by lizard
There are serious questions that need to be asked about what happened in Odessa, where dozens of people allegedly died in a deliberate building fire.
The absurd claim coming from the Ukrainian government is that someone got dropsy with a molotov cocktail, as reported by Fox news:
A horrific fire last week that killed dozens in a hulking Odessa building where pro-Russian protesters had taken cover was likely sparked by rebels on the roof who accidentally dropped Molotov cocktails, according to a preliminary investigation by the government.
The finding is likely to further anger separatists in eastern Ukraine who view the new government in Kiev with deep suspicion. It comes as authorities said the situation on the border with Russia has grown increasingly tense, and France warned of the prospect of “chaos and civil war” if the presidential election set for this month is upended.
Actually, the finding will anger “separatists” because it’s complete bullshit.
It’s been nearly a week since the fire in Odessa, and some very disturbing details are beginning to emerge. Michael Whitney has another piece out, and I should warn readers some of the descriptions are quite graphic:
Photos of the victims of the Odessa fire which have been circulating on the Internet have cast doubt on the official version of events. It’s now clear that many of the anti-junta activists who occupied the Trade Unions House were neither burned to death nor died of smoke inhalation, but were savagely shot at point-blank range by agents and thugs who had infiltrated the building to kill as many of the occupants as possible, burn the corpses, and then slip away without notice. Some of the victims–like a young woman who was eight months pregnant –were strangled with an electrical chord and left slumped backwards over her desk in a room that shows no sign of fire or smoke damage. In another case, a woman was stripped naked from the waste down, raped, killed, and set ablaze.
In still other cases, victims with bullet-holes through their skulls, had flammable fluid dumped on their heads and were incinerated, leaving a charred head atop a corpse whose clothes were untouched by fire. The sloppily-executed killing-spree proves that the fire was not the result of a spontaneous clash between pro and anti-Kiev demonstrators, but a carefully planned black-op that likely involved foreign Intel agencies working hand-in-hand with the fascist junta government in Kiev. Did we mention that the CIA has taken up residence in the Ukrainian capital?
The brutality hints at intent: a slaughter awful enough to trigger a Russian response.
What’s that? Impossible because our benign empire is pure of purpose? If you’re into that kind of stuff, there’s a conveniently timed sudden interest in kidnapped Nigerian school girls, hashtag BringOurGirlsBack, endorsed by the first lady. Only a total cynic would imply there’s something less-than genuine about the Obama administration’s concern over the nightmare of being abducted by scary, murderous zealots.
Back to the provocation that didn’t work. How Russia responds to the brutal tragedy Odessa is incredibly important. For now, it appears Putin is trying to deescalate the situation. You can read a transcript of his recent statements here. Putin took questions, and this question/response is worth highlighting:
QUESTION: President Putin,
The Ukrainian government has made recent statements to the effect that they are ready to begin broad decentralisation in the country. First of all, does this decentralisation suit you?
Second, we hear that the violence must end and we must settle the conflict. We already heard similar words in Geneva.
My question therefore is what concrete steps can you take, because the experts all say that Moscow holds the key to resolving the conflict. How can you influence people in eastern Ukraine, the so-called separatists? What concrete steps are needed to de-escalate the conflict?
VLADIMIR PUTIN: First, the idea that Russia holds the key to resolving the problem is a trick thought up by our Western partners and does not have any grounds in reality. No sooner do our colleagues in Europe or the US drive the situation into a dead end, they always say that Moscow holds the keys to a solution and put all the responsibility on us.
The responsibility for what is happening in Ukraine now lies with the people who carried out an anti-constitutional seizure of power, a coup d’etat, and with those who supported these actions and gave them financial, political, information and other kinds of support and pushed the situation to the tragic events that took place in Odessa. It’s quite simply blood-chilling to watch the footage of those events.
Russia will take every necessary step of course and do everything within its power to settle the situation. I can understand the people in southeast Ukraine, who say that if others can do what they like in Kiev, carry out a coup d’etat, take up arms and seize government buildings, police stations and military garrisons, then why shouldn’t they be allowed to defend their interests and lawful rights?
As for whether proposed measures suit Russia or not, we are not a party to this conflict; the parties to the conflict are in Ukraine itself. We were told repeatedly that our forces by the Ukrainian border were a source of concern. We have withdrawn our forces and they are now not on the Ukrainian border but are carrying out their regular exercises at the test grounds. This can be easily verified using modern intelligence techniques, including from space, where everything can be seen. We helped to secure the OSCE military observers’ release and I think also made a contribution to defusing the situation.
It might be too late to stop the violence from escalating. I appreciate this blunt analysis from Moon of Alabama:
Russia decided to not intervene, for now, and to leave the poison cocktail the “west” created boiling and in the “west’s” responsibility.
Putin’s offer from yesterday was not accepted within the Ukraine. The coup government announced to continue its “anti-terrorism” campaign against federalists in the east and the federalists in Donetsk and Lugansk announced not to cancel their referendum.
Elsewhere Putin’s offer was somewhat accepted. It had, as Putin had announced, already been coordinated with the German chancellor Merkel and today the OSCE as the relevant organization presented a yet to be published roadmap to Russia.
If there is no serious offer of federalization in the roadmap Russia will let the Ukraine issue boil on a lower flame. The social-economic upheaval that is sure to come will in due time swamp away the coup government. Russia can always use its economic and energy leverage to hasten or slow down that process.
The whole case of Ukraine is now likely to be a longer run issue and, unless some unforeseen massacre takes place, I expect no further immediate action from the Russian side.
If the coup government in Kiev is willing to unleash this kind of brutality on its own people, what else could they be planning (with a little help from the CIA)?
Diane Johnstone has an article up at Counterpunch that may, in part, answer that question:
On this occasion, Putin announced that he had pulled back Russian forces from the border with Ukraine. He indicated that this was to ease concerns over their positioning, meaning claims that Russia was preparing an invasion. He also advised against holding referendums for greater autonomy in the Russophone areas until “conditions for dialogue” can be created.
However, news reports indicated that this reported military pullback caused new concerns among some Ukrainians, who felt Russia was abandoning them in their hour of need, and among some Russians, who feared the President was backing down under Western pressure.
It is not impossible that the pullback order was linked to a Novosti RIA report dated May 6, which indicated that the Ukrainian secret service was planning an imminent false flag operation in order to accuse Russia of violating the border with Ukraine.
Novosti said it had learned from security circles in Kiev that the Ukrainian secret service SBU had secretly shipped about 200 Russian army uniforms and some 70 forged Russian officer ID into the Eastern Ukrainian protest stronghold of Donetz, to be used to stage a false attack on Ukrainian border patrols.
Novosti said the reports were unconfirmed, but they could nevertheless be taken seriously by the Russians. “The plan would be to simulate an attack on Ukrainian border troops and to film it for the media”, the report said. In connection with the plan, a dozen or so combatants from the ultranationalist Right Sector were to cross the border and kidnap a Russian soldier in order to present him as “proof” of Russian military incursion. The operation was scheduled for May 8 or 9.
False Flag attacks have been the modus operandi for the western-backed Ukrainian fascists. NATO cheerleaders, like The Polish Wolf, can downplay that fact, claiming the left has “utterly failed to come to correct decisions”, but that doesn’t negate the dark reality lurking behind the blatant propaganda. Maybe PW has finally come to understand this, which would explain his conspicuous absence at Intelligent Discontent as this crisis deepens.
4&20 blackbirds 