__________
... Russian soldiers gunning down the Ukrainians who had already surrendered.

... Russia has abducted many thousands of Ukrainian children. Some were told they were being sent on vacation, only to end up in Russia. The scale of abductions only became clear when the Ukrainian army began liberating Russian-occupied areas. Large numbers of children had apparently disappeared, victims of a criminal plan devised by Moscow.

|-------
Russia invites Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and other terrorist groups to Moscow - Feb 19, 2024

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said over the weekend that Russia invited Palestinian factions to meet in Moscow at some point in late February, the latest Russian move to increase its influence in a post-October 7 world. Moscow hosted a Hamas delegation already in October, as Hamas sought to do outreach to Moscow. In October of 2023, Hamas delegation, led by senior Hamas member Mousa Abu Marzouk, met in Moscow with the Russian and Iranian deputy foreign ministers, Mikhail Bogdanov and Ali Bagheri Kani.

Palestinian Authority has been increasingly open to Hamas, since October 7. Hamas seeks to increase its influence in the West Bank - for instance, in trying to get prisoners from other factions exchanged for hostages.

Speculation that a weakened Hamas may be willing to form a partnership with the Fatah-led PA - to govern Gaza and the West Bank jointly - have been revived by a Russian invitation for Palestinian factions to meet in Moscow on 26 February.

Russian TASS reports that Kremlin invited 14 Palestinian groups, including Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), for meetings from February 29 to March 2.

This shows another attempt by Moscow to ratchet up international pressure for ceasefire - Moscow is looking for ways to try and assert influence at a crucial juncture in Israel-Hamas war. Current assessment in Jerusalem is that it will take another two months to defeat Hamas in Rafah and other areas in Gaza. ...
|-------

'Birds of a feather...'
__________

__________
Munich, February 19, 2024 - Speaking to an audience at the Munich Security Conference on February 18, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said that Israel is not a peace partner and that world leaders are too preoccupied with Hamas's October 7 massacre.

... Shtayyeh also said the Palestinian Authority (PA) seeks unity with Hamas:
"We are ready to engage. If Hamas is not, then that's a different story. We need Palestinian unity. ... One should not continue focusing on October 7."
__________

__________
Dmitry Medvedev: "Kyiv and Odessa are Russian cities and Russia needs them back"

After recent gains, Russia signals it could try to seize Kyiv again - saying the 'regime must fall' - Feb 22, 2024

Medvedev signaled that Moscow will not be satisfied with occupying four Ukrainian regions and could again try to capture the capital, Kyiv.

"Yes, probably it should be Kiev. If not now, then ... maybe at some other phase in the development of this conflict..."

Medvedev commented that "this regime must fall, it must be destroyed, it must not remain in this world."

Kyiv was a "Russian city," he claimed, warning that in Ukrainian hands it was "a threat to the existence of the Russian Federation."

"An international threat, because although Kiev is a Russian city in its roots, it is controlled by an international brigade of opponents of Russia led by the United States of America," Medvedev said, echoing Moscow's much-repeated claim that Western nations have coerced Kyiv into fighting Russia in a bid to destroy the country.

Moscow has generally toned down such rhetoric recently, given that its forces are tied up in intense fighting in eastern and southern Ukraine, with little apparent appetite to open a new northern front again. ...

Close followers of Russian politics warn that it's unlikely that any peace negotiations or eventual political settlement to the war will dampen those ambitions. ...
__________

__________
Dmitry Medvedev: "Kyiv and Odessa are Russian cities and Russia needs them back"

After recent gains, Russia signals it could try to seize Kyiv again - saying the 'regime must fall' - Feb 22, 2024

Medvedev signaled that Moscow will not be satisfied with occupying four Ukrainian regions and could again try to capture the capital, Kyiv.

"Yes, probably it should be Kiev. If not now, then ... maybe at some other phase in the development of this conflict..."

Medvedev commented that "this regime must fall, it must be destroyed, it must not remain in this world."

Kyiv was a "Russian city," he claimed, warning that in Ukrainian hands it was "a threat to the existence of the Russian Federation."

"An international threat, because although Kiev is a Russian city in its roots, it is controlled by an international brigade of opponents of Russia led by the United States of America," Medvedev said, echoing Moscow's much-repeated claim that Western nations have coerced Kyiv into fighting Russia in a bid to destroy the country.

Moscow has generally toned down such rhetoric recently, given that its forces are tied up in intense fighting in eastern and southern Ukraine, with little apparent appetite to open a new northern front again. ...

Close followers of Russian politics warn that it's unlikely that any peace negotiations or eventual political settlement to the war will dampen those ambitions. ...
__________

__________
Dmitry Medvedev: "Kyiv and Odessa are Russian cities and Russia needs them back"

After recent gains, Russia signals it could try to seize Kyiv again - saying the 'regime must fall' - Feb 22, 2024

Medvedev signaled that Moscow will not be satisfied with occupying four Ukrainian regions and could again try to capture the capital, Kyiv.

"Yes, probably it should be Kiev. If not now, then ... maybe at some other phase in the development of this conflict..."

Medvedev commented that "this regime must fall, it must be destroyed, it must not remain in this world."

Kyiv was a "Russian city," he claimed, warning that in Ukrainian hands it was "a threat to the existence of the Russian Federation."

"An international threat, because although Kiev is a Russian city in its roots, it is controlled by an international brigade of opponents of Russia led by the United States of America," Medvedev said, echoing Moscow's much-repeated claim that Western nations have coerced Kyiv into fighting Russia in a bid to destroy the country.

Moscow has generally toned down such rhetoric recently, given that its forces are tied up in intense fighting in eastern and southern Ukraine, with little apparent appetite to open a new northern front again. ...

Close followers of Russian politics warn that it's unlikely that any peace negotiations or eventual political settlement to the war will dampen those ambitions. ...
__________

__________
Ooops!
__________