Here we go again-Ukraine once again

[Dargo]

The ceasefire announced yesterday by Russian President Putin has quickly been violated. Back and forth shelling is already being reported, including in the eastern city of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region. The Russian ministry confirmed that the ceasefire went into effect this morning. Soon after, however, artillery shelling resumed from both sides. In addition to Bakhmut, rocket strikes were also reported in Khramatorsk. According to AFP news agency, however, the shelling was less intense than in recent days. The Russian news agency Interfax writes that Ukraine has continued shelling Russian military positions. The air alert has already sounded again in almost all of Ukraine today (air attacks are planned long time before this whole ceasefire was a lie).

[August]

I wouldn't get too excited about any 'Invasion of Russia' plans. :hmmm:

A new figure of losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and foreign mercenaries announced: more than 400 thousand.

https://en.topcor.ru/28886-ozvuchena-novaja-cifra-poter-vsu-i-inostrannyh-naemnikov-bolee-400-tysjach.html?ysclid=lckbel9tk9470823657




If that poorly written and unsourced propaganda piece were even remotely true then the Ukrainians would not have an army left to fight with, let alone be able to take the offensive in Kherson and up north, so what exactly is holding back your glorious russian liberators? Ghosts?

[Skybird]

The loss of Russian men and the impact this has on Russia's already vulnerable demographics will cost Russia so very very very dearly in coming decades. It will not recover from this for the rest of this century. Even more so since those who survive and return home are psychologically wrecked, turning civil society into a social-pathologic hellhouse. Watch the rates of domestic violence and vodka consumpation in coming years and decades, theyx altrerady are amongst the highest in the world, and will explode further. Maybe its a good idea to buy stocks of Vodka producers. And keeping them hanging on the bottle maybe is a good prevention against further Russian attacks. For family, kids and women it is not nice, however.



Young people and women can only be given one advice: flee from Russia if you can. And as long as you still can. A new iron curtain is likely to fall sooner or later.

[les green01]

If that poorly written and unsourced propaganda piece were even remotely true then the Ukrainians would not have an army left to fight with, let alone be able to take the offensive in Kherson and up north, so what exactly is holding back your glorious russian liberators? Ghosts?

well we know only thing that comes out of russia or putin is good for arse wipe and that might be debatable

[Aktungbby]

Putin's call for ceasefire all along the fighting fronts is complete hypocricy. The Russian Orthodox Church observes Christmas on January 7...Zelensky has countered that any such break merely gives Moscow the a badly needed opportunity to replenish and rearm. Russia happily bombed hospitals and churches on Dec. 25.ie everyone else's Christmas...ergo Putin is the one 'blinking first'"! Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, Putin's ally, who has declared the "special operation" in Ukraine a "holy war" is also supporting the 'Orthodox' ceasefire.:hmmm: Moscow still maintains the terms for peace entail keeping parts of Ukraine it doesn't even control.:o:nope::roll:

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJBst2igb2k

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7n_RqLPh_w

[Jimbuna]

US provides Ukraine with new defense assistance package worth over $3 billion - White House

USA is to provide Ukraine with a new package of defense support worth more than $3 billion, which will include, among other things, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, self-propelled howitzers, missile weapons, ammunition and other military assistance.

This was stated during a press briefing in Washington by White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre, informs Censor.NЕТ referring to Ukrinform.

"Today, the United States will demonstrate our continued commitment to Ukraine's self-defense capabilities by announcing more than $3 billion in new security assistance," the Biden administration spokeswoman said.

She specified that this amount includes the allocation of weapons by presidential order from the warehouses of the US Department of Defense in the amount of $2.8 billion. The list includes Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled howitzers, mine and ambush-protected MRAP vehicles, other armored personnel carriers, GLMRS missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, ammunition, etc.

In addition, according to the White House spokeswoman, the United States is providing $285 million under the Foreign Military Financing program to create long-term capabilities and modernize the Armed Forces.

Jean-Pierre also informed that the United States will allocate $682 million for allies and partners on NATO's eastern flank to strengthen defense capabilities. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3391754

During three hours of "Putin’s truce", Luhansk region was shelled 14 times with artillery, - RMA

Despite the "truce" announced by Putin, the Russian invaders opened artillery fire 14 times and tried to storm one of the villages of Luhansk region three times.

This was announced by the head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, Serhii Haidai, Censor.NET informs.

"Briefly about 3 hours of Putin's "Christmas truce" in Luhansk region

From 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.: The Russians fired artillery 14 times and stormed one of our settlements three times. People in de-occupied villages sit in basements all day," the official said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3391737

[Jimbuna]

Bradley infantry fighting vehicle is tank killer, they will give Ukraine advantage on battlefield, - Pentagon

The US-provided M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and Patriot air defense systems will soon give Ukraine an advantage on the battlefield.

This was stated by the spokesman of the Pentagon, Brigadier General Pat Ryder, Censor.NET reports with reference to the Voice of America.

Armored vehicles will transport mechanized infantry into combat in support of both offensive and defensive operations, providing adequate firepower and armor to Ukraine as it continues to defend and reclaim its lands. Ryder also noted that the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle is not a tank, but a "tank killer."

The representative of the Pentagon said that already on Friday, January 6, more information will be made public regarding the next package of aid, training, and terms during which Ukrainians will be able to master the received equipment.

Earlier it was reported that 50 Bradley fighting vehicles will be included in the next package of military aid to Ukraine.

Ryder said that since April of last year, US instructors have taught 3,100 Ukrainians how to use American equipment. Currently, it is planned to train larger groups, in particular in Germany in a couple of weeks - about 500 people every month. In total, about 12,000 Ukrainian military personnel underwent specialized training in various countries of the world.

When asked why it took so long for the United States to decide to provide armored vehicles, the Pentagon spokesman replied: "We continue to work closely with Ukraine based on the situation and urgent needs. We are now at a stage in this battle where we can provide adequate training and enable the Ukrainians to support systems "Bradley" and "Patriot" so that they can focus on the defense of their country and the return of the occupied territories," he said.

According to him, at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, when Russia was on the doorstep of Kyiv, the situation was radically different, and it was much more difficult to conduct long-term support and logistics then. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3391716

We will transfer Patriot for Ukraine from our reserves, - Bundeswehr

Ukraine will receive the Patriot system from Germany from the Bundeswehr stockpile, and not from among those that Berlin promised to its allies in Eastern Europe.

David Helmbold, the spokesman for the Ministry of Defense of the Federal Republic of Germany, clarified this at a briefing on Friday, Censor.NET reports with reference to Ukrinform.

"As for the obligations to Slovakia, we are continuing the mission. We will also implement the plans for Poland. For Ukraine, it was decided to transfer an additional system, or at least the necessary components, from the Bundeswehr's stocks," the spokesman said, adding that this step is done together with American partners.

He emphasized the importance of helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian airstrikes. Germany, Helmbold reminded, has been helping in this aspect for more than a month: the Armed Forces shoot down aerial targets with Stinger and Strela missiles (the transfer of which was announced on February 26-27, 2022), Gepard and Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled guns, Cobra radar, and the Iris-T system. Patriot will be the next step.

The Ministry of Defense spokesman added that the Iris-T and Patriot air defense systems have different ranges and other differences in functioning. In particular, the Patriot consists of a large number of components, so it is important that it functions in the overall system.

Ukrainian soldiers will be trained in management in Germany and the USA. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3391738

[Catfish]

If Ukraine wants to get russians out of Ukraine they need other than defensive weapons. It really seems the west wants to prolong the war for whatever reason.

[August]

If Ukraine wants to get russians out of Ukraine they need other than defensive weapons. It really seems the west wants to prolong the war for whatever reason.




The Bradley is not a defensive weapon
T-72 tanks are not defensive weapons
HIMARS Artillery is not a defensive weapon
Marders are not defensive weapons
MiG jets are not defensive weapons

[Skybird]

If Ukraine wants to get russians out of Ukraine they need other than defensive weapons. It really seems the west wants to prolong the war for whatever reason.
IMO the differentiation between "defensive" and "offensive" weapons makes no sense and in this context now is only alibi claim. A hull-down dug-in battle tank is formidable a defensive weapon, and an IFV like the Marder is püerfectly suited to support offensive mobile actions.

The point is: the Marder alone is not strong enough in firepower to make a real difference. And that is right the point, isn't it: originally IFVs, and the Marder as well, were and are made to operate together with MBTs, and be as mobile as the tanks. Both complement each other, with the tank's job to provide the firepower. The Marder: has a 20mm cannon, and Milans. Thats a bit too less.

It seems to me that this strength is not wanted by the West. Maybe the interest is instead what I said often about Scholz: to have both sides bleeding out, until exhaustion forces them to sit together and let reason and sanity take over, then celebrate the West for its civilised and reasonable superiority of having "achieved" this. The missiles and howitzer artillery delivered in itself cannot push an offensive, it only can support it, but it needs mechanized units to carry out the mobile part and the ground-capturing part of that. Scholz and so far the West provide the first part, the support part, but not the second part, the offensive part. By that they extend the war.

And I think another problem is much more urgent now, and that is that the ukraine is running out of suitable ammo for its sovjet-made stuff, while not having enough Western stuff and ammo for that that Western weapons can completely take over already. Also, the air defence situation is not satisfactory, here the ammo is not just rare, but also super-expensive, while Iranian drones are super-cheap.

IMO the West simply is not consistent enough: both due to lacking will and lacking capability.

Rumours grow that Russia mulls another mobilization, this time for half a million recruits. Its clear by what means they want to win this and bleed Ukraine to death: attrition, winning by higher own numbers of soldiers than the enemy has ammo to kill. I am convinced by now that is why they stuck to Bachmut this long: to force Ukraine to waste ammo and men. Classical attrition. In the end there are more dumb bombs and decades old weapons in Russia than in Ukraine, no doubt on that. And dumb bombs still can do Booom.

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihq0dBhBt44

[Jimbuna]

Total combat losses of Russian Federation since beginning of war - about 110,740 people (+490 per day), 3,066 tanks, 285 planes, 272 helicopters, 2,062 artillery systems, 6,125 armored vehicles. INFOGRAPHICS

The losses of the Russian occupiers as of the morning of January 6, 2023, are approximately 110,740 people.

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to the press center of the General Staff.

As noted, the total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02.22 to 07.01.23 are approximately:

personnel - about 110,740 (+490) people were eliminated,
tanks - 3066 (+2) units,
armored combat vehicles - 6125 (+1) units,
artillery systems - 2062 (+3) units,
MLRS - 431 (+0) units,
air defense equipment - 217 (+2) units,
aircraft - 285 (+0) units,
helicopters - 272 (+0) units,
UAV of operational-tactical level - 1844 (+0),
cruise missiles - 723 (+0),
ships/boats - 16 (+0) units,
automotive equipment and tank trucks - 4798 (+1) units,
special equipment - 182 (+0). Source: https://censor.net/en/n3391791

[Jimbuna]

Former Russian leader killed in mysterious car crash as he crossed the road

The former prime minister of a Russian region has been mysteriously killed after a car hit him while he was crossing a street in a southern city near Georgia. Magomed Abdulayev, 61, a close friend of ex-Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, died from severe injuries after he was struck by the car in Makhachkala city on the Caspian Sea. It is the latest unexplained death of a Russian official since Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine last February, and local Ukrainian officials were quick to point this out. Anton Geraschenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian Government, reported the death alongside the caption: "Another mysterious death of a Russian official."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/former-russian-leader-killed-in-mysterious-car-crash-as-he-crossed-the-road/ar-AA1622VL?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=757e63f44d974043964fdc752e802a00

[Skybird]

There is some criticism mounting on the latest decisions to deliver Bradleys, Marders and AMX-10s. Its being cautiously voiced, but it is there, and it is reasonable.

First, instead of agreeing on one system, now three totally different vehicles get delivered, each of which with their very own logistical supply chain, its own ammunitions, its own technical spare parts. And this additionally to a logistics system in Ukraine that is under enormous supply stress already now.

Second, both Marders and Bradleys are offsprings of a military doctrine that puts emphasis on the coordinated cooperation - "combined arms" - of MBTs and IFVs. These IFVs alone do not pose a signficant, relevant military threat to Russia with regards to offensive operation attempts by Ukraine. They simply lack the firepower, and their protection is such that they offer protection against other APCs and IFVs (the Marder still is said to be the most heavily armoured IFV there is), but you do not want them to get a full hit from an MBT. So, this move to deliver Marders and Bradleys: left to themselves this means nothing of real military relevance. For that these vehicles would need to be paired with Western MBTs.

So far there is just the announcement by the US. Training in Germany for the Marders has not even begun as well. 8 weeks it takes, they say.


What should, be done is that training begins immediately - both for the IFVs, and for Leopard-2A4s. The Leopards probably will arrive sooner or later - but rather later than sooner due to Bubble-Olaf once again braking, delaying, hesitating, wasting as much time as he can before pressur eon him becomes too much. Intentionally.

Shall we say: ETA Leopards next late autumn, when the war, so Scholz probably hopes, will be over?

Let this be clearly said and known in words. The hesiotation to set up tnaks and IFVs and early on so, has already costed many Ukrainian soldiers their lives who still could live today. Our political leaders already wade in blood they helped to shed by their indifference and hesitation.

Determination, dude. Determination.



I give nothing for recent phrases Macron and Scholz gave. Both do not mean what they say.

[Rockstar]

Though still very capable, the Bradley is a legacy system, we are already testing competing designs such as the optionally manned vehicle. Meanwhile most Bradleys are in storage costing taxpayers heaps of money to store and maintain only for them to be later scrapped or given away in 10 or 15 years anyway. In the long run giving them to Ukraine now will save us money and Ukraine gets a tried and tested piece of superior firepower.

https://youtu.be/Z4k71CHVCrw

In a now infamous off-the-cuff response to a critical question by a soldier in Iraq about the reason for the lack of adequate armor on military vehicles, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld opined that “you go to war with the military you have – not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.”

That still still holds true for every single country in the world including Ukraine

[Ostfriese]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FlxytbdX0AM_6Qv.png


No, Vladimir, we aren't freezing. How about you, though?


(10°C = 50°F; -27°C = -16.6°F)

[Dargo]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FlxytbdX0AM_6Qv.png


No, Vladimir, we aren't freezing. How about you, though?


(10°C = 50°F; -27°C = -16.6°F)Even the weather gods are trolling looser vlad. :D

[Jimbuna]

Orbán said West has started new Cold War, so Hungary must maintain relations with its enemies

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbn believes that due to the crisis of the Western-centric order, which was allegedly highlighted by Russia’s war against Ukraine, the West has started a new Cold War, in which Budapest should stand aside, maintain relations with Western competitors and claim the role of regional leader.

As Censor.NET reports with reference to European Pravda, Orbán said this in a speech at the Christmas dinner of the Cella Kalman Foundation (Hungarian political figure of the late 19th and early 20th centuries), the thesis of which was presented by his political advisor Baláš Orbán in an article for Mandiner .

"Currently, it is clear that the biggest strategic challenge facing Hungary in the next decade is leaving the group of middle-income countries and catching up with developed countries, as well as achieving the status of a regional middle power in Central Europe," the article says.

According to the Hungarian prime minister, the neoliberal model of globalization is becoming a thing of the past, and as a result, the United States has new rivals - partly because the liberal model has allowed such states as China to strengthen.

Among the events that lead to the crisis of the neoliberal order, Orbán cites the migration crisis, Brexit, the victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential elections and the coronavirus pandemic.

"The beginning of the Ukrainian-Russian war in 2022, which made it clear that the current Western centrism cannot hold its ground, because the West's competitors have strengthened, not least because of the liberalization of trade and the economy," writes Balash Orban in the article .

In response, the West, led by the USA, according to the Prime Minister of Hungary, started a new "cold war" - a bloc confrontation between the West and its rivals. "It seems that the international blocs of the Cold War era are being revived", - this is how his adviser describes it.

The new world order in Orbán's view can be represented as a system of hierarchical networks in which all economic, political and cultural interactions pass through the leading states of the formed blocs. And this, he believes, is especially bad for Hungary, which has a negative historical experience of existence in the bloc confrontation.

"Therefore, the initial step of the Hungarian strategy of catch-up development is the development of a country-specific logic of globalization to overcome the negative consequences," Orbán claims, believing that such a strategy should be mediation between the West and the East and non-participation in a new "cold war".

In practice, this means that Budapest (within the system of hierarchical networks) should be in good relations with the states that are competitors of the West, dominated by the USA - because this way the marginalization of the country can be avoided.

As you know, since the beginning of the full-scale Russian aggression against Ukraine, Hungary has continued to maintain close ties with Russia and openly called for the review and relaxation of the European Union's sanctions against it, as well as developing relations with China and Iran, which the United States considers to be part of the "axis of evil." Source: https://censor.net/en/n3391846

[vanjast]

If that poorly written and unsourced propaganda piece were even remotely true then the Ukrainians would not have an army left to fight with, let alone be able to take the offensive in Kherson and up north,
That right.. everyone is been fed lies by the media. some are more willing to believe them. There's plenty of info on the net..

The US , Chinese, Indian and Russian militaries are are working together on an operation that has covertly been going on for at least 5 years (planned over 50 years ago). Overtly now with Ukraine, which is the final phase.

They control all the media, so every one is fed a diet of the story they want you to hear/believe, and they've made Ukraine a 'death trap' for those that want to fight there.
How many more 'grainy' videos are we to see, as proof of things.:hmmm:

The Russians are not losing... they are winning by a very very large margin.
.. and all those promises of 'wonder weapons' to drive the Russians back to the pacific... is not happening.

It's all optics and gaffing on the screen in front of you. :03:
:D

[Jimbuna]

:har:

[Dargo]

That right.. everyone is been fed lies by the media. some are more willing to believe them. There's plenty of info on the net..

The US , Chinese, Indian and Russian militaries are are working together on an operation that has covertly been going on for at least 5 years (planned over 50 years ago). Overtly now with Ukraine, which is the final phase.

They control all the media, so every one is fed a diet of the story they want you to hear/believe, and they've made Ukraine a 'death trap' for those that want to fight there.
How many more 'grainy' videos are we to see, as proof of things.:hmmm:

The Russians are not losing... they are winning by a very very large margin.
.. and all those promises of 'wonder weapons' to drive the Russians back to the pacific... is not happening.

It's all optics and gaffing on the screen in front of you. :03:
:DYou contradict yourself, do not say where but for the rest cool story братан :O:

[mapuc]

The Russians are not losing... they are winning by a very very large margin.


Hmm now I wonder. If this is the case-Why is the war still going on for the 10th month soon to be the 11th month.

Markus

[Dargo]

Hmm now I wonder. If this is the case-Why is the war still going on for the 10th month soon to be the 11th month.

MarkusUkraine continues to receive support from the West (arguably more should be given) and more importantly, they get more than the Russian military budget :D Simply put: I’d rather be in Ukraine position than Russia.

[Dargo]

The reality of War. A recent photo of a field showing Russian soldiers that took part in a failed attack in Bakhmut, East Ukraine. I hope it is grainy enough.

https://i.postimg.cc/x8N3m0Hx/Fl4-Nx-WAAIh-Vpw.jpg

[Skybird]

Russians ARE winning. They win the taste of their own blood in their mouth for generations to come. They win the taste of shame and disgrace for their atrocities and war crimes. They win the contempt and mistrust of the public. They win the reputation of being murderous, primitive barbars.

So Vanjast is right. Russians win all that, and they win lots and lots more of it with every day passing.

But they also lose something. For example, here in the West nobody fears them anymore, and nobody serious is afraid of the Russian military anymore.

Well, you get some, and you have to give some. So is life. :03:

[Dargo]

Russians ARE winning. They win the taste of their own blood in their mouth for generations to come. They win the taste of shame and disgrace for their atrocities and war crimes. They win the contempt and mistrust of the public. They win the reputation of being murderous, primitive barbars.

So Vanjast is right. Russians win all that, and they win lots and lots more of it with every day passing.

But they also lose something. For example, here in the West nobody fears them anymore, and nobody serious is afraid of the Russian military anymore.

Well, you get some, and you have to give some. So is life. :03:Do not forget the gain of a big and growing high-tech Polish army at their border. :D

[Dargo]

Report confirms Kuzmyne is in Ukrainian hands. It's the last settlement before Kreminna. I would expect tonight will be cold and full of artillery for the Russians, who no longer have clouds to cover their locations from IR detection. With the ground frozen, tanks can maneuver. https://twitter.com/TimInHonolulu/status/1611784252621991937

[Skybird]

German industry said it has 180 Leopard-1 tanks ready and only awaits export permission.



Well. Wait longer, German industry. Der große Weltenlehrer in Berlin has different plans.

[Dargo]

Polish PM: "Together with President A. Duda, we are building a coalition of European countries that will be able to deliver Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. We will provide more details soon." https://twitter.com/MarQs__/status/1611746578590490625

[Dargo]

Ukraine’s president accuses Russia’s elite of disregarding human life, but keeping their own loved ones from the front. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the shattered city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday — the key node in a 1,300 km frontline he says is the “hottest spot” in the war and epitomizes Russian President Vladimir Putin’s willingness to hurl his soldiers into suicidal attacks. In a late-night video address Monday, Zelenskyy focused on Putin’s cold-blooded disregard for the lives of his forces at Bakhmut, noting that the Russian elite kept their own loved ones away from the slaughter.

“Since May, the occupiers have been trying to break our Bakhmut, but time goes by and Bakhmut is already breaking not only the Russian army, but also the Russian mercenaries who came to replace the wasted army of the occupiers,” he said, adding that Russia had now lost almost 100,000 soldiers. “For what? No one in Moscow can answer this question. And they won’t.” “They wage war and waste people’s lives, other people’s lives, not of their loved ones, not their own lives, but the lives of others only because a group in the Kremlin can’t admit mistakes and is terribly afraid of reality. But reality speaks for itself,” Zelenskyy added. Bakhmut was once a center of salt production and an important railway junction in the eastern province of Donetsk, but has now been mostly destroyed by daily bombardments. The flooded trenches and splintered trees across the scorched earth of the front bear striking resemblances to scenes from World War I.

On Tuesday, Zelenskyy gave awards on his unannounced visit to support the troops, his spokesman Sergii Nykyforov said in a statement to the Ukrainian state-owned Freedom TV channel. “I think that the heroes of Bakhmut should receive the same thing that every person receives. I wish that their children, families — that everything would be normal for them, that there would be warmth, that there would be health. I would like to wish that there would be light, but in such a difficult situation, that there is light, then there is no light. The main thing is that there is light inside,” Freedom reported Zelenskyy as saying, posting a video of the award ceremony.

Ukrainian Army soldier Oleksandr Solonko used to be one of the Bakhmut defenders until last week, when he started his long-awaited rotation. Just like many other Ukrainian fighters, he posted on social media about the Russian tactics of throwing their own soldiers to their deaths in so-called “meat waves,” Solonko claimed this has become the regular Russian tactics, not only in Bakhmut. “They have been sending their recruits from Russian prisons into the suicidal attacks that not only deplete our military equipment, but also help the invading army to mark Ukraine’s firing positions,” Solonko told POLITICO.

This helps Russians to adjust artillery fire too. After the first suicidal wave, there may be new waves of attacks by the Russian army or the Kremlin-backed paramilitary group of Wagner mercenaries might enter the battle directly, Solonko said. “The Russians are trying to break through to the south of the city to take the road to Kostyantynivka under fire control. This is a very important transport artery. They fail to do this,” Solonko added. As for the morale of the Ukrainian troops that have to face the suicidal waves of Russians every day, Solonko claimed that it remained high despite all the horrors.

“If we retreat, give slack, there will be a new Bucha, a new Mariupol, new executions of civilians and other atrocities committed by the Russian occupiers. Therefore, they must be stopped here and now where we are and will be,” Solonko said. “Despite all the difficulties, despite the cold, the threat of death, there is a clear awareness of the goal and destination. It helps to maintain proper morale,” he added.

https://www.politico.eu/article/volodymyr-zelenskyy-ukraine-war-bakhmut-russia-sacrificing-troops-meat-waves/

[Rockstar]

RELEASE
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
More Than $3 Billion in Additional Security Assistance for Ukraine
Jan. 6, 2023 |


https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3261263/more-than-3-billion-in-additional-security-assistance-for-ukraine/#.Y7i4POpjxOA.twitter

Today, the Department of Defense (DoD) announces the Biden Administration's commitment of $3.075 billion in additional security assistance for Ukraine. This includes the authorization of a Presidential Drawdown of security assistance valued at up to $2.85 billion to meet Ukraine's critical security and defense needs, as well as the Department of State's announcement of $225 million in Foreign Military Financing to contribute to the long-term capacity and modernization of Ukraine's military.

The Presidential Drawdown is the twenty-ninth such drawdown of equipment from DoD inventories for Ukraine that the Biden Administration has authorized since August 2021. Capabilities in this package include:

50 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles with 500 TOW anti-tank missiles and 250,000 rounds of 25mm ammunition;
100 M113 Armored Personnel Carriers;
55 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs);
138 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs);
18 155mm self-propelled Howitzers and 18 ammunition support vehicles;
70,000 155mm artillery rounds;
500 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds;
1,200 155mm rounds of Remote Anti-Armor Mine (RAAM) Systems;
36 105mm towed Howitzers and 95,000 105mm artillery rounds;
10,000 120mm mortar rounds;
Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
RIM-7 missiles for air defense;
4,000 Zuni aircraft rockets;
Approximately 2,000 anti-armor rockets;
Sniper rifles, machine guns, and ammunition for grenade launchers and small arms;
Claymore anti-personnel munitions;
Night vision devices and optics;
Spare parts and other field equipment.
The Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and other armored vehicles and artillery systems will complement the recent commitment of combat vehicles to Ukraine by Germany and France. DoD also welcomes Germany's commitment to join the United States in supporting Ukraine's urgent requirement for air defense capabilities by also supplying one Patriot air defense battery to Ukraine.

The Biden Administration will continue to encourage Allies and partners to make additional donations of air defense systems, artillery, combat vehicles, and other critical capabilities to support Ukraine in defense of its sovereignty and territorial integrity for as long as it takes. Toward that end, the Department of State also announced today $682 million in additional Foreign Military Financing to incentivize and backfill donations of military equipment to Ukraine by Allies and partners.

In total, the United States has committed more than $24.9 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration. Since 2014, the United States has committed more than $27 billion in security assistance to Ukraine and more than $24.2 billion since the beginning of Russia's unprovoked and brutal invasion on February 24.

[August]

Hmm now I wonder. If this is the case-Why is the war still going on for the 10th month soon to be the 11th month.

Markus


You hit the nail squarely on the head Markus.

[Otto Harkaman]

This is going to be at least a four year war, if not longer.

[Ostfriese]

It will be the longest three-day special operation in history.

[Jimbuna]

Putin warned 'split in power is growing' as he scrambles to regain control

Vladimir Putin has been warned by one of his senior allies of "growing splits" in the Russian leadership. In a post on Telegram, Igor Girkin shared a report indicating Yevgeny Prigozhin - who bankrolls the Wagner Group - believes "money oligarchs" are responsible for "discrediting" his organisation's work in Ukraine.

Girkin commented: "If I knew how to draw, I would create a caricature on which two heads of our national coat of arms, equipped with faces, peck at each other. The split in power is growing."

Meanwhile officials have warned Putin's 36-hour ceasefire is merely a ruse during which he will launch attacks on Ukraine's churches.

Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine's deputy Prime Minister, put religious institutions on notice after Russian forces apparently broke the terms of their own in the east of the country.

Writing on Facebook, she claimed to have received warnings that orthodox churches would be targeted today - the day they celebrate Christmas.

She added: "I urge citizens to be careful and avoid visiting places with large crowds. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. Wait for the Armed Forces of Ukraine."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/putin-warned-split-in-power-is-growing-as-he-scrambles-to-regain-control/ar-AA164fxx?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=f7249016ff66485b9b18633d59b36abb

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhhKSTFp_GA

[Jimbuna]

Total combat losses of Russian Federation since beginning of war - about 111,170 people (+430 per day), 3,069 tanks, 285 planes, 272 helicopters, 2,065 artillery systems, 6,130 armored vehicles. INFOGRAPHICS

The losses of the Russian occupiers as of the morning of January 8, 2023, are approximately 110,740 people.

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to the press center of the General Staff.

As noted, the total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02.22 to 08.01.23 are approximately:

personnel - about 111,170 (+430) people were eliminated,
tanks - 3069 (+3) units,
armored fighting vehicles - 6130 (+5) units,
artillery systems - 2065 (+3) units,
MLRS - 431 (+0) units,
air defense equipment - 217 (+0) units,
aircraft - 285 (+0) units,
helicopters - 272 (+0) units,
Operational-tactical UAV - 1849 (+5),
cruise missiles - 723 (+0),
warships/boats - 16 (+0) units,
automotive equipment and tank trucks - 4801 (+3) units,
special equipment - 183 (+1). Source: https://censor.net/en/n3391909

[Skybird]

Speeches boost the morale. More of that, Vlad! FOCUS writes:
------------------------------
Suspected hundreds of Russian soldiers died in a Himars missile attack on a military shelter on New Year's Day. One who was there now tells why the recruits were all in the same place at 0.01 am.

At 0:01 a.m. on New Year's morning, four Himars missiles struck a Russian military shelter in Makiyivka (Donetsk region). The impact probably killed several hundred attack warriors. Now one who was there tells why so many soldiers were so close together in the first place.

During a video interview with the Belarusian investigative portal "Nexta," Anton Golovinsky, a newly mobilized man from the Samara region, says so many Russians died because they had to watch President Vladimir Putin's New Year's address.

Golovinsky recounts, "We were taken to Makiyivka at the end of the year and lodged in the technical college building." He says the recruits asked not to be housed all together so as not to be an easy target.

But on New Year's Eve, he said, they were all gathered in the assembly hall. "We had to listen to Putin's speech. We asked not to do that. But we were told we had to obey orders." Colonel Roman Enikeyev was responsible for this, the Russian soldier said in the video. "Because of his order, almost all of our men died."

Golovinsky initially survived the Ukrainian attack, according to his own statement "miraculously." However, he has since reportedly died in a Russian clinic.

Russian authorities previously blamed the attack on the soldiers. These would have used in the New Year's night all their cell phones, were to be located thereby by the Ukrainians. Many experts have already contradicted this account.

Rather it is probable that inhabitants gave the tip as spies. Golovinsky also supported this account: "All the locals knew about it. Everyone knew."

Time and again, Ukrainians manage to strike such blows against Russian aggressors. This time, apparently, a speech by Vladimir Putin - and his order that soldiers watch it - became a death sentence for his men.
-------------------------

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGhPJpw2Q88

[mapuc]

One may wonder on which side Turkey is

This article is from a Danish newspaper


Sweden: Turkey asks for things we cannot give them

NATO chief is convinced Turkey will say yes to Sweden joining NATO - but it's unclear when.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson believes Sweden has done all it can to get its application for NATO membership approved.

And now the ball is in Turkey's court.

He said this on Sunday after a meeting with NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg and Swedish Social Democrats party leader Magdalena Andersson.

The three discussed Sweden's path into the defence alliance.

The Turkish government has made a number of demands for both Sweden and Finland to join NATO.

- From time to time, Turkey mentions individuals it wants extradited from Sweden. I have said that these issues will be dealt with in accordance with Swedish law," says Ulf Kristersson, according to the Reuters news agency.

He stresses that Sweden "has done what we have to do on all points". Among other things, the government is working to tighten the country's terrorism laws.

At the same time, he notes that Turkey is making demands that Sweden cannot agree to.

- Turkey has confirmed that we have done what we said we would do. But they also say that they want something that we cannot and will not give them. Now the decision lies with Turkey, says Kristersson according to the Swedish news agency TT.

All NATO countries must agree when new members are to be admitted. And Turkey has so far refused to accept Sweden.

The Turks accuse Sweden and to some extent Finland of harbouring militants linked to the banned Kurdish Workers' Party, the PKK.

In the past, the Turkish government has demanded the extradition of people it considers "terrorists" who are in Sweden.

Stoltenberg says he feels confident that Turkey will accept the two new member states.

- I am confident that Turkey will ratify the membership of Sweden and Finland. I think that should happen as soon as possible. But I don't want to speculate on exactly when Turkey will do it," the NATO chief said, according to TT.

The two leaders of the Swedish and Finnish parliaments will meet in Turkey's capital, Ankara, in mid-January.

There are also plans for at least one more meeting between the three countries this spring. This is according to Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.

He adds that the talks with Turkey have so far been well organised and conducted in a positive spirit.

- I am not worried about the process, he says according to TT.


Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)


Markus

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPBkT3bhUIQ

[Jimbuna]

This cannot be excluded - German Minister of Economy Habeck on tank supplies to Ukraine

German Minister of Economy Robert Habeck said that he does not rule out the supply of Leopard tanks to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the future.

According to Censor.NЕТ, this is stated by RBC-Ukraine with reference to Reuters.

"Of course, this cannot be excluded," Habeck said.

As the newspaper noted, the minister's comments came two days after Germany said it wants to deliver about 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine by the end of March. Habeck called this decision correct and long overdue. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392009

Statement of Ministry of Defense of Russian Federation about "murder of more than 600 Ukrainian soldiers" in Kramatorsk is fake. Occupiers cannot deliver high-precision strikes, - Cherevaty

The Armed Forces of Ukraine denied the statement of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation about the alleged killing of more than 600 Ukrainian defenders in Kramatorsk.

As reported by Censor.NET with reference to Suspilne, this was reported by the spokesman of the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces Serhiy Cherevaty.

According to him, the statement of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation does not correspond to reality, because the Russian troops do not have the ability to deliver high-precision strikes.

"This information is as true as the data that they destroyed all our HIMARS. This is an information operation of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in response to the successful actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to attack their large concentrations of personnel, their warehouses, and logistics with our high-precision attack systems. They do not have such an opportunity," Cherevaty said.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation called the attack on Kramatorsk a "revenge operation" for Makiivka and announced the alleged killing of more than 600 Ukrainian soldiers.

On the night of January 7-8, Russian troops launched 7 rocket attacks on Kramatorsk. Educational institutions, residential buildings, and garages were damaged.

Iy will be reminded that the attack on the location of the mobilized occupiers took place on New Year's Eve. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced that the number of people killed in Makiivka as a result of the attack on the place of deployment of Russian servicemen has increased to 89. According to unofficial information, on New Year's Eve, thanks to a precise strike by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, about 400 mobilized Russians were eliminated in Makiivka, and about 300 invaders were wounded of varying degrees of severity.

It was noted that Russian soldiers were stationed in the building of the local vocational school No. 19. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3391990

[Skybird]

Defenders in a difficult situation. Der Tagesspiegel reports:
----------------------------
Fighting in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine has left defenders in the Soledar area in a difficult situation, according to Kiev. "At the moment it is difficult in Soledar," Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar wrote on her Telegram channel on Sunday. Soledar, like Bachmut, which has been contested for months, is part of Ukraine's defensive wall in front of the agglomeration between Slowyansk and Kramatorsk.

Taking the agglomeration would be almost tantamount to conquering the Donbass - one of Russia's publicly stated goals at the start of its war of aggression. In front of Soledar, the Russians would have concentrated large forces. The attacks involve not only regular units of the Russian army, but also mercenary troops, Maljar wrote.

In fact, in the area around Bachmut and Soledar - both towns are only 14 kilometers apart - the mercenaries of the "Wagner" force, considered well-equipped, are attacking. Russian military blogs had recently reported a breakthrough of the defense lines in Soledar, this has not yet been officially confirmed by Moscow. According to information from Kiev, Ukrainian troops continue to hold the city under control.

---------------------------------------

[Jimbuna]

Olaf Scholz under pressure to release Leopard II tanks to Ukraine after Poland and Finland pledge

Pressure is building on Germany to release Leopard II tanks to Ukraine after Finland and Poland pledged to send Europe’s most fearsome tank to fight the Russian army.

Germany manufactures Leopard II tanks and also holds the export licence for them, meaning Berlin must approve any shipment of the tanks to Ukraine or elsewhere.

After both the Finnish and Polish governments signalled their desire to send Leopard II vehicles to Ukraine, Lars Klingbeil, a German MP and part of the ruling coalition, said the government wouldn’t be bounced into a deal and that no countries “were yet delivering heavy battle tanks” to Ukraine.

Guy Verhofstadt, a high-profile MEP and a former Belgian prime minister, said that pressure was building on Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor, to approve a deal.

“There is nowhere for the German Government to hide. Mr Scholz must act to authorise Leopard tanks to Ukraine, as the European Parliament has requested,” he said.

The Leopard II tank is one of the most feared tanks in the world because of its high mobility and armour. Analysts have said that it would give Ukraine an edge in battles as it outclasses Russia’s T-72 tanks and is close to being the world’s “gold standard” tank.

Earlier this week, France and Germany pledged to send fighting infantry vehicles to Ukraine as well as a Patriot air defence system but analysts have said Ukraine requires the Leopard II tanks to defeat Russia.

Earlier this week, Volodymyr Zelensky pressed for Western tanks to be handed over to Ukraine.

“There is no rational reason why Ukraine has not yet been supplied with western-type tanks,” said the Ukrainian president.

Mr Scholz has previously allowed Leopard II tanks to be given to countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic to replace Soviet-era T-72 tanks they gave to Ukraine earlier in the war.

But Slawomir Debski, director of the Polish Institute of International Affairs, said that European governments effectively now had to wait for permission from Mr Scholz before they could supply Ukraine with Leopard II tanks.

“Germany has to green light it and that would mean that they cannot stand by while other allies supply Ukraine with German tanks,” he said. “That’s the reason why Scholz has been blocking the idea so far.”

The Leopard range of tanks was first developed in the 1970s in Germany by the Munich-based manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and is now widely used by European armies, although not by the British Army,

It was specially designed to combat Russia’s T-72 tanks on the wide open plains of eastern Europe and it quickly gained a reputation for being both tough and destructive.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/olaf-scholz-under-pressure-to-release-leopard-ii-tanks-to-ukraine-after-poland-and-finland-pledge/ar-AA166G46?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=96ea3d9c837a4e128e22c3bbd1e2ae8e

[Jimbuna]

UK considering supplying Ukraine with Challenger 2 tanks to fight Russian forces

As many as 10 of the vehicles - enough to equip a squadron - could be on the table, with hopes it could prompt other allies to do the same.

The UK is considering supplying Ukraine with British tanks for the first time to fight Russia's invading forces, Sky News understands.

Discussions have been taking place "for a few weeks" about delivering a number of the British Army's Challenger 2 main battle tank to the Ukrainian armed forces, a Western source with knowledge of the conversations said.

Such a move would mark a significant step-up in Western support to Ukraine and could help prompt other NATO allies, in particular Germany, to follow suit.

"It would encourage others to give tanks," a Ukrainian source said.

No final decision has yet been made by Rishi Sunak's government, but if the UK did sign off on such a delivery it would become the first nation to respond to pleas from Ukrainian leaders to equip their military with powerful Western tanks.

A US-led grouping of some 50 nations - including the UK - that is delivering military support to Ukraine is due to hold its next meeting on 20 January. Any announcements about new assistance, such as tanks, could be made to coincide with the Contact Group gathering.

One source suggested Britain might offer around 10 Challenger 2 tanks, enough to equip a squadron.

The source said this in itself would not be a "game changer" but it would still be hugely significant because the move would breach a barrier that has so far prevented allies from offering up Western tanks to Ukraine for fear of being seen as overly escalatory by Russia.

That could in turn prompt other allies to do the same, sources said.

"It will be a good precedent to demonstrate [to] others - to Germany first of all, with their Leopards… and Abrams from the United States," the Ukrainian source said.

Ukraine has long requested the mass-produced, German-made Leopard II tanks, used by several European allies, including Germany, Poland, Finland, the Netherlands and Spain.

Warsaw and Helsinki have already signalled a willingness to supply their Leopard tanks to Kyiv but this requires approval from Berlin because Germany holds the export licence.

Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, has adopted a more cautious approach to equipping Ukraine with weapons than other countries such as the UK and the United States.

But he has slowly been ramping up his country's assistance.

Last week, Berlin and Washington said in a joint statement that they would supply Ukraine with armoured combat vehicles in an important policy shift. For Germany, this means the Mardar infantry fighting vehicle. For the US, it comprises the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

Over the weekend, the economy minister said that Berlin cannot rule out the delivery of Leopard tanks, which are heavier fighting vehicles than the Mardar. But a German government spokesperson on Monday said it has no plans to send tanks.

The UK's Ministry of Defence would neither confirm nor deny that the British government was considering supplying Ukraine with tanks.

A spokesperson said: "The government has committed to match or exceed last year's funding for military aid to Ukraine in 2023, and we will continue to build on recent donations with training and further gifting of equipment.

"We have provided over 200 armoured vehicles to Ukraine to date - including Stormer vehicles armed with Starstreak missiles.

"We have also donated tens of thousands of items including helmets and body armour, mobility and logistics vehicles, anti-tank weapons, air defence missiles and systems, winter and medical equipment."

Last year, the UK sent 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Poland as part of a deal to help Ukraine by freeing up capacity for Warsaw to supply its Soviet-era T-72 tanks to Kyiv.

In service since 1994, the Challenger 2 tank weighs 62.5 tonnes and is armed with a 120mm rifled gun and a 7.62mm chain gun.

A squadron of Challenger tanks is in Estonia as part of a NATO mission in eastern Europe to deter Russian aggression. The Challenger 2 has previously been deployed in Bosnia and during the 2003 Iraq war.

Colonel Hamish de Bretton Gordon, a former commander of 1st Royal Tank Regiment, said the introduction of Western tanks could "tip the balance" on the battlefield in Ukraine's favour.

"Strategically this sends a very firm message to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin that nothing is off the table," he said.

"Challenger 2 and Leopard II are modern tanks. They are much better protected, more reliable, quicker," he added.

By contrast, Ukraine's military is operating Soviet-era tanks like the T-72, including some that have already been supplied by partners that also use them.

Russia's military has also largely been relying on tanks manufactured during the Cold War.

The UK's Challenger tanks - while modern by comparison - were last updated in the 1990s and are themselves in the process of being upgraded again. Ukrainian soldiers would need to be trained up on how to operate and maintain them.

Russia said on Monday that new deliveries of Western weapons to Kyiv would "deepen the suffering of the Ukrainian people" and would not change the course of the conflict.
https://news.sky.com/story/uk-considering-supplying-ukraine-with-challenger-2-tanks-to-fight-russian-forces-12783107

[Jimbuna]

Poland can transfer only few Leopard tanks to Ukraine, up to ten, - Duda’s adviser

At this time, Poland can transfer to Ukraine a symbolic number of Leopard tanks - up to ten units.

This was announced by Jakub Kumoh, adviser to the President of Poland on foreign policy, Censor.NET reports with reference to LIGA.net.

According to him, the issue of the transfer of Leopard to Ukraine is under consideration - he noted that it is about symbolic support in several pieces - up to a dozen.

He noted that Polish President Andrzej Duda will hold a meeting of the National Security Bureau where this issue will be discussed.

"We need to determine what exactly our allies want to do. How many Leopards will Poland supply? Absolutely not all of them. It is absurd to talk about the fact that Poland will give several hundred units. Poland will not do anything on its own," Kumoh said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392105

Stoltenberg does not rule out transfer of Abrams or Leopard heavy tanks to Ukraine

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg does not rule out the possibility of supplies of heavy tanks to Ukraine by the member states of the Alliance.

The Secretary-General stated this in an interview with the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper, Censor.NET informs with reference to RBC-Ukraine.

Responding to a journalist's question whether Ukraine can get American Abrams or German Leopard tanks, Stoltenberg said: "I don't rule it out. But I won't promise anything either."

Also, according to the NATO Secretary General, the war in Ukraine should end at the negotiating table, but it will take a lot of time before that. And during the period of hostilities, the West should support Ukraine with weapons.

At the same time, Stoltenberg believes that the allies should continue to increase military aid to Kyiv.

"I see the need to increase ambition. We must do more," he said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392139

Germany does not plan to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine yet, government spokesman said

The spokesman of the German government stated that Berlin currently does not plan to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

As Censor.NET informs, this is reported by "Euro Integration" with reference to Sky News.

The statement came after German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said that Berlin could not rule out the delivery of Leopard tanks.

Last week, Germany said it was sending Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Kyiv in response to calls for more heavy weapons to fight back against Russian forces.

As reported, the deputy speakers of the Bundestag, Katrin Goering-Eckardt and Wolfgang Kubicki, advocate the supply of Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

Earlier, Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, Oleksiy Makeev, said that the German government's decision to supply Marder infantry fighting vehicles could lay the groundwork for the provision of Leopard 2 tanks. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392163

[Skybird]

Woohaaa!
Der Tagesspiegel:
------------------------

According to reports of the TV channel "Sky News" and the "Spiegel", Great Britain is considering the delivery of battle tanks to Ukraine. Up to ten Challenger 2 vehicles could be delivered to the country to defend against Russian attacks, the sources said on Monday, citing their own information. According to the report, discussions on the matter have been underway for weeks.
Such a move would also encourage other states to supply battle tanks, Sky News quoted a "Ukrainian source." The British Ministry of Defense did not initially comment on the report. The U.K. has so far supplied more than 200 armored vehicles to Ukraine, including Stormer air defense systems, it said.

----------------------


Only disadvanatge: another specialised logistics supply chain needs to be opened and maintained by the Ukrainians. Then SEVERAL ONES (!!) for the Leopard-2s, if they come from various countries, they are not all the same, even within the same version number. And one for possible Abrams tanks and their hungry turbines.

Better, though unrealistic, it would be to have just one or two versions of the Leopard-2.

[Jimbuna]

EU is ready to take leading role in restoration of Ukraine, - European Commission

The official representative of the European Commission, Ana Pisonero, declared the readiness of the European Union to play a leading role in the restoration of Ukraine’s infrastructure.

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to Interfax-Ukraine.

"The European Union is fully ready to play a leading role in calling for the restoration of Ukraine," Pisonero said at a briefing in Brussels. She reminded that the G7 countries agreed to coordinate activities on this issue.

"The Commission proposed to take over the secretariat of this structure. The long-term needs of recovery will be enormous. It will be necessary to coordinate the efforts of all participants: the European Union, member states, European financial institutions, and international organizations. And the private sector will also be invited," the EC representative said.

"We need to start planning our work today. This is important," Pisonero continued, noting that the EU's attention was currently focused on helping Ukraine to meet the country's basic needs and the most urgent financial needs.

She explained that macro-financial support was provided for this, but "it is clear that within the framework of long-term recovery, it is time to get to work." The press secretary emphasized a number of conferences held for this purpose, in particular, the one in Berlin, which took place recently. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392233

Ukraine-EU summit will take place in Kyiv, said Danielsson, ambassador of Sweden

The permanent representative of Sweden, which currently chairs the EU Council, to the European Union, Lars Danielsson, said that the Ukraine-EU summit will take place on February 3 in Kyiv.

He said this during a meeting with journalists in Brussels on Monday, Censor.NET reports with reference to "Euro Integration".

Danielsson said that "Ukraine and military aggression against Ukraine will dominate everything that Sweden will do during its presidency" in the EU. Stockholm intends to contribute to Kyiv's "strong desire" to move closer to EU membership.

According to him, the European Union has already done a lot to support Ukraine, "however, more must be done so that the process of support - humanitarian, financial, military - does not stop."

The diplomat also said that Sweden will look for ways to prosecute those who committed war crimes in Ukraine and to use frozen Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine's infrastructure and economy.

Earlier, the press secretary of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel Barend Leits, reported that the Ukraine-EU summit should be held in Brussels, and Volodymyr Zelensky received an invitation to it.

But later it became known that the European Union has not yet confirmed that the summit will take place in Kyiv, not Brussels.

The place of the summit is still not indicated on the website of the European Council.

According to the Association Agreement, the Ukraine-EU summit is an annual event. The last, the 23rd summit, took place in October 2021 in Kyiv.

It was planned that the 2022 summit would take place in December, and it was supposed to be in Brussels. On the Ukrainian side, there were preliminary announcements regarding its holding. However, in the end, it was decided to postpone the summit to early 2023.

According to the media, among the reasons for the postponement was the lack of real results of such a meeting; in particular, as is known, the EU side had problems until the last moment even with the approval of the package of macro-financial assistance promised within the framework of the G7 in the amount of 18 billion euros. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392216

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCFylA747JY

[Dargo]

Defenders in a difficult situation. Der Tagesspiegel reports:
----------------------------
Fighting in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine has left defenders in the Soledar area in a difficult situation, according to Kiev. "At the moment it is difficult in Soledar," Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar wrote on her Telegram channel on Sunday. Soledar, like Bachmut, which has been contested for months, is part of Ukraine's defensive wall in front of the agglomeration between Slowyansk and Kramatorsk.

Taking the agglomeration would be almost tantamount to conquering the Donbass - one of Russia's publicly stated goals at the start of its war of aggression. In front of Soledar, the Russians would have concentrated large forces. The attacks involve not only regular units of the Russian army, but also mercenary troops, Maljar wrote.

In fact, in the area around Bachmut and Soledar - both towns are only 14 kilometers apart - the mercenaries of the "Wagner" force, considered well-equipped, are attacking. Russian military blogs had recently reported a breakthrough of the defense lines in Soledar, this has not yet been officially confirmed by Moscow. According to information from Kiev, Ukrainian troops continue to hold the city under control.

---------------------------------------
If Russian forces and Wagner troops seize Soledar, Prigozhin and the Russian military will lose strategically due to committing their best forces to an attrition battle. Russian forces continued counterattacks to regain lost positions along the Svatove-Kreminna line on January 8. Luhansk Oblast Head Serhiy Haidai stated that Russian forces transferred several battalions from the Bakhmut area to the Kreminna area.

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikFKclarb1U

[Dargo]

Ukraine reports that Russia has carried out heavy attacks on the city of Soledar, in the east of the country. "After a failed attempt to take Soledar in the Donetsk region, the enemy regrouped, changed tactics and launched a new fierce attack," writes Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Maljar. "The enemy is literally advancing over the corpses of its own soldiers, massively using artillery, multiple rocket launchers and mortars."

[Jimbuna]

Britain plans to reach or exceed last year’s level of military assistance to Ukraine in 2023

Britain has declared its unwavering military support for Ukraine in 2023.

According to Censor.NЕТ, this was stated by Ministry of Defense of Britain.

"Our commitment to Ukraine remains unwavering, and in 2023 we will reach or exceed last year's military support," the ministry said in a tweet.

The UK Ministry of Defense also noted that to date they have provided Ukraine with more than 200 armored vehicles, including Stormer, armed with Starstreak, Husky, Wolfhound, Spartan, Mastiff and M113 missiles.

Earlier, Sky News, citing sources, reported that the British authorities are considering sending Ukraine Challenger 2 - the main battle tanks of the British Army. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392254

Czech Republic is preparing to transfer new tanks to Ukraine

The Czech government is preparing to transfer a new batch of tanks to Ukraine. One of them was signed by Prime Minister Petr Fiala.

This is stated by Censor.NЕТ with reference to the message of Fiala in Twіtter.

The Czech Prime Minister noted that T-72 tanks would be sent to Ukraine.

"On the T-72 tank, which will go to Ukraine, I wrote a short message to the brave Ukrainian defenders. I believe that Ukrainians will win the fight against the Russian aggressor," he wrote.

Fiala also added that Ukraine will be provided with a TREVA 30 evacuation vehicle.

"During my visit to the Excalibur arsenal, I also had the opportunity to bless the new TREVA 30 evacuation vehicle, which may help Ukraine in the future," he wrote. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392252

Arms supply to Russia makes Iran complicit in war crimes in Ukraine - Sullivan

The United States will consider Iran involved in war crimes committed by the Russian army in Ukraine for supplying Russia with weapons.

This was stated by National Security Advisor to the President of the United States Jake Sullivan, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to the Voice of America.

"Their weapons are being used to kill civilians in Ukraine and to try to plunge cities into cold and darkness, which, in our view, puts Iran in a place where it could potentially be an accomplice in large-scale war crimes," Sullivan said during US President Joe Biden's visit to Mexico.

To recall, the United States imposed sanctions against companies and individuals involved in the Iranian drone program. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392255

[Jimbuna]

Britain says Russian forces may control most of eastern Ukraine's Soledar

(Reuters) - Russian and Wagner forces are probably in control of most of the small town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine after tactical advances in the last four days, the British defence ministry said in a regular intelligence update on Tuesday.

Officials in Kyiv have said Moscow stepped up a powerful assault on Soledar in the industrial Donbas region, forcing Ukrainian troops to repel waves of attacks led by the Wagner contract militia around the salt mining town and nearby fronts.

Soledar is a few miles from Bakhmut, where troops of both sides have suffered heavy losses in some of the most intense trench warfare since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly 11 months ago.

"Russia’s Soledar axis is highly likely an effort to envelop Bakhmut from the north, and to disrupt Ukrainian lines of communication," Britain added in its intelligence update.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/britain-says-russian-forces-may-control-most-of-eastern-ukraine-s-soledar/ar-AA169QlU?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=02ff18cc0cc0428b80a1c225f18a34a6

[Jimbuna]

Russia's leading rocket specialist becomes the fourth key defence official to die in three weeks

Russia's leading rocket specialist has died, the fourth key defence official to perish in less than three weeks.

Pavel Kamnev, 85, was the scientific director of the Almaz-Antey Aerospace Defence Concern and the expert who developed deadly Kalibr missiles deployed by Vladimir Putin in Ukraine.

He was responsible for more than 20 weapons inventions and co-author of over 300 scientific and technical reports.

'He took an active part in the development of many missile systems,' said an Almaz-Antey spokesman.

He worked until his death as scientific director of arms giant Almaz-Antey and chairman of Novator experimental design bureau where Kalibr missiles were created.

A video shows him being made a Hero of Labour by Vladimir Putin in 2016.

He lauded Putin for the 'highest appreciation' of his missile-making work 'so that our country can live in peace and security'.

He spoke before his Kalibr missiles were used to decimate infrastructure and civilian targets in Ukraine.

Last week the inventor of 'world's best' Angara rockets Vladimir Nesterov died aged 74.

He was the brains behind Putin's dreams of the Russian exploration of the moon and outer space.

He was chief designer for the light and heavy versions of the Angara but for the later years of his life was dogged by a criminal case launched by Putin's authorities into alleged fraud and embezzlement of more than £57 million.

He hailed the Angara as the 'world's best' rocket system, and he was seen internationally as a leader in his field.

Nesterov's loss followed the 'sudden death' of Alexander Buzakov, 65, director general of Admiralty Shipyards, in charge of building new submarines armed with deadly Kalibr missiles.

And on December 25 General Alexei Maslov, 69, former commander of Russian ground forces with close ties to Ukraine, died 'suddenly' the day after Vladimir Putin abruptly cancelled a trip to the tank enterprise where he worked as an international sales ambassador.

Buzakov had been healthy the day before he died, and 'nothing had been heard about Maslov's health problems' before he died, said Telegram channel Redacted number 6.

At NATO, Maslov worked alongside Dmitry Rogozin, an official close to Putin who was abruptly removed in the summer as head of the Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos.

Putin had been due to fly to the Uralvagonzavod plant in Nizhny Tagil - which has been criticised by the Kremlin for failing to produce sufficient new tanks for the war in Ukraine.

However, the Russian president aborted the December 24 trip 'at the last minute' with no explanation, according to local reports.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/russia-s-leading-rocket-specialist-becomes-the-fourth-key-defence-official-to-die-in-three-weeks/ar-AA16arAf?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=b8e3d4301d7f44b79ed2f36ba47d8406

[Skybird]

If Russian forces and Wagner troops seize Soledar, Prigozhin and the Russian military will lose strategically due to committing their best forces to an attrition battle. Russian forces continued counterattacks to regain lost positions along the Svatove-Kreminna line on January 8. Luhansk Oblast Head Serhiy Haidai stated that Russian forces transferred several battalions from the Bakhmut area to the Kreminna area.
They advance, slowly, and at high costs, but the Ukreainians bleed, too, thats what atrition war is about, and the Russians, for mad reaosns or not so ma dreaosns, are willing to pay the price.
Most of Soleda seems to have fallen to the Russians now. That incoldues logn tunnels of salt and gypsium mines that both sides fear could be used for infiltration.
Jim beat me to it:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64219979

[Jimbuna]

It is necessary to increase production of weapons to protect NATO countries and help Ukraine, - Stoltenberg

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that the arms stocks of the alliance countries and the EU have really run out, so it is necessary to increase production in order to ensure the protection of its territory in the future, as well as to have opportunities to help Ukraine.

He stated this at a press conference today, Censor.NET informs with reference to "Interfax-Ukraine".

"Allies from NATO and EU countries have exhausted their reserves because they want to provide support to Ukraine. And this was the right decision because this is also a matter of our security," Stoltenberg said.

He noted that NATO and EU countries managed to provide an "unprecedented volume" of aid to Ukraine for several months.

"But, of course, when stocks are depleted, there is only one long-term solution - to produce more. And that's why NATO defense ministers, during a meeting last fall, decided to increase our stockpiles of weapons and equipment," the NATO Secretary General added.

According to him, it is necessary to ensure that "stocks are sufficient both to protect our own territory and to provide assistance to Ukraine." Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392391

Meeting in format of "Ramstein" will take place next week, we will discuss the provision of weapons for Ukraine, - Stoltenberg

The meeting of the contact group on the defense of Ukraine will take place next week.

This was reported by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Censor.NET reports with reference to Interfax-Ukraine.

"We will meet next week in Ramstein, in the US-led contact group that provides support to Ukraine. There we will meet with the Ukrainian Minister of Defense to discuss what specific type of weapons are needed and how the Allies can provide these weapons," said the Secretary General of the Alliance.

Also remind, that earlier the Ministry of Defense of Germany informed that the next meeting of the "Ramstein" format will take place on January 20. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392381

Soledar is actually destroyed, enemy is trying to advance despite colossal losses - Cherevaty

During the day, Soledar and its surroundings were hit by 86 artillery strikes, and the city was practically destroyed.

This was reported by the spokesman of the Eastern Group of the AFU, Serhii Cherevaty, Censor.NET reports with reference to Interfax-Ukraine.

"Only during this day, 86 shellings by various artillery systems were carried out on Soledar and its surroundings.
The President again yesterday emphasized that the city was actually destroyed, and their (the occupiers. - Ed.) logic of the war was not understood, because to capture the ruins, as it happened before in Lysychansk and Severodonetsk, placing countless of their troops, is in the military art, and especially modern, 21st-century art, is very strange," he said.

Cherevaty noted that the Russians' main method of storming the city now is the use of attack systems, MLRS, barrel artillery, and, at their expense, the advancement of small groups of infantry.

In the area of Bakhmut-Soledar, as emphasized by the AFU, the enemy has concentrated its best specialists, in particular, special forces of the "Wagner" PMC with the support of the regular Russian army.

"It is Soledar's fighters who are holding the city, now they are gaining time and opportunities for the entire defense. Therefore, the enemy suffers huge losses there, but despite this, they still try to move forward, because for them even a small tactical advance is considered a great achievement," he said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392373

[Skybird]

So far in this war, Ukrainian claims and numbers given on battle events have shown to be closer to reality than Russian claims which almost every time border and overstep the line to surrealism and the bizarre. But intensive artillery use, as the Russian now use on many fronts, cannot be endured by Ukrainian forces without suffering signficant casulties themselves, which is imo one of the two main reasons why the Russians are pressing these kind of mass-suicidal attacks (the other is that every information that moves upwards in the hierarchy gets beautified and doctored more with every step until it reaches the top decision makers who then base necessarily on wrong information that is more fiction than fact). They advance over the corpses of their flalen, becasue their troops are such that they do not revolt but let this beign done to them. A mentlaity problem. In Russia the state educates citizens to be servile servants from the cradle to the grave. The Russian military is known to practice this mindset in extremis. Human drones prodcued by a totalitarian society in which the state is everything and the individual is nothing.



I take it as granted that the Ukrainian losses are much higher and more significant than the Ukrainian speaks tell the world. Thats why the Russians keep pressing, even at high own cost.



The demogroahic cost to Russian societ yin comind deacdes will be enormnous, all thes enow dea dmen and those that still will get killed, will not found families and raise chidlren and will not work in employment and will not produces incomes for the - limited - social supply system. Those who sruvive, will to large degrees be traumtiozed, will by posychic wrecks, and bring a lot of vilance and drug abuse back into families, whioch affects social life and fmailies and kids oin these social contexts.


Russia is an a diabolic spiral down to the bottom. I now tend to think of chances being 50:50, growing, that it will completely break apart in coming years. And with its shadow vanishing, i wonder what will happen in the periphery states of former sovjet vasalls and provinces. Its not as if these all are perfect democracies are friends amongst each other.



Its not relevant with what formal result the Ukraine war ends: Putin is the gravedigger of the concept of a Sovjet Russia that he wanted to rebuild. Irony of history.

[Skybird]

Russian artillery's party time is over - for the time being, at least.



https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/10/politics/russian-artillery-fire-down-75-percent-ukraine/index.html

[Skybird]

Ukrainian secret service repeats its warnings that a new Russian mobilization for 500 thousand men is imminent.


Bullets and missiles versus mass of bodies - who runs out of his means of war first?

[Jimbuna]

Britain has not made final decision on transfer of Challenger 2 tanks, - Sunak’s press secretary

Great Britain has not yet made a final decision on whether to send tanks to Ukraine. However, they noted that discussions with Ukraine are ongoing.

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to channel 24.

Britain will continue to coordinate its support with allies after Germany, France, and the United States said they would provide armored vehicles to Ukraine, spokesman Rishi Sunaka said.

"At this stage, we have not made any final decisions on the supply of tanks... Until decisions on such things are made, we do not comment on speculation about what additional equipment can or cannot be sent," the press service representative said.

Instead, he added that Britain will continue to discuss with Ukrainian colleagues the "best form" that can be provided. At the same time, adding that decisions are made together with allies. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392450

Western allies have changed their approach to military aid to Ukraine, - CNN

As two high-ranking US officials told CNN, there have recently been significant changes in the type of weapons that the US and its allies have begun to provide to Ukraine to meet Kyiv’s demands for firepower.

As Censor.NET informs about this with reference to RBC-Ukraine.

The latest US aid announcement included more offensive weapons such as Bradley fighting vehicles and advanced long-range missile systems. Experts agree that Bradley provides Kyiv with significant new offensive potential.

"I think what the Ukrainians will do is take these 50 Bradleys and put most of them in one battalion or one armored brigade ... and create an iron fist that will be used to penetrate Russian line defenses," said US Army Lt. Gen. retired Ben Hodges.

One US official also noted that Ukraine is complying with restrictions on the use of Western-provided weapons, easing reservations about sending more powerful systems.

We will remind you that the training of the Ukrainian military in the use of the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle will begin at the end of this month. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392449

[Jimbuna]

German Foreign Minister Berbock arrived in Kharkiv. PHOTOS

On Tuesday, January 10, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock arrived in Kharkiv on an unannounced visit.

According to Censor.NET with reference to n-tv, Berbok is accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Oleksiy Makeev.

The head of the Foreign Ministry stressed that the people of Ukraine should know that they can rely on the solidarity and support of Germany.

She became the first from the German government to visit eastern Ukraine.

The visit was kept secret for security reasons.

According to dpa, cited by Die Zeit, Berbok saw in particular the Saltivka district, which was seriously damaged by Russian shelling.

The press service of the German Foreign Ministry reports that the minister called Kharkiv "a symbol of the madness of Russia's aggressive war and the endless suffering that people face every day," as well as "a symbol of the incredible resilience and courage of Ukrainians."

Dmytro Kuleba on Twitter expressed his belief in continued support from the side of Germany and published photos of Berbok's visit. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392462

Turkey supports Ukrainian "peace formula", - Foreign Minister Cavusoglu

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlt avuolu expressed support for the "peace formula" proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the G20 summit in November 2022.

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to the Euro Integration.

The head of the Turkish Foreign Ministry emphasized that Ankara is making efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has from the beginning sought to achieve both a ceasefire and lasting peace.

"Of course, our goal is lasting peace and a mutually acceptable solution. We believe that this war will end at the negotiating table. The sooner it happens, the better," he said.

"But there are new conditions and realities. Russia now expresses readiness for negotiations, and Zelensky proposed a ten-point peace plan. As Turkey, we support this plan and continue our work," Çavuşoğlu added. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392443

NASAMS, IRIS-T, Crotale and Gepard anti-aircraft self-propelled guns: airspace of Kyiv is protected with help of number of air defense systems, - KCMA

The sky over Kyiv is protected by a number of anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMS): NASAMS, IRIS-T, Crotale, Gepard anti-aircraft self-propelled guns and other systems. With their help, the Armed Forces effectively shoot down enemy missiles and drones.

As Censor.NET informs, Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, told about this in an interview with TSN.

"The forces and means of defense of the city of Kyiv are constantly improving their potential. In addition to the existing air defense systems, which have long been in service with the Ukrainian army, anti-aircraft missile complexes NASAMS, IRIS-T, Crotale, anti-aircraft self-propelled guns Gepard, and other systems have been added that effectively oppose enemy missiles and drones," Popko said.

"These weapons are modern air defense systems, which Ukraine continues to receive from partners, and Ukrainian defenders quickly master them and use them effectively. The best proof of this is the last attack on the capital of Shahedamiwhen air defense destroyed 32 out of 32 enemy UAVs," he noted.

The official also called on the Ukrainians to install the "ePPO" countermeasures to help the Ukrainian military.

"If you saw an air target, you need to open "ePPO" on your phone. Then - select the type of air target, point your smartphone in the direction of the target's movement and press the big red button. After a few seconds, air defense specialists will see your mark on the map. The application is quite effective More than one missile was shot down precisely thanks to caring citizens," he noted.

According to him, Kyiv is conducting negotiations on the supply of various weapons to combat Russian missiles and UAVs. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392456

[August]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9w17Ne1S0M

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V92iLN54lNc

[Gorpet]

What the hell, I want someone to tell me. What will Ukraine be able to give back. When it's over. Nato can not rebuild the countries they have destroyed already. Nato and it's ruling families must be stopped.They want this Planet for themselves. And the Rich and their kids who go to colleges they think they are smarter than you. Oh my god i've never had one working and sweating next to me.Then again it's my lot in life. Acceptance is the first step into the open doorway of 1984. In 2030 there will be millions of Winston Smith's. And thousands of College educated idoligest. But only the ones who survive the Culling will be left and a new world order will walk with a new symbol on their clothes.

[Gorpet]

Russian artillery's party time is over - for the time being, at least.



https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/10/politics/russian-artillery-fire-down-75-percent-ukraine/index.html

You must be freezing.Immigrants are living better than Germans. Welcome to NATO.You know here in AMERICA it's hard. Our government and all those who make the big decisions are still eating Lobster and the lights are on, driving gas guzzling cars, **** we had Zylinski here Joe and the Demorats Hug and kissed and told him don't worry about the Germans.They will give you what you need. The Germans, In 30 more years will not even be German. What was that saying in Braveheart if you can't kill them.Breed their blood out. And it would seem the more Africans you accept the less dangerous you will be.

[Jimbuna]

Conflicting claims over embattled town of Soledar

By James Waterhouse in Kyiv & George Bowden in London
BBC News

Russia's mercenary Wagner Group has claimed control over the town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine - but Kyiv says its soldiers are holding out.

Russia's media carried a statement purported to be by the Wagner head, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, who said Ukrainians were now encircled in the city centre.

Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar earlier said that "heavy fighting is continuing".

The claims by both sides have not been independently verified.

In the reported statement late on Tuesday, Mr Prigozhin said: "Wagner units took control of the entire territory of Soledar. A cauldron has been formed in the centre of the city in which urban fighting is going on."

The statement stressed that only Wagner fighters - who are not part of the Russian armed forces - were taking part "in the storming" of Soledar.

Meanwhile, Ms Maliar said a few hours before that "the enemy does not pay attention to the large losses of its personnel and continues to actively storm".

"The approaches to our positions are simply strewn with the bodies of dead enemy fighters. Our fighters are defending bravely," she added.

The fall of Soledar - a small salt-mining town in the Donetsk region - could help Russian troops to encircle the nearby strategic city of Bakhmut.

The UK said earlier on Tuesday that Russian troops and the mercenary Wagner Group were "likely" to now be in control of the town.

On Monday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said there was "almost no life" left in Soledar and "no whole walls left".

"This is what madness looks like," he added.

And in a new address late on Tuesday, Mr Zelensky praised the resilience of Ukrainian forces.

The strategic importance of Soledar is debated, but its capture would be significant for two reasons.

First, it would allow Russian forces to inch closer to the regional city of Bakhmut. Russia could use access to Soledar's deep, city-like network of salt mine tunnels, dormant since April, to penetrate Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Secondly, invading forces would be able to give Ukraine a taste of its own medicine.

One thing that has helped Kyiv liberate territory has been its ability to target Russian supply lines.

Long-range missile strikes have often left thousands of invading troops unable to replenish personnel, ammunition, fuel, and rations, and stopped them freely moving military hardware.

The capturing of Soledar - which had a population of 10,000 before the war - would effectively cut Bakhmut off from a major supply line from nearby Sloviansk.

The UK said it believed Soledar was close to falling to Russia - but added that the Kremlin was "unlikely" to take Bakhmut immediately due to Ukraine's "stable defence lines".

A senior military official from the US Department of Defense said earlier on Monday there was a "good portion" of Soledar in Russian hands.

Fighting around Bakhmut has been going on for months, and the US official described the most recent exchanges as "savage".

Two British nationals have gone missing in the region and were last seen heading to Soledar.

Despite the long and intense battle, Oleh Zhdanov - a highly respected military analyst in Ukraine - believes that neither Soledar nor Bakhmut are especially important from an operational point of view.

Mr Zhdanov said in an interview on Monday with the Ukrainian newspaper Gazeta that Russia "is trying to prove to the whole world that its army is capable of winning".

The Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think-tank, has said that Mr Prigozhin, "will continue to use both confirmed and fabricated Wagner Group success in Soledar and Bakhmut to promote the Wagner Group as the only Russian force in Ukraine capable of securing tangible gains".

Russia has suffered several major setbacks in Ukraine since its invasion nearly a year ago, including losing control of the only regional capital in the south it had managed to capture.

Capturing Soledar would just as much be a propaganda victory for the Kremlin as a military one.

The gains for Russia are relatively small and costly, but the town would be a much-needed trophy to present to critics back home.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64219979

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBhdpQZVN24

[Jimbuna]

Heavy fighting for Soledar continues, enemy continues assault despite heavy losses - Ministry of Defense

Russian occupants continue their attempts to capture Soledar in Donetsk region despite the losses.

This was stated by Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar, іnforms Censor.NЕТ.

"Heavy battles for holding Soledar continue. The enemy does not pay attention to the heavy losses of its personnel and continues to assault actively. The approaches to our positions are covered with the bodies of fallen enemy soldiers," said Maliar.

She stressed that Ukrainian soldiers are bravely holding the defense. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392503

Ukraine will not be able to become EU member as long as Russian troops are in it, - Deputy President of European Commission Timmermans

One of the conditions for Ukraine’s accession to the EU is the cessation of the war and withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.

This was stated in an interview with DW by Deputy President of European Commission Frans Timmermans, reports Censor.NЕТ.

"No, it is impossible. But the whole idea is for Ukraine to emerge from this conflict victorious, sovereign, independent, free and able to make this choice itself. And I think that Ukraine is fighting for that to happen. The European Union should support Ukraine in achieving this goal," Timmermans answered the question whether Ukraine can become a member of the EU if there are Russian military in this country.

As noted by the European Commission, when Ukraine acquired the official status of a candidate for EU membership, it is necessary to fulfill the Copenhagen criteria - the conditions of accession to the EU, adopted in 1993. Among them are stable state institutions, a functioning market economy and the ability to effectively fulfill the obligations of EU membership.

In addition, the EU Commission has formulated seven conditions to be fulfilled by Kyiv on the way to EU membership. These are judicial reforms, fight against corruption, deoligarchization and policy towards national minorities.

Timmermans compared Ukraine's potential accession to the EU in terms of impact to the largest single enlargement of the European Union in 2004. "It will really change the character of the European Union," he said. "To prove that it's not just talk, we need to show live what we can do to bring Ukraine closer to the EU," Timmermans emphasized, noting Kyiv's first steps to fulfill the seven criteria.

"We should respond to this by saying to Ukraine: okay, now you have adopted this law, in the coming years we will help you to implement it and we will provide you with support to make its implementation successful. This process of preparation for accession will be extremely important, but we have to start it immediately," explained the Deputy President of the European Commission.

He emphasized the possible role of Ukraine in the implementation of the EU energy transition strategy. "We need to make Ukraine part of the future EU hydrogen economy. Ukraine is ideally suited to become a major producer of green hydrogen and biomethane for the goods that will be needed for Europe's clean economy in the future," Timmermans said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392496

[Jimbuna]

Putin deterred NATO from helping Ukraine with nuclear threats, he is bluffing - Bolton

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has succeeded in deterring NATO from providing military assistance to Ukraine by threatening nuclear weapons, but he is bluffing.

This was stated by former US National Security Advisor John Bolton, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to LIGА.

According to Bolton, Putin's political position is obviously weaker now than at the beginning of the big war, but his regime is not threatened now. He noted that if the US and NATO increase military and economic pressure on Russia, this point can be reached.

"It is very important not to show any tendency to any agreements with Russia - it is Russia that carries out unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, they kill civilians and destroy infrastructure. It is necessary to bring Russia to such a state that it itself asks for negotiations, and Ukraine can conduct them from a position of strength. The goal is the 1991 borders of Ukraine," Bolton said.

The politician said that Putin managed to restrain NATO in helping Ukraine because of the allies' fears of war across Europe and threats of nuclear weapons, but this is the dictator's bluff. He believes that Ukraine should also be given the opportunity to strike at military bases in Russia. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392500

West knows that Ukraine will not liberate occupied territories without significant supply of tanks - The Guardian

According to The Guardian, Western officials do not believe that Ukraine will be able to liberate the territories captured by Russia without large-scale supplies of tanks and other armored vehicles.

This is stated by Censor.NЕТ with reference to UNIAN.

According to The Guardian's sources, Russian and Ukrainian forces are currently roughly equal, which does not allow the Ukrainians to launch a major offensive.

"Ukrainians will not be able to liberate significant territory without changes in their balance of forces compared to last year. The balance of forces between Russians and Ukrainians is too precisely balanced," an unnamed British official told the newspaper.

According to the interlocutors, the most realistic option is to supply Ukraine with German "Leopards", which in the amount of about 2 thousand units are in service in 13 European countries.

"Something has to come out of this impasse, especially if they (Ukrainians) want to liberate the territory and go on the offensive. Main battle tanks and APCs are part of this mix," one of the interlocutors said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392508

Sweden will send Archer SPA to Ukraine, - Foreign Minister Billstrom

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said that his country will send Archer self-propelled artillery systems to Ukraine to repel Russian invaders.

According to Censor.NЕТ with reference to the channel Sky News, Billstrom said this while talking to the press.

According to him, Ukraine needs more Western-style offensive weapons, and Sweden is obliged to make its contribution.

He made it clear that the shipment of Archer to Ukraine has already been decided, noting that the only question is when the systems will be delivered.

The diplomat rejected the argument that this will lead to an escalation of the war, calling it the opposite step.

"We have been restraining ourselves in this regard for too long. We have not understood that if Ukraine does not receive the military equipment necessary to win on the battlefield, this war will drag on, which will only benefit Vladimir Putin," Billstrom said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392509

Canada will purchase NASAMS system for Ukraine from USA

Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand announced on Tuesday that Ottawa will purchase the NASAMS air defense system from the United States and transfer it to Ukraine.

As reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to "European truth", Anand announced this after a telephone conversation with the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov.

"This is Canada's first donation of an air defence system to Ukraine. Under the conditions of Russia's brutal air strikes on Ukraine, this air defense system will help protect Ukrainian settlements and critical infrastructure from attacks by drones, missiles and aircraft," the Canadian Minister of Defence emphasized.

She added that NASAMS systems are extremely effective, which will make Canada's assistance a very valuable contribution to Ukraine's defense capabilities.

"By providing comprehensive military assistance, Canada will continue to support the Ukrainian people in their fight against Russia's illegal and unjustified invasion," Anand said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392510

[Rockstar]

What the hell, I want someone to tell me. What will Ukraine be able to give back. When it's over. Nato can not rebuild the countries they have destroyed already. Nato and it's ruling families must be stopped.They want this Planet for themselves. And the Rich and their kids who go to colleges they think they are smarter than you. Oh my god i've never had one working and sweating next to me.Then again it's my lot in life. Acceptance is the first step into the open doorway of 1984. In 2030 there will be millions of Winston Smith's. And thousands of College educated idoligest. But only the ones who survive the Culling will be left and a new world order will walk with a new symbol on their clothes.

Ukraine has a lot to offer. They are a people tired of Soviet/Russian oppression & imperialism. They have access to the Black Sea, they have grain, they have 1.09 trillion cubic meters of UNTAPPED natural gas, uranium reserves are also the largest in Europe, coal, largest reserves of manganese ores in Europe and the second largest in the world. 3.7 billion tons of shale oil, 138 million tons of oil reserves, the largest reserves of titanium in Europe. 45.6 thousand tons of Uranium reserves, the largest in Europe.

Believe me, they can afford to rebuild and pay back their debts.

[Commander Wallace]

Ukraine has a lot to offer. They are a people tired of Soviet/Russian oppression & imperialism. They have access to the Black Sea, they have grain, they have 1.09 trillion cubic meters of UNTAPPED natural gas, uranium reserves are also the largest in Europe, coal, largest reserves of manganese ores in Europe and the second largest in the world. 3.7 billion tons of shale oil, 138 million tons of oil reserves, the largest reserves of titanium in Europe. 45.6 thousand tons of Uranium reserves, the largest in Europe.

Believe me, they can afford to rebuild and pay back their debts.


These facts alone explain why Russia doesn't want to lose the " jewel in their crown." There is no telling how far a maniacal Putrid will go to keep this jewel. This has nothing to do with protecting native Russians that are being " persecuted" at Putrid has said. It's about land and economic resources, for Russia. For the Ukraine, It's about the survival of their homeland.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/war-ukraine-could-decided-former-100000835.html

[Skybird]

Already one year ago I hinted at Russia's will to strengthen its globally dominant grain-exporter status by bringing the Ukrainian competition under its control, into its possession, that is.

Also, by size, population and now military expertise and combat experience and fighting will, also the enormous size of its agricultural sector, Ukraine would be a heavy-weight in the EU if it would be accepted into it, dramatically shifting the balance inside the block from Westenr nations like France and Germany to the eastern states like the Ukraine, and Poland. This also explains why Paris and Berlin are not in a hurry to come to Ukrain'S support with effective weapons not only to defend itself against russian attacks, but to bring a defeat onto Russia. It explains why Bubble-Olaf never mentions an "Ukrainian victory", and never used the words "Russian defeat" (reminder: he only talks of "Ukraine not loosing the war" and "Russia not winning it").



They cannot endlessly prevent an Ukrainian membership in the long run , but they will try to delay it for as long as they can.

[mapuc]

Ukraine has a lot to offer. They are a people tired of Soviet/Russian oppression & imperialism. They have access to the Black Sea, they have grain, they have 1.09 trillion cubic meters of UNTAPPED natural gas, uranium reserves are also the largest in Europe, coal, largest reserves of manganese ores in Europe and the second largest in the world. 3.7 billion tons of shale oil, 138 million tons of oil reserves, the largest reserves of titanium in Europe. 45.6 thousand tons of Uranium reserves, the largest in Europe.

Believe me, they can afford to rebuild and pay back their debts.

From an episode of World War 2 in colour

(Taken from my memory)

In the beginning of the Germany invasion of Soviet-Ukraine send some representative to negotiate with the German where they offer to join the Germans in hope they could gain independent that way...the German refuse this. They didn't see any difference between the Ukrainian and the Russian.
(Can have missed some words)

Markus

[Skybird]

For modern Germanies and Sovjet Unions/Russias, Ukraine has never existed as a self-determined, sovereign actor with its own identity and its own ethnically based right to exist. For Russia, this is still true today, due Ukraine is simply booty to be snatched up; for Germany, it is still an underlying attitude, expressed in how naturally one expects Ukraine to accept territorial losses in order to make "negotiations" possible, in spite of all the pressure. A majority of Germans, many polls say, do not want to send tanks to Ukraine, and demand that Ukraine start negotiations even at Russian terms (of accepting losses of territory as demanded by Russia).

"Don't trust the Germans." (tm)

The FDP in the coalition in Berlin demanded that training of Ukrainian crews on Leopards gets started immediately, just in case, so that no further 3 months must be lost once the decision to send Leopards (and may it be that of others) is being made. Bubble-Olaf's office immediately said "No".

[Rockstar]

Hat tip: david D.@secretsqrl123 former ADA 16/ 14 R/ intel guy 96B with a P

david D.’s analysis

release the leopards...
im all for it..
but in reality.. what leopards?
there are 100 leo 1s in storage in germany. they have been there for 30 years. they would take months to get battle ready to go and many of the spare parts are gone.. and again we are talking about 100 max!

leo 2s. here is the issues, after the cold war they really stopped making them. they build kits and modify them now. not new hulls. many have been stored outside unused and unloved for decades

no one is going to give a leo2 to ukr that is part of its national defense plan (ger, pol, turk, greek, dutch, can, etc..). they are not going to strip the tanks from there own units..

so who is left that has leo2s in storage and COULD donate them
swiss have said no
aust has said no
so the only ones in storage are in
finland.. here is the issue. the Israelis modified them... so Israel COULD block the transfer or demand the sights and other things be removed

the simple fact is that after the cold war europe did a GREAT job of going for the peace dividend by cutting the European military. im not bashing, its a fact.

too many small countries building there own tanks, and spreading out surviving tanks to many countries does not leave a real reserve for something like this.

i hope that the EU/NATO "finds" more tanks.. but as far as the leopard they are looking at MAYBE 250 tanks of all kinds and makes for donation IF everyone is on board. and they have 1-2 years to activate them. some are in BAD condition

[Skybird]

Fact is the German industry already in March or April 2022 had told the German govenrment they - not active Bundeswehr reserves! - could have dozens of Leopard-2s ready in late summer or so, and the Marders even earlier. The government ignored them, for weeks and weeks did not even comment on it, and in the second half of the year on several occasions actively said No. The industry neverthless had started already last spring then to refurbish the Leopard-2 in their backyard and at their own cost, to have them ready once the permission would come. They asked again and again to be given permission to deliver these older Leopards-2, refurbished, I assume they are 2A4s in the main, maybe some 2A5s, but I dont know for sure. Most are 2A4, I strongly assume.

Says the industry. Not just some observer, commentator or reporter. These tanks have been phased out, they are not part of the tank pool of the BW anymore. According to the industry, first Leopards-2 could have been delivered already in late spring, early summer - if there would have been the political will.

Spain wanted to send some of its Leopards, which are more modern ones. Germany said No. I think it was Poland who wanted to do so, in limited numbers, due to their T-72 deliveries, and one or two other nations as well, was it Canada? Canada's Leopard-1s, I think. The Germans always prohibited it. But the same Germans complained about the Swiss and demanded Switzerland to change its laws when the Swiss said they do not deliver ammunition for the Gepards.

The Gepards were not delivered because it was such a brilliant idea, though it proved to be a valuable system to bring down drones. The Germans sent the Gepards so that they must not talk about Leopards anymore. Its the same with the Marders.

[Skybird]

And another thing is Russian-made ammunitions for Russian made weapons the Ukraine runs. The Ukraine runs low on these ammos, does not get enough of these anymore from the west, and obviousyl Russia will not provide them any new ammo. So they must switch to Western weapons for which such amunition is being produced and can be made available. While they are in the midst of fighting a full-scale war, and needing to micromanage the supply-chains for a plethora of different Western weapons and verhicles already, it needs to additionally manage a transition to requipping its full army over the coming months and years. Aber holla die Waldfee! Thats what I call a logistics nightmare!



And Bubble-Olaf has nothing better to do than to imply that first the US - biggest total net provider of arms anyway already - must deliver Abrams tanks with their huge thirst for gas and their totally different turbine engines and their complex maintenance needs (Abrams is said to be more complicated to maintain than Leopards and their Diesels) - before Germany would send a handful of Leopard-2s, or would allow others to do it.

[Skybird]

Bravo, Poland! :Kaleun_Applaud:



Poland announces it will send Leopard tanks to Ukraine

From CNN’s Antonia Mortensen and Yulia Kesaieva
Poland will send Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine, Polish President Andrzej Duda said during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Lviv.
“A company of Leopard tanks for Ukraine will be handed over/given as part of building an international coalition,” Duda said in a statement on his official Twitter account. “This decision has already been taken in Poland.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the decision.
“Today I can say a very important word for our defense, for our state, for our army, for the common defense of Ukraine and the whole Europe — the word ‘tanks,’” Zelensky said during a news conference in Lviv alongside his Polish and Lithuanian counterparts.
See Duda's tweet: Today in Lviv, together with Presidents @ZelenskyyUa (https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) and @GitanasNauseda (https://twitter.com/GitanasNauseda?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw), we are talking in the Lublin Triangle format about military support for Ukraine against Russian aggression and about Ukraine's integration with the EU and NATO. ���������������� pic.twitter.com/iYSWqEdYWL (https://t.co/iYSWqEdYWL)
— Andrzej Duda (@AndrzejDuda) January 11, 2023 (https://twitter.com/AndrzejDuda/status/1613180166347399171?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

[Dargo]

Ukraine has a lot to offer. They are a people tired of Soviet/Russian oppression & imperialism. They have access to the Black Sea, they have grain, they have 1.09 trillion cubic meters of UNTAPPED natural gas, uranium reserves are also the largest in Europe, coal, largest reserves of manganese ores in Europe and the second largest in the world. 3.7 billion tons of shale oil, 138 million tons of oil reserves, the largest reserves of titanium in Europe. 45.6 thousand tons of Uranium reserves, the largest in Europe.

Believe me, they can afford to rebuild and pay back their debts.Correct, and they have vast areas of unused land where they can produce energy by solar they can deliver to Europe so that it can transform it (climate change).

[Dargo]

For now, Ukrainian forces appear to be holding some positions in Soledar, with soldiers saying the middle of the town is still heavily contested.

The Ukrainian tactic could be to invite wave after wave of infantry attacks, knowing they can inflict heavy casualties on the enemy, a tactic used with success in Vuhledar late last year. Ukraine’s command would then choose a moment to withdraw to Bakhmut.

Ukraine’s 46th Brigade alluded to this tactic in an online post on Tuesday, saying, “The situation is very difficult, but manageable: we only abandon what we consider inexpedient to keep.” Trying to hold Soledar – like trying to hold Lysychansk, the last holdout in the Luhansk region, last summer – becomes inexpedient when casualties rise and resupply becomes near impossible.

Girkin observed: “Even the fall of the whole Bakhmut-Soledar-Siversk fortified line will not lead to the collapse of the AFU [Ukrainian] front. In the rear they have the main fortification in the Donbas – the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk fortification. And it still needs to be reached.”

Ukraine has defense in depth throughout the parts of Donetsk it still holds – and has forced the Russians to expend huge amounts of munitions to make marginal progress. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/11/europe/soledar-ukraine-russia-explainer-intl/index.html

[Dargo]

Bravo, Poland! :Kaleun_Applaud:



Poland announces it will send Leopard tanks to Ukraine

From CNN’s Antonia Mortensen and Yulia Kesaieva
Poland will send Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine, Polish President Andrzej Duda said during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Lviv.
“A company of Leopard tanks for Ukraine will be handed over/given as part of building an international coalition,” Duda said in a statement on his official Twitter account. “This decision has already been taken in Poland.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the decision.
“Today I can say a very important word for our defense, for our state, for our army, for the common defense of Ukraine and the whole Europe — the word ‘tanks,’” Zelensky said during a news conference in Lviv alongside his Polish and Lithuanian counterparts.
See Duda's tweet: Today in Lviv, together with Presidents @ZelenskyyUa (https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) and @GitanasNauseda (https://twitter.com/GitanasNauseda?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw), we are talking in the Lublin Triangle format about military support for Ukraine against Russian aggression and about Ukraine's integration with the EU and NATO. ���������������� pic.twitter.com/iYSWqEdYWL (https://t.co/iYSWqEdYWL)
— Andrzej Duda (@AndrzejDuda) January 11, 2023 (https://twitter.com/AndrzejDuda/status/1613180166347399171?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)



The UK officially confirms that it will send Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine. A government spokesman says PM Sunak has asked the defense secretary to work with partners in the coming weeks to go “further & faster with our support for Ukraine, including the provision of tanks”

[Jimbuna]

Ukraine battle hints at rift in pro-Russian forces

By Will Vernon
BBC News, Moscow

Russia's defence ministry says its forces are taking part in the battle for Soledar, a town north of Bakhmut in east Ukraine which has been the focus of recent fighting.

It comes after the head of Russia's notoriously brutal Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed his fighters were in full control there and boasted that only his troops took part.

Mr Prigozhin will most likely use any victory to bolster the reputation of Wagner as an effective fighting force in the eyes of President Putin.

But the Russian defence ministry appeared to contradict the controversial oligarch's claims.

Spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in the military's daily update that: "Soledar has been blockaded from the north and the south by units of the Russian Airborne Forces.

"The Russian Air Force is carrying out strikes on enemy strongholds. Assault troops are taking part in battles inside the town." There was no mention of Wagner forces.

Ukraine's defence ministry also said on Wednesday that heavy fighting continues, and Wagner forces have had no success in breaking through its defences.

If Soledar falls, it will be a boost to Mr Prigozhin. In a statement released on Tuesday night, he boasted that "no other units took part in the storming of Soledar apart from Wagner". Ukrainian and US officials have said that Wagner units make up a large part of forces fighting in the area.

Analysts have long spoken of tensions between the military and Wagner, and Mr Prigozhin has publicly criticised generals for allegedly being out of touch with the realities of the war in Ukraine.

While it is difficult to know for sure exactly whether infighting is going on in the corridors of power, there are some clues.

Yesterday, news agency Tass reported that Colonel-General Alexander Lapin was appointed as Chief of Staff of the Ground Forces. Russian media quoted sources who claimed that the announcement of Gen Lapin's position - he was one of those slammed by Mr Prigozhin last year - was made as a warning to the oligarch: don't mess with the military.

But many here have been quick to praise Mr Prigozhin and Wagner for their apparent progress in Soledar. Influential media boss Margarita Simonyan gushed about how "polite" he is, signing off with a thanks to Wagner fighters, who she called "my little darlings!"

Likewise, pro-Kremlin military bloggers on Telegram lavished praise on the mercenary group. One blogger thanked them for "the emotions you've given us tonight".

Another said "When Soledar and [Bakhmut] are liberated, it will be a new chapter in Russian military history. The first time that a private military company has shown such results in a highly intensive military conflict".

The strategic significance of Soledar is disputed by military analysts. But if Russian forces do succeed in establishing full control over the town, it will certainly be a symbolic victory for the Kremlin. That is because Moscow's troops have failed to take a single significant town from Ukrainian forces since the summer of 2022.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64235712

[Dargo]

"Meat grinders," the battlefields of Soledar and Bakhmut are called. But how many Russian and Ukrainian soldiers are killed or wounded there remains unclear. Some estimates assume hundreds of casualties a day. "Barbaric," is what Americans are calling the relentlessly fierce fighting for the two small towns in the Donetsk region these days. Artillery attack after artillery attack Russians and Ukrainians have been carrying out around the clock for months and often with several thousand shells a day. In between, the shelling follows yet another Russian wave of military attacks to gain ground. The vast majority are mowed down or hit by Ukrainian artillery. 'The Russians first send their not very best fighters forward,' a Pentagon official said Sunday about the battle for Soledar. 'Once they have contained the Ukrainian counterattack, the better-trained troops follow behind them. If you go back in Russian history, you will see that there are plenty of examples where military personnel are used just to take bullets.'

The term "meat grinder," which has been used for months to describe the war in this piece of Ukraine, well captures the drama unfolding in Soledar and Bakhmut. Moscow is bent on victory in this area to bring closer the conquest of the entire Donbas. Just how terrible the battle is made painfully clear by an image of the battlefield last week. It was taken by a drone and was published by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, among others. On a sandy plain near Bakhmut, numerous impacts of shells can be seen. If you look closer, however, you can see among the craters the corpses of dozens of Wagner mercenaries. They were fighting most of the battle against the Ukrainian army in Bakhmut. Some sources report that some 50 Russians had been killed in this futile attempt to advance.

'The Russian diplomatic service has never before suffered such losses,' the ministry wrote on Twitter in their familiar sarcastic tone accompanying the photo. 'This shows that the battle in this area is still a war of attrition,' the U.S. military think tank Institute for the Study of War concluded. 'A relentless, protracted war of attrition.' How many body bags must be zipped up every day in both places is pure conjecture. Both sides are silent as the grave about how many are killed and wounded on their side. About the opponent's losses, they are more forthright. A spokesman for the Ukrainian army in the eastern sector claimed in December that some fifty to a hundred Russians in and around Bakhmut are being killed daily in combat.

US intelligence officials estimated late last month that Wagner had seen as many as a thousand fighters killed in just a few weeks. The number of wounded would be substantially higher. If this is true, then Bakhmut, which has been fought over for six months, has become a graveyard for many thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers. For that there are also many casualties on the Ukrainian side, Kyiv does not deny. "The enemy's losses are greater, of course, but we are suffering heavy losses," Oleksi Arestovych, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelensky, acknowledged two weeks ago. For example, the New York Times reported that 240 wounded had to be treated at the army hospital in Bakhmut in just one day in November. In Soledar, the death toll is now so high, a Ukrainian soldier told CNN, "that no one counts the dead anymore. He assumes that the army will soon abandon the town. According to him, this should have been done much earlier. 'Everyone understands that the town must be abandoned,' said the soldier from the 46th Air Mobile Unit, who is in charge of defending Soledar. 'I want to understand what's the point of fighting house by house. Why die if we are going to leave it today or tomorrow anyway?'

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36eIHhMcHnY

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb1_14FIRTM

[Catfish]

Poland announces it will send Leopard tanks to Ukraine [...]
As someone wrote "I'm not sure if I'm happier that they will obliterate Russian tanks, or how much it's going to pi$$ off Scholz."

[Dargo]

You must be freezing.Immigrants are living better than Germans. Welcome to NATO.You know here in AMERICA it's hard. Our government and all those who make the big decisions are still eating Lobster and the lights are on, driving gas guzzling cars, **** we had Zylinski here Joe and the Demorats Hug and kissed and told him don't worry about the Germans.They will give you what you need. The Germans, In 30 more years will not even be German. What was that saying in Braveheart if you can't kill them.Breed their blood out. And it would seem the more Africans you accept the less dangerous you will be.All fine in Germany nice warm weather that self-hatred that we try to transcend [...] by homeopathically diluting the Germanic population with all the peoples of the world, so that there will never again be a German. So that who we are can no longer take shape. The theoretical difference between race and culture would be a lot more convincing if you didn't also have a Mein Kampf on the bookshelf here take a cookie.

[Catfish]

German gas resources are at 91 percent right now.

[Jimbuna]

NASAMS air defense systems for Ukraine will cost Canada $307 million

NASAMS air defense systems, which Canada will purchase from the United States and donate to Ukraine, will cost 400 million Canadian dollars (about 307 million US dollars).

This was stated by Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to Ukrinform.

"We are pleased to be able to transfer ground-based air defense systems to Ukraine after purchasing them from the United States for approximately $400 million," Anand said.

She noted that she is working to deliver these weapons to Ukraine as soon as possible. "This is a priority for us, so we will ensure their delivery as soon as possible," the Canadian minister said.

According to Anand, along with NASAMS launchers, Canada will also send ammunition for them. "This means that the delivery can take place in several stages, and now we are coordinating all the details. But I am very determined to get the aid to Ukraine as soon as possible," she stressed.

The Minister added that Canada will support Ukraine "in the short and long term". "We are considering all options to help Ukraine and maintain our commitment to our allies, especially in NATO," she concluded.

Yesterday Canada announced its intention to provide Ukraine with NASAMS air defense systems. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392716

Fighting for Soledar continues, Donetsk direction stands firm, - Zelensky

Fighting for the city of Soledar continues, the Donetsk sector is being held.

This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky in the evening video appeal, reports Censor.NЕТ.

"Russian aggression will be exhausted only when Russian ambitions... on the front, in politics, in the economy, in the legal area... have no other alternative but to lose...," the President noted.

Zelensky added that now the terrorist state and its propagandists are spreading rumors about the capture of Soledar, which is almost completely destroyed by the occupiers.

According to the Head of State, they will and are already presenting it to their society as a victory and in such a way as to support mobilization, to give hope to those who are for aggression.

"But the fighting continues, the Donetsk direction is holding and we are doing everything to strengthen the Ukrainian defense without a break even for one day, our potential is growing. Western-style tanks are the work of our entire anti-war coalition and this is a new level of our potential," Zelensky stressed. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392714

No signs of Ukrainian Armed Forces retreat from Soledar - CNN

CNN journalists are now near Soledar, Donetsk region, where the fiercest fighting is taking place. They report that Ukrainian troops feel confident and are not going to leave the city.

According to Censor.NЕТ, this is stated on the website of CNN

Reporters hear continuous heavy artillery fire on the outskirts of the city.

According to the journalists, a few kilometers from the front line, Ukrainian troops remain calm, carrying out their routine maintenance and logistical duties. There are no signs of an imminent retreat or withdrawal.

Journalist Ben Wedman said: "We are about seven kilometres from where the battle is taking place. You can hear the artillery - most of the sounds are coming from the city."

Members of the CNN team also noticed how important Western assistance is in this war - the Ukrainian military in Soledar are using many combat and medical vehicles from Poland, France, the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392713

[Dargo]

German gas resources are at 91 percent right now.We in Europe never had so many gas in the winter thanks to Putin, LOL

[Dargo]

Fact is the German industry already in March or April 2022 had told the German govenrment they - not active Bundeswehr reserves! - could have dozens of Leopard-2s ready in late summer or so, and the Marders even earlier. The government ignored them, for weeks and weeks did not even comment on it, and in the second half of the year on several occasions actively said No. The industry neverthless had started already last spring then to refurbish the Leopard-2 in their backyard and at their own cost, to have them ready once the permission would come. They asked again and again to be given permission to deliver these older Leopards-2, refurbished, I assume they are 2A4s in the main, maybe some 2A5s, but I dont know for sure. Most are 2A4, I strongly assume.

Says the industry. Not just some observer, commentator or reporter. These tanks have been phased out, they are not part of the tank pool of the BW anymore. According to the industry, first Leopards-2 could have been delivered already in late spring, early summer - if there would have been the political will.

Spain wanted to send some of its Leopards, which are more modern ones. Germany said No. I think it was Poland who wanted to do so, in limited numbers, due to their T-72 deliveries, and one or two other nations as well, was it Canada? Canada's Leopard-1s, I think. The Germans always prohibited it. But the same Germans complained about the Swiss and demanded Switzerland to change its laws when the Swiss said they do not deliver ammunition for the Gepards.

The Gepards were not delivered because it was such a brilliant idea, though it proved to be a valuable system to bring down drones. The Germans sent the Gepards so that they must not talk about Leopards anymore. Its the same with the Marders.
https://i.postimg.cc/0QsLpfHF/Fl-KGe-Hh-Xg-Ac-JWi-N.jpg

Finland will consider transferring battle tanks to Ukraine if such a decision is made by other countries, Finnish national broadcaster Yle reported on Jan. 10. According to Yle, Finland has Leopard-2 battle tanks available but has not yet made any decisions regarding their transfer to Ukraine. https://english.nv.ua/nation/finland-to-consider-sending-battle-tanks-to-ukraine-if-other-countries-do-as-well-50296802.html

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NQv2BcBBP8

[Skybird]

https://i.postimg.cc/0QsLpfHF/Fl-KGe-Hh-Xg-Ac-JWi-N.jpg

That ^ are 2A5s or higher (ther wedge turret armour was introduced with the A5 and its export version equivalents, the Strv-122 for Sweden for example). I would not hope for 2A5s or higher being given to Ukraine, they are in active service and German lines are already thin on tanks. Only models no longer in use, that have been phased out by the military and were bought back by the industry and now are parked somewehre, are likely candidates. Means: version 2A4. Which still is good enough to spank non-state of the art Russian tanks - if tactically handled correct by unit and vehicle commanders. No tank can be better than the tactical leadership.

[kpv1974]

Ukraine battle hints at rift in pro-Russian forces

By Will Vernon
BBC News, Moscow

Russia's defence ministry says its forces are taking part in the battle for Soledar, a town north of Bakhmut in east Ukraine which has been the focus of recent fighting.

It comes after the head of Russia's notoriously brutal Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed his fighters were in full control there and boasted that only his troops took part.

Mr Prigozhin will most likely use any victory to bolster the reputation of Wagner as an effective fighting force in the eyes of President Putin.

But the Russian defence ministry appeared to contradict the controversial oligarch's claims.

Spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in the military's daily update that: "Soledar has been blockaded from the north and the south by units of the Russian Airborne Forces.

"The Russian Air Force is carrying out strikes on enemy strongholds. Assault troops are taking part in battles inside the town." There was no mention of Wagner forces.

Ukraine's defence ministry also said on Wednesday that heavy fighting continues, and Wagner forces have had no success in breaking through its defences.

If Soledar falls, it will be a boost to Mr Prigozhin. In a statement released on Tuesday night, he boasted that "no other units took part in the storming of Soledar apart from Wagner". Ukrainian and US officials have said that Wagner units make up a large part of forces fighting in the area.

Analysts have long spoken of tensions between the military and Wagner, and Mr Prigozhin has publicly criticised generals for allegedly being out of touch with the realities of the war in Ukraine.

While it is difficult to know for sure exactly whether infighting is going on in the corridors of power, there are some clues.

Yesterday, news agency Tass reported that Colonel-General Alexander Lapin was appointed as Chief of Staff of the Ground Forces. Russian media quoted sources who claimed that the announcement of Gen Lapin's position - he was one of those slammed by Mr Prigozhin last year - was made as a warning to the oligarch: don't mess with the military.

But many here have been quick to praise Mr Prigozhin and Wagner for their apparent progress in Soledar. Influential media boss Margarita Simonyan gushed about how "polite" he is, signing off with a thanks to Wagner fighters, who she called "my little darlings!"

Likewise, pro-Kremlin military bloggers on Telegram lavished praise on the mercenary group. One blogger thanked them for "the emotions you've given us tonight".

Another said "When Soledar and [Bakhmut] are liberated, it will be a new chapter in Russian military history. The first time that a private military company has shown such results in a highly intensive military conflict".

The strategic significance of Soledar is disputed by military analysts. But if Russian forces do succeed in establishing full control over the town, it will certainly be a symbolic victory for the Kremlin. That is because Moscow's troops have failed to take a single significant town from Ukrainian forces since the summer of 2022.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64235712

Mr Prigozhin - master of "Vagner" private militaru group. :haha:

[Skybird]

Gen. Surovikin, nickamed "Armageddon", who has been chief of unified Russian forces in Ukraine since 3 months and implemented the "successful" destruction of energy infrastructure in Ukraine in recent months and overlooked the continuing though creeping successes of Russian forces in that time, has become too powerful and popular, it seems, and therefore has been kicked. His seat now will be taken by Gen. Gerasimov.

IMO from the Russian perspective: a mistake. Surovikin knew what he was doing, he was brutal to his own troops, but the most effective unified commander they so far have had.

Lets see what sudden health complications he will surprisingly fall victim to.

Could also be that this change is due to or will be beneficial for Prighozin.

One thing is certain: Putin is done, and his power and even life is in danger if he even must throw out his most successful commander so far.

[Skybird]

All men in Russia who are fit for military service have been forbidden to leave Russia since yesterday, and it is no longer possible to cross the border. A clear indication that the expected next wave of mobilization has begun. Raising at least half a million recruits is expected.

[Skybird]

German gas resources are at 91 percent right now.
The weather so far clearely is our ally. That was not to be expected, El Nina promised a cold winter. Which still could happen.


Winters in Germany can strike until deep into Aprils. But then will not last as long anymore obviously.



I am a bit disappointed, I hoped winter would really struck home at Germany's crazy energy destruction policy. But now they will take the winter so far as evidence how well it is functioning - while it indeed is just luck. Now they will play their music even louder.

[Skybird]

So9ledar'S fate seems to be not as clear as it was claimed by severla Wetsenr agencies yesterday. Ukraine denies that most of the city has fallen to Russia. The fighting however is said to be the bloodiest in all the war so far, imposing very high blood tolls on both sides. But Ukraine insists that they still control the city.



The battle for Bachmut not only is a meat grinder, its also a s,mybol, and a test of will. Russia wants its first clear and obvious victory there soince a longer time, one that also "breaks" the Ukrainian defence and shows that the ukrainian defence is not invincible.



Russia also wants Ukraine to run through its ammo reserves there, and its stockpiles of heavy weapons and elite troops. Some of Ukriane ciurrnetly best unts are enmgaged in that battle are. When they are chewed up they cannot be used elsewhere anymore - in a later spring offensive for example. From Russia's point of view, the battle at Bachmut and Soledar cannbot get brutal enough. The bloodier the better. If Russia has one thing, than an almost unlimited supply of walking bodies. Could be that they calculate a loss ratio of 3:1 or more against them as acceptable. Who knows what goes on in these sick brains.

[Skybird]

Deutsche Welle (German edition):
----------------------------------
SPD parliamentary group wants to negotiate with Putin

The SPD in the Bundestag continues to back diplomatic initiatives to reach a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. "Because we know: Wars are not usually ended on the battlefield," reads the draft position paper of the largest government faction, which is to be adopted at the annual kick-off retreat beginning this Thursday.

"Even if there is no longer any trust in the current Russian leadership for understandable reasons, diplomatic talks must remain possible." That is why Chancellor Olaf Scholz's (SPD) talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin were right and necessary, he said. Wherever possible, diplomatic initiatives should be taken, says the draft, which is available to Deutsche Presse-Agentur and had been reported on by several other media.
--------------------------

The SPD is Bubble-Olaf's socialist party.
They are the same backwardly, socialist-romantic zombies that they always have been. Their complete model of special relations between Germany and Russia has been assassinated by Russia. They have learned absolutely nothing from that.
Maybe its a genetic defect.

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu4eI4t_djY

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3FSMmIhFGM

[Jimbuna]

Herasimov’s appointment is Russia’s raising stakes in war, - Danilov

The appointment of the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valerii Herasimov, as the commander of the combined forces in Ukraine, shows that Russia is raising the stakes in the war.

This was reported on the telethon by the Secretary of the National Security Council Oleksii Danilov, Censor.NET informs with reference to RBC-Ukraine.

"There are certain personnel processes taking place in Russia. Since yesterday, there have been internal disputes between those armies, and representatives of Prigozhin and Kadyrov are being removed, meaning Surovikin.
Certain processes are taking place there, and this is only the beginning. The situation is related to the fact that they are building the so-called catechumen state, which should be the truth in the last resort, and only they know how to fight evil. And in fact, they themselves are the evil they are constantly talking about," Danilov said.

Such personnel reshuffles, noted by the National Security Council secretary, indicate an internal conflict between the Russian security forces and the military. Over time, such controversies can turn into a confrontation between the main leaders.

"We must not forget that Herasimov is the head of the General Staff, this is raising the stakes in this war. The next two or three months will be decisive. And the second thing is the use of Kadyrov and Prigozhin. After they became unnecessary, they were moved, and no one will question them. "Internal disputes will only intensify, and the question of when the relationship with the use of weapons and armored personnel carriers will begin within the Garden Ring," Danilov said.

In his opinion, the situation in the Russian Federation is rather shaky, and the power struggle may begin if the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin gives some slack.

"Because today there are 3.5 armies there - Kadyrov's army, Prigozhin's army, separately the army of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, which do not respect either Kadyrov or Prigozhin, and separately now the power structures are trying to form another army.
A war for power will begin in Russia, you see the state of Putin's health, the man is very sick. As soon as it weakens, clarification of relations will begin," the NSDC secretary concluded. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392784

Poland will strive for allies to give Ukraine more tanks of NATO standard, - Duda

Polish President Andrzej Duda stressed that he would seek for allies to provide Ukraine with more Leopard tanks.

As reported by Censor.NET, Duda's office announced this on Twitter.

"We have decided that we are ready to hand over a company of Leopard II tanks as part of an international coalition. We will strive for this coalition to be formed by several countries that will provide more tanks," the Polish leader said.

"We want NATO-standard weapons to create an iron wall of protection against Russian aggression," Duda added. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392786

Scholz’s position on supply of heavy weapons to Ukraine strongly depends on Biden, - Politico

Germany is focusing on the USA in its decision on whether or not to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

Politico writes about this, Censor.NET informs with a reference to Interfax-Ukraine.

According to two German officials, the position of Chancellor Olaf Scholz regarding the supply of arms to Ukraine largely depends on US President Joe Biden.

It is noted that at a regional pre-election rally in Berlin on Monday, Scholz said that the supply of tanks to Ukraine should be discussed "together with friends and allies and especially with our transatlantic partner with the United States of America."

Earlier, Scholz's representative reported that London's plans to supply British-made Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine will not change the position of the German government.

"Currently, the situation has not changed due to the step announced by the British government," said the official representative of the German Cabinet of Ministers, Steffen Hebestreit, at a press conference in Berlin.

According to the publication, the British plans, which are expected to be officially announced at a meeting of representatives of Western defense agencies at the Ramstein military base in Germany on January 20, will increase the pressure on Scholz.

This is due to the fact that the United Kingdom will become the first country to supply the Ukrainian military with modern Western-made battle tanks. Thus, Scholz's argument that Germany should not act alone in sending Western tanks would be refuted by Britain's actions.

Meanwhile, as Politico writes, the US itself seems to have no intention of sending battle tanks in the near future.

According to the publication, negotiations between the United States and Ukraine regarding the provision of Abrams tanks continue, but little progress has been made.

"It's constantly being discussed, but it's not close to a decision," the newspaper's informed source said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392794

[Jimbuna]

There are heavy battles in Soledar. Enemy is suffering heavy losses. Situation is under control in entire command of AFU, - Cherevaty

Heavy fighting continues in Soledar, Donetsk region, and the enemy is suffering losses. The Russians are trying to capture the city in order to advance deep into the Donetsk region.

This was stated by the spokesman of the Eastern Group of Forces, Serhii Cherevaty, Censor.NET informs with reference to RBC-Ukraine.

He explained that after the battles and the retreat of Ukrainian troops from Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, having exhausted the aggressor, the Russians planned to move on quickly. However, they have not been able to do this for six months. The occupiers are concentrating their efforts on the Bakhmut direction to move further and achieve their goal - to completely occupy Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

"Heavy battles are currently taking place in Soledar. The enemy is suffering heavy losses - the most prepared units of the "Wagner" PMC are fighting there. Our soldiers show great heroism, courage, professionalism, coherence, and resilience. Now the issue of Soledar is under the control of the entire command of the Armed Forces, the Commander-in-Chief, the commander of the Eastern Group of Forces," Cherevaty said.

According to the spokesman, the command is trying to choose the most correct tactics from a strategic and tactical point of view.

"That is, various maneuvers are allowed in war. Now the situation in this direction is carefully monitored to make a decision that will allow us to strengthen our defense, not lose a lot of personnel and at the same time strike a powerful blow at the enemy.
What will this decision be - I think our leaders will make it in the coming days," he added. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392798

Fiercest and most difficult battles continue in Soledar. Occupiers are trying to break through defense of AFU, but will suffer heavy losses - Ministry of Defense

The heaviest battles are currently taking place in the area of the city of Soledar, Donetsk region, in the direction of Bakhmut.

This was reported by Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar, Censor.NET reports with reference to Interfax-Ukraine.

"Today, fierce and heaviest battles are taking place in the area of Soledar in the Bakhmut direction. Despite the difficult situation, Ukrainian soldiers are fighting desperately. The enemy, trying unsuccessfully to break through our defenses and capture Soledar, is suffering heavy losses," she said.

The deputy minister emphasized that the approaches to the city are currently littered with the bodies of the slain occupiers, but the enemy continues to advance directly over the bodies of the fallen fighters.

"Our defenders show maximum resilience and heroism," she added. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392819

Fiercest battles are taking place in districts of Soledar, Paraskoviivka, Bakhmut, and Klishchiivka, - General Staff

In a week, 355 combat clashes took place in the east of Ukraine, the fiercest battles are taking place in the area of the settlements of Soledar, Paraskoviivka, Bakhmut, and Klishchiivka.

This was announced by the Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Brigadier General Oleksii Hromov, Censor.NET informs with reference to "Interfax-Ukraine".

"In the east of the country, the enemy continues offensive and assault actions along the entire line of combat clashes. In a week, 355 combat clashes took place in the east of the country.
With the support of artillery and aviation, the enemy is trying to cut off, surround and defeat groups of our troops and enter the administrative borders of the Donetsk region," Hromov said.

"The enemy is also conducting unsuccessful offensive actions in the Avdiivka direction, trying to improve its tactical position in the Kupiansk and Novopavlivka directions," emphasized the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Hromov noted that the enemy is actively defending in the Lyman direction. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392846

[Jimbuna]

Russia has decided to wage war of attrition, - General Staff

The Russian Federation has decided to wage a war of attrition, without achieving its strategic goals in 2022, the enemy wants to buy time.

This was stated by the Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Brigadier General Oleksii Hromov, Censor.NET informs with reference to "Interfax-Ukraine".

"The adversary, failing to achieve the strategic goals of operations in 2022, decided to wage a war of attrition.
In general, Putin's regime seeks to buy time, counting on the exhaustion of the Ukrainian economy and defense forces, a decrease in support for Ukraine," he said at a briefing at the Military Media Center on Thursday. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392825

Poland will put pressure on other EU countries to transfer Leopard tanks to Ukraine, - government spokesman Mueller

Poland will put pressure on other European countries to transfer Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, because the defeat of Ukraine will also mean the defeat of Poland.

This was reported by the Polish government spokesman Piotr Muller, Censor.NET reports with reference to Ukrinform.

The Polish government official noted that Poland announced the transfer of tanks to Ukraine to "force other countries to do the same."

"If we do not protect an independent Ukraine, then we will be the next target. And this must be said frankly: if Ukraine loses, then Poland will also lose, Poland will be the next target of Russia's military actions or Lithuania, Estonia or Latvia because we are on the closest a potential front line," Müller emphasized.

According to him, Poland's goal is for Ukraine to defend itself, and for this it needs weapons.

"This type of political pressure should lead to the fact that other European countries will join these actions (providing weapons to Ukraine. - Ed.)," Muller added. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392858

[Skybird]

According to two German officials, the position of Chancellor Olaf Scholz regarding the supply of arms to Ukraine largely depends on US President Joe Biden.



Original sound Olaf the Great: "Wer bei mir Führung bestellt, bekommt sie auch." - "Whoever expects leadership from me, is about to get leadership."


Coward big mouth.



Its a pattern in his reign as chanc ellor and his time as minister and mayor, in all his polticla career. Always be noncommittal! Never be a decision maker! Never be the person in charge!. Never offer a profile or a target on which criticism could hang! Evade! Manouver! Hide!

It is best not to exist at all.

The media in this country falsely present all this as a "Hanseatic mentality". It is not, it never has been. Hanseatic merchantism is binding (and not corrupt, btw). Scholz is nothing less than binding. And he has finance-political scandals sticking on his heels.

The truth is, this dwarf is panic-stricken about making decisions. He could be held responsible later, and that's really not something he wants to be possible!

In my opinion, a deeply despicable lurker who always acts behind the scenes. And that's how it went in his ministerial days, and before that in his time as mayor of Hamburg. In all his politicla career.


He has chosen his staff and minster team like this, too. Competence, experience, ability? Not relevant. Blind loyalty? Priceless. Defence minister Lambrecht is the result.


But giving himself the very best marks. As if it depends on his vain self-assessment...


This man makes me want to rant all day long. What he does not realise is that his policy costs others their lives, causes more death than is inevitable in thsi war anyway. Becasue he blocks not only Germany, but the whole of European NATO.



The alternative would be worse: that is, he knows it - and does not mind.



Possible maybe that Poland risks the open confrontation and delivers tanks even against German permission, encouraging others to follow, and maybe following the Polish move to buy arms no longer n Germany, but in other coutnries, south korea in their case, and using that to mount their own defence idnustry. If NATOs reason to exist is the threat from Russia, then it seems to be not a good idea to depend on the Germans for that purpose, due to the Germans' self-perceived special relationship they imagine to have with Russia. Since a felt eternity.

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjOsRXTustQ

[Jimbuna]

Putin facing turmoil as Russian economy takes catastrophic £46billion blow in single month

Russia's achieved an unwanted economic record in December as Moscow was forced to borrow £46billion in one month. This comes as the country continues to grapple with Western sanctions.

Russia's oil revenues have dropped and Putin's military continues to suffer logistical issues in Ukraine.

The Kremlin's finance minister Anton Siluanov confirmed this deficit which equates to roughly 2.3 percent of Russian GDP (gross domestic product).

This also means that Russia's spending is more than 30 percent higher than had been forecast at the start of 2022.

Russia had aimed to keep its spending surplus at no higher than one percent

In November, Russian oil revenues fell despite the country increasing its production. The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that Russia earned just under £13billion from oil sales that month, the second lowest of 2022 behind £12.2billion in September.

Prior to the invasion of Ukraine in February, the European Union imported around 40 percent of its gas from Russia.

However, the bloc and other Western allies have looked to reduce their dependence on Russian gas while also hitting Putin with severe sanctions.

The IEA now predicts that Russia's oil output will drop by 1.4m barrels per day in 2023.

They add: "While lower oil prices come as a welcome relief to consumers faced by surging inflation, the full impact of embargoes on Russian crude and product supplies remains to be seen."

As the Telegraph reports, the Kremlin has already started to reduce or delay non-war spending to balance the books.

The country has had to borrow heavily in recent months to divert more funding toward its military operations.

Despite Russia's challenging economic outlook, Putin was defiant last month as he boasted there will be "no limits" to his war spending.

He said: "We have no limits in terms of financing. The country and the government are providing everything that the army asks for - everything."

Putin also spoke confidently about how Russia's goals in Ukraine will "certainly" be achieved.

He compared Russia's invasion of Ukraine to the country's role in World War 1 and World War 2, as well as Moscow's war against Napoleon's French forces in 1812.

While Putin spoke with defiance, the Russian military has endured a number of setbacks throughout the conflict.

Putin's men have lost territory near Kharkiv, in the Kherson region and also failed to take the Ukrainian capital Kyiv at the start of the invasion.

Soledar, in the eastern city of Donetsk, has become the latest of a number of key battlegrounds. Putin ally, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed that his private military mercenaries - the Wagner Group - has taken the town.

However, the Kremlin has been more tentative, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying: "Wait, let's not rush, let's wait for official statements [by the Ministry of Defense]."

Ukraine has disputed the claim by Prigozhin, saying that the fighting is still ongoing and that Russia has suffered big losses.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/putin-facing-turmoil-as-russian-economy-takes-catastrophic-46billion-blow-in-single-month/ar-AA16dpND?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=3b937c334fe54347ac00bbc454b8decd

[Skybird]

An image says so much more than a thousand words.


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64250202

[Skybird]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjOsRXTustQ
Plain reason, obvious experience. Having a conversation with a mind like his is always a win.

[Dargo]

So9ledar'S fate seems to be not as clear as it was claimed by severla Wetsenr agencies yesterday. Ukraine denies that most of the city has fallen to Russia. The fighting however is said to be the bloodiest in all the war so far, imposing very high blood tolls on both sides. But Ukraine insists that they still control the city.



The battle for Bachmut not only is a meat grinder, its also a s,mybol, and a test of will. Russia wants its first clear and obvious victory there soince a longer time, one that also "breaks" the Ukrainian defence and shows that the ukrainian defence is not invincible.



Russia also wants Ukraine to run through its ammo reserves there, and its stockpiles of heavy weapons and elite troops. Some of Ukriane ciurrnetly best unts are enmgaged in that battle are. When they are chewed up they cannot be used elsewhere anymore - in a later spring offensive for example. From Russia's point of view, the battle at Bachmut and Soledar cannbot get brutal enough. The bloodier the better. If Russia has one thing, than an almost unlimited supply of walking bodies. Could be that they calculate a loss ratio of 3:1 or more against them as acceptable. Who knows what goes on in these sick brains.Russians thought with taking Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk'k they could break the Ukrainian defense and easily conquer the entire oblast, result was that months later they had to flee themselves and lost thousands of square kilometers.

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47kBSqAiyvY

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXvuMBaXUGw

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2XWGdN-m4w

[Jimbuna]

Germany should allow other countries to supply Leopard to Ukraine, - Minister of Economy Habek

The Minister of Economy and Vice-Chancellor of Germany, Robert Habek, spoke in favor of preventing the disruption of the supply of Polish Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine due to Germany’s objections.

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to the Euro Integration.

"There is a difference between making a decision for yourself and preventing others from making a decision," he said.

"And, accordingly, Germany should not stand in the way when other countries decide to support Ukraine, regardless of what decision Germany makes," Habek added. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392882

European Commission supports Estonia’s idea of seizing Russian assets

The European Commission supports the plans of Estonia, which was the first European country to begin preparations for the confiscation of seized Russian assets.

This was stated by the representative of the European Commission Christian Wiegand, Censor.NET informs with reference to LIGA.

He emphasized that the European Commission is not opposed to Estonia starting the procedure for the confiscation of Russian assets without waiting for other countries of the European Union.

"The introduction of criminal liability in the EU for circumventing sanctions will accelerate the process of seizing Russian assets, which will be directed to the restoration of Ukraine in the future. Of course, it will be good if the EU member states take steps in this direction," Wiegand said.

It will be recalled that on December 2, the European Commission put forward a proposal to make the circumvention of sanctions a criminal offense throughout the territory of the European Union.

According to the assessment of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, due to sanctions, Russia has lost access to approximately half of its foreign exchange reserves - $300 billion out of $640 billion. The Ministry of Justice says that Ukraine has the "verbal consent" of the West to transfer this $300 billion to it.

The European Union is studying the possibility of using part of the frozen Russian assets to restore Ukraine. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392919

Occupiers continue their attempts to break through Soledar’s defenses and surround Bakhmut, - Maliar

The Russian occupiers continue their attempts to break through Soledar’s defenses and surround Bakhmut, using units of the Wagnerites and regular troops for this purpose.

As Censor.NET informs, Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Malyar informed on Telegram channel about this.

"The enemy continues its offensive in the Soledar region. The enemy's goal is to break through the defenses of our troops and capture the city. Attempts to surround Bakhmut are also ongoing. For this, the enemy uses detachments of Wagnerites and regular troops," she wrote.

Malyar emphasized that the Ukrainian military manfully held their positions and inflicted numerous losses on the enemy. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392950

[Dargo]

Ukrainian military says it is conducting counterattacks in Soledar
The Ukrainian military said Thursday that it was conducting counterattacks in Soledar, the eastern town that has been the subject of intense Russian bombardment.

“After several days of pulling back, we've even made a small advance,” Ukraine's 46th Airmobile Brigade said on Telegram. “The railway station is ours. The mine is ours. We are waiting for support. Soledar is Ukraine.”

Russia is trying to surround nearby Bakhmut using both Wagner private contractors and regular military personnel, Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, said on Telegram.

“Our soldiers bravely hold their positions and inflict numerous losses on the enemy,” she said.

[Jimbuna]

Japan will provide $95 million to rebuild Ukraine

The Japanese government has allocated 95 million dollars for the reconstruction of Ukraine, in particular, these funds will be sent to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in accordance with the partnership agreement.

As reported by Censor.NET, the Ministry of Infrastructure announced this on Facebook.

The corresponding agreement was signed today, January 12, by Japanese Ambassador to Ukraine Kuninori Matsuda and Assistant to the Head of UNDP, Director of the Regional Bureau of UNDP in Europe, and the CIS Ivana Zhivkovych with the participation of the Deputy Prime Minister for the Reconstruction of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov.

"The partnership of Ukraine, Japan, and the UN Development Program is an example of effective cooperation that allows not only to counter the enemy, but also to gradually restore the destroyed. We expect that we will only deepen it, in particular in the matter of restoring critical infrastructure," Kubrakov commented.

It is noted that Ukraine's aid program is focused on five key areas. This is - strengthening the government's ability to respond to the crisis and manage it; supporting public services so that they can continue their work; restoring of critical infrastructure; supporting the work of private enterprises and strengthening civil society and social ties.

As reported, in April 2022, Japan has already allocated 4.5 million dollars for the emergency clearance of the area from explosive objects and debris clearance.

In January 2023, the pyrotechnic units of the State Emergency Service received a $195,000 batch of special protective equipment for demining from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Japanese government. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392963

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnsp9HdtWh4

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Gu5K_CMaR0

[Skybird]

German Green Economy Minister Habeck told the media that he supports the Polish demand for Leopard deliveries to Ukraine, and that Germany should not refuse. Thus, the Greens are again increasing the pressure on Bubble-Olaf and his SPD, and this pressure is likely to increase until the upcoming Ramstein conference.

The military value of a shortened tank company from Poland, reduced to 10 vehicles, is likely to be rather low, these are simply too few tanks, and already in peacetime never all combat vehicles of a company or battalion are actually operational, something is always in repair and maintenance - how much more in war, I wonder?

In addition, very long and complicated logistic chains have to be newly, additionally built. Fuel, ammunition, spare parts. A maintenance base for Leopards is supposed to be built in Slovenia or Slovakia (I always confuse the two...).

I would expect that it would have to be a heavy brigade, what would have to be deployed in Ukraine with armored western vehicles - MBTs and IFVs - to really perform a game-changer function. A brigade, that would be 3-5 battalions, and one of them with heavy battle tanks and 2-3 with IFVs - that would indeed be something. In addition, a logistic and perhaps an artillery battalion or one with mortars. A tank battalion, that would be 45-55 tanks. 50 American Bradley: a mechanized battalion. 40 German Marder: one (shortened) battalion.

Three fingers of an armored fist. Two more to go. Say one more battalion of Soviet-produced combat vehicles. Artillery perhaps not at brigade level, but variably supporting by Himars and howitzers already delivered.

When the Leopards come and the Challengers (also just a shortened company...) , Russia should maybe begin to worry even more seriously about its stolen territories. Such a formation could punch through a Russian front and drive a wedge all the way to the coast.

Have a nice rest of your vacation in Crimea, Russians!

[Jimbuna]

Europeans fear expansion of war beyond Ukraine - survey

81 percent of EU citizens surveyed by the ’Eurobarometer" project commissioned by the European Parliament fear the spread of war from Ukraine to other countries.

This is stated by Censor.NЕТ with reference to DW.

The most concerned about the spread of war outside Ukraine were in Malta - 93 percent of respondents, Portugal (91), Poland (91) and Lithuania (90 percent). This fear is especially prevalent among women and older people. In addition, at least 74 percent of respondents are concerned about the nuclear threat, and 72 percent are concerned about threats to common European values such as freedom and democracy.

At the same time, Russia's war against Ukraine has strengthened citizens' support for the EU: 62 percent have a positive view of EU membership. This is one of the highest results ever since 2007, the study says.

Most Europeans are concerned about the rising cost of living - this issue is relevant for 93 percent of respondents. Currently, the majority of citizens are not satisfied with the actions taken either by national governments or at the EU level to combat the rising cost of living. The threat of poverty and social exclusion is the second most frequent concern with 82 percent.

The poll also showed that there is strong support for Ukraine among residents of EU member states: 74 percent of respondents approve of overall support after a full-scale Russian invasion. In particular, sanctions against Russia, financial, military and humanitarian assistance. The highest level of support was recorded in Sweden - 97 percent, Finland - 95, the Netherlands - 93, Portugal - 92 and Denmark - 92 percent. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392976

German government did not decide to transfer Leopard tanks to Ukraine, - Lambrecht

The transfer of Leopard battle tanks from Germany to Ukraine is not on the agenda yet.

This was stated by the head of the German Defense Ministry Christine Lambrecht, іnforms Censor.NЕТ with reference to DW. "The federal government has no decision on the transfer of battle tanks. No such decision has been made," the Head of the Defense Ministry stressed.

Lambrecht recalled the weapons systems that Germany is transferring to Ukraine and the recent decision to provide Kyiv with Marder infantry fighting vehicles. The minister did not comment on the readiness of Poland and the UK to send battle tanks to Kyiv. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3392975

[Skybird]

Frankfurter Rundschau:
-----------------------------
In the discussion about the delivery of battle tanks to Ukraine, Finland is now signaling its willingness to provide Leopard 2 tanks to the country under attack from Russia. In a joint European approach, his country would also contribute, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö told the STT news agency.

However, Finland is in a special position, he said, because it is not yet a NATO member and shares a common border with Russia. Therefore, Finland's contribution could not be particularly large. The country has more than 200 German-made Leopard 2 tanks, according to STT.
------------------------------


That's 3, maybe 4. Poland, United Kingdom, Finland. Last year already, then denied: Spain.

[mapuc]

Frankfurter Rundschau:
-----------------------------
In the discussion about the delivery of battle tanks to Ukraine, Finland is now signaling its willingness to provide Leopard 2 tanks to the country under attack from Russia. In a joint European approach, his country would also contribute, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö told the STT news agency.

However, Finland is in a special position, he said, because it is not yet a NATO member and shares a common border with Russia. Therefore, Finland's contribution could not be particularly large. The country has more than 200 German-made Leopard 2 tanks, according to STT.
------------------------------


That's 3, maybe 4. Poland, United Kingdom, Finland. Last year already, then denied: Spain.


And of course now when I need it I can't find it-Some hours ago I read a Status on twitter where they said something with we want Abrams M1A1 or was it 2.
Instead I tried to find something about it on the web-And I found this
Question:
"Should we give Ukraine M1 Abrams tanks?"

Answer:
"There is a logistics problem with that. The Abrams has a gas turbine engine that most Ukrainian mechanics are unfamiliar with, we would also have to provide the parts and maintenance/repair infrastructure for it. The beauty of using Russian built tanks is they have an almost infinite supply of parts and even the Ukrainian farmers can take one apart and put it back together again."

Markus

[les green01]

maybe Ukraine needs to tell putin they need another supplied run of tanks we know the ruskies loves doing it :03::har:

[Otto Harkaman]

Wagner has posted a movie for recruitment, pretty intense. I won't post a link because I don't to promote them. It looks like something out of Battlefield 4 but with live people and weapons of an urban operation to clear a building or block of a city.

[Jimbuna]

Russia branded 'liability' as Putin warned closest allies turning on him

Russia has been branded a "liability" after launching its brutal war in Ukraine, with Vladimir Putin warned his few remaining allies are turning on him. This week, several officials from China reportedly tried to distance their country from the Ukraine invasion and expressed strong doubts over Putin. Armenia, a member with Russia in the Collective Security Treaty Organization, said his country has cancelled plans to host Russian military drills. Simon Miles, a historian of the Soviet Union and US-Soviet relations, told Insider: "Nobody wants an ally who is a liability, and it's hard to see Putin's Russia as anything else. I think we can see the consequences already in that the most active support is coming from Iran and North Korea - hardly the top of anyone's friend wish list."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/ukraine-live-russia-branded-liability-as-putin-warned-closest-allies-turning-on-him/ar-AA16ix6D?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=9b6f9a8e95a84d749a82dcd5a91eb79c

[Jimbuna]

Russian doctors urge Putin to 'stop abusing' Alexei Navalny as health worsens

A group of 200 Russian doctors have condemned Vladimir Putin for abusing his main political rival, Aleksei Navalny, as he sits in prison. The group have said Navalny's health "is being deliberately harmed" and that they are "greatly concerned" his condition mgith deteriorate. Navalny is currently serving a nine-year sentence handed to him in March last year by a Russian court.

Writing to Putin, the doctors said: "The detention conditions and the appearance of Aleksei Navalny make us greatly concerned for his life and health. From the medical point of view, it is clear that Aleksei is not receiving sufficient medical help."

Lawyers for Navalny say that he fell ill after sharing a cell with an imnate who had been "deliberately placed in the prison's medical ward full of flu patients".

Navalny has not always shared a cell, and claims he was recently put in solitary confinement for the 10th time in a year.

They added that Mr Navalny needs medication amid reports he is suffering from a fever, chills, and coughing fits and have requested that he be transferred from the penal colony where he is being held to hospital for treatment.

The formerly free rival to Putin is the leader fo the Russia of the Future paty, one which has continuously challenged Putin and exposed government corruption.

While a key figure in Russian politics, Mr Navalny began to receive national attention when he was poisoned in with a Novichok nerve agen in September 2020.

After recovering from the attack, which intelligence services say was carried out by agents of the Russian secret police, Nalvany recovered.

However, whilst he was recovering in Berlin, the Kremlin accused him of violating parole conditions.

Upon his return to Russia in January 2021, Mr Navalny was arrested on the basis of these accusations that had been imposed when he was convicted for alleged embezzlement in 2014.

Originally only meant to serve a two-and-a-half year sentence, this as increased by nine more years after he was accussed of embezzling funds from his own party, something Mr Navalny denies.

In a bid to try and convince Russia officials to grant him treatment, Mr Navalny's wife, Yulia, has also urged Russian authorities to treat him before he dies.

In a post on Instagram she wrote: "Imagine that you are shut in a case measuring two by three metres. That they place a person with you who is already sick, so that your cold grows stronger, so that the flu is added on top of your cold.

"That they get you up at 6am and they keep you from lying down all day, even though you have a high temperature."

Mr Navalny has been suffering from ill health in prison for a long time. In December he took to Twitter to say: "I have a problem with my spine. It is clear what one has to do to make the problem worse: keep me immobile as much as possible.

"If you lock a person up in a punishment cell, where he can either stand or sit on an iron stool for 16 hours a day, after a month in such conditions even a healthy person will undoubtedly get back pains. I've spent the last 3 months like this. Naturally, my back hurts a lot." Mr Navalny has said he belives his captures are deliberately making him ill.

The fear now is that Mr Navalny will deteriorate further and potentially die in prison.

However, this is not a certainty and there is potential for Russian authorites to change their minds.

As Navalny's physical health worsens, the political health of the man who put him there appears to be waining too.

Putin is coming under greater pressure as the war in Ukraine continues.

Rumours are even now beginning to swirl over whether he will see out the war.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/other/russian-doctors-urge-putin-to-stop-abusing-alexei-navalny-as-health-worsens/ar-AA16g2ls?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=6804930c6385481ebf2d96355162c04e

[Jimbuna]

Total combat losses of Russian Federation since beginning of war - about 114,130 people (+740), 276 helicopters, 3,098 tanks, 2,086 artillery systems, 6,167 armored vehicles. INFOGRAPHICS

Losses of the Russian occupiers as of the morning of January 13, 2023, are approximately 114,130 people.

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to the press center of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

As noted, the total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02.22 to 13.01.23 are approximately:

personnel - about 114,130 (+740) people were eliminated,
tanks - 3098 (+4) units,
armored combat vehicles - 6167 (+8) units,
artillery systems - 2086 (+4) units,
MLRS - 437 (+0) units,
air defense equipment - 218 (+0) units,
aircraft - 286 (+1) units,
helicopters - 276 (+0) units,
UAV of operational-tactical level - 1865 (+0),
cruise missiles - 723 (+0),
warships/boats - 17 (+0) units,
automotive equipment and tank trucks - 4833 (+7) units,
special equipment - 184 (+0). Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393011

[Skybird]

I mentioned, randomly, in the past year, that I think we must drop a new iron curtain to the East. I meant by that that we must also massively reinvest into readying our warfighting capabilities again so that we are prepared for everything. We need to do so NO MATTER THE OUTOCME OF THE CURRENT WAR. Even when Russia looses.

Die Welt quotes Martin van Creveld with this piece that further explains why: in summary, it is because Europe has new big troubles in its East, no matter whether the Russians win or loose.

To make this clear: By the reasons of this essay, I in no way wish to say that we should not wish for a Russian defeat, or should allow Russia an easy way out that some left crazies call a "fair peace". The only fair peace there can be, after all the atrocities committed and the brutality and aggression shown by Russia, is a peace that means the Russians are forced out of Ukraine, must leave it alone because they cannot continue, and must pay compensations for the damage they have done. The latter will never happen, of course. What it means is this: Europe must with utmost urgency ready itself for the dangerous chaos that is about to break loose on the territoriy of the current Russian federation that most likely will not survive the coming years or decades in the form it took after the fall of the Sovjet Union.

And this urgent need is not really seen in Europe, I feel. The wasting of time, the setting of wrong priorities, the desire to return to business as usual already has set in again. But we iurgently need to build a fireall against Russia - BEFORE the pressure cooker that Russia now is goes up.

That Russia has bought itself deeply into especially the Germans' and the eU's poltlicla eleites and ciorruoted the very deicison making process at the most profounbd bas elevel alrerady, does not help, of cours. We see today what obstacle to a stronger and faster European reaction namely Germany still poses. And many in Germany still want to leave it to that. Citizens and politicians alike.

-----------------------------
Why we should be afraid of Russia's defeat

For almost a year now, much has been written and said about what could happen if Putin wins his war. If you had printed out all the verbatim reports on this and put them on board the Titanic, the ship would have sunk even without the help of the iceberg - because of overloading. At this point, I would like to turn the question around: What happens if it loses?

Let's first take a look at the winners of such a scenario. If we disregard the small fry, there will essentially be two: the United States and China. The United States, because it will have succeeded in bringing down the country it saw as its only equal competitor throughout the Cold War and, to some extent, after it ended. And they will do so without spending more than 5 percent of their defense budget or leaving the bones of a single American soldier on a battlefield. Viewed in this light, the war could well be seen as a triumph for the United States, and one with few parallels in history.

Next up, China. A year after Putin launched his 'special military operation,' Beijing, though plagued by problems like Corona and sluggish economic growth, has reason to celebrate. While the Chinese barely lift a finger and it costs their country next to nothing, they have almost reached the point where their once powerful neighbor to the northwest has become a 'client state'. Should Russia's weakness lead to its disintegration, China might even make an initially modest but later increasingly vigorous attempt to reclaim some of those vast territories it lost to the tsars in the nineteenth century.

And not by means of a large-scale military campaign, as some have been predicting for years, but by the kind of infiltration that is even under way today. The most trustworthy figures available show that the population of northwestern China is ten times larger than that of northeastern Russia (74,000,000 versus only 7,000,000) and growing. In Moscow, this will bring back memories of the Mongol conquest, which began in 1237 and lasted until 1480.

Now for the losers. After a defeat in Ukraine, the Russian Federation will fall apart, completing a development that began with the end of the Cold War. Russia is not and never has been an ethnically homogeneous country. According to official statistics, the percentage of Russians in Russia (as opposed to the former Soviet Union) peaked in 1979 at 82.6 percent. Since then, it has been declining, falling to an estimated 77.1 percent in 2021. Due to low birth rates, high death rates, declining life expectancy and an aging population, most observers expect this trend to continue until Russians make up only 60 to70 percent of the total population.

The total number of different ethnic groups in Russia is estimated to be well over 100. Some of them, especially the non-Christian ones in the south, have a centuries-long tradition of resentment over their more or less forcible incorporation into a Russian empire and hope to regain their former independence. Defeat in Ukraine, which will almost certainly be followed by the fall of Putin and his regime, could very well trigger a period of chaos similar to that of 1917 to 1921. Where that will end, if at all, no one knows.
As in 1917 to 1921, the chaos could be exacerbated by various neighboring states trying to use the situation to their own advantage. Poland, Romania, and Hungary could use the opportunity to reclaim provinces they lost either to the Soviet Union or to their neighbors between 1919 and 1945. The same goes for Mongolia, Iran, and Turkey, all of which have a large score to settle with Russia.

The result? A large part of the Eurasian continent, stretching from Vladivostok to Warsaw, is going up in flames because everyone is fighting everyone else: in the name of nationalism, in the name of freedom, in the name of religion, or whatever. Regardless of whether Putin and his clique remain in power or are replaced by other actors, Moscow, pushed to the extreme, could resort to the use of nuclear weapons. Not against external enemies, for that was Stalin's reason for developing them in the first place, but within its own country and against part of its own population.


And what about Central and Western Europe? Thanks mainly to the division by two superpowers, each of which had a huge nuclear arsenal and was capable of turning the other into a radioactive desert within hours on command, this part of the world experienced the most stable, peaceful, prosperous and democratic period in its history from 1945 onward. So much so that after the collapse of the USSR, in many ways everything continued as before. The current war in Ukraine threatens to end this happy time by reviving old conflicts. Should the Russians win the current war, the threat to Central and even Western Europe is obvious. Should they lose it, then that threat is almost as obvious.
---------------------------------


We should be worried, yes. We have reason to be. But that should not make us appeasing Russia and allowing it to get away with brutality and bullying. It should instead make us preparing ourselves and readying ourselves for the storm coming. It makes no sense to allow being paralysed by fear of inevitable things or holding false hopes. The only reaction that makes sense is: preparation. More we cannot do anyway. But at least this little is what we should do for sure.


"Hope is no strategy." - Gen. Sharon

[mapuc]

Does the Ukrainian have huge problem with the logistic in general ?

A friend wrote a long issue about the war and what kind of problem UA had and it was therefore no doubt that Russia would win in the end and one of them was this Logistic.

As I understand it the weapon, weapon system and ammo comes from Poland and other country in an neverending stream.

I know from news that Ukrainian military have a hub near Lviv where war material from Poland is transported across the border.

I could imagine there is some problem getting it from the Hubs near the border to Poland and other countries to the front.

Markus

[Skybird]

Their logistic chain certainly is so complex that they need creativ thinking and plenty of ingenious improvisation skills to master it. So far they have.

I hinted at this some times, that every new individual Western system delivered, every new platform, needs them to make the logistics network even more complex and difficult for them.



As the saying goes: In war, amateurs focus on tactics, professionals focus on logistics.



Ideally, we should not have sent the Marder, Bradley and AMX-10, but just lets say the Bradley (just an example), or even better only Marders because they are closer to the theatre already, and replace the delivering country'S losses internally in NATO, and outside the war.



Instead, they now have three vehicles, one in low quantity, and need to open three full supply lines now. Or the Challengers from UK. Just ten tanks, that is nothing decisive at all - but they need to open a full supply chain just for these ten tanks. Thats why I am against the US delivering the Abrams, and Biden seems to think the same way, media said he told that the Germans that he doe snto nweant to send Abrams due to the gas turbine issue. We should deliver them Leopards only. And we should make sure that these many different national versions are as similiar and as small in diversity as possible. Even withint he same base variant, lets say 2A4, a Leopard for country A is not like the Leopard for another country named B, they all have their own ammo, their own modified electronics specifications, their own software, even changes in the engines, transmission... Ammo fired from one Leopard may not work when fired form another nation's Leopard even if the Rheinmetal gun by verison number is exactly the same: its about warhead programming maybe, or electronics and software code for feeding the (differing) targetting computer. There are not just 5 or 6 different versions of Leopard-2 in service in Europe - but DOZENS.

[Dargo]

Does the Ukrainian have huge problem with the logistic in general ?

A friend wrote a long issue about the war and what kind of problem UA had and it was therefore no doubt that Russia would win in the end and one of them was this Logistic.

As I understand it the weapon, weapon system and ammo comes from Poland and other country in an neverending stream.

I know from news that Ukrainian military have a hub near Lviv where war material from Poland is transported across the border.

I could imagine there is some problem getting it from the Hubs near the border to Poland and other countries to the front.

MarkusThere are no logistic problems train network is intact on the whole front line Ukraine hitting Russian supply hubs far behind the lines daily Russia has the problems.

[Skybird]

Ukraine is running out of spare parts for certain Russian-made equipmentm Dargo. Same for ammo. THAT is a problem for sure. And that is why they want to accelerate the transition to Western-made weapons and platforms. They need to.



Anyway: why tnaks are sitll relevant in modern warfare is described by Die Welt. Myself, I too said before the war that tanks may be obsolete in the wake of drones and ATGMs - but who am I to question the Ukrainians' experience. I stand corrected.
--------------------------
Some experts believe that tanks are too vulnerable for today's wars. But there is much to suggest that the German Leopard 2 in particular could be used to recapture Ukrainian territory. Kiev's troops know exactly why they continue to ask Berlin for supplies.

In recent days, the SPD's foreign policy spokesman has caused some astonishment among experts. For example, Nils Schmid had told the BBC that the German government's refusal to supply Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine was because they could "change the dynamics on the battlefield." Ukraine expert Franziska Davies commented on the statement on Twitter with a visibly unnerved, "That's what the hell it's all about!"

Others wondered, for the umpteenth time, whether Germany is really serious about Ukraine winning this battle for its own territory against the aggressor Russia. Thus, the strange distinctions between offensive and defensive weapons keep popping up in the German debate, just as if Ukraine did not need offensive weapons to regain lost territory.
And that is ultimately what the Leopard 2 debate is about. Ukraine has been very good at defensive combat, which usually demands more casualties from the attackers than from the defenders when they operate out of well-fortified positions. Now, however, the goal is to retake territory occupied by Russia, and to do so, the Ukrainians will also need heavy battle tanks to penetrate the now well-fortified Russian positions.

In the Kharkiv area, they still managed to break through with mechanized units (equipped with military vehicles, note) in early September because they took the thinned-out Russian units there by surprise, so that they managed to make significant gains in terrain even with their limited offensive assets.

However, the Russians will not be so easily overwhelmed in the future. For example, the Russian withdrawal from Kherson from the west bank of the Dnipro has led to a frontline straightening that has allowed Russia to better fortify the front - often with multiple defensive lines in succession - and to occupy it with the help of newly mobilized recruits.

To break through these without suffering catastrophic losses themselves, the Ukrainians need, among other things, more Western-made heavy battle tanks. Because they are clearly superior in armor and firing precision to the Soviet- and Russian-produced models that both sides have been using so far. And because the Ukrainians are also slowly running out of spare parts for their old tanks after more than ten months of extreme use.

The Leopard is the most suitable replacement because it is available in Europe in considerable numbers, because it consumes less fuel than the American Abrams and because it is also considered to be less maintenance-intensive, especially since the supply and spare parts logistics from Europe would be relatively easy to organize. With its 120-millimeter gun, the current version of the Leopard 2 has considerable penetrating power and is capable of reliably destroying intended targets, even when traveling at high speed in a bumpy environment.

But in light of modern, digitized drone warfare, are heavy battle tanks even relevant today? In the West, heavy battle tanks have long been out of fashion because they seemed too cumbersome for the era of counterterrorism that began after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

And the early experience of Russia's war against Ukraine also led to a fierce debate among experts about whether tanks had not now become too vulnerable to, say, small, shoulder-launched anti-tank weapons, with which the Ukrainians inflicted heavy losses on Russian formations.

"Russia's bungled invasion and the remarkable strength of the Ukrainian defensive struggle have highlighted the diminishing penetrating power of heavy and expensive military units challenged by more agile, easier-to-operate and crucially cheaper systems," wrote military thinker Phillips O'Brien of Scotland's University of St. Andrews in The Atlantic, for example. "Tanks, warplanes and warships will be relegated to irrelevance and replaced by new tools of conflict."

At first glance, the numbers seem to bear that out. According to Ukrainian figures, Russia has lost 3100 tanks in this war - significantly more than the larger European NATO countries of Poland, Germany, France, Britain, Spain and Italy combined even have in service.

Researchers from the open-source platform Oryx were able to verify at least more than 1,600 Russian tanks destroyed, abandoned or captured by Ukraine when evaluating images from social media, for example, while 450 tanks lost on the Ukrainian side could be identified.

However, many military experts vehemently disagree with the impression that battle tanks are therefore obsolete in modern land warfare. Robert Lee, for example, who has intensively observed and documented the Ukraine war from the beginning, attributes the high Russian tank losses - especially in the early stages of the war - to several factors.

"Three key factors explain Russian tank losses: a lack of advance warning and preparation, poor strategy that exacerbated supply problems, and too little infantry to protect the tanks," Lee writes in a study on the security website War on the Rocks. Often, for example, it was problems with supplies of spare parts, fuel or ammunition that led to an unusually high number of tanks abandoned by their Russian crews and only then destroyed by Ukrainian units, he said.

"If you're going to conduct offensive operations against fortified defenses, you have to mass a lot of combat power, and tanks are still the most likely to survive that," Lee says. "Without tanks, a military fighting a major land war would have to rely on armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles to fill the same role, resulting in a greater number of catastrophic failures and higher loss of life."

Lee also points out that the Ukrainians are now preeminent experts in what is actually needed for modern land warfare. "The Ukrainians have more experience with conventional warfare than any of our countries, and they continue to deploy tanks and ask for more," Lee said. "That's a pretty good indicator that main battle tanks are still relevant."
----------------------------

[Dargo]

A CNN team near Soledar witnessed Ukraine forces ferrying troops out on Friday afternoon, in what appeared to be an organized pullback from the town. Said withdrawal orderly with "no sense of panic." https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-1-13-23/h_036eee5859c67517f9a4b066faaf144b

Note: these two cities are not important, this battle is used by Ukraine to prepare for other coming actions and this battle has cost the Russians a lot you can say they do not care for lives, but they do fear the whole situation appointing the main general of the Russian army to the war theater is a sign they have no clue to get out of this situation.

[Dargo]

Ukraine is running out of spare parts for certain Russian-made equipmentm Dargo. Same for ammo. THAT is a problem for sure. And that is why they want to accelerate the transition to Western-made weapons and platforms. They need to.



Anyway: why tnaks are sitll relevant in modern warfare is described by Die Welt. Myself, I too said before the war that tanks may be obsolete in the wake of drones and ATGMs - but who am I to question the Ukrainians' experience. I stand corrected.
--------------------------
Some experts believe that tanks are too vulnerable for today's wars. But there is much to suggest that the German Leopard 2 in particular could be used to recapture Ukrainian territory. Kiev's troops know exactly why they continue to ask Berlin for supplies.

In recent days, the SPD's foreign policy spokesman has caused some astonishment among experts. For example, Nils Schmid had told the BBC that the German government's refusal to supply Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine was because they could "change the dynamics on the battlefield." Ukraine expert Franziska Davies commented on the statement on Twitter with a visibly unnerved, "That's what the hell it's all about!"

Others wondered, for the umpteenth time, whether Germany is really serious about Ukraine winning this battle for its own territory against the aggressor Russia. Thus, the strange distinctions between offensive and defensive weapons keep popping up in the German debate, just as if Ukraine did not need offensive weapons to regain lost territory.
And that is ultimately what the Leopard 2 debate is about. Ukraine has been very good at defensive combat, which usually demands more casualties from the attackers than from the defenders when they operate out of well-fortified positions. Now, however, the goal is to retake territory occupied by Russia, and to do so, the Ukrainians will also need heavy battle tanks to penetrate the now well-fortified Russian positions.

In the Kharkiv area, they still managed to break through with mechanized units (equipped with military vehicles, note) in early September because they took the thinned-out Russian units there by surprise, so that they managed to make significant gains in terrain even with their limited offensive assets.

However, the Russians will not be so easily overwhelmed in the future. For example, the Russian withdrawal from Kherson from the west bank of the Dnipro has led to a frontline straightening that has allowed Russia to better fortify the front - often with multiple defensive lines in succession - and to occupy it with the help of newly mobilized recruits.

To break through these without suffering catastrophic losses themselves, the Ukrainians need, among other things, more Western-made heavy battle tanks. Because they are clearly superior in armor and firing precision to the Soviet- and Russian-produced models that both sides have been using so far. And because the Ukrainians are also slowly running out of spare parts for their old tanks after more than ten months of extreme use.

The Leopard is the most suitable replacement because it is available in Europe in considerable numbers, because it consumes less fuel than the American Abrams and because it is also considered to be less maintenance-intensive, especially since the supply and spare parts logistics from Europe would be relatively easy to organize. With its 120-millimeter gun, the current version of the Leopard 2 has considerable penetrating power and is capable of reliably destroying intended targets, even when traveling at high speed in a bumpy environment.

But in light of modern, digitized drone warfare, are heavy battle tanks even relevant today? In the West, heavy battle tanks have long been out of fashion because they seemed too cumbersome for the era of counterterrorism that began after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

And the early experience of Russia's war against Ukraine also led to a fierce debate among experts about whether tanks had not now become too vulnerable to, say, small, shoulder-launched anti-tank weapons, with which the Ukrainians inflicted heavy losses on Russian formations.

"Russia's bungled invasion and the remarkable strength of the Ukrainian defensive struggle have highlighted the diminishing penetrating power of heavy and expensive military units challenged by more agile, easier-to-operate and crucially cheaper systems," wrote military thinker Phillips O'Brien of Scotland's University of St. Andrews in The Atlantic, for example. "Tanks, warplanes and warships will be relegated to irrelevance and replaced by new tools of conflict."

At first glance, the numbers seem to bear that out. According to Ukrainian figures, Russia has lost 3100 tanks in this war - significantly more than the larger European NATO countries of Poland, Germany, France, Britain, Spain and Italy combined even have in service.

Researchers from the open-source platform Oryx were able to verify at least more than 1,600 Russian tanks destroyed, abandoned or captured by Ukraine when evaluating images from social media, for example, while 450 tanks lost on the Ukrainian side could be identified.

However, many military experts vehemently disagree with the impression that battle tanks are therefore obsolete in modern land warfare. Robert Lee, for example, who has intensively observed and documented the Ukraine war from the beginning, attributes the high Russian tank losses - especially in the early stages of the war - to several factors.

"Three key factors explain Russian tank losses: a lack of advance warning and preparation, poor strategy that exacerbated supply problems, and too little infantry to protect the tanks," Lee writes in a study on the security website War on the Rocks. Often, for example, it was problems with supplies of spare parts, fuel or ammunition that led to an unusually high number of tanks abandoned by their Russian crews and only then destroyed by Ukrainian units, he said.

"If you're going to conduct offensive operations against fortified defenses, you have to mass a lot of combat power, and tanks are still the most likely to survive that," Lee says. "Without tanks, a military fighting a major land war would have to rely on armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles to fill the same role, resulting in a greater number of catastrophic failures and higher loss of life."

Lee also points out that the Ukrainians are now preeminent experts in what is actually needed for modern land warfare. "The Ukrainians have more experience with conventional warfare than any of our countries, and they continue to deploy tanks and ask for more," Lee said. "That's a pretty good indicator that main battle tanks are still relevant."
----------------------------I think same goes for Russia they are low on usable material, tanks are and will be the fist of an army to get tanks to Ukraine the US only need to send Abrams (they do not really need to send them only say they will) to force Germany to send the leopards maybe next meeting in Rammstein has any result.

[Rockstar]

…. appointing the main general of the Russian army to the war theater is a sign they have no clue to get out of this situation.


I think appointing Gerasimov to replace Surovikin had little to do with ol’ Valery’s military prowess. It was a political move of Putin ‘circling the wagons’. Putin’s inner circle which includes Gerasimov see Surovikin as a threat and don’t trust him to remain loyal.

[Dargo]

I think appointing Gerasimov to replace Surovikin had little to do with military prowess. It was a political move of Putin ‘circling the wagons’. Putin’s inner circle which includes Gerasimov doesn’t trust Surovikin to remain loyal.Yes that to, Gerasimov is loyal to Putin where Surovikin is loyal to the army Russian leaders always distrusted the army afraid of a coup.

[mapuc]

Skybird wrote

"As the saying goes: In war, amateurs focus on tactics, professionals focus on logistics."

I do not disagree here-However a officer has to think in tactical terms to:

1. Defend its own logistic and the roads/tracks from factory/hub to the front.
2. Destroy the enemies logistic and they road/tracks and factory/Hub.

Markus

[Dargo]

With Soledar under siege, Ukrainian and Russian troops are stretched, facing shortages of reserves, equipment and ammunition. And the weather could quickly turn warmer. Temperatures in eastern Ukraine have been well below freezing in recent days, hardening the ground and opening a window for potential winter offensives by both sides.

But such pushes may not come, either now or during a more sustained cold spell. Military analysts within and outside Ukraine say that while the shift from muddy to frozen terrain is important in enabling the use of wheeled combat and support vehicles, it’s just one of many factors commanders would consider before risking a major new assault. More important are the availability of reserves, equipment and ammunition, and the need to create weak spots to exploit in enemy lines. Both sides are being stretched by slow, but resource-sapping offensives already underway. Russian forces are trying to take Bakhmut and nearby Soledar, while Ukrainian troops are attacking Kreminna and Svatove; all are small-to-mid-sized towns in the eastern Donbas region that Russia claims to have annexed, but only partially occupies.

“The situation around Soledar and Bakhmut is forcing our command to use more reserves in this direction, so it may be that in the close future there won’t be enough left to conduct a big offensive in the south, from Zaporizhzhia, or anywhere else,” said Igor Levchenko, head of strategic modeling at New Geopolitics, a Kyiv-based think tank.

How the conflict evolves over the coming months is likely to be determined less by changes in weather than by the relative success each side has in wearing down the other’s forces and reconstituting their own by spring, Levchenko said. The risk for Russia, according to a European defense official, is that in Bakhmut it makes only a minor tactical gain at the cost of huge personnel losses. A similar mistake in the summer left Russian forces exhausted and over stretched, opening the door for Ukraine to launch successful counter offensives in the fall. Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, said on TV on Tuesday that Soledar, 10 km (6 miles) from the outskirts of Bakhmut, was close to being taken, though “at a very high price.” Claims later in the day from the Wagner mercenary group to be in control of all but a pocket in the center of Soledar could not be verified.

Though poorly trained, recently mobilized troops have shored up defenses around Kreminna and Svatove, slowing Ukraine’s advance. Taking Svatove would allow Ukraine to cut a key Russian logistics route for operations in the Donbas. Newly announced supplies of armored fighting vehicles from the US, Germany and France, as well as growing signs that NATO standard tanks could follow, would better equip Ukraine for a fresh offensive. Officials in Kyiv, meanwhile, have expressed concern over the possibility of a renewed Russian attack from Belarus, just 150 km north of Ukraine’s capital. Ukraine’s general staff have been “masters of operational design” to date and will spend weeks or months setting conditions for the next, decisive phase of the campaign, said Ben Hodges, a former US Lieutenant General and commander of the US Army in Europe, in emailed comments from Tbilisi, Georgia.

While Russia may aim to use mobilized recruits to prolong the war until support for Ukraine from its allies crumbles, “I don’t see that happening in 2023,” Hodges said. “Rather I see Ukraine liberating Crimea by the end of August.” Russia’s President Vladimir Putin annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, turning it since into a support base for his forces in the rest of occupied Ukraine. Some military analysts have expressed skepticism at Ukraine’s capacity to retake it. While falling temperatures have been hardening the ground in the east since Jan. 6, at -8 to -14 degrees Centigrade they’ve also been too low for soldiers to fight effectively while spending days away from shelter, as any offensive breakthrough would require. “The human factor is far more important than the vehicles they can move” in winter, said Ed Arnold, a former British infantry officer now at the Royal United Services Institute, a London think tank. In freezing weather, morale, mobility and logistics all can get hammered, he said. Frozen batteries for drones and radio sets have to be recharged twice as often, while low visibility can render unusable the surveillance drones needed for artillery to target defenses. With both sides running low on artillery shells, the need for precision offered by drones has already at times silenced guns along the front. “What we call the ‘find’ aspect you need for any operation just becomes much more difficult,” said Arnold. “Even foot patrols that can normally cover 15-20 km in a day can suddenly only cover five, because they’re burning more calories, need to carry more food and just can’t do as much in the difficult conditions.”

Very low temperatures also can favor defensive troops that enjoy effective logistics, according to Arnold, enabling them to maintain warmth and stockpile food at frontline positions for as many as 20 days. Those are luxuries unavailable to an advancing force, which has to be resupplied in real time by trucks that use the same makeshift tracks repeatedly, quickly degrading them. The cold also can force errors, such as Russia’s decision to concentrate hundreds of troops in the relative warmth and comfort of a dormitory in Makiivka, within range of Ukraine’s HIMARS rockets. That saw 89 killed in a New Year’s attack, according to Russia’s defense ministry, many more according to Ukraine.

Most worrying to military planners, according to Arnold, is that a freeze can suddenly turn to thaw, leaving offensive troops exposed and unsupplied as wheeled support vehicles again become stuck in Ukraine’s notoriously glutinous mud. Tracked vehicles, such as tanks, can still operate, but not if fuel tankers can no longer reach them. Soldiers, similarly, would then be left without food, and artillery without ammunition or the ability to quickly move position after firing, so as to evade counter-battery fire. Temperatures in the east are forecast to rise above freezing again as soon as next week.

“The Ukrainians have a much better option,” said Arnold. “I would say that with what they already have and everything the West is giving them, they have one chance at a big push — so don’t go early.” The Bakhmut fighting is likely to remain intense regardless of weather, because Russian commanders have shifted tactics, relying on foot soldiers to punch through defenses, rather than the massive artillery barges followed by mechanized assaults that slugged their way through Ukrainian lines in the Donbas last summer. While Bakhmut has relatively small strategic significance, Russian commanders appear determined to take it regardless of cost, while Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said in a December interview with The Economist that his nation’s top priority was to cede no more territory. “It is ten to 15 times harder to liberate it than not to surrender it,” he said. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-13/putin-buys-off-the-poor-writes-off-middle-class-with-war-budget#xj4y7vzkg

[Dargo]

Local beavers are helping Ukraine defend itself from a potential new front in Russia's invasion, Reuters reported on Thursday. The animals are unwittingly helping Kyiv by building dams that keep the ground marshy and impassable, a military spokesman told the agency. This helps Ukraine by making it less likely that an attack could come via Belarus, which borders Ukraine not far north of the capital Kyiv. Ukrainian officials had warned that Russia may wage an offensive through its ally Belarus into a region of Ukraine called Volyn.

Defense forces there, however, have been reassured by conditions on the ground, left impassable by miles of burst river banks, thick mud, and waterlogged fields. The swampy conditions have given Ukrainians an advantage, and time to prepare: a local military unit called the Volyn territorial defense has been conducting daily training exercises in the area, according to Reuters.

Its spokesman, Serhiy Khominskyi, praised the beavers, which he told Reuters were more working unimpeded, unlike in other years. "When [the beavers] build their dams normally people destroy them, but they didn't this year because of the war, so now there is water everywhere," he said. https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-says-defenses-stronger-thanks-beavers-dams-2023-1?international=true&r=US&IR=T

https://i.postimg.cc/0yy7qKLB/ukrbeaver.jpg

[Dargo]

Soledar:
Ukrainian artillery teams continue to target exposed Russian units in Soledar.

In the area constant artillery battles continue over the town.

Ukrainian special operations foiled an attempt of Russian forces to bypass defences near the town and forced them to retreat. https://twitter.com/WarMonitor3/status/1613929301463760896

What Wagner doing? :D

[mapuc]

^ Eating bullets and shells and other explosive stuff en mass

Markus

[Dargo]

^ Eating bullets and shells and other explosive stuff en mass

MarkusBut I have a big win today, why Ukraine so mad? :)

[mapuc]

But I have a big win today, why Ukraine so mad? :)

Remember a status from Darth Putin

Our troops is expert in destroying HIMARS rockets

Markus

[Dargo]

Remember a status from Darth Putin

Our troops is expert in destroying HIMARS rockets

MarkusThey sure boss, they already destroyed several M-2 Bradley's

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e8UeOT7EqI

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IYsGAQYMq8

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhmm4LMKs80

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWQQieWQhKw

[mapuc]

Someone asked who think Russia is behind the explosion of this Gaspipeline

I wrote

I doubt it, to be honest- It would mean an attack on a NATO country

Markus

[Skybird]

Just in:

German media report that German defence carricature Lambrecht will step back next week.

German media also report that Scholz will allow delivery of Leopard tanks next week.


Wowh - why the sudden hurry? :D (Answer: they have secretly red Subsim GT forums during the last last cabinet meeting)


Mind experiment: If most of the NATO countries would each send one company of Leopards, 14 tanks, then - well, then you end up with around 100 Leopards, maybe more.

[Dargo]

Just in:

German media report that German defence carricature Lambrecht will step back next week.

German media also report that Scholz will allow delivery of Leopard tanks next week.


Wowh - why the sudden hurry? :D (Answer: they have secretly red Subsim GT forums during the last last cabinet meeting)


Mind experiment: If most of the NATO countries would each send one company of Leopards, 14 tanks, then - well, then you end up with around 100 Leopards, maybe more.Ukraine wants brigades of them :D

[Catfish]

Someone asked who think Russia is behind the explosion of this Gaspipeline
I wrote
I doubt it, to be honest- It would mean an attack on a NATO country
Markus
Ah yes. Like with North Stream. Maybe NATO blew that and this pipeline up as a false flag operation?
I guess not. Putin is getting desperate. If it quacks like a duck .. and so forth.

[mapuc]

Ah yes. Like with North Stream. Maybe NATO blew that and this pipeline up as a false flag operation?
I guess not. Putin is getting desperate. If it quacks like a duck .. and so forth.

Another one said it was some Russian gang

And according to a Danish newspaper
"Gas operator Amber Grid at first glance does not see any evidence of a malicious act, says director But the investigation will uncover all possibilities, says Amber Grid's CEO, Nemunas Biknius, at a press conference according to Reuters"

Markus

[Skybird]

:D

Ukraine is getting help in the war from an unexpected source, lowering worries about a renewed invasion by Russian troops from neighboring Belarus. In the Volhynia region on the border with Belarus, beaver dams have caused flooding, submerging additional areas of the territory or turning them into muddy landscapes. Reuters reported this, citing a member of the local territorial defense unit.

Unlike in peacetime, no one has bothered to destroy beaver dams that cause rivers to overflow their banks, he said. As a result, he said, and due to the mild winter, the area, with its many bodies of water and few paved roads, is even more difficult to pass than it already is.



A toast to the beaver marines! :Kaleun_Cheers: Next come air force bats bombing their sh!t from the air and commando squirrels throwing nut grenades!


Not to forget the fearsome German Kampf-Teckel. It holds its ground and drives every rat out of its hole.
https://i.postimg.cc/3Jg9zFjC/Kampfteckel.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[Jimbuna]

Ah yes. Like with North Stream. Maybe NATO blew that and this pipeline up as a false flag operation?
I guess not. Putin is getting desperate. If it quacks like a duck .. and so forth.

Aye :yep:

[Jimbuna]

Russia claims victory in battle for Ukraine salt mine town

Russia's military says it has captured the Ukrainian salt-mine town of Soledar after a long battle, calling it an "important" step for its offensive.

The victory would allow Russian troops to push on to the nearby city of Bakhmut, and cut off the Ukrainian forces there, a spokesman said.

This was a very confident and ambitious statement from Moscow.

But Ukrainian officials said the fight for Soledar was still going on and accused Russia of "information noise".

The battle for Soledar has been one of the bloodiest of the war.

The town is relatively small, with a pre-war population of just 10,000, and its strategic significance is debatable. But if it is confirmed that Russian forces have seized control of it, then there will likely be a big sigh of relief in the Kremlin.

Divisions have emerged between regular Russian forces and the notorious Russian Wagner paramilitary group throughout the battle, with a jealous turf-war developing over who should take credit for the advance.

Barely any walls in Soledar remain standing, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said this week. Describing almost apocalyptic scenes, he spoke of the nearby terrain as scarred by missile strikes and littered with Russian corpses.

Speaking during his nightly address from Kyiv on Friday, Mr Zelensky said the battle in the region continued to rage, but avoided any reference to Russia's claims of control over Soledar.

"Although the enemy has concentrated its greatest forces in this direction, our troops - the Armed Forces of Ukraine, all defence and security forces - are defending the state," the Ukrainian leader said.

His chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, compared the fight for Soledar and Bakhmut to one of the bitterest battles of World War One, at Verdun.

Regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Thursday that 559 civilians including 15 children remained in Soledar and could not be moved out.

The town's significance for the Russian military is disputed by military analysts because of its relatively small size. The US-based think tank Institute for the Study of War said while it was likely that Russian forces had captured Soledar, it did not believe they would then be able to go on to encircle Bakhmut.

Nevertheless, if it becomes clear that Russia has taken it, then that will be seen in Moscow as progress - even a victory.

That is exactly what President Vladimir Putin needs as Russia has failed to capture a single town in Ukraine since July 2022. Since then, Moscow's forces have suffered a whole series of embarrassing defeats.

Ukraine's successful counter-attack pushed Russia almost completely out of Kharkiv region in the north-east. In October, Russia's Kerch bridge came under attack, with Russian forces retreating from the city of Kherson the following month.

The southern port city had been the only regional capital that Russia had managed to seize since the invasion began.

Capturing Soledar would be something for Moscow to present as some "good news" to the Russian people and the troops on the wintry front line.

But Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern military command, denied Soledar was in Russian hands: "We won't give any more details as we do not want to reveal the tactical positions of our fighters."

Deputy Defence Minister, Hanna Malyar, said fighting had been "hot in Soledar overnight". Ukrainian fighters were "bravely trying to hold the defence", she added, in what was a difficult stage of the war.

Western and Ukrainian officials have said much of the fighting in Soledar and Bakhmut is being done by the notoriously brutal Wagner mercenary group.

Its leader, 61-year-old Yevgeny Prigozhin, has claimed repeatedly over the past few days that his forces are the only units on the ground in Soledar. He said on Tuesday night that his mercenaries had seized the town, only to be contradicted by Russia's defence ministry the next morning.

Daily updates from the Russian defence ministry have made no mention whatsoever of Wagner, and Friday's briefing was no exception. The military said that paratroopers had played a key part in the capture of the town.

Mr Prigozhin then released a statement saying he was "surprised" to read the defence ministry briefing. There "wasn't a single paratrooper" in Soledar, he insisted, warning against "insulting [his] fighters" and "stealing others' achievements".

And on Friday evening, Mr Prigozhin accused "officials who want to stay in their places" of being the biggest threat to his group's advance in Ukraine.

In a later statement, the defence ministry praised the mercenaries' "courageous and selfless actions" during the fighting, but again emphasised the leading role of regular Russian forces.

Analysts have long spoken of tensions between the military and Mr Prigozhin's Wagner group. The Russian oligarch has publicly criticised senior military leaders, including Gen Valery Gerasimov, appointed two days ago as overall commander of Russian forces in Ukraine.

While Russia has mobilised some 300,000 reservists for the war since the end of September, Prigozhin has looked to recruit extra numbers from Russia's prisons.

Andriy Yermak told French daily Le Monde that Russian criminals had been sent straight to their deaths on the front line: "Soledar is a scene of street battles, with neither side really in control of the town."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64263119

[Jimbuna]

Total combat losses of Russian Federation since beginning of war - about 114,660 (+530), 1,867 UAVs, 3,104 tanks, 2,090 artillery systems, 6,167 armored vehicles. INFOGRAPHICS

Losses of the Russian occupiers as of the morning of January 14, 2023, are approximately 114,660 people.

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to the press center of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02.22 to 14.01.23 approximately amounted to:

personnel - about 114,660 (+530) people were liquidated,
tanks ‒ 3104 (+6) units,
armored combat vehicles ‒ 6173 (+6) units,
artillery systems - 2090 (+4) units,
MLRS – 437 (+0) units,
air defense equipment ‒ 219 (+1) units,
aircraft – 286 (+0) units,
helicopters – 276 (+0) units,
UAV of the operational-tactical level - 1867 (+2),
cruise missiles ‒ 723 (+0),
warships/boats ‒ 17 (+0) units,
automotive equipment and tank trucks – 4,846 (+13) units,
special equipment ‒ 186 (+2).
"The data is being verified," the General Staff added. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393246

[Jimbuna]

"Hanging" of Erdogan’s scarecrow: Turkey canceled invitation to speaker of Swedish parliament

The speaker of the Turkish parliament has canceled an invitation to his Swedish colleague Andreas Norlen to visit Ankara next week after the "hanging" of a dummy of Turkish President Erdogan in Stockholm.

This was reported by Sveriges Radio, Censor.NET informs with reference to European Pravda.

Norlen planned the trip with his Finnish colleague Matti Vanhanen. Due to the revocation of the invitation to the Swedish politician, Vanhanen's visit has also been canceled.

"We had a planned trip together on a Swedish government plane, so my visit is technically not possible," Vanhanen was quoted as saying by Yle.

As Censor.NET reported, on Wednesday the "Rojava Committee" organization posted a photo and video of a rally near the Stockholm City Hall with a scarecrow of Erdogan hanging by its feet. The "Rojava Committee" calls itself "a network of solidarity and exchange with the revolutionary movement throughout Kurdistan." Turkish media call them supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, recognized by Ankara as a terrorist organization.

The Turkish prosecutor's office opened a criminal case over the incident in Stockholm, and the Swedish ambassador was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told TV4 on Friday that the act was "extremely serious" and that he considered it sabotage against the NATO bid. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393279

Russians hit Kyiv with ballistics, so missiles were not detected and shot down, - Air Force

The air strike on Kyiv in the morning of January 14 was carried out along a ballistic trajectory.

This was stated by Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat, Censor.NET reports with reference to Ukrainian Pravda.

"Most likely, these are missiles that flew along a ballistic trajectory. From the north. Ballistics are not available for us to detect and shoot down," he said.

According to Ihnat, specialists will study the type of rockets used by the enemy on Saturday. But it is obvious that these were either ballistic missiles or S-300 anti-aircraft missiles flying along a ballistic trajectory.

The warning about the missile threat came late due to the lack of radar data and information from other sources.

Unfortunately, the Armed Forces do not have effective means of detecting and destroying ballistic missiles, Ihnat emphasized.

An Air Force spokesman also confirmed that a group of Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers are currently in the air, but it is not known whether they will launch missiles. Their flight is tracked. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393272

[Jimbuna]

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has confirmed the UK will provide Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine in a call with President Zelensky, No 10 says.

The BBC understands the initial commitment is for around a dozen tanks.

Meanwhile, Russian missile attacks have hit critical infrastructure in Kyiv and the eastern city of Kharkiv.

Journalists heard a series of blasts in Kyiv before the air raid siren even sounded, which is highly unusual.

The governor of the central Cherkasy region is also warning Russia could launch a massive missile strike later on Saturday.

And, Russia’s defence minister says its forces have taken control of the Ukrainian salt-mining city of Soledar.

Ukrainian officials said the fight for the small but significant town is still going on and accused Russia of "information noise"

[Jimbuna]

Russian Federation speaks at UN about its readiness for negotiations. Conditions - absence of "threat" from Ukraine

Moscow is ready to "achieve the goals of the war" through negotiations, if "there will no longer be a threat of the Russian Federation in Ukraine" and "discrimination against the Russian-speaking population."

This was stated by the permanent representative of Russia, Vasyl Nebenzya, at a meeting of the UN Security Council, Censor.NET reports with reference to the Russian mass media.

"It will be possible to end hostilities only when the threat of Russia no longer emanates from the territory of Ukraine and when discrimination against the Russian-speaking population of this country ends," he said.

Nebenzia insists that Russia is allegedly "destroying Ukraine as a state, its de-Ukrainization, and violent Russification." Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393285

Russia is going to mobilize 500,000 people, - Times

The leadership of the Russian Federation intends to mobilize 500,000 people and throw them into a new offensive in April.

This is reported by The Times with reference to Western intelligence data, Censor.NET informs with reference to the Correspondent.

It is noted that the decision will be made within a few weeks, and up to half a million people will be sent to the front by April "to start a new large-scale offensive." It is clarified that by this time there should be less dirt and debris due to bad weather.

"Serious preparations are underway in Russian regional military committees, the Kremlin has conducted a closed survey. Russian citizens are worried about the war, but they also do not want to accept defeat," the publication quoted an unnamed official as saying. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393322

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4i1zYOn0vY

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrUpNut9DGQ

[Dargo]

According to Russian media as of 01/01/2023

Wagner:
- 38,244 recruited from the penal system.
- 29,543 missing, dead or captured
- 106 completed contract, released

This is 77% loss rate. https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1614330287118221313

20–30% is an often used back of napkin figure for declaring a unit 'combat ineffective'.

[mapuc]

Want to share this documentary "Winter on Fire"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzNxLzFfR5w&ab_channel=Netflix

The reason why it has this age thing is because of the violent that is being shown in this video

This documentary follows the demonstrators from Nov. 2013 and forward until Feb. 2014.

Markus

[Dargo]

Want to share this documentary "Winter on Fire"

...

The reason why it has this age thing is because of the violent that is being shown in this video

This documentary follows the demonstrators from Nov. 2013 and forward until Feb. 2014.

MarkusYou see in this documentary the same determination of the Ukrainians as we now see in this war no authoritarian government could suppress their longing for freedom then, neither can Putin now.

[mapuc]

You see in this documentary the same determination of the Ukrainians as we now see in this war no authoritarian government could suppress their longing for freedom then, neither can Putin now.

I copied your comment and posted it in a livestream I did this because you are so correct..

Ukraine will win this war

Here is an Report from ISW
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-january-11-2023

Markus

[Skybird]

Rheinmetall now says it has 22 Leopard 2 and 88 Leopard 1 tanks in stock, and that their preparation for wartime use will take until next year, so they cannot be delivered until early next year. Since this would cost several 100 million euros, it would not be possible to pre-finance such a large project without formally awarding a contract, as had been done with Marders, for example.

This is astonishing, since Rheinmetall had said in the spring of last year that it could deliver the Leopard by early fall of 2022 if a contract were awarded in the spring. Now they say they need twice as long.

Thus, Germany is not in a position to support Ukraine with leopards this year from discarded stocks. The only option would be to send vehicles actively in service with the Bundeswehr and then replace them in a year's time with refurbished reserve Leopards.

I don't dare to predict whether this will be done, because the Bundeswehr's clear levels, i.e. how many existing vehicles are actually operational at the moment, are devastatingly low in the Army and the Air Force. For example, of the remaining Panzerhaubitzen 2000 the BW has, just about a third are operatonal: around 40. Transport helicopters, Eurofighters - dont get me started again.

I would guess, if anything, that even the Germans won't have more than one company to give, possibly shortened, that's about what the British annoucned to give, ten Challengers. And Germany does not have that many Leopard-2s in service anyway.

So the most important thing that can happen is that Germany does no longer prevent other Leopard customers from exporting a few of theirs. That Germany will send Leopards until spring this year is doubtful for me. Frankly speaking, I would not send any from Buindeswehr stocks - the German army is simply in an already lousy condition. I have relied on industry claims from the spring. But maybe this time the German government surprises me. I would support a decision to send active BW stocks, but my applause would be muted for the reasons mentioned.

How few vehicles and aircrafts are actually operational in the German armed forces, I have reported about it in the last years in other places again and again mockingly. A laughing stock. German ydeserves to gets panked for its "defence polciy", althouth most iof not all others acted the same way: shreddering defence budgets to pieces.



If the Ukrainians get Leopards, they will end up with a wild mix of different versions. Have a Happy Logistics-day...

[Jimbuna]

Putin humiliated as Russian troops vote to head home in secret military poll

Russian army officers delivered a damning verdict on Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, as they voted to down arms and go home in a secret poll. Putin's army has been involved in fierce fighting in the Donbas, as it tries to secure control over the entire resource rich region. On Friday Russia's Ministry of Defence claimed the city of Soledar had fallen to the Kremlin's troops and that the noose was tightening on Bakhmut.

Kyiv insisted that the city was still not fully under Russian control and that pockets of resistance remained. If Soledar has fallen, then this would be the first major battlefield success for Russia's commanders since the summer and should provide a huge boost to army morale.

However, Russian soldiers appear far from convinced that they should be waging war in Ukraine, according to a secret poll carried out by a brigade commander. A prominent Russian military blogger, Vladen Tatarsky, wrote on his Telegram channel that the commander asked his officers whether they wanted to kill Ukrainians every day.

To his dismay all but one indicated that they would rather not and would "prefer to go on vacation, and stay alive". Tatarsky said the sole officer in favour of war dreamt only of how to kill the enemy day and night.

He described his appearance as being similar to that of North Korea's brutal dictator, Kim Jong-un. The military blogger added: "Our victory will come faster if the system in the army is built in such a way that people like our Kim Jong-un will rise through the ranks.

"I am sure that this moment should become a priority in the reform of the Armed Forces." Russian troops continue to suffer from poor morale and to desert their units in high numbers, as they attempt to avoid being killed in fighting.

A study carried out by the Russian media outlet Vyorstka detected a huge increase recently in searches for "how to surrender" on Yandex.

Yandex ís a Russian search engine widely used by people in the country and sometimes preferred to Google.

The researchers found that in the week between November 28 to December 4, over 66,000 queries were made using the phrase "how to surrender". This compares with an average of 10,000 such searches per week during the previous five months.

Vyorstka noted that the increase in searches in November coincided with the arrival of large groups of mobilised soldiers to the front and reports of significant losses among them.

At the same time, video messages from troops and their relatives began to appear, in which they complained that conscripts soldiers were being thrown "like meat" into the fighting.

It comes as Russian soldiers based in Belarus fled their barracks near Minsk with weapons.

Military authorities launched a search for the deserters, setting up checkpoints on surrounding roads.

Locals reported: "There is a checkpoint at the exit to the city on the Zaslavl-Kolodishchi road, not everyone is checked, selectively.

"Near the Hippo store on this highway, there is a bus with military men in camouflage."

At the same time, conscripted soldiers posted another video message to social media, complain about their treatment.

The soldiers come from the Belgorod region and were trained as artillerymen.

Despite this, they were sent in as infantry to be used as cannon fodder.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/putin-humiliated-as-russian-troops-vote-to-head-home-in-secret-military-poll/ar-AA16lSoM?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=9a9ce9970b6f4abd93c930a50d38187e

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeMxwWC8e4w

[Jimbuna]

Russian Federation may resort to raising conscription age in opposition to new wave of mobilization, - British intelligence

According to British intelligence, the change in age criteria for regular conscription in the Russian Federation may seem less alarming to the population there compared to a new round of "partial mobilization."

This is stated in the intelligence review of the British Ministry of Defense, Censor.NET reports.

British intelligence reminds that on January 12, 2023, Andrii Kartapolov, chairman of the Russian State Duma's defense committee, suggested that the Russian Federation would increase the upper conscription age from 27 to 30 years before the spring conscription of 2023.

Kartapolov said the move would be aimed at securing the previously announced 30% increase in the size of the Russian armed forces.

Last year, President Putin said he supported such a move, and Russian officials are likely studying public reaction.

"There is a real possibility that Russian leaders hope that changing the age criteria for regular conscription can increase the number of personnel available to participate in combat operations in Ukraine, while at the same time appearing less disturbing to the population than announcing another round of the unpopular process of "partial mobilization," the review says. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393408

Georgia will not provide military aid to Ukraine, - Deputy Prime Minister Tsulukiani

Georgia will not provide military aid to Ukraine, as it does not want to be involved in the conflict.

As reported by Censor.NET with reference to TASS, this was stated by Deputy Prime Minister Teja Tsulukiani.

"The Georgian authorities will not allow the Georgian state to be involved in the military confrontation, accordingly, of course, we will not be able to provide military-type assistance to one of the parties to the confrontation (Ukraine. - Ed.).
Moreover, as far as I know, it is about the transfer of such weapons that we bought," she said.

The Deputy Prime Minister added that Georgia has experienced many armed conflicts and the government must prevent this from happening again. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393422

Ukraine is considering possible role of Turkey as patron country, - Lubinets

Ukraine wants to grant Turkey the status of a patron state in the war against Russia.

This was stated by Dmytro Lubinets, the human rights representative of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Censor.NET reports with reference to Ukrinform.

"We are also considering the possible role of Turkey as a patron country, which is also stipulated in the Geneva Conventions.
In fact, now, when there is a war, there is no platform where any negotiations can be held, Turkey is constantly offering it. Various issues can be resolved through the patronage state, and Turkey can effectively fulfill this role. The Geneva Conventions allow you to do this and even have not only one patron country, there can be up to five of them. We are also considering such an option," Lubinets said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393440

[August]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGZi-F3tz-o

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ricDYCMiUnc

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRP-K9bq0JU

[Jimbuna]

Risk of Putin using nuclear weapons is low, - Stoltenberg

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg does not think that the risk of Russia using nuclear weapons is low.

He stated this in an interview with the Handelsblatt newspaper, Censor.NET reports with reference to "Euro Integration".

Regarding the risk of nuclear escalation, which was repeatedly pointed out by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Stoltenberg said: "The risk of using nuclear weapons is low."

According to him, China and other countries have sent a signal to Russia "that nuclear weapons should not be used."

At the same time, Stoltenberg spoke out for a critical assessment of Chinese investments: "We must not repeat the mistake we made with Russian gas. Too much dependence on an authoritarian regime for the supply of raw materials or critical goods makes us vulnerable." Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393487

Stoltenberg on supply of heavy weapons to Ukraine: "I expect more in near future"

Ukraine can count on increased supplies of heavy weapons from Western countries in the near future.

This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in an interview with the Handelsblatt newspaper, Censor.NET reports with reference to "European Truth".

Kyiv has long pushed for heavier weapons, including tanks, but Western countries have been reluctant to comply, citing fears of being drawn into a war or provoking Russia.

"The recent pledges to provide heavy combat equipment are important - and I expect more in the near future," Stoltenberg said.

These comments were made on the eve of the meeting of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine, which coordinates the supply of weapons to Kyiv, which will take place next week at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

"We are in a decisive phase of the war," Stoltenberg said. "Therefore, it is important that we provide Ukraine with the weapons necessary for victory," he emphasized.

Earlier this month, France, Germany and the US pledged to provide French AMX-10 RC light tanks, 40 German Marder BMPs and 50 Bradley fighting vehicles.

However, pressure is mounting on the Allies to go further and agree to the supply of battle tanks.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday pledged to provide Ukraine with 14 Challenger 2 tanks, making it the first Western country to supply the heavy tanks that Kyiv has been pushing for.

Stoltenberg said that Russian President Vladimir Putin made a mistake by attacking Ukraine.

"He overestimated the strength of his own armed forces. We see their mistakes, lack of morale, leadership problems, poor equipment," he said.

But the Russians have "demonstrated that they are ready to bear great losses to achieve their goals," so Russia should not be underestimated. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393485

[mapuc]

Would Putin satisfied with losing face in his defeat in Ukraine ?

Some of you have said that this is the worst thing which could happen to a Russian leader-Losing his face in front of his people.

If or When UAF takes Crimea-it will be a big smack in his face..

I myself fear Russia will in the end use Tactical nukes on Ukraine soil.

Markus

[Dargo]

Would Putin satisfied with losing face in his defeat in Ukraine ?

Some of you have said that this is the worst thing which could happen to a Russian leader-Losing his face in front of his people.

If or When UAF takes Crimea-it will be a big smack in his face..

I myself fear Russia will in the end use Tactical nukes on Ukraine soil.

MarkusPutin is carrying out a genocidal project in Ukraine, his invasion aims to deny Ukraine existence as a state, the Russians do not think like us. With our Western, Cartesian, logical brains, we now see their invasion of Ukraine as a failure. We think Putin has no choice but to withdraw. But Putin thinks he can take Kiev even if it costs him two years and 200- to 500,000 dead Russian soldiers. The death toll leaves him indifferent.

His priority now is his personal political survival and power, then the deployment of apocalyptic weapons such as nuclear warheads. Deep down, Putin is a cowardly man. You can see this in how he always sits at long tables, keeping everyone far away from him, for fear of a virus or attack. He is very paranoid. Remember, his security chiefs tell him weekly that they foiled assassination plans from the West. Nonsense, of course, but he believes it. Not his scruples keep him from pushing the button. He has already killed tens of thousands of Ukrainians, but the thought that he himself could die if there is retaliation after a nuclear deployment.

[Catfish]

Would Putin satisfied with losing face in his defeat in Ukraine ?
Some of you have said that this is the worst thing which could happen to a Russian leader-Losing his face in front of his people.
Who cares? I hope he does not only lose his face.

[...] I myself fear Russia will in the end use Tactical nukes on Ukraine soil. Markus
I think he won't. Sure he loves to escalate, but this would make him a pariah also in the eyes of China, and he cannot afford a two-front war.
If he does also people in St. Peterburg and Moscow will feel how it is being at war.
I almost wish he would.

[Dargo]

Who cares? I hope he does not only lose his face.


I think he won't. Sure he loves to escalate, but this would make him a pariah also in the eyes of China, and he cannot afford a two-front war.
If he does also people in St. Peterburg and Moscow will feel how it is being at war.
I almost wish he would.China has said to Putin going nuclear is a no-go they do not want a world economic crisis

[nikimcbee]

Did they say what was hit in Kyiv?

[Skybird]

The nuklear threat I take as an empty threat currently, and Putler has raised os many threats and then did not act on them when the West dleoivered ever more wepaons that now he is unbelievable.


However. I said that for me the test on the nuclera threat is when he looses Crimea. Crimea is the biggest piece of the cake in this war so far, and if he looses that, then his loss of face indeed will be a problem - in Russia. Loosing Crimea would be a PR deaster of utmost relevance for him, worse than anythign else that has ahppened so far and that went not according to plans.


We check the nuclear thing again when the Ukrainians march on Sevastopol. Then even Puztin nows that all is lost and that he has no chance to even pohysiclaly surivive any longer. Desperate old men do desperate stupid things. An by appeals or threats and warnings of the Russians therefore must be directed not at Putin, but the other mobsters at the top of the Kremlin's food chain.



Putin - forget about Putin, he is done anyway. The rats would not have come out of their holes to place their bids for the top power seat if they would not have seen from close range that the big master is no longer the master in his house, and that his reign is about to end. Trust the rats I do - at least on this one issue.

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoDI4J9eWvo

[Jimbuna]

Robbery of Ukrainian museums by occupiers has become largest since World War II - The New York Times

Russian occupants stole tens of thousands of artworks and historical exhibits, including antiquities, in Ukraine.

This is stated in article of The New York Times, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to LegueBusinessInform.

The invaders illegally seized dozens of thousands of exhibits from museums in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine - from ancient Scythian gold to modern avant-garde works, the newspaper writes. According to experts interviewed by the newspaper, this is the largest theft of works of art since the Second World War.

At the same time, experts believe that the purpose of this theft is not only to seize material and historical values, but also to deprive Ukraine of its cultural heritage.

The publication writes that according to the prosecutor's office and museums of Ukraine, only in Kherson, Russians stole more than 15,000 objects of art and historical significance. According to available data, the occupiers robbed or completely destroyed more than 30 museums, including in Mariupol, Melitopol and Kherson. These figures refer only to the part of cultural property that has been documented, so it is expected that the actual scale of theft is much higher.

According to eyewitnesses (security guards and museum staff), the looting was centralized and systematic, with exhibits being seized under the guidance of Russian specialists.

According to James Ratcliffe, senior advisor to The Art Loss Register (an organization that searches for stolen art objects), this is the implementation of a plan prepared in advance by the occupiers. "This is not the same as if a soldier hid a silver bowl in his backpack," he said.

At the same time, according to Ratcliffe, every international auction house that receives items from Ukraine will check them extremely carefully.

The publication notes that international organizations, including UNESCO and Interpol, have been dealing with art objects and historical exhibits stolen by the occupiers from Ukrainian museums since 2014, when Russians seized the funds of Ukrainian museums in the temporarily occupied Crimea. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393504

[Jimbuna]

NATO-Russia relations will not normalize after war in Ukraine - Stoltenberg

NATO has ruled out normalization of relations with Russia after the war in Ukraine.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in an interview to a German newspaper Handelsblatt expressed the opinion that normalization of relations between the West and Russia is impossible even after the end of the war unleashed by the country against Ukraine, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to UNIAN.

"It will not be as before. Even if the guns are silenced in Ukraine, we should not expect that our relations with Russia will normalize," Stoltenberg said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393507

Ambassador Bodnar: Turkish elections will not change country’s approach to relations with Ukraine

The presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey to be held in June 2023 will not change the country’s approach to the development of relations with Ukraine, Ambassador to Turkey Vasyl Bodnar said.

He stated this in an interview with "Ukrinform", reports Censor.NЕТ.

The Ambassador noted that the pre-election rhetoric in Turkey is more focused on internal than on external issues.

"Our task is to maintain the existing level of strategic partnership. I don't see any signs that could indicate changes in any approaches to the development of cooperation with Ukraine. Fortunately, none of the political forces in the political struggle uses the theme of Ukraine to somehow question the existing level of cooperation between Ukraine and Turkey," Bodnar said.

In his opinion, "elections will pass, but interests will remain", as they are mutual and based on practical things: increasing trade turnover, strengthening defense capabilities, increasing cultural exchange.

The ambassador also said that Turkish President Recep Erdogan has made a lot of efforts to strengthen the strategic partnership with Ukraine, and his role is "one of the key ones".

"What will be the vision of other political forces for the development of relations with Ukraine, we will see after the elections," Bodnar added. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393511

I propose Scholz to give Ukraine 93 Tornado aircrafts that are being decommissioned - Melnyk

Former Ambassador to Germany, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Melnyk proposed to the Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz to hand over 93 Tornado multipurpose combat aircrafts to Kyiv.

According to Censor.NЕТ he stated about this іn Twitter.

"I have a creative proposal to our German friends. The Bundeswehr has 93 Tornado multipurpose combat aircraft, which will soon be decommissioned and replaced by the F-35. Although it is an old jet fighter, it is still very powerful. Why not supply these Tornados to Ukraine, Bundeskanzler?" he wrote. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393515

[Skybird]

On the Tornados: it will still take many years before the first F-35 is in active Gernman service. And it will take a long time to train pilots on the Tornado, its not an easy aircraft. The avioncs of an F-16 for exmaple are described to be much easier tio handle. There is a reason why the Tornado has a crew of two, not one.

Some Tornados. Maybe. Probably not during the cause of the ongoing war anymore.

Melnyk no doubt is offering another one of his "creative jokes".

[mapuc]

On the Tornados: it will still take many years before the first F-35 is in active Gernman service. And it will take a long time to train pilots on the Tornado, its not an easy aircraft. The avioncs of an F-16 for exmaple are described to be much easier tio handle. There is a reason why the Tornado has a crew of two, not one.

Some Tornados. Maybe. Probably not during the cause of the ongoing war anymore.

Melnyk no doubt is offering another one of his "creative jokes".

And I who thought that Germanys Air force used the second pilot(s/he)who sits in the back seat as a weapon and radar officer and the pilot in front flew the plane and toke care of the rest.

Otherwise I would agree on the time it would take to train the Ukrainian in mastering this Tornado fighter Jet.

Markus

[Skybird]

And I who thought that Germanys Air force used the second pilot(s/he)who sits in the back seat as a weapon and radar officer and the pilot in front flew the plane and toke care of the rest.

Its indeed so, many multi role and fighter bomber and interceptor jets of that era and generation had two seat cockpiuts, one weaons system officer and one flying pilot. F-111. F-15 Strike Eagle. F-14. Prowler. Su-24. The cockjpit was mostly analogue, the workload to fly, to aim and to precision-shoot was too much for one man alone. Its the same in the Tornado. Its an old plane. Thats what makes it more complicated to learn and operate. Then, there is the repai and mainbetnance aspect. Reserve aorts are nio lonber poroduced, stocks are limited, machiens need to get cannibalized to keep the others flying. The number of working hours needed for one flying hour, is very high, since the airframe is old and has seen a lot of stress. The British lost some Tornaos in Iraq that were not under fire at all when crashing, it was because the ride is a rough one when flying low and fast (what the Tornado was made for), and the piloting under that low-flying conditions is not easy.

I wonder whether Melnyk knows all that. He is known to be provocitive, often beign right. But here - I dont know. Ukrainian pilots must be under enormous stress already, so must be the maintenance crews. Human errors must spike with growing exhaustion. And then handling such a complicated system, old, beyond its hey-days. Does not sound too good to me.

If Melnyk thinks about it a second time, maybe he finds that they rather would not have the Tornado, but more modern planes: Gripens. Falcons. Especially the Gripen with it short runway length should be attractive. Its cockpit is superior (more ergonomic, modern) to that of the F-16 Block C, pilots say.

[mapuc]

If Melnyk thinks about it a second time, maybe he finds that they rather would not have the Tornado, but more modern planes: Gripens. Falcons. Especially the Gripen with it short runway length should be attractive. Its cockpit is superior (more ergonomic, modern) to that of the F-16 Block C, pilots say.

When reading the word Gripen and your fine words about it I felt proud.

I also remembered an article-which I again remembered wrong haha. I was convinced Sweden would send some JAS39 Gripen to Ukraine

According to recent media reports and tweets, Swedish Defense Minister Paul Jonson announced no plans to send the Gripen aircraft to Ukraine. He was speaking at a joint briefing with Minister of Defense for Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov, held at the Odesa-Ukraine Media Center.

https://eurasiantimes.com/no-saab-gripens-for-ukraine-sweden-jas-39-fighter/

Markus

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxSDCoSaDoI

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2erFXx8PrU

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cFvm2NZNK0

[Jimbuna]

Tanks, howitzers, armored personnel carriers, UAVs: Great Britain gives Ukraine record package of military aid

British Minister Ben Wallace on Monday, January 16, announced the provision of the largest military aid package to Ukraine to date.

Speaking in the British Parliament, the minister said that this package will include not only tanks and howitzers, but also FV430 Mk3 Bulldog armored personnel carriers, Censor.NET reports with reference to LigaBusinessInform.

He confirmed that Ukraine will receive a Challenger 2 tank company, three dozen AS90 self-propelled artillery units, a hundred units of armored vehicles, dozens of UAVs.

The package will also include 100,000 artillery shells, spare parts and other equipment.

Wallace warned that Ukraine's partners should immediately step up collective efforts to increase economic and military pressure on the Russian regime.

He said that Russia is planning an offensive and is not going to count on human casualties.

"From the very beginning, President Putin believed that his troops would be greeted with open arms, that Ukrainians would not fight and that Western support would collapse. He was wrong on all counts. Today's package will help speed up the end of Putin's occupation, with all its brutality, and allow Ukraine to retain in 2023 and further, if necessary, momentum with the support of the international community, which is more determined than ever to ensure that Putin's illegal and unprovoked invasion fails," the British minister said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393734

Wallace calls on European countries to give Leopard tanks to Ukraine

British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace hopes that the decision of the British government to transfer combat tanks to Ukraine will encourage other European countries to take a similar step.

He said this, during his speech in British Parliament on Monday, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to LeagueBusinessInform.

Wallace welcomed the French government's decision to send AMX-10RC light battle tanks to Ukraine and the U.S. government's announcement of 50 Bradley Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine.

This military assistance is important on its own, Wallace said, but it is part of an international effort that together creates a multiplier effect.

"We will be the first country to transfer Western battle tanks. Having discussed this issue with the United States and our European allies, we hope that the example of France and the United Kingdom will allow those countries that have Leopard tanks to also transfer them," he said.

Wallace stressed that now no country that would like to help Ukraine with tanks will do it alone. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393753

[Jimbuna]

Putin instructed Gerasimov to seize Donbas by March, - Intelligence

Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the new commander of the Russian troops in Ukraine Valery Gerasimov to capture Donbas by March 2023.

This was stated by the representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Andrii Yusov, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to Interfax-Ukraine.

"Still, we can talk about the priority direction for the rashists - this is Donbas. And the next terms, which Putin defines for Gerasimov, as for the new "head of the Special Military Operation", and in fact the war against Ukraine, and Gerasimov lowers these goals - these are the goals of capturing Donbas and forming a certain security zone there - by March," Yusov said.

The DIU representative reminded that these are not the first deadlines set by the invaders, which were postponed each time.

"Nothing will happen this time," the intelligence is sure. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393754

Russia will not be able to provide and train 500 thousand mobilized, - US Under Secretary of State Sherman

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman believes that Russia will not be able to simultaneously mobilize 500 thousand people and ensure their proper training for the next offensive.

Sherman stated this during a meeting with Ukrainian journalists in Kyiv, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to European truth.

The Deputy Secretary of State noted that during a meeting with Ukrainian officials in Kyiv she discussed the possibility of another large-scale mobilization in Russia and how to counter it.

"That mobilization of 500 thousand is an incredible thing. Of course, you are wondering whether it will be possible to prepare and provide such a number of people under such conditions. I suspect that if Putin mobilizes such a number of troops, neither will happen," Sherman said.

According to the representative of the U.S. Department of Foreign Affairs, not only the fact of mobilization is a cause for concern, but also the fact that the Russian president is ready to sacrifice so many human lives, "committing a terrible invasion of a sovereign country."

"We have to follow this (possible mobilization) together with other nations around the world to help Ukraine prevail. And I think today we are all inspired once again by the perseverance, resilience, deep commitment that the Ukrainian people have," she added. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393761

[Catfish]

Video made by a russian :Kaleun_Applaud:
-> english subtitles

https://youtu.be/hH9yRmIoTVM

[Jimbuna]

Russia's Wagner Group commander requests Norway asylum

By Matt Murphy
BBC News

A former commander with the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group has claimed asylum in Norway after deserting from the mercenary outfit.

Andrey Medvedev, 26, crossed the border into Norway last Friday, where he was detained by border guards.

He is currently being held in the Oslo area where he faces charges of illegal entry to Norway, his lawyer Brynjulf Risnes told the BBC.

Mr Risnes said his client left Wagner after witnessing war crimes in Ukraine.

The Norwegian Border Guard confirmed to the BBC that a Russian man had been detained after crossing the country's 198km (123miles) long border with Russia, but said it could not comment further for "reasons of security and privacy".

Tarjei Sirma-Tellefsen, police chief of staff in the Norwegian region of Finnmark, said a man had been detained by a border patrol and said he had applied for asylum.

But the Russian human rights group Gulagu.net, who helped Mr Medvedev leave Russia, confirmed his identity. His escape is believed to be the first known instance of one of the group's soldiers defecting to the West.

Gulagu.net's founder Vladimir Osechkin told the BBC that Mr Medvedev had joined the paramilitary group in July 2022 on a four-month contract, but had deserted after witnessing a host of human rights abuses and war crimes while serving in Ukraine.

He said that Mr Medvedev is a former soldier in the Russian army and that he later served time in prison between 2017 and 2018 before joining the Wagner Group.

He was placed in charge of a Wagner division in Ukraine, where the mercenary group supplied him with around 30-40 troops every week, Mr Osechkin said.

In a video posted by Gulagu.net to its social media channels, Mr Medvedev said he fled Ukraine in November after being informed that the group intended to extend his contract indefinitely.

After spending two months underground in Russia, he crossed the border into Norway last week.

Mr Risnes said his client had also witnessed a host of war crimes while fighting in Ukraine, including seeing "deserters being executed" by the Wagner Group's internal security service.

"In short he felt betrayed and wanted to leave as soon as possible," Mr Risnes said.

He added that he believed Mr Medvedev had taken some evidence of war crimes with him to Norway and that he intends to share his information with groups investigating war crimes in the coming weeks.

In response, the founder of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, appeared to laugh off the allegations.

In a press release from one of his companies, Prigozhin issued a sarcastic statement, linking Mr Medvedev to a non-existent Nordic mercenary unit and said he was a Norwegian citizen, in an apparent attempt to mock the man's testimony.

Prigozhin also accused him of "mistreatment of prisoners" and said that his former employee was "very dangerous". Mr Risnes told the BBC that the Wagner leader's claims were not true.

UK officials believe the Wagner Group makes up about 10% of Russia's forces in Ukraine, and played a significant part in helping Moscow's forces take the town of Soledar in eastern Donbas region last week.

Thousands of its troops have been recruited from Russian prisons. Mr Prigozhin - a former convict himself - has promised recruits their freedom in exchange for six months service in Ukraine.

Before the invasion of Ukraine, it had only a few thousand mercenaries. Most were believed to be experienced former soldiers, including some from Russia's elite regiments and special forces.

Since 2015, it is believed to have deployed troops to Syria, Libya, Mali and the Central African Republic.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64296979

[Jimbuna]

Bakhmut defenders plea for Western tanks

By Andrew Harding
BBC News, Donbas region, eastern Ukraine

As the UK and other European nations prepare to send tanks to Ukraine to help it liberate more territory from Russia, our correspondent Andrew Harding has been to visit members of a front-line Ukrainian tank unit already engaging Russian forces near the fiercely contested towns of Bakhmut and Soledar.

The explosions come every few seconds, sometimes in rapid clusters of six or more short blasts, sometimes deep and long and rib-cage-rattling, thundering across the snow-speckled hills that stretch along the front lines close to Bakhmut and Soledar.

Then come the distant booms, the shorter punch of a mortar round blasting off on the roadside, and, occasionally, the bone-chilling, fizzing whoosh of an incoming artillery shell that sends us diving for cover on the frozen fields.

This is the daily, constant, percussive chorus of war in the Donbas, where Ukrainian and Russian artillery, rocket and tank crews are slugging it out, trading blows in a fierce, but largely inconclusive struggle to break a months-long deadlock.

"We have a target," said Roman, a Ukrainian tank unit commander, suddenly pulling off his gloves, clambering up onto the slippery, snow-covered turret of a dark green T-72 tank, and swinging open a heavy steel hatch.

Another crew member, Vlad, scrambled out of a nearby fox hole, where he had been warming his grimy hands over a fresh fire, to help out.

Seconds later, a skull-shaking explosion echoed across the valley and towards Bakhmut, as a US-supplied tank shell tore out of the gun barrel with a flash of orange, heading towards Russian positions on the opposite hillside.

"T-72s are old tanks - this one's the same age as me," said Bogdan, a 55-year-old Ukrainian volunteer, turning to pat the huge, squat, Soviet-era machine behind him. "I used to drive one of these nearly 40 years ago - I can't believe I'm doing it again. But it works. It does the job."

"But a Leopard would be better," said Volodymr, another member of their three-man crew, with a low chuckle.

Plans to send German-made Leopard tanks and UK Challengers to the front lines here in the Donbas have been greeted with visible excitement by Ukrainian forces, who have been taking heavy casualties in recent weeks, around Bakhmut, and, more particularly, during the ferocious struggle for the nearby town of Soledar.

"There were very heavy losses. It's very pitiful. It's hard," said Danylo, an officer in charge of repairing tanks for the 24th Mechanised Brigade. He said the current deadlock would not be broken unless foreign tanks arrived in significant numbers.

"Yes, we'll be stuck here. We need these [Western tanks] to stop Russia's aggression. With infantry, covered by tanks, we'll win for sure," he said.

"Leopards, Challengers, Abrams - any foreign tank is good for us! I think we need at least 300. And we need them now!" said Bogdan.

The Ukrainians all acknowledged that Russia had more modern tanks but were scathing about their tactics.

"The Russian tanks are a bit better than ours. They're fully modernised. But mostly the Russians are strong because they push forwards en masse, advancing over the bodies of their own soldiers. Our commanders care more about the lives of their crews, so we try to destroy [the enemy] while losing as few of our own men as possible," said Bogdan.

A more senior company commander in the 24th Brigade, with the code name Khan, took us to a rear position, past fresh trenches being dug in the fields by specialised machines, where several tanks were hidden under camouflage nets in a wooded area.

"These T-72s have proved effective in winter conditions. But they're old, and not really suited for modern warfare. These days it's all about drones and the latest technology." Khan said he believed it would take very little time for his crews to adapt to more modern European equipment.

"If you're a tank driver you're already someone of above-average intelligence. They'll be able to learn and adapt quickly," he said.

Suddenly, an incoming Russian artillery shell landed several hundred metres away. Seconds later, another landed closer, and then closer still, sending soldiers and journalists diving for cover.

The war in Ukraine has, in many ways, been a distinctly old-fashioned conflict, based on attrition, on devastating artillery strikes, and on dug-in positions reminiscent of the trenches of World War One. But the war has also revealed the limitation of tanks - most clearly in the first weeks of the conflict when nimble Ukrainian infantry destroyed many huge Russian armoured columns with shoulder-launched rockets.

"In the old days, it was all about tanks. Now it's about these new rocket systems," said Volodymr. But the coming months could yet see Western tanks - if deployed quickly, and in large numbers - play a decisive role.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64294653

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f97FG1yWk5g

[Skybird]

Video made by a russian :Kaleun_Applaud:
-> english subtitles

https://youtu.be/hH9yRmIoTVM
The hunt for his life is open.

[Jimbuna]

Increase of Russian army to 1.5 million people will continue until 2026, - Shoigu

Russian Defense Minister Serhiy Shoigu, during a visit to the location of the occupying forces on the territory of Ukraine, discussed how to increase the size of the Russian army.

This was reported by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Censor.NET informs.

Shoigu announced that two new territorial associations of the Russian Armed Forces will be created - the Moscow and Leningrad military districts. He also announced the creation of "self-sufficient groups of troops (forces) on the territory of the new subjects of the Russian Federation" (this is what Russia calls the occupied Ukrainian territories. - Ed.).

"To form an army corps in the Republic of Karelia, three motorized rifle divisions in the Ground Forces and two airborne assault divisions in the Airborne Forces; re-form seven motorized rifle brigades in the Western, Central, and Eastern military districts and the Northern Fleet into motorized rifle divisions; strengthen the combat component of the Navy, Aerospace Forces, and Strategic Missile Forces," Shoigu ordered.

He also added that all these changes will last until 2026. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393867

EU has introduced toughest sanctions against Russian Federation in history, Russian economy will face decade of regression, - von der Leyen

Russian crimes will not go unpunished, the support of Ukraine by the countries of the European Union will not weaken.

This was announced by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Censor.NET reports with reference to Interfax-Ukraine.

"We have introduced the toughest sanctions in history, as a result of which the Russian economy will face a decade of regression, and its industry will lose modern and critically important technologies. There will be no impunity for these Russian crimes," she said.

Von der Leyen also stressed that there will be no relaxation in support for Ukraine: from assistance in restoring electricity, heat, and water supply to preparations for long-term reconstruction. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393879

Ukraine received first €3 billion from new macrofinance program from EU, - Zelensky

Ukraine received the first 3 billion from the new macrofinance program for 18 billion.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced this on Twitter, Censor.NET informs.

"I am grateful to the EU and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, for their strong support. Preserving Ukraine's financial stability is vital for our joint victory over the aggressor," the message reads. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393890

[Jimbuna]

Vučić called on Russia to stop recruiting Serbs for war against Ukraine: This is against our rules

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, said that Russia should stop trying to recruit Serbs to participate in hostilities on the side of the "Wagner" PMC in Ukraine.

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to the Euro Integration.

Vučić criticized Russian websites and groups in social networks for publishing ads in Serbian in which the Wagner group calls for volunteers to join its ranks.

"Why do you, from "Wagner", call someone from Serbia, when you know that it is against our rules?" Vucic said.

Serbian volunteers participated in hostilities on the side of Russian forces in Ukraine in 2014 and 2015. No one has a clear idea of the exact numbers, but dozens of Serbs have signed up to fight in Ukraine since 2014, Reuters notes.

Serbian law prohibits its citizens from participating in conflicts abroad, and several people have been convicted of doing so.

Vucic denied allegations that Wagner's group, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of Russian President Putin, has a presence in Serbia, where pro-Kremlin and ultranationalist organizations supported the invasion of Ukraine.

The Minister of Internal Affairs of Serbia, Milos Vucevic, said that the country's civilian and military special services are studying and verifying information about the possible participation of Serbs on the side of Russia in the war against Ukraine.

Information about the participation of Serbs in the war in Ukraine on the side of Russia began to spread in social networks in mid-January. At that time, Russian VKontakte posted photos of alleged Serbian militants who had arrived in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The VKontakte report claimed that the Serbs came to Ukraine in violation of the law and allegedly joined the so-called "Pavel Sudoplatov battalion." At the same time, Telegram began to spread videos with alleged Serbian militants who claim that they came to Ukraine "to help our brothers." Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393899

Spain does not yet plan to supply tanks to Ukraine

Spain currently has no intention of sending heavy weapons to Ukraine.

This was announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, Jose Manuel Albarez, in Davos, Censor.NET informs with reference to Interfax-Ukraine.

"Spain has no plans to supply tanks," he said during a discussion at the World Economic Forum, which was also attended by the presidents of Poland and Lithuania, Andrzej Duda and Gitanas Nauseda.

"Not at the moment," Albarez later confirmed the position of the Spanish authorities in a conversation with the correspondent of the Spanish edition "Mundo".

At the same time, he noted that at the next meeting of defense ministers of allied countries (regarding NATO), Spain will support measures for "the best for Ukraine".

Earlier it became known that London intends to deliver Challenger 2 tanks to Kyiv in the coming weeks. The willingness to hand over Leopard tanks to Ukraine was also announced in Warsaw, while Berlin has not yet decided on the supply of tanks to Kyiv. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3393906

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiTXD6W3mFQ

[Skybird]

German industry is apparently in a position to supply ten to 15 refurbished Leopard 2 main battle tanks as early as this year, which could then be made available to Ukraine. This was reported to the F.A.Z. on Tuesday. In the industry, the information was confirmed upon request.

Only recently, Armin Papperger, CEO of the Rheinmetall armaments group, had said in an interview that his company would be able to deliver additional battle tanks in 2024 at the earliest. Rheinmetall manufactures the Leopard 2 together with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann.

Industry sources now said delivery would be possible as early as October or November - but only if orders are placed immediately. "We need a decision today," they said. If "all the stops are pulled out" then, one Leopard 2 per week could be delivered from the third quarter onwards.

Whether the delivery actually happens depends on the German government. It is being urged by NATO allies who also use the Leopard 2 to jointly supply Ukraine with tanks of this type.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

-------------
Meanwhile, the political opposition is demanding rapid delivery of the Leopard-1, whose available numbers are sometimes quoted as "88," sometimes as "about 200." However, the Leopard-1 is not as well protected as the Leo-2, and the 105mm gun is weaker. The tank is more agile and has better sensors than a T-72 - but the USSR at the time had developed the T-72 as an explicit Leopard-1 killer. The Western answer to the T-72 was then the Leopard-2. Nowadays, the Leopard-1 is usually no longer considered a heavy tank, but a "medium" tank. the muzc stoirnger gun is wioth the T-72 - the greater poreicison with the Leopard. Whether the Leopard's cannon can defeat a Russian-modernised T-72 - remains to be seen. From the flanks, certainly, but when MBT'S meet head-on - the T-72 has a 125mm gun. Modernised Russian T-72s can shoot Wolfram , Steel and Uran ammunition.


Tactical leadership of course also is essential and can make a huge difference.



I say: if they want the old Leo-1s, then let them have them. We will not use them anymore anyway in Germany.

[Catfish]

There are 150 Leo 1 tanks available for sure.
But if Olaf does not want, the point for any tank is moot, even if Poland would deliver. It cannot w/o consent from Germany. :shifty:

[Dargo]

The Netherlands is considering participating in supplying Patriot missile systems to Ukraine. Prime Minister Rutte said that prior to a conversation with President Biden at the White House. A Defense Ministry spokesman would not say anything about it yet. The Netherlands is considering joining Germany's Patriot program.

[Dargo]

Experts in Cambodia are training some 15 Ukrainians in landmine detection. The training lasts a week and is supported by Japanese authorities. A Japanese detection system is being practiced. Several other countries, including the United States and Germany, have previously provided Ukraine with mine clearance assistance. Cambodians are experienced in detecting landmines, as millions of landmines are still scattered throughout the country after nearly 30 years of war. Since the end of the war in the late 1990s, some 20,000 people have been killed and 45,000 injured by the landmines. The number of deaths per year has dropped significantly in recent years, from several thousand to about 100.

Cambodia's aid is noteworthy because it normally backs Russia and China. Prime Minister Hun Sen, however, condemned Russia's invasion. "Cambodia is always against any country invading another country," he said in November.

[Skybird]

There are 150 Leo 1 tanks available for sure.
But if Olaf does not want, the point for any tank is moot, even if Poland would deliver. It cannot w/o consent from Germany. :shifty:
Technically, it can. ;)

It just would cause a stir. But they are turning to South Korea anyway for new armour and kit, not loving the Germans anymore. I think we will see a further turning away from German arms providers in the future.


Mind you, Poland seeks confrontation with Germany over 1.3 trillion in demands, and serving ressentiments against Germany is in the PIS' genes, too. 14 Leopard-2 tanks, in comparison, look like a managable storm in the waterglass.

[mapuc]

I know Ukraine is dreaming about getting some of our modern tanks we have-Leopard 2 Abrams 1A.

As one of you mentioned earlier-For each type of tanks they have to establish a logistic chain.

In the countries-friendly countries that is-which has border to Ukraine have hundreds of T72 and T80(I think it was).
Why not make a change-They get some of our newer tanks and they give Ukraine their T72 and T80. They are not at war and have time to build a logistic for these tanks.

For Ukraine you could say that:

1. They have crew who can manage these tanks
2. They already have a well oiled Logistic for these tanks.

Markus

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Tt4qVsAa-M

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsyLChpCiO4

[Catfish]

[...] As one of you mentioned earlier-For each type of tanks they have to establish a logistic chain. [...]
This, and the tank crews have to learn the ropes of course. However as a german major rank mentioned, you can learn to drive a Leopard in an hour, reloading and targeting is easy and largely automated, and the most challenging task is to use it wisely together with other tanks and units, as a team.
The rest you mentioned is of course the best way at the time being :up:

@Skybird re Poland yes i know. Most poles i know do not like the Pis "Law and Justice" (lmao) party, and for the latter it is all or nothing for elections this year. Populism and an aggressive neighbour like Russia certainly help them.. hell even i would like them to send those tanks if it helps Ukraine.

[Skybird]

I repeatedly heard and read and saw in films that the Russians use modified verisons of the T-72 which are superior to those used by the Ukrainians. These improvements are related to turret armour, added AT-11 Refleks-capability (how much I hate these damn little things, its a potential cannon-kill capability over 5000m), electornics and sights, it for exmapel no logne rhas an iF light, but thermals added like T-72 modernized in Western use.

Steel Beasts allow comparison to a certain degree, their mathematical models are very good, but of course are fed with non-secret, publicly available data, they also freqeuntly finetune their data for ammo and armour, where new real world data becomes available.

I thought these two videos might be interesting for some. You see comparisons between the modern T-72B3' gunner's sights and station, and that of one of the older Russian T-72.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI30-BUllfk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-5Qqa33TsU

Aiming and getting the shot out is faster in M1 and Challenger-2, and the fastest and easiest in Leopard-2 from A5 version on. Its small differences in ergonomy, simplifying the workign steps of the procedure, but these add up. And when two tanks meet in duelling each other directly, these may make the difference.


P.S. I say again. I HATE Refleks. It should be forbidden. And I also now the AT-11 is not called Refleks anymore, but to me these barrel launched mini-missiles are damn "Refleks" all along. Can really ruin any tanks day. Western tanks ma ybe able to shoot at 5000m, what usually they do not, but with range growing precision goes down. The Refleks has a longer travel time and needs to be led, but as long as LOS is given, it does not loose precision. Giving the T-72 and T-80 shooting these a decisive range advance over Wetsenr tanks - if they manage to find and identify targets at that high range. Its also expensive ammunition and thus not in high supply.

[August]

I admire these plucky people.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uFW7baBPg4

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHHKIQmHN4s

[Skybird]

I know Ukraine is dreaming about getting some of our modern tanks we have-Leopard 2 Abrams 1A.

As one of you mentioned earlier-For each type of tanks they have to establish a logistic chain.

In the countries-friendly countries that is-which has border to Ukraine have hundreds of T72 and T80(I think it was).
Why not make a change-They get some of our newer tanks and they give Ukraine their T72 and T80. They are not at war and have time to build a logistic for these tanks.

For Ukraine you could say that:

1. They have crew who can manage these tanks
2. They already have a well oiled Logistic for these tanks.

Markus
Thats what already has been done, Markus. The Polish and I think the Czech or Slovaks (at leats one other European country) gave T-72s to Ukraine, and got and will get German Marders and Leopards-2. In German it is called "Ringtausch". The Poles gave them over 200 T-72!


---------------------


Another bad day in Kyiv.


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64315594

[Skybird]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHHKIQmHN4s
While the Russian spill out propaganda, so does the West in a bid to talk down the Russian advance at Soledar and Bachmut.

Soledar is taken by Wagner, or so they claim though the Russian attack ministry kind of disagrees to not look bad itself, and for the mafiosi at the helm of this gang of war criminals, Prigozhin, installing himself as owner of Soledar is a nice outlook for the time after the war - when he the can win big cash from the salt and bauxit mines there. It also gives him a seat closer to Putin's ear. Russian politics in the end always is about the self-enrichment of the "tsars" who are currently at the helm.

But it is about more, it is about the attempt to encircle Bachmut from the North as well, and slowly, the Russians seem to be able to tighten the sling around Bachmut. Slowly, and under high losses, but they seem to be able to digest these losses and advance nevertehless.

I disagree with Western media an politicians constantly trying to get home the message that Bachmut is strategically irrelevant. As an artillery base for Ukraine to shell Russian supply lines east of the city, it is not irrelevant at all. For the Russians, its a war goal now to get all of Donbaz. A strategic goal of theirs, no matter whether the West says that makes sense or not. That they think it makes sense is what counts here.

We should not fall neither for their nor our own propaganda.

Bachmut is also about war psychology, and trying to break the other side'S will while prevailign oneself. "My club is bigger than yours." Being driven out of Bachmut now after these very high lossses and long fighting would have an impact on Ukrainian morale, namely the participating units and troops, it is unreasonable not to assume it would have that. Humans have psyches.

[Skybird]

The never-mentioned truth, of which so many republicans who rage against American spending on Ukraine should be reminded. Because, dear Republican friend, these are not funds America is writing off. They are hard-core investments at a profit.
FOCUS:
-------------------------------------

The U.S. is winning the Ukraine war. U.S. aid to Ukraine is not altruistic.

The U.S. is supporting Ukraine like no other country on earth. But the help is not entirely selfless. For even Joe Biden has nothing to give away. The U.S. president is counting on "arming on credit." Germany, on the other hand, must hope that the war will soon end not far from its doorstep.

All failure is always organizational failure. So when the new Defense Minister Boris Pistorius now takes up his post, he should swiftly correct a bad decision made by his CDU predecessor Thomas de Maizière: The abolition of the Planning Staff.

This planning staff was the ministry's internal think tank. The team, which ultimately numbered around 30, reported directly to the minister and was the geostrategic brain of German defense policy. The abolition of this department in 2012 - for reasons that remain unclear to this day - was tantamount to a brain amputation.

Immediately, this planning staff, which was to be newly established, was to deal with the power shifts within the NATO states triggered by the Ukraine war and the Western reaction to it. It is highly politically incorrect, but all the more worthwhile for that, to deal in particular with the USA. For in the shadow of the war, a shift of power and wealth has taken place here that is more than painful for Germany:

Profiteer No. 1: The U.S. Armaments Industry

Since the beginning of the war, the U.S. has provided Ukraine with more than $50 billion in military, financial and humanitarian assistance. Much more than any other country.

But: across the centuries, former President Calvin Coolidge's phrase holds true: "After all, the chief business of the American people is business."

In May 2022, the Senate passed legislation authorizing the U.S. government to loan military equipment to Ukraine quickly and without red tape - the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022. So the roughly $23 billion in military assistance is not a giveaway.

It stipulates that "any loans or leases of defense equipment to the Government of Ukraine [...] [are] subject to return, reimbursement, and repayment."

"Arming on Credit" of Ukraine

"Arming on credit," for that is what it is, was invented during World War II when Winston Churchill found himself unable to manage the defense of Great Britain on his own. The government has now remembered the procedure of selling weapons against promissory bills.

Coincidence or not, the U.S. also has a material interest in keeping the government in Kiev solvent. In late September 2022, the Financial Times reported that the U.S. was urging EU countries to accelerate pledged financial assistance to Ukraine and to establish a "regular mechanism" for financial support. It is still open whether EU funds should and may also be used for military repayments to the US.

The fact is that the U.S. is strict on these matters. Great Britain stuttered off its installments from Lend-Lease debts until 2006, by which time the world war had been over for 61 years.

U.S. defense companies sought after by investors

Such programs - then as now - are used primarily by U.S. defense companies, without the domestic taxpayer being held accountable. The stock market quotations of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman reflect the euphoria of investors, especially since in the future replacement procurement will also have to be handled by American manufacturers.

The increase in all Western military budgets is also benefiting the Americans. Olaf Scholz has pledged an additional 100 billion.

An analysis by Foreign Policy magazine found that the United States nearly doubled the number of authorized arms sales to NATO allies in 2022 compared to 2021 - from $15.5 billion to $28 billion. This is how war becomes a business.

Profiteer No. 2: The US energy companies

By imposing economic sanctions - trade restrictions, asset freezes, exclusion from payment systems or a ban on oil exports - Russia has been isolated. This will irrevocably disrupt previous German-Russian trade for a very long time. The American energy companies are offering to help in this emergency.

They can hardly get to sleep for laughing: LNG imports from America increased by 260 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year. American liquefied natural gas is replacing Russian pipeline gas from Nord Stream 1 and Co.

American oil is also suddenly in demand: according to data provider OilX, some 500 American oil tankers have sailed to Europe since February 2022, helping to push U.S. crude oil exports to a record high last year. Between December 2021 and December 2022, U.S. export figures rose 52 percent.

Profiteer No. 3: The U.S. government

The U.S. administration has an interest in permanently weakening system rival Russia and essentially removing it from the game of great powers. It can do this safely for its own country and the lives of its own soldiers. This is another reason why Washington has no interest in a quick peace deal in Ukraine, as outlined by 99-year-old Henry Kissinger in Davos yesterday.

Joe Biden wants regime change in Moscow. He made that clear in a speech outside the Warsaw City Palace. His foreign minister has also made it clear that they want to take away Russia's ability to wage war.

The source of uncertainty in Europe also benefits the U.S. capital market in the medium term, which is perceived by investors as a safe haven. Capital outflows from Europe in the first months of the war were substantial. Yesterday after the close of the stock exchange, BASF reported a loss of billions of euros, mainly due to write-downs on its Russian business, which has since been terminated.

Germany has strategic interest that conflict be ended quickly

The Europeans, and Germany in particular, have an overriding strategic interest in ensuring that the conflict is ended as quickly as possible, or at least frozen, and does not under any circumstances spread in the direction of the major Western European cities. The more intense and intensive a war rages in Europe, the more pessimistic are the investment conditions, both in the real economy and on the capital markets of London, Paris and Frankfurt.

Conclusion: Russia as a trading partner is de facto exchanged for America as a trading partner. This also strengthens the Americans' negotiating position for talks on future free trade agreements and the China strategy.

If the planning staff at the Department of Defense still existed, it would write down the following paradox for the Secretary in the Executive Summary: Russia is at war with Ukraine - and America is winning.

-------------------------

[Skybird]

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung:
-------------------------------
Cooking the frog

Behind the Western arms deliveries to Ukraine lies a realpolitik strategy that is little talked about in Germany. An important component is the vote in the alliance.

The question of whether arms deliveries to Ukraine could draw the West into the war has preoccupied politicians not only since battle tanks have been discussed. The U.S. president, in particular, has repeatedly indicated caution in this regard. In late May, when artillery was still the primary issue, Biden laid out his principles in an opinion piece for The New York Times.

As long as the United States or its allies were not under attack, he said, there would be no direct involvement in the conflict - "either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian troops." In addition, he maintained, "We do not encourage or enable Ukraine to conduct strikes beyond its border."

These two stipulations continue to shape U.S. and, by extension, all Western military assistance to Kiev to this day. Because no Western soldiers are sent to Ukraine, Ukrainian personnel must be trained abroad on Western weapons, making the process more protracted. And because Biden wants to prevent Russia from being attacked with Western weapons, he has, for example, limited the range of the delivered HIMARS multiple rocket launcher to 80 kilometers, even though munitions with a range of up to 300 kilometers are available. This means less combat power for Ukraine. Apparently, there is mistrust in the Ukrainian leadership in Washington on this issue.

However, this alone cannot rule out Russian countermeasures. From the beginning of the war, the West has been aware that attacks on Western supplies are an option for Russia. If they were to take place on NATO territory, then the alliance would have to decide on the alliance case, i.e., consider entering the war. Ultimately, it is a question of how the Russian president calculates: Is the damage to him greater if he accepts Western arms deliveries or if he tries to disrupt them militarily?

This calculation can be influenced, and the Western strategy attempts to do so by two main means. The first concerns the combat power of the arms deliveries. It has been increased only incrementally, from man-portable guided missiles to howitzers and rocket launchers to the current debate about battle tanks. For Putin, the question arose each time anew whether the respective increase in Ukrainian striking power appeared so threatening to him that he would enter into a direct confrontation with the West because of it. American government officials once called this approach "boiling the frog" - referring to the story of a frog that immediately hops out of the pot when placed in boiling water, but not when the water is heated slowly.

The other remedy is Western unity. While arms deliveries were not always simultaneous, they were usually coordinated. This gave Putin less opportunity to target individual countries willing to go it alone, thereby dividing the Western alliance. That this is not a theoretical debate was evident early in the war. In March, Poland wanted to deliver fighter jets to Ukraine, but for reassurance via an American air base in Germany. This was publicly rejected by the U.S. leadership, whereupon Warsaw dropped the advance.The incident shed early light on a dilemma facing not only Poland. In essence, every European NATO member depends on Washington's approval of its course because Europe cannot defend itself against Russia. The obligation to provide assistance in the NATO treaty is unspecific; politically, dealing with a Russian attack would be a difficult matter in any member state.

That America would be willing to go to war against Russia to cover arms deliveries that it itself was not willing to make is not said. Coordinated action, such as that to be achieved through the Ramstein weapons conferences, will defuse the problem. Putin must reckon with the entire NATO opposing him should he, for example, have weapons depots and transports in Poland or Romania shelled.

This approach has been successful in that Russia has not yet extended the war beyond Ukraine. Nevertheless, no one in the West can reliably say whether Putin sees red lines on this issue and where they would run. Militarily, it seems less likely today than at the beginning of the war that he would dare attack NATO.

As is well known, the Russian military is under heavy pressure in Ukraine, and a new front further west might finally overwhelm its forces. Politically, the Kremlin ruler's balance of goods could look different: The closer Western arms deliveries bring him to defeat in Ukraine, the greater the risk of a loss of power in Russia for him.

In the public debate in Germany, these aspects hardly play a role. This is probably a consequence of the fact that large sections of politics and society no longer wanted to know anything about realpolitik after the Cold War. But they cannot be completely ignored, as the actions of the German government have repeatedly shown. The new defense minister will not be able to ignore them either.
-------------------------

[les green01]

The never-mentioned truth, of which so many republicans who rage against American spending on Ukraine should be reminded. Because, dear Republican friend, these are not funds America is writing off. They are hard-core investments at a profit.
FOCUS:
-------------------------------------

The U.S. is winning the Ukraine war. U.S. aid to Ukraine is not altruistic.

The U.S. is supporting Ukraine like no other country on earth. But the help is not entirely selfless. For even Joe Biden has nothing to give away. The U.S. president is counting on "arming on credit." Germany, on the other hand, must hope that the war will soon end not far from its doorstep.

All failure is always organizational failure. So when the new Defense Minister Boris Pistorius now takes up his post, he should swiftly correct a bad decision made by his CDU predecessor Thomas de Maizière: The abolition of the Planning Staff.

This planning staff was the ministry's internal think tank. The team, which ultimately numbered around 30, reported directly to the minister and was the geostrategic brain of German defense policy. The abolition of this department in 2012 - for reasons that remain unclear to this day - was tantamount to a brain amputation.

Immediately, this planning staff, which was to be newly established, was to deal with the power shifts within the NATO states triggered by the Ukraine war and the Western reaction to it. It is highly politically incorrect, but all the more worthwhile for that, to deal in particular with the USA. For in the shadow of the war, a shift of power and wealth has taken place here that is more than painful for Germany:

Profiteer No. 1: The U.S. Armaments Industry

Since the beginning of the war, the U.S. has provided Ukraine with more than $50 billion in military, financial and humanitarian assistance. Much more than any other country.

But: across the centuries, former President Calvin Coolidge's phrase holds true: "After all, the chief business of the American people is business."

In May 2022, the Senate passed legislation authorizing the U.S. government to loan military equipment to Ukraine quickly and without red tape - the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022. So the roughly $23 billion in military assistance is not a giveaway.

It stipulates that "any loans or leases of defense equipment to the Government of Ukraine [...] [are] subject to return, reimbursement, and repayment."

"Arming on Credit" of Ukraine

"Arming on credit," for that is what it is, was invented during World War II when Winston Churchill found himself unable to manage the defense of Great Britain on his own. The government has now remembered the procedure of selling weapons against promissory bills.

Coincidence or not, the U.S. also has a material interest in keeping the government in Kiev solvent. In late September 2022, the Financial Times reported that the U.S. was urging EU countries to accelerate pledged financial assistance to Ukraine and to establish a "regular mechanism" for financial support. It is still open whether EU funds should and may also be used for military repayments to the US.

The fact is that the U.S. is strict on these matters. Great Britain stuttered off its installments from Lend-Lease debts until 2006, by which time the world war had been over for 61 years.

U.S. defense companies sought after by investors

Such programs - then as now - are used primarily by U.S. defense companies, without the domestic taxpayer being held accountable. The stock market quotations of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman reflect the euphoria of investors, especially since in the future replacement procurement will also have to be handled by American manufacturers.

The increase in all Western military budgets is also benefiting the Americans. Olaf Scholz has pledged an additional 100 billion.

An analysis by Foreign Policy magazine found that the United States nearly doubled the number of authorized arms sales to NATO allies in 2022 compared to 2021 - from $15.5 billion to $28 billion. This is how war becomes a business.

Profiteer No. 2: The US energy companies

By imposing economic sanctions - trade restrictions, asset freezes, exclusion from payment systems or a ban on oil exports - Russia has been isolated. This will irrevocably disrupt previous German-Russian trade for a very long time. The American energy companies are offering to help in this emergency.

They can hardly get to sleep for laughing: LNG imports from America increased by 260 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year. American liquefied natural gas is replacing Russian pipeline gas from Nord Stream 1 and Co.

American oil is also suddenly in demand: according to data provider OilX, some 500 American oil tankers have sailed to Europe since February 2022, helping to push U.S. crude oil exports to a record high last year. Between December 2021 and December 2022, U.S. export figures rose 52 percent.

Profiteer No. 3: The U.S. government

The U.S. administration has an interest in permanently weakening system rival Russia and essentially removing it from the game of great powers. It can do this safely for its own country and the lives of its own soldiers. This is another reason why Washington has no interest in a quick peace deal in Ukraine, as outlined by 99-year-old Henry Kissinger in Davos yesterday.

Joe Biden wants regime change in Moscow. He made that clear in a speech outside the Warsaw City Palace. His foreign minister has also made it clear that they want to take away Russia's ability to wage war.

The source of uncertainty in Europe also benefits the U.S. capital market in the medium term, which is perceived by investors as a safe haven. Capital outflows from Europe in the first months of the war were substantial. Yesterday after the close of the stock exchange, BASF reported a loss of billions of euros, mainly due to write-downs on its Russian business, which has since been terminated.

Germany has strategic interest that conflict be ended quickly

The Europeans, and Germany in particular, have an overriding strategic interest in ensuring that the conflict is ended as quickly as possible, or at least frozen, and does not under any circumstances spread in the direction of the major Western European cities. The more intense and intensive a war rages in Europe, the more pessimistic are the investment conditions, both in the real economy and on the capital markets of London, Paris and Frankfurt.

Conclusion: Russia as a trading partner is de facto exchanged for America as a trading partner. This also strengthens the Americans' negotiating position for talks on future free trade agreements and the China strategy.

If the planning staff at the Department of Defense still existed, it would write down the following paradox for the Secretary in the Executive Summary: Russia is at war with Ukraine - and America is winning.

-------------------------
so the problem is you guys over there want to use us like a bank but not pay back,the us taxpayers eat the bill the uk loan you mention The Anglo-American Loan Agreement was a loan made to the United Kingdom by the United States on 15 July 1946, enabling its economy after the Second World War to keep afloat other words a bank you go to a bank take a loan you pay back the loan i'm not a believer in free handouts,remember this is your backyard not mine so if you guys want to step-up to the plate step-up

[Skybird]

Read it again, but this time every line from left to right. ;)

The author does not voice criciticsm, he just descfoirbe the obvious. That the Ukriane support for the US is anythign but "free rides givne to Ukraine". Its credit the Ukraine has to pay back. ;) And in the meanwhile the situation works to the huge profit raising of the US industry.

The argument by some GOP people wanting to cut aid to Ukraine is that the support for Ukraine goes at the cost of the American economy and workers. That holds little truth, according to the above article.

And this is from Die Welt from Decembre 29th, 2006.



Britain is paying the final installments of its World War II war debt today - $83.25 million to the U.S. and $22.7 million to Canada. The money from the U.S. and Canada helped his country defeat Nazi Germany and secure peace and prosperity in the postwar period, Treasury Secretary Ed Balls said.

Britain had borrowed $4.3 billion from the U.S. government in 1945 and $1.2 billion from Canada a year later. Interest was only two percent in each case. Nevertheless, over the years, the country paid back almost twice as much as it had originally borrowed: to date, the government in Washington has received $7.5 billion and Canada $2 billion.

The latest repayment is the 50th installment of each of the repayments that Britain began in 1950. The money was used to buy oil, food, and weapons as well as military equipment. It helped sustain the war effort and drove much of the reconstruction after the war ended.

In theory, Britain would also have debts from World War I to pay and collect. However, a moratorium ended any payment from 1934.

https://www.welt.de/politik/article705305/Grossbritannien-zahlt-letzte-Rate-seiner-Weltkriegsschulden.html




And this is from the (German) Manager Magazine, Decembre 3rd, 2014


British settle First World War debt

Mourning on the London financial market: Great Britain has announced that it will fully repay a war bond that has been outstanding since 1932 next March. The low interest rates mean that the perpetual bond, which has no maturity date, is no longer worthwhile.

London - The British government plans to repay a "war bond" taken out in 1932 in full next March. The bond, with a volume of 1.9 billion pounds (2.4 billion euros) and an interest rate of 3.5 percent, is to be redeemed on March 9, the Treasury announced Wednesday in London. The paper had been issued in the aftermath of World War I, which ended in 1918, to refinance war debts.

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne told Parliament that the government was settling "all the nation's debts from the First World War."

The financial market is mourning the historic paper: "For anyone who has been following the bond market for a very long time, a bit of magic is lost with this," said Barclays analyst Moyeen Islam.

The security was a so-called perpetual bond that carried no maturity date and could be topped up at any time - a peculiarity of the British bond market, even though companies around the world such as Allianz also use this instrument. Other countries such as France, Austria and Spain have issued bonds with maturities of up to 50 years. German federal bonds mature after a maximum of 30 years.

In view of the current extremely low interest rates, the paper is no longer profitable for the British Treasury. This is because the 30-year government bond is now yielding only 2.639 percent on the market - a record low. The "war bond," on the other hand, was most recently yielding 3.7 percent, still low enough to guarantee a profit for the government and a loss for investors after deducting inflation over the entire term of the paper.

The other six perpetual bonds still in circulation are also to be redeemed, the Finance Ministry said. Some of them date back to the 18th century, when the "South Sea Bubble" triggered one of the first financial crises driven by a speculative bubble. The nationalization of the Bank of England in 1946 was also financed with a perpetual bond.

At the end of October, the government had decided to withdraw a perpetual bond from the market for the first time since the end of World War II. However, this bond, with an interest coupon of 4 percent, had previously traded above par, so the government had to pay less than its current market value to buy it back.
Germany's war debt from 1914-1918 has also not long been settled - but this was due to the compensation agreed in the Treaty of Versailles for the destruction of other countries, as well as repeated renegotiations and, in some cases, decades-long payment freezes. The federal government was finally able to draw a line under this in October 2010.


https://www.manager-magazin.de/finanzen/geldanlage/briten-begleichen-kriegsschulden-anleihe-von-1932-a-1006428.html

[Catfish]

The russian embassy has posted energy prices in Europe.
Take a look at the Krim :ping: :haha:


https://i.imgur.com/pkfU4l3l.jpg


I guess some heads will roll .. :/\\chop

[Jimbuna]

Kyiv helicopter crash is a grave blow to Ukraine’s war efforts and a personal loss for Zelensky

In the days leading up to the war in Ukraine there was still flickering hope that negotiations could work out and that peace would prevail in the gathering darkness.

However, interior minister Denys Monastyrsky had little doubt Vladimir Putin was determined to invade. To demonstrate the extent of Moscow’s military build-up on the border, he took a group of journalists to the Donbas.

In the town of Novoluhanske, we came under sustained fire. “You see, they did this without provocation,” he exclaimed as we took cover. “This is what the people around here have to live with every day. The Russians are creating false stories and carrying out this kind of bombing, they are creating excuses for war.”

Two Ukrainian soldiers – Anton Sydorov, 35, the father of three daughters, and 34-year-old Denys Kononenko, the father of a young son – were killed by howitzer and mortar rounds that day. Five days later, Russian troops rolled into Ukraine.

Mr Monastyrsky became one of the key leaders in the defence of Kyiv. His ministry, in charge of security, national guard, police and emergency services played a crucial role in those early days of resistance, and continued to do so as the conflict unfolded across the country.

Mr Monastyrsky later went on to head investigations into atrocities carried out against civilians, while also liaising on prisoner exchanges including the release of 200 Ukrainians captured at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol. He also became a familiar figure to the public with his regular updates on casualty figures.

His death, along with six of his senior officials, in Wednesday’s Kyiv helicopter crash is a grave blow to the country’s war efforts, as it prepares for the next phase of the campaign with an expected escalation in combat.

The 42-year-old minister is the most senior Ukrainian official to die since the beginning of the conflict and one of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s closest and most long-term confidantes. Those killed alongside him included his deputy, Yevhen Yenin, and state secretary Yurii Lubkovich, who ran the department.

At least a dozen people were killed in the crash, including children, as the aircraft came down near a nursery outside the capital.

Ukraine’s security service SBU said it was investigating several possible reasons behind the crash including technical faults, breach of flight safety rules as well as sabotage. The helicopter was flying low, as is the practice with such flights in order to avoid anti-aircraft missiles.

Ukraine’s police chief Ihor Klymenko, who has taken over as interior minister, said the aircraft belonged to the emergency services. Other officials said it was a French Super Puma. There is nothing yet to indicate the crash was anything other than an accident. But in the febrile atmosphere of war there have been rumours and speculation on social media of plots and of explosives on board.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/kyiv-helicopter-crash-is-a-grave-blow-to-ukraine-s-war-efforts-and-a-personal-loss-for-zelensky/ar-AA16u1XL?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=613b9b5dd57748548f4f5ddb05d5e780

[Jimbuna]

Lukashenko braces for civil turmoil as Putin aims to drag Belarus into Ukraine war

Alexander Lukashenko could face mutiny if he decided to send Belarusian troops to the battlefield, exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has warned. The Opposition leader, who is seeking to garner international support to challenge Lukashenko after a rigged vote, suggested Lukashenko's unwillingness to mobilise his own troops is evidence his regime is weaker and more unstable than the west thinks. Given Belarusians' support for Ukraine, deploying the country's soldiers would backfire on Europe's longest-serving President, she added.

Speaking on the sideline of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ms Tsikhanouskaya told the Financial Times the prospect of Lukashenko sending troops is improbable.

She said: "Lukashenko is already fully participating in the war. But the fact that our troops have not been sent to Ukraine is not because Lukashenko does not want to participate. He knows Belarusian do not see Ukrainian as enemies."

Belarus has so far been used as a launch pad for Putin's military to launch attacks from northwestern Ukraine in the early days of the war.

While Lukashenko has allowed the Russian army to carry out military training and combat readiness exercises, he has not been dragged into the conflict. Fears mounted that Putin's visit to Belarus in December could trigger the country's direct participation in the conflict.

But the Belarusian strongman has so far shown no signs of wanting to send his own troops to Ukraine.

According to Belarus's opposition leader, such a move would backfire on Lukashenko and be followed by rebellion inside the country.

She explained: "If Lukashenko gives the order to participate, or even if he declares mobilisation, which would be the first sign of getting involved, what would happen? Massive disobedience, strikes and people fleeing Belarus as fast as they can. That is why I doubt Lukashenko is going to give his order."

Amid the growing threat of another Russian incursion from Belarus, Ukrainian officials are reportedly mounting defence lines. Air force drills will be held until February 1 using all of Belarus' military airfields and joint army exercises involving a "mechanised brigade subdivision," the Belarusian defence ministry said.

A Russian foreign ministry official further upped the ante last Friday saying Belarus could be dragged into the conflict, should it come under Ukrainian attack.

Aleksey Polishchuk told the state-owned TASS news agency: "From a legal point of view, the use of military force by the Kyiv regime or the invasion of the territory of Belarus or Russia by the armed forces of Ukraine are sufficient grounds for a collective response."

Pavel Slunkin, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations who specialises in Belarus's domestic and foreign policy issues, also discarded Belarus' participation in the conflict on the basis that the Belarusian army does not have the capacity to turn the tide of the war in favour of Russia.

The Warsaw-based researcher cited Belarus' small combat-ready segment of 15,000 troops, lack of readiness and the mined northwestern Ukraine which would decimate soldiers.

According to a Chatham House opinion poll, more than 90 percent of Belarusians oppose joining forces with Russia to attack Ukraine.

Echoing Ms Tsikhanouskaya's comments, Ms Slunkin said sending Belarusian to war could trigger a "serious wave of discontent" within the country.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/lukashenko-braces-for-civil-turmoil-as-putin-aims-to-drag-belarus-into-ukraine-war/ar-AA16tsv1?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=98f44db40cc44004a80c287912369478

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE3HiIO3P2o

[Jimbuna]

Canada will provide Ukraine with 200 Senator armored personnel carriers

During her visit to Kyiv on January 18, Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand announced the transfer of 200 additional Senator armored personnel carriers to Ukraine.

As reported by Censor.NET with reference to the website of the Canadian government, the new package of military aid corresponds to a specific request of Ukraine. APCs are purchased from the Canadian company Roshel. The aid is valued at more than $90 million and is part of the additional $500 million in military aid to Ukraine announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in November 2022.

It is noted that the Senator armored personnel carriers are modern maneuverable and easily adapted additionally protected vehicles on which weapons can be installed. They allow safe transportation of personnel and equipment, as well as medical evacuation. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394140

In order for war in Ukraine to end, Russian aggression must fail, - Scholz

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz assured Ukraine’s continued support in its fight against Russian aggression, saying that Russia has already completely failed in achieving its imperialist goals.

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to Interfax-Ukraine.

Scholz emphasized that the full-scale war against Ukraine launched by the Russian Federation in February 2022 "affected all of us."

"Russia has already completely failed in achieving its imperialist goals. Ukraine is defending itself with great success and impressive courage," the Chancellor of Germany emphasized.

Scholz also stated that Germany will continue to support Ukraine as long as necessary.

"In order for the war to end, Russian aggression must fail. That is why we are supplying Ukraine with weapons in consultation with our partners," he said.

Scholz also emphasized that last year was a turning point in Germany's policy, as Germany became completely independent of Russian gas, coal and oil. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394166

Crimea and Donbas are Ukraine, - President of Serbia Vučić

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic does not support Russian President Vladimir Putin’s territorial claims to Ukraine.

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to Ukrinform.

"We said from the very beginning that we cannot and will not support Russia's invasion of Ukraine. For us, Crimea is Ukraine, and Donbas are Ukraine. It will remain so," Vucic said in an interview with Bloomberg.

The Serbian leader, who has had dozens of meetings with Putin in recent years and even learned Russian in order to communicate with the head of the Kremlin without intermediaries, clarified that he had not spoken to Putin for several months.

Bloomberg notes that Serbia did not join the sanctions against Russia because it would hit its own economy. The Russian Federation also sells natural gas to Serbia at a price lower than the market price. However, Vucic emphasized that he does not support Russia in everything.

"We are not always happy with some of their positions. We traditionally have good relations, but this does not mean that we support every single decision or most of the decisions that come from the Kremlin," the Serbian president explained. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394167

[Jimbuna]

If we want to achieve peaceful solution through negotiations tomorrow, we must provide Ukraine with more weapons today - Stoltenberg

The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, repeated the call to increase the supply of weapons to Ukraine, because the "turning point in the war" has come.

As Censor.NET reports with reference to Euro Integration, Stoltenberg said this in an interview with the Reuters agency on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"This is a turning point in the war and the need for a significant increase in support for Ukraine. If we want to achieve a peaceful solution through negotiations tomorrow, we must provide more weapons today," he explained.

The NATO Secretary General also confirmed that consultations are ongoing between the Alliance countries regarding the provision of tanks to Ukraine. At the same time, he welcomed Britain's decision to send its Challenger 2 tanks to Kyiv.

According to Stoltenberg, Ukraine needs more air defense systems and armored vehicles, as well as ammunition, spare parts, and maintenance capabilities to ensure that existing weapons continue to function.

He said the situation on the fighting fronts had stabilized in recent weeks, but the continued fierce fighting in the eastern city of Bakhmut demonstrated the importance of providing more weapons to support Ukraine.

"President Putin shows no signs of readiness for peace, so he must realize that he cannot win on the battlefield," Stoltenberg added. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394170

Scholz on transfer of Leopard tanks to Ukraine: We never do anything by ourselves

Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz commented on the possible delivery of German Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to Interfax-Ukraine.

"Regarding Ukraine, as I already mentioned in my speech, and I will repeat it again: Germany is one of the biggest supporters. Yes, the USA is doing the most, and it is not surprising, they have invested 800 billion dollars in the defense budget. This is much more than all EU member states together. And even more than Germany has in the budget," Scholz said at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

He emphasized that Germany had previously changed its geopolitical strategy and decided to support Ukraine not only financially, but also by providing military aid. According to the chancellor, after the USA and Great Britain, Germany is the leader in this matter. "And we will continue to be very supportive as well," Scholz said.

"But we are strategically "intertwined" with our friends and partners. We work together with them. We discuss with them. We never do something alone, but together with others, especially the USA," he emphasized.

The Chancellor of Germany added that Ukrainians can count on Germany's support in their courageous struggle. "It is also clear that we will avoid a war between the Russian Federation and NATO," Scholz added.

At the same time, he stated that Germany and all countries that support Ukrainians want "Ukraine to become an independent, free democratic state that will join the EU." "That's what we do," Scholz concluded. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394180

US is preparing one of largest packages of military aid to Ukraine, but without tanks - CNN

The United States is preparing to announce in the coming days one of the largest military aid packages to Ukraine, which is not expected to include tanks - Washington is currently not ready to grant this request from Kyiv.

As Censor.NET informs with reference to "Euro Integration", this was reported to the CNN channel by two informed American officials, reports

So far, the US has shied away from giving Ukraine its Abrams tanks, although Britain and other key allies are preparing to provide the tanks, which could be crucial in the war, as Kyiv prepares for a possible large-scale Russian counter-offensive.

While US officials have publicly supported the allies' decision on the tanks, none have so far suggested that the Joe Biden administration might change its mind and send US tanks to Ukraine.

The Pentagon explains that such a decision is not related to the fear of an escalation in relations with Russia or the risk of American weapons reaching Moscow. The concern is how difficult it is to operate and maintain the 70-ton Abrams and whether it will be suitable for Ukrainian troops.

The largest U.S. security aid package to date, announced in early January 2023, totaled more than three billion dollars and included the first batch of Bradley infantry fighting vehicles.

It should be noted that the total military aid of the Biden administration to Ukraine is about 25 billion dollars, of which more than 24 billion were provided after the start of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation in February 2022. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394195

Sweden to announce delivery of Archer self-propelled gun to Ukraine tomorrow - media

On January 19, the Swedish government may announce the transfer of the Archer air defense system to Ukraine.

This is stated by Censor.NЕТ with reference to RBC-Ukraine.

According to Expressen, tomorrow, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Defense Minister Paul Johnson will hold a press conference to strengthen support for Ukraine.

The list of issues for the government meeting states that the government will give "instructions to the Swedish Armed Forces to prepare for the transfer of artillery systems to Ukraine."

Earlier it was reported that the Ukrainian military could receive 12 units of the Swedish Archer artillery system. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394201

[Jimbuna]

Fourteen people - including one child - are known to have died after a helicopter carrying top officials crashed near a kindergarten in Ukraine.

President Zelensky called it a "black morning" and said the ministers who died were patriots.

Addressing leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he says: "It was not us who started the war but it is us who will have to end it"

Nine people were on board the helicopter, which came down in Brovary, east of Kyiv.

Ukraine's interior minister Denys Monastyrsky, the deputy interior minister and a state secretary were among those killed.

They were said to be on their way to Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine.

Officials often fly at low altitude to avoid Russian missiles but the cause of the crash is being investigated.

Pupils and staff were in the kindergarten at the time, and 25 people including 11 children are in hospital.

[mapuc]

How many times have they threaten us.

MOSCOW, Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, an ally of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, warned the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Thursday that the defeat of Russia in Ukraine could trigger a nuclear war.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-ally-medvedev-warns-nuclear-war-if-russia-defeated-ukraine-2023-01-19/

Markus

[Reece]

I wish someone would hurry up and assassinate Poo-tin, what an evil turd!! :nope:
Makes my blood boil. :huh:

[Skybird]

I think an internal power-struggle in Russia after Putin'S death indeed could turn out extrenmely nasty and become civil war in Russia.

My concern is not to avoid that at our costs, but that we are prepared to contain it inside Russia - at Russias borders. The Americans have understood that. The Eastern Europeans probably also have. Maybe even Bubble-Olaf has understood the risk of Russian powerstruggles, he only draws the totally wrong consequences from it: not so much military containment, but return to the old socialist SPD paradigm of "change by trade". For many in the SPD, Russia still could be its biggest darling again. They just made a paper in wich they call for a post-war order where Russia is bound to the West again and everybody shakes hands again. As if it ever were so.

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3Y99sIltkQ

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxbaU4IrI_Q

[Jimbuna]

We call on states that are armed with Leopard 2 tanks to start deliveries to Ukraine, - joint statement by Kuleba and Reznikov

Russia’s criminal aggression against Ukraine, which has been ongoing for almost a year, remains the most serious threat to international security and an unprecedented challenge to the international community since the Second World War.

This is stated in the joint statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, and the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksii Reznikov, regarding the urgency of strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities, Censor.NET informs.

As noted, this war poses a particularly acute danger for the Euro-Atlantic community, in particular, in view of Russia's undisguised goals to destroy the European security order and question the viability of democracy as a form of organizing social life.

By provoking the threat of a global food crisis and complicating international trade, the Russian aggression caused extremely serious consequences for many countries in Africa, Asia, and other continents.

"Russia has not changed its goals regarding Ukraine, which are the destruction of one of the largest states in Europe and the destruction of the 45 million Ukrainian people. Russia accompanies its aggression with numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity, including deliberate killings of civilians, mass rocket attacks on peaceful Ukrainian cities, and targeted destruction of civilian infrastructure.

With its heroic resistance and successful liberation operations, Ukraine convincingly proved its ability to stop the aggressor state.
Thanks to the courage and endurance of the Ukrainian people, the heroism and professionalism of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the understanding in the world is increasing - the stronger the defense capabilities of Ukraine become, the sooner Russia will be convinced of the futility of its attempts to conquer our state, the sooner this cruel war in the heart of Europe will be put to an end," said in the statement.

According to the Ukrainian ministers, a lot has already been done to strengthen the defense potential of Ukraine. Our state is grateful to more than fifty partner states for their practical military assistance.

"However, Russia still maintains a significant advantage in the number of troops, weapons, and military equipment. Russian troops continue offensive actions in the east of Ukraine. The Kremlin is determined to further intensify hostilities. Russia's attempt to take revenge for its failures in the war against Ukraine, including the threat of a new full-scale offensive by Russian forces, is very real.

That is why we appeal to all partner states that have already provided military aid or are planning to provide it, with a call to significantly strengthen their practical contribution to strengthening Ukraine's ability to defend itself, to bring this aid to a qualitatively new level," Kuleba and Reznikov emphasize.

One of the most pressing and urgent needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine today is to improve their provision of modern armored vehicles and increase their fire and maneuverability with the help of Western tanks.

"We welcome the bold and very timely decision of Great Britain to transfer the first squadron of Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine. But this is not enough to achieve operational goals. Therefore, we are appealing to the states that have Leopard 2 tanks in service, including Greece, Denmark, Spain, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Turkey, Finland, and Sweden. We guarantee that we will use these weapons responsibly and exclusively to protect the territorial integrity of Ukraine within internationally recognized borders.

We appeal to all these and other states that have the appropriate capabilities to join the initiative to create an international tank coalition in support of Ukraine and make their practical contributions to this initiative.

We urge you to do this for the sake of millions of peaceful citizens of Ukraine, who continue to be in mortal danger from the aggressor state and the terrorist state of Russia if the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not receive the necessary reinforcements promptly.

We urge you to do this for the sake of the citizens of your societies, who demand that the terrorist state be stopped so that the crimes it commits do not come to their land and their homes.

We call for this to be done to confirm the right of every people on our planet to be the owner of their land. For the sake of the triumph of universal human values of our civilization - the values of peace, freedom, and democracy," the statement reads. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394261

[Jimbuna]

Morawiecki on transfer of Leopard-2 to Ukraine: We will either quickly receive Germany’s consent, or we will start acting ourselves

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki hinted that Warsaw could transfer a company of German-made Leopard-2 tanks to Ukraine without Berlin’s consent if it waits too long for approval.

As reported by Censor.NET with reference to the EP, he stated this in a comment to journalists.

Moravetskyi was asked what the situation is with the approval of the transfer of tanks and how he feels about the fact that Germany is in no hurry to make a decision.

The prime minister replied that the quick provision of tanks to Ukraine is now critically important because Russia is obviously preparing a new offensive.

"We offered a company of tanks - 14 vehicles, but, at the same time, we need a guarantee that others will also do something.
And among these others, who have so far been less active, to put it mildly, is Germany. So we will continue to fight and put pressure on the chancellor's office so that they respond to our proposal as soon as possible," Morawiecki said.

"We have agreed with Ukrainian friends and partners from Western Europe that we will hand over these tanks together. Consent here has a secondary role. We will either get this consent quickly, or we will start acting ourselves. The most important thing here is that the Germans - but not only them, but also Denmark, Finland, France, and above all Germany - offer their modern tanks as soon as possible. Because the ability to protect Ukraine's freedom depends on it, so the security of all of Europe depends on it," he added.

Since Leopard tanks are manufactured by a German defense concern, their transfer to non-NATO countries requires German consent. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394277

Austin will put pressure on new head of German Defense Ministry, Pistorius, regarding Leopard for Ukraine, - Reuters

The head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, will meet with the new Minister of Defense of Germany, Boris Pistorius, and convince him to transfer Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

As reported by Censor.NET, this was reported by Reuters with reference to sources.

"At the meeting, Austin will put pressure on Pistorius to allow the transfer of German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine," the publication notes.

Tanks "Leopard 2" are at the disposal of several NATO countries and can be quickly delivered to Ukraine.

Also remind, that earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, commenting on the transfer of Leopard tanks to Ukraine, said that Germany would never do anything on its own. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394280

Estonia will provide Ukraine with record package of military aid: howitzers, anti-tank weapons, and shells

The government of Estonia decided to provide military aid to Ukraine in the war with the Russian Federation in the amount of 113 million euros. The aid package will be a record, it will include howitzers, ammunition, artillery support vehicles, and grenade launchers.

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to ERR.

After sending this batch of weapons to Ukraine, the total amount of military aid to Kyiv from Estonia will increase to 370 million euros or slightly more than one percent of Estonia's annual gross domestic product, the government said.

According to ERR, Estonia will transfer dozens of 155 and 122-millimeter howitzers to Ukraine, thousands of shells, trucks for their transportation, more than a hundred Carl-Gustav anti-tank grenade launchers, and more than a thousand ammunition for them.

"If Ukraine falls, freedom in the rest of the world will also be threatened. By helping Ukraine defend its independence, we are defending the right to freedom and democracy of all states, including Estonia," Prime Minister Kaya Kallas said in a press release.

"Russia's war against Ukraine has its price - the price we pay in euros, and the Ukrainians pay with their lives," she added.

Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur emphasized that Kyiv is in dire need of heavy weapons.

"Ukraine needs heavy weapons in order to maintain the initiative and confront Russia, which is preparing to restore its military power. The hardest battles are still ahead," said Pevkur, according to whom it is important for Estonia to set an example and thereby motivate other allies to provide assistance to Ukraine.

The government noted that the military aid to Kyiv does not reduce Estonia's defense capability, and the guns transferred to Ukraine will soon replace the Korean K9 self-propelled guns. In addition, security is provided by the presence of allies, in particular the recently deployed American HIMARS rocket launcher systems. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394291

[Jimbuna]

I do not understand with whom and what to talk about in Moscow. I’m not entirely sure that Putin is alive, - Zelensky

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, does not understand with whom in Russia it is possible to negotiate.

He stated this while speaking via video link at the "Ukrainian breakfast" in Davos, organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, informs Censor.NET with reference to "Interfax-Ukraine".

"For three years, we did everything to liberate our lands through diplomacy. Some didn't want to, some didn't have time, some liked the conditions. There were many of them and all centered in Moscow," he said.

"I don't understand who to talk to and what to talk about. I'm not sure that the president of Russia, who sometimes appears... the TV people will understand on the "chroma-key" (a green background on which any picture can be superimposed. - Ed .)… I don't quite understand who it is. I do not fully understand that he is alive. I don't know who makes the decision, what kind of people. When we say "peace talks, I don't quite understand with whom," Zelensky said.

"Russia should find someone and then offer something," he said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394269

Everything will end when Zelensky shows "willingness to take into account Russia’s demands", - Peskov

The spokesman for the Russian dictator, Dmytro Peskov, said that the war will end when Zelensky shows a willingness to "take into account Russia’s demands."

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to the propaganda publication RIA Novosti.

"The sooner Zelensky shows his willingness to take Russia's demands into account, the sooner everything will end," Pekov said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394304

European Parliament adopted resolution on creation of special tribunal regarding crime of aggression by Russian Federation against Ukraine: Leadership of Belarus also appears there

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on a special international court regarding the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine.

This was reported by Rikard Jozwiak, a correspondent of Radio Liberty in Brussels, Censor.NET reports.

According to him, the resolution contains a call to investigate not only the actions of Putin and the leadership of Russia but also Lukashenko and the leadership of Belarus.

At the same time, Jozwiak noted, the resolution has a recommendatory nature. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394333

[Skybird]

Deutsche Welle (German edition):
-----------------------------------------
Ukraine: Will Ramstein bring the Leopard-2 compromise?

The U.S. and almost all allies have decided to take a qualitative leap in arms deliveries - apparently including the German Leopard-2 tank.

He already considers the question of whether Ukraine will also receive German-made Leopard-2 tanks to have been answered positively, says Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. "I can consider the tank option as cleared," Kuleba says via video link to the Swiss mountains.

At this point Thursday, the German and U.S. defense secretaries, Boris Pistorius and Lloyd Austin, have withdrawn from the West in Berlin for talks on continued military aid to Ukraine. They speak a day before the U.S. brings together some 50 supporter states of the "Ukraine Contact Group" at the U.S. military base in Ramstein, Germany, to finalize a comprehensive military aid package for the country under attack by Russia.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (left) and his new German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, on the sidelines of their preparatory meeting for the Ramstein conference

"The option will be fully unlocked," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba said, "if Germany gives the green light to those third countries that are ready to provide us with their Leopards." Poland and Finland had agreed the previous week to each give Ukraine about a dozen of their Leopard 2s.

As is usually the case in the international arms business, Germany reserves the right to require a license if a recipient country wants to continue exporting German-made weapons. Is this a possible compromise between Berlin and Washington? As late as Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, also in Davos, was apparently spreading the junket that Germany would supply Leopard 2s if the U.S. gave up its Abrams main battle tank to Ukraine. This was the word from U.S. circles at the World Economic Forum.

In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj declared via video Thursday, "If someone says, 'I'll give tanks if someone else gives tanks,' ... I don't think this is the right strategy." The U.S. has Abrams tanks stationed in Europe. However, the equipment is considered very demanding to operate.

While European-made tanks usually run on diesel fuel, the Abrams requires gasoline - which would also be hard for Ukraine to manage logistically, most experts are convinced. "There are times when we should not hesitate or compare," Selenskyj says to the audience in Davos.

The Ukrainian army is already accomplishing a great feat by reconciling the many completely different military equipment of the supporting nations at the front - in transportation, fuel supply and repairs.

The German government is under pressure, while behind the scenes diplomacy is in high gear. In Germany, the tug-of-war over the Leopard 2 dominates the public debate on Ukraine deliveries. Above all, the left wing of the chancellor's social democratic SPD party has been positioning itself for months against the delivery of battle tanks, while the coalition parties Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and the liberal FDP are calling for them.

The think tank IISS (International Institute for Strategic Studies) has been expecting Leopard 2 deliveries to Ukraine for some time. "It is increasingly likely that the Leopard 2 will be included in the Ukrainian inventory," the IISS wrote in mid-January, "but the impact on the battlefield will depend on the number of vehicles delivered." According to the report, a total of 100 Leopard 2s would be needed to give Ukraine a decisive advantage. "Even if the provision of a small number of Leopard 2s is politically remarkable, it would be only a symbolic gesture."

At the same time, the new aid package for Ukraine includes other weapons that may be no less crucial for Ukraine. Among them is a missile that only came onto the arms market last fall. Together with the U.S. company Boeing, the Swedish arms manufacturer Saab has developed an artillery missile that is said to cost only a fraction of the price of comparable U.S. surface-to-air missiles. It is to be decided at Ramstein that Ukraine will receive this weapon system.

The missile "has a range of 150 kilometers, can engage both stationary and moving targets," writes British defense information service Janes Defence. According to the Swedish manufacturer, it "can be launched from a variety of launchers and configurations." So, apparently, also from the artillery systems that the West has given to Ukraine so far.

With a range of 150 kilometers, the Ukrainian army could reach targets roughly as far as the middle of the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula from the front line.

Russian forces have been bombing Ukraine's civilian infrastructure-including from their bases in Crimea. According to a report in The New York Times, U.S. President Joe Biden is said to have abandoned his reluctance to equip Ukraine with penetrating weapons capable of launching a sustained attack on the Crimean peninsula.

In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman reacted to this report, warning, "This would mean taking the conflict to a new level, which will not be good for European security," Reuters news agency reports from a conversation with Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. These missiles could also be used by the Ukrainian army to prepare its own offensive into the area south of the major city of Zaporizhzhya and to prepare for the reclaiming of the land bridge to Crimea via the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol, which was captured by Russia in the spring of 2022.

With the arms deliveries from the possible Ramstein package made public since early January, it is clear that the U.S. allies in the Ukraine Contact Group have decided to also supply the attacked country with state-of-the-art and possibly decisive Western weapons. So that Ukraine can withstand a new massive attack by Russia, as in the spring of 2022, and liberate more parts of the country. It would be qualitatively a new decisive step - decided in Ramstein.
---------------------------


Earlier yesterday or this day the Polish government released statements that left no doubt that it will deliver Leopards anyway - if needed even without permission from Germany. :yeah: Thats what I hoped for: that a German veto would simply be ignored.

This is an estimation on what European states have how many of which Leopard 1 and 2 versions:

https://www-merkur-de.translate.goog/politik/so-viele-leopard-panzer-haben-europaeische-nato-staaten-zr-92036443.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp


I think it is a given that Leopard-2s will got o Ukraine, and that Germany "must" accept it that others do so. The two questions now are: 1.) When? 2.) Will the Germans come around and deliver tanks themselves, too?


The American arguments why not the Abrams makes perfect sense to me, I brought up the very same arguments before.

[mapuc]

Some news from Sweden and Denmark.

Earlier today the Swedish Government decided to send x-amount of their artillery system Archer and around 50 of they Type 90 Armoured vehicle

Denmark have decided to send their brand new artillery system who they bought in France named Caesar.

For me it's going to be interesting to see which of these two system will perform best in Ukraine.

Markus

[Skybird]

Both are extremely agile and fast-moving, can redeploy very quickly, but are best for travelling on road, obviously. The US considers to buy Archer for its own forces, too. It allows the use of the most modern of modern ammunitions.

Russians at the receiving end of the firing already liked Caesars, triple-sevens and PZH-2Ks. They will learn to love Archers.

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFUGEezS02s

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0qlJK3Y3Ho

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7wKIeu9pC4

[Skybird]

Westfälische Nachrichten:
----------------------------
Moscow is considering deploying its latest T-14 Armata main battle tanks in Ukraine, according to British military experts. This is according to the daily intelligence update on the Ukraine war from the Ministry of Defense in London. According to the report, the most advanced Russian tanks were seen in pictures at a training ground in southern Russia, where troops are being prepared for deployment in Ukraine.

A possible deployment of the tanks, which have not yet entered regular service, is a high-risk decision, the British statement said. The tank's development has been beset by difficulties and delays, it said, adding that it is larger and heavier than other tanks and therefore could pose problems for supply lines.

"If Russia were to use the T-14, it will be primarily for propaganda purposes. Production is probably only in the low double digits and commanders are unlikely to trust the vehicle on the battlefield," the statement added.
---------------------------------

[Jimbuna]

Great Britain will provide Ukraine with 600 Brimstone missiles, - Wallace

Great Britain plans to send 600 Brimstone missiles to Ukraine.

As reported by Censor.NET with reference to Reuters, this was stated by Defense Minister Ben Wallace.

He talked about the announced package of military support for Ukraine and told what type of missiles will be sent to Ukraine.

"I can say that we will also send another 600 Brimstone missiles, which will be incredibly important to help Ukraine dominate the battlefield," the minister emphasized.

"If President Putin expects us to be bored this year, he's wrong," added Wallace. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394390

Denmark will provide Ukraine with 19 French-made CAESAR howitzers

The Danish government announced the transfer of Caesar self-propelled artillery installations.

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to the press service of the Ministry of Defense of the country.

"We have been in constant contact with the Ukrainians regarding the Caesar artillery, in particular, and I am happy that now we have received broad support from the Danish parliament to donate it to the fight for the freedom of Ukraine," said Defense Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen.

Thus, the Danish government decided to transfer 19 French-made Caesar artillery installations to Ukraine.

According to the defense minister, Denmark is currently considering the purchase of new weapons. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394400

Lithuania will transfer L-70 anti-aircraft guns and two Mi-8 helicopters to Ukraine

As part of the new package of military aid to Ukraine, Lithuania will hand over two Mi-8 helicopters.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anushauskas stated this, Censor.NET reports with reference to Ukrinform.

"Today I have good news from Lithuania for Ukraine. The new lethal package of Lithuanian support to Ukraine consists of dozens of L-70 anti-aircraft guns, ammunition and two Mi-8 helicopters," he said.

According to Anushauskas, the total amount of the aid package for Ukraine will be about 125 million euros. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394423

Europe and US will be able to agree on tanks for Ukraine - Rutte

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that he is quite confident that Europe and the United States will be able to bring their "dialogue" on tanks for Ukraine to an end.

He stated this in an interview with CNN, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to Ukrainian truth.

According to Rutte, he has an understanding that Germany and other countries want to create a "broad coalition" to send heavy tanks to Ukraine.

"There is wide support for sending military equipment. We have sent so much since the beginning of the war. Of course, there is a debate about tanks, and the question here is what will be the next step in the fight. It may be necessary, but I understand that the Germans and others say you need a broad coalition," Rutte said.

According to him, it is "very important" that Ukraine wins the war, but "you also have to be honest with him (President Zelensky - Ed.) and say that if you want tanks, for example, at the level he is asking for them, it is necessary that we do it not only as one country, but as a group of countries."

The Dutch Prime Minister said he was "quite confident" that Europe and the United States could bring their dialogue on tanks to a conclusion. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394450

Ukraine needs at least tank brigade from allies, - Minister of Defense of Poland Blaszczak

Ukraine needs tanks from its Western partners to form at least one tank brigade. Germany should join the international coalition that will deliver tanks to Kyiv.

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defense of Poland Mariusz Blaszczak said this at a press conference after the end of a video conference with the defense ministers of Great Britain, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, as well as representatives of the Czech Republic and Slovakia on the topic of further assistance to Ukraine, reports Censor.NET with reference on Ukrinform.

"Our task is to convince and show that only real, genuine help matters. Otherwise, we face very bad prospects," Blaszczak said.

The minister noted that during a video conference with partners, he spoke about Poland's readiness to transfer a company of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine within the framework of a broad coalition of countries.

"Ukraine must be supported by providing it with at least a brigade of tanks, and maybe more. Therefore, this coalition of states is necessary for real support for Ukraine in this situation in which it finds itself," Blaschak emphasized.

He noted that he will announce this proposal again on Friday at a meeting in Ramstein. He expressed hope that Germany, which is the manufacturer of Leopard 2 tanks, will join this coalition.

Blaschak noted that there are countries that provide real assistance to Ukraine, but there are also those that "help symbolically, or it is only on paper." Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394419

[Dargo]

Deutsche Welle (German edition):
-----------------------------------------
[I]Ukraine: Will Ramstein bring the Leopard-2 compromise?

[SNIP]


Earlier yesterday or this day the Polish government released statements that left no doubt that it will deliver Leopards anyway - if needed even without permission from Germany. :yeah: Thats what I hoped for: that a German veto would simply be ignored.

This is an estimation on what European states have how many of which Leopard 1 and 2 versions:

https://www-merkur-de.translate.goog/politik/so-viele-leopard-panzer-haben-europaeische-nato-staaten-zr-92036443.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp


I think it is a given that Leopard-2s will got o Ukraine, and that Germany "must" accept it that others do so. The two questions now are: 1.) When? 2.) Will the Germans come around and deliver tanks themselves, too?


The American arguments why not the Abrams makes perfect sense to me, I brought up the very same arguments before.The Netherlands are ready to pay the Leopard tanks for Ukraine.

[Dargo]

Netherlands ready to pay for Leopard tanks for Ukraine

The deliveries should take place within a broad coalition of European and NATO allies.

According to Censor.NЕТ, this is statеd by Bloomberg.

According to Dutch Defense Minister Keesa Ollongren, the Netherlands is ready to pay for Leopard tanks to be sent to Ukraine as part of a coalition of European and NATO allies.

The Netherlands has already paid for the shipment of T-72 tanks from the Czech Republic to Kyiv, and the same approach, according to the Minister, could be replicated for German Leopard tanks.

"That's definitely something we're willing to do," Ollongren said.

In addition to the tanks, any coalition will also require partners to provide ammunition, training and other support.

"We are all waiting to hear Germany's position on tanks, but I am in favor of trying to find a solution and trying to send tanks to Ukraine," Ollongren emphasized. Source: https://censor.net/en/news/3394462/netherlands_ready_to_pay_for_leopard_tanks_for_ukr aine_bloomberg

[Jimbuna]

Putin's shame as mobile crematoriums ordered from China to 'hide scale of Ukraine losses'

Vladimir Putin has reportedly ordered 21 mobile crematoriums from China in an attempt to hide how many Russian soldiers have died during the conflict in Ukraine. According to rumours, the Kremlin is preparing for its losses to more than double from 100,000 to 220,000 by May.

Telegram channel General SVR claims Putin "is not embarrassed by the colossal losses" from the war he instigated, instead they argue the scale would be "disturbing" to the public.

They added: "As a result, according to the president, the losses must be 'smeared over time', and the crematoriums have been ordered for this.

"Putin has been informed that the order is ready and will be delivered to Russia via third countries in the near future."

Video footage has supposedly captured the Russian army using their own mobile crematorium on the battlefield.

A number of Russian recruits are believed to have come from prisons, with accusations that Putin has used them as "cannon fodder" to avoid bigger losses amongst the regular army.

As many as 40,000 convicts have been enlisted by the notorious Wagner mercenary group, fighting for Moscow in exchange for their freedom.

A recent report from the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel claim that only 30 have survived out of 270 prisoners recruited from a penal colony in Bashkortostan region.

A source said this "very accurately reflects the number of prisoners' who've died - a little more than 10 percent survive".

Wagner group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, a key ally of Putin's, claimed many have survived for at least six months, at which point even murderers and rapists receive a pardon.

In a video Mr Prigozhin is seen telling newly released convicts: "Don't drink too much, don't use drugs, don't rape women, don't create trouble.

"The police should treat you with respect."

The Kremlin has claimed only 6,000 troops have died since the war began, in spite of pictures released of graveyards full of dead soldiers.

This comes as a Wagner group recruitment drive in Serbia has sparked outrage in Belgrade, with videos in Serbian supposedly encouraging fighters to join.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/putin-s-shame-as-mobile-crematoriums-ordered-from-china-to-hide-scale-of-ukraine-losses/ar-AA16xFy9?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=61d07831fb774391b11dae15cb33627c

[Jimbuna]

Germany must stop stalling Ukraine tanks deal, say Nato allies

Germany must drop its opposition to sending tanks to Ukraine or Vladimir Putin’s forces could gain the upper hand in the war, Nato allies warned on Thursday.

Britain and the US were on Thursday night at the forefront of an international pressure campaign calling on Berlin, which holds the export licence for Leopard II tanks, to send them to Ukraine and allow other nations to do so.

Several European nations are hoping to promise the tanks to Ukraine at a summit on Friday at the Ramstein air base in Germany.

Britain has already committed to sending a squadron of 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks, piling pressure on Germany to follow suit.

Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor, has said he will only send Leopard II tanks if America donates the equivalent Abrams from its arsenal.

On Thursday, a Pentagon spokeswoman said it “doesn’t make sense” to provide the Abrams, with officials citing logistical challenges and the vehicle’s extraordinary fuel demands.

“Ultimately this is Germany’s decision,” said Sabrina Singh.

Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, sought to allay fears that Germany would be “going it alone” in sending tanks as he released a joint statement with eight other nations promising “unprecedented” weaponry for Kyiv, including battle tanks.

Meanwhile, Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, met his newly appointed German opposite number Boris Pistorius, a former member of the German-Russian parliamentary friendship group, in an attempt to break the deadlock.

But it was unclear whether Mr Scholz would on Friday agree to lift Berlin’s veto on other Ukraine allies exporting their Leopard IIs as part of the donations announced at Ramstein, Washington’s main air base in Europe.

At the Davos summit on Wednesday, he told US lawmakers in private meetings that Germany was much more likely to bear any blowback from a move Russia has deemed escalatory. He said that the US should take the lead as Germany relies on its nuclear deterrent, according to Politico.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/germany-must-stop-stalling-ukraine-tanks-deal-say-nato-allies/ar-AA16x5sf?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=966db5f016624aa68db17232802ead2d

[Jimbuna]

Hungary has blocked new tranche of EU aid of 500 million euros for armaments for Ukraine

Hungary has blocked the 7th tranche of security support for Ukraine from the European Union worth 500 million euros.

This is reported by RMF FM with reference to an unnamed high-ranking EU diplomat, Censor.NET informs.

According to the publication, EU countries will put pressure on Budapest on Monday during the meeting of EU foreign ministers.

"Until now, Hungary, which itself does not send weapons to Ukraine, has abstained from voting when making decisions regarding the next tranches of aid and has not blocked this support," the report says.

However, the EU has a "plan B", as in the case when Hungary blocked 18 billion euros of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine in early December. The EU then passed a legal act that would allow this aid to be delivered bypassing Hungary, and that was enough for Hungary to relent.

If Budapest does not give up its veto to support Ukraine's weapons, the EU may adopt this decision in 26 countries as well, diplomats in Brussels assume.

"It is difficult for a small pro-Russian state, which has exemptions from all sanctions, to dictate the position of the entire EU," an EU diplomat told reporters. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394573

Poland is ready for non-standard actions if Germany does not provide tanks to Ukraine, - country’s MFA

Polish Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pawel Jablonski said that Warsaw may take "non-standard actions" if Germany continues to resist the supply of tanks to Ukraine.

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to the Euro Integration.

"I think that if there is strong resistance, then we will be ready to take such non-standard measures, even if someone is offended by it. But let's not get ahead of events, but try to involve as many countries as possible in effective cooperation with Germany," he said.

According to Pawel Solokh, adviser to the President of Poland, no key decisions regarding the transfer of Leopard tanks to Ukraine will be made at Friday's meeting of NATO defense ministers in Ramstein, Germany.

"Much depends on the determination of such countries of the Alliance as Poland, Finland or Denmark," the presidential adviser said about the pressure on Berlin, which, according to the agreements, must give its consent before transferring these machines to Ukraine.

The president's adviser believes that if our western neighbors do not agree to this, it will mean "a rift within NATO itself." In his opinion, this would have an extremely negative impact on the general situation in the Alliance.

"We expect that the pressure on Germany will be so strong that the transfer of heavy weapons to Ukraine will take place without violating the previous unity," said Solokh.

At the same time, he does not exclude that Germany may sue Poland in case of transfer of tanks without consent.

"Germany has the right to sue us for this, but it seems unlikely. I hope that a compromise will be found, but such that in the end Ukraine will receive these tanks," Solokh added. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394529

[Jimbuna]

Zelensky to German government: Can you give "leopards"? Than give, they won’t go to territory of Russian Federation. VIDEO

President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the German government to supply Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks.

He stated this in an interview with ARD, Censor.NET reports with reference to Tagesschau.

"You are grown-up people. You can talk for another six months, but this is all measured by influence. We have people die every day. And you can't "if" and "if". But simply, can you give Leopard? Well, give it. We don't we are advancing. Leopard, if anyone is worried, will not go on the territory of the Russian Federation. We are defending ourselves," the head of state said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394518

US Defense Ministers Austin and German Pistorius could not agree on tanks for Ukraine, - CNN

The head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, and the newly appointed Minister of Defense of Germany, Boris Pistorius, held negotiations on the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. The parties failed to reach an agreement.

This is reported by CNN, informed by Censor.NET.

According to the American TV channel, Austin and Pistorius met on the eve of the "Ramstein" meeting, which will take place in Germany on Friday, January 20.

U.S. officials familiar with the situation said the tank issue had not yet been decided before Friday's meeting, and "it would be surprising if Germany changed its mind despite pressure from Lloyd Austin," CNN reported, citing its own sources.

The TV channel quotes a source who said that before the meeting in Washington, they were "very optimistic and confident that they will make progress" on the issue of the transfer of tanks. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394515

Finland will transfer heavy artillery and ammunition to Ukraine

Finland allocates the 12th package of military aid to Ukraine, which, among other things, will include heavy artillery and ammunition.

As Censor.NET informs with reference to Interfax-Ukraine, this is stated in the statement of the Finnish government.

"Defence Minister Mikko Savola emphasized that Finland will supply Ukraine with heavy artillery and ammunition," the press release states.

According to the statement, the cost of the equipment provided for in this aid package is more than 400 million euros. In total, Helsinki provided military aid to Ukraine in the amount of 590 million euros.

It will be recalled that earlier the President of Finland, Sauli Niinisto, said that his country can transfer a small batch of Leopard tanks to Ukraine - in the event of the creation of a "joint European project to provide assistance to Ukraine".

"However, the amount of transferred armored vehicles cannot be large, as Finland borders Russia and is not yet a NATO member state," Niinisto noted. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3394523