a zugzwang move: zelensky has been an unawares putin stooge.....

During his tenure as President of (what remains of) Ukraine, Zelensky destroyed Ukraine, but achieved many great things…for Russia. Here are his main achievements in no particular order:

• By being elected with a promise to end hostilities, and then immediately escalating the conflict in the east, he completely undermined what was left of Ukrainian democracy. He further demolished Ukraine's civic realm by banning all state media except one government channel, banning all opposition and all Russian news sources and, in effect, establishing a totalitarian dictatorship.

by Dmitry Orlov

• By relentlessly bombarding civilians in the now Russian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, and then, in the spring of 2022, threatening them with a genocidal assault, he provided Russia with an ironclad reason to launch the special military operation. : save civilian lives. In doing so, he helped expand the Russian territory of four very valuable provinces (Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson) and prepared the ground for the eventual addition of, among others, the regions of Mykolaiv, Odessa, Kharkov and Kyiv.

• He squandered $150 billion in foreign aid (much of it through simple theft), spent a huge amount of military equipment and ammunition without showing anything, and killed 350,000 Ukrainian soldiers (many of them war Nazi). criminals), with perhaps twice as many injuries.

• He reduced his country's population by nearly half, with some moving to Russia, becoming Russian citizens and integrating productively with the Russian population while the rest went to the European Union, becoming a major burden for the social budgets of EU countries.

• In ordering Ukrainian troops to bomb schools, kindergartens, hospitals and apartment buildings in universally recognized Russian regions such as Belgorod and launching drone attacks directly on the Kremlin, he said his government was a terrorist organization, excluding any possibility of forcing Russia to negotiate a peace that would not be entirely on its own terms.

• He has demonstrated the superiority of Russian weapons and military technology over those of NATO, most recently with the destruction by Russia of one of the Patriot missile batteries provided by the United States. Almost all the equipment that the West was able to provide the Ukrainians turned out to be inferior to that of its Russian counterpart.

• It gave the Russian military plenty of opportunities to hone its techniques for defeating NATO forces, venturing into new areas of drone warfare and battlefield surveillance from geostationary satellites. This will no doubt be very useful both in opposing NATO and in stimulating future arms sales to non-Western countries wishing to free themselves from Western oppression and interference.

• He sold some of the weapons he received from the United States to Mexican drug cartels, leaving American officials no choice but to turn a blind eye and pretend it didn't happen. Perhaps they will also be forced to look the other way as these cartels use these weapons to take over more and more American cities and towns.

• He hosted many high-ranking Western officials, to whom, when visiting Kyiv, he presented lavish gifts such as suitcases of foreign aid money that he had laundered, which these officials then took home. in diplomatic baggage, thus collecting means of material blackmail on each of them.

• He set an example for other Russian Jews whose bad luck had led them to end up in Ukraine rather than Russia by relocating his parents to an upscale neighborhood in Israel. But he kept his wife by his side, where she did a good job of demoralizing the Ukrainian population by wasting more money on a single European shopping trip than most Ukrainians see in several lifetimes, all paid for by the American taxpayer. She also worked hard to enlighten Western officials by making them accept at face value and repeating ridiculous stories, like the one about Russian troops being given viagra, to better rape Ukrainian women.

• Zelensky is sometimes reckless; for example, he was caught appointing Russian Federal Security Service (former KGB) agents to sensitive positions within the Ukrainian defense establishment, although it is not clear whether what remains of Ukrainian justice will be able to prosecute him.

• One of his greatest accomplishments was putting the United States and NATO into a zugzwang. This is a chess term for a situation in which a player has a choice of several moves, all of which lead to defeat. The United States and NATO can either continue to support Ukraine or stop supporting Ukraine; either way, they will lose.

• Perhaps its greatest achievement has been to help Russia turn away from its hostile Western neighbors and towards friendly countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, in cutting its economic, financial and cultural ties with the West and freeing itself from Western influences. Its unwavering support for the Ukrainian Nazis, whose emblems, insignia and slogans are inspired by Nazi Germany and whose heroes are Nazi collaborators, coupled with the lavish support they received from the West, whose leaders chose to turning a blind eye to their fascist inclinations has cemented in Russian eyes the view of the West as their existential enemy: a fascist and racist entity bent on destroying Russia but too weak and cowardly to do the job itself.

All of this raises a question: Who does Vladimir Zelensky serve?

https://en.reseauinternational.net/volodymyr-zelensky-heros-russe/

MEANWHILE:

American strategists really want Ukraine to lose, as slowly as possible, as bloodily as possible, to get to Phase 3: Insurgency.

Such Western delusional thought based on their own experience of war in the 21st century.

Because the “Western” way of warfare is the rapid decapitation of the existing government, its overthrow and replacement with a docile lackey, and then a decades-long occupation that struggles – in vain – to pacify an insurrection.

But what you – and the West – don't seem to notice is that Russia is deliberately not fighting this war the “Western” way.

Rather than prioritizing taking over territory and the capitulation of the Ukrainian government, the Russians very deliberately reduce the Ukrainian army to dust.

Their goal is the same as Napoleon Bonaparte, who always placed the destruction of armies above the taking of territory.

Think about it: the “Western” way of warfare in the 21st century actually invites insurrection, in that quick “shock and awe” victory sweeps away the incumbent government, but leaves in its wake both a powerless and a huge pool of capable people – men bent on revenge.

The “Russian” mode of warfare is completely different: it aims to deplete this pool of able-bodied men so that the powers that be have no choice but to capitulate because all options are exhausted.

Think of the First World War.

Was there an insurrection 10 years after the end of this war.

Think WW2. Again, is the defeated Axis back to decades of "insurrection"?

No, in both cases the vanquished were not "shocked and intimidated", they were exhausted.

And like anyone who is exhausted, they lacked both the will and the energy to keep going. They stopped and the whole population accepted that they were defeated.

That's what the Russians are aiming for, and that's why it's the height of stupidity for Western experts to criticize Russian strategy.

source: Bruno Bertez

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By Gus Leonisky at 8 Jun 2023 - 7:08pm
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a lost cause.....

BY Henry Kamens Ukraine is a Lost Cause: Why Prolong the Death and Suffering on Life Support?

There was once a time when Hungary was the country in Eastern Europe with an ax to grind with the then USSR; however, that was then, 1956; times have changed, and so have modern-day realities. At least one EU leader is thinking: Ukraine is a lost cause, and why then to prolong the death and suffering?

The headline sums it up accurately, “Orban Says Ukraine Can’t Win War as he justifies Veto on EU Assistance”. Speaking in a Bloomberg interview at the Qatar Economic Forum, Orban argued that “Ukraine’s military effort is doomed and sending further aid will only lead to more deaths.”

Viktor Orbán, who is often described by the Western media as being the closest EU ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, is blocking a €500m tranche of EU reimbursements to member states sending arms to Ukraine. Often such arms are but a way of “housecleaning” of obsolete stocks under the pretext and guise of showing solidarity and supporting Ukraine.

“Emotionally it’s tragic, all of our hearts are with the Ukrainians,” Orban said, adding that the main issue in the conflict is not who attacked whom, but what happens next, which means more deaths.

“There’s no chance to win this war,” he added, saying a ceasefire and peace talks are needed instead of an escalation of the war. He is not alone in refusing to close ranks with other EU members over continued EU funding and the expansion of NATO with new members. Sweden’s membership application has been held up by Turkey and Hungary.

What do they know that others don’t?

Orban has made it clear that if Ukraine needs more money, Kyiv should respect Hungary and not sanction Hungarian companies. Orban’s main message during the recent forum in Qatar is that “Peace can only be achieved through diplomacy”.

Hungary is already feeling the pressure, as confirmed by CIA leaks, and other baseless accusations over its relations with a Russian spy bank, and knows that such sanctions are just as much against Budapest for not toeing the US policy line, and have less to do with supporting Ukraine.

It is even conceivable that the US will now try to sanction Hungary directly, if it keeps true to its sanction-happy policy, and what has happened so far is just a taste of what is to come. There is little doubt that the US is busy at work, trying to spin the news about Hungary, interfering in its elections and internal policies, and may even try to “covertly” fund opposition candidates and student movements.

It is clear that US-Hungary relations are at a historical low and may get “all-the-more complicated.”

The USA decided to sanction the International Investment Bank (IIB). The American intelligence community, and its media attack dogs, want to describe the bank as being “a Russian spy bank” but fail to provide convincing evidence to support such a scatting claim.

At the Qatar Economic Forum, he told that Budapest “does not belong to the mainstream European approach”. “Hungary is in a unique position as Ukraine is not far away”… as [neighbors often know each other too well].

The drafting of ethnic Hungarian living in Western Ukraine is not going well, they are dying for something they don’t consider themselves to have a stake in. “They are conscripted, they are soldiers in the Ukrainian army and they die. So, we lose lives – Hungarian lives – as well,” Orban said, referring to ethnic Hungarians living within Ukraine.

The Americans and their European partners are closing ranks now in response to the blocking of EU aid to Ukraine. The Cohen Group Chairman and Former Secretary of Defense, William Cohen shares his remarks on why he believes Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, is wrong to block military assistance for Ukraine.

The former Secretary of Defense makes all effort to point out that Hungary is “not acting” like a true member of the NATO alliance. Cohen also discusses whether or not Ukraine’s allies should be doing more as Ukraine prepares for its supposed counteroffensive. The topic of supplying F16 from European air forces is also among his talking points, as if this will be a game-changer.

Have we not heard such arguments before with various deliveries of high-tech systems that were supposed to make a difference? Unlike other experts, Cohen is fully confident that the Ukrainians can quickly master the technology, be it modern battle tanks or 4th generation F-16 jet fighters. Anyway, time will tell, and soon many will realize that Cohen’s remarks are out of desperation, and more akin to “wishful thinking”.

Such rhetoric and veiled threats may be splitting the EU and NATO members all the more, and pushing some NATO countries all the closer to aligning their positions with that of the Russian Federation, at least in terms of Ukraine and “what-not-to-do!”

Cohen goes on to say how more must be done and not to be afraid of Putin, “We have always been afraid Putin would escalate, and how he has been escalating, and how Orban is on the side of Putin by wanting to suspect all aid to Ukraine, and how it is naïve to think that more people will not die, and how Putin broke his promise that Ukraine would be a sovereign country and killed tens of thousands and displaced millions internally. And how Orban is not acting like a true member of NATO and a country with democratic values.”

Cohen is basically saying what we already know, as without direct NATO involvement, or perhaps of Poland as a deciding factor in any conflict. Without direct outside help, boots on the ground, Ukraine does not stand a chance. For all practical purposes, it has already been defeated, and it has already depleted its manpower and military support capacities, military industrial complex, and Ukraine can’t look to the West to make up the difference and for moral support.

It is now a bit late to admit to the mistake of not having been more aggressive in providing training for Ukrainian pilots on F16s, and how the West has hesitated in terms of prioritizing the supply of advanced tanks, etc. He is overestimating how Ukrainians can master the mechanics and the ability to maneuver and perform with sophisticated equipment – and how the West must be more aggressive in providing resources to Ukraine.

Time to listen and cut to the chase

Viktor Orbán needs to be listened to when he describes the reality on the ground, so whoever is right or whomever is not, he agrees with the interviewer that the situation was correctly described that Russia invaded Ukraine, but the question is not who invaded whom, but the question is: What will be the next morning or the next morning? The fact is that more and more people will die. And that there is no chance to have a victory on neither side … so this is a war that will deprive [take the lives] of many persons without having results.

In terms of the failure of diplomacy and the conduct of the war, and when reminded of the 1956 Hungary Revolution against Soviet occupation, how this is strange to oppose European Aid, Orban lays out his thoughts that should be something that the West reflects upon.

It is emotionally, it’s tragic, and how all of our hearts are with the Ukrainians, and how we understand how much they suffer. But I am speaking here as a politician, [and one] who should put saving lives as the most important for the international political communities is to save lives, especially when you are convinced, as I do [am] there is no chance to win this war. So therefore, what we should do, far more energy to invest into convincing everybody that the only solution is a ceasefire. And then after the ceasefire, peace talks to start.

Peace and Negotiation

He continues, “My position is to look and get the realities, look at the figures, look at the surroundings, look at the fact that NATO is not ready to send troops. It is obvious that there is no victory for you, for poor Ukrainians on the battlefield – that is my position.

That was always my suggestion to everybody –that instead of escalation, to manage to have a stronger involvement into the war, and how escalation should be stopped, and we should argue in favor of peace and negotiation.”

Conclusion

It appears that now NATO, the US and the EU has a new enemy within, Hungary, (for now), and the alliance is collectively unable to close ranks and keep the never-ending war going under the delusion of a final victory. And it should be remember that without Turkey buying in, as the second largest army in NATO, other than the US, even if NATO wanted to send troops, it would be impossible.

The reality is what it is, and in spite of claims otherwise, and wishful thinking, even as Kyiv is contesting the claim of a complete Russian takeover of Bakhmut and has stressed, likely wishful thinking, (now the mainstream media is using its Russian name. Bakhmut will now be known by its former Soviet name “Artemovsk”.

But Kiev still insists that its troops remain in strategic positions on the outskirts of the city and are poised to retake it.

The sooner the collective West understands that this victory was a game-changer, and some desperate but failed incursions into Russia by NATO trained and equipped armed terrorists targeting civilian populations, the Russian special operation is going to a new stage.

Hence, the words of Viktor Orbán need to be heeded, and the sooner the better, for the sake of innocents on all sides, and the bigger threat that this conflict should spin out of control and engulf the region and world.

And too, his words should be compared to those of Former Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, and his motivations, and financial backers should be considered, as to what the End Game is with Kyiv, a frozen conflict at best, and what needs to be done next for the sake of peace and security for all actual stakeholders.

In the meantime, however, we can sit back and watch and see just how much of a Union is the EU. Already the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó locked horns on May 22 during a foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels over the role a controversial Hungarian bank is supposedly playing in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Baerbock is VERY upset that “Hungary is blocking the next tranche of military aid to Ukraine”. We can only suspect that some political careers and substantial economic interests are on the line, and not only in Europe but especially in the US.

The longer this conflict draws on the greater the profits for the few, and the political fallout—especially for the political class. The debacle in Ukraine may likely decide the next US national election. It will set the direction of US foreign policy for decades to come, and be the deciding factor if the Democratic Party can survive on a national level.

It is interesting to note in conclusion that NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg has admitted that one lesson of the Ukraine war was that in the future it would be necessary to support the Alliance’s partners, for example, GEORGIA, earlier and with more and more. Not a very good sign for those who know the history of NATO interventions.

What comes next has been predicated, and the US, EU, and NATO have gotten themselves into a financial, political, and military quagmire that can continue for a generation, a least, and will make Afghanistan look like a training exercise in making a muck of things. Events on the ground, political shakeups, and economic realities will serve as a bellwether as to the fate of the EU and the NATO alliance.

The only question that remains is how large will the rump basket case, what will remain of Ukraine proper, that the friends of Ukraine will inherit, and how much will it cost them to sustain it on life support—especially in light of the political price tag/fallout?

Henry Kamens, columnist, expert on Central Asia and Caucasus, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”

https://journal-neo.org/2023/06/08/ukraine-is-a-lost-cause-why-prolong-the-death-and-suffering-on-life-support/

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By Gus Leonisky at 8 Jun 2023 - 7:13pm
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escalating down....

BY Martin JAY

NATO, which uses the word ‘de-escalation’ in such an abusive way it is almost comical, is forced to raise the stakes in Ukraine.

The law of unintended consequences can be marked by a week of media gaffes where so-called leading figures on the Ukraine war put their foot in their mouths and reveal not only how deluded and misinformed they are about the crisis but just how bad it is for the west.

The only game in town is escalation. When western elites started out, they were so afraid of sending longer-range missiles or tanks as this was considered a provocation to Putin which could have dire consequences. But today, we have surpassed all of these different stages — like a gambler at the blackjack table who’s only rationale to recoup his losses is to take bigger chances with higher stakes — and still, after over 120 billion dollars of U.S. taxpayers’ money not shifted the war one centimetre to Ukraine’s benefit. And so now all is left is to manipulate Putin’s resolve to refuse to be drawn into escalation, by actually taking the war to the next level. Escalation. NATO, which uses the word ‘de-escalation’ in such an abusive way it is almost comical, is forced to raise the stakes in Ukraine. And their gamble is simple. We raise the stakes banking on Putin not responding with nukes. And, therefore, make gains which are basically artificial and couldn’t be ‘won’ any other way that these dirty tricks.

But have western elites really calculated correctly? This is the same NATO and EU/U.S. governments which have made error after error, even from day one, about Russia’s resolve? Miscalculation is really all the West has done with any consistency and so it is hard to take it seriously; they have figured that provoking Putin even more and expecting him to remain cool and not rise to the bait is the only winning formula after being in a war for 15 months which has exhausted all of the military stockpiles of the West and backfired so spectacularly with its wrong decisions — like sanctions against Russia which literally takes the food out of the mouths of Europeans and rips them off at the gas pumps — that it is laughable.

It’s largely about only listening to your own propaganda and believing your own sexed-up reports. How else to explain Ben Wallace’s somewhat idiotic quote in a British newspaper which surmised that the Ukraine was running out of weapons… but that its army would take Crimea before the end of the year? Was he just following a theme by others in a week which started with Lindsey Graham’s vile comment about killing Russians, which was strangely not followed up by a reference — even a reference — to the thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians in their graves, all for the U.S. to kid itself it’s still a super power and to cover up Joe Biden’s family’s dirty deals in Ukraine? Dead Ukrainians to buffoons like Graham don’t even factor. They’re not even worth their weight in dirty salt. Nothing.

The West has done nothing but miscalculate. And miscalculate. It’s all it has done in fact. And now we are witnessing the same with the last signal from UK defence minister James Cleverly who presumably is giving us a glimpse of the future strategy with his comment about Kiev hitting legitimate targets inside Russia itself. It’s not very complicated. The West is goading him on to do it with their missiles hoping that Putin will not retaliate and hit targets in Poland or even Germany. NATO’s response, by the time Ben Wallace is NATO chief, will be absurdly despondent asking the world to pretend to be stupid and continue to accept the premise that “hey, it’s not us. We’re not at war with Russia”. And if Russia rises to the bait, Wallace will be ready to pounce and feed the call centre journalists in Brussels with the “oh look what Russia has just done. Look at this unprovoked act of aggression”. The gag is almost as funny as the U.S. commander in Apocalypse Now who calls Vietnamese peasants “fucking savages” for having the audacity to throw a hand grenade into a U.S. chopper on the ground while his whole family is being cut to pieces by American soldiers spraying their 50 cals from above.

Except it’s not a joke. How long can this charade go on for? The timeline is as important as military hardware or even troops which are both very short in Ukraine, a point that Zelensky has admitted. The only hope we have for a nuclear war to not break out as once again the West rolls the dice is that Putin has the patience for Biden to lose the U.S. elections which is likely given his state of dementia and the lack of patience in America from blue collar workers who are incredulous to the maths of giving 130 billion dollars to Ukraine while most Americans don’t even have healthcare, let alone jobs or food on the table. And then there is the so-called spring offensive which has been moved to the summer offensive. If this shifts one more time to the autumn offensive, the lack of credibility in the project will suffer.

Remember, everything NATO and western elites do in Ukraine is a game, an experiment, untested ideas and strategies. It’s all a crap shoot and the only winners are the cabal of Zelensky who keep sending the millions to their offshore accounts in BVI while Europeans sink deeper and deeper into debt and harsher living conditions. Of course, America is the overall winner with now EU countries literally being sodomized from American companies cleaning up with new gas deals, EU companies creating jobs in the U.S. after relocating and military deals which break records. Biden’s error is not falling over sandbags or even failing to remember one country he has visited in recent weeks, when asked by a child. His mistake is not ensuring that such profits from the Ukraine war are passed on to voters. Everybody in his circle has a birthday every day of the year, even his degenerate son who was being paid 250,000 USD a month by Ukrainian oligarchs just to email senators on their behalf as early as 2013. Ukraine war ends with Biden leaving office. All Trump or any Republican candidate needs to do to win in 2024 is say “Hey, I will spend 130 billion dollars in my first term on poverty in the U.S.” and end the war in Ukraine immediately to secure a landslide.

https://strategic-culture.org/news/2023/06/07/nato-escalates-putin-de-escalates-war-stakes-the-only-game-west-has-left-is-russian-roulette/

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MAKE A DEAL PRONTO BEFORE THE SHIT HITS THE FAN:

NO NATO IN "UKRAINE" (WHAT'S LEFT OF IT)

THE DONBASS REPUBLICS ARE NOW BACK IN THE RUSSIAN FOLD — AS THEY USED TO BE PRIOR 1922. THE RUSSIANS WON'T ABANDON THESE AGAIN.

CRIMEA IS RUSSIAN — AS IT USED TO BE PRIOR 1954

A MEMORANDUM OF NON-AGGRESSION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE USA.

EASY.

THE WEST KNOWS IT.

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By Gus Leonisky at 8 Jun 2023 - 7:17pm
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dancing uprightly....

Archbishop Vigano, Sergei Lavrov, and other luminaries kick off a promising new global grassroots movement which could get very, very big. Russophiles from 40 countries gather in Moscow.

BY PEPE ESCOBAR

It is my pleasure to present the first comprehensive, detailed report in English, written by an insider, about the International Russophile Movement, launched last month in Moscow.

This project, supported by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, aims to counterpunch the relentless waves of Russophobia and cancel culture unleashed by the usual suspects since the start of the Special Military Operation (SMO) in Ukraine in February 2022.

As readers will be able to verify, this is a multipolar information project that can become an inspiration for the Global South. The idea is to counteract arrogance and intolerance with an affirmative stance that is deeply rooted in culture, civilizational values and the vision of a more equitable system of international relations.

It’s time to change the narrative. Enjoy the ride (P.E.)

Since the onset of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine in February of last year, globalist elite media have gone into overdrive trying to portray Russia as it exists today, and everything Russian – its government, president, culture, history, religion, as the epitome of evil. Predictably, this is now badly misfiring. Realizing an opening, a prominent Bulgarian public figure is taking his 20 year old Russophile movement global, with applause and encouragement from the Russian government and influential Russian elites. If it gains traction, a very real possibility, Russia, and her many friends and admirers around the world, will have scored a powerful PR victory against globalist elites.

The recently inaugurated International Russophile Movement, which goes by its French acronym, MIR (Mouvement International Russophile), which means ‘peace’ or ‘world’ in Russian, celebrated its founding congress in March in Moscow with a glittering series of well organized public events heavily covered by Russian media, featuring friends and delegates from 42 countries.

The welcome party was a very Russian affair, with spirited toasts, a rich buffet, an excellent Cossack music and dancing troupe, flowing vodka and champagne, and high-spirits all around. Ms. Zakharova, known for her love of Russian folk dancing, did not disappoint, clearly enjoying the opportunity to kick up her heels, a likely welcome diversion from the daily infowars of which she is a popular Russian champion.

On the following day MIR aptly held its founding congress in a large, glassed-in atrium of Russia’s main museum dedicated to its favorite poet, the Russian genius Alexander Pushkin. Russian political heavyweights from across the spectrum welcomed the delegates, starting with foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, Ms. Zakharova again, several heads of Russia’s largest political parties, top members of the government, prominent businessman Konstantin Malofeev, influential political philosopher Alexander Dugin, and a warm welcome from the Head of the Russian Church, Patriarch Kirill, conveyed by Mr. Malofeev.

A very memorable speech in a day of great speeches came from Italian Archbishop Vigano, former Papal Nuncio to the US and outspoken critic of Pope Francis, who gave a 10 minute speech via video link, calling Russia, ‘the last bastion of civilization against barbarism’. For the English text translation, click here. Here is a good review of the speech. Here is the video in Italian.

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