Not quite yet Azovstal … perhaps one day when the SMO is finally over 

 

 

 

Did you really think that today’s big news story for our MSM are or ought to have been the surrender yesterday of over 300 ‘fighters’ in Azovstal/Mariupol, that their wounded were taken to hospital in the Donbas, for treatment?

Sorry – our Westminster propaganda outlets had different priorities. At the usual place (link) you’ll find that “we” have to be concerned about ‘apocalyptic food prices’ – as if we could do anything about that except be scared! The other ‘big thing’ wasthat a football player ‘has come out’. Omigawd. That is just so important!

Also, “we” needed to read that caring Labour has demanded the Treasury hand out £500 each for the poorest. If anyone still thinks that Labour and their supporters in the MSM have a good grasp of economic realities rather than believing in unicorns and money trees – well, I’m sorry for you.

And so to the big story which did make it eventually into the online editions of the broadsheets. Sorry, I’m not going to wade into the RedTops pages – life is too short. Early yesterday social media yesterday had reports that there were ‘negotiations’ ongoing between Azovstal ‘leaders’ and Russian forces. A humanitarian corridor was opened, a ceasefire was declared.

Yesterday evening the first pictures emerged, of wounded Azov soldiers being taken to waiting buses and transported to hospitals. This first report came from an RT journalist, but it can’t be Russian propaganda because Reuters picked it up (link). First, here’s RT with the plain news:

“The first stage of surrender was completed on Monday. 264 soldiers left Azovstal. There are now 53 wounded servicemen in a hospital in Novoazovsk and 211 soldiers in Yelenovka, both of which are part of the Donetsk People’s Republic. Russian sources have estimated that about 2,200 people have been trapped in the basements of the huge Azovstal complex.” (link)

Next, here’s the Reuters spin – note that we’re meant to believe that this ‘evacuation’ was due to Ukrainian troops, insinuating that Russia didn’t play a role:

“Ukraine’s military said on Tuesday it was working to evacuate all remaining troops from their last stronghold in the besieged port of Mariupol, ceding control of the city to Russia after months of bombardment. The evacuation of hundreds of fighters, many wounded, to Russian-held towns, likely marked the end of the longest and bloodiest battle of the Ukraine war and a significant defeat for Ukraine. Mariupol is now in ruins after a Russian siege that Ukraine says killed tens of thousands of people in the city.” (link)

Note that the expression used is ‘evacuated’ but not the word ‘surrender’. That one of those leaders came out with a white flag: nah, must be fake news created on social media. Now see the DT spinning: 

“More than 260 Ukrainian soldiers holed up in the Azovstal steel plant for 82 days were evacuated to Russian-controlled towns on Monday night pending an “exchange”, the Ukrainian government said.” (paywalled link).

Again, the operative verb is ‘evacuated’. Also note that the DT uses Ukrainian ‘sources’, they do not speak to Russians. More on that “exchange” below. Next, The Times, being a bit more selective in their choice of expressions:

“More than 260 Ukrainian troops left the besieged Azovstal steel plant yesterday after Russia agreed to move the seriously wounded to a medical centre in the town of Novoazovsk, and the rest through a humanitarian corridor to the town of Olenivka, both of which are controlled by Russian forces.” (link, paywalled)

The Times is being coy, avoiding the use of both ‘surrender’ and ‘evacuate’. Instead they insinuate that somehow Russia was pressured into letting the Azov soldiers go, allowing them to just walk out.

When that RT report first hit the internet, there were also rumours that Mr ‘e and his military advisers were meeting in Kiev to assess the situation. He did, and he made a statement. I am delighted to document how this defeat is being turned into yet another ‘ra-ra-Ukraine’ occasion. Here are the immortal words of Mr ‘e, posted on his social media channel, quoted from a Russian news site (machine translated, my emphasis):

“Difficult day. But this day, like everyone else, is aimed at protecting our country and our people. We have hope that we will be able to save the lives of our guys. There are seriously wounded among them, they need help. I want to emphasize: Ukraine needs living Ukrainian heroes. This is our principle.” (link)

These phrases were picked up and broadcast by Russian news agencies (e.g. here). RT has the full statement:

“Thanks to the actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, intelligence, as well as the negotiating group, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN, we have hope that we will be able to save the lives of our guys. I want to emphasize that Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes alive. This is our principle. I think that every adequate person will understand these words. To bring our military back home, the work continues, and this work requires delicacy and time,” he stated.” (link)

Do not even think to ask how come Mr ‘e  repeatedly ordered the Azov battalion and all other troops to fight to their last bullets if ‘Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes alive’! Instead, the western MSM are now into a ‘whitewash Mr ‘e’ operation. However, there are the first hints of a split in the High command between Mr ‘e and his cronies and the Ukrainian military, see e.g. Reuters:

“The ‘Mariupol’ garrison has fulfilled its combat mission,” the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in a statement. “The supreme military command ordered the commanders of the units stationed at Azovstal to save the lives of the personnel… Defenders of Mariupol are the heroes of our time,” it added.” (link)

So who told their troops to fight to the last bullet? The Ukrainian General Staff or Mr ‘e and his consorts? One final quote, showing that Russia cannot be totally let out of these reports, is reported by Reuters and picked up in the DT and The Times. It’s by the Ukrainian deputy Defence Minister Anna Malyar who said that “All of the evacuees will be subject to a potential prisoner exchange with Russia […] “ (link).

On the one hand we’re meant to believe that Russia agreed to this humanitarian gesture because they want to exchange all the Russian POWs. On the other hand this is the seed for the coming ‘stories’ about ‘bad Russia’ not exchanging those poor innocent soldiers. Yes, well … given Russia’s stated aims of denazification, such ‘exchange’ might take time. 

I recommend reading this article by Larry Johnson on the fall of Azovstal. You might also enjoy this short article by Andrei Martyanov who assesses our MSM perfectly. Our MSM are already avoiding using ‘Russia’ and ‘Putin’ in their reports on the Azovstal surrender.

Given the order of the Ukrainian general staff, might we expect the rest of the Azov neonazis to come out and surrender today? Who knows. Who knows if the Ukrainian troops still battling in the Donbas areas will now also decide that they should do as Mr ‘e said, surrendering or running away, because ‘Ukraine needs their heroes alive’. 

There’s this quote about bankruptcy, allegedly by Ernest Hemingway: “How Did You Go Bankrupt?” “Two Ways. Gradually and Then Suddenly.”. Many observers and commentators on the alt media have been saying that this may well be the way the SMO will finish. We’ll see. Mr ‘e has provided the perfect pretext for surrender.

I leave you with this tweet which had the blogosphere in stitches yesterday. Do check the Reuters photo which was kindly supplied as well.  Nothing could demonstrate better how the western Ukrainian propaganda machinery works. It’s certainly way more funny than having to read about a gay footballer.

 

 

 

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