What's Going On In Azovstal?

Those who are following the Russian “special operation” in Ukraine will know that an increasingly beleaguered core of the Nazi Azov Battalion continues to hold out in the bowels of the vast Azovstal steel complex in the port city of Mariupol. We’ve heard that Azov itself includes large numbers of non-Ukrainians and that it was trained by the Special Forces of the US, UK, France, and possibly other NATO countries. There are persistent rumors that NATO personnel—including even generals—are trapped in Azovstal.

From our vantage point, all this remains speculative. However, the adage that where there’s smoke there’s fire appears to apply. Certain circumstances do strongly suggest that these rumors may reflect the actual situation on the ground—and under the ground—in Azovstal.

Friend George sent me a link to an article that compares the situation in Azovstal to the earlier situation in Aleppo, Syria, which the Syrian government forces retook, with the help of the Russian military. I’m going to paste in three sections of the article which I hope will prove thought provoking for those who are trying to stay abreast of events in and about Ukraine. These sections focus on the increasingly desperate efforts by France’s Macron to effect the “evacuation” of mysterious VIPs from Azovstal, in a manner that would shield their identities.

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From Aleppo to Mariupol

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Of sieges and evacuations

Three weeks after Vidaud's sacking, Macron again urged the Russian President to allow the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol, which was covered five days later by a Ukrainian news outlet:

“The situation in Mariupol is getting worse and worse. Tens of thousands of civilians are trapped. I again call on Russia to respect international humanitarian law, to let residents out of the city and to allow humanitarian aid.” (9)

Both Ukrinform and even more so Macron were and are well informed about the situation in Mariupol. And both lie. Macron knows for sure from his secret service chief, who he himself fired. The ARD Tagesschau also lied unashamedly:

"More than 100,000 people are still holding out in the encircled Mariupol." (10)

At that time there was no longer a besieged city of Mariupol and the residents were free to leave, stay or return to it. Why, then, did the narrative of a "humanitarian catastrophe in Mariupol" continue to be clung to?

The day before Macron's renewed initiative, the following had become known from Mariupol:

“In a dramatic appeal, the Ukrainian commander of the remaining marines in the heavily contested city of Mariupol has asked for an evacuation to a third country. "The enemy outnumbers us 10 to 1," Serhiy Volyna, commander of Ukraine's 36th Marine Brigade, said in a minute-long video message posted to Facebook early this morning. "We appeal to all world leaders to help us."" (11)

What do you think of that, dear readers? Is it common for the defeated fighters to be evacuated to third countries in a military conflict between two countries? Why would the winner allow that? In the Syrian conflict, Russia agreed to such requests. Now the Islamist terrorists who escaped at the time have established themselves as a latent threat in the illegally occupied Syrian Idlib.

Do you still remember Syria in 2016, Aleppo, and later East Ghouta? At that time there were similar calls to "all the world leaders to help". To help civilians (12)?

Three days before Macron's move, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk threatened a war crimes conviction if she refused:

"Separately, we urgently demand a humanitarian corridor from the territory of the Azovsteel combine for women, children and other civilians." (13)

Three days later, the Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak suddenly begged for the release, i.e. evacuation of those stuck in the catacombs of the steelworks and offered “negotiations without any preconditions” (14).

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Who leads the Ukrainian army?

On April 16, the Russian side arrested a British mercenary named Shaun Pinner who had been on duty in Mariupol. The British Aiden Aslin had previously been captured. Both mercenaries - what an interesting parallel to Aleppo - had previously earned their money in Syria. But the biographies of the two men indicate that they also worked for the British secret service and worked as mercenaries embedded in military units, so to speak (32).

In addition, it matters whether these men were 'just' mercenaries or regular Ukrainian soldiers. After all, then they would also have to be Ukrainian citizens. But what about the variant that they acted as regular soldiers without Ukrainian citizenship? The latter is probably the case. So in whose service were they really (33)?

These people and the media applauding them apparently also have a disturbed understanding of the law. This becomes apparent when one reads how their supposedly noble mission in Syria is talked about with grand gestures. As if they were there fighting for undoubtedly noble things. But they haven't. They were illegal and armed in Syria — and paid for it out of the British treasury (34).

Secret service people are important sources of information for the planning and execution of military operations. Intelligence people organize a new life to cover their activity. Or you organize it for them. The two Britons are citizens of a NATO country and have taken part in very special military operations abroad.

Are we seriously supposed to believe that in the past four years these men have discovered their love for Ukraine and mutated into sectarians for their new fatherland, of which they don't even have citizenship? The assumption that British secret service officers are involved here is much more obvious. If this is the case, these people were active in Mariupol on behalf of a NATO country.

How many foreign fighters with and without Ukrainian passports who claim to be defending their families will be found in Mariupol? The passports of two fallen US mercenaries were also found there recently. But the question must also be allowed here as to whether it is not more about secret service people — military personnel deployed operationally in Mariupol, who acted on behalf of a NATO state (b3).

DNR military systematically monitor the radio traffic of the trapped fighters. They report that the radio logs show that these two "US officers" were killed by Azov militants. If this turns out to be true, it may be asked why the Azov people did it. According to the official version, the two were traveling as Academy mercenaries and were formerly involved in covert operations by the Pentagon (35).

The report that a three-star general of the US Army was captured in Mariupol on April 5 has not been confirmed, but has not been refuted either, not even by the Pentagon (36, 37). Undeniably, however, this high-ranking military of the leading NATO state was still to be found in Ukraine in March (b4):

According to representatives of the Donetsk Republic, his and the Russian secret service monitored the general's confidant. When they arrived in Mariupol, they were sure that Cloutier was in the city and all access routes to Mariupol, including those from the sea, were sealed off. The same source also claims that a secret US bioweapons laboratory, identified as PIT-404, is located in the underground building areas of Azovstal. This laboratory is said to be operated by the company Metabiota (38). Hunter Biden, the son of the US President, is involved in Metabiota (39).

Furthermore, Russian and Donetsk military forces found equipment belonging to the French Foreign Legion at the Mariupol airport (40). The Foreign Legion is an official part of the French Army. The French Ministry of War has stressed that French soldiers may not engage in areas of operations where France is not a party (41). Is NATO member France really not a military party in the Ukraine conflict?

Who leads the Ukrainian army?

On April 16, the Russian side arrested a British mercenary named Shaun Pinner who had been on duty in Mariupol. The British Aiden Aslin had previously been captured. Both mercenaries - what an interesting parallel to Aleppo - had previously earned their money in Syria. But the biographies of the two men indicate that they also worked for the British secret service and worked as mercenaries embedded in military units, so to speak (32).

In addition, it matters whether these men were 'just' mercenaries or regular Ukrainian soldiers. After all, then they would also have to be Ukrainian citizens. But what about the variant that they acted as regular soldiers without Ukrainian citizenship? The latter is probably the case. So in whose service were they really (33)?

These people and the media applauding them apparently also have a disturbed understanding of the law. This becomes apparent when one reads how their supposedly noble mission in Syria is talked about with grand gestures. As if they were there fighting for undoubtedly noble things. But they haven't. They were illegal and armed in Syria — and paid for it out of the British treasury (34).

Secret service people are important sources of information for the planning and execution of military operations. Intelligence people organize a new life to cover their activity. Or you organize it for them. The two Britons are citizens of a NATO country and have taken part in very special military operations abroad.

Are we seriously supposed to believe that in the past four years these men have discovered their love for Ukraine and mutated into sectarians for their new fatherland, of which they don't even have citizenship? The assumption that British secret service officers are involved here is much more obvious. If this is the case, these people were active in Mariupol on behalf of a NATO country.

How many foreign fighters with and without Ukrainian passports who claim to be defending their families will be found in Mariupol? The passports of two fallen US mercenaries were also found there recently. But the question must also be allowed here as to whether it is not more about secret service people — military personnel deployed operationally in Mariupol, who acted on behalf of a NATO state (b3).

DNR military systematically monitor the radio traffic of the trapped fighters. They report that the radio logs show that these two "US officers" were killed by Azov militants. If this turns out to be true, it may be asked why the Azov people did it. According to the official version, the two were traveling as Academy mercenaries and were formerly involved in covert operations by the Pentagon (35).

The report that a three-star general of the US Army was captured in Mariupol on April 5 has not been confirmed, but has not been refuted either, not even by the Pentagon (36, 37). Undeniably, however, this high-ranking military of the leading NATO state was still to be found in Ukraine in March (b4):

According to representatives of the Donetsk Republic, his and the Russian secret service monitored the general's confidant [i.e., mistress]. When they arrived in Mariupol, they were sure that Cloutier was in the city and all access routes to Mariupol, including those from the sea, were sealed off. The same source also claims that a secret US bioweapons laboratory, identified as PIT-404, is located in the underground building areas of Azovstal. This laboratory is said to be operated by the company Metabiota (38). Hunter Biden, the son of the US President, is involved in Metabiota (39).

Furthermore, Russian and Donetsk military forces found equipment belonging to the French Foreign Legion at the Mariupol airport (40). The Foreign Legion is an official part of the French Army. The French Ministry of War has stressed that French soldiers may not engage in areas of operations where France is not a party (41). Is NATO member France really not a military party in the Ukraine conflict?

Then there's a very special Frenchman, a good friend of hedge fund billionaire George Soros, a demagogue named Bernard Henri Levy. He too may be stuck in Azovstal (42). This has not been confirmed, but it would not come as a surprise either, since Levy is regarded as an ideological and activist pioneer of violent overthrows in various states (43). These upheavals are transfiguredly called color revolutions. Levy, who had influence even in the French government, had distinguished himself particularly in Libya and he was also a co-initiator of the Maidan in Kyiv in 2014 (44, 45). (42). This has not been confirmed, but it would not come as a surprise either, since Levy is regarded as an ideological and activist pioneer of violent overthrows in various states (43). These upheavals are transfiguredly called color revolutions. Levy, who had influence even in the French government, had distinguished himself particularly in Libya and he was also a co-initiator of the Maidan in Kyiv in 2014 (44, 45).

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Risky evacuation attempts

Ukrainian President Zelenskyi has effectively forbidden Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol to lay down their arms. The Azov fighters were even supposed to fight to the last man (51). At the same time, there have been repeated attempts to “get out” the elites stuck there. On the one hand, these are leading figures of the Azov regiment, but presumably also international VIPs; very important people of a different kind with a military mission.

Let's look again at French President Emmanuel Macron's aforementioned diplomatic moves to set up humanitarian corridors in Mariupol. And precisely at the time when the besieged or contested city of Mariupol became two besieged industrial complexes in Mariupol. When it became clear that there were two industrial complexes used by the military without civilian settlements. When it became clear that — despite all the suffering there — there was no threatening humanitarian catastrophe.

Where there are no civilians, there is no need for "humanitarian corridors" for civilians. But that's exactly what Macron suddenly wanted. Not enough if the corridor he proposed should also run extraterritorially and also be under "international control". We've had that more than once: in Syria, for example.

The need must be great in France, and perhaps not only there.

On March 28, a Mi-8 helicopter, coming from the Sea of ​​Azov, attempted to reach the Azov complex. He was shot down five kilometers offshore. A Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jet operating over the area was also downed and may have been active in this relief attempt (52 to 54).

A day later, Macron called Putin and suggested the special type of evacuation described above. Three NATO countries — France, Turkey and Greece — have been suggested as supposedly neutral third parties to “supervise” this evacuation (5i, 6i).

Two days later, several Ukrainian helicopters tried again to reach the trapped fighters in the Azovstal complex. Two of possibly five helicopters crashed after rocket hits. Three survivors were found, one of whom worked in the Ukrainian intelligence service and as an instructor. Another was a member of the Azov regiment (55, 56). According to the former, the rescue operation was under the direct aegis of the Ukrainian secret service (57).

On April 5, the next attempt failed. Also because the Russian and Donetsk armed forces had tightened air surveillance. Again two helicopters were shot down (58, 59). Two officers of the French secret service and mercenaries from South Africa, Tanzania and Morocco are said to have been on board the helicopter (60).

It was only after these events that the media suddenly reported on civilians allegedly taking shelter in the Awostal catacombs. Since then, opinion leadership has kept this story simmering.

The resignation of a popular Canadian general, who at the same time announced that he was now engaged as a "private citizen" in "the defense of Ukraine against the Russian invasion", seems bizarre. Let's pay attention to the date of resignation: it was April 5, 2022 (61). Ironically, at the time when downright suicidal attempts to evacuate military personnel from the Azov steelworks became known. Now he is suspected to be right there (62).