em>Developing
Due to rapidly-breaking developments and in order to facilitate readers’ access to the latest dispatches, we are publishing this article as it is being written. please check back for updates and additions.
To see a list of previous articles, enter “Ukraine” in the Search Box on the upper right, on The Trenchant Observer web site, and you will see a list in chronological order.
Only force can stop Putin
See “Ukraine War, April 5, 2022 (II): Force must be used to stop Putin,” The Trenchant Observer, April 5, 2022.
Dispatches
1) Yaroslav Trofimov and Thomas Grove, “Russia’s Black Sea Flagship Sinks After Ukraine Claims Missile Strike; Moscow says sailors aboard missile cruiser Moskva were rescued,” The Wall zstreet Journal, April 14, 2022 (Updated 6:44 pm ET);
2) Dan Lamothe, Claire Parker, Andrew Jeong, Reis Thebault and Maite Fernández Simon, “Russia says flagship missile cruiser has sunk after explosion off coast of Ukraine,” Washington Post, April 14, 2022l (5:10 pm, updated ar 6:01 pm ET);
3) “The End of NATO: France proceeds with plans to deliver the first of two Mistral-class warships to Russia,” The Trenchant Observer, October 29, 2014.
Commentary
Why give any credence to Russian Defense Ministry Statements?
Why would anyone give any credence to the Russian Defense Ministry’s statements regarding the sinking of the Moskva?
Russia’s statements about anything related to the war in Ukraine have, for a very long time, consisted in lies and disinformation.
Why, then, should U.S. cable news media treat the report of the sinking of the Moskva as a “he said, she said” story?
Shouldn’t they report, on the contrary, something like the following?
The Ukrainians sank the Russian Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva today, with two “Neptune” anti-ship missiles, according to Ukrainian military sources. The Russian Ministry of Defense, disputes this account, claiming that the loss began witha fire on board the ship.
Shouldn’t the Western media, whenever they cite a Russian government source, inform the reader about the lies and disinformation that have characterized their statements in the past?
This could have a significant impact, especially on readers in developing countries.
The near-diaster of French delivery of two Mistral-class warships to Russia beginning in November 2014
A glimpse into a disaster avoided is provided by our story from October 29, 2014, describing France’s plans to deliver two Mistral-class warships to Russia in November 2014, which would have given the Russian navy far greater capabilities to attack Ukraine than those possessed by the Moskva.
Looking back, it seems that Putin was thinking about invading Ukraine long before the seizure of the Crimea in February and March 2014.
The Trenchant Observer
