Mira Terada, head of the Foundation to Battle Injustice, interviewed Mike Jones, a British blogger who moved to Russia in 2018 and continues to tell Western audiences about events in Russia and the world. The head of the Russian FBI found out from Jones whether the United States and NATO are aware that they are exposing civilians in Donbass to a real threat, why the Western media justify the murder of Daria Dugina and how the artificial restriction of freedom of speech in the West is trying to justify the actions of Ukrainian nationalists.
Mira Terada: Good afternoon! Thank you for agreeing to an interview for the Foundation to Battle Injustice. Please tell us for our viewers and readers about what you do and how you moved to Russia?
Mike Jones: My name is Mike, but my channel is iEarlGray on YouTube. I’m on a few other platforms as well, but YouTube is the biggest one. And quite simply put, I read Russian media news for those audiences in the West who are now cut off and blocked from things like Russia Today. So they come to me for the perspective from Russia. I don’t package it as the truth. I often read Western news sources as well. I simply put the two side by side and we often have a good hard laugh. The disparity between what is being presented by the two sides and more often than not, I can say that the Russian presentation is far more convincing than perhaps the Western one. How I came to be in Russia was also due, in fact to YouTube, but from a very different angle. It was from gaming. I used to play a video games, and the developer who was based in Saint Petersburg hired me and took care of everything for me with regards to relocation and immigration, which was a great help. I highly advise many of the people who have contacted me how they can move to Russia. That would be the route that I would advise them to go down. And that was four years ago in 2018. So I’ve been in Saint Petersburg in Russia for four years now.
M.T.: How do you assess the progress of the special military operation of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine? What, in your opinion, are the most priority goals that need to be fulfilled in the near future?
M.J.: So my, my assessment is pretty bland and boring in the sense that I believe as Putin, Lavrov and Shoigu.
Russia is achieving what it set out to do and they’ve been very clear in those aims and objective.
They’re not working towards a timetable as they themselves have said. And the West likes to jump on that and say, “oh, because it hasn’t happened so quickly, of course, Russia is therefore weak and failing.” And yet people are welcome to that if they like, in my opinion. Yeah. The priority goals as I see them is pretty much the ones that they are working on. That is the cessation and prevention of the shelling of Donetsk, and the Donbass and Lugansk and those people’s republics. I’ve noticed they use the word ending the nationalist behavior that’s been going on since 2014, which many people aren’t aware of in the West. Sergei Lavrov said due to cancel culture people believe that Putin just woke up on the 24th of February and decided he fancied to rebuild the Soviet Union, according to the West. No, I don’t see that in action. I don’t see that happening. The slowdown in the progress I attribute to the West prolonging this needlessly and the paying for it in Ukrainian blood. That’s how I assess and see things
M.T.: Can we say that the Russian special military operation is a proxy war between Russia and the West? If so, why, in your opinion, are they haunted by what is happening on the other half of the planet?
M.J.: Absolutely. And I don’t think it’s really that much of a secret anymore. This despite the White House is assurances that it’s not the case. We have the RAND report that I’ve covered on my channel from 2019, that laid out step by step how they planned to extend Russia as they called it. So they wanted to weaken Russia. First of all, provoke Russia that was very clearly laid out. Poke the bear to the point that it reacts, which it has done so. So it is all preplanned premeditated. We’ve got interviews with Lindsey Graham back in 2017. We promised the Ukrainians he’d go back to Washington and fight their case and stick it to Putin as he kind of sat along with John McCain. So John McCain is well complicit in the US’s war crimes and why are they haunted? I wouldn’t say haunted. I discussed this yesterday on Gonzalo Lira’s YouTube channel with the Open House roundtable they had because I cannot fathom where the hatred is clearly on display. That was clearly below the surface that Putin warned about for many years. And Dmitry Medvedev is highlighted I don’t know. I can’t understand from Britain specifically where that comes from. I’m told in the US that is due in part to Victoria Nuland’s history of her grandfather, who came from a pogrom near Odessa. So this is where her personal hatred of Russian, anything Russian comes from, and that has shaped that foreign policy there. And I am willing to accept that that’s a contributory factor.
M.T.: The recent visit of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives has once again proved that the United States does not take into account the interests of other states and is ready to interfere in the affairs of other countries even under the threat of the outbreak of World War III. Can you explain what is the reason for such an aggressive foreign policy of the Americans? Do they feel they are losing control on the world stage?
M.J.: I’d like to be able to explain the reason for not just aggressive, but absolutely reckless. And I feel near suicidal behavior in the foreign policy of the Americans, the antagonistic behavior that they are participating in. I can’t pretend to know it. Putin has also given a very good speech regarding this on their behavior. As to whether I feel that losing control on the world stage, I don’t think they feel they’re losing control. But I do believe that they are certainly proving to the world with their belligerence and childlike behavior that they are no longer the force that they once were after the Second World War. And we see that evidenced in the behavior of the Qataris, the Saudis, when they send Joe Biden packing without any of the oil that he begs for.
M.T.: Do you think the policy of the North Atlantic Alliance will change after joining Finland and Sweden? Will NATO countries behave more aggressively towards Russia and will military bases be located in the immediate vicinity of the Russian border?
M.J.: These are good questions, and many of them would require a crystal ball. But I will, first of all, underline this joining of Finland and Sweden, i.e., if Turkey continues on the path they’re going, Erdogan looks like he is going to continue blocking them. They’ve not complied with Erdogan’s demands that they hand over and extradite these groups of people that Turkey identifies as terrorists. So they’re not playing ball. They’re playing lip service to Turkey’s wishes, as they have done to Russia. You know, sort of just said yes and not done it. We’ll need two countries be more aggressively outside of declaration of World War Three. I’m not sure they can act more aggressively than they already are. Talking of sending warships in the Baltic Sea. This was between Norway, Denmark and I think one of the Baltic states.
The Baltic states are acting like little Chihuahuas on the border.
And again, I can’t fathom their rationale or logic behind their behavior specifically like with the travel ban and all this saber rattling. So will military bases be located if they get their way? I’m sure they would like that. I’m not sure that it will come to pass. I think Russia will take the necessary steps on.
M.T.: Numerous war crimes of Ukrainian servicemen are mainly committed with one single purpose: to provoke Russia to retaliate and expose Russian servicemen as aggressors. Is the Ukrainian military and political leadership trying to increase the supply of weapons and equipment in this way?
M.J.: This is a big topic. I my perception on these war crimes is that they are the nationalists as they’re now being called, thought themselves so invincible, so assured of their position that they could film it and celebrate it without repercussion, without any repercussions on them. And that’s not been the case. The outrage that’s been even displayed in the west of this behavior. So it’s not just provoked Russia, it’s certainly galvanized the population. Now, we’ve had Amnesty International talk about not just, let’s say, the torture of prisoners of war, but the NATO’s training that they received that instructed them to endanger civilians.
These nationalists are following their orders, as they were taught by NATO, to do which, yes, they believe if they do what NATO says, they will get the supply of weapons.
So there’s two sides to this behavior in many aspects. But generally, I believe, yes, they’re trying to appease their puppet masters.
M.T.: In your opinion, how far are the Kiev nationalists ready to go in their ridiculous attempts to denigrate Russia and a special military operation?
M.J.: We’ve seen two examples of how far these very dark individuals are willing to go.
The most recent being the assassination of Alexander Dugin’s daughter, Daria Dugina, which is taking things to the next level, in my opinion, and has also resulted in more disgusting behavior from the West, particularly the BBC.
I watched the report where they were trying to somehow justify this action and say, you know, it was logical and reasonable to do, which I’m completely against. The second example we’ve had, of course, is apparently a nuclear power plant. Despite the fact that models and projections from Western analysts and Western organizations show that the fallout and threat would actually endanger Berlin and Europe, that doesn’t seem to be an issue in these Zelensky regimes mindset, nor indeed their puppet masters. They are willing to sacrifice that and presumably use that as justification in their narrative that Russia would perpetuate this. And Russia would be the ones who were culpable for it, despite Russia being the one that called the U.N. Security Council and highlighted this issue from the off.
M.T.: What, in your opinion, can the provocations at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant lead to? What is Kiev trying to achieve and do they really want to arrange a new Chernobyl?
M.J.: I’ve got to be careful in how I comment on this, because I have to put my hands up and say that when my father in the UK asked me whether Putin would even go into Ukraine, I told him no. In my opinion, I thought it was posturing, maneuvering for diplomatic leverage to get the Minsk Accords enacted and so forth. So I’ve been wrong before, so I need to caveat that and be quite cautious in what I’m saying. We also have to acknowledge that these are Western weapons being used and in that case it is highly likely that Washington and indeed the UK are the ones that are ordering this and providing the intelligence to enable it with coordinates and other things. We had spotters arrested in the workforce of the nuclear power plant. So yeah, I believe they’re serious. Whether they will succeed or whether they wish to succeed in bringing about a meltdown, or Zelensky himself called it six Chernobyl’s and the End of Europe as we know it. It’s quite possible, actually, whether they’ll succeed. I’m not entirely sure. But these nationalists in their behavior towards prisoners of war, towards the civilian population, I see no evidence to suggest that there’s any limit in their minds to not do it.
M.T.: In addition to threats towards the ZNPP, the Ukrainian military has repeatedly threatened to shell and even destroy the Crimean Bridge. Moreover, it has recently become known that the Ukrainian political leadership discussed this option with British curators. How realistic is this scenario?
M.J.: This is an interesting story for numerous reasons. One, even this just a British plot to use one of the green ships that had been negotiated to end a desert port and use its sea routes to then load a cargo ship based missile system to get round the air defenses that are obviously focused in the other direction. So to come at the Crimean Bridge from another angle and catch Russia unawares, I don’t think that’s likely. Of course, if I’m reading it, then I’m very certain that the FSB is fully aware of it. We have also it has to be acknowledged seeing other activities yet to be fully attributed to Ukraine in the Crimea region. How realistic is a scenario? Has potential, but Russia has proven that defenses there are very capable, and I think they are more capable than the British and the Americans anticipated. So it’s proving difficult for them. To do it and therefore due to the sophistication of the Russian defenses. I think the realistic idea that it will happen is quite low but of course the potential is always there.
M.T.: Just the other day, charges were brought against five foreign mercenaries who fought on the side of Ukraine, three of whom face the death penalty. Do you consider capital punishment a fair enough punishment for foreign mercenaries?
M.J.: I have to choose my words carefully because I have to acknowledge my personal stance and also the attitudes and understandable desires of those who have suffered at the hands of these organizations, these people. So I’ve openly stated on my YouTube channel that let’s take the case of Aiden Aslin who I’ve reported on. I have said I felt that the death penalty was not a good move from the Donetsk People’s Republic, mainly because I foresee the British media using that as an excuse to escalate to claim Russia, besides ignoring the fact that the next People’s Republic is not Russia, but never mind. So I feel certainly in the PR side of it, I think that would be bad. I think they’re better used in repairing the damage that they’ve done. Announcement in particular was a mortar crewman say, of course he may have damaged buildings and so on. So I’d like to see them put to work personally in rebuilding these devastated regions at their hands. And yet I have to concede that the capital punishment is a deterrent. And Russia has shown that. And I say Russia specifically, Russia has shown that it does what it says it will do. And I understand and appreciate why the Donetsk People’s Republic see the need to take a similar approach, if you participate, here is the fate that awaits you. And hopefully that will serve as a deterrent to minimize those participating. And of course, you can’t make threats in my opinion without being prepared to deliver on, the mistake the West makes. So if the DPR were to carry out these sentences, which they appear that they may do in the future, I would also understand that despite my own opinion.
M.T.: Not that long time ago, me and my colleagues offered to Pushilin to offer to UK to exchange those people for Julian Assange. So I’m hoping they will look into our offer and proposal and maybe this will happen.
M.J.: I have seen similar comments from people suggesting the same.
M.T.: That is the many people who supported this idea and I think it does make sense. According to the other mercenaries, many of whom went to fight only because of the urgent need for money, the Kiev authorities have not been able to pay them the promised salary for participation in hostilities for several months. Do you think this will lead to the fact that the flow of foreign mercenaries to Ukraine will dry up?
M.J.: I might be so bold as to disagree that many of them are going there for the urgent need for money from the testimonies I’ve seen of particularly U.S. or UK mercenaries. They’ve had to fund all their troubles themselves. So they clearly have a certain amount of savings or funds already available to them. I believe that it’s ideologically driven. It is encouraged by the politicians recklessly. In the case of Liz Truss, who in fact advised British citizens to break the law of England in participating in hostilities against the nation that the UK is has not declared war against. So I don’t think that money is the biggest driver. The inability, the reported inability or unwillingness to share the money that’s being sent their way with the soldiers will certainly have an effect. But I don’t foresee that itself being a deterrent for the mercenaries. I think these strikes that are wiping out hundreds of them at one go and then the resulting chatter on social media where these guys reported and discourage their colleagues and comrades to go there when they see the overwhelming firepower that Russia can and will bring to bear against them. I think these are going to serve as more valuable deterrents as opposed to just going without pay.
M.T.: With the beginning of a special military operation, the United States and European countries are literally introducing a new package of sanctions every month in a desperate attempt to cause irreparable harm to the Russian economy. However, only Europeans and Americans suffer from these sanctions. Why do you think the leaders of Western countries, who are desperately trying to fight Russia, do not think about their citizens?
M.J.: That’s a really good question. And I think that one aspect is what’s becoming absolutely apparent for even these populations of the collective West is that the governments are showing that they do not represent the people. These are the same governments who are claiming that they are defending democracy and all these values. And then we see the people who are dying to so say, protect these values, committing anti-democratic values, locking down the media in martial law more and more almost communist or authoritarian. The very same projections they’ve put on Russia and indeed China, the exact behavior that we’re seeing from the West in many cases. And as for the damage to their own economy, I think I’m at the point where I don’t believe it’s incompetence anymore because it’s so bad, so flagrant that I’m just forced to conclude that it is sabotage by these people. And to what end? The only explanation and I invite better ones from anyone listening who has them, but the only explanation I’ve come across yet that fits is this Klaus Schwab’s Great reset. That is what I conclude at this point, based on the evidence that I’ve seen.
M.T.: In early August, the leaders of some European states proposed banning the issuance of tourist visas for Russian citizens, despite the fact that they themselves have repeatedly stated that tourism is outside politics. Are the EU countries really ready to ban Russians from visiting Europe, thereby openly following nationalism?
M.J.: I believe so many say at this point, Cyprus and Portugal, I believe, are the only two countries that have opposed this. Cyprus for understandable reasons. They have quite a sizable Russian population and Cyprus will be very easily, as Alex Christoforou has said today in his video, another excellent geopolitical commentator. I agree with his perspective that Cyprus will be being so small and not powerful, it has to be accepted they’ll be squeezed by the EU bullet to following the Chihuahua Baltic states as they yap, yap, yap about this. Estonia in particular and Latvia being another one. Portugal will be harder, but I think once Cyprus is squashed then Portugal will be easier to also bring in line. We’ve seen this behavior before from other sanctions that have not been popular and then eventually the countries that disagree too have been forced and bullied. As the South African foreign minister said recently, Blinken and his ilk are New Zealand bullying these countries say, Yeah, I like Alex, I’m going to cop, I’m going to mimic what he said. And I would put it between 60 and 70% possibility that they will be stupid enough to do this, thereby undermining one of the pillars and foundations of the Schengen visa system. And indeed the EU itself, I think they will happily cut their nose off despite their face.
M.T.: Please comment on Western freedom of speech and what remains of it after the start of the Russian special military operation? Is it true that American social networks and messengers are ready to delete any information that does not coincide with Washington’s agenda?
M.J.: Yeah, my first reaction is what freedom of speech. One of these values again that has been sacrificed, one of these values of democracy that we were all told about that has been trampled on in in this hatred of Russia. We know it’s true and evidence. And in fact, just yesterday I can report that I’ll go back to Aiden and ask then I made a video where I condemned Aiden. I then for what I thought was his misguided appeals to the West to the people who had abandoned him, in my opinion. And I advised him to instead bring some perspective on his insight. So to share information to serve a purpose in what looked like his final days in credit to him. He did do that. And his last video he reported that the prison he is being held in is under Ukrainian shelling day by day. So it was an it was no surprise to me that my video that I made was taken down by YouTube yesterday. And what was a surprise, however, was even Aslin’s YouTube channel was deleted yesterday. So, I myself was banned over the weekend. I luckily got that ban lifted. And so my experience personal experience and what I’m observing also corroborates that the freedom of speech, certainly on big tech platforms is being reined in. And I am horrified to report that from personal communication with people back in the UK. People are so afraid of speaking their mind or even daring to say anything such as Russia was justified in pushing back against NATO. There was one case in particular where a person feared for their life due to the profession that they worked in, which was security and involved explosives and weapons that he personally felt that if he would say any such thing, he would be killed.
M.T.: Can you please predict when and how Russia’s special military operation on the territory of Ukraine will end? Which areas will come under the control of the Russian Federation?
M.J.: Well, I expect the territories obviously Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, the territory up to the Dnepr River. And I’m on the fence at the moment as to whether Russia will indeed go to Odessa and create the land bridge to Transnistria. I personally actually want that to happen. And I understand Odessa history, Odessa importance, and how the people that have suffered. I believe that they would welcome this outcome. But it remains to be seen whether Russia will go ahead and do that as a prediction. There are factors here that influence my thinking. We’ve seen the West needlessly prolonging this. I believe it could have and should have been over, let’s say, in March Instanbul with these negotiations. In my personal opinion, that’s when it should have ended. There should have been a peace agreement. Then we had the promise from the Ukrainian intelligence units that August would come. This amazing offensive that would tip the balance in Ukraine’s favor hasn’t materialized. It won’t materialize, in my opinion. And then we left with winter is coming. Well, I we are already seeing that Western countries are not delivering on their promises to Ukraine. In many cases, just less than half saying, “yes, I refuse to see this.” They’re not delivering anywhere near. I think the U.S. has been the one that’s delivered the most, but even that’s only maybe a quarter of what was promised. So I’m seeing evidence that suggests that even support from the West is now starting to fade and wane. And Maria Zakharova has even commented that public opinion on social media is waning as well. There’s no less of the blue and yellow flag wavers with the avatars. I expect as inflation that we are seeing kicking in as price rises and this gas situation carries on and the devastation that they are self-inflicting on their own economies, biting the working ordinary person, I think they will run out of steam in their efforts to keep it going and eventually they will collapse during the winter, if not shortly after, to the point where they’re not even able to continue propping up Ukraine, particularly financially. And if it hasn’t ended by February, maybe in March, April time next year, I would be very surprised. I expect that’s when the that that will really hit the crisis point. If I were to guess.