[ZERO] Just as the Biden administration has announced a new $250 million weapons package for Ukraine, which is to be the last unless Congress approves new spending for next year, Ukraine is warning of salary and pension delays for millions of people in the war-ravaged country. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed last week that after this final aid package, "We will have no more replenishment authority available to us, and we’re going to need Congress to act without delay."
For nearly two years of the war Ukraine has poured its billions received in foreign aid primarily into defense, but also relies on external assistance to pay Ukrainian government workers and even social payments. It needs the constant flow of aid simply to keep the lights on and the country functioning under Russian bombs. All the while it's been no secret that corruption continues to be rampant, which Zelensky time and again has promised to get a handle on.
Not only has Biden's $60 billion package for Ukraine for 2024 been blocked by Republican holdouts in Congress, but a proposed European Union package for some $55 billion has been stymied by Hungary. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said Wednesday, "The support of partners is extremely critical, we need it urgently."
#3
/\ “They can even have their relatives in the U.S. wire the money to bank accounts, and some of the agents also use Cash App,” the official said, adding that the practice is systemic, with field agents giving a portion of the money up the chain of command. “That is just the way it has been done and continues to be done.”
If you suspect the US State Department is clandestinely funding these expensive flights through NGOs or "agent" direct payments, you may be correct.
#5
I got to spend a whole $20 at the grocery store yesterday so I still had rent. Glad they are wringing their hands over the Ukes. Sorry fuck them, the UKes, and the US government.
Posted by: Chris ||
12/29/2023 10:10 Comments ||
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#6
[Yawn] WWTD? (What Would Trump Do?)
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/29/2023 12:25 Comments ||
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#7
Will they keep open their parks and monuments?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/29/2023 13:09 Comments ||
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#8
Posted by: Chris ||
12/29/2023 14:56 Comments ||
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#9
So the Ukes are our new wards, just like the Palestinians?
Posted by: Regular joe ||
12/29/2023 15:19 Comments ||
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#10
...I don't see Hunter doing 'business' with the Paleos.
Commentary by Russian blogger Donetsk
[DonRF] It’s something like this around Donetsk. The Russian Armed Forces near Marinka are advancing in three directions - Novomikhailovka, Pobeda and Georgievka. They are successful in Georgievka and Novomikhailovka. In general, in a sector previously considered secondary, the enemy was unable to hold the front and retreated in order, leaving positions that he had been strengthening for ten years.
Now it is creating a new front in nearby settlements. And transfers reserves there. You shouldn’t expect an easy walk, but there are chances to expand the zone of control and get closer to Kurakhovo in the West. Just as there are chances to reach the village of Konstantinovka further south and create a threat to Ugledar from the North.
The fall of which could lead our troops all the way to Velikaya Novoselovka. Essentially restoring the Vremeevsky ledge. And finally clearing the South of the DPR. This is not easy or simple, but it is possible, provided that the appropriate forces and means are brought into battle. It won't be easy, but it will be possible. Really if you want. Marinka was of serious importance for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Very serious. More than serious. Now this is a springboard for us. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have held on to these ruins for two years.
It’s more difficult with Avdeevka. They are stubborn and are pumping in reinforcements. Their defense was successful, of course, but in general... In general, there is also Artemovsk, or rather Chasov Yar. Where reserves are also needed. There is Rabotino on Zaporozhye, and there is Krynki on Kherson. And also Kupyansk and Svatovo-Kremennaya.
Now there is a situation where the Armed Forces of Ukraine cannot patch the entire front. And by moving guns and equipment to one place, they inevitably weaken the second. Where our progress begins to be recorded. In terms of intelligence, they don’t need F-16s, they need artillery. A lot of Armor. And shells. Two or three million.
Well, new brigades. At least 30 full-blooded ones. With all means. And for this we need a pause. Accumulate BC, repair equipment, catch people, get money from the West. But there is something. There is no other way.
The question is our reserves, and where and when, if they are available, of course, and the will of the command, they will fall. And it will fall as much as possible. Strategically, this is unlikely, but at the tactical level - the RF Armed Forces have already achieved more in November-December than the Armed Forces of Ukraine in six months. And it can achieve even more. Until the liberation of the South and Center of the DPR.
Again, maybe - not a guarantee. It's a hard work. In theory, war is easy and simple. In practice... So far everything is something like this, moderately optimistic. On a tactical level.
A quote from the link: "That’s been our theory of the case throughout — the only way this war ends ultimately is through negotiation," said a White House spokesperson.
Funny though, up until now, IIRC, Biden forbade negotiations and was holding out for total victory.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/29/2023 12:32 Comments ||
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[LB] The defenders repelled three attacks in this direction.
by Iryna Lysohor
In the Avdievka direction, the defenders continue to restrain the Russians, who do not stop trying to surround Avdievka. They repelled 15 attacks by the occupiers east of Novobakhmutivka and Avdievka and 17 attacks in the areas of Severny, Pervomaisky and Nevelsky.
In the Mar'inka direction, the defenders continue to hold the lines in the areas of Ma'rinka and Novomykhailivka, where they repelled three attacks. This was announced by the spokesman of the General Staff, Dmytro Lykhovii, on the air of the telethon.
In the Zaporozhye direction, the defenders repelled three attacks west of Verbovoy.
In the Kherson region, the defenders continue measures to expand the bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper. The occupiers carried out 13 unsuccessful actions, were repulsed and retreated.
In the Kupyan direction, Ukrainian defenders repelled nine enemy attacks in the areas east of Synkivka and east of Ivanivka, Kharkiv region.
"In the Lyman direction, the Defense Forces repelled three enemy attacks in the Serebryansk forestry area of Luhansk region, where the enemy unsuccessfully tried to break through the defenses of our troops," Lykhoviy said.
On the Bakhmut direction, the defenders stood in the way of two enemy attacks in the Bohdanivka area.
A total of 56 combat clashes took place during the day. The occupiers launched rocket and 77 air strikes, fired 51 volley fire systems.
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 21:48 Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal asked for an emergency meeting with international donors, as Ukraine faced “extremely high uncertainty” about the 2024 budget, Bloomberg writes, citing a letter from the Ukrainian prime minister to the Interdepartmental Donor Coordination Platform. The letter states that funding is needed as early as January and should be aimed at budgetary needs - government support, salaries for teachers, civil servants and pensions.
21:36 In the West, talk about the confiscation of frozen Russian assets in favor of Ukraine has intensified. They are valued at approximately $300 billion. The Biden administration hopes in this way to compensate for the inability to allocate additional funds in Congress. About what can come out of this, see the material How to confiscate assets .
20:40 Zelensky in an evening video message reported “good results” in protecting against collaborators and spotters, as well as in combating crime. In addition, he noted the work of the export corridor in the Black Sea: “Already more than 12 million tons of cargo. The results for December are especially significant, and this is felt at the level of our entire economy.”
The President also said that he had just spoken with Pope Francis and discussed work regarding the Peace Formula: “More than 80 states are already in the process at the level of their representatives. There will be more. I am grateful to the Vatican for supporting our work.”
19:39 The Russian Army is shelling the center of Kherson with artillery, residential buildings were hit, and fires broke out in some places. Currently, two casualties are known, the OVA reported. In addition, the Russians struck Novotyaginka, one person was wounded.
19:12 The million ammunition that the European Union promised to Ukraine by March will probably be delivered by June, said Lithuanian Member of the European Parliament Petras Auštrevičius. According to him, today more than 400 thousand “have been sent or are on their way to Ukraine.”
“I hope that by June we will have a million. Maybe there will be a delay of three or four months, but the main thing is that this continues after June,” Auštrevičius noted. At the same time, he emphasized that this million is “not the last thing Ukraine needs,” therefore the defense industry both in the West and in Europe must develop.
19:03 The Russian Army shelled Nikopol in the Dnepropetrovsk region and the villages of the Pokrovsk community, said the head of the OVA Sergei Lysak. In the regional center, one person was killed and one was injured. 17 private houses and two high-rise buildings, an administrative building, and power lines were damaged.
18:48 The Defense Forces warned Ukrainians that during the New Year holidays the occupiers may intensify shelling. First of all, residents of front-line zones should be vigilant, therefore, for their own safety, they should leave for other regions. Read more in the material Evacuation from front-line territories .
18:00 The Office of the Prosecutor General clarified that as a result of today’s Russian shelling of the village of Belenkoye, Zaporozhye region, two fishermen were killed, five more civilians, of whom two were emergency gas service workers, were injured. In addition, during the enemy attack on the city of Orekhov, one person was killed and four were wounded.
17:46 Russian propaganda media claim that a “volunteer battalion” named after Bohdan Khmelnytsky, allegedly consisting of Ukrainian prisoners of war, has begun to participate in hostilities against Ukraine. Read more in the article New fake of Rospropaganda .
17:29 Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Ermak said that he had a “productive” telephone conversation with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó. They discussed, in particular, the organization of a meeting between Zelensky and Orban “in the near future.”
17:17 Three Ukrainian prisoners of war, whom the Russians shot in the Zaporozhye region, were soldiers of the 82nd separate air assault brigade of the DShV, the command of the Air Assault Forces reported. They noted that three soldiers were captured after being wounded and concussed to varying degrees of severity. Their bodies were evacuated from the battlefield.
17:12 The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense announces another hybrid campaign against Ukraine, which is being prepared in the Kremlin. In particular, it is planned to launch a powerful information and psychological campaign against the top military-political leadership of Ukraine, using the theme of the next presidential elections. The goal of the campaign is to undermine the legitimacy of the President of Ukraine and the leadership of the state among countries that are supposedly allies and partners of the Russian Federation, as well as among Ukrainian citizens.
16:58 Ukraine may become the country with the lowest birth rate in the world, writes El País, citing a report by the Joint Research Center of the European Commission Agency. Thus, by the end of 2023, the birth rate in terms of the number of children born per woman is expected to be 0.7. This is three times less than the population replacement rate (two children per woman) and means that only two children are born for every six adults.
In Ukraine, even before the war, this figure was only 1.2 children per woman, and now the country may even find itself in last place in the world rankings.
16:29 The Russian Army fired artillery at the shoreline of the Dnieper River in the village of Belenkoye, Zaporozhye district - two people were killed, three were wounded, said the head of the OVA Yuri Malashko.
16:04 The Russians fired at Zolotaya Balka in the Novoaleksandrovsk community of the Kherson region, one person was wounded, the OVA reported. Over the previous 24 hours in the region, one person was killed and six were injured as a result of Russian shelling.
15:23 During 2023, the United States provided Ukraine with 34 packages of military assistance totaling more than $24 billion, Zelensky said.
14:59 Europe “doesn’t know how to fight,” and Russia will gain an advantage if the West fails to increase weapons production, Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said in an interview with The Kyiv Independent. "Weapons production is not the most popular area of business. Unfortunately, our friends have spent too much time thinking about how and when to increase the production of weapons and ammunition... Europe clearly has an advantage in its technology. The problem and challenge that "What they are facing is scaling up the production of this technology. I'm sorry to say this, but this will not be enough if the situation does not change. And Russia will be ahead of us," the minister said.
He also added that many EU countries have become more reliant on unilateral arms transfers, avoiding a pan-European mechanism.
14:07 The Russians shelled the village of Glushkovka, Kupyansky district, Kharkov region, three people were wounded, regional police reported.
13:56 Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmitry Lubinets said that the bill on mobilization will be finalized: “There are some norms that contradict the Constitution, but yesterday there was a working meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Defense, where we have already reached a compromise - how to ensure the law on mobilization and respect human rights."
13:18 The most difficult month of the year for the Defense Forces in the Tauride direction was December due to constant enemy attacks on Marinka and Avdeevka, said Alexander Shtupun, spokesman for the Defense Forces of the Tauride direction.
12:49 As a result of the Russian explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station in the occupied city of Oleshki alone, “at least hundreds” of people were killed, according to an Associated Press investigation. This city was at that time one of the most densely populated in the flood-affected areas with about 16 thousand inhabitants. Russia said 59 people drowned in its territory. The exact death toll will likely never be known, even if Ukrainian forces retake the territory and conduct an on-site investigation, journalists say.
12:04 The Office of the Prosecutor General has reason to suspect military personnel from the Russian 76th Guards Air Assault Division, also known as the Pskov Airborne Division, of the execution of three Ukrainian prisoners of war. The head of the department for combating crimes in armed conflict, Yuriy Belousov, said that the names of the dead Ukrainian Armed Forces military personnel have been established, are currently being verified and will be made public later.
11:26 The Russians fired from the MLRS at Volchansk, Chuguevsky district, Kharkov region - one person was killed, one was wounded, said the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov.
11:14 In the Black Sea, a civilian ship flying the flag of Panama, which was loading grain at one of the Danube ports, was blown up by a Russian mine, the Southern Defense Forces report. The ship lost speed and control, and a fire broke out on the upper deck. To avoid flooding, the captain kept the bulk carrier aground. Two sailors were injured.
10:45 The United States is trying to advance the issue of confiscation of Russian assets by the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, writes the Financial Times. According to the newspaper, a meeting of G7 leaders may take place on this day. Currently, working groups proposed by Washington are considering legal issues related to confiscation in strict secrecy.
At the same time, Germany, France, Italy and the EU “expressed some reservations” and emphasized the need to “carefully evaluate” the legality of the confiscation of Moscow’s assets. Europe, where most of the assets are located, is more cautious, fearing possible consequences for financial stability, as well as retaliatory actions from Russia.
10:27 The military leadership of the Russian Federation is trying to scale up the training of junior lieutenants and reduce the duration of the corresponding training schools due to the high losses of junior officers in the war in Ukraine. According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, those who have undergone accelerated training and received the primary officer rank are immediately sent to the front.
In addition, Russia is working to strengthen the combat effectiveness of the assault units, where, in particular, they are driving men from the occupied Ukrainian territories. Also among the Russians’ intentions for 2024 is to prepare special groups to carry out sabotage attacks and provocations in the southern regions of Ukraine.
09:56 Defense and negotiations instead of defeating the invaders on the battlefield - more and more often in the West you can find talk about just such a new strategy for Ukraine in the war against Russia. Read more in the material Discussions in the USA .
09:29 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports that Russian troops have recently advanced into the western Zaporozhye region - likely after Ukrainian forces withdrew to more suitable positions near Rabotino for the winter. However, according to analysts, the return of these positions by the Russian army is not particularly important at the moment.
08:41 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of December 28:
personnel - about 356,670 (+920) people,
tanks - 5940 (+27),
armored combat vehicles - 11,015 (+42),
artillery systems - 8391 (+15),
MLRS - 935 (+1),
air defense systems - 617 (+1),
aircraft - 329 (+0),
helicopters - 324 (+0),
UAV of operational-tactical level - 6503 (+32),
cruise missiles - 1620 (+0),
ships/boats - 23 (+0),
submarines - 1 (+0),
automotive equipment and tank trucks - 11,180 (+40),
special equipment - 1247 (+7).
08:33 In the Kiev region, from December 28 to January 6, counter-sabotage and security measures will be strengthened. The corresponding decision was made by the Defense Council of the Kyiv Region, said the head of the Defense Forces Ruslan Kravchenko. The events will be carried out with the participation of the SBU, the National Police, the National Guard and the 114th separate terrorist defense brigade. The number of checkpoints in the region will be increased, and crowded places will also be subject to inspection: shopping centers, supermarkets, train stations, medical institutions, etc.
07:58 Over the past 24 hours, 56 military clashes took place at the front, the General Staff reported in its morning report . In the Avdeevsky direction, the Defense Forces repelled 15 enemy attacks east of Novobakhmutovka, Avdeevka and another 17 attacks near Severny, Pervomaisky and Nevelsky, Donetsk region. In the Kherson direction, where Ukrainian forces continue to expand the bridgehead, the Russian army carried out 13 unsuccessful assault operations.
In addition, in the Kupyansky direction, the Defense Forces repelled nine enemy attacks near Sinkovka and east of Ivanovka, Kharkov region; on Limansky - three attacks in the Serebryansky forestry area of the Lugansk region; on Bakhmutskoye - two attacks near Bogdanovka, Donetsk region; on Maryinsky - three attacks in the areas of Maryinka and Novomikhailovka, Donetsk region; in the Zaporozhye direction - three attacks west of Verbovoy and Rabotino, Zaporozhye region.
07:09 At night, air defense destroyed seven of the eight Shahed attack UAVs that Russia attacked from the Primorsko-Akhtarsk area, the Air Force command reported. The drones were shot down within the Dnepropetrovsk, Kirovograd and Zaporozhye regions.
05:17 The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that air defense systems allegedly destroyed two “Ukrainian drones” over Crimea at night.
01:20 Putin, at a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Moscow in March, told him that Russia would fight in Ukraine for at least five years, Nikkei Asia writes, citing sources. The head of the Kremlin also assured his Chinese colleague that Russia would still emerge from the conflict as a winner.
00:52 A series of explosions occurred in Sevastopol. Crimean publics report that local residents heard five explosions. Later, the “governor” of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozzhaev, stated that air defense forces allegedly shot down one drone. He did not comment on the remaining explosions.
#1
Thus, by the end of 2023, the birth rate in terms of the number of children born per woman is expected to be 0.7. This is three times less than the population replacement rate (two children per woman) and means that only two children are born for every six adults.
Yeah, that'll happen when you send all of your men to war. But, hey, maybe Ukraine can import some Africans and Middle Easterners. The EU would be pleased with that.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/29/2023 12:38 Comments ||
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] The enemy has increased the number of airstrikes from bomber aircraft
Alexander Shtupun noted that airstrikes were recorded not only in the Avdeevka area, but along the entire front line.
The Russian invaders have resumed the use of their Su-34 and Su-35 fighter-bombers. This was announced on Thursday, December 28, by the speaker of the joint press center of the Tauride Defense Forces, Colonel Alexander Shtupun, on the air of Front Line.
He added that the Avdievka area is now “hot”: the number of clashes has decreased, but the enemy is using more armored vehicles.
"He (the enemy - ed.) also increased the number of airstrikes. He began using Su-35 and Su-34 again. A total of 18 airstrikes per day were recorded. This is not only Avdievka, but along the entire line of combat contact. That is, in almost all directions in 2 “3 airstrikes were recorded,” the speaker noted.
According to him, compared to Wednesday, December 27, the use of kamikaze drones has doubled - more than a hundred cases.
The Russians continue to lose a very large amount of equipment: Ukrainian defenders destroyed or severely damaged more than a hundred pieces of Russian equipment.
Shtupun also added that Russia lost almost 500 soldiers in this direction per day.
As you know, on December 22, Ukrainian defenders destroyed three Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers in the south of the country.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] As a result of a successful operation, two occupiers were destroyed, and four more were added to Ukraine’s exchange fund.
The Ukrainian military regained the previously lost position in the Avdievka direction. The Ukrainian Ground Forces reported this on December 28.
It is noted that as a result of a successful operation, two occupiers were destroyed, and four more replenished the exchange fund of Ukraine.
On the Ukrainian side, the operation took place without losses.
Let us remind you that 42 military clashes took place at the front during the day . The Russian Federation actively uses operational-tactical aviation and FPV-type quadcopters, and carries out assault operations with the support of armored vehicles.
As reported, the invaders tried on Thursday morning, December 28, to storm Ukrainian positions in Sinkovka in the Kupyansky direction, but were defeated .
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] Prayer services in memory of the victims of deportation were held today throughout Kalmykia; in Elista, residents of the republic, including survivors of deportation, gathered for a rally. There are just over two thousand people left in the region who were born before the deportation, the head of Kalmykia said.
The "Caucasian Kno " wrote that since 2004 in Kalmykia, December 28 is the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Deportation of the Kalmyk People.
On December 28, 1943, in accordance with the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the liquidation of the Kalmyk Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, the NKVD troops carried out Operation Ulus to evict Kalmyks to the regions of Siberia and the Far East. The Kalmyks were accused of treason, joining military detachments organized by the Germans, and organizing an anti-Soviet rebel movement. The deportation of Kalmyks was also considered as a means of resolving the national-political conflict (as defined by Joseph Stalin) that arose with the Kalmyks. The total number of deported Kalmyks, including soldiers and officers withdrawn from combat units, was about 120 thousand people, according to the Caucasian Knot reference material “ Deportation of Kalmyks.”
This morning, in the Central Khurul of Kalmykia "Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamuni" a prayer service "Yoryal" was held in memory of the victims of deportation. Many people gathered in the main temple of the republic, including the head of Kalmykia Batu Khasikov and the chairman of the government of the republic Gilana Boskhomdzhieva. Memorial prayer services were held throughout the republic, the RIA Kalmykia agency reported today.
Hundreds of people gathered today on the territory of the Exodus and Return memorial complex. The rally began with a small theatrical performance, which was presented by actors from theaters in Kalmykia, and the State Choir of Kalmykia named after Tsebekov performed Arkady Mandzhiev’s song “Nyudlya,” another agency publication said.
There are just over 2,000 people left in the republic who survived the deportation, the head of the republic said at the rally. “Today there are fewer and fewer witnesses to the tragedy. The number of those born before December 28, 1943 is just over two thousand people. Our task now is to surround them with attention and care, preserve historical memory, peace and harmony in society, and pass them on from generation to generation the objective truth about the past and that there is no justification for repression. This is our civic and human duty," Khasikov said at a rally at the Exodus and Return memorial complex.
Today's event took place in windy weather. The organizers of the action offered the crowd hot Kalmyk tea and national pastries, and volunteers handed out yellow ribbons - a symbol of memory of the deportation, MK Kalmykia reported today.
On his Telegram page, Khasikov published a poem dedicated to the deportation and a story from the rally with his speech.
An evening in memory of the victims of the deportation of the Kalmyk people was held today at the Gulag History Museum in Moscow. Museum director Roman Romanov said that such actions have been taking place for four years in a row, as follows from the broadcast from the action on YouTube.
The "Caucasian Knot" also wrote that on the night of December 27, a memorial plaque was broken at the Abganerovo station in the Volgograd region, dedicated to the deportation of Kalmyks. Police reported that a suspect in the vandalism had been identified. The memorial plaque was installed on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the deportation of Kalmyks; its destruction deeply offended the residents of Kalmykia and sparked debate about the motives of the vandal. Residents of Kalmykia interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" connected the incident with the atmosphere of hatred in society and the political course towards the rehabilitation of Stalinism.
A resident of the Svetloyarsky district of the Volgograd region, who, according to investigators, broke a memorial plaque about the deportation of Kalmyks, has been under the supervision of a psychiatrist for more than 10 years and after the incident was placed in a medical institution, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.
Researcher at the International Center for History and Sociology of the Second World War at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, author of the biography “Stalin. The Life of a Leader,” Oleg Khlevnyuk noted earlier that “many do not know or do not want to know that under Stalin there were mass arrests, deportations and executions based on nationality, that entire nations were declared “hostile.” About the most famous myths and reliable information related to the role of Joseph Stalin in the events of the Great Patriotic War - in the information “10 myths about the role of Stalin in the Great Patriotic War” on the “Caucasian Knot”.
#1
From wiki: After the October Revolution in 1917, many Don Kalmyks joined the White Russian army and fought under the command of Generals Denikin and Wrangel during the Russian Civil War. Before the Red Army broke through to the Crimean Peninsula towards the end of 1920, a large group of Kalmyks fled from Russia with the remnants of the defeated White Army to the Black Sea ports of Turkey.
The majority of the refugees chose to resettle in Belgrade, Serbia. Other, much smaller, groups chose Sofia (Bulgaria), Prague (Czechoslovakia) and Paris and Lyon (France). The Kalmyk refugees in Belgrade built a Buddhist temple there in 1929.
Article Linked To Is Available Only Via VPN
[EngMilRu] The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
In Kupyansk direction, units of the Zapad Group of Forces supported by aviation and artillery repelled six attacks launched by assault groups of AFU 30th, 43rd, and 60th, Mechanised, 57th Motorised infantry, 10th Mountain Assault, and 95th Air Assault brigades near Ivanovka and Sin'kovka (Khar'kov region).
The enemy's losses amounted to 55 Ukrainian troops, three motor vehicles, as well as one 122mm D-30 howitzer.
In Krasny Liman direction, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces supported by artillery and heavy flamethrowers repelled three attacks launched by AFU 24th, 63rd Mechanised, and 5th National Guard brigades near Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk People's Republic) and Grigorovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
Up to 210 Ukrainian troops, one tank, four infantry fighting vehicles, and three motor vehicles were neutralised. U.S.-made M109 Paladin and 122mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems were hit during counterbattery warfare.
In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces supported by artillery inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the AFU 22nd, 28th Mechanised brigades, and 92nd Air Assault Brigade close to Andreyevka and Kleshcheyevka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The enemy lost up to 239 Ukrainian personnel, three tanks, two armoured fighting vehicles, as well as five pick-up trucks. In counter-battery warfare, one Polish-made Krab self-propelled artillery system, two 152mm 2S3 Akatsiya self-propelled artillery systems, one 152mm Msta-B howitzer, three152mm D-20 guns were eliminated.
In South Donetsk direction, units of the Vostok Group of Forces supported by artillery and aviation inflicted losses on enemy manpower of the AFU near Novomikhailovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The enemy lost up to 115 Ukrainian troops and three pick-up trucks. In counterbattery warfare, the Russian troops wiped out one U.S.-made М198 and one UK-made FH-70 howitzers, as well as one 122mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system.
In Zaporozhye direction, the Russian Group of Forces supported by air strikes and artillery fire defeated a cluster of manpower and hardware of the enemy near Rabotino and Verbovoye (Zaporozhye region).
The enemy lost up to 80 Ukrainian troops, one tank, three armoured fighting vehicles, and two pick-up trucks.
In the course of the counter-battery warfare, one 152mm Msta-B howitzer, one 122mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, and two 122mm D-30 howitzers were eliminated.
In Kherson direction, as a result of actions of the Russian troops supported by artillery, the AFU lost up to 60 Ukrainian troops and four motor vehicles.
During the counterbattery warfare, the following artillery pieces were hit: one U.S.-made M109 Paladin self-propelled artillery system, two 152mm Msta-B howitzers, one 122mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, as well as one 122mm D-30 howitzer.
Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, and Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have engaged a POL depot for AFU's military hardware, manpower and hardware in 138 areas during the day. Fighter jets of the Russian Aerospace Forces shot down one Su-25 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force close Kramatorsk (Donetsk People's Republic).
Russian air defence means have shot down two Su-25 airplanes of Ukrainian Air Force near Novogrigorovka (Zaporozhye region) and Tokarevka (Kherson region). In addition, seven HIMARS MLRS projectiles were intercepted. In addition, 33 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down close to Novodruzhesk, Verkhnekamenka (Lugansk People's Republic), Aleksandrovka, Verkhnetoretskoye, Staromikhailovka (Donetsk People's Republic), Verbovoye and Pshenichnoye (Zaporozhye region).
In total, 563 airplanes and 262 helicopters, 10,154 unmanned aerial vehicles, 442 air defence missile systems, 14,355 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,189 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 7,550 field artillery guns and mortars, as well as 16,785 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 23:58 Official summary of the DPR Representative Office in the JCCC from 00:00 December 28, 2023 to 00:00 December 29, 2023
Over the past 24 hours, the Representation has recorded 69 incidents of firing by the Ukrainian forces.
Information was received about the injury of three civilians, incl. teenage girls #ChildrenNotTarget, in the Petrovsky district of Donetsk, Yasinovataya and the Central City district of Gorlovka.
A total of 18 residential buildings were damaged in the Kirovsky district of Donetsk, Nikitovsky and Tsentralno-Gorodsky districts of Gorlovka, as well as three civil infrastructure facilities.
Areas of five settlements of the Republic were under enemy fire: Gorlovka (Nikitovsky, Central City districts), Golmovsky, Yasinovatsky district, the capital city of Donetsk (Kievsky, Kuibyshevsky, Kirovsky, Petrovsky districts), Makeevka (Chervonogvardeysky district).
In the Donetsk direction, the enemy carried out 45 attacks from MLRS, 155mm artillery, and attack UAVs.
At Gorlivske there were 20 artillery attacks from MLRS, 155mm artillery, incl. with a cassette warhead.
At Yasinovatsky there were four artillery attacks from MLRS and 155mm artillery.
A total of 235 units of various ammunition were fired.
23:11 According to the operational lines of the DPR Representative Office in the JCCC for December 28, as of 23:00, additional information was received about civilian casualties in the cities of the Republic:
Donetsk (Petrovsky district):
- on the street. Shkolnoy, 138, a woman born in 1932 was wounded.
n.p. Gorlovka (Central City district):
- on the street. Druzhkovskaya, 7, a woman born in 1953 was seriously injured.
Additional information has been received about damage as a result of artillery attack by the AFU in the cities of the Republic:
n.p. Gorlovka:
Nikitovsky district:
– st. Olga Kobylyanskaya, 215 – private residential building.
Central City district:
– Automobile and Highway Institute DonNTU on the street. Kirov;
– st. Druzhkovskaya, 7 – direct hit on a private residential building;
– st. Kirova, 24 – apartment building;
– Pobedy Ave., 62, 66 – multi-apartment residential buildings;
– st. Druzhkovskaya, 2, 6 – private residential buildings.
22:47 Front bird reports: Melitopol. Air defense. 28.12 22:30
It is reported that in the Melitopol area our air defense system hit an enemy air object.
Preliminarily, we are talking about a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone.
21:50 Front birdbroadcasts: The Russian Army squeezed out and advanced on the islands in the Dnieper Delta south of Kherson, which is actually confirmed by the enemy side.
21:20 Front bird broadcasts: Donetsk direction. district settlement Andreevka 28.12
It is reported that in the area of the village of Andreevka, our airborne units destroyed several enemy guns and howitzers.
The strike was carried out by FPV drone operators.
20:45 105th NM DPR reports: Zaporozhye direction
The Russian army successfully attacked enemy positions north of Pyatikhatki, several enemy strongholds were captured.
20:20 Front bird broadcasts: Yuzhnodonetsk direction 28.12
It is reported that in the southern Donetsk direction, units of the Vostok group of forces, in cooperation with artillery and aviation, inflicted fire on the personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of the settlement of Novomikhailovka, Donetsk People's Republic.
Losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces up to several platoons.
19:40 Situation in the village of Krynki in the Kherson direction reports Archangel of Special Forces:
“The enemy has organized a logistics hub, caught up with personnel and is sending troops to the left bank every day. The MTR, the AF naval infantry, land on Krynki every day, where death awaits them both day and night. If the boat has arrived, this does not mean that life is in your pocket. Attached to the post are photographs of those who make it to land.
Krynki becomes the second Rabotino, the site of a large mass grave. But for the enemy it is a victory. During the year, two villages were liberated, we do not take into account the loss of Mar'inka and the almost complete surrender of Avdievka. The smart ones will think about it, and NPCs stitched abroad will carry out the algorithm. The algorithm of their own death."
19:35 Explosions were heard in the Kyiv-controlled city of Kherson, local authorities reported. Power went out in several areas. However, the air raid warning was not announced there.
18:47 Kherson direction: during reconnaissance there was revealed artillery gun and personnel, at this moment unloading the ammunition. Target destroyed.
17:50 You can’t hide from the Lancet: paratroopers smash enemy equipment on the right bank of the Dnieper in the Kherson region.
Airborne units from the Dnepr group of troops daily destroy and disable combat and special equipment of Ukrainian formations.
The next targets of the “winged infantry” fighters were the 122mm 2S1 “Gvozdika” self-propelled gun, a truck and an Armed Forces tank, discovered at night using thermal imaging systems.
The enemy's equipment was disabled by a direct hit from loitering ammunition.
16:38 Bryansk region,reportfrom the ground: heavy enemy artillery is working in our settlement. Suzemka in the center. They are shooting approximately from the vicinity of Guta (Ukrainian). Between the sound of a shot and an explosion is 16-20 seconds
15:55 Swedish two-link armored all-terrain vehicle BvS 10 Ukrainian marines, destroyed in the Kherson direction -photo.
14:40 In the Sin'kovka area (Kupyansk direction) there are line movements in favor of the Russian Armed Forces - two important strongholds have been taken.
It is reported that the 115th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (Cherkasy region) is preparing to become the record holder for losses in this area. Since October, the brigade has been withdrawn to the area to restore combat capability twice. Now the brigade command (Colonel A. Konoval) is disposing of the third train.
14:30 The main thing from the new briefing of the Russian Ministry of Defense:
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 115 military personnel in the South Donetsk direction;
The Russian Armed Forces repelled three attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Chervona Dibrova and Grigorovka in the Krasnolimansk direction, the enemy lost up to 210 soldiers and a tank;
Russian air defense shot down two Su-25 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions in one day;
The Russian Armed Forces in the Kupyansk direction repulsed 6 attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the day, the enemy lost up to 55 people;
In one day, the Armed Forces of Ukraine lost up to 80 military personnel, a tank and 3 armored vehicles in the Zaporozhye direction;
The losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donetsk direction amounted to up to 230 military personnel;
The Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kherson direction lost up to 60 soldiers per day.
14:00 Ukrainian troops launched a missile attack on the village of Inzhenernoe in the Zaporozhye region, a private house was destroyed, there was no information about casualties, operational services told reporters.
“At about 10.30 (Moscow time), militants of the Kyiv regime carried out a rocket attack on the village of Inzhenernoe, Pologovsky district. A private house was destroyed... the power supply line was damaged. There were problems with the electricity supply. No casualties were recorded. The information is being clarified,” the operational services reported.
13:44 The city of Tokmak, Zaporozhye region, is under enemy MLRS fire. Air defense systems are working
13:34 In the Ugledar area, our fighters from the 39th Motorized Rifle Brigade launched an assault on several oporniks. Fierce shooting battles are taking place with the use of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, reports Donbass Decides.
12:42 The battle in the Zaporozhye direction. Our troops storm the enemy's landings, the enemy responds with artillery fire.
In recent days, ours have made good progress both in the area between Rabotino and Verbovoy, and to the north-west of Rabotino. Obviously, the task is to gradually squeeze the enemy out of the Rabotino ledge and gradually push Rabotino back.
11:50 Statement of Head of the press center of the "West" group
Units of the group of troops "West" in the Kupyansk direction, during the active defense of motorized rifle formations of the combined arms army, supported by artillery fire, repelled six counterattacks of assault groups of the 95th Air Assault, 60 and 115 Mechanized brigades in the areas of Sin'kovka and Lake Liman. The enemy was forced to retreat in a southwestern direction.
In addition, the crews of operational-tactical aviation carried out twelve missile and bomb attacks on the temporary deployment points of the 14th, 21st, 115th Mechanized and 95th Air Assault brigades in the areas of the settlements of Sin'kovka, Petropavlovka, Ivanovka and Terny.
During the counterbattery fight, the crew of the 152mm 2A36 Giatsint-B towed gun under the command of Sergeant Alexander Lyubimov destroyed the 122mm D-30 artillery gun in the Petropavlovka area. The total losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces amounted to 45 military personnel, one mortar, and one UAV control center.
11:20 Advancement near the village of Rabotino and battles near Mar'inka:situationat the front on December 28
Mar'inka - Kurakhovo. After the clearing of Mar'inka, the fighting continues to be transferred to the west, beyond the Maryinskaya Dam. The Ukrainian Armed Forces, as previously assumed, dug in in Maksimilyanovka and Georgievka and received reinforcements from Kurakhov. After the advance of the RF Armed Forces southwest, to the area of n. Pobeda village, the Ukrainian Armed Forces tried to counterattack from the O-0532 highway. The Ukrainian Armed Forces did not abandon the idea of clinging to the middle of the route from Mar'inka to Pobeda, but this will require many times more resources than to hold Mar'inka, since forces will have to be diverted from Ugledar.
Avdievka. The greatest advance of the RF Armed Forces is from the southern flank in the area of Novomikhailovka, Opytny and Severny. There is relative calm in the south-eastern part of Avdievka, where the Russian Armed Forces are moving further than the industrial zone. Control in the area of the wastewater treatment plant is also being expanded, and movement continues along the railway line towards Ocheretin. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are forced to react and are stretching the front. The Armed Forces of Ukraine also report “growing pressure” in the area of Pervomaiskoye and Nevelskoye.
Artyomovsk - Chasov Yar. The Russian Armed Forces are advancing towards Chasov Yar from two sides - from the north in the Bogdanovka area and from the south in the Krasny (Ivanovsky) area. Reports of a breakthrough to Bogdanovka and an advance of 800-1000 meters have not yet been confirmed.
The assault groups managed to grab hold of the eastern and northern parts of the village. The situation with Bogdanovka remains difficult: despite its short length (just over three km), the village lies in a lowland and is surrounded by a network of Ukrainian Armed Forces support forces, which must be cleared and passed through.
There is progress south of Bogdanovka along the O-0506 highway. In some places, assault groups actually went directly to the eastern regions of Chasov Yar, the distance to which is approximately 2 km. Traffic also continues in the Kleshcheevka-Andreevka area.
Kherson region. The situation in the Krynok region has not yet changed, but the intensity of hostilities is gradually increasing. Despite the rumors about the refusal to use gliding bombs, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to fly to the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the left and right banks. There is active counterbattery fire on both sides. At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are not abandoning attempts to use aviation in this direction, but so far without success.
Kupyansk. An increase in the number of arrivals to observation posts and warehouses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is recorded. There is no active offensive in this area by the Russian Armed Forces yet, the movement is slow, with a clear course towards grinding the rear and burning the resources of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for defense. Most of the Ukrainian military not involved in battles were sent to work on creating defense lines between Kovsharovka, Kurilovka and the Kupyansk-Uzlova station. In general, there is a steady trend towards increasing the pace of combat operations.
Rabotino - Verbovoe. The Ukrainian Armed Forces stopped active hostilities in this direction a week ago, and at the moment there are no hints of a continuation of the counteroffensive. In the Verbovoy area, units of the 71st Infantry and 118th Mechanized Brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces abandoned some of their positions and took up positions 300-500 meters to the west and north, half-nullifying the success of the six-month advance. There is also an advance of the Russian Armed Forces to the west and north-west of the village of Rabotino.
10:55 Crews of 152mm Msta-B howitzers destroyed Kostroma artillery paratroopers command centre Ukrainian Armed Forces in a destroyed building.
In the Artemovsk direction, airborne units from the “Southern” group of forces continue active combat operations, successfully advancing north-west of Artemovsk. A big role in this is played by the artillerymen of the Kostroma Guards Regiment of the Ivanovo Guards Unit of the Airborne Forces, who constantly support the assault groups of paratroopers with their fire.
This time, reconnaissance using a UAV discovered active movements of Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel near a dilapidated house in one of the settlements northwest of Artemovsk. A detailed study of the situation revealed that in the basement of this dilapidated building one of the forward control points of the Ukrainian units was located. Kostroma artillery paratroopers destroyed the building to the ground with precise fire, destroying the control center with all the personnel.
09:39 Minus the enemy tank, self-propelled gun and truck. Onframes- combat work of paratroopers on the right bank of the Dnieper in the Kherson region. They destroyed the Ukrainian Armed Forces' equipment using the Lancet UAV.
09:31 The criminal Kiev regime continues to fire at the civilian infrastructure of settlements on the left bank of the Kherson region, yesterday during the day the Ukrainian Armed Forces fired from cannon artillery:
-- n.p. Krynki 33 rounds;
-- in Golaya Pristan settlement four rounds;
-- n.p. Dnepryan three rounds;
-- n.p. Novaya Mayachka five rounds;
-- n.p. Alyosha five rounds.
During the night, the Kiev regime continued to shell civilian infrastructure in the village. Krynki, n.p. Staraya Zburevka, settlement Peschanivka, n.p. Korsunka, n.p. Sagi, n.p. Aleshki, firing a total of 52 rounds from cannon artillery.
Civilian casualties and destruction of infrastructure are being determined.
09:05 Statement of senior officer of the press center of the Center group
Units of the "Center" group of troops in the Krasnolimansky direction in the area of the Tor ledge thwarted an attempt to attack the positions of a motorized rifle brigade by two assault groups of the 63rd Mechanized Brigade and the 12th Special Purpose Brigade "Azov with the support of a tank.
The enemy's advance was stopped by the skillful actions of the crews of FPV drone operators and artillery. During the battle, nationalist units suffered personnel losses, and the T-72 tank and BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle were also destroyed.
The group's army and attack aircraft destroyed three strongholds of the Ukrainian Armed Forces west of Chervona Dibrova.
Crews of heavy flamethrower systems destroyed three nationalist strongholds in the Grigorovka area.
During the counterbattery fight, about 40 artillery units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were exposed and suppressed. Including towed guns, mortar positions, as well as self-propelled artillery installations in the area of Kirovsk and Serebryansky forestry.
Enemy losses per day amounted to about 190 military personnel.
08:11 Review of the situation on the fronts:
In the Kherson-Crimean direction, the Russian Armed Forces, with the support of long-range weapons, attacked the Ukrainian bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper in Krynki. Under attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Sadovoy, Nikolskoye, Tyaginka and Berislav. RF Armed Forces - in Aleshki, Poima, Peschanivka and Podstepnoye.
According to WarGonzo, on the Donetsk front, Russian troops, after shelling, carried out assault operations on the southern and southeastern outskirts of Novomikhailovka. No success.
Similar actions in the Pobeda area and in the direction of Georgievka led to a tactical advance. Both of these areas are extremely important. The first makes it possible to attack Novomikhailovka from the north, and the second opens the way to the most important Ukrainian logistics hub in Kurakhiv, which supplies the Ugledar garrison. Russian troops tried to advance in the Nevelskoye area.
Pervomaiskoe, Severnoe (a settlement west of Avdievka) and Avdievka were attacked with artillery support. The fortified area was attacked from the industrial zone on the southeastern outskirts of the city. In the north-east, near the coke plant, there are oncoming battles. Also, after artillery shelling, Russian troops launched an attack on Novobakhmutovka, controlled by Ukrainian troops (a settlement of the same name to the east behind the Russian Armed Forces).
The positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Yekaterinivka, Elizavetovka, Kurakhov, the city of Krasnogorovka, Stepnoy, Novokalinov and New York are under attack. Russian ones - in Mar'inka, Staromikhailovka, Donetsk and the village of Krasnogorovka.
In the Bakhmut direction, the Russian Armed Forces, with the support of long-range weapons, attacked at Andreevka, at the heights northwest of Kleshcheevka and at Bogdanovka. There is progress in the last section. The attack from Vesyoly was unsuccessful. Russian artillery worked against the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Ivanovsky, Razdolovka, Sporny and Verkhnekamensky. Ukrainian - according to the RF Armed Forces in Bakhmut, Yagodny, Krasnopolovka, Yakovlevka and Verkhnekamenka.
08:02 Summary on the morning of December 28, 2023:
Night raids by our UAVs occurred in Krivoy Rog and Zaporozhye. They report the use of “Geraniums” of a new modification.In the Kherson direction, part of the village. Krynki is still under the enemy. There are battles in the indicated village on our shore, the enemy is still recruiting personnel, who are being destroyed by our troops by all available means.
On the Zaporozhye Front near Rabotino yesterday there were oncoming battles. Near Verbov, the Ukrainian Armed Forces also made attempts to attack our positions after being struck by cluster munitions. FAB-500 with UPMK worked on concentrations of enemy manpower and armored vehicles in Orekhovo.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces also took counter-offensive actions in the Avdeevsky direction, solving the problem of containing our advance in the southern section of the “bag”. At the same time, on the southern ledge of the front they report an offensive by the Russian Armed Forces near Pervomaiskoye and Nevelskoye.
In the direction of Chasov Yar, our offensive continues from the Artyomovsky (Bakhmutsky) sector. There are battles in the Bogdanovka area in the north and along the highway near Ivanovsky (Krasny).
The Kupyansk direction causes concern among the regional Ukrainian authorities: the constant pressure of the Russian Armed Forces on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine forced Kyiv officials to talk about the possible evacuation of the entire Kupyansky district.
An enemy attack was repelled in the airspace in the southern direction (Crimea and Kherson region). Up to 23 UAVs were destroyed and suppressed, and two enemy missiles were reported downed. The Ukrainian Armed Forces' strikes on the Belgorod region do not stop. The enemy uses cannon artillery and mortars, as well as kamikaze drones. In Donetsk (DPR), two civilians were wounded, the enemy fired 174 rounds of ammunition at civilian targets.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Artemy Sharapov
[REGNUM] Russian troops completed all the tasks set by the command in 2023. This statement was made by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, summing up the results of the year at a conference call.
In fact, there were two most difficult tasks, IA Regnum’s interlocutors believe.
The first was decided in Donbass. The point was to shift the front line in the Soledar-Artyomovsk and Donetsk directions in the DPR, where, unlike, for example, the Mariupol direction, no significant progress had been observed since the beginning of the Northern Military District.
From the very start of the special operation, it was noted that it was in the occupied part of the DPR, in the north and north-west of the republic, that the enemy concentrated the most numerous and well-fortified group.
Actually, in the Donetsk region, the line of contact established after the 2014–2015 campaign did not move, actually running along the outskirts of the DPR capital.
The second main task of the troops participating in the Northern Military District was to repel the much-touted Ukrainian counter-offensive in the south, as well as to strike back.
On the eve of the “spring counteroffensive” (which in Kyiv was later renamed spring-summer and simply summer), the Ukrainian Armed Forces received several shipments of Western weapons, including tanks, light armored vehicles, cannon and self-propelled artillery, as well as modern ammunition.
According to experts, we are talking about hundreds of tanks, thousands of wheeled and tracked armored vehicles. But before that, one of the “impregnable fortresses” of Donbass fell.
ARTYOMOVSK IS NO LONGER A “FORTE”. ROAD TO SLAVYANSK
The first success of Russian troops in 2023 can be considered the consistent liberation of two cities in the northeast of the DPR. First, Soledar was captured in mid-January. By the last days of May, after many months of fighting, Artyomovsk was liberated by the assault units of the Wagner PMC. When enemy propaganda called Artyomovsk “the fortress of Bakhmut,” this was, alas, not without reason.
In this direction, the Ukrainian Armed Forces created a defense in depth based on a network of underground salt mines and adits.
The main brunt of the fighting occurred in the winter-spring period, when the enemy skillfully used weather conditions that did not allow artillery and armored vehicles to be camouflaged in the green area.
But the liberation of the city of Soledar as a result of an unexpected offensive made it possible to cover the Ukrainian Armed Forces group in Artyomovsk from the north, noted the interlocutor of IA Regnum , who participated in the hostilities on this section of the front.
“After Soledar, the issue of Artyomovsk was actually resolved, but the Armed Forces of Ukraine clung to the city as best they could, they chose to put more people, but not to disgrace themselves in the media. As a result, they lost people and were disgraced,” the publication’s source noted.
The liberation of Artyomovsk opened up the opportunity for Russian troops to further advance towards Slavyansk-Kramatorsk, the largest agglomeration in the west of Donbass, the liberation of which will allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to be completely driven out of the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic.
BATTLE OF RABOTINO: “WE RESTED OUR FOREHEADS ON REINFORCED CONCRETE”
The plan of the Ukrainian command provided for a breakthrough to Crimea from Melitopol in order to cut off the land supply route for troops on the peninsula.
For this purpose, several dozen formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were concentrated on the Zaporozhye sector of the front, some of which were trained at the training grounds of NATO countries. But ultimately the offensive was thwarted.
However, in 2023, a number of events took place that cannot be called favorable for the Russian troops, noted military expert Oleg Zheltonozhko in a commentary to Regnum news agency .
The specialist emphasized that the successful repulsion of the Ukrainian counter-offensive truly became the main event of the year and the success of the Russian troops.
“One of the main results of the “counter-offensive” is that there are no more reports of victory from the other side. We pressed our foreheads against reinforced concrete and realized that we couldn’t move forward,” the expert said.
But on the other hand, the enemy’s potential is far from exhausted. Primarily due to the actions of the collective West. The West has consistently crossed many “red lines” in terms of arms supplies that it drew for itself. Therefore, now for them we are talking about “victory over Russia at any cost,” excluding the entry of their own armies, the expert notes.
The very “reinforced concrete wall” that the Ukrainian Armed Forces ran into was the section of the front where Ukrainian troops managed to achieve minimal advance between the villages of Malaya Tokmachka and Rabotino .
This area with a radius of six kilometers has turned into a real “graveyard” for NATO armored vehicles, users of the Lostarmour portal note. Based on a systematic study of footage from open sources, they counted at least 120 units of destroyed Ukrainian Armed Forces armored vehicles.
A special contribution to the defeat of the enemy was made by sapper units, who created continuous minefields and stopped enemy tanks, as well as drone operators, who methodically finished off enemy armored vehicles one after another.
Having suffered such heavy losses, the advancing formations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were forced to stop in the resulting “bag of fire”, where their positions were under fire from several directions at once. This was where the enemy's successes ended.
Another “cemetery” appeared on the same Zaporozhye sector of the front, in the area of the settlements of Staromayorskoye and Urozhainoye, where enemy marine units performed extremely unsuccessfully.
LEOPARD SAFARI AND MORE
According to experts, during the unsuccessful offensive, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost at least 17 Leopard 2 tanks out of more than a hundred vehicles supplied through NATO.
In the fields of Ukraine, 13 US-made Stryker armored personnel carriers, 42 M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, and over a hundred M113 infantry fighting vehicles of various modifications remained in the fields.
At least 48 M777 howitzers, 26 American-made M109 Paladin self-propelled artillery mounts and 25 Polish-made Crab self-propelled guns were also destroyed.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
In fact, the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine may turn out to be significantly higher, since only cases captured in photos or videos are included in such statistics.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, since the beginning of the counter-offensive, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have lost over 125 thousand people and 16 thousand pieces of equipment.
But this does not mean that the West will decisively refuse support for Kyiv and new arms supplies in 2024.
“Many restrictions on arms supplies have already been overcome. This is rather a negative factor. But, on the other hand, Russia was ready for all these unpleasant surprises,” notes Oleg Zheltonozhko.
THE FRONT IS MOVING AWAY FROM DONETSK
In the fall, when the “offensive” in the Zaporozhye direction apparently ran out of steam, fierce battles began in the Donetsk agglomeration - in fact, in the suburbs of the capital of the DPR, where the enemy created one of the most powerful defensive areas.
The result of the offensive was the complete liberation of the city of Maryinka west of Donetsk and the capture of a number of enemy positions in the Avdeevka area, located north of the capital of the DPR. As IA Regnum previously noted, the capture of Marinka opens up broad prospects for Russian troops.
However, it is far from certain that the enemy will watch the actions of Russian troops with folded hands.
“Ukraine’s potential was exhausted a year ago. Now we are dealing with the common potential not even of NATO, but actually of the entire West. All possible US allies are involved here. It is optimistic to say that the enemy’s potential has been exhausted. The enemy has reserves. And additional mobilization would have been impossible without outside help ,” notes Oleg Zheltonozhko.
AVIATION IS GROWING WITH FPV DRONES
Russian aviation has shown exceptional efficiency in both the southern and Donbass directions. Situations have already become almost routine when enemy air targets are hit not directly on the front line, but behind the front line.
To effectively detect and destroy Ukrainian missiles or drones, a combination of long-range radar detection (AWACS) aircraft is working in conjunction with fighter aircraft and (or) air defense batteries. A special role is given to aircraft with the Kinzhal hypersonic complex.
“Any rise of the MiG-31 causes panic among the enemy, an air raid alert is announced. The very fact of the appearance of such weapons in our country and the readiness to use them is already turning into concrete material benefits,” emphasizes Oleg Zheltonozhko.
The expert also noted that the Russian military industry showed good results, supplying the troops with advanced weapons. First of all, drones, especially FPV drones.
The effectiveness of these weapons is such that the massive use of drones often makes it possible to solve not just tactical, but also operational tasks in certain sectors of the front.
THE ROLE OF TANKS WILL HAVE TO BE RETHOUGHT
But not only aviation, but also other types of weapons that were used by the Russian army, justified their purpose. In 2023, certain prospects appeared for improvements to armored vehicles, which will undoubtedly be implemented in the future, experts believe.
But the unsuccessful offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces showed the vulnerability of all types of armored vehicles. And perhaps the very concept of using armored vehicles on the battlefield will be rethought.
“You need to understand that armor now is a consumable item, almost like ammunition. It will be necessary to increase security and widespread use. Tanks become a target, not a force. Therefore, new means of combating means of combating tanks are needed, because the picture of the use of armored vehicles has become completely different,” notes Oleg Zheltonozhko.
It was the destruction of the enemy’s trained armored formations that allowed Russian troops to switch to offensive operations in the second half of 2023, experts say.
"THE ENEMY'S OFFENSIVE POTENTIAL HAS BEEN KNOCKED OUT"
Commenting on plans for next year, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny said that the Ukrainian army will need a large number of recruits in the near future.
At the same time, Zaluzhny added that “2024 will be different from the previous one.”
One can assume what exactly the commander-in-chief of the enemy army had in mind. But it is most likely that Ukrainian troops will have to abandon offensive plans and prepare to sit on the defensive.
Experts predict that if Kyiv continues to receive support from the West, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be able to hold the line for a long time. And there is no need to expect a lightning-fast victory in 2024 yet.
However, by the end of 2023, the enemy gradually began to lose the initiative, which means that in the future he will have to increasingly retreat and respond to threats, rather than create them.
“In general, the results of the campaign can be considered successful for us. The enemy's offensive potential was knocked out for the most part. This allowed us to go on a counter-offensive by the end of the year ,” states Oleg Zheltonozhko.
Judging by the mobilization plans voiced by Vladimir Zelensky, right now the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have trained reserves, they are depleted, the expert emphasizes. “Later, reserves may appear, but here and now we can say that the enemy has suffered a number of defeats from which he can recover, but this will take time,” sums up IA Regnum’s interlocutor.
#1
"THE ROLE OF TANKS WILL HAVE TO BE RETHOUGHT
But not only aviation, but also other types of weapons that were used by the Russian army, justified their purpose. In 2023, certain prospects appeared for improvements to armored vehicles, which will undoubtedly be implemented in the future, experts believe.
But the unsuccessful offensive of the Ukrainian [projection, i.e., Russian] Armed Forces showed the vulnerability of all types of armored vehicles. And perhaps the very concept of using armored vehicles on the battlefield will be rethought.
“You need to understand that armor now is a consumable item, almost like ammunition. It will be necessary to increase security and widespread use. Tanks become a target, not a force. Therefore, new means of combating means of combating tanks are needed, because the picture of the use of armored vehicles has become completely different,” notes Oleg Zheltonozhko."
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The damage that the infrastructure of Feodosia received from the strike of the Ukrainian Armed Forces turned out to be minimal, the consequences will be eliminated quickly, the head of the Crimean parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov, said on December 28 on Sputnik in Crimea radio. "Tis but a flesh wound!"
“The damage is minimal. In this sense, Feodosia will cope with all these issues quite quickly,” he said.
According to Konstantinov, the Ukrainian command decided to attack Feodosia in order to gain information hype and find a reason for victorious statements after the failure of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ counter-offensive. He also said that he has no doubt about Russia's victory.
As reported by IA Regnum , the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked Feodosia on the night of December 26. A 65-year-old woman died, four people were injured, one of them was hospitalized. Due to the emergency, 106 people had to be evacuated, including 25 children.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that during the attack on Feodosia, the large landing ship Novocherkassk of the Russian Navy was damaged. The department clarified that Russian air defense systems destroyed two Su-24 tactical aviation aircraft of the Ukrainian Armed Forces that were launching missiles.
On December 28, it became known that Feodosia was attacked by Anglo-French Storm Shadow missiles. They were launched at the landing ship, of the two missiles, one hit the target, the second fell into the sea.
On the night of December 26, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) attacked Feodosia with Anglo-French air-launched Storm Shadow missiles, a Regnum news agency source reported .
As the agency’s interlocutor said, Ukrainian formations fired two missiles from airplanes in the direction of the Novocherkassk landing ship. Only one missile hit the target, the second fell into the sea near the pier.
As a result of the attack, a fire broke out on the ship and the Novocherkassk was damaged.
In addition, nearby buildings in Feodosia were also damaged due to the explosion. According to a source from IA Regnum, there are a total of 50 objects, including three kindergartens, four schools, a House of Culture, two libraries, five clinics and 10 residential buildings window and door openings, the façade of the building, entrance doors and roofs were damaged.
On December 26, the Ministry of Defense reported that Russian air defense forces destroyed two Ukrainian Su-24 aircraft in the area of the village of Zhovten. It was these aircraft that launched aircraft guided missiles at the port of Feodosia.
Five people were injured due to the APU strike, one of whom died soon after. According to Regnum news agency , naval port guard Nadezhda T. died as a result of the attack. The woman was 65 years old.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Ukrainian and Russian soldiers performed the song “Katyusha” together in the zone of a special military operation. This was reported by military expert Vladislav Shurygin. He published the video on his Telegram channel.
Russian fighters were in the forest not far from the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). They called out to the Ukrainian military, after which they began to sing in chorus: “The apple and pear trees were blooming. Fogs floated over the river.”
The Ukrainian military took up the song.
“Katyusha came ashore. To a high bank, to a steep bank,” continued the Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters.
The expert did not specify in which direction in the Northwestern Military District zone this happened.
As Regnum reported, on December 25, the Russian military organized the broadcast of front-line songs to raise the morale of the soldiers and demoralize the enemy. War correspondent Alexander Sladkov reported this in a report from the outskirts of liberated Marinka . According to him, the songs “Zemlyanka”, “Blue Handkerchief”, and the Russian Anthem were played. Ukrainian prisoners confirmed that the sound easily reaches the Ukrainian trenches.
On December 25, the Russian military rescued a Ukrainian female soldier who was abandoned by her fellow soldiers on the battlefield near the village of Krynki in the Kherson region. After Russian paratroopers and marines defeated the Ukrainian Armed Forces in a shooting battle, many dead and wounded remained on the battlefield. A wounded female soldier, noticing a Russian drone in the air, made a request for help with her hand. The Russian military evacuated the wounded woman and provided her with medical assistance.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Russian military does not leave wounded on the battlefield, as the enemy does. He emphasized that the Russian side cannot behave like these temporary workers in Ukraine, who leave the wounded to the mercy of fate, abandon them and do not consider them to be their people.
Actor Mikhail Mamaev , who returned from the special operation zone, was not allowed to sing “Katyusha” in Andrei Malakhov ’s program , despite the fact that he invited all participants in the TV show to perform a patriotic song. The program management considered the song “pretentious.”
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Uralvagonzavod (UVZ), part of the Rostec concern, announced the successful completion of contracts for the supply of T-90M and T-72B3M tanks to the Ministry of Defense. This was reported by the press service of the UVZ concern.
The concern's enterprises have already begun working on contracts for 2024. The combat vehicles sent to the ministry are significantly different from those supplied to the army in 2022, UVZ noted.
“The teams of Uralvagonzavod and the Ural Design Bureau of Transport Engineering are improving armored vehicles, taking into account the experience of their use in the Northern Military District zone,” the press service noted.
First of all, we improved the protection and operational characteristics, which affect the safety of the lives of the crew and increase the efficiency of combat missions.
General Director of Uralvagonzavod Alexander Potapov noted that in the past year, employees accomplished a real labor feat on par with their ancestors during the Great Patriotic War.
“Just like 80 years ago, today the volume of production of combat vehicles is increasing from month to month, a lot of work is being done to improve their tactical and technical characteristics, which means changes are being made to the design of tanks,” Potapov said.
In April of this year, the Ministry of Defense showed footage of the combat work of crews of T-72B3M tanks. Military personnel of the Southern Military District (SMD), having received information about the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the movements of equipment, carried out targeted strikes on Ukrainian units that had equipped firing points in dilapidated buildings on the outskirts of populated areas. The tankers also destroyed armored vehicles and civilian forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
On June 22, the commander of the T-90M with the call sign Perun spoke about the fear of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the sight of Russian tanks. According to him, during the SVO, the T-90M showed such serious firepower that the Ukrainians were forced to hide so as not to fall under their attacks. Due to the heat-protective casing, the tank is difficult to notice through a thermal imaging sight, the soldier explained.
In July of this year, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu inspected the training of crews of T-90 Proryv tanks in the Southern Military District . At the same time, crew training also takes place on modern interactive training complexes, which allow them to practice all elements of combat training.
On July 16, President Vladimir Putin called the T-90 Proryv tank the best in the world. According to him, the captured equipment of the West is the subject of study by Russian specialists; he recalled the expression “reverse engineering” and called for taking the opportunity to look inside the captured modern equipment and apply some of this to the Russian one.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] In the Black Sea, a bulk carrier flying the flag of Panama, following the so-called alternative grain route promoted by Kiev, was blown up by a mine. This was reported on December 28 by the press service of the defense forces of southern Ukraine.
The ship was heading to one of the Danube ports to load grain.
“In the Black Sea, there was an explosion on <...> a sea mine of a civilian ship flying the flag of Panama,” says a message on the Telegram channel.
The ship lost control and a fire started on the upper deck. Two sailors were injured, one of them was hospitalized.
Tugboats were sent to the bulk carrier for delivery to the port.
As Regnum reported , on November 18, a bulk carrier carrying grain from Odessa, flying the flag of Liberia, hit a mine in the Black Sea. According to MarineTraffic, the bulk carrier was heading to Romania.
In turn, the Ukrainian publication Dumskaya denied this information, saying that the Georgia S vessel, which left the Odessa port of Yuzhny with wheat, was not damaged when a mine exploded in the Black Sea. It is clarified that the captain of the ship flying the flag of Liberia gave a distress signal after a mine explosion. But the ship was not damaged, as the anti-personnel mine, according to the publication, exploded 100 meters from the cargo ship.
In October, in the Black Sea, in one of the corridors for the export of agricultural products from Ukraine, an object similar to a sea mine was discovered. The Joint Coordination Center reported that the Sapphire tugboat and the SAR-02 search and rescue boat left Odessa to inspect the site.
Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council Mikhail Popov said that a powerful storm in the Black Sea at the end of November could have scattered anchor mines laid by Kiev militants. This poses a danger to civilian ships, which are being undermined one after another.
Commentary by Russian military blogger Andrey Chervonets
Without Western help, 10 million pensioners in Ukraine will not receive pensions, and 500 thousand officials and 1.4 million teachers will not receive salaries, said Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Sviridenko in an interview with the Financial Times.
According to her, $37 billion will return the Ukrainian economy to survival mode (not development, but only survival).
I'll comment:
Well, mobilize everyone and everything will be fine. And you don’t have to pay and follow the plan.
What’s interesting is that two years ago Ukraine was far from what it was 10 years ago, but relatively speaking, with Western loans, it was enough. Why was it necessary to break something that was already working?
This is how the country ends, the independent and independent land has rusted. Isn’t this what the Maidan stood for? She is such a genius.
The conflict with Russia could have been resolved even before it began - at the negotiating table. This would have saved many lives of both Ukrainians and Russians. But the bloody clown Zelensky considered that satisfying his ambitions and the desire to get rich was more important.
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin
[ColonelCassad] What about negotiations in 2024? Everything is quite obvious.
1. The special operation will continue, its goal will remain the disarmament of Ukrainian troops and the rejection of the current Ukrainian state from the ideology of neo-Nazism.
2. The removal of the ruling Bandera regime is clearly not declared, but the most important and inevitable goal that must and will be achieved.
3. Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, Nikolaev, Kyiv are Russian cities, like many other temporarily occupied ones. All of them are still marked in yellow-blue on paper maps and on electronic tablets.
And so - yes. “Negotiations” are, of course, possible. Russia has never rejected them, unlike the crazy Ukrainian authorities. Such “negotiations” are not limited by time. They can continue until the complete defeat and capitulation of the Bandera troops of the North Atlantic Alliance.
And by the way, I want to inform you that since January 1, 2023, half a million people have been accepted for contract service in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. (c) Medvedev
PS. It’s funny that Medvedev’s passages find serious support on Bandera’s resources. Not everyone wants Avdeevka.
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin.
[ColonelCassad] Rebel Jack's review of the film Nuremberg. Video is in Russian, and very long for a review, but it is translatable into English:
I saw the movie not too long ago. The topic is important and necessary, the literary source is not bad, but the implementation turned out to be very weak.
There are a couple of good scenes throughout the film, but nothing more. A classic story with wasted potential.
Key Judgement 1. In the next 12 months, Russia is likely to intensify its military presence in the Arctic.
Key Judgement 2. Over the next 12 months, Russia will likely continue strengthening Arctic transport routes, focusing on energy exports.
Key Judgement 3. It is likely that in the next 12 months, Russia will seek political-economic cooperation in Arctic affairs with China.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created an even tenser atmosphere in the Arctic. The war changed key political dynamics with NATO and its two new Arctic members: Sweden and Finland. In Russia’s 2020 Arctic Strategy 2035, the Kremlin focused on the creation of new transport routes, environmental protections and maritime delimitation (source; source). However, tensions with NATO have led to a shift in priorities towards security and military countermeasures (source). These recent developments put the Arctic in Russia’s sights, with implications for domestic and foreign policy over the next 12 months.
Posted by: Slenter Panda4300 ||
12/29/2023 00:00 ||
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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.
