March 10, 2024 (EIRNS)—Scott Ritter published a long report in RT on March 9, on the reconstruction of Novorossiya, including notes on his tour of Kherson and Zaporozhye, where he met with local leaders. Under the headline and kicker: “We Are Witnessing the Bittersweet Birth of a New Russia—Building Novorossiya back up after Ukrainian neglect and war is a monumental but unavoidable task,” Ritter references Vladimir Putin’s history lesson during the Tucker Carlson interview, while showing his own investigation of the Russian history.
Ritter reports that he attempted to get permission to tour the four new Russian provinces, but the Defense Ministry vetoed it “not because they didn’t like the idea of me writing an in-depth analysis of the conflict from the Russian perspective, but rather that the project as I outlined it, which would have required sustained access to frontline units and personnel, was deemed too dangerous. In short, the Russian Defense Ministry did not relish the idea of me being killed on its watch.”
He did, however, gain permission to visit Kherson and Zaporozhye, where he met with Kherson Mayor Vladimir Saldo, whom he describes as “a man imbued with enthusiasm for his work. A civil engineer by profession, with a PhD in economics, Saldo had served in senior management positions in the ‘Khersonbud’ Project and Construction Company before moving on into politics, serving on the Kherson City Council, the Kherson Regional Administration, and two terms as the mayor of the city of Kherson.”
