[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Failure to boost defence spending in next month’s Budget would send a message to Vladimir Putin that Britain is ‘not serious’ about stopping him, one of the UK’s most senior naval figures has warned.
Admiral Lord West, a former First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, said yesterday it was ‘extraordinary’ that ministers had not already hiked spending amid the war in Ukraine and high inflation.
He is the latest in a line of senior military figures, ex-defence secretaries and MPs to call on the Government to increase spending in the Spring Budget or Integrated Review, both due next month.
In order to spend big, Parliament will have to give up spending on other things, like welfare for illegal migrants, gender surgery for children, and policing the thoughts of those who enjoy Shakespeare and the old “Yes, Minister” show. Not likely any time soon, unfortunately.
#1
In order to spend big, Parliament will have to give up spending on other things, like welfare for illegal migrants, gender surgery for children, and policing the thoughts of those who enjoy Shakespeare and the old “Yes, Minister” show. Not likely any time soon, unfortunately.
...TW,
You hit the nail right on the head. The European NATO governments pretty much wrote off any idea of The Threat coming back, so they diverted all that defense spending to social spending and then brought in immigrants to pay for it, believing that if the worst happened the US would ride to the rescue one more time.
Friends of mine over there said that for a brief moment, President Trump put the fear of God into them about raising defense spending and they were grateful he lost. After all, they had deals with that nice Mr. Putin, and they could trust him.
#9
#4 Welcome brother! Way back in the day, I got Pappa Mundi into Monty Python as it came on before Benny - and likewise, he got me into Benny for the same reason. A true coming together of generations.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
02/22/2023 12:45 Comments ||
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#10
So the USMC F-35 Squadron is no longer onboard?
#13
^ Thanks for article link NMBS. 2 things come to mind after reading: 1.HMS HOOD and 2.RAF/RN counterparts to VMFA-211 were the "Dam Busters", the movie of which was just flagged in UK as being "culturally problematic".
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
02/22/2023 15:55 Comments ||
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#16
Our Stacey's an ace cake partaker
Ground shaker sound barrier breaker...
As soon as we make her
A new Martin-Baker
That takes up an eighth of an acre.
[CNN] Russia carried out a test of an intercontinental ballistic missile that appears to have failed around the time President Joe Biden was in Ukraine on Monday, according to two US officials familiar with the matter.
Russia notified the United States in advance of the launch through deconfliction lines, one official said. Another official said that the test did not pose a risk to the United States and that the US did not view the test as an anomaly or an escalation.
The test of the heavy SARMAT missile — nicknamed the Satan II in the West and capable of delivering multiple nuclear warheads — appears to have failed, officials said. It has been successfully tested before and had this one worked, US officials believe Russian President Vladimir Putin would have highlighted the test in his State of the Nation address on Tuesday.
Instead, Putin made no mention of the launch in the speech that lasted an hour and 45 minutes. He did, however, formally declare that Russia will be suspending his country’s participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States, imperiling the last remaining pact that regulates the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals.
CNN initially reported the apparent test occurred while Biden was in Ukraine based off information from sources. After this story first published, one of the officials said the test occurred just before Biden was in the country. The second source had told CNN that the test was on Monday without providing any more specific timing.
The timing of the test suggests that the US and Russia were communicating through several different channels earlier this week for deconfliction purposes — US officials also notified the Russians on Sunday night, hours before Biden’s visit to Kyiv, that the president would be making the trip to the Ukrainian capital, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday.
#1
...It takes weeks for us to do an ICBM livefire, I'm guessing that at the very least the Russians need the same amount of time. Put another way, the SATAN II test was probably scheduled long before we told them Biden was coming.
The question here is - given the failure - was it originally scheduled for that day, or did somebody order it launched whether it was ready or not.
[SAHARAREPORTERS] Outspoken Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has accused the country's top brass on Tuesday of deliberately starving his Wagner fighters of munitions in what he said was a treasonous attempt to destroy his private military company.
A catering tycoon who has used his wealth to build a private army, Prigozhin has assumed a more public role since the start of the war in Ukraine a year ago, with his Wagner Group spearheading the battle for the town of Bakhmut in Ukraine's Donetsk region.
He has revelled in being sanctioned by the West, publicly insulted Russia's top military commanders, tried to parlay battlefield success into political influence, and detailed his recruitment of convicts for Wagner's ranks, Rooters reports.
Prigozhin has also forged an informal alliance with fellow hardliners, including the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, and accused the defence ministry of trying to take credit for Wagner successes in eastern Ukraine.
But his star appears to be waning. He was this year stripped of the right to recruit prisoners amid some signs of a Kremlin move to curb his influence. I was assured, by all the right people - who talk to a lot of people, that Putin's genius was growing?
On Tuesday, he appeared to publicly bridle against that pressure, losing his temper and shouting at one point.
"There is simply direct opposition going on (to attempts to equip Wagner fighters)," Prigozhin said in a voice message posted on his Telegram channel. "This can be equated to high treason.
"The chief of the general staff and the defence minister are giving orders right and left, not just not to give Wagner PMC (private military company) ammunition, but not to help it with air transport," Prigozhin alleged.
He said that bigwigs had also declined Wagner's requests for special spades to dig trenches.
His voice rising to a shout, Prigozhin accused the military top brass of deciding that "people should die when it's convenient for them", and said that Wagner fighters were "dropping like flies" in the absence of necessary supplies.
There was no immediate response to his allegations from the Russian Defence Ministry, which has publicly ignored him in the past.
It was the second such message published by Prigozhin in two days. In an obscenity-peppered message on Monday, he complained that unnamed officials were denying Wagner supplies out of personal animosity to him, and that he was required to "apologise and obey" in order to rectify the situation.
The defence ministry has previously said that Wagner is not under its control even though the militia depends on the state for some arms and logistics.
Tatiana Stanovaya, head of the R.Politik political consultancy, said Prigozhin's outburst on Monday looked like "an act of desperation" aimed at "getting through to Putin".
It was not clear whether he had Prigozhin in mind, but Putin, in a speech on Tuesday, said he wanted an end to infighting.
"We must get rid of - I want to emphasise this - any interdepartmental contradictions, formalities, grudges, misunderstandings, and other nonsense," Putin told the political and military elite.
In a separate post, Prigozhin said later on Tuesday he had been too busy to watch Putin's speech and could therefore not comment on the president's remarks regarding the "special military operation".
#3
Burgeoning power struggle or Putin setting up a rival for failure?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/22/2023 7:21 Comments ||
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#4
Maybe alleged videos of traitors being executed with sledge hammers was even a bit too much for V.V. Putin. Then again, aren't the North Koreans down in those parts now? Maybe they brought some tricks with 'em.
#5
Avoid any multi-storied buildings Yevgeny.
Oh, and avoid the use of any electrical communications within HIMARS range. You never know if someone has been give the frequency.
[An Nahar] U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said Russia's decision to suspend a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Washington was "deeply unfortunate and irresponsible," but that the U.S. was willing to talk about the issue.
"We remain ready to talk about strategic arms limitations at any time with Russia, irrespective of anything else going on in the world or in our relationship," Blinken told news hounds at the American embassy in Athens during a regional visit.
He was speaking after Russian President Vladimir Putin ...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances... announced Moscow's suspension of its participation in the last remaining arms control treaty between the world's two main nuclear powers.
"The announcement by Russia that it's suspending participation in New Start is deeply unfortunate and irresponsible," said Blinken
"We'll be watching carefully to see what Russia actually does. We'll of course make sure that in any event we are postured appropriately for the security of our own country and that of our allies," he added.
The 2010 treaty is the last major US-Russia arms control pact still in force but it has frayed in recent years, with accusations from Washington that Moscow was not complying with it.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2023 00:00 ||
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#1
Does Rantburg know how many Congressmen/women whose parents are from Eastern Europe, ie Western Ukraine, and who are fluent in the ukrainian language?
A lot. Ackchyually most of the really load pro-ukriane voices have parents from W.Ukraine or Baltic States. And they are the thought leaders who are pushing the US & West into this mess.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] 23:25 Bloomberg writes, citing sources, that as part of a new military assistance package, the United States is transferring to Ukraine not just JDAM bombs, but a modification with an increased flight range of up to 72 km when dropped from a height of 14 km - JDAM-ER.
23:18 Zelensky said in an evening video message that he again held an expanded meeting of the Headquarters, including reports from the front line from commanders in the hottest areas. According to him, fierce battles continue in the Bakhmut and Liman directions. In Avdiyivske and other directions, the occupiers use "the whole range of weapons", including tear grenades. But the front line has not changed.
23:12 Ukraine and Italy signed a declaration reaffirming their commitment to strengthening joint efforts to ensure further progress towards the implementation of EU and NATO standards and Ukraine's integration into the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance, the Office of the President said. In addition, the Italian side expresses support for the global peace summit, "which should be convened when conditions permit," and the Ukrainian "peace formula." Italy also expresses its readiness to organize a joint conference on the post-war restoration of Ukraine on its territory.
23:06 Western partners in 2023 should provide Ukraine with another 33 billion euros of assistance, writes the Financial Times, citing a study by the University of Kiel. The publication notes that last year Kyiv received less than half of the promised money: in particular, as of December, the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance received 31 billion euros out of 64 billion promised.
The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine in its forecast for the next year estimated the budget deficit at 38 billion euros. The EU promised regular monthly financial support for Kyiv in the amount of 1.5 billion euros - for a year the total will be 18 billion euros. The FT emphasizes that in the past, Western countries have provided much more financial assistance in similar conflicts and done it faster. In particular, during the Gulf War, the costs of the United States, Germany, Japan and South Korea were several times higher than the costs of aid to Ukraine.
22:57 Danilov said that Russia is now striving to implement Plan B in relation to Ukraine. The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council drew attention to the fact that Putin is no longer talking about the seizure of the entire country - in his speech he spoke only about the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. "Today, they are reducing all desires for themselves. Now their goal is plan B. It consists in signing any negotiating positions so that we cede part of our lands, having allegedly received peace. These are completely unacceptable things for us," - said Danilov.
22:30 Chinese "peace proposals" on Ukraine will be made public within a few days, said China's Permanent Representative to the UN Zhang Jun.
22:28 The mood in Washington is shifting towards sending Ukraine ATACMS and F-16 fighters, Republican Michael McCall, head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives, said in Kiev.
22:25 According to official figures from the UN Human Rights Office, 8,006 Ukrainian civilians were killed as a result of a full-scale Russian invasion and another 13,287 were injured. However, the real figures are much higher, the UN is convinced.
22:00 Biden arrived in Poland after visiting Kiev. His performance in Warsaw has already been dubbed historical. The US President stressed that Ukraine's allies "will not get tired" of supporting it in confronting Russian full-scale aggression, and Kyiv will "never be" defeated by Russia. More details - in the material Russia will never win .
21:13 Zelensky said that he did not know the specific provisions of the Chinese "peace plan", and he was counting on the support of the Ukrainian peace formula: "We are interested that all states - European, of the whole world, of course, India, Africa, China - be involved in so that this war ends, in order to maintain our, it seems to me, fair formula for peace.
21:01 The Czech Republic must prepare for a possible clash between Russia and NATO, said Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Army Karel Rzehka. According to him, in the event of such a clash, the Czech Republic will become an active participant in the conflict "from the first minute."
20:49 The new offensive of the Russians has been going on for about ten days, but they have not managed to make it "big", said NSDC Secretary Alexei Danilov: "The phrase "big offensive", as they wanted, has already faded away. they planned, already, according to their plan, lasts the eighth or tenth day. There are no successes. Five directions today where they are trying to attack. But our fighters courageously defend our country."
20:34 Russia's decision to suspend participation in the Treaty with the United States on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms is another provocative step on the part of Moscow, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said: "By undermining one of the most important international treaties in the field of nuclear weapons control, Russia is doing another daring challenge to the world community, confirming the criminal nature and further aggressive intentions to destroy international peace and security."
Kyiv calls on the international community "to give a resolute response to Russia's aggressive behavior, to take urgent joint measures to prevent and counter any form of nuclear blackmail by a terrorist state."
20:29 Fighters are not on the agenda, but Italy is considering sending more air defense systems, Prime Minister George Meloni said during a visit to Kiev. At the same time, she stressed that Italy will provide Ukraine, in addition to SAMP / T, with Skyguard and Spike air defense systems.
19:43 The EU still cannot find the blocked 300 billion euros of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. According to Delfi, citing its own sources, 45 MEPs sent a letter to EU leaders demanding the creation of a unified register of funds blocked in the European Union by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and Russian oligarchs, indicating the amount and location of these funds. They stressed that such a registry does not yet exist, and demand that the European Commission encourage EU member states to share information about the arrested Russian money with it in order to "have a clear picture of the situation."
19:08 Biden said during a speech in Warsaw that NATO will never get tired of supporting Ukraine until its victory, the alliance is more united and resolute than ever. He stressed that dictators will never take away freedom. Biden also addressed the Russians: "The West does not want to attack Russia and threaten its independence. You are not our enemies, war is not necessary, President Putin chose war - this is his choice. If Russia stops its invasion, the war will end. If Ukraine stops defend, that will be the end. Therefore, our main task is for Ukraine to be able to defend itself."
18:58 Xi Jinping intends to deliver a "peace speech" on the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. China took a neutral stance and did not condemn the Russian Federation for the invasion, but called for a negotiated settlement. The US reacted nervously to the Chinese "peace plan" as they fear that Beijing might take Russia's position. And in the European Union, this step was cautiously welcomed as the first sign that Beijing recognizes the problem of war not only "as a European matter." Read more in the article Which side will Beijing take?
18:19 Due to the high level of desertion from the ranks of Russian troops, since February 20, mass raids have been carried out in the Chaplinsky district of the Kherson region. Particular attention is paid to abandoned dachas and houses, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in the evening building.
Meanwhile, in the Crimea, in particular in Sevastopol, since the beginning of the year, the criminogenic situation has significantly worsened. The reason is the appearance of former prisoners who fought as part of the Wagner PMC and were amnestied after the completion of the contract. If they are detained for the crimes they have committed, they are not sent to correctional facilities, but back to the front line.
18:14 Zelensky said that he had met with a delegation of the US House of Representatives - members of the Republican Party - led by Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCall: "I thank the American congressmen for supporting Ukraine and understanding the importance of strengthening aid to achieve victory over the aggressor" .
17:47 Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said that Russia plans to seize the airport in Chisinau and deploy its military there. According to him, this is one of the scenarios for destabilizing the situation in the country. Rechan also said that Russia should withdraw its troops from Transnistria: "We must achieve one fundamental thing - demilitarization. After that, everything else follows, and the economic and social integration of our citizens who are there is very important, but in the first place - demilitarization" .
The prime minister urged the citizens of Moldova not to ignore "real threats of escalation", because Russia is waging a hybrid war in the country.
17:18 The Wall Street Journal writes that Xi Jinping may visit Russia in the coming months - preparations for the visit are at an early stage, and the dates have not yet been determined. According to the publication, the Chinese leader may come to Moscow in April or early May, when Russia will celebrate the victory over Germany in World War II.
16:49 The Eighth Administrative Court of Appeal satisfied the claim of the Ministry of Justice to ban the activities of the Party of Regions and transfer the property of the pro-Russian political force to the state property of Ukraine, the SBU reported. Experts are currently estimating the value of this property.
16:28 Belgium has begun training the Ukrainian military to operate submarine UAVs that Brussels will supply to Ukraine, said Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder. She did not specify how long the training will last and when the drones will be delivered to Ukraine.
16:21 Ukraine, the EU and NATO at a trilateral meeting agreed to develop an effective, transparent and accountable system of arms purchases for Ukraine, Kuleba, Borrell and Stoltenberg said at a joint press conference. The parties also agreed to work intensively to resolve three issues - effective training of the Ukrainian military, efficient production of weapons and shells, and their effective delivery to the battlefield.
16:14 Reporters Without Borders reported that during the year of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, eight journalists were killed, 19 were injured, at least four of them seriously. During this time, the organization registered 50 cases of media workers coming under fire, at least 26 of them were targets of Russian soldiers. In total, about 12,000 Ukrainian and foreign journalists received accreditation to cover events in Ukraine last year.
Reporters Without Borders has filed seven war crimes cases with the International Criminal Court and Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office for a total of 44 acts of violence and attacks against more than 100 media workers and 11 radio and television towers in Ukraine.
15:59 The Kherson OVA specified that as a result of today's shelling of the regional center, five people were killed, 16 were injured.
15:37 Ukrzaliznytsia announced the start of the Zalizna Ukrainizatsiya program. The comprehensive program is designed for 2023-2025, during which it is planned to remove everything that connects Ukraine with Russia - the names of railways, mileage marks, signal marks, Soviet bas-reliefs, station names, etc. In particular, the Southern and South-Western railways will be renamed, because they were geographically so in relation to Moscow, and not Kyiv.
We started the project by changing the mileage marks: in Kyiv, for example, this mark was still "856", because the zero kilometer since Soviet times is calculated from Moscow. Now the countdown of Ukrainian railways will start from the Central Station of the Kyiv-Passenger station, where the zero mark is set.
Also, inscriptions in Russian will be removed from railway tickets, as required by outdated regulations. Russian is planned to be replaced by English.
15:24 Kuleba said that Wang Yi, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, shared with the Ukrainian side the key points of the "peace plan" of the PRC. The Foreign Minister noted that Kyiv intends to study it and draw conclusions.
15:02 Stoltenberg expressed regret over the decision of the Russian Federation to suspend participation in the Treaty on the Reduction of Strategic Offensive Arms and said that Putin is preparing for war: "Putin started this imperialist war and continues to escalate it. A year after the start of the war, there are no signs that that he is preparing for peace. On the contrary, today he has made it clear that he is preparing for a new war."
Blinken, in turn, called Russia's decision on START "disappointing" and said that Washington is still ready to talk with Moscow about arms restrictions at any time.
Borrell said that Russia's decision on START destroys the system of international security.
14:43 The Russians fired at Kherson and Ochakov from multiple launch rocket systems, OK Pivden reported. In Kherson, the enemy hit residential areas, critical infrastructure facilities, a kindergarten, a hospital, as well as a local market and a public transport stop. Currently, six dead and 12 injured are known, the data is being specified. In Ochakovo, the invaders fired at the port infrastructure, one person was wounded.
14:36 FSB director Alexander Bortnikov said that Russia did not provide any security guarantees to Biden before his visit to Ukraine: "The United States did notify Russia of Biden's visit to Kiev - through diplomatic lines. We did not give guarantees of his security."
14:32 The Ministry of Education and Science calls on all schools in Ukraine to switch to distance learning from February 22 to February 24 due to the increased threat of shelling.
14:25 The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned US Ambassador Lynn Tracy and protested to her in connection with "the expansion of US involvement in hostilities on the side of Kiev." She was told that Washington should "take steps that involve the withdrawal of military and equipment, as well as the cessation of hostile anti-Russian activity." Also, the United States is required to explain about the explosions in the Nord Streams.
14:19 The Russians fired at the city of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region today: as a result of a shell hitting a private residential building, one person was injured. In addition, the enemy is shelling the towns of Dvurechnaya and Volchansk - it hits only the private residential sector, several houses are damaged, Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA, said.
13:57 Putin addressed the traditional message to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. The last time he performed in a similar format was in April 2021. This year, during a full-scale war against Ukraine, Putin made a number of traditionally cynical statements - in particular, he said that "we are not at war with the people of Ukraine, they have become a hostage of the Kiev regime", and the Russians are only "protecting people and their home" . He also dedicated part of his address to the LGBT community. More details - in the material Gaia and war .
13:42 M1 Abrams tanks can be transferred to Ukraine from cash stocks from US warehouses, and not after their production, as previously expected, Stanley Brown, First Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs, said in an interview with Breaking Defense. "We have Abrams in stock. We have different versions of Abrams, and I don't know which specific versions Ukraine will eventually get," he added.
Brown noted that it is not yet clear when a final decision will be made and when these tanks may arrive in Ukraine. "Potentially it could be a combination of finished and manufactured tanks," he said.
13:26 The goal of Russia is to, having accumulated resources, try to seize the initiative and freeze the war for an indefinite time - by remaining in the occupied territories and drawing Ukraine into information confrontations, Podolyak said. The goal of Ukraine, according to him, is completely different: to destroy the remaining resource of Russian combat capability, inflict several major tactical defeats, break the defenses in the occupied territories and sharply increase the pace of de-occupation.
To do this, Ukraine needs tools, Podolyak stressed: missile defense systems and fighter jets to cover the skies; shells of heavy calibers; long-range missiles - from 150 km and more; unmanned aircraft; armored vehicles; attack aircraft.
12:49 Putin said that Russia is suspending participation in the Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty. He called "a theater of the absurd" NATO's recent demand to return to START inspections. The Russian president also said that the West is "directly involved in plans to strike at our strategic targets."
In addition, Putin said that a week ago he signed a decree on putting new ground-based strategic systems on combat duty. According to him, Washington is allegedly "thinking about the natural testing of nuclear weapons." Therefore, the Russian Defense Ministry and Rosatom should ensure that they are ready to test Russian nuclear weapons if the United States does it first, Putin said.
12:20 Italian Prime Minister George Meloni arrived in Kyiv , La Repubblica reports. In the afternoon, she will meet with Zelensky, and before that she will visit Bucha and Irpin.
11:56 During Biden's visit to Poland, Warsaw will raise the issue of transferring combat aircraft to Ukraine, Pavel Yablonsky, deputy head of the Polish Foreign Ministry, said: "We are discussing and will talk about this today with the US president, in particular, during the Bucharest Nine summit. We will talk about what future military support should look like."
11:28 Putin, in his address to the Federal Assembly, once again stated that "it was the West that unleashed the war, and we are using force to stop it." According to him, Russia allegedly "was open to a constructive dialogue with the West" and for many years offered to work on a joint security system, while the West, meanwhile, "was preparing enslaved Ukraine for a big war."
According to Putin, the Russian Federation "defends its home and people's lives," and the "Anti-Russia project" allegedly goes back to the 19th century - "it was also cultivated in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Poland with one goal - to tear off these historical territories, which Today they are called Ukraine, from our country."
Putin said that "it is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield," and the more long-range systems Ukraine receives, "the further we will push the threat."
11:17 At the beginning of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine a year ago, the ratio of forces and means of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation with the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine averaged 12:1. Now the difference between these potentials has decreased three times, said Aleksey Neizhpapa, Commander of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He also assured that all strategic approaches to the Odessa region are under the control of the Navy and other units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
11:13 From Tuesday, February 21, and over the next few days, the grouping of forces and means of defense of Kiev will conduct training to protect the capital, said the head of the KGVA Sergey Popko. According to the scenario, the enemy is conducting an offensive operation from the northern direction. The task of the Kyiv defense forces and means is to work out the entire range of tasks for the defense of the capital. Popko stressed that this is a planned training, at present the threat of an attack on the capital from the north is minimal.
11:10 There is no shortage of power in the energy system of Ukraine on February 21 and is not predicted yet. All power plants are operating, electricity imports are insignificant and significantly reduced, Ukrenergo reported. In Odessa and the Odessa region, network restrictions remain due to damage to equipment at substations, and hourly outage schedules are applied.
10:59 The legendary Artemsol, which disappeared from stores in the summer after the Russians destroyed the facilities of the enterprise in Soledar, will now help form a flotilla of kamikaze drones for the GUR. On the occasion of the anniversary of the full-scale invasion, UNITED24 and the Artemsol enterprise produced a special batch of salt: they divided 20 tons into 100,000 symbolic packs. Profits from each pack will go to kamikaze drones to equip a new strike force. You can buy salt in Silpo or order it online at Rozetka, Mikhail Fedorov, head of the Ministry of Digital Development, said.
The cost of one pack is 500 hryvnia, of which 465 is the fee for the APU.
10:55 Boris Johnson, during a debate in the House of Commons, called on British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to send fighter jets to Ukraine, writes The Guardian. He was supported by Liz Truss, who also insisted on the need to use frozen Russian assets to restore Ukraine.
10:34 In the summer of 2021, the Putin administration developed a strategy to absorb Belarus until 2030. The document titled Strategic Goals of the Russian Federation in the Belarusian direction was received by journalists from several publications, including the Kyiv Independent, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Yahoo News and the Dossier Center.
The strategy involves control over the socio-political, commercial, scientific and cultural life of Belarus, as well as bringing the legislation of the Republic of Belarus in line with the Russian one. Thus, by 2022 it was planned to form a pro-Russian stratum of the population and elite, by 2025 - to have stable groups of influence in all sectors and expand the military presence, by 2030 - to complete the absorption, merge the two armies into one, take full control of the information space, complete the transition to a single currency and create a common cultural space with a common approach to history.
According to journalists, the war in Ukraine slowed down the implementation of Russia's plans, but did not stop it. At the same time, Minsk is unlikely to be seriously interested in implementing this strategy, since Lukashenka does not trust Moscow.
It seems my understanding of the situation was wrong. Ah well, not the first time, nor likely to be the last.
10:07 Russians fired at the energy infrastructure of the Kherson region yesterday and tonight: due to damage to power lines, three settlements of the Belozersky community - Kizomys, Veletenskoye and Goncharnoye - were left without electricity. Also, due to night shelling, power supply disappeared in the suburb of Kherson - in the village of Zimovnik, the OVA reported.
09:43 Latvia handed over another cargo for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Deputy Head of the Verkhovna Rada Elena Kondratyuk said. In particular, Latvia donated an off-road vehicle equipped with a machine-gun platform of its own production, uniforms and footwear for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, rations, sleeping bags, tactical goggles, generators, etc.
09:26 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, three people were killed - two in Bakhmut and one in Ivanopol. Another five people in the area were injured. In the Kherson region, two people died, according to the OVA.
09:21 The most difficult area in the Luhansk region remains the Kremennaya area, where the active phase of hostilities is underway, said the head of the OVA Serhiy Gaidai. According to him, the Ukrainian military is holding the defense there, in some places recapturing positions from the enemy.
09:17 In Russia, they are preparing for the mass mobilization of full-time students. According to Ukrainian military intelligence, so-called warning stations are being created for this purpose, which will help military registration and enlistment offices hand over summonses to students. A number of higher educational institutions have already issued documents obliging the structural subdivisions of higher educational institutions to allocate a certain number of students and employees to work at "alert areas."
The GUR recalls that no additional legal grounds are needed for the next wave of mobilization in the Russian Federation, since the “partial mobilization” announced in September 2022 has not been officially completed. Probably, the mobilization will be carried out before April 1 - the beginning of the spring conscription for military service. If necessary, the start of the draft may be delayed, according to intelligence.
08:54 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that Ukraine will be able to return the initiative to the battlefield in 2023 with sufficient and timely support from the West.
Analysts also note that Zelenskiy likely softened his administration's stance on Bakhmut to make a small rhetorical concession to U.S. officials who have raised concerns about the ability of the Defense Forces to both defend Bakhmut and conduct counter-offensives. In particular, the president said that Ukraine would continue to defend Bakhmut, but "not at any cost." At the same time, ISW continues to consider Ukraine's decision to defend Bakhmut to be strategically justified, aimed at pinning down Russian forces on a separate sector of the front.
ISW also drew attention to the fact that the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the official integration of the "militias" of the so-called "DNR" and "LNR" into the Russian armed forces on February 19 in response to growing criticism about the change of command in the puppet units. The decision to reorganize the "militias" against the backdrop of the ongoing offensive probably indicates that the Russian Defense Ministry does not realize the scale of the challenges associated with the integration of irregular formations into a professional army during intense hostilities, analysts say.
According to experts, the restructuring of the puppet armed formations indicates that the Russian military command is trying to implement all the desired reforms, while the Russian Defense Ministry enjoys the favor of Putin.
08:45 The Council of the European Union approved the extension of anti-Russian sanctions until February 24, 2024. The document emphasizes that "the alliance remains unwavering in its support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and is committed to the full implementation of the policy of non-recognition regarding illegal Russian annexation."
The decision will enter into force on Wednesday, February 22, and concerns the sanctions that were introduced on February 23, 2022 in response to Russia's recognition of the "DPR" and "LPR". In October, the restrictions were extended in response to the illegal annexation of parts of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhia regions of Ukraine. There are currently 1,386 individuals and 171 organizations under EU sanctions against Russia.
08:36 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of February 21.
personnel - about 144,440 (+760) people liquidated,
tanks - 3326 (+10),
armored fighting vehicles - 6562 (+9),
artillery systems - 2338 (+4),
MLRS - 471 (+0),
air defense systems - 243 (+0),
aircraft - 299 (+0),
helicopters - 287 (+0),
UAV operational-tactical level - 2023 (+5),
cruise missiles - 873 (+0),
ships/boats - 18 (+0),
automotive equipment and tankers - 5210 (+1),
special equipment - 226 (+1).
08:24 The Russian army is concentrating its main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Kupyansky, Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Miner directions in the areas of Nevsky, Bakhmut, Novobakhmutovka, Vodyany and Marinka, the General Staff said in the morning report .
Over the past day, units of the Defense Forces repelled attacks by Russians in the areas of the settlements of Gryanikovka and Masyutovka in the Kharkiv region; Belogorivka - Luhansk and Vasyukovka, Berkhovka, Bakhmut, Vasilievka, Novobakhmutovka, Vodiane, Nevelskoe and Maryinka of Donetsk region.
Russia continues forced passportization of Ukrainian citizens. So, in Gorlovka, Donetsk region, employees of budgetary organizations have been given an order from the "administration" under their personal signature on the need to obtain Russian citizenship before July 1, otherwise they will be fired.
04:43 The German Foreign Ministry called on its citizens to refuse to travel to Russia, especially to the western regions - Rostov, Krasnodar, Kursk, Saratov, Voronezh and Volgograd. Berlin asks to be especially attentive and careful during the period from February 20 to 26, when a number of events are planned in the Russian Federation.
"Citizens with dual citizenship should remember that the Russian authorities consider them only as citizens of Russia. This also applies to a possible conscription into the Russian armed forces. The Embassy cannot provide them with consular protection," the message says.
03:55 Trump said that if he is elected President of the United States, he will immediately call Putin and Zelensky: “Literally on the same night, as it becomes known about my victory, I will call two people - Putin and Zelensky. I will tell them: we need to meet. I guarantee that I can resolve this issue... We will close the deal within 24 hours."
03:19 Putin may soon mobilize hundreds of thousands more Russians, in addition to the 300 thousand already called up, reports The New York Times, citing representatives of American intelligence.
02:50 The Netherlands plans to send another 230 troops to Germany to train Ukrainian fighters, according to NOS. The country's authorities said they would join the training of a total of 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers.
02:23 The first batch of German ammunition for Gepard anti-aircraft systems will be delivered to Ukraine before July, Armin Papperger, director of Rheinmetall manufacturing company, said. In response to a call by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to boost munitions production, Papperger said his company "has doubled its capacity and even tripled it in some sectors."
"Weapons stock is full, we're operating at full capacity and we can still increase capacity in one shift," Papperger added. He also added that 20 Marder combat vehicles will be ready for shipment to Ukraine by the end of March.
01:24 Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin announced plans to form a "people's militia", which, in his opinion, could join 100-150 thousand people. At the same time, he did not rule out that those who did not undergo military training, including women, could become “volunteers”.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Irina Alksnis
[RIA] According to Western media - and confirmed by Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev - the White House agreed with Moscow on Joe Biden's visit to Kiev yesterday. This naturally caused numerous jokes that the US president was forced to ask his Russian colleague for permission to travel.
However, the question is much less often asked: why did Russia agree at all?
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of the European Council Charles
The reason for the rarity of this question is simple: over the past year, we have already become accustomed to the fact that everyone and sundry go to Kyiv. Biden was perhaps the last of the most senior representatives of the Western establishment to visit the Ukrainian capital since the beginning of the NWO.
But last spring, when this process had just begun, a lot of spears were broken about it in Russian socio-political and expert circles. This topic was then extremely actively and vigorously discussed, criticism was often heard due to the fact that the trips of Western leaders to Ukraine did not meet with opposition from Russia. Moreover, the arguments sounded quite weighty: such events to "show the flag" and, as it were, to stake the territory behind them, have a symbolic and propagandistic value, they should not be underestimated.
However, as the months have passed, it is clear that Moscow is consistently sticking to its position: at least not to prevent such trips, and at the most, even to provide "guarantees of safety" for visitors to Kyiv.
Which brings us back to the question: why?
Without a doubt, this decision is based on a whole complex of very different reasons. But it seems that one of the key ones is the witty and increasingly effective strategy of Moscow's work in the information field. Moreover, this activity is aimed not only at solving certain momentary problems, but also at undermining the media-political system of the West as such.
In the modern world, no one needs to explain the importance for world politics of such phenomena as "soft power", propaganda and information warfare. Moreover, it is the West that has achieved unprecedented success in these areas by building a fantastically productive machine of influence and brainwashing.
That's just more and more clearly manifested fact: his own success played a cruel joke with him. It seems that on the other side they believed in the absolute omnipotence of their own creation - up to the belief that the desired media picture can cover up the "wrong" reality for an infinitely long time and in the end the real world will certainly come into line with the broadcast image.
In recent years, failures in the work of this disinformation machine have been multiplying before our eyes, both in the struggle of the West against geopolitical opponents, and within itself (suffice it to recall the election of Trump or the referendum on Brexit). But this only forces its users to press the usual buttons even more furiously and believe: if one hundred more times publicly at a high level declare that the Russian economy has been torn to shreds, then this will actually happen.
This fully applies to the visits of high-ranking representatives of the US and Europe to Kiev. Over the past year, did their trips have any impact on reality, on the course of hostilities or the struggle with Russia in the economic sphere? Yes, not the slightest.
In essence, this is just a vanity fair, which, to a certain extent, can be used for internal political PR of the relevant persons. True, whether this PR will achieve its goals is a big question. In any case, Biden is now being criticized harshly in the United States - both for the fact that during the two years of his presidency he did not manage to reach the southern border of his own country, where the migration crisis is raging, and for preferring Ukraine to the state of Ohio . where the ecological catastrophe broke out.
It turns out that it is beneficial for Russia (and other non-Western countries) to inflate the conceit of the West and its belief in the omnipotence of its propaganda machine.
First, the more stupidly it is used, the faster and deeper its effectiveness falls - and this applies to absolutely any area, be it official statements, global media publications, and Hollywood productions. Once impeccable in its integrity and quality performance, the "cover" turns into tatters through which the world observes the accelerating degradation of the West and its managerial class.
And secondly, the more our Western adversaries are focused on trying to use the usual, but out of order tools, the less they have the opportunity to find and use really working and more effective means of fighting against geopolitical competitors.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[RIA Novosti] The Ministry of Defense denied reports of allegedly blocking the supply of ammunition to volunteer attack aircraft performing tasks to liberate Artemovsk in the DPR.
"All statements allegedly made on behalf of the assault units about the lack of ammunition are absolutely untrue," the department said.
They specified that from February 18 to 20, volunteers were sent 1,660 rockets for multiple rocket launchers, as well as 980 ammunition for tanks and 10,171 for large-caliber cannon artillery and mortars. The department emphasized that all requests for the supply of weapons are being fulfilled as soon as possible, "it was and will be so."
According to the Ministry of Defense , in the coming days, the assault units will receive all the ammunition according to the applications submitted for February. On February 25, arms deliveries will begin on requests for March. It is noted that in just last year, the needs of assault detachments in ammunition were met by 140 percent of the applications received.
The department also stated that the volunteers, as well as the fighters of the assault units of the group, courageously and selflessly carry out the most difficult tasks to liberate Donbass from Ukrainian militants. They emphasized that attempts to split the close mechanism of interaction and support between Russian units are counterproductive and play only to the advantage of the enemy.
As noted in the ministry, over the past two days, attack aircraft, with the support of artillery, armored vehicles and other firepower of the Yug group, were able to advance 2.5 kilometers in the Artemovsk area. Despite difficult weather conditions, it was also possible to carry out 18 sorties.
On Saturday, the acting head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin , said that the recent liberation of the village of Paraskovievka north of Artemovsk makes it possible to get closer to blocking the road to Chasov Yar. He clarified that the garrison of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is supplied along this route . According to Pushilin, this path must be blocked and thereby speed up the liberation of Artemovsk.
Paraskovievka is located between Soledar and Artemovsk . The latter is located in the part of the DPR controlled by the Kiev authorities north of Gorlovka . This is an important transport hub for supplying the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donbass . Fierce battles are going on for him.
On Friday afternoon, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Irina Vereshchuk called on the residents of Artemivsk to leave the city as soon as possible. Ukrainian media wrote that they began to take out the archives of state institutions from there. The press secretary of the eastern group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Sergei Cherevaty, announced the restriction of access to Artemovsk for civilians.
Prigozhin begs to differ:
[VK] ❗Yevgeny Prigozhin responded to the statement of the Ministry of Defense on the supply of ammunition to volunteer units in the Artemovsk direction
“I want to emphasize once again that since we have switched to public correspondence with the Ministry of Defense, PMC Wagner does not receive 80% of the ammunition required for combat missions. Therefore, the statement of the Ministry of Defense is nothing more than just a spit in the direction of the Wagner PMC with an attempt to hide their crimes in front of those fighters who are today performing a feat on Bakhmut (Artemovsk).
As for other volunteer units, there are none on Bakhmut, there is a Wagner PMC. There are no ammunition. Sapper shovels, let it be known to you, gentlemen, the leadership of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, have not yet been delivered. If you give ammunition, let's do it, and don't tell it in the media to the people of Russia, deceiving them at the same time.
Unlike the Ministry of Defense and its statements, I am ready to provide all documents, including applications submitted and quantities received, to the military prosecutor's office (or military counterintelligence, at your choice) immediately upon their request.
Kindly note that several entries in this article may have been removed because they included discussions of the grand strategic level.
[NewsFrontInfo] 22:17 The more long-range systems will be delivered to Kyiv, the further Russia will push back the threat, it is impossible to defeat the Russian Federation on the battlefield, the Russian president said. 21:06 A Ukrainian 152-mm self-propelled howitzer was destroyed in the zone of the special military operation. 2C3 "Acacia -video
20:32 Russian soldiers with the help of an anti-drone gun landed another enemy drone in one of the directions -video
19:44 Russian troops continue their successful offensive in the area of the village of Kremennaya.
18:37 Russian artillery destroys enemy column in Donbass
They worked as artillery, which was corrected from a drone. The column was discovered at night, when the Armed Forces of Ukraine were trying to concentrate on the front.
18:36 Russian artillery works on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Seversk
17:43 Armed Forces of Ukraine are preparing new sabotage groups in northern Ukraine
According to "Go and look", the Ukrainian army is preparing new DRGs in the Chernihiv and Sumy regions.
“A network of training camps has been deployed in the northern part of the country. They are preparing saboteurs, explosives experts,” said the source of the channel.
According to him, the Ukrainian authorities are probably planning sabotage and terrorist attacks in neighboring Russian regions.
16:43 Russian soldiers using an anti-drone gun planted another enemy drone in one of the directions
16:40 Ukrovoin draws to Zelensky with reasonable questions: “When will the lawlessness stop?”
15:37 Moral and psychological state servicemen of the 128th Transcarpathian Mountain Assault Brigade, located in the Zaporozhye direction, continues to be at zero.
After 128th's appeal, the brigade received "high-quality" meals and a couple of sleepless nights due to furious inspections. The fighters thanked Zaluzhny in their own way for such a "warm" care.
14:32 Attack aircraft inflicts attacks on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Helicopters support the offensive of Russian troops in the Ugledar region.
13:42Ukrainians continue to suffer colossal irretrievable losses in the Bakhmutsky (Artemovsky) area
12:37 The main thing from the new briefing of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation:
🔹The Vostok grouping of the RF Armed Forces in the South-Donetsk direction destroyed up to 70 military units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
🔹The losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donetsk direction amounted to over 170 people over the past day.
🔹The southern group of troops of the RF Armed Forces, supported by attack aircraft and artillery fire, continues the offensive in the Donetsk direction.
🔹Russian troops destroyed up to 70 Ukrainian soldiers in the Kupyansk direction during the day.
🔹The losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Krasnolimansky direction for the day amounted to more than 200 servicemen.
11:35 Veletenske (Kherson region) was destroyed by an artillery strike of 122 mm SAU 2S1 "Gvozdika" with a crew of 5 people and ammunition
Yesterday in the area of N. p. Mykolaivka (Kherson region) an artillery strike was carried out on the position of one of the units of the 126th Territorial Defense Brigade, as a result of which: 10 Ukrainian soldiers went to the Bandera; 12 - received injuries of varying severity
This brigade terrorizes the population of the settlement. New Kakhovka with their shelling.
11:33 Rare frames epic shooting battle in the vicinity of Bakhmut
10:28 PMC Wagner units continue to knock out the enemy from their positions in the Bakhmutsky (Artyomovsky) sector.
In this case, a joyful VSUshnik tells how they got out of the encirclement, now they will be taken to Druzhkovka for treatment
10:27 APU continues to carry colossal irretrievable losses along the entire front line
10:26 Ukrovoiny filmed the result of a dill pickup hitting its own TM-62M anti-tank mine in one of the directions
09:25 The soldiers are trained and ready. Personnel preparation of crews of anti-tank grenade launchers of the Southern Military District in the special operation zone
Grenade launchers are trained to shoot at models of enemy tanks in order to better feel the dimensions of combat vehicles.
Models repeating the dimensions and silhouette of the Abrams tank are installed at ranges from 200 to 400 meters.
"The grenade launcher fires a shot at the mock-up of the Abrams tank. The layout is made according to the size of the tank. The layout completely repeats the dimensions of the Abrams tank. Two projections were made - lateral and frontal. The fighters are trained, ready, hit," said the grenade launcher instructor.
In addition, military personnel study the use of tactical methods of movement during the battle, as well as overcoming engineering and minefields.
09:24 Special forces soldiers hit Ukrainian BTR-4 from ATGM
The fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine went to the wrong place on their armored personnel carrier. They were spotted and fined by the special forces of the “O” group.
08:24 Summaryon the morning of February 21, 2023
Fighting continues in the Kupyansk direction, our artillery strikes deep into the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the places of concentration of enemy personnel, which is transferring reserves.
To the north of Artemovsk (Bakhmut), the assault on the settlement that began yesterday Yagodnoye ended with its transfer under the control of PMC "Wagner", the heights near the settlement were occupied. Berkhovka. The Stupki railway station located nearby (already in the northern part of Artemovsk) is also occupied by attack aircraft as a result of the fighting.
Fighting is going on in the Maryinsky direction, the enemy is throwing into the western part of the settlement. reserves.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine were transferred to Pavlograd, Dnepropetrovsk region, to a brigade of personnel and equipment as a reserve
From the Kherson region, they report on the movements of English-speaking mercenaries on the right bank of the Dnieper and reconnaissance of the area by the headquarters of the enemy grouping.
The enemy fired at the village of Kursk region. Gornal, Guevo, Krasnooktyabrsky.
In the Belgorod region, due to the shelling of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the settlement New Tavolzhanka, a civilian was killed, one person was injured.
Kindly note that several entries in this article may have been removed because they included discussions of the grand strategic level.
[NewsFrontInfo] 23:31 Two HIMARS launchers were destroyed in the Kramatorsk region over the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry reported. 22:23 Kherson will be liberated in the near foreseeable future, the acting governor of the Saldo region told RIA Novosti.
21:59 Fixed shelling from the side of the VFU in the direction: - n.p. The desired second - the city of Donetsk (Kirov district): three rounds with a caliber of 155mm were fired. JCCC
21:55 Kirovsky district of Donetsk and the area of the Lidievka mine are again under shelling.
21:13 Artillery attack was recorded from the side of the VFU in the direction of the settlement of Avdievka and the settlement of Yakovlevka: released 10 rockets from MLRS. JCCC
20:54 Mi-28N and Ka-52 combat helicopters strike the Armed Forces of Ukraine with unguided missiles in the Liman direction -video
20:49 Soledar direction, situation as of 20.00 February 21, 2023
In the north of Bakhmut, assault detachments of the Wagner PMC advanced to the Bakhmut plant for the processing of non-ferrous metals, where Ukrainian formations dug in. The assault on the territory of the enterprise is complicated by the presence of a developed network of underground utilities.
Using the bridgehead in the Stupka area, the Wagnerites advanced towards the village of Yagodnoye and entrenched themselves along the road from Berkhovka. Fighting continues on the hill adjacent to the settlement.
Also, fighting is taking place on the northern and eastern outskirts of Berkhovka, as well as near Dubovo-Vasilevka. According to some reports, the assault detachments entered Berkhovka and are trying to push through the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in an important logistical point of the Ukrainian group near Bakhmut.
The units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine fear the intensification of the offensive in the direction of Zaliznyansky and Minkovka. Reinforcements have been deployed to Minkovka, where the forward command post of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is located.
Positional battles continue in Bakhmut. Among the members of the Ukrainian formations, they talk about the preparation of a defense line in Chasov Yar and the surrounding settlements, including Novodmitrovka, in case Bakhmut is abandoned.
In the south-west of Bakhmut, units of the 113th brigade of the territorial defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine resumed the assault on the positions of the Wagner PMC, three kilometers south-west of Krasnoye.
The advancing forces are supported by tactical aircraft and artillery. Up to 200 tons of ammunition are delivered daily from the Grodovka station to Bakhmut.
20:42 Another arrival of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was recorded by Andriy Lysenko in Donetsk along Luzina Street -video
20:36 Assault detachment "Black Mamba" took Ukrainian positions in the direction of Svatovo-Kremennaya -video
20:33 Sparta drones eliminate Ukrainians in the trenches -video
19:46 Soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the area of the settlement of Kremennaya quickly eliminated the militant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and took two prisoners -video
19:41 Russian Armed Forces Flight using ATGMs neutralized Ukrainian tank -video
19:36 Ugledar district, situation according toconditionat 19.00 February 21, 2023
Fierce fighting continues in the dacha area southeast of Ugledar. Marines of the RF Armed Forces are trying to break through the defense line of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the outskirts of Ugledar, holding positions southwest of the Yuzhno-Donbass mine.
Consolidated assault detachments of the 53rd and 72nd separate mechanized brigades, as well as 35th ARMPs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with the support of self-propelled artillery from Elizavetovka and Trudovoye, broke through to the dacha village west of Nikolsky. Now the fighting is going on between Pavlovka and Nikolskoye. In the air, copters are actively used.
At the moment, Ukrainian formations are trying to gain a foothold in the occupied territories, waiting for the transfer of reinforcements of the Russian Armed Forces to Nikolsky and the resumption of the offensive in the Ugledar sector. Additional personnel of an unidentified formation were transferred to the reserve of the APU grouping in Bogatyr.
In addition, at least one M142 HIMARS MLRS crew arrived in Bogatyr, which received long-range high-precision guided munitions (up to 150 km) GLSDB.
The situation under Ugledar is difficult. The offensive with a frontal attack on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the dominant heights in the city stalled, and the Ukrainian formations, after strengthening the group, launched a counterattack.
To resume the assault on Vuhledar, a different tactic is needed and a bypass of the Ukrainian border from the east from the side of the South Donbass mine or from the west, subject to advance in Bogoyavlenka and from the direction of Bolshaya Novoselka.
With the current efforts, it is simply futile to attack one large fortified area in Ugledar, which is located at a height.
19:25 The Ukrainian militant wasdestroyeda well-aimed shot from an SPG-9, the fire of which was corrected using a UAV. Combat work 58th Special Operations (previously 3rd obSpN NM DPR).
19:19 During the special military operation, destroyed pickup truck with fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
19:14 Our fighters are advancing towards the village of Torskoye in the DPR —video
18:49 The RF military liquidated the militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kupyansk direction, who were hiding in private houses -video
18:28Naval infantry of the 155th are fighting, clearing houses, in the area of Ugledar -video
18:16 The RF Armed Forces successfully eliminated a moving enemy column in the zone of a special military operation -video
17:58Artillery attacks from Ukraianians ended up in the Kirovsky district of Donetsk.
17:42 APU again fired upon Kirovsky district of Donetsk.
17:25 artillery attackwas recorded from the side of the VFU in the direction of the settlement of Galitsinovka - the city of Donetsk (Kirov district):released three rounds with a caliber of 155mm. JCCC
17:07 Artillery attack was recorded from the side of the VFU in the direction: - n.p. Desired second - Donetsk (Kirov district):released six rounds with a caliber of 155mm. JCCC.
17:06 Kirovsky district of Donetsk -reported about arrivals.
16:59 Kyiv and Kuibyshevsky districts of Donetsk again shelling Nazis.
16:49 Artillery attack was recorded from the side of the VFU in the direction: - n.p. Orlovka - Donetsk (Kiev and Kuibyshevsky regions):released four rounds with a caliber of 155mm. JCCC.
16:21 Fire from the VFU in the direction of the settlement of Orlovka - the city of Donetsk (Kiev and Kuibyshevsky districts) was recorded: four rounds of 155mm caliber were fired.
JCCC
16:11 Fixed regular arrivals from the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the direction of the Kuibyshev region.
16:09 According to preliminary data, in Kherson —arrival at the location of the 124th Territorial Defense Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the industrial zone of the city.
15:17 During the offensive in the LPR, the Russian landing force used the 152mm Msta-B large-caliber gun to destroy the armored personnel carrier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine -video
15:15 Glushkovsky district of the Kursk region - under fire from Ukrainian territory. Arrivals are fixed in the area of the cell tower.
15:06 Units of PMC "Wagner" approached to the industrial zone in the north of Bakhmut.
15:03 Scouts of the "Southern" group of Russian troops with the help of a quadrocopter discovered a Ukrainian DRG hiding in a ditch under the road. With the help of the assault group, which worked under the cover of the BTR-82A, one of the scouts secretly crept up to the ditch and threw a grenade into it. All Ukrainian saboteurs successfully eliminated -video
14:58 Yelenovka under shelling from the VFU.
14:49 Report of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the progress of the special military operations(21.02.2023)
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to conduct a special military operation.
In the Kupyansk direction, as a result of the active actions of the units of the "Western" group of troops, with the support of army aviation and artillery fire, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were defeated in the areas of the settlements of Tabaevka, Sinkovka, Kharkiv region and Novoselovskoe, Luhansk People's Republic.
Up to 70 Ukrainian servicemen, one tank, two armored combat vehicles, three vehicles, a 122mm Grad MLRS combat vehicle, a 152mm D-20 howitzer, and a US-made M777 artillery system were destroyed.
In the Krasno-Limansky direction, units of the grouping of troops "Center" inflicted a complex fire defeat on the enemy's manpower in the areas of the settlements of Stelmakhovka, Chervonaya Dibrova of the Lugansk People's Republic and Yampolovka of the Donetsk People's Republic.
During the day, more than two hundred Ukrainian servicemen, three armored combat vehicles, a 122mm Grad MLRS combat vehicle, a 122mm Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer, a 122mm D-30 howitzer, and two US-made M101 howitzers were destroyed in this direction.
In the Donetsk direction, with the support of attack aircraft, strikes by heavy flamethrower systems and artillery fire, offensive operations of the units of the "Southern" group of troops continue.
Enemy losses in this area per day amounted to more than 170 Ukrainian servicemen, five armored combat vehicles, four vehicles, a 122mm Grad MLRS combat vehicle, an 152mm Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer, a 122mm Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer and two 122mm D-30 howitzers. Near the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk People's Republic, two US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launchers and an ammunition depot were destroyed.
In the South-Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, artillery and heavy flamethrower systems of the Vostok group of forces inflicted a complex fire defeat on the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the areas of the settlements of Ugledar, Prechistovka and Zolotaya Niva of the Donetsk People's Republic.
As a result of the defeat, up to 70 Ukrainian servicemen, two tanks, two armored combat vehicles, a 122mm Grad MLRS combat vehicle and a D-20 howitzer were destroyed in a day. Also, an ammunition depot of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was hit near the village of Ugledar.
In the Kherson direction, during the course of counter-battery combat, a 152mm self-propelled howitzer "Akatsiya", two 122mm self-propelled howitzers "Gvozdika" and in the area of the village of Tomina Balka, Kherson region, a US-made counter-battery combat radar AN/TPQ-37 were destroyed in a day. In addition, an ammunition depot of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was destroyed near the city of Kherson.
During the day, army aviation, missile troops and artillery of groups of troops (forces) of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation hit 94 artillery units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at firing positions, as well as manpower and equipment in 128 districts.
During the day, 10 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed by air defense means in the areas of the settlements of Liman Vtoroy, Tavolzhanka, Grakovo of the Kharkiv region, Ploshchanka, Kreminnaya of the Luhansk People's Republic, Panteleymonovka, Kirillovka of the Donetsk People's Republic and Peremozhne of the Zaporozhye region. In addition, two HIMARS and Uragan rockets were shot down, as well as two Tochka-U tactical missiles in the areas of Bolshetroitskoye and Karaichnoye settlements in the Belgorod Region.
14:43 The Russian Armed Forces destroyed the stronghold of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Svatovo -video
14:15 In the Belgorod region there wereshot downtwo rounds of MLRS HIMARS and "Hurricane", as well as two missiles "Tochka-U" - Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
14:10 Artillery "PMC Wagner" from the first shot hit the crossing of the Ukrainian Armed Forces across the river Bakhmutka -video
13:44 Artillery attack was recorded from the side of the VFU in the direction: n.p. Bogoyavlenka - n.p. Volnovakha: released one shell caliber 155mm.
13:19 Ongoing shelling of Kievsky and Kuibyshevsky districts. Armed Forces of Ukraine are firing from Orlovka, four rounds of 155mm caliber were sent
12:53 - Kyiv district of Donetsk and the outskirts of Gvardeyka - another series of arrivals.
12:34 APU fired upon from Karlovka, Kuibyshevsky district of Donetsk, four rounds with a caliber of 155mm were fired.
12:29 Ukrainian fascists fired upon Oktyabrsky mine village in the Kuibyshevsky district of Donetsk.
12:19 Kuibyshevsky and Kyiv districts of Donetsk again have undergone artillery attacks from the APU.
11:52 A Russian drone detected and destroyed the advancing of an enemy sabotage and reconnaissance group in a forest near the border village of Starye Virki in the Sumy region -video
11:28 In the north, the assault on Berkhovka continues and promotion in Yagodnoye. It is stated that the fighters of PMC "Wagner" were able to gain a foothold in the village of Yagodnoye and move to the railway station to the east.
11:22 The enemy continues artillery attackof the Kuibyshevsky region of Donetsk. Ukrainian fascists and foreign mercenaries released three more from Karlovka projectile caliber 155mm.
11:07 The Kuibyshevsky district of Donetsk remains under enemy fire. Ukrainian fascists released four more from Karlovka projectile sample of NATO countries with a caliber of 155mm.
10:52 Kyiv and Kuibyshevsky districts of Donetsk are again under enemy fire from the Armed Forces of Ukraine. From the settlement of Netaylovo Ukrainians released six rounds with a caliber of 155mm.
10:45 Ukrainian Nazis again fired on the Petrovsky district of Donetsk. Shooting was carried out from the settlement Far enemy released eight rounds with a caliber of 155mm.
10:35 Wagner PMC fighters successfully eliminated the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Zaporozhye direction -video
10:31 APU fired upon Petrovsky district of Donetsk.
10:20 Special forces soldiers hit the Ukrainian armored personnel carrier-4 from anti-tank systems -video
10:14 Operators of the loitering ammunition "Lancet" destroyed the 122mm self-propelled guns 2S1 "Gvozdika" in the Lukyanovskoye area, in the Zaporozhye direction- video
09:42 In the DPR, the enemy fired 258 units of ammunition, under fire Maiorsk, Gorlovka, Pervomaiskoye, Verkhnetoretskoye, Novobakhmutovka, Chestnut, Yasinovataya, Novoselovka-2, Vodyanoye, Sands, Donetsk, Makeevka. A civilian died.
08:49 The Ukrainian command deployed nationalists from Aidar to the Artemivsk area to unblock communication lines and prevent the mobilized from escaping. About this reported military expert, retired lieutenant colonel Andrei Marochko, citing his own sources.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances...
[Kremlin] 
