south front

Catastrophic Earthquake Brings Turkey, Syria Together
South Front, Feb 9 2023

Turkey and Syria continue to deal with the devastating consequences of the February 6 earthquake, which left tens of thousands of victims in both countries. The magnitude 7.8 earthquake affected the central and southern provinces of Adana, Adıyaman, Batman, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Şanlıurfa, while in Syria the northern and western provinces of Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, Lattakia and Tartus were hit. The earthquake occurred amid a large winter storm, which hampered rescue efforts in both Turkey and Syria, dropping snow on the ruins and bringing plummeting temperatures. More than 40 countries, including EU members and the US, were quick to dispatch rescue teams and ship humanitarian aid to Turkey. The response to the catastrophe in Syria was slower, with the first aid delivered by Russia, Iran, Iraq, the UAE, Algeria, Tunisia and Lebanon.

Israel, who dispatched several rescue teams to Turkey, alleged that it has received an aid request from Syria and that it was approved by Netanyahu. However, Damascus’ foreign minister Faisal Mekdad was quick to dismiss the claim, stressing that Syria doesn’t acknowledge the state of Israel. The EU activated its Civil Protection Mechanism with Syria only on Feb 8 and has not yet deployed any rescue teams in the country. Sanctions imposed on Syria by the US and the EU exacerbated the hardship of average Syrians, as nations and organizations would not be able to offer direct assistance for fear of being subjected to sanctions. There were demands to lift or suspend the sanctions to aid humanitarian efforts following the earthquake. However, both the US and the EU insisted that sanctions are not affecting humanitarian efforts in the war-torn country.

As of Feb 9, the death toll from the earthquake reached 12,870 in Turkey and more than 3,500 in Syria. In addition, more than 62k were wounded in Turkey and at least 3,750 others were wounded in Syria. The death toll is expected to dramatically increase in the upcoming few days in Turkey and Syria. Both countries are still in much need of aid. The earthquake interrupted Russian efforts to restore ties between Ankara and Damascus, who were close allies before the outbreak of the war in Syria. A high-level meeting between the defense ministers of Turkey and Syria was set to be held before the end of the month in Moscow. The meeting will likely be delayed. However, the natural disaster could in the end help bring the two countries closer.

Ukrainian Nazis Continue To Kill Russian Captives
South Front, Feb 9 2023

Another video showing the war crime of the Ukrainian Nazis was shared online by Ukrainian servicemen. Shouting “Glory to Ukraine,” Ukrainians killed shot dead unarmed Russian soldiers. Ukrainian Nazis ignore the request of their president not to film their crimes on camera and continue to proudly share horrific footage online. The video shows that Russians surrendered and were lying face down but one of Ukrainian nazis shot them when they were trying to answer his questions. Another Ukrainian soldier is seen asking his comrad to stop it, but the killer was not listening. One of the dead Russian servicemen is seen with a grenade without a pin clutched in his hands. The Russian man tried to blow himself up in order not to surrender to the Ukrainian Nazis. Unfortunately, the Ukrainian military continue to ignore the laws of war. They remain unpunished thanks to great efforts of Kiev’s western patrons and MSM aimed to hide the truth of the war in Ukraine.

New Corruption Scheme To Escape Recruitment Revealed In Ukraine
Lucas Leiroz, South Front, Feb 9 2023

A new illegal arrangement has been revealed in the country. This time, the denounced plan involves an illicit system of evasion of Ukrainian recruits, allowing them to escape the compulsory military service and, consequently, the battlefield. Although the case shows the high levels of corruption in Ukrainian society, it is also an example of how the neo-Nazi army is discredited and the local population is unwilling to maintain the conflict. The scheme was revealed by Ukrainian informants to the Russian military involved in the special operation. According to them, Kiev’s officials engaged in the recruitment campaign constantly accept bribes in order not to proceed with the enlistment of some people. The process works as follows: enlistment candidates pay a sum of $10k to join volunteer units. In these units, volunteers start working by trying to raise funds for the army on social networks, being saved from the front if they successfully manage to do so. The heads of units take for themselves between 5% and 10% of the amount collected by each volunteer. As a result, the poorest Ukrainians, unable to pay the tariff of $10k or to run fundraising campaigns and the less popular on the internet, are the most vulnerable to forced mobilization. Sources say:

According to information received from sources in the AFU, a corruption scheme of draft evasion has been established in Ukraine. The entrance tariff is $10k. It is a one-time payment to a military commissar in order to enroll a potential recruit in a volunteer organization operating at each Recruitment and Social Support Center of the Ukrainian army. This is how the military enlistment offices are called there now. Depending on the amount collected, each volunteer is required to pay tribute personally to the military commissar through his intermediaries, the amount varies from 5% to 10% of the total sum collected.

It is necessary to remember that this is not the first time that crimes in enlistment units have been exposed. In Aug 2022, Ukrainian media outlets reported the existence of a system in which the citizens of the country would be “buying” invitations to study abroad, mainly at universities in Poland and the Baltics, thus escaping mobilization. At the time, the news caused outrage among Ukrainians on the battlefield and, in the same vein, this recent case is expected to further increase the internal polarization among Kiev’s forces. In fact, it is well known that Ukraine is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, with crimes in virtually all sectors of the state. However, as far as the military issue is concerned, the situation is much more complicated.

Despite the wrong attitude of the Ukrainian high rank officials in accepting bribes and extorting their own population, the case shows that there is a deep dissatisfaction on the part of the Ukrainian people in relation to the conflict. Such schemes only continue to exist because many people are willing to pay not to go to the front and if this is happening it is because Kiev’s forces are discredited among Ukrainian people. In the western media it is said that the Ukrainian people are organized and cohesive in search of victory against Russia but in reality, local citizens seem wanting to do anything to escape the conflict. Ukrainians visibly do not believe in their country’s victory and do not even think this is a conflict worth fighting. For them, what really interests is to stay alive, fleeing the battlefield in every possible way, even through the involvement in corruption schemes.

Recently, videos of the forced mobilization campaign launched by Kiev began to circulate on the internet. It is possible to see people being conducted to the front by force, with houses being invaded and teenagers taken from their families. Even physically disabled people have been mobilized, which shows the weakness and despair of the forces of the neo-Nazi regime, which seek every form of support possible in order to face Russia. On the other hand, some corrupt officials within the Ukrainian army take advantage of the situation by seeking to extort these young people to allow them to escape the front. With so many military experts around the world saying that Russian victory is inevitable, there is no reason for Kiev to keep fighting. The best thing to do is to negotiate peace and thus freeing the Ukrainian people from the suffering that affects them.