Posted on 01/04/2023 11:27:43 PM PST by UMCRevMom@aol.com
Update from Ukraine | It will be the Final Ruzzian Attack in their History The final battle for Kyiv
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmwFJqd4RGQ&t=27s
Follow on Instagram up to date uploads. https://www.instagram.com/denys_pilot/
SUMMARY Military Maps & Comment here: Invasion Day 310 –
https://militaryland.net/news/invasion-day-314-summary/ [Website updates https://militaryland.net/news/website-recap-december-2022/]
Update from Ukraine | It will be the Final Ruzzian Attack in their History The final battle for Kyiv
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmwFJqd4RGQ&t=27s
Follow on Instagram up to date uploads. https://www.instagram.com/denys_pilot/
SUMMARY Military Maps & Comment here: Invasion Day 310 –
https://militaryland.net/news/invasion-day-314-summary/ [Website updates https://militaryland.net/news/website-recap-december-2022/]
What is that book? A little copy of Mein Kampf?
1- Vladimir Putin Suffers Another Heavy Loss Against Ukraine After 700 Russian Soldiers Killed In Missile Strike On Barrack Building
Story by Radar Online • Yesterday 8:00 PM
Vladimir Putin Suffers Another Heavy Loss Against Ukraine After 700 Russian Soldiers Killed In Missile Strike On Barrack Building (msn.com)
2- Russian Troops Trying to Advance ‘Over Corpses’ in Bakhmut—Kyiv General
Story by Brendan Cole • 2h ago
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-ukraine-general-corpses-bakhmut-advance-1771145
3- Exchanged Ukraine POWs Recount Stories as Families Fight for More Releases
By Michael Wasiura in Kyiv, Ukraine On 12/08/22 at 5:00 AM EST
https://www.newsweek.com/exchanged-ukraine-pows-recount-stories-families-fight-more-releases-1765509
1- Putin’s Hopes for a Harsh Winter Melt Away Across Europe
https://www.newsweek.com/putin-winter-gazprom-ukraine-war-russia-1770951
2- Russian military under fire at home after devastating attack | The Hill
https://thehill.com/policy/3797502-russian-military-under-fire-at-home-after-devastating-attack/
3- Russia Loses More Than 2,000 Soldiers Just 3 Days Into New Year: Ukraine (newsweek.com)
Russia Loses More Than 2,000 Soldiers Just 3 Days Into New Year: Ukraine
BY NICK REYNOLDS ON 1/3/23 AT 4:32 PM EST
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-loses-more-2000-soldiers-just-3-days-new-year-ukraine-1771053
POLITICO
Ukraine is doing something no one thought possible: defeating the Russian army and, in doing so, crippling one of America’s most dangerous adversaries. This is primarily a credit to the fortitude, patriotism, and skill of the Ukrainian people. But it’s also something Americans can take pride in — and not just because of our decisive role supplying weaponry and training.
For decades, Washington has invested in supporting the institutions that enabled Ukraine to take a different path than Russia, a path toward democracy and independence and away from autocracy and subservience, and to tackle corruption to serve citizens instead of fostering kleptocracy to steal from them. As President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put it in his historic address to a joint meeting of Congress, U.S. support for Ukraine “… is not charity, it’s investment in global security and democracy.”
When Ukraine set about forging its democracy after breaking free from the Soviet empire in 1991, it faced an uphill battle. Nearly 70 years under communism had left Ukraine with weak institutions ill-equipped to manage the transition to the free market. Ukrainians were unfamiliar with democratic processes and norms. As in other former Soviet republics, the mismanaged privatization of state-owned enterprises created an oligarch class that left Ukraine’s government vulnerable to corruption and manipulation by the Kremlin.
Extraordinarily, Ukrainians have had three peaceful revolutions to push its course towards freedom — the break from Soviet control in 1991, the 2004 Orange Revolution ushering in pro-Western leadership and the 2014 Revolution of Dignity that deposed a Kremlin-backed president in favor of a pro-European future. This ushered in a new phase of reforms to strengthen the parliament, foster an independent judiciary, advance electoral integrity, decentralize decision-making and combat corruption.
Because of these efforts, Ukraine now has strong governing institutions — so strong that they have continued to function under the onslaught of Russia’s attack in the biggest war in Europe since the 1940s.
The Ukrainian people have created an independent democratic alternative to the vassal state Putin seeks — one that is worth fighting for. It is an outcome American tax dollars made possible by supporting programs to build democratic institutions from the ground up, beginning in the early days of independence and continuing today. With strong bipartisan support, nonprofits like the International Republican
Institute and the National Democratic Institute have worked with partners in Ukraine to establish and strengthen core elements of democracy — including transparent electoral processes, a vibrant multiparty system, devolution of power and rule of law.
An estimated 3,000 Ukrainians have resettled in Northeast Ohio since start of war
As we enter the 10th month of Russia’s brutal invasion, with a new U.S. Congress taking office, some elected officials — Republicans and Democrats — have questioned whether the aid America is providing, from weapons to reconstruction support to democracy assistance, is really in our national interest.
The strategic case for supporting Ukraine is sound: Ukrainians are fighting an American great-power adversary to defend the free world from the kind of wanton aggression that would destroy the U.S.-led order NATO exists to defend.
The resilience shown by Ukraine’s democratic institutions in the face of existential threat demonstrates not only the wisdom of America’s investment, but the reliability of Ukraine’s stewardship of U.S. assistance. It’s also a rejoinder to autocratic adversaries like Russia and China that peddle the fiction that some countries or cultures simply aren’t suited to democracy.
America must not squander the remarkable strategic dividends that U.S. taxpayers’ investment in Ukraine has yielded. In addition to providing military and reconstruction assistance, our long-term strategy for Ukraine must incorporate robust support for Ukraine’s democratic development so that the country doesn’t just survive this war but becomes even stronger as a bulwark of trans-Atlantic security — the blue and yellow shield standing between the free world and Putin’s predatory autocracy.
Polling shows that Ukrainians identify tackling corruption alongside restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity as their top concerns. Continued anti-corruption reform is crucial to Ukraine’s future prosperity and political integrity.
Supporting the Ukrainian people in their determination to eradicate graft should be a top priority for future assistance. Additionally, the ongoing process of decentralization is key to creating responsive government at all levels. Reconstruction funds should flow down to mayors, governors, and civil society, not just to the central government. Continuing to equip political parties and legislators with the skills they need to govern a post-war nation as it rebuilds will be crucial.
In his historic speech to the British Parliament 40 years ago, President Ronald Reagan observed that “Democracy is not a fragile flower; still, it needs cultivating.” Without continued nurturing, Ukraine’s gains — and by extension, America’s — are at risk.
The socioeconomic consequences of the war will challenge Ukraine’s institutions, even though they have proven robust throughout the conflict. To ensure transparency and accountability in post-war reconstruction, Washington must help the government keep its foot on the gas with critical anti-corruption reforms and strengthening the rule of law.
The worst possible outcome for Vladimir Putin would be for Ukraine not only to emerge victorious, but even more resolutely committed to pursuing a democratic, pro-Western future. If that happens, the return on America’s investment in Ukraine’s democracy would be incalculable.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/01/04/ukraine-democracy-investment-00076180
Gleeful Putin sends warship armed with hypersonic Zircon missiles past Britain on Atlantic mission - as 2023 death toll among Russian troops ‘nears 3,000’ four days into New Year
• Admiral Gorshkov set sail today armed with nuclear-capable Zircon missiles
• The warship will sail through the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Indian Ocean
• Putin said he is ‘very glad’ and the weapons will ‘ensure national interests’
By Will Stewart and Jack Newman For Mailonline
Published: 08:34 EST, 4 January 2023 | Updated: 12:06 EST, 4 January 2023
Vladimir Putin has gleefully launched a warship armed with new Mach 9 nuclear-capable hypersonic Zircon cruise missiles on a mission to challenge the West.
The Russian despot took part in an online ceremony with Sergei Shoigu to deploy the Admiral Gorshkov for its mission in which it will pass Britain to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and Mediterranean Sea, armed with one of the world’s deadliest weapons.
The vessel immediately fired a test launch of the nuclear-capable cutting-edge Zircon missiles, which travel at speeds of nearly 7,000mph, into the Barents Sea, hitting a target 620 miles away in the White Sea, the Kremlin claimed.
The new mission is set to take the Gorshkov from Severomorsk past Britain ahead of war games in the Mediterranean - but Moscow has yet to reveal the exact timings or route for the warship.
Putin as previously claimed the missiles have ‘no equivalent in the world’ and their arrival comes at a much-needed time for Russia after multiple setbacks in Ukraine, with nearly 3,000 troops lost already this year.
The tyrant could hardly contain his joy announcing the news today, saying: ‘I am sure that such powerful weapons will make it possible to reliably protect Russia from potential external threats and will help ensure the national interests of our country.’
The president proudly said today it was an ‘important, if not momentous, event’ as the vessel set sail in a task force from Severomorsk.
He added: ‘I am very glad. My congratulations. This is a very big, collective piece of work which ended up with a good result as expected. Begin your task.’
More than 10 months into the fighting, Russia has faced a series of humiliating setbacks on the ground in Ukraine.
The Russian military’s high command has come in for particular criticism in recent days following a strike by Ukrainian forces over New Year in which Moscow said 89 of its soldiers died.
Shoigu said today: ‘The main focus of the mission will be countering threats to Russia and supporting regional peace and stability together with friendly countries.
The nuclear-capable cutting-edge Zircon missiles, which travel at speeds of nearly 7,000mph, have ‘no equivalent in the world’, Putin has previously claimed
‘In exercises, there will be training for the crew on deploying hypersonic weapons and long-range cruise missiles,’ he said.
Shoigu said the Zircon missiles were ‘able to overcome any modern or future air defence’ and could deliver ‘pinpoint and powerful strikes against the enemy at sea and on land’.
Earlier TASS state news agency had stated: ‘It will perform its combat tasks in the Mediterranean Sea, with Tsirkon hypersonic missiles on board.’
The frigate had been undergoing scheduled maintenance at Kronstadt Marine Plant.
The new mission is expected to take the Gorshkov past the coast of the British Isles as it heads on a mission during the bloody conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
However, the Russians have not disclosed the exact routing or timings.
Moscow has boasted that the Gorshkov is ‘the most dangerous enemy of surface ships in the world’s oceans’ now it is armed with the new hypersonic missile.
It is also carrying state-of-the-art Kalibr missiles - used against Ukraine - in its armoury.
Russian media reports have said Zircon tests would be carried out during the voyage without saying at what stage.
The deployment of the sea-fired 6,670 mph missile with a range of some 625 miles follows tests in the Barents Sea.
Oleg Gladkiy, commander of the Russian Northern Fleet’s missile vessels, said:’The ship is armed with cruise missiles, including long-range and hypersonic Zirkon missiles.
‘Of course this carries a certain responsibility.’
Putin has taken a close interest in the development of the Zircon, a year ago announcing a ‘flawless’ salvo launch involving the new-era missile.
Earlier it was identified by Moscow’s state-controlled TV as
Putin’s weapon of choice to wipe out American cities in the event of an atomic conflict.
Putin has hailed ‘our newest [Zircon] missiles fired from the sea at sea targets, and land targets.
‘The tests were carried out successfully, flawlessly.
‘This is a big event for our country, a significant step in improving Russia’s security, in increasing (our) defence capability.’
He said it was in ‘serial production’, calling the weapon ‘truly unparalleled … in the world’.
TV Zvezda - a channel owned by the Russian defence ministry - said: ‘The speed of the Zircon hypersonic missile is so high that it prevents the opponent’s air defence system from detecting its impact in time.
‘In fact, its launch will be known only after the target has been hit.’
The missile has a ‘variable trajectory’ to avoid detection, viewers were told.
The frigate’s captain Igor Krokhmal has said previously: ‘No one will see the missile launch or its flight.
‘They will only see when the missile hits the target.
‘A surface target, a coastal target. I don’t think there will be anything to counter this in the next few years.’
He told Putin today: ‘The frigate’s crew is ready for military service.
The president said: ‘I am very glad, congratulations.
‘This was big, big work that finished with the good result we expected.
‘Start completing the tasks.’
Captain: ‘Yes sir.’
Putin: ‘Fair seas!’
[Photos & images at LINK]
During breaks between Russian shelling, the Ukrainian defenders don’t forget about the music.
Moisei Bondarenko in Izium (Kharkiv)
During breaks between Russian shelling, the Ukrainian defenders don’t forget about the music.
https://fb.watch/hRuvx9mQT_/
Even at the frontline defenders of Ukraine don’t forget about beautiful things.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=498899348742688
It’s the New Testament of the Bible in Cyrillic.
Only Putin’s hordes read the Mein Kampf - or rather Putin’s version of it.
I just got done reading about the 2016 election, and about evidence that the Ukraine was responsible for influencing the 2016 election but blamed the Russians, and I thought of these threads, the way the war crimes committed (and filmed) by Ukrainians are blamed on the Russia Russia Russians, the way Zelensky blamed the Ukraine’s missile fired at Poland on Russia Russia Russians, and now with your threads, as the Ukrainians claim to be winning the war that the Russians are actually winning.
Putin’s troops are using piles of their dead comrades as improvised walls to shield them from Ukrainian bullets on the frontline where there are ‘fields’ of rotting corpses, Ukrainian general reveals
• Ukraine military intelligence boss Kyrylo Budanov visited frontline in Bakhmut
• He said he saw Russian soldiers there using walls of bodies to defend themselves
• He also insisted Ukraine would not give up an inch of territory to Russian forces
• Budanov predicts fiercest fighting will come in March before big push in spring
By Laurence Dollimore For Mailonline
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11599679/Putins-troops-using-piles-dead-comrades-shield-Ukrainian-bullets.html?ito=push-notification&ci=MGk5YA4112&cri=vLPmDtmK9R&si=qUE_cMbMuf0Y&xi=90d65f60-88f8-4565-8362-1a61ff1c99fe&ai=11599679
Vladimir Putin’s troops are piling up the bodies of their dead comrades in a bid to shield themselves from Ukrainian bullets, it has been claimed.
The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said he witnessed the shocking scenes during a visit to Bakhmut in Donetsk in late December, one of the fiercest battle zones along the 800-mile frontline in the war against Russia.
He also insisted Ukraine would not give up an inch of territory and said Russia’s failure to win the war after almost a year proved the country ‘is not a threat to the world anymore’, branding its military might a ‘tell tale.’
However he predicts the war will drag on for some months at least, with the fiercest fighting expected to take place in March as Ukraine plots a big push in the spring.
Speaking of his public appearance in Bakhmut, he told ABC News: ‘Soldiers showed me a section where dead bodies are piled up like something you would see in a movie.
‘There are hundreds of dead bodies just rotting away in the open field, in places they are piled on top of other bodies like makeshift walls, when Russian troops attack on that field they use those bodies for cover, like a shield.
‘But it’s not working. There are actual fields of dead bodies there.’
Budanov claimed Putin’s weapons stash is running low, meaning they had to seek out ‘cheaper’ and more ‘plentiful’ options.
Among these are the alleged Iranian self-destructing Shahed drones - although Iran has denied selling Russia hundreds of the deadly weapons.
It comes after Russia attempted to inflict mass casualties with 84 drones on January 1 and 2, all of which were neutralised by Ukraine’s air defences.
Budanov said he foresees the ‘hottest’ fighting in March and the spring, when he believes there will be more liberation of territories that will ‘deal the final defeats to the Russian Federation... from Crimea to the Donbas.’
He vowed to return the Ukrainian borders to those of 1991 and said the West must not fear ‘the transformation of Russia’, saying it would ‘only benefit the whole world.’
Budanov branded Putin’s regime a ‘laughingstock’ and said his troops have been reduced to defending the territories that they still hold in Ukraine.
‘Russia is not a military threat to the world anymore, just a tall tale,’ he added.
He admitted that Russia’s mammoth nuclear weapons arsenal was a concern, calling for the country’s denuclearisation or ‘at least an international overseeing’ of its nukes.
It comes after Russia yesterday blamed its soldiers illegally using their mobile phones for giving away their location before a deadly Ukrainian strike killed ‘hundreds’ of their troops at a military college.
The Kremlin raised the death toll from the New Year’s Day strike in Makiivka from 63 to 89, the highest acknowledged loss in the war, although Ukraine says the true number is around 400 dead.
The Russian defence ministry said four Ukrainian HIMARS missiles hit a temporary Russian barracks in a vocational college in Makiivka, twin city of the Russian-occupied regional capital of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
At the time of the attack, Vladimir Putin had just delivered his traditional New Year’s address, hailing ‘our heroes’ fighting in Ukraine.
Although an official probe has been launched, the main reason for the attack was clearly the illegal mass use of mobile phones by servicemen, the ministry said.
‘This factor allowed the enemy to track and determine the coordinates of the soldiers’ location for a missile strike,’ it said in a statement issued just after 1 a.m. (2200 GMT Tuesday) on Wednesday.
However, Semyon Pegov, a prominent Russian war correspondent awarded the Order of Courage by Putin in late 2022, questioned the ministry’s reasoning.
In a Telegram post, Pegov said that Ukraine could have been able to locate the troops via drones and intelligence, not necessarily through mobile phones.
‘The story of mobiles is not very convincing,’ Pegov said.
‘I rarely say this - but this is the case when it would probably be better to remain silent, at least until the end of the investigation. As such it looks like an outright attempt to smear the blame.’
Rubble is strewn across the ground in Russian-occupied Makiivka, in the eastern Donbas region, in the aftermath of the strike. The missiles hit a vocational school which had been turned into a barracks for Russian forces
Russia has admitted 63 soldiers were killed in the strike, although Ukraine’s military has said this number is far higher
Pegov also said that the number of casualties would rise.
‘Unfortunately, their number will continue to grow.
The announced data is most likely for those who were immediately identified. The list of the missing, unfortunately, is noticeably longer. I cannot disclose the sources, but I consider them reliable.’
The ministry’s reaction came amid mounting anger among some Russian commentators, who are increasingly vocal about what they see as a half-hearted campaign in Ukraine.
Most of the anger on social media was directed at military commanders rather than Putin, who has not commented publicly on the attack which was another blow after major battlefield retreats in recent months.
Volodymyr Zelensky, who rarely comments on specific Ukrainian military strikes, made no mention of the attack in a video address on Tuesday.
Denys Davydov reports at 2:38 in the following YouTube link, that Ukraine fired drones into Russian territory, “hitting even St. Petersburg” on December 31, 2022 to early morning January 1, 2023.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW72aIbSe10
That attack by Ukraine, is a serious error, and the U.S.A. should stop all weapons support of the Ukraine.
Russian soldiers to command | Break the Fake [Title edited]
TVP World [TVP is a Polish public broadcast service]
Jan 4, 2023
“Self-styled experts and columnists are another key outlets for Russian propaganda, as many of them sound as if they were reading something fresh off the Kremlin printing presses.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghgVr52ZO0c
Russia Ukraine News | Russia Refuses To Identify Its Own Fallen Soldiers | Kharkiv | News18 LIVE
CNN-News18
STARTED STREAMING 5 hours ago #russiaukraine #russia #ukraine
Russia Ukraine News | Russia Refuses To Identify Its Own
[WARNING GRAPHIC]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0LOhqv_VBM
IMPORTANT: CIVILIAN RESISTANCE IN RUSSIA
More and more Russians are trying to oppose the government but they are silenced by the Kremlin
Jan 4, 2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aawP99Aif4w
Almost 20 and a half thousand arrests for political reasons, including for participation in anti-war actions. More than 5 thousand cases of the so-called ‘discrediting’ of the Russian army.
Ban on public protests. Today in Russia you can go to jail just for writing the term ‘special operation’ in quotation marks.
However, despite this, many residents of the Federation do not stop showing their disagreement with the policy of the Kremlin. They go out to single pickets, distribute anti-war leaflets and set fire to military registration and enlistment offices.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aawP99Aif4w
Russian bloggers turn their backs on Putin | William Courtney
Times Radio
239K subscribers
1-5-2023 3:00 a.m. EST [43 minutes ago]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9N7GrpWu9M
““The Russian military bloggers are saying the same things the Ukrainians are saying, that hundreds were killed. Not 63 which Russia first said.”
Russian bloggers are disagreeing with the Kremlin about death numbers, former special assistant to the President for Russia, William Courtney, tells #TimesRadio.”
“200 Metres A Day” To “Ukraine Fortress” | Is Wagner Chief Trying To Shift Blame On Bakhmut Failure?
Jan 4, 2023 12:001 p.m. EST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9loQcXbQqoE
BAKHMUT
“After months of fierce battle in Bakhmut, the Wagner group head has opened up on why Russia is still unable to take over the area.
Strong Ukrainian resistance and an extensive network of defensive fortifications is likely exhausting Russia’s Wagner fighters. In an interview to RIA Novosti, Wagner boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that his troops in Bakhmut are fighting “several weeks for a single house”.
Prigozhin has said that fighting in Bakhmut was difficult as Ukrainian forces have turned “each house into a fortress”.
Some of the fighters in the video reportedly complained that they lack ammunitions, shells, and armoured vehicles.
[Wagner’s claim of lack of resources bid to corner Russia’s Defence Ministry?]”
Putin Deploys New Zircon Hypersonic Cruise Missiles To Atlantic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV8ub-UIxVQ
Jan. 4, 2023
EXCERPT:
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Wednesday the deployment of a frigate armed with hypersonic Zircon cruise missiles - a type of weaponry he says has “no analogues” - to the Atlantic Ocean.
The ship, named Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov, is deploying months after Russia’s Ministry of Defense touted a successful test launch of the missiles, which cleared a distance of 625 miles.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.