A Texan in Donetsk: Russell Bentley Explains the Huge Relevance of the Russian Siege of Avdiivka – ‘Once It Falls the Donbas Front Will Shatter Like Glass’
When Russell ‘Texas’ Bentley talks about the war in the Donbas, and the struggle against Nazis in Ukraine, it’s not hearsay. He has been there from the start, and served in Vostok Battalion and XAH Spetsnaz Battalion in 2014, 2015 and 2017, fighting on the side of the Donetsk People’s Republic – now a region of Russia. He was also baptized into the Russian Orthodox Church.
This last week Bentley shared a new update from downtown Donetsk with some really big news.
Sputnik reported:
“The biggest thing that everybody’s talking about recently is the advances of our guys in the Avdiivka front. They’ve taken the Terrikon (slag heap) which is a literally strategic position from there. They can observe for miles around.”
Not unlike Mariupol with the Azovstal industrial area, in Avdiivka the Coke plant is an area where Ukrainian soldiers have deeply fortified and are holed up.
From the conquered slag heap Russians can survey that area, as well as the whole town of Avdiivka, and even further up to the rear areas.
Bentley suggests that the pincers are closing, since the visibility allows Russian forces to ‘bring in drones, artillery, rocket fire, whatever we need in order to block off reinforcements and reprovisioning’.
We’ve seen time and again – the Russian war of attrition and its boa-constrictor ’embrace’ of cities.
[much more at link, and photo and map.]
Another Paul Serran article.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/10/dynamic-duo-hungarys-viktor-orban-slovakias-robert-fico/
Dynamic Duo: Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Slovakia’s Robert Fico Expected to Block Further EU Military Help to Ukraine
The European Union is now up in arms against a new dynamic duo poised to block new initiatives of military support for Ukraine – or at least create great difficulties in its implementation.
Hungary’s longtime leader Viktor Orbán and Slovakia’s returning Prime Minister Robert Fico are now under the spotlight as the EU countries worry about the potential for disruption by these populist and nationalist leaders.
Orbán has now come flat-out against a €50-billion plan in long-term support for Ukraine. It features €33 billion in low-interest loans and €17 billion in non-repayable grants.
Any changes to the EU budget require unanimity of all 27 member states, so a single country can veto the process.
“Orbán’s opposition, which was widely expected given his previous statements and his controversial meeting with Vladimir Putin in China, was made clear on Thursday during a two-day summit in Brussels, where leaders had their first exchange of views since the European Commission proposed the Ukraine Facility in June.
“The Commission wants more money so that they can give it to the integration (of migrants) policy and to the Ukrainians,” Orbán said upon arrival. ‘We do not support any of them, the professional and political arguments are lacking, we will reject them’.”
Slovakia’s Robert Fico raised concerns about the corruption in Ukraine, asked for extra safeguards to ensure the EU cash is not ‘misappropriated’.
“‘Ukraine is one of the most corrupt countries in the world and its brutal financial support is conditioned by guarantees that European money, including Slovak, will be not misappropriated’, Fico wrote in a Facebook post published on Friday morning, noting resources should be used to help Slovak companies in Ukraine’s reconstruction.
The premier’s reservations, however, were not interpreted as a categorical ‘no’ and left the door open for a possible endorsement of the €50-billion plan provided the safeguards are put in place, several diplomats told Euronews.” [they wish...]
[More at link]