Image from this Financial Times article, although the archived version has a different image because they presumably changed it after.
China's Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, has met last weekend with the Pakistani Foreign Minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and Afghanistan's Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi (all pictured), discussing security and trade and particularly strengthening co-operation with China and increasing development in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative.
After the United States destroyed the country and killed hundreds of thousands of people and left millions destitute, intentionally destabilizing the region to counter Russia, China, and Iran, Afghanistan's government has been co-operating with China and Russia to try and rebuild. China has already invested billions into Pakistan creating a network of roads, trains, and ports, and the hope is that Afghanistan could receive similar infrastructure investment. And Russia is supplying oil and wheat to the country too.
Additionally, both China and Pakistan have a strong interest in keeping the security situation there manageable, as the country is still the base for several terrorist groups - including the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, the Uyghur militant group - which have committed acts of violence in Pakistan and surrounding countries.
Afghanistan notably hosts approximately $1 trillion worth of minerals. The Taliban have hoped that China will boost investments in the country to help them exploit these resources, as obviously Afghanistan is in dire economic straits.
Here is the map of the Ukraine conflict, courtesy of Wikipedia.
Here is the archive of important pieces of analysis from throughout the war that we've collected.
This week's first update is here in the comments.
This week's second update is here in the comments.
This week's third update is here in the comments.
Links and Stuff
Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists
Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Add to the above list if you can, thank you.
Resources For Understanding The War Beyond The Bulletins
Defense Politics Asia's youtube channel and their map. I recommend their map more than the channel at this point, as an increasing subscriber count has greatly diminished their quality.
Moon of Alabama, which tends to have decent analysis. Avoid the comment section.
Understanding War and the Saker: neo-conservative sources but their reporting of the war (so far) seems to line up with reality better than most liberal sources. Beware of chuddery.
Alexander Mercouris, who does daily videos on the conflict. While he is a reactionary and surrounds himself with likeminded people, his daily update videos are relatively brainworm-free and good if you don't want to follow Russian telegram channels to get news. He also co-hosts The Duran, which is more explicitly conservative, racist, sexist, transphobic, anti-communist, etc when guests are invited on, but is just about tolerable when it's just the two of them if you want a little more analysis.
On the ground: Patrick Lancaster, an independent journalist reporting in the warzone.
Unedited videos of Russian/Ukrainian press conferences and speeches.
Telegram Channels
Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.
Pro-Russian
https://t.me/aleksandr_skif ~ DPR's former Defense Minister and Colonel in the DPR's forces. Russian language.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad ~ A few different pro-Russian people gather frequent content for this channel (~100 posts per day), some socialist (but still quite reactionary in terms of gender and sexuality and race, so beware). If you can only tolerate using one Russian telegram channel, I would recommend this one.
https://t.me/s/levigodman ~ Does daily update posts.
https://t.me/patricklancasternewstoday ~ Patrick Lancaster's telegram channel.
https://t.me/gonzowarr ~ Another big Russian commentator.
https://t.me/rybar ~ One of, if not the, biggest Russian telegram channels focussing on the war out there. Actually quite balanced, maybe even pessimistic about Russia's army.
https://t.me/epoddubny ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/boris_rozhin ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/mod_russia_en ~ Russian Ministry of Defense. Does daily, if rather bland updates on the number of Ukrainians killed, etc. The figures appear to be approximately accurate; if you want, reduce all numbers by 25% as a 'propaganda tax', if you don't believe them. Does not cover everything, for obvious reasons, and virtually never details Russian losses.
https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses ~ Pro-Russian, documents abuses that Ukraine commits.
Pro-Ukraine
Almost every Western media outlet.
https://discord.gg/projectowl ~ Pro-Ukrainian OSINT Discord.
https://t.me/ice_inii ~ Alleged Ukrainian account with a rather cynical take on the entire thing.
Last week's discussion post.
Former NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen is being quoted for saying that the process of officially expanding NATO into the Ukraine should be expedited and gives next year's summit in Washington DC commemorating the 75th anniversary of the formation of the American-led bloc as a desirable date for full formal Ukrainian NATO membership.
As for the obvious question of what will happen to article 5 if NATO admits a country at war Rasmussen has found a solution: NATO's nuclear and conventional threats should not apply to areas of Russia claimed by Ukraine for as long as they are controlled by Russia.
As Danish prime minister the right-liberal politician Anders Fogh Rasmussen made his country take part in the illegal and unprovoked American invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. He was later awarded the NATO leadership position as a reward for fits loyal service to the US empire. In order to be accepted for the post, he appeased Erdogan by shutting down a Kurdish TV station that has been broadcasting from Copenhagen. Today he runs a company that consults for oppressive regimes connected to the US empire, and plays the occasional role of elder statesman on Danish TV. He has also produced a video for the far-right American propaganda organisation Prager U.
Isn't this only a step or two away from officially recognizing the new Russia/Ukraine border?
Yes and no. The exclusion only applies to territory claimed by Ukraine but currently held by Russia. Once Ukraine conquers Crimea and the Donbass, as they're schedules to do in the minds of Western ghouls, the same old threats of nuclear apocalypse applied to those areas.
How fine-grained this policy is going to be is unclear. Taken to its logical conclusion Rasmussen argues in favour of ending organised human civilization over the frontline moving back and forth over a hill near Artyemovsk.
deleted by creator
Telling the Russians out loud that they were correct to seize Ukrainian territory as fast as possible to prevent NATO reprisal
deleted by creator
Sometimes you just become so useful to the US empire that you stop being corrupt.
I see this as just more Brinkmanship, the usa can't risk more escalation unless it wants to give up on the the Chinese/Taiwan front and even then that's ww3, I really do belive at this point if they keep edging this war proxy not proxy war they will end up with a nuclear war.
Not to be bombastic excuse the pun, the real question is russia being willing to accept another east Germany situation, I just don't know if they can its clear as day Ukraine after this war will become like Afghanistan, shuffling terrorism into nearby countries. :thonk:
I definitely do think that we'll end up with a west/east Kiev situation, for no other reason than it seems like something the gods of history would laugh at
but this time it'll be a river instead of a wall. can't really tear that down
Planting a whole bunch of trees and waiting a couple decade or two before introducing a beaver population.
I'm sure having literally no buffer states between the two sides will end well.
More tensions mean more weapon sales.