International
Ukrainian Officials say over 400,000 people have been forced into Russia, used as war hostages

Ukraine officials say Russians are taking “hundreds of thousands” of civilians who have been displaced from their war torn homes and forcibly taking them to Russia. Many are reportedly being used as “hostages” in an attempt to pressure Ukraine to give in and give up.
In an astounding statement, Lyudmyla Denisova, Ukraine’s ombudsperson, said 402,000 people, including 84,000 children, had been taken to Russia. The information could very well be accurate, as the Kremlin gave “nearly identical numbers for those who have been relocated” reports the Associated Press.
However, Russia is saying the number is a result of individuals wanting to move to Russia; not that they are forcibly being taken. “Ukraine’s rebel-controlled eastern regions are predominantly Russian-speaking, and many people there have supported close ties to Moscow” adds the AP.
The rhetorical games Russia is playing is vast. Playing the martyr, “Russia said it will offer safe passage starting Friday to 67 ships from 15 foreign countries that are stranded in Ukrainian ports because of the danger of shelling and mines.”
However, “Kyiv and Moscow gave conflicting accounts, meanwhile, about the people being relocated to Russia and whether they were going willingly — as Russia claimed — or were being coerced or lied to” writes the AP.
The Associated Press reports of the conflicting information:
Russian Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev said the roughly 400,000 people evacuated to Russia since the start of the military action were from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Moscow separatists have been fighting for control for nearly eight years.
Russian authorities said they are providing accommodations and dispensing payments to the evacuees.
But Donetsk Region Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said that “people are being forcibly moved into the territory of the aggressor state.” Denisova said those removed by Russian troops included a 92-year-old woman in Mariupol who was forced to go to Taganrog in southern Russia.
Ukrainian officials said that the Russians are taking people’s passports and moving them to “filtration camps” in Ukraine’s separatist-controlled east before sending them to various distant, economically depressed areas in Russia.
Among those taken, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry charged, were 6,000 residents of Mariupol, the devastated port city in the country’s east. Moscow’s troops are confiscating identity documents from an additional 15,000 people in a section of Mariupol under Russian control, the ministry said.
Some could be sent as far as the Pacific island of Sakhalin, Ukrainian intelligence said, and are being offered jobs on condition they don’t leave for two years. The ministry said the Russians intend to “use them as hostages and put more political pressure on Ukraine.”
Kyrylenko said that Mariupol’s residents have been long deprived of information and that the Russians feed them false claims about Ukraine’s defeats to persuade them to move to Russia.
“Russian lies may influence those who have been under the siege,” he said.

International
Saudi Arabia-Israel Deal Remains Biden’s Win to Lose

The Biden administration has recently become very vocally supportive of the Abraham Accords. At this week’s speech to AIPAC, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the administration plans to have staff dedicated to expand the Abraham Accords, and also called normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel a “real national interest” of the United States. Outgoing US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides recently called such relations “hugely important” to American interests, and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reportedly discussed the prospect of normalization with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Two unnamed US officials told Axios that the Biden administration would be pushing for closer Saudi Arabia-Israel relations in the next six to seven months. This is tracking with Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen’s statement that there is a “good chance” of a Saudi Arabia-Israel deal “in half a year, or in the coming year.”
Saudi Arabia and Israel appear to continue to inch closer to normalization. Saudi Arabia continues to improve its textbooks regarding their portrayal of Israel and Jews, and Saudi Arabia and Israel are in “very complex negotiations” to secure hajj flights of Israeli Arabs to Mecca.
But while the Biden administration is setting high expectations for a breakthrough, its uncompromising positions on issues of Saudi and Israeli national security may inhibit a grand deal for Saudi Arabia-Israel normalization.
Resuming Negotiations with the Palestinians
First, the Biden administration’s continued obsession with a two-state solution could upend a deal. Secretary Blinken suggested that progress on the Abraham Accords should be linked to a “two-state solution” for Israel and the Palestinians in his speech this week to AIPAC (and mentioned a “two-state solution” or “two states” a whopping eight times). Both the Biden administration and Saudi Arabia have expressed that they want Saudi Arabia-Israel normalization in exchange in part for Israel to restart negotiations with the Palestinians that would result in a “separation” of Israel from the Palestinians. At the recent Arab League Summit, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) stated that “the Palestinian issue was and remains the central issue for Arab countries, and is at the top of the kingdom’s priorities.”
However, Palestinian nationalism in its current form is toxic at its core to Israel, and will likely be a bridge too far for Netanyahu’s government. If the Biden administration makes Saudi Arabia-Israel normalization contingent on substantial advancement towards a two-state solution, it is unlikely that a Saudi Arabia-Israel deal will materialize.
Overhauling Judicial Reform
Another example of the Biden administration getting in its own way in securing a deal is that it also wants Netanyahu’s government to abandon its judicial reform initiative in exchange for normalization. With Blinken stating that “we welcome efforts to find consensus on any [judicial] reforms,” the Biden administration is signaling that it will continue to meddle in this affair. If the If the Biden administration makes abandonment or revision of judicial reform as a condition for normalization, the deal will likely fail given Netanyahu government’s plan to continue such reform.
Saudi Arabia Wants To Increase Nuclear, Defense Ties With United States
The Biden administration could also come up short on normalization if it fails to reach an agreement with Saudi Arabia on nuclear and defense guarantees that it wants in exchange.
First, Saudi Arabia reportedly wants the United States to help jointly develop Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear program in exchange for normalization. Previous US-Saudi negotiations on this issue stalled over Saudi demands to produce nuclear fuel in Saudi Arabia. But if the Biden administration does not come to an agreement on this, the US will likely be leaving money (and influence) on the table, as Saudi Arabia will pursue nuclear cooperation elsewhere. Saudi Arabia’s relationship with China and Pakistan are cases in point.
Israeli officials are split on the issue of Saudi Arabia gaining nuclear technology. Israel’s energy minister recently opposedthe idea of Saudi Arabia having a civilian nuclear program. However, Israel’s National Security Advisor did not outright reject the idea of Saudi Arabia having civilian nuclear technology, but rather suggested that such a move should be coordinated with Israel. Additionally, even though the Saudi request reportedly includes the right to enrich uranium independently, Israeli officials have stated that this is a mitigatable concern.
Additionally, MBS wants the Biden administration to sign a US-Saudi defense treaty and unfreeze several weapons agreements previously put on ice by the Biden administration, according to Israeli press. MBS is also seeking improved military coordination between the US and Saudi Arabia, access to US munitions for the Saudi Air Force, and to gain access to complex US military platforms, according to Axios.
It remains to be seen if the Biden administration can come to an agreement on the nuclear and defense issues. But if these remain at an impasse, they would significantly harm the prospects of Saudi Arabia-Israel normalization.
The Biden administration stands on the precipice of securing a huge foreign policy win by securing a Saudi Arabia-Israel normalization deal. But while Netanyahu was prepared to forgo annexation of Judea and Samaria to secure deals with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan (and was contemplating doing so to get a deal with Saudi Arabia in December), the Biden administration’s demands on Israel for a two–state solution and dropping judicial reform efforts could prove to be a bridge too far. The Biden administration must also somehow make an agreement with Saudi Arabia on its defense requests in order for such normalization to have a chance at survival. But as Saudi Arabia recently promised cuts to oil production, met with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and is getting closer to China, the Biden administration faces significant headwinds.
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David
March 28, 2022 at 5:33 pm
Everyone is full of it on this. Quit portraying this globalist soros supporter ( Zelensky ) as some great guardian of freedom around the world. He outlawed opposition parties and seized control of Ukrainian media.