g7-referendums-ukraine-russia

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has slammed the referendums in Donbass and two regions of eastern Ukraine, calling them a “sham” as citizens weigh whether they would like to formally join Russia amid ongoing fighting.

With voting set to take place over the next few days in the two Donbass republics – Donetsk and Lugansk – which are already recognized by Moscow, and the Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye, Stoltenberg insisted that Russia would use the “sham” referendums “to further escalate the war,” claiming they would have “no legitimacy and of course they don't change anything.”

“Our answer, NATO's answer, is to step up support,” he told CNN in an interview on Friday, adding “The best way to end this war is to strengthen the Ukrainians on the battlefield further so they can, at some stage, sit down and reach a solution which is acceptable for Ukraine and that preserves Ukraine as a sovereign, independent nation in Europe.”

While the exact outcome of the referendums has yet to be seen, Moscow has stated that should the regions vote to join the Russian Federation, it would consider attacks on those areas to be attacks on its own territory, and respond accordingly. Additionally, the referendums follow an announcement that Russia will mobilize 300,000 reservists, some of whom Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said would help to control the 1,000-kilometer line of contact between Ukrainian forces and Russian-held territory.

Russian lawmakers already voted to formally recognize the Donbass republics as independent states earlier this year, while the neighboring Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions remain part of Ukraine, though both have seen a Russian military presence throughout the conflict.

A number of Western leaders have already voiced opposition to the upcoming votes, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, much like Stoltenberg, dismissing them as “sham referendums” that “cannot be accepted.” Washington, meanwhile, said it would “never recognize Russia’s claims to any purportedly annexed parts of Ukraine,” apparently including Crimea, which voted in its own referendum to secede from Ukraine and rejoin Russia in 2014.

www.rt.com/news/563434-stoltenberg-donbass-referendums-sham

The US will “never recognize” the referendums in the Donbass republics and two Russian-controlled regions in Ukraine, President Joe Biden said on Friday, pledging that Washington and its allies will seek to impose “severe economic costs” on Moscow for supporting the votes on joining Russia.

Biden denounced the referendums on joining Russia, which kicked off on Friday, as “a sham.” They are “a false pretext to try to annex parts of Ukraine by force in flagrant violation of international law, including the United Nations Charter,” his statement read.

The US leader pledged to “work with our allies and partners to impose additional swift and severe economic costs on Russia,” without providing further details.

He went on to say that Washington would “continue to support the Ukrainian people and provide them with security assistance” to fight off Russian troops.

On Friday, the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, as well as the Russian-controlled Kherson Region and part of Zaporozhye Region, began their referendums on joining Russia, which will be completed on September 27.

Senior officials have signaled that Russia will support the Donbass republics if they vote to join the country.

Moscow warned that if the two republics and regions vote to join Russia, it would consider assaults on these areas to be attacks on its own territory, and respond accordingly.

A number of Western leaders have condemned the referendums. The G7 dismissed the votes as “illegitimate” and undemocratic, and vowed to “never recognize” the results. The group, which includes the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, also said it would continue to provide “financial, humanitarian, military, diplomatic and legal support” to the government in Kiev.

www.rt.com/news/563446-biden-pledges-response-referendums-russia

With the Referendums To Join Russia In full effect In Ukraine we found it necessary to go to the strategic city of Mariupol Donetsk People's Republic territory and show the situation there. In March of this year, Pro-Russian and Russian Forces surrounded the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol in order to take control of the city, and a fierce months-long
battle ensued with both sides accusing the other of war crimes. The battle was
very intense and ended with the remaining Ukrainian Army and Azov forces
surrendering to Russia and Russia taking complete control of an almost
completely destroyed city. In any conflict, it is important not just to listen to the
ideas of one side but to gather eyewitness accounts to try to piece together
what has happened and the following are some of those accounts. Seek more from both sides to educate yourself.
Ukraine government has begun accusing Russia of coercing residents to vote they are condemning them calling them a ‘propaganda show’ but never the less the voting begins in Russian-controlled territory of what is internationally recognized as Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, & Lugansk Regions (Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics). We are on the ground covering all 4 areas that are having the referendums so you can see for yourself and make an educated opinion. In this report We show you some of the processes of the referendum in the Ukrainian port city of Berdyansk in the Zaporizhzhia region As you most probably know there have been huge developments in the Russia - Ukraine war this week.The west keeps supporting Ukraine with more and more weapons which seem to be antagonizing Russia. They continue to refuse to show the full story of what has been happening in Donbass for the last 8 years. The Russian President seems to have had enough and says Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons & any other means of mass destruction in case of a threat to territorial integrity and weapons of mass disruption are used on Russia. and he says “This is not a bluff,” . The Russian Defense Minister Shoigu says Russia is at war with the collective West," and a Partial mobilization has been announced by Russia. The US has also privately warned Russia against using nuclear weapons.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has said that his forces have been suffering at least 50 casualties a day during the ongoing military conflict with Russia. He claimed, however, that the Russian side was losing several times more.

Speaking to French news outlets as part of the ‘Face a Zelensky’ program, the Ukrainian leader said that Kiev has estimates of daily casualties being suffered by the Ukrainian army amid the ongoing conflict with Moscow, but noted that these numbers were not entirely accurate.

“It’s about 50 people a day. But these are not exact numbers, because we don’t know how many soldiers or civilians remain in [Russian-controlled] territories,” said Zelensky. He then claimed that there have been “five times less” Ukrainian military casualties than Russian ones.

He further elaborated that the position of the Ukrainian military was not to name the exact number of dead or wounded Ukrainian servicemen, noting that “we have to be careful with the numbers, because we are talking about human lives.”

Russia reveals military losses in Ukraine
Read more Russia reveals military losses in Ukraine
Zelensky’s statement comes after the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday that Russia’s forces have lost nearly 6,000 troops since Moscow launched its military offensive in Ukraine.

Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu claimed, however, that losses on the Ukrainian side were ten times higher, at an estimated 61,000 soldiers dead and over 49,000 wounded.

“Initially, the Armed Forces of Ukraine amounted to between 201,000 and 202,000 people, and since then they have suffered losses of around 100,000,” the minister said.

Shoigu added that Russian forces and the militias of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics have also reportedly eliminated over 2,000 “mercenaries” fighting for Kiev, leaving just over 1,000 foreigners still in the ranks of the Ukrainian military.

www.rt.com/russia/563415-zelensky-ukrainian-army-losses

Ukraine's progress in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia has been far more limited than its successes in the north-east. Front line positions come under regular fire as both Russia and Ukraine attempt to push forward. The BBC's Abdujalil Abdurasulov gained rare access to the Ukrainian front line in Kherson region.

An old Soviet self-propelled howitzer called 'Gvozdika' or 'Carnation' is rolled out in an open field and put into position. Its barrel tilts up. "Fire!" comes the command.

The gunners hastily move away after the last shot, acting quickly.

Although the advancement of Ukrainian forces in the south is very slow, their artillery units remain busy.

Stus, commander of the gunners, explains that the Russians target his infantry and they respond in order to silence them.

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63049386