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Ukrainian Tank losses Running Total: 734

Ukrainian Artillery losses Running Total: 450

RuZZian Tank losses Running Total: 2623
January 2024 – 43
December 2023 – 74
November 2023 – 67
October 2023 – 108
September 2023 – 57
August 2023 – 86
July 2023 – 113
June 2023 – 73
May 2023 – 90
April 2023 – 5
March 2023 - 127
February 2023 – 118
January 2023 – 61
December 2022 – 76
November 2022 – 105
October 2022 – 212
September 2022 - 217
August 2022 – 74
July 2022 – 108
June 2022 – 67
May 2022 – 148
April 2022 – 243
Feb 24 - March 2022 – 350

RuZZian Artillery losses Running Total: 995
January 2024 - 24
December 2023 - 33
November 2023 - 25
October 2023 - 77
September 2023 - 48
August 2023 - 67
July 2023 - 56
June 2023 - 47
May 2023 - 43
April 2023 - 24
March 2023 - 37
February 2023 – 41
January 2023 – 31
December 2022 – 19
November 2022 – 55
October 2022 – 64
September 2022 - 73
August 2022 – 21
July 2022 – 21
June 2022 – 18
May 2022 – 20
April 2022 – 52
Feb 24 - March 2022 – 110

Previous day’s thread: https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/4210630/posts

Summarizing this war:

A tragedy for Ukraine.
A disaster for RuZZia.
A strategic win for the USA.

“Why Internet Trolls Do What They Do and How to Spot Russian Fakes”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLtBzvw0—0

“Here is the best-kept secret about U.S. military aid to Ukraine: Most of the money is being spent here in the United States. That’s right: Funds that lawmakers approve to arm Ukraine are not going directly to Ukraine but being used stateside to build new weapons or to replace weapons sent to replace weapons sent to Kyiv from U.S. stockpiles. Of the $68 billion in military and related assistance Congress has approved since Russia invaded Ukraine, almost 90 percent is going to Americans, one analysis found.”

https://twitter.com/TheDeadDistrict/status/1730119780873441750

Tonight, Ukraine used the FrankenSAM for the first time in combat conditions. It shot down Shahed from a distance of 9 kilometers.

FrankenSAM is a hybrid air defense system jointly developed by the Pentagon, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Strategic Industry.

In fact, these are three anti-aircraft missile complexes: the Soviet Buk air defense system with American RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles, AIM-9M air-to-air missiles in combination with Soviet radars and air defense systems based on Ukrainian old systems with Patriot elements and missiles.

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1747594297304645815

Kremlin snuff box
https://t.me/kremlin_secrets/3452

Why are they suddenly talking about moving the capital from Moscow again? Is it true that this is impossible?

Unexpectedly, a lot of talk arose around the transfer of the capital of the Russian Federation from Moscow. In particular, historian Afanasy Nikolaev handed over an open letter to Vladimir Putin with a proposal to consider the possibility of moving the capital to Irkutsk.

Dmitry Peskov has already responded to the idea, calling it unrealizable in the current conditions.

There are several points about this.

Firstly, in his letter the historian rightly noted that moving the capital to Irkutsk would ensure security for the country’s leadership. Now the danger for Siberia is much less than for Moscow.

However, there is another question here. Elites want to live in comfortable conditions. Putin, for example, really likes Sochi, but now he rarely goes there.

Sending all ministers and tens of thousands of officials to Irkutsk in one fell swoop is, of course, a large-scale idea, but it will most likely lead to collapse rather than provide any bonuses. At the same time, Irkutsk is significantly closer to our main partner - China.

Secondly, it is worth noting that the idea of moving the capital is not new. In November last year, due to the difficult situation at the fronts, documents even began to be taken out of Moscow.

Among the candidates for the status of the new/temporary capital Kazan, Yaroslavl, and Yekaterinburg were named. We also wrote that not far from Yekaterinburg, a new bunker for the President was built.

Thirdly, is Peskov right when he says that moving the capital is now impossible? Any tasks depend on conditions. Now, fortunately, Moscow is not being bombed and there are no enemy troops on the approaches to it.

Moreover, such a scenario looks frankly unlikely. But if conditions change, the issue of moving the capital can be resolved as soon as possible. Sources in the Kremlin apparatus told us about this. As expected, many people are against the transfer, including Sergei Sobyanin.

Kremlin snuff box
https://t.me/kremlin_secrets/3454

Explosion at a plant in the Rostov region: three important news

There are three important things to report about the explosion at the polyester plant in Shakhty.

Firstly, according to sources in the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the government of the Rostov region, unfortunately, two people injured in the explosion died. Six victims are in hospitals.

Secondly, our information was confirmed - the explosion occurred in a workshop for the production of FPV drones. About 200 units of finished and almost finished drones were lost.

Thirdly, we were reproached for not “noticing” in the video from the scene of the emergency traces in the sky that indicate the operation of air defense. They say the explosion was the result of an enemy strike, falling debris, or even an unsuccessful hit by our anti-aircraft missile, which flew in the wrong direction.

We respond to these reproaches. We noticed everything. Military sources assured us that the air defense system actually went off near the plant. Two enemy drones were shot down. Their debris fell in an open area and had nothing to do with the emergency at the enterprise.

The explosion and fire were almost certainly caused by a bomb that was planted in the drone production workshop. The explosion itself was strong, but was not associated with air strikes, which can be seen in the video of the moment of the emergency.

“Our air defense, although rarely, makes mistakes. This is definitely not the case,” a source close to Rostov Governor Vasily Golubev assured us.

When asked why the plant had a workshop for the production of military products, he replied that in this way they wanted to hide it from enemy attacks.

Kremlin snuff box
https://t.me/s/kremlin_secrets

A workshop producing drones for the army exploded in the Rostov region

An explosion at the Avangard plant in Shakhty, Rostov region, occurred in a workshop where FPV drones were produced. Thank God, there were no fatalities, but three people were seriously injured.

According to our sources in the government of the Rostov region, a private company that collaborated with the Ministry of Defense, two months ago rented one of the workshops of the Avangard plant to produce drones for the front. “They made FPV drones and sold them to armies, as far as I know, at fairly low prices. According to the preliminary version, someone blew up the workshop. A terrible event, it’s good that there were no dead,” our source said.

According to an interlocutor at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, possible losses are “several hundred ready-made or almost ready-made drones.” He also said that there are two versions of the crime.

The first is the actions of saboteurs. The second is that the workshop was undermined by unscrupulous competitors. They were unhappy with the low prices at which the affected company supplied drones to our Armed Forces. An investigation has been launched.

Note that this is not the first attack on the production of FPV drones in our country. In November, a workshop for the production of kamikaze drones burned down in the Krasnodar Territory . At first, saboteurs were suspected of that fire, but, according to the investigation, the workshop was most likely set on fire by unscrupulous competitors of businessmen who produced drones for the army. Evidence is currently being collected against the suspects in this crime.

UPD. According to the latest data, 12 people were injured as a result of the explosion in Shakhty, three in serious condition.

UPD 2. Unfortunately, there are dead. You can read important details about the explosion here.

Russia is suffering more than 3 to 1 in tank losses.
According to traditional military analysis that’s a losing scenario for Russia.

However Russia is losing “only” 2 to 1 in artillery losses. While that’s certainly remains a success for Ukraine, but not enough to seriously injure the invader to a point of no return. Ukraine needs to attain 3 to 1 ratio here as well.

Something that is often forgotten is that Russia has basically lost the battle of the Black Sea. Russia’s navy has suffered horribly. losing thies best war ships, submarines, etc...

After two long years of Russia’s relentless attacks on Ukraine, they have still not succeeded getting air-superiority in Ukraine, and they just lost (yet again) two AWAKS-like uber-expensive radar planes.

Generally speaking Russia’s offensive force is taking quite a beating. It’s truly being depleted. And THAT is a boon for the West’s security.

⚡️Claimed as a new 🇺🇦 Ukrainian kamikaze drone with a jet engine.

https://twitter.com/front_ukrainian/status/1747661029092274240

Very interesting.

The sanctions war continues to ratchet up.

Relentlessly.

Reuters: US Treasury deputy secretary to coordinate new Russia sanctions authority in Europe and Japan
by Kateryna Hodunova, January 15, 2024

“U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo will hold meetings in Europe and Japan this month to coordinate a new Russia sanctions authority that focuses on financial institutions...

...U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Dec. 22 strengthening sanctions against Russia while also targeting financial institutions that support Russia’s war in Ukraine. The order also allows the White House to broaden import bans on certain Russian goods, including seafood and diamonds.

Adeyemo has arranged meetings with G7 partners, local key private representatives, academics, financial institutions, and other industry leaders from Jan. 16-23. The meetings will occur in Rome, Berlin, Frankfurt, and Tokyo.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the spokesperson told Reuters that the deputy secretary will focus on coordination with partners in using a “new tool” to prevent Russia’s government from bypassing sanctions and getting supplied by G7 economies with critical goods for its military.

According to Reuters, while in Japan, Adeyemo will discuss security and the G7 price cap on Russian oil. In Germany and Italy, the key topics will be the Inflation Reduction Act and U.S.–Europe collaboration on bolstering the resilience of critical supply chains.

The deputy secretary’s trip comes ahead of the second anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Washington and its allies have imposed numerous sanctions on Moscow since Feb. 2022, targeting Russian companies, banks, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, and the representatives of his inner circle.

The U.S. has also worked to identify the companies that ignore sanctions imposed on Russia. It has already openly accused some organizations in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and China of helping Moscow avoid the measures.”

OilPrice.com reports:

Europe’s Nuclear Power Renaissance
By Felicity Bradstock - Jan 17, 2024

“The U.K. plans to quadruple its nuclear electricity generation by 2050 and invest in domestic production of HALEU fuel, while extending the life of existing facilities.

France, despite German pressure for renewables, is set to construct up to 14 new nuclear reactors to meet its electricity demands and reduce fossil fuel reliance.

Sweden and Hungary are also expanding their nuclear capacities, with Sweden lifting its reactor cap and Hungary continuing its large-scale Paks-2 project.”

Not discussed in this article, is Poland’s aggressive nuclear power plant construction program (which was in place and underway before the 2022 invasion of Ukraine).

(SecState Blinken) “stayed firm that any settlement required Russia to leave Ukrainian territory.”

Then war it is... until Russia leaves Ukraine.

AFP (French) reports:

“US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday voiced doubts about reaching a ceasefire in Ukraine, saying Russia has not shown good faith nearly two years after invading.

His remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland come a day after President Volodymyr Zelensky, while proposing a global peace summit, stayed firm that any settlement required Russia to leave Ukrainian territory.

“I don’t see it,” Blinken said of prospects for a ceasefire...

...Blinken voiced doubt on President Vladimir Putin’s intentions, noting that the United States spoke with Russia ahead of the February 2022 invasion about what Moscow described as security concerns on Ukraine. Putin at the time had warned about Ukraine entering the NATO alliance.

“You don’t have to believe me. Just read what President Putin says. It was never really about that. It was always about this grand vision of re-establishing a greater Russia,” Blinken said.”

Just take Russia’s money. Cost drivers should be bill payers.

The Guardian (UK) reports:

“Britain is ramping up pressure on western governments to use $350bn (£275bn) of frozen Russian assets to help rebuild Ukraine’s war-shattered economy, with David Cameron insisting there were legal, moral and political justifications for action...

Speaking in Davos, where Ukraine has been high on the agenda at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, Lord Cameron said: “When Putin launched this illegal invasion, the world changed, and we have to change with it and recognise we are in a more dangerous, uncertain and difficult world.

“We should be prepared to do some innovative thinking about how we use these resources to help Ukraine...

...Cameron said the moral argument was straightforward and strong. “At the end of the day, Russia is going to have to pay reparations for its illegal invasion, so why not spend some of the money now, rather than wait till the war is over and have all the legal wrangling about reparations”...

...Bill Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital Management and longstanding Kremlin critic, said the possibility of Donald Trump winning the next US presidential election should spur policymakers to move speedily.

“Donald Trump has said he is going to solve the Ukraine crisis in one day,” Browder told an event at Ukraine House in Davos on Wednesday. “What does that mean? He is going to cut off Ukraine from funding.

“I would argue, putting aside all these niceties, that confiscating the $350bn is Donald Trump insurance,” Browder added. “It needs to be done before the US election, so that if that were to come to pass, Ukraine can carry on defending itself and win.””