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Vladimir Putin on Tuesday angrily gave marching orders to Russia’s security forces to redouble their efforts to root out traitors and spies working to undermine his regime. -snip- “Maximum composure, concentration of forces is now required from counterintelligence agencies, including military intelligence,” Putin said. “It is necessary to harshly crack down on the actions of foreign special services, promptly identify traitors, spies and saboteurs.” In an uncharacteristic break from the official line that the so-called “special military operation” is going according to plan, Putin admitted the situation was “difficult” in the four regions of Ukraine that were illegally annexed by...

Ukrainian leaders have vowed to retake all territory occupied by Russia, prompting a debate over what would be necessary for Ukraine to win and evict Moscow’s forces. The answer is primarily military because Russia is only going to abandon its hard-won gains if its troops suffer catastrophic losses, military strategists say. Behind those talks about weapons and ammunition is a deeper political question as Ukraine’s battlefield fortunes rely heavily on the willingness of Western governments to continue their multibillion-dollar military assistance to Kyiv. And pushing Russian forces out of the entrenched positions they hold in more than 15% of Ukraine’s...

Gonzalo Lira describes the frozen hell in whjch Ukie soldiers now find themselves in and around Bakhmut

A Biden administration official recently told members of Congress that Ukraine has the military capability to retake Crimea, but some officials are concerned any large-scale offensive that threatens Russia’s hold on the peninsula could push Vladimir Putin to use nuclear weapons, say two U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The late November Ukraine briefing to some members of Congress included discussion of the reasons Ukraine will continue to need U.S. weapons and equipment for the foreseeable future. The two officials said a Biden official, when asked during the briefing about continued support for the Ukrainian military and whether it would...

This year, the capital’s main Christmas tree will be an artificial one, measuring 12 meters tall. It will be decorated with energy-saving garlands that will be powered from a generator, though they will only be lit at specific intervals. Charging stations for electronics are also planned to be installed around the tree.The top of the tree will be crowned with the coat of arms of Ukraine.The generator was also provided by benefactor, leading Klitschko to claim that money is not being spent from the municipal fund on the tree. He also stated that there will be no mass entertainment events,...

Basic services were being restored in Ukraine's capital Kyiv on Saturday after the latest wave of Russian air strikes on critical infrastructure, as residents navigated a city gripped by fog and girded for a holiday season marked by uncertainty. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a quarter of Kyiv remained without heating but that the metro system was back in service and all residents had been reconnected to water supply by early morning. Only around one-third of the city remained without electricity, he said, but emergency outages would still be implemented to save power. "Because the deficit of electricity is significant," he...

President Vladimir Putin has sought proposals from his armed forces commanders on how they think Russia's military campaign in Ukraine should proceed, during a visit to the operation's headquarters, the Kremlin said on Saturday. A series of defeats in 10 months of fighting, resulting in Russian withdrawals from areas around the capital Kyiv and Ukraine's second city Kharkiv and most recently from the city of Kherson, have forced Putin to call up reservists and generated rare public criticism from military bloggers and some allies. -snip- In video footage released by the Kremlin on Saturday, Putin presided at a meeting of...

A former Russian commander and prominent military blogger has given another scathing assessment of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in which he described how Vladimir Putin's troops had already been dealt a "strategic defeat" by Ukraine. Igor Girkin, also known as Igor Strelkov, is an army veteran and former intelligence officer who played a key role in Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the conflict in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. He is among a number of milbloggers who give candid accounts of Russia's war effort that are far removed from the picture portrayed by Kremlin-backed television channels. On his Telegram...

Olena Zelenska, wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, traveled to Paris France for a three-day visit December 12-14. As reported by Le Monde, “Members of the Ukrainian government will also come, including Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, and several ministers in charge of reconstruction, including Yulia Svyrydenko (economy), Oleksandr Kubrakov (infrastructure) and German Galushchenko (energy).” However, social media has erupted today after a “reliable store clerk” working on the ritzy Avenue Montaigne, has reported that Olena Zelenska went on a Christmas shopping spree spending €40,000 euros in an hour. Previously President Zelenskyy’s wife was received by French first lady Bridget...

Russia: Parolin Apologises for Francis’ Ill-Considered WordsRussian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on December 15 that Russia had received an apology from the Vatican's Secretary of State over Francis' comments against Chechens and Buryats (en)."This incident is settled," she said, after Francis's claim that Russian soldiers from these two nations where the "cruellest" fighters in Ukraine.

Pope Francis has urged Christians to spend less on Christmas and to send their savings to the people of Ukraine amid the war with Russia.The Pontiff addressed crowds gathered in the Vatican for his weekly General Audience.“There is so much suffering in Ukraine, so much, so much!” the Pope said. “I would like to draw some attention to the coming Christmas, even the parties,” he said.“It’s nice to celebrate Christmas, to have parties… but let’s lower the level of Christmas spending a bit,” he added.The Pope then suggested that the money saved on the commercial side of Christmas should be...

https://t.me/intelslava Intel Slava Z, [12/15/2022 10:47 PM] 🇷🇺🇺🇦❗️Air alert declared throughout Ukraine. Intel Slava Z, [12/15/2022 10:48 PM] 🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡Explosions in the Kharkiv region. Intel Slava Z, [12/15/2022 10:48 PM] 🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡Explosions in the Kiev region. Intel Slava Z, [12/15/2022 10:57 PM] 🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡Explosions in the Nikolaev region. Intel Slava Z, [12/15/2022 10:57 PM] 🇷🇺🇺🇦 Explosions are also heard in Kharkov itself. Intel Slava Z, [12/15/2022 10:58 PM] 🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡Explosions also in Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye. Intel Slava Z, [12/15/2022 10:58 PM] 🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡Explosions in Kiev. Intel Slava Z, [12/15/2022 10:59 PM] 🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡️A powerful explosion in the Kirovograd region Intel Slava Z, [12/15/2022 10:59 PM] 🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡️Explosions...

Putin's health has been subject to fervent speculation for years, with multiple claims, usually attributed to anonymous sources, variously suggesting an onset of Parkinson's, cancer and other problems, potentially "terminal." The latest claim about Putin's alleged health woes appeared to link back to earlier unverified reports of the president falling down the stairs. "Vladimir Putin To Undergo 'Emergency Colon Surgery' After Rumors Russian Leader Fell Down Stairs; 'Soiled Himself'," a Reddit post with more than 10,000 upvotes claimed on Saturday, December 10, 2022. The post linked to a RadarOnline article via MSN repeating the claim. "Putin has canceled his annual...

Russia is increasingly concerned about the war in Ukraine, and rightly so. Ukrainian forces have the initiative in battlefield momentum, morale, equipment, and training. So serious are Russia's concerns that the Kremlin has now grudgingly accepted that the reality cannot be completely hidden from domestic social media and news reporting. Leshkov said he volunteered before being conscripted. But when it came to his military training, Leshkov said, "I and most of the servicemen were not satisfied with its quality. ... In our free time, we had to prepare ourselves, beg the officers to conduct additional classes with us." Leshkov added...

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Very good YouTube 17 min. video from HistoryLegends on the ongoing battle in Bakhmut. They do an excellent job (complete with pictures and maps) to spell out the pros and cons for both sides in this fierce battle. Also spells out KIA casualty figures for both sides to date in the Ukraine war. Over 100,000 KIA Ukrainians; 15,000 KIA Russians. The presenter has a sense of humor and does a good job mimicking neocons complete with accents...:-)

Ukrainian company appeal to the command: "We did not receive proper weapons and artillery support. As a result, 70% of the company was killed or wounded. We didn't even have equipment to evacuate the wounded, which is why several of the wounded did not survive."

Pope Francis last week told editors of the European cultural magazines of the Society of Jesus that, in his opinion, World War III had been declared, it was reported Tuesday by La Civilta Cattolica. Perhaps Russia's invasion of Ukraine “was provoked or not prevented,” the Argentine-born pontiff was also quoted as saying. “A few years ago it occurred to me to say that we were living a Third World War in pieces. Now, for me, the Third World War has been declared. And this is an aspect that should make us reflect. What is happening to humanity that has had...

Ukrainian forces have reportedly damaged a key bridge outside the southern occupied city of Melitopol, a key objective in the region. The crossing over the Molochna River is situated between Melitopol and the village of Kostyantynivka just to the east of the city on the M14 highway and was struck overnight. Video posted online showed two supports of the bridge had been damaged during the attack, with the span partly collapsed by the blast, making it reportedly unusable for heavy military traffic.

The EU announced the depletion of European military stocks.According to Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the military actions have served as a “wake-up call” for the European Union. The European Union, according to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borell, has depleted its military reserves by supplying weapons to Ukraine.“This war has also served as a wake-up call to all of us in terms of our military capabilities. We provided weapons to Ukraine, but as we did so, we realized that our military reserves had been depleted