To this’n’that ping list; anyone wanting on/off freepmail me. The unnecessary slaughter is so horrible; all the fault of our gangster government and the foul POS Zelensky.
From Intel Slava, mostly today and some from yesterday. Many photos and short videos, anyone can see them.
“Is it even worth it for Ukraine? If they’re only going to get 17 Leopard 2s, plus 13 Challenger 2s, that’s an awful lot of training and logistics requirements for 30 tanks. It might actually make them *worse* off. Maybe another sign the West is running dry.”
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A year of war has left Europe’s armories dry
Russia’s war against Ukraine is almost a year old. Tens of thousands have been killed. Western governments have provided more than $110bn worth of support to Kyiv, according to the Kiel Institute, with $38bn in the form of weapons.
But in many capitals, defence ministers are being informed by their generals that there is precious little left to give. Warehouses and dumps are bare. Denmark has given Ukraine every single one of its Caesar howitzers. Estonia has provided so many 155mm artillery guns it has none left.
As such, the conversations between western defence ministers who met at Nato’s headquarters this week and who will congregate at the Munich Security Conference this weekend are littered with furrowed brows and anxious looks: how long can we sustain this level of support, and with what?
Looming over them is Russia’s spring offensive, which Stoltenberg said had already begun. It is expected to involve a mass wave of newly mobilised troops, a level of air power not yet deployed by Moscow and the daily firing of as many artillery shells as Europe manufacturers in a month.
“It is worrying what is coming,” admitted Kajsa Ollongren, the Netherlands’ defence minister.
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On an average day in Ukraine, the opposing armies lob as many as 30,000 shells at one another. That’s more than 200,000 a week, almost 1 million a month—without including the bullets, land mines, hand grenades and other munitions being deployed as Vladimir Putin’s invasion enters its second year.
While Russian troops typically fire about twice as many rounds as Ukrainian forces do, stockpiles on both sides are shrinking. Ukraine’s ammunition use is “many times higher” than the current rate of production of its allies, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels on Feb. 13.
While Russia’s stockpiles are also under pressure, its capacity is multiple times that of Europe’s, with its industry in a position to annually manufacture 1.7 million 152mm artillery shells before the war, according to Estonia’s Minister of Defense. Government officials meet regularly with representatives of the industry to coordinate plans, and state television says armaments factories continued to work full tilt through the New Year holidays even as much of the rest of Russia took 10 days off. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has said that the military roughly doubled ammunition purchases in 2022 and that spending on weapons systems will increase 50% this year. “We have no funding restrictions,” Putin told Ministry of Defense staff in December. “The country, the government will provide whatever the army asks for. Anything.”
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EU aid to Ukraine has lost its common sense - now the confiscated cars of Latvian residents will be given to the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The Latvian Seimas approved amendments to the law on support for the civilian population in Ukraine. The head of the Latvian Ministry of Finance, Arvils Asheradens, made a proposal to seize cars from drivers who were driving in a state of intoxication and transfer them to the needs of the Ukrainian army. Each confiscated car will be decided by the government, and will be transferred through an organization cooperating with the government of Ukraine.
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The Times: A looming offensive on Sumy
In a network of trenches from where the Russian lines are visible, Sumy’s new defenders are assessing what lies on the other side as the anniversary of the invasion approaches. The signs are ominous.
“There are 10,000 Russian troops massed on the other side of the border,” senior lieutenant Andrei Hulakov said.
“It’s the largest concentration there has ever been here. And they have built a field hospital,” he added, one of the key developments last year that helped persuade Ukraine’s security apparatus that the Russian build-up was not just an elaborate bluff.
Not only that, but the Russians have also been spotted laying gravel on the routes leading to the border along which any armoured vehicles would have to travel. Last year thick mud impeded their progress. This year the ground is as yet still hard in the sub-zero temperatures.
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Ukrainian sources report of heavy casualties among college graduates, with the “Kyiv School of Economics” reporting 7% of its alumni have died in the war to date.
“7% KIA from alumnae of a non-military college is a pretty amazing number and supports some of the higher Ukrainian casualty estimates, as well as further suggesting that the stock of ideologically-motivated volunteers has run out.”
- Anatoly Karlin, for commentary on this statistic.
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Local authorities said that rocket attacks were carried out last night on infrastructure facilities in Kharkiv.
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Ukrainian sources report that the Russian Armed Forces have taken control of the village of Gryanikovka in the Kharkiv region.
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Lieutenant General Andrey Mordvichev appointed commander of the Central Military District
The media write about this today, but in fact it did not happen now. A few months ago, Mordvichev replaced his former commander, General Lapin, and commanded the Center group of troops in the special operation zone (that is, he led the troops of the Central Military District), and a few weeks ago he was approved as commander of Russia’s largest military district.
Previously, General Mordvichev commanded the 8th Army, led the troops in Syria and during the assault on Mariupol.
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Active mobilization continues in Ukraine, but this time something went wrong... The military commissars arrived in the village, but an obstacle awaited them: their wives and mothers stopped their activities.
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The work of heavy flamethrower systems TOS-1A “Solntsepek” on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Ugledar direction
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In Ukraine, subpoenas are massively distributed in order to form a reserve and register those liable for military service, - Alexey Danilov in an interview with the BBC
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Commander of the Eastern Military District.
Russian Defense Ministry: Yevgeny Nikiforov has been appointed Commander of the Western Military District since January 2023.
Colonel General Kuzovlev was appointed Commander of the Southern Military District.
Lieutenant General Andrei Mordvichev was appointed commander of the Central Military District.
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Belarus fulfills 100% of agreements with Russia in the field of defense and security
This was stated by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko at the talks with the President of Russia Vladimir Putin.
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Zelensky urges West to end taboo on arms supplies to Ukraine - Reuters
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We must find the strength and courage to build a dialogue with Russia, without which peace in Europe is impossible. But the time for dialogue has not yet come . For now, it is important to focus on intensifying military assistance to Ukraine. In this regard , important weeks and months await us. We need to be prepared in case such support is needed for a longer time ,” French President Emmanuel Macron at the Munich Security Conference
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“Just shoot more accurately” - British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, against the backdrop of Kyiv’s statements that they had almost no ammunition left, urged the Armed Forces of Ukraine to be more accurate in order to spend less shells.
Wallace stated this in an interview with Times Radio. According to the minister, Ukrainian soldiers use a huge amount of ammunition. “Do you need 100 artillery shells to blow up a Russian position, or just five? If you can be accurate, you don’t need 100 shells,” Wallace said.
For our part, we can advise Ukrainian soldiers to simply walk if they run out of fuel
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According to our intelligence, Ukraine today began the transfer of several battalions to the Artyomovskoe (Bakhmut) direction. Apparently, Zelensky, for the sake of media effect, is ready to continue sacrificing his own soldiers, sending them to certain death.
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In Western Ukraine, everything happens exactly the same as in Odessa. The military commissars in Ternopil right in broad daylight forcibly stuffed a Ukrainian into a car and left in an unknown direction