The World Blog by humble servant.

Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN, along with dozens of keen-eyed social media users, have pointed out that the suspect in Saturday’s deadly shooting in the US used the same Neo-Nazi symbol as Ukraine’s Azov Regiment. Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, noted that the ‘Sonnenrad’, or ‘Black Sun’ symbol, which adorned the manifesto published by the Buffalo shooter, has for years featured on the insignia of Ukraine’s Azov Regiment, and is a commonly used image among white supremacists and neo-Nazi groups. “I wonder what our Western colleagues would invent to distract the public from this awkward fact,” Polyanskiy remarked on his Telegram channel, referring to the fact that the Azov Battalion has been actively funded and promoted by the West, despite Russia’s warning that it is a radical neo-Nazi paramilitary unit. The main suspect in the Buffalo shooting, 18-year-old Payton Gendron, stands accused of killing 10 people and injuring three othe...

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed via its social media networks on Tuesday evening that its servicemen holed up at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol have been ordered to surrender. “The garrison ‘Mariupol’ has completed the assigned combat mission. The highest military command issued an order to the commanders of the units located at Azovstal to save the lives of the personnel,” the Ukrainian military statement explained. According to Kiev, while holding positions at Azovstal, its soldiers prevented Russian troops from operating in other theaters. The two countries have been embroiled in a full-blown conflict since February, when Moscow attacked the neighboring state, following an eight-year standoff over the fate of the Donbass. Kiev insisted that the Azov neo-Nazis and members of its regular forces had “prevented the implementation of the [alleged Russian] plan for the quick capture of [nearby] Zaporozhye, and did not allow access to the administrative...

Western powers opposing Russia in Ukraine could be considered enemies waging a war against the state, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. He pointed out that economic sanctions, the arming of Ukrainian nationalists, and giving them intel to attack Russian troops all amounted to acts of war. “Sure, we are still using the mild term ‘unfriendly states’ when referring to them,” Peskov told an educational forum. But I would say they are hostile states, because what they do is war. He cited the decision to freeze Russian foreign reserves that the country kept in Western financial institutions and discussions about giving the money to Ukraine as an obvious attack on property rights, the cornerstone of Western civilization. “That was money that you and I own,” Peskov told the audience. “It was stolen from us, it is being stolen from us.” Russia’s opponents are playing a more direct role in their attempts to hurt Russia in their “hybrid war,” the official said.“Not only America...