Here we go again-Ukraine once again

[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]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

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]

[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/othe...00bbc454b8decd

[Skybird]

An image says so much more than a thousand words.


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

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

Plain reason, obvious experience. Having a conversation with a mind like his is always a win.

[Dargo]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

[Jimbuna]

[Jimbuna]

[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]